Configuring multi-RAT early measurements

Systems and methods are disclosed herein for configuration of multi-Radio Access Technology (RAT) early measurements. In one embodiment, a method performed by a wireless communication device comprises receiving system information from a first cell of a first network node and receiving a dedicated release message from the first cell comprising idle mode measurement configurations for a first RAT and/or a second RAT. The method further comprises performing a reselection to a second cell served by a second network node and receiving system information from the second cell comprising idle mode measurement configurations for the first RAT and/or for the second RAT. The method further comprises determining idle mode measurement configurations to be applied while in the second cell based on the idle mode measurement configurations comprised in the dedicated release message from the first cell and the idle mode measurement configurations comprised in the system information from the second cell.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a cellular communications system and, in particular, to measurements performed by a wireless communication device while in an idle mode.

BACKGROUND

Existing Solution for Early Measurements Upon Idle to Connected Transition in Long Term Evolution (LTE) Release 15

In LTE Release 15, it is possible to configure the User Equipment (UE) to report so called early measurements upon the transition from idle to connected state. These measurements are measurements that the UE can perform in idle state according to a configuration provided by the source cell. The intention is for the network to receive these measurements immediately after the UE gets connected so that the network can quickly setup Carrier Aggregation (CA) and/or other forms of Dual Connectivity (DC) (e.g., Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) New Radio (NR) Dual Connectivity (EN-DC), Multi-Radio Access Technology (RAT) Dual Connectivity (MR-DC), etc.) without the need for the network to first provide a measurement configuration (measConfig) when the UE is in RRC_CONNECTED mode and then wait for hundreds of milliseconds until samples are collected and monitored by the UE and then the first reports are triggered at the UE and transmitted to the network.

1.1.1 Measurement Configuration for Early Measurements Upon Resume in LTE

In regard to measurement configuration for early measurements upon resume in LTE, a first aspect of the existing solution, as standardized in E-UTRA, is described in Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Technical Specification (TS) 36.331 section 5.6.20 Idle Mode Measurements. The UE can receive idle mode measurement configurations in the system information block 5 (SIB5) in the field MeasIdleConfigSIB-r15, indicating up to eight (8) cells or ranges of cell identities (IDs) on which to perform measurements. In addition, the UE can be configured upon the transition from RRC_CONNECTED to RRC_IDLE with a dedicated measurement configuration in the RRCConnectionRelease message with the measIdleDedicated-r15 which overrides the broadcasted configurations in SIB5. The broadcasted and dedicated signaling is shown below:

Another aspect of the existing solution occurs when the UE tries to resume or setup a call from RRC_IDLE without context. If the previous step is performed, i.e., if the UE is configured to store idle measurements, the network may send a request to the UE after resume/setup (after security is activated) to ask whether the UE has idle measurements available.

In the case this UE is setting up a connection coming from RRC_IDLE without the Access Stratum (AS) Context, the network is not aware that the UE has available measurements stored. Then, to allow the network to know that the UE has available idle measurements stored, and possibly request the UE to report early measurements, the UE may indicate the availability of stored idle measurements in RRCConnectionSetupComplete. As not all cells would support the feature, the UE only includes this availability information if the cell broadcasts the idleModeMeasurements indication in system information block 2 (SIB2). The flag in RRCReconnectionSetupComplete is shown below:

In the case this UE is setting up a connection coming from RRC_IDLE but with a stored AS Context (i.e., resume from suspended), the network may be aware that the UE may have available idle measurements stored after checking the fetched context from the source node where the UE got suspended. However, it is still not certain that the UE has measurements available since the UE is only required to perform the measurements if the cells are above the configured Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP)/Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) thresholds and while the UE performs cell selection/cell reselection within the configured validity area. Then, to allow the network to know that the UE has stored idle mode measurements, and possibly request the UE to report early measurements, the UE may also indicate the availability of stored idle measurements in RRCConnectionResumeComplete. As not all cells would support this feature, the UE only includes this availability information if the cell broadcasts the idleModeMeasurements indication in SIB2. The flag in RRCReconnectionResumeComplete is shown below:

Once the UE indicates to the target cell upon resume or setup that idle measurements are available, the network may request the UE to report these available measurements by including the field idleModeMeasurementReq in the UEInformation Request message transmitted to the UE. Then, the UE responds with a UEInformationResponse containing these measurements.

Introducing Early Measurements Upon Idle/Inactive to Connected Transition in New Radio (NR) Release 16

A work item has been approved in Release 16 to enhance the setup of CA/DC in NR. The work item description (WID) “Enhancing CA Utilization” was approved in RAN #80 in RP-181469 and updated in RAN #81 in RP-182076. One of the objectives of this work item is the following:Early Measurement reporting: Early and fast reporting of measurements information availability from neighbor and serving cells to reduce delay setting up MR-DC and/or CA. [RAN2, RAN4]This objective applies to MR-DC, NR-NR DC and CAThe objective should consider measurements in IDLE, INACTIVE mode and CONNECTED modeThe impacts on UE power consumption should be minimizedThe LTE Rel-15 euCA work should be utilized, when applicable
Hence, 3GPP is going to investigate solutions to enable early measurements performed when the UE is in RRC_INACTIVE or RRC_IDLE state and reporting mechanisms for when the UE enters RRC_CONNECTED.

Three different kinds of solutions are being considered:1. UE reports early measurements in UEInformationResponse after request from network in UEInformationRequest transmitted after the UE sends an RRCResumeComplete or after security is activated when UE comes from idle without stored context (as in LTE Release 15);2. UE reports early measurements with (e.g., multiplexed with or as part of the message) RRCResumeComplete;3. UE reports early measurements with (e.g., multiplexed with or as part of the message) RRCResumeRequest.
There are some differences in details of each of these solutions, and not all of them may be applicable for RRC_IDLE in the same way they are for RRC_INACTIVE. However, in any of these solutions for the reporting, the UE relies on a measurement configuration, which may be provided with dedicated signaling when the UE is suspended to RRC_INACTIVE or when the UE is released to RRC_IDLE. That measurement configuration indicates how the UE is to perform these measurements to be reported when the UE resumes in the case of coming from RRC_INACTIVE or when the UE sets up a connection in the case of coming from RRC_IDLE.

FIGS.2through5indicate the current agreements regarding the early measurement signaling in LTE/NR Release 16.FIG.2illustrates early measurement reporting in LTE/NR IDLE mode in Release 16 during connection setup, option 1.FIG.3illustrates early measurement reporting in LTE/NR IDLE mode in Release 16 during connection setup, option 2.FIG.4illustrates early measurement reporting in LTE IDLE with suspended, LTE INACTIVE mode or NR INACTIVE mode in Release 16, option 1.FIG.5illustrates early measurement reporting in NR INACTIVE mode in Release 16, option 2. It is for future study (FFS) if this is applicable to LTE IDLE with suspended and LTE INACTIVE modes.

Early Measurement Configurations and Results in Release 16 LTE and IR

In RAN2 #105 bis meeting, it has been agreed:

Agreements

1: NR early measurements can be configured in both NR RRCRelease message and NR system information.FFS: Whether there are differences in the configuration that can be provided by RRCRelease and SI.2: Introduce some indication about the cell's early measurement support in NR system information.3: To control the duration of UE performing both IDLE and INACTIVE measurements, a single validity timer (similar to measIdleDuration in LTE euCA) is mandatory indicated only in NR RRCRelease message, i.e. not included in NR SIB.4: For both IDLE and INACTIVE early measurements, the following IEs can be optionally configured per NR frequency in both NR RRCRelease message and NR SIB:A list of frequencies and optionally cells (similar to measCellList in LTE euCA) the UE is required to perform early measurements.A cell quality threshold (similar to qualityThreshold in LTE euCA) the UE is required to report the measurement results only for the cells which met the configured thresholds.FFS: A validity Area (similar to validityArea in LTE euCA) to indicate the list of cells within which UE is required to perform early measurements. If the UE reselects to a cell outside this list, the early measurements are no longer required (same as timer expiry).If it is absent, the UE will not have area limitation of early measurements.
For SSB Based Measurements:5: For both IDLE and INACTIVE early measurements, SSB frequencies to be measured can be located out of sync raster6: For both IDLE and INACTIVE early measurements, RSRP and RSRQ can be configured as cell and beam measurement quantity.7: For both IDLE and INACTIVE early measurements, the configuration parameters provided per SSB frequency follow the same principles as those provided in SIB2/4 for the purposes of Idle/Inactive mobility. (Details differences can be discussed at stage 3 level)8: As LTE euCA, cell/beam SINR is not introduced as measurement quantity in NR early measurement configuration in Rel-16.
For SSB Based Beam Level Measurement Configurations:9: The UE is required to report the beam with the highest measurement quantityFFS: Whether additional beams can be reported.10: For both IDLE and INACTIVE early measurements, the UE can be configured with one of the 3 beam reporting types1) No beam reporting;2) Only beam identifier3) Both beam identifier and quantityFFS: Whether to support CSI-RS based NR early measurements11: LTE UE in IDLE mode, IDLE with suspended, and INACTIVE can be configured with NR early measurements to support fast setup of (NG)EN-DC (i.e. euCA is extended to support NR measurements). Details are FFS.
That is, the rel-16 early measurement configurations and reporting will include NR measurements as well, in contrast to the LTE rel-15 early measurement configurations that contained only LTE measurements.

