Patent Description:
A UE may perform a cell reselection in various wireless communication scenarios. For example, the UE may determine frequency priority and/or cell ranking for the cell reselection. Then, the UE may perform a cell reselection to the highest priority frequency and/or the highest ranked cell. The cell reselection may also be performed in a sliced network. European Patent Application Publication No. <CIT> discusses a method and apparatus for transmitting and receiving data in a wireless communication system. Chinese Patent Application Publication No. <CIT> (and corresponding European Patent Application Publication No. <CIT>) discuss a cell reselection method and apparatus, and an information transmission method and apparatus.

An aspect of the present disclosure is to provide method and apparatus for cell reselection in sliced network in wireless communication system.

Another aspect of the present disclosure is to provide method and apparatus for handling sliced-related information for cell reselection in wireless communication system.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a method performed by a wireless device in a wireless communication system is proposed as set forth in the appended claims.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, an apparatus is proposed as set forth in the appended claims.

In the following, embodiments and/or examples not falling within the scope of the appended claims should be understood as mere examples useful for understanding the invention.

The present disclosure can have various advantageous effects.

For example, UE can maximally prioritize preferred slices during cell reselection in RRC_IDLE/INACTIVE. In addition, the network can keep control of the dedicated priority configurations in the meantime.

Advantageous effects which can be obtained through specific embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to the advantageous effects listed above. For example, there may be a variety of technical effects that a person having ordinary skill in the related art can understand and/or derive from the present disclosure. Accordingly, the specific effects of the present disclosure are not limited to those explicitly described herein, but may include various effects that may be understood or derived from the technical features of the present disclosure.

The technical features described below may be used by a communication standard by the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) standardization organization, a communication standard by the institute of electrical and electronics engineers (IEEE), etc. For example, the communication standards by the 3GPP standardization organization include long-term evolution (LTE) and/or evolution of LTE systems. The evolution of LTE systems includes LTE-advanced (LTE-A), LTE-A Pro, and/or <NUM> new radio (NR). The communication standard by the IEEE standardization organization includes a wireless local area network (WLAN) system such as IEEE <NUM>. 11a/b/g/n/ac/ax. The above system uses various multiple access technologies such as orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) and/or single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) for downlink (DL) and/or uplink (UL). For example, only OFDMA may be used for DL and only SC-FDMA may be used for UL. Alternatively, OFDMA and SC-FDMA may be used for DL and/or UL.

For example, "A/ B" may mean "A and/or B".

Also, parentheses used in the present disclosure may mean "for example". In detail, when it is shown as "control information (PDCCH)", "PDCCH" may be proposed as an example of "control information". In other words, "control information" in the present disclosure is not limited to "PDCCH", and "PDCCH" may be proposed as an example of "control information". In addition, even when shown as "control information (i.e., PDCCH)", "PDCCH" may be proposed as an example of "control information".

Throughout the disclosure, the terms 'radio access network (RAN) node', 'base station', 'eNB', 'gNB' and 'cell' may be used interchangeably. Further, a UE may be a kind of a wireless device, and throughout the disclosure, the terms 'UE' and 'wireless device' may be used interchangeably.

Throughout the disclosure, the terms 'cell quality', 'signal strength', 'signal quality', 'channel state', 'channel quality', ' channel state/reference signal received power (RSRP)' and ' reference signal received quality (RSRQ)' may be used interchangeably.

The following drawings are created to explain specific embodiments of the present disclosure. The names of the specific devices or the names of the specific signals/ messages/fields shown in the drawings are provided by way of example, and thus the technical features of the present disclosure are not limited to the specific names used in the following drawings.

<FIG> shows examples of <NUM> usage scenarios to which the technical features of the present disclosure can be applied.

Referring to <FIG>, the three main requirements areas of <NUM> include (<NUM>) enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) domain, (<NUM>) massive machine type communication (mMTC) area, and (<NUM>) ultra-reliable and low latency communications (URLLC) area. Some use cases may require multiple areas for optimization and, other use cases may only focus on only one key performance indicator (KPI). <NUM> is to support these various use cases in a flexible and reliable way.

eMBB focuses on across-the-board enhancements to the data rate, latency, user density, capacity and coverage of mobile broadband access. The eMBB aims ~<NUM> Gbps of throughput. eMBB far surpasses basic mobile Internet access and covers rich interactive work and media and entertainment applications in cloud and/or augmented reality. Data is one of the key drivers of <NUM> and may not be able to see dedicated voice services for the first time in the <NUM> era. In <NUM>, the voice is expected to be processed as an application simply using the data connection provided by the communication system. The main reason for the increased volume of traffic is an increase in the size of the content and an increase in the number of applications requiring high data rates. Streaming services (audio and video), interactive video and mobile Internet connectivity will become more common as more devices connect to the Internet. Many of these applications require always-on connectivity to push real-time information and notifications to the user. Cloud storage and applications are growing rapidly in mobile communication platforms, which can be applied to both work and entertainment. Cloud storage is a special use case that drives growth of uplink data rate. <NUM> is also used for remote tasks on the cloud and requires much lower end-to-end delay to maintain a good user experience when the tactile interface is used. In entertainment, for example, cloud games and video streaming are another key factor that increases the demand for mobile broadband capabilities. Entertainment is essential in smartphones and tablets anywhere, including high mobility environments such as trains, cars and airplanes. Another use case is augmented reality and information retrieval for entertainment. Here, augmented reality requires very low latency and instantaneous data amount.

mMTC is designed to enable communication between devices that are low-cost, massive in number and battery-driven, intended to support applications such as smart metering, logistics, and field and body sensors. mMTC aims ~<NUM> years on battery and/ or ~<NUM> million devices/km2. mMTC allows seamless integration of embedded sensors in all areas and is one of the most widely used <NUM> applications. Potentially by <NUM>, internet-of-things (IoT) devices are expected to reach <NUM> billion. Industrial IoT is one of the areas where <NUM> plays a key role in enabling smart cities, asset tracking, smart utilities, agriculture and security infrastructures.

URLLC will make it possible for devices and machines to communicate with ultra-reliability, very low latency and high availability, making it ideal for vehicular communication, industrial control, factory automation, remote surgery, smart grids and public safety applications. URLLC aims ~<NUM> of latency. URLLC includes new services that will change the industry through links with ultra-reliability / low latency, such as remote control of key infrastructure and self-driving vehicles. The level of reliability and latency is essential for smart grid control, industrial automation, robotics, drones control and coordination.

Next, a plurality of use cases included in the triangle of <FIG> will be described in more detail.

<NUM> can complement fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) and cable-based broadband (or DOCSIS) as a means of delivering streams rated from hundreds of megabits per second to gigabits per second. This high speed can be required to deliver TVs with resolutions of <NUM> or more (<NUM>, <NUM> and above) as well as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). VR and AR applications include mostly immersive sporting events. Certain applications may require special network settings. For example, in the case of a VR game, a game company may need to integrate a core server with an edge network server of a network operator to minimize delay.

Automotive is expected to become an important new driver for <NUM>, with many use cases for mobile communications to vehicles. For example, entertainment for passengers demands high capacity and high mobile broadband at the same time. This is because future users will continue to expect high-quality connections regardless of their location and speed. Another use case in the automotive sector is an augmented reality dashboard. The driver can identify an object in the dark on top of what is being viewed through the front window through the augmented reality dashboard. The augmented reality dashboard displays information that will inform the driver about the object's distance and movement. In the future, the wireless module enables communication between vehicles, information exchange between the vehicle and the supporting infrastructure, and information exchange between the vehicle and other connected devices (e.g. devices accompanied by a pedestrian). The safety system allows the driver to guide the alternative course of action so that he can drive more safely, thereby reducing the risk of accidents. The next step will be a remotely controlled vehicle or self-driving vehicle. This requires a very reliable and very fast communication between different self-driving vehicles and between vehicles and infrastructure. In the future, a self-driving vehicle will perform all driving activities, and the driver will focus only on traffic that the vehicle itself cannot identify. The technical requirements of self-driving vehicles require ultra-low latency and high-speed reliability to increase traffic safety to a level not achievable by humans.

Smart cities and smart homes, which are referred to as smart societies, will be embedded in high density wireless sensor networks. The distributed network of intelligent sensors will identify conditions for cost and energy-efficient maintenance of a city or house. A similar setting can be performed for each home. Temperature sensors, windows and heating controllers, burglar alarms and appliances are all wirelessly connected. Many of these sensors typically require low data rate, low power and low cost. However, for example, real-time high-definition (HD) video may be required for certain types of devices for monitoring.

The consumption and distribution of energy, including heat or gas, is highly dispersed, requiring automated control of distributed sensor networks. The smart grid interconnects these sensors using digital information and communication technologies to collect and act on information. This information can include supplier and consumer behavior, allowing the smart grid to improve the distribution of fuel, such as electricity, in terms of efficiency, reliability, economy, production sustainability, and automated methods. The smart grid can be viewed as another sensor network with low latency.

