MULTIPLE CARRIER PHASE MEASUREMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH POSITIONING FREQUENCY LAYER AND DIFFERENTIAL CARRIER PHASE MEASUREMENT REPORTING

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE
1. Field of the Disclosure

Aspects of the disclosure relate generally to wireless communications.

2. Description of the Related Art

Wireless communication systems have developed through various generations, including a first-generation analog wireless phone service (1G), a second-generation (2G) digital wireless phone service (including interim 2.5G and 2.75G networks), a third-generation (3G) high speed data, Internet-capable wireless service and a fourth-generation (4G) service (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax). There are presently many different types of wireless communication systems in use, including cellular and personal communications service (PCS) systems. Examples of known cellular systems include the cellular analog advanced mobile phone system (AMPS), and digital cellular systems based on code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), the Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), etc.

A fifth generation (5G) wireless standard, referred to as New Radio (NR), enables higher data transfer speeds, greater numbers of connections, and better coverage, among other improvements. The 5G standard, according to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance, is designed to provide higher data rates as compared to previous standards, more accurate positioning (e.g., based on reference signals for positioning (RS-P), such as downlink, uplink, or sidelink positioning reference signals (PRS)), and other technical enhancements. These enhancements, as well as the use of higher frequency bands, advances in PRS processes and technology, and high-density deployments for 5G, enable highly accurate 5G-based positioning.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary relating to one or more aspects disclosed herein. Thus, the following summary should not be considered an extensive overview relating to all contemplated aspects, nor should the following summary be considered to identify key or critical elements relating to all contemplated aspects or to delineate the scope associated with any particular aspect. Accordingly, the following summary has the sole purpose to present certain concepts relating to one or more aspects relating to the mechanisms disclosed herein in a simplified form to precede the detailed description presented below.

In an aspect, a method of operating a wireless measurement entity includes receiving, from a position estimation entity, a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) resource configuration that configures a set of RS-P occasions associated with a first positioning frequency layer (PFL) in association with a position estimation session of a user equipment (UE); measuring a first carrier phase of the first PFL at a first carrier frequency associated with a RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions; measuring a second carrier phase of the first PFL at a second carrier frequency associated with the RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions; and transmitting at least one measurement report that indicates the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL and the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL to the position estimation entity.

In an aspect, a method of operating a position estimation entity includes transmitting, to a wireless measurement entity, a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) resource configuration that configures a set of RS-P occasions associated with a first positioning frequency layer (PFL) in association with a position estimation session of a user equipment (UE); receiving, from the wireless measurement entity, at least one measurement report that indicates a measured first carrier phase of the first PFL at a first carrier frequency associated with a RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions and a measured second carrier phase of the first PFL at a second carrier frequency associated with the RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions; and determining a position estimate of the UE based on the at least one measurement report.

In an aspect, a method of operating a wireless measurement entity includes receiving, from a position estimation entity, a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) resource configuration that configures a set of RS-P occasions associated with a positioning frequency layer (PFL); determining that the wireless measurement entity is incapable of measuring a full bandwidth of the PFL; transmitting, to the position estimation entity, a request to perform RS-P measurements associated with the RS-P resource configuration on a reduced bandwidth corresponding to less than all of the full bandwidth of the PFL; receiving, from the position estimation entity, an indication of acceptance of the request; performing one or more RS-P measurements associated with a RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions on the reduced bandwidth; measuring a carrier phase associated with the PFL on the RS-P occasion at a central carrier frequency relative to the full bandwidth of the PFL; and transmitting at least one measurement report comprising the one or more RS-P measurements and the measured carrier phase to the position estimation entity.

In an aspect, a method of operating a position estimation entity includes transmitting, to a wireless measurement entity, a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) resource configuration that configures a set of RS-P occasions associated with a positioning frequency layer (PFL); receiving, from the wireless measurement entity, a request to perform RS-P measurements associated with the RS-P resource configuration on a reduced bandwidth corresponding to less than all of a full bandwidth of the PFL; transmitting, to the wireless measurement entity, an indication of acceptance of the request; receiving, from the wireless measurement entity, at least one measurement report comprising one or more RS-P measurements associated with a RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions on the reduced bandwidth and a measured carrier phase associated with the PFL on the RS-P occasion at a central carrier frequency relative to the full bandwidth of the PFL; and determining a position estimate of a user equipment (UE) based on the at least one measurement report.

In an aspect, a wireless measurement entity includes at least one memory; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one memory, the at least one processor configured to: receive, from a position estimation entity, a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) resource configuration that configures a set of RS-P occasions associated with a first positioning frequency layer (PFL) in association with a position estimation session of a user equipment (UE); measure a first carrier phase of the first PFL at a first carrier frequency associated with a RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions; measure a second carrier phase of the first PFL at a second carrier frequency associated with the RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions; and transmit at least one measurement report that indicates the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL and the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL to the position estimation entity.

In an aspect, a position estimation entity includes at least one memory; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one memory, the at least one processor configured to: transmit, to a wireless measurement entity, a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) resource configuration that configures a set of RS-P occasions associated with a first positioning frequency layer (PFL) in association with a position estimation session of a user equipment (UE); receive, from the wireless measurement entity, at least one measurement report that indicates a measured first carrier phase of the first PFL at a first carrier frequency associated with a RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions and a measured second carrier phase of the first PFL at a second carrier frequency associated with the RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions; and determine a position estimate of the UE based on the at least one measurement report.

In an aspect, a wireless measurement entity includes at least one memory; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one memory, the at least one processor configured to: receive, from a position estimation entity, a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) resource configuration that configures a set of RS-P occasions associated with a positioning frequency layer (PFL); determine that the wireless measurement entity is incapable of measuring a full bandwidth of the PFL; transmit, to the position estimation entity, a request to perform RS-P measurements associated with the RS-P resource configuration on a reduced bandwidth corresponding to less than all of the full bandwidth of the PFL; receive, from the position estimation entity, an indication of acceptance of the request; perform one or more RS-P measurements associated with a RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions on the reduced bandwidth; measure a carrier phase associated with the PFL on the RS-P occasion at a central carrier frequency relative to the full bandwidth of the PFL; and transmit at least one measurement report comprising the one or more RS-P measurements and the measured carrier phase to the position estimation entity.

In an aspect, a position estimation entity includes at least one memory; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one memory, the at least one processor configured to: transmit, to a wireless measurement entity, a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) resource configuration that configures a set of RS-P occasions associated with a positioning frequency layer (PFL); receive, from the wireless measurement entity, a request to perform RS-P measurements associated with the RS-P resource configuration on a reduced bandwidth corresponding to less than all of a full bandwidth of the PFL; transmit, to the wireless measurement entity, an indication of acceptance of the request; receive, from the wireless measurement entity, at least one measurement report comprising one or more RS-P measurements associated with a RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions on the reduced bandwidth and a measured carrier phase associated with the PFL on the RS-P occasion at a central carrier frequency relative to the full bandwidth of the PFL; and determine a position estimate of a user equipment (UE) based on the at least one measurement report.

In an aspect, a wireless measurement entity includes means for receiving, from a position estimation entity, a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) resource configuration that configures a set of RS-P occasions associated with a first positioning frequency layer (PFL) in association with a position estimation session of a user equipment (UE); means for measuring a first carrier phase of the first PFL at a first carrier frequency associated with a RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions; means for measuring a second carrier phase of the first PFL at a second carrier frequency associated with the RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions; and means for transmitting at least one measurement report that indicates the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL and the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL to the position estimation entity.

In an aspect, a position estimation entity includes means for transmitting, to a wireless measurement entity, a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) resource configuration that configures a set of RS-P occasions associated with a first positioning frequency layer (PFL) in association with a position estimation session of a user equipment (UE); means for receiving, from the wireless measurement entity, at least one measurement report that indicates a measured first carrier phase of the first PFL at a first carrier frequency associated with a RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions and a measured second carrier phase of the first PFL at a second carrier frequency associated with the RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions; and means for determining a position estimate of the UE based on the at least one measurement report.

In an aspect, a wireless measurement entity includes means for receiving, from a position estimation entity, a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) resource configuration that configures a set of RS-P occasions associated with a positioning frequency layer (PFL); means for determining that the wireless measurement entity is incapable of measuring a full bandwidth of the PFL; means for transmitting, to the position estimation entity, a request to perform RS-P measurements associated with the RS-P resource configuration on a reduced bandwidth corresponding to less than all of the full bandwidth of the PFL; means for receiving, from the position estimation entity, an indication of acceptance of the request; means for performing one or more RS-P measurements associated with a RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions on the reduced bandwidth; means for measuring a carrier phase associated with the PFL on the RS-P occasion at a central carrier frequency relative to the full bandwidth of the PFL; and means for transmitting at least one measurement report comprising the one or more RS-P measurements and the measured carrier phase to the position estimation entity.

In an aspect, a position estimation entity includes means for transmitting, to a wireless measurement entity, a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) resource configuration that configures a set of RS-P occasions associated with a positioning frequency layer (PFL); means for receiving, from the wireless measurement entity, a request to perform RS-P measurements associated with the RS-P resource configuration on a reduced bandwidth corresponding to less than all of a full bandwidth of the PFL; means for transmitting, to the wireless measurement entity, an indication of acceptance of the request; means for receiving, from the wireless measurement entity, at least one measurement report comprising one or more RS-P measurements associated with a RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions on the reduced bandwidth and a measured carrier phase associated with the PFL on the RS-P occasion at a central carrier frequency relative to the full bandwidth of the PFL; and means for determining a position estimate of a user equipment (UE) based on the at least one measurement report.

In an aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a wireless measurement entity, cause the wireless measurement entity to: receive, from a position estimation entity, a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) resource configuration that configures a set of RS-P occasions associated with a first positioning frequency layer (PFL) in association with a position estimation session of a user equipment (UE); measure a first carrier phase of the first PFL at a first carrier frequency associated with a RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions; measure a second carrier phase of the first PFL at a second carrier frequency associated with the RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions; and transmit at least one measurement report that indicates the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL and the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL to the position estimation entity.

In an aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a position estimation entity, cause the position estimation entity to: transmit, to a wireless measurement entity, a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) resource configuration that configures a set of RS-P occasions associated with a first positioning frequency layer (PFL) in association with a position estimation session of a user equipment (UE); receive, from the wireless measurement entity, at least one measurement report that indicates a measured first carrier phase of the first PFL at a first carrier frequency associated with a RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions and a measured second carrier phase of the first PFL at a second carrier frequency associated with the RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions; and determine a position estimate of the UE based on the at least one measurement report.

In an aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a wireless measurement entity, cause the wireless measurement entity to: receive, from a position estimation entity, a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) resource configuration that configures a set of RS-P occasions associated with a positioning frequency layer (PFL); determine that the wireless measurement entity is incapable of measuring a full bandwidth of the PFL; transmit, to the position estimation entity, a request to perform RS-P measurements associated with the RS-P resource configuration on a reduced bandwidth corresponding to less than all of the full bandwidth of the PFL; receive, from the position estimation entity, an indication of acceptance of the request; perform one or more RS-P measurements associated with a RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions on the reduced bandwidth; measure a carrier phase associated with the PFL on the RS-P occasion at a central carrier frequency relative to the full bandwidth of the PFL; and transmit at least one measurement report comprising the one or more RS-P measurements and the measured carrier phase to the position estimation entity.

In an aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a position estimation entity, cause the position estimation entity to: transmit, to a wireless measurement entity, a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) resource configuration that configures a set of RS-P occasions associated with a positioning frequency layer (PFL); receive, from the wireless measurement entity, a request to perform RS-P measurements associated with the RS-P resource configuration on a reduced bandwidth corresponding to less than all of a full bandwidth of the PFL; transmit, to the wireless measurement entity, an indication of acceptance of the request; receive, from the wireless measurement entity, at least one measurement report comprising one or more RS-P measurements associated with a RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions on the reduced bandwidth and a measured carrier phase associated with the PFL on the RS-P occasion at a central carrier frequency relative to the full bandwidth of the PFL; and determine a position estimate of a user equipment (UE) based on the at least one measurement report.

Other objects and advantages associated with the aspects disclosed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art based on the accompanying drawings and detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are presented to aid in the description of various aspects of the disclosure and are provided solely for illustration of the aspects and not limitation thereof.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless communications system, according to aspects of the disclosure.

FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C illustrate example wireless network structures, according to aspects of the disclosure.

FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C are simplified block diagrams of several sample aspects of components that may be employed in a user equipment (UE), a base station, and a network entity, respectively, and configured to support communications as taught herein.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example frame structure, according to aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating various downlink channels within an example downlink slot, according to aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a diagram of an example positioning reference signal (PRS) configuration for the PRS transmissions of a given base station, according to aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) configuration for two transmission-reception points (TRPs) operating in the same positioning frequency layer, according to aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating various uplink channels within an example uplink slot, according to aspects of the disclosure.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are diagrams of example sidelink slot structures with and without feedback resources, according to aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a resource pool for positioning configured within a sidelink resource pool for communication, according to aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 11 illustrates examples of various positioning methods supported in New Radio (NR), according to aspects of the disclosure.

FIGS. 12A and 12B illustrate various scenarios of interest for sidelink-only or joint Uu and sidelink positioning, according to aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example base station in communication with an example UE, according to aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 14 illustrates a position estimation scheme, in accordance with aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 15 illustrates a DL carrier phase measurement scheme 1500, in accordance with aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 16 illustrates an exemplary process of communications according to an aspect of the disclosure.

FIG. 17 illustrates an exemplary process of communications according to an aspect of the disclosure.

FIG. 18 illustrates an example implementation of the processes of FIGS. 16-17, respectively, in accordance with aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 19 illustrates an example implementation of the processes of FIGS. 16-17, respectively, in accordance with aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 20 illustrates an exemplary process of communications according to an aspect of the disclosure.

FIG. 21 illustrates an exemplary process of communications according to an aspect of the disclosure.

FIG. 22 illustrates an example implementation of the processes of FIGS. 20-21, respectively, in accordance with aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 23 illustrates an exemplary process of communications according to an aspect of the disclosure.

FIG. 24 illustrates an exemplary process of communications according to an aspect of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects of the disclosure are provided in the following description and related drawings directed to various examples provided for illustration purposes. Alternate aspects may be devised without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Additionally, well-known elements of the disclosure will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the disclosure.

Various aspects relate generally to multiple carrier phase measurements associated with positioning frequency layer and reduced positioning frequency layer bandwidth for reference signal for positioning measurements.

Particular aspects of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented to realize one or more of the following potential advantages. Aspects of the disclosure are directed to multiple carrier phase measurements associated with positioning frequency layer. In some designs, multiple carrier phase measurements per positioning frequency layer (PFL) may facilitate more flexibility for carrier phase measurements, which may provide various technical advantages, such as improved position estimation, reduced position estimation latency, and so on. Other aspects are directed to a reduced positioning frequency layer bandwidth for reference signal for positioning measurements. Such aspects may be particularly beneficial for certain user equipment (UE) types, such as RedCap UEs, which may not be capable of measuring a full bandwidth of a PFL, or a normal (i.e., non-RedCap) UE with real-time (e.g., short-term) processing limitation. Other aspects are directed to differential carrier phase measurement reporting (e.g., for a single carrier phase measurement or multiple carrier phase measurements), which may provide technical advantages such as reduced signaling overhead.

The words “exemplary” and/or “example” are used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any aspect described herein as “exemplary” and/or “example” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects. Likewise, the term “aspects of the disclosure” does not require that all aspects of the disclosure include the discussed feature, advantage or mode of operation.

Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the information and signals described below may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the description below may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof, depending in part on the particular application, in part on the desired design, in part on the corresponding technology, etc.

Further, many aspects are described in terms of sequences of actions to be performed by, for example, elements of a computing device. It will be recognized that various actions described herein can be performed by specific circuits (e.g., application specific integrated circuits (ASICs)), by program instructions being executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. Additionally, the sequence(s) of actions described herein can be considered to be embodied entirely within any form of non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein a corresponding set of computer instructions that, upon execution, would cause or instruct an associated processor of a device to perform the functionality described herein. Thus, the various aspects of the disclosure may be embodied in a number of different forms, all of which have been contemplated to be within the scope of the claimed subject matter. In addition, for each of the aspects described herein, the corresponding form of any such aspects may be described herein as, for example, “logic configured to” perform the described action.

As used herein, the terms “user equipment” (UE) and “base station” are not intended to be specific or otherwise limited to any particular radio access technology (RAT), unless otherwise noted. In general, a UE may be any wireless communication device (e.g., a mobile phone, router, tablet computer, laptop computer, consumer asset locating device, wearable (e.g., smartwatch, glasses, augmented reality (AR)/virtual reality (VR) headset, etc.), vehicle (e.g., automobile, motorcycle, bicycle, etc.), Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.) used by a user to communicate over a wireless communications network. A UE may be mobile or may (e.g., at certain times) be stationary, and may communicate with a radio access network (RAN). As used herein, the term “UE” may be referred to interchangeably as an “access terminal” or “AT,” a “client device,” a “wireless device,” a “subscriber device,” a “subscriber terminal,” a “subscriber station,” a “user terminal” or “UT,” a “mobile device,” a “mobile terminal,” a “mobile station,” or variations thereof. Generally, UEs can communicate with a core network via a RAN, and through the core network the UEs can be connected with external networks such as the Internet and with other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms of connecting to the core network and/or the Internet are also possible for the UEs, such as over wired access networks, wireless local area network (WLAN) networks (e.g., based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 specification, etc.) and so on.

A base station may operate according to one of several RATs in communication with UEs depending on the network in which it is deployed, and may be alternatively referred to as an access point (AP), a network node, a NodeB, an evolved NodeB (CNB), a next generation cNB (ng-eNB), a New Radio (NR) Node B (also referred to as a gNB or gNodeB), etc. A base station may be used primarily to support wireless access by UEs, including supporting data, voice, and/or signaling connections for the supported UEs. In some systems a base station may provide purely edge node signaling functions while in other systems it may provide additional control and/or network management functions. A communication link through which UEs can send signals to a base station is called an uplink (UL) channel (e.g., a reverse traffic channel, a reverse control channel, an access channel, etc.). A communication link through which the base station can send signals to UEs is called a downlink (DL) or forward link channel (e.g., a paging channel, a control channel, a broadcast channel, a forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein the term traffic channel (TCH) can refer to either an uplink/reverse or downlink/forward traffic channel.

The term “base station” may refer to a single physical transmission-reception point (TRP) or to multiple physical TRPs that may or may not be co-located. For example, where the term “base station” refers to a single physical TRP, the physical TRP may be an antenna of the base station corresponding to a cell (or several cell sectors) of the base station. Where the term “base station” refers to multiple co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRPs may be an array of antennas (e.g., as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system or where the base station employs beamforming) of the base station. Where the term “base station” refers to multiple non-co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRPs may be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected to a common source via a transport medium) or a remote radio head (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station). Alternatively, the non-co-located physical TRPs may be the serving base station receiving the measurement report from the UE and a neighbor base station whose reference radio frequency (RF) signals the UE is measuring. Because a TRP is the point from which a base station transmits and receives wireless signals, as used herein, references to transmission from or reception at a base station are to be understood as referring to a particular TRP of the base station.

In some implementations that support positioning of UEs, a base station may not support wireless access by UEs (e.g., may not support data, voice, and/or signaling connections for UEs), but may instead transmit reference signals to UEs to be measured by the UEs, and/or may receive and measure signals transmitted by the UEs. Such a base station may be referred to as a positioning beacon (e.g., when transmitting signals to UEs) and/or as a location measurement unit (e.g., when receiving and measuring signals from UEs).

An “RF signal” comprises an electromagnetic wave of a given frequency that transports information through the space between a transmitter and a receiver. As used herein, a transmitter may transmit a single “RF signal” or multiple “RF signals” to a receiver. However, the receiver may receive multiple “RF signals” corresponding to each transmitted RF signal due to the propagation characteristics of RF signals through multipath channels. The same transmitted RF signal on different paths between the transmitter and receiver may be referred to as a “multipath” RF signal. As used herein, an RF signal may also be referred to as a “wireless signal” or simply a “signal” where it is clear from the context that the term “signal” refers to a wireless signal or an RF signal.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless communications system 100, according to aspects of the disclosure. The wireless communications system 100 (which may also be referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) may include various base stations 102 (labeled “BS”) and various UEs 104. The base stations 102 may include macro cell base stations (high power cellular base stations) and/or small cell base stations (low power cellular base stations). In an aspect, the macro cell base stations may include eNBs and/or ng-eNBs where the wireless communications system 100 corresponds to an LTE network, or gNBs where the wireless communications system 100 corresponds to a NR network, or a combination of both, and the small cell base stations may include femtocells, picocells, microcells, etc.

The base stations 102 may collectively form a RAN and interface with a core network 170 (e.g., an evolved packet core (EPC) or a 5G core (5GC)) through backhaul links 122, and through the core network 170 to one or more location servers 172 (e.g., a location management function (LMF) or a secure user plane location (SUPL) location platform (SLP)). The location server(s) 172 may be part of core network 170 or may be external to core network 170. A location server 172 may be integrated with a base station 102. A UE 104 may communicate with a location server 172 directly or indirectly. For example, a UE 104 may communicate with a location server 172 via the base station 102 that is currently serving that UE 104. A UE 104 may also communicate with a location server 172 through another path, such as via an application server (not shown), via another network, such as via a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) (e.g., AP 150 described below), and so on. For signaling purposes, communication between a UE 104 and a location server 172 may be represented as an indirect connection (e.g., through the core network 170, etc.) or a direct connection (e.g., as shown via direct connection 128), with the intervening nodes (if any) omitted from a signaling diagram for clarity.

In addition to other functions, the base stations 102 may perform functions that relate to one or more of transferring user data, radio channel ciphering and deciphering, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection setup and release, load balancing, distribution for non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment trace, RAN information management (RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery of warning messages. The base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., through the EPC/5GC) over backhaul links 134, which may be wired or wireless.

The base stations 102 may wirelessly communicate with the UEs 104. Each of the base stations 102 may provide communication coverage for a respective geographic coverage area 110. In an aspect, one or more cells may be supported by a base station 102 in each geographic coverage area 110. A “cell” is a logical communication entity used for communication with a base station (e.g., over some frequency resource, referred to as a carrier frequency, component carrier, carrier, band, or the like), and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCI), an enhanced cell identifier (ECI), a virtual cell identifier (VCI), a cell global identifier (CGI), etc.) for distinguishing cells operating via the same or a different carrier frequency. In some cases, different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., machine-type communication (MTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or others) that may provide access for different types of UEs. Because a cell is supported by a specific base station, the term “cell” may refer to either or both of the logical communication entity and the base station that supports it, depending on the context. In addition, because a TRP is typically the physical transmission point of a cell, the terms “cell” and “TRP” may be used interchangeably. In some cases, the term “cell” may also refer to a geographic coverage area of a base station (e.g., a sector), insofar as a carrier frequency can be detected and used for communication within some portion of geographic coverage areas 110.

While neighboring macro cell base station 102 geographic coverage areas 110 may partially overlap (e.g., in a handover region), some of the geographic coverage areas 110 may be substantially overlapped by a larger geographic coverage area 110. For example, a small cell base station 102′ (labeled “SC” for “small cell”) may have a geographic coverage area 110′ that substantially overlaps with the geographic coverage area 110 of one or more macro cell base stations 102. A network that includes both small cell and macro cell base stations may be known as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include home eNBs (HeNBs), which may provide service to a restricted group known as a closed subscriber group (CSG).

The communication links 120 between the base stations 102 and the UEs 104 may include uplink (also referred to as reverse link) transmissions from a UE 104 to a base station 102 and/or downlink (DL) (also referred to as forward link) transmissions from a base station 102 to a UE 104. The communication links 120 may use MIMO antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and/or transmit diversity. The communication links 120 may be through one or more carrier frequencies. Allocation of carriers may be asymmetric with respect to downlink and uplink (e.g., more or less carriers may be allocated for downlink than for uplink).

The wireless communications system 100 may further include a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) 150 in communication with WLAN stations (STAs) 152 via communication links 154 in an unlicensed frequency spectrum (e.g., 5 GHZ). When communicating in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, the WLAN STAs 152 and/or the WLAN AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) or listen before talk (LBT) procedure prior to communicating in order to determine whether the channel is available.

The small cell base station 102′ may operate in a licensed and/or an unlicensed frequency spectrum. When operating in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, the small cell base station 102′ may employ LTE or NR technology and use the same 5 GHz unlicensed frequency spectrum as used by the WLAN AP 150. The small cell base station 102′, employing LTE/5G in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, may boost coverage to and/or increase capacity of the access network. NR in unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as NR-U. LTE in an unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as LTE-U, licensed assisted access (LAA), or MULTEFIRE®.

The wireless communications system 100 may further include a millimeter wave (mmW) base station 180 that may operate in mmW frequencies and/or near mmW frequencies in communication with a UE 182. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is part of the RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz and a wavelength between 1 millimeter and 10 millimeters. Radio waves in this band may be referred to as a millimeter wave. Near mmW may extend down to a frequency of 3 GHZ with a wavelength of 100 millimeters. The super high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz, also referred to as centimeter wave. Communications using the mmW/near mmW radio frequency band have high path loss and a relatively short range. The mmW base station 180 and the UE 182 may utilize beamforming (transmit and/or receive) over a mmW communication link 184 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short range. Further, it will be appreciated that in alternative configurations, one or more base stations 102 may also transmit using mmW or near mmW and beamforming. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the foregoing illustrations are merely examples and should not be construed to limit the various aspects disclosed herein.

Transmit beamforming is a technique for focusing an RF signal in a specific direction. Traditionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts an RF signal, it broadcasts the signal in all directions (omni-directionally). With transmit beamforming, the network node determines where a given target device (e.g., a UE) is located (relative to the transmitting network node) and projects a stronger downlink RF signal in that specific direction, thereby providing a faster (in terms of data rate) and stronger RF signal for the receiving device(s). To change the directionality of the RF signal when transmitting, a network node can control the phase and relative amplitude of the RF signal at each of the one or more transmitters that are broadcasting the RF signal. For example, a network node may use an array of antennas (referred to as a “phased array” or an “antenna array”) that creates a beam of RF waves that can be “steered” to point in different directions, without actually moving the antennas. Specifically, the RF current from the transmitter is fed to the individual antennas with the correct phase relationship so that the radio waves from the separate antennas add together to increase the radiation in a desired direction, while cancelling to suppress radiation in undesired directions.

Transmit beams may be quasi-co-located, meaning that they appear to the receiver (e.g., a UE) as having the same parameters, regardless of whether or not the transmitting antennas of the network node themselves are physically co-located. In NR, there are four types of quasi-co-location (QCL) relations. Specifically, a QCL relation of a given type means that certain parameters about a second reference RF signal on a second beam can be derived from information about a source reference RF signal on a source beam. Thus, if the source reference RF signal is QCL Type A, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, and delay spread of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type B, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and Doppler spread of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type C, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and average delay of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type D, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the spatial receive parameter of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel.

In receive beamforming, the receiver uses a receive beam to amplify RF signals detected on a given channel. For example, the receiver can increase the gain setting and/or adjust the phase setting of an array of antennas in a particular direction to amplify (e.g., to increase the gain level of) the RF signals received from that direction. Thus, when a receiver is said to beamform in a certain direction, it means the beam gain in that direction is high relative to the beam gain along other directions, or the beam gain in that direction is the highest compared to the beam gain in that direction of all other receive beams available to the receiver. This results in a stronger received signal strength (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), etc.) of the RF signals received from that direction.

Transmit and receive beams may be spatially related. A spatial relation means that parameters for a second beam (e.g., a transmit or receive beam) for a second reference signal can be derived from information about a first beam (e.g., a receive beam or a transmit beam) for a first reference signal. For example, a UE may use a particular receive beam to receive a reference downlink reference signal (e.g., synchronization signal block (SSB)) from a base station. The UE can then form a transmit beam for sending an uplink reference signal (e.g., sounding reference signal (SRS)) to that base station based on the parameters of the receive beam.

