Cell barring using SSB and offset between SSB elements

Abstract

A method is disclosed, including receiving, from a second apparatus associated with a cell, a synchronization signal block, SSB, the SSB comprising at least one synchronization signal and an indication of at least part of a barring status of the cell. The method may also comprise determining the at least part of the barring status of the cell based on the indication and applying the at least part of the determined barring status of the cell.

Description

[0001] Cell Barring

[0002] Technical Field

[0003] Various example embodiments relate generally to cell barring in a communications network.

[0004] Background

[0005] In a cellular communications network, the network may impose access restrictions for one or more cells. For example, a network node associated with a particular cell may transmit system information (cell status and cell reservation information) to a terminal device (UE). The system information may indicate a barring status of the cell. The barring status may, for example, indicate which categories of UE are barred (and not barred) from accessing the cell, at least for a time period, and the UE may be configured to apply that barring status for the cell.

[0006] Summary

[0007] According to some aspects, there is provided the subject matter of the independent claims. Some further aspects are defined in the dependent claims. The embodiments that do not fall under the scope of the claims are to be interpreted as examples useful for understanding the disclosure.

[0008] According to a first aspect, there is provided a first apparatus comprising: means for receiving, from a second apparatus associated with a cell, a synchronization signal block, SSB, the SSB comprising at least one synchronization signal and an indication of at least part of a barring status of the cell; means for determining the at least part of the barring status of the cell based on the indication; and means for applying the at least part of the determined barring status of the cell.

[0009] In some examples, the at least part of the barring status of the cell is determined based on an offset associated with the at least one synchronization signal. In some examples, the at least part of the barring status of the cell is determined based on at least one of: a first offset between a Primary Synchronization Signal, PSS, and a Secondary Synchronization Signal, SSS of the SSB; a second offset between the PSS and a physical broadcast channel, PBCH, of the SSB; or a third offset between the SSS and the PBCH. In some examples, the at least one of the first to fifth offsets comprises at least one of: a time offset; or a frequency offset. In some examples, the at least part of the barring status of the cell is determined based on a predetermined association between the at least oneof the first to fifth offsets and the at least part of the barring status of the cell. In some examples, the at least part of the barring status of the cell is determined further based on the order in which the PSS and SSS are received with respect to one another.

[0010] In some examples, the at least part of the barring status of the cell is determined based on a predetermined association between a synchronization signal signature of the SSB and the at least part of the barring status of the cell, the synchronization signal signature comprising at least one of: a PSS sequence; an SSS sequence; a type of PSS sequence; a type of SSS sequence; or a type of DMR.S sequence for the PBCH.

[0011] In some examples, the at least part of the barring status is determined based on a synchronization raster associated with the at least one synchronization signal.

[0012] In some examples, the at least part of the barring status of the cell is determined based on a PBCH of the SSB.

[0013] In some examples, the at least part of the barring status of the cell is determined based on a demodulation reference signal (DMR.S) sequence of a PBCH of the SSB.

[0014] In some examples, the barring status of the cell comprises first and second parts, the first part is provided in at least one of: a master information block, MIB, of the cell; or the PBCH, and the second part comprises the determined at least part of the barring status of the cell.

[0015] In some examples, the SSB further comprises an indication of a duration associated with the barring status of the cell, the first apparatus further comprising: means for determining the duration associated with the barring status of the cell based on the indication.

[0016] According to a second aspect, there is provided a method of a first apparatus, comprising: receiving, from a second apparatus associated with a cell, a synchronization signal block, SSB, the SSB comprising at least one synchronization signal and an indication of at least part of a barring status of the cell; determining the at least part of the barring status of the cell based on the indication; and applying the at least part of the determined barring status of the cell.

[0017] In some embodiments, the second aspect may comprise any feature described in relation to the first aspect.According to a third aspect, there is provided a computer program product comprising program instructions which, when the program instructions are executed by a first apparatus, cause the first apparatus to carry out a method of: receiving, from a second apparatus associated with a cell, a synchronization signal block, SSB, the SSB comprising at least one synchronization signal and an indication of at least part of a barring status of the cell; determining the at least part of the barring status of the cell based on the indication; and applying the at least part of the determined barring status of the cell.

[0018] In some embodiments, the third aspect may comprise any feature described in relation to the first aspect.

[0019] According to a fourth aspect, there is provided a computer program product embodied on a non-transitory distribution medium readable by a computer and comprising program instructions which, when the program instructions are executed by a first apparatus, cause the first apparatus to: receive, from a second apparatus associated with a cell, a synchronization signal block, SSB, the SSB comprising at least one synchronization signal and an indication of at least part of a barring status of the cell; determine the at least part of the barring status of the cell based on the indication; and apply the at least part of the determined barring status of the cell.

[0020] In some embodiments, the fourth aspect may comprise any feature described in relation to the first aspect.

[0021] According to a fifth aspect, there is provided a first apparatus comprising at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus to: receive, from a second apparatus associated with a cell, a synchronization signal block, SSB, the SSB comprising at least one synchronization signal and an indication of at least part of a barring status of the cell; determine the at least part of the barring status of the cell based on the indication; and apply the at least part of the determined barring status of the cell.

[0022] In some embodiments, the fifth aspect may comprise any feature described in relation to the first aspect.

