WO2024065401A1

WO2024065401A1 - Paging early indication monitoring in user equipment specific discontinuous reception

Info

Publication number: WO2024065401A1
Application number: PCT/CN2022/122623
Authority: WO
Inventors: Mads LAURIDSEN; Daniela Laselva; Chunli Wu
Original assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy; Nokia Technologies Oy
Current assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy; Nokia Technologies Oy
Priority date: 2022-09-29
Filing date: 2022-09-29
Publication date: 2024-04-04
Anticipated expiration: 2025-03-29
Also published as: CN118120310A

Abstract

Systems, methods, apparatuses, and computer program products for paging early indication monitoring in user equipment specific discontinuous reception and cell specific discontinuous reception are provided. For example, a method can include determining at least one of an overlap between first paging frames of a user equipment specific discontinuous reception cycle and second paging frames of a cell specific discontinuous reception cycle, relative lengths of the user equipment specific discontinuous reception cycle and the cell specific discontinuous reception cycle, or whether an indication about transmission of a user equipment specific paging early indication is present. The method can also include deciding monitoring for a paging early indication for a paging frame based on a result of the determining.

Description

PAGING EARLY INDICATION MONITORING IN USER EQUIPMENT SPECIFIC DISCONTINUOUS RECEPTION

FIELD:

Some example embodiments may generally relate to communications including mobile or wireless telecommunication systems, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) or fifth generation (5G) radio access technology or new radio (NR) access technology, or other communications systems including subsequent generations of the same or similar standards. For example, certain example embodiments may generally relate to paging early indication monitoring in user equipment specific discontinuous reception and cell specific discontinuous reception.

BACKGROUND:

Examples of mobile or wireless telecommunication systems may include the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN) , Long Term Evolution (LTE) Evolved UTRAN (E-UTRAN) , LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) , MulteFire, LTE-A Pro, and/or fifth generation (5G) radio access technology or new radio (NR) access technology. 5G wireless systems refer to the next generation (NG) of radio systems and network architecture. A 5G system is mostly built on 5G new radio (NR) , but a 5G (or NG) network can also build on the E-UTRA radio. From release 18 (Rel-18) onward, 5G is referred to as 5G advanced. It is estimated that NR provides bitrates on the order of 10-20 Gbit/s or higher, and can support at least service categories such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) and ultra-reliable low-latency-communication (URLLC) as well as massive machine type communication (mMTC) . NR is expected to deliver extreme broadband and ultra-robust, low latency connectivity and massive networking to support the Internet of Things (IoT) . With IoT and machine-to-machine (M2M) communication becoming more widespread, there will be a growing need for networks that meet the needs of lower power, low data rate, and long battery life. The next generation radio access network (NG-RAN) represents the RAN for 5G, which can provide both NR and LTE (and LTE-Advanced) radio accesses. It is noted that, in 5G, the nodes that can provide radio access functionality to a user equipment (i.e., similar to the Node B, NB, in UTRAN or the evolved NB, eNB, in LTE) may be named next-generation NB (gNB) when built on NR radio and may be named next-generation eNB (NG-eNB) when built on E-UTRA radio. 6G is currently under development and may replace 5G and 5G advanced.

SUMMARY:

An embodiment may be directed to an apparatus. The apparatus can include at least one processor and at least memory storing instructions. The instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, can cause the apparatus at least to perform determining at least one of an overlap between first paging frames of a user equipment specific discontinuous reception cycle and second paging frames of a cell specific discontinuous reception cycle, relative lengths of the user equipment specific discontinuous reception cycle and the cell specific discontinuous reception cycle, or whether an indication about transmission of a user equipment specific paging early indication is present. The instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, can also cause the apparatus at least to perform deciding monitoring for a paging early indication for a paging frame based on a result of the determining.

An embodiment may be directed to an apparatus. The apparatus can include at least one processor and at least memory storing instructions. The instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, can cause the apparatus at least to perform determining relative lengths of a user equipment specific discontinuous reception cycle and a cell specific discontinuous reception cycle. The instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, can also cause the apparatus at least to perform deciding monitoring for a paging early indication for a paging frame based on a result of the determining.

An embodiment may be directed to an apparatus. The apparatus can include at least one processor and at least memory storing instructions. The instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, can cause the apparatus at least to perform determining whether a user equipment will be monitoring for a paging early indication in a given paging frame associated with at least one user equipment specific discontinuous reception cycle. The instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, can also cause the apparatus at least to perform transmitting the paging early indication based on the determining indicating that the user equipment will be monitoring for a paging early indication in a given paging frame.

An embodiment may be directed to a method. The method can include determining at least one of an overlap between first paging frames of a user equipment specific discontinuous reception cycle and second paging frames of a cell specific discontinuous reception cycle, relative lengths of the user equipment specific discontinuous reception cycle and the cell specific discontinuous reception cycle, or whether an indication about transmission of a user equipment specific paging early indication is present. The method can also include deciding monitoring for a paging early indication for a paging frame based on a result of the determining.

An embodiment may be directed to a method. The method can include determining relative lengths of a user equipment specific discontinuous reception cycle and a cell specific discontinuous reception cycle. The method can also include deciding monitoring for a paging early indication for a paging frame based on a result of the determining.

An embodiment may be directed to a method. The method can include determining whether a user equipment will be monitoring for a paging early indication in a given paging frame associated with at least one user equipment specific discontinuous reception cycle. The method can also include transmitting the paging early indication based on the determining indicating that the user equipment will be monitoring for a paging early indication in a given paging frame.

An embodiment can be directed to an apparatus. The apparatus can include means for determining at least one of an overlap between first paging frames of a user equipment specific discontinuous reception cycle and second paging frames of a cell specific discontinuous reception cycle, relative lengths of the user equipment specific discontinuous reception cycle and the cell specific discontinuous reception cycle, or whether an indication about transmission of a user equipment specific paging early indication is present. The apparatus can also include means for deciding monitoring for a paging early indication for a paging frame based on a result of the determining.

An embodiment can be directed to an apparatus. The apparatus can include means for means for determining relative lengths of a user equipment specific discontinuous reception cycle and a cell specific discontinuous reception cycle. The apparatus can also include means for deciding monitoring for a paging early indication for a paging frame based on a result of the determining.

