Partially complete layer 1 / layer 2 triggered mobility candidate configuration

Abstract

Methods, systems, and apparatuses for providing a configuration for a mobility procedure are disclosed herein. The method performed by a UE comprises transmitting, to a first network node, a measurement report comprising measurements of one or more reference signals. The method further comprises receiving, from the first network node, a configuration based on the measurement report. The configuration can comprise at least one of a first indication or a second indication. The first indication can indicate whether the configuration comprises a complete configuration or a delta configuration for a target MCG, and the second indication can indicate whether the configuration comprises a complete configuration or a delta configuration for a target SCG. In some embodiments, the configuration comprises a configuration for target candidate cells having a first portion corresponding to the target MCG and a second portion corresponding to the target SCG.

Description

Pl 13271US01E1416.10072W001PARTIALLY COMPLETE LAYER 1 / LAYER 2 TRIGGERED MOBILITY CANDIDATE CONFIGURATION TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to wireless communications and, more particularly, to methods for providing a configuration for a mobility procedure.BACKGROUND

[0002] This section is intended to provide a background to the various embodiments of the technology described in this disclosure. The description in this section may include concepts that could be pursued, but are not necessarily ones that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, what is described in this section is not prior art to the description and / or claims of this disclosure and is not admitted to be prior art by the mere inclusion in this section.

[0003] Layer 1 / layer 2 triggered mobility (LTM) is a procedure in which a Next Generation Node B (gNB) receives layer 1 (LI) measurement report(s) from a user equipment (UE), which may also be referred to as LTM lower layer measurement(s) or LTM report(s)). Based on the LI measurement report(s), the gNB changes the UE’s serving cell by a cell switch command signaled via a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE). The cell switch command indicates an LTM candidate cell configuration that the gNB previously prepared and provided to the UE through radio resource control (RRC) signaling. The UE then switches to the target cell according to the cell switch command.

[0004] When configured by the network, it is possible to activate telecommunications common infrastructure (TCI) states of one or multiple cells that are different from the current serving cell. This is sometimes called pre-activation of a candidate TCI state, since a TCI state of an LTM candidate cell is pre-activated before the UE receives the LTM cell switch command, e.g., before the LTM cell switch procedure. For instance, the TCI states of the LTM candidate cells can be activated in advance, before any of the candidate cells become the serving cell. This allows the UE to be downlink (DL) synchronized with the candidate cells (or DL pre-synchronized), thereby facilitating a faster cell switch to one of the candidate cells when a cell switch is triggered. A cell switch command can be conveyed in a MAC CE, which may contain information necessary to perform the LTM cell switch.Pl 13271US01E1416.10072W001SUMMARY

[0005] Various computer-implemented systems, methods, and articles of manufacture related to AI / ML configuration and security in wireless communication networks are described herein. In one embodiment, a method performed by a user equipment, UE, operating in dual connectivity, DC, for a mobility procedure, comprises transmitting, to a first network node, a measurement report comprising measurements of one or more reference signals. The method further comprises receiving, from the first network node, a configuration based on the measurement report, where the configuration comprises at least one of the following: a first indication of whether the configuration comprises a complete configuration or a delta configuration for a target Master Cell Group, MCG; or a second indication of whether the configuration comprises a complete configuration or a delta configuration for a target Secondary Cell Group, SCG. The method may further comprise applying the configuration in accordance with the first indication or the second indication.

[0006] In one embodiment, a method performed by a first network node for providing a configuration for a mobility procedure comprises receiving, from a user equipment, UE, a measurement report comprising measurements of one or more reference signals. The method further comprises transmitting, to the UE, a configuration based on the measurement report, where the configuration comprises at least one of the following: a first indication of whether the configuration comprises a complete configuration or a delta configuration for a target Master Cell Group, MCG; or a second indication of whether the configuration comprises a complete configuration or a delta configuration for a target Secondary Cell Group, SCG.

[0007] In one embodiment, a method performed by a first network node for providing a configuration for a mobility procedure comprises transmitting, to a second network node, a request for a configuration based on a measurement report comprising measurements of one or more reference signals. The method further comprises receiving, from the second network node, the configuration based on the measurement report, where the configuration based on the measurement report comprises at least one of the following: a first indication of whether the configuration comprises a complete configuration or a delta configuration for a target Master Cell Group, MCG; or a second indication of whether the configuration comprises a complete configuration or a delta configuration for a target Secondary Cell Group, SCG. The method may further comprise transmitting the configuration for the mobility procedure.

[0008] In one embodiment, a method performed by a second network node for providing a configuration for a mobility procedure comprises receiving, from a first network node, aPl 13271US01E1416.10072W001request for a configuration based on a measurement report comprising measurements of one or more reference signals. The method further comprises transmitting, to a first network node, the configuration based on the measurement report, where the configuration based on the measurement report comprises at least one of the following: a first indication of whether the configuration comprises a complete configuration or a delta configuration for a target Master Cell Group, MCG; or a second indication of whether the configuration comprises a complete configuration or a delta configuration for a target Secondary Cell Group, SCG.

[0009] In one embodiment, a user equipment, UE, (112) for performing a mobility procedure is configured to transmit, to a first network node, a measurement report comprising measurements of one or more reference signals. The UE is further configured to receive, from the first network node, a configuration based on the measurement report, wherein the configuration comprises at least one of the following: a first indication of whether the configuration comprises a complete configuration or a delta configuration for a target Master Cell Group, MCG; or a second indication of whether the configuration comprises a complete configuration or a delta configuration for a target Secondary Cell Group, SCG.

[0010] In one embodiment, a first network node for providing a configuration for a mobility procedure is configured to receive, from a user equipment, UE, a measurement report comprising measurements of one or more reference signals. The first network node is further configured to transmit, to the UE, a configuration based on the measurement report, wherein the configuration comprises at least one of the following: a first indication of whether the configuration comprises a complete configuration or a delta configuration for a target Master Cell Group, MCG; or a second indication of whether the configuration comprises a complete configuration or a delta configuration for a target Secondary Cell Group, SCG.

[0011] In one embodiment, a first network node for providing a configuration for a mobility procedure is configured to transmit, to a second network node, a request for a configuration based on a measurement report comprising measurements of one or more reference signals. The first network node is further configured to receive, from the second network node, the configuration based on the measurement report, wherein the configuration based on the measurement report comprises at least one of the following: a first indication of whether the configuration comprises a complete configuration or a delta configuration for a target Master Cell Group, MCG; or a second indication of whether the configuration comprises a complete configuration or a delta configuration for a target Secondary Cell Group, SCG.Pl 13271US01E1416.10072W001

[0012] In one embodiment, a second network node for providing a configuration for a mobility procedure is configured to receive, from a first network node, a request for a configuration based on a measurement report comprising measurements of one or more reference signals. The second network node is further configured to transmit, to a first network node, the configuration based on the measurement report, wherein the configuration based on the measurement report comprises at least one of the following: a first indication of whether the configuration comprises a complete configuration or a delta configuration for a target Master Cell Group, MCG; or a second indication of whether the configuration comprises a complete configuration or a delta configuration for a target Secondary Cell Group, SCG.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] For a better understanding of the various described embodiments, reference should be made to the Detailed Description below, in conjunction with the following drawings in which like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts throughout the figures.

[0014] Figure 1 illustrates a general procedure for layer 1 / layer 2 triggered mobility.

[0015] Figure 2 illustrates a flowchart that explains some steps of a method performed by a user equipment, according to some embodiments.

[0016] Figure 3 illustrates a flowchart that explains some steps of the method discussed in Figure 2 as performed by a first network node, according to some embodiments.

[0017] Figure 4 illustrates a flowchart that explains some steps of a method performed by a first network node, according to some embodiments.

[0018] Figure 5 illustrates a flowchart that explains some steps of the method discussed in Figure 4 as performed by a second network node, according to some embodiments.

[0019] Figure 6 illustrates an example of a communication system, according to some embodiments.

[0020] Figure 7 is an example of a communication system, according to some embodiments.

[0021] Figure 8 shows a wireless device, which may be configured to operate in communication system of Figure 6 or in communication system of Figure 7, according to some embodiments.

[0022] Figure 9 shows a network node, according to some embodiments.

[0023] Figure 10 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized, according to some embodiments.Pl 13271US01E1416.10072W001DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] Generally, all terms used herein are to be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning in the relevant technical field, unless a different meaning is clearly given and / or is implied from the context in which it is used. All references to a / an / the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc. are to be interpreted openly as referring to at least one instance of the element, apparatus, component means, step, etc., unless explicitly stated otherwise. The steps of any methods disclosed herein do not have to be performed in the exact order disclosed, unless a step is explicitly described as following or preceding another step and / or where it is implicit that a step must follow or precede another step. Any feature of any of the embodiments disclosed herein may be applied to any other embodiment, wherever appropriate. Likewise, any advantage of any of the embodiments may apply to any other embodiments, and vice versa.

[0025] There currently exist certain challenges. In LTM, when the UE receives a candidate target configuration from the network (e.g., an “RRC Reconfiguration” message that is to be applied upon execution of an LTM cell switch procedure), it also receives an indication of whether the received candidate configuration is already a complete configuration (which the UE can apply as is) or whether the configuration should be combined with another configuration, which may be called a “reference configuration.” As used herein, a reference configuration may refer to a configuration which is common to one or more candidate configurations and / or may act as a template configuration.

[0026] If Dual Connectivity (DC) is not configured, an indication of whether or not the candidate configuration is a complete configuration can be sufficient, as the UE is operating under a single network node (or cell or set of radio resources). However, when DC is configured and the UE operates under two network nodes (or cells or set of radio resources), such as a Master Cell Group (MCG) and Secondary Cell Group (SCG), a simple indication may not be enough.

[0027] For instance, if the candidate target configuration and the reference configuration include both an SCG-related configuration (generated by a secondary node (SN)) and an MCG-related configuration (generated by a master node (MN)), it is not clear how to set, or interpret, an indication of whether a candidate configuration is complete or not. If the candidate SN decides that the SCG-related configuration is not a complete configuration but the MN decides that the MCG-related configuration is a complete configuration, there is an issue of how to set the indication of whether a candidate configuration is complete or not. Also, if the indication is set to indicate that the candidate configuration is not complete (e.g., because of an incompletePl 13271US01E1416.10072W001SCG-related configuration), there is an issue of what occurs when the MN provides no reference configuration.

[0028] If these aspects are not clarified, an erroneous configuration may be applied by the UE which, in at least some instances, may cause a configuration failure. Further, the UE may consider parts of the configuration which are intended to be delta configurations (e.g., configurations that are intended to be overlaid over a reference / template configuration) as full configurations, which may lead to an incomplete configuration and / or reconfiguration failure when applied by the UE. In some instances, a reconfiguration failure may trigger an RRC reestablishment procedure with a consequent long interruption time.

[0029] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. The disclosure includes methods for a UE to determine, for different parts of a received target candidate configuration, whether each part corresponds to a complete configuration or to a delta configuration (e.g., to be applied on top of a reference configuration). The methods include sending to the UE, and the UE receiving, different indications for the individual parts of a target candidate configuration.

