WO2025162668A1

WO2025162668A1 - First radio node, second radio node, and methods therein, in a wireless communications network

Info

Publication number: WO2025162668A1
Application number: PCT/EP2024/087967
Authority: WO
Inventors: Erik Eriksson; John SKÖRDEMAN; Mai-Anh Phan; Torsten DUDDA
Original assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson AB
Current assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson AB
Priority date: 2024-01-31
Filing date: 2024-12-20
Publication date: 2025-08-07
Anticipated expiration: 2026-07-31

Abstract

A method performed by a first radio node for handling feedback for Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request Feedback (HARQ-FB) in a wireless communications network. The method comprises obtaining (501) at least one communication layer to use for transmitting HARQ-FB associated with one or more data transmissions scheduled from a second radio node to the first radio node. The method comprising transmitting (503) HARQ-FB for the one or more data transmissions using the obtained at least one communication layer.

Description

FIRST RADIO NODE, SECOND RADIO NODE, AND METHODS THEREIN, IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments herein relate to a first radio node, a second radio node, and methods therein. In some aspects they relate to handling feedback for Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) data transmissions in a wireless communications network.

BACKGROUND

In a typical wireless communication network, wireless devices, also known as wireless communication devices, mobile stations, stations (STA) and/or User Equipment (UE), communicate via a Wide Area Network or a Local Area Network such as a Wi-Fi network or a cellular network comprising a Radio Access Network (RAN) part and a Core Network (CN) part. The RAN covers a geographical area which is divided into service areas or cell areas, which may also be referred to as a beam or a beam group, with each service area or cell area being served by a radio network node such as a radio access node e.g., a Wi-Fi access point, a Base Station (BS) or a radio base station (RBS), which in some networks may also be denoted, for example, a Base Station (BS), a NodeB, eNodeB (eNB), or gNodeB (gNB) as denoted in Fifth Generation (5G) telecommunications. A service area or cell area is a geographical area where radio coverage is provided by the radio network node. The radio network node communicates over an air interface operating on a radio frequency with the wireless devices within the range of the radio network node.

3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is the standardization body for specifying the standards for the cellular system evolution, e.g., including 3G, 4G, 5G and the future evolutions. Specifications for Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E- UTRA) and Evolved Packet System (EPS) have been completed within the 3GPP. In 4G also called a Fourth Generation (4G) network, EPS is core network and E-UTRA is radio access network. In 5G, 5GC is core network, NR is radio access network. As a continued network evolution, the new release of 3GPP specifies a 5G network also referred to as 5G New Radio (NR) and 5G Core (5GC).

Frequency bands for 5G NR are being separated into two different frequency ranges, Frequency Range 1 (FR1) and Frequency Range 2 (FR2). FR1 comprises sub-6 GHz frequency bands. Some of these bands are bands traditionally used by legacy standards but have been extended to cover potential new spectrum offerings from 410 MHz to 7125 MHz. FR2 comprises frequency bands from 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz. Bands in this millimeter wave range have shorter range but higher available bandwidth than bands in the FR1.

Multi-antenna techniques may significantly increase the data rates and reliability of a wireless communication system. For a wireless connection between a single user, such as LIE, and a base station (BS), the performance is in particular improved if both the transmitter and the receiver are equipped with multiple antennas, which results in a Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) communication channel. This may be referred to as Single-User (SU)-MIMO. In the scenario where MIMO techniques is used for the wireless connection between multiple users and the base station, MIMO enables the users to communicate with the base station simultaneously using the same time-frequency resources by spatially separating the users, which increases further the cell capacity. This may be referred to as Multi-User (MU)-MIMO. Note that MU-MIMO may benefit when each UE only has one antenna. The cell capacity can be increased linearly with respect to the number of antennas at the BS side. Due to that, more antennas are employed in BS. Such systems and/or related techniques are commonly referred to as massive MIMO.

