EP-4740543-A1 - MEASUREMENT CAPABILITY AND CONFIGURATION ON SHARED SPECTRUM FOR TERRESTRIAL AND NON-TERRESTRIAL NETWORKS

EP4740543A1EP 4740543 A1EP4740543 A1EP 4740543A1EP-4740543-A1

Abstract

Wireless communication systems, including systems, apparatuses, and methods for measurement capability and configuration on shared spectrum terrestrial networks (TNs) and non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) are disclosed. A user equipment (UE) includes a transceiver and a processor configured to cause the UE to receive, via the transceiver, control signaling indicating a neighbor cell measurement configuration for a radio frequency (RF) spectrum band utilized by both a TN device and an NTN device to serve UEs. The processor is further configured to receive, via the transceiver and according to the indicated neighbor cell measurement configuration, reference signals of the RF spectrum band from the TN device and from the NTN device. The processor is further configured to perform a mobility operation based on the reference signals from the TN device, the reference signals received from the NTN device, or both.

Inventors

TANG, YANG
LI, QIMING
ZHANG, DAWEI
SUN, HAITONG
YE, CHUNXUAN
CUI, JIE

Assignees

Apple Inc.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260513
Application Date: 20230927

Claims (18)

A user equipment (UE) , comprising: a transceiver; and a processor configured to cause the UE to, receive, via the transceiver, control signaling indicating a neighbor cell measurement configuration for a radio frequency spectrum band utilized by both a terrestrial network device and a non-terrestrial network device to serve UEs, receive, via the transceiver and according to the indicated neighbor cell measurement configuration, a first one or more reference signals of the radio frequency spectrum band from the terrestrial network device and a second one or more reference signals of the radio frequency spectrum band from the non-terrestrial network device, and perform a mobility operation based at least in part on the first one or more reference signals received from the terrestrial network device, or the second one or more reference signals received from the non-terrestrial network device, or both.
The UE of claim 1, wherein the control signaling comprises an information element that indicates that the radio frequency spectrum band is configured for terrestrial measurements, or non-terrestrial measurements, or both.
The UE of claim 1, wherein the control signaling comprises a first information element for terrestrial measurements that identifies the radio frequency spectrum band for measurement by the UE and a second information element for non-terrestrial measurements that identifies the radio frequency spectrum band for measurement by the UE.
The UE of claim 1, wherein the neighbor cell measurement configuration comprises a synchronization signal block (SSB) -based radio resource management (RRM) measurement timing configuration (SMTC) indicating whether the SMTC is for terrestrial measurements, non-terrestrial measurements, or both.
The UE of claim 1, wherein the neighbor cell measurement configuration comprises a first synchronization signal block (SSB) -based radio resource management (RRM) measurement timing configuration (SMTC) for terrestrial measurements and a second SMTC for non-terrestrial measurements.
The UE of claim 5, wherein the processor is further configured to: identify whether the UE is in a terrestrial network coverage area; and prioritize, based at least in part on identifying that the UE is in a terrestrial network coverage area, the first SMTC for the terrestrial measurements over the second SMTC for the non-terrestrial measurements; or prioritize, based at least in part on identifying that the UE is outside the terrestrial network coverage area or in a non-terrestrial network coverage area, the second SMTC for the non-terrestrial measurements over the first SMTC for the terrestrial measurements.
The UE of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to: transmit, via the transceiver, capability signaling indicating that the UE supports non-terrestrial network synchronization signal (SSB) -based radio resource management (RRM) measurements, and indicating whether the capability is for non-terrestrial measurements, terrestrial measurements, or both.
The UE of claim 7, wherein the capability signaling further indicates a quantity of SSB-based RRM measurement timing configuration (SMTC) supported by the UE.
The UE of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to: transmit, via the transceiver, capability signaling indicating that the UE supports non-terrestrial network synchronization signal (SSB) -based radio resource management (RRM) measurements, and indicating a total quantity of SSB-based RRM measurement timing configuration (SMTC) supported by the UE for both non-terrestrial measurements and terrestrial measurements.
The UE of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to: identify whether a first time duration for terrestrial measurements overlaps with a second time duration for non-terrestrial measurements according to the neighbor cell measurement configuration; and prioritize, based at least in part on identifying that the first time duration for terrestrial measurements overlaps with the second time duration for non-terrestrial measurements according to the neighbor cell measurement configuration, the terrestrial measurements of the first time duration over the non-terrestrial measurements of the second time duration; or prioritize, based at least in part on identifying that the first time duration for terrestrial measurements overlaps with the second time duration for non-terrestrial measurements according to the neighbor cell measurement configuration, the non-terrestrial measurements of the second time duration over the terrestrial measurements of the first time duration.
The UE of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to: receive, via the transceiver, an indication of whether the UE is to prioritize terrestrial measurements of a first time duration or non-terrestrial measurements of a second time duration if the first time duration overlaps at least a portion of the second time duration.
The UE of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to: identify that a first time duration for terrestrial measurements overlaps with a second time duration for non-terrestrial measurements according to the neighbor cell measurement configuration; and use at least a portion of instances of the first time duration for the terrestrial measurements and at least a portion of instances of the second time duration for the non-terrestrial measurements.
A network device, comprising: a transceiver; and a processor configured to cause the network device to, receive, from a user equipment (UE) , capability signaling indicating that the UE supports non-terrestrial network synchronization signal (SSB) -based radio resource management (RRM) measurements, and transmit, via the transceiver and to the UE responsive to the capability signaling, control signaling indicating a neighbor cell measurement configuration for a radio frequency spectrum band utilized by both a terrestrial network device and a non-terrestrial network device to serve UEs.
The UE of claim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to cause the network device to: transmit, via the transceiver and based at least in part on identifying that the non-terrestrial network device is within a threshold distance of the terrestrial network device, a request for the non-terrestrial network device to cease transmitting on the radio frequency spectrum band that is utilized by both the terrestrial network device and the non-terrestrial network device.
The UE of claim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to cause the network device to: transmit, via the transceiver and based at least in part on identifying that a first coverage area of the non-terrestrial network device is within a threshold distance of a second coverage area of the terrestrial network device, a request for the non-terrestrial network device to cease transmitting on the radio frequency spectrum band that is utilized by both the terrestrial network device and the non-terrestrial network device.
The UE of claim 13, wherein the control signaling comprises an information element that indicates that the radio frequency spectrum band is configured for terrestrial measurements, or non-terrestrial measurements, or both.
The UE of claim 13, wherein the control signaling comprises a first information element for terrestrial measurements that identifies the radio frequency spectrum band for measurement by the UE and a second information element for non-terrestrial measurements that identifies the radio frequency spectrum band for measurement by the UE.
A method of wireless communication at a user equipment (UE) , comprising: receiving control signaling indicating a neighbor cell measurement configuration for a radio frequency spectrum band utilized by both a terrestrial network device and a non-terrestrial network device to serve UEs; receiving, according to the indicated neighbor cell measurement configuration, a first one or more reference signals of the radio frequency spectrum band from the terrestrial network device and a second one or more reference signals of the radio frequency spectrum band from the non-terrestrial network device; and performing a mobility operation based at least in part on the first one or more reference signals received from the terrestrial network device, or the second one or more reference signals received from the non-terrestrial network device, or both.

