PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-12185106-B2
Application Number: US-202017427819-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Enabling interactive service for cloud renderting gaming in 5G systems

Abstract:
The present disclosure is directed to systems and methods for providing interactive services to a device. For example, a method may include determining service authorization information for a device, the service authorization information being associated with an interactive service on a wireless network. The method may also include determining device policies for the device based on the service authorization information. The method may also include transmitting the device policies to the device, wherein the device policies cause the device to select a cloud rendering server for the interactive service.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method, comprising:
 determining service authorization information for a device, the service authorization information being associated with an interactive service on a wireless network, wherein the service authorization information comprises at least one of: a list of cloud rendering server internet protocol (IP) addresses, priority per cloud rendering server, and validity criteria, wherein the validity criteria comprises at least one of service time, allowed service geographical areas, or user&#39;s consent agreement; 
 determining device policies for the device based on the service authorization information, wherein the device policies comprise the service authorization information; and 
 transmitting the device policies to the device, wherein the device policies enable the device to select a cloud rendering server for the interactive service. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the service authorization information further includes at least one of the following:
 an application ID; 
 a list of allowed public land mobile networks (PLMNs); 
 a list of data network names (DNNs) per PLMN; or 
 a list of cloud rendering server IP addresses and port numbers per DNN and PLMN. 
 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the device is configured to select a cloud rendering server with a highest priority that satisfies the validity criteria. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining the service authorization information comprises determining the service authorization information using a device configuration update procedure. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 4 , further comprising sending a request to a policy control function (PCF) to trigger the device configuration update procedure. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining an update to the service authorization information; and 
 transmitting the updated service authorization information to the device, wherein the updated service authorization information causes the device to select a different cloud rendering server for the interactive service. 
 
     
     
       7. An apparatus comprising:
 radio front end circuitry; 
 a processor, coupled to the radio front end circuitry; and 
 a memory that stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to: 
 determine service authorization information for a device, the service authorization information being associated with an interactive service on a wireless network, wherein the service authorization information comprises at least a list of cloud rendering server internet protocol (IP) addresses, priority per cloud rendering server, and validity criteria, wherein the validity criteria comprises at least one of service time, allowed service geographical areas, or user&#39;s consent agreement; 
 determine device policies for the device based on the service authorization information, wherein the device policies comprise the service authorization information; and 
 transmit, using the radio front end circuitry, the device policies to the device, wherein the device policies enable the device to select a cloud rendering server for the interactive service. 
 
     
     
       8. The apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein the service authorization information further includes at least one of the following:
 an application ID; 
 a list of allowed public land mobile networks (PLMNs); 
 a list of data network names (DNNs) per PLMN; or 
 a list of cloud rendering server IP addresses and port numbers per DNN and PLMN. 
 
     
     
       9. The apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein the device is configured to select a cloud rendering server with a highest priority that satisfies the validity criteria. 
     
     
       10. The apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein determining the service authorization information comprises determining the service authorization information using a device configuration update procedure. 
     
     
       11. The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to send a request to a policy control function (PCF) to trigger the device configuration update procedure. 
     
     
       12. The apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to:
 determine an update to the service authorization information; and 
 transmit, using the radio front end circuitry, the updated service authorization information to the device, wherein the updated service authorization information causes the device to select a different cloud rendering server for the interactive service. 
 
     
     
       13. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions to cause an electronic device, upon execution of the instructions by one or more processors of the electronic device, to perform one or more operations, the operations comprising:
 determining service authorization information for a device, the service authorization information being associated with an interactive service on a wireless network, wherein the service authorization information comprises at least a list of cloud rendering server internet protocol (IP) addresses, priority per cloud rendering server, and validity criteria, wherein the validity criteria comprises at least one of service time, allowed service geographical areas, or user&#39;s consent agreement; 
 determining device policies for the device based on the service authorization information, wherein the device policies comprise the service authorization information; and 
 transmitting the device policies to the device, wherein the device policies enable the device to select a cloud rendering server for the interactive service. 
 
     
     
       14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 13 , wherein the device is configured to select a cloud rendering server with a highest priority that satisfies the validity criteria. 
     
     
       15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 13 , wherein determining the service authorization information comprises determining the service authorization information using a device configuration update procedure. 
     
     
       16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 15 , the operations further comprising sending a request to a policy control function (PCF) to trigger the device configuration update procedure. 
     
     
       17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 13 , the operations further comprising:
 determining an update to the service authorization information; and 
 transmitting the updated service authorization information to the device, wherein the updated service authorization information causes the device to select a different cloud rendering server for the interactive service.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a U.S. National Phase Entry of International Application No. PCT/US2020/017068, which claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119 (e) of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/802,153, filed Feb. 6, 2019, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     Various embodiments generally may relate to the field of wireless communications. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present disclosure is directed to systems and methods for providing interactive services to a device. In one example, a method may include determining service authorization information for a device, the service authorization information being associated with an interactive service on a wireless network. The method may also include determining device policies for the device based on the service authorization information. The method may also include transmitting the device policies to the device, wherein the device policies enable the device to select a cloud rendering server for the interactive service. 
     In another example, the present disclosure is directed to a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions to cause a computing device, upon execution of the instructions by one or more processors of the electronic device, to perform one or more operations. The operations may include determining service authorization information for a device, the service authorization information being associated with an interactive service on a wireless network. The operations may also include determining device policies for the device based on the service authorization information. The operations may also include transmitting the device policies to the device, wherein the device policies enable the device to select a cloud rendering server for the interactive service. 
     In another example, the present disclosure is directed to an apparatus having radio front end circuitry, a processor and a memory that stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to determine service authorization information for a device, the service authorization information being associated with an interactive service on a wireless network. The instructions may also cause the processor to determine device policies for the device based on the service authorization information. The instructions may also cause the processor to transmit, using the radio front end circuitry, the device policies to the device, wherein the device policies enable the device to select a cloud rendering server for the interactive service. 
     In some embodiments, the service authorization includes at least one of the following: an application ID; a list of allowed public land mobile networks (PLMNs); a list of data network names (DNNs) per PLMN; a list of cloud rendering server internet protocol (IP) addresses and port numbers per DNN and PLMN; priority per cloud rendering server; or validity criteria. 
     In some embodiments, the service authorization comprises the validity criteria, and wherein the device is configured to select a cloud rendering server with a highest priority that satisfies the validity criteria. 
     In some embodiments, determining the service authorization information comprises determining the service authorization information using a device configuration update procedure. 
     In some embodiments, the method further includes sending a request to a policy control function (PCF) to trigger the device configuration update procedure. 
     In some embodiments, the device policies comprise the service authorization information. 
     In some embodiments, the method further includes determining an update to the service authorization information and transmitting the updated service authorization information to the device, wherein the updated service authorization information causes the device to select a different cloud rendering server for the interactive service. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
       The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and form part of the specification, illustrate the present disclosure and, together with the description, further serve to explain the principles of the disclosure and enable a person of skill in the relevant art(s) to make and use the disclosure. 
         FIG.  1    illustrates an example architecture of a system of a network, according to some embodiments of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  2    illustrates an example architecture of a system including a first core network (CN), according to some embodiments of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  3    illustrates an architecture of a system including a second CN, according to some embodiments of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  4    illustrates an example of infrastructure equipment, according to some embodiments of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  5    illustrates an example of a device, according to some embodiments of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  6    illustrates example components of baseband circuitry and radio front end modules (RFEM), according to some embodiments of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  7    illustrates various protocol functions that may be implemented in a wireless communication device, according to some embodiments of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  8    illustrates components of a core network, according to some embodiments of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  9    is a block diagram illustrating components of a system to support NFV, according to some embodiments of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  10    is a block diagram illustrating components, according to some example embodiments, able to read instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, according to some embodiments of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  11    illustrates a method for providing interactive services to a device, according to some embodiments of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  12    illustrates a method for selecting a cloud rendering server, according to some embodiments of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  13    illustrates a UE configuration update procedure, according to some embodiments of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  14    illustrates a process for requesting quality of service (QoS) control procedure for a particular traffic flow, according to some embodiments of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  15    illustrates an NEF provisioning procedure, according to some embodiments of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  16    illustrates a process for requesting an application policy update, according to some embodiments of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  17    illustrates another process for requesting an application policy update, according to some embodiments of the disclosure. 
     
    
    
     The present disclosure is described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, generally, like reference numbers indicate identical or functionally similar elements. Additionally, generally, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the drawing in which the reference number first appears. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers may be used in different drawings to identify the same or similar elements. In the following description, for purposes of explanation and not limitation, specific details are set forth such as particular structures, architectures, interfaces, techniques, etc. in order to provide a thorough understanding of the various aspects of various embodiments. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the present disclosure that the various aspects of the various embodiments may be practiced in other examples that depart from these specific details. In certain instances, descriptions of well-known devices, circuits, and methods are omitted so as not to obscure the description of the various embodiments with unnecessary detail. For the purposes of the present document, the phrase “A or B” means (A), (B), or (A and B). 
     One potential use case for network controlled interactive service in fifth generation (5G) wireless communication networks is cloud rendering game. Cloud gaming, (also known as gaming on demand) is a type of online gaming that allows direct and on-demand video streaming of games onto different computing devices through the use of a thin client. The game is stored, executed, and rendered on a remote server and the video results are streamed directly to the computing device. This allows users to access games without regard to the capability of the user&#39;s computing device, as the remote server is responsible for storing, executing, and rendering the game. The controls and button presses from the user&#39;s computing device are transmitted to the server, where they are recorded, and the server then sends back the game&#39;s response to the input controls. Current 5Gs system lacks the capability to provision interactive services for cloud rendering gaming in efficient and optimal manners. 
     This disclosure focuses on cloud rendering game to provide interactive services for gamers using user equipment (UE) over the 5G system and provides solutions to resolve the following issues: 
     Issue 1: The cloud rendering gaming is an on demand service. Efficiently and optimally managing network resources for provisioning the interactive service may require high demanded bandwidth and low latency, and as such, the 5G system may need a mechanism for access control and service authorization. 
     Issue 2: To meet the stringent key performance indicators (KPIs) for provisioning interactive service in cloud rendering gaming, the usage of Edge computing may be needed as indicated in clause 5.13 in Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) TS23.501 (System Architecture for 5G system). For a Cloud Rendering Server as an Application Function (AF), the AF may request to infer a user plane route and steer a particular traffic flow with required quality of service (QoS) to local area data network. However, interactive services may be sensitive to the route changes, and the user may be at the risk of a service interruption and affect the required KPIs. Thus, a mechanism in 5G system may be needed to reduce the frequency or probabilities of route changing caused by load balancing. 
     Issue 3: For a cloud rendering server, high computing power and resources may be required, and third party service operators may deploy computing/resource load balancing mechanism to balance the load for serving gamers among cloud rendering servers. Currently, 5G systems do not support a mechanism to discover and relocate the cloud rendering server for interactive services. 
     Issue 4: For the interactive services, the UE transmits, in the uplink, commands that a user has given to control the game (using a remote control or by pressing buttons). This information may normally be sent in small packet size, but may require high reliability and low latency. It is desirable that the 5G core network (5GC) handles the packets containing the commands to control the game. 
     Currently, 5G systems support cloud rendering gaming for interactive services in a best effort manner, which may induce some potential issues as discussed above. The existing 5G system lacks the capability to provision interactive services for cloud rendering gaming in efficient and optimal manners. 
     This disclosure provides the following solutions for resolving above mentioned issues. 
     Solution1: Interactive service subscription and service authorization to support on demand cloud rendering gaming. 
     Solution2: AF triggered application traffic pattern provisioning as assistant information. 
     Solution3: AF triggered cloud rendering server relocation due to computing/resource balancing in application domains. 
     The techniques described herein, provide mechanisms in 5GS to reflect the dynamic traffic activities caused by users using interactive service for cloud rendering gaming. 
     Solution 1: Subscription and Service Authorization 
     This solution is aimed at resolving issue 1 and partially issue 3 related to the discovery of the cloud rendering servers. 
     For a UE, e.g., UE  301  of  FIG.  3    discussed in greater detail below, to use cloud rendering gaming in 5GS, the UE  301  may need to have a subscription for interactive services and service authorization for the cloud rendering gaming, whereby the service authorization can be configured by a policy control function (PCF), e.g., PCF  326  of  FIG.  3   , using a UE configuration update procedure, as shown in  FIG.  13    and as indicated in clause 4.2.4.3 of 3GPP TS 23.502. In the UE configuration update procedure shown in  FIG.  13   , the service authorization may be sent via 
     Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer message from the PCF  326  to an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), e.g., AMF  321  of  FIG.  3   , which may contain at least one of the following information for cloud rendering gaming authorization:
         an application ID;   a list of allowed public land mobile networks (PLMNs);   a list of data network names (DNNs) and, optionally, with an of indication of a local area data network (LADN) per PLMN;   a list of cloud rendering server internet protocol (IP) addresses and port numbers per DNN and PLMN;   priority per cloud rendering server; or   validity criteria, e.g. service time, allowed service geographical areas, “user&#39;s consent agreement.”       

     The authorization information can include more than one application IDs with corresponding configuration information. 
     Solution 1.1: On Demand Interactive Service for Cloud Rendering Gaming 
     Following solution 1, an Application Function (AF), e.g., AF  328  of  FIG.  3   , connected with cloud rendering server may send a request to the PCF  326  directly, or via an network exposure function (NEF), e.g., NEF  323  of  FIG.  3    discussed in greater detail below, to trigger the UE configuration update procedure for updating service authorization of the cloud rendering gaming to the UE  301 , as illustrated in  FIG.  13   , whereby the following information may be provided:
         application ID;   list of allowed PLMNs;   list of DNNs per PLMN;   list of cloud rendering server IP addresses and port numbers per DNN, PLMN   priority per cloud rendering server; or   validity criteria, e.g. service time, allowed service geographical areas, “user&#39;s consent agreement.”       

     Based on the received UE configuration information, the UE  301  may select a cloud rendering server with the highest priority that satisfies all validity criteria. 
     The PCF  326  may provide multiple policy sections separately to the AMF  321  and then the AMF  321  may use the UE configuration update procedure for transparent UE policies delivery procedure, as shown in  FIG.  13   , to deliver the policies to the UE  301 , as defined in 3GPP TS 23.502 clause 4.2.4.3 and clause 4.16. 
     Solution 2 
     This solution is aimed at resolving issue 2. 
     According to the content of the cloud rendering gaming and the progress of the game, short-term traffic patterns may cause different level of traffic loads in the user plane. This solution proposes to provide short-term information of traffic activities to the 5G control as assistant information for network resource management and quality of service (QoS) control. 
     The short-term estimated information is the traffic patterns per application which may include but is not limited to:
         application ID;   application type description: cloud rendering gaming, e.g. video streaming, file streaming; or   traffic patterns parameters per application;
           traffic pattern duration;   time frame size, e.g. 10 secs, 30 secs, 1 min, 5 mins, etc;   interactive downlink traffic packet arrival rate, packet size, and volume per time frame (traffic rate) (for video streaming the real-time gaming scene); or   interactive uplink traffic packet arrival rate, packet size, and volume per time frame (traffic rate) (for commands and control).   
               

     The traffic pattern information may be provided with conditions of geographical area per UE, IP flow, or User group identified by Group ID known by the network. 
     The followings are the procedures that can be used by the AF  328  to provide assistant information related to traffic pattern. 
     Solution 2.1: AF Requests for Traffic Steering Towards Local Edge Computing Network 
     This solution allows the 5G network to manage user plane traffics better and reduce the chance to reselect user plane route. 
     Following solution 2, based on Application Function influence on traffic routing, clause 5.6.7 of TS 23.501 and clause 5.6.7 of 3GPP TS 23.501. As illustrated in  FIG.  14   , the AF  328  may send a request message that further includes the traffic pattern as stated in solution 2. The traffic pattern may be provided per Traffic Description and target UE(s), i.e. per application. The traffic pattern may be used for steering user plane route and reselection of User Plane Function (UPF), e.g., UPF  302  of  FIG.  3    discussed in greater detail below. 
     The following list is existing information provided by the AF  328  to request traffic steering as indicated at clause 5.6.7:
         traffic description: defines the target traffic to be influenced, represented by the combination of DNN and optionally S-NSSAI, and application identifier or traffic filtering information;   target UE identifier(s);   AF transaction identifier;   potential locations of applications;   spatial validity condition;   traffic routing requirements;   application relocation possibility;   temporal validity condition; or   information on AF subscription to corresponding Session Management Function (SMF) events.       

     The above information is forwarded to the SMF, e.g., SMF  325  of  FIG.  3    discussed in greater detail below, for the consideration of the UPF  302  selection/reselection. The following list includes existing information considered as indicated at clause 6.3.3.2-for SMF provisioning of available UPF(s):
         UPF related info:
           UPF&#39;s dynamic load, UPF&#39;s relative static capacity among UPFs supporting the same DNN, UPF location available at the SMF, capability of the UPF and the functionality required for the particular UE session: An appropriate UPF can be selected by matching the functionality and features required for an UE.   
           DNAI related info:
           DNAI as included in the PCC Rules and described in clause 5.6.7, information regarding user plane termination(s) corresponding to DNAI(s), information related to user plane topology and user plane terminations, that may be deduced from   
           local operator policies.   UE related info:
           UE location information, UE subscription profile in UDM, access technology being used by the UE.   
           PDU Session related info:
           Data Network Name (DNN), S-NSSAI, SSC mode selected for the PDU Session, PDU Session Type (i.e. IPv4, IPv6, IPv4v6, Ethernet Type or Unstructured Type) and if applicable, the static IP address/prefix.   
           AN related info:
           AN-provided identities (e.g. CellID, TAI), available UPF(s) and DNAI(s), Information regarding the N3 User Plane termination(s) of the AN serving the UE. This may be deduced from AN-provided identities (e.g. CellID, TAI);   
           Information regarding the user plane interfaces of UPF(s). This information may be acquired by the SMF using N4; and   Information regarding the N9 User Plane termination(s) of UPF(s) if needed.
 
Solution 2.2: AF Requests for QoS Control for a Particular Traffic Flows
       

     Following solution 2, based on AF session set up for required QoS as indicated in clause 4.15.6.6 in 3GPP TS23.502, as illustrated in  FIG.  14   , the AF  328  may send Nnef_AFsessionWithQoS_Create request message and include traffic pattern information as stated in solution 2. The traffic pattern may be provided per description of the application flows, i.e. per application and IP flows. 
     Solution 2.3: External Parameters Provisioning 
     Following solution 2, based on AF session set up for required QoS, the AF  328  may send Nnef_AFsessionWithQoS_Create request message and include traffic pattern information as stated in solution 2. The traffic pattern is provided per Description of the application flows, i.e. per application and IP flows. 
     Following solution 2, based on the AF requested NEF provisioning capability, the expected traffic patterns information as stated in solution 2 may be provided to 5G network functions, as illustrated in  FIG.  15   . 
     In this solution, the expected traffic pattern information may provide traffic related characteristics for the foreseen behavior of a UE  301  or a group of UEs  301 . Sets of these parameters may be provided via the NEF  323  to be stored as part of the subscriber data. 
     Solution 3 
     This solution is aimed at resolving issue 3 related to application server relocation. 
     There are following two occasions that AF  328  may need to request for the changes of the cloud rendering server:
     1) When the AF  328  adds more new cloud rendering servers for applications and needs to update information to the 5G system including 5G control and the UE  301 .   2) When the AF  328  needs to change the AF session with the cloud rendering server to be relocated. This may be happened when computing power/resource surge and the AF  328  needs to perform load balancing among cloud rendering application servers.
 
Solution 3.1: External Parameters Provisioning
   

     To resolve case 1, based on procedure of AF requested NEF provisioning capability, as illustrated in  FIG.  15   , the following cloud rendering server information may be provided to 5G network functions, as indicated in  FIG.  15   , as Nnef_ParameterProvision_update request/response operations:
         application ID;   list of allowed PLMNs;   list of DNNs per PLMN;   list of cloud rendering server IP addresses and port numbers per DNN, PLMN   priority per cloud rendering server; or   validity criteria, e.g. service time, allowed service geographical areas, “user&#39;s consent agreement.”       

     In addition, the following procedure may be followed after the external parameters provisioning procedure: 
     Step 1: if the PCF  326  has subscribed to the notification event from the Unified Data Management/Unified Data Repository (UDM/UDR), e.g., UDM  327  of  FIG.  3    discussed in greater detail below, for the changes of authorization information of application parameters, the PCF gets the notification information. 
     Step 2: the PCF  326  determines to trigger UE configuration update procedure, as illustrated in  FIG.  13   , indicated in TS 23.502 clause 4.2.4.3 and clause 4.16, to update the information of the cloud rendering servers for the associated application. 
     Step 3: Based on the received UE configuration information, the UE  301  selects a cloud rendering server with the highest priority that satisfies all validity criteria. 
     Solution 3.2: Application Server Relocation Via AF Requested App Policy Update Procedure 
     To resolve case 2 due to computing/resource load balancing and monitoring reports received from the 5G network, the AF  328  may need to relocate the cloud rendering server. This solution proposes a mechanism to allow AF  328  to update information to the 5GC about cloud rendering server relocation for a UE  301  or a group of UEs  301  identified by a group ID or subgroup ID. 
     Specifically, in the request message, an indication is added to notify the activation condition for the policy. For example, an indication can be added to represent immediate activation as soon as the policy is updated. For example, an indication can be added with a timer to represent that the activation takes effect when the timer is expired. For example, an indication can be added with the condition to activate the policy when the UE configuration is updated successfully. Depending on the operator&#39;s configuration, the AF may request for policy changes directly to PCF  326 , or via NEF  323  when the AF  328  is not authorized to directly access the PCF  326 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG.  16   , at step 1, the AF  328  may request for application policy update service authorization by sending a Nnef_App_Policy_Update Request (AF Identifier, Generic Public Subscription Identifier (GPSI)/External Group Identifier of the UE, external Application Identifiers, Application Policies for each Application Identifier) message to the NEF  323 , whereby the Application Policy information includes:
         indication for policy activation/deactivation per application   parameters of cloud rendering service per application that further includes:
           application ID;   list of allowed PLMNs;   list of DNNs per PLMN;   list of cloud rendering server IP addresses and port numbers per DNN, PLMN   priority per cloud rendering server; or   validity criteria, e.g. service time, allowed service geographical areas, “user&#39;s consent agreement.”   
               