[0030] In one embodiment, the UE may receive, from a network node, indications of whether a candidate configuration is complete or not for individual parts of a target configuration within each corresponding part of the target candidate configuration. As an example, the indication whether the target SCG configuration is a delta or a complete candidate configuration is included within the SCG-related configurations of the target candidate configuration and the indication whether the target MCG configuration is a delta or a complete configuration is included within the MCG-related configurations of the target candidate configuration

[0031] In another embodiment, the indications may be received within one of the parts of the target candidate configuration. As an example, the indication whether the target SCG candidate configuration is a delta or a complete configuration and the indication whether the target MCG configuration is a delta or a complete configuration are both included within the MCG-related configurations of the target candidate configuration, or they are both included within the SCG-related configurations of the target candidate configuration

[0032] In other embodiments, the indications may be received outside the target candidate configuration (e.g., as an associated configuration). In one example, where the target candidate configuration is for LTM with both SCG-related configurations and an MCG-related configuration, the indication whether the target SCG configuration is a delta or a completePl 13271US01E1416.10072W001configuration and the indication whether the target MCG configuration is a delta or a complete configuration are both provided outside the target candidate configuration (e.g., within the LTM-Config IE or within the RRC Reconfiguration message).

[0033] The embodiments above can be combined, such that one indication is received within the target candidate configuration and one is received outside the target candidate configuration.

[0034] In some embodiments, the UE applies one part of the target candidate configuration as a complete configuration and another part as a delta configuration towards the reference configuration. In one example, where the reference configuration that the UE has received includes a reference configuration with both MCG and SCG related configurations, the UE then applies the delta configuration (for the indicated part) only on top of the part of the reference configuration that is related to that part of the target candidate configuration. For the other part of the target configuration, the UE then instead applies that part of the target candidate configuration as a complete configuration.

[0035] In another embodiment, if there is one part of the target candidate configuration that is a complete configuration and another part that is a delta configuration, the UE first apply the part of the target candidate configuration that is a complete configuration and then apply the part of the configuration that is a delta configuration. Alternatively, the UE first apply the part of the target candidate configuration that is a delta configuration and then apply the part of the configuration that is a complete configuration.

[0036] In one embodiment, the UE first applies the MCG-related configurations (regardless of whether they are delta configurations or complete configurations) and then applies the SCG-related configurations, regardless of whether they are delta configurations or complete configurations. Alternatively, the UE first applies the SCG-related configurations, regardless of whether they are delta configurations or complete configurations, and then applies the MCG-related configurations, regardless of whether they are delta configurations or complete configurations.

[0037] The disclosure below also includes methods for a network node, e.g., a network node involved in generating a target candidate configuration, to provide one or more indications to a UE about which parts of a configuration correspond to complete configurations and which parts of the configuration correspond to delta configurations, e.g., to be applied on top of (e.g., to overlay) a reference configuration.Pl 13271US01E1416.10072W001

[0038] Figure 1 depicts a general procedure for LTM. In step 1, the UE 112 sends a “Measurement Report” message to the gNB 110. The gNB 110 decides to configure LTM and initiates LTM preparation. In step 2, the gNB 110 transmits an “RRC Reconfiguration” message to the UE 112 including the LTM candidate configurations. In step 3, the UE 112 stores the LTM candidate configurations and transmits an “RRC Reconfiguration Complete” message to the gNB 110.

[0039] In step 4a, the UE 112 performs DL synchronization with the candidate cell(s) before receiving the cell switch command. This is triggered upon reception by the UE 112 of a “Candidate Cell TCI States Activation / Deactivation MAC CE” for LTM candidate cell(s) configured in CandidateTCI-State and CandidateTCLUL-State. Upon reception, in the UE’s MAC entity, the UE’s MAC entity receives a Candidate Cell TCI States Activation / Deactivation MAC CE on a Serving Cell, and the UE 112 indicates to lower layers the information regarding the Candidate Cell TCI States Activation / Deactivation MAC CE. In step 4b, the UE 112 may also perform uplink (UL) pre- synchronization with the LTM candidate cell(s) if it receives the PDCCH order for early timing advance (TA) acquisition for those candidate cells.

[0040] In step 5, the UE 112 performs LI measurements on the configured candidate cell(s) and transmits LI measurement reports to the gNB 110. LI measurements should be performed as long as RRC reconfiguration (from step 2) is applicable.

[0041] In step 6, the gNB 110 decides to execute cell switch to a target cell and transmits a MAC CE triggering cell switch by including the candidate configuration index of the target cell. The UE 112 switches to the target cell and applies the configuration indicated by candidate configuration index.

[0042] In step 7, the UE 112 performs the random-access (RA) procedure towards the target cell, if UE 112 does not have valid TA of the target cell. Otherwise, if the UE 112 receives a valid TA value in LTM cell switch command using early TA acquisition method in step 4b, the UE 112 is not required to perform random-access.

[0043] In step 8, the UE 112 completes the LTM cell switch procedure by sending “RRC Reconfiguration Complete” message to target cell. If the UE 112 has performed a RA procedure in step 7, the UE 112 considers that LTM cell switch execution is successfully completed when the RA procedure is successfully completed. For random access channel (RACH)-less LTM, the UE 112 considers that LTM cell switch execution is successfullyPl 13271US01E1416.10072W001completed when the UE 112 determines that the network has successfully received its first UL data.

[0044] When the UE 112 receives, from the network, an RRC reconfiguration message, the message may comprise an indication of whether the received configuration is a delta configuration related to the current configuration of the UE 112 has or a full configuration. A delta configuration is provided to change (e.g., update) a current configuration of the UE 112, whereas a full configuration includes a complete configuration, e.g., intended to replace the current configuration in its entirety. A benefit of delta configurations is that they can be kept smaller, since they only need to include information about the changes. In many cases, many parts of the RRC configuration are similar before and after RRC reconfigurations.

[0045] If the received configuration is a delta configuration, the received configuration comprises one or more changes to the current configuration, e.g., wherein the UE 112 changes settings for parameters that are included in the delta configuration but keeps the settings for the other parameters unchanged (unless the reconfiguration requires special handling of other parameters not included in the delta configuration.

[0046] If the configuration is a full configuration, the UE 112 may release the current configuration, with a few exceptions, and apply the received configuration in its entirety. A full configuration may be indicated using a “fullConfig” field in an “RRC Reconfiguration” message (or in an “RRC Resume” message). If the “fullConfig” field is set by a network node (the network) in an RRC message (e.g., in an “RRC Reconfiguration” message), the UE 112 does not consider the message as indicating a delta configuration, and instead performs a full configuration procedure. For example, a full configuration procedure may include releasing various (or all) dedicated radio configurations. For a UE 112 configured with new radio dual connectivity (NR-DC), a full configuration procedure may include releasing a secondary cell group (SCG) configuration.

[0047] A full configuration procedure can be seen in 3GPP TS 38.331, V17.5.0 (Rel-17), section 5.3.5.11, as shown below.5.3.5.11 Full configurationThe UE shall:1> release / clear all current dedicated radio configurations except for the following:the MCG C-RNTI;the AS security configurations associated with the master key;Pl 13271US01E1416.10072W001the SRB1 / SRB2 configurations and DRB / multicast MRB configurations as configured by radioBearerConfig or radioBearerConfig2.NOTE 1 : Radio configuration is not just the resource configuration but includes other configurations like MeasConfig. Radio configuration also includes the RLC bearer configurations as configured by RLC-BearerConfig, PC5 Relay RLC channel as configured by SL-RLC-ChannelConfig, and Uu Relay RLC channel as configured by Uu- RelayRLC-ChannelConfig. In case NR-DC or NE-DC is configured, this also includes the entire NR or E-UTRA SCG configuration which are released according to the MR-DC release procedure as specified in 5.3.5.10.NOTE la: For NR sidelink communication / discovery, the radio configuration includes the sidelink RRC configuration received from the network, but does not include the sidelink RRC reconfiguration and sidelink UE capability received from other UEs via PC5-RRC. In addition, the UE considers the new NR sidelink configurations as full configuration, in case of state transition and change of system information used for NR sidelink communication / discovery.NOTE lb: To establish the RLC bearer of SRB(s) after release due to fullConfig, the network can include the srb-Identity within srb-ToAddModList (i.e., the UE applies RLC default configuration) and / or provide rlc-BearerToAddModList of concerned SRB(s) explicitly.the logged measurement configuration;1> if the spCellConfig in the masterCellGroup includes the reconfigurationWithSync:2> release / clear all current common radio configurations;2> if sl-PathSwitchConfig was included in reconfigurationWithSync:3> use the default values specified in 9.2.3 for timer T311 ;2> else:3> use the default values specified in 9.2.3 for timers T310, T311 and constants N310, N311;1> else (full configuration after re-establishment or during RRC resume):2> if the UE is acting as L2 U2N Remote UE:3> use value for timer T311, as included in ue-TimersAndConstants received in SIB12> else:Pl 13271US01E1416.10072W0013> use values for timers T301, T310, T311 and constants N310, N311, as included in ue-TimersAndConstants received in SIBT,1 > if no measConfigAppLayerld is included:2> inform upper layers about the release of all application layer measurement configurations;2> discard any received application layer measurement report from upper layers;2> consider itself not to be configured to send application layer measurement report.1> if the UE is acting as L2 U2N Remote UE at the target side during reconfiguration with sync, or after re-establishment, or during RRC resume:2> apply the default configuration of SL-RLC1 as specified in clause 9.2.4 and associate it with the SRB 1 ;1> else:2> apply the default LI parameter values as specified in corresponding physical layer specifications except for the following:parameters for which values are provided in SIB I ;2> apply the default MAC Cell Group configuration as specified in 9.2.2; 2> for each srb-Identity value included in the srb-ToAddModList (SRB reconfiguration) :3> establish an RLC entity for the corresponding SRB;3> apply the default SRB configuration defined in 9.2.1 for the corresponding SRB ;NOTE 2: This is to get the SRBs (SRB 1 and SRB2 for reconfiguration with sync and SRB2 for resume and reconfiguration after re-establishment) to a known state from which the reconfiguration message can do further configuration.1> for each pdu-Session that is part of the current UE configuration:2> release the SDAP entity (clause 5.1.2 in TS 37.324

[0024] );2> release each DRB associated to the pdu-Session as specified in 5.3.5.6.4;NOTE 3: This will retain the pdu-Session but remove the DRBs including drbidentity of these bearers from the current UE configuration. Setup of the DRBs within the AS is described in clause 5.3.5.6.5 using the new configuration. The pdu-Session actsPl 13271US01E1416.10072W001as the anchor for associating the released and re-setup DRB. In the AS the DRB re-setup is equivalent with a new DRB setup (including new PDCP and logical channel configurations).1> for each mbs-Sessionld that is part of the current UE configuration and associated to a multicast MRB :2> release the SDAP entity (clause 5.1.2 in TS 37.324

[0024] );2> release each multicast MRB associated to the mbs-Sessionld as specified in 5.3.5.6.6;NOTE 4: This will retain the mbs-Sessionld but remove the multicast MRBs including mrb-identity of these bearers from the current UE configuration. Setup of the multicast MRBs within the AS is described in clause 5.3.5.6.7 using the new configuration. The mbs-Sessionld acts as the anchor for associating the released and resetup multicast MRB. In the AS the multicast MRB re-setup is equivalent with a new multicast MRB setup (including new PDCP and logical channel configurations).1> for each pdu-Session that is part of the current UE configuration but not added with same pdu-Session in the drb-ToAddModList2> if the procedure was triggered due to reconfiguration with sync:3> indicate the release of the user plane resources for the pdu- Session to upper layers after successful reconfiguration with sync;2> else:3> indicate the release of the user plane resources for the pdu- Session to upper layers immediately;1> for each mbs-Sessionld that is part of the current UE configuration but not added with the same mbs-Sessionld in the mrb-ToAddModList2> if the procedure was triggered due to reconfiguration with sync:3> indicate the release of the user plane resources for the mbs- Sessionld to upper layers after successful reconfiguration with sync;2> else:3> indicate the release of the user plane resources for the mbs- Sessionld to upper layers immediately.

