[go: up one dir, main page]

WO2023014257A1 - Quality-of-experience configuration maintenance - Google Patents

Quality-of-experience configuration maintenance Download PDF

Info

Publication number
WO2023014257A1
WO2023014257A1 PCT/SE2022/050648 SE2022050648W WO2023014257A1 WO 2023014257 A1 WO2023014257 A1 WO 2023014257A1 SE 2022050648 W SE2022050648 W SE 2022050648W WO 2023014257 A1 WO2023014257 A1 WO 2023014257A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
qoe
configurations
network node
indication
handover
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Ceased
Application number
PCT/SE2022/050648
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Cecilia EKLÖF
Mattias BERGSTRÖM
Ali PARICHEHREHTEROUJENI
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson AB
Original Assignee
Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson AB
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson AB filed Critical Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson AB
Publication of WO2023014257A1 publication Critical patent/WO2023014257A1/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Ceased legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W36/00—Hand-off or reselection arrangements
    • H04W36/0005—Control or signalling for completing the hand-off
    • H04W36/0011—Control or signalling for completing the hand-off for data sessions of end-to-end connection
    • H04W36/0033—Control or signalling for completing the hand-off for data sessions of end-to-end connection with transfer of context information

Definitions

  • Embodiments of the disclosure relate to wireless communications, and particularly to quality- of-experience (QoE) configuration and reporting.
  • QoE quality- of-experience
  • QoE measurements have been specified for Long Term Evolution (LTE) and Lfriiversal Mobile Telecommunications Service (UMTS) and are being specified for New Radio (NR).
  • LTE Long Term Evolution
  • UMTS Lfriiversal Mobile Telecommunications Service
  • NR New Radio
  • the purpose of such application layer measurements is to measure the end user experience when using certain applications.
  • QoE measurements for streaming services and for Mobility Telephony Service for IP Multimedia Subsystem (MTSI) services are supported.
  • QoE measurements for other purposes may be supported in future, and embodiments of the disclosure are not limited in that respect.
  • Quality of Experience Measurement Collection enables configuration of application layer measurements in the user equipment (UE) and transmission of QoE measurement result files or reports by means of radio resource configuration (RRC) signalling.
  • An application layer measurement configuration received from Operations & Maintenance (0AM) or the core network (CN) is encapsulated in a transparent container, which is forwarded to the UE in a downlink RRC message.
  • Application layer measurements received from UE's higher layer are encapsulated in a transparent container and sent to the network in an uplink RRC message.
  • the result container is forwarded to a Trace Collector Entity (TCE).
  • TCE Trace Collector Entity
  • the measurements may be initiated towards the radio access network (RAN) in a management-based manner, i.e. from an 0AM node in a generic way e.g. for a group of UEs, or they may also be initiated in a signaling-based manner, i.e. initiated from CN to RAN, e.g. for a single UE.
  • the configuration of the measurement includes the measurement details, which are encapsulated in a container that is transparent to RAN.
  • the measurement When initiated via the core network, the measurement is started towards a specific UE.
  • the "TRACE START" SI Application Protocol (S1AP) message is used, which carries, among other things, the details about the measurement configuration and the measurements that the application layer should collect (in the “Container for application layer measurement configuration” information element (IE), transparent to the RAN) and the details to reach the trace collection entity, to which the measurements should be sent.
  • S1AP SI Application Protocol
  • RAN is not aware of when the streaming session is ongoing in the UE.
  • the Access Stratum is also not aware of when the measurements are ongoing. It is an implementation decision when RAN stops the measurements. Typically, it is done when the UE has moved outside the measured area.
  • the UE capability transfer shown in Figure 1 — is used to transfer UE radio access capability information from the UE to Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN).
  • E-UTRAN Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network
  • the process involves the transmission of an enquiry message, UECapabilityEnquiry, from the E-UTRAN to the UE; and the transmission of a response message, UECapability Information, from the UE to E-UTRAN.
  • the UE-EUTRA-Capability IE is used to convey the E-UTRA UE Radio Access Capability Parameters and the Feature Group Indicators for mandatory features to the network.
  • the UE can include the “UE- EUTRA-Capability” IE.
  • the “UE-EUTRA-Capability” IE may include the UE-EUTRA- Capability -V1530-IE which can be used by the UE to indicate whether the UE supports or not QoE Measurement Collection for streaming services and/or MTSI services, as detailed in the “MeasParameters-vl530” encoding below.
  • MeasParameters-vl530 SEQUENCE ⁇ qoe-MeasReport-r 15 ENUMERATED ⁇ supported ⁇ OPTIONAL, qoe-MTSI-MeasReport-r 15 ENUMERATED ⁇ supported ⁇ OPTIONAL, ca-IdleModeMeasurements-r 15 ENUMERATED ⁇ supported ⁇ OPTIONAL, ca-IdleModeValidityArea-r 15 ENUMERATED ⁇ supported ⁇
  • a UE capable of application layer measurement reporting in RRC CONNECTED may initiate the procedure when configured with application layer measurement, i.e. when measConfigAppLayer has been configured by E-UTRAN.
  • the UE After RRC connection reconfiguration between the UE and EUTRAN, and upon initiating the procedure, the UE shall:
  • the RRCConnectionReconfiguration message is used to reconfigure the UE to setup or release the UE for Application Layer measurements. This is signaled in the measConfigAppLayer-15 IE within the “OtherConfig” IE.
  • the setup includes the transparent container measConfigAppLayerContainer which specifies the QoE measurement configuration for the Application of interest and the serviceType IE to indicate the Application (or service) for which the QoE measurements are being configured.
  • Supported services are streaming and MTSI.
  • measConfigAppLayer-rl5 CHOICE ⁇ release NULL, setup SEQUENCE) measConfigAppLayerContainer-rl5 OCTET STRING (SIZE(L.1000)), serviceType-rl5 ENUMERATED ⁇ qoe, qoemtsi, spared, spared, spared, spared, spare2, sparel ⁇
  • the field contains configuration of application layer measurements, see Annex L (normative) in TS 26.247 and clause 16.5 in TS 26.1 14. serviceType
  • I Indicates the type of application layer measurement.
  • Value qoe indicates Quality of Experience i Measurement Collection for streaming services
  • value qoemtsi indicates Enhanced Quality of i Experience Measurement Collection for MTSI.
  • the MeasReportAppLayer RRC message is used by the UE to send to the E-UTRAN node the QoE measurement results of an Application (or service).
  • the service for which the report is being sent is indicated in the “serviceType” IE.
  • MeasReportAppLayer message sent using Signalling Radio Bearer, SRB4.
  • MeasReportAppLayer message sent using Signalling Radio Bearer, SRB4.
  • MeasReportAppLayer-rl 5 SEQUENCE ⁇ criticalExtensions CHOICE ⁇ measReportAppLayer-r 15 MeasReportAppLayer-r 15 -IEs, criticalExtensionsFuture SEQUENCE ⁇ ⁇ ⁇
  • MeasReportAppLayer-r 15 -IEs :: SEQUENCE ⁇ measReportAppLayerContainer-rl 5 OCTET STRING (SIZE(1..8000)) OPTIONAL, serviceType-rl5 ENUMERATED
  • MeasReportAppLayer-vl590-IEs :: SEQUENCE ⁇ lateNonCriticalExtension OCTET STRING OPTIONAL, nonCriticalExtension SEQUENCE ⁇ OPTIONAL
  • the source node sends the current UE configuration to the target node in the HANDOVER REQUEST message, see TS 38.423 V16.6.0.
  • the target node prepares a target configuration for the UE based on the current configuration and the target node’s and the UE’s capabilities.
  • the target configuration is sent from the target node in HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE to the source node and onwards to the UE in RRCReconfiguration.
  • the target configuration can be provided as a so-called delta-configuration, indicating only the differences from the UE’s current configuration in the source cell.
  • the target node does not recognize something in the UE’s current configuration, it may be because the target node does not support some feature which the source node supports. In such a case the target node will trigger a full configuration, meaning that the UE will discard the current configuration and make a new configuration from scratch. This is further described in TS 38.331 vl6.5.0 chapter 5.3.5.11 and referred to as "full configuration" or "full config”. This will also be applied for the case where the target node does not support QoE measurements, or does not support QoE measurements of a certain type which the source node supports and which the UE is configured with.
  • the full configuration may also be used at any handover if the network prefers to signal the whole UE target configuration instead of signaling a delta configuration towards the source cell.
  • Need codes are specified in the RRC specification to define the need to include optional fields in RRC messages and how the UE should behave if the field is absent, e.g. whether to keep an existing configuration or to release it.
  • the need codes are described in chapter 6.1 in TS 38.331 vl6.5.0 (section 6.1.2):
  • Need R Any field with Need M or Need N in system information shall be interpreted as Need R.
  • CondX definition only applies for the case (part of the condition) where it is defined:
  • a condition may have different need codes for different parts of the condition.
  • the CondX definition may contain the following "otherwise the field is absent" parts:
  • the field is absent: The field is not relevant or should not be configured when this part of the condition applies.
  • the UE behaviour is not defined when the field is configured via another part of the condition and is reconfigured to this part of the condition.
  • a need code is not provided when the transition from another part of the condition to this part of the condition is not supported, when the field clearly is a one-shot or there is no difference whether UE maintains or releases the value (e.g., in case the field is mandatory present according to the other part of the condition).
  • Need R The field is released if absent when this part of the condition applies. This handles UE behaviour in case the field is configured via another part of the condition and this part of the condition applies (which means that network can assume UE releases the field if this part of the condition is valid).
  • Need M The UE retains the field if it was already configured when this part of the condition applies. This means the network cannot release the field , but UE retains the previously configured value.
  • the need codes, conditions and ASN.l defaults specified for a particular (child) field only apply in case the (parent) field including the particular field is present. Thus, if the parent is absent the UE shall not release the field unless the absence of the parent field implies that.
  • the full QoE configuration is mandatory to be sent if QoE measurements are configured. If the UE stays in the same cell, the QoE configuration is only sent once and the solution works acceptably. However, if the UE changes cell and if the target cell chooses to send a full configuration to the UE, or if the target cell decides to change something in the QoE configuration, the only possibility is for the target to send the complete QoE configuration including the QoE configuration container in the RRC reconfiguration message, even if the QoE configuration container is not changed.
  • the QoE configuration container is quite large and the UE has already received it, so it consumes unnecessary resources and capacity to send the QoE configuration container at handover if it has not been changed. Also, since handovers from one cell to another are normally done when the UE is on the border between two cells, the radio conditions are in general poor when sending a handover command. Sending a handover command which is large has a greater risk of failing and hence a failed handover as a result. It is therefore important that the handover command is not unnecessarily large
  • the method proposed in this disclosure comprises solutions to enable QoE configuration handling at handover or other reconfigurations in an optimal way i.e., it enables the RAN node to avoid sending the complete QoE configuration to the UE if not needed.
  • it enables the RAN nodes to handle QoE configurations at the UE while sending full configuration (e.g., fullConfig according to 3GPP TS 38.331 vl6.5.0) to the UE.
  • the present disclosure proposes methods to reconfigure QoE measurements, e.g. at handover, without having to send configuration container at each reconfiguration.
  • a first aspect of the disclosure provides a method performed by a user equipment for reconfiguration of quality-of-experience (QoE) reporting.
  • the UE is configured with a plurality of QoE configurations.
  • the method comprises: receiving a reconfiguration message from a network node.
  • the reconfiguration message comprises an indication of one or more of the plurality of QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE.
  • a UE is configured with a plurality of QoE configurations.
  • the UE comprises processing circuitry which is configured to cause the UE to: receive a reconfiguration message from a network node.
  • the reconfiguration message comprises an indication of one or more of the plurality of QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE.
  • a second aspect of the disclosure provides a method performed by a network node for reconfiguring QoE reporting by a UE.
  • the UE is configured with a plurality of QoE configurations.
  • the method comprises: causing transmission of a reconfiguration message to the user equipment.
  • the reconfiguration message comprises an indication of one or more of the plurality of QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE.
  • a UE is configured with a plurality of QoE configurations.
  • a network node comprises processing circuitry which is configured to cause the network node to: cause transmission of a reconfiguration message to the user equipment.
  • the reconfiguration message comprises an indication of one or more of the plurality of QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE.
  • a third aspect of the disclosure provides a method performed by a target network node for reconfiguring QoE reporting by a UE which is to undergo handover from a source network node to the target network node.
  • the UE is configured with one or more QoE configurations.
  • the method comprises: causing transmission of a second handover message to the source network node.
  • the second handover message comprises an indication of one or more of the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE following handover to the target network node.
  • a UE is to undergo handover from a source network node to the target network node.
  • the UE is configured with one or more QoE configurations.
  • a target network node comprises processing circuitry which is configured to cause the target network node to: cause transmission of a second handover message to the source network node.
  • the second handover message comprises an indication of one or more of the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE following handover to the target network node.
  • Embodiments of the disclosure enable the possibility of performing handover and/or other reconfigurations of QoE measurements without having to send the QoE configuration container in each reconfiguration message. This reduces the amount of signaling to the UE and saves resources in the network.
  • Figure l is a signalling diagram showing UE capability transfer
  • Figure 2 is a signalling diagram showing an application layer measurement reporting procedure
  • Figure 3 is a flowchart of a method performed by a wireless device according to embodiments of the disclosure
  • Figure 4 is a flowchart of a method performed by a network node according to embodiments of the disclosure.
  • Figure 5 is a flowchart of a method performed by a network node according to further embodiments of the disclosure.
  • Figure 6 is a signalling diagram of QoE configuration at handover according to embodiments of the disclosure.
  • Figure 7 shows an example of a communication system according to embodiments of the disclosure.
  • Figure 8 shows an example of a user equipment according to embodiments of the disclosure
  • Figure 9 shows an example of a network node according to embodiments of the disclosure.
  • Figure 10 is a block diagram of host according to embodiments of the disclosure.
  • Figure 11 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment according to embodiments of the disclosure.
  • Figure 12 is a communication diagram according to embodiments of the disclosure.
  • Figure 13 is a communication diagram showing QoE configuration handling according to embodiments of the disclosure, upon moving outside the area while having an ongoing session.
  • UE terminal equipment
  • wireless terminal and terminal
  • wireless device are used interchangeably.
  • QoE measurement configuration QoE measurement and reporting configuration
  • QoE configuration QoE configuration
  • QoE measurement also can refer to a measurement or data collection performed for the purpose of determining a QoE metric.
  • MCE MCE
  • TCE TCE
  • a network node can be a RAN node, an NR base station (gNB), E-UTRAN NodeB
  • eNB en-gNB
  • a gNB that can connect with Evolved Packet Core and/or eNB
  • ng-eNB an eNB that can connect with a 5G Core and/or gNB
  • a gNB centralized unit gNB-CU
  • a control-plane gNB-CU gNB-CU-CP
  • a user-plane gNB-CU gNB-CU-UP
  • gNB distributed unit gNB-DU
  • an eNB centralized unit eNB-CU
  • eNB-CU-CP control-plane eNB-CU
  • eNB-CU-CP control-plane eNB-CU
  • eNB-CU-UP user-plane eNB-CU
  • an eNB distributed unit eNB-DU
  • IAB Integrated Access and Backhaul
  • Figure 3 depicts a method in accordance with particular embodiments.
  • the method 3 may be performed by a UE or wireless device (e.g. the UE 712 or UE 800 as described later with reference to Figures 7 and 8 respectively).
  • the method corresponds to the signalling and actions of the UE in Figure 6 below.
  • the UE may be configured with a plurality of QoE configurations.
  • the method begins at step 302, in which the UE receives a reconfiguration message from a network node (e.g., a serving network node or base station for the UE).
  • the reconfiguration message may comprise an RRC Reconfiguration message, for example.
  • the reconfiguration message comprises an indication of one or more of the plurality of QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE. That is, the UE is to maintain the one or more QoE configurations, or to continue performing measurements according to the one or more QoE configurations, following implementation of the reconfiguration specified in the reconfiguration message.
  • the reconfiguration message may therefore specify one or more additional reconfigurations for the UE, such as a changed RRC parameter other than the QoE configurations.
  • the reconfiguration message may contain an instruction that the UE is to perform handover from its current network node to a target network node.
  • the one or more QoE configurations indicated in the reconfiguration message are to be maintained by the UE after handover to the target network node.
  • the reconfiguration message may comprise the configuration data for a new, additional QoE configuration that is to be implemented by the UE.
  • the indication of one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE may comprise identities of the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE, such as the RRC ID, QoE reference, Recording Session Indication, a new indication, an implicit indication etc.
  • the reconfiguration message may not comprise the QoE configuration data for those one or more QoE configurations, such that the reconfiguration message is much smaller than would otherwise be the case.
  • QoE configurations that are not to be maintained (e.g., that are to be released) by the UE may be indicated through omission in the reconfiguration message, i.e., the identities of such QoE configurations may not be explicitly mentioned in the reconfiguration message.
  • the reconfiguration message may comprise an explicit indication that those QoE configurations are to be released.
  • the reconfiguration message may comprise an indication that all of the plurality of QoE configurations are to be maintained by the UE, e.g., without separately indicating the identity of each QoE configuration.
  • Such an indication may comprise a flag or other suitable indication that can be interpreted by the UE as an indication to maintain all QoE configurations that the UE is currently configured with.
  • the reconfiguration message may comprise an indication that all of the plurality of QoE configurations are to be released by the UE, e.g., without separately indicating the identity of each QoE configuration.
  • the indication of the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE comprises one or more empty containers for the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE.
  • the reconfiguration message may comprise a respective empty container for each of the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE.
  • an empty container may be configured for more than one QoE configuration, so that there is not a one-to-one correspondence between QoE configurations and containers.
  • a container is an information element or other suitable data structure, which ordinarily contains the configuration data for a QoE configuration.
  • the container may be transparent to the RAN.
  • One suitable container is an application layer measurement configuration information element (IE).
  • An empty container may be a container which contains null or zero values.
  • the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained may be indicated implicitly, in different ways.
  • the reconfiguration message may instead indicate the one or more QoE configurations that are to be released by the UE.
  • QoE configurations that are to be maintained are indicated by their omission from the reconfiguration message.
  • step 304 the UE maintains those QoE configurations which are to be maintained according to the reconfiguration message, and releases those QoE configurations which are to be released according to the reconfiguration message.
  • the UE may handle those containers in at least two different ways.
  • the RRC layer in the UE determines that a container is empty, and then refrains from providing the empty container to an application layer of the UE.
  • the application layer (where QoE measurements take place) never receives any update to its QoE configuration and the QoE configuration is maintained.
  • the RRC layer of the UE may provide the empty container to the application layer. In this case, the application layer determines that the container is empty, and then refrains from reconfiguring the QoE configuration to correspond to the null or zero values.
  • step 306 the UE transmits a reconfiguration complete message. Where the QoE reconfiguration takes place during handover, this message may be transmitted to the target node, following handover. In other embodiments, the reconfiguration complete message may be transmitted to the network node (e.g., the same network node that transmitted the reconfiguration message in step 302).
  • Figure 4 depicts a method in accordance with particular embodiments.
  • the method 4 may be performed by a network node (e.g. the network node 710 or network node 900 as described later with reference to Figures 7 and 9 respectively).
  • the network node may be a serving network node for a UE, which is configured with a plurality of QoE configurations.
  • the method may correspond to the signalling and actions of the source node in Figure 6 below.
  • embodiments of the disclosure are not limited to handover, and may also be relevant to other reconfiguration procedures for a UE.
  • the method begins at step 402, which is optional for embodiments relating to the handover of the UE from the network node to a target network node.
  • the network node transmits a first handover message to the target network node.
  • the first handover message may be a handover request message. Note that many preceding steps in the handover process have been omitted from this discussion as they are largely conventional.
  • the UE may have been configured to perform and report RRM measurements to the network node, which then determines, based on the reporting RRM measurements, that handover of the UE to the target network node should be performed.
  • the first handover message comprises an indication of the plurality of QoE configurations that the UE is configured with.
  • the indication of the QoE configurations may comprise identities of the QoE configurations, such as the RRC ID, QoE reference, Recording Session Indication, a new indication, an implicit indication etc.
  • step 404 which again is optional and related only to embodiments for handover of the UE to a target network node, the network node receives a second handover message from the target network node.
  • the second handover message may comprise a handover request acknowledge message.
  • the second handover message comprises an indication of one or more of the plurality of QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE. That is, the UE is to maintain the one or more QoE configurations, or to continue performing measurements according to the one or more QoE configurations, following handover.
  • the second handover message may specify one or more additional reconfigurations for the UE, such as a changed RRC parameter other than the QoE configurations.
  • the reconfiguration message may comprise the configuration data for a new, additional QoE configuration that is to be implemented by the UE following handover.
  • the indication of one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE may comprise identities of the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE, such as the RRC ID, QoE reference, Recording Session Indication, a new indication, an implicit indication etc.
  • the second handover message may not comprise the QoE configuration data for those one or more QoE configurations, such that the second handover message is much smaller than would otherwise be the case.
  • QoE configurations that are not to be maintained (e.g., that are to be released) by the UE may be indicated through omission in the reconfiguration message, i.e., the identities of such QoE configurations may not be explicitly mentioned in the second handover message.
  • the second handover message may comprise an explicit indication that those QoE configurations are to be released.
  • the indication of the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE comprises one or more empty containers for the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE.
  • the reconfiguration message may comprise a respective empty container for each of the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE.
  • an empty container may be configured for more than one QoE configuration, so that there is not a one-to-one correspondence between QoE configurations and containers.
  • a container is an information element or other suitable data structure, which ordinarily contains the configuration data for a QoE configuration.
  • the container may be transparent to the RAN.
  • One suitable container is an application layer measurement configuration information element (IE).
  • An empty container may be a container which contains null or zero values.
  • the second handover message may comprise an indication that all of the plurality of QoE configurations are to be maintained by the UE, e.g., without separately indicating the identity of each QoE configuration.
  • Such an indication may comprise a flag or other suitable indication that can be interpreted by the source node as an indication that the UE is to maintain all QoE configurations it is currently configured with.
  • the reconfiguration message may comprise an indication that all of the plurality of QoE configurations are to be released by the UE, e.g., without separately indicating the identity of each QoE configuration.
  • the network node transmits a reconfiguration message to the UE.
  • the reconfiguration message may comprise an RRC Reconfiguration message, for example. This step may correspond substantially to step 302 described above with respect to Figure 3 (but from the network node’s point of view).
  • the QoE configurations indicated in the reconfiguration message correspond to the QoE configurations indicated in the second handover message.
  • Figure 5 depicts a method in accordance with particular embodiments.
  • the method 4 may be performed by a network node (e.g. the network node 710 or network node 900 as described later with reference to Figures 7 and 9 respectively), and particularly may be performed by a network node acting as a target network node during handover of a UE from a source network node to the target network node.
  • the method may correspond to the signalling and actions of the target node in Figure 6 below.
  • the method begins at step 502, in which the network node receives a first handover message from the source network node.
  • the first handover message may be a handover request message.
  • the first handover message comprises an indication of the plurality of QoE configurations that the UE is configured with.
  • the indication of the QoE configurations may comprise identities of the QoE configurations, such as the RRC ID, QoE reference, Recording Session Indication, a new indication, an implicit indication etc.
  • the target network node transmits a second handover message to the source network node.
  • the second handover message may comprise a handover request acknowledge message.
  • the second handover message comprises an indication of one or more of the plurality of QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE. That is, the UE is to maintain the one or more QoE configurations, or to continue performing measurements according to the one or more QoE configurations, following handover.
  • the second handover message may specify one or more additional reconfigurations for the UE, such as a changed RRC parameter other than the QoE configurations.