     In this step, the parameters may be indicated with the addition, remove, update. The full set of the configuration may be included or only the difference of the configuration is needed to send as parameters instead of providing full set of parameters. 
     In response to receiving the Nnef_App_Policy_Update Request, at step 2, the NEF  323  may authorize the AF  328  to request authorization for application policy update together with the AF Identifier. If the authorization is not granted, this may be omitted and the NEF  323  may reply to the AF  328  with a result value indicating that the authorization failed. If the authorization is granted, the NEF  323  may allocate a transaction reference ID to identify the follow up messages regarding to the request. Based on operator configuration, the NEF  323  may skip this step, and in this case, the authorization may be performed by the PCF  326  in step 3. 
     At step 3, the NEF  323  may send a Npcf_App_Policy_Update request message (Application Identifier(s), Application policy information for each Application Identifier, SUPI) to the PCF  326 . The NEF  323  may also query for the translation of GPSI/External Group Identifier of the UE to Subscription Permanent Identifier (SUPI) of the UE  301 . 
     At step 4, the PCF  326  may determine whether the request is allowed. If yes, the PCF  326  may continue to create the list of application policies into the PCF 326  based on the operator&#39;s configured policies for each requested application ID and respond to NEF  323 . 
     At step 5, the PCF  326  may send a Npcf_App_Policy_Update Response message (Application Identifier(s), Results) message to the NEF that indicates the results. If any of the updates for application policy fails, cause is provided per Application ID, e.g. policy suspend, policy expiration, policy unavailable, etc. 
     At step 6, the NEF  323  may send a Nnef_App_Policy_Update Response (Transaction Reference ID, Results) message to the AF  328  to provide the feedback of the result for Nnef_App_Policy_Update Request. The transaction reference ID may be used by the AF  328  to provide the follow up information regarding to the request for the Application Policy Update procedure. 
     The AF  328  may request to follow the following monitoring events [T523.502]:
         Loss of Connectivity   UE reachability   Location Reporting   Change of SUPI-PEI association   Roaming status   Communication failure   Availability after DNN failure   Number of UEs present in a geographical area       

     Also, AF  328  can request for Notification of Change of user plane route (for the DNAI). [T523.501] 
     Solution 3.3 
     Following solution 3.2, whereby the AF  328  triggers Application Policy Update procedure, as illustrated in  FIG.  17   , due to the occurring of a notification event, e.g. cloud rendering server configuration changes, in which the notification event is subscribed to by the PCF  326  to request application event notification from AF  328  via an application server information updates procedure. Depending on the operator&#39;s configuration, the AF  328  can request for policy changes directly from the PCF  326 , or via the NEF  323 , if the AF  328  is not authorized to directly access the PCF  326 . The procedure can be as follows: 
     at step 1, the PCF  326  may request the AF  328  to configure notification events for application policy updates, e.g. using Naf_PolicyConfiguration_Notification request, indicating the application identifiers for policy configuration notification for a UE  301 ; 
     at step 2, when detecting the occurring of the notification event, the AF  328  may send a notification to the PCF  326  triggering the application policy update procedure as stated in Solution 3.2; 
     at step 3, the PCF  326  may send the notification to the SMF  324 ; 
     at step 4, the SMF  324  may determine whether to reselect a UPF  302  or change a DNAI, and if yes, the SMF  324  may reconfigure the UPF  302 ; 
     at step 5, the SMF  324  may report the change of DNAI to the PCF  326 ; and 
     at step 6, the PCF  326  may reply to AF  328  for the change of DNAI. 
     Solution 3.4 
     Following solution 3.2 or 3.3, the following procedure may be followed after the PCF  326  receives the updates of application policies: 
     the PCF  326  may determine whether to trigger the UE configuration update procedure, as illustrated in  FIG.  13   , indicated in TS 23.502 clause 4.2.4.3 and clause 4.16, to update the information of the cloud rendering servers for the associated application. 
     based on the received UE configuration information, the UE  301  may re-select a cloud rendering server with the highest priority that satisfies all validity criteria. 
     Solution 3.5 
     Step 1: The AF  328  may send a request to the PCF  326  or via the NEF  323 , in which the request message may include the information for relocation of cloud rendering server:
         IP address   A list of traffic type and corresponding port       

