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WO2024063889A1 - Systèmes, procédés et dispositifs pour faisceaux de liaison de commande et de backhaul - Google Patents

Systèmes, procédés et dispositifs pour faisceaux de liaison de commande et de backhaul Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2024063889A1
WO2024063889A1 PCT/US2023/030762 US2023030762W WO2024063889A1 WO 2024063889 A1 WO2024063889 A1 WO 2024063889A1 US 2023030762 W US2023030762 W US 2023030762W WO 2024063889 A1 WO2024063889 A1 WO 2024063889A1
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WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
ncr
access
adaptive
link
base station
Prior art date
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PCT/US2023/030762
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English (en)
Inventor
Ankit Bhamri
Wei Zeng
Huaning Niu
Seyed Ali Akbar Fakoorian
Hong He
Dawei Zhang
Haitong Sun
Oghenekome Oteri
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Apple Inc
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Apple Inc
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Priority to CN202380067855.3A priority Critical patent/CN119908080A/zh
Publication of WO2024063889A1 publication Critical patent/WO2024063889A1/fr
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Ceased legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04B—TRANSMISSION
    • H04B7/00—Radio transmission systems, i.e. using radiation field
    • H04B7/14—Relay systems
    • H04B7/15—Active relay systems
    • H04B7/155—Ground-based stations
    • H04B7/15528—Control of operation parameters of a relay station to exploit the physical medium
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04B—TRANSMISSION
    • H04B7/00—Radio transmission systems, i.e. using radiation field
    • H04B7/02—Diversity systems; Multi-antenna system, i.e. transmission or reception using multiple antennas
    • H04B7/04—Diversity systems; Multi-antenna system, i.e. transmission or reception using multiple antennas using two or more spaced independent antennas
    • H04B7/06—Diversity systems; Multi-antenna system, i.e. transmission or reception using multiple antennas using two or more spaced independent antennas at the transmitting station
    • H04B7/0686—Hybrid systems, i.e. switching and simultaneous transmission
    • H04B7/0695—Hybrid systems, i.e. switching and simultaneous transmission using beam selection

Definitions

  • This disclosure relates to wireless communication networks and mobile device capabilities.
  • Wireless communication networks and wireless communication services are becoming increasingly dynamic, complex, and ubiquitous.
  • some wireless communication networks may be developed to implement fifth generation (5G) or new radio (NR) technology, sixth generation (6G) technology, and so on.
  • 5G fifth generation
  • NR new radio
  • 6G sixth generation
  • Such technology may include solutions for enabling network nodes and access points to communicate with one another in a variety of ways. In some scenarios, this may include establishing wireless connections between the wireless access points and repeaters of the network.
  • FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example network according to one or more implementations described herein.
  • Fig. 2 is a diagram of an example of a network-control repeater (NCR) according to one or more implementations described herein.
  • NCR network-control repeater
  • Fig. 3 is a diagram of an example process for control link and backhaul link beams according to one or more implementations described herein.
  • FIGs. 4-5 are diagrams of examples of implementing a fixed beam and an adaptive beam for a control link and a backhaul link according to one or more implementations described herein.
  • FIGs. 6-7 are diagrams of examples of implementing a fixed beam and an adaptive beam for a control link and a backhaul link according to one or more implementations described herein.
  • FIGs. 8-9 are diagrams of examples of implementing a fixed beam and an adaptive beam for a control link and a backhaul link according to one or more implementations described herein.
  • Fig. 10 is a diagram of an example process for setting up beams according to one or more implementations described herein.
  • Fig. 11 is a diagram of an example of implementing a fixed beam and an adaptive beam in accordance with a minimum time duration according to one or more implementations described herein.
  • Fig. 12 is a diagram of an example process for reporting beam capability information according to one or more implementations described herein.
  • Fig. 13 is a diagram of an example of components of a device according to one or more implementations described herein.
  • Fig. 14 is a block diagram illustrating components, according to one or more implementations described herein, able to read instructions from a machine- readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein.
  • a machine- readable or computer-readable medium e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium
  • Wireless networks may include user equipment (UEs) capable of communicating with base stations, wireless routers, satellites, and other network nodes. Such devices may operate in accordance with one or more communication standards, such as 2nd generation (2G), 3rd generation (3G), 4th generation (4G) (e.g., long-term evolution (LTE)), and/or 5th generation (5G) (e.g., new radio (NR)) communication standards of the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP).
  • a UE may refer to a smartphone, tablet computer, wearable wireless device, a vehicle capable of wireless communications, and/or another type of a broad range of wireless-capable device.
  • a base station may communicate with a UE via a networkcontrol repeater (NCR).
  • NCR networkcontrol repeater
  • the base station may communicate with the NCR via a control link and a backhaul link.
  • the control link may enable the base station to configure and manage the NCR.
  • the backhaul link in combination with an access link, may provide a channel through which data is communicated between the base station and the UE.
  • the channels or beams used for the backhaul link and the control link may be static or fixed and may be line-of-sight (LOS) beams. However, random environmental conditions or beam scatterers may temporarily block the beams or LOS between the NCR and base station.
  • LOS line-of-sight
  • NCRs may include an NCR mobile termination (NCR-MT) component and an NCR forwarding (NCR-FWD) component that share a radio frequency (RF) unit to communicate with a base station
  • NCRs may use the same beam and/or transmission configuration indicator (TCI).
  • TCI transmission configuration indicator
  • the techniques described herein may enhance communications between an NCR and a base station by enabling the dynamic configuration and allocation of different combinations of fixed and adaptive beams for a control link and backhaul link.
  • An NCR may communicate with a base station using one or more fixed beams for both a control link and backhaul link.
  • the NCR may switch from using a fixed beam for the backhaul link to using an adaptive beam for the backhaul link.
  • a fixed beam may still be used for the control link but information exchanges involving the access link may be routed to the backhaul link via the adaptive beam.
  • the NCR may configure the adaptive beam according to current conditions. For instance, the NCR may configure the adaptive beam to account for temporary signal interferences, such as problematic environmental conditions, beam scatterers, LOS obstructions, etc. Such interferences may be problematic for the fixed beam but may be overcome or mitigated by establishing an adaptive beam.
  • the techniques described herein also include solutions for switching between fixed beams and adaptive beams at certain times, for durations, and/or in response to one or more triggers or events. Also described are solutions for using different combinations of one or more fixed beams and one or more adaptive beams for a backhaul link and a control link. Further described are solutions for establishing adaptive beams for different access beams, using a combination of fixed and adaptive beams under different conditions, and reporting beam capability information. Details and examples of these and many other features are described below with reference to the Figures.
  • Fig. 1 is an example network 100 according to one or more implementations described herein.
  • Example network 100 may include UEs 110-1 , 110-2, etc. (referred to collectively as “UEs 110” and individually as “UE 1 10”), a radio access network (RAN) 120, a core network (CN) 130, application servers 140, and external networks 150.
  • UEs 110 may include UEs 110-1 , 110-2, etc. (referred to collectively as “UEs 110” and individually as “UE 1 10”), a radio access network (RAN) 120, a core network (CN) 130, application servers 140, and external networks 150.
  • RAN radio access network
  • CN core network
  • application servers 140 application servers 140
  • external networks 150 external networks
  • the systems and devices of example network 100 may operate in accordance with one or more communication standards, such as 2nd generation (2G), 3rd generation (3G), 4th generation (4G) (e.g., long-term evolution (LTE)), and/or 5th generation (5G) (e.g., new radio (NR)) communication standards of the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP).
  • 2G 2nd generation
  • 3G 3rd generation
  • 4G 4th generation
  • 5G e.g., new radio (NR)
  • 3GPP 3rd generation partnership project
  • one or more of the systems and devices of example network 100 may operate in accordance with other communication standards and protocols discussed herein, including future versions or generations of 3GPP standards (e.g., sixth generation (6G) standards, seventh generation (7G) standards, etc.), institute of electrical and electronics engineers (IEEE) standards (e.g., wireless metropolitan area network (WMAN), worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX), etc.), and more.
  • 3GPP standards e.g., sixth generation (6G) standards, seventh generation (7G) standards, etc.
  • IEEE institute of electrical and electronics engineers
  • WMAN wireless metropolitan area network
  • WiMAX worldwide interoperability for microwave access
  • UEs 110 may include smartphones (e.g., handheld touchscreen mobile computing devices connectable to one or more wireless communication networks). Additionally, or alternatively, UEs 110 may include other types of mobile or non-mobile computing devices capable of wireless communications, such as personal data assistants (PDAs), pagers, laptop computers, desktop computers, wireless handsets, etc.
  • PDAs personal data assistants
  • UEs 1 10 may include internet of things (loT) devices (or loT UEs) that may comprise a network access layer designed for low-power loT applications utilizing short-lived UE connections.
  • loT internet of things
  • an loT UE may utilize one or more types of technologies, such as machine-to-machine (M2M) communications or machine-type communications (MTC) (e.g., to exchanging data with an MTC server or other device via a public land mobile network (PLMN)), proximity-based service (ProSe) or device-to-device (D2D) communications, sensor networks, loT networks, and more.
  • M2M or MTC exchange of data may be a machine- initiated exchange
  • an loT network may include interconnecting loT UEs (which may include uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices within an Internet infrastructure) with short-lived connections.
  • loT UEs may execute background applications (e.g., keep-alive messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate the connections of the loT network.
  • UEs 1 10 may communicate and establish a connection with one or more other UEs 1 10 via one or more wireless channels 112, each of which may comprise a physical communications interface / layer.
  • the connection may include an M2M connection, MTC connection, D2D connection, SL connection, etc.
  • the connection may involve a PC5 interface.
  • UEs 1 10 may be configured to discover one another, negotiate wireless resources between one another, and establish connections between one another, without intervention or communications involving RAN node 122 or another type of network node.
  • discovery, authentication, resource negotiation, registration, etc. may involve communications with RAN node 122 or another type of network node.
