Patent Description:
A user equipment (UE) may establish a connection to at least one of multiple different networks or types of networks. Signaling between the UE and the network may be achieved via beamforming. Beamforming is an antenna technique used to transmit a directional signal which may be referred to as a beam.

The network may deploy multiple transmission reception points (TRPs) that are each configured to perform beamforming. To establish and maintain a beam between the UE and at least one of the TRPs, beam management techniques may be implemented on both the UE side and the network side. For example, the network may instruct the UE to collect channel state information (CSI) corresponding to one or more of the TRPs. The UE may report the CSI to the network where it may used to establish and/or maintain a beam between a TRP and the UE. Further background information can be found in the following document:
<CIT>, which describes a user terminal and a wireless communication method in a next-generation mobile communication system.

Some exemplary embodiments are related to a baseband processor configured to perform operations. The operations include collecting channel state information (CSI) corresponding to multiple transmission reception points (TRPs), receiving a signal configured to trigger a semi-persistent CSI (SP-CSI) report from a first TRP of the multiple TRPs, generating a SP-CSI report that includes CSI corresponding to each TRP of the multiple TRPs and transmitting the SP-CSI report to a cell associated with the multiple TRPs.

Other exemplary embodiments are related to a user equipment (UE) including a transceiver configured to communicate with multiple networks and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and configured to perform operations. The operations include collecting channel state information (CSI) corresponding to multiple transmission reception points (TRPs), receiving a signal configured to trigger a semi-persistent CSI (SP-CSI) report from a first TRP of the multiple TRPs, generating a SP-CSI report that includes CSI corresponding to each TRP of the multiple TRPs and transmitting the SP-CSI report to a cell associated with the multiple TRPs.

Still further exemplary embodiments are related to a method performed by a user equipment (UE). The method includes collecting channel state information (CSI) corresponding to multiple transmission reception points (TRPs), receiving a signal configured to trigger a semi-persistent CSI (SP-CSI) report from a first TRP of the multiple TRPs, generating a SP-CSI report that includes CSI corresponding to each TRP of the multiple TRPs and transmitting the SP-CSI report to a cell associated with the multiple TRPs.

The exemplary embodiments may be further understood with reference to the following description and the related appended drawings, wherein like elements are provided with the same reference numerals. The exemplary embodiments relate to beam management for multi-transmission reception point (TRP) operation.

The exemplary embodiments are described with regard to a UE. However, reference to a UE is merely provided for illustrative purposes. The exemplary embodiments may be utilized with any electronic component that may establish a connection to a network and is configured with the hardware, software, and/or firmware to exchange information and data with the network. Therefore, the UE as described herein is used to represent any appropriate electronic component.

The exemplary embodiments are also described with regard to a <NUM> New Radio (NR) network. However, reference to a <NUM> NR network is merely provided for illustrative purposes. The exemplary embodiments may be utilized with any network that utilizes beamforming. Therefore, the <NUM> NR network as described herein may represent any type of network that implements beamforming.

A person of ordinary skill in the art would understand that beamforming is an antenna technique that is utilized to transmit or receive a directional signal. From the perspective of a transmitting device, beamforming may refer to propagating a directional signal. Throughout this description, a beamformed signal may be referred to as a "beam" or a "transmitter beam. " The transmitter beam may be generated by having a plurality of antenna elements radiate the same signal. Increasing the number of antenna elements radiating the signal decreases the width of the radiation pattern and increases the gain. Thus, a transmitter beam may vary in width and be propagated in any of a plurality of different directions.

From the perspective of a receiving device, beamforming may refer to tuning a receiver to listen to a direction of interest. Throughout this description, the spatial area encompassed by the receiver listening in the direction of interest may be referred to as a "beam" or a "receiver beam. " The receiver beam may be generated by configuring the parameters of a spatial filter on a receiver antenna array to listen in a direction of interest and filter out any noise from outside the direction of interest. Like a transmitter beam, a receiver beam may also vary in width and be directed in any of a plurality of different areas of interest.

In addition, the exemplary embodiments are described with regard to a next generation node B (gNB) that is configured with multiple TRPs. Throughout this description, a TRP generally refers to a set of components configured to transmit and/or receive a beam. The examples provided below will be described with regard to a deployment scenario in which multiple TRPs are deployed at various different locations and connected to the gNB via a backhaul connection. For example, multiple small cells may be deployed at different locations and connected to the gNB. However, those skilled in the art will understand that TRPs are configured to be adaptable to a wide variety of different conditions and deployment scenarios. Thus, any reference to a TRP being a particular network component or multiple TRPs being deployed in a particular arrangement is merely provided for illustrative purposes. The TRPs described herein may represent any type of network component configured to transmit and/or receive a beam.

The exemplary embodiments relate to implementing beam management techniques on both the UE side and the network side. Beam management generally refers to a set of procedures configured for acquiring and maintaining a beam between a TRP and the UE. In one aspect, the exemplary embodiments relate to the UE collecting and reporting channel state information (CSI) corresponding to multiple TRPs. Examples of how the network may activate/deactivate the collection of CSI corresponding to a particular TRP and how the UE may report CSI for multiple TRPs will be provided in detail below. Other aspects of the exemplary embodiments include configuring one of the multiple TRPs as a special cell for the UE, the UE providing capability information to the network related to demodulation and channel estimation capabilities and introducing physical cell identity (PCI) into certain types of radio resource control (RRC) configuration information. Specific examples of each of these aspects will be provided in detail below. The exemplary beam management techniques described herein may be used in conjunction with currently implemented beam management mechanisms, future implementations of beam management mechanisms or independently from other beam management mechanisms.

<FIG> shows an exemplary network arrangement <NUM> according to various exemplary embodiments. The exemplary network arrangement <NUM> includes a UE <NUM>. Those skilled in the art will understand that the UE <NUM> may be any type of electronic component that is configured to communicate via a network, e.g., mobile phones, tablet computers, desktop computers, smartphones, phablets, embedded devices, wearables, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, etc. It should also be understood that an actual network arrangement may include any number of UEs being used by any number of users. Thus, the example of a single UE <NUM> is merely provided for illustrative purposes.

The UE <NUM> may be configured to communicate with one or more networks. In the example of the network configuration <NUM>, the network with which the UE <NUM> may wirelessly communicate is a <NUM> NR radio access network (RAN) <NUM>. However, the UE <NUM> may also communicate with other types of networks (e.g. <NUM> cloud RAN, a next generation RAN (NG-RAN), a long term evolution RAN, a legacy cellular network, a WLAN, etc.) and the UE <NUM> may also communicate with networks over a wired connection. With regard to the exemplary embodiments, the UE <NUM> may establish a connection with the <NUM> NR RAN <NUM>. Therefore, the UE <NUM> may have a <NUM> NR chipset to communicate with the NR RAN <NUM>.

The <NUM> NR RAN <NUM> may be a portion of a cellular network that may be deployed by a network carrier (e.g., Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, etc.). The <NUM> NR RAN <NUM> may include, for example, cells or base stations (Node Bs, eNodeBs, HeNBs, eNBS, gNBs, gNodeBs, macrocells, microcells, small cells, femtocells, etc.) that are configured to send and receive traffic from UEs that are equipped with the appropriate cellular chip set.

In network arrangement <NUM>, the <NUM> NR RAN <NUM> includes a cell 120A that represents a gNB that is configured with multiple TRPs. Each TRP may represent one or more components configured to transmit and/or receive a beam. To provide an example, multiple small cells may be deployed at different locations and connected to the gNB. In some embodiments, multiple TRPs may be deployed locally at the cell 120A. In other embodiments, multiple TRPs may be distributed at different locations and connected to the gNB.

<FIG> shows an example of multiple TRPs deployed at different locations. In this example, the gNB <NUM> is configured with a first TRP <NUM> via a backhaul connection <NUM>, a second TRP <NUM> via backhaul connection <NUM>, a third TRP <NUM> via a backhaul connection <NUM> and a fourth TRP <NUM> via backhaul connection <NUM>. Each of the TRPs <NUM>-<NUM> may transmit a beam to and/or receive a beam from the UE <NUM>. However, the gNB <NUM> may be configured to control the TRPs <NUM>-<NUM> and perform operations such as, but not limited to, assigning resources, activating/deactivating CSI reference signals corresponding to a particular TRP, activating/deactivating CSI reporting for a particular TRP, configuring a TRP as a special cell for the UE <NUM>, implementing beam management techniques, etc..

The example shown in <FIG> is not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments in any way. Those skilled in the art will understand that <NUM> NR TRPs are adaptable to a wide variety of different conditions and deployment scenarios. An actual network arrangement may include any number of different types of cells and/or TRPs being deployed by any number of RANs in any appropriate arrangement. Thus, the example of a single cell 120A in <FIG> and a single gNB <NUM> with four TRPs <NUM>-<NUM> in <FIG> is merely provided for illustrative purposes.