Agreements

1: The early measurement configuration can be different between that in RRCRelease and in SIB. If the UE receives the early measurement configuration from RRCRelease, this overrides the early measurement configuration provided in SIB (if any).FFS: Whether some other measurement related configuration in SI (e.g. smtc) outside of the early measurement configuration can still be used.2: A single early measurement configuration is provided in SI for idle and inactiveFFS: Whether the early measurement configuration can be kept when the UE receives the Release (to Inactive to Idle) in response to Resume Request.3: L3 filtering is not applied to early measurement reporting4: The UE performs the idle measurement for the frequencies in configured frequency list only when the UE support CA or MR-DC between the frequency and the serving frequency.FFS: Whether the network can provide information on support of CA/DC between frequencies to assist the UE to determine which frequencies to provide measurement for.6: If UE reselects to a cell that does not support early measurements (as indicated by absence of an indicator in SI), the validity timer keeps running, but the UE is not required to performs measurements while camped on that cell (same as LTE euCA)
That is, the rel-16 early measurement configurations will be possible to provide in either dedicated or broadcasted signaling

During RAN2 #107, it was agreed:

Agreements

1: For per-frequency SSB measurement configuration reuse the IE structure that is currently used in SIBs for cell reselection purposes.2: The legacy SSB measurement configurations in NR SIB2/4 and LTE SIB24 are reused for NR early measurements performed in frequencies which are candidates of cell selection/reselection, i.e. not introduce new measurement configurations in NR/LTE SIB for these SSBs.3: Same as LTE euCA, NR frequency list (not the SSB measurement configuration) can be different between RRC release and SIB. The frequency list, if provided, in RRC release message overrides the one provided in SIB.4: For per frequency SSB measurement configuration for purpose of only early measurements, it can be included in both RRC release message and SIB. If provided in RRC release message, it overrides the one provided in SIB in the cell where the RRC Release message is received.FFS How UE manages the situation when an SSB measurement configuration for a given frequency is provided in SIB of the current cell and was also provided RRC Release (in an earlier cell).
Agreements7: As in LTE euCA, the indication whether to report RSRP, RSRQ or both can be indicated in both RRC release message and SIB. If provided in RRC release, it overrides the one in SIB.8: Similar to LTE euCA, the indication of beam reporting type (i.e. whether to, not report beam results, report only the beam index, or report both beam index and results) can be indicated in both RRC release message and SIB. If provided in RRC release, it overrides the one in SIB.9: NR early measurement configuration is included in a new NR SIB.10: NR early measurement configuration is included in LTE SIB5 (i.e. the SIB including LTE early measurement configurations)11: It is not necessary to specify CSI-RS based early measurements for the case of SCell with SSB in Rel-16.12: It is not necessary to specify CSI-RS based early measurements for the case of SCell without SSB in Rel-16.13: In NR early measurement configuration, the UE can be configured with maximum number for beam reporting and only beams above configured threshold for cell quality derivation are required to be reported (as NR CONNECTED measurements).14: Do not support the network provide information on network's support of CA/DC between frequencies to assist the UE to determine which frequencies to provide NR early measurement in Rel-16.15: Do not support a mechanism to prevent outdated early measurement reporting in Rel-16

SUMMARY

Systems and methods are disclosed herein for configuration of multi-Radio Access Technology (RAT) early measurements. In one embodiment, a method performed by a wireless communication device comprises receiving system information from a first cell of a first network node. The method further comprises receiving a dedicated release message from the first cell of the first network node, wherein the dedicated release message comprises idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers for a first RAT, idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers for a second RAT, or both idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers for the first RAT and idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers for the second RAT. The method further comprises determining idle mode measurement configurations to be applied by the wireless communication device while in the first cell based on the idle mode measurement configurations received on the first cell. The method further comprises applying the determined idle mode measurement configurations for idle mode measurements while in the first cell and performing idle mode measurements using the applied idle mode measurement configurations for idle mode measurements while in the first cell. The method further comprises performing a reselection to a second cell served by a second base station and receiving system information from the second cell of a second network node. The system information received from the second cell comprises idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers for the first RAT, idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers for the second RAT, or both idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers for the first RAT and idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers for the second RAT. The method further comprises determining idle mode measurement configurations to be applied by the wireless communication device while in the second cell based on the idle mode measurement configurations comprised in the dedicated release message received from the first cell and the idle mode measurement configurations comprised in the system information received from the second cell. The method further comprises applying the determined idle mode measurement configurations for idle mode measurements while in the second cell and performing idle mode measurements using the applied idle mode measurement configurations for idle mode measurements while in the second cell. In this manner, handling of idle mode measurements upon cell reselection is defined.

In one embodiment, determining the idle mode measurement configurations to be applied by the wireless communication device while in the first cell comprises, for each RAT from among a first RAT and a second RAT, determining whether the dedicated release message from the first cell comprises an idle mode measurement configuration for one or more carriers of the RAT and, upon determining that the dedicated release message from the first cell comprises an idle mode measurement configuration for one or more carriers of the RAT, applying the idle mode measurement configuration for the one or more carriers of the RAT comprised in the dedicated release message from the first cell. In one embodiment, the method further comprises, for each RAT from among the first RAT and the second RAT, performing actions upon determining that the dedicated release message from the first cell does not comprise an idle mode measurement configuration for one or more carriers of the RAT. These actions comprise determining whether the system information from the first cell comprises an idle mode measurement configuration for one or more carriers of the RAT and, upon determining that the system information from the first cell comprises an idle mode measurement configuration for one or more carriers of the RAT, applying the idle mode measurement configuration for the one or more carriers of the RAT comprised in the system information from the first cell.

In one embodiment, the method further comprises reporting results of the performed idle mode measurements to a network node upon resuming or establishing a connection with the network node.

In one embodiment, determining idle mode measurement configurations to be applied by the wireless communication device while in the second cell comprises, for each RAT from among the first RAT and the second RAT, determining whether the system information received from the second cell comprises idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers of the RAT, determining whether the dedicated release message received from the first cell comprises idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers of the RAT. For each RAT from among the first RAT and the second RAT, determining idle mode measurement configurations to be applied by the wireless communication device while in the second cell further comprises, upon determining that the system information received from the second cell comprises idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers of the RAT and determining that the dedicated release message received from the first cell does comprise idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers of the RAT, continuing to perform idle mode measurements in accordance with the idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers of the RAT comprised in the dedicated release message received from the first cell. In one embodiment, determining idle mode measurement configurations to be applied by the wireless communication device while in the second cell further comprises for each RAT from among the first RAT and the second RAT, upon determining that the system information received from the second cell comprises idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers of the RAT and determining that the dedicated release message received from the first cell does not comprise idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers of the RAT, applying the idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers of the RAT comprised in the system information received from the second cell.

In one embodiment, the first cell is of the first RAT, the dedicated release message from the first cell comprises idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers for the first RAT, and the second cell does not support idle mode measurements for the first RAT. The method further comprises, upon reselecting to the second cell for the second RAT, releasing the idle mode measurement configurations for the one or more carriers for the first RAT and storing the idle mode measurement configurations for the one or more carriers for the first RAT. In one embodiment, the method further comprises applying the stored idle mode measurement configurations for the one or more carriers for the first RAT upon reselecting to a cell that supports idle mode measurement configurations for the first RAT.

In one embodiment, the first RAT is Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA), and the second RAT is New Radio (NR). In another embodiment, the first RAT is NR, and the second RAT is E-UTRA.

In one embodiment, the received release message comprises one of an RRCRelease message or an RRCConnectionRelease message.

In one embodiment, the received system information is comprised in a System Information Block (SIB) message, wherein the SIB message comprises one of a SIB2 message, a SIB4 message, a SIB10 message, and a SIB24 message.