     The request message includes also an indication, e.g. active policy, to ask PCF  326  to directly trigger the UE configuration update procedure and request the UE  301  to use the new UE configuration parameters. 
     Step 2: with the indication of active policy, the PCF  326  may directly trigger the UE configuration update procedure to forward the requested relocation information, i.e. active policy indication, IP address, a list of traffic types and corresponding port, etc. to the UE  301 . 
     Step 3: with the active policy indication, the UE  301  re-selects the cloud rendering server and applies the configuration of traffic types and the corresponding port, provided by the PCF  326 . 
     Solution 4 
     This solution is used to resolve issue 4. For the interactive services, the UE  301  may need to transmit, in the uplink, the commands that a user has given to control the game (using remote control or pressing buttons). This information is normally with small packet size but requires high reliability and low latency. 
     The UE  301  may mark the packet containing the commands and control information in the uplink. When establishing the PDU session, the UE  301  may need to indicate to the SMF  324  to enable per-packet URLLC (ultra reliability and low latency) handling for the interactive game. Based on the indication, the SMF  324  may configure the UPF  302  with the indication of per-packet URLLC handling. The UPF  302  may detect the packet with URLLC marking and deliver the packet with high priority, and may duplicate the packets to enhance the reliability and low latency. 
     As discussed, this disclosure is directed to cloud rendering gaming and providing interactive services for gamers using user equipment (UE) over 5G networks. The disclosure provides solutions to resolve issues related to access control and service authorization, route changes caused by load balancing, the relocation of cloud rendering servers, and handling packets from user devices containing the commands to control the game. For example and as discussed further below, this disclosure provides for: an interactive service subscription and service authorization to support on demand cloud rendering gaming; using application traffic pattern provisioning as assistant information; managing cloud rendering server relocation due to computing/resource balancing in application domains; and prioritized packet handling for packets from user devices containing the commands to control the game. 
     In some embodiments, the processes described herein may be performed using a system, such as the system  300  shown in  FIG.  3   , which is described in greater detail below. In some embodiments, the system  300  may include: a UE  301 ; an AUSF  322 ; an AMF  321 ; a SMF  324 ; a NEF  323 ; a PCF  326 ; a NRF  325 ; a UDM  327 ; an AF  328 ; a UPF  302 ; and a NSSF  329 . 
     In some embodiments, for the UE  301  to use cloud rendering gaming, the UE  301  may have a subscription for interactive services and a service authorization. The service authorization may be generated by the PCF  326  using a UE configuration update procedure. For example, when the PCF  326  wants to change or provide new device policies to the UE  301 , the PCF  326  may initiate the UE configuration update procedure, as illustrated in  FIG.  13   . In some embodiments, at step 1, the UE configuration update procedure may include transmitting a first message having, for example, access and mobility related information or a UE policy container, e.g., UE access and protocol data unit (PDU) session selection related information, or both, from the PCF  326  to the AMF  321 . In some embodiments, the PCF  326  may transmit an update of the access and mobility related information or the UE policy container to the AMF  321 . 
     In response to receiving the first message, at step 2, the AMF  321  may trigger a network service request, and if the UE  301  is not reachable, the AMF  321  may report to the PCF  326  that the UE policy container could not be delivered to the UE  301 . At step 3, if the UE  301  is reachable, the AMF  321  may transfer the UE policy container to the UE  301 . In some embodiments, the UE policy container may include a list of policies to notify the UE  301  that one or more policies were added, removed, or modified. At step 4, in response to UE policy container, the UE  301  may perform the PSI operations and send a result back to the AMF  321 . In turn, at step 5, the AMF  321  may transfer the result to the PCF  326 . For example, in some embodiments, the PCF  326  may subscribe to be notified of the reception of the UE policy container, and as such, the AMF  321  may forward the response from the UE  301  to the PCF  326  using a return message that includes information on a policy control request trigger condition that has been met. In response, the PCF  326  may confirm the reception of the return message to the AMF  321 . 
     In some embodiments, the PCF  326  may provide multiple policy sections separately to the AMF  321  and, in turn, the AMF  321  may use the UE configuration update procedure to deliver the policies to the UE  301 . For example, in some embodiments, the service authorization may be sent in the first message transmitted from the PCF  326  to the AMF  321 . The service authorization may include at least one of the following: an application ID; a list of allowed public land mobile networks (PLMNs); a list of data network names (DNNs) and, optionally, with an of indication of a local area data network (LADN) per PLMN; a list of cloud rendering server internet protocol (IP) addresses and port numbers per DNN and PLMN; priority per cloud rendering server; or validity criteria, e.g. service time, allowed service geographical areas, “user&#39;s consent agreement.” In some embodiments, the service authorization may include more than one application ID with corresponding configuration information. In some embodiments, the AF  328  may be connected with a cloud rendering server and may send a request to trigger the UE configuration update procedure. Based on the received UE configuration information, the UE  301  may select a cloud rendering server with the highest priority that satisfies the validity criteria. 
     In some instances, the content and progress of the cloud rendering game may affect short-term traffic patterns that may cause different level of traffic loads in a user plane. To resolve this, in some embodiments, short-term information of traffic activities may be provided as assistant information for network resource management and QoS control. The short-term information may include traffic patterns per application which may include, but is not limited to: an application ID; an application type description (e.g., cloud rendering gaming, video streaming, file streaming); and traffic patterns parameters per application. The traffic patterns parameters per application may include: traffic pattern duration; time frame size (e.g. 10 secs, 30 secs, 1 min, 5 mins, etc.); interactive downlink traffic packet arrival rate, packet size, and volume per time frame (traffic rate), and for video streaming, the real-time gaming scene; and interactive uplink traffic packet arrival rate, packet size, and volume per time frame for commands and control. In some embodiments, the traffic pattern information may be provided with conditions of geographical area per UE, IP flow, or user group identified by a group ID known by the network. In some embodiments, the AF  328  may be configured to provide the short-term information related to the traffic patterns, which allows the 5G network to manage user plane traffic better and reduce the chance to reselect user plane route. 
     In some embodiments, the AF  328  may send requests to influence SMF routing decisions for user plane traffic of PDU Sessions. For example, the AF  328  may influence user plane function (UPF) selection/reselection, and allow routing of user traffic to a local access (identified by a DNAI) to a data network. The AF  328  may also include a request to subscribe to SMF events. In some embodiments, the AF  328  may send a request message to further include the traffic pattern information. In some embodiments, the traffic pattern information may be provided on a per application basis based on the traffic description and target UE. As such, the traffic pattern information may be used for steering user plane routing and the (re)selection of a user plane function (UPF). In some embodiments, the traffic pattern information may include: a traffic description (e.g., information defining target traffic to be influenced, represented by the combination of DNN, an application identifier or traffic filtering information, and optionally, single—network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI); target UE identifier(s); AF transaction identifier(s); potential locations of applications; spatial validity condition(s); traffic routing requirements; application relocation possibility(ies); temporal validity condition(s); and/or information on AF subscription(s) to corresponding SMF events. 
     In some embodiments, information provided by the AF  328  may be forwarded to the SMF  324  for the consideration of the UPF selection/reselection. For example, the information forwarded to the SMF  324  may include: UPF related info (e.g., a UPF&#39;s dynamic load, a UPF&#39;s relative static capacity among UPFs supporting the same DNN, UPF location available at the SMF, capability of the UPF and the functionality required for the particular UE session, where an appropriate UPF may be selected by matching the functionality and features required for an UE); data network access identifier (DNAI) information (e.g., DNAI as included in policy and charging control (PCC) rules, information regarding user plane termination(s) corresponding to DNAI(s), information related to user plane topology and user plane terminations that may be deduced from local operator policies; UE related info (e.g., UE location information, UE subscription profile in unified data management (UDM), access technology being used by the UE); protocol data unit (PDU) session related info (e.g., DNN, S-NSSAI, session and service continuity (SSC) mode selected for the PDU session, PDU session type (i.e. IPv4, IPv6, IPv4v6, Ethernet Type or Unstructured Type) and if applicable, a static IP address/prefix; access network (AN) related info (e.g., AN-provided identities (e.g. CellID, TAI), available UPF(s) and DNAI(s), information regarding the user plane termination(s) of the AN serving the UE, which may be deduced from AN-provided identities (e.g. CellID, TAI); information regarding the user plane interface(s) of the UPF(s), which may be acquired by the SMF using N4; or information related to the user plane termination(s) of UPF(s). 
     In some embodiments, the AF  328  may request quality of service (QoS) control procedure for a particular traffic flow, as illustrated in  FIG.  14   . For example, at step 1, the AF  328  may send a message to the NEF  323  and include the traffic pattern information. In some embodiments, at step 2, the NEF  323  may authorize the AF request and may apply policies to control the overall amount of pre-defined QoS authorized for the AF  328 . In some embodiments, at step 3, the NEF  323  may interact with the PCF  326  by sending request to the PCF  326  for authorization that includes, for example, IP filter information, sponsored data connectivity information, reference ID if received from the AF  328 , and sponsoring status if received from the AF  328 . In response to receiving the request, at step 4, the PCF  326  may derive the required QoS based on the information and determine whether the QoS is allowed according to a PCF configuration for this AF  328 , and notifies the result to the NEF  323 . The PCF  326  may determine whether the request is allowed and notifies the NEF  323  if the request is not authorized. In some embodiments, at step 5, the NEF  323  may send response message to the AF  328  indicating whether the request is granted or denied. In some embodiments, the traffic pattern information may provide traffic related characteristics for the foreseen behavior of a UE  301  or a group of UEs  301 . In some embodiments, sets of the pattern information may be stored as part of subscriber data. 
     In some embodiments, the AF  328  may request changes when the AF  328  adds a new cloud rendering server or when the AF  328  changes the AF session with the cloud rendering server to be relocated, e.g., when computing power/resource surge occurs and the AF  328  performs load balancing among cloud rendering servers. To resolve the first instance, an NEF provisioning procedure may be executed, as illustrated in  FIG.  15   . For example, at step 1, the AF  328  may provide one or more parameter(s) to be updated to the NEF  323 . When the AF  328  is authorized by the NEF  323  to provision the parameters, at step 2, the NEF  323  may send a request to the UDM  327  to update and store the provisioned parameters as part of subscriber data. In turn, at step 3 and 4, the UDM  327  may obtain corresponding subscriber information in order to validate required data updates and authorize these changes for this subscriber for the corresponding AF  328 . When the AF  328  is authorized by the UDM  327  to provision the parameters for this subscriber, the UDM  327  requests to update and store the provisioned parameters as part of the subscriber data. In some embodiments, at step 5, the UDM  327  may respond to the NEF  323  with the provisioned data as part of the subscription data. In some embodiments, the provisioned data may include: an application ID; a list of allowed PLMNs; a list of DNNs with an indication of LADN per PLMN; a list of cloud rendering server IP addresses and port numbers per DNN and PLMN; priority per cloud rendering server; and/or validity criteria, e.g. service time, allowed service geographical areas, “user&#39;s consent agreement.” 
     In some embodiments, after the external parameters provisioning procedure is executed, when the PCF  326  has subscribed to a notification event from the UDM  327  and/or the UDR for the changes of authorization information of application parameters, at step 6, the PCF  326  may receive a notification indicating changes to the provisioned data. In response, the PCF  326  may trigger the UE Configuration Update procedure, as illustrated in  FIG.  13   , to update the information of the cloud rendering servers for the associated application. And, based on the received configuration information, the UE  301  may select a cloud rendering server with the highest priority that satisfies all validity criteria. 
     To resolve the second scenario, the AF  328  may relocate the cloud rendering server. For example, the AF  328  may provide updated information to the 5G network about cloud rendering server relocation for a UE  301  or a group of UEs  301  identified by a group ID or subgroup ID. For example, in a policy update request message, the AF  328  may add an indication to notify the activation condition for the policy. In some embodiments, the indication may be added to represent immediate activation as soon as the policy is updated. In some embodiments, the indication may be added with a timer to represent that the activation takes effect when the timer is expired. In some embodiments, the indication may be added with the condition to activate the policy when the UE configuration is updated successfully. In some embodiments, the AF  328  may request the policy changes via NEF  323  when the AF  328  is not authorized to directly access the PCF  326 . In some embodiments, the AF  328  may be authorized to directly access the PCF  326 . 
     In some embodiments, as illustrated in  FIG.  16   , at step 1, the AF  328  may request an application policy update by sending a message to the NEF  323 . The request may include an AF identifier, a generic public subscription identifier (GPSI)/external group identifier of the UE, external application identifiers, and/or application policies for each application identifier. In some embodiments, the application policy may include an indication for policy activation/deactivation per application and/or parameters of cloud rendering service per application, which may include: a list of allowed PLMNs; a list of DNNs with indication of LADN per PLMN; a list of cloud rendering server IP addresses and port numbers per DNN and PLMN; a priority per cloud rendering server; and/or validity criteria, e.g. service time, allowed service geographical areas, “user&#39;s consent agreement. “In some embodiments, the parameters may be indicated with a status, such as addition, remove, or update. In some embodiments, the full set of the configuration may be included or the difference of the configuration may be transmitted instead of providing the full set of parameters. 
     In response to receiving the request from the AF  328 , at step 2, the NEF  323  may authorize the AF  328  to request authorization for the application policy update together with the AF Identifier. When the authorization is denied, the NEF  323  may respond to the AF  328  indicating such. When the authorization is granted, the NEF  323  may allocate a transaction reference ID to identify follow up messages related to the request. In some embodiments, the PCF  326  may perform the authorization. In some embodiments, at step 3, the NEF  323  may send an update request message to the PCF  326 . In some embodiments, the NEF  323  may query for a translation of the GPSI/external group identifier of the UE to a subscription permanent identifier (SUPI) of the UE. 
     In some embodiments, at step 4, the PCF  326  may determine whether the request is allowed. If yes, the PCF  326  creates a list of application policies based on policies for each requested application ID and respond to NEF  323  accordingly. That is, at step 5, the PCF  326  may send a message to the NEF  323  indicating results of the authorization, and when any of the updates for application policy fails, the PCF  326  includes information indicating why, e.g. policy suspend, policy expiration, policy unavailable, etc., for each application ID that was not authorized. In some embodiments, in response to receiving the results from the PCF  326 , at step 6, the NEF  323  forwards the results to the AF  328 . In some embodiments, the transaction reference ID may be used by the AF  328  to provide follow up information regarding to the request for the application policy update procedure. In some embodiments, the AF  328  may request to follow one or more of the following monitoring events: loss of connectivity; UE reachability; location reporting; change of SUPI-PEI association; roaming status; communication failure; availability after DNN failure; and number of UEs present in a geographical area. In some embodiments, the AF  328  may request for notification of changes to the user plane route for the DNAI. 
     In some embodiments, the AF  328  may trigger the application policy update procedure due to the occurrence of a notification event, e.g. cloud rendering server configuration changes. In some embodiments, as described in  FIG.  17   , at step 1, the PCF  326  may request to receive event notifications from the AF  328 . For example, the PCF  326  may request that the AF  328  to configure notification events for application policy updates. At step 2, when detecting the occurrence of the notification event, the AF  328  may send a notification via triggering an application policy update procedure. At step 3, the PCF  326  may send the notification to the SMF  324 , and at step 4, the SMF  324  determine whether to reselect a UPF or change a DNAI. At step 5, the SMF  324  may notify the PCF  326  of any changes, e.g., reconfiguration of the UPF or the change of DNAI, and in response, at step 6, the PCF  326  may notify the AF  328  of the change(s). 
     In some embodiments, after the PCF  326  receives any updates of application policies, the PCF  326  may determines to trigger the UE configuration update procedure, as described herein, to update the information of the cloud rendering servers for the associated application. Based on the received UE configuration information, the UE  301  may then re-selects a cloud rendering server with the highest priority that satisfies all validity criteria. 
     In some embodiments, in response to the relocation of cloud rendering server, the AF  328  may send a request to the PCF  326  director or via the NEF  323 . The request may include the information for relocation of cloud rendering server including an IP address and a list of traffic types and corresponding ports. In some embodiments, the request may also include an indication of an active policy of the UE  301 , a request PCF  326  to trigger the UE configuration update procedure, and a request that the UE  301  use the new UE configuration parameters. In some embodiments, the PCF  326  may trigger UE configuration update procedure in order to forward the relocation information, i.e. active policy indication, IP address, a list of traffic types and corresponding port, etc. to the UE  301 . In response to receiving the relocation information, the UE  301  may re-selects the cloud rendering server and applies the configuration of traffic types and the corresponding port. 
     In some embodiments, for the interactive services, the UE  301  may transmit the commands that a user has given to control the game, e.g., using a remote control or pressing buttons. This information may be transmitted in small packet size, but still requires high reliability and low latency. To ensure that the commands are transmitting with high reliability and low latency, the UE  301  may mark the packet containing the commands and control information. That is, when establishing the PDU session, the UE  301  may indicate to the SMF  324  to handle the packet using ultra reliability and low latency (URLLC) handling. Based on the indication, the SMF  324  may configure the UPF  302  to handle the packet with URLLC handling, such that when the UPF  302  detects the packet with URLLC marking, it delivers the packet with high priority, and may duplicate the packets to enhance the reliability and low latency. 
       FIG.  11    illustrates a method for providing interactive services to a device, according to some embodiments of the disclosure. For example, at  1105 , a method  1100  includes determining service authorization information for a device, the service authorization information being associated with an interactive service on a wireless network. At  1110 , the method  1100  determining device policies for the device based on the service authorization information. At  1115 , the method  1100  includes transmitting the device policies to the device, wherein the device policies cause the device to select a cloud rendering server for the interactive service. The steps in method  1100  may be at least partially performed by one or more of application circuitry  405  or  505 , baseband circuitry  410  or  510 , and/or processors  1010 . 
       FIG.  12    illustrates a method for selecting a cloud rendering server, according to some embodiments of the disclosure. For example, at  1205 , the method may include receiving device policies for a device based on service authorization information, the service authorization information being associated with an interactive service on a wireless network. At  1210 , the method may also include selecting, based on the device policies, a cloud rendering server for the interactive service. The steps in method  1200  may be at least partially performed by one or more of application circuitry  405  or  505 , baseband circuitry  410  or  510 , and/or processors  1010 . 
     Systems and Implementations 
       FIG.  1    illustrates an example architecture of a system  100  of a network, in accordance with various embodiments. The following description is provided for an example system  100  that operates in conjunction with the LTE system standards and 5G or NR system standards as provided by 3GPP technical specifications. However, the example embodiments are not limited in this regard and the described embodiments may apply to other networks that benefit from the principles described herein, such as future 3GPP systems (e.g., Sixth Generation (6G)) systems, IEEE 802.16 protocols (e.g., WMAN, WiMAX, etc.), or the like. 
     As shown by  FIG.  1   , the system  100  includes UE  101   a  and UE  101   b  (collectively referred to as “UEs  101 ” or “UE  101 ”). In this example, UEs  101  are illustrated as smartphones (e.g., handheld touchscreen mobile computing devices connectable to one or more cellular networks), but may also comprise any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as consumer electronics devices, cellular phones, smartphones, feature phones, tablet computers, wearable computer devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), pagers, wireless handsets, desktop computers, laptop computers, in-vehicle infotainment (IVI), in-car entertainment (ICE) devices, an Instrument Cluster (IC), head-up display (HUD) devices, onboard diagnostic (OBD) devices, dashtop mobile equipment (DME), mobile data terminals (MDTs), Electronic Engine Management System (EEMS), electronic/engine control units (ECUs), electronic/engine control modules (ECMs), embedded systems, microcontrollers, control modules, engine management systems (EMS), networked or “smart” appliances, MTC devices, M2M, IoT devices, and/or the like. 
     In some embodiments, any of the UEs  101  may be IoT UEs, which may comprise a network access layer designed for low-power IoT applications utilizing short-lived UE connections. An IoT UE can utilize technologies such as M2M or MTC for exchanging data with an MTC server or device via a PLMN, ProSe or D2D communication, sensor networks, or IoT networks. The M2M or MTC exchange of data may be a machine-initiated exchange of data. An IoT network describes interconnecting IoT UEs, which may include uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices (within the Internet infrastructure), with short-lived connections. The IoT UEs may execute background applications (e.g., keep-alive messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate the connections of the IoT network. 
     The UEs  101  may be configured to connect, for example, communicatively couple, with an or RAN  110 . In embodiments, the RAN  110  may be an NG RAN or a 5G RAN, an E-UTRAN, or a legacy RAN, such as a UTRAN or GERAN. As used herein, the term “NG RAN” or the like may refer to a RAN  110  that operates in an NR or 5G system  100 , and the term “E-UTRAN” or the like may refer to a RAN  110  that operates in an LTE or 4G system  100 . The UEs  101  utilize connections (or channels)  103  and  104 , respectively, each of which comprises a physical communications interface or layer (discussed in further detail below). 
     In this example, the connections  103  and  104  are illustrated as an air interface to enable communicative coupling, and can be consistent with cellular communications protocols, such as a GSM protocol, a CDMA network protocol, a PTT protocol, a POC protocol, a UMTS protocol, a 3GPP LTE protocol, a 5G protocol, a NR protocol, and/or any of the other communications protocols discussed herein. In embodiments, the UEs  101  may directly exchange communication data via a ProSe interface  105 . The ProSe interface  105  may alternatively be referred to as a SL interface  105  and may comprise one or more logical channels, including but not limited to a PSCCH, a PSSCH, a PSDCH, and a PSBCH. 
     The UE  101   b  is shown to be configured to access an AP  106  (also referred to as “WLAN node  106 ,” “WLAN  106 ,” “WLAN Termination  106 ,” “WT  106 ” or the like) via connection  107 . The connection  107  can comprise a local wireless connection, such as a connection consistent with any IEEE 802.11 protocol, wherein the AP  106  would comprise a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi®) router. In this example, the AP  106  is shown to be connected to the Internet without connecting to the core network of the wireless system (described in further detail below). In various embodiments, the UE  101   b , RAN  110 , and AP  106  may be configured to utilize LWA operation and/or LWIP operation. The LWA operation may involve the UE  101   b  in RRC_CONNECTED being configured by a RAN node  111   a - b  to utilize radio resources of LTE and WLAN. LWIP operation may involve the UE  101   b  using WLAN radio resources (e.g., connection  107 ) via IPsec protocol tunneling to authenticate and encrypt packets (e.g., IP packets) sent over the connection  107 . IPsec tunneling may include encapsulating the entirety of original IP packets and adding a new packet header, thereby protecting the original header of the IP packets. 
     The RAN  110  can include one or more AN nodes or RAN nodes  111   a  and  111   b  (collectively referred to as “RAN nodes  111 ” or “RAN node  111 ”) that enable the connections  103  and  104 . As used herein, the terms “access node,” “access point,” or the like may describe equipment that provides the radio baseband functions for data and/or voice connectivity between a network and one or more users. These access nodes can be referred to as BS, gNBs, RAN nodes, eNBs, NodeBs, RSUs, TRxPs or TRPs, and so forth, and can comprise ground stations (e.g., terrestrial access points) or satellite stations providing coverage within a geographic area (e.g., a cell). As used herein, the term “NG RAN node” or the like may refer to a RAN node  111  that operates in an NR or 5G system  100  (for example, a gNB), and the term “E-UTRAN node” or the like may refer to a RAN node  111  that operates in an LTE or 4G system  100  (e.g., an eNB). According to various embodiments, the RAN nodes  111  may be implemented as one or more of a dedicated physical device such as a macrocell base station, and/or a low power (LP) base station for providing femtocells, picocells or other like cells having smaller coverage areas, smaller user capacity, or higher bandwidth compared to macrocells. 
     In some embodiments, all or parts of the RAN nodes  111  may be implemented as one or more software entities running on server computers as part of a virtual network, which may be referred to as a CRAN and/or a virtual baseband unit pool (vBBUP). In these embodiments, the CRAN or vBBUP may implement a RAN function split, such as a PDCP split wherein RRC and PDCP layers are operated by the CRAN/vBBUP and other L2 protocol entities are operated by individual RAN nodes  111 ; a MAC/PHY split wherein RRC, PDCP, RLC, and MAC layers are operated by the CRAN/vBBUP and the PHY layer is operated by individual RAN nodes  111 ; or a “lower PHY” split wherein RRC, PDCP, RLC, MAC layers and upper portions of the PHY layer are operated by the CRAN/vBBUP and lower portions of the PHY layer are operated by individual RAN nodes  111 . This virtualized framework allows the freed-up processor cores of the RAN nodes  111  to perform other virtualized applications. In some implementations, an individual RAN node  111  may represent individual gNB-DUs that are connected to a gNB-CU via individual F1 interfaces (not shown by  FIG.  1   ). In these implementations, the gNB-DUs may include one or more remote radio heads or RFEMs (see, e.g.,  FIG.  4   ), and the gNB-CU may be operated by a server that is located in the RAN  110  (not shown) or by a server pool in a similar manner as the CRAN/vBBUP. Additionally or alternatively, one or more of the RAN nodes  111  may be ne6 generation eNBs (ng-eNBs), which are RAN nodes that provide E-UTRA user plane and control plane protocol terminations toward the UEs  101 , and are connected to a 5GC (e.g., CN  320  of  FIG.  3   ) via an NG interface (discussed infra). 
     In V2X scenarios one or more of the RAN nodes  111  may be or act as RSUs. The term “Road Side Unit” or “RSU” may refer to any transportation infrastructure entity used for V2X communications. An RSU may be implemented in or by a suitable RAN node or a stationary (or relatively stationary) UE, where an RSU implemented in or by a UE may be referred to as a “UE-type RSU,” an RSU implemented in or by an eNB may be referred to as an “eNB-type RSU,” an RSU implemented in or by a gNB may be referred to as a “gNB-type RSU,” and the like. In one example, an RSU is a computing device coupled with radio frequency circuitry located on a roadside that provides connectivity support to passing vehicle UEs  101  (vUEs  101 ). The RSU may also include internal data storage circuitry to store intersection map geometry, traffic statistics, media, as well as applications/software to sense and control ongoing vehicular and pedestrian traffic. The RSU may operate on the 5.9 GHz Direct Short Range Communications (DSRC) band to provide very low latency communications required for high speed events, such as crash avoidance, traffic warnings, and the like. Additionally or alternatively, the RSU may operate on the cellular V2X band to provide the aforementioned low latency communications, as well as other cellular communications services. Additionally or alternatively, the RSU may operate as a Wi-Fi hotspot (2.4 GHz band) and/or provide connectivity to one or more cellular networks to provide uplink and downlink communications. The computing device(s) and some or all of the radiofrequency circuitry of the RSU may be packaged in a weatherproof enclosure suitable for outdoor installation, and may include a network interface controller to provide a wired connection (e.g., Ethernet) to a traffic signal controller and/or a backhaul network. 
     Any of the RAN nodes  111  can terminate the air interface protocol and can be the first point of contact for the UEs  101 . In some embodiments, any of the RAN nodes  111  can fulfill various logical functions for the RAN  110  including, but not limited to, radio network controller (RNC) functions such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management and data packet scheduling, and mobility management. 
     In embodiments, the UEs  101  can be configured to communicate using OFDM communication signals with each other or with any of the RAN nodes  111  over a multicarrier communication channel in accordance with various communication techniques, such as, but not limited to, an OFDMA communication technique (e.g., for downlink communications) or a SC-FDMA communication technique (e.g., for uplink and ProSe or sidelink communications), although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. The OFDM signals can comprise a plurality of orthogonal subcarriers. 
     In some embodiments, a downlink resource grid can be used for downlink transmissions from any of the RAN nodes  111  to the UEs  101 , while uplink transmissions can utilize similar techniques. The grid can be a time-frequency grid, called a resource grid or time-frequency resource grid, which is the physical resource in the downlink in each slot. Such a time-frequency plane representation is a common practice for OFDM systems, which makes it intuitive for radio resource allocation. Each column and each row of the resource grid corresponds to one OFDM symbol and one OFDM subcarrier, respectively. The duration of the resource grid in the time domain corresponds to one slot in a radio frame. The smallest time-frequency unit in a resource grid is denoted as a resource element. Each resource grid comprises a number of resource blocks, which describe the mapping of certain physical channels to resource elements. Each resource block comprises a collection of resource elements; in the frequency domain, this may represent the smallest quantity of resources that currently can be allocated. There are several different physical downlink channels that are conveyed using such resource blocks. 
     According to various embodiments, the UEs  101 ,  102  and the RAN nodes  111 ,  112  communicate data (for example, transmit and receive) data over a licensed medium (also referred to as the “licensed spectrum” and/or the “licensed band”) and an unlicensed shared medium (also referred to as the “unlicensed spectrum” and/or the “unlicensed band”). The licensed spectrum may include channels that operate in the frequency range of approximately 400 MHz to approximately 3.8 GHz, whereas the unlicensed spectrum may include the 5 GHz band. 
     To operate in the unlicensed spectrum, the UEs  101 ,  102  and the RAN nodes  111 ,  112  may operate using LAA, eLAA, and/or feLAA mechanisms. In these implementations, the UEs  101 ,  102  and the RAN nodes  111 ,  112  may perform one or more known medium-sensing operations and/or carrier-sensing operations in order to determine whether one or more channels in the unlicensed spectrum is unavailable or otherwise occupied prior to transmitting in the unlicensed spectrum. The medium/carrier sensing operations may be performed according to a listen-before-talk (LBT) protocol. 
     LBT is a mechanism whereby equipment (for example, UEs  101 ,  102 , RAN nodes  111 ,  112 , etc.) senses a medium (for example, a channel or carrier frequency) and transmits when the medium is sensed to be idle (or when a specific channel in the medium is sensed to be unoccupied). The medium sensing operation may include CCA, which utilizes at least ED to determine the presence or absence of other signals on a channel in order to determine if a channel is occupied or clear. This LBT mechanism allows cellular/LAA networks to coexist with incumbent systems in the unlicensed spectrum and with other LAA networks. ED may include sensing RF energy across an intended transmission band for a period of time and comparing the sensed RF energy to a predefined or configured threshold. 
     Typically, the incumbent systems in the 5 GHz band are WLANs based on IEEE 802.11 technologies. WLAN employs a contention-based channel access mechanism, called CSMA/CA. Here, when a WLAN node (e.g., a mobile station (MS) such as UE  101  or  102 , AP  106 , or the like) intends to transmit, the WLAN node may first perform CCA before transmission. Additionally, a backoff mechanism is used to avoid collisions in situations where more than one WLAN node senses the channel as idle and transmits at the same time. The backoff mechanism may be a counter that is drawn randomly within the CWS, which is increased exponentially upon the occurrence of collision and reset to a minimum value when the transmission succeeds. The LBT mechanism designed for LAA is somewhat similar to the CSMA/CA of WLAN. In some implementations, the LBT procedure for DL or UL transmission bursts including PDSCH or PUSCH transmissions, respectively, may have an LAA contention window that is variable in length between X and Y ECCA slots, where X and Y are minimum and maximum values for the CWSs for LAA. In one example, the minimum CWS for an LAA transmission may be 9 microseconds (μs); however, the size of the CWS and a MCOT (for example, a transmission burst) may be based on governmental regulatory requirements. 
     The LAA mechanisms are built upon CA technologies of LTE-Advanced systems. In CA, each aggregated carrier is referred to as a CC. A CC may have a bandwidth of 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15 or 20 MHz and a maximum of five CCs can be aggregated, and therefore, a maximum aggregated bandwidth is 100 MHz. In FDD systems, the number of aggregated carriers can be different for DL and UL, where the number of UL CCs is equal to or lower than the number of DL component carriers. In some cases, individual CCs can have a different bandwidth than other CCs. In TDD systems, the number of CCs as well as the bandwidths of each CC is usually the same for DL and UL. 
     CA also comprises individual serving cells to provide individual CCs. The coverage of the serving cells may differ, for example, because CCs on different frequency bands will experience different pathloss. A primary service cell or PCell may provide a PCC for both UL and DL, and may handle RRC and NAS related activities. The other serving cells are referred to as SCells, and each SCell may provide an individual SCC for both UL and DL. The SCCs may be added and removed as required, while changing the PCC may require the UE  101 ,  102  to undergo a handover. In LAA, eLAA, and feLAA, some or all of the SCells may operate in the unlicensed spectrum (referred to as “LAA SCells”), and the LAA SCells are assisted by a PCell operating in the licensed spectrum. When a UE is configured with more than one LAA SCell, the UE may receive UL grants on the configured LAA SCells indicating different PUSCH starting positions within a same subframe. 
     The PDSCH carries user data and higher-layer signaling to the UEs  101 . The PDCCH carries information about the transport format and resource allocations related to the PDSCH channel, among other things. It may also inform the UEs  101  about the transport format, resource allocation, and HARQ information related to the uplink shared channel. Typically, downlink scheduling (assigning control and shared channel resource blocks to the UE  101   b  within a cell) may be performed at any of the RAN nodes  111  based on channel quality information fed back from any of the UEs  101 . The downlink resource assignment information may be sent on the PDCCH used for (e.g., assigned to) each of the UEs  101 . 
     The PDCCH uses CCEs to convey the control information. Before being mapped to resource elements, the PDCCH complex-valued symbols may first be organized into quadruplets, which may then be permuted using a sub-block interleaver for rate matching. Each PDCCH may be transmitted using one or more of these CCEs, where each CCE may correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elements known as REGs. Four Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) symbols may be mapped to each REG. The PDCCH can be transmitted using one or more CCEs, depending on the size of the DCI and the channel condition. There can be four or more different PDCCH formats defined in LTE with different numbers of CCEs (e.g., aggregation level, L=1, 2, 4, or 8). 
     Some embodiments may use concepts for resource allocation for control channel information that are an e6ension of the above-described concepts. For example, some embodiments may utilize an EPDCCH that uses PDSCH resources for control information transmission. The EPDCCH may be transmitted using one or more ECCEs. Similar to above, each ECCE may correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elements known as an EREGs. An ECCE may have other numbers of EREGs in some situations. 
     The RAN nodes  111  may be configured to communicate with one another via interface  112 . In embodiments where the system  100  is an LTE system (e.g., when CN  120  is an EPC  220  as in  FIG.  2   ), the interface  112  may be an X2 interface  112 . The X2 interface may be defined between two or more RAN nodes  111  (e.g., two or more eNBs and the like) that connect to EPC  120 , and/or between two eNBs connecting to EPC  120 . In some implementations, the X2 interface may include an X2 user plane interface (X2-U) and an X2 control plane interface (X2-C). The X2-U may provide flow control mechanisms for user data packets transferred over the X2 interface, and may be used to communicate information about the delivery of user data between eNBs. For example, the X2-U may provide specific sequence number information for user data transferred from a MeNB to an SeNB; information about successful in sequence delivery of PDCP PDUs to a UE  101  from an SeNB for user data; information of PDCP PDUs that were not delivered to a UE  101 ; information about a current minimum desired buffer size at the SeNB for transmitting to the UE user data; and the like. The X2-C may provide intra-LTE access mobility functionality, including conte6 transfers from source to target eNBs, user plane transport control, etc.; load management functionality; as well as inter-cell interference coordination functionality. 
     In embodiments where the system  100  is a 5G or NR system (e.g., when CN  120  is an 5GC  320  as in  FIG.  3   ), the interface  112  may be an Xn interface  112 . The Xn interface is defined between two or more RAN nodes  111  (e.g., two or more gNBs and the like) that connect to 5GC  120 , between a RAN node  111  (e.g., a gNB) connecting to 5GC  120  and an eNB, and/or between two eNBs connecting to 5GC  120 . In some implementations, the Xn interface may include an Xn user plane (Xn-U) interface and an Xn control plane (Xn-C) interface. The Xn-U may provide non-guaranteed delivery of user plane PDUs and support/provide data forwarding and flow control functionality. The Xn-C may provide management and error handling functionality, functionality to manage the Xn-C interface; mobility support for UE  101  in a connected mode (e.g., CM-CONNECTED) including functionality to manage the UE mobility for connected mode between one or more RAN nodes  111 . The mobility support may include conte6 transfer from an old (source) serving RAN node  111  to new (target) serving RAN node  111 ; and control of user plane tunnels between old (source) serving RAN node  111  to new (target) serving RAN node  111 . A protocol stack of the Xn-U may include a transport network layer built on Internet Protocol (IP) transport layer, and a GTP-U layer on top of a UDP and/or IP layer(s) to carry user plane PDUs. The Xn-C protocol stack may include an application layer signaling protocol (referred to as Xn Application Protocol (Xn-AP)) and a transport network layer that is built on SCTP. The SCTP may be on top of an IP layer, and may provide the guaranteed delivery of application layer messages. In the transport IP layer, point-to-point transmission is used to deliver the signaling PDUs. In other implementations, the Xn-U protocol stack and/or the Xn-C protocol stack may be same or similar to the user plane and/or control plane protocol stack(s) shown and described herein. 
     The RAN  110  is shown to be communicatively coupled to a core network—in this embodiment, core network (CN)  120 . The CN  120  may comprise a plurality of network elements  122 , which are configured to offer various data and telecommunications services to customers/subscribers (e.g., users of UEs  101 ) who are connected to the CN  120  via the RAN  110 . The components of the CN  120  may be implemented in one physical node or separate physical nodes including components to read and execute instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium). In some embodiments, NFV may be utilized to virtualize any or all of the above-described network node functions via executable instructions stored in one or more computer-readable storage mediums (described in further detail below). A logical instantiation of the CN  120  may be referred to as a network slice, and a logical instantiation of a portion of the CN  120  may be referred to as a network sub-slice. NFV architectures and infrastructures may be used to virtualize one or more network functions, alternatively performed by proprietary hardware, onto physical resources comprising a combination of industry-standard server hardware, storage hardware, or switches. In other words, NFV systems can be used to execute virtual or reconfigurable implementations of one or more EPC components/functions. 
     Generally, the application server  130  may be an element offering applications that use IP bearer resources with the core network (e.g., UMTS PS domain, LTE PS data services, etc.). The application server  130  can also be configured to support one or more communication services (e.g., VoIP sessions, PTT sessions, group communication sessions, social networking services, etc.) for the UEs  101  via the EPC  120 . 
     In embodiments, the CN  120  may be a 5GC (referred to as “5GC  120 ” or the like), and the RAN  110  may be connected with the CN  120  via an NG interface  113 . In embodiments, the NG interface  113  may be split into two parts, an NG user plane (NG-U) interface  114 , which carries traffic data between the RAN nodes  111  and a UPF, and the S1 control plane (NG-C) interface  115 , which is a signaling interface between the RAN nodes  111  and AMFs. Embodiments where the CN  120  is a 5GC  120  are discussed in more detail with regard to  FIG.  3   . 
     In embodiments, the CN  120  may be a 5G CN (referred to as “5GC  120 ” or the like), while in other embodiments, the CN  120  may be an EPC). Where CN  120  is an EPC (referred to as “EPC  120 ” or the like), the RAN  110  may be connected with the CN  120  via an S1 interface  113 . In embodiments, the S1 interface  113  may be split into two parts, an S1 user plane (S1-U) interface  114 , which carries traffic data between the RAN nodes  111  and the S-GW, and the S1-MME interface  115 , which is a signaling interface between the RAN nodes  111  and MMEs. An example architecture wherein the CN  120  is an EPC  120  is shown by  FIG.  2   . 
       FIG.  2    illustrates an example architecture of a system  200  including a first CN  220 , in accordance with various embodiments. In this example, system  200  may implement the LTE standard wherein the CN  220  is an EPC  220  that corresponds with CN  120  of  FIG.  1   . Additionally, the UE  201  may be the same or similar as the UEs  101  of  FIG.  1   , and the E-UTRAN  210  may be a RAN that is the same or similar to the RAN  110  of  FIG.  1   , and which may include RAN nodes  111  discussed previously. The CN  220  may comprise MMEs  221 , an S-GW  222 , a P-GW  223 , a HSS  224 , and a SGSN  225 . 
     The MMEs  221  may be similar in function to the control plane of legacy SGSN, and may implement MM functions to keep track of the current location of a UE  201 . The MMEs  221  may perform various MM procedures to manage mobility aspects in access such as gateway selection and tracking area list management. MM (also referred to as “EPS MM” or “EMM” in E-UTRAN systems) may refer to all applicable procedures, methods, data storage, etc. that are used to maintain knowledge about a present location of the UE  201 , provide user identity confidentiality, and/or perform other like services to users/subscribers. Each UE  201  and the MME  221  may include an MM or EMM sublayer, and an MM conte6 may be established in the UE  201  and the MME  221  when an attach procedure is successfully completed. The MM conte6 may be a data structure or database object that stores MM-related information of the UE  201 . The MMEs  221  may be coupled with the HSS  224  via an S6a reference point, coupled with the SGSN  225  via an S3 reference point, and coupled with the S-GW  222  via an S11 reference point. 
     The SGSN  225  may be a node that serves the UE  201  by tracking the location of an individual UE  201  and performing security functions. In addition, the SGSN  225  may perform Inter-EPC node signaling for mobility between 2G/3G and E-UTRAN 3GPP access networks; PDN and S-GW selection as specified by the MMEs  221 ; handling of UE  201  time zone functions as specified by the MMEs  221 ; and MME selection for handovers to E-UTRAN 3GPP access network. The S3 reference point between the MMEs  221  and the SGSN  225  may enable user and bearer information exchange for inter-3GPP access network mobility in idle and/or active states. 
     The HSS  224  may comprise a database for network users, including subscription-related information to support the network entities&#39; handling of communication sessions. The EPC  220  may comprise one or several HSSs  224 , depending on the number of mobile subscribers, on the capacity of the equipment, on the organization of the network, etc. For example, the HSS  224  can provide support for routing/roaming, authentication, authorization, naming/addressing resolution, location dependencies, etc. An S6a reference point between the HSS  224  and the MMEs  221  may enable transfer of subscription and authentication data for authenticating/authorizing user access to the EPC  220  between HSS  224  and the MMEs  221 . 
     The S-GW  222  may terminate the S1 interface  113  (“S1-U” in  FIG.  2   ) toward the RAN  210 , and routes data packets between the RAN  210  and the EPC  220 . In addition, the S-GW  222  may be a local mobility anchor point for inter-RAN node handovers and also may provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility. Other responsibilities may include lawful intercept, charging, and some policy enforcement. The S11 reference point between the S-GW  222  and the MMEs  221  may provide a control plane between the MMES  221  and the S-GW  222 . The S-GW  222  may be coupled with the P-GW  223  via an S5 reference point. 
