5g-6g multiple-radio access technology spectrum sharing

Abstract

A UE receives a configuration that indicates a priority order. The configuration identifies a first frequency band configured as a multi-radio access technology (RAT) spectrum sharing (MRSS) band in which at least one first-RAT cell and at least one second-RAT cell operate, and a second frequency band configured for operation of a second RAT. The UE performs a cell search for a cell of the second RAT using an initial synchronization raster corresponding to a higher-priority one of the first and second frequency bands. If the cell search does not identify a suitable cell, the UE performs the cell search using a secondary synchronization raster corresponding to a lower-priority one of the first and second frequency bands. Upon identifying the suitable cell of the second RAT in one of the first frequency band or the second frequency band, the UE camps on the suitable cell of the second RAT.

Description

5G-6G MULTIPLE-RADIO ACCESS TECHNOLOGY SPECTRUM SHARING CLAIM OF BENEFIT TO PRIOR APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 63 / 778,645, filed on March 27, 2025. The contents ofU.S. Provisional Patent Application No.63 / 778,645 are incorporated herein by reference.TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure is generally directed to wireless communications, and is more specifically directed to spectrum sharing.BACKGROUND

[0003] The sixth generation (6G) of wireless standards may support societal advancement and to provide value to society in the 2030s and beyond in secure, resilient, and environmentally and economically sustainable ways. In addition to providing diverse and novel 6G services, other challenges in this field must be addressed, such as reducing capital expenditures (CAPEX) and / or operating expenses (OPEX), improving the overall system performance, and providing migration from, and interworking with, existing aspects of the fifth generation (5G) system.

[0004] Topics of study in 6G may include: (1) improvements to existing services and new services based on 6G Radio (6GR), (2) energy efficiency and energy saving for networks and devices, (3) scalable and forward-compatible designs for diverse device types, (4) overall high-level aspects of 5G to 6G migration, and (5) fundamental 6GR design aspects, such as waveforms, numerologies, and channel coding.

[0005] Regarding 5G to 6G migration, several options have been proposed, with 6G acting as a standalone primary architecture option for the radio access technology (RAT). In this context, multi-RAT spectrum sharing (MRSS), 5G-6G dual connectivity, and 5G-6G dual stacks are being considered.1 25F001USA

[0006] More specifically, MRSS is being targeted as an option for utilizing the existing 5G spectrum, so as to reduce the amount of new spectrum that must be allocated for 6G, and to allow operators to dynamically re-farm from 600 MHz, 700 MHz, 2600 MHz, 3500 MHz, and other operating 5G spectrum bands to 6G. In parallel, or alternatively, a new 6G standalone spectrum may cooperate with the MRSS, for example, by aggregating one carrier from the 6G standalone spectrum, and one carrier from MRSS. It is expected that a 5G New Radio (NR)-compatible waveform, numerology, and channel coding could be critical to enabling highly efficient spectrum sharing between 5G and 6G on the same frequency carrier.2 25F001USABRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] The various embodiments of the present designs for 5G-6G multiple-RAT spectrum sharing will be discussed with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are for illustrative purposes only. These drawings include the following figures, in which like numerals indicate like parts:

[0008] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example system for implementing MRSS according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0009] FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an example process for a priority-based cell search across frequency bands, according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0010] FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example process for provision of an MRSS configuration to a user equipment, according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0011] FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example process for providing priority access barring control for 5G-6G MRSS, according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0012] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example process for providing priority access barring control for 5G-6G MRSS, according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0013] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a notification procedure for a wake-up signal in MRSS, according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0014] FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example process for waking up 6G cells in MRSS, according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0015] FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example process for waking up a 6G RAT cell operating in a network energy saving mode in MRSS, according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0016] FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example process for providing early indications of user equipment types in an MRSS scenario, according to various aspects of the present disclosure.3 25F001USA

[0017] FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example process for providing early indications of user equipment types by a base station in an MRSS scenario, according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0018] FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example process for providing a master information block payload that may have different interpretations in an MRSS scenario, according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0019] FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example process for receiving an MIB payload that may be interpreted differently by 5G and 6G UEs, according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0020] FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example process for managing a single RA attempt with separate RARs in the MRSS band, according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0021] FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an example process for managing a single RA attempt with separate RARs in the MRSS band by multiple BSs, according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0022] FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating an example process for a 6G user equipment to camp on a cell operating on an MRSS band, according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0023] FIG. 16 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example electronic system, according to various aspects of the present disclosure.4 25F001USADETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] One aspect of the present disclosure includes the realization that several potential issues and challenges in spectrum sharing remain to be addressed. First, while implementing MRSS, essential functions for a RAT may become overhead for another RAT, resulting in lower spectrum efficiency for the MRSS band (hereafter, the “MRSS band” refers to the spectrum or spectra in which the 5G cell and 6G cell are operating as an intra-frequency band).

[0025] In addition, a 6G user equipment (UE) may also support 5G functionality, and may be able to access a 5G radio access network (RAN) and a 5G core network. Further study may be required on how a 6G UE should perform a cell search and / or cell selection / reselection on the MRSS band in different radio resource control (RRC) states, for example, RRC Connected, RRC Idle, or RRC Inactive. Moreover, the MRSS operations should be transparent to a 5G UE.

[0026] Another important consideration is how to, if necessary, prevent a 5G UE from camping on or accessing a 6G cell on the MRSS band. In addition, in view of the different numbers of 5G UEs and 6G UEs that might be served by a 5G cell and / or a 6G cell in an MRSS band, a sharing approach should efficiently adapt and utilize the available and feasible resources, and provide efficient signaling of the relevant adaptations to the UEs.

[0027] Further issues concern whether certain control signaling such as the synchronization signal block (SSB), demodulation reference signal (DM-RS), channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), and physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) may be shared or reused between 5G UEs and 6G UEs to reduce control overhead. More specifically, the 5G cell and 6G cell downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) coverage may be different, potentially requiring careful design to account for the shared control signaling and respective coverages.

[0028] Another concern is how to manage UE mobility if one 6G Cell operates in the MRSS band, and another 6G cell operates in a standalone spectrum. For instance, further study is required on whether inter-frequency measurements and event reporting may be enhanced to support seamless or conditional handovers.5 25F001USA

[0029] In addition, a 6G UE’s radio resource management (RRM) and measurement behaviors could potentially be revised to reduce power consumption by skipping unnecessary measurement and monitoring in the MRSS band. Moreover, in some environments, multi-vendor implementation may become practically difficult. For example, whether a 5G cell on a public land mobile network (PLMN) may satisfactorily perform MRSS with another 6G cell belonging to a different PLMN requires further evaluation. If the use case is valid, further study is necessary for the implementation of multi-vendor support in the MRSS band, and for providing smooth operations for 5G UEs and 6G UEs.

[0030] The present disclosure addresses the foregoing challenges in MRSS . The following approaches and methods provide better spectral efficiency, better energy efficiency, and a better user experience in the MRSS band.

[0031] First, certain concepts and terms in MRSS are briefly defined below.

[0032] A radio communication network architecture generally includes an arrangement, organization, and functional relationship of components that enable wireless communication between devices using electromagnetic signaling, including, without limitation, access elements, core network elements, control entities, transport infrastructure, and supporting systems, whether centralized, distributed, virtualized, or hybrid. As used herein, a radio communication network architecture encompasses the structural, logical, and functional framework of a system that supports transmission, reception, routing, control, and management of information over radio frequency (RF) wireless electromagnetic media. The architecture may include hardware, software, firmware, and virtualized resources arranged in any topology or deployment model. An RF network typically includes endpoint nodes, access nodes, control nodes, transport nodes, and service / support nodes.

[0033] RATs for wireless communication encompass a broad range of standardized and proprietary air interface systems that enable devices to communicate over electromagnetic spectra. Cellular RATs include multiple generations of mobile technologies, such as the Global System 6 25F001USAfor Mobile Communications (GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), Uong Term Evolution (UTE), and 5G NR, which provide wide-area mobility, managed spectrum use, and support for voice, data, and services across licensed bands. These may operate in sub-GHz, mid-band, or millimeter-wave frequencies, and may support features such as carrier aggregation and beamforming. Short-range RATs include Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11 variants), Bluetooth, Zigbee, Thread, and ultra-wideband. These RATs are optimized for local connectivity, personal area networks, and device -to-device communication, typically in unlicensed spectrum or contention-based spectrum such as citizens broadband radio service (CBRS).

[0034] Additional RAT categories include mission-critical and private network technologies tailored for industrial, public safety, or enterprise environments, as well as ad-hoc and mesh RATs that allow decentralized device-to-device networking without fixed infrastructure. Emerging and specialized RATs may support integrated access and backhaul, spectrum sharing, cognitive radio operation, or reconfigurable intelligent surfaces. Across these types, RATs differ in spectrum usage (licensed, unlicensed, shared), bandwidth, latency, mobility support, topology, and protocol stack design. Nevertheless, all serve the fundamental role of defining the radio interface procedures, modulation schemes, access methods, and control signaling that enable wireless communication.

[0035] A “UE,” in wireless communication, may encompass a wide variety of endpoint devices on a wireless access link that participate in network communication. These include consumer devices such as smartphones, tablets, laptops with embedded radios, wearable devices like smartwatches, and portable hotspots. UEs may also include devices such as smart meters, environmental and industrial sensors, asset trackers, smart appliances, and smart city infrastructure nodes that communicate autonomously. UEs may further include fixed wireless access nodes (FWAs), Internet of Things (loT) devices, and the like. UEs may be mobile, nomadic, or fixed; human-operated or autonomous; battery-powered or externally powered; and may7 25F001USAsupport a range of data rates, latency requirements, and service types depending on the wireless system.

[0036] ‘Base stations” in wireless communication may refer to physical equipment for sending and receiving wireless signals, and may take many forms depending on the coverage goals, spectrum use, deployment model, application services, and network architecture. Hereafter, a base station may be referred to as a “BS.” Examples of a BS may include, but is not limited to, a Node B (NB) as in UMTS, an evolved node B (eNB) in LTE or LTE-A, a radio network controller (RNC) in UMTS, a base station controller (BSC) in a GSM / GSM Enhanced Data rates for GSM evolution (EDGE) radio access network (GERAN), a next-generation eNB (ng-eNB) in an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) BS in connection with the 5GC, a next-generation Node B (gNB) as in a 5G access network (5G-AN), a 6G Node B (6gNB), a node capable of transmission, reception, controlling radio communication, and managing radio resources within a cell in a satellite network, and any other apparatus capable of controlling radio communication and managing radio resources within a cell in a non-satellite network.

[0037] Traditional wide-area BS may include macrocell BSs that provide large coverage footprints and support high transmit power and sectorized antennas. Smaller coverage nodes include microcells, picocells, and femtocells, which are used to increase capacity and improve indoor or hotspot coverage. Small cell BSs may be deployed indoors or outdoors and may include enterprise access points, residential small cells, and operator-managed compact radio nodes. In addition, the coverage performance may be limited by different frequency ranges (FR). For example, the coverage of a BS operating in a low frequency band (e.g., FR1) is typically larger than the coverage of a BS operating in a high frequency band (e.g., FR2).

[0038] Other BS types include Wi-Fi access points, private network BSs used in industrial or enterprise environments, fixed wireless access base stations for broadband delivery, and satellite ground station nodes that provide radio access in satellite communication systems. Deployments may be stationary, temporary (such as cells on wheels or portable base stations),8 25F001USAaerial (mounted on drones or high-altitude platforms), or maritime. Collectively, base stations may vary in transmit power, coverage area, spectrum band, antenna configuration, level of integration, and degree of virtualization, while all serving the fundamental role of providing radio access and managing wireless links with UEs.

[0039] ‘Barred,” in wireless communications, refers to a network-imposed restriction operation in which a device (e.g., a UE) is denied access to certain services, procedures, or radio resources, either temporarily or persistently, based on network control logic, policy, or signaling rules. Major types of barring include cell barring, access class barring (controlling which users may initiate access), service barring (subscriber-level restrictions), and operator barring (administrative blocks). Barring may be implemented by, for example, broadcasting parameters (e.g., cellBarred = barred, BarringFactor, BarringTime).I. DESCRIPTION AND DEFINITION FOR MRSS

[0040] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example system 100 for implementing MRSS according to various aspects of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1, the system 100 may include a 5G cell 101, a 6G cell 102, a 6G cell 103, a 5GUE 104, a 6GUE 105, and a6GUE 106. In the example of FIG. 1, the 5G cell 101 and the 6G cell 102 may share the frequency band Fl (as the MRSS band).

[0041] As described above, a “BS” is the physical equipment (transceivers and antennas on a tower) that sends and receives signals. Meanwhile, a “cell” may be the specific geographical coverage area serviced by that BS. The term “cell” may also apply to specific functional entities and logical identifiers ( IDs) within a network protocol. For example, the term “cell” may be used in a scenario in which a BS transmits a signal in a frequency a UE detects the signal from the BS on that frequency, and the signal may be recognized with by an identifier (e.g., the cell ID). As shown in FIG. 1, the 5G cell 101 may include a 5G BS 111, the 6G cell 102 may include a 6G BS 112, and the 6G cell 103 may include a 6G BS 113.9 25F001USA

[0042] FIG. 1 depicts an MRSS scenario where both the 5G cell 101 and the 6G cell 102 share the frequency band F 1 and coexist in the frequency band Fl (as the MRSS band). Generally, upon deployment, 5G / 6G cells may be co-located, or may share radio units. As shown in FIG. 1, another 6G cell, for example, 6G cell 103, may be operating on a frequency band F2. Typically, the frequency F2 is higher than the frequency Fl (e.g., the frequency F2 may belong to Frequency Range 3 (FR3) or Frequency Range 2 (FR2), and the frequency Fl may belong to Frequency Range 1 (FR1)). The frequencies F 1 and F2 may operate with different subcarrier spacings (SCSs), and the access coverage for frequency Fl may be larger than or at least equal to the access coverage for frequency F2.

[0043] For a 5G UE such as the 5G UE 104, the only suitable cell may be a 5G cell. For example, the 5G UE 104 may camp on the 5G cell 101 while the 5G cell 101 is part of a selected PLMN, a registered PLMN, or a PLMN in an “Equivalent PLMN list” (a collection of PLMNs that may be regarded as a “home” PLMN). The selection may still requires that the cell selection criteria are fulfilled and the cell is not barred. In this scenario, the 5G UE 104 may comply with 5G specifications by evaluating the channel quality of the 5G cell 101 by measuring, at either the cell level or beam level, the synchronization signaling and / or reference signaling (for example, SSB or CSI-RS). Then, the 5G UE 104 may compare a measured reference signal received power (RSRP) value with a specific threshold to perform a cell selection criteria check. If the 5G cell 101 satisfies the selection criteria (e.g., if the measured RSRP is greater than (or greater than or equal to the specific threshold)), the 5G UE 104 may proceed with the RRC connection establishment procedure or may proceed with the paging procedure.

[0044] In another example, the 6G UE 106 in FIG. 1 may comply with 6G specifications to perform measurements and cell selection, in order to decide whether it should camp on the detected 6G cell 103 (as a suitable cell). A suitable cell, in some implementations, may be defined based on one or more of the following criteria: the cell must belong to a network that the UE is authorized to use, the cell must satisfy minimum radio quality thresholds (e.g., the measured RSRP 10 25F001USAlarger than a threshold), and the cell must not have administrative restrictions that prevent the UE from camping (e.g., the cell must not be barred and must be part of at least one tracking area that is not in the UE’s list of forbidden tracking areas). The 6G specifications may specify the frequency priority, and the 6G UE 106 may perform a synchronization raster and / or channel raster based on the priority. After camping, the 6G UE 106 may acquire intra-frequency and interfrequency measurement configurations to handle the RRM and its mobility management. For instance, the 6G UE 106 may prioritize frequency Fl (using an Fl -specific synchronization raster) to identify whether there is a suitable 6G cell operating on Fl. If there is no suitable cell on Fl, the 6G UE 106 may switch to use an F2-specific synchronization raster to identify the 6G cell 103, and then evaluate the channel quality of 6G cell 103. If the channel quality requirements of the 6G cell 103 are fulfilled, the 6G UE 106 may camp on the 6G cell 103. In another embodiment, frequency F2 may be prioritized above Fl, such that the 6G UE 106 may perform a cell selection to identify a suitable cell operating on F2. If there is no suitable cell on F2, then the 6G UE 106 may switch to Fl and perform the cell search accordingly.