Corresponding embodiments of a wireless communication device are also disclosed. In one embodiment, a wireless communication device is adapted to receive system information from a first cell of a first network node. The wireless communication device is further adapted to receive a dedicated release message from the first cell of the first network node, wherein the dedicated release message comprises idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers for a first RAT, idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers for a second RAT, or both idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers for the first RAT and idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers for the second RAT. The wireless communication device is further adapted to determine idle mode measurement configurations to be applied by the wireless communication device while in the first cell based on the idle mode measurement configurations received on the first cell. The wireless communication device is further adapted to apply the determined idle mode measurement configurations for idle mode measurements while in the first cell and perform idle mode measurements using the applied idle mode measurement configurations for idle mode measurements while in the first cell. The wireless communication device is further adapted to perform a reselection to a second cell served by a second base station and receive system information from the second cell of a second network node. The system information received from the second cell comprises idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers for the first RAT, idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers for the second RAT, or both idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers for the first RAT and idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers for the second RAT. The wireless communication device is further adapted to determine idle mode measurement configurations to be applied by the wireless communication device while in the second cell based on the idle mode measurement configurations comprised in the dedicated release message received from the first cell and the idle mode measurement configurations comprised in the system information received from the second cell. The wireless communication device is further adapted to apply the determined idle mode measurement configurations for idle mode measurements while in the second cell and perform idle mode measurements using the applied idle mode measurement configurations for idle mode measurements while in the second cell.

In one embodiment, a wireless communication device comprises one or more transmitters, one or more receivers, and processing circuitry configured to cause the wireless communication device to receive system information from a first cell of a first network node. The processing circuitry is further configured to cause the wireless communication device to receive a dedicated release message from the first cell of the first network node, wherein the dedicated release message comprises idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers for a first RAT, idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers for a second RAT, or both idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers for the first RAT and idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers for the second RAT. The processing circuitry is further configured to cause the wireless communication device to determine idle mode measurement configurations to be applied by the wireless communication device while in the first cell based on the idle mode measurement configurations received on the first cell. The processing circuitry is further configured to cause the wireless communication device to apply the determined idle mode measurement configurations for idle mode measurements while in the first cell and perform idle mode measurements using the applied idle mode measurement configurations for idle mode measurements while in the first cell. The processing circuitry is further configured to cause the wireless communication device to perform a reselection to a second cell served by a second base station and receive system information from the second cell of a second network node. The system information received from the second cell comprises idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers for the first RAT, idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers for the second RAT, or both idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers for the first RAT and idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers for the second RAT. The processing circuitry is further configured to cause the wireless communication device to determine idle mode measurement configurations to be applied by the wireless communication device while in the second cell based on the idle mode measurement configurations comprised in the dedicated release message received from the first cell and the idle mode measurement configurations comprised in the system information received from the second cell. The processing circuitry is further configured to cause the wireless communication device to apply the determined idle mode measurement configurations for idle mode measurements while in the second cell and perform idle mode measurements using the applied idle mode measurement configurations for idle mode measurements while in the second cell.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Network Node: As used herein, a “network node” is any node that is either part of the radio access network or the core network of a cellular communications network/system.

There currently exist certain challenge(s). In LTE Release 15, if a UE receives an RRCConnectionRelease message that only contains the measIdleDuration, the UE will perform idle mode measurements according to the broadcasted measurement configurations in system information block 2 (SIB2). Note that while referred to herein as broadcasted information, the SIB2 containing idle mode measurement configurations may alternatively be sent to the UE via dedicated signaling (e.g., RRC signaling), as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art. If the UE then reselects to another cell, it will update the measurement configurations with the broadcasted information in the new cell. On the other hand, if a UE receives an RRCConnectionRelease message that contains a measIdleConfigDedicatedwith measurement configurations (e.g., carriers, bandwidth, cells to measure, and reporting quantities and thresholds), the UE will perform idle mode measurements according to these configurations. If the UE then re-selects to another cell, the UE will continue to perform idle mode measurements according to the previous dedicated configurations.

In Release 16, idle mode measurements for both LTE and NR have been introduced. However, if a UE is configured with dedicated signaling to perform idle mode measurements by a Release 15 eNB, this will by necessity only contain configurations for LTE carriers. If the UE reselects to a Release 16 eNB or a gNB, which also supports configuring NR carriers for idle mode measurements, the UE will continue to only measure on LTE carriers. If the UE was instead configured to apply the broadcasted configurations in the Release 15 eNB (i.e., only measIdleDuration was provided via RRCRelease), when the UE re-selects to a Release 16 eNB or gNB, it will check the target broadcasted information and, if it contains NR configurations for idle mode measurements, it is not clear from the current 3GPP agreements if the UE will start performing idle mode measurements also on the NR carriers.

In general, if a UE is configured in a source node to only perform idle mode measurements on one Radio Access Technology (RAT), e.g., because the source node does not support Multi-RAT Dual Connectivity (MR-DC), and the UE then re-selects to another cell in another node (e.g., which does support MR-DC), if the UE was configured with dedicated signaling, the UE would not be able to measure the inter-RAT carriers after the re-selection. However, if the UE was configured with broadcasted signaling, it is currently not clear if the UE would start performing measurements on the other RAT based on the new early measurement configurations from the new cell.

In essence, the problem is that if the UE is provided with early measurement configurations pertaining to a single RAT (e.g., LTE) when released and the UE reselects to a cell which supports multi-RAT early measurements and is broadcasting multi-RAT early measurement configuration (e.g., LTE and NR), the UE will not be able to measure on these inter-RAT carriers/cells.

Certain aspects of the present disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to the aforementioned or other challenges. Systems and methods are disclosed herein for handling early measurement configurations when a wireless communication device (e.g., a UE) moves from one base station that uses a first RAT that does not support MR-DC (e.g., a Release 15 eNB) to another base station that uses a second RAT that does support MR-DC (e.g., a Release 16 eNB), or vice versa.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, mechanisms to handle early measurement configurations for LTE and NR are provided. In some embodiments, the method comprises using independent handling for LTE and NR configurations. That way, the network is able to configure the LTE and NR measurement configurations independently. For example, the network can configure the UE with dedicated measurement configurations for LTE and instruct the UE to apply broadcasted configurations for NR, or vice versa. The configuration for both can be received via broadcast, or another possibility is to have them both via dedicated.

If a Release 16 UE is released while being served by a Release 15 eNB, the UE will receive configurations to measure only on LTE frequencies. If the UE later re-selects to a Release 16 eNB that is capable of configuring NR idle mode measurements, the UE obtains the NR measurement configuration from the broadcasted information and performs idle mode measurements on NR carriers based on the NR measurement configuration, while continuing to perform the LTE measurements based on the configurations received in the source cell.

If a UE is configured with only NR early measurement configurations in an NR node (gNB) that does not support MR-DC and then re-selects to another cell in another NR node that does support MR-DC, the UE obtains the LTE early measurement configurations from the broadcasted information in the target cell and performs idle mode measurements on LTE based on the LTE early measurement configurations, while continuing to perform the early measurement configurations for the NR carriers based on the configurations received in the source cell.

If a Release 16 UE is released while being served by a Release 16 eNB, the UE will receive configurations to measure on both LTE and NR frequencies. If the UE later re-selects to a Release 15 eNB capable of configuring only LTE idle mode measurements, the UE updates the NR measurement configurations in one of the following ways:releases all stored NR measurement configurations,releases the stored NR measurement configuration that was received via broadcast in the cell where it was released, orkeeps the stored NR measurement configuration.
In case the NR measurement configurations are released, the UE also stops performing the NR measurements. However, if the NR measurement configurations (or part of it) is kept, the UE can either continue to perform the NR measurements based on the updated NR measurement configurations or the UE stops/pauses performing the NR measurements while in that cell (e.g., so that it can resume the NR measurements if it re-selects again to a cell that support NR idle mode measurements). Which of the above behavior to apply to the NR measurement configuration and the performing of the measurements can be configured by the network, based on UE implementation, or specified in 3GPP standards.

If a Release 16 UE is released while being served by a Release 16 gNB that is capable of MR-DC, it will receive configurations to measure on both LTE and NR frequencies. If the UE later re-selects to a Rel-16 gNB that is not capable of MR-DC, the UE updates the LTE measurement configurations in one of the following ways:releases all stored LTE idle mode measurement configurations,releases the stored LTE measurement configuration that was received via broadcast in the cell where it was released, orkeeps the stored LTE measurement configuration.
In case the LTE measurement configurations are released, the UE also stops performing the LTE measurements. However, if the LTE measurement configurations (or part of it) is kept, the UE can either continue to perform the LTE measurements based on the updated LTE measurement configurations or the UE stops/pauses performing the LTE measurements while in that cell (e.g., so that it can resume the LTE measurements if it re-selects again to a gNB/cell that supports MR-DC).

Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s). The solution enables independent handling of the LTE and NR idle mode measurement configurations, so that if a UE is configured with dedicated signaling to perform early measurements on only a single RAT in one cell, and the UE re-selects to another cell (which broadcasts configurations for other RATs), the UE can obtain the idle mode measurement configurations for the other RAT and perform idle mode measurements relevant for the new cell for faster CA/DC setup.

