Patent ID: 12255977

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Certain aspects of the present disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. In some embodiments, the network is able to transmit an indication of one or more protocols that are supported by the base station for transmission of capability information. The indication may also identify a priority associated with each of the one or more protocols. This may therefore be an indication to the UE both what transmission protocols the network supports and which of those protocols the base station prefers.

In some embodiments, the UE may, among all the protocols for transmission of capability information that it supports, select a protocol that is associated with a highest priority from a network/gNB indication.

If the UE doesn't support any of the capability transmission method, it may fall back to a lowest priority or a legacy protocol that the UE is aware is supported by the network.

In some embodiments, the indication from the base station further comprises a size indication associated with each of the one or more protocols respectively, wherein the size indicator indicates one of: a maximum size of a message to be transmitted by the wireless device comprising the capability information, or a number of messages to be transmitted by the wireless device to transmit the capability information. The size indication can be expressed in, e.g., bits, or in number of segments for the transmission method that relates to segmentation for example.

In some embodiments, the indication identifies a filter associated with each of the one or more protocols respectively, wherein the filter indicates which capability information the wireless device should transmit according to the associated protocol. If there is a list received from the network of different prioritized protocols, these can also have an associated filter. This means that, e.g., if the UE supports a protocol that allows for transmission of a lot of capability information, the base station may be interested in the UE transmitting as much capability information as possible, whereas if the UE is only supporting a protocol that allows for much less capability information to be transmitted, then the base station may be interested in a subset of the capability information.

In some examples, the one or more protocols may comprise a plurality of protocols utilizing compression. The indication may indicate that some protocols utilizing compression are more suitable to use than others.

The priority indication can be performed in several different ways. For example, one possibility is to associate a priority value with each indicated protocol. Another possibility is to sort the list of protocols into priority order (increasing or decreasing) such that the UE would understand which protocol is the preferred protocol from the list, based on the order in which the protocols are listed.

There are, proposed herein, various embodiments which address one or more of the issues disclosed herein.

Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s). Embodiments described herein address the problem of indicating a capability transmission method from the gNB/network to the UE without knowing what the UE is supporting.

Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Other embodiments, however, are contained within the scope of the subject matter disclosed herein, the disclosed subject matter should not be construed as limited to only the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

Embodiments will now be described with reference to the 5G system and architecture for 5G and various state machines.

One “state machine” is the connection management state model or CM-state model.

Generally, connection management comprises of functions for establishing and releasing signaling connections between a UE and core network node, for 5G this node may be an AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function).

FIG.2illustrates an example of a 5G system architecture, including Nodes (e.g., AMF, UE, (R)AN) and interface names. Connection management may relate to signaling connection over the N1 interface illustrated inFIG.2.

The signaling connection over N1 may be used to enable Non-Access-Stratum (NAS) signaling exchange between the UE and the core network. The N1 interface may comprise both the access node (AN) signaling connection between the UE and the AN (Access Node) and the N2 connection, between the AN and the AMF (as also shown inFIG.2).

There may be two CM-states defined, CM-IDLE and CM-CONNECTED.

A UE in CM-IDLE may have no NAS signaling connection established over N1 to the AMF whereas if it is in CM-CONNECTED, there is a signaling connection.

In a similar way as in the AMF, there may also be a state model in the AN, the access network.

Hereafter, the term “gNB” is used for the access network node, but it may equally well be another node type, e.g., an ng-eNB, an eNB. The term “gNB” shall thus be considered an example, rather than a limitation in the applicability of the present disclosure.

One state model in the gNB is the RRC State machine, as illustrated inFIG.3.

A UE may either be in RRC_CONNECTED, RRC_INACTIVE or RRC_IDLE.

FIG.3illustrates the intention with which the RRC State machine will work, and the messages used to trigger/transition a UE between the states. The figure shows the principles for transition.

The mapping between the different state machines, the one in the AN and the one in AMF (such as those shown inFIGS.2and3), is such that CM-CONNECTED can map to either RRC_CONNECTED or RRC_INACTIVE—while CM-IDLE always map to RRC_IDLE.

A UE is either in RRC_CONNECTED state or in RRC_INACTIVE state when an RRC connection has been established. If this is not the case, i.e. no RRC connection is established, the UE is in RRC_IDLE state.

When, for example, a UE registers with the network a signaling sequence takes place that starts with the UE sending an RRC setup request/establishment request to an NG-RAN node. This request is sent to establish a signaling connection that would allow transmission of control messages, both to RAN, but also messages that go to a core network node, such as an AMF over the N1 interface. In example embodiments of the present disclosure, the main interfaces involved are:1) The interface between the AMF and the NG RAN node (e.g., gNB, ng-eNB) This is referred to as NGAP or N2 interface.2) The interface between the AMF and the UE. This is referred to as the N1 interface. Sometimes the term NAS signaling will be mentioned. This refers to signaling that is sent on the N1 interface, i.e., it is not interpreted by the NG-RAN node even though of course the RAN node is involved in forwarding the NAS messages.3) The interface between the NG-RAN node and the UE. This is referred to as the Uu interface and the relevant signaling protocol over this interface is the RRC, the Radio Resource Control Protocol.

Turning now to the signaling, mainly between these nodes, in connection to an initial registration scenario.

While there may be variations to the sequence of signalling, and different radio access technologies have different naming conventions on the signals, the illustration included inFIG.4depicts an example of use of a Capability ID.

The signaling starts between a UE and gNB, with the setup of an RRC connection. Step1-3inFIG.4illustrate this. The setup complete message may include a piggybacked NAS message, or alternatively, the NAS transport in the uplink may happen after some information exchange between the gNB and the AMF after having sent the Initial UE message.

In one example the Capability ID may be included in the Initial UE message to the AMF. i.e., it includes that the NAS message piggybacked in the Setup Complete step3. In this example, the Capability ID reaches the AMF prior to transmission of the InitialContextSetupRequest from the AMF to the gNB.

Once the InitialContextSetupRequest is received in the gNB, the gNB detects if there is a Capability ID it can interpret in the InitialContextSetupRequest and, in particular if there is sufficient capability information in the mapping of this Capability ID.

If the information corresponding to the Capability ID that is available in the gNB is not deemed sufficient, or alternatively, if no mapping data or perhaps not any explicit information either was available, neither in the AMF nor in the gNB, the gNB may need to commence the process of requesting capability information in the enquiry-information exchange between the gNB and the UE. It will be appreciated that this procedure is in this illustration executed after security command, i.e., after setup of security between the UE and the gNB. Dependent on the sensitivity level of the Capability ID this may be preferred. If the Capability ID is not sensitive to, e.g., eavesdropping, it may be possible to run the enquiry procedure prior to security is activated.

The information exchange in the enquiry/information may also include the actual Capability ID.

Once the capability information is received by the gNB, the gNB may then have all the capability information that it needs and gNB would then typically, in cases when the AMF didn't have any information, update the AMF with the capability information for that particular UE. The AMF will then indirectly also get mapping data, i.e., an interpretation of the Capability ID that it can also store in a mapping table.

According to some examples, signaling of capability information may also be addressed by actually optimizing the capability enquiry and the capability information transmission, not by replacing everything with a Capability ID, but by introducing other mechanisms.

The optimization of transmission in the enquiry-information exchange may be needed irrespective of if there is a Capability ID implemented or not. In certain networks, there may not be a solution for transmitting a Capability ID in the first place, and then, the UE capability enquiry/information procedure will always be used when capabilities are not available in any of the network nodes.

Thus, different protocols to improve transmission of capability information in the enquiry/information exchange are considered. As an example, a protocol utilising compression to transmit the capability information may be considered. With compression, it may be possible to reduce a lot of capability information to a smaller amount of capability information without losing content. Examples of compression are, e.g., well known zip-compression and gzip. It is generally referred to as loss-less compression as no data is really lost. To compress information, a dictionary may be used and then, instead of repetitively sending a long string, a shorter string, a shorter word is sent, according to the dictionary.

There may be different types of dictionaries and methods on how to treat them. In one example, the dictionary can be transmitted together with the actual capability information. Dictionaries may be, e.g., static or dynamic dependent on how changes to the dictionary are introduced. With compression algorithms, it may therefore be possible to take large amounts of information and represent it with a lesser amount. The efficiency of the compression will depend on variability of the actual data being compressed, the configuration of the compression method, and on the dictionary type used among other things. In some situations, it may even be possible that compression yield a longer sequence than the uncompressed string.

Another mechanism considered to transmit capability information from the UE to the network is to consider if it can be done by sending it not in one segment or message but in several segments. There is currently no method for transmitting capability information in more than one PDCP data unit and there are limitations to how much data this can contain. If however, it was possible to send several data units, it would be possible to send more data, which in this example, amounts to more capability information.