Note that a “downlink” beam may be either a transmit beam or a receive beam, depending on the entity forming it. For example, if a base station is forming the downlink beam to transmit a reference signal to a UE, the downlink beam is a transmit beam. If the UE is forming the downlink beam, however, it is a receive beam to receive the downlink reference signal. Similarly, an “uplink” beam may be either a transmit beam or a receive beam, depending on the entity forming it. For example, if a base station is forming the uplink beam, it is an uplink receive beam, and if a UE is forming the uplink beam, it is an uplink transmit beam.

The electromagnetic spectrum is often subdivided, based on frequency/wavelength, into various classes, bands, channels, etc. In 5G NR two initial operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz-7.125 GHZ) and FR2 (24.25 GHz-52.6 GHz). It should be understood that although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6 GHZ, FR1 is often referred to (interchangeably) as a “Sub-6 GHz” band in various documents and articles. A similar nomenclature issue sometimes occurs with regard to FR2, which is often referred to (interchangeably) as a “millimeter wave” band in documents and articles, despite being different from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHZ-300 GHz) which is identified by the INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION UNION® as a “millimeter wave” band.

The frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are often referred to as mid-band frequencies. Recent 5G NR studies have identified an operating band for these mid-band frequencies as frequency range designation FR3 (7.125 GHZ-24.25 GHZ). Frequency bands falling within FR3 may inherit FR1 characteristics and/or FR2 characteristics, and thus may effectively extend features of FR1 and/or FR2 into mid-band frequencies. In addition, higher frequency bands are currently being explored to extend 5G NR operation beyond 52.6 GHz. For example, three higher operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6 GHz-71 GHZ), FR4 (52.6 GHz-114.25 GHZ), and FR5 (114.25 GHZ-300 GHz). Each of these higher frequency bands falls within the EHF band.

With the above aspects in mind, unless specifically stated otherwise, it should be understood that the term “sub-6 GHz” or the like if used herein may broadly represent frequencies that may be less than 6 GHZ, may be within FR1, or may include mid-band frequencies. Further, unless specifically stated otherwise, it should be understood that the term “millimeter wave” or the like if used herein may broadly represent frequencies that may include mid-band frequencies, may be within FR2, FR4, FR4-a or FR4-1, and/or FR5, or may be within the EHF band.

In a multi-carrier system, such as 5G, one of the carrier frequencies is referred to as the “primary carrier” or “anchor carrier” or “primary serving cell” or “PCell,” and the remaining carrier frequencies are referred to as “secondary carriers” or “secondary serving cells” or “SCells.” In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is the carrier operating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) utilized by a UE 104/182 and the cell in which the UE 104/182 cither performs the initial radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiates the RRC connection re-establishment procedure. The primary carrier carries all common and UE-specific control channels, and may be a carrier in a licensed frequency (however, this is not always the case). A secondary carrier is a carrier operating on a second frequency (e.g., FR2) that may be configured once the RRC connection is established between the UE 104 and the anchor carrier and that may be used to provide additional radio resources. In some cases, the secondary carrier may be a carrier in an unlicensed frequency. The secondary carrier may contain only necessary signaling information and signals, for example, those that are UE-specific may not be present in the secondary carrier, since both primary uplink and downlink carriers are typically UE-specific. This means that different UEs 104/182 in a cell may have different downlink primary carriers. The same is true for the uplink primary carriers. The network is able to change the primary carrier of any UE 104/182 at any time. This is done, for example, to balance the load on different carriers. Because a “serving cell” (whether a PCell or an SCell) corresponds to a carrier frequency/component carrier over which some base station is communicating, the term “cell,” “serving cell,” “component carrier,” “carrier frequency,” and the like can be used interchangeably.

For example, still referring to FIG. 1, one of the frequencies utilized by the macro cell base stations 102 may be an anchor carrier (or “PCell”) and other frequencies utilized by the macro cell base stations 102 and/or the mmW base station 180 may be secondary carriers (“SCells”). The simultaneous transmission and/or reception of multiple carriers enables the UE 104/182 to significantly increase its data transmission and/or reception rates. For example, two 20 MHz aggregated carriers in a multi-carrier system would theoretically lead to a two-fold increase in data rate (i.e., 40 MHz), compared to that attained by a single 20 MHz carrier.

The wireless communications system 100 may further include a UE 164 that may communicate with a macro cell base station 102 over a communication link 120 and/or the mmW base station 180 over a mmW communication link 184. For example, the macro cell base station 102 may support a PCell and one or more SCells for the UE 164 and the mmW base station 180 may support one or more SCells for the UE 164.

In some cases, the UE 164 and the UE 182 may be capable of sidelink communication. Sidelink-capable UEs (SL-UEs) may communicate with base stations 102 over communication links 120 using the Uu interface (i.e., the air interface between a UE and a base station). SL-UEs (e.g., UE 164, UE 182) may also communicate directly with each other over a wireless sidelink 160 using the PC5 interface (i.e., the air interface between sidelink-capable UEs). A wireless sidelink (or just “sidelink”) is an adaptation of the core cellular (e.g., LTE, NR) standard that allows direct communication between two or more UEs without the communication needing to go through a base station. Sidelink communication may be unicast or multicast, and may be used for device-to-device (D2D) media-sharing, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication (e.g., cellular V2X (cV2X) communication, enhanced V2X (cV2X) communication, etc.), emergency rescue applications, etc. One or more of a group of SL-UEs utilizing sidelink communications may be within the geographic coverage area 110 of a base station 102. Other SL-UEs in such a group may be outside the geographic coverage area 110 of a base station 102 or be otherwise unable to receive transmissions from a base station 102. In some cases, groups of SL-UEs communicating via sidelink communications may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system in which each SL-UE transmits to every other SL-UE in the group. In some cases, a base station 102 facilitates the scheduling of resources for sidelink communications. In other cases, sidelink communications are carried out between SL-UEs without the involvement of a base station 102.

In an aspect, the sidelink 160 may operate over a wireless communication medium of interest, which may be shared with other wireless communications between other vehicles and/or infrastructure access points, as well as other RATs. A “medium” may be composed of one or more time, frequency, and/or space communication resources (e.g., encompassing one or more channels across one or more carriers) associated with wireless communication between one or more transmitter/receiver pairs. In an aspect, the medium of interest may correspond to at least a portion of an unlicensed frequency band shared among various RATs. Although different licensed frequency bands have been reserved for certain communication systems (e.g., by a government entity such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States), these systems, in particular those employing small cell access points, have recently extended operation into unlicensed frequency bands such as the Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) band used by wireless local area network (WLAN) technologies, most notably IEEE 802.11x WLAN technologies generally referred to as “Wi-Fi.” Example systems of this type include different variants of CDMA systems, TDMA systems, FDMA systems, orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) systems, single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) systems, and so on.

Note that although FIG. 1 only illustrates two of the UEs as SL-UEs (i.e., UEs 164 and 182), any of the illustrated UEs may be SL-UEs. Further, although only UE 182 was described as being capable of beamforming, any of the illustrated UEs, including UE 164, may be capable of beamforming. Where SL-UEs are capable of beamforming, they may beamform towards each other (i.e., towards other SL-UEs), towards other UEs (e.g., UEs 104), towards base stations (e.g., base stations 102, 180, small cell 102′, access point 150), etc. Thus, in some cases, UEs 164 and 182 may utilize beamforming over sidelink 160.

In the example of FIG. 1, any of the illustrated UEs (shown in FIG. 1 as a single UE 104 for simplicity) may receive signals 124 from one or more Earth orbiting space vehicles (SVs) 112 (e.g., satellites). In an aspect, the SVs 112 may be part of a satellite positioning system that a UE 104 can use as an independent source of location information. A satellite positioning system typically includes a system of transmitters (e.g., SVs 112) positioned to enable receivers (e.g., UEs 104) to determine their location on or above the Earth based, at least in part, on positioning signals (e.g., signals 124) received from the transmitters. Such a transmitter typically transmits a signal marked with a repeating pseudo-random noise (PN) code of a set number of chips. While typically located in SVs 112, transmitters may sometimes be located on ground-based control stations, base stations 102, and/or other UEs 104. A UE 104 may include one or more dedicated receivers specifically designed to receive signals 124 for deriving geo location information from the SVs 112.

In a satellite positioning system, the use of signals 124 can be augmented by various satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS) that may be associated with or otherwise enabled for use with one or more global and/or regional navigation satellite systems. For example an SBAS may include an augmentation system(s) that provides integrity information, differential corrections, etc., such as the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), the Multi-functional Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), the Global Positioning System (GPS) Aided Geo Augmented Navigation or GPS and Geo Augmented Navigation system (GAGAN), and/or the like. Thus, as used herein, a satellite positioning system may include any combination of one or more global and/or regional navigation satellites associated with such one or more satellite positioning systems.

In an aspect, SVs 112 may additionally or alternatively be part of one or more non-terrestrial networks (NTNs). In an NTN, an SV 112 is connected to an earth station (also referred to as a ground station, NTN gateway, or gateway), which in turn is connected to an element in a 5G network, such as a modified base station 102 (without a terrestrial antenna) or a network node in a 5GC. This element would in turn provide access to other elements in the 5G network and ultimately to entities external to the 5G network, such as Internet web servers and other user devices. In that way, a UE 104 may receive communication signals (e.g., signals 124) from an SV 112 instead of, or in addition to, communication signals from a terrestrial base station 102.

The wireless communications system 100 may further include one or more UEs, such as UE 190, that connects indirectly to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links (referred to as “sidelinks”). In the example of FIG. 1, UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192 with one of the UEs 104 connected to one of the base stations 102 (e.g., through which UE 190 may indirectly obtain cellular connectivity) and a D2D P2P link 194 with WLAN STA 152 connected to the WLAN AP 150 (through which UE 190 may indirectly obtain WLAN-based Internet connectivity). In an example, the D2D P2P links 192 and 194 may be supported with any well-known D2D RAT, such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WI-FI DIRECT®, BLUETOOTH®, and so on.

FIG. 2A illustrates an example wireless network structure 200. For example, a 5GC 210 (also referred to as a Next Generation Core (NGC)) can be viewed functionally as control plane (C-plane) functions 214 (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and user plane (U-plane) functions 212, (e.g., UE gateway function, access to data networks, IP routing, etc.) which operate cooperatively to form the core network. User plane interface (NG-U) 213 and control plane interface (NG-C) 215 connect the gNB 222 to the 5GC 210 and specifically to the user plane functions 212 and control plane functions 214, respectively. In an additional configuration, an ng-eNB 224 may also be connected to the 5GC 210 via NG-C 215 to the control plane functions 214 and NG-U 213 to user plane functions 212. Further, ng-eNB 224 may directly communicate with gNB 222 via a backhaul connection 223. In some configurations, a Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN) 220 may have one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations include one or more of both ng-eNBs 224 and gNBs 222. Either (or both) gNB 222 or ng-eNB 224 may communicate with one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein).

Another optional aspect may include a location server 230, which may be in communication with the 5GC 210 to provide location assistance for UE(s) 204. The location server 230 can be implemented as a plurality of separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules spread across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternately may each correspond to a single server. The location server 230 can be configured to support one or more location services for UEs 204 that can connect to the location server 230 via the core network, 5GC 210, and/or via the Internet (not illustrated). Further, the location server 230 may be integrated into a component of the core network, or alternatively may be external to the core network (e.g., a third party server, such as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) server or service server).

FIG. 2B illustrates another example wireless network structure 240. A 5GC 260 (which may correspond to 5GC 210 in FIG. 2A) can be viewed functionally as control plane functions, provided by an access and mobility management function (AMF) 264, and user plane functions, provided by a user plane function (UPF) 262, which operate cooperatively to form the core network (i.e., 5GC 260). The functions of the AMF 264 include registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception, transport for session management (SM) messages between one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein) and a session management function (SMF) 266, transparent proxy services for routing SM messages, access authentication and access authorization, transport for short message service (SMS) messages between the UE 204 and the short message service function (SMSF) (not shown), and security anchor functionality (SEAF). The AMF 264 also interacts with an authentication server function (AUSF) (not shown) and the UE 204, and receives the intermediate key that was established as a result of the UE 204 authentication process. In the case of authentication based on a UMTS (universal mobile telecommunications system) subscriber identity module (USIM), the AMF 264 retrieves the security material from the AUSF. The functions of the AMF 264 also include security context management (SCM). The SCM receives a key from the SEAF that it uses to derive access-network specific keys. The functionality of the AMF 264 also includes location services management for regulatory services, transport for location services messages between the UE 204 and a location management function (LMF) 270 (which acts as a location server 230), transport for location services messages between the NG-RAN 220 and the LMF 270, evolved packet system (EPS) bearer identifier allocation for interworking with the EPS, and UE 204 mobility event notification. In addition, the AMF 264 also supports functionalities for non-3GPP® (Third Generation Partnership Project) access networks.

Functions of the UPF 262 include acting as an anchor point for intra/inter-RAT mobility (when applicable), acting as an external protocol data unit (PDU) session point of interconnect to a data network (not shown), providing packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, user plane policy rule enforcement (e.g., gating, redirection, traffic steering), lawful interception (user plane collection), traffic usage reporting, quality of service (QOS) handling for the user plane (e.g., uplink/downlink rate enforcement, reflective QoS marking in the downlink), uplink traffic verification (service data flow (SDF) to QoS flow mapping), transport level packet marking in the uplink and downlink, downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering, and sending and forwarding of one or more “end markers” to the source RAN node. The UPF 262 may also support transfer of location services messages over a user plane between the UE 204 and a location server, such as an SLP 272.

The functions of the SMF 266 include session management, UE Internet protocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and control of user plane functions, configuration of traffic steering at the UPF 262 to route traffic to the proper destination, control of part of policy enforcement and QoS, and downlink data notification. The interface over which the SMF 266 communicates with the AMF 264 is referred to as the N11 interface.

Another optional aspect may include an LMF 270, which may be in communication with the 5GC 260 to provide location assistance for UEs 204. The LMF 270 can be implemented as a plurality of separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules spread across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternately may each correspond to a single server. The LMF 270 can be configured to support one or more location services for UEs 204 that can connect to the LMF 270 via the core network, 5GC 260, and/or via the Internet (not illustrated). The SLP 272 may support similar functions to the LMF 270, but whereas the LMF 270 may communicate with the AMF 264, NG-RAN 220, and UEs 204 over a control plane (e.g., using interfaces and protocols intended to convey signaling messages and not voice or data), the SLP 272 may communicate with UEs 204 and external clients (e.g., third-party server 274) over a user plane (e.g., using protocols intended to carry voice and/or data like the transmission control protocol (TCP) and/or IP).

Yet another optional aspect may include a third-party server 274, which may be in communication with the LMF 270, the SLP 272, the 5GC 260 (e.g., via the AMF 264 and/or the UPF 262), the NG-RAN 220, and/or the UE 204 to obtain location information (e.g., a location estimate) for the UE 204. As such, in some cases, the third-party server 274 may be referred to as a location services (LCS) client or an external client. The third-party server 274 can be implemented as a plurality of separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules spread across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternately may each correspond to a single server.

User plane interface 263 and control plane interface 265 connect the 5GC 260, and specifically the UPF 262 and AMF 264, respectively, to one or more gNBs 222 and/or ng-cNBs 224 in the NG-RAN 220. The interface between gNB(s) 222 and/or ng-eNB(s) 224 and the AMF 264 is referred to as the “N2” interface, and the interface between gNB(s) 222 and/or ng-cNB(s) 224 and the UPF 262 is referred to as the “N3” interface. The gNB(s) 222 and/or ng-cNB(s) 224 of the NG-RAN 220 may communicate directly with each other via backhaul connections 223, referred to as the “Xn-C” interface. One or more of gNBs 222 and/or ng-eNBs 224 may communicate with one or more UEs 204 over a wireless interface, referred to as the “Uu” interface.

The functionality of a gNB 222 may be divided between a gNB central unit (gNB-CU) 226, one or more gNB distributed units (gNB-DUs) 228, and one or more gNB radio units (gNB-RUs) 229. A gNB-CU 226 is a logical node that includes the base station functions of transferring user data, mobility control, radio access network sharing, positioning, session management, and the like, except for those functions allocated exclusively to the gNB-DU(s) 228. More specifically, the gNB-CU 226 generally host the radio resource control (RRC), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) protocols of the gNB 222. A gNB-DU 228 is a logical node that generally hosts the radio link control (RLC) and medium access control (MAC) layer of the gNB 222. Its operation is controlled by the gNB-CU 226. One gNB-DU 228 can support one or more cells, and one cell is supported by only one gNB-DU 228. The interface 232 between the gNB-CU 226 and the one or more gNB-DUs 228 is referred to as the “F1” interface. The physical (PHY) layer functionality of a gNB 222 is generally hosted by one or more standalone gNB-RUs 229 that perform functions such as power amplification and signal transmission/reception. The interface between a gNB-DU 228 and a gNB-RU 229 is referred to as the “Fx” interface. Thus, a UE 204 communicates with the gNB-CU 226 via the RRC, SDAP, and PDCP layers, with a gNB-DU 228 via the RLC and MAC layers, and with a gNB-RU 229 via the PHY layer.

Deployment of communication systems, such as 5G NR systems, may be arranged in multiple manners with various components or constituent parts. In a 5G NR system, or network, a network node, a network entity, a mobility element of a network, a RAN node, a core network node, a network element, or a network equipment, such as a base station, or one or more units (or one or more components) performing base station functionality, may be implemented in an aggregated or disaggregated architecture. For example, a base station (such as a Node B (NB), evolved NB (eNB), NR base station, 5G NB, access point (AP), a transmit receive point (TRP), or a cell, etc.) may be implemented as an aggregated base station (also known as a standalone base station or a monolithic base station) or a disaggregated base station.

An aggregated base station may be configured to utilize a radio protocol stack that is physically or logically integrated within a single RAN node. A disaggregated base station may be configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically distributed among two or more units (such as one or more central or centralized units (CUs), one or more distributed units (DUs), or one or more radio units (RUs)). In some aspects, a CU may be implemented within a RAN node, and one or more DUs may be co-located with the CU, or alternatively, may be geographically or virtually distributed throughout one or multiple other RAN nodes. The DUs may be implemented to communicate with one or more RUs. Each of the CU, DU and RU also can be implemented as virtual units, i.e., a virtual central unit (VCU), a virtual distributed unit (VDU), or a virtual radio unit (VRU).

Base station-type operation or network design may consider aggregation characteristics of base station functionality. For example, disaggregated base stations may be utilized in an integrated access backhaul (IAB) network, an open radio access network (O-RAN (such as the network configuration sponsored by the O-RAN ALLIANCE®)), or a virtualized radio access network (vRAN, also known as a cloud radio access network (C-RAN)). Disaggregation may include distributing functionality across two or more units at various physical locations, as well as distributing functionality for at least one unit virtually, which can enable flexibility in network design. The various units of the disaggregated base station, or disaggregated RAN architecture, can be configured for wired or wireless communication with at least one other unit.

FIG. 2C illustrates an example disaggregated base station architecture 250, according to aspects of the disclosure. The disaggregated base station architecture 250 may include one or more central units (CUs) 280 (e.g., gNB-CU 226) that can communicate directly with a core network 267 (e.g., 5GC 210, 5GC 260) via a backhaul link, or indirectly with the core network 267 through one or more disaggregated base station units (such as a Near-Real Time (Near-RT) RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) 259 via an E2 link, or a Non-Real Time (Non-RT) RIC 257 associated with a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) Framework 255, or both). A CU 280 may communicate with one or more DUs 285 (e.g., gNB-DUs 228) via respective midhaul links, such as an F1 interface. The DUs 285 may communicate with one or more radio units (RUS) 287 (e.g., gNB-RUs 229) via respective fronthaul links. The RUs 287 may communicate with respective UEs 204 via one or more radio frequency (RF) access links. In some implementations, the UE 204 may be simultaneously served by multiple RUs 287.

Each of the units, i.e., the CUS 280, the DUs 285, the RUs 287, as well as the Near-RT RICs 259, the Non-RT RICs 257 and the SMO Framework 255, may include one or more interfaces or be coupled to one or more interfaces configured to receive or transmit signals, data, or information (collectively, signals) via a wired or wireless transmission medium. Each of the units, or an associated processor or controller providing instructions to the communication interfaces of the units, can be configured to communicate with one or more of the other units via the transmission medium. For example, the units can include a wired interface configured to receive or transmit signals over a wired transmission medium to one or more of the other units. Additionally, the units can include a wireless interface, which may include a receiver, a transmitter or transceiver (such as a RF transceiver), configured to receive or transmit signals, or both, over a wireless transmission medium to one or more of the other units.

In some aspects, the CU 280 may host one or more higher layer control functions. Such control functions can include RRC, PDCP, service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), or the like. Each control function can be implemented with an interface configured to communicate signals with other control functions hosted by the CU 280. The CU 280 may be configured to handle user plane functionality (i.e., Central Unit-User Plane (CU-UP)), control plane functionality (i.e., Central Unit-Control Plane (CU-CP)), or a combination thereof. In some implementations, the CU 280 can be logically split into one or more CU-UP units and one or more CU-CP units. The CU-UP unit can communicate bidirectionally with the CU-CP unit via an interface, such as the E1 interface when implemented in an O-RAN configuration. The CU 280 can be implemented to communicate with the DU 285, as necessary, for network control and signaling.

The DU 285 may correspond to a logical unit that includes one or more base station functions to control the operation of one or more RUs 287. In some aspects, the DU 285 may host one or more of a RLC layer, a MAC layer, and one or more high PHY layers (such as modules for forward error correction (FEC) encoding and decoding, scrambling, modulation and demodulation, or the like) depending, at least in part, on a functional split, such as those defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP®). In some aspects, the DU 285 may further host one or more low PHY layers. Each layer (or module) can be implemented with an interface configured to communicate signals with other layers (and modules) hosted by the DU 285, or with the control functions hosted by the CU 280.

Lower-layer functionality can be implemented by one or more RUs 287. In some deployments, an RU 287, controlled by a DU 285, may correspond to a logical node that hosts RF processing functions, or low-PHY layer functions (such as performing fast Fourier transform (FFT), inverse FFT (IFFT), digital beamforming, physical random access channel (PRACH) extraction and filtering, or the like), or both, based at least in part on the functional split, such as a lower layer functional split. In such an architecture, the RU(s) 287 can be implemented to handle over the air (OTA) communication with one or more UEs 204. In some implementations, real-time and non-real-time aspects of control and user plane communication with the RU(s) 287 can be controlled by the corresponding DU 285. In some scenarios, this configuration can enable the DU(s) 285 and the CU 280 to be implemented in a cloud-based RAN architecture, such as a vRAN architecture.

The SMO Framework 255 may be configured to support RAN deployment and provisioning of non-virtualized and virtualized network elements. For non-virtualized network elements, the SMO Framework 255 may be configured to support the deployment of dedicated physical resources for RAN coverage requirements which may be managed via an operations and maintenance interface (such as an O1 interface). For virtualized network elements, the SMO Framework 255 may be configured to interact with a cloud computing platform (such as an open cloud (O-Cloud) 269) to perform network element life cycle management (such as to instantiate virtualized network elements) via a cloud computing platform interface (such as an O2 interface). Such virtualized network elements can include, but are not limited to, CUs 280, DUs 285, RUs 287 and Near-RT RICs 259. In some implementations, the SMO Framework 255 can communicate with a hardware aspect of a 4G RAN, such as an open eNB (O-eNB) 261, via an O1 interface. Additionally, in some implementations, the SMO Framework 255 can communicate directly with one or more RUs 287 via an O1 interface. The SMO Framework 255 also may include a Non-RT RIC 257 configured to support functionality of the SMO Framework 255.

The Non-RT RIC 257 may be configured to include a logical function that enables non-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources, artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) workflows including model training and updates, or policy-based guidance of applications/features in the Near-RT RIC 259. The Non-RT RIC 257 may be coupled to or communicate with (such as via an A1 interface) the Near-RT RIC 259. The Near-RT RIC 259 may be configured to include a logical function that enables near-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources via data collection and actions over an interface (such as via an E2 interface) connecting one or more CUs 280, one or more DUs 285, or both, as well as an O-eNB, with the Near-RT RIC 259.

In some implementations, to generate AI/ML models to be deployed in the Near-RT RIC 259, the Non-RT RIC 257 may receive parameters or external enrichment information from external servers. Such information may be utilized by the Near-RT RIC 259 and may be received at the SMO Framework 255 or the Non-RT RIC 257 from non-network data sources or from network functions. In some examples, the Non-RT RIC 257 or the Near-RT RIC 259 may be configured to tune RAN behavior or performance. For example, the Non-RT RIC 257 may monitor long-term trends and patterns for performance and employ AI/ML models to perform corrective actions through the SMO Framework 255 (such as reconfiguration via O1) or via creation of RAN management policies (such as A1 policies).

FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C illustrate several example components (represented by corresponding blocks) that may be incorporated into a UE 302 (which may correspond to any of the UEs described herein), a base station 304 (which may correspond to any of the base stations described herein), and a network entity 306 (which may correspond to or embody any of the network functions described herein, including the location server 230 and the LMF 270, or alternatively may be independent from the NG-RAN 220 and/or 5GC 210/260 infrastructure depicted in FIGS. 2A and 2B, such as a private network) to support the operations described herein. It will be appreciated that these components may be implemented in different types of apparatuses in different implementations (e.g., in an ASIC, in a system-on-chip (SoC), etc.). The illustrated components may also be incorporated into other apparatuses in a communication system. For example, other apparatuses in a system may include components similar to those described to provide similar functionality. Also, a given apparatus may contain one or more of the components. For example, an apparatus may include multiple transceiver components that enable the apparatus to operate on multiple carriers and/or communicate via different technologies.

The UE 302 and the base station 304 each include one or more wireless wide area network (WWAN) transceivers 310 and 350, respectively, providing means for communicating (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, means for measuring, means for tuning, means for refraining from transmitting, etc.) via one or more wireless communication networks (not shown), such as an NR network, an LTE network, a GSM network, and/or the like. The WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 may each be connected to one or more antennas 316 and 356, respectively, for communicating with other network nodes, such as other UEs, access points, base stations (e.g., eNBs, gNBs), etc., via at least one designated RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, GSM, etc.) over a wireless communication medium of interest (e.g., some set of time/frequency resources in a particular frequency spectrum). The WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 may be variously configured for transmitting and encoding signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, and so on), respectively, and, conversely, for receiving and decoding signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, and so on), respectively, in accordance with the designated RAT. Specifically, the WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 include one or more transmitters 314 and 354, respectively, for transmitting and encoding signals 318 and 358, respectively, and one or more receivers 312 and 352, respectively, for receiving and decoding signals 318 and 358, respectively.

The UE 302 and the base station 304 each also include, at least in some cases, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360, respectively. The short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 may be connected to one or more antennas 326 and 366, respectively, and provide means for communicating (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, means for measuring, means for tuning, means for refraining from transmitting, etc.) with other network nodes, such as other UEs, access points, base stations, etc., via at least one designated RAT (e.g., Wi-Fi, LTE Direct, BLUETOOTH®, ZIGBEE®, Z-WAVE®, PC5, dedicated short-range communications (DSRC), wireless access for vehicular environments (WAVE), near-field communication (NFC), ultra-wideband (UWB), etc.) over a wireless communication medium of interest. The short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 may be variously configured for transmitting and encoding signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, and so on), respectively, and, conversely, for receiving and decoding signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, and so on), respectively, in accordance with the designated RAT. Specifically, the short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 include one or more transmitters 324 and 364, respectively, for transmitting and encoding signals 328 and 368, respectively, and one or more receivers 322 and 362, respectively, for receiving and decoding signals 328 and 368, respectively. As specific examples, the short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 may be Wi-Fi transceivers, BLUETOOTH® transceivers, ZIGBEE® and/or Z-WAVE® transceivers, NFC transceivers, UWB transceivers, or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and/or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) transceivers.