In this regard,FIG.6illustrates one example of a cellular communications system600in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. In the embodiments described herein, the cellular communications system600includes a Radio Access Network (RAN) that includes base stations of different RATs (e.g., a first RAT that does not support MR-DC and a second RAT that does support MR-DC). For example, the RAN may include both Rel-15 eNBs and Rel-16 eNBs. In this example, the RAN includes base stations602-1and602-2. For example, the base station602-1may be for a first RAT that does not support MR-DC (e.g., a Rel-15 eNB), and base station602-2may be for a second RAT that does support MR-DC (e.g., Rel-16 eNB). The base stations602-1and602-2serve corresponding (macro) cells604-1and604-2. The base stations602-1and602-2are generally referred to herein collectively as base stations602and individually as base station602. Likewise, the (macro) cells604-1and604-2are generally referred to herein collectively as (macro) cells604and individually as (macro) cell604. The RAN may also include a number of low power nodes606-1through606-4controlling corresponding small cells608-1through608-4. The low power nodes606-1through606-4can be small base stations (such as pico or femto base stations) or Remote Radio Heads (RRHs), or the like. Notably, while not illustrated, one or more of the small cells608-1through608-4may alternatively be provided by the base stations602. The low power nodes606-1through606-4are generally referred to herein collectively as low power nodes606and individually as low power node606. Likewise, the small cells608-1through608-4are generally referred to herein collectively as small cells608and individually as small cell608. The cellular communications system600also includes a core network610, which may be, for example, an EPC or 5GC. The base stations602(and optionally the low power nodes606) are connected to the core network610.

The base stations602and the low power nodes606provide service to wireless communication devices612-1through612-5in the corresponding cells604and608. The wireless communication devices612-1through612-5are generally referred to herein collectively as wireless communication devices612and individually as wireless communication device612. In the following description, the wireless communication devices612are oftentimes UEs, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

Now, a description of some example embodiments of the present disclosure is provided. Note that most of the description below refers to LTE messages and procedures. However, the methods described herein are also applicable to future releases of NR (e.g., Rel-17), if further enhancements of the early measurement reporting are implemented that create some incompatibility between the Rel-16 and Rel-17 measurement configurations/results.

In the embodiments descried below, it is assumed that the RRC release message was the LTE RRC connection release message that was received from the LTE node where the cell was released. However, it is also possible to envision the case where the UE is released in NR (i.e., RRCRelease message), performs inter-RAT reselection to an LTE cell, and keeps on performing the early measurements according to the configurations received in RRCRelease and the configurations received in the current LTE cell or, vice versa, where the UE gets released in LTE and performs inter-RAT cell reselection towards an NR cell, and keeps performing early measurements based on the dedicated configurations received in LTE and the broadcast information in NR.

In the embodiments below, by “measurement configuration,” it is meant the list of frequencies that the UE has to measure while in IDLE/INACTIVE mode and optionally additional information that the UE needs to measure on those frequencies (e.g., SSB configuration, information on which cells to measure at each frequency, reporting thresholds, etc.)

The following embodiments provide mechanisms to independently configure and handle early measurement configurations for LTE and NR.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, early measurement configurations for LTE and NR are handled separately, e.g., the network can provide dedicated configurations for one of them and broadcasted configurations for the other. For instance, if a Rel-16 UE is being released by a Rel-15 eNB, the Rel-16 UE will only receive configurations to measure on LTE cell via dedicated signaling. If the UE later re-selects to a Rel-16 eNB that is capable of configuring NR idle mode measurements, the UE will obtain the NR measurement configuration from the broadcasted information and perform idle mode measurements on NR carriers using these configurations, while continuing to perform the LTE measurements based on the stored configurations (i.e., that were received in the source cell where it was released).

The current draft specification for the early measurement configurations is captured in the RRC running CR is (R2-1914189) with the underlined/bolded text as proposed introductions to LTE Release 15:

Based on this proposed message structure, the UE procedures could be implemented in LTE as e.g.:

5.3.8.3 Reception of the RRCConnectionRelease by the UEThe UE shall:<<skipped parts>>1> if the RRCConnectionRelease message includes themeasIdleConfig:2> clear VarMeasIdleConfig and VarMeasIdleReport;2> store the received measIdleDuration in VarMeasIdleConfig;2> start T331 with the value of measIdleDuration;2> if the measIdleConfig contains measIdleCarrierListEUTRA:3> store the received measIdleCarrierListEUTRA inVarMeasIdleConfig;3> start performing idle mode measurements as specified in5.6.20;2> if the measIdleConfig contains measIdleCarrierListNR:3> store the received measIdleCarrierListNR inVarMeasIdleConfig;3> start performing idle mode measurements as specified in5.6.20;NOTE 2: If the measIdleConfig does not containmeasIdleCarrierListEUTRA, UE may receivemeasIdleCarrierListEUTRA as specified in 5.2.2.12.NOTE 3: If the measIdleConfig does not containmeasIdleCarrierListNR, UE may receivemeasIdleCarrierListNR as specified in 5.2.2.12.5.2.2.12Actions upon reception of SystemInformationBlockType5Upon receiving SystemInformationBlockType5, the UE shall:<<skipped parts>>1> if in RRC_IDLE and UE has stored VarMeasIdleConfig_and SIB5includes the measIdleConfigSIBand the UE is capable of IDLE mode measurements for CA:2> if T331 is running and VarMeasIdleConfig does not containmeasIdleCarrierListEUTRA receivedfrom the RRCConnectionRelease message:3> store or replace the measIdleCarrierListEUTRA ofmeasIdleConfigSIB withinVarMeasIdleConfig;2> if T331 is running and VarMeasIdleConfig does not containmeasIdleCarrierListNRreceived from the RRCConnectionRelease message:3> store or replace the measIdleCarrierListNR ofmeasIdleConfigSIB withinVarMeasIdleConfig;2> perform idle mode measurements as specified in 5.6.20;

In the above, it was assumed that the current handling in rel-15 is kept when it comes to receiving a SIB that doesn't include the measIdleCarrierListEUTRA inside measIdleConfigSIB (i.e., UE doesn't do anything and keeps performing measurements using stored configuration). Below is another realization where the UE, upon determining that the measIdleConfigSIB does not contain the measIdleCarrierListEUTRA, will release the stored measurement configuration for E-UTRA that were received via broadcast, if any (and a similar handling done for the case of NR measurements).

5.2.2.12Actions upon reception of SystemInformationBlockType5Upon receiving SystemInformationBlockType5, the UE shall:<<skipped parts>>1> if in RRC_IDLE and UE has stored VarMeasIdleConfig_and SIB5includes the measIdleConfigSIBand the UE is capable of IDLE mode measurements for CA:2> if T331 is running and VarMeasIdleConfig does not containmeasIdleCarrierListEUTRA receivedfrom the RRCConnectionRelease message:3> if the measIdleCarrierListEUTRA is included in themeasIdleConfigSIB:4> store or replace the measIdleCarrierListEUTRA ofmeasIdleConfigSIB withinVarMeasIdleConfig;3> else:4> release the measIdleCarrierListEUTRA from theVarMeasIdleConfig, if stored;2> if T331 is running and VarMeasIdleConfig does not containmeasIdleCarrierListNRreceived from the RRCConnectionRelease message:3> if the measIdleCarrierListNR is included in themeasIdleConfigSIB:4> store or replace the measIdleCarrierListNR ofmeasIdleConfigSIB withinVarMeasIdleConfig;3> else:4> release the measIdleCarrierListNR from theVarMeasIdleConfig, if stored;2> perform idle mode measurements as specified in 5.6.20;

In rel-15 euCA, if the SIB5 does not contain the measIdleConfigSIB, it is not clear on how the UE handles the idle mode configuration it has stored. Below is a realization of an embodiment where the UE releases the stored configurations that were received via broadcast in such cases.

