WO2024062269A1

WO2024062269A1 - Adjusting available secondary cells of a communication device

Info

Publication number: WO2024062269A1
Application number: PCT/IB2022/058842
Authority: WO
Inventors: Nupur RASTOGI
Original assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson AB
Current assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson AB
Priority date: 2022-09-19
Filing date: 2022-09-19
Publication date: 2024-03-28
Anticipated expiration: 2025-03-19
Also published as: EP4591676A1

Abstract

A network node in a communications network can determine (730) to modify a set of secondary cells ("SCells") used for communication between a communication device and the communications network based on a channel condition and/or bandwidth associated with a SCell of the set of SCells. The network node can, responsive to determining to modify the set of SCells, transmit (740) a message including an indication of a change to the set of SCells.

Description

ADJUSTING AVAILABLE SECONDARY CELLS OF A COMMUNICATION DEVICE

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001 ] The present disclosure is related to wireless communication systems and more particularly to selectively adding and/or releasing secondary cells of a communication device to adjust uplink and/or downlink coverage.

BACKGROUND

[0002] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a new radio (“NR”) network (e.g., a 5th Generation (“5G”) network) including a 5G core (“5GC”) network 130, network nodes 120a-b (e.g., 5G base station (“gNB”)), multiple communication devices 110 (also referred to as user equipment (“UE”)).

[0003] When in poor radio condition, a 5G UE may reduce its transmit power. The Maximum Power Reduction (“MPR”) that the UE can apply in uplink (“UL”) can be dependent on the total configured bandwidth in downlink (“DL”). The UE may need to apply higher MPR when transmitting at a higher DL bandwidth than when it is transmitting at a lower DL bandwidth. Hence by reducing the DL bandwidth it can be possible to allow the UE to transmit at a higher power. Only the secondary cells (“SCells”) of a UE may be released. When an SCell is released both the DL and UL carriers associated with it are released. Currently there is no procedure for choosing the SCells that may be released.

SUMMARY

[0004] According to some embodiments, a method of operating a network node in a communications network is provided. The method can include determining to modify a set of secondary cells (“SCells”) used for communication between a communication device and the communications network based on a channel condition and/or bandwidth associated with a SCell of the set of SCells. The method can further include, responsive to determining to modify the set of SCells, transmitting a message including an indication of a change to the set of SCells.

[0005] According to other embodiments, a network node, computer program, computer program product, or non-transitory computer readable medium is provided to perform the method above. [0006] Various embodiments described herein can improve user experience since the UE may transmit at a higher power when it is in bad coverage (and lower power when it is in good coverage). In some examples, this can result in more efficient power consumption by the UE.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate certain non-limiting embodiments of inventive concepts. In the drawings:

[0008] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a 5^th generation (“5G”) network;

[0009] FIG. 2 is a table illustrating an example of a cumulative aggregated bandwidth (“CABW”) relative to different modulations in accordance with some embodiments;

[0010] FIGS. 3-4 are tables illustrating examples of SCell configurations in accordance with some embodiments;

[0011 ] FIG. 5 is a signal flow diagram illustrating an example of selectively releasing SCells of a UE to improve UL coverage in accordance with some embodiments;

[0012] FIG. 6 is a signal flow diagram illustrating an example of selectively adding SCells of a UE to improve DL coverage in accordance with some embodiments;

[0013] FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating an example of operations performed by a network node in accordance with some embodiments;

[0014] FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a communication system in accordance with some embodiments;

[0015] FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a user equipment in accordance with some embodiments;

[0016] FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a network node in accordance with some embodiments;

[0017] FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a host computer communicating with a user equipment in accordance with some embodiments; [0018] FIG. 12 is a block diagram of a virtualization environment in accordance with some embodiments; and

[0019] FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a host computer communicating via a base station with a user equipment over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments in accordance with some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art, in which examples of embodiments of inventive concepts are shown. Inventive concepts may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of present inventive concepts to those skilled in the art. It should also be noted that these embodiments are not mutually exclusive. Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present/used in another embodiment.

[0021] A 5^th Generation (“5G”) communication device (sometimes referred to herein as a user equipment (“UE”)) that supports Carrier Aggregation (“CA”) may support up to 14 carriers in downlink (“DL”) out of which one is a primary secondary cell (“PScell”) and the others are secondary cells (“SCells”). It is not necessary that all SCells be uplink (“UL”) capable. In some examples, a UE may increase its transmitted power when it is transmitting at a lower DL bandwidth. With increased transmit power, UL coverage can be improved.

[0022] When a network detects that a UE is in poor coverage, it may release some SCells, thereby decreasing the total DL Bandwidth which is also called Cumulative Aggregated Bandwidth (“CABW”). However, the 3^rd Generation Partnership Project (“3GPP”) doesn’t provide a mechanism to choose SCells to be released by the network. Since releasing of SCells can lead to reduced throughput, various embodiments described herein provide a set of criteria that can be used for determining the SCells to be released (e.g., in order to reduce impact on throughput). [0023] In some embodiments, the network can determine whether to release a SCell based on one or more of the following criteria: 1 ) whether the SCell is DL only;

2) a DL bandwidth of the SCell; 3) an UL bandwidth of the SCell; 4) a channel status or channel state information (“CSI”) associated with the SCell; 5) whether a combination of SCells that gives the maximum CABW for a given value of MPR gain includes the SCell; and 6) whether the SCell is on an end of a bandwidth spectrum formed by the SCells.