  • the reconfiguration message may comprise the configuration data for a new, additional QoE configuration that is to be implemented by the UE following handover.
  • the indication of one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE may comprise identities of the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE, such as the RRC ID, QoE reference, Recording Session Indication, a new indication, an implicit indication etc.
  • the second handover message may not comprise the QoE configuration data for those one or more QoE configurations, such that the second handover message is much smaller than would otherwise be the case.
  • QoE configurations that are not to be maintained (e.g., that are to be released) by the UE may be indicated through omission in the reconfiguration message, i.e., the identities of such QoE configurations may not be explicitly mentioned in the second handover message.
  • the second handover message may comprise an explicit indication that those QoE configurations are to be released.
  • the indication of the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE comprises one or more empty containers for the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE.
  • the reconfiguration message may comprise a respective empty container for each of the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE.
  • an empty container may be configured for more than one QoE configuration, so that there is not a one-to-one correspondence between QoE configurations and containers.
  • a container is an information element or other suitable data structure, which ordinarily contains the configuration data for a QoE configuration.
  • the container may be transparent to the RAN.
  • One suitable container is an application layer measurement configuration information element (IE).
  • An empty container may be a container which contains null or zero values.
  • the second handover message may comprise an indication that all of the plurality of QoE configurations are to be maintained by the UE, e.g., without separately indicating the identity of each QoE configuration.
  • Such an indication may comprise a flag or other suitable indication that can be interpreted by the source node as an indication that the UE is to maintain all QoE configurations it is currently configured with.
  • the reconfiguration message may comprise an indication that all of the plurality of QoE configurations are to be released by the UE, e.g., without separately indicating the identity of each QoE configuration.
  • the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained may be indicated implicitly, in different ways.
  • the second handover message may instead indicate the one or more QoE configurations that are to be released by the UE.
  • QoE configurations that are to be maintained are indicated by their omission from the second handover message.
  • Figure 6 is a signalling diagram showing one example implementation of the methods described above with respect to Figures 3, 4 and 5 in the context of handover.
  • the actions and signalling of the UE in Figure 6 may correspond to the method described above with respect to Figure 3, for example.
  • the actions and signalling of the source node in Figure 6 may correspond to the method described above with respect to Figure 4, for example.
  • the actions and signalling of the target node in Figure 6 may correspond to the method described above with respect to Figure 5, for example.
  • a target network node 604 receives a request for handover of a UE 600 from a source node 602.
  • the request for handover comprises a Handover Request message.
  • the request includes the UE’s current configuration in the source node 602 and contains information about the QoE configurations that the UE 600 has, i.e. the UE is configured with QoE measurements in the source node.
  • this source configuration contains two configurations: QoE config 1 and 2.
  • the request may not contain the actual QoE configurations, but may for example just comprise information that the UE has certain configurations, e.g. by referring to one or more QoE configuration identities, etc.
  • the target node 604 prepares a target configuration for the UE.
  • the target node 604 decides to keep the existing QoE configurations 1 and 2 and also add one more QoE configuration 3.
  • the target node 604 therefore transmits in step 614 a handover request acknowledge to the source node, comprising a HandoverCommand with UE target configurations indicating QoE configurations 1, 2 and 3.
  • the UE has already received QoE configuration 1 and 2 and these configurations may be omitted in the RRCReconfiguration message (i.e. the reconfiguration message which serves as the handover command) transmitted from the source node 602 to the UE 600 in step 616.
  • the UE 600 transmits an RRCReconfigurationComplete message to the target node 604 upon successful handover.
  • RRCReconfigurationComplete a message that is sent to the target node 604 upon successful handover.
  • the target node 604 and source node 602 can achieve the wanted result (i.e. keeping config 1 and 2 and adding 3) when sending a full configuration to the UE. Indication to keep specific QoE configurations
  • the target node 604 may include an indication in step 614 that the UE should continue using existing QoE configurations.
  • the indication could e.g. be the identity of the QoE configuration, such as the RRC ID, QoE reference, Recording Session Indication, a new indication, an implicit indication etc.
  • the added QoE configuration 3 contains the complete configuration of QoE including the QoE configuration container.
  • the reconfiguration message containing the indication of continuation of QoE configuration 1 and 2 and the complete QoE configuration 3 is sent to the UE in an RRC reconfiguration message in step 616, e.g. RRCReconfiguration.
  • the UE responds in step 618 with a message, e.g. RRCReconfigurationComplete .
  • QoE configuration 1 and 2 should both be kept, but in case the target node 604 would like to release e.g. QoE configuration 2, the network could exclude the indication corresponding to QoE configuration 2.
  • the exclusion of the indication of QoE configuration 2 in the RRC layer means that the RRC layer in the UE needs to inform the application layer to release the QoE measurement of that specific identity. This handling is different compared to normal RRC signaling, as normally only radio parameters are signalled in RRC and the reception is then all handled within the RRC layer.
  • Another solution is that the network sends an indication saying that the UE can keep all existing QoE configurations, i.e. without referring to them explicitly. When receiving such an indication, the UE is informed that both QoE configuration 1 and 2 should be kept. In the absence of an indication to keep all QoE configurations, the UE may release all existing QoE configurations.
  • the target node 604 could add an additional QoE configuration (e.g. QoE configuration 3) by providing it in the handover command in step 614.
  • QoE configuration e.g. QoE configuration 3
  • the source node 602 or the target node 604 can explicitly indicate this to the UE. This could for example be indicated by sending an identity of QoE configuration 2 to the UE, which makes the UE release it.
  • Empty Containers e.g. QoE configuration 2
  • one or more configuration containers may be included in the message, but the container(s) may be empty, i.e. value NULL.
  • An empty container may serve as an indication to continue/keep using the current QoE configuration(s).
  • the network may provide two empty QoE configurations, one with identity 1 and one with identity 2. The UE 600 would, when receiving this configuration, notice that it receives empty QoE containers with identities matching existing QoE configurations, and the UE would then keep those existing configurations.
  • the RRC layer in the UE may detect that it receives an empty container matching a QoE configuration that the UE already has. The RRC layer may then refrain from providing this empty container to the application layer (note: the application layer is the layer which is applying the QoE configurations). This therefore ensures that QoE configurations in higher layers are not impacted even if an empty QoE container is provided to the UE. However, if the RRC layer determines that a container is non-empty, the RRC layer may forward it to higher layers.
  • the RRC layer forwards empty containers to the application layer. It would then be up to the application layer to notice that a container is empty and then refrain from applying that empty configuration since applying it may mean that the existing QoE configuration is removed.
  • an "empty" container may contain NULL values, or some other predefined values, such as zero.
  • Need code is S for the container, as the UE behavior should be specified in procedure text as the behavior involves interaction with the application layer. That is different compared to reception of RRC parameters where existing Need codes (e.g. Need R) could be used to indicate the UE behavior.
  • Need R existing Need codes
  • the UE shall:
  • the IE OtherConfig contains configuration related to miscellaneous other configurations.
  • CandidateServingFreqListNR-rl6 SEQUENCE (SIZE (L.maxFreqIDC-rl6)) OF ARFCN-
  • MeasConfigAppLayer-rl7 OPTIONAL Need N measConfigAppLayerToReleaseList-rl7 SEQUENCE (SIZE (L.maxNrofQoE-rl7)) OF
  • MeasConfigAppLayer-rl7 SEQUENCE ⁇ measConfigAppLayerId-rl7 MeasConfigAppLayerId-rl7, measConfigAppLayerContainer-rl7 OCTET STRING OPTIONAL, — Need S serviceType-rl7 ENUMERATED ⁇ streaming, mtsi, spared, spare5, spared, spare3, spare2, spare 1 ⁇ OPTIONAL, — Need N
  • OverheatingAssistanceConfig :: SEQUENCE ⁇ overheatinglndicationProhibitTimer ENUMERATED ⁇ s0, sOdot5, si, s2, s5, slO, s20, s30, s60, s90, si 20, s300, s600, spare3, spare2, spare 1 ⁇
  • IDC-AssistanceConfig-rl6 SEQUENCE ⁇ candidateServingFreqListNR-rl6 CandidateServingFreqListNR-rl6 OPTIONAL,
  • DRX-PreferenceConfig-r 16 SEQUENCE ⁇ drx-PreferenceProhibitTimer-rl6 ENUMERATED ⁇ sO, sOdot5, si, s2, s3, s4, s5, s6, s7, s8, s9, slO, s20, s30, spare2, sparel ⁇
  • MaxBW-PreferenceConfig-rl6 SEQUENCE ⁇ maxBW-PreferenceProhibitTimer-rl6 ENUMERATED ⁇ sO, sOdot5, si, s2, s3, s4, s5, s6, s7, s8, s9, slO, s20, s30, spare2, sparel ⁇ ⁇
  • MaxCC-PreferenceConfig-rl6 SEQUENCE ⁇ maxCC-PreferenceProhibitTimer-rl6 ENUMERATED ⁇ sO, sOdot5, si, s2, s3, s4, s5, s6, s7, s8, s9, slO, s20, s30, spare2, sparel ⁇ ⁇
  • MaxMIMO-LayerPreferenceConfig-rl6 SEQUENCE ⁇ maxMIMO-LayerPreferenceProhibitTimer-rl6 ENUMERATED ⁇ sO, sOdot5, si, s2, s3, s4, s5, s6, s7, s8, s9, slO, s20, s30, spare2, sparel ⁇
  • MinSchedulingOffsetPreferenceConfig-rl6 SEQUENCE ⁇ minSchedulingOffsetPreferenceProhibitTimer-rl6 ENUMERATED ⁇ sO, sOdot5, si, s2, s3, s4, s5, s6, s7, s8, s9, slO, s20, s30, spare2, sparel ⁇ ⁇
  • ReleasePreferenceConfig-rl6 SEQUENCE ⁇ releasePreferenceProhibitTimer-rl6 ENUMERATED ⁇ sO, sOdot5, si, s2, s3, s4, s5, s6, s7, s8, s9, slO, s20, s30, infinity, sparel ⁇ , connectedReporting ENUMERATED ⁇ true ⁇ OPTIONAL
  • Figure 7 shows an example of a communication system 700 in accordance with some embodiments.
  • the communication system 700 includes a telecommunication network 702 that includes an access network 704, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 706, which includes one or more core network nodes 708.
  • the access network 704 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 710a and 710b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 710), or any other similar 3 rd Generation Partnership Project (3 GPP) access node or non-3GPP access point.
  • 3 GPP 3 rd Generation Partnership Project
  • the network nodes 710 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 712a, 712b, 712c, and 712d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 712) to the core network 706 over one or more wireless connections.
  • UE user equipment
  • Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and/or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and/or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors.
  • the communication system 700 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and/or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and/or signals whether via wired or wireless connections.
  • the communication system 700 may include and/or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and/or other similar type of system.
  • the UEs 712 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 710 and other communication devices.
  • the network nodes 710 are arranged, capable, configured, and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 712 and/or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 702 to enable and/or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and/or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunication network 702.
  • the core network 706 connects the network nodes 710 to one or more hosts, such as host 716. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts.
  • the core network 706 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 708) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and/or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 708.
  • Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-concealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and/or a User Plane Function (UPF).
  • MSC Mobile Switching Center
  • MME Mobility Management Entity
  • HSS Home Subscriber Server
  • AMF Access and Mobility Management Function
  • SMF Session Management Function
  • AUSF Authentication Server Function
  • SIDF Subscription Identifier De-concealing function
  • UDM Unified Data Management
  • SEPP Security Edge Protection Proxy
  • NEF Network Exposure Function
  • UPF User Plane Function
  • the host 716 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 704 and/or the telecommunication network 702, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider.
  • the host 716 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more services. Examples of such applications include the provision of live and/or pre-recorded audio/video content, data collection services, for example, retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.
  • the communication system 700 of Figure 7 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts.
  • the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and/or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (WiFi); and/or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and/or any low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.
  • GSM Global System for Mobile Communications
  • UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunications System
  • LTE Long Term Evolution
  • the telecommunication network 702 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 702 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 702. For example, the telecommunications network 702 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and/or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC)/Massive loT services to yet further UEs.
  • URLLC Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication
  • eMBB Enhanced Mobile Broadband
  • mMTC Massive Machine Type Communication
  • the UEs 712 are configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction.
  • a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 704 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 704.
  • a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi -RAT or multi-standard mode.
  • a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e. being configured for multi -radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved- UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).
  • MR-DC multi -radio dual connectivity
  • the hub 714 communicates with the access network 704 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 712c and/or 712d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 710b).
  • the hub 714 may be a controller, router, a content source and analytics node, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs.
  • the hub 714 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 706 for the UEs.
  • the hub 714 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs.
  • Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes 710, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 714.
  • the hub 714 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data.
  • the hub 714 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 714 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 714 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and/or after adding additional local content.
  • the hub 714 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular in if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.
  • the hub 714 may have a constant/persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 710b.
  • the hub 714 may also allow for a different communication scheme and/or schedule between the hub 714 and UEs (e.g., UE 712c and/or 712d), and between the hub 714 and the core network 706.
  • the hub 714 is connected to the core network 706 and/or one or more UEs via a wired connection.
  • the hub 714 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 704 and/or to another UE over a direct connection.
  • UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 710 while still connected via the hub 714 via a wired or wireless connection.
  • the hub 714 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to/from the UEs from/to the network node 710b.
  • the hub 714 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 710b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and/or end point for certain data channels.
  • FIG. 8 shows a UE 800 in accordance with some embodiments.
  • a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and/or other UEs.
  • Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless camera, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), smart device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehiclemounted or vehicle embedded/integrated wireless device, etc.
  • VoIP voice over IP
  • PDA personal digital assistant
  • LME laptop-embedded equipment
  • LME laptop-mounted equipment
  • CPE wireless customer-premise equipment
  • UEs identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and/or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.
  • 3GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project
  • NB-IoT narrow band internet of things
  • MTC machine type communication
  • eMTC enhanced MTC
  • a UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3 GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), orvehicle- to-everything (V2X).
  • D2D device-to-device
  • DSRC Dedicated Short-Range Communication
  • V2V vehicle-to-vehicle
  • V2I vehicle-to-infrastructure
  • V2X vehicle-to-everything
  • a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and/or operates the relevant device.
  • a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller).
  • a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).
  • the UE 800 includes processing circuitry 802 that is operatively coupled via a bus 804 to an input/output interface 806, a power source 808, a memory 810, a communication interface 812, and/or any other component, or any combination thereof.
  • Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 8. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.
  • the processing circuitry 802 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 810.
  • the processing circuitry 802 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above.
  • the processing circuitry 802 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).
  • the processing circuitry 802 may be operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other UE 800 components, such as the memory 810, UE 800 functionality.
  • the processing circuitry 802 may be configured to cause the UE 802 to perform the methods as described with reference to Figure 3.
  • the input/output interface 806 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and/or output devices.
  • Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof.
  • An input device may allow a user to capture information into the UE 800.
  • Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like.
  • the presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user.
  • a sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof.
  • An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.
  • USB Universal Serial Bus
  • the power source 808 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used.
  • the power source 808 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 808 itself, and/or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 800 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 808.
  • Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 808 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 800 to which power is supplied.
  • the memory 810 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth.
  • the memory 810 includes one or more application programs 814, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 816.
  • the memory 810 may store, for use by the UE 800, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.
  • the memory 810 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD- DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and/or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof.
  • RAID redundant array of independent disks
  • HD- DVD high-density digital versatile disc
  • HD- DVD high-density digital versatile disc
  • HD- DVD high-density digital versatile disc
  • HD- DVD high-density digital versatile disc
  • HD- DVD high-
  • the UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’
  • eUICC embedded UICC
  • iUICC integrated UICC
  • SIM card removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’
  • the memory 810 may allow the UE 800 to access instructions, application programs and the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data.
  • An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 810, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.
  • the processing circuitry 802 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 812.
  • the communication interface 812 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 822.
  • the communication interface 812 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network).
  • Each transceiver may include a transmitter 818 and/or a receiver 820 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth).
  • the transmitter 818 and receiver 820 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 822) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.
  • communication functions of the communication interface 812 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof.
  • GPS global positioning system
  • Communications may be implemented in according to one or more communication protocols and/or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.
  • CDMA Code Division Multiplexing Access
  • WCDMA Wideband Code Division Multiple Access
  • WCDMA Wideband Code Division Multiple Access
  • GSM Global System for Mobile communications
  • LTE Long Term Evolution
  • NR New Radio
  • UMTS Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access
  • WiMax Ethernet
  • TCP/IP transmission control protocol/internet protocol
  • SONET synchronous optical networking
  • ATM Asynchronous Transfer Mode
  • QUIC Hypertext Transfer Protocol
  • HTTP Hypertext Transfer Protocol
  • a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 812, via a wireless connection to a network node.
  • Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE.
  • the output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).
  • a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection.
  • the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change.
  • the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or controls a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.
  • a UE when in the form of an Internet of Things (loT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare.
  • loT device are devices which are or which are embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door/window sensor, a flood/moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a head-mounted display for Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR), a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item
  • AR Augmented Reality
  • VR
  • a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and/or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and/or measurements to another UE and/or a network node.
  • the UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device.
  • the UE may implement the 3 GPP NB-IoT standard.
  • a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and/or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.
  • any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case.
  • a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone.
  • the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g. by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed.
  • the first and/or the second UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above.
  • a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.
  • FIG. 9 shows a network node 900 in accordance with some embodiments.
  • network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and/or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunication network.
  • network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)).
  • APs access points
  • BSs base stations
  • Node Bs Node Bs
  • eNBs evolved Node Bs
  • gNBs NR NodeBs
  • Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations.
  • a base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay.
  • a network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units and/or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio.
  • RRUs remote radio units
  • RRHs Remote Radio Heads
  • Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio.
  • Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).
  • DAS distributed antenna system
  • network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell/multicast coordination entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and/or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).
  • MSR multi-standard radio
  • RNCs radio network controllers
  • BSCs base station controllers
  • BTSs base transceiver stations
  • OFDM Operation and Maintenance
  • OSS Operations Support System
  • SON Self-Organizing Network
  • positioning nodes e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)
  • the network node 900 includes processing circuitry 902, a memory 904, a communication interface 906, and a power source 908, and/or any other component, or any combination thereof.
  • the network node 900 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components.
  • the network node 900 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components)
  • one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs.
  • each unique NodeB and RNC pair may in some instances be considered a single separate network node.
  • the network node 900 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs).
  • RATs radio access technologies
  • some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 904 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 910 may be shared by different RATs).
  • the network node 900 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 900, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z- wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 900.
  • RFID Radio Frequency Identification
  • the processing circuitry 902 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and/or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 900 components, such as the memory 904, network node 900 functionality.
  • the processing circuitry 902 may be configured to cause the network node to perform the methods as described with reference to Figure 4.
  • the processing circuitry 902 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 902 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 912 and baseband processing circuitry 914. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 912 and the baseband processing circuitry 914 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 912 and baseband processing circuitry 914 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.
  • SOC system on a chip
  • the processing circuitry 902 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 912 and baseband processing circuitry 914.
  • the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 912 and the baseband processing circuitry 914 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of
  • the memory 904 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer- readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and/or computerexecutable memory devices that store information, data, and/or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 902.
  • volatile or non-volatile computer- readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non
  • the memory 904 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and/or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry 902 and utilized by the network node 900.
  • the memory 904 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 902 and/or any data received via the communication interface 906.
  • the processing circuitry 902 and memory 904 is integrated.
  • the communication interface 906 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and/or data between a network node, access network, and/or UE. As illustrated, the communication interface 906 comprises port(s)/terminal(s) 916 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection.
  • the communication interface 906 also includes radio front-end circuitry 918 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 910. Radio front-end circuitry 918 comprises filters 920 and amplifiers 922.
  • the radio front-end circuitry 918 may be connected to an antenna 910 and processing circuitry 902.
  • the radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 910 and processing circuitry 902.
  • the radio front-end circuitry 918 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection.
  • the radio front-end circuitry 918 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 920 and/or amplifiers 922.
  • the radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 910.
  • the antenna 910 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 918.
  • the digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 902.
  • the communication interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components.
