METHOD AND TERMINAL DEVICE FOR MEASUREMENT CONTROL

A method and a terminal device are disclosed for measurement control. According to an embodiment, the terminal device detects, for a cell that is shared by two operators and to be measured by the terminal device, whether frequency bands used by the two operators for the cell are overlapped. When detecting that frequency bands used by the two operators for the cell are overlapped, the terminal device performs measurement on a reference signal from one of the two operators at least at the overlapped portion of the frequency bands. The terminal device reports information about a result of the measurement to the two operators.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the disclosure generally relate to wireless communication, and, more particularly, to a method and a terminal device for measurement control.

BACKGROUND

From analog through long term evolution (LTE), each generation of mobile technology has been motivated by the need to address the challenges not overcome by its predecessor. The 5th generation (5G) of mobile technology is positioned to address the demands and business beyond LTE. It is expected to enable a fully mobile and connected society, related to the tremendous growth in connectivity and density/volume of traffic that will be required in the near future.

China Telecom and China Unicom have reached a tentative agreement to jointly build a 5G network and share network infrastructure. It is possible that China Mobile may join them. The three Chinese operators co-own a tower company, China Tower Corp, which would make it easier for them to collaborate on building out all the thousands of base stations necessary for a new 5G network in China.

Generally speaking, there are various forms of network sharing, including: mast/site sharing where mobile operators use the same tower sites to co-locate equipments, but otherwise everything else is separate; radio access network (RAN) sharing where operators share all the equipments in the network as far back as the base station controller/radio network controller; and network roaming where competing operators agree to host one another's customers on their networks in certain geographic areas. The above first and third items are mainly impacted by business negotiation, while the second one may be implemented in different manners.

FIG.1shows two exemplary sharing scenarios for the above second item. The multi-operator core network (MOCN) defines that individual core networks are possessed by different operators, while the hardware (HW), software (SW), radio resource at radio and base band are totally shared in the manner of a predefined percentage. Multi-operator RAN (MORAN) defines that core networks and cells are separated for different operators, while radio and base band are partially or completely shared in the manner of a predefined percentage.

Furthermore, for the initial stage of 5G new radio (NR) deployment, one of most typical configuration for NR is to share spectrum resources or partially share spectrum resources with 4th generation (4G) network with the help of mix mode radio. With more and more user equipments (UEs) phasing out from 4G network and more and more UEs emerging in 5G network, spectrum resources will gradually shift from 4G to 5G, which can flexibly balance near term and long term network requirements. For example, the table below shows a configuration that China Mobile Communications Group Co., Ltd (CMCC) suggested for 2020 NR rollout. In this configuration, there will be 40 MHz spectrum shared with LTE.

SUMMARY

One of the objects of the disclosure is to provide an improved solution for measurement control.

According to a first aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a method performed by a terminal device. The method may comprise detecting, for a cell that is shared by two operators and to be measured by the terminal device, whether frequency bands used by the two operators for the cell are overlapped. The method may further comprise, when detecting that frequency bands used by the two operators for the cell are overlapped, performing measurement on a reference signal from one of the two operators at least at the overlapped portion of the frequency bands. The method may further comprise reporting information about a result of the measurement to the two operators.