An embodiment can be directed to an apparatus. The apparatus can include means for determining whether a user equipment will be monitoring for a paging early indication in a given paging frame associated with at least one user equipment specific discontinuous reception cycle. The apparatus can also include means for transmitting the paging early indication based on the determining indicating that the user equipment will be monitoring for a paging early indication in a given paging frame.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS:

For proper understanding of example embodiments, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a flow chart of user equipment behavior according to certain embodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates a method according to certain embodiments; and

FIG. 3 illustrates an example block diagram of a system, according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION:

It will be readily understood that the components of certain example embodiments, as generally described and illustrated in the figures herein, may be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations. Thus, the following detailed description of some example embodiments of systems, methods, apparatuses, and computer program products for providing paging early indication monitoring in user equipment specific discontinuous reception and cell specific discontinuous reception, is not intended to limit the scope of certain embodiments but is representative of selected example embodiments.

The features, structures, or characteristics of example embodiments described throughout this specification may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more example embodiments. For example, the usage of the phrases “certain embodiments, ” “some embodiments, ” or other similar language, throughout this specification refers to the fact that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in certain embodiments, ” “in some embodiments, ” “in other embodiments, ” or other similar language, throughout this specification do not necessarily all refer to the same group of embodiments, and the described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more example embodiments.

As used herein, “at least one of the following: <a list of two or more elements>” and “at least one of <a list of two or more elements>” and similar wording, where the list of two or more elements are joined by “and” or “or, ” mean at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all the elements.

Certain embodiments may have various aspects and features. These aspects and features may be applied alone or in any desired combination with one another. Other features, procedures, and elements may also be applied in combination with some or all of the aspects and features disclosed herein.

Additionally, if desired, the different functions or procedures discussed below may be performed in a different order and/or concurrently with each other. Furthermore, if desired, one or more of the described functions or procedures may be optional or may be combined. As such, the following description should be considered as illustrative of the principles and teachings of certain example embodiments, and not in limitation thereof.

Certain embodiments may relate to user equipment (UE) power saving. More particularly, certain embodiments may relate to a paging early indication (PEI) for radio resource control (RRC) idle and RRC inactive UEs. The PEI is discussed in third generation partnership project (3GPP) technical specification (TS) 38.331 and 38.304.

The PEI can be a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) -based signal that the network can transmit prior to a paging frame (PF) of the UE to inform the UE whether or not to monitor for the paging downlink control information (DCI) in a paging occasion (PO) of the PF. Getting this early information may allow the UE to save energy by skipping reception of synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) prior to the PO, whenever the UE is not paged. In legacy new radio (NR) , the UE may receive at least one SSB to obtain time and frequency synchronization before the paging monitoring.

For example, according to 3GPP TS 38.304, section 7.2.1, a UE can monitor one PEI occasion (PEI-O) per discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle. A PEI-O can be a set of PDCCH monitoring occasions (MOs) . The time location of a PEI-O for UE’s PO is determined by a reference point. The time location may also be determined by an offset from the reference point to the start of the first PDCCH monitoring occasion. The reference point can be the start of a reference frame determined by a frame-level offset from the start of the first PF of the PF (s) associated with the PEI-O. The first PF of the PFs associated with PEI-O can be provided by the following equation: ( (SFN for PF) -floor (i _PO/Ns) *T/N. SFN can be the sequence frame number and can be determined by 3GPP TS 38.304, section 7.1. T can be the DRX cycle of the UE. SFN for the PF is determined by: (SFN + PF_offset) mod T = (T div N) * (UE_ID mod N) . Index (i_s) , indicating the index of the PO is determined by: i_s= floor (UE_ID/N) mod Ns. The following parameters can be used for the calculation of PF and i_s above: i _PO = ( (UE_ID mod N) *Ns + i_s) mod po-NumPerPEI, where po-NumPerPEI can be configured via SIB. T can be the DRX cycle of the UE. T can be determined by the shortest of the UE specific DRX value (s) , if configured by RRC and/or upper layers, and a default cell-specific DRX value broadcast in system information. In RRC_IDLE state, if UE specific DRX is not configured by upper layers, the default value can be applied. N can be the number of total paging frames in T. Ns can be the number of paging occasions for a PF. PF_offset can be an offset used for PF determination. UE_ID can be 5G-S-TMSI mod 1024.

The UE can be configured with a DRX cycle to use in RRC inactive/idle state, which either can be a cell-specific/default DRX value, for example broadcast in system information, or can be a UE-specific DRX value, for example configured by RRC and/or upper layers. The UE calculation of the SFN for the UE’s PF in the DRX cycle can be determined based partially on T, which can be the shortest of a UE-specific DRX cycle, if configured, and the cell-specific, which may be the default, cycle broadcasted in system information.

Certain embodiments address the issue of whether the UE is to monitor for PEI when the UE is configured with a UE-specific DRX cycle. The DRX cycle in the UE-specific case may be shorter than in the cell-specific case, for example 32 radio frames as compared to 128 radio frames in the cell-specific case.

A given cell may be transmitting PEI only according to the cell-specific DRX cycle, which may be less frequent and common to most UEs. The UE-specific and cell-specific DRX cycles may not have common PFs. Thus, the search space configured for PEI monitoring might not have PDCCH occasion (s) associated to the UE specific POs and PFs. This may occur because it may be unlikely for the NW to always configure more frequent search space than for cell specific PFs so that a relatively small number of UEs with a shorter cycle can be paged in the cell.

Examples of cases when UE-specific and cell-specific DRX cycles do not have common PFs are provided in the following. According to the description of SFN for the PF in section 7.1 of 38.304, the PFs calculated with the UE specific DRX cycle and cell specific DRX cycle could result in the same or different SFN depending on the UE_ID, UE specific cycle, cell specific DRX cycle and N configured for the cell. The values of oneT, halfT, quarterT and so forth in the RRC paging configuration can indicate how many PFs are configured within one cell specific DRX cycle. For example, if the cell-specific DRX has a cycle of 128 radio frames and the UE-specific DRX cycle is 32 radio frames a “T div N” of 16 and 8 respectively would lead to cell-specific PF every 128/16 = 8 radio frames and UE-specific PF every 32/16 = 2 radio frames. Thus, the UE-specific PF will coincide with the cell-specific PFs in 1 out of 4 PFs for a given UE in this example.