     The P-GW  223  may terminate an SGi interface toward a PDN  230 . The P-GW  223  may route data packets between the EPC  220  and external networks such as a network including the application server  130  (alternatively referred to as an “AF”) via an IP interface  125  (see e.g.,  FIG.  1   ). In embodiments, the P-GW  223  may be communicatively coupled to an application server (application server  130  of  FIG.  1    or PDN  230  in  FIG.  2   ) via an IP communications interface  125  (see, e.g.,  FIG.  1   ). The S5 reference point between the P-GW  223  and the S-GW  222  may provide user plane tunneling and tunnel management between the P-GW  223  and the S-GW  222 . The S5 reference point may also be used for S-GW  222  relocation due to UE  201  mobility and if the S-GW  222  needs to connect to a non-collocated P-GW  223  for the required PDN connectivity. The P-GW  223  may further include a node for policy enforcement and charging data collection (e.g., PCEF (not shown)). Additionally, the SGi reference point between the P-GW  223  and the packet data network (PDN)  230  may be an operator external public, a private PDN, or an intra operator packet data network, for example, for provision of IMS services. The P-GW  223  may be coupled with a PCRF  226  via a Gx reference point. 
     PCRF  226  is the policy and charging control element of the EPC  220 . In a non-roaming scenario, there may be a single PCRF  226  in the Home Public Land Mobile Network (HPLMN) associated with a UE  201 &#39;s Internet Protocol Connectivity Access Network (IP-CAN) session. In a roaming scenario with local breakout of traffic, there may be two PCRFs associated with a UE  201 &#39;s IP-CAN session, a Home PCRF (H-PCRF) within an HPLMN and a Visited PCRF (V-PCRF) within a Visited Public Land Mobile Network (VPLMN). The PCRF  226  may be communicatively coupled to the application server  230  via the P-GW  223 . The application server  230  may signal the PCRF  226  to indicate a new service flow and select the appropriate QoS and charging parameters. The PCRF  226  may provision this rule into a PCEF (not shown) with the appropriate TFT and QCI, which commences the QoS and charging as specified by the application server  230 . The Gx reference point between the PCRF  226  and the P-GW  223  may allow for the transfer of QoS policy and charging rules from the PCRF  226  to PCEF in the P-GW  223 . An Rx reference point may reside between the PDN  230  (or “AF  230 ”) and the PCRF  226 . 
       FIG.  3    illustrates an architecture of a system  300  including a second CN  320  in accordance with various embodiments. The system  300  is shown to include a UE  301 , which may be the same or similar to the UEs  101  and UE  201  discussed previously; a (R)AN  310 , which may be the same or similar to the RAN  110  and RAN  210  discussed previously, and which may include RAN nodes  111  discussed previously; and a DN  303 , which may be, for example, operator services, Internet access or 3rd party services; and a 5GC  320 . The 5GC  320  may include an AUSF  322 ; an AMF  321 ; a SMF  324 ; a NEF  323 ; a PCF  326 ; a NRF  325 ; a UDM  327 ; an AF  328 ; a UPF  302 ; and a NSSF  329 . 
     The UPF  302  may act as an anchor point for intra-RAT and inter-RAT mobility, an external PDU session point of interconnect to DN  303 , and a branching point to support multi-homed PDU session. The UPF  302  may also perform packet routing and forwarding, perform packet inspection, enforce the user plane part of policy rules, lawfully intercept packets (UP collection), perform traffic usage reporting, perform QoS handling for a user plane (e.g., packet filtering, gating, UL/DL rate enforcement), perform Uplink Traffic verification (e.g., SDF to QoS flow mapping), transport level packet marking in the uplink and downlink, and perform downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering. UPF  302  may include an uplink classifier to support routing traffic flows to a data network. The DN  303  may represent various network operator services, Internet access, or third party services. DN  303  may include, or be similar to, application server  130  discussed previously. The UPF  302  may interact with the SMF  324  via an N4 reference point between the SMF  324  and the UPF  302 . 
     The AUSF  322  may store data for authentication of UE  301  and handle authentication-related functionality. The AUSF  322  may facilitate a common authentication framework for various access types. The AUSF  322  may communicate with the AMF  321  via an N12 reference point between the AMF  321  and the AUSF  322 ; and may communicate with the UDM  327  via an N13 reference point between the UDM  327  and the AUSF  322 . Additionally, the AUSF  322  may exhibit an Nausf service-based interface. 
     The AMF  321  may be responsible for registration management (e.g., for registering UE  301 , etc.), connection management, reachability management, mobility management, and lawful interception of AMF-related events, and access authentication and authorization. The AMF  321  may be a termination point for the an N11 reference point between the AMF  321  and the SMF  324 . The AMF  321  may provide transport for SM messages between the UE  301  and the SMF  324 , and act as a transparent proxy for routing SM messages. AMF  321  may also provide transport for SMS messages between UE  301  and an SMSF (not shown by  FIG.  3   ). AMF  321  may act as SEAF, which may include interaction with the AUSF  322  and the UE  301 , receipt of an intermediate key that was established as a result of the UE  301  authentication process. Where USIM based authentication is used, the AMF  321  may retrieve the security material from the AUSF  322 . AMF  321  may also include a SCM function, which receives a key from the SEA that it uses to derive access-network specific keys. Furthermore, AMF  321  may be a termination point of a RAN CP interface, which may include or be an N2 reference point between the (R)AN  310  and the AMF  321 ; and the AMF  321  may be a termination point of NAS (N1) signalling, and perform NAS ciphering and integrity protection. 
     AMF  321  may also support NAS signalling with a UE  301  over an N3 IWF interface. The N3IWF may be used to provide access to untrusted entities. N3IWF may be a termination point for the N2 interface between the (R)AN  310  and the AMF  321  for the control plane, and may be a termination point for the N3 reference point between the (R)AN  310  and the UPF  302  for the user plane. As such, the AMF  321  may handle N2 signalling from the SMF  324  and the AMF  321  for PDU sessions and QoS, encapsulate/de-encapsulate packets for IPSec and N3 tunneling, mark N3 user-plane packets in the uplink, and enforce QoS corresponding to N3 packet marking taking into account QoS requirements associated with such marking received over N2. N3IWF may also relay uplink and downlink control-plane NAS signalling between the UE  301  and AMF  321  via an N1 reference point between the UE  301  and the AMF  321 , and relay uplink and downlink user-plane packets between the UE  301  and UPF  302 . The N3IWF also provides mechanisms for IPsec tunnel establishment with the UE  301 . The AMF  321  may exhibit an Namf service-based interface, and may be a termination point for an N14 reference point between two AMFs  321  and an N17 reference point between the AMF  321  and a 5G-EIR (not shown by  FIG.  3   ). 
     The UE  301  may need to register with the AMF  321  in order to receive network services. RM is used to register or deregister the UE  301  with the network (e.g., AMF  321 ), and establish a UE conte6 in the network (e.g., AMF  321 ). The UE  301  may operate in an RM-REGISTERED state or an RM-DEREGISTERED state. In the RM-DEREGISTERED state, the UE  301  is not registered with the network, and the UE conte6 in AMF  321  holds no valid location or routing information for the UE  301  so the UE  301  is not reachable by the AMF  321 . In the RM-REGISTERED state, the UE  301  is registered with the network, and the UE conte6 in AMF  321  may hold a valid location or routing information for the UE  301  so the UE  301  is reachable by the AMF  321 . In the RM-REGISTERED state, the UE  301  may perform mobility Registration Update procedures, perform periodic Registration Update procedures triggered by expiration of the periodic update timer (e.g., to notify the network that the UE  301  is still active), and perform a Registration Update procedure to update UE capability information or to re-negotiate protocol parameters with the network, among others. 
     The AMF  321  may store one or more RM conte6s for the UE  301 , where each RM conte6 is associated with a specific access to the network. The RM conte6 may be a data structure, database object, etc. that indicates or stores, inter alia, a registration state per access type and the periodic update timer. The AMF  321  may also store a 5GC MM conte6 that may be the same or similar to the (E)MM conte6 discussed previously. In various embodiments, the AMF  321  may store a CE mode B Restriction parameter of the UE  301  in an associated MM conte6 or RM conte6. The AMF  321  may also derive the value, when needed, from the UE&#39;s usage setting parameter already stored in the UE conte6 (and/or MM/RM conte6). 
     CM may be used to establish and release a signaling connection between the UE  301  and the AMF  321  over the N1 interface. The signaling connection is used to enable NAS signaling exchange between the UE  301  and the CN  320 , and comprises both the signaling connection between the UE and the AN (e.g., RRC connection or UE-N3IWF connection for non-3GPP access) and the N2 connection for the UE  301  between the AN (e.g., RAN  310 ) and the AMF  321 . The UE  301  may operate in one of two CM states, CM-IDLE mode or CM-CONNECTED mode. When the UE  301  is operating in the CM-IDLE state/mode, the UE  301  may have no NAS signaling connection established with the AMF  321  over the N1 interface, and there may be (R)AN  310  signaling connection (e.g., N2 and/or N3 connections) for the UE  301 . When the UE  301  is operating in the CM-CONNECTED state/mode, the UE  301  may have an established NAS signaling connection with the AMF  321  over the N1 interface, and there may be a (R)AN  310  signaling connection (e.g., N2 and/or N3 connections) for the UE  301 . Establishment of an N2 connection between the (R)AN  310  and the AMF  321  may cause the UE  301  to transition from CM-IDLE mode to CM-CONNECTED mode, and the UE  301  may transition from the CM-CONNECTED mode to the CM-IDLE mode when N2 signaling between the (R)AN  310  and the AMF  321  is released. 
     The SMF  324  may be responsible for SM (e.g., session establishment, modify and release, including tunnel maintain between UPF and AN node); UE IP address allocation and management (including optional authorization); selection and control of UP function; configuring traffic steering at UPF to route traffic to proper destination; termination of interfaces toward policy control functions; controlling part of policy enforcement and QoS; lawful intercept (for SM events and interface to LI system); termination of SM parts of NAS messages; downlink data notification; initiating AN specific SM information, sent via AMF over N2 to AN; and determining SSC mode of a session. SM may refer to management of a PDU session, and a PDU session or “session” may refer to a PDU connectivity service that provides or enables the exchange of PDUs between a UE  301  and a data network (DN)  303  identified by a Data Network Name (DNN). PDU sessions may be established upon UE  301  request, modified upon UE  301  and 5GC  320  request, and released upon UE  301  and 5GC  320  request using NAS SM signaling exchanged over the N1 reference point between the UE  301  and the SMF  324 . Upon request from an application server, the 5GC  320  may trigger a specific application in the UE  301 . In response to receipt of the trigger message, the UE  301  may pass the trigger message (or relevant parts/information of the trigger message) to one or more identified applications in the UE  301 . The identified application(s) in the UE  301  may establish a PDU session to a specific DNN. The SMF  324  may check whether the UE  301  requests are compliant with user subscription information associated with the UE  301 . In this regard, the SMF  324  may retrieve and/or request to receive update notifications on SMF  324  level subscription data from the UDM  327 . 
     The SMF  324  may include the following roaming functionality: handling local enforcement to apply QoS SLAB (VPLMN); charging data collection and charging interface (VPLMN); lawful intercept (in VPLMN for SM events and interface to LI system); and support for interaction with external DN for transport of signalling for PDU session authorization/authentication by external DN. An N16 reference point between two SMFs  324  may be included in the system  300 , which may be between another SMF  324  in a visited network and the SMF  324  in the home network in roaming scenarios. Additionally, the SMF  324  may exhibit the Nsmf service-based interface. 
     The NEF  323  may provide means for securely exposing the services and capabilities provided by 3GPP network functions for third party, internal exposure/re-exposure, Application Functions (e.g., AF  328 ), edge computing or fog computing systems, etc. In such embodiments, the NEF  323  may authenticate, authorize, and/or throttle the AFs. NEF  323  may also translate information exchanged with the AF  328  and information exchanged with internal network functions. For example, the NEF  323  may translate between an AF-Service-Identifier and an internal 5GC information. NEF  323  may also receive information from other network functions (NFs) based on exposed capabilities of other network functions. This information may be stored at the NEF  323  as structured data, or at a data storage NF using standardized interfaces. The stored information can then be re-exposed by the NEF  323  to other NFs and AFs, and/or used for other purposes such as analytics. Additionally, the NEF  323  may exhibit an Nnef service-based interface. 
     The NRF  325  may support service discovery functions, receive NF discovery requests from NF instances, and provide the information of the discovered NF instances to the NF instances. NRF  325  also maintains information of available NF instances and their supported services. As used herein, the terms “instantiate,” “instantiation,” and the like may refer to the creation of an instance, and an “instance” may refer to a concrete occurrence of an object, which may occur, for example, during execution of program code. Additionally, the NRF  325  may exhibit the Nnrf service-based interface. 
     The PCF  326  may provide policy rules to control plane function(s) to enforce them, and may also support unified policy framework to govern network behaviour. The PCF  326  may also implement an FE to access subscription information relevant for policy decisions in a UDR of the UDM  327 . The PCF  326  may communicate with the AMF  321  via an N15 reference point between the PCF  326  and the AMF  321 , which may include a PCF  326  in a visited network and the AMF  321  in case of roaming scenarios. The PCF  326  may communicate with the AF  328  via an N5 reference point between the PCF  326  and the AF  328 ; and with the SMF  324  via an N7 reference point between the PCF  326  and the SMF  324 . The system  300  and/or CN  320  may also include an N24 reference point between the PCF  326  (in the home network) and a PCF  326  in a visited network. Additionally, the PCF  326  may exhibit an Npcf service-based interface. 
     The UDM  327  may handle subscription-related information to support the network entities&#39; handling of communication sessions, and may store subscription data of UE  301 . For example, subscription data may be communicated between the UDM  327  and the AMF  321  via an N8 reference point between the UDM  327  and the AMF. The UDM  327  may include two parts, an application FE and a UDR (the FE and UDR are not shown by  FIG.  3   ). The UDR may store subscription data and policy data for the UDM  327  and the PCF  326 , and/or structured data for exposure and application data (including PFDs for application detection, application request information for multiple UEs  301 ) for the NEF  323 . The Nudr service-based interface may be exhibited by the UDR  221  to allow the UDM  327 , PCF  326 , and NEF  323  to access a particular set of the stored data, as well as to read, update (e.g., add, modify), delete, and subscribe to notification of relevant data changes in the UDR. The UDM may include a UDM-FE, which is in charge of processing credentials, location management, subscription management and so on. Several different front ends may serve the same user in different transactions. The UDM-FE accesses subscription information stored in the UDR and performs authentication credential processing, user identification handling, access authorization, registration/mobility management, and subscription management. The UDR may interact with the SMF  324  via an N10 reference point between the UDM  327  and the SMF  324 . UDM  327  may also support SMS management, wherein an SMS-FE implements the similar application logic as discussed previously. Additionally, the UDM  327  may exhibit the Nudm service-based interface. 
     The AF  328  may provide application influence on traffic routing, provide access to the NCE, and interact with the policy framework for policy control. The NCE may be a mechanism that allows the 5GC  320  and AF  328  to provide information to each other via NEF  323 , which may be used for edge computing implementations. In such implementations, the network operator and third party services may be hosted close to the UE  301  access point of attachment to achieve an efficient service delivery through the reduced end-to-end latency and load on the transport network. For edge computing implementations, the 5GC may select a UPF  302  close to the UE  301  and execute traffic steering from the UPF  302  to DN  303  via the N6 interface. This may be based on the UE subscription data, UE location, and information provided by the AF  328 . In this way, the AF  328  may influence UPF (re)selection and traffic routing. Based on operator deployment, when AF  328  is considered to be a trusted entity, the network operator may permit AF  328  to interact directly with relevant NFs. Additionally, the AF  328  may exhibit an Naf service-based interface. 
     The NSSF  329  may select a set of network slice instances serving the UE  301 . The NSSF  329  may also determine allowed NSSAI and the mapping to the subscribed S-NSSAIs, if needed. The NSSF  329  may also determine the AMF set to be used to serve the UE  301 , or a list of candidate AMF(s)  321  based on a suitable configuration and possibly by querying the NRF  325 . The selection of a set of network slice instances for the UE  301  may be triggered by the AMF  321  with which the UE  301  is registered by interacting with the NSSF  329 , which may lead to a change of AMF  321 . The NSSF  329  may interact with the AMF  321  via an N22 reference point between AMF  321  and NSSF  329 ; and may communicate with another NSSF  329  in a visited network via an N31 reference point (not shown by  FIG.  3   ). Additionally, the NSSF  329  may exhibit an Nnssf service-based interface. 
     As discussed previously, the CN  320  may include an SMSF, which may be responsible for SMS subscription checking and verification, and relaying SM messages to/from the UE  301  to/from other entities, such as an SMS-GMSC/IWMSC/SMS-router. The SMS may also interact with AMF  321  and UDM  327  for a notification procedure that the UE  301  is available for SMS transfer (e.g., set a UE not reachable flag, and notifying UDM  327  when UE  301  is available for SMS). 
     The CN  120  may also include other elements that are not shown by  FIG.  3   , such as a Data Storage system/architecture, a 5G-EIR, a SEPP, and the like. The Data Storage system may include a SDSF, an UDSF, and/or the like. Any NF may store and retrieve unstructured data into/from the UDSF (e.g., UE conte6s), via N18 reference point between any NF and the UDSF (not shown by  FIG.  3   ). Individual NFs may share a UDSF for storing their respective unstructured data or individual NFs may each have their own UDSF located at or near the individual NFs. Additionally, the UDSF may exhibit an Nudsf service-based interface (not shown by  FIG.  3   ). The 5G-EIR may be an NF that checks the status of PEI for determining whether particular equipment/entities are blacklisted from the network; and the SEPP may be a non-transparent proxy that performs topology hiding, message filtering, and policing on inter-PLMN control plane interfaces. 
     Additionally, there may be many more reference points and/or service-based interfaces between the NF services in the NFs; however, these interfaces and reference points have been omitted from  FIG.  3    for clarity. In one example, the CN  320  may include an Nx interface, which is an inter-CN interface between the MME (e.g., MME  221 ) and the AMF  321  in order to enable interworking between CN  320  and CN  220 . Other example interfaces/reference points may include an N5g-EIR service-based interface exhibited by a 5G-EIR, an N27 reference point between the NRF in the visited network and the NRF in the home network; and an N31 reference point between the NSSF in the visited network and the NSSF in the home network. 
       FIG.  4    illustrates an example of infrastructure equipment  400  in accordance with various embodiments. The infrastructure equipment  400  (or “system  400 ”) may be implemented as a base station, radio head, RAN node such as the RAN nodes  111  and/or AP  106  shown and described previously, application server(s)  130 , and/or any other element/device discussed herein. In other examples, the system  400  could be implemented in or by a UE. 
     The system  400  includes application circuitry  405 , baseband circuitry  410 , one or more radio front end modules (RFEMs)  415 , memory circuitry  420 , power management integrated circuitry (PMIC)  425 , power tee circuitry  430 , network controller circuitry  435 , network interface connector  440 , satellite positioning circuitry  445 , and user interface  450 . In some embodiments, the device  400  may include additional elements such as, for example, memory/storage, display, camera, sensor, or input/output (I/O) interface. In other embodiments, the components described below may be included in more than one device. For example, said circuitries may be separately included in more than one device for CRAN, vBBU, or other like implementations. 
     Application circuitry  405  includes circuitry such as, but not limited to one or more processors (or processor cores), cache memory, and one or more of low drop-out voltage regulators (LDOs), interrupt controllers, serial interfaces such as SPI, I2C or universal programmable serial interface module, real time clock (RTC), timer-counters including interval and watchdog timers, general purpose input/output (I/O or IO), memory card controllers such as Secure Digital (SD) MultiMediaCard (MMC) or similar, Universal Serial Bus (USB) interfaces, Mobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI) interfaces and Joint Test Access Group (JTAG) test access ports. The processors (or cores) of the application circuitry  405  may be coupled with or may include memory/storage elements and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory/storage to enable various applications or operating systems to run on the system  400 . In some implementations, the memory/storage elements may be on-chip memory circuitry, which may include any suitable volatile and/or non-volatile memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, EPROM, EEPROM, Flash memory, solid-state memory, and/or any other type of memory device technology, such as those discussed herein. 
     The processor(s) of application circuitry  405  may include, for example, one or more processor cores (CPUs), one or more application processors, one or more graphics processing units (GPUs), one or more reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processors, one or more Acorn RISC Machine (ARM) processors, one or more complex instruction set computing (CISC) processors, one or more digital signal processors (DSP), one or more FPGAs, one or more PLDs, one or more ASICs, one or more microprocessors or controllers, or any suitable combination thereof. In some embodiments, the application circuitry  405  may comprise, or may be, a special-purpose processor/controller to operate according to the various embodiments herein. As examples, the processor(s) of application circuitry  405  may include one or more Intel Pentium®, Core®, or Xeon® processor(s); Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Ryzen® processor(s), Accelerated Processing Units (APUs), or Epyc® processors; ARM-based processor(s) licensed from ARM Holdings, Ltd. such as the ARM Cortex-A family of processors and the ThunderX2® provided by Cavium™, Inc.; a MIPS-based design from MIPS Technologies, Inc. such as MIPS Warrior P-class processors; and/or the like. In some embodiments, the system  400  may not utilize application circuitry  405 , and instead may include a special-purpose processor/controller to process IP data received from an EPC or 5GC, for example. 
     In some implementations, the application circuitry  405  may include one or more hardware accelerators, which may be microprocessors, programmable processing devices, or the like. The one or more hardware accelerators may include, for example, computer vision (CV) and/or deep learning (DL) accelerators. As examples, the programmable processing devices may be one or more a field-programmable devices (FPDs) such as field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and the like; programmable logic devices (PLDs) such as complex PLDs (CPLDs), high-capacity PLDs (HCPLDs), and the like; ASICs such as structured ASICs and the like; programmable SoCs (PSoCs); and the like. In such implementations, the circuitry of application circuitry  405  may comprise logic blocks or logic fabric, and other interconnected resources that may be programmed to perform various functions, such as the procedures, methods, functions, etc. of the various embodiments discussed herein. In such embodiments, the circuitry of application circuitry  405  may include memory cells (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, static memory (e.g., static random access memory (SRAM), anti-fuses, etc.)) used to store logic blocks, logic fabric, data, etc. in look-up-tables (LUTs) and the like. 
     The baseband circuitry  410  may be implemented, for example, as a solder-down substrate including one or more integrated circuits, a single packaged integrated circuit soldered to a main circuit board or a multi-chip module containing two or more integrated circuits. The various hardware electronic elements of baseband circuitry  410  are discussed infra with regard to  FIG.  6   . 
     User interface circuitry  450  may include one or more user interfaces designed to enable user interaction with the system  400  or peripheral component interfaces designed to enable peripheral component interaction with the system  400 . User interfaces may include, but are not limited to, one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., a reset button), one or more indicators (e.g., light emitting diodes (LEDs)), a physical keyboard or keypad, a mouse, a touchpad, a touchscreen, speakers or other audio emitting devices, microphones, a printer, a scanner, a headset, a display screen or display device, etc. Peripheral component interfaces may include, but are not limited to, a nonvolatile memory port, a universal serial bus (USB) port, an audio jack, a power supply interface, etc. 
     The radio front end modules (RFEMs)  415  may comprise a millimeter wave (mmWave) RFEM and one or more sub-mmWave radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs). In some implementations, the one or more sub-mmWave RFICs may be physically separated from the mmWave RFEM. The RFICs may include connections to one or more antennas or antenna arrays (see e.g., antenna array  6111  of  FIG.  6    infra), and the RFEM may be connected to multiple antennas. In alternative implementations, both mmWave and sub-mmWave radio functions may be implemented in the same physical RFEM  415 , which incorporates both mmWave antennas and sub-mmWave. 
     The memory circuitry  420  may include one or more of volatile memory including dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and/or synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), and nonvolatile memory (NVM) including high-speed electrically erasable memory (commonly referred to as Flash memory), phase change random access memory (PRAM), magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM), etc., and may incorporate the three-dimensional (3D) cross-point (XPOINT) memories from Intel® and Micron®. Memory circuitry  420  may be implemented as one or more of solder down packaged integrated circuits, socketed memory modules and plug-in memory cards. 
     The PMIC  425  may include voltage regulators, surge protectors, power alarm detection circuitry, and one or more backup power sources such as a battery or capacitor. The power alarm detection circuitry may detect one or more of brown out (under-voltage) and surge (over-voltage) conditions. The power tee circuitry  430  may provide for electrical power drawn from a network cable to provide both power supply and data connectivity to the infrastructure equipment  400  using a single cable. 
     The network controller circuitry  435  may provide connectivity to a network using a standard network interface protocol such as Ethernet, Ethernet over GRE Tunnels, Ethernet over Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS), or some other suitable protocol. Network connectivity may be provided to/from the infrastructure equipment  400  via network interface connector  440  using a physical connection, which may be electrical (commonly referred to as a “copper interconnect”), optical, or wireless. The network controller circuitry  435  may include one or more dedicated processors and/or FPGAs to communicate using one or more of the aforementioned protocols. In some implementations, the network controller circuitry  435  may include multiple controllers to provide connectivity to other networks using the same or different protocols. 
     The positioning circuitry  445  includes circuitry to receive and decode signals transmitted/broadcasted by a positioning network of a global navigation satellite system (GNSS). Examples of navigation satellite constellations (or GNSS) include United States&#39; Global Positioning System (GPS), Russia&#39;s Global Navigation System (GLONASS), the European Union&#39;s Galileo system, China&#39;s BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, a regional navigation system or GNSS augmentation system (e.g., Navigation with Indian Constellation (NAVIC), Japan&#39;s Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), France&#39;s Doppler Orbitography and Radio-positioning Integrated by Satellite (DORIS), etc.), or the like. The positioning circuitry  445  comprises various hardware elements (e.g., including hardware devices such as switches, filters, amplifiers, antenna elements, and the like to facilitate OTA communications) to communicate with components of a positioning network, such as navigation satellite constellation nodes. In some embodiments, the positioning circuitry  445  may include a Micro-Technology for Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (Micro-PNT) IC that uses a master timing clock to perform position tracking/estimation without GNSS assistance. The positioning circuitry  445  may also be part of, or interact with, the baseband circuitry  410  and/or RFEMs  415  to communicate with the nodes and components of the positioning network. The positioning circuitry  445  may also provide position data and/or time data to the application circuitry  405 , which may use the data to synchronize operations with various infrastructure (e.g., RAN nodes  111 , etc.), or the like. 
     The components shown by  FIG.  4    may communicate with one another using interface circuitry, which may include any number of bus and/or interconnect (IX) technologies such as industry standard architecture (ISA), e6ended ISA (EISA), peripheral component interconnect (PCI), peripheral component interconnect e6ended (PCIx), PCI express (PCIe), or any number of other technologies. The bus/IX may be a proprietary bus, for example, used in a SoC based system. Other bus/IX systems may be included, such as an I2C interface, an SPI interface, point to point interfaces, and a power bus, among others. 
       FIG.  5    illustrates an example of a platform  500  (or “device  500 ”) in accordance with various embodiments. In embodiments, the computer platform  500  may be suitable for use as UEs  101 ,  102 ,  201 , application servers  130 , and/or any other element/device discussed herein. The platform  500  may include any combinations of the components shown in the example. The components of platform  500  may be implemented as integrated circuits (ICs), portions thereof, discrete electronic devices, or other modules, logic, hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof adapted in the computer platform  500 , or as components otherwise incorporated within a chassis of a larger system. The block diagram of  FIG.  5    is intended to show a high level view of components of the computer platform  500 . However, some of the components shown may be omitted, additional components may be present, and different arrangement of the components shown may occur in other implementations. 
     Application circuitry  505  includes circuitry such as, but not limited to one or more processors (or processor cores), cache memory, and one or more of LDOs, interrupt controllers, serial interfaces such as SPI, I2C or universal programmable serial interface module, RTC, timer-counters including interval and watchdog timers, general purpose I/O, memory card controllers such as SD MMC or similar, USB interfaces, MIPI interfaces, and JTAG test access ports. The processors (or cores) of the application circuitry  505  may be coupled with or may include memory/storage elements and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory/storage to enable various applications or operating systems to run on the system  500 . In some implementations, the memory/storage elements may be on-chip memory circuitry, which may include any suitable volatile and/or non-volatile memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, EPROM, EEPROM, Flash memory, solid-state memory, and/or any other type of memory device technology, such as those discussed herein. 
     The processor(s) of application circuitry  405  may include, for example, one or more processor cores, one or more application processors, one or more GPUs, one or more RISC processors, one or more ARM processors, one or more CISC processors, one or more DSP, one or more FPGAs, one or more PLDs, one or more ASICs, one or more microprocessors or controllers, a multithreaded processor, an ultra-low voltage processor, an embedded processor, some other known processing element, or any suitable combination thereof. In some embodiments, the application circuitry  405  may comprise, or may be, a special-purpose processor/controller to operate according to the various embodiments herein. 
     As examples, the processor(s) of application circuitry  505  may include an Intel® Architecture Core™ based processor, such as a Quark™, an Atom™, an i3, an i5, an i7, or an MCU-class processor, or another such processor available from Intel® Corporation, Santa Clara, CA The processors of the application circuitry  505  may also be one or more of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Ryzen® processor(s) or Accelerated Processing Units (APUs); A5-A9 processor(s) from Apple® Inc., Snapdragon™ processor(s) from Qualcomm® Technologies, Inc., Texas Instruments, Inc.® Open Multimedia Applications Platform (OMAP)™ processor(s); a MIPS-based design from MIPS Technologies, Inc. such as MIPS Warrior M-class, Warrior I-class, and Warrior P-class processors; an ARM-based design licensed from ARM Holdings, Ltd., such as the ARM Cortex-A, Cortex-R, and Cortex-M family of processors; or the like. In some implementations, the application circuitry  505  may be a part of a system on a chip (SoC) in which the application circuitry  505  and other components are formed into a single integrated circuit, or a single package, such as the Edison™ or Galileo™ SoC boards from Intel® Corporation. 
     Additionally or alternatively, application circuitry  505  may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more a field-programmable devices (FPDs) such as FPGAs and the like; programmable logic devices (PLDs) such as complex PLDs (CPLDs), high-capacity PLDs (HCPLDs), and the like; ASICs such as structured ASICs and the like; programmable SoCs (PSoCs); and the like. In such embodiments, the circuitry of application circuitry  505  may comprise logic blocks or logic fabric, and other interconnected resources that may be programmed to perform various functions, such as the procedures, methods, functions, etc. of the various embodiments discussed herein. In such embodiments, the circuitry of application circuitry  505  may include memory cells (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, static memory (e.g., static random access memory (SRAM), anti-fuses, etc.)) used to store logic blocks, logic fabric, data, etc. in look-up tables (LUTs) and the like. 
     The baseband circuitry  510  may be implemented, for example, as a solder-down substrate including one or more integrated circuits, a single packaged integrated circuit soldered to a main circuit board or a multi-chip module containing two or more integrated circuits. The various hardware electronic elements of baseband circuitry  510  are discussed infra with regard to  FIG.  6   . 
     The RFEMs  515  may comprise a millimeter wave (mmWave) RFEM and one or more sub-mmWave radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs). In some implementations, the one or more sub-mmWave RFICs may be physically separated from the mmWave RFEM. The RFICs may include connections to one or more antennas or antenna arrays (see e.g., antenna array  6111  of  FIG.  6    infra), and the RFEM may be connected to multiple antennas. In alternative implementations, both mmWave and sub-mmWave radio functions may be implemented in the same physical RFEM  515 , which incorporates both mmWave antennas and sub-mmWave. 
     The memory circuitry  520  may include any number and type of memory devices used to provide for a given amount of system memory. As examples, the memory circuitry  520  may include one or more of volatile memory including random access memory (RAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM) and/or synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM), and nonvolatile memory (NVM) including high-speed electrically erasable memory (commonly referred to as Flash memory), phase change random access memory (PRAM), magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM), etc. The memory circuitry  520  may be developed in accordance with a Joint Electron Devices Engineering Council (JEDEC) low power double data rate (LPDDR)-based design, such as LPDDR2, LPDDR3, LPDDR4, or the like. Memory circuitry  520  may be implemented as one or more of solder down packaged integrated circuits, single die package (SDP), dual die package (DDP) or quad die package (Q17P), socketed memory modules, dual inline memory modules (DIMMs) including microDIMMs or MiniDIMMs, and/or soldered onto a motherboard via a ball grid array (BGA). In low power implementations, the memory circuitry  520  may be on-die memory or registers associated with the application circuitry  505 . To provide for persistent storage of information such as data, applications, operating systems and so forth, memory circuitry  520  may include one or more mass storage devices, which may include, inter alia, a solid state disk drive (SSDD), hard disk drive (HDD), a micro HDD, resistance change memories, phase change memories, holographic memories, or chemical memories, among others. For example, the computer platform  500  may incorporate the three-dimensional (3D) cross-point (XPOINT) memories from Intel® and Micron®. 
     Removable memory circuitry  523  may include devices, circuitry, enclosures/housings, ports or receptacles, etc. used to couple portable data storage devices with the platform  500 . These portable data storage devices may be used for mass storage purposes, and may include, for example, flash memory cards (e.g., Secure Digital (SD) cards, microSD cards, xD picture cards, and the like), and USB flash drives, optical discs, external HDDs, and the like. 
     The platform  500  may also include interface circuitry (not shown) that is used to connect external devices with the platform  500 . The external devices connected to the platform  500  via the interface circuitry include sensor circuitry  521  and electro-mechanical components (EMCs)  522 , as well as removable memory devices coupled to removable memory circuitry  523 . 
     The sensor circuitry  521  include devices, modules, or subsystems whose purpose is to detect events or changes in its environment and send the information (sensor data) about the detected events to some other a device, module, subsystem, etc. Examples of such sensors include, inter alia, inertia measurement units (IMUS) comprising accelerometers, gyroscopes, and/or magnetometers; microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) or nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) comprising 3-axis accelerometers, 3-axis gyroscopes, and/or magnetometers; level sensors; flow sensors; temperature sensors (e.g., thermistors); pressure sensors; barometric pressure sensors; gravimeters; altimeters; image capture devices (e.g., cameras or lensless apertures); light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensors; proximity sensors (e.g., infrared radiation detector and the like), depth sensors, ambient light sensors, ultrasonic transceivers; microphones or other like audio capture devices; etc. 
     EMCs  522  include devices, modules, or subsystems whose purpose is to enable platform  500  to change its state, position, and/or orientation, or move or control a mechanism or (sub)system. Additionally, EMCs  522  may be configured to generate and send messages/signalling to other components of the platform  500  to indicate a current state of the EMCs  522 . Examples of the EMCs  522  include one or more power switches, relays including electromechanical relays (EMRs) and/or solid state relays (SSRs), actuators (e.g., valve actuators, etc.), an audible sound generator, a visual warning device, motors (e.g., DC motors, stepper motors, etc.), wheels, thrusters, propellers, claws, clamps, hooks, and/or other like electro-mechanical components. In embodiments, platform  500  is configured to operate one or more EMCs  522  based on one or more captured events and/or instructions or control signals received from a service provider and/or various clients. 
     In some implementations, the interface circuitry may connect the platform  500  with positioning circuitry  545 . The positioning circuitry  545  includes circuitry to receive and decode signals transmitted/broadcasted by a positioning network of a GNSS. Examples of navigation satellite constellations (or GNSS) include United States&#39; GPS, Russia&#39;s GLONASS, the European Union&#39;s Galileo system, China&#39;s BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, a regional navigation system or GNSS augmentation system (e.g., NAVIC), Japan&#39;s QZSS, France&#39;s DORIS, etc.), or the like. The positioning circuitry  545  comprises various hardware elements (e.g., including hardware devices such as switches, filters, amplifiers, antenna elements, and the like to facilitate OTA communications) to communicate with components of a positioning network, such as navigation satellite constellation nodes. In some embodiments, the positioning circuitry  545  may include a Micro-PNT IC that uses a master timing clock to perform position tracking/estimation without GNSS assistance. The positioning circuitry  545  may also be part of, or interact with, the baseband circuitry  410  and/or RFEMs  515  to communicate with the nodes and components of the positioning network. The positioning circuitry  545  may also provide position data and/or time data to the application circuitry  505 , which may use the data to synchronize operations with various infrastructure (e.g., radio base stations), for turn-by-turn navigation applications, or the like 
     In some implementations, the interface circuitry may connect the platform  500  with Near-Field Communication (NFC) circuitry  540 . NFC circuitry  540  is configured to provide contactless, short-range communications based on radio frequency identification (RFID) standards, wherein magnetic field induction is used to enable communication between NFC circuitry  540  and NFC-enabled devices external to the platform  500  (e.g., an “NFC touchpoint”). NFC circuitry  540  comprises an NFC controller coupled with an antenna element and a processor coupled with the NFC controller. The NFC controller may be a chip/IC providing NFC functionalities to the NFC circuitry  540  by executing NFC controller firmware and an NFC stack. The NFC stack may be executed by the processor to control the NFC controller, and the NFC controller firmware may be executed by the NFC controller to control the antenna element to emit short-range RF signals. The RF signals may power a passive NFC tag (e.g., a microchip embedded in a sticker or wristband) to transmit stored data to the NFC circuitry  540 , or initiate data transfer between the NFC circuitry  540  and another active NFC device (e.g., a smartphone or an NFC-enabled POS terminal) that is proximate to the platform  500 . 
     The driver circuitry  546  may include software and hardware elements that operate to control particular devices that are embedded in the platform  500 , attached to the platform  500 , or otherwise communicatively coupled with the platform  500 . The driver circuitry  546  may include individual drivers allowing other components of the platform  500  to interact with or control various input/output (I/O) devices that may be present within, or connected to, the platform  500 . For example, driver circuitry  546  may include a display driver to control and allow access to a display device, a touchscreen driver to control and allow access to a touchscreen interface of the platform  500 , sensor drivers to obtain sensor readings of sensor circuitry  521  and control and allow access to sensor circuitry  521 , EMC drivers to obtain actuator positions of the EMCs  522  and/or control and allow access to the EMCs  522 , a camera driver to control and allow access to an embedded image capture device, audio drivers to control and allow access to one or more audio devices. 
     The power management integrated circuitry (PMIC)  525  (also referred to as “power management circuitry  525 ”) may manage power provided to various components of the platform  500 . In particular, with respect to the baseband circuitry  510 , the PMIC  525  may control power-source selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-to-DC conversion. The PMIC  525  may often be included when the platform  500  is capable of being powered by a battery  530 , for example, when the device is included in a UE  101 ,  102 ,  201 . 
     In some embodiments, the PMIC  525  may control, or otherwise be part of, various power saving mechanisms of the platform  500 . For example, if the platform  500  is in an RRC_Connected state, where it is still connected to the RAN node as it expects to receive traffic shortly, then it may enter a state known as Discontinuous Reception Mode (DRX) after a period of inactivity. During this state, the platform  500  may power down for brief intervals of time and thus save power. If there is no data traffic activity for an e6ended period of time, then the platform  500  may transition off to an RRC_Idle state, where it disconnects from the network and does not perform operations such as channel quality feedback, handover, etc. The platform  500  goes into a very low power state and it performs paging where again it periodically wakes up to listen to the network and then powers down again. The platform  500  may not receive data in this state; in order to receive data, it must transition back to RRC_Connected state. An additional power saving mode may allow a device to be unavailable to the network for periods longer than a paging interval (ranging from seconds to a few hours). During this time, the device is totally unreachable to the network and may power down completely. Any data sent during this time incurs a large delay and it is assumed the delay is acceptable. 
     A battery  530  may power the platform  500 , although in some examples the platform  500  may be mounted deployed in a fixed location, and may have a power supply coupled to an electrical grid. The battery  530  may be a lithium ion battery, a metal-air battery, such as a zinc-air battery, an aluminum-air battery, a lithium-air battery, and the like. In some implementations, such as in V2X applications, the battery  530  may be a typical lead-acid automotive battery. 
     In some implementations, the battery  530  may be a “smart battery,” which includes or is coupled with a Battery Management System (BMS) or battery monitoring integrated circuitry. The BMS may be included in the platform  500  to track the state of charge (SoCh) of the battery  530 . The BMS may be used to monitor other parameters of the battery  530  to provide failure predictions, such as the state of health (SoH) and the state of function (SoF) of the battery  530 . The BMS may communicate the information of the battery  530  to the application circuitry  505  or other components of the platform  500 . The BMS may also include an analog-to-digital (ADC) convertor that allows the application circuitry  505  to directly monitor the voltage of the battery  530  or the current flow from the battery  530 . The battery parameters may be used to determine actions that the platform  500  may perform, such as transmission frequency, network operation, sensing frequency, and the like. 
     A power block, or other power supply coupled to an electrical grid may be coupled with the BMS to charge the battery  530 . In some examples, the power block XS30 may be replaced with a wireless power receiver to obtain the power wirelessly, for example, through a loop antenna in the computer platform  500 . In these examples, a wireless battery charging circuit may be included in the BMS. The specific charging circuits chosen may depend on the size of the battery  530 , and thus, the current required. The charging may be performed using the Airfuel standard promulgated by the Airfuel Alliance, the Qi wireless charging standard promulgated by the Wireless Power Consortium, or the Rezence charging standard promulgated by the Alliance for Wireless Power, among others. 