The health sector has many applications that can benefit from mobile communications. Communication systems can support telemedicine to provide clinical care in remote locations. This can help to reduce barriers to distance and improve access to health services that are not continuously available in distant rural areas. It is also used to save lives in critical care and emergency situations. Mobile communication based wireless sensor networks can provide remote monitoring and sensors for parameters such as heart rate and blood pressure.

Wireless and mobile communications are becoming increasingly important in industrial applications. Wiring costs are high for installation and maintenance. Thus, the possibility of replacing a cable with a wireless link that can be reconfigured is an attractive opportunity in many industries. However, achieving this requires that wireless connections operate with similar delay, reliability, and capacity as cables and that their management is simplified. Low latency and very low error probabilities are new requirements that need to be connected to <NUM>.

Logistics and freight tracking are important use cases of mobile communications that enable tracking of inventory and packages anywhere using location based information systems. Use cases of logistics and freight tracking typically require low data rates, but require a large range and reliable location information.

NR supports multiple numerology (or, subcarrier spacing (SCS)) to support various <NUM> services. For example, when the SCS is <NUM>, wide area in traditional cellular bands may be supported. When the SCS is <NUM>/<NUM>, dense-urban, lower latency and wider carrier bandwidth may be supported. When the SCS is <NUM> or higher, a bandwidth greater than <NUM> may be supported to overcome phase noise.

<FIG> shows an example of a wireless communication system to which the technical features of the present disclosure can be applied. Referring to <FIG>, the wireless communication system may include a first device <NUM> and a second device <NUM>.

The first device <NUM> includes a base station, a network node, a transmitting UE, a receiving UE, a wireless device, a wireless communication device, a vehicle, a vehicle equipped with an autonomous driving function, a connected car, a drone, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), an artificial intelligence (AI) module, a robot, an AR device, a VR device, a mixed reality (MR) device, a hologram device, a public safety device, an MTC device, an IoT device, a medical device, a fin-tech device (or, a financial device), a security device, a climate/environmental device, a device related to <NUM> services, or a device related to the fourth industrial revolution.

The second device <NUM> includes a base station, a network node, a transmitting UE, a receiving UE, a wireless device, a wireless communication device, a vehicle, a vehicle equipped with an autonomous driving function, a connected car, a drone, a UAV, an AI module, a robot, an AR device, a VR device, an MR device, a hologram device, a public safety device, an MTC device, an IoT device, a medical device, a fin-tech device (or, a financial device), a security device, a climate/environmental device, a device related to <NUM> services, or a device related to the fourth industrial revolution.

For example, the UE may include a mobile phone, a smart phone, a laptop computer, a digital broadcasting terminal, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable multimedia player (PMP), a navigation device, a slate personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, an ultrabook, a wearable device (e.g. a smartwatch, a smart glass, a head mounted display (HMD)). For example, the HMD may be a display device worn on the head. For example, the HMD may be used to implement AR, VR and/or MR.

For example, the drone may be a flying object that is flying by a radio control signal without a person boarding it. For example, the VR device may include a device that implements an object or background in the virtual world. For example, the AR device may include a device that implements connection of an object and/or a background of a virtual world to an object and/or a background of the real world. For example, the MR device may include a device that implements fusion of an object and/or a background of a virtual world to an object and/or a background of the real world. For example, the hologram device may include a device that implements a <NUM>-degree stereoscopic image by recording and playing stereoscopic information by utilizing a phenomenon of interference of light generated by the two laser lights meeting with each other, called holography. For example, the public safety device may include a video relay device or a video device that can be worn by the user's body. For example, the MTC device and the IoT device may be a device that do not require direct human intervention or manipulation. For example, the MTC device and the IoT device may include a smart meter, a vending machine, a thermometer, a smart bulb, a door lock and/or various sensors. For example, the medical device may be a device used for the purpose of diagnosing, treating, alleviating, handling, or preventing a disease. For example, the medical device may be a device used for the purpose of diagnosing, treating, alleviating, or correcting an injury or disorder. For example, the medical device may be a device used for the purpose of inspecting, replacing or modifying a structure or function. For example, the medical device may be a device used for the purpose of controlling pregnancy. For example, the medical device may include a treatment device, a surgical device, an (in vitro) diagnostic device, a hearing aid and/or a procedural device, etc. For example, a security device may be a device installed to prevent the risk that may occur and to maintain safety. For example, the security device may include a camera, a closed-circuit TV (CCTV), a recorder, or a black box. For example, the fin-tech device may be a device capable of providing financial services such as mobile payment. For example, the fin-tech device may include a payment device or a point of sales (POS). For example, the climate/environmental device may include a device for monitoring or predicting the climate/environment.

The first device <NUM> may include at least one or more processors, such as a processor <NUM>, at least one memory, such as a memory <NUM>, and at least one transceiver, such as a transceiver <NUM>. The processor <NUM> may perform the functions, procedures, and/or methods of the first device described throughout the disclosure. The processor <NUM> may perform one or more protocols. For example, the processor <NUM> may perform one or more layers of the air interface protocol. The memory <NUM> is connected to the processor <NUM> and may store various types of information and/or instructions. The transceiver <NUM> is connected to the processor <NUM> and may be controlled by the processor <NUM> to transmit and receive wireless signals.

The second device <NUM> may include at least one or more processors, such as a processor <NUM>, at least one memory, such as a memory <NUM>, and at least one transceiver, such as a transceiver <NUM>. The processor <NUM> may perform the functions, procedures, and/or methods of the second device <NUM> described throughout the disclosure. The processor <NUM> may perform one or more protocols. For example, the processor <NUM> may perform one or more layers of the air interface protocol. The memory <NUM> is connected to the processor <NUM> and may store various types of information and/or instructions. The transceiver <NUM> is connected to the processor <NUM> and may be controlled by the processor <NUM> to transmit and receive wireless signals.

The memory <NUM>, <NUM> may be connected internally or externally to the processor <NUM>, <NUM>, or may be connected to other processors via a variety of technologies such as wired or wireless connections.

The first device <NUM> and/or the second device <NUM> may have more than one antenna. For example, antenna <NUM> and/or antenna <NUM> may be configured to transmit and receive wireless signals.

<FIG> shows an example of a wireless communication system to which the technical features of the present disclosure can be applied.

Specifically, <FIG> shows a system architecture based on an evolved-UMTS terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN). The aforementioned LTE is a part of an evolved-UTMS (e-UMTS) using the E-UTRAN.

Referring to <FIG>, the wireless communication system includes one or more user equipment (UE) <NUM>, an E-UTRAN and an evolved packet core (EPC). The UE <NUM> refers to a communication equipment carried by a user. The UE <NUM> may be fixed or mobile. The UE <NUM> may be referred to as another terminology, such as a mobile station (MS), a user terminal (UT), a subscriber station (SS), a wireless device, etc..

The E-UTRAN consists of one or more evolved NodeB (eNB) <NUM>. The eNB <NUM> provides the E-UTRA user plane and control plane protocol terminations towards the UE <NUM>. The eNB <NUM> is generally a fixed station that communicates with the UE <NUM>. The eNB <NUM> hosts the functions, such as inter-cell radio resource management (RRM), radio bearer (RB) control, connection mobility control, radio admission control, measurement configuration/provision, dynamic resource allocation (scheduler), etc. The eNB <NUM> may be referred to as another terminology, such as a base station (BS), a base transceiver system (BTS), an access point (AP), etc..

A downlink (DL) denotes communication from the eNB <NUM> to the UE <NUM>. An uplink (UL) denotes communication from the UE <NUM> to the eNB <NUM>. A sidelink (SL) denotes communication between the UEs <NUM>. In the DL, a transmitter may be a part of the eNB <NUM>, and a receiver may be a part of the UE <NUM>. In the UL, the transmitter may be a part of the UE <NUM>, and the receiver may be a part of the eNB <NUM>. In the SL, the transmitter and receiver may be a part of the UE <NUM>.

The EPC includes a mobility management entity (MME), a serving gateway (S-GW) and a packet data network (PDN) gateway (P-GW). The MME hosts the functions, such as non-access stratum (NAS) security, idle state mobility handling, evolved packet system (EPS) bearer control, etc. The S-GW hosts the functions, such as mobility anchoring, etc. The S-GW is a gateway having an E-UTRAN as an endpoint. For convenience, MME/S-GW <NUM> will be referred to herein simply as a "gateway," but it is understood that this entity includes both the MME and S-GW. The P-GW hosts the functions, such as UE Internet protocol (IP) address allocation, packet filtering, etc. The P-GW is a gateway having a PDN as an endpoint. The P-GW is connected to an external network.

The UE <NUM> is connected to the eNB <NUM> by means of the Uu interface. The UEs <NUM> are interconnected with each other by means of the PC5 interface. The eNBs <NUM> are interconnected with each other by means of the X2 interface. The eNBs <NUM> are also connected by means of the S1 interface to the EPC, more specifically to the MME by means of the S1-MME interface and to the S-GW by means of the S1-U interface. The S1 interface supports a many-to-many relation between MMEs / S-GWs and eNBs.