In this way, the power consumption at the terminal device can be reduced.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the cell to be measured by the terminal device may be a cell serving the terminal device, or a neighboring cell of the cell serving the terminal device.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the method may further comprise determining whether a same neighboring cell is to be measured for the two operators. The method may further comprise, when determining that a same neighboring cell is to be measured for the two operators, performing measurement on the same neighboring cell only one time. The method may further comprise reporting information indicating the same result of the measurement to the two operators.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the two frequency bands may be the same with each other. The measurement may be performed at the same frequency band. The information sent to the two operators may indicate the same result of the measurement.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the frequency bands may be a first frequency band used by a first operator and a second frequency band used by a second operator, and the overlapped portion of the frequency bands may be the second frequency band. The measurement may be performed at the first frequency band. The information sent to the second operator may indicate part of the result of the measurement corresponding to the second frequency band.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the two frequency bands may be staggered from each other with a portion overlapped therebetween. The measurement may be performed at the overlapped portion. The information sent to the two operators may contain the same result of the measurement.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, discontinuous reception (DRX) periods of the two operators may be completely overlapped with each other. The measurement may be performed at one of measurement opportunities for the two operators, which is closest to the earliest one of reporting occasions for the two operators.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the frequency bands may be a first frequency band used by a first operator and a second frequency band used by a second operator, and a second DRX period of the second operator may fall within a first DRX period of the first operator. The measurement may be performed at a measurement opportunity for the second operator, without using measurement opportunity for the first operator.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, DRX periods of the two operators may be staggered from each other with a portion overlapped therebetween. The measurement may be performed at a measurement opportunity for one of the two operators whose DRX period starts earlier.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, detecting whether the frequency bands are overlapped may comprise obtaining, from a server, information about radio and spectrum sharing. Detecting whether the frequency bands are overlapped may comprise determining whether the frequency bands are overlapped based on the obtained information.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, detecting whether the frequency bands are overlapped may comprise determining a first channel matrix of a first channel for a first operator, based on measurement on the reference signal carried by the first channel. Detecting whether the frequency bands are overlapped may comprise determining a second channel matrix of a second channel for a second operator, based on measurement on the reference signal carried by the second channel. Detecting whether the frequency bands are overlapped may comprise determining whether the two channels are the same channel based on the two channel matrixes.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, determining whether the two channels are the same channel based on the two channel matrixes may comprise calculating a product between the first channel matrix and a conjugate transpose matrix of the second channel matrix. Determining whether the two channels are the same channel based on the two channel matrixes may comprise calculating a ratio between a sum of powers of diagonal elements of the product and a sum of powers of all elements of the product. Determining whether the two channels are the same channel based on the two channel matrixes may comprise, when the ratio is above a predetermined threshold, determining that the two channels are the same channel.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the reference signal may be a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) or a tracking reference signal (TRS).

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the method may further comprise providing user data and forwarding the user data to a host computer via the transmission to a base station.

According to a second aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a terminal device. The terminal device may comprise at least one processor and at least one memory. The at least one memory may contain instructions executable by the at least one processor, whereby the terminal device may be operative to detect, for a cell that is shared by two operators and to be measured by the terminal device, whether frequency bands used by the two operators for the cell are overlapped. The terminal device may be further operative to, when detecting that frequency bands used by the two operators for the cell are overlapped, perform measurement on a reference signal from one of the two operators at least at the overlapped portion of the frequency bands. The terminal device may be further operative to report information about a result of the measurement to the two operators.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the cell to be measured by the terminal device may be a cell serving the terminal device, or a neighboring cell of the cell serving the terminal device.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the instructions may be executable by the at least one processor, whereby the terminal device may be further operative to determine whether a same neighboring cell is to be measured for the two operators. The terminal device may be further operative to, when determining that a same neighboring cell is to be measured for the two operators, perform measurement on the same neighboring cell only one time. The terminal device may be further operative to report information indicating the same result of the measurement to the two operators.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the two frequency bands may be the same with each other. The measurement may be performed at the same frequency band. The information sent to the two operators may indicate the same result of the measurement.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the frequency bands may be a first frequency band used by a first operator and a second frequency band used by a second operator, and the overlapped portion of the frequency bands may be the second frequency band. The measurement may be performed at the first frequency band. The information sent to the second operator may indicate part of the result of the measurement corresponding to the second frequency band.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the two frequency bands may be staggered from each other with a portion overlapped therebetween. The measurement may be performed at the overlapped portion. The information sent to the two operators may contain the same result of the measurement.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, DRX periods of the two operators may be completely overlapped with each other. The measurement may be performed at one of measurement opportunities for the two operators, which is closest to the earliest one of reporting occasions for the two operators.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the frequency bands may be a first frequency band used by a first operator and a second frequency band used by a second operator, and a second DRX period of the second operator may fall within a first DRX period of the first operator. The measurement may be performed at a measurement opportunity for the second operator, without using measurement opportunity for the first operator.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, DRX periods of the two operators may be staggered from each other with a portion overlapped therebetween. The measurement may be performed at a measurement opportunity for one of the two operators whose DRX period starts earlier.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the instructions may be executable by the at least one processor, whereby the terminal device may be operative to detect whether the frequency bands are overlapped by obtaining, from a server, information about radio and spectrum sharing. The terminal device may be operative to detect whether the frequency bands are overlapped by determining whether the frequency bands are overlapped based on the obtained information.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the instructions may be executable by the at least one processor, whereby the terminal device may be operative to detect whether the frequency bands are overlapped by determining a first channel matrix of a first channel for a first operator, based on measurement on the reference signal carried by the first channel. The terminal device may be operative to detect whether the frequency bands are overlapped by determining a second channel matrix of a second channel for a second operator, based on measurement on the reference signal carried by the second channel. The terminal device may be operative to detect whether the frequency bands are overlapped by determining whether the two channels are the same channel based on the two channel matrixes.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the instructions may be executable by the at least one processor, whereby the terminal device may be operative to determine whether the two channels are the same channel based on the two channel matrixes by calculating a product between the first channel matrix and a conjugate transpose matrix of the second channel matrix. The terminal device may be operative to determine whether the two channels are the same channel based on the two channel matrixes by calculating a ratio between a sum of powers of diagonal elements of the product and a sum of powers of all elements of the product. The terminal device may be operative to determine whether the two channels are the same channel based on the two channel matrixes by, when the ratio is above a predetermined threshold, determining that the two channels are the same channel.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the reference signal may be a CSI-RS or a TRS.