1> if in RRC_IDLE and UE has stored VarMeasIdleConfig_and SIB5includes the measIdleConfigSIBand the UE is capable of IDLE mode measurements for CA:....<<skipped>>1> else (i.e. measIdleConfigSIB not included)2> if T331 is running and VarMeasIdleConfig does not containmeasIdleCarrierListEUTRAreceived from the RRCConnectionRelease message:3> release the measIdleCarrierListEUTRA from theVarMeasIdleConfig, if stored;2> if T331 is running and VarMeasIdleConfig does not containmeasIdleCarrierListNRreceived from the RRCConnectionRelease message:3> release the measIdleCarrierListNR from the VarMeasIdleConfig,if stored;

FIG.7illustrates the operation of a wireless communication device (WCD)612and base stations602-1and602-2for configuring and handling idle mode measurement configurations for multiple RATs in accordance with at least some aspects of the embodiments described above. In this example, base station602-1(denoted BS1) serves a first cell (Cell1) that operates in accordance with a first RAT (RAT1), and base station602-2(denoted BS2) serves a second cell (Cell2) that operates in accordance with a second RAT (RAT2). In some embodiments, one of the RATs supports MR-DC and the other RAT does not support MR-DC. For example, the WCD612may be a Release 16 UE, the base station602-1may be a Release 15 eNB that does not support MR-DC, and the base station602-2may be a Release 16 eNB that does support MR-DC, or vice versa; however, the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

The base station602-1broadcasts and the WCD612receives broadcast information (e.g., a SIB, e.g., SIB2, SIB4, SIB10, or SBI24) on Cell1 (step700). This broadcast information may include (broadcasted) idle mode measurement configurations for RAT1 and/or (broadcasted) idle mode measurement configurations for RAT2, or neither, as described above. Note that some system information blocks, such as SIB2, can be broadcasted, broadcasted on-demand, or sent via dedicated signaling (e.g., RRC signaling). As such, the idle mode measurement configurations for RAT1 and/or the idle mode measurement configurations for RAT2 may be broadcasted or sent to the WCD612via dedicated signaling. In this example, the WCD612is initially connected to Cell1. At some point, the base station602-1sends an RRC Release message (e.g., an RRCRelease or RRCConnectionRelease) to the WCD612(step702). As discussed above, the RRC Release message may include (dedicated) idle mode measurement configurations for RAT1 and/or (dedicated) idle mode measurement configurations for RAT2, or neither. The WCD612determines idle mode measurements to apply based on any idle mode measurement configurations received in the broadcast information of step700and/or the RRC Release message of step702(step704). One example of how the WCD612makes this determination is described below with respect toFIG.8. While in the idle mode (also referred to herein as a dormant state), the WCD612performs idle mode measurements in accordance with the applied idle mode measurement configurations (step708). Depending on what idle mode measurement configurations are provided by the base station602-1and the determination of the WCD612in step704, the idle mode measurement configurations may be performed on RAT1 carriers and/or on RAT2 carriers. For example, if the base station602-1is a Rel-15 eNB, then only idle mode measurement configurations for E-UTRA carriers will be configured by the Rel-15 eNB and applied by the WCD612. Conversely, if the base station602-1is a Rel-16 eNB that supports MR-DC, both idle mode measurement configurations for E-UTRA carriers and idle mode measurement configurations for NR carriers will be configured and determined to be applied by the WCD612.

In this example, while in idle mode, the WCD612performs a cell reselection to Cell2 (step708). Upon reselecting to Cell2, the base station602-2broadcasts and the WCD612receives broadcast information (e.g., a SIB, e.g., SIB2, SIB4, SIB10, or SBI24) on Cell2 (step710). This broadcast information may include (broadcasted) idle mode measurement configurations for RAT1 and/or (broadcasted) idle mode measurement configurations for RAT2, or neither, as described above. The WCD612determines idle mode measurements to apply based on any idle mode measurement configurations received in the broadcast information for Cell2 received in step710and any idle mode measurement configurations received in the RRC Release message of step700(received in Cell1) (step712). One example of how the WCD612makes this determination is described below with respect toFIG.9. The WCD612performs idle mode measurements in accordance with the idle mode measurement configurations applied din step712(step714). Depending on what idle mode measurement configurations are provided by the base station602-1the RRC Release message of step700and what idle mode measurement configurations are provided by the base station602-2for Cell2 in the broadcast information of step710, the idle mode measurement configurations of step714may be performed on RAT1 carriers and/or on RAT2 carriers. Note that, for any idle mode measurement configurations that were applied for idle mode measurements in Cell1 that are not also determined by the WCD612in step712to be applied in Cell2, idle mode measurements for those configurations/carriers is stopped (i.e., does not continue in step714).

While any of the embodiments above may be used,FIG.8is a flow chart that illustrates the operation of the WCD612to determine idle mode measurements in step704ofFIG.7in accordance with one example embodiment of the present disclosure. As illustrated, the WCD612determines whether the RRC Release message received on Cell1 includes idle mode measurement configurations for RAT1 carriers (step800). If so, the WCD612applies the idle mode measurement configurations for the RAT1 carriers received in the RRC Release message (step802). In other words, these idle mode measurement configurations are stored and to be used by the WCD612for idle mode measurements. The WCD612also determines whether the RRC Release message received on Cell1 includes idle mode measurement configurations for RAT2 carriers (step804). If so, the WCD612applies the idle mode measurement configurations for the RAT2 carriers received in the RRC Release message (step806). In other words, these idle mode measurement configurations are stored and to be used by the WCD612for idle mode measurements.

Returning to step800, if the RRC Release message does not include idle mode measurement configurations for RAT1 carriers, the WCD612determines whether the broadcast information received on Cell1 includes idle mode measurement configurations for RAT1 carriers (step808). If not, the process proceeds to step804, as described above. If the broadcast information received on Cell1 does include idle mode measurement configurations for RAT1 carriers, the WCD612applies the idle mode measurement configurations for the RAT1 carriers received in the broadcast information on Cell1 (step810). In other words, these idle mode measurement configurations are stored and to be used by the WCD612for idle mode measurements.

Returning to step804, if the RRC Release message does not include idle mode measurement configurations for RAT2 carriers, the WCD612determines whether the broadcast information received on Cell1 includes idle mode measurement configurations for RAT2 carriers (step812). If so, the WCD612applies the idle mode measurement configurations for the RAT2 carriers received in the broadcast information on Cell1 (step814). In other words, these idle mode measurement configurations are stored and to be used by the WCD612for idle mode measurements.

While any of the embodiments above may be used,FIG.9is a flow chart that illustrates the operation of the WCD612to determine idle mode measurements in step712ofFIG.7(i.e., (after reselection to Cell2) in accordance with one example embodiment of the present disclosure. As illustrated, the WCD612determines whether the broadcast information received on Cell2 includes idle mode measurement configurations for RAT1 carriers (step900). If so, the WCD612determines whether the RRC Release message received on Cell1 included idle mode measurement configurations for RAT1 carriers (step902). If so, the WCD612does not apply the idle mode measurement configurations for the RAT1 carriers received in the broadcast information on Cell2 and the process proceeds to step906, as described below. However, if the RRC Release message received on Cell1 did not include idle mode measurement configurations for RAT1 carriers, the WCD612applies the idle mode measurement configurations for the RAT1 carriers received in the broadcast information on Cell2 (step904). In other words, these idle mode measurement configurations are stored and to be used by the WCD612for idle mode measurements.

Returning to step900, optionally, the WCD612releases any idle mode measurement configurations for RAT1 carriers if, e.g., Cell2 does not support idle mode measurements on both RAT1 and RAT2 (e.g., if Cell2 does not support MR-DC), as described above (step906). Note that, even if released, these idle mode measurement configurations for RAT1 carriers may still be stored by the WCD612and subsequently applied if, e.g., the WCD612reselects back to Cell1. In some embodiments, the WCD612only releases the idle mode measurement configurations for RAT1 carriers in step906if these idle mode measurement configurations for RAT1 carriers where received in Cell1 via broadcast signaling (i.e., if they were not received in Cell1 via RRC or dedicated signaling); otherwise, the WCD612keeps (and applies) these idle mode measurement configurations. The WCD612determines whether the broadcast information received on Cell2 includes idle mode measurement configurations for RAT2 carriers (step908). If so, the WCD612determines whether the RRC Release message received on Cell1 included idle mode measurement configurations for RAT2 carriers (step910). If so, the WCD612does not apply the idle mode measurement configurations for the RAT2 carriers received in the broadcast information on Cell2 and the process ends. However, if the RRC Release message received on Cell1 did not include idle mode measurement configurations for RAT2 carriers, the WCD612applies the idle mode measurement configurations for the RAT2 carriers received in the broadcast information on Cell2 (step912). In other words, these idle mode measurement configurations are stored and to be used by the WCD612for idle mode measurements.

Returning to step908, if the broadcast information received on Cell2 does not include idle mode measurement configurations for RAT2 carriers, optionally, the WCD612releases any idle mode measurement configurations for RAT2 carriers if, e.g., Cell2 does not support idle mode measurements on both RAT1 and RAT2 (e.g., if Cell2 does not support MR-DC), as described above (step914). Note that, even if released, these idle mode measurement configurations for RAT2 carriers may still be stored by the WCD612and subsequently applied if, e.g., the WCD612reselects back to Cell1. In some embodiments, the WCD612only releases the idle mode measurement configurations for RAT2 carriers in step914if these idle mode measurement configurations for RAT2 carriers where received in Cell1 via broadcast signaling (i.e., if they were not received in Cell1 via RRC or dedicated signaling); otherwise, the WCD612keeps (and applies) these idle mode measurement configurations.

Note that any additional details described herein regarding configuring and handling idle mode measurement configurations for multiple RATs are also applicable toFIGS.7,8, and9.

