WO2025065701A1

WO2025065701A1 - User equipment capabilities for layer-1/layer-2 triggered mobility and unified transmission configuration indication

Info

Publication number: WO2025065701A1
Application number: PCT/CN2023/123022
Authority: WO
Inventors: Fang Yuan; Yan Zhou
Original assignee: Qualcomm Inc
Current assignee: Qualcomm Inc
Priority date: 2023-09-29
Filing date: 2023-09-29
Publication date: 2025-04-03
Anticipated expiration: 2026-03-29

Abstract

Various aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communication. In some aspects, a user equipment (UE) may transmit a capability indication associated with a Layer-1/Layer-2 triggered mobility (LTM) capability in accordance with a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE) cell switching operation. The UE may receive a configuration in accordance with the capability indication. Numerous other aspects are described.

Description

USER EQUIPMENT CAPABILITIES FOR LAYER-1/LAYER-2 TRIGGERED MOBILITY AND UNIFIED TRANSMISSION CONFIGURATION INDICATION

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communication and to techniques and apparatuses for layer-1 triggered mobility communications.

BACKGROUND

Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, and broadcasts. Typical wireless communication systems may employ multiple-access technologies capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmit power, or the like) . Examples of such multiple-access technologies include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems, and Long Term Evolution (LTE) . LTE/LTE-Advanced is a set of enhancements to the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) mobile standard promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) .

A wireless network may include one or more network nodes that support communication for wireless communication devices, such as a user equipment (UE) or multiple UEs. A UE may communicate with a network node via downlink communications and uplink communications. “Downlink” (or “DL” ) refers to a communication link from the network node to the UE, and “uplink” (or “UL” ) refers to a communication link from the UE to the network node. Some wireless networks may support device-to-device communication, such as via a local link (e.g., a sidelink (SL) , a wireless local area network (WLAN) link, and/or a wireless personal area network (WPAN) link, among other examples) .

The above multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enables different UEs to communicate on a municipal, national, regional, and/or global level. New Radio (NR) , which may be referred to as 5G, is a set of enhancements to the LTE mobile standard promulgated by the 3GPP. NR is designed to better support mobile broadband internet access by improving spectral efficiency, lowering costs, improving services, making use of new spectrum, and better integrating with other open standards using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) with a cyclic prefix (CP) (CP-OFDM) on the downlink, using CP-OFDM and/or single-carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) (also known as discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) ) on the uplink, as well as supporting beamforming, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology, and carrier aggregation. As the demand for mobile broadband access continues to increase, further improvements in LTE, NR, and other radio access technologies remain useful.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

So that the above-recited features of the present disclosure can be understood in detail, a more particular description, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to aspects, some of which are illustrated in the appended drawings. It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only certain typical aspects of this disclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the description may admit to other equally effective aspects. The same reference numbers in different drawings may identify the same or similar elements.

Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless network, in accordance with the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a network node in communication with a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network, in accordance with the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example disaggregated base station architecture, in accordance with the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a Layer-1/Layer-2 triggered mobility (LTM) procedure, in accordance with the present disclosure.

Fig. 5 illustrates an example logical architecture of a distributed radio access network, in accordance with the present disclosure.

Fig. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of multiple transmission and reception point communication, in accordance with the present disclosure.

Fig. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of using beams for communications between a network node and a UE, in accordance with the present disclosure.

Fig. 8 is a diagram of an example associated with configuring a UE for the LTM procedure, in accordance with the present disclosure.

Fig. 9 is a diagram of an example associated with simultaneous transmission multiple point (STxMP) operation under a unified transmission configuration indication (TCI) framework, in accordance with the present disclosure.

Fig. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example process performed, for example, at a UE or an apparatus of a UE, in accordance with the present disclosure.

Fig. 11 is a diagram illustrating another example process performed, for example, at a UE or an apparatus of a UE, in accordance with the present disclosure.

Fig. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example process performed, for example, at a network node or an apparatus of a network node, in accordance with the present disclosure.

Fig. 13 is a diagram illustrating another example process performed, for example, at a network node or an apparatus of a network node, in accordance with the present disclosure.

Fig. 14 is a diagram of an example apparatus for wireless communication, in accordance with the present disclosure.

Fig. 15 is a diagram of an example apparatus for wireless communication, in accordance with the present disclosure.

SUMMARY

In some aspects, a method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE) includes transmitting a capability indication associated with a Layer-1/Layer-2 triggered mobility (LTM) capability in accordance with a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE) cell switching operation; and receiving a configuration in accordance with the capability indication.

In some aspects, a method of wireless communication performed by a UE includes transmitting a transmission configuration indication (TCI) capability associated with a unified TCI framework for a simultaneous transmission multiple point (STxMP) communication; and receiving a TCI configuration in accordance with the TCI capability, wherein the TCI configuration for applying one or more of two or more TCI states.

In some aspects, a method of wireless communication performed by a network node includes receiving, from a UE, a capability indication associated with an LTM capability associated with a MAC-CE cell switching operation; and transmitting a configuration in accordance with the capability indication.

In some aspects, a method of wireless communication performed by a network node includes receiving a TCI capability associated with a unified TCI framework for an STxMP communication; and transmitting a TCI configuration in accordance with the TCI capability, wherein the TCI configuration for applying one or more of two or more TCI states.

In some aspects, a UE for wireless communication includes one or more memories; and one or more processors, coupled to the one or more memories, configured to cause the UE to: transmit a capability indication associated with an LTM capability in accordance with a MAC-CE cell switching operation; and receive a configuration in accordance with the capability indication.

In some aspects, a UE for wireless communication includes one or more memories; and one or more processors, coupled to the one or more memories, configured to cause the UE to: transmit a TCI capability associated with a unified TCI framework for an STxMP communication; and receive a TCI configuration in accordance with the TCI capability, wherein the TCI configuration for applying one or more of two or more TCI states.

In some aspects, a network node for wireless communication includes one or more memories; and one or more processors, coupled to the one or more memories, configured to cause the network node to: receive, from a UE, a capability indication associated with an LTM capability associated with a MAC-CE cell switching operation; and transmit a configuration in accordance with the capability indication.

In some aspects, a network node for wireless communication includes one or more memories; and one or more processors, coupled to the one or more memories, configured to cause the network node to: receive a TCI capability associated with a unified TCI framework for an STxMP communication; and transmit a TCI configuration in accordance with the TCI capability, wherein the TCI configuration for applying one or more of two or more TCI states.

In some aspects, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions for wireless communication includes one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a UE, cause the UE to: transmit a capability indication associated with an LTM capability in accordance with a MAC-CE cell switching operation; and receive a configuration in accordance with the capability indication.

In some aspects, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions for wireless communication includes one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an UE, cause the UE to: transmit a TCI capability associated with a unified TCI framework for an STxMP communication; and receive a TCI configuration in accordance with the TCI capability, wherein the TCI configuration for applying one or more of two or more TCI states.

In some aspects, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions for wireless communication includes one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a network node, cause the network node to: receive, from a UE, a capability indication associated with an LTM capability associated with a MAC-CE cell switching operation; and transmit a configuration in accordance with the capability indication.

In some aspects, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions for wireless communication includes one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a network node, cause the network node to: receive a TCI capability associated with a unified TCI framework for an STxMP communication; and transmit a TCI configuration in accordance with the TCI capability, wherein the TCI configuration for applying one or more of two or more TCI states.

In some aspects, an apparatus for wireless communication includes means for transmitting a capability indication associated with an LTM capability in accordance with a MAC-CE cell switching operation; and means for receiving a configuration in accordance with the capability indication.

In some aspects, an apparatus for wireless communication includes means for transmitting a TCI capability associated with a unified TCI framework for an STxMP communication; and means for receiving a TCI configuration in accordance with the TCI capability, wherein the TCI configuration for applying one or more of two or more TCI states.

In some aspects, an apparatus for wireless communication includes means for receiving, from a UE, a capability indication associated with an LTM capability associated with a MAC-CE cell switching operation; and means for transmitting a configuration in accordance with the capability indication.

In some aspects, an apparatus for wireless communication includes means for receiving a TCI capability associated with a unified TCI framework for an STxMP communication; and means for transmitting a TCI configuration in accordance with the TCI capability, wherein the TCI configuration for applying one or more of two or more TCI states.

Aspects generally include a method, apparatus, system, computer program product, non-transitory computer-readable medium, user equipment, base station, network entity, network node, wireless communication device, and/or processing system as substantially described herein with reference to and as illustrated by the drawings and specification.

The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of examples according to the disclosure in order that the detailed description that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages will be described hereinafter. The conception and specific examples disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present disclosure. Such equivalent constructions do not depart from the scope of the appended claims. Characteristics of the concepts disclosed herein, both their organization and method of operation, together with associated advantages, will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying figures. Each of the figures is provided for the purposes of illustration and description, and not as a definition of the limits of the claims.

While aspects are described in the present disclosure by illustration to some examples, those skilled in the art will understand that such aspects may be implemented in many different arrangements and scenarios. Techniques described herein may be implemented using different platform types, devices, systems, shapes, sizes, and/or packaging arrangements. For example, some aspects may be implemented via integrated chip embodiments or other non-module-component based devices (e.g., end-user devices, vehicles, communication devices, computing devices, industrial equipment, retail/purchasing devices, medical devices, and/or artificial intelligence devices) . Aspects may be implemented in chip-level components, modular components, non-modular components, non-chip-level components, device-level components, and/or system-level components. Devices incorporating described aspects and features may include additional components and features for implementation and practice of claimed and described aspects. For example, transmission and reception of wireless signals may include one or more components for analog and digital purposes (e.g., hardware components including antennas, radio frequency (RF) chains, power amplifiers, modulators, buffers, processors, interleavers, adders, and/or summers) . It is intended that aspects described herein may be practiced in a wide variety of devices, components, systems, distributed arrangements, and/or end-user devices of varying size, shape, and constitution.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The mobility of a user equipment (UE) can affect network performance. For example, as a UE moves relative to a network node (such as a cell tower) , the signal strength between the UE and the network node may be affected. If the signal strength drops, network performance may be negatively impacted. With Layer-1/Layer-2 (L1/L2) triggered mobility (LTM) , the UE and/or network node may seek to anticipate potential network performance issues resulting from the movement of the UE relative to the network node. If the potential network performance issues are likely to result in a poor user experience, the UE may be transitioned to a new network node via a handover procedure.

Decisions for transitioning the UE to a different network node are typically handled by a serving network node (e.g., the network node in communication with the UE) . In some instances, the UE may be in a better position to determine whether to initiate an LTM transition. UEs are oftentimes not configured to initiate or handle an LTM transition, which can delay a transition that would otherwise improve network performance.

Multiple transmission and reception point (mTRP) generally refers to the coordinated deployment and operation of multiple network nodes to simultaneously serve a single UE or multiple UEs. The transmission configuration indication (TCI) can help facilitate the signaling of specific configurations pertaining to channel state information. A unified TCI framework allows for a TCI to be applied across different system components and interfaces. In the context of mTRP, a unified TCI framework can provide for consistency across network nodes. The UE, however, may be configured with multiple TCI states without a configuration or indication of which TCI should be applied to each mTRP channel.

Various aspects relate generally to LTM procedures. Some aspects more specifically relate to UE capabilities for LTM procedures. In some examples, a UE transmits a capability indication associated with an LTM capability in accordance with a MAC-CE cell switching operation, and receives a configuration in accordance with the capability indication. In some examples, a network node receives a capability indication associated with an LTM capability in accordance with a MAC-CE cell switching operation, and transmits a configuration in accordance with the capability indication.

Particular aspects of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented to realize one or more of the following potential advantages. In some examples, by transmitting the LTM capability indication, the UE can be configured to handle certain aspects of the LTM procedure in accordance with the capabilities of the UE. For example, the UE can be configured to apply an appropriate timing advance (TA) value and perform certain measurements based on, for example, whether or not an LTM candidate cell is a serving cell of the UE. In some examples, by transmitting the configuration in accordance with the capability indication, the network node can configure the UE to more efficiently perform LTM.

Various aspects may generally relate to simultaneous transmission multiple point (STxMP) communications. Some aspects more specifically relate to STxMP communications under a unified TCI framework. In some examples, a UE transmits a TCI capability associated with a unified TCI framework for an STxMP communication and receives a TCI configuration in accordance with the TCI capability. The TCI configuration may be for applying one or more of two or more TCI states. In some examples, a network node receives a TCI capability associated with a unified TCI framework for an STxMP communication and transmits a TCI configuration in accordance with the TCI capability.

Particular aspects of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented to realize one or more of the following potential advantages. In some examples, by transmitting the TCI capability, the UE can be configured to apply one or more TCI states to mTRP communications. In some examples, by transmitting the configuration in accordance with the TCI capability, the network node can configure the UE to engage more efficiently in STxMP communications under a unified TCI framework.

Various aspects of the disclosure are described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. This disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to any specific structure or function presented throughout this disclosure. Rather, these aspects are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. One skilled in the art should appreciate that the scope of the disclosure is intended to cover any aspect of the disclosure disclosed herein, whether implemented independently of or combined with any other aspect of the disclosure. For example, an apparatus may be implemented or a method may be practiced using any number of the aspects set forth herein. In addition, the scope of the disclosure is intended to cover such an apparatus or method which is practiced using other structure, functionality, or structure and functionality in addition to or other than the various aspects of the disclosure set forth herein. It should be understood that any aspect of the disclosure disclosed herein may be embodied by one or more elements of a claim.

Several aspects of telecommunication systems will now be presented with reference to various apparatuses and techniques. These apparatuses and techniques will be described in the following detailed description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, modules, components, circuits, steps, processes, algorithms, or the like (collectively referred to as “elements” ) . These elements may be implemented using hardware, software, or combinations thereof. Whether such elements are implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system.

While aspects may be described herein using terminology commonly associated with a 5G or New Radio (NR) radio access technology (RAT) , aspects of the present disclosure can be applied to other RATs, such as a 3G RAT, a 4G RAT, and/or a RAT subsequent to 5G (e.g., 6G) .

Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless network 100, in accordance with the present disclosure. The wireless network 100 may be or may include elements of a 5G (e.g., NR) network and/or a 4G (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) ) network, among other examples. The wireless network 100 may include one or more network nodes 110 (shown as a network node 110a, a network node 110b, a network node 110c, and a network node 110d) , a UE 120 or multiple UEs 120 (shown as a UE 120a, a UE 120b, a UE 120c, a UE 120d, and a UE 120e) , and/or other entities. A network node 110 is a network node that communicates with UEs 120. As shown, a network node 110 may include one or more network nodes. For example, a network node 110 may be an aggregated network node, meaning that the aggregated network node is configured to utilize a radio protocol stack that is physically or logically integrated within a single radio access network (RAN) node (e.g., within a single device or unit) . As another example, a network node 110 may be a disaggregated network node (sometimes referred to as a disaggregated base station) , meaning that the network node 110 is configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically distributed among two or more nodes (such as one or more central units (CUs) , one or more distributed units (DUs) , or one or more radio units (RUs) ) .

In some examples, a network node 110 is or includes a network node that communicates with UEs 120 via a radio access link, such as an RU. In some examples, a network node 110 is or includes a network node that communicates with other network nodes 110 via a fronthaul link or a midhaul link, such as a DU. In some examples, a network node 110 is or includes a network node that communicates with other network nodes 110 via a midhaul link or a core network via a backhaul link, such as a CU. In some examples, a network node 110 (such as an aggregated network node 110 or a disaggregated network node 110) may include multiple network nodes, such as one or more RUs, one or more CUs, and/or one or more DUs. A network node 110 may include, for example, an NR base station, an LTE base station, a Node B, an eNB (e.g., in 4G) , a gNB (e.g., in 5G) , an access point, a transmission reception point (TRP) , a DU, an RU, a CU, a mobility element of a network, a core network node, a network element, a network equipment, a RAN node, or a combination thereof. In some examples, the network nodes 110 may be interconnected to one another or to one or more other network nodes 110 in the wireless network 100 through various types of fronthaul, midhaul, and/or backhaul interfaces, such as a direct physical connection, an air interface, or a virtual network, using any suitable transport network.

In some examples, a network node 110 may provide communication coverage for a particular geographic area. In the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) , the term “cell” can refer to a coverage area of a network node 110 and/or a network node subsystem serving this coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used. A network node 110 may provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a pico cell, a femto cell, and/or another type of cell. A macro cell may cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by UEs 120 with service subscriptions. A pico cell may cover a relatively small geographic area and may allow unrestricted access by UEs 120 with service subscriptions. A femto cell may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a home) and may allow restricted access by UEs 120 having association with the femto cell (e.g., UEs 120 in a closed subscriber group (CSG) ) . A network node 110 for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro network node. A network node 110 for a pico cell may be referred to as a pico network node. A network node 110 for a femto cell may be referred to as a femto network node or an in-home network node. In the example shown in Fig. 1, the network node 110a may be a macro network node for a macro cell 102a, the network node 110b may be a pico network node for a pico cell 102b, and the network node 110c may be a femto network node for a femto cell 102c. A network node may support one or multiple (e.g., three) cells. In some examples, a cell may not necessarily be stationary, and the geographic area of the cell may move according to the location of a network node 110 that is mobile (e.g., a mobile network node) .

In some aspects, the terms “base station” or “network node” may refer to an aggregated base station, a disaggregated base station, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a relay node, or one or more components thereof. For example, in some aspects, “base station” or “network node” may refer to a CU, a DU, an RU, a Near-Real Time (Near-RT) RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) , or a Non-Real Time (Non-RT) RIC, or a combination thereof. In some aspects, the terms “base station” or “network node” may refer to one device configured to perform one or more functions, such as those described herein in connection with the network node 110. In some aspects, the terms “base station” or “network node” may refer to a plurality of devices configured to perform the one or more functions. For example, in some distributed systems, each of a quantity of different devices (which may be located in the same geographic location or in different geographic locations) may be configured to perform at least a portion of a function, or to duplicate performance of at least a portion of the function, and the terms “base station” or “network node” may refer to any one or more of those different devices. In some aspects, the terms “base station” or “network node” may refer to one or more virtual base stations or one or more virtual base station functions. For example, in some aspects, two or more base station functions may be instantiated on a single device. In some aspects, the terms “base station” or “network node” may refer to one of the base station functions and not another. In this way, a single device may include more than one base station.

The wireless network 100 may include one or more relay stations. A relay station is a network node that can receive a transmission of data from an upstream node (e.g., a network node 110 or a UE 120) and send a transmission of the data to a downstream node (e.g., a UE 120 or a network node 110) . A relay station may be a UE 120 that can relay transmissions for other UEs 120. In the example shown in Fig. 1, the network node 110d (e.g., a relay network node) may communicate with the network node 110a (e.g., a macro network node) and the UE 120d in order to facilitate communication between the network node 110a and the UE 120d. A network node 110 that relays communications may be referred to as a relay station, a relay base station, a relay network node, a relay node, a relay, or the like.

The wireless network 100 may be a heterogeneous network that includes network nodes 110 of different types, such as macro network nodes, pico network nodes, femto network nodes, relay network nodes, or the like. These different types of network nodes 110 may have different transmit power levels, different coverage areas, and/or different impacts on interference in the wireless network 100. For example, macro network nodes may have a high transmit power level (e.g., 5 to 40 watts) whereas pico network nodes, femto network nodes, and relay network nodes may have lower transmit power levels (e.g., 0.1 to 2 watts) .

A network controller 130 may couple to or communicate with a set of network nodes 110 and may provide coordination and control for these network nodes 110. The network controller 130 may communicate with the network nodes 110 via a backhaul communication link or a midhaul communication link. The network nodes 110 may communicate with one another directly or indirectly via a wireless or wireline backhaul communication link. In some aspects, the network controller 130 may be a CU or a core network device, or may include a CU or a core network device.

The UEs 120 may be dispersed throughout the wireless network 100, and each UE 120 may be stationary or mobile. A UE 120 may include, for example, an access terminal, a terminal, a mobile station, and/or a subscriber unit. A UE 120 may be a cellular phone (e.g., a smart phone) , a personal digital assistant (PDA) , a wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a tablet, a camera, a gaming device, a netbook, a smartbook, an ultrabook, a medical device, a biometric device, a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch, smart clothing, smart glasses, a smart wristband, smart jewelry (e.g., a smart ring or a smart bracelet) ) , an entertainment device (e.g., a music device, a video device, and/or a satellite radio) , a vehicular component or sensor, a smart meter/sensor, industrial manufacturing equipment, a global positioning system device, a UE function of a network node, and/or any other suitable device that is configured to communicate via a wireless or wired medium.

Some UEs 120 may be considered machine-type communication (MTC) or evolved or enhanced machine-type communication (eMTC) UEs. An MTC UE and/or an eMTC UE may include, for example, a robot, an unmanned aerial vehicle, a remote device, a sensor, a meter, a monitor, and/or a location tag, that may communicate with a network node, another device (e.g., a remote device) , or some other entity. Some UEs 120 may be considered Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices, and/or may be implemented as NB-IoT (narrowband IoT) devices. Some UEs 120 may be considered a Customer Premises Equipment. A UE 120 may be included inside a housing that houses components of the UE 120, such as processor components and/or memory components. In some examples, the processor components and the memory components may be coupled together. For example, the processor components (e.g., one or more processors) and the memory components (e.g., a memory) may be operatively coupled, communicatively coupled, electronically coupled, and/or electrically coupled.

In general, any number of wireless networks 100 may be deployed in a given geographic area. Each wireless network 100 may support a particular RAT and may operate on one or more frequencies. A RAT may be referred to as a radio technology, an air interface, or the like. A frequency may be referred to as a carrier, a frequency channel, or the like. Each frequency may support a single RAT in a given geographic area in order to avoid interference between wireless networks of different RATs. In some cases, NR or 5G RAT networks may be deployed.

In some examples, two or more UEs 120 (e.g., shown as UE 120a and UE 120e) may communicate directly using one or more sidelink channels (e.g., without using a network node 110 as an intermediary to communicate with one another) . For example, the UEs 120 may communicate using peer-to-peer (P2P) communications, device-to-device (D2D) communications, a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) protocol (e.g., which may include a vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) protocol, a vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) protocol, or a vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) protocol) , and/or a mesh network. In such examples, a UE 120 may perform scheduling operations, resource selection operations, and/or other operations described elsewhere herein as being performed by the network node 110.

Devices of the wireless network 100 may communicate using the electromagnetic spectrum, which may be subdivided by frequency or wavelength into various classes, bands, channels, or the like. For example, devices of the wireless network 100 may communicate using one or more operating bands. In 5G NR, two initial operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz –7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz –52.6 GHz) . It should be understood that although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6 GHz, FR1 is often referred to (interchangeably) as a “Sub-6 GHz” band in various documents and articles. A similar nomenclature issue sometimes occurs with regard to FR2, which is often referred to (interchangeably) as a “millimeter wave” band in documents and articles, despite being different from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz –300 GHz) which is identified by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) as a “millimeter wave” band.

The frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are often referred to as mid-band frequencies. Recent 5G NR studies have identified an operating band for these mid-band frequencies as frequency range designation FR3 (7.125 GHz –24.25 GHz) . Frequency bands falling within FR3 may inherit FR1 characteristics and/or FR2 characteristics, and thus may effectively extend features of FR1 and/or FR2 into mid-band frequencies. In addition, higher frequency bands are currently being explored to extend 5G NR operation beyond 52.6 GHz. For example, three higher operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6 GHz –71 GHz) , FR4 (52.6 GHz –114.25 GHz) , and FR5 (114.25 GHz –300 GHz) . Each of these higher frequency bands falls within the EHF band.

With the above examples in mind, unless specifically stated otherwise, it should be understood that the term “sub-6 GHz” or the like, if used herein, may broadly represent frequencies that may be less than 6 GHz, may be within FR1, or may include mid-band frequencies. Further, unless specifically stated otherwise, it should be understood that the term “millimeter wave” or the like, if used herein, may broadly represent frequencies that may include mid-band frequencies, may be within FR2, FR4, FR4-a or FR4-1, and/or FR5, or may be within the EHF band. It is contemplated that the frequencies included in these operating bands (e.g., FR1, FR2, FR3, FR4, FR4-a, FR4-1, and/or FR5) may be modified, and techniques described herein are applicable to those modified frequency ranges.

In some aspects, the UE 120 may include a communication manager 140. As described in more detail elsewhere herein, the communication manager 140 may transmit a capability indication associated with an LTM capability in accordance with a MAC-CE cell switching operation, and receive a configuration in accordance with the capability indication. In some aspects, as described in more detail elsewhere herein, the communication manager 140 may transmit a TCI capability associated with a unified TCI framework for an STxMP communication, and receive a TCI configuration in accordance with the TCI capability, wherein the TCI configuration for applying one or more of two or more TCI states. Additionally, or alternatively, the communication manager 140 may perform one or more other operations described herein.

In some aspects, the network node 110 may include a communication manager 150. As described in more detail elsewhere herein, the communication manager 150 may receive, from a UE, a capability indication associated with an LTM capability associated with a MAC-CE cell switching operation, and transmit a configuration in accordance with the capability indication. In some aspects, as described in more detail elsewhere herein, the communication manager 150 may receive a TCI capability associated with a unified TCI framework for an STxMP communication, and transmit a TCI configuration in accordance with the TCI capability, wherein the TCI configuration for applying one or more of two or more TCI states. Additionally, or alternatively, the communication manager 150 may perform one or more other operations described herein.

As indicated above, Fig. 1 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard to Fig. 1.

Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example 200 of a network node 110 in communication with a UE 120 in a wireless network 100, in accordance with the present disclosure. The network node 110 may be equipped with a set of antennas 234a through 234t, such as T antennas (T ≥ 1) . The UE 120 may be equipped with a set of antennas 252a through 252r, such as R antennas (R ≥ 1) . The network node 110 of example 200 includes one or more radio frequency components, such as antennas 234 and a modem 232. In some examples, a network node 110 may include an interface, a communication component, or another component that facilitates communication with the UE 120 or another network node. Some network nodes 110 may not include radio frequency components that facilitate direct communication with the UE 120, such as one or more CUs, or one or more DUs.

At the network node 110, a transmit processor 220 may receive data, from a data source 212, intended for the UE 120 (or a set of UEs 120) . The transmit processor 220 may select one or more modulation and coding schemes (MCSs) for the UE 120 based at least in part on one or more channel quality indicators (CQIs) received from that UE 120. The network node 110 may process (e.g., encode and modulate) the data for the UE 120 based at least in part on the MCS (s) selected for the UE 120 and may provide data symbols for the UE 120. The transmit processor 220 may process system information (e.g., for semi-static resource partitioning information (SRPI) ) and control information (e.g., CQI requests, grants, and/or upper layer signaling) and provide overhead symbols and control symbols. The transmit processor 220 may generate reference symbols for reference signals (e.g., a cell-specific reference signal (CRS) or a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) ) and synchronization signals (e.g., a primary synchronization signal (PSS) or a secondary synchronization signal (SSS) ) . A transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor 230 may perform spatial processing (e.g., precoding) on the data symbols, the control symbols, the overhead symbols, and/or the reference symbols, if applicable, and may provide a set of output symbol streams (e.g., T output symbol streams) to a corresponding set of modems 232 (e.g., T modems) , shown as modems 232a through 232t. For example, each output symbol stream may be provided to a modulator component (shown as MOD) of a modem 232. Each modem 232 may use a respective modulator component to process a respective output symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modem 232 may further use a respective modulator component to process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and/or upconvert) the output sample stream to obtain a downlink signal. The modems 232a through 232t may transmit a set of downlink signals (e.g., T downlink signals) via a corresponding set of antennas 234 (e.g., T antennas) , shown as antennas 234a through 234t.

At the UE 120, a set of antennas 252 (shown as antennas 252a through 252r) may receive the downlink signals from the network node 110 and/or other network nodes 110 and may provide a set of received signals (e.g., R received signals) to a set of modems 254 (e.g., R modems) , shown as modems 254a through 254r. For example, each received signal may be provided to a demodulator component (shown as DEMOD) of a modem 254. Each modem 254 may use a respective demodulator component to condition (e.g., filter, amplify, downconvert, and/or digitize) a received signal to obtain input samples. Each modem 254 may use a demodulator component to further process the input samples (e.g., for OFDM) to obtain received symbols. A MIMO detector 256 may obtain received symbols from the modems 254, may perform MIMO detection on the received symbols if applicable, and may provide detected symbols. A receive processor 258 may process (e.g., demodulate and decode) the detected symbols, may provide decoded data for the UE 120 to a data sink 260, and may provide decoded control information and system information to a controller/processor 280. The term “controller/processor” may refer to one or more controllers, one or more processors, or a combination thereof. A channel processor may determine a reference signal received power (RSRP) parameter, a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) parameter, a reference signal received quality (RSRQ) parameter, and/or a CQI parameter, among other examples. In some examples, one or more components of the UE 120 may be included in a housing 284.

