Pdsch and pusch transmission schemes for cellular networks

Abstract

A user equipment (UE) configured for operation in a New Radio (NR) network includes processing circuitry to apply modulation and coding parameters to respective portions of a PUSCH transmission mapped to a plurality of non- contiguous frequency-domain resource sets within a carrier bandwidth, based on network signaling. The processing circuitry determines a transport block size as a combination of contributions from the respective portions, based on their associated parameters. The processing circuitry performs coding and modulation separately for each portion mapped to a different frequency-domain resource set. The processing circuitry maps encoded bits and modulated symbols to the respective frequency-domain resource sets according to a spatial- frequency-time-ordered mapping. The apparatus includes memory coupled to the processing circuitry and configured to store the modulation and coding parameters.

Description

AG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1PDSCH AND PUSCH TRANSMISSION SCHEMES FOR CELLULAR NETWORKSPRIORITY CLAIM

[0001] This application claims the benefit of priority to United States Provisional Application No. 63 / 761,326, filed February 21, 2025, and entitled “SYSTEM AND METHODS ON ENHANCED TRANSMISSION SCHEME FOR PDSCH AND PUSCH FOR CELLULAR SYSTEM.” This provisional application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.BACKGROUND

[0002] Mobile communications have evolved significantly from early voice systems to today’s highly sophisticated integrated communication platform. With the growing number of devices communicating with various network devices, the use of 3 GPP LTE systems has increased. The penetration of mobile devices (user equipments or UEs) in modern society has continued to drive demand for a wide variety of networked devices in many disparate environments. Fifth-generation (5G) wireless systems are forthcoming and are expected to enable even greater speed, connectivity, and usability. Nextgeneration 5G networks (or NR networks) and beyond (e.g., 6G networks) are expected to increase throughput, coverage, and robustness, while reducing latency and operational and capital expenditures. 5G NR (and beyond) networks will continue to evolve based on 3 GPP LTE- Advanced, with additional potential new radio access technologies (RATs) to enrich people’s lives with seamless wireless connectivity, delivering fast, rich content and services.

[0003] Further enhancements to the operation of LTE and NR systems in both licensed and unlicensed spectrum are expected in future releases of 5G and beyond communication systems. Such enhanced operations can include techniques for configuring enhanced transmission schemes for a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) and a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) for cellular networks.AG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0004] In the figures, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, like numerals may describe similar components in different views. Like numerals having different letter suffixes may represent different instances of similar components. The figures illustrate, generally, by way of example, but not by way of limitation, various aspects discussed in the present document.

[0005] FIG. 1 A illustrates the architecture of a network, in accordance with some aspects.

[0006] FIG. IB and FIG. 1C illustrate a non-roaming 5G system architecture, in accordance with some aspects.

[0007] FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG. 4, and FIG. 5 illustrate various systems, architectures, devices, and components that may implement aspects of disclosed embodiments.

[0008] FIG. 6 illustrates an example artificial intelligence (Al)-assisted communication architecture for communication between a UE and a RAN, in accordance with some aspects.

[0009] FIG. 7 illustrates an example RAN split architecture, in accordance with some aspects.

[0010] FIG. 8 is a diagram of a wideband carrier with a fragmented bandwidth, in accordance with some aspects.

[0011] FIG. 9 is a diagram of a non-contiguous resource for a bandwidth part (BWP), in accordance with some aspects.

[0012] FIG. 10 is a diagram of a separate modulation and coding scheme (MCS) indication for single PDSCH scheduling, in accordance with some aspects.

[0013] FIG. 11 is a diagram of separate MCS indication in different BWPs for single PDSCH scheduling, in accordance with some aspects.

[0014] FIG. 12 is a diagram of a mapping order for PDSCH transmission in different BWPs, in accordance with some aspects.

[0015] FIG. 13 is a diagram of a mapping order for PDSCH transmission in different BWPs, in accordance with some aspects.AG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1

[0016] FIG. 14 illustrates a block diagram of a communication device such as an evolved Node-B (eNB), a new generation Node-B (gNB) (or another RAN node), an NCR, an access point (AP), a wireless station (STA), a mobile station (MS), or user equipment (UE), in accordance with some aspects.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] The following detailed description provides illustrative examples and embodiments of the present technological development, which pertains to advancements in transmission schemes for physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) and physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) in cellular networks, particularly within the context of fifth-generation (5G) and beyond wireless communication systems. This technological development is generally directed toward improving spectral efficiency, power utilization, and resource allocation in fragmented bandwidth scenarios, enabling enhanced throughput and coverage in modem and future cellular systems.

[0018] The examples and embodiments described herein are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the described subject matter. Certain well-known elements, protocols, and processes may be omitted or simplified for clarity, as they are readily understood by those skilled in the art. Furthermore, various modifications, rearrangements, or substitutions of components and steps may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the described subject matter, as defined by the appended claims. The described subject matter encompasses all such variations and equivalents that fall within the intended scope.

[0019] As used herein, the term “antenna” refers to a radiating element or array of radiating elements configured to transmit and / or receive radio frequency signals.

[0020] As used herein, the term “apparatus” refers to a device or combination of devices that includes circuitry configured to perform the recited operations.

[0021] As used herein, the term “carrier bandwidth” refers to a frequency span of a carrier within which one or more frequency-domain resource sets for a PUSCH transmission are defined.AG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1

[0022] As used herein, the term “code block” refers to a portion of a transport block that is separately handled for channel coding as part of the coding and modulation procedures.

[0023] As used herein, the term “code block concatenation” refers to combining multiple coded bit sequences, including sequences associated with different code blocks and / or different portions, into a coded bit sequence for mapping.

[0024] As used herein, the term “code block segmentation” refers to dividing a transport block, or a portion of a transport block, into multiple code blocks for coding.

[0025] As used herein, the term “coding and modulation procedures” refers to physical-layer processing that generates encoded bits and modulated symbols for transmission, including, where applicable, code block segmentation, cyclic redundancy check attachment, rate matching, and code block concatenation.

[0026] As used herein, the term “contribution” refers to a part-specific quantity used to determine a transport block size as a combination of contributions from respective portions under associated parameters.

[0027] As used herein, the term “computer-readable storage medium” refers to a non-transitory storage medium that stores instructions for execution by one or more processors.

[0028] As used herein, the term “cyclic redundancy check” or “CRC” refers to error-detection information that is attached to bits associated with a transport block, a code block, and / or a portion as part of the coding and modulation procedures.

[0029] As used herein, the term “cyclic redundancy check attachment” refers to appending CRC bits to a transport block, a code block, and / or a portion as part of the coding and modulation procedures.

[0030] As used herein, the term “delta value” refers to a value indicated in network signaling that is used to derive at least one modulation and coding parameter for a portion.

[0031] As used herein, the term “demodulation reference signal parameters” refers to configuration information for reference signals used for demodulationAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1of a PUSCH transmission and / or a PDSCH transmission, where the configuration information is applied per portion when recited.

[0032] As used herein, the term “encoded bits” refers to coded bits produced by the coding and modulation procedures for mapping to frequency-domain resource sets.

[0033] As used herein, the term “front-end circuitry” refers to circuitry coupled to one or more antennas and configured to support transmission and / or reception of radio frequency signals for the UE.

[0034] As used herein, the term “frequency-domain resource set” refers to a set of frequency-domain resources within a carrier bandwidth to which a portion of a PUSCH transmission is mapped.

[0035] As used herein, the term “hybrid automatic repeat request process identifier” or “HARQ process identifier” refers to an identifier used to associate retransmission processing with a portion of a PUSCH transmission when recited.

[0036] As used herein, the term “instruction” refers to machine-executable information stored on a computer-readable storage medium and configured to cause one or more processors to perform one or more recited operations.

[0037] As used herein, the term “machine-readable medium” refers to a medium that stores instructions for execution by processing circuitry, including a computer-readable storage medium.

[0038] As used herein, the term “memory” refers to one or more storage elements coupled to processing circuitry and configured to store modulation and coding parameters.

[0039] As used herein, the term “modulated symbols” refers to modulation symbols generated from encoded bits by the coding and modulation procedures for mapping to frequency-domain resource sets.

[0040] As used herein, the term “modulation and coding parameters” refers to parameters that control modulation and coding for a transmission, including parameters applied to respective portions mapped to different frequency-domain resource sets.AG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1

[0041] As used herein, the term “network signaling” refers to signaling provided by a network for configuring and / or indicating modulation and coding parameters for respective portions of a PUSCH transmission.

[0042] As used herein, the term “New Radio network” or “NR network” refers to a wireless communication network that supports NR operation for the UE.

[0043] As used herein, the term “non-contiguous” refers to frequency-domain resource sets that are separated by at least one frequency gap within a carrier bandwidth.

[0044] As used herein, the term “overhead factor” refers to a factor used for transport block size calculation, where the factor can be determined separately for each portion when recited.

[0045] As used herein, the term “physical downlink shared channel” or “PDSCH” refers to a downlink shared channel that can be transmitted as a transmission mapped to a plurality of non-contiguous frequency-domain resource sets when recited.

[0046] As used herein, the term “physical resource block” or “PRB” refers to a unit of physical-layer frequency-domain resource allocation in which a mapped transmission occupies physical resources.

[0047] As used herein, the term “physical uplink shared channel” or “PUSCH” refers to an uplink shared channel for which a transmission is mapped to a plurality of non-contiguous frequency-domain resource sets within a carrier bandwidth.

[0048] As used herein, the term “portion” refers to a part of a PUSCH transmission that is mapped to a respective frequency-domain resource set and to which associated modulation and coding parameters are applied.

[0049] As used herein, the term “processing circuitry” refers to one or more circuit elements configured to perform the recited operations, including applying modulation and coding parameters, determining transport block size, performing coding and modulation procedures, and mapping encoded bits and modulated symbols.AG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1

[0050] As used herein, the term “rate matching” refers to selecting and / or puncturing and / or repeating coded bits to fit a target number of bits for mapping, as part of the coding and modulation procedures.

[0051] As used herein, the term “spatial-frequency-time ordered mapping” refers to an ordering rule for mapping encoded bits and modulated symbols to resource elements that accounts for a spatial domain, a frequency domain, and a time domain.

[0052] As used herein, the term “transceiver circuitry” refers to circuitry coupled to processing circuitry and configured to transmit and / or receive signals via one or more antennas.

[0053] As used herein, the term “transport block size” refers to the size of a transport block determined as a combination of contributions from respective portions under their associated modulation and coding parameters.

[0054] As used herein, the term “user equipment” or “UE” refers to a communication device configured for operation in an NR network and configured to transmit a PUSCH transmission.

[0055] As used herein, the term “virtual resource block” or “VRB” refers to a logical resource block index or allocation representation used for mapping to PRBs.

[0056] As used herein, the term “VRB-to-PRB mapping” refers to the mapping of VRBs to PRBs for a portion mapped to a different frequency-domain resource set, when recited.

[0057] FIG. 1A-FIG. 14 illustrate various systems, devices, and components that may implement aspects of disclosed embodiments in different communication systems, such as LTE (EUTRA) and 5G-NR (and beyond) networks. UEs, base stations (such as gNBs), and / or other nodes (e.g., satellites or other computing nodes) discussed herein can be configured to perform the disclosed techniques.

[0058] FIG. 1 A illustrates the architecture of a network in accordance with some aspects. The communication network 140A is illustrated as including user equipment (UE) 101 and UE 102. The UE 101 and UE 102 are illustrated as smartphones (e.g., handheld touchscreen mobile computing devices connectable to one or more cellular networks) but may also include any mobile or non-AG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1mobile computing device, such as Personal Data Assistants (PDAs), pagers, laptop computers, desktop computers, wireless handsets, drones, or any other computing device including a wired and / or wireless communications interface. UE 101 and UE 102 can be collectively referred to herein as UE 101, and UE 101 can be used to perform one or more of the techniques disclosed herein.

[0059] Any of the radio links described herein (e.g., as used in the communication network 140 A or any other illustrated network) may operate according to any exemplary radio communication technology and / or standard.

[0060] LTE and LTE-Advanced are standards for high-speed wireless data communications for UEs, such as mobile telephones. In LTE-Advanced and various wireless systems, carrier aggregation is a technology that allows multiple carrier signals operating on different frequencies to be used to carry communications for a single UE, thereby increasing the bandwidth available to a single device. In some aspects, carrier aggregation may be used where one or more component carriers operate on unlicensed frequencies.

[0061] Aspects described herein can be used in the context of any spectrum management scheme, including, for example, dedicated licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, (licensed) shared spectrum (such as Licensed Shared Access (LSA) in 2.3-2.4 GHz, 3.4-3.6 GHz, 3.6-3.8 GHz, and further frequencies and Spectrum Access System (SAS) in 3.55-3.7 GHz and further frequencies).

[0062] Aspects described herein can also be applied to different Single Carrier or OFDM flavors (CP-OFDM, DFT-S-OFDM, SC-FDMA, SC-OFDM, filter bank-based multicarrier (FBMC), OFDMA, etc.) and, in particular, 3GPP NR (New Radio) by allocating the OFDM carrier data bit vectors to the corresponding symbol resources.

[0063] In some aspects, any of the UE 101 and UE 102 can include an Internet-of-Things (loT) UE or a Cellular loT (CIoT) UE, which can include a network access layer designed for low-power loT applications utilizing shortlived UE connections. In some aspects, any of the UE 101 and UE 102 can include a narrowband (NB) loT UE (e.g., an enhanced NB-IoT (eNB-IoT) UE and a Further Enhanced (FeNB-IoT) UE). An loT UE can utilize technologies such as machine-to-machine (M2M) or machine-type communications (MTC)AG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1for exchanging data with an MTC server or device via a public land mobile network (PLMN), Proximity -Based Service (ProSe), or device-to-device (D2D) communication, sensor networks, or loT networks. The M2M or MTC exchange of data may be a machine-initiated exchange of data. An loT network includes interconnecting loT UEs, which may include uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices (within the Internet infrastructure) with short-lived connections. The loT UEs may execute background applications (e.g., keepalive messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate the connections of the loT network.

[0064] In some aspects, any of the UE 101 and UE 102 can include enhanced MTC (eMTC) UEs or further enhanced MTC (FeMTC) UEs.

[0065] The UE 101 and UE 102 may be configured to connect, e.g., communicatively coupled, with a radio access network (RAN) 110. The RAN 110 may be, for example, a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), a NextGen RAN (NG RAN), or some other type of RAN. The UE 101 and UE 102 utilize connections 103 and 104, respectively, each of which includes a physical communications interface or layer (discussed in further detail below); in this example, the connections 103 and 104 are illustrated as an air interface to enable communicative coupling and can be consistent with cellular communications protocols, such as a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) protocol, a code-division multiple access (CDMA) network protocol, a Push-to-Talk (PTT) protocol, a PTT over Cellular (POC) protocol, a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) protocol, a 3 GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) protocol, a fifth-generation (5G) protocol, a New Radio (NR) protocol, and the like.

[0066] In an aspect, the UE 101 and UE 102 may further directly exchange communication data via a ProSe interface 105. The ProSe interface 105 may alternatively be referred to as a sidelink interface comprising one or more logical channels, including but not limited to a Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH), a Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH), a Physical Sidelink Discovery Channel (PSDCH), and a Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel (PSBCH).AG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1

[0067] The UE 102 is shown to be configured to access an access point (AP) 106 via connection 107. The connection 107 can include a local wireless connection, such as, for example, a connection consistent with any IEEE 802.11 protocol, according to which the AP 106 can include a wireless fidelity (WiFi) router. In this example, the AP 106 is shown to be connected to the Internet without connecting to the core network of the wireless system (described in further detail below).

[0068] The RAN 110 can include one or more access nodes that enable connections 103 and 104. These access nodes (ANs) can be referred to as base stations (BSs), NodeBs, evolved NodeBs (eNBs), Next Generation NodeBs (gNBs), RAN network nodes, and the like, and can include ground stations (e.g., terrestrial access points) or satellite stations providing coverage within a geographic area (e.g., a cell). In some aspects, communication nodes 111 and 112 can be transmission / reception points (TRPs). In instances when the communication nodes 111 and 112 are NodeBs (e.g., eNBs or gNBs), one or more TRPs can function within the communication cell of the NodeBs. The RAN 110 may include one or more RAN nodes for providing macrocells, e.g., macro RAN nodes, and one or more RAN nodes for providing femtocells or picocells (e.g., cells having smaller coverage areas, smaller user capacity, or higher bandwidth compared to macrocells), e.g., low-power (LP) RAN node or an unlicensed spectrum-based secondary RAN node.

[0069] Any of the communication nodes 111 and 112 can terminate the air interface protocol and can be the first point of contact for UE 101 and UE 102. In some aspects, any of the communication nodes 111 and 112 can fulfill various logical functions for the RAN 110, including, but not limited to, the radio network controller (RNC) functions such as radio bearer management, uplink, and downlink dynamic radio resource management, and data packet scheduling, and mobility management. In an example, any of the communication nodes 111 and / or 112 can be a new generation Node-B (gNB), an evolved node-B (eNB), or another type of RAN node.

[0070] The RAN 110 is shown to be communicatively coupled to a core network (CN) 120 via an SI interface 113. In aspects, the CN 120 may be an evolved packet core (EPC) network, a NextGen Packet Core (NPC) network, orAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1some other type of CN (e.g., as illustrated in FIGS. 1B-1C). In this aspect, the SI interface 113 is split into two parts: the Sl-U interface 114, which carries user traffic data between the communication nodes 111 and 112 and the serving gateway (S-GW) 122, and the SI -mobility management entity (MME) interface 115, which is a signaling interface between the communication nodes 111 and 112 and MMEs 121.

[0071] In this aspect, the CN 120 comprises the MMEs 121, the S-GW 122, the Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway (P-GW) 123, and a home subscriber server (HSS) 124. The MMEs 121 may be similar in function to the control plane of legacy Serving General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Support Nodes (SGSN). The MMEs 121 may manage mobility aspects in access, such as gateway selection and tracking area list management. The HSS 124 may comprise a database for network users, including subscription-related information to support the network entities' handling of communication sessions. The CN 120 may comprise one or several HSSs 124, depending on the number of mobile subscribers, the capacity of the equipment, the organization of the network, etc. For example, the HSS 124 can provide support for routing / roaming, authentication, authorization, naming / addressing resolution, location dependencies, etc.

[0072] The S-GW 122 may terminate the SI interface 113 towards the RAN 110 and route data packets between the RAN 110 and the CN 120. In addition, the S-GW 122 may be a local mobility anchor point for inter-RAN node handovers and may also provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility. Other responsibilities of the S-GW 122 may include lawful intercept, charging, and some policy enforcement.

[0073] The P-GW 123 may terminate an SGi interface toward a PDN. The P-GW 123 may route data packets between the EPC network (e.g., CN 120) and external networks, such as a network including the application server 184 (alternatively referred to as application function (AF)) via an Internet Protocol (IP) interface 125. The P-GW 123 can also communicate data to external networks 131 A, including the Internet, the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network, and other networks. Generally, the application server 184 may be an element offering applications that use IP bearer resources with the core networkAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1(e.g., UMTS Packet Services (PS) domain, LTE PS data services, etc.). In this aspect, the P-GW 123 is shown to be communicatively coupled to an application server 184 via an IP interface 125. The application server 184 can also be configured to support one or more communication services (e.g., Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) sessions, PTT sessions, group communication sessions, social networking services, etc.) for the UE 101 and UE 102 via the CN 120.

[0074] The P-GW 123 may further be a node for policy enforcement and charging data collection. Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) 126 is the policy and charging control element of the CN 120. In a non-roaming scenario, in some aspects, there may be a single PCRF in the Home Public Land Mobile Network (HPLMN) associated with a UE's Internet Protocol Connectivity Access Network (IP-CAN) session. In a roaming scenario with a local breakout of traffic, there may be two PCRFs associated with a UE's IP-CAN session: a Home PCRF (H-PCRF) within an HPLMN and a Visited PCRF (V-PCRF) within a Visited Public Land Mobile Network (VPLMN). The PCRF 126 may be communicatively coupled to the application server 184 via the P-GW 123.

[0075] In some aspects, the communication network 140 A can be an loT network or a 5G network, including a 5G new radio network using communications in the licensed (5GNR) and the unlicensed (5GNR-U) spectrum. One of the current enablers of loT is the narrowband loT (NB-IoT).

[0076] An NG system architecture can include the RAN 110 and a 5G core network (e.g., CN 120). RAN 110 in an NG system can be referred to as NG-RAN. The RAN 110 can include a plurality of nodes, such as gNBs and NG-eNBs. The CN 120 (also referred to as a 5G core network or 5GC) can include an access and mobility function (AMF) and / or a user plane function (UPF). The AMF and the UPF can be communicatively coupled to the gNBs and the NG-eNBs via NG interfaces. More specifically, in some aspects, the gNBs and the NG-eNBs can be connected to the AMF by NG-C interfaces and the UPF by NG-U interfaces. The gNBs and the NG-eNBs can be coupled to each other via Xn interfaces.

[0077] In some aspects, the NG system architecture can use reference points between various nodes as provided by 3 GPP Technical Specification (TS) 23.501 (e.g., V15.4.0, 2018-12). In some aspects, each of the gNBs and the NG-AG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1eNBs can be implemented as a base station, a mobile edge server, a small cell, a home eNB, a RAN network node, and so forth. In some aspects, a gNB can be a master node (MN), and an NG-eNB can be a secondary node (SN) in a 5G architecture. In some aspects, the master / primary node may operate in a licensed band, and the secondary node may operate in an unlicensed band.

[0078] FIG. IB illustrates a non-roaming 5G system architecture in accordance with some aspects. Referring to FIG. IB, there is illustrated a 5G system architecture 140B in a reference point representation. More specifically, UE 102 can be in communication with RAN 110 as well as one or more other 5G core (5GC) network entities. The 5G system architecture 140B includes a plurality of network functions (NFs), such as access and mobility management function (AMF) 132, location management function (LMF) 133, session management function (SMF) 136, policy control function (PCF) 148, application function (AF) 150, user plane function (UPF) 134, network slice selection function (NSSF) 142, authentication server function (AUSF) 144, and unified data management (UDM) / home subscriber server (HSS) 146. The UPF 134 can provide a connection to a data network (DN) 152, which can include, for example, operator services, Internet access, or third-party services. The AMF 132 can be used to manage access control and mobility, and can also include network slice selection functionality. The SMF 136 can be configured to set up and manage various sessions in accordance with network policy. The UPF 134 can be deployed in one or more configurations according to the desired service type. The PCF 148 can be configured to provide a policy framework using network slicing, mobility management, and roaming (similar to PCRF in a 4G communication system). The UDM can be configured to store subscriber profiles and data (similar to an HSS in a 4G communication system).

[0079] The LMF 133 may be used in connection with 5G positioning functionalities. In some aspects, LMF 133 receives measurements and assistance information from the RAN 110 and the mobile device (e.g., UE 101) via the AMF 132 over the NLs interface to compute the position of the UE 101. In some aspects, NR positioning protocol A (NRPPa) may be used to carry the positioning information between NG-RAN and LMF 133 over a next-generation control plane interface (NG-C). In some aspects, LMF 133 configures the UEAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1using the LTE positioning protocol (LPP) via AMF 132. The RAN 110 configures the UE 101 using radio resource control (RRC) protocol over LTE-Uu and NR-Uu interfaces.

[0080] In some aspects, the 5G system architecture 140B configures different reference signals to enable positioning measurements. Example reference signals that may be used for positioning measurements include the positioning reference signal (NR PRS) in the downlink and the sounding reference signal (SRS) for positioning in the uplink. The downlink positioning reference signal (PRS) is a reference signal configured to support downlink-based positioning methods.

[0081] In some aspects, the 5G system architecture 140B includes an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) 168B as well as a plurality of IP multimedia core network subsystem entities, such as call session control functions (CSCFs). More specifically, the IMS 168B includes a CSCF, which can act as a proxy CSCF (P-CSCF) 162B, a serving CSCF (S-CSCF) 164B, an emergency CSCF (E-CSCF) (not illustrated in FIG. IB), or an interrogating CSCF (I-CSCF) 166B. The P-CSCF 162B can be configured to be the first contact point for the UE 102 within the IMS 168B. The S-CSCF 164B can be configured to handle the session states in the network, and the E-CSCF can be configured to handle certain aspects of emergency sessions, such as routing an emergency request to the correct emergency center or PSAP. The I-CSCF 166B can be configured to function as the contact point within an operator's network for all IMS connections destined to a subscriber of that network operator or a roaming subscriber currently located within that network operator's service area. In some aspects, the I-CSCF 166B can be connected to another IP multimedia network 170, e.g., an IMS operated by a different network operator.