[0024] In some examples, the SCells to be released can be prioritized (e.g., ranked in preference of releasing) based on one or more of the following:

1) DL only SCells to minimize impact on UL throughput;

2) SCells which have the lowest bandwidth in DL;

3) SCells which have the lowest bandwidth in UL;

4) SCells with the worst channel status or reported CSI in a reported time interval;

5) A combination of SCells which gives the maximum Cumulative Aggregated Bandwidth (CABW) for a given value of MPR gain; and

6) SCells on an end of the bandwidth spectrum formed by the SCells. [0025] While choosing an SCell to release the following conditions can be ensured. In some examples, the network can make sure that the resulting bandwidth combination is supported as per the UE capability. In additional or alternative examples, when the resulting configuration after SCell release leads to an intra-band non-contiguous CA configuration or intra-band contiguous CA configuration with non-contiguous RB allocation, the gNB shall schedule the UE such that padding is enforced to make sure that the scheduled RBs shall still meet the criteria (e.g., provided in FIG. 2) to achieve MPR gain. The UE can add media access control (“MAC”) padding PDU when gNB provides UL grants higher than its current buffer status.

[0026] In additional or alternative examples, not every SCell that satisfies the criteria is released. Instead, SCells are chosen for release so that the desired level of Cumulative Bandwidth is reached depending on the amount of gain in power needed.

[0027] For example, if a communications network is operating at 1200 MHz and determined to reduce its operation to 400 MHz to let the UE increase its transmit power by 3.2 dB in Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (“QPSK”) modulation, the network can release 1 , 2, 3, or 4 cells depending on the carrier aggregation (“CA”) bandwidth combination that the UE has and the desired combination. FIG. 2 is a table illustrating an example of CABW at different frequencies and modulations. [0028] FIGS. 3-4 illustrate an example configuration where a maximum aggregated bandwidth (“BW”) for a UE is 1200 MHz and it is to be reconfigured to a maximum aggregated BW of 400 MHz.

[0029] In this example, if in the 1200 MHz Max Aggregated BW, the combination of Cells is 50(DL/UL), 200(DL), 200(DL/UL) and it is desired to reduce to a <=400 MHz configuration, several cells can be released. The 200 MHz cell can be assumed to be the PSCell since the cell with highest bandwidth can be configured to be PSCell capable. In any case PSCell cannot be released (even if it was the lowest BW).

[0030] A list of all SCells in the ascending order of CQI reports can be determined (e.g., the order in terms of CQI is - 50(UL/DL), 200(DL)). Then cells that have the highest combination of DL and UL bandwidth among these can be selected starting from the beginning of the list. In some examples, if more than one cell has the same DL and UL bandwidth the cell occurring first in the list can be selected. In additional or alternative examples, if there are cells with same the DL bandwidth, the cell that has the highest UL bandwidth can be selected. In additional or alternative examples, if there are cells that have different DL bandwidths but the same UL bandwidth, the cell that has the highest DL bandwidth can be selected. In additional or alternative examples, if there are cells that have different DL bandwidths and different UL bandwidths, the cell that has the highest DL bandwidth can be selected. While choosing an SCell to release, the network may also make sure that the new bandwidth combination is supported as per the UE capabilities.

[0031 ] In this example, the 50 MHz carrier can be selected to be released.

[0032] In some embodiments, If radio conditions improve SCells will be re-added in a reverse procedure. In some examples, the desired threshold can still be less that the original threshold (e.g., only 800 MHz rather than back to 1200MHz Maximum BW combination (e.g., since radio condition warrants ~1dB improvement only). A list of all SCells can be determined based on the highest DL bandwidth as per the supported Bandwidth combination of the UE. SCells starting from the beginning of the list can be added until the desired threshold is met. In some examples, when two cells have the same DL Bandwidth, the cell that is also UL capable can be prioritized. In additional or alternative examples, when two cells have the same DL Bandwidth and the same UL bandwidth, the cell with the higher UL bandwidth can be prioritized.

[0033] For examples, if there is a possibility to add a 100MHz(DL/UL) as well as a 50 MHz(DL/UL) cell as an SCell of the UE, based on the above criteria, the 100 MHz cell will be added.

[0034] If the resulting configuration after release of SCells leads to an intra-band contiguous CA configuration with non-contiguous RB allocations, or it results in intra- band noncontiguous CA; additional requirements can be maintained to achieve the MPR gain from the resulting configuration (e.g., the number of scheduled RBs across the resulting CABW shall exceed a certain lower limit).

[0035] The gNB can achieve this criteria by forcing the UE to add MAC padding to the data when the UE doesn’t have enough buffer in UL by scheduling higher number of RBs than what the UE requires.