[0048] For the SCG configuration portion of the configuration (e.g., when it is not released due to a full configuration), the network can indicate whether it is to be released and then added again using the “mrdc-ReleaseAndAdd” field in “MRDC-SecondaryCellGroupConfig” withinPl 13271US01E1416.10072W001the “RRC Reconfiguration” message. If the “mrdc-ReleaseAndAdd” field is set, the UE releases the current SCG configuration and applies the received SCG configuration as is.

[0049] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to the challenges described above and provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s). For example, an advantage of the solution is that it allows different network nodes, which configure different parts of a candidate target configuration for a UE, to decide whether their part is to be generated as a delta configuration towards the reference configuration or as a complete configuration. Each node can then decide whether to use a delta configuration (towards the common reference configuration) or not based on its own situation, i.e., it does not need to align this decision with, or be dependent on, the other network node(s) that are involved in the configuration.

[0050] Through the solutions in the disclosure, it is also clear for the UE whether to apply each part of the received candidate target configuration as a delta configuration on top of the reference configuration or as a complete configuration.

[0051] 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. Additional information may also be found in the document(s) provided in the Appendix.

[0052] The disclosure refers to the term “L1 / L2 based inter-cell mobility” as used in the Work Item Description [1] in 3GPP, though it interchangeably also uses the terms L1 / L2 mobility, Ll-mobility, LI based mobility, L1 / L2 -centric inter-cell mobility, L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility L1 / L2 Triggered Mobility, Lower-layer triggered Mobility, or LTM. The basic principle is that the UE receives a lower layer signaling (e.g., a MAC CE) from the network indicating to the UE a change (or switch or activation) of its serving cell (e.g., change of primary cell (PCell), from a source to a target PCell), wherein a lower layer signaling is a message / signaling of a lower layer protocol, which may be referred as a L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility execution command or LTM cell switch command. The change of serving cell (e.g., change of PCell) may also lead to a change in secondary cells (Scell(s)) for the same cell group (e.g., in case the command triggers the UE to change to another cell group configuration of the same type, such as another MCG configuration). Before the UE receives the LTM cell switch command, the UE is configured by the network with one or more LTM candidate cells (e.g., reception of an RRC Reconfiguration message, with at least one LTM candidate cell configuration). A candidate cell configuration may include parameters in the IEPl 13271US01E1416.10072W001CellGroupConfig per candidate cell and / or an embedded RRC Reconfiguration per candidate cell.

[0053] The term LTM cell switch procedure refers to the process of a UE changing its cell from a source cell to a target cell (which may be called here a candidate cell or a neighbor cell), using L1 / L2 triggered mobility (LTM). In the context of LTM, an LTM cell switch procedure may sometimes also be known as dynamic switch, LTM switch, LTM cell switch, LTM serving cell change or LTM cell change. Even if the term change of cell is used, that may comprise a change of a whole cell group configuration, which includes a change in the special cell (SpCell) (e.g., change of PCell, or change of primary secondary cell (PSCell)) and a change in SCells of the cell group (e.g., addition, modification and / or release of one or more SCells). The LTM cell switch procedure may be triggered by the UE receiving an LTM cell switch command from the network. The source and target cells in a LTM cell switch procedure may be controlled by the same gNB, which sometimes is referred to as the intra-gNB case, or when the gNB uses a distributed central unit / distributed unit (CU / DU) radio access network (RAN) architecture, the intra-CU inter-DU case or the intra-CU intra-DU case (depending on whether the cells are controlled by the same DU or different DUs). When the source and target cells in an LTM cell switch procedure are controlled by different gNBs, this is sometimes referred to as the inter-gNB case, or inter-CU case, or sometimes known as an inter-CU LTM cell switch procedure.

[0054] The disclosure refers to at least one LTM candidate cell configuration. This is also sometimes referred to as a configuration of an LTM candidate cell, which may be an RRC configuration, such as encapsulated in an RRC Reconfiguration message, that the UE receives when being configured with L1 / L2 Triggered Mobility. An LTM candidate cell configuration comprises the configuration which the UE needs to start to operate accordingly when it performs an LTM cell switch procedure to that LTM candidate cell (e.g., upon reception of the LTM cell switch command indicating the UE to perform a LTM cell switch procedure to that LTM candidate cell, which becomes the target cell and the current (new) SpCell, or an SCell in a serving frequency). The LTM candidate cell configuration comprises parameters of a serving cell (or multiple serving cells, such as a cell group), comprising one or more of the groups of parameters, such as an RRC Reconfiguration message, an information element (IE) CellGroupConfig or an IE SpCellConfig (or the IE SCellConfig, in the case of a Secondary Cell).

[0055] An LTM candidate cell configuration is associated with an identifier which is used in the signaling when referring to a certain LTM candidate cell configuration, such as when thePl 13271US01E1416.10072W001UE receives the LTM candidate cell configuration and when the UE receives an LTM cell switch command indicating the UE to perform an LTM cell switch procedure to that LTM candidate cell. This identifier is sometimes known as the LTM candidate cell configuration identity or LTM candidate configuration index (or similar).

[0056] An inter-CU LTM cell switch procedure, sometimes also referred to as inter-CU LTM or inter-gNB LTM, is an LTM cell switch procedure resulting in a change of serving cell (e.g., change of SpCell, PCell, PSCell) to an LTM candidate cell controlled by a different gNB than the source gNB or serving gNB of the UE when the execution LTM cell switch procedure was triggered (e.g., upon reception of the LTM cell switch command). From a UE point of view, the actions performed during an inter-CU LTM cell switch procedure may be the same type of actions of an LTM cell switch procedure, but may also include additional actions, such as change of security key(s).

[0057] The disclosure refers to inter Master Node L1 / L2 Triggered Mobility (inter-MN LTM) configuration of inter-MN LTM, execution of inter-MN LTM, and an inter-MN LTM cell switch procedure. In the context of this disclosure, inter-MN LTM refers to inter-CU LTM, sometimes also referred to as inter-gNB LTM, handover or MCG mobility, when the UE is configured with dual connectivity, such as NR-DC, and where the source cell and target cell are both part of the source and target MCG, respectively, and controlled by different CUs or different gNBs.

[0058] The disclosure is written with LTM as an example but can also be applied without any loss of meaning to conditional LTM. The concept of conditional LTM (CLTM) can be viewed as a form of conditional reconfiguration. In CLTM, the UE is configured with at least one LTM candidate cell (denoted as a CLTM candidate cell), by receiving an LTM candidate cell configuration, as in legacy LTM, and called herein a conditional LTM candidate cell configuration, and an associated execution condition, denoted as CLTM execution condition. The evaluation of CLTM execution condition associated to a CLTM candidate cell is performed by the assessment of lower layer measurements, such as Layer 1 reference signal received power (Ll-RSRP) and / or synchronization signal reference signal received power (SS-RSRP), derived from single side bands (SSBs) and / or channel state information reference signals (CSI-RSs) of either the source cell and / or an LTM candidate cell. Lower layer measurements, in this context, are measurements reported to support lower layer procedures like beam management, candidate cell TCI state activation / deactivation, early timing advance (TA) acquisition, and link adaptation, and they aren't filtered based on Layer 3 (L3) parameters,Pl 13271US01E1416.10072W001though there may or may not be some filtering of these measurements based on the other lower layer parameters. The reception of CLTM execution condition may also involve receiving an indication of the condition and / or configuring it with parameters such as event identifier(s), offset(s), threshold(s), reference signal (RS) type, trigger quantity such as RSRP, reference signal received quality (RSRQ) or signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), time-to-trigger (TTT), and so forth.

[0059] The disclosure refers to an inter-CU LTM candidate cell configuration. An inter-CU LTM candidate cell configuration is a LTM candidate cell configuration which contains the configuration which the UE needs to start to operate accordingly when it performs an LTM cell switch procedure to an LTM candidate cell which is controlled by a different base station, e.g., gNB, from the current source base station e.g., serving gNB of the UE. In some cases, the UE may receive an inter-CU LTM candidate cell configuration during configuration of inter-MN LTM. In some cases, the UE may apply an inter-CU LTM candidate cell configuration during execution of inter-MN LTM.

[0060] An inter-CU LTM candidate cell configuration, sometimes referred to as inter-MN LTM configuration, may be the same as an LTM candidate cell configuration but it may also include additional information than what is included in the LTM candidate cell configuration used for inter-CU cell switch. This additional information may be, for example: information to perform security key refresh (e.g., the RRC IE Master Key Update or a RRC IE RadioBearerConfig that includes SecurityConfig with Security AlgorithmConfig); an indication to perform packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) re-establishment; or an indication to perform a full configuration (e.g., the RRC field fullConfig).

[0061] The disclosure refers to a mobility procedure, configuration of a mobility procedure or execution of a mobility procedure. In the context of this disclosure, a mobility procedure may be LTM, inter-CU LTM, inter-MN LTM, L3 handover, PCell handover, conditional handover (CHO), conditional LTM, PSCell change or conditional PSCell Addition or Change (CP AC). The solutions described in the disclosure sometimes uses the inter-MN LTM as the example. However, many of the examples may also be applied for other mobility procedures, for example, LTM, inter-CU LTM, conditional LTM, or CHO.

[0062] The disclosure refers to a mobility configuration. When the UE has been configured with a mobility configuration, it may use the mobility configuration during preparation of a mobility procedure, including measurements (such as RSRP measurements on neighbor or serving cells), triggering and transmission of measurement reports, synchronization towardsPl 13271US01E1416.10072W001neighbor cells, evaluation of conditions (for conditional mobility, e.g., CHO), and during the execution of a mobility procedure (e.g., execution of an LTM cell switch procedure, execution of an inter-MN LTM cell switch procedure or execution of handover).

