Patent Description:
The present application claims the Paris Convention priority of European patent application <CIT>.

Third and fourth generation mobile telecommunication systems, such as those based on the Third Generation Project Partnership (3GPP) defined Universal Mobile Telecommunications Standard (UMTS) and Long Term Evolution (LTE) architecture are able to support more sophisticated services than simple voice and messaging services offered by previous generations of mobile telecommunication systems. The demand to deploy third and fourth generation networks is therefore strong and the coverage area of these networks, i.e. geographic locations where access to the networks is possible, is expected to increase rapidly. However, whilst fourth generation networks can support communications at high data rate and low latencies from devices such as smart phones and tablet computers, it is expected that future wireless communications networks, will be expected to efficiently support communications with a much wider range of devices associated with a wider range of data traffic profiles, for example including reduced complexity devices, machine type communication devices, high resolution video displays and virtual reality headsets. Some of these different types of devices may be deployed in very large numbers, for example low complexity devices for supporting the "The Internet of Things", and may typically be associated with the transmissions of relatively small amounts of data with relatively high latency tolerance, whereas other types of device, for example supporting high-definition video streaming, may be associated with transmissions of relatively large amounts of data with relatively low latency tolerance.

There is therefore expected to be a desire for future wireless communications networks, which may be referred to as <NUM> or new radio access technology (which may be denoted new RAT or, simply, NR) networks, to support efficiently connectivity for a wide range of devices associated with different applications with different characteristic data traffic profiles, resulting in different devices having different operating characteristics and/or requirements.

The introduction of new radio access technology (RAT) systems / networks therefore gives rise to new opportunities as well as challenges. One such challenge is how to adapt presently used protocols and procedures such that they can work with both legacy (i.e. LTE) devices and NR devices. An example of this would be a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), which is different for NR than for LTE; an LTE UE will not be able to use NR-PDCP. The document: "<NPL>, discloses the use of a UE with two PDCP entities.

Embodiments of the present technique can provide a communications device configured to transmit or receive signals via a wireless access interface provided by the wireless communications network to or from one or more infrastructure equipment forming part of the wireless communications network, wherein the communications device is configured, during of a Radio Resource Control, RRC, connection establishment procedure, to receive a first message from one of the infrastructure equipment comprising an indication that the infrastructure equipment is capable of operating in accordance with a packet data convergence protocol, PDCP, in accordance with a first radio access technology, to establish a PDCP entity based on the indication received in the first message, and subsequently to transmit a second message to the infrastructure equipment comprising an indication that the communications device is capable of operating in accordance with one or both of the PDCP in accordance with the first radio access technology and a PDCP in accordance with a second radio access technology.

Embodiments of the present technique, which further relate to infrastructure equipment, communications systems, methods of operating communications devices, infrastructure equipment and communications systems, and circuitry for communications devices, infrastructure equipment and communications systems, allow for the configuration of NR-PDCP for master cell group (MCG) signalling radio bearers (SRBs) when the MCG is LTE, where the communications devices may be either NR devices supporting LTE-NR dual connectivity or legacy devices.

Respective aspects and features of the present invention are defined in the appended independent claims.

The claimed invention corresponds to <FIG>, <FIG> and to the related text in the description. The remaining figures and the text of the description are intended to better explain the invention.

As mentioned above, the embodiments of the present invention can find application with advanced wireless communications systems such as those referred to as <NUM> or New Radio (NR) Access Technology. It has been proposed to develop a new Radio Access Technology (RAT) for the next generation wireless communication system, i.e. <NUM>, and in 3GPP a Study Item (SI) on NR has been agreed [<NUM>] in order to study and develop the new RAT. The new RAT is expected to operate in a large range of frequencies, from hundreds of MHz to <NUM> and it is expected to cover a broad range of use cases. The use cases that are considered under this SI include:.

The aim of <NUM> is not only mobile connectivity for people, but to provide ubiquitous connectivity for any type of device and any type of application that would benefit from being connected. Many requirements and use-cases are still being discussed, but amongst those are:.

