SSB INDEX TO PRACH OCCASION MAPPING

An apparatus for use in a UE includes processing circuitry coupled to a memory. To configure the UE for SSB processing in a 5G-NR network, the processing circuitry is to decode a MIB and a SIB received from a gNB. An RRC IE within the SIB is obtained. The RRC IE includes a bitmap associated with an SSB transmission pattern, where a length of the bitmap indicates a number of beams used within a cell of the gNB. SSB indices corresponding to candidate SSB positions within a discovery reference signal (DRS) transmission duration are determined based on the number of beams. Synchronization with the cell of the to gNB is performed using SSBs received within the DRS transmission duration, the SSBs selected based on the determined SSB indices.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Aspects pertain to wireless communications. Some aspects relate to wireless networks including 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) networks, 3GPP LTE (Long Term Evolution) networks, 3GPP LTE-A (LTE Advanced) networks, and fifth-generation (5G) networks including 5G new radio (NR) (or 5G-NR) networks and 5G-LTE networks such as 5G NR unlicensed spectrum (NR-U) networks. Other aspects are directed to systems and methods for synchronization signal block (SSB) index to physical random access channel (PRACH) mapping, physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) rate matching, and SSB to control resource set (CORESET) monitoring occasions.

BACKGROUND

Mobile communications have evolved significantly from early voice systems to today's highly sophisticated integrated communication platform, With the increase in different types of devices communicating with various network devices, usage of 3GPP LTE systems has increased. The penetration of mobile devices (user equipment or UEs) in modern society has continued to drive demand for a wide variety of networked devices in many disparate environments. Fifth-generation (5G) wireless systems are forthcoming and are expected to enable even greater speed, connectivity, and usability. Next generation 5G networks (or NR networks) are expected to increase throughput, coverage, and robustness and reduce latency and operational and capital expenditures. 5G-NR networks will continue to evolve based on 3GPP LTE-Advanced with additional potential new radio access technologies (RATs) to enrich people's lives with seamless wireless connectivity solutions delivering fast, rich content and services. As current cellular network frequency is saturated, higher frequencies, such as millimeter wave (mmWave) frequency, can be beneficial due to their high bandwidth.

Potential LTE operation in the unlicensed spectrum includes (and is not limited to) the LTE operation in the unlicensed spectrum via dual connectivity (DC), or DC-based LAA, and the standalone LTE system in the unlicensed spectrum, according to which LTE-based technology solely operates in the unlicensed spectrum without requiring an “anchor” in the licensed spectrum, called MulteFire. MulteFire combines the performance benefits of LTE technology with the simplicity of Wi-Fi-like deployments.

Further enhanced operation of LTE systems in the licensed as well as unlicensed spectrum is expected in future releases and 5G systems. Such enhanced operations can include techniques for SSB index to PRACH mapping, PDSCH rate matching, and SSB to CORESET monitoring occasions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTIO

The following description and the drawings sufficiently illustrate aspects to enable those skilled in the art to practice them. Other aspects may incorporate structural, logical, electrical, process, and other changes. Portions and features of some aspects may be included in or substituted for, those of other aspects. Aspects outlined in the claims encompass all available equivalents of those claims.

FIG. 1Aillustrates an architecture of a network in accordance with some aspects. The network1404is shown to include user equipment (UE)101and UE102. The UEs101and102are illustrated as smartphones (e.g., handheld touchscreen mobile computing devices connectable to one or more cellular networks) but may also include any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as Personal Data Assistants (PDAs), pagers, laptop computers, desktop computers, wireless handsets, drones, or any other computing device including a wired and/or wireless communications interface. The UEs101and102can be collectively referred to herein as UE101, and UE101can be used to perform one or more of the techniques disclosed herein.

Any of the radio links described herein (e.g., as used in the network140A or any other illustrated network) may operate according to any exemplary radio communication technology and/or standard.

LTE and LTE-Advanced are standards for wireless communications of high-speed data for UE such as mobile telephones. In LTE-Advanced and various wireless systems, carrier aggregation is a technology according to which multiple carrier signals operating on different frequencies may be used to carry communications for a single UE, thus increasing the bandwidth available to a single device. In some aspects, carrier aggregation may be used where one or more component carriers operate on unlicensed frequencies.