[0023] According to a sixth aspect, there is provided a second apparatus comprising: means for transmitting, to a first apparatus, a synchronization signal block, SSB, the SSB comprising at least one synchronization signal and an indication of at least part of a barring status of the cell.In some examples, the at least part of the barring status of the cell is indicated based on an offset associated with the at least one synchronization signal. In some examples, the at least part of the barring status of the cell is indicated based on at least one of: a first offset between a Primary Synchronization Signal, PSS, and a Secondary Synchronization Signal, SSS of the SSB; a second offset between the PSS and a physical broadcast channel, PBCH, of the SSB; a third offset between the PSS and a Demodulation Reference Signal, DMRS, sequence for the PBCH; a fourth offset between the SSS and the PBCH; or a fifth offset between the SSS and the DMRS sequence for the PBCH. In some examples, the at least one of the first to fifth offsets comprises at least one of: a time offset; or a frequency offset. In some examples, the at least part of the barring status of the cell is indicated based on a predetermined association between the at least one of the first to fifth offsets and the at least part of the barring status of the cell. In some examples, the at least part of the barring status of the cell is indicated further based on the order in which the PSS and SSS are received with respect to one another.

[0024] In some examples, the at least part of the barring status of the cell is indicated based on a predetermined association between a synchronization signal signature of the SSB and the at least part of the barring status of the cell, the synchronization signal signature comprising at least one of: a PSS sequence; an SSS sequence; a type of PSS sequence; a type of SSS sequence; or a type of DMRS sequence for the PBCH.

[0025] In some examples, the at least part of the barring status is indicated based on a synchronization raster associated with the at least one synchronization signal.

[0026] In some examples, the at least part of the barring status of the cell is indicated based on a PBCH of the SSB.

[0027] In some examples, the at least part of the barring status of the cell is indicated based on a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) sequence of a PBCH of the SSB.

[0028] In some examples, the barring status of the cell comprises first and second parts, the first part is provided in at least one of: a master information block, MIB, of the cell; or the PBCH, and the second part comprises the indicated at least part of the barring status of the cell.

[0029] In some examples, the SSB further comprises an indication of a duration associated with the barring status of the cell.According to a seventh aspect, there is provided a method of a second apparatus, comprising : transmitting, to a first apparatus, a synchronization signal block, SSB, the SSB comprising at least one synchronization signal and an indication of at least part of a barring status of the cell.

[0030] In some embodiments, the seventh aspect may comprise any feature described in relation to the sixth aspect.

[0031] According to an eighth aspect, there is provided a computer program product comprising program instructions which, when the program instructions are executed by a second apparatus, cause the second apparatus to carry out a method of: transmitting, to a first apparatus, a synchronization signal block, SSB, the SSB comprising at least one synchronization signal and an indication of at least part of a barring status of the cell.

[0032] In some embodiments, the eighth aspect may comprise any feature described in relation to the sixth aspect.

[0033] According to a ninth aspect, there is provided a computer program product embodied on a non-transitory distribution medium readable by a computer and comprising program instructions which, when the program instructions are executed by a second apparatus, cause the second apparatus to: transmit, to a first apparatus, a synchronization signal block, SSB, the SSB comprising at least one synchronization signal and an indication of at least part of a barring status of the cell..

[0034] In some embodiments, the ninth aspect may comprise any feature described in relation to the sixth aspect.

[0035] According to a tenth aspect, there is provided a second apparatus comprising at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second apparatus to: transmit, to a first apparatus, a synchronization signal block, SSB, the SSB comprising at least one synchronization signal and an indication of at least part of a barring status of the cell.

[0036] In some embodiments, the tenth aspect may comprise any feature described in relation to the sixth aspect.

[0037] Drawings

[0038] In the following, example embodiments will be described in greater detail with reference to the embodiments and the accompanying drawings, in which:FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a communications network to which examples disclosed herein may be applied;

[0039] FIG. 2 illustrates example scenarios for obtaining system information on-demand;

[0040] FIG. 3 illustrates a time period associated with obtaining system information on-demand; FIG. 4 is a flow diagram indicating operations of a first apparatus in accordance with an example embodiment;

[0041] FIG. 5 illustrates resources of a Synchronization Information Block in accordance with an example embodiment;

[0042] FIG. 6 illustrates resources of a Synchronization Information Block in accordance with another example embodiment;

[0043] FIG. 7 illustrates resources of a Synchronization Information Block in accordance with another example embodiment;

[0044] FIG. 8 is a flow diagram indicating operations of a second apparatus in accordance with an example embodiment;

[0045] FIG. 9 is a signal flow diagram indicating operations of first and second apparatuses in accordance with an example embodiment;

[0046] FIG. 10 is a signal flow diagram indicating operations of first and second apparatuses in accordance with another example embodiment; and

[0047] FIG. 11 illustrates an example of an apparatus.

[0048] Detailed Description

[0049] Various example embodiments relate generally to cell barring in a communications network.

[0050] The following embodiments are exemplary. Although the specification may refer to "an", "one", or "some" embodiment(s) in several locations of the text, this does not necessarily mean that each reference is made to the same embodiment(s), or that a particular feature only applies to a single embodiment. Single features of different embodiments may also be combined to provide other embodiments. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection of an embodiment, it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to apply such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described. It shall be understood that although the terms "first," "second" and the like may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another.

[0051] For the purposes of the present disclosure, the phrases "at least one of A or B", "at least one of A and B", and "A and / or B" means (A), (B), or (A and B). For the purposes of thepresent disclosure, the phrase "A, B, and / or C" means (A), (B), (C), (A and B), (A and C), (B and C), or (A, B, and C).

[0052] Embodiments described may be implemented in a communication network, such as any of the following radio access technologies (RATs): Worldwide Interoperability for Micro-wave Access (WiMAX), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM, 2G), GSM EDGE radio access Network (GERAN), General Packet Radio Service (GRPS), Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS, 3G) based on basic wideband-code division multiple access (W-CDMA), high-speed packet access (HSPA), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced, and enhanced LTE (eLTE), 5G (also called NR), or any future RAT such as 6G. Moreover, communication within the communication network may utilize any proper wireless communication technology, comprising but not limited to: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), Time Division Duplex (TDD), Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple (OFDM), and / or Discrete Fourier Transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM).

[0053] As used herein, the term "network device" or "network node" refers to a node in a communication network via which user equipment may access the network and / or which is capable of controlling radio communication and managing radio resources within a cell. The network node or network device may be referred to as a base station (BS), an access point (AP) or an access node. The network device may be, depending on the applied technology, for example, a node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), an NR NB (also referred to as a gNB), a Remote Radio Unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a relay, an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) node, a low power node, a non-terrestrial network (NTN) or non-ground network device such as a satellite network device, a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite and a geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) satellite, or an aircraft network device.

[0054] Moreover, in connection of split radio access network (RAN), the network device may refer to a centralised unit (CU) of a base station and / or a distributed unit (DU) of a base station. An interface between CU and DU may be referred to as an Fl interface in NR. In the split RAN architecture, node operations may be carried out, at least partly, in the central / centralized unit, CU, (e.g. server, host or node) operationally coupled to the DU, (e.g. a radio head / node). One CU may control one or more DUs, acting at least as transmit / receive (Tx / Rx) nodes. In some embodiments, the DUs may comprise e.g. a radio link control (RLC), medium access control (MAC) layer and a physical (PHY) layer, whereas the CU may comprise the layers above RLC layer, such as a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio resource control (RRC) and an internet protocol (IP) layers.Other functional splits are possible too. In practice, any processing task may be performed in either the CU or the DU and the boundary where the responsibility is shifted between the CU and the DU may depend on the applied implementation.

[0055] The term "terminal device" refers to any end device that may be capable of wireless communication. By way of example, a terminal device may be referred to as a communication device, user equipment (UE), a Subscriber Station (SS), or a Mobile Station (MS). The terminal device may include a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones a tablet, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), portable computers, desktop computer, image capture terminal devices such as digital cameras, gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback appliances, vehicle-mounted wireless terminal devices, USB dongles, an Internet of Things (loT) device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, a medical device and applications (e.g., remote surgery), an industrial device and applications (e.g., a robot and / or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and / or an automated processing chain contexts), a consumer electronics device, a device operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, and the like.

[0056] A term "resource", as used herein, may refer to radio resources in time domain, in frequency domain, in space domain, and / or in code domain. Some examples of resources include e.g. a physical resource block (PR.B), a radio frame, a subframe, a time slot, a subband, a frequency region, a sub-carrier, a beam, etc. The term "transmission" and / or "reception" may refer to wirelessly transmitting and / or receiving via a wireless propagation channel on radio resources.

[0057] Fig. 1 illustrates an example of a communication network to which examples disclosed herein may be applied. The communication network or a cellular communication network may comprise a network node 110 providing one or more cells, such as cell 100, and a network node 112 providing one or more other cells, such as cell 102. Each cell may be, e.g., a macro cell, a micro cell, femto, or a pico cell, for example. The cell may define a coverage area or a service area of the corresponding access node.

[0058] The network node 110 may provide a user equipment (UE) 120 (one or more UEs) with wireless access to the communication network. The wireless access may comprise downlink (DL) communication from the network node to the UE 120 and uplink (UL) communication from the UE 120 to the network node. Examples of uplink channels comprise physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) for transmitting control information and physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) for transmitting data towards the network. Examples of downlink channels comprise physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) for transmitting controlinformation and physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) for transmitting data towards the user equipment.

[0059] There may be a plurality of UEs 120, 122 in the system. Each of them may be served by the same or by different network nodes 110, 112. UE may be configured with dual connectivity (DC), wherein the UE, e.g. UE 120, may be connected to multiple network nodes 110, 112. The UEs 120, 122 may communicate with each other, in case device-to-device (D2D) communication interface is established between them via a so-called sidelink (SL). Such D2D communications may be referred to as machine-to-machine, peer-to-peer (P2P) communications, or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), for example.

[0060] In the case of multiple network nodes in the communication network, the network nodes may be connected to each other via an interface. LTE specifications call such an interface as X2 interface. An interface between an LTE node and a 5G node, or between two 5G nodes may be called Xn interface.

[0061] The network nodes 110 and 112 may be further connected via another interface to a core network 116 of the communication network. The LTE specifications specify the core network as an evolved packet core (EPC), and the core network may comprise e.g. a mobility management entity (MME) and a gateway node. The MME may handle mobility of terminal devices in a tracking area encompassing a plurality of cells and handle signalling connections between the terminal devices and the core network. The gateway node may handle data routing in the core network and to / from the terminal devices. The 5G specifications specify the core network as a 5G core (5GC). The 5G core may comprise e.g. an access and mobility management function (AMF) and a user plane function / gateway (UPF) and other functions. The AMF may handle termination of non-access stratum (NAS) signalling, NAS ciphering & integrity protection, registration management, connection management, mobility management, access authentication and authorization, security context management. The UPF node may support packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection and quality of service (QoS) handling, for example.