<FIG> shows another example of a wireless communication system to which the technical features of the present disclosure can be applied.

Specifically, <FIG> shows a system architecture based on a <NUM> NR. The entity used in the <NUM> NR (hereinafter, simply referred to as "NR") may absorb some or all of the functions of the entities introduced in <FIG> (e.g. eNB, MME, S-GW). The entity used in the NR may be identified by the name "NG" for distinction from the LTE/LTE-A.

Referring to <FIG>, the wireless communication system includes one or more UE <NUM>, a next-generation RAN (NG-RAN) and a 5th generation core network (5GC). The NG-RAN consists of at least one NG-RAN node. The NG-RAN node is an entity corresponding to the eNB <NUM> shown in <FIG>. The NG-RAN node consists of at least one gNB <NUM> and/or at least one ng-eNB <NUM>. The gNB <NUM> provides NR user plane and control plane protocol terminations towards the UE <NUM>. The ng-eNB <NUM> provides E-UTRA user plane and control plane protocol terminations towards the UE <NUM>.

The 5GC includes an access and mobility management function (AMF), a user plane function (UPF) and a session management function (SMF). The AMF hosts the functions, such as NAS security, idle state mobility handling, etc. The AMF is an entity including the functions of the conventional MME. The UPF hosts the functions, such as mobility anchoring, protocol data unit (PDU) handling. The UPF an entity including the functions of the conventional S-GW. The SMF hosts the functions, such as UE IP address allocation, PDU session control.

The gNBs <NUM> and ng-eNBs <NUM> are interconnected with each other by means of the Xn interface. The gNBs <NUM> and ng-eNBs <NUM> are also connected by means of the NG interfaces to the 5GC, more specifically to the AMF by means of the NG-C interface and to the UPF by means of the NG-U interface.

A protocol structure between network entities described above is described. On the system of <FIG> and/or <FIG>, layers of a radio interface protocol between the UE and the network (e.g. NG-RAN and/or E-UTRAN) may be classified into a first layer (L1), a second layer (L2), and a third layer (L3) based on the lower three layers of the open system interconnection (OSI) model that is well-known in the communication system.

<FIG> shows a block diagram of a user plane protocol stack to which the technical features of the present disclosure can be applied. <FIG> shows a block diagram of a control plane protocol stack to which the technical features of the present disclosure can be applied.

The user/control plane protocol stacks shown in <FIG> are used in NR. However, user/control plane protocol stacks shown in <FIG> may be used in LTE/LTE-A without loss of generality, by replacing gNB/AMF with eNB/MME.

Referring to <FIG>, a physical (PHY) layer belonging to L1. The PHY layer offers information transfer services to media access control (MAC) sublayer and higher layers. The PHY layer offers to the MAC sublayer transport channels. Data between the MAC sublayer and the PHY layer is transferred via the transport channels. Between different PHY layers, i.e., between a PHY layer of a transmission side and a PHY layer of a reception side, data is transferred via the physical channels.

The MAC sublayer belongs to L2. The main services and functions of the MAC sublayer include mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing/de-multiplexing of MAC service data units (SDUs) belonging to one or different logical channels into/from transport blocks (TB) delivered to/from the physical layer on transport channels, scheduling information reporting, error correction through hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), priority handling between UEs by means of dynamic scheduling, priority handling between logical channels of one UE by means of logical channel prioritization (LCP), etc. The MAC sublayer offers to the radio link control (RLC) sublayer logical channels.

The RLC sublayer belong to L2. The RLC sublayer supports three transmission modes, i.e. transparent mode (TM), unacknowledged mode (UM), and acknowledged mode (AM), in order to guarantee various quality of services (QoS) required by radio bearers. The main services and functions of the RLC sublayer depend on the transmission mode. For example, the RLC sublayer provides transfer of upper layer PDUs for all three modes, but provides error correction through ARQ for AM only. In LTE/LTE-A, the RLC sublayer provides concatenation, segmentation and reassembly of RLC SDUs (only for UM and AM data transfer) and re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs (only for AM data transfer). In NR, the RLC sublayer provides segmentation (only for AM and UM) and re-segmentation (only for AM) of RLC SDUs and reassembly of SDU (only for AM and UM). That is, the NR does not support concatenation of RLC SDUs. The RLC sublayer offers to the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) sublayer RLC channels.

The PDCP sublayer belong to L2. The main services and functions of the PDCP sublayer for the user plane include header compression and decompression, transfer of user data, duplicate detection, PDCP PDU routing, retransmission of PDCP SDUs, ciphering and deciphering, etc. The main services and functions of the PDCP sublayer for the control plane include ciphering and integrity protection, transfer of control plane data, etc..

The service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) sublayer belong to L2. The SDAP sublayer is only defined in the user plane. The SDAP sublayer is only defined for NR. The main services and functions of SDAP include, mapping between a QoS flow and a data radio bearer (DRB), and marking QoS flow ID (QFI) in both DL and UL packets. The SDAP sublayer offers to 5GC QoS flows.

A radio resource control (RRC) layer belongs to L3. The RRC layer is only defined in the control plane. The RRC layer controls radio resources between the UE and the network. To this end, the RRC layer exchanges RRC messages between the UE and the BS. The main services and functions of the RRC layer include broadcast of system information related to AS and NAS, paging, establishment, maintenance and release of an RRC connection between the UE and the network, security functions including key management, establishment, configuration, maintenance and release of radio bearers, mobility functions, QoS management functions, UE measurement reporting and control of the reporting, NAS message transfer to/from NAS from/to UE.

In other words, the RRC layer controls logical channels, transport channels, and physical channels in relation to the configuration, reconfiguration, and release of radio bearers. A radio bearer refers to a logical path provided by L1 (PHY layer) and L2 (MAC/RLC/PDCP/SDAP sublayer) for data transmission between a UE and a network. Setting the radio bearer means defining the characteristics of the radio protocol layer and the channel for providing a specific service, and setting each specific parameter and operation method. Radio bearer may be divided into signaling RB (SRB) and data RB (DRB). The SRB is used as a path for transmitting RRC messages in the control plane, and the DRB is used as a path for transmitting user data in the user plane.

An RRC state indicates whether an RRC layer of the UE is logically connected to an RRC layer of the E-UTRAN. In LTE/LTE-A, when the RRC connection is established between the RRC layer of the UE and the RRC layer of the E-UTRAN, the UE is in the RRC connected state (RRC_CONNECTED). Otherwise, the UE is in the RRC idle state (RRC_IDLE). In NR, the RRC inactive state (RRC_INACTIVE) is additionally introduced. RRC_INACTIVE may be used for various purposes. For example, the massive machine type communications (MMTC) UEs can be efficiently managed in RRC_INACTIVE. When a specific condition is satisfied, transition is made from one of the above three states to the other.

A predetermined operation may be performed according to the RRC state. In RRC_IDLE, public land mobile network (PLMN) selection, broadcast of system information (SI), cell re-selection mobility, core network (CN) paging and discontinuous reception (DRX) configured by NAS may be performed. The UE shall have been allocated an identifier (ID) which uniquely identifies the UE in a tracking area. No RRC context stored in the BS.

In RRC_CONNECTED, the UE has an RRC connection with the network (i.e. E-UTRAN/NG-RAN). Network-CN connection (both C/U-planes) is also established for UE. The UE AS context is stored in the network and the UE. The RAN knows the cell which the UE belongs to. The network can transmit and/or receive data to/from UE. Network controlled mobility including measurement is also performed.

Most of operations performed in RRC_IDLE may be performed in RRC_INACTIVE. But, instead of CN paging in RRC_IDLE, RAN paging is performed in RRC_INACTIVE. In other words, in RRC_IDLE, paging for mobile terminated (MT) data is initiated by core network and paging area is managed by core network. In RRC_INACTIVE, paging is initiated by NG-RAN, and RAN-based notification area (RNA) is managed by NG-RAN. Further, instead of DRX for CN paging configured by NAS in RRC_IDLE, DRX for RAN paging is configured by NG-RAN in RRC_INACTIVE. Meanwhile, in RRC_INACTIVE, 5GC-NG-RAN connection (both C/U-planes) is established for UE, and the UE AS context is stored in NG-RAN and the UE. NG-RAN knows the RNA which the UE belongs to.

NAS layer is located at the top of the RRC layer. The NAS control protocol performs the functions, such as authentication, mobility management, security control.

The physical channels may be modulated according to OFDM processing and utilizes time and frequency as radio resources. The physical channels consist of a plurality of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols in time domain and a plurality of subcarriers in frequency domain. One subframe consists of a plurality of OFDM symbols in the time domain. A resource block is a resource allocation unit, and consists of a plurality of OFDM symbols and a plurality of subcarriers. In addition, each subframe may use specific subcarriers of specific OFDM symbols (e.g. first OFDM symbol) of the corresponding subframe for a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), i.e. L1/L2 control channel. A transmission time interval (TTI) is a basic unit of time used by a scheduler for resource allocation. The TTI may be defined in units of one or a plurality of slots, or may be defined in units of mini-slots.

