User equipment (UE) location information for providing a measurement configuration

Abstract

A wireless device (300) is configured to: receive, from a network node (400), an indication of a set of reference locations; determine location information based on respective relationships between a current location of the wireless device (300) and each reference location of the set of reference locations; transmit the location information to the network node (400); and receive, from the network node (400), a neighbor cell measurement configuration for performing neighbor cell measurements by the wireless device (300), where the neighbor cell measurement configuration identifies a subset of a plurality of neighbor cells of a first network cell for which the wireless device (300) is to perform the neighbor cell measurements, and where the subset is identified based on the location information.

Description

[0001] USER EQUIPMENT (UE) EQUATION INFORMATION FOR PROVIDING A MEASUREMENT CONFIGURATION FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates to wireless communication, and in particular, to providing measurement configuration(s).

[0003] BACKGROUND

[0004] The standardization of non-terrestrial networks (NTN) technologies continues in 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) with another two work items for new radio (NR) and long-term evolution (LTE), respectively. One of the objectives of the work on Release 19 of the 3GPP standard is to enable the system level to support an efficient dynamic and flexible power sharing between beams. After a short period of study, the following related objective has been captured in the work item description:

[0005] Specify solutions, including link level enhancements for frequency range 1-NTN (FR1- NTN) and system level enhancements for FR 1-NTN and FR2-NTN, allowing dynamic and flexible power sharing between satellite beams or different satellite beam pattems / size (i.e. wide or narrow) across the satellite footprint.

[0006] a. Link level enhancements are to be specified for the following channels:

[0007] i. Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) at least for Common Search Space (CSS) (except for Type-3) via PDCCH repetition

[0008] ii. Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) with message 4 (Msg4) via PDSCH repetition

[0009] iii. PDSCH with system information block 1 (SIB 1) via 2 PDSCH repetitions within 20 microseconds (ms) duration

[0010] b. System-level enhancements are to be specified for the following:

[0011] i. Support of extended periodicity of the half frames with synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel (SS / PBCH) blocks assumed by user equipment (UE) during initial access.

[0012] 1. The maximum of the additional default value (apart from the existing 20ms value) is 160 ms

[0013] Notes for this objective:

[0014] c. Single sideband (SSB) channel enhancement other than SSB periodicityextension is not considered

[0015] i. Radio Access Network 1 (RANI) should consider issues such as UE’s cell search complexity and impact to initial cell selection, latency and success rate, for the above extension

[0016] d. The SSB periodicity enhancements potentially defined in this work item description (WID) only apply to NTN operation

[0017] e. Antenna gain of UE shall be assumed to be -5.5dBi in case of smartphone in FR1-NTN, the UE is assumed to be a full duplex UE, and at least 2Rx are considered at the UE

[0018] f. Non-Geostationary Satellite Orbit (NGSO) to be considered in priority:

[0019] low earth orbit (LEO) Set-1 @ 600 kilometers (km) In conclusion, it has been already by RAN and RANI that the default SSB periodicity is extended for NTN deployments to include the value of 160 ms.

[0020] RAN2-specific progress

[0021] The discussion has progressed in RAN2 reaching the following relevant agreements: Two scenarios are currently under consideration in RAN2.

[0022] g. all neighbor cells (within a cluster) are active simultaneously.

[0023] • Share the same synchronization signal block (SSB) measuring time configuration(SMTC) offset and SMTC periodicity. h. neighbor cells may not be active simultaneously.

[0024] • Only a subset of neighbor cells share the same SMTC offset and periodicity.

[0025] FIG. la-b illustrates example scenarios under consideration for downlink (DL) CE in NTN as of RAN2#129. There currently exist certain challenge(s). In a typical deployment, NTN cells are expected to have a considerable size (e.g., 10 km) and the neighbor cells that a UE can physically measure largely depend upon the position the UE occupies within the serving cell. It is unlikely that an NTN UE may need to measure all possible NTN neighbor cells, let alone its potential TN neighbor cells. For example, FIG. 2 depicts two UEs in different areas of a cell. The first UE may only be able to measure cells 1, 2, and 3, while the second UE may measure cells 4, 5, and 6. Currently, neighbor cell measurement configurations do not take this aspect into account and thus provides superfluous configurations, potentially leading to the UE monitoring and trying to measure on timefrequency resources where it is not possible for the UE to receive anything. Hence,unnecessary signaling overhead and wasted UE energy and reduced capacity (due to unnecessary measurement gaps) may be the result.

[0026] Furthermore, in the context of NTN downlink (DL) coverage enhancement (CE) in the work on release 19 of the 3 GPP standard, there may be (adjacent) neighbor cells with a regular default SSB periodicity (e.g., 20 ms) and others with an extended SSB periodicity (e.g., 160 ms). Some may be a terrestrial network (TN) and others NTN. In addition, the respective SSB transmissions may be spread in the time domain, as depicted in FIG. 3. Given a certain number of neighbor cells, it would become complex and restrictive for the network to coordinate the SSBs from all immediate neighbor cells creating a problem for neighbor cell measurement configuration due to:

[0027] The limited time duration of the SMTC (maximum 5 ms) and measurement gap (maximum 6 ms).

[0028] The limited number of parallel STMCs (4) and measurement gaps (2).

[0029] The combination of the above problems will result in extensive configuration of SMTCs and measurement gaps which is suboptimal and may lead to multiple reconfigurations with superfluous configuration data (increasing signaling overhead), scheduling restrictions, failed mobility events, and unnecessary energy consumption. FIG. 3 illustrates time domain example of SSB transmission for neighbor cells with different SSB periodicity and SSB offset.

[0030] SUMMARY

[0031] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method performed by a wireless device is provided. An indication of a set of reference locations is received from a network node. Eocation information is determined based on respective relationships between a current location of the wireless device and each reference location of the set of reference locations. The location information is transmitted to the network node. A neighbor cell measurement configuration for performing neighbor cell measurements by the wireless device is received from the network node where the neighbor cell measurement configuration identifies a subset of a plurality of neighbor cells of a first network cell for which the wireless device is to perform the neighbor cell measurements, and where the subset is identified based on the location information.

[0032] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method performed by a network node is provided. A set of reference locations are ind8icated to a wireless device.Location information corresponding to a current location of the wireless device within a first network cell is received from the wireless device, where the location information indicates respective relationships between the current location and each reference location of a set of reference locations. A neighbor cell measurement configuration for the wireless device to perform neighbor cell measurements is determined, where the neighbor cell measurement configuration identifies a subset of a plurality of neighbor cells of the first network cell for which the wireless device is to perform the neighbor cell measurements. The neighbor cell measurement configuration for performing the neighbor cell measurements is transmitted to the wireless device.

[0033] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a wireless device is configured to: receive, from a network node, an indication of a set of reference locations; determine location information based on respective relationships between a current location of the wireless device and each reference location of the set of reference locations; transmit the location information to the network node; and receive, from the network node, a neighbor cell measurement configuration for performing neighbor cell measurements by the wireless device, where the neighbor cell measurement configuration identifies a subset of a plurality of neighbor cells of a first network cell for which the wireless device is to perform the neighbor cell measurements, and where the subset is identified based on the location information.