The UE 302 and the base station 304 also include, at least in some cases, satellite signal receivers 330 and 370. The satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may be connected to one or more antennas 336 and 376, respectively, and may provide means for receiving and/or measuring satellite positioning/communication signals 338 and 378, respectively. Where the satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are satellite positioning system receivers, the satellite positioning/communication signals 338 and 378 may be global positioning system (GPS) signals, global navigation satellite system (GLONASS®) signals, Galileo signals, Beidou signals, Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (NAVIC), Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), etc. Where the satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are non-terrestrial network (NTN) receivers, the satellite positioning/communication signals 338 and 378 may be communication signals (e.g., carrying control and/or user data) originating from a 5G network. The satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may comprise any suitable hardware and/or software for receiving and processing satellite positioning/communication signals 338 and 378, respectively. The satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may request information and operations as appropriate from the other systems, and, at least in some cases, perform calculations to determine locations of the UE 302 and the base station 304, respectively, using measurements obtained by any suitable satellite positioning system algorithm.

The base station 304 and the network entity 306 each include one or more network transceivers 380 and 390, respectively, providing means for communicating (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, etc.) with other network entities (e.g., other base stations 304, other network entities 306). For example, the base station 304 may employ the one or more network transceivers 380 to communicate with other base stations 304 or network entities 306 over one or more wired or wireless backhaul links. As another example, the network entity 306 may employ the one or more network transceivers 390 to communicate with one or more base station 304 over one or more wired or wireless backhaul links, or with other network entities 306 over one or more wired or wireless core network interfaces.

A transceiver may be configured to communicate over a wired or wireless link. A transceiver (whether a wired transceiver or a wireless transceiver) includes transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) and receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers 312, 322, 352, 362). A transceiver may be an integrated device (e.g., embodying transmitter circuitry and receiver circuitry in a single device) in some implementations, may comprise separate transmitter circuitry and separate receiver circuitry in some implementations, or may be embodied in other ways in other implementations. The transmitter circuitry and receiver circuitry of a wired transceiver (e.g., network transceivers 380 and 390 in some implementations) may be coupled to one or more wired network interface ports. Wireless transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) may include or be coupled to a plurality of antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as an antenna array, that permits the respective apparatus (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform transmit “beamforming,” as described herein. Similarly, wireless receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers 312, 322, 352, 362) may include or be coupled to a plurality of antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as an antenna array, that permits the respective apparatus (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform receive beamforming, as described herein. In an aspect, the transmitter circuitry and receiver circuitry may share the same plurality of antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such that the respective apparatus can only receive or transmit at a given time, not both at the same time. A wireless transceiver (e.g., WWAN transceivers 310 and 350, short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360) may also include a network listen module (NLM) or the like for performing various measurements.

As used herein, the various wireless transceivers (e.g., transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360, and network transceivers 380 and 390 in some implementations) and wired transceivers (e.g., network transceivers 380 and 390 in some implementations) may generally be characterized as “a transceiver,” “at least one transceiver,” or “one or more transceivers.” As such, whether a particular transceiver is a wired or wireless transceiver may be inferred from the type of communication performed. For example, backhaul communication between network devices or servers will generally relate to signaling via a wired transceiver, whereas wireless communication between a UE (e.g., UE 302) and a base station (e.g., base station 304) will generally relate to signaling via a wireless transceiver.

The UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 also include other components that may be used in conjunction with the operations as disclosed herein. The UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 include one or more processors 332, 384, and 394, respectively, for providing functionality relating to, for example, wireless communication, and for providing other processing functionality. The processors 332, 384, and 394 may therefore provide means for processing, such as means for determining, means for calculating, means for receiving, means for transmitting, means for indicating, etc. In an aspect, the processors 332, 384, and 394 may include, for example, one or more general purpose processors, multi-core processors, central processing units (CPUs), ASICs, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), other programmable logic devices or processing circuitry, or various combinations thereof.

The UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 include memory circuitry implementing memories 340, 386, and 396 (e.g., each including a memory device), respectively, for maintaining information (e.g., information indicative of reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, and so on). The memories 340, 386, and 396 may therefore provide means for storing, means for retrieving, means for maintaining, etc. In some cases, the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 may include carrier phase component 342, 388, and 398, respectively. The carrier phase component 342, 388, and 398 may be hardware circuits that are part of or coupled to the processors 332, 384, and 394, respectively, that, when executed, cause the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 to perform the functionality described herein. In other aspects, the carrier phase component 342, 388, and 398 may be external to the processors 332, 384, and 394 (e.g., part of a modem processing system, integrated with another processing system, etc.). Alternatively, the carrier phase component 342, 388, and 398 may be memory modules stored in the memories 340, 386, and 396, respectively, that, when executed by the processors 332, 384, and 394 (or a modem processing system, another processing system, etc.), cause the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 to perform the functionality described herein. FIG. 3A illustrates possible locations of the carrier phase component 342, which may be, for example, part of the one or more WWAN transceivers 310, the memory 340, the one or more processors 332, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component. FIG. 3B illustrates possible locations of the carrier phase component 388, which may be, for example, part of the one or more WWAN transceivers 350, the memory 386, the one or more processors 384, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component. FIG. 3C illustrates possible locations of the carrier phase component 398, which may be, for example, part of the one or more network transceivers 390, the memory 396, the one or more processors 394, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component.

The UE 302 may include one or more sensors 344 coupled to the one or more processors 332 to provide means for sensing or detecting movement and/or orientation information that is independent of motion data derived from signals received by the one or more WWAN transceivers 310, the one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, and/or the satellite signal receiver 330. By way of example, the sensor(s) 344 may include an accelerometer (e.g., a micro-electrical mechanical systems (MEMS) device), a gyroscope, a geomagnetic sensor (e.g., a compass), an altimeter (e.g., a barometric pressure altimeter), and/or any other type of movement detection sensor. Moreover, the sensor(s) 344 may include a plurality of different types of devices and combine their outputs in order to provide motion information. For example, the sensor(s) 344 may use a combination of a multi-axis accelerometer and orientation sensors to provide the ability to compute positions in two-dimensional (2D) and/or three-dimensional (3D) coordinate systems.

In addition, the UE 302 includes a user interface 346 providing means for providing indications (e.g., audible and/or visual indications) to a user and/or for receiving user input (e.g., upon user actuation of a sensing device such a keypad, a touch screen, a microphone, and so on). Although not shown, the base station 304 and the network entity 306 may also include user interfaces.

Referring to the one or more processors 384 in more detail, in the downlink, IP packets from the network entity 306 may be provided to the processor 384. The one or more processors 384 may implement functionality for an RRC layer, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a medium access control (MAC) layer. The one or more processors 384 may provide RRC layer functionality associated with broadcasting of system information (e.g., master information block (MIB), system information blocks (SIBs)), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-RAT mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression/decompression, security (ciphering, deciphering, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functionality associated with the transfer of upper layer PDUs, error correction through automatic repeat request (ARQ), concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC service data units (SDUs), re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, scheduling information reporting, error correction, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

The transmitter 354 and the receiver 352 may implement Layer-1 (L1) functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Layer-1, which includes a physical (PHY) layer, may include error detection on the transport channels, forward error correction (FEC) coding/decoding of the transport channels, interleaving, rate matching, mapping onto physical channels, modulation/demodulation of physical channels, and MIMO antenna processing. The transmitter 354 handles mapping to signal constellations based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase-shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK), M-phase-shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The coded and modulated symbols may then be split into parallel streams. Each stream may then be mapped to an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) subcarrier, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., pilot) in the time and/or frequency domain, and then combined together using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to produce a physical channel carrying a time domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM symbol stream is spatially precoded to produce multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from a channel estimator may be used to determine the coding and modulation scheme, as well as for spatial processing. The channel estimate may be derived from a reference signal and/or channel condition feedback transmitted by the UE 302. Each spatial stream may then be provided to one or more different antennas 356. The transmitter 354 may modulate an RF carrier with a respective spatial stream for transmission.

At the UE 302, the receiver 312 receives a signal through its respective antenna(s) 316. The receiver 312 recovers information modulated onto an RF carrier and provides the information to the one or more processors 332. The transmitter 314 and the receiver 312 implement Layer-1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. The receiver 312 may perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial streams destined for the UE 302. If multiple spatial streams are destined for the UE 302, they may be combined by the receiver 312 into a single OFDM symbol stream. The receiver 312 then converts the OFDM symbol stream from the time-domain to the frequency domain using a fast Fourier transform (FFT). The frequency domain signal comprises a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols on each subcarrier, and the reference signal, are recovered and demodulated by determining the most likely signal constellation points transmitted by the base station 304. These soft decisions may be based on channel estimates computed by a channel estimator. The soft decisions are then decoded and de-interleaved to recover the data and control signals that were originally transmitted by the base station 304 on the physical channel. The data and control signals are then provided to the one or more processors 332, which implements Layer-3 (L3) and Layer-2 (L2) functionality.

In the downlink, the one or more processors 332 provides demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, deciphering, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the core network. The one or more processors 332 are also responsible for error detection.

Similar to the functionality described in connection with the downlink transmission by the base station 304, the one or more processors 332 provides RRC layer functionality associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIBs) acquisition, RRC connections, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression/decompression, and security (ciphering, deciphering, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionality associated with the transfer of upper layer PDUs, error correction through ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs, re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction through hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

Channel estimates derived by the channel estimator from a reference signal or feedback transmitted by the base station 304 may be used by the transmitter 314 to select the appropriate coding and modulation schemes, and to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streams generated by the transmitter 314 may be provided to different antenna(s) 316. The transmitter 314 may modulate an RF carrier with a respective spatial stream for transmission.

The uplink transmission is processed at the base station 304 in a manner similar to that described in connection with the receiver function at the UE 302. The receiver 352 receives a signal through its respective antenna(s) 356. The receiver 352 recovers information modulated onto an RF carrier and provides the information to the one or more processors 384.

In the uplink, the one or more processors 384 provides demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, deciphering, header decompression, control signal processing to recover IP packets from the UE 302. IP packets from the one or more processors 384 may be provided to the core network. The one or more processors 384 are also responsible for error detection.

For convenience, the UE 302, the base station 304, and/or the network entity 306 are shown in FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C as including various components that may be configured according to the various examples described herein. It will be appreciated, however, that the illustrated components may have different functionality in different designs. In particular, various components in FIGS. 3A to 3C are optional in alternative configurations and the various aspects include configurations that may vary due to design choice, costs, use of the device, or other considerations. For example, in case of FIG. 3A, a particular implementation of UE 302 may omit the WWAN transceiver(s) 310 (e.g., a wearable device or tablet computer or personal computer (PC) or laptop may have Wi-Fi and/or BLUETOOTH® capability without cellular capability), or may omit the short-range wireless transceiver(s) 320 (e.g., cellular-only, etc.), or may omit the satellite signal receiver 330, or may omit the sensor(s) 344, and so on. In another example, in case of FIG. 3B, a particular implementation of the base station 304 may omit the WWAN transceiver(s) 350 (e.g., a Wi-Fi “hotspot” access point without cellular capability), or may omit the short-range wireless transceiver(s) 360 (e.g., cellular-only, etc.), or may omit the satellite signal receiver 370, and so on. For brevity, illustration of the various alternative configurations is not provided herein, but would be readily understandable to one skilled in the art.

The various components of the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 may be communicatively coupled to each other over data buses 334, 382, and 392, respectively. In an aspect, the data buses 334, 382, and 392 may form, or be part of, a communication interface of the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306, respectively. For example, where different logical entities are embodied in the same device (e.g., gNB and location server functionality incorporated into the same base station 304), the data buses 334, 382, and 392 may provide communication between them.

The components of FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C may be implemented in various ways. In some implementations, the components of FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C may be implemented in one or more circuits such as, for example, one or more processors and/or one or more ASICs (which may include one or more processors). Here, each circuit may use and/or incorporate at least one memory component for storing information or executable code used by the circuit to provide this functionality. For example, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 310 to 346 may be implemented by processor and memory component(s) of the UE 302 (e.g., by execution of appropriate code and/or by appropriate configuration of processor components). Similarly, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 350 to 388 may be implemented by processor and memory component(s) of the base station 304 (e.g., by execution of appropriate code and/or by appropriate configuration of processor components). Also, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 390 to 398 may be implemented by processor and memory component(s) of the network entity 306 (e.g., by execution of appropriate code and/or by appropriate configuration of processor components). For simplicity, various operations, acts, and/or functions are described herein as being performed “by a UE,” “by a base station,” “by a network entity,” etc. However, as will be appreciated, such operations, acts, and/or functions may actually be performed by specific components or combinations of components of the UE 302, base station 304, network entity 306, etc., such as the processors 332, 384, 394, the transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360, the memories 340, 386, and 396, the carrier phase component 342, 388, and 398, etc.

In some designs, the network entity 306 may be implemented as a core network component. In other designs, the network entity 306 may be distinct from a network operator or operation of the cellular network infrastructure (e.g., NG RAN 220 and/or 5GC 210/260). For example, the network entity 306 may be a component of a private network that may be configured to communicate with the UE 302 via the base station 304 or independently from the base station 304 (e.g., over a non-cellular communication link, such as Wi-Fi).

Note that the UE 302 illustrated in FIG. 3A may represent a “reduced capability” (“RedCap”) UE or a “premium” UE. As described further below, while RedCap and premium UEs may have the same types of components (e.g., both may have one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, etc.), the components may have different degrees of functionality (e.g., increased or decreased performance, more or fewer capabilities, etc.) depending on whether the UE 302 corresponds to a RedCap UE or a premium UE.

Various frame structures may be used to support downlink and uplink transmissions between network nodes (e.g., base stations and UEs). FIG. 4 is a diagram 400 illustrating an example frame structure, according to aspects of the disclosure. The frame structure may be a downlink or uplink frame structure. Other wireless communications technologies may have different frame structures and/or different channels.

LTE, and in some cases NR, utilizes orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) on the downlink and single-carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) on the uplink. Unlike LTE, however, NR has an option to use OFDM on the uplink as well. OFDM and SC-FDM partition the system bandwidth into multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers, which are also commonly referred to as tones, bins, etc. Each subcarrier may be modulated with data. In general, modulation symbols are sent in the frequency domain with OFDM and in the time domain with SC-FDM. The spacing between adjacent subcarriers may be fixed, and the total number of subcarriers (K) may be dependent on the system bandwidth. For example, the spacing of the subcarriers may be 15 kilohertz (kHz) and the minimum resource allocation (resource block) may be 12 subcarriers (or 180 kHz). Consequently, the nominal fast Fourier transform (FFT) size may be equal to 128, 256, 512, 1024, or 2048 for system bandwidth of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 megahertz (MHz), respectively. The system bandwidth may also be partitioned into subbands. For example, a subband may cover 1.08 MHz (i.e., 6 resource blocks), and there may be 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 subbands for system bandwidth of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 MHz, respectively.

LTE supports a single numerology (subcarrier spacing (SCS), symbol length, etc.). In contrast, NR may support multiple numerologies (μ), for example, subcarrier spacings of 15 kHz (μ=0), 30 kHz (μ=1), 60 kHz (μ=2), 120 kHz (μ=3), and 240 kHz (μ=4) or greater may be available. In each subcarrier spacing, there are 14 symbols per slot. For 15 kHz SCS (p=0), there is one slot per subframe, 10 slots per frame, the slot duration is 1 millisecond (ms), the symbol duration is 66.7 microseconds (μs), and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 50. For 30 kHz SCS (μ=1), there are two slots per subframe, 20 slots per frame, the slot duration is 0.5 ms, the symbol duration is 33.3 μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 100. For 60 kHz SCS (μ=2), there are four slots per subframe, 40 slots per frame, the slot duration is 0.25 ms, the symbol duration is 16.7 μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 200. For 120 kHz SCS (μ=3), there are eight slots per subframe, 80 slots per frame, the slot duration is 0.125 ms, the symbol duration is 8.33 μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 400. For 240 kHz SCS (μ=4), there are 16 slots per subframe, 160 slots per frame, the slot duration is 0.0625 ms, the symbol duration is 4.17 μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 800.

In the example of FIG. 4, a numerology of 15 kHz is used. Thus, in the time domain, a 10 ms frame is divided into 10 equally sized subframes of 1 ms each, and each subframe includes one time slot. In FIG. 4, time is represented horizontally (on the X axis) with time increasing from left to right, while frequency is represented vertically (on the Y axis) with frequency increasing (or decreasing) from bottom to top.

A resource grid may be used to represent time slots, each time slot including one or more time-concurrent resource blocks (RBs) (also referred to as physical RBs (PRBs)) in the frequency domain. The resource grid is further divided into multiple resource elements (REs). An RE may correspond to one symbol length in the time domain and one subcarrier in the frequency domain. In the numerology of FIG. 4, for a normal cyclic prefix, an RB may contain 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and seven consecutive symbols in the time domain, for a total of 84 REs. For an extended cyclic prefix, an RB may contain 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and six consecutive symbols in the time domain, for a total of 72 REs. The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

Some of the REs may carry reference (pilot) signals (RS). The reference signals may include positioning reference signals (PRS), tracking reference signals (TRS), phase tracking reference signals (PTRS), cell-specific reference signals (CRS), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS), demodulation reference signals (DMRS), primary synchronization signals (PSS), secondary synchronization signals (SSS), synchronization signal blocks (SSBs), sounding reference signals (SRS), etc., depending on whether the illustrated frame structure is used for uplink or downlink communication. FIG. 4 illustrates example locations of REs carrying a reference signal (labeled “R”).

FIG. 5 is a diagram 500 illustrating various downlink channels within an example downlink slot. In FIG. 5, time is represented horizontally (on the X axis) with time increasing from left to right, while frequency is represented vertically (on the Y axis) with frequency increasing (or decreasing) from bottom to top. In the example of FIG. 5, a numerology of 15 kHz is used. Thus, in the time domain, the illustrated slot is one millisecond (ms) in length, divided into 14 symbols.

In NR, the channel bandwidth, or system bandwidth, is divided into multiple bandwidth parts (BWPs). A BWP is a contiguous set of RBs selected from a contiguous subset of the common RBs for a given numerology on a given carrier. Generally, a maximum of four BWPs can be specified in the downlink and uplink. That is, a UE can be configured with up to four BWPs on the downlink, and up to four BWPs on the uplink. Only one BWP (uplink or downlink) may be active at a given time, meaning the UE may only receive or transmit over one BWP at a time. On the downlink, the bandwidth of each BWP should be equal to or greater than the bandwidth of the SSB, but it may or may not contain the SSB.

Referring to FIG. 5, a primary synchronization signal (PSS) is used by a UE to determine subframe/symbol timing and a physical layer identity. A secondary synchronization signal (SSS) is used by a UE to determine a physical layer cell identity group number and radio frame timing. Based on the physical layer identity and the physical layer cell identity group number, the UE can determine a PCI. Based on the PCI, the UE can determine the locations of the aforementioned DL-RS. The physical broadcast channel (PBCH), which carries a master information block (MIB), may be logically grouped with the PSS and SSS to form an SSB (also referred to as an SS/PBCH). The MIB provides a number of RBs in the downlink system bandwidth and a system frame number (SFN). The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) carries user data, broadcast system information not transmitted through the PBCH, such as system information blocks (SIBs), and paging messages.

The physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) carries downlink control information (DCI) within one or more control channel elements (CCEs), each CCE including one or more RE group (REG) bundles (which may span multiple symbols in the time domain), each REG bundle including one or more REGs, each REG corresponding to 12 resource elements (one resource block) in the frequency domain and one OFDM symbol in the time domain. The set of physical resources used to carry the PDCCH/DCI is referred to in NR as the control resource set (CORESET). In NR, a PDCCH is confined to a single CORESET and is transmitted with its own DMRS. This enables UE-specific beamforming for the PDCCH.

In the example of FIG. 5, there is one CORESET per BWP, and the CORESET spans three symbols (although it may be only one or two symbols) in the time domain. Unlike LTE control channels, which occupy the entire system bandwidth, in NR, PDCCH channels are localized to a specific region in the frequency domain (i.e., a CORESET). Thus, the frequency component of the PDCCH shown in FIG. 5 is illustrated as less than a single BWP in the frequency domain. Note that although the illustrated CORESET is contiguous in the frequency domain, it need not be. In addition, the CORESET may span less than three symbols in the time domain.

The DCI within the PDCCH carries information about uplink resource allocation (persistent and non-persistent) and descriptions about downlink data transmitted to the UE, referred to as uplink and downlink grants, respectively. More specifically, the DCI indicates the resources scheduled for the downlink data channel (e.g., PDSCH) and the uplink data channel (e.g., physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)). Multiple (e.g., up to eight) DCIs can be configured in the PDCCH, and these DCIs can have one of multiple formats. For example, there are different DCI formats for uplink scheduling, for downlink scheduling, for uplink transmit power control (TPC), etc. A PDCCH may be transported by 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 CCEs in order to accommodate different DCI payload sizes or coding rates.

A collection of resource elements (REs) that are used for transmission of PRS is referred to as a “PRS resource.” The collection of resource elements can span multiple PRBs in the frequency domain and ‘N’ (such as 1 or more) consecutive symbol(s) within a slot in the time domain. In a given OFDM symbol in the time domain, a PRS resource occupies consecutive PRBs in the frequency domain.

The transmission of a PRS resource within a given PRB has a particular comb size (also referred to as the “comb density”). A comb size ‘N’ represents the subcarrier spacing (or frequency/tone spacing) within each symbol of a PRS resource configuration. Specifically, for a comb size ‘N,’ PRS are transmitted in every Nth subcarrier of a symbol of a PRB. For example, for comb-4, for each symbol of the PRS resource configuration, REs corresponding to every fourth subcarrier (such as subcarriers 0, 4, 8) are used to transmit PRS of the PRS resource. Currently, comb sizes of comb-2, comb-4, comb-6, and comb-12 are supported for DL-PRS. FIG. 4 illustrates an example PRS resource configuration for comb-4 (which spans four symbols). That is, the locations of the shaded REs (labeled “R”) indicate a comb-4 PRS resource configuration.

Currently, a DL-PRS resource may span 2, 4, 6, or 12 consecutive symbols within a slot with a fully frequency-domain staggered pattern. A DL-PRS resource can be configured in any higher layer configured downlink or flexible (FL) symbol of a slot. There may be a constant energy per resource element (EPRE) for all REs of a given DL-PRS resource. The following are the frequency offsets from symbol to symbol for comb sizes 2, 4, 6, and 12 over 2, 4, 6, and 12 symbols. 2-symbol comb-2: {0, 1}; 4-symbol comb-2: {0, 1, 0, 1}; 6-symbol comb-2: {0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1}; 12-symbol comb-2: {0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1}; 4-symbol comb-4: {0, 2, 1, 3} (as in the example of FIG. 4); 12-symbol comb-4: {0, 2, 1, 3, 0, 2, 1, 3, 0, 2, 1, 3}; 6-symbol comb-6: {0, 3, 1, 4, 2, 5}; 12-symbol comb-6: {0, 3, 1, 4, 2, 5, 0, 3, 1, 4, 2, 5}; and 12-symbol comb-12: {0, 6, 3, 9, 1, 7, 4, 10, 2, 8, 5, 11}.

A “PRS resource set” is a set of PRS resources used for the transmission of PRS signals, where each PRS resource has a PRS resource ID. In addition, the PRS resources in a PRS resource set are associated with the same TRP. A PRS resource set is identified by a PRS resource set ID and is associated with a particular TRP (identified by a TRP ID). In addition, the PRS resources in a PRS resource set have the same periodicity, a common muting pattern configuration, and the same repetition factor (such as “PRS-ResourceRepetitionFactor”) across slots. The periodicity is the time from the first repetition of the first PRS resource of a first PRS instance to the same first repetition of the same first PRS resource of the next PRS instance. The periodicity may have a length selected from 2{circumflex over ( )}μ*{4, 5, 8, 10, 16, 20, 32, 40, 64, 80, 160, 320, 640, 1280, 2560, 5120, 10240} slots, with μ=0, 1, 2, 3. The repetition factor may have a length selected from {1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 16, 32} slots.

A PRS resource ID in a PRS resource set is associated with a single beam (or beam ID) transmitted from a single TRP (where a TRP may transmit one or more beams). That is, each PRS resource of a PRS resource set may be transmitted on a different beam, and as such, a “PRS resource,” or simply “resource,” also can be referred to as a “beam.” Note that this does not have any implications on whether the TRPs and the beams on which PRS are transmitted are known to the UE.

A “PRS instance” or “PRS occasion” is one instance of a periodically repeated time window (such as a group of one or more consecutive slots) where PRS are expected to be transmitted. A PRS occasion also may be referred to as a “PRS positioning occasion,” a “PRS positioning instance, a “positioning occasion,” “a positioning instance,” a “positioning repetition,” or simply an “occasion,” an “instance,” or a “repetition.”

A “positioning frequency layer” (also referred to simply as a “frequency layer”) is a collection of one or more PRS resource sets across one or more TRPs that have the same values for certain parameters. Specifically, the collection of PRS resource sets has the same subcarrier spacing and cyclic prefix (CP) type (meaning all numerologies supported for the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) are also supported for PRS), the same Point A, the same value of the downlink PRS bandwidth, the same start PRB (and center frequency), and the same comb-size. The Point A parameter takes the value of the parameter “ARFCN-ValueNR” (where “ARFCN” stands for “absolute radio-frequency channel number”) and is an identifier/code that specifies a pair of physical radio channel used for transmission and reception. The downlink PRS bandwidth may have a granularity of four PRBs, with a minimum of 24 PRBs and a maximum of 272 PRBs. Currently, up to four frequency layers have been defined, and up to two PRS resource sets may be configured per TRP per frequency layer.

The concept of a frequency layer is somewhat like the concept of component carriers and bandwidth parts (BWPs), but different in that component carriers and BWPs are used by one base station (or a macro cell base station and a small cell base station) to transmit data channels, while frequency layers are used by several (usually three or more) base stations to transmit PRS. A UE may indicate the number of frequency layers it can support when it sends the network its positioning capabilities, such as during an LTE positioning protocol (LPP) session. For example, a UE may indicate whether it can support one or four positioning frequency layers.

Note that the terms “positioning reference signal” and “PRS” generally refer to specific reference signals that are used for positioning in NR and LTE systems. However, as used herein, the terms “positioning reference signal” and “PRS” may also refer to any type of reference signal that can be used for positioning, such as but not limited to, PRS as defined in LTE and NR, TRS, PTRS, CRS, CSI-RS, DMRS, PSS, SSS, SSB, SRS, UL-PRS, etc. In addition, the terms “positioning reference signal” and “PRS” may refer to downlink, uplink, or sidelink positioning reference signals, unless otherwise indicated by the context. If needed to further distinguish the type of PRS, a downlink positioning reference signal may be referred to as a “DL-PRS,” an uplink positioning reference signal (e.g., an SRS-for-positioning, PTRS) may be referred to as an “UL-PRS,” and a sidelink positioning reference signal may be referred to as an “SL-PRS.” In addition, for signals that may be transmitted in the downlink, uplink, and/or sidelink (e.g., DMRS), the signals may be prepended with “DL,” “UL,” or “SL” to distinguish the direction. For example, “UL-DMRS” is different from “DL-DMRS.”

FIG. 6 is a diagram of an example PRS configuration 600 for the PRS transmissions of a given base station, according to aspects of the disclosure. In FIG. 6, time is represented horizontally, increasing from left to right. Each long rectangle represents a slot and each short (shaded) rectangle represents an OFDM symbol. In the example of FIG. 6, a PRS resource set 610 (labeled “PRS resource set 1”) includes two PRS resources, a first PRS resource 612 (labeled “PRS resource 1”) and a second PRS resource 614 (labeled “PRS resource 2”). The base station transmits PRS on the PRS resources 612 and 614 of the PRS resource set 610.