The network controller 130 may include a communication unit 294, a controller/processor 290, and a memory 292. The network controller 130 may include, for example, one or more devices in a core network. The network controller 130 may communicate with the network node 110 via the communication unit 294.

One or more antennas (e.g., antennas 234a through 234t and/or antennas 252a through 252r) may include, or may be included within, one or more antenna panels, one or more antenna groups, one or more sets of antenna elements, and/or one or more antenna arrays, among other examples. An antenna panel, an antenna group, a set of antenna elements, and/or an antenna array may include one or more antenna elements (within a single housing or multiple housings) , a set of coplanar antenna elements, a set of non-coplanar antenna elements, and/or one or more antenna elements coupled to one or more transmission and/or reception components, such as one or more components of Fig. 2.

On the uplink, at the UE 120, a transmit processor 264 may receive and process data from a data source 262 and control information (e.g., for reports that include RSRP, RSSI, RSRQ, and/or CQI) from the controller/processor 280. The transmit processor 264 may generate reference symbols for one or more reference signals. The symbols from the transmit processor 264 may be precoded by a TX MIMO processor 266 if applicable, further processed by the modems 254 (e.g., for DFT-s-OFDM or CP-OFDM) , and transmitted to the network node 110. In some examples, the modem 254 of the UE 120 may include a modulator and a demodulator. In some examples, the UE 120 includes a transceiver. The transceiver may include any combination of the antenna (s) 252, the modem (s) 254, the MIMO detector 256, the receive processor 258, the transmit processor 264, and/or the TX MIMO processor 266. The transceiver may be used by a processor (e.g., the controller/processor 280) and the memory 282 to perform aspects of any of the methods described herein (e.g., with reference to Figs. 4-15) .

At the network node 110, the uplink signals from UE 120 and/or other UEs may be received by the antennas 234, processed by the modem 232 (e.g., a demodulator component, shown as DEMOD, of the modem 232) , detected by a MIMO detector 236 if applicable, and further processed by a receive processor 238 to obtain decoded data and control information sent by the UE 120. The receive processor 238 may provide the decoded data to a data sink 239 and provide the decoded control information to the controller/processor 240. The network node 110 may include a communication unit 244 and may communicate with the network controller 130 via the communication unit 244. The network node 110 may include a scheduler 246 to schedule one or more UEs 120 for downlink and/or uplink communications. In some examples, the modem 232 of the network node 110 may include a modulator and a demodulator. In some examples, the network node 110 includes a transceiver. The transceiver may include any combination of the antenna (s) 234, the modem (s) 232, the MIMO detector 236, the receive processor 238, the transmit processor 220, and/or the TX MIMO processor 230. The transceiver may be used by a processor (e.g., the controller/processor 240) and the memory 242 to perform aspects of any of the methods described herein (e.g., with reference to Figs. 4-15) .

The controller/processor 240 of the network node 110, the controller/processor 280 of the UE 120, and/or any other component (s) of Fig. 2 may perform one or more techniques associated with LTM and/or STxMP under a unified TCI framework, as described in more detail elsewhere herein. For example, the controller/processor 240 of the network node 110, the controller/processor 280 of the UE 120, and/or any other component (s) of Fig. 2 may perform or direct operations of, for example, process 1000 of Fig. 10, process 1100 of Fig. 11, process 1200 of Fig. 12, process 1300 of Fig. 13, and/or other processes as described herein. The memory 242 and the memory 282 may store data and program codes for the network node 110 and the UE 120, respectively. In some examples, the memory 242 and/or the memory 282 may include a non- transitory computer-readable medium storing one or more instructions (e.g., code and/or program code) for wireless communication. For example, the one or more instructions, when executed (e.g., directly, or after compiling, converting, and/or interpreting) by one or more processors of the network node 110 and/or the UE 120, may cause the one or more processors, the UE 120, and/or the network node 110 to perform or direct operations of, for example, process 1000 of Fig. 10, process 1100 of Fig. 11, process 1200 of Fig. 12, process 1300 of Fig. 13, and/or other processes as described herein. In some examples, executing instructions may include running the instructions, converting the instructions, compiling the instructions, and/or interpreting the instructions, among other examples.

In some aspects, the UE 120 includes means for transmitting a capability indication associated with an LTM capability in accordance with a MAC-CE cell switching operation; and/or means for receiving a configuration in accordance with the capability indication. The means for the UE 120 to perform operations described herein may include, for example, one or more of communication manager 140, antenna 252, modem 254, MIMO detector 256, receive processor 258, transmit processor 264, TX MIMO processor 266, controller/processor 280, or memory 282.

In some aspects, the UE includes means for transmitting a TCI capability associated with a unified TCI framework for an STxMP communication; and/or means for receiving a TCI configuration in accordance with the TCI capability, wherein the TCI configuration for applying one or more of two or more TCI states. The means for the UE 120 to perform operations described herein may include, for example, one or more of communication manager 140, antenna 252, modem 254, MIMO detector 256, receive processor 258, transmit processor 264, TX MIMO processor 266, controller/processor 280, or memory 282.

In some aspects, the network node 110 includes means for receiving, from a UE 120, a capability indication associated with an LTM capability associated with a MAC-CE cell switching operation; and/or means for transmitting a configuration in accordance with the capability indication. The means for the network node 110 to perform operations described herein may include, for example, one or more of communication manager 150, transmit processor 220, TX MIMO processor 230, modem 232, antenna 234, MIMO detector 236, receive processor 238, controller/processor 240, memory 242, or scheduler 246.

In some aspects, the network node 110 includes means for receiving a TCI capability associated with a unified TCI framework for an STxMP communication; and/or means for transmitting a TCI configuration in accordance with the TCI capability, wherein the TCI configuration for applying one or more of two or more TCI states. The means for the network node 110 to perform operations described herein may include, for example, one or more of communication manager 150, transmit processor 220, TX MIMO processor 230, modem 232, antenna 234, MIMO detector 236, receive processor 238, controller/processor 240, memory 242, or scheduler 246.

In some aspects, an individual processor may perform all of the functions described as being performed by the one or more processors. In some aspects, one or more processors may collectively perform a set of functions. For example, a first set of (one or more) processors of the one or more processors may perform a first function described as being performed by the one or more processors, and a second set of (one or more) processors of the one or more processors may perform a second function described as being performed by the one or more processors. The first set of processors and the second set of processors may be the same set of processors or may be different sets of processors. Reference to “one or more processors” should be understood to refer to any one or more of the processors described in connection with Fig. 2. Reference to “one or more memories” should be understood to refer to any one or more memories of a corresponding device, such as the memory described in connection with Fig. 2. For example, functions described as being performed by one or more memories can be performed by the same subset of the one or more memories or different subsets of the one or more memories.

While blocks in Fig. 2 are illustrated as distinct components, the functions described above with respect to the blocks may be implemented in a single hardware, software, or combination component or in various combinations of components. For example, the functions described with respect to the transmit processor 264, the receive processor 258, and/or the TX MIMO processor 266 may be performed by or under the control of the controller/processor 280.

As indicated above, Fig. 2 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard to Fig. 2.

Deployment of communication systems, such as 5G NR systems, may be arranged in multiple manners with various components or constituent parts. In a 5G NR system, or network, a network node, a network entity, a mobility element of a network, a RAN node, a core network node, a network element, a base station, or a network equipment may be implemented in an aggregated or disaggregated architecture. For example, a base station (such as a Node B (NB) , an evolved NB (eNB) , an NR base station, a 5G NB, an access point (AP) , a TRP, or a cell, among other examples) , or one or more units (or one or more components) performing base station functionality, may be implemented as an aggregated base station (also known as a standalone base station or a monolithic base station) or a disaggregated base station. “Network entity” or “network node” may refer to a disaggregated base station, or to one or more units of a disaggregated base station (such as one or more CUs, one or more DUs, one or more RUs, or a combination thereof) .

An aggregated base station (e.g., an aggregated network node) may be configured to utilize a radio protocol stack that is physically or logically integrated within a single RAN node (e.g., within a single device or unit) . A disaggregated base station (e.g., a disaggregated network node) may be configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically distributed among two or more units (such as one or more CUs, one or more DUs, or one or more RUs) . In some examples, a CU may be implemented within a network node, and one or more DUs may be co-located with the CU, or alternatively, may be geographically or virtually distributed throughout one or multiple other network nodes. The DUs may be implemented to communicate with one or more RUs. Each of the CU, DU, and RU also can be implemented as virtual units, such as a virtual central unit (VCU) , a virtual distributed unit (VDU) , or a virtual radio unit (VRU) , among other examples.

Base station-type operation or network design may consider aggregation characteristics of base station functionality. For example, disaggregated base stations may be utilized in an IAB network, an open radio access network (O-RAN (such as the network configuration sponsored by the O-RAN Alliance) ) , or a virtualized radio access network (vRAN, also known as a cloud radio access network (C-RAN) ) to facilitate scaling of communication systems by separating base station functionality into one or more units that can be individually deployed. A disaggregated base station may include functionality implemented across two or more units at various physical locations, as well as functionality implemented for at least one unit virtually, which can enable flexibility in network design. The various units of the disaggregated base station can be configured for wired or wireless communication with at least one other unit of the disaggregated base station.

Fig. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example disaggregated base station architecture 300, in accordance with the present disclosure. The disaggregated base station architecture 300 may include a CU 310 that can communicate directly with a core network 320 via a backhaul link, or indirectly with the core network 320 through one or more disaggregated control units (such as a Near-RT RIC 325 via an E2 link, or a Non-RT RIC 315 associated with a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) Framework 305, or both) . A CU 310 may communicate with one or more DUs 330 via respective midhaul links, such as through F1 interfaces. Each of the DUs 330 may communicate with one or more RUs 340 via respective fronthaul links. Each of the RUs 340 may communicate with one or more UEs 120 via respective radio frequency (RF) access links. In some implementations, a UE 120 may be simultaneously served by multiple RUs 340.

Each of the units, including the CUs 310, the DUs 330, the RUs 340, as well as the Near-RT RICs 325, the Non-RT RICs 315, and the SMO Framework 305, may include one or more interfaces or be coupled with one or more interfaces configured to receive or transmit signals, data, or information (collectively, signals) via a wired or wireless transmission medium. Each of the units, or an associated processor or controller providing instructions to one or multiple communication interfaces of the respective unit, can be configured to communicate with one or more of the other units via the transmission medium. In some examples, each of the units can include a wired interface, configured to receive or transmit signals over a wired transmission medium to one or more of the other units, and a wireless interface, which may include a receiver, a transmitter or transceiver (such as an RF transceiver) , configured to receive or transmit signals, or both, over a wireless transmission medium to one or more of the other units.

In some aspects, the CU 310 may host one or more higher layer control functions. Such control functions can include radio resource control (RRC) functions, packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) functions, or service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) functions, among other examples. Each control function can be implemented with an interface configured to communicate signals with other control functions hosted by the CU 310. The CU 310 may be configured to handle user plane functionality (for example, Central Unit –User Plane (CU-UP) functionality) , control plane functionality (for example, Central Unit –Control Plane (CU-CP) functionality) , or a combination thereof. In some implementations, the CU 310 can be logically split into one or more CU-UP units and one or more CU-CP units. A CU-UP unit can communicate bidirectionally with a CU-CP unit via an interface, such as the E1 interface when implemented in an O-RAN configuration. The CU 310 can be implemented to communicate with a DU 330, as necessary, for network control and signaling.

Each DU 330 may correspond to a logical unit that includes one or more base station functions to control the operation of one or more RUs 340. In some aspects, the DU 330 may host one or more of a radio link control (RLC) layer, a medium access control (MAC) layer, and one or more high physical (PHY) layers depending, at least in part, on a functional split, such as a functional split defined by the 3GPP. In some aspects, the one or more high PHY layers may be implemented by one or more modules for forward error correction (FEC) encoding and decoding, scrambling, and modulation and demodulation, among other examples. In some aspects, the DU 330 may further host one or more low PHY layers, such as implemented by one or more modules for a fast Fourier transform (FFT) , an inverse FFT (iFFT) , digital beamforming, or physical random access channel (PRACH) extraction and filtering, among other examples. Each layer (which also may be referred to as a module) can be implemented with an interface configured to communicate signals with other layers (and modules) hosted by the DU 330, or with the control functions hosted by the CU 310.

Each RU 340 may implement lower-layer functionality. In some deployments, an RU 340, controlled by a DU 330, may correspond to a logical node that hosts RF processing functions or low-PHY layer functions, such as performing an FFT, performing an iFFT, digital beamforming, or PRACH extraction and filtering, among other examples, based on a functional split (for example, a functional split defined by the 3GPP) , such as a lower layer functional split. In such an architecture, each RU 340 can be operated to handle over the air (OTA) communication with one or more UEs 120. In some implementations, real-time and non-real-time aspects of control and user plane communication with the RU (s) 340 can be controlled by the corresponding DU 330. In some scenarios, this configuration can enable each DU 330 and the CU 310 to be implemented in a cloud-based RAN architecture, such as a vRAN architecture.

The SMO Framework 305 may be configured to support RAN deployment and provisioning of non-virtualized and virtualized network elements. For non-virtualized network elements, the SMO Framework 305 may be configured to support the deployment of dedicated physical resources for RAN coverage requirements, which may be managed via an operations and maintenance interface (such as an O1 interface) . For virtualized network elements, the SMO Framework 305 may be configured to interact with a cloud computing platform (such as an open cloud (O-Cloud) platform 390) to perform network element life cycle management (such as to instantiate virtualized network elements) via a cloud computing platform interface (such as an O2 interface) . Such virtualized network elements can include, but are not limited to, CUs 310, DUs 330, RUs 340, non-RT RICs 315, and Near-RT RICs 325. In some implementations, the SMO Framework 305 can communicate with a hardware aspect of a 4G RAN, such as an open eNB (O-eNB) 311, via an O1 interface. Additionally, in some implementations, the SMO Framework 305 can communicate directly with each of one or more RUs 340 via a respective O1 interface. The SMO Framework 305 also may include a Non-RT RIC 315 configured to support functionality of the SMO Framework 305.