The maximum anticipated size for combined size of capability information for the E-UTRA. NR, new radio, and dual-connectivity (DC) radio capabilities might be very large (several tens of kilo-octets). Currently the PDCP protocol limits the single-shot capability signaling to 8188 octets in E-UTRAN and 9000 octets in NR.

Thus, RRC signaling could be segmented. In this way, a UE may provide the capability information in segments, each of having maximum size of 9000 bytes. An example of segmenting of capability information is illustrated inFIG.5.

There are also different ways in which the segmentation may be standardized or done. For example, each segment may be decoded by the receiver, the gNB, or each segment may be sent such that all segments need to be gathered before it can be decoded.

Both compression and segmentation are considered as options for protocols that allow the UE to transfer more capability information to the network node, i.e., the NG-RAN node. Even combinations of these and other protocols may be considered.

Irrespective of what protocols are specified or supported by the network, it may be necessary for the network and the UE to be able to exchange information about which protocols it supports, and what protocol to use in a capability information transmission.

The network may typically broadcast necessary information to the UE that the UE needs to know to access the network from RRC_IDLE mode and RRC_INACTIVE mode. Once the UE is in RRC_CONNECTED, signalling can be made dedicated to specific UEs.

The only occasion when the UE transfers explicit capability information is in the capability enquiry/information procedure and this procedure may usually start from RRC_CONNECTED with the transmission of a UECapabilityEnquiry message, i.e., a request from the network, as described above. Thus, to determine what, of several possible available formats to transfer UE capability information, there is thus no need to broadcast any information, as the indication of which protocol(s) the UE may select may be included in the enquiry message.

One of the challenges is that the network has, at the point when it sends the enquiry, usually no information about what protocol(s) the UE supports. The UE may not necessarily have implemented all possible capability transmission protocols, and may only know, for example, how to send one RRC message without any compression. In other words, the UE may only be able to transmit capability using a legacy protocol, for example with no compression or segmentation.

Thus, in some examples, there may be at least three different protocols in which the UE may send capability information to the gNB in the UECapabilityInformation message:a) Capability information as the legacy way, e.g., one RRC segment, no compressionb) Capability information in RRC segmented fashion, including more than one segmentc) Capability information compressed with a compression algorithm (and possible options of this).

Combinations of these protocols may be used.

From this perspective, in some embodiments, a network node may initiate transmission to a wireless device of an indication of one or more protocols that are supported by the network for transmission of capability information. The network node may comprise the base station, or may comprise another network node, configured to provide control to the base station.

Responsive to the wireless device supporting at least one of the one or more protocols, the wireless device may then transmit capability information associated with the wireless device according a first protocol of the one or more protocols. In other words, the wireless device may select a protocol from the protocols supported by the network that the wireless device also supports.

In some examples, the indication identifies a priority associated with each of the one or more protocols. The wireless device may then select the first protocol by selecting a protocol associated with a highest priority from the at least one of the one or more protocols supported by the wireless device. In some cases, the “priority” may be seen as a defining a required behaviour that the wireless device should use, i.e. to select the protocol with the highest possible priority. An alternative is to use a priority to indicate a preference of the network node, that the wireless device may adhere to but the wireless device would still be allowed to use another protocol, if this is more preferable for the wireless device.

If the wireless device supports many protocols, but the network prioritizes usage of only one or two methods, then, the network node may not have to include all protocols that the base station supports.

The wireless device may therefore select the first protocol by selecting a protocol associated with a highest priority from the at least one of the one or more protocols supported by the wireless device. This way, it is possible to control, from the network, what protocol the wireless device selects to transfer capability invocation and at the same time doing this without knowing which protocols the wireless device supports.

The indication may identify a priority associated with each of the one or more protocols by listing the one or more protocols in order of priority.

The indication may identify a priority associated with each of the one or more protocols by associating each of the one or more protocols with an explicit priority value.

The following illustrates an example of an indication transmitted from the network to the wireless device:Capability message RRC Segmentation, 5Capability information-R15

This may then be interpreted by the wireless device as indicating that the network supports receiving capability information in up to 5 RRC segments (a first protocol) and prefers this over sending capability information according to Release 15 (i.e. the legacy protocol).

A second example indication may be:Capability Compression, deflate-Segmentation, 3Capability message RRC segmentation, 5Capability information-R15

The above example indication would mean that the network also supports compression-deflate and that it prefers that, if wireless device also supports this protocol, that this protocol is used preferentially to receiving capability information in up to 5 RRC segments (a first protocol), which is used preferentially over sending capability information according to Release 15 (i.e. the legacy protocol).

The above example indication also identifies a size indication associated with at least one of the one or more protocols respectively, wherein the size indicator indicates one of: a maximum size of a message to be transmitted by the wireless device comprising the capability information, or a number of messages to be transmitted by the wireless device to transmit the capability information. In this example specifically, the size indicator indicates the number of segments or messages to be used by the wireless device to transmit the capability information.

This above example therefore illustrates that the highest priority protocol is to receive capability information compressed and deflated and sent in maximum 3 RRC segments. The 2nd priority is transmitting uncompressed information sent over maximum 5 RRC segments, and the lowest priority protocol is transmitting is capability information according to Release 15, aka the fall back transmission mode.

In another embodiment, the indication may comprise an indication of the type of Capability ID the network would prefer the wireless device to use, for example, the network may indicate:PLMN assigned ID,Vendor assigned IDHash based ID.

This may be interpreted as the network indicating that the preferred type of Capability ID is a PLMN assigned ID, followed by a vendor assigned ID, followed by a hash based ID. In some examples, the wireless device may include the Capability ID together with the requested capability information.

In some embodiments, the last (legacy) option may be omitted and considered a fall back if either the indication is not included at all (this would be the situation for networks that don't support any of the features) or if none of the indicated options are supported by the wireless device.

The option to send capability information explicitly, i.e., in the same way as the fallback method, may not therefore need to be indicated explicitly in the indication.

Since this information may only be relevant in connection to transmission of capability information, in some embodiments, this indication from the network is included in the UECapabilityEnquiry message. In another aspect, there is also an indication included in the UECapabilityInformation message, on what protocol the UE has selected, such that this is explicitly indicated to the network. It may be clear in some cases which protocol is used, e.g., based on how many segments the network receives, but it may be less clear in other cases, e.g., what compression algorithm that may be used for example.

In some examples therefore, a wireless device may follow the indication from the UECapabilityEnquiry message and select a protocol for UECapabilityInformation such that; if more than one protocol is indicated in the UECapabilityEnquiry message, the wireless device may select the highest prioritized method supported by the wireless device. However, if none of the indicated protocols, are supported by the wireless device, the wireless device may select the legacy protocol to transmit the UECapabilityInformation message accordingly. The wireless device may include an indication of the selected protocol in the UECapabilityInformation message.

When a protocol utilising compression is supported, the indication may also identify different priorities (or preferences) for different configuration options that may be available for the compression method. In other words, the one or more protocols may comprise a protocol utilizing compression, and the indication may identify a respective preference associated with each of a plurality of configuration options available for the protocol utilizing compression.

In the case that several protocols utilising compression are supported, the priority associated with each protocol, may comprise a priority associated with each of the different protocols utilising compression.

In alternative embodiments of the present invention, instead of signaling only one filter in the enquiry message, it may be possible to signal more than one filter, such that, dependent on what type of capability transmission the UE supports, it should send different amounts of information. In this way, there will be an automatic connect between what the network requests and what the UE can deliver with its capability signaling means.

In one example of this embodiment of the invention, the indication identifies a filter associated with each of the one or more protocols respectively, wherein the filter indicates which capability information the wireless device should transmit according to the associated protocol.

For example, the capability enquiry message may indicate:Capability Compression, deflate—Segmentation, 4—Filter-1Capability message RRC segmentation, 5—Filter-2Capability information-R15—Filter-3

The difference in filter-1, -2, and -3 may be that to transmit all capability information according to Filter-1 may only be possible if it is connected with a specific transmission functionality. If this is not supported, the UE may instead, e.g., use Filter-3.

The scope of the disclosure is not restricted to capability signaling features such as specific compression and segmentation solutions, or even that both segmentation and compression are options. The connection to a specific filter may also be done in situations when there is a Capability ID for example, as described above, or if there is only support of capability segmentation. In one such example, the prioritized list from the network to the wireless device in the enquiry message may be:RRC-Segmentation, 5—Filter-1Capability information-R15—Filter-3

Thus, more generally, dependent on what feature the wireless device supports, it may select the highest priority protocol, and may prepare a response to send the capability information message according to that protocol.