Background 5G user-plane protocols

The 5G user-plane architecture and protocols are illustrated by Fig. 1. A UE is connected over the air via a Uu protocol with a radio access network (RAN) gNB. The gNB may be separated into distributed unit (DU) and centralized unit (CU), connected via a F1 interface. The gNB is connected to a core network (ON) including a user-plane function (UPF). Typically, Internet Protocol (IP) data is transported via UE-gNB-UPF. The RAN protocol stack between UE and gNB includes a Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) protocol, for handling mapping of Quality of Service (QoS) flows as established by the UPF to Data Radio Bearers (DRBs) as established by the gNB. A protocol data convergence protocol (PDCP) is among others responsible for encryption/integrity protection and handover forwarding and retransmission. For handovers between gNBs the Xn interface is employed. The radio link control (RLC) is among others responsible for segmentation of higher layer PDCP/IP data to fitting Transport Blocks (TBs) available for the lower layer over the air transmission. Also, retransmissions are based on automatic repeat request (ARQ) in acknowledged mode of RLC. A Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol supports scheduling of transmissions over the air, and entails the Hybrid Automated Repeat Request (HARQ) protocol. A physical layer (PHY) handles e.g. modulation and coding and the actual physical transmission. Background on HARQ

In 3GPP radio access networks, e.g. 5G NR, the HARQ protocol facilitates retransmissions of data in case of transmission errors over the air.

For downlink HARQ, data transmissions are assigned by downlink control indicators (DCI) carried on a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and data is transmitted on a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). Different encoding is applied to these channels resulting in different error rates.

HARQ feedback (HARQ-FB), e.g., positive acknowledgement (ACK) or negative acknowledgement (NACK) of data reception from the LIE is transmitted as uplink control information (UCI) either on the physical uplink control channel (PLICCH) or physical uplink shared channel (PLISCH) multiplexed with other uplink data.

This is since simultaneous transmission of PLICCH and PLISCH imposes challenges on the radio frequency (RF) implementation. Different encoding of these channels may result in different error rates, where transmission on PLICCH is typically more robust.

However, it is noteworthy that the transmissions on the PLISCH undergo the uplink HARQ protocol, i.e. are also subject to retransmissions to correct any decoding errors. Furthermore, the code rate for UCI on PUSCH can be adjusted by varying the number of resources for the UCI.

PUCCH

Besides HARQ-FB, the PUCCH may also carry scheduling requests and/or CSI reports. Due to carrier aggregation scheduling, the use of Code Block Groups (CBGs) and/or MIMO layers, the number of UCI bits and thus, the amount of resources for PUCCH may vary. To be optimized for different PUCCH payload sizes, different PUCCH formats (PF) were specified as summarized in Table 1 below.

Table 1.

PUCCH format 4 differs from PUCCH format 3 in the use of orthogonal cover codes (OCC) and is used for FR2-2. To minimize the UCI bits, a dynamic HARQ codebook is used by default, meaning that HARQ feedback resources are only allocated for Downlink (DL) transmissions that actually take place. If carrier aggregation and CBG transmission is used, the HARQ codebook size may become very large. If there are not enough PLICCH resources for simultaneous HARQ feedback and CSI transmission, the CSI is dropped.

UCI on PUSCH

When UCI is transmitted on PUSCH, up to two HARQ feedback bits are always punctured. If more HARQ feedback bits are transmitted on PUSCH, rate matching is used for the uplink data.

HARQ error cases

Since there is a probability that a UE misses a DCI/PDCCH carrying DL scheduling assignments, the UE would incorrectly calculate the HARQ codebook size. To solve this, downlink assignment index (DAI) counters are utilized in the DCI. The DAI field in the DCI indicates the amount of resources reserved for DL HARQ feedback. Thus, regardless of whether the device missed any previous scheduling assignments or not, the amount of resources, i.e., the expected count of HARQ feedback bits to use for the DL HARQ-FBis known.