Description

MEASUREMENT CAPABILITY AND CONFIGURATION ON SHARED SPECTRUM FOR TERRESTRIAL AND NON-TERRESTRIAL NETWORKS TECHNICAL FIELD This application relates generally to wireless communication systems, including systems, apparatuses, and methods for measurement capability and configuration on shared spectrum terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks. BACKGROUND Wireless mobile communication technology uses various standards and protocols to transmit data between a network device (e.g., a base station, a radio head, etc. ) and a wireless communication device. Wireless communication system standards and protocols can include, for example, 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) long term evolution (LTE) (e.g., 4G) , 3GPP new radio (NR) (e.g., 5G) , and IEEE 802.11 standard for wireless local area networks (WLAN) (commonly known to industry groups as) . As contemplated by the 3GPP, different wireless communication systems standards and protocols can use various radio access networks (RANs) for communicating between a network device of the RAN (which may also sometimes be referred to generally as a RAN node, a network node, or simply a node) and a wireless communication device known as a UE. 3GPP RANs can include, for example, global system for mobile communications (GSM) , enhanced data rates for GSM evolution (EDGE) RAN (GERAN) , Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN) , Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) , and/or Next-Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN) . Each RAN may use one or more radio access technologies (RATs) to perform communication between the network device and the UE. For example, the GERAN implements GSM and/or EDGE RAT, the UTRAN implements universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS) RAT or other 3GPP RAT, the E-UTRAN implements LTE RAT (sometimes simply referred to as LTE) , and NG-RAN implements NR RAT (sometimes referred to herein as 5G RAT, 5G NR RAT, or simply NR) . In certain deployments, the E-UTRAN may also implement NR RAT. In certain deployments, NG-RAN may also implement LTE RAT. A network device used by a RAN may correspond to that RAN. One example of an E-UTRAN network device is an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) Node B (also commonly denoted as evolved Node B, enhanced Node B, eNodeB, or eNB) . One example of an NG-RAN network device is a next generation Node B (also sometimes referred to as a g Node B or gNB) . A RAN provides its communication services with external entities through its connection to a core network (CN) . For example, E-UTRAN may utilize an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) , while NG-RAN may utilize a 5G Core Network (5GC) . BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS To easily identify the discussion of any particular element or act, the most significant digit or digits in a reference number refer to the figure number in which that element is first introduced. FIG. 1 shows an example wireless communication system, according to embodiments described herein. FIG. 2 shows an example wireless communications system, according to one or more aspects described herein. FIG. 3 shows an example wireless communications system, according to one or more aspects described herein. FIG. 4 shows an example method of wireless communication at a user equipment (UE) , according to one or more aspects described herein. FIG. 5 shows an example method of wireless communication at a network device, according to one or more aspects described herein. FIG. 6 illustrates an example architecture of a wireless communication system, according to embodiments described herein. FIG. 7 illustrates an example system for performing signaling between a wireless device and a network device, according to embodiments described herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Various embodiments are described with regard to a user equipment (UE) , a non-terrestrial network (NTN) device, a network device (e.g., a terrestrial network (TN) device) . However, reference to a UE is merely provided for illustrative purposes. The example embodiments may be utilized with any electronic component that may establish a connection to a network and is configured with the hardware, software, and/or firmware to exchange information and data with a network. Therefore, the UE, the NTN device, and the network device as described herein is used to represent any appropriate electronic device. Terrestrial cellular networks are typically deployed to segregate different portions of radio frequency (RF) spectrum into different geographic coverage areas, for example to avoid interference in neighboring coverage areas. Network devices (e.g., a base station or gNodeB (gNB) ) use a portion of the RF spectrum in a set or configured coverage area, and the network devices are geographically stationary. However, a UE in some geographic areas may not have coverage from a network device, for example due to the area being remote from any network devices, or blocked from communicat