Returning to the network arrangement <NUM> of <FIG>, the cell 120A may include one or more communication interfaces to exchange data and/or information with UEs, the corresponding RAN <NUM>, the cellular core network <NUM>, the internet <NUM>, etc. Further, the cell 120A may include a processor configured to perform various operations. For example, the processor of the cell 120A may be configured to perform operations related to access barring. However, reference to a processor is merely for illustrative purposes. The operations of the cell 120A may also be represented as a separate incorporated component of the cell 120A or may be a modular component coupled to the cell 120A, e.g., an integrated circuit with or without firmware. For example, the integrated circuit may include input circuitry to receive signals and processing circuitry to process the signals and other information. In addition, in some examples, the functionality of the processor is split among two or more processors such as a baseband processor and an applications processor. The exemplary embodiments may be implemented in any of these or other configurations of a cell.

The UE <NUM> may connect to the <NUM> NR-RAN <NUM> via the cell 120A. Those skilled in the art will understand that any association procedure may be performed for the UE <NUM> to connect to the <NUM> NR-RAN <NUM>. For example, as discussed above, the <NUM> NR-RAN <NUM> may be associated with a particular cellular provider where the UE <NUM> and/or the user thereof has a contract and credential information (e.g., stored on a SIM card). Upon detecting the presence of the <NUM> NR-RAN <NUM>, the UE <NUM> may transmit the corresponding credential information to associate with the <NUM> NR-RAN <NUM>. More specifically, the UE <NUM> may associate with a specific cell (e.g., the cell 120A). However, as mentioned above, reference to the <NUM> NR-RAN <NUM> is merely for illustrative purposes and any appropriate type of RAN may be used.

In addition to the <NUM> NR RAN <NUM>, the network arrangement <NUM> also includes a cellular core network <NUM>, the Internet <NUM>, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) <NUM>, and a network services backbone <NUM>. The cellular core network <NUM> may be considered to be the interconnected set of components that manages the operation and traffic of the cellular network. The cellular core network <NUM> also manages the traffic that flows between the cellular network and the Internet <NUM>. The IMS <NUM> may be generally described as an architecture for delivering multimedia services to the UE <NUM> using the IP protocol. The IMS <NUM> may communicate with the cellular core network <NUM> and the Internet <NUM> to provide the multimedia services to the UE <NUM>. The network services backbone <NUM> is in communication either directly or indirectly with the Internet <NUM> and the cellular core network <NUM>. The network services backbone <NUM> may be generally described as a set of components (e.g., servers, network storage arrangements, etc.) that implement a suite of services that may be used to extend the functionalities of the UE <NUM> in communication with the various networks.

<FIG> shows an exemplary UE <NUM> according to various exemplary embodiments. The UE <NUM> will be described with regard to the network arrangement <NUM> of <FIG>. The UE <NUM> may include a processor <NUM>, a memory arrangement <NUM>, a display device <NUM>, an input/output (I/O) device <NUM>, a transceiver <NUM> and other components <NUM>. The other components <NUM> may include, for example, an audio input device, an audio output device, a power supply, a data acquisition device, ports to electrically connect the UE <NUM> to other electronic devices, etc..

The processor <NUM> may be configured to execute a plurality of engines of the UE <NUM>. For example, the engines may include a multi-TRP beam management engine <NUM>. The multi-TRP beam management engine <NUM> may be configured to perform operations related to beam management such as, monitoring for CSI reference signals from one or more TRPs, reporting CSI information for one or more TRPs, etc..

The above referenced engine <NUM> being an application (e.g., a program) executed by the processor <NUM> is only exemplary. The functionality associated with the engine <NUM> may also be represented as a separate incorporated component of the UE <NUM> or may be a modular component coupled to the UE <NUM>, e.g., an integrated circuit with or without firmware. For example, the integrated circuit may include input circuitry to receive signals and processing circuitry to process the signals and other information. The engine <NUM> may also be embodied as one application or separate applications. In addition, in some UEs, the functionality described for the processor <NUM> is split among two or more processors such as a baseband processor and an applications processor. The exemplary embodiments may be implemented in any of these or other configurations of a UE.

The memory arrangement <NUM> may be a hardware component configured to store data related to operations performed by the UE <NUM>. The display device <NUM> may be a hardware component configured to show data to a user while the I/O device <NUM> may be a hardware component that enables the user to enter inputs. The display device <NUM> and the I/O device <NUM> may be separate components or integrated together such as a touchscreen. The transceiver <NUM> may be a hardware component configured to establish a connection with the <NUM> NR-RAN <NUM>, an LTE-RAN (not pictured), a legacy RAN (not pictured), a WLAN (not pictured), etc. Accordingly, the transceiver <NUM> may operate on a variety of different frequencies or channels (e.g., set of consecutive frequencies).