[0036] In some examples, for intra-band contiguous UL CA with non-contiguous RB allocations, the following rule for MPR applies for UE power classes 2, 3, 4, and 5:

MPR = max(MPRC_CA, -10*A +7.0) where:

A = NRB alloc I NRB_agg_C;

NRB alloc is the total number of allocated UL RBs;

NRB_agg_C is the number of the aggregated RBs within the fully allocated cumulative aggregated channel bandwidth assuming lowest SCS among all configured CCs; and

MPRc CA is derived from a table.

[0037] Hence for these power classes, the MPR gain of the resulting intra-band contiguous CA configuration with non-contiguous physical resource block (“PRB”) allocation can be utilized by making sure that the number of scheduled PRBs satisfy the requirements that the UL RB allocation should be at-least 1 /5^th of the total CABW RBs.

[0038] In additional or alternative examples, for intra-band non-contiguous UL CA for UE power classes 2, 3, 4, and 5, the following rule for MPR applies:

MPR = max(MPRNC_CA, -8*A +10.0) where: MPRNC CA is derived from table 6.2A.2.4.2-1

[0039] Hence for these power classes, the MPR gain of the resulting intra-band non-contiguous CA configuration can be utilized by making sure that the number of scheduled PRBs satisfy the requirement that the UL RB allocation should be at-least 60% of the total CABW RBs.

[0040] FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a signal flow between a radio access network (“RAN”) node (here divided into gNB-distributed unit (“DU”) 502 and a gNB- central unit (“CU”) 504) and UE 110 for determining specific cells to be released. [0041 ] At block 510, the gNB-DU 502 determines that the UE 110 is in poor coverage. In some examples, the UE is determined to be in poor coverage based on one or more channel measurements (e.g., a reference signal received power (“RSRP”), a reference signal received quality (“RSRQ”), and a signal-to-interface-to- noise ratio (“SINR”) compared to a threshold value.

[0042] At block 520, the gNB-DU 502 determines one or more SCells to be released in response to the UE 110 being in poor coverage. In some examples, the one or more SCells to be released are determined based on the criteria described above including: 1 ) whether an SCell is DL only; 2) a DL bandwidth of the SCell; 3) an UL bandwidth of the SCell; 4) a channel status or channel state information (“CSI”) associated with the SCell; 5) whether a combination of SCells that gives the maximum CABW for a given value of MPR gain includes the SCell; and 6) whether the SCell is on an end of a bandwidth spectrum formed by the SCells.

[0043] At block 530, the gNB-DU 502 transmits an indication to the gNB-CU 504 indicating the one or more SCells to be released. In some examples, the indication is a list of SCells to be released. In other examples, the indication is a list of SCells to be used (excluding the SCells to be released).

[0044] At block 540, gNB-CU 504 transmits a radio resource control (“RRC”) Connection Reconfiguration message to the UE 110 indicating the one or more SCells to be released.

[0045] At block 550, the UE 110 transmits a RRC Connection Reconfiguration Complete message to the gNB-CU 504 in response to the RRC Connection Reconfiguration message.

[0046] At block 560, the gNB-DU 502 transmits UL downlink control information, DCI, to the UE 110. In some examples, the resulting configuration after SCell release leads to an intra-band non-contiguous CA configuration or intra-band contiguous CA configuration with non-contiguous RB allocation. The gNB-DU 502 can schedule the UE such that padding is enforced to make sure that the scheduled RBs still meet the criteria to achieve MPR gain. In additional or alternative examples, the UL DCI includes a higher UL grant than required in order to instruct the UE to add media access control (“MAC”) padding.

[0047] Although FIG. 5 illustrates an example in which operations of a RAN node are divided between a gNB-DU 502 and gNB-CU 504, similar operations can be performed by any suitable network node.

[0048] Although the embodiments above have described selectively releasing SCells of a communication device, similar operations can be used to selectively add SCells of a communication device.

[0049] FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a signal flow between a RAN node (here divided into gNB-DU 502 and gNB-CU 504 and UE 110 for determining specific cells to be added.

[0050] At block 610, the gNB-DU 502 determines that the UE 110 is in good coverage. In some examples, the UE is determined to be in poor coverage based on one or more channel measurements (e.g., a RSRP, a RSRQ, and a SINR) compared to a threshold value.

[0051 ] At block 620, the gNB-DU 502 determines one or more SCells to be added in response to the UE 110 being in good coverage. In some examples, the one or more SCells to be added are determined based on the criteria described above including: 1 ) whether an SCell is DL only; 2) a DL bandwidth of the SCell; 3) an UL bandwidth of the SCell; 4) a channel status or CSI associated with the SCell;

5) whether a combination of SCells that gives the maximum CABW for a given value of MPR gain includes the SCell; and 6) whether the SCell (if added) would be on an end of a bandwidth spectrum formed by the used SCells.

[0052] At block 630, the gNB-DU 502 transmits an indication to the gNB-CU 504 indicating the one or more SCells to be added. In some examples, the indication is a list of SCells to be added. In other examples, the indication is a list of SCells to be used (including the SCells to be added).