[0063] A mobility configuration may include one or multiple of the following type of elements where each element contains a configuration of one aspect of LTM, for example: LTM candidate cell configuration(s); inter-CU LTM candidate cell configuration(s); inter-MN LTM configuration(s); reference configuration(s); lower layer information, such as physical layer configuration, MAC layer configuration, RLC layer configuration, Cell Group configuration, or serving cell configuration; higher layer information, such as RRC protocol parameters (e.g., timer values), PDCP layer configuration, radio bearer configuration or measurement configuration; configuration of measurements for LTM; configuration for measurement reports for LTM; CSI resource configuration(s) for LTM; CSI report configuration for LTM; configurations of early synchronization procedures, such as configurations for DL pre-sync for LTM (e.g., configurations for early TCI state activation) or configurations for UL pre-sync for LTM (e.g., configurations for reception of PDCCH ordered triggered preamble transmission and reception of TA); configurations for the execution of an LTM cell switch procedure for a given LTM candidate cell configuration or inter-CU LTM candidate cell configuration (e.g., whether to perform random access procedure, whether to perform RLC reestablishment, or MAC reset, or PDCP recovery), a timer value, configured UL grants, dedicated RA preambles; a configuration which the UE needs to start to operate accordingly when it performs an LTM cell switch procedure to an LTM candidate cell which is controlled by a different base station (e.g., gNB, from the current source base station or serving gNB of the UE); information to perform security key refresh (e.g., the RRC IE MasterKeyUpdate or a RRC IE RadioBearerConfig that includes SecurityConfig with SecurityAlgorithmConfig); an indication to perform a complete configuration; an indication to perform a full configuration (e.g., the RRC field fullConfig); and an indication to perform L2 reset or re-establishment, such as an indication to perform MAC reset, RLC re-establishment, PDCP recovery, or PDCP re-establishment for one or multiple bearers.

[0064] The term “subsequent LTM,” (sometimes referred to as a “subsequent LTM cell switch (procedures)”) refers to a procedure in which the UE performs a first LTM cell switch procedure from a source cell to a first target cell, then performs a second LTM cell switch procedure from the first target cell (which is now the new source cell) to a second target cell. Between the first and second LTM cell switch procedures, there is no RRC reconfiguration ofPl 13271US01E1416.10072W001the UE. This implies that the network does not add / remove / modify the LTM candidate cell configuration(s) or inter-CU LTM candidate cell configuration(s) in the UE between the two LTM cell switch procedures.

[0065] The disclosure uses the term “cell” to identify a location (or coverage) on which the UE is located. However, the term “cell” can also be exchanged without any loss of meaning with the terms “radio resources,” “beams,” “TCI state,” or “telecommunications resource service” (TRS). This is just to clarify that this disclosure does not target specifically a scenario where there is a cell, but rather when a UE uses a set of source radio resources and needs to switch to a target set of radio resources. In such a case, radio resources can also identify a set of configurations, fields, parameters, or abstract syntax node one (ASN.l) structures or IES.

[0066] The disclosure further uses the term MCG to identify a first network node that provides a first connectivity link to the UE and SCG to identify e second network node that provides a second connectivity link to the UE. However, the terms “MCG” and “MN” can be exchanged without any loss of meaning as well as the terms “SCG” and “SN.”

[0067] In the disclosure, the terminology “a part of an LTM candidate configuration” is used to identify configurations, information elements, parameters, or fields which are part of an LTM candidate configuration, and that the UE uses to operate in a certain network node e.g., the MN or SN. For instance, within an LTM candidate configuration there is a group of configurations, information elements, parameters, or fields which the UE applies and use to operate in the MN and another group of configurations, information elements, parameters, or fields which the UE applies and uses to operate in the SN.

[0068] The disclosure also refers to the process of “combining” the LTM candidate configuration (or a part of it) with a reference configuration. In this case, the process of combining consists of first applying the reference configuration and, once the reference configuration is applied without any errors, applying then the LTM candidate configuration (or the part of it which is a delta configuration of the reference configuration).

[0069] The disclosure further refers to “generating” a complete LTM candidate configuration. This process is when the UE combine the LTM candidate configuration (or a part of it) with a reference configuration but it does not actually use the generate LTM candidate configuration unless the network instructs the UE to do so (e.g., by sending an LTM cell switch command to trigger the initiation of an LTM cell switch at the UE).

[0070] This disclosure includes methods for a UE and a first network node. An embodiment of the method can include receiving a mobility configuration to perform an LTMPl 13271US01E1416.10072W001procedure (e.g., LTM cell switch procedure) which comprises at least a reference configuration and at least two LTM candidate configurations, one associated to the MN and one associated to the SN. The reference configuration is a configuration which is common to both the LTM candidate configuration association to the MN and the LTM candidate configuration associated to the SN. For example, both LTM candidate configurations can be generated as delta configurations. Therefore, to achieve a complete LTM candidate configuration for the MN and for the SN, the received LTM candidate configurations for the MN and SN should be combined each one of them with the reference configuration. In this example, the reference configuration comprises both MN-related and SN-related configurations.

[0071] The reference configuration may include different parts which may be generated by different network nodes, e.g., an SN-related configurations generated by an SN and an MN-related configurations generated by an MN. In some embodiments, the received LTM candidate configurations (for the MN and SN) are only used to perform LTM related procedures (e.g., an LTM cell switch procedure). In other embodiments, the received LTM candidate configurations (for the MN and SN) can be used to performs multiple mobility procedures (e.g., an LTM cell switch procedure and / or a CLTM cell switch procedure). In another embodiment, an LTM candidate configuration can include both MN related configurations and SN related configurations, which each can be a delta configuration towards the reference configuration (i.e., to be applied on top of the reference configuration in order to achieve a complete LTM candidate configuration) or a complete configuration. Optionally, configurations which are part of an LTM candidate configuration are generated by different network nodes (e.g., SN-related configurations generated by an SN and an MN-related configurations generated by an MN).

[0072] The method can also include determining whether the different parts of the LTM candidate configuration are complete configurations or delta configurations which are to be applied on top of the corresponding part of the reference configuration. In one embodiment, the UE determines whether a part of an LTM candidate configuration is a delta configuration (towards the reference configuration) or a complete configuration based on separate indications from the network for the different parts.

[0073] In some embodiments, the indications may be received within each corresponding part of the LTM candidate configuration. For example, the indication whether the SCG-related configuration is a delta or a complete configuration is included within the SCG related configuration within the LTM candidate configuration and the indication whether the MCGPl 13271US01E1416.10072W001related configuration is a delta or a complete configuration is included within the MCG related configuration of the LTM candidate configuration

[0074] In another embodiment, the indications may be received (all of them) within one of the parts of the LTM candidate configuration. For example, the indication whether the SCG-related configuration is a delta or a complete configuration and the indication whether the MCG related configuration is a delta or a complete configuration are both included within the MCG related configuration of the LTM candidate cell, or, in alternative they are both included within the SCG related configuration of the LTM candidate configuration

[0075] In other embodiments, the indications may be received outside the actual LTM candidate cell configuration. For instance, the UE receives the indication within the mobility configuration but not within the reference configuration or within the received LTM candidate configurations for the MN or SN. In another example, the UE receives the indication within message which also comprises the mobility configuration but not within the mobility configuration itself.

[0076] In yet other embodiments, the embodiments of indications provided above can be combined. For example, one indication can be received within an LTM candidate configuration, and another can be received outside of the LTM candidate configuration.

[0077] The method can also include implementing the indication. In some embodiments, this can be done in a 1-bit format where a value of the bit indicates that the configuration is a complete configuration, and another value of the bit indicates that the configuration is a delta configuration. In a different embodiment, the indication is configured only when a configuration is a delta configuration or a complete configuration. This means that if the indication is not configured by the network, then the configuration is a complete configuration or a delta configuration. In another embodiment, the indication can be a field that may contain information for the MCG and for the SCG. For instance, the indication can be an ASN.l structure, an IE, or a field which comprises information on whether the SCG configuration is a delta configuration or a complete configuration and whether the MCG is a delta configuration or a complete configuration.

[0078] In some examples of the method, the UE is configured with more than one reference configuration. In this case, the UE also receives, for each LTM candidate configuration which part is a delta configuration, and which is a complete configuration. For the parts which are a delta configuration, it is also indicated which reference configuration needs to be combined to obtain the complete configuration.Pl 13271US01E1416.10072W001

[0079] Optionally, it is implicit which of the reference configurations are linked to which part of the LTM candidate configuration which is a delta configuration (if it is indicated to be a delta configuration). For instance, the UE is configured with a reference configuration for the SCG (an SCG reference configuration) and another reference configuration for the MCG (an MCG reference configuration). If the UE then receives an LTM candidate configuration that indicates that both the SCG and the MCG parts are delta configurations, it generates the complete configuration for the SCG by combining the SCG part of the LTM candidate configuration with the SCG reference configuration and the complete configuration for the MCG by combining the MCG part of the LTM candidate configuration with the MCG reference configuration.

[0080] The method can also include generating the complete LTM candidate configuration, wherein the UE generates some parts of the complete LTM candidate configuration by applying the corresponding part of the LTM candidate configuration on top of the corresponding part of the reference configuration (for the parts that are indicated as delta configurations). The rest of the part which are indicated as complete configuration the UE applies those parts of the LTM candidate configuration as they are. In some embodiments, the UE generates the complete LTM candidate configuration at reception of the LTM candidate configuration and / or reference configuration. In another embodiment, the UE generates the complete LTM candidate configuration only when a mobility procedure is triggered by the network (i.e., when the UE receives an indication from the network to initiate an LTM cell switch procedure).

[0081] If there is one part of the LTM candidate configuration that is a complete configuration and another part that is a delta configuration, then applying the LTM candidate configuration can include applying the part of the LTM candidate configuration that is a complete configuration and then applying the part of the LTM candidate configuration that is a delta configuration. In another embodiment, applying the LTM candidate configuration can include applying the part of the LTM candidate configuration that is a delta configuration and then applying the part of the LTM candidate configuration that is a complete configuration.

[0082] In some embodiments, first the UE applies the MCG related configurations (regardless of whether this is a delta or a complete configuration) and then the SCG related configuration (regardless of whether this is a delta configuration or a complete configuration.Pl 13271US01E1416.10072W001

[0083] In other embodiments, first the UE applies the SCG related configurations (regardless of whether this is a delta or a complete configuration) and then the MCG related configurations (regardless of whether this is a delta configuration or a complete configuration.

[0084] The method can also include applying the complete LTM candidate configuration upon the execution of the mobility procedure (e.g., the LTM cell switch procedure).

[0085] Figure 2 illustrates a flowchart 200 that explains some steps of the method as performed by the UE. In step 202, the UE can transmit, to a first network node, a measurement report comprising measurements of one or more reference signals. In step 204, the UE can receive, from the first network node, a configuration based on the measurement report. The configuration can comprise at least one of a first indication of whether the configuration comprises a complete configuration or a delta configuration for a target MCG; or a second indication of whether the configuration comprises a complete configuration or a delta configuration for a target SCG.

[0086] Figure 3 illustrates a flowchart 300 that explains some steps of the method as performed by the first network node. In step 302, the first network node can receive, from the UE, a measurement report comprising measurements of one or more reference signals. In step 304, the first network node can transmit, to the UE, a configuration based on the measurement report. The configuration can comprise at least one of a first indication of whether the configuration comprises a complete configuration or a delta configuration for a target MCG; or a second indication of whether the configuration comprises a complete configuration or a delta configuration for a target SCG.

[0087] Another embodiment disclosed herein includes methods for a first network node, e.g., acting as a MN for a UE. The method can include determining to configure a mobility configuration at the UE which comprises one reference configuration and at least two LTM candidate configurations for the UE. The method can also include determining to generate a reference configuration for the parts of the LTM candidate configurations which are delta configurations to be applied on top of reference configuration when the UE generates the corresponding complete configuration. Optionally, the reference configuration consists of MCG related configurations and SCG related configurations, and the MN requests the SCG related configurations of the reference configuration to a second network node that is acting as the SN.