The transport channels are classified according to how and with what characteristics data are transferred over the radio interface. DL transport channels include a broadcast channel (BCH) used for transmitting system information, a downlink shared channel (DL-SCH) used for transmitting user traffic or control signals, and a paging channel (PCH) used for paging a UE. UL transport channels include an uplink shared channel (UL-SCH) for transmitting user traffic or control signals and a random access channel (RACH) normally used for initial access to a cell.

Different kinds of data transfer services are offered by MAC sublayer. Each logical channel type is defined by what type of information is transferred. Logical channels are classified into two groups: control channels and traffic channels.

Control channels are used for the transfer of control plane information only. The control channels include a broadcast control channel (BCCH), a paging control channel (PCCH), a common control channel (CCCH) and a dedicated control channel (DCCH). The BCCH is a DL channel for broadcasting system control information. The PCCH is DL channel that transfers paging information, system information change notifications. The CCCH is a channel for transmitting control information between UEs and network. This channel is used for UEs having no RRC connection with the network. The DCCH is a point-to-point bi-directional channel that transmits dedicated control information between a UE and the network. This channel is used by UEs having an RRC connection.

Traffic channels are used for the transfer of user plane information only. The traffic channels include a dedicated traffic channel (DTCH). The DTCH is a point-to-point channel, dedicated to one UE, for the transfer of user information. The DTCH can exist in both UL and DL.

Regarding mapping between the logical channels and transport channels, in DL, BCCH can be mapped to BCH, BCCH can be mapped to DL-SCH, PCCH can be mapped to PCH, CCCH can be mapped to DL-SCH, DCCH can be mapped to DL-SCH, and DTCH can be mapped to DL-SCH. In UL, CCCH can be mapped to UL-SCH, DCCH can be mapped to UL- SCH, and DTCH can be mapped to UL-SCH.

<FIG> illustrates a frame structure in a 3GPP based wireless communication system.

The frame structure illustrated in <FIG> is purely exemplary and the number of subframes, the number of slots, and/or the number of symbols in a frame may be variously changed. In the 3GPP based wireless communication system, an OFDM numerology (e.g., subcarrier spacing (SCS), transmission time interval (TTI) duration) may be differently configured between a plurality of cells aggregated for one UE. For example, if a UE is configured with different SCSs for cells aggregated for the cell, an (absolute time) duration of a time resource (e.g. a subframe, a slot, or a TTI) including the same number of symbols may be different among the aggregated cells. Herein, symbols may include OFDM symbols (or CP-OFDM symbols), SC-FDMA symbols (or discrete Fourier transform-spread-OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) symbols).

Referring to <FIG>, downlink and uplink transmissions are organized into frames. Each frame has Tf = <NUM> duration. Each frame is divided into two half-frames, where each of the half-frames has <NUM> duration. Each half-frame consists of <NUM> subframes, where the duration Tsf per subframe is <NUM>. Each subframe is divided into slots and the number of slots in a subframe depends on a subcarrier spacing. Each slot includes <NUM> or <NUM> OFDM symbols based on a cyclic prefix (CP). In a normal CP, each slot includes <NUM> OFDM symbols and, in an extended CP, each slot includes <NUM> OFDM symbols. The numerology is based on exponentially scalable subcarrier spacing βf = 2u*<NUM>. The following table shows the number of OFDM symbols per slot, the number of slots per frame, and the number of slots per for the normal CP, according to the subcarrier spacing βf = 2u*<NUM>.

The following table shows the number of OFDM symbols per slot, the number of slots per frame, and the number of slots per for the extended CP, according to the subcarrier spacing βf = 2u*<NUM>.

A slot includes plural symbols (e.g., <NUM> or <NUM> symbols) in the time domain. For each numerology (e.g. subcarrier spacing) and carrier, a resource grid of Nsize,ugrid,x*NRBsc subcarriers and Nsubframe,usymb OFDM symbols is defined, starting at common resource block (CRB) Nstart,ugrid indicated by higher-layer signaling (e.g. radio resource control (RRC) signaling), where Nsize,ugrid,x is the number of resource blocks (RBs) in the resource grid and the subscript x is DL for downlink and UL for uplink. NRBsc is the number of subcarriers per RB. In the 3GPP based wireless communication system, NRBsc is <NUM> generally. There is one resource grid for a given antenna port p, subcarrier spacing configuration u, and transmission direction (DL or UL). The carrier bandwidth Nsize,ugrid for subcarrier spacing configuration u is given by the higher-layer parameter (e.g. RRC parameter). Each element in the resource grid for the antenna port p and the subcarrier spacing configuration u is referred to as a resource element (RE) and one complex symbol may be mapped to each RE. Each RE in the resource grid is uniquely identified by an index k in the frequency domain and an index l representing a symbol location relative to a reference point in the time domain. In the 3GPP based wireless communication system, an RB is defined by <NUM> consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain. In the 3GPP NR system, RBs are classified into CRBs and physical resource blocks (PRBs). CRBs are numbered from <NUM> and upwards in the frequency domain for subcarrier spacing configuration u. The center of subcarrier <NUM> of CRB <NUM> for subcarrier spacing configuration u coincides with 'point A' which serves as a common reference point for resource block grids. In the 3GPP NR system, PRBs are defined within a bandwidth part (BWP) and numbered from <NUM> to NsizeBWP,i-<NUM>, where i is the number of the bandwidth part. The relation between the physical resource block nPRB in the bandwidth part i and the common resource block nCRB is as follows: nPRB = nCRB + NsizeBWP,i, where NsizeBWP,i is the common resource block where bandwidth part starts relative to CRB <NUM>. The BWP includes a plurality of consecutive RBs. A carrier may include a maximum of N (e.g., <NUM>) BWPs. A UE may be configured with one or more BWPs on a given component carrier. Only one BWP among BWPs configured to the UE can active at a time. The active BWP defines the UE's operating bandwidth within the cell's operating bandwidth.

In the present disclosure, the term "cell" may refer to a geographic area to which one or more nodes provide a communication system, or refer to radio resources. A "cell" of a geographic area may be understood as coverage within which a node can provide service using a carrier and a "cell" as radio resources (e.g. time-frequency resources) is associated with bandwidth (BW) which is a frequency range configured by the carrier. The "cell" associated with the radio resources is defined by a combination of downlink resources and uplink resources, for example, a combination of a downlink (DL) component carrier (CC) and a uplink (UL) CC. The cell may be configured by downlink resources only, or may be configured by downlink resources and uplink resources. Since DL coverage, which is a range within which the node is capable of transmitting a valid signal, and UL coverage, which is a range within which the node is capable of receiving the valid signal from the UE, depends upon a carrier carrying the signal, the coverage of the node may be associated with coverage of the "cell" of radio resources used by the node. Accordingly, the term "cell" may be used to represent service coverage of the node sometimes, radio resources at other times, or a range that signals using the radio resources can reach with valid strength at other times.

In carrier aggregation (CA), two or more CCs are aggregated. A UE may simultaneously receive or transmit on one or multiple CCs depending on its capabilities. CA is supported for both contiguous and non-contiguous CCs. When CA is configured the UE only has one radio resource control (RRC) connection with the network. At RRC connection establishment/re-establishment/handover, one serving cell provides the non-access stratum (NAS) mobility information, and at RRC connection re-establishment/handover, one serving cell provides the security input. This cell is referred to as the Primary Cell (PCell). The PCell is a cell, operating on the primary frequency, in which the UE either performs the initial connection establishment procedure or initiates the connection re-establishment procedure. Depending on UE capabilities, Secondary Cells (SCells) can be configured to form together with the PCell a set of serving cells. An SCell is a cell providing additional radio resources on top of Special Cell. The configured set of serving cells for a UE therefore always consists of one PCell and one or more SCells. For dual connectivity operation, the term Special Cell (SpCell) refers to the PCell of the master cell group (MCG) or the PSCell of the secondary cell group (SCG). An SpCell supports PUCCH transmission and contention-based random access, and is always activated. The MCG is a group of serving cells associated with a master node, comprising of the SpCell (PCell) and optionally one or more SCells. The SCG is the subset of serving cells associated with a secondary node, comprising of the PSCell and zero or more SCells, for a UE configured with dual connectivity (DC). For a UE in RRC_CONNECTED not configured with CA/DC there is only one serving cell comprising of the PCell. For a UE in RRC_CONNECTED configured with CA/DC the term "serving cells" is used to denote the set of cells comprising of the SpCell(s) and all SCells. In DC, two MAC entities are configured in a UE: one for the MCG and one for the SCG.

<FIG> illustrates a data flow example in the 3GPP NR system.

In <FIG>, "RB" denotes a radio bearer, and "H" denotes a header. Radio bearers are categorized into two groups: data radio bearers (DRB) for user plane data and signalling radio bearers (SRB) for control plane data. The MAC PDU is transmitted/ received using radio resources through the PHY layer to/from an external device. The MAC PDU arrives to the PHY layer in the form of a transport block.