     User interface circuitry  550  includes various input/output (I/O) devices present within, or connected to, the platform  500 , and includes one or more user interfaces designed to enable user interaction with the platform  500  and/or peripheral component interfaces designed to enable peripheral component interaction with the platform  500 . The user interface circuitry  550  includes input device circuitry and output device circuitry. Input device circuitry includes any physical or virtual means for accepting an input including, inter alia, one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., a reset button), a physical keyboard, keypad, mouse, touchpad, touchscreen, microphones, scanner, headset, and/or the like. The output device circuitry includes any physical or virtual means for showing information or otherwise conveying information, such as sensor readings, actuator position(s), or other like information. Output device circuitry may include any number and/or combinations of audio or visual display, including, inter alia, one or more simple visual outputs/indicators (e.g., binary status indicators (e.g., light emitting diodes (LEDs)) and multi-character visual outputs, or more complex outputs such as display devices or touchscreens (e.g., Liquid Chrystal Displays (LCD), LED displays, quantum dot displays, projectors, etc.), with the output of characters, graphics, multimedia objects, and the like being generated or produced from the operation of the platform  500 . The output device circuitry may also include speakers or other audio emitting devices, printer(s), and/or the like. In some embodiments, the sensor circuitry  521  may be used as the input device circuitry (e.g., an image capture device, motion capture device, or the like) and one or more EMCs may be used as the output device circuitry (e.g., an actuator to provide haptic feedback or the like). In another example, NFC circuitry comprising an NFC controller coupled with an antenna element and a processing device may be included to read electronic tags and/or connect with another NFC-enabled device. Peripheral component interfaces may include, but are not limited to, a non-volatile memory port, a USB port, an audio jack, a power supply interface, etc. 
     Although not shown, the components of platform  500  may communicate with one another using a suitable bus or interconnect (IX) technology, which may include any number of technologies, including ISA, EISA, PCI, PCIx, PCIe, a Time-Trigger Protocol (TTP) system, a FlexRay system, or any number of other technologies. The bus/IX may be a proprietary bus/IX, for example, used in a SoC based system. Other bus/IX systems may be included, such as an I2C interface, an SPI interface, point-to-point interfaces, and a power bus, among others. 
       FIG.  6    illustrates example components of baseband circuitry  6110  and radio front end modules (RFEM)  6115  in accordance with various embodiments. The baseband circuitry  6110  corresponds to the baseband circuitry  410  and  510  of  FIGS.  4  and  5   , respectively. The RFEM  6115  corresponds to the RFEM  415  and  515  of  FIGS.  4  and  5   , respectively. As shown, the RFEMs  6115  may include Radio Frequency (RF) circuitry  6106 , front-end module (FEM) circuitry  6108 , antenna array  6111  coupled together at least as shown. 
     The baseband circuitry  6110  includes circuitry and/or control logic configured to carry out various radio/network protocol and radio control functions that enable communication with one or more radio networks via the RF circuitry  6106 . The radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation/demodulation, encoding/decoding, radio frequency shifting, etc. In some embodiments, modulation/demodulation circuitry of the baseband circuitry  6110  may include Fast-Fourier Transform (FFT), precoding, or constellation mapping/demapping functionality. In some embodiments, encoding/decoding circuitry of the baseband circuitry  6110  may include convolution, tail-biting convolution, turbo, Viterbi, or Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) encoder/decoder functionality. Embodiments of modulation/demodulation and encoder/decoder functionality are not limited to these examples and may include other suitable functionality in other embodiments. The baseband circuitry  6110  is configured to process baseband signals received from a receive signal path of the RF circuitry  6106  and to generate baseband signals for a transmit signal path of the RF circuitry  6106 . The baseband circuitry  6110  is configured to interface with application circuitry  405 / 505  (see  FIGS.  4  and  5   ) for generation and processing of the baseband signals and for controlling operations of the RF circuitry  6106 . The baseband circuitry  6110  may handle various radio control functions. 
     The aforementioned circuitry and/or control logic of the baseband circuitry  6110  may include one or more single or multi-core processors. For example, the one or more processors may include a 3G baseband processor  6104 A, a 4G/LTE baseband processor  6104 B, a 5G/NR baseband processor  6104 C, or some other baseband processor(s)  6104 D for other existing generations, generations in development or to be developed in the future (e.g., si6h generation (6G), etc.). In other embodiments, some or all of the functionality of baseband processors  6104 A-D may be included in modules stored in the memory  6104 G and executed via a Central Processing Unit (CPU)  6104 E. In other embodiments, some or all of the functionality of baseband processors  6104 A-D may be provided as hardware accelerators (e.g., FPGAs, ASICs, etc.) loaded with the appropriate bit streams or logic blocks stored in respective memory cells. In various embodiments, the memory  6104 G may store program code of a real-time OS (RTOS), which when executed by the CPU  6104 E (or other baseband processor), is to cause the CPU  6104 E (or other baseband processor) to manage resources of the baseband circuitry  6110 , schedule tasks, etc. Examples of the RTOS may include Operating System Embedded (OSE)™ provided by Enea®, Nucleus RTOS™ provided by Mentor Graphics®, Versatile Real-Time Executive (VRTX) provided by Mentor Graphics®, ThreadX™ provided by Express Logic®, FreeRTOS, REX OS provided by Qualcomm®, OKL4 provided by Open Kernel (OK) Labs®, or any other suitable RTOS, such as those discussed herein. In addition, the baseband circuitry  6110  includes one or more audio digital signal processor(s) (DSP)  6104 F. The audio DSP(s)  6104 F include elements for compression/decompression and echo cancellation and may include other suitable processing elements in other embodiments. 
     In some embodiments, each of the processors  6104 A- 6104 E include respective memory interfaces to send/receive data to/from the memory  6104 G. The baseband circuitry  6110  may further include one or more interfaces to communicatively couple to other circuitries/devices, such as an interface to send/receive data to/from memory external to the baseband circuitry  6110 ; an application circuitry interface to send/receive data to/from the application circuitry  405 / 505  of  FIGS.  4 - 6   ); an RF circuitry interface to send/receive data to/from RF circuitry  6106  of  FIG.  6   ; a wireless hardware connectivity interface to send/receive data to/from one or more wireless hardware elements (e.g., Near Field Communication (NFC) components, Bluetooth®/Bluetooth® Low Energy components, Wi-Fi® components, and/or the like); and a power management interface to send/receive power or control signals to/from the PMIC  525 . 
     In alternate embodiments (which may be combined with the above described embodiments), baseband circuitry  6110  comprises one or more digital baseband systems, which are coupled with one another via an interconnect subsystem and to a CPU subsystem, an audio subsystem, and an interface subsystem. The digital baseband subsystems may also be coupled to a digital baseband interface and a mixed-signal baseband subsystem via another interconnect subsystem. Each of the interconnect subsystems may include a bus system, point-to-point connections, network-on-chip (NOC) structures, and/or some other suitable bus or interconnect technology, such as those discussed herein. The audio subsystem may include DSP circuitry, buffer memory, program memory, speech processing accelerator circuitry, data converter circuitry such as analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converter circuitry, analog circuitry including one or more of amplifiers and filters, and/or other like components. In an aspect of the present disclosure, baseband circuitry  6110  may include protocol processing circuitry with one or more instances of control circuitry (not shown) to provide control functions for the digital baseband circuitry and/or radio frequency circuitry (e.g., the radio front end modules  6115 ). 
     Although not shown by  FIG.  6   , in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry  6110  includes individual processing device(s) to operate one or more wireless communication protocols (e.g., a “multi-protocol baseband processor” or “protocol processing circuitry”) and individual processing device(s) to implement PHY layer functions. In these embodiments, the PHY layer functions include the aforementioned radio control functions. In these embodiments, the protocol processing circuitry operates or implements various protocol layers/entities of one or more wireless communication protocols. In a first example, the protocol processing circuitry may operate LTE protocol entities and/or 5G/NR protocol entities when the baseband circuitry  6110  and/or RF circuitry  6106  are part of mmWave communication circuitry or some other suitable cellular communication circuitry. In the first example, the protocol processing circuitry would operate MAC, RLC, PDCP, SDAP, RRC, and NAS functions. In a second example, the protocol processing circuitry may operate one or more IEEE-based protocols when the baseband circuitry  6110  and/or RF circuitry  6106  are part of a Wi-Fi communication system. In the second example, the protocol processing circuitry would operate Wi-Fi MAC and logical link control (LLC) functions. The protocol processing circuitry may include one or more memory structures (e.g.,  6104 G) to store program code and data for operating the protocol functions, as well as one or more processing cores to execute the program code and perform various operations using the data. The baseband circuitry  6110  may also support radio communications for more than one wireless protocol. 
     The various hardware elements of the baseband circuitry  6110  discussed herein may be implemented, for example, as a solder-down substrate including one or more integrated circuits (ICs), a single packaged IC soldered to a main circuit board or a multi-chip module containing two or more ICs. In one example, the components of the baseband circuitry  6110  may be suitably combined in a single chip or chipset, or disposed on a same circuit board. In another example, some or all of the constituent components of the baseband circuitry  6110  and RF circuitry  6106  may be implemented together such as, for example, a system on a chip (SoC) or System-in-Package (SiP). In another example, some or all of the constituent components of the baseband circuitry  6110  may be implemented as a separate SoC that is communicatively coupled with and RF circuitry  6106  (or multiple instances of RF circuitry  6106 ). In yet another example, some or all of the constituent components of the baseband circuitry  6110  and the application circuitry  405 / 505  may be implemented together as individual SoCs mounted to a same circuit board (e.g., a “multi-chip package”). 
     In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry  6110  may provide for communication compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry  6110  may support communication with an E-UTRAN or other WMAN, a WLAN, a WPAN. Embodiments in which the baseband circuitry  6110  is configured to support radio communications of more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as multi-mode baseband circuitry. 
     RF circuitry  6106  may enable communication with wireless networks using modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. In various embodiments, the RF circuitry  6106  may include switches, filters, amplifiers, etc. to facilitate the communication with the wireless network. RF circuitry  6106  may include a receive signal path, which may include circuitry to down-convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry  6108  and provide baseband signals to the baseband circuitry  6110 . RF circuitry  6106  may also include a transmit signal path, which may include circuitry to up-convert baseband signals provided by the baseband circuitry  6110  and provide RF output signals to the FEM circuitry  6108  for transmission. 
     In some embodiments, the receive signal path of the RF circuitry  6106  may include mixer circuitry  6106   a , amplifier circuitry  6106   b  and filter circuitry  6106   c . In some embodiments, the transmit signal path of the RF circuitry  6106  may include filter circuitry  6106   c  and mixer circuitry  6106   a . RF circuitry  6106  may also include synthesizer circuitry  6106   d  for synthesizing a frequency for use by the mixer circuitry  6106   a  of the receive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry  6106   a  of the receive signal path may be configured to down-convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry  6108  based on the synthesized frequency provided by synthesizer circuitry  6106   d . The amplifier circuitry  6106   b  may be configured to amplify the down-converted signals and the filter circuitry  6106   c  may be a low-pass filter (LPF) or band-pass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from the down-converted signals to generate output baseband signals. Output baseband signals may be provided to the baseband circuitry  6110  for further processing. In some embodiments, the output baseband signals may be zero-frequency baseband signals, although this is not a requirement. In some embodiments, mixer circuitry  6106   a  of the receive signal path may comprise passive mixers, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. 
     In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry  6106   a  of the transmit signal path may be configured to up-convert input baseband signals based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuitry  6106   d  to generate RF output signals for the FEM circuitry  6108 . The baseband signals may be provided by the baseband circuitry  6110  and may be filtered by filter circuitry  6106   c.    
     In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry  6106   a  of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry  6106   a  of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadrature downconversion and upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry  6106   a  of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry  6106   a  of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for image rejection (e.g., Hartley image rejection). In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry  6106   a  of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry  6106   a  of the transmit signal path may be arranged for direct downconversion and direct upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry  6106   a  of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry  6106   a  of the transmit signal path may be configured for super-heterodyne operation. 
     In some embodiments, the output baseband signals and the input baseband signals may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternate embodiments, the output baseband signals and the input baseband signals may be digital baseband signals. In these alternate embodiments, the RF circuitry  6106  may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry and the baseband circuitry  6110  may include a digital baseband interface to communicate with the RF circuitry  6106 . 
     In some dual-mode embodiments, a separate radio IC circuitry may be provided for processing signals for each spectrum, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. 
     In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry  6106   d  may be a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional N/N+1 synthesizer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect as other types of frequency synthesizers may be suitable. For example, synthesizer circuitry  6106   d  may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer comprising a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider. 
     The synthesizer circuitry  6106   d  may be configured to synthesize an output frequency for use by the mixer circuitry  6106   a  of the RF circuitry  6106  based on a frequency input and a divider control input. In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry  6106   d  may be a fractional N/N+1 synthesizer. 
     In some embodiments, frequency input may be provided by a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), although that is not a requirement. Divider control input may be provided by either the baseband circuitry  6110  or the application circuitry  405 / 505  depending on the desired output frequency. In some embodiments, a divider control input (e.g., N) may be determined from a look-up table based on a channel indicated by the application circuitry  405 / 505 . 
     Synthesizer circuitry  6106   d  of the RF circuitry  6106  may include a divider, a delay-locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer and a phase accumulator. In some embodiments, the divider may be a dual modulus divider (DMD) and the phase accumulator may be a digital phase accumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured to divide the input signal by either N or N+1 (e.g., based on a carry out) to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, the DLL may include a set of cascaded, tunable, delay elements, a phase detector, a charge pump and a D-type flip-flop. In these embodiments, the delay elements may be configured to break a VCO period up into Nd equal packets of phase, where Nd is the number of delay elements in the delay line. In this way, the DLL provides negative feedback to help ensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO cycle. 
     In some embodiments, synthesizer circuitry  6106   d  may be configured to generate a carrier frequency as the output frequency, while in other embodiments, the output frequency may be a multiple of the carrier frequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrier frequency) and used in conjunction with quadrature generator and divider circuitry to generate multiple signals at the carrier frequency with multiple different phases with respect to each other. In some embodiments, the output frequency may be a LO frequency (fLO). In some embodiments, the RF circuitry  6106  may include an IQ/polar converter. 
     FEM circuitry  6108  may include a receive signal path, which may include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from antenna array  6111 , amplify the received signals and provide the amplified versions of the received signals to the RF circuitry  6106  for further processing. FEM circuitry  6108  may also include a transmit signal path, which may include circuitry configured to amplify signals for transmission provided by the RF circuitry  6106  for transmission by one or more of antenna elements of antenna array  6111 . In various embodiments, the amplification through the transmit or receive signal paths may be done solely in the RF circuitry  6106 , solely in the FEM circuitry  6108 , or in both the RF circuitry  6106  and the FEM circuitry  6108 . 
     In some embodiments, the FEM circuitry  6108  may include a TX/RX switch to switch between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEM circuitry  6108  may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the FEM circuitry  6108  may include an LNA to amplify received RF signals and provide the amplified received RF signals as an output (e.g., to the RF circuitry  6106 ). The transmit signal path of the FEM circuitry  6108  may include a power amplifier (PA) to amplify input RF signals (e.g., provided by RF circuitry  6106 ), and one or more filters to generate RF signals for subsequent transmission by one or more antenna elements of the antenna array  6111 . 
     The antenna array  6111  comprises one or more antenna elements, each of which is configured convert electrical signals into radio waves to travel through the air and to convert received radio waves into electrical signals. For example, digital baseband signals provided by the baseband circuitry  6110  is converted into analog RF signals (e.g., modulated waveform) that will be amplified and transmitted via the antenna elements of the antenna array  6111  including one or more antenna elements (not shown). The antenna elements may be omnidirectional, direction, or a combination thereof. The antenna elements may be formed in a multitude of arranges as are known and/or discussed herein. The antenna array  6111  may comprise microstrip antennas or printed antennas that are fabricated on the surface of one or more printed circuit boards. The antenna array  6111  may be formed in as a patch of metal foil (e.g., a patch antenna) in a variety of shapes, and may be coupled with the RF circuitry  6106  and/or FEM circuitry  6108  using metal transmission lines or the like. 
     Processors of the application circuitry  405 / 505  and processors of the baseband circuitry  6110  may be used to execute elements of one or more instances of a protocol stack. For example, processors of the baseband circuitry  6110 , alone or in combination, may be used execute Layer 3, Layer 2, or Layer 1 functionality, while processors of the application circuitry  405 / 505  may utilize data (e.g., packet data) received from these layers and further execute Layer 4 functionality (e.g., TCP and UDP layers). As referred to herein, Layer 3 may comprise a RRC layer, described in further detail below. As referred to herein, Layer 2 may comprise a MAC layer, an RLC layer, and a PDCP layer, described in further detail below. As referred to herein, Layer 1 may comprise a PHY layer of a UE/RAN node, described in further detail below. 
       FIG.  7    illustrates various protocol functions that may be implemented in a wireless communication device according to various embodiments. In particular,  FIG.  7    includes an arrangement  700  showing interconnections between various protocol layers/entities. The following description of  FIG.  7    is provided for various protocol layers/entities that operate in conjunction with the 5G/NR system standards and LTE system standards, but some or all of the aspects of  FIG.  7    may be applicable to other wireless communication network systems as well. 
     The protocol layers of arrangement  700  may include one or more of PHY  710 , MAC  720 , RLC  730 , PDCP  740 , SDAP  747 , RRC  755 , and NAS layer  757 , in addition to other higher layer functions not illustrated. The protocol layers may include one or more service access points (e.g., items  759 ,  756 ,  750 ,  749 ,  745 ,  735 ,  725 , and  715  in  FIG.  7   ) that may provide communication between two or more protocol layers. 
     The PHY  710  may transmit and receive physical layer signals  705  that may be received from or transmitted to one or more other communication devices. The physical layer signals  705  may comprise one or more physical channels, such as those discussed herein. The PHY  710  may further perform link adaptation or adaptive modulation and coding (AMC), power control, cell search (e.g., for initial synchronization and handover purposes), and other measurements used by higher layers, such as the RRC  755 . The PHY  710  may still further perform error detection on the transport channels, forward error correction (FEC) coding/decoding of the transport channels, modulation/demodulation of physical channels, interleaving, rate matching, mapping onto physical channels, and MIMO antenna processing. In embodiments, an instance of PHY  710  may process requests from and provide indications to an instance of MAC  720  via one or more PHY-SAP  715 . According to some embodiments, requests and indications communicated via PHY-SAP  715  may comprise one or more transport channels. 
     Instance(s) of MAC  720  may process requests from, and provide indications to, an instance of RLC  730  via one or more MAC-SAPs  725 . These requests and indications communicated via the MAC-SAP  725  may comprise one or more logical channels. The MAC  720  may perform mapping between the logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs from one or more logical channels onto TBs to be delivered to PHY  710  via the transport channels, de-multiplexing MAC SDUs to one or more logical channels from TBs delivered from the PHY  710  via transport channels, multiplexing MAC SDUs onto TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction through HARQ, and logical channel prioritization. 
     Instance(s) of RLC  730  may process requests from and provide indications to an instance of PDCP  740  via one or more radio link control service access points (RLC-SAP)  735 . These requests and indications communicated via RLC-SAP  735  may comprise one or more RLC channels. The RLC  730  may operate in a plurality of modes of operation, including: Transparent Mode™, Unacknowledged Mode (UM), and Acknowledged Mode (AM). The RLC  730  may execute transfer of upper layer protocol data units (PDUs), error correction through automatic repeat request (ARQ) for AM data transfers, and concatenation, segmentation and reassembly of RLC SDUs for UM and AM data transfers. The RLC  730  may also execute re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs for AM data transfers, reorder RLC data PDUs for UM and AM data transfers, detect duplicate data for UM and AM data transfers, discard RLC SDUs for UM and AM data transfers, detect protocol errors for AM data transfers, and perform RLC re-establishment. 
     Instance(s) of PDCP  740  may process requests from and provide indications to instance(s) of RRC  755  and/or instance(s) of SDAP  747  via one or more packet data convergence protocol service access points (PDCP-SAP)  745 . These requests and indications communicated via PDCP-SAP  745  may comprise one or more radio bearers. The PDCP  740  may execute header compression and decompression of IP data, maintain PDCP Sequence Numbers (SNs), perform in-sequence delivery of upper layer PDUs at re-establishment of lower layers, eliminate duplicates of lower layer SDUs at re-establishment of lower layers for radio bearers mapped on RLC AM, cipher and decipher control plane data, perform integrity protection and integrity verification of control plane data, control timer-based discard of data, and perform security operations (e.g., ciphering, deciphering, integrity protection, integrity verification, etc.). 
     Instance(s) of SDAP  747  may process requests from and provide indications to one or more higher layer protocol entities via one or more SDAP-SAP  749 . These requests and indications communicated via SDAP-SAP  749  may comprise one or more QoS flows. The SDAP  747  may map QoS flows to DRBs, and vice versa, and may also mark QFIs in DL and UL packets. A single SDAP entity  747  may be configured for an individual PDU session. In the UL direction, the NG-RAN  110  may control the mapping of QoS Flows to DRB(s) in two different ways, reflective mapping or explicit mapping. For reflective mapping, the SDAP  747  of a UE  101  may monitor the QFIs of the DL packets for each DRB, and may apply the same mapping for packets flowing in the UL direction. For a DRB, the SDAP  747  of the UE  101  may map the UL packets belonging to the QoS flows(s) corresponding to the QoS flow ID(s) and PDU session observed in the DL packets for that DRB. To enable reflective mapping, the NG-RAN  310  may mark DL packets over the Uu interface with a QoS flow ID. The explicit mapping may involve the RRC  755  configuring the SDAP  747  with an explicit QoS flow to DRB mapping rule, which may be stored and followed by the SDAP  747 . In embodiments, the SDAP  747  may only be used in NR implementations and may not be used in LTE implementations. 
     The RRC  755  may configure, via one or more management service access points (M-SAP), aspects of one or more protocol layers, which may include one or more instances of PHY  710 , MAC  720 , RLC  730 , PDCP  740  and SDAP  747 . In embodiments, an instance of RRC  755  may process requests from and provide indications to one or more NAS entities  757  via one or more RRC-SAPs  756 . The main services and functions of the RRC  755  may include broadcast of system information (e.g., included in MIBs or SIBs related to the NAS), broadcast of system information related to the access stratum (AS), paging, establishment, maintenance and release of an RRC connection between the UE  101  and RAN  110  (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), establishment, configuration, maintenance and release of point to point Radio Bearers, security functions including key management, inter-RAT mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting. The MIBs and SIBs may comprise one or more IEs, which may each comprise individual data fields or data structures. 
     The NAS  757  may form the highest stratum of the control plane between the UE  101  and the AMF  321 . The NAS  757  may support the mobility of the UEs  101  and the session management procedures to establish and maintain IP connectivity between the UE  101  and a P-GW in LTE systems. 
     According to various embodiments, one or more protocol entities of arrangement  700  may be implemented in UEs  101 , RAN nodes  111 , AMF  321  in NR implementations or MME  221  in LTE implementations, UPF  302  in NR implementations or S-GW  222  and P-GW  223  in LTE implementations, or the like to be used for control plane or user plane communications protocol stack between the aforementioned devices. In such embodiments, one or more protocol entities that may be implemented in one or more of UE  101 , gNB  111 , AMF  321 , etc. may communicate with a respective peer protocol entity that may be implemented in or on another device using the services of respective lower layer protocol entities to perform such communication. In some embodiments, a gNB-CU of the gNB  111  may host the RRC  755 , SDAP  747 , and PDCP  740  of the gNB that controls the operation of one or more gNB-DUs, and the gNB-DUs of the gNB  111  may each host the RLC  730 , MAC  720 , and PHY  710  of the gNB  111 . 
     In a first example, a control plane protocol stack may comprise, in order from highest layer to lowest layer, NAS  757 , RRC  755 , PDCP  740 , RLC  730 , MAC  720 , and PHY  710 . In this example, upper layers  760  may be built on top of the NAS  757 , which includes an IP layer  761 , an SCTP  762 , and an application layer signaling protocol (AP)  763 . 
     In NR implementations, the AP  763  may be an NG application protocol layer (NGAP or NG-AP)  763  for the NG interface  113  defined between the NG-RAN node  111  and the AMF  321 , or the AP  763  may be an Xn application protocol layer (XnAP or Xn-AP)  763  for the Xn interface  112  that is defined between two or more RAN nodes  111 . 
     The NG-AP  763  may support the functions of the NG interface  113  and may comprise Elementary Procedures (EPs). An NG-AP EP may be a unit of interaction between the NG-RAN node  111  and the AMF  321 . The NG-AP  763  services may comprise two groups: UE-associated services (e.g., services related to a UE  101 ,  102 ) and non-UE-associated services (e.g., services related to the whole NG interface instance between the NG-RAN node  111  and AMF  321 ). These services may include functions including, but not limited to: a paging function for the sending of paging requests to NG-RAN nodes  111  involved in a particular paging area; a UE conte6 management function for allowing the AMF  321  to establish, modify, and/or release a UE conte6 in the AMF  321  and the NG-RAN node  111 ; a mobility function for UEs  101  in ECM-CONNECTED mode for intra-system HOs to support mobility within NG-RAN and inter-system HOs to support mobility from/to EPS systems; a NAS Signaling Transport function for transporting or rerouting NAS messages between UE  101  and AMF  321 ; a NAS node selection function for determining an association between the AMF  321  and the UE  101 ; NG interface management function(s) for setting up the NG interface and monitoring for errors over the NG interface; a warning message transmission function for providing means to transfer warning messages via NG interface or cancel ongoing broadcast of warning messages; a Configuration Transfer function for requesting and transferring of RAN configuration information (e.g., SON information, performance measurement (PM) data, etc.) between two RAN nodes  111  via CN  120 ; and/or other like functions. 
     The XnAP  763  may support the functions of the Xn interface  112  and may comprise XnAP basic mobility procedures and XnAP global procedures. The XnAP basic mobility procedures may comprise procedures used to handle UE mobility within the NG RAN  111  (or E-UTRAN  210 ), such as handover preparation and cancellation procedures, SN Status Transfer procedures, UE conte6 retrieval and UE conte6 release procedures, RAN paging procedures, dual connectivity related procedures, and the like. The XnAP global procedures may comprise procedures that are not related to a specific UE  101 , such as Xn interface setup and reset procedures, NG-RAN update procedures, cell activation procedures, and the like. 
     In LTE implementations, the AP  763  may be an S1 Application Protocol layer (S1-AP)  763  for the S1 interface  113  defined between an E-UTRAN node  111  and an MME, or the AP  763  may be an X2 application protocol layer (X2AP or X2-AP)  763  for the X2 interface  112  that is defined between two or more E-UTRAN nodes  111 . 
     The S1 Application Protocol layer (S1-AP)  763  may support the functions of the S1 interface, and similar to the NG-AP discussed previously, the S1-AP may comprise S1-AP EPs. An S1-AP EP may be a unit of interaction between the E-UTRAN node  111  and an MME  221  within an LTE CN  120 . The S1-AP  763  services may comprise two groups: UE-associated services and non UE-associated services. These services perform functions including, but not limited to: E-UTRAN Radio Access Bearer (E-RAB) management, UE capability indication, mobility, NAS signaling transport, RAN Information Management (RIM), and configuration transfer. 
     The X2AP  763  may support the functions of the X2 interface  112  and may comprise X2AP basic mobility procedures and X2AP global procedures. The X2AP basic mobility procedures may comprise procedures used to handle UE mobility within the E-UTRAN  120 , such as handover preparation and cancellation procedures, SN Status Transfer procedures, UE conte6 retrieval and UE conte6 release procedures, RAN paging procedures, dual connectivity related procedures, and the like. The X2AP global procedures may comprise procedures that are not related to a specific UE  101 , such as X2 interface setup and reset procedures, load indication procedures, error indication procedures, cell activation procedures, and the like. 
     The SCTP layer (alternatively referred to as the SCTP/IP layer)  762  may provide guaranteed delivery of application layer messages (e.g., NGAP or XnAP messages in NR implementations, or S1-AP or X2AP messages in LTE implementations). The SCTP  762  may ensure reliable delivery of signaling messages between the RAN node  111  and the AMF  321 /MME  221  based, in part, on the IP protocol, supported by the IP  761 . The Internet Protocol layer (IP)  761  may be used to perform packet addressing and routing functionality. In some implementations the IP layer  761  may use point-to-point transmission to deliver and convey PDUs. In this regard, the RAN node  111  may comprise L2 and L1 layer communication links (e.g., wired or wireless) with the MME/AMF to exchange information. 
     In a second example, a user plane protocol stack may comprise, in order from highest layer to lowest layer, SDAP  747 , PDCP  740 , RLC  730 , MAC  720 , and PHY  710 . The user plane protocol stack may be used for communication between the UE  101 , the RAN node  111 , and UPF  302  in NR implementations or an S-GW  222  and P-GW  223  in LTE implementations. In this example, upper layers  751  may be built on top of the SDAP  747 , and may include a user datagram protocol (UDP) and IP security layer (UDP/IP)  752 , a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunneling Protocol for the user plane layer (GTP-U)  753 , and a User Plane PDU layer (UP PDU)  763 . 
     The transport network layer  754  (also referred to as a “transport layer”) may be built on IP transport, and the GTP-U  753  may be used on top of the UDP/IP layer  752  (comprising a UDP layer and IP layer) to carry user plane PDUs (UP-PDUs). The IP layer (also referred to as the “Internet layer”) may be used to perform packet addressing and routing functionality. The IP layer may assign IP addresses to user data packets in any of IPv4, IPv6, or PPP formats, for example. 
     The GTP-U  753  may be used for carrying user data within the GPRS core network and between the radio access network and the core network. The user data transported can be packets in any of IPv4, IPv6, or PPP formats, for example. The UDP/IP  752  may provide checksums for data integrity, port numbers for addressing different functions at the source and destination, and encryption and authentication on the selected data flows. The RAN node  111  and the S-GW  222  may utilize an S1-U interface to exchange user plane data via a protocol stack comprising an L1 layer (e.g., PHY  710 ), an L2 layer (e.g., MAC  720 , RLC  730 , PDCP  740 , and/or SDAP  747 ), the UDP/IP layer  752 , and the GTP-U  753 . The S-GW  222  and the P-GW  223  may utilize an S5/S8a interface to exchange user plane data via a protocol stack comprising an L1 layer, an L2 layer, the UDP/IP layer  752 , and the GTP-U  753 . As discussed previously, NAS protocols may support the mobility of the UE  101  and the session management procedures to establish and maintain IP connectivity between the UE  101  and the P-GW  223 . 
     Moreover, although not shown by  FIG.  7   , an application layer may be present above the AP  763  and/or the transport network layer  754 . The application layer may be a layer in which a user of the UE  101 , RAN node  111 , or other network element interacts with software applications being executed, for example, by application circuitry  405  or application circuitry  505 , respectively. The application layer may also provide one or more interfaces for software applications to interact with communications systems of the UE  101  or RAN node  111 , such as the baseband circuitry  6110 . In some implementations the IP layer and/or the application layer may provide the same or similar functionality as layers 5-7, or portions thereof, of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model (e.g., OSI Layer 7—the application layer, OSI Layer 6—the presentation layer, and OSI Layer 5—the session layer). 
       FIG.  8    illustrates components of a core network in accordance with various embodiments. The components of the CN  220  may be implemented in one physical node or separate physical nodes including components to read and execute instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium). In embodiments, the components of CN  320  may be implemented in a same or similar manner as discussed herein with regard to the components of CN  220 . In some embodiments, NFV is utilized to virtualize any or all of the above-described network node functions via executable instructions stored in one or more computer-readable storage mediums (described in further detail below). A logical instantiation of the CN  220  may be referred to as a network slice  801 , and individual logical instantiations of the CN  220  may provide specific network capabilities and network characteristics. A logical instantiation of a portion of the CN  220  may be referred to as a network sub-slice  802  (e.g., the network sub-slice  802  is shown to include the P-GW  223  and the PCRF  226 ). 
     As used herein, the terms “instantiate,” “instantiation,” and the like may refer to the creation of an instance, and an “instance” may refer to a concrete occurrence of an object, which may occur, for example, during execution of program code. A network instance may refer to information identifying a domain, which may be used for traffic detection and routing in case of different IP domains or overlapping IP addresses. A network slice instance may refer to a set of network functions (NFs) instances and the resources (e.g., compute, storage, and networking resources) required to deploy the network slice. 
     With respect to 5G systems (see, e.g.,  FIG.  3   ), a network slice always comprises a RAN part and a CN part. The support of network slicing relies on the principle that traffic for different slices is handled by different PDU sessions. The network can realize the different network slices by scheduling and also by providing different L1/L2 configurations. The UE  301  provides assistance information for network slice selection in an appropriate RRC message, if it has been provided by NAS. While the network can support large number of slices, the UE need not support more than 8 slices simultaneously. 
     A network slice may include the CN  320  control plane and user plane NFs, NG-RANs  310  in a serving PLMN, and a N3IWF functions in the serving PLMN. Individual network slices may have different S-NSSAI and/or may have different SSTs. NSSAI includes one or more S-NSSAIs, and each network slice is uniquely identified by an S-NSSAI. Network slices may differ for supported features and network functions optimizations, and/or multiple network slice instances may deliver the same service/features but for different groups of UEs  301  (e.g., enterprise users). For example, individual network slices may deliver different committed service(s) and/or may be dedicated to a particular customer or enterprise. In this example, each network slice may have different S-NSSAIs with the same SST but with different slice differentiators. Additionally, a single UE may be served with one or more network slice instances simultaneously via a 5G AN and associated with eight different S-NSSAIs. Moreover, an AMF  321  instance serving an individual UE  301  may belong to each of the network slice instances serving that UE. 
     Network Slicing in the NG-RAN  310  involves RAN slice awareness. RAN slice awareness includes differentiated handling of traffic for different network slices, which have been pre-configured. Slice awareness in the NG-RAN  310  is introduced at the PDU session level by indicating the S-NSSAI corresponding to a PDU session in all signaling that includes PDU session resource information. How the NG-RAN  310  supports the slice enabling in terms of NG-RAN functions (e.g., the set of network functions that comprise each slice) is implementation dependent. The NG-RAN  310  selects the RAN part of the network slice using assistance information provided by the UE  301  or the 5GC  320 , which unambiguously identifies one or more of the pre-configured network slices in the PLMN. The NG-RAN  310  also supports resource management and policy enforcement between slices as per SLAs. A single NG-RAN node may support multiple slices, and the NG-RAN  310  may also apply an appropriate RRM policy for the SLA in place to each supported slice. The NG-RAN  310  may also support QoS differentiation within a slice. 
     The NG-RAN  310  may also use the UE assistance information for the selection of an AMF  321  during an initial attach, if available. The NG-RAN  310  uses the assistance information for routing the initial NAS to an AMF  321 . If the NG-RAN  310  is unable to select an AMF  321  using the assistance information, or the UE  301  does not provide any such information, the NG-RAN  310  sends the NAS signaling to a default AMF  321 , which may be among a pool of AMFs  321 . For subsequent accesses, the UE  301  provides a temp ID, which is assigned to the UE  301  by the 5GC  320 , to enable the NG-RAN  310  to route the NAS message to the appropriate AMF  321  as long as the temp ID is valid. The NG-RAN  310  is aware of, and can reach, the AMF  321  that is associated with the temp ID. Otherwise, the method for initial attach applies. 
     The NG-RAN  310  supports resource isolation between slices. NG-RAN  310  resource isolation may be achieved by means of RRM policies and protection mechanisms that should avoid that shortage of shared resources if one slice breaks the service level agreement for another slice. In some implementations, it is possible to fully dedicate NG-RAN  310  resources to a certain slice. How NG-RAN  310  supports resource isolation is implementation dependent. 
     Some slices may be available only in part of the network. Awareness in the NG-RAN  310  of the slices supported in the cells of its neighbors may be beneficial for inter-frequency mobility in connected mode. The slice availability may not change within the UE&#39;s registration area. The NG-RAN  310  and the 5GC  320  are responsible to handle a service request for a slice that may or may not be available in a given area. Admission or rejection of access to a slice may depend on factors such as support for the slice, availability of resources, support of the requested service by NG-RAN  310 . 
     The UE  301  may be associated with multiple network slices simultaneously. In case the UE  301  is associated with multiple slices simultaneously, only one signaling connection is maintained, and for intra-frequency cell reselection, the UE  301  tries to camp on the best cell. For inter-frequency cell reselection, dedicated priorities can be used to control the frequency on which the UE  301  camps. The 5GC  320  is to validate that the UE  301  has the rights to access a network slice. Prior to receiving an Initial Conte6 Setup Request message, the NG-RAN  310  may be allowed to apply some provisional/local policies, based on awareness of a particular slice that the UE  301  is requesting to access. During the initial conte6 setup, the NG-RAN  310  is informed of the slice for which resources are being requested. 
     NFV architectures and infrastructures may be used to virtualize one or more NFs, alternatively performed by proprietary hardware, onto physical resources comprising a combination of industry-standard server hardware, storage hardware, or switches. In other words, NFV systems can be used to execute virtual or reconfigurable implementations of one or more EPC components/functions. 
       FIG.  9    is a block diagram illustrating components, according to some example embodiments, of a system  900  to support NFV. The system  900  is illustrated as including a VIM  902 , an NFVI  904 , an VNFM  906 , VNFs  908 , an EM  910 , an NFVO  912 , and a NM  914 . 
     The VIM  902  manages the resources of the NFVI  904 . The NFVI  904  can include physical or virtual resources and applications (including hypervisors) used to execute the system  900 . The VIM  902  may manage the life cycle of virtual resources with the NFVI  904  (e.g., creation, maintenance, and tear down of VMs associated with one or more physical resources), track VM instances, track performance, fault and security of VM instances and associated physical resources, and expose VM instances and associated physical resources to other management systems. 
     The VNFM  906  may manage the VNFs  908 . The VNFs  908  may be used to execute EPC components/functions. The VNFM  906  may manage the life cycle of the VNFs  908  and track performance, fault and security of the virtual aspects of VNFs  908 . The EM  910  may track the performance, fault and security of the functional aspects of VNFs  908 . The tracking data from the VNFM  906  and the EM  910  may comprise, for example, PM data used by the VIM  902  or the NFVI  904 . Both the VNFM  906  and the EM  910  can scale up/down the quantity of VNFs of the system  900 . 
     The NFVO  912  may coordinate, authorize, release and engage resources of the NFVI  904  in order to provide the requested service (e.g., to execute an EPC function, component, or slice). The NM  914  may provide a package of end-user functions with the responsibility for the management of a network, which may include network elements with VNFs, non-virtualized network functions, or both (management of the VNFs may occur via the EM  910 ). 
       FIG.  10    is a block diagram illustrating components, according to some example embodiments, able to read instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. Specifically,  FIG.  10    shows a diagrammatic representation of hardware resources  1000  including one or more processors (or processor cores)  1010 , one or more memory/storage devices  1020 , and one or more communication resources  1030 , each of which may be communicatively coupled via a bus  1040 . For embodiments where node virtualization (e.g., NFV) is utilized, a hypervisor  1002  may be executed to provide an execution environment for one or more network slices/sub-slices to utilize the hardware resources  1000 . 
     The processors  1010  may include, for example, a processor  1012  and a processor  1014 . The processor(s)  1010  may be, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a DSP such as a baseband processor, an ASIC, an FPGA, a radio-frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), another processor (including those discussed herein), or any suitable combination thereof. 
     The memory/storage devices  1020  may include main memory, disk storage, or any suitable combination thereof. The memory/storage devices  1020  may include, but are not limited to, any type of volatile or nonvolatile memory such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), Flash memory, solid-state storage, etc. 
     The communication resources  1030  may include interconnection or network interface components or other suitable devices to communicate with one or more peripheral devices  1004  or one or more databases  1006  via a network  1008 . For example, the communication resources  1030  may include wired communication components (e.g., for coupling via USB), cellular communication components, NFC components, Bluetooth® (or Bluetooth® Low Energy) components, Wi-Fi® components, and other communication components. 
     Instructions  1050  may comprise software, a program, an application, an applet, an app, or other executable code for causing at least any of the processors  1010  to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. The instructions  1050  may reside, completely or partially, within at least one of the processors  1010  (e.g., within the processor&#39;s cache memory), the memory/storage devices  1020 , or any suitable combination thereof. Furthermore, any portion of the instructions  1050  may be transferred to the hardware resources  1000  from any combination of the peripheral devices  1004  or the databases  1006 . Accordingly, the memory of processors  1010 , the memory/storage devices  1020 , the peripheral devices  1004 , and the databases  1006  are examples of computer-readable and machine-readable media. 
     For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components set forth in one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, and/or methods as set forth in the example section below. For example, the baseband circuitry as described above in connection with one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to operate in accordance with one or more of the examples set forth below. For another example, circuitry associated with a UE, base station, network element, etc. as described above in connection with one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to operate in accordance with one or more of the examples set forth below in the example section. 
     EXAMPLES 
     Example 1 may include the method for provisioning Interactive service to a UE for cloud rendering gaming in 5GS. 
     Example 2 may include the method of example 1 or some other example herein, whereby the UE to use cloud rendering gaming in 5GS have subscription for interactive services and the service authorization for the cloud rendering gaming. 
     Example 3 may include the method of example 1 or some other example herein, whereby the service authorization can be configured by the PCF using UE configuration update procedure as indicated in clause 4.2.4.3 of TS 23.502, in which the service authorization is sent via Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer message. 
     Example 4 may include the method of example 3 or some other example herein, whereby the service authorization information for cloud rendering gaming authorization includes the following information:
         Application ID   List of allowed PLMNs   List of DNNs (optionally with indication of LADN: local area data network) per PLMN   List of cloud rendering server IP addresses and port numbers per DNN, PLMN   Priority per cloud rendering server   Validity criteria, e.g. service time, allowed service geographical areas, “user&#39;s consent agreement”.       