The PRS resource set 610 has an occasion length (N_PRS) of two slots and a periodicity (T_PRS) of, for example, 160 slots or 160 milliseconds (ms) (for 15 kHz subcarrier spacing). As such, both the PRS resources 612 and 614 are two consecutive slots in length and repeat every T_PRS slots, starting from the slot in which the first symbol of the respective PRS resource occurs. In the example of FIG. 6, the PRS resource 612 has a symbol length (N_symb) of two symbols, and the PRS resource 614 has a symbol length (N_symb) of four symbols. The PRS resource 612 and the PRS resource 614 may be transmitted on separate beams of the same base station.

Each instance of the PRS resource set 610, illustrated as instances 620a, 620b, and 620c, includes an occasion of length ‘2’ (i.e., N_PRS=2) for each PRS resource 612, 614 of the PRS resource set. The PRS resources 612 and 614 are repeated every T_PRS slots up to the muting sequence periodicity T_REP. As such, a bitmap of length T_REP would be needed to indicate which occasions of instances 620a, 620b, and 620c of PRS resource set 610 are muted (i.e., not transmitted).

In an aspect, there may be additional constraints on the PRS configuration 600. For example, for all PRS resources (e.g., PRS resources 612, 614) of a PRS resource set (e.g., PRS resource set 610), the base station can configure the following parameters to be the same: (a) the occasion length (N_PRS), (b) the number of symbols (N_symb), (c) the comb type, and/or (d) the bandwidth. In addition, for all PRS resources of all PRS resource sets, the subcarrier spacing and the cyclic prefix can be configured to be the same for one base station or for all base stations. Whether it is for one base station or all base stations may depend on the UE's capability to support the first and/or second option.

FIG. 7 is a diagram 700 illustrating an example PRS configuration for two TRPs (labeled “TRP1” and “TRP2”) operating in the same positioning frequency layer (labeled “Positioning Frequency Layer 1”), according to aspects of the disclosure. For a positioning session, a UE may be provided with assistance data indicating the illustrated PRS configuration. In the example of FIG. 7, the first TRP (“TRP1”) is associated with (e.g., transmits) two PRS resource sets, labeled “PRS Resource Set 1” and “PRS Resource Set 2,” and the second TRP (“TRP2”) is associated with one PRS resource set, labeled “PRS Resource Set 3.” Each PRS resource set comprises at least two PRS resources. Specifically, the first PRS resource set (“PRS Resource Set 1”) includes PRS resources labeled “PRS Resource 1” and “PRS Resource 2,” the second PRS resource set (“PRS Resource Set 2”) includes PRS resources labeled “PRS Resource 3” and “PRS Resource 4,” and the third PRS resource set (“PRS Resource Set 3”) includes PRS resources labeled “PRS Resource 5” and “PRS Resource 6.”

When a UE is configured in the assistance data of a positioning method with a number of PRS resources beyond its capability, the UE assumes the PRS resources in the assistance data are sorted in a decreasing order of measurement priority. Currently, the 64 TRPs per frequency layer are sorted according to priority and the two PRS resource sets per TRP of the frequency layer are sorted according to priority. However, the four frequency layers may or may not be sorted according to priority, and the 64 PRS resources of the PRS resource set per TRP per frequency layer may or may not be sorted according to priority. The reference indicated by the assistance data parameter “nr-DL-PRS-ReferenceInfo” for each frequency layer has the highest priority, at least for DL-TDOA positioning procedures.

FIG. 8 is a diagram 800 illustrating various uplink channels within an example uplink slot. In FIG. 8, time is represented horizontally (on the X axis) with time increasing from left to right, while frequency is represented vertically (on the Y axis) with frequency increasing (or decreasing) from bottom to top. In the example of FIG. 8, a numerology of 15 kHz is used. Thus, in the time domain, the illustrated slot is one millisecond (ms) in length, divided into 14 symbols.

A random-access channel (RACH), also referred to as a physical random-access channel (PRACH), may be within one or more slots within a frame based on the PRACH configuration. The PRACH may include six consecutive RB pairs within a slot. The PRACH allows the UE to perform initial system access and achieve uplink synchronization. A physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) may be located on edges of the uplink system bandwidth. The PUCCH carries uplink control information (UCI), such as scheduling requests, CSI reports, a channel quality indicator (CQI), a precoding matrix indicator (PMI), a rank indicator (RI), and HARQ ACK/NACK feedback. The physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) carries data, and may additionally be used to carry a buffer status report (BSR), a power headroom report (PHR), and/or UCI.

In an aspect, the reference signal carried on the REs labeled “R” in FIG. 4 may be SRS. SRS transmitted by a UE may be used by a base station to obtain the channel state information (CSI) for the transmitting UE. CSI describes how an RF signal propagates from the UE to the base station and represents the combined effect of scattering, fading, and power decay with distance. The system uses the SRS for resource scheduling, link adaptation, massive MIMO, beam management, etc.

A collection of REs that are used for transmission of SRS is referred to as an “SRS resource,” and may be identified by the parameter “SRS-ResourceId.” The collection of resource elements can span multiple PRBs in the frequency domain and ‘N’ (e.g., one or more) consecutive symbol(s) within a slot in the time domain. In a given OFDM symbol, an SRS resource occupies one or more consecutive PRBs. An “SRS resource set” is a set of SRS resources used for the transmission of SRS signals, and is identified by an SRS resource set ID (“SRS-ResourceSetId”).

The transmission of SRS resources within a given PRB has a particular comb size (also referred to as the “comb density”). A comb size ‘N’ represents the subcarrier spacing (or frequency/tone spacing) within each symbol of an SRS resource configuration. Specifically, for a comb size ‘N,’ SRS are transmitted in every Nth subcarrier of a symbol of a PRB. For example, for comb-4, for each symbol of the SRS resource configuration, REs corresponding to every fourth subcarrier (such as subcarriers 0, 4, 8) are used to transmit SRS of the SRS resource. In the example of FIG. 4, the illustrated SRS is comb-4 over four symbols. That is, the locations of the shaded SRS REs indicate a comb-4 SRS resource configuration.

Currently, an SRS resource may span 1, 2, 4, 8, or 12 consecutive symbols within a slot with a comb size of comb-2, comb-4, or comb-8. The following are the frequency offsets from symbol to symbol for the SRS comb patterns that are currently supported. 1-symbol comb-2: {0}; 2-symbol comb-2: {0, 1}; 2-symbol comb-4: {0, 2}; 4-symbol comb-2: {0, 1, 0, 1}; 4-symbol comb-4: {0, 2, 1, 3} (as in the example of FIG. 4); 8-symbol comb-4: {0, 2, 1, 3, 0, 2, 1, 3}; 12-symbol comb-4: {0, 2, 1, 3, 0, 2, 1, 3, 0, 2, 1, 3}; 4-symbol comb-8: {0, 4, 2, 6}; 8-symbol comb-8: {0, 4, 2, 6, 1, 5, 3, 7}; and 12-symbol comb-8: {0, 4, 2, 6, 1, 5, 3, 7, 0, 4, 2, 6}.

Generally, as noted above, a UE transmits SRS to enable the receiving base station (either the serving base station or a neighboring base station) to measure the channel quality (i.e., CSI) between the UE and the base station. However, SRS can also be specifically configured as uplink positioning reference signals for uplink-based positioning procedures, such as uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA), round-trip-time (RTT), uplink angle-of-arrival (UL-AoA), etc. As used herein, the term “SRS” may refer to SRS configured for channel quality measurements or SRS configured for positioning purposes. The former may be referred to herein as “SRS-for-communication” and/or the latter may be referred to as “SRS-for-positioning” or “positioning SRS” when needed to distinguish the two types of SRS.

Several enhancements over the previous definition of SRS have been proposed for SRS-for-positioning (also referred to as “UL-PRS”), such as a new staggered pattern within an SRS resource (except for single-symbol/comb-2), a new comb type for SRS, new sequences for SRS, a higher number of SRS resource sets per component carrier, and a higher number of SRS resources per component carrier. In addition, the parameters “SpatialRelationInfo” and “PathLossReference” are to be configured based on a downlink reference signal or SSB from a neighboring TRP. Further still, one SRS resource may be transmitted outside the active BWP, and one SRS resource may span across multiple component carriers. Also, SRS may be configured in RRC connected state and only transmitted within an active BWP. Further, there may be no frequency hopping, no repetition factor, a single antenna port, and new lengths for SRS (e.g., 8 and 12 symbols). There also may be open-loop power control and not closed-loop power control, and comb-8 (i.e., an SRS transmitted every eighth subcarrier in the same symbol) may be used. Lastly, the UE may transmit through the same transmit beam from multiple SRS resources for UL-AoA. All of these are features that are additional to the current SRS framework, which is configured through RRC higher layer signaling (and potentially triggered or activated through a MAC control element (MAC-CE) or downlink control information (DCI)).

Sidelink communication takes place in transmission or reception resource pools. In the frequency domain, the minimum resource allocation unit is a sub-channel (e.g., a collection of consecutive PRBs in the frequency domain). In the time domain, resource allocation is in one slot intervals. However, some slots are not available for sidelink, and some slots contain feedback resources. In addition, sidelink resources can be (pre) configured to occupy fewer than the 14 symbols of a slot.

Sidelink resources are configured at the radio resource control (RRC) layer. The RRC configuration can be by pre-configuration (e.g., preloaded on the UE) or configuration (e.g., from a serving base station).

NR sidelinks support hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) retransmission. FIG. 9A is a diagram 900 of an example slot structure without feedback resources, according to aspects of the disclosure. In the example of FIG. 9A, time is represented horizontally and frequency is represented vertically. In the time domain, the length of each block is one orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol, and the 14 symbols make up a slot. In the frequency domain, the height of each block is one sub-channel. Currently, the (pre) configured sub-channel size can be selected from the set of {10, 15, 20, 25, 50, 75, 100} physical resource blocks (PRBs).

For a sidelink slot, the first symbol is a repetition of the preceding symbol and is used for automatic gain control (AGC) setting. This is illustrated in FIG. 9A by the vertical and horizontal hashing. As shown in FIG. 9A, for sidelink, the physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) and the physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) are transmitted in the same slot. Similar to the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), the PSCCH carries control information about sidelink resource allocation and descriptions about sidelink data transmitted to the UE. Likewise, similar to the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), the PSSCH carries user data for the UE. In the example of FIG. 9A, the PSCCH occupies half the bandwidth of the sub-channel and only three symbols. Finally, a gap symbol is present after the PSSCH.

FIG. 9B is a diagram 950 of an example slot structure with feedback resources, according to aspects of the disclosure. In the example of FIG. 9B, time is represented horizontally and frequency is represented vertically. In the time domain, the length of each block is one OFDM symbol, and the 14 symbols make up a slot. In the frequency domain, the height of each block is one sub-channel.

The slot structure illustrated in FIG. 9B is similar to the slot structure illustrated in FIG. 9A, except that the slot structure illustrated in FIG. 9B includes feedback resources. Specifically, two symbols at the end of the slot have been dedicated to the physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH). The first PSFCH symbol is a repetition of the second PSFCH symbol for AGC setting. In addition to the gap symbol after the PSSCH, there is a gap symbol after the two PSFCH symbols. Currently, resources for the PSFCH can be configured with a periodicity selected from the set of {0, 1, 2, 4} slots.

The first 13 symbols of a slot in the time domain and the allocated subchannel(s) in the frequency domain form a sidelink resource pool. A sidelink resource pool may include resources for sidelink communication (transmission and/or reception), sidelink positioning (referred to as a resource pool for positioning (RP-P)), or both communication and positioning. A resource pool configured for both communication and positioning is referred to as a “shared” resource pool. In a shared resource pool, the RP-P is indicated by an offset, periodicity, number of consecutive symbols within a slot (e.g., as few as one symbol), and/or the bandwidth within a component carrier (or the bandwidth across multiple component carriers). In addition, the RP-P can be associated with a zone or a distance from a reference location.

A base station (or a UE, depending on the resource allocation mode) can assign, to another UE, one or more resource configurations from the RP-Ps. Additionally or alternatively, a UE (e.g., a relay or a remote UE) can request one or more RP-P configurations, and it can include in the request one or more of the following: (1) its location information (or zone identifier), (2) periodicity, (3) bandwidth, (4) offset, (5) number of symbols, and (6) whether a configuration with “low interference” is needed (which can be determined through an assigned quality of service (QOS) or priority).

A base station or a UE can configure/assign rate matching resources or RP-P for rate matching and/or muting to a sidelink UE such that when a collision exists between the assigned resources and another resource pool that contains data (PSSCH) and/or control (PSCCH), the sidelink UE is expected to rate match, mute, and/or puncture the data, DMRS, and/or CSI-RS within the colliding resources. This would enable orthogonalization between positioning and data transmissions for increased coverage of PRS signals.

FIG. 10 is a diagram 1000 illustrating an example of a resource pool for positioning configured within a sidelink resource pool for communication (i.e., a shared resource pool), according to aspects of the disclosure. In the example of FIG. 10, time is represented horizontally and frequency is represented vertically. In the time domain, the length of each block is an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol, and the 14 symbols make up a slot. In the frequency domain, the height of each block is a sub-channel.

In the example of FIG. 10, the entire slot (except for the first and last symbols) can be a resource pool for sidelink communication. That is, any of the symbols other than the first and last can be allocated for sidelink communication. However, an RP-P is allocated in the last four pre-gap symbols of the slot. As such, non-sidelink positioning data, such as user data (PSSCH), CSI-RS, and control information, can only be transmitted in the first eight post-AGC symbols and not in the last four pre-gap symbols to prevent a collision with the configured RP-P. The non-sidelink positioning data that would otherwise be transmitted in the last four pre-gap symbols can be punctured or muted, or the non-sidelink data that would normally span more than the eight post-AGC symbols can be rate matched to fit into the eight post-AGC symbols.

Sidelink positioning reference signals (SL-PRS) have been defined to enable sidelink positioning procedures among UEs. Like a downlink PRS (DL-PRS), an SL-PRS resource is composed of one or more resource elements (i.e., one OFDM symbol in the time domain and one subcarrier in the frequency domain). SL-PRS resources have been designed with a comb-based pattern to enable fast Fourier transform (FFT)-based processing at the receiver. SL-PRS resources are composed of unstaggered, or only partially staggered, resource elements in the frequency domain to provide small time of arrival (TOA) uncertainty and reduced overhead of each SL-PRS resource. SL-PRS may also be associated with specific RP-Ps (e.g., certain SL-PRS may be allocated in certain RP-Ps). SL-PRS have also been defined with intra-slot repetition (not shown in FIG. 10) to allow for combining gains (if needed). There may also be inter-UE coordination of RP-Ps to provide for dynamic SL-PRS and data multiplexing while minimizing SL-PRS collisions.

NR supports a number of cellular network-based positioning technologies, including downlink-based, uplink-based, and downlink-and-uplink-based positioning methods. Downlink-based positioning methods include observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) in LTE, downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA) in NR, and downlink angle-of-departure (DL-AoD) in NR. FIG. 11 illustrates examples of various positioning methods, according to aspects of the disclosure. In an OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning procedure, illustrated by scenario 1110, a UE measures the differences between the times of arrival (ToAs) of reference signals (e.g., positioning reference signals (PRS)) received from pairs of base stations, referred to as reference signal time difference (RSTD) or time difference of arrival (TDOA) measurements, and reports them to a positioning entity. More specifically, the UE receives the identifiers (IDs) of a reference base station (e.g., a serving base station) and multiple non-reference base stations in assistance data. The UE then measures the RSTD between the reference base station and each of the non-reference base stations. Based on the known locations of the involved base stations and the RSTD measurements, the positioning entity (e.g., the UE for UE-based positioning or a location server for UE-assisted positioning) can estimate the UE's location.

For DL-AoD positioning, illustrated by scenario 1120, the positioning entity uses a measurement report from the UE of received signal strength measurements of multiple downlink transmit beams to determine the angle(s) between the UE and the transmitting base station(s). The positioning entity can then estimate the location of the UE based on the determined angle(s) and the known location(s) of the transmitting base station(s).

Uplink-based positioning methods include uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA) and uplink angle-of-arrival (UL-AoA). UL-TDOA is similar to DL-TDOA, but is based on uplink reference signals (e.g., sounding reference signals (SRS)) transmitted by the UE to multiple base stations. Specifically, a UE transmits one or more uplink reference signals that are measured by a reference base station and a plurality of non-reference base stations. Each base station then reports the reception time (referred to as the relative time of arrival (RTOA)) of the reference signal(s) to a positioning entity (e.g., a location server) that knows the locations and relative timing of the involved base stations. Based on the reception-to-reception (Rx-Rx) time difference between the reported RTOA of the reference base station and the reported RTOA of each non-reference base station, the known locations of the base stations, and their known timing offsets, the positioning entity can estimate the location of the UE using TDOA.

For UL-AoA positioning, one or more base stations measure the received signal strength of one or more uplink reference signals (e.g., SRS) received from a UE on one or more uplink receive beams. The positioning entity uses the signal strength measurements and the angle(s) of the receive beam(s) to determine the angle(s) between the UE and the base station(s). Based on the determined angle(s) and the known location(s) of the base station(s), the positioning entity can then estimate the location of the UE.

Downlink-and-uplink-based positioning methods include enhanced cell-ID (E-CID) positioning and multi-round-trip-time (RTT) positioning (also referred to as “multi-cell RTT” and “multi-RTT”). In an RTT procedure, a first entity (e.g., a base station or a UE) transmits a first RTT-related signal (e.g., a PRS or SRS) to a second entity (e.g., a UE or base station), which transmits a second RTT-related signal (e.g., an SRS or PRS) back to the first entity. Each entity measures the time difference between the time of arrival (ToA) of the received RTT-related signal and the transmission time of the transmitted RTT-related signal. This time difference is referred to as a reception-to-transmission (Rx-Tx) time difference. The Rx-Tx time difference measurement may be made, or may be adjusted, to include only a time difference between nearest slot boundaries for the received and transmitted signals. Both entities may then send their Rx-Tx time difference measurement to a location server (e.g., an LMF 270), which calculates the round trip propagation time (i.e., RTT) between the two entities from the two Rx-Tx time difference measurements (e.g., as the sum of the two Rx-Tx time difference measurements). Alternatively, one entity may send its Rx-Tx time difference measurement to the other entity, which then calculates the RTT. The distance between the two entities can be determined from the RTT and the known signal speed (e.g., the speed of light). For multi-RTT positioning, illustrated by scenario 1130, a first entity (e.g., a UE or base station) performs an RTT positioning procedure with multiple second entities (e.g., multiple base stations or UEs) to enable the location of the first entity to be determined (e.g., using multilateration) based on distances to, and the known locations of, the second entities. RTT and multi-RTT methods can be combined with other positioning techniques, such as UL-AoA and DL-AoD, to improve location accuracy, as illustrated by scenario 1140.

The E-CID positioning method is based on radio resource management (RRM) measurements. In E-CID, the UE reports the serving cell ID, the timing advance (TA), and the identifiers, estimated timing, and signal strength of detected neighbor base stations. The location of the UE is then estimated based on this information and the known locations of the base station(s).

To assist positioning operations, a location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270, SLP 272) may provide assistance data to the UE. For example, the assistance data may include identifiers of the base stations (or the cells/TRPs of the base stations) from which to measure reference signals, the reference signal configuration parameters (e.g., the number of consecutive slots including PRS, periodicity of the consecutive slots including PRS, muting sequence, frequency hopping sequence, reference signal identifier, reference signal bandwidth, etc.), and/or other parameters applicable to the particular positioning method. Alternatively, the assistance data may originate directly from the base stations themselves (e.g., in periodically broadcasted overhead messages, etc.). In some cases, the UE may be able to detect neighbor network nodes itself without the use of assistance data.

In the case of an OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning procedure, the assistance data may further include an expected RSTD value and an associated uncertainty, or search window, around the expected RSTD. In some cases, the value range of the expected RSTD may be +/−500 microseconds (μs). In some cases, when any of the resources used for the positioning measurement are in FR1, the value range for the uncertainty of the expected RSTD may be +/−32 μs. In other cases, when all of the resources used for the positioning measurement(s) are in FR2, the value range for the uncertainty of the expected RSTD may be +/−8 μs.

A location estimate may be referred to by other names, such as a position estimate, location, position, position fix, fix, or the like. A location estimate may be geodetic and comprise coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude) or may be civic and comprise a street address, postal address, or some other verbal description of a location. A location estimate may further be defined relative to some other known location or defined in absolute terms (e.g., using latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude). A location estimate may include an expected error or uncertainty (e.g., by including an area or volume within which the location is expected to be included with some specified or default level of confidence).

UEs may be classified as RedCap UEs (e.g., wearables, such as smart watches, glasses, rings, etc.) and premium UEs (e.g., smartphones, tablet computers, laptop computers, etc.). RedCap UEs may alternatively be referred to as low-tier UEs, light UEs, or super light UEs. Premium UEs may alternatively be referred to as full-capability UEs or simply UEs. RedCap UEs generally have lower baseband processing capability, fewer antennas (e.g., one receiver antenna as baseline in FR1 or FR2, two receiver antennas optionally), lower operational bandwidth capabilities (e.g., 20 MHz for FR1 with no supplemental uplink or carrier aggregation, or 50 or 100 MHz for FR2), only half duplex frequency division duplex (HD-FDD) capability, smaller HARQ buffer, reduced physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring, restricted modulation (e.g., 64 QAM for downlink and 16 QAM for uplink), relaxed processing timeline requirements, and/or lower uplink transmission power compared to premium UEs. Different UE tiers can be differentiated by UE category and/or by UE capability. For example, certain types of UEs may be assigned a classification (e.g., by the original equipment manufacturer (OEM), the applicable wireless communications standards, or the like) of “RedCap” and other types of UEs may be assigned a classification of “premium.” Certain tiers of UEs may also report their type (e.g., “RedCap” or “premium”) to the network. Additionally, certain resources and/or channels may be dedicated to certain types of UEs.

As will be appreciated, the accuracy of RedCap UE positioning may be limited. For example, a RedCap UE may operate on a reduced bandwidth, such as 5 to 20 MHz for wearable devices and “relaxed” IoT devices (i.e., IoT devices with relaxed, or lower, capability parameters, such as lower throughput, relaxed delay requirements, lower energy consumption, etc.), which results in lower positioning accuracy. As another example, a RedCap UE's receive processing capability may be limited due to its lower cost RF/baseband. As such, the reliability of measurements and positioning computations would be reduced. In addition, such a RedCap UE may not be able to receive multiple PRS from multiple TRPs, further reducing positioning accuracy. As yet another example, the transmit power of a RedCap UE may be reduced, meaning there would be a lower quality of uplink measurements for RedCap UE positioning.

Premium UEs generally have a larger form factor and are costlier than RedCap UEs, and have more features and capabilities than RedCap UEs. For example, with respect to positioning, a premium UE may operate on the full PRS bandwidth, such as 100 MHZ, and measure PRS from more TRPs than RedCap UEs, both of which result in higher positioning accuracy. As another example, a premium UE's receive processing capability may be higher (e.g., faster) due to its higher-capability RF/baseband. In addition, the transmit power of a premium UE may be higher than that of a RedCap UE. As such, the reliability of measurements and positioning computations would be increased.

NR supports, or enables, various sidelink positioning techniques. FIG. 12A illustrates various scenarios of interest for sidelink-only or joint Uu and sidelink positioning, according to aspects of the disclosure. In scenario 1210, at least one peer UE with a known location can improve the Uu-based positioning (e.g., multi-cell round-trip-time (RTT), downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA), etc.) of a target UE by providing an additional anchor (e.g., using sidelink RTT (SL-RTT)). In scenario 1220, a low-end (e.g., reduced capacity, or “RedCap”) target UE may obtain the assistance of premium UEs to determine its location using, e.g., sidelink positioning and ranging procedures with the premium UEs. Compared to the low-end UE, the premium UEs may have more capabilities, such as more sensors, a faster processor, more memory, more antenna elements, higher transmit power capability, access to additional frequency bands, or any combination thereof. In scenario 1230, a relay UE (e.g., with a known location) participates in the positioning estimation of a remote UE without performing uplink positioning reference signal (PRS) transmission over the Uu interface. Scenario 1240 illustrates the joint positioning of multiple UEs. Specifically, in scenario 1240, two UEs with unknown positions can be jointly located in non-line-of-sight (NLOS) conditions by utilizing constraints from nearby UEs.

FIG. 12B illustrates additional scenarios of interest for sidelink-only or joint Uu and sidelink positioning, according to aspects of the disclosure. In scenario 1250, UEs used for public safety (e.g., by police, firefighters, and/or the like) may perform peer-to-peer (P2P) positioning and ranging for public safety and other uses. For example, in scenario 1250, the public safety UEs may be out of coverage of a network and determine a location or a relative distance and a relative position among the public safety UEs using sidelink positioning techniques. Similarly, scenario 1260 shows multiple UEs that are out of coverage and determine a location or a relative distance and a relative position using sidelink positioning techniques, such as SL-RTT.

FIG. 13 is a diagram 1300 illustrating a base station (BS) 1302 (which may correspond to any of the base stations described herein) in communication with a UE 1304 (which may correspond to any of the UEs described herein). Referring to FIG. 13, the base station 1302 may transmit a beamformed signal to the UE 1304 on one or more transmit beams 1312a, 1312b, 1312c, 1312d, 1312e, 1312f, 1312g, 1312h (collectively, beams 1312), each having a beam identifier that can be used by the UE 1304 to identify the respective beam. Where the base station 1302 is beamforming towards the UE 1304 with a single array of antennas (e.g., a single TRP/cell), the base station 1302 may perform a “beam sweep” by transmitting first beam 1312a, then beam 1312b, and so on until lastly transmitting beam 1312h. Alternatively, the base station 1302 may transmit beams 1312 in some pattern, such as beam 1312a, then beam 1312h, then beam 1312b, then beam 1312g, and so on. Where the base station 1302 is beamforming towards the UE 1304 using multiple arrays of antennas (e.g., multiple TRPs/cells), each antenna array may perform a beam sweep of a subset of the beams 1312. Alternatively, each of beams 1312 may correspond to a single antenna or antenna array.

FIG. 13 further illustrates the paths 1322c, 1322d, 1322c, 1322f, and 1322g followed by the beamformed signal transmitted on beams 1312c, 1312d, 1312c, 1312f, and 1312g, respectively. Each path 1322c, 1322d, 1322e, 1322f, 1322g may correspond to a single “multipath” or, due to the propagation characteristics of radio frequency (RF) signals through the environment, may be comprised of a plurality (a cluster) of “multipaths.” Note that although only the paths 1322c-1322g for beams 1312c-1312g are shown, this is for simplicity, and the signal transmitted on each of beams 1312 will follow some path. In the example shown, the paths 1322c, 1322d, 1322e, and 1322f are straight lines, while path 1322g reflects off an obstacle 1320 (e.g., a building, vehicle, terrain feature, etc.).

The UE 1304 may receive the beamformed signal from the base station 1302 on one or more receive beams 1314a, 1314b, 1314c, 1314d (collectively, beams 1314). Note that for simplicity, the beams illustrated in FIG. 13 represent either transmit beams or receive beams, depending on which of the base station 1302 and the UE 1304 is transmitting and which is receiving. Thus, the UE 1304 may also transmit a beamformed signal to the base station 1302 on one or more of the beams 1314, and the base station 1302 may receive the beamformed signal from the UE 1304 on one or more of the beams 1312.

In an aspect, the base station 1302 and the UE 1304 may perform beam training to align the transmit and receive beams of the base station 1302 and the UE 1304. For example, depending on environmental conditions and other factors, the base station 1302 and the UE 1304 may determine that the best transmit and receive beams are 1312d and 1314b, respectively, or beams 1312e and 1314c, respectively. The direction of the best transmit beam for the base station 1302 may or may not be the same as the direction of the best receive beam, and likewise, the direction of the best receive beam for the UE 1304 may or may not be the same as the direction of the best transmit beam. Note, however, that aligning the transmit and receive beams is not necessary to perform a downlink angle-of-departure (DL-AoD) or uplink angle-of-arrival (UL-AoA) positioning procedure.