  • UEs 1 10 may use one or more wireless channels 112 to communicate with one another.
  • UE 110-1 may communicate with RAN node 122 to request SL resources.
  • RAN node 122 may respond to the request by providing UE 110 with a dynamic grant (DG) or configured grant (CG) regarding SL resources.
  • DG may involve a grant based on a grant request from UE 1 10.
  • a CG may involve a resource grant without a grant request and may be based on a type of service being provided (e.g., services that have strict timing or latency requirements).
  • the UE 110 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) procedure based on the DG or CG, select SL resources based on the CCA procedure and the DG or CG; and communicate with another UE 110 based on the SL resources.
  • the UE 1 10 may communicate with RAN node 122 using a licensed frequency band and communicate with the other UE 110 using an unlicensed frequency band.
  • CCA clear channel assessment
  • UEs 110 may communicate and establish a connection with (e.g., be communicatively coupled) with RAN 120, which may involve one or more wireless channels 114-1 and 1 14-2, each of which may comprise a physical communications interface / layer.
  • a UE may be configured with dual connectivity (DC) as a multi-radio access technology (multi-RAT) or multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), where a multiple receive and transmit (Rx/Tx) capable UE may use resources provided by different network nodes (e.g., 122-1 and 122-2) that may be connected via non-ideal backhaul (e.g., where one network node provides NR access and the other network node provides either E-UTRA for LTE or NR access for 5G).
  • one network node may operate as a master node (MN) and the other as the secondary node (SN).
  • MN master node
  • SN secondary node
  • the MN and SN may be connected via a network interface, and at least the MN may be connected to the CN 130. Additionally, at least one of the MN or the SN may be operated with shared spectrum channel access, and functions specified for UE 1 10 can be used for an integrated access and backhaul mobile termination (IAB-MT). Similar for UE 110, the IAB-MT may access the network using either one network node or using two different nodes with enhanced dual connectivity (EN-DC) architectures, new radio dual connectivity (NR-DC) architectures, or the like.
  • a base station (as described herein) may be an example of network node 122.
  • UE 110 and base station 122 may communicate with one another via NCR 160.
  • NCR 160 may operate as a repeater to improve signal quality and/or extend a coverage area of base station 122.
  • NCR 160 may communicate with UE 110 via an access link, and base station 122 via a control link and backhaul link.
  • the control link may enable base station 122 to control the configuration and operation of NCR 160, and the backhaul link may be used to communicate data between base station 122 and UE 110.
  • NCR 160 may be configured to use a fixed beam for the control link and the backhaul link, and switch to an adaptive beam in response to one or more triggers or events, such as an access beam to be established to create an access link with UE 1 10.
  • An example of NCR 160 is discussed below with reference to Fig. 2.
  • UE 1 10 may also, or alternatively, connect to access point (AP) 1 16 via connection interface 118, which may include an air interface enabling UE 1 10 to communicatively couple with AP 116.
  • AP 1 16 may comprise a wireless local area network (WLAN), WLAN node, WLAN termination point, etc.
  • the connection 1 16 may comprise a local wireless connection, such as a connection consistent with any IEEE 702.11 protocol, and AP 1 16 may comprise a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi®) router or other AP. While not explicitly depicted in Fig. 1 , AP 1 16 may be connected to another network (e.g., the Internet) without connecting to RAN 120 or CN 130.
  • another network e.g., the Internet
  • UE 1 10, RAN 120, and AP 116 may be configured to utilize LTE- WLAN aggregation (LWA) techniques or LTE WLAN radio level integration with IPsec tunnel (LWIP) techniques.
  • LWA may involve UE 110 in RRC_CONNECTED being configured by RAN 120 to utilize radio resources of LTE and WLAN.
  • LWIP may involve UE 110 using WLAN radio resources (e.g., connection interface 1 18) via IPsec protocol tunneling to authenticate and encrypt packets (e.g., Internet Protocol (IP) packets) communicated via connection interface 118.
  • IPsec tunneling may include encapsulating the entirety of original IP packets and adding a new packet header, thereby protecting the original header of the IP packets.
  • RAN 120 may include one or more RAN nodes 122-1 and 122-2 (referred to collectively as RAN nodes 122, and individually as RAN node 122) that enable channels 114-1 and 1 14-2 to be established between UEs 110 and RAN 120.
  • RAN nodes 122 may include network access points configured to provide radio baseband functions for data and/or voice connectivity between users and the network based on one or more of the communication technologies described herein (e.g., 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, WiFi, etc.).
  • a RAN node may be an E-UTRAN Node B (e.g., an enhanced Node B, eNodeB, eNB, 4G base station, etc.), a next generation base station (e.g., a 5G base station, NR base station, next generation eNBs (gNB), etc.).
  • RAN nodes 122 may include a roadside unit (RSU), a transmission reception point (TRxP or TRP), and one or more other types of ground stations (e.g., terrestrial access points).
  • RSU roadside unit
  • TRxP or TRP transmission reception point
  • ground stations e.g., terrestrial access points
  • RAN node 122 may be a dedicated physical device, such as a macrocell base station, and/or a low power (LP) base station for providing femtocells, picocells or the like having smaller coverage areas, smaller user capacity, or higher bandwidth compared to macrocells.
  • LP low power
  • RAN nodes 122 may be implemented as one or more software entities running on server computers as part of a virtual network, which may be referred to as a centralized RAN (GRAN) and/or a virtual baseband unit pool (vBBUP).
  • GRAN centralized RAN
  • vBBUP virtual baseband unit pool
  • the GRAN or vBBUP may implement a RAN function split, such as a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) split wherein radio resource control (RRC) and PDCP layers may be operated by the CRAN/vBBUP and other Layer 2 (L2) protocol entities may be operated by individual RAN nodes 122; a media access control (MAC) / physical (PHY) layer split wherein RRC, PDCP, radio link control (RLC), and MAC layers may be operated by the CRAN/vBBUP and the PHY layer may be operated by individual RAN nodes 122; or a “lower PHY” split wherein RRC, PDCP, RLC, MAC layers and upper portions of the PHY layer may be operated by the CRAN/vBBUP and lower portions of the PHY layer may be operated by individual RAN nodes 122.
  • This virtualized framework may allow freed-up processor cores of RAN nodes 122 to perform or execute other virtualized applications.
  • an individual RAN node 122 may represent individual gNB-distributed units (DUs) connected to a gNB-control unit (CU) via individual F1 or other interfaces.
  • the gNB-DUs may include one or more remote radio heads or radio frequency (RF) front end modules (RFEMs), and the gNB-CU may be operated by a server located in RAN 120 or by a server pool (e.g., a group of servers configured to share resources) in a similar manner as the CRAN/vBBUP.
  • RF radio frequency
  • one or more of RAN nodes 122 may be next generation eNBs (i.e., gNBs) that may provide evolved universal terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) user plane and control plane protocol terminations toward UEs 110, and that may be connected to a 5G core network (5GC) 130 via an NG interface.
  • gNBs next generation eNBs
  • E-UTRA evolved universal terrestrial radio access
  • 5GC 5G core network
  • Any of the RAN nodes 122 may terminate an air interface protocol and may be the first point of contact for UEs 110.
  • any of the RAN nodes 122 may fulfill various logical functions for the RAN 120 including, but not limited to, radio network controller (RNC) functions such as radio bearer management, uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) dynamic radio resource management and data packet scheduling, and mobility management.
  • RNC radio network controller
  • UEs 110 may be configured to communicate using orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) communication signals with each other or with any of the RAN nodes 122 over a multicarrier communication channel in accordance with various communication techniques, such as, but not limited to, an OFDMA communication technique (e.g., for downlink communications) or a single carrier frequency-division multiple access (SC-FDMA) communication technique (e.g., for uplink and ProSe or sidelink (SL) communications), although the scope of such implementations may not be limited in this regard.
  • the OFDM signals may comprise a plurality of orthogonal subcarriers.
  • a downlink resource grid may be used for downlink transmissions from any of the RAN nodes 122 to UEs 110, and uplink transmissions may utilize similar techniques.
  • the grid may be a time-frequency grid (e.g., a resource grid or time-frequency resource grid) that represents the physical resource for downlink in each slot.
  • a time-frequency plane representation is a common practice for OFDM systems, which makes it intuitive for radio resource allocation.
  • Each column and each row of the resource grid corresponds to one OFDM symbol and one OFDM subcarrier, respectively.
  • the duration of the resource grid in the time domain corresponds to one slot in a radio frame.
  • the smallest time-frequency unit in a resource grid is denoted as a resource element.
  • Each resource grid comprises resource blocks, which describe the mapping of certain physical channels to resource elements.
  • Each resource block may comprise a collection of resource elements (REs); in the frequency domain, this may represent the smallest quantity of resources that currently may be allocated.
  • REs resource elements
  • RAN nodes 122 may be configured to wirelessly communicate with UEs 110, and/or one another, over a licensed medium (also referred to as the “licensed spectrum” and/or the “licensed band”), an unlicensed shared medium (also referred to as the “unlicensed spectrum” and/or the “unlicensed band”), or combination thereof.
  • a licensed spectrum may include channels that operate in the frequency range of approximately 400 MHz to approximately 3.8 GHz, whereas the unlicensed band or spectrum may include the 5 GHz band.
  • an unlicensed spectrum may include the 5 GHz unlicensed band, a 6 GHz band, a 60 GHz millimeter wave band, and more.
  • a licensed spectrum may correspond to channels or frequency bands selected, reserved, regulated, etc., for certain types of wireless activity (e.g., wireless telecommunication network activity), whereas an unlicensed spectrum may correspond to one or more frequency bands that are not restricted for certain types of wireless activity. Whether a particular frequency band corresponds to a licensed medium or an unlicensed medium may depend on one or more factors, such as frequency allocations determined by a public-sector organization (e.g., a government agency, regulatory body, etc.) or frequency allocations determined by a privatesector organization involved in developing wireless communication standards and protocols, etc.
