Patent Publication Number: US-2023164520-A1

Title: Geographical Area Message Distribution

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present application relates generally to message distribution, and relates more particularly to geographical area message distribution. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Conventionally, the sender of a message targets a certain intended recipient to receive that message, e.g., where that intended recipient is identified by an Internet Protocol (IP) address. For geographical area message distribution, by contrast, the sender of a message targets a certain geographical area to receive the message. That is, the sender targets any recipients that are located in a certain geographical area, without necessarily knowing who might be the recipients. GeoCast for instance implements such geographical area message distribution by routing messages based on world coordinates or tiles/areas of a geographical grid, e.g., at an application-level on top of a traditional IP network. 
     Geographical area message distribution proves particularly useful for disseminating messages for an Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) or for vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, e.g., where messages may be disseminated to ITS/V2X users using long-range cellular unicast communication. ITS/V2X users report or subscribe to a geographical area in order to receive V2X/ITS messages for that target area. When moving from one geographical area to another, the ITS/V2X users report or subscribe to their new geographical area location to a server. 
     ITS messages are designed to enable ITS applications improving safety and traffic efficiency of road transport systems. Typical ITS messages include ETSI ITS cooperative aware message (CAM), decentralized environmental notification message (DENM), infrastructure-to-vehicle information message (IVIM), etc. Dissemination of ITS messages is based on the geographical location of ITS stations, i.e. only vehicular or personal ITS users in a specific geographic area, known as the target area, need to receive the message. 
     Although geographical area message distribution is useful in these or other contexts, distributing messages targeted to geographical areas proves suboptimal in a number of respects. For example, an ITS station will heretofore fail to receive a message targeted to the geographical area in which the ITS station is actually located if it is erroneously determined that the ITS station is located in a different geographical area. Moreover, due to positioning inaccuracy or other reasons, an ITS station moving from an old geographical area to a new geographical area may subscribe to that new geographical area late, resulting in undesirable service interruption. 
     SUMMARY 
     According to some embodiments herein, a mobile device is able to be subscribed to receive messages targeted to one geographical area, at the same time as being subscribed to receive messages targeted to another geographical area. That is, some embodiments enable the mobile device to be simultaneously subscribed to multiple geographical areas, i.e., to receive messages targeted to any of multiple geographical areas, even if the mobile device is not actually in one of those areas. Simultaneous subscription to multiple geographical areas may advantageously mitigate the effects of positioning inaccuracy or delayed subscription on message delivery. For example, the mobile device may simultaneously subscribe to multiple geographical areas within a zone of positioning uncertainty around the mobile device. This may ensure the mobile device receives messages targeted to the area within which the device is actually located, even in the presence of positioning inaccuracy. Alternatively or additionally, the mobile device may predict the next geographical area the device will be within after it leaves its current geographical area, and then proactively subscribe to receive messages targeted to the next geographical area without unsubscribing to receive messages targeted to its current geographical area. This may advantageously avoid service interruption that would occur if the mobile device were late in subscribing to the next geographical area it will be within. 
     More particularly, embodiments herein include a method performed by a mobile device. The method comprises subscribing to receive messages targeted to a first geographical area. The method also comprises subscribing to receive messages targeted to a second geographical area such that the mobile device is simultaneously subscribed to receive messages targeted to the first geographical area and to receive messages targeted to the second geographical area. 
     In some embodiments, subscribing to receive messages targeted to the second geographical area comprises, after subscribing to receive messages targeted to the first geographical area, subscribing to receive messages targeted to the second geographical area while remaining subscribed to receive messages targeted to the first geographical area. Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, subscribing to receive messages targeted to the second geographical area comprises, after subscribing to receive messages targeted to the first geographical area, subscribing to receive messages targeted to the second geographical area without unsubscribing from receiving messages targeted to the first geographical area. 
     In some embodiments, subscribing to receive messages targeted to the first geographical area comprises transmitting, to a server, a subscription request requesting that the mobile device be subscribed to receive messages targeted to the first geographical area, and wherein subscribing to receive messages targeted to the second geographical area comprises performing a procedure. In this case, performing the procedure comprises transmitting, to the server, as part of the procedure, another subscription request requesting that the mobile device be subscribed to receive messages targeted to the second geographical area. Performing the procedure also comprises refraining from transmitting, to the server, as part of the procedure, an unsubscription request requesting that the mobile device be unsubscribed from receiving messages targeted to the first geographical area. 
     In some embodiments, subscribing to receive messages targeted to the first geographical area and subscribing to receive messages targeted to the second geographical area comprises transmitting a single subscription request that requests both subscription of the mobile device to receive messages targeted to the first geographical area and subscription of the mobile device to receive messages targeted to the second geographical area. 
     In some embodiments, the messages targeted to the first geographical area and the messages targeted to the second geographical area are geocast messages that are geocast via a cellular network. 
     In some embodiments, the mobile device hosts a vehicle-to-everything, V2X, application enabler, VAE, client or hosts an intelligent transportation system, ITS, client. In this case, the messages targeted to the first geographical area and the messages targeted to the second geographical area are vehicle-to-everything, V2X, messages or intelligent transportation system, ITS, messages. 
     In some embodiments, the first and second geographical areas are each a tile or an area of a grid that is different from a coverage area of a cell provided by access network equipment. 
     In some embodiments, the second geographical area is a geographical area that the mobile device is predicted to be within after the first geographical area. In this case, the method may further comprise predicting, e.g., based on a trajectory of the mobile device, that the mobile device will be within the second geographical area after the first geographical area. 
     In some embodiments, the second geographical area is a geographical area that is adjacent to the first geographical area. 
     In some embodiments, the second geographical area is a geographical area within a zone of positioning uncertainty around the mobile device. 
     In some embodiments, the second geographical area is a geographical area that is included in a multi-area zone over which a service is provided. 
     In some embodiments, subscribing to receive messages targeted to the second geographical area is performed when the mobile device is not within the second geographical area. 
     In some embodiments, the mobile device is simultaneously subscribed to receive messages from both the first and the second geographical areas when moving between the first and second geographical areas. 
     In some embodiments, the method further comprises receiving one or more messages targeted to the first geographical area and one or more messages targeted to the second geographical area. 
     In some embodiments, the method further comprises receiving a message; and determining whether and/or how to process the received message based on to which of the first and the second geographical area the message is targeted and/or based on whether the message is for the service provided over the multi-area zone. 
     Embodiments herein also include a method performed by a server. The method comprises subscribing a mobile device to receive messages targeted to a first geographical area. The method also comprises subscribing the mobile device to receive messages targeted to a second geographical area such that the mobile device is simultaneously subscribed to receive messages targeted to the first geographical area and to receive messages targeted to the second geographical area. 
     In some embodiments, the method further comprises transmitting, to the mobile device, one or more messages that are targeted to the first geographical area and transmitting, to the mobile device, one or more messages that are targeted to the second geographical area. In some embodiments, such transmitting comprises geocasting the messages via a cellular network. 
     In some embodiments, subscribing the mobile device to receive messages targeted to the second geographical area comprises, after subscribing the mobile device to receive messages targeted to the first geographical area, subscribing the mobile device to receive messages targeted to the second geographical area while the mobile device remains subscribed to receive messages targeted to the first geographical area. 
     In some embodiments, subscribing the mobile device to receive messages targeted to the second geographical area comprises, after subscribing the mobile device to receive messages targeted to the first geographical area, subscribing the mobile device to receive messages targeted to the second geographical area without unsubscribing the mobile device from receiving messages targeted to the first geographical area. 
     In some embodiments, subscribing the mobile device to receive messages targeted to the first geographical area comprises receiving, from the mobile device, a first subscription request requesting that the mobile device be subscribed to receive messages targeted to the first geographical area, and subscribing the mobile device to receive messages targeted to the first geographical area in response to the first subscription request. In this case, subscribing the mobile device to receive messages targeted to the second geographical area may comprise performing a procedure. Performing the procedure may comprise receiving, from the mobile device, as part of the procedure, a second subscription request requesting that the mobile device be subscribed to receive messages targeted to the second geographical area. Performing the procedure may also comprise subscribing the mobile device to receive messages targeted to the second geographical area in response to the second subscription request. However, the server does not receive from the mobile device, as part of the procedure, an unsubscription request requesting that the mobile device be unsubscribed from receiving messages targeted to the first geographical area. 
     In some embodiments, subscribing the mobile device to receive messages targeted to the first geographical area and subscribing the mobile device to receive messages targeted to the second geographical area comprises receiving, from the mobile device, a single subscription request requesting that the mobile device be both subscribed to receive messages targeted to the first geographical area and subscribed to receive messages targeted to the second geographical area. In this case, the method may comprise subscribing the mobile device to receive messages targeted to the first geographical area and to receive messages targeted to the second geographical area in response to the single subscription request 
     In some embodiments, the mobile device hosts a vehicle-to-everything, V2X, application enabler, VAE, client or hosts an intelligent transportation system, ITS, client, and the server is a VAE server or an ITS server. In this case, the messages targeted to the first geographical area and the messages targeted to the second geographical area are vehicle-to-everything, V2X, messages or intelligent transportation system, ITS, messages. 
     In some embodiments, the first and second geographical areas are each a tile or an area of a grid that is different from a coverage area of a cell provided by access network equipment. 
     In some embodiments, the second geographical area is a geographical area that the mobile device is predicted to be within after the first geographical area, that is adjacent to the first geographical area, that is included in a zone of positioning uncertainty around the mobile device, and/or that is included in a multi-area zone over which a service is provided. 
     Embodiments herein also include corresponding apparatus, computer programs, and carriers, e.g., non-transitory computer-readable mediums. For example, embodiments herein include a mobile device. The mobile device is configured (e.g., via communication circuitry and processing circuitry) to subscribe to receive messages targeted to a first geographical area. The mobile device is also configured to subscribe to receive messages targeted to a second geographical area such that the mobile device is simultaneously subscribed to receive messages targeted to the first geographical area and to receive messages targeted to the second geographical area. 
     Embodiments herein also include a server. The server is configured (e.g., via communication circuitry and processing circuitry) to subscribe a mobile device to receive messages targeted to a first geographical area. The server is also configured to subscribe the mobile device to receive messages targeted to a second geographical area such that the mobile device is simultaneously subscribed to receive messages targeted to the first geographical area and to receive messages targeted to the second geographical area. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a block diagram of a mobile device and a server according to some embodiments. 
         FIG.  2 A  is a timing diagram showing timing with which a mobile device subscribes to receive messages targeted to a first geographical area and subscribes to receive messages targeted to a second geographical area, according to some embodiments. 
         FIG.  2 B  is a timing diagram showing timing with which a mobile device subscribes to receive messages targeted to a first geographical area and subscribes to receive messages targeted to a second geographical area, according to other embodiments. 
         FIG.  3 A  is a call flow diagram of a single procedure for subscribing a mobile device to receive messages targeted to one geographical area, and for optionally unsubscribing the mobile device from receiving messages targeted to another geographical area. 
         FIG.  3 B  is a call flow diagram of separate procedures for subscribing a mobile device to receive messages targeted to a geographical area, and for unsubscribing the mobile device from receiving messages targeted to a geographical area. 
         FIG.  4    is a logic flow diagram of a method performed by a mobile device according to some embodiments. 
         FIG.  5    is a logic flow diagram of a method performed by a server according to some embodiments. 
         FIG.  6    is a logic flow diagram of a method performed by a mobile device according to other embodiments. 
         FIG.  7    is a logic flow diagram of a method performed by a server according to other embodiments. 
         FIG.  8    is a logic flow diagram of a method performed by a VAE client according to some embodiments. 
         FIG.  9    is a logic flow diagram of a method performed by a VAE server according to some embodiments. 
         FIG.  10    is a block diagram of a mobile device according to some embodiments. 
         FIG.  11    is a block diagram of a server according to some embodiments. 
         FIG.  12    is a block diagram of a simplified architectural model for the V2X application layer according to some embodiments. 
         FIG.  13    is a block diagram of a detailed V2X application layer functional model according to some embodiments. 
         FIG.  14    is a block diagram of a V2X user being subscribed to one geographical area at a time. 
         FIG.  15    is a block diagram of a V2X user being subscribed to multiple geographical areas at a time according to some embodiments. 
         FIG.  16    is a call flow diagram of a procedure for registering the VAE client at the VAE server according to some embodiments. 
         FIG.  17    is a call flow diagram of a procedure for deregistering the VAE client at the VAE server according to some embodiments. 