According to a third aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a computer program product. The computer program product may comprise instructions which when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform the method according to the above first aspect.

According to a fourth aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a computer readable storage medium. The computer readable storage medium may comprise instructions which when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform the method according to the above first aspect.

According to a fifth aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a terminal device. The terminal device may comprise a detection module for detecting, for a cell that is shared by two operators and to be measured by the terminal device, whether frequency bands used by the two operators for the cell are overlapped. The terminal device may further comprise a measurement module for, when detecting that frequency bands used by the two operators for the cell are overlapped, performing measurement on a reference signal from one of the two operators at least at the overlapped portion of the frequency bands. The terminal device may further comprise a reporting module for reporting information about a result of the measurement to the two operators.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For the purpose of explanation, details are set forth in the following description in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments disclosed. It is apparent, however, to those skilled in the art that the embodiments may be implemented without these specific details or with an equivalent arrangement.

As a cell is shared by multiple operators and a UE may be equipped with multiple subscriber identity module (SIM) cards and connected to those multiple operators, RAN views this UE as multiple individual UEs and individually configures measurements. Then, the UE must do double or even triple measurements for the same cell or even the same reference signals. This causes unnecessary power consumption at the UE which is quite critical for mobile users.

The present disclosure proposes an improved solution for measurement control. The solution may be applied to a communication system including a terminal device and an access network node. For example, the access network node may be a base station such as a next generation node base station (gNB) in NR. The terminal device can communicate through a radio access communication link with the base station. The base station can provide radio access communication links to terminal devices that are within its communication service cell. Note that the communications may be performed between the terminal device and the base station according to any suitable communication standards and protocols.

The terminal device may also be referred to as, for example, device, access terminal, user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile unit, subscriber station, or the like. It may refer to any end device that can access a wireless communication network and receive services therefrom. By way of example and not limitation, the terminal device may include a portable computer, an image capture terminal device such as a digital camera, a gaming terminal device, a music storage and playback appliance, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a tablet, a wearable device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), or the like.

In an Internet of things (IoT) scenario, a terminal device 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 terminal device and/or a network equipment. In this case, the terminal device may be a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, which may, in a 3GPP context, be referred to as a machine-type communication (MTC) device. Particular examples of such machines or devices may include sensors, metering devices such as power meters, industrial machineries, bikes, vehicles, or home or personal appliances, e.g. refrigerators, televisions, personal wearables such as watches, and so on.

Hereinafter, the solution will be described in detail with reference toFIGS.2-16.FIG.2is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented at a terminal device according to an embodiment of the disclosure. At block202, the terminal device detects, for a cell that is shared by two operators and to be measured by the terminal device, whether frequency bands (or operating bands) used by the two operators for the cell are overlapped. In other words, the terminal device detects whether the cell is shared by different operators at the same or partially overlapped frequency band. Block202is performed in consideration of the fact that when the terminal device is equipped with the two operators' SIM cards, it cannot explicitly know whether a cell is shared by the two operators in the mode of MOCN, dynamic spectrum sharing or even a mixed scenario, and it also cannot explicitly know whether the signals for different operators are coming from one radio. The cell to be measured by the terminal device may be a cell serving the terminal device, or a neighboring cell of the cell serving the terminal device. Note that it is possible for the cell to be shared by more than two operators. In this case, the “two operators” described in block202may refer to any two of the multiple operators.