<FIG> shows a signaling diagram <NUM> for semi-persistent channel state information (SP-CSI) reporting for multi-TRP operation according to various exemplary embodiments. The signaling diagram <NUM> will be described with regard to the network arrangement <NUM> of <FIG>, the example shown in <FIG> and the UE <NUM> of <FIG>. The signaling diagram <NUM> includes the UE <NUM> and the cell 120A.

In <NUM>, the UE <NUM> camps on the cell 120A. For example, consider the scenario depicted in <FIG>, the UE <NUM> may camp on the gNB <NUM>.

In <NUM>, the UE <NUM> collects CSI corresponding to multiple TRPs. For example, when camped on the cell 120A, the UE <NUM> may monitor for CSI reference signals (CSI-RS), synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) or any other type of information transmitted by a TRP that may be used to derive CSI corresponding to the TRP. Thus, within the context of the example shown in <FIG>, the UE <NUM> may receive CSI-RS or SSB from each of the TRPs <NUM>-<NUM>. Those skilled in the art will understand that CSI may include information such as, but not limited to, channel quality information (CQI), reference signal received power (RSRP) and/or any other type of information that indicate the channel properties between the UE <NUM> and another endpoint.

In some embodiments, the UE <NUM> may be configured to collect CSI corresponding to TRPs identified in a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE). For example, while camped on the cell 120A, the UE <NUM> may receive a MAC CE that is configured to activate more than one SP-non-zero power (NZP)-CSI-RS simultaneously.

<FIG> illustrates an example of a MAC CE that is configured to activate more than one SP-NZP-CSI-RS simultaneously. In this example, the A/D field indicates whether the MAC CE is activating or deactivating the corresponding more than one SP-NZP-CSI-RS. The serving cell ID field may include a serving cell index (e.g. <NUM> bit or any other appropriate type). The bandwidth part (BWP) ID field may include a BWP index, (e.g., <NUM> bit or any other appropriate type). The SP-CSI-RS resource set ID field identifies a particular SP-CSI-RS resource set. The N fields may indicate whether there is another SP-CSI-RS resource set following. The interference measurement (IM) fields may indicate whether there is another SP-CSI-RS-IM resource set following. The SP-CSI-IM resource set ID field identifies a particular SP-CSI-IM resource set. The R field may represent a reserved bit. The transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state ID field indicates the TCI state configuration for the SP-CSI-RS resources in the order they are activated.

Returning to <FIG>, in <NUM>, the cell 120A selects a TRP that is to be used for activating a SP-CSI reporting at the UE <NUM>. In some embodiments, the cell 120A may select the TRP based on the location of the UE <NUM>. For example, when camped on the gNB <NUM>, the UE <NUM> may report CSI to the gNB 120A that corresponds to the interface between the UE <NUM> and the gNB 120A. The gNB <NUM> may use the CSI, UE uplink sounding, or other means to determine a location of the UE <NUM> relative to the gNB <NUM> and/or its TRPs <NUM>-<NUM>. The gNB <NUM> may then select one or more TRPs based on the location of the UE <NUM>. However, the exemplary embodiments are not limited to performing this selection on the basis of the location of the UE <NUM>. The gNB <NUM> may also consider other factors such as, but not limited to, obstructions in the line of sight between the UE <NUM> and a TRP, network load, UE <NUM> mobility, interference, etc..

In <NUM>, the cell 120A transmits a signal to the UE <NUM> via the selected TRP. The signal may be configured to trigger the UE <NUM> to provide a SP-CSI report to the network.

In some embodiments, the SP-CSI report may be activated via a MAC CE. <FIG> illustrates an example of a MAC CE that is configured to activate one or more SP-CSI report that includes CSI for multiples TRPs. The serving cell ID field may include a serving cell index (e.g. <NUM> bit or any other appropriate type). The BWP ID field may include a BWP index, (e.g., <NUM> bit or any other appropriate type). The R field may represent a reserved bit. Each S field may (e.g. Si) indicates whether a SP-CSI corresponding to a particular TRP is activated. For example, if Si is <NUM>, the corresponding SP-CSI is activated. If Si is <NUM>, the corresponding SP-CSI is deactivated. Si corresponds to the i-th configured SP-CSI in the increasing order of corresponding CSI-ReportConfigID. In addition, there may be an A/D field (not pictured) that indicates whether the MAC CE is activating or deactivating the corresponding SP-CSI.

