LISTEN-BEFORE-TALK (LBT) IN RADIO RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (RRM) FOR NEW RADIO SYSTEMS

FIELD

Various embodiments generally may relate to the field of wireless communications. For example, some embodiments may relate to listen-before-talk (LBT) in radio resource management (RRM).

BACKGROUND

Various embodiments generally may relate to the field of wireless communications.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments will be readily understood by the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. To facilitate this description, like reference numerals designate like structural elements. Embodiments are illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of measurement in the event of LBT failure, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates an alternative example of measurement in the event of LBT failure, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 3 illustrates an alternative example of measurement in the event of LBT failure, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 4 illustrates an alternative example measurement in the event of LBT failure, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 5 illustrates an alternative example measurement in the event of LBT failure, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 6 illustrates an alternative example measurement in the event of LBT failure, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 7 schematically illustrates a wireless network in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 8 schematically illustrates components of a wireless network in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 10 schematically illustrates an alternative example wireless network, in accordance with various embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers may be used in different drawings to identify the same or similar elements. In the following description, for purposes of explanation and not limitation, specific details are set forth such as particular structures, architectures, interfaces, techniques, etc. in order to provide a thorough understanding of the various aspects of various embodiments. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the present disclosure that the various aspects of the various embodiments may be practiced in other examples that depart from these specific details. In certain instances, descriptions of well-known devices, circuits, and methods are omitted so as not to obscure the description of the various embodiments with unnecessary detail. For the purposes of the present document, the phrases “A or B” and “A/B” mean (A), (B), or (A and B).

Third generation partnership project (3GPP) approved a work item (WI) related to the introduction of operation in high frequency (FR2-2) band, which may include both licensed and unlicensed bands. The FR2-2 band may be considered to be frequencies above approximately 24 gigahertz (GHz) and, more precisely, frequencies between approximately 24.25 GHz and approximately 71 GHz. For operation in unlicensed bands, in FR2-2 frequencies, the listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure may be considered mandatory in some regions (e.g. in Europe/ECC and Japan). Moreover, LBT support may be considered mandatory for FR2-2 from the RANI perspective. Following that, LBT support for FR2-2 in radio resource management (RRM) requirements may be considered to be important. As such, among other things, embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to LBT impacts on RRM requirements for FR2-2.

In legacy networks, operation in unlicensed bands was considered only in FR1 frequencies (e.g., frequencies below approximately 7.1 GHz) and corresponding LBT-related requirements were defined in 3GPP TS38.133 specification as part of the NR-U work item. One of the general approaches which was used for those RRM requirements is for most of periods defined in the relevant RRM specifications to take into account the number of samples (sy)nchronization-signal block (SSB)-based measurement timing configuration (SMTC) occasion, SSB occasion, discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle with SMTC occasion, channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS occasion, etc.) which may not be available at the UE due to LBT failures. Such an approach was used in the legacy networks to extend measurement durations for Cell Re-selection requirements, handover interruption time, radio resource control (RRC) re-establishment delay, radio link monitoring (RLM), bidirectional forwarding detection (BFD) and common beam management (CBM) evaluation periods, transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state switching delay, periods for intra-frequency and inter-frequency measurements and layer-1 reference signal received power (L1-RSRP) reporting period. The LBT-related requirements were defined only for FR1 frequencies. All the above-mentioned time periods may be considered to be frequency-range (FR) specific. E.g., for FR2 the RRM requirements also consider UE analog beam sweeping, which scales up all the time periods.

Some embodiments disclosed herein are directed to considering LBT failures in time periods in different types of FR2-2 RRM requirements. The time periods in RRM requirements for operation in carrier frequencies with clear channel assessment (CCA) in FR2-2 are extended by a certain number of samples per each missed measurement occasion (SSB occasion, SMTC occasion, CSI-RS occasion etc. not available due to downlink (DL) transmission LBT failure). Among other things, embodiments of the present disclosure may help resolve the issue of absence of the requirements for FR2-2 operation in unlicensed spectrum.

As introduced above, an example solution for LBT-based RRM requirements may be present for FR1 during the 3GPP release-16 (Rel-16) NR-U WI. It may, for example, consider extension of time periods in RRM requirement by samples which were not available for measurements due to DL transmission LBT failure. A similar approach may be used for operation in unlicensed bands in FR2-2. However, in some embodiments, RRM requirements for FR2-2 may consider multiple Rx beams for measurements which may scale up the time periods in RRM requirements.

The RRM requirements for most of the measurement time periods (T_req) can be generalized as follows

T
_req,FR1
=M*T for FR1

T
_req,FR2
=N*M*T for FR2

where

M—number of samples to be measured for filtering

T—minimal measurement step (SSB period, SMTC period, DRX cycle etc.)

N—Rx beam sweeping scaling factor

The above-mentioned Rel-16 NR-U approach considers changing measurement time periods (T_req,FR1,CCA) for FR1 as follows when operating in frequencies subject to CCA

T
_req,FR1,CCA=(M+L)*T

where

L—is the number of samples (SSB occasion, SMTC occasion, CSI-RS occasion etc.) not available due to DL transmission LBT failure

There are several options on how this approach can be reused for FR2-2:

Option 1: T_{req,FR2-2,CCA}=(N*M+L)*T. An example of this case is shown in FIG. 1. Here, if LBT failure for any sample happens (as indicated at 105), additional measurement will be performed only for that sample (as indicated at 110).

An example of the corresponding changes to the 3GPP specifications related to RRM is shown below in Table 1 for Cell reselection requirements

TABLE 1

T_{detect, NR}_—_Intra_—_CCA, T_{measure, NR}_—_Intra_—_CCAand T_{evaluate, NR}_—_Intra_—_CCA

DRX
Scaling Factor
T_{detect, NR}_—_Intra_—_CCA[s]
T_{measure, NR}_—_Intra_—_CCA[s]
T_{evaluate, NR}_—_Intra_—_CCA[s]

cycle
(N1)
(number of DRX
(number of DRX
(number of DRX

length [s]
FR1
FR2-2
cycles)
cycles)
cycles)

0.32
1
[8]
0.32 × (36 × N1 + M_d) × M2
0.32 × (4 × N1 + M_m) × M2
0.32 × (16 × N1 + M_e) × M2

{(36 × N1 + M_d) × M2}
{(4 × N1 + M_m) × M2
{(16 × N1 + M_e) × M2}

0.64

[5]
0.64 × (28 × N1 + M_d)
0.64 × (2 × N1 + M_m)
0.64 × (8 × N1 + M_e)

{28 × N1 + M_d}
{2 × N1 + M_m}
{8 × N1 + M_e}

1.28

[4]
1.28 × (25 × N1 + M_d)
1.28 × (1 × N1 + M_m)
1.28 × (5 × N1 + M_e)

{25 × N1 + M_d}
{1 × N1 + M_m}
{5 × N1 + M_e}

2.56

[3]
2.56 × (23 × N1 + M_d)
2.56 × (1 × N1 + M_m)
2.56 × (3 × N1 + M_e)

{23 × N1 + M_d}
{1 × N1 + M_m}
{3 × N1 + M_e}

Note 1:

M2 = 1.5 if SMTC periodicity of measured intra-frequency cell >20 ms; otherwise M2 = 1.

Note 2:

Md, Mm, Me are the number of DRX cycles each with at least one SMTC occasion not available during the T_{detect, NR}_—_Intra_—_CCA, T_{measure, NR}_—_Intra_—_CCAand T_{evaluate, NR}_—_Intra_—_CCA, and M_m≤ M_{m, max}, M_d≤ M_{d, max}and M_e≤ M_{e, max}

Note 3:

M_{m, max}= 16 for DRX cycle length = 0.32 s; M_{m, max}= 8 for DRX cycle length = 0.64 s; M_{m, max}= 4 for DRX cycle length = 1.28 s; M_{m, max}= 4 for DRX cycle length = 2.56 s.

Note 4:

M_{d, max}= 4*M_{m, max}, M_{e, max}= 2*M_{m, max}.

Option 2: T_{req,FR2-2,CCA}=(N+L)*M*T. This case is shown in FIG. 2. Here, if LBT failure for any sample of a given receive (Rx) beam happens (as shown at 205), additional measurement will be performed for all M samples of that Rx beam (as shown at 210), e.g., assuming that all samples for particular Rx beam should be remeasured for correct filtering.

Option 3: T_{req,FR2-2,CCA}=N*(M+L)*T. This case is shown in FIG. 3. Here, if LBT failure for any sample happens (e.g., sample 1 for Rx beam #3 as shown at 305), additional measurement of one sample will be performed for all N Rx beams (e.g., sample 1 for Rx beams #1, 2, and 3 as shown at 310).

Option 4: T_{req,FR2-2,CCA}=N*(M+L1)*T, where L1 is the number of (N*sample period) periods each with at least one SMTC occasion not available at the UE during the measurement period. An example of this case is shown in FIG. 4. In this embodiment, the RRM requirements are extended by the number of additional Rx beam sweeping rounds equal to the number of Rx beam sweeping rounds where there was at least one sample missed due to LBT failure. This embodiment may split the measurement period into Rx beam sweeping rounds and, if there is at least one missed measurement due to LBT failure sample within the beam sweeping round, embodiments repeat that beam sweeping round. This embodiment may differ from that described above with respect to Option 3 in that this embodiment may not need to repeat the beam sweeping rounds for each missed sample.

An example of changes to the 3GPP specifications related to RRM to capture Option 4 is shown below in Table 2 for Cell reselection requirements

TABLE 2

T_{detect, NR}_—_Intra_—_CCA, T_{measure, NR}_—_Intra_—_CCAand T_{evaluate, NR}_—_Intra_—_CCA

DRX
Scaling Factor
T_{detect, NR}_—_Intra_—_CCA[s]
T_{measure, NR}_—_Intra_—_CCA[s]
T_{evaluate, NR}_—_Intra_—_CCA[s]

cycle
(N1)
(number of DRX
(number of DRX
(number of DRX

length [s]
FR1
FR2-2
cycles)
cycles)
cycles)

0.32
1
[8]
0.32 × N1 × (36 + M_d) × M2
0.32 × N1 × (4 + M_m) × M2
0.32 × N1 × (16 + M_e) × M2

{(36 + M_d) × N1 × M2)
{(4 + M_m) × N1 × M2
{(16 + M_e) × N1 × M2}

0.64

[5]
0.64 × N1 × (28 + M_d)
0.64 × N1 × (2 + M_m)
0.64 × N1 × (8 + M_e)

{(28 + M_d) × N1)
{(2 + M_m) × N1)
{(8 + M_e) × N1)

1.28

[4]
1.28 × N1 × (25 + M_d)
1.28 × N1 × (1 + M_m)
1.28 × N1 × (5 + M_e)

{(25 + M_d) × N1)
{(1 + M_m) × N1)
{(5 + M_e) × N1)

2.56

[3]
2.56 × N1 × (23 + M_d)
2.56 × N1 × (1 + M_m)
2.56 × N1 × (3 + M_e)

{(23 + M_d) × N1)
{(1 + M_m) × N1}
{(3 + M_e) × N1)

Note 1:

M2 = 1.5 if SMTC periodicity of measured intra-frequency cell >20 ms; otherwise M2 = 1.

Note 2:

Md, Mm, Me are the number of (N1 DRX cycles) each with at least one SMTC occasion not available during the T_{detect, NR}_—_Intra_—_CCA, T_{measure, NR}_—_Intra_—_CCAand T_{evaluate, NR}_—_Intra_—_CCA, and M_m≤ M_{m, max}, M_d≤ M_{d, max}and M_e≤ M_{e, max}

Note 3:

M_{m, max}= 16 for DRX cycle length = 0.32 s; M_{m, max}= 8 for DRX cycle length = 0.64 s; M_{m, max}= 4 for DRX cycle length = 1.28 s; M_{m, max}= 4 for DRX cycle length = 2.56 s.

Note 4:

M_{d, max}= 4*M_{m, max}, M_{e, max}= 2*M_{m, max}.

