Patent Publication Number: US-2021168813-A1

Title: Methods and apparatuses for uplink spatial relation info switch

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/975,085, which was filed Feb. 11, 2020, the disclosure of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     Embodiments relate generally to the technical field of wireless communications. 
     BACKGROUND 
     In New Radio (NR), the transmission (Tx) beam for uplink channels such as sounding reference signal (SRS), physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), and physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) may be indicated by a SpatialRelationInfo parameter. The spatial relation info indicates that the same spatial filter or Tx beam should be used for the transmission of the uplink (UL) resource as a downlink (DL) or UL reference signal (RS). 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Embodiments will be readily understood by the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. To facilitate this description, like reference numerals designate like structural elements. Embodiments are illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings. 
         FIG. 1  schematically illustrates a delay between a time when a user equipment (UE) receives a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) carrying a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) or radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration for spatial relation information and a time when the UE is expected to transmit on a new Tx beam, in accordance with various embodiments. 
         FIG. 2  schematically illustrates a delay between a time when a UE receives a PDSCH with a RRC reconfiguration message and a time when the UE is expected to transmit on a new Tx beam, in accordance with various embodiments. 
         FIG. 3  schematically illustrates a wireless network in accordance with various embodiments. 
         FIG. 4  schematically illustrates components of a wireless network in accordance with various embodiments. 
         FIG. 5  is a block diagram illustrating components, according to some example embodiments, able to read instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. 
         FIG. 6  is a flowchart of an example process that may be performed by a UE, in accordance with various embodiments. 
         FIG. 7  is a flowchart of an example process that may be performed by an access node, such as a next generation Node B (gNB), in accordance with various embodiments. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers may be used in different drawings to identify the same or similar elements. In the following description, for purposes of explanation and not limitation, specific details are set forth such as particular structures, architectures, interfaces, techniques, etc. in order to provide a thorough understanding of the various aspects of various embodiments. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the present disclosure that the various aspects of the various embodiments may be practiced in other examples that depart from these specific details. In certain instances, descriptions of well-known devices, circuits, and methods are omitted so as not to obscure the description of the various embodiments with unnecessary detail. For the purposes of the present document, the phrases “A or B” and “A/B” mean (A), (B), or (A and B). 
     Various embodiments herein provide techniques for user equipment (UE) behavior and delay requirements in case of spatial relation information change for an uplink signal, such as a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), and/or a sounding reference signal (SRS). 
     As discussed above, in New Radio (NR), the transmission (Tx) beam for uplink channels such as SRS, PUCCH, and PUSCH may be indicated by a SpatialRelationInfo parameter. The spatial relation info indicates that the same spatial filter or Tx beam should be used for the transmission of the uplink (UL) resource as a downlink (DL) or UL reference signal (RS). 
     For SRS, the spatial relation is specified using the parameter SRS-SpatialRelationInfo in the SRS-Resource information element (IE), e.g., as shown below. 
     
       
         
           
               
               
             
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                 SRS-SpatialRelationInfo ::= 
                  SEQUENCE { 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
            
               
                   
                 servingCellId 
                 ServCellIndex 
               
            
           
           
               
            
               
                 OPTIONAL, -- Need S 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
            
               
                   
                 referenceSignal 
                  CHOICE { 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
            
               
                   
                 ssb-Index 
                  SSB-Index, 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
            
               
                   
                 csi-RS-Index 
                 NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceId, 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
            
               
                   
                 srs 
                 SEQUENCE { 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
            
               
                   
                 resourceId 
                 SRS-ResourceId, 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
            
               
                   
                 uplinkBWP 
                 BWP-Id 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 } 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 } 
               
            
           
           
               
            
               
                 } 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     For Semi-Persistent SRS (SP-SRS), a medium access control (MAC)-control element (CE) may be used to specify the spatial relation info. 
     For PUCCH, the spatial relation is specified by IE PUCCH-SpatialRelationInfo, e.g., as shown below. 
     
       
         
           
               
               
             
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                 PUCCH-SpatialRelationInfo ::= 
                 SEQUENCE { 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
            
               
                   
                 pucch-SpatialRelationInfoId 
                  PUCCH-SpatialRelationInfoId, 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
            
               
                   
                 servingCellId 
                  ServCellIndex 
               
            
           
           
               
            
               
                 OPTIONAL, -- Need S 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
            
               
                   
                 referenceSignal 
                 CHOICE { 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
            
               
                   
                 ssb-Index 
                 SSB-Index, 
               
               
                   
                 csi-RS-Index 
                  NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceId, 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
            
               
                   
                 srs 
                  SEQUENCE { 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
            
               
                   
                  resource 
                 SRS-ResourceId, 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
            
               
                   
                  uplinkBWP 
                 BWP-Id 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 } 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 }, 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
            
               
                   
                 pucch-PathlossReferenceRS-Id 
                 PUCCH-PathlossReferenceRS-Id, 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
            
               
                   
                 p0-PUCCH-Id 
                  P0-PUCCH-Id, 
               
               
                   
                 closedLoopIndex 
                  ENUMERATED { i0, i1 } 
               
            
           
           
               
            
               