The Non-RT RIC 315 may be configured to include a logical function that enables non-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources, Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) workflows including model training and updates, or policy-based guidance of applications/features in the Near-RT RIC 325. The Non-RT RIC 315 may be coupled to or communicate with (such as via an A1 interface) the Near-RT RIC 325. The Near-RT RIC 325 may be configured to include a logical function that enables near-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources via data collection and actions over an interface (such as via an E2 interface) connecting one or more CUs 310, one or more DUs 330, or both, as well as an O-eNB, with the Near-RT RIC 325.

In some implementations, to generate AI/ML models to be deployed in the Near-RT RIC 325, the Non-RT RIC 315 may receive parameters or external enrichment information from external servers. Such information may be utilized by the Near-RT RIC 325 and may be received at the SMO Framework 305 or the Non-RT RIC 315 from non-network data sources or from network functions. In some examples, the Non-RT RIC 315 or the Near-RT RIC 325 may be configured to tune RAN behavior or performance. For example, the Non-RT RIC 315 may monitor long-term trends and patterns for performance and employ AI/ML models to perform corrective actions through the SMO Framework 305 (such as reconfiguration via an O1 interface) or via creation of RAN management policies (such as A1 interface policies) .

As indicated above, Fig. 3 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard to Fig. 3.

Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example 400 of an LTM procedure, in accordance with the present disclosure.

In some examples, a network node 110 may instruct a UE 120 to change serving cells, such as when the UE 120 moves away from coverage of a current serving cell (sometimes referred to as a source cell) and towards coverage of a neighboring cell (sometimes referred to as a target cell) . In some cases, the network node 110 may instruct the UE 120 to change cells using a layer 3 (L3) handover procedure. An L3 handover procedure may include the network node 110 transmitting, to the UE 120, an RRC reconfiguration message indicating that the UE 120 should perform a handover procedure to a target cell, which may be transmitted in response to the UE 120 providing the network node 110 with an L3 measurement report indicating signal strength measurements associated with various cells (e.g., measurements associated with the source cell and one or more neighboring cells) . In response to receiving the RRC reconfiguration message, the UE 120 may communicate with the source cell and the target cell to detach from the source cell and connect to the target cell (e.g., the UE 120 may establish an RRC connection with the target cell) . Once handover is complete, the target cell may communicate with a user plane function (UPF) of a core network to instruct the UPF to switch a user plane path of the UE 120 from the source cell to the target cell. The target cell may also communicate with the source cell to indicate that handover is complete and that the source cell may be released.

L3 handover procedures may be associated with high latency and high overhead due to the multiple RRC reconfiguration messages and/or other L3 signaling and operations used to perform the handover procedures. Accordingly, in some examples, a UE 120 may be configured to perform a lower-layer (e.g., L1 and/or L2) handover procedure, sometimes referred to an LTM procedure, such as the example 400 LTM procedure shown in Fig 4. As shown in Fig. 4, the LTM procedure may include four phases: an LTM preparation phase, an early synchronization phase (shown as “early sync” in Fig. 4) , an LTM execution phase, and/or an LTM completion phase.

During the LTM preparation phase, and as shown by reference number 405, the UE 120 may be in an RRC connected state (sometimes referred to as RRC_Connected) with a source cell. As shown by reference number 410, the UE 120 may transmit, and the network node 110 may receive, a measurement report (sometimes referred to as a MeasurementReport) , which may be an L3 measurement report. The measurement report may indicate signal strength measurements (e.g., RSRP, RSSI, RSRQ, and/or CQI) or similar measurements associated with the source cell and/or one or more neighboring cells. In some examples, based at least in part on the measurement report or other information, the network node 110 may decide to use LTM, and thus, as shown by reference number 415, the network node 110 may initiate LTM candidate preparation. For example, the network node 110 may initiate the LTM candidate preparation by transmitting an LTM candidate configuration via RRC as shown by reference number 420 (discussed below) and receiving the RRC reconfiguration message as shown by reference number 425 (discussed below) .

As shown by reference number 420, the network node 110 may transmit, and the UE 120 may receive, an RRC reconfiguration message (sometimes referred to as an RRCReconfiguration message) , which may include an LTM candidate configuration. More particularly, the RRC reconfiguration message may indicate a configuration of one or more LTM candidate target cells, which may be candidate cells, to become a serving cell of the UE and/or cells for which the UE 120 may later be triggered to perform an LTM procedure. As shown by reference number 425, the UE 120 may store the configuration of the one or more LTM candidate cell configurations and, in response, may transmit, to the network node 110, an RRC reconfiguration complete message (sometimes referred to as an RRCReconfigurationComplete message) .

During the early synchronization phase, and as shown by reference number 430, the UE 120 may optionally perform downlink/uplink synchronization with the candidate cells associated with the one or more LTM candidate cell configurations. For example, the UE 120 may perform downlink synchronization and TA acquisition with the one or more candidate target cells prior to receiving an LTM switch command (which is described in more detail below in connection with reference number 445) . In some aspects, performing the early synchronization with the one or more candidate cells may reduce latency associated with performing a random access channel (RACH) procedure later in the LTM procedure, which is described in more detail below in connection with reference number 455.

During the LTM execution phase, and as shown by reference number 435, the UE 120 may perform L1 measurements on the configured LTM candidate target cells, and thus may transmit, to the network node 110, lower-layer (e.g., L1) measurement reports. As shown by reference number 440, based at least in part on the lower-layer measurement reports, the network node 110 may decide to execute an LTM cell switch to a target cell. Accordingly, as shown by reference number 445, the network node 110 may transmit, and the UE 120 may receive, a MAC control element (MAC-CE) or similar message triggering an LTM cell switch (the MAC-CE or similar message is sometimes referred to herein as a cell switch command) . The cell switch command may include an indication of a candidate configuration index associated with the target cell. As shown by reference number 450, based at least in part on receiving the cell switch command, the UE 120 may switch to the configuration of the LTM candidate target cell (e.g., the UE 120 may detach from the source cell and apply the target cell configuration) . Moreover, as shown by reference number 455, the UE 120 may perform a RACH procedure towards the target cell, such as when a TA associated with the target cell is not available (e.g., in examples in which the UE 120 did not perform the early synchronization as described above in connection with reference number 430) . As shown in the example 400 of Fig. 4, the target cell and serving cell may be part of the same network node. Alternatively, the target cell and serving cell may be part of different network nodes, in which case the UE 120 may perform the RACH procedure with a network node associated with the target cell.

During the LTM completion phase, and as shown by reference number 460, the UE 120 may indicate successful completion of the LTM cell switch towards the target cell. In this way, cell switch to a target cell may be performed using less overhead than for an L3 handover procedure and/or a cell switch to a target cell may be associated with reduced latency as compared to L3 handover procedure.

In some aspects, as discussed in greater detail below with respect to Fig. 8, the UE 120 may be configured to transmit a capability report indicating capabilities associated with the LTM procedure and receive a configuration in accordance with the capabilities of the UE 120. In some aspects, as part of the LTM procedure, the UE 120 may receive a cell switch command with a TA indication in accordance with whether the UE 120 is capable of measuring the TA.

As indicated above, Fig. 4 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with respect to Fig. 4.

Fig. 5 illustrates an example logical architecture of a distributed RAN 500, in accordance with the present disclosure.

A 5G access node 505 may include an access node controller 510. The access node controller 510 may be a CU of the distributed RAN 500. In some aspects, a backhaul interface to a 5G core network 515 may terminate at the access node controller 510. The 5G core network 515 may include a 5G control plane component 520 and a 5G user plane component 525 (e.g., a 5G gateway) , and the backhaul interface for one or both of the 5G control plane and the 5G user plane may terminate at the access node controller 510. Additionally, or alternatively, a backhaul interface to one or more neighbor access nodes 530 (e.g., another 5G access node 505 and/or an LTE access node) may terminate at the access node controller 510.

The access node controller 510 may include and/or may communicate with one or more TRPs 535 (e.g., via an F1 Control (F1-C) interface and/or an F1 User (F1-U) interface) . A TRP 535 may include a DU and/or an RU of the distributed RAN 500. In some aspects, a TRP 535 may correspond to a network node 110 described above in connection with Fig. 1. For example, different TRPs 535 may be included in different network nodes 110. Additionally, or alternatively, multiple TRPs 535 may be included in a single network node 110. In some aspects, a network node 110 may include a CU (e.g., access node controller 510) and/or one or more DUs (e.g., one or more TRPs 535) . In some cases, a TRP 535 may be referred to as a cell, a panel, an antenna array, or an array.

A TRP 535 may be connected to a single access node controller 510 or to multiple access node controllers 510. In some aspects, a dynamic configuration of split logical functions may be present within the architecture of distributed RAN 500, referred to elsewhere herein as a functional split. For example, a PDCP layer, an RLC layer, and/or a MAC layer may be configured to terminate at the access node controller 510 or at a TRP 535.

In some aspects, multiple TRPs 535 may transmit communications (e.g., the same communication or different communications) in the same transmission time interval (TTI) (e.g., a slot, a mini-slot, a subframe, or a symbol) or different TTIs using different quasi co-location (QCL) relationships (e.g., different spatial parameters, different TCI states, different precoding parameters, and/or different beamforming parameters) . In some aspects, a TCI state may be used to indicate one or more QCL relationships. A TRP 535 may be configured to individually (e.g., using dynamic selection) or jointly (e.g., using joint transmission with one or more other TRPs 535) serve traffic to a UE 120.

In some aspects, each TRP 535 may be associated with (e.g., part of) a network node (such as network node 110) . In some aspects, one or more TRPs 535 may be associated with a serving cell and/or a target cell. Further, as discussed above, with reference to the example 400 of Fig. 4, each serving cell and target cell may be associated with a network node (such as network node 110) , and a serving cell and a target cell may be part of the same network node or part of different network nodes. Accordingly, each TRP 535 may be part of the same or different network nodes. For example, with reference to Fig. 5, one of the shown TRPs 535 is associated with the neighbor access node 530 while other TRPs 535 are associated with the access node 505.

As indicated above, Fig. 5 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what was described with regard to Fig. 5.

Fig. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example 600 of mTRP communication (sometimes referred to as multi-panel communication) , in accordance with the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 6, multiple TRPs 605 may communicate with the same UE 120. A TRP 605 may correspond to a TRP 535 described above in connection with Fig. 5.

The multiple TRPs 605 (shown as TRP A and TRP B) may communicate with the same UE 120 in a coordinated manner (e.g., using coordinated multipoint transmissions) to improve reliability and/or increase throughput. The TRPs 605 may coordinate such communications via an interface between the TRPs 605 (e.g., a backhaul interface and/or an access node controller 510) . The interface may have a smaller delay and/or higher capacity when the TRPs 605 are co-located at the same network node 110 (e.g., when the TRPs 605 are different antenna arrays or panels of the same network node 110) , and may have a larger delay and/or lower capacity (as compared to co-location) when the TRPs 605 are located at different network nodes 110. The different TRPs 605 may communicate with the UE 120 using different QCL relationships (e.g., different TCI states) , different DMRS ports, and/or different layers (e.g., of a multi-layer communication) .

In a first multi-TRP transmission mode (e.g., Mode 1) , a single physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) may be used to schedule downlink data communications for a single physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) . In this case, multiple TRPs 605 (e.g., TRP A and TRP B) may transmit communications to the UE 120 on the same PDSCH. For example, a communication may be transmitted using a single codeword with different spatial layers for different TRPs 605 (e.g., where one codeword maps to a first set of layers transmitted by a first TRP 605 and maps to a second set of layers transmitted by a second TRP 605) . As another example, a communication may be transmitted using multiple codewords, where different codewords are transmitted by different TRPs 605 (e.g., using different sets of layers) . In either case, different TRPs 605 may use different QCL relationships (e.g., different TCI states) for different DMRS ports corresponding to different layers. For example, a first TRP 605 may use a first QCL relationship or a first TCI state for a first set of DMRS ports corresponding to a first set of layers, and a second TRP 605 may use a second (different) QCL relationship or a second (different) TCI state for a second (different) set of DMRS ports corresponding to a second (different) set of layers. In some aspects, a TCI state in downlink control information (DCI) (e.g., transmitted on the PDCCH, such as DCI format 1_0 or DCI format 1_1) may indicate the first QCL relationship (e.g., by indicating a first TCI state) and the second QCL relationship (e.g., by indicating a second TCI state) . The first and the second TCI states may be indicated using a TCI field in the DCI. In general, the TCI field can indicate a single TCI state (for single-TRP transmission) or multiple TCI states (for multi-TRP transmission as discussed here) in this multi-TRP transmission mode (e.g., Mode 1) .

In a second multi-TRP transmission mode (e.g., Mode 2) , multiple PDCCHs may be used to schedule downlink data communications for multiple corresponding PDSCHs (e.g., one PDCCH for each PDSCH) . In this case, a first PDCCH may schedule a first codeword to be transmitted by a first TRP 605, and a second PDCCH may schedule a second codeword to be transmitted by a second TRP 605. Furthermore, first DCI (e.g., transmitted by the first TRP 605) may schedule a first PDSCH communication associated with a first set of DMRS ports with a first QCL relationship (e.g., indicated by a first TCI state) for the first TRP 605, and second DCI (e.g., transmitted by the second TRP 605) may schedule a second PDSCH communication associated with a second set of DMRS ports with a second QCL relationship (e.g., indicated by a second TCI state) for the second TRP 605. In this case, DCI (e.g., having DCI format 1_0 or DCI format 1_1) may indicate a corresponding TCI state for a TRP 605 corresponding to the DCI. The TCI field of a DCI indicates the corresponding TCI state (e.g., the TCI field of the first DCI indicates the first TCI state and the TCI field of the second DCI indicates the second TCI state) .