Option 5: T_{req,FR2-2,CCA}=N*(M+L1)*T, where L1 is 1 if there is it least one sample missed due to LBT failure, and L1 is 0 otherwise. An example of this case is shown in FIG. 5. Here, if LBT failure for multiple samples happens, additional measurement of one sample will be performed for all N Rx beams. In contrast to the embodiment depicted with respect to Option 3, this embodiment may consider that there is a high chance to cover all the missed samples by a single additional round of Rx beam sweeping, instead of performing additional rounds of Rx beam sweeping for each missed sample.

Option 6: T_{req,FR2-2,CCA}=N*(M+L1)*T, where L1 has different values depending on the position of missed samples. If there are missed samples which are spaced by N samples, then L1 is equal to the number of missed samples consequently spaced by N samples. If there are no missed samples which are spaced by N samples, then L1 is equal to 1. If there are no missed samples at all, then L1 is equal to 0. This embodiment may be considered to be a combination of those described with respect to Options 3 and 4. In contrast to the embodiment described with respect to Option 4, this option may consider the case when several samples are missed for the same beam. An example of this case is shown in FIG. 6. Here, if LBT failure happens for several samples at the same beam, additional round of Rx beam sweeping shall be performed for each of the samples.

An example of the required changes to the 3GPP RRM-related specifications to capture Options 5 and 6 is shown below in Table 3 for Cell reselection requirements

TABLE 3

T_{detect, NR}_—_Intra_—_CCA, T_{measure, NR}_—_Intra_—_CCAand T_{evaluate, NR}_—_Intra_—_CCA

DRX
Scaling Factor
T_{detect, NR}_—_Intra_—_CCA[s]
T_{measure, NR}_—_Intra_—_CCA[s]
T_{evaluate, NR}_—_Intra_—_CCA[s]

cycle
(N1)
(number of DRX
(number of DRX
(number of DRX

length [s]
FR1
FR2-2
cycles)
cycles)
cycles)

0.32
1
[8]
0.32 × N1 × (36 + M_d) × M2
0.32 × N1 × (4 + M_m) × M2
0.32 × N1 × (16 + M_e) × M2

{(36 + M_d) × N1 × M2}
{(4 + M_m) × N1 × M2
{(16 + M_e) × N1 × M2}

0.64

[5]
0.64 × N1 × (28 + M_d)
0.64 × N1 × (2 + M_m)
0.64 × N1 × (8 + M_e)

{(28 + M_d) × N1)
{(2 + M_m) × N1}
{(8 + M_e) × N1}

1.28

[4]
1.28 × N1 × (25 + M_d)
1.28 × N1 × (1 + M_m)
1.28 × N1 × (5 + M_e)

{(25 + M_d) × N1}
{(1 + M_m) × N1}
{(5 + M_e) × N1}

2.56

[3]
2.56 × N1 × (23 + M_d)
2.56 × N1 × (1 + M_m)
2.56 × N1 × (3 + M_e)

{(23 + M_d) × N1)
{(1 + M_m) × N1}
{(3 + M_e) × N1}

Note 1:

M2 = 1.5 if SMTC periodicity of measured intra-frequency cell >20 ms; otherwise M2 = 1.

Note 2:

For FR1 Md, Mm, Me are the number of DRX cycles each with at least one SMTC occasion not available during the T_{detect, NR}_—_Intra_—_CCA, T_{measure, NR}_—_Intra_—_CCAand T_{evaluate, NR}_—_Intra_—_CCA, For FR2-2 if there are at least two DRX cycles each with at least one SMTC occasion not available at the UE which are spaced by N1 DRX cycles, then Md, Mm, Me are equal to the number of DRX cycles each with at least one SMTC occasion not available at the UE consequently spaced by N1 DRX cycles during T_{deteet, NR}_—_Intra_—_CCA, T_{measure, NR}_—_Intra_—_CCAand T_{evaluate, NR}_—_Intra_—_CCA, Otherwise if there is at least one DRX cycle with at least one SMTC occasion not available at the UE during T_{detect, NR}_—_Intra_—_CCA, T_{measure, NR}_—_Intra_—_CCAand T_{evaluate, NR}_—_Intra_—_CCA, then Md, Mm, Me are equal to 1, otherwise Ms is equal to 0M_m≤ M_{m, max}, M_d≤ M_{d, max}and M_e≤ M_{e, max}

Note 3:

M_{m, max}= 16 for DRX cycle length = 0.32 s; M_{m, max}= 8 for DRX cycle length = 0.64 s; M_{m, max}= 4 for DRX cycle length = 1,28 s; M_{m, max}= 4 for DRX cycle length = 2.56 s.

Note 4:

M_{d, max}= 4*M_{m, max}, M_{e, max}= 2*M_{m, max}.

Another Text Example Below Shows an Example of FR2-2-FR2-2 Handover Requirements Considering Options 5 and 6

6.1B.1.4.2 Interruption Time

The interruption time is the time between end of the last TTI containing the RRC command on the old PDSCH and the time the UE starts transmission of the new PRACH, excluding the RRC procedure delay.

When intra-frequency or inter-frequency handover is commanded, the interruption time shall be less than T_interrupt

T
_interrupt
=T
_search
+T
_IU
+T
_processing
+T
_Δ
+T
_marginms

Where:

T_searchis the time required to search the target cell when the handover command is received by the UE. If the target cell is a known cell, then T_search=0 ms. If the target cell is an unknown intra-frequency cell and the target cell Es/Iot≥−2 dB, then T_search=(1+L₁)*8*T_rsms. If the target cell is an unknown inter-frequency cell and the target cell Es/Iot≥−2 dB, then T_search=(3+L₁′)*8*T_rsms. If there are at least two SMTC occasion not available at the UE which are spaced by 8 SMTC periods during the intra-frequency and inter-frequency detection period, respectively, then L₁and L₁′ are equal to the number of SMTC occasion not available at the UE consequently spaced by 8 SMTC periods during the intra-frequency and inter-frequency detection period, respectively. Otherwise, if there is at least one SMTC occasion not available at the UE during the intra-frequency and inter-frequency detection period, respectively, then L₁and L₁′ are equal to 1, otherwise L₁and L₁′ are equal to 0. Regardless of whether DRX is in use by the UE, T_searchshall still be based on non-DRX target cell search times.

T_processingis time for UE processing. T_processingcan be up to 20 ms.

T_marginis time for SSB post-processing. T_margincan be up to 2 ms.

T_Δ is time for fine time tracking and acquiring full timing information of the target cell. T_Δ=(1+L₂)*T_rs, where L₂is the number of SMTC occasions not available at the UE during the time tracking period.

T_IUis the interruption uncertainty due to the random access procedure when sending PRACH to the new cell. T_IUcan be up to (1+L₃)*T_SSB,RO+10 ms, where T_SSB,ROis SSB to PRACH occasion associated period is defined in the table 8.1-1 of TS 38.213 [3] and L₃is the number of consecutive SSB to PRACH occasion association periods during which no PRACH occasion is available for PRACH transmission due to UL CCA failure.

T_rsis the SMTC periodicity of the target NR cell in a carrier frequency with CCA if the UE has been provided with an SMTC configuration for the target cell in the handover command, otherwise Trs is the SMTC configured in the measObjectNR having the same SSB frequency and subcarrier spacing. If the UE is not provided SMTC configuration or measurement object on this frequency, the requirement in this clause is applied with T_rs=5 ms assuming the SSB transmission periodicity is 5 ms. There is no requirement if the SSB transmission periodicity is not 5 ms.

NOTE 1: The interruption time considering the potential extensions caused by L₁, L₁′, L₂, L₃and by the UL CCA failure detection/recovery mechanism is limited by the T304 timer. The UE behaviour at the T304 timer expiry is detailed in TS 38.331 [2].

In FR2, the target cell is known if it has been meeting the following conditions:

- During the last 5 seconds before the reception of the handover command:
- the UE has sent a valid measurement report for the target cell and
- One of the SSBs measured from the NR target cell being configured remains detectable according to the cell identification conditions specified in Clause 9.2A.5 for intra-frequency handover and Clause 9.3A.4 for inter-frequency handover to a carrier frequency with CCA,
- One of the SSBs measured from the target cell also remains detectable during the handover delay according to the cell identification conditions specified in Clause 9.2A.5 for intra-frequency handover and Clause 9.3A.4 for inter-frequency handover to a carrier frequency with CCA.

otherwise it is unknown.

Systems and Implementations

FIGS. 7-10 illustrate various systems, devices, and components that may implement aspects of disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 7 illustrates a network 700 in accordance with various embodiments. The network 700 may operate in a manner consistent with 3GPP technical specifications for LTE or 5G/NR systems. However, the example embodiments are not limited in this regard and the described embodiments may apply to other networks that benefit from the principles described herein, such as future 3GPP systems, or the like.

The network 700 may include a UE 702, which may include any mobile or non-mobile computing device designed to communicate with a RAN 704 via an over-the-air connection. The UE 702 may be communicatively coupled with the RAN 704 by a Uu interface. The UE 702 may be, but is not limited to, a smartphone, tablet computer, wearable computer device, desktop computer, laptop computer, in-vehicle infotainment, in-car entertainment device, instrument cluster, head-up display device, onboard diagnostic device, dashtop mobile equipment, mobile data terminal, electronic engine management system, electronic/engine control unit, electronic/engine control module, embedded system, sensor, microcontroller, control module, engine management system, networked appliance, machine-type communication device, M2M or D2D device, IoT device, etc.

In some embodiments, the network 700 may include a plurality of UEs coupled directly with one another via a sidelink interface. The UEs may be M2M/D2D devices that communicate using physical sidelink channels such as, but not limited to, PSBCH, PSDCH, PSSCH, PSCCH, PSFCH, etc.

In some embodiments, the UE 702 may additionally communicate with an AP 706 via an over-the-air connection. The AP 706 may manage a WLAN connection, which may serve to offload some/all network traffic from the RAN 704. The connection between the UE 702 and the AP 706 may be consistent with any IEEE 802.11 protocol, wherein the AP 706 could be a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi®) router. In some embodiments, the UE 702, RAN 704, and AP 706 may utilize cellular-WLAN aggregation (for example, LWA/LWIP). Cellular-WLAN aggregation may involve the UE 702 being configured by the RAN 704 to utilize both cellular radio resources and WLAN resources.

The RAN 704 may include one or more access nodes, for example, AN 708. AN 708 may terminate air-interface protocols for the UE 702 by providing access stratum protocols including RRC, PDCP, RLC, MAC, and L1 protocols. In this manner, the AN 708 may enable data/voice connectivity between CN 720 and the UE 702. In some embodiments, the AN 708 may be implemented in a discrete device or as one or more software entities running on server computers as part of, for example, a virtual network, which may be referred to as a CRAN or virtual baseband unit pool. The AN 708 be referred to as a BS, gNB, RAN node, eNB, ng-eNB, NodeB, RSU, TRxP, TRP, etc. The AN 708 may be a macrocell base station or a low power base station for providing femtocells, picocells or other like cells having smaller coverage areas, smaller user capacity, or higher bandwidth compared to macrocells.

In embodiments in which the RAN 704 includes a plurality of ANs, they may be coupled with one another via an X2 interface (if the RAN 704 is an LTE RAN) or an Xn interface (if the RAN 704 is a 5G RAN). The X2/Xn interfaces, which may be separated into control/user plane interfaces in some embodiments, may allow the ANs to communicate information related to handovers, data/context transfers, mobility, load management, interference coordination, etc.

The ANs of the RAN 704 may each manage one or more cells, cell groups, component carriers, etc. to provide the UE 702 with an air interface for network access. The UE 702 may be simultaneously connected with a plurality of cells provided by the same or different ANs of the RAN 704. For example, the UE 702 and RAN 704 may use carrier aggregation to allow the UE 702 to connect with a plurality of component carriers, each corresponding to a Pcell or Scell. In dual connectivity scenarios, a first AN may be a master node that provides an MCG and a second AN may be secondary node that provides an SCG. The first/second ANs may be any combination of eNB, gNB, ng-eNB, etc.