In other embodiments, downlink control information (DCI) may be used for activation or deactivation of SP-CSI. Thus, SP-CSI for multiple TRPs may be activated or deactivated with the same instance of DCI.

In one example, radio resource control (RRC) signaling may configure a SP-CSI trigger state codepoint for each SP-CSI trigger state codepoint may contain more than one SP-CSI trigger state (e.g., one for each TRP). In the CSI request field of the DCI, the SP-CSI trigger states in the corresponding SP-CSI trigger state codepoint are activated or deactivated.

In another example, the CSI request field in the DCI may be designed based on a bitmap. When (N) SP-CSI reports are configured, the CSI request field is bitmap with (N) bits. Each bit may represent whether the corresponding SP-CSI is activated or deactivated.

In another example, the CSI request bitwidth may be increased (M) times in order to activate or deactivate up to (M) SP-CSI. Here, (M) segments of ceiling (log2(N+<NUM>) bits field for CSI request may be configured where (N) is the number of configured SP-CSI reports. This example may also include a reserved bit sequence that is defined to indicate that no SP-CSI is triggered for the particular segment.

In <NUM>, the UE <NUM> transmits the SP-CSI report to the cell 120A in response to the signal. In some embodiments, the SP-CSI report may be provided via the interface between the UE <NUM> and the gNB <NUM>. In other embodiments, the SP-CSI report may be provided indirectly to the gNB 120A via one of the TRPs.

The SP-CSI report may contain CSI corresponding to TRP that transmitted the signal in <NUM>. In addition, the SP-CSI report may contain CSI corresponding to multiple other TRPs. For instance, within the context of the example depicted in <FIG>, consider a scenario in which TRP <NUM> transmitted the trigger signal in <NUM>. The subsequent SP-CSI report may include CSI corresponding to the TRP <NUM>. In addition, the SP-CSI report may also include CSI corresponding to the TRP <NUM>, CSI corresponding to the TRP <NUM> and/or CSI corresponding to the TRP <NUM>. Thus, the UE <NUM> may configure the SP-CSI report to include CSI corresponding to multiple TRPs. The example provided above describes CSI reporting corresponding to four different TRPs in the same SP-CSI report. However, the exemplary embodiments are not limited to a SP-CSI report corresponding to four different TRPs. The SP-CSI report described herein may be configured to include CSI corresponding to any appropriate number of TRPs (e.g., <NUM> or more TRPs).

In <NUM>, the cell 120A may schedule the transmission of downlink data to the UE <NUM> via one of the multiple TRPs. The cell 120A may select a particular TRP to perform the transmission of the downlink data based on the SP-CSI report. Thus, in some scenario, the UE <NUM> may receive the SP-CSI report activation trigger from a first TRP and receive subsequent downlink data from a second different TRP. In <NUM>, the cell 120A transmits downlink data to the UE <NUM> via the selected TRP.

As indicated above, in some embodiments, MAC CEs may be used to activate SP-CSI-RS or a SP-CSI report. Thus, although not shown in the signaling diagram <NUM>, after the transmission of the downlink data, the cell 120A may transmit a second MAC CE that deactivates the trigger state activated by the previous MAC CE. In other embodiments, DCI may be used to activate SP-CSI. Thus, although not shown in the signaling diagram <NUM>, after the transmission of the downlink data, the cell 120A may transmit a second instance of DCI that deactivates the trigger state activated by the previous DCI.

For either of the MAC CEs described above, they may be further configured to activate SP-CSI or SP-CSI-RS in more than one component carrier (CC) and/or more than one BWP with the CC. For example, a CC list may be configured. The CC list may be orthogonal (e.g., a single CC or BWP cannot belong to two different lists) or may be non-orthogonal. When the serving cell ID or BWP ID is indicated by the MAC CE, all the CCs that share the same CC list as the indicated serving cell ID has the indicated SP-CSI-RS resource and/or SP-CSI activated or deactivated. In the indicated CC, al the BWPs that share the same BWP list as the indicated BWP ID has the indicated SP-CSI-RS resource and/or SP-CSI activated or deactivated.

As mentioned above, another aspect of the exemplary embodiments related to configuring one or more TRPs as a special cell. For instance, consider the example described with regard to the signaling diagram <NUM>. In this scenario, the TRP that is configured to provide the downlink data to the UE <NUM> in <NUM> may be considered the serving cell. One or more of the other TRPs with activated SP-CSI may be configured as a special cell to that serving cell.