  • a public-sector organization e.g., a government agency, regulatory body, etc.
  • frequency allocations determined by a privatesector organization involved in developing wireless communication standards and protocols etc.
  • UEs 110 and the RAN nodes 122 may operate using stand-alone unlicensed operation, licensed assisted access (LAA), eLAA, and/or feLAA mechanisms.
  • LAA licensed assisted access
  • UEs 110 and the RAN nodes 122 may perform one or more known medium-sensing operations or carrier-sensing operations in order to determine whether one or more channels in the unlicensed spectrum is unavailable or otherwise occupied prior to transmitting in the unlicensed spectrum.
  • the medium/carrier sensing operations may be performed according to a listen-before-talk (LBT) protocol.
  • LBT listen-before-talk
  • the LAA mechanisms may be built upon carrier aggregation (CA) technologies of LTE-Advanced systems.
  • CA carrier aggregation
  • each aggregated carrier is referred to as a component carrier (CC).
  • CC component carrier
  • individual CCs may have a different bandwidth than other CCs.
  • TDD systems the number of CCs as well as the bandwidths of each CC may be the same for DL and UL.
  • CA also comprises individual serving cells to provide individual CCs. The coverage of the serving cells may differ, for example, because CCs on different frequency bands will experience different pathloss.
  • a primary service cell or PCell may provide a primary component carrier (PCC) for both UL and DL and may handle RRC and non-access stratum (NAS) related activities.
  • PCC primary component carrier
  • NAS non-access stratum
  • the other serving cells are referred to as SCells, and each SCell may provide an individual secondary component carrier (SCC) for both UL and DL.
  • SCC secondary component carrier
  • the SCCs may be added and removed as required, while changing the PCC may require UE 110 to undergo a handover.
  • LAA SCells some or all of the SCells may operate in the unlicensed spectrum (referred to as “LAA SCells”), and the LAA SCells are assisted by a PCell operating in the licensed spectrum.
  • LAA SCells unlicensed spectrum
  • the UE may receive UL grants on the configured LAA SCells indicating different physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) starting positions within a same subframe.
  • PUSCH physical uplink shared channel
  • UEs 1 10 and the RAN nodes 122 may also operate using stand-alone unlicensed operation where the UE may be configured with a PCell, in addition to any SCells, in unlicensed spectrum.
  • the PDSCH may carry user data and higher layer signaling to UEs 110.
  • the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) may carry information about the transport format and resource allocations related to the PDSCH channel, among other things.
  • the PDCCH may also inform UEs 110 about the transport format, resource allocation, and hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) information related to the uplink shared channel.
  • HARQ hybrid automatic repeat request
  • downlink scheduling e.g., assigning control and shared channel resource blocks to UE 1 10-2 within a cell
  • the downlink resource assignment information may be sent on the PDCCH used for (e.g., assigned to) each of UEs 1 10.
  • the PDCCH uses control channel elements (CCEs) to convey the control information, wherein several CCEs (e.g., 6 or the like) may consists of a resource element groups (REGs), where a REG is defined as a physical resource block (PRB) in an OFDM symbol.
  • CCEs control channel elements
  • REGs resource element groups
  • PRB physical resource block
  • the PDCCH complex-valued symbols may first be organized into quadruplets, which may then be permuted using a sub-block interleaver for rate matching, for example.
  • Each PDCCH may be transmitted using one or more of these CCEs, where each CCE may correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elements known as REGs.
  • QPSK quadrature phase shift keying
  • Some implementations may use concepts for resource allocation for control channel information that are an extension of the above-described concepts.
  • some implementations may utilize an extended (E)-PDCCH that uses PDSCH resources for control information transmission.
  • the EPDCCH may be transmitted using one or more ECCEs. Similar to the above, each ECCE may correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elements known as an EREGs. An ECCE may have other numbers of EREGs in some situations.
  • the RAN nodes 122 may be configured to communicate with one another via interface 123.
  • interface 123 may be an X2 interface.
  • interface 123 may be an Xn interface.
  • SA standalone
  • NSA non-standalone
  • interface 123 may represent an X2 interface and an XN interface.
  • the X2 interface may be defined between two or more RAN nodes 122 (e.g., two or more eNBs I gNBs or a combination thereof) that connect to evolved packet core (EPC) or CN 130, or between two eNBs connecting to an EPC.
  • the X2 interface may include an X2 user plane interface (X2-U) and an X2 control plane interface (X2-C).
  • the X2-U may provide flow control mechanisms for user data packets transferred over the X2 interface and may be used to communicate information about the delivery of user data between eNBs or gNBs.
  • the X2-U may provide specific sequence number information for user data transferred from a master eNB (MeNB) to a secondary eNB (SeNB); information about successful in sequence delivery of PDCP packet data units (PDUs) to a UE 110 from an SeNB for user data; information of PDCP PDUs that were not delivered to a UE 1 10; information about a current minimum desired buffer size at the SeNB for transmitting to the UE user data; and the like.
  • the X2-C may provide intra-LTE access mobility functionality (e.g., including context transfers from source to target eNBs, user plane transport control, etc.), load management functionality, and inter-cell interference coordination functionality.
  • RAN 120 may be connected (e.g., communicatively coupled) to CN 130.
  • CN 130 may comprise a plurality of network elements 132, which are configured to offer various data and telecommunications services to customers/subscribers (e.g., users of UEs 110) who are connected to the CN 130 via the RAN 120.
  • CN 130 may include an evolved packet core (EPC), a 5G CN, and/or one or more additional or alternative types of CNs.
  • EPC evolved packet core
  • 5G CN 5G CN
  • the components of the CN 130 may be implemented in one physical node or separate physical nodes including components to read and execute instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine- readable storage medium).
  • network function virtualization may be utilized to virtualize any or all the above-described network node roles or functions via executable instructions stored in one or more computer-readable storage mediums (described in further detail below).
  • a logical instantiation of the CN 130 may be referred to as a network slice, and a logical instantiation of a portion of the CN 130 may be referred to as a network sub-slice.
  • Network Function Virtualization (NFV) architectures and infrastructures may be used to virtualize one or more network functions, alternatively performed by proprietary hardware, onto physical resources comprising a combination of industry-standard server hardware, storage hardware, or switches.
  • NFV systems may be used to execute virtual or reconfigurable implementations of one or more EPC components/functions.
  • CN 130, application servers 140, and external networks 150 may be connected to one another via interfaces 134, 136, and 138, which may include IP network interfaces.
  • Application servers 140 may include one or more server devices or network elements (e.g., virtual network functions (VNFs) offering applications that use IP bearer resources with CN 130 (e.g., universal mobile telecommunications system packet services (UMTS PS) domain, LTE PS data services, etc.).
  • Application servers 140 may also, or alternatively, be configured to support one or more communication services (e.g., voice over IP (VoIP sessions, push-to-talk (PTT) sessions, group communication sessions, social networking services, etc.) for UEs 1 10 via the CN 130.
  • communication services e.g., voice over IP (VoIP sessions, push-to-talk (PTT) sessions, group communication sessions, social networking services, etc.
  • external networks 150 may include one or more of a variety of networks, including the Internet, thereby providing the mobile communication network and UEs 110
  • Fig. 2 is a diagram of an example of a network-control repeater (NCR) 160 according to one or more implementations described herein.
  • NCR 160 may include one or more NCR mobile termination (NCR-MT) components 210 and one or more NCR forwarding (NCR-FWD) components 220.
  • NCR 160 and the components of NCR 160 may be implemented as a combination of hardware and software configured to enable NCR 160 to perform the operations, processes, and functions described herein.
  • examples hardware components of NCR 160 may include one or more antennas, radio frequency circuitry, baseband circuitry, power management circuitry, application circuitry, intercomponent interface circuitry, communication interfaces, processors, memory devices, storage devices, etc.
  • the hardware components may be configured to store, execute, and otherwise support information and software instructions consistent with performing one or more of the techniques described herein.
  • NCR 160 may function as a repeater for information between base station 122 (or another type of network access point device) and UE 1 10.
  • the hardware and software of NCR 160 may be arranged and configured to implement NCR-MT component 210 and NCR-FWD component 220.
  • NCR-MT component 210 may operate to establish and maintain a control link (C-link) with base station 122.
  • the control link may be based on an NR Uu interface and may enable an exchange of information (e.g., side control information or SCI) between NCR 160 and base station 122.
  • Side control information may enable the configuration and control of NCR-FWD component 220.
  • side control information may be used to indicate beam information (e.g., configured beams), turn beams on or off, indicate a UL-DL TDD configuration, and a behavior of NCR 160 over flexible symbols.
  • NCR-FWD component 220 may operate to establish a backhaul link with base station 122 and an access link with UE 1 10. NCR-FWD component 220 may perform amplify-and-forwarding of UL/DL RF signals between gNB and UE via the backhaul link and access link. NCR 160 may configure, modify, and control the functionality of NCR-FWD component 220 based on side control information received from base station 122.
  • the channel/beams for the backhaul link and the control link may be static or fixed and may be LOS beams.
  • a beam used for an access link may be referred to as an access beam or access beam link.
  • a beam used for a backhaul link may be referred to as a backhaul beam or a backhaul link beam.
  • a beam used for a control link may be referred to as a control beam or a control link beam.
  • a beam may be a fixed beam or an adaptive or temporary beam.
  • a fixed beam may include a beam that is used as a permanent or default beam (e.g., a beam used to maintain a link intended to be fundamental and regularly used for communications between devices).
  • an adaptive beam may include a beam that is used periodically or temporarily so that, for example, NCR 160 may address temporary condition, demands, or scenarios of the network.
  • NCR 160 may use a fixed beam for a control link so that base station 122 may send control and configuration information to NCR 160.