                 } 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     In case more than 1 resource is specified for spatial relation for PUCCH in spatialRelationInfoToAddModList, then MAC CE is used to activate the spatial relation info for the PUCCH resource. 
     For PUSCH configured with downlink control information (DCI) format 0_0, the Tx beam is based on the PUCCH resource with lowest resource identifier (ID). For PUSCH scheduled using DCI format 0_1, the spatial relation is given by a SRS resource indicator (SRI). 
     The Tx beam for an uplink transmission may be associated with a DL RS (e.g., synchronization signal/physical broadcast channel (SS/PBCH) or channel state information (CSI)-RS) or an UL resource (e.g., SRS). 
     The spatial relation for the uplink resource for SRS or PUCCH may be changed via radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration or via MAC CE. However, the delay requirements and UE behavior in case of a spatial relation info switch are not specified. Additionally, the UE behavior when configured with spatial relation info in certain conditions is not specified. 
     With the UE behavior and delay requirements unspecified, the network might not know when to expect transmission from the UE on the specified Tx beam and might result in missed transmission and non-optimal usage of resources. 
     Various embodiments herein provide the UE behavior and/or delay requirements in case of spatial relation info change for an uplink signal, such as PUCCH and/or SRS. 
     Transmitting with Configured Spatial Relation Info 
     In various embodiments, the spatial relation info may be configured via RRC, MAC CE, and/or DCI (e.g., the DCI scheduling the transmission). The spatial relation for the uplink transmission may be based on a DL RS or SRS. In case the Tx beam for UL transmission is based on DL RS, the transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state for that RS should be known to the UE in order to transmit PUCCH or SRS or PUSCH in the scheduled slot. When the TCI state of the DL RS is known, the Rx beam for receiving the DL RS is known to the UE without additional measurements. The definition of known TCI state is given in 3GPP Technical Standard (TS) 38.133, V16.2.0, Section 8.10.2. In case the TCI state of the DL RS that is indicating the spatial relation info for the uplink resource is unknown, then additional time shall be needed to determine the suitable Rx beam for the DL RS to be used for the uplink transmission. 
     Accordingly, when spatial relation info for an uplink resource (e.g., for SRS PUSCH, or PUCCH) is based on a DL RS, the TCI state of the DL RS could be known or unknown to the UE. When TCI state of the DL RS is known, the UE may transmit the uplink signal (e.g., SRS, PUCCH, or PUSCH) with the same spatial filter as receiving the DL RS in the scheduled slot. 
     When TCI state of the DL RS is unknown, the UE behavior may be one of the following:
         (a) Transmit the uplink signal with the Tx beam that was associated with the DL RS.   (b) Transmit the uplink signal with an arbitrary Tx beam.   (c) Drop current transmission of the uplink signal, perform required measurements to determine the suitable Rx beam for the DL RS, and transmit the uplink signal with the same spatial filter as the DL RS when scheduled again or at next occasion.       