[0062] In a cellular communications network, the network may impose access restrictions for one or more cells. For example, a network node associated with a particular cell may transmit system information (cell status and cell reservation information) to a terminal device (UE). The system information may indicate a barring status of the cell. The barring status may, for example, indicate which categories of UE are barred (and not barred) from accessing the cell, at least for a time period, and the UE may be configured to apply that barring status for the cell.For example, the network node 110 associated with cell 100 may transmit system information to the UE 120. The system information may indicate a barring status of the cell 100, at least for a time period; this enables the UE 120 to determine whether or not it can access the cell 100, at least for said time period, for example whether or not it is allowed to camp on the cell.

[0063] For 5G-NR, two barring mechanism are specified. A first is barring by a Master Information Block (MIB), wherein part of a barring status is indicated in the MIB, and a second is barring by System Information Block (SIB), wherein another barring status is indicated in the SIB (particularly SIB1). A minimum requirement for a UE to camp on a cell is to decode the MIB and SIB (SIB1) for the cell. The MIB is carried by the Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) which is part of a Synchronization Signal Block (SSB). SIB1 is carried by the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH).

[0064] The barring status in the MIB provides general barring information; the MIB includes a field:

[0065] cellBarred (IE type: "barred" or "not barred").

[0066] The barring status in SIB1 is more specific, and for example relates to different UE features or categories. For example, SIB1 may comprise one or more of the following fields taken from 3GPP TS 38.304, section 5.3.1:

[0067] cellBarredATG (IE type: "barred" or "not barred").

[0068] cellBarred2RxXR (IE type: "barred, or "not barred").

[0069] cellBarred-eRedCaplRx (IE type: "barred" or "not barred")

[0070] cellBarred-eRedCap2Rx (IE type: "barred" or "not barred") cellBarredFixedVSAT (IE type: "barred" or "not barred")

[0071] cellBarredMobileVSAT (IE type: "barred" or "not barred")

[0072] cellBarredNES (IE type: "not barred")

[0073] cellBarredNTN (IE type: "barred" or "not barred") and / or cellBarredRedCaplRx (IE type: "barred" or "not barred').

[0074] The list is non-exhaustive and other fields may be provided.

[0075] Upon decoding the MIB and SIB1 for a cell, the UE may apply the indicated barring status or statuses; for example if the UE is a RedCap (reduced capability) device or an NTN (nonterrestrial networks) device and the relevant SIB1 field for RedCap or NTN includes the IE (information element) type "barred" then the UE will not attempt to access or camp on the cell, at least for a predetermined time period.It is proposed, for example in 3GPP Release 19 (Rel-19) to extend on-demand (OD) system information procedures to SIB1, known as OD-SIB1. Rel-19 considers multi-cell scenarios, where a UE is assumed to be under the coverage of at least two cells, namely an anchor cell (cell A) and a capacity cell (cell B). OD-SIB1 can be summarized as follows. The capacity cell may be a network energy saving (NES) cell operating in an OD-SIB1 mode which will not periodically broadcast the SIB1. Instead, SIB1 will be transmitted to UEs on-demand, for example based on a UE in idle mode or RRC inactive mode (or equivalent) requesting its transmission. For example, the UE may transmit a wake-up signal (WUS) which may be a Physical Random-Access Channel (PRACH), i.e., a preamble. This requires that the UE is configured with resources and information to transmit the WUS.

[0076] FIGs. 2a - 2d illustrate scenarios that have been agreed in RANI and RAN2 (for example see R2-2405295.) For example, with reference to FIG. 2a, scenario la (RANI Case2) comprises a UE 202 obtaining a WUS configuration from Cell A, and then transmitting an uplink (UL) WUS, e.g., RACH / Messsagel, to a NES cell. The UE 202 may then monitor and / or receive a Random Access Response (RAR) from the NES cell based on its receiving of the UL WUS. The UE 202 may then receive OD-SIB1 from the NES cell.

[0077] FIG. 2d, which indicates an alternative scenario 3 (RANI Case 1) may be specified for a future communication standard, e.g., 6G standalone scenario.

[0078] As will be appreciated, for OD-SIB1, SIB1 is not always "ON" and so cell status, including barring status, cannot rely on SIB1 always being broadcast. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 3, a RedCap UE or NTN UE may request OD-SIB1 from a cell and, after receiving SIB1 including the barring status of the cell, the UE may determine that the cell is barred for RedCap or NTN UEs. This involves a time delay as well as (monitoring and decoding) processing resources at the UE side, which involves the transmitting of the UL WUS and the receiving of the OD-SIB1.

[0079] In view of the above, example embodiments provide an alternative approach which may mitigate against issues such as the time delay and use of (monitoring and decoding) processing resources.

[0080] Some communication standards, for example 6G, may enable a separation between components of the SSB. The SSB may comprise at least one Synchronization Signal (SS), for example a Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS), Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS) and the PBCH. This may enable different periodicities for at least some of the PSS, SSS and / or PBCH, use of the PSS and SSS as discovery channels, and separate designs tobetter handle different mobility cases and idle UEs. In effect it may be possible to configure (or design) the SSB to have a particular "pattern" for example in terms of the respective locations of the PSS, SSS and / or the PBCH.