  • NCR 160 may use an adaptive beam to establish a corresponding connection with base station 122. Once the access link is no longer needed, NCR 160 may discontinue to the access beam and corresponding backhaul beam, but the fixed beam for the control link may remain in place.
  • Fig. 3 is a diagram of an example process 300 for control link and backhaul link beams according to one or more implementations described herein.
  • Process 300 may be implemented by UE 110, NCR 160, and base station 122. In some implementations, some or all of process 300 may be performed by one or more other systems or devices, including one or more of the devices of Fig. 1 . Additionally, process 300 may include one or more fewer, additional, differently ordered and/or arranged operations than those shown in Fig. 3, including other processes and/or operations discussed herein. For example, process 300 may include operations preceding, performed in parallel with, and/or following one or more of the depicted operations.
  • process 300 may be performed independently, successively, simultaneously, etc., of one or more of the other operations of process 300.
  • the techniques described herein are not limited to a number, sequence, arrangement, timing, etc., of the operations or process depicted in Fig. 3.
  • NCR 160 may receive control or configuration information from base station 122.
  • the information may cause NCR 160 to implement one or more of the beam and link management techniques described herein.
  • the control or configuration information may cause NCR 160 to implement a beam configuration that includes one fixed beam and one adaptive or temporary beam.
  • NCR 160 may use the fixed beam for the control link and backhaul link by default (block 310). However, when NCR 160 detects use of an access link beam to communicate with UE 110 (at 320), NCR 160 may switch from using the fixed beam for the backhaul link to using an adaptive beam for the backhaul link (at 330). NCR 160 and base station 122 may continue to use the fixed beam to communicate via the control link.
  • the adaptive beam may be preconfigured or dynamically determined based on one or more factors, conditions, and/or parameters relating to backhaul link communications.
  • NCR 160 may use the adaptive beam (instead of the fixed beam) for the backhaul link so long as the access beam is used.
  • NCR 160 may determine an application time and corresponding duration for using the adaptive beam based on an application time and corresponding duration associated with the access beam link.
  • An application time as described herein, may correspond to the duration that is required by NCR 160 to apply and begin using an beam from the time the beam is indicated.
  • An application time may also be referred to herein as a start time.
  • Setting the application time and duration of an adaptive backhaul link to the application time and duration of a corresponding access link may be based on the backhaul link and access link performing corresponding communications between UE 110 and base station 122 (e.g., using the same symbols, respectively). For instance, when there is nothing for NCR 160 to forward, then there is no need to provide beams for both the backhaul link and the access link. Once the communications be UE 1 10 and base station 122 are complete (e.g., once the application duration has expired), NCR 160 may discontinue using the adaptive beam for the backhaul link and resuming using the fixed beam as before (block 350). As a result, NCR 160 and base station 122 may communicate via a control link and a backhaul link using a single fixed beam.
  • any of the techniques is not limited to the particular terms employed.
  • terms such as fixed beam and adaptive beam are provided as non-limiting examples.
  • alternative terms may be properly used, such as beam 1 and beam 2; a primary beam and a secondary beam, and so on.
  • beams and signaling may be inter-related by NCR 160 via a link type or instance for transmission (Tx) and reception (Rx).
  • NCR 160 may be configured to forward a UL transmission (from UE 1 10 to base station 122) via a backhaul link and may receive a DL transmission (from base station 122 to UE 1 10) via the same backhaul link.
  • This inter-relationship may be applicable to signaling that uses fixed beams or adaptive beams. In other implementations, this inter-relationship may not be used.
  • UL transmission may involve one instance of a backhaul link and corresponding DL transmission may involve another instance of a backhaul link.
  • Figs. 4-5 are diagrams of examples 400 and 500 of implementing a fixed beam and an adaptive beam for a control link and a backhaul link according to one or more implementations described herein.
  • examples 400 and 500 may each include time represented along a horizontal axis, a fixed beam used for a control link over time, a fixed beam and an adaptive beam used for a backhaul link over time, and an access beam used for an access link for a period of time.
  • NCR 160 may implement the techniques and features of examples 400 and 500.
  • Fig. 4 may include correspond to a process similar to process 300 of Fig. 3, and Fig. 5 may present an example of a variation of process 300 of Fig. 3.
  • an NCR 160 may receive side control information from base station 122.
  • the side control information may cause NCR 160 to configure and/or reconfigure according to information, instructions, parameters, and/or one or more other types of information provided by the side control information.
  • the side control information may, for example, cause NCR 160 to operate in accordance with the one fixed beam and one adaptive beam techniques described herein. Additionally, or alternatively, NCR 160 may determine, based on the side control information, timing information (such as such as an application time and duration) related to communications involving UE 1 10.
  • NCR 160 may use a single beam to communicate with base station 122 via the control link and the backhaul link. At some point, NCR 160 may detect or determine that an access beam is to be used for an access link to communicate with UE 110. In some implementations, NCR 160 may determine this based on control information received from base station 122 via the control link or data received from base station 122 via the backhaul link. The control information and/or the data may be intended to be forwarded to UE 1 10 via the access link.
  • NCR 160 may switch from using the fixed beam to using the adaptive beam for the backbone link. NCR 160 may also, or alternatively, align an application time and duration for the adaptive beam with that of the access link beam. For example, NCR 160 may determine an application start time and duration for the access beam and apply the application start time and duration to the adaptive beam. In this manner, the adaptive beam may be used while the access beam is being used (e.g., to forward data to UE 1 10). As shown, upon expiration of the duration associated with the adaptive beam, NCR 160 may discontinue using the adaptive beam from backhaul communications and resume using the fixed beam that is used for both backhaul link and the control link.
  • example 500 may operate in a manner similar to example 400 of Fig. 4. However, instead of NCR 160 determining a start time and an end time for using an adaptive beam (based on an application time and corresponding duration associated with an access beam), in example 500, NCR 160 determines a start time for the adaptive beam by aligning it with an application time associated with an access beam. However, NCR 160 may not determine a duration corresponding to the application time and may not, therefore, determine a time for switching from the adaptive beam to back to the fixed beam. As such, NCR 160 may continue using the adaptive beam for the backhaul link. In some implementations, NCR 160 may use the adaptive beam for the backhaul link until NCR 160 receives information or explicit instructions prompting it to do otherwise. For example, at some point, NCR 160 may receive side control information, or another type of information or prompt, from base station 122 that may cause NCR 160 to switch back to using the fixed beam for the backhaul link.
  • Figs. 6-7 are diagrams of examples 600 and 700 of implementing a fixed beam and an adaptive beam for a control link and a backhaul link according to one or more implementations described herein. As shown, examples 600 and 700 may each include time represented along a horizontal axis, one fixed beam used for a control link and backhaul link, and one adaptive beam used for the control link and backhaul link, where each beam is used for a period of time.
  • NCR 160 may implement the techniques and features of examples 400 and 500.
  • Figs. 6-7 may be performed by one or more operations of Fig. 3 and/or one or more operations similar to those of Fig. 3, though some signaling and information may vary.
  • an NCR 160 may receive side control information from base station 122.
  • the side control information may cause NCR 160 to configure and/or reconfigure according to information, instructions, parameters, and/or one or more other types of information provided by the side control information.
  • the side control information may, for example, cause NCR 160 to operate in accordance with the one fixed beam and one adaptive beam techniques described herein. Additionally, or alternatively, NCR 160 may determine, based on the side control information, timing information (such as such as an application time) related to switching to and from an adaptive beam.
  • timing information such as such as an application time
  • NCR 160 may detect a trigger, timing, or condition to switch to an adaptive beam. For example, NCR 160 may detect an application time for the adaptive beam, which may correspond to receiving DL information from base station 122. In response, NCR 160 may switch from using the fixed beam for the control link and the backhaul link to using an adaptive beam for the control link and the backhaul link. NCR 160 may continue to use the adaptive beam until an explicit instruction (e.g., side control information from base station 122) is received to switch. Upon receiving the explicit instruction NCR 160 may switch back to using the fixed beam (e.g., a default beam) for the control link and the backhaul link.
  • the fixed beam e.g., a default beam
  • an NCR 160 may receive side control information from base station 122.
  • the side control information may cause NCR 160 to configure and/or reconfigure according to information, instructions, parameters, and/or one or more other types of information provided by the side control information.
  • the side control information may, for example, cause NCR 160 to operate in accordance with the one fixed beam and one adaptive beam techniques described herein. Additionally, or alternatively, NCR 160 may determine, based on the side control information, timing information (such as such as a minimum application time for the adaptive beam) related to switching to and from an adaptive beam.
  • NCR 160 may default to using a single beam to communicate with base station 122 via the control link and the backhaul link.
  • NCR 160 may detect a trigger, timing, or condition to switch to an adaptive beam.
  • NCR 160 may detect an application time for the adaptive beam, which may correspond to receiving DL information from base station 122.
  • NCR 160 may switch from using the fixed beam for the control link and the backhaul link to using an adaptive beam for the control link and the backhaul link.
  • NCR 160 may determine a duration for using the adaptive beam based on a minimum application time and a dedicated duration. The dedicated duration may be received from base station 122, prior to or in combination with receiving DL information. Upon expiration of the determined duration, NCR 160 may switch back to using the fixed beam (e.g., a default beam) for the control link and the backhaul link.
  • the fixed beam e.g., a default beam
  • Figs. 8-9 are diagrams of examples 800 and 900 of implementing a fixed beam and an adaptive beam for a control link and a backhaul link according to one or more implementations described herein. As shown, examples 800 and 900 may each include time represented along a horizontal axis, a fixed beam used for a control link and a backhaul link over time at times, and an adaptive beam used for the control link and the backhaul link for a time. In some implementations, NCR 160 may implement the techniques and features of examples 800 and 900. Additionally, Figs. 8-9 may be performed by one or more operations of Fig. 3 and/or one or more operations similar to those of Fig. 3, though some signaling and information may vary.
  • an NCR 160 may receive side control information from base station 122.