As an option, block202may be implemented as blocks308-310ofFIG.3A. At block308, the terminal device obtains, from a server, information about radio and spectrum sharing. For example, such information (e.g. the base stations shared by multiple operators, the corresponding spectrums, etc.) may be available publicly through the server. The terminal device may obtain such information from the server through an application software, for example. At block310, the terminal device determines whether the frequency bands are overlapped based on the obtained information. This determination may be made since the terminal device can be explicitly aware of such deployment of radio and spectrum sharing. For example,FIG.5illustrates different cases of frequency band overlapping. In case A, the two frequency bands are the same with each other. In case B, the overlapped portion of the frequency bands is the second frequency band. In case C, the two frequency bands are staggered from each other with a portion overlapped therebetween.

As another option, block202may be implemented as blocks312-316ofFIG.3B. At block312, the terminal device determines a first channel matrix (denoted as H1) of a first channel for a first operator, based on measurement on a reference signal carried by the first channel. At block314, the terminal device determines a second channel matrix (denoted as H2) of a second channel for a second operator, based on measurement on the reference signal carried by the second channel. For example, as the terminal device is connected to the two operators, it may be configured by radio resource control (RRC) (re)configurations and measurement configurations from the two operators, respectively. With the RRC (re)configuration, the terminal device may know the channel carrying the reference signal to be measured. The reference signal may be a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) or a tracking reference signal (TRS). At block316, the terminal device determines whether the two channels are the same channel based on the two channel matrixes. If the two channels are the same channel, it may be determined that frequency bands used by the two operators for the cell are overlapped. If the two channels are not the same channel, it means they are experiencing different fading. For example, blocks312-316may be performed periodically to evaluate the similarity between the channels.

As an exemplary example, block316may be implemented as blocks418-422ofFIG.4. At block418, the terminal device calculates a product between the first channel matrix and a conjugate transpose matrix of the second channel matrix. This may be denoted as A=H1H2H. At block420, the terminal device calculates a ratio between a sum (denoted as Pd) of powers of diagonal elements of the product and a sum (denoted as P) of powers of all elements of the product. When the ratio (denoted as Pd/P) is above (greater than or equal to) a predetermined threshold, the terminal device determines that the two channels are the same channel at block422. The threshold may be determined by considering various factors of the system. Simulations may be done to evaluate the performance loss against different values of the threshold to determine a proper value. Note that there might be some delay between the two channels. It has been proven in field that the timing tolerance for relatively static terminal device is up to 20 ms. Also note that various existing techniques for evaluating the similarity between matrixes may be used instead.

Referring back toFIG.2, when detecting that frequency bands used by the two operators for the cell are overlapped, the terminal device performs measurement on a reference signal from one of the two operators at least at the overlapped portion of the frequency bands at block204. At block206, the terminal device reports information about a result of the measurement to the two operators. With the measurement configuration described above, the terminal device may know what measurement result needed to be reported and when to report such result to the corresponding operator. For example, the measurement on the CSI-RS may be used for generating a CSI report which helps the base station's downlink transmission. The measurement on the CSI-RS may also be optionally used for helping the terminal device and the base station to do radio link monitoring. It may also be optionally used by the base station for sending handover command to the terminal device. The measurement on the TRS may help the terminal device to adjust time/frequency of the terminal device.

In the method shown inFIG.2, since the reference signal from one of the two operators is measured and the result is reused for measurement reporting, the power consumption at the terminal device can be reduced. If the two operators share the same radio, 50% power saving at maximum can be expected from the perspectives of measurements and control channel monitoring. These two factors dominant the power saving of the terminal device in cases of non-heavy data traffic.

Blocks204and206may be performed depending on different cases of frequency band overlapping. For example, in case A ofFIG.5, since the two frequency bands are the same with each other, the measurement is performed at the same frequency band at block204and the information sent to the two operators at block206indicate the same result of the measurement. In other words, the terminal device may do only one measurement for multiple operators and reuse the same measurement for all. In case B ofFIG.5, since the overlapped portion of the frequency bands is the second frequency band, the measurement is performed at the first frequency band at block204and the information sent to the second operator at block206indicates part of the result of the measurement corresponding to the second frequency band. In other words, the terminal device may do measurement for the operator with the widest band and then extract the measurement result for the one with smaller band. In case C ofFIG.5, since the two frequency bands are staggered from each other with a portion overlapped therebetween, the measurement is performed at the overlapped portion at block204and the information sent to the two operators at block206contains the same result of the measurement. In other words, the terminal device may do only one measurement for the partial band overlapped by multiple operators.

Blocks204and206may also be performed depending on different cases of DRX configurations. The DRX configurations may be obtained from the RRC (re)configurations described above. For example, in case 1 ofFIG.6, DRX periods of the two operators are completely overlapped with each other. In this case, the measurement is performed at one of measurement opportunities for the two operators, which is closest to the earliest one of reporting occasions for the two operators.FIG.7illustrates an example for the case of periodic CSI reporting. As shown, CSI reporting occasions from different operators may be grouped and the earliest one may be taken. In addition, only the closest measurement opportunity prior to the earliest reporting occasion may be employed. As a result, the terminal device may ignore the measurement opportunities between the last CSI reporting and the measurement opportunity employed.

In case 2 ofFIG.6, the second DRX period of the second operator falls within the first DRX period of the first operator For example, the first DRX period may be a multiple of the second DRX period. In this case, since the measurement reporting for the second operator needs to be more frequent than the first operator, the measurement is performed at a measurement opportunity for the second operator, without using measurement opportunity for the first operator. In case 3 ofFIG.6, DRX periods of the two operators are staggered from each other with a portion overlapped therebetween. In this case, the measurement is performed at a measurement opportunity for one of the two operators whose DRX period starts earlier. In this way, the measurement result obtained earlier for one operator may be reused for the other operator. Note that the above case 1 to case 3 inFIG.6may apply to case A and case C inFIG.5. For case B, the measurement opportunity for the first operator is always used for performing the measurement.

FIG.8is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented at a terminal device according to another embodiment of the disclosure. As shown, the method comprises blocks202-206and824-828. Blocks202-206have been described above and its details are omitted here. At block824, the terminal device determines whether a same neighboring cell is to be measured for the two operators. Note that there may be one or more same neighboring cells to be measured for the two operators. This determination may be performed according to the carrier bands of neighboring cells. When determining that a same neighboring cell is to be measured for the two operators, the terminal device performs measurement on the same neighboring cell only one time at block820. The measurement may comprise inter-frequency cell measurement and intra-frequency cell measurement. In the case of inter-frequency cell measurement, the measurement gap, measurement period and measurement offset may be obtained from the RRC (re)configuration described above. The measurement result obtained in a measurement gap for one operator may be reused for the other operator. At block822, the terminal device reports information indicating the same result of the measurement to the two operators. With the method ofFIG.8, the power consumption at the terminal device can be further reduced.

FIG.9is a block diagram showing an apparatus suitable for use in practicing some embodiments of the disclosure. For example, the access network node described above may be implemented through the apparatus900. As shown, the apparatus900may include a processor910, a memory920that stores a program, and optionally a communication interface930for communicating data with other external devices through wired and/or wireless communication.

The program includes program instructions that, when executed by the processor910, enable the apparatus900to operate in accordance with the embodiments of the present disclosure, as discussed above. That is, the embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented at least in part by computer software executable by the processor910, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware.

The memory920may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor based memory devices, flash memories, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memories and removable memories. The processor910may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment, and may include one or more of general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on multi-core processor architectures, as non-limiting examples.

FIG.10is a block diagram showing a terminal device according to an embodiment of the disclosure. As shown, the terminal device1000comprises a detection module1002, a measurement module1004and a reporting module1006. The detection module1002may be configured to detect, for a cell that is shared by two operators and to be measured by the terminal device, whether frequency bands used by the two operators for the cell are overlapped, as described above with respect to block202. The measurement module1004may be configured to, when detecting that frequency bands used by the two operators for the cell are overlapped, perform measurement on a reference signal from one of the two operators at least at the overlapped portion of the frequency bands, as described above with respect to block204. The reporting module1006may be configured to report information about a result of the measurement to the two operators, as described above with respect to block206. The modules described above may be implemented by hardware, or software, or a combination of both.

Telecommunication network3210is itself connected to host computer3230, which may be embodied in the hardware and/or software of a standalone server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server or as processing resources in a server farm. Host computer3230may be under the ownership or control of a service provider, or may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. Connections3221and3222between telecommunication network3210and host computer3230may extend directly from core network3214to host computer3230or may go via an optional intermediate network3220. Intermediate network3220may be one of, or a combination of more than one of, a public, private or hosted network; intermediate network3220, if any, may be a backbone network or the Internet; in particular, intermediate network3220may comprise wo or more sub-networks (not shown).

The communication system ofFIG.11as a whole enables connectivity between the connected UEs3291,3292and host computer3230. The connectivity may be described as an over-the-top (OTT) connection3250. Host computer3230and the connected UEs3291,3292are configured to communicate data and/or signaling via OTT connection3250, using access network3211, core network3214, any intermediate network3220and possible further infrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries. OTT connection3250may be transparent in the sense that the participating communication devices through which OTT connection3250passes are unaware of routing of uplink and downlink communications. For example, base station3212may not or need not be informed about the past routing of an incoming downlink communication with data originating from host computer3230to be forwarded (e.g., handed over) to a connected UE3291. Similarly, base station3212need not be aware of the future routing of an outgoing uplink communication originating from the UE3291towards the host computer3230.

Example implementations, in accordance with an embodiment, of the UE, base station and host computer discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference toFIG.12. In communication system3300, host computer3310comprises hardware3315including communication interface3316configured to set up and maintain a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of communication system3300. Host computer3310further comprises processing circuitry3318, which may have storage and/or processing capabilities. In particular, processing circuitry3318may comprise one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. Host computer3310further comprises software3311, which is stored in or accessible by host computer3310and executable by processing circuitry3318. Software3311includes host application3312. Host application3312may be operable to provide a service to a remote user, such as UE3330connecting via OTT connection3350terminating at UE3330and host computer3310. In providing the service to the remote user, host application3312may provide user data which is transmitted using OTT connection3350.

Communication system3300further includes base station3320provided in a telecommunication system and comprising hardware3325enabling it to communicate with host computer3310and with UE3330. Hardware3325may include communication interface3326for setting up and maintaining a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of communication system3300, as well as radio interface3327for setting up and maintaining at least wireless connection3370with UE3330located in a coverage area (not shown inFIG.12) served by base station3320. Communication interface3326may be configured to facilitate connection3360to host computer3310. Connection3360may be direct or it may pass through a core network (not shown inFIG.12) of the telecommunication system and/or through one or more intermediate networks outside the telecommunication system. In the embodiment shown, hardware3325of base station3320further includes processing circuitry3328, which may comprise one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. Base station3320further has software3321stored internally or accessible via an external connection.

Communication system3300further includes UE3330already referred to. Its hardware3335may include radio interface3337configured to set up and maintain wireless connection3370with a base station serving a coverage area in which UE3330is currently located. Hardware3335of UE3330further includes processing circuitry3338, which may comprise one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. UE3330further comprises software3331, which is stored in or accessible by UE3330and executable by processing circuitry3338. Software3331includes client application3332. Client application3332may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via UE3330, with the support of host computer3310. In host computer3310, an executing host application3312may communicate with the executing client application3332via OTT connection3350terminating at UE3330and host computer3310. In providing the service to the user, client application3332may receive request data from host application3312and provide user data in response to the request data. OTT connection3350may transfer both the request data and the user data. Client application3332may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides.

It is noted that host computer3310, base station3320and UE3330illustrated inFIG.12may be similar or identical to host computer3230, one of base stations3212a,3212b,3212cand one of UEs3291,3292ofFIG.11, respectively. This is to say, the inner workings of these entities may be as shown inFIG.12and independently, the surrounding network topology may be that ofFIG.11.

InFIG.12, OTT connection3350has been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between host computer3310and UE3330via base station3320, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices. Network infrastructure may determine the routing, which it may be configured to hide from UE3330or from the service provider operating host computer3310, or both. While OTT connection3350is active, the network infrastructure may further take decisions by which it dynamically changes the routing (e.g., on the basis of toad balancing consideration or reconfiguration of the network).

Wireless connection3370between UE3330and base station3320is in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to UE3330using OTT connection3350, in which wireless connection3370forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve the power consumption.

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, OTT connection3350between host computer3310and UE3330, in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and/or the network functionality for reconfiguring OTT connection3350may be implemented in software3311and hardware3315of host computer3310or in software3331and hardware3335of UE3330, or both. In embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with communication devices through which OTT connection3350passes; 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 software3311,3331may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of OTT connection3350may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not affect base station3320, and it may be unknown or imperceptible to base station3320. Such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling facilitating host computer3310's measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency and the like. The measurements may be implemented in that software3311and3331causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using OTT connection3350while it monitors propagation times, errors etc.

According to an aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a terminal device. The method may comprise, at the host computer, providing user data. The method may further comprise, at the host computer, initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the terminal device via a cellular network comprising the base station. The terminal device may detect, for a cell that is shared by two operators and to be measured by the terminal device, whether frequency bands used by the two operators for the cell are overlapped. When detecting that frequency bands used by the two operators for the cell are overlapped, the terminal device may perform measurement on a reference signal from one of the two operators at least at the overlapped portion of the frequency bands. The terminal device may report information about a result of the measurement to the two operators.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the method may further comprise, at the terminal device, receiving the user data from the base station.

According to another aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a communication system including a host computer comprising processing circuitry configured to provide user data and a communication interface configured to forward user data to a cellular network for transmission to a terminal device. The terminal device may comprise a radio interface and processing circuitry. The processing circuitry of the terminal device may be configured to detect, for a cell that is shared by two operators and to be measured by the terminal device, whether frequency bands used by the two operators for the cell are overlapped. The processing circuitry of the terminal device may be further configured to, when detecting that frequency bands used by the two operators for the cell are overlapped, perform measurement on a reference signal from one of the two operators at least at the overlapped portion of the frequency bands. The processing circuitry of the terminal device may be further configured to report information about a result of the measurement to the two operators.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the communication system may further include the terminal device.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the cellular network may further include a base station configured to communicate with the terminal device.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the processing circuitry of the host computer may be configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data. The processing circuitry of the terminal device may be configured to execute a client application associated with the host application.

According to another aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a terminal device. The method may comprise, at the host computer, receiving user data transmitted to the base station from the terminal device. The terminal device may detect, for a cell that is shared by two operators and to be measured by the terminal device, whether frequency bands used by the two operators for the cell are overlapped. When detecting that frequency bands used by the two operators for the cell are overlapped, the terminal device may perform measurement on a reference signal from one of the two operators at least at the overlapped portion of the frequency bands. The terminal device may report information about a result of the measurement to the two operators.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the method may further comprise, at the terminal device, providing the user data to the base station.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the method may further comprise, at the terminal device, executing a client application, thereby providing the user data to be transmitted. The method may further comprise, at the host computer, executing a host application associated with the client application.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the method may further comprise, at the terminal device, executing a client application. The method may further comprise, at the terminal device, receiving input data to the client application. The input data may be provided at the host computer by executing a host application associated with the client application. The user data to be transmitted may be provided by the client application in response to the input data.

According to another aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a communication system including a host computer comprising a communication interface configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from a terminal device to a base station. The terminal device may comprise a radio interface and processing circuitry. The processing circuitry of the terminal device may be configured to detect, for a cell that is shared by two operators and to be measured by the terminal device, whether frequency bands used by the two operators for the cell are overlapped. The processing circuitry of the terminal device may be further configured to, when detecting that frequency bands used by the two operators for the cell are overlapped, perform measurement on a reference signal from one of the two operators at least at the overlapped portion of the frequency bands. The processing circuitry of the terminal device may be further configured to report information about a result of the measurement to the two operators.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the communication system may further include the terminal device.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the communication system may further include the base station. The base station may comprise a radio interface configured to communicate with the terminal device and a communication interface configured to forward to the host computer the user data carried by a transmission from the terminal device to the base station.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the processing circuitry of the host computer may be configured to execute a host application. The processing circuitry of the terminal device may be configured to execute a client application associated with the host application, thereby providing the user data.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the processing circuitry of the host computer may be configured to execute a host application, thereby providing request data. The processing circuitry of the terminal device may be configured to execute a client application associated with the host application, thereby providing the user data in response to the request data.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the present disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”, “comprising”, “has”, “having”, “includes” and/or “including”, when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and/or combinations thereof. The terms “connect”, “connects”, “connecting” and/or “connected” used herein cover the direct and/or indirect connection between two elements.