  • the network node 900 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 918, instead, the processing circuitry 902 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 910. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 912 is part of the communication interface 906. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 906 includes one or more ports or terminals 916, the radio front-end circuitry 918, and the RF transceiver circuitry 912, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 906 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 914, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).
  • the antenna 910 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals.
  • the antenna 910 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 918 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and/or signals wirelessly.
  • the antenna 910 is separate from the network node 900 and connectable to the network node 900 through an interface or port.
  • the antenna 910, communication interface 906, and/or the processing circuitry 902 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and/or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and/or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 910, the communication interface 906, and/or the processing circuitry 902 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and/or any other network equipment.
  • the power source 908 provides power to the various components of network node 900 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component).
  • the power source 908 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 900 with power for performing the functionality described herein.
  • the network node 900 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 908.
  • the power source 908 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.
  • Embodiments of the network node 900 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 9 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and/or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein.
  • the network node 900 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 900 and to allow output of information from the network node 900. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 900.
  • Figure 10 is a block diagram of a host 1000, which may be an embodiment of the host 716 of Figure 7, in accordance with various aspects described herein.
  • the host 1000 may be or comprise various combinations hardware and/or software, including a standalone server, a blade server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, a virtual machine, container, or processing resources in a server farm.
  • the host 1000 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.
  • the host 1000 includes processing circuitry 1002 that is operatively coupled via a bus 1004 to an input/output interface 1006, a network interface 1008, a power source 1010, and a memory 1012.
  • processing circuitry 1002 that is operatively coupled via a bus 1004 to an input/output interface 1006, a network interface 1008, a power source 1010, and a memory 1012.
  • Other components may be included in other embodiments. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the devices of previous figures, such as Figures 8 and 9, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of host 1000.
  • the memory 1012 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs 1014 and data 1016, which may include user data, e.g., data generated by a UE for the host 1000 or data generated by the host 1000 for a UE.
  • Embodiments of the host 1000 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown.
  • the host application programs 1014 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding (VVC), High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), Advanced Video Coding (AVC), MPEG, VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., FLAC, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MPEG, G.711), including transcoding for multiple different classes, types, or implementations of UEs (e.g., handsets, desktop computers, wearable display systems, heads-up display systems).
  • the host application programs 1014 may also provide for user authentication and licensing checks and may periodically report health, routes, and content availability to a central node, such as a device in or on the edge of a core network.
  • the host 1000 may select and/or indicate a different host for over-the-top services for a UE.
  • the host application programs 1014 may support various protocols, such as the HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) protocol, Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (MPEG-DASH), etc.
  • HLS HTTP Live Streaming
  • RTMP Real-Time Messaging Protocol
  • RTSP Real-Time Streaming Protocol
  • MPEG-DASH Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP
  • FIG 11 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 1100 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized.
  • virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources.
  • virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components.
  • Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 1100 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host.
  • VMs virtual machines
  • the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host)
  • the node may be entirely virtualized.
  • Applications 1102 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment 1100 to implement some of the features, functions, and/or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.
  • Hardware 1104 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and/or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and/or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input/output interface, and so forth.
  • Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 1106 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 1108a and 1108b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 1108), and/or perform any of the functions, features and/or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein.
  • the virtualization layer 1106 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 1108.
  • the VMs 1108 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1106.
  • a virtualization layer 1106 Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 1102 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 1108, and the implementations may be made in different ways.
  • Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.
  • NFV network function virtualization
  • a VM 1108 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine.
  • Each of the VMs 1108, and that part of hardware 1104 that executes that VM be it hardware dedicated to that VM and/or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements.
  • a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs 1108 on top of the hardware 1104 and corresponds to the application 1102.
  • Hardware 1104 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 1104 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 1104 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g. such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 1110, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 1102.
  • hardware 1104 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station.
  • some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 1112 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.
  • Figure 12 shows a communication diagram of a host 1202 communicating via a network node 1204 with a UE 1206 over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments.
  • host 1202 Like host 1000, embodiments of host 1202 include hardware, such as a communication interface, processing circuitry, and memory.
  • the host 1202 also includes software, which is stored in or accessible by the host 1202 and executable by the processing circuitry.
  • the software includes a host application that may be operable to provide a service to a remote user, such as the UE 1206 connecting via an over-the-top (OTT) connection 1250 extending between the UE 1206 and host 1202.
  • OTT over-the-top
  • a host application may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 1250.
  • the network node 1204 includes hardware enabling it to communicate with the host 1202 and UE 1206.
  • the connection 1260 may be direct or pass through a core network (like core network 706 of Figure 7) and/or one or more other intermediate networks, such as one or more public, private, or hosted networks.
  • an intermediate network may be a backbone network or the Internet.
  • the UE 1206 includes hardware and software, which is stored in or accessible by UE 1206 and executable by the UE’s processing circuitry.
  • the software includes a client application, such as a web browser or operator-specific “app” that may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via UE 1206 with the support of the host 1202.
  • an executing host application may communicate with the executing client application via the OTT connection 1250 terminating at the UE 1206 and host 1202.
  • the UE's client application may receive request data from the host's host application and provide user data in response to the request data.
  • the OTT connection 1250 may transfer both the request data and the user data.
  • the UE's client application may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides to the host application through the OTT connection 1250.
  • the OTT connection 1250 may extend via a connection 1260 between the host 1202 and the network node 1204 and via a wireless connection 1270 between the network node 1204 and the UE 1206 to provide the connection between the host 1202 and the UE 1206.
  • the connection 1260 and wireless connection 1270, over which the OTT connection 1250 may be provided, have been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host 1202 and the UE 1206 via the network node 1204, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices.
  • the host 1202 provides user data, which may be performed by executing a host application.
  • the user data is associated with a particular human user interacting with the UE 1206.
  • the user data is associated with a UE 1206 that shares data with the host 1202 without explicit human interaction.
  • the host 1202 initiates a transmission carrying the user data towards the UE 1206.
  • the host 1202 may initiate the transmission responsive to a request transmitted by the UE 1206.
  • the request may be caused by human interaction with the UE 1206 or by operation of the client application executing on the UE 1206.
  • the transmission may pass via the network node 1204, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. Accordingly, in step 1212, the network node 1204 transmits to the UE 1206 the user data that was carried in the transmission that the host 1202 initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 1214, the UE 1206 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be performed by a client application executed on the UE 1206 associated with the host application executed by the host 1202. [0164] In some examples, the UE 1206 executes a client application which provides user data to the host 1202. The user data may be provided in reaction or response to the data received from the host 1202.
  • the UE 1206 may provide user data, which may be performed by executing the client application.
  • the client application may further consider user input received from the user via an input/output interface of the UE 1206.
  • the UE 1206 initiates, in step 1218, transmission of the user data towards the host 1202 via the network node 1204.
  • the network node 1204 receives user data from the UE 1206 and initiates transmission of the received user data towards the host 1202.
  • the host 1202 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the UE 1206.
  • One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 1206 using the OTT connection 1250, in which the wireless connection 1270 forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve the efficiency of signalling of QoE configurations and thereby provide benefits such as extended battery lifetime.
  • factory status information may be collected and analyzed by the host 1202.
  • the host 1202 may process audio and video data which may have been retrieved from a UE for use in creating maps.
  • the host 1202 may collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicle congestion (e.g., controlling traffic lights).
  • the host 1202 may store surveillance video uploaded by a UE.
  • the host 1202 may store or control access to media content such as video, audio, VR or AR which it can broadcast, multicast or unicast to UEs.
  • the host 1202 may be used for energy pricing, remote control of non-time critical electrical load to balance power generation needs, location services, presentation services (such as compiling diagrams etc. from data collected from remote devices), or any other function of collecting, retrieving, storing, analyzing and/or transmitting data.
  • a measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve.
  • the measurement procedure and/or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection may be implemented in software and hardware of the host 1202 and/or UE 1206.
  • sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with other devices through which the OTT connection 1250 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or supplying values of other physical quantities from which software may compute or estimate the monitored quantities.
  • the reconfiguring of the OTT connection 1250 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not directly alter the operation of the network node 1204. Such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art.
  • measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling that facilitates measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency and the like, by the host 1202.
  • the measurements may be implemented in that software causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTT connection 1250 while monitoring propagation times, errors, etc.
  • computing devices described herein may include the illustrated combination of hardware components
  • computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components.
  • a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and/or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface.
  • non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.
  • processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer- readable storage medium.
  • some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner.
  • the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and/or by end users and a wireless network generally.
  • the indication of the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE comprises one or more empty containers for the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE.
  • the reconfiguration message comprises a respective empty container for each of the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE.
  • an empty container for a particular QoE configuration comprises an application layer measurement configuration information element identifying the particular QoE configuration.
  • the method of embodiment 1, wherein the indication of one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE is implicit.
  • the method of embodiment 13, wherein the indication of one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE comprises an indication of QoE configurations of the plurality of QoE configurations that are to be released by the UE.
  • the method of embodiment 1, wherein the indication of one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE comprises an indication that all of the plurality of QoE configurations are to be maintained by the UE.
  • the network node is a serving base station for the UE.
  • the UE is to undergo a handover procedure, wherein the network node is a source network node, and wherein the one or more QoE configurations are to be maintained by the UE following handover to a target network node.
  • the reconfiguration message comprises updated values for one or more radio resource control, RRC, parameters other than QoE configuration parameters.
  • RRC radio resource control
  • the indication of one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE comprises an indication of QoE configurations of the plurality of QoE configurations that are to be released by the UE.
  • the method of embodiment 20, wherein the indication of one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE comprises an indication that all of the plurality of QoE configurations are to be maintained by the UE.
  • the method of embodiment 33, wherein the second handover message is a handover request acknowledge message.
  • any of embodiments 32 to 34 further comprising causing transmission of a first handover message to the target network node, the first handover message comprising an indication of the plurality of QoE configurations.
  • the first handover message is a handover request message.
  • the indication of one or more QoE configurations comprises identities of the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE.
  • the method of embodiment 37 or 38, wherein the second handover message does not comprise QoE configuration data for the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE.
  • the method of any one of embodiments 37 to 39, wherein the indication of the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE comprises one or more empty containers for the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE.
  • the method of embodiment 40, wherein the second handover message comprises a respective empty container for each of the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE.
  • an empty container contains null or zero values.
  • an empty container for a particular QoE configuration comprises an application layer measurement configuration information element identifying the particular QoE configuration.
  • the method of embodiment 37, wherein the indication of one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE is implicit.
  • the method of embodiment 45, wherein the indication of one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE comprises an indication of QoE configurations of the one or more QoE configurations that are to be released by the UE.
  • the indication of one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE comprises an indication that all of the one or more QoE configurations are to be maintained by the UE.
  • the second handover message is a handover request acknowledge message.
  • a user equipment comprising: processing circuitry configured to cause the user equipment to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.
  • a network node comprising: processing circuitry configured to cause the network node to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments; power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.
  • a user equipment comprising: an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals; radio front-end circuitry connected to the antenna and to processing circuitry, and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuitry; the processing circuitry being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments; an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry; an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry; and a battery connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the UE.
  • UE user equipment
  • a host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), wherein the UE comprises a communication interface and processing circuitry, the communication interface and processing circuitry of the UE being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments to receive the user data from the host.
  • OTT over-the-top
  • the cellular network further includes a network node configured to communicate with the UE to transmit the user data to the UE from the host.
  • the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and the host application is configured to interact with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.
  • UE user equipment
  • the method of the previous embodiment further comprising: at the host, executing a host application associated with a client application executing on the UE to receive the user data from the UE.
  • the method of the previous embodiment further comprising: at the host, transmitting input data to the client application executing on the UE, the input data being provided by executing the host application, wherein the user data is provided by the client application in response to the input data from the host application.
  • a host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), wherein the UE comprises a communication interface and processing circuitry, the communication interface and processing circuitry of the UE being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments to transmit the user data to the host.
  • OTT over-the-top
  • the cellular network further includes a network node configured to communicate with the UE to transmit the user data from the UE to the host.
  • the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and the host application is configured to interact with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.
  • UE user equipment
  • the method of the previous embodiment further comprising: at the host, executing a host application associated with a client application executing on the UE to receive the user data from the UE.
  • a host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a network node in a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), the network node having a communication interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the network node configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group B embodiments to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.
  • OTT over-the-top
  • the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application that provides the user data; and the UE comprises processing circuitry configured to execute a client application associated with the host application to receive the transmission of user data from the host.
  • UE user equipment
  • a communication system configured to provide an over-the-top service, the communication system comprising: a host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data for a user equipment (UE), the user data being associated with the over-the-top service; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data toward a cellular network node for transmission to the UE, the network node having a communication interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the network node configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group B embodiments to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.
  • a host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data for a user equipment (UE), the user data being associated with the over-the-top service; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data toward a cellular network node for transmission to the UE, the network node having a communication interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the network node configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group B embodiments to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.
  • a host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to initiate receipt of user data; and a network interface configured to receive the user data from a network node in a cellular network, the network node having a communication interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the network node configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group B embodiments to receive the user data from a user equipment (UE) for the host.
  • OTT over-the-top
  • the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and the host application is configured to interact with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.
  • UE user equipment
  • 3GPP RAN WG3 has sent an LS (R3-212976) to RAN WG2 informing that they have agreed to the solution for mobility in which the network node is responsible for keeping track of whether the UE is inside or outside the area and configure/release configuration accordingly.
  • SA4 has specified requirements for QoE measurements, so that the UE shall check the QoE configuration only when the respective session starts [1], [2], This means that any potential changes in QoE configuration would not be effective for an ongoing session. See the following SA4 requirements about checking QoE configuration only upon starting a session (changes in QoE configuration would not be effective for an ongoing session): 26.247, clause 10.1: The QoE configuration shall only be checked by the client when each session starts, and thus all logging and reporting criterias for an ongoing session shall be unaffected by any QoE configuration changes received during that session. This also includes evaluation of any filtering criterias, such as geographical filtering, which shall only be done when the session starts. Thus changes to the QoE configuration will only affect sessions started after these configuration changes have been received.
  • the QoE configuration shall only be checked by the client when each session starts, and thus all logging and reporting criterias for an ongoing session shall be unaffected by any QoE configuration changes received during that session. This also includes evaluation of any filtering criterias, such as geographical filtering, which shall only be done when the session starts. Thus changes to the QoE configuration will only affect sessions started after these configuration changes have been received.
  • the SA4 requirements mean that the UE should check the area scope when starting the measurements, but if the UE moves out of the area during the ongoing session, the QoE measurements should not be stopped. After the ongoing session is completed, no new measurements should be started if the UE is outside the area.
  • the procedure for handling QoE configuration upon mobility can be performed in the following steps:
  • 2- UE RRC upon receiving Session Start Indication includes the associated RRC ID to it and sends Session Start Indication to the gNBi.
  • 3- gNBi stores session start indication as part of UE context.
  • 4- gNBi sends the QoE configuration status to the gNBz as part of HO request procedure
  • 5- UE performs HO toward gNBjthat is outside the area scope. [According to SA4 requirement the QoE configuration would be configured and valid until the end of the ongoing session]. 6- Upon performing HO toward a gNBz that is outside of the area, the gNBz configures SRB4 for the UE and keep the Session Start Indication as part of UE context.
  • the application Upon ending the ongoing session, the application sends a Session End Indication to the UE RRC layer.
  • the UE RRC Upon receiving Session End Indication, the UE RRC associates the RRC ID to the Session End Indication signal and sends it to the gNBz.
  • 9- gNBz releases the QoE configuration.
  • 10- gNBz sends RRC reconfiguration with QoE release command associated with the RRC ID(s).
  • Session Start Indication is initiated upon start of a session that is subject to the QoE measurements.
  • Session End Indication is initiated upon ending a session that is subject to the QoE measurements.
  • Proposal 1 RAN2 specify Session Start Indication and Session End Indication, to enable QoE configuration handling upon mobility.
  • Session Start/End indication comes from the application layer in the form of a AT command we propose to send an LS to 3GPP TSG CT WG1 and request them to support these signals in their specifications.
  • Proposal 2 RAN2 sends an LS to CT1 group to specify Session Start indication and Session End Indication in their specification.
  • a UE (and application) that is configured with QoE measurement may receive a delta configuration or a full configuration (i.e., FullConfig).
  • FullConfig may be used as an alternative to delta configuration at any handover and it may also be triggered if the target node does not support any configuration that exists in the source node. It can be assumed that if the UE receives a FullConfig with a QoE configuration included, the UE should configure according to the received QoE configuration. If the UE receives a FullConfig without any QoE configuration included, the QoE configuration should be released as the target node may not support QoE measurements.
  • a UE Upon receiving full configuration (FullConfig) a UE shall check if the otherConfig includes the QoE configuration or not (i.e., measConfigAppLayer). If the QoE configuration exists, the UE shall continue the QoE measurements at the upper layers. However, if the full configuration does not include the QoE configuration, the UE shall release the QoE configuration from the application as the target gNB may not support QoE signalling.
  • the otherConfig includes the QoE configuration or not (i.e., measConfigAppLayer). If the QoE configuration exists, the UE shall continue the QoE measurements at the upper layers. However, if the full configuration does not include the QoE configuration, the UE shall release the QoE configuration from the application as the target gNB may not support QoE signalling.
  • Proposal 3 RAN2 agree that UE shall release the QoE configuration if the otherConfig does not include measConfigAppLayer upon receiving FullConfig.
  • Proposal 4 RAN2 agree that UE shall continue the QoE measurements if the otherConfig includes measConfigAppLayer upon receiving FullConfig.
  • the otherConfig includes measConfigAppLayer upon receiving FullConfig.
  • the network It seems unnecessary for the network to send the QoE configuration container to the UE at each handover if the measurements should just continue, as the UE already has the QoE configuration and that is not dependent on which cell the UE is connected to. Also the QoE configuration container can be large and it is a waste of radio resources to include it at each handover.
  • the QoE configuration container is mandatory included if QoE is configured and it is proposed to change that to optionally included. It is enough if the network indicates the IDs of the QoE measurements that should continue in the new cell.
  • Proposal 5 The QoE configuration container is optionally included in the RRCReconfiguration.
  • Proposal 1 RAN2 specify Session Start Indication and Session End Indication, to enable QoE configuration handling upon mobility.
  • Proposal 2 RAN2 sends an LS to CT1 group to specify Session Start indication and Session End Indication in their specification.
  • Proposal 3 RAN2 agree that UE shall release the QoE configuration if the otherConfig does not include measConfigAppLayer for a given service upon receiving FullConfig.
  • Proposal 4 RAN2 agree that UE shall continue the QoE measurements if the otherConfig includes measConfigAppLayer for a given service upon receiving FullConfig.
  • Proposal 5 The QoE configuration container is optionally included in the RRCReconfiguration. 4 References