The RAN 704 may provide the air interface over a licensed spectrum or an unlicensed spectrum. To operate in the unlicensed spectrum, the nodes may use LAA, eLAA, and/or feLAA mechanisms based on CA technology with PCells/Scells. Prior to accessing the unlicensed spectrum, the nodes may perform medium/carrier-sensing operations based on, for example, a listen-before-talk (LBT) protocol.

In V2X scenarios the UE 702 or AN 708 may be or act as a RSU, which may refer to any transportation infrastructure entity used for V2X communications. An RSU may be implemented in or by a suitable AN or a stationary (or relatively stationary) UE. An RSU implemented in or by: a UE may be referred to as a “UE-type RSU”; an eNB may be referred to as an “eNB-type RSU”; a gNB may be referred to as a “gNB-type RSU”; and the like. In one example, an RSU is a computing device coupled with radio frequency circuitry located on a roadside that provides connectivity support to passing vehicle UEs. The RSU may also include internal data storage circuitry to store intersection map geometry, traffic statistics, media, as well as applications/software to sense and control ongoing vehicular and pedestrian traffic. The RSU may provide very low latency communications required for high speed events, such as crash avoidance, traffic warnings, and the like. Additionally or alternatively, the RSU may provide other cellular/WLAN communications services. The components of the RSU may be packaged in a weatherproof enclosure suitable for outdoor installation, and may include a network interface controller to provide a wired connection (e.g., Ethernet) to a traffic signal controller or a backhaul network.

In some embodiments, the RAN 704 may be an LTE RAN 710 with eNBs, for example, eNB 712. The LTE RAN 710 may provide an LTE air interface with the following characteristics: SCS of 15 kHz; CP-OFDM waveform for DL and SC-FDMA waveform for UL; turbo codes for data and TBCC for control; etc. The LTE air interface may rely on CSI-RS for CSI acquisition and beam management; PDSCH/PDCCH DMRS for PDSCH/PDCCH demodulation; and CRS for cell search and initial acquisition, channel quality measurements, and channel estimation for coherent demodulation/detection at the UE. The LTE air interface may operating on sub-6 GHz bands.

In some embodiments, the RAN 704 may be an NG-RAN 714 with gNBs, for example, gNB 716, or ng-eNBs, for example, ng-eNB 718. The gNB 716 may connect with 5G-enabled UEs using a 5G NR interface. The gNB 716 may connect with a 5G core through an NG interface, which may include an N2 interface or an N3 interface. The ng-eNB 718 may also connect with the 5G core through an NG interface, but may connect with a UE via an LTE air interface. The gNB 716 and the ng-eNB 718 may connect with each other over an Xn interface.

In some embodiments, the NG interface may be split into two parts, an NG user plane (NG-U) interface, which carries traffic data between the nodes of the NG-RAN 714 and a UPF 748 (e.g., N3 interface), and an NG control plane (NG-C) interface, which is a signaling interface between the nodes of the NG-RAN 714 and an AMF 744 (e.g., N2 interface).

The NG-RAN 714 may provide a 5G-NR air interface with the following characteristics: variable SCS; CP-OFDM for DL, CP-OFDM and DFT-s-OFDM for UL; polar, repetition, simplex, and Reed-Muller codes for control and LDPC for data. The 5G-NR air interface may rely on CSI-RS, PDSCH/PDCCH DMRS similar to the LTE air interface. The 5G-NR air interface may not use a CRS, but may use PBCH DMRS for PBCH demodulation; PTRS for phase tracking for PDSCH; and tracking reference signal for time tracking. The 5G-NR air interface may operating on FR1 bands that include sub-6 GHz bands or FR2 bands that include bands from 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz. The 5G-NR air interface may include an SSB that is an area of a downlink resource grid that includes PSS/SSS/PBCH.

In some embodiments, the 5G-NR air interface may utilize BWPs for various purposes. For example, BWP can be used for dynamic adaptation of the SCS. For example, the UE 702 can be configured with multiple BWPs where each BWP configuration has a different SCS. When a BWP change is indicated to the UE 702, the SCS of the transmission is changed as well. Another use case example of BWP is related to power saving. In particular, multiple BWPs can be configured for the UE 702 with different amount of frequency resources (for example, PRBs) to support data transmission under different traffic loading scenarios. A BWP containing a smaller number of PRBs can be used for data transmission with small traffic load while allowing power saving at the UE 702 and in some cases at the gNB 716. A BWP containing a larger number of PRBs can be used for scenarios with higher traffic load.

The RAN 704 is communicatively coupled to CN 720 that includes network elements to provide various functions to support data and telecommunications services to customers/subscribers (for example, users of UE 702). The components of the CN 720 may be implemented in one physical node or separate physical nodes. In some embodiments, NFV may be utilized to virtualize any or all of the functions provided by the network elements of the CN 720 onto physical compute/storage resources in servers, switches, etc. A logical instantiation of the CN 720 may be referred to as a network slice, and a logical instantiation of a portion of the CN 720 may be referred to as a network sub-slice.

In some embodiments, the CN 720 may be an LTE CN 722, which may also be referred to as an EPC. The LTE CN 722 may include MME 724, SGW 726, SGSN 728, HSS 730, PGW 732, and PCRF 734 coupled with one another over interfaces (or “reference points”) as shown. Functions of the elements of the LTE CN 722 may be briefly introduced as follows.

The MME 724 may implement mobility management functions to track a current location of the UE 702 to facilitate paging, bearer activation/deactivation, handovers, gateway selection, authentication, etc.

The SGW 726 may terminate an Si interface toward the RAN and route data packets between the RAN and the LTE CN 722. The SGW 726 may be a local mobility anchor point for inter-RAN node handovers and also may provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility. Other responsibilities may include lawful intercept, charging, and some policy enforcement.

The SGSN 728 may track a location of the UE 702 and perform security functions and access control. In addition, the SGSN 728 may perform inter-EPC node signaling for mobility between different RAT networks; PDN and S-GW selection as specified by MME 724; MME selection for handovers; etc. The S3 reference point between the MME 724 and the SGSN 728 may enable user and bearer information exchange for inter-3GPP access network mobility in idle/active states.

The HSS 730 may include a database for network users, including subscription-related information to support the network entities' handling of communication sessions. The HSS 730 can provide support for routing/roaming, authentication, authorization, naming/addressing resolution, location dependencies, etc. An S6a reference point between the HSS 730 and the MME 724 may enable transfer of subscription and authentication data for authenticating/authorizing user access to the LTE CN 720.

The PGW 732 may terminate an SGi interface toward a data network (DN) 736 that may include an application/content server 738. The PGW 732 may route data packets between the LTE CN 722 and the data network 736. The PGW 732 may be coupled with the SGW 726 by an S5 reference point to facilitate user plane tunneling and tunnel management. The PGW 732 may further include a node for policy enforcement and charging data collection (for example, PCEF). Additionally, the SGi reference point between the PGW 732 and the data network 736 may be an operator external public, a private PDN, or an intra-operator packet data network, for example, for provision of IMS services. The PGW 732 may be coupled with a PCRF 734 via a Gx reference point.

The PCRF 734 is the policy and charging control element of the LTE CN 722. The PCRF 734 may be communicatively coupled to the app/content server 738 to determine appropriate QoS and charging parameters for service flows. The PCRF 732 may provision associated rules into a PCEF (via Gx reference point) with appropriate TFT and QCI.

In some embodiments, the CN 720 may be a 5GC 740. The 5GC 740 may include an AUSF 742, AMF 744, SMF 746, UPF 748, NSSF 750, NEF 752, NRF 754, PCF 756, UDM 758, and AF 760 coupled with one another over interfaces (or “reference points”) as shown. Functions of the elements of the 5GC 740 may be briefly introduced as follows.

The AUSF 742 may store data for authentication of UE 702 and handle authentication-related functionality. The AUSF 742 may facilitate a common authentication framework for various access types. In addition to communicating with other elements of the 5GC 740 over reference points as shown, the AUSF 742 may exhibit an Nausf service-based interface.

The AMF 744 may allow other functions of the 5GC 740 to communicate with the UE 702 and the RAN 704 and to subscribe to notifications about mobility events with respect to the UE 702. The AMF 744 may be responsible for registration management (for example, for registering UE 702), connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception of AMF-related events, and access authentication and authorization. The AMF 744 may provide transport for SM messages between the UE 702 and the SMF 746, and act as a transparent proxy for routing SM messages. AMF 744 may also provide transport for SMS messages between UE 702 and an SMSF. AMF 744 may interact with the AUSF 742 and the UE 702 to perform various security anchor and context management functions. Furthermore, AMF 744 may be a termination point of a RAN CP interface, which may include or be an N2 reference point between the RAN 704 and the AMF 744; and the AMF 744 may be a termination point of NAS (N1) signaling, and perform NAS ciphering and integrity protection. AMF 744 may also support NAS signaling with the UE 702 over an N3 IWF interface.

The SMF 746 may be responsible for SM (for example, session establishment, tunnel management between UPF 748 and AN 708); UE IP address allocation and management (including optional authorization); selection and control of UP function; configuring traffic steering at UPF 748 to route traffic to proper destination; termination of interfaces toward policy control functions; controlling part of policy enforcement, charging, and QoS; lawful intercept (for SM events and interface to LI system); termination of SM parts of NAS messages; downlink data notification; initiating AN specific SM information, sent via AMF 744 over N2 to AN 708; and determining SSC mode of a session. SM may refer to management of a PDU session, and a PDU session or “session” may refer to a PDU connectivity service that provides or enables the exchange of PDUs between the UE 702 and the data network 736.

The UPF 748 may act as an anchor point for intra-RAT and inter-RAT mobility, an external PDU session point of interconnect to data network 736, and a branching point to support multi-homed PDU session. The UPF 748 may also perform packet routing and forwarding, perform packet inspection, enforce the user plane part of policy rules, lawfully intercept packets (UP collection), perform traffic usage reporting, perform QoS handling for a user plane (e.g., packet filtering, gating, UL/DL rate enforcement), perform uplink traffic verification (e.g., SDF-to-QoS flow mapping), transport level packet marking in the uplink and downlink, and perform downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering. UPF 748 may include an uplink classifier to support routing traffic flows to a data network.

The NSSF 750 may select a set of network slice instances serving the UE 702. The NSSF 750 may also determine allowed NSSAI and the mapping to the subscribed S-NSSAIs, if needed. The NSSF 750 may also determine the AMF set to be used to serve the UE 702, or a list of candidate AMFs based on a suitable configuration and possibly by querying the NRF 754. The selection of a set of network slice instances for the UE 702 may be triggered by the AMF 744 with which the UE 702 is registered by interacting with the NSSF 750, which may lead to a change of AMF. The NSSF 750 may interact with the AMF 744 via an N22 reference point; and may communicate with another NSSF in a visited network via an N31 reference point (not shown). Additionally, the NSSF 750 may exhibit an Nnssf service-based interface.

The NEF 752 may securely expose services and capabilities provided by 3GPP network functions for third party, internal exposure/re-exposure, AFs (e.g., AF 760), edge computing or fog computing systems, etc. In such embodiments, the NEF 752 may authenticate, authorize, or throttle the AFs. NEF 752 may also translate information exchanged with the AF 760 and information exchanged with internal network functions. For example, the NEF 752 may translate between an AF-Service-Identifier and an internal 5GC information. NEF 752 may also receive information from other NFs based on exposed capabilities of other NFs. This information may be stored at the NEF 752 as structured data, or at a data storage NF using standardized interfaces. The stored information can then be re-exposed by the NEF 752 to other NFs and AFs, or used for other purposes such as analytics. Additionally, the NEF 752 may exhibit an Nnef service-based interface.

The NRF 754 may support service discovery functions, receive NF discovery requests from NF instances, and provide the information of the discovered NF instances to the NF instances. NRF 754 also maintains information of available NF instances and their supported services. As used herein, the terms “instantiate,” “instantiation,” and the like may refer to the creation of an instance, and an “instance” may refer to a concrete occurrence of an object, which may occur, for example, during execution of program code. Additionally, the NRF 754 may exhibit the Nnrf service-based interface.