[0045] In still another example, the 6G UE 105 may perform cell selection and select an appropriate synchronization raster region based on its implementation. For example, the 6G UE 105 may detect the 5G cell 101 during a synchronization process in the MRSS band (Fl in FIG.1). The 6G UE 105 may consider camping on the 5G cell 101 when particular conditions are fulfilled. Meanwhile, if 6G radio (6GR) access is prioritized, the 6G UE 105 may initiate an interfrequency measurement to identify a suitable 6G cell operating in a different frequency band (e.g., in case there is no suitable 6G cell in the MRSS band). Otherwise, the 6G UE 105 may have to decide whether to initiate an inter-frequency measurement to identify a suitable 6G cell, or to initiate an inter-RAT measurement to identify a suitable 5G cell in the MRSS band.

[0046] The MRSS scenarios may be further categorized into several scenarios. Scenario 1-1: The 5G cell (e.g., the 5G cell 101) and 6G cell (e.g., the 6G cell 102 or the 6G cell 103) do not share control signaling, and each cell broadcasts its SSB, reference signaling, and system 11 25F001USAinformation blocks (SIBs), in separately coordinated time / frequency resources. The 5G cell’s DL coverage and 6G cell’s DL coverage may be different, such that UEs in a particular area may only be able to identify either a suitable 5G cell or a suitable 6G cell.

[0047] Scenario 1-2: The 5G cell and 6G cell do not share the control signaling and each cell may broadcast its SSB, reference signaling, and SIB. Through appropriate coordination, however, the 5G cell’s DL coverage may be almost the same as the 6G cell’s DL coverage.

[0048] Scenario 2-1 : The 5G cell and 6G cell share the control signaling. The sharing may be accomplished by (a) both cells transmitting on the same resource with the same content, or (b) only one cell transmitting on the coordinated resource, with the content being used for the operation of both the 5G cell and 6G cell. It is expected that the DL coverage may be identical for a 5G cell and 6G cell (e.g., when the two cells are co-located, or when the two cells share the same control signaling). However, due to different UE power classes or different power control mechanisms (e.g., those specified in 6G specifications), the 6G UL coverage may be different from the 5G UL coverage. This may influence the success of the UL synchronization. Thus, in some cases, the UE may be served only by either the 5G cell or the 6G cell.

[0049] Scenario 2-2: The 5G cell and 6G cell share the control signaling, and certain particular signaling and conditions (e.g., measured results) may be reused for the operation of both the 5G cell and 6G cell. In this scenario, it may be assumed that the 5G cell DL / UL coverage is the same as the 6G cell DL / UL coverage.

[0050] Additionally, an operator may choose to apply different scenarios for different MRSS bands (e.g., Scenario 1-1 for 700 MHz, Scenario 2-1 for 3500 MHz). The scenarios may be transparent to the UEs. The UE may expect to use the same procedure for identifying the suitable cell during the RRC Idle state and while performing initial access, unless the 5G cell or 6G cell provides an additional indication via an SIB.

[0051] The operator may also apply different frequency priorities or different RAT priorities or different TN / NTN access priorities corresponding to different MRSS bands. This 12 25F001USAinformation may be transmitted to the 6G UE via, for example, dedicated RRC signaling, broadcast signaling, or paging messages, or may be defined as a default.

[0052] Once (or while) the 6G UE completes the network entry with either the 5G cell or 6G cell and enters the RRC Connected state, the 6G UE may be configured to continuously perform layer 1 (LI) or layer 3 (L3) measurements toward the 5G cell or the 6G cell on the MRSS band. The network may further configure periodic / aperiodic / semi-periodic reporting. Regarding aperiodic reporting, several trigger events with corresponding parameters may be configured to decide whether reporting is necessary. Moreover, the trigger event and parameters may be separately configured for different MRSS scenarios and for non-MRSS scenarios. After receiving the report, the network may decide whether to enable RAT aggregation (e.g., to add another RAT as a secondary cell (SCell)) or to initiate another inter-RAT handover accordingly.

[0053] FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an example process 200 for a priority-based cell search across frequency bands, according to various aspects of the present disclosure. The process 200 may be performed by at least one processor of a UE (e.g., UEs 104-106, as shown in FIG. 1).

[0054] The process 200 may receive (at block 205) a configuration that includes a priority setting indicating a priority order. The configuration may identify a first frequency band configured as an MRSS band in which at least one first-RAT cell and at least one second-RAT cell may operate. The configuration may identify a second frequency band that is different from the first frequency band and may be configured for operation of the second RAT. For example, in block 205, a UE (e.g., the 6G UE 105) may be configured to access with a first RAT and a second RAT, and may receive a configuration that includes a priority order. The second frequency band may be higher in frequency than the first frequency band. The first frequency band and the second frequency band may be associated with different SCSs.

[0055] In some implementations, the first RAT may include 5G NR, the second RAT may include a 6G RAT, and the first frequency band may include an MRSS band shared by a 5G cell and a 6G cell. In some implementations, the process 200 may receive the configuration via at least 13 25F001USAone of dedicated RRC signaling, broadcast signaling, a paging message, or a predefined default priority order. The priority order may be received in one of SIB3, SIB5, or a SIB that is defined for indicating the priority order.

[0056] The process 200 may select (at block 210), based on the priority order, an initial synchronization raster region corresponding to a higher-priority one of the first frequency band and the second frequency band. The initial synchronization raster may be associated with the higher-priority one of the first frequency band and the second frequency band or a frequency band region corresponding to the higher-priority one. The secondary synchronization raster may be associated with the lower-priority one of the first frequency band and the second frequency band or a frequency band region corresponding to the lower-priority one. The process 200 may perform (at block 215) a cell search for a suitable cell of the second RAT using the initial synchronization raster. In some implementations, the priority order may indicate that the first frequency band has higher priority than the second frequency band. In these implementations, performing the cell search may include attempting to identify the suitable cell of the second RAT in the first frequency band before attempting to identify the suitable cell of the second RAT in the second frequency band. In some implementations, performing the cell search for the suitable cell of the second RAT may include comparing a measured RSRP of a cell of the second RAT with a threshold, and identifying the cell of the second RAT as the suitable cell when the measured RSRP satisfies the threshold.

[0057] In some implementations, the priority order may indicate that the second frequency band has higher priority than the first frequency band. In these implementations, performing the cell search may include attempting to identify the suitable cell of the second RAT in the second frequency band before attempting to identify the suitable cell of the second RAT in the first frequency band. Performing the cell search may include at least one of performing a synchronization raster procedure based on the priority order or performing a channel raster procedure based on the priority order.14 25F001USA

[0058] The process 200 may determine (at block 220) whether the cell search identifies the suitable cell of the second RAT using the initial synchronization raster. If the cell search identifies the suitable cell of the second RAT, the process 200 may proceed to block 230, which is described below.

[0059] In a case that the cell search does not identify the suitable cell of the second RAT, the process 200 may select (at block 225) a secondary synchronization raster region corresponding to a lower-priority one of the first frequency band and the second frequency band and perform the cell search using the secondary synchronization raster. Selecting the initial synchronization raster region may include selecting a first synchronization raster specific to the first frequency band and selecting the secondary synchronization raster may include selecting a second synchronization raster region specific to the second frequency band.

[0060] At block 230, the process 200 may, upon identifying a suitable cell, camp on the suitable cell. The process 200 may then end.

[0061] The process of FIG. 2 will now be described from the perspective of a BS. The BS may transmit a configuration to a UE configured to access with a first RAT and a second RAT. The configuration may include an identification of a first frequency band configured as an MRSS band in which at least one first-RAT cell and at least one second-RAT cell may operate. The configuration may include an identification of a second frequency band different from the first frequency band (the second frequency band being configured for operation of the second RAT). The configuration may include a priority setting indicating a priority order between the first frequency band and the second frequency band for searching for a suitable cell of the second RAT.

[0062] The transmitted configuration may be usable by the UE to select, based on the priority order, an initial synchronization raster region corresponding to a higher-priority one of the first frequency band and the second frequency band, and to perform a cell search for the suitable cell of the second RAT using the initial synchronization raster region. In addition, in response to not identifying the suitable cell of the second RAT using the initial synchronization raster region,15 25F001USAthe UE may select a secondary synchronization raster region corresponding to a lower-priority one of the first frequency band and the second frequency band, and may perform the cell search using the secondary synchronization raster region.

[0063] In some implementation, the first RAT may include 5G NR and the second RAT may include a 6G RAT, and the first frequency band may include an MRSS band shared by a 5G cell and a 6G cell. The second frequency band may include a 6G standalone band that is higher in frequency than the first frequency band, and is associated with a different SCS than the first frequency band. The second frequency band may include a 5G standalone band that is higher in frequency than the first frequency band (e.g., FR2), and may be associated with a different SCS than the first frequency band. In some implementation, the BS may transmit the configuration to the UE via at least one of dedicated RRC signaling, broadcast signaling, or a paging message.IL PROVISION OF MRSS CONFIGURATION

[0064] Various implementation options (approaches) may be used to provide configuration information to the UE, as described below.

[0065] Option 1-A: MRSS is treated as an intra-frequency operation, and the corresponding 5G cell selection parameters are broadcast via SIB2 / SIB3

[0066] In this embodiment, a 6G cell may provide 5G cell information via its system information (SI), and in particular via its SIBs (SIB2, SIB3, and SIB4). In this example, the 5G cell information provided by the 6G cell may identify cells operating in the MRSS band, whose coverage overlaps or partially overlaps that of the 6G cell (as a neighboring cell). The information may be mainly used for cell selection / reselection. For example, the 6G cell’s SIB2 may indicate a cell identifier (ID), reselection threshold, selection criteria offset, periodicity and / or duration of synchronization signaling, time and frequency domain resource allocations, and other related information applicable to the intra-frequency 5G cell (e.g., NR information).

[0067] A 6G UE may apply the parameters after acquiring SIB2 to proceed with the cell selection / reselection, and may “fall back” from 6G to 5G if the selection criteria are fulfilled by 16 25F001USAthe 5G cell. If the 5G cell is operating at a different frequency from that of the 6G cell in the corresponding MRSS band, the relevant cell selection information for 5G NR may be configured and transmitted via the 6G cell’s SIB5. This implies the 5G cell listed in SIB2 may prioritize the 5G cell listed in SIB5 from a 6G UE perspective and the 6G UE may apply that prioritization while it decides to fallback to 5G RAT.

[0068] In one embodiment, the fields of these parameters may be required to be present in SIB2 if MRSS is adopted for the 6G cell in the corresponding band, otherwise the fields may be absent. In another embodiment, the fields may optionally be present. In this case, the 6G UE may assume that the same parameters applicable to the 6G cell may also be applied for the 5G cell while operating in the MRSS band when no corresponding field is presented in SIB2.

[0069] A field may additionally be appended to the 6G cell’s SIB2 to configure the priority between intra-frequency cell selection / reselection toward 5G cells, and inter-frequency cell selection / reselection toward 6G cells.

[0070] For instance, a field called “MRSS priority” may be set to “true” to indicate that intra-frequency cell selection / reselection toward 5G cells on the MRSS band is prioritized over inter-frequency cell selection / reselection toward 6G cells (which may operate in a 6G standalone band). The configured intra-frequency cell selection / reselection parameters may be used by the UE to perform the corresponding 5G cell selection / reselection. In contrast, if “MRSS priority” is set to “false,” it may indicate that intra-frequency cell selection / reselection toward 5G cells on the MRSS band is deprioritized, in favor of inter-frequency selection / reselection toward 6G cells. For example, the network may prefer keeping the 6G UE in the 6G network, even if the neighboring 6G cell operates in a different frequency band. The UE may decide whether to initiate a subsequent intra-frequency or inter-frequency cell selection / reselection based on the configured priority on the MRSS band. In one example, if the field “MRSS priority” is not present, it may imply that it is up to the UE implementation to select a 5G cell on the same MRSS band, or to select a 6G cell on a different frequency band.17 25F001USA

[0071] Additional intra-frequency cell selection / reselection information may be configured in an SIB3, such as an “excluded list” 5G cells, and / or an “allowed list” 5G cells. For example, 5G cell ID information may be further appended within an excluded cell list or an allowed cell list, such that the 6G cell may provide barring control for a specific 5G cell in the MRSS band. The 6G UE may skip or ignore the 5G cell if its cell ID matches one listed in the excluded cell list, and may further relax the corresponding measurements on the time and / or frequency resources. Specifically, if the 6G UE initiates an intra-frequency cell selection and identifies a 5G cell on the MRSS band that has a cell ID that matches an ID listed in the excluded list, the 6G UE may treat this 5G cell as a barred cell, even though the field “MRSS priority” is set to “true.”

[0072] An example of the provision of MRSS configuration information according to FIG.1 under Option 1-A could be as follows. The 6G cell 102 may include 5G cell information in its SIB2 and may set the cell ID of the 5 G cell 101 on the allowed cell list in its SIB3. The information of the 6G cell 103 may be included in the SIB4 of the 6G cell 102. If the MRSS priority is set to “true” in SIB2, the 6G UE 105 may prioritize the 5G cell 101 over the 6G cell 103 for subsequent cell selection / reselection after acquiring these SIBs from the 6G cell 102. Additional conditions may be set. For example, if the MRSS priority is set to “true” but the cell ID is not in the allowed list, the 6G UE may not prioritize that 5G cell. In another example, the MRSS priority may be set to “false,” in which case the 6G UE may not participate in MRSS at all. In yet another example, if the MRSS priority is set to “true” and a cell ID is in the allowed list, that cell ID may be prioritized.

[0073] Option 1-B: MRSS and its relevant configuration are treated as an inter-RAT operation, and corresponding 5G cell selection parameters are broadcast via SIB5

[0074] In another embodiment, a 6G cell may broadcast the neighboring 5G cells information via SI. For example, SIB5 may indicate the operating frequency list for a 5G RAT (e.g., a 5G NR), along with the associated parameters.18 25F001USA

[0075] The operating frequency may include the MRSS band, and the parameters may include, for example, an excluded list of 5G cell list, allowed 5G cell list, excluded applications supported by the 5G cell, allowed applications supported by the 5G cell, 5G cell transmission power setting(s), cell selection criteria and / or thresholds, offsets, time / frequency domain resource allocations, and area ID information. An “application” could be represented by, for example, a specific quality of service class identifier (QCI), a specific data radio bearer (DRB), a specific feature, a specific access category or a specific device type.

[0076] In this regard, an operating frequency may belong to the MRSS band (e.g., in cases in which the frequency is shared with 6G) or to a non-MRSS band (in case the frequency is only used by the 5G NR). A flag may be additionally provided to indicate whether the operating frequency corresponds to the MRSS band. A flag called “MRSS” may be provided, for example, as one bit of information. The bit value being equal to “1” may, for example, indicate that the frequency enables MRSS with 6G. Otherwise, it may indicate that the frequency is only subject to 5G operations.