An example configuration of a wireless communications network which uses some of the terminology proposed for NR and <NUM> is shown in <FIG>. In <FIG> a plurality of transmission and reception points (TRP) <NUM> are connected to distributed control units (DU) <NUM>, <NUM> by a connection interface represented as a line <NUM>. Each of the transmitter receiver points (TRP) <NUM> is arranged to transmit and receive signals via a wireless access interface within a radio frequency bandwidth available to the wireless communications network. Thus within a range for performing radio communications via the wireless access interface. each of the TRP <NUM>, forms a cell of the wireless communications network as represented by a dashed line <NUM>. As such wireless communications devices <NUM> which are within a radio communications range provided by the cells <NUM> can transmit and receive signals to and from the TRP <NUM> via the wireless access interface. Each of the distributed control units <NUM>, <NUM> are connected to a coordinating unit (CU) <NUM> via an interface <NUM>. The CU <NUM> is then connected to the a core network <NUM> which may contain all other functions required for communicating data to and from the wireless communications devices and the core network <NUM> may be connected to other networks <NUM>.

The elements of the wireless access network shown in <FIG> may operate in a similar way to corresponding elements of an LTE network well-known and defined in the relevant standards administered by the 3GPP (RTM) body, and also described in many books on the subject, for example, Holma H.

The transceiver processors TRP <NUM> of <FIG> may in part have a corresponding functionality to a base station or eNodeB of an LTE network, and so the terms TRP and eNodeB in the following description are interchangeable. Base stations, which are an example of radio network infrastructure equipment, may also be referred to as transceiver stations / NodeBs / eNodeBs (eNBs) / gNodeBs (gNBs), and so forth. Similarly the communications devices <NUM> may have a functionality corresponding to devices know for operation with an LTE network and may also be referred to as mobile stations, user equipment (UE), user terminal, terminal device, mobile radio, communications device, and so forth. It will be appreciated therefore that operational aspects of a new RAT network (for example in relation to specific communication protocols and physical channels for communicating between different elements) may be different to those known from LTE or other known mobile telecommunications standards. However, it will also be appreciated that each of the core network component, base stations and terminal devices of a new RAT network will be functionally similar to, respectively, the core network component, base stations and terminal devices of an LTE wireless communications network.

At least for initial deployment, NR and LTE are expected to coexist. In NR, there are in general two operational modes. These are a tight interworking mode and standalone mode. In tight interworking mode, an NR eNodeB works together with an LTE eNodeB. This may occur using an approach similar to, for example, dual connectivity (as known in LTE), and may include, for example, the LTE eNodeB working as an anchor eNodeB for the <NUM> NR eNodeB. On the other hand, in standalone mode, an NR eNodeB could work independently without the assistance of an LTE eNodeB. The Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) operates differently in NR and LTE, and so for LTE-NR dual connectivity deployments, when UEs may capable of operating in accordance with either NR or LTE, it is necessary to determine what capability the UEs have, and therefore whether to use NR-PDCP or LTE-PDCP at a time of Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection establishment.

Some appreciation of the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) can be garnered from many sources, such as [<NUM>]. The PDCP layer runs on top of the radio resource control (RLC) layer, and the Medium Access Control (MAC) layer. A PDCP is used to perform the PDCP functions, and this can be configured either with both a transmitting and a receiving side (for a bidirectional radio bearer), or only one of a transmitting and a receiving side (for a unidirectional radio bearer). Radio bearers utilizing PDCP entities can be categorized into Signalling Radio Bearer (SRB) and Data Radio Bearers (DRBs), where the DRBs can be either, RLC Acknowledged Mode (AM), which includes Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ) for error-free packet delivery or RLC Unacknowledged Mode (UM), where retransmission is not necessary. The PDCP control unit manages control information generated by the PDCP entity. Two kinds of control information are defined: PDCP status report and Robust Header Compression (ROHC) feedback. The PDCP entity performs header compression, security functions, handover support functions, maintenance of PDCP sequence numbers for SRB and DRB and timer-based SDU discard for SRB and DRB.

There was a discussion during a 3GPP meeting documented in [<NUM>] on which PDCP entity should be configured for master cell group (MCG)-SRBs. It was already agreed that the UE and the network will use NR-PDCP for MCG split bearers, secondary cell group (SCG) bearers and SCG split bearers if the UE/network support dual connectivity between LTE and NR. If the UE uses NR-PDCP for MCG-SRBs as well, then there is no need to maintain two PDCP entity types (i.e. both LTE-PDCP and NR-PDCP) in the UE and network for the UE and network supporting dual connectivity, as shown in <FIG>. It is possible to use NR-PDCP for DRBs anchored in the LTE MCG, as also shown in <FIG>.