The PCF 756 may provide policy rules to control plane functions to enforce them, and may also support unified policy framework to govern network behavior. The PCF 756 may also implement a front end to access subscription information relevant for policy decisions in a UDR of the UDM 758. In addition to communicating with functions over reference points as shown, the PCF 756 exhibit an Npcf service-based interface.

The UDM 758 may handle subscription-related information to support the network entities' handling of communication sessions, and may store subscription data of UE 702. For example, subscription data may be communicated via an N8 reference point between the UDM 758 and the AMF 744. The UDM 758 may include two parts, an application front end and a UDR. The UDR may store subscription data and policy data for the UDM 758 and the PCF 756, and/or structured data for exposure and application data (including PFDs for application detection, application request information for multiple UEs 702) for the NEF 752. The Nudr service-based interface may be exhibited by the UDR 221 to allow the UDM 758, PCF 756, and NEF 752 to access a particular set of the stored data, as well as to read, update (e.g., add, modify), delete, and subscribe to notification of relevant data changes in the UDR. The UDM may include a UDM-FE, which is in charge of processing credentials, location management, subscription management and so on. Several different front ends may serve the same user in different transactions. The UDM-FE accesses subscription information stored in the UDR and performs authentication credential processing, user identification handling, access authorization, registration/mobility management, and subscription management. In addition to communicating with other NFs over reference points as shown, the UDM 758 may exhibit the Nudm service-based interface.

The AF 760 may provide application influence on traffic routing, provide access to NEF, and interact with the policy framework for policy control.

In some embodiments, the 5GC 740 may enable edge computing by selecting operator/3rd party services to be geographically close to a point that the UE 702 is attached to the network. This may reduce latency and load on the network. To provide edge-computing implementations, the 5GC 740 may select a UPF 748 close to the UE 702 and execute traffic steering from the UPF 748 to data network 736 via the N6 interface. This may be based on the UE subscription data, UE location, and information provided by the AF 760. In this way, the AF 760 may influence UPF (re)selection and traffic routing. Based on operator deployment, when AF 760 is considered to be a trusted entity, the network operator may permit AF 760 to interact directly with relevant NFs. Additionally, the AF 760 may exhibit an Naf service-based interface.

The data network 736 may represent various network operator services, Internet access, or third party services that may be provided by one or more servers including, for example, application/content server 738.

FIG. 8 schematically illustrates a wireless network 800 in accordance with various embodiments. The wireless network 800 may include a UE 802 in wireless communication with an AN 804. The UE 802 and AN 804 may be similar to, and substantially interchangeable with, like-named components described elsewhere herein.

The UE 802 may be communicatively coupled with the AN 804 via connection 806. The connection 806 is illustrated as an air interface to enable communicative coupling, and can be consistent with cellular communications protocols such as an LTE protocol or a 5G NR protocol operating at mmWave or sub-6 GHz frequencies.

The UE 802 may include a host platform 808 coupled with a modem platform 810. The host platform 808 may include application processing circuitry 812, which may be coupled with protocol processing circuitry 814 of the modem platform 810. The application processing circuitry 812 may run various applications for the UE 802 that source/sink application data. The application processing circuitry 812 may further implement one or more layer operations to transmit/receive application data to/from a data network. These layer operations may include transport (for example UDP) and Internet (for example, IP) operations

The protocol processing circuitry 814 may implement one or more of layer operations to facilitate transmission or reception of data over the connection 806. The layer operations implemented by the protocol processing circuitry 814 may include, for example, MAC, RLC, PDCP, RRC and NAS operations.

The modem platform 810 may further include digital baseband circuitry 816 that may implement one or more layer operations that are “below” layer operations performed by the protocol processing circuitry 814 in a network protocol stack. These operations may include, for example, PHY operations including one or more of HARQ-ACK functions, scrambling/descrambling, encoding/decoding, layer mapping/de-mapping, modulation symbol mapping, received symbol/bit metric determination, multi-antenna port precoding/decoding, which may include one or more of space-time, space-frequency or spatial coding, reference signal generation/detection, preamble sequence generation and/or decoding, synchronization sequence generation/detection, control channel signal blind decoding, and other related functions.

The modem platform 810 may further include transmit circuitry 818, receive circuitry 820, RF circuitry 822, and RF front end (RFFE) 824, which may include or connect to one or more antenna panels 826. Briefly, the transmit circuitry 818 may include a digital-to-analog converter, mixer, intermediate frequency (IF) components, etc.; the receive circuitry 820 may include an analog-to-digital converter, mixer, IF components, etc.; the RF circuitry 822 may include a low-noise amplifier, a power amplifier, power tracking components, etc.; RFFE 824 may include filters (for example, surface/bulk acoustic wave filters), switches, antenna tuners, beamforming components (for example, phase-array antenna components), etc. The selection and arrangement of the components of the transmit circuitry 818, receive circuitry 820, RF circuitry 822, RFFE 824, and antenna panels 826 (referred generically as “transmit/receive components”) may be specific to details of a specific implementation such as, for example, whether communication is TDM or FDM, in mmWave or sub-6 gHz frequencies, etc. In some embodiments, the transmit/receive components may be arranged in multiple parallel transmit/receive chains, may be disposed in the same or different chips/modules, etc.

In some embodiments, the protocol processing circuitry 814 may include one or more instances of control circuitry (not shown) to provide control functions for the transmit/receive components.

A UE reception may be established by and via the antenna panels 826, RFFE 824, RF circuitry 822, receive circuitry 820, digital baseband circuitry 816, and protocol processing circuitry 814. In some embodiments, the antenna panels 826 may receive a transmission from the AN 804 by receive-beamforming signals received by a plurality of antennas/antenna elements of the one or more antenna panels 826.

A UE transmission may be established by and via the protocol processing circuitry 814, digital baseband circuitry 816, transmit circuitry 818, RF circuitry 822, RFFE 824, and antenna panels 826. In some embodiments, the transmit components of the UE 804 may apply a spatial filter to the data to be transmitted to form a transmit beam emitted by the antenna elements of the antenna panels 826.

Similar to the UE 802, the AN 804 may include a host platform 828 coupled with a modem platform 830. The host platform 828 may include application processing circuitry 832 coupled with protocol processing circuitry 834 of the modem platform 830. The modem platform may further include digital baseband circuitry 836, transmit circuitry 838, receive circuitry 840, RF circuitry 842, RFFE circuitry 844, and antenna panels 846. The components of the AN 804 may be similar to and substantially interchangeable with like-named components of the UE 802. In addition to performing data transmission/reception as described above, the components of the AN 808 may perform various logical functions that include, for example, RNC functions such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management, and data packet scheduling.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating components, according to some example embodiments, able to read instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. Specifically, FIG. 9 shows a diagrammatic representation of hardware resources 900 including one or more processors (or processor cores) 910, one or more memory/storage devices 920, and one or more communication resources 930, each of which may be communicatively coupled via a bus 940 or other interface circuitry. For embodiments where node virtualization (e.g., NFV) is utilized, a hypervisor 902 may be executed to provide an execution environment for one or more network slices/sub-slices to utilize the hardware resources 900.

The processors 910 may include, for example, a processor 912 and a processor 914. The processors 910 may be, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a DSP such as a baseband processor, an ASIC, an FPGA, a radio-frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), another processor (including those discussed herein), or any suitable combination thereof.

The memory/storage devices 920 may include main memory, disk storage, or any suitable combination thereof. The memory/storage devices 920 may include, but are not limited to, any type of volatile, non-volatile, or semi-volatile memory such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), Flash memory, solid-state storage, etc.

The communication resources 930 may include interconnection or network interface controllers, components, or other suitable devices to communicate with one or more peripheral devices 904 or one or more databases 906 or other network elements via a network 908. For example, the communication resources 930 may include wired communication components (e.g., for coupling via USB, Ethernet, etc.), cellular communication components, NFC components, Bluetooth® (or Bluetooth® Low Energy) components, Wi-Fi® components, and other communication components.

Instructions 950 may comprise software, a program, an application, an applet, an app, or other executable code for causing at least any of the processors 910 to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. The instructions 950 may reside, completely or partially, within at least one of the processors 910 (e.g., within the processor's cache memory), the memory/storage devices 920, or any suitable combination thereof. Furthermore, any portion of the instructions 950 may be transferred to the hardware resources 900 from any combination of the peripheral devices 904 or the databases 906. Accordingly, the memory of processors 910, the memory/storage devices 920, the peripheral devices 904, and the databases 906 are examples of computer-readable and machine-readable media.

FIG. 10 illustrates a network 1000 in accordance with various embodiments. The network 1000 may operate in a matter consistent with 3GPP technical specifications or technical reports for 6G systems. In some embodiments, the network 1000 may operate concurrently with network 700. For example, in some embodiments, the network 1000 may share one or more frequency or bandwidth resources with network 700. As one specific example, a UE (e.g., UE 1002) may be configured to operate in both network 1000 and network 700. Such configuration may be based on a UE including circuitry configured for communication with frequency and bandwidth resources of both networks 700 and 1000. In general, several elements of network 1000 may share one or more characteristics with elements of network 700. For the sake of brevity and clarity, such elements may not be repeated in the description of network 1000.

The network 1000 may include a UE 1002, which may include any mobile or non-mobile computing device designed to communicate with a RAN 1008 via an over-the-air connection. The UE 1002 may be similar to, for example, UE 702. The UE 1002 may be, but is not limited to, a smartphone, tablet computer, wearable computer device, desktop computer, laptop computer, in-vehicle infotainment, in-car entertainment device, instrument cluster, head-up display device, onboard diagnostic device, dashtop mobile equipment, mobile data terminal, electronic engine management system, electronic/engine control unit, electronic/engine control module, embedded system, sensor, microcontroller, control module, engine management system, networked appliance, machine-type communication device, M2M or D2D device, IoT device, etc.

Although not specifically shown in FIG. 10, in some embodiments the network 1000 may include a plurality of UEs coupled directly with one another via a sidelink interface. The UEs may be M2M/D2D devices that communicate using physical sidelink channels such as, but not limited to, PSBCH, PSDCH, PSSCH, PSCCH, PSFCH, etc. Similarly, although not specifically shown in FIG. 10, the UE 1002 may be communicatively coupled with an AP such as AP 706 as described with respect to FIG. 7. Additionally, although not specifically shown in FIG. 10, in some embodiments the RAN 1008 may include one or more ANss such as AN 708 as described with respect to FIG. 7. The RAN 1008 and/or the AN of the RAN 1008 may be referred to as a base station (B S), a RAN node, or using some other term or name.

The UE 1002 and the RAN 1008 may be configured to communicate via an air interface that may be referred to as a sixth generation (6G) air interface. The 6G air interface may include one or more features such as communication in a terahertz (THz) or sub-THz bandwidth, or joint communication and sensing. As used herein, the term “joint communication and sensing” may refer to a system that allows for wireless communication as well as radar-based sensing via various types of multiplexing. As used herein, THz or sub-THz bandwidths may refer to communication in the 80 GHz and above frequency ranges. Such frequency ranges may additionally or alternatively be referred to as “millimeter wave” or “mmWave” frequency ranges.

The RAN 1008 may allow for communication between the UE 1002 and a 6G core network (CN) 1010. Specifically, the RAN 1008 may facilitate the transmission and reception of data between the UE 1002 and the 6G CN 1010. The 6G CN 1010 may include various functions such as NSSF 750, NEF 752, NRF 754, PCF 756, UDM 758, AF 760, SMF 746, and AUSF 742. The 6G CN 1010 may additional include UPF 748 and DN 736 as shown in FIG. 10.