A UE-specific paging cycle can be provided as part of an RRC release message, while a cell-specific paging cycle can be provided both in the RRC release message and in SIB. 3GPP TS 38.331 provides examples of ways to provide the UE-specific paging cycle and the cell-specific paging cycle. For example, an element of the RRC release message, ran-PagingCycle, can refer to the UE specific cycle for RAN-initiated paging. Value rf32 can correspond to 32 radio frames, value rf64 can correspond to 64 radio frames and so on. Another element of the RRC release message, defaultPagingCycle, can be used to derive T in the above-described approach. As with ran-PagingCycle, with defaultPagingCycle, value rf32 can correspond to 32 radio frames, value rf64 can correspond to 64 radio frames and so on.

Certain embodiments define PEI monitoring behavior for a UE configured with a UE-specific DRX cycle.

Because the UE is aware of the cell-specific and the UE-specific DRX configurations, the UE can determine whether the PFs of the two configurations do not coincide, partially coincide, or coincide in all instances. These three cases can be referred to as case 1 or the no overlap case, case 2 or the partial overlap case, and case 3 or the full overlap case. The numbering of these cases is merely for convenience and not by way of preference, order, or priority. Making a determination of overlap can refer to identifying which of these three cases applies when both cell-specific and UE-specific DRX configurations are present.

The determination can, for example, be based on the SFN for PF determination as per 3GPP TS 38.304, section 7.1. The network or specifications can control whether the UE should monitor for PEI in each of cases 1, 2, and 3.

Based on the UE determination of the PFs of both the UE-specific configuration and cell-specific configuration, including all PFs in the cell when considering any potential UE IDs, the UE can perform any of the following.

For example, if the PFs of the UE related to the UE-specific DRX cycle coincide with the PFs of cell specific DRX cycle in all instances, labelled as case 3 above, the UE can monitor PEI if configured before the POs.

In another example, the PFs of the UE related to the UE-specific DRX cycle may coincide with the PFs of cell specific DRX cycle in some instances but not all, which is indicated as case 2 above. In this case, the UE can assume that there is PEI transmitted only for the cell specific PFs. That is, for the PFs of the UE that coincide with the cell-specific PFs, the UE can monitor for PEI before the corresponding POs. For the PFs that do not coincide with the cell specific PFs, the UE can instead only monitor the paging DCI without PEI monitoring. In another alternative, for the PFs that do not coincide with the cell specific PFs, the UE can monitor UE-specific PEI. Alternatively, the UE may not monitor for PEI for any of the PFs, independently of whether a certain UE-specific PF coincides with the cell-specific PF or not.

In a further example, the PFs for the UE with UE specific DRX cycle may not coincide with the PFs with cell specific DRX cycle in any instance, which can correspond to case 1, described above. In this case, the UE can assume that there is no PEI transmitted for the UE-specific PFs and can monitor only the paging DCI. Alternatively, the UE can monitor PEI in the UE-specific PFs. The PEI monitoring can be based on the network providing any of the following indications: a UE-specific PEI configuration or a flag that indicates that a UE-specific PEI is transmitted based on cell-specific PEI configuration. The use of either of these indications can imply that the network transmits PEI at a UE-specific point in time instead of the cell-specific points. In this way, the UE can use the cell-specific PEI configuration, but can apply the cell-specific PEI configuration to the UE-specific PFs.

If the network has provided any of the above indications, the UE may also choose to skip the calculation of coinciding PFs and just monitor the UE-specific PEI.

The network can perform the same calculations of coinciding PFs. Therefore, the network can be aware of whether to transmit the PEI before the PF or not. In case the UE would not be monitoring for PEI, the network can avoid transmitting the PEI.

In an alternative embodiment, if the UE-specific DRX cycle is shorter than the cell-specific DRX cycle, then the UE can avoid monitoring PEI. Thus, the UE can also skip the calculation of whether PFs coincide.

In another alternative embodiment, if the UE-specific DRX cycle is shorter than the cell-specific DRX cycle, the UE can be configured as to whether the UE should monitor PEI before each of the UE’s POs, without having to calculate if PFs coincide. The UE can be so configured using a UE-specific PEI configuration or a flag that indicates that a UE-specific PEI is transmitted based on cell-specific PEI configuration.

In certain embodiments, the UE can determine whether the PFs derived from the UE-specific DRX cycle fully or partially coincide with the cell-specific ones, based on the cell specific DRX cycle, the UE’s UE specific DRX cycle, and the parameter N.

The cell specific PFs can cover any PFs in the cell, including the PFs of other UEs than the given UE. Thus, when considering cell specific PFs, the UE can consider all PFs, not only those calculated by this UE with the UE’s own UE_ID but considering any potential UE_ID in the cell.

The UE can determine which PFs coincide based on a formula for PF calculation using UE-specific DRX cycle and cell specific DRX cycle, as mentioned above. In an example, a UE specific DRX cycle can have 32 RFs, a cell specific DRX cycle can have 64 RFs, N can be 2, a PF_offset can be zero, Ns can be 2, and the result can that the PF for the UE-specific DRX cycle can be 0 and 16 SFN, while the PF for cell-specific DRX cycle can be 0 and 32 SFN. In this example, therefore, SFN 16 does not coincide, whereas SFN 0 coincides. Accordingly, using the labels mentioned above, this provides an example of case 2.

In one example, the UE can determine that UE-specific PFs fully or partially coincide with cell-specific PFs if UE_ID mod (cell specific DRX cycle /UE specific DRX cycle) = 0, otherwise they do not coincide with cell-specific PF.

In one example, a UE with UE_ID mod (cell specific DRX cycle /UE specific DRX cycle ) = 0 can determine the PFs with UE-specific DRX fully coincides with cell-specific PFs if N >= (cell-specific DRX cycle /UE-specific DRX cycle) ; and partially coincide with the cell-specific PFs if N< (cell specific DRX cycle /UE specific DRX cycle) .

In some example embodiment, the UE can take the PEI configuration into account to determine to monitor PEI or not before its PFs. If the search space configuration for PEI has PDCCH occasions associated with a PF with UE-specific DRX cycle, the UE can monitor PEI for the PF regardless of whether the PF coincides with the cell-specific PF.

FIG. 1 illustrates a flow chart of user equipment behavior according to certain embodiments. As shown in FIG. 1, at 110 the UE can have cell-specific and UE-specific DRX cycles configured.

At 120, the UE can determine whether PEI is configured for the cell. If not, then at 170, the UE can simply monitoring paging DCI, without monitoring for any PEI.