In [<NUM>], it was agreed that the PDCP configuration should be included within the NR RRC PDU from the secondary node to allow direct SCG SRB reconfiguration of PDCP, and that it was assumed that the SRB or DRB ID is used from the linking. It was also agreed that either LTE or NR PDCP could be used, and that this would be configurable by the network. No clear consensus was reached however, and no concrete solutions were proposed. The following points in [<NUM>], labelled as those for further study, are addressed by embodiments of the present technique:.

If the first and second of the above points are resolved, and NR-PDCP is always configured for MCG SRB, then reconfiguration without handover may not be needed. To start with, it is good to know the difference between LTE-PDCP and NR-PDCP for the configuration of SRB1, which is that LTE uses PDCP sequence number (SN) based reception mechanism, whereas NR-PDCP will use COUNT instead of PDCP SN. COUNT comprises PDCP SN, so from a functional point of view, NR-PDCP also takes the Hyper Frame Number (HFN) value, which is a number which is incremented each time the PDCP SN wraps around, into account in addition to the PDCP SN. This is the main difference between LTE PDCP and NR-PDCP in the context of SRB1.

LTE SRB handling, and the assumed NR SRB handling is described below, with some wording being taken from the 3GPP Technical Specification <NUM> [<NUM>]:
For SRBs, at reception of a PDCP Data PDU from lower layers, the UE shall:.

At reception of a PDCP Data PDU from lower layers, the receiving PDCP entity shall determine the COUNT value of the received PDCP PDU, i.e. RCVD_COUNT, as follows:.

After determining the COUNT value of the received PDCP PDU = RCVD_COUNT, the receiving PDCP entity shall:.

If the received PDCP PDU with COUNT value = RCVD_COUNT is not discarded above, the receiving PDCP entity shall:.

Some other differences between LTE and NR-PDCP are described below. The intention is to establish what different handling is required if NR-PDCP is used instead of LTE-PDCP, and at what stage the network and UE must start using NR-PDCP, if NR-PDCP is selected for SRB:.

It is necessary to determine at what stage the network configures a UE to use NR-PDCP for MCG-SRB. It may be the case that either the UE or network, or both the UE and the network, do not support MCG SRB on NR-PDCP. In such a case, unnecessary switching between LTE-PDCP and NR-PDCP should be avoided. Embodiments of the present technique seek to resolve this problem.

No PDCP entity is used for the transmission/reception of MSG1, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>. The earliest possibility at which a UE can be configured to use NR-PDCP is during MSG4 (transmitted on the downlink). UE capability information is needed before MSG4, and there has already been a proposal in [<NUM>] for MSG3 to include UE NR-PDCP capability. One drawback of using MSG3 for this purpose is that there is only one spare bit left in MSG3, and so MSG3 should not be used for this purpose if an alternative solution is found.

<FIG> illustrates one such solution. <FIG> is a message flow diagram showing a message exchange between a communications device <NUM> and an infrastructure equipment <NUM> in accordance with embodiments of the present technique. The communications device <NUM> is configured to transmit or receive signals via a wireless access interface provided by a wireless communications network to or from one or more infrastructure equipment <NUM> forming part of the wireless communications network, wherein the communications device <NUM> is configured, at the time of a Radio Resource Control, RRC, connection establishment procedure, to receive <NUM> a first message from one of the infrastructure equipment <NUM> comprising an indication that the infrastructure equipment <NUM> is capable of operating in accordance with a packet data convergence protocol, PDCP, in accordance with a first radio access technology, to establish <NUM> a PDCP entity based on the indication received in the first message, and subsequently to transmit <NUM> a second message to the infrastructure equipment <NUM> comprising an indication that the communications device <NUM> is capable of operating in accordance with one or both of the PDCP in accordance with the first radio access technology and a PDCP in accordance with a second radio access technology.

In some embodiments, the second message is transmitted by the communications device using the PDCP entity that it established based on the indication received in the first message.