Below are some example embodiments of configuring and handling idle mode measurement configurations for multiple RATs. These embodiments may, e.g., be implemented using the processes described above, e.g., with respect toFIGS.7-9.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, mechanisms to handle early measurement configurations for LTE and NR are provided. In some embodiments, the method comprises using independent handling for LTE and NR configurations. That way, the network is able to configure the LTE and NR measurement configurations independently. For example, the network can configure the UE with dedicated measurement configurations for LTE and instruct the UE to apply broadcasted configurations for NR, or vice versa (e.g., in steps700and/or800). The configuration for both can be received via broadcast, or another possibility is to have them both via dedicated.

If a Rel-16 UE is released while being served by a Rel-15 eNB, it will receive configurations to measure only on LTE frequencies (e.g., in step702). If the UE later re-selects to a Rel-16 eNB that is capable of configuring NR idle mode measurements (e.g., in step708), the UE obtains the NR measurement configuration from the broadcasted information (e.g., in step710) and performs idle mode measurements on NR carriers based on that, while continuing to perform the LTE measurements based on the configurations received in the source cell (e.g., using steps712and714).

If a UE is configured with only NR early measurement configurations in an NR node (gNB) that doesn't support MR-DC (e.g., in steps700and/or702) and then re-selects to another cell in another NR node that does support MR-DC (e.g., in step708), the UE obtains the LTE early measurement configurations from the broadcasted information in the target cell (e.g., in step710) and performs idle mode measurements on LTE based on that, while continuing to perform the early measurement configurations for the NR carriers based on the configurations received in the source cell (e.g., using steps712and714).

If a Rel-16 UE is released while being served by a Rel-16 eNB, it will receive configurations to measure on both LTE and NR frequencies (e.g., in step702). If the UE later re-selects to a Rel-15 eNB capable of configuring only LTE idle mode measurements (e.g., in step708), the UE releases the stored NR measurement configuration and stops performing the measurements on NR frequencies (e.g., in step712). Another realization is for the UE to stop performing the NR measurements, but still keep the configurations (e.g., so that it can resume the NR measurements if it re-selects again to a cell that support NR idle mode measurements).

If a Rel-16 UE is released while being served by a Rel-16 gNB that is capable of MR-DC, it will receive configurations to measure on both LTE and NR frequencies (e.g., in step702). If the UE later re-selects to a Rel-16 gNB that is not capable of MR-DC (e.g., in step708), the UE releases the LTE idle mode measurements and stops performing the measurements on LTE frequencies (e.g., in step712). Another realization is for the UE to stop performing the LTE measurements, but still keep the stored configurations (e.g., so that it can resume the LTE measurements if it re-selects again to a gNB/cell that supports MR-DC).

FIG.10is a schematic block diagram of a radio access node1000according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Optional features are represented by dashed boxes. The radio access node1000may be, for example, a base station602or606or a network node that implements all or part of the functionality of the base station602or eNB described herein. As illustrated, the radio access node1000includes a control system1002that includes one or more processors1004(e.g., Central Processing Units (CPUs), Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), and/or the like), memory1006, and a network interface1008. The one or more processors1004are also referred to herein as processing circuitry. In addition, the radio access node1000may include one or more radio units1010that each includes one or more transmitters1012and one or more receivers1014coupled to one or more antennas1016. The radio units1010may be referred to or be part of radio interface circuitry. In some embodiments, the radio unit(s)1010is external to the control system1002and connected to the control system1002via, e.g., a wired connection (e.g., an optical cable). However, in some other embodiments, the radio unit(s)1010and potentially the antenna(s)1016are integrated together with the control system1002. The one or more processors1004operate to provide one or more functions of a radio access node1000as described herein (e.g., one or more functions of an eNB or base station602-1or base station602-2described above, e.g., with respect toFIG.7). In some embodiments, the function(s) are implemented in software that is stored, e.g., in the memory1006and executed by the one or more processors1004.

FIG.11is a schematic block diagram that illustrates a virtualized embodiment of the radio access node1000according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. This discussion is equally applicable to other types of network nodes. Further, other types of network nodes may have similar virtualized architectures. Again, optional features are represented by dashed boxes.

As used herein, a “virtualized” radio access node is an implementation of the radio access node1000in which at least a portion of the functionality of the radio access node1000is implemented as a virtual component(s) (e.g., via a virtual machine(s) executing on a physical processing node(s) in a network(s)). As illustrated, in this example, the radio access node1000may include the control system1002and/or the one or more radio units1010, as described above. The control system1002may be connected to the radio unit(s)1010via, for example, an optical cable or the like. The radio access node1000includes one or more processing nodes1100coupled to or included as part of a network(s)1102. If present, the control system1002or the radio unit(s) are connected to the processing node(s)1100via the network1102. Each processing node1100includes one or more processors1104(e.g., CPUs, ASICs, FPGAs, and/or the like), memory1106, and a network interface1108.

In this example, functions1110of the radio access node1000described herein (e.g., one or more functions of an eNB or base station602-1or base station602-2described above, e.g., with respect toFIG.7) are implemented at the one or more processing nodes1100or distributed across the one or more processing nodes1100and the control system1002and/or the radio unit(s)1010in any desired manner. In some particular embodiments, some or all of the functions1110of the radio access node1000described herein are implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines implemented in a virtual environment(s) hosted by the processing node(s)1100. As will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, additional signaling or communication between the processing node(s)1100and the control system1002is used in order to carry out at least some of the desired functions1110. Notably, in some embodiments, the control system1002may not be included, in which case the radio unit(s)1010communicate directly with the processing node(s)1100via an appropriate network interface(s).

In some embodiments, a computer program including instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to carry out the functionality of radio access node1000or a node (e.g., a processing node1100) implementing one or more of the functions1110of the radio access node1000in a virtual environment according to any of the embodiments described herein (e.g., one or more functions of an eNB or base station602-1or base station602-2described above, e.g., with respect toFIG.7) is provided. In some embodiments, a carrier comprising the aforementioned computer program product is provided. The carrier is one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, a radio signal, or a computer readable storage medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer readable medium such as memory).

FIG.12is a schematic block diagram of the radio access node1000according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure. The radio access node1000includes one or more modules1200, each of which is implemented in software. The module(s)1200provide the functionality of the radio access node1000described herein (e.g., one or more functions of an eNB or base station602-1or base station602-2described above, e.g., with respect toFIG.7). This discussion is equally applicable to the processing node1100ofFIG.11where the modules1200may be implemented at one of the processing nodes1100or distributed across multiple processing nodes1100and/or distributed across the processing node(s)1100and the control system1002.

FIG.13is a schematic block diagram of a wireless communication device1300according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The wireless communication device1300may be, e.g., the WCD612. As illustrated, the wireless communication device1300includes one or more processors1302(e.g., CPUs, ASICs, FPGAs, and/or the like), memory1304, and one or more transceivers1306each including one or more transmitters1308and one or more receivers1310coupled to one or more antennas1312. The transceiver(s)1306includes radio-front end circuitry connected to the antenna(s)1312that is configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna(s)1312and the processor(s)1302, as will be appreciated by on of ordinary skill in the art. The processors1302are also referred to herein as processing circuitry. The transceivers1306are also referred to herein as radio circuitry. In some embodiments, the functionality of the wireless communication device1300described above (e.g., one or more functions of a UE or the WCD612described above, e.g., with respect toFIGS.7-9) may be fully or partially implemented in software that is, e.g., stored in the memory1304and executed by the processor(s)1302. Note that the wireless communication device1300may include additional components not illustrated inFIG.13such as, e.g., one or more user interface components (e.g., an input/output interface including a display, buttons, a touch screen, a microphone, a speaker(s), and/or the like and/or any other components for allowing input of information into the wireless communication device1300and/or allowing output of information from the wireless communication device1300), a power supply (e.g., a battery and associated power circuitry), etc.

In some embodiments, a computer program including instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to carry out the functionality of the wireless communication device1300according to any of the embodiments described herein (e.g., one or more functions of a UE or the WCD612described above, e.g., with respect toFIGS.7-9) is provided. In some embodiments, a carrier comprising the aforementioned computer program product is provided. The carrier is one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, a radio signal, or a computer readable storage medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer readable medium such as memory).

FIG.14is a schematic block diagram of the wireless communication device1300according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure. The wireless communication device1300includes one or more modules1400, each of which is implemented in software. The module(s)1400provide the functionality of the wireless communication device1300described herein (e.g., one or more functions of a UE or the WCD612described above, e.g., with respect toFIGS.7-9).

With reference toFIG.15, in accordance with an embodiment, a communication system includes a telecommunication network1500, such as a 3GPP-type cellular network, which comprises an access network1502, such as a RAN, and a core network1504. The access network1502comprises a plurality of base stations1506A,1506B,1506C, such as Node Bs, eNBs, gNBs, or other types of wireless Access Points (APs), each defining a corresponding coverage area1508A,1508B,1508C. Each base station1506A,1506B,1506C is connectable to the core network1504over a wired or wireless connection1510. A first UE1512located in coverage area1508C is configured to wirelessly connect to, or be paged by, the corresponding base station1506C. A second UE1514in coverage area1508A is wirelessly connectable to the corresponding base station1506A. While a plurality of UEs1512,1514are illustrated in this example, the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable to a situation where a sole UE is in the coverage area or where a sole UE is connecting to the corresponding base station1506.