[0082] In some aspects, the UDM / HSS 146 can be coupled to an application server (AS) 160B, which can include a telephony application server (TAS) or another AS. The AS 160B can be coupled to the IMS 168B via the S-CSCF 164B or the I-CSCF 166B.

[0083] A reference point representation shows that interaction can exist between corresponding NF services. For example, FIG. IB illustrates the following reference points: N1 (between the UE 102 and the AMF 132), N2AG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1(between the RAN 110 and the AMF 132), N3 (between the RAN 110 and the UPF 134), N4 (between the SMF 136 and the UPF 134), N5 (between the PCF 148 and the AF 150, not shown), N6 (between the UPF 134 and the DN 152), N7 (between the SMF 136 and the PCF 148, not shown), N8 (between the UDM / HSS 146 and the AMF 132, not shown), N9 (between two UPFs, not shown), N10 (between the UDM / HSS 146 and the SMF 136, not shown), Nil (between the AMF 132 and the SMF 136, not shown), N12 (between the AUSF 144 and the AMF 132, not shown), N13 (between the AUSF 144 and the UDM / HSS 146, not shown), N14 (between two AMFs, not shown), N15 (between the PCF 148 and the AMF 132 in case of a non-roaming scenario, or between the PCF 148 and a visited network and AMF 132 in case of a roaming scenario, not shown), N16 (between two SMFs, not shown), and N22 (between AMF 132 and NSSF 142, not shown). Other reference point representations not shown in FIG. IB can also be used.

[0084] FIG. 1C illustrates a 5G system architecture 140C and a service-based representation. In addition to the network entities illustrated in FIG. IB, the 5G system architecture 140C can also include a network exposure function (NEF) 154 and a network repository function (NRF) 156. In some aspects, 5G system architectures can be service-based, and interaction between network functions can be represented by corresponding point-to-point reference points Ni or as service-based interfaces.

[0085] In some aspects, as illustrated in FIG. 1C, service-based representations can be used to represent network functions within the control plane that enable other authorized network functions to access their services. In this regard, 5G system architecture 140C can include the following servicebased interfaces: Namf 158H (a service-based interface exhibited by the AMF 132), Nsmf 1581 (a service-based interface exhibited by the SMF 136), Nnef 158B (a service-based interface exhibited by the NEF 154), Npcf 158D (a service-based interface exhibited by the PCF 148), a Nudm 158E (a servicebased interface exhibited by the UDM / HSS 146), Naf 158F (a service-based interface exhibited by the AF 150), Nnrf 158C (a service-based interface exhibited by the NRF 156), Nnssf 158A (a service-based interface exhibited by the NSSF 142), Nausf 158G (a service-based interface exhibited by the AUSFAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1144). Other service-based interfaces (e.g., Nudr, N5g-eir, and Nudsf) not shown in FIG. 1C can also be used.

[0086] FIG. 2 depicts an example network architecture 200. The network architecture 200 may operate in a manner consistent with 3GPP technical specifications for LTE or 5G / NR systems and can implement the disclosed techniques (e.g., the disclosed techniques can be configured / implemented by one or more devices operating within the network architecture 200). However, the example embodiments are not limited in this regard, and the described examples may apply to other networks that benefit from the principles described herein, such as future 3 GPP systems or the like.

[0087] The network architecture 200 includes a UE 202, which is any mobile or non-mobile computing device designed to communicate with a RAN 204 via an over-the-air connection. The UE 202 is communicatively coupled with the RAN 204 by a Uu interface, which may be applicable to both LTE and NR systems. Examples of the UE 202 include, but are not limited to, a smartphone, tablet computer, wearable device (e.g., smart watch, fitness tracker, smart glasses, smart clothing / fabrics, head-mounted displays, smart shoes, and / or the like), desktop computer, workstation, laptop computer, in-vehicle infotainment system, in-car entertainment system, instrument cluster, head-up display (HUD) device, onboard diagnostic device, dashtop mobile equipment, mobile data terminal, electronic engine management system, electronic / engine control unit, electronic / engine control module, embedded system, sensor, microcontroller, control module, engine management system, networked appliance, machine-type communication device, machine-to-machine (M2M), device-to-device (D2D), machine-type communication (MTC) device, Internet of Things (loT) device, smart appliance, flying drone or unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), terrestrial drone or autonomous vehicle, robot, electronic signage, single-board computer (SBC) (e.g., Raspberry Pi, Arduino, Intel Edison, and the like), plug computers, and / or any type of computing device such as any of those discussed herein.

[0088] Additionally or alternatively, the UE 202 can be a reduced capability (RedCap) UE, which is a UE with reduced capabilities as specified in clause 4.2.21.1 in 3GPP TS 38.306 vl7.4.0 (2023-03-30) (“[TS38306]”).AG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1

[0089] The network architecture 200 may include a set of UEs 202 coupled directly with one another via a D2D, ProSe, PC5, and / or SL interface, and / or any other suitable interface such as any of those discussed herein. These UEs 202 may be M2M / D2D / MTC / IoT devices and / or vehicular systems that communicate using physical sidelink channels such as, but not limited to, PSBCH, PSDCH, PSSCH, PSCCH, PSFCH, and the like. The UE 202 may perform blind decoding attempts of SL channel s / links according to the various examples herein.

[0090] In some examples, the UE 202 may additionally communicate with an AP 206 via an over-the-air (OTA) connection. The AP 206 manages a WLAN connection, which may serve to offload some or all network traffic from the RAN 204. The connection between the UE 202 and the AP 206 may be consistent with any IEEE 802.11 protocol. Additionally, the UE 202, RAN 204, and AP 206 may utilize cellular-WLAN aggregation / integration (e.g., LWA / LWIP). Cellular-WLAN aggregation may involve the UE 202 being configured by the RAN 204 to utilize both cellular radio resources and WLAN resources.

[0091] The RAN 204 includes one or more access network nodes (ANs) 208. The ANs 208 terminate air interface(s) for the UE 202 by providing access to stratum protocols, including RRC, PDCP, RLC, MAC, and PHY / L1 protocols. In this manner, the AN 208 enables data / voice connectivity between CN 220 and the UE 202. The ANs 208 may be a macrocell base station or a low-power base station for providing femtocells, picocells, or other like cells having smaller coverage areas, smaller user capacity, or higher bandwidth compared to macrocells, or some combination thereof. In these implementations, an AN 208 can be referred to as a BS, gNB, RAN node, eNB, ng-eNB, NodeB, RSU, TRxP, and the like.

[0092] One example implementation is a “CU / DU split” architecture where the ANs 208 are embodied as a gNB-Central Unit (CU) that is communicatively coupled with one or more gNB -Distributed Units (DUs), where each DU may be communicatively coupled with one or more Radio Units (RUs) (also referred to as RRHs, RRUs, or the like) (see e.g., [TS38401]). In some implementations, the one or more RUs may be individual RSUs. In some implementations, theAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1CU / DU split may include an ng-eNB-CU and one or more ng-eNB-DUs instead of, or in addition to, the gNB-CU and gNB-DUs, respectively. The ANs 208 employed as the CU may be implemented in a discrete device or as one or more software entities running on server computers as part of, for example, a virtual network including a virtual Base Band Unit (BBU) or BBU pool, cloud RAN (CRAN), Radio Equipment Controller (REC), Radio Cloud Center (RCC), centralized RAN (C-RAN), virtualized RAN (vRAN), and / or the like (although these terms may refer to different implementation concepts). Any other type of architecture, arrangement, and / or configurations can be used.

[0093] The set of ANs may be coupled with one another via an X2 interface (if the RAN 204 is an LTE RAN or Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) 210) or an Xn interface (if the RAN 204 is an NG-RAN 214). The X2 / Xn interfaces, which may be separated into control / user plane interfaces in some examples, may allow the ANs to communicate information related to handovers, data / context transfers, mobility, load management, interference coordination, and the like.

[0094] The ANs of the RAN 204 may each manage one or more cells, cell groups, component carriers, and the like to provide the UE 202 with an air interface for network access. The UE 202 may be simultaneously connected with a set of cells provided by the same or different ANs 208 of the RAN 204. For example, the UE 202 and RAN 204 may use carrier aggregation to allow the UE 202 to connect with a set of component carriers, each corresponding to a Pcell or Scell. In dual connectivity scenarios, a first AN 208 may be a master node that provides an MCG, and a second AN 208 may be a secondary node that provides an SCG. The first / second ANs 208 may be any combination of eNB, gNB, ng-eNB, and the like.

[0095] The RAN 204 may provide the air interface over a licensed spectrum or an unlicensed spectrum. To operate in the unlicensed spectrum, the nodes may use LAA, eLAA, and / or feLAA mechanisms based on CA technology with PCells / Scells. Prior to accessing the unlicensed spectrum, the nodes may perform medium / carrier-sensing operations based on, for example, a listen-before-talk (LBT) protocol.AG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1

[0096] Additionally or alternatively, individual UEs 202 provide radio information to one or more ANs 208 and / or one or more edge compute nodes (e.g., edge servers / hosts and the like). The radio information may be in the form of one or more measurement reports and may include, for example, signal strength measurements, signal quality measurements, and / or the like. Each measurement report is tagged with a timestamp and the location of the measurement (e.g., the UE’s 202 current location). As examples, the measurements collected by the UEs 202 and / or included in the measurement reports may include one or more of the following: bandwidth (BW), network or cell load, latency jitter, round trip time (RTT), number of interrupts, out-of-order delivery of data packets, transmission power, bit error rate, bit error ratio (BER), Block Error Rate (BLER), packet error ratio (PER), packet loss rate, packet reception rate (PRR), data rate, peak data rate, end-to-end (e2e) delay, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), signal-to-noise and interference ratio (SINR), signal-plus-noise-plus-distortion to noise-plus-distortion (SINAD) ratio, carrier-to-interference plus noise ratio (CINR), Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN), energy per bit to noise power density ratio (Eb / NO), energy per chip to interference power density ratio (Ec / 10), energy per chip to noise power density ratio (Ec / NO), peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR), reference signal received power (RSRP), Reference Signal Received Path Power (RSRPP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), received signal strength indicator (RS SI), received channel power indicator (RCPI), received signal to noise indicator (RSNI), Received Signal Code Power (RSCP), reference signal carrier phase (RSCP), reference signal carrier phase difference (RSCPD), carrier phase positioning (CPP), Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD), Sidelink Synchronization Signal Block (S-SSB) measurements including SSB RP (Received (linear) average power of the resource elements that carry NR SSB signals and channels, measured at the UE antenna connector or radiated interface boundary) and / or the like, Relative Time Difference (RTD), receiver (Rx) time delay, Rx Timing Error, transmitter (Tx) time delay, Tx Timing Error, NR E-CID, Observed Time Difference Of Arrival (OTDOA), average noise plus interference (ANPI), GNSS timing of cell frames for UE positioning for E-UTRAN or 5G / NR (e.g., a timing between an AP or RAN node reference time and a GNSS-specific reference time for a given GNSS), GNSS codeAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1measurements (e.g., the GNSS code phase (integer and fractional parts) of the spreading code of the ith GNSS satellite signal), GNSS carrier phase measurements (e.g., the number of carrier-phase cycles (integer and fractional parts) of the ith GNSS satellite signal, measured since locking onto the signal; also called Accumulated Delta Range (ADR)), channel interference measurements, thermal noise power measurements, received interference power measurements, power histogram measurements, channel load measurements, STA statistics, and / or other like measurements. The RSRP, RSSI, and / or RSRQ measurements may include RSRP, RSSI, and / or RSRQ measurements of cellspecific reference signals, channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS), and / or synchronization signals (SS) or SS blocks for 3GPP networks (e.g., LTE or 5G / NR), and RSRP, RSSI, RSRQ, RCPI, RSNI, and / or ANPI measurements of various beacon, Fast Initial Link Setup (FILS) discovery frames, or probe response frames for WLAN / WiFi (e.g., [IEEE80211]) networks. Other measurements may be additionally or alternatively used, such as those discussed in 3GPP TS 36.214 vl7.0.0 (2022-03-31) (“[TS36214]”), 3GPP TS 38.215 V17.3.0 (2023-03-30) (“[TS38215]”), 3GPP TS 38.314 vl7.2.0 (2023-01-13) (“[TS38314]”), IEEE Standard for Information Technology- Telecommunications and Information Exchange between Systems - Local and Metropolitan Area Networks— Specific Requirements - Part 11 : Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications, IEEE Std 802.11-2020, pp. 1-4379 (26 Feb. 2021) (“[IEEE80211]”), and / or the like. Additionally or alternatively, any of the measurements above (or a combination of measurements) may be collected by one or more ANs 208 and provided to the edge compute node(s).

[0097] Additionally or alternatively, the measurements can include one or more of the following measurements: measurements related to Data Radio Bearer (DRB) (e.g., number of DRBs attempted to be set up, number of DRBs successfully set up, number of released active DRBs, in-session activity time for DRB, number of DRBs attempted to be resumed, number of DRBs successfully resumed, and the like); measurements related to Radio Resource Control (RRC) (e.g., mean number of RRC connections, maximum number of RRC connections, mean number of stored inactive RRC connections, maximum number of stored inactive RRC connections, number of attempted, successful,AG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1and / or failed RRC connection establishments, and the like); measurements related to UE Context (UECNTX); measurements related to Radio Resource Utilization (RRU) (e.g., DL total PRB usage, UL total PRB usage, distribution of DL total PRB usage, distribution of UL total PRB usage, DL PRB used for data traffic, UL PRB used for data traffic, DL total available PRBs, UL total available PRBs, and the like); measurements related to Registration Management (RM); measurements related to Session Management (SM) (e.g., number of PDU sessions requested to be set up; number of PDU sessions successfully set up; number of PDU sessions failed to be set up, and the like); measurements related to GTP Management (GTP); measurements related to IP Management (IP); measurements related to Policy Association (PA); measurements related to Mobility Management (MM) (e.g., for inter-RAT, intra-RAT, and / or Intra / Inter-frequency handovers and / or conditional handovers: number of requested, successful, and / or failed handover preparations; number of requested, successful, and / or failed handover resource allocations; number of requested, successful, and / or failed handover executions; mean and / or maximum time of requested handover executions; number of successful and / or failed handover executions per beam pair, and the like); measurements related to Virtualized Resource(s) (VR); measurements related to Carrier (CARR); measurements related to QoS Flows (QF) (e.g., number of released active QoS flows, number of QoS flows attempted to release, in-session activity time for QoS flow, in-session activity time for a UE 202, number of QoS flows attempted to set up, number of QoS flows successfully established, number of QoS flows failed to set up, number of initial QoS flows attempted to set up, number of initial QoS flows successfully established, number of initial QoS flows failed to set up, number of QoS flows attempted to modify, number of QoS flows successfully modified, number of QoS flows failed to modify, and the like); measurements related to Application Triggering (AT); measurements related to Short Message Service (SMS); measurements related to Power, Energy and Environment (PEE); measurements related to NF service (NFS); measurements related to Packet Flow Description (PFD); measurements related to Random Access Channel (RACH); measurements related to Measurement Report (MR); measurements related to Layer 1 Measurement (L1M); measurements related to Network Slice Selection (NSS); measurements related to Paging (PAG); measurements related to Non-IPAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1Data Delivery (NIDD); measurements related to external parameter provisioning (EPP); measurements related to traffic influence (TI); measurements related to Connection Establishment (CE); measurements related to Service Parameter Provisioning (SPP); measurements related to Background Data Transfer Policy (BDTP); measurements related to Data Management (DM); and / or any other performance measurements such as those discussed in 3GPP TS 28.552 vl7.3.1 (2021-06-24) (“[TS28552]”), 3GPP TS 32.425 vl7.1.0 (2021-06-24) (“[TS32425]”), and / or the like.

[0098] The radio information may be reported in response to a trigger event and / or on a periodic basis. Additionally or alternatively, individual UEs 202 report radio information either at a low periodicity or a high periodicity depending on a data transfer that is to take place and / or other information about the data transfer. Additionally or alternatively, the edge compute node(s) may request the measurements from the ANs 208 at low or high periodicity, or the ANs 208 may provide the measurements to the edge compute node(s) at low or high periodicity. Additionally or alternatively, the edge compute node(s) may obtain other relevant data from other edge compute node(s), core network functions (NFs), application functions (AFs), and / or other UEs 202 such as Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), with the measurement reports or separately from the measurement reports.

[0099] Additionally or alternatively, in cases where there is a discrepancy in the observation data from one or more UEs, one or more RAN nodes, and / or core network NFs (e.g., missing reports, erroneous data, and the like), simple imputations may be performed to supplement the obtained observation data, such as, for example, substituting values from previous reports and / or historical data, applying an extrapolation filter, and / or the like. Additionally or alternatively, acceptable bounds for the observation data may be predetermined or configured. For example, CQI and MCS measurements may be configured to only be within ranges defined by suitable 3GPP standards. In cases where a reported data value does not make sense (e.g., it exceeds an acceptable range or bounds), such values may be dropped for the current learning / training episode or epoch. For example, during packet delivery, delay bounds may be defined orAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1configured, and packets determined to have been received after the delay bound may be dropped.

[0100] The UE 202 can also perform reference signal (RS) measurement and reporting procedures to provide the network with information about the quality of one or more wireless channels and / or the communication media in general, and this information can be used to optimize various aspects of the communication system. As examples, the measurement and reporting procedures performed by the UE 202 can include those discussed in 3GPP TS 38.211 V17.4.0 (2023-01-04) (“[TS38211]”), 3GPP TS 38.212 vl7.4.0 (2023-01-04) (“[TS38212]”), 3GPP TS 38.213 vl7.4.0 (2023-01-04) (“[TS38213]”), 3GPP TS 38.214 vl7.4.0 (2023-01-04) (“[TS38214]”), [TS38215], 3GPP TS 38.101-1 V18.0.0 (2023-01-12) (“[TS38.101-1]”), 3GPP TS 38.104 vl8.0.0 (2023-01-10) (“[TS38104]”), 3GPP TS 38.133 vl8.0.0 (2023-01-12) (“[TS38133]”), [TS38331], and / or the like. The physical signals and / or Rscan include demodulation reference signals (DM-RS), phase-tracking reference signals (PT-RS), positioning reference signal (PRS), channel-state information reference signal (CSI-RS), synchronization signal block (SSB), primary synchronization signal (PSS), secondary synchronization signal (SSS), and sounding reference signal (SRS).

[0101] In any of the examples discussed herein, any suitable data collection and / or measurement mechanism(s) may be used to collect the observation data. For example, data marking (e.g., sequence numbering and the like), packet tracing, signal measurement, data sampling, and / or timestamping techniques may be used to determine any of the aforementioned metrics / observations. The collection of data may be based on the occurrence of events that trigger the collection of the data. Additionally or alternatively, data collection may take place at the initiation or termination of an event. The data collection can be continuous, discontinuous, and / or have start and stop times. The data collection techniques / mechanisms may be specific to an HW configuration / implementation or non-HW-specific or may be based on various software parameters (e.g., OS type and version, and the like). Various configurations may be used to define any of the aforementioned data collection parameters. Such configurations may be defined by suitable specifications / standards, such as 3GPP (e.g., [SA6Edge]),AG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1ETSI (e.g., [MEC]), O-RAN (e.g., [O-RAN]), Intel® Smart Edge Open (formerly OpenNESS) (e.g., [ISEO]), IETF (e.g., MAMS [RFC8743]), lEEE / WiFi (e.g., [IEEE80211], [WiMAX], [IEEE16090], and the like), and / or any other like standards such as those discussed herein.

[0102] In V2X scenarios, the UE 202 or AN 208 may be or act as a roadside unit (RSU), which may refer to any transportation infrastructure entity used for V2X communications. An RSU may be implemented in or by a suitable AN or a stationary (or relatively stationary) UE. An RSU implemented in or by a UE may be referred to as a “UE-type RSU”; an eNB may be referred to as an “eNB-type RSU”; a gNB may be referred to as a “gNB-type RSU”; and the like. In one example, an RSU is a computing device coupled with radio frequency circuitry located on a roadside that provides connectivity support to passing vehicle UEs. The RSU may also include internal data storage circuitry to store intersection map geometry, traffic statistics, and media, as well as applications / software to sense and control ongoing vehicular and pedestrian traffic. The RSU may provide very low-latency communications required for high-speed events, such as crash avoidance, traffic warnings, and the like.Additionally or alternatively, the RSU may provide other cellular / WLAN communications services. The components of the RSU may be packaged in a weatherproof enclosure suitable for outdoor installation and may include a network interface controller to provide a wired connection (e.g., Ethernet) to a traffic signal controller or a backhaul network. Furthermore, one or more V2X RATs may be employed, which allow V2X nodes to communicate directly with one another, with infrastructure equipment (e.g., AN 208), and / or other devices / nodes. In some implementations, at least two distinct V2X RATs may be used, including WLAN V2X (W-V2X) RATs based on IEEE V2X technologies (e.g., DSRC for the U.S. and ITS-G5 for Europe) and cellular V2X (C-V2X) RATs based on 3GPP V2X technologies (e.g., LTE V2X, 5G / NR V2X, and beyond). In one example, the C-V2X RAT may utilize a C-V2X air interface, and the WLAN V2X RAT may utilize a W-V2X air interface.

[0103] The W-V2X RATs include, for example, IEEE Guide for Wireless Access in Vehicular Environments (WAVE) Architecture, IEEE Standards Association, IEEE 1609.0-2019 (10 Apr. 2019) (“[IEEE16090]”), V2XAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1Communications Message Set Dictionary, SAE Int’l (23 Jul. 2020) (“[J2735_202007]”), Intelligent Transport Systems in the 5 GHz frequency band (ITS-G5), the [IEEE8021 Ip] (which is the layer 1 (LI) and layer 2 (L2) part of WAVE, DSRC, and ITS-G5), and / or IEEE Standard for Air Interface for Broadband Wireless Access Systems, IEEE Std 802.16-2017, pp. 1-2726 (02 Mar. 2018) (“[WiMAX]”). The term “DSRC” refers to vehicular communications in the 5.9 GHz frequency band that is generally used in the United States, while “ITS-G5” refers to vehicular communications in the 5.9 GHz frequency band in Europe. Since any number of different RATs are applicable (including [IEEE8021 Ip] RATs) that may be used in any geographic or political region, the terms “DSRC” (used, among other regions, in the U.S.) and “ITS-G5” (used, among other regions, in Europe) may be used interchangeably throughout this disclosure. The access layer for the ITS-G5 interface is outlined in ETSI EN 302663 VI.3.1 (2020-01) (hereinafter “[EN302663]”) and describes the access layer of the ITS-S reference architecture. The ITS-G5 access layer comprises [IEEE80211] (which now incorporates [IEEE8021 Ip]), as well as features for Decentralized Congestion Control (DCC) methods discussed in ETSI TS 102687 VI.2.1 (2018-04) (“[TS102687]”). The access layer for 3GPP LTE-V2X based interface(s) is outlined in, inter alia, ETSI EN 303 613 VI.1.1 (2020-01), 3GPP TS 23.285 V16.2.0 (2019-12); and 3GPP 5G / NR-V2X is outlined in, inter alia, 3GPP TR 23.786 V16.1.0 (2019-06) and 3GPP TS 23.287 vl8.0.0 (2023-03-31) (“[TS23287]”).

[0104] In examples where the RAN 204 is an E-UTRAN 210 with one or more eNBs 212, the E-UTRAN 210 provides an LTE air interface (Uu) with the parameters and characteristics at least as discussed in 3GPP TS 36.300 vl7.2.0 (2022-09-30) (“[TS36300]”). In examples where the RAN 204 is a nextgeneration (NG)-RAN 214 with a set of gNBs 216. Each gNB 216 connects with 5G-enabled UEs 202 using a 5G-NR air interface (also referred to as the Uu interface), with parameters and characteristics as discussed in [TS38300], among many other 3GPP standards. Where the NG-RAN 214 includes a set of ng-eNBs 218, the one or more ng-eNBs 218 connect with a UE 202 via the 5G Uu and / or LTE Uu interface. The gNBs 216 and the ng-eNBs 218 connect with the 5GC 240 through respective NG interfaces, which include an N2 interface, an N3AG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1interface, and / or other interfaces. The gNB 216 and the ng-eNB 218 are connected over an Xn interface. Additionally, individual gNBs 216 are connected via respective Xn interfaces, and individual ng-eNBs 218 are connected via respective Xn interfaces. In some examples, the NG interface may be split into two parts: an NG user plane (NG-U) interface, which carries traffic data between the nodes of the NG-RAN 214 and a UPF 248 (e.g., N3 interface), and an NG control plane (NG-C) interface, which is a signaling interface between the nodes of the NG-RAN 214 and an AMF 244 (e.g., N2 interface).