The UE sets bit positions to “NACK” which correspond to the missed DCIs such as missing DAI. Nevertheless, there is still an ambiguity as the gNB cannot distinguish whether a UE missed a DCI or a corresponding transport block, and usage of DAI comes with complexities in carrier aggregation scheduling on top of the use of Code Block Groups (CBGs) and MIMO layers, as these resources between individual carriers need to be coordinated.

Fig. 2 illustrates the use of counter DAI and total DAI. DCI misdetection and codebook size determination may be performed due to keeping track of DAI. The use of the counter DAI (cDAI) and total DAI (tDAI) in the DL DCI is illustrated in Fig. 2 and allows the UE to detect missed DCIs and determine the HARQ codebook size for UCI transmission to the network. It should be noted that HARQ IDs in the example used in Fig. 2 are used on different carriers for the sake of simplicity only. Each carrier can have its own set of HARQ processes and may thus use the same HARQ ID as another carrier. The top DAI pair in the first row denotes the actual cDAI/tDAI, while the bottom DAI pair assumes only 2 bits for the DAI transmission, and the cDAI/tDAI to be provided in the DCI is the actual cDAI/tDAI mod 4.

The DCI further informs the UE about the time offset between DCI reception and HARQ feedback transmission. Fig. 3 illustrates HARQ-FB provided in UCI. The LIE can provide the HARQ-FB as a bitmap. Based on the DAIs, the LIE can calculate a size of the HARQ-FB bitmap and the bitmap positions for the corresponding HARQ ACK/NACKs. For missed DCIs, the LIE sets NACK. Thus, a network cannot distinguish whether the LIE had missed the DCI or whether it had been unable to decode the transport block.

Furthermore, if the gNB does not receive any HARQ-FB I UCI on PUCCH or PUSCH. In such a case, the gNB does not know whether the UE had missed the scheduling DCI or whether the UE transmitted HARQ-FB, which was however not detected by the gNB. Another approach that addresses the ambiguity is the one-time HARQ-FB request, which was introduced in the context of NR Unlicensed (NR-U). It gives the gNB the possibility to request the UE to send HARQ feedback for all HARQ processes. Other common failures of the downlink HARQ protocol are that transmission errors of the PUCCH lead to flipping of the transmitted HARQ feedback, e.g. from NACK to ACK, i.e. a false positive, or from ACK to NACK, i.e. a false negative. False negatives will lead to unnecessary retransmissions and thus, inefficient resource usage, and false positives can be addressed by the acknowledged mode (AM) of the RLC protocol.

HARQ timing

The slot timing between DL data transmission and HARQ feedback, denoted as K1 , is determined based on the K1 field in DCI. K1=0 means that the HARQ-FB is provided in the same slot, K1=1 means that the HARQ-FB is provided in the next slot, etc.

For NR-U, a non-numerical K1 value can be used, indicating that the network has not yet decided when the UE shall send the HARQ-FB for a given HARQ process. Instead, the network can, at a later point of time, request a “one-shot” HARQ feedback for all (active/non-active) HARQ processes. When the UE receives such a HARQ-FB request, it sets the HARQ-FB bits to ACK for successfully decoded transport blocks, and all others to NACK. The ACKs are only flushed when the UE receives a toggled New Data Indicator (NDI) for that HARQ process. As in legacy, the NACK may indicate to the network that the UE either missed the DCI or that it unsuccessfully decoded the corresponding TB.

Radio Link Control

The RLC protocol, which resides on top of the HARQ protocol, in AM, is able to detect and correct HARQ residual errors. Therefore, RLC maintains its own state of which data packets are already successfully received. This is based on RLC status reporting from the receiver. Counters and timers are employed to poll, trigger and if needed retransmit RLC status reports and retransmit RLC data until reception success is ensured. RLC status reports are considered data in the HARQ protocol, meaning they undergo HARQ retransmissions in case of unsuccessful reception. The drawback of RLC retransmissions is increased latency.

SUMMARY

As a part of developing embