Scheduling frequency resources in AIOT with same data rates

Abstract

A method performed by an ambient internet of things (AIoT) device for communicating with a network. The method includes receiving configuration information for communicating with the network, obtaining a chip duration and repetition value from the configuration information, and communicating with the network using the chip duration and repetition value. A method performed by a network node for communicating with an AIoT device includes transmitting configuration information for communicating with the network to the AIOT device, wherein the configuration information specifies a set of chip duration and repetition values to be used by the AIoT device for communicating with the network, and communicating with the AIoT device using the chip duration and repetition values. Related network nodes and devices are disclosed.

Description

P113302W001SCHEDULING FREQUENCY RESOURCES IN AloT WITH SAME DATA RATESBACKGROUND

[0001] The present disclosure relates to scheduling of frequency resources for internet of things ("loT") devices in a wireless communications network.

[0002] Wireless loT devices are often battery powered and both the need to change battery and the battery lifetime may be concerns for many potential applications such as asset tracking or environmental / industrial sensors. For this reason, the wireless communications industry has been interested in so-called zero-energy (ZE) devices. ZE devices refer to wireless loT devices that do not require battery replacement, and often harvest energy from the environment. In some use cases, such as monitoring the temperature of foodstuffs, the ZE devices may have small batteries that are disposable (e.g., organic, compostable batteries), rechargeable or have very limited capacity.

[0003] These ZE-loT devices can in addition have a very small form factor and could even be printable and they target ultra-low power consumption to enable operation based on either energy-harvesting from an ambient sources or back-scattering communication, such as may be used in radio frequency identification (RFID) devices. That is, instead of relying on energy for communication being provided by a battery it is instead harvested from an ambient source, such as vibrations, solar power, radio frequency (RF), etc. (harvesting), or a charge carrier wave is provided to the device which is modulated and reflected back to a reader (in the back-scattering communication case). This enables energy autonomous operation during the lifetime of the devices without need for either manual replacement or charging of the batteries. Compared to existing radio access technologies this puts new requirements on the radio interface and the protocols.

[0004] Recently, work on this has been performed in 3GPP, referred to as 'Ambient-loT' (AloT). AloT devices are characterized in the study according to their energy storage capacity, and capability of generating RF signals for their transmissions. Relying on these storage capacities, the study considers the following set of AloT:• Device A and B: Has energy storage, no independent signal generation, i.e. backscattering transmission. Use of stored energy can include amplification for reflected signals. Peak power consumption for device A is extremely small while device B can affordP113302W001slightly higher peak power consumption.• Device C: Has energy storage, has independent signal generation, i.e., active RF components for transmission.

[0005] A limited energy storage can be different among implementations within Device B or implementations within Device C, and different between Device B and Device C. Such storage is expected to be order(s) of magnitude smaller than an NB-loT device would typically include.

[0006] RFID backscatter and access protocols

[0007] AloT devices A and B inherit the principle of RFID backscatter, where an always-on carrier wave generated by a RFID reader illuminates (powers) the transponder tag. The tag further transmits its stored information by modulating the same carrier wave signal that it receives from the reader. The modulation here is done by adjusting the antenna impedances and radar cross section of the tag, and the whole process of modulating the carrier wave and reflecting the modulated carrier back to the reader is called backscatter.

[0008] The actual data transmission between the reader and the tag can involve multiple back and forth communication. Such communications may be initiated by the tag (called tag-initiated transmissions) or initiated by the reader (called reader-initiated transmissions).

[0009] In tag-initiated transmissions, the reader keeps broadcasting a carrier signal, but the tag initiates data transmissions by encoding its data on the carrier wave and reflecting this back as a backscatter reflection. Protocols such as the aloha protocol, carrier sense protocols, etc. are typically used for this kind of transmission. The reader can further respond back to this communication. These are typically best effort transmissions with increased chances of collision.

[0010] In reader-initiated transmissions, the reader sends packets on the carrier wave to the tag, and the tag responds back by backscattering the carrier wave from the reader. There are multiple protocols available in RFID literature to control the communication behavior between the tag and the reader in this case, and the most recent widely accepted standard on this is the EPC C1G2 protocol (ISO 18000-6C) standard.

[0011] EPC C1G2 follows a slotted aloha protocol. Here, the Interrogator (reader) communicates with one or more tags by modulating an RF carrier. The procedure takesP113302W001place over three main phases, namely, a select / challenge phase, an inventor phase and an access phase, described below.

[0012] 1. Select / Challenge phase: This allows selecting a subset of tags that match a selection criteria- e.g.: Electronic Product Code. Tags that match this respond to the Select / Challenge command, while others remain silent.

[0013] 2. Inventory phase: This allows the reader to obtain a tag's handle which can be used for further 'access' type communication. The following are the steps for the communication in the inventory phase.

[0014] Reader sends a Query command to the selected tags. Query command contains a Q-parameter (value ranging from 0 - 15) to specify frame size (equal to 2AQ-1)

[0015] As response, each selected tag picks a random number between 0 and 2AQ-1 and put it into its slot counter. Tag also picks a random number RN16, which is a random number between 0 and 2A16.

[0016] Each tag is allowed to respond to the reader when its slot counter becomes zero. If there is a collision, a NACK from the reader tells the tags to wait for another query until they respond again.

[0017] A correctly acknowledged tag allows access when the reader uses the correct access password. When the reader polls the tag with the correct access password, the tag responds with a handle that allows the reader to perform access commands on the tag.

[0018] 3. Access phase: Once the tag is identified, the reader may perform a core operation such as reading, writing, locking, or killing the Tag; a security-related operation such as authenticating the Tag; or a file-related operation such as opening a particular file in the Tag's User memory.

[0019] Inventory modelling in AloT

[0020] Inventory modelling is a procedure which allows readers to inventory (identify) each AloT device follows a 4-way signalling exchange procedure illustrated in Figure 1. As shown therein, the inventory modelling procedure starts with MsgO- a paging message, followed by a contention resolution procedure- Msgl and Msg2 exchange; and ending with devices responding with their Device ID in Msg3. Based on the multiple access agreements in the SI, the inventory modelling becomes slightly different from RFIDP113302W001inventory, with multiple devices being frequency multiplexed in the uplink (UL). An example modelling with a brief description is summarized below.

[0021] The modelling highlights the following:1. Time division multiple access (TDMA) + frequency division multiple access (FDMA) for UL and TDMA-only for downlink (DL) transmissions.2. A-loT paging message, that is referred to as Msg 0, contains a parameter that determines the number of time occasions (Q-value similar to RFIDs).3. Reader-to-device (R2D) and device-to-reader (D2R) messages follow a link timing relation.

[0022] Background on achieving FDMA with backscattering

[0023] Backscattering is a transmission method for which a tag is able to deliver data to a reader without emitting radio frequencies but reflecting and modulating an incident signal called a carrier wave (CW).

[0024] Some other node than the tag (for example, the reader) emits the unmodulated CW. A tag is equipped with an antenna, which is terminated at load impedances via an RF switch. Depending on which load impendence the antenna is terminated to, CW is either reflected (with different reflection coefficients) or absorbed. The impedance switching is controlled by a signal that carries the data so that the reflected CW embeds the information that is intended to be transmitted.

[0025] If the CW frequency is fcand if the rate of switching is 2A , then the resulting reflected signal, in frequency domain, will consists in two main specular images centered at fcand separated by it by (+ / -)as illustrated in Figure 2.

[0026] In terms of device architecture there are two main methods by which this can be achieved:a. The baseband signal carrying information symbols directly drive the impedance switching.b. An independent signal with the desired frequency shift modulates the data stream before driving the antenna switch (in Figure 2 an example with a square wave multiplying the data signal is shown, but it should not be considered as the only method).

[0027] Architectures to implement these two methods are depicted in Figure 3.P113302W001

[0028] In RAN1#116 it was discussed that FDMA may be a possible UL scheme in the study item scope.

[0029] An FDMA scheme in AloT is implemented by assigning different frequency shifts to different tags. With appropriate separation and filtering, it is possible for the reader to receive and decode correctly the different signals from different tags. To make backscatter receptions orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) compatible, the frequency shifts could be for example tuned to multiples of a common frequency shift, such as the OFDM subcarrier spacing. In other words, each tag can apply a frequency shift of Rsf with 1 < Rs< R^AX, where Rsdenotes the symbol rate in multiples of A . The amount of frequency shifts does not have to be an integer multiple of A (so that Rsis integer), but for simplification that can be assumed.

[0030] Figure 4 shows an example with 2 tags using two different values of Rs(3 and 1 respectively) to transmit concurrently their UL message in a FDMA fashion.

[0031] Note that R^AXdepends on the tag capabilities (i.e.: how fast they can switch the antenna impedance), and different tags may have different maximum frequency shifts.

[0032] It is important to notice that with the architecture "a" shown in Figure 3, the frequency shift applied by the tag is equal to the rate at which the impedance states are switched. For example, for simple modulation schemes like on-off keying (OOK), the frequency switching rate of the tag might be exactly equal to the bit rate / data rate of the tag (1 symbol = 1 bit), nevertheless the data rate is always proportional to the symbol rate depending on the modulation and coding scheme used.

[0033] The Ambient loT Rel-19 Work Item (Wl) RANI scope provides:o PRDCH and PDRCH are the only physical channels in R2D and D2R, respectively.o Multiplexing / multiple access in R2D is by only TDMA, and in D2R is by only TDMA and FDMA.o D2R transmission supports:■ Either the Manchester line code in TR 38.769 or no line code (one to be down-selected); and■ A corresponding small frequency shift method according to the options in TR 38.769.o D2R supports physical layer repetition transmission.P113302W001

[0034] Multiple access in AloT

[0035] As indicated above, the Wl scope covers a combination of time and frequency division multiplexing (TDMA+FDMA) for uplink Device to Reader (D2R) transmissions while supporting only TDMA for downlink Reader to Device (D2R) signalling exchanges as depicted in the inventory modelling described above in connection with Figure 1.

[0036] Support for SFS for D2R is addressed in the excerpt from TR 38.769 V19.0.0, "Study on Solutions for Ambient loT (Internet of Things)", 3GPP, shown in Table 1 below.Table 1 - Paragraph 6.1.2.7.1 of TR 38.769 V19.0.0P113302W0016.1.2.7.1 Small frequency shiftsFor OOK and BPSK, small frequency shifts are studied:- For applying with Manchester line codes with a repetition number R > 1:- Option 1: Each Manchester codeword is repeated by a codeword repetition number R, within the same time duration Tb corresponding to an information bit, where R = Tb / (2 x chip length), such that the amount of small frequency shift in Hz is R / Tb = 1 / (2 x chip length).- Option 2: By multiplying the Manchester codeword with a square wave corresponding to the small frequency shift, the time duration Tb corresponding to each information bit includes R number of square wave periods, where R = Tb / (2 * chip length), such that the amount of small frequency shift in Hz is R / Tb = 1 / (2 x chip length). The multiplication operation is performed as either an XOR or XNOR operation between a Manchester codeword corresponding to the information bit and the square wave for the small frequency shift.- For applying with Miller line codes, according to Figure 6-13 of [6],- For FMO, small frequency shift is not defined- If no D2R line code is used, by using a square-wave corresponding to the small frequency-shift, the time duration Tb corresponding to each information bit includes R number of square wave periods generated by 2R OOK chips [0, 1, 0, 1 ...] / [l, 0, 1, 0 ..] or BPSK chips [-1, +1, -1, +1, ...] / [+l, -1, +1, -1, ...], such that the amount of small frequency shift in Hz is R / Tb.- Potential purposes include:- FDMA of D2R, if supported- CW interference avoidance, if supportedNote: Small frequency shifts for D2R are studied for the same potential purposes forMSK.

[0037] A small frequency shift (SFS) is used by a device to offset the backscatter signal power onto a carrier frequency away from the carrier wave to mitigate interference and facilitate frequency-domain multiple access. D2R transmission supports small frequency shifts. The small frequency shift for Manchester-encoded signals can be generated through the following options:• Option 1: Each Manchester codeword is repeated by a codeword repetition number R, within the same time duration Tb corresponding to an information bit, where R = Tb / (2 x chip length), such that the amount of small frequency shift in Hz is R / Tb = 1 / (2 x chip length).P113302W001• Option 2: By multiplying the Manchester codeword with a square wave corresponding to the small frequency shift, the time duration Tb corresponding to each information bit includes R number of square wave periods, where R = Tb / (2 * chip length), such that the amount of small frequency shift in Hz is R / Tb = 1 / (2 x chip length).

[0038] The occupied transmission bandwidth for backscattered D2R transmissions (including the mirrored images) for the above mentioned options are given by BW= 4 / Tb • This is excluding the harmonics since the Wl leaves harmonics to the implementation.

[0039] REFERENCES

[0040] TR 38.848, V18.0.0, "Study on Ambient loT (Internet of Things) in RAN (Release 18)"

[0041] RP-243326, "New Work Item: Solutions for Ambient loT (Internet of Things) in NR", RANI Vice-chair (Huawei), RAN#106, December 2024.

[0042] TR 38.769 V19.0.0, "Study on Solutions for Ambient loT (Internet of Things)", 3GPP.SUMMARY

[0043] Some embodiments provide a method performed by an ambient internet of things (AloT) device for communicating with a network. The method includes receiving configuration information for communicating with the network, obtaining a chip duration and repetition value from the configuration information, and communicating with the network using the chip duration and repetition value.

[0044] The configuration information may be received in a broadcast message to the AloT device or in a dedicated message to the AloT device.

[0045] The configuration information may include the chip duration and repetition values.

[0046] The configuration information may include an index to a table containing a plurality of chip duration and repetition values.

[0047] The configuration information may include a plurality of indices to the table containing a plurality of chip durations and associated repetition values.

[0048] In some embodiments, different values of chip duration and associated repetition values are used for communication of different types of messages.P113302W001

[0049] The AloT device may use a first chip duration and associated repetition value for transmission of a Msgl message and a second chip duration and associated repetition value for transmission of a Msg3 transmission.

[0050] The configuration information may include information from which the chip duration and repetition value can be determined.

[0051] The information from which the chip duration and repetition value can be determined may include an index to a table of repetition values and associated scaling factors.

[0052] The information from which the chip duration and repetition value can be determined may include an index to a table of repetition values and associated repetition values.

[0053] The configuration information may include information from which a set of chip duration and associated repetition value can be determined.

[0054] The information from which the chip duration and repetition value can be determined may include an index to a table of chip durations and associated repetition values.

[0055] In some embodiments, each chip duration and associated repetition value in the set of chip durations and associated repetition values corresponds to a same data rate for communicating with the network.

[0056] In some embodiments, a product of each chip duration and associated repetition value in the set of chip durations and associated repetition values may be the same.

[0057] The configuration information may be received from a reader.

[0058] The configuration information may be received in a paging message.

[0059] The configuration information may be received in a MsgO message of an AloT inventory procedure.

[0060] In some embodiments, a bit duration Tbit for communicating with the network may be determined as Tbit = 2 x TChip x RSFS, where TChip is the chip duration and RSFS is the associated repetition value.

[0061] A method performed by a network node for communicating with an AloT device includes transmitting configuration information for communicating with the network to the AIOT device, wherein the configuration information specifies a set of chip durationP113302W001and repetition values to be used by the AloT device for communicating with the network, and communicating with the AloT device using the chip duration and repetition values.

[0062] The configuration information may be transmitted in a broadcast message to the AloT device or in a dedicated message to the AloT device.

[0063] The configuration information may include the chip duration and repetition values.

[0064] The configuration information may include an index to a table containing a plurality of chip duration and repetition values.

[0065] The configuration information may include a plurality of indices to the table containing a plurality of chip durations and associated repetition values.

[0066] In some embodiments, different values of chip duration and associated repetition values are used for communication of different types of messages.

[0067] The AloT device may use a first chip duration and associated repetition value for transmission of a Msgl message and a second chip duration and associated repetition value for transmission of a Msg3 transmission.

[0068] The configuration information may include information from which the chip duration and repetition value can be determined.

[0069] The information from which the chip duration and repetition value can be determined may include an index to a table of repetition values and associated scaling factors.

[0070] The information from which the chip duration and repetition value can be determined may include an index to a table of repetition values and associated repetition values.

[0071] The configuration information may include information from which a set of chip duration and associated repetition value can be determined.

[0072] The information from which the chip duration and repetition value can be determined may include an index to a table of chip durations and associated repetition values.

[0073] In some embodiments, each chip duration and associated repetition value in the set of chip durations and associated repetition values corresponds to a same data rate for communicating with the network.P113302W001

[0074] In some embodiments, a product of each chip duration and associated repetition value in the set of chip durations and associated repetition values may be the same.

[0075] The network node may include a reader.

[0076] The configuration may be transmitted in a paging message.

[0077] The configuration may be transmitted in a MsgO message of an AloT inventory procedure.

[0078] Some embodiments provide an AloT device for communicating with a network, the AloT device including processing circuitry configured to perform any of the foregoing device method steps, and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

[0079] Some embodiments provide a network node for communicating with an AloT device, the network node including processing circuitry configured to perform any of the foregoing network node steps, and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

[0080] An AloT device for communicating with a network according to some embodiments includes an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals, radio front-end circuitry connected to the antenna and to processing circuitry, and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuitry, the processing circuitry being configured to perform any of the foregoing device steps, an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input of information into the AloT device to be processed by the processing circuitry, and an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the AloT device that has been processed by the processing circuitry.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0081] Figure 1 illustrates an inventory modelling procedure for AloT devices.

[0082] Figure 2 is a frequency domain diagram that illustrates a carrier wave and modulated carrier wave for AloT device.

[0083] Figure 3 illustrates example architectures for modulating a carrier wave in an AloT device.P113302W001

[0084] Figure 4 is a frequency domain diagram that illustrates an example with two tags using two different values of symbol rate indices 7?sto transmit concurrently using FDMA.

[0085] Figure 5 illustrates a method performed by an AloT device for communicating with a network.

[0086] Figure 6 illustrates a method performed by a network node for communicating with an AloT device.

[0087] Figure 7 shows an example of a communication system in accordance with some embodiments.

[0088] Figure 8 shows a UE in accordance with some embodiments.

[0089] Figure 9 shows a network node in accordance with some embodiments.

[0090] Figure 10 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized.DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0091] The implementation of small frequency shift (SFS) for a set of AloT devices using option 1 above involves repeating the Manchester code word R times, where R is the codeword repetition number. Since option 1 and option 2 retain the same time duration Tb for all the devices, varying the codeword repetition R require the devices to choose different chip lengths for D2R transmissions to agree with the formulation above.

[0092] For example, for two AloT devices DI and D2 to transmit at two different frequency shifts by following chip repetition rates R1 and R2, if their bit duration is to be kept constant, i.e; Tbi=Tb2, implies the following relationship between their chip lengths Cl and C2:2 * R1 * Cl= 2* R2 * C2 Equation (1)

[0093] The above relation means that with varying repetition rates, devices should be allocated different chip lengths.

[0094] However, RANI #120 agreement states the following:The D2R chip duration is indicated in R2D control information from predefined a set of D2R chip duration valuesP113302W001

[0095] The above agreement, based on the interpretation, can have the following impacts for FDMA scheduling.• Issue 1: If the agreement is applicable to broadcast messages like MsgO paging, then multiple devices choosing the same chip length C imply that they should all follow the same repetition for the same Tb thereby ending up with the same frequency shift since SFS is calculated as R / Tb = 1 / (2 x C). Therefore, FDMA will not be feasible here.• Issue 2: Since AloT devices might support varying data rates, the reader needs to define a set of possible frequency shifts that are feasible based on the D2R bandwidths to be supported, without D2R transmission overlaps. This means the reader needs to configure the AloT devices with the correct combination of chip lengths inorder to implement the FDMA scheduling correctly. Alternatively, the reader may set the minimum possible frequency shifts for SFS option 2 in a way that prevents overlap in the event of the maximum supported D2R BW per device which would result in a non-optimal utilization of the available BW.• Issue 3: RAN2 currently has Wl agreements that states that the devices transmit their Msgl s on a resource randomly chosen from among a set of FDMA resources that is provided as part of MsgO paging. FDMA scheduling requires the reader to design a correct combination of chip duration values that the devices can choose from based on the Tb value to be supported. If only D2R chip duration is provided, then picking a random repetition value R might lead to varying BW and data rate for different devices. This means the choice of FDMA resource to transmit Msgl might not be random or unbiased. Instead, some FDMA resources might offer transmission advantages over the other.• Issue 4: Chip duration alone without repetition is not sufficient to keep D2R transmission at the scheduled frequency location. Choosing random combination of chip rate and repetition results in variable BW durations with variable frequency shifts.

[0096] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges.P113302W001

[0097] For each supported D2R transmission bandwidth / data rate, FDMA scheduling for one or more AloT devices involves configuring a certain chip length-repetition rate combination. This can be provided implicitly or explicitly to the AloT device (s) using a preceding R2D control field. The parameter combinations for FDMA scheduling is based on a set of rules and restrictions, and the configurations can either be pre-defined in the AloT standard or calculated at the device end based on the parameters provided.

[0098] The considerations for defining such a configuration, some example configurations, the restrictions that might be applicable and details on how this configuration is provided to the AloT device (s) is covered as part of the solution.

[0099] Some embodiments described herein provide an FDMA resource configuration table which can be defined in the AloT standard that associates FDMA resource indices to a chip length duration and repetition combination at different D2R transmission bandwidths.

[0100] Some embodiments described herein provide a set of parameters with some rules that may be provided to the devices to implement SFS.

[0101] Some embodiments described herein provide restrictions to be considered for SFS configuration to prevent / reduce transmission overlaps.

[0102] Certain embodiments may provide one or more technical advantages. For example, some embodiments described here enable scheduling FDMA for D2R transmissions when the same data rate is to be assumed for all AloT devices.

[0103] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0104] Here, the basic assumption is to perform FDMA scheduling where the data rate, bit duration Tb , and thereby the occupied bandwidth (BW) for a set of frequency division multiplexed devices is to be kept a constant. The equations we use for the embodiments below are listed for reference.• 2 * R1 * Cl= 2* R2 * C2 = 2* R3 * C3 -Equation (1)• Small Frequency shift (SFS) in Hz= R / Tb = 1 / (2 x C)- Equation (2)• R = Tb / (2 x C) - Equation (3). In other words, R and C are inversely proportional when the data rate (Tb) is constant.For Manchester line coding, at R=l, BW= 4 / Tb - Equation (4)P113302W001For no line coding, BW= 2 / Tb - Equation (5)

[0105] In the following described embodiments, an AloT reader provides the frequency configuration for one or a group of AloT devices by providing a set of chip duration and repetition values. The frequency configuration described herein can either be part of broadcast messages, such as MsgO in which the SFS for a group of devices is provided, or for dedicated scheduling, in which the SFS corresponding to a single (subset) of device might be specified.

[0106] FDMA scheduling may be such that for every D2R transmission bandwidth supported, the set of SFS supported may allow multiple D2R transmissions with sufficient guard bands in between to prevent frequency overlaps. This can involve an implicit or explicit mapping to a table of values comprising parameters that enable the calculation of at least a combination of chip duration C and the corresponding line coding repetition factor R, thereby allowing the devices to achieve a certain Tb;where Tb is the information bit duration, for a certain D2R occupied BW.

[0107] Embodiment 1: Pre-defining a frequency configuration table in AloT standards and indicating the set of indices to the devices for FDMA scheduling

[0108] In some embodiments, a pre-defined table may provide values of C and / or R. In some embodiments, for scheduling the device for a D2R transmission in an R2D transmission preceding the D2R transmission, the reader indicates an index (indices) to the pre-defined table, which provides the values of R and C that the device (s) may use for the corresponding D2R transmission.

[0109] In some embodiments, the table can provide value of other parameters based on which R and C can be determined. The values of C and R in the table may be such that their product is the same for each index I.

[0110] Some examples for the frequency configuration table are described below.

[0111] In one example, the frequency scheduling using Manchester coding can be based on a table of values defined in the AloT standards (similar to modulation and coding scheme, MCS, table in New Radio, NR) as depicted in Table 1. For different D2R transmission BWs, value of Tbcan be calculated based on Equation (4). For instance, D2R transmission BW of 15kHz translates to:P113302W001Tb= 4 / 15kHz=266.6uS

[0112] The chip duration at R=1 is then calculated as Tb / 2 (=133.3uS in above calculation), and a device can operate at a chip duration corresponding to the chip duration* repetition calculate its shift as well as repetition based on Example 1 shown in Table 2 below.Table 2 - Example 1: Frequency table contains chip duration and repetitionFrequency index 1 Chip duration C Supported number of codeword repetitions / number of square wave periods R0 133.3uS 11 66.67uS 22 33.33uS 4

[0113] Alternately, in order to provide consistent timing definitions, a basic time unit, Tu, is defined where Tu= 1 / (15000 * SFunit_time). That is, the basic unit time assumes scaled versions of 15 kHz D2R bandwidth. Examples of scaling factor SFunit_time include 1, 2,1 / 2, and so on.

[0114] As discussed above, to keep D2R bandwidth constant for frequency division multiplexed devices, Tb should remain constant, which implies that product of R and chip duration (C) should be constant. We define C as scaled version of the basic unit time Tu, i.e., C = Tu* SFchip-

[0115] Examples of tables to indicate R and C are shown below. In the example shown in Tables 3 and 4, the tables indicate SFchip and R that the A-loT device may use for the corresponding D2R transmission. The values of SFchip and R are such that the product C (given by Tu* SFchip) and R is the same for each index I in the table.

[0116] In some embodiments, the index I is indicated to the A-loT device in an R2D transmission preceding the corresponding D2R transmission. As one example, Index I isP113302W001indicated in MsgO for C and R to be used for Msgl transmission. As another example, Index I is indicated in Msg2 for C and R to be used for Msg3 transmission. As yet another example, Index I is indicated in MsgO for C and R to be used for Msgl as well as Msg3 transmission.

[0117] Example 2: Frequency table contains a scaling factor for chip duration (C) and chip repetition (R), where R takes on even values shown in Table 3 below.Table 3 - Example 2 - Frequency table contains a scaling factor for chip duration (C) and chip repetition (R)Index, 1 SFchip R0 1 21 1 / 2 42 1 / 3 63 1 / 4 84 1 / 5 10

[0118] In the table above, assuming SFunit_time = 1, the total D2R transmission bandwidth Btx,D2R on both side of fc(the carrier frequency) for the first harmonic will be 15 kHz, for each device. This implies that, on each side, the first harmonic bandwidth will be BIX,D2R / 2 = 7.5 kHz. The center frequencies of the small frequency shift corresponding to each device will be at fc±7.5 kHz, fc±15 kHz, fc±22.5 kHz, fc±30 kHz, and fc±37.5 kHz.

[0119] Example 3: Frequency table contains a scaling factor for chip duration (C) and chip repetition (R), where R= 2An with n ={0, 1, 2, 3,...} as shown in Table 4 below. Table 4 - Example 3 - Frequency table contains a scaling factor for chip duration (C) and chip repetition (R)Index, 1 SFchip R0 2 11 1 22 1 / 2 43 1 / 4 8P113302W001

[0120] Embodiment 2: Adding configuration restrictions / rules to FDMA scheduling.

[0121] In some embodiments, although a configuration table is specified in the standard, the reader might indicate only a subset of indices as part of SFS scheduling. This might be due to configuration restrictions owing to guard bands and carrier frequency offset.

[0122] For example, in Example 2, support for frequency indices {0,1, 2,4} for a set of devices which are to be frequency division multiplexed might involve overlaps in frequency when the transmission bandwidth is 15kHz. Therefore, the frequency indices supported for FDMA scheduling might be based on a restriction that allows for transmissions without overlaps. In the example, the reader might schedule only indices {0,4} as possible SFS resources therefore.

[0123] In another sub-embodiment closely related to the above subembodiment, the restriction in indices might follow some mathematical relationship based on the repetition or chip duration.

[0124] For example, the reader configures two frequency indices {i,j}e I for FDMA if their corresponding repetition rate R_i and RJ (with i> j) from one of the tables mentioned above might be chosen such that R_i-RJ > x. In our simulations, the minimum value of x was 3.

[0125] In another example, the indices {i,j} G I is configured by the reader based on the assumptions for guard spaces and SFO, such that the transmission gap between the two frequency division multiplexed transmissions is at least above a certain guard bandwidth. The guard bandwidth is defined based on the SFO to be supported.

[0126] In further embodiments, to ensure the maximum frequency gap between two adjacent frequency indices {i,j}G 1 for FDMA, the reader can implement scheduling mechanisms such that the scheduled Ndevice devices have the maximum frequency distance within a given band.P113302W001

[0127] Let us define Rmaxas the minimum of the device's sampling frequency divided by the minimum D2R transmission bandwidth and the maximum available bandwidth for D2R allocation divided by the minimum D2R transmission bandwidth.

[0128] To schedule Ndevicedevices, a set of Rtwhere i E {1, ...,Ndevice} can be selected such that the distance between two consecutive Rtmaximized subject to the following constraints:• The minimum distance between any two consecutive selected numbers is 3.• The selected numbers may be either even or 1.

[0129] In related embodiments, the procedure to select a set of R_i values are:1. Step 1: Identifying the candidate numbers:o The valid numbers are {1} U {even numbers from 2 to Rmax}. o This forms the set: R = {1,2, 4, 6, 8, ... , Rmax}2. Step 2: Ensuring spacing of at least 3o The gap between consecutive selected Rtmay be at least 3.o This means if we select a number x, the next possible number may be x + 3 or more.3. Step 3: Distributing numbers evenly across 1 to Rmaxo To maximize the distance between selected RtE R, consider a nearuniform distributiono To schedule Ndevicedevices, Ndevicevalues out of 1 to Rmaxis selected such that the gap between them be approximately G = —2i££- deviceo Since numbers may be even (or 1), the selected Ndevicevalues out of 1 to Rmax round to the nearest valid number in R while maintaining the minimum distance constraint.

[0130] In further embodiments, the choice of the chip duration (e.g., from Example 1) is a function of the available energy at the device. A smaller chip duration implicitly requires increasing the clock frequency / speed, and thus, increases energy consumption. Available energy can restrict the number of entries to choose from within theP113302W001table. The same concept applies for option 2 for realizing SFS. The reader takes this into account while scheduling FDMA; especially in the case of dedicated scheduling.

[0131] Embodiment 3: R2D message to the device (s) contains the chip duration along with repetitions or parameters that enable SFS. Devices perform calculations based on Equations 1-5 to derive the SFS.

[0132] In some embodiments, this can be the entire table calculated by the reader based on a certain data rate (examples 1-3) carried as part of R2D control message specifying different combination of chip duration and the corresponding repetitions, following the relation R1 * Cl= R2 * C2.

[0133] In further embodiments, the maximum chip duration that the devices are allowed to operate in at repetition rate R=1 is specified in the R2D control message. Only the set of possible repetitions are specified in the frequency scheduling. The devices are expected to modify their chip duration in accordance with the chosen R value to meet the condition in Equation (1) .

[0134] In alternative embodiments, the chip length C indicated to the device is the maximum C corresponding to R=1 (i.e., C=Tb / 2). The device(s) implement the SFS using option 2 by multiplying with a square wave of frequency from the set of possible frequency shifts. The frequency can be chosen randomly from the possible set or per a hardcoded rule or a rule indicated via the control information in the paging message.

[0135] In further embodiments, the reader indicates in MSG0 (paging message), the minimum chip length Cmin that can be supported to all devices, in addition to the data rate or the symbol duration (Ts=Tb). In order to realize the SFS for FDMA, the devices can randomly choose a repetition rate R such that Ts / R is not less than the indicated Cmin.

[0136] Embodiment 4: Support for different frequency configurations for different messages.

[0137] In some embodiments, the reader can indicate a different rule for choosing Tb, R, or C in the subsequent messages (e.g., MSG2, MSG4). For example, if the number of detected MSGls from the devices indicate a smaller number of scheduled devices, the reader can indicate via control information of MSG2 an increase of the data rate per each device or a subset of the devices, the devices then update the chosen values for R and C if option 1 is used, or fs and Tb if option 2.P113302W001

[0138] In further embodiments, the minimum chip length C used for MSG1 is different from the subsequent D2R message to ease the sampling frequency offset (SFO) estimation at the reader. For example, a longer chip duration for MSG1 always followed by a smaller chip duration for the next messages using a hardcoded rule (e.g., scaling factor) or an indicated rule by the network.

[0139] Figure 5 illustrates a method performed by an AloT device for communicating with a network. The method includes receiving (block 502) configuration information for communicating with the network; obtaining (block 504) a set of chip duration and repetition values from the configuration information; and communicating (block 506) with the network using the chip duration and repetition values.

[0140] The configuration information may be received in a broadcast message to the AloT device or in a dedicated message to the AloT device. The configuration may be received from a reader.

[0141] In some embodiments, the configuration is received in a paging message, in in particular in a MsgO message of an AloT inventory procedure.

[0142] The configuration information may include the chip duration and repetition values. In some embodiments, the configuration information includes an index to a table containing a plurality of chip duration and repetition values.

[0143] In some embodiments, the configuration information includes information from which the chip duration and repetition value can be determined.

[0144] In some embodiments, the information from which the chip duration and repetition value can be determined comprises an index to a table of repetition values and associated scaling factors.

[0145] Figure 6 illustrates a method performed by a network node for communicating with an AloT device. The method includes transmitting (block 602) configuration information for communicating with the network to the AIOT device, wherein the configuration information specifies a set of chip duration and repetition values to be used by the AIOT device for communicating with the network; and communicating (block 604) with the AIOT device using the chip duration and repetition values.

[0146] The configuration information may be transmitted in a broadcast message to the AloT device or in a dedicated message to the AloT device. The network node may be a reader.P113302W001

[0147] In some embodiments, the configuration is transmitted in a paging message, in in particular in a MsgO message of an AloT inventory procedure.

[0148] The configuration information may include the chip duration and repetition values. In some embodiments, the configuration information includes an index to a table containing a plurality of chip duration and repetition values.

[0149] In some embodiments, the configuration information includes information from which the chip duration and repetition value can be determined.

[0150] In some embodiments, the information from which the chip duration and repetition value can be determined comprises an index to a table of repetition values and associated scaling factors.

[0151] Figure 7 shows an example of a communication system 700 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0152] In the example, the communication system 700 includes a telecommunication network 702 that includes an access network 704, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 706, which includes one or more core network nodes 708. The access network 704 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 710a and 710b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 710), or any other similar 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP access points. Moreover, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that network nodes include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunication network 702 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network 702 that supports an ORAN specification (e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization) and may operate alone or together with other nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any node in the telecommunication network 702, including one or more network nodes 710 and / or core network nodes 708.

[0153] Examples of an ORAN network node include an open radio unit (O-RU), an open distributed unit (O-DU), an open central unit (O-CU), including an O-CU control plane (O-CU-CP) or an O-CU user plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time orP113302W001non-real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time control application (e.g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective "open" designating support of an ORAN specification). The network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an Al, Fl, Wl, El, E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface.Moreover, an ORAN access node may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an 0-2 interface defined by the O-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies. The network nodes 710 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 712a, 712b, 712c, and 712d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 712) to the core network 706 over one or more wireless connections.

[0154] Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 700 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system 700 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0155] The UEs 712 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 710 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 710 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 712 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 702 to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunication network 702.P113302W001

[0156] In the depicted example, the core network 706 connects the network nodes 710 to one or more host computing systems, such as host 716. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network 706 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 708) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and / or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 708. Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier Deconcealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0157] The host 716 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 704 and / or the telecommunication network 702. The host 716 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.

[0158] As a whole, the communication system 700 of Figure 7 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); LongTerm Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (WiFi); and / or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC)P113302W001ZigBee, Li Fi, and / or any low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[0159] In some examples, the telecommunication network 702 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 702 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 702. For example, the telecommunications network 702 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC) / Massive loT services to yet further UEs.

[0160] In some examples, the UEs 712 are configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 704 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 704. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi-RAT or multi-standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e. being configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0161] In the example, the hub 714 communicates with the access network 704 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 712c and / or 712d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 710b). In some examples, the hub 714 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 714 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 706 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 714 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs. Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes 710, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 714. As another example, the hub 714 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 714 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR device, display, loudspeaker, or other media delivery device, the hub 714 may retrieve VR assets, video,P113302W001audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 714 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 714 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0162] The hub 714 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 710b. The hub 714 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 714 and UEs (e.g., UE 712c and / or 712d), and between the hub 714 and the core network 706. In other examples, the hub 714 is connected to the core network 706 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 714 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 704 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 710 while still connected via the hub 714 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 714 may be a dedicated hub-that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to / from the UEs from / to the network node 710b. In other embodiments, the hub 714 may be a non-dedicated hub -that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 710b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0163] Figure 8 shows a UE 800 in accordance with some embodiments. The UE 800 presents additional details of some embodiments of the UE 712 of Figure 7.

[0164] As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other UEs. In particular, a UE may refer to an AloT device as described above.

[0165] Other examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage / playback device, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), an Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR) device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle, vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership ProjectP113302W001(3GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-loT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0166] A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), orvehicle-to-everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).

[0167] The UE 800 includes processing circuitry 802 that is operatively coupled via a bus 804 to an input / output interface 806, a power source 808, a memory 810, a communication interface 812, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 8. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0168] The processing circuitry 802 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 810. The processing circuitry 802 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 802 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0169] In the example, the input / output interface 806 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, aP113302W001video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into the UE 800. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[0170] In some embodiments, the power source 808 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used. The power source 808 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 808 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 800 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 808. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 808 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 800 to which power is supplied.

[0171] The memory 810 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 810 includes one or more application programs 814, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 816. The memory 810 may store, for use by the UE 800, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0172] The memory 810 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive,P113302W001external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and / or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUlCC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as 'SIM card.' The memory 810 may allow the UE 800 to access instructions, application programs and the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 810, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0173] The processing circuitry 802 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 812. The communication interface 812 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 822. The communication interface 812 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 818 and / or a receiver 820 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 818 and receiver 820 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 822) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0174] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 812 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented in according to one or more communicationP113302W001protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol / internet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0175] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 812, via a wireless connection to a network node. Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0176] As another example, a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0177] A UE, when in the form of an Internet of Things (loT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare. Nonlimiting examples of such an loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door / window sensor, a flood / moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rateP113302W001monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an loT device comprises circuitry and / or software in dependence of the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE 800 shown in Figure 8.

[0178] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another UE and / or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-loT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0179] In practice, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone's speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g. by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone's speed. The first and / or the second UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.

[0180] Figure 9 shows a network node 900 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunication network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)), O-RAN nodes or components of an O-RAN node (e.g., O-RU, O-DU, O-CU).

[0181] Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) partsP113302W001of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units, distributed units (e.g., in an O-RAN access node) and / or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0182] Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell / multicast coordination entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and / or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).

[0183] The network node 900 includes a processing circuitry 902, a memory 904, a communication interface 906, and a power source 908. The network node 900 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which the network node 900 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 900 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 904 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 910 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 900 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 900, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 900.P113302W001

[0184] The processing circuitry 902 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and / or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 900 components, such as the memory 904, to provide network node 900 functionality.

[0185] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 902 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 902 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 912 and baseband processing circuitry 914. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 912 and the baseband processing circuitry 914 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 912 and baseband processing circuitry 914 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0186] The memory 904 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 902. The memory 904 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and / or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry 902 and utilized by the network node 900. The memory 904 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 902 and / or any data received via the communication interface 906. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 902 and memory 904 is integrated.

[0187] The communication interface 906 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between a network node, access network, and / or UE. As illustrated, the communication interface 906 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 916 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. TheP113302W001communication interface 906 also includes radio front-end circuitry 918 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 910. Radio front-end circuitry 918 comprises filters 920 and amplifiers 922. The radio front-end circuitry 918 may be connected to an antenna 910 and processing circuitry 902. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 910 and processing circuitry 902. The radio front-end circuitry 918 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 918 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 920 and / or amplifiers 922. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 910. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 910 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 918. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 902. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0188] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 900 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 918, instead, the processing circuitry 902 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 910. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 912 is part of the communication interface 906. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 906 includes one or more ports or terminals 916, the radio front-end circuitry 918, and the RF transceiver circuitry 912, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 906 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 914, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0189] The antenna 910 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 910 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 918 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 910 is separate from the network node 900 and connectable to the network node 900 through an interface or port.

[0190] The antenna 910, communication interface 906, and / or the processing circuitry 902 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and / or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node. AnyP113302W001information, data and / or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 910, the communication interface 906, and / or the processing circuitry 902 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment.

[0191] The power source 908 provides power to the various components of network node 900 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 908 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 900 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 900 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 908. As a further example, the power source 908 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.

[0192] Embodiments of the network node 900 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 9 for providing certain aspects of the network node's functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 900 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 900 and to allow output of information from the network node 900. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 900. In some embodiments providing a core network node, such as core network node 108 of FIG. 7, some components, such as the radio front-end circuitry 918 and the RF transceiver circuitry 912 may be omitted.

[0193] Figure 10 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 1000 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof,P113302W001and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 1000 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment 1000 includes components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface. Virtualization may facilitate distributed implementations of a network node, UE, core network node, or host.

[0194] Applications 1002 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment Q400 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0195] Hardware 1004 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and / or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input / output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 1006 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 1008a and 1008b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 1008), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 1006 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 1008.

[0196] The VMs 1008 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1006. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 1002 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 1008, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipmentP113302W001types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.

[0197] In the context of NFV, a VM 1008 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of the VMs 1008, and that part of hardware 1004 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs 1008 on top of the hardware 1004 and corresponds to the application 1002.

[0198] Hardware 1004 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 1004 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 1004 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g. such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 1010, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 1002. In some embodiments, hardware 1004 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 1012 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0199] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or convertedP113302W001information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0200] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and / or by end users and a wireless network generally.

[0201] Some embodiments of the inventive concepts are described below.

[0202] Group A Embodiments

[0203] Al. A method performed by an ambient internet of things (AloT) device for communicating with a network, the method comprising:receiving (502) configuration information for communicating with the network; obtaining (504) a set of chip duration and repetition values from the configuration information; andcommunicating (506) with the network using the chip duration and repetition values.

[0204] A2. The method of Embodiment Al, wherein the configuration information is received in a broadcast message to the AloT device.P113302W001

[0205] A3. The method of Embodiment Al, wherein the configuration information is received in a dedicated message to the AloT device.

[0206] A4. The method of Embodiment Al, wherein the configuration information includes the chip duration and repetition values.

[0207] A5. The method of Embodiment Al, wherein the configuration information includes an index to a table containing a plurality of chip duration and repetition values.

[0208] A6. The method of Embodiment Al, wherein the configuration information includes information from which the chip duration and repetition value can be determined.

[0209] A7. The method of Embodiment A6, wherein the information from which the chip duration and repetition value can be determined comprises an index to a table of repetition values and associated scaling factors.

[0210] A8. The method of any previous Embodiment, wherein the configuration is received from a reader.

[0211] A9. The method of any previous Embodiment, wherein the configuration is received in a paging message.

[0212] A10. The method of any previous Embodiment, wherein the configuration is received in a MsgO message of an AloT inventory procedure.

[0213] Group B Embodiments

[0214] Bl. A method performed by a network node for communicating with an ambient internet of things (AIOT) device, the method comprising:transmitting (602) configuration information for communicating with the network to the AIOT device, wherein the configuration information specifies a set of chip duration and repetition values to be used by the AIOT device for communicating with the network; and communicating (604) with the AIOT device using the chip duration and repetition values.

[0215] B2. The method of Embodiment Bl, wherein the configuration information is transmitted in a broadcast message to the AloT device.

[0216] B3. The method of Embodiment Bl, wherein the configuration information is transmitted in a dedicated message to the AloT device.P113302W001

[0217] B4. The method of Embodiment Bl, wherein the configuration information includes the chip duration and repetition values.

[0218] B5. The method of Embodiment Bl, wherein the configuration information includes an index to a table containing a plurality of chip duration and repetition values.

[0219] B6. The method of Embodiment Bl, wherein the configuration information includes information from which the chip duration and repetition value can be determined.

[0220] B7. The method of Embodiment B6, wherein the information from which the chip duration and repetition value can be determined comprises an index to a table of repetition values and associated scaling factors.

[0221] B8. The method of any previous Embodiment, wherein the network node comprises a reader.

[0222] B9. The method of any previous Embodiment, wherein the configuration is transmitted in a paging message.

[0223] B10. The method of any previous Embodiment, wherein the configuration is transmitted in a MsgO message of an AloT inventory procedure.

[0224] Group C Embodiments

[0225] Cl. An ambient internet of things (AIOT) device for communicating with a network, the AIOT device comprising:processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments; andpower supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

[0226] C2. A network node for communicating with an ambient internet of things (AIOT) device, the network node comprising:processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments;power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

[0227] C3. An ambient internet of things (AIOT) device for communicating with a network, the AIOT device comprising:an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals;P113302W001radio front-end circuitry connected to the antenna and to processing circuitry, and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuitry;the processing circuitry being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments;an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input of information into the AIOT device to be processed by the processing circuitry; andan output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the AIOT device that has been processed by the processing circuitry.

Claims

P113302W001Claims1. A method performed by an ambient internet of things (AloT) device for communicating with a network, the method comprising:receiving (502) configuration information for communicating with the network; obtaining (504) a chip duration and repetition value from the configuration information; andcommunicating (506) with the network using the chip duration and repetition value.

2. The method of Claim 1, wherein the configuration information is received in a broadcast message to the AloT device or in a dedicated message to the AloT device.

3. The method of Claim 1 or 2, wherein the configuration information includes the chip duration and repetition values.

4. The method of any previous Claim, wherein the configuration information includes an index to a table containing a plurality of chip duration and repetition values.

5. The method of Claim 4, wherein the configuration information includes a plurality of indices to the table containing a plurality of chip durations and associated repetition values.

6. The method of Claim 5, wherein different values of chip duration and associated repetition values are used for communication of different types of messages.

7. The method of Claim 6, wherein the AloT device uses a first chip duration and associated repetition value for transmission of a Msgl message and a second chip duration and associated repetition value for transmission of a Msg3 transmission.

8. The method of Claim 1, wherein the configuration information includes information from which the chip duration and repetition value can be determined.

9. The method of Claim 8, wherein the information from which the chip duration42P113302W001and repetition value can be determined comprises an index to a table of repetition values and associated scaling factors.

10. The method of Claim 8, wherein the information from which the chip duration and repetition value can be determined comprises an index to a table of repetition values and associated repetition values.

11. The method of Claim 1, wherein the configuration information includes information from which a set of chip duration and associated repetition value can be determined.

12. The method of Claim 11, wherein the information from which the chip duration and repetition value can be determined comprises an index to a table of chip durations and associated repetition values.

13. The method of Claim 12, wherein each chip duration and associated repetition value in the set of chip durations and associated repetition values corresponds to a same data rate for communicating with the network.

14. The method of Claim 13, wherein a product of each chip duration and associated repetition value in the set of chip durations and associated repetition values is the same.

15. The method of any previous Claim, wherein the configuration information is received from a reader.

16. The method of any previous Claim, wherein the configuration information is received in a paging message.

17. The method of any previous Claim, wherein the configuration information is received in a MsgO message of an AloT inventory procedure.

18. The method of any previous claim, wherein a bit duration Tbit for communicating43P113302W001with the network is determined as Tbit = 2 x TChip x RSFS, where TChip is the chip duration and RSFS is the associated repetition value.

19. A method performed by a network node for communicating with an ambient internet of things (AloT) device, the method comprising:transmitting (602) configuration information for communicating with the network to the AIOT device, wherein the configuration information specifies a set of chip duration and repetition values to be used by the AloT device for communicating with the network; and communicating (604) with the AloT device using the chip duration and repetition values.

20. The method of Claim 19, wherein the configuration information is transmitted in a broadcast message to the AloT device or in a dedicated message to the AloT device.

21. The method of Claim 19 or 20, wherein the configuration information includes the chip duration and repetition values.

22. The method of any of Claims 19-21, wherein the configuration information includes an index to a table containing a plurality of chip duration and repetition values.

23. The method of Claim 22, wherein the configuration information includes a plurality of indices to the table containing a plurality of chip durations and associated repetition values.

24. The method of Claim 23, wherein different values of chip duration and associated repetition values are used for communication of different types of messages.

25. The method of Claim 24, wherein the AloT device uses a first chip duration and associated repetition value for transmission of a Msgl message and a second chip duration and associated repetition value for transmission of a Msg3 transmission.

26. The method of Claim 19, wherein the configuration information includes44P113302W001information from which the chip duration and repetition value can be determined.

27. The method of Claim 26, wherein the information from which the chip duration and repetition value can be determined comprises an index to a table of repetition values and associated scaling factors.

28. The method of Claim 26, wherein the information from which the chip duration and repetition value can be determined comprises an index to a table of repetition values and associated repetition values.

29. The method of Claim 19, wherein the configuration information includes information from which a set of chip duration and associated repetition value can be determined.

30. The method of Claim 29, wherein the information from which the chip duration and repetition value can be determined comprises an index to a table of chip durations and associated repetition values.

31. The method of Claim 30, wherein each chip duration and associated repetition value in the set of chip durations and associated repetition values corresponds to a same data rate for communicating with the network.

32. The method of Claim 31, wherein a product of each chip duration and associated repetition value in the set of chip durations and associated repetition values is the same.

33. The method of any of Claims 19-32, wherein the network node comprises a reader.

34. The method of any of Claims 19-33, wherein the configuration is transmitted in a paging message.

35. The method of any of Claims 19-34, wherein the configuration is transmitted in aP113302W001MsgO message of an AloT inventory procedure.

36. An ambient internet of things (AloT) device for communicating with a network, the AloT device comprising:processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of Claims 1 to 18; andpower supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

37. A network node for communicating with an ambient internet of things (AloT) device, the network node comprising:processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of Claims 19-35; power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

38. An ambient internet of things (AloT) device for communicating with a network, the AIOT device comprising:an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals;radio front-end circuitry connected to the antenna and to processing circuitry, and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuitry;the processing circuitry being configured to perform any of the steps of any of Claims 1 to 18;an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input of information into the AloT device to be processed by the processing circuitry; and an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the AloT device that has been processed by the processing circuitry.

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