         FIG.  18    is a call flow diagram of a procedure for tracking V2X UEs geographical location at the VAE server according to some embodiments. 
         FIG.  19    is a call flow diagram of a procedure for V2X message distribution according to some embodiments. 
         FIG.  20    is a block diagram of a wireless communication network according to some embodiments. 
         FIG.  21    is a block diagram of a user equipment according to some embodiments. 
         FIG.  22    is a block diagram of a virtualization environment according to some embodiments. 
         FIG.  23    is a block diagram of a communication network with a host computer according to some embodiments. 
         FIG.  24    is a block diagram of a host computer according to some embodiments. 
         FIG.  25    is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system, in accordance with one embodiment. 
         FIG.  26    is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system, in accordance with one embodiment. 
         FIG.  27    is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system, in accordance with one embodiment. 
         FIG.  28    is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system, in accordance with one embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG.  1    shows a mobile device  10  within the coverage of an infrastructure-based wireless communication network  12  according to some embodiments. The mobile device  10  in the example shown is integrated within or is otherwise associated with a vehicle for vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, but in other examples may be any type of device capable of wireless communication. The infrastructure-based wireless communication network  12  provides radio access via multiple radio access points  14 - 1  . . .  14 -N that are geographically distributed. 
     In embodiments where the infrastructure-based wireless communication network  12  is a cellular network as shown, each radio access point provides radio coverage over one or more cells. Different cells may be associated with different cell-specific reference signals or System Information, and/or may be associated with different cell identities such as different Physical Cell Identities (PC&#39;s) and/or different Cell Global Identities (CGIs).  FIG.  1    in this regard shows as an example that radio access point  14 - 1  provides radio coverage over cell  16 - 1  whereas radio access point  14 -N provides radio coverage over cell  16 -N. 
       FIG.  1    also shows a server  17  that provides or facilitates geographical area message distribution, e.g., using, via, or on top of the infrastructure-based wireless communication network  12 . The server  17  may take the form of an application layer server in a data network external to the infrastructure-based wireless communication network  12  as shown, or in other embodiments not shown may be integrated in the infrastructure-based wireless communication network  12 . In either case, the server  17  may provide or facilitate geographical area message distribution by exploiting the division of geography into multiple geographical areas  18 - 1 ,  18 - 2 , . . .  18 -M, ten of which are shown in  FIG.  1    as  18 - 1  through  18 - 10 . In the example shown, for instance, a grid  20  is overlaid onto a geography, and different ones of the geographical areas  18 - 1 ,  18 - 2 , . . .  18 -M correspond to different areas (or tiles) of the grid  20 , e.g., associated with an Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) or cooperative ITS that employs the infrastructure-based wireless communication network  12  in cooperation with a vehicular ad-hoc wireless communication network. In these and other examples, then, the geographical areas  18 - 1  . . .  18 -M may be distinguished from the coverage areas of respective cells  16 - 1  . . .  16 -N provided by the radio access points  14 - 1  . . .  14 -N. In fact, the geographical areas  18 - 1  . . .  18 -M may be formed at an application layer and/or be formed independently of cells  16 - 1  . . .  16 -N. 
     In any event, the server  17  may exploit this division of the geography into multiple geographical areas  18 - 1 ,  18 - 2 , . . .  18 -M so that a message can target a certain geographical area, as opposed to targeting a certain recipient irrespective of the recipient&#39;s location. Indeed, a message targeting a certain geographical area targets any recipients that are located in that certain geographical area, instead of necessarily targeting those recipients individually.  FIG.  1    in this regard shows that an application  22  may transmit to the server  17  a message  24  targeting a certain geographical area  18 -X. The message  24  may for example be an application layer message that includes an identifier of the certain geographical area  18 -X at the application layer, rather than an identifier of any individual recipient. In fact, in some embodiments, the server  17  may be a GeoCast server and the message  24  may be a GeoCast message that is to be geocast via the infrastructure-based wireless communication network  12 . Alternatively or additionally, where the mobile device  10  hosts a V2X application enabler (VAE) client or an ITS client, the message  24  may be a V2X message or an ITS message. 
     In any event, the server  17  in this context fields requests from mobile devices to subscribe to receive any messages targeting a specified geographical area. The server  17  tracks which mobile devices are subscribed to receive messages targeting which geographical areas. Accordingly, upon receiving the message  24  from application  22 , the server  17  identifies which mobile devices are subscribed to receive messages targeting geographical area  18 -X. The server  17  then selectively forwards the message  24  to those identified mobile devices. In some sense, therefore, the server  17  maps the identifier of the targeted geographical area  18 X into identities of mobile devices subscribed to receive messages targeting that area  18 X, for use in selectively forwarding the message  24  to those mobile devices. 
     Notably, some embodiments herein enable a mobile device  10  to be subscribed to receive messages targeting one geographical area (e.g., area  18 - 7 ), at the same time as the mobile device  10  is subscribed to receive messages targeting another geographical area (e.g., area  18 - 8 ). Where a subscription to receive messages targeting a geographical area is referred to as simply a subscription to that geographical area, some embodiments enable the mobile device  10  to be simultaneously subscribed to multiple ones of the geographical areas  18 - 1  . . .  18 -M. While so simultaneously subscribed, the mobile device  10  may receive messages targeting any of multiple ones of the geographical areas  18 - 1  . . .  18 -M, rather than being limited to receiving only messages targeting a particular one of the geographical areas  18 - 1  . . .  18 -M. 
     Simultaneous subscription to multiple ones of the geographical areas  18 - 1  . . .  18 -M in this regard refers to the fact that the times during which the mobile device  10  is subscribed to receive messages targeting one geographical area (e.g., area  18 - 7 ) at least partially overlap with the times during which the mobile device  10  is subscribed to receive messages targeting another geographical area (e.g., area  18 - 8 ). Note here that the time at which the mobile device&#39;s subscription to one geographical area starts need not be the same as the time at which the mobile device&#39;s subscription to another geographical area starts. Accordingly, the act of subscribing to one geographical area need not be simultaneous with the act of subscribing to another geographical area. Rather, the state of being subscribed to one geographical area overlaps in time with the state of being subscribed to another geographical area, such that, at some point in time, the mobile device  10  is both in the state of being subscribed to one geographical area and in the state of being subscribed to another geographical area. 
       FIG.  1    for example shows that the mobile device  10  is configured to transmit one or more subscription requests  26  to the server  17 . Via the subscription request(s)  26 , the mobile device subscribes to receive messages targeted to a first geographical area  18 -A (e.g.,  18 - 7 ) and subscribes to receive messages targeted to a second geographical area  18 -B (e.g.,  18 - 8 ). In some embodiments, the subscription request(s)  26  comprise a single request that requests both subscription of the mobile device  10  to receive messages targeted to the first geographical area  18 -A and subscription of the mobile device  10  to receive messages targeted to the second geographical area  18 -B. In this case, the mobile device&#39;s subscription to receive messages targeted to the first geographical area  18 -A may start at the same time as the mobile device&#39;s subscription to receive messages targeted to the second geographical area  18 -B. 
     As shown in  FIG.  2 A , for example, the mobile device  10  at time T_C may transmit a single subscription request  26 -C that requests both subscription of the mobile device  10  to receive messages targeted to the first geographical area  18 -A and subscription of the mobile device  10  to receive messages targeted to the second geographical area  18 -B. Generally, then, both the mobile device&#39;s subscription to receive messages targeted to the first geographical area  18 -A and the mobile device&#39;s subscription to receive messages targeted to the second geographical area  18 -B start at time T_C. The subscriptions may nonetheless end at different times. In the example of  FIG.  2 A , the subscription to receive messages targeted to the first geographical area  18 -A ends at time T_A_END, which is earlier than time T_B_END when the subscription to receive messages targeted to the second geographical area  18 -B ends. Nevertheless, during the time interval between T_C and T_A_END, the mobile device  10  is simultaneously subscribed to receive messages targeted to the first geographical area  18 -A and subscribed to receive messages targeted to the second geographical area  18 -B. 
     In other embodiments, though, the subscription request(s)  26  comprise multiple subscription requests, including one subscription request that requests subscription of the mobile device  10  to receive messages targeted to the first geographical area  18 -A and another subscription request that requests subscription of the mobile device  10  to receive messages targeted to the second geographical area  18 -B. In this case, the mobile device&#39;s subscription to receive messages targeted to the second geographical area  18 -B may start after the mobile device&#39;s subscription to receive messages targeted to the first geographical area  18 -A starts, but before the mobile device&#39;s subscription to receive messages targeted to the first geographical area  18 -A ends. 
     As shown in  FIG.  2 B , for example, the mobile device  10  at time T_A_START transmits a subscription request  26 -A that requests subscription of the mobile device  10  to receive messages targeted to the first geographical area  18 -A. Generally, then the mobile device&#39;s subscription to receive messages targeted to the first geographical area  18 -A starts at time T_A_START. After subscribing to receive messages targeted to the first geographical area  18 -A in this way, the mobile device  10  at time T_B_START transmits a subscription request  26 -B that requests subscription of the mobile device  10  to receive messages targeted to the second geographical area  18 -B. Generally, then the mobile device&#39;s subscription to receive messages targeted to the second geographical area  18 -B starts at time T_B_START. Notably, though, the mobile device subscribes to receive messages targeted to the second geographical area  18 -B in this way while remaining subscribed to receive messages targeted to the first geographical area  18 -A, i.e., without unsubscribing from receiving messages targeted to the first geographical area  18 -A. As shown, for instance, the mobile device&#39;s subscription to receive messages targeted to the first geographical area  18 -A does not end until time T_A_END, which is after time T_B_START. Accordingly, during the time interval between T_B_START and T_A_END, the mobile device  10  is simultaneously subscribed to receive messages targeted to the first geographical area  18 -A and subscribed to receive messages targeted to the second geographical area  18 -B. 
     In these and other embodiments, simultaneous subscription may be accomplished by the mobile device  10  performing the procedure  25  shown in FIG.  3 A. The procedure  25  involves a first step of transmitting, from the mobile device  10  to the server  17 , a subscription request  26  requesting that the mobile device  10  be subscribed to receive messages targeted to a geographical area (e.g., area  18 -B). In some embodiments, a second step of the procedure  25  is the server  17  transmitting to the mobile device  10  a subscription response  27 , e.g., indicating a result of the request  26 . A third step of the procedure  25  is the mobile device  10  transmitting to the server  17  an unsubscription request  28  requesting that the mobile device  10  be unsubscribed from receiving messages targeted to a geographical area (e.g., area  18 -A). And a fourth step of the procedure  25  is the server  17  transmitting an unsubscription response  29 , e.g., indicating a result of the request  28 . Notably, though, the third step of the procedure  25  is optional and need not be performed as part of the procedure  25 . This means that the mobile device  10  may perform the first step of the procedure  25  for subscribing to one geographical area, but not perform the third step of the procedure  25  for unsubscribing from another geographical area, so that, after completion of the procedure  25 , the mobile device  10  will be subscribed to both geographical areas. 
       FIG.  3 B  shows yet other embodiments where, rather than a single procedure for subscribing to one area and for optionally unsubscribing to another area, separate procedures are defined for subscription and unsubscription. As shown, a subscription procedure  31  involves a first step of transmitting, from the mobile device  10  to the server  17 , a subscription request  26  requesting that the mobile device  10  be subscribed to receive messages targeted to a geographical area (e.g., area  18 -B). In some embodiments, a second step of the procedure  31  is the server  17  transmitting to the mobile device  10  a subscription response  27 , e.g., indicating a result of the request  26 . Notably, this subscription procedure  31  does not include any step for unsubscribing from a geographical area, meaning that no such step is required or even optional. Instead, a separate unsubscription procedure  34  is defined. As shown, the unsubscription procedure involves in a first step the mobile device  10  transmitting to the server  17  an unsubscription request  28  requesting that the mobile device  10  be unsubscribed from receiving messages targeted to a geographical area (e.g., area  18 -A). And a fourth step of the unsubscription procedure  34  is the server  17  transmitting an unsubscription response  29 , e.g., indicating a result of the request  28 . According to embodiments herein that exploit these separate subscription and unsubscription procedures  31 ,  34 , the mobile device  10  may perform the subscription procedure  31  for subscribing to one geographical area, before or even without performing the unsubscription procedure  34  for unsubscribing from another geographical area. This way, after completion of the subscription procedure  31 , the mobile device  10  will be subscribed to both geographical areas. 