If PEI is configured for the cell, then at 130 the UE can determine whether the UE-specific DRX cycle is less than cell-specific DRX cycle. If not, then at 180, the UE can monitor PEI based on cell-specific configuration.

If the UE-specific DRX cycle is less, then optionally at 140 the UE can calculate the next PFs for the two DRX configurations. At 150 the UE can further determine whether the PFs for the UE-specific DRX cycle coincide with the PFs of the cell-specific DRX cycle. If they do, then again the UE can proceed to 180.

If the two PFs do not coincide, or optionally any time the UE-specific DRX cycle is less than the cell-specific DRX cycle, then at 160 the UE can determine whether there is a UE-specific PEI or flag to indicate ruse of the cell-specific PEI for UE-specific PEI. This can be the indication to monitor PEI at UE-specific cycle based on the cell-specific PEI configuration, discussed above. If any such indication is present, then again the UE may proceed to 180. If neither such indication is present, then at 170 the UE can monitor paging DCI without monitoring for a PEI. If UE-specific PEI is configured, the UE can therefore monitor based on the fact that UE-specific PEI is configured.

The UE behavior can be hardcoded in specification or network-controlled. For example, in case 3 the network can define whether the UE is to monitor PEI or legacy paging DCI. For example, the network can provide a flag in the paging configuration system information (SI) . In case 1, the network can control the UE behavior by providing the UE-specific PEI configuration and/or the flag indicating reuse of cell-specific PEI configuration or not. The network configurations can be provided as UE-specific signaling, for example via RRC, or broadcast in the cell, for example as part of the paging/PEI configuration.

If one PEI-O is associated with POs of two PFs, the two PFs can be consecutive PFs calculated by the parameters PF_offset, T, Ns, and N. Thus, the UE’s calculation of coinciding PFs can cover two cell-specific consecutive PFs instead of just one.

FIG. 2 illustrates a method according to certain embodiments. As shown in FIG. 2, a method can include, at 210, determining a degree of overlap between first paging frames of a user equipment specific discontinuous reception cycle and second paging frames of a cell specific discontinuous reception cycle. The overlap degrees can be no overlap, partial overlap, or complete overlap. The determining at 210 can corresponding to the calculating at 140 and determination at 150 in FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, the method can also include, at 220, deciding monitoring for a paging early indication for a paging frame according to a result of the determining.

When the result of the determining is complete overlap between the first paging frames and the second paging frames, the deciding the monitoring can include deciding to monitor for the paging early indication before the first paging frames when paging early indication is configured.

When the result of the determining is partial overlap between the first paging frames and the second paging frames, the deciding the monitoring can include deciding to monitor for the paging early indication before the second paging frames when a given paging frame of the second paging frames coincides with a corresponding paging frame from the first paging frames.

When the result of the determining is partial overlap between the first paging frames and the second paging frames, the deciding the monitoring can include deciding to skip monitoring for the paging early indication. In this case the user equipment may monitor for paging without monitoring for the early paging indication.

When the result of the determining is no overlap between the first paging frames and the second paging frames, the deciding the monitoring can include deciding to skip monitoring for the paging early indication.

When the result of the determining is no overlap between the first paging frames and the second paging frames, the deciding the monitoring can include deciding to monitor for the paging early indication before the first paging frames.

The deciding to monitor can further be based on an indication from the network. The indication from the network can be a user equipment specific paging early indication configuration or an indication that user equipment specific paging early indication is transmitted based on a cell-specific paging early indication configuration.

The method can also include, at 215, determining relative lengths of a user equipment specific discontinuous reception cycle and a cell specific discontinuous reception cycle. For example, the user equipment specific discontinuous reception cycle may be shorter than, equal to, or longer than the cell specific discontinuous reception cycle. If the UE specific DRX cycle is less than the cell specific cycle then the UE may skip monitoring PEI, without checking whether or not the two cycles overlap.

The method can also include, at 225, deciding monitoring for a paging early indication for a paging frame according to a result of the determining the relative lengths. This decision can correspond to the determination at 130 in FIG. 1.

When the user equipment specific discontinuous reception cycle is shorter than the cell specific discontinuous reception cycle, the deciding monitoring can include deciding to skip monitoring for the paging early indication.

When the user equipment specific discontinuous reception cycle is shorter than the cell specific discontinuous reception cycle, the deciding monitoring can include following a configuration to monitor or skip monitoring. This decision can correspond to the decision at 160 in FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, whether the method proceeds according to deciding based on overlap, or based on relative length, at 230 the method can include monitoring paging DCI /paging occasion and/or PEI. For example, as described above and illustrated in FIG. 1, in some cases there may not be monitoring for PEI. In other cases, the monitoring for PEI may be at the overlapping or joint paging frames, or the like.

The procedures of FIG. 2 including the determinations at 210 and 215 and the deciding monitorings at 220 and 225 can be performed by a terminal device or user equipment. The method FIG. 2 can also include actions taken by a network element, such as a base station. For example, at 240, the method can include determining whether a user equipment will be monitoring for a paging early indication in a given paging frame. The determination can be made by following the decision flow of FIG. 1 or any similar decision flow that it is expected that the UE will follow.

The method can also include, at 250, transmitting the paging early indication conditioned on the determining indicating that the user equipment will be monitoring for a paging early indication in a given paging frame. In this way, for example, paging early indications can be avoided except when they may be helpful to the user equipment, thereby saving power.

At 260, the method can include configuring the user equipment for paging early indication. For example, the configuring can include configuring the user equipment by providing a flag to the user equipment indicating reuse of a cell-specific discontinuous reception paging early indication for user equipment specific discontinuous reception paging early indication. As another example, the configuring can include providing an indication to the user equipment to use user equipment specific discontinuous reception paging early indication.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a system that includes an apparatus 10, according to an embodiment. In an embodiment, apparatus 10 may be a node, host, or server in a communications network or serving such a network. For example, apparatus 10 may be a network node, satellite, base station, a Node B, an evolved Node B (eNB) , 5G Node B or access point, next generation Node B (NG-NB or gNB) , TRP, HAPS, integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, and/or a WLAN access point, associated with a radio access network, such as a LTE network, 5G or NR. In some example embodiments, apparatus 10 may be gNB or other similar radio node, for instance.