     In various embodiments, when the spatial relation for the uplink resource (e.g., for SRS, PUCCH, or PUSCH) is based on an SRS resource, the UE transmits the uplink signal using the same spatial filter as the SRS. In case the UE does not know the spatial filter or Tx beam associated with the SRS, the UE may transmit on an arbitrary beam. 
     Spatial Relation Info Switch 
       FIG. 1  illustrates example components of delay in spatial relation info switch. As shown, after receiving a PDSCH carrying a MAC CE or RRC command for spatial relation info switch, there is a delay before the UE can transmit with the new Tx beam. The delay components may include DL command decoding time and/or UE processing and/or preparation time. The DL command decoding time may be MAC CE decoding time and/or RRC processing delay (e.g., based on the type of switch command). When the spatial relation info switch is associated with a DL RS, the UE processing time may include time for Rx beam tracking and/or time tracking based on the TCI state of the DL RS. The processing and preparation time may additionally or alternatively include one or more other delays, e.g., as specified in 3GPP TS 38.214, V16.0.0. In embodiments, when the spatial relation info switch command for an uplink signal is received by the UE, the UE shall transmit the uplink signal with the new Tx beam after the delay. 
     In various embodiments, the UE shall be able to transmit UL resource on old Tx beam at least until the decoding of DL command carrying spatial relation info switch. 
     In some embodiments, in case of RRC reconfiguration for spatial relation info switch, the UE shall have a scheduling restriction during the entire switching period. Accordingly, the gNB may not schedule the UE for transmission of a SRS, PUCCH, PUSCH, and/or other uplink signal during the switching period.  FIG. 2  illustrates an example of the switching period for RRC reconfiguration. 
     Systems and Implementations 
       FIGS. 3-5  illustrate various systems, device, and components that may implement aspects of disclosed embodiments. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates a network  300  in accordance with various embodiments. The network  300  may operate in a manner consistent with 3GPP technical specifications for LTE or 5G/NR systems. However, the example embodiments are not limited in this regard and the described embodiments may apply to other networks that benefit from the principles described herein, such as future 3GPP systems, or the like. 
     The network  300  may include a UE  302 , which may include any mobile or non-mobile computing device designed to communicate with a RAN  304  via an over-the-air connection. The UE  302  may be, but is not limited to, a smartphone, tablet computer, wearable computer device, desktop computer, laptop computer, in-vehicle infotainment, in-car entertainment device, instrument cluster, head-up display device, onboard diagnostic device, dashtop mobile equipment, mobile data terminal, electronic engine management system, electronic/engine control unit, electronic/engine control module, embedded system, sensor, microcontroller, control module, engine management system, networked appliance, machine-type communication device, M2M or D2D device, IoT device, etc. 
     In some embodiments, the network  300  may include a plurality of UEs coupled directly with one another via a sidelink interface. The UEs may be M2M/D2D devices that communicate using physical sidelink channels such as, but not limited to, PSBCH, PSDCH, PSSCH, PSCCH, PSFCH, etc. 
     In some embodiments, the UE  302  may additionally communicate with an AP  306  via an over-the-air connection. The AP  306  may manage a WLAN connection, which may serve to offload some/all network traffic from the RAN  304 . The connection between the UE  302  and the AP  306  may be consistent with any IEEE 802.11 protocol, wherein the AP  306  could be a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi®) router. In some embodiments, the UE  302 , RAN  304 , and AP  306  may utilize cellular-WLAN aggregation (for example, LWA/LWIP). Cellular-WLAN aggregation may involve the UE  302  being configured by the RAN  304  to utilize both cellular radio resources and WLAN resources. 
     The RAN  304  may include one or more access nodes, for example, AN  308 . AN  308  may terminate air-interface protocols for the UE  302  by providing access stratum protocols including RRC, PDCP, RLC, MAC, and L1 protocols. In this manner, the AN  308  may enable data/voice connectivity between CN  320  and the UE  302 . In some embodiments, the AN  308  may be implemented in a discrete device or as one or more software entities running on server computers as part of, for example, a virtual network, which may be referred to as a CRAN or virtual baseband unit pool. The AN  308  be referred to as a BS, gNB, RAN node, eNB, ng-eNB, NodeB, RSU, TRxP, TRP, etc. The AN  308  may be a macrocell base station or a low power base station for providing femtocells, picocells or other like cells having smaller coverage areas, smaller user capacity, or higher bandwidth compared to macrocells. 
     In embodiments in which the RAN  304  includes a plurality of ANs, they may be coupled with one another via an X2 interface (if the RAN  304  is an LTE RAN) or an Xn interface (if the RAN  304  is a 5G RAN). The X2/Xn interfaces, which may be separated into control/user plane interfaces in some embodiments, may allow the ANs to communicate information related to handovers, data/context transfers, mobility, load management, interference coordination, etc. 
     The ANs of the RAN  304  may each manage one or more cells, cell groups, component carriers, etc. to provide the UE  302  with an air interface for network access. The UE  302  may be simultaneously connected with a plurality of cells provided by the same or different ANs of the RAN  304 . For example, the UE  302  and RAN  304  may use carrier aggregation to allow the UE  302  to connect with a plurality of component carriers, each corresponding to a Pcell or Scell. In dual connectivity scenarios, a first AN may be a master node that provides an MCG and a second AN may be secondary node that provides an SCG. The first/second ANs may be any combination of eNB, gNB, ng-eNB, etc. 
     The RAN  304  may provide the air interface over a licensed spectrum or an unlicensed spectrum. To operate in the unlicensed spectrum, the nodes may use LAA, eLAA, and/or feLAA mechanisms based on CA technology with PCells/Scells. Prior to accessing the unlicensed spectrum, the nodes may perform medium/carrier-sensing operations based on, for example, a listen-before-talk (LBT) protocol. 
     In V2X scenarios the UE  302  or AN  308  may be or act as a RSU, which may refer to any transportation infrastructure entity used for V2X communications. An RSU may be implemented in or by a suitable AN or a stationary (or relatively stationary) UE. An RSU implemented in or by: a UE may be referred to as a “UE-type RSU”; an eNB may be referred to as an “eNB-type RSU”; a gNB may be referred to as a “gNB-type RSU”; and the like. In one example, an RSU is a computing device coupled with radio frequency circuitry located on a roadside that provides connectivity support to passing vehicle UEs. The RSU may also include internal data storage circuitry to store intersection map geometry, traffic statistics, media, as well as applications/software to sense and control ongoing vehicular and pedestrian traffic. The RSU may provide very low latency communications required for high speed events, such as crash avoidance, traffic warnings, and the like. Additionally or alternatively, the RSU may provide other cellular/WLAN communications services. The components of the RSU may be packaged in a weatherproof enclosure suitable for outdoor installation, and may include a network interface controller to provide a wired connection (e.g., Ethernet) to a traffic signal controller or a backhaul network. 
     In some embodiments, the RAN  304  may be an LTE RAN  310  with eNBs, for example, eNB  312 . The LTE RAN  310  may provide an LTE air interface with the following characteristics: SCS of 15 kHz; CP-OFDM waveform for DL and SC-FDMA waveform for UL; turbo codes for data and TBCC for control; etc. The LTE air interface may rely on CSI-RS for CSI acquisition and beam management; PDSCH/PDCCH DMRS for PDSCH/PDCCH demodulation; and CRS for cell search and initial acquisition, channel quality measurements, and channel estimation for coherent demodulation/detection at the UE. The LTE air interface may operating on sub-6 GHz bands. 
     In some embodiments, the RAN  304  may be an NG-RAN  314  with gNBs, for example, gNB  316 , or ng-eNBs, for example, ng-eNB  318 . The gNB  316  may connect with 5G-enabled UEs using a 5G NR interface. The gNB  316  may connect with a 5G core through an NG interface, which may include an N2 interface or an N3 interface. The ng-eNB  318  may also connect with the 5G core through an NG interface, but may connect with a UE via an LTE air interface. The gNB  316  and the ng-eNB  318  may connect with each other over an Xn interface. 
     In some embodiments, the NG interface may be split into two parts, an NG user plane (NG-U) interface, which carries traffic data between the nodes of the NG-RAN  314  and a UPF  348  (e.g., N3 interface), and an NG control plane (NG-C) interface, which is a signaling interface between the nodes of the NG-RAN  314  and an AMF  344  (e.g., N2 interface). 