     No matter the particular way in which simultaneous subscription is accomplished, though, such simultaneous subscription may prove advantageous in a number of contexts. As shown in  FIG.  1   , for example, the mobile device  10  may be within geographical area  18 - 6  at time T. Based on the mobile device&#39;s position being within geographical area  18 - 6 , the mobile device  10  may be subscribed to receive messages targeted to geographical area  18 - 6 . In addition, though, the mobile device  10  (or another entity) may predict at time T that the mobile device  10  will be within adjacent geographical area  18 - 7  by time T+1. Such prediction may for instance be based on the mobile device&#39;s current trajectory  19 . Based on this prediction, the mobile device  10  may also subscribe to receive messages targeted to geographical area  18 - 7 . That is, the mobile device  10  may subscribe to receive messages targeted to geographical area  18 - 7  even when the mobile device  10  is not within geographical area  18 - 7 , e.g., before the mobile device  10  is, or is determined to be, within geographical area  18 - 7 . Accordingly, at time T, the mobile device  10  is positioned within geographical area  18 - 6 . And, at time T, the mobile device  10  is not only subscribed to receive messages targeted to geographical area  18 - 6 , but is also subscribed to receive messages targeted to geographical area  18 - 7 . 
     This process of pre-subscribing to a geographical area in which the mobile device  10  is predicted to be within may continue in this example such that, at time T+1, the mobile device  10  is positioned within geographical area  18 - 7 , and is not only subscribed to receive messages targeted to geographical area  18 - 7  but is also subscribed to receive messages targeted to geographical area  18 - 8 . At time T+2, though, it is predicted that the mobile device  10  will move to either geographical area  18 - 4  or geographical area  18 - 9 . Accordingly, the mobile device  10  at time T+2 is not only subscribed to receive messages targeted to geographical area  18 - 8 , but is also subscribed to receive messages targeted to geographical area  18 - 9  and to receive messages targeted to geographical area  18 - 4 . Finally, as a last example, at time T+3, it is predicted that the mobile device  10  will move to geographical area  18 - 10 . Based on this, the mobile device  10  at time T+3 is not only subscribed to receive messages targeted to geographical area  18 - 9 , but is also subscribed to receive messages targeted to geographical area  18 - 10 . 
     Some embodiments thereby predict the next geographical area the mobile device  10  will be within after it leaves its current geographical area, and then proactively subscribe the mobile device  10  to receive messages targeted to the next geographical area, without unsubscribing the mobile device  10  from receiving messages targeted to its current geographical area. This may advantageously avoid service interruption that would occur if the mobile device  10  were late in subscribing to the next geographical area it will be within. 
     Alternatively or additionally, simultaneous subscription herein may prove advantageous in a different context. In some embodiments, for example, there is some uncertainty about the exact position of the mobile device  10 , e.g., especially as the mobile device  10  moves between geographical areas. This may be due for instance to positioning inaccuracy. No matter the cause, though, a zone of positioning uncertainty around the mobile device  10  represents the different possibilities for the mobile device&#39;s actual position. In some embodiments, the mobile device  10  is simultaneously subscribed to multiple geographical areas, each of which at least partially overlaps with this zone of positioning uncertainty. Such simultaneous subscription effectively hedges against the mobile device  10  actually being positioned within any of those geographical areas, to ensure that the mobile device  10  will not miss a message targeting the geographical area the mobile device is actually within. In this way, simultaneous subscription to multiple geographical areas may advantageously mitigate the effects of positioning inaccuracy delivery. 
     In still another context, a service (e.g., a 2 km hazard warning service) may be provided over a multi-area zone that spans multiple ones of the geographical areas  18 - 1  . . .  18 -M. In this case, the mobile device  10  may be simultaneously subscribed to the multiple geographical areas that the multi-area zone span. This not only enables multi-area services but also allows the mobile device  10  to receive a service beyond its current geographical area while continuing to receive a service which corresponds to its current geographical area. 
     In view of the modifications and variations herein,  FIG.  4    depicts a method performed by a mobile device  10  (e.g., a user equipment, UE, or vehicle which hosts a VAE client or ITS client) in accordance with particular embodiments. The method includes subscribing to receive messages targeted to a first geographical area  18 -A (Block  400 ). This may entail for instance transmitting a subscription request  26  (e.g., to a server  17 , such as a VAE server) requesting that the mobile device  10  be subscribed to receive messages targeted to the first geographical area  18 -A. Regardless, the method may further comprise subscribing to receive messages targeted to a second geographical area  18 -B, e.g., while remaining subscribed to receive messages targeted to the first geographical area  18 -A and/or such that the mobile device  10  is simultaneously subscribed to receive messages targeted to the first geographical area  18 -A and to receive messages targeted to the second geographical area  18 -B (Block  420 ). In some embodiments, this may also entail transmitting a subscription request  26  requesting that the mobile device  10  be subscribed to receive messages targeted to the second geographical area  18 -B. In fact, in some embodiments, the same subscription request  26 -C may request that the mobile device  10  be subscribed to receive messages targeted to the first geographical area  18 -A as well as request that the mobile device  10  be subscribed to receive messages targeted to the second geographical area  18 -B. In any event, the mobile device  10  according to the method in  FIG.  4    is notably simultaneously subscribed to multiple geographical areas, rather than only being subscribed to one geographical area at a time. And this status of being simultaneously subscribed to multiple geographical areas may persist for more than a short transient period, e.g., even after completing the full procedure  25  for subscribing to the second geographical area  18 -B. 
     In some embodiments, the method in  FIG.  4    further includes determining the second geographical area  18 -B (Block  410 ). In one embodiment, the second geographical area  18 -B is a geographical area that the mobile device  10  is predicted to be within after the first geographical area  18 -A. In this case, the determination of the second geographical area  18 -B may comprise predicting that the mobile device  10  will be within the second geographical area  18 -B after the first geographical area  18 -A, e.g., based on a trajectory or other positioning information of the mobile device  10 , such as exemplified in  FIG.  15    below. The prediction may enable the mobile device  10  to thereby subscribe to receive messages targeted to the second geographical area  18 -B before the mobile device  10  is, or is determined to be, within the second geographical area  18 -B. This may also be referred to herein as pre-subscribing to receive messages targeted to the second geographical area  18 -B, e.g., because the mobile device  10  subscribes to receive such messages prior to the mobile device  10  being within the second geographical area  18 -B. Some embodiments may for example exploit knowledge about known trajectory information to pre-subscribe to a new geographical area, e.g., as exemplified in the description of  FIG.  15   . These and other embodiments may therefore use look-ahead knowledge about trajectory to provide better services. 
     Alternatively or additionally, the second geographical area  18 -B may be a geographical area that is adjacent to the first geographical area  18 -A and/or be included in a zone of positioning uncertainty around the mobile device  10 . These and other embodiments may therefore account for positioning uncertainties, e.g., by subscribing to adjacent geographical areas that the mobile device  10  moves between in order to account for uncertainty as to when the device  10  actually crosses the border between the areas. This example demonstrates, then, that the mobile device  10  in some embodiments may be simultaneously subscribed to receive messages from both the first and the second geographical areas  18 -A,  18 -B when moving between the first and second geographical areas. These and other embodiments may advantageously reduce service interruptions due to position inaccuracy. 
     Alternatively or additionally, the second geographical area  18 -B may be a geographical area that is included in a multi-area zone over which a service is provided, e.g., a 2 km hazard warning service. These and other embodiments may therefore enable subscription to services that span multiple geographical service areas. 
     Regardless of the particular nature of the second geographical area  18 -B, the method in some embodiments further comprises receiving one or more messages targeted to the first geographical area  18 -A and one or more messages targeted to the second geographical area  18 -B (Block  430 ). The messages may be received as part of geocasting for the first and second geographical areas, e.g., the messages may be geocast messages that are geocast via a cellular network. Indeed, the messages may be received while the mobile device  10  is subscribed to both the first and second geographical areas  18 -A,  18 -B. 
     In some embodiments, the method also includes determining whether and/or how to process the received message based on to which of the first and the second geographical area the message is targeted and/or based on whether the message is for the service provided over the multi-area zone (Block  440 ). In some embodiments, for instance, the method includes processing or refraining from processing the received message depending respectively on whether the message is targeted to the first or the second geographical area. For instance, the mobile device  10  may not process a message targeted to the second geographical area  18 -B if the device is not yet within that area, but instead may wait until the device is in the second geographical area  18 -B as predicted. Alternatively or additionally, the method may comprise processing the received message if the message is targeted to the first geographical area  18 -A or is for the service provided over the multi-area zone. 
       FIG.  5    depicts a method performed by a server  17  (e.g., a VAE server, an ITS server, or a location server) in accordance with corresponding embodiments. The method includes subscribing a mobile device  10  (e.g., a user equipment, UE, or vehicle which hosts a VAE client or ITS client) to receive messages targeted to a first geographical area  18 -A (Block  500 ). The method as shown also includes subscribing the mobile device  19  to receive messages targeted to a second geographical area  18 -B, e.g., while continuing to subscribe the mobile device  10  to receive messages targeted to the first geographical area  18 -A and/or such that the mobile device  10  is simultaneously subscribed to receive messages targeted to the first geographical area  18 -A and to receive messages targeted to the second geographical area  18 -B (Block  510 ). 
     In some embodiments, this may entail receiving a subscription request  26  (e.g., to a server, such as a VAE server) requesting that the mobile device  10  be subscribed to receive messages targeted to the first geographical area  18 -A, and receiving subscription request  26  requesting that the mobile device  10  be subscribed to receive messages targeted to the second geographical area  18 -B, without receiving an unsubscription request requesting that the mobile device  10  be unsubscribed from receiving messages targeted to the first geographical area  18 -A. In fact, in some embodiments, the same subscription request  26 -C may request that the mobile device  10  be subscribed to receive messages targeted to the first geographical area  18 -A as well as request that the mobile device  10  be subscribed to receive messages targeted to the second geographical area  18 -B. In any event, the mobile device  10  according to the method in  FIG.  5    is notably simultaneously subscribed to multiple geographical areas, rather than only being subscribed to one geographical area at a time. And this status of being simultaneously subscribed to multiple geographical areas may persist for more than a short transient period, e.g., even after completing the full procedure  25  for subscribing to the second geographical area  18 -B. 
     In one embodiment, the second geographical area  18 -B is a geographical area that the mobile device is predicted to be within after the first geographical area  18 -A. Alternatively or additionally, the second geographical area  18 -B may be a geographical area that is adjacent to the first geographical area  18 -A and/or be included in a zone of positioning uncertainty around the mobile device  10 . Alternatively or additionally, the second geographical area  18 -B may be a geographical area that is included in a multi-area zone over which a service is provided, e.g., a 2 km hazard warning service. These and other embodiments may therefore enable subscription to services that span multiple geographical service areas. 
     In some embodiments, the method also comprises transmitting, to the mobile device  10 , one or more messages that are targeted to the first geographical area  18 -A and transmitting, to the mobile device  10 , one or more messages that are targeted to the second geographical area  18 -B (Block  520 ). In some embodiments, the transmitting is performed by geocasting the messages, e.g., via a cellular network. 
       FIG.  6    depicts a method performed by a mobile device  10  (e.g., a user equipment, UE, or vehicle which hosts a VAE client or ITS client) in accordance with other particular embodiments. The method includes transmitting, to a server  17 , one or more messages that associate the mobile device  10  with multiple geographical areas  18 -A,  18 -B at the same time (Block  610 ). In some embodiments, for example, the one or more messages request subscription of the mobile device  10  to, or subscribe the mobile device  10  to, the multiple geographical areas  18 -A,  18 -B at the same time, e.g., in order for the mobile device  10  to receive messages targeted to those multiple geographical areas. In other words, the mobile device  10  is simultaneously subscribed to receive messages targeted to the multiple geographical areas  18 -A,  18 -B. In at least some embodiments, the one or more messages request subscription of the mobile device  10  to, or subscribe the mobile device  10  to, at least one of the geographical areas before the mobile device is located in that geographical area. Alternatively or additionally, at least one of the geographical areas is a geographical area that the mobile device  10  is predicted to be within after being within a different one of the geographical areas. In this case, then, the method as shown may also include predicting that the mobile device  10  will be within the at least one geographical area (Block  600 ), such as exemplified in  FIG.  15    below. The prediction may enable the mobile device  10  to thereby subscribe to receive messages targeted to that geographical area before the mobile device is, or is determined to be, within the geographical area. This may also be referred to herein as pre-subscribing to receive messages targeted to the at least one geographical area, e.g., because the mobile device  10  subscribes to receive such messages prior to the mobile device  10  being within that geographical area. Some embodiments may for example exploit knowledge about known trajectory information to pre-subscribe to a new geographical area, e.g., as exemplified in the description of  FIG.  15   . These and other embodiments may therefore use look-ahead knowledge about trajectory to provide better services. 