Aspects described herein can be used in the context of any spectrum management scheme including, for example, dedicated licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, (licensed) shared spectrum (such as Licensed Shared Access (LSA) in 2.3-2.4 GHz, 3.4-3.6 GHz, 3.6-3.8 GHz, and further frequencies and Spectrum Access System (SAS) in 3.55-3.7 GHz and further frequencies).

Aspects described herein can also be applied to different Single Carrier or OFDM flavors (CP-OFDM, SC-FDMA, SC-OFDM, filter bank-based multicarrier (FBMC), OFDMA, etc.) and in particular 3GPP NR (New Radio) by allocating the OFDM carrier data bit vectors to the corresponding symbol resources.

In some aspects, any of the UEs101and102can include enhanced MTC (eMTC) UEs or further enhanced MTC (FeMTC) UEs.

The UEs101and102may be configured to connect, e.g., communicatively couple, with a radio access network (RAN)110. The RAN110may be, for example, an Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), a NextGen RAN (NG RAN), or some other type of RAN. The UEs101and102utilize connections103and104, respectively, each of which comprises a physical communications interface or layer (discussed in further detail below); in this example, the connections103and104are illustrated as an air interface to enable communicative coupling and can be consistent with cellular communications protocols, such as a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) protocol, a code-division multiple access (CDMA) network protocol, a Push-to-Talk (PIT) protocol, a PTT over Cellular (POC) protocol, a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) protocol, a 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) protocol, a fifth-generation (5G) protocol, a New Radio (NR) protocol, and the like.

In an aspect, the UEs101and102may further directly exchange communication data via a ProSe interface105. The ProSe interface105may alternatively be referred to as a sidelink interface comprising one or more logical channels, including but not limited to a Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH), a Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH), a Physical Sidelink Discovery Channel (PSDCH), and a Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel (PSBCH).

The UE102is shown to be configured to access an access point (AP)106via connection107. The connection107can comprise a local wireless connection, such as, for example, a connection consistent with any IEEE802,11protocol, according to which the AP106can comprise a wireless fidelity (WiFi®) router. In this example, the AP106is shown to be connected to the Internet without connecting to the core network of the wireless system (described in further detail below).

Any of the RAN nodes111and112can terminate the air interface protocol and can be the first point of contact for the UEs101and102. In some aspects, any of the RAN nodes111and112can fulfill various logical functions for the RAN110including, but not limited to, radio network controller (RNC) functions such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management, and data packet scheduling, and mobility management. In an example, any of the nodes111and/or112can be a new generation Node-B (gNB), an evolved node-B (eNB), or another type of RAN node.

The S-GW122may terminate the S1 interface113towards the RAN110, and routes data packets between the RAN110and the CN120. In addition, the S-GW122may be a local mobility anchor point for inter-RAN node handovers and also may provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility. Other responsibilities of the S-GW122may include a lawful intercept, charging, and some policy enforcement.

The P-GW123may further be a node for policy enforcement and charging data collection. Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF)126is the policy and charging control element of the CN120. In a non-roaming scenario, in some aspects, there may be a single PCRF in the Home Public Land Mobile Network (HPLMN) associated with a UE's Internet Protocol Connectivity Access Network (IP-CAN) session. In a roaming scenario with a local breakout of traffic, there may be two PCRFs associated with a UE's IP-CAN session: a Home PCRF (H-PCRF) within an HPLMN and a Visited PCRF (V-PCRF) within a Visited Public Land Mobile Network (VPLMN). The PCRF126may be communicatively coupled to the application server184via the P-GW123.

In some aspects, the communication network140A can be an IoT network or a 5G network, including a 5G new radio network using communications in the licensed ( 5G NR) and the unlicensed ( 5G NR-U) spectrum. One of the current enablers of IoT is the narrowband-IoT (NB-IoT),

An NG system architecture can include the RAN110and a 5G network core ( 5GC)120. The NG-RAN110can include a plurality of nodes, such as gNBs and NG-eNBs. The core network120(e.g., a 5G core network or 5GC) can include an access and mobility function (AMF) and/or a user plane function (UPF). The AMF and the UPF can be communicatively coupled to the gNBs and the NG-eNBs via NG interfaces. More specifically, in some aspects, the gNBs and the NG-eNBs can be connected to the AMF by NG-C interfaces, and to the UPF by NG-U interfaces. The gNBs and the NG-eNBs can be coupled to each other via Xn interfaces.