For each serving cell, more than one downlink cells may be configured. As indicated above, each downlink cell corresponds to one TRP. The network may configure each downlink cell independently. In some embodiments, a MAC CE may be used to activate or deactivate the downlink cell. In other embodiments, the downlink cell may be transition in or out of dormancy mode using DCI (e.g., DCI format 2_6 or any other appropriate type of DCI.

In addition, each downlink cell associated with the serving cell may be configured with its own CORESET (e.g., a different CORESETPoolIndex). In some embodiments, the total number of CORESETs per downlink cell may be less than or equal to <NUM>. For each serving cell, if (N) downlink cells are configured, the maximum number of configured CORESETs across all downlink cells are contained to be a value less than <NUM>(N). Further, in this example, the maximum total number of configured search spaces across all downlink cells may be less than or equal to <NUM>. One of the downlink serving cells may be configured to perform cross carrier scheduling while the other downlink cells may perform self-scheduling.

In another aspect, to facilitate demodulation and channel estimation, the UE <NUM> may indicate the following capabilities to the network for physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) scheduled from multiple TRPs overlapping in the frequency domain. In response, the network may configure the multi-TRP operation to accommodate the capabilities indicated by the UE <NUM>.

In one example, the UE <NUM> may indicate that all PDSCH scheduled should have the same precoding resource block group (PRG) size (e.g., <NUM> precoding resource block(PRB), 4PRB, wideband, etc.). In another example, the UE <NUM> may indicate that all PDSCH scheduled should have the same virtual resource block (VRB) to PRB interleaving. In another example, in the same DCI that schedules a PDSCH, aperiodic (AP)-zero power (ZP)-CSI-RS is also triggered for rate matching. The UE <NUM> may indicate that for all scheduled PDSCHs overlapping with PDSCH in the frequency domain, the UE <NUM> is to perform the same AP-ZP-CSI-RS rate matching among all TRPs.

In another aspect, PCI (or any other appropriate type of logic index) may be introduced in the following types of RRC configuration information: quasi-co-location information (QCL-info), sounding reference signal spatial relation information (SPS-SpatialRelationInfo), physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) spatial relation information (PUCCH-SpatialRelationInfo), PUCCH pathloss reference reference signal (PUCCH-PathlossReferenceRS), physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) pathloss reference reference signal (PUSCH-PathlossReferenceRS) and pathlossReferenceRS under SRS-resource set. In the Rel-<NUM> and Rel-<NUM> NR specification PCI is not allowed to be configured for the reference signal used as the QCL configuration for either the downlink TCI indication or the uplink spatial relation indication because Rel-<NUM> and Rel-<NUM> NR only support intra-cell multi-TRP operation. For inter-cell multi-TRP, TRPs may belong to different cells and thus, correspond to different PCI. Introducing PCI in the type of RRC configuration described above may allow the network to configure the reference signal in the other TRP for multiple purposes such as, but not limited to, beam indication, reference signal configuration, CSI configuration, etc..

Those skilled in the art will understand that the above-described exemplary embodiments may be implemented in any suitable software or hardware configuration or combination thereof. An exemplary hardware platform for implementing the exemplary embodiments may include, for example, an Intel x86 based platform with compatible operating system, a Windows OS, a Mac platform and MAC OS, a mobile device having an operating system such as iOS, Android, etc. The exemplary embodiments of the above described method may be embodied as a program containing lines of code stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium that, when compiled, may be executed on a processor or microprocessor.

Claim 1:
A baseband processor configured to perform operations comprising:
receiving a medium access control, MAC, control element, CE, that is configured to activate multiple semi-persistent channel state information, SP-CSI, reference signals, SP-CSI-RS, for multiple transmission and reception points, TRPs, wherein each SP-CSI-RS corresponds to a respective one of the multiple TRPs, wherein the MAC CE is configured to activate SP-CSI-RS in more than one component carrier, CC, based on a serving cell identification, ID, indicated in the MAC CE, wherein all CCs that share a same CC list as the indicated serving cell ID are activated;
collecting channel state information, CSI, corresponding to the multiple TRPs;
receiving a signal configured to trigger a SPI-CSI report from a first TRP of the multiple TRPs;
generating a SP-CSI report that includes CSI corresponding to each TRP of the multiple TRPs; and
transmitting the SP-CSI report to a cell associated with the multiple TRPs.