[0105] The NG-RAN 214 may provide a 5G-NR air interface (which may also be referred to as a Uu interface) with the following characteristics: variable SCS; CP-OFDM for DL, CP-OFDM, and DFT-s-OFDM for UL; polar, repetition, simplex, and Reed-Muller codes for control and LDPC for data. The 5G-NR air interface may rely on CSI-RS, PDSCH / PDCCH DMRS, similar to the LTE air interface. The 5G-NR air interface may not use a CRS but may use PBCH DMRS for PBCH demodulation, PTRS for phase tracking for PDSCH, and a tracking reference signal for time tracking. The 5G-NR air interface may operate on FR1 bands that include bands from 410 MHz to 7125 MHz or FR2 bands that include bands from 24.25 GHz to 71 GHz. The 5G-NR air interface may include an SSB, which is an area of a downlink resource grid that includes PSS / SSS / PBCH.

[0106] The 5G-NR air interface may utilize BWPs for various purposes. For example, BWP can be used to adapt the SCS dynamically. For example, the UE 202 can be configured with multiple BWPs, with each BWP configuration having a different SCS. When a BWP change is indicated to the UE 202, the SCS of the transmission is changed as well. Another use case example of BWP is related to power saving. In particular, multiple BWPs can be configured for the UE 202 with different amounts of frequency resources (e.g., PRBs) to support data transmission under different traffic loading scenarios. A BWP containing a smaller number of PRBs can be used for data transmission with a small traffic load while allowing power saving at the UE 202 and, in some cases, at the gNB 216. A BWP containing a larger number of PRBs can be used for scenarios with higher traffic load.AG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1

[0107] In some implementations, individual gNBs 216 can include a gNB-CU and a set of gNB-DUs. Additionally or alternatively, gNBs 216 can include one or more RUs. In these implementations, the gNB-CU may be connected to each gNB-DU via respective Fl interfaces. In the case of network sharing with multiple cell ID broadcasts, each cell identity associated with a subset of PLMNs corresponds to a gNB-DU, and the gNB-CU is connected to share the same physical layer of cell resources. For resiliency, a gNB-DU may be connected to multiple gNB-CUs by an appropriate implementation. Additionally, a gNB-CU can be separated into gNB-CU control plane (gNB-CU-CP) and gNB-CU user plane (gNB-CU-UP) functions. The gNB-CU-CP is connected to a gNB-DU through an Fl control plane interface (Fl-C), the gNB-CU-UP is connected to the gNB-DU through an Fl user plane interface (Fl-U), and the gNB-CU-UP is connected to the gNB-CU-CP through an El interface. In some implementations, one gNB-DU is connected to only one gNB-CU-CP, and one gNB-CU-UP is connected to only one gNB-CU-CP. For resiliency, a gNB-DU and / or a gNB-CU-UP may be connected to multiple gNB-CU-CPs by an appropriate implementation. One gNB-DU can be connected to multiple gNB-CU-UPs under the control of the same gNB-CU-CP, and one gNB-CU-UP can be connected to multiple DUs under the control of the same gNB-CU-CP. Data forwarding between gNB-CU-UPs during intra-gNB-CU-CP handover within a gNB may be supported by Xn-U.

[0108] Similarly, individual ng-eNBs 218 can include an ng-eNB-CU and a set of ng-eNB-DUs. In these implementations, the ng-eNB-CU and each ng-eNB-DU are connected via respective W 1 interfaces. An ng-eNB can include an ng-eNB-CU-CP, one or more ng-eNB-CU-UP(s), and one or more ng-eNB-DU(s). An ng-eNB-CU-CP and an ng-eNB-CU-UP are connected via the El interface. An ng-eNB-DU is connected to an ng-eNB-CU-CP via the Wl-C interface and to an ng-eNB-CU-UP via the Wl-U interface. The general principle described herein with respect to gNB aspects also applies to ng-eNB aspects and corresponding El and W1 interfaces if not explicitly specified otherwise.

[0109] The node hosting the user plane part of the PDCP protocol layer (e.g., gNB-CU, gNB-CU-UP, and for EN-DC, MeNB, or SgNB, depending on theAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1bearer split) performs user inactivity monitoring. Further, it informs its inactivity or (re)activation to the node having a control plane connection towards the core network (e.g., over El, X2, or the like). The node hosting the RLC protocol layer (e.g., gNB-DU) may perform user inactivity monitoring and further inform its inactivity or (re)activation to the node hosting the control plane (e.g., gNB-CU or gNB-CU-CP).

[0110] In these implementations, the NG-RAN 214 is layered into a Radio Network Layer (RNL) and a Transport Network Layer (TNL). The NG-RAN 214 architecture (e.g., the NG-RAN logical nodes and interfaces between them) is part of the RNL. For each NG-RAN interface (e.g., NG, Xn, Fl, and the like), the related TNL protocol and the functionality are specified, for example, in [TS 38.401], The TNL provides services for user plane transport and / or signaling transport. In NG-Flex configurations, each NG-RAN node is connected to all AMFs, 244 of which are AMF sets within an AMF region, supporting at least one slice, also supported by the NG-RAN node. The AMF Set and the AMF Region are defined in [TS 23.501],

[0111] The RAN 204 is communicatively coupled to CN 220, which includes network elements and / or network functions (NFs) to provide various functions to support data and telecommunications services to customers / subscribers (e.g., UE 202). The components of the CN 220 may be implemented in one physical node or separate physical nodes. In some examples, NFV may be utilized to virtualize any or all of the functions provided by the network elements of the CN 220 onto physical compute / storage resources in servers, switches, and the like. A logical instantiation of the CN 220 may be referred to as a network slice, and a logical instantiation of a portion of the CN 220 may be referred to as a network subslice.

[0112] The CN 220 may be an LTE CN 220 (also referred to as an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) 222). The EPC 222 may include MME 224, SGW 226, SGSN 228, HSS 230, PGW 232, and PCRF 234 coupled with one another over interfaces (or “reference points”) as shown. The NFs in the EPC 222 are briefly introduced as follows.

[0113] The MME 224 implements mobility management functions to track the current location of the UE 202 to facilitate paging, bearerAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1activation / deactivation, handovers, gateway selection, authentication, and the like. The SGW 226 terminates an SI interface toward the RAN 210 and routes data packets between the RAN 210 and the EPC 222. The SGW 226 may be a local mobility anchor point for inter-RAN node handovers and may also provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility. Other responsibilities may include lawful intercept, charging, and some policy enforcement. The SGSN 228 tracks the location of the UE 202 and performs security functions and access control. The SGSN 228 also performs inter-EPC node signaling for mobility between different RAT networks; PDN and S-GW selection as specified by MME 224; MME 224 selection for handovers; and the like. The S3 reference point between the MME 224 and the SGSN 228 enables user and bearer information exchange for inter-3GPP access network mobility in idle / active states. The HSS 230 includes a database for network users, including subscription-related information to support the network entities’ handling of communication sessions. The HSS 230 can provide support for routing / roaming, authentication, authorization, naming / addressing resolution, location dependencies, and the like. An S6a reference point between the HSS 230 and the MME 224 may enable the transfer of subscription and authentication data for authenticating / authorizing user access to the EPC 222. The PGW 232 may terminate an SGi interface toward a data network (DN) 236 that may include an application (app) / content server 238. The PGW 232 routes data packets between the EPC 222 and the data network 236. The PGW 232 is communicatively coupled with the SGW 226 by an S5 reference point to facilitate user plane tunneling and tunnel management. The PGW 232 may further include a node for policy enforcement and charging data collection (e.g., PCEF). Additionally, the SGi reference point may communicatively couple the PGW 232 with the same or different data network 236. The PGW 232 may be communicatively coupled with a PCRF 234 via a Gx reference point. The PCRF 234 is the policy and charging control element of the EPC 222. The PCRF 234 is communicatively coupled to the app / content server 238 to determine appropriate QoS and charging parameters for service flows. The PCRF 234 also provisions associated rules into a PCEF (via Gx reference point) with appropriate TFT and QCI.

[0114] The CN 220 may be a 5GC 240, including an AUSF 242, AMF 244, SMF 246, UPF 248, NSSF 250, NEF 252, NRF 254, PCF 256, UDM 258, andAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1AF 260 coupled with one another over various interfaces as shown. The NFs in the 5GC 240 are briefly introduced as follows.

[0115] The AUSF 242 stores data for UE 202 authentication and handles authentication-related functionality. The AUSF 242 may facilitate a common authentication framework for various access types.

[0116] The AMF 244 allows other functions of the 5GC 240 to communicate with the UE 202 and the RAN 204, and to subscribe to notifications about mobility events for the UE 202. The AMF 244 is also responsible for registration management (e.g., UE 202 registration), connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception of AMF-related events, and access authentication and authorization. The AMF 244 provides transport for SM messages between the UE 202 and the SMF 246 and acts as a transparent proxy for routing SM messages. The AMF 244 also provides transport for SMS messages between the UE 202 and an SMSF. The AMF 244 interacts with the AUSF 242 and the UE 202 to perform various security-anchor and context-management functions. Furthermore, the AMF 244 is a termination point for a RAN-CP interface, which includes the N2 reference point between the RAN 204 and the AMF 244. The AMF 244 is also a termination point of NAS (Nl) signaling and performs NAS ciphering and integrity protection.

[0117] AMF 244 also supports NAS signaling with the UE 202 over an N3IWF interface. The N3IWF provides access to untrusted entities. N3IWF may be a termination point for the N2 interface between the RAN 204 and the AMF 244 for the control plane, and may be a termination point for the N3 reference point between the RAN 214 and the UPF 248 for the user plane. As such, the AMF 244 handles N2 signaling from the SMF 246 and the AMF 244 for PDU sessions and quality of service, encapsulates / de-encapsulates packets for IPSec and N3 tunneling, marks N3 user-plane packets in the uplink, and enforces quality of service corresponding to N3 packet marking taking into account quality of service requirements associated with such marking received over N2. N3IWF may also relay UL and DL control-plane NAS signaling between the UE 202 and AMF 244 via an Nl reference point between the UE 202 and the AMF 244, and relay uplink and downlink user-plane packetsAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1between the UE 202 and UPF 248. The N3IWF also provides mechanisms for IPsec tunnel establishment with the UE 202. The AMF 244 may exhibit a Namf service-based interface and may be a termination point for an N14 reference point between two AMFs 244 and an N17 reference point between the AMF 244 and a 5G-EIR (not shown by FIG. 2).

[0118] The SMF 246 is responsible for SM (e.g., session establishment, tunnel management between UPF 248 and AN 208); UE IP address allocation and management (including optional authorization); selection and control of UP function; configuring traffic steering at UPF 248 to route traffic to the proper destination; termination of interfaces toward policy control functions; controlling part of policy enforcement, charging, and quality of service; lawful intercept (for SM events and interface to LI system); termination of SM parts of NAS messages; downlink data notification; initiating AN-specific SM information, sent via AMF 244 over N2 to AN 208; and determining SSC mode of a session. SM refers to the management of a PDU session, and a PDU session or “session” refers to a PDU connectivity service that provides or enables the exchange of PDUs between the UE 202 and the DN 236. The SMF 246 may also include the following functionalities to support edge computing enhancements (see, e.g., [TS23548]): selection of EASDF 261 and provision of its address to the UE as the DNS server for the PDU session; usage of EASDF 261 services as defined in [TS23548]; and for supporting the application layer architecture defined in [TS23558], provision and updates of ECS address configuration information to the UE. Discovery and selection procedures for EASDFs 261 are discussed in [TS23501] § 6.3.23.

[0119] The UPF 248 acts as an anchor point for intra-RAT and inter-RAT mobility, an external PDU session point of interconnect to data network 236, and a branching point to support multi-homed PDU sessions. The UPF 248 also performs packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, enforces user plane part of policy rules, lawfully intercepts packets (UP collection), performs traffic usage reporting, performs quality of service handling for a user plane (e.g., packet filtering, gating, UL / DL rate enforcement), performs uplink traffic verification (e.g., SDF-to-QoS flow mapping), transport level packet marking in the uplink and downlink, and performs downlink packet buffering and downlinkAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1data notification triggering. UPF 248 may include an uplink classifier to support routing traffic flows to a data network.

[0120] The NSSF 250 selects a set of network slice instances serving the UE 202. The NSSF 250 also determines allowed NSSAI and the mapping to the subscribed S-NSSAIs, if needed. The NSSF 250 also determines an AMF set to be used to serve the UE 202 or a list of candidate AMFs 244 based on a suitable configuration and possibly by querying the NRF 254. The selection of a set of network slice instances for the UE 202 may be triggered by the AMF 244 with which the UE 202 is registered by interacting with the NSSF 250; this may lead to a change of AMF 244. The NSSF 250 interacts with the AMF 244 via an N22 reference point and may communicate with another NSSF in a visited network via an N31 reference point (not shown).

[0121] The NEF 252 securely exposes services and capabilities provided by 3 GPP NFs for third-party, internal exposure / re-exposure, AFs 260, edge computing, or fog computing systems (e.g., edge compute node, and the like). In such examples, the NEF 252 may authenticate, authorize, or throttle the AFs. NEF 252 may also translate information exchanged with the AF 260 and information exchanged with internal network functions. For example, the NEF 252 may translate between an AF-Service-Identifier and an internal 5GC information. NEF 252 may also receive information from other NFs based on the capabilities of other NFs that are exposed. This information may be stored at the NEF 252 as structured data or at a data storage NF using standardized interfaces. The stored information can then be re-exposed by the NEF 252 to other NFs and AFs or used for other purposes, such as analytics.

[0122] The NRF 254 supports service discovery functions, receives NF discovery requests from NF instances, and provides information on the discovered NF instances to the requesting NF instances. NRF 254 also maintains information on available NF instances and their supported services. The NRF 254 also supports service discovery functions, wherein the NRF 254 receives an NF Discovery Request from an NF instance or an SCP (not shown) and provides information about the discovered NF instances to the NF instance or SCP.AG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1

[0123] The PCF 256 provides policy rules to control plane functions and enforces them, and it may also support a unified policy framework to govern network behavior. The PCF 256 may also implement a front end to access subscription information relevant to policy decisions from a unified data repository (UDR) within the UDM 258. In addition to communicating with functions via reference points, as shown, the PCF 256 also provides an Npcf service-based interface.

[0124] The UDM 258 handles subscription-related information to support the network entities’ handling of communication sessions and stores UE 202's subscription data. For example, subscription data may be communicated via an N8 reference point between the UDM 258 and the AMF 244. The UDM 258 may include two parts: an application front end and a UDR. The UDR may store subscription data and policy data for the UDM 258 and the PCF 256, and / or structured data for exposure and application data (including PFDs for application detection and application request information for multiple UEs 202) for the NEF 252. The Nudr service-based interface may be exhibited by the UDR to allow the UDM 258, PCF 256, and NEF 252 to access a particular set of stored data, as well as to read, update (e.g., add, modify), delete, and subscribe to notification of relevant data changes in the UDR. The UDM 258 may include a UDM-FE, which is in charge of processing credentials, location management, subscription management, and so on. Several different front ends may serve the same user in different transactions. The UDM-FE accesses subscription information stored in the UDR and performs authentication credential processing, user identification handling, access authorization, registration / mobility management, and subscription management. In addition to communicating with other NFs over reference points, as shown, the UDM 258 may exhibit the Nudm service-based interface.

[0125] Edge Application Server Discovery Function (EASDF) 261 exhibits a Neasdf service-based interface and is connected to the SMF 246 via an N88 interface. One or multiple EASDF instances may be deployed within a PLMN, and interactions between 5GC NF(s) and the EASDF 261 take place within a PLMN. The EASDF 261 includes one or more of the following functionalities: registering to NRF 254 for EASDF 261 discovery and selection; handling theAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1DNS messages according to the instruction from the SMF 246; and / or terminating DNS security if used. Handling the DNS messages according to the instruction from the SMF 246 includes one or more of the following functionalities: receiving DNS message handling rules and / or BaselineDNSPattem from the SMF 246; exchanging DNS messages from / with the UE 202; forwarding DNS messages to C-DNS or L-DNS for DNS query; adding EDNS client subnet (ECS) option into DNS query for an FQDN; reporting to the SMF 246 the information related to the received DNS messages; and / or buffering / discarding DNS messages from the UE 202 or DNS Server. The EASDF has direct user plane connectivity (e.g., without any NAT) with the PSA UPF over N6 for the transmission of DNS signaling exchanged with the UE. The deployment of a NAT between EASDF 261 and PSA UPF 248 may or may not be supported. Additional aspects of the EASDF 261 are discussed in [TS23548],

[0126] AF 260 provides application influence on traffic routing, provides access to NEF 252, and interacts with the policy framework for policy control. The AF 260 may influence UPF 248 (re)selection and traffic routing. Based on operator deployment, when AF 260 is considered to be a trusted entity, the network operator may permit AF 260 to interact directly with relevant NFs. In some implementations, the AF 260 is used for edge computing implementations.

[0127] The 5GC 240 may enable edge computing by selecting operator / 3rd party services to be geographically close to the point where the UE 202 is attached to the network. This may reduce latency and network load. In edge computing implementations, the 5GC 240 may select a UPF 248 close to the UE 202 and execute traffic steering from the UPF 248 to DN 236 via the N6 interface. This may be based on the UE subscription data, UE location, and information provided by the AF 260, which allows the AF 260 to influence UPF (re)selection and traffic routing.

[0128] The data network (DN) 236 may represent various network operator services, Internet access, or third-party services provided by one or more servers, including, for example, app / content server 238. The DN 236 may be an external public operator, a private PDN, or an intra-operator packet data network, for example, for the provision of IMS services. In this example, the app / contentAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1server 238 can be coupled to an IMS via an S-CSCF or the I-CSCF. In some implementations, the DN 236 may represent one or more local area DNs (LADNs), which are DNs 236 (or DN names (DNNs)) that are accessible by a UE 202 in one or more specific areas. Outside these specific areas, the UE 202 cannot access the LADN / DN 236.

[0129] Additionally, or alternatively, the DN 236 may be an edge DN 236, which is a (local) DN that supports the architecture for enabling edge applications. In these examples, the app / content server 238 may represent the physical hardware systems / devices providing app server functionality and / or the application software resident in the cloud or at an edge compute node that performs server function(s). In some examples, the app / content server 238 provides an edge hosting environment that provides the support required for the Edge Application Server's execution.

[0130] In some examples, the 5GS can use one or more edge compute nodes to provide an interface and offload processing of wireless communication traffic. In these examples, the edge compute nodes may be included in or co-located with one or more RANs 210, 214. For example, the edge compute nodes can provide a connection between the RAN 214 and UPF 248 in the 5GC 240. The edge compute nodes can use one or more NFV instances instantiated on virtualization infrastructure within the edge compute nodes to process wireless connections to and from the RAN 214 and UPF 248.

[0131] In some implementations, the edge compute nodes provide a distributed computing environment for application and service hosting and also provide storage and processing resources so that data and / or content can be processed in close proximity to subscribers (e.g., users of UEs 202) for faster response times. The edge compute nodes also support multitenancy run-time and hosting environment s) for applications, including virtual appliance applications that may be delivered as packaged virtual machine (VM) images, middleware applications, and infrastructure services, content delivery services including content caching, mobile big data analytics, and computational offloading, among others. Computational offloading involves offloading computational tasks, workloads, applications, and / or services to the edge compute nodes from the UEs 202, CN 220, DN 236, and / or server(s) 238, orAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1vice versa. For example, a device application or client application operating in a UE 202 may offload application tasks or workloads to one or more edge compute nodes. In another example, an edge compute node may offload application tasks or workloads to a set of UEs 202 (e.g., for distributed machine learning computation and / or the like).

[0132] The edge compute nodes may include or be part of an edge system that employs one or more edge computing technologies (ECTs) (also referred to as an “edge computing framework” or the like). The edge compute nodes may also be referred to as “edge hosts” or “edge servers.” The edge system includes a collection of edge servers and edge management systems (not shown) necessary to run edge computing applications within an operator network or a subset of an operator network. Edge servers are physical computer systems that may include an edge platform and / or virtualization infrastructure and provide compute, storage, and network resources to edge computing applications. Each of the edge servers is disposed at an edge of a corresponding access network and is arranged to provide computing resources and / or various services (e.g., computational task and / or workload offloading, cloud-computing capabilities, IT services, and other like resources and / or services as discussed herein) in relatively close proximity to UEs 202. The VI of the edge compute nodes provide virtualized environments and virtualized resources for the edge hosts, and the edge computing applications may run as VMs and / or application containers on top of the VI.

[0133] In one example implementation, the ECT is and / or operates according tothe MEC framework, as discussed in ET SI GRMEC 001 v3.1.1 (2022-01), ETSI GS MEC 003 v3.1.1 (2022-03), ETSI GS MEC 009 v3.1.1 (2021-06), ETSI GS MEC 010-1 vl.1.1 (2017-10), ETSI GS MEC 010-2 v2.2.1 (2022-02), ETSI GS MEC 011 v2.2.1 (2020-12), ETSI GS MEC 012 V2.2.1 (2022-02), ETSI GS MEC 013 V2.2.1 (2022-01), ETSI GS MEC 014 v2.1.1 (2021-03), ETSI GS MEC 015 v2.1.1 (2020-06), ETSI GS MEC 016 v2.2.1 (2020-04), ETSI GS MEC 021 v2.2.1 (2022-02), ETSI GRMEC 024 v2.1.1 (2019-11), ETSI GS MEC 028 V2.2.1 (2021-07), ETSI GS MEC 029 v2.2.1 (2022-01), ETSI MEC GS 030 v2.1.1 (2020-04), ETSI GRMEC 031 v2.1.1 (2020-10), U.S. Provisional App. No. 63 / 003,834 filed April 1, 2020 (“[US’834]”), and IntTAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1App. No. PCT / US2020 / 066969 filed on December 23, 2020 (“[PCT’696]”) (collectively referred to herein as “[MEC]”), the contents of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties. This example implementation (and / or in any other example implementation discussed herein) may also include NFV and / or other like virtualization technologies such as those discussed in ETSI GRNFV 001 VI.3.1 (2021-03), ETSI GS NFV 002 VI.2.1 (2014-12), ETSI GRNFV 003 VI.6.1 (2021-03), ETSI GS NFV 006 V2.1.1 (2021-01), ETSI GS NFV-INF 001 VI.1.1 (2015-01), ETSI GS NFV-INF 003 VI. 1.1 (2014-12), ETSI GS NFV-INF 004 VI.1.1 (2015-01), ETSI GS NFV-MAN 001 vl.1.1 (2014-12), and / or Israel et al., OSM Release FIVE Technical Overview, ETSI Open Source MANO, OSM White Paper, 1st ed. (Jan. 2019), https: / / osm.etsi.org / images / OSM-Whitepaper-TechContent-ReleaseFIVE-FINAL.pdf (collectively referred to as “[ETSINFV]”), the contents of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties. Other virtualization technologies and / or service orchestration and automation platforms may be used, such as those discussed in E2E Network Slicing Architecture, GSMA, Official Doc. NG.127, vl.O (03 Jun. 2021), https: / / www.gsma.eom / newsroom / wp-content / uploads / / NG.127-vl.0-2.pdf, Open Network Automation Platform (ONAP) documentation, Release Istanbul, v9.0.1 (17 Feb. 2022), https: / / docs.onap.org / en / latest / index.html (“[ONAP]”), 3GPP Service Based Management Architecture (SBMA) as discussed in 3GPP TS 28.533 V17.1.0 (2021-12-23) (“[TS28533]”), the contents of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.