[0088] The method can also include transmitting a request to a second network node to obtain an LTM candidate configuration for the SN to be sent to the UE wherein the requestPl 13271US01E1416.10072W001further includes the generated reference configuration. In one embodiment, the request can be both for an LTM candidate configuration for the SN and for the SN related configuration to be included within the reference configuration.

[0089] The method can also include receiving the LTM candidate configuration for the SN to be sent to the UE and the indication(s) whether parts of the LTM candidate configuration are a delta configuration towards a reference configuration or complete configuration. Optionally, the first network node may also receive, in addition to the LTM candidate configuration for the SN, the SN related configuration to be included within the reference configuration.

[0090] The method can also include generating the LTM candidate configuration for the MN to be sent to the UE and the MN related configuration of the reference configuration for those part of the LTM candidate configuration of the MN which are a delta of the reference configuration.

[0091] In one example of the method, the first network node sets the indication for both the LTM candidate configuration for the MN and the LTM candidate configuration for the SN about which parts are a delta configuration towards a reference configuration and which one are a complete configuration.

[0092] In another example, the first network node sets the indication for LTM candidate configuration for the MN about which parts are a delta configuration towards a reference configuration and which one are a complete configuration. In this case, the second network node sets the indication for LTM candidate configuration for the SN about which parts are a delta configuration towards a reference configuration and which one are a complete configuration.

[0093] In yet another example, the first network node does not set any indication because the second network node set the indication for both the LTM candidate configuration for the MN and the LTM candidate configuration for the SN about which parts are a delta configuration towards a reference configuration and which one are a complete configuration.

[0094] The method can include transmitting the mobility configuration, which comprises one reference configuration and at least two LTM candidate configurations (one for the MN and one for the SN) to the UE.

[0095] Figure 4 illustrates a flowchart 400 that explains some steps of the method. In step 402, the first network node can transmit, to the second network node, a request for a configuration based on a measurement report comprising measurements of one or morePl 13271US01E1416.10072W001reference signals. In step 404, the first network node can receive, from the second network node, the configuration based on the measurement report. The configuration can comprise at least one of the following: a first indication of whether the configuration comprises a complete configuration or a delta configuration for a target MCG; or a second indication of whether the configuration comprises a complete configuration or a delta configuration for a target SCG.

[0096] Other embodiments disclosed herein include methods for a second network node, e.g., acting as a candidate target SN for a UE. The method can include receiving, from a first network node acting as MN, a request to obtain an LTM candidate configuration for the SN to be sent to the UE wherein the request further includes the generated reference configuration. In some embodiments, the request can be both for an LTM candidate configuration for the SN and also for the SN related configuration to be include within the reference configuration.

[0097] The method can also include transmitting, to the first network node, the LTM candidate configuration for the SN to be sent to the UE and the indication(s) whether parts of the LTM candidate configuration are a delta configuration towards a reference configuration or complete configuration.

[0098] In one example of the method, the first network node may also receive, in addition to the LTM candidate configuration for the SN, the SN related configuration to be include within the reference configuration.

[0099] In another example, the second network node sets the indication for both the LTM candidate configuration for the MN and the LTM candidate configuration for the SN about which parts are a delta configuration towards a reference configuration and which one are a complete configuration.

[0100] In other examples, the first network node sets the indication for LTM candidate configuration for the MN about which parts are a delta configuration towards a reference configuration and which one are a complete configuration. In this case, the second network node set the indication for LTM candidate configuration for the SN about which parts are a delta configuration towards a reference configuration and which one are a complete configuration

[0101] In some examples, the second network node does not set any indication because the first network node set the indication for both the LTM candidate configuration for the MN and the LTM candidate configuration for the SN about which parts are a delta configuration towards a reference configuration and which one are a complete configuration.Pl 13271US01E1416.10072W001

[0102] Figure 5 illustrates a flow chart 500 that explains some of the steps of the method. In step 502, the second network node can receive, from the first network node, a request for a configuration based on a measurement report comprising measurements of one or more reference signals. In step 504, the second network node can transmit, to the first network node, the configuration based on the measurement report. The configuration can comprise at least one of the following: a first indication of whether the configuration comprises a complete configuration or a delta configuration for a target MCG; or a second indication of whether the configuration comprises a complete configuration or a delta configuration for a target SCG.

[0103] Figure 6 shows an example of a communication system 600 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0104] In the example, the communication system 600 includes a telecommunications network 602 that includes an access network 604, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 606, which includes one or more core network nodes 608. The access network 604 includes one or more access network nodes or base stations of various types, access network nodes 610A and 610B are depicted (which may be collectively referred to as network nodes 610), or any other similar 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP access points (APs). Some embodiments of the access network 604 may include more than one access network technology. The network nodes 610 of access network 604 facilitate direct or indirect connection of wireless devices, also referred to as user equipments (UEs), such as by connecting UEs 612A, 612B, 612C, and 612D (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 612) to the core network 606 over one or more wireless connections.

[0105] Moreover, a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that network nodes include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunications network 602 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a network node in the telecommunications network 602 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 network nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any network node in the telecommunications network 602, including one or more access network nodes 610 and / or core network nodes 608.Pl 13271US01E1416.10072W001

[0106] Examples of an ORAN network node include an open radio unit (O-RU), an open distributed unit (O-DU), an open central unit (O-CU), including an O-CU control plane (O-CU-CP) or an O-CU user plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time or non-real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time control application (e.g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective “open” designating support of an ORAN specification). An ORAN network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an Al, Fl, Wl, El, E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Moreover, an ORAN network node may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an 0-2 interface defined by the 0-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies.

[0107] The network nodes 610 facilitate direct or indirect connection of one or more UEs 612 to the core network 606 over one or more wireless connections. Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 600 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 600 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0108] The UEs 612 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 610 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 608, 610 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly (e.g., via other devices of telecommunications network 602) with the UEs 612 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunications network 602 to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such asPl 13271US01E1416.10072W001administration in the telecommunications network 602. More specifically, UEs 612 may send messages, data, and / or other signals to network nodes 608, 610 or other elements of the telecommunications network 602 by transmitting such signals to the relevant device directly without the signals passing through any intervening devices or by transmitting such signals to the relevant device indirectly through an intervening device (or multiple intervening devices) that then transmit the signal to the relevant device. Similarly, network nodes 608, 610 may send messages, data, and other signals to UEs 6122, other network nodes 608, 610, and other devices in telecommunications network 602 directly or indirectly. As one specific example, a core network node 108 may transmit a particular message to a UE 612 by transmitting the message to an access network node 610 that will then transmit the message to the intended UE 612. Similarly, a core network node 108 may receive a particular message from a UE 612 by receiving the message from an access network node 610 that itself received the message from the UE 612.

[0109] In the depicted example, the core network 606 connects elements of the access network 604 (e.g., one or more of the network nodes 610) to one or more host computing systems, such as host 616. 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 606 includes one or more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 608) of various types, one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 608. Network nodes 608 are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, access network nodes, and / or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 608. Example core network nodes provide functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-concealing function (SIDE), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0110] The host 616 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 604 and / or the telecommunications network 602. The host 616 may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 616 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples ofPl 13271US01E1416.10072W001such 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.

[0111] The communication system 600 of Figure 6 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system 600 may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (Wi-Fi); and / or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (Wi-Max), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, Li-Fi, and / or any low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox. Moreover, the communication system 600 may be configured to support multiple different standards, protocols, or other rule sets, with individual components supporting all of the relevant rule sets or with different components or sub- systems within the communication system 600 supporting different standards, protocols, or rule sets.

[0112] As one example, in certain embodiments, access network 604 may contain some access network nodes 610 that support 3GPP radio access technologies (RAT), such as LTE or NR, while other access network nodes 610 support (or the same access network nodes 610 additionally support) non-3GPP RATs, such as Wi-Fi or a proprietary RAT. As another example, telecommunications network 602 may support multiple generations of related communication standards (e.g., 4G and 5G 3GPP communication standards) and, as a result, may include an access network 104 and / or a core network 106 that supports multiple different standard generations or may include multiple access networks 104 and / or multiple core networks 106 with individual networks 104, 106 supporting different standard generations.

[0113] Telecommunications network 602 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunications network 602. For example, the telecommunications network 602 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced MobilePl 13271US01E1416.10072W001Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC) / Massive loT services to yet further UEs.

[0114] In some examples, one or more of the UEs 612 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 604 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 604. 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).

[0115] In the example, the hub 614 communicates with the access network 604 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 612C and / or 612D) and network nodes (e.g., network node 610B). In some examples, the hub 614 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 614 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 606 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 614 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 610, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 614.

[0116] As another example, the hub 614 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 614 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 614 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 614 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 614 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0117] The hub 614 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 610B. The hub 614 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 614 and UEs (e.g., UE 612C and / or 612D), and between the hub 614 and the core network 606. In other examples, the hub 614 is connected to the core network 606Pl 13271US01E1416.10072W001and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 614 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 604 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 610 while still connected via the hub 614 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 614 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 61 OB. In other embodiments, the hub 614 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 61 OB, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0118] Figure 7 is another example of a communication system 700 according to some embodiments. As used herein, the communication system 700 includes multiple access points (APs) 710 (with four exemplary APs 710A, 710B, 710C, and 710D being depicted) and multiple wireless devices, referred to in the context of communication system 700 as stations (STAs) 712 (referred to individually as STA 712A, STA 712B, STA 712C, STA 712D, and STA 712E). STA 712A is served by AP 710A in a first basic service set (BSS) 720A. STA 710B and STA 710C are served by AP 710B in a second BSS, BSS 720B. STA 712D is served by AP 710C in a third BSS, BSS 720C. STA 712E is served by AP 710D in a fourth BSS, BSS 720D. Stations 712 may be non-AP STAs and correspond to various kinds of wireless devices, for example, user terminals, such as mobile or stationary computing devices like smartphones, laptop computers, desktop computers, tablet computers, gaming devices, head-mounted displays (HMDs) for Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR), or the like. Further, stations 712 could, for example, correspond to other kinds of equipment like smart home devices, printers, multimedia devices, data storage devices, or the like.

[0119] Each of STAs 712 may connect through a radio link to one of APs 710. For example, depending on location or channel conditions experienced by a given STA 712, the STA may select an appropriate AP and BSS for establishing the radio link. The radio link may be based on one or more orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) carriers from a frequency spectrum that is shared on the basis of a contention-based mechanism, e.g., an unlicensed or license exempt band like 2.4 GHz Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) band, the 5 GHz band, the 6 GHz band, or the 60 GHz band.

[0120] Each AP 710 may provide data connectivity to STAs 712 connected to a particular AP 710. As illustrated, APs 710 may be connected to a data network 730. In this way, APs 710Pl 13271US01E1416.10072W001may also provide data connectivity between STAs 712 and other entities, e.g., to one or more servers, service providers, data sources, data sinks, user terminals, or the like. Accordingly, the radio link established between a given STA 712 and its serving AP 710 may be used for providing various kinds of services to STA 712, e.g., a voice service, a multimedia service, or other data service. Such services may be based on applications that are executed on STA 712 and / or on a device linked to STA 712. By way of example, Figure 7 illustrates an application service platform 732 provided in data network 730. The application(s) executed on STA 712 and / or on one or more other devices linked to STA 712 may use the radio link for data communication with one or more other STA 712 and / or the application service platform 732, thereby enabling utilization of the corresponding service(s) at STA 712.