     Example 5 may include the method of example 4 or some other example herein, whereby the authorization information can include more than one application IDs with corresponding configuration information. 
     Example 6 may include the method of example 5 or some other example herein, whereby UE configuration update procedure is triggered by the AF for updating service authorization of the cloud rendering gaming of the UE by sending a request to a PCF or via NEF, which includes the following information:
         Application ID   List of allowed PLMNs   List of DNNs per PLMN   List of cloud rendering server IP addresses and port numbers per DNN, PLMN   Priority per cloud rendering server   Validity criteria, e.g. service time, allowed service geographical areas, “user&#39;s consent agreement”.       

     Example 7 may include the method for provisioning assistant information related to the traffic pattern of Interactive service to a UE for cloud rendering gaming in 5GS. 
     Example 8 may include the method of example 7 or some other example herein, whereby the traffic pattern is estimated by the AF and provided to 5G network with the following information:
         Application ID   Application Type Description: cloud rendering gaming, e.g. video streaming, file streaming   Traffic patterns parameters per application   Traffic pattern duration   Time frame size, e.g. 10 secs, 30 secs, 1 min, 5 mins   interactive downlink traffic arrival rate and volume per time frame (traffic rate) (for video streaming the real-time gaming scene)   interactive uplink traffic arrival rate and volume per time frame (traffic rate) (for commands and control)       