Additionally, the RAN 1008 may include various additional functions that are in addition to, or alternative to, functions of a legacy cellular network such as a 4G or 5G network. Two such functions may include a Compute Control Function (Comp CF) 1024 and a Compute Service Function (Comp SF) 1036. The Comp CF 1024 and the Comp SF 1036 may be parts or functions of the Computing Service Plane. Comp CF 1024 may be a control plane function that provides functionalities such as management of the Comp SF 1036, computing task context generation and management (e.g., create, read, modify, delete), interaction with the underlaying computing infrastructure for computing resource management, etc. Comp SF 1036 may be a user plane function that serves as the gateway to interface computing service users (such as UE 1002) and computing nodes behind a Comp SF instance. Some functionalities of the Comp SF 1036 may include: parse computing service data received from users to compute tasks executable by computing nodes; hold service mesh ingress gateway or service API gateway; service and charging policies enforcement; performance monitoring and telemetry collection, etc. In some embodiments, a Comp SF 1036 instance may serve as the user plane gateway for a cluster of computing nodes. A Comp CF 1024 instance may control one or more Comp SF 1036 instances.

Two other such functions may include a Communication Control Function (Comm CF) 1028 and a Communication Service Function (Comm SF) 1038, which may be parts of the Communication Service Plane. The Comm CF 1028 may be the control plane function for managing the Comm SF 1038, communication sessions creation/configuration/releasing, and managing communication session context. The Comm SF 1038 may be a user plane function for data transport. Comm CF 1028 and Comm SF 1038 may be considered as upgrades of SMF 746 and UPF 748, which were described with respect to a 5G system in FIG. 7. The upgrades provided by the Comm CF 1028 and the Comm SF 1038 may enable service-aware transport. For legacy (e.g., 4G or 5G) data transport, SMF 746 and UPF 748 may still be used.

Two other such functions may include a Data Control Function (Data CF) 1022 and Data Service Function (Data SF) 1032 may be parts of the Data Service Plane. Data CF 1022 may be a control plane function and provides functionalities such as Data SF 1032 management, Data service creation/configuration/releasing, Data service context management, etc. Data SF 1032 may be a user plane function and serve as the gateway between data service users (such as UE 1002 and the various functions of the 6G CN 1010) and data service endpoints behind the gateway. Specific functionalities may include: parse data service user data and forward to corresponding data service endpoints, generate charging data, report data service status.

Another such function may be the Service Orchestration and Chaining Function (SOCF) 1020, which may discover, orchestrate and chain up communication/computing/data services provided by functions in the network. Upon receiving service requests from users, SOCF 1020 may interact with one or more of Comp CF 1024, Comm CF 1028, and Data CF 1022 to identify Comp SF 1036, Comm SF 1038, and Data SF 1032 instances, configure service resources, and generate the service chain, which could contain multiple Comp SF 1036, Comm SF 1038, and Data SF 1032 instances and their associated computing endpoints. Workload processing and data movement may then be conducted within the generated service chain. The SOCF 1020 may also responsible for maintaining, updating, and releasing a created service chain.

Another such function may be the service registration function (SRF) 1014, which may act as a registry for system services provided in the user plane such as services provided by service endpoints behind Comp SF 1036 and Data SF 1032 gateways and services provided by the UE 1002. The SRF 1014 may be considered a counterpart of NRF 754, which may act as the registry for network functions.

Other such functions may include an evolved service communication proxy (eSCP) and service infrastructure control function (SICF) 1026, which may provide service communication infrastructure for control plane services and user plane services. The eSCP may be related to the service communication proxy (SCP) of 5G with user plane service communication proxy capabilities being added. The eSCP is therefore expressed in two parts: eCSP-C 1012 and eSCP-U 1034, for control plane service communication proxy and user plane service communication proxy, respectively. The SICF 1026 may control and configure eCSP instances in terms of service traffic routing policies, access rules, load balancing configurations, performance monitoring, etc.

Another such function is the AMF 1044. The AMF 1044 may be similar to 744, but with additional functionality. Specifically, the AMF 1044 may include potential functional repartition, such as move the message forwarding functionality from the AMF 1044 to the RAN 1008.

Another such function is the service orchestration exposure function (SOEF) 1018. The SOEF may be configured to expose service orchestration and chaining services to external users such as applications.

The UE 1002 may include an additional function that is referred to as a computing client service function (comp CSF) 1004. The comp CSF 1004 may have both the control plane functionalities and user plane functionalities, and may interact with corresponding network side functions such as SOCF 1020, Comp CF 1024, Comp SF 1036, Data CF 1022, and/or Data SF 1032 for service discovery, request/response, compute task workload exchange, etc. The Comp CSF 1004 may also work with network side functions to decide on whether a computing task should be run on the UE 1002, the RAN 1008, and/or an element of the 6G CN 1010.

The UE 1002 and/or the Comp CSF 1004 may include a service mesh proxy 1006. The service mesh proxy 1006 may act as a proxy for service-to-service communication in the user plane. Capabilities of the service mesh proxy 1006 may include one or more of addressing, security, load balancing, etc.

EXAMPLE PROCEDURES

In some embodiments, the electronic device(s), network(s), system(s), chip(s) or component(s), or portions or implementations thereof, of FIGS. 7-10, or some other figure herein, may be configured to perform one or more processes, techniques, or methods as described herein, or portions thereof.

One such technique may be depicted in FIG. 11. The technique may be performed, in whole or in part, by a UE, one or more elements of a UE, and/or an electronic device that includes or implements a UE. The technique may include performing, at 1105, measurement of a plurality of samples of respective receive (Rx) beams of a plurality of Rx beams; identifying, at 1110, a measurement failure of at least one sample of at least one Rx beam of the plurality of Rx beams; identifying, at 1115 based on the at least one sample or the at least one Rx beam, one or more additional samples; and performing, at 1120, measurement of the one or more additional samples.

For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components set forth in one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, and/or methods as set forth in the example section below. For example, the baseband circuitry as described above in connection with one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to operate in accordance with one or more of the examples set forth below. For another example, circuitry associated with a UE, base station, network element, etc. as described above in connection with one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to operate in accordance with one or more of the examples set forth below in the example section.

Examples

Example 1 may include the method of considering extension of time periods in RRM requirements for operation in carrier frequencies with CCA in FR2-2 by taking into account the samples (SSB occasion, SMTC occasion, DRX cycle with SMTC occasion, CSI-RS occasion etc.) which were not available due to LBT failure.

Example 2 may include the method of example 1 or some other example herein, where the RRM requirements are extended by the exact number of samples which were not available due to LBT failure.

Example 3 may include the method of example 1 or some other example herein, where for each sample which was not available due to LBT failure the RRM requirements are extended by the number of samples which were considered to be measured at one Rx beam.

Example 4 may include the method of example 1 or some other example herein, where for each sample which was not available due to LBT failure the RRM requirements are extended by the number of Rx beams (Rx beam sweeping scaling factor), considering another beam sweeping is needed for each missed sample.

Example 5 may include the method of example 1 or some other example herein, where for each Rx beam sweeping round with at least one sample not available due to LBT failure the RRM requirements are extended by the number of Rx beams (Rx beam sweeping scaling factor), considering another beam sweeping is needed for each Rx beam sweeping round with missed sample.

Example 6 may include the method of example 1 or some other example herein, where if there are samples which were not available due to LBT failure during the measurement period the RRM requirements are extended by the number of Rx beams (Rx beam sweeping scaling factor), considering only one additional round of beam sweeping is needed

Example 7 may include the method of example 6 or some other example herein, where if there are at least two samples which were not available due to LBT failure and which were consequently spaced by the number of Rx beams (Rx beam sweeping scaling factor) then the RRM requirements are extended by the number of additional rounds of beam sweeping equal to the number of samples which were not available due to LBT failure and which were consequently spaced by the number of Rx beams (Rx beam sweeping scaling factor) during the measurement period.

Example 8 may include the maximum number of allowed samples to be missed due to LBT failure in RRM requirements is FR-specific

Example 9 may include the methods of examples 1-7 or some other example herein, where for the maximum number of allowed samples to be missed due to LBT failure FR1 values can be used for each RRM requirement with scaling by the Rx beam sweeping scaling factor.

Example 10 includes a method comprising:

determining a listen-before-talk (LBT) based radio resource management (RRM) requirement that includes an indication of an additional measurement to be performed for a LBT sample failure for a frequency range 2-2 (FR2-2) communication; and

encoding a message for transmission to a user equipment (UE) that includes an indication of the LBT RRM requirement.

Example 10a includes the method of example 10 or some other example herein, wherein the RRM requirement is based on a number of Rx beams (Rx beam sweeping scaling factor) for each Rx beam sweeping round with at least one sample not available due to LBT failure.

Example 10b includes the method of example 10a or some other example herein, wherein samples which were not available due to LBT failure during the measurement period the RRM requirements are extended by the number of Rx beams.

Example 10c includes the method of example 10a or some other example herein, wherein if there are at least two samples which were not available due to LBT failure and which were consequently spaced by the number of Rx beams (Rx beam sweeping scaling factor) then the RRM requirements are extended by the number of additional rounds of beam sweeping equal to the number of samples which were not available due to LBT failure and which were consequently spaced by the number of Rx beams (Rx beam sweeping scaling factor) during the measurement period.

Example 11 includes the method of example 10 or some other example herein, wherein the LBT RRM requirement is to indicate that an additional measurement is to be performed only for a sample having an LBT failure.

Example 12 includes the method of example 10 or some other example herein, wherein the LBT RRM requirement is to indicate that a respective additional measurement is to be performed for all samples in response to an LBT failure for any sample.

Example 13 includes the method of example 10 or some other example herein, wherein the LBT RRM requirement is to indicate that an additional measurement is to be performed for all receive (Rx) beams for a sample in response to an LBT failure for the sample.

Example 14 includes a user equipment (UE) comprising: one or more processors; and one or more non-transitory computer-readable media comprising instructions that, upon execution of the instructions by the one or more processors, are to cause the UE to: perform measurement of a plurality of samples of respective receive (Rx) beams of a plurality of Rx beams; identify a measurement failure of at least one sample of at least one Rx beam of the plurality of Rx beams; identify, based on the at least one sample or the at least one Rx beam, one or more additional samples; and perform measurement of the one or more additional samples.

Example 15 includes the UE of example 14, and/or some other example herein, wherein the measurement failure is related to listen-before-talk (LBT).

Example 16 includes the UE of any of examples 14-15, and/or some other example herein, wherein the Rx beams are transmitted in the FR2-2 frequency spectrum.

Example 17 includes the UE of any of examples 14-16, and/or some other example herein, wherein the measurement of the one or more additional samples includes an additional measurement of the at least one sample of the at least one Rx beam of the plurality of Rx beams.

Example 18 includes the UE of any of examples 14-16, and/or some other example herein, wherein the measurement of the one or more additional samples includes an additional measurement of a plurality of samples of the at least one Rx beam of the plurality of Rx beams.

Example 19 includes the UE of any of examples 14-16, and/or some other example herein, wherein the measurement of the one or more additional samples includes measurement based on at least one additional Rx beam sweeping round.

Example 20 includes the UE of any of examples 14-16, and/or some other example herein, wherein the measurement of the one or more additional samples includes measurement of an additional samples for respective Rx beams of the plurality of Rx beams.

Example 21 includes one or more non-transitory computer-readable media (NTCRM) comprising instructions that, upon execution of the instructions by one or more processors of a user equipment (UE), are to cause the UE to: perform measurement of a plurality of samples of respective receive (Rx) beams of a plurality of Rx beams; identify a measurement failure of at least one sample of at least one Rx beam of the plurality of Rx beams; identify, based on the at least one sample or the at least one Rx beam, one or more additional samples; and perform measurement of the one or more additional samples.

Example 22 includes the one or more NTCRM of example 21, and/or some other example herein, wherein the measurement failure is related to listen-before-talk (LBT).

Example 23 includes the one or more NTCRM of any of examples 21-22, and/or some other example herein, wherein the Rx beams are transmitted in the FR2-2 frequency spectrum.

Example 24 includes the one or more NTCRM of any of examples 21-23, and/or some other example herein, wherein the measurement of the one or more additional samples includes an additional measurement of the at least one sample of the at least one Rx beam of the plurality of Rx beams.

Example 24 includes the one or more NTCRM of any of examples 21-23, and/or some other example herein, wherein the measurement of the one or more additional samples includes an additional measurement of a plurality of samples of the at least one Rx beam of the plurality of Rx beams.