In some aspects, TRP A and TRP B may be part of the same cell (such as the same serving cell or the same target cell) . Alternatively, in some aspects, TRP A and TRP B may be associated with different cells (e.g., one being associated with a serving cell and the other being associated with a target cell) . In some aspects, TRP A and TRP B may be associated with the same network node. Alternatively, in some aspects, TRP A and TRP B may be associated with different network nodes.

As indicated above, Fig. 6 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with respect to Fig. 6.

Fig. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example 700 of using beams for communications between a network node and a UE, in accordance with the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 7, a network node 110 and a UE 120 may communicate with one another.

The network node 110 may transmit to UEs 120 located within a coverage area of the network node 110. The network node 110 and the UE 120 may be configured for beamformed communications, where the network node 110 may transmit in the direction of the UE 120 using a directional network node (NN) transmit beam (e.g., a network node 110 transmit beam) , and the UE 120 may receive the transmission using a directional UE receive beam. Each NN transmit beam may have an associated beam ID, beam direction, or beam symbols, among other examples. The network node 110 may transmit downlink communications via one or more NN transmit beams 705.

The UE 120 may attempt to receive downlink transmissions via one or more UE receive beams 710, which may be configured using different beamforming parameters at receive circuitry of the UE 120. The UE 120 may identify a particular NN transmit beam 705, shown as NN transmit beam 705-A, and a particular UE receive beam 710, shown as UE receive beam 710-A, that provide relatively favorable performance (for example, that have a best channel quality of the different measured combinations of NN transmit beams 705 and UE receive beams 710) . In some examples, the UE 120 may transmit an indication of which NN transmit beam 705 is identified by the UE 120 as a preferred NN transmit beam, which the network node 110 may select for transmissions to the UE 120. The UE 120 may thus attain and maintain a beam pair link (BPL) with the network node 110 for downlink communications (for example, a combination of the NN transmit beam 705-A and the UE receive beam 710-A) , which may be further refined and maintained in accordance with one or more established beam refinement procedures.

A downlink beam, such as an NN transmit beam 705 or a UE receive beam 710, may be associated with a TCI state. A TCI state may indicate a directionality or a characteristic of the downlink beam, such as one or more QCL properties of the downlink beam. A QCL property may include, for example, a Doppler shift, a Doppler spread, an average delay, a delay spread, or spatial receive parameters, among other examples. In some examples, each NN transmit beam 705 may be associated with a synchronization signal block (SSB) , and the UE 120 may indicate a preferred NN transmit beam 705 by transmitting uplink transmissions in resources of the SSB that are associated with the preferred NN transmit beam 705. A particular SSB may have an associated TCI state (for example, for an antenna port or for beamforming) . The network node 110 may, in some examples, indicate a downlink NN transmit beam 705 based at least in part on antenna port QCL properties that may be indicated by the TCI state. A TCI state may be associated with one downlink reference signal set (for example, an SSB and an aperiodic, periodic, or semi-persistent channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) ) for different QCL types (for example, QCL types for different combinations of Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread, or spatial receive parameters, among other examples) . In cases where the QCL type indicates spatial receive parameters, the QCL type may correspond to analog receive beamforming parameters of a UE receive beam 710 at the UE 120. Thus, the UE 120 may select a corresponding UE receive beam 710 from a set of BPLs based at least in part on the network node 110 indicating an NN transmit beam 705 via a TCI indication.

The network node 110 may maintain a set of activated TCI states for downlink shared channel transmissions and a set of activated TCI states for downlink control channel transmissions. The set of activated TCI states for downlink shared channel transmissions may correspond to beams that the network node 110 uses for downlink transmission on a PDSCH. The set of activated TCI states for downlink control channel communications may correspond to beams that the network node 110 may use for downlink transmission on a PDCCH or in a control resource set (CORESET) . The UE 120 may also maintain a set of activated TCI states for receiving the downlink shared channel transmissions and the CORESET transmissions. If a TCI state is activated for the UE 120, then the UE 120 may have one or more antenna configurations based at least in part on the TCI state, and the UE 120 may not need to reconfigure antennas or antenna weighting configurations. In some examples, the set of activated TCI states (for example, activated PDSCH TCI states and activated CORESET TCI states) for the UE 120 may be configured by a configuration message, such as an RRC message.

Similarly, for uplink communications, the UE 120 may transmit in the direction of the network node 110 using a directional UE transmit beam, and the network node 110 may receive the transmission using a directional NN receive beam. Each UE transmit beam may have an associated beam ID, beam direction, or beam symbols, among other examples. The UE 120 may transmit uplink communications via one or more UE transmit beams 715.

The network node 110 may receive uplink transmissions via one or more NN receive beams 720 (e.g., BS receive beams) . The network node 110 may identify a particular UE transmit beam 715, shown as UE transmit beam 715-A, and a particular NN receive beam 720, shown as NN receive beam 720-A, that provide relatively favorable performance (for example, that have a best channel quality of the different measured combinations of UE transmit beams 715 and NN receive beams 720) . In some examples, the network node 110 may transmit an indication of which UE transmit beam 715 is identified by the network node 110 as a preferred UE transmit beam, which the network node 110 may select for transmissions from the UE 120. The UE 120 and the network node 110 may thus attain and maintain a BPL for uplink communications (for example, a combination of the UE transmit beam 715-A and the NN receive beam 720-A) , which may be further refined and maintained in accordance with one or more established beam refinement procedures. An uplink beam, such as a UE transmit beam 715 or an NN receive beam 720, may be associated with a spatial relation. A spatial relation may indicate a directionality or a characteristic of the uplink beam, similar to one or more QCL properties, as described above.

As discussed in greater detail below with respect to Fig. 9, the UE 120 may be configured with multiple TCI states for STxMP communications. In some aspects, the UE 120 may receive a configuration for STxMP communications under a unified TCI framework.

As indicated above, Fig. 7 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with respect to Fig. 7.

Fig. 8 is a diagram of an example 800 associated with configuring a UE for the LTM procedure, in accordance with the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 8, a network node (e.g., network node 110, a CU, a DU, and/or an RU) may communicate with a UE (e.g., UE 120) . In some aspects, the network node and the UE may be part of a wireless network (e.g., wireless network 100) . The UE and the network node may have established a wireless connection prior to operations shown in Fig. 8. In some aspects, the communications shown in the example 800 of Fig. 8 may occur during the LTM preparation portion of the example 400 of Fig. 4. In some aspects, certain communications discussed below with reference to the example 800 of Fig. 8 may overlap with certain communications discussed above with reference to the example 400 of Fig. 4.

As shown by reference number 805, the network node may transmit, and the UE may receive, configuration information. In some aspects, the UE may receive the configuration information via one or more of system information (e.g., a master information block (MIB) and/or a system information block (SIB) , among other examples) , RRC signaling, one or more MAC-CE communications, and/or DCI, among other examples.

In some aspects, the configuration information may indicate one or more candidate configurations and/or communication parameters. In some aspects, the one or more candidate configurations and/or communication parameters may be selected, activated, and/or deactivated by a subsequent indication. For example, the subsequent indication may select a candidate configuration and/or communication parameter from the one or more candidate configurations and/or communication parameters. In some aspects, the subsequent indication (e.g., an indication described herein) may include a dynamic indication, such as one or more MAC-CE messages and/or one or more DCI messages, among other examples.

In some aspects, the configuration information may indicate that the UE is to transmit a capability indication associated with an LTM capability in accordance with a MAC-CE-based cell switching operation. In some aspects, the configuration information may indication that the UE is to receive a configuration in accordance with the capability indication. The LTM capability may include a “type” based on a granularity. The granularity may be indicated per UE, per band, per band combination, per feature set, per feature set per carrier component (FSCP) , and/or a combination thereof, among other examples. The LTM capability may be further associated with frequency division duplex (FDD) operation, time division duplex (TDD) operation, FR1 and/or FR2 differentiation, and/or a combination thereof, among other examples.

In some aspects, the LTM capability may indicate support for the MAC-CE-based cell switching operation in accordance with whether one of the LTM candidate cells is a current serving cell for the UE. For example, the LTM capability may indicate support for a RACH-based TA acquisition for the LTM candidate cell serving as the serving cell. In some aspects, the UE may support TA acquisition of a quantity (i.e., N number) of candidate cells in accordance with a PDCCH-ordered contention free random access (CFRA) procedure before receiving the MAC-CE-based cell switch command. In some aspects, the PDCCH order may be received from a current non-candidate serving cell or from the LTM candidate operating as a serving cell to the UE. In some aspects, the UE may support power ramping for PRACH retransmission in accordance with the PDCCH order indication. In some aspects, the UE may support handling an overlap between uplink transmissions on the serving cell and PRACH communications on the LTM candidate cell serving as a current serving cell.

In some aspects, the LTM capability may indicate support for one or more of synchronous inter-frequency L1 RSRP measurements, synchronous intra-frequency L1 RSRP measurements, asynchronous inter-frequency L1 RSRP measurements, or asynchronous intra-frequency L1 RSRP measurements. In some aspects, each of the L1 RSRP measurements may be based on an SSB associated with one of the LTM candidate cells, including whether or not the LTM candidate cell is currently operating as a serving cell to the UE.

In some aspects, the LTM capability may indicate UE support for a maximum quantity of LTM candidate cells to perform L1-RSRP measurements to generate one or more of periodic reports, activated semi-persistent reports, or triggered aperiodic reports. In some aspects, the maximum quantity of LTM candidate cells excludes LTM candidate cells that are serving cells of the UE. Alternatively, the UE may support including all LTM candidate cells (whether serving cells or not) in the maximum quantity of LTM candidate cells. In some aspects, the maximum quantity of LTM candidate cells includes LTM candidate cells configured via RRC signaling.

In some aspects, the LTM capability may indicate UE support for LTM without a RACH communication. For example, the UE may support a RACH-less intra-frequency and/or intra-frequency handover for LTM. In some aspects, the UE may indicate support for the maximum number of LTM candidate cells (which may exclude LTM candidate cells not currently operating as serving cells) supported for the RACH-less intra-frequency and/or inter-frequency handover.

The UE may configure itself based at least in part on the configuration information. In some aspects, the UE may be configured to perform one or more operations described herein based at least in part on the configuration information.

As shown by reference number 810, the UE may transmit, and the network node may receive, a capabilities report. The capabilities report may indicate whether the UE supports a feature and/or one or more parameters related to the feature. For example, the capability information may indicate a capability and/or parameter for a MAC-CE-based cell switching operation in the context of LTM. One or more operations described herein may be based on capability information of the capabilities report. For example, the UE may perform a communication in accordance with the capability information, or may receive configuration information that is in accordance with the capability information. In some aspects, the capabilities report may indicate UE support for transmitting a capability indication associated with an LTM capability in accordance with a MAC-CE cell switching operation.

In some aspects, the configuration information described in connection with reference number 805 and/or the capabilities report may include information transmitted via multiple communications. Additionally, or alternatively, the network node may transmit the configuration information, or a communication including at least a portion of the configuration information, before and/or after the UE transmits the capabilities report. For example, the network node may transmit a first portion of the configuration information before the capabilities report, the UE may transmit at least a portion of the capabilities report, and the network node may transmit a second portion of the configuration information after receiving the capabilities report.

As shown by reference number 815, the UE may receive, and the network node may transmit, an indication associated with the configuration for operating in accordance with the MAC-CE-based cell switching operation for LTM. In some aspects, the indication may be included in messaging associated with the LTM procedure. For example, the indication may be an RRC reconfiguration message, such as the RRC reconfiguration message discussed above with reference to reference number 420 of Fig. 4. The RRC reconfiguration message may indicate a configuration of one or more LTM candidate target cells, which may be candidate cells, to become a serving cell of the UE and/or cells for which the UE 120 may later be triggered to perform an LTM procedure. Alternatively, in some aspects, the indication may be included in the cell-switching command, such as the cell switching command discussed above with respect to reference number 445 of Fig. 4.

As shown by reference number 820, the UE may configure itself, based at least in part on receiving the indication described in connection with reference number 815 to perform the LTM procedure in accordance with the MAC-CE-based cell switching operation.

As shown by reference number 825, the UE may communicate with the network node based at least in part on 815 to facilitate the LTM procedure. For example, the UE may be configured to receive a MAC-CE-based cell switch command that includes a TA indication for an LTM candidate cell. In some aspects, the TA indication may indicate a presence or absence of a TA field in the cell switch command.

In some aspects, such as when the UE is configured for TA measurement via RRC, for example, the TA indication may include a first bit and a second bit. The first bit may the presence or absence of the TA field and the second bit may indicate a UE action. Examples of the UE action may include performing a TA measurement, applying an actual (i.e., measured) TA to the LTM candidate cell, applying a zero TA to the LTM candidate cell, applying a previous TA to the LTM candidate cell, or transmitting a RACH or PRACH communication to the LTM candidate cell. The UE action may further or alternatively include deriving the target cell TA in accordance with a TA measurement. The TA measurement may be derived from a TA associated with a current source cell and a reference signal time difference (RSTD) of the source cell and one or more LTM candidate cells.

In some aspects, the TA indication may include a single bit indicating the presence or absence of the TA field in the cell switch command. In some aspects, the UE may be configured to apply the TA value, the actual TA, a zero TA, or a previous TA if the single bit indicates the TA is present. If the single bit indicates that no TA is present, the UE may be configured to determine the TA based on a triggered PRACH procedure or by measuring the TA if, for example, a PRACH procedure is not triggered.

In some aspects, such as when the UE is not configured to perform TA measurements, the single bit may indicate the actual TA value or the previous TA value. If the single bit is not present (e.g., indicating that the TA field is not present in the cell switch command) , the UE may be configured to measure the TA in accordance with a triggered PRACH procedure.

In some aspects, the cell switch command may include a beam indication in addition to the TA indication. The TA indication and the beam indication may be represented by two bits in the cell switch command. A first bit may indicate whether the TA field is present and a second bit may indicate whether a beam field is present.

As indicated above, Fig. 8 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with respect to Fig. 8.

Fig. 9 is a diagram of an example 900 associated with STxMP operation under a unified TCI framework, in accordance with the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 9, a network node (e.g., network node 110, a CU, a DU, and/or an RU) may communicate with a UE (e.g., UE 120) . In some aspects, the network node and the UE may be part of a wireless network (e.g., wireless network 100) . The UE and the network node may have established a wireless connection prior to operations shown in Fig. 9.