[0077] As in option 1-A, an additional field may be used to configure the priority between intra-frequency cell selection / reselection toward 5G cells, or inter-frequency cell selection / reselection toward 6G cells. For example, the field “MRSS priority” being set to “true” may be used to indicate that intra-frequency cell selection / reselection toward 5G cells is prioritized over inter-frequency cell selection / reselection toward 6G cells; in this case, the corresponding 5G parameters appended in the SIB5 may be used. If the field is set to “false,” it may indicate that intra-frequency cell selection / reselection toward 5G cells is deprioritized in favor of inter-frequency cell selection / reselection toward 6G cells. Thus, the UE may consider inter-frequency cell selection / reselection toward 6G cells as prioritized over intra-frequency cell selection / reselection toward 5G cells on the MRSS band. If the field “MRSS priority” is not present, it may be up to the UE implementation to select either a suitable 5G cell or a suitable 6G cell based on the corresponding parameters.19 25F001USA

[0078] An example of the provision of MRS S configuration information according to FIG.1 under Option 1-B may be as follows. In this example, the 6G cell 102 may include 5G cell information in its SIB5, and may set the cell ID of the 5G cell 101 on the allowed cell list. The additional flag for the MRSS band (“MRSS”) maybe set to “I.” On the other hand, the information of the 6G cell 103 may be included in the SIB4 of the 6G cell 102. If the MRSS priority in SIB2 is set to “true,” the 6G UE 105 may prioritize the 5G cell 101 (whose corresponding cell ID matches the allowed list, and because the flag associated with the MRSS band is set to “1”) over the 6G cell 103 for subsequent cell selection / reselection after acquiring these SIBs from the 6G cell 102.

[0079] Option 1-C: MRSS and relevant configuration are treated as a new feature, and the corresponding parameters are broadcast via a new SIBx (separate from SIB2 / SIB3 / SIB5)

[0080] In this embodiment, a 6G cell may broadcast the cell selection / reselection parameters for 5G cells operating in the MRSS band via a new SIB. For example, a new “SIB2x” may indicate the parameters applied for the MRSS band. The parameters may be configured for 5G cells and 6G cells operating in the MRSS band and the information may include, for example, an excluded 5G / 6G cell list, allowed 5G / 6G cell list, excluded applications supported by 5G / 6G cells, allowed applications supported by 5G / 6G cells, 5G / 6G cell transmission power settings, 5G / 6G cell selection criteria and / or thresholds, offsets, time / frequency domain resource allocations, and 5G / 6G area ID information. As above, the “application” could be represented by a specific QCI, a specific DRB, a specific feature, a specific access category, or a specific device type.

[0081] If a 5G cell does not operate in the MRSS band, the associated cell selection / reselection information may still be configured and transmitted via SIB5. If a 6G cell does not operate in the MRSS band, the associated cell selection / reselection information may still be configured and transmitted via SIB2 / SIB3 / SIB4.20 25F001USA

[0082] As in option 1-A, an additional field may be present to configure the priority between intra-frequency cell selection / reselection toward 5G cells, or inter-frequency cell selection / reselection toward 6G cells. For instance, the field “MRSS priority” being set to “true” may indicate that intra-frequency cell selection / reselection toward 5G cells is prioritized over inter-frequency cell selection / reselection toward 6G cells. In this case, the corresponding 5G parameters appended in the SIB2x may be used. If the field is set to “false,” it may indicate that intra-frequency cell selection / reselection toward 5G cells is deprioritized in favor of interfrequency cell selection / reselection toward 6G cells, for example, the UE may consider interfrequency cell selection / reselection toward 6G cells as prioritized over intra-frequency cell selection / reselection toward 5G cells on the MRSS band. If the field “MRSS priority” is not present, it may be up to the UE implementation to select either a suitable 5G cell or a suitable 6G cell based on the corresponding parameters.

[0083] An upgraded 5G cell may broadcast SIB2x to provide the MRSS configuration to a camped 6G UE (herein, a “6G UE” may refer to a 6G-capable UE that may camp on a 5G cell via the 5G specification). In this example, the 6G UE may follow 5G specifications and relevant behavior to camp on a suitable 5G cell. Afterwards, the 6G UE may acquire the new SIB2x to understand whether other 6G cells are operating in this MRSS band. Then, the 6G UE may perform cell selection / reselection toward a suitable 6G cell, based on the acquired parameters and priority.

[0084] An example of the provision of MRSS configuration information according to FIG.1 under Option 1-C may be as follows. In this example, the 6G cell 102 may include information of the 5G cell 101 in its SIB2x, and may set the ID of the 5G cell 101 on the allowed cell list. On the other hand, the information of the 6G cell 103 may be included in its SIB4. If the MRSS priority field in SIB2 is set to “true,” the 6G UE 105 may prioritize the 5G cell 101 (whose corresponding cell ID matches the allowed list) over the 6G cell 103 for subsequent cell selection / reselection, after acquiring these SIBs from the 6G cell 102.21 25F001USA

[0085] On the other hand, the 6G cell 103 may include the information of both the 5G cell 101 and the 6G cell 102 in its SIB2x and set the IDs of both the 5G cell 101 and the 6G cell 102 on the allowed cell list. If the MRSS priority field in SIB2 is set to “true,” the 6G UE 105 may prioritize the 5G cell 101 (whose corresponding cell ID matches the allowed list) over the 6G cell 102 for subsequent cell selection / reselection after acquiring these SIBs from the 6G cell 103. The 6G UE 105 may then apply the cell selection / reselection parameters toward 5G as configured in SIB2x to proceed with the subsequent operations.

[0086] Regardless of which MRSS option is being employed, all of the aforementioned options may be applied, and / or a common option may be used by operators. In addition, in some embodiments, a 6G cell may not broadcast the SIB2 / SIB3 / SIB5 / SIB2x periodically. Instead, a 6G UE may transmit an on-demand SI request message to request the 6G cell to provide the MRSS configuration information. In some embodiments, all 6G cells may be required to provide available MRSS configuration information for their neighboring cells, regardless of whether the 6G cell operates with MRSS. In addition, while the 6G UE is camped on a 6G cell, the UE may send an on-demand SI request based on trigger conditions. The trigger conditions may include, for example, (1) an RSRP threshold, (2) the broadcast status of the MRSS configuration, (3) UE mobility, (4) information associated with a running application.

[0087] In some cases, a 6G cell that does not operate in the MRSS band may not be required to provide the MRSS configuration for its neighboring cells. In this case, it may be beneficial to inform the 6G UE of the situation earlier, so that the UE may decide whether to request an MRSS configuration. To support this behavior, a flag transmitted in either the master information block (MIB) or SIB1 may be used to indicate that the corresponding 6G cell is operating with MRSS. The flag may, for example, be one bit, where a value of “1” indicates that the 6G cell performs MRSS. In this case, the UE may interpret the flag information and evaluate the trigger conditions, and accordingly decide whether to acquire the MRSS configuration information.22 25F001USA

[0088] The 6G UE may also store the MRSS configuration information and directly apply the stored information if the value tag and / or the area ID associated with SIB2 / SIB3 / SIB5 / SIB2x broadcasted by the cell is the same as the stored one. The 6G UE may release the MRSS configuration upon deregistration, upon a medium access control (MAC) reset, or upon satisfaction of one or more conditions. In one example, the 6G UE may refrain from releasing the MRSS configuration while the 6G UE is camped on a 5G cell. By storing the MRSS configuration information, the UE may acquire or update the MRSS configuration information, even while camped on a 5G cell.

[0089] If a 6G UE is configured to perform logging, either for artificial intelligence / machine learning (AI / ML) user data collection purposes or minimum driving test (MDT) purposes, the 6G UE may perform respective measurements toward 6G cells and 5G cells and may be configured with respective reporting, even if a particular control signaling is shared on the MRSS band. This may apply unless the logging configuration specifies a common logging behavior, in which the UE may perform common measurements on the MRSS band and a common reporting configuration may be applied for the reporting.

[0090] FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example process 300 for provision of an MRSS configuration to the UE, according to various aspects of the present disclosure. The process 300 may be performed by at least one processor of a UE (e.g., UEs 104-106, as shown in FIG. 1).

[0091] The process 300 may receive (at block 305), from a serving cell, MRSS configuration information for an MRSS frequency band shared by 5G NR and the 6G RAT. The MRSS configuration information may include one or more cell selection parameters for selecting a 5G NR cell operating on the MRSS frequency band and an MRSS priority indicator specifying a priority between intra-frequency cell selection toward the 5G NR cell operating on the MRSS frequency band and inter-frequency cell selection toward a 6G cell operating on a second frequency band different from the MRSS frequency band.23 25F001USA

[0092] In some implementations, the MRSS priority indicator and the one or more cell selection parameters may be included in an SIB. In another example, the MRSS configuration information may be carried in several SIBs. In this latter example, the MRSS priority indicator may be included in a first SIB, and the one or more cell selection parameters may be included in a second SIB different from the first SIB.

[0093] In still another implementation, acquiring or receiving the MRSS configuration information (in block 305) may include acquiring an SIB2 of a 6G cell. In this case, the one or more cell selection or cell reselection parameters for the 5G NR cell operating on the MRSS frequency band may include at least one of a cell identifier, a re selection threshold, a cell selection criteria offset, a synchronization-signal periodicity, a synchronization-signal duration, a timedomain resource allocation, or a frequency-domain resource allocation.

[0094] In this implementation, the MRSS priority indicator may be included in the SIB2. The MRSS priority indicator may include a first value indicating that intra-frequency cell selection or reselection toward the 5G NR cell on the MRSS frequency band is prioritized over interfrequency cell selection or reselection toward the 6G cell on the second frequency band. The MRSS priority indicator may also include a second value indicating that the inter-frequency cell selection or reselection toward the 6G cell on the second frequency band is prioritized over the intra-frequency cell selection or reselection toward the 5G NR cell on the MRSS frequency band. In some cases, at least one of the one or more cell selection or cell reselection parameters for the 5G NR cell may not be explicitly signaled in the SIB2. In this case, the UE may apply a corresponding parameter configured for the serving cell as at least one cell selection or cell reselection parameter for the 5G NR cell.

[0095] In another example embodiment, SIB3 may be used. Specifically, in this example, acquiring the MRSS configuration information (in block 305) may include acquiring an SIB3 that indicates at least one of an excluded list of 5G NR cell identifiers, or an allowed list of 5G NR cell identifiers operating on the MRSS frequency band. In this example, the UE may treat a 24 25F001USAcandidate 5G NR cell as a barred cell upon cell selection or reselection when the candidate 5G NR cell is identified in the excluded list.

[0096] In still another example embodiment, acquiring the MRSS configuration information may include acquiring (in block 305) a SIB5 that indicates an operating frequency list for 5G NR, and associated cell selection or cell reselection parameters. In this case, the SIB5 may further include, for at least one operating frequency, an MRSS indicator indicating whether the operating frequency corresponds to an MRSS band shared with the 6G RAT.

[0097] In yet another example embodiment, acquiring the MRSS configuration information (in block 305) may include acquiring a new SIB distinct from SIB2, SIB3, and SIB5. The new SIB may include the one or more cell selection or cell reselection parameters for the 5G NR cell operating on the MRSS frequency band.

[0098] In some embodiments, the configuration information may be requested by the UE or another device. Thus, in one example, the process may include the UE transmitting an on-demand SI request to request at least a portion of the MRSS configuration information. The transmission of the on-demand SI request may be triggered, for example, based on at least one of a measured RSRP satisfying a threshold, a broadcast status associated with MRSS configuration information, UE mobility data, or a running application.

[0099] The UE may also store the configuration information for later use. Thus, in one example, the UE may store the MRSS configuration information, and may reuse the stored MRSS configuration information. In this case, the UE may refrain from releasing the stored MRSS configuration information while camped on a 5G NR cell.

[0100] The process 300 may trigger (at block 310), based on the MRSS priority indicator, a cell selection operation with the intra-frequency cell selection toward the 5G NR cell, or with the inter-frequency cell selection toward the 6G cell.25 25F001USA

[0101] The process 300 may perform (at block 315) the cell selection operation, including applying the one or more cell selection parameters when the cell selection operation is the intrafrequency cell selection toward the 5G NR cell. The process 300 may then end.

[0102] The process of FIG. 3 will now be described from the perspective of a BS that provides a serving cell. The BS may broadcast SI that may include MRSS configuration information for an MRSS frequency band shared by 5G NR and a 6G RAT. The MRSS configuration information may include one or more cell selection parameters for selecting a 5G NR cell operating on the MRSS frequency band and an MRSS priority indicator that specifies a priority between intra-frequency cell selection toward the 5G NR cell operating on the MRSS frequency band and inter-frequency cell selection toward a 6G cell operating on a second frequency band different from the MRSS frequency band. The MRSS configuration information may be configured such that a UE configured to operate according to either the 5G NR or the 6G RAT, upon receiving the MRSS configuration information, may trigger a cell selection operation with the intra-frequency cell selection toward the 5G NR cell or with the inter-frequency cell selection toward the 6G cell based on the MRSS priority indicator, and may apply the one or more cell selection parameters when the cell selection operation is the intra-frequency cell selection toward the 5G NR cell.III. ACCESS BARRING CONTROL FOR 5G-6G MRSS

[0103] A 5G UE may be able to detect a 6G cell on the MRSS band, especially if common control signaling is being used between 5G and 6G. To prevent a 5G UE from unnecessarily camping on a 6G cell (e.g., to avoid unnecessary operations), three options may be adopted by the 6G cell, as follows.

[0104] Option 2-1 : Legacy 5G UEs may be barred by the 6G cell based on a “cellBarred” parameter (e.g., a bit) set to barred in the 5G or 6G cell’s MIB. In contrast, a 6G UE may ignore the cellBarred bit if the 6G UE determines that the cell is operating with MRSS on the MRSS26 25F001USAband (e.g., based on the value of the “MRSS” flag). The 6G cell may specify the barring information for the 6G UEs via its SIBs.

[0105] Option 2-2: Legacy 5G UEs may be barred by the 6G cell based on an SSB-SubcarrierOffset (also known as kSSB) in the 5G or 6G cell’s MIB. For example, if the kSSB in the MIB is set to a specific range in the F 1 band, is set to another specific range in the FR2 band, or is set to another specific range in the FR3 band, the 5G UE may treat the detected cell as a barred cell, and may perform cell selection or reselection.

[0106] Option 2-3: The 5G network, for example, the 5G cells, may include the 6G cells operating with MRSS in the list of excluded cells. Taking FIG. 1 as an example, the Cell ID of the 6Gcell 102 maybe placed on the list of excluded cells in an SIB of the 5G cell 101. When the 5G UE 104 recognizes the cell ID of the 6G cell 102 (e.g., from common control signaling) as matching an ID in the excluded cell list, the 5G UE 104 may treat the 6G cell 102 as a barred cell.

[0107] Although a 6G UE may access / camp on a 5G cell, the 5G cell may also bar the 6G UE, for example, for offloading purposes. To prevent 6G UEs from accessing the 5G cell, a 5G cell may indicate 6G-specific barring parameters in its SIBx (e.g., a new SIB) to bar the 6G UE. To be more specific, a common “cellBarred” parameter, for example a bit, may be used in the 5G cell’s MIB, and both the 5G UE and 6G UE may be barred if the cellBarred bit is set to a value indicating barred (e.g., to 1). If the cellBarred bit is set to a value indicating not barred (e.g., 0), the 6G-capable UE may further check the barring parameters and apply barring control after acquiring the SIBx and may try to perform cell reselection on another cell. The 5G cells may negotiate with their neighboring 6G cells operating in the MRSS band, and 6G cells may add one or more 5G cells to their excluded cells list. Moreover, the 6G cell may configure the 6G UE to relax the intra-frequency measurements on the MRSS band, for example, so that the 6G UE may skip measurements or may prolong the measurement cycle during a specific periodicity / duration / frequency occasion in the MRSS band.27 25F001USA

[0108] Considering that the 5G cell may dynamically decide to bar 6G-capable UEs, the 5G cell may trigger an RRC release procedure to release the 6G-capable UEs currently served by the 5G cell. In this regard, a 6G-capable UE may indicate its UE type during an RRC connection establishment procedure. In the release message, “6G-redirectedCarrierInfo” information may be appended. The information may include the 6G cells operating in the MRSS band (in which the 5G cell operates), and the 6G cells operating in the non-MRSS band. An “MRSS Priority” information may be further appended to 6G-redirectedCarrierInfo, such that the UE may prioritize the 6G cells operating in the MRSS band for cell selection or reselection if the priority is set to “true.” If the priority information is absent, the UE may prioritize 6G cells operating in the non-MRSS band during cell selection or reselection. The RRC release message may include 5G-redirectedCarrierlnfo parameter and 6G-redirectedCarrierInfo parameter. A RAT priority field may be used to indicate the redirection priority between 5G and 6G.