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Mobile Radio Communication Systems (AREA)

Abstract

The disclosure provides, inter alia, a method performed by a user equipment for reconfiguration of quality-of-experience (QoE) reporting. The UE is configured with a plurality of QoE configurations. The method comprises: receiving a reconfiguration message from a network node. The reconfiguration message comprises an indication of one or more of the plurality of QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE. In an embodiment, it is provided a method performed by a target network node for reconfiguring quality-of-experience, QoE, reporting by a user equipment, UE, which is to undergo handover from a source network node to the target network node, wherein the UE is configured with one or more QoE configurations, the method comprising: causing transmission of a second handover message to the source network node, the second handover message comprising an indication of one or more of the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE following handover to the target network node.

Description

QUALITY-OF-EXPERIENCE CONFIGURATION MAINTENANCE
Technical field
Embodiments of the disclosure relate to wireless communications, and particularly to quality- of-experience (QoE) configuration and reporting.
Background
QoE measurements
[0001] Quality of Experience (QoE) measurements have been specified for Long Term Evolution (LTE) and Lfriiversal Mobile Telecommunications Service (UMTS) and are being specified for New Radio (NR). The purpose of such application layer measurements is to measure the end user experience when using certain applications. Currently, QoE measurements for streaming services and for Mobility Telephony Service for IP Multimedia Subsystem (MTSI) services are supported. QoE measurements for other purposes may be supported in future, and embodiments of the disclosure are not limited in that respect.
[0002] The solutions in LTE and UMTS are similar, with the overall principles as follow. Quality of Experience Measurement Collection enables configuration of application layer measurements in the user equipment (UE) and transmission of QoE measurement result files or reports by means of radio resource configuration (RRC) signalling. An application layer measurement configuration received from Operations & Maintenance (0AM) or the core network (CN) is encapsulated in a transparent container, which is forwarded to the UE in a downlink RRC message. Application layer measurements received from UE's higher layer are encapsulated in a transparent container and sent to the network in an uplink RRC message. The result container is forwarded to a Trace Collector Entity (TCE).
[0003] In 3 GPP release 17, a study item for “Study on NR QoE management and optimizations for diverse services” for NR has been carried out (TR 38.890 vl7.0.0). The purpose of the study item was to study solutions for QoE measurements in NR. QoE management in NR will not only collect the experience parameters of streaming services, but also consider the typical performance requirements of diverse services (e.g. augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC) etc).
[0004] The measurements may be initiated towards the radio access network (RAN) in a management-based manner, i.e. from an 0AM node in a generic way e.g. for a group of UEs, or they may also be initiated in a signaling-based manner, i.e. initiated from CN to RAN, e.g. for a single UE. In either case, the configuration of the measurement includes the measurement details, which are encapsulated in a container that is transparent to RAN.
[0005] When initiated via the core network, the measurement is started towards a specific UE. For the LTE case, the "TRACE START" SI Application Protocol (S1AP) message is used, which carries, among other things, the details about the measurement configuration and the measurements that the application layer should collect (in the “Container for application layer measurement configuration” information element (IE), transparent to the RAN) and the details to reach the trace collection entity, to which the measurements should be sent.
[0006] RAN is not aware of when the streaming session is ongoing in the UE. The Access Stratum is also not aware of when the measurements are ongoing. It is an implementation decision when RAN stops the measurements. Typically, it is done when the UE has moved outside the measured area.
[0007] One opportunity provided by the legacy solution is the ability to keep the QoE measurement for the whole session, even during handover.
QoE measurement in E-UTRAN
E-UTRAN - Application layer measurement capabilities
[0008] For E-UTRAN, the UE capability transfer — shown in Figure 1 — is used to transfer UE radio access capability information from the UE to Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN).
[0009] The process involves the transmission of an enquiry message, UECapabilityEnquiry, from the E-UTRAN to the UE; and the transmission of a response message, UECapability Information, from the UE to E-UTRAN. The UE-EUTRA-Capability IE is used to convey the E-UTRA UE Radio Access Capability Parameters and the Feature Group Indicators for mandatory features to the network.
[0010] In the response message “UECapabilitylnformation”, the UE can include the “UE- EUTRA-Capability” IE. The “UE-EUTRA-Capability” IE may include the UE-EUTRA- Capability -V1530-IE which can be used by the UE to indicate whether the UE supports or not QoE Measurement Collection for streaming services and/or MTSI services, as detailed in the “MeasParameters-vl530” encoding below.
[0011]
MeasParameters-vl530 ::= SEQUENCE { qoe-MeasReport-r 15 ENUMERATED {supported} OPTIONAL, qoe-MTSI-MeasReport-r 15 ENUMERATED {supported} OPTIONAL, ca-IdleModeMeasurements-r 15 ENUMERATED {supported} OPTIONAL, ca-IdleModeValidityArea-r 15 ENUMERATED {supported}
OPTIONAL, heightMeas-rl 5 ENUMERATED {supported} OPTIONAL, multipleCellsMeasExtension-r 15 ENUMERATED {supported} OPTIONAL
} i qoe-Meas Report
Indicates whether t i qoe-MTSI-MeasRe i Indicates whether t
Figure imgf000005_0001
E-UTRAN - Application layer measurement reporting
[0012] The purpose of the “Application layer measurement reporting” procedure described in 3GPP TS 36.331 vl6.5.0 and shown in Figure 2 is to inform E-UTRAN about application layer measurement report.
[0013] A UE capable of application layer measurement reporting in RRC CONNECTED may initiate the procedure when configured with application layer measurement, i.e. when measConfigAppLayer has been configured by E-UTRAN.
[0014] After RRC connection reconfiguration between the UE and EUTRAN, and upon initiating the procedure, the UE shall:
1> if configured with application layer measurement, and SRB4 is configured, and the UE has received application layer measurement report information from upper layers:
2> set the measReportAppLayerContainer in the MeasReportAppLayer message to the value of the application layer measurement report information;
2> set the serviceType in the MeasReportAppLayer message to the type of the application layer measurement report information;
2> submit the MeasReportAppLayer message to lower layers for transmission via SRB4 E-UTRAN - QoE measurement configuration setup and release - RRC signalling
[0015] The RRCConnectionReconfiguration message is used to reconfigure the UE to setup or release the UE for Application Layer measurements. This is signaled in the measConfigAppLayer-15 IE within the “OtherConfig” IE.
[0016] The setup includes the transparent container measConfigAppLayerContainer which specifies the QoE measurement configuration for the Application of interest and the serviceType IE to indicate the Application (or service) for which the QoE measurements are being configured. Supported services are streaming and MTSI.
[0017] Below are the details for the measConfigAppLayer IE: measConfigAppLayer-rl5 CHOICE { release NULL, setup SEQUENCE) measConfigAppLayerContainer-rl5 OCTET STRING (SIZE(L.1000)), serviceType-rl5 ENUMERATED {qoe, qoemtsi, spared, spared, spared, spared, spare2, sparel }
} measConfigAppLayerContainer
The field contains configuration of application layer measurements, see Annex L (normative) in TS 26.247 and clause 16.5 in TS 26.1 14. serviceType
I Indicates the type of application layer measurement. Value qoe indicates Quality of Experience i Measurement Collection for streaming services, value qoemtsi indicates Enhanced Quality of i Experience Measurement Collection for MTSI.
E-UTRAN - QoE measurement reporting - RRC signalling
[0018] As specified in 3GPP TS 36.331 vl6.5.0, the MeasReportAppLayer RRC message is used by the UE to send to the E-UTRAN node the QoE measurement results of an Application (or service). The service for which the report is being sent is indicated in the “serviceType” IE.
[0019] Below are the details for the MeasReportAppLayer message, sent using Signalling Radio Bearer, SRB4. MeasReportAppLayer message
- ASN1 START
MeasReportAppLayer-rl 5 ::= SEQUENCE { criticalExtensions CHOICE { measReportAppLayer-r 15 MeasReportAppLayer-r 15 -IEs, criticalExtensionsFuture SEQUENCE {} } }
MeasReportAppLayer-r 15 -IEs ::= SEQUENCE { measReportAppLayerContainer-rl 5 OCTET STRING (SIZE(1..8000)) OPTIONAL, serviceType-rl5 ENUMERATED
{qoe, qoemtsi,spare6, spare5, spared, spare3, spare2, sparel } OPTIONAL, nonCriticalExtension MeasReportAppLayer-vl590-IEs OPTIONAL }
MeasReportAppLayer-vl590-IEs ::= SEQUENCE { lateNonCriticalExtension OCTET STRING OPTIONAL, nonCriticalExtension SEQUENCE {} OPTIONAL
}
- ASN1STOP
Figure imgf000007_0001
Full configuration
[0020] As part of handover preparation to a target node, the source node sends the current UE configuration to the target node in the HANDOVER REQUEST message, see TS 38.423 V16.6.0. The target node prepares a target configuration for the UE based on the current configuration and the target node’s and the UE’s capabilities. The target configuration is sent from the target node in HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE to the source node and onwards to the UE in RRCReconfiguration. As a streamlined option, the target configuration can be provided as a so-called delta-configuration, indicating only the differences from the UE’s current configuration in the source cell.
[0021] However, if the target node does not recognize something in the UE’s current configuration, it may be because the target node does not support some feature which the source node supports. In such a case the target node will trigger a full configuration, meaning that the UE will discard the current configuration and make a new configuration from scratch. This is further described in TS 38.331 vl6.5.0 chapter 5.3.5.11 and referred to as "full configuration" or "full config". This will also be applied for the case where the target node does not support QoE measurements, or does not support QoE measurements of a certain type which the source node supports and which the UE is configured with.
[0022] The full configuration may also be used at any handover if the network prefers to signal the whole UE target configuration instead of signaling a delta configuration towards the source cell.
Need codes
[0023] Need codes are specified in the RRC specification to define the need to include optional fields in RRC messages and how the UE should behave if the field is absent, e.g. whether to keep an existing configuration or to release it. The need codes are described in chapter 6.1 in TS 38.331 vl6.5.0 (section 6.1.2):
“The need for fields to be present in a message or an abstract type, i.e., the ASN.l fields that are specified as OPTIONAL in the abstract notation (ASN. l), is specified by means of comment text tags attached to the OPTIONAL statement in the abstract syntax. All comment text tags are available for use in the downlink direction only. The meaning of each tag is specified in table 6.1.2-1. If conditions are used, a conditional presence table is provided for the message or information element specifying the need of the field for each condition case. The table also specifies whether UE maintains or releases the value in case the field is absent. The conditions clarify what the UE may expect regarding the setting of the message by the network. Violation of conditions is regarded as invalid network behaviour, which the UE is not required to cope with. Hence the general error handling defined in 10.4 does not apply in case a field is absent although it is mandatory according to the CondC or CondM condition.
For guidelines on the use of need codes and conditions, see Annex A.6 and A.7.
Table 6.1.2-1: Meaning of abbreviations used to specify the need for fields to be present
Figure imgf000010_0001
NOTE: In this version of the specification, the condition tags CondC and CondM are not used.
Any field with Need M or Need N in system information shall be interpreted as Need R.
The need code used within a CondX definition only applies for the case (part of the condition) where it is defined: A condition may have different need codes for different parts of the condition. In particular, the CondX definition may contain the following "otherwise the field is absent" parts:
"Otherwise, the field is absent": The field is not relevant or should not be configured when this part of the condition applies. In particular, the UE behaviour is not defined when the field is configured via another part of the condition and is reconfigured to this part of the condition. A need code is not provided when the transition from another part of the condition to this part of the condition is not supported, when the field clearly is a one-shot or there is no difference whether UE maintains or releases the value (e.g., in case the field is mandatory present according to the other part of the condition).
"Otherwise, the field is absent, Need R" : The field is released if absent when this part of the condition applies. This handles UE behaviour in case the field is configured via another part of the condition and this part of the condition applies (which means that network can assume UE releases the field if this part of the condition is valid).
"Otherwise, the field is absent, Need M": The UE retains the field if it was already configured when this part of the condition applies. This means the network cannot release the field , but UE retains the previously configured value.
Use of different Need codes in different parts of a condition should be avoided.
For downlink messages, the need codes, conditions and ASN.l defaults specified for a particular (child) field only apply in case the (parent) field including the particular field is present. Thus, if the parent is absent the UE shall not release the field unless the absence of the parent field implies that.
[••]”
Summary
[0024] There currently exist certain challenge(s). In the current solution the full QoE configuration is mandatory to be sent if QoE measurements are configured. If the UE stays in the same cell, the QoE configuration is only sent once and the solution works acceptably. However, if the UE changes cell and if the target cell chooses to send a full configuration to the UE, or if the target cell decides to change something in the QoE configuration, the only possibility is for the target to send the complete QoE configuration including the QoE configuration container in the RRC reconfiguration message, even if the QoE configuration container is not changed. The QoE configuration container is quite large and the UE has already received it, so it consumes unnecessary resources and capacity to send the QoE configuration container at handover if it has not been changed. Also, since handovers from one cell to another are normally done when the UE is on the border between two cells, the radio conditions are in general poor when sending a handover command. Sending a handover command which is large has a greater risk of failing and hence a failed handover as a result. It is therefore important that the handover command is not unnecessarily large
[0025] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. The method proposed in this disclosure comprises solutions to enable QoE configuration handling at handover or other reconfigurations in an optimal way i.e., it enables the RAN node to avoid sending the complete QoE configuration to the UE if not needed. In addition, it enables the RAN nodes to handle QoE configurations at the UE while sending full configuration (e.g., fullConfig according to 3GPP TS 38.331 vl6.5.0) to the UE.
[0026] The present disclosure proposes methods to reconfigure QoE measurements, e.g. at handover, without having to send configuration container at each reconfiguration.
[0027] A first aspect of the disclosure provides a method performed by a user equipment for reconfiguration of quality-of-experience (QoE) reporting. The UE is configured with a plurality of QoE configurations. The method comprises: receiving a reconfiguration message from a network node. The reconfiguration message comprises an indication of one or more of the plurality of QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE.
[0028] Apparatus for performing the method according to the first aspect is also provided. For example, in one embodiment a UE is configured with a plurality of QoE configurations. The UE comprises processing circuitry which is configured to cause the UE to: receive a reconfiguration message from a network node. The reconfiguration message comprises an indication of one or more of the plurality of QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE.
[0029] A second aspect of the disclosure provides a method performed by a network node for reconfiguring QoE reporting by a UE. The UE is configured with a plurality of QoE configurations. The method comprises: causing transmission of a reconfiguration message to the user equipment. The reconfiguration message comprises an indication of one or more of the plurality of QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE.
[0030] Apparatus for performing the method according to the second aspect is also provided. For example, in one embodiment a UE is configured with a plurality of QoE configurations. A network node comprises processing circuitry which is configured to cause the network node to: cause transmission of a reconfiguration message to the user equipment. The reconfiguration message comprises an indication of one or more of the plurality of QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE.
[0031] A third aspect of the disclosure provides a method performed by a target network node for reconfiguring QoE reporting by a UE which is to undergo handover from a source network node to the target network node. The UE is configured with one or more QoE configurations. The method comprises: causing transmission of a second handover message to the source network node. The second handover message comprises an indication of one or more of the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE following handover to the target network node.
[0032] Apparatus for performing the method according to the third aspect is also provided. For example, in one embodiment a UE is to undergo handover from a source network node to the target network node. The UE is configured with one or more QoE configurations. A target network node comprises processing circuitry which is configured to cause the target network node to: cause transmission of a second handover message to the source network node. The second handover message comprises an indication of one or more of the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE following handover to the target network node.
[0033] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s). Embodiments of the disclosure enable the possibility of performing handover and/or other reconfigurations of QoE measurements without having to send the QoE configuration container in each reconfiguration message. This reduces the amount of signaling to the UE and saves resources in the network.
Brief description of the drawings
[0034] For a better understanding of examples of the present disclosure, and to show more clearly how the examples may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example only, to the following drawings in which:
[0035] Figure l is a signalling diagram showing UE capability transfer;
[0036] Figure 2 is a signalling diagram showing an application layer measurement reporting procedure;
[0037] Figure 3 is a flowchart of a method performed by a wireless device according to embodiments of the disclosure; [0038] Figure 4 is a flowchart of a method performed by a network node according to embodiments of the disclosure;
[0039] Figure 5 is a flowchart of a method performed by a network node according to further embodiments of the disclosure;
[0040] Figure 6 is a signalling diagram of QoE configuration at handover according to embodiments of the disclosure;
[0041] Figure 7 shows an example of a communication system according to embodiments of the disclosure;
[0042] Figure 8 shows an example of a user equipment according to embodiments of the disclosure;
[0043] Figure 9 shows an example of a network node according to embodiments of the disclosure;
[0044] Figure 10 is a block diagram of host according to embodiments of the disclosure;
[0045] Figure 11 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment according to embodiments of the disclosure;
[0046] Figure 12 is a communication diagram according to embodiments of the disclosure; and
[0047] Figure 13 is a communication diagram showing QoE configuration handling according to embodiments of the disclosure, upon moving outside the area while having an ongoing session.
Detailed description
[0048] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art. Additional information may also be found in the document(s) provided in the Appendix.
[0049] The terms “UE”, “terminal equipment”, “wireless terminal” and “terminal”, “wireless device” are used interchangeably.
[0050] The terms “QoE measurement report”, “QoE report”, “measurement report” and “report” are used interchangeably.
[0051] The terms “QoE measurement configuration”, QoE measurement and reporting configuration”, “QoE configuration” can be used interchangeably. Note that the term “QoE measurement” also can refer to a measurement or data collection performed for the purpose of determining a QoE metric.
[0052] The terms “service” and “application” are used interchangeably.
[0053] The terms “MCE” and “TCE” are used interchangeably.
[0054] A network node can be a RAN node, an NR base station (gNB), E-UTRAN NodeB
(eNB), en-gNB (a gNB that can connect with Evolved Packet Core and/or eNB), ng-eNB (an eNB that can connect with a 5G Core and/or gNB), a gNB centralized unit (gNB-CU), a control-plane gNB-CU (gNB-CU-CP), a user-plane gNB-CU (gNB-CU-UP), a gNB distributed unit (gNB-DU), an eNB centralized unit (eNB-CU), a control-plane eNB-CU (eNB- CU-CP), a user-plane eNB-CU (eNB-CU-UP), an eNB distributed unit (eNB-DU), Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) nodes, lAB-donors, lAB-donor-CU, lAB-donor-CU-CP, IAB- donor-CU-UP, lAB-donor-DU, IAB Mobile Termination (IAB-MT), Open RAN central unit (O-CU), Open RAN control-plane central unit (O-CU-CP), Open RAN user-plane central unit (O-CU-UP), Open Ran distributed unit (O-DU), Open RAN radio unit (O-RU), Open RAN eNB (O-eNB), a Core Network node, an 0AM node, a Services Management and Orchestration (SMO) node.
[0055] Note that examples below are often described in the context of handovers. However, embodiments of the disclosure may be used in other reconfigurations than at handover. There may be more RRC parameters added later and if any of these RRC parameters are changed, embodiments of the disclosure can be used to change these parameters without having to include the full QoE configuration in the message.
[0056] Figure 3 depicts a method in accordance with particular embodiments. The method 3 may be performed by a UE or wireless device (e.g. the UE 712 or UE 800 as described later with reference to Figures 7 and 8 respectively). In some embodiments, the method corresponds to the signalling and actions of the UE in Figure 6 below. The UE may be configured with a plurality of QoE configurations.
[0057] The method begins at step 302, in which the UE receives a reconfiguration message from a network node (e.g., a serving network node or base station for the UE). The reconfiguration message may comprise an RRC Reconfiguration message, for example.
[0058] According to embodiments of the disclosure, the reconfiguration message comprises an indication of one or more of the plurality of QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE. That is, the UE is to maintain the one or more QoE configurations, or to continue performing measurements according to the one or more QoE configurations, following implementation of the reconfiguration specified in the reconfiguration message. The reconfiguration message may therefore specify one or more additional reconfigurations for the UE, such as a changed RRC parameter other than the QoE configurations. In one example, the reconfiguration message may contain an instruction that the UE is to perform handover from its current network node to a target network node. In this instance, the one or more QoE configurations indicated in the reconfiguration message are to be maintained by the UE after handover to the target network node. In further examples, the reconfiguration message may comprise the configuration data for a new, additional QoE configuration that is to be implemented by the UE.
[0059] The indication of one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE may comprise identities of the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE, such as the RRC ID, QoE reference, Recording Session Indication, a new indication, an implicit indication etc. The reconfiguration message may not comprise the QoE configuration data for those one or more QoE configurations, such that the reconfiguration message is much smaller than would otherwise be the case. QoE configurations that are not to be maintained (e.g., that are to be released) by the UE may be indicated through omission in the reconfiguration message, i.e., the identities of such QoE configurations may not be explicitly mentioned in the reconfiguration message. Alternatively, the reconfiguration message may comprise an explicit indication that those QoE configurations are to be released. [0060] In another embodiment, the reconfiguration message may comprise an indication that all of the plurality of QoE configurations are to be maintained by the UE, e.g., without separately indicating the identity of each QoE configuration. Such an indication may comprise a flag or other suitable indication that can be interpreted by the UE as an indication to maintain all QoE configurations that the UE is currently configured with. Similarly, the reconfiguration message may comprise an indication that all of the plurality of QoE configurations are to be released by the UE, e.g., without separately indicating the identity of each QoE configuration. [0061] In one embodiment, the indication of the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE comprises one or more empty containers for the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE. For example, the reconfiguration message may comprise a respective empty container for each of the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE. Alternatively, an empty container may be configured for more than one QoE configuration, so that there is not a one-to-one correspondence between QoE configurations and containers.
[0062] In this context, a container is an information element or other suitable data structure, which ordinarily contains the configuration data for a QoE configuration. The container may be transparent to the RAN. One suitable container is an application layer measurement configuration information element (IE). An empty container may be a container which contains null or zero values.