In some aspects, the NG system architecture can use reference points between various nodes as provided by 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 23.501 (e.g., V15.4.0, 2018-12). In some aspects, each of the gNBs and the NG-eNBs can be implemented as a base station, a mobile edge server, a small cell, a home eNB, and so forth. In some aspects, a gNB can be a master node (MN) and NG-eNB can be a secondary node (SN) in a 5G architecture.

FIG. 1Billustrates a non-roaming 5G system architecture in accordance with some aspects. Referring toFIG. 1B, there is illustrated a 5G system architecture140B in a reference point representation. More specifically, UE102can be in communication with RAN110as well as one or more other 5G core ( 5GC) network entities. The 5G system architecture140B includes a plurality of network functions (NFs), such as access and mobility management function (AMF)132, session management function (SMF)136. policy control function (PCF)148, application function (AF)150, user plane function (UPF)134, network slice selection function (NSSF)142, authentication server function (AUSF)144, and unified data management (UDM)/home subscriber server (HSS)146. The UPF134can provide a connection to a data network (DN)152, which can include, for example, operator services, Internet access, or third-party services. The AMF132can be used to manage access control and mobility and can also include network slice selection functionality. The SMF136can be configured to set up and manage various sessions according to network policy. The UPF134can be deployed in one or more configurations according to the desired service type. The PCF148can be configured to provide a policy framework using network slicing, mobility management, and roaming (similar to PCRF in a 4G communication system). The UDM can be configured to store subscriber profiles and data (similar to an HSS in a 4G communication system).

In some aspects, the 5G system architecture140B includes an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS)168B as well as a plurality of IP multimedia core network subsystem entities, such as call session control functions (CSCFs). More specifically, the IMS168B includes a CSCF, which can act as a proxy CSCF (P-CSCF)162BE, a serving CSCF (S-CSCF)164B, an emergency CSCF (E-CSCF) (not illustrated inFIG. 1), or interrogating CSCF (I-CSCF)166B. The P-CSCF162B can be configured to be the first contact point for the UE102within the IM subsystem (IMS)168B. The S-CSCF164B can be configured to handle the session states in the network, and the E-CSCF can be configured to handle certain aspects of emergency sessions such as routing an emergency request to the correct emergency center or PSAP. The I-CSCF166B can be configured to function as the contact point within an operator's network for all IMS connections destined to a subscriber of that network operator, or a roaming subscriber currently located within that network operator's service area. In some aspects, the I-CSCF166B can be connected to another IP multimedia network170E, e.g. an IMS operated by a different network operator.

In some aspects, the UM/MSS146can be coupled to an application server160E, which can include a telephony application server (TAS) or another application server (AS). The AS160B can be coupled to the IMS168B via the S-CSCF164B or the I-CSCF166B.

A reference point representation shows that interaction can exist between corresponding NF services. For example,FIG. 1Billustrates the following reference points: N1(between the UE102and the AMF132), N2(between the RAN110and the AMF132), N3(between the RAN110and the UPF134), N4(between the SMF136and the UN;134), N5(between the PCF148and the AF150, not shown), N6(between the UPF134and the DN152), N7(between the SMF136and the PCF148, not shown), N8(between the UDM146and the AMF132, not shown), N9(between two UPFs134, not shown), N10(between the UDM146and the SMF136, not shown), N11(between the AMF132and the SMF136, not shown), N12(between the AUSF144and the AMF132, not shown), N13(between the AUSF144and the UDM146, not shown), N14(between two AMFs132, not shown), N15(between the PCF148and the AMF132in case of a non-roaming scenario, or between the PCF148and a visited network and AMF132in case of a roaming scenario, not shown), N16(between two SMFs, not shown), and N22(between AMF132and NSSF142, not shown). Other reference point representations not shown inFIG. 1Bcan also be used.

FIG. 1Cillustrates a 5G system architecture140C and a service-based representation. In addition to the network entities illustrated inFIG. 1B, system architecture140C can also include a network exposure function (NEF)154and a network repository function (NRF)156. In some aspects, 5G system architectures can be service-based and interaction between network functions can be represented by corresponding point-to-point reference points Ni or as service-based interfaces.