  • the side control information may cause NCR 160 to configure and/or reconfigure according to information, instructions, parameters, and/or one or more other types of information provided by the side control information.
  • the side control information may, for example, cause NCR 160 to operate in accordance with the one fixed beam and one adaptive beam techniques described herein.
  • NCR 160 may determine, based on the side control information, timing information (such as such as an application time and duration) related to communications involving UE 1 10.
  • NCR 160 may use a single beam to communicate with base station 122 via the control link and the backhaul link. At some point, NCR 160 may detect or determine that an access beam is to be used for an access link to communicate with UE 110. In some implementations, NCR 160 may determine this based on control information received from base station 122 via the control link or data received from base station 122 via the backhaul link. The control information and/or the data may be a DL communication intended to be forwarded to UE 110 via the access link.
  • NCR 160 may switch from using the fixed beam to using the adaptive beam for the control link and the backbone link. NCR 160 may also, or alternatively, align an application time and duration for the adaptive beam with that of the access link beam. For example, NCR 160 may use the adaptive beam so long as the access beam is used. In this manner, the adaptive beam may be used while the access beam is being used to forward data to UE 1 10. In some implementations, NCR 160 may use the adaptive beam for the control link and the backhaul link until NCR 160 receives information or explicit instructions prompting it to do otherwise. For example, at some point, NCR 160 may receive side control information, or another type of information or prompt, from base station 122 that may cause NCR 160 to switch back to using the fixed beam for the control link and the backhaul link.
  • example 900 may operate in a manner similar to example 800 of Fig. 8. However, instead of the adaptive beam being used indefinitely (e.g., until an explicit instruction is received to do otherwise), NCR 160 determine and application time and duration for the access beam. This may be based on control information and/or data receive from base station 122 via the control link or the backhaul link. Additionally, NCR 160 may apply the timing and duration of the access link to the adaptive beam, and switch back to the fixed beam for the control link and the backhaul link once the determined duration has expired (e.g., when the access beam is no longer being used).
  • One or more of the techniques, described herein, may include NCR 160 using one fixed beam for the control link and the backhaul link, one adaptive beam for the control link, and one adaptive beam for the backhaul link.
  • NCR 160 may use signaling that may be similar, but still different, than the signaling discussed above, where only one adaptive beam was used either for the backhaul link alone or for both the control link and the backhaul link.
  • the application time for the adaptive beam of the backhaul link may be the same as the application time of the access link, based on dedicated signaling (e.g., control information) from base station 122, or based on an application time of the adaptive beam for the control link.
  • the application time for the adaptive beam of the control link may be the same as the application time of the access link, based on dedicated signaling (e.g., control information) from base station 122, indefinite, or based on an application time of the adaptive beam for the control link.
  • dedicated signaling e.g., control information
  • NCR 160 may revert to using the fixed beam of for the corresponding link.
  • the conditions upon which application times of either adaptive beam may be configured and reconfigured (e.g., dynamically) by base station 122.
  • one or more of the techniques, described herein may include NCR 160 using one fixed beam for the control link, one fixed beam for the backhaul link, one adaptive beam for the control link, and one adaptive beam for the backhaul link.
  • NCR 160 may use signaling that may be similar, but still different, than the signaling discussed above, where only one fixed beam was used with either one adaptive beam or two adaptive beams.
  • the application time for the adaptive beam of the backhaul link may be the same as the application time of the access link, based on dedicated signaling (e.g., control information) from base station 122, or based on an application time of the adaptive beam for the control link.
  • the application time for the adaptive beam of the control link may be the same as the application time of the access link, based on dedicated signaling (e.g., control information) from base station 122, indefinite, or based on an application time of the adaptive beam for the control link.
  • dedicated signaling e.g., control information
  • NCR 160 may revert to using the fixed beam of the corresponding link.
  • the conditions upon which application times of either adaptive beam may be configured and reconfigured (e.g., dynamically) by base station 122.
  • Fig. 10 is a diagram of an example process 1000 for setting up beams according to one or more implementations described herein.
  • Process 1000 may be implemented by UE 1 10, NCR 160, and base station 122. In some implementations, some or all of process 1000 may be performed by one or more other systems or devices, including one or more of the devices of Fig. 1 . Additionally, process 1000 may include one or more fewer, additional, differently ordered and/or arranged operations than those shown in Fig. 10, including other processes and/or operations discussed herein. For example, process 1000 may include operations preceding, performed in parallel with, and/or following one or more of the depicted operations.
  • process 1000 may be performed independently, successively, simultaneously, etc., of one or more of the other operations of process 1000.
  • the techniques described herein are not limited to a number, sequence, arrangement, timing, etc., of the operations or process depicted in Fig. 10.
  • process 1000 may include base station 122 communicating downlink control information (DCI) and/or side control information (SCI) to NCR 160 (at 1010). This may be done via a fixed beam and a control link between NCR 160 and base station 122. In some implementations, another type of beam and/or link may be used to provide the DCI and/or SCI.
  • the DCI may include SCI, and the DCI and/or the SCI may include information and instructions to cause NCR 160 to establish or use one or more types of beams and/or one or more types of links.
  • Process 1000 may include establishing one or more beams and links based on the DCI and/or SCI (at 1020).
  • the DCI and/or SCI may cause or prompt NCR 160 to use one or more access beams to establish one or more access links with UE 110 (at 140).
  • the DCI and/or SCI may cause or prompt NCR 160 to use one or more adaptive and/or fixed beams to establish one or more backhaul links or control links with base station 122 (at 140).
  • NCR 160 may continue using the fixed beam and control link used to receive the DCI and/or SCI.
  • NCR 160 may switch from the fixed beam and/or control link, upon using a new adaptive and/or fixed beam for a new control link with base station 122.
  • the one or more beams (adaptive and/or fixed) for a backhaul link may correspond to one or more adaptive beams for one or more access links.
  • Process 1000 may include NCR 160 determining and monitoring one or more beam and/or link application times (block 1040). For example, NCR 160 may determine an application time for any of the beams and/or links. In some implementation, an application time for a backhaul link beam may be the same as (e.g., based on) the application time for the access beam link. When NCR 160 establishes multiple access beams for an access link and one corresponding backhaul link beam, the application time for the backhaul link beam may be set to the application time of the first access link beam.
  • base station 1220 may explicitly signal NCR 160 to set an application time of the backhaul link beam to the application time of one of the other access link beams (an access link beam other than the first access link beam).
  • process 100 may also include NCR 160 receiving additional control information (at 1060) and establishing additional beams and or links based on the control information (block 1070).
  • NCR 160 receiving additional control information (at 1060) and establishing additional beams and or links based on the control information (block 1070).
  • These operations are illustrated in Fig. 10 to represent a variability of operations, times, sequences, and iterations within the scope of the techniques described herein. That is, while example 1000 may depict operations and events, such as receiving control information, establishing beams and links, determining application times, and monitoring application durations, at discrete times and sequences, in practice, the techniques described herein may be equally applicable to operations and events occurring at different and overlapping times and/or in different sequences, number of instances, etc., than those shown in Fig. 10.
  • base station 122 may cause NCR 160 to establish beams and links at different times and using different links and resources.
  • base station 122 may use one slot to provide NCR 160 with instructions and information for establishing an adaptive beam to establish a backhaul link with base station 122 and use another slot to provide NCR 160 with instructions and information (e.g., SCI) for establishing an access beam for an access link involving UE 110.
  • NCR 160 may determine an application time for the backhaul link beam in one or more ways (e.g., other than based on the application time of the access beam).
  • NCR 160 may determine set the application (or start) time for the backhaul link beam to the application time of the access link beam even though the SCI for the access link beam was received via a different slot. Additionally, or alternatively, when SCI for multiple access link beams is received before an indication, along with a minimum duration, for a backhaul link beam is received, NCR 160 may establish the backhaul link beam: 1 ) after expiration of the minimum duration; and 2) at the application or start time of the next access link beam indicated by the SCI. In other words, the backhaul link beam may not be applied during (e.g., in the middle of) an ongoing access link beam.
  • Fig. 11 is a diagram of an example 1 100 of implementing a fixed beam and an adaptive beam in accordance with a minimum time duration according to one or more implementations described herein.
  • example 1 100 may include time represented along a horizontal axis, a fixed beam used for a control link, a fixed beam and an adaptive beam used for a backhaul link, and access beams used for an access link.
  • NCR 160 may implement the techniques and features of example 1100.
  • Fig. 1 1 may correspond to a process similar to process 1000 of Fig. 10.
  • NCR 160 may receive side control information from base station 122.
  • the side control information may cause NCR 160 to configure and/or reconfigure according to information, instructions, parameters, and/or one or more other types of information provided by the side control information.
  • the side control information may, for example, cause NCR 160 to operate in accordance with the one fixed beam and one adaptive beam techniques described herein. Additionally, or alternatively, NCR 160 may determine, based on the side control information, timing information (such as such as an application time and duration) related to communications involving UE 110, an access link beam, and/or a corresponding backhaul link beam.
  • NCR 160 may use a single beam to communicate with base station 122 via the control link and the backhaul link. At some point, NCR 160 may receive a backhaul beam indication from base station 122.
  • the backhaul beam indication may include control information or another type of prompt, trigger, or information received via the control link.
  • the backhaul beam indication may include a minimum time duration for switching from the fixed backhaul beam to an adaptive backhaul beam. NCR 160 may initiate and monitor the minimum time duration upon reception.
  • NCR 160 may also, or alternatively, detect or determine that one or more access beams is to be used for an access link to communicate with UE 1 10. In some implementations, NCR 160 may determine this based on control information received from base station 122 via the control link or data received from base station 122 via the backhaul link. The control information may include DCI and/or SCI and may indicate an application time and/or duration corresponding to the one or more access beams. Assume that NCR 160 receives an indication or prompt to establish access beam 1 and access beam 2, and that each access beam includes a different application or start time. Depending on the implementation, access beam 1 and access beam 2 may correspond to one access link or different access links.