In some embodiments therefore, the wireless device may follow the indication from the UECapabilityEnquiry message and may select a protocol for transmission of the UECapabilityInformation such that; if more than one protocol is indicated in the UECapabilityEnquiry message, the wireless device may select the highest prioritized protocol supported by the wireless device and may prepare capability information according this filter associated with the selected protocol. If no indicated protocol is supported by the wireless device, the wireless device may transmit UECapabilityInformation message according to R15 and prepare capability information according to this filter associated with the R15 legacy protocol. The wireless device may also include the selected protocol and filter in the UECapabilityInformation message.

FIG.6illustrates steps in the wireless device and in the gNB respectively according to an embodiment.

Changes in Specification

Based on the embodiment shown inFIG.6, the UECapabilityEnquiry message can be enhanced in the TS 38.331 specification using a new IE UE-CapabilitySignalling-RequestList as shown below:

UECapabilityEnquiry information element-- ASN1START--TAG-UECAPABILITYENQUIRY-STARTUECapabilityEnquiry ::= SEQUENCE{rrc-TransactionIdentifier RRC-TransactionIdentifier,criticalExtensions   CHOICE{ueCapabilityEnquiry  UECapabilityEnquiry-IEs,criticalExtensionsFuture SEQUENCE{ }}}UECapabilityEnquiry-IEs ::= SEQUENCE{ue-CapabilityRAT-RequestList UE-CapabilityRAT-RequestList,lateNonCriticalExtension  OCTET STRINGOPTIONAL,nonCriticalExtension   UECapabilityEnquiry-IEs-v16OPTIONAL}UECapabilityEnquiry-IEs-v16-IEs ::= SEQUENCE{ue-CapabilityRAT-RequestList UE-CapabilityRAT-RequestList,ue-CapabilitySignalling-RequestList UE-CapabilitySignalling-RequestList,lateNonCriticalExtension  OCTET STRINGOPTIONAL,nonCriticalExtension   SEQUENCE{ }OPTIONAL}-- TAG-UECAPABILITYENQUIRY-STOP-- ASN1STOPUE-CapabilitySignalling-RequestList information element-- ASN1START--TAG-UE-CAPABILITYRAT-REQUESTLIST-STARTUE-CapabilitySignalling-RequestList::=  SEQUENCE{signalling-Type        Signalling-Type,signalling-detailSignalling-Detail...}Signalling-Type ::=   SEQUENCE{CompressionBIT STRING(SIZE(2))OPTIONAL,SegmentationBIT STRING(SIZE(2))OPTIONAL,Capability IDBIT STRING(SIZE(6))OPTIONAL,}Signalling-Detail ::=   SEQUENCE{Compression-type ::= SEQUENCE{GzipENUMERATED{true}OPTIONAL,WinzipENUMERATED{true}OPTIONAL,ZipENUMERATED{true}OPTIONAL,Dictionary-availableENUMERATED{true}OPTIONAL,........}Signalling-ID-type SEQUENCE{Vendor-assignedENUMERATED{true}OPTIONAL,PLMN-assignedENUMERATED{true}OPTIONAL,Hash-basedENUMERATED{true}OPTIONAL,........}Segmentation-details  SEQUENCE{Max-segment-numberINTEGER(0..X)  OPTIONAL,}}-- TAG-UE-CAPABILITYRAT-REQUESTLIST-STOP-- ASN1STOP

Although the subject matter described herein may be implemented in any appropriate type of system using any suitable components, the embodiments disclosed herein are described in relation to a wireless network, such as the example wireless network illustrated inFIG.7. For simplicity, the wireless network ofFIG.7only depicts network706, network nodes760and760b, and WDs710,710b, and710c. The wireless devices710,710b, and710cmay be configured as a wireless device or UE as described in any embodiment above. The network nodes760and760bmay be configured as described in any embodiment above. In practice, a wireless network may further include any additional elements suitable to support communication between wireless devices or between a wireless device and another communication device, such as a landline telephone, a service provider, or any other network node or end device. Of the illustrated components, network node760and wireless device (WD)710are depicted with additional detail. The wireless network may provide communication and other types of services to one or more wireless devices to facilitate the wireless devices' access to and/or use of the services provided by, or via, the wireless network.

The wireless network may comprise and/or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, and/or radio network or other similar type of system. In some embodiments, the wireless network may be configured to operate according to specific standards or other types of predefined rules or procedures. Thus, particular embodiments of the wireless network may implement communication standards, such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE), and/or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G standards; wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the IEEE 802.11 standards; and/or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave and/or ZigBee standards.

Network706may comprise one or more backhaul networks, core networks, IP networks, public switched telephone networks (PSTNs), packet data networks, optical networks, wide-area networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), wireless local area networks (WLANs), wired networks, wireless networks, metropolitan area networks, and other networks to enable communication between devices.

Network node760and WD710comprise various components described in more detail below. These components work together in order to provide network node and/or wireless device functionality, such as providing wireless connections in a wireless network. In different embodiments, the wireless network may comprise any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, base stations, controllers, wireless devices, relay stations, and/or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and/or signals whether via wired or wireless connections.

As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a wireless device and/or with other network nodes or equipment in the wireless network to enable and/or provide wireless access to the wireless device and/or to perform other functions (e.g., administration) in the wireless network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)). Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and may then also be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units and/or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS). Yet further examples of network nodes include multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell/multicast coordination entities (MCEs), core network nodes (e.g., MSCs, MMEs), O&M nodes, OSS nodes, SON nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., E-SMLCs), and/or MDTs. As another example, a network node may be a virtual network node as described in more detail below. More generally, however, network nodes may represent any suitable device (or group of devices) capable, configured, arranged, and/or operable to enable and/or provide a wireless device with access to the wireless network or to provide some service to a wireless device that has accessed the wireless network.

InFIG.7, network node760includes processing circuitry770, device readable medium780, interface790, auxiliary equipment784, power source786, power circuitry787, and antenna762. Although network node760illustrated in the example wireless network ofFIG.7may represent a device that includes the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise network nodes with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that a network node comprises any suitable combination of hardware and/or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Moreover, while the components of network node760are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, a network node may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component (e.g., device readable medium780may comprise multiple separate hard drives as well as multiple RAM modules).

Similarly, network node760may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which network node760comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, network node760may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate device readable medium780for the different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., the same antenna762may be shared by the RATs). Network node760may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node760, such as, for example, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node760.

Processing circuitry770is configured to perform any determining, calculating, or similar operations (e.g., certain obtaining operations) described herein as being provided by a network node. These operations performed by processing circuitry770may include processing information obtained by processing circuitry770by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and/or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination.

Processing circuitry770may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and/or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node760components, such as device readable medium780, network node760functionality. For example, processing circuitry770may execute instructions stored in device readable medium780or in memory within processing circuitry770. Such functionality may include providing any of the various wireless features, functions, or benefits discussed herein. In some embodiments, processing circuitry770may include a system on a chip (SOC).

In some embodiments, processing circuitry770may include one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry772and baseband processing circuitry774. In some embodiments, radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry772and baseband processing circuitry774may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry772and baseband processing circuitry774may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein as being provided by a network node, base station, eNB or other such network device may be performed by processing circuitry770executing instructions stored on device readable medium780or memory within processing circuitry770. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by processing circuitry770without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device readable medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a device readable storage medium or not, processing circuitry770can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to processing circuitry770alone or to other components of network node760but are enjoyed by network node760as a whole, and/or by end users and the wireless network generally.

Device readable medium780may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device readable and/or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and/or instructions that may be used by processing circuitry770. Device readable medium780may store any suitable instructions, data or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, etc. and/or other instructions capable of being executed by processing circuitry770and, utilized by network node760. Device readable medium780may be used to store any calculations made by processing circuitry770and/or any data received via interface790. In some embodiments, processing circuitry770and device readable medium780may be considered to be integrated.

Interface790is used in the wired or wireless communication of signalling and/or data between network node760, network706, and/or WDs710. As illustrated, interface790comprises port(s)/terminal(s)794to send and receive data, for example to and from network706over a wired connection. Interface790also includes radio front end circuitry792that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, antenna762. Radio front end circuitry792comprises filters798and amplifiers796. Radio front end circuitry792may be connected to antenna762and processing circuitry770. Radio front end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna762and processing circuitry770. Radio front end circuitry792may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or WDs via a wireless connection. Radio front end circuitry792may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters798and/or amplifiers796. The radio signal may then be transmitted via antenna762. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna762may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by radio front end circuitry792. The digital data may be passed to processing circuitry770. In other embodiments, the interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components.