[0081] Example embodiments may make use of such SSB design options to provide scalable solutions.

[0082] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram showing operations 400 that may be performed by one or more example embodiments. The operations 400 may be performed by hardware, software, firmware or a combination thereof. The operations 400 may be performed by one, or respective, means, a means being any suitable means such as one or more processors or controllers in combination with computer-readable instructions provided on one or more memories.

[0083] The operations 400 may, for example, be performed by a first apparatus, for example a UE. The UE may be any of the UEs 120, 122 illustrated in FIG. 1. The order of operations 400 is not necessarily indicative of their order of processing or performance.

[0084] A first operation 410 may comprise receiving, from a second apparatus associated with a cell, a synchronization signal block, SSB, the SSB comprising at least one synchronization signal and an indication of at least part of a barring status of the cell.

[0085] The second apparatus may comprise a network node. The barring status of the cell may comprise an indication of at least one (and potentially multiple) UE types and / or capabilities that is or are barred for the cell .

[0086] A second operation 420 may comprise determining the at least part of the barring status of the cell based on, or at least in part on, the indication.

[0087] A third operation 430 may comprise applying the at least part of the determined barring status of the cell.

[0088] In this way, the barring status may be implicitly or explicitly indicated as part of the SSB. The barring status does not have to be requested on-demand in the manner of the OD-SIB1 procedure(s) mentioned above. This obviates the time delay and / or the need to use additional processing resources to obtain the barring status of the cell.

[0089] Various embodiments will now be described which may be used alone or in any combination.For example, the indication of the at least part of the barring status of the cell may be based on an offset associated with the at least one synchronization signal. Therefore, the second operation 420 may comprise determining the at least part of the barring status of the cell based on the offset associated with the at least one synchronization signal. For example, there may be at least one of a first offset between the PSS and the SSS, a second offset between the PSS and the PBCH of the SSB, a third offset between the PSS and a Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS) sequence for the PBCH, a fourth offset between the SSS and the PBCH, or a fifth offset between the SSS and the DMRS sequence for the PBCH. The first apparatus may determine the barring status for the cell based on at least one of the first to fifth offsets.

[0090] For example, any of the first to fifth offsets may comprise at least one of a time offset, or a frequency offset, which potentially includes both time and frequency offsets.

[0091] For example, the at least part of the barring status of the cell may be determined based on a predetermined association, or mapping, between the at least one of the first to fifth offsets and the at least part of the barring status of the cell. In this respect, the at least one offset may indicate a "pattern" and the pattern may be associated with, or mapped to, the at least part of the barring status which comprises an indication of at least one UE characteristic or capability that is or are barred for the cell, at least for a time period.

[0092] For example, FIG. 5 illustrates at least some components or resources of an SSB 500, including a PSS 502, an SSS 504 and a PBCH 506, wherein a time offset between the PSS and SSS (which may be in terms of number of OFDM symbols) implicitly indicates at least part of the barring status of the cell. A UE, upon decoding said SSB 500, may determine the time offset between the PSS and SSS and associate (or map) the determined time offset to the at least part of the barring status of the cell. The association or mapping may be provided at (or accessible to) the UE. For example, the UE may earlier obtain the association or mapping from the cell, another cell, or it may be preconfigured at the UE.

[0093] For example, the association or mapping may be represented as follows.

[0094] Time Offset Barring Status

[0095] 0 No barring other than MIB barring

[0096] 1 MIB barring AND cellBarredNTN

[0097] 2 MIB barring AND cellBarredRedCaplRx

[0098] 3 MIB barring AND cellBarredNTN AND cellBarredRedCaplRx etc.For example, if the determined time offset = 1 OFDM symbol and the UE is an NTN UE, the UE may apply the associated barring status and therefore not access or camp on the cell, at least for a time period.

[0099] For example, FIG. 6 illustrates another SSB 600, including a PSS 602, an SSS 604 and a PBCH 606, wherein a frequency offset between the PSS and SSS (which may be in terms of number of subcarrier spacings) implicitly indicates at least part of the barring status of the cell. A UE, upon decoding said SSB 600, may determine the frequency offset between the PSS and SSS and associate (or map) the determined frequency offset to the at least part of the barring status of the cell. As above, the association or mapping may be provided at the UE. For example, the UE may earlier obtain the association or mapping from the cell, another cell, or it may be preconfigured at the UE.

[0100] In some examples, and as indicated above, a combination of time and frequency offsets between the PSS and SSS (and / or between other SSB components as indicated above) may implicitly indicate at least part of the barring status of the cell, thereby providing a potentially large and distinct number of barring status options that may be signalled to the UE.

[0101] Further, the at least part of the barring status of the cell may be determined further based on the order in which the PSS and SSS are received with respect to one another. For example, FIG. 7 illustrates another SSB 700, including a PSS 702 prior in time to an SSS 704 and a PBCH 706. In addition to the timing offset between the PSS 702 and SSS 704 (or other described offset) the order (PSS prior to SSS) is taken into account. In other words, the order illustrated in FIG. 7 is associated or mapped to one barring status and the order illustrated in FIG. 8 wherein the SSS 704 is prior to the PSS 702 is mapped to a different barring status, even if they use the same timing offset.