[0134] In another example implementation, the ECT is and / or operates according to the 0-RAN framework. Typically, front-end and back-end device vendors and carriers have worked closely to ensure compatibility. The flip side of such a working model is that it becomes quite difficult to plug and play with other devices, and this can hamper innovation. To combat this and to promote openness and interoperability at every level, several key players interested in the wireless domain (e.g., carriers, device manufacturers, academic institutions, and / or the like) formed the Open RAN Alliance (“0-RAN”) in 2018. The O-RAN network architecture is a building block for designing virtualized RAN on programmable hardware with radio access control powered by AI / ML. Various aspects of the 0-RAN architecture are described in 0-RAN ArchitectureAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1Description v07.00, O-RAN Alliance WG1 (Oct. 2022) (“ [O-RAN. WG1.0-RAN-Architecture-Description]”); O-RAN Operations and Maintenance Architecture Specification v04.00, O-RAN Alliance WG1 (Feb. 2021) (“[O-RAN.WGl.OAM-Architecture]”); O-RAN Operations and Maintenance Interface Specification v04.00, O-RAN Alliance WG1 (Feb. 2021) (“[O-RAN.WGl.Ol-Interface.O]”); O-RAN Information Model and Data Models Specification vO 1.00, O-RAN Alliance WG1 (Feb. 2021); O-RAN Working Group 1 Slicing Architecture v08.00 (Oct. 2022); O-RAN Working Group 2 (Non-RT RIC and Al interface WG) Al interface: Application Protocol v03.02 (Jul. 2021); O-RAN Working Group 1 Use Cases Detailed Specification v09.00 (Oct. 2022) (“ [O-RAN. WG1.Use-Cases]”); O-RAN Working Group 2 (Non-RT RIC and Al interface WG) Al interface: General Aspects and Principles v03.00 (Oct. 2022) (“[O-RAN.WG2.A1GAP]”); O-RAN Working Group 2 (Non-RT RIC and Al interface WG) Al interface: Type Definitions v04.00 (Oct. 2021); O-RAN Working Group 2 (Non-RT RIC and Al interface WG) Al interface: Transport Protocol v02.00 (Oct. 2022); O-RAN Working Group 2 AI / ML workflow description and requirements v01.03, O-RAN Alliance WG2 (Oct.2021) (“[O-RAN.WG2.AIML]”); O-RAN Working Group 2 (Non-RT RIC and Al interface WG) Non-RT RIC Architecture v02.01 (Oct. 2022); O-RAN Working Group 2 Non-RT RIC: Functional Architecture vOl.Ol, O-RAN Alliance WG2 (Jun. 2021); O-RAN Working Group 2 (Non-RT RIC and Al interface WG): R1 interface: General Aspects and Principles v03.00, O-RAN Alliance WG2 (Oct. 2022); O-RAN Working Group 3 Near-Real-time RAN Intelligent Controller Architecture & E2 General Aspects and Principles v02.02 (Jul. 2022) (“[O-RAN. WG3.E2GAP]”); O-RAN Working Group 3 Near-Realtime Intelligent Controller E2 Service Model (E2SM) v02.01 (Mar. 2022) (“[O-RAN.WG3.E2SM]”); O-RAN Working Group 3 Near-Real-time Intelligent Controller E2 Service Model (E2SM), Cell Configuration and Control vOl.OO (Oct. 2022) (“[O-RAN.WG3.E2SM-CCC]”); O-RAN Working Group 3 Near-Real-time Intelligent Controller E2 Service Model (E2SM) KPM v02.03 (Oct.2022) (“[O-RAN.WG3.E2SM-KPM]”); O-RAN Working Group 3 Near-Realtime Intelligent Controller E2 Service Model (E2SM) RAN Function Network Interface (NI) vOl.OO (Feb. 2020) (“[O-RAN-WG3.E2SM-NI]”); O-RAN Working Group 3 Near-Real-time Intelligent Controller E2 Service ModelAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1(E2SM) RAN Control v01.03 (Oct. 2022) (“[O-RAN.WG3.E2SM-RC]”); O-RAN Working Group 3, Near-Real-time Intelligent Controller, E2 Application Protocol (E2AP) v02.03 (Oct. 2022) (“ [O-RAN. WG3.E2AP]”); O-RAN Working Group 3 (Near-Real-time RAN Intelligent Controller and E2 Interface Working Group): Near-RT RIC Architecture v03.00 (Oct. 2022) (“[O-RAN.WG3.RICARCH]”); O-RAN Working Group 4 (Open Fronthaul Interfaces WG) Control, User and Synchronization Plane Specification v09.00 (Jul. 2022) (“[O-RAN-WG4.CUS.0]”); O-RAN Fronthaul Working Group 4 Cooperative Transport Interface Transport Control Plane Specification v02.00, O-RAN Alliance WG4 (Jun. 2021); O-RAN Fronthaul Working Group 4 Cooperative Transport Interface Transport Management Plane Specification v02.00 (Jun. 2021); O-RAN Fronthaul Working Group 4 (Open Fronthaul Interfaces WG): Management Plane Specification v09.00 (Jul. 2022) (“[O-RAN.WG4.MP.0]”); O-RAN Alliance Working Group 501 Interface specification for O-CU-UP and O-CU-CP v04.00 (Oct. 2022); O-RAN Alliance Working Group 501 Interface specification for 0-DU v05.00 (Oct. 2022); O-RAN Open Fl / Wl / El / X2 / Xn Interfaces Working Group Transport Specification vOl.OO, O-RAN Alliance WG5 (Apr. 2020); O-RAN Working Group 6 (Cloudification and Orchestration) Cloud Architecture and Deployment Scenarios for O-RAN Virtualized RAN v04.00 (Oct. 2022) (“[O-RAN.WG6.CADS]”); O-RAN Cloud Platform Reference Designs v02.00, O-RAN Alliance WG6 (Feb. 2021); O-RAN Working Group 602 Interface General Aspects and Principles v02.00 (Oct. 2022); O-RAN Working Group 6 (Cloudification and Orchestration Work Group); O-RAN Acceleration Abstraction Layer General Aspects and Principles v04.00 (Oct. 2022); O-RAN Working Group 6: O-Cloud Notification API Specification for Event Consumers v03.00 (“[O-RAN.WG6.O-Cloud Notification API]”); O-RAN White Box Hardware Working Group Hardware Reference Design Specification for Indoor Pico Cell with Fronthaul Split Option 6 v02.00, O-RAN Alliance WG7 (Oct. 2021) (“[O-RAN. WG7.IPC-HRD-Opt6]”); O-RAN WG7 Hardware Reference Design Specification for Indoor Picocell (FR1) with Split Architecture Option 7-2 v03.00, O-RAN Alliance WG7 (Oct. 2021) (“[O-RAN.WG7.IPC-HRD-Opt7-2]”); O-RAN WG7 Hardware Reference Design Specification for Indoor Picocell (FR1) with Split Architecture Option 8 v03.00 (Oct. 2021) (“[O-RAN.WG7.IPC-HRD-Opt8]”);AG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1O-RAN White Box Hardware Working Group Hardware Reference Design Specification for Outdoor Micro Cell with Split Architecture Option 7.2 v03.00, O-RAN Alliance WG7 (Oct. 2022) (“[O-RAN. WG7.OMC-HRD-Opt7-2]”); O-RAN White Box Hardware Working Group Hardware Reference Design Specification for Outdoor Macro Cell with Split Architecture Option 7.2 v03.00, O-RAN Alliance WG7 (Jul. 2022) (“[O-RAN. WG7.0MAC-HRD]”); O-RAN Open X-haul Transport Working Group Management interfaces for Transport Network Elements v04.00, O-RAN Alliance WG9 (Jul. 2022); O-RAN Open X-haul Transport Working Group Synchronization Architecture and Solution Specification v02.00, O-RAN Alliance WG9 (Mar. 2022); O-RAN Open Xhaul Transport WG9 WDM-based Fronthaul Transport v2.0, O-RAN Alliance WG9 (Mar. 2022); O-RAN Open Transport Working Group 9 Xhaul Packet Switched Architectures and Solutions v03.00, O-RAN Alliance WG9 (Jul. 2022) (“[O-RAN.WG9.XPSAAS]”); O-RAN Operations and Maintenance Architecture v07.00, O-RAN Alliance WG10 (Jul. 2022) (“[0-RAN.WG10.0AM-Architecture]”); O-RAN Operations and Maintenance Interface Specification v07.00, O-RAN Alliance WG10 (Jul. 2022); O-RAN Operations and Maintenance Interface Specification v08.00, O-RAN Alliance WG10 (Oct. 2022) (“[O-RAN.WGlO.Ol-Interface.O]”); O-RAN: Towards an Open and Smart RAN, O-RAN Alliance, White Paper (Oct. 2018); and U.S. App. No. 17 / 484,743 filed on 24 Sep. 2021 (collectively referred to as “[O-RAN]”), the contents of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

[0135] In another example implementation, the ECT is and / or operates according to the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) System Aspects Working Group 6 (SA6) Architecture for enabling Edge Applications (referred to as “3 GPP edge computing”) as discussed in 3 GPP TS 23.558 vl8.1.0 (2022-12-23) (“[TS23558]”), 3GPP TS 23.501 vl8.0.0 (2022-12-21) (“[TS2350I]”), 3GPP TS 23.548 vl7.4.0 (2022-09-22) (“[TS23548]”), 3GPP TR 23.700-98 V18.0.0 (2022-12-23) (“[TR23700-98]”), 3GPP TS 23.222 vl8.0.0 (2022-12-23) (“[TS23222]”), TS 33.122 vl8.0.0 (2022-12-16) (“[TS33122]”), and 3GPP TS 29.222 V17.1.0 (2021-06-25) (“[TS29222]”), 3GPP TS 23.502 vl8.0.0 (2022-12-21) (“[TS23502]”), 3GPP TS 29.522 vl8.0.0 (2022-12-16) (“[TS29522]”), 3GPP TS 29.122 vl8.0.0 (2022-12-16) (“[TS29122]”), 3GPP TS 23.682 vl7.3.0 (2022-06-15) (“[TS23682]”), 3GPP TS 23.434 vl8.3.0 (2022-12-AG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO123) (“[TS23434]”), and 3GPP TS 23.401 vl8.0.0 (2022-12-21) (collectively referred to as “[SA6Edge]”), the contents of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.

[0136] In another example implementation, the ECT is and / or operates according to the Intel® Smart Edge Open framework (formerly known as OpenNESS) as discussed in Intel® Smart Edge Open Developer Guide, version 21.09 (30 Sep. 2021), available at: https: / / smart-edge-open.github.io / (“[ISEO]”), the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

[0137] In another example implementation, the ECT operates according to the Multi-Access Management Services (MAMS) framework as discussed in Kanugovi et al., Multi-Access Management Services (MAMS), Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), Request for Comments (RFC) 8743 (Mar. 2020) (“[RFC8743]”), Ford et al., TCP Extensions for Multipath Operation with Multiple Addresses, IETF RFC 8684, (Mar. 2020), De Coninck et al., Multipath Extensions for QUIC (MP-QUIC), IETF draft-deconinck-quic-multipath-07, IETA, QUIC Working Group (03 -May-2021), Zhu, et al., User-Plane Protocols for Multiple Access Management Service, IETF draft-zhu-intarea-mams-user-protocol-09, IETA, INTAREA (04-Mar-2020), and Zhu et al., Generic MultiAccess (GMA) Convergence Encapsulation Protocols, IETF RFC 9188 (Feb. 2022) (collectively referred to as “[MAMS]”), the contents of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.

[0138] It should be understood that the aforementioned edge computing frameworks / ECTs and services deployment examples are only illustrative examples of ECTs and that the present disclosure may be applicable to many other or additional edge computing / networking technologies in various combinations and layouts of devices located at the edge of a network, including the various edge computing networks / sy stems described herein. Further, the techniques disclosed herein may relate to other loT edge network systems and configurations, and other intermediate processing entities and architectures may also be applicable to the present disclosure. Examples of such edge computing / networking technologies include [MEC]; [0-RAN]; [ISEO];[SA6Edge]; Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) (also referred to as “ContentAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1Distribution Networks” or the like); Mobility Service Provider (MSP) edge computing and / or Mobility as a Service (MaaS) provider systems (e.g., used in AECC architectures); Nebula edge-cloud systems; Fog computing systems; Cloudlet edge-cloud systems; Mobile Cloud Computing (MCC) systems; Central Office Re-architected as a Datacenter (CORD), mobile CORD (M-CORD), and / or Converged Multi-Access and Core (COMAC) systems; and / or the like. Further, the techniques disclosed herein may relate to other loT edge network systems and configurations, and other intermediate processing entities and architectures may also be used for purposes of the present disclosure.

[0139] The interfaces of the 5GC 240 include reference points and servicebased interfaces. The reference points include N1 (between the UE 202 and the AMF 244), N2 (between RAN 214 and AMF 244), N3 (between RAN 214 and UPF 248), N4 (between the SMF 246 and UPF 248), N5 (between PCF 256 and AF 260), N6 (between UPF 248 and DN 236), N7 (between SMF 246 and PCF 256), N8 (between UDM 258 and AMF 244), N9 (between two UPFs 248), N10 (between the UDM 258 and the SMF 246), Nil (between the AMF 244 and the SMF 246), N12 (between AUSF 242 and AMF 244), N13 (between AUSF 242 and UDM 258), N14 (between two AMFs 244; not shown), N15 (between PCF 256 and AMF 244 in case of a non-roaming scenario, or between the PCF 256 in a visited network and AMF 244 in case of a roaming scenario), N16 (between two SMFs 246; not shown), and N22 (between AMF 244 and NSSF 250). Other reference point representations not shown in Figure 2 can also be used. The service-based representation of Figure 2 represents NFs within the control plane that enable other authorized NFs to access their services. The service-based interfaces (SBIs) include Namf (SBI exhibited by AMF 244), Nsmf (SBI exhibited by SMF 246), Nnef (SBI exhibited by NEF 252), Npcf (SBI exhibited by PCF 256), Nudm (SBI exhibited by the UDM 258), Naf (SBI exhibited by AF 260), Nnrf (SBI exhibited by NRF 254), Nnssf (SBI exhibited by NSSF 250), Nausf (SBI exhibited by AUSF 242). Other service-based interfaces (e.g., Nudr, N5g-eir, and Nudsf) not shown in FIG. 2 can also be used. In some examples, the NEF 252 can provide an interface to edge compute nodes, which can be used to process wireless connections with the RAN 214.AG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1

[0140] In some implementations, the network architecture 200 may include an SMSF, which is responsible for SMS subscription checking and verification and relaying SM messages to / from the UE 202 to / from other entities, such as an SMS-GMSC / IWMSC / SMS-router. The SMS may also interact with AMF 244 and UDM 258 for a notification procedure that the UE 202 is available for SMS transfer (e.g., setting a UE not reachable flag and notifying UDM 258 when UE 202 is available for SMS).

[0141] The 5GS may also include an SCP (or individual instances of the SCP) that supports indirect communication (see, e.g., 3GPP TS 23.501 section 7.1.1); delegated discovery (see, e.g., 3GPP TS 23.501 section 7.1.1); message forwarding and routing to destination NF / NF service(s), communication security (e.g., authorization of the NF Service Consumer to access the NF Service Producer API) (see, e.g., 3GPP TS 33.501), load balancing, monitoring, overload control, and the like; and discovery and selection functionality for UDM(s) 258, AUSF(s) 242, UDR(s), PCF(s) 256 with access to subscription data stored in the UDR based on UE's SUPI, SUCI, or GPSI (see e.g., [TS23501] § 6.3). Load balancing, monitoring, and overload control functionality provided by the SCP may be implementation-specific. The SCP may be deployed in a distributed manner. More than one SCP can be present in the communication path between various NF Services. The SCP, although not an NF instance, can also be deployed in a distributed, redundant, and scalable manner.

[0142] FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a wireless network 300 in accordance with various embodiments. The wireless network 300 may include a UE 302 in wireless communication with an AN 304. The UE 302 and AN 304 may be similar to, and substantially interchangeable with, like-named components described elsewhere herein.

[0143] The UE 302 may be communicatively coupled with the AN 304 via connection 306. Connection 306 is illustrated as an air interface to enable communicative coupling and can be consistent with cellular communications protocols such as an LTE protocol or a 5G NR protocol operating at FR2 (mmWave) orFRl (sub-7 GHz) frequencies.

[0144] The UE 302 may include a host platform 308 coupled with a modem platform 310. The host platform 308 may include application processingAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1circuitry 312, which may be coupled with protocol processing circuitry 314 of the modem platform 310. The application processing circuitry 312 may run various applications for the UE 302 that source / sink application data. The application processing circuitry 312 may further implement one or more layer operations to transmit / receive application data to / from a data network. These layer operations may include transport (for example, UDP) and Internet (for example, IP) operations.

[0145] The protocol processing circuitry 314 may implement one or more layer operations to facilitate the transmission or reception of data over connection 306. The layer operations implemented by the protocol processing circuitry 314 may include, for example, MAC, RLC, PDCP, RRC, and NAS operations.

[0146] The modem platform 310 may further include digital baseband circuitry 316 that may implement one or more layer operations that are "below" the layer operations performed by the protocol processing circuitry 314 in a network protocol stack. These operations may include, for example, PHY operations including one or more of HARQ-ACK functions, scrambling / descrambling, encoding / decoding, layer mapping / de-mapping, modulation symbol mapping, received symbol / bit metric determination, multiantenna port precoding / decoding, which may include one or more of space-time, space-frequency, or spatial coding, reference signal generation / detection, preamble sequence generation and / or decoding, synchronization sequence generation / detection, control channel signal blind decoding, and other related functions.

[0147] The modem platform 310 may further include transmit circuitry 318, receive circuitry 320, RF circuitry 322, and RF front end (RFFE) 324, which may include or connect to one or more antenna panels 326. Briefly, the transmit circuitry 318 may include a digital -to-analog converter, a mixer, intermediate frequency (IF) components, etc.; the receive circuitry 320 may include an analog-to-digital converter, a mixer, IF components, etc.; the RF circuitry 322 may include a low-noise amplifier, a power amplifier, power tracking components, etc.; RFFE 324 may include filters (for example, surface / bulk acoustic wave filters), switches, antenna tuners, beamforming components (forAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1example, phase-array antenna components), etc. The selection and arrangement of the components of the transmit circuitry 318, receive circuitry 320, RF circuitry 322, RFFE 324, and one or more antenna panels 326 (referred to generically as “transmit / receive components”) may be specific to details of a specific implementation, such as, for example, whether the communication is TDM or FDM, in FR2 (mmWave) or FR1 (sub-7 GHz) frequencies, etc. In some embodiments, the transmit / receive components may be arranged in multiple parallel transmit / receive chains, may be disposed of in the same or different chips / modules, etc.

[0148] In some embodiments, the protocol processing circuitry 314 may include one or more instances of control circuitry (not shown) to provide control functions for the transmit / receive components.

[0149] A UE reception may be established by and via the one or more antenna panels 326, RFFE 324, RF circuitry 322, receive circuitry 320, digital baseband circuitry 316, and protocol processing circuitry 314. In some embodiments, the one or more antenna panels 326 may receive a transmission from the AN 304 by receive-beamforming signals received by a plurality of antennas / antenna elements of the one or more antenna panels 326.

[0150] A UE transmission may be established by and via the protocol processing circuitry 314, digital baseband circuitry 316, transmit circuitry 318, RF circuitry 322, RFFE 324, and one or more antenna panels 326. In some embodiments, the transmit components of the UE 302 may apply a spatial filter to the data to be transmitted to form a transmit beam emitted by the antenna elements of the one or more antenna panels 326.

[0151] Similar to the UE 302, the AN 304 may include a host platform 328 coupled with a modem platform 330. The host platform 328 may include application processing circuitry 332 coupled with protocol processing circuitry 334 of the modem platform 330. The modem platform may further include digital baseband circuitry 336, transmit circuitry 338, receive circuitry 340, RF circuitry 342, RFFE circuitry 344, and antenna panels 346. The components of the AN 304 may be similar to and substantially interchangeable with the like-named components of the UE 302. In addition to performing data transmission / reception as described above, the components of the AN 304 mayAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1perform various logical functions that include, for example, RNC functions such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management, and data packet scheduling.

[0152] FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating components, according to some example embodiments, able to read instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. Specifically, FIG. 4 shows a diagrammatic representation of hardware resources 400, including one or more processors (or processor cores) 410, one or more memory / storage devices 420, and one or more communication resources 430, each of which may be communicatively coupled via a bus 440 or other interface circuitry. For embodiments where node virtualization (e.g., NFV) is utilized, a hypervisor 402 may be executed to provide an execution environment for one or more network slices / sub-slices to utilize the hardware resources 400.

[0153] The one or more processors 410 may include, for example, a processor 412 and a processor 414. The one or more processors 410 may be, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a DSP such as a baseband processor, an ASIC, an FPGA, a radio-frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), another processor (including those discussed herein), or any suitable combination thereof.

[0154] The memory / storage devices 420 may include a main memory, disk storage, or any suitable combination thereof. The memory / storage devices 420 may include but are not limited to, any type of volatile, non-volatile, or semivolatile memory such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), Flash memory, solid-state storage, etc.

[0155] The one or more communication resources 430 may include interconnection or network interface controllers, components, or other suitable devices to communicate with one or more peripheral devices 404 or one or more databases 406 or other network elements via a network 408. For example, the one or more communication resources 430 may include wired communicationAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1components (e.g., for coupling via USB, Ethernet, etc.), cellular communication components, NFC components, Bluetooth® (or Bluetooth Low Energy) components, Wi-Fi components, and other communication components.

[0156] Instructions 450 may comprise software, a program, an application, an applet, an app, or other executable code for causing at least one of the one or more processors 410 to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. Instructions 450 may reside, completely or partially, within at least one of the one or more processors 410 (e.g., within the processor’s cache memory), the memory / storage devices 420, or any suitable combination thereof.Furthermore, any portion of the instructions 450 may be transferred to the hardware resources 400 from any combination of one or more peripheral devices 404 or one or more databases 406. Accordingly, the memory of one or more processors 410, the memory / storage devices 420, one or more peripheral devices 404, and one or more databases 406 are examples of computer-readable and machine-readable media.

[0157] FIG. 5 illustrates another example network architecture 500. The network architecture 500 may operate in a manner consistent with 3 GPP technical specifications or technical reports for 6G systems. In some examples, the network architecture 500 may operate concurrently with network architecture 200. For example, in some examples, network architecture 500 may share one or more frequency or bandwidth resources with network architecture 200. As one specific example, a UE (e.g., UE 502) may be configured to operate in both network architecture 500 and network architecture 200. Such a configuration may be based on a UE including circuitry configured for communication with the frequency and bandwidth resources of both network architectures 200 and 500. In general, several elements of network architecture 500 may share one or more characteristics with elements of network architecture 200. For the sake of brevity and clarity, such elements may not be repeated in the description of network architecture 500.

[0158] The network architecture 500 may include a UE 502, which may include any mobile or non-mobile computing device designed to communicate with a RAN 508 via an over-the-air connection. The UE 502 may be similar to, for example, UE 202. The UE 502 may be, but is not limited to, a smartphone,AG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1tablet computer, wearable computer device, desktop computer, laptop computer, in-vehicle infotainment, in-car entertainment device, instrument cluster, a head-up display device, onboard diagnostic device, dashtop mobile equipment, mobile data terminal, electronic engine management system, electronic / engine control unit, electronic / engine control module, embedded system, sensor, microcontroller, control module, engine management system, networked appliance, machine-type communication device, M2M or D2D device, loT device, etc.

[0159] Although not explicitly shown in FIG. 5, in some examples, the network architecture 500 may include a set of UEs coupled directly with one another via a sidelink interface. The UEs may be M2M / D2D devices that communicate using physical sidelink channels such as, but not limited to, PSBCH, PSDCH, PSSCH, PSCCH, PSFCH, etc. Similarly, although not explicitly shown in FIG. 5, the UE 502 may be communicatively coupled with an AP, such as AP 206, as described with respect to FIG. 2. Additionally, although not explicitly shown in FIG. 5, in some examples, the RAN 508 may include one or more ANs, such as AN 208, as described with respect to FIG. 2. The RAN 508 and / or the AN of the RAN 508 may be referred to as a base station (BS), a RAN node, or using some other term or name.

[0160] The UE 502 and the RAN 508 may be configured to communicate via an air interface that may be referred to as a sixth-generation (6G) air interface. The 6G air interface may include one or more features, such as communication in terahertz (THz) or sub-THz bandwidth, or joint communication and sensing. As used herein, the term “joint communication and sensing” may refer to a system that allows for wireless communication as well as radar-based sensing via various types of multiplexing. As used herein, THz or sub-THz bandwidths may refer to communication in the 80 GHz and above frequency ranges. Such frequency ranges may additionally, or alternatively, be referred to as “millimeter wave” or “mmWave” frequency ranges.

[0161] The RAN 508 may allow for communication between the UE 502 and a 6G core network (CN) 510. Specifically, the RAN 508 may facilitate the transmission and reception of data between the UE 502 and the 6G CN 510. The 6G CN 510 may include various functions, such as NSSF 550, NEF 552, NRFAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1554, PCF 556, UDM 558, AF 560, SMF 546, and AUSF 542. The 6G CN 510 may additionally include UPF 548 and DN 539, as shown in FIG. 5.