     The NG-RAN  314  may provide a 5G-NR air interface with the following characteristics: variable SCS; CP-OFDM for DL, CP-OFDM and DFT-s-OFDM for UL; polar, repetition, simplex, and Reed-Muller codes for control and LDPC for data. The 5G-NR air interface may rely on CSI-RS, PDSCH/PDCCH DMRS similar to the LTE air interface. The 5G-NR air interface may not use a CRS, but may use PBCH DMRS for PBCH demodulation; PTRS for phase tracking for PDSCH; and tracking reference signal for time tracking. The 5G-NR air interface may operating on FR1 bands that include sub-6 GHz bands or FR2 bands that include bands from 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz. The 5G-NR air interface may include an SSB that is an area of a downlink resource grid that includes PSS/SSS/PBCH. 
     In some embodiments, the 5G-NR air interface may utilize BWPs for various purposes. For example, BWP can be used for dynamic adaptation of the SCS. For example, the UE  302  can be configured with multiple BWPs where each BWP configuration has a different SCS. When a BWP change is indicated to the UE  302 , the SCS of the transmission is changed as well. Another use case example of BWP is related to power saving. In particular, multiple BWPs can be configured for the UE  302  with different amount of frequency resources (for example, PRBs) to support data transmission under different traffic loading scenarios. A BWP containing a smaller number of PRBs can be used for data transmission with small traffic load while allowing power saving at the UE  302  and in some cases at the gNB  316 . A BWP containing a larger number of PRBs can be used for scenarios with higher traffic load. 
     The RAN  304  is communicatively coupled to CN  320  that includes network elements to provide various functions to support data and telecommunications services to customers/subscribers (for example, users of UE  302 ). The components of the CN  320  may be implemented in one physical node or separate physical nodes. In some embodiments, NFV may be utilized to virtualize any or all of the functions provided by the network elements of the CN  320  onto physical compute/storage resources in servers, switches, etc. A logical instantiation of the CN  320  may be referred to as a network slice, and a logical instantiation of a portion of the CN  320  may be referred to as a network sub-slice. 
     In some embodiments, the CN  320  may be an LTE CN  322 , which may also be referred to as an EPC. The LTE CN  322  may include MME  324 , SGW  326 , SGSN  328 , HSS  330 , PGW  332 , and PCRF  334  coupled with one another over interfaces (or “reference points”) as shown. Functions of the elements of the LTE CN  322  may be briefly introduced as follows. 
     The MME  324  may implement mobility management functions to track a current location of the UE  302  to facilitate paging, bearer activation/deactivation, handovers, gateway selection, authentication, etc. 
     The SGW  326  may terminate an Si interface toward the RAN and route data packets between the RAN and the LTE CN  322 . The SGW  326  may be a local mobility anchor point for inter-RAN node handovers and also may provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility. Other responsibilities may include lawful intercept, charging, and some policy enforcement. 
     The SGSN  328  may track a location of the UE  302  and perform security functions and access control. In addition, the SGSN  328  may perform inter-EPC node signaling for mobility between different RAT networks; PDN and S-GW selection as specified by MME  324 ; MME selection for handovers; etc. The S3 reference point between the MME  324  and the SGSN  328  may enable user and bearer information exchange for inter-3GPP access network mobility in idle/active states. 
     The HSS  330  may include a database for network users, including subscription-related information to support the network entities&#39; handling of communication sessions. The HSS  330  can provide support for routing/roaming, authentication, authorization, naming/addressing resolution, location dependencies, etc. An S6a reference point between the HSS  330  and the MME  324  may enable transfer of subscription and authentication data for authenticating/authorizing user access to the LTE CN  320 . 
     The PGW  332  may terminate an SGi interface toward a data network (DN)  336  that may include an application/content server  338 . The PGW  332  may route data packets between the LTE CN  322  and the data network  336 . The PGW  332  may be coupled with the SGW  326  by an S5 reference point to facilitate user plane tunneling and tunnel management. The PGW  332  may further include a node for policy enforcement and charging data collection (for example, PCEF). Additionally, the SGi reference point between the PGW  332  and the data network  336  may be an operator external public, a private PDN, or an intra-operator packet data network, for example, for provision of IMS services. The PGW  332  may be coupled with a PCRF  334  via a Gx reference point. 
     The PCRF  334  is the policy and charging control element of the LTE CN  322 . The PCRF  334  may be communicatively coupled to the app/content server  338  to determine appropriate QoS and charging parameters for service flows. The PCRF  332  may provision associated rules into a PCEF (via Gx reference point) with appropriate TFT and QCI. 
     In some embodiments, the CN  320  may be a 5GC  340 . The 5GC  340  may include an AUSF  342 , AMF  344 , SMF  346 , UPF  348 , NSSF  350 , NEF  352 , NRF  354 , PCF  356 , UDM  358 , and AF  360  coupled with one another over interfaces (or “reference points”) as shown. Functions of the elements of the 5GC  340  may be briefly introduced as follows. 
     The AUSF  342  may store data for authentication of UE  302  and handle authentication-related functionality. The AUSF  342  may facilitate a common authentication framework for various access types. In addition to communicating with other elements of the 5GC  340  over reference points as shown, the AUSF  342  may exhibit an Nausf service-based interface. 
     The AMF  344  may allow other functions of the 5GC  340  to communicate with the UE  302  and the RAN  304  and to subscribe to notifications about mobility events with respect to the UE  302 . The AMF  344  may be responsible for registration management (for example, for registering UE  302 ), connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception of AMF-related events, and access authentication and authorization. The AMF  344  may provide transport for SM messages between the UE  302  and the SMF  346 , and act as a transparent proxy for routing SM messages. AMF  344  may also provide transport for SMS messages between UE  302  and an SMSF. AMF  344  may interact with the AUSF  342  and the UE  302  to perform various security anchor and context management functions. Furthermore, AMF  344  may be a termination point of a RAN CP interface, which may include or be an N2 reference point between the RAN  304  and the AMF  344 ; and the AMF  344  may be a termination point of NAS (N1) signaling, and perform NAS ciphering and integrity protection. AMF  344  may also support NAS signaling with the UE  302  over an N3 IWF interface. 
     The SMF  346  may be responsible for SM (for example, session establishment, tunnel management between UPF  348  and AN  308 ); UE IP address allocation and management (including optional authorization); selection and control of UP function; configuring traffic steering at UPF  348  to route traffic to proper destination; termination of interfaces toward policy control functions; controlling part of policy enforcement, charging, and QoS; lawful intercept (for SM events and interface to LI system); termination of SM parts of NAS messages; downlink data notification; initiating AN specific SM information, sent via AMF  344  over N2 to AN  308 ; and determining SSC mode of a session. SM may refer to management of a PDU session, and a PDU session or “session” may refer to a PDU connectivity service that provides or enables the exchange of PDUs between the UE  302  and the data network  336 . 
     The UPF  348  may act as an anchor point for intra-RAT and inter-RAT mobility, an external PDU session point of interconnect to data network  336 , and a branching point to support multi-homed PDU session. The UPF  348  may also perform packet routing and forwarding, perform packet inspection, enforce the user plane part of policy rules, lawfully intercept packets (UP collection), perform traffic usage reporting, perform QoS handling for a user plane (e.g., packet filtering, gating, UL/DL rate enforcement), perform uplink traffic verification (e.g., SDF-to-QoS flow mapping), transport level packet marking in the uplink and downlink, and perform downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering. UPF  348  may include an uplink classifier to support routing traffic flows to a data network. 
     The NSSF  350  may select a set of network slice instances serving the UE  302 . The NSSF  350  may also determine allowed NSSAI and the mapping to the subscribed S-NSSAIs, if needed. The NSSF  350  may also determine the AMF set to be used to serve the UE  302 , or a list of candidate AMFs based on a suitable configuration and possibly by querying the NRF  354 . The selection of a set of network slice instances for the UE  302  may be triggered by the AMF  344  with which the UE  302  is registered by interacting with the NSSF  350 , which may lead to a change of AMF. The NSSF  350  may interact with the AMF  344  via an N22 reference point; and may communicate with another NSSF in a visited network via an N31 reference point (not shown). Additionally, the NSSF  350  may exhibit an Nnssf service-based interface. 