[0102] In some examples, the at least part of the barring status may be indicated, and therefore determined based on, a predetermined association between a synchronization signal signature of the SSB and the least part of the barring status of the cell. For example, the synchronization signal signature may comprise characteristics of a sequence of SSB components, for example at least one of a PSS sequence, SSB sequence, type of PSS sequence, type of SSB sequence or a type of DMR.S sequence of the PBCH. The nature and / or type of sequence may for example be associated or mapped to one barring status.

[0103] In some examples, the at least part of the barring status is determined based on a synchronization raster associated with the at least one synchronization signal of the SSB.For example, the UE may determine the at least part of the barring status based on an association or mapping between the synchronization raster to said at least part of the barring status.

[0104] In some examples, the at least part of the barring status is determined based on the PBCH of the SSB. For example, the barring status may be explicitly or implicitly indicated by the PBCH.

[0105] In some examples, the at least part of the barring status of the cell is determined based on a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) sequence of a PBCH of the SSB. For example, the PBCH DMRS sequence may be initialized with both an SSB index and barring status of the cell. When detecting the PBCH DMRS, the hypothesis space for the UE might be the lumber of least significant bits (LSBs) of the SSB index multiplied by the number of barring statuses carried in the DMRS. In this case, the PSS and SSS may be kept as they are, and instead the barring status is embedded into the PBCH DMRS sequence initialization; the UE in any case needs to detect the PBCH DMRS sequence to determine the SSB index for measurements.

[0106] In some examples, the barring status of the cell may comprise first and second parts. A first part may be provided, for example explicitly, in at least one of the MIB of the cell or the PBCH. The second part may be carried using any of the examples described above, for example based on the PSS, SSS and / or PBCH pattern of offsets. In other examples, the barring status may entirely be based on the PSS, SSS and / or PBCH pattern of offsets.

[0107] In some examples, applicable to all above examples, the SSB may further comprise an indication of a duration associated with the barring status of the cell, in which case another operation of the UE may be to determine the duration associated with the barring status of the cell based on the indication, which is then applied as in the third operation 430. For example, a particular PSS, SSS and / or PBCH pattern of offsets may be associated with, or map to, not only at least part of the barring status of the cell but also to a particular duration. In this respect, the duration may currently be fixed by specifications at 300s but this can be adapted in examples by implicit or explicit indication in the SSB, for example to 100s, 200s or 300s, to give non-limiting examples. Thus, the indication may indicate both barring status and barring duration parameters.

[0108] In the above examples, the frequency position of the PSS may not be changed which means that cell search is not impacted. Rather, the time position and / or time and / or frequency positions of other SSB components, e.g., the SSS, may be changed with respect to the PSS and / or PBCH.FIG. 8 is a flow diagram showing operations 800 that may be performed by one or more example embodiments. The operations 800 may be performed by hardware, software, firmware or a combination thereof. The operations 800 may be performed by one, or respective, means, a means being any suitable means such as one or more processors or controllers in combination with computer-readable instructions provided on one or more memories.

[0109] The operations 800 may, for example, be performed by a second apparatus, for example a network node. The network node may be any of the network nodes 110, 112 illustrated in FIG. 1. The order of operations 800 is not necessarily indicative of their order of processing or performance.

[0110] A first operation 810 may comprise transmitting, to a first apparatus, a synchronization signal block, SSB, the SSB comprising at least one synchronization signal and an indication of at least part of a barring status of the cell.

[0111] The first apparatus may comprise a UE.

[0112] The at least part of the barring status of the cell may be indicated based on an offset associated with the at least one synchronization signal. The at least part of the barring status of the cell may be indicated based on at least one of a first offset between a PSS and an SSS, a second offset between the PSS and the PBCH of the cell, a third offset between the PSS and a DMR.S sequence for the PBCH, a fourth offset between the SSS and the PBCH, or a fifth offset between the SSS and the DMR.S sequence for the PBCH. The at least one of the first to fifth offsets may comprise at least one of a time offset, or a frequency offset. The at least part of the barring state of the cell may be indicated based on a predetermined association between the at least one of the first to fifth offsets and the at least part of the barring status of the cell. The at least part of the barring status of the cell may be indicated further based on the order in which the PSS and SSS are received with respect to one another.

[0113] The at least part of the barring status of the cell may be indicated based on a predetermined association between a synchronization signal signature of the SSB and the at least part of the barring status of the cell, wherein the synchronization signal signature may comprise at least one of a PSS sequence, an SSS sequence, a type of PSS sequence, a type of SSS sequence, or a type of DMR.S sequence for the PBCH.The at least part of the barring status of the cell may be indicated based on a synchronization raster associated with the at least one synchronization signal.

[0114] The at least part of the barring status of the cell may be indicated based on a PBCH of the SSB.

[0115] The barring status of the cell may comprise first and second parts, wherein the first part is indicated in at least one of a MIB of the cell, or the PBCH, and the second part comprises the indicated at least part of the barring status of the cell.

[0116] The SSB may further comprise an indication of a duration associated with the barring status of the cell, for enabling the first apparatus to determine the duration.

[0117] A second operation 420 may comprise determining the at least part of the barring status of the cell based on, or based at least in part on, the indication.

[0118] A third operation 430 may comprise applying the at least part of the determined barring status of the cell.