     Alternatively or additionally, at least two of the geographical areas are adjacent to one another and/or at least one of the geographical areas is included in a zone of positioning uncertainty around the mobile device. These and other embodiments may therefore account for positioning uncertainties, e.g., by subscribing to adjacent geographical areas that the mobile device moves between in order to account for uncertainty as to when the mobile device  10  actually crosses the border between the areas. This example demonstrates, then, that the mobile device in some embodiments may be simultaneously subscribed to receive messages from the geographical areas when moving between the geographical areas. These and other embodiments may advantageously reduce service interruptions due to position inaccuracy. 
     Alternatively or additionally, at least one of the geographical areas is included in a multi-area zone over which a service is provided, e.g., a 2 km hazard warning service. These and other embodiments may therefore enable subscription to services that span multiple geographical service areas. 
     Regardless, the method in some embodiments further comprises, for each of the geographical areas, receiving one or more messages targeted to that geographical area (Block  620 ). The messages may be received as part of geocasting for the geographical areas. Indeed, the messages may be received while the mobile device is simultaneously subscribed to the multiple geographical areas. 
     In some embodiments, the method also includes determining whether and/or how to process a received message based on to which of the geographical areas the message is targeted and/or based on whether the message is for a service provided over a multi-area zone (Block  630 ). In some embodiments, for instance, the method includes processing or refraining from processing the received message depending respectively on whether the message is targeted to a geographical area in which the mobile device  10  is currently located or is targeted to a geographical area in which the mobile device  10  is predicted to be located in. For instance, the mobile device may not process a message targeted to a geographical area if the device is not yet within that area, but instead may wait until the mobile device  10  is in the geographical area as predicted. Alternatively or additionally, the method may comprise processing the received message if the message is targeted to a geographical area in which the mobile device  10  is currently located or is targeted or is for the service provided over the multi-area zone. 
       FIG.  7    depicts a method performed by a server  17  (e.g., a VAE server, an ITS server, or a location server) in accordance with corresponding embodiments. The method includes receiving, from a mobile device  10  (e.g., a user equipment, UE, or vehicle which hosts a VAE client or ITS client), one or more messages that associate the mobile device with multiple geographical areas  18 -A,  18 -B at the same time (Block  700 ). For example, in some embodiments, the one or more messages request subscription of the mobile device  10  to, or subscribe the mobile device  10  to, the multiple geographical areas at the same time in order for the mobile device  10  to receive messages targeted to those multiple geographical areas. 
     In some embodiments, the method also comprises, for each of the geographical areas, transmitting one or more messages targeted to that geographical area (Block  710 ). In some embodiments, the transmitting is performed by geocasting the messages, e.g., via a cellular network. 
       FIG.  8    depicts a method performed by a VAE client (e.g., as hosted on a mobile device  10 , such as a UE or vehicle) in accordance with other particular embodiments. The method includes transmitting, to a VAE server, one or more subscription requests  26  requesting subscription of the VAE client to multiple geographical areas  18 -A,  18 -B at the same time (Block  800 ). For example, in some embodiments, the one or more subscription requests  26  comprise a single subscription request that identifies the multiple geographical areas. Regardless, the method in some embodiments also includes, for each of the geographical areas, receiving a message targeted to the geographical area (Block  810 ). 
       FIG.  9    depicts a corresponding method performed by a VAE server in accordance with some embodiments. The method as shown includes receiving, from a VAE client (e.g., as hosted on a mobile device  10 , such as a UE or vehicle), one or more subscription requests  26  requesting subscription of the VAE client to multiple geographical areas at the same time (Block  900 ). For example, in some embodiments, the one or more subscription requests  26  comprise a single subscription request that identifies the multiple geographical areas. Regardless, the method in some embodiments also includes, for each of the geographical areas, transmitting a message targeted to the geographical area (Block  910 ). 
     In any of the embodiments described herein, e.g., within  FIGS.  4 - 9   , a geographical area may refer to an area of a grid, a tile, or a geographical area identifier, e.g., associated with an ITS or cooperative ITS that employs an infrastructure-based wireless communication network in cooperation with a vehicular ad-hoc wireless communication network. In these and other embodiments, a geographical area may be distinguished from a coverage area of or cell provided by access network equipment. 
     Also in any of the embodiments, the message(s) targeted to a geographical area may in some embodiments include an event notification message (e.g., a CAM or DEMN message) that notifies the mobile device  10  about the occurrence of events that are pertinent to travel conditions in the geographical area, such as the occurrence of traffic, a collision, hazardous road conditions, or the like. The server  17  as described herein may accordingly determine which mobile devices are within the area(s) affected by such events based on its area-by-area tracking of device locations, and send an event notification message to those devices, e.g., via an infrastructure-based network. 
     Embodiments herein also include corresponding apparatuses. Embodiments herein for instance include a mobile device configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the mobile device. 
     Embodiments also include a mobile device  10  comprising processing circuitry and power supply circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the mobile device. The power supply circuitry is configured to supply power to the mobile device  10 . 
     Embodiments further include a mobile device  10  comprising processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the mobile device  10 . In some embodiments, the mobile device further comprises communication circuitry. 
     Embodiments further include a mobile device  10  comprising processing circuitry and memory. The memory contains instructions executable by the processing circuitry whereby the mobile device  10  is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the mobile device  10 . 
     Embodiments moreover include a user equipment (UE). The UE comprises an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals. The UE also comprises 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 is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the mobile device. In some embodiments, the UE also comprises 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. The UE may comprise an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry. The UE may also comprise a battery connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the UE. 
     Embodiments herein also include a server  17  configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the server  17 . 
     Embodiments also include a server  17  comprising processing circuitry and power supply circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the server  17 . The power supply circuitry is configured to supply power to the server  17 . 
     Embodiments further include a server  17  comprising processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the server  17 . In some embodiments, the server  17  further comprises communication circuitry. 
     Embodiments further include a server  17  comprising processing circuitry and memory. The memory contains instructions executable by the processing circuitry whereby the server  17  is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the server  17 . 
     More particularly, the apparatuses described above may perform the methods herein and any other processing by implementing any functional means, modules, units, or circuitry. In one embodiment, for example, the apparatuses comprise respective circuits or circuitry configured to perform the steps shown in the method figures. The circuits or circuitry in this regard may comprise circuits dedicated to performing certain functional processing and/or one or more microprocessors in conjunction with memory. For instance, the circuitry may include one or more microprocessor or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware, which may include digital signal processors (DSPs), special-purpose digital logic, and the like. The processing circuitry may be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which may include one or several types of memory such as read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory, cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc. Program code stored in memory may include program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and/or data communications protocols as well as instructions for carrying out one or more of the techniques described herein, in several embodiments. In embodiments that employ memory, the memory stores program code that, when executed by the one or more processors, carries out the techniques described herein. 
       FIG.  10    for example illustrates a mobile device  1000  (e.g., mobile device  10 ) as implemented in accordance with one or more embodiments. As shown, the mobile device  1000  includes processing circuitry  1010  and communication circuitry  1020 . The communication circuitry  1020  (e.g., radio circuitry) is configured to transmit and/or receive information to and/or from one or more other nodes, e.g., via any communication technology. Such communication may occur via one or more antennas that are either internal or external to the mobile device  1000 . The processing circuitry  1010  is configured to perform processing described above, e.g., in  FIGS.  4 ,  6   , and/or  8 , such as by executing instructions stored in memory  1030 . The processing circuitry  1010  in this regard may implement certain functional means, units, or modules. 
       FIG.  11    illustrates a server (e.g., a location server) (e.g., server  17 )  1100  as implemented in accordance with one or more embodiments. As shown, the server  1100  includes processing circuitry  1110  and communication circuitry  1120 . The communication circuitry  1120  is configured to transmit and/or receive information to and/or from one or more other nodes, e.g., via any communication technology. The processing circuitry  1110  is configured to perform processing described above, e.g., in  FIGS.  5 ,  7   , and/or  9 , such as by executing instructions stored in memory  1130 . The processing circuitry  1110  in this regard may implement certain functional means, units, or modules. 
     Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that embodiments herein further include corresponding computer programs. 
     A computer program comprises instructions which, when executed on at least one processor of an apparatus, cause the apparatus to carry out any of the respective processing described above. A computer program in this regard may comprise one or more code modules corresponding to the means or units described above. 
     Embodiments further include a carrier containing such a computer program. This carrier may comprise one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or computer readable storage medium. 
     In this regard, embodiments herein also include a computer program product stored on a non-transitory computer readable (storage or recording) medium and comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor of an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform as described above. 
     Embodiments further include a computer program product comprising program code portions for performing the steps of any of the embodiments herein when the computer program product is executed by a computing device. This computer program product may be stored on a computer readable recording medium. 
     Additional embodiments will now be described. At least some of these embodiments may be described as applicable in certain contexts and/or wireless network types for illustrative purposes, but the embodiments are similarly applicable in other contexts and/or wireless network types not explicitly described. Some embodiments below in particular illustrate the above in a context where the mobile device  10  hosts a VAE client or an ITS client. 
     Both, short-range and long-range vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication technology, can be used for Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) message dissemination. Owing to the limited communication range of short-range ad-hoc V2X communication technologies, e.g. ITS-G5/IEEE 802.11p or LTE-V2X PC5, only ITS stations, which are in the geographical vicinity of the transmitter, as limited by the direct radio communication range, can receive the ITS messages through single-hop communication. Multi-hop communication can enable larger areas but at the cost of higher delays and spectrum usage. 
     3GPP SA6 TR 23.275 V16.0.0 defines a V2X application enabler (VAE) function at the V2X application server (AS) and V2X user equipment (UE). The VAE is a middleware which relieves the application from several functions (e.g., location management, configuration management) and provides the interface to the network. 
       FIG.  12    illustrates the simplified architectural model for the V2X application layer. It utilizes the architectural reference model specified in subclause 4.2 in 3GPP TS 23.285 V15.1.0, which has an impact on the application layer support aspects. As shown, the V2X UE1 communicates with V2X application server over the V1 reference point. The V2X UE1 and V2X UE2 communicate over the V5 reference point. V2X UE1 can also act as a UE-to-network relay, to enable V2X UE2 to access the V2X application server over V1 reference point. 
     The reference point V1 supports the V2X application related interactions between V2X UE and V2X AS and is specified in 3GPP TS 23.285 V15.1.0. This reference point is supported for both unicast and multicast delivery modes. The reference point V5 supports the interactions between the V2X UEs and is specified in 3GPP TS 23.285 V15.1.0. 
       FIG.  13    illustrates the detailed V2X application layer functional model defined in TR 23.275 V16.0.0. It enhances the simplified architectural model for the V2X application layer by specifying the functional entities at the V2X application layer. 
     As shown, the V2X application server consists of V2X application enabler (VAE) server and the V2X application specific server. The VAE server provides the V2X application layer support functions to the V2X application specific server over Vs reference point. 
     The V2X UEs consist of the VAE client and the V2X application specific client. The VAE client provides the V2X application layer support functions to the V2X application specific client over Vc reference point. 
     The VAE client communicates with the VAE server over V1-AE reference point. The V2X application specific client communicates with V2X application specific server over V1-APP reference point. 
     Many solutions exist for geo-cast in cellular network. One solution is based on message queuing telemetry transport (MQTT). InterCor, Milestone 4—Common set of upgraded specifications for Hybrid communication”, August 2018. Another solution is geo-location messaging (GLM). ETSI, TR 102 962 V1.1.1, Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS); Framework for Public Mobile Networks in Cooperative ITS (C-ITS), 02/2012. These solutions are formed based on concepts as follows. As potential receivers, ITS stations are aware of their geo-location and inform the central server or message broker about their location, when they first register at the central service or the message broker, or when their geo-location changes. The central server or message broker receives and maintains the geo-location information of the ITS stations. When an ITS message addresses ITS stations in a specific geographical area, the server or message broker sends the message to all stations in this geographical area according to the last obtained geo-location information of the ITS stations. 
     Note that the geo-location information can be geographic coordinate values, e.g. according to WGS84, or any tile/grid system that is mapped to the geographic coordinate system. Also note that an ITS station may explicitly inform the server about its current location, or inform the server about the tile or grid that it is currently located in. An alternative way for the ITS station to inform the server about its current location is to subscribe or register to groups or message queues organized and announced by the server, which are also associated to geographical areas, e.g. in MQTT (Message Queuing Telemetry Transport) based solution. Note further that the report of the geo-location information to the server can be triggered by the ITS station or by the server according to any predefined condition, e.g. after certain distance the ITS station has traveled or when the ITS station traverses the border of two tiles. 