[0109] FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example process 400 for providing access barring control for 5G-6G MRSS, according to various aspects of the present disclosure. The process 400 may be performed by at least one processor of a network entity (e.g., a BS) that provides a 6G cell (e.g., the 6G cell 102 shown in FIG. 1) that operates on the MRSS frequency band.

[0110] The process 400 may transmit (at block 405) a MIB including a barring-related parameter set to a value that, when interpreted according to 5G NR by a UE (e.g., a UE that does not support the 6G RAT), indicates that the cell is barred. The barring-related parameter may be ignored by a UE that supports the 6G RAT.[oni] The process 400 may transmit (at block 410) a set of one or more SIBs including barring information applicable to 6G UEs that support the 6G RAT. The barring information applicable to the 6G UEs may indicate whether the cell is barred for the 6G UEs.

[0112] In some implementations, the process 400 may provide an MRSS indicator flag that indicates that the cell is operated with MRSS on the MRSS frequency band. Based on the 28 25F001USAMRSS indicator flag, the 6G UEs may determine whether the cell is barred based on the barring information applicable to the 6G UEs. The MRSS indicator flag may be included in the MIB or in one of the SIBs.

[0113] The barring-related parameter may include at least one MIB parameter that includes a cellBarred parameter set to indicate barred. The barring-related parameter may include at least one MIB parameter that includes a synchronization-signal-block subcarrier offset parameter set to a value within a predetermined range that is interpretable according to 5G NR as indicating barred.

[0114] In some implementations, a BS that provides the 5G NR cell may broadcast SI that includes an excluded-cell list that identifies the 6G RAT cell. The 5G NR UE may treat the 6G RAT cell as barred upon determining that a cell identifier of the 6G RAT cell matches the excluded-cell list. The cell identifier may be identified from synchronization signaling.

[0115] In some implementations, a BS that provides the 5G NR cell may negotiate, with a BS that provides a neighboring 6G RAT cell operated on the MRSS frequency band. Based on the negotiation, the BS that provides the 6G RAT cell operated on the MRSS frequency may add the 5G NR cell to an excluded list.

[0116] In some implementations, a BS that provides a 6G RAT cell on the MRSS frequency band may broadcast a measurement relaxation configuration applicable to UEs configured to operate according to the 6G RAT. The measurement relaxation configuration may configure the UEs to skip intra-frequency measurement, prolong the intra-frequency measurement cycle, monitoring in the MRSS frequency band on at least one of a specified periodicity, a specified duration, or a specified frequency occasion.

[0117] The process of FIG. 4 will now be described from the perspective of the BS that provides a 5G NR cell that operates on an MRSS frequency band shared with a 6G RAT cell. The process may include broadcasting, in SI of the 5G NR cell, an excluded-cell list that includes an identifier of the 6G RAT cell operating on the MRSS frequency band. The identifier of the 6G 29 25F001USARAT cell may be recognizable by a 5G NR UE from control signaling shared between the 5G NR cell and the 6G RAT cell on the MRSS frequency band. When the 5G NR UE detects the 6G RAT cell and determines that the cell ID of the 6G RAT cell matches an ID on the excluded-cell list, the 5G NR UE may treat the 6G RAT cell as barred, and refrains from camping on the 6G RAT cell.

[0118] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example process 500 for providing access barring control for 5G-6G MRSS, according to various aspects of the present disclosure. The process 500 may be performed by at least one processor of a 6G UE (e.g., UEs 105-106, as shown in FIG. 1).

[0119] The process 500 may receive (at block 505), from a 6G RAT cell operating on an MRSS frequency band shared with a 5G NR cell, an MIB including a barring-related parameter set to a value that, when interpreted according to 5G NR by a UE that does not support the 6G RAT, indicates that the 6G RAT cell is barred.

[0120] The process 500 may ignore (at block 510) the barring-related parameter. The process 500 may receive (at block 515), from system information broadcast by the 6G RAT cell, one or more SIBs including barring information applicable to 6G UEs that support the 6G RAT. The process 500 may determine (at block 520) whether the 6G RAT cell is barred for the UE based on the barring information applicable to the 6G UEs. The process 500 may, based on determining whether the 6G RAT cell is barred for the UE, selectively perform (at block 525) cell selection to camp on the 6G RAT cell. The process 500 may then end.IV. WAKE UP 6G CELLS UPON MRSS

[0121] An operator may consider adapting the allocation of the available time and frequency resources in the MRSS band between the 5G cell and the 6G cell, based on the relative number of 5G and 6G subscribers during a 5G to 6G migration. For example, if there are relatively few 6G UEs, the network may retain the resources used by 5G cells and 5G UEs, while activating network energy saving (NES) operations for one or more 6G cells. Similarly, if the majority of the 30 25F001USA5G UEs in the network have already been upgraded to 6G UEs, the network may activate more aggressive NES operations for 5G cells operating in the MRSS band.

[0122] The NES operations of a cell may include, for example, refraining from periodically transmitting the SI in favor of triggering transmission of SI by on-demand signaling (a cell under this operation may be referred to as an on-demand “OD cell”). The NES operations of a cell may also include, for example, the cell transmitting an SSB with a longer periodicity (a cell under this operation may be referred to as an “SSB-less cell”). The NES operations of a cell may further include, for example, configuring cell -discontinuous transmission (cell-DTX) and / or cell -discontinuous reception (cell-DRX) mechanisms for serving UEs.

[0123] In this context, a cell that activates any NES operation may be referred to as an “NES cell.” In contrast, a 5G cell or 6G cell that does not activate the NES operations may be referred to as a “normal cell.”

[0124] In one typical use case, the network may allow the 6G cell to be operate as an NES cell and the 5G cell to operate as a normal cell in the MRSS band from the initial phase of 6G commercialization. This may imply that a 6G UE may camp on a 5G normal cell, for example, when the 6G UE may not treat a 6G cell as a suitable cell, for example, when the acquisition of the related SIB fails. To improve the user experience, the 6G UE may notify the network and request that the 6G NES cell transition to a 6G normal cell. Afterwards, the 6G UE may redirect to, or reselect, the 6G cell and comply with 6G operations.

[0125] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a notification procedure for a wake-up signal in MRSS, according to various aspects of the present disclosure. The 6G UE 605 may be one of the 6G UEs 105-106, the 5G normal cell 610 may be the 5G cell 101, and the 6G NES cell 615 may be the 6G cell 102 shown in FIG. 1. The 5G normal cell 610 and the 6GNES cell 615 may operate in the MRSS band 620 at the same frequency. The wake-up procedure of FIG. 6 may provide energy savings for the 6GNES cell 615.31 25F001USA

[0126] The 6G UE 605 may only be able to camp on a 5G normal cell 610, for example, in a case where the 6G NES cell 615 does not provide SIB1 information. The 6G NES cell 615 may provide (in step 625) sparse SSB transmission (e.g., without any SIBs). The 6G UE 605 may be able to detect the 6G NES cell 615 via its sparse SSB transmission and may identify that the corresponding channel quality is sufficient (e.g., better than a threshold). However, due to the unavailable SIB1, the 6G UE may initially recognize the 6G NES cell 615 as a barred cell.

[0127] To facilitate the “wake up” of the 6G NES cell 615, the neighboring 5G normal cell 610 may transmit (in step 630) an MRSS wake up signal (WUS) configuration. With the MRSS WUS configuration, the 6G UE 605 may identify whether the 6G NES cell 615 may be transitioned from an NES cell to a normal cell.

[0128] In some implementations, the MRSS WUS information may include on-demand SSB WUS configurations. These configurations may be used to indicate the transmission information of the SSB, which may be triggered by the 6G cell (as a cell-based on-demand SSB). The parameters of the on-demand SSB WUS configuration may include, for example, a frequency allocation of the on-demand SSB, SSB positions within an on-demand SSB burst, a time location and / or periodicity of the on-demand SSB, the SSB transmission pattern ID, the SCS of the on-demand SSB, the physical cell ID of the on-demand SSB, the DL transmission power of the on-demand SSB, and a number N indicating the slot(s) of the on-demand SSB bursts to be transmitted after the on-demand SSB is indicated by the 6G cell to the UE.

[0129] In some implementations, the MRSS WUS information may include on-demand SIB1 WUS configurations. These configurations are used to indicate the transmission information of the SIB1, as triggered by the 6G UE (as a UE -based on-demand SIB1). The parameters for the on-demand SIB1 WUS configuration may include, for example, the physical cell ID of the on-demand SIB1 (this may be absent if it is the same as the on-demand SSB configuration), the random access channel (RACH) occasion (e.g., a PRACH configuration index such as the PRACH-Configurationlndex parameter or a preamble index) for transmitting the request, RSRP 32 25F001USAthreshold (used for WUS signaling trigger conditions and reserved resources), the transmission power of the WUS signaling, and an on-demand SIB1 and random access response (RAR) reception configuration information (e.g., duration, SSB-Subcarrier offset, controlResource SetZero, searchspaceZero, etc.). The UE may apply the configured parameters to monitor the RAR after transmitting the WUS signaling, and may monitor the on-demand SIB1 after receiving an acknowledgement (e.g., via the RAR and its interpretation) in response to the WUS signaling.

[0130] In some cases, multiple 5G normal cells operating in the MRSS band may provide multiple MRSS WUS configurations for the same 6G NES cell also operating in the MRSS band. In addition, a 5G normal cell may provide multiple MRSS WUS configurations for different 6G NES cells. Moreover, one 6G normal cell operating in the MRSS band may also provide the MRSS WUS configuration for other neighboring 6G NES cells operating in the MRSS band. The 6G UE may either keep or release the MRSS WUS configuration if certain conditions are met. The conditions may include (1) the 6G UE’s RRC state has changed, (2) a timer expires (in one implementation, the timer is started / restarted while or upon receiving the MRSS WUS configuration), (3) a radio link failure (RLF) / handover failure (HOF) occurs, or (4) the 6G UE switches to a different frequency from the MRSS band.

[0131] After receiving the MRSS WUS configuration, the UE may be able to identify whether the detected 6G cell may be changed to a normal cell (as a suitable cell) via transmitting a request or waiting for an activation. For example, before transmitting MRSS WUS signaling (step 635), the UE may try to synchronize with an SSB of a 6G cell. By interpreting the SSB, the UE may obtain a primary synchronization signal (PSS) and a secondary synchronization signal (SSS) to derive a physical cell identity (PCI) and may identify a symbol boundary. If the detected PCI matches an ID listed in the MRSS WUS configuration and the UE cannot acquire the corresponding SIB 1 based on the parameters in the MIB, the UE may treat this 6G cell as an NES cell.33 25F001USA

[0132] The UE may further evaluate whether the RSRP of the 6G NES cell is higher than a threshold, or higher than the RSRP of a 5G cell by an offset. If these conditions are met, the UE may initiate an on-demand SIB1 WUS transmission. Otherwise, the UE may remain camped on the 5G cell. The conditions may also include the SIB1 broadcast status from the 6G cell. In this case, the UE may be allowed to transmit an on-demand SIB1 WUS request unless the broadcast status indicates “non-transmission.”

[0133] It is possible that a 6G UE may try to camp on a 6G NES cell before receiving the MRSS WUS configuration from a 5G cell operating in the MRSS band. In this case, the 6G UE may try to decode the PSS / SSS, but may fail to acquire SIB1. Thus, the 6G UE may treat the 6G NES cell as a barred cell. The barring may be released after a timer expires, or after receiving the corresponding MRSS WUS configuration. Moreover, the 6G NES cell may provide redirection information to facilitate the 6G UE selecting / reselecting a 5G cell in MRSS frequency band or a 6G cell in different frequency band, which may provide the MRSS WUS configuration in the MRSS band. In one embodiment, the redirection information may be provided via kSSB, or via the parameters controlResourceSetZero, CORESETzero or SearchSpaceZero. It should be noted that since SIB1 is not transmitted, the information element (IE) pdcch-ConfigSIBl in MIB may be re-interpreted. For example, MIB may provide pdcch-ConfigSIBl IE, which may include CORESETzero and SearchSpaceZero information.

[0134] As shown in step 635, to transmit an on-demand SIB1 WUS, the UE may use a configured RACH occasion to transmit the indicated preamble as a request in signaling to the 6G cell. The RACH occasion may be shared or separated with other random access (RA) procedures, and contention-based RA (CBRA) may be applied. The resource mapping between the RACH occasion and the SSB may follow the same mapping rule between ra-Preamble Startindex for an “other systems information (OSI)” request and the SSB as specified in a normal cell. The UE may try to monitor the RAR after transmitting the on-demand SIB 1 WU S request, and the RAR content may at least include the parameters to further acquire the corresponding on-demand SIB 1.34 25F001USA

[0135] In step 640, the UE may start monitoring for on-demand SIB 1 and the reference time point to determine a window starting time for monitoring the on-demand SIB 1. The window starting time may be based on the RAR window in response to the on-demand SIB1 WUS transmission. Specifically, the on-demand SIB1 may be transmitted based on either the information appended in the MRSS WUS configuration, or the information in the RAR content, or both.

[0136] If the UE successfully acquires the SIB1, the UE may perform RRC connection establishment with the 6G cell and enter an RRC Connected state, as shown in step 645. While the 6G UE is in the RRC Connected state, the 6G cell may send a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) or downlink control information (DCI) to activate the additional SSB transmission (e.g., on-demand SSB), or to notify the UE of the updated SSB pattern. A configuration may be provided to configure the on-demand SSB parameters or SSB patterns (e.g., the UE may apply the configuration, rather than using a previously received MRSS WUS configuration from other cells). On the other hand, if the configuration is absent, the UE may assume that the information from the MRSS WUS configuration provided by the 5G cell is valid and may be applied.

[0137] After receiving the activation message, the UE may expect the on-demand SSB to be transmitted from the first on-demand SSB burst. With the on-demand SSB, the 6G UE may be able to perform finer measurements, apply carrier aggregation, and fulfill other purposes. In one example, the 6G UE may continue the measurements, but if the on-demand SSB is not transmitted, only the always-on SSB is measured and taken into consideration for L1 / L3 filtering and evaluation. If the on-demand SSB is transmitted, both the always-on SSB and on-demand SSB are measured, and the measurement results may be considered for L1 / L3 filtering and evaluation. The on-demand SSB transmitted in the MRSS band may be skipped by the 5G UE even if the sharing of SSB is applied since the 5G UE may not acquire the MRSS WUS configuration or35 25F001USAmonitor the RAR. For instance, the 6G UE may apply finer measurement based on the always-on SSB and on-demand SSB, but the 5G UE may apply measurement based on the always-on SSB.

[0138] The 6G cell may deactivate the on-demand SSB via a deactivation MAC CE, or via a timer configured to terminate the transmission upon expiration. Specifically, the UE may not expect to measure a corresponding on-demand SSB when the on-demand SSB transmission is deactivated. The activation / deactivation of the on-demand SSB may occur at particular SSB positions within an on-demand SSB burst (e.g., the transmission of the SSB may be activated / deactivated in the spatial domain), and the transmission power of the on-demand SSB may be different from that of the always-on SSB. The UE may prioritize certain SSBs in subsequent beam management to achieve loading balancing or coverage extension benefits.