[0119] FIG. 9 illustrates a signal flow diagram according to an example embodiment with reference to a system comprising a network node 900 associated with a cell and a UE 902. A first operation 9.1 may comprise the network node 900 transmitting (or broadcasting) an SSB comprising a PSS, SSS and / or PBCH pattern indicating a barring status. In a second operation 9.2, the UE 902 obtains and detects the PSS, SSS and / or PBCH. In a third operation 9.3, the UE 902 determines the PSS, SSS and / or PBCH pattern. In a fourth operation 9.4, the UE 902 determines the barring status. In a fifth operation 9.5, the UE 902 applies the barring status, thereby to access or not access the cell.

[0120] FIG. 10 illustrates an signal flow diagram according to an alternative example embodiment with reference to a system comprising a network node 1000 associated with a cell and a UE 1002. A first operation 10.1 may comprise the network node 1000 transmitting (or broadcasting) an SSB comprising a PSS, SSS and PBCH DMRS indicating a barring status. In a second operation 10.2, the UE 1002 obtains and detects the PSS, SSS and PBCH DMRS. In a third operation 10.3, the UE 1002 determines the barring status based on the PBCH DMRS. In a fourth operation 10.4, the UE 1002 applies the barring status, thereby to access or not access the cell.In summary, example embodiments enable determination of barring statuses with little or no latency and using less processing resources than cases where barring status is carried by SIB1.

[0121] Fig. 11 shows, by way of example, a block diagram of an apparatus 10. The apparatus 10 comprises, for example, at least one processor 12 and at least one memory 14 storing instructions 15 that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus 10 at least to perform the method or methods as disclosed herein, and any of the embodiments thereof. In an example, the at least one memory and the instructions (e.g. a computer program code, software), are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus 10 to perform the method or methods as disclosed herein, and any of the embodiments thereof.

[0122] A processor 12 may comprise circuitry, or be constituted as circuitry or circuitries, the circuitry or circuitries being configured to perform phases of methods in accordance with example embodiments described herein. As used in this application, the term "circuitry" may referto one or more orall of the following: (a) hardware-only circuit implementations, such as implementations in only analog and / or digital circuitry, and (b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as, as applicable: (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuit(s) with software / firmware and (ii) any portions of hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processor(s)), software, and memory(ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a user equipment, to perform various functions) and (c) hardware circuit(s) and or processor(s), such as a microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s), that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation. This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example and if applicable to the particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0123] The memory 14 may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology. The memory may comprise a database for storing data. The memory 14 may be at least in part external to apparatus 10 but accessible to apparatus 10.The instructions 15 may be comprised in a computer readable medium or a non-transitory computer readable medium. A term non-transitory, as used herein, is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e. tangible, not a signal) as opposed to a limitation on data storage persistency (e.g. random access memory, RAM, vs. read only memory, ROM).

[0124] For example, the apparatus 10 is a terminal device, such as the UE of earlier figures. As another example, the apparatus is comprised in such a terminal device, e.g. as a chipset configured to control the terminal device. The apparatus 10 may be caused or configured to perform at least the method of FIG. 4 and / or any one or more of the embodiments described.

[0125] As another example, the apparatus 10 is a network node. In another embodiment, the apparatus is comprised in such a network node, e.g. as a chipset configured to control the network node. The apparatus 10 may be caused or configured to perform at least the method of FIG. 8 and / or any one or more of the embodiments described.

[0126] The apparatus may comprise one or more entities of any of protocol layers, such as a MAC entity, an RRC entity, an RLC entity, a PDCP entity or a PHY entity.

[0127] The apparatus 10 comprises a radio interface 16. The radio interface 16 may provide the apparatus 10 with communication capabilities. The radio interface 16 may comprise a receiver configured to receive information in accordance with at least one cellular or non-cellular standard. The radio interface 16 may comprise a transmitter configured to transmit information in accordance with at least one cellular or non-cellular standard. The receiver may comprise more than one receiver. The transmitter may comprise more than one transmitter. The radio interface 16 may comprise a transceiver configured to receive and transmit information in accordance with at least one cellular or non-cellular standard. The transceiver may comprise more than one transceiver.

[0128] The apparatus 10 may comprise a user interface 18 comprising, for example, at least one of a keypad, a microphone, a touch display, a display, a speaker, etc. The user interface 18 may be used to control the apparatus by the user. The user interface 18 may be external to the apparatus 10. For example, the apparatus 10 may be connected to another device, such as a computer, either via wireless or wired connection, and the apparatus 10 is controlled by the user via the computer.

[0129] In an embodiment, at least some of the processes described herein may be carried out by an apparatus comprising means for carrying out at least some of the described processes. Means for performing method steps as disclosed herein may include software and / orhardware components of the apparatus 10. For example, the at least one processor 12, the memory 14, and the computer program code form means for carrying out the method or methods as disclosed herein, and any of the embodiments thereof. As used herein the term "means" is to be construed in singular form, i.e. referring to a single element, or in plural form, i.e. referring to a combination of single elements. Therefore, terminology "means for [performing A, B, C]", is to be interpreted to cover an apparatus in which there is only one means for performing A, B and C, or where there are separate means for performing A, B and C, or partially or fully overlapping means for performing A, B, C. Further, terminology "means for performing A, means for performing B, means for performing C" is to be interpreted to cover an apparatus in which there is only one means for performing A, B and C, or where there are separate means for performing A, B and C, or partially or fully overlapping means for performing A, B, C.

Claims

Claims1. A first apparatus, comprising:means for receiving, from a second apparatus associated with a cell, a synchronization signal block, SSB, the SSB comprising at least one synchronization signal and an indication of at least part of a barring status of the cell;means for determining the at least part of the barring status of the cell based on the indication; andmeans for applying the at least part of the determined barring status of the cell.