     There currently exist certain challenge(s). Subscribing to a single geographical area at a time may result in suboptimal performance e.g., due to position inaccuracy, or when V2X users are interested in services that span multiple geographical area (e.g., 2 km hazard warning). When V2X users subscribe late to a new geographical area, this might result in service interruption. 
     3GPP TS 23.286 V0.1.0 states the V2X message distribution requirements for long-range cellular unicast communications as follows: (i) The VAE server shall provide a mechanism to distribute V2X messages to all registered receivers in targeted geographical areas; (ii) The VAE server shall enable the delivery of several V2X messages over the same connection; (iii) The VAE client shall have the capability to register to V2X messages within one geographical area; (iv) The VAE server shall have the capability to only forward V2X messages to authorized V2X UEs in target geographical areas; and (v) The VAE server shall provide a mechanism for priority support of different V2X messages (e.g. safety message). 
       FIG.  14    depicts a typical scenario where a V2X user is subscribed to one geographical area at a time according to these requirements. 
     However, a VAE client may suffer from inaccurate GPS positioning information and have difficulty in determining its accurate geolocation and the geographic area it actually belongs to. This issue happens more likely when the VAE client is located at the border of two or more geographic areas defined by the VAE server. 
     Certain aspects of the present disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. According to some embodiments, an ITS/V2X user subscribes to multiple geographical areas at the same time. For example, in some embodiments, the ITS/V2X user might pre-subscribe to a new geographical area before reaching the new area and without unsubscribing from the current geographical area. In these and other embodiments, then, some embodiments provide a method to allow a V2X user or ITS station to subscribe simultaneously to multiple geographical areas, e.g., including pre-subscribing to new areas. As another example, in order to prevent missing any V2X message that is actually related to the VAE client, a VAE client simultaneously registers to all geographical areas that it may actually locate in, e.g., accounting for inaccurate GPS positioning information. 
     As another example, V2X applications may have Zones of Relevance (ZoR) of different sizes. ZoR is the geographical area that a V2X message is relevant. For example, the ZoR for Electronic Emergency Break Light (EEBL) warning or traffic Signal Phase and Timing (SPaT) application only covers several hundred meters, while applications like traffic jam ahead warning or lane closure warning may have a ZoR of up to several kilometers. At a given time, a V2X application client may be interested in multiple applications with different ZoR. According to some embodiments, then, the VAE client is able to simultaneously register to multiple geographical areas covered by the superset of different ZoR. 
     Moreover, allowing a VAE clident to simultaneously register to multiple geographical areas helps protect the privacy of the user. Sharing geographic location information, which belongs to the private data of V2X UE, with the V2X application server may violate the privacy protection law GDPR in the UE and may enable potential tracking of the V2X UEs by the server. Through simultaneously registering to multiple geographical areas, the VAE client can reduce the probability of being tracked by the server. 
     Generally, then, some embodiments propose that a VAE client shall have the capability to register to V2X messages within one or more geographical areas. 
     In these and other cases, some embodiments allow the ITS/V2X User to (i) Exploit knowledge about known trajectory information to pre-subscribe to a new geographical area; (ii) Deal with position uncertainties when moving between different geographical area (e.g., at cross border, moving in and out of a geographical area); and/or (iii) Subscribe to receiving ITS services beyond its current geographical area while receiving continuing to receive services which correspond to its current area. 
     Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s). Subscribing to multiple geographical areas provides advantages to a ITS/V2X user, including one or more of the following: reduced service interruptions due to position inaccuracy, subscription to multi-zone services, and/or using look-ahead knowledge about trajectory to provide better services. 
       FIG.  15    illustrates an example, contrasted with  FIG.  14   , in which a V2X UE subscribes to multiple geographical areas. 
     Some embodiments include a method that contains the following steps. In Step  1 , the V2X user or ITS station reports multiple geographical locations (or subscribes to multiple geographical areas) to the server. This may include pre-subscribing to new geographical areas along the UE&#39;s path. In this case of the example in  FIG.  15   , this corresponds to subscription to tiles  16  (current) and  15  (pre-subscription) at time t+0, tiles  15  (current) and  11  (pre-subscription) at time t+1, tiles  11  (current) and  10  (pre-subscription) at time t+2, and tiles  10  (current) and  6  (pre-subscription) at time t+3. 
     In Step  2 , the server receives the V2X user or ITS station subscriptions including pre-subscription to a new geographical area. 
     In Step  3 , when an ITS/V2X message needs to be disseminated to any of the geo-locations or tiles that the ITS station or V2X user reported as its current location, the server transmits the ITS/V2X message to the ITS station or V2X user including the new pre-subscribed locations. 
     In Step  4 , upon the reception of the ITS/V2X message, the ITS station or V2X user checks the target area and the intended service. If the ITS/V2X message is intended for its current target area and its current service, it decodes and processes the message. If the message is intended to a new pre-subscribed area, the V2X user or ITS station might discard the message or decode and process the message if the service in the new geographical area is of interest (e.g., hazard warning 2 kms ahead). 
     In Step  5 , when moving to a new geographical area, the V2X user or ITS station directly utilizes the ITS/V2X messages delivered to that area as it has already pre-subscribed to this area and thus doesn&#39;t need to wait until it has subscribed to the new area. 
     In another embodiment, an ITS station or V2X user can pre-subscribe to more that one geographical location. 
     In some embodiments, the ITS station or V2X user might utilize known or predicted trajectory knowledge in order to pre-subscribe to new geographical area. 
     In some embodiments, the ITS station or V2X user might utilize knowledge about services in a new geographical area when subscribing to multiple geographical areas. 
     Some embodiments herein employ procedures that are the same as or derivatives of those described below for registration and de-registration. 
     Consider first procedures for V2X UE to register for receiving V2X messages from the V2X AS. The process is triggered by the V2X UE who is interested in receiving certain V2X messages.  FIG.  16    show the procedure for registering the VAE client at the VAE server. In Step  1 , the VAE client sends a registration request to the VAE server. The registration request includes a V2X UE ID information element that is an identifier of the V2X UE, e.g., StationID specified in ETSI TS 102 894-2. The registration request also includes a V2X MSG Type information element that indicates the V2X message types the V2X UE is interested in receiving, e.g., ETSI ITS DENM, ETSI ITS CAM. 
     In Step  2 , the VAE server sends an acknowledgement to the VAE client. The acknowledgement is also referred to as a registration response. The registration response includes a Result information element that indicates the result from the VAE server in response to the registration request, indicating success or failure. 
     Consider next procedures for V2X UE to deregister from receiving V2X messages from the V2X AS. The process is triggered by the V2X UE who is no longer interested in receiving certain V2X messages.  FIG.  17    show the procedure for deregistering the VAE client at the VAE server. In Step  1 , the VAE client sends a deregistration request to the VAE server. The deregistration request includes a V2X UE ID information element that is an identifier of the V2X UE. The deregistration request also includes a V2X MSG Type information element that indicates the V2X message types the V2X UE is no longer interested in receiving, e.g., ETSI ITS DENM, ETSI ITS CAM. 
     In Step  2 , the VAE server sends a deregistration response to the VAE client. The deregistration response includes a Result information element that indicates the result from the VAE server in response to the deregistration request. 
     Consider now procedures for tracking V2X UEs geographical location at the VAE server. The V2X UE provides geographical area information to the VAE server upon moving to a new geographical area. This information is used by the VAE server to create and update the mapping between the geographical location and the identification of the V2X UE. 
       FIG.  18    show the procedure for tracking V2X UEs geographical location at the VAE server. As pre-conditions for this procedure, the VAE client is provisioned with GEO ID information, the VAE client has registered with the VAE server as described above, and the VAE client has subscribed to a certain geographical area identifier group (GEO ID A) in order to receive V2X messages for this area. In Step  1  of the procedure, upon entering a new geographical area, the client subscribes to the geographic area Geo ID B. The client in this regard transmits a subscription request to the VAE server. The subscription request includes a V2X UE ID that is an identifier of the V2X UE, and a GEO ID that is a geographical area identifier, e.g. subscription URI, tile identifier, geo-fence tile identifier. 
     In Step  2 , the VAE server sends a subscription response to the VAE client. The subscription response includes a Result information element that indicates the result from the VAE server in response to the subscription request, indicating success or failure. 
     In Step  3 , the VAE server stores the new geographical area information GEO ID B with the client identification information V2X UE ID. 
     In Step  4 , the client unsubscribes from the old geographical area GEO ID A. The unsubscription request includes a V2X UE ID that is an identifier of the V2X UE, and a GEO ID that is a geographical area identifier, e.g. subscription URI, tile identifier, geo-fence tile identifier. 
     In Step  5 , the VAE server sends an unsubscription response to the VAE client. The unsubscription response includes a Result information element that indicates the result from the VAE server in response to the unsubscription request. 
     In Step  6 , the VAE server removes the old geographical area information GEO ID A associated with the client identification information V2X UE ID. 
     Notably, though, according to some embodiments herein, Steps  4 - 6  are optional steps in the procedure. With these steps optional, the V2X UE may subscribe to the new geographical area GEO ID B without unsubscribing from the old geographical area GEO ID A. 
     Consider next a procedure for V2X message distribution, namely for message delivery to target geographical areas from the VAE server. That is, the procedure delivers V2X messages to registered V2X UEs at the VAE server in targeted geographical areas. As preconditions for the procedure, one or more VAE clients have registered with the VAE server, one or more VAE clients have subscribed to geographical area GEO ID, and the VAE server has created a mapping between geographical area information and client identification. 
     As shown in  FIG.  19   , in Step  1 , the application-specific server sends a V2X message V2X MSG ID (e.g. ETSI ITS DENM, ETSI ITS CAM) with target geographical area GEO ID. In Step  2 , the VAE server retrieves the list of registered and subscribed clients for the V2X message targeting geographical area GEO ID and determines the clients&#39; identification V2X UE ID. In Step  3 , the VAE server transmits the message to each VAE client using the client identification. In Step  4 , the VAE client provides the V2X message to the application-specific client. 
     Although the subject matter described herein may be implemented in any appropriate type of system using any suitable components, the embodiments disclosed herein are described in relation to a wireless network, such as the example wireless network illustrated in  FIG.  20   . For simplicity, the wireless network of  FIG.  20    only depicts network  2006 , network nodes  2060  and  2060   b , and WDs  2010 ,  2010   b , and  2010   c . In practice, a wireless network may further include any additional elements suitable to support communication between wireless devices or between a wireless device and another communication device, such as a landline telephone, a service provider, or any other network node or end device. Of the illustrated components, network node  2060  and wireless device (WD)  2010  are depicted with additional detail. The wireless network may provide communication and other types of services to one or more wireless devices to facilitate the wireless devices&#39; access to and/or use of the services provided by, or via, the wireless network. 
     The wireless network may comprise and/or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, and/or radio network or other similar type of system. In some embodiments, the wireless network may be configured to operate according to specific standards or other types of predefined rules or procedures. Thus, particular embodiments of the wireless network may implement communication standards, such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), and/or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G standards; wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the IEEE 802.11 standards; and/or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave and/or ZigBee standards. 
     Network  2006  may comprise one or more backhaul networks, core networks, IP networks, public switched telephone networks (PSTNs), packet data networks, optical networks, wide-area networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), wireless local area networks (WLANs), wired networks, wireless networks, metropolitan area networks, and other networks to enable communication between devices. 
     Network node  2060  and WD  2010  comprise various components described in more detail below. These components work together in order to provide network node and/or wireless device functionality, such as providing wireless connections in a wireless network. In different embodiments, the wireless network may comprise any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, base stations, controllers, wireless devices, relay stations, and/or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and/or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. 
     As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a wireless device and/or with other network nodes or equipment in the wireless network to enable and/or provide wireless access to the wireless device and/or to perform other functions (e.g., administration) in the wireless network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)). Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and may then also be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units and/or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS). Yet further examples of network nodes include multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell/multicast coordination entities (MCEs), core network nodes (e.g., MSCs, MMEs), O&amp;M nodes, OSS nodes, SON nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., E-SMLCs), and/or MDTs. As another example, a network node may be a virtual network node as described in more detail below. More generally, however, network nodes may represent any suitable device (or group of devices) capable, configured, arranged, and/or operable to enable and/or provide a wireless device with access to the wireless network or to provide some service to a wireless device that has accessed the wireless network. 