Example 25 includes the one or more NTCRM of any of examples 21-23, and/or some other example herein, wherein the measurement of the one or more additional samples includes measurement based on at least one additional Rx beam sweeping round.

Example 26 includes the one or more NTCRM of any of examples 21-23, and/or some other example herein, wherein the measurement of the one or more additional samples includes measurement of an additional samples for respective Rx beams of the plurality of Rx beams.

Example 27 includes an apparatus for use in a user equipment (UE), wherein the apparatus comprises: radio frequency (RF) circuitry to receive a plurality of receive (Rx) beams; and processor circuitry coupled with the RF circuitry, the processor circuitry to: perform measurement of a plurality of samples of respective receive Rx beams of the plurality of Rx beams; identify a measurement failure of at least one sample of at least one Rx beam of the plurality of Rx beams; identify, based on the at least one sample or the at least one Rx beam, one or more additional samples; and perform measurement of the one or more additional samples.

Example 28 includes the UE of example 27, and/or some other example herein, wherein the measurement failure is related to listen-before-talk (LBT).

Example 29 includes the UE of any of examples 27-28, and/or some other example herein, wherein the Rx beams are transmitted in the FR2-2 frequency spectrum.

Example 30 includes the UE of any of examples 27-29, and/or some other example herein, wherein the measurement of the one or more additional samples includes an additional measurement of the at least one sample of the at least one Rx beam of the plurality of Rx beams.

Example 31 includes the UE of any of examples 27-29, and/or some other example herein, wherein the measurement of the one or more additional samples includes an additional measurement of a plurality of samples of the at least one Rx beam of the plurality of Rx beams.

Example 32 includes the UE of any of examples 27-29, and/or some other example herein, wherein the measurement of the one or more additional samples includes measurement based on at least one additional Rx beam sweeping round.

Example 33 includes the UE of any of examples 27-29, and/or some other example herein, wherein the measurement of the one or more additional samples includes measurement of an additional samples for respective Rx beams of the plurality of Rx beams.

Example Z01 may include an apparatus comprising means to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any of examples 1-33, or any other method or process described herein.

Example Z02 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media comprising instructions to cause an electronic device, upon execution of the instructions by one or more processors of the electronic device, to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any of examples 1-33, or any other method or process described herein.

Example Z03 may include an apparatus comprising logic, modules, or circuitry to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any of examples 1-33, or any other method or process described herein.

Example Z04 may include a method, technique, or process as described in or related to any of examples 1-33, or portions or parts thereof.

Example Z05 may include an apparatus comprising: one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the method, techniques, or process as described in or related to any of examples 1-33, or portions thereof.

Example Z06 may include a signal as described in or related to any of examples 1-33, or portions or parts thereof.

Example Z07 may include a datagram, packet, frame, segment, protocol data unit (PDU), or message as described in or related to any of examples 1-33, or portions or parts thereof, or otherwise described in the present disclosure.

Example Z08 may include a signal encoded with data as described in or related to any of examples 1-33, or portions or parts thereof, or otherwise described in the present disclosure.

Example Z09 may include a signal encoded with a datagram, packet, frame, segment, protocol data unit (PDU), or message as described in or related to any of examples 1-33, or portions or parts thereof, or otherwise described in the present disclosure.

Example Z10 may include an electromagnetic signal carrying computer-readable instructions, wherein execution of the computer-readable instructions by one or more processors is to cause the one or more processors to perform the method, techniques, or process as described in or related to any of examples 1-33, or portions thereof.

Example Z11 may include a computer program comprising instructions, wherein execution of the program by a processing element is to cause the processing element to carry out the method, techniques, or process as described in or related to any of examples 1-33, or portions thereof.

Example Z12 may include a signal in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

Example Z13 may include a method of communicating in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

Example Z14 may include a system for providing wireless communication as shown and described herein.

Example Z15 may include a device for providing wireless communication as shown and described herein.

Any of the above-described examples may be combined with any other example (or combination of examples), unless explicitly stated otherwise. The foregoing description of one or more implementations provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of embodiments to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of various embodiments.

Abbreviations

Unless used differently herein, terms, definitions, and abbreviations may be consistent with terms, definitions, and abbreviations defined in 3GPP TR 21.905 v16.0.0 (2019-06). For the purposes of the present document, the following abbreviations may apply to the examples and embodiments discussed herein.

3GPP
Third Generation Partnership Project

4G
Fourth Generation

5G
Fifth Generation

5GC
5G Core network

AC
Application Client

ACR
Application Context Relocation

ACK
Acknowledgement

ACID
Application Client Identification

AF
Application Function

AM
Acknowledged Mode

AMBR
Aggregate Maximum Bit Rate

AMF
Access and Mobility Management Function

AN
Access Network

ANR
Automatic Neighbour Relation

AOA
Angle of Arrival

AP
Application Protocol, Antenna Port, Access Point

API
Application Programming Interface

APN
Access Point Name

ARP
Allocation and Retention Priority

ARQ
Automatic Repeat Request

AS
Access Stratum

ASP
Application Service Provider

ASN.1
Abstract Syntax Notation One

AUSF
Authentication Server Function

AWGN
Additive White Gaussian Noise

BAP
Backhaul Adaptation Protocol

BCH
Broadcast Channel

BER
Bit Error Ratio

BFD
Beam Failure Detection

BLER
Block Error Rate

BPSK
Binary Phase Shift Keying

BRAS
Broadband Remote Access Server

BSS
Business Support System

BS
Base Station

BSR
Buffer Status Report

BW
Bandwidth

BWP
Bandwidth Part

C-RNTI
Cell Radio Network Temporary Identity

CA
Carrier Aggregation, Certification Authority

CAPEX
CAPital EXpenditure

CBRA
Contention Based Random Access

CC
Component Carrier, Country Code, Cryptographic

Checksum

CCA
Clear Channel Assessment

CCE
Control Channel Element

CCCH
Common Control Channel

CE
Coverage Enhancement

CDM
Content Delivery Network

CDMA
Code-Division Multiple Access

CDR
Charging Data Request

CDR
Charging Data Response

CFRA
Contention Free Random Access

CG
Cell Group

CGF
Charging Gateway Function

CHF
Charging Function

CI
Cell Identity

CID
Cell-ID (e g., positioning method)

CIM
Common Information Model

CIR
Carrier to Interference Ratio

CK
Cipher Key

CM
Connection Management, Conditional Mandatory

CMAS
Commercial Mobile Alert Service

CMD
Command

CMS
Cloud Management System

CO
Conditional Optional

CoMP
Coordinated Multi-Point

CORESET
Control Resource Set

COTS
Commercial Off-The-Shelf

CP
Control Plane, Cyclic Prefix, Connection Point

CPD
Connection Point Descriptor

CPE
Customer Premise Equipment

CPICH
Common Pilot Channel

CQI
Channel Quality Indicator

CPU
CSI processing unit, Central Processing Unit

C/R
Command/Response field bit

CRAN
Cloud Radio Access Network, Cloud RAN

CRB
Common Resource Block

CRC
Cyclic Redundancy Check

CRI
Channel-State Information Resource Indicator, CSI-RS

Resource Indicator

C-RNTI
Cell RNTI

CS
Circuit Switched

CSCF
call session control function

CSAR
Cloud Service Archive

CSI
Channel-State Information

CSI-IM
CSI Interference Measurement

CSI-RS
CSI Reference Signal

CSI-RSRP
CSI reference signal received power

CSI-RSRQ
CSI reference signal received quality

CSI-SINR
CSI signal-to-noise and interference ratio

CSMA
Carrier Sense Multiple Access

CSMA/CA
CSMA with collision avoidance

CSS
Common Search Space, Cell- specific Search Space

CTF
Charging Trigger Function

CTS
Clear-to-Send

CW
Codeword

CWS
Contention Window Size

D2D
Device-to-Device

DC
Dual Connectivity, Direct Current

DCI
Downlink Control Information

DF
Deployment Flavour

DL
Downlink

DMTF
Distributed Management Task Force

DPDK
Data Plane Development Kit

DM-RS,
Demodulation Reference Signal

DMRS

DN
Data network

DNN
Data Network Name

DNAI
Data Network Access Identifier

DRB
Data Radio Bearer

DRS
Discovery Reference Signal

DRX
Discontinuous Reception

DSL
Domain Specific Language. Digital Subscriber Line

DSLAM
DSL Access Multiplexer

DwPTS
Downlink Pilot Time Slot

E-LAN
Ethernet Local Area Network

E2E
End-to-End

EAS
Edge Application Server

ECCA
extended clear channel assessment, extended CCA

ECCE
Enhanced Control Channel Element, Enhanced CCE

ED
Energy Detection

EDGE
Enhanced Datarates for GSM Evolution (GSM

Evolution)

EAS
Edge Application Server

EASID
Edge Application Server Identification

ECS
Edge Configuration Server

ECSP
Edge Computing Service Provider

EDN
Edge Data Network

EEC
Edge Enabler Client

EECID
Edge Enabler Client Identification

EES
Edge Enabler Server

EESID
Edge Enabler Server Identification

EHE
Edge Hosting Environment

EGMF
Exposure Governance Management Function

EGPRS
Enhanced GPRS

EIR
Equipment Identity Register

eLAA
enhanced Licensed Assisted Access, enhanced LAA

EM
Element Manager

eMBB
Enhanced Mobile Broadband

EMS
Element Management System

eNB
evolved NodeB, E-UTRAN Node B

EN-DC
E-UTRA-NR Dual Connectivity

EPC
Evolved Packet Core

EPDCCH
enhanced PDCCH, enhanced Physical Downlink Control

Cannel

EPRE
Energy per resource element

EPS
Evolved Packet System

EREG
enhanced REG, enhanced resource element groups

ETSI
European Telecommunications Standards Institute

ETWS
Earthquake and Tsunami Warning System

eUICC
embedded UICC, embedded Universal Integrated Circuit

Card

E-UTRA
Evolved UTRA

E-UTRAN
Evolved UTRAN

EV2X
Enhanced V2X

F1AP
F1 Application Protocol

F1-C
F1 Control plane interface

F1-U
F1 User plane interface

FACCH
Fast Associated Control CHannel

FACCH/F
Fast Associated Control Channel/Full rate

FACCH/H
Fast Associated Control Channel/Half rate

FACH
Forward Access Channel

FAUSCH
Fast Uplink Signalling Channel

FB
Functional Block

FBI
Feedback Information

FCC
Federal Communications Commission

FCCH
Frequency Correction CHannel

FDD
Frequency Division Duplex

FDM
Frequency Division Multiplex

FDMA
Frequency Division Multiple Access

FE
Front End

FEC
Forward Error Correction

FFS
For Further Study

FFT
Fast Fourier Transformation

feLAA
further enhanced Licensed Assisted Access, further

enhanced LAA

FN
Frame Number

FPGA
Field-Programmable Gate Array

FR
Frequency Range

FQDN
Fully Qualified Domain Name

G-RNTI
GERAN Radio Network Temporary Identity

GERAN
GSM EDGE RAN, GSM EDGE Radio Access Network

GGSN
Gateway GPRS Support Node

GLONASS
GLObal'naya NAvigatsionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema

(Engl.: Global Navigation Satellite System)

gNB
Next Generation NodeB

gNB-CU
gNB-centralized unit, Next Generation NodeB

centralized unit

gNB-DU
gNB-distributed unit, Next Generation NodeB

distributed unit

GNSS
Global Navigation Satellite System

GPRS
General Packet Radio Service

GPSI
Generic Public Subscription Identifier

GSM
Global System for Mobile Communications, Groupe

Spécial Mobile

GTP
GPRS Tunneling Protocol

GTP-U
GPRS Tunnelling Protocol for User Plane

GTS
Go To Sleep Signal (related to WUS)