[0139] Some implementations may concern a UE-triggered on-demand SSB . In particular, a UE may transmit on-demand SSB WUS signaling to request a 6G cell for a corresponding SSB / SSB pattern. The on-demand SSB WUS signaling may include another dedicated preamble and / or RACH occasion, e.g., signaling other than the resources used by the on-demand SIB 1 WUS. After receiving the on-demand SSB WUS signaling, the 6G cell may decide to accept the request and then accordingly send an activation MAC CE / DCI. The RAR content sent in response to on-demand SSB WUS signaling may include the corresponding parameters for the corresponding activation. In contrast, if the 6G cell does not accept the request, the 6G cell may not respond to the RAR, or may respond to the RAR with only a RA Preamble Identifier (RAPID). The on-demand SSB WUS configuration may be provided via the MRSS WUS configuration from a 5G cell, or may be provided via an RRC configuration from a camped 6G cell operating in a band other than the MRSS band.

[0140] In step 650, the 6GNES cell 615 may transmit an SSB with a denser periodicity to the 6G UE 605. As shown in step 655, during the RRC Connected state, the 6G UE may be configured with a periodic cell DTX / DRX pattern (e.g., active and non-active periods). The pattern configuration for the cell DTX / DRX may be common for the 6G UEs configured with this 36 25F001USAfeature in the 6G cell. The cell DTX and cell DRX patterns may be separately configured and activated.

[0141] When the cell DTX is configured and activated for a cell, the UE may refrain from monitoring the PDCCH in certain cases or for certain control resource set (CORESET) / frequency / time domain resources, and / or the UE may not monitor semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) occasions during the cell DTX non-active duration.

[0142] When the cell DRX is configured and activated for a cell, the UE may refrain from transmitting a scheduling request during the duration of the cell DRX non-active state. If control signaling is shared between the 5G cell and 6G cell, the cell DTX / DRX pattern may be activated simultaneously for the 5G cell and 6G cell, for example, if RAT aggregation is enabled. This implies that the cell DTX / DRX pattern is common, and the UE may keep the configuration if the UE is served in the MRSS band. While configuring the cell DTX / DRX pattern, an additional cell ID list may be appended to specify that the corresponding 5G cell / 6G cells should apply the same pattern.

[0143] The 6G UE may further determine cell reservations and access restrictions based on the configurations and / or results of the MRSS WUS request. For example, the 6G UE may consider the 6G cell as “barred” and exclude it as a candidate for cell selection / reselection in the following cases: (1) no corresponding MRSS WUS configuration is received, and the UE fails to acquire SIB1, or fails to measure a sufficient SSB, or (2) an attempt to transmit the on-demand SIB 1 WUS for the target cell fails, or (3) a new attempt to acquire an on-demand SIB 1 fails.

[0144] On the other hand, a 6G UE may treat the 6G cell as “not barred” and consider it as a candidate for cell selection / reselection in the following cases (1) the UE cannot acquire the corresponding SIB1 from the 6G cell, but has received a valid MRSS WUS configuration from other cells, or (2) if the cell status is “barred” due to a previous lack of a corresponding MRSS WUS configuration, but the UE has now received a valid MRSS WUS configuration. If either (1)31 25F001USAor (2) is fulfilled, the 6G UE may terminate the running timer (barring timer) and be permitted to attempt an access to the 6G cell.

[0145] FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example process 700 for waking up 6G cells in MRSS, according to various aspects of the present disclosure. The process 700 may be performed by at least one processor of a 6G UE (e.g., UEs 105-106, as shown in FIG. 1). The UE may be configured to operate according to a 6G RAT, and may be further configured to operate according to 5GNR.

[0146] The process 700 may receive (at block 705), from a serving cell operating according to 5G NR on an MRSS frequency band, a WUS configuration associated with a 6G RAT cell operating on the MRSS frequency band. The WUS configuration may indicate one or more RACH resources for transmitting an on-demand SIB1 wake up request toward the 6G RAT cell. In some implementations, receiving the WUS configuration may include receiving at least one WUS configuration from each of multiple cells operating on the MRSS frequency band, including at least one 5G NR cell and at least one 6G RAT cell.

[0147] In some implementations, the WUS configuration may include at least one of a physical cell identifier of the 6G RAT cell, a RACH occasion including a PRACH configuration index and a preamble index for the on-demand SIB1 wake up request, an RSRP threshold associated with the wake up trigger condition, a transmission power indication for the on-demand SIB 1 wake up request, or a reception configuration for monitoring the RAR and the on-demand SIB 1. The reception configuration may include at least one of a duration, an SSB-subcarrier offset parameter, a controlResourceSetZero parameter, or a searchSpaceZero parameter.

[0148] The WUS configuration may include an on-demand SSB configuration that indicates transmission information of an on-demand SSB of the 6G RAT cell. The on-demand SSB configuration may include at least one of a frequency allocation of the on-demand SSB, an SSB position within an on-demand SSB burst, a time location or periodicity of the on-demand SSB, an SSB transmission pattern identifier, an SCS of the on-demand SSB, a physical cell 38 25F001USAidentifier, a DL transmission power, or a number of on-demand SSB bursts in response to the on-demand SIB 1 wake up request.

[0149] The process 700 may store the WUS configuration. The UE may release the stored WUS configuration based on at least one of an RRC state change, expiration of a timer started or restarted upon receiving the WUS configuration, an RLF or HOF, or the UE switching to a frequency different from the MRSS frequency band.

[0150] As mentioned above, the 6G NES cell may provide redirection information to facilitate the 6G UE selecting / reselecting a 5G cell, which may then provide the MRSS WUS configuration in the MRSS band. The process 700, in some implementations, may receive redirection information associated with a 6G RAT cell. The redirection information may indicate a 5G NR cell in the MRSS frequency band configured to provide a WUS configuration. The redirection information may be provided via at least one of a kSSB parameter, a controlResource SetZero parameter, or a searchSpaceZero parameter.

[0151] The process 700 may treat the 6G RAT cell as barred, and may exclude the 6G RAT cell as a candidate for cell selection. For example, this may occur when no WUS configuration has been received, when acquisition of the SIB 1 fails, when the transmission of the on-demand SIB1 wake up request fails, or when the acquisition of the on-demand SIB1 fails.

[0152] The process 700 may detect (at block 710) the 6G RAT cell based on at least one SSB of the 6G RAT cell, and may determine that the 6G RAT cell does not transmit SIB 1.

[0153] The process 700 may transmit (at block 715), in response to a wake up trigger condition being satisfied, the on-demand SIB 1 wake up request toward the 6G RAT cell, using the one or more RACH resources indicated by the WUS configuration.

[0154] The wake up trigger condition, in some implementations, may include determining that an RSRP of the 6G RAT cell satisfies the RSRP threshold indicated by the WU S configuration, or exceeds an offset relative to an RSRP of a serving cell operating according to 5GNR. The wake up trigger condition, in some implementations, may include determining a broadcast status 39 25F001USAassociated with the SIB1 of the 6G RAT cell, and the process 700 may refrain from transmitting the on-demand SIB1 wake up request when the broadcast status indicates “non-transmission.”

[0155] The process 700, in some implementations, may transmit an on-demand SSB wake up request toward the 6G RAT cell, for example, using a dedicated preamble or a dedicated RACH occasion different from the on-demand SIB1 wake up request. In this case, the UE may receive, in response, at least one of an activation message activating an on-demand SSB transmission, or a RAR that may include parameters associated with the activation.

[0156] The process 700 may receive (at block 720) a RAR associated with the on-demand SIB 1 wake up request. The process 700 may monitor for and receive (at block 725) an on-demand SIB 1 transmitted by the 6G RAT cell, responsive to the on-demand SIB 1 wake up request.

[0157] The process 700 may perform (at block 730) cell selection to camp on the 6G RAT cell. The process 700 may then end.

[0158] After the UE camps on the 6G RAT cell and enters an RRC Connected state, the process 700 may receive an activation message that activates SSB transmission by the 6G RAT cell. The activation message may include, for example, a MAC CE or DCI. If the SSB transmission is absent, the UE may apply an on-demand SSB configuration received in the WUS configuration.

[0159] FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example process 800 for waking up a 6G RAT cell operating in an NES mode in MRSS, according to various aspects of the present disclosure. The process 800 may be performed by at least one processor of each of one or more BSs in an MRSS deployment in which a 5G NR cell (e.g., the 5G cell 101 shown in FIG. 1) and a 6G RAT cell (e.g., the 6G cell 102 shown in FIG. 1) operate on an MRSS frequency band.

[0160] At block 805, a BS providing the 6G RAT cell may operate the 6G RAT cell in an NES mode in which the 6G RAT cell may refrain from periodically transmitting system information block 1 (SIB1). The process 800 may broadcast (at block 810), by a BS providing a normal cell operating on the MRSS frequency band, an MRSS WUS configuration associated with 40 25F001USAthe 6G RAT cell. The MRSS WUS configuration may include an on-demand SIB1 wake up configuration that indicates one or more RACH resources for a UE to transmit an on-demand SIB 1 wake up request toward the 6G RAT cell. The MRSS WUS configuration may also include a reception configuration for the UE to monitor for a RAR and an on-demand SIB 1 transmission from the 6G RAT cell after transmitting the on-demand SIB 1 wake up request.

[0161] At block 815, a BS providing the 6G RAT cell may receive the on-demand SIB1 wake up request transmitted by the UE using the one or more random access channel resources. At block 820, in response to receiving the on-demand SIB1 wake up request, the BS providing the 6G RAT cell may transmit, from the 6G RAT cell, the RAR and the on-demand SIB 1. The process 800 may then end.V. EARLY INDICATIONS OF UE TYPES IN MRSS SCENARIO

[0162] In the MRSS scenarios 2-1 and 2-2 described above, the DL / UL control signaling may be shared between the 5G cell and the 6G cell. This may imply that the UE may receive and transmit a unified signaling such as an SSB, an SIB, or RA MsgO, Msgl, Msg2, Msg3, Msg4 or Msg5 from and to both the 5G cell and the 6G cell. The 5G cell and the 6G cell may each operate as a normal cell, and the contents of the respective SSB / SIB / RA messages may be the same. Although sharing common signaling may eliminate overhead, it may cause issues if the 5G cell or the 6G cell does not know the UE type (e.g., whether it is a 5G UE or 6G UE) until the RRC connection is successfully established (e.g., by receiving an RRCConnectionReconfiguration-Complete message). Thus, to enable the early detection of an indication of the UE type (e.g., a 5G UE or a 6G UE), a RACH configuration and RA procedure may be introduced, as discussed below.

[0163] The 5G cell and the 6G cell may configure separate RACH configurations for 5G operation and 6G operation when they operate in the MRSS band. For example, a 6G cell may separately configure a 5G-RACH configuration and a 6G-RACH configuration, and a 6G UE may select a RACH configuration to proceed with the RA. A 5G cell may also configure a 5G-RACH41 25F001USAconfiguration and a 6G-RACH configuration, but a 5G UE may only treat the 5G-RACH configuration as a valid configuration, and may initiate with RA procedure toward the 5G cell.

[0164] For a 6G UE camped on the 5G cell, both configurations may be valid, and the 6G UE may select between them. In contrast, if the 5G cell or the 6G cell is operating in a non-MRSS band, only a single RACH configuration may be provided to the UE. By providing the separate RACH configurations, the UE may select a RACH occasion type based on particular conditions. The conditions may include, for example, (a) characteristics of the application, (b) the measured DL channel quality, (c) the configured priority, or (d) a number of attempts. Once the RACH occasion type is selected, the UE may use the parameters associated with the selected RACH configuration to proceed with the RA procedure.

[0165] It should be noted that the RA transmission power (initialized power, received target power) and / or power ramping units may be different for corresponding RACH configurations. The 6G UE MAC entity may set the RACH occasion type to “6G-R0” (“RO” denoting “RACH occasion”) if the measured RSRP value exceeds a threshold, and may try to complete the RA procedure with the associated RA parameters. By receiving the configured RACH occasion / preamble, the 6G cell implicitly knows that the RA procedure was performed by a 6G UE, and may provide the corresponding response according to the 6G specification.

[0166] In addition, a UE may indicate its UE type using Msg3 if the MAC entity has set the RACH occasion type to “6G-R0”. The 6G UE MAC entity may set the RO type to “5G-R0” and initiate the RA toward a 5G cell. By receiving the configured occasion / preamble, the 5G cell may infer that the RA procedure may proceed according to 5G specifications (e.g., it may treat this UE as a 5G UE). However, the UE may further indicate its UE type as a 6G UE using, for example, Msg3. With this indication, the 5G cell may store the UE type, and redirect the UE to a 6G cell in the MRSS band if appropriate.

[0167] If the RA procedure applying a 6G-RACH configuration is unsuccessful, the 6G UE may fall back to proceed with the 5G RA procedure by selecting the 5G-RACH configuration.42 25F001USASimilarly, if a 6G UE selects the 5G-RACH configuration as its first RA attempt, the 6G UE may fall back to use the 6G-RACH configuration if the RA attempt using the 5G-RACH configuration fails. Moreover, for a 5G UE, even if a 5G cell may provide a 6G-RACH configuration, the 5G UE may skip (e.g., ignore) the corresponding configuration.

[0168] FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example process 900 for providing early indications of UE types in an MRSS scenario, according to various aspects of the present disclosure. The process 900 may be performed by at least one processor of a 6G UE (e.g., UEs 105-106, as shown in FIG. 1).

[0169] The process 900 may receive (at block 905), from SI broadcast by a cell operating on an MRSS frequency band in which downlink and uplink control signaling may be shared between a 5G NR cell and a 6G RAT cell, RACH configuration information that includes a 5G-RACH configuration associated with 5G NR operation and a 6G-RACH configuration associated with 6G operation. The 5G-RACH configuration and the 6G-RACH configuration may specify different random access occasions, different preamble indices, or both.

[0170] The 5G-RACH configuration may specify a first set of RA transmission power parameters and the 6G-RACH configuration may specify a second set of RA transmission power parameters different from the first set. The RA transmission power parameters may include at least one of an initial transmission power, a target received power, or a power ramping unit.

[0171] The process 900 may select (at block 910) one of the 5G-RACH configuration or the 6G-RACH configuration for initiating the RA procedure. The selected RACH configuration may determine whether the RA procedure is performed according to 5G NR operation or according to 6G operation. The UE may support a 6G RAT and may treat both the 5G-RACH configuration and the 6G-RACH configuration as valid for initiating the RA procedure.

[0172] The UE may support a 6G RAT, and the selection may be based on at least one of an application executed by the UE, measured downlink channel quality, a configured priority, or a number of previous RA attempts. The measured downlink channel quality may include an RSRP 43 25F001USAmeasurement and selecting the 6G-RACH configuration may include determining that the RSRP exceeds a threshold.

[0173] The process 900 may transmit (at block 915), based on the selected RACH configuration, an RA preamble using a RACH occasion and a preamble index specified by the selected RACH configuration. When the UE supports the 6G RAT, transmitting the RA preamble using the RACH occasion specified by the 6G-RACH configuration may include determining a UE type, by the 6G RAT cell, corresponding to the UE prior to completion of RRC connection establishment.

[0174] The process 900 may continue (at block 920) the RA procedure based on the selected RACH configuration. The process 900 may then end. Continuing the RA procedure may include transmitting a Msg3 of the RA procedure. The Msg3 may include an indication of whether the UE supports the 6G RAT when the UE initiates the RA procedure using the 6G-RACH configuration. The UE may support the 6G RAT, and the Msg3 may include an indication that the UE supports the 6G RAT after the UE initiates the RA procedure using the 5G-RACH configuration.

[0175] In response to failure of an RA attempt initiated using the selected RACH configuration, the process 900 may initiate a subsequent RA attempt using the other of the 5G-RACH configuration and the 6G-RACH configuration. When the UE does not support the 6G RAT, the process 900 may ignore the 6G-RACH configuration and initiate the RA procedure using the 5G-RACH configuration.