In certain alternative embodiments, network node760may not include separate radio front end circuitry792, instead, processing circuitry770may comprise radio front end circuitry and may be connected to antenna762without separate radio front end circuitry792. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of RF transceiver circuitry772may be considered a part of interface790. In still other embodiments, interface790may include one or more ports or terminals794, radio front end circuitry792, and RF transceiver circuitry772, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and interface790may communicate with baseband processing circuitry774, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

Antenna762may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals. Antenna762may be coupled to radio front end circuitry790and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and/or signals wirelessly. In some embodiments, antenna762may comprise one or more omni-directional, sector or panel antennas operable to transmit/receive radio signals between, for example, 2 GHz and 66 GHz. An omni-directional antenna may be used to transmit/receive radio signals in any direction, a sector antenna may be used to transmit/receive radio signals from devices within a particular area, and a panel antenna may be a line of sight antenna used to transmit/receive radio signals in a relatively straight line. In some instances, the use of more than one antenna may be referred to as MIMO. In certain embodiments, antenna762may be separate from network node760and may be connectable to network node760through an interface or port.

Antenna762, interface790, and/or processing circuitry770may be configured to perform any receiving operations and/or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be received from a wireless device, another network node and/or any other network equipment. Similarly, antenna762, interface790, and/or processing circuitry770may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be transmitted to a wireless device, another network node and/or any other network equipment.

Power circuitry787may comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry and is configured to supply the components of network node760with power for performing the functionality described herein. Power circuitry787may receive power from power source786. Power source786and/or power circuitry787may be configured to provide power to the various components of network node760in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). Power source786may either be included in, or external to, power circuitry787and/or network node760. For example, network node760may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry787. As a further example, power source786may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry787. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail. Other types of power sources, such as photovoltaic devices, may also be used.

Alternative embodiments of network node760may include additional components beyond those shown inFIG.7that may be responsible for providing certain aspects of the network node's functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and/or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, network node760may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into network node760and to allow output of information from network node760. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for network node760.

As used herein, wireless device (WD) refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and/or other wireless devices. Unless otherwise noted, the term WD may be used interchangeably herein with user equipment (UE). Communicating wirelessly may involve transmitting and/or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and/or other types of signals suitable for conveying information through air. In some embodiments, a WD may be configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a WD may be designed to transmit information to a network on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the network. Examples of a WD include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, a mobile phone, a cell phone, a voice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a desktop computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless cameras, a gaming console or device, a music storage device, a playback appliance, a wearable terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, a tablet, a laptop, a laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), a laptop-mounted equipment (LME), a smart device, a wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE). a vehicle-mounted wireless terminal device, etc. A WD may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) and may in this case be referred to as a D2D communication device. As yet another specific example, in an Internet of Things (IoT) scenario, a WD may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and/or measurements and transmits the results of such monitoring and/or measurements to another WD and/or a network node. The WD may in this case be a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the WD may be a UE implementing the 3GPP narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) standard. Particular examples of such machines or devices are sensors, metering devices such as power meters, industrial machinery, or home or personal appliances (e.g. refrigerators, televisions, etc.) personal wearables (e.g., watches, fitness trackers, etc.). In other scenarios, a WD may represent a vehicle or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and/or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation. A WD as described above may represent the endpoint of a wireless connection, in which case the device may be referred to as a wireless terminal. Furthermore, a WD as described above may be mobile, in which case it may also be referred to as a mobile device or a mobile terminal.

As illustrated, wireless device710includes antenna711, interface714, processing circuitry720, device readable medium730, user interface equipment732, auxiliary equipment734, power source736and power circuitry737. WD710may include multiple sets of one or more of the illustrated components for different wireless technologies supported by WD710, such as, for example, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, WiMAX, or Bluetooth wireless technologies, just to mention a few. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chips or set of chips as other components within WD710.

Antenna711may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals, and is connected to interface714. In certain alternative embodiments, antenna711may be separate from WD710and be connectable to WD710through an interface or port. Antenna711, interface714, and/or processing circuitry720may be configured to perform any receiving or transmitting operations described herein as being performed by a WD. Any information, data and/or signals may be received from a network node and/or another WD. In some embodiments, radio front end circuitry and/or antenna711may be considered an interface.

As illustrated, interface714comprises radio front end circuitry712and antenna711. Radio front end circuitry712comprise one or more filters718and amplifiers716. Radio front end circuitry714is connected to antenna711and processing circuitry720and is configured to condition signals communicated between antenna711and processing circuitry720. Radio front end circuitry712may be coupled to or a part of antenna711. In some embodiments, WD710may not include separate radio front end circuitry712; rather, processing circuitry720may comprise radio front end circuitry and may be connected to antenna711. Similarly, in some embodiments, some or all of RF transceiver circuitry722may be considered a part of interface714. Radio front end circuitry712may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or WDs via a wireless connection. Radio front end circuitry712may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters718and/or amplifiers716. The radio signal may then be transmitted via antenna711. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna711may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by radio front end circuitry712. The digital data may be passed to processing circuitry720. In other embodiments, the interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components.

Processing circuitry720may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software, and/or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other WD710components, such as device readable medium730. WD710functionality. Such functionality may include providing any of the various wireless features or benefits discussed herein. For example, processing circuitry720may execute instructions stored in device readable medium730or in memory within processing circuitry720to provide the functionality disclosed herein.

As illustrated, processing circuitry720includes one or more of RF transceiver circuitry722, baseband processing circuitry724, and application processing circuitry726. In other embodiments, the processing circuitry may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components. In certain embodiments processing circuitry720of WD710may comprise a SOC. In some embodiments, RF transceiver circuitry722, baseband processing circuitry724, and application processing circuitry726may be on separate chips or sets of chips. In alternative embodiments, part or all of baseband processing circuitry724and application processing circuitry726may be combined into one chip or set of chips, and RF transceiver circuitry722may be on a separate chip or set of chips. In still alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry722and baseband processing circuitry724may be on the same chip or set of chips, and application processing circuitry726may be on a separate chip or set of chips. In yet other alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry722, baseband processing circuitry724, and application processing circuitry726may be combined in the same chip or set of chips. In some embodiments. RF transceiver circuitry722may be a part of interface714. RF transceiver circuitry722may condition RF signals for processing circuitry720.

In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein as being performed by a WD may be provided by processing circuitry720executing instructions stored on device readable medium730, which in certain embodiments may be a computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by processing circuitry720without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a device readable storage medium or not, processing circuitry720can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to processing circuitry720alone or to other components of WD710, but are enjoyed by WD710as a whole, and/or by end users and the wireless network generally.

Processing circuitry720may be configured to perform any determining, calculating, or similar operations (e.g., certain obtaining operations) described herein as being performed by a WD. These operations, as performed by processing circuitry720, may include processing information obtained by processing circuitry720by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored by WD710, and/or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination.

Device readable medium730may be operable to store a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, etc. and/or other instructions capable of being executed by processing circuitry720. Device readable medium730may include computer memory (e.g., Random Access Memory (RAM) or Read Only Memory (ROM)), mass storage media (e.g., a hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device readable and/or computer executable memory devices that store information, data, and/or instructions that may be used by processing circuitry720. In some embodiments, processing circuitry720and device readable medium730may be considered to be integrated.

User interface equipment732may provide components that allow for a human user to interact with WD710. Such interaction may be of many forms, such as visual, audial, tactile, etc. User interface equipment732may be operable to produce output to the user and to allow the user to provide input to WD710. The type of interaction may vary depending on the type of user interface equipment732installed in WD710. For example, if WD710is a smart phone, the interaction may be via a touch screen; if WD710is a smart meter, the interaction may be through a screen that provides usage (e.g., the number of gallons used) or a speaker that provides an audible alert (e.g., if smoke is detected). User interface equipment732may include input interfaces, devices and circuits, and output interfaces, devices and circuits. User interface equipment732is configured to allow input of information into WD710and is connected to processing circuitry720to allow processing circuitry720to process the input information. User interface equipment732may include, for example, a microphone, a proximity or other sensor, keys/buttons, a touch display, one or more cameras, a USB port, or other input circuitry. User interface equipment732is also configured to allow output of information from WD710, and to allow processing circuitry720to output information from WD710. User interface equipment732may include, for example, a speaker, a display, vibrating circuitry, a USB port, a headphone interface, or other output circuitry. Using one or more input and output interfaces, devices, and circuits, of user interface equipment732, WD710may communicate with end users and/or the wireless network and allow them to benefit from the functionality described herein.

Auxiliary equipment734is operable to provide more specific functionality which may not be generally performed by WDs. This may comprise specialized sensors for doing measurements for various purposes, interfaces for additional types of communication such as wired communications etc. The inclusion and type of components of auxiliary equipment734may vary depending on the embodiment and/or scenario.