     In  FIG.  20   , network node  2060  includes processing circuitry  2070 , device readable medium  2080 , interface  2090 , auxiliary equipment  2084 , power source  2086 , power circuitry  2087 , and antenna  2062 . Although network node  2060  illustrated in the example wireless network of  FIG.  20    may represent a device that includes the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise network nodes with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that a network node comprises any suitable combination of hardware and/or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Moreover, while the components of network node  2060  are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, a network node may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component (e.g., device readable medium  2080  may comprise multiple separate hard drives as well as multiple RAM modules). 
     Similarly, network node  2060  may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which network node  2060  comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeB&#39;s. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, network node  2060  may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate device readable medium  2080  for the different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., the same antenna  2062  may be shared by the RATs). Network node  2060  may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node  2060 , such as, for example, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node  2060 . 
     Processing circuitry  2070  is configured to perform any determining, calculating, or similar operations (e.g., certain obtaining operations) described herein as being provided by a network node. These operations performed by processing circuitry  2070  may include processing information obtained by processing circuitry  2070  by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and/or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. 
     Processing circuitry  2070  may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and/or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node  2060  components, such as device readable medium  2080 , network node  2060  functionality. For example, processing circuitry  2070  may execute instructions stored in device readable medium  2080  or in memory within processing circuitry  2070 . Such functionality may include providing any of the various wireless features, functions, or benefits discussed herein. In some embodiments, processing circuitry  2070  may include a system on a chip (SOC). 
     In some embodiments, processing circuitry  2070  may include one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry  2072  and baseband processing circuitry  2074 . In some embodiments, radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry  2072  and baseband processing circuitry  2074  may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry  2072  and baseband processing circuitry  2074  may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units 
     In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein as being provided by a network node, base station, eNB or other such network device may be performed by processing circuitry  2070  executing instructions stored on device readable medium  2080  or memory within processing circuitry  2070 . In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by processing circuitry  2070  without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device readable medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a device readable storage medium or not, processing circuitry  2070  can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to processing circuitry  2070  alone or to other components of network node  2060 , but are enjoyed by network node  2060  as a whole, and/or by end users and the wireless network generally. 
     Device readable medium  2080  may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device readable and/or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and/or instructions that may be used by processing circuitry  2070 . Device readable medium  2080  may store any suitable instructions, data or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, etc. and/or other instructions capable of being executed by processing circuitry  2070  and, utilized by network node  2060 . Device readable medium  2080  may be used to store any calculations made by processing circuitry  2070  and/or any data received via interface  2090 . In some embodiments, processing circuitry  2070  and device readable medium  2080  may be considered to be integrated. 
     Interface  2090  is used in the wired or wireless communication of signalling and/or data between network node  2060 , network  2006 , and/or WDs  2010 . As illustrated, interface  2090  comprises port(s)/terminal(s)  2094  to send and receive data, for example to and from network  2006  over a wired connection. Interface  2090  also includes radio front end circuitry  2092  that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, antenna  2062 . Radio front end circuitry  2092  comprises filters  2098  and amplifiers  2096 . Radio front end circuitry  2092  may be connected to antenna  2062  and processing circuitry  2070 . Radio front end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna  2062  and processing circuitry  2070 . Radio front end circuitry  2092  may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or WDs via a wireless connection. Radio front end circuitry  2092  may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters  2098  and/or amplifiers  2096 . The radio signal may then be transmitted via antenna  2062 . Similarly, when receiving data, antenna  2062  may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by radio front end circuitry  2092 . The digital data may be passed to processing circuitry  2070 . In other embodiments, the interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components. 
     In certain alternative embodiments, network node  2060  may not include separate radio front end circuitry  2092 , instead, processing circuitry  2070  may comprise radio front end circuitry and may be connected to antenna  2062  without separate radio front end circuitry  2092 . Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of RF transceiver circuitry  2072  may be considered a part of interface  2090 . In still other embodiments, interface  2090  may include one or more ports or terminals  2094 , radio front end circuitry  2092 , and RF transceiver circuitry  2072 , as part of a radio unit (not shown), and interface  2090  may communicate with baseband processing circuitry  2074 , which is part of a digital unit (not shown). 
     Antenna  2062  may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals. Antenna  2062  may be coupled to radio front end circuitry  2090  and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and/or signals wirelessly. In some embodiments, antenna  2062  may comprise one or more omni-directional, sector or panel antennas operable to transmit/receive radio signals between, for example, 2 GHz and 66 GHz. An omni-directional antenna may be used to transmit/receive radio signals in any direction, a sector antenna may be used to transmit/receive radio signals from devices within a particular area, and a panel antenna may be a line of sight antenna used to transmit/receive radio signals in a relatively straight line. In some instances, the use of more than one antenna may be referred to as MIMO. In certain embodiments, antenna  2062  may be separate from network node  2060  and may be connectable to network node  2060  through an interface or port. 
     Antenna  2062 , interface  2090 , and/or processing circuitry  2070  may be configured to perform any receiving operations and/or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be received from a wireless device, another network node and/or any other network equipment. Similarly, antenna  2062 , interface  2090 , and/or processing circuitry  2070  may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be transmitted to a wireless device, another network node and/or any other network equipment. 
     Power circuitry  2087  may comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry and is configured to supply the components of network node  2060  with power for performing the functionality described herein. Power circuitry  2087  may receive power from power source  2086 . Power source  2086  and/or power circuitry  2087  may be configured to provide power to the various components of network node  2060  in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). Power source  2086  may either be included in, or external to, power circuitry  2087  and/or network node  2060 . For example, network node  2060  may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry  2087 . As a further example, power source  2086  may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry  2087 . The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail. Other types of power sources, such as photovoltaic devices, may also be used. 
     Alternative embodiments of network node  2060  may include additional components beyond those shown in  FIG.  20    that may be responsible for providing certain aspects of the network node&#39;s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and/or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, network node  2060  may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into network node  2060  and to allow output of information from network node  2060 . This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for network node  2060 . 
     As used herein, wireless device (WD) refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and/or other wireless devices. Unless otherwise noted, the term WD may be used interchangeably herein with user equipment (UE) and/or mobile device. Communicating wirelessly may involve transmitting and/or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and/or other types of signals suitable for conveying information through air. In some embodiments, a WD may be configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a WD may be designed to transmit information to a network on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the network. Examples of a WD include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, a mobile phone, a cell phone, a voice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a desktop computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless cameras, a gaming console or device, a music storage device, a playback appliance, a wearable terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, a tablet, a laptop, a laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), a laptop-mounted equipment (LME), a smart device, a wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE). a vehicle-mounted wireless terminal device, etc. A WD may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) and may in this case be referred to as a D2D communication device. As yet another specific example, in an Internet of Things (IoT) scenario, a WD may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and/or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and/or measurements to another WD and/or a network node. The WD may in this case be a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the WD may be a UE implementing the 3GPP narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) standard. Particular examples of such machines or devices are sensors, metering devices such as power meters, industrial machinery, or home or personal appliances (e.g. refrigerators, televisions, etc.) personal wearables (e.g., watches, fitness trackers, etc.). In other scenarios, a WD may represent a vehicle or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and/or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation. A WD as described above may represent the endpoint of a wireless connection, in which case the device may be referred to as a wireless terminal. Furthermore, a WD as described above may be mobile, in which case it may also be referred to as a mobile device or a mobile terminal. 
     As illustrated, wireless device  2010  includes antenna  2011 , interface  2014 , processing circuitry  2020 , device readable medium  2030 , user interface equipment  2032 , auxiliary equipment  2034 , power source  2036  and power circuitry  2037 . WD  2010  may include multiple sets of one or more of the illustrated components for different wireless technologies supported by WD  2010 , such as, for example, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, WiMAX, NB-IoT, or Bluetooth wireless technologies, just to mention a few. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chips or set of chips as other components within WD  2010 . 
     Antenna  2011  may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals, and is connected to interface  2014 . In certain alternative embodiments, antenna  2011  may be separate from WD  2010  and be connectable to WD  2010  through an interface or port. Antenna  2011 , interface  2014 , and/or processing circuitry  2020  may be configured to perform any receiving or transmitting operations described herein as being performed by a WD. Any information, data and/or signals may be received from a network node and/or another WD. In some embodiments, radio front end circuitry and/or antenna  2011  may be considered an interface. 
     As illustrated, interface  2014  comprises radio front end circuitry  2012  and antenna  2011 . Radio front end circuitry  2012  comprise one or more filters  2018  and amplifiers  2016 . Radio front end circuitry  2014  is connected to antenna  2011  and processing circuitry  2020 , and is configured to condition signals communicated between antenna  2011  and processing circuitry  2020 . Radio front end circuitry  2012  may be coupled to or a part of antenna  2011 . In some embodiments, WD  2010  may not include separate radio front end circuitry  2012 ; rather, processing circuitry  2020  may comprise radio front end circuitry and may be connected to antenna  2011 . Similarly, in some embodiments, some or all of RF transceiver circuitry  2022  may be considered a part of interface  2014 . Radio front end circuitry  2012  may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or WDs via a wireless connection. Radio front end circuitry  2012  may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters  2018  and/or amplifiers  2016 . The radio signal may then be transmitted via antenna  2011 . Similarly, when receiving data, antenna  2011  may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by radio front end circuitry  2012 . The digital data may be passed to processing circuitry  2020 . In other embodiments, the interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components. 
     Processing circuitry  2020  may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software, and/or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other WD  2010  components, such as device readable medium  2030 , WD  2010  functionality. Such functionality may include providing any of the various wireless features or benefits discussed herein. For example, processing circuitry  2020  may execute instructions stored in device readable medium  2030  or in memory within processing circuitry  2020  to provide the functionality disclosed herein. 
     As illustrated, processing circuitry  2020  includes one or more of RF transceiver circuitry  2022 , baseband processing circuitry  2024 , and application processing circuitry  2026 . In other embodiments, the processing circuitry may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components. In certain embodiments processing circuitry  2020  of WD  2010  may comprise a SOC. In some embodiments, RF transceiver circuitry  2022 , baseband processing circuitry  2024 , and application processing circuitry  2026  may be on separate chips or sets of chips. In alternative embodiments, part or all of baseband processing circuitry  2024  and application processing circuitry  2026  may be combined into one chip or set of chips, and RF transceiver circuitry  2022  may be on a separate chip or set of chips. In still alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry  2022  and baseband processing circuitry  2024  may be on the same chip or set of chips, and application processing circuitry  2026  may be on a separate chip or set of chips. In yet other alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry  2022 , baseband processing circuitry  2024 , and application processing circuitry  2026  may be combined in the same chip or set of chips. In some embodiments, RF transceiver circuitry  2022  may be a part of interface  2014 . RF transceiver circuitry  2022  may condition RF signals for processing circuitry  2020 . 
     In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein as being performed by a WD may be provided by processing circuitry  2020  executing instructions stored on device readable medium  2030 , which in certain embodiments may be a computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by processing circuitry  2020  without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a device readable storage medium or not, processing circuitry  2020  can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to processing circuitry  2020  alone or to other components of WD  2010 , but are enjoyed by WD  2010  as a whole, and/or by end users and the wireless network generally. 
     Processing circuitry  2020  may be configured to perform any determining, calculating, or similar operations (e.g., certain obtaining operations) described herein as being performed by a WD. These operations, as performed by processing circuitry  2020 , may include processing information obtained by processing circuitry  2020  by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored by WD  2010 , and/or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. 
     Device readable medium  2030  may be operable to store a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, etc. and/or other instructions capable of being executed by processing circuitry  2020 . Device readable medium  2030  may include computer memory (e.g., Random Access Memory (RAM) or Read Only Memory (ROM)), mass storage media (e.g., a hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device readable and/or computer executable memory devices that store information, data, and/or instructions that may be used by processing circuitry  2020 . In some embodiments, processing circuitry  2020  and device readable medium  2030  may be considered to be integrated. 