In the PHY layer, the uplink transport channels UL-SCH and RACH are mapped to their physical channels PUSCH and PRACH, respectively, and the downlink transport channels DL-SCH, BCH and PCH are mapped to PDSCH, PBCH and PDSCH, respectively. In the PHY layer, uplink control information (UCI) is mapped to PUCCH, and downlink control information (DCI) is mapped to PDCCH. A MAC PDU related to UL-SCH is transmitted by a UE via a PUSCH based on an UL grant, and a MAC PDU related to DL-SCH is transmitted by a BS via a PDSCH based on a DL assignment.

Data unit(s) (e.g. PDCP SDU, PDCP PDU, RLC SDU, RLC PDU, RLC SDU, MAC SDU, MAC CE, MAC PDU) in the present disclosure is(are) transmitted/received on a physical channel (e.g. PDSCH, PUSCH) based on resource allocation (e.g. UL grant, DL assignment). In the present disclosure, uplink resource allocation is also referred to as uplink grant, and downlink resource allocation is also referred to as downlink assignment. The resource allocation includes time domain resource allocation and frequency domain resource allocation. In the present disclosure, an uplink grant is either received by the UE dynamically on PDCCH, in a Random Access Response, or configured to the UE semi-persistently by RRC. In the present disclosure, downlink assignment is either received by the UE dynamically on the PDCCH, or configured to the UE semi-persistently by RRC signalling from the BS.

Hereinafter, cell selection and reselection is described.

UE shall perform measurements for cell selection and reselection purposes.

When evaluating Srxlev and Squal of non-serving cells for reselection evaluation purposes, the UE shall use parameters provided by the serving cell and for the final check on cell selection criterion, the UE shall use parameters provided by the target cell for cell reselection.

The NAS can control the RAT(s) in which the cell selection should be performed, for instance by indicating RAT(s) associated with the selected PLMN, and by maintaining a list of forbidden registration area(s) and a list of equivalent PLMNs. The UE shall select a suitable cell based on RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE state measurements and cell selection criteria.

In order to expedite the cell selection process, stored information for several RATs, if available, may be used by the UE.

When camped on a cell, the UE shall regularly search for a better cell according to the cell reselection criteria. If a better cell is found, that cell is selected. The change of cell may imply a change of RAT.

The NAS is informed if the cell selection and reselection result in changes in the received system information relevant for NAS.

For normal service, the UE shall camp on a suitable cell, monitor control channel(s) of that cell so that the UE can:.

For cell selection in multi-beam operations, measurement quantity of a cell is up to UE implementation.

For cell reselection in multi-beam operations, including inter-RAT reselection from E-UTRA to NR, the measurement quantity of this cell is derived amongst the beams corresponding to the same cell based on SS/PBCH block as follows:.

Hereinafter, cell selection proceses is described.

Cell selection is performed by one of the following two procedures:.

Priorities between different frequencies or RATs provided to the UE by system information or dedicated signalling are not used in the cell selection process.

The cell selection criterion S may be fulfilled when Srxlev > <NUM> and Squal > <NUM>. The Srxlev equals to {Qrxlevmeas-(Qrxlevmin+Qrxlevminoffset)-Pcompensation-Qoffsettemp}. The Squal equals to {Qqualmeas-(Qqualmin+Qqualminoffset)-Qoffsettemp}. Parameters may be defined as the following table:.

The signalled values Qrxlevminoffset and Qqualminoffset are only applied when a cell is evaluated for cell selection as a result of a periodic search for a higher priority PLMN while camped normally in a VPLMN. During this periodic search for higher priority PLMN, the UE may check the S criteria of a cell using parameter values stored from a different cell of this higher priority PLMN. Hereinafter, cell reselection evaluation process is described.

Absolute priorities of different NR frequencies or inter-RAT frequencies may be provided to the UE in the system information, in the RRCRelease message, or by inheriting from another RAT at inter-RAT cell (re)selection. In the case of system information, an NR frequency or inter-RAT frequency may be listed without providing a priority (i.e. the field cellReselectionPriority is absent for that frequency). If priorities are provided in dedicated signalling, the UE shall ignore all the priorities provided in system information. If UE is in camped on any cell state, UE shall only apply the priorities provided by system information from current cell, and the UE preserves priorities provided by dedicated signalling and deprioritisationReq received in RRCRelease unless specified otherwise. When the UE in camped normally state, has only dedicated priorities other than for the current frequency, the UE shall consider the current frequency to be the lowest priority frequency (i.e. lower than any of the network configured values). If the UE is configured to perform both NR sidelink communication and V2X sidelink communication, the UE may consider the frequency providing both NR sidelink communication configuration and V2X sidelink communication configuration to be the highest priority. If the UE is configured to perform NR sidelink communication and not perform V2X communication, the UE may consider the frequency providing NR sidelink communication configuration to be the highest priority. If the UE is configured to perform V2X sidelink communication and not perform NR sidelink communication, the UE may consider the frequency providing V2X sidelink communication configuration to be the highest priority.

The frequency only providing the anchor frequency configuration should not be prioritized for V2X service during cell reselection.

When UE is configured to perform NR sidelink communication or V2X sidelink communication performs cell reselection, it may consider the frequencies providing the intra-carrier and inter-carrier configuration have equal priority in cell reselection.

The prioritization among the frequencies which UE considers to be the highest priority frequency is left to UE implementation.

The UE is configured to perform V2X sidelink communication or NR sidelink communication, if it has the capability and is authorized for the corresponding sidelink operation.

When UE is configured to perform both NR sidelink communication and V2X sidelink communication, but cannot find a frequency which can provide both NR sidelink communication configuration and V2X sidelink communication configuration, UE may consider the frequency providing either NR sidelink communication configuration or V2X sidelink communication configuration to be the highest priority.

The UE shall only perform cell reselection evaluation for NR frequencies and inter-RAT frequencies that are given in system information and for which the UE has a priority provided.

In case UE receives RRCRelease with deprioritisationReq, UE shall consider current frequency and stored frequencies due to the previously received RRCRelease with deprioritisationReq or all the frequencies of NR to be the lowest priority frequency (i.e. lower than any of the network configured values) while T325 is running irrespective of camped RAT. The UE shall delete the stored deprioritisation request(s) when a PLMN selection or SNPN selection is performed on request by NAS.

UE should search for a higher priority layer for cell reselection as soon as possible after the change of priority. The minimum related performance requirements are still applicable.

The UE shall delete priorities provided by dedicated signalling when:.

The UE shall not consider any black listed cells as candidate for cell reselection.

The UE shall consider only the white listed cells, if configured, as candidates for cell reselection.

The UE in RRC_IDLE state shall inherit the priorities provided by dedicated signalling and the remaining validity time (i.e. T320 in NR and E-UTRA), if configured, at inter-RAT cell (re)selection.

The network may assign dedicated cell reselection priorities for frequencies not configured by system information.

Following rules are used by the UE to limit needed measurements:.

If threshServingLowQ is broadcast in system information and more than <NUM> second has elapsed since the UE camped on the current serving cell, cell reselection to a cell on a higher priority NR frequency or inter-RAT frequency than the serving frequency shall be performed if:.

Otherwise, cell reselection to a cell on a higher priority NR frequency or inter-RAT frequency than the serving frequency shall be performed if:.

Cell reselection to a cell on an equal priority NR frequency shall be based on ranking for intra-frequency cell reselection.

If threshServingLowQ is broadcast in system information and more than <NUM> second has elapsed since the UE camped on the current serving cell, cell reselection to a cell on a lower priority NR frequency or inter-RAT frequency than the serving frequency shall be performed if:.

Otherwise, cell reselection to a cell on a lower priority NR frequency or inter-RAT frequency than the serving frequency shall be performed if:.

Cell reselection to a higher priority RAT/frequency shall take precedence over a lower priority RAT/frequency if multiple cells of different priorities fulfil the cell reselection criteria.

If more than one cell meets the above criteria, the UE shall reselect a cell as follows:.

The cell-ranking criterion Rs for serving cell is defined by Qmeas,s + Qhyst - Qoffsettemp. The cell-ranking criterion Rn for neighbouring cell is defined by Qmeas,n -Qoffset - Qoffsettemp. Parameters are defined as the following table:.

The UE shall perform ranking of all cells that fulfil the cell selection criterion S. The cells shall be ranked according to the R criteria specified above by deriving Qmeas,n and Qmeas,s and calculating the R values using averaged RSRP results.

If rangeToBestCell is not configured, the UE shall perform cell reselection to the highest ranked cell.

If rangeToBestCell is configured, then the UE shall perform cell reselection to the cell with the highest number of beams above the threshold (i.e. absThreshSS-BlocksConsolidation) among the cells whose R value is within rangeToBestCell of the R value of the highest ranked cell. If there are multiple such cells, the UE shall perform cell reselection to the highest ranked cell among them.

In all cases, the UE shall reselect the new cell, only if the following conditions are met:.

If rangeToBestCell is configured but absThreshSS-BlocksConsolidation is not configured on an NR frequency, the UE considers that there is one beam above the threshold for each cell on that frequency.