As shown by reference number 905, the network node may transmit, and the UE may receive, configuration information. In some aspects, the UE may receive the configuration information via one or more of system information (e.g., an MIB and/or an SIB, among other examples) , RRC signaling, one or more MAC-CEs, and/or DCI, among other examples.

In some aspects, the configuration information may indicate one or more candidate configurations and/or communication parameters. In some aspects, the one or more candidate configurations and/or communication parameters may be selected, activated, and/or deactivated by a subsequent indication. For example, the subsequent indication may select a candidate configuration and/or communication parameter from the one or more candidate configurations and/or communication parameters. In some aspects, the subsequent indication (e.g., an indication described herein) may include a dynamic indication, such as one or more MAC CEs and/or one or more DCI messages, among other examples.

In some aspects, the configuration information may indicate that the UE is to perform an STxMP operation under a unified TCI framework. The UE may configure itself based at least in part on the configuration information. In some aspects, the UE may be configured to perform one or more operations described herein based at least in part on the configuration information.

As shown by reference number 910, the UE may transmit, and the network node may receive, a capabilities report. The capabilities report may indicate whether the UE supports a feature and/or one or more parameters related to the feature. For example, the capability information may indicate a capability and/or parameter for STxMP communications under a unified TCI framework. One or more operations described herein may be based on capability information of the capabilities report. For example, the UE may perform a communication in accordance with the capability information, or may receive configuration information that is in accordance with the capability information. In some aspects, the capabilities report may indicate UE support for transmitting a TCI capability associated with a unified TCI framework for STxMP communication. The capabilities report may further include UE support for receiving a TCI configuration in accordance with the TCI capability. The TCI configuration may configure the UE to apply one or more of two or more TCI states in, for example, situations where the UE has received indications for multiple (e.g., two or more) TCI states.

In some aspects, the configuration information described in connection with reference number 905 and/or the capabilities report may include information transmitted via multiple communications. Additionally, or alternatively, the network node may transmit the configuration information, or a communication including at least a portion of the configuration information, before and/or after the UE transmits the capabilities report. For example, the network node may transmit a first portion of the configuration information before the capabilities report, the UE may transmit at least a portion of the capabilities report, and the network node may transmit a second portion of the configuration information after receiving the capabilities report.

As shown by reference number 915, the UE may receive, and the network node may transmit, an indication to apply the configuration for the STxMP communications under a unified TCI framework. For example, multiple TCI states in a unified TCI framework may be defined via RRC messaging. In some aspects, the activation and/or deactivation of one or more TCI states may be indicated for different channels via RRC messaging or DCI.

As shown by reference number 920, the UE may configure itself, based at least in part on receiving the indication described in connection with reference number 915 to receive a TCI configuration in accordance with the TCI capability, as discussed above. In some aspects, the TCI configuration may refer to a configuration for a unified TCI framework for an mTRP operation based on secondary DCI (sDCI) associated with mTRP for a single frequency network (SFN) or coordinated joint transmission (CJT) . The TCI configuration may apply to PDCCH and/or PDSCH reception in a Type0/0A/2 CSS of a CORESET (e.g., CORESET0) . In some aspects, The UE may apply one of the multiple TCI states (e.g., the first indicated TCI state) indicated for PDSCH/PDCCH that is not associated with Type0/0A/2 CSS to the PDCCH and/or PDSCH reception in a Type0/0A/2 CSS of a CORESET (e.g., CORESET0) . In some aspects, the TCI configuration may configure the UE to apply multiple TCIs subject to the configuration of an SFN PDCCH reception. In some aspects, the UE may apply a QCL of the associated SSB, e.g., determined from a previous contention-based random access (CBRA) PRACH communication. In some aspects, the UE may apply the TCI state indicated by a TCI activation signal received via MAC-CE (in the case of PDCCH reception) or by a TCI used for the scheduling DCI (in the case of PDSCH reception) to the PDSCH reception in a Type0/0A/2 CSS of a CORESET (e.g., CORESET0) . In some aspects, the TCI configuration may configure the UE to apply the TCI state in accordance with a UE capability.

In some aspects, the TCI configuration may configure the UE to transmit a power headroom (PHR) report. The TCI configuration may include a configuration for the PHR report in situations such as when the UE is configured for multiple PHR modes (e.g., twoPHRMode) and two sounding reference signal (SRS) resource sets for codebook and/or non-codebook multi-panel schemes for spatial division multiplexing (SDM) or SFN operation. In some aspects, the PHR report may indicate one or more of a PHR and a maximum output power associated with one or more of the two or more TCI states. The TCI configuration may configure the UE to determine the PHR based on a reference physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission. If the actual PUSCH transmission applies only to a first indicated joint/uplink TCI state, the UE may be configured to provide a first PHR report (e.g., the PHR and a configured maximum output power) associated with the first indicated joint/uplink TCI state for the actual PUSCH transmission. In some aspects, the UE may be configured to apply a second PHR report associated with a second indicated joint/UL TCI state for a reference PUSCH transmission report (e.g., the virtual PHR and a configured maximum output power) . In some aspects, if the actual PUSCH transmission only applies to the second indicated joint/UL TCI state, the UE may be configured to provide the first PHR report associated with the second indicated joint/UL TCI state for the actual PUSCH transmission and the second PHR report associated with the first indicated joint/UL TCI state for the reference PUSCH transmission (e.g., the virtual PHR and a configured maximum output power) . If the UE determines that multiple Type 1 PHRs are based on reference PUSCH transmissions, the UE may be configured to provide the first PHR report associated with the first indicated joint/UL TCI state for a reference PUSCH transmission (e.g., the virtual PHR and a configured maximum output power) and the second PHR report associated with a second indicated joint/UL TCI state for another reference PUSCH transmission (e.g., the virtual PHR and a configured maximum output power) . For example, for the PHR report, the UE may report both per-panel power headrooms and per-panel configured maximum output powers based on reference PUSCH transmissions for an SDM or SFN occasion in the multi-TRP operation. In some aspects, for the PHR report in an SDM or SFN occasion for the multi-TRP operation, the UE may report two MPE fields for the two panels’ applied power backoff to meet MPE requirements, regardless of whether the PUSCH transmission is actual or virtual.

In some aspects, the UE may be triggered for the PHR report by per-panel triggering events. For unified TCI based multi-TRP operation, if a UE is configured with two SRS resource sets for CB/NCB, the UE may support per-TRP pathloss variation monitoring for event-triggered PHR, where the pathloss reference used for determining the pathloss variation of one serving cell at different time are derived from the joint or UL TCI state (s) used as either the first or second indicated TCI state, and the pathloss reference may be changed according to a TCI state update to the first or second indicated TCI state.

In some aspects, such as when the configured maximum output power is not reported via a virtual PHR report and the UE determine that one Type 1 PHR is based on a reference PUSCH transmission, the TCI configuration may configure the UE to transmit the PHR report in accordance with the actual PUSCH transmission. The PHR report in this situation may include only the PHR and omit the configured maximum output power. In some aspects, if the actual PUSCH transmission applies only to the first indicated joint/uplink TCI state, the UE may provide the first PHR report associated with the first indicated joint/uplink TCI state for the actual PUSCH transmission and a second PHR report associated with a second indicated joint/uplink TCI state for a reference PUSCH transmission. If the actual PUSCH transmission only applies to a second indicated joint/uplink TCI state, the UE may be configured to provide the first PHR report associated with the second indicated joint/uplink TCI state for the actual PUSCH transmission and the second PHR report associated with the first indicated joint/uplink TCI state for a reference PUSCH transmission. Alternatively, if the UE determines that both Type 1 PHRs are based on a reference PUSCH transmission, the UE may be configured to provide the first PHR report associated with the first indicated joint/uplink TCI state for a reference PUSCH transmission and a second PHR report associated with a second indicated joint/uplink TCI state for another reference PUSCH transmission. In some aspects, the network node may not know the maximum power enhancement (MPE) for the virtual PHR report. In some aspects, the virtual PHR report may be generated and/or transmitted in accordance with UE capability.

In some aspects, the TCI configuration may configure the UE to switch from a single TRP (sTRP) to mTRP based on MAC-CE signaling. In some aspects, the TCI configuration may configure the UE to transmit the PHR report for each TRP or for each cell. In some aspects, the TCI configuration may configure the UE to transmit the PHR report for each TRP if multiple PHR modes are configured and two SRS resource sets for codebook/non-codebook and multi-panel schemes for SDM/SFN are configured for a bandwidth part (BWP) or component carrier (CC) . In some aspects, the UE may be configured to generate and transmit the PHR report per TRP when the BWP/CC is configured and enabled with mTRP operation. In some aspects, if the UE is enabled with sTRP operation for the BWP/CC by, for example, MAC-CE signaling, the UE may be configured to generate and transmit the PHR report per cell.

As shown by reference number 925, the UE may communicate with the network node based at least in part on 915 in accordance with the TCI configuration. In doing so, the UE and network node may facilitate STxMP communications under a unified TCI framework.

As indicated above, Fig. 9 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with respect to Fig. 9.

Fig. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example process 1000 performed, for example, at a UE or an apparatus of a UE, in accordance with the present disclosure. Example process 1000 is an example where the apparatus or the UE (e.g., UE 120) performs operations associated with UE capabilities for LTM.

As shown in Fig. 10, in some aspects, process 1000 may include transmitting a capability indication associated with an LTM capability in accordance with a MAC-CE cell switching operation (block 1010) . For example, the UE (e.g., using transmission component 1404 and/or communication manager 1406, depicted in Fig. 14) may transmit a capability indication associated with an LTM capability in accordance with a MAC-CE cell switching operation, as described above.

As further shown in Fig. 10, in some aspects, process 1000 may include receiving a configuration in accordance with the capability indication (block 1020) . For example, the UE (e.g., using reception component 1402 and/or communication manager 1406, depicted in Fig. 14) may receive a configuration in accordance with the capability indication, as described above.

Process 1000 may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or any combination of aspects described below and/or in connection with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein.

In a first aspect, process 1000 includes receiving a cell switch command including a TA indication for an LTM candidate cell, wherein the TA indication indicates a presence or absence of a TA field in the cell switch command.

In a second aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect, the TA indication includes a first bit and a second bit, and wherein the first bit indicates the presence or absence of the TA field and the second bit indicates a UE action.

In a third aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first and second aspects, the UE action includes one of performing a TA measurement, applying a zero TA to the LTM candidate cell, or transmitting a RACH communication to the LTM candidate cell.

In a fourth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through third aspects, the TA indication includes a single bit indicating the presence or absence of the TA field.

In a fifth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fourth aspects, a TA value is associated with a RACH procedure.

In a sixth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fifth aspects, the cell switch command includes a first bit associated with the TA field and a second bit associated with a beam field.

In a seventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through sixth aspects, the first bit indicates a presence or absence of the TA field, and wherein the second bit indicates a presence or absence of the beam field.

In an eighth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through seventh aspects, the LTM capability indicates support for the MAC-CE based cell switching operation in accordance with whether one of the LTM candidate cells is a current serving cell for the UE.

In a ninth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eighth aspects, the LTM capability includes a TA acquisition indication associated with a quantity of LTM candidate cells for a CFRA procedure.

In a tenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through ninth aspects, the LTM capability indicates support for one or more of synchronous inter-frequency L1 RSRP measurements, synchronous intra-frequency L1 RSRP measurements, asynchronous inter-frequency L1 RSRP measurements, or asynchronous intra-frequency L1 RSRP measurements, and wherein each of the L1 RSRP measurements are based on an SSB associated with one of the LTM candidate cells.

In an eleventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through tenth aspects, the LTM capability indicates a maximum quantity of LTM candidate cells to measure for one or more of periodic reports, activated semi-persistent reports, or triggered aperiodic reports.

In a twelfth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eleventh aspects, the maximum quantity of LTM candidate cells excludes LTM candidate cells that are serving cells of the UE.

In a thirteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twelfth aspects, the maximum quantity of LTM candidate cells includes LTM candidate cells configured via RRC signaling.

In a fourteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through thirteenth aspects, the LTM capability indicates support for LTM without a RACH communication.

Although Fig. 10 shows example blocks of process 1000, in some aspects, process 1000 may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or differently arranged blocks than those depicted in Fig. 10. Additionally, or alternatively, two or more of the blocks of process 1000 may be performed in parallel.

Fig. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example process 1100 performed, for example, at a UE or an apparatus of a UE, in accordance with the present disclosure. Example process 1100 is an example where the apparatus or the UE (e.g., UE 120) performs operations associated with UE capabilities for STxMP communications under a unified TCI framework.

As shown in Fig. 11, in some aspects, process 1100 may include transmitting a TCI capability associated with a unified TCI framework for an STxMP communication (block 1110) . For example, the UE (e.g., using transmission component 1404 and/or communication manager 1406, depicted in Fig. 14) may transmit a TCI capability associated with a unified TCI framework for an STxMP communication, as described above.

As further shown in Fig. 11, in some aspects, process 1100 may include receiving a TCI configuration in accordance with the TCI capability, wherein the TCI configuration for applying one or more of two or more TCI states (block 1120) . For example, the UE (e.g., using reception component 1402 and/or communication manager 1406, depicted in Fig. 14) may receive a TCI configuration in accordance with the TCI capability, wherein the TCI configuration for applying one or more of two or more TCI states, as described above.

Process 1100 may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or any combination of aspects described below and/or in connection with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein.

In a first aspect, process 1100 includes receiving one or more indications for the two or more TCI states.

In a second aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect, each of two or more TCI states apply to one or more of PDSCH communications or PDCCH communications.

In a third aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first and second aspects, process 1100 includes transmitting a PHR report in accordance with the TCI configuration.

In a fourth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through third aspects, the PHR report indicates one or more of a PHR or a maximum output power associated with one or more of the two or more TCI states.

In a fifth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fourth aspects, one or more of the PHR or the maximum output power are associated with a reference PUSCH transmission.

In a sixth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fifth aspects, the PHR report is associated with one or more of a BWP or CC.

Although Fig. 11 shows example blocks of process 1100, in some aspects, process 1100 may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or differently arranged blocks than those depicted in Fig. 11. Additionally, or alternatively, two or more of the blocks of process 1100 may be performed in parallel.

Fig. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example process 1200 performed, for example, at a network node or an apparatus of a network node, in accordance with the present disclosure. Example process 1200 is an example where the apparatus or the network node (e.g., network node 110) performs operations associated with UE capabilities for LTM.