[0121] Figure 8 shows a wireless device 800, which may be configured to operate in communication system 600 of Figure 6 or in communication system 700 of Figure 7. The wireless device 800 may be alternatively referred to as a UE 800, like a UE 612 within the context of communication system 600, or as a station (STA) 800 or as a non-access-point station (non-AP STA) 800, like a STA 712 within the context of the communication system 700, in accordance with respective embodiments. As used herein, a wireless device refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other wireless devices. Examples of a wireless device include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop- mounted equipment (LME), smart device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle, vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless device, and wireless terminal. Other examples include any type of UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0122] A wireless device 800 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), or vehicle-to-everything (V2X). In other examples, wireless device 800 may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the relevant device. Instead, wireless device 800 may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a humanPl 13271US01E1416.10072W001user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, wireless device 800 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).

[0123] In particular embodiments, wireless device 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 embodiments of wireless device 800 may include all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 8. The level of integration between the components may vary from one embodiment of wireless device 800 to another. In general, in a particular embodiment of wireless device 800, processing circuitry 802, input / output interface 806, power source 808, memory 810, and communication interface 812 may, in whole or in part, represent or include physical components common to or shared by one or more of the other elements of wireless device 800. Further, certain embodiments of wireless devices 800 may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0124] 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).

[0125] 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, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into wireless device 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, aPl 13271US01E1416.10072W001smartcard, 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.

[0126] 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 to supply power to circuitry or to charge an associated battery. 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 wireless device 800 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Power source 808 may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to make accessible power suitable for the respective components of the wireless device 800 to which power is supplied.

[0127] 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 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 wireless device 800, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0128] 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, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external 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 forPl 13271US01E1416.10072W001example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’ The memory 810 may allow wireless device 800 to access instructions, programs and the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 810, which may be or comprise a device -readable storage medium.

[0129] The processing circuitry 802 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network via or 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 wireless device 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.

[0130] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 812 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication (e.g., according to an IEEE 802.11 family standard), LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol / internet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0131] In particular embodiments, wireless device 800 may provide an output of data captured via a sensor, through its communication interface 812, via a wireless connection to a network node, and / or in any appropriate manner. Data captured by sensors of a wireless device 800 can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another wirelessPl 13271US01E1416.10072W001device 800. In particular embodiments, such output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the 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).

[0132] As another example, wireless device 800 comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, wireless device 800 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.

[0133] Wireless device 800, when in the form of an Internet of Things (loT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door / window sensor, a flood / moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. In particular embodiments, wireless device 800 represents an loT device that comprises circuitry and / or software in dependence of the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the example embodiment of wireless device 800 shown in Figure 8.

[0134] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, wireless device 800 may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another wireless device and / or a network node. Wireless device 800 may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPPPl 13271US01E1416.10072W001context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, wireless device 800 may implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, wireless device 800 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.

[0135] In practice, any number of wireless devices 800 may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first wireless device 800 might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second wireless device 800 that is a remote controller operating the drone. When a user makes changes from the remote controller, the first wireless device 800 may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g., by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed. The first and / or the second wireless device 800 can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, wireless device 800 might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.

[0136] 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 telecommunications network. In accordance with respective embodiments, network node 900 may be configured to operate in communication system 600 of Figure 6, like network nodes 608 or 610, or in communication system 700 of Figure 7, like an AP 710 or a station 712. 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).

[0137] Network nodes 900 may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. Network node 900 may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. Network nodes 900 may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units, distributed units (e.g., in an 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 anPl 13271US01E1416.10072W001antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0138] Other examples of network nodes 900 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).

[0139] In particular embodiments, network node 900 includes a processing circuitry 902, a memory 904, a communication interface 906, and a power source 908. In general, in a particular embodiment of network node 900, processing circuitry 902, memory 904, communication interface 906, and power source 908 may, in whole or in part, represent or include physical components common to or shared by one or more of the other elements of network node 900.

[0140] The network node 900 may be composed of multiple distinct network entities (e.g., a NodeB entity and a RNC entity, or a BTS entity and a BSC entity, etc.), which may each have or utilize their own respective physical components. In certain scenarios in which the network node 900 comprises multiple such entities (e.g., BTS and BSC), one or more of the separate entities may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 900 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memories 904 or portions of 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, Wi-Fi (e.g., according to an IEEE 802.11 family standard), Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 900.

[0141] The processing circuitry 902 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor,Pl 13271US01E1416.10072W001application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and / or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other components, such as the memory 904, to provide network node 900 functionality.

[0142] 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 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.

[0143] 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 computerexecutable 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.

[0144] The communication interface 906 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data with UEs, other network nodes, and / or any other network equipment. In the illustrated embodiment, communication interface 906 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 916 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. In particular embodiments, network node 800 may be capable of wireless communication and communication interface 906 may also include radio front-end circuitry 918 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, an antenna 910. Particular embodiments of radio front-end circuitry 918 include filter(s) 920 and amplifier(s) 922. The radio front-endPl 13271US01E1416.10072W001circuitry 918 may be connected to an antenna 910 and processing circuitry 902. The radio frontend 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(s) having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 920 and / or amplifiers 922. The radio signal(s) 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.

[0145] In certain alternative embodiments, network node 900 may be capable of wireless communication but 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).

[0146] 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 one or more interfaces or ports.

[0147] The antenna 910, communication interface 906, and / or the processing circuitry 902 may be configured to perform some or all of the receiving operations and / or obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node 900. Any information, 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 some or all of the transmitting or sending operations described herein as being performed by the network node 900. Any information,Pl 13271US01E1416.10072W001data and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment.

[0148] 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.

[0149] 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.

[0150] 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, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 1000 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as an access network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which a virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment 1000 includes components defined by the O-Pl 13271US01E1416.10072W001RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an 0-2 interface.

[0151] 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.

[0152] 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 VM 1008A and VM 1008B (which may be collectively 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 one or more of the VMs 1008.

[0153] The VMs 1008 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by 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 equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.

[0154] In the context of NFV, each of the VMs 1008 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, nonvirtualized 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 of the VMs 1008 on top of the hardware 1004 and corresponds to an application 1002.

[0155] 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 dataPl 13271US01E1416.10072W001center 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.