[0176] FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example process 1000 for providing early indications of UE types by a BS in an MRSS scenario, according to various aspects of the present disclosure. The process 1000 may be performed by at least one processor of a BS (e.g., a BS of the 5G cell 101 or a BS of the 6G cell 102 shown in FIG. 1) that may provide a cell that operates on an MRSS frequency band in which downlink and uplink control signaling is shared between a 5G NR cell and a 6G RAT cell.44 25F001USA

[0177] The process 1000 may broadcast (at block 1005), in SI of the cell, a first RACH configuration associated with random access according to 5G NR and a second RACH configuration associated with random access according to the 6G RAT. The first RACH configuration and the second RACH configuration may specify different random access occasions, different preamble indices, or both.

[0178] The process 1000 may receive (at block 1010), from a UE, a random access preamble transmitted using a random access occasion and a preamble index corresponding to one of the first RACH configuration or the second RACH configuration.

[0179] The process 1000 may determine (at block 1015), prior to completion of an RRC connection establishment procedure for the UE, whether the UE is to be processed according to 5G NR operation or according to 6G RAT operation based on whether the random access occasion and the preamble index correspond to the first RACH configuration or the second RACH configuration. The process 1000 may transmit (at block 1020) an RAR and continue a random access procedure with the UE according to the determined one of the 5G NR operation or the 6G RAT operation. The process 1000 may then end.VI. SAME MIB PAYLOAD WITH DIFFERENT INTERPRETATIONS IN MRSS BAND

[0180] Under Scenarios 2-1 and 2-2 discussed above, it may be possible that at least one of a 5G cell and a 6G cell may broadcast an SSB and the same MIB payload may be appended in the physical broadcast channel (PBCH). The 5G UE may interpret the information in the MIB (e.g., one or more bits in the MIB) by following the 5G specifications, and may acquire the SIB1 of a 5G cell (e.g., based on a configured pdcch-ConfigSIBl). For example, the “intraFreqRe selection” field in the MIB may control cell selection / reselection toward intrafrequency cells when the highest-ranked cell is barred (or is treated as barred by the 5G UE). In this context, “allowed” may indicate that the 5G UE may prioritize intra-frequency cell selection / reselection.45 25F001USA

[0181] For a 6G UE, the same pdcch-ConfigSIBl value may be interpreted according to a specified 6G entry table to determine different control channel resources. For example, a 6G cell may share the MIB payload with a 5G cell, yet may transmit its own SIB 1 using different resources from the 5G cell. This design may also be used to control access barring separately for a 5G UE and a 6G UE. In addition, setting intraFreqReselection to “allowed” may implicitly configure the 6G UE to select a 5G cell on the MRSS band when the highest-ranked cell is barred, rather than performing cell selection / reselection toward an inter-frequency 6G cell.

[0182] FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example process 1100 for providing an MIB payload that may have different interpretations in an MRSS scenario, according to various aspects of the present disclosure. The process 1100 may be performed by at least one processor of each of one or more BSs in an MRSS deployment in which a 5G NR cell (e.g., the 5G cell 101 shown in FIG. 1) and a 6G RAT cell (e.g., the 6G cell 102 shown in FIG. 1) may operate on an MRSS frequency band.

[0183] The process 1100 may broadcast (at block 1105) at least one SSB and a PBCH carrying an MIB pay load used by the 5G NR cell and the 6G RAT cell. The MIB payload may include a field that indicates a control channel configuration for acquisition of SIB1. The field may include a pdcch-ConfigSIBl parameter. The 6G RAT cell may share the MIB payload with the 5G NR cell and may transmit the 6G RAT SIB1 separately from the 5G NR SIB1. The MIB payload may further include an intra-frequency selection field (e.g., the intraFreqReselection field) that is set to “allowed.” Setting the intra-frequency reselection field to “allowed” may configure a 6G UE, when the highest- ranked cell is barred, to prioritize intra-frequency cell selection toward a 5G NR cell on the MRSS frequency band rather than inter-frequency cell selection toward a 6G cell in a different frequency band.

[0184] The process 1100 may transmit (at block 1110) a 5G NR SIB 1 of the 5G NR cell in first control channel resources determined based on a value of the field according to a first interpretation table associated with 5G NR.46 25F001USA

[0185] The process 1100 may transmit (at block 1115) a 6G RAT SIB 1 of the 6G RAT cell in second control channel resources determined based on the same value of the field according to a second interpretation table associated with the 6G RAT. The second control channel resources may be different from the first control channel resources. The process 1100 may then end. In some implementations, the process 1100 may select the value of the field to control access barring based on the different first and second interpretation tables.

[0186] FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example process 1200 for receiving an MIB payload that may be interpreted differently by 5G and 6G UEs, according to various aspects of the present disclosure. The process 1200 may be performed by at least one processor of a 6G UE (e.g., UEs 105-106, as shown in FIG. 1).

[0187] The process 1200 may receive (at block 1205), on an MRSS frequency band, an SSB and a PBCH carrying a MIB. The process 1200 may obtain (at block 1210), from the MIB, a field that indicates a control channel configuration for acquisition of SIB 1.

[0188] The process 1200 may determine (at block 1215), based on a value of the field and a 6G entry table, a first set of control channel resources for acquiring a SIB1 associated with the 6G RAT cell. The process 1200 may monitor (at block 1220) a PDCCH using the first set of control channel resources to obtain scheduling information for the SIB1 associated with the 6G RAT cell.

[0189] The process 1200 may acquire (at block 1225) the SIB1 associated with the 6G RAT cell based on the scheduling information. A value of the field may correspond, under a 5G NR entry table, to a second set of control channel resources different from the first set of control channel resources for acquiring a SIB1 associated with the 5G NR cell. The process 1200 may then end.VII. SINGLE RA ATTEMPT WITH SEPARATE RARs IN MRSS BAND

[0190] In Scenarios 2-1 and 2-2 discussed above, the network may provide separate RACH configurations for random access toward a 5G cell and toward a 6G cell while downlink control signaling is shared between the 5G cell and the 6G cell. For example, the 6G cell may 47 25F001USAspecify a random access preamble format that has a longer preamble length than a 5G random access preamble format, and the corresponding RACH occasion may overlap with the RACH occasion for the 5G cell. Under this configuration, a 6G cell may only attempt to receive the new 6G preamble during the RACH occasion and may only be able to recognize the 6G UE.

[0191] However, a 5G cell may try to receive the partial 6G preamble on the overlapped RACH occasion and interpret the reception as a 5G preamble from a 5G UE. This may imply that a 6G UE may transmit one preamble and both the 5G cell and the 6G cell may interpret as a 5G preamble transmission and a 6G preamble transmission, respectively, which may allow the UE to have two opportunities to monitor for the corresponding RAR.

[0192] From the UE perspective, after transmitting the longer preamble upon the overlapped RACH occasion, the UE may monitor RAR windows. The window lengths may be different for a 5G cell and 6G cell, or may be the same. Two separate random access radio network temporary identifiers (RA-RNTIs), depending on the RACH occasion interpretation by the 5G specification and 6G specification, may be used to check whether the corresponding RAR is transmitted. If both RARs are detected and identified, the UE may select one (e.g., the 6G RAR) to complete the RA procedure. Otherwise, the UE may select the received one to complete the RA procedure with a specific 5G cell or 6G cell.

[0193] While separate RACH configurations are provided, the 5G cell or the 6G cell may further configure separate power offsets, and the UE may determine the transmission power accordingly. The power offset may be applied in a case that a fallback occurs. For example, if the UE determines that the RA attempt fails and the failure count exceeds a threshold, the UE may choose another RACH configuration to proceed with the next RA attempt (as a fallback), and may apply the power offset parameter to adjust the transmission power in the next power ramping step.

[0194] FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example process 1300 for managing a single RA attempt with separate RARs in the MRSS band, according to various aspects of the present48 25F001USAdisclosure. The process 1300 may be performed by at least one processor of a UE configured to operate according to a 6G RAT and further configured to operate according to 5G NR.

[0195] The process 1300 may receive (at block 1305) RACH configuration information that may include a first RACH configuration associated with RA to the 5G NR cell, and a second RACH configuration associated with RA to the 6G RAT cell.

[0196] The first RACH configuration and the second RACH configuration may further indicate different transmission power parameters or different power offsets for RA preamble transmission. In this example, transmitting the RA preamble may include transmitting the RA preamble using a transmission power based on the second RACH configuration.

[0197] The process l300 may determine (at block 1310) that the first RACH configuration and the second RACH configuration specify an overlapped RACH occasion in which a 5G RACH occasion and a 6G RACH occasion overlap in time and frequency resources. The process 1300 may determine (at block 1315) that a 6G RA preamble format associated with the second RACH configuration has a longer preamble length than a 5G RA preamble format associated with the first RACH configuration.

[0198] The process 1300 may transmit (at block 1320), on the overlapped RACH occasion, an RA preamble using the 6G RA preamble format. The 6G RA preamble format may include an initial portion that is decodable according to the 5G RA preamble format, such that the transmitted RA preamble is detectable as a 5G RA preamble by the 5G NR cell.

[0199] The process 1300 may monitor (at block 1325) a first RAR addressed using a first RA response addressing identifier that is determined according to a 5G NR interpretation of the overlapped RACH occasion, during a first RA response reception window. The process 1300 may monitor (at block 1330) a second RAR addressed using a second RA response addressing identifier that is determined according to a 6G RAT interpretation of the overlapped RACH occasion, during a second RA response reception window. The first RA response addressing identifier and the second RA response addressing identifier may be different.49 25F001USA

[0200] In some implementations, the first random access response addressing identifier may include a first RA-RNTI determined according to 5G NR, and the second RA response addressing identifier may include a second RA-RNTI determined according to the 6G RAT. The first RA-RNTI and the second RA-RNTI may be different values derived from the overlapped RACH occasion using different interpretation rules associated with 5G NR and the 6G RAT. The first RAR reception window and the second RAR reception window may have different window lengths or different starting times.

[0201] The process 1300 may select (at block 1335) either the first RAR or the second RAR that is received, and may continue a RA procedure using the selected RAR. The process 1300 may then end. The selection may include selecting the second RAR when both the first RAR and the second RAR are received. In another example, continuing the RA procedure may include transmitting a subsequent RA message using UL resources indicated by the selected RAR.

[0202] In a case that a failure count associated with the RA procedure exceeds a threshold, the process 1300 may initiate a subsequent RA attempt using the first RACH configuration, and may apply a power offset associated with the first RACH configuration in a next power ramping step.

[0203] FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an example process 1400 for managing a single RA attempt with separate RARs in the MRSS band by multiple BSs, according to various aspects of the present disclosure. The process 1400 may be performed by at least one processor of one or more BSs in an MRSS deployment in which a 5G NR cell (e.g., the 5G cell 101 shown in FIG. 1) and a 6G RAT cell (e.g., the 6G cell 102 shown in FIG. 1) may operate on an MRSS frequency band.

[0204] The process 1400 may broadcast (at block 1405) configuration information that may include a first RACH configuration associated with random access to the 5G NR cell and a second RACH configuration associated with random access to the 6G RAT cell. The first RACH configuration and the second RACH configuration may specify an overlapped RACH occasion in 50 25F001USAwhich a 5G RACH occasion and a 6G RACH occasion overlap in time and frequency resources. The second RACH configuration may specify a 6G random access preamble format having a longer preamble length than a 5G random access preamble format associated with the first RACH configuration.

[0205] The process 1400 may receive (at block 1410), on the overlapped RACH occasion, a random access preamble transmitted using the 6G random access preamble format. The process 1400 may decode (at block 1415) the received random access preamble at the 6G RAT cell in accordance with the second RACH configuration. The process 1400 may decode (at block 1420) a portion of the received random access preamble at the 5G NR cell in accordance with the first RACH configuration.

[0206] The process 1400 may transmit (at block 1425), in response to the received random access preamble, a first RAR associated with random access to the 5G NR cell and a second RAR associated with random access to the 6G RAT cell. The first RAR may be addressed using a first random access response addressing identifier associated with the first RACH configuration and the second RAR may be addressed using a second random access response addressing identifier associated with the second RACH configuration. The first random access response addressing identifier and the second random access response addressing identifier may be different. The process 1400 may then end.VIII. SPECIAL CELL DEFINITION IN MRSS BAND

[0207] Unlike a 5G cell or a 6G cell, a new cell referred to as an “MRSS cell” may be defined for use on the MRSS band. The MRSS cell may represent a transmission and reception point (TRP) capable of 5G and 6G access, while operating in the MRSS band. The MRSS cell may only transmit control signaling such as the SSB, MIB, SIB, PDCCH, and paging messages, and may refrain from transmitting user data on the MRSS cell.51 25F001USA

[0208] Either a 5G UE or a 6G UE may camp on the MRSS cell, and the MRSS cell may use carrier aggregation to activate one or more SCells for data transmission. An SCell may operate in a different sub-band of the MRSS band, or may operate in a different frequency band.

[0209] The MRSS cell may be associated with a new cell ID format. Specifically, the new cell ID may be associated with a spatial-temporal resolution, transmission power or a spatial beam. The 5G UE may decode the PSS and SSS to obtain the PCI using a legacy operation, but a 6G UE may decode the PSS and SSS with an additional interpretation, and may process the spatial identifier (new cell ID). The spatial identifier may be mapped to a specific RACH occasion and / or a preamble, and this mapping may facilitate the MRSS cell selecting an appropriate SCell for the 6G UE’s data usage.IX. EXAMPLE EMBODIMENT

[0210] An example embodiment is described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 15. FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating an example process 1500 for a 6G UE to camp on a cell operating on an MRSS band, according to various aspects of the present disclosure. The process 1500 may be performed by at least one processor of a UE (e.g., the 6GUE 105 or the 6GUE 106 shown in FIG.1) configured to operate according to a 6G RAT.

[0211] The process 1500 may determine (at block 1505) a search order between an MRSS frequency band and a second frequency band. For example, the MRSS frequency band may be the F 1 frequency band and the second frequency band may be the F2 frequency band shown in FIG.1.

[0212] The process 1500 may perform (at block 1510) cell search using a synchronization raster corresponding to a first one of the MRSS frequency band or the second frequency band according to the search order. When no suitable cell is identified on the first one of the MRSS frequency band or the second frequency band, the process 1500 may perform (at block 1515) a cell search using a synchronization raster corresponding to a second one of the MRSS frequency band or the second frequency band.52 25F001USA

[0213] The process 1500 may select (at block 1520) a cell and camp on the selected cell based on results of the cell searches. The process 1500 may then end.

[0214] In some implementations, the process 1500 may receive, from system information broadcast by a serving cell, MRSS configuration information, the MRSS configuration information that may include (i) one or more cell selection parameters for selecting a 5G NR cell operating on the MRSS frequency band and (ii) an MRSS priority indicator specifying a priority between intra-frequency cell selection toward the 5G NR cell operating on the MRSS frequency band and inter-frequency cell selection toward a 6G cell operating on the second frequency band. The process 1500 may store the MRSS configuration information while the UE changes access between 5G NR and the 6G RAT. The process 1500 may select, based on the MRSS priority indicator, whether to perform a cell selection operation as the intra-frequency cell selection toward the 5G NR cell or as the inter-frequency cell selection toward the 6G cell.

[0215] In some implementations, the process 1500 may receive, from a cell operating on the MRSS frequency band, an MIB including a barring -related parameter set to a value that, when interpreted according to 5G NR by a UE, indicates that the cell is barred for purposes of cell selection. The process 1500 may determine whether the cell is barred for the UE based on barring information applicable to 6G UEs. The barring information may be received in one or more system information blocks (SIBs).

[0216] In some implementations, the process 1500 may receive, from a 5G NR cell operating on the MRSS frequency band, a WUS configuration associated with a 6G RAT cell operating on the MRSS frequency band. The WUS configuration may indicate random access channel resources for transmitting an on-demand system information request toward the 6G RAT cell. The process 1500 may transmit, using the indicated random access channel resources, a wake up request toward the 6G RAT cell. After transmitting the wake up request, the process 1500 may acquire system information from the 6G RAT cell and may perform cell selection toward the 6G RAT cell based on the acquired system information.53 25F001USA

[0217] In some implementations, the process 1500 may receive RACH configuration information that includes a first RACH configuration associated with random access according to 5G NR and a second RACH configuration associated with random access according to the 6G RAT. The process 1500 may select one of the first RACH configuration or the second RACH configuration based on one or more conditions. The process 1500 may perform a random access procedure using the selected one of the first RACH configuration or the second RACH configuration.X. ELECTRONIC SYSTEM

[0218] FIG. 16 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example electronic system 1600, according to various aspects of the present disclosure. With reference to FIG. 16, some embodiments of the present disclosure, for example, and without limitations, the UEs, BSs, servers, network entities, edge computer nodes, etc., described above, may be implemented using the electronic system 1600. The electronic system 1600 may be used to execute any ofthe processes, methods, controls, or operating system applications described above. The electronic system 1600 may be a computer (e.g., a desktop computer, personal computer, tablet computer, server computer, mainframe, a blade computer etc.), a phone (e.g., a UE such as a smartphone), a controller, a wearable device, an extended reality (XR) headset, an Internet of Things (loT) device, a fixed wireless access (FWA) device, or any other sort of electronic device. Such an electronic system may include various types of computer readable media and interfaces for various other types of computer readable media. The electronic system 1600 may include a bus 1605, processing unit(s) 1610, a system memory 1620, a read-only memory (ROM) 1630, a permanent storage device 1635, input devices 1640, output devices 1645, one or more transceivers 1650 that may each include a receiver 1660 and a transmitter 1665. Each transceiver 1650 may be connected to one or more antennas 1655, one or more radio frequency (RF) chain, or one or more baseband (BB).

[0219] The bus 1605 may collectively represent all system, peripheral, and chipset buses that communicatively connect the numerous internal devices of the electronic system 1600. For 54 25F001USAexample, the bus 1605 may communicatively connect the processing unit(s) 1610 with the readonly memory 1630, the system memory 1620, and the permanent storage device 1635. In some implementations, the bus 1605 may include a high-speed interconnect fabric, such as peripheral component interconnect express (PCIe), compute express link (CXL), or a network-on-chip (NoC).

[0220] From these various memory units, the processing unit(s) 1610 may retrieve instructions to execute and data to process in order to execute the processes of the present disclosure. The processing unit(s) may be a single processor or a multi -core processor in different embodiments. In some implementations, the processing unit(s) 1610 may include one or more general-purpose central processing units (CPUs) and one or more hardware accelerators, such as a graphics processing unit (GPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), a neural processing unit (NPU), or a cryptographic accelerator.

[0221] The read-only-memory 1630 may store static data and instructions that are needed by the processing unit(s) 1610 and other modules of the electronic system. The permanent storage device 1635, on the other hand, may be a read-and-write memory device. This device is a nonvolatile memory unit that may store instructions and data even when the electronic system 1600 is off. Some embodiments of the present disclosure may use a mass-storage device (such as a hard drive or a solid-state drive (SSD)) as the permanent storage device 1635. In some implementations, the permanent storage device 1635 may include non-volatile memory express (NVMe) storage or NAND flash storage.

[0222] Other embodiments may use a removable storage device (such as a flash drive, etc.) as the permanent storage device. Uike the permanent storage device 1635, the system memory 1620 may be a read-and-write memory device. However, unlike storage device 1635, the system memory may be a volatile read-and-write memory, such as random access memory. The system memory may store some of the instructions and data that the processor needs at runtime. In some embodiments, the present disclosure’s processes may be stored in the system memory 1620, the permanent storage device 1635, and / or the read-only memory 1630. From these various memory 55 25F001USAunits, the processing unit(s) 1610 may retrieve instructions to execute and data to process in order to execute the processes of some embodiments.

[0223] The bus 1605 may also connect to the input and output devices 1640 and 1645. The input devices may enable the user to communicate information and select commands to the electronic system. The input devices 1640 may include alphanumeric keyboards and pointing devices (also called “cursor control devices”). The output devices 1645 may display images generated by the electronic system. The output devices may include printers and display devices, such as liquid crystal displays (LCD) or organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays. Some embodiments may include devices such as a touchscreen that function as both input and output devices. For some electronic devices, the input devices 1640 may include sensors such as a camera, microphone, inertial sensors, or a positioning receiver, and the output devices 1645 may include speakers or haptic output devices.

[0224] The transceiver 1650 may be configured to communicate with one or more other devices (e.g., a BS or a UE) via a wireless network. In some implementations, the transceiver 1650 may include one or more baseband modem and one or more RF front-end that supports multiple frequency bands and beamformed transmission or reception. The transceiver 1650 may include frequency shifting components, filters, and amplifiers to convert baseband signals to RF signals and vice-versa. The receiver 1660 may be configured to receive and down-convert RF signals received via the antenna 1655. In some embodiments, the receiver 1660 may perform operations such as demodulation, de-spreading, or decoding to recover data sent from a remote transmitter.

[0225] The transmitter 1665 may be configured to up-convert and modulate baseband signals into RF signals for transmission. The transmitter 1665 may further include a power amplifier (PA) for driving the antenna 1655 at a required power level for successful wireless propagation. The antenna 1655 may be operated by the transceiver 1650 to transmit or receive electromagnetic energy. While shown as a single element, the antenna 1655 may include an56 25F001USAantenna array, multiple antennas for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) operations, or specialized beamforming structures.

[0226] Finally, as shown in FIG. 16, the bus 1605 may also couple the electronic system 1600 to a network 1625 through a network adapter (not shown). In this manner, the computer may be a part of a network of computers (such as a local area network (“LAN”), a wide area network (“WAN”), an Intranet, or a network of networks, such as the Internet. In some implementations, the network 1625 may include one or more radio access networks and one or more core networks, and may include edge computing or cloud computing resources. Any or all components of the electronic system 1600 may be used in conjunction with the present disclosure.

[0227] Some embodiments may include electronic components, such as microprocessors, storage and memory that store computer program instructions in a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (alternatively referred to as computer-readable storage media, machine -readable media, or machine-readable storage media). Some examples of such computer-readable media include RAM, ROM, flash memory (e.g., SD cards, mini-SD cards, micro-SD cards, etc.), magnetic and / or solid state hard drives, solid-state drives (SSDs), NVMe storage, embedded flash storage (eMMC), or universal flash storage (UFS). The computer-readable media may store a computer program that is executable by at least one processing unit and includes sets of instructions for performing various operations. Examples of computer programs or computer code include machine code, such as is produced by a compiler, and fdes including higher-level code that are executed by a computer, an electronic component, or a microprocessor using an interpreter.

[0228] While the above discussion primarily refers to microprocessor or multi-core processors that execute software, some embodiments may be performed by one or more integrated circuits, such as application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) or field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). Some embodiments may use a system-on-chip (SoC) that integrates compute, memory interfaces, and a cellular modem. In some embodiments, such integrated circuits may execute instructions that are stored on the circuit itself. Some of the present embodiments may 57 25F001USAinclude flexible circuit, also rereferred to as flexible printed circuit boards (PCBs). The flexible circuits may provide dynamic flexing and increased heat dissipation and may be used in the embodiments that require circuits with smaller footprint, increased package density, more tolerance to vibrations, and / or less weight.

[0229] As used in this specification, the terms “computer”, “server”, “processor”, and “memory” all refer to electronic or other technological devices. These terms exclude people or groups of people. For the purposes of the specification, the terms display or displaying means displaying on an electronic device. As used in this specification, the terms “computer readable medium,” “computer readable media,” and “machine readable medium” are entirely restricted to tangible, physical objects that store information in a form that is readable by a computer. These terms exclude any wireless signals, wired download signals, and any other ephemeral or transitory signals.

[0230] In a first aspect, a method performed by a UE configured to access a first RAT and a second RA is provided. The method receives a configuration that includes a priority setting that indicates a priority order. The configuration identifies a first frequency band that is configured as an MRSS band in which at least one first-RAT cell and at least one second-RAT cell operate. The configuration identifies a second frequency band that is different from the first frequency band. The second frequency band is configured for operation of the second RAT. The method selects, based on the priority order, an initial synchronization raster that corresponds to a higher-priority one of the first frequency band and the second frequency band. The method performs a cell search for a suitable cell of the second RAT using the initial synchronization raster. In a case that the cell search does not identify the suitable cell of the second RAT using the initial synchronization raster, the method selects a secondary synchronization raster that corresponds to a lower-priority one of the first frequency band and the second frequency band and performs the cell search using the secondary synchronization raster. Upon identifying the suitable cell of the second RAT in one of58 25F001USAthe first frequency band or the second frequency band, the method camps on the suitable cell of the second RAT.

[0231] In a second aspect, a method performed by a base station is provided. The method transmits, to a UE configured to support a first RAT and a second RAT, a configuration that includes an identification of a first frequency band configured as an MRSS band in which at least one first-RAT cell and at least one second-RAT cell operate, an identification of a second frequency band different from the first frequency band, the second frequency band being configured for operation of the second RAT, and a priority setting indicating a priority order between the first frequency band and the second frequency band. The transmitted configuration is configured to cause the UE to select, based on the priority order, an initial synchronization raster corresponding to a higher-priority one of the first frequency band and the second frequency band, perform a cell search for a suitable cell of the second RAT using the initial synchronization raster, and in response to not identifying the suitable cell of the second RAT using the initial synchronization raster, select a secondary synchronization raster corresponding to a lower-priority one of the first frequency band and the second frequency band and perform the cell search using the secondary synchronization raster.

[0232] In a third aspect, a UE is provided. The UE includes one or more processors, and one or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing program instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the UE to receive a configuration that includes a priority setting indicating a priority order. The configuration identifies a first frequency band configured as an MRSS band in which at least one first-RAT cell and at least one second-RAT cell operate. The configuration identifies a second frequency band different from the first frequency band. The second frequency band is configured for operation of a second RAT. The UE selects, based on the priority order, an initial synchronization raster that corresponds to a higher-priority one of the first frequency band and the second frequency band. The UE performs a cell search for a suitable cell of the second RAT using the initial synchronization raster. In a case that the cell 59 25F001USAsearch does not identify the suitable cell of the second RAT using the initial synchronization raster, the UE selects a secondary synchronization raster that corresponds to a lower-priority one of the first frequency band and the second frequency band and performs the cell search using the secondary synchronization raster. Upon identifying the suitable cell of the second RAT in one of the first frequency band or the second frequency band, the UE camps on the suitable cell of the second RAT.

[0233] In a fourth aspect, a method performed by a UE that is configured to operate according to a 6G RAT and is further configured to operate according to 5G NR is provided. The method receives, from a serving cell, MRSS configuration information for an MRSS frequency band shared by 5G NR and the 6G RAT. The MRSS configuration information includes one or more cell selection parameters for selecting a 5G NR cell operating on the MRSS frequency band, and an MRSS priority indicator that specifies a priority between intra-frequency cell selection toward the 5G NR cell operating on the MRSS frequency band and inter-frequency cell selection toward a 6G cell operating on a second frequency band different from the MRSS frequency band. Based on the MRSS priority indicator, the method triggers a cell selection operation with the intra-frequency cell selection toward the 5G NR cell or with the inter-frequency cell selection toward the 6G cell. The method performs the cell selection operation, including applying the one or more cell selection parameters when the cell selection operation is the intra-frequency cell selection toward the 5G NR cell.

[0234] In a fifth aspect, a method performed by a BS that provides a serving cell is provided. The method broadcasts system information that includes MRSS configuration information for an MRSS frequency band shared by 5G NR and a 6G RAT. The MRSS configuration information includes one or more cell selection parameters for selecting a 5G NR cell operating on the MRSS frequency band, and an MRSS priority indicator that specifies a priority between intra-frequency cell selection toward the 5G NR cell operating on the MRSS frequency band and inter-frequency cell selection toward a 6G cell operating on a second 60 25F001USAfrequency band different from the MRSS frequency band. The MRSS configuration information is configured such that a UE configured to operate according to either the 5G NR or the 6G RAT, upon receiving the MRSS configuration information, triggers a cell selection operation with the intra-frequency cell selection toward the 5G NR cell or with the inter-frequency cell selection toward the 6G cell based on the MRSS priority indicator, and applies the one or more cell selection parameters when the cell selection operation is the intra-frequency cell selection toward the 5G NR cell.

[0235] In a sixth aspect, a method performed by a cell that operates on an MRS S frequency band is provided. The method transmits a MIB that includes a barring-related parameter set to a value that, when interpreted according to 5G NR by a UE, indicates that the cell is barred. The barring-related parameter is ignored by a UE that supports the 6G RAT. The method transmits a set of one or more SIBs that includes barring information applicable to 6G UEs that support the 6G RAT. The barring information applicable to the 6G UEs indicates whether the cell is barred for the 6G UEs.

[0236] In a seventh aspect, a method performed by a base station that provides a 5G NR cell operating on an MRSS frequency band shared with a 6G RAT cell is provided. The method broadcasts, in system information of the 5G NR cell, an excluded-cell list that includes an identifier of the 6G RAT cell operating on the MRSS frequency band. The identifier of the 6G RAT cell is recognizable by a 5G NR UE from control signaling shared between the 5G NR cell and the 6G RAT cell on the MRSS frequency band. When the 5G NR UE detects the 6G RAT cell and determines that the identifier of the 6G RAT cell matches the excluded-cell list, the 5G NR UE treats the 6G RAT cell as barred and refrains from camping on the 6G RAT cell.

[0237] In an eighth aspect, a method performed by a UE that is configured to operate according to a 6G RAT and further configured to operate according to 5G NR is provided. The method receives, from a 6G RAT cell operating on an MRSS frequency band shared with a 5G NR cell, a MIB that includes a barring-related parameter set to a value that, when interpreted 61 25F001USAaccording to 5G NR by a UE that does not support the 6G RAT, indicates that the 6G RAT cell is barred. The method ignores the barring-related parameter; receives, from system information broadcast by the 6G RAT cell, one or more SIBs that include barring information applicable to 6G UEs that support the 6G RAT; determines whether the 6G RAT cell is barred for the UE based on the barring information applicable to the 6G UEs; and based on determining whether the 6G RAT cell is barred for the UE, selectively performs cell selection to camp on the 6G RAT cell.

[0238] In a ninth aspect, a method performed by a UE configured to operate according to a 6G RAT and further configured to operate according to 5G NR is provided. The method receives, from a serving cell operating according to 5G NR on an MRSS frequency band, a WUS configuration associated with a 6G RAT cell operating on the MRSS frequency band. The WUS configuration indicates one or more random access channel resources for transmitting an on-demand SIB 1 wake up request toward the 6G RAT cell . The method detects the 6G RAT cell based on at least one SSB of the 6G RAT cell and determines that the 6G RAT cell does not transmit SIB 1. In response to a wake up trigger condition being satisfied, the method transmits the on-demand SIB1 wake up request toward the 6G RAT cell using the one or more random access channel resources indicated by the WUS configuration; receives an RAR associated with the on-demand SIB 1 wake up request; monitors for, and receives, on -demand SIB 1 transmitted by 6G RAT cell responsive to the on-demand SIB 1 wake up request; and performs cell selection to camp on the 6G RAT cell.