The telecommunication network1500is itself connected to a host computer1516, 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. The host computer1516may 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. Connections1518and1520between the telecommunication network1500and the host computer1516may extend directly from the core network1504to the host computer1516or may go via an optional intermediate network1522. The intermediate network1522may be one of, or a combination of more than one of, a public, private, or hosted network; the intermediate network1522, if any, may be a backbone network or the Internet; in particular, the intermediate network1522may comprise two or more sub-networks (not shown).

The communication system ofFIG.15as a whole enables connectivity between the connected UEs1512,1514and the host computer1516. The connectivity may be described as an Over-the-Top (OTT) connection1524. The host computer1516and the connected UEs1512,1514are configured to communicate data and/or signaling via the OTT connection1524, using the access network1502, the core network1504, any intermediate network1522, and possible further infrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries. The OTT connection1524may be transparent in the sense that the participating communication devices through which the OTT connection1524passes are unaware of routing of uplink and downlink communications. For example, the base station1506may not or need not be informed about the past routing of an incoming downlink communication with data originating from the host computer1516to be forwarded (e.g., handed over) to a connected UE1512. Similarly, the base station1506need not be aware of the future routing of an outgoing uplink communication originating from the UE1512towards the host computer1516.

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.16. In a communication system1600, a host computer1602comprises hardware1604including a communication interface1606configured to set up and maintain a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of the communication system1600. The host computer1602further comprises processing circuitry1608, which may have storage and/or processing capabilities. In particular, the processing circuitry1608may comprise one or more programmable processors, ASICs, FPGAs, or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. The host computer1602further comprises software1610, which is stored in or accessible by the host computer1602and executable by the processing circuitry1608. The software1610includes a host application1612. The host application1612may be operable to provide a service to a remote user, such as a UE1614connecting via an OTT connection1616terminating at the UE1614and the host computer1602. In providing the service to the remote user, the host application1612may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection1616.

The communication system1600further includes a base station1618provided in a telecommunication system and comprising hardware1620enabling it to communicate with the host computer1602and with the UE1614. The hardware1620may include a communication interface1622for setting up and maintaining a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of the communication system1600, as well as a radio interface1624for setting up and maintaining at least a wireless connection1626with the UE1614located in a coverage area (not shown inFIG.16) served by the base station1618. The communication interface1622may be configured to facilitate a connection1628to the host computer1602. The connection1628may be direct or it may pass through a core network (not shown inFIG.16) of the telecommunication system and/or through one or more intermediate networks outside the telecommunication system. In the embodiment shown, the hardware1620of the base station1618further includes processing circuitry1630, which may comprise one or more programmable processors, ASICs, FPGAs, or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. The base station1618further has software1632stored internally or accessible via an external connection.

The communication system1600further includes the UE1614already referred to. The UE's1614hardware1634may include a radio interface1636configured to set up and maintain a wireless connection1626with a base station serving a coverage area in which the UE1614is currently located. The hardware1634of the UE1614further includes processing circuitry1638, which may comprise one or more programmable processors, ASICs, FPGAs, or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. The UE1614further comprises software1640, which is stored in or accessible by the UE1614and executable by the processing circuitry1638. The software1640includes a client application1642. The client application1642may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via the UE1614, with the support of the host computer1602. In the host computer1602, the executing host application1612may communicate with the executing client application1642via the OTT connection1616terminating at the UE1614and the host computer1602. In providing the service to the user, the client application1642may receive request data from the host application1612and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection1616may transfer both the request data and the user data. The client application1642may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides.

It is noted that the host computer1602, the base station1618, and the UE1614illustrated inFIG.16may be similar or identical to the host computer1516, one of the base stations1506A,1506B,1506C, and one of the UEs1512,1514ofFIG.15, respectively. This is to say, the inner workings of these entities may be as shown inFIG.16and independently, the surrounding network topology may be that ofFIG.15.

InFIG.16, the OTT connection1616has been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host computer1602and the UE1614via the base station1618without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices. The network infrastructure may determine the routing, which may be configured to hide from the UE1614or from the service provider operating the host computer1602, or both. While the OTT connection1616is active, the network infrastructure may further take decisions by which it dynamically changes the routing (e.g., on the basis of load balancing consideration or reconfiguration of the network).

The wireless connection1626between the UE1614and the base station1618is 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 the UE1614using the OTT connection1616, in which the wireless connection1626forms the last segment.

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 connection1616between the host computer1602and the UE1614, in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and/or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection1616may be implemented in the software1610and the hardware1604of the host computer1602or in the software1640and the hardware1634of the UE1614, or both. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with communication devices through which the OTT connection1616passes; 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 the software1610,1640may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of the OTT connection1616may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing, etc.; the reconfiguring need not affect the base station1618, and it may be unknown or imperceptible to the base station1618. Such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling facilitating the host computer1602's measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency, and the like. The measurements may be implemented in that the software1610and1640causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTT connection1616while it monitors propagation times, errors, etc.

FIG.17is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system, in accordance with one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station, and a UE which may be those described with reference toFIGS.15and16. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references toFIG.17will be included in this section. In step1700, the host computer provides user data. In sub-step1702(which may be optional) of step1700, the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In step1704, the host computer initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the UE. In step1706(which may be optional), the base station transmits to the UE the user data which was carried in the transmission that the host computer initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step1708(which may also be optional), the UE executes a client application associated with the host application executed by the host computer.

Some example embodiments of the present disclosure are as follows:

Group A Embodiments

Embodiment 1: A method performed by a wireless device, the method comprising any one or more of the following:receiving (700) a system information block (SIB) message from a first cell in a first network node;receiving (702) a radio resource control (RRC), release message from a first network node;determining (704) whether the RRC release message includes an idle mode measurement configuration;upon determining the RRC release message includes an idle mode measurement configurations:determining (704;800) whether RRC release message includes idle mode measurement configurations for E-UTRA carriers and if so, applying (704;802) the configurations;determining (704;804) whether RRC release message includes idle mode measurement configurations for NR carriers and if so, applying (704;806) the configurations;upon determining that the RRC release message does not include idle mode measurement configurations for E-UTRA carriers:determining (704;808) whether broadcasted system information includes idle mode measurement configuration for E-UTRA carriers and, if so, applying (704;810) the configurationsupon determining that the RRC release message does not include idle mode measurement configurations for NR carriers:determining (704;812) whether broadcasted system information includes idle mode measurement configuration for NR carriers and, if so, applying (704;814) the configurationsperform (706) idle mode measurements on E-UTRA and/or NR carriers according to received configurationsreport (716) idle mode measurement results to the network upon resuming or establishing an RRC connection with the network.

Embodiment 2: The method of any of embodiments 1, wherein the received RRC release message does not include idle mode measurement configurations for E-UTRA carriers, and the method further comprises, upon re-selecting to another second cell in a second network node: receiving (710) a system information block (SIB) message from the second cell in the second network node comprising idle mode measurement configurations for E-UTRA carriers; replacing or applying (712) the received broadcasted idle mode measurement configurations for E-UTRA carriers; and performing (714) idle mode measurements on E-UTRA carriers according to the received broadcasted idle mode measurement configurations.

Embodiment 3: The method of any of embodiments 1, wherein the received RRC release message does not include idle mode measurement configurations for NR carriers, and the method further comprises, upon re-selecting to another second cell in a second network node: receiving (710) a system information block (SIB) message from the second cell in the second network node comprising idle mode measurement configurations for NR carriers; replacing or applying (712) the received broadcasted idle mode measurement configurations for NR carriers; and performing (714) idle mode measurements on NR carriers according to the received broadcasted idle mode measurement configurations.

Embodiment 4: The method of any of embodiments 1-3, wherein the received RRC release message comprises one of an RRCRelease message or an RRCConnectionRelease message.

Embodiment 5: The method of any of embodiments 1-4, wherein the received SIB message comprises one of a SIB2, SIB4, SIB10 and SIB24.

Embodiment 6: A method performed by a wireless communication device for handling idle mode measurement configurations for multiple radio access technologies, the method comprising: receiving (700;702), on a first cell served by a first base station (602-1), idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers for a first radio access technology, idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers for a second radio access technology, or both idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers for the first radio access technology and idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers for the second radio access technology; determining (704) idle mode measurement configurations to be applied by the wireless communication device (612) while in the first cell based on the idle mode measurement configurations received on the first cell; and performing (706) idle mode measurements using the determined idle mode measurement configurations to be applied by the wireless communication device (612) while in the first cell.