     User interface equipment  2032  may provide components that allow for a human user to interact with WD  2010 . Such interaction may be of many forms, such as visual, audial, tactile, etc. User interface equipment  2032  may be operable to produce output to the user and to allow the user to provide input to WD  2010 . The type of interaction may vary depending on the type of user interface equipment  2032  installed in WD  2010 . For example, if WD  2010  is a smart phone, the interaction may be via a touch screen; if WD  2010  is a smart meter, the interaction may be through a screen that provides usage (e.g., the number of gallons used) or a speaker that provides an audible alert (e.g., if smoke is detected). User interface equipment  2032  may include input interfaces, devices and circuits, and output interfaces, devices and circuits. User interface equipment  2032  is configured to allow input of information into WD  2010 , and is connected to processing circuitry  2020  to allow processing circuitry  2020  to process the input information. User interface equipment  2032  may include, for example, a microphone, a proximity or other sensor, keys/buttons, a touch display, one or more cameras, a USB port, or other input circuitry. User interface equipment  2032  is also configured to allow output of information from WD  2010 , and to allow processing circuitry  2020  to output information from WD  2010 . User interface equipment  2032  may include, for example, a speaker, a display, vibrating circuitry, a USB port, a headphone interface, or other output circuitry. Using one or more input and output interfaces, devices, and circuits, of user interface equipment  2032 , WD  2010  may communicate with end users and/or the wireless network, and allow them to benefit from the functionality described herein. 
     Auxiliary equipment  2034  is operable to provide more specific functionality which may not be generally performed by WDs. This may comprise specialized sensors for doing measurements for various purposes, interfaces for additional types of communication such as wired communications etc. The inclusion and type of components of auxiliary equipment  2034  may vary depending on the embodiment and/or scenario. 
     Power source  2036  may, in some embodiments, be in the form of a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic devices or power cells, may also be used. WD  2010  may further comprise power circuitry  2037  for delivering power from power source  2036  to the various parts of WD  2010  which need power from power source  2036  to carry out any functionality described or indicated herein. Power circuitry  2037  may in certain embodiments comprise power management circuitry. Power circuitry  2037  may additionally or alternatively be operable to receive power from an external power source; in which case WD  2010  may be connectable to the external power source (such as an electricity outlet) via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Power circuitry  2037  may also in certain embodiments be operable to deliver power from an external power source to power source  2036 . This may be, for example, for the charging of power source  2036 . Power circuitry  2037  may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from power source  2036  to make the power suitable for the respective components of WD  2010  to which power is supplied. 
       FIG.  21    illustrates one embodiment of a UE in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, a user equipment or UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and/or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter). UE  21200  may be any UE identified by the 3 rd  Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a NB-IoT UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and/or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE. UE  2100 , as illustrated in  FIG.  21   , is one example of a WD configured for communication in accordance with one or more communication standards promulgated by the 3 rd  Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as 3GPP&#39;s GSM, UMTS, LTE, and/or 5G standards. As mentioned previously, the term WD and UE may be used interchangeable. Accordingly, although  FIG.  21    is a UE, the components discussed herein are equally applicable to a WD, and vice-versa. 
     In  FIG.  21   , UE  2100  includes processing circuitry  2101  that is operatively coupled to input/output interface  2105 , radio frequency (RF) interface  2109 , network connection interface  2111 , memory  2115  including random access memory (RAM)  2117 , read-only memory (ROM)  2119 , and storage medium  2121  or the like, communication subsystem  2131 , power source  2133 , and/or any other component, or any combination thereof. Storage medium  2121  includes operating system  2123 , application program  2125 , and data  2127 . In other embodiments, storage medium  2121  may include other similar types of information. Certain UEs may utilize all of the components shown in  FIG.  21   , or only a subset of the components. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc. 
     In  FIG.  21   , processing circuitry  2101  may be configured to process computer instructions and data. Processing circuitry  2101  may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute machine instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory, such as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, FPGA, ASIC, etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored program, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or Digital Signal Processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry  2101  may include two central processing units (CPUs). Data may be information in a form suitable for use by a computer. 
     In the depicted embodiment, input/output interface  2105  may be configured to provide a communication interface to an input device, output device, or input and output device. UE  2100  may be configured to use an output device via input/output interface  2105 . An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a USB port may be used to provide input to and output from UE  2100 . The output device may be a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. UE  2100  may be configured to use an input device via input/output interface  2105  to allow a user to capture information into UE  2100 . The input device may include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, another like sensor, or any combination thereof. For example, the input device may be an accelerometer, a magnetometer, a digital camera, a microphone, and an optical sensor. 
     In  FIG.  21   , RF interface  2109  may be configured to provide a communication interface to RF components such as a transmitter, a receiver, and an antenna. Network connection interface  2111  may be configured to provide a communication interface to network  2143   a . Network  2143   a  may encompass wired and/or wireless networks such as a local-area network (LAN), a wide-area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another like network or any combination thereof. For example, network  2143   a  may comprise a Wi-Fi network. Network connection interface  2111  may be configured to include a receiver and a transmitter interface used to communicate with one or more other devices over a communication network according to one or more communication protocols, such as Ethernet, TCP/IP, SONET, ATM, or the like. Network connection interface  2111  may implement receiver and transmitter functionality appropriate to the communication network links (e.g., optical, electrical, and the like). The transmitter and receiver functions may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively may be implemented separately. 
     RAM  2117  may be configured to interface via bus  2102  to processing circuitry  2101  to provide storage or caching of data or computer instructions during the execution of software programs such as the operating system, application programs, and device drivers. ROM  2119  may be configured to provide computer instructions or data to processing circuitry  2101 . For example, ROM  2119  may be configured to store invariant low-level system code or data for basic system functions such as basic input and output (I/O), startup, or reception of keystrokes from a keyboard that are stored in a non-volatile memory. Storage medium  2121  may be configured to include memory such as RAM, ROM, programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, floppy disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, or flash drives. In one example, storage medium  2121  may be configured to include operating system  2123 , application program  2125  such as a web browser application, a widget or gadget engine or another application, and data file  2127 . Storage medium  2121  may store, for use by UE  2100 , any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems. 
     Storage medium  2121  may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), floppy disk drive, flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as a subscriber identity module or a removable user identity (SIM/RUIM) module, other memory, or any combination thereof. Storage medium  2121  may allow UE  2100  to access computer-executable instructions, application programs or the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied in storage medium  2121 , which may comprise a device readable medium. 
     In  FIG.  21   , processing circuitry  2101  may be configured to communicate with network  2143   b  using communication subsystem  2131 . Network  2143   a  and network  2143   b  may be the same network or networks or different network or networks. Communication subsystem  2131  may be configured to include one or more transceivers used to communicate with network  2143   b . For example, communication subsystem  2131  may be configured to include one or more transceivers used to communicate with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication such as another WD, UE, or base station of a radio access network (RAN) according to one or more communication protocols, such as IEEE 802.21, CDMA, WCDMA, GSM, LTE, UTRAN, WiMax, or the like. Each transceiver may include transmitter  2133  and/or receiver  2135  to implement transmitter or receiver functionality, respectively, appropriate to the RAN links (e.g., frequency allocations and the like). Further, transmitter  2133  and receiver  2135  of each transceiver may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively may be implemented separately. 
     In the illustrated embodiment, the communication functions of communication subsystem  2131  may include data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. For example, communication subsystem  2131  may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, Bluetooth communication, and GPS communication. Network  2143   b  may encompass wired and/or wireless networks such as a local-area network (LAN), a wide-area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another like network or any combination thereof. For example, network  2143   b  may be a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, and/or a near-field network. Power source  2113  may be configured to provide alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC) power to components of UE  2100 . 
     The features, benefits and/or functions described herein may be implemented in one of the components of UE  2100  or partitioned across multiple components of UE  2100 . Further, the features, benefits, and/or functions described herein may be implemented in any combination of hardware, software or firmware. In one example, communication subsystem  2131  may be configured to include any of the components described herein. Further, processing circuitry  2101  may be configured to communicate with any of such components over bus  2102 . In another example, any of such components may be represented by program instructions stored in memory that when executed by processing circuitry  2101  perform the corresponding functions described herein. In another example, the functionality of any of such components may be partitioned between processing circuitry  2101  and communication subsystem  2131 . In another example, the non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and the computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware. 
       FIG.  22    is a schematic block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment  2200  in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to a node (e.g., a virtualized base station or a virtualized radio access node) or to a device (e.g., a UE, a wireless device or any other type of communication device) or components thereof and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components (e.g., via one or more applications, components, functions, virtual machines or containers executing on one or more physical processing nodes in one or more networks). 
     In some embodiments, some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines implemented in one or more virtual environments  2200  hosted by one or more of hardware nodes  2230 . Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node is not a radio access node or does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node), then the network node may be entirely virtualized. 
     The functions may be implemented by one or more applications  2220  (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) operative to implement some of the features, functions, and/or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein. Applications  2220  are run in virtualization environment  2200  which provides hardware  2230  comprising processing circuitry  2260  and memory  2290 . Memory  2290  contains instructions  2295  executable by processing circuitry  2260  whereby application  2220  is operative to provide one or more of the features, benefits, and/or functions disclosed herein. 
     Virtualization environment  2200 , comprises general-purpose or special-purpose network hardware devices  2230  comprising a set of one or more processors or processing circuitry  2260 , which may be commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) processors, dedicated Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), or any other type of processing circuitry including digital or analog hardware components or special purpose processors. Each hardware device may comprise memory  2290 - 1  which may be non-persistent memory for temporarily storing instructions  2295  or software executed by processing circuitry  2260 . Each hardware device may comprise one or more network interface controllers (NICs)  2270 , also known as network interface cards, which include physical network interface  2280 . Each hardware device may also include non-transitory, persistent, machine-readable storage media  2290 - 2  having stored therein software  2295  and/or instructions executable by processing circuitry  2260 . Software  2295  may include any type of software including software for instantiating one or more virtualization layers  2250  (also referred to as hypervisors), software to execute virtual machines  2240  as well as software allowing it to execute functions, features and/or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. 
     Virtual machines  2240 , comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer  2250  or hypervisor. Different embodiments of the instance of virtual appliance  2220  may be implemented on one or more of virtual machines  2240 , and the implementations may be made in different ways. 
     During operation, processing circuitry  2260  executes software  2295  to instantiate the hypervisor or virtualization layer  2250 , which may sometimes be referred to as a virtual machine monitor (VMM). Virtualization layer  2250  may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to virtual machine  2240 . 
     As shown in  FIG.  22   , hardware  2230  may be a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware  2230  may comprise antenna  22225  and may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware  2230  may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g. such as in a data center or customer premise equipment (CPE)) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration (MANO)  22100 , which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications  2220 . 
     Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment. 
     In the context of NFV, virtual machine  2240  may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of virtual machines  2240 , and that part of hardware  2230  that executes that virtual machine, be it hardware dedicated to that virtual machine and/or hardware shared by that virtual machine with others of the virtual machines  2240 , forms a separate virtual network elements (VNE). 
     Still in the context of NFV, Virtual Network Function (VNF) is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more virtual machines  2240  on top of hardware networking infrastructure  2230  and corresponds to application  2220  in  FIG.  22   . 
     In some embodiments, one or more radio units  22200  that each include one or more transmitters  22220  and one or more receivers  22210  may be coupled to one or more antennas  22225 . Radio units  22200  may communicate directly with hardware nodes  2230  via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station. 
     In some embodiments, some signalling can be effected with the use of control system  22230  which may alternatively be used for communication between the hardware nodes  2230  and radio units  22200 . 
       FIG.  23    illustrates a telecommunication network connected via an intermediate network to a host computer in accordance with some embodiments. In particular, with reference to  FIG.  23   , in accordance with an embodiment, a communication system includes telecommunication network  2310 , such as a 3GPP-type cellular network, which comprises access network  2311 , such as a radio access network, and core network  2314 . Access network  2311  comprises a plurality of base stations  2312   a ,  2312   b ,  2312   c , such as NBs, eNBs, gNBs or other types of wireless access points, each defining a corresponding coverage area  2313   a ,  2313   b ,  2313   c . Each base station  2312   a ,  2312   b ,  2312   c  is connectable to core network  2314  over a wired or wireless connection  2315 . A first UE  2391  located in coverage area  2313   c  is configured to wirelessly connect to, or be paged by, the corresponding base station  2312   c . A second UE  2392  in coverage area  2313   a  is wirelessly connectable to the corresponding base station  2312   a . While a plurality of UEs  2391 ,  2392  are 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 station  2312 . 
     Telecommunication network  2310  is itself connected to host computer  2330 , which may be embodied in the hardware and/or software of a standalone server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server or as processing resources in a server farm. Host computer  2330  may 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. Connections  2321  and  2322  between telecommunication network  2310  and host computer  2330  may extend directly from core network  2314  to host computer  2330  or may go via an optional intermediate network  2320 . Intermediate network  2320  may be one of, or a combination of more than one of, a public, private or hosted network; intermediate network  2320 , if any, may be a backbone network or the Internet; in particular, intermediate network  2320  may comprise two or more sub-networks (not shown). 