[0162] Additionally, the RAN 508 may include various additional functions that are in addition to, or alternative to, the functions of a legacy cellular network, such as a 4G or 5G network. Two such functions may include a Compute Control Function (Comp CF) 524 and a Compute Service Function (Comp SF) 536. The Comp CF 524 and the Comp SF 536 may be parts or functions of the Computing Service Plane. Comp CF 524 may be a control plane function that provides functionalities such as management of the Comp SF 536, computing task context generation and management (e.g., create, read, modify, delete), interaction with the underlying computing infrastructure for computing resource management, etc. Comp SF 536 may be a user plane function that serves as the gateway to interface computing service users (such as UE 502) and computing nodes behind a Comp SF instance. Some functionalities of the Comp SF 536 may include parsing computing service data received from users to compute tasks executable by computing nodes, holding service mesh ingress gateway or service API gateway, service and charging policies enforcement, performance monitoring, and telemetry collection. In some examples, a Comp SF 536 instance may serve as the user plane gateway for a cluster of computing nodes. A Comp CF 524 instance may control one or more Comp SF 536 instances.

[0163] Two other such functions may include a Communication Control Function (Comm CF) 528 and a Communication Service Function (Comm SF) 538, which may be parts of the Communication Service Plane. The Comm CF 528 may be the control plane function for managing the Comm SF 538, communication session creation / configuration / rel easing, and managing communication session context. The Comm SF 538 may be a user plane function for data transport. Comm CF 528 and Comm SF 538 may be considered as upgrades of SMF 246 and UPF 248, which were described with respect to a 5G system in FIG. 2. The upgrades provided by the Comm CF 528 and the Comm SF 538 may enable service-aware transport. For legacy (e.g., 4G or 5G) data transport, SMF 246 and UPF 248 may still be used.AG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1

[0164] Two other such functions may include a Data Control Function (Data CF) 522 and a Data Service Function (Data SF) 532, which may be parts of the Data Service Plane. Data CF 522 may be a control plane function and provides functionalities such as Data SF 532 management, Data service creation / configuration / releasing, Data service context management, etc. Data SF 532 may be a user plane function and serve as the gateway between data service users (such as UE 502 and the various functions of the 6G CN 510) and data service endpoints behind the gateway. Specific functionalities may include parsing data service user data and forwarding it to corresponding data service endpoints, generating charging data, and reporting data service status.

[0165] Another such function may be the Service Orchestration and Chaining Function (SOCF) 520, which may discover, orchestrate, and chain up communication / computing / data services provided by functions in the network. Upon receiving service requests from users, SOCF 520 may interact with one or more of Comp CF 524, Comm CF 528, and Data CF 522 to identify Comp SF 536, Comm SF 538, and Data SF 532 instances, configure service resources, and generate the service chain, which could contain multiple Comp SF 536, Comm SF 538, and Data SF 532 instances and their associated computing endpoints. Workload processing and data movement may then be conducted within the generated service chain. The SOCF 520 may also be responsible for maintaining, updating, and releasing a created service chain.

[0166] Another such function may be the service registration function (SRF) 514, which may act as a registry for system services provided in the user plane, such as services provided by service endpoints behind Comp SF 536 and Data SF 532 gateways and services provided by the UE 502. The SRF 514 may be considered a counterpart of NRF 254, which may act as the registry for network functions.

[0167] Other such functions may include an evolved service communication proxy (eSCP) and a service infrastructure control function (SICF) 526, which may provide service communication infrastructure for control plane services and user plane services. The eSCP may be related to the service communication proxy (SCP) of 5G, with the addition of user plane service communication proxy capabilities. The eSCP is therefore expressed in two parts: eCSP-C 512 andAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1eSCP-U 534, for control plane service communication proxy and user plane service communication proxy, respectively. The SICF 526 may control and configure eCSP instances in terms of service traffic routing policies, access rules, load balancing configurations, performance monitoring, etc.

[0168] Another such function is the AMF 544. The AMF 544 may be similar to 244 but with additional functionality. Specifically, the AMF 544 may include potential functional repartition, such as moving the message forwarding functionality from the AMF 544 to the RAN 508.

[0169] Another such function is the service orchestration exposure function (SOEF) 518. The SOEF may be configured to expose service orchestration and chaining services to external users, such as applications.

[0170] The UE 502 may include an additional function that is referred to as a computing client service function (comp CSF) 504. The comp CSF 504 may have both the control plane functionalities and user plane functionalities and may interact with corresponding network-side functions, such as SOCF 520, Comp CF 524, Comp SF 536, Data CF 522, and / or Data SF 532, for service discovery, request / response, compute task workload exchange, etc. The comp CSF 504 may also work with network-side functions to decide whether a computing task should be run on the UE 502, the RAN 508, and / or an element of the 6G CN 510.

[0171] The UE 502 and / or the comp CSF 504 may include a service mesh proxy 506. The service mesh proxy 506 may act as a proxy for service-to-service communication in the user plane. Capabilities of the service mesh proxy 506 may include one or more of addressing, security, load balancing, and / or the like.

[0172] FIG. 6 depicts an example artificial intelligence (Al)-assisted communication architecture for communication between a UE 605 and a RAN 610. More specifically, as described in further detail below, AEmachine learning (ML) models may be used or leveraged to facilitate over-the-air communication between UE 605 and RAN 610.

[0173] In this example, the UE 605 and the RAN 610 operate in a manner consistent with 3GPP technical specifications and / or technical reports for 6G systems. In some examples, the wireless cellular communication between theAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1UE 605 and the RAN 610 may be part of or operate concurrently with network architectures 500, 200, and / or some other network described herein.

[0174] The UE 605 may be similar to and share one or more features with UE 202, UE 302, UE 502, UE 702, hardware resources 400, and / or some other UE or device(s), such as any of those described herein. The UE 605 may be, but is not limited to, a smartphone, tablet computer, wearable computer device, desktop computer, laptop computer, in-vehicle infotainment, in-car entertainment device, instrument cluster, a head-up display device, onboard diagnostic device, dashtop mobile equipment, mobile data terminal, electronic engine management system, electronic / engine control unit, electronic / engine control module, embedded system, sensor, microcontroller, control module, engine management system, networked appliance, machine-type communication device, M2M or D2D device, loT device, etc. The RAN 610 may be similar to, and share one or more features with, RAN 214, RAN 508, and / or some other RAN described herein.

[0175] As may be seen in FIG. 6, the Al-related elements of UE 605 may be similar to the Al-related elements of RAN 610. For the sake of discussion herein, a description of the various elements will be provided from the point of view of the UE 605. However, it will be understood that such discussion or description will apply to equally named / numbered elements of RAN 610 unless explicitly stated otherwise.

[0176] As previously noted, the UE 605 may include various elements or functions that are related to AI / ML. Such elements may be implemented as hardware, software, firmware, and / or some combination thereof. For example, one or more of the elements may be implemented as part of the same hardware (e.g., a chip or a multi-processor chip), software (e.g., a computing program), or firmware as another element.

[0177] One such element may be a data repository 615. The data repository 615 may be responsible for data collection and storage. Specifically, the data repository 615 may collect and store RAN configuration parameters, measurement data, performance key performance indicators (KPIs), model performance metrics, etc., for model training, update, and inference. More generally, collected data is stored in the repository. Stored data can beAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1discovered and extracted by other elements from the data repository 615. For example, as may be seen, the inference data selection / filtering element 650 may retrieve data from the data repository 615. In various examples, the UE 605 may be configured to discover and request data from the data repository 615 in the RAN and vice versa. More generally, the data repository 615 of the UE 605 may be communicatively coupled with the data repository 615 of the RAN 610 so that the respective data repositories of the UE and the RAN may share collected data.

[0178] Another such element may be a training data selection / filtering functional block 620. The training data selection / filter functional block 620 may be configured to generate training, validation, and testing datasets for model training. Training data may be extracted from the data repository 615. Data may be selected / filtered based on the specific AI / ML model to be trained. Data may optionally be transformed / augmented / pre-processed (e.g., normalized) before being loaded into datasets. The training data selection / filter functional block 620 may label data in datasets for supervised learning. The produced datasets may then be fed into the model training functional block 625.

[0179] As noted above, another such element may be the model training functional block 625. This functional block may be responsible for training and updating (re-training) AI / ML models. The selected model may be trained using the fed-in datasets (including training, validation, and testing) from the training data selection / filtering functional block. The model training functional block 625 may produce trained and tested AI / ML models that are ready for deployment. The produced, trained, and tested models can be stored in a model repository 635.

[0180] The model repository 635 may be responsible for the storage and exposure of AI / ML models (both trained and untrained). Trained / updated model(s) may be stored in the model repository 635. Model and model parameters may be discovered and requested by other functional blocks (e.g., the training data selection / filter functional block 620 and / or the model training functional block 625). In some examples, the UE 605 may discover and request AI / ML models from the model repository 635 of the RAN 610. Similarly, the RAN 610 may be able to discover and / or request AI / ML models from the modelAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1repository 635 of the UE 605. In some examples, the RAN 610 may configure models and / or model parameters in the model repository 635 of the UE 605.

[0181] Another such element may be a model management functional block 640. The model management functional block 640 may be responsible for the management of the AI / ML model produced by the model training functional block 625. Such management functions may include the deployment of a trained model, monitoring model performance, etc. In model deployment, the model management functional block 640 may allocate and schedule hardware and / or software resources for inference based on received trained and tested models. As used herein, “inference” refers to the process of using trained AI / ML model(s) to generate data analytics, actions, policies, etc., based on input inference data. In performance monitoring, based on wireless performance KPIs and model performance metrics, the model management functional block 640 may decide to terminate the running model, start model re-training, select another model, etc. For example, the model management functional block 640 of the RAN 610 may be able to configure model management policies in the UE 605, as shown.

[0182] Another such element may be an inference data selection / filtering element 650. The inference data selection / filtering element 650 may be responsible for generating datasets for model inference at the inference functional block 645, as described below. Specifically, inference data may be extracted from the data repository 615. The inference data selection / filtering element 650 may select and / or filter the data based on the deployed AI / ML model. Data may be transformed / augmented / pre-processed following the same transformation / augmentation / pre-processing as those in training data selection / filtering as described with respect to functional block 620. The produced inference dataset may be fed into the inference functional block 645.

[0183] Another such element may be the inference functional block 645. The inference functional block 645 may be responsible for executing inference as described above. Specifically, the inference functional block 645 may consume the inference dataset provided by the inference data selection / filtering element 650 and generate one or more outcomes. Such outcomes may include dataAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1analytics, actions, policies, etc. The outcome(s) may be provided to the performance measurement functional block 630.

[0184] The performance measurement functional block 630 may be configured to measure model performance metrics (e.g., accuracy, model bias, run-time latency, etc.) of deployed and executing models based on the inference outcome(s) for monitoring purposes. Model performance data may be stored in the data repository 615.

[0185] FIG. 7 depicts example RAN split architecture aspects. FIG. 7 shows an example network deployment including an example next generation fronthaul (NGF) deployment 700a where a UE 702 is connected to an RU 730 (also referred to as a “remote radio unit 730”, “a remote radio head 730”, or “RRH 730”) via an air interface, the RU 730 is connected to a Digital Unit (DU) 731 via a NGF interface (NGFI)-I, the DU 731 is connected to a Central Unit (CU) 732 via an NGFI-II, and the CU 732 is connected to a core network (CN) 742 via a backhaul interface. In 3GPP NG-RAN implementations (see, e.g., [TS38401]), the DU 731 may be a distributed unit (for purposes of the present disclosure, the term “DU” may refer to a digital unit and / or a distributed unit unless the context dictates otherwise). UEs 702 may be the same or similar to UEs 202 and / or any other UE or user / client device discussed herein.

[0186] In some implementations, the NGF deployment 700a may be arranged in a distributed RAN (D-RAN) architecture where the CU 732, DU 731, and RU 730 reside at a cell site, and the CN 742 is located at a centralized site.Alternatively, the NGF deployment 700a may be arranged in a centralized RAN (C-RAN) architecture with centralized processing of one or more baseband units (BBUs) at the centralized site. In C-RAN architectures, the radio components are split into discrete components, which can be located in different locations. In one example C-RAN implementation, only the RU 730 is disposed at the cell site, and the DU 731, the CU 732, and the CN 742 are centralized or disposed at a central location. In another example C-RAN implementation, the RU 730 and the DU 731 are located at the cell site, and the CU 732 and the CN 742 are at the centralized site. In another example of C-RAN implementation, only the RU 730 is disposed at the cell site, the DU 731 and the CU 732 are located at a RAN hub site, and the CN 742 is at the centralized site.AG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1

[0187] The CU 732 is a central controller that can serve or otherwise connect to one or multiple DUs 731 and / or multiple RUs 730. The CU 732 is a network (logical) node hosting higher / upper layers of a network protocol functional split. For example, in the 3GPP NG-RAN and / or 0-RAN architectures, a CU 732 hosts the radio resource control (RRC), Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layers of a nextgeneration NodeB (gNB), or hosts the RRC and PDCP protocol layers when included in or operating as an E-UTRA-NR gNB (en-gNB). The SDAP sublayer performs mapping between quality of service flows and data radio bearers (DRBs) and marking quality of service flow IDs (QFI) in both DL and UL packets. The PDCP sublayer performs transfer of user plane or control plane data; maintains PDCP sequence numbers (SNs); header compression and decompression using the Robust Header Compression (ROHC) and / or Ethernet Header Compression (EHC) protocols; ciphering and deciphering; integrity protection and integrity verification; provides timer-based SDU discard; routing for split bearers; duplication and duplicate discarding; reordering and in-order delivery; and / or out-of-order delivery. In various implementations, a CU 732 terminates respective Fl interfaces connected with corresponding DUs 731 (see, e.g., [TS38401]).

[0188] A CU 732 may include a CU-control plane (CP) entity (referred to herein as “CU-CP 732”) and a CU-user plane (UP) entity (referred to herein as “CU-UP 732”). The CU-CP 732 is a logical node hosting the RRC layer and the control plane part of the PDCP protocol layer of the CU 732 (e.g., a gNB-CU for an en-gNB or a gNB). The CU-CP 732 terminates an El interface connected with the CU-UP, and the Fl -C interface is connected with a DU 731. The CU-UP 732 is a logical node hosting the user plane part of the PDCP protocol layer (e.g., for a gNB-CU 732 of an en-gNB), and the user plane part of the PDCP protocol layer and the SDAP protocol layer (e.g., for the gNB-CU 732 of a gNB). The CU-UP 732 terminates the El interface connected with the CU-CP 732 and the Fl-U interface connected with a DU 731.

[0189] The DU 731 controls radio resources, such as time and frequency bands, locally in real time and allocates resources to one or more UEs. The DUs 731 are network (logical) nodes hosting middle and / or lower layers of theAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1network protocol functional split. For example, in the 3GPP NG-RAN and / or O-RAN architectures, a DU 731 hosts the radio link control (RLC) medium access control (MAC), and high-physical (PHY) layers of the gNB or en-gNB, and its operation is at least partly controlled by the CU 732. The RLC sublayer operates in one or more of the Transparent Mode (TM), Unacknowledged Mode (UM), and Acknowledged Mode (AM). The RLC sublayer performs transfer of upperlayer PDUs; sequence numbering independent of the one in PDCP (UM and AM); error correction through ARQ (AM only); segmentation (AM and UM) and re-segmentation (AM only) of RLC SDUs; reassembly of SDUs (AM and UM); duplicate detection (AM only); RLC SDU discard (AM and UM); RLC reestablishment; and / or protocol error detection (AM only). The MAC sublayer performs mapping between logical channels and transport channels; multiplexing / demultiplexing of MAC SDUs belonging to one or different logical channels into / from transport blocks (TB) delivered to / from the physical layer on transport channels; scheduling information reporting; error correction through HARQ (one HARQ entity per cell in case of CA); priority handling between UEs by means of dynamic scheduling; priority handling between logical channels of one UE by means of logical channel prioritization; priority handling between overlapping resources of one UE; and / or padding. In some implementations, a DU 731 can host a Backhaul Adaptation Protocol (BAP) layer (see e.g., 3GPP TS 38.340 V16.5.0 (2021-07-07)) and / or an Fl application protocol (F1AP) (see e.g., 3GPP TS 38.470 V16.5.0 (2021-07-01)), such as when the DU 731 is operating as an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) node. One DU 731 supports one or multiple cells, and one cell is supported by only one DU 731. A DU 731 terminates the Fl interface connected with a CU 732.Additionally or alternatively, the DU 731 may be connected to one or more RRHs / RUs 730.

[0190] The RU 730 is a transmission / reception point (TRP) or other physical node that handles radio frequency (RF) processing functions. The RU 730 is a network (logical) node hosting lower layers based on a lower-layer functional split. For example, in 3GPP NG-RAN and / or 0-RAN architectures, the RU 730 hosts low-PHY layer functions and RF processing of the radio interface based on a lower-layer functional split. The RU 730 may be similar to 3GPP’s transmission / reception point (TRP) or RRH, but specifically includes the Low-AG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1PHY layer. Examples of low-PHY functions include fast Fouriertransform (FFT), inverse FFT (IFFT), physical random access channel (PRACH) extraction, and the like.

[0191] Each of the CUs 732, DUs 731, and RUs 730 is connected through respective links, which may be any suitable wireless and / or wired links (e.g., fiber, copper, and the like). In some implementations, various combinations of the CU 732, DU 731, and RU 730 may correspond to one or more of the ANs 208 of FIG. 2. Additional aspects of CUs 732, DUs 731, and RUs 730 are discussed in [O-RAN], [TS38401], [TS38410], and [TS38300], the contents of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

[0192] In some implementations, a fronthaul gateway function (FHGW) may be disposed between the DU 731 and the RU / RRU 730 (not shown by FIG. 7), where the interface between the DU 731 and the FHGW is an Open Fronthaul (e.g., Option 7-2x) interface, the interface between the FHGW function and the RU / RRU 730 is an Open Fronthaul (e.g., Option 7-2x) interface or any other suitable interface (e.g., option 7, option 8, or the like) including those that do not support Open Fronthaul (e.g., Option 7-2x). The FHGW may be packaged with one or more other functions (e.g., Ethernet switching and / or the like) in a physical device or appliance. In some implementations, a RAN controller may be communicatively coupled with the CU 732 and / or the DU 731.

[0193] NGFI (also referred to as “xHaul” or the like) is a two-level fronthaul architecture that separates the traditional RRU 730 to BBU connectivity in the C-RAN architecture into two levels, namely levels I and II. Level I connects the RU 730 via the NGFI-I to the DU 731, and level II connects the DU 731 via the NGFI-II to the CU 732, as shown by deployment 700a in FIG. 7. The NGFI-I and NGFI-II connections may be wired connections or wireless connections, which may utilize any suitable RAT such as any of those discussed herein. The purpose of the two-level architecture is to distribute (split) the RAN node protocol functions between CU 732 and DU 731 such that latencies are relaxed, giving more deployment flexibility. In general, the NGFI-I interfaces with the lower layers of the function split, which have stringent delay and data rate requirements. In contrast, NGFI-II interfaces with higher layers of the function split relative to the layers of the NGFI-I, relaxing the requirements for theAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1fronthaul link. Examples of the NGFI fronthaul interfaces and functional split architectures include O-RAN 7.2x fronthaul (see e.g., [0-RAN.WG9.XPSAAS] and [O-RAN-WG4.CUS.0]), Enhanced Common Radio Interface (CPRI) based C-RAN fronthaul (see e.g., Common Public Radio Interface: eCPRI Interface Specification, eCPRI Specification v2.0 (2019-05-10), Common Public Radio Interface: Requirements for the eCPRI Transport Network, eCPRI Transport Network vl.2 (2018-06-25), and [O-RAN-WG4.CUS.0]), Radio over Ethernet (RoE) based C-RAN fronthaul (see, e.g., IEEE Standard for Radio over Ethernet Encapsulations and Mappings, IEEE Standards Association, IEEE 1914.3-2018 (05 Oct. 2018) (“[IEEE1914.3]”)), and / or the like. Additional aspects of NGFI are also discussed in [O-RAN.WG9.XPSAAS], [O-RAN-WG4.CUS.0], IEEE Standard for Packet-based Fronthaul Transport Networks, IEEE Standards Association, IEEE 1914.1-2019 (21 Apr. 2020) (“[IEEE1914.1]”), [IEEE1914.3], and Nasrallah et al., Ultra-Low Latency (ULL) Networks: A Comprehensive Survey Covering the IEEE TSN Standard and Related ULL Research, arXiv:1803.07673vl [cs.NI] (20 Mar. 2018) (“[Nasrallah]”), the contents of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

[0194] In one example, the deployment 700a may implement a low-level split (LLS) (also referred to as a “Lower Layer Functional Split 7-2x” or “Split Option 7-2x”) that runs between the RU 730 (e.g., an O-RU in O-RAN architectures) and the DU 731 (e.g., an O-DU in O-RAN architectures) (see, e.g., [O-RAN.WG7.IPC-HRD-Opt7-2], [O-RAN. WG7.0MAC-HRD], [O-RAN.WG7.OMC-HRD-Opt7-2], [O-RAN.WG7.OMC-HRD-Opt7-2]). In this example implementation, the NGFLI is the Open Fronthaul interface described in the O-RAN Open Fronthaul Specification (see, e.g., [O-RAN-WG4.CUS.0]). Other LLS options may be used, such as the relevant interfaces described in other standards or specifications such as, for example, the 3 GPP NG-RAN functional split (see e.g., [TS38401] and 3GPP TR 38.801 vl4.0.0 (2017-04-03)), the Small Cell Forum for Split Option 6 (see e.g., 5G small cell architecture and product definitions: Configurations and Specifications for companies deploying small cells 2020-2025, Small Cell Forum, document 238.10.01 (05 Jul. 2020) (“[SCF238]”), 5GNRFR1 Reference Design: The case for a common, modular architecture for 5GNRFR1 small cell distributed radio units, Small Cell Forum, document 251.10.01 (15 Dec. 2021) (“[SCF251]”), and [O-AG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1RAN.WG7.IPC-HRD-Opt6]), the contents of each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, and / or in 0-RAN white-box hardware Split Option 8 (e.g., [0-RAN. WG7.IPC-HRD-Opt8]).

[0195] Additionally or alternatively, the CUs 732, DUs 731, and / or RUs 730 may be IAB nodes. IAB enables wireless relaying in an NG-RAN where a relaying node (referred to as an “lAB-node”) supports access and backhauling via 3GPP 5G / new radio (NR) links / interfaces. The terminating node of NR backhauling on the network side is referred to as an “IAB-donor,” which represents a RAN node (e.g., a gNB) with additional functionality to support IAB. Backhauling can occur via a single or multiple hops. All IAB nodes that are connected to an IAB-donor via one or multiple hops form a directed acyclic graph (DAG) topology with the IAB-donor as its root. The IAB-donor performs centralized resource, topology, and route management for the IAB topology. The IAB architecture is shown and described in [TS38300],

[0196] Although the NGF deployment 700a shows the CU 732, DU 731, RRH 730, and CN 742 as separate entities, in other implementations, some or all of these network nodes can be bundled, combined, or otherwise integrated into a single device or element, including collapsing some internal interfaces (e.g., Fl-C, Fl-U, El, E2, and the like). At least the following implementations are possible: (i) integrating the CU 732 and the DU 731 (e.g., a CU-DU), which is connected to the RRH 730 via the NGFI-I; (ii) integrating the DU 731 and the RRH 730 (e.g., a DU-RRH), which is connected to the CU 732 via NGFI-II; (iii) integrating a RAN controller and the CU 732, which is connected to the DU 731 via NGFI-II; (iv) integrating the CU 732, the DU 731, and the RRH 730, which is connected to the CN 742 via a backhaul interface; and (v) integrating the network controller (or intelligent controller), the CU 732, the DU 731, and the RRH 730. Any of the aforementioned example implementations involving the CU 732 may also include integrating the CU-CP and CU-UP.

[0197] FIG. 7 also shows an example RAN disaggregation deployment 700b (also referred to as “disaggregated RAN 700b”) where the UE 702 is connected to the RRH 730, and the RRH 730 is communicatively coupled with one or more of the RAN functions (RANFs) 1-N (where N is a number). The RANFs 1-N are disaggregated and distributed geographically across several componentAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1segments and network nodes. In some implementations, each RANF 1-N is a software (SW) element operated by a physical compute node, and the RRH 730 includes radio-frequency (RF) circuitry (e.g., an RF propagation module for a particular RAT and / or the like). In this example, the RANF 1 is operated on a physical compute node that is co-located with the RRH 730, and the other RANFs are disposed at locations further away from the RRH 730. Additionally, in this example, CN 742 is also disaggregated into CN NFs 1-x (where x is a number) in the same or similar manner as the RANFs 1-N. However, in other implementations, the CN 742 is not disaggregated.