[0063] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained may be indicated implicitly, in different ways. For example, the reconfiguration message may instead indicate the one or more QoE configurations that are to be released by the UE. Thus QoE configurations that are to be maintained are indicated by their omission from the reconfiguration message.
[0064] In step 304, the UE maintains those QoE configurations which are to be maintained according to the reconfiguration message, and releases those QoE configurations which are to be released according to the reconfiguration message.
[0065] Where the indication of one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE comprise one or more empty containers, the UE may handle those containers in at least two different ways. In one embodiment, the RRC layer in the UE determines that a container is empty, and then refrains from providing the empty container to an application layer of the UE. Thus the application layer (where QoE measurements take place) never receives any update to its QoE configuration and the QoE configuration is maintained. Alternatively, the RRC layer of the UE may provide the empty container to the application layer. In this case, the application layer determines that the container is empty, and then refrains from reconfiguring the QoE configuration to correspond to the null or zero values.
[0066] In step 306, the UE transmits a reconfiguration complete message. Where the QoE reconfiguration takes place during handover, this message may be transmitted to the target node, following handover. In other embodiments, the reconfiguration complete message may be transmitted to the network node (e.g., the same network node that transmitted the reconfiguration message in step 302).
[0067] Figure 4 depicts a method in accordance with particular embodiments. The method 4 may be performed by a network node (e.g. the network node 710 or network node 900 as described later with reference to Figures 7 and 9 respectively). The network node may be a serving network node for a UE, which is configured with a plurality of QoE configurations. [0068] In some embodiments, particularly those corresponding to handover of a UE from a source node to a target node, the method may correspond to the signalling and actions of the source node in Figure 6 below. However, embodiments of the disclosure are not limited to handover, and may also be relevant to other reconfiguration procedures for a UE.
[0069] The method begins at step 402, which is optional for embodiments relating to the handover of the UE from the network node to a target network node. In step 402, the network node transmits a first handover message to the target network node. The first handover message may be a handover request message. Note that many preceding steps in the handover process have been omitted from this discussion as they are largely conventional. For example, the UE may have been configured to perform and report RRM measurements to the network node, which then determines, based on the reporting RRM measurements, that handover of the UE to the target network node should be performed.
[0070] According to embodiments of the disclosure, the first handover message comprises an indication of the plurality of QoE configurations that the UE is configured with. The indication of the QoE configurations may comprise identities of the QoE configurations, such as the RRC ID, QoE reference, Recording Session Indication, a new indication, an implicit indication etc.
[0071] In step 404, which again is optional and related only to embodiments for handover of the UE to a target network node, the network node receives a second handover message from the target network node. The second handover message may comprise a handover request acknowledge message.
[0072] According to embodiments of the disclosure, the second handover message comprises an indication of one or more of the plurality of QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE. That is, the UE is to maintain the one or more QoE configurations, or to continue performing measurements according to the one or more QoE configurations, following handover. The second handover message may specify one or more additional reconfigurations for the UE, such as a changed RRC parameter other than the QoE configurations. In one example, the reconfiguration message may comprise the configuration data for a new, additional QoE configuration that is to be implemented by the UE following handover.
[0073] The indication of one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE may comprise identities of the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE, such as the RRC ID, QoE reference, Recording Session Indication, a new indication, an implicit indication etc. The second handover message may not comprise the QoE configuration data for those one or more QoE configurations, such that the second handover message is much smaller than would otherwise be the case. QoE configurations that are not to be maintained (e.g., that are to be released) by the UE may be indicated through omission in the reconfiguration message, i.e., the identities of such QoE configurations may not be explicitly mentioned in the second handover message. Alternatively, the second handover message may comprise an explicit indication that those QoE configurations are to be released. [0074] In one embodiment, the indication of the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE comprises one or more empty containers for the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE. For example, the reconfiguration message may comprise a respective empty container for each of the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE. Alternatively, an empty container may be configured for more than one QoE configuration, so that there is not a one-to-one correspondence between QoE configurations and containers.
[0075] In this context, a container is an information element or other suitable data structure, which ordinarily contains the configuration data for a QoE configuration. The container may be transparent to the RAN. One suitable container is an application layer measurement configuration information element (IE). An empty container may be a container which contains null or zero values.
[0076] In another embodiment, the second handover message may comprise an indication that all of the plurality of QoE configurations are to be maintained by the UE, e.g., without separately indicating the identity of each QoE configuration. Such an indication may comprise a flag or other suitable indication that can be interpreted by the source node as an indication that the UE is to maintain all QoE configurations it is currently configured with. Similarly, the reconfiguration message may comprise an indication that all of the plurality of QoE configurations are to be released by the UE, e.g., without separately indicating the identity of each QoE configuration.
[0077] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained may be indicated implicitly, in different ways. For example, the second handover message may instead indicate the one or more QoE configurations that are to be released by the UE. Thus QoE configurations that are to be maintained are indicated by their omission from the second handover message. [0078] In step 406, the network node transmits a reconfiguration message to the UE. The reconfiguration message may comprise an RRC Reconfiguration message, for example. This step may correspond substantially to step 302 described above with respect to Figure 3 (but from the network node’s point of view). Where performed as part of a handover procedure (e.g., following performance of steps 402 and 404), the QoE configurations indicated in the reconfiguration message correspond to the QoE configurations indicated in the second handover message.
[0079] Figure 5 depicts a method in accordance with particular embodiments. The method 4 may be performed by a network node (e.g. the network node 710 or network node 900 as described later with reference to Figures 7 and 9 respectively), and particularly may be performed by a network node acting as a target network node during handover of a UE from a source network node to the target network node. In some embodiments, the method may correspond to the signalling and actions of the target node in Figure 6 below.
[0080] The method begins at step 502, in which the network node receives a first handover message from the source network node. The first handover message may be a handover request message.
[0081] According to embodiments of the disclosure, the first handover message comprises an indication of the plurality of QoE configurations that the UE is configured with. The indication of the QoE configurations may comprise identities of the QoE configurations, such as the RRC ID, QoE reference, Recording Session Indication, a new indication, an implicit indication etc.
[0082] In step 504, the target network node transmits a second handover message to the source network node. The second handover message may comprise a handover request acknowledge message.
[0083] According to embodiments of the disclosure, the second handover message comprises an indication of one or more of the plurality of QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE. That is, the UE is to maintain the one or more QoE configurations, or to continue performing measurements according to the one or more QoE configurations, following handover. The second handover message may specify one or more additional reconfigurations for the UE, such as a changed RRC parameter other than the QoE configurations. In one example, the reconfiguration message may comprise the configuration data for a new, additional QoE configuration that is to be implemented by the UE following handover. [0084] The indication of one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE may comprise identities of the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE, such as the RRC ID, QoE reference, Recording Session Indication, a new indication, an implicit indication etc. The second handover message may not comprise the QoE configuration data for those one or more QoE configurations, such that the second handover message is much smaller than would otherwise be the case. QoE configurations that are not to be maintained (e.g., that are to be released) by the UE may be indicated through omission in the reconfiguration message, i.e., the identities of such QoE configurations may not be explicitly mentioned in the second handover message. Alternatively, the second handover message may comprise an explicit indication that those QoE configurations are to be released. [0085] In one embodiment, the indication of the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE comprises one or more empty containers for the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE. For example, the reconfiguration message may comprise a respective empty container for each of the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE. Alternatively, an empty container may be configured for more than one QoE configuration, so that there is not a one-to-one correspondence between QoE configurations and containers.
[0086] In this context, a container is an information element or other suitable data structure, which ordinarily contains the configuration data for a QoE configuration. The container may be transparent to the RAN. One suitable container is an application layer measurement configuration information element (IE). An empty container may be a container which contains null or zero values.
[0087] In another embodiment, the second handover message may comprise an indication that all of the plurality of QoE configurations are to be maintained by the UE, e.g., without separately indicating the identity of each QoE configuration. Such an indication may comprise a flag or other suitable indication that can be interpreted by the source node as an indication that the UE is to maintain all QoE configurations it is currently configured with. Similarly, the reconfiguration message may comprise an indication that all of the plurality of QoE configurations are to be released by the UE, e.g., without separately indicating the identity of each QoE configuration.
[0088] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained may be indicated implicitly, in different ways. For example, the second handover message may instead indicate the one or more QoE configurations that are to be released by the UE. Thus QoE configurations that are to be maintained are indicated by their omission from the second handover message.
[0089] Further detail regarding embodiments of the disclosure is set out below.
QoE configuration at handover
[0090] Figure 6 is a signalling diagram showing one example implementation of the methods described above with respect to Figures 3, 4 and 5 in the context of handover. The actions and signalling of the UE in Figure 6 may correspond to the method described above with respect to Figure 3, for example. The actions and signalling of the source node in Figure 6 may correspond to the method described above with respect to Figure 4, for example. The actions and signalling of the target node in Figure 6 may correspond to the method described above with respect to Figure 5, for example.
[0091] In step 610, a target network node 604 receives a request for handover of a UE 600 from a source node 602. Specifically, the request for handover comprises a Handover Request message. The request includes the UE’s current configuration in the source node 602 and contains information about the QoE configurations that the UE 600 has, i.e. the UE is configured with QoE measurements in the source node. In the illustrated example, this source configuration contains two configurations: QoE config 1 and 2. Note that the request may not contain the actual QoE configurations, but may for example just comprise information that the UE has certain configurations, e.g. by referring to one or more QoE configuration identities, etc.
[0092] In step 612, the target node 604 prepares a target configuration for the UE. In this example, the target node 604 decides to keep the existing QoE configurations 1 and 2 and also add one more QoE configuration 3. The target node 604 therefore transmits in step 614 a handover request acknowledge to the source node, comprising a HandoverCommand with UE target configurations indicating QoE configurations 1, 2 and 3. The UE has already received QoE configuration 1 and 2 and these configurations may be omitted in the RRCReconfiguration message (i.e. the reconfiguration message which serves as the handover command) transmitted from the source node 602 to the UE 600 in step 616. In step 618, the UE 600 transmits an RRCReconfigurationComplete message to the target node 604 upon successful handover. Below we describe three solutions for how the target node 604 and source node 602 can achieve the wanted result (i.e. keeping config 1 and 2 and adding 3) when sending a full configuration to the UE. Indication to keep specific QoE configurations
[0093] In one embodiment, the target node 604 may include an indication in step 614 that the UE should continue using existing QoE configurations. The indication could e.g. be the identity of the QoE configuration, such as the RRC ID, QoE reference, Recording Session Indication, a new indication, an implicit indication etc. The added QoE configuration 3 contains the complete configuration of QoE including the QoE configuration container.
[0094] The reconfiguration message containing the indication of continuation of QoE configuration 1 and 2 and the complete QoE configuration 3 is sent to the UE in an RRC reconfiguration message in step 616, e.g. RRCReconfiguration. The UE responds in step 618 with a message, e.g. RRCReconfigurationComplete .
[0095] In the example, QoE configuration 1 and 2 should both be kept, but in case the target node 604 would like to release e.g. QoE configuration 2, the network could exclude the indication corresponding to QoE configuration 2. The exclusion of the indication of QoE configuration 2 in the RRC layer means that the RRC layer in the UE needs to inform the application layer to release the QoE measurement of that specific identity. This handling is different compared to normal RRC signaling, as normally only radio parameters are signalled in RRC and the reception is then all handled within the RRC layer.
Indication to keep all existing QoE configurations
[0096] Another solution is that the network sends an indication saying that the UE can keep all existing QoE configurations, i.e. without referring to them explicitly. When receiving such an indication, the UE is informed that both QoE configuration 1 and 2 should be kept. In the absence of an indication to keep all QoE configurations, the UE may release all existing QoE configurations.
[0097] Note that also with this approach it would be possible for the target node 604 to add an additional QoE configuration (e.g. QoE configuration 3) by providing it in the handover command in step 614.
[0098] With this approach, if one of more QoE configurations should be removed (e.g. QoE configuration 2), then the source node 602 or the target node 604 can explicitly indicate this to the UE. This could for example be indicated by sending an identity of QoE configuration 2 to the UE, which makes the UE release it. Empty Containers
[0099] In another solution, one or more configuration containers may be included in the message, but the container(s) may be empty, i.e. value NULL. An empty container may serve as an indication to continue/keep using the current QoE configuration(s). By using the example above, the network may provide two empty QoE configurations, one with identity 1 and one with identity 2. The UE 600 would, when receiving this configuration, notice that it receives empty QoE containers with identities matching existing QoE configurations, and the UE would then keep those existing configurations.
[0100] If the UE 600 receives a full configuration message which does not contain an empty container for an existing QoE configuration, the UE would release that QoE configuration.
[0101] This solution can be implemented in at least two ways:
[0102] In a first way, the RRC layer in the UE may detect that it receives an empty container matching a QoE configuration that the UE already has. The RRC layer may then refrain from providing this empty container to the application layer (note: the application layer is the layer which is applying the QoE configurations). This therefore ensures that QoE configurations in higher layers are not impacted even if an empty QoE container is provided to the UE. However, if the RRC layer determines that a container is non-empty, the RRC layer may forward it to higher layers.
[0103] In a second way, the RRC layer forwards empty containers to the application layer. It would then be up to the application layer to notice that a container is empty and then refrain from applying that empty configuration since applying it may mean that the existing QoE configuration is removed.
[0104] Note that an "empty" container may contain NULL values, or some other predefined values, such as zero.
Example implementation
[0105] There follows an example implementation in RRC TS 38.331. The baseline is the latest running change request for QoE, R2-2106683. Changes according to embodiments of the disclosure are underlined.
[0106] The Need code is S for the container, as the UE behavior should be specified in procedure text as the behavior involves interaction with the application layer. That is different compared to reception of RRC parameters where existing Need codes (e.g. Need R) could be used to indicate the UE behavior.
[0107] 5.3.5.9 Other configuration
[••]
1> if the received otherConfig includes the measConfigAppLayer.
2> for each measConfigAppLayerld value included in the measConfigAppLayerToAddModList'.
3> if the measConfigAppLayerContainer is included in the message for the measConfigAppLayerld.
4> forward measConfigAppLayerContainer to upper layers considering the serviceType
4> consider itself to be configured to send application layer measurement report in accordance with 5.7.x;
3> else:
4> consider itself to still be configured to send application layer measurement report for the measConfigAppLayerld m accordance with 5,7 ,x;
2> for each TBD value included in the measConfigAppLayerToReleaseList'.
3> inform upper layers about the release of the application layer measurement configuration;
3> discard received application layer measurement report information from upper layers;
3> consider itself not to be configured to send application layer measurement report.
[••]
[0108] 5.3.5.11 Full configuration
The UE shall:
1> release/ clear all current dedicated radio configurations except for the following:
- the MCG C-RNTI; the AS security configurations associated with the master key;
[...]
1> for each measConfigAppLayerlD in VarMeasConfigAppLayer: 2> if the measConfigAppLayerlD is absent in the received measConfigAppLayer
3> inform upper layers to clear the stored application layer measurement configuration;
3> discard received application layer measurement report information from upper layers;
3> consider itself not to be configured to send application layer measurement report
[0109] 6.3.4 Other information elements
[••]
- OtherConfig
The IE OtherConfig contains configuration related to miscellaneous other configurations.
OtherConfig information element
- ASN1 START
- TAG-OTHERCONFIG-START
OtherConfig ::= SEQUENCE { delayBudgetReportingConfig CHOICE{ release NULL, setup SEQUENCE{ delayBudgetReportingProhibitTimer ENUMERATED {s0, s0dot4, sOdot8, sldot6, s3, s6, sl2, s30]
}
}
OPTIONAL - Need M
}
OtherConfig-vl540 ::= SEQUENCE { overheatingAssistanceConfig SetupRelease {OverheatingAssistanceConfig}
OPTIONAL, - Need M
} CandidateServingFreqListNR-rl6 ::= SEQUENCE (SIZE (L.maxFreqIDC-rl6)) OF ARFCN-
ValueNR
OtherConfig-vl610 ::= SEQUENCE { idc-AssistanceConfig-rl6 SetupRelease {IDC-AssistanceConfig-rl6}
OPTIONAL, - Need M drx-PreferenceC onfig-r 16 SetupRelease {DRX-PreferenceConfig-rl6}
OPTIONAL, - Need M maxB W -PreferenceConfig-r 16 SetupRelease {MaxBW-PreferenceConfig-rl6}
OPTIONAL, - Need M maxCC-PreferenceConfig-rl 6 SetupRelease {MaxCC-PreferenceConfig-rl 6}
OPTIONAL, - Need M maxMIMO-LayerPreferenceConfig-rl6 SetupRelease {MaxMIMO-
Lay erPreferenceConfig-r 16} OPTIONAL, - Need M minSchedulingOffsetPreferenceConfig-rl6 SetupRelease {MinSchedulingOffsetPreferenceConfig-rl6} OPTIONAL, - Need M releasePreferenceConfig-rl6 SetupRelease {ReleasePreferenceConfig-rl6}
OPTIONAL, - Need M referenceTimePreferenceReporting-rl6 ENUMERATED {true}
OPTIONAL, — Need R btNameList-rl6 SetupRelease {BT-NameList-rl6}
OPTIONAL, - Need M wlanNameList-rl6 SetupRelease {WLAN-NameList-rl6}
OPTIONAL, - Need M sensorNameList-rl6 SetupRelease {Sensor-NameList-rl6}
OPTIONAL, - Need M obtainCommonLocation-rl6 ENUMERATED {true}
OPTIONAL, - Need R sl-AssistanceConfigNR-r 16 ENUMERATED {true}
OPTIONAL - Need R } OtherConfig-vl7xy ::= SEQUENCE { measConfigAppLayerToAddModList-rl7 SEQUENCE (SIZE (1 ,.maxNrofQoE-rl7)) OF
MeasConfigAppLayer-rl7 OPTIONAL, — Need N measConfigAppLayerToReleaseList-rl7 SEQUENCE (SIZE (L.maxNrofQoE-rl7)) OF
TBD OPTIONAL - Need N
}
MeasConfigAppLayer-rl7 ::= SEQUENCE { measConfigAppLayerId-rl7 MeasConfigAppLayerId-rl7, measConfigAppLayerContainer-rl7 OCTET STRING OPTIONAL, — Need S serviceType-rl7 ENUMERATED {streaming, mtsi, spared, spare5, spared, spare3, spare2, spare 1 } OPTIONAL, — Need N
}
OverheatingAssistanceConfig ::= SEQUENCE { overheatinglndicationProhibitTimer ENUMERATED {s0, sOdot5, si, s2, s5, slO, s20, s30, s60, s90, si 20, s300, s600, spare3, spare2, spare 1 }
}
IDC-AssistanceConfig-rl6 ::= SEQUENCE { candidateServingFreqListNR-rl6 CandidateServingFreqListNR-rl6 OPTIONAL,
— Need R
}
DRX-PreferenceConfig-r 16 : := SEQUENCE { drx-PreferenceProhibitTimer-rl6 ENUMERATED { sO, sOdot5, si, s2, s3, s4, s5, s6, s7, s8, s9, slO, s20, s30, spare2, sparel }
} MaxBW-PreferenceConfig-rl6 ::= SEQUENCE { maxBW-PreferenceProhibitTimer-rl6 ENUMERATED { sO, sOdot5, si, s2, s3, s4, s5, s6, s7, s8, s9, slO, s20, s30, spare2, sparel } }
MaxCC-PreferenceConfig-rl6 ::= SEQUENCE { maxCC-PreferenceProhibitTimer-rl6 ENUMERATED { sO, sOdot5, si, s2, s3, s4, s5, s6, s7, s8, s9, slO, s20, s30, spare2, sparel } }
MaxMIMO-LayerPreferenceConfig-rl6 ::= SEQUENCE { maxMIMO-LayerPreferenceProhibitTimer-rl6 ENUMERATED { sO, sOdot5, si, s2, s3, s4, s5, s6, s7, s8, s9, slO, s20, s30, spare2, sparel }
}
MinSchedulingOffsetPreferenceConfig-rl6 ::= SEQUENCE { minSchedulingOffsetPreferenceProhibitTimer-rl6 ENUMERATED { sO, sOdot5, si, s2, s3, s4, s5, s6, s7, s8, s9, slO, s20, s30, spare2, sparel } }
ReleasePreferenceConfig-rl6 ::= SEQUENCE { releasePreferenceProhibitTimer-rl6 ENUMERATED { sO, sOdot5, si, s2, s3, s4, s5, s6, s7, s8, s9, slO, s20, s30, infinity, sparel }, connectedReporting ENUMERATED {true} OPTIONAL
-- Need R }
- TAG-OTHERCONFIG-STOP - ASN1ST0P
[0110] Figure 7 shows an example of a communication system 700 in accordance with some embodiments.
[OHl] In the example, the communication system 700 includes a telecommunication network 702 that includes an access network 704, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 706, which includes one or more core network nodes 708. The access network 704 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 710a and 710b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 710), or any other similar 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3 GPP) access node or non-3GPP access point. The network nodes 710 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 712a, 712b, 712c, and 712d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 712) to the core network 706 over one or more wireless connections.
[0112] Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and/or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and/or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 700 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and/or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and/or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system 700 may include and/or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and/or other similar type of system.
[0113] The UEs 712 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 710 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 710 are arranged, capable, configured, and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 712 and/or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 702 to enable and/or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and/or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunication network 702.
[0114] In the depicted example, the core network 706 connects the network nodes 710 to one or more hosts, such as host 716. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network 706 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 708) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and/or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 708. Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-concealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and/or a User Plane Function (UPF).
[0115] The host 716 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 704 and/or the telecommunication network 702, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 716 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more services. Examples of such applications include the provision of live and/or pre-recorded audio/video content, data collection services, for example, retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.
[0116] As a whole, the communication system 700 of Figure 7 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and/or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (WiFi); and/or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and/or any low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.