[0034] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a network node is configured to: indicate, to a wireless device, a set of reference locations; receive, from the wireless device, location information corresponding to a current location of the wireless device within a first network cell, the location information indicating respective relationships between the current location and each reference location of a set of reference locations; determine a neighbor cell measurement configuration for the wireless device to perform neighbor cell measurements, the neighbor cell measurement configuration identifying a subset of a plurality of neighbor cells of the first network cell for which the wireless device is to perform the neighbor cell measurements; and transmit, to the wireless device, the neighbor cell measurement configuration for performing the neighbor cell measurements.

[0035] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0036] A more complete understanding of the present embodiments, and the attendant advantages and features thereof, will be more readily understood by reference to thefollowing detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

[0037] FIG. la-b is a diagram that illustrates example scenarios under consideration for DL CE in NTN as of RAN2#129;

[0038] FIG. 2 is a diagram that depicts two UEs in different areas of a cell;

[0039] FIG. 3 is a diagram that illustrates time domain example of SSB transmission for neighbor cells with different SSB periodicity and SSB offset;

[0040] FIG. 4 is a diagram that illustrates a flowchart of an example method that may be performed at the UE with respect to neighbor cell measurement configuration in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0041] FIG. 5 is a diagram that illustrates a flowchart of another example method that may be performed at the UE (e.g., wireless device) in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0042] FIG. 6 is a diagram that illustrates a flowchart of an example method that may be performed by a network node with respect to providing neighbor cell measurement configuration in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0043] FIG. 7 is a diagram that illustrates a flowchart of an example method that may be performed by a network node with respect to providing neighbor cell measurement configuration in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0044] FIG. 8 is a diagram that illustrates an example of a communication system in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0045] FIG. 9 is a diagram of another example of a communication system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0046] FIG. 10 is a diagram of a wireless device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0047] FIG. 11 is a diagram of a network node according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0048] FIG. 12 is a diagram of a virtualization environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized.

[0049] DETAIEED DESCRIPTION

[0050] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. To address the problem described above, the disclosure presents amechanism for the UE to be provided with a set of reference locations within or outside the serving cell that may be (or not) associated to specific neighbor cells. The UE selects the one (or several) with the closest distance to its current location and informs the network of its choice(s). Alternatively, the UE may also inform of the distance(s) to the reference point(s) whenever they are under a certain distance threshold. Yet another alternative is that the UE, on request from the network, provides its coarse location. The network makes use of this location information then provides a measurement configuration tailored to the UE’s position.

[0051] The proposed solution introduces a mechanism for the UE to provide the network of location information without disclosing its accurate position. The UE is provided with a set of reference locations, selects the one (or several) with the closest distance to its current location and informs the network of its choice(s). Furthermore, in one embodiment, the UE provides its coarse location on request from the network. This information is used by the network to provide a measurement configuration suitable for the UE’s location.

[0052] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s). The proposed solution allows the network to select the most appropriate measurement configuration, e.g. including the most appropriate SMTC and measurement gap configuration, for each UE based on location information related to the UE’s location. In this way, the network does not need to blindly configure the UE, thereby avoiding excessive configuration and signaling overhead, sparing potential multiple reconfigurations (increasing signaling overhead), scheduling restrictions, failed mobility events, and unnecessary energy consumption.

[0053] Notes about terminology and generalizations

[0054] Note 1: Herein, the term network may, depending on the context, refer to an entire network (e.g., an NTN) or (usually) a network node (e.g., a gNB (base station in NR)).

[0055] Note 2: The proposed solution is described using NR terminology (in particular NR NTN terminology), but with small modifications (e.g., using different signaling message names), the solution is applicable also to other systems and radio access technologies (RATs), such as loT NTN and future systems and RATs, such as 6G and / or 6G NTN.

[0056] Note 3: The UE’s coarse location, which is mentioned herein refers to UE location information with inaccuracy that is acceptable from a privacy point of view, e.g., equivalent to a potential error within the interval, wherein this can be defined in different ways, each representing a possible option, e.g.:• 1 km (i.e., -1 km < error < 1 km), i.e., the UE is located within a 1 km radius of the reported (coarse) location.

[0057] • 2 km (i.e., -2 km < error < 2 km), i.e., the UE is located within a 2 km radius of the reported (coarse) location.

[0058] • 5 km (i.e., -5 km < error < 5 km), i.e., the UE is located within a 5 km radius of the reported (coarse) location.

[0059] It has sometimes been said / described that the ambition with this location inaccuracy is to resemble the location inaccuracy when the UE’s location is known with the granularity of a typical TN cell.

[0060] ADDITIONAL EXPLANATION

[0061] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0062] The basic concept is that the network, e.g., a gNB, obtains location information, e.g., UE location information in relation to the locations of neighbor cells, and based on this location information, the network determines a suitable measurement configuration, including SMTC(s) and potential measurement gap(s), for the UE and sends this measurement configuration to the UE.

[0063] On a high level, the proposed solution comprises the following steps:

[0064] 1. When planning to provide the UE with configuration information, in particular measurement configuration information (e.g. regarding neighbor cell measurements), the network, e.g., a gNB, requests a UE to provide location information, e.g., related to the UE’s location and / or reference points of certain cells, e.g., the neighbor cells of the serving cell and the relations (e.g., distance relation) between them.

[0065] 2. Based on its own location, the UE determines the requested location information and sends it to the network in response to the request from the network.

[0066] 3. Based on the location information received from the UE, the network determines a configuration, in particular a suitable measurement configuration, that is suitable for the UE.

[0067] 4. The network sends the determined configuration, in particular the determined measurement configuration, to the UE.5. The UE receives and applies the configuration, e.g., initiating measurements, such as neighbor cell measurements in accordance with the received measurement configuration.

[0068] In some embodiments, the network, e.g., a base station (gNB), provides a UE with a set of reference points (located in different parts of the serving cell or outside the serving cell, also referred to as “reference locations”) via radio resource control (RRC) signaling, e.g. using an RRCReconfiguration message or a new RRC message. The UE selects the reference point that is the closest to the UE’s own location and indicates its choice to the network, e.g. using an RRCReconfigurationComplete message or a new RRC message. The network, e.g. the gNB, then configures the UE accordingly with a measurement configuration covering the relevant neighbor cells, e.g. using an RRCReconfiguration message.

[0069] In a variant of this alternative solution, the network signals the set of reference points to the UE using broadcast system information, and the UE indicates its choice in a UEAssistancelnformation message or a new RRC message. In a variation, the network explicitly configures the UE to report such assistance information.

[0070] In some embodiments of this solution, the UE is explicitly or implicitly requested to select and report not only the reference point that is the closest to the UE’s location, but also any additional reference point whose distance to the UE is longer but almost as short as the distance between the closest reference point and the UE e.g. with a difference smaller than a threshold. This threshold may be configured by the network (e.g. in the message providing the reference point or (if not the same message) the message requesting the UE to report one or more of the reference points, or in the system information), specified in a standard or determined by UE implementation.

[0071] In another embodiment of this solution, the UE is explicitly or implicitly requested to select and report not only the reference point that is closest to the UE’s location, but also the distance from the UE’s own location to the reference point. In combination with previous embodiments, the UE is explicitly or implicitly requested to select and report not only the distance to reference point that is closest to the UE’s location, but also the distance to any additional reference point whose distance to the UE is less than a threshold difference longer than the distance between the UE and the closest reference point. In a variation, the distance(s) from the UE’s own location to the reference point(s) is / are only reported when it / they exceed a certain (another) threshold distance that may be configured by the network, or specified in a standard. Optionally, the reported distances may be reported with aninaccuracy that serves the purpose of not enabling the network to accurately determine the UE’s location through triangulation (e.g., not more accurately than the UE’s “coarse location”). Note that the distance threshold to include more than the closest reference point may be different than the distance threshold to report the distance to the reference point(s).

[0072] In a variant of this alternative solution, the network signals the set of reference points to the UE using broadcast system information, and general distance threshold. The UE indicates the closest reference point(s) and, when the distance from its own location to the reference point exceeds the general distance threshold, its distance(s) to the reference point(s) in a UEAssistancelnformation message or a new RRC message. In a variation, the network explicitly configures the UE to report such assistance information.

[0073] In another alternative solution, the network, e.g., a gNB, provides a UE with a set of neighbor cell reference points (where each reference point represents a neighbor cell) via RRC signaling, e.g. using an RRCReconfiguration message or a new RRC message or via the broadcast system information, and implicitly or explicitly requests the UE to identify and report all of these reference points that are closer to the UE’s location than a threshold distance, where the threshold distance may be configured by the network (e.g. in the message providing the reference points or (if not the same message) the message requesting the UE to report the reference points that fulfill the criterion, or in the system information), specified in a standard or determined by UE implementation. The UE reports the identified reference points to the network, e.g., the gNB, e.g. using an RRCReconfigurationComplete message or a UEAssistancelnformation message or a new RRC message. After receiving the report of identified reference points from the UE, the network, e.g., the gNB, configures the UE, e.g. using an RRCReconfiguration message, with a measurement configuration covering the neighbor cells associated with the reported reference points.

[0074] In another alternative solution, the network, e.g., the gNB, requests the UE to report is coarse location in order to determine a suitable measurement configuration based on the UE’s reported coarse location. To this end, the network, e.g., the gNB, creates a measurement configuration which covers the neighbor cells that are relevant in the UE’s location. In an extended variant of this alternative solution, the UE is requested to report, and reports, not only its coarse location, but also its speed and movement direction (to the extent this is known by the UE).

[0075] In all the above-described alternative solutions, the UE may store the applied measurement configuration(s) in the existing VarMeasConfig IE (as one option) or in a newUE variable (as another option).

[0076] In all the above-described alternative solutions, if the UE’s location subsequently changes in a way that impacts what the UE reported to the network, there should preferably be a means for updating the information the UE reported to the network. Such a means could e.g., be the UEAssistancelnformation message extended with one or more new IE(s) serving this purpose. Another possibility could be to introduce a new RRC message for this purpose. If the location information the UE reported to the network was the UE’s coarse location, the criterion for informing the network of a change in the coarse UE location may be that the UE’s coarse location has changed more than a threshold distance (i.e., the UE’s location has changed in a way that when using the algorithm used for deriving the UE’s coarse location from the more accurate UE location, the result differs more than a threshold distance from the last reported coarse UE location), where the threshold distance may be configured by the network, e.g., in the message requesting the U to report its coarse location, or in an RRCReconfiguration message (even if the RRCReconfiguration message does not include a request to the UE to report its coarse location) or in a new RRC message or in the broadcast system information. Alternatively, the distance threshold may be specified in a standard or determined by UE implementation.

[0077] FIG. 4 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 400 that may be performed at the UE with respect to neighbor cell measurement configuration in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0078] FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of another example method 500 that may be performed at the UE (e.g., wireless device) in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. One or more wireless device functions may be performed by one or more of processing circuitry, communication interface(s), etc. which are described in detail with respect to FIG. 10. The wireless device is configured to receive (Block S502), from a network node, an indication of a set of reference locations, as described herein. The wireless device is configured to determine (Block S504) location information based on respective relationships between a current location of the wireless device and each reference location of the set of reference locations, as described herein. The wireless device is configured to transmit (Block S506) the location information to the network node, as described herein. The wireless device is configured to receive (Block S508), from the network node, a neighbor cell measurement configuration for performing neighbor cell measurements by the wireless device, where the neighbor cell measurement configuration identifies a subset of a plurality of neighbor cells ofa first network cell for which the wireless device is to perform the neighbor cell measurements, and the subset is identified based on the location information.

[0079] According to one or more embodiments, the determining of the location information includes selecting one or more reference locations of the set of reference locations (e.g., that are provided by the network or network node 16) based on respective distances between the current location and each of the one or more selected reference locations.

[0080] According to one or more embodiments, the one or more selected reference locations are selected based on the one or more selected reference locations being closest to the current location as compared to other reference locations of the set of reference locations.

[0081] According to one or more embodiments, the one or more selected reference locations are selected based on one of: the one or more selected reference locations having respective distances to the current location that are each within a threshold of a closest distance between the current location and a closest reference location that is closest to the current location; and the one or more selected reference locations being disposed within a threshold distance to the current location.

[0082] According to one or more embodiments, the location information includes the one or more selected reference locations.

[0083] According to one or more embodiments, the wireless device is further configured to: determine a respective distance between the current location and each selected reference location of the one or more reference locations; and include each respective distance in the location information that is transmitted to the network node.

[0084] According to one or more embodiments, the measurement configuration includes one or both of: measurement gap information; or synchronization signal block measuring time configuration, SMTC, information.

[0085] According to one or more embodiments, the first network cell is a non-terrestrial network, NTN, cell or a radio access technology, RAT, cell.

[0086] According to one or more embodiments, the wireless device is further configured to receive, from the network node, a request for the location information, the location information being determined and transmitted in response to the request.

[0087] According to one or more embodiments, the wireless device is further configured to perform neighbor cell measurements with respect to the subset of the plurality of neighbor cells based on the neighbor cell measurement configuration.

[0088] According to one or more embodiments, individual reference locations included in theset of reference locations respectively correspond to one or both of: different neighbor cells of the plurality of neighbor cells; and a respective location within the first network cell.

[0089] According to one or more embodiments, the location information indicates the current location of the wireless device with a margin of error such that the location information indicates a coarse current location of the wireless device.

[0090] According to one or more embodiments, the wireless device is configured to determine a current location of the wireless device, where the current location is within a first network cell, where the first network cell has a plurality of neighbor cells.

[0091] According to one or more embodiments, the wireless device is further configured to transmit, to the network node and via radio resource control, RRC, signaling, updated location information in response to a change in the location information.

[0092] FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 600 that may be performed by a network node with respect to providing neighbor cell measurement configuration in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0093] FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 700 that may be performed by a network node with respect to providing neighbor cell measurement configuration in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. One or more network node functions described below may be performed by processing circuitry 402, radio frontend circuitry 418, etc. which are described in detail with respect to FIG. 11. The network node is configured to indicate (Block S702), to a wireless device, a set of reference locations, as described herein. The network node is configured to receive (Block S704), from the wireless device, location information corresponding to a current location of the wireless device within a first network cell, where the location information indicates respective relationships between the current location and each reference location of a set of reference locations, as described herein. The network node is configured to determine (Block S706) a neighbor cell measurement configuration for the wireless device to perform neighbor cell measurements, where the neighbor cell measurement configuration identifies a subset of a plurality of neighbor cells of the first network cell for which the wireless device is to perform the neighbor cell measurements, as described herein. The network node is configured to transmit (Block S708), to the wireless device, the neighbor cell measurement configuration for performing the neighbor cell measurements, as described herein.

[0094] According to one or more embodiments, the network node is further configured to transmit, to the wireless device, a request for the location information.According to one or more embodiments, the location information includes one or more selected reference locations of the set of reference locations that are selected based on respective distances between the current location of the wireless device and each of the one or more selected reference locations.

[0095] According to one or more embodiments, the one or more selected reference locations are selected based on one of: the one or more selected reference locations being closest to the current location as compared to other reference locations of the set of reference locations; the one or more selected reference locations having respective distances to the current location that are each within a threshold of a closest distance between the current location and a closest reference location that is closest to the current location; and the one or more selected reference locations being disposed within a threshold distance to the current location.

[0096] According to one or more embodiments, the subset of the plurality of neighbor cells is identified based on the one or more selected reference locations.

[0097] According to one or more embodiments, the first network cell is a non-terrestrial network, NTN, cell or a radio access technology, RAT, cell.

[0098] According to one or more embodiments, individual reference locations included in the set of reference locations respectively correspond to one or both of: different neighbor cells of the plurality of neighbor cells; or a respective location within the first network cell.

[0099] According to one or more embodiments, the location information indicates the current location of the wireless device with a margin of error such that the location information indicates a coarse current location of the wireless device.

[0100] According to one or more embodiments, the measurement configuration includes one or both of: measurement gap information; or search synchronization signal block measuring time configuration, SMTC, information.

[0101] According to one or more embodiments, the network node is further configured to receive, from the wireless device and via radio resource control, RRC, signaling, updated location information in response to a change in the location information.

[0102] FIG. 8 shows an example of a communication system 100 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0103] In the example, the communication system 100 includes a telecommunications network 102 that includes an access network 104, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 106, which includes one or more core network nodes 108. The access network 104 includes one or more access network nodes or base stations of various types, access networknodes 110A and HOB are depicted (which may be collectively referred to as network nodes 110), or any other similar 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP access points (APs). Some embodiments of the access network 104 may include more than one access network technology. The network nodes 110 of access network 104 facilitate direct or indirect connection of wireless devices, also referred to as user equipments (UEs), such as by connecting UEs 112A, 112B, 112C, and 112D (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 112) to the core network 106 over one or more wireless connections.

[0104] Moreover, a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that network nodes include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunications network 102 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a network node in the telecommunications network 102 that supports an ORAN specification (e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization) and may operate alone or together with other network nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any network node in the telecommunications network 102, including one or more access network nodes 110 and / or core network nodes 108.

[0105] Examples of an ORAN network node include an open radio unit (O-RU), an open distributed unit (O-DU), an open central unit (O-CU), including an O-CU control plane (O-CU-CP) or an O-CU user plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time or non-real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time control application (e.g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective “open” designating support of an ORAN specification). An ORAN network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an Al, Fl, Wl, El, E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface.

[0106] Moreover, an ORAN network node may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface defined by the O-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies.The network nodes 110 facilitate direct or indirect connection of one or more UEs 112 to the core network 106 over one or more wireless connections. Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 100 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system 100 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0107] The UEs 112 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 110 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 108, 110 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly (e.g., via other devices of telecommunications network 102) with the UEs 112 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunications network 102 to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunications network 102. More specifically, UEs 112 may send messages, data, and / or other signals to network nodes 108, 110 or other elements of the telecommunications network 102 by transmitting such signals to the relevant device directly without the signals passing through any intervening devices or by transmitting such signals to the relevant device indirectly through an intervening device (or multiple intervening devices) that then transmit the signal to the relevant device. Similarly, network nodes 108, 110 may send messages, data, and other signals to UEs 1122, other network nodes 108, 110, and other devices in telecommunications network 102 directly or indirectly. As one specific example, a core network node 108 may transmit a particular message to a UE 112 by transmitting the message to an access network node 110 that will then transmit the message to the intended UE 112. Similarly, a core network node 108 may receive a particular message from a UE 112 by receiving the message from an access network node 110 that itself received the message from the UE 112.

[0108] In the depicted example, the core network 106 connects elements of the access network 104 (e.g., one or more of the network nodes 110) to one or more host computing systems,such as host 116. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network 106 includes one or more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 108) of various types, one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 108. Network nodes 108 are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, access network nodes, and / or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 108. Example core network nodes provide functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-concealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0109] The host 116 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 104 and / or the telecommunications network 102. The host 116 may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 116 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.

[0110] As a whole, the communication system 100 of FIG. 8 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system 100 may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM);

[0111] Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G (2ndGeneration), 3G (3rdGeneration), 4G (4thGeneration), 5G (5thGeneration) standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G (6thGeneration)); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (Wi-Fi); and / or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability forMicrowave Access (Wi-Max), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, Li-Fi, and / or any low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox. Moreover, the communication system 100 may be configured to support multiple different standards, protocols, or other rule sets, with individual components supporting all of the relevant rule sets or with different components or sub-systems within the communication system 100 supporting different standards, protocols, or rule sets.

[0112] As one example, in certain embodiments, access network 104 may contain some access network nodes 110 that support 3 GPP radio access technologies (RAT), such as LTE or NR, while other access network nodes 110 support (or the same access network nodes 110 additionally support) non-3GPP RATs, such as Wi-Fi or a proprietary RAT. As another example, telecommunications network 102 may support multiple generations of related communication standards (e.g., 4G and 5G 3GPP communication standards) and, as a result, may include an access network 104 and / or a core network 106 that supports multiple different standard generations or may include multiple access networks 104 and / or multiple core networks 106 with individual networks 104, 106 supporting different standard generations.

[0113] Telecommunications network 102 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunications network 102. For example, the telecommunications network 102 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC) / Massive loT services to yet further UEs.

[0114] In some examples, one or more of the UEs 112 are configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 104 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 104.

[0115] Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi-RAT or multistandard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e., being configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0116] In the example, the hub 114 communicates with the access network 104 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 112C and / or 112D) and network nodes (e.g., network node 110B). In some examples, the hub 114 may be a controller, router,content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 114 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 106 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 114 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs. Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes 110, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 114.

[0117] As another example, the hub 114 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 114 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 114 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 114 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 114 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0118] The hub 114 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node HOB. The hub 114 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 114 and UEs (e.g., UE 112C and / or 112D), and between the hub 114 and the core network 106. In other examples, the hub 114 is connected to the core network 106 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 114 may be configured to connect to a Machine-to-Machine (M2M) service provider over the access network 104 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 110 while still connected via the hub 114 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 114 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to / from the UEs from / to the network node 110B. In other embodiments, the hub 114 may be a nondedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 110B, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0119] FIG. 9 is another example of a communication system 200 according to some embodiments. As used herein, the communication system 200 includes multiple access points (APs) 210 (with four exemplary APs 210A, 210B, 210C, and 210D being depicted) and multiple wireless devices, referred to in the context of communication system 200 as stations(STAs) 212 (referred to individually as STA 212A, STA 212B, STA 212C, STA 212D, and STA 212E). STA 212A is served by AP 210A in a first basic service set (BSS) 220A. STA 210B and STA 210C are served by AP 210B in a second BSS, BSS 220B. STA 212D is served by AP 210C in a third BSS, BSS 220C. STA 212E is served by AP 210D in a fourth BSS, BSS 220D. Stations 212 may be non-AP STAs and correspond to various kinds of wireless devices, for example, user terminals, such as mobile or stationary computing devices like smartphones, laptop computers, desktop computers, tablet computers, gaming devices, head-mounted displays (HMDs) for Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR), or the like. Further, stations 212 could, for example, correspond to other kinds of equipment like smart home devices, printers, multimedia devices, data storage devices, or the like.

[0120] Each of STAs 212 may connect through a radio link to one of APs 210. For example, depending on location or channel conditions experienced by a given STA 212, the STA may select an appropriate AP and BSS for establishing the radio link. The radio link may be based on one or more orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) carriers from a frequency spectrum that is shared on the basis of a contention-based mechanism, e.g., an unlicensed or license exempt band like 2.4 GHz Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) band, the 5 GHz band, the 6 GHz band, or the 60 GHz band.

[0121] Each AP 210 may provide data connectivity to STAs 212 connected to a particular AP 210. As illustrated, APs 210 may be connected to a data network 230. In this way, APs 210 may also provide data connectivity between STAs 212 and other entities, e.g., to one or more servers, service providers, data sources, data sinks, user terminals, or the like. Accordingly, the radio link established between a given STA 212 and its serving AP 210 may be used for providing various kinds of services to STA 212, e.g., a voice service, a multimedia service, or other data service. Such services may be based on applications that are executed on STA 212 and / or on a device linked to STA 212. By way of example, FIG. 9 illustrates an application service platform 232 provided in data network 230. The application(s) executed on STA 212 and / or on one or more other devices linked to STA 212 may use the radio link for data communication with one or more other STA 212 and / or the application service platform 232, thereby enabling utilization of the corresponding service(s) at STA 212.

[0122] FIG. 10 shows a wireless device 300, which may be configured to operate in communication system 100 of FIG. 8 or in communication system 200 of FIG. 9. The wireless device 300 may be alternatively referred to as a UE 300, like a UE 112 within the context of communication system 100, or as a station (STA) 300 or as a non-access-pointstation (non-AP STA) 300, like a STA 212 within the context of the communication system 200, in accordance with respective embodiments. As used herein, a wireless device refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other wireless devices. Examples of a wireless device include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), smart device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle, vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless device, and wireless terminal. Other examples include any type of UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0123] A wireless device 300 may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3 GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to-everything (V2X). In other examples, wireless device 300 may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the relevant device.

[0124] Instead, wireless device 300 may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, wireless device 300 may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).

[0125] In particular embodiments, wireless device 300 includes processing circuitry 302 that is operatively coupled via a bus 304 to an input / output interface 306, a power source 308, a memory 310, a communication interface 312, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain embodiments of wireless device 300 may include all or a subset of the components shown in FIG. 10 . The level of integration between the components may vary from one embodiment of wireless device 300 to another. In general, in a particular embodiment of wireless device 300, processing circuitry 302, input / output interface 306, power source 308, memory 310, and communication interface 312 may, in whole or in part, represent or include physical components common to or shared by one or more of the other elements of wireless device 300. Further, certain embodiments of wireless devices 300 maycontain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0126] The processing circuitry 302 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 310. The processing circuitry 302 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 302 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0127] In the example, the input / output interface 306 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into wireless device 300. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presencesensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[0128] In some embodiments, the power source 308 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used to supply power to circuitry or to charge an associated battery. The power source 308 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 308 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of wireless device 300 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Power source 308 may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to make accessible power suitable for the respective components of the wireless device 300 to whichpower is supplied.

[0129] The memory 310 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 310 includes one or more programs 314, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 316. The memory 310 may store, for use by wireless device 300, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0130] The memory 310 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a Universal SIM (USIM) and / or IP Multimedia SIM (ISIM), other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’ The memory 310 may allow wireless device 300 to access instructions, programs and the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 310, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0131] The processing circuitry 302 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network via or using the communication interface 312. The communication interface 312 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 322. The communication interface 312 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another wireless device or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 318 and / or a receiver 320 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g.,optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 318 and receiver 320 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 322) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0132] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 312 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication (e.g., according to an IEEE 802.11 family standard), LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol / internet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0133] In particular embodiments, wireless device 300 may provide an output of data captured via a sensor, through its communication interface 312, via a wireless connection to a network node, and / or in any appropriate manner. Data captured by sensors of a wireless device 300 can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another wireless device 300. In particular embodiments, such output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0134] As another example, wireless device 300 comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, wireless device 300 may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0135] Wireless device 300, when in the form of an Internet of Things (loT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limitedto, wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door / window sensor, a flood / moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. In particular embodiments, wireless device 300 represents an loT device that comprises circuitry and / or software in dependence of the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the example embodiment of wireless device 300 shown in FIG. 10.

[0136] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, wireless device 300 may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another wireless device and / or a network node. Wireless device 300 may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, wireless device 300 may implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, wireless device 300 may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0137] In practice, any number of wireless devices 300 may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first wireless device 300 might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second wireless device 300 that is a remote controller operating the drone. When a user makes changes from the remote controller, the first wireless device 300 may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g. by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed. The first and / or the second wireless device 300 can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, wireless device 300 might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.FIG. 11 shows a network node 400 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunications network. In accordance with respective embodiments, network node 400 may be configured to operate in communication system 100 of FIG. 8, like network nodes 108 or 110, or in communication system 200 of FIG. 9, like an AP 210 or a station 212. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, E-UTRAN NodeB(eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)), O-RAN nodes or components of an O-RAN node (e.g., O-RU, O-DU, O-CU).

[0138] Network nodes 400 may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. Network node 400 may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. Network nodes 400 may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units, distributed units (e.g., in an O-RAN access node) and / or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0139] Other examples of network nodes 400 include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell / multicast coordination entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self- Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and / or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).

[0140] In particular embodiments, network node 400 includes a processing circuitry 402, a memory 404, a communication interface 406, and a power source 408. In general, in a particular embodiment of network node 400, processing circuitry 402, memory 404, communication interface 406, and power source 408 may, in whole or in part, represent or include physical components common to or shared by one or more of the other elements ofnetwork node 400.

[0141] The network node 400 may be composed of multiple distinct network entities (e.g., a NodeB entity and a RNC entity, or a BTS entity and a BSC entity, etc.), which may each have or utilize their own respective physical components. In certain scenarios in which the network node 400 comprises multiple such entities (e.g., BTS and BSC), one or more of the separate entities may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 400 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memories 404 or portions of memory 404 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 410 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 400 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 400, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, Wi-Fi (e.g., according to an IEEE 802.11 family standard), Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 400.

[0142] The processing circuitry 402 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and / or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other components, such as the memory 404, to provide network node 400 functionality.

[0143] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 402 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 402 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 412 and baseband processing circuitry 414. In some embodiments, the RF transceiver circuitry 412 and the baseband processing circuitry 414 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 412 and baseband processing circuitry 414 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0144] The memory 404 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotelymounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 402. The memory 404 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and / or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry 402 and utilized by the network node 400. The memory 404 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 402 and / or any data received via the communication interface 406. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 402 and memory 404 is integrated.

[0145] The communication interface 406 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data with UEs, other network nodes, and / or any other network equipment. In the illustrated embodiment, communication interface 406 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 416 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. In particular embodiments, network node 300 may be capable of wireless communication and communication interface 406 may also include radio front-end circuitry 418 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, an antenna 410. Particular embodiments of radio front-end circuitry 418 include filter(s) 420 and amplifier(s) 422. The radio front-end circuitry 418 may be connected to an antenna 410 and processing circuitry 402. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 410 and processing circuitry 402. The radio front-end circuitry 418 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 418 may convert the digital data into a radio signal(s) having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 420 and / or amplifiers 422. The radio signal(s) may then be transmitted via the antenna 410. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 410 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 418. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 402. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0146] In certain alternative embodiments, network node 400 may be capable of wireless communication but does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 418, instead, theprocessing circuitry 402 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 410. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 412 is part of the communication interface 406. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 406 includes one or more ports or terminals 416, the radio front-end circuitry 418, and the RF transceiver circuitry 412, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 406 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 414, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0147] The antenna 410 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 410 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 418 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 410 is separate from the network node 400 and connectable to the network node 400 through one or more interfaces or ports.

[0148] The antenna 410, communication interface 406, and / or the processing circuitry 402 may be configured to perform some or all of the receiving operations and / or obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node 400. Any information, data and / or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 410, the communication interface 406, and / or the processing circuitry 402 may be configured to perform some or all of the transmitting or sending operations described herein as being performed by the network node 400. Any information, data and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment.

[0149] The power source 408 provides power to the various components of network node 400 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 408 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 400 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 400 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 408. As a further example, the power source 408 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.Embodiments of the network node 400 may include additional components beyond those shown in FIG. 11 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 400 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 400 and to allow output of information from the network node 400. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 400.

[0150] FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 500 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 500 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as an access network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which a virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment 500 includes components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface.

[0151] Applications 502 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment 400 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0152] Hardware 504 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and / or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input / output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 506 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VM 508A and VM 508B (which may be collectively referred to as VMs 508), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments describedherein. The virtualization layer 506 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to one or more of the VMs 508.

[0153] The VMs 508 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by virtualization layer 506. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 502 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 508, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.

[0154] In the context of NFV, each of the VMs 508 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of the VMs 508, and that part of hardware 504 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more of the VMs 508 on top of the hardware 504 and corresponds to an application 502.

[0155] Hardware 504 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 504 may implement some functions via virtualization.

[0156] Alternatively, hardware 504 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g. such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 510, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 502. In some embodiments, hardware 504 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 512 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0157] Some Examples

[0158] Group A Examples

[0159] 1. A method performed by a wireless device 300 for obtaining a neighbor cellmeasurement configuration, the method comprising:

[0160] determining a current location of the wireless device 300, the current location being within a particular network cell, the particular network cell having a plurality of neighbor cells;

[0161] determining location information based on respective relationships between the current location and each reference location of a set of reference locations;

[0162] transmitting the location information to a network node 400; and

[0163] receiving, from the network node 400, a neighbor cell measurement configuration for performing neighbor cell measurements by the wireless device 300, the neighbor cell measurement configuration identifying a subset of the plurality of neighbor cells of the particular network cell for which the wireless device 300 is to perform the neighbor cell measurements, the subset being identified based on the location information.

[0164] 2. The method of Example 1, wherein determining the location information includes selecting one or more reference locations of the set of reference locations based on respective distances between the current location and each of the one or more selected reference locations.

[0165] 3. The method of Example 2, wherein the one or more selected reference locations are selected based on the one or more selected reference locations being closest to the current location as compared to other reference locations of the set of reference locations.

[0166] 4. The method of Example 2, wherein the one or more selected reference locations are selected based on the one or more selected reference locations having respective distances to the current location that are each within a threshold of a closest distance between the current location and a closest reference location that is closest to the current location.

[0167] 5. The method of Example 2, wherein the one or more selected reference locations are selected based on the one or more selected reference locations being disposed within a threshold distance to the current location.

[0168] 6. The method of any of Examples 2-5, wherein the transmitting of the location information includes transmitting the one or more selected reference locations.

[0169] 7. The method of Example 6, wherein the subset is identified based on the one or more selected reference locations.

[0170] 8. The method of any of Examples 2-7, further comprising:

[0171] determining a respective distance between the current location and each selected reference location of the one or more reference locations; and

[0172] including each respective distance in the location information as transmitted to the network node 400.9. The method of any of Examples 1-8, wherein the measurement configuration includes one or more of:

[0173] measurement gap information; or

[0174] synchronization signal block measuring time configuration(SMTC) information. 10. The method of any of Examples 1-9, wherein the particular network cell is a nonterrestrial network (NTN) cell.

[0175] 11. The method of any of Examples 1-9, wherein the particular network cell is a radio access technology (RAT) cell.

[0176] 12. The method of any of Examples 1-11, further comprising receiving, from the network node 400, a request for the location information, wherein the location information is determined and transmitted in response to receiving the request.

[0177] 13. The method of any of Examples 1-12, further comprising performing neighbor cell measurements with respect to the subset of neighbor cells based on the neighbor cell measurement configuration.

[0178] 14. The method of any of Examples 1-13, wherein individual reference locations included in the set of reference locations respectively correspond to one or more of:

[0179] different neighbor cells of the plurality of neighbor cells; or

[0180] a respective location within the particular network cell.

[0181] 15. The method of any of Examples 1-14, wherein the location information indicates the current location of the wireless device 300 with a particular margin of error such that the location information indicates a coarse current location of the wireless device 300.

[0182] 16. The method of Example 15, wherein the particular margin of error is between 1-5 kilometers.

[0183] 17. The method of any of Examples 1-16, wherein the subset of neighbor cells includes the neighbor cells closest to the wireless device 300.

[0184] 18. The method of any of Examples 1-16, further comprising:

[0185] providing user data; and

[0186] forwarding the user data to a host via the transmission to the network node 400.

[0187] Group B Examples

[0188] 19. A method performed by a network node 400 for providing a neighbor cell measurement configuration, the method comprising:

[0189] receiving, from a wireless device 300, location information corresponding to a current location of the wireless device 300 within a particular network cell, the location informationindicating respective relationships between the current location and each reference location of a set of reference locations;

[0190] determining a neighbor cell measurement configuration for performing neighbor cell measurements by the wireless device 300, the neighbor cell measurement configuration identifying a subset of a plurality of neighbor cells of the particular network cell for which the wireless device 300 is to perform the neighbor cell measurements, the subset being identified based on the location information; and

[0191] transmitting, to the wireless device 300, the neighbor cell measurement configuration.

[0192] 20. The method of Example 19, further comprising transmitting, to the wireless device 300, a request for the location information.

[0193] 21. The method of Example 19, further comprising transmitting, to the wireless device 300, the set of reference locations.

[0194] 22. The method of Example 21, wherein the location information includes one or more selected reference locations of the set of reference locations that are selected based on respective distances between the current location of the wireless device 300 and each of the one or more selected reference locations.

[0195] 23. The method of Example 22, wherein the one or more selected reference locations are selected based on the one or more selected reference locations being closest to the current location as compared to other reference locations of the set of reference locations.

[0196] 24. The method of Example 22, wherein the one or more selected reference locations are selected based on the one or more selected reference locations having respective distances to the current location that are each within a threshold of a closest distance between the current location and a closest reference location that is closest to the current location.

[0197] 25. The method of Example 22, wherein the one or more selected reference locations are selected based on the one or more selected reference locations being disposed within a threshold distance to the current location.

[0198] 26. The method of any of Examples 22-25, wherein the subset is identified based on the one or more selected reference locations.

[0199] 27. The method of any of Examples 19-26, wherein the particular network cell is a non-terrestrial network (NTN) cell.

[0200] 28. The method of any of Examples 19-26, wherein the particular network cell is a radio access technology (RAT) cell.

[0201] 29. The method of any of Examples 19-28, wherein individual reference locationsincluded in the set of reference locations respectively correspond to one or more of: different neighbor cells of the plurality of neighbor cells; or

[0202] a respective location within the particular network cell.

[0203] 30. The method of any of Examples 19-29, wherein the location information indicates the current location of the wireless device 300 with a particular margin of error such that the location information indicates a coarse current location of the wireless device 300.

[0204] 31. The method of Example 30, wherein the particular margin of error is between 1-5 kilometers.

[0205] 32. The method of any of Examples 19-31, wherein the subset of neighbor cells includes the neighbor cells closest to the wireless device 300.

[0206] 33. The method any of Examples 19-32, wherein the measurement configuration includes one or more of:

[0207] measurement gap information; or

[0208] synchronization signal block measuring time configuration (SMTC) information. 34. The method of any of Examples 19-33, further comprising:

[0209] obtaining user data; and

[0210] forwarding the user data to a host or a user equipment.

[0211] Group C Examples

[0212] 35. A wireless device 300 for obtaining a neighbor cell measurement configuration, comprising:

[0213] processing circuitry 302 configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group A examples; and

[0214] a power source configured to supply power to the processing circuitry 302.

[0215] 36. A network node 400 for providing a neighbor cell measurement configuration, the network node 400 comprising:

[0216] processing circuitry 402 configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group B examples;

[0217] a power source circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry 402.

[0218] 37. A wireless device 300 for obtaining a neighbor cell measurement configuration, the wireless device 300 comprising:

[0219] one or more antennas;

[0220] communication interface connected to the one or more antennas and to processing circuitry 302;the processing circuitry 302 being configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group A examples;

[0221] an input interface connected to the processing circuitry 302 and configured to allow input of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry 302;

[0222] an output interface connected to the processing circuitry 302 and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry 302; and

[0223] a power source 308 connected to the processing circuitry 302 and configured to supply power to the UE.

[0224] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0225] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate ordiscrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and / or by end users and a wireless network generally.

[0226] It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein are not limited to what has been particularly shown and described herein above. In addition, unless mention was made above to the contrary, it should be noted that all of the accompanying drawings are not to scale. A variety of modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings without departing from the scope of the following claims.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A method performed by a wireless device (300), the method comprising: receiving (S502), from a network node (400), an indication of a set of reference locations;determining (S504) location information based on respective relationships between a current location of the wireless device (300) and each reference location of the set of reference locations;transmitting (S506) the location information to the network node (400); and receiving (S508), from the network node (400), a neighbor cell measurement configuration for performing neighbor cell measurements by the wireless device (300), the neighbor cell measurement configuration identifying a subset of a plurality of neighbor cells of a first network cell for which the wireless device (300) is to perform the neighbor cell measurements, the subset being identified based on the location information.

2. The method of Claim 1, wherein determining the location information includes selecting one or more reference locations of the set of reference locations based on respective distances between the current location and each of the one or more selected reference locations.

3. The method of Claim 2, wherein the one or more selected reference locations are selected based on the one or more selected reference locations being closest to the current location as compared to other reference locations of the set of reference locations.

4. The method of Claim 2, wherein the one or more selected reference locations are based on one of:the one or more selected reference locations having respective distances to the current location that are each within a threshold of a closest distance between the current location and a closest reference location that is closest to the current location; andthe one or more selected reference locations being disposed within a threshold distance to the current location.

5. The method of Claim 4, wherein the location information includes the one ormore selected reference locations.

6. The method of any of Claims 2-5, further comprising:determining a respective distance between the current location and each selected reference location of the one or more reference locations; andincluding each respective distance in the location information that is transmitted to the network node (400).

7. The method of any of Claims 1-6, wherein the measurement configuration includes one or both of:measurement gap information; orsynchronization signal block measuring time configuration, SMTC, information.

8. The method of any of Claims 1-7, wherein the first network cell is a nonterrestrial network, NTN, cell or a radio access technology, RAT, cell.

9. The method of any of Claims 1-8, further comprising receiving, from the network node (400), a request for the location information, the location information being determined and transmitted in response to the request.

10. The method of any of Claims 1-9, further comprising performing neighbor cell measurements with respect to the subset of the plurality of neighbor cells based on the neighbor cell measurement configuration.

11. The method of any of Claims 1-10, wherein individual reference locations included in the set of reference locations respectively correspond to one or both of:different neighbor cells of the plurality of neighbor cells; anda respective location within the first network cell.

12. The method of any of Claims 1-11, wherein the location information indicates the current location of the wireless device (300) with a margin of error such that the location information indicates a coarse current location of the wireless device (300).

13. The method of any of Claims 1-12, further comprising transmitting, to the network node (400) and via radio resource control, RRC, signaling, updated location information in response to a change in the location information.

14. A method performed by a network node (400), the method comprising: indicating (S702), to a wireless device (300), a set of reference locations; receiving (S704), from the wireless device (300), location information corresponding to a current location of the wireless device (300) within a first network cell, the location information indicating respective relationships between the current location and each reference location of a set of reference locations;determining (S706) a neighbor cell measurement configuration for the wireless device (300) to perform neighbor cell measurements, the neighbor cell measurement configuration identifying a subset of a plurality of neighbor cells of the first network cell for which the wireless device (300) is to perform the neighbor cell measurements; andtransmitting (S708), to the wireless device (300), the neighbor cell measurement configuration for performing the neighbor cell measurements.

15. The method of Claim 14, further comprising transmitting, to the wireless device (300), a request for the location information.

16. The method of any of Claims 14-15, wherein the location information includes one or more selected reference locations of the set of reference locations that are selected based on respective distances between the current location of the wireless device (300) and each of the one or more selected reference locations.

17. The method of Claim 16, wherein the one or more selected reference locations are selected based on one of:the one or more selected reference locations being closest to the current location as compared to other reference locations of the set of reference locations;the one or more selected reference locations having respective distances to the current location that are each within a threshold of a closest distance between the current location and a closest reference location that is closest to the current location; andthe one or more selected reference locations being disposed within a thresholddistance to the current location.

18. The method of any of Claims 16-17, wherein the subset of the plurality of neighbor cells is identified based on the one or more selected reference locations.

19. The method of any of Claims 14-18, wherein the first network cell is a nonterrestrial network, NTN, cell or a radio access technology, RAT, cell.

20. The method of any of Claims 14-19, wherein individual reference locations included in the set of reference locations respectively correspond to one or both of:different neighbor cells of the plurality of neighbor cells; ora respective location within the first network cell.

21. The method of any of Claims 14-20, wherein the location information indicates the current location of the wireless device (300) with a margin of error such that the location information indicates a coarse current location of the wireless device (300).

22. The method of any of Claims 14-21, wherein the measurement configuration includes one or both of:measurement gap information; orsynchronization signal block measuring time configuration, SMTC, information.

23. The method of any of Claims 14-22, further comprising receiving, from the wireless device and via radio resource control, RRC, signaling, updated location information in response to a change in the location information.

24. A wireless device (300) is configured to:receive, from a network node (400), an indication of a set of reference locations; determine location information based on respective relationships between a current location of the wireless device (300) and each reference location of the set of reference locations;transmit the location information to the network node (400); andreceive, from the network node (400), a neighbor cell measurement configuration forperforming neighbor cell measurements by the wireless device (300), the neighbor cell measurement configuration identifying a subset of a plurality of neighbor cells of a first network cell for which the wireless device (300) is to perform the neighbor cell measurements, the subset being identified based on the location information.

25. The wireless device (300) of Claim 24, wherein the determining of the location information includes selecting one or more reference locations of the set of reference locations based on respective distances between the current location and each of the one or more selected reference locations.

26. The wireless device (300) of Claim 25, wherein the one or more selected reference locations are selected based on the one or more selected reference locations being closest to the current location as compared to other reference locations of the set of reference locations.

27. The wireless device (300) of any of Claims 25-26, wherein the one or more selected reference locations are selected based on one of:the one or more selected reference locations having respective distances to the current location that are each within a threshold of a closest distance between the current location and a closest reference location that is closest to the current location; andthe one or more selected reference locations being disposed within a threshold distance to the current location.

28. The wireless device (300) of Claim 27, wherein the location information includes the one or more selected reference locations.

29. The wireless device (300) of any of Claims 25-28, wherein the wireless device (300) is further configured to:determine a respective distance between the current location and each selected reference location of the one or more reference locations; andinclude each respective distance in the location information that is transmitted to the network node (400).

30. The wireless device (300) of any of Claims 24-29, wherein the measurement configuration includes one or both of:measurement gap information; orsynchronization signal block measuring time configuration, SMTC, information.

31. The wireless device (300) of any of Claims 24-30, wherein the first network cell is a non-terrestrial network, NTN, cell or a radio access technology, RAT, cell.

32. The wireless device (300) of any of Claims 24-31, wherein the wireless device (300) is further configured to receive, from the network node (400), a request for the location information, the location information being determined and transmitted in response to the request.

33. The wireless device (300) of any of Claims 24-32, wherein the wireless device (300) is further configured to perform neighbor cell measurements with respect to the subset of the plurality of neighbor cells based on the neighbor cell measurement configuration.

34. The wireless device (300) of any of Claims 24-33, wherein individual reference locations included in the set of reference locations respectively correspond to one or both of:different neighbor cells of the plurality of neighbor cells; anda respective location within the first network cell.

35. The wireless device (300) of any of Claims 24-34, wherein the location information indicates the current location of the wireless device (300) with a margin of error such that the location information indicates a coarse current location of the wireless device (300).

36. The wireless device (300) of any of Claims 24-35, wherein the wireless device (300) is further configured to transmit, to the network node and via radio resource control, RRC, signaling, updated location information in response to a change in the location information.

37. A network node (400) is configured to:indicate, to a wireless device (300), a set of reference locations;receive, from the wireless device (300), location information corresponding to a current location of the wireless device (300) within a first network cell, the location information indicating respective relationships between the current location and each reference location of a set of reference locations;determine a neighbor cell measurement configuration for the wireless device (300) to perform neighbor cell measurements, the neighbor cell measurement configuration identifying a subset of a plurality of neighbor cells of the first network cell for which the wireless device (300) is to perform the neighbor cell measurements; andtransmit, to the wireless device (300), the neighbor cell measurement configuration for performing the neighbor cell measurements.

38. The network node (400) of Claim 37, wherein the network node (400) is configured to transmit, to the wireless device (300), a request for the location information.

39. The network node (300) of any of Claims 37-38, wherein the location information includes one or more selected reference locations of the set of reference locations that are selected based on respective distances between the current location of the wireless device (300) and each of the one or more selected reference locations.

40. The network node (400) of Claim 39, wherein the one or more selected reference locations are selected based on one of:the one or more selected reference locations being closest to the current location as compared to other reference locations of the set of reference locations;the one or more selected reference locations having respective distances to the current location that are each within a threshold of a closest distance between the current location and a closest reference location that is closest to the current location; andthe one or more selected reference locations being disposed within a threshold distance to the current location.

41. The network node (400) of any of Claims 39-40, wherein the subset of the plurality of neighbor cells is identified based on the one or more selected reference locations.

42. The network node (400) of any of Claims 37-41, wherein the first network cell is a non-terrestrial network, NTN, cell or a radio access technology, RAT, cell.

43. The network node (400) of any of Claims 37-42, wherein individual reference locations included in the set of reference locations respectively correspond to one or both of:different neighbor cells of the plurality of neighbor cells; ora respective location within the first network cell.

44. The network node (400) of any of Claims 37-43, wherein the location information indicates the current location of the wireless device (300) with a margin of error such that the location information indicates a coarse current location of the wireless device (300).

45. The network node (400) of any of Claims 37-44, wherein the measurement configuration includes one or both of:measurement gap information; orsynchronization signal block measuring time configuration, SMTC, information.

46. The network node (400) of any of Claims 37-45, wherein the network node (400) is further configured to receive, from the wireless device and via radio resource control, RRC, signaling, updated location information in response to a change in the location information.

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