[0156] Additional embodiments are described below.Group A Embodiments(1) A method performed by a wireless device operating in Dual Connectivity (DC) for Layer 1 (Ll) / Layer 2 (L2) Triggered Mobility (LTM), the method comprising:receiving a target candidate configuration including:a first portion associated with a target Master Cell Group (MCG); anda second portion associated with a target Secondary Cell Group (SCG);receiving a first indication that indicates the first portion comprises at least one of: a delta configuration associated with the target MCG; anda complete configuration associated with the target MCG;receiving a second indication that indicates the second portion comprises at least one of:a delta configuration associated with the target SCG; anda complete configuration associated with the target SCG; andbased on the first indication and the second indication, applying the target candidate configuration.(2 The method of any of the previous embodiments, wherein the first portion comprises the first indication.(3) The method of any of the previous embodiments, wherein the second portion comprises the second indication.(4) The method of any of the previous embodiments, wherein receiving the target candidatePl 13271US01E1416.10072W001configuration comprises at least one of:receiving the first indication; andreceiving the second indication.(5) The method of any of the previous embodiments, wherein receiving the target candidate configuration comprises receiving at least one of:the delta configuration associated with the target MCG;the complete configuration associated with the target MCG;the delta configuration associated with the target SCG; andthe complete configuration associated with the target SCG.(6) The method of any of the previous embodiments, wherein the first portion comprises at least one of:the delta configuration associated with the target MCG; andthe complete configuration associated with the target MCG.(7) The method of any of the previous embodiments, wherein the second portion comprises at least one of:the delta configuration associated with the target SCG; andthe complete configuration associated with the target SCG.(8) The method of embodiment 1, wherein the first portion comprises the first indication and the second indication.(9) The method of embodiment 1, wherein the second portion comprises the first indication and the second indication.(10) The method of any of the previous embodiments, wherein the first portion comprises a target MCG configuration.(11) The method of any of the previous embodiments, wherein the second portion comprises a target SCG configuration.Pl 13271US01E1416.10072W001(12) The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising:receiving, from a network node, a message, wherein receiving the message comprises receiving the target candidate configuration.(13) The method of embodiment 12, wherein the message comprises an RRCReconfiguration message.(14) The method of embodiment 12, wherein receiving the message comprises receiving the message via RRC signaling.(15) The method of embodiment 12, wherein the message comprises a portion associated with an LTM configuration.(16) The method of embodiment 15, wherein the portion associated with the LTM configuration comprises at least one of the first indication and the second indication.(17) The method of embodiment 12, wherein the message comprises at least one of the first indication and the second indication.(18) The method of any of the previous embodiments, wherein applying the target candidate configuration comprises at least one of:applying the delta configuration associated with the target MCG;applying the complete configuration associated with the target MCG;applying the delta configuration associated with the target SCG; andapplying the complete configuration associated with the target SCG.(19) The method of embodiment 18, wherein applying the delta configuration associated with the target MCG comprises applying the delta configuration associated with the target MCG over a reference configuration associated with the MCG.(20) The method of embodiment 18, wherein applying the delta configuration associated with the target MCG comprises applying the delta configuration associated with the target MCG on top of a reference configuration associated with the MCG.Pl 13271US01E1416.10072W001(21) The method of embodiment 18, wherein applying the delta configuration associated with the target MCG comprises applying the delta configuration associated with the target MCG in combination with a reference configuration associated with the MCG.(22) The method of embodiment 18, wherein applying the delta configuration associated with the target SCG comprises applying the delta configuration associated with the target SCG over a reference configuration associated with the SCG.(23) The method of embodiment 18, wherein applying the delta configuration associated with the target SCG comprises applying the delta configuration associated with the target SCG on top of a reference configuration associated with the SCG.(24) The method of embodiment 18, wherein applying the delta configuration associated with the target SCG comprises applying the delta configuration associated with the target SCG in combination with a reference configuration associated with the SCG.(25) The method of embodiment 18, wherein:applying the delta configuration associated with the target MCG comprises applying the delta configuration associated with the target MCG on top of a first part of a reference configuration associated with the target MCG; andapplying the delta configuration associated with the target SCG comprises applying the delta configuration associated with the target SCG on top of a second part of the reference configuration associated with the target MCG.(26) The method of embodiment 18, wherein applying the target candidate configuration comprises:applying the delta configuration associated with the target MCG; andafter applying the delta configuration associated with the target MCG, applying the delta configuration associated with the target SCG.(27) The method of embodiment 18, wherein applying the target candidate configuration comprises:Pl 13271US01E1416.10072W001applying the complete configuration associated with the target MCG; andafter applying the complete configuration associated with the target MCG, applying the complete configuration associated with the target SCG.(28) The method of embodiment 18, wherein applying the target candidate configuration comprises:applying the delta configuration associated with the target SCG; andafter applying the delta configuration associated with the target SCG, applying the delta configuration associated with the target MCG.(29) The method of embodiment 18, wherein applying the target candidate configuration comprises:applying the complete configuration associated with the target SCG; andafter applying the complete configuration associated with the target SCG, applying the complete configuration associated with the target MCG.(30) The method of embodiment 18, wherein applying the target candidate configuration comprises:applying the delta configuration associated with the target MCG; andafter applying the delta configuration associated with the target MCG, applying the complete configuration associated with the target SCG.(31) The method of embodiment 18, wherein applying the target candidate configuration comprises:applying the delta configuration associated with the target SCG; andafter applying the delta configuration associated with the target SCG, applying the complete configuration associated with the target MCG.(32) The method of embodiment 18, wherein applying the target candidate configuration comprises:applying the complete configuration associated with the target MCG; andafter applying the complete configuration associated with the target MCG, applying the delta configuration associated with the target SCG.Pl 13271US01E1416.10072W001(32a) The method of embodiment 18, wherein applying the target candidate configuration comprises:applying the complete configuration associated with the target SCG; andafter applying the complete configuration associated with the target SCG, applying the delta configuration associated with the target MCG.(33) The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising:receiving a mobility command that triggers the wireless device to perform a mobility procedure, wherein receiving the mobility command comprises receiving the target candidate configuration.(34) The method of embodiment 33, wherein the mobility procedure comprises an LTM cell switch procedure.(35) The method of any of the previous embodiments, wherein receiving the target candidate configuration comprises receiving a mobility configuration including the target candidate configuration and a reference configuration.(36) The method of any of the previous embodiments, wherein the first portion comprises an LTM candidate configuration associated with the target MCG.(37) The method of any of the previous embodiments, wherein the second portion comprises an LTM candidate configuration associated with the target SCG.(38) The method of embodiment 35, wherein the reference configuration comprises at least one of:a first part associated with the target MCG; anda second part associated with the target SCG.(39) The method of embodiment 38, wherein applying the target candidate configuration comprises at least one of:applying the first portion in combination with the first part; andPl 13271US01E1416.10072W001applying the second portion in combination with the second part.(40) The method of embodiment 35, wherein applying the target candidate configuration comprises at least one of:applying the first portion in combination with the reference configuration; and applying the second portion in combination with the reference configuration.(41) The method of embodiment 38, wherein the first part is generated by a first network node associated with the target MCG.(42) The method of embodiment 41, wherein the first network node is a master node (MN).(43) The method of embodiment 38, wherein the second part is generated by a second network node associated with the target SCG.(44) The method of embodiment 43, wherein the second network node is a secondary node (SN).(45) The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising:performing a first mobility procedure using the target candidate configuration; and performing a second mobility procedure using the target candidate configuration.(46) The method of embodiment 45, wherein the first mobility procedure comprises at least one of:an LTM cell switch procedure; anda condition LTM (CLTM) cell switch procedure.(47) The method of embodiments 45 and 46, wherein the second mobility procedure comprises at least one of:an LTM cell switch procedure; anda condition LTM (CLTM) cell switch procedure.(48) The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising:Pl 13271US01E1416.10072W001determining, based on the first indication, the first portion comprises the delta configuration associated with the target MCG; andbased on the determination, applying the delta configuration associated with the target MCG on top of a reference configuration in order to generate a second complete configuration associated with the target MCG.(49) The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising:determining, based on the second indication, the second portion comprises the delta configuration associated with the target SCG; andbased on the determination, applying the delta configuration associated with the target SCG on top of a reference configuration in order to generate a second complete configuration associated with the target SCG.(50) The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising:determining, based on the first indication, the first portion comprises the complete configuration associated with the target MCG; andbased on the determination, applying the complete configuration associated with the target MCG.(51) The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising:determining, based on the first indication, the first portion comprises the complete configuration associated with the target SCG; andbased on the determination, applying the complete configuration associated with the target SCG.(52) The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising:performing a mobility procedure based on the target candidate configuration.(53) The method of embodiment 52, wherein performing the mobility procedure comprises applying the target candidate configuration.(54) A method performed by a wireless device operating in Dual Connectivity (DC), the method comprising:Pl 13271US01E1416.10072W001receiving a message comprising a candidate target configuration for performing a mobility procedure, wherein the message further comprises:a first indication that indicates a first portion of the candidate target configuration comprises at least one of:a delta configuration associated with a target Master Cell Group (MCG); anda complete configuration associated with the target MCG;a second indication that indicates a second portion of the target candidate configuration comprises at least one of:a delta configuration associated with a target Secondary Cell Group (SCG); and a complete configuration associated with the target SCG; andbased on the first indication and the second indication, performing the mobility procedure.(55) The method of embodiment 54, wherein performing the mobility procedure comprises applying the candidate target configuration.(56) The method of embodiment 54, further comprising performing any of the methods of the Group A embodiments.(57) The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising:providing user data; andforwarding the user data to a host via the transmission to the network node.Group B Embodiments(58) A method performed by a network node for providing a configuration for a mobility procedure for a wireless device, the method comprising:generating a target candidate configuration, the target candidate configuration comprising:a first indication that indicates a first portion of the candidate target configuration comprises at least one of:a delta configuration associated with a target Master Cell Group (MCG); anda complete configuration associated with the target MCG;a second indication that indicates a second portion of the target candidate configurationPl 13271US01E1416.10072W001comprises at least one of:a delta configuration associated with a target Secondary Cell Group (SCG); anda complete configuration associated with the target SCG; andtransmitting the target candidate configuration to the wireless device.(59) The method of any of the Group B embodiments, further comprising:transmitting a message to the wireless device, wherein transmitting the message comprises transmitting the target candidate configuration.(61) The method of any of the Group B embodiments, wherein the first portion comprises the first indication.(62) The method of any of the Group B embodiments, wherein the second portion comprises the second indication.(63) The method of any of the Group B embodiments, wherein the first portion comprises at least one of:the delta configuration associated with the target MCG; andthe complete configuration associated with the target MCG.(64) The method of any of the Group B embodiments, wherein the second portion comprises at least one of:the delta configuration associated with the target SCG; andthe complete configuration associated with the target SCG.(65) The method of any of the Group B embodiments, wherein the first portion comprises the first indication and the second indication.(66) The method of any of the Group B embodiments, wherein the second portion comprises the first indication and the second indication.(67) The method of any of the Group B embodiments, wherein the first portion comprises a target MCG configuration.Pl 13271US01E1416.10072W001(68) The method of any of the Group B embodiments, wherein the second portion comprises a target SCG configuration.(69) The method of any of the Group B embodiments, further comprising: transmitting, to the wireless device, a message, wherein transmitting the message comprises transmitting the target candidate configuration.(70) The method of any of the Group B embodiments, wherein the message comprises an RRCReconfiguration message.(71) The method of any of the Group B embodiments, wherein receiving the message comprises receiving the message via RRC signaling.(72) The method of any of the Group B embodiments, wherein the message comprises a portion associated with an LTM configuration.(73) The method of any of the Group B embodiments, wherein the portion associated with the LTM configuration comprises at least one of the first indication and the second indication.(74) The method of any of the Group B embodiments, wherein the message comprises at least one of the first indication and the second indication.(75) The method of any of the Group B embodiments, further comprising transmitting a mobility command that triggers the wireless device to perform a mobility procedure, wherein transmitting the mobility command comprises transmitting the target candidate configuration.(76) The method of any of the Group B embodiments, wherein the mobility procedure comprises an LTM cell switch procedure(77) The method of any of the Group B embodiments, wherein transmitting the target candidate configuration comprises transmitting a mobility configuration including the targetPl 13271US01E1416.10072W001candidate configuration and a reference configuration.(78) The method of any of the Group B embodiments, wherein the first portion comprises an LTM candidate configuration associated with the target MCG.(79) The method of any of the Group B embodiments, wherein the second portion comprises an LTM candidate configuration associated with the target SCG.(80) The method of embodiment 79, wherein the reference configuration comprises at least one of:a first part associated with the target MCG; anda second part associated with the target SCG.(81) The method of embodiment 80, wherein the first part is generated by a first network node associated with the target MCG.(82) The method of embodiment 81, wherein the first network node is a master node (MN).(83) The method of embodiment 80, wherein the second part is generated by a second network node associated with the target SCG.(84) The method of embodiment 83, wherein the second network node is a secondary node (SN).(85) A method performed by a network node for providing a configuration for a mobility procedure for a wireless device, the method comprising:transmitting, to a wireless device:a target candidate configuration including:a first portion associated with a target Master Cell Group (MCG); anda second portion associated with a target Secondary Cell Group (SCG);a first indication that indicates the first portion comprises at least one of: a delta configuration associated with the target MCG; anda complete configuration associated with the target MCG; andPl 13271US01E1416.10072W001a second indication that indicates the second portion comprises at least one of: a delta configuration associated with the target SCG; anda complete configuration associated with the target SCG.(86) The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising:obtaining user data; andforwarding the user data to a host or a user equipment.Group C Embodiments(87) A wireless device operating in Dual Connectivity (DC), comprising:processing circuitry configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group A embodiments; anda power source configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.(88) A network node for providing a configuration for a mobility procedure for a wireless device, the network node comprising:processing circuitry configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group B embodiments;a power source circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.(89) A wireless device operating in Dual Connectivity (DC) for performing a mobility procedure, the wireless device comprising:one or more antennas;communication interface connected to the one or more antennas and to processing circuitry; the processing circuitry being configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group A embodiments;an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry;an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry; anda power source connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the UE.Pl 13271US01E1416.10072W001Group D Embodiments(90) A method performed by a wireless device operating in Dual Connectivity (DC), the method comprising:receiving a message comprising a candidate target configuration for performing a mobility procedure;determining, based on a first indication, to apply one of:a delta configuration associated with a target Master Cell Group (MCG); anda complete configuration associated with the target MCG;determining, based on a second indication, to apply one of:a delta configuration associated with a target Secondary Cell Group (SCG); anda complete configuration associated with the target SCG;based on the first indication and the second indication, performing the mobility procedure.(91) The method of embodiment 90, wherein performing the mobility procedure comprises applying the candidate target configuration.(92) The method of embodiment 90, further comprising performing any of the methods of the Group A and Group D embodiments.(93) The method of any of the Group A and Group D embodiments, further comprising: providing user data; andforwarding the user data to a host via the transmission to the network node.

[0157] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or morePl 13271US01E1416.10072W001operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0158] 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.

Claims

Pl 13271US01E1416.10072W001CLAIMS1. A method performed by a user equipment, UE, (112) operating in dual connectivity, DC, for a mobility procedure, the method comprising:transmitting (202), to a first network node, a measurement report comprising measurements of one or more reference signals; andreceiving (204), from the first network node, a configuration based on the measurement report, wherein the configuration comprises at least one of the following:a first indication of whether the configuration comprises a complete configuration or a delta configuration for a target Master Cell Group, MCG; or a second indication of whether the configuration comprises a complete configuration or a delta configuration for a target Secondary Cell Group, SCG.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the configuration comprises a configuration for target candidate cells having a first portion corresponding to the target MCG and a second portion corresponding to the target SCG.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the first portion corresponding to the target MCG comprises the first indication, and the second portion corresponding to the target SCG comprises the second indication.