To perform a DL-AoD positioning procedure, the base station 1302 may transmit reference signals (e.g., PRS, CRS, TRS, CSI-RS, PSS, SSS, etc.) to the UE 1304 on one or more of beams 1312, with each beam having a different transmit angle. The different transmit angles of the beams will result in different received signal strengths (e.g., RSRP, RSRQ, SINR, etc.) at the UE 1304. Specifically, the received signal strength will be lower for transmit beams 1312 that are further from the line of sight (LOS) path 1310 between the base station 1302 and the UE 1304 than for transmit beams 1312 that are closer to the LOS path 1310.

In the example of FIG. 13, if the base station 1302 transmits reference signals to the UE 1304 on beams 1312c, 1312d, 1312e, 1312f, and 1312g, then transmit beam 1312e is best aligned with the LOS path 1310, while transmit beams 1312c, 1312d, 1312f, and 1312g are not. As such, beam 1312e is likely to have a higher received signal strength at the UE 1304 than beams 1312c, 1312d, 1312f, and 1312g. Note that the reference signals transmitted on some beams (e.g., beams 1312c and/or 1312f) may not reach the UE 1304, or energy reaching the UE 1304 from these beams may be so low that the energy may not be detectable or at least can be ignored.

The UE 1304 can report the received signal strength, and optionally, the associated measurement quality, of each measured transmit beam 1312c-1312g to the base station 1302, or alternatively, the identity of the transmit beam having the highest received signal strength (beam 1312e in the example of FIG. 13). Alternatively or additionally, if the UE 1304 is also engaged in a round-trip-time (RTT) or time-difference of arrival (TDOA) positioning session with at least one base station 1302 or a plurality of base stations 1302, respectively, the UE 1304 can report reception-to-transmission (Rx-Tx) time difference or reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurements (and optionally the associated measurement qualities), respectively, to the serving base station 1302 or other positioning entity. In any case, the positioning entity (e.g., the base station 1302, a location server, a third-party client, UE 1304, etc.) can estimate the angle from the base station 1302 to the UE 1304 as the AoD of the transmit beam having the highest received signal strength at the UE 1304, here, transmit beam 1312c.

In one aspect of DL-AoD-based positioning, where there is only one involved base station 1302, the base station 1302 and the UE 1304 can perform a round-trip-time (RTT) procedure to determine the distance between the base station 1302 and the UE 1304. Thus, the positioning entity can determine both the direction to the UE 1304 (using DL-AoD positioning) and the distance to the UE 1304 (using RTT positioning) to estimate the location of the UE 1304. Note that the AoD of the transmit beam having the highest received signal strength does not necessarily lie along the LOS path 1310, as shown in FIG. 13. However, for DL-AoD-based positioning purposes, it is assumed to do so.

In another aspect of DL-AoD-based positioning, where there are multiple involved base stations 1302, each involved base station 1302 can report, to the serving base station 1302, the determined AoD from the respective base station 1302 to the UE 1304, or the RSRP measurements. The serving base station 1302 may then report the AoDs or RSRP measurements from the other involved base station(s) 1312 to the positioning entity (e.g., UE 1304 for UE-based positioning or a location server for UE-assisted positioning). With this information, and knowledge of the base stations' 1302 geographic locations, the positioning entity can estimate a location of the UE 1304 as the intersection of the determined AoDs. There should be at least two involved base stations 1302 for a two-dimensional (2D) location solution, but as will be appreciated, the more base stations 1302 that are involved in the positioning procedure, the more accurate the estimated location of the UE 1304 will be.

To perform an UL-AoA positioning procedure, the UE 1304 transmits uplink reference signals (e.g., UL-PRS, SRS, DMRS, etc.) to the base station 1302 on one or more of uplink transmit beams 1314. The base station 1302 receives the uplink reference signals on one or more of uplink receive beams 1312. The base station 1302 determines the angle of the best receive beams 1312 used to receive the one or more reference signals from the UE 1304 as the AoA from the UE 1304 to itself. Specifically, each of the receive beams 1312 will result in a different received signal strength (e.g., RSRP, RSRQ, SINR, etc.) of the one or more reference signals at the base station 1302. Further, the channel impulse response of the one or more reference signals will be smaller for receive beams 1312 that are further from the actual LOS path 1310 between the base station 1302 and the UE 1304 than for receive beams 1312 that are closer to the LOS path 1310. Likewise, the received signal strength will be lower for receive beams 1312 that are further from the LOS path 1310 than for receive beams 1312 that are closer to the LOS path 1310. As such, the base station 1302 identifies the receive beam 1312 that results in the highest received signal strength and, optionally, the strongest channel impulse response, and estimates the angle from itself to the UE 1304 as the AoA of that receive beam 1312. Note that as with DL-AoD-based positioning, the AoA of the receive beam 1312 resulting in the highest received signal strength (and strongest channel impulse response if measured) does not necessarily lie along the LOS path 1310. However, for UL-AoA-based positioning purposes in FR2, it may be assumed to do so.

Note that while the UE 1304 is illustrated as being capable of beamforming, this is not necessary for DL-AoD and UL-AoA positioning procedures. Rather, the UE 1304 may receive and transmit on an omni-directional antenna.

Where the UE 1304 is estimating its location (i.e., the UE is the positioning entity), it needs to obtain the geographic location of the base station 1302. The UE 1304 may obtain the location from, for example, the base station 1302 itself or a location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270, SLP 272). With the knowledge of the distance to the base station 1302 (based on the RTT or timing advance), the angle between the base station 1302 and the UE 1304 (based on the UL-AoA of the best receive beam 1312), and the known geographic location of the base station 1302, the UE 1304 can estimate its location.

Alternatively, where a positioning entity, such as the base station 1302 or a location server, is estimating the location of the UE 1304, the base station 1302 reports the AoA of the receive beam 1312 resulting in the highest received signal strength (and optionally strongest channel impulse response) of the reference signals received from the UE 1304, or all received signal strengths and channel impulse responses for all receive beams 1312 (which allows the positioning entity to determine the best receive beam 1312). The base station 1302 may additionally report the Rx-Tx time difference to the UE 1304. The positioning entity can then estimate the location of the UE 1304 based on the UE's 1304 distance to the base station 1302, the AoA of the identified receive beam 1312, and the known geographic location of the base station 1302.

At a high-level, carrier phase-based positioning relies on the idea of mixing a reference signal (generated at the transmitter) with its replica at the receiver to generate a mixed signal with low and high-frequency components. The high-frequency component can be filtered-out (at the receiver), leaving only a carrier signal whose phase is the difference between the phase of the transmitted signal and its replica at the receiver.

In 5G NR, a position reference unit (PRU) is a UE with a known location, which may operate similarly to a fixed network node (e.g., TRP, gNB, etc.) for position estimation. PRUs may be used to potentially remove common errors sources (e.g., geometry inaccuracy, clock, multipath, atmosphere, etc.), which may improve position estimation accuracy.

FIG. 14 illustrates a position estimation scheme 1400, in accordance with aspects of the disclosure. In FIG. 14, gNBs 1-4, PRUs 1-2, a target UE, and an LMF are depicted.

Referring to FIG. 14, in some designs, for UE-based estimation, PRUs 1-2 may send correction data to the LMF, which may then forward some or all of the correction data to the UE. In some designs, the correction data may relate to various measurement types, such as clock offset, RSTD error, AoA/AOD offset, carrier phase error/offset, offset of difference of carrier phase (RSCP/RSCPD), etc., between two TRPs (in this case, gNBs). In some designs, a PRU may serve one UE. In other designs, multiple PRUs may be deployed in a region and may serve multiple UEs.

In some designs, the specific RF frequency associated with a DL carrier phase measurement is defined as the center frequency of the DL PFL by default. Likewise, the specific RF frequency associated with a UL carrier phase measurement is defined, by default, as the center frequency of the transmission bandwidth (BW) of the UL-SRS-P, as shown in FIG. 15.

FIG. 15 illustrates a DL carrier phase measurement scheme 1500, in accordance with aspects of the disclosure. As shown in FIG. 15, the DL carrier phase measurement of PFL1 is based on a center frequency of PFL1, as noted at 1510.

For UE/PRU implementation, position estimation accuracy may be further enhanced by measuring, e.g.:

- Frequency of a subband within one PFL (e.g., the exact frequency may be the central subcarrier or any subcarrier within the subband), and/or
- Frequency of a subcarrier

In some designs, this flexibility may be useful for UE with limited capability, such as RedCap UE (e.g., which may only be able to measure a subband of a PFL, etc.). Besides that, the measurement entity (PRU/UE/TRP) may report either one or multiple carrier phase measurements in provideInformation IE. With multiple measurements, the positioning entity may utilize a lane combination scheme to combine measurements for faster integer ambiguity search (wide lane combination) and/or mitigate the ARP location error (multiple reference signal carrier phase (RSCP)/RSCP-difference (RSCPD) of subbands within a PFL) and/or better accuracy (narrow lane combination). However, various problems arise, such as how to choose the measured frequency, who chooses the measured frequency, how many measurement to reports to use for reporting, and so on.

Aspects of the disclosure are directed to multiple carrier phase measurements associated with positioning frequency layer. In some designs, multiple carrier phase measurements per PFL may facilitate more flexibility for carrier phase measurements, which may provide various technical advantages, such as improved position estimation, reduced position estimation latency, and so on. Other aspects are directed to a reduced positioning frequency layer bandwidth for reference signal for positioning measurements. Such aspects may be particularly beneficial for certain UE types, such as RedCap UEs, which may not be capable of measuring a full bandwidth of a PFL, or a normal (i.e., non-RedCap) UE with real-time (e.g., short-term) processing limitation. Other aspects are directed to differential carrier phase measurement reporting (e.g., for a single carrier phase measurement or multiple carrier phase measurements), which may provide technical advantages such as reduced signaling overhead.

FIG. 16 illustrates an exemplary process 1600 of communications according to an aspect of the disclosure. The process 1600 of FIG. 16 is performed by a wireless measurement entity. In some designs, the wireless measurement entity may correspond to a wireless network component (e.g., gNB 304 or O-RAN component or PRU, etc.). In other designs, the wireless measurement entity may correspond to a UE, such as UE 302.

Referring to FIG. 16, at 1610, the wireless measurement entity (e.g., receiver 312 or 322 or 352 or 362, network transceiver(s) 380, etc.) receives from a position estimation entity, a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) resource configuration that configures a set of RS-P occasions associated with a first positioning frequency layer (PFL) in association with a position estimation session of a user equipment (UE).

Referring to FIG. 16, at 1620, the wireless measurement entity (e.g., receiver 312 or 322, or 352 or 362, processor(s) 332 or 384 or 394, carrier phase component 342 or 388 or 398, etc.) measures a first carrier phase of the first PFL at a first carrier frequency associated with a RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions.

Referring to FIG. 16, at 1630, the wireless measurement entity (e.g., receiver 312 or 322, or 352 or 362, processor(s) 332 or 384 or 394, carrier phase component 342 or 388 or 398, etc.) measures a second carrier phase of the first PFL at a second carrier frequency associated with the RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions.

Referring to FIG. 16, at 1640, the wireless measurement entity (e.g., transmitter 314 or 324 or 354 or 364, network transceiver(s) 380, etc.) transmits at least one measurement report that indicates the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL and the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL to the position estimation entity.

FIG. 17 illustrates an exemplary process 1700 of communications according to an aspect of the disclosure. The process 1700 of FIG. 17 is performed by a position estimation entity. In some designs, the position estimation entity may correspond to a network component (e.g., an LMF integrated at gNB/BS 304/NTN entity or O-RAN component or a remote location server such as network entity 306, etc.). In other designs, the position estimation entity may correspond to another UE (e.g., sidelink anchor UE) or to the target UE itself (e.g., for UE-based position estimation, in which case any Rx/Tx operations between the UE and the position estimation entity may correspond to transfer of information between different logical components of the UE over a data bus, etc.) or to the wireless measurement entity itself (e.g., in which case any Rx/Tx operations between the wireless measurement entity and the position estimation entity may correspond to transfer of information between different logical components of the wireless measurement entity over a data bus, etc.). In a further aspect, the process 1700 of FIG. 17 at the position estimation entity may correspond to a process performed in parallel with the process 1600 of FIG. 16 at the wireless measurement entity.

Referring to FIG. 17, at 1710, the position estimation entity (e.g., transmitter 314 or 324 or 354 or 364 or data bus 334 or data bus 382 or 392 or network transceiver(s) 380 or 390, etc.) transmits, to a wireless measurement entity, a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) resource configuration that configures a set of RS-P occasions associated with a first positioning frequency layer (PFL) in association with a position estimation session of a user equipment (UE).

Referring to FIG. 17, at 1720, the position estimation entity (e.g., receiver 312 or 322 or 352 or 352 or data bus 334 or data bus 382 or 392 or network transceiver(s) 380 or 390, etc.) receives, from the wireless measurement entity, at least one measurement report that indicates a measured first carrier phase of the first PFL at a first carrier frequency associated with a RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions and a measured second carrier phase of the first PFL at a second carrier frequency associated with the RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions.

Referring to FIG. 17, at 1730, the position estimation entity (e.g., processor(s) 332 or 384 or 394, carrier phase component 342 or 388 or 398, etc.) determines a position estimate of the UE based on the at least one measurement report.

Referring to FIGS. 16-17, in some designs, the first carrier frequency of the first PFL and the second carrier frequency of the first PFL are pre-defined or pre-configured, or the first carrier frequency of the first PFL and the second carrier frequency of the first PFL are indicated by the at least one measurement report. While described here with respect to two instant carrier frequencies, it will be appreciated that three or more carrier frequencies of a PFL (or aggregated PFL) may be measured in other examples (e.g., as depicted in FIGS. 18-19).

Referring to FIGS. 16-17, in some designs, the wireless measurement entity further transmits (and the position estimation entity further receives) a carrier phase measurement capability of the wireless measurement entity. In an aspect, the RS-P resource configuration is based on the carrier phase measurement capability. In a further aspect, the carrier phase measurement capability indicates a maximum number of carrier phase measurements per RS-P resource or per transmission reception point (TRP), a maximum number of carrier phase measurement per RS-P occasion, a maximum or minimum bandwidth for RS-P measurements, a maximum number of carrier phase subband-specific measurements per PFL, or any combination thereof.

Referring to FIGS. 16-17, in some designs, the first carrier frequency of the first PFL and the second carrier frequency of the first PFL are configured by the position estimation entity.

Referring to FIGS. 16-17, in some designs, at least one of the first carrier frequency of the first PFL and the second carrier frequency of the first PFL corresponds to a central frequency relative to a full bandwidth of the first PFL or a subband of the first PFL.

Referring to FIGS. 16-17, in some designs, at least one of the first carrier frequency of the first PFL, the second carrier frequency of the first PFL, or both, corresponds to a subcarrier index relative to a reference point associated with the first PFL. In an aspect, the reference point corresponds to a highest frequency part of the first PFL, a central frequency relative to the full bandwidth of the first PFL, or to a lowest frequency part of the first PFL

Referring to FIGS. 16-17, in some designs, the first carrier frequency of the first PFL and the second carrier frequency of the first PFL are defined via reference to a bandwidth associated with the first PFL, and the bandwidth comprises: a number of subcarriers, or a number of resource blocks (RBs), or a ratio that is relative to a full bandwidth of the PFL, or a number of subbands.

Referring to FIGS. 16-17, in some designs, the wireless measurement entity further transmits (and the position estimation entity further receives) measurement error (or accuracy indication) information associated with the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, or both.

Referring to FIGS. 16-17, in some designs, the set of RS-P occasions is further associated with a second PFL. In an aspect, the wireless measurement entity further measures a third carrier phase of the second PFL at a third carrier frequency associated with the RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions, and measures a fourth carrier phase of the second PFL at a fourth carrier frequency associated with the RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions. In an aspect, the at least one measurement report further indicates the measured third carrier phase of the second PFL and the measured fourth carrier phase of the second PFL. In a further aspect, the at least one measurement report comprises: a first measurement report comprising indications of the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL and the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, and a second measurement report comprising indications of the measured third carrier phase of the second PFL and the measured fourth carrier phase of the second. In a further aspect, the at least one measurement report comprises: a single measurement report comprising indications of the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured third carrier phase of the second PFL and the measured fourth carrier phase of the second PFL. In yet a further aspect, the first PFL and the second PFL are configured without RS-P aggregation, and the first carrier phase of the first PFL and second carrier phase of the first PFL are measured separately from the third carrier phase of the second PFL and the fourth carrier phase of the second PFL.

Referring to FIGS. 16-17, in yet a further aspect, the first PFL and the second PFL are configured with RS-P aggregation, and the first carrier phase of the first PFL and second carrier phase of the first PFL are measured jointly with the third carrier phase of the second PFL and the fourth carrier phase of the second PFL, and frequency information included in the at least one measurement report is based on an aggregated PFL that comprises the first PFL and the second PFL. In an example, a central carrier frequency for the at least one measurement report is based on a combined bandwidth of the aggregated PFL. In another example, subbands are defined based on a combined bandwidth of the aggregated PFL.

Referring to FIGS. 16-17, in some designs, the first carrier frequency is associated with a first subband and the second carrier frequency is associated with a second subband, and the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, or both, are reported differentially. In some designs, the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL is reported differentially relative to the measured second carrier phase, or the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL is reported differentially relative to the measured first carrier phase (e.g., one carrier phase measurement is reported as an absolute measurement, while the other carrier phase measurement is reported relative to (i.e., as a difference of) the absolute measurement. In other designs, the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, or both, are reported differentially relative to a reference transmission reception point (TRP), or the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, or both, are reported differentially relative to a reference subband of the reference TRP, or the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, or both, are reported differentially relative to a reference RS-P resource of the reference subband of the reference TRP.

Referring to FIGS. 16-17, in some designs, the wireless measurement entity corresponds to a user equipment (UE) or a wireless network component. In a further aspect, the wireless network component corresponds to a transmission reception point (TRP) or a position reference unit (PRU).

FIG. 18 illustrates an example implementation 1800 of the processes 1600-1700 of FIGS. 16-17, respectively, in accordance with aspects of the disclosure. In FIG. 18, PFL1 and PFL2 are depicted. Carrier phases of central PFL bandwidths are taken, as shown at 1810 and 1850 of FIG. 18. These aspects are similar to FIG. 15, where one carrier phase is taken at a central frequency of PFL bandwidth. In FIG. 18, carrier phases are further measured at 1820 and 1840 of PFL1, and 1860 of PFL2. For example, 1820, 1840 and 1860 may correspond to center frequencies of respective subbands in their respective PFLs.

Referring to FIG. 18, instead of one carrier phase of the central frequency, the wireless measurement entity may report multiple carrier phases of multiple bands. The reported frequency should be known to both wireless measurement entity and reception node (position estimation entity).

Referring to FIG. 18, in some designs, the wireless measurement entity and position estimation entity may agree in advance as to the carrier frequencies where the carrier phases are measured/reported. In this case, the carrier phases are implicit in the measurement report. In some designs, once carrier phase positioning relies on a double difference scheme, positioning entity (LMF or UE) may request carrier phase measurement capability from both PRU and/or UE and/or TRP. After capability exchange between position estimation entity (LMF or UE) and wireless measurement entity, the position estimation entity may determine a minimum configuration that both Tx node or Rx node can satisfy. In some designs, in request/provide capability, a new multi-carrier phase measurements related fields to support this function. In some designs, such a field may include a combination of maximum number of carrier phase measurements per PRS resource or per TRP/total max carrier phase measurement per PRS instance, or max and (or) min BW of PRS measurements, maximum number of carrier phase subband-specific measurements per PFL, etc.

Referring to FIG. 18, in some designs, the position estimation entity may further decide the frequency of subband/subcarrier that wireless measurement entity should measure at. These frequency information may be added to the measurement request IE. In some designs, carrier phase frequency information may correspond to an absolute central frequency within a band (either full PFL or a subband), the central frequency of a subcarrier index relative to point relative to the beginning/end/central of a PFL. In some designs, the BW can be defined as number of subcarriers/RBs, or a ratio of full BW of the PFL, or a number of Subband within a PFL. In some designs, resolution (accuracy) is a substitute for BW for measurement error indication purpose. In an aspect, the resolution (accuracy) may be defined in deg/rad/confidence level, etc. In some designs, resolution (accuracy) is a substitute for BW for measurement, within report, each one could have its own accuracy report, or common worst-case report for all of them.

Referring to FIG. 18, in other designs, the wireless measurement entity may add frequency information explicitly in the measurement report (e.g., providelocationInformation IE). In an aspect, each carrier phase (CP) measurement may be completed with a frequency information field and/or BW and/or resolution (accuracy).

In some designs, RSCP/RSCPD may be sent via independent measurement report or as an addon to 3GPP Rel. 16/17-based measurement report. If independent report is used, in some designs, current 3GPP IE structures may be reused for such an independent report, e.g.:

- Provide LocationInformation
  - SignalMeasurementInformation
    - MeasList
      - MeasElement
      - Measurement (RSTD, Rx-Tx, RSCP, RSCPD etc)

Referring to FIG. 18, in some designs, for an independent report, the relevant 3GPP standard can group multiple carrier phase measurements of one PRS resource into one Measurement, and add multiple Measurements to MeasElement. If carrier phase measurement is an add-on measurement report, then either:

- Add carrier phase measurements to the Rel-16/17 based measurements of the same PRS resources (e.g., for multi-carrier phase measurements, any additional measurements besides the central of PFL can be defined as Rel-18 carrier phase additionalmeasurements, similar to current measurement report structure), or.
- Add another MeasElement to the MeasList, the MeasElement can be defined for CP measurement.

In some designs, if multiple PFLs are configured and no PRS aggregation, then wireless measurement entity can treat them separately. If PRS aggregation is enabled, then:

- PRS configuration should have indicator about aggregation, and information about which PFLs should be aggregation.
- In the Location formation request message, indicate wireless measurement entity to perform joint CP measurements across aggregated PFL.
- The frequency information in the measurement request/report should be based on the aggregated PFL. For example, if two PFLs are configured as in FIG. 19, then the new central frequency is the frequency in the middle of two PFLs. Also, subband may be defined based on the combined BW.

FIG. 19 illustrates an example implementation 1900 of the processes 1600-1700 of FIGS. 16-17, respectively, in accordance with aspects of the disclosure. In particular, FIG. 19 illustrates a PRS aggregation scheme. In FIG. 19, PFL1 and PFL2 are aggregated into a combined PFL, denoted as PFL1+PFL2. A carrier phase is taken at the central frequency of the aggregated PFL1+PFL2, as shown at 1910. Carrier phases are further measured at 1920, 1930, 1940 and 1950 of the aggregated PFL1+PFL2. For example, 1920, 1930, 1940 and 1950 may correspond to center frequencies of respective subbands of the aggregated PFL1+PFL2.

Referring to FIGS. 18-19, in some designs, differential subband reporting (or RSCPD) may be implemented. In some designs, carrier phase measurements of each TRP or PRS resource set may each share the same subband configuration (e.g., each TRP has 2 subbands, 3 subbands, 4 subbands, etc.). In this case, in an example, a reference TRP may be used (e.g., subband 1 of TRP1 can be reported relative to the corresponding subband 1 of reference TRP, subband 2 of TRP1 can be reported relative to the corresponding subband 2 of reference TRP, etc.). In another example, a reference subband may further be designated for a reference TRP. This can be useful if some TRPs have different numbers of subbands (e.g., subband 1 of TRP1 can be reported relative to the reference subband of reference TRP, subband 2 of TRP1 can be reported relative to the reference subband of reference TRP, etc.). In some designs, the definition of ‘subband’ may be granular (e.g., defined on resource level or per resource).

FIG. 20 illustrates an exemplary process 2000 of communications according to an aspect of the disclosure. The process 2000 of FIG. 20 is performed by a wireless measurement entity. In some designs, the wireless measurement entity may correspond to a wireless network component (e.g., gNB 304 or O-RAN component or PRU, etc.). In other designs, the wireless measurement entity may correspond to a UE, such as UE 302.

Referring to FIG. 20, at 2010, the wireless measurement entity (e.g., receiver 312 or 322 or 352 or 362, network transceiver(s) 380, etc.) receives, from a position estimation entity, a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) resource configuration that configures a set of RS-P occasions associated with a positioning frequency layer (PFL).

Referring to FIG. 20, at 2020, the wireless measurement entity (e.g., processor(s) 332 or 384 or 394, carrier phase component 342 or 388 or 398, etc.) determines that the wireless measurement entity is incapable of measuring a full bandwidth of the PFL.

Referring to FIG. 20, at 2030, the wireless measurement entity (e.g., transmitter 314 or 324 or 354 or 364, network transceiver(s) 380, etc.) transmits, to the position estimation entity, a request to perform RS-P measurements associated with the RS-P resource configuration on a reduced bandwidth corresponding to less than all of the full bandwidth of the PFL.

Referring to FIG. 20, at 2040, the wireless measurement entity (e.g., receiver 312 or 322 or 352 or 362, network transceiver(s) 380, etc.) receives, from the position estimation entity, an indication of acceptance of the request.

Referring to FIG. 20, at 2050, the wireless measurement entity (e.g., receiver 312 or 322 or 352 or 362, processor(s) 332 or 384 or 394, carrier phase component 342 or 388 or 398, etc.) performs one or more RS-P measurements associated with a RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions on the reduced bandwidth.

Referring to FIG. 20, at 2060, the wireless measurement entity (e.g., receiver 312 or 322 or 352 or 362, processor(s) 332 or 384 or 394, carrier phase component 342 or 388 or 398, etc.) measures a carrier phase associated with the PFL on the RS-P occasion at a central carrier frequency relative to the full bandwidth of the PFL

Referring to FIG. 20, at 2070, the wireless measurement entity (e.g., transmitter 314 or 324 or 354 or 364, network transceiver(s) 380, etc.) transmits at least one measurement report comprising the one or more RS-P measurements and the measured carrier phase to the position estimation entity.

FIG. 21 illustrates an exemplary process 2100 of communications according to an aspect of the disclosure. The process 2100 of FIG. 21 is performed by a position estimation entity. In some designs, the position estimation entity may correspond to a network component (e.g., an LMF integrated at gNB/BS 304/NTN entity or O-RAN component or a remote location server such as network entity 306, etc.). In other designs, the position estimation entity may correspond to another UE (e.g., sidelink anchor UE) or to the target UE itself (e.g., for UE-based position estimation, in which case any Rx/Tx operations between the UE and the position estimation entity may correspond to transfer of information between different logical components of the UE over a data bus, etc.) or to the wireless measurement entity itself (e.g., in which case any Rx/Tx operations between the wireless measurement entity and the position estimation entity may correspond to transfer of information between different logical components of the wireless measurement entity over a data bus, etc.). In a further aspect, the process 2100 of FIG. 21 at the position estimation entity may correspond to a process performed in parallel with the process 2000 of FIG. 20 at the wireless measurement entity.

Referring to FIG. 21, at 2110, the position estimation entity (e.g., transmitter 314 or 324 or 354 or 364 or data bus 334 or data bus 382 or 392 or network transceiver(s) 380 or 390, etc.) transmits, to a wireless measurement entity, a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) resource configuration that configures a set of RS-P occasions associated with a positioning frequency layer (PFL).

Referring to FIG. 21, at 2120, the position estimation entity (e.g., receiver 312 or 322 or 352 or 362 or data bus 334 or data bus 382 or 392 or network transceiver(s) 380 or 390, etc.) receives, from the wireless measurement entity, a request to perform RS-P measurements associated with the RS-P resource configuration on a reduced bandwidth corresponding to less than all of a full bandwidth of the PFL.

Referring to FIG. 21, at 2130, the position estimation entity (e.g., transmitter 314 or 324 or 354 or 364 or data bus 334 or data bus 382 or 392 or network transceiver(s) 380 or 390, etc.) transmits, to the wireless measurement entity, an indication of acceptance of the request.

Referring to FIG. 21, at 2140, the position estimation entity (e.g., receiver 312 or 322 or 352 or 362 or data bus 334 or data bus 382 or 392 or network transceiver(s) 380 or 390, etc.) receives, from the wireless measurement entity, at least one measurement report comprising one or more RS-P measurements associated with a RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions on the reduced bandwidth and a measured carrier phase associated with the PFL on the RS-P occasion at a central carrier frequency relative to the full bandwidth of the PFL.