More parameters are defined in section <NUM>. <NUM> of 3GPP TS <NUM> V16.

There may be a plurality of states including at least one of a camped normally state, any cell selection state, or camped on any cell state.

Camped normally state may be applicable for RRC_IDLE and RRC_INACTIVE state.

When camped normally, the UE shall perform the following tasks:.

Any cell selection state may be applicable for RRC_IDLE and RRC_INACTIVE state. In this state, the UE shall perform cell selection process to find a suitable cell. If the cell selection process fails to find a suitable cell after a complete scan of all RATs and all frequency bands supported by the UE, the UE not in SNPN AM shall attempt to find an acceptable cell of any PLMN to camp on, trying all RATs that are supported by the UE and searching first for a high-quality cell.

The UE, which is not camped on any cell, shall stay in this state.

The camped on any cell state may be only applicable for RRC_IDLE state. In this state, the UE shall perform the following tasks:.

Hereinafter, network slicing is described.

Network slicing enables the operator to create networks customized to provide optimized solutions for different market scenarios which demands diverse requirements, e.g. in the areas of functionality, performance and isolation. A network slice is composed of all the network functions (NFs) that are required to provide the required telecommunication services and network capabilities, and the resources to run these NFs.

NF refers to processing functions in a network. This includes but is not limited to telecom nodes functionality, as well as switching functions e.g. Ethernet switching function, IP routing functions. That is, NF has defined functional behavior and interfaces. An NF can be implemented either as a network element on a dedicated hardware, or as a software instance running on a dedicated hardware, or as a virtualized function instantiated on an appropriate platform, e.g. on a cloud infrastructure. Virtual NF (VNF) is a virtualized version of a NF.

Network slicing concept consists of <NUM> layers: <NUM>) service instance layer, <NUM>) network slice instance layer, and <NUM>) resource layer.

The service instance layer represents the services (end-user service or business services) which are to be supported. Each service is represented by a service instance. The service instance is an instance of an end-user service or a business service that is realized within or by a network slice. Typically services can be provided by the network operator or by 3rd parties. In line with this, a service instance can either represent an operator service or a 3rd party provided service.

A network operator uses a network slice blueprint to create a network slice instance. A network slice instance provides the network characteristics which are required by a service instance. A network slice instance is a set of NFs, and resources to run these NFs, forming a complete instantiated logical network to meet certain network characteristics required by the service instance(s):.

A network slice instance may also be shared across multiple service instances provided by the network operator.

A network slice blueprint is a complete description of the structure, configuration and the plans/work flows for how to instantiate and control the network slice instance during its life cycle. A network slice blueprint enables the instantiation of a network slice, which provides certain network characteristics (e.g. ultra-low latency, ultra-reliability, value-added services for enterprises, etc.). A network slice blueprint refers to required physical and logical resources and/or to sub-network blueprint(s).

The network slice instance may be composed by none, one or more sub-network instances, which may be shared by another network slice instance. Similarly, the sub-network blueprint is used to create a sub-network instance to form a set of NFs, which run on the physical/logical resources. A sub-network instance comprises of a set of NFs and the resources for these NFs:.

The sub-network blueprint is a description of the structure (and contained components) and configuration of the sub-network instances and the plans/work flows for how to instantiate it. A sub-network blueprint refers to physical and logical resources and may refer to other sub-network blueprints.

Physical resource is a physical asset for computation, storage or transport including radio access. NFs are not regarded as resources.

Logical resource is partition of a physical resource, or grouping of multiple physical resources dedicated to a NF or shared between a set of NFs.

As one solution for network slicing, to enable a UE to simultaneously obtain services from multiple network slices of one network operator, a single set of C-Plane functions that are in common among core network instances is shared across multiple core network instances. Further, other C-Plane functions that are not in common reside in their respective core network instances, and are not shared with other core network instances.

<FIG> shows an example of sharing a set of common C-plane functions among multiples core network instances. The principles of the solution shown in <FIG> are as follows:.

Meanwhile, UE may be configured with dedicated reselection information and associated timer value. The dedicated reselection information may comprise cellReselectionPriorities, and received via a dedicated signalling such as RRC release message. The associated timer value may comprise T320. The T320 may be included in the cellReselectionPriorities.

If the UE receives RRC release message and the RRC release message includes the cellReselectionPriorities, the UE shall store the cell reselection priority information provided by the cellReselectionPriorities, and start timer T320 with the timer value set according to the value T320. While the timer is running, the UE should always apply the dedicated reselection information, instead of broadcast/common reselection information (i.e., received via broadcast signalling such as system information). If the T320 expires, the UE shall discard the cell reselection priority information provided by the cellReselecitonPriorities and apply the cell reselection priority information broadcast in the system information.

The dedicated reselection information may comprise slice-related information. The dedicated reselection information comprising the slice-related information may be referred to as sliced-related dedicated reselection information. The UE may be configured with slice-related dedicated reselection information for cell reselection and an associated timer value (e.g., t320). While the timer is running, the UE can prioritize its preferred slice by applying the slice-related dedicated reselection information. However, if the timer expires, the UE may release the slice-related dedicated reselection information and hence fail to prioritize its preferred slice since then.

According to the present disclosure, upon expiry of the timer which is associated with the slice-related dedicated reselection information, the UE may make an RRC connection with network and send slice-information to the network to indicate at least frequency information supporting preferred slice(s). Based on the slice-information received from the UE, network can immediately decide whether to (re-)configure slice-related dedicated reselection information.

<FIG> shows an example of a method performed by a wireless device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Steps illustrated in <FIG> may also be performed by a UE.

Referring to <FIG>, in step S1001, the wireless device may receive dedicated reselection information for a cell reselection and information for a timer related to the dedicated reselection information.

In step S1003, the wireless device may start the timer upon receiving the information for the timer.

In step S1005, upon an expiry of the timer, based on that the dedicated reselection information comprises slice-related information, the wireless device may: establish a connection with a network; and transmit, to the network, slice information preferred by the wireless device.

According to various embodiments, the dedicated reselection information may comprise at least one of a list of frequencies or a corresponding dedicated priority for each frequency in the list.

According to various embodiments, the slice-related information may comprise a corresponding network slice identifier (ID) for each frequency or each cell.

According to various embodiments, the wireless device may perform the cell reselection based on applying the dedicated reselection information while the timer is running.

According to various embodiments, the wireless device may apply the dedicated reselection information for a frequency supporting a network slice preferred by the wireless device. The network slice may be identified by a network slice ID.

According to various embodiments, the frequency supporting the network slice preferred by the wireless device may be prioritized over a frequency not supporting the network slice preferred by the wireless device based on applying the dedicated reselection information. That is, a dedicated priority for the frequency supporting the network slice preferred by the wireless device may be higher than that for a frequency not supporting the network slice preferred by the wireless device.

According to various embodiments, the dedicated reselection information may comprise an instruction to establish the connection with the network upon the expiry of the timer.

According to various embodiments, the slice information may comprise frequency information informing at least one frequency supporting one or more slices preferred by the wireless device.

According to various embodiments, the slice information may comprise frequency information informing at least one frequency the wireless device prefers to select for the cell reselection.

According to various embodiments, after transmitting the slice information to the network, the wireless device may receive updated dedicated reselection information from the network. The updated dedicated reselection information may comprise: at least one frequency which supports one or more slices preferred by the wireless device or which the wireless device prefers to select for the cell reselection; and a corresponding dedicated priority for the at least one frequency.

According to various embodiments, a dedicated priority for the at least one frequency may be higher than that for frequencies other than the at least one frequency.

According to various embodiments, the dedicated signalling may comprise a radio resource control (RRC) release message.

According to various embodiments, the wireless device may receive, from a network, a configuration of dedicated reselection information for cell reselection. The configuration may include timer information. Upon leaving RRC_CONNECTED, the wireless device may start a timer based on the timer information. Upon expiry of the timer, the wireless device may establish a RRC connection with the network and send preferred frequency information to the network. The preferred frequency information may indicate at least one frequency supporting a slice preferred by the UE.

<FIG> shows an example of a method performed by a BS according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

In step S1101, the BS may transmit, to a wireless device, dedicated reselection information for a cell reselection including slice-related information and information for a timer related to the dedicated reselection information.

In step S1103, the BS may establish a connection with the wireless device.

In step S1105, the BS may receive, from the wireless device, slice information preferred by the wireless device.

In step S1107, after receiving the slice information from the wireless device, the BS may transmit updated dedicated reselection information to the wireless device.

The BS in <FIG> may be an example of a second device <NUM> in <FIG>, and therefore, steps of the BS as illustrated in <FIG> may be implemented by the second device <NUM>. For example, the processor <NUM> may be configured to control the transceiver <NUM> to transmit, to a wireless device, dedicated reselection information for a cell reselection including slice-related information and information for a timer related to the dedicated reselection information. The processor <NUM> may be configured to establish a connection with the wireless device. The processor <NUM> may be configured to control the transceiver <NUM> to receive, from the wireless device, slice information preferred by the wireless device. After receiving the slice information from the wireless device, the processor <NUM> may be configured to control the transceiver <NUM> to transmit updated dedicated reselection information to the wireless device.