In some aspects, as illustrated inFIG. 1C, service-based representations can be used to represent network functions within the control plane that enable other authorized network functions to access their services. In this regard, 5G system architecture140C can include the following service-based interfaces: Namf158H (a service-based interface exhibited by the AMF132), Nsmf158I (a service-based interface exhibited by the SMF136), Nnef158B (a service-based interface exhibited by the NEF154), Npcf158D (a service-based interface exhibited by the PCF148), a Nudm158E (a service-based interface exhibited by the UDM146), Naf158F (a service-based interface exhibited by the AF150), Nnrf158C (a service-based interface exhibited by the NRF156), Nnssf158A (a service-based interface exhibited by the NSSF142), Nausf158G (a service-based interface exhibited by the AUSF144). Other service-based interfaces (e.g., Nudr, N5g-eir, and Nudst) not shown inFIG. 1Ccan also be used.

In example embodiments, any of the UEs or base stations discussed in connection withFIG. 1A-FIG. 1Ccan be configured to operate using the techniques discussed in connection withFIG. 2andFIG. 3.

Techniques disclosed herein are used for extending PDCCH monitoring of a search space associated with CORESET#0 to all SS/PBCH block indices that are quasi co-located (QCL). in some aspects, a bit position in ssb-PositionsInBurst may be used to indicate a set of SS/PBCH block indices that are QCL, This new interpretation affects PDSCH rate-matching and mapping of SSB indices to PRACH occasions, which can be performed as discussed herein.

FIG. 2illustrates a diagram200of a discovery reference signal (DRS) with SSB candidate positions, in accordance with some embodiments. More specifically,FIG. 2illustrates a DRS transmission duration of 1 ms comprising of 2 slots (30 kHz SCS). In some aspects, a DRS transmission window is defined as a 5 ms interval comprising of 10 slots (30 kHz SCS) where each slot comprises of 2 SSB candidate positions. A total of 20 SSB candidate positions can be provided in a DRS transmission window. The following Table 1 with notations may be used:

In some aspects, the time index at the UE is determined from c and s and given by t=8*c+s, c=0, 1, 2, or 3 is cycle index, s=0, . . . , 7 is the PBCH-DMRS index.

In some aspects, the beam index at the UE is determined from s and Q and is given by equation b=mod (s, Q). This can also be written as b=mod(8*c+s, Q), where Q is the number of beams. The beam indices corresponding to each candidate SSB position within a 5 ms DRS transmission window are shown in Table 2 below (for different Q values):

The information in Table 2 above is also shown in the followingFIG. 3for Q=1, 2, 4 and 8.FIG. 3illustrates a diagram300of a physical broadcast channel (PBCH)-demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) indices and corresponding beam indices and candidate SSB positions within a DRS transmission window, in accordance with some embodiments.

The size of the ssb-PositionsInBurst bitmap is expected to be Q. The UE should either expect or assume that the bit positions beyond Q are set to to zero. This is shown in the followingFIG. 4.

FIG. 4illustrates a diagram400of usage of ssb-PositionsInBurst information element for obtaining a number of beams Q in a cell, in accordance with some embodiments. In some aspects, a length of the bitmap in ssb-PositionsInBurst indicates the number of beams Q used within a cell of the gNB.

PDSCH Rate Matching

In Rel-15, each bit in ssb-PositionsInBurst represents an SS/PBCH block index, and a bit set to 1 is used for PDSCH rate-matching with respect to the corresponding SS/PBCH block index (except for SIB1). In NR-U, depending on the value of Q, multiple SS/PBCH block indices are QCL and it is natural to consider a bit in ssb-PositionsInBurst to represent a SS/PBCH block set that is QCL. This allows a UE to perform PDSCH rate-matching with respect to a corresponding SS/PBCH block set. As an example, if Q=8, the first bit in ssb-PositionsInBurst represents SSB index=0; if Q=4, the first bit in ssb-PositionsInBurst represents SSB indices=0, 4; if Q=2, the first bit in ssb-PositionsInBurst represents SSB indices=0. 2, 4, 6; if Q=1, the first bit in ssb-PositionsInBurst represents SSB indices=0, 1, 2, 3. 4, 5, 6, 7.

SSB to PRACH Mapping

In Rel-15, SS/PBCH block indexes provided by ssb-PositionsInBurst are mapped to valid PRACH occasions based on first preamble indices, then frequency indices of PRACH occasions, then time resource indices within a slot, and then increasing order of slots. Following the same principles, one or more SS/PBCH block sets may be provided by ssb-PositionsInBurst and a SS/PBCH block set can be mapped to valid PRACH occasions based on Rel-15 rules. As an example, if Q=8, the first bit in ssb-PositionsInBurst represents SSB index=0; if Q=4, the first bit in ssb-PositionsInBurst represents SSB indices=0, 4; if Q=2, the first bit in ssb-PositionsInBurst represents SSB indices=0, 2, 4, 6; if Q=1, the first bit in ssb-PositionsInBurst represents SSB indices=0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.