Embodiment 7: The method of embodiment 6 further comprising: performing (708) a reselection to a second cell served by a second base station (602-2); receiving (710), in the second cell, idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers for the first radio access technology, idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers for the second radio access technology, or both idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers for the first radio access technology and idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers for the second radio access technology; determining (712) idle mode measurement configurations to be applied by the wireless communication device (612) while in the second cell based on the idle mode measurement configurations received on the first cell and the idle mode measurement configurations received on the second cell; and performing (714) idle mode measurements using the determined idle mode measurement configurations to be applied by the wireless communication device (612) while in the second cell.

Embodiment 8: The method of embodiment 7 wherein receiving (710) comprises receiving (710) broadcast information on the second cell, the broadcast information comprising idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers for the first radio access technology, idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers for the second radio access technology, or both idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers for the first radio access technology and idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers for the second radio access technology.

Embodiment 9: The method of embodiment 8 further comprising reporting (716) at least some of the performed idle mode measurements to the second base station (602-2), e.g., upon resuming a RRC connection with the second base station (602-2).

Embodiment 10: The method of embodiment 8 or 9 wherein determining (712) idle mode measurement configurations to be applied by the wireless communication device (612) while in the second cell comprises: determining (900, YES) that the broadcast information received on the second cell comprises idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers on the first radio access technology; determining (902, NO) that an RRC Release message received by the wireless communication device (612) in the first cell does not include idle mode measurement configurations for any carriers on the first radio access technology; and, upon determining that the RRC Release message received by the wireless communication device (612) in the first cell does not include idle mode measurement configurations for any carriers on the first radio access technology and determining that the broadcast information received on the second cell comprises idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers on the first radio access technology, applying (904) the idle mode measurement configurations for the one or more carriers on the first radio access technology received in the broadcast information on the second cell.

Embodiment 11: The method of embodiment 8 or 9 wherein determining (712) idle mode measurement configurations to be applied by the wireless communication device (612) while in the second cell comprises: determining (908, YES) that the broadcast information received on the second cell comprises idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers on the second radio access technology; determining (910, NO) that an RRC Release message received by the wireless communication device (612) in the first cell does not include idle mode measurement configurations for any carriers on the second radio access technology; and, upon determining that the RRC Release message received by the wireless communication device (612) in the first cell does not include idle mode measurement configurations for any carriers on the second radio access technology and determining that the broadcast information received on the second cell comprises idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers on the second radio access technology, applying (912) the idle mode measurement configurations for the one or more carriers on the second radio access technology received in the broadcast information on the second cell.

Embodiment 12: The method of any of embodiments 6-11, wherein receiving (702) the idle mode measurement configurations on the first cell comprises receiving (702) an RRC Release message on the first cell, the RRC Release message comprising idle mode measurement configurations for the first radio access technology and/or idle mode measurement configurations for the first radio access technology.

Embodiment 13: The method of embodiment 12 wherein the received RRC release message comprises an RRCRelease message or an RRCConnectionRelease message.

Embodiment 14: The method of any of embodiments 6-13, wherein receiving (700) the idle mode measurement configurations on the first cell comprises receiving (700) a system information on the first cell, the system information comprising idle mode measurement configurations for the first radio access technology and/or idle mode measurement configurations for the first radio access technology.

Embodiment 15: The method of embodiment 14 wherein the received system information is a SIB message.

Embodiment 16: The method of embodiment 15 wherein the SIB message is a SIB2, SIB4, SIB10 or SIB24.

Embodiment 17: The method of any of embodiments 6-11, wherein receiving (710) the idle mode measurement configurations on the second cell comprises receiving (710) system information on the second cell, the system information comprising idle mode measurement configurations for the first radio access technology and/or idle mode measurement configurations for the first radio access technology.

Embodiment 18: The method of embodiment 17 wherein the received system information is a SIB message.

Embodiment 19: The method of embodiment 18 wherein the SIB message is a SIB2, SIB4, SIB10 or SIB24.

Embodiment 20: The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising: providing user data; and forwarding the user data to a host computer via the transmission to the base station.

Group B Embodiments

Embodiment 21: A method performed by a base station configuring idle mode measurement configurations for multiple radio access technologies, the method comprising: sending (700;702), on a first cell served by the base station (602-1), first idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers for a first radio access technology and second idle mode measurement configurations for one or more carriers for a second radio access technology.

Embodiment 22: The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising: obtaining user data; and forwarding the user data to a host computer or a wireless device.

Group C Embodiments

Embodiment 23: A wireless communication device comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the wireless communication device.

Embodiment 24: A base station comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the base station.

Embodiment 25: A User Equipment, UE, comprising: an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals; radio front-end circuitry connected to the antenna and to processing circuitry, and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuitry; the processing circuitry being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments; an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry; an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry; and a battery connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the UE.

Embodiment 26: A communication system including a host computer comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a communication interface configured to forward the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a User Equipment, UE; wherein the cellular network comprises a base station having a radio interface and processing circuitry, the base station's processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments.

Embodiment 27: The communication system of the previous embodiment further including the base station.

Embodiment 28: The communication system of the previous 2 embodiments, further including the UE, wherein the UE is configured to communicate with the base station.

Embodiment 29: The communication system of the previous 3 embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and the UE comprises processing circuitry configured to execute a client application associated with the host application.

Embodiment 31: The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising, at the base station, transmitting the user data.

Embodiment 32: The method of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein the user data is provided at the host computer by executing a host application, the method further comprising, at the UE, executing a client application associated with the host application.

Embodiment 33: A User Equipment, UE, configured to communicate with a base station, the UE comprising a radio interface and processing circuitry configured to perform the method of the previous 3 embodiments.

Embodiment 34: 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 User Equipment, UE; wherein the UE comprises a radio interface and processing circuitry, the UE's components configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments.

Embodiment 35: The communication system of the previous embodiment, wherein the cellular network further includes a base station configured to communicate with the UE.

Embodiment 36: The communication system of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and the UE's processing circuitry is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application.

Embodiment 38: The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising at the UE, receiving the user data from the base station.

Embodiment 39: A communication system including a host computer comprising: communication interface configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from a User Equipment, UE, to a base station; wherein the UE comprises a radio interface and processing circuitry, the UE's processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments.

Embodiment 40: The communication system of the previous embodiment, further including the UE.

Embodiment 41: The communication system of the previous 2 embodiments, further including the base station, wherein the base station comprises a radio interface configured to communicate with the UE and a communication interface configured to forward to the host computer the user data carried by a transmission from the UE to the base station.

Embodiment 44: A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a User Equipment, UE, the method comprising: at the host computer, receiving user data transmitted to the base station from the UE, wherein the UE performs any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments.

Embodiment 45: The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising, at the UE, providing the user data to the base station.

Embodiment 46: The method of the previous 2 embodiments, further comprising: at the UE, executing a client application, thereby providing the user data to be transmitted; and at the host computer, executing a host application associated with the client application.

Embodiment 49: The communication system of the previous embodiment further including the base station.

Embodiment 52: A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a User Equipment, UE, the method comprising: at the host computer, receiving, from the base station, user data originating from a transmission which the base station has received from the UE, wherein the UE performs any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments.

Embodiment 53: The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising at the base station, receiving the user data from the UE.

Embodiment 54: The method of the previous 2 embodiments, further comprising at the base station, initiating a transmission of the received user data to the host computer.

At least some of the following abbreviations may be used in this disclosure. If there is an inconsistency between abbreviations, preference should be given to how it is used above. If listed multiple times below, the first listing should be preferred over any subsequent listing(s).3GPP Third Generation Partnership Project5G Fifth Generation5GC Fifth Generation Core5GS Fifth Generation SystemAF Application FunctionAMF Access and Mobility FunctionAN Access NetworkAP Access PointASIC Application Specific Integrated CircuitAUSF Authentication Server FunctionCPU Central Processing UnitDN Data NetworkDSP Digital Signal ProcessoreNB Enhanced or Evolved Node BEPS Evolved Packet SystemE-UTRA Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio AccessFPGA Field Programmable Gate ArraygNB New Radio Base StationgNB-DU New Radio Base Station Distributed UnitHSS Home Subscriber ServerIoT Internet of ThingsIP Internet ProtocolLTE Long Term EvolutionMME Mobility Management EntityMTC Machine Type CommunicationNEF Network Exposure FunctionNF Network FunctionNR New RadioNRF Network Function Repository FunctionNSSF Network Slice Selection FunctionOTT Over-the-TopPC Personal ComputerPCF Policy Control FunctionP-GW Packet Data Network GatewayQoS Quality of ServiceRAM Random Access MemoryRAN Radio Access NetworkROM Read Only MemoryRRH Remote Radio HeadRTT Round Trip TimeSCEF Service Capability Exposure FunctionSMF Session Management FunctionUDM Unified Data ManagementUE User EquipmentUPF User Plane Function