[0198] Network disaggregation (or disaggregated networking) involves the separation of networking equipment into functional components and allowing each component to be individually deployed. This may encompass the separation of SW elements (e.g., NFs) from specific HW elements and / or using APIs to enable software-defined network (SDN) and / or NF virtualization (NFV). RAN disaggregation involves network disaggregation and virtualization of various RANFs (e.g., RANFs 1-N in FIG. 7). The RANFs 1-N can be placed in different physical sites in various topologies in an RAN deployment based on the use case. This enables RANF distribution and deployment across different geographic areas, allowing a breakout of RANFs to support various use cases (e.g., low-latency use cases) as well as flexible RAN implementations.Disaggregation provides a common or uniform RAN platform that can assume a distinct profile depending on its deployment location. This enables fewer fixed-function devices and a lower total cost of ownership compared to existing RAN architectures. Example RAN disaggregation frameworks are provided by Telecom Infra Project (TIP) OpenRAN, Cisco Open vRAN, [O-RAN], Open Optical & Packet Transport (OOPT), Reconfigurable Optical Add Drop Multiplexer (RO ADM), and / or the like.

[0199] In a first example implementation, the RANFs 1-N disaggregate RAN HW and SW with commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) HW and open interfaces (e.g., NGFI-I and NGFI-II and the like). In this example implementation, each RANF 1-N may be a virtual BBU or vRAN controller operating on COTS compute infrastructure with HW acceleration for BBU / vRANFs.AG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1

[0200] In a second example implementation, the RANFs 1-N disaggregate layers of one or more RAT protocol stacks. As an example of this implementation, RANF 1 is a DU 731 operating on the first COTS compute infrastructure with HW acceleration for BBU / vRANFs, and RANF 2 is a virtual CU 732 operating on the second COTS compute infrastructure.

[0201] In a third example implementation, the RANFs 1-N disaggregate control plane and user plane functions. As an example of this implementation, the RANF l is a DU 731 operating on COTS compute infrastructure with HW acceleration for BBU / vRANFs, RANF 2 is a virtual CU-CP 732 operating on COTS compute infrastructure, and a third RANF (e.g., RANF 3 (not shown by FIG. 7)) is a virtual CU-UP 732 operating on the same or different COTS compute infrastructure as the virtual CU-CP 732. Additionally or alternatively, in this implementation, one or more CN NFs 1-x may be CN-UP functions, and one or more other CN NFs 1-x may be CN-CP functions.

[0202] In a fourth example implementation, the RANFs 1-N disaggregate layers of an [IEEE802] RAT. As an example of this implementation, the RRH 730 implements a WiFi PHY layer, RANF 1 implements a WiFi MAC sublayer, RANF 1 implements a WiFi logical link control (LLC) sublayer, RANF 2 implements one or more WiFi upper layer protocols (e.g., network layer, transport layer, session layer, presentation layer, and / or application layer), and so forth.

[0203] In a fifth example implementation, the RANFs 1-N disaggregate different O-RAN RANFs, including E2SMs. As an example of this implementation, RANF 1 implements the near-RT RIC, RANF 2 implements the E2SM-KPM, RANF 3 implements the E2SM-CCC, RANF 4 implements the E2SM RAN control, RANF 5 implements the E2SM-NI, RANF 6 implements functions for providing Al services, and so forth.

[0204] In any of the implementations discussed herein, the lower layers of the RAN protocol stack can be characterized by real-time (RT) functions and relatively complex signal processing algorithms, and the higher layers of the RAN protocol stack can be characterized by non-RT functions. In these implementations, the RT functions and signal processing algorithms can be implemented in DUs 731 and / or RRHs 730, either using purpose-built networkAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1elements or COTS hardware augmented with purpose-built hardware accelerators.

[0205] FIG. 7 also shows various functional split options 700c for both DL and UL directions. The traditional RAN is an integrated network architecture based on a distributed RAN (D-RAN) model, where D-RAN integrates all RANFs into a few network elements. As previously alluded to, the disaggregated RAN architecture offers flexible function split options to overcome the various drawbacks of the D-RAN model. The disaggregated RAN breaks down the integrated network system into several functional components that can then be individually relocated as needed without hindering their ability to work together to provide holistic network services. The split options 700c are mostly split between the CU 732 and the DU 731, but can also include a split among the CU 732, DU 731, and RU 730. For each option 700c, protocol entities on the left side of the figure are included in the RANF implementing the CU 732, and the protocol entities on the right side of the figure are included in the RANF implementing the DU 731. For example, the Option 2 function split includes splitting non-RT processing (e.g., RRC and PDCP layers) from RT processing (e.g., RLC, MAC, and PHY layers), where the RANF implementing the CU 732 performs network functions of the RRC and PDCP layers, and the RANF implementing the DU 731 performs the baseband processing functions of the RLC (including high-RLC and low-RLC), MAC (including high-MAC and low-MAC), and PHY layers. In some implementations, the PHY layer is further split between the DU 731 and the RU 730, where the RANF implementing the DU 731 performs the high-PHY layer functions, and the RU 730 handles the low-PHY layer functions. In some implementations, the Low-PHY entity may be operated by the RU 730 regardless of the selected functional split option. Under the Option 2 split, the RANF implementing the CU 732 can connect to multiple DUs 731 (e.g., the CU 732 is centralized), which allows RRC and PDCP anchor change to be eliminated during a handover across DUs 731 and allows the centralized CU 732 to pool resources across several DUs 731. In this way, the Option 2 function split can improve resource efficiency. The specific function split option used may vary depending on service requirements and network deployment scenarios, and may be implementation-specific. It should also be noted that in some implementations, all of the function split options canAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1be selected where each protocol stack entity is operated by a respective RANF (e.g., a first RANF operates the RRC layer, a second RANF operates the PDCP layer, a third RANF operates the high-RLC layer, and so forth until an eighth RANF operates the low-PHY layer). Other split options are possible, such as those discussed in [O-RAN.WG7.IPC-HRD-Opt6], [0-RAN.WG7.IPC-HRD-Opt7-2], [O-RAN.WG7.IPC-HRD-Opt8], [0-RAN.WG7.0MAC-HRD], and [O-RAN.WG7.OMC-HRD-Opt7-2].

[0206] For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components outlined in one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, and / or methods as discussed herein (including the examples listed in the examples sections below). For example, baseband circuitry associated with one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to operate in accordance with one or more of the examples set forth below. For another example, circuitry associated with a UE, base station, satellite, network element, etc., as described above in connection with one or more of the preceding figures, may be configured to operate in accordance with one or more of the examples set forth below in the example section.

[0207] The term “application” may refer to a complete, deployable package or environment that performs a specific function in an operational environment. The term “ AI / ML application,” or a similar term, may refer to an application that incorporates artificial intelligence (Al) and / or machine learning (ML) models, along with application-level descriptions. In some embodiments, an AI / ML application may be used to configure or implement one or more of the disclosed aspects.

[0208] The term “machine learning” or “ML” refers to the use of computer systems implementing algorithms and / or statistical models to perform a specific task(s) without using explicit instructions but instead relying on patterns and inferences. ML algorithms build or estimate mathematical models (referred to as “ML models” or the like) based on sample data (referred to as “training data,” “model training information,” or the like) to make predictions or decisions without being explicitly programmed to perform such tasks. Generally, an ML algorithm is a computer program that learns from experience regarding a specific task and a corresponding performance measure. An ML model, on the otherAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1hand, may be any object or data structure created after an ML algorithm is trained on one or more training datasets. After training, an ML model may be used to make predictions on new datasets. Although the term “ML algorithm” refers to concepts different from the term “ML model,” these terms, as discussed herein, may be used interchangeably for the present disclosure.

[0209] The term “machine learning model,” “ML model,” or the like may also refer to ML methods and concepts used by an ML-assisted solution. An “ML-assisted solution” is a solution that addresses a specific use case using ML algorithms during operation. ML models include supervised learning (e.g., linear regression, k-nearest neighbor (KNN), decision tree algorithms, support machine vectors, Bayesian algorithm, ensemble algorithms, etc.), unsupervised learning (e.g., K-means clustering, principal component analysis (PCA), etc.), reinforcement learning (e.g., Q-learning, multi-armed bandit learning, deep RL, etc.), neural networks, and the like. Depending on the implementation, a specific ML model may comprise many sub-models, and the model may train all of them simultaneously. Separately trained ML models can also be chained together in an ML pipeline during inference. An “ML pipeline” is a set of functionalities, functions, or functional entities specific to an ML-assisted solution; an ML pipeline may include one or several data sources in a data pipeline, a model training pipeline, a model evaluation pipeline, and an actor. The “actor” is an entity that hosts an ML-assisted solution that uses the ML model's inference output. The term “ML training host” refers to an entity, such as a network function, that hosts the model training. The term “ML inference host” refers to an entity, such as a network function, that hosts the model during inference (including both model execution and any online learning, if applicable). The ML host informs the actor of the ML algorithm's output, and the actor decides on an action (an “action” is performed by an actor as a result of the ML-assisted solution's output). The term “model inference information” refers to information used as an input to the ML model for determining inference(s); the data used to train an ML model and the data used to determine inferences may overlap, however, “training data” and “inference data” refer to different concepts.AG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1

[0210] The present disclosure defines or provides configurations, such as enhanced PDSCH and PUSCH transmission schemes in cellular networks. The following discussion may be applicable to any type of communication device (including UEs or base stations), such as the devices discussed in connection with FIGS. 1A-14.

[0211] NR supports a wide range of the spectrum in different frequency ranges. It is expected that the availability of spectrum for 5G Advanced will increase, possibly due to re-farming from bands originally used by previous cellular generation networks. Especially in the frequency range (FR1) bands, the available spectrum blocks tend to be more fragmented and scattered, with narrower bandwidths. For FR2 bands and some FR1 bands, the available spectrum can be wider, necessitating intra-band multi-carrier operation. To meet different spectrum needs, it is important to ensure that these scattered spectrum bands or wider bandwidth spectra can be utilized in a more spectrum / power-efficient and flexible manner, thereby providing higher throughput and better network coverage.

[0212] For 6G, with more available spectrum bands, simultaneous scheduling of PUSCH or PDSCH transmissions across multiple bands can be considered, potentially reducing control overhead. To enable more efficient operation, multiple spectrum bands may be grouped into a single wideband or carrier.

[0213] The problem addressed by the disclosed techniques relates to wireless communications in cellular networks. The problem arises in the radio access network's physical layer and associated scheduling and signaling procedures. The problem is observed in fifth-generation New Radio (5G NR) systems and is expected to persist in later-generation systems, including 5G-Advanced and sixth-generation (6G) systems. The problem is associated with operations over wideband carriers that include fragmented or non-contiguous frequency resources, including bandwidth parts (BWPs) and multi-carrier or multi-part resource allocations for shared channel transmissions.

[0214] A first issue is that available spectrum, particularly in frequency range 1 (FR1), tends to be fragmented and scattered into narrower blocks. In some deployments, parts of the spectrum within a wideband carrier may be reserved or unavailable, creating gaps between usable frequency resources. In otherAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1deployments, wide-spectrum allocations, including in the frequency range 2 (FR2) and some FR1 bands, can enable intra-band multi-carrier operation. In these scenarios, a single PDSCH or PUSCH transmission may span multiple separated frequency resources or multiple BWPs. Channel conditions can vary across frequency. A single modulation and coding scheme applied uniformly across separated parts can be mismatched to the actual link quality. This can lead to inefficient link adaptation, inefficient resource utilization, and reduced throughput for a given control overhead.

[0215] A second issue is that a single scheduling event may be required to support transmissions spanning multiple non-contiguous parts. The mapping of coded bits and modulated symbols across frequency and time resources becomes a design constraint. Mapping order can affect how code blocks are distributed across the allocated resources. In fragmented allocations, an unspecified or suboptimal mapping order can lead to unclear behavior for transmitter and receiver processing. It can also complicate decoding behavior when transmissions span multiple BWPs or multiple non-contiguous resource segments within a BWP.

[0216] The environment in which the problem occurs includes UEs and base stations operating with OFDM-based air interfaces and using BWPs, carrier aggregation, and dynamic or configured scheduling of shared channels. The problem can occur when a wideband carrier is formed by grouping multiple spectrum bands, when a BWP includes non-contiguous physical resource blocks, or when a single PDSCH or PUSCH is scheduled across more than one BWP or more than one separated frequency segment. Conditions that contribute to the problem include spectrum refarming, regulatory or deployment constraints that reserve parts of a wideband carrier, and multi-band scheduling intended to reduce control overhead by scheduling a single shared-channel transmission across multiple resources.

[0217] If the problem is not addressed, shared-channel transmissions can experience reduced spectral efficiency and reduced power efficiency. Link adaptation can be constrained by using a single MCS value that must accommodate the worst-case channel quality across the spanned resources. This can reduce the achievable transport block size or increase error rates. ControlAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1overhead can also increase if separate transmissions must be scheduled rather than a single one. These outcomes can affect system throughput, coverage, and robustness, particularly for future systems that are expected to use more fragmented spectrum and wider aggregated carriers.

[0218] Potential causes include frequency-selective fading and non-uniform interference across separated frequency resources, combined with scheduling and signaling procedures that assume contiguous allocations or a single MCS and redundancy version across an entire scheduled shared-channel transmission. Additional contributing factors include the presence of non-contiguous PRB sets within a BWP and the use of multiple BWPs for a single scheduled transmission, which can introduce ambiguity or inefficiency in code block segmentation, rate matching, and symbol mapping.

[0219] The disclosed techniques provide a transmission and signaling solution for shared-channel communications in cellular networks when a single transmission is mapped to multiple non-contiguous frequency resources. The solution applies to PDSCH and PUSCH. The solution targets operation on wideband carriers formed from fragmented spectrum and on bandwidth parts (BWPs) that include non-contiguous physical resource blocks (PRBs). The solution also addresses cases in which a single scheduling event assigns resources spanning multiple BWPs. The solution addresses link adaptation mismatches and mapping ambiguities that can occur when a single MCS and a single mapping assumption are applied across separate resource segments.

[0220] In one aspect, the solution enables a BWP to be configured as a set of multiple non-contiguous frequency resources. A BWP may include a first contiguous PRB segment and a second contiguous PRB segment with a frequency gap between them. The gap may correspond to reserved or unavailable spectrum within a wideband carrier. In one example, frequencydomain resource allocation type 0 is used to indicate the non-contiguous resources for the BWP. In one example, the feature is limited to downlink operation. In one example, the maximum number of non-contiguous resources for a BWP is limited to two. This configuration allows scheduling of a single PDSCH or PUSCH across a BWP that is not contiguous in frequency.AG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1

[0221] In another aspect, the solution provides multiple modulation and coding schemes (MCSs) and / or redundancy versions (RVs) associated with a single PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission. A first MCS or RV is applied to a first part of the transmission mapped to a first frequency resource. A second MCS or RV is applied to a second part of the transmission mapped to a second frequency resource. The parts may be defined as separate frequency segments within a non-contiguous BWP or as separate BWPs used for a single scheduled transmission. This enables frequency-dependent link adaptation within one scheduled shared-channel transmission.

[0222] For dynamic grant-based PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission, the solution includes conveying the multiple MCS and / or RV values in downlink control information (DCI). A PDCCH transmission schedules a single PDSCH or a single PUSCH. The DCI includes a first MCS (or RV) associated with the first part and a second MCS (or RV) associated with the second part. In one configuration option, the DCI explicitly includes two MCS indications. In another configuration option, the DCI includes a first MCS and a delta MCS (MCS offset). In that option, the second MCS is derived from the first MCS and the delta MCS. The relationship can be expressed as MCS2= MCS + AMCS. This reduces signaling relative to explicitly indicating both MCS values.

[0223] For configured grant-based PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission, the solution includes configuring multiple MCS and / or RV values by higher-layer signaling. RRC signaling provides a first MCS (or RV) and a second MCS (or RV) for the respective parts. In the delta-based option, RRC configures a first MCS and a delta MCS or MCS offset, and the UE derives the second MCS using the configured delta relationship as follows: MCS2= MCS1+ AMC5. This supports semi-static operation where repeated transmissions use a known multipart configuration without requiring per-transmission DCI updates.

[0224] The solution also defines allocation behavior for dividing resources among the parts that use different MCS values. In one option, time-domain resources are common for the PDSCH or PUSCH, mapped to multiple parts. A common slot allocation and a common symbol allocation may be used across the parts. In one option, the first and second parts are split equally in the allocated resource, in time and / or frequency. In one example, the equal split is inAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1frequency across the total allocated PRBs. If the total number of allocated PRBs is NPRBand two MCS values are used, the first part may use [NPRB / 2jPRBs starting from the first allocated PRBs and the second part may usepVPRB / 2]PRBs after the first part. This provides a deterministic partition between the parts.

[0225] In another option, the solution provides separate frequency-domain resource indication per part using Resource Block Group (RBG)-based frequency-domain resource allocation (FDRA). In that option, a first FDRA field (or a first interpretation of the FDRA) identifies PRBs for the first part, and a second FDRA field identifies PRBs for the second part. The solution allows multiple approaches for determining RBG size. In one approach, a common RBG size is determined as a function of the overall active DL or UL BWP size, excluding PRBs that are not part of the BWP. In another approach, separate RBG sizes are determined as a function of the size of each contiguous part of the BWP. In another approach, the RBG size is explicitly configured independently of the overall BWP size and the individual contiguous-part sizes. These options allow adaptation of granularity for fragmented resource structures.

[0226] The solution defines the determination of the transport block size (TBS) when multiple MCS values apply to a single scheduled transmission. In one aspect, the total TBS for the PDSCH and / or PUSCH is determined as a function of the allocated resources and the MCS applied to each part. A first contribution to the TBS is based on the allocated resource for the first part and the first MCS. A second contribution is based on the allocated resource for the second part and the second MCS. The resulting TBS accounts for differences in spectral efficiency across the parts. This avoids constraining the entire transport block to a single worst-case MCS.

[0227] The solution further defines coding and modulation processing for multi-part transmissions. In one aspect, separate coding and modulation procedures are applied to the parts. The separate procedures can include code block segmentation, CRC attachment, rate matching, and code block concatenation. The first part uses the first MCS to process its portion of the transport block. The second part uses the second MCS and processes its portion accordingly. This enables the receiver to decode each part under its ownAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1modulation and coding assumptions. It also supports mapping the resulting coded and modulated symbols to the specific PRB segments assigned to each part.

[0228] The solution includes options for HARQ and retransmission-related signaling in multi-part scheduling. In one option, separate signaling for the New Data Indicator (NDI) is provided for different parts of a PDSCH or PUSCH. In another option, a common NDI is indicated for a PDSCH or PUSCH mapped to multiple non-contiguous parts. In one option, HARQ process identifiers (PIDs) are associated with each part. In another option, a single HARQ PID is associated with the overall PDSCH or PUSCH mapped to multiple parts. When a single HARQ PID is used, a common NDI may be applied. These alternatives allow implementations that favor independent part-level retransmission control or implementations that favor unified retransmission control for the overall scheduled transmission.

[0229] The solution also includes optional CRC handling for multi-part transmissions. In one option, CRC bits are appended to each part separately. In one example, in addition to or instead of a transport block CRC that spans the entire transport block across multiple parts, CRC bits are appended to each part as a partial transport block CRC. In one example, a transport block CRC, if present, is appended to the last code block of the overall transport block. In one example, a partial transport block CRC is mapped to the last code block in each part. This supports part-level integrity checking and can support part-level HARQ or receiver processing.

[0230] The solution includes optional configuration separation per part for other physical layer parameters. In one option, the number of transmission layers for each part is configured and / or indicated separately. In one option, demodulation reference signals (DMRS) associated with each part follow separate configurations and / or indications. Separate DMRS antenna ports and separate DMRS symbol patterns may be configured or indicated per part. In one option, an overhead factor used for TBS determination is configured or derived separately per part. In one example, a UE determines the overhead factor for a part based on a common value and differential values for each part. TheAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1differential values may be explicitly indicated or derived as a function of signal configuration in the respective part.

[0231] The solution includes options for virtual resource block (VRB) to physical resource block (PRB) mapping for PDSCH that is split into parts. In one option, VRB-to-PRB mapping is applied separately to each part, with each part mapping within the contiguous PRB set corresponding to that part. In another option, a common VRB-to-PRB mapping is applied across the entire active downlink BWP that includes multiple non-contiguous PRB sets. These options allow either localized mapping per segment or a unified mapping framework.

[0232] The solution supports multi-part scheduling across multiple BWPs. In that case, a first MCS or RV applies to the portion of the transmission in a first BWP, and a second MCS or RV applies to the portion in a second BWP. TBS determination and separate coding and modulation procedures follow the same principles as for a non-contiguous BWP. Processing is performed per BWP part, and mapping is applied to the resources of the respective BWP.

[0233] The solution supports multi-part scheduling within a single BWP configured with multiple non-contiguous frequency resources. In that case, a first MCS or RV applies to the first frequency resource segment, and a second MCS or RV applies to the second frequency resource segment. TBS determination and coding / modulation procedures are applied per segment. This provides frequency-selective link adaptation within a single BWP, even when the BWP is fragmented.

[0234] For uplink operation, the solution includes additional options that address uplink power control and transmitter constraints when PUSCH is mapped to multiple parts. In one option, a UE is provided with separate uplink transmit power control (TPC) parameters for each part. In one example, a UE uses a common downlink pathloss value for each part. In another example, for unpaired spectrum deployments, pathloss for uplink TPC determination is based on downlink pathloss measurements in the respective frequency parts. In one option, power headroom reporting (PHR) behavior accounts for whether the PUSCH carrying the PHR is scheduled as a single- or multi-part PUSCH. In one example, an additional power backoff is assumed for multi-part PUSCH. In oneAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1option, maximum power reduction (MPR) is applied separately to each part, accounting for the PRBs allocated for the part relative to the contiguous resource segment of the active uplink BWP. In one example, a first part mapped to a central region of a first segment uses a lower MPR, and a second part mapped near an edge of a second segment uses a higher MPR. In one option, time synchronization is maintained within a specified or configured time window across the different parts of a PUSCH. In one option, a UE indicates whether it can maintain phase continuity across the multiple parts of a PUSCH. The capability may depend on the maximum frequency gap between parts, the maximum number of parts, the transmit power configuration, and the consistency of MIMO configurations across the parts.

[0235] In another aspect, the solution defines mapping-order behavior for coded bits and modulated symbols for PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmissions spanning multiple BWPs or multiple frequency resources. The solution specifies spatial-frequency-time-ordered resource element (RE) mapping. In one mapping option, when more than one BWP is allocated for a PDSCH or PUSCH, encoded bits and modulated symbols are mapped in a first BWP and then in a second BWP before mapping to the next OFDM symbol. A similar rule applies when more than one frequency resource segment within a BWP is allocated. In that case, mapping proceeds through a first frequency resource segment, then a second, before proceeding to the next OFDM symbol. This mapping option supports deterministic continuation of a code block across frequency segments within the same symbol time.

[0236] In another mapping option, mapping proceeds across time within a first segment before proceeding to the next segment. When more than one BWP is allocated, encoded bits and modulated symbols are mapped in the first BWP and then mapped to the next symbol in the first BWP. After mapping is performed in the first BWP over the scheduled symbols, the mapping continues in the second BWP and then proceeds to subsequent symbols in the second BWP. A similar rule applies to multiple frequency resource segments within a single BWP. In that case, mapping proceeds to the next symbol within the first frequency resource segment before mapping continues in the second segment. This mapping option supports completing mapping across time in one segmentAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1before using another segment. The solution states that the mapping order rules may apply when a common MCS is applied across the transmission and may also apply when separate MCS values are applied to different parts.

[0237] The solution is illustrated by scheduling and mapping examples. In one example, corresponding to a separate MCS indication for a single PDSCH scheduling event, a PDCCH schedules a PDSCH within a BWP, and two MCS values apply: a first MCS to a first part of the PDSCH and a second MCS to a second part. The parts are split in frequency. In another example corresponding to separate MCS indications in different BWPs, a PDCCH schedules a single PDSCH that is transmitted in a first BWP and a second BWP, with a first MCS applied in the first BWP and a second MCS applied in the second BWP. In one mapping-order example for multiple BWPs, a code block is first mapped to a first frequency resource in a first BWP, then to a second frequency resource in a second BWP, and then proceeds to the next OFDM symbol. In another mapping-order example, a code block is first mapped in a first frequency resource of a first BWP and then mapped to the next symbol within that first BWP, and only after completing mapping within the first BWP does mapping continue into a second BWP and its subsequent symbols.