GUMMEI
Globally Unique MME Identifier

GUTI
Globally Unique Temporary UE Identity

HARQ
Hybrid ARQ, Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request

HANDO
Handover

HFN
HyperFrame Number

HHO
Hard Handover

HLR
Home Location Register

HN
Home Network

HO
Handover

HPLMN
Home Public Land Mobile Network

HSDPA
High Speed Downlink Packet Access

HSN
Hopping Sequence Number

HSPA
High Speed Packet Access

HSS
Home Subscriber Server

HSUPA
High Speed Uplink Packet Access

HTTP
Hyper Text Transfer Protocol

HTTPS
Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure (https is http/1.1

over SSL, i.e. port 443)

I-Block
Information Block

ICCID
Integrated Circuit Card Identification

IAB
Integrated Access and Backhaul

ICIC
Inter-Cell Interference Coordination

ID
Identity, identifier

IDFT
Inverse Discrete Fourier Transform

IE
Information element

IBE
In-Band Emission

IEEE
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

IEI
Information Element Identifier

IEIDL
Information Element Identifier Data Length

IETF
Internet Engineering Task Force

IF
Infrastructure

IIOT
Industrial Internet of Things

IM
Interference Measurement, Intermodulation, IP

Multimedia

IMC
IMS Credentials

IMEI
International Mobile Equipment Identity

IMGI
International mobile group identity

IMPI
IP Multimedia Private Identity

IMPU
IP Multimedia PUblic identity

IMS
IP Multimedia Subsystem

IMSI
International Mobile Subscriber Identity

IoT
Internet of Things

IP
Internet Protocol

Ipsec
IP Security, Internet Protocol Security

IP-CAN
IP-Connectivity Access Network

IP-M
IP Multicast

IPv4
Internet Protocol Version 4

IPv6
Internet Protocol Version 6

IR
Infrared

IS
In Sync

IRP
Integration Reference Point

ISDN
Integrated Services Digital Network

ISIM
IM Services Identity Module

ISO
International Organisation for Standardisation

ISP
Internet Service Provider

IWF
Interworking-Function

I-WLAN
Interworking WLAN

Constraint length of the convolutional code, USIM

Individual key

kB
Kilobyte (1000 bytes)

kbps
kilo-bits per second

Kc
Ciphering key

Ki
Individual subscriber authentication key

KPI
Key Performance Indicator

KQI
Key Quality Indicator

KSI
Key Set Identifier

ksps
kilo-symbols per second

KVM
Kernel Virtual Machine

L1
Layer 1 (physical layer)

L1-RSRP
Layer 1 reference signal received power

L2
Layer 2 (data link layer)

L3
Layer 3 (network layer)

LAA
Licensed Assisted Access

LAN
Local Area Network

LADN
Local Area Data Network

LBT
Listen Before Talk

LCM
LifeCycle Management

LCR
Low Chip Rate

LCS
Location Services

LCID
Logical Channel ID

LI
Layer Indicator

LLC
Logical Link Control, Low Layer Compatibility

LMF
Location Management Function

LOS
Line of Sight

LPLMN
Local PLMN

LPP
LTE Positioning Protocol

LSB
Least Significant Bit

LTE
Long Term Evolution

LWA
LTE-WLAN aggregation

LWIP
LTE/WLAN Radio Level Integration with IPsec Tunnel

LTE
Long Term Evolution

M2M
Machine-to-Machine

MAC
Medium Access Control (protocol layering context)

MAC
Message authentication code (security/encryption

context)

MAC-A
MAC used for authentication and key agreement (TSG

T WG3 context)

MAC-I
MAC used for data integrity of signalling messages (TSG

T WG3 context)

MANO
Management and Orchestration

MBMS
Multimedia Broadcast and Multicast Service

MBSFN
Multimedia Broadcast multicast service Single

Frequency Network

MCC
Mobile Country Code

MCG
Master Cell Group

MCOT
Maximum Channel Occupancy Time

MCS
Modulation and coding scheme

MDAF
Management Data Analytics Function

MDAS
Management Data Analytics Service

MDT
Minimization of Drive Tests

ME
Mobile Equipment

MeNB
master eNB

MER
Message Error Ratio

MGL
Measurement Gap Length

MGRP
Measurement Gap Repetition Period

MIB
Master Information Block, Management Information

Base

MIMO
Multiple Input Multiple Output

MLC
Mobile Location Centre

MM
Mobility Management

MME
Mobility Management Entity

MN
Master Node

MNO
Mobile Network Operator

MO
Measurement Object, Mobile Originated

MPBCH
MTC Physical Broadcast CHannel

MPDCCH
MTC Physical Downlink Control CHannel

MPDSCH
MTC Physical Downlink Shared CHannel

MPRACH
MTC Physical Random Access CHannel

MPUSCH
MTC Physical Uplink Shared Channel

MPLS
MultiProtocol Label Switching

MS
Mobile Station

MSB
Most Significant Bit

MSC
Mobile Switching Centre

MSI
Minimum System Information, MCH Scheduling

Information

MSID
Mobile Station Identifier

MSIN
Mobile Station Identification Number

MSISDN
Mobile Subscriber ISDN Number

MT
Mobile Terminated, Mobile Termination

MTC
Machine-Type Communications

mMTC
massive MTC, massive Machine-Type Communications

MU-MIMO
Multi User MIMO

MWUS
MTC wake-up signal, MTC WUS

NACK
Negative Acknowledgement

NAI
Network Access Identifier

NAS
Non-Access Stratum, Non- Access Stratum layer

NCT
Network Connectivity Topology

NC-JT
Non-Coherent Joint Transmission

NEC
Network Capability Exposure

NE-DC
NR-E-UTRA Dual Connectivity

NEF
Network Exposure Function

NF
Network Function

NFP
Network Forwarding Path

NFPD
Network Forwarding Path Descriptor

NFV
Network Functions Virtualization

NFVI
NFV Infrastructure

NFVO
NFV Orchestrator

NG
Next Generation, Next Gen

NGEN-DC
NG-RAN E-UTRA-NR Dual Connectivity

NM
Network Manager

NMS
Network Management System

N-PoP
Network Point of Presence

NMIB, N-MIB
Narrowband MIB

NPBCH
Narrowband Physical Broadcast CHannel

NPDCCH
Narrowband Physical Downlink Control CHannel

NPDSCH
Narrowband Physical Downlink Shared CHannel

NPRACH
Narrowband Physical Random Access CHannel

NPUSCH
Narrowband Physical Uplink Shared CHannel

NPSS
Narrowband Primary Synchronization Signal

NSSS
Narrowband Secondary Synchronization Signal

NR
New Radio, Neighbour Relation

NRF
NF Repository Function

NRS
Narrowband Reference Signal

NS
Network Service

NSA
Non-Standalone operation mode

NSD
Network Service Descriptor

NSR
Network Service Record

NSSAI
Network Slice Selection Assistance Information

S-NNSAI
Single-NSSAI

NSSF
Network Slice Selection Function

NW
Network

NWUS
Narrowband wake-up signal, Narrowband WUS

NZP
Non-Zero Power

O&M
Operation and Maintenance

ODU2
Optical channel Data Unit - type 2

OFDM
Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing

OFDMA
Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access

OOB
Out-of-band

OOS
Out of Sync

OPEX
OPerating EXpense

OSI
Other System Information

OSS
Operations Support System

OTA
over-the-air

PAPR
Peak-to-Average Power Ratio

PAR
Peak to Average Ratio

PBCH
Physical Broadcast Channel

PC
Power Control, Personal Computer

PCC
Primary Component Carrier, Primary CC

P-CSCF
Proxy CSCF

PCell
Primary Cell

PCI
Physical Cell ID, Physical Cell Identity

PCEF
Policy and Charging Enforcement Function

PCF
Policy Control Function

PCRF
Policy Control and Charging Rules Function

PDCP
Packet Data Convergence Protocol, Packet Data

Convergence Protocol layer

PDCCH
Physical Downlink Control Channel

PDCP
Packet Data Convergence Protocol

PDN
Packet Data Network, Public Data Network

PDSCH
Physical Downlink Shared Channel

PDU
Protocol Data Unit

PEI
Permanent Equipment Identifiers

PFD
Packet Flow Description

P-GW
PDN Gateway

PHICH
Physical hybrid-ARQ indicator channel

PHY
Physical layer

PLMN
Public Land Mobile Network

PIN
Personal Identification Number

PM
Performance Measurement

PMI
Precoding Matrix Indicator

PNF
Physical Network Function

PNFD
Physical Network Function Descriptor

PNFR
Physical Network Function Record

POC
PTT over Cellular

PP, PTP
Point-to-Point

PPP
Point-to-Point Protocol

PRACH
Physical RACH

PRB
Physical resource block

PRG
Physical resource block group

ProSe
Proximity Services, Proximity-Based Service

PRS
Positioning Reference Signal

PRR
Packet Reception Radio

PS
Packet Services

PSBCH
Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel

PSDCH
Physical Sidelink Downlink Channel

PSCCH
Physical Sidelink Control Channel

PSSCH
Physical Sidelink Shared Channel

PSCell
Primary SCell

PSS
Primary Synchronization Signal

PSTN
Public Switched Telephone Network

PT-RS
Phase-tracking reference signal

PTT
Push-to-Talk

PUCCH
Physical Uplink Control Channel

PUSCH
Physical Uplink Shared Channel

QAM
Quadrature Amplitude Modulation

QCI
QoS class of identifier

QCL
Quasi co-location

QFI
QoS Flow ID, QoS Flow Identifier

QoS
Quality of Service

QPSK
Quadrature (Quaternary) Phase Shift Keying

QZSS
Quasi-Zenith Satellite System

RA-RNTI
Random Access RNTI

RAB
Radio Access Bearer, Random Access Burst

RACH
Random Access Channel

RADIUS
Remote Authentication Dial In User Service

RAN
Radio Access Network

RAND
RANDom number (used for authentication)

RAR
Random Access Response

RAT
Radio Access Technology

RAU
Routing Area Update

RB
Resource block, Radio Bearer

RBG
Resource block group

REG
Resource Element Group

Rel
Release

REQ
REQuest

RF
Radio Frequency

RI
Rank Indicator

RIV
Resource indicator value

RL
Radio Link

RLC
Radio Link Control, Radio Link Control layer

RLC AM
RLC Acknowledged Mode

RLC UM
RLC Unacknowledged Mode

RLF
Radio Link Failure

RLM
Radio Link Monitoring

RLM-RS
Reference Signal for RLM

RM
Registration Management

RMC
Reference Measurement Channel

RMSI
Remaining MSI, Remaining Minimum System

Information

RN
Relay Node

RNC
Radio Network Controller

RNL
Radio Network Layer

RNTI
Radio Network Temporary Identifier

ROHC
RObust Header Compression

RRC
Radio Resource Control, Radio Resource Control layer

RRM
Radio Resource Management

RS
Reference Signal

RSRP
Reference Signal Received Power

RSRQ
Reference Signal Received Quality

RSSI
Received Signal Strength Indicator

RSU
Road Side Unit

RSTD
Reference Signal Time difference

RTP
Real Time Protocol

RTS
Ready-To-Send

RTT
Round Trip Time

Rx
Reception, Receiving, Receiver

S1AP
S1 Application Protocol

S1-MME
S1 for the control plane

S1-U
S1 for the user plane

S-CSCF
serving CSCF

S-GW
Serving Gateway

S-RNTI
SRNC Radio Network Temporary Identity

S-TMSI
SAE Temporary Mobile Station Identifier

SA
Standalone operation mode

SAE
System Architecture Evolution

SAP
Service Access Point

SAPD
Service Access Point Descriptor

SAPI
Service Access Point Identifier

SCC
Secondary Component Carrier, Secondary CC

SCell
Secondary Cell

SCEF
Service Capability Exposure Function

SC-FDMA
Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access

SCG
Secondary Cell Group

SCM
Security Context Management

SCS
Subcarrier Spacing

SCTP
Stream Control Transmission Protocol

SDAP
Service Data Adaptation Protocol, Service Data

Adaptation Protocol layer

SDL
Supplementary Downlink

SDNF
Structured Data Storage Network Function

SDP
Session Description Protocol

SDSF
Structured Data Storage Function

SDT
Small Data Transmission

SDU
Service Data Unit

SEAF
Security Anchor Function

SeNB
secondary eNB

SEPP
Security Edge Protection Proxy

SFI
Slot format indication

SFTD
Space-Frequency Time Diversity, SFN and frame timing

difference

SFN
System Frame Number

SgNB
Secondary gNB

SGSN
Serving GPRS Support Node

S-GW
Serving Gateway

SI
System Information

SI-RNTI
System Information RNTI

SIB
System Information Block

SIM
Subscriber Identity Module

SIP
Session Initiated Protocol

SiP
System in Package

SL
Sidelink

SLA
Service Level Agreement

SM
Session Management

SMF
Session Management Function

SMS
Short Message Service

SMSF
SMS Function

SMTC
SSB-based Measurement Timing Configuration

SN
Secondary Node, Sequence Number

SoC
System on Chip

SON
Self-Organizing Network

SpCell
Special Cell

SP-CSI-RNTI
Semi-Persistent CSI RNTI

SPS
Semi-Persistent Scheduling

SQN
Sequence number

SR
Scheduling Request

SRB
Signalling Radio Bearer

SRS
Sounding Reference Signal

SS
Synchronization Signal

SSB
Synchronization Signal Block

SSID
Service Set Identifier

SS/PBCH
SS/PBCH Block Resource Indicator,

Block SSBRI
Synchronization Signal Block Resource Indicator

SSC
Session and Service Continuity

SS-RSRP
Synchronization Signal based Reference Signal Received

Power

SS-RSRQ
Synchronization Signal based Reference Signal Received

Quality

SS-SINR
Synchronization Signal based Signal to Noise and

Interference Ratio

SSS
Secondary Synchronization Signal

SSSG
Search Space Set Group

SSSIF
Search Space Set Indicator

SST
Slice/Service Types

SU-MIMO
Single User MIMO

SUL
Supplementary Uplink

TA
Timing Advance, Tracking Area

TAC
Tracking Area Code

TAG
Timing Advance Group

TAI
Tracking Area Identity

TAU
Tracking Area Update

TB
Transport Block

TBS
Transport Block Size

TBD
To Be Defined

TCI
Transmission Configuration Indicator

TCP
Transmission Communication Protocol

TDD
Time Division Duplex

TDM
Time Division Multiplexing

TDMA
Time Division Multiple Access

TE
Terminal Equipment

TEID
Tunnel End Point Identifier

TFT
Traffic Flow Template

TMSI
Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity

TNL
Transport Network Layer

TPC
Transmit Power Control

TPMI
Transmitted Precoding Matrix Indicator

TR
Technical Report

TRP, TRxP
Transmission Reception Point

TRS
Tracking Reference Signal

TRx
Transceiver

TS
Technical Specifications, Technical Standard

TTI
Transmission Time Interval

Tx
Transmission, Transmitting, Transmitter

U-RNTI
UTRAN Radio Network Temporary Identity

UART
Universal Asynchronous Receiver and Transmitter

UCI
Uplink Control Information

UE
User Equipment

UDM
Unified Data Management

UDP
User Datagram Protocol

UDSF
Unstructured Data Storage Network Function

UICC
Universal Integrated Circuit Card

UL
Uplink

UM
Unacknowledged Mode

UML
Unified Modelling Language

UMTS
Universal Mobile Telecommunications System

UP
User Plane

UPF
User Plane Function

URI
Uniform Resource Identifier

URL
Uniform Resource Locator

URLLC
Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency

USB
Universal Serial Bus

USIM
Universal Subscriber Identity Module

USS
UE-specific search space

UTRA
UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access

UTRAN
Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network

UwPTS
Uplink Pilot Time Slot

V2I
Vehicle-to-Infrastruction

V2P
Vehicle-to-Pedestrian

V2V
Vehicle-to-Vehicle

V2X
Vehicle-to-everything

VIM
Virtualized Infrastructure Manager

VL
Virtual Link,

VLAN
Virtual LAN, Virtual Local Area Network

VM
Virtual Machine

VNF
Virtualized Network Function

VNFFG
VNF Forwarding Graph

VNFFGD
VNF Forwarding Graph Descriptor

VNFM
VNF Manager

VoIP
Voice-over-IP, Voice-over- Internet Protocol

VPLMN
Visited Public Land Mobile Network

VPN
Virtual Private Network

VRB
Virtual Resource Block

WiMAX
Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access

WLAN
Wireless Local Area Network

WMAN
Wireless Metropolitan Area Network

WPAN
Wireless Personal Area Network

X2-C
X2-Control plane

X2-U
X2-User plane

XML
eXtensible Markup Language

XRES
EXpected user RESponse

XOR
eXclusive OR

ZC
Zadoff-Chu

ZP
Zero Power

Terminology

For the purposes of the present document, the following terms and definitions are applicable to the examples and embodiments discussed herein.

The term “circuitry” as used herein refers to, is part of, or includes hardware components such as an electronic circuit, a logic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) and/or memory (shared, dedicated, or group), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable device (FPD) (e.g., a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), a complex PLD (CPLD), a high-capacity PLD (HCPLD), a structured ASIC, or a programmable SoC), digital signal processors (DSPs), etc., that are configured to provide the described functionality. In some embodiments, the circuitry may execute one or more software or firmware programs to provide at least some of the described functionality. The term “circuitry” may also refer to a combination of one or more hardware elements (or a combination of circuits used in an electrical or electronic system) with the program code used to carry out the functionality of that program code. In these embodiments, the combination of hardware elements and program code may be referred to as a particular type of circuitry.

The term “processor circuitry” as used herein refers to, is part of, or includes circuitry capable of sequentially and automatically carrying out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations, or recording, storing, and/or transferring digital data. Processing circuitry may include one or more processing cores to execute instructions and one or more memory structures to store program and data information. The term “processor circuitry” may refer to one or more application processors, one or more baseband processors, a physical central processing unit (CPU), a single-core processor, a dual-core processor, a triple-core processor, a quad-core processor, and/or any other device capable of executing or otherwise operating computer-executable instructions, such as program code, software modules, and/or functional processes. Processing circuitry may include more hardware accelerators, which may be microprocessors, programmable processing devices, or the like. The one or more hardware accelerators may include, for example, computer vision (CV) and/or deep learning (DL) accelerators. The terms “application circuitry” and/or “baseband circuitry” may be considered synonymous to, and may be referred to as, “processor circuitry.”

The term “interface circuitry” as used herein refers to, is part of, or includes circuitry that enables the exchange of information between two or more components or devices. The term “interface circuitry” may refer to one or more hardware interfaces, for example, buses, I/O interfaces, peripheral component interfaces, network interface cards, and/or the like.

The term “user equipment” or “UE” as used herein refers to a device with radio communication capabilities and may describe a remote user of network resources in a communications network. The term “user equipment” or “UE” may be considered synonymous to, and may be referred to as, client, mobile, mobile device, mobile terminal, user terminal, mobile unit, mobile station, mobile user, subscriber, user, remote station, access agent, user agent, receiver, radio equipment, reconfigurable radio equipment, reconfigurable mobile device, etc. Furthermore, the term “user equipment” or “UE” may include any type of wireless/wired device or any computing device including a wireless communications interface.

The term “network element” as used herein refers to physical or virtualized equipment and/or infrastructure used to provide wired or wireless communication network services. The term “network element” may be considered synonymous to and/or referred to as a networked computer, networking hardware, network equipment, network node, router, switch, hub, bridge, radio network controller, RAN device, RAN node, gateway, server, virtualized VNF, NFVI, and/or the like.

The term “computer system” as used herein refers to any type interconnected electronic devices, computer devices, or components thereof. Additionally, the term “computer system” and/or “system” may refer to various components of a computer that are communicatively coupled with one another. Furthermore, the term “computer system” and/or “system” may refer to multiple computer devices and/or multiple computing systems that are communicatively coupled with one another and configured to share computing and/or networking resources.

The term “appliance,” “computer appliance,” or the like, as used herein refers to a computer device or computer system with program code (e.g., software or firmware) that is specifically designed to provide a specific computing resource. A “virtual appliance” is a virtual machine image to be implemented by a hypervisor-equipped device that virtualizes or emulates a computer appliance or otherwise is dedicated to provide a specific computing resource.

The term “resource” as used herein refers to a physical or virtual device, a physical or virtual component within a computing environment, and/or a physical or virtual component within a particular device, such as computer devices, mechanical devices, memory space, processor/CPU time, processor/CPU usage, processor and accelerator loads, hardware time or usage, electrical power, input/output operations, ports or network sockets, channel/link allocation, throughput, memory usage, storage, network, database and applications, workload units, and/or the like. A “hardware resource” may refer to compute, storage, and/or network resources provided by physical hardware element(s). A “virtualized resource” may refer to compute, storage, and/or network resources provided by virtualization infrastructure to an application, device, system, etc. The term “network resource” or “communication resource” may refer to resources that are accessible by computer devices/systems via a communications network. The term “system resources” may refer to any kind of shared entities to provide services, and may include computing and/or network resources. System resources may be considered as a set of coherent functions, network data objects or services, accessible through a server where such system resources reside on a single host or multiple hosts and are clearly identifiable.

The term “channel” as used herein refers to any transmission medium, either tangible or intangible, which is used to communicate data or a data stream. The term “channel” may be synonymous with and/or equivalent to “communications channel,” “data communications channel,” “transmission channel,” “data transmission channel,” “access channel,” “data access channel,” “link,” “data link,” “carrier,” “radiofrequency carrier,” and/or any other like term denoting a pathway or medium through which data is communicated. Additionally, the term “link” as used herein refers to a connection between two devices through a RAT for the purpose of transmitting and receiving information.

The terms “instantiate,” “instantiation,” and the like as used herein refers to the creation of an instance. An “instance” also refers to a concrete occurrence of an object, which may occur, for example, during execution of program code.

The terms “coupled,” “communicatively coupled,” along with derivatives thereof are used herein. The term “coupled” may mean two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact with one another, may mean that two or more elements indirectly contact each other but still cooperate or interact with each other, and/or may mean that one or more other elements are coupled or connected between the elements that are said to be coupled with each other. The term “directly coupled” may mean that two or more elements are in direct contact with one another. The term “communicatively coupled” may mean that two or more elements may be in contact with one another by a means of communication including through a wire or other interconnect connection, through a wireless communication channel or link, and/or the like.

The term “information element” refers to a structural element containing one or more fields. The term “field” refers to individual contents of an information element, or a data element that contains content.

The term “SMTC” refers to an SSB-based measurement timing configuration configured by SSB-MeasurementTimingConfiguration.

The term “SSB” refers to an SS/PBCH block.

The term “a “Primary Cell” refers to the MCG cell, operating on the primary frequency, in which the UE either performs the initial connection establishment procedure or initiates the connection re-establishment procedure.

The term “Primary SCG Cell” refers to the SCG cell in which the UE performs random access when performing the Reconfiguration with Sync procedure for DC operation.

The term “Secondary Cell” refers to a cell providing additional radio resources on top of a Special Cell for a UE configured with CA.

The term “Secondary Cell Group” refers to the subset of serving cells comprising the PSCell and zero or more secondary cells for a UE configured with DC.

The term “Serving Cell” refers to the primary cell for a UE in RRC_CONNECTED not configured with CA/DC there is only one serving cell comprising of the primary cell.

The term “serving cell” or “serving cells” refers to the set of cells comprising the Special Cell(s) and all secondary cells for a UE in RRC_CONNECTED configured with CA/.

The term “Special Cell” refers to the PCell of the MCG or the PSCell of the SCG for DC operation; otherwise, the term “Special Cell” refers to the Pcell.

	Number	Date	Country
	63298515	Jan 2022	US
	63310043	Feb 2022	US

LISTEN-BEFORE-TALK (LBT) IN RADIO RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (RRM) FOR NEW RADIO SYSTEMS

Information

Publication Number

Date Filed

Date Published

Inventors

Original Assignees

CPC

International Classifications

Abstract

Description

Claims

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

Provisional Applications (2)