[0053] At block 640, gNB-CU 504 transmits a RRC Connection Reconfiguration message to the UE 110 indicating the one or more SCells to be added. [0054] At block 650, the UE 110 transmits a RRC Connection Reconfiguration Complete message to the gNB-CU 504 in response to the RRC Connection Reconfiguration message.

[0055] At block 660, the gNB-DU 502 transmits UL DCI to the UE 110. In some examples, the resulting configuration after adding SCells leads to an intra-band noncontiguous CA configuration or intra-band contiguous CA configuration with noncontiguous RB allocation. The gNB-DU 502 can schedule the UE such that padding is enforced to make sure that the scheduled RBs still meet the criteria to achieve MPR gain. In additional or alternative examples, the UL DCI includes a higher UL grant than required in order to instruct the UE to add media access control (“MAC”) padding.

[0056] Although FIG. 6 illustrates an example in which operations of a RAN node are divided between a gNB-DU 502 and gNB-CU 504, similar operations can be performed by any suitable network node.

[0057] In the description that follows, while the network node may be any of network nodes 810A-B, core network node 808, HUB 814, network node 1000, virtualization hardware 1204, virtual machines 1208A, 1208B, or network node 1304, the network node 1000 shall be used to describe the functionality of the operations of the network node. Operations of the network node 1000 (implemented using the structure of the block diagram of FIG. 10) will now be discussed with reference to the flow chart of FIG. 6 according to some embodiments of inventive concepts. For example, modules may be stored in memory 1004 of FIG. 10, and these modules may provide instructions so that when the instructions of a module are executed by respective network node processing circuitry 1002, processing circuitry 1002 performs respective operations of the flow chart.

[0058] FIG. 7 illustrates an example of operations performed by a network node in a communications network to adjust (e.g., add or release) SCells used by the communication device. In some embodiments, the network node is a RAN node. In additional or alternative embodiments, the network node is a DU (e.g., a gNB-DU). [0059] At block 710, processing circuitry 1002 determines a coverage of the communication device. In some examples, the communication device is determined be in poor coverage or good coverage based on one or more channel measurements (e.g., RSRP, RSRQ, and SINR). [0060] At block 720, processing circuitry 1002 determines the MPR gain required by the communication device.

[0061 ] At block 730, processing circuitry 1002 determines to modify a set of SCells based on a channel condition and/or bandwidth associated with a SCell. In some embodiments, determining to modify the set of SCells includes determining to add the SCell to the set of SCells. In additional or alternative embodiments, determining to modify the set of SCells includes determining to release the SCell from the set of SCells.

[0062] In additional or alternative embodiments, determining to modify the set of SCells includes determining to modify the set of SCells based on at least one of: whether the SCell is configured for only DL communication; and whether the SCell is configured for only uplink UL communication.

[0063] In additional or alternative embodiments, determining to modify the set of SCells includes determining to modify the set of SCells based on at least one of: a DL bandwidth associated with the SCell; and a UL bandwidth associated with the SCell.

[0064] In additional or alternative embodiments, determining to modify the set of SCells includes determining to modify the set of SCells based on a CSI associated with the SCell.

[0065] In additional or alternative embodiments, determining to modify the set of SCells includes determining to modify the set of SCells based on the SCell being part of a combination of SCells that produces a maximum cumulative aggregated bandwidth, CABW, for a value of maximum power reduction, MPR, gain required by the communication device.

[0066] In additional or alternative embodiments, determining to modify the set of SCells includes determining to modify the set of SCells based on the SCell being part of an end of a bandwidth spectrum associated with the set of SCells.

[0067] In additional or alternative embodiments, determining to modify the set of SCells includes determining to modify the set of SCells based on a capability of the communication device associated with a supported Bandwidth combination of SCells.

[0068] In additional or alternative embodiments, determining to modify the set of SCells includes generating a list indicating an order of SCells in the set of SCells to be released. [0069] In additional or alternative embodiments, determining to modify the set of SCells includes generating a list indicating an order of SCells to be added to the set of SCells.

[0070] At block 740, processing circuitry 1002 transmits, via communication interface 1006, a message including an indication of a change to the set of SCells. In some embodiments, the transmitting the message includes transmitting the message to a communication device via a CU (e.g., a gNB-CU of a common RAN node). In additional or alternative embodiments, transmitting the message includes transmitting a list indicating an order (e.g., a priority) in which to add and/or release SCells.

[0071 ] At block 750, processing circuitry 1002 receives, via communication interface 1006, a message from the communication device indicating that the communication device modified the set of SCells.

[0072] At block 760, processing circuitry 1002 transmits, via communication interface 1006, an indication to add MAC padding to data. For example, when the communication device does not have enough buffer in UL. In some embodiments, determining to modify the set of SCells includes determining to modify the set of SCells such that a resulting set of SCells includes an intra-band contiguous CA with non-contiguous RB allocations or an intra-band non-contiguous CA. The indication to add MAC padding to data may be transmitted in response to the resulting set of SCells including an intra-band contiguous CA with non-contiguous RB allocations or an intra-band non-contiguous CA

[0073] At block 770, processing circuitry 1002 communicates, via communication interface 1006, with the communication device using a modified version of the set of SCells.