<FIG> is a message flow diagram showing a message exchange between a communications device <NUM> and an infrastructure equipment <NUM> in accordance with embodiments of the present technique. <FIG> is substantially equivalent to <FIG>, but demonstrates the process from the viewpoint of the network. The infrastructure equipment <NUM>, which forms part of the wireless communications network, is configured to transmit or receive signals via a wireless access interface provided by the wireless communications network to or from one or more communications devices <NUM>, wherein the infrastructure equipment <NUM> is configured, at the time of a Radio Resource Control, RRC, connection establishment procedure, to transmit <NUM> a first message to one of the communications devices <NUM> comprising an indication that the infrastructure equipment <NUM> is capable of operating in accordance with a packet data convergence protocol, PDCP, in accordance with a first radio access technology, to receive <NUM> a second message from the communications device <NUM> comprising an indication that the communications device <NUM> is capable of operating in accordance with one or both of the PDCP in accordance with the first radio access technology and a PDCP in accordance with a second radio access technology, and to select <NUM> the PDCP in accordance with the first radio access technology for future communications with the communications device <NUM> if the communications device <NUM> is capable of operating in accordance with the PDCP in accordance with the first radio access technology, or else to select the PDCP in accordance with the second radio access technology for future communications with the communications device <NUM>.

In some embodiments relating to <FIG> and <FIG>, the first message forms part of a random access procedure between the communications device and the infrastructure equipment. In some embodiments relating to <FIG> and <FIG>, the first radio access technology is New Radio (NR), and/or the second radio access technology is Long Term Evolution (LTE).

Such solutions as illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG> constitute blind activation without the network knowing the UE's capability of NR-PDCP in MSG4. If the UE does not understand the Non Critical Extension in Abstract Syntax Notation <NUM> (ASN. <NUM>), then it will continue using LTE-PDCP in MSG5. Example changes to MSG4 are shown in <FIG> (the text written in darker font), whereby a new "SRB to Add" information element (IE) is included (RadioResourceConfigDedicated). Legacy UEs will ignore this IE, and UEs capable of E-UTRA-NR Dual Connectivity (EN-DC) will configure NR-PDCP for SRB1.

Alternatively to transmitting it in the first message as defined by <FIG> and <FIG>, the network's capability to support NR-PDCP may be broadcast. Therefore, in some embodiments, the first message is received from the infrastructure equipment as a broadcast. In general, the broadcast of network capability is not a particularly nice solution, but 3GPP is investigating whether an eNodeB can broadcast, in an LTE cell, the capability to perform LTE-NR dual connectivity. This use case is related to service indication, like the High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) indicator in UTRA, but it can be used as an indication showing network capability. The network must then be prepared to receive MSG5 both on LTE-PDCP and on NR-PDCP.

In some embodiments, MSG1 or MSG3 resource allocation is different compared to legacy UEs. This will result in duplicate resource allocation for a UE, assuming it will pick one of these allocated resources based on its PDCP capability. In other words, the communications device is configured to receive an indication of a first set of communications resources from one of the infrastructure equipment and to receive an indication of a second set of communications resources from the infrastructure equipment, and to transmit signals comprising data to the infrastructure equipment in the first set of communications resources if the communications device is capable of operating in accordance with the PDCP in accordance with the first radio access technology and to transmit signals comprising data to the infrastructure equipment in the second set of communications resources if the communications device is not capable of operating in accordance with the PDCP in accordance with the first radio access technology.

In such embodiments described above, the UE behaviour for MSG5 is largely the same, i.e. the UE will use NR-PDCP for MSG5 if it is capable of doing so, and has successfully decoded MSG4 or the broadcast or any other alternative in which the network indicated its own capability of using NR-PDCP. RRC MSG5 will include the UE's capability or support for NR-PDCP, and the network may decode MSG5 using either NR-PDCP or LTE-PDCP because the HFN part (which as described above is the main difference between NR-PDCP and LTE-PDCP) may not be necessary to receive MSG5 in NR-PDCP and so therefore the operation of NR-PDCP is essentially the same as for LTE-PDCP in terms of MSG5 reception. HFN desynchronization is not a problem when PDCP SN has just been initialised. On reception of this message and a new IE, the network will change the configuration of PDCP, if required. The changes to MSG5 are shown in <FIG>.

As described above, in some embodiments, the indication transmitted in the second message is comprised within an RRC IE of the second message. However, alternatively, embodiments of the present technique may use a new bit in the PDCP header to indicate that the NR-PDCP protocol has been used. This will avoid reconfiguration on the network side as described above. For this purpose, the reserved (R) bit can be used. The LTE-PDCP layer does not look into the R bit, and it always assumed to be set to "<NUM>". If the UE supports NR-PDCP then, in one of the embodiments, the R bit in NR-PDCP header is set to "<NUM>".