It should be understood that, in some example embodiments, apparatus 10 may include an edge cloud server as a distributed computing system where the server and the radio node may be stand-alone apparatuses communicating with each other via a radio path or via a wired connection, or they may be located in a same entity communicating via a wired connection. For instance, in certain example embodiments where apparatus 10 represents a gNB, it may be configured in a central unit (CU) and distributed unit (DU) architecture that divides the gNB functionality. In such an architecture, the CU may be a logical node that includes gNB functions such as transfer of user data, mobility control, radio access network sharing, positioning, and/or session management, etc. The CU may control the operation of DU (s) over a mid-haul interface, referred to as an F1 interface, and the DU (s) may have one or more radio unit (RU) connected with the DU (s) over a front-haul interface. The DU may be a logical node that includes a subset of the gNB functions, depending on the functional split option. It should be noted that one of ordinary skill in the art would understand that apparatus 10 may include components or features not shown in FIG. 3.

As illustrated in the example of FIG. 3, apparatus 10 may include a processor 12 for processing information and executing instructions or operations. Processor 12 may be any type of general or specific purpose processor. In fact, processor 12 may include one or more of general-purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) , field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) , application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) , and processors based on a multi-core processor architecture, or any other processing means, as examples. While a single processor 12 is shown in FIG. 3, multiple processors may be utilized according to other embodiments. For example, it should be understood that, in certain embodiments, apparatus 10 may include two or more processors that may form a multiprocessor system (e.g., in this case processor 12 may represent a multiprocessor) that may support multiprocessing. In certain embodiments, the multiprocessor system may be tightly coupled or loosely coupled (e.g., to form a computer cluster) .

Processor 12 may perform functions associated with the operation of apparatus 10, which may include, for example, precoding of antenna gain/phase parameters, encoding and decoding of individual bits forming a communication message, formatting of information, and overall control of the apparatus 10, including processes related to paging early indication monitoring in user equipment specific discontinuous reception and cell specific discontinuous reception.

Apparatus 10 may further include or be coupled to a memory 14 (internal or external) , which may be coupled to processor 12, for storing information and instructions that may be executed by processor 12. Memory 14 may be one or more memories and of any type suitable to the local application environment, and may be implemented using any suitable volatile or nonvolatile data storage technology such as a semiconductor-based memory device, a magnetic memory device and system, an optical memory device and system, fixed memory, and/or removable memory. For example, memory 14 can be include any combination of random access memory (RAM) , read only memory (ROM) , static storage such as a magnetic or optical disk, hard disk drive (HDD) , or any other type of non-transitory machine or computer readable media, or other appropriate storing means. The instructions stored in memory 14 may include program instructions or computer program code that, when executed by processor 12, enable the apparatus 10 to perform tasks as described herein. The term “non-transitory, ” as used herein, may correspond to a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal) as opposed to a limitation on data storage persistency (e.g., RAM vs. ROM) .

In an embodiment, apparatus 10 may further include or be coupled to (internal or external) a drive or port that is configured to accept and read an external computer readable storage medium, such as an optical disc, USB drive, flash drive, or any other storage medium. For example, the external computer readable storage medium may store a computer program or software for execution by processor 12 and/or apparatus 10.

In some embodiments, apparatus 10 may also include or be coupled to one or more antennas 15 for transmitting and receiving signals and/or data to and from apparatus 10. Apparatus 10 may further include or be coupled to a transceiver 18 configured to transmit and receive information. The transceiver 18 may include, for example, a plurality of radio interfaces that may be coupled to the antenna (s) 15, or may include any other appropriate transceiving means. The radio interfaces may correspond to a plurality of radio access technologies including one or more of global system for mobile communications (GSM) , narrow band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) , LTE, 5G, WLAN, Bluetooth (BT) , Bluetooth Low Energy (BT-LE) , near-field communication (NFC) , radio frequency identifier (RFID) , ultrawideband (UWB) , MulteFire, and the like. The radio interface may include components, such as filters, converters (for example, digital-to-analog converters and the like) , mappers, a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) module, and the like, to generate symbols for a transmission via one or more downlinks and to receive symbols (via an uplink, for example) .

As such, transceiver 18 may be configured to modulate information on to a carrier waveform for transmission by the antenna (s) 15 and demodulate information received via the antenna (s) 15 for further processing by other elements of apparatus 10. In other embodiments, transceiver 18 may be capable of transmitting and receiving signals or data directly. Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, apparatus 10 may include an input and/or output device (I/O device) , or an input/output means.

In an embodiment, memory 14 may store software modules that provide functionality when executed by processor 12. The modules may include, for example, an operating system that provides operating system functionality for apparatus 10. The memory may also store one or more functional modules, such as an application or program, to provide additional functionality for apparatus 10. The components of apparatus 10 may be implemented in hardware, or as any suitable combination of hardware and software.

According to some embodiments, processor 12 and memory 14 may be included in or may form a part of processing circuitry/means or control circuitry/means. In addition, in some embodiments, transceiver 18 may be included in or may form a part of transceiver circuitry/means.

As used herein, the term “circuitry” may refer to hardware-only circuitry implementations (e.g., analog and/or digital circuitry) , combinations of hardware circuits and software, combinations of analog and/or digital hardware circuits with software/firmware, any portions of hardware processor (s) with software (including digital signal processors) that work together to cause an apparatus (e.g., apparatus 10) to perform various functions, and/or hardware circuit (s) and/or processor (s) , or portions thereof, that use software for operation but where the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation. As a further example, as used herein, the term “circuitry” may also cover an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) , or portion of a hardware circuit or processor, and its accompanying software and/or firmware. The term circuitry may also cover, for example, a baseband integrated circuit in a server, cellular network node or device, or other computing or network device.

As introduced above, in certain embodiments, apparatus 10 may be or may be a part of a network element or RAN node, such as a base station, access point, Node B, eNB, gNB, TRP, HAPS, IAB node, relay node, WLAN access point, satellite, or the like. In one example embodiment, apparatus 10 may be a gNB or other radio node, or may be a CU and/or DU of a gNB. According to certain embodiments, apparatus 10 may be controlled by memory 14 and processor 12 to perform the functions associated with any of the embodiments described herein. For example, in some embodiments, apparatus 10 may be configured to perform one or more of the processes depicted in any of the flow charts or signaling diagrams described herein, such as those illustrated in FIGs. 1-2, or any other method described herein. In some embodiments, as discussed herein, apparatus 10 may be configured to perform a procedure relating to providing paging early indication monitoring in user equipment specific discontinuous reception and cell specific discontinuous reception, for example.