[0074] Various operations illustrated in FIG. 7 may be optional in respect to some embodiments. In some embodiments, blocks 710, 720, 750, and 760 may be optional.

[0075] FIG. 8 shows an example of a communication system 800 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0076] In the example, the communication system 800 includes a telecommunication network 802 that includes an access network 804, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 806, which includes one or more core network nodes 808. The access network 804 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 810a and 81 Ob (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 810), or any other similar 3^rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access node or non-3GPP access point. Moreover, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, the network nodes 810 are not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that the network nodes 810 may include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunication network 802 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network 802 that supports an ORAN specification (e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization) and may operate alone or together with other nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any node in the telecommunication network 802, including one or more network nodes 810 and/or core network nodes 808.

[0077] Examples of an ORAN network node include an open radio unit (O-RU), an open distributed unit (O-DU), an open central unit (O-CU), including an O-CU control plane (O-CU-CP) or an O-CU user plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time or non-real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time RAN control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time RAN automation application (e.g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective “open” designating support of an ORAN specification). The network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an A1 , F1 , W1 , E1 , E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Intents and content-aware notifications described herein may be communicated from a 3GPP network node or an ORAN network node over 3GPP-defined interfaces (e.g., N2, N3) and/or ORAN Alliance-defined interfaces (e.g., A1 , 01 ). Moreover, an ORAN network node may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface defined by the O-RAN Alliance. The network nodes 810 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting wireless devices 812a, 812b, 812c, and 812d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 812) to the core network 806 over one or more wireless connections. The network nodes 810 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 812a, 812b, 812c, and 812d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 812) to the core network 806 over one or more wireless connections.

[0078] Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and/or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and/or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 800 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and/or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and/or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system 800 may include and/or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and/or other similar type of system.

[0079] The UEs 812 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 810 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 810 are arranged, capable, configured, and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 812 and/or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 802 to enable and/or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and/or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunication network 802.

[0080] In the depicted example, the core network 806 connects the network nodes 810 to one or more hosts, such as host 816. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network 806 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 808) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and/or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 808. Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-concealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and/or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0081 ] The host 816 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 804 and/or the telecommunication network 802, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 816 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and prerecorded audio/video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.

[0082] As a whole, the communication system 800 of FIG. 8 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and/or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (WiFi); and/or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and/or any low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[0083] In some examples, the telecommunication network 802 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 802 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 802. For example, the telecommunications network 802 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and/or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC)/Massive loT services to yet further UEs.

[0084] In some examples, the UEs 812 are configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 804 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 804. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi- RAT or multi-standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e. being configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0085] In the example, the hub 814 communicates with the access network 804 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 812c and/or 812d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 810b). In some examples, the hub 814 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 814 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 806 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 814 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs. Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes 810, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 814. As another example, the hub 814 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 814 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 814 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 814 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and/or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 814 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular in if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0086] The hub 814 may have a constant/persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 810b. The hub 814 may also allow for a different communication scheme and/or schedule between the hub 814 and UEs (e.g., UE 812c and/or 812d), and between the hub 814 and the core network 806. In other examples, the hub 814 is connected to the core network 806 and/or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 814 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 804 and/or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 810 while still connected via the hub 814 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 814 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to/from the UEs from/to the network node 810b. In other embodiments, the hub 814 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 810b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and/or end point for certain data channels.

[0087] FIG. 9 shows a UE 900 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and/or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), smart device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded/integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-loT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and/or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0088] A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to-everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and/or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).

[0089] The UE 900 includes processing circuitry 902 that is operatively coupled via a bus 904 to an input/output interface 906, a power source 908, a memory 910, a communication interface 912, and/or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in FIG. 9. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0090] The processing circuitry 902 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 910. The processing circuitry 902 may be implemented as one or more hardware- implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general- purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 902 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs). [0091] In the example, the input/output interface 906 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and/or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into the UE 900. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[0092] In some embodiments, the power source 908 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used. The power source 908 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 908 itself, and/or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 900 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 908. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 908 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 900 to which power is supplied.

[0093] The memory 910 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 910 includes one or more application programs 914, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 916. The memory 910 may store, for use by the UE 900, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0094] The memory 910 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and/or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUlCC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’ The memory 910 may allow the UE 900 to access instructions, application programs and the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 910, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0095] The processing circuitry 902 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 912. The communication interface 912 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 922. The communication interface 912 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 918 and/or a receiver 920 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 918 and receiver 920 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 922) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0096] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 912 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, nearfield communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented in according to one or more communication protocols and/or standards, such as IEEE 802.11 , Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0097] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 912, via a wireless connection to a network node. Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0098] As another example, a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0099] A UE, when in the form of an Internet of Things (loT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door/window sensor, a flood/moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a head-mounted display for Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR), a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an loT device comprises circuitry and/or software in dependence of the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE 900 shown in FIG. 9.