In Rel-15, as part of SSB to RACH mapping, we have the following:

(a) a number N of SS/PBCH blocks is associated with a PRACH occasion. If N<1, one SS/PBCH block is mapped to 1/N consecutive valid PRACH occasions;

(b) a number R of contention-based preambles per SS/PBCH block per valid PRACH occasion; and

(c) a mapping of preamble indices to SS/PBCH block indices.

In NR-U, based on the value of Q, a set of SS/PBCH block indices are QCL. As a consequence, a QCL-ed SS/PBCH block set should be considered for SSB to RACH mapping. Specifically:

(a) a number N of SS/PBCH block sets should be associated with a PRACH occasion. If N<1, one SS/PBCH block set should be mapped to 1/N consecutive valid PRACH occasions;

(b) a number R of contention-based preambles per SS/PBCH block set per valid PRACH occasion; and

(c) a mapping of preamble indices to SS/PBCH block sets, where a SS/PBCH block set comprises of a set of SS/PBCH block indices that are QCL (based on Q value).

In some aspects, for defining SS/PBCH block set index (or SS/PBCH beam index), an L1 parameter qcl-Index or beam-index or b=mod(A, Q) associated with SS/PBCH block index A or SS/PBCH DMRS sequence index A may be used.

In some aspects, SS/PBCH block indexes are mapped to valid PRACH occasions in the following order:

(a) First, in increasing order of preamble indexes within a single PRACH occasion;

(b) Second, in increasing order of frequency resource indexes for to frequency multiplexed PRACH occasions;

(c) Third, in increasing order of time resource indexes for time-multiplexed PRACH occasions within a PRACH slot; and

(d) Fourth, in increasing order of indexes for PRACH slots.

SSB to CORESET#0 Monitoring Occasions

In Rel-15, a UE can receive DCI formats with CRC scrambled with C-RNTI on a search space set associated with CORESET#0 (assume active BWP is the same as initial BWP). In such a case, a UE monitors corresponding PDCCH candidates only at monitoring occasions associated with a SS/PBCH block index which is either indicated by MAC-CE or known through a random access procedure. A natural extension of the above agreement is to require the UE to monitor corresponding PDCCH candidates at monitoring occasions associated with a set of SS/PBCH block indices that are QCL. As an example, if Q=8, for the first beam monitoring slots associated with SSB index=0; if Q=4, the first beam monitoring slots associated with SSB indices=0, 4; if Q=2, the first beam monitoring slots associated with SSB indices=0, 2, 4, 6; if Q=1, the first beam monitoring slots associated with SSB indices=0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.

FIG. 5illustrates a block diagram of a communication device such as an evolved Node-B (eNB), a next generation Node-B (g:NB), an access point (AP), a wireless station (STA), a mobile station (MS), or a user equipment (UE), in accordance with some aspects and to perform one or more of the techniques disclosed herein. In alternative aspects, the communication device500may operate as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) to other communication devices.

Circuitry (e.g., processing circuitry) is a collection of circuits implemented in tangible entities of the device500that include hardware (e.g., simple circuits, gates, logic, etc.), Circuitry membership may be flexible over time. Circuitries include members that may, alone or in combination, perform specified operations when operating. In an example, the hardware of the circuitry may be immutably designed to carry out a specific operation e.g., hardwired). In an example, the hardware of the circuitry may include variably connected physical components (e.g., execution units, transistors, simple circuits, etc.) including a machine-readable medium physically modified (e.g., magnetically, electrically, moveable placement of invariant massed particles, etc.) to encode instructions of the specific operation.

In connecting the physical components, the underlying electrical properties of a hardware constituent are changed, for example, from an insulator to a conductor or vice versa. The instructions enable embedded hardware (e.g., is the execution units or a loading mechanism) to create members of the circuitry in hardware via the variable connections to carry out portions of the specific operation when in operation. Accordingly, in an example, the machine-readable medium elements are part of the circuitry or are communicatively coupled to the other components of the circuitry when the device is operating. In an example, any of the physical components may be used in more than one member of more than one circuitry. For example, under operation, execution units may be used in a first circuit of a first circuitry at one point in time and reused by a second circuit in the first circuitry, or by a third circuit in a second circuitry at a different time. Additional examples of these components with respect to the device500follow.