Power source736may, in some embodiments, be in the form of a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic devices or power cells, may also be used. WD710may further comprise power circuitry737for delivering power from power source736to the various parts of WD710which need power from power source736to carry out any functionality described or indicated herein. Power circuitry737may in certain embodiments comprise power management circuitry. Power circuitry737may additionally or alternatively be operable to receive power from an external power source; in which case WD710may be connectable to the external power source (such as an electricity outlet) via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Power circuitry737may also in certain embodiments be operable to deliver power from an external power source to power source736. This may be, for example, for the charging of power source736. Power circuitry737may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from power source736to make the power suitable for the respective components of WD710to which power is supplied.

FIG.8illustrates one embodiment of a UE in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, a user equipment or UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and/or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter). UE8200may be any UE identified by the 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP), including a NB-IoT UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and/or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE. UE800, as illustrated inFIG.8, is one example of a WD configured for communication in accordance with one or more communication standards promulgated by the 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP), such as 3GPP's GSM, UMTS, LTE, and/or 5G standards. As mentioned previously, the term WD and UE may be used interchangeable. Accordingly, althoughFIG.8is a UE, the components discussed herein are equally applicable to a WD, and vice-versa.

InFIG.8, UE800includes processing circuitry801that is operatively coupled to input/output interface805, radio frequency (RF) interface809, network connection interface811, memory815including random access memory (RAM)817, read-only memory (ROM)819, and storage medium821or the like, communication subsystem831, power source833, and/or any other component, or any combination thereof. Storage medium821includes operating system823, application program825, and data827. In other embodiments, storage medium821may include other similar types of information. Certain UEs may utilize all of the components shown inFIG.8, or only a subset of the components. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

InFIG.8, processing circuitry801may be configured to process computer instructions and data. Processing circuitry801may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute machine instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory, such as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, FPGA, ASIC, etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored program, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or Digital Signal Processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry801may include two central processing units (CPUs). Data may be information in a form suitable for use by a computer.

In the depicted embodiment, input/output interface805may be configured to provide a communication interface to an input device, output device, or input and output device. UE800may be configured to use an output device via input/output interface805. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a USB port may be used to provide input to and output from UE800. The output device may be a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. UE800may be configured to use an input device via input/output interface805to allow a user to capture information into UE800. The input device may include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, another like sensor, or any combination thereof. For example, the input device may be an accelerometer, a magnetometer, a digital camera, a microphone, and an optical sensor.

InFIG.8, RF interface809may be configured to provide a communication interface to RF components such as a transmitter, a receiver, and an antenna. Network connection interface811may be configured to provide a communication interface to network843a. Network843amay encompass wired and/or wireless networks such as a local-area network (LAN), a wide-area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another like network or any combination thereof. For example, network843amay comprise a Wi-Fi network. Network connection interface811may be configured to include a receiver and a transmitter interface used to communicate with one or more other devices over a communication network according to one or more communication protocols, such as Ethernet, TCP/IP, SONET, ATM, or the like. Network connection interface811may implement receiver and transmitter functionality appropriate to the communication network links (e.g., optical, electrical, and the like). The transmitter and receiver functions may share circuit components, software, or firmware, or alternatively may be implemented separately.

RAM817may be configured to interface via bus802to processing circuitry801to provide storage or caching of data or computer instructions during the execution of software programs such as the operating system, application programs, and device drivers. ROM819may be configured to provide computer instructions or data to processing circuitry801. For example, ROM819may be configured to store invariant low-level system code or data for basic system functions such as basic input and output (I/O), startup, or reception of keystrokes from a keyboard that are stored in a non-volatile memory. Storage medium821may be configured to include memory such as RAM, ROM, programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, floppy disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, or flash drives. In one example, storage medium821may be configured to include operating system823, application program825such as a web browser application, a widget or gadget engine or another application, and data file827. Storage medium821may store, for use by UE800, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

Storage medium821may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), floppy disk drive, flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as a subscriber identity module or a removable user identity (SIM/RUIM) module, other memory, or any combination thereof. Storage medium821may allow UE800to access computer-executable instructions, application programs or the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied in storage medium821, which may comprise a device readable medium.

InFIG.8, processing circuitry801may be configured to communicate with network843busing communication subsystem831. Network843aand network843bmay be the same network or networks or different network or networks. Communication subsystem831may be configured to include one or more transceivers used to communicate with network843b. For example, communication subsystem831may be configured to include one or more transceivers used to communicate with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication such as another WD, UE, or base station of a radio access network (RAN) according to one or more communication protocols, such as IEEE 802.11, CDMA, WCDMA, GSM, LTE, UTRAN, WiMax, or the like. Each transceiver may include transmitter833and/or receiver835to implement transmitter or receiver functionality, respectively, appropriate to the RAN links (e.g., frequency allocations and the like). Further, transmitter833and receiver835of each transceiver may share circuit components, software, or firmware, or alternatively may be implemented separately.

In the illustrated embodiment, the communication functions of communication subsystem831may include data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. For example, communication subsystem831may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, Bluetooth communication, and GPS communication. Network843bmay encompass wired and/or wireless networks such as a local-area network (LAN), a wide-area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another like network or any combination thereof. For example, network843bmay be a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, and/or a near-field network. Power source813may be configured to provide alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC) power to components of UE800.

The features, benefits and/or functions described herein may be implemented in one of the components of UE800or partitioned across multiple components of UE800. Further, the features, benefits, and/or functions described herein may be implemented in any combination of hardware, software, or firmware. In one example, communication subsystem831may be configured to include any of the components described herein. Further, processing circuitry801may be configured to communicate with any of such components over bus802. In another example, any of such components may be represented by program instructions stored in memory that when executed by processing circuitry801perform the corresponding functions described herein. In another example, the functionality of any of such components may be partitioned between processing circuitry801and communication subsystem831. In another example, the non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and the computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

FIG.9is a schematic block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment900in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to a node (e.g., a virtualized base station or a virtualized radio access node) or to a device (e.g., a UE, a wireless device or any other type of communication device) or components thereof and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components (e.g., via one or more applications, components, functions, virtual machines or containers executing on one or more physical processing nodes in one or more networks).

In some embodiments, some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines implemented in one or more virtual environments900hosted by one or more of hardware nodes930. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node is not a radio access node or does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node), then the network node may be entirely virtualized.

The functions may be implemented by one or more applications920(which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) operative to implement some of the features, functions, and/or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein. Applications920are run in virtualization environment900which provides hardware930comprising processing circuitry960and memory990. Memory990contains instructions995executable by processing circuitry960whereby application920is operative to provide one or more of the features, benefits, and/or functions disclosed herein.

Virtualization environment900, comprises general-purpose or special-purpose network hardware devices930comprising a set of one or more processors or processing circuitry960, which may be commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) processors, dedicated Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), or any other type of processing circuitry including digital or analog hardware components or special purpose processors. Each hardware device may comprise memory990-1which may be non-persistent memory for temporarily storing instructions995or software executed by processing circuitry960. Each hardware device may comprise one or more network interface controllers (NICs)970, also known as network interface cards, which include physical network interface980. Each hardware device may also include non-transitory, persistent, machine-readable storage media990-2having stored therein software995and/or instructions executable by processing circuitry960. Software995may include any type of software including software for instantiating one or more virtualization layers950(also referred to as hypervisors), software to execute virtual machines940as well as software allowing it to execute functions, features and/or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein.

Virtual machines940, comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer950or hypervisor. Different embodiments of the instance of virtual appliance920may be implemented on one or more of virtual machines940, and the implementations may be made in different ways.

During operation, processing circuitry960executes software995to instantiate the hypervisor or virtualization layer950, which may sometimes be referred to as a virtual machine monitor (VMM). Virtualization layer950may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to virtual machine940.

As shown inFIG.9, hardware930may be a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware930may comprise antenna9225and may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware930may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g. such as in a data center or customer premise equipment (CPE)) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration (MANO)9100, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications920.

Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.

In the context of NFV, virtual machine940may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of virtual machines940, and that part of hardware930that executes that virtual machine, be it hardware dedicated to that virtual machine and/or hardware shared by that virtual machine with others of the virtual machines940, forms a separate virtual network elements (VNE).

Still in the context of NFV, Virtual Network Function (VNF) is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more virtual machines940on top of hardware networking infrastructure930and corresponds to application920inFIG.9.

In some embodiments, one or more radio units9200that each include one or more transmitters9220and one or more receivers9210may be coupled to one or more antennas9225. Radio units9200may communicate directly with hardware nodes930via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station.

In some embodiments, some signalling can be effected with the use of control system9230which may alternatively be used for communication between the hardware nodes930and radio units9200.