<FIG> shows an example of a procedure for slice information indication according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to <FIG>, in step S1201, the UE may receive slice-related dedicated reselection information from the network. The UE in RRC_CONNECTED may be configured with slice-related dedicated reselection information for cell reselection.

The slice-related dedicated reselection information for cell reselection may include at least one of a list of frequencies, corresponding reselection priorities or a timer value (e.g., t320).

The slice-related dedicated reselection information for cell reselection may include slice-related information. The slice-related information may include network slice ID for each frequency and/or for each cell.

Network may include a flag in the slice-related dedicated reselection information to explicitly indicate that the UE needs to make a RRC connection upon the expiry of the timer.

In step S1203, the UE may start T320 timer. Upon leaving RRC_CONNECTED by receiving RRC release message including the slice-related dedicated reselection information, the UE may start the timer.

In step S1205, the UE may perform a cell reselection by using/applying the slice-related dedicated reselection information while the timer is running. While the timer is running (in RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE), the UE may perform a cell reselection by using/applying the slice-related dedicated reselection information for cell reselection.

Upon expiry of the timer, the UE may perform step S1207 and/or step S1209.

In step S1207, the UE may establish an RRC connection with the network.

In step S1209, the UE may send slice information to the network.

The slice-information may include at least frequency information. The frequency information may indicate at least one frequency that supports slice(s) preferred by the UE. The frequency information may indicate at least one frequency that the UE prefers to select during cell reselection.

The UE may send the slice-information after completion of RRC connection via dedicated signalling or during RRC connection procedure (e.g., in a RRC Setup Complete message).

In step S1211, the network may determine whether to reconfigure slice-related dedicated reselection information. The network may determine whether to (re-)configure slice-related dedicated reselection information for UEs. After receiving the slice-information from the UE, the network may decide to (re-)configure slice-related dedicated reselection information to the UE to assist the UE to select preferred slices.

In step S1213, the UE may receive updated slice-related dedicated reselection information from the network. The UE may be (re-)configured with slice-related dedicated reselection information for cell reselection.

<FIG> shows a UE to implement an embodiment of the present disclosure. The present disclosure described above for UE side may be applied to this embodiment. The UE in <FIG> may be an example of first device <NUM> as illustrated in <FIG>.

A UE includes a processor <NUM> (i.e., processor <NUM>), a power management module <NUM>, a battery <NUM>, a display <NUM>, a keypad <NUM>, a subscriber identification module (SIM) card <NUM>, a memory <NUM> (i.e., memory <NUM>), a transceiver <NUM> (i.e., transceiver <NUM>), one or more antennas <NUM>, a speaker <NUM>, and a microphone <NUM>.

The processor <NUM> may be configured to implement proposed functions, procedures and/or methods described in this description. Layers of the radio interface protocol may be implemented in the processor <NUM>. The processor <NUM> may include application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), other chipset, logic circuit and/or data processing device. The processor <NUM> may be an application processor (AP). The processor <NUM> may include at least one of a digital signal processor (DSP), a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a modem (modulator and demodulator). An example of the processor <NUM> may be found in SNAPDRAGONTM series of processors made by Qualcomm®, EXYNOSTM series of processors made by Samsung®, A series of processors made by Apple®, HELIOTM series of processors made by MediaTek®, ATOMTM series of processors made by Intel® or a corresponding next generation processor.

The processor <NUM> may be configured to, or configured to control the transceiver <NUM> to implement steps performed by the UE and/or the wireless device throughout the disclosure.

The memory <NUM> may include read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), flash memory, memory card, storage medium and/or other storage device.

According to various embodiments, the processor <NUM> may be configured to, or configured to control the transceiver <NUM> to implement steps performed by the UE and/or the wireless device throughout the disclosure. For example, the processor <NUM> may be configured to control the transceiver <NUM> to receive dedicated reselection information for a cell reselection and information for a timer related to the dedicated reselection information. The processor <NUM> may be configured to start the timer upon receiving the information for the timer. Upon an expiry of the timer, based on that the dedicated reselection information comprises slice-related information, the processor <NUM> may be configured to: establish a connection with a network; and control the transceiver <NUM> to transmit, to the network, slice information preferred by the wireless device.

Referring to <FIG>, the wireless communication system may include a first device <NUM> (i.e., first device <NUM>) and a second device <NUM> (i.e., second device <NUM>).

The first device <NUM> may include at least one transceiver, such as a transceiver <NUM>, and at least one processing chip, such as a processing chip <NUM>. The processing chip <NUM> may include at least one processor, such a processor <NUM>, and at least one memory, such as a memory <NUM>. The memory may be operably connectable to the processor <NUM>. The memory <NUM> may store various types of information and/or instructions. The memory <NUM> may store a software code <NUM> which implements instructions that, when executed by the processor <NUM>, perform operations of the first device <NUM> described throughout the disclosure. For example, the software code <NUM> may implement instructions that, when executed by the processor <NUM>, perform the functions, procedures, and/or methods of the first device <NUM> described throughout the disclosure. For example, the software code <NUM> may control the processor <NUM> to perform one or more protocols. For example, the software code <NUM> may control the processor <NUM> to perform one or more layers of the radio interface protocol.

The second device <NUM> may include at least one transceiver, such as a transceiver <NUM>, and at least one processing chip, such as a processing chip <NUM>. The processing chip <NUM> may include at least one processor, such a processor <NUM>, and at least one memory, such as a memory <NUM>. The memory may be operably connectable to the processor <NUM>. The memory <NUM> may store various types of information and/or instructions. The memory <NUM> may store a software code <NUM> which implements instructions that, when executed by the processor <NUM>, perform operations of the second device <NUM> described throughout the disclosure. For example, the software code <NUM> may implement instructions that, when executed by the processor <NUM>, perform the functions, procedures, and/or methods of the second device <NUM> described throughout the disclosure. For example, the software code <NUM> may control the processor <NUM> to perform one or more protocols. For example, the software code <NUM> may control the processor <NUM> to perform one or more layers of the radio interface protocol.

According to various embodiments, the first device <NUM> as illustrated in <FIG> may comprise a wireless device. The wireless device may comprise a transceiver <NUM>, a processing chip <NUM>. The processing chip <NUM> may comprise a processor <NUM>, and a memory <NUM>. The memory <NUM> may be operably connectable to the processor <NUM>. The memory <NUM> may store various types of information and/or instructions. The memory <NUM> may store a software code <NUM> which implements instructions that, when executed by the processor <NUM>, perform operations comprising: receiving dedicated reselection information for a cell reselection and information for a timer related to the dedicated reselection information; starting the timer upon receiving the information for the timer; and upon an expiry of the timer, based on that the dedicated reselection information comprises slice-related information: establishing a connection with a network; and transmitting, to the network, slice information preferred by the wireless device.

According to various embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable medium may have stored thereon a plurality of instructions. The plurality of instructions, when executed by a processor of a wireless device, may cause the wireless device to: receive dedicated reselection information for a cell reselection and information for a timer related to the dedicated reselection information; start the timer upon receiving the information for the timer; upon an expiry of the timer, based on that the dedicated reselection information comprises slice-related information: establish a connection with a network; and transmit, to the network, slice information preferred by the wireless device.

The present disclosure may be applied to various future technologies, such as AI, robots, autonomous-driving/self-driving vehicles, and/or extended reality (XR).

AI refers to artificial intelligence and/or the field of studying methodology for making it. Machine learning is a field of studying methodologies that define and solve various problems dealt with in AI. Machine learning may be defined as an algorithm that enhances the performance of a task through a steady experience with any task.

An artificial neural network (ANN) is a model used in machine learning. It can mean a whole model of problem-solving ability, consisting of artificial neurons (nodes) that form a network of synapses. An ANN can be defined by a connection pattern between neurons in different layers, a learning process for updating model parameters, and/or an activation function for generating an output value. An ANN may include an input layer, an output layer, and optionally one or more hidden layers. Each layer may contain one or more neurons, and an ANN may include a synapse that links neurons to neurons. In an ANN, each neuron can output a summation of the activation function for input signals, weights, and deflections input through the synapse. Model parameters are parameters determined through learning, including deflection of neurons and/or weights of synaptic connections. The hyper-parameter means a parameter to be set in the machine learning algorithm before learning, and includes a learning rate, a repetition number, a mini batch size, an initialization function, etc. The objective of the ANN learning can be seen as determining the model parameters that minimize the loss function. The loss function can be used as an index to determine optimal model parameters in learning process of ANN.

Machine learning can be divided into supervised learning, unsupervised learning, and reinforcement learning, depending on the learning method. Supervised learning is a method of learning ANN with labels given to learning data. Labels are the answers (or result values) that ANN must infer when learning data is input to ANN. Unsupervised learning can mean a method of learning ANN without labels given to learning data. Reinforcement learning can mean a learning method in which an agent defined in an environment learns to select a behavior and/or sequence of actions that maximizes cumulative compensation in each state.