     The NEF  352  may securely expose services and capabilities provided by 3GPP network functions for third party, internal exposure/re-exposure, AFs (e.g., AF  360 ), edge computing or fog computing systems, etc. In such embodiments, the NEF  352  may authenticate, authorize, or throttle the AFs. NEF  352  may also translate information exchanged with the AF  360  and information exchanged with internal network functions. For example, the NEF  352  may translate between an AF-Service-Identifier and an internal 5GC information. NEF  352  may also receive information from other NFs based on exposed capabilities of other NFs. This information may be stored at the NEF  352  as structured data, or at a data storage NF using standardized interfaces. The stored information can then be re-exposed by the NEF  352  to other NFs and AFs, or used for other purposes such as analytics. Additionally, the NEF  352  may exhibit an Nnef service-based interface. 
     The NRF  354  may support service discovery functions, receive NF discovery requests from NF instances, and provide the information of the discovered NF instances to the NF instances. NRF  354  also maintains information of available NF instances and their supported services. As used herein, the terms “instantiate,” “instantiation,” and the like may refer to the creation of an instance, and an “instance” may refer to a concrete occurrence of an object, which may occur, for example, during execution of program code. Additionally, the NRF  354  may exhibit the Nnrf service-based interface. 
     The PCF  356  may provide policy rules to control plane functions to enforce them, and may also support unified policy framework to govern network behavior. The PCF  356  may also implement a front end to access subscription information relevant for policy decisions in a UDR of the UDM  358 . In addition to communicating with functions over reference points as shown, the PCF  356  exhibit an Npcf service-based interface. 
     The UDM  358  may handle subscription-related information to support the network entities&#39; handling of communication sessions, and may store subscription data of UE  302 . For example, subscription data may be communicated via an N8 reference point between the UDM  358  and the AMF  344 . The UDM  358  may include two parts, an application front end and a UDR. The UDR may store subscription data and policy data for the UDM  358  and the PCF  356 , and/or structured data for exposure and application data (including PFDs for application detection, application request information for multiple UEs  302 ) for the NEF  352 . The Nudr service-based interface may be exhibited by the UDR  221  to allow the UDM  358 , PCF  356 , and NEF  352  to access a particular set of the stored data, as well as to read, update (e.g., add, modify), delete, and subscribe to notification of relevant data changes in the UDR. The UDM may include a UDM-FE, which is in charge of processing credentials, location management, subscription management and so on. Several different front ends may serve the same user in different transactions. The UDM-FE accesses subscription information stored in the UDR and performs authentication credential processing, user identification handling, access authorization, registration/mobility management, and subscription management. In addition to communicating with other NFs over reference points as shown, the UDM  358  may exhibit the Nudm service-based interface. 
     The AF  360  may provide application influence on traffic routing, provide access to NEF, and interact with the policy framework for policy control. 
     In some embodiments, the 5GC  340  may enable edge computing by selecting operator/3rd party services to be geographically close to a point that the UE  302  is attached to the network. This may reduce latency and load on the network. To provide edge-computing implementations, the 5GC  340  may select a UPF  348  close to the UE  302  and execute traffic steering from the UPF  348  to data network  336  via the N6 interface. This may be based on the UE subscription data, UE location, and information provided by the AF  360 . In this way, the AF  360  may influence UPF (re)selection and traffic routing. Based on operator deployment, when AF  360  is considered to be a trusted entity, the network operator may permit AF  360  to interact directly with relevant NFs. Additionally, the AF  360  may exhibit an Naf service-based interface. 
     The data network  336  may represent various network operator services, Internet access, or third party services that may be provided by one or more servers including, for example, application/content server  338 . 
       FIG. 4  schematically illustrates a wireless network  400  in accordance with various embodiments. The wireless network  400  may include a UE  402  in wireless communication with an AN  404 . The UE  402  and AN  404  may be similar to, and substantially interchangeable with, like-named components described elsewhere herein. 
     The UE  402  may be communicatively coupled with the AN  404  via connection  406 . 
     The connection  406  is illustrated as an air interface to enable communicative coupling, and can be consistent with cellular communications protocols such as an LTE protocol or a 5G NR protocol operating at mmWave or sub-6 GHz frequencies. 
     The UE  402  may include a host platform  408  coupled with a modem platform  410 . The host platform  408  may include application processing circuitry  412 , which may be coupled with protocol processing circuitry  414  of the modem platform  410 . The application processing circuitry  412  may run various applications for the UE  402  that source/sink application data. The application processing circuitry  412  may further implement one or more layer operations to transmit/receive application data to/from a data network. These layer operations may include transport (for example UDP) and Internet (for example, IP) operations 
     The protocol processing circuitry  414  may implement one or more of layer operations to facilitate transmission or reception of data over the connection  406 . The layer operations implemented by the protocol processing circuitry  414  may include, for example, MAC, RLC, PDCP, RRC and NAS operations. 
     The modem platform  410  may further include digital baseband circuitry  416  that may implement one or more layer operations that are “below” layer operations performed by the protocol processing circuitry  414  in a network protocol stack. These operations may include, for example, PHY operations including one or more of HARQ-ACK functions, scrambling/descrambling, encoding/decoding, layer mapping/de-mapping, modulation symbol mapping, received symbol/bit metric determination, multi-antenna port precoding/decoding, which may include one or more of space-time, space-frequency or spatial coding, reference signal generation/detection, preamble sequence generation and/or decoding, synchronization sequence generation/detection, control channel signal blind decoding, and other related functions. 
     The modem platform  410  may further include transmit circuitry  418 , receive circuitry  420 , RF circuitry  422 , and RF front end (RFFE)  424 , which may include or connect to one or more antenna panels  426 . Briefly, the transmit circuitry  418  may include a digital-to-analog converter, mixer, intermediate frequency (IF) components, etc.; the receive circuitry  420  may include an analog-to-digital converter, mixer, IF components, etc.; the RF circuitry  422  may include a low-noise amplifier, a power amplifier, power tracking components, etc.; RFFE  424  may include filters (for example, surface/bulk acoustic wave filters), switches, antenna tuners, beamforming components (for example, phase-array antenna components), etc. The selection and arrangement of the components of the transmit circuitry  418 , receive circuitry  420 , RF circuitry  422 , RFFE  424 , and antenna panels  426  (referred generically as “transmit/receive components”) may be specific to details of a specific implementation such as, for example, whether communication is TDM or FDM, in mmWave or sub-6 gHz frequencies, etc. In some embodiments, the transmit/receive components may be arranged in multiple parallel transmit/receive chains, may be disposed in the same or different chips/modules, etc. 
     In some embodiments, the protocol processing circuitry  414  may include one or more instances of control circuitry (not shown) to provide control functions for the transmit/receive components. 
     A UE reception may be established by and via the antenna panels  426 , RFFE  424 , RF circuitry  422 , receive circuitry  420 , digital baseband circuitry  416 , and protocol processing circuitry  414 . In some embodiments, the antenna panels  426  may receive a transmission from the AN  404  by receive-beamforming signals received by a plurality of antennas/antenna elements of the one or more antenna panels  426 . 