  • NCR 160 may establish access beams 1 and 2 in accordance with the application time corresponding to each beam. Since the application time of access beam 1 is prior the expiration of the minimum time duration, NCR 160 may relay DL information from base station 122 to UE 122 using access beam 1 and the fixed beam of the backhaul link. That is, even though a start or application time for switching from a fixed backhaul beam to an adaptive backhaul beam may typically be set to the application time of an access beam, because the application time of access beam 1 occurs before the expiration of the minimum time duration, DL information may be relayed via the fixed backhaul beam instead of an adaptive backhaul beam.
  • the minimum time duration may apply to switching from a fixed backhaul beam to an adaptive backhaul beam. In some implementations, the minimum time duration may also apply to establishing a new adaptive backhaul beam (e.g., even while maintaining one or more fixed backhaul beams).
  • NCR 160 may determine that the minimum time duration expires prior to an application time of access beam 2 and may therefore set an application time for the adaptive backhaul beam based on the application time of access beam 2. Accordingly, NCR 160 may establish an adaptive backhaul beam and access beam 2 at the same application time, and forward DL information from base station 122 to UE 110 using the adaptive backhaul beam and access beam 2.
  • control information may be used to coordinate a switch from the fixed backhaul beam to the adaptive beam with a change from access beam 1 and access beam 2.
  • SCI from base station 122 may indicate a coordinate an application time and duration of access beam 1 with an application time of access beam 2, such that access beam 2 begins when access beam 1 ends.
  • the fixed backhaul beam need not be maintained, thus the switch from the fixed backhaul beam to the adaptive backhaul beam.
  • NCR 160 may maintain the fixed backhaul beam already associated with access beam 1 and establish an adaptive backhaul beam for access beam 2.
  • NCR 160 may discontinue the fixed backhaul beam while the adaptive backhaul beam remains active.
  • NCR 160 may reestablish the fixed backhaul beam in response to one or more triggers.
  • An example of such a trigger may include a termination of the adaptive backhaul beam resulting from an expiration of access beam 2.
  • an example of a trigger may include NCR 160 receiving an explicit instruction or indication (e.g., control information) from base station 122 to discontinue the adaptive backhaul beam and reestablish the fixed backhaul beam.
  • NCR 160 receiving an explicit instruction or indication (e.g., control information) from base station 122 to discontinue the adaptive backhaul beam and reestablish the fixed backhaul beam.
  • NCR 160 may have only two backhaul beams. One may be fixed and one may be temporary or adaptive.
  • the fixed backhaul may be a default backhaul beam
  • the adaptive backhaul beam may be activated in response to an instruction or indication (e.g., by NCR 160 receiving control information and instruction from base station 122) to switch from the fixed adaptive beam to the adaptive beam.
  • Configuration of the fixed beam and adaptive beam may be achieved using a media access control (MAC) control element (CE) and/or DCI.
  • MAC media access control
  • CE control element
  • a single bit may be used to trigger the switch from the fixed adaptive beam to the adaptive beam.
  • a zero may indicate a fixed beam and a one may indicate an adaptive beam.
  • NCR 160 may only be configured or capable of implementing one set of beams, such that the same beams are to be used if used at all. In other implementations, NCR 160 may be configured or capable of implementing multiple sets of beams but may only implement one of the sets of beams at a given time. In some implementations, NCR 160 may use one (e.g., the same) set of beams for both the control link and the backhaul link. That is, one fixed beam and one adaptive beam may be used for both the control link and the backhaul link. In other implementations, NCR 160 may use a different beams for the control link and the backhaul link.
  • NCR 160 may be capable of implementing or using multiple beams (e.g., more than two) from which one or more fixed beams and/or one or more adaptive beams may be configured, activated, and indicated.
  • Fig. 12 is a diagram of an example process 1200 for reporting beam capability information according to one or more implementations described herein.
  • Process 1200 may be implemented by base station 122 and NCR 160.
  • base station 122 may send a request to NCR 160 for beam capability information.
  • NCR 160 may provide beam capability information to base station 122.
  • NCR 160 may provide beam capability information to base station 122 regardless of whether a prompt or request for the information is received.
  • NCR 160 may provide beam capability information to base station 122 as part of a standardized procedure (e.g., a discovery procedure, an attach procedure, a system update, a change or update of beams supported, according to a predetermined schedule or periodicity, etc.).
  • a standardized procedure e.g., a discovery procedure, an attach procedure, a system update, a change or update of beams supported, according to a predetermined schedule or periodicity, etc.
  • NCR 160 may report beam capability information for fixed beams and adaptive beams in the same communication. In other implementations, beam capability information for fixed beams and adaptive beams may also, or alternatively, be reported in separate communications (e.g., at different times, in response to different triggers, etc.). In some implementations, NCR 160 failing to explicitly indicate support for adaptive beams may indicate a lack of support for adaptive beams.
  • Beam capability information may include a broad range of information, and types of information, describing an ability of NCR 160 to configure, establish, manage, and maintain beams, including access beams, backhaul beams, control beams, etc.
  • Beam capability information may include a maximum number of beams supported, beam switching capabilities, signal detection, measurement, reception, and transmission capabilities, and more.
  • Beam capability information may also include a number of beams supported and types of beams supported (e.g., fixed, LOS, adaptive, etc.), a maximum and/or minimum number of beams associated with different types of links (e.g., an access link, a backhaul link, and a control link).
  • Beam capability information may include any type of information that may be useful or required to implement one or more of the techniques described herein.
  • beam capability information may include information about whether NCR 160 may support a temporary or adaptive beam and a fixed beam; whether NCR 160 may support multiple adaptive beams; and whether NCR 160 may support one beam for both a control link and backhaul link and/or different beams for the control link and backhaul link.
  • Additional examples of beam capability information may include information about whether NCR 160 may support a default and/or configurable application time for adaptive beams in addition to an application time associated with access link beams; and whether NCR 160 may support a default and/or configurable duration for adaptive beams is support in addition to a duration associated with access link beams.
  • beam capability information may include information about whether NCR 160 may support a default and/or configurable minimum time required to apply a beam (e.g., establish a beam, switch beams, etc.) to a backhaul link, and whether the application time should always be greater than or equal to the minimum time required.
  • a beam e.g., establish a beam, switch beams, etc.
  • Fig. 18 is a diagram of an example of components of a device according to one or more implementations described herein.
  • the device 1800 can include application circuitry 1802, baseband circuitry 1804, RF circuitry 1806, front-end module (FEM) circuitry 1808, one or more antennas 1810, and power management circuitry (PMC) 1812 coupled together at least as shown.
  • the components of the illustrated device 1800 can be included in a UE or a RAN node.
  • the device 1800 can include fewer elements (e.g., a RAN node may not utilize application circuitry 1802, and instead include a processor/controller to process IP data received from a CN or an Evolved Packet Core (EPC)).
  • EPC Evolved Packet Core
  • the device 1800 can include additional elements such as, for example, memory/storage, display, camera, sensor (including one or more temperature sensors, such as a single temperature sensor, a plurality of temperature sensors at different locations in device 1800, etc.), or input/output (I/O) interface.
  • additional elements such as, for example, memory/storage, display, camera, sensor (including one or more temperature sensors, such as a single temperature sensor, a plurality of temperature sensors at different locations in device 1800, etc.), or input/output (I/O) interface.
  • the components described below can be included in more than one device (e.g., said circuitries can be separately included in more than one device for Cloud-RAN (C-RAN) implementations).
  • C-RAN Cloud-RAN
  • the application circuitry 1802 can include one or more application processors.
  • the application circuitry 1802 can include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors.
  • the processor(s) can include any combination of general-purpose processors and dedicated processors (e.g., graphics processors, application processors, etc.).
  • the processors can be coupled with or can include memory/storage and can be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory/storage to enable various applications or operating systems to run on the device 1800.
  • processors of application circuitry 1802 can process IP data packets received from an EPC.
  • the baseband circuitry 1804 can include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors.
  • the baseband circuitry 1804 can include one or more baseband processors or control logic to process baseband signals received from a receive signal path of the RF circuitry 1806 and to generate baseband signals for a transmit signal path of the RF circuitry 1806.
  • Baseband circuity 1804 can interface with the application circuitry 1802 for generation and processing of the baseband signals and for controlling operations of the RF circuitry 1806.
  • the baseband circuitry 1804 can include a 3G baseband processor 1804A, a 4G baseband processor 1804B, a 5G baseband processor 1804C, or other baseband processor(s) 1804D for other existing generations, generations in development or to be developed in the future (e.g., 5G, 6G, etc.).
  • the baseband circuitry 1804 e.g., one or more of baseband processors 1804A-D
  • some or all of the functionality of baseband processors 1804A-D can be included in modules stored in the memory 1804G and executed via a Central Processing Unit (CPU) 1804E.
  • CPU Central Processing Unit
  • the radio control functions can include, but are not limited to, signal modulation/demodulation, encoding/decoding, radio frequency shifting, etc.
  • modulation/demodulation circuitry of the baseband circuitry 1804 can include Fast-Fourier Transform (FFT), precoding, or constellation mapping/de-mapping functionality.
  • encoding/decoding circuitry of the baseband circuitry 1804 can include convolution, tail-biting convolution, turbo, Viterbi, or Low-Density Parity Check (LDPC) encoder/decoder functionality. Implementations of modulation/demodulation and encoder/decoder functionality are not limited to these examples and can include other suitable functionality in other implementations.
  • memory 1804G may receive and store one or more configurations, instructions, and/or other types of information to enable dynamic configuration and allocation of different combinations of fixed and adaptive beams for a control link and backhaul link. This may include using causing or enabling NCR 160 to use one or more fixed beams to communicate with base station 122 via a control link and a backhaul link and switching to an adaptive beam in response to one or more triggers or events, such as detecting DL information to be sent to base station 122, receiving a prompt to establish an access beam for an access link, etc. The information and instructions may also cause or enable NCR 160 to determine appropriate times and durations for using an adaptive link, for switch back to a fixed beam for the backhaul link in response to one or more conditions, and more.