In some aspects, the device500may operate as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) to other devices. In a networked deployment, the communication device500may operate in the capacity of a server communication device, a client communication device, or both in server-client network environments. In an example, the communication device500may act as a peer communication device in a peer-to-peer (P2P) (or other distributed) network environment. The communication device500may be a UE eNB, PC, a tablet PC, an STB, a PDA, a mobile telephone, a smartphone, a web appliance, a network router, switch or bridge, or any communication device capable of executing instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that communication device. Further, while only a single communication device is illustrated, the term “communication device” shall also be taken to include any collection of communication devices that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, such as cloud computing, software as a service (SaaS), and other computer cluster configurations.

The communication device (e.g., UE)500may include a hardware processor502(e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a hardware processor core, or any combination thereof), a main memory504, a static memory506, and mass storage507(e.g., hard drive, tape drive, flash storage, or other block or storage devices), some or all of which may communicate with each other via, an interlink (e.g., bus)508.

The communication device500may further include a display device510, an alphanumeric input device512(e.g., a keyboard), and a user interface (UI) navigation device514(e.g., a mouse). In an example, the display device510, input device512, and UI navigation device514may be a touchscreen display. The communication device500may additionally include a signal generation device518(e.g., a speaker), a network interface device520, and one or more sensors521, such as a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, compass, accelerometer, or another sensor. The communication device500may include an output controller528, such as a serial (e.g., universal serial bus (USB), parallel, or other wired or wireless (e.g., infrared (IR), near field communication (NFC), etc. connection to communicate or control one or more peripheral devices (e.g., a printer, card reader, etc.).

The storage device507may include a communication device-readable medium522. on which is stored one or more sets of data structures or instructions524(e.g., software) embodying or utilized by any one or more of the techniques or functions described herein. In some aspects, registers of the processor502, the main memory504, the static memory506, and/or the mass storage507may be, or include (completely or at least partially), the device-readable medium522, on which is stored the one or more sets of data structures or instructions524, embodying or utilized by any one or more of the techniques or functions described herein. In an example, one or any combination of the hardware processor502, the main memory504, the static memory506, or the mass storage516may constitute the device-readable medium522.

As used herein, the term “device-readable medium” is interchangeable with “computer-readable medium” or “machine-readable medium”. While the communication device-readable medium522is illustrated as a single medium, the term “communication device-readable medium” may include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) configured to store the one or more instructions524The term “communication device-readable medium” is inclusive of the terms “machine-readable medium” or “computer-readable medium”, and may include any medium that is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions (e.g., instructions524) for execution by the communication device500and that cause the communication device500to perform any one or more of the techniques of the present disclosure, or that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying data structures used by or associated with such instructions. to Non-limiting communication device-readable medium examples may include solid-state memories and optical and magnetic media. Specific examples of communication device-readable media may include non-volatile memory, such as semiconductor memory devices (e.g., Electrically Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM)) and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; Random Access Memory (RAM); and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. In some examples, communication device-readable media may include non-transitory communication device-readable media. In some examples, communication device-readable media may include communication device-readable media that is not a transitory propagating signal.

The instructions524may further be transmitted or received over a communications network526using a transmission medium via the network interface device520utilizing any one of a number of transfer protocols. In an example, the network interface device520may include one or more physical jacks (e.g., Ethernet, coaxial, or phone jacks) or one or more antennas to connect to the communications network526. In an example, the network interface device520may include a plurality of antennas to wirelessly communicate using at least one of single-input-multiple-output (SIMO), MIMO, or multiple-input-single-output (MISO) techniques. In some examples, the network interface device520may wirelessly communicate using Multiple User MIMO techniques.

The term “transmission medium” shall be taken to include any intangible medium that is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution by the communication device500, and includes digital or analog communications signals or another intangible medium to facilitate communication of such software. In this regard, a transmission medium in the context of this disclosure is a device-readable medium.

Although an aspect has been described with reference to specific exemplary aspects, it will be evident that various modifications and changes may be made to these aspects without departing from the broader scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. This Detailed Description, therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of various aspects is defined only by the appended claims, along with the full range of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.