[0117] In some examples, the telecommunication network 702 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 702 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 702. For example, the telecommunications network 702 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and/or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC)/Massive loT services to yet further UEs.
[0118] In some examples, the UEs 712 are configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 704 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 704. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi -RAT or multi-standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e. being configured for multi -radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved- UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).
[0119] In the example illustrated in Figure 7, the hub 714 communicates with the access network 704 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 712c and/or 712d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 710b). In some examples, the hub 714 may be a controller, router, a content source and analytics node, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 714 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 706 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 714 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs. Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes 710, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 714. As another example, the hub 714 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 714 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 714 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 714 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and/or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 714 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular in if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices. [0120] The hub 714 may have a constant/persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 710b. The hub 714 may also allow for a different communication scheme and/or schedule between the hub 714 and UEs (e.g., UE 712c and/or 712d), and between the hub 714 and the core network 706. In other examples, the hub 714 is connected to the core network 706 and/or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 714 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 704 and/or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 710 while still connected via the hub 714 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 714 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to/from the UEs from/to the network node 710b. In other embodiments, the hub 714 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 710b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and/or end point for certain data channels.
[0121] Figure 8 shows a UE 800 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and/or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless camera, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), smart device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehiclemounted or vehicle embedded/integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and/or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.
[0122] A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3 GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), orvehicle- to-everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and/or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter). [0123] The UE 800 includes processing circuitry 802 that is operatively coupled via a bus 804 to an input/output interface 806, a power source 808, a memory 810, a communication interface 812, and/or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 8. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.
[0124] The processing circuitry 802 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 810. The processing circuitry 802 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 802 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs). The processing circuitry 802 may be operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other UE 800 components, such as the memory 810, UE 800 functionality. For example, the processing circuitry 802 may be configured to cause the UE 802 to perform the methods as described with reference to Figure 3.
[0125] In the example, the input/output interface 806 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and/or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into the UE 800. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.
[0126] In some embodiments, the power source 808 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used. The power source 808 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 808 itself, and/or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 800 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 808. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 808 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 800 to which power is supplied.
[0127] The memory 810 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 810 includes one or more application programs 814, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 816. The memory 810 may store, for use by the UE 800, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.
[0128] The memory 810 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD- DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and/or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’ The memory 810 may allow the UE 800 to access instructions, application programs and the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 810, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.
[0129] The processing circuitry 802 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 812. The communication interface 812 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 822. The communication interface 812 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 818 and/or a receiver 820 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 818 and receiver 820 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 822) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.
[0130] In some embodiments, communication functions of the communication interface 812 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented in according to one or more communication protocols and/or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.
[0131] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 812, via a wireless connection to a network node. Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient). [0132] As another example, a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or controls a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.
[0133] A UE, when in the form of an Internet of Things (loT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an loT device are devices which are or which are embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door/window sensor, a flood/moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a head-mounted display for Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR), a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an loT device comprises circuitry and/or software in dependence on the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE 800 shown in Figure 8.
[0134] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and/or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and/or measurements to another UE and/or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3 GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and/or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.
[0135] In practice, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g. by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed. The first and/or the second UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.
[0136] Figure 9 shows a network node 900 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and/or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunication network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)).
[0137] Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units and/or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).
[0138] Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell/multicast coordination entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and/or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).
[0139] The network node 900 includes processing circuitry 902, a memory 904, a communication interface 906, and a power source 908, and/or any other component, or any combination thereof. The network node 900 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which the network node 900 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 900 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 904 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 910 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 900 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 900, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z- wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 900.
[0140] The processing circuitry 902 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and/or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 900 components, such as the memory 904, network node 900 functionality. For example, the processing circuitry 902 may be configured to cause the network node to perform the methods as described with reference to Figure 4.
[0141] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 902 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 902 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 912 and baseband processing circuitry 914. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 912 and the baseband processing circuitry 914 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 912 and baseband processing circuitry 914 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.
[0142] The memory 904 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer- readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and/or computerexecutable memory devices that store information, data, and/or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 902. The memory 904 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and/or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry 902 and utilized by the network node 900. The memory 904 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 902 and/or any data received via the communication interface 906. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 902 and memory 904 is integrated.
[0143] The communication interface 906 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and/or data between a network node, access network, and/or UE. As illustrated, the communication interface 906 comprises port(s)/terminal(s) 916 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 906 also includes radio front-end circuitry 918 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 910. Radio front-end circuitry 918 comprises filters 920 and amplifiers 922. The radio front-end circuitry 918 may be connected to an antenna 910 and processing circuitry 902. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 910 and processing circuitry 902. The radio front-end circuitry 918 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 918 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 920 and/or amplifiers 922. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 910. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 910 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 918. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 902. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components.
[0144] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 900 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 918, instead, the processing circuitry 902 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 910. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 912 is part of the communication interface 906. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 906 includes one or more ports or terminals 916, the radio front-end circuitry 918, and the RF transceiver circuitry 912, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 906 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 914, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).
[0145] The antenna 910 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals. The antenna 910 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 918 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and/or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 910 is separate from the network node 900 and connectable to the network node 900 through an interface or port.
[0146] The antenna 910, communication interface 906, and/or the processing circuitry 902 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and/or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and/or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 910, the communication interface 906, and/or the processing circuitry 902 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and/or any other network equipment.
[0147] The power source 908 provides power to the various components of network node 900 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 908 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 900 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 900 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 908. As a further example, the power source 908 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.
[0148] Embodiments of the network node 900 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 9 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and/or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 900 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 900 and to allow output of information from the network node 900. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 900. [0149] Figure 10 is a block diagram of a host 1000, which may be an embodiment of the host 716 of Figure 7, in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, the host 1000 may be or comprise various combinations hardware and/or software, including a standalone server, a blade server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, a virtual machine, container, or processing resources in a server farm. The host 1000 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.
[0150] The host 1000 includes processing circuitry 1002 that is operatively coupled via a bus 1004 to an input/output interface 1006, a network interface 1008, a power source 1010, and a memory 1012. Other components may be included in other embodiments. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the devices of previous figures, such as Figures 8 and 9, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of host 1000.
[0151] The memory 1012 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs 1014 and data 1016, which may include user data, e.g., data generated by a UE for the host 1000 or data generated by the host 1000 for a UE. Embodiments of the host 1000 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. The host application programs 1014 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding (VVC), High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), Advanced Video Coding (AVC), MPEG, VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., FLAC, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MPEG, G.711), including transcoding for multiple different classes, types, or implementations of UEs (e.g., handsets, desktop computers, wearable display systems, heads-up display systems). The host application programs 1014 may also provide for user authentication and licensing checks and may periodically report health, routes, and content availability to a central node, such as a device in or on the edge of a core network. Accordingly, the host 1000 may select and/or indicate a different host for over-the-top services for a UE. The host application programs 1014 may support various protocols, such as the HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) protocol, Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (MPEG-DASH), etc.
[0152] Figure 11 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 1100 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 1100 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized.
[0153] Applications 1102 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment 1100 to implement some of the features, functions, and/or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.
[0154] Hardware 1104 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and/or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and/or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input/output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 1106 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 1108a and 1108b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 1108), and/or perform any of the functions, features and/or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 1106 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 1108.
[0155] The VMs 1108 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1106. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 1102 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 1108, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.
[0156] In the context of NFV, a VM 1108 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of the VMs 1108, and that part of hardware 1104 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and/or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs 1108 on top of the hardware 1104 and corresponds to the application 1102.
[0157] Hardware 1104 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 1104 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 1104 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g. such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 1110, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 1102. In some embodiments, hardware 1104 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 1112 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.
[0158] Figure 12 shows a communication diagram of a host 1202 communicating via a network node 1204 with a UE 1206 over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments. Example implementations, in accordance with various embodiments, of the UE (such as a UE 712a of Figure 7 and/or UE 800 of Figure 8), network node (such as network node 710a of Figure 7 and/or network node 900 of Figure 9), and host (such as host 716 of Figure 7 and/or host 1000 of Figure 10) discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to Figure 12.
[0159] Like host 1000, embodiments of host 1202 include hardware, such as a communication interface, processing circuitry, and memory. The host 1202 also includes software, which is stored in or accessible by the host 1202 and executable by the processing circuitry. The software includes a host application that may be operable to provide a service to a remote user, such as the UE 1206 connecting via an over-the-top (OTT) connection 1250 extending between the UE 1206 and host 1202. In providing the service to the remote user, a host application may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 1250.
[0160] The network node 1204 includes hardware enabling it to communicate with the host 1202 and UE 1206. The connection 1260 may be direct or pass through a core network (like core network 706 of Figure 7) and/or one or more other intermediate networks, such as one or more public, private, or hosted networks. For example, an intermediate network may be a backbone network or the Internet. [0161] The UE 1206 includes hardware and software, which is stored in or accessible by UE 1206 and executable by the UE’s processing circuitry. The software includes a client application, such as a web browser or operator-specific “app” that may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via UE 1206 with the support of the host 1202. In the host 1202, an executing host application may communicate with the executing client application via the OTT connection 1250 terminating at the UE 1206 and host 1202. In providing the service to the user, the UE's client application may receive request data from the host's host application and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 1250 may transfer both the request data and the user data. The UE's client application may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides to the host application through the OTT connection 1250.
[0162] The OTT connection 1250 may extend via a connection 1260 between the host 1202 and the network node 1204 and via a wireless connection 1270 between the network node 1204 and the UE 1206 to provide the connection between the host 1202 and the UE 1206. The connection 1260 and wireless connection 1270, over which the OTT connection 1250 may be provided, have been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host 1202 and the UE 1206 via the network node 1204, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices.
[0163] As an example of transmitting data via the OTT connection 1250, in step 1208, the host 1202 provides user data, which may be performed by executing a host application. In some embodiments, the user data is associated with a particular human user interacting with the UE 1206. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with a UE 1206 that shares data with the host 1202 without explicit human interaction. In step 1210, the host 1202 initiates a transmission carrying the user data towards the UE 1206. The host 1202 may initiate the transmission responsive to a request transmitted by the UE 1206. The request may be caused by human interaction with the UE 1206 or by operation of the client application executing on the UE 1206. The transmission may pass via the network node 1204, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. Accordingly, in step 1212, the network node 1204 transmits to the UE 1206 the user data that was carried in the transmission that the host 1202 initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 1214, the UE 1206 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be performed by a client application executed on the UE 1206 associated with the host application executed by the host 1202. [0164] In some examples, the UE 1206 executes a client application which provides user data to the host 1202. The user data may be provided in reaction or response to the data received from the host 1202. Accordingly, in step 1216, the UE 1206 may provide user data, which may be performed by executing the client application. In providing the user data, the client application may further consider user input received from the user via an input/output interface of the UE 1206. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided, the UE 1206 initiates, in step 1218, transmission of the user data towards the host 1202 via the network node 1204. In step 1220, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the network node 1204 receives user data from the UE 1206 and initiates transmission of the received user data towards the host 1202. In step 1222, the host 1202 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the UE 1206.
[0165] One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 1206 using the OTT connection 1250, in which the wireless connection 1270 forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve the efficiency of signalling of QoE configurations and thereby provide benefits such as extended battery lifetime.
[0166] In an example scenario, factory status information may be collected and analyzed by the host 1202. As another example, the host 1202 may process audio and video data which may have been retrieved from a UE for use in creating maps. As another example, the host 1202 may collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicle congestion (e.g., controlling traffic lights). As another example, the host 1202 may store surveillance video uploaded by a UE. As another example, the host 1202 may store or control access to media content such as video, audio, VR or AR which it can broadcast, multicast or unicast to UEs. As other examples, the host 1202 may be used for energy pricing, remote control of non-time critical electrical load to balance power generation needs, location services, presentation services (such as compiling diagrams etc. from data collected from remote devices), or any other function of collecting, retrieving, storing, analyzing and/or transmitting data.
[0167] In some examples, a measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve. There may further be an optional network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 1250 between the host 1202 and UE 1206, in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and/or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection may be implemented in software and hardware of the host 1202 and/or UE 1206. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with other devices through which the OTT connection 1250 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or supplying values of other physical quantities from which software may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of the OTT connection 1250 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not directly alter the operation of the network node 1204. Such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling that facilitates measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency and the like, by the host 1202. The measurements may be implemented in that software causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTT connection 1250 while monitoring propagation times, errors, etc.
[0168] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and/or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and/or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and/or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.
[0169] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer- readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer- readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and/or by end users and a wireless network generally.
The following numbered statements set out embodiments of the disclosure:
Group A Embodiments
1. A method performed by a user equipment, UE, for reconfiguration of quality-of- experience, QoE, reporting, wherein the UE is configured with a plurality of QoE configurations, the method comprising: receiving a reconfiguration message from a network node, the reconfiguration message comprising an indication of one or more of the plurality of QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE.
2. The method of embodiment 1, wherein the indication of one or more QoE configurations comprises identities of the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE.
3. The method of embodiment 1 or 2, wherein the reconfiguration message does not comprise QoE configuration data for the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE.
4. The method of any one of the preceding embodiments, wherein the indication of the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE comprises one or more empty containers for the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE.
5. The method of embodiment 4, wherein the reconfiguration message comprises a respective empty container for each of the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE.
6. The method of any one of embodiments 4 to 5, wherein an empty container contains null or zero values.
7. The method of any one of embodiments 4 to 6, wherein an empty container for a particular QoE configuration comprises an application layer measurement configuration information element identifying the particular QoE configuration.