     A UE transmission may be established by and via the protocol processing circuitry  414 , digital baseband circuitry  416 , transmit circuitry  418 , RF circuitry  422 , RFFE  424 , and antenna panels  426 . In some embodiments, the transmit components of the UE  404  may apply a spatial filter to the data to be transmitted to form a transmit beam emitted by the antenna elements of the antenna panels  426 . 
     Similar to the UE  402 , the AN  404  may include a host platform  428  coupled with a modem platform  430 . The host platform  428  may include application processing circuitry  432  coupled with protocol processing circuitry  434  of the modem platform  430 . The modem platform may further include digital baseband circuitry  436 , transmit circuitry  438 , receive circuitry  440 , RF circuitry  442 , RFFE circuitry  444 , and antenna panels  446 . The components of the AN  404  may be similar to and substantially interchangeable with like-named components of the UE  402 . In addition to performing data transmission/reception as described above, the components of the AN  408  may perform various logical functions that include, for example, RNC functions such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management, and data packet scheduling. 
       FIG. 5  is a block diagram illustrating components, according to some example embodiments, able to read instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. Specifically,  FIG. 5  shows a diagrammatic representation of hardware resources  500  including one or more processors (or processor cores)  510 , one or more memory/storage devices  520 , and one or more communication resources  530 , each of which may be communicatively coupled via a bus  540  or other interface circuitry. For embodiments where node virtualization (e.g., NFV) is utilized, a hypervisor  502  may be executed to provide an execution environment for one or more network slices/sub-slices to utilize the hardware resources  500 . 
     The processors  510  may include, for example, a processor  512  and a processor  514 . The processors  510  may be, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a DSP such as a baseband processor, an ASIC, an FPGA, a radiofrequency integrated circuit (RFIC), another processor (including those discussed herein), or any suitable combination thereof. 
     The memory/storage devices  520  may include main memory, disk storage, or any suitable combination thereof. The memory/storage devices  520  may include, but are not limited to, any type of volatile, non-volatile, or semi-volatile memory such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), Flash memory, solid-state storage, etc. 
     The communication resources  530  may include interconnection or network interface controllers, components, or other suitable devices to communicate with one or more peripheral devices  504  or one or more databases  506  or other network elements via a network  508 . For example, the communication resources  530  may include wired communication components (e.g., for coupling via USB, Ethernet, etc.), cellular communication components, NFC components, Bluetooth® (or Bluetooth® Low Energy) components, Wi-Fi® components, and other communication components. 
     Instructions  550  may comprise software, a program, an application, an applet, an app, or other executable code for causing at least any of the processors  510  to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. The instructions  550  may reside, completely or partially, within at least one of the processors  510  (e.g., within the processor&#39;s cache memory), the memory/storage devices  520 , or any suitable combination thereof. Furthermore, any portion of the instructions  550  may be transferred to the hardware resources  500  from any combination of the peripheral devices  504  or the databases  506 . Accordingly, the memory of processors  510 , the memory/storage devices  520 , the peripheral devices  504 , and the databases  506  are examples of computer-readable and machine-readable media. 
     Example Procedures 
     In some embodiments, the electronic device(s), network(s), system(s), chip(s) or component(s), or portions or implementations thereof, of  FIGS. 3-5 , or some other figure herein, may be configured to perform one or more processes, techniques, or methods as described herein, or portions thereof. One such process  600  is depicted in  FIG. 6 . In some embodiments, the process  600  may be performed by a UE (e.g., UE  302  and/or  402 ) or a portion thereof. 
     For example, the process  600  may include, at  602 , receiving a message that includes spatial relation information for one or more uplink transmissions. The message may be, for example, an RRC message or a MAC CE. In embodiments, the message may be received in a PDSCH. The spatial information may indicate that spatial information associated with a downlink reference signal and/or a SRS is to be used for the one or more uplink transmissions. 
     At  604 , the process  600  may further include determining a delay time period from receipt of the message, wherein the delay time period includes a decoding time period and a UE processing and preparation time period. 
     At  606 , the process  600  may further include transmitting, based on the spatial relation information, an uplink signal after expiration of the delay time period. The uplink signal may include, for example, a PUCCH, a PUSCH, or a SRS. 
     In some embodiments, the UE may transmit another uplink signal using prior spatial information during the delay time period (e.g., during the decoding time period). In other embodiments, the UE may be restricted from being scheduled for an uplink transmission during all or part of the delay period (e.g., the entire delay period or the UE processing and preparation time). 
       FIG. 7  illustrates another process  700  in accordance with various embodiments. In some embodiments, the process  700  may be performed by an access node (e.g., AN  308  and/or  404 ) or a portion thereof. 
     For example, the process  700  may include, at  702 , encoding, for transmission to a user equipment (UE), a message that includes spatial relation information for one or more uplink transmissions. The message may be, for example, an RRC message or a MAC CE. In embodiments, the message may be received in a PDSCH. The spatial information may indicate that spatial information associated with a downlink reference signal and/or a SRS is to be used for the one or more uplink transmissions. 
     At  704 , the process  700  may further include determining a delay time period from receipt of the message, wherein the delay time period includes a decoding time period and a UE processing and preparation time period. 
     At  706 , the process  700  may further include receiving, after the delay time period from transmission of the message, an uplink signal from the UE based on the spatial relation information. The uplink signal may include, for example, a PUCCH, a PUSCH, or a SRS. 
     In some embodiments, the gNB may schedule the UE to transmit another uplink signal using prior spatial information during the delay time period (e.g., during the decoding time period). In other embodiments, the UE may be restricted from being scheduled for an uplink transmission during all or part of the delay time period (e.g., the entire delay period or the UE processing and preparation time). Accordingly, the gNB may determine to refrain from scheduling an uplink transmission for the UE during all or part of the delay time period. 
     For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components set forth in one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, and/or methods as set forth in the example section below. For example, the baseband circuitry as described above in connection with one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to operate in accordance with one or more of the examples set forth below. For another example, circuitry associated with a UE, base station, network element, etc. as described above in connection with one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to operate in accordance with one or more of the examples set forth below in the example section. 
     EXAMPLES 
     Example 1 may include a method comprising: 
     receiving a message that includes spatial relation information for one or more uplink transmissions; 
     determining a delay time period from receipt of the message, wherein the delay time period includes a decoding time period and a user equipment (UE) processing and preparation time period; and 
     transmitting, based on the spatial relation information, an uplink signal after expiration of the delay time period. 
     Example 2 may include the method of example 1 or some other example herein, wherein the uplink signal is a first uplink signal, and wherein the method further comprises transmitting a second uplink signal before expiration of the decoding time period based on prior spatial relation information. 
     Example 3 may include the method of example 1-2 or some other example herein, wherein the message is a radio resource control (RRC) message, and wherein the decoding time period includes an RRC decoding time. 
     Example 4 may include the method of example 1-2 or some other example herein, wherein the message is a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), and wherein the decoding time period includes a MAC CE decoding time. 