  • the baseband circuitry 1804 can include one or more audio digital signal processor(s) (DSP) 1804F.
  • the audio DSPs 1804F can include elements for compression/decompression and echo cancellation and can include other suitable processing elements in other implementations.
  • Components of the baseband circuitry can be suitably combined in a single chip, a single chipset, or disposed on a same circuit board in some implementations.
  • some or all of the constituent components of the baseband circuitry 1804 and the application circuitry 1802 can be implemented together such as, for example, on a system on a chip (SOC).
  • SOC system on a chip
  • the baseband circuitry 1804 can provide for communication compatible with one or more radio technologies.
  • the baseband circuitry 1804 can support communication with a NG-RAN, an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (EUTRAN) or other wireless metropolitan area networks (WMAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN), a wireless personal area network (WPAN), etc. Implementations in which the baseband circuitry 1804 is configured to support radio communications of more than one wireless protocol can be referred to as multi-mode baseband circuitry.
  • EUTRAN evolved universal terrestrial radio access network
  • WMAN wireless metropolitan area networks
  • WLAN wireless local area network
  • WPAN wireless personal area network
  • RF circuitry 1806 can enable communication with wireless networks using modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium.
  • the RF circuitry 1806 can include switches, filters, amplifiers, etc. to facilitate the communication with the wireless network.
  • RF circuitry 1806 can include a receive signal path which can include circuitry to down-convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry 1808 and provide baseband signals to the baseband circuitry 1804.
  • RF circuitry 1806 can also include a transmit signal path which can include circuitry to up-convert baseband signals provided by the baseband circuitry 1804 and provide RF output signals to the FEM circuitry 1808 for transmission.
  • the receive signal path of the RF circuitry 1806 can include mixer circuitry 1806A, amplifier circuitry 1806B and filter circuitry 1806C.
  • the transmit signal path of the RF circuitry 1806 can include filter circuitry 1806C and mixer circuitry 1806A.
  • RF circuitry 1806 can also include synthesizer circuitry 1806D for synthesizing a frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 1806A of the receive signal path and the transmit signal path.
  • the mixer circuitry 1806A of the receive signal path can be configured to down-convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry 1808 based on the synthesized frequency provided by synthesizer circuitry 1806D.
  • the amplifier circuitry 1806B can be configured to amplify the down-converted signals and the filter circuitry 1806C can be a low-pass filter (LPF) or band-pass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from the down-converted signals to generate output baseband signals.
  • Output baseband signals can be provided to the baseband circuitry 1804 for further processing.
  • the output baseband signals can be zero-frequency baseband signals, although this is not a requirement.
  • mixer circuitry 1806A of the receive signal path can comprise passive mixers, although the scope of the implementations is not limited in this respect.
  • the mixer circuitry 1806A of the transmit signal path can be configured to up-convert input baseband signals based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuitry 1806D to generate RF output signals for the FEM circuitry 1808.
  • the baseband signals can be provided by the baseband circuitry 1804 and can be filtered by filter circuitry 1806C.
  • the mixer circuitry 1806A of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 1806A of the transmit signal path can include two or more mixers and can be arranged for quadrature down conversion and up conversion, respectively.
  • the mixer circuitry 1806A of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 1806A of the transmit signal path can include two or more mixers and can be arranged for image rejection (e.g., Hartley image rejection).
  • the mixer circuitry 1806A of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry' 1406A can be arranged for direct down conversion and direct up conversion, respectively.
  • the mixer circuitry 1806A of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 1806A of the transmit signal path can be configured for super-heterodyne operation.
  • the output baseband signals, and the input baseband signals can be analog baseband signals, although the scope of the implementations is not limited in this respect.
  • the output baseband signals, and the input baseband signals can be digital baseband signals.
  • the RF circuitry 1806 can include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry and the baseband circuitry 1804 can include a digital baseband interface to communicate with the RF circuitry 1806.
  • ADC analog-to-digital converter
  • DAC digital-to-analog converter
  • a separate radio IC circuitry can be provided for processing signals for each spectrum, although the scope of the implementations is not limited in this respect.
  • the synthesizer circuitry 1806D can be a fractionally synthesizer or a fractional N/N+1 synthesizer, although the scope of the implementations is not limited in this respect as other types of frequency synthesizers can be suitable.
  • synthesizer circuitry 1806D can be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer comprising a phase- locked loop with a frequency divider.
  • the synthesizer circuitry 1806D can be configured to synthesize an output frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 1806A of the RF circuitry 1806 based on a frequency input and a divider control input.
  • the synthesizer circuitry 1806D can be a fractional N/N+1 synthesizer.
  • frequency input can be provided by a voltage- controlled oscillator (VCO), although that is not a requirement.
  • VCO voltage- controlled oscillator
  • Divider control input can be provided by either the baseband circuitry 1804 or the applications circuitry 1802 depending on the desired output frequency.
  • a divider control input e.g., N
  • N can be determined from a look-up table based on a channel indicated by the applications circuitry 1802.
  • Synthesizer circuitry 1806D of the RF circuitry 1806 can include a divider, a delay-locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer and a phase accumulator.
  • the divider can be a dual modulus divider (DMD) and the phase accumulator can be a digital phase accumulator (DPA).
  • the DMD can be configured to divide the input signal by either N or N+1 (e.g., based on a carry out) to provide a fractional division ratio.
  • the DLL can include a set of cascaded, tunable, delay elements, a phase detector, a charge pump and a D-type flip-flop.
  • the delay elements can be configured to break a VCO period up into Nd equal packets of phase, where Nd is the number of delay elements in the delay line.
  • Nd is the number of delay elements in the delay line.
  • synthesizer circuitry 1806D can be configured to generate a carrier frequency as the output frequency, while in other implementations, the output frequency can be a multiple of the carrier frequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrier frequency) and used in conjunction with quadrature generator and divider circuitry to generate multiple signals at the carrier frequency with multiple different phases with respect to each other.
  • the output frequency can be a LO frequency (fLO).
  • the RF circuitry 1806 can include an IQ/polar converter.
  • FEM circuitry 1808 can include a receive signal path which can include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from one or more antennas 1810, amplify the received signals and provide the amplified versions of the received signals to the RF circuitry 1806 for further processing.
  • FEM circuitry 1808 can also include a transmit signal path which can include circuitry configured to amplify signals for transmission provided by the RF circuitry 1806 for transmission by one or more of the one or more antennas 1810.
  • the amplification through the transmit or receive signal paths can be done solely in the RF circuitry 1806, solely in the FEM circuitry 1808, or in both the RF circuitry 1806 and the FEM circuitry 1808.
  • the FEM circuitry 1808 can include a TX/RX switch to switch between transmit mode and receive mode operation.
  • the FEM circuitry can include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path.
  • the receive signal path of the FEM circuitry can include an LNA to amplify received RF signals and provide the amplified received RF signals as an output (e.g., to the RF circuitry 1806).
  • the transmit signal path of the FEM circuitry 1808 can include a power amplifier (PA) to amplify input RF signals (e.g., provided by RF circuitry 1806), and one or more filters to generate RF signals for subsequent transmission (e.g., by one or more of the one or more antennas 1810).
  • PA power amplifier
  • the PMC 1812 can manage power provided to the baseband circuitry 1804.
  • the PMC 1812 can control power-source selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-to-DC conversion.
  • the PMC 1812 can often be included when the device 1800 is capable of being powered by a battery, for example, when the device is included in a UE.
  • the PMC 1812 can increase the power conversion efficiency while providing desirable implementation size and heat dissipation characteristics.
  • Fig. 18 shows the PMC 1812 coupled only with the baseband circuitry 1804.
  • the PMC 1812 may be additionally or alternatively coupled with, and perform similar power management operations for, other components such as, but not limited to, application circuitry 1802, RF circuitry 1806, or FEM circuitry 1808.
  • the PMC 1812 can control, or otherwise be part of, various power saving mechanisms of the device 1800. For example, if the device 1800 is in an RRC_Connected state, where it is still connected to the RAN node as it expects to receive traffic shortly, then it can enter a state known as discontinuous reception mode (DRX) after a period of inactivity. During this state, the device 1800 can power down for brief intervals of time and thus save power.
  • DRX discontinuous reception mode
  • the device 1800 can transition off to an RRCJdle state, where it disconnects from the network and does not perform operations such as channel quality feedback, handover, etc.
  • the device 1800 goes into a very low power state and it performs paging where again it periodically wakes up to listen to the network and then powers down again.
  • the device 1800 may not receive data in this state; in order to receive data, it can transition back to RRC_Connected state.
  • An additional power saving mode can allow a device to be unavailable to the network for periods longer than a paging interval (ranging from seconds to a few hours). During this time, the device is unreachable to the network and can power down completely. Any data sent during this time incurs a large delay and it is assumed the delay is acceptable.
  • Processors of the application circuitry 1802 and processors of the baseband circuitry 1804 can be used to execute elements of one or more instances of a protocol stack.
  • processors of the baseband circuitry 1804 alone or in combination, can be used execute Layer 3, Layer 2, or Layer 1 functionality, while processors of the baseband circuitry 1804 can utilize data (e.g., packet data) received from these layers and further execute Layer 4 functionality (e.g., transmission communication protocol (TCP) and user datagram protocol (UDP) layers).
  • Layer 3 can comprise a RRC layer, described in further detail below.
  • Layer 2 can comprise a medium access control (MAC) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, described in further detail below.
  • Layer 1 can comprise a physical (PHY) layer of a UE/RAN node, described in further detail below.
  • Fig. 19 is a block diagram illustrating components, according to some example implementations, able to read instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein.