[0239] In a tenth aspect, a method performed by one or more BSs in an MRSS deployment in which a 5G NR cell and a 6G RAT cell operate on an MRSS frequency band is provided. The method operates, by a BS that provides the 6G RAT cell, the 6G RAT cell in an NES mode in which the 6G RAT cell does not periodically transmit SIB1. The method broadcasts, by a BS that provides a normal cell operating on the MRSS frequency band, an MRSS WUS configuration associated with the 6G RAT cell. The MRSS WUS configuration includes an on-demand SIB1 wake up configuration that indicates one or more RAR resources for a UE to transmit an on- 62 25F001USAdemand SIB 1 wake up request toward the 6G RAT cell, and a reception configuration for the UE to monitor for an RAR and an on-demand SIB1 transmission from the 6G RAT cell after transmitting the on-demand SIB 1 wake up request. The method receives, by the BS that provides the 6G RAT cell, the on-demand SIB 1 wake up request transmitted by the UE using the one or more random access channel resources. In response to receiving the on-demand SIB1 wake up request, the method transmits, by the 6G RAT cell, the RAR and the on-demand SIB 1.

[0240] In an eleventh aspect, a method performed by a UE is provided. The method receives, from system information broadcast by a cell operating on an MRSS frequency band in which downlink and uplink control signaling is shared between a 5G NR cell and a 6G RAT cell, RACH configuration information that includes a 5G-RACH configuration associated with 5G NR operation and a 6G-RACH configuration associated with 6G operation. The method selects one of the 5G-RACH configuration or the 6G-RACH configuration for initiating an RA procedure. The selected RACH configuration determines whether the RA procedure is performed according to 5G NR operation or according to 6G operation. The method transmits, based on the selected RACH configuration, an RA preamble using a RACH occasion and a preamble index specified by the selected RACH configuration. The method continues the RA procedure based on the selected RACH configuration.

[0241] In a twelfth aspect, a method performed by a base station providing a cell operating on an MRSS frequency band in which downlink and uplink control signaling is shared between a 5G NR cell and a 6G RAT cell is provided. The method broadcasts, in system information of the cell, a first RACH configuration associated with random access according to 5G NR and a second RACH configuration associated with random access according to the 6G RAT. The first RACH configuration and the second RACH configuration specify different random access occasions, different preamble indexes, or both. The method receives, from a UE, a random access preamble transmitted using a random access occasion and a preamble index corresponding to one of the first RACH configuration or the second RACH configuration. The method, prior to completion of an 63 25F001USARRC connection establishment procedure for the UE, determines whether the UE is to be processed according to 5G NR operation or according to 6G RAT operation based on whether the random access occasion and the preamble index correspond to the first RACH configuration or the second RACH configuration; and transmits an RAR and continues a random access procedure with the UE according to the determined one of the 5G NR operation or the 6G RAT operation.

[0242] In a thirteenth aspect, a method performed by one or more base stations in an MRSS deployment in which a 5G NR cell and a 6G RAT cell share downlink control signaling on an MRSS frequency band is provided. The method broadcasts at least one SSB and a PBCH carrying a MIB payload common to the 5G NR cell and the 6G RAT cell. The MIB payload includes a field that indicates a control channel configuration for acquisition of SIB 1. The method transmits a 5G NR SIB 1 of the 5G NR cell in first control channel resources determined based on a value of the field according to a first interpretation table associated with 5G NR. The method transmits a 6G RAT SIB 1 of the 6G RAT cell in second control channel resources determined from a same value of the field according to a second interpretation table associated with the 6G RAT. The second control channel resources is different from the first control channel resources.

[0243] In a fourteenth aspect, a method performed by a UE that is configured to operate according to a 6G RAT and further configured to operate according to 5G NR is provided. The method receives, on an MRSS frequency band, an SSB and a PBCH that carries a MIB. The method obtains, from the MIB, a field that indicates a control channel configuration for acquisition of SIB1. The method determines, based on a value of the field and a 6G entry table, a first set of control channel resources for acquiring a SIB1 associated with the 6G RAT cell. The method monitors a PDCCH using the first set of control channel resources to obtain scheduling information for the SIB1 associated with the 6G RAT cell. The method acquires the SIB1 associated with the 6G RAT cell based on the scheduling information. The value of the field corresponds, under a 5G NR entry table, to a second set of control channel resources different from the first set of control channel resources for acquiring a SIB 1 associated with the 5G NR cell.64 25F001USA

[0244] In a fifteenth aspect, a method performed by a UE that is configured to operate according to a 6G RAT and further configured to operate according to 5G NR is provided. The method receives RACH configuration information that includes a first RACH configuration associated with random access to the 5G NR cell and a second RACH configuration associated with random access to the 6G RAT cell. The method determining that the first RACH configuration and the second RACH configuration specify an overlapped RACH occasion in which a 5G RACH occasion and a 6G RACH occasion overlap in time and frequency resources. The method determines that a 6G random access preamble format associated with the second RACH configuration has a longer preamble length than a 5G random access preamble format associated with the first RACH configuration. The method transmits, on the overlapped RACH occasion, a random access preamble using the 6G random access preamble format. The method monitors a first RAR addressed using a first random access response addressing identifier determined according to a 5G NR interpretation of the overlapped RACH occasion during a first random access response reception window. The method monitors a second RAR addressed using a second random access response addressing identifier determined according to a 6G RAT interpretation of the overlapped RACH occasion during a second random access response reception window. The first random access response addressing identifier and the second random access response addressing identifier are different. The method selects one of the first RAR or the second RAR that is received and continuing a random access procedure using the selected RAR.

[0245] In a sixteenth aspect, a method performed by one or more base stations in an MRSS deployment in which a 5G NR cell and a 6G RAT cell share uplink control signaling on an MRSS frequency band is provided. The method broadcasts configuration information that includes a first RACH configuration associated with random access to the 5G NR cell and a second RACH configuration associated with random access to the 6G RAT cell. The first RACH configuration and the second RACH configuration specify an overlapped RACH occasion in which a 5G RACH occasion and a 6G RACH occasion overlap in time and frequency resources. The second RACH 65 25F001USAconfiguration specifies a 6G random access preamble format having a longer preamble length than a 5G random access preamble format associated with the first RACH configuration. The method receives, on the overlapped RACH occasion, a random access preamble transmitted using the 6G random access preamble format. The method decodes the received random access preamble at the 6G RAT cell in accordance with the second RACH configuration. The method decodes a portion of the received random access preamble at the 5G NR cell in accordance with the first RACH configuration. The method transmits, in response to the received random access preamble, a first RAR associated with random access to the 5G NR cell and a second RAR associated with random access to the 6G RAT cell. The first RAR is addressed using a first random access response addressing identifier associated with the first RACH configuration and the second RAR is addressed using a second random access response addressing identifier associated with the second RACH configuration. The first random access response addressing identifier and the second random access response addressing identifier are different.

[0246] In a seventeenth aspect, a method performed by a base station providing an MRSS cell operating on an MRSS frequency band shared between 5G NR and a 6G RAT is provided. The method transmits, by the MRSS cell on the MRSS frequency band, control signaling that includes an SSB, a MIB, one or more SIBs, PDCCH signaling, and paging. The SSB is configured such that a UE that supports 5G NR decodes primary and secondary synchronization signals to obtain a PCI, and a UE that supports the 6G RAT decodes the primary and secondary synchronization signals with an additional interpretation to obtain a spatial identifier different from the PCI. The method receives, from a UE that supports the 6G RAT, a random access preamble transmitted using a random access resource mapped to the spatial identifier. The method, based on the spatial identifier, configures carrier aggregation for the UE by selecting and activating at least one secondary cell for data transmission.

[0247] In an eighteenth aspect, a method performed by a UE that is configured to operate according to a 6G RAT is provided. The method receives, on an MRSS frequency band, control 66 25F001USAsignaling transmited by an MRSS cell, the control signaling includes at least an SSB. The method decodes primary and secondary synchronization signals of the SSB to obtain a PCI, and further decodes the primary and secondary synchronization signals with an additional interpretation to obtain a spatial identifier different from the PCI. The method selects, based on the spatial identifier, a random access resource mapped to the spatial identifier, the random access resource including at least one of a random access channel occasion or a preamble index. The method transmits a random access preamble using the selected random access resource. The method receives an indication activating at least one secondary cell for data transmission using carrier aggregation. The method communicates user data on the at least one secondary cell while maintaining access to the MRSS cell for the control signaling.

[0248] In a nineteenth aspect, a method performed by a UE that is configured to operate according to a 6G RAT and further configured to operate according to 5G NR is provided. The method determines a search order between an MRSS frequency band in which at least one 6G RAT cell and at least one 5G NR cell operate and a second frequency band. The method performs cell search using a synchronization raster corresponding to a first one of the MRSS frequency band or the second frequency band according to the search order. When no suitable cell is identified on the first one of the MRSS frequency band or the second frequency band, the method performs cell search using a synchronization raster corresponding to a second one of the MRSS frequency band or the second frequency band. The method selects a cell and camps on the selected cell based on results of the cell searches.

[0249] The above description presents the best mode contemplated for carrying out the present embodiments, and of the manner and process of practicing them, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which they pertain to practice these embodiments. The present embodiments are, however, susceptible to modifications and alternate constructions from those discussed above that are fully equivalent. Consequently, the present disclosure is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed. On the contrary, the present 67 25F001USAdisclosure covers all modifications and alternate constructions coming within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. For example, the steps in the processes described herein need not be performed in the same order as they have been presented, and may be performed in any order(s). Further, steps that have been presented as being performed separately may in alternative embodiments be performed concurrently. Likewise, steps that have been presented as being performed concurrently may in alternative embodiments be performed separately.68 25F001USA

Claims

1. CLAIMSWHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A method performed by a user equipment (UE) configured to access a first radio access technology (RAT) and a second RAT, the method comprising:receiving a configuration that includes a priority setting indicating a priority order, wherein the configuration identifies:a first frequency band configured as amulti-RAT spectrum sharing (MRSS) band in which at least one first-RAT cell and at least one second-RAT cell operate, anda second frequency band different from the first frequency band, the second frequency band configured for operation of the second RAT;selecting, based on the priority order, an initial synchronization raster corresponding to a higher-priority one of the first frequency band and the second frequency band;performing a cell search for a suitable cell of the second RAT using the initial synchronization raster;in a case that the cell search does not identify the suitable cell of the second RAT using the initial synchronization raster, selecting a secondary synchronization raster corresponding to a lower-priority one of the first frequency band and the second frequency band and performing the cell search using the secondary synchronization raster; andupon identifying the suitable cell of the second RAT in one of the first frequency band or the second frequency band, camping on the suitable cell of the second RAT.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:the priority order indicates the first frequency band has higher priority than the second frequency band, andperforming the cell search comprises attempting to identify the suitable cell of the second RAT in the first frequency band before attempting to identify the suitable cell of the second RAT in the second frequency band.69 25F001USA3. The method of claim 1, wherein:the priority order indicates the second frequency band has higher priority than the first frequency band, andperforming the cell search comprises attempting to identify the suitable cell of the second RAT in the second frequency band before attempting to identify the suitable cell of the second RAT in the first frequency band.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein:selecting the initial synchronization raster comprises selecting a first synchronization raster specific to the first frequency band, andselecting the secondary synchronization raster comprises selecting a second synchronization raster specific to the second frequency band.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein performing the cell search comprises at least one of:performing a synchronization raster procedure based on the priority order, or performing a channel raster procedure based on the priority order.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first frequency band and the second frequency band are associated with different subcarrier spacings (SCS).

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the priority order (1) is received via at least one of dedicated radio resource control (RRC) signaling, broadcast signaling, or a paging message, or (2) is defined by a default priority order.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the priority order is received in one of system information block 3 (SIB3), system information block 5 (SIB5), or a system information block (SIB) defined for indicating the priority order.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the second frequency band is higher in frequency than the first frequency band.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein:70 25F001USAthe first RAT comprises 5G New Radio (NR),the second RAT comprises a 6G RAT, andand the MRSS band is shared by a 5G cell and a 6G cell.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein performing the cell search for the suitable cell of the second RAT comprises:comparing a measured reference signal received power (RSRP) of a cell of the second RAT with a threshold; andidentifying the cell of the second RAT as the suitable cell when the measured RSRP satisfies the threshold.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein:the initial synchronization raster is associated with the higher-priority one of the first frequency band and the second frequency band or a frequency band region corresponding to the higher-priority one, andthe secondary synchronization raster is associated with the lower-priority one of the first frequency band and the second frequency band or a frequency band region corresponding to the lower-priority one.

13. A method performed by a base station, the method comprising: transmitting, to a user equipment (UE) configured to support a first radio access technology (RAT) and a second RAT, a configuration comprising:an identification of a first frequency band configured as a multi-RAT Spectrum sharing (MRSS) band in which at least one first-RAT cell and at least one second-RAT cell operate;an identification of a second frequency band different from the first frequency band, the second frequency band being configured for operation of the second RAT; anda priority setting indicating a priority order between the first frequency band and the second frequency band;71 25F001USAwherein the transmitted configuration is configured to cause the UE to:select, based on the priority order, an initial synchronization raster corresponding to a higher-priority one of the first frequency band and the second frequency band;perform a cell search for a suitable cell of the second RAT using the initial synchronization raster; andin response to not identifying the suitable cell of the second RAT using the initial synchronization raster, select a secondary synchronization raster corresponding to a lower- priority one of the first frequency band and the second frequency band and perform the cell search using the secondary synchronization raster.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein:the first RAT comprises 5G New Radio (NR) and the second RAT comprises a 6G RAT, the MRSS band is shared by a 5G cell and a 6G cell, andthe second frequency band comprises a 6G standalone band that is higher in frequency than the first frequency band and is associated with a different sub-carrier spacing than the first frequency band.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein transmitting the configuration comprises transmitting the configuration via at least one of dedicated radio resource control (RRC) signaling, broadcast signaling, or a paging message.

16. A user equipment (UE), comprising: one or more processors; and one or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing program instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the UE to:receive a configuration that includes a priority setting indicating a priority order, wherein the configuration identifies:a first frequency band configured as a multi-radio access technology (RAT) spectrum sharing (MRSS) band in which at least one first-RAT cell and at least one second-RAT cell operate, and72 25F001USAa second frequency band different from the first frequency band, the second frequency band configured for operation of a second RAT;select, based on the priority order, an initial synchronization raster corresponding to a higher-priority one of the first frequency band and the second frequency band;perform a cell search for a suitable cell of the second RAT using the initial synchronization raster;in a case that the cell search does not identify the suitable cell of the second RAT using the initial synchronization raster, select a secondary synchronization raster corresponding to a lower-priority one of the first frequency band and the second frequency band and performing the cell search using the secondary synchronization raster; andupon identifying the suitable cell of the second RAT in one of the first frequency band or the second frequency band, camp on the suitable cell of the second RAT.

17. The UE of claim 16, wherein:the priority order indicates the first frequency band has higher priority than the second frequency band, andperforming the cell search comprises attempting to identify the suitable cell of the second RAT in the first frequency band before attempting to identify the suitable cell of the second RAT in the second frequency band.

18. The UE of claim 16, wherein:the priority order indicates the second frequency band has higher priority than the first frequency band, andperforming the cell search comprises attempting to identify the suitable cell of the second RAT in the second frequency band before attempting to identify the suitable cell of the second RAT in the first frequency band.

19. The UE of claim 16, wherein:73 25F001USAselecting the initial synchronization raster comprises selecting a first synchronization raster specific to the first frequency band, andselecting the secondary synchronization raster comprises selecting a second synchronization raster specific to the second frequency band.

20. The UE of claim 16, wherein performing the cell search comprises at least one of: performing a synchronization raster procedure based on the priority order, or performing a channel raster procedure based on the priority order.

21. The UE of claim 16, wherein the first frequency band and the second frequency band are associated with different sub-carrier spacings.

22. The UE of claim 16, wherein the second frequency band is higher in frequency than the first frequency band.

23. The UE of claim 16, wherein:the first RAT comprises 5G New Radio (NR),the second RAT comprises a 6G RAT, andand the MRSS band is shared by a 5G cell and a 6G cell.74 25F001USA

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