     Example 5 may include the method of example 1-4 or some other example herein, wherein the spatial relation information indicates that spatial information associated with a downlink reference signal is to be used for the transmission of the uplink signal. 
     Example 6 may include the method of example 5 or some other example herein, further comprising determining a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state of the downlink reference signal; and determining a spatial filter used for receiving the downlink reference signal based on the TCI state; wherein the uplink signal is transmitted using the determined spatial filter. 
     Example 7 may include the method of example 1-4 or some other example herein, wherein the spatial relation information indicates that spatial information associated with a sounding reference signal is to be used for the transmission of the uplink signal. 
     Example 8 may include the method of example 1-7 or some other example herein, wherein the uplink signal is a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH). 
     Example 9 may include the method of example 1-7 or some other example herein, wherein the uplink signal is a sounding reference signal (SRS). 
     Example 10 may include the method of example 1-9 or some other example herein, wherein the UE processing and preparation time period includes time for receive beam tracking and time tracking. 
     Example 11 may include the method of example 10 or some other example herein, wherein the UE processing and preparation time period is based on a TCI state of a downlink reference signal indicated by the spatial relation information. 
     Example 12 may include the method of example 1-11 or some other example herein, wherein the method is performed by a UE or a portion thereof. 
     Example 13 may include a method comprising: 
     encoding, for transmission to a user equipment (UE), a message that includes spatial relation information for one or more uplink transmissions; 
     determining a delay time period, wherein the delay time period includes a decoding time period and a UE processing and preparation time period; and 
     receiving, after the delay time period from transmission of the message, an uplink signal from the UE based on the spatial relation information. 
     Example 14 may include the method of example 13 or some other example herein, wherein the uplink signal is a first uplink signal, and wherein the method further comprises receiving a second uplink signal before expiration of the decoding time period based on prior spatial relation information. 
     Example 15 may include the method of example 13-14 or some other example herein, wherein the message is a radio resource control (RRC) message, and wherein the decoding time period includes an RRC decoding time. 
     Example 16 may include the method of example 13-14 or some other example herein, wherein the message is a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), and wherein the decoding time period includes a MAC CE decoding time. 
     Example 17 may include the method of example 13-16 or some other example herein, wherein the spatial relation information indicates that spatial information associated with a downlink reference signal is to be used for the uplink transmissions. 
     Example 18 may include the method of example 17 or some other example herein, further comprising determining a TCI state of the downlink reference signal; and determining a spatial filter used for transmitting the downlink reference signal based on the TCI state; wherein the uplink signal is received using the determined spatial filter. 
     Example 19 may include the method of example 13-16 or some other example herein, wherein the spatial relation information indicates that spatial information associated with a sounding reference signal is to be used for the uplink transmissions. 
     Example 20 may include the method of example 13-19 or some other example herein, wherein the uplink signal is a PUCCH. 
     Example 21 may include the method of example 13-19 or some other example herein, wherein the uplink signal is a SRS. 
     Example 22 may include the method of example 13-21 or some other example herein, wherein the UE processing and preparation time period includes time for receive beam tracking and time tracking. 
     Example 23 may include the method of example 22 or some other example herein, wherein the UE processing and preparation time period is based on a TCI state of a downlink reference signal indicated by the spatial relation information. 
     Example 24 may include the method of example 13-23 or some other example herein, wherein the method is performed by a next generation Node B (gNB) or a portion thereof. 
     Example 25 may include an apparatus to be implemented in a next generation Node B (gNB), the apparatus comprising processing circuitry to: encode, for transmission to a user equipment (UE), a radio resource control (RRC) message that includes spatial relation information for one or more uplink transmissions; determine a delay time period, wherein the delay time period includes a decoding time period and a UE processing and preparation time period; determine to refrain from scheduling an uplink signal for the UE during the delay time period; and schedule the UE for transmission of an uplink signal using the spatial relation information after the delay time period. The apparatus may further include a memory to store the spatial relation information. 
     Example 26 may include the apparatus of example 25 or some other example herein, wherein the spatial relation information indicates that spatial information associated with a downlink reference signal or a sounding reference signal (SRS) is to be used for the one or more uplink transmissions. 
     Example 27 may include the apparatus of example 25-26 or some other example herein, wherein the UE processing and preparation time period includes time for receive beam tracking and time tracking based on a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state of a downlink reference signal indicated by the spatial relation information. 
     Example 28 may include an apparatus comprising means to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any of examples 1-27, or any other method or process described herein. 
     Example 29 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media comprising instructions to cause an electronic device, upon execution of the instructions by one or more processors of the electronic device, to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any of examples 1-27, or any other method or process described herein. 
     Example 30 may include an apparatus comprising logic, modules, or circuitry to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any of examples 1-27, or any other method or process described herein. 
     Example 31 may include a method, technique, or process as described in or related to any of examples 1-27, or portions or parts thereof. 
     Example 32 may include an apparatus comprising: one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the method, techniques, or process as described in or related to any of examples 1-27, or portions thereof. 
     Example 33 may include a signal as described in or related to any of examples 1-27, or portions or parts thereof. 
     Example 34 may include a datagram, packet, frame, segment, protocol data unit (PDU), or message as described in or related to any of examples 1-27, or portions or parts thereof, or otherwise described in the present disclosure. 
     Example 35 may include a signal encoded with data as described in or related to any of examples 1-27, or portions or parts thereof, or otherwise described in the present disclosure. 
     Example 36 may include a signal encoded with a datagram, packet, frame, segment, protocol data unit (PDU), or message as described in or related to any of examples 1-27, or portions or parts thereof, or otherwise described in the present disclosure. 
     Example 37 may include an electromagnetic signal carrying computer-readable instructions, wherein execution of the computer-readable instructions by one or more processors is to cause the one or more processors to perform the method, techniques, or process as described in or related to any of examples 1-27, or portions thereof. 
     Example 38 may include a computer program comprising instructions, wherein execution of the program by a processing element is to cause the processing element to carry out the method, techniques, or process as described in or related to any of examples 1-27, or portions thereof. 
     Example 39 may include a signal in a wireless network as shown and described herein. 
     Example 40 may include a method of communicating in a wireless network as shown and described herein. 
     Example 41 may include a system for providing wireless communication as shown and described herein. 
     Example 42 may include a device for providing wireless communication as shown and described herein. 
     Any of the above-described examples may be combined with any other example (or combination of examples), unless explicitly stated otherwise. The foregoing description of one or more implementations provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of embodiments to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of various embodiments. 
     Terminology 
     For the purposes of the present document, the following terms and definitions are applicable to the examples and embodiments discussed herein. 