<FIG> illustrates the format of the PDCP Data Protocol Data Unit (PDU), with <NUM> bits PDCP SN, which is applicable for SRBs. Here, the R bits <NUM> can be seen, and in LTE-PDCP as described above, is set to "<NUM>" and these reserved bits will be ignored by the receiver. The intention is the second bit is used instead of the first bit in order to avoid confusion with the DRB PDU. So, the network side PDCP, while receiving MSG5, will need to check if the R bit has been set to "<NUM>" and then decide on that basis which PDCP entity to choose. There could be a layer sandwiched between the RLC and PDCP layers on the network side which checks only the setting of the R bit field in the PDCP header by the UE. In these embodiments, the network always allocates NR-PDCP to the UE. If the R bit is set to "<NUM>" then NR-PDCP sets up LTE-PDCP for the UE. This may be done via RRC or via control software on the eNodeB side. In other words, the indication transmitted in the second message is comprised within a PDCP header of the second message.

Alternatively still, a new bit in the RLC header may be used, and if the NR-PDCP resides in a different location then the RLC layer needs to route the PDCP PDU to the correct PDCP entity. In other words the indication transmitted in the second message may be comprised within a Radio Link Control (RLC) header of the second message. Further, it may be that the indication transmitted in the second message is comprised within a Medium Access Control (MAC) header of the second message.

Two MSG3 sizes have been agreed in 3GPP, and RA partitioning corresponding to each MSG3 size for NR is needed. According to some embodiments of the present technique, one of the MSG3 sizes is linked to the support of NR-PDCP and is based on RA partition. This is related to the embodiment described above in which a new bit in the RLC header is used to indicate whether or not the network is capable of using NR-PDCP. In some further embodiments, one of the MSG3 sizes being linked to the support of NR-PDCP may be used in conjunction with the new bit in the RLC header indicating whether or not the network is capable of using NR-PDCP.

In further embodiments of the present technique, a preamble is assigned for initial access of UEs capable of using NR-PDCP for SRB1, so that the network is aware of the UE's capability. In other words, the communications device is configured to determine that the communications device should transmit data to the wireless communications network, and to transmit an initial access signal to one of the infrastructure equipment, wherein a preamble of the initial access signal comprises an indication that the communications device is capable of operating in accordance with one or both of the PDCP in accordance with the first radio access technology and the PDCP in accordance with the second radio access technology.

<FIG> shows an overview of the present technique, encompassing at least some of the embodiments of the present technique as described above, implemented in a communications system comprising a communications device (UE) <NUM> and an infrastructure equipment (eNodeB) <NUM>. Each of the UE <NUM> and the eNB <NUM> comprise an RRC layer <NUM>, <NUM>, an LTE-PDCP layer <NUM>, <NUM>, an NR-PDCP layer <NUM>, <NUM>, an RLC layer <NUM>, <NUM> and a MAC layer <NUM>, <NUM>. A MSG3 transmission request <NUM> is transmitted from the RRC layer <NUM> to the MAC layer <NUM> of the UE <NUM>. In response, a preamble resource selection <NUM> is carried out at the MAC layer <NUM>, and transmitted to the MAC layer <NUM> of the eNB <NUM> as part of MSG1 of a random access procedure. Based on this, a Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI) <NUM> is allocated by the MAC layer <NUM> of the eNB <NUM> and this is transmitted to the MAC layer <NUM> of the UE <NUM> as part of MSG2 <NUM>. The MAC layer <NUM> of the UE <NUM> then transmits MSG3 <NUM> to the MAC layer <NUM> of the eNB <NUM>, and this is forwarded <NUM> to the RRC layer <NUM> of the eNB <NUM>, where PDCP and RLC entities are allocated <NUM>. The RRC layer <NUM> of the eNB <NUM> then configures both the PDCP <NUM> and RLC <NUM> entities on the basis of this, and transmits MSG4 <NUM> to the RRC layer <NUM> of the UE <NUM>, which includes the NR-PDCP configuration in Non-Critical Extension. At the UE's <NUM> RRC layer <NUM>, an attempt is made to comprehend the PDCP configuration <NUM> based on the capability of the UE <NUM>. If comprehended, then the UE configures the NR-PDCP entity. To do so, the RRC layer <NUM> of the UE <NUM> transmits a dedicated control channel (DCCH) <NUM> to the NR-PDCP layer <NUM> comprising MSG5. At the NR-PDCP layer <NUM>, the reserved (R) field may be set to "<NUM>" <NUM> in the PDCP header, and MSG5 is then forwarded <NUM> to the RLC layer <NUM> and forwarded again <NUM> to the MAC layer <NUM>, where it is transmitted <NUM> to the MAC layer <NUM> of the eNB <NUM>. The MAC layer <NUM> then forwards MSG5 <NUM> to the RLC layer <NUM>, and regardless of its composition (i.e. in relation to any indication of the UE's support of NR-PDCP), this is forwarded <NUM>, <NUM> to the NR-PDCP layer <NUM> of the eNB <NUM>. At the NR-PDCP layer <NUM>, it may the case that LTE-PDCP is selected if the UE does not support NR-PDCP <NUM>, but in any case, MSG5 is finally forwarded <NUM> to the RRC layer <NUM> of the eNB <NUM>.