8. The method of any one of embodiments 4 to 7, further comprising: determining, in a radio resource control, RRC, layer of the UE, that a container is empty; and refraining, in the RRC layer of the UE, from providing the empty container to an application layer of the UE.
9. The method of any one of embodiments 4 to 7, further comprising: providing, in a radio resource control, RRC, layer of the UE, the empty container to an application layer of the UE; determining, in the application layer of the UE, that the container is empty; and refraining, in the application layer of the UE, from applying an empty configuration corresponding to the empty container. The method of any one of the preceding embodiments, further comprising maintaining the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE. The method of any one of the preceding embodiments, wherein one or more QoE configurations of the plurality of QoE configurations that are not indicated in the reconfiguration message are to be released by the UE. The method of embodiment 11, further comprising releasing the one or more QoE configurations that are not indicated in the reconfiguration message. The method of embodiment 1, wherein the indication of one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE is implicit. The method of embodiment 13, wherein the indication of one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE comprises an indication of QoE configurations of the plurality of QoE configurations that are to be released by the UE. The method of embodiment 1, wherein the indication of one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE comprises an indication that all of the plurality of QoE configurations are to be maintained by the UE. The method of any one of the preceding embodiments, wherein the network node is a serving base station for the UE. The method of any one of the preceding embodiments, wherein the UE is to undergo a handover procedure, wherein the network node is a source network node, and wherein the one or more QoE configurations are to be maintained by the UE following handover to a target network node. The method of any one of the preceding embodiments, wherein the reconfiguration message comprises updated values for one or more radio resource control, RRC, parameters other than QoE configuration parameters. The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising: providing user data; and forwarding the user data to a host via the transmission to the network node. Group B Embodiments
20. A method performed by a network node for reconfiguring quality-of-experience, QoE, reporting by a user equipment, UE, wherein the UE is configured with a plurality of QoE configurations, the method comprising: causing transmission of a reconfiguration message to the user equipment, the reconfiguration message comprising an indication of one or more of the plurality of QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE.
21. The method of embodiment 20, wherein the indication of one or more QoE configurations comprises identities of the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE.
22. The method of embodiment 20 or 21, wherein the reconfiguration message does not comprise QoE configuration data for the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE.
23. The method of any one of embodiments 20 to 22, wherein the indication of the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE comprises one or more empty containers for the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE.
24. The method of embodiment 23, wherein the reconfiguration message comprises a respective empty container for each of the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE.
25. The method of embodiment 23 or 24, wherein an empty container contains null or zero values.
26. The method of any one of embodiments 23 to 25, wherein an empty container for a particular QoE configuration comprises an application layer measurement configuration information element identifying the particular QoE configuration.
27. The method of any one of embodiments 20 to 26, wherein one or more QoE configurations of the plurality of QoE configurations that are not indicated in the reconfiguration message are to be released by the UE.
28. The method of embodiment 20, wherein the indication of one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE is implicit.
29. The method of embodiment 28, wherein the indication of one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE comprises an indication of QoE configurations of the plurality of QoE configurations that are to be released by the UE. The method of embodiment 20, wherein the indication of one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE comprises an indication that all of the plurality of QoE configurations are to be maintained by the UE. The method of any one of embodiments 20 to 30, wherein the network node is a serving base station for the UE. The method of embodiment 31, wherein the UE is to undergo a handover procedure, wherein the network node is a source network node, and wherein the one or more QoE configurations are to be maintained by the UE following handover to a target network node. The method of embodiment 32, further comprising receiving a second handover message from the target network node of the handover procedure, the second handover message comprising an indication of the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE following the handover. The method of embodiment 33, wherein the second handover message is a handover request acknowledge message. The method of any of embodiments 32 to 34, further comprising causing transmission of a first handover message to the target network node, the first handover message comprising an indication of the plurality of QoE configurations. The method of embodiment 35, wherein the first handover message is a handover request message. A method performed by a target network node for reconfiguring quality-of- experience, QoE, reporting by a user equipment, UE, which is to undergo handover from a source network node to the target network node, wherein the UE is configured with one or more QoE configurations, the method comprising: causing transmission of a second handover message to the source network node, the second handover message comprising an indication of one or more of the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE following handover to the target network node. The method of embodiment 37, wherein the indication of one or more QoE configurations comprises identities of the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE. The method of embodiment 37 or 38, wherein the second handover message does not comprise QoE configuration data for the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE. The method of any one of embodiments 37 to 39, wherein the indication of the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE comprises one or more empty containers for the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE. The method of embodiment 40, wherein the second handover message comprises a respective empty container for each of the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE. The method of embodiment 40 or 41, wherein an empty container contains null or zero values. The method of any one of embodiments 40 to 42, wherein an empty container for a particular QoE configuration comprises an application layer measurement configuration information element identifying the particular QoE configuration. The method of any one of embodiments 37 to 43, wherein one or more QoE configurations that are not indicated in the reconfiguration message are to be released by the UE. The method of embodiment 37, wherein the indication of one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE is implicit. The method of embodiment 45, wherein the indication of one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE comprises an indication of QoE configurations of the one or more QoE configurations that are to be released by the UE. The method of embodiment 37, wherein the indication of one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE comprises an indication that all of the one or more QoE configurations are to be maintained by the UE. The method of any one of embodiments 37 to 47, wherein the second handover message is a handover request acknowledge message. The method of any of embodiments 37 to 48, further comprising receiving a first handover message from the source network node, the first handover message comprising an indication of the one or more QoE configurations that the UE is configured with.
50. The method of embodiment 49, wherein the first handover message is a handover request message.
51. The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising: obtaining user data; and forwarding the user data to a host or a user equipment.
Group C Embodiments
52. A user equipment, comprising: processing circuitry configured to cause the user equipment to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.
53. A network node, the network node comprising: processing circuitry configured to cause the network node to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments; power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.
54. A user equipment (UE), the UE comprising: an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals; radio front-end circuitry connected to the antenna and to processing circuitry, and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuitry; the processing circuitry being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments; an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry; an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry; and a battery connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the UE.
55. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), wherein the UE comprises a communication interface and processing circuitry, the communication interface and processing circuitry of the UE being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments to receive the user data from the host.
56. The host of the previous embodiment, wherein the cellular network further includes a network node configured to communicate with the UE to transmit the user data to the UE from the host.
57. The host of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and the host application is configured to interact with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.
58. A method implemented by a host operating in a communication system that further includes a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: providing user data for the UE; and initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the network node, wherein the UE performs any of the operations of any of the Group A embodiments to receive the user data from the host.
59. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising: at the host, executing a host application associated with a client application executing on the UE to receive the user data from the UE. 60. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising: at the host, transmitting input data to the client application executing on the UE, the input data being provided by executing the host application, wherein the user data is provided by the client application in response to the input data from the host application.
61. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), wherein the UE comprises a communication interface and processing circuitry, the communication interface and processing circuitry of the UE being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments to transmit the user data to the host.
62. The host of the previous embodiment, wherein the cellular network further includes a network node configured to communicate with the UE to transmit the user data from the UE to the host.
63. The host of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and the host application is configured to interact with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.
64. A method implemented by a host configured to operate in a communication system that further includes a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: at the host, receiving user data transmitted to the host via the network node by the UE, wherein the UE performs any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments to transmit the user data to the host.
65. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising: at the host, executing a host application associated with a client application executing on the UE to receive the user data from the UE.
66. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising: at the host, transmitting input data to the client application executing on the UE, the input data being provided by executing the host application, wherein the user data is provided by the client application in response to the input data from the host application.
67. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a network node in a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), the network node having a communication interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the network node configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group B embodiments to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.
68. The host of the previous embodiment, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application that provides the user data; and the UE comprises processing circuitry configured to execute a client application associated with the host application to receive the transmission of user data from the host. 69. A method implemented in a host configured to operate in a communication system that further includes a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: providing user data for the UE; and initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the network node, wherein the network node performs any of the operations of any of the Group B embodiments to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.
70. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising, at the network node, transmitting the user data provided by the host for the UE.
71. The method of any of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein the user data is provided at the host by executing a host application that interacts with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.
72. A communication system configured to provide an over-the-top service, the communication system comprising: a host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data for a user equipment (UE), the user data being associated with the over-the-top service; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data toward a cellular network node for transmission to the UE, the network node having a communication interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the network node configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group B embodiments to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.
73. The communication system of the previous embodiment, further comprising: the network node; and/or the user equipment. 74. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to initiate receipt of user data; and a network interface configured to receive the user data from a network node in a cellular network, the network node having a communication interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the network node configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group B embodiments to receive the user data from a user equipment (UE) for the host.
75. The host of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and the host application is configured to interact with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.
76. The host of the any of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein the initiating receipt of the user data comprises requesting the user data.
77. A method implemented by a host configured to operate in a communication system that further includes a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: at the host, initiating receipt of user data from the UE, the user data originating from a transmission which the network node has received from the UE, wherein the network node performs any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments to receive the user data from the UE for the host.
78. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising at the network node, transmitting the received user data to the host. APPENDIX
1 Introduction
In this appendix, in accordance with the LS (R3-212976) received from RAN3, we discuss solution for supporting QoE measurements in mobility scenarios, considering the requirements defined by SA4. In addition, we address mobility cases in which the UEs hand over to the cells that do not support QoE reporting solution.
2 Discussion
3GPP RAN WG3 has sent an LS (R3-212976) to RAN WG2 informing that they have agreed to the solution for mobility in which the network node is responsible for keeping track of whether the UE is inside or outside the area and configure/release configuration accordingly.
Figure imgf000060_0001
In the following we propose a solution in which control of the configuration of the QoE measurement upon mobility is at the network side. In addition, we discuss the mobility issue when the UE configured with QoE measurements moves to the cell in which does not support QoE reporting solution.
2.1. Mobility support for QoE
To enable QoE measurement support in mobility scenarios, it is required to develop a solution enabling the network to control the QoE measurements upon UE mobility in RRC_CONNECTED mode. The solution should be viable in both signalling- and management-based QoE measurements.
Observation 1: To enable measuring the impact of the mobility on application and users' QoE it is required to support QoE measurements in mobility scenarios for both signalling and management based QoE.
Concerning QoE support in mobility scenario, SA4 has specified requirements for QoE measurements, so that the UE shall check the QoE configuration only when the respective session starts [1], [2], This means that any potential changes in QoE configuration would not be effective for an ongoing session. See the following SA4 requirements about checking QoE configuration only upon starting a session (changes in QoE configuration would not be effective for an ongoing session): 26.247, clause 10.1: The QoE configuration shall only be checked by the client when each session starts, and thus all logging and reporting criterias for an ongoing session shall be unaffected by any QoE configuration changes received during that session. This also includes evaluation of any filtering criterias, such as geographical filtering, which shall only be done when the session starts. Thus changes to the QoE configuration will only affect sessions started after these configuration changes have been received.
26.114, clause 16.3: The QoE configuration shall only be checked by the client when each session starts, and thus all logging and reporting criterias for an ongoing session shall be unaffected by any QoE configuration changes received during that session. This also includes evaluation of any filtering criterias, such as geographical filtering, which shall only be done when the session starts. Thus changes to the QoE configuration will only affect sessions started after these configuration changes have been received.
One motivation for this requirement is that measurements pertaining to parts of sessions, rather than entire sessions, are not interesting cases. UEs at the cell (or area) borders might move in and out of the area scope intermittently during the session, and these entries/exits are of high interest, as they might involve different kind of handovers as well as mobility failures and failure recovery. Therefore, ending an ongoing session measurement as soon as UE moves out of the area may compromise the QoE measurements by excluding perhaps the interesting part of the measurements. Moreover, for very small areas (say area scope consisting of a single cell) it may not be possible, in practice, to get any measurements at all, since most UEs would move away from the cell at some time during the session.
The SA4 requirements mean that the UE should check the area scope when starting the measurements, but if the UE moves out of the area during the ongoing session, the QoE measurements should not be stopped. After the ongoing session is completed, no new measurements should be started if the UE is outside the area.
Observation 2: The SA4 requirements for QoE measurements stipulate that the client shall check the QoE configuration when each session starts. This means that the client shall continue the QoE measurements for an ongoing session even if the UE moves out of the configured area.
Fulfilling these SA4 requirements should be considered as part of mobility support for QoE measurements. However, it may not be straightforward since currently only the application layer in the UE knows when the session is ongoing or not, while the network layer has no information about that.
However, informing the UE RRC and then the network node about the ongoing session would be valuable as it helps to control the QoE measurement upon mobility and fulfilling the SA4 requirements. This is shown in the scenario of Figure 13.
As shown in Figure 13, the procedure for handling QoE configuration upon mobility can be performed in the following steps:
1- Application sends Session Start Indication to the UE RRC layer.
2- UE RRC upon receiving Session Start Indication includes the associated RRC ID to it and sends Session Start Indication to the gNBi.
3- gNBi stores session start indication as part of UE context.
4- gNBi sends the QoE configuration status to the gNBz as part of HO request procedure
5- UE performs HO toward gNBjthat is outside the area scope. [According to SA4 requirement the QoE configuration would be configured and valid until the end of the ongoing session]. 6- Upon performing HO toward a gNBz that is outside of the area, the gNBz configures SRB4 for the UE and keep the Session Start Indication as part of UE context.
7- Upon ending the ongoing session, the application sends a Session End Indication to the UE RRC layer.
8- Upon receiving Session End Indication, the UE RRC associates the RRC ID to the Session End Indication signal and sends it to the gNBz.
9- gNBz releases the QoE configuration.
10- gNBz sends RRC reconfiguration with QoE release command associated with the RRC ID(s).
However, in order to handle the QoE configuration upon mobility while fulfilling SA4 requirements it is required to have session start and end indications as part of CT1 and RRC specifications, whereas,
• Session Start Indication is initiated upon start of a session that is subject to the QoE measurements.
• Session End Indication is initiated upon ending a session that is subject to the QoE measurements.
Therefore, we propose the following:
Proposal 1: RAN2 specify Session Start Indication and Session End Indication, to enable QoE configuration handling upon mobility.
Since the Session Start/End indication comes from the application layer in the form of a AT command we propose to send an LS to 3GPP TSG CT WG1 and request them to support these signals in their specifications.
Proposal 2: RAN2 sends an LS to CT1 group to specify Session Start indication and Session End Indication in their specification.
2.2. QoE support upon receiving Full configuration
In our understanding, upon mobility a UE (and application) that is configured with QoE measurement may receive a delta configuration or a full configuration (i.e., FullConfig). In the running CR the UE action upon receiving Full configuration is not yet specified. FullConfig may be used as an alternative to delta configuration at any handover and it may also be triggered if the target node does not support any configuration that exists in the source node. It can be assumed that if the UE receives a FullConfig with a QoE configuration included, the UE should configure according to the received QoE configuration. If the UE receives a FullConfig without any QoE configuration included, the QoE configuration should be released as the target node may not support QoE measurements.
Upon receiving full configuration (FullConfig) a UE shall check if the otherConfig includes the QoE configuration or not (i.e., measConfigAppLayer). If the QoE configuration exists, the UE shall continue the QoE measurements at the upper layers. However, if the full configuration does not include the QoE configuration, the UE shall release the QoE configuration from the application as the target gNB may not support QoE signalling.
Proposal 3: RAN2 agree that UE shall release the QoE configuration if the otherConfig does not include measConfigAppLayer upon receiving FullConfig.
Proposal 4: RAN2 agree that UE shall continue the QoE measurements if the otherConfig includes measConfigAppLayer upon receiving FullConfig. Here is an example of how a UE can support QoE configuration handling at receiving fullConfig
Figure imgf000063_0001
It seems unnecessary for the network to send the QoE configuration container to the UE at each handover if the measurements should just continue, as the UE already has the QoE configuration and that is not dependent on which cell the UE is connected to. Also the QoE configuration container can be large and it is a waste of radio resources to include it at each handover. In the current running RRC CR [4], the QoE configuration container is mandatory included if QoE is configured and it is proposed to change that to optionally included. It is enough if the network indicates the IDs of the QoE measurements that should continue in the new cell.
Proposal 5: The QoE configuration container is optionally included in the RRCReconfiguration.
3 Conclusion
In the previous sections we made the following observations:
Observation 1: To enable measuring the impact of the mobility on application and users' QoE it is required to support QoE measurements in mobility scenarios for both signalling and management based QoE.
Observation 2: The SA4 requirements for QoE measurements stipulate that the client shall check the QoE configuration when each session starts. This means that the client shall continue the QoE measurements for an ongoing session even if the UE moves out of the configured area.
Based on the above observations we have the following proposals:
Proposal 1: RAN2 specify Session Start Indication and Session End Indication, to enable QoE configuration handling upon mobility.
Proposal 2: RAN2 sends an LS to CT1 group to specify Session Start indication and Session End Indication in their specification.
Proposal 3: RAN2 agree that UE shall release the QoE configuration if the otherConfig does not include measConfigAppLayer for a given service upon receiving FullConfig.
Proposal 4: RAN2 agree that UE shall continue the QoE measurements if the otherConfig includes measConfigAppLayer for a given service upon receiving FullConfig.
Proposal 5: The QoE configuration container is optionally included in the RRCReconfiguration. 4 References
[1] 3GPP TS 26.114 Technical Specification 3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Services and System Aspects; IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS); Multimedia Telephony; Media handling and interaction (Release 16).
[2] 3GPP TS 26.247 V16.2.0 Technical Specification 3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Services and System Aspects; Transparent end-to-end Packet-switched Streaming Service (PSS); Progressive Download and Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (3GP-DASH) (Release 16).
[3] 3GPP TS 28.405 VI.2.0 Technical Specification 3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Services and System Aspects; Telecommunication management; Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement collection; Control and configuration (Release 16)
[4] R2-2108108, Running RRC CR for QoE measurements, Ericsson