Machine learning, which is implemented as a deep neural network (DNN) that includes multiple hidden layers among ANN, is also called deep learning. Deep learning is part of machine learning. In the following, machine learning is used to mean deep learning.

<FIG> shows an example of an AI device to which the technical features of the present disclosure can be applied.

The AI device <NUM> may be implemented as a stationary device or a mobile device, such as a TV, a projector, a mobile phone, a smartphone, a desktop computer, a notebook, a digital broadcasting terminal, a PDA, a PMP, a navigation device, a tablet PC, a wearable device, a set-top box (STB), a digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) receiver, a radio, a washing machine, a refrigerator, a digital signage, a robot, a vehicle, etc..

Referring to <FIG>, the AI device <NUM> may include a communication part <NUM>, an input part <NUM>, a learning processor <NUM>, a sensing part <NUM>, an output part <NUM>, a memory <NUM>, and a processor <NUM>.

The communication part <NUM> can transmit and/or receive data to and/or from external devices such as the AI devices and the AI server using wire and/or wireless communication technology. For example, the communication part <NUM> can transmit and/or receive sensor information, a user input, a learning model, and a control signal with external devices. The communication technology used by the communication part <NUM> may include a global system for mobile communication (GSM), a code division multiple access (CDMA), an LTE/LTE-A, a <NUM>, a WLAN, a Wi-Fi, BluetoothTM, radio frequency identification (RFID), infrared data association (IrDA), ZigBee, and/or near field communication (NFC).

The input part <NUM> can acquire various kinds of data. The input part <NUM> may include a camera for inputting a video signal, a microphone for receiving an audio signal, and a user input part for receiving information from a user. A camera and/or a microphone may be treated as a sensor, and a signal obtained from a camera and/or a microphone may be referred to as sensing data and/or sensor information. The input part <NUM> can acquire input data to be used when acquiring an output using learning data and a learning model for model learning. The input part <NUM> may obtain raw input data, in which case the processor <NUM> or the learning processor <NUM> may extract input features by preprocessing the input data.

The learning processor <NUM> may learn a model composed of an ANN using learning data. The learned ANN can be referred to as a learning model. The learning model can be used to infer result values for new input data rather than learning data, and the inferred values can be used as a basis for determining which actions to perform. The learning processor <NUM> may perform AI processing together with the learning processor of the AI server. The learning processor <NUM> may include a memory integrated and/or implemented in the AI device <NUM>. Alternatively, the learning processor <NUM> may be implemented using the memory <NUM>, an external memory directly coupled to the AI device <NUM>, and/or a memory maintained in an external device.

The sensing part <NUM> may acquire at least one of internal information of the AI device <NUM>, environment information of the AI device <NUM>, and/or the user information using various sensors. The sensors included in the sensing part <NUM> may include a proximity sensor, an illuminance sensor, an acceleration sensor, a magnetic sensor, a gyro sensor, an inertial sensor, an RGB sensor, an IR sensor, a fingerprint recognition sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, an optical sensor, a microphone, a light detection and ranging (LIDAR), and/or a radar.

The output part <NUM> may generate an output related to visual, auditory, tactile, etc. The output part <NUM> may include a display unit for outputting visual information, a speaker for outputting auditory information, and/or a haptic module for outputting tactile information.

The memory <NUM> may store data that supports various functions of the AI device <NUM>. For example, the memory <NUM> may store input data acquired by the input part <NUM>, learning data, a learning model, a learning history, etc..

The processor <NUM> may determine at least one executable operation of the AI device <NUM> based on information determined and/or generated using a data analysis algorithm and/or a machine learning algorithm. The processor <NUM> may then control the components of the AI device <NUM> to perform the determined operation. The processor <NUM> may request, retrieve, receive, and/or utilize data in the learning processor <NUM> and/or the memory <NUM>, and may control the components of the AI device <NUM> to execute the predicted operation and/or the operation determined to be desirable among the at least one executable operation. The processor <NUM> may generate a control signal for controlling the external device, and may transmit the generated control signal to the external device, when the external device needs to be linked to perform the determined operation. The processor <NUM> may obtain the intention information for the user input and determine the user's requirements based on the obtained intention information. The processor <NUM> may use at least one of a speech-to-text (STT) engine for converting speech input into a text string and/or a natural language processing (NLP) engine for acquiring intention information of a natural language, to obtain the intention information corresponding to the user input. At least one of the STT engine and/or the NLP engine may be configured as an ANN, at least a part of which is learned according to a machine learning algorithm. At least one of the STT engine and/or the NLP engine may be learned by the learning processor <NUM> and/or learned by the learning processor of the AI server, and/or learned by their distributed processing. The processor <NUM> may collect history information including the operation contents of the AI device <NUM> and/or the user's feedback on the operation, etc. The processor <NUM> may store the collected history information in the memory <NUM> and/or the learning processor <NUM>, and/or transmit to an external device such as the AI server. The collected history information can be used to update the learning model. The processor <NUM> may control at least some of the components of AI device <NUM> to drive an application program stored in memory <NUM>. Furthermore, the processor <NUM> may operate two or more of the components included in the AI device <NUM> in combination with each other for driving the application program.

<FIG> shows an example of an AI system to which the technical features of the present disclosure can be applied.

Referring to <FIG>, in the AI system, at least one of an AI server <NUM>, a robot 1610a, an autonomous vehicle 1610b, an XR device 1610c, a smartphone 1610d and/or a home appliance 1610e is connected to a cloud network <NUM>. The robot 1610a, the autonomous vehicle 1610b, the XR device 1610c, the smartphone 1610d, and/or the home appliance 1610e to which the AI technology is applied may be referred to as AI devices 1610a to 1610e.

The cloud network <NUM> may refer to a network that forms part of a cloud computing infrastructure and/or resides in a cloud computing infrastructure. The cloud network <NUM> may be configured using a <NUM> network, a <NUM> or LTE network, and/or a <NUM> network. That is, each of the devices 1610a to 1610e and <NUM> consisting the AI system may be connected to each other through the cloud network <NUM>. In particular, each of the devices 1610a to 1610e and <NUM> may communicate with each other through a base station, but may directly communicate with each other without using a base station.

The AI server <NUM> may include a server for performing AI processing and a server for performing operations on big data. The AI server <NUM> is connected to at least one or more of AI devices constituting the AI system, i.e. the robot 1610a, the autonomous vehicle 1610b, the XR device 1610c, the smartphone 1610d and/or the home appliance 1610e through the cloud network <NUM>, and may assist at least some AI processing of the connected AI devices 1610a to 1610e. The AI server <NUM> can learn the ANN according to the machine learning algorithm on behalf of the AI devices 1610a to 1610e, and can directly store the learning models and/or transmit them to the AI devices 1610a to 1610e. The AI server <NUM> may receive the input data from the AI devices 1610a to 1610e, infer the result value with respect to the received input data using the learning model, generate a response and/or a control command based on the inferred result value, and transmit the generated data to the AI devices 1610a to 1610e. Alternatively, the AI devices 1610a to 1610e may directly infer a result value for the input data using a learning model, and generate a response and/or a control command based on the inferred result value.

Various embodiments of the AI devices 1610a to 1610e to which the technical features of the present disclosure can be applied will be described. The AI devices 1610a to 1610e shown in <FIG> can be seen as specific embodiments of the AI device <NUM> shown in <FIG>.

In view of the exemplary systems described herein, methodologies that may be implemented in accordance with the disclosed subject matter have been described with reference to several flow diagrams. While for purposed of simplicity, the methodologies are shown and described as a series of steps or blocks, it is to be understood and appreciated that the claimed subject matter is not limited by the order of the steps or blocks, as some steps may occur in different orders or concurrently with other steps from what is depicted and described herein. Moreover, one skilled in the art would understand that the steps illustrated in the flow diagram are not exclusive and other steps may be included or one or more of the steps in the example flow diagram may be deleted without affecting the scope of the present disclosure.

Claim 1:
A method performed by a wireless device (<NUM>) in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:
receiving a radio resource control, RRC, release message comprising dedicated reselection information for a cell reselection and information for a timer related to the dedicated reselection information,
wherein the dedicated reselection information comprises at least one of:
a list of frequencies, or
a corresponding dedicated priority for each frequency in the list, or
slice-related information comprising a network slice identifier, ID, for at least one frequency in the list;
starting the timer upon receiving the information for the timer;
performing the cell reselection to a cell on a frequency supporting a network slice preferred by the wireless device while the timer is running,
wherein the frequency supporting the network slice preferred by the wireless device is identified based on the slice-related information in the dedicated reselection information; and
upon an expiry of the timer:
performing an RRC connection establishment with a network; and
transmitting, to the network, slice information preferred by the wireless device,
wherein the slice information comprises frequency information informing at least one frequency supporting one or more network slices preferred by the wireless device, and
wherein the slice information is transmitted to the network after a completion of the RRC connection establishment with the network.