With reference toFIG.10, in accordance with an embodiment, a communication system includes telecommunication network1010, such as a 3GPP-type cellular network, which comprises access network1011, such as a radio access network, and core network1014. Access network1011comprises a plurality of base stations1012a,1012b,1012c, such as NBs, eNBs, gNBs or other types of wireless access points, each defining a corresponding coverage area1013a,1013b,1013c. Each base station1012a,1012b,1012cis connectable to core network1014over a wired or wireless connection1015. A first UE1091located in coverage area1013cis configured to wirelessly connect to, or be paged by, the corresponding base station1012c. A second UE1092in coverage area1013ais wirelessly connectable to the corresponding base station1012a. While a plurality of UEs1091,1092are illustrated in this example, the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable to a situation where a sole UE is in the coverage area or where a sole UE is connecting to the corresponding base station1012.

Telecommunication network1010is itself connected to host computer1030, which may be embodied in the hardware and/or software of a standalone server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server or as processing resources in a server farm. Host computer1030may be under the ownership or control of a service provider or may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. Connections1021and1022between telecommunication network1010and host computer1030may extend directly from core network1014to host computer1030or may go via an optional intermediate network1020. Intermediate network1020may be one of, or a combination of more than one of, a public, private or hosted network; intermediate network1020, if any, may be a backbone network or the Internet; in particular, intermediate network1020may comprise two or more sub-networks (not shown).

The communication system ofFIG.10as a whole enables connectivity between the connected UEs1091,1092and host computer1030. The connectivity may be described as an over-the-top (OTT) connection1050. Host computer1030and the connected UEs1091,1092are configured to communicate data and/or signaling via OTT connection1050, using access network1011, core network1014, any intermediate network1020and possible further infrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries. OTT connection1050may be transparent in the sense that the participating communication devices through which OTT connection1050passes are unaware of routing of uplink and downlink communications. For example, base station1012may not or need not be informed about the past routing of an incoming downlink communication with data originating from host computer1030to be forwarded (e.g., handed over) to a connected UE1091. Similarly, base station1012need not be aware of the future routing of an outgoing uplink communication originating from the UE1091towards the host computer1030.

Example implementations, in accordance with an embodiment, of the UE, base station and host computer discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference toFIG.11. In communication system1100, host computer1110comprises hardware1115including communication interface1116configured to set up and maintain a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of communication system1100. Host computer1110further comprises processing circuitry1118, which may have storage and/or processing capabilities. In particular, processing circuitry1118may comprise one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. Host computer1110further comprises software1111, which is stored in or accessible by host computer1110and executable by processing circuitry1118. Software1111includes host application1112. Host application1112may be operable to provide a service to a remote user, such as UE1130connecting via OTT connection1150terminating at UE1130and host computer1110. In providing the service to the remote user, host application1112may provide user data which is transmitted using OTT connection1150.

Communication system1100further includes base station1120provided in a telecommunication system and comprising hardware1125enabling it to communicate with host computer1110and with UE1130. Hardware1125may include communication interface1126for setting up and maintaining a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of communication system1100, as well as radio interface1127for setting up and maintaining at least wireless connection1170with UE1130located in a coverage area (not shown inFIG.11) served by base station1120. Communication interface1126may be configured to facilitate connection1160to host computer1110. Connection1160may be direct or it may pass through a core network (not shown inFIG.11) of the telecommunication system and/or through one or more intermediate networks outside the telecommunication system. In the embodiment shown, hardware1125of base station1120further includes processing circuitry1128, which may comprise one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. Base station1120further has software1121stored internally or accessible via an external connection.

Communication system1100further includes UE1130already referred to. Its hardware1135may include radio interface1137configured to set up and maintain wireless connection1170with a base station serving a coverage area in which UE1130is currently located. Hardware1135of UE1130further includes processing circuitry1138, which may comprise one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. UE1130further comprises software1131, which is stored in or accessible by UE1130and executable by processing circuitry1138. Software1131includes client application1132. Client application1132may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via UE1130, with the support of host computer1110. In host computer1110, an executing host application1112may communicate with the executing client application1132via OTT connection1150terminating at UE1130and host computer1110. In providing the service to the user, client application1132may receive request data from host application1112and provide user data in response to the request data. OTT connection1150may transfer both the request data and the user data. Client application1132may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides.

It is noted that host computer1110, base station1120and UE1130illustrated inFIG.11may be similar or identical to host computer1030, one of base stations1012a,1012b,1012cand one of UEs1091,1092ofFIG.10, respectively. This is to say, the inner workings of these entities may be as shown inFIG.11and independently, the surrounding network topology may be that ofFIG.10.

InFIG.11, OTT connection1150has been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between host computer1110and UE1130via base station1120, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices. Network infrastructure may determine the routing, which it may be configured to hide from UE1130or from the service provider operating host computer1110, or both. While OTT connection1150is active, the network infrastructure may further take decisions by which it dynamically changes the routing (e.g., on the basis of load balancing consideration or reconfiguration of the network).

Wireless connection1170between UE1130and base station1120is in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to UE1130using OTT connection1150, in which wireless connection1170forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve the transmission of information from the wireless device to the network node and thereby provide benefits such as reduced signaling.

A measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve. There may further be an optional network functionality for reconfiguring OTT connection1150between host computer1110and UE1130, in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and/or the network functionality for reconfiguring OTT connection1150may be implemented in software1111and hardware1115of host computer1110or in software1131and hardware1135of UE1130, or both. In embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with communication devices through which OTT connection1150passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above or supplying values of other physical quantities from which software1111,1131may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of OTT connection1150may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not affect base station1120, and it may be unknown or imperceptible to base station1120. Such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling facilitating host computer1110's measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency and the like. The measurements may be implemented in that software111and1131causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using OTT connection1150while it monitors propagation times, errors etc.

FIG.12is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system, in accordance with one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE which may be those described with reference toFIGS.10and11. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references toFIG.12will be included in this section. In step1210, the host computer provides user data. In substep1211(which may be optional) of step1210, the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In step1220, the host computer initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the UE. In step1230(which may be optional), the base station transmits to the UE the user data which was carried in the transmission that the host computer initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step1240(which may also be optional), the UE executes a client application associated with the host application executed by the host computer.

FIG.13is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system, in accordance with one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE which may be those described with reference toFIGS.10and11. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references toFIG.13will be included in this section. In step1310of the method, the host computer provides user data. In an optional substep (not shown) the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In step1320, the host computer initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the UE. The transmission may pass via the base station, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step1330(which may be optional), the UE receives the user data carried in the transmission.

FIG.14is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system, in accordance with one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE which may be those described with reference toFIGS.10and11. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references toFIG.14will be included in this section. In step1410(which may be optional), the UE receives input data provided by the host computer. Additionally or alternatively, in step1420, the UE provides user data. In substep1421(which may be optional) of step1420, the UE provides the user data by executing a client application. In substep1411(which may be optional) of step1410, the UE executes a client application which provides the user data in reaction to the received input data provided by the host computer. In providing the user data, the executed client application may further consider user input received from the user. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided, the UE initiates, in substep1430(which may be optional), transmission of the user data to the host computer. In step1440of the method, the host computer receives the user data transmitted from the UE, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure.

FIG.15is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system, in accordance with one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE which may be those described with reference toFIGS.10and11. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references toFIG.15will be included in this section. In step1510(which may be optional), in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the base station receives user data from the UE. In step1520(which may be optional), the base station initiates transmission of the received user data to the host computer. In step1530(which may be optional), the host computer receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the base station.

Any appropriate steps, methods, features, functions, or benefits disclosed herein may be performed through one or more functional units or modules of one or more virtual apparatuses. Each virtual apparatus may comprise a number of these functional units. These functional units may be implemented via processing circuitry, which may include one or more microprocessor or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware, which may include digital signal processors (DSPs), special-purpose digital logic, and the like. The processing circuitry may be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which may include one or several types of memory such as read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc. Program code stored in memory includes program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and/or data communications protocols as well as instructions for carrying out one or more of the techniques described herein. In some implementations, the processing circuitry may be used to cause the respective functional unit to perform corresponding functions according one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG.16depicts a method in accordance with particular embodiments, the method begins at step1602with receiving an indication of one or more protocols that are supported by the network for transmission of capability information. In step1604, the method comprises responsive to the wireless device supporting at least one of the one or more protocols for transmission of capability information, selecting a first protocol from the at least one of the one or more protocols. In step1606the method comprises transmitting capability information associated with the wireless device to the base station according to the first protocol. The method may be performed by a wireless device for transmitting capability information to a base station in a network.