<FIG> shows a first flow diagram illustrating a process of communications in a communications system in accordance with embodiments of the present technique. The method, which is a method of operating a communications device configured to transmit or receive signals via a wireless access interface provided by a wireless communications network to or from one or more infrastructure equipment forming part of the wireless communications network, begins in step S90. The method comprises, at the time of a Radio Resource Control, RRC, connection establishment procedure, in step S92, receiving a first message from one of the infrastructure equipment comprising an indication that the infrastructure equipment is capable of operating in accordance with a packet data convergence protocol, PDCP, in accordance with a first radio access technology. In step S94, the method comprises establishing a PDCP entity based on the indication received in the first message, and subsequently in step S96, transmitting a second message to the infrastructure equipment comprising an indication that the communications device is capable of operating in accordance with one or both of the PDCP in accordance with the first radio access technology and a PDCP in accordance with a second radio access technology. The process ends in step S98.

<FIG> shows a second flow diagram illustrating a process of communications in a communications system in accordance with embodiments of the present technique. The method, which is a method of operating an infrastructure equipment forming part of a wireless communications network configured to transmit or receive signals via a wireless access interface provided by the wireless communications network to or from one or more communications devices, begins in step S100. The method comprises, at the time of a Radio Resource Control, RRC, connection establishment procedure, in step S102, transmitting a first message to one of the communications devices comprising an indication that the infrastructure equipment is capable of operating in accordance with a packet data convergence protocol, PDCP, in accordance with a first radio access technology. In step S104, the method comprises receiving a second message from the communications device comprising an indication that the communications device is capable of operating in accordance with one or both of the PDCP in accordance with the first radio access technology and a PDCP in accordance with a second radio access technology, and in step S106, selecting the PDCP in accordance with the first radio access technology for future communications with the communications device if the communications device is capable of operating in accordance with the PDCP in accordance with the first radio access technology, or else selecting the PDCP in accordance with the second radio access technology for future communications with the communications device. The process ends in step S98.

As described above, embodiments of the present technique allow for the configuration of NR-PDCP for master cell group (MCG) signalling radio bearers (SRBs), where the communications devices may be either NR devices supporting LTE-NR dual connectivity or legacy devices.

Embodiments of the present technique also relate to infrastructure equipment and communications systems as described in the preceding paragraphs in relation to communications devices, along with methods of operating and circuitry for the same. Those skilled in the art would appreciate that such infrastructure equipment and/or communications systems may be further defined in accordance with the various arrangements and embodiments discussed in the preceding paragraphs.

Claim 1:
Circuitry for a communications device configured to transmit or receive signals via a wireless access interface provided by a wireless communications network to or from one or more infrastructure equipment forming part of the wireless communications network, wherein the circuitry is configured to perform steps including,
receiving (S92) a broadcast message from one of the infrastructure equipment comprising an indication that the infrastructure equipment is capable of operating in accordance with a packet data convergence protocol, PDCP, in accordance with a first radio access technology,
establishing (S94) a PDCP entity, and subsequently
transmitting (S96) a Radio Resource Control, RRC, Connection Setup Complete message to the infrastructure equipment comprising an indication that the communications device is capable of operating in accordance with one or both of the PDCP in accordance with the first radio access technology and a PDCP in accordance with a second radio access technology.