FIG. 3 further illustrates an example of an apparatus 20, according to an embodiment. In an embodiment, apparatus 20 may be a node or element in a communications network or associated with such a network, such as a UE, communication node, mobile equipment (ME) , mobile station, mobile device, stationary device, IoT device, or other device. As described herein, a UE may alternatively be referred to as, for example, a mobile station, mobile equipment, mobile unit, mobile device, user device, subscriber station, wireless terminal, tablet, smart phone, IoT device, sensor or NB-IoT device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD) , a vehicle, a drone, a medical device and applications thereof (e.g., remote surgery) , an industrial device and applications thereof (e.g., a robot and/or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and/or an automated processing chain context) , a consumer electronics device, a device operating on commercial and/or industrial wireless networks, or the like. As one example, apparatus 20 may be implemented in, for instance, a wireless handheld device, a wireless plug-in accessory, or the like.

In some example embodiments, apparatus 20 may include one or more processors, one or more computer-readable storage medium (for example, memory, storage, or the like) , one or more radio access components (for example, a modem, a transceiver, or the like) , and/or a user interface. In some embodiments, apparatus 20 may be configured to operate using one or more radio access technologies, such as GSM, LTE, LTE-A, NR, 5G, WLAN, WiFi, NB-IoT, Bluetooth, NFC, MulteFire, and/or any other radio access technologies. It should be noted that one of ordinary skill in the art would understand that apparatus 20 may include components or features not shown in FIG. 3.

As illustrated in the example of FIG. 3, apparatus 20 may include or be coupled to a processor 22 for processing information and executing instructions or operations. Processor 22 may be any type of general or specific purpose processor. In fact, processor 22 may include one or more of general-purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) , field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) , application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) , and processors based on a multi-core processor architecture, as examples. While a single processor 22 is shown in FIG. 3, multiple processors may be utilized according to other embodiments. For example, it should be understood that, in certain embodiments, apparatus 20 may include two or more processors that may form a multiprocessor system (e.g., in this case processor 22 may represent a multiprocessor) that may support multiprocessing. In certain embodiments, the multiprocessor system may be tightly coupled or loosely coupled (e.g., to form a computer cluster) .

Processor 22 may perform functions associated with the operation of apparatus 20 including, as some examples, precoding of antenna gain/phase parameters, encoding and decoding of individual bits forming a communication message, formatting of information, and overall control of the apparatus 20, including processes related to management of communication resources.

Apparatus 20 may further include or be coupled to a memory 24 (internal or external) , which may be coupled to processor 22, for storing information and instructions that may be executed by processor 22. Memory 24 may be one or more memories and of any type suitable to the local application environment, and may be implemented using any suitable volatile or nonvolatile data storage technology such as a semiconductor-based memory device, a magnetic memory device and system, an optical memory device and system, fixed memory, and/or removable memory. For example, memory 24 can include any combination of random access memory (RAM) , read only memory (ROM) , static storage such as a magnetic or optical disk, hard disk drive (HDD) , or any other type of non-transitory machine or computer readable media. The instructions stored in memory 24 may include program instructions or computer program code that, when executed by processor 22, enable the apparatus 20 to perform tasks as described herein.

In an embodiment, apparatus 20 may further include or be coupled to (internal or external) a drive or port that is configured to accept and read an external computer readable storage medium, such as an optical disc, USB drive, flash drive, or any other storage medium. For example, the external computer readable storage medium may store a computer program or software for execution by processor 22 and/or apparatus 20.

In some embodiments, apparatus 20 may also include or be coupled to one or more antennas 25 for receiving a downlink signal and for transmitting via an uplink from apparatus 20. Apparatus 20 may further include a transceiver 28 configured to transmit and receive information. The transceiver 28 may also include a radio interface (e.g., a modem) coupled to the antenna 25. The radio interface may correspond to a plurality of radio access technologies including one or more of GSM, LTE, LTE-A, 5G, NR, WLAN, NB-IoT, Bluetooth, BT-LE, NFC, RFID, UWB, and the like. The radio interface may include other components, such as filters, converters (for example, digital-to-analog converters and the like) , symbol demappers, signal shaping components, an Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) module, and the like, to process symbols, such as OFDM symbols, carried by a downlink or an uplink.

For instance, transceiver 28 may be configured to modulate information on to a carrier waveform for transmission by the antenna (s) 25 and demodulate information received via the antenna (s) 25 for further processing by other elements of apparatus 20. In other embodiments, transceiver 28 may be capable of transmitting and receiving signals or data directly. Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, apparatus 20 may include an input and/or output device (I/O device) . In certain embodiments, apparatus 20 may further include a user interface, such as a graphical user interface or touchscreen.

In an embodiment, memory 24 stores software modules that provide functionality when executed by processor 22. The modules may include, for example, an operating system that provides operating system functionality for apparatus 20. The memory may also store one or more functional modules, such as an application or program, to provide additional functionality for apparatus 20. The components of apparatus 20 may be implemented in hardware, or as any suitable combination of hardware and software. According to an example embodiment, apparatus 20 may optionally be configured to communicate with apparatus 10 via a wireless or wired communications link 70 according to any radio access technology, such as NR.

According to some embodiments, processor 22 and memory 24 may be included in or may form a part of processing circuitry or control circuitry. In addition, in some embodiments, transceiver 28 may be included in or may form a part of transceiving circuitry.

As discussed above, according to some embodiments, apparatus 20 may be a UE, SL UE, relay UE, mobile device, mobile station, ME, IoT device and/or NB-IoT device, or the like, for example. According to certain embodiments, apparatus 20 may be controlled by memory 24 and processor 22 to perform the functions associated with any of the embodiments described herein, such as one or more of the operations illustrated in, or described with respect to, FIGs. 1-2, or any other method described herein. For example, in an embodiment, apparatus 20 may be controlled to perform a process relating to providing paging early indication monitoring in user equipment specific discontinuous reception and cell specific discontinuous reception, as described in detail elsewhere herein.

In some embodiments, an apparatus (e.g., apparatus 10 and/or apparatus 20) may include means for performing a method, a process, or any of the variants discussed herein. Examples of the means may include one or more processors, memory, controllers, transmitters, receivers, and/or computer program code for causing the performance of any of the operations discussed herein.