     Example 9 may include the method of example 8 or some other example herein, whereby the traffic pattern information can be provided with conditions of geographical area per UE, IP flow, or User group identified by Group ID known by the network. 
     Example 10 may include the method of example 9 or some other example herein, whereby the traffic pattern information is provided per IP flow in AF session set up with required QoS procedure. 
     Example 11 may include the method of example 9 or some other example herein, whereby the traffic pattern information is provided per UE in the external parameter provisioning procedure. 
     Example 12 may include the method of example 10 or some other example herein, whereby the traffic pattern is provided per Traffic Description and target UE(s), per application and is used for steering user plane route and reselection of UPF. 
     Example 13 may include a method comprising: determining service authorization information for a UE, the service authorization information associated with interactive service on a 5G wireless cellular network, and wherein the service authorization information includes one or more of: an Application ID, a list of allowed PLMNs, a list of DNNs per PLMN, a list of cloud rendering server IP addresses and port numbers for respective DNNs and/or PLMNs, a priority of different cloud rendering servers, or validity criteria; and transmitting or causing to transmit the service authorization information. 
     Example 14 may include the method of Example 13 or another example herein, wherein the list of DNNs includes an indication of a local area data network. 
     Example 15 may include the method of Example 13-14 or another example herein, wherein the validity criteria includes one or more of a service time, one or more allowed service geographical areas, or agreement to a user&#39;s consent agreement. 
     Example 16 may include the method of Example 13-15 or another example herein, wherein the service authorization information is transmitted to an authentication and mobility management function (AMF) to enable authorization of the interactive service for the UE. 
     Example 17 may include the method of Example 13-16 or another example herein, wherein the service authorization information is transmitted via a Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer message. 
     Example 18 may include the method of Example 13-17 or another example herein, further comprising: determining an update to the service authorization information; and transmitting the updated service authorization information. 
     Example 19 may include the method of Example 13-18 or another example herein, wherein the method is performed by a policy control function (PCF) or a portion thereof. 
     Example 20 may include a method comprising: receiving service authorization information for a UE, the service authorization information associated with interactive service on a 5G wireless cellular network, and wherein the service authorization information includes one or more of: an Application ID, a list of allowed PLMNs, a list of DNNs per PLMN, a list of cloud rendering server IP addresses and port numbers for respective DNNs and/or PLMNs, a priority of different cloud rendering servers, or validity criteria; determining UE policies for the UE based on the service authorization information, the UE policies to be used by the UE to access the interactive service; and transmitting or causing to transmit the UE policies to the UE. 
     Example 21 may include the method of Example 20 or another example herein, wherein the UE policies include some or all of the service authorization information. 
     Example 22 may include the method of Example 20-21 or another example herein, wherein the list of DNNs includes an indication of a local area data network. 
     Example 23 may include the method of Example 20-22 or another example herein, wherein the validity criteria includes one or more of a service time, one or more allowed service geographical areas, or agreement to a user&#39;s consent agreement. 
     Example 24 may include the method of Example 20-23 or another example herein, wherein the service authorization information is received from a policy control function. 
     Example 25 may include the method of Example 20-24 or another example herein, wherein the service authorization information is received via a Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer message. 
     Example 26 may include the method of Example 20-25 or another example herein, further comprising: receiving updated service authorization information for the UE; and transmitting or causing to transmit updated UE policies to the UE based on the updated service authorization information. 
     Example 27 may include the method of Example 20-26 or another example herein, wherein the method is performed by an authentication and mobility management function (AMF) or a portion thereof. 
     Example 28 may include a method comprising: receiving UE policies for accessing interactive service on a 5G wireless cellular network, wherein the UE policies include one or more of: an Application ID, a list of allowed PLMNs, a list of DNNs per PLMN, a list of cloud rendering server IP addresses and port numbers for respective DNNs and/or PLMNs, a priority of different cloud rendering servers, or validity criteria; and accessing an interactive service based on the UE policies. 
     Example 29 may include the method of example 28 or another example herein, wherein the accessing the interactive service based on the UE policies includes selecting a cloud rendering server with a highest priority that satisfies the validity criteria. 
     Example 30 may include the method of Example 28-29 or another example herein, wherein the list of DNNs includes an indication of a local area data network. 
     Example 31 may include the method of Example 28-30 or another example herein, wherein the validity criteria includes one or more of a service time, one or more allowed service geographical areas, or agreement to a user&#39;s consent agreement. 
     Example 32 may include the method of Example 28-31 or another example herein, further comprising: receiving updated UE policies for accessing interactive service; and accessing the interactive service based on the updated UE policies. 
     Example 33 may include the method of Example 28-32 or another example herein, wherein the method is performed by a user equipment (UE) or a portion thereof. 
     Example 34 may include a method comprising: determining assistance information associated with an interactive service accessed by a UE, wherein the assistance information includes one or more of: an Application ID; an Application Type Description; or one or more Traffic pattern parameters; and transmitting or causing to transmit, the assistance information. 
     Example 35 may include the method of Example 34 or another example herein, wherein the traffic pattern parameters are associated with individual applications. 
     Example 36 may include the method of Example 34-35 or another example herein, wherein the application type description indicates whether the associated Application ID corresponds to a cloud rendered video game. 
     Example 37 may include the method of Example 34-36 or another example herein, wherein the one or more traffic pattern parameters include one or more of: Traffic pattern duration; Time frame size; interactive downlink traffic packet arrival rate, packet size, and/or volume per time frame; or interactive uplink traffic packet arrival rate, packet size, and/or volume per time frame. 
     Example 38 may include the method of Example 34-37 or another example herein, further comprising receiving a request for the assistance information, wherein the assistance information is transmitted responsive to the request. 
     Example 39 may include the method of Example 34-38 or another example herein, wherein the assistance information is transmitted to or by an application function (AF). 
     Example 40 may include the method of Example 34-39 or another example herein, wherein the assistance information is transmitted with information to indicate a required quality of service (QoS). 
     Example 41 may include the method of Example 34-40 or another example herein, wherein the assistance information is transmitted in a Nnef_AFsessionWithQoS_Create request message. 
     Example 42 may include the method of Example 34-41 or another example herein, wherein the method is performed by an application function (AF) or a portion thereof. 
     Example 43 may include the method of Example 34-41, wherein the method is performed by a user equipment (UE) or a portion thereof. 
     Example 44 may include a method comprising: receiving assistance information associated with an interactive service accessed by a UE, wherein the assistance information includes one or more of: an Application ID; an Application Type Description; or one or more Traffic pattern parameters; and controlling the UE&#39;s access of the interactive service based on the assistance information. 
     Example 45 may include the method of Example 44 or another example herein, wherein the traffic pattern parameters are associated with individual applications. 
     Example 46 may include the method of Example 44-45 or another example herein, wherein the application type description indicates whether the associated Application ID corresponds to a cloud rendered video game. 
     Example 47 may include the method of Example 44-46 or another example herein, wherein the one or more traffic pattern parameters include one or more of: Traffic pattern duration; Time frame size; interactive downlink traffic packet arrival rate, packet size, and/or volume per time frame; or interactive uplink traffic packet arrival rate, packet size, and/or volume per time frame. 
     Example 48 may include the method of Example 44-47 or another example herein, further comprising transmitting or causing to transmit a request for the assistance information, wherein the assistance information is received responsive to the request. 
     Example 49 may include the method of Example 44-48 or another example herein, wherein the method is performed by an application function (AF) or a portion thereof. 
     Example 50 may include a method comprising: generating an uplink data packet with one or more commands for an interactive service on a 5G wireless cellular network; inserting an indicator in the uplink data packet to indicate that the uplink data packet is to be provided priority handling; and transmitting or causing to transmit the uplink data packet with the indicator. 
     Example 51 may include the method of Example 50, wherein the priority handling corresponds to ultra reliability and low latency handling. 
     Example 52 may include the method of Example 50-51, further comprising indicating to a session management function (SMF) that the UE will be accessing the interactive service. 
     Example 53 may include the method of Example 52 or another example herein, wherein the indicating is performed as part of establishing a PDU session with the SMF. 
     Example 54 may include the method of Example 50-53 or another example herein, wherein the method is performed by a UE or a portion thereof. 
     Example 55 may include the method of Example 13-54 or another example herein, wherein the interactive service is a cloud rendered video game. 
     Example 56 may include an apparatus comprising means to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any of examples 1-55, or any other method or process described herein. 
     Example 57 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media comprising instructions to cause an electronic device, upon execution of the instructions by one or more processors of the electronic device, to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any of examples 1-55, or any other method or process described herein. 
     Example 58 may include an apparatus comprising logic, modules, or circuitry to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any of examples 1-55, or any other method or process described herein. 
     Example 59 may include a method, technique, or process as described in or related to any of examples 1-55, or portions or parts thereof. 
     Example 60 may include an apparatus comprising: one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the method, techniques, or process as described in or related to any of examples 1-55, or portions thereof. 
     Example 61 may include a signal as described in or related to any of examples 1-55, or portions or parts thereof. 
     Example 62 may include a signal in a wireless network as shown and described herein. 
     Example 63 may include a method of communicating in a wireless network as shown and described herein. 
     Example 64 may include a system for providing wireless communication as shown and described herein. 
     Example 65 may include a device for providing wireless communication as shown and described herein. 
     Any of the above-described examples may be combined with any other example (or combination of examples), unless explicitly stated otherwise. The foregoing description of one or more implementations provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of embodiments to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of various embodiments. 
     Abbreviations 
     For the purposes of the present document, the following abbreviations may apply to the examples and embodiments discussed herein, but are not meant to be limiting.
         3GPP Third Generation Partnership Project   4G Fourth Generation   5G Fifth Generation   5GC 5G Core network   ACK Acknowledgement   AF Application Function   AM Acknowledged Mode   AMBR Aggregate Maximum Bit Rate   AMF Access and Mobility Management Function   AN Access Network   ANR Automatic Neighbour Relation   AP Application Protocol, Antenna Port, Access Point   API Application Programming Interface   APN Access Point Name   ARP Allocation and Retention Priority   ARQ Automatic Repeat Request   AS Access Stratum   ASN.1 Abstract Syntax Notation One   AUSF Authentication Server Function   AWGN Additive White Gaussian Noise   BCH Broadcast Channel   BER Bit Error Ratio   BFD Beam Failure Detection   BLER Block Error Rate   BPSK Binary Phase Shift Keying   BRAS Broadband Remote Access Server   BSS Business Support System   BS Base Station   BSR Buffer Status Report   BW Bandwidth   BWP Bandwidth Part   C-RNTI Cell Radio Network Temporary Identity   CA Carrier Aggregation, Certification Authority   CAPEX CAPital EXpenditure   CBRA Contention Based Random Access   CC Component Carrier, Country Code, Cryptographic Checksum   CCA Clear Channel Assessment   CCE Control Channel Element   CCCH Common Control Channel   CE Coverage Enhancement   CDM Content Delivery Network   CDMA Code-Division Multiple Access   CFRA Contention Free Random Access   CG Cell Group   CI Cell Identity   CID Cell-ID (e.g., positioning method)   CIM Common Information Model   CIR Carrier to Interference Ratio   CK Cipher Key   CM Connection Management, Conditional Mandatory   CMAS Commercial Mobile Alert Service   CMD Command   CMS Cloud Management System   CO Conditional Optional   CoMP Coordinated Multi-Point   CORESET Control Resource Set   COTS Commercial Off-The-Shelf   CP Control Plane, Cyclic Prefix, Connection Point   CPD Connection Point Descriptor   CPE Customer Premise Equipment   CPICH Common Pilot Channel   CQI Channel Quality Indicator   CPU CSI processing unit, Central Processing Unit   C/R Command/Response field bit   CRAN Cloud Radio Access Network, Cloud RAN   CRB Common Resource Block   CRC Cyclic Redundancy Check   CRI Channel-State Information Resource Indicator, CSI-RS Resource Indicator   C-RNTI Cell RNTI   CS Circuit Switched   CSAR Cloud Service Archive   CSI Channel-State Information   CSI-IM CSI Interference Measurement   CSI-RS CSI Reference Signal   CSI-RSRP CSI reference signal received power   CSI-RSRQ CSI reference signal received quality   CSI-SINR CSI signal-to-noise and interference ratio   CSMA Carrier Sense Multiple Access   CSMA/CA CSMA with collision avoidance   CSS Common Search Space, Cell-specific Search Space   CTS Clear-to-Send   CW Codeword   CWS Contention Window Size   D2D Device-to-Device   DC Dual Connectivity, Direct Current   DCI Downlink Control Information   DF Deployment Flavour   DL Downlink   DMTF Distributed Management Task Force   DPDK Data Plane Development Kit   DM-RS, DMRS Demodulation Reference Signal   DN Data network   DRB Data Radio Bearer   DRS Discovery Reference Signal   DRX Discontinuous Reception   DSL Domain Specific Language. Digital Subscriber Line   DSLAM DSL Access Multiplexer   DwPTS Downlink Pilot Time Slot   E-LAN Ethernet Local Area Network   E2E End-to-End   ECCA e6ended clear channel assessment, e6ended CCA   ECCE Enhanced Control Channel Element, Enhanced CCE   ED Energy Detection   EDGE Enhanced Datarates for GSM Evolution (GSM Evolution)   EGMF Exposure Governance Management Function   EGPRS Enhanced GPRS   EIR Equipment Identity Register   eLAA enhanced Licensed Assisted Access, enhanced LAA   EM Element Manager   eMBB Enhanced Mobile Broadband   EMS Element Management System   eNB evolved NodeB, E-UTRAN Node B   EN-DC E-UTRA-NR Dual Connectivity   EPC Evolved Packet Core   EPDCCH enhanced PDCCH, enhanced Physical Downlink Control Cannel   EPRE Energy per resource element   EPS Evolved Packet System   EREG enhanced REG, enhanced resource element groups   ETSI European Telecommunications Standards Institute   ETWS Earthquake and Tsunami Warning System   eUICC embedded UICC, embedded Universal Integrated Circuit Card   E-UTRA Evolved UTRA   E-UTRAN Evolved UTRAN   EV2X Enhanced V2X   F1AP F1 Application Protocol   F1-C F1 Control plane interface   F1-U F1 User plane interface   FACCH Fast Associated Control CHannel   FACCH/F Fast Associated Control Channel/Full rate   FACCH/H Fast Associated Control Channel/Half rate   FACH Forward Access Channel   FAUSCH Fast Uplink Signalling Channel   FB Functional Block   FBI Feedback Information   FCC Federal Communications Commission   FCCH Frequency Correction CHannel   FDD Frequency Division Duplex   FDM Frequency Division Multiplex   FDMA Frequency Division Multiple Access   FE Front End   FEC Forward Error Correction   FFS For Further Study   FFT Fast Fourier Transformation   feLAA further enhanced Licensed Assisted Access, further enhanced LAA   FN Frame Number   FPGA Field-Programmable Gate Array   FR Frequency Range   G-RNTI GERAN Radio Network Temporary Identity   GERAN GSM EDGE RAN, GSM EDGE Radio Access Network   GGSN Gateway GPRS Support Node   GLONASS GLObal′naya NAvigatsionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema (Engl.: Global Navigation Satellite System)   gNB Ne6 Generation NodeB   gNB-CU gNB-centralized unit, Ne6 Generation NodeB centralized unit   gNB-DU gNB-distributed unit, Ne6 Generation NodeB distributed unit   GNSS Global Navigation Satellite System   GPRS General Packet Radio Service   GSM Global System for Mobile Communications, Groupe Spécial Mobile   GTP GPRS Tunneling Protocol   GTP-U GPRS Tunnelling Protocol for User Plane   GTS Go To Sleep Signal (related to WUS)   GUMMEI Globally Unique MME Identifier   GUTI Globally Unique Temporary UE Identity   HARQ Hybrid ARQ, Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request   HANDO, HO Handover   HFN HyperFrame Number   HHO Hard Handover   HLR Home Location Register   HN Home Network   HO Handover   HPLMN Home Public Land Mobile Network   HSDPA High Speed Downlink Packet Access   HSN Hopping Sequence Number   HSPA High Speed Packet Access   HSS Home Subscriber Server   HSUPA High Speed Uplink Packet Access   HTTP Hyper Te6 Transfer Protocol   HTTPS Hyper Te6 Transfer Protocol Secure (https is http/1.1 over SSL, i.e. port 443)   I-Block Information Block   ICCID Integrated Circuit Card Identification   ICIC Inter-Cell Interference Coordination   ID Identity, identifier   IDFT Inverse Discrete Fourier Transform   IE Information element   IBE In-Band Emission   IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers   IEI Information Element Identifier   IEIDL Information Element Identifier Data Length   IETF Internet Engineering Task Force   IF Infrastructure   IM Interference Measurement, Intermodulation, IP Multimedia   IMC IMS Credentials   IMEI International Mobile Equipment Identity   IMGI International mobile group identity   IMPI IP Multimedia Private Identity   IMPU IP Multimedia PUblic identity   IMS IP Multimedia Subsystem   IMSI International Mobile Subscriber Identity   IoT Internet of Things   IP Internet Protocol   Ipsec IP Security, Internet Protocol Security   IP-CAN IP-Connectivity Access Network   IP-M IP Multicast   IPv4 Internet Protocol Version 4   IPv6 Internet Protocol Version 6   IR Infrared   IS In Sync   IRP Integration Reference Point   ISDN Integrated Services Digital Network   ISIM IM Services Identity Module   ISO International Organisation for Standardisation   ISP Internet Service Provider   IWF Interworking-Function   I-WLAN Interworking WLAN   K Constraint length of the convolutional code, USIM Individual key   kB Kilobyte (1000 bytes)   kbps kilo-bits per second   Kc Ciphering key   Ki Individual subscriber authentication key   KPI Key Performance Indicator   KQI Key Quality Indicator   KSI Key Set Identifier   ksps kilo-symbols per second   KVM Kernel Virtual Machine   L1 Layer 1 (physical layer)   L1-RSRP Layer 1 reference signal received power   L2 Layer 2 (data link layer)   L3 Layer 3 (network layer)   LAA Licensed Assisted Access   LAN Local Area Network   LBT Listen Before Talk   LCM LifeCycle Management   LCR Low Chip Rate   LCS Location Services   LCID Logical Channel ID   LI Layer Indicator   LLC Logical Link Control, Low Layer Compatibility   LPLMN Local PLMN   LPP LTE Positioning Protocol   LSB Least Significant Bit   LTE Long Term Evolution   LWA LTE-WLAN aggregation   LWIP LTE/WLAN Radio Level Integration with IPsec Tunnel   LTE Long Term Evolution   M2M Machine-to-Machine   MAC Medium Access Control (protocol layering conte6)   MAC Message authentication code (security/encryption conte6)   MAC-A MAC used for authentication and key agreement (TSG T WG3 conte6)   MAC-I MAC used for data integrity of signalling messages (TSG T WG3 conte6)   MANO Management and Orchestration   MBMS Multimedia Broadcast and Multicast Service   MBSFN Multimedia Broadcast multicast service Single Frequency Network   MCC Mobile Country Code   MCG Master Cell Group   MCOT Maximum Channel Occupancy Time   MCS Modulation and coding scheme   MDAF Management Data Analytics Function   MDAS Management Data Analytics Service   MDT Minimization of Drive Tests   ME Mobile Equipment   MeNB master eNB   MER Message Error Ratio   MGL Measurement Gap Length   MGRP Measurement Gap Repetition Period   MIB Master Information Block, Management Information Base   MIMO Multiple Input Multiple Output   MLC Mobile Location Centre   MM Mobility Management   MME Mobility Management Entity   MN Master Node   MO Measurement Object, Mobile Originated   MPBCH MTC Physical Broadcast CHannel   MPDCCH MTC Physical Downlink Control CHannel   MPDSCH MTC Physical Downlink Shared CHannel   MPRACH MTC Physical Random Access CHannel   MPUSCH MTC Physical Uplink Shared Channel   MPLS MultiProtocol Label Switching   MS Mobile Station   MSB Most Significant Bit   MSC Mobile Switching Centre   MSI Minimum System Information, MCH Scheduling Information   MSID Mobile Station Identifier   MSIN Mobile Station Identification Number   MSISDN Mobile Subscriber ISDN Number   MT Mobile Terminated, Mobile Termination   MTC Machine-Type Communications   mMTC massive MTC, massive Machine-Type Communications   MU-MIMO Multi User MIMO   MWUS MTC wake-up signal, MTC WUS   NACK Negative Acknowledgement   NAI Network Access Identifier   NAS Non-Access Stratum, Non-Access Stratum layer   NCT Network Connectivity Topology   NEC Network Capability Exposure   NE-DC NR-E-UTRA Dual Connectivity   NEF Network Exposure Function   NF Network Function   NFP Network Forwarding Path   NFPD Network Forwarding Path Descriptor   NFV Network Functions Virtualization   NFVI NFV Infrastructure   NFVO NFV Orchestrator   NG Ne6 Generation, Ne6 Gen   NGEN-DC NG-RAN E-UTRA-NR Dual Connectivity   NM Network Manager   NMS Network Management System   N-PoP Network Point of Presence   NMIB, N-MIB Narrowband MIB   NPBCH Narrowband Physical Broadcast CHannel   NPDCCH Narrowband Physical Downlink Control CHannel   NPDSCH Narrowband Physical Downlink Shared CHannel   NPRACH Narrowband Physical Random Access CHannel   NPUSCH Narrowband Physical Uplink Shared CHannel   NPSS Narrowband Primary Synchronization Signal   NSSS Narrowband Secondary Synchronization Signal   NR New Radio, Neighbour Relation   NRF NF Repository Function   NRS Narrowband Reference Signal   NS Network Service   NSA Non-Standalone operation mode   NSD Network Service Descriptor   NSR Network Service Record   NSSAI ‘Network Slice Selection Assistance Information   S-NNSAI Single-NS SAI   NSSF Network Slice Selection Function   NW Network   NWUS Narrowband wake-up signal, Narrowband WUS   NZP Non-Zero Power   O&amp;M Operation and Maintenance   ODU2 Optical channel Data Unit—type 2   OFDM Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing   OFDMA Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access   OOB Out-of-band   OOS Out of Sync   OPEX OPerating EXpense   OSI Other System Information   OSS Operations Support System   OTA over-the-air   PAPR Peak-to-Average Power Ratio   PAR Peak to Average Ratio   PBCH Physical Broadcast Channel   PC Power Control, Personal Computer   PCC Primary Component Carrier, Primary CC   PCell Primary Cell   PCI Physical Cell ID, Physical Cell Identity   PCEF Policy and Charging Enforcement Function   PCF Policy Control Function   PCRF Policy Control and Charging Rules Function   PDCP Packet Data Convergence Protocol, Packet Data Convergence Protocol layer   PDCCH Physical Downlink Control Channel   PDCP Packet Data Convergence Protocol   PDN Packet Data Network, Public Data Network   PDSCH Physical Downlink Shared Channel   PDU Protocol Data Unit   PEI Permanent Equipment Identifiers   PFD Packet Flow Description   P-GW PDN Gateway   PHICH Physical hybrid-ARQ indicator channel   PHY Physical layer   PLMN Public Land Mobile Network   PIN Personal Identification Number   PM Performance Measurement   PMI Precoding Matrix Indicator   PNF Physical Network Function   PNFD Physical Network Function Descriptor   PNFR Physical Network Function Record   POC PTT over Cellular   PP, PTP Point-to-Point   PPP Point-to-Point Protocol   PRACH Physical RACH   PRB Physical resource block   PRG Physical resource block group   ProSe Proximity Services, Proximity-Based Service   PRS Positioning Reference Signal   PRR Packet Reception Radio   PS Packet Services   PSBCH Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel   PSDCH Physical Sidelink Downlink Channel   PSCCH Physical Sidelink Control Channel   PSSCH Physical Sidelink Shared Channel   PSCell Primary SCell   PSS Primary Synchronization Signal   PSTN Public Switched Telephone Network   PT-RS Phase-tracking reference signal   PTT Push-to-Talk   PUCCH Physical Uplink Control Channel   PUSCH Physical Uplink Shared Channel   QAM Quadrature Amplitude Modulation   QCI QoS class of identifier   QCL Quasi co-location   QFI QoS Flow ID, QoS Flow Identifier   QoS Quality of Service   QPSK Quadrature (Quaternary) Phase Shift Keying   QZSS Quasi-Zenith Satellite System   RA-RNTI Random Access RNTI   RAB Radio Access Bearer, Random Access Burst   RACH Random Access Channel   RADIUS Remote Authentication Dial In User Service   RAN Radio Access Network   RAND RANDom number (used for authentication)   RAR Random Access Response   RAT Radio Access Technology   RAU Routing Area Update   RB Resource block, Radio Bearer   RBG Resource block group   REG Resource Element Group   Rel Release   REQ REQuest   RF Radio Frequency   RI Rank Indicator   MV Resource indicator value   RL Radio Link   RLC Radio Link Control, Radio Link Control layer   RLC AM RLC Acknowledged Mode   RLC UM RLC Unacknowledged Mode   RLF Radio Link Failure   RLM Radio Link Monitoring   RLM-RS Reference Signal for RLM   RM Registration Management   RMC Reference Measurement Channel   RMSI Remaining MSI, Remaining Minimum System Information   RN Relay Node   RNC Radio Network Controller   RNL Radio Network Layer   RNTI Radio Network Temporary Identifier   ROHC RObust Header Compression   RRC Radio Resource Control, Radio Resource Control layer   RRM Radio Resource Management   RS Reference Signal   RSRP Reference Signal Received Power   RSRQ Reference Signal Received Quality   RSSI Received Signal Strength Indicator   RSU Road Side Unit   RSTD Reference Signal Time difference   RTP Real Time Protocol   RTS Ready-To-Send   RTT Round Trip Time   Rx Reception, Receiving, Receiver   SlAP S1 Application Protocol   S1-MME S1 for the control plane   S1-U S1 for the user plane   S-GW Serving Gateway   S-RNTI SRNC Radio Network Temporary Identity   S-TMSI SAE Temporary Mobile Station Identifier   SA Standalone operation mode   SAE System Architecture Evolution   SAP Service Access Point   SAPD Service Access Point Descriptor   SAPI Service Access Point Identifier   SCC Secondary Component Carrier, Secondary CC   SCell Secondary Cell   SC-FDMA Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access   SCG Secondary Cell Group   SCM Security Conte6 Management   SCS Subcarrier Spacing   SCTP Stream Control Transmission Protocol   SDAP Service Data Adaptation Protocol, Service Data Adaptation Protocol layer   SDL Supplementary Downlink   SDNF Structured Data Storage Network Function   SDP Service Discovery Protocol (Bluetooth related)   SDSF Structured Data Storage Function   SDU Service Data Unit   SEAF Security Anchor Function   SeNB secondary eNB   SEPP Security Edge Protection Proxy   SFI Slot format indication   SFTD Space-Frequency Time Diversity, SFN and frame timing difference   SFN System Frame Number   SgNB Secondary gNB   SGSN Serving GPRS Support Node   S-GW Serving Gateway   SI System Information   SI-RNTI System Information RNTI   SIB System Information Block   SIM Subscriber Identity Module   SIP Session Initiated Protocol   SiP System in Package   SL Sidelink   SLA Service Level Agreement   SM Session Management   SMF Session Management Function   SMS Short Message Service   SMSF SMS Function   SMTC SSB-based Measurement Timing Configuration   SN Secondary Node, Sequence Number   SoC System on Chip   SON Self-Organizing Network   SpCell Special Cell   SP-CSI-RNTI Semi-Persistent CSI RNTI   SPS Semi-Persistent Scheduling   SQN Sequence number   SR Scheduling Request   SRB Signalling Radio Bearer   SRS Sounding Reference Signal   SS Synchronization Signal   SSB Synchronization Signal Block, SS/PBCH Block   SSBRI SS/PBCH Block Resource Indicator, Synchronization Signal Block Resource Indicator   SSC Session and Service Continuity   SS-RSRP Synchronization Signal based Reference Signal Received Power   SS-RSRQ Synchronization Signal based Reference Signal Received Quality   SS-SINR Synchronization Signal based Signal to Noise and Interference Ratio   SSS Secondary Synchronization Signal   SSSG Search Space Set Group   SSSIF Search Space Set Indicator   SST Slice/Service Types   SU-MIMO Single User MIMO   SUL Supplementary Uplink   TA Timing Advance, Tracking Area   TAC Tracking Area Code   TAG Timing Advance Group   TAU Tracking Area Update   TB Transport Block   TBS Transport Block Size   TBD To Be Defined   TCI Transmission Configuration Indicator   TCP Transmission Communication Protocol   TDD Time Division Duplex   TDM Time Division Multiplexing   TDMA Time Division Multiple Access   TE Terminal Equipment   TEID Tunnel End Point Identifier   TFT Traffic Flow Template   TMSI Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity   TNL Transport Network Layer   TPC Transmit Power Control   TPMI Transmitted Precoding Matrix Indicator   TR Technical Report   TRP, TRxP Transmission Reception Point   TRS Tracking Reference Signal   TRx Transceiver   TS Technical Specifications, Technical Standard   TTI Transmission Time Interval   Tx Transmission, Transmitting, Transmitter   U-RNTI UTRAN Radio Network Temporary Identity   UART Universal Asynchronous Receiver and Transmitter   UCI Uplink Control Information   UE User Equipment   UDM Unified Data Management   UDP User Datagram Protocol   UDSF Unstructured Data Storage Network Function   UICC Universal Integrated Circuit Card   UL Uplink   UM Unacknowledged Mode   UML Unified Modelling Language   UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunications System   UP User Plane   UPF User Plane Function   URI Uniform Resource Identifier   URL Uniform Resource Locator   URLLC Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency   USB Universal Serial Bus   USIM Universal Subscriber Identity Module   USS UE-specific search space   UTRA UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access   UTRAN Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network   UwPTS Uplink Pilot Time Slot   V2I Vehicle-to-Infrastruction   V2P Vehicle-to-Pedestrian   V2V Vehicle-to-Vehicle   V2X Vehicle-to-everything   VIM Virtualized Infrastructure Manager   VL Virtual Link,   VLAN Virtual LAN, Virtual Local Area Network   VM Virtual Machine   VNF Virtualized Network Function   VNFFG VNF Forwarding Graph   VNFFGD VNF Forwarding Graph Descriptor   VNFM VNF Manager   VoIP Voice-over-IP, Voice-over-Internet Protocol   VPLMN Visited Public Land Mobile Network   VPN Virtual Private Network   VRB Virtual Resource Block   WiMAX Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access   WLAN Wireless Local Area Network   WMAN Wireless Metropolitan Area Network   WPAN Wireless Personal Area Network   X2-C X2-Control plane   X2-U X2-User plane   XML e6ensible Markup Language   XRES EXpected user RESponse   XOR eXclusive OR   ZC Zadoff-Chu   ZP Zero Power       