     The term “circuitry” as used herein refers to, is part of, or includes hardware components such as an electronic circuit, a logic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) and/or memory (shared, dedicated, or group), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable device (FPD) (e.g., a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), a complex PLD (CPLD), a high-capacity PLD (HCPLD), a structured ASIC, or a programmable SoC), digital signal processors (DSPs), etc., that are configured to provide the described functionality. In some embodiments, the circuitry may execute one or more software or firmware programs to provide at least some of the described functionality. The term “circuitry” may also refer to a combination of one or more hardware elements (or a combination of circuits used in an electrical or electronic system) with the program code used to carry out the functionality of that program code. In these embodiments, the combination of hardware elements and program code may be referred to as a particular type of circuitry. 
     The term “processor circuitry” as used herein refers to, is part of, or includes circuitry capable of sequentially and automatically carrying out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations, or recording, storing, and/or transferring digital data. Processing circuitry may include one or more processing cores to execute instructions and one or more memory structures to store program and data information. The term “processor circuitry” may refer to one or more application processors, one or more baseband processors, a physical central processing unit (CPU), a single-core processor, a dual-core processor, a triple-core processor, a quad-core processor, and/or any other device capable of executing or otherwise operating computer-executable instructions, such as program code, software modules, and/or functional processes. Processing circuitry may include more hardware accelerators, which may be microprocessors, programmable processing devices, or the like. The one or more hardware accelerators may include, for example, computer vision (CV) and/or deep learning (DL) accelerators. The terms “application circuitry” and/or “baseband circuitry” may be considered synonymous to, and may be referred to as, “processor circuitry.” 
     The term “interface circuitry” as used herein refers to, is part of, or includes circuitry that enables the exchange of information between two or more components or devices. The term “interface circuitry” may refer to one or more hardware interfaces, for example, buses, I/O interfaces, peripheral component interfaces, network interface cards, and/or the like. 
     The term “user equipment” or “UE” as used herein refers to a device with radio communication capabilities and may describe a remote user of network resources in a communications network. The term “user equipment” or “UE” may be considered synonymous to, and may be referred to as, client, mobile, mobile device, mobile terminal, user terminal, mobile unit, mobile station, mobile user, subscriber, user, remote station, access agent, user agent, receiver, radio equipment, reconfigurable radio equipment, reconfigurable mobile device, etc. Furthermore, the term “user equipment” or “UE” may include any type of wireless/wired device or any computing device including a wireless communications interface. 
     The term “network element” as used herein refers to physical or virtualized equipment and/or infrastructure used to provide wired or wireless communication network services. The term “network element” may be considered synonymous to and/or referred to as a networked computer, networking hardware, network equipment, network node, router, switch, hub, bridge, radio network controller, RAN device, RAN node, gateway, server, virtualized VNF, NFVI, and/or the like. 
     The term “computer system” as used herein refers to any type interconnected electronic devices, computer devices, or components thereof. Additionally, the term “computer system” and/or “system” may refer to various components of a computer that are communicatively coupled with one another. Furthermore, the term “computer system” and/or “system” may refer to multiple computer devices and/or multiple computing systems that are communicatively coupled with one another and configured to share computing and/or networking resources. 
     The term “appliance,” “computer appliance,” or the like, as used herein refers to a computer device or computer system with program code (e.g., software or firmware) that is specifically designed to provide a specific computing resource. A “virtual appliance” is a virtual machine image to be implemented by a hypervisor-equipped device that virtualizes or emulates a computer appliance or otherwise is dedicated to provide a specific computing resource. 
     The term “resource” as used herein refers to a physical or virtual device, a physical or virtual component within a computing environment, and/or a physical or virtual component within a particular device, such as computer devices, mechanical devices, memory space, processor/CPU time, processor/CPU usage, processor and accelerator loads, hardware time or usage, electrical power, input/output operations, ports or network sockets, channel/link allocation, throughput, memory usage, storage, network, database and applications, workload units, and/or the like. A “hardware resource” may refer to compute, storage, and/or network resources provided by physical hardware element(s). A “virtualized resource” may refer to compute, storage, and/or network resources provided by virtualization infrastructure to an application, device, system, etc. The term “network resource” or “communication resource” may refer to resources that are accessible by computer devices/systems via a communications network. The term “system resources” may refer to any kind of shared entities to provide services, and may include computing and/or network resources. System resources may be considered as a set of coherent functions, network data objects or services, accessible through a server where such system resources reside on a single host or multiple hosts and are clearly identifiable. 
     The term “channel” as used herein refers to any transmission medium, either tangible or intangible, which is used to communicate data or a data stream. The term “channel” may be synonymous with and/or equivalent to “communications channel,” “data communications channel,” “transmission channel,” “data transmission channel,” “access channel,” “data access channel,” “link,” “data link,” “carrier,” “radiofrequency carrier,” and/or any other like term denoting a pathway or medium through which data is communicated. Additionally, the term “link” as used herein refers to a connection between two devices through a RAT for the purpose of transmitting and receiving information. 
     The terms “instantiate,” “instantiation,” and the like as used herein refers to the creation of an instance. An “instance” also refers to a concrete occurrence of an object, which may occur, for example, during execution of program code. 
     The terms “coupled,” “communicatively coupled,” along with derivatives thereof are used herein. The term “coupled” may mean two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact with one another, may mean that two or more elements indirectly contact each other but still cooperate or interact with each other, and/or may mean that one or more other elements are coupled or connected between the elements that are said to be coupled with each other. The term “directly coupled” may mean that two or more elements are in direct contact with one another. The term “communicatively coupled” may mean that two or more elements may be in contact with one another by a means of communication including through a wire or other interconnect connection, through a wireless communication channel or link, and/or the like. 
     The term “information element” refers to a structural element containing one or more fields. The term “field” refers to individual contents of an information element, or a data element that contains content. 
     The term “SMTC” refers to an SSB-based measurement timing configuration configured by SSB-MeasurementTimingConfiguration. 
     The term “SSB” refers to an SS/PBCH block. 
     The term “a “Primary Cell” refers to the MCG cell, operating on the primary frequency, in which the UE either performs the initial connection establishment procedure or initiates the connection re-establishment procedure. 
     The term “Primary SCG Cell” refers to the SCG cell in which the UE performs random access when performing the Reconfiguration with Sync procedure for DC operation. 
     The term “Secondary Cell” refers to a cell providing additional radio resources on top of a Special Cell for a UE configured with CA. 
     The term “Secondary Cell Group” refers to the subset of serving cells comprising the PSCell and zero or more secondary cells for a UE configured with DC. 
     The term “Serving Cell” refers to the primary cell for a UE in RRC CONNECTED not configured with CA/DC there is only one serving cell comprising of the primary cell. 
     The term “serving cell” or “serving cells” refers to the set of cells comprising the Special Cell(s) and all secondary cells for a UE in RRC CONNECTED configured with CA/. 
     The term “Special Cell” refers to the PCell of the MCG or the PSCell of the SCG for DC operation; otherwise, the term “Special Cell” refers to the Pcell.