In view of the foregoing, certain example embodiments provide several technological improvements, enhancements, and/or advantages over existing technological processes and constitute an improvement at least to the technological field of wireless network control and/or management. Certain embodiments provide various benefits and/or advantages. For example, certain embodiments may enable the UE to monitor PEI in a predictable way. Likewise, the network transmission of PEI may be predictable. Accordingly, the UE may obtain a maximum energy saving benefit provided by PEI. Certain embodiments may provide the network with flexibility in terms of whether to provide UE-specific PEI or not or to reuse PEI from cell-specific PFs. Such flexibility may be useful for control of the PDCCH load, because both PEI and paging DCI may rely on PDCCH resources.

In some example embodiments, the functionality of any of the methods, processes, signaling diagrams, algorithms or flow charts described herein may be implemented by software and/or computer program code or portions of code stored in memory or other computer readable or tangible media, and may be executed by a processor.

In some example embodiments, an apparatus may include or be associated with at least one software application, module, unit or entity configured as arithmetic operation (s) , or as a program or portions of programs (including an added or updated software routine) , which may be executed by at least one operation processor or controller. Programs, also called program products or computer programs, including software routines, applets and macros, may be stored in any apparatus-readable data storage medium and may include program instructions to perform particular tasks. A computer program product may include one or more computer-executable components which, when the program is run, are configured to carry out some example embodiments. The one or more computer-executable components may be at least one software code or portions of code. Modifications and configurations required for implementing the functionality of an example embodiment may be performed as routine (s) , which may be implemented as added or updated software routine (s) . In one example, software routine (s) may be downloaded into the apparatus.

As an example, software or computer program code or portions of code may be in source code form, object code form, or in some intermediate form, and may be stored in some sort of carrier, distribution medium, or computer readable medium, which may be any entity or device capable of carrying the program. Such carriers may include a record medium, computer memory, read-only memory, photoelectrical and/or electrical carrier signal, telecommunications signal, and/or software distribution package, for example. Depending on the processing power needed, the computer program may be executed in a single electronic digital computer or it may be distributed amongst a number of computers. The computer readable medium or computer readable storage medium may be a non-transitory medium.

In other example embodiments, the functionality of example embodiments may be performed by hardware or circuitry included in an apparatus, for example through the use of an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) , a programmable gate array (PGA) , a field programmable gate array (FPGA) , or any other combination of hardware and software. In yet another example embodiment, the functionality of example embodiments may be implemented as a signal, such as a non-tangible means, that can be carried by an electromagnetic signal downloaded from the Internet or other network.

According to an example embodiment, an apparatus, such as a node, device, or a corresponding component, may be configured as circuitry, a computer or a microprocessor, such as single-chip computer element, or as a chipset, which may include at least a memory for providing storage capacity used for arithmetic operation (s) and/or an operation processor for executing the arithmetic operation (s) .

Example embodiments described herein may apply to both singular and plural implementations, regardless of whether singular or plural language is used in connection with describing certain embodiments. For example, an embodiment that describes operations of a single network node may also apply to example embodiments that include multiple instances of the network node, and vice versa.

One having ordinary skill in the art will readily understand that the example embodiments as discussed above may be practiced with procedures in a different order, and/or with hardware elements in configurations which are different than those which are disclosed. Therefore, although some embodiments have been described based upon these example embodiments, it would be apparent to those of skill in the art that certain modifications, variations, and alternative constructions would be apparent, while remaining within the spirit and scope of example embodiments.

PARTIAL GLOSSARY:

DCI Downlink Control Information

DRX Discontinuous Reception

PBCH Physical Broadcast Channel

PDCCH Physical Downlink Control Channel

PEI Paging Early Indication

PF Paging Frame

PO Paging Occasion

RRC Radio Resource Control

SFN System Frame Number

SI System Information

SSB Synchronization signal and PBCH block

UE User Equipment

Claims

An apparatus, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to perform

determining at least one of an overlap between first paging frames of a user equipment specific discontinuous reception cycle and second paging frames of a cell specific discontinuous reception cycle, relative lengths of the user equipment specific discontinuous reception cycle and the cell specific discontinuous reception cycle, or whether an indication about transmission of a user equipment specific paging early indication is present; and

deciding monitoring for a paging early indication for a paging frame based on a result of the determining.
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein in response to the result of the determining comprises complete overlap between the first paging frames and the second paging frames, the deciding the monitoring comprises deciding to monitor for the paging early indication before the first paging frames based on that the paging early indication is configured.
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein in response to the result of the determining is partial overlap between the first paging frames and the second paging frames, the deciding the monitoring comprises deciding to monitor for the paging early indication before the second paging frames based on that a given paging frame of the second paging frames coincides with a corresponding paging frame from the first paging frames.
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein in response to the result of the determining is partial overlap between the first paging frames and the second paging frames, the deciding the monitoring comprises deciding to skip monitoring for the paging early indication.
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein in response to the result of the determining is no overlap between the first paging frames and the second paging frames, the deciding the monitoring comprises deciding to skip monitoring for the paging early indication.
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein in response to the result of the determining is no overlap between the first paging frames and the second paging frames, the deciding the monitoring comprises deciding to monitor for the paging early indication before the first paging frames.
The apparatus of any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the indication comprises a user equipment specific paging early indication configuration or the indication indicates that user equipment specific paging early indication is transmitted based on a cell-specific paging early indication configuration.
An apparatus, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to perform

determining relative lengths of a user equipment specific discontinuous reception cycle and a cell specific discontinuous reception cycle; and

deciding monitoring for a paging early indication for a paging frame based on a result of the determining.
The apparatus of claim 8, wherein in response to the user equipment specific discontinuous reception cycle being shorter than the cell specific discontinuous reception cycle, the deciding monitoring comprises deciding to skip the monitoring for the paging early indication.
The apparatus of claim 8, wherein in response to the user equipment specific discontinuous reception cycle being shorter than the cell specific discontinuous reception cycle, the deciding monitoring comprises following a configuration to monitor or skip the monitoring.
An apparatus, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to perform

determining whether a user equipment will be monitoring for a paging early indication in a given paging frame associated with at least one user equipment specific discontinuous reception cycle; and

transmitting the paging early indication based on the determining indicating that the user equipment will be monitoring for a paging early indication in a given paging frame.
The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus at least to perform