FIG.17illustrates a schematic block diagram of an apparatus1700in a wireless network (for example, the wireless network shown inFIG.7). The apparatus may be implemented in a wireless device or network node (e.g., wireless device710or network node760shown inFIG.7). Apparatus1700is operable to carry out the example method described with reference toFIG.16and possibly any other processes or methods disclosed herein. It is also to be understood that the method ofFIG.16is not necessarily carried out solely by apparatus1700. At least some operations of the method can be performed by one or more other entities.

Virtual Apparatus1700may comprise processing circuitry, which may include one or more microprocessor or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware, which may include digital signal processors (DSPs), special-purpose digital logic, and the like. The processing circuitry may be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which may include one or several types of memory such as read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory, cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc. Program code stored in memory includes program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and/or data communications protocols as well as instructions for carrying out one or more of the techniques described herein, in several embodiments. In some implementations, the processing circuitry may be used to cause the Receiving unit1702, Selecting unit1704, and Transmitting unit1706and any other suitable units of apparatus1700to perform corresponding functions according one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

As illustrated inFIG.17, apparatus1700includes Receiving unit1702, Selecting unit1704, and Transmitting Unit1706. Receiving unit1702is configured to receive an indication of one or more protocols that are supported by the network for transmission of capability information. Selecting Unit1704is configured to responsive to the wireless device supporting at least one of the one or more protocols for transmission of capability information, select a first protocol from the at least one of the one or more protocols. Transmitting Unit1706is configured to transmit capability information associated with the wireless device to the base station according to the first protocol.

FIG.18depicts a method in accordance with particular embodiments, the method begins at step1802with initiating transmission of an indication of one or more protocols that are supported by the network for transmission of capability information. In step1804, the method comprises responsive to the wireless device supporting at least one of the one or more protocols, receiving capability information associated with the wireless device according to a first protocol of the one or more protocols. The method may be performed by a base station or may be performed by another node in the network.

FIG.19illustrates a schematic block diagram of an apparatus1900in a wireless network (for example, the wireless network shown inFIG.7). The apparatus may be implemented in a wireless device or network node (e.g., wireless device710or network node760shown inFIG.7). Apparatus1900is operable to carry out the example method described with reference toFIG.18and possibly any other processes or methods disclosed herein. It is also to be understood that the method ofFIG.18is not necessarily carried out solely by apparatus1900. At least some operations of the method can be performed by one or more other entities.

Virtual Apparatus1900may comprise processing circuitry, which may include one or more microprocessor or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware, which may include digital signal processors (DSPs), special-purpose digital logic, and the like. The processing circuitry may be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which may include one or several types of memory such as read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory, cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc. Program code stored in memory includes program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and/or data communications protocols as well as instructions for carrying out one or more of the techniques described herein, in several embodiments. In some implementations, the processing circuitry may be used to cause the Transmitting unit1902and Receiving unit1904and any other suitable units of apparatus1900to perform corresponding functions according one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

As illustrated inFIG.19, apparatus1900includes Transmitting unit1902and Receiving unit1904. Transmitting unit1902is configured to initiate transmission of an indication of one or more protocols that are supported by the network for transmission of capability information. Receiving Unit1904is configured to responsive to the wireless device supporting at least one of the one or more protocols, receiving capability information associated with the wireless device according to a first protocol of the one or more protocols.

The term unit may have conventional meaning in the field of electronics, electrical devices and/or electronic devices and may include, for example, electrical and/or electronic circuitry, devices, modules, processors, memories, logic solid state and/or discrete devices, computer programs or instructions for carrying out respective tasks, procedures, computations, outputs, and/or displaying functions, and so on, as such as those that are described herein.

The following numbered statements provide additional information on certain aspects of embodiments:

1. A method performed by a wireless device for transmitting capability information to a base station in a network, the method comprising:receiving an indication of one or more protocols that are supported by the network for transmission of capability information;responsive to the wireless device supporting at least one of the one or more protocols for transmission of capability information,selecting a first protocol from the at least one of the one or more protocols, andtransmitting capability information associated with the wireless device to the base station according to the first protocol.

2. The method of statement 1 wherein.the indication identifies a priority associated with each of the one or more protocols, andthe step of selecting comprises selecting the first protocol by selecting a protocol associated with a highest priority from the at least one of the one or more protocols supported by the wireless device.

3. The method of statement 2 wherein,the indication identifies a priority associated with each of the one or more protocols by listing the one or more protocols in order of priority.

4. The method of statement 2 wherein,the indication identifies a priority associated with each of the one or more protocols by associating each of the one or more protocols with an explicit priority value.

5. The method of any preceding statement wherein,responsive to the wireless device not supporting at least one of the one or more protocols, selecting a legacy protocol for transmission of capability information, and transmitting the capability information associated with the wireless device to the base station according to the legacy protocol.

6. The method of any preceding statement wherein the step of transmitting the capability information associated with the wireless device to the base station according to the first protocol further comprises transmitting the capability information with an indication of the first protocol.

7. The method of any preceding statement wherein the indication identifies a filter associated with each of the one or more protocols respectively, wherein the filter indicates which capability information the wireless device should transmit according to the associated protocol.

8. The method of statement 7 wherein the capability information associated with the wireless device comprises capability information indicated by a first filter associated with the first protocol.

9. The method of any statement embodiment, wherein the one or more protocols comprises one or more of: a protocol utilizing compression, a protocol utilizing segmentation, and a combination protocol utilizing both compression and segmentation.

10. The method of any preceding statement wherein the indication of the one or more protocols is received from the base station as part of a request for capability information.

11. The method of any preceding statement wherein the indication identifies a size indication associated with each of the one or more protocols respectively, wherein the size indicator indicates one of: a maximum size of a message to be transmitted by the wireless device comprising the capability information, or a number of messages to be transmitted by the wireless device to transmit the capability information.

12. The method of any previous statement wherein the one or more protocols comprises a protocol utilizing compression, and wherein the indication identifies a respective preference associated with each of a plurality of configuration options available for the protocol utilizing compression.

13. The method of any of the previous statements, further comprising:providing user data; andforwarding the user data to a host computer via the transmission to the base station.

14. A method performed by a network node for controlling the receipt of capability information from a wireless device at a base station, the method comprising:initiating transmission of an indication of one or more protocols that are supported by the network for transmission of capability information;responsive to the wireless device supporting at least one of the one or more protocols, receiving capability information associated with the wireless device according to a first protocol of the one or more protocols.

15. The method of statement 14 wherein,the indication identifies a priority associated with each of the one or more protocols.

16. The method of statement 15 wherein,the indication identifies a priority associated with each of the one or more protocols by listing the one or more protocols in order of priority.

17. The method of statement 14 wherein,the indication identifies a priority associated with each of the one or more protocols by associating each of the one or more protocols with an explicit priority value.

18. The method of any one of statements 14 to 17 wherein,responsive to the wireless device not supporting at least one of the one or more protocols, receiving the capability information associated with the wireless device according to a legacy protocol.

19. The method of any one of statements 14 to 17 wherein the step of receiving the capability information associated with the wireless device further comprises receiving the capability information with an indication of the first protocol.

20. The method of any one of statements 14 to 19 wherein the indication identifies a filter associated with each of the one or more protocols respectively, wherein the filter indicates which capability information the wireless device should transmit according to the associated protocol.

21. The method of statement 20 wherein the capability information associated with the wireless device comprises capability information indicated by a first filter associated with the first protocol.

22. The method of any one of statements 14 to 21 wherein the one or more protocols comprises one or more of: a protocol utilizing compression, a protocol utilizing segmentation, and a combination protocol utilizing both compression and segmentation.

23. The method of any one of statements 14 to 22 wherein the indication of the one or more protocols is transmitted as part of a request for capability information from the wireless device.

24. The method of any one of statements 14 to 23 wherein the indication identifies a size indication associated with one of the one or more protocols respectively, wherein the size indicator indicates one of: a maximum size of a message to be transmitted by the wireless device comprising the capability information, or a number of messages to be transmitted by the wireless device to transmit the capability information.

25. The method of any one of statements 14 to 24 wherein the one or more protocols comprises a protocol utilizing compression, and wherein the indication identified a preference associated with a plurality of configuration options available for the protocol utilizing compression.

26. The method of any of the previous statements, further comprising:obtaining user data; andforwarding the user data to a host computer or a wireless device.

27. A wireless device for transmitting capability information to a base station, the wireless device comprising:processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of statements 1 to 13; andpower supply circuitry configured to supply power to the wireless device.

28. A base station for receiving capability information from a wireless device, the base station comprising:processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of statements 14 to 26;power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the base station.