Claims

1. A method performed by a user equipment, UE, for reconfiguration of quality-of- experience, QoE, reporting, wherein the UE is configured with a plurality of QoE configurations, the method comprising: receiving (302, 616) a reconfiguration message from a network node (710), the reconfiguration message comprising an indication of one or more of the plurality of QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication of one or more QoE configurations comprises identities of the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE.
3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the reconfiguration message does not comprise QoE configuration data for the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE.
4. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the reconfiguration message is a radio resource control, RRC, reconfiguration message, and wherein each QoE configuration configures measurements to be performed by an application layer of the user equipment.
5. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the reconfiguration message is received as part of a full configuration from the network node (710).
6. The method of any one of the preceding claims, further comprising maintaining (314) the one or more QoE configurations that are indicated to be maintained by the UE.
7. The method of any one of the preceding claims, further comprising releasing (314) one or more QoE configurations of the plurality of QoE configurations that are not indicated in the reconfiguration message.
8. The method of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the reconfiguration message further comprises an explicit indication of one or more QoE configurations that are to be
63 released. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication of one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE is implicit. The method of claim 9, wherein the indication of one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE comprises an indication of QoE configurations of the plurality of QoE configurations that are to be released by the UE. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication of one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE comprises an indication that all of the plurality of QoE configurations are to be maintained by the UE. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the UE is to undergo a handover procedure, wherein the network node is a source network node (602), and wherein the one or more QoE configurations are to be maintained by the UE following handover to a target network node (604). The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the reconfiguration message comprises updated values for one or more radio resource control, RRC, parameters other than QoE configuration parameters. A method performed by a network node for reconfiguring quality-of-experience, QoE, reporting by a user equipment, UE, wherein the UE is configured with a plurality of QoE configurations, the method comprising: causing (406) transmission of a reconfiguration message to the user equipment (712), the reconfiguration message comprising an indication of one or more of the plurality of QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE. The method of claim 14, wherein the indication of one or more QoE configurations comprises identities of the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE.
64 The method of claim 14 or 15, wherein the reconfiguration message does not comprise QoE configuration data for the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE. The method of any one of claims 14 to 16, wherein the reconfiguration message is a radio resource control, RRC, reconfiguration message, and wherein each QoE configuration configures measurements to be performed by an application layer of the user equipment. The method of any one of claims 14 to 17, wherein the reconfiguration message is transmitted as part of a full configuration of the user equipment (712). The method of any one of claims 14 to 18, wherein one or more QoE configurations of the plurality of QoE configurations that are not indicated in the reconfiguration message are to be released by the UE. The method of any one of claims 14 to 18, wherein the reconfiguration message further comprises an explicit indication of one or more QoE configurations that are to be released. The method of claim 14, wherein the indication of one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE is implicit. The method of claim 21, wherein the indication of one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE comprises an indication of QoE configurations of the plurality of QoE configurations that are to be released by the UE. The method of claim 14, wherein the indication of one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE comprises an indication that all of the plurality of QoE configurations are to be maintained by the UE. The method of any one of claims 14 to 23, wherein the UE is to undergo a handover procedure, wherein the network node is a source network node (602), and wherein the one or more QoE configurations are to be maintained by the UE following
65 handover to a target network node (604). The method of claim 24, further comprising receiving (404) a second handover message from the target network node of the handover procedure, the second handover message comprising an indication of the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE following the handover. The method of claim 24 or 25, further comprising causing (402) transmission of a first handover message to the target network node, the first handover message comprising an indication of the plurality of QoE configurations. The method of claim 26, wherein the first handover message is a handover request message. A method performed by a target network node (604) for reconfiguring quality-of- experience, QoE, reporting by a user equipment, UE, (600) which is to undergo handover from a source network node (602) to the target network node (604), wherein the UE is configured with one or more QoE configurations, the method comprising: causing transmission (504) of a second handover message to the source network node (602), the second handover message comprising an indication of one or more of the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE following handover to the target network node (604). A user equipment, UE, wherein the UE is configured with a plurality of quality-of- experience, QoE, configurations, the UE comprising: processing circuitry (802) configured to cause the UE to: receive a reconfiguration message from a network node (710), the reconfiguration message comprising an indication of one or more of the plurality of QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE. The UE according to claim 29, wherein the processing circuitry (802) is further configured to cause the UE to perform the method according to any one of claims 2
66 A network node, the network node comprising: processing circuitry (902) configured to cause the network node to: cause transmission of a reconfiguration message to a user equipment, UE, (712) which is configured with a plurality of quality-of-experience, QoE configurations, the reconfiguration message comprising an indication of one or more of the plurality of QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE. The network node according to claim 31, wherein the processing circuitry (902) is further configured to cause the network node to perform the method according to any one of claims 15 to 27. A network node, the network node acting as a target network node (604) for a user equipment, UE, (600) which is to undergo handover from a source network node (602) to the target network node (604), wherein the UE is configured with one or more QoE configurations, the network node comprising: processing circuitry (902) configured to cause the network node to: cause transmission of a second handover message to the source network node, the second handover message comprising an indication of one or more of the one or more QoE configurations that are to be maintained by the UE following handover to the target network node.
67
PCT/SE2022/050648 2021-08-05 2022-06-29 Quality-of-experience configuration maintenance Ceased WO2023014257A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US202163229741P 2021-08-05 2021-08-05
US63/229,741 2021-08-05

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2023014257A1 true WO2023014257A1 (en) 2023-02-09

Family

ID=82611114

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/SE2022/050648 Ceased WO2023014257A1 (en) 2021-08-05 2022-06-29 Quality-of-experience configuration maintenance

Country Status (1)

Country Link
WO (1) WO2023014257A1 (en)

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2023131845A1 (en) * 2022-01-10 2023-07-13 Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ) Network based handling of quality of experience session status indication during conditional handover
WO2023131848A1 (en) * 2022-01-10 2023-07-13 Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ) Ue-based handling of qoe session status indications during conditional handover
WO2024227299A1 (en) * 2023-05-04 2024-11-07 Nokia Shanghai Bell Co., Ltd. Qoe continuity during intra-5gc inter-rat handover process

Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20200022034A1 (en) * 2017-02-14 2020-01-16 Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ) Method and Network Nodes to Manage QoE Measurement Collection During Relocation or Handover
US20200413301A1 (en) * 2017-08-11 2020-12-31 Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ) Handling of application layer measurements during handover in wireless communication networks
WO2021023280A1 (en) * 2019-08-07 2021-02-11 华为技术有限公司 Communication method and device

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20200022034A1 (en) * 2017-02-14 2020-01-16 Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ) Method and Network Nodes to Manage QoE Measurement Collection During Relocation or Handover
US20200413301A1 (en) * 2017-08-11 2020-12-31 Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ) Handling of application layer measurements during handover in wireless communication networks
WO2021023280A1 (en) * 2019-08-07 2021-02-11 华为技术有限公司 Communication method and device

Non-Patent Citations (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
"R2-2108108", ERICSSON, article "Running RRC CR for QoE measurements"
"Technical Specification Group Services and System Aspects; IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS); Multimedia Telephony; Media handling and interaction", 3GPP TS 26.114
"Technical Specification Group Services and System Aspects; Telecommunication management; Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement collection; Control and configuration", 3GPP TS 28.405
"Technical Specification Group Services and System Aspects; Transparent end-to-end Packet-switched Streaming Service (PSS); Progressive Download and Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (3GP-DASH", 3GPP TS 26.247
ERICSSON: "QoE Mobility Support", vol. RAN WG3, no. Online; 20210517 - 20210527, 7 May 2021 (2021-05-07), XP052002234, Retrieved from the Internet <URL:https://ftp.3gpp.org/tsg_ran/WG3_Iu/TSGR3_112-e/Docs/R3-211988.zip R3-211988 - QoE Mobility Support.docx> [retrieved on 20210507] *
QUALCOMM INC: "QoE measurement collection and reporting continuity in mobility scenarios", vol. RAN WG3, no. E-Meeting; 20210517 - 20210527, 7 May 2021 (2021-05-07), XP052002024, Retrieved from the Internet <URL:https://ftp.3gpp.org/tsg_ran/WG3_Iu/TSGR3_112-e/Docs/R3-211735.zip R3-211735 - QoE measurement collection and reporting continuity in mobility scenarios.docx> [retrieved on 20210507] *
ZTE ET AL: "Measurement Collection and Continuity in Intra-System Intra-RAT Mobility", vol. RAN WG3, no. Online; 20210517 - 20210528, 7 May 2021 (2021-05-07), XP052002489, Retrieved from the Internet <URL:https://ftp.3gpp.org/tsg_ran/WG3_Iu/TSGR3_112-e/Docs/R3-212445.zip R3-212445 Measurement Collection and Continuity in Intra-System Intra-RAT Mobility.doc> [retrieved on 20210507] *

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2023131845A1 (en) * 2022-01-10 2023-07-13 Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ) Network based handling of quality of experience session status indication during conditional handover
WO2023131848A1 (en) * 2022-01-10 2023-07-13 Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ) Ue-based handling of qoe session status indications during conditional handover
WO2024227299A1 (en) * 2023-05-04 2024-11-07 Nokia Shanghai Bell Co., Ltd. Qoe continuity during intra-5gc inter-rat handover process

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
WO2023014257A1 (en) Quality-of-experience configuration maintenance
WO2024033808A1 (en) Csi measurements for inter-cell mobility
WO2023014255A1 (en) Event-based qoe configuration management
EP4424063A1 (en) Methods for ran visibility of qoe recording session
US20250193767A1 (en) Data collection from user equipment on user equipment route selection policy usage
US20250227522A1 (en) Method and Apparatus for Supporting QoE Measurements
WO2024079717A1 (en) Reporting of qoe reports to the sn
WO2024035304A1 (en) Successful pscell report network signaling
WO2023152683A1 (en) Secondary node initiated conditional pscell change
EP4437753A1 (en) Logged mdt reporting involving inter-rat mobility
EP4442028B1 (en) Minimization of drive test configuration in user equipment
EP4381812B1 (en) Signalling approaches for disaster plmns
US20250254547A1 (en) Conditional connection establishment failure (cef) report list
US20250330890A1 (en) Conditional reconfiguration involving multiple network nodes
WO2023131845A1 (en) Network based handling of quality of experience session status indication during conditional handover
WO2024107093A1 (en) Quality of experience and radio access network visible quality of experience reporting upon radio link failures in new radio dual connectivity
WO2024181906A1 (en) Methods and apparatuses for releasing or suspending one or more quality of experience configurations at handover between radio access technologies
WO2024144446A1 (en) Control plane optimization during amf change
WO2024030059A1 (en) Quality of experience measurement
EP4569915A1 (en) Successful pscell change or addition report
WO2024210794A1 (en) Plmn check for qoe easurements during ue mobility in different rrc states
WO2025172889A1 (en) Mobility for wireless access and backhaul
WO2023068977A1 (en) Mdt measurement report for user equipments being in any cell selection state
WO2024171137A1 (en) Handling a conditional reconfiguration execution
EP4573835A1 (en) Signaling extended reality information

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
121 Ep: the epo has been informed by wipo that ep was designated in this application

Ref document number: 22744334

Country of ref document: EP

Kind code of ref document: A1

NENP Non-entry into the national phase

Ref country code: DE

122 Ep: pct application non-entry in european phase

Ref document number: 22744334

Country of ref document: EP

Kind code of ref document: A1