As shown in Fig. 12, in some aspects, process 1200 may include receiving, from a UE, a capability indication associated with an LTM capability associated with a MAC-CE cell switching operation (block 1210) . For example, the network node (e.g., using reception component 1502 and/or communication manager 1506, depicted in Fig. 15) may receive, from a UE, a capability indication associated with an LTM capability associated with a MAC-CE cell switching operation, as described above.

As further shown in Fig. 12, in some aspects, process 1200 may include transmitting a configuration in accordance with the capability indication (block 1220) . For example, the network node (e.g., using transmission component 1504 and/or communication manager 1506, depicted in Fig. 15) may transmit a configuration in accordance with the capability indication, as described above.

Process 1200 may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or any combination of aspects described below and/or in connection with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein.

In a first aspect, process 1200 includes transmitting a cell switch command including a TA indication for an LTM candidate cell, wherein the TA indication indicates a presence or absence of a TA field in the cell switch command.

In a tenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through ninth aspects, the LTM capability indicates support for one or more of inter-frequency L1 RSRP measurements, synchronous intra-frequency L1 RSRP measurements, asynchronous inter-frequency L1 RSRP measurements, or asynchronous intra-frequency L1 RSRP measurements, wherein the one or more of the L1 RSRP measurements are based on an SSB associated with one of the LTM candidate cells.

Although Fig. 12 shows example blocks of process 1200, in some aspects, process 1200 may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or differently arranged blocks than those depicted in Fig. 12. Additionally, or alternatively, two or more of the blocks of process 1200 may be performed in parallel.

Fig. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example process 1300 performed, for example, at a network node or an apparatus of a network node, in accordance with the present disclosure. Example process 1300 is an example where the apparatus or the network node (e.g., network node 110) performs operations associated with STxMP communications under a unified TCI framework.

As shown in Fig. 13, in some aspects, process 1300 may include receiving a TCI capability associated with a unified TCI framework for an STxMP communication (block 1310) . For example, the network node (e.g., using reception component 1502 and/or communication manager 1506, depicted in Fig. 15) may receive a TCI capability associated with a unified TCI framework for an STxMP communication, as described above.

As further shown in Fig. 13, in some aspects, process 1300 may include transmitting a TCI configuration in accordance with the TCI capability, wherein the TCI configuration for applying one or more of two or more TCI states (block 1320) . For example, the network node (e.g., using transmission component 1504 and/or communication manager 1506, depicted in Fig. 15) may transmit a TCI configuration in accordance with the TCI capability, wherein the TCI configuration for applying one or more of two or more TCI states, as described above.

Process 1300 may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or any combination of aspects described below and/or in connection with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein.

In a first aspect, process 1300 includes transmitting one or more indications for the two or more TCI states.

In a third aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first and second aspects, process 1300 includes receiving a PHR report in accordance with the TCI configuration.

Although Fig. 13 shows example blocks of process 1300, in some aspects, process 1300 may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or differently arranged blocks than those depicted in Fig. 13. Additionally, or alternatively, two or more of the blocks of process 1300 may be performed in parallel.

Fig. 14 is a diagram of an example apparatus 1400 for wireless communication, in accordance with the present disclosure. The apparatus 1400 may be a UE, or a UE may include the apparatus 1400. In some aspects, the apparatus 1400 includes a reception component 1402, a transmission component 1404, and/or a communication manager 1406, which may be in communication with one another (for example, via one or more buses and/or one or more other components) . In some aspects, the communication manager 1406 is the communication manager 140 described in connection with Fig. 1. As shown, the apparatus 1400 may communicate with another apparatus 1408, such as a UE or a network node (such as a CU, a DU, an RU, or a base station) , using the reception component 1402 and the transmission component 1404.

In some aspects, the apparatus 1400 may be configured to perform one or more operations described herein in connection with Figs. 4-9. Additionally, or alternatively, the apparatus 1400 may be configured to perform one or more processes described herein, such as process 1000 of Fig. 10, process 1100 of Fig. 11, or a combination thereof. In some aspects, the apparatus 1400 and/or one or more components shown in Fig. 14 may include one or more components of the UE described in connection with Fig. 2. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more components shown in Fig. 14 may be implemented within one or more components described in connection with Fig. 2. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more components of the set of components may be implemented at least in part as software stored in one or more memories. For example, a component (or a portion of a component) may be implemented as instructions or code stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and executable by one or more controllers or one or more processors to perform the functions or operations of the component.

The reception component 1402 may receive communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or a combination thereof, from the apparatus 1408. The reception component 1402 may provide received communications to one or more other components of the apparatus 1400. In some aspects, the reception component 1402 may perform signal processing on the received communications (such as filtering, amplification, demodulation, analog-to-digital conversion, demultiplexing, deinterleaving, de-mapping, equalization, interference cancellation, or decoding, among other examples) , and may provide the processed signals to the one or more other components of the apparatus 1400. In some aspects, the reception component 1402 may include one or more antennas, one or more modems, one or more demodulators, one or more MIMO detectors, one or more receive processors, one or more controllers/processors, one or more memories, or a combination thereof, of the UE described in connection with Fig. 2.

The transmission component 1404 may transmit communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or a combination thereof, to the apparatus 1408. In some aspects, one or more other components of the apparatus 1400 may generate communications and may provide the generated communications to the transmission component 1404 for transmission to the apparatus 1408. In some aspects, the transmission component 1404 may perform signal processing on the generated communications (such as filtering, amplification, modulation, digital-to-analog conversion, multiplexing, interleaving, mapping, or encoding, among other examples) , and may transmit the processed signals to the apparatus 1408. In some aspects, the transmission component 1404 may include one or more antennas, one or more modems, one or more modulators, one or more transmit MIMO processors, one or more transmit processors, one or more controllers/processors, one or more memories, or a combination thereof, of the UE described in connection with Fig. 2. In some aspects, the transmission component 1404 may be co-located with the reception component 1402 in one or more transceivers.

The communication manager 1406 may support operations of the reception component 1402 and/or the transmission component 1404. For example, the communication manager 1406 may receive information associated with configuring reception of communications by the reception component 1402 and/or transmission of communications by the transmission component 1404. Additionally, or alternatively, the communication manager 1406 may generate and/or provide control information to the reception component 1402 and/or the transmission component 1404 to control reception and/or transmission of communications.

The transmission component 1404 may transmit a capability indication associated with an LTM capability in accordance with a MAC-CE cell switching operation. The reception component 1402 may receive a configuration in accordance with the capability indication.

The reception component 1402 may receive a cell switch command including a TA indication for an LTM candidate cell, wherein the TA indication indicates a presence or absence of a TA field in the cell switch command.

The transmission component 1404 may transmit a TCI capability associated with a unified TCI framework for an STxMP communication. The reception component 1402 may receive a TCI configuration in accordance with the TCI capability, wherein the TCI configuration for applying one or more of two or more TCI states.

The reception component 1402 may receive one or more indications for the two or more TCI states. The transmission component 1404 may transmit a PHR report in accordance with the TCI configuration.

The number and arrangement of components shown in Fig. 14 are provided as an example. In practice, there may be additional components, fewer components, different components, or differently arranged components than those shown in Fig. 14. Furthermore, two or more components shown in Fig. 14 may be implemented within a single component, or a single component shown in Fig. 14 may be implemented as multiple, distributed components. Additionally, or alternatively, a set of (one or more) components shown in Fig. 14 may perform one or more functions described as being performed by another set of components shown in Fig. 14.

Fig. 15 is a diagram of an example apparatus 1500 for wireless communication, in accordance with the present disclosure. The apparatus 1500 may be a network node, or a network node may include the apparatus 1500. In some aspects, the apparatus 1500 includes a reception component 1502, a transmission component 1504, and/or a communication manager 1506, which may be in communication with one another (for example, via one or more buses and/or one or more other components) . In some aspects, the communication manager 1506 is the communication manager 150 described in connection with Fig. 1. As shown, the apparatus 1500 may communicate with another apparatus 1508, such as a UE or a network node (such as a CU, a DU, an RU, or a base station) , using the reception component 1502 and the transmission component 1504.

In some aspects, the apparatus 1500 may be configured to perform one or more operations described herein in connection with Figs. 4-9. Additionally, or alternatively, the apparatus 1500 may be configured to perform one or more processes described herein, such as process 1200 of Fig. 12, process 1300 of Fig. 13, or a combination thereof. In some aspects, the apparatus 1500 and/or one or more components shown in Fig. 15 may include one or more components of the network node described in connection with Fig. 2. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more components shown in Fig. 15 may be implemented within one or more components described in connection with Fig. 2. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more components of the set of components may be implemented at least in part as software stored in one or more memories. For example, a component (or a portion of a component) may be implemented as instructions or code stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and executable by one or more controllers or one or more processors to perform the functions or operations of the component.

The reception component 1502 may receive communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or a combination thereof, from the apparatus 1508. The reception component 1502 may provide received communications to one or more other components of the apparatus 1500. In some aspects, the reception component 1502 may perform signal processing on the received communications (such as filtering, amplification, demodulation, analog-to-digital conversion, demultiplexing, deinterleaving, de-mapping, equalization, interference cancellation, or decoding, among other examples) , and may provide the processed signals to the one or more other components of the apparatus 1500. In some aspects, the reception component 1502 may include one or more antennas, one or more modems, one or more demodulators, one or more MIMO detectors, one or more receive processors, one or more controllers/processors, one or more memories, or a combination thereof, of the network node described in connection with Fig. 2. In some aspects, the reception component 1502 and/or the transmission component 1504 may include or may be included in a network interface. The network interface may be configured to obtain and/or output signals for the apparatus 1500 via one or more communications links, such as a backhaul link, a midhaul link, and/or a fronthaul link.

The transmission component 1504 may transmit communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or a combination thereof, to the apparatus 1508. In some aspects, one or more other components of the apparatus 1500 may generate communications and may provide the generated communications to the transmission component 1504 for transmission to the apparatus 1508. In some aspects, the transmission component 1504 may perform signal processing on the generated communications (such as filtering, amplification, modulation, digital-to-analog conversion, multiplexing, interleaving, mapping, or encoding, among other examples) , and may transmit the processed signals to the apparatus 1508. In some aspects, the transmission component 1504 may include one or more antennas, one or more modems, one or more modulators, one or more transmit MIMO processors, one or more transmit processors, one or more controllers/processors, one or more memories, or a combination thereof, of the network node described in connection with Fig. 2. In some aspects, the transmission component 1504 may be co-located with the reception component 1502 in one or more transceivers.

The communication manager 1506 may support operations of the reception component 1502 and/or the transmission component 1504. For example, the communication manager 1506 may receive information associated with configuring reception of communications by the reception component 1502 and/or transmission of communications by the transmission component 1504. Additionally, or alternatively, the communication manager 1506 may generate and/or provide control information to the reception component 1502 and/or the transmission component 1504 to control reception and/or transmission of communications.

The reception component 1502 may receive, from a UE, a capability indication associated with an LTM capability associated with a MAC-CE cell switching operation. The transmission component 1504 may transmit a configuration in accordance with the capability indication.

The transmission component 1504 may transmit a cell switch command including a TA indication for an LTM candidate cell, wherein the TA indication indicates a presence or absence of a TA field in the cell switch command.

The reception component 1502 may receive a TCI capability associated with a unified TCI framework for an STxMP communication. The transmission component 1504 may transmit a TCI configuration in accordance with the TCI capability, wherein the TCI configuration for applying one or more of two or more TCI states.

The transmission component 1504 may transmit one or more indications for the two or more TCI states. The reception component 1502 may receive a PHR report in accordance with the TCI configuration.

The number and arrangement of components shown in Fig. 15 are provided as an example. In practice, there may be additional components, fewer components, different components, or differently arranged components than those shown in Fig. 15. Furthermore, two or more components shown in Fig. 15 may be implemented within a single component, or a single component shown in Fig. 15 may be implemented as multiple, distributed components. Additionally, or alternatively, a set of (one or more) components shown in Fig. 15 may perform one or more functions described as being performed by another set of components shown in Fig. 15.

The following provides an overview of some Aspects of the present disclosure:

Aspect 1: A method of wireless communication performed by a UE, comprising: transmitting a capability indication associated with an LTM capability in accordance with a MAC-CE cell switching operation; and receiving a configuration in accordance with the capability indication.

Aspect 2: The method of Aspect 1, further comprising: receiving a cell switch command including a TA indication for an LTM candidate cell, wherein the TA indication indicates a presence or absence of a TA field in the cell switch command.

Aspect 3: The method of Aspect 2, wherein the TA indication includes a first bit and a second bit, and wherein the first bit indicates the presence or absence of the TA field and the second bit indicates a UE action.

Aspect 4: The method of Aspect 3, wherein the UE action includes one of: performing a TA measurement, applying a zero TA to the LTM candidate cell, or transmitting a RACH communication to the LTM candidate cell.

Aspect 5: The method of Aspect 2, wherein the TA indication includes a single bit indicating the presence or absence of the TA field.

Aspect 6: The method of Aspect 2, wherein a TA value is associated with a RACH procedure.

Aspect 7: The method of Aspect 2, wherein the cell switch command includes a first bit associated with the TA field and a second bit associated with a beam field.

Aspect 8: The method of Aspect 7, wherein the first bit indicates a presence or absence of the TA field, and wherein the second bit indicates a presence or absence of the beam field.

Aspect 9: The method of any of Aspects 1-8, wherein the LTM capability indicates support for the MAC-CE based cell switching operation in accordance with whether one of the LTM candidate cells is a current serving cell for the UE.

Aspect 10: The method of Aspect 9, wherein the LTM capability includes a TA acquisition indication associated with a quantity of LTM candidate cells for a CFRA procedure.

Aspect 11: The method of any of Aspects 1-10, wherein the LTM capability indicates support for one or more of synchronous inter-frequency L1 RSRP measurements, synchronous intra-frequency L1 RSRP measurements, asynchronous inter-frequency L1 RSRP measurements, or asynchronous intra-frequency L1 RSRP measurements, and wherein each of the L1 RSRP measurements are based on an SSB associated with one of the LTM candidate cells.

Aspect 12: The method of any of Aspects 1-11, wherein the LTM capability indicates a maximum quantity of LTM candidate cells to measure for one or more of periodic reports, activated semi-persistent reports, or triggered aperiodic reports.