[0100] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and/or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and/or measurements to another UE and/or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-loT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and/or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0101] In practice, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g. by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed. The first and/or the second UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.

[0102] FIG. 10 shows a network node 1000 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and/or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunication network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs), NR NodeBs (gNBs)), O-RAN nodes, or components of an O-RAN node (e.g., intelligent controller, O-RU, O-DU, O-CU).

[0103] Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units and/or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0104] Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell/multicast coordination entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, SelfOrganizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and/or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).

[0105] The network node 1000 includes a processing circuitry 1002, a memory 1004, a communication interface 1006, and a power source 1008. The network node 1000 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which the network node 1000 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 1000 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 1004 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 1010 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 1000 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 1000, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 1000.

[0106] The processing circuitry 1002 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and/or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 1000 components, such as the memory 1004, to provide network node 1000 functionality. [0107] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1002 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1002 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1012 and baseband processing circuitry 1014. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1012 and the baseband processing circuitry 1014 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 1012 and baseband processing circuitry 1014 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0108] The memory 1004 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid- state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or nonvolatile, non-transitory device-readable and/or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and/or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 1002. The memory 1004 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and/or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry 1002 and utilized by the network node 1000. The memory 1004 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 1002 and/or any data received via the communication interface 1006. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1002 and memory 1004 is integrated. [0109] The communication interface 1006 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and/or data between a network node, access network, and/or UE. As illustrated, the communication interface 1006 comprises port(s)/terminal(s) 1016 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 1006 also includes radio front-end circuitry 1018 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 1010. Radio front-end circuitry 1018 comprises filters 1020 and amplifiers 1022. The radio front-end circuitry 1018 may be connected to an antenna 1010 and processing circuitry 1002. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 1010 and processing circuitry 1002. The radio front-end circuitry 1018 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 1018 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 1020 and/or amplifiers 1022. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 1010. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 1010 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 1018. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 1002. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components.

[0110] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 1000 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 1018, instead, the processing circuitry 1002 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 1010. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 1012 is part of the communication interface 1006. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 1006 includes one or more ports or terminals 1016, the radio front-end circuitry 1018, and the RF transceiver circuitry 1012, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 1006 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 1014, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0111] The antenna 1010 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals. The antenna 1010 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 1018 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and/or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 1010 is separate from the network node 1000 and connectable to the network node 1000 through an interface or port.

[0112] The antenna 1010, communication interface 1006, and/or the processing circuitry 1002 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and/or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and/or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 1010, the communication interface 1006, and/or the processing circuitry 1002 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and/or any other network equipment. [0113] The power source 1008 provides power to the various components of network node 1000 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 1008 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 1000 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 1000 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 1008. As a further example, the power source 1008 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.

[0114] Embodiments of the network node 1000 may include additional components beyond those shown in FIG. 10 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and/or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 1000 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 1000 and to allow output of information from the network node 1000. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 1000. [0115] FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a host 1100, which may be an embodiment of the host 816 of FIG. 8, in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, the host 1100 may be or comprise various combinations hardware and/or software, including a standalone server, a blade server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, a virtual machine, container, or processing resources in a server farm. The host 1100 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs. [0116] The host 1100 includes processing circuitry 1102 that is operatively coupled via a bus 1104 to an input/output interface 1106, a network interface 1108, a power source 1110, and a memory 1112. Other components may be included in other embodiments. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the devices of previous figures, such as Figures 9 and 10, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of host 1100. [0117] The memory 1112 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs 1114 and data 1116, which may include user data, e.g., data generated by a UE for the host 1100 or data generated by the host 1100 for a UE. Embodiments of the host 1100 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. The host application programs 1114 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding (VVC), High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), Advanced Video Coding (AVC), MPEG, VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., FLAC, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MPEG, G.711), including transcoding for multiple different classes, types, or implementations of UEs (e.g., handsets, desktop computers, wearable display systems, heads-up display systems). The host application programs 1114 may also provide for user authentication and licensing checks and may periodically report health, routes, and content availability to a central node, such as a device in or on the edge of a core network. Accordingly, the host 1100 may select and/or indicate a different host for over-the-top services for a UE. The host application programs 1114 may support various protocols, such as the HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) protocol, Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (MPEG-DASH), etc.

[0118] FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 1200 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 1200 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment 1200 includes components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an 0-2 interface.

[0119] Applications 1202 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment Q400 to implement some of the features, functions, and/or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0120] Hardware 1204 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and/or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and/or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input/output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 1206 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 1208a and 1208b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 1208), and/or perform any of the functions, features and/or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 1206 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 1208.

[0121] The VMs 1208 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1206. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 1202 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 1208, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.