     The communication system of  FIG.  23    as a whole enables connectivity between the connected UEs  2391 ,  2392  and host computer  2330 . The connectivity may be described as an over-the-top (OTT) connection  2350 . Host computer  2330  and the connected UEs  2391 ,  2392  are configured to communicate data and/or signaling via OTT connection  2350 , using access network  2311 , core network  2314 , any intermediate network  2320  and possible further infrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries. OTT connection  2350  may be transparent in the sense that the participating communication devices through which OTT connection  2350  passes are unaware of routing of uplink and downlink communications. For example, base station  2312  may not or need not be informed about the past routing of an incoming downlink communication with data originating from host computer  2330  to be forwarded (e.g., handed over) to a connected UE  2391 . Similarly, base station  2312  need not be aware of the future routing of an outgoing uplink communication originating from the UE  2391  towards the host computer  2330 . 
     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 to  FIG.  24   .  FIG.  24    illustrates host computer communicating via a base station with a user equipment over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments In communication system  2400 , host computer  2410  comprises hardware  2415  including communication interface  2416  configured to set up and maintain a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of communication system  2400 . Host computer  2410  further comprises processing circuitry  2418 , which may have storage and/or processing capabilities. In particular, processing circuitry  2418  may comprise one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. Host computer  2410  further comprises software  2411 , which is stored in or accessible by host computer  2410  and executable by processing circuitry  2418 . Software  2411  includes host application  2412 . Host application  2412  may be operable to provide a service to a remote user, such as UE  2430  connecting via OTT connection  2450  terminating at UE  2430  and host computer  2410 . In providing the service to the remote user, host application  2412  may provide user data which is transmitted using OTT connection  2450 . 
     Communication system  2400  further includes base station  2420  provided in a telecommunication system and comprising hardware  2425  enabling it to communicate with host computer  2410  and with UE  2430 . Hardware  2425  may include communication interface  2426  for setting up and maintaining a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of communication system  2400 , as well as radio interface  2427  for setting up and maintaining at least wireless connection  2470  with UE  2430  located in a coverage area (not shown in  FIG.  24   ) served by base station  2420 . Communication interface  2426  may be configured to facilitate connection  2460  to host computer  2410 . Connection  2460  may be direct or it may pass through a core network (not shown in  FIG.  24   ) of the telecommunication system and/or through one or more intermediate networks outside the telecommunication system. In the embodiment shown, hardware  2425  of base station  2420  further includes processing circuitry  2428 , which may comprise one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. Base station  2420  further has software  2421  stored internally or accessible via an external connection. 
     Communication system  2400  further includes UE  2430  already referred to. Its hardware  2435  may include radio interface  2437  configured to set up and maintain wireless connection  2470  with a base station serving a coverage area in which UE  2430  is currently located. Hardware  2435  of UE  2430  further includes processing circuitry  2438 , which may comprise one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. UE  2430  further comprises software  2431 , which is stored in or accessible by UE  2430  and executable by processing circuitry  2438 . Software  2431  includes client application  2432 . Client application  2432  may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via UE  2430 , with the support of host computer  2410 . In host computer  2410 , an executing host application  2412  may communicate with the executing client application  2432  via OTT connection  2450  terminating at UE  2430  and host computer  2410 . In providing the service to the user, client application  2432  may receive request data from host application  2412  and provide user data in response to the request data. OTT connection  2450  may transfer both the request data and the user data. Client application  2432  may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides. 
     It is noted that host computer  2410 , base station  2420  and UE  2430  illustrated in  FIG.  24    may be similar or identical to host computer  2330 , one of base stations  2312   a ,  2312   b ,  2312   c  and one of UEs  2391 ,  2392  of  FIG.  23   , respectively. This is to say, the inner workings of these entities may be as shown in  FIG.  24    and independently, the surrounding network topology may be that of  FIG.  23   . 
     In  FIG.  24   , OTT connection  2450  has been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between host computer  2410  and UE  2430  via base station  2420 , without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices. Network infrastructure may determine the routing, which it may be configured to hide from UE  2430  or from the service provider operating host computer  2410 , or both. While OTT connection  2450  is 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). 
     Wireless connection  2470  between UE  2430  and base station  2420  is 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 UE  2430  using OTT connection  2450 , in which wireless connection  2470  forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve the service uptime, multi-zone service usage, and/or impact of positioning uncertainty/inaccuracy, and thereby provide benefits such as reduced user waiting time, better responsiveness, and improved service performance. 
     A measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve. There may further be an optional network functionality for reconfiguring OTT connection  2450  between host computer  2410  and UE  2430 , in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and/or the network functionality for reconfiguring OTT connection  2450  may be implemented in software  2411  and hardware  2415  of host computer  2410  or in software  2431  and hardware  2435  of UE  2430 , or both. In embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with communication devices through which OTT connection  2450  passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or supplying values of other physical quantities from which software  2411 ,  2431  may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of OTT connection  2450  may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not affect base station  2420 , and it may be unknown or imperceptible to base station  2420 . Such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling facilitating host computer  2410 &#39;s measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency and the like. The measurements may be implemented in that software  2411  and  2431  causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using OTT connection  2450  while it monitors propagation times, errors etc. 
       FIG.  25    is 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 to  FIGS.  23  and  24   . For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to  FIG.  25    will be included in this section. In step  2510 , the host computer provides user data. In substep  2511  (which may be optional) of step  2510 , the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In step  2520 , the host computer initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the UE. In step  2530  (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 step  2540  (which may also be optional), the UE executes a client application associated with the host application executed by the host computer. 
       FIG.  26    is 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 to  FIGS.  23  and  24   . For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to  FIG.  26    will be included in this section. In step  2610  of the method, the host computer provides user data. In an optional substep (not shown) the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In step  2620 , the host computer initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the UE. The transmission may pass via the base station, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step  2630  (which may be optional), the UE receives the user data carried in the transmission. 
       FIG.  27    is 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 to  FIGS.  23  and  24   . For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to  FIG.  27    will be included in this section. In step  2710  (which may be optional), the UE receives input data provided by the host computer. Additionally or alternatively, in step  2720 , the UE provides user data. In substep  2721  (which may be optional) of step  2720 , the UE provides the user data by executing a client application. In substep  2711  (which may be optional) of step  2710 , the UE executes a client application which provides the user data in reaction to the received input data provided by the host computer. In providing the user data, the executed client application may further consider user input received from the user. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided, the UE initiates, in substep  2730  (which may be optional), transmission of the user data to the host computer. In step  2740  of the method, the host computer receives the user data transmitted from the UE, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. 
       FIG.  28    is 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 to  FIGS.  23  and  24   . For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to  FIG.  28    will be included in this section. In step  2810  (which may be optional), in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the base station receives user data from the UE. In step  2820  (which may be optional), the base station initiates transmission of the received user data to the host computer. In step  2830  (which may be optional), the host computer receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the base station. 
     Any appropriate steps, methods, features, functions, or benefits disclosed herein may be performed through one or more functional units or modules of one or more virtual apparatuses. Each virtual apparatus may comprise a number of these functional units. These functional units may be implemented via processing circuitry, which may include one or more microprocessor or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware, which may include digital signal processors (DSPs), special-purpose digital logic, and the like. The processing circuitry may be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which may include one or several types of memory such as read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc. Program code stored in memory includes program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and/or data communications protocols as well as instructions for carrying out one or more of the techniques described herein. In some implementations, the processing circuitry may be used to cause the respective functional unit to perform corresponding functions according one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. 
     In view of the above, then, embodiments herein generally include a communication system including a host computer. The host computer may comprise processing circuitry configured to provide user data. The host computer may also comprise a communication interface configured to forward the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE). The cellular network may comprise a base station having a radio interface and processing circuitry, the base station&#39;s processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for a base station. 
     In some embodiments, the communication system further includes the base station. 
     In some embodiments, the communication system further includes the UE, wherein the UE is configured to communicate with the base station. 
     In some embodiments, the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data. In this case, the UE comprises processing circuitry configured to execute a client application associated with the host application. 
     Embodiments herein also include a method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment (UE). The method comprises, at the host computer, providing user data. The method may also comprise, at the host computer, initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the base station. The base station performs any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for a base station. 
     In some embodiments, the method further comprising, at the base station, transmitting the user data. 
     In some embodiments, the user data is provided at the host computer by executing a host application. In this case, the method further comprises, at the UE, executing a client application associated with the host application. 
     Embodiments herein also include a user equipment (UE) configured to communicate with a base station. The UE comprises a radio interface and processing circuitry configured to perform any of the embodiments above described for a UE. 
     Embodiments herein further include a communication system including a host computer. The host computer comprises 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). The UE comprises a radio interface and processing circuitry. The UE&#39;s components are configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for a UE. 
     In some embodiments, the cellular network further includes a base station configured to communicate with the UE. 
     In some embodiments, the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data. The UE&#39;s processing circuitry is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application. 
     Embodiments also include a method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment (UE). The method comprises, at the host computer, providing user data and initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the base station. The UE performs any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for a UE. 
     In some embodiments, the method further comprises, at the UE, receiving the user data from the base station. 
     Embodiments herein further include a communication system including a host computer. The host computer comprises a communication interface configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from a user equipment (UE) to a base station. The UE comprises a radio interface and processing circuitry. The UE&#39;s processing circuitry is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for a UE. 
     In some embodiments the communication system further includes the UE. 
     In some embodiments, the communication system further including the base station. In this case, 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. 
     In some embodiments, the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application. And the UE&#39;s processing circuitry is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application, thereby providing the user data. 
     In some embodiments, the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing request data. And the UE&#39;s processing circuitry is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application, thereby providing the user data in response to the request data. 
     Embodiments herein also include a method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment (UE). The method comprises, at the host computer, receiving user data transmitted to the base station from the UE. The UE performs any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the UE. 
     In some embodiments, the method further comprises, at the UE, providing the user data to the base station. 
     In some embodiments, the method also comprises, at the UE, executing a client application, thereby providing the user data to be transmitted. The method may further comprise, at the host computer, executing a host application associated with the client application. 
     In some embodiments, the method further comprises, at the UE, executing a client application, and, at the UE, receiving input data to the client application. The input data is provided at the host computer by executing a host application associated with the client application. The user data to be transmitted is provided by the client application in response to the input data. 
     Embodiments also include a communication system including a host computer. The host computer comprises a communication interface configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from a user equipment (UE) to a base station. The base station comprises a radio interface and processing circuitry. The base station&#39;s processing circuitry is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for a base station. 
     In some embodiments, the communication system further includes the base station. 
     In some embodiments, the communication system further includes the UE. The UE is configured to communicate with the base station. 
     In some embodiments, the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application. And the UE is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application, thereby providing the user data to be received by the host computer. 
     Embodiments moreover include a method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment (UE). The method comprises, at the host computer, receiving, from the base station, user data originating from a transmission which the base station has received from the UE. The UE performs any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for a UE. 
     In some embodiments, the method further comprises, at the base station, receiving the user data from the UE. 
     In some embodiments, the method further comprises, at the base station, initiating a transmission of the received user data to the host computer. 
     Generally, all terms used herein are to be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning in the relevant technical field, unless a different meaning is clearly given and/or is implied from the context in which it is used. All references to a/an/the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc. are to be interpreted openly as referring to at least one instance of the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc., unless explicitly stated otherwise. The steps of any methods disclosed herein do not have to be performed in the exact order disclosed, unless a step is explicitly described as following or preceding another step and/or where it is implicit that a step must follow or precede another step. Any feature of any of the embodiments disclosed herein may be applied to any other embodiment, wherever appropriate. Likewise, any advantage of any of the embodiments may apply to any other embodiments, and vice versa. Other objectives, features and advantages of the enclosed embodiments will be apparent from the description. 
     The term unit may have conventional meaning in the field of electronics, electrical devices and/or electronic devices and may include, for example, electrical and/or electronic circuitry, devices, modules, processors, memories, logic solid state and/or discrete devices, computer programs or instructions for carrying out respective tasks, procedures, computations, outputs, and/or displaying functions, and so on, as such as those that are described herein. 
     Some of the embodiments contemplated herein are described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Other embodiments, however, are contained within the scope of the subject matter disclosed herein. The disclosed subject matter should not be construed as limited to only the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.