Aspect 13: The method of Aspect 12, wherein the maximum quantity of LTM candidate cells excludes LTM candidate cells that are serving cells of the UE.

Aspect 14: The method of Aspect 12, wherein the maximum quantity of LTM candidate cells includes LTM candidate cells configured via RRC signaling.

Aspect 15: The method of any of Aspects 1-14, wherein the LTM capability indicates support for LTM without a RACH communication.

Aspect 16: A method of wireless communication performed by a UE, comprising: transmitting a TCI capability associated with a unified TCI framework for an STxMP communication; and receiving a TCI configuration in accordance with the TCI capability, wherein the TCI configuration for applying one or more of two or more TCI states.

Aspect 17: The method of Aspect 16, further comprising receiving one or more indications for the two or more TCI states.

Aspect 18: The method of any of Aspects 16-17, wherein each of two or more TCI states apply to one or more of PDSCH communications or PDCCH communications.

Aspect 19: The method of any of Aspects 16-18, further comprising: transmitting a PHR report in accordance with the TCI configuration.

Aspect 20: The method of Aspect 19, wherein the PHR report indicates one or more of a PHR or a maximum output power associated with one or more of the two or more TCI states.

Aspect 21: The method of Aspect 20, wherein one or more of the PHR or the maximum output power are associated with a reference PUSCH transmission.

Aspect 22: The method of Aspect 19, wherein the PHR report is associated with one or more of a BWP or CC.

Aspect 23: A method of wireless communication performed by a network node, comprising: receiving, from a UE, a capability indication associated with an LTM capability associated with a MAC-CE cell switching operation; and transmitting a configuration in accordance with the capability indication.

Aspect 24: The method of Aspect 23, further comprising transmitting a cell switch command including a TA indication for an LTM candidate cell, wherein the TA indication indicates a presence or absence of a TA field in the cell switch command.

Aspect 25: The method of Aspect 24, wherein the TA indication includes a first bit and a second bit, and wherein the first bit indicates the presence or absence of the TA field and the second bit indicates a UE action.

Aspect 26: The method of Aspect 25, wherein the UE action includes one of: performing a TA measurement, applying a zero TA to the LTM candidate cell, or transmitting a RACH communication to the LTM candidate cell.

Aspect 27: The method of Aspect 24, wherein the TA indication includes a single bit indicating the presence or absence of the TA field.

Aspect 28: The method of Aspect 24, wherein a TA value is associated with a RACH procedure.

Aspect 29: The method of Aspect 24, wherein the cell switch command includes a first bit associated with the TA field and a second bit associated with a beam field.

Aspect 30: The method of Aspect 29, wherein the first bit indicates a presence or absence of the TA field, and wherein the second bit indicates a presence or absence of the beam field.

Aspect 31: The method of any of Aspects 23-30, wherein the LTM capability indicates support for the MAC-CE based cell switching operation in accordance with whether one of the LTM candidate cells is a current serving cell for the UE.

Aspect 32: The method of Aspect 31, wherein the LTM capability includes a TA acquisition indication associated with a quantity of LTM candidate cells for a CFRA procedure.

Aspect 33: The method of any of Aspects 23-32, wherein the LTM capability indicates support for one or more of: synchronous inter-frequency L1 RSRP measurements, synchronous intra-frequency L1 RSRP measurements, asynchronous inter-frequency L1 RSRP measurements, or asynchronous intra-frequency L1 RSRP measurements, wherein the one or more of the L1 RSRP measurements are based on an SSB associated with one of the LTM candidate cells.

Aspect 34: The method of any of Aspects 23-33, wherein the LTM capability indicates a maximum quantity of LTM candidate cells to measure for one or more of periodic reports, activated semi-persistent reports, or triggered aperiodic reports.

Aspect 35: The method of Aspect 34, wherein the maximum quantity of LTM candidate cells excludes LTM candidate cells that are serving cells of the UE.

Aspect 36: The method of Aspect 34, wherein the maximum quantity of LTM candidate cells includes LTM candidate cells configured via RRC signaling.

Aspect 37: The method of any of Aspects 23-36, wherein the LTM capability indicates support for LTM without a RACH communication.

Aspect 38: A method of wireless communication performed by a network node, comprising: receiving a TCI capability associated with a unified TCI framework for an STxMP communication; and transmitting a TCI configuration in accordance with the TCI capability, wherein the TCI configuration for applying one or more of two or more TCI states.

Aspect 39: The method of Aspect 38, further comprising transmitting one or more indications for the two or more TCI states.

Aspect 40: The method of any of Aspects 38-39, wherein each of two or more TCI states apply to one or more of PDSCH communications or PDCCH communications.

Aspect 41: The method of any of Aspects 38-40, further comprising receiving a PHR report in accordance with the TCI configuration.

Aspect 42: The method of Aspect 41, wherein the PHR report indicates one or more of a PHR or a maximum output power associated with one or more of the two or more TCI states.

Aspect 43: The method of Aspect 42, wherein one or more of the PHR or the maximum output power are associated with a reference PUSCH transmission.

Aspect 44: The method of Aspect 41, wherein the PHR report is associated with one or more of a BWP or CC.

Aspect 45: An apparatus for wireless communication at a device, the apparatus comprising one or more processors; one or more memories coupled with the one or more processors; and instructions stored in the one or more memories and executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to perform the method of one or more of Aspects 1-44.

Aspect 46: An apparatus for wireless communication at a device, the apparatus comprising one or more memories and one or more processors coupled to the one or more memories, the one or more processors configured to cause the device to perform the method of one or more of Aspects 1-44.

Aspect 47: An apparatus for wireless communication, the apparatus comprising at least one means for performing the method of one or more of Aspects 1-44.

Aspect 48: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication, the code comprising instructions executable by one or more processors to perform the method of one or more of Aspects 1-44.

Aspect 49: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions for wireless communication, the set of instructions comprising one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a device, cause the device to perform the method of one or more of Aspects 1-44.

Aspect 50: A device for wireless communication, the device comprising a processing system that includes one or more processors and one or more memories coupled with the one or more processors, the processing system configured to cause the device to perform the method of one or more of Aspects 1-44.

Aspect 51: An apparatus for wireless communication at a device, the apparatus comprising one or more memories and one or more processors coupled to the one or more memories, the one or more processors individually or collectively configured to cause the device to perform the method of one or more of Aspects 1-44.

The foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the aspects to the precise forms disclosed. Modifications and variations may be made in light of the above disclosure or may be acquired from practice of the aspects.

As used herein, the term “component” is intended to be broadly construed as hardware and/or a combination of hardware and software. “Software” shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution, procedures, and/or functions, among other examples, whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise. As used herein, a “processor” is implemented in hardware and/or a combination of hardware and software. It will be apparent that systems and/or methods described herein may be implemented in different forms of hardware and/or a combination of hardware and software. The actual specialized control hardware or software code used to implement these systems and/or methods is not limiting of the aspects. Thus, the operation and behavior of the systems and/or methods are described herein without reference to specific software code, since those skilled in the art will understand that software and hardware can be designed to implement the systems and/or methods based, at least in part, on the description herein.

The hardware and data processing apparatus used to implement the various illustrative logics, logical blocks, modules and circuits described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose single-or multi-chip processor, a digital signal processor (DSP) , an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) , a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor also may be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration. In some aspects, particular processes and methods may be performed by circuitry that is specific to a given function.

As used herein, “satisfying a threshold” may, depending on the context, refer to a value being greater than the threshold, greater than or equal to the threshold, less than the threshold, less than or equal to the threshold, equal to the threshold, not equal to the threshold, or the like.

Even though particular combinations of features are recited in the claims and/or disclosed in the specification, these combinations are not intended to limit the disclosure of various aspects. Many of these features may be combined in ways not specifically recited in the claims and/or disclosed in the specification. The disclosure of various aspects includes each dependent claim in combination with every other claim in the claim set. As used herein, a phrase referring to “at least one of” a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including single members. As an example, “at least one of: a, b, or c” is intended to cover a, b, c, a + b, a + c, b + c, and a + b + c, as well as any combination with multiples of the same element (e.g., a + a, a + a + a, a + a + b, a +a + c, a + b + b, a + c + c, b + b, b + b + b, b + b + c, c + c, and c + c + c, or any other ordering of a, b, and c) .

No element, act, or instruction used herein should be construed as critical or essential unless explicitly described as such. Also, as used herein, the articles “a” and “an” are intended to include one or more items and may be used interchangeably with “one or more. ” Further, as used herein, the article “the” is intended to include one or more items referenced in connection with the article “the” and may be used interchangeably with “the one or more. ” Furthermore, as used herein, the terms “set” and “group” are intended to include one or more items and may be used interchangeably with “one or more. ” Where only one item is intended, the phrase “only one” or similar language is used. Also, as used herein, the terms “has, ” “have, ” “having, ” or the like are intended to be open-ended terms that do not limit an element that they modify (e.g., an element “having” A may also have B) . Further, the phrase “based on” is intended to mean “based, at least in part, on” unless explicitly stated otherwise. Also, as used herein, the term “or” is intended to be inclusive when used in a series and may be used interchangeably with “and/or, ” unless explicitly stated otherwise (e.g., if used in combination with “either” or “only one of” ) .

Claims

A user equipment (UE) for wireless communication, comprising:

one or more memories; and

one or more processors, coupled to the one or more memories, configured to cause the UE to:

transmit a capability indication associated with a Layer-1/Layer-2 triggered mobility (LTM) capability in accordance with a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE) cell switching operation; and

receive a configuration in accordance with the capability indication.
The UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE to:

receive a cell switch command including a timing advance (TA) indication for an LTM candidate cell, wherein the TA indication indicates a presence or absence of a TA field in the cell switch command.
The UE of claim 2, wherein the TA indication includes a first bit and a second bit, and

wherein the first bit indicates the presence or absence of the TA field and the second bit indicates a UE action.
The UE of claim 3, wherein the UE action includes one of:

perform a TA measurement,

apply a zero TA to the LTM candidate cell, or

transmit a random access channel (RACH) communication to the LTM candidate cell.
The UE of claim 2, wherein the TA indication includes a single bit indicating the presence or absence of the TA field.
The UE of claim 2, wherein a TA value is associated with a random access channel (RACH) procedure.
The UE of claim 2, wherein the cell switch command includes a first bit associated with the TA field and a second bit associated with a beam field.
The UE of claim 7, wherein the first bit indicates a presence or absence of the TA field, and

wherein the second bit indicates a presence or absence of the beam field.
The UE of claim 1, wherein the LTM capability indicates support for the MAC-CE cell switching operation in accordance with whether one or more LTM candidate cells is a current serving cell for the UE.
The UE of claim 9, wherein the LTM capability includes a TA acquisition indication associated with a quantity of LTM candidate cells for a contention free random access (CFRA) procedure.
The UE of claim 1, wherein the LTM capability indicates support for one or more of synchronous inter-frequency layer-1 (L1) reference signal received power (RSRP) measurements, synchronous intra-frequency L1 RSRP measurements, asynchronous inter-frequency L1 RSRP measurements, or asynchronous intra-frequency L1 RSRP measurements, and

wherein each of the L1 RSRP measurements are based on a synchronization signal block (SSB) associated with one of or more LTM candidate cells.
The UE of claim 1, wherein the LTM capability indicates a maximum quantity of LTM candidate cells to measure for one or more of periodic reports, activated semi-persistent reports, or triggered aperiodic reports.
The UE of claim 12, wherein the maximum quantity of LTM candidate cells excludes LTM candidate cells that are serving cells of the UE.
The UE of claim 12, wherein the maximum quantity of LTM candidate cells includes LTM candidate cells configured via radio resource control (RRC) signaling.
The UE of claim 1, wherein the LTM capability indicates support for LTM without a random access channel (RACH) communication.
A UE for wireless communication, comprising:

one or more memories; and

one or more processors, coupled to the one or more memories, configured to cause the UE to:

transmit a transmission configuration indication (TCI) capability associated with a unified TCI framework for a simultaneous transmission multiple point (STxMP) communication; and

receive a TCI configuration in accordance with the TCI capability, wherein the TCI configuration for applying one or more of two or more TCI states.
The UE of claim 16, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE to receive one or more indications for the two or more TCI states.
The UE of claim 16, wherein each of two or more TCI states apply to one or more of physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) communications or physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) communications.
The UE of claim 16, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE to:

transmit a power headroom (PHR) report in accordance with the TCI configuration.
The UE of claim 19, wherein the PHR report indicates one or more of a PHR or a maximum output power associated with one or more of the two or more TCI states.
The UE of claim 20, wherein one or more of the PHR or the maximum output power are associated with a reference physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission.
The UE of claim 19, wherein the PHR report is associated with one or more of a bandwidth part (BWP) or component carrier (CC) .
A network node for wireless communication, comprising:

one or more memories; and

one or more processors, coupled to the one or more memories, configured to cause the network node to:

receive, from a user equipment (UE) , a capability indication associated with a Layer-1/Layer-2 triggered mobility (LTM) capability associated with a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE) cell switching operation; and

transmit a configuration in accordance with the capability indication.
The network node of claim 23, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the network node to transmit a cell switch command including a timing advance (TA) indication for an LTM candidate cell, wherein the TA indication indicates a presence or absence of a TA field in the cell switch command.
The network node of claim 23, wherein the LTM capability indicates support for the MAC-CE cell switching operation in accordance with whether one or more LTM candidate cells is a current serving cell for the UE.
The network node of claim 23, wherein the LTM capability indicates support for LTM without a random access channel (RACH) communication.
A network node for wireless communication, comprising:

one or more memories; and

one or more processors, coupled to the one or more memories, configured to cause the network node to:

receive a transmission configuration indication (TCI) capability associated with a unified TCI framework for a simultaneous transmission multiple point (STxMP) communication; and

transmit a TCI configuration in accordance with the TCI capability, wherein the TCI configuration for applying one or more of two or more TCI states.
The network node of claim 27, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the network node to transmit one or more indications for the two or more TCI states.
The network node of claim 27, wherein each of two or more TCI states apply to one or more of physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) communications or physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) communications.
The network node of claim 27, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the network node to receive a power headroom (PHR) report in accordance with the TCI configuration.