Referring to FIG. 21, at 2140, the position estimation entity (e.g., processor(s) 332 or 384 or 394, carrier phase component 342 or 388 or 398, etc.) determines a position estimate of a user equipment (UE) based on the at least one measurement report.

Referring to FIGS. 20-21, in some designs, the wireless measurement entity corresponds to a user equipment (UE), a position reference unit (PRU), or a transmission reception point (TRP).

Referring to FIGS. 20-21, in some designs, the request is implemented as an on-demand RS-P request.

Referring to FIGS. 20-21, in some designs, the RS-P resource configuration corresponds to a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) resource configuration, an uplink sounding reference signal for positioning (UL-SRS-P) resource configuration, or a sidelink PRS (SL-PRS) resource configuration.

Referring to FIGS. 20-21, in some designs, the reduced bandwidth is based on a real-time capability of the wireless measurement entity. In some designs, the reduced bandwidth is based on a real-time capability of the wireless measurement entity.

Referring to FIGS. 20-21, in some designs, the wireless measurement entity further reports (and the position estimation entity further receives) error information associated with the measured carrier phase to the position estimation entity.

FIG. 22 illustrates an example implementation 2200 of the processes 2000-2100 of FIGS. 20-21, respectively, in accordance with aspects of the disclosure. In FIG. 22, a central frequency of the full bandwidth of PFL1 is depicted at 2210. As will be appreciated the central frequency of the full bandwidth of PFL1 does not correspond to the central frequency of the reduced bandwidth. Hence, even though the PFL bandwidth is reduced for PRS measurement, the same central part of the full PFL bandwidth may be measured/reported (i.e., as if the PFL bandwidth was not reduced).

Referring to FIG. 22, in some designs, the wireless measurement entity may transmit a PRS configuration change request to LMF to modify the bandwidth of PFL. In some designs, the PRS configuration change request may be implemented as on-demand PRS request according to current 3GPP specification. In some designs, the reduced or customized bandwidth may be based on UE real-time capability. In some designs, the wireless measurement entity may still report the carrier phase based on the original central frequency, with additional information of reduced BW, e.g.:

- The BW of PRS reported by UE may still be centralized at the original center frequency.
- The BW can be defined in #RBs or #Subcarriers
- BW information could be useful to determine the measurement accuracy/resolution.

Within report, each carrier phase measurement may have its own accuracy report, or common worst-case report for all of them.

FIG. 23 illustrates an exemplary process 2300 of communications according to an aspect of the disclosure. The process 2300 of FIG. 23 is performed by a wireless measurement entity. In some designs, the wireless measurement entity may correspond to a wireless network component (e.g., gNB 304 or O-RAN component or PRU, etc.). In other designs, the wireless measurement entity may correspond to a UE, such as UE 302.

Referring to FIG. 23, at 2310, the wireless measurement entity (e.g., receiver 312 or 322 or 352 or 362, network transceiver(s) 380, etc.) receives, from a position estimation entity, a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) resource configuration that configures a set of RS-P occasions associated with a positioning frequency layer (PFL) in association with a position estimation session of a user equipment (UE).

Referring to FIG. 23, at 2320, the wireless measurement entity (e.g., receiver 312 or 322, or 352 or 362, processor(s) 332 or 384 or 394, carrier phase component 342 or 388 or 398, etc.) measures a carrier phase of the PFL at a carrier frequency associated with a RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions.

Referring to FIG. 23, at 2330, the wireless measurement entity (e.g., transmitter 314 or 324 or 354 or 364, network transceiver(s) 380, etc.) transmits a measurement report that indicates the measured carrier phase of the PFL differentially.

FIG. 24 illustrates an exemplary process 2400 of communications according to an aspect of the disclosure. The process 2400 of FIG. 24 is performed by a position estimation entity. In some designs, the position estimation entity may correspond to a network component (e.g., an LMF integrated at gNB/BS 304/NTN entity or O-RAN component or a remote location server such as network entity 306, etc.). In other designs, the position estimation entity may correspond to another UE (e.g., sidelink anchor UE) or to the target UE itself (e.g., for UE-based position estimation, in which case any Rx/Tx operations between the UE and the position estimation entity may correspond to transfer of information between different logical components of the UE over a data bus, etc.) or to the wireless measurement entity itself (e.g., in which case any Rx/Tx operations between the wireless measurement entity and the position estimation entity may correspond to transfer of information between different logical components of the wireless measurement entity over a data bus, etc.). In a further aspect, the process 2400 of FIG. 24 at the position estimation entity may correspond to a process performed in parallel with the process 2300 of FIG. 23 at the wireless measurement entity.

Referring to FIG. 24, at 2410, the position estimation entity (e.g., transmitter 314 or 324 or 354 or 364 or data bus 334 or data bus 382 or 392 or network transceiver(s) 380 or 390, etc.) transmits, to a wireless measurement entity, a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) resource configuration that configures a set of RS-P occasions associated with a positioning frequency layer (PFL) in association with a position estimation session of a user equipment (UE).

Referring to FIG. 24, at 2420, the position estimation entity (e.g., receiver 312 or 322 or 352 or 352 or data bus 334 or data bus 382 or 392 or network transceiver(s) 380 or 390, etc.) receives, from the wireless measurement entity, a measurement report that differentially indicates a measured carrier phase of the PFL at a carrier frequency associated with a RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions.

Referring to FIGS. 23-24, in some designs, the measured carrier phase of the PFL is reported differentially relative to a reference carrier phase measurement associated with the same PFL or a different PFL, or the measured carrier phase of the PFL is reported differentially relative to a reference transmission reception point (TRP), or the measured carrier phase of the PFL is reported differentially relative to a reference subband of the reference TRP, or the measured carrier phase of the PFL is reported differentially relative to a reference RS-P resource of the reference subband of the reference TRP.

Referring to FIGS. 23-24, in some designs, the wireless measurement entity further performs one or more RS-P measurements associated with the RS-P occasion, the one or more RS-P measurements are differentially reported in the measurement report or a different measurement report. In some designs, the measured carrier phase of the PFL and the one or more RS-P measurements are reported differentially relative to the same reference transmission reception point (TRP) or the same subband of the reference TRP or the same reference RS-P resource of the reference subband of the reference TRP. In other designs, the measured carrier phase of the PFL and the one or more RS-P measurements are reported differentially relative to different reference transmission reception points (TRPs) or different subbands of the same reference TRP or different reference RS-P resources of the same reference subband of the same reference TRP.

Referring to FIGS. 23-24, in some designs, the position estimation entity further transmits (and the wireless measurement entity further receives) a recommendation of a first measurement reference for at least differential carrier phase measurement reporting. In some designs, the measurement report indicates the measured carrier phase of the PFL differentially relative to the first measurement reference associated with the position estimation session of the UE. In other words, the wireless measurement entity follows the recommendation. In other designs, the wireless measurement entity selects a second measurement reference that is different than the first measurement reference, and the measurement report indicates the measured carrier phase of the PFL differentially relative to the second measurement reference. In this case, the wireless measurement entity does not follow the recommendation. In some designs, the recommendation of the first measurement reference is only for the differential carrier phase measurement reporting associated with the position estimation session of the UE, or the recommendation of the first measurement reference is for any differential reporting associated with the position estimation session of the UE (e.g., RSTD, etc.).

Referring to FIGS. 23-24, in some designs, the measured carrier phase of the PFL is differentially reported relative to a measurement reference, and the measurement reference is indicated in the measurement report based on the measurement reference being associated with a carrier phase differential of zero.

Referring to FIGS. 23-24, in a more specific example, assume that the measurement reference is a reference TRP. In this case, in an example, the reference TRP for carrier phase measurement reporting may be the same or different from the reference TRP for RSTD reporting. In some designs, similar to RSTD, the LMF may recommend the reference TRP for each type of differential measurement (e.g., differential carrier phase measurements, RSTD, etc.) or may recommend a single reference TRP for all measurement types associated with position estimation session. In some designs, the wireless measurement entity (e.g., UE) may override the LMF recommendation and pick its own reference TRP. In some designs, the reference TRP or reference PRS resource set or reference PRS resource, etc., of RSTD may be indicated in IE providelocationInformation as RSTD measurement=0. Similarly, in some designs, for reference signal carrier phase differential (RSCPD) measurements, the reference TRP or reference PRS resource set or reference PRS resource, etc., may be one RSCPD=0.

In the detailed description above it can be seen that different features are grouped together in examples. This manner of disclosure should not be understood as an intention that the example clauses have more features than are explicitly mentioned in each clause. Rather, the various aspects of the disclosure may include fewer than all features of an individual example clause disclosed. Therefore, the following clauses should hereby be deemed to be incorporated in the description, wherein each clause by itself can stand as a separate example. Although each dependent clause can refer in the clauses to a specific combination with one of the other clauses, the aspect(s) of that dependent clause are not limited to the specific combination. It will be appreciated that other example clauses can also include a combination of the dependent clause aspect(s) with the subject matter of any other dependent clause or independent clause or a combination of any feature with other dependent and independent clauses. The various aspects disclosed herein expressly include these combinations, unless it is explicitly expressed or can be readily inferred that a specific combination is not intended (e.g., contradictory aspects, such as defining an element as both an electrical insulator and an electrical conductor). Furthermore, it is also intended that aspects of a clause can be included in any other independent clause, even if the clause is not directly dependent on the independent clause.

Implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:

- Clause 1. A method of operating a wireless measurement entity, comprising: receiving, from a position estimation entity, a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) resource configuration that configures a set of RS-P occasions associated with a first positioning frequency layer (PFL) in association with a position estimation session of a user equipment (UE); measuring a first carrier phase of the first PFL at a first carrier frequency associated with a RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions; measuring a second carrier phase of the first PFL at a second carrier frequency associated with the RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions; and transmitting at least one measurement report that indicates the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL and the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL to the position estimation entity.
- Clause 2. The method of clause 1, wherein the first carrier frequency of the first PFL and the second carrier frequency of the first PFL are pre-defined or pre-configured, or wherein the first carrier frequency of the first PFL and the second carrier frequency of the first PFL are indicated by the at least one measurement report.
- Clause 3. The method of any of clauses 1 to 2, further comprising: transmitting a carrier phase measurement capability of the wireless measurement entity to the position estimation entity, wherein the RS-P resource configuration is based on the carrier phase measurement capability.
- Clause 4. The method of clause 3, wherein the carrier phase measurement capability indicates a maximum number of carrier phase measurements per RS-P resource or per transmission reception point (TRP), a maximum number of carrier phase measurement per RS-P occasion, a maximum or minimum bandwidth for RS-P measurements, a maximum number of carrier phase subband-specific measurements per PFL, or any combination thereof.
- Clause 5. The method of any of clauses 1 to 4, wherein the first carrier frequency of the first PFL and the second carrier frequency of the first PFL are configured by the position estimation entity.
- Clause 6. The method of any of clauses 1 to 5, wherein at least one of the first carrier frequency of the first PFL and the second carrier frequency of the first PFL corresponds to a central frequency relative to a full bandwidth of the first PFL or a subband of the first PFL.
- Clause 7. The method of any of clauses 1 to 6, wherein at least one of the first carrier frequency of the first PFL, the second carrier frequency of the first PFL, or both, corresponds to a subcarrier index relative to a reference point associated with the first PFL.
- Clause 8. The method of clause 7, wherein the reference point corresponds to a highest frequency part of the first PFL, a central frequency relative to the full bandwidth of the first PFL, or to a lowest frequency part of the first PFL.
- Clause 9. The method of any of clauses 1 to 8, wherein the first carrier frequency of the first PFL and the second carrier frequency of the first PFL are defined via reference to a bandwidth associated with the first PFL, and wherein the bandwidth comprises: a number of subcarriers, or a number of resource blocks (RBs), or a ratio that is relative to a full bandwidth of the PFL, or a number of subbands.
- Clause 10. The method of any of clauses 1 to 9, further comprising: reporting error information associated with the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, or both, to the position estimation entity.
- Clause 11. The method of any of clauses 1 to 10, wherein the set of RS-P occasions is further associated with a second PFL, further comprising: measuring a third carrier phase of the second PFL at a third carrier frequency associated with the RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions; and measuring a fourth carrier phase of the second PFL at a fourth carrier frequency associated with the RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions, wherein the at least one measurement report further indicates the measured third carrier phase of the second PFL and the measured fourth carrier phase of the second PFL.
- Clause 12. The method of clause 11, wherein the at least one measurement report comprises: a first measurement report comprising indications of the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL and the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, and a second measurement report comprising indications of the measured third carrier phase of the second PFL and the measured fourth carrier phase of the second PFL.
- Clause 13. The method of any of clauses 11 to 12, wherein the at least one measurement report comprises: a single measurement report comprising indications of the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured third carrier phase of the second PFL and the measured fourth carrier phase of the second PFL.
- Clause 14. The method of any of clauses 11 to 13, wherein the first PFL and the second PFL are configured without RS-P aggregation, and wherein the first carrier phase of the first PFL and second carrier phase of the first PFL are measured separately from the third carrier phase of the second PFL and the fourth carrier phase of the second PFL.
- Clause 15. The method of any of clauses 11 to 14, wherein the first PFL and the second PFL are configured with RS-P aggregation, and wherein the first carrier phase of the first PFL and second carrier phase of the first PFL are measured jointly with the third carrier phase of the second PFL and the fourth carrier phase of the second PFL, and wherein frequency information included in the at least one measurement report is based on an aggregated PFL that comprises the first PFL and the second PFL.
- Clause 16. The method of clause 15, wherein a central carrier frequency for the at least one measurement report is based on a combined bandwidth of the aggregated PFL.
- Clause 17. The method of any of clauses 15 to 16, wherein subbands are defined based on a combined bandwidth of the aggregated PFL.
- Clause 18. The method of any of clauses 1 to 17, wherein the first carrier frequency is associated with a first subband and the second carrier frequency is associated with a second subband, and wherein the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, or both, are reported differentially.
- Clause 19. The method of clause 18, wherein the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL is reported differentially relative to the measured second carrier phase, or wherein the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL is reported differentially relative to the measured first carrier phase, or wherein the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, or both, are reported differentially relative to a reference transmission reception point (TRP), or wherein the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, or both, are reported differentially relative to a reference subband of the reference TRP, or wherein the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, or both, are reported differentially relative to a reference RS-P resource of the reference subband of the reference TRP.
- Clause 20. The method of any of clauses 1 to 19, wherein the wireless measurement entity corresponds to a user equipment (UE) or a wireless network component.
- Clause 21. The method of clause 20, wherein the wireless network component corresponds to a transmission reception point (TRP) or a position reference unit (PRU).
- Clause 22. A method of operating a position estimation entity, comprising: transmitting, to a wireless measurement entity, a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) resource configuration that configures a set of RS-P occasions associated with a first positioning frequency layer (PFL) in association with a position estimation session of a user equipment (UE); receiving, from the wireless measurement entity, at least one measurement report that indicates a measured first carrier phase of the first PFL at a first carrier frequency associated with a RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions and a measured second carrier phase of the first PFL at a second carrier frequency associated with the RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions; and determining a position estimate of the UE based on the at least one measurement report.
- Clause 23. The method of clause 22, wherein the first carrier frequency of the first PFL and the second carrier frequency of the first PFL are pre-defined or pre-configured, or wherein the first carrier frequency of the first PFL and the second carrier frequency of the first PFL are indicated by the at least one measurement report.
- Clause 24. The method of any of clauses 22 to 23, further comprising: receiving a carrier phase measurement capability of the wireless measurement entity, wherein the RS-P resource configuration is based on the carrier phase measurement capability.
- Clause 25. The method of clause 24, wherein the carrier phase measurement capability indicates a maximum number of carrier phase measurements per RS-P resource or per transmission reception point (TRP), a maximum number of carrier phase measurement per RS-P occasion, a maximum or minimum bandwidth for RS-P measurements, a maximum number of carrier phase subband-specific measurements per PFL, or any combination thereof.
- Clause 26. The method of any of clauses 22 to 25, wherein the first carrier frequency of the first PFL and the second carrier frequency of the first PFL are configured by the position estimation entity.
- Clause 27. The method of any of clauses 22 to 26, wherein at least one of the first carrier frequency of the first PFL and the second carrier frequency of the first PFL corresponds to a central frequency relative to a full bandwidth of the first PFL or a subband of the first PFL.
- Clause 28. The method of any of clauses 22 to 27, wherein at least one of the first carrier frequency of the first PFL, the second carrier frequency of the first PFL, or both, corresponds to a subcarrier index relative to a reference point associated with the first PFL.
- Clause 29. The method of clause 28, wherein the reference point corresponds to a highest frequency part of the first PFL, a central frequency relative to the full bandwidth of the first PFL, or to a lowest frequency part of the first PFL.
- Clause 30. The method of any of clauses 22 to 29, wherein the first carrier frequency of the first PFL and the second carrier frequency of the first PFL are defined via reference to a bandwidth associated with the first PFL, and wherein the bandwidth comprises: a number of subcarriers, or a number of resource blocks (RBs), or a ratio that is relative to a full bandwidth of the PFL, or a number of subbands.
- Clause 31. The method of any of clauses 22 to 30, further comprising: receiving error information associated with the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, or both, from the wireless measurement entity.
- Clause 32. The method of any of clauses 22 to 31, wherein the set of RS-P occasions is further associated with a second PFL, and wherein the at least one measurement report further indicates a measured third carrier phase of the second PFL at a third carrier frequency associated with the RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions and a measured fourth carrier phase of the second PFL at a fourth carrier frequency associated with the RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions.
- Clause 33. The method of clause 32, wherein the at least one measurement report comprises: a first measurement report comprising indications of the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL and the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, and a second measurement report comprising indications of the measured third carrier phase of the second PFL and the measured fourth carrier phase of the second PFL.
- Clause 34. The method of any of clauses 32 to 33, wherein the at least one measurement report comprises: a single measurement report comprising indications of the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured third carrier phase of the second PFL and the measured fourth carrier phase of the second PFL.
- Clause 35. The method of any of clauses 32 to 34, wherein the first PFL and the second PFL are configured without RS-P aggregation, and wherein the first carrier phase of the first PFL and second carrier phase of the first PFL are measured separately from the third carrier phase of the second PFL and the fourth carrier phase of the second PFL.
- Clause 36. The method of any of clauses 32 to 35, wherein the first PFL and the second PFL are configured with RS-P aggregation, and wherein the first carrier phase of the first PFL and second carrier phase of the first PFL are measured jointly with the third carrier phase of the second PFL and the fourth carrier phase of the second PFL, and wherein frequency information included in the at least one measurement report is based on an aggregated PFL that comprises the first PFL and the second PFL.
- Clause 37. The method of clause 36, wherein a central carrier frequency for the at least one measurement report is based on a combined bandwidth of the aggregated PFL.
- Clause 38. The method of any of clauses 36 to 37, wherein subbands are defined based on a combined bandwidth of the aggregated PFL.
- Clause 39. The method of any of clauses 22 to 38, wherein the first carrier frequency is associated with a first subband and the second carrier frequency is associated with a second subband, and wherein the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, or both, are reported differentially.
- Clause 40. The method of clause 39, wherein the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL is reported differentially relative to the measured second carrier phase, or wherein the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL is reported differentially relative to the measured first carrier phase, or wherein the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, or both, are reported differentially relative to a reference transmission reception point (TRP), or wherein the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, or both, are reported differentially relative to a reference subband of the reference TRP, or wherein the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, or both, are reported differentially relative to a reference RS-P resource of the reference subband of the reference TRP.
- Clause 41. The method of any of clauses 22 to 40, wherein the wireless measurement entity corresponds to a user equipment (UE) or a wireless network component.
- Clause 42. The method of clause 41, wherein the wireless network component corresponds to a transmission reception point (TRP) or a position reference unit (PRU).
- Clause 43. A method of operating a wireless measurement entity, comprising: receiving, from a position estimation entity, a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) resource configuration that configures a set of RS-P occasions associated with a positioning frequency layer (PFL); determining that the wireless measurement entity is incapable of measuring a full bandwidth of the PFL; transmitting, to the position estimation entity, a request to perform RS-P measurements associated with the RS-P resource configuration on a reduced bandwidth corresponding to less than all of the full bandwidth of the PFL; receiving, from the position estimation entity, an indication of acceptance of the request; performing one or more RS-P measurements associated with a RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions on the reduced bandwidth; measuring a carrier phase associated with the PFL on the RS-P occasion at a central carrier frequency relative to the full bandwidth of the PFL; and transmitting at least one measurement report comprising the one or more RS-P measurements and the measured carrier phase to the position estimation entity.
- Clause 44. The method of clause 43, wherein the wireless measurement entity corresponds to a user equipment (UE), a position reference unit (PRU), or a transmission reception point (TRP).
- Clause 45. The method of any of clauses 43 to 44, wherein the request is implemented as an on-demand RS-P request.
- Clause 46. The method of any of clauses 43 to 45, wherein the RS-P resource configuration corresponds to a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) resource configuration, an uplink sounding reference signal for positioning (UL-SRS-P) resource configuration, or a sidelink PRS (SL-PRS) resource configuration.
- Clause 47. The method of any of clauses 43 to 46, wherein the reduced bandwidth is based on a real-time capability of the wireless measurement entity.
- Clause 48. The method of any of clauses 43 to 47, wherein the reduced bandwidth is defined as a set of resource blocks (RBs) or a set of subcarriers.
- Clause 49. The method of any of clauses 43 to 48, further comprising: reporting error information associated with the measured carrier phase to the position estimation entity.
- Clause 50. A method of operating a position estimation entity, comprising: transmitting, to a wireless measurement entity, a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) resource configuration that configures a set of RS-P occasions associated with a positioning frequency layer (PFL); receiving, from the wireless measurement entity, a request to perform RS-P measurements associated with the RS-P resource configuration on a reduced bandwidth corresponding to less than all of a full bandwidth of the PFL; transmitting, to the wireless measurement entity, an indication of acceptance of the request; receiving, from the wireless measurement entity, at least one measurement report comprising one or more RS-P measurements associated with a RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions on the reduced bandwidth and a measured carrier phase associated with the PFL on the RS-P occasion at a central carrier frequency relative to the full bandwidth of the PFL; and determining a position estimate of a user equipment (UE) based on the at least one measurement report.
- Clause 51. The method of clause 50, wherein the wireless measurement entity corresponds to a user equipment (UE), a position reference unit (PRU), or a transmission reception point (TRP).
- Clause 52. The method of any of clauses 50 to 51 wherein the request is implemented as an on-demand RS-P request.
- Clause 53. The method of any of clauses 50 to 52, wherein the RS-P resource configuration corresponds to a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) resource configuration, an uplink sounding reference signal for positioning (UL-SRS-P) resource configuration, or a sidelink PRS (SL-PRS) resource configuration.
- Clause 54. The method of any of clauses 50 to 53, wherein the reduced bandwidth is based on a real-time capability of the wireless measurement entity.
- Clause 55. The method of any of clauses 50 to 54, wherein the reduced bandwidth is defined as a set of resource blocks (RBs) or a set of subcarriers.
- Clause 56. The method of any of clauses 50 to 55, further comprising: receiving error information associated with the measured carrier phase from the wireless measurement entity.
- Clause 57. A method of operating a wireless measurement entity, comprising: receiving, from a position estimation entity, a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) resource configuration that configures a set of RS-P occasions associated with a positioning frequency layer (PFL) in association with a position estimation session of a user equipment (UE); measuring a carrier phase of the PFL at a carrier frequency associated with a RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions; and transmitting a measurement report that indicates the measured carrier phase of the PFL differentially.
- Clause 58. The method of clause 57, wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL is reported differentially relative to a reference carrier phase measurement associated with the same PFL or a different PFL, or wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL is reported differentially relative to a reference transmission reception point (TRP), or wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL is reported differentially relative to a reference subband of the reference TRP, or wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL is reported differentially relative to a reference RS-P resource of the reference subband of the reference TRP.
- Clause 59. The method of any of clauses 57 to 58, further comprising: performing one or more RS-P measurements associated with the RS-P occasion, wherein the one or more RS-P measurements are differentially reported in the measurement report or a different measurement report.
- Clause 60. The method of clause 59, wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL and the one or more RS-P measurements are reported differentially relative to the same reference transmission reception point (TRP) or the same subband of the reference TRP or the same reference RS-P resource of the reference subband of the reference TRP.
- Clause 61. The method of any of clauses 59 to 60, wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL and the one or more RS-P measurements are reported differentially relative to different reference transmission reception points (TRPs) or different subbands of the same reference TRP or different reference RS-P resources of the same reference subband of the same reference TRP.
- Clause 62. The method of any of clauses 57 to 61, further comprising: receiving, from the position estimation entity, a recommendation of a first measurement reference for at least differential carrier phase measurement reporting.
- Clause 63. The method of clause 62, wherein the measurement report indicates the measured carrier phase of the PFL differentially relative to the first measurement reference associated with the position estimation session of the UE.
- Clause 64. The method of any of clauses 62 to 63, further comprising: selecting a second measurement reference that is different than the first measurement reference, wherein the measurement report indicates the measured carrier phase of the PFL differentially relative to the second measurement reference.
- Clause 65. The method of any of clauses 62 to 64, wherein the recommendation of the first measurement reference is only for the differential carrier phase measurement reporting associated with the position estimation session of the UE, or wherein the recommendation of the first measurement reference is for any differential reporting associated with the position estimation session of the UE.
- Clause 66. The method of any of clauses 57 to 65, wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL is differentially reported relative to a measurement reference, and wherein the measurement reference is indicated in the measurement report based on the measurement reference being associated with a carrier phase differential of zero.
- Clause 67. A method of operating a position estimation entity, comprising: transmitting, to a wireless measurement entity, a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) resource configuration that configures a set of RS-P occasions associated with a positioning frequency layer (PFL) in association with a position estimation session of a user equipment (UE); and receiving, from the wireless measurement entity, a measurement report that differentially indicates a measured carrier phase of the PFL at a carrier frequency associated with a RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions.
- Clause 68. The method of clause 67, wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL is reported differentially relative to a reference carrier phase measurement associated with the same PFL or a different PFL, or wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL is reported differentially relative to a reference transmission reception point (TRP), or wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL is reported differentially relative to a reference subband of the reference TRP, or wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL is reported differentially relative to a reference RS-P resource of the reference subband of the reference TRP.
- Clause 69. The method of any of clauses 67 to 68, wherein one or more RS-P measurements associated with the RS-P occasion are differentially reported in the measurement report or a different measurement report from the wireless measurement entity.
- Clause 70. The method of clause 69, wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL and the one or more RS-P measurements are reported differentially relative to the same reference transmission reception point (TRP) or the same subband of the reference TRP or the same reference RS-P resource of the reference subband of the reference TRP.
- Clause 71. The method of any of clauses 69 to 70, wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL and the one or more RS-P measurements are reported differentially relative to different reference transmission reception points (TRPs) or different subbands of the same reference TRP or different reference RS-P resources of the same reference subband of the same reference TRP.
- Clause 72. The method of any of clauses 67 to 71, further comprising: transmitting, to the wireless measurement entity, a recommendation of a first measurement reference for at least differential carrier phase measurement reporting.
- Clause 73. The method of clause 72, wherein the measurement report indicates the measured carrier phase of the PFL differentially relative to the first measurement reference associated with the position estimation session of the UE.
- Clause 74. The method of any of clauses 72 to 73, wherein the measurement report indicates the measured carrier phase of the PFL differentially relative to a second measurement reference that is different than the first measurement reference.
- Clause 75. The method of any of clauses 72 to 74, wherein the recommendation of the first measurement reference is only for the differential carrier phase measurement reporting associated with the position estimation session of the UE, or wherein the recommendation of the first measurement reference is for any differential reporting associated with the position estimation session of the UE.
- Clause 76. The method of any of clauses 67 to 75, wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL is differentially reported relative to a measurement reference, and wherein the measurement reference is indicated in the measurement report based on the measurement reference being associated with a carrier phase differential of zero.
- Clause 77. A wireless measurement entity, comprising: at least one memory; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one memory, the at least one processor configured to: receive, from a position estimation entity, a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) resource configuration that configures a set of RS-P occasions associated with a first positioning frequency layer (PFL) in association with a position estimation session of a user equipment (UE); measure a first carrier phase of the first PFL at a first carrier frequency associated with a RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions; measure a second carrier phase of the first PFL at a second carrier frequency associated with the RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions; and transmit at least one measurement report that indicates the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL and the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL to the position estimation entity.
- Clause 78. The wireless measurement entity of clause 77, wherein the first carrier frequency of the first PFL and the second carrier frequency of the first PFL are pre-defined or pre-configured, or wherein the first carrier frequency of the first PFL and the second carrier frequency of the first PFL are indicated by the at least one measurement report.
- Clause 79. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 77 to 78, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: transmit a carrier phase measurement capability of the wireless measurement entity to the position estimation entity, wherein the RS-P resource configuration is based on the carrier phase measurement capability.
- Clause 80. The wireless measurement entity of clause 79, wherein the carrier phase measurement capability indicates a maximum number of carrier phase measurements per RS-P resource or per transmission reception point (TRP), a maximum number of carrier phase measurement per RS-P occasion, a maximum or minimum bandwidth for RS-P measurements, a maximum number of carrier phase subband-specific measurements per PFL, or any combination thereof.
- Clause 81. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 77 to 80, wherein the first carrier frequency of the first PFL and the second carrier frequency of the first PFL are configured by the position estimation entity.
- Clause 82. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 77 to 81, wherein at least one of the first carrier frequency of the first PFL and the second carrier frequency of the first PFL corresponds to a central frequency relative to a full bandwidth of the first PFL or a subband of the first PFL.
- Clause 83. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 77 to 82, wherein at least one of the first carrier frequency of the first PFL, the second carrier frequency of the first PFL, or both, corresponds to a subcarrier index relative to a reference point associated with the first PFL.
- Clause 84. The wireless measurement entity of clause 83, wherein the reference point corresponds to a highest frequency part of the first PFL, a central frequency relative to the full bandwidth of the first PFL, or to a lowest frequency part of the first PFL.
- Clause 85. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 77 to 84, wherein the first carrier frequency of the first PFL and the second carrier frequency of the first PFL are defined via reference to a bandwidth associated with the first PFL, and wherein the bandwidth comprises: a number of subcarriers, or a number of resource blocks (RBs), or a ratio that is relative to a full bandwidth of the PFL, or a number of subbands.
- Clause 86. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 77 to 85, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: report error information associated with the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, or both, to the position estimation entity.
- Clause 87. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 77 to 86, wherein the set of RS-P occasions is further associated with a second PFL, further comprising: measure a third carrier phase of the second PFL at a third carrier frequency associated with the RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions; and measure a fourth carrier phase of the second PFL at a fourth carrier frequency associated with the RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions, wherein the at least one measurement report further indicates the measured third carrier phase of the second PFL and the measured fourth carrier phase of the second PFL.
- Clause 88. The wireless measurement entity of clause 87, wherein the at least one measurement report comprises: a first measurement report comprising indications of the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL and the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, and a second measurement report comprising indications of the measured third carrier phase of the second PFL and the measured fourth carrier phase of the second PFL.
- Clause 89. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 87 to 88, wherein the at least one measurement report comprises: a single measurement report comprising indications of the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured third carrier phase of the second PFL and the measured fourth carrier phase of the second PFL.
- Clause 90. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 87 to 89, wherein the first PFL and the second PFL are configured without RS-P aggregation, and wherein the first carrier phase of the first PFL and second carrier phase of the first PFL are measured separately from the third carrier phase of the second PFL and the fourth carrier phase of the second PFL.
- Clause 91. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 87 to 90, wherein the first PFL and the second PFL are configured with RS-P aggregation, and wherein the first carrier phase of the first PFL and second carrier phase of the first PFL are measured jointly with the third carrier phase of the second PFL and the fourth carrier phase of the second PFL, and wherein the at least one processor configured to information included in the at least one measurement report is based on an aggregated PFL that comprises the at least one processor configured to the first PFL and the second PFL.
- Clause 92. The wireless measurement entity of clause 91, wherein a central carrier frequency for the at least one measurement report is based on a combined bandwidth of the aggregated PFL.
- Clause 93. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 91 to 92, wherein subbands are defined based on a combined bandwidth of the aggregated PFL.
- Clause 94. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 77 to 93, wherein the first carrier frequency is associated with a first subband and the second carrier frequency is associated with a second subband, and wherein the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, or both, are reported differentially.
- Clause 95. The wireless measurement entity of clause 94, wherein the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL is reported differentially relative to the measured second carrier phase, or wherein the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL is reported differentially relative to the measured first carrier phase, or wherein the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, or both, are reported differentially relative to a reference transmission reception point (TRP), or wherein the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, or both, are reported differentially relative to a reference subband of the reference TRP, or wherein the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, or both, are reported differentially relative to a reference RS-P resource of the reference subband of the reference TRP.
- Clause 96. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 77 to 95, wherein the wireless measurement entity corresponds to a user equipment (UE) or a wireless network component.
- Clause 97. The wireless measurement entity of clause 96, wherein the wireless network component corresponds to a transmission reception point (TRP) or a position reference unit (PRU).
- Clause 98. A position estimation entity, comprising: at least one memory; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one memory, the at least one processor configured to: transmit, to a wireless measurement entity, a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) resource configuration that configures a set of RS-P occasions associated with a first positioning frequency layer (PFL) in association with a position estimation session of a user equipment (UE); receive, from the wireless measurement entity, at least one measurement report that indicates a measured first carrier phase of the first PFL at a first carrier frequency associated with a RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions and a measured second carrier phase of the first PFL at a second carrier frequency associated with the RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions; and determine a position estimate of the UE based on the at least one measurement report.
- Clause 99. The position estimation entity of clause 98, wherein the first carrier frequency of the first PFL and the second carrier frequency of the first PFL are pre-defined or pre-configured, or wherein the first carrier frequency of the first PFL and the second carrier frequency of the first PFL are indicated by the at least one measurement report.
- Clause 100. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 98 to 99, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive a carrier phase measurement capability of the wireless measurement entity, wherein the RS-P resource configuration is based on the carrier phase measurement capability.
- Clause 101. The position estimation entity of clause 100, wherein the carrier phase measurement capability indicates a maximum number of carrier phase measurements per RS-P resource or per transmission reception point (TRP), a maximum number of carrier phase measurement per RS-P occasion, a maximum or minimum bandwidth for RS-P measurements, a maximum number of carrier phase subband-specific measurements per PFL, or any combination thereof.
- Clause 102. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 98 to 101, wherein the first carrier frequency of the first PFL and the second carrier frequency of the first PFL are configured by the position estimation entity.
- Clause 103. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 98 to 102, wherein at least one of the first carrier frequency of the first PFL and the second carrier frequency of the first PFL corresponds to a central frequency relative to a full bandwidth of the first PFL or a subband of the first PFL.
- Clause 104. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 98 to 103, wherein at least one of the first carrier frequency of the first PFL, the second carrier frequency of the first PFL, or both, corresponds to a subcarrier index relative to a reference point associated with the first PFL.
- Clause 105. The position estimation entity of clause 104, wherein the reference point corresponds to a highest frequency part of the first PFL, a central frequency relative to the full bandwidth of the first PFL, or to a lowest frequency part of the first PFL.
- Clause 106. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 98 to 105, wherein the first carrier frequency of the first PFL and the second carrier frequency of the first PFL are defined via reference to a bandwidth associated with the first PFL, and wherein the bandwidth comprises: a number of subcarriers, or a number of resource blocks (RBs), or a ratio that is relative to a full bandwidth of the PFL, or a number of subbands.
- Clause 107. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 98 to 106, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive error information associated with the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, or both, from the wireless measurement entity.
- Clause 108. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 98 to 107, wherein the set of RS-P occasions is further associated with a second PFL, and wherein the at least one measurement report further indicates a measured third carrier phase of the second PFL at a third carrier frequency associated with the RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions and a measured fourth carrier phase of the second PFL at a fourth carrier frequency associated with the RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions.
- Clause 109. The position estimation entity of clause 108, wherein the at least one measurement report comprises: a first measurement report comprising indications of the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL and the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, and a second measurement report comprising indications of the measured third carrier phase of the second PFL and the measured fourth carrier phase of the second PFL.
- Clause 110. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 108 to 109, wherein the at least one measurement report comprises: a single measurement report comprising indications of the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured third carrier phase of the second PFL and the measured fourth carrier phase of the second PFL.
- Clause 111. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 108 to 110, wherein the first PFL and the second PFL are configured without RS-P aggregation, and wherein the first carrier phase of the first PFL and second carrier phase of the first PFL are measured separately from the third carrier phase of the second PFL and the fourth carrier phase of the second PFL.
- Clause 112. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 108 to 111, wherein the first PFL and the second PFL are configured with RS-P aggregation, and wherein the first carrier phase of the first PFL and second carrier phase of the first PFL are measured jointly with the third carrier phase of the second PFL and the fourth carrier phase of the second PFL, and wherein the at least one processor configured to information included in the at least one measurement report is based on an aggregated PFL that comprises the at least one processor configured to the first PFL and the second PFL.
- Clause 113. The position estimation entity of clause 112, wherein a central carrier frequency for the at least one measurement report is based on a combined bandwidth of the aggregated PFL.
- Clause 114. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 112 to 113, wherein subbands are defined based on a combined bandwidth of the aggregated PFL.
- Clause 115. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 98 to 114, wherein the first carrier frequency is associated with a first subband and the second carrier frequency is associated with a second subband, and wherein the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, or both, are reported differentially.
- Clause 116. The position estimation entity of clause 115, wherein the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL is reported differentially relative to the measured second carrier phase, or wherein the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL is reported differentially relative to the measured first carrier phase, or wherein the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, or both, are reported differentially relative to a reference transmission reception point (TRP), or wherein the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, or both, are reported differentially relative to a reference subband of the reference TRP, or wherein the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, or both, are reported differentially relative to a reference RS-P resource of the reference subband of the reference TRP.
- Clause 117. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 98 to 116, wherein the wireless measurement entity corresponds to a user equipment (UE) or a wireless network component.
- Clause 118. The position estimation entity of clause 117, wherein the wireless network component corresponds to a transmission reception point (TRP) or a position reference unit (PRU).
- Clause 119. A wireless measurement entity, comprising: at least one memory; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one memory, the at least one processor configured to: receive, from a position estimation entity, a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) resource configuration that configures a set of RS-P occasions associated with a positioning frequency layer (PFL); determine that the wireless measurement entity is incapable of measuring a full bandwidth of the PFL; transmit, to the position estimation entity, a request to perform RS-P measurements associated with the RS-P resource configuration on a reduced bandwidth corresponding to less than all of the full bandwidth of the PFL; receive, from the position estimation entity, an indication of acceptance of the request; perform one or more RS-P measurements associated with a RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions on the reduced bandwidth; measure a carrier phase associated with the PFL on the RS-P occasion at a central carrier frequency relative to the full bandwidth of the PFL; and transmit at least one measurement report comprising the one or more RS-P measurements and the measured carrier phase to the position estimation entity.
- Clause 120. The wireless measurement entity of clause 119, wherein the wireless measurement entity corresponds to a user equipment (UE), a position reference unit (PRU), or a transmission reception point (TRP).
- Clause 121. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 119 to 120, wherein the request is implemented as an on-demand RS-P request.
- Clause 122. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 119 to 121, wherein the RS-P resource configuration corresponds to a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) resource configuration, an uplink sounding reference signal for positioning (UL-SRS-P) resource configuration, or a sidelink PRS (SL-PRS) resource configuration.
- Clause 123. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 119 to 122, wherein the reduced bandwidth is based on a real-time capability of the wireless measurement entity.
- Clause 124. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 119 to 123, wherein the reduced bandwidth is defined as a set of resource blocks (RBs) or a set of subcarriers.
- Clause 125. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 119 to 124, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: report error information associated with the measured carrier phase to the position estimation entity.
- Clause 126. A position estimation entity, comprising: at least one memory; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one memory, the at least one processor configured to: transmit, to a wireless measurement entity, a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) resource configuration that configures a set of RS-P occasions associated with a positioning frequency layer (PFL); receive, from the wireless measurement entity, a request to perform RS-P measurements associated with the RS-P resource configuration on a reduced bandwidth corresponding to less than all of a full bandwidth of the PFL; transmit, to the wireless measurement entity, an indication of acceptance of the request; receive, from the wireless measurement entity, at least one measurement report comprising one or more RS-P measurements associated with a RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions on the reduced bandwidth and a measured carrier phase associated with the PFL on the RS-P occasion at a central carrier frequency relative to the full bandwidth of the PFL; and determine a position estimate of a user equipment (UE) based on the at least one measurement report.
- Clause 127. The position estimation entity of clause 126, wherein the wireless measurement entity corresponds to a user equipment (UE), a position reference unit (PRU), or a transmission reception point (TRP).
- Clause 128. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 126 to 127, The method of any of clauses 126 to 127 wherein the request is implemented as an on-demand RS-P request.
- Clause 129. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 126 to 128, wherein the RS-P resource configuration corresponds to a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) resource configuration, an uplink sounding reference signal for positioning (UL-SRS-P) resource configuration, or a sidelink PRS (SL-PRS) resource configuration.
- Clause 130. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 126 to 129, wherein the reduced bandwidth is based on a real-time capability of the wireless measurement entity.
- Clause 131. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 126 to 130, wherein the reduced bandwidth is defined as a set of resource blocks (RBs) or a set of subcarriers.
- Clause 132. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 126 to 131, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive error information associated with the measured carrier phase from the wireless measurement entity.
- Clause 133. A wireless measurement entity, comprising: at least one memory; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one memory, the at least one processor configured to: receive, from a position estimation entity, a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) resource configuration that configures a set of RS-P occasions associated with a positioning frequency layer (PFL) in association with a position estimation session of a user equipment (UE); measure a carrier phase of the PFL at a carrier frequency associated with a RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions; and transmit a measurement report that indicates the measured carrier phase of the PFL differentially.
- Clause 134. The wireless measurement entity of clause 133, wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL is reported differentially relative to a reference carrier phase measurement associated with the same PFL or a different PFL, or wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL is reported differentially relative to a reference transmission reception point (TRP), or wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL is reported differentially relative to a reference subband of the reference TRP, or wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL is reported differentially relative to a reference RS-P resource of the reference subband of the reference TRP.
- Clause 135. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 133 to 134, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: perform one or more RS-P measurements associated with the RS-P occasion, wherein the one or more RS-P measurements are differentially reported in the measurement report or a different measurement report.
- Clause 136. The wireless measurement entity of clause 135, wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL and the one or more RS-P measurements are reported differentially relative to the same reference transmission reception point (TRP) or the same subband of the reference TRP or the same reference RS-P resource of the reference subband of the reference TRP.
- Clause 137. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 135 to 136, wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL and the one or more RS-P measurements are reported differentially relative to different reference transmission reception points (TRPs) or different subbands of the same reference TRP or different reference RS-P resources of the same reference subband of the same reference TRP.
- Clause 138. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 133 to 137, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive, from the position estimation entity, a recommendation of a first measurement reference for at least differential carrier phase measurement reporting.
- Clause 139. The wireless measurement entity of clause 138, wherein the measurement report indicates the measured carrier phase of the PFL differentially relative to the first measurement reference associated with the position estimation session of the UE.
- Clause 140. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 138 to 139, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: select a second measurement reference that is different than the first measurement reference, wherein the measurement report indicates the measured carrier phase of the PFL differentially relative to the second measurement reference.
- Clause 141. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 138 to 140, wherein the recommendation of the first measurement reference is only for the differential carrier phase measurement reporting associated with the position estimation session of the UE, or wherein the recommendation of the first measurement reference is for any differential reporting associated with the position estimation session of the UE.
- Clause 142. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 133 to 141, wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL is differentially reported relative to a measurement reference, and wherein the measurement reference is indicated in the measurement report based on the measurement reference being associated with a carrier phase differential of zero.
- Clause 143. A position estimation entity, comprising: at least one memory; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one memory, the at least one processor configured to: transmit, to a wireless measurement entity, a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) resource configuration that configures a set of RS-P occasions associated with a positioning frequency layer (PFL) in association with a position estimation session of a user equipment (UE); and receive, from the wireless measurement entity, a measurement report that differentially indicates a measured carrier phase of the PFL at a carrier frequency associated with a RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions.
- Clause 144. The position estimation entity of clause 143, wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL is reported differentially relative to a reference carrier phase measurement associated with the same PFL or a different PFL, or wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL is reported differentially relative to a reference transmission reception point (TRP), or wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL is reported differentially relative to a reference subband of the reference TRP, or wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL is reported differentially relative to a reference RS-P resource of the reference subband of the reference TRP.
- Clause 145. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 143 to 144, wherein one or more RS-P measurements associated with the RS-P occasion are differentially reported in the measurement report or a different measurement report from the wireless measurement entity.
- Clause 146. The position estimation entity of clause 145, wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL and the one or more RS-P measurements are reported differentially relative to the same reference transmission reception point (TRP) or the same subband of the reference TRP or the same reference RS-P resource of the reference subband of the reference TRP.
- Clause 147. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 145 to 146, wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL and the one or more RS-P measurements are reported differentially relative to different reference transmission reception points (TRPs) or different subbands of the same reference TRP or different reference RS-P resources of the same reference subband of the same reference TRP.
- Clause 148. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 143 to 147, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: transmit, to the wireless measurement entity, a recommendation of a first measurement reference for at least differential carrier phase measurement reporting.
- Clause 149. The position estimation entity of clause 148, wherein the measurement report indicates the measured carrier phase of the PFL differentially relative to the first measurement reference associated with the position estimation session of the UE.
- Clause 150. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 148 to 149, wherein the measurement report indicates the measured carrier phase of the PFL differentially relative to a second measurement reference that is different than the first measurement reference.
- Clause 151. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 148 to 150, wherein the recommendation of the first measurement reference is only for the differential carrier phase measurement reporting associated with the position estimation session of the UE, or wherein the recommendation of the first measurement reference is for any differential reporting associated with the position estimation session of the UE.
- Clause 152. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 143 to 151, wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL is differentially reported relative to a measurement reference, and wherein the measurement reference is indicated in the measurement report based on the measurement reference being associated with a carrier phase differential of zero.
- Clause 153. A wireless measurement entity, comprising: means for receiving, from a position estimation entity, a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) resource configuration that configures a set of RS-P occasions associated with a first positioning frequency layer (PFL) in association with a position estimation session of a user equipment (UE); means for measuring a first carrier phase of the first PFL at a first carrier frequency associated with a RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions; means for measuring a second carrier phase of the first PFL at a second carrier frequency associated with the RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions; and means for transmitting at least one measurement report that indicates the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL and the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL to the position estimation entity.
- Clause 154. The wireless measurement entity of clause 153, wherein the first carrier frequency of the first PFL and the second carrier frequency of the first PFL are pre-defined or pre-configured, or wherein the first carrier frequency of the first PFL and the second carrier frequency of the first PFL are indicated by the at least one measurement report.
- Clause 155. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 153 to 154, further comprising: means for transmitting a carrier phase measurement capability of the wireless measurement entity to the position estimation entity, wherein the RS-P resource configuration is based on the carrier phase measurement capability.
- Clause 156. The wireless measurement entity of clause 155, wherein the carrier phase measurement capability indicates a maximum number of carrier phase measurements per RS-P resource or per transmission reception point (TRP), a maximum number of carrier phase measurement per RS-P occasion, a maximum or minimum bandwidth for RS-P measurements, a maximum number of carrier phase subband-specific measurements per PFL, or any combination thereof.
- Clause 157. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 153 to 156, wherein the first carrier frequency of the first PFL and the second carrier frequency of the first PFL are configured by the position estimation entity.
- Clause 158. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 153 to 157, wherein at least one of the first carrier frequency of the first PFL and the second carrier frequency of the first PFL corresponds to a central frequency relative to a full bandwidth of the first PFL or a subband of the first PFL.
- Clause 159. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 153 to 158, wherein at least one of the first carrier frequency of the first PFL, the second carrier frequency of the first PFL, or both, corresponds to a subcarrier index relative to a reference point associated with the first PFL.
- Clause 160. The wireless measurement entity of clause 159, wherein the reference point corresponds to a highest frequency part of the first PFL, a central frequency relative to the full bandwidth of the first PFL, or to a lowest frequency part of the first PFL.
- Clause 161. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 153 to 160, wherein the first carrier frequency of the first PFL and the second carrier frequency of the first PFL are defined via reference to a bandwidth associated with the first PFL, and wherein the bandwidth comprises: a number of subcarriers, or a number of resource blocks (RBs), or a ratio that is relative to a full bandwidth of the PFL, or a number of subbands.
- Clause 162. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 153 to 161, further comprising: means for reporting error information associated with the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, or both, to the position estimation entity.
- Clause 163. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 153 to 162, wherein the set of RS-P occasions is further associated with a second PFL, further comprising: means for measuring a third carrier phase of the second PFL at a third carrier frequency associated with the RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions; and means for measuring a fourth carrier phase of the second PFL at a fourth carrier frequency associated with the RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions, wherein the at least one measurement report further indicates the measured third carrier phase of the second PFL and the measured fourth carrier phase of the second PFL.
- Clause 164. The wireless measurement entity of clause 163, wherein the at least one measurement report comprises: a first measurement report comprising indications of the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL and the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, and a second measurement report comprising indications of the measured third carrier phase of the second PFL and the measured fourth carrier phase of the second PFL.
- Clause 165. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 163 to 164, wherein the at least one measurement report comprises: a single measurement report comprising indications of the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured third carrier phase of the second PFL and the measured fourth carrier phase of the second PFL.
- Clause 166. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 163 to 165, wherein the first PFL and the second PFL are configured without RS-P aggregation, and wherein the first carrier phase of the first PFL and second carrier phase of the first PFL are measured separately from the third carrier phase of the second PFL and the fourth carrier phase of the second PFL.
- Clause 167. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 163 to 166, wherein wherein the first PFL and the second PFL are configured with RS-P aggregation, and wherein the first carrier phase of the first PFL and second carrier phase of the first PFL are measured jointly with the third carrier phase of the second PFL and the fourth carrier phase of the second PFL, and wherein the means for frequency information included in the at least one measurement report is based on an aggregated PFL that comprises means for the first PFL and the second PFL.
- Clause 168. The wireless measurement entity of clause 167, wherein a central carrier frequency for the at least one measurement report is based on a combined bandwidth of the aggregated PFL.
- Clause 169. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 167 to 168, wherein subbands are defined based on a combined bandwidth of the aggregated PFL.
- Clause 170. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 153 to 169, wherein the first carrier frequency is associated with a first subband and the second carrier frequency is associated with a second subband, and wherein the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, or both, are reported differentially.
- Clause 171. The wireless measurement entity of clause 170, wherein the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL is reported differentially relative to the measured second carrier phase, or wherein the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL is reported differentially relative to the measured first carrier phase, or wherein the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, or both, are reported differentially relative to a reference transmission reception point (TRP), or wherein the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, or both, are reported differentially relative to a reference subband of the reference TRP, or wherein the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, or both, are reported differentially relative to a reference RS-P resource of the reference subband of the reference TRP.
- Clause 172. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 153 to 171, wherein the wireless measurement entity corresponds to a user equipment (UE) or a wireless network component.
- Clause 173. The wireless measurement entity of clause 172, wherein the wireless network component corresponds to a transmission reception point (TRP) or a position reference unit (PRU).
- Clause 174. A position estimation entity, comprising: means for transmitting, to a wireless measurement entity, a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) resource configuration that configures a set of RS-P occasions associated with a first positioning frequency layer (PFL) in association with a position estimation session of a user equipment (UE); means for receiving, from the wireless measurement entity, at least one measurement report that indicates a measured first carrier phase of the first PFL at a first carrier frequency associated with a RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions and a measured second carrier phase of the first PFL at a second carrier frequency associated with the RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions; and means for determining a position estimate of the UE based on the at least one measurement report.
- Clause 175. The position estimation entity of clause 174, wherein the first carrier frequency of the first PFL and the second carrier frequency of the first PFL are pre-defined or pre-configured, or wherein the first carrier frequency of the first PFL and the second carrier frequency of the first PFL are indicated by the at least one measurement report.
- Clause 176. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 174 to 175, further comprising: means for receiving a carrier phase measurement capability of the wireless measurement entity, wherein the RS-P resource configuration is based on the carrier phase measurement capability.
- Clause 177. The position estimation entity of clause 176, wherein the carrier phase measurement capability indicates a maximum number of carrier phase measurements per RS-P resource or per transmission reception point (TRP), a maximum number of carrier phase measurement per RS-P occasion, a maximum or minimum bandwidth for RS-P measurements, a maximum number of carrier phase subband-specific measurements per PFL, or any combination thereof.
- Clause 178. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 174 to 177, wherein the first carrier frequency of the first PFL and the second carrier frequency of the first PFL are configured by the position estimation entity.
- Clause 179. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 174 to 178, wherein at least one of the first carrier frequency of the first PFL and the second carrier frequency of the first PFL corresponds to a central frequency relative to a full bandwidth of the first PFL or a subband of the first PFL.
- Clause 180. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 174 to 179, wherein at least one of the first carrier frequency of the first PFL, the second carrier frequency of the first PFL, or both, corresponds to a subcarrier index relative to a reference point associated with the first PFL.
- Clause 181. The position estimation entity of clause 180, wherein the reference point corresponds to a highest frequency part of the first PFL, a central frequency relative to the full bandwidth of the first PFL, or to a lowest frequency part of the first PFL.
- Clause 182. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 174 to 181, wherein the first carrier frequency of the first PFL and the second carrier frequency of the first PFL are defined via reference to a bandwidth associated with the first PFL, and wherein the bandwidth comprises: a number of subcarriers, or a number of resource blocks (RBs), or a ratio that is relative to a full bandwidth of the PFL, or a number of subbands.
- Clause 183. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 174 to 182, further comprising: means for receiving error information associated with the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, or both, from the wireless measurement entity.
- Clause 184. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 174 to 183, wherein the set of RS-P occasions is further associated with a second PFL, and wherein the at least one measurement report further indicates a measured third carrier phase of the second PFL at a third carrier frequency associated with the RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions and a measured fourth carrier phase of the second PFL at a fourth carrier frequency associated with the RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions.
- Clause 185. The position estimation entity of clause 184, wherein the at least one measurement report comprises: a first measurement report comprising indications of the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL and the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, and a second measurement report comprising indications of the measured third carrier phase of the second PFL and the measured fourth carrier phase of the second PFL.
- Clause 186. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 184 to 185, wherein the at least one measurement report comprises: a single measurement report comprising indications of the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured third carrier phase of the second PFL and the measured fourth carrier phase of the second PFL.
- Clause 187. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 184 to 186, wherein the first PFL and the second PFL are configured without RS-P aggregation, and wherein the first carrier phase of the first PFL and second carrier phase of the first PFL are measured separately from the third carrier phase of the second PFL and the fourth carrier phase of the second PFL.
- Clause 188. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 184 to 187, wherein the first PFL and the second PFL are configured with RS-P aggregation, and wherein the first carrier phase of the first PFL and second carrier phase of the first PFL are measured jointly with the third carrier phase of the second PFL and the fourth carrier phase of the second PFL, and wherein the means for frequency information included in the at least one measurement report is based on an aggregated PFL that comprises means for the first PFL and the second PFL.
- Clause 189. The position estimation entity of clause 188, wherein a central carrier frequency for the at least one measurement report is based on a combined bandwidth of the aggregated PFL.
- Clause 190. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 188 to 189, wherein subbands are defined based on a combined bandwidth of the aggregated PFL.
- Clause 191. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 174 to 190, wherein the first carrier frequency is associated with a first subband and the second carrier frequency is associated with a second subband, and wherein the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, or both, are reported differentially.
- Clause 192. The position estimation entity of clause 191, wherein the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL is reported differentially relative to the measured second carrier phase, or wherein the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL is reported differentially relative to the measured first carrier phase, or wherein the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, or both, are reported differentially relative to a reference transmission reception point (TRP), or wherein the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, or both, are reported differentially relative to a reference subband of the reference TRP, or wherein the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, or both, are reported differentially relative to a reference RS-P resource of the reference subband of the reference TRP.
- Clause 193. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 174 to 192, wherein the wireless measurement entity corresponds to a user equipment (UE) or a wireless network component.
- Clause 194. The position estimation entity of clause 193, wherein the wireless network component corresponds to a transmission reception point (TRP) or a position reference unit (PRU).
- Clause 195. A wireless measurement entity, comprising: means for receiving, from a position estimation entity, a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) resource configuration that configures a set of RS-P occasions associated with a positioning frequency layer (PFL); means for determining that the wireless measurement entity is incapable of measuring a full bandwidth of the PFL; means for transmitting, to the position estimation entity, a request to perform RS-P measurements associated with the RS-P resource configuration on a reduced bandwidth corresponding to less than all of the full bandwidth of the PFL; means for receiving, from the position estimation entity, an indication of acceptance of the request; means for performing one or more RS-P measurements associated with a RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions on the reduced bandwidth; means for measuring a carrier phase associated with the PFL on the RS-P occasion at a central carrier frequency relative to the full bandwidth of the PFL; and means for transmitting at least one measurement report comprising the one or more RS-P measurements and the measured carrier phase to the position estimation entity.
- Clause 196. The wireless measurement entity of clause 195, wherein the wireless measurement entity corresponds to a user equipment (UE), a position reference unit (PRU), or a transmission reception point (TRP).
- Clause 197. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 195 to 196, wherein the request is implemented as an on-demand RS-P request.
- Clause 198. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 195 to 197, wherein the RS-P resource configuration corresponds to a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) resource configuration, an uplink sounding reference signal for positioning (UL-SRS-P) resource configuration, or a sidelink PRS (SL-PRS) resource configuration.
- Clause 199. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 195 to 198, wherein the reduced bandwidth is based on a real-time capability of the wireless measurement entity.
- Clause 200. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 195 to 199, wherein the reduced bandwidth is defined as a set of resource blocks (RBs) or a set of subcarriers.
- Clause 201. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 195 to 200, further comprising: means for reporting error information associated with the measured carrier phase to the position estimation entity.
- Clause 202. A position estimation entity, comprising: means for transmitting, to a wireless measurement entity, a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) resource configuration that configures a set of RS-P occasions associated with a positioning frequency layer (PFL); means for receiving, from the wireless measurement entity, a request to perform RS-P measurements associated with the RS-P resource configuration on a reduced bandwidth corresponding to less than all of a full bandwidth of the PFL; means for transmitting, to the wireless measurement entity, an indication of acceptance of the request; means for receiving, from the wireless measurement entity, at least one measurement report comprising one or more RS-P measurements associated with a RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions on the reduced bandwidth and a measured carrier phase associated with the PFL on the RS-P occasion at a central carrier frequency relative to the full bandwidth of the PFL; and means for determining a position estimate of a user equipment (UE) based on the at least one measurement report.
- Clause 203. The position estimation entity of clause 202, wherein the wireless measurement entity corresponds to a user equipment (UE), a position reference unit (PRU), or a transmission reception point (TRP).
- Clause 204. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 202 to 203, The method of any of clauses 202 to 203 wherein the request is implemented as an on-demand RS-P request.
- Clause 205. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 202 to 204, wherein the RS-P resource configuration corresponds to a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) resource configuration, an uplink sounding reference signal for positioning (UL-SRS-P) resource configuration, or a sidelink PRS (SL-PRS) resource configuration.
- Clause 206. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 202 to 205, wherein the reduced bandwidth is based on a real-time capability of the wireless measurement entity.
- Clause 207. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 202 to 206, wherein the reduced bandwidth is defined as a set of resource blocks (RBs) or a set of subcarriers.
- Clause 208. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 202 to 207, further comprising: means for receiving error information associated with the measured carrier phase from the wireless measurement entity.
- Clause 209. A wireless measurement entity, comprising: means for receiving, from a position estimation entity, a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) resource configuration that configures a set of RS-P occasions associated with a positioning frequency layer (PFL) in association with a position estimation session of a user equipment (UE); means for measuring a carrier phase of the PFL at a carrier frequency associated with a RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions; and means for transmitting a measurement report that indicates the measured carrier phase of the PFL differentially.
- Clause 210. The wireless measurement entity of clause 209, wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL is reported differentially relative to a reference carrier phase measurement associated with the same PFL or a different PFL, or wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL is reported differentially relative to a reference transmission reception point (TRP), or wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL is reported differentially relative to a reference subband of the reference TRP, or wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL is reported differentially relative to a reference RS-P resource of the reference subband of the reference TRP.
- Clause 211. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 209 to 210, further comprising: means for performing one or more RS-P measurements associated with the RS-P occasion, wherein the one or more RS-P measurements are differentially reported in the measurement report or a different measurement report.
- Clause 212. The wireless measurement entity of clause 211, wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL and the one or more RS-P measurements are reported differentially relative to the same reference transmission reception point (TRP) or the same subband of the reference TRP or the same reference RS-P resource of the reference subband of the reference TRP.
- Clause 213. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 211 to 212, wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL and the one or more RS-P measurements are reported differentially relative to different reference transmission reception points (TRPs) or different subbands of the same reference TRP or different reference RS-P resources of the same reference subband of the same reference TRP.
- Clause 214. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 209 to 213, further comprising: means for receiving, from the position estimation entity, a recommendation of a first measurement reference for at least differential carrier phase measurement reporting.
- Clause 215. The wireless measurement entity of clause 214, wherein the measurement report indicates the measured carrier phase of the PFL differentially relative to the first measurement reference associated with the position estimation session of the UE.
- Clause 216. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 214 to 215, further comprising: means for selecting a second measurement reference that is different than the first measurement reference, wherein the measurement report indicates the measured carrier phase of the PFL differentially relative to the second measurement reference.
- Clause 217. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 214 to 216, wherein the recommendation of the first measurement reference is only for the differential carrier phase measurement reporting associated with the position estimation session of the UE, or wherein the recommendation of the first measurement reference is for any differential reporting associated with the position estimation session of the UE.
- Clause 218. The wireless measurement entity of any of clauses 209 to 217, wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL is differentially reported relative to a measurement reference, and wherein the measurement reference is indicated in the measurement report based on the measurement reference being associated with a carrier phase differential of zero.
- Clause 219. A position estimation entity, comprising: means for transmitting, to a wireless measurement entity, a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) resource configuration that configures a set of RS-P occasions associated with a positioning frequency layer (PFL) in association with a position estimation session of a user equipment (UE); and means for receiving, from the wireless measurement entity, a measurement report that differentially indicates a measured carrier phase of the PFL at a carrier frequency associated with a RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions.
- Clause 220. The position estimation entity of clause 219, wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL is reported differentially relative to a reference carrier phase measurement associated with the same PFL or a different PFL, or wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL is reported differentially relative to a reference transmission reception point (TRP), or wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL is reported differentially relative to a reference subband of the reference TRP, or wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL is reported differentially relative to a reference RS-P resource of the reference subband of the reference TRP.
- Clause 221. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 219 to 220, wherein one or more RS-P measurements associated with the RS-P occasion are differentially reported in the measurement report or a different measurement report from the wireless measurement entity.
- Clause 222. The position estimation entity of clause 221, wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL and the one or more RS-P measurements are reported differentially relative to the same reference transmission reception point (TRP) or the same subband of the reference TRP or the same reference RS-P resource of the reference subband of the reference TRP.
- Clause 223. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 221 to 222, wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL and the one or more RS-P measurements are reported differentially relative to different reference transmission reception points (TRPs) or different subbands of the same reference TRP or different reference RS-P resources of the same reference subband of the same reference TRP.
- Clause 224. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 219 to 223, further comprising: means for transmitting, to the wireless measurement entity, a recommendation of a first measurement reference for at least differential carrier phase measurement reporting.
- Clause 225. The position estimation entity of clause 224, wherein the measurement report indicates the measured carrier phase of the PFL differentially relative to the first measurement reference associated with the position estimation session of the UE.
- Clause 226. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 224 to 225, wherein the measurement report indicates the measured carrier phase of the PFL differentially relative to a second measurement reference that is different than the first measurement reference.
- Clause 227. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 224 to 226, wherein the recommendation of the first measurement reference is only for the differential carrier phase measurement reporting associated with the position estimation session of the UE, or wherein the recommendation of the first measurement reference is for any differential reporting associated with the position estimation session of the UE.
- Clause 228. The position estimation entity of any of clauses 219 to 227, wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL is differentially reported relative to a measurement reference, and wherein the measurement reference is indicated in the measurement report based on the measurement reference being associated with a carrier phase differential of zero.
- Clause 229. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a wireless measurement entity, cause the wireless measurement entity to: receive, from a position estimation entity, a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) resource configuration that configures a set of RS-P occasions associated with a first positioning frequency layer (PFL) in association with a position estimation session of a user equipment (UE); measure a first carrier phase of the first PFL at a first carrier frequency associated with a RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions; measure a second carrier phase of the first PFL at a second carrier frequency associated with the RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions; and transmit at least one measurement report that indicates the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL and the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL to the position estimation entity.
- Clause 230. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 229, wherein the first carrier frequency of the first PFL and the second carrier frequency of the first PFL are pre-defined or pre-configured, or wherein the first carrier frequency of the first PFL and the second carrier frequency of the first PFL are indicated by the at least one measurement report.
- Clause 231. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 229 to 230, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the wireless measurement entity, cause the wireless measurement entity to: transmit a carrier phase measurement capability of the wireless measurement entity to the position estimation entity, wherein the RS-P resource configuration is based on the carrier phase measurement capability.
- Clause 232. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 231, wherein the carrier phase measurement capability indicates a maximum number of carrier phase measurements per RS-P resource or per transmission reception point (TRP), a maximum number of carrier phase measurement per RS-P occasion, a maximum or minimum bandwidth for RS-P measurements, a maximum number of carrier phase subband-specific measurements per PFL, or any combination thereof.
- Clause 233. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 229 to 232, wherein the first carrier frequency of the first PFL and the second carrier frequency of the first PFL are configured by the position estimation entity.
- Clause 234. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 229 to 233, wherein at least one of the first carrier frequency of the first PFL and the second carrier frequency of the first PFL corresponds to a central frequency relative to a full bandwidth of the first PFL or a subband of the first PFL.
- Clause 235. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 229 to 234, wherein at least one of the first carrier frequency of the first PFL, the second carrier frequency of the first PFL, or both, corresponds to a subcarrier index relative to a reference point associated with the first PFL.
- Clause 236. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 235, wherein the reference point corresponds to a highest frequency part of the first PFL, a central frequency relative to the full bandwidth of the first PFL, or to a lowest frequency part of the first PFL.
- Clause 237. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 229 to 236, wherein the first carrier frequency of the first PFL and the second carrier frequency of the first PFL are defined via reference to a bandwidth associated with the first PFL, and wherein the bandwidth comprises: a number of subcarriers, or a number of resource blocks (RBs), or a ratio that is relative to a full bandwidth of the PFL, or a number of subbands.
- Clause 238. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 229 to 237, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the wireless measurement entity, cause the wireless measurement entity to: report error information associated with the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, or both, to the position estimation entity.
- Clause 239. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 229 to 238, wherein the set of RS-P occasions is further associated with a second PFL, further comprising: measure a third carrier phase of the second PFL at a third carrier frequency associated with the RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions; and measure a fourth carrier phase of the second PFL at a fourth carrier frequency associated with the RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions, wherein the at least one measurement report further indicates the measured third carrier phase of the second PFL and the measured fourth carrier phase of the second PFL.
- Clause 240. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 239, wherein the at least one measurement report comprises: a first measurement report comprising indications of the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL and the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, and a second measurement report comprising indications of the measured third carrier phase of the second PFL and the measured fourth carrier phase of the second PFL.
- Clause 241. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 239 to 240, wherein the at least one measurement report comprises: a single measurement report comprising indications of the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured third carrier phase of the second PFL and the measured fourth carrier phase of the second PFL.
- Clause 242. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 239 to 241, wherein the first PFL and the second PFL are configured without RS-P aggregation, and wherein the first carrier phase of the first PFL and second carrier phase of the first PFL are measured separately from the third carrier phase of the second PFL and the fourth carrier phase of the second PFL.
- Clause 243. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 239 to 242, wherein the first PFL and the second PFL are configured with RS-P aggregation, and wherein the first carrier phase of the first PFL and second carrier phase of the first PFL are measured jointly with the third carrier phase of the second PFL and the fourth carrier phase of the second PFL, and wherein the computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the wireless measurement entity, cause the wireless measurement entity to information included in the at least one measurement report is based on an aggregated PFL that comprise computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the wireless measurement entity, cause the wireless measurement entity to the first PFL and the second PFL.
- Clause 244. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 243, wherein a central carrier frequency for the at least one measurement report is based on a combined bandwidth of the aggregated PFL.
- Clause 245. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 243 to 244, wherein subbands are defined based on a combined bandwidth of the aggregated PFL.
- Clause 246. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 229 to 245, wherein the first carrier frequency is associated with a first subband and the second carrier frequency is associated with a second subband, and wherein the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, or both, are reported differentially.
- Clause 247. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 246, wherein the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL is reported differentially relative to the measured second carrier phase, or wherein the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL is reported differentially relative to the measured first carrier phase, or wherein the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, or both, are reported differentially relative to a reference transmission reception point (TRP), or wherein the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, or both, are reported differentially relative to a reference subband of the reference TRP, or wherein the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, or both, are reported differentially relative to a reference RS-P resource of the reference subband of the reference TRP.
- Clause 248. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 229 to 247, wherein the wireless measurement entity corresponds to a user equipment (UE) or a wireless network component.
- Clause 249. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 248, wherein the wireless network component corresponds to a transmission reception point (TRP) or a position reference unit (PRU).
- Clause 250. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a position estimation entity, cause the position estimation entity to: transmit, to a wireless measurement entity, a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) resource configuration that configures a set of RS-P occasions associated with a first positioning frequency layer (PFL) in association with a position estimation session of a user equipment (UE); receive, from the wireless measurement entity, at least one measurement report that indicates a measured first carrier phase of the first PFL at a first carrier frequency associated with a RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions and a measured second carrier phase of the first PFL at a second carrier frequency associated with the RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions; and determine a position estimate of the UE based on the at least one measurement report.
- Clause 251. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 250, wherein the first carrier frequency of the first PFL and the second carrier frequency of the first PFL are pre-defined or pre-configured, or wherein the first carrier frequency of the first PFL and the second carrier frequency of the first PFL are indicated by the at least one measurement report.
- Clause 252. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 250 to 251, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the position estimation entity, cause the position estimation entity to: receive a carrier phase measurement capability of the wireless measurement entity, wherein the RS-P resource configuration is based on the carrier phase measurement capability.
- Clause 253. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 252, wherein the carrier phase measurement capability indicates a maximum number of carrier phase measurements per RS-P resource or per transmission reception point (TRP), a maximum number of carrier phase measurement per RS-P occasion, a maximum or minimum bandwidth for RS-P measurements, a maximum number of carrier phase subband-specific measurements per PFL, or any combination thereof.
- Clause 254. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 250 to 253, wherein the first carrier frequency of the first PFL and the second carrier frequency of the first PFL are configured by the position estimation entity.
- Clause 255. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 250 to 254, wherein at least one of the first carrier frequency of the first PFL and the second carrier frequency of the first PFL corresponds to a central frequency relative to a full bandwidth of the first PFL or a subband of the first PFL.
- Clause 256. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 250 to 255, wherein at least one of the first carrier frequency of the first PFL, the second carrier frequency of the first PFL, or both, corresponds to a subcarrier index relative to a reference point associated with the first PFL.
- Clause 257. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 256, wherein the reference point corresponds to a highest frequency part of the first PFL, a central frequency relative to the full bandwidth of the first PFL, or to a lowest frequency part of the first PFL.
- Clause 258. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 250 to 257, wherein the first carrier frequency of the first PFL and the second carrier frequency of the first PFL are defined via reference to a bandwidth associated with the first PFL, and wherein the bandwidth comprises: a number of subcarriers, or a number of resource blocks (RBs), or a ratio that is relative to a full bandwidth of the PFL, or a number of subbands.
- Clause 259. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 250 to 258, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the position estimation entity, cause the position estimation entity to: receive error information associated with the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, or both, from the wireless measurement entity.
- Clause 260. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 250 to 259, wherein the set of RS-P occasions is further associated with a second PFL, and wherein the at least one measurement report further indicates a measured third carrier phase of the second PFL at a third carrier frequency associated with the RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions and a measured fourth carrier phase of the second PFL at a fourth carrier frequency associated with the RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions.
- Clause 261. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 260, wherein the at least one measurement report comprises: a first measurement report comprising indications of the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL and the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, and a second measurement report comprising indications of the measured third carrier phase of the second PFL and the measured fourth carrier phase of the second PFL.
- Clause 262. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 260 to 261, wherein the at least one measurement report comprises: a single measurement report comprising indications of the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured third carrier phase of the second PFL and the measured fourth carrier phase of the second PFL.
- Clause 263. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 260 to 262, wherein the first PFL and the second PFL are configured without RS-P aggregation, and wherein the first carrier phase of the first PFL and second carrier phase of the first PFL are measured separately from the third carrier phase of the second PFL and the fourth carrier phase of the second PFL.
- Clause 264. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 260 to 263, wherein the first PFL and the second PFL are configured with RS-P aggregation, and wherein the first carrier phase of the first PFL and second carrier phase of the first PFL are measured jointly with the third carrier phase of the second PFL and the fourth carrier phase of the second PFL, and wherein the computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the position estimation entity, cause the position estimation entity to information included in the at least one measurement report is based on an aggregated PFL that comprise computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the position estimation entity, cause the position estimation entity to the first PFL and the second PFL.
- Clause 265. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 264, wherein a central carrier frequency for the at least one measurement report is based on a combined bandwidth of the aggregated PFL.
- Clause 266. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 264 to 265, wherein subbands are defined based on a combined bandwidth of the aggregated PFL.
- Clause 267. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 250 to 266, wherein the first carrier frequency is associated with a first subband and the second carrier frequency is associated with a second subband, and wherein the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, or both, are reported differentially.
- Clause 268. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 267, wherein the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL is reported differentially relative to the measured second carrier phase, or wherein the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL is reported differentially relative to the measured first carrier phase, or wherein the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, or both, are reported differentially relative to a reference transmission reception point (TRP), or wherein the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, or both, are reported differentially relative to a reference subband of the reference TRP, or wherein the measured first carrier phase of the first PFL, the measured second carrier phase of the first PFL, or both, are reported differentially relative to a reference RS-P resource of the reference subband of the reference TRP.
- Clause 269. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 250 to 268, wherein the wireless measurement entity corresponds to a user equipment (UE) or a wireless network component.
- Clause 270. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 269, wherein the wireless network component corresponds to a transmission reception point (TRP) or a position reference unit (PRU).
- Clause 271. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a wireless measurement entity, cause the wireless measurement entity to: receive, from a position estimation entity, a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) resource configuration that configures a set of RS-P occasions associated with a positioning frequency layer (PFL); determine that the wireless measurement entity is incapable of measuring a full bandwidth of the PFL; transmit, to the position estimation entity, a request to perform RS-P measurements associated with the RS-P resource configuration on a reduced bandwidth corresponding to less than all of the full bandwidth of the PFL; receive, from the position estimation entity, an indication of acceptance of the request; perform one or more RS-P measurements associated with a RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions on the reduced bandwidth; measure a carrier phase associated with the PFL on the RS-P occasion at a central carrier frequency relative to the full bandwidth of the PFL; and transmit at least one measurement report comprising the one or more RS-P measurements and the measured carrier phase to the position estimation entity.
- Clause 272. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 271, wherein the wireless measurement entity corresponds to a user equipment (UE), a position reference unit (PRU), or a transmission reception point (TRP).
- Clause 273. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 271 to 272, wherein the request is implemented as an on-demand RS-P request.
- Clause 274. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 271 to 273, wherein the RS-P resource configuration corresponds to a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) resource configuration, an uplink sounding reference signal for positioning (UL-SRS-P) resource configuration, or a sidelink PRS (SL-PRS) resource configuration.
- Clause 275. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 271 to 274, wherein the reduced bandwidth is based on a real-time capability of the wireless measurement entity.
- Clause 276. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 271 to 275, wherein the reduced bandwidth is defined as a set of resource blocks (RBs) or a set of subcarriers.
- Clause 277. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 271 to 276, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the wireless measurement entity, cause the wireless measurement entity to: report error information associated with the measured carrier phase to the position estimation entity.
- Clause 278. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a position estimation entity, cause the position estimation entity to: transmit, to a wireless measurement entity, a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) resource configuration that configures a set of RS-P occasions associated with a positioning frequency layer (PFL); receive, from the wireless measurement entity, a request to perform RS-P measurements associated with the RS-P resource configuration on a reduced bandwidth corresponding to less than all of a full bandwidth of the PFL; transmit, to the wireless measurement entity, an indication of acceptance of the request; receive, from the wireless measurement entity, at least one measurement report comprising one or more RS-P measurements associated with a RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions on the reduced bandwidth and a measured carrier phase associated with the PFL on the RS-P occasion at a central carrier frequency relative to the full bandwidth of the PFL; and determine a position estimate of a user equipment (UE) based on the at least one measurement report.
- Clause 279. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 278, wherein the wireless measurement entity corresponds to a user equipment (UE), a position reference unit (PRU), or a transmission reception point (TRP).
- Clause 280. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 278 to 279, The method of any of clauses 278 to 279 wherein the request is implemented as an on-demand RS-P request.
- Clause 281. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 278 to 280, wherein the RS-P resource configuration corresponds to a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) resource configuration, an uplink sounding reference signal for positioning (UL-SRS-P) resource configuration, or a sidelink PRS (SL-PRS) resource configuration.
- Clause 282. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 278 to 281, wherein the reduced bandwidth is based on a real-time capability of the wireless measurement entity.
- Clause 283. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 278 to 282, wherein the reduced bandwidth is defined as a set of resource blocks (RBs) or a set of subcarriers.
- Clause 284. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 278 to 283, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the position estimation entity, cause the position estimation entity to: receive error information associated with the measured carrier phase from the wireless measurement entity.
- Clause 285. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a wireless measurement entity, cause the wireless measurement entity to: receive, from a position estimation entity, a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) resource configuration that configures a set of RS-P occasions associated with a positioning frequency layer (PFL) in association with a position estimation session of a user equipment (UE); measure a carrier phase of the PFL at a carrier frequency associated with a RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions; and transmit a measurement report that indicates the measured carrier phase of the PFL differentially.
- Clause 286. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 285, wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL is reported differentially relative to a reference carrier phase measurement associated with the same PFL or a different PFL, or wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL is reported differentially relative to a reference transmission reception point (TRP), or wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL is reported differentially relative to a reference subband of the reference TRP, or wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL is reported differentially relative to a reference RS-P resource of the reference subband of the reference TRP.
- Clause 287. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 285 to 286, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the wireless measurement entity, cause the wireless measurement entity to: perform one or more RS-P measurements associated with the RS-P occasion, wherein the one or more RS-P measurements are differentially reported in the measurement report or a different measurement report.
- Clause 288. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 287, wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL and the one or more RS-P measurements are reported differentially relative to the same reference transmission reception point (TRP) or the same subband of the reference TRP or the same reference RS-P resource of the reference subband of the reference TRP.
- Clause 289. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 287 to 288, wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL and the one or more RS-P measurements are reported differentially relative to different reference transmission reception points (TRPs) or different subbands of the same reference TRP or different reference RS-P resources of the same reference subband of the same reference TRP.
- Clause 290. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 285 to 289, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the wireless measurement entity, cause the wireless measurement entity to: receive, from the position estimation entity, a recommendation of a first measurement reference for at least differential carrier phase measurement reporting.
- Clause 291. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 290, wherein the measurement report indicates the measured carrier phase of the PFL differentially relative to the first measurement reference associated with the position estimation session of the UE.
- Clause 292. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 290 to 291, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the wireless measurement entity, cause the wireless measurement entity to: select a second measurement reference that is different than the first measurement reference, wherein the measurement report indicates the measured carrier phase of the PFL differentially relative to the second measurement reference.
- Clause 293. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 290 to 292, wherein the recommendation of the first measurement reference is only for the differential carrier phase measurement reporting associated with the position estimation session of the UE, or wherein the recommendation of the first measurement reference is for any differential reporting associated with the position estimation session of the UE.
- Clause 294. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 285 to 293, wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL is differentially reported relative to a measurement reference, and wherein the measurement reference is indicated in the measurement report based on the measurement reference being associated with a carrier phase differential of zero.
- Clause 295. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a position estimation entity, cause the position estimation entity to: transmit, to a wireless measurement entity, a reference signal for positioning (RS-P) resource configuration that configures a set of RS-P occasions associated with a positioning frequency layer (PFL) in association with a position estimation session of a user equipment (UE); and receive, from the wireless measurement entity, a measurement report that differentially indicates a measured carrier phase of the PFL at a carrier frequency associated with a RS-P occasion from the set of RS-P occasions.
- Clause 296. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 295, wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL is reported differentially relative to a reference carrier phase measurement associated with the same PFL or a different PFL, or wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL is reported differentially relative to a reference transmission reception point (TRP), or wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL is reported differentially relative to a reference subband of the reference TRP, or wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL is reported differentially relative to a reference RS-P resource of the reference subband of the reference TRP.
- Clause 297. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 295 to 296, wherein one or more RS-P measurements associated with the RS-P occasion are differentially reported in the measurement report or a different measurement report from the wireless measurement entity.
- Clause 298. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 297, wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL and the one or more RS-P measurements are reported differentially relative to the same reference transmission reception point (TRP) or the same subband of the reference TRP or the same reference RS-P resource of the reference subband of the reference TRP.
- Clause 299. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 297 to 298, wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL and the one or more RS-P measurements are reported differentially relative to different reference transmission reception points (TRPs) or different subbands of the same reference TRP or different reference RS-P resources of the same reference subband of the same reference TRP.
- Clause 300. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 295 to 299, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the position estimation entity, cause the position estimation entity to: transmit, to the wireless measurement entity, a recommendation of a first measurement reference for at least differential carrier phase measurement reporting.
- Clause 301. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 300, wherein the measurement report indicates the measured carrier phase of the PFL differentially relative to the first measurement reference associated with the position estimation session of the UE.
- Clause 302. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 300 to 301, wherein the measurement report indicates the measured carrier phase of the PFL differentially relative to a second measurement reference that is different than the first measurement reference.
- Clause 303. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 300 to 302, wherein the recommendation of the first measurement reference is only for the differential carrier phase measurement reporting associated with the position estimation session of the UE, or wherein the recommendation of the first measurement reference is for any differential reporting associated with the position estimation session of the UE.
- Clause 304. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 295 to 303, wherein the measured carrier phase of the PFL is differentially reported relative to a measurement reference, and wherein the measurement reference is indicated in the measurement report based on the measurement reference being associated with a carrier phase differential of zero.

Those of skill in the art will appreciate that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

Further, those of skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

The methods, sequences and/or algorithms described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. A software module may reside in random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An example storage medium is coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal (e.g., UE). In the alternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in a user terminal.

In one or more example aspects, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

While the foregoing disclosure shows illustrative aspects of the disclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modifications could be made herein without departing from the scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims. The functions, steps and/or actions of the method claims in accordance with the aspects of the disclosure described herein need not be performed in any particular order. Furthermore, although elements of the disclosure may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural is contemplated unless limitation to the singular is explicitly stated.

MULTIPLE CARRIER PHASE MEASUREMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH POSITIONING FREQUENCY LAYER AND DIFFERENTIAL CARRIER PHASE MEASUREMENT REPORTING

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CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Provisional Applications (1)