[0238] The dependencies and operating requirements for the solution include a UE and a base station that support OFDM-based air interfaces and support BWP operation and shared channel scheduling. The base station provides scheduling assignments and, for dynamic scheduling, provides DCI capable of carrying either multiple MCS / RV indications or an MCS plus delta indication for multi-part transmissions. For configured grants, the base station provides higher layer configuration via RRC for the multi-part parameters. The UE decodes the DCI or applies the RRC configuration, partitions the scheduled resources into the defined parts, applies the part-specific MCS and RV, and performs the associated coding, rate matching, and symbol mapping using the specified mapping-order rule. The receiver performs corresponding demapping and decoding per part under the applied MCS and RV assumptions.

[0239] The rationale for the solution is based on frequency-selective channel behavior and non-uniform interference across separated frequency resources. Using separate MCS and / or RV per part aligns link adaptation with per-part linkAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1quality. This avoids selecting a single MCS dominated by a worst-case segment. Defining mapping order reduces ambiguity in transmitter and receiver processing when allocations are non-contiguous or span multiple BWPs. It provides a deterministic rule for distributing code blocks and symbols across the scheduled REs.

[0240] Applying the solution addresses the technical issues associated with fragmented spectrum operation. It enables a single scheduling event to cover multiple non-contiguous frequency resources with part-specific link adaptation. It supports deterministic processing for segmentation, rate matching, and mapping. It supports optional independent control for retransmission behavior and integrity checking across parts. Expected outcomes include improved resource utilization by using a single MCS across all parts, improved throughput for a given control overhead in frequency-selective conditions, and reduced need to schedule separate transmissions solely to accommodate different channel qualities across separate frequency resources.

[0241] In some aspects, a bandwidth part is defined as a contiguous subset of common resource blocks selected within the carrier for a given numerology, wherein the configuration specifies the starting common resource block index and the precise number of resource blocks to form an unbroken frequency segment. This contiguous structure confines PDSCH reception and PUSCH transmission exclusively to the active bandwidth part, with the UE supporting a maximum of four downlink and four uplink bandwidth parts per serving cell while maintaining only one active bandwidth part in each direction at any instant, thereby ensuring all physical resource assignments remain within a single continuous frequency range.

[0242] In some aspects, resource element mapping for PDSCH and PUSCH adheres to a spatial-frequency -time ordering principle, whereby modulated symbols are first assigned in ascending subcarrier order across the allocated physical resource blocks within each OFDM symbol, then progress through successive symbols in the time domain, and finally extend across spatial layers when multiple layers are employed. For allocations confined to the contiguous resources of the active bandwidth part, the virtual resource block to physical resource block mapping operates in a direct non-interleaved mode, mappingAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1each virtual resource block index precisely to the equivalent physical resource block after applying the bandwidth part starting offset, which preserves seamless contiguity and alignment with the underlying resource grid without fragmentation.

[0243] The disclosed techniques detail demodulation reference signal configurations applicable to both PDSCH and PUSCH, providing for configuration type 1 and type 2 patterns with selectable additional positions and maximum lengths of up to two OFDM symbols, utilizing antenna ports in the range 1000 to 1023 together with configurable scrambling identities to enable accurate channel estimation across the entirety of the contiguous allocated resources. Modulation schemes are explicitly enumerated to include K / 2-BPSK, QPSK, 16QAM, 64QAM, and 256QAM (with higher orders supported under defined conditions), while optional transform precoding for PUSCH generates DFT-s-OFDM waveforms that continue to map directly onto the contiguous physical resource blocks, thereby maintaining the integrity of the single continuous allocation for each transmission.

[0244] These foundational elements collectively establish the baseline physical-layer framework in which all resource-element assignments, referencesignal placements, and modulation processing assume and enforce contiguity within the active bandwidth part, providing the structural foundation for the disclosed enhancements to fragmented frequency resources and multiple modulation and coding schemes to extend.

[0245] In some aspects, transport block processing for PDSCH and PUSCH begins with the attachment of a single transport block cyclic redundancy check, where a 24-bit CRC using polynomial CRC24A is appended when the transport block size exceeds 3824 bits, or a 16-bit CRC using CRC 16 otherwise, ensuring error detection for the complete transport block prior to any further segmentation. This single CRC attachment applies uniformly to one transport block per PDSCH or PUSCH transmission occasion.

[0246] The specification further prescribes code block segmentation applied to the transport block after CRC attachment, whereby if the resulting bit sequence length surpasses the maximum code block size (8448 bits for base graph 1 or 3840 bits for base graph 2), the sequence is divided into multiple codeAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1blocks, with each code block (except possibly the last) sized as evenly as possible and filler bits inserted for alignment, followed by the attachment of a fixed 24-bit code block CRC using CRC24B to every individual code block. Base graph selection for LDPC encoding is governed by transport block size and target code rate thresholds, with each code block then independently LDPC-encoded to produce the coded bits.

[0247] Rate matching subsequently operates on a per-code-block basis using a circular buffer, selecting bits starting from a redundancy version-dependent position (rv_id = 0, 1, 2, or 3) and applying bit interleaving grouped by modulation order, after which all rate-matched code blocks belonging to the single transport block are concatenated in sequential order to form the final coded bit sequence for mapping to the physical channel. These procedures can be performed for one transport block per transmission, with a common redundancy version and a single set of coding parameters applied across all code blocks of that transport block, establishing the unified coding chain that the disclosed separate coding and partial CRC per frequency part would modify.

[0248] In some aspects, physical layer procedures for control, downlink control information formats for PDSCH and PUSCH scheduling include dedicated fields for a single modulation and coding scheme index, a single redundancy version indicator, and a single new data indicator per grant, with the frequency domain resource allocation field supporting type 0 (RBG-based bitmap) or type 1 (contiguous RIV) within the active bandwidth part. The RBG size for type 0 allocation is determined solely from the active bandwidth part size, using predefined tables, ensuring that all indicated resource block groups lie contiguously within that bandwidth part.

[0249] In some aspects, BWP operation procedures limit the UE to at most four configured downlink and uplink bandwidth parts per serving cell, with activation and switching accomplished via DCI bandwidth part indicator or inactivity timer, wherein each bandwidth part is identified by its locationAndBandwidth parameter that enforces contiguity through the resource indication value encoding a single starting PRB and width. Uplink power control for PUSCH computes transmit power as the minimum of the configured maximum and a formula incorporating a single set of P0, alpha, path lossAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1estimate, MCS-dependent delta, and closed-loop TPC accumulation, with TPC commands delivered in the scheduling DCI or group TPC DCI, all referenced to the contiguous allocation in the active uplink bandwidth part.

[0250] In some aspects, power headroom reporting procedures further assume a single transmission occasion per report, calculating type 1 power headroom based on the actual or reference PUSCH format using the allocated contiguous PRBs, modulation and coding scheme, and number of layers within the active bandwidth part, with triggers including periodic timer expiry, path loss variation, or BWP switching. These mechanisms uniformly address a single MCS, single NDI, single HARQ process association, and single contiguous resource allocation per DCI grant or per configured resource, providing the control-plane baseline for the proposed multi-MCS, multi-part, and fragmented resource enhancements.

[0251] In some aspects, physical layer procedures for data, frequency domain resource allocation for PDSCH and PUSCH support type 0 via an RBG bitmap whose size is derived exclusively from the active bandwidth part bandwidth (with RBG sizes ranging from 2 to 16 PRBs per table) and type 1 via a resource indication value encoding a single contiguous block of virtual resource blocks within that bandwidth part, with all allocated PRBs remaining contiguous by construction. The modulation and coding scheme is indicated by a single index per grant, mapped to one of several predefined tables that jointly determine modulation order and target code rate for the entire transport block.

[0252] Transport block size determination follows a precise sequence commencing with calculation of the number of resource elements accounting for DM-RS overhead and a configurable xOverhead factor (0, 6, 12, or 18 REs per PRB), multiplication by the total number of allocated PRBs from the single contiguous allocation, scaling by the number of layers and the modulation order and code rate from the single MCS index, followed by quantization and lookup in TBS tables or direct formula application to yield one TBS value per transport block. DM-RS configurations and mapping types (A or B) are applied uniformly across the full contiguous allocation, with overhead factors and PRB bundling sizes also determined from the overall bandwidth part and allocation parameters.AG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1

[0253] The data channel procedures can operate on the premise of one contiguous frequency domain allocation, one MCS index, one resulting TBS computed from aggregate resources, and the single MCS, and uniform DM-RS and overhead application across the transmission, forming the procedural foundation that the disclosed separate MCS per frequency part or BWP, separate TBS calculation per part, and per-part overhead would extend.

[0254] In some aspects, HARQ entity management associates each PDSCH or PUSCH transmission with a single HARQ process identifier derived either from the DCI or from slot-based formulas for configured grants, with a single new data indicator per grant distinguishing new transport blocks from retransmissions and a single HARQ process identity governing buffer flushing, combining, and retransmission scheduling for that transport block. Configured grant procedures similarly assign one HARQ process per occasion using periodicity and offset calculations, apply a common redundancy version cycling, and use a single NDI toggle rule per grant.

[0255] Power headroom reporting generates type 1 reports assuming the contiguous PUSCH allocation and a single set of power control parameters (P0, alpha, path loss, MCS-dependent adjustment) within the active uplink bandwidth part, with multiple-entry reports extending this to multiple cells or BWPs but still per contiguous resource set. BWP activation and deactivation at the MAC layer trigger HARQ buffer flushing or grant reinitialization exclusively for the affected contiguous bandwidth part, while logical channel prioritization and scheduling requests operate within the single active uplink bandwidth part.

[0256] In some aspects, MAC procedures can presuppose a single HARQ process identity, single NDI, single power headroom calculation basis, and single contiguous resource context per transmission or report, establishing the higher-layer control framework that the proposed per-part HARQ PID options, separate NDI signaling, and multi-part PHR assumptions would augment.

[0257] In some aspects, bandwidth part configuration is effected through the BWP-Downlink and BWP-Uplink information elements, each containing a locationAndBandwidth parameter encoded as a resource indication value that mathematically defines a single contiguous block of physical resource blocks by specifying starting PRB index and width within the carrier, thereby enforcingAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1frequency contiguity at the RRC level. The RBG size parameter, determined implicitly from the BWP bandwidth or explicitly configured, governs resource block group formation for type 0 frequency domain resource allocation, with all groups allocated contiguously within the BWP boundaries.

[0258] PDSCH-Config and PUSCH-Config information elements include dedicated DM-RS configurations (dmrs-Type, additional positions, maxLength) and reference signal parameters that apply uniformly across the contiguous resources of the BWP, while ConfiguredGrantConfig specifies a single mcs-AndTBS or mcs-Table, redundancy version pattern, and frequencyDomainAllocation that similarly operates within the contiguous BWP defined by the RIV. Overhead parameters such as xOverhead in PDSCH-ServingCellConfig or PUSCH-ServingCellConfig provide a common value for TBS calculation across the entire allocation.

[0259] Resource allocation type selection (resourceAllocation IE allowing dynamic switch between type 0 and type 1) and vrb-ToPRB-Interleaver further operate under the assumption of contiguity enforced by the BWP RIV encoding, with no information elements present to indicate or configure non-contiguous resources or multiple independent parts within a BWP. These RRC signaling structures can provide the complete higher-layer configuration framework for contiguous bandwidth parts, single MCS / RV tables, uniform DM-RS and overhead settings, and single resource allocation descriptors that the disclosed non-contiguous BWP, multi-MCS via delta or separate fields, and per-part RBG signaling would extend.

[0260] In some aspects, the UE maximum output power is bounded by the configured power class, with maximum power reduction (MPR) and additional MPR values defined in tables that depend on the contiguous resource block allocation position within the channel bandwidth (inner versus edge resource blocks), the transmission bandwidth configuration, the modulation scheme, and the frequency range. These reductions ensure compliance with spectrum emission masks and spurious emission limits by applying a single MPR value derived from the overall contiguous PRBs allocated to each PUSCHtransmission.AG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1

[0261] In some aspects, power headroom calculations and power control backoff mechanisms reference the same contiguous allocation parameters, with additional backoff factors activated for specific band combinations or resource block allocations near channel edges. The specifications further detail the conducted and radiated power requirements, assuming contiguous resource allocations within the active bandwidth part, providing the RF performance baseline. Separate MPR applications per fragmented frequency resource or per non-contiguous part, as well as distinct path loss references for TDD multi-part PUSCH, would constitute targeted extensions.

[0262] FIG. 8 is a diagram of a wideband carrier with a fragmented bandwidth, in accordance with some aspects. In the figure, a first frequency resource at 802 and a second frequency resource at 806 are grouped into a wideband carrier. In addition, between the first and second frequency resources, the frequency resource at 804 may be reserved and not used for cellular communication. In this case, the frequency resource at 804 is unavailable within the wideband carrier.

[0263] For a wideband carrier with fragmented bandwidth, separate modulation and coding schemes can be used for PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmissions across different frequency resources. Such scheduling may enable accurate link adaptation and resource allocation across a wide BWP with significant channel variations in frequency.

[0264] The disclosed techniques include systems and methods for an enhanced transmission scheme for PDSCH and PUSCH for a cellular system. In particular, the disclosed techniques include enhanced PDSCH and PUSCH transmission with fragmented frequency resource, and mapping order for codeblock on PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission.

[0265] The following configurations can be used for enhanced PDSCH and PUSCH transmission with fragmented frequency resources.

[0266] In some cases, for a wideband carrier with fragmented bandwidth, it may be beneficial to use separate modulation and coding schemes for PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission across different frequency resources. Such scheduling may enable accurate link adaptation and resource allocation across a wide BWP with significant channel variations in frequency.AG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1

[0267] In some aspects, a bandwidth part (BWP) may consist of noncontiguous resources in the frequency domain. In one example, frequencydomain resource allocation type 0 may be used to indicate non-contiguous resources for a BWP. In some cases, this configuration may apply only to the downlink (DL). In addition, the maximum number of non-contiguous resources for a BWP may be limited to 2.

[0268] FIG. 9 is a diagram of a non-contiguous resource for a bandwidth part (BWP), in accordance with some aspects. FIG. 9 illustrates one example of noncontiguous resource allocation in frequency for a BWP. In this example, frequency resources at 902 and 906 are allocated for a BWP, where the frequency resource at 904 is not allocated for the BWP.

[0269] In some aspects, more than one modulation and coding scheme (MCS) and / or redundancy version (RV) may be associated with a PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission. In particular, a first MCS or RV and a second MCS or RV may be applied to a first part and a second part of PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission, respectively.

[0270] In addition, for dynamic grant-based PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission, a first MCS or RV and a second MCS or RV may be included in the DCI format applied to a first part and a second part of the PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission, respectively. Further, for configured grant-based PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission, a first MCS or RV may be applied to a first part of the PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission, and a second MCS or RV may be applied to a second part of the PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission, respectively, by higher layers via RRC signaling.

[0271] In some aspects, for dynamic grant-based PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission, a first MCS and a delta MCS or MCS offset may be included in the DCI format. In this case, the second MCS may be determined in accordance with the indicated first MCS and the delta MCS (MCS offset), i.e., MCS_2 = MCS l + A MCS. Similarly, for configured grant-based PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission, a first MCS and a delta MCS or MCS offset may be configured by higher layers via RRC signaling. In this case, the second MCS may be determined based on the configured first MCS and the delta MCS (MCS offset), i.e., MCS_2 = MCS_1 + A_MCS.AG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1

[0272] In some aspects, time-domain resources (slots and / or symbols within a slot) may be shared across multiple parts mapped to a PDSCH / PUSCH.

[0273] In some cases, the first and second parts of the PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission with individual MCS indication may be split equally across the allocated resources in the time and / or frequency domains.

[0274] In some aspects, the first part and the second part of PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission with individual MCS indication may be equally split in the allocation of frequency resources. In one example, assuming the number of allocated PRBs for PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission as N PRB, and two MCSs for the PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmissions, the first part of PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission with the first MCS may be allocated with[N PRB / 2J PRBs starting from the first allocated PRBs, and the second part of PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission with the second MCS may be allocated with [N PRB / 2] PRBs after the first part.

[0275] In another option, frequency domain resources may be indicated via Resource Block Group (RBG)-based frequency domain resource allocation (FDRA) separately for each part of the PDSCH / PUSCH. In a further example, a common value of RBG, determined as a function of the overall active DL / UL BWP size (i.e., excluding PRBs that are not part of the BWP), may be used. Alternatively, RBG sizes may be separately determined for each part as a function of the size of each contiguous part of the DL / UL BWP. In some cases, the RBG size may be explicitly configured independently of the overall size of the DL / UL BWP or the individual sizes of its parts.

[0276] In some aspects, the total transport block size for the PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission can be determined in accordance with the allocated resource and the first MCS for the first part of PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission, and the allocated resource and the second MCS for the second part of PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission.

[0277] In some aspects, a separate coding and modulation procedure, including codeblock segmentation, CRC attachment, rate-matching, and code block concatenation, is applied to the first and second parts of PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission, respectively.AG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1

[0278] FIG. 10 is a diagram of a separate modulation and coding scheme (MCS) indication for single PDSCH scheduling, in accordance with some aspects. More specifically, FIG. 10 illustrates one example of a separate MCS indication for single PDSCH scheduling. In FIG. 10, PDCCH at 1002 is used to schedule a PDSCH at 1004 in the BWP. Further, two MCSs are applied to the scheduled PDSCH, where the first MCS at 1006 is applied to the first part of the PDSCH, and the second MCS at 1008 is applied to the second part of the PDSCH. The first part and the second part of the PDSCH are equally split in the frequency domain.

[0279] In some aspects, separate signaling for the New Data Indicator (NDI) may be provided to a UE for the different parts of a PDSCH / PUSCH.

[0280] In some aspects, Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) bits may be appended separately to each part of a PDSCH / PUSCH. In a further example, instead of or in addition to the TB CRC that corresponds to the entire TB mapped across multiple parts of a PDSCH / PUSCH, CRC bits may be appended to each part of the PDSCH / PUSCH separately as “partial-TB CRC”. In another example, TB CRC, if present, may be appended to the last code block of the overall TB. Also, a “partial-TB CRC” may be mapped to the last code block in each part of a PDSCH / PUSCH.

[0281] In some aspects, a common NDI is indicated for a PDSCH / PUSCH that may be mapped to multiple non-contiguous parts, each with the same or different MCS.

[0282] In some aspects, Hybrid ARQ (HARQ) Process IDs (PIDs) may be associated with each part of a PDSCH / PUSCH. In some aspects, a single HARQ PID may be associated with a PDSCH / PUSCH mapped to multiple parts. In the latter case, a common NDI may be applied to the PDSCH / PUSCH.

[0283] In some aspects, the number of layers for each part of a PDSCH / PUSCH may be configured and / or indicated separately.

[0284] In some aspects, the Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS) associated with each part of a PDSCH / PUSCH may follow separate configurations and / or indications. For instance, the number of DMRS APs and / or the number of DMRS symbols may be separately configured or indicated for each part of a PDSCH / PUSCH.AG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1

[0285] In some aspects, the overhead (OH) factor used to determine TBS for each part of a PDSCH / PUSCH may be separately configured to a UE or separately determined by a UE based on a common value and differential values for each part that may be derived or indicated to the UE. The differential values may be explicitly specified for each part or defined as a function of the configuration of certain signal s / channels within each part of the BWP, if configured separately.

[0286] In some aspects, for a PDSCH with separate parts, the VRB (Virtual Resource Block) to PRB (Physical Resource Block) mapping may be applied separately to each part, such that each part is mapped to PRBs within a contiguous set associated with that part.

[0287] In some aspects, for a PDSCH with separate parts, a common VRB-to-PRB mapping may be applied across the entire active DL BWP, which comprises multiple non-contiguous sets of PRBs.

[0288] In some aspects, when more than one BWP is used for a single PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission, a first MCS or RV and a second MCS or RV may be applied to the single PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission in a first BWP and a second BWP, respectively.

[0289] In some aspects, the total transport block size for the PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission can be determined in accordance with the allocated resource and the first MCS in the first BWP, and the allocated resource and the second MCS in the second BWP for the single PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission.

[0290] In some aspects, a separate coding and modulation procedure, including codeblock segmentation, CRC attachment, rate-matching, code block concatenation, is applied to the first and second parts of PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission, respectively.

[0291] FIG. 11 is a diagram of separate MCS indication in different BWPs for single PDSCH scheduling, in accordance with some aspects. More specifically, FIG. 11 illustrates one example of a separate MCS indication across different BWPs for single-PDSCH scheduling. In the example, PDCCH at 1102 is used to schedule a PDSCH in a first BWP at 1104 and in a second BWP at 1106. Further, a first MCS is applied to the PDSCH transmission in the firstAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1BWP at 1104, and a second MCS is applied to the PDSCH transmission in the second BWP at 1106.

[0292] In some aspects, in case non-contiguous frequency resources are configured for a BWP, when more than one non-contiguous frequency resource in a BWP is used for a single PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission, a first MCS or RV and a second MCS or RV may be applied to the single PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission in a first frequency resource and a second frequency resource in the BWP, respectively.

[0293] In some aspects, the total transport block size for the PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission can be determined in accordance with the allocated resource and the first MCS in the first frequency resource, and the allocated resource and the second MCS in the second frequency resource in the BWP for the single PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission.

[0294] In some aspects, a separate coding and modulation procedure, including codeblock segmentation, CRC attachment, rate-matching, code block concatenation, is applied to the first and second parts of PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission, respectively.

[0295] In some aspects, for PUSCH transmission mapped to multiple parts, a UE may be provided with separate UL transmit power control (TPC) parameters for each part. In a further example, a UE may use a common DL pathloss value for each part of the PUSCH transmission. Alternatively, for deployments with unpaired spectrum (TDD deployments), the DL pathloss for UL TPC determination may be based on pathloss measurements in the DL for the respective parts in the frequency dimension.

[0296] In some aspects, for a UE configured with the feature of PUSCH transmission mapped to multiple parts, the UE may be expected to report Power Headroom Reports (PHR) under assumptions of single-part and multiple-part PUSCH transmissions, respectively, depending on whether the current PUSCH carrying the PHR is scheduled with a single part or with multiple parts. For instance, an additional power backoff may be assumed for multi-part PUSCH transmission.

[0297] In some aspects, for PUSCH transmission using multiple parts, UE transmission Maximum Power Reduction (MPR) may be separately applied toAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1each part, accounting for the PRBs allocated for the respective part relative to the contiguous part of the active UL BWP it is mapped to. For example, for a two-part PUSCH, a low MPR value may apply to the first part that is mapped to the central part of the first contiguous resources of the UL BWP, while a high MPR value may be applied to the second part that is mapped near the edge of the second contiguous resources of the UL BWP.

[0298] In some aspects, for PUSCH transmission using multiple parts, a UE may be expected to maintain time synchronization within a certain time window across the different parts of the PUSCH, where the time window size may be specified or configured.

[0299] In some aspects, for PUSCH transmission using multiple parts, a UE may indicate whether it can maintain phase continuity across the multiple parts. Furthermore, such capability may be subject to one or more of: the maximum gap between two consecutive (non-contiguous) parts, the maximum number of non-contiguous parts, Tx power configuration, and MIMO configuration across the multiple parts (e.g., same Tx antenna configuration assumption, including same number of layers and rank across the multiple parts, etc.).

[0300] The following configurations relate to the mapping order for codeblock on PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission.

[0301] In some aspects, a spatial-frequency-time-ordered resource element (RE) mapping is applied to the encoded bits and modulated symbols for a PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission. In one option, when more than one BWP is allocated for PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission, the encoded bits and modulated symbols are mapped in a first BWP, then in a second BWP, before being mapped to the next OFDM symbol.

[0302] In some aspects, when more than one frequency resource in a BWP is allocated for the PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission, the encoded bits and modulated symbols are mapped in a first frequency resource in the BWP and then in a second frequency resource in the BWP before mapping to the next OFDM symbol. In some cases, this configuration may apply when a common MCS is used for the transmission of PDSCH and / or PUSCH.

[0303] FIG. 12 is a diagram of a mapping order for PDSCH transmission in different BWPs, in accordance with some aspects. More specifically, FIG. 12AG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1illustrates one example of a mapping order for PDSCH transmission in different BWPs. In FIG. 12, a PDSCH is transmitted in a first frequency resource at 1202 in a first BWP and in a second frequency resource at 1204 in a second BWP. In this option, the code block is first mapped to the first frequency resource at 1202 and then mapped to the second frequency resource at 1204. Subsequently, the code block is mapped to the next OFDM symbol.