     Terminology 
     For the purposes of the present document, the following terms and definitions are applicable to the examples and embodiments discussed herein, but are not meant to be limiting. 
     The term “circuitry” as used herein refers to, is part of, or includes hardware components such as an electronic circuit, a logic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) and/or memory (shared, dedicated, or group), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable device (FPD) (e.g., a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), a complex PLD (CPLD), a high-capacity PLD (HCPLD), a structured ASIC, or a programmable SoC), digital signal processors (DSPs), etc., that are configured to provide the described functionality. In some embodiments, the circuitry may execute one or more software or firmware programs to provide at least some of the described functionality. The term “circuitry” may also refer to a combination of one or more hardware elements (or a combination of circuits used in an electrical or electronic system) with the program code used to carry out the functionality of that program code. In these embodiments, the combination of hardware elements and program code may be referred to as a particular type of circuitry. 
     The term “processor circuitry” as used herein refers to, is part of, or includes circuitry capable of sequentially and automatically carrying out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations, or recording, storing, and/or transferring digital data. The term “processor circuitry” may refer to one or more application processors, one or more baseband processors, a physical central processing unit (CPU), a single-core processor, a dual-core processor, a triple-core processor, a quad-core processor, and/or any other device capable of executing or otherwise operating computer-executable instructions, such as program code, software modules, and/or functional processes. The terms “application circuitry” and/or “baseband circuitry” may be considered synonymous to, and may be referred to as, “processor circuitry.” 
     The term “interface circuitry” as used herein refers to, is part of, or includes circuitry that enables the exchange of information between two or more components or devices. The term “interface circuitry” may refer to one or more hardware interfaces, for example, buses, I/O interfaces, peripheral component interfaces, network interface cards, and/or the like. 
     The term “user equipment” or “UE” as used herein refers to a device with radio communication capabilities and may describe a remote user of network resources in a communications network. The term “user equipment” or “UE” may be considered synonymous to, and may be referred to as, client, mobile, mobile device, mobile terminal, user terminal, mobile unit, mobile station, mobile user, subscriber, user, remote station, access agent, user agent, receiver, radio equipment, reconfigurable radio equipment, reconfigurable mobile device, etc. Furthermore, the term “user equipment” or “UE” may include any type of wireless/wired device or any computing device including a wireless communications interface. 
     The term “network element” as used herein refers to physical or virtualized equipment and/or infrastructure used to provide wired or wireless communication network services. The term “network element” may be considered synonymous to and/or referred to as a networked computer, networking hardware, network equipment, network node, router, switch, hub, bridge, radio network controller, RAN device, RAN node, gateway, server, virtualized VNF, NFVI, and/or the like. 
     The term “computer system” as used herein refers to any type interconnected electronic devices, computer devices, or components thereof. Additionally, the term “computer system” and/or “system” may refer to various components of a computer that are communicatively coupled with one another. Furthermore, the term “computer system” and/or “system” may refer to multiple computer devices and/or multiple computing systems that are communicatively coupled with one another and configured to share computing and/or networking resources. 
     The term “appliance,” “computer appliance,” or the like, as used herein refers to a computer device or computer system with program code (e.g., software or firmware) that is specifically designed to provide a specific computing resource. A “virtual appliance” is a virtual machine image to be implemented by a hypervisor-equipped device that virtualizes or emulates a computer appliance or otherwise is dedicated to provide a specific computing resource. 
     The term “resource” as used herein refers to a physical or virtual device, a physical or virtual component within a computing environment, and/or a physical or virtual component within a particular device, such as computer devices, mechanical devices, memory space, processor/CPU time, processor/CPU usage, processor and accelerator loads, hardware time or usage, electrical power, input/output operations, ports or network sockets, channel/link allocation, throughput, memory usage, storage, network, database and applications, workload units, and/or the like. A “hardware resource” may refer to compute, storage, and/or network resources provided by physical hardware element(s). A “virtualized resource” may refer to compute, storage, and/or network resources provided by virtualization infrastructure to an application, device, system, etc. The term “network resource” or “communication resource” may refer to resources that are accessible by computer devices/systems via a communications network. The term “system resources” may refer to any kind of shared entities to provide services, and may include computing and/or network resources. System resources may be considered as a set of coherent functions, network data objects or services, accessible through a server where such system resources reside on a single host or multiple hosts and are clearly identifiable. 
     The term “channel” as used herein refers to any transmission medium, either tangible or intangible, which is used to communicate data or a data stream. The term “channel” may be synonymous with and/or equivalent to “communications channel,” “data communications channel,” “transmission channel,” “data transmission channel,” “access channel,” “data access channel,” “link,” “data link,” “carrier,” “radiofrequency carrier,” and/or any other like term denoting a pathway or medium through which data is communicated. Additionally, the term “link” as used herein refers to a connection between two devices through a RAT for the purpose of transmitting and receiving information. 
     The terms “instantiate,” “instantiation,” and the like as used herein refers to the creation of an instance. An “instance” also refers to a concrete occurrence of an object, which may occur, for example, during execution of program code. 
     The terms “coupled,” “communicatively coupled,” along with derivatives thereof are used herein. The term “coupled” may mean two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact with one another, may mean that two or more elements indirectly contact each other but still cooperate or interact with each other, and/or may mean that one or more other elements are coupled or connected between the elements that are said to be coupled with each other. The term “directly coupled” may mean that two or more elements are in direct contact with one another. The term “communicatively coupled” may mean that two or more elements may be in contact with one another by a means of communication including through a wire or other interconnect connection, through a wireless communication channel or ink, and/or the like. 
     The term “information element” refers to a structural element containing one or more fields. The term “field” refers to individual contents of an information element, or a data element that contains content. 
     The term “SMTC” refers to an SSB-based measurement timing configuration configured by SSB-MeasurementTimingConfiguration. 
     The term “SSB” refers to an SS/PBCH block. 
     The term “a “Primary Cell” refers to the MCG cell, operating on the primary frequency, in which the UE either performs the initial connection establishment procedure or initiates the connection re-establishment procedure. 
     The term “Primary SCG Cell” refers to the SCG cell in which the UE performs random access when performing the Reconfiguration with Sync procedure for DC operation. 
     The term “Secondary Cell” refers to a cell providing additional radio resources on top of a Special Cell for a UE configured with CA. 
     The term “Secondary Cell Group” refers to the subset of serving cells comprising the PSCell and zero or more secondary cells for a UE configured with DC. 
     The term “Serving Cell” refers to the primary cell for a UE in RRC_CONNECTED not configured with CA/DC there is only one serving cell comprising of the primary cell. 
     The term “serving cell” or “serving cells” refers to the set of cells comprising the Special Cell(s) and all secondary cells for a UE in RRC_CONNECTED configured with CA. 
     The term “Special Cell” refers to the PCell of the MCG or the PSCell of the SCG for DC operation; otherwise, the term “Special Cell” refers to the Pcell.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20200206
Publication Date: 20241231
Grant Date: 20241231
Priority Date: 20190206
Inventors: Liao, Ching-Yu
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "H04W84/042", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L67/10", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W12/37", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "A63F13/355", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W12/08", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L63/10", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W84/042", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W12/37", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L67/10", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "A63F13/355", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W12/08", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 69740886