[0122] In the context of NFV, a VM 1208 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, nonvirtualized machine. Each of the VMs 1208, and that part of hardware 1204 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and/or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs 1208 on top of the hardware 1204 and corresponds to the application 1202. [0123] Hardware 1204 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 1204 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 1204 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g. such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 1210, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 1202. In some embodiments, hardware 1204 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 1212 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0124] FIG. 13 shows a communication diagram of a host 1302 communicating via a network node 1304 with a UE 1306 over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments. Example implementations, in accordance with various embodiments, of the UE (such as a UE 812a of FIG. 8 and/or UE 900 of FIG. 9), network node (such as network node 810a of FIG. 8 and/or network node 1000 of FIG. 10), and host (such as host 816 of FIG. 8 and/or host 1100 of FIG. 11 ) discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to FIG. 13.

[0125] Like host 1100, embodiments of host 1302 include hardware, such as a communication interface, processing circuitry, and memory. The host 1302 also includes software, which is stored in or accessible by the host 1302 and executable by the processing circuitry. The software includes a host application that may be operable to provide a service to a remote user, such as the UE 1306 connecting via an over-the-top (OTT) connection 1350 extending between the UE 1306 and host 1302. In providing the service to the remote user, a host application may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 1350.

[0126] The network node 1304 includes hardware enabling it to communicate with the host 1302 and UE 1306. The connection 1360 may be direct or pass through a core network (like core network 806 of FIG. 8) and/or one or more other intermediate networks, such as one or more public, private, or hosted networks. For example, an intermediate network may be a backbone network or the Internet. [0127] The UE 1306 includes hardware and software, which is stored in or accessible by UE 1306 and executable by the UE’s processing circuitry. The software includes a client application, such as a web browser or operator-specific “app” that may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via UE 1306 with the support of the host 1302. In the host 1302, an executing host application may communicate with the executing client application via the OTT connection 1350 terminating at the UE 1306 and host 1302. In providing the service to the user, the UE's client application may receive request data from the host's host application and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 1350 may transfer both the request data and the user data. The UE's client application may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides to the host application through the OTT connection 1350.

[0128] The OTT connection 1350 may extend via a connection 1360 between the host 1302 and the network node 1304 and via a wireless connection 1370 between the network node 1304 and the UE 1306 to provide the connection between the host 1302 and the UE 1306. The connection 1360 and wireless connection 1370, over which the OTT connection 1350 may be provided, have been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host 1302 and the UE 1306 via the network node 1304, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices.

[0129] As an example of transmitting data via the OTT connection 1350, in step 1308, the host 1302 provides user data, which may be performed by executing a host application. In some embodiments, the user data is associated with a particular human user interacting with the UE 1306. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with a UE 1306 that shares data with the host 1302 without explicit human interaction. In step 1310, the host 1302 initiates a transmission carrying the user data towards the UE 1306. The host 1302 may initiate the transmission responsive to a request transmitted by the UE 1306. The request may be caused by human interaction with the UE 1306 or by operation of the client application executing on the UE 1306. The transmission may pass via the network node 1304, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. Accordingly, in step 1312, the network node 1304 transmits to the UE 1306 the user data that was carried in the transmission that the host 1302 initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 1314, the UE 1306 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be performed by a client application executed on the UE 1306 associated with the host application executed by the host 1302.

[0130] In some examples, the UE 1306 executes a client application which provides user data to the host 1302. The user data may be provided in reaction or response to the data received from the host 1302. Accordingly, in step 1316, the UE 1306 may provide user data, which may be performed by executing the client application. In providing the user data, the client application may further consider user input received from the user via an input/output interface of the UE 1306. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided, the UE 1306 initiates, in step 1318, transmission of the user data towards the host 1302 via the network node 1304. In step 1320, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the network node 1304 receives user data from the UE 1306 and initiates transmission of the received user data towards the host 1302. In step 1322, the host 1302 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the UE 1306.

[0131] One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 1306 using the OTT connection 1350, in which the wireless connection 1370 forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve user experience since the UE may transmit at a higher power when in bad coverage, which may improve the power consumption efficiency of the UE.

[0132] In an example scenario, factory status information may be collected and analyzed by the host 1302. As another example, the host 1302 may process audio and video data which may have been retrieved from a UE for use in creating maps. As another example, the host 1302 may collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicle congestion (e.g., controlling traffic lights). As another example, the host 1302 may store surveillance video uploaded by a UE. As another example, the host 1302 may store or control access to media content such as video, audio, VR or AR which it can broadcast, multicast or unicast to UEs. As other examples, the host 1302 may be used for energy pricing, remote control of non-time critical electrical load to balance power generation needs, location services, presentation services (such as compiling diagrams etc. from data collected from remote devices), or any other function of collecting, retrieving, storing, analyzing and/or transmitting data.

[0133] In some examples, a measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve. There may further be an optional network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 1350 between the host 1302 and UE 1306, in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and/or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection may be implemented in software and hardware of the host 1302 and/or UE 1306. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with other devices through which the OTT connection 1350 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or supplying values of other physical quantities from which software may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of the OTT connection 1350 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not directly alter the operation of the network node 1304. Such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling that facilitates measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency and the like, by the host 1302. The measurements may be implemented in that software causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTT connection 1350 while monitoring propagation times, errors, etc.

[0134] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and/or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and/or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and/or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0135] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and/or by end users and a wireless network generally.