configuring the user equipment with a user equipment specific configuration of paging early indication.
The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the configuring the user equipment comprises indicating, to the user equipment, that user equipment specific paging early indication is transmitted based on a cell-specific paging early indication configuration.
The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the configuring the user equipment comprises indicating to the user equipment to use user equipment specific discontinuous reception paging early indication configuration.
A method, comprising:

determining at least one of an overlap between first paging frames of a user equipment specific discontinuous reception cycle and second paging frames of a cell specific discontinuous reception cycle, relative lengths of the user equipment specific discontinuous reception cycle and the cell specific discontinuous reception cycle, or whether an indication about transmission of a user equipment specific paging early indication is present; and

deciding monitoring for a paging early indication for a paging frame based on a result of the determining.
The method of claim 15, wherein in response to the result of the determining comprises complete overlap between the first paging frames and the second paging frames, the deciding the monitoring comprises deciding to monitor for the paging early indication before the first paging frames based on that the paging early indication is configured.
The method of claim 15, wherein in response to the result of the determining is partial overlap between the first paging frames and the second paging frames, the deciding the monitoring comprises deciding to monitor for the paging early indication before the second paging frames based on that a given paging frame of the second paging frames coincides with a corresponding paging frame from the first paging frames.
The method of claim 15, wherein in response to the result of the determining is partial overlap between the first paging frames and the second paging frames, the deciding the monitoring comprises deciding to skip monitoring for the paging early indication.
The method of claim 15, wherein in response to the result of the determining is no overlap between the first paging frames and the second paging frames, the deciding the monitoring comprises deciding to skip monitoring for the paging early indication.
The method of claim 15, wherein in response to the result of the determining is no overlap between the first paging frames and the second paging frames, the deciding the monitoring comprises deciding to monitor for the paging early indication before the first paging frames.
The method of any of claims 15 to 20, wherein the indication comprises a user equipment specific paging early indication configuration or the indication indicates that user equipment specific paging early indication is transmitted based on a cell-specific paging early indication configuration.
A method, comprising:

determining relative lengths of a user equipment specific discontinuous reception cycle and a cell specific discontinuous reception cycle; and

deciding monitoring for a paging early indication for a paging frame based on a result of the determining.
The method of claim 22, wherein in response to the user equipment specific discontinuous reception cycle being shorter than the cell specific discontinuous reception cycle, the deciding monitoring comprises deciding to skip the monitoring for the paging early indication.
The method of claim 22, wherein in response to the user equipment specific discontinuous reception cycle being shorter than the cell specific discontinuous reception cycle, the deciding monitoring comprises following a configuration to monitor or skip the monitoring.
A method, comprising:

determining whether a user equipment will be monitoring for a paging early indication in a given paging frame associated with at least one user equipment specific discontinuous reception cycle; and

transmitting the paging early indication based on the determining indicating that the user equipment will be monitoring for a paging early indication in a given paging frame.
The method of claim 25, further comprising:

configuring the user equipment with a user equipment specific configuration of paging early indication.
The method of claim 26, wherein the configuring the user equipment comprises indicating, to the user equipment, that user equipment specific paging early indication is transmitted based on a cell-specific paging early indication configuration.
The method of claim 26, wherein the configuring the user equipment comprises indicating to the user equipment to use user equipment specific discontinuous reception paging early indication configuration.
An apparatus, comprising:

means for determining at least one of an overlap between first paging frames of a user equipment specific discontinuous reception cycle and second paging frames of a cell specific discontinuous reception cycle, relative lengths of the user equipment specific discontinuous reception cycle and the cell specific discontinuous reception cycle, or whether an indication about transmission of a user equipment specific paging early indication is present; and

means for deciding monitoring for a paging early indication for a paging frame based on a result of the determining.
The apparatus of claim 29, wherein in response to the result of the determining comprises complete overlap between the first paging frames and the second paging frames, the deciding the monitoring comprises deciding to monitor for the paging early indication before the first paging frames based on that the paging early indication is configured.
The apparatus of claim 29, wherein in response to the result of the determining is partial overlap between the first paging frames and the second paging frames, the deciding the monitoring comprises deciding to monitor for the paging early indication before the second paging frames based on that a given paging frame of the second paging frames coincides with a corresponding paging frame from the first paging frames.
The apparatus of claim 29, wherein in response to the result of the determining is partial overlap between the first paging frames and the second paging frames, the deciding the monitoring comprises deciding to skip monitoring for the paging early indication.
The apparatus of claim 29, wherein in response to the result of the determining is no overlap between the first paging frames and the second paging frames, the deciding the monitoring comprises deciding to skip monitoring for the paging early indication.
The apparatus of claim 29, wherein in response to the result of the determining is no overlap between the first paging frames and the second paging frames, the deciding the monitoring comprises deciding to monitor for the paging early indication before the first paging frames.
The apparatus of any of claims 29 to 34, wherein the indication comprises a user equipment specific paging early indication configuration or the indication indicates that user equipment specific paging early indication is transmitted based on a cell-specific paging early indication configuration.
An apparatus, comprising:

means for determining relative lengths of a user equipment specific discontinuous reception cycle and a cell specific discontinuous reception cycle; and

means for deciding monitoring for a paging early indication for a paging frame based on a result of the determining.
The apparatus of claim 36, wherein in response to the user equipment specific discontinuous reception cycle being shorter than the cell specific discontinuous reception cycle, the deciding monitoring comprises deciding to skip the monitoring for the paging early indication.
The apparatus of claim 36, wherein in response to the user equipment specific discontinuous reception cycle being shorter than the cell specific discontinuous reception cycle, the deciding monitoring comprises following a configuration to monitor or skip the monitoring.
An apparatus, comprising:

means for determining whether a user equipment will be monitoring for a paging early indication in a given paging frame associated with at least one user equipment specific discontinuous reception cycle; and

means for transmitting the paging early indication based on the determining indicating that the user equipment will be monitoring for a paging early indication in a given paging frame.
The apparatus of claim 39, further comprising:

means for configuring the user equipment with a user equipment specific configuration of paging early indication.
The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the configuring the user equipment comprises indicating, to the user equipment, that user equipment specific paging early indication is transmitted based on a cell-specific paging early indication configuration.
The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the configuring the user equipment comprises indicating to the user equipment to use user equipment specific discontinuous reception paging early indication configuration.
A computer program product encoding instructions for performing the method according to any of claims 15-28.
A non-transitory computer-readable medium encoded with instructions that, when executed in hardware, perform the method according to any of claims 15-28.