4. The method of any of claims 2-3, wherein the first portion corresponding to the target MCG comprises the second indication, and the second portion corresponding to the target SCG comprises the first indication.

5. The method of any of claims 2-4, wherein the first portion corresponding to the target MCG comprises the first indication and the second indication.

6. The method of any of claims 2-5, wherein the second portion corresponding to the target SCG comprises the first indication and the second indication.

7. The method of any of claims 1-6, wherein the configuration comprises a radio resource control, RRC, reconfiguration message.

8. The method of any of claims 1-7, wherein the configuration comprises an RRC signaling message.

9. The method of any of claims 1-8, wherein the configuration further comprises a third portion associated with a layer 1 / layer 2 triggered mobility, LTM, configuration.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the third portion comprises at least one of the first indication and the second indication.Pl 13271US01E1416.10072W00111. The method of any of claims 1-10, further comprising applying the configuration in accordance with the first indication or the second indication.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein applying the configuration comprises applying at least one of the following:a delta configuration associated with the target MCG;a complete configuration associated with the target MCG;a delta configuration associated with the target SCG; ora complete configuration associated with the target SCG.

13. The method of any of claims 1-12, wherein receiving the configuration triggers the UE to perform the mobility procedure.

14. The method of any of claims 1-13, wherein the mobility procedure comprises an LTM cell switch procedure; a conditional LTM, CLTM, cell switch procedure; an inter central unit, inter-CU, LTM; an inter master node, inter-MN, LTM; a level 3, L3, handover; a primary cell, PCell, handover; a conditional handover, CHO; a primary secondary cell, PSCell change; or a conditional PSCell addition or change, CPAC.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein a first portion of the configuration comprises a first LTM candidate configuration associated with the target MCG, and a second portion of the configuration comprises a second LTM candidate configuration associated with the target SCG.

16. The method of any of claims 1-15, wherein the configuration comprises a reference configuration.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the reference configuration comprises at least one of a first part associated with the target MCG or a second part associated with the target SCG.

18. The method of any of claims 16-17, wherein the reference configuration comprises a first part associated with the target MCG and a second part associated with the target SCG.

19. A method performed by a first network node for providing a configuration for a mobility procedure, the method comprising:receiving (302), from a user equipment, UE, a measurement report comprising measurements of one or more reference signals; andtransmitting (304), to the UE, a configuration based on the measurement report, wherein the configuration comprises at least one of the following:Pl 13271US01E1416.10072W001a first indication of whether the configuration comprises a complete configuration or a delta configuration for a target Master Cell Group, MCG; or a second indication of whether the configuration comprises a complete configuration or a delta configuration for a target Secondary Cell Group, SCG.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the configuration comprises a configuration for target candidate cells having a first portion corresponding to the target MCG and a second portion corresponding to the target SCG.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the first portion corresponding to the target MCG comprises the first indication, and the second portion corresponding to the target SCG comprises the second indication.

22. The method of any of claims 20-21, wherein the first portion corresponding to the target MCG comprises the second indication, and the second portion corresponding to the target SCG comprises the first indication.

23. The method of any of claims 20-22, wherein the first portion corresponding to the target MCG comprises the first indication and the second indication.

24. The method of any of claims 20-23, wherein the second portion corresponding to the target SCG comprises the first indication and the second indication.

25. The method of any of claims 19-24, wherein the configuration comprises a radio resource control, RRC, reconfiguration message.

26. The method of any of claims 19-25, wherein the configuration comprises an RRC signaling message.

27. The method of any of claims 19-26, wherein the configuration further comprises a third portion associated with a layer 1 / layer 2 triggered mobility, LTM, configuration.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the third portion comprises at least one of the first indication and the second indication.

29. The method of any of claims 19-28, wherein receiving the configuration triggers the UE to perform the mobility procedure.

30. The method of any of claims 19-29, wherein the mobility procedure comprises an LTM cell switch procedure; a conditional LTM, CLTM, cell switch procedure; an inter central unit, inter-CU, LTM; an inter master node, inter-MN, LTM; a level 3, L3, handover; a primary cell, PCell, handover; a conditional handover, CHO; a primary secondary cell, PSCell change; or a conditional PSCell addition or change, CPAC.Pl 13271US01E1416.10072W00131. The method of claim 30, wherein a first portion of the configuration comprises a first LTM candidate configuration associated with the target MCG, and a second portion of the configuration comprises a second LTM candidate configuration associated with the target SCG.

32. The method of any of claims 19-31, wherein the configuration comprises a reference configuration.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the reference configuration comprises at least one of a first part associated with the target MCG or a second part associated with the target SCG.

34. The method of any of claims 32-33, wherein the reference configuration comprises a first part associated with the target MCG and a second part associated with the target SCG.

35. A method performed by a first network node for providing a configuration for a mobility procedure, the method comprising:transmitting (402), to a second network node, a request for a configuration based on a measurement report comprising measurements of one or more reference signals; andreceiving (404), from the second network node, the configuration based on the measurement report, wherein the configuration based on the measurement report comprises at least one of the following:a first indication of whether the configuration comprises a complete configuration or a delta configuration for a target Master Cell Group, MCG; or a second indication of whether the configuration comprises a complete configuration or a delta configuration for a target Secondary Cell Group, SCG.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein the first network node comprises a master node, and the second network node comprises a secondary node.

37. The method of any of claims 35-36, wherein the second network node comprises a user equipment, UE.

38. The method of any of claims 35-37, wherein the configuration comprises a configuration for target candidate cells having a first portion corresponding to the target MCG and a second portion corresponding to the target SCG.Pl 13271US01E1416.10072W00139. The method of claim 38, wherein the first portion corresponding to the target MCG comprises the first indication, and the second portion corresponding to the target SCG comprises the second indication.

40. The method of any of claims 38-39, wherein the first portion corresponding to the target MCG comprises the second indication, and the second portion corresponding to the target SCG comprises the first indication.

41. The method of any of claims 38-40, wherein the first portion corresponding to the target MCG comprises the first indication and the second indication.

42. The method of any of claims 38-41, wherein the second portion corresponding to the target SCG comprises the first indication and the second indication.

43. The method of any of claims 35-42, wherein the configuration based on the measurement report comprises a layer 1 / layer 2 triggered mobility, LTM, candidate configuration.

44. The method of any of claims 35-43, further comprising transmitting the configuration for the mobility procedure.

45. The method of any of claims 35-44, wherein the configuration for the mobility procedure comprises a reference configuration and at least two LTM candidate configurations.

46. The method of claim 45, wherein the at least two LTM candidate configurations comprise a first LTM candidate configuration associated with the target MCG and a second LTM candidate configuration associated with the target SCG.

47. The method of any of claims 45-46, wherein the reference configuration comprises at least one of a first part associated with the target MCG or a second part associated with the target SCG.

48. The method of any of claims 45-47, wherein the configuration based on the measurement report comprises the reference configuration.

49. A method performed by a second network node for providing a configuration for a mobility procedure, the method comprising:receiving (502), from a first network node, a request for a configuration based on a measurement report comprising measurements of one or more reference signals; andPl 13271US01E1416.10072W001transmitting (504), to a first network node, the configuration based on the measurement report, wherein the configuration based on the measurement report comprises at least one of the following:a first indication of whether the configuration comprises a complete configuration or a delta configuration for a target Master Cell Group, MCG; or a second indication of whether the configuration comprises a complete configuration or a delta configuration for a target Secondary Cell Group, SCG.

50. The method of claim 49, wherein the first network node comprises a master node, and the second network node comprises a secondary node.

51. The method of any of claims 49-50, wherein the second network node comprises a user equipment, UE.

52. The method of any of claims 49-51, wherein the configuration comprises a configuration for target candidate cells having a first portion corresponding to the target MCG and a second portion corresponding to the target SCG.

53. The method of claim 52, wherein the first portion corresponding to the target MCG comprises the first indication, and the second portion corresponding to the target SCG comprises the second indication.

54. The method of any of claims 52-53, wherein the first portion corresponding to the target MCG comprises the second indication, and the second portion corresponding to the target SCG comprises the first indication.

55. The method of any of claims 52-54, wherein the first portion corresponding to the target MCG comprises the first indication and the second indication.

56. The method of any of claims 52-55, wherein the second portion corresponding to the target SCG comprises the first indication and the second indication.

57. The method of any of claims 49-56, wherein the configuration based on the measurement report comprises a layer 1 / layer 2 triggered mobility, LTM, candidate configuration.

58. The method of any of claims 49-57, wherein the configuration for the mobility procedure comprises a reference configuration and at least two LTM candidate configurations.

59. The method of claim 58, wherein the at least two LTM candidate configurations comprise a first LTM candidate configuration associated with the target MCG and a second LTM candidate configuration associated with the target SCG.Pl 13271US01E1416.10072W00160. The method of any of claims 58-59, wherein the reference configuration comprises at least one of a first part associated with the target MCG or a second part associated with the target SCG.

61. The method of any of claims 58-60, wherein the configuration based on the measurement report comprises the reference configuration.

62. A user equipment, UE, (112) for a mobility procedure, the UE configured to: transmit (202), to a first network node, a measurement report comprising measurements of one or more reference signals; andreceive (204), from the first network node, a configuration based on the measurement report, wherein the configuration comprises at least one of the following:a first indication of whether the configuration comprises a complete configuration or a delta configuration for a target Master Cell Group, MCG; or a second indication of whether the configuration comprises a complete configuration or a delta configuration for a target Secondary Cell Group, SCG.

63. A first network node for providing a configuration for a mobility procedure, the first network node configured to:receive (302), from a user equipment, UE, a measurement report comprising measurements of one or more reference signals; andtransmit (304), to the UE, a configuration based on the measurement report, wherein the configuration comprises at least one of the following:a first indication of whether the configuration comprises a complete configuration or a delta configuration for a target Master Cell Group, MCG; or a second indication of whether the configuration comprises a complete configuration or a delta configuration for a target Secondary Cell Group, SCG.

64. A first network node for providing a configuration for a mobility procedure, the first network node configured to:transmit (402), to a second network node, a request for a configuration based on a measurement report comprising measurements of one or more reference signals; andreceive (404), from the second network node, the configuration based on the measurement report, wherein the configuration based on the measurement report comprises at least one of the following:P113271US01E1416.10072W001a first indication of whether the configuration comprises a complete configuration or a delta configuration for a target Master Cell Group, MCG; or a second indication of whether the configuration comprises a complete configuration or a delta configuration for a target Secondary Cell Group, SCG.

65. A second network node for providing a configuration for a mobility procedure, the second network node configured to:receive (502), from a first network node, a request for a configuration based on a measurement report comprising measurements of one or more reference signals; andtransmit (504), to a first network node, the configuration based on the measurement report, wherein the configuration based on the measurement report comprises at least one of the following:a first indication of whether the configuration comprises a complete configuration or a delta configuration for a target Master Cell Group, MCG; or a second indication of whether the configuration comprises a complete configuration or a delta configuration for a target Secondary Cell Group, SCG.

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