2. The first apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe at least part of the barring status of the cell is determined based on an offset associated with the at least one synchronization signal.

3. The first apparatus of claim 2, whereinthe at least part of the barring status of the cell is determined based on at least one of:a first offset between a Primary Synchronization Signal, PSS, and a Secondary Synchronization Signal, SSS of the SSB;a second offset between the PSS and a physical broadcast channel, PBCH, of the SSB;a third offset between the PSS and a Demodulation Reference Signal, DMRS, sequence for the PBCH;a fourth offset between the SSS and the PBCH; ora fifth offset between the SSS and the DMRS sequence for the PBCH.

4. The first apparatus of claim 3, whereinthe at least one of the first to fifth offsets comprises at least one of:a time offset; ora frequency offset.

5. The first apparatus of claim 3 or claim 4, whereinthe at least part of the barring status of the cell is determined based on a predetermined association between the at least one of the first to fifth offsets and the at least part of the barring status of the cell.

6. The first apparatus of any of claims 3 to 5, whereinthe at least part of the barring status of the cell is determined further based on the order in which the PSS and SSS are received with respect to one another.

7. The first apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe at least part of the barring status of the cell is determined based on a predetermined association between a synchronization signal signature of the SSB and the at least part of the barring status of the cell,the synchronization signal signature comprising at least one of:a PSS sequence;an SSS sequence;a type of PSS sequence;a type of SSS sequence; ora type of DMR.S sequence for the PBCH.

8. The first apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe at least part of the barring status is determined based on a synchronization raster associated with the at least one synchronization signal.

9. The first apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe at least part of the barring status of the cell is determined based on a PBCH of the SSB.

10. The first apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe at least part of the barring status of the cell is determined based on a demodulation reference signal (DMR.S) sequence of a PBCH of the SSB.

11. The first apparatus of any preceding claim, whereinthe barring status of the cell comprises first and second parts,the first part is provided in at least one of: a master information block, MIB, of the cell; or the PBCH, andthe second part comprises the determined at least part of the barring status of the cell.

12. The first apparatus of any preceding claim, whereinthe SSB further comprises an indication of a duration associated with the barring status of the cell, the first apparatus further comprising:means for determining the duration associated with the barring status of the cell based on the indication.

13. A second apparatus associated with a cell, comprising:means for transmitting, to a first apparatus, a synchronization signal block, SSB, the SSB comprising at least one synchronization signal and an indication of at least part of a barring status of the cell.

14. The second apparatus of claim 13, whereinthe at least part of the barring status of the cell is indicated based on an offset associated with the at least one synchronization signal.

15. The second apparatus of claim 14, whereinthe at least part of the barring status of the cell is indicated based on at least one of:a first offset between a Primary Synchronization Signal, PSS, and a Secondary Synchronization Signal, SSS of the SSB;a second offset between the PSS and a physical broadcast channel, PBCH, of the SSB;a third offset between the PSS and a Demodulation Reference Signal, DMRS, sequence for the PBCH;a fourth offset between the SSS and the PBCH; ora fifth offset between the SSS and the DMRS sequence for the PBCH.

16. The second apparatus of claim 15, whereinthe at least one of the first, second or third offsets comprises at least one of: a time offset; ora frequency offset.

17. The second apparatus of claim 15 or claim 16, whereinthe at least part of the barring status of the cell is indicated based on a predetermined association between the at least one of the first to fifth offsets and the at least part of the barring status of the cell.

18. The second apparatus of any of claims 15 to 17, whereinthe at least part of the barring status of the cell is indicated further based on the order in which the PSS and SSS are received with respect to one another.

19. The second apparatus of claim 13, whereinthe at least part of the barring status of the cell is indicated based on a predetermined association between a synchronization signal signature of the SSB and the at least part of the barring status of the cell,the synchronization signal signature comprising at least one of:a PSS sequence;an SSS sequence;a type of PSS sequence;a type of SSS sequence; ora type of DMR.S sequence for the PBCH.

20. The second apparatus of claim 13, whereinthe at least part of the barring status is indicated based on a synchronization raster associated with the at least one synchronization signal.

21. The second apparatus of claim 13, whereinthe at least part of the barring status of the cell is indicated based on a PBCH of the SSB.

22. The second apparatus of claim 13, whereinthe at least part of the barring status of the cell is indicated based on a demodulation reference signal (DMR.S) sequence of a PBCH of the SSB.

23. The second apparatus of any of claims 13 to 22, whereinthe barring status of the cell comprises first and second parts,the first part is provided in at least one of: a master information block, MIB, of the cell; or the PBCH, andthe second part comprises the indicated at least part of the barring status of the cell.

24. The second apparatus of any of claims 13 to 23, whereinthe SSB further comprises an indication of a duration associated with the barring status of the cell.

25. A method of a first apparatus, comprising:receiving, from a second apparatus associated with a cell, a synchronization signal block, SSB, the SSB comprising at least one synchronization signal and an indication of at least part of a barring status of the cell; determining the at least part of the barring statusof the cell based on the indication; and applying the at least part of the determined barring status of the cell.

26. A method of a second apparatus, associated with a cell, the method comprising:transmitting, to a first apparatus, a synchronization signal block, SSB, the SSB comprising at least one synchronization signal and an indication of at least part of a barring status of a cell.

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