  • Fig. 19 shows a diagrammatic representation of hardware resources 1900 including one or more processors (or processor cores) 1910, one or more memory/storage devices 1920, and one or more communication resources 1930, each of which may be communicatively coupled via a bus 1940.
  • node virtualization e.g., NFV
  • a hypervisor may be executed to provide an execution environment for one or more network slices/sub-slices to utilize the hardware resources 1900
  • the processors 1910 may include, for example, a processor 1912 and a processor 1914.
  • CPU central processing unit
  • RISC reduced instruction set computing
  • CISC complex instruction set computing
  • GPU graphics processing unit
  • DSP digital signal processor
  • ASIC application specific integrated circuit
  • RFIC radio-frequency integrated circuit
  • the memory /storage devices 1920 may include main memory, disk storage, or any suitable combination thereof.
  • the memory/storage devices 1920 may include, but are not limited to any type of volatile or non-volatile memory such as dynamic random-access memory (DRAM), static random-access memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), Flash memory, solid-state storage, etc.
  • DRAM dynamic random-access memory
  • SRAM static random-access memory
  • EPROM erasable programmable read-only memory
  • EEPROM electrically erasable programmable read-only memory
  • Flash memory solid-state storage, etc.
  • memory/storage devices 1920 may receive and store one or more configurations, instructions, and/or other types of information 1955 to enable dynamic configuration and allocation of different combinations of fixed and adaptive beams for a control link and backhaul link. This may include using causing or enabling NCR 160 to use one or more fixed beams to communicate with base station 122 via a control link and a backhaul link and switching to an adaptive beam in response to one or more triggers or events, such as detecting DL information to be sent to base station 122, receiving a prompt to establish an access beam for an access link, etc. The information and instructions may also cause or enable NCR 160 to determine appropriate times and durations for using an adaptive link, for switch back to a fixed beam for the backhaul link in response to one or more conditions, and more.
  • the communication resources 1930 may include interconnection or network interface components or other suitable devices to communicate with one or more peripheral devices 1904 or one or more databases 1906 via a network 1908.
  • the communication resources 1930 may include wired communication components (e.g., for coupling via a universal serial bus (USB)), cellular communication components, NFC components, Bluetooth® components (e.g., Bluetooth® low energy), Wi-Fi® components, and other communication components.
  • Instructions 1950 may comprise software, a program, an application, an applet, an app, or other executable code for causing at least any of the processors 1910 to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein.
  • the instructions 1950 may reside, completely or partially, within at least one of the processors 1910 (e.g., within the processor’s cache memory), the memory/storage devices 1920, or any suitable combination thereof.
  • any portion of the instructions 1950 may be transferred to the hardware resources 1900 from any combination of the peripheral devices 1904 or the databases 1906. Accordingly, the memory of processors 1910, the memory/storage devices 1920, the peripheral devices 1904, and the databases 1906 are examples of computer-readable and machine-readable media.
  • Examples herein can include subject matter such as a method, means for performing acts or blocks of the method, at least one machine-readable medium including executable instructions that, when performed by a machine (e.g., a processor (e.g., processor , etc.) with memory, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or the like) cause the machine to perform acts of the method or of an apparatus or system for concurrent communication using multiple communication technologies according to implementations and examples described.
  • a machine e.g., a processor (e.g., processor , etc.) with memory, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or the like
  • ASIC application-specific integrated circuit
  • FPGA field programmable gate array
  • an NCR may comprise a memory; and one or more processors configured to, when executing instructions stored in the memory, cause the NCR to: communicate, using one or more fixed beams, with a base station via a control link and a backhaul link; establish an adaptive beam for communicating with the base station via the backhaul link; establish an access beam to communicate with a user equipment (UE) via an access link; and relay information from the base station to the UE using the adaptive beam and the access beam.
  • UE user equipment
  • the NCR is to determine a start time for using the adaptive beam based on a start time for using the access beam.
  • the NCR is to determine a duration for using the adaptive beam based on a duration associated with the access beam.
  • the NCR is to switch back to the one or more fixed beams to communicate with the base station via the backhaul link in response to an expiration of a duration for using the adaptive beam.
  • the NCR is to switch back to the one or more fixed beams to communicate with the base station via the backhaul link in response to receiving an explicit instruction from the base station.
  • the NCR is to use the adaptive beam to communicate with the base station via the control link.
  • the NCR is to determine a start time for the adaptive beam based on a minimum application time and a dedicated duration.
  • the NCR is to determine a start time for the adaptive beam based on a start time associated with the access beam.
  • the NCR is to determine a duration for using the adaptive beam based on a duration associated with the access beam.
  • the NCR is to establish another adaptive beam for communicating with the base station via the control link.
  • the NCR is to determine a start time for the adaptive beam and the another adaptive beam based on at least one of: a start time for using the access beam; or dedicated signaling from the base station.
  • the NCR is to determine a start time for the adaptive beam based on a start time of the another adaptive beam.
  • the NCR is to determine a duration for the adaptive beam and the another adaptive beam based on at least one of: a duration associated with the access beam; or a dedicated duration signaled from the base station.
  • the NCR is to determine a duration for the another adaptive beam based on a duration of the adaptive beam.
  • the NCR is to determine a start time for using the adaptive beam based on a start time for using a first access beam of the multiple access beams.
  • the NCR is to determine a start time for using the adaptive beam based on explicit signaling from the base station.
  • example 17 which may also include one or more of the examples described herein, when an indication for the adaptive beam is received before side control information (SCI) indicating the access beam, the NCR is to determine a start time for using the adaptive beam based on a start point of the access beam.
  • SCI side control information
  • the NCR when an indication for the adaptive beam is received after side control information (SCI) indicating multiple access beams, the NCR is to determine a start time for using the adaptive beam based on a start point of a first access beam of the multiple access beams following a minimum time duration associated with using the adaptive beam.
  • the NCR is limited to one fixed beam and one adaptive beam, and the one fixed beam is a default beam for communicating with the base station via the control link and the backhaul link.
  • the one or more fixed beams and the adaptive beam are configured via a media access control (MAC) control element (CE) or downlink control information (DCI).
  • MAC media access control
  • CE control element
  • DCI downlink control information
  • the NCR is limited to one or more sets of beams for both the control link and the backhaul link.
  • the NCR is to report, to the base station, beam capability information comprising at least one of: whether multiple fixed beams are supported; whether multiple beams are supported for the control link and the backhaul link; whether a start time of the adaptive beam is based on a start time of the access beam; whether a duration of the adaptive beam is based on a duration of the access beam; or whether the start time of the adaptive beam is based on a minimum time duration associated with eh adaptive beam.
  • the NCR is to report the beam capability information in response to a request from the base station.
  • a method, performed by an NCR may comprise: communicating, using one or more fixed beams, with a base station via a control link and a backhaul link; establishing an adaptive beam for communicating with the base station via the backhaul link; establishing an access beam to communicate with a user equipment (UE) via an access link; and relaying information from the base station to the UE using the adaptive beam and the access beam.
  • UE user equipment
  • a non-transitory, computer-readable medium comprising: one or more instruction that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: communicate, using one or more fixed beams, with a base station via a control link and a backhaul link; establish an adaptive beam for communicating with the base station via the backhaul link; establish an access beam to communicate with a user equipment (UE) via an access link; and relay information from the base station to the UE using the adaptive beam and the access beam.
  • UE user equipment
  • the term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” rather than an exclusive “or”. That is, unless specified otherwise, or clear from context, “X employs A or B” is intended to mean any of the natural inclusive permutations. That is, if X employs A; X employs B; or X employs both A and B, then “X employs A or B” is satisfied under any of the foregoing instances.
  • the articles “a” and “an” as used in this application and the appended claims should generally be construed to mean “one or more” unless specified otherwise or clear from context to be directed to a singular form.
  • personally identifiable information should follow privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmental requirements for maintaining the privacy of users.
  • personally identifiable information data should be managed and handled to minimize risks of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly indicated to users.

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

Abstract

Les techniques présentement décrites peuvent améliorer les communications entre un répéteur de commande de réseau (NCR) et une station de base en permettant la configuration et l'attribution dynamiques de différentes combinaisons de faisceaux fixes et adaptatifs pour une liaison de commande et une liaison de backhaul. Un NCR peut communiquer avec une station de base à l'aide d'un faisceau fixe à la fois pour une liaison de commande et une liaison de backhaul. Lors de la détection d'une invite pour établir un faisceau d'accès pour une liaison d'accès à un équipement utilisateur (UE), le NCR peut commuter de l'utilisation du faisceau fixe pour la liaison de backhaul à l'utilisation d'un faisceau adaptatif pour la liaison de backhaul. Le faisceau fixe peut encore être utilisé pour la liaison de commande mais des échanges d'informations impliquant la liaison d'accès peuvent être acheminés vers la liaison de backhaul par l'intermédiaire du faisceau adaptatif.
PCT/US2023/030762 2022-09-23 2023-08-22 Systèmes, procédés et dispositifs pour faisceaux de liaison de commande et de backhaul Ceased WO2024063889A1 (fr)

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Non-Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
"3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access network; Study on NR network-controlled repeaters; (Release 18)", no. V0.2.0, 16 September 2022 (2022-09-16), pages 1 - 18, XP052210810, Retrieved from the Internet <URL:https://ftp.3gpp.org/Specs/archive/38_series/38.867/38867-020.zip 38867-020.docx> [retrieved on 20220916] *
SAMSUNG: "Side control information to enable NR network-controlled repeaters", vol. RAN WG1, no. Toulouse, France; 20220822 - 20220826, 12 August 2022 (2022-08-12), XP052274777, Retrieved from the Internet <URL:https://ftp.3gpp.org/tsg_ran/WG1_RL1/TSGR1_110/Docs/R1-2206840.zip R1-2206840 Side control information to enable NR network-controlled repeaters_clean.docx> [retrieved on 20220812] *

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