[0304] In some aspects, a spatial-frequency-time-ordered resource element (RE) mapping is applied to the encoded bits and modulated symbols for a PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission. In one option, when more than one BWP is allocated for PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission, the encoded bits and modulated symbols are mapped in the first BWP, then in the next symbol in that BWP. After the mapping is performed in the first BWP, the encoded bits and modulated symbols are continued to be mapped to the second BWP, and then to the next symbol in the second BWP.

[0305] In some aspects, when more than one frequency resource in a BWP are allocated for the PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission, the encoded bits and modulated symbols are mapped in a first frequency resource in the BWP and then in the next symbol in the first frequency resource. After the mapping is performed in the first frequency resource, the encoded bits and modulated symbols are continued to be mapped to the second frequency resource, and then to the next symbol in the second frequency resource in the BWP.

[0306] In some aspects, this may apply to the case where a common MCS is applied to the transmission of PDSCH and / or PUSCH, and / or where a separate MCS is applied to the transmission of PDSCH and / or PUSCH in a first BWP and a second BWP, or a first frequency resource and a second frequency resource in a BWP, respectively.

[0307] FIG. 13 is a diagram of a mapping order for PDSCH transmission in different BWPs, in accordance with some aspects. More specifically, FIG. 13 illustrates one example of a mapping order for PDSCH transmission in different BWPs. In FIG. 13, a PDSCH is transmitted in a first frequency resource at 1302 in a first BWP and in a second frequency resource at 1304 in a second BWP. In this option, the code block is first mapped to the first frequency resource at 1302, then to the next symbol in the first frequency resource in the first BWP. AfterAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1this is performed, the code block is mapped to the second frequency resource at 1304, then mapped to the next symbol in the second frequency resource in the second BWP.

[0308] Systems and methods of wireless communication for a 5G and beyond or NR system are disclosed. In some aspects, a gNB can indicate more than one modulation and coding scheme (MCS) and / or redundancy version (RV) associated with a PDSCH and / or a PUSCH.

[0309] In some aspects, the gNB can transmit the PDSCH using the more than one MCS and / or RV.

[0310] In some aspects, the UE transmits the PUSCH using the more than one MCS and / or RV.

[0311] In some aspects, a bandwidth part (BWP) may consist of noncontiguous resources in the frequency domain.

[0312] In some cases, for dynamic grant-based PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission, a first MCS and a delta MCS (MCS offset) may be included in the DCI format.

[0313] In some cases, the first and second parts of the PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission with individual MCS indication may be split equally across the allocated resources in the time and / or frequency domains.

[0314] In some aspects, frequency-domain resources may be indicated via Resource Block Group (RBG)-based frequency-domain resource allocation (FDRA) separately for each part of the PDSCH / PUSCH.

[0315] In some aspects, separate signalling for the New Data Indicator (NDI) may be provided to a UE for the different parts of a PDSCH / PUSCH.

[0316] In some aspects, Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) bits may be appended separately to each part of a PDSCH / PUSCH.

[0317] In some aspects, a common NDI is indicated for a PDSCH / PUSCH that may be mapped to multiple non-contiguous parts, each with the same or different MCS.

[0318] In some aspects, Hybrid ARQ (HARQ) Process IDs (PIDs) may be associated with each part of a PDSCH / PUSCH.AG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1

[0319] In some aspects, the Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS) associated with each part of a PDSCH / PUSCH may follow separate configurations and / or indications.

[0320] In some aspects, the overhead (OH) factor is used to determine TBS for each part of a PDSCH / PUSCH, which may be configured separately for a UE or determined by a UE based on a common value and differential values for each part, which may be derived or indicated to the UE.

[0321] In some aspects, when more than one BWPs are used for a single PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission, a first MCS or RV and a second MCS or RV may be applied to the single PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission in a first BWP and a second BWP, respectively.

[0322] In some aspects, in the case where non-contiguous frequency resources are configured for a BWP, when more than one non-contiguous frequency resource in a BWP is used for a single PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission, a first MCS or RV and a second MCS or RV may be applied to the single PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission in a first frequency resource and a second frequency resource in the BWP, respectively.

[0323] In some aspects, for PUSCH transmission mapped to multiple parts, a UE may be provided with separate UL transmit power control (TPC) parameters for each part.

[0324] In some aspects, a spatial-frequency-time-ordered resource element (RE) mapping is applied to the encoded bits and modulated symbols for a PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission.

[0325] In some aspects, when more than one BWP is allocated for the PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission, the encoded bits and modulated symbols are mapped in a first BWP and then in a second BWP before mapping to the next OFDM symbol.

[0326] In some aspects, a spatial-frequency-time-ordered resource element (RE) mapping is applied to the encoded bits and modulated symbols for a PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission.

[0327] In some aspects, when more than one BWP is allocated for the PDSCH and / or PUSCH transmission, the encoded bits and modulated symbols are mapped in a first BWP and then in the next symbol in the first BWP. InAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1some aspects, after the mapping is performed in the first BWP, the encoded bits and modulated symbols are continued to be mapped to the second BWP, and then to the next symbol in the second BWP.

[0328] FIG. 14 illustrates a block diagram of a communication device such as an evolved Node-B (eNB), a new generation Node-B (gNB) (or another RAN node such as a base station), a network-controlled repeater (NCR), an access point (AP), a wireless station (STA), a mobile station (MS), or user equipment (UE), in accordance with some aspects and to perform one or more of the techniques disclosed herein. In alternative aspects, the communication device 1400 may operate as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) to other communication devices.

[0329] Circuitry (e.g., processing circuitry) is a collection of circuits implemented in tangible components of the device 1400, including hardware (e.g., simple circuits, gates, logic). Circuitry membership may be flexible over time. Circuitries include members that may, alone or in combination, perform specified operations when operating. For example, the circuitry hardware may be immutably designed to carry out a specific operation (e.g., hardwired). For example, the circuitry may include variably connected physical components (e.g., execution units, transistors, simple circuits, etc.), including a machine-readable medium physically modified (e.g., magnetically, electrically, or by moving invariant-mass particles) to encode instructions for the specific operation.

[0330] In connecting the physical components, the underlying electrical properties of a hardware constituent are changed, for example, from an insulator to a conductor or vice versa. The instructions enable embedded hardware (e.g., execution units or a loading mechanism) to create members of the circuitry in hardware via variable connections, thereby carrying out portions of the specific operation during operation. Accordingly, in an example, the machine-readable medium elements are part of the circuitry or are communicatively coupled to the other components of the circuitry when the device is operating. For example, any physical component may be used in more than one member of more than one circuitry. For example, under operation, execution units may be used in the first circuit of a first circuitry at one point in time and reused by a second circuitAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1in the first circuitry or by a third circuit in a second circuitry at a different time. Additional examples of these components with respect to the device 1400 follow.

[0331] In some aspects, the device 1400 may operate as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) to other devices. In a networked deployment, the communication device 1400 may operate as a server or client communication device, or both, in server-client network environments. For example, the communication device 1400 may act as a peer communication device in a peer-to-peer (P2P) (or other distributed) network environment. The communication device 1400 may be a UE, eNB, PC, tablet PC, STB, PDA, mobile telephone, smartphone, a web appliance, network router, a switch or bridge, or any communication device capable of executing instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that communication device. Further, while only a single communication device is illustrated, the term “communication device” shall also be taken to include any collection of communication devices that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, such as cloud computing, software as a service (SaaS), and other computer cluster configurations.

[0332] Examples, as described herein, may include or may operate on logic or several components, modules, or mechanisms. Modules are tangible entities (e.g., hardware) capable of performing specified operations and may be configured or arranged in a particular manner. In an example, circuits may be arranged (e.g., internally or with respect to external entities such as other circuits) in a specified manner as a module. In an example, the whole or part of one or more computer systems (e.g., a standalone, client, or server computer system) or one or more hardware processors may be configured by firmware or software (e.g., instructions, an application portion, or an application) as a module that operates to perform specified operations. In an example, the software may reside on a communication device-readable medium. For example, when executed by the module's underlying hardware, the software causes the hardware to perform the specified operations.AG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1

[0333] Accordingly, the term “module” is understood to encompass a tangible entity, be that an entity that is physically constructed, specifically configured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarily (e.g., transitorily) configured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a specified manner or to perform part or all of any operation described herein. Considering examples in which modules are temporarily configured, each module does not need to be instantiated at any given moment. For example, where the modules comprise a general-purpose hardware processor configured using the software, the general-purpose hardware processor may be configured as different modules at different times. The software may accordingly configure a hardware processor, for example, to constitute a particular module at one instance of time and to constitute a different module at a different instance of time.

[0334] The communication device (e.g., UE) 1400 may include a hardware processor 1402 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a hardware processor core, or any combination thereof), a main memory 1404, a static memory 1406, and a storage device 1416 (e.g., hard drive, tape drive, flash storage, or other block or storage devices), some or all of which may communicate with each other via an interlink 1408 (e.g., a bus).

[0335] The communication device 1400 may further include a display device 1410, an input device 1412 (e.g., a keyboard), and a user interface (UI) navigation device 1414 (e.g., a mouse). In an example, the display device 1410, input device 1412, and UI navigation device 1414 may be a touchscreen display. The communication device 1400 may additionally include a signal generation device 1418 (e.g., a speaker), a network interface device 1420, and one or more sensors 1421, such as a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, compass, accelerometer, or another sensor. The communication device 1400 may include an output controller 1428, such as a serial (e.g., universal serial bus (USB)), parallel, or other wired or wireless (e.g., infrared (IR), near field communication (NFC), etc.) connection to communicate or control one or more peripheral devices (e.g., a printer, card reader, etc.).

[0336] The storage device 1416 may include a device-readable medium 1422, on which one or more sets of data structures or instructions 1424 (e.g., software) are stored, embodying or utilized by any one or more of the techniques orAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1functions described herein. In some aspects, registers of the hardware processor 1402, the main memory 1404, the static memory 1406, and / or the storage device 1416 may be, or include (entirely or at least partially), the device-readable medium 1422, on which are stored the one or more sets of data structures or instructions 1424, embodying or utilized by any one or more of the techniques or functions described herein. For example, any combination of the hardware processor 1402, the main memory 1404, the static memory 1406, or the storage device 1416 may constitute the device-readable medium 1422.

[0337] As used herein, the term “device-readable medium” is interchangeable with “computer-readable medium” or “machine-readable medium.” While the device-readable medium 1422 is illustrated as a single medium, the term “communication device-readable medium” may refer to a single medium or to multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database and / or associated caches and servers) configured to store the instructions 1424. The term “communication device-readable medium” is inclusive of the terms “machine-readable medium” or “computer-readable medium” and may include any medium that is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions (e.g., instructions 1424) for execution by the communication device 1400 and that causes the communication device 1400 to perform any one or more of the techniques of the present disclosure, or that is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying data structures used by or associated with such instructions. Nonlimiting examples of communication device-readable media may include solid-state memories and optical and magnetic media. Specific examples of communication device-readable media may include non-volatile memory, such as semiconductor memory devices (e.g., Electrically Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM)) and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; Random Access Memory (RAM); and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. In some examples, communication device-readable media may include non-transitory communication device-readable media. In some examples, communication device-readable media may include communication device-readable media that are not transitory propagating signals.AG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1

[0338] Instructions 1424 may further be transmitted or received over a communications network 1426 using a transmission medium via the network interface device 1420, utilizing any one of several transfer protocols. In an example, the network interface device 1420 may include one or more physical jacks (e.g., Ethernet, coaxial, or phonejacks) or one or more antennas to connect to the communications network 1426. In an example, the network interface device 1420 may include a plurality of antennas to wirelessly communicate using at least one of the single-input-multiple-output (SIMO), multiple-input-multiple-output (MEMO), or multiple-input-single-output (MISO) techniques. In some examples, the network interface device 1420 may wirelessly communicate using multiple-user MIMO techniques.

[0339] The term “transmission medium” shall be taken to include any intangible medium that is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution by the communication device 1400, and includes digital or analog communications signals or another intangible medium to facilitate communication of such software. In this regard, a transmission medium in the context of this disclosure is a device-readable medium.

[0340] The terms “machine-readable medium,” “computer-readable medium,” and “device-readable medium” mean the same thing and may be used interchangeably in this disclosure. The terms are defined to include both machine-storage media and transmission media. Thus, the terms include both storage devices / media and carrier waves / modulated data signals.

[0341] For handling evaluations based on synchronization signals that are activated only when needed, the device is expected to possess certain radio and processing attributes to align with the expected speed and precision of these tasks. These attributes ensure the device can swiftly adjust its reception settings, reliably detect intermittent signals, and process them without exceeding allowable delays or error margins, particularly in higher-frequency operations or combined-carrier environments where quick cell readiness is crucial.

[0342] A primary expectation is rapid adjustment of radio settings when switching between signal occasions on different frequencies, with the device capable of completing this shift in under half a millisecond for lower-frequency bands and even quicker (e.g., around a fifth of a millisecond) for higher-AG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1frequency bands, to minimize interruptions during activation phases. This speed supports seamless transitions without compromising ongoing connections, assuming the hardware includes agile frequency synthesizers and filters that stabilize promptly after changes.

[0343] The device can also maintain multiple independent reception paths, at a minimum two for basic diversity at lower frequencies and up to four at higher frequencies for advanced beam handling, allowing simultaneous capture from various directions or paths. This enables parallel signal processing, essential for quick assessments during limited availability windows, with the paths isolated to prevent cross-interference and equipped with sufficient gain control to adapt to varying signal strengths.

[0344] Overall, these minimal traits (e.g., quick tuning, dual or quad reception paths, high detection thresholds, and robust parallel processing) form the foundation for efficiently handling demand-based signals, ensuring compliance with scaled timelines and accuracy bounds across diverse network setups.

[0345] Described implementations of the subject matter can include one or more features, alone or in combination, as illustrated below by way of examples.

[0346] Example 1 is an apparatus for a user equipment (UE) configured for operation in a New Radio (NR) network, the apparatus comprising: processing circuitry, wherein the processing circuitry is to: apply modulation and coding parameters to respective portions of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission mapped to a plurality of non-contiguous frequency-domain resource sets within a carrier bandwidth, based on network signaling; determine a transport block size as a combination of contributions from the respective portions under their associated parameters; perform coding and modulation procedures separately for each portion mapped to a different frequency-domain resource set; and map encoded bits and modulated symbols to the respective frequency-domain resource sets according to a spatial-frequency-time ordered mapping; and memory coupled to the processing circuitry and configured to store the modulation and coding parameters.

[0347] In Example 2, the subject matter of Example 1 includes functionalities such as, wherein the processing circuitry is further to: apply modulation andAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1coding parameters to respective portions of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission mapped to a plurality of non-contiguous frequencydomain resource sets.

[0348] In Example 3, the subject matter of Examples 1-2 includes functionalities such as, wherein the processing circuitry is further to: derive at least one modulation and coding parameter for a portion of the PUSCH transmission based on a delta value indicated in network signaling.

[0349] In Example 4, the subject matter of Examples 1-3 includes functionalities such as, wherein the processing circuitry is further to: perform code block segmentation, cyclic redundancy check attachment, rate matching, and code block concatenation separately for each portion mapped to a different frequency-domain resource set.

[0350] In Example 5, the subject matter of Examples 1-4 includes functionalities such as, wherein the processing circuitry is further to: append cyclic redundancy check bits separately to each portion of the PUSCH transmission.

[0351] In Example 6, the subject matter of Examples 1-5 includes functionalities such as, wherein the processing circuitry is further to: associate a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process identifier with each portion of the PUSCH transmission.

[0352] In Example 7, the subject matter of Examples 1-6 includes functionalities such as, wherein the processing circuitry is further to: configure demodulation reference signal parameters separately for each portion mapped to a different frequency-domain resource set.

[0353] In Example 8, the subject matter of Examples 1-7 includes functionalities such as, wherein the processing circuitry is further to: determine an overhead factor for transport block size calculation separately for each portion mapped to a different frequency-domain resource set.

[0354] In Example 9, the subject matter of Examples 1-8 includes functionalities such as, wherein the processing circuitry is further to: perform virtual resource block to physical resource block mapping separately for each portion mapped to a different frequency-domain resource set.AG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1

[0355] In Example 10, the subject matter of Examples 2-9 includes functionalities, wherein the processing circuitry is further to: determine a transport block size for the PDSCH transmission as a combination of contributions from the respective portions under their associated parameters.

[0356] In Example 11, the subject matter of Examples 7-10 includes functionalities such as, wherein the processing circuitry is further to: configure demodulation reference signal antenna port and symbol pattern separately for each portion mapped to a different frequency-domain resource set.

[0357] In Example 12, the subject matter of Examples 1-11 includes functionalities such as, further comprising: transceiver circuitry coupled to the processing circuitry; and one or more antennas coupled to the transceiver circuitry.

[0358] Example 13 is a computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions for execution by one or more processors of a user equipment (UE), the instructions to configure the UE for operation in a New Radio (NR) network, and to cause the UE to perform operations comprising: applying modulation and coding parameters to respective portions of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission mapped to a plurality of non-contiguous frequencydomain resource sets within a carrier bandwidth, based on network signaling; determining a transport block size as a combination of contributions from the respective portions under their associated parameters; performing coding and modulation procedures separately for each portion mapped to a different frequency-domain resource set; and mapping encoded bits and modulated symbols to the respective frequency-domain resource sets according to a spatial-frequency-time ordered mapping.

[0359] In Example 14, the subject matter of Example 13 includes functionalities such as the operations further comprising: applying modulation and coding parameters to respective portions of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission mapped to a plurality of non-contiguous frequency-domain resource sets.

[0360] In Example 15, the subject matter of Examples 13-14 includes functionalities such as the operations further comprising: deriving at least oneAG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1modulation and coding parameter for a portion of the PUSCH transmission based on a delta value indicated in network signaling.

[0361] In Example 16, the subject matter of Examples 13-15 includes functionalities such as the operations further comprising: performing code block segmentation, cyclic redundancy check attachment, rate matching, and code block concatenation separately for each portion mapped to a different frequencydomain resource set.

[0362] In Example 17, the subject matter of Examples 13-16 includes functionalities such as the operations further comprising: appending cyclic redundancy check bits separately to each portion of the PUSCH transmission.

[0363] In Example 18, the subject matter of Examples 13-17 includes functionalities such as the operations further comprising: associating a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process identifier with each portion of the PUSCH transmission.

[0364] Example 19 is a user equipment (UE) configured for operation in a New Radio (NR) network, the UE comprising: a front-end circuitry coupled to one or more antennas; processing circuitry coupled to the front-end circuitry, the processing circuitry is to: apply modulation and coding parameters to respective portions of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission mapped to a plurality of non-contiguous frequency-domain resource sets within a carrier bandwidth, based on network signaling; determine a transport block size as a combination of contributions from the respective portions under their associated parameters; perform coding and modulation procedures separately for each portion mapped to a different frequency-domain resource set; and map encoded bits and modulated symbols to the respective frequency-domain resource sets according to a spatial-frequency-time ordered mapping.

[0365] In Example 20, the subject matter of Example 19 includes functionalities such as, wherein the processing circuitry is further to: derive at least one modulation and coding parameter for a portion of the PUSCH transmission based on a delta value indicated in network signaling; and apply modulation and coding parameters to respective portions of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission mapped to a plurality of non-contiguous frequency-domain resource sets.AG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1

[0366] Example 21 is at least one machine-readable medium including instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry, cause the processing circuitry to perform operations to implement any of Examples 1-20.

[0367] Example 22 is an apparatus comprising means to implement any of Examples 1-20.

[0368] Example 23 is a system to implement any of Examples 1-20.

[0369] Example 24 is a method to implement any of Examples 1-20.

[0370] Example 25 is at least one machine-readable storage including machine-readable instructions, which, when executed, cause a computer to implement a method or a process as claimed in any of Examples 1-20.

[0371] Example 26 is a computer program comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer, cause the computer to carry out one or more operations according to at least one of Examples 1-20.

[0372] Example 27 is an apparatus comprising means to perform a method or a process as recited by at least one of Examples 1-20.

[0373] Example 28 is a computer storage medium that stores instructions for execution by one or more processors of a communication device, the instructions to cause the communication device to perform a method or a process as recited by at least one of Examples 1-20.

[0374] Although an aspect has been described concerning specific exemplary aspects, it will be evident that various modifications and changes may be made to these aspects without departing from the broader scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. This Detailed Description, therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of various aspects is defined only by the appended claims, along with the full range of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

Claims

1. AG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for a user equipment (UE) configured for operation in a New Radio (NR) network, the apparatus comprising:processing circuitry, wherein the processing circuitry is to:apply modulation and coding parameters to respective portions of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission mapped to a plurality of non-contiguous frequency-domain resource sets within a carrier bandwidth, based on network signaling;determine a transport block size as a combination of contributions from the respective portions under their associated parameters;perform coding and modulation procedures separately for each portion mapped to a different frequency-domain resource set; and map encoded bits and modulated symbols to the respective frequency-domain resource sets according to a spatial-frequency-time ordered mapping; andmemory coupled to the processing circuitry and configured to store the modulation and coding parameters.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further to:apply modulation and coding parameters to respective portions of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission mapped to a plurality of non-contiguous frequency-domain resource sets.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further to:derive at least one modulation and coding parameter for a portion of the PUSCH transmission based on a delta value indicated in network signaling.AG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further to:perform code block segmentation, cyclic redundancy check attachment, rate matching, and code block concatenation separately for each portion mapped to a different frequency-domain resource set.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further to:append cyclic redundancy check bits separately to each portion of the PUSCH transmission.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further to:associate a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process identifier with each portion of the PUSCH transmission.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further to:configure demodulation reference signal parameters separately for each portion mapped to a different frequency-domain resource set.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further to:determine an overhead factor for transport block size calculation separately for each portion mapped to a different frequency-domain resource set.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further to:perform virtual resource block to physical resource block mapping separately for each portion mapped to a different frequency-domain resource set.

10. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the processing circuitry is further to:AG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1determine a transport block size for the PDSCH transmission as a combination of contributions from the respective portions under their associated parameters.

11. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the processing circuitry is further to:configure demodulation reference signal antenna port and symbol pattern separately for each portion mapped to a different frequency-domain resource set.

12. The apparatus of any of claims 1-11, further comprising:transceiver circuitry coupled to the processing circuitry; andone or more antennas coupled to the transceiver circuitry.

13. A computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions for execution by one or more processors of a user equipment (UE), the instructions to configure the UE for operation in a New Radio (NR) network, and to cause the UE to perform operations comprising:applying modulation and coding parameters to respective portions of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission mapped to a plurality of non-contiguous frequency-domain resource sets within a carrier bandwidth, based on network signaling;determining a transport block size as a combination of contributions from the respective portions under their associated parameters;performing coding and modulation procedures separately for each portion mapped to a different frequency-domain resource set; andmapping encoded bits and modulated symbols to the respective frequency-domain resource sets according to a spatial-frequency-time ordered mapping.AG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO114. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, the operations further comprising:applying modulation and coding parameters to respective portions of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission mapped to a plurality of non-contiguous frequency-domain resource sets.

15. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, the operations further comprising:deriving at least one modulation and coding parameter for a portion of the PUSCH transmission based on a delta value indicated in network signaling.

16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, the operations further comprising:performing code block segmentation, cyclic redundancy check attachment, rate matching, and code block concatenation separately for each portion mapped to a different frequency-domain resource set.

17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, the operations further comprising:appending cyclic redundancy check bits separately to each portion of the PUSCH transmission.

18. The computer-readable storage medium of any of claims 13-17, the operations further comprising:associating a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process identifier with each portion of the PUSCH transmission.

19. A user equipment (UE) configured for operation in a New Radio (NR) network, the UE comprising:AG5184-PCT 1884.R66WO1a front-end circuitry coupled to one or more antennas; processing circuitry coupled to the front-end circuitry, the processing circuitry is to:apply modulation and coding parameters to respective portions of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission mapped to a plurality of non-contiguous frequency-domain resource sets within a carrier bandwidth, based on network signaling;determine a transport block size as a combination of contributions from the respective portions under their associated parameters;perform coding and modulation procedures separately for each portion mapped to a different frequency-domain resource set; and map encoded bits and modulated symbols to the respective frequency-domain resource sets according to a spatial-frequency-time ordered mapping.

20. The UE of claim 19, wherein the processing circuitry is further to:derive at least one modulation and coding parameter for a portion of the PUSCH transmission based on a delta value indicated in network signaling; andapply modulation and coding parameters to respective portions of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission mapped to a plurality of non-contiguous frequency-domain resource sets.

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