29. A user equipment (UE) for transmitting capability information to a base station, the UE comprising:an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals;radio front-end circuitry connected to the antenna and to processing circuitry, and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuitry;the processing circuitry being configured to perform any of the steps of any of statements 1 to 13;an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry;an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry; anda battery connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the UE.

30. A communication system including a host computer comprising:processing circuitry configured to provide user data; anda communication interface configured to forward the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE),wherein the cellular network comprises a base station having a radio interface and processing circuitry, the base station's processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of statements 14 to 26.

31. The communication system of statement 30 further including the base station.

32. The communication system of any of statements 30 and 31, further including the UE, wherein the UE is configured to communicate with the base station.

33. The communication system of any of statements 30 to 32, wherein:the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; andthe UE comprises processing circuitry configured to execute a client application associated with the host application.

34. A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:at the host computer, providing user data; andat the host computer, initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the base station, wherein the base station performs any of the steps of any of statements 14 to 26.

35. The method of statement 34, further comprising, at the base station, transmitting the user data.

36. The method of any of statements 34 and 35, wherein the user data is provided at the host computer by executing a host application, the method further comprising, at the UE, executing a client application associated with the host application.

37. A user equipment (UE) configured to communicate with a base station, the UE comprising a radio interface and processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of statements 34 to 36.

38. A communication system including a host computer comprising:processing circuitry configured to provide user data; anda communication interface configured to forward user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE),wherein the UE comprises a radio interface and processing circuitry, the UE's components configured to perform any of the steps of any of statements 1 to 13.

39. The communication system of statement 38, wherein the cellular network further includes a base station configured to communicate with the UE.

40. The communication system of any of statements 38 and 39, wherein:the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; andthe UE's processing circuitry is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application.

41. A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:at the host computer, providing user data; andat the host computer, initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the base station, wherein the UE performs any of the steps of any of statements 1 to 13.

42. The method of statement 41, further comprising at the UE, receiving the user data from the base station.

43. A communication system including a host computer comprising:communication interface configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from a user equipment (UE) to a base station,wherein the UE comprises a radio interface and processing circuitry, the UE's processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of statements 1 to 13.

44. The communication system of statement 43, further including the UE.

45. The communication system of any of statements 43 and 44, further including the base station, wherein the base station comprises a radio interface configured to communicate with the UE and a communication interface configured to forward to the host computer the user data carried by a transmission from the UE to the base station.

46. The communication system of any of statements 43 to 45, wherein:the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application; andthe UE's processing circuitry is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application, thereby providing the user data.

47. The communication system of any of statements 43 to 46, wherein:the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing request data; andthe UE's processing circuitry is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application, thereby providing the user data in response to the request data.

48. A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:at the host computer, receiving user data transmitted to the base station from the UE, wherein the UE performs any of the steps of any of statements 1 to 13.

49. The method of statement 48, further comprising, at the UE, providing the user data to the base station.

50. The method of any of statements 48 and 49, further comprising:at the UE, executing a client application, thereby providing the user data to be transmitted; andat the host computer, executing a host application associated with the client application.

51. The method of any of statements 48 to 50, further comprising:at the UE, executing a client application; andat the UE, receiving input data to the client application, the input data being provided at the host computer by executing a host application associated with the client application,wherein the user data to be transmitted is provided by the client application in response to the input data.

52. A communication system including a host computer comprising a communication interface configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from a user equipment (UE) to a base station, wherein the base station comprises a radio interface and processing circuitry, the base station's processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of statements 14 to 26.

53. The communication system of statement 52 further including the base station.

54. The communication system of any of statements 52 and 53, further including the UE, wherein the UE is configured to communicate with the base station.

55. The communication system of any of statements 52 to 54, wherein:the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application;the UE is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application, thereby providing the user data to be received by the host computer.

56. A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:at the host computer, receiving, from the base station, user data originating from a transmission which the base station has received from the UE, wherein the UE performs any of the steps of any of statements 1 to 13.

57. The method of statement 56, further comprising at the base station, receiving the user data from the UE.

58. The method of any of statements 56 and 57, further comprising at the base station, initiating a transmission of the received user data to the host computer.

ABBREVIATIONS

At least some of the following abbreviations may be used in this disclosure. If there is an inconsistency between abbreviations, preference should be given to how it is used above. If listed multiple times below, the first listing should be preferred over any subsequent listing(s).

1x RTTCDMA2000 1x Radio Transmission Technology3GPP3rd Generation Partnership Project5G5th GenerationABSAlmost Blank SubframeARQAutomatic Repeat RequestAWGNAdditive White Gaussian NoiseBCCHBroadcast Control ChannelBCHBroadcast ChannelCACarrier AggregationCCCarrier ComponentCCCH SDUCommon Control Channel SDUCDMACode Division Multiplexing AccessCGICell Global IdentifierCIRChannel Impulse ResponseCPCyclic PrefixCPICHCommon Pilot ChannelCPICH Ec/NoCPICH Received energy per chip divided by the power density inthe bandCQIChannel Quality informationC-RNTICell RNTICSIChannel State InformationDCCHDedicated Control ChannelDLDownlinkDMDemodulationDMRSDemodulation Reference SignalDRXDiscontinuous ReceptionDTXDiscontinuous TransmissionDTCHDedicated Traffic ChannelDUTDevice Under TestE-CIDEnhanced Cell-ID (positioning method)E-SMLCEvolved-Serving Mobile Location CentreECGIEvolved CGIeNBE-UTRAN NodeBePDCCHenhanced Physical Downlink Control ChannelE-SMLCevolved Serving Mobile Location CenterE-UTRAEvolved UTRAE-UTRANEvolved UTRANFDDFrequency Division DuplexFFSFor Further StudyGERANGSM EDGE Radio Access NetworkgNBBase station in NRGNSSGlobal Navigation Satellite SystemGSMGlobal System for Mobile communicationHARQHybrid Automatic Repeat RequestHOHandoverHSPAHigh Speed Packet AccessHRPDHigh Rate Packet DataLOSLine of SightLPPLTE Positioning ProtocolLTELong-Term EvolutionMACMedium Access ControlMBMSMultimedia Broadcast Multicast ServicesMBSFNMultimedia Broadcast multicast service Single Frequency NetworkMBSFN ABSMBSFN Almost Blank SubframeMDTMinimization of Drive TestsMIBMaster Information BlockMMEMobility Management EntityMSCMobile Switching CenterNPDCCHNarrowband Physical Downlink Control ChannelNRNew RadioOCNGOFDMA Channel Noise GeneratorOFDMOrthogonal Frequency Division MultiplexingOFDMAOrthogonal Frequency Division Multiple AccessOSSOperations Support SystemOTDOAObserved Time Difference of ArrivalO&MOperation and MaintenancePBCHPhysical Broadcast ChannelP-CCPCHPrimary Common Control Physical ChannelPCellPrimary CellPCFICHPhysical Control Format Indicator ChannelPDCCHPhysical Downlink Control ChannelPDPProfile Delay ProfilePDSCHPhysical Downlink Shared ChannelPGWPacket GatewayPHICHPhysical Hybrid-ARQ Indicator ChannelPLMNPublic Land Mobile NetworkPMIPrecoder Matrix IndicatorPRACHPhysical Random Access ChannelPRSPositioning Reference SignalPSSPrimary Synchronization SignalPUCCHPhysical Uplink Control ChannelPUSCHPhysical Uplink Shared ChannelRACHRandom Access ChannelQAMQuadrature Amplitude ModulationRANRadio Access NetworkRATRadio Access TechnologyRLMRadio Link ManagementRNCRadio Network ControllerRNTIRadio Network Temporary IdentifierRRCRadio Resource ControlRRMRadio Resource ManagementRSReference SignalRSCPReceived Signal Code PowerRSRPReference Symbol Received Power OR Reference Signal Received PowerRSRQReference Signal Received Quality OR Reference Symbol Received QualityRSSIReceived Signal Strength IndicatorRSTDReference Signal Time DifferenceSCHSynchronization ChannelSCellSecondary CellSDUService Data UnitSFNSystem Frame NumberSGWServing GatewaySISystem InformationSIBSystem Information BlockSNRSignal to Noise RatioSONSelf Optimized NetworkSSSynchronization SignalSSSSecondary Synchronization SignalTDDTime Division DuplexTDOATime Difference of ArrivalTOATime of ArrivalTSSTertiary Synchronization SignalTTITransmission Time IntervalUEUser EquipmentULUplinkUMTSUniversal Mobile Telecommunication SystemUSIMUniversal Subscriber Identity ModuleUTDOAUplink Time Difference of ArrivalUTRAUniversal Terrestrial Radio AccessUTRANUniversal Terrestrial Radio Access NetworkWCDMAWide CDMAWLANWide Local Area Network