Claims

Claims What is Claimed is:

1 . A method of operating a network node in a communications network, the method comprising: determining (730) to modify a set of secondary cells, SCells, used for communication between a communication device and the communications network based on a channel condition and/or bandwidth associated with a SCell; and responsive to determining to modify the set of SCells, transmitting (740) a message including an indication of a change to the set of SCells.

2. The method of Claim 1 , wherein determining to modify the set of SCells comprises determining to add the SCell to the set of SCells.

3. The method of Claim 1 , wherein determining to modify the set of SCells comprises determining to release the SCell from the set of SCells.

4. The method of any of Claims 1 -3, wherein determining to modify the set of SCells comprises determining to modify the set of SCells based on at least one of: whether the SCell is configured for only downlink, DL, communication; and whether the SCell is configured for only uplink, UL, communication.

5. The method of any of Claims 1 -4, wherein determining to modify the set of SCells comprises determining to modify the set of SCells based on at least one of: a DL bandwidth associated with the SCell; and a UL bandwidth associated with the SCell.

6. The method of any of Claims 1 -5, wherein determining to modify the set of SCells comprises determining to modify the set of SCells based on a channel state information, CSI, associated with the SCell.

7. The method of any of Claims 1 -6, wherein determining to modify the set of SCells comprises determining to modify the set of SCells based on the SCell being part of a combination of SCells that produces a maximum cumulative aggregated bandwidth, CABW, for a value of maximum power reduction, MPR, gain required by the communication device.

8. The method of Claim 7, further comprising: determining (720) the MPR gain required by the communication device based on the channel condition associated with the communication device.

9. The method of any of Claims 1 -8, wherein determining to modify the set of SCells comprises determining to modify the set of SCells based on the SCell being part of an end of a bandwidth spectrum associated with the set of SCells.

10. The method of any of Claims 1 -9, wherein determining to modify the set of SCells comprises determining to modify the set of SCells based on a capability of the communication device associated with a supported Bandwidth combination of SCells.

11 . The method of any of Claims 1 -10, wherein the network node is a distributed unit, DU.

12. The method of Claim 11 , wherein transmitting the message comprises transmitting the message to the communication device via a central unit, CU.

13. The method of any of Claims 1 -12, wherein determining to modify the set of SCells comprises generating a list indicating an order of SCells in the set of SCells to be released.

14. The method of any of Claims 1 -13, wherein determining to modify the set of SCells comprises generating a list indicating an order of SCells to be added to the set of SCells.

15. The method of any of Claims 13-14, wherein transmitting the message comprises transmitting the list.

16. The method of any of Claims 1 -15, wherein determining to modify the set of SCells comprises determining to modify the set of SCells such that a resulting set of SCells includes an intra-band contiguous carrier aggregation, CA, with noncontiguous resource block, RB, allocations the method further comprising: transmitting (760) an indication to add media access control, MAC, padding to data when the communication device does not have enough buffer in uplink.

17. The method of any of Claims 1 -15, wherein determining to modify the set of SCells comprises determining to modify the set of SCells such that a resulting set of SCells includes an intra-band non-contiguous carrier aggregation, CA, the method further comprising: transmitting (760) an indication to add media access control, MAC, padding to data when the communication device does not have enough buffer in uplink.

18. The method of any of Claims 1 -17, further comprising: determining (710) that the communication device is in poor coverage, wherein determining to modify the set of SCells comprises responsive to determining that the communication device is in poor coverage, determining to modify the set of SCells by releasing the SCell from the set of SCells.

19. The method of any of Claims 1 -17, further comprising: determining (710) that the communication device is in good coverage, wherein determining to modify the set of SCells comprises responsive to determining that the communication device is in good coverage, determining to modify the set of SCells by adding the SCell to the set of SCells.

20. The method of any of Claims 1 -19, wherein the message is a first message, the method further comprising: receiving (750) a second message from the communication device indicating that the communication device modified the set of SCells.

21 . The method of any of Claims 1 -20, further comprising: responsive to transmitting the message, communicating (770) with the communication device using a modified version of the set of SCells.

22. A network node (1000) operating in a communications network, the network node adapted to perform operations comprising any of the operations of Claims 1 - 21.

23. A network node (1000) operating in a communications network, the network node comprising: processing circuitry (1002); and memory (1004) coupled to the processing circuitry and having instructions stored therein that are executable by the processing circuitry to cause the network node to perform operations comprising any of the operations of Claims 1 -21 .

24. A computer program comprising program code to be executed by processing circuitry (1002) of a network node (1000) operating in a communications network, whereby execution of the program code causes the network node to perform operations comprising any operations of Claims 1-21 .

25. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory storage medium (1004) including program code to be executed by processing circuitry (1002) of a network node (1000) operating in a communications network, whereby execution of the program code causes the network node to perform operations comprising any operations of Claims 1-21 .

26. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored therein that are executable by processing circuitry (1002) of a network node (1000) operating in a communications network to cause the network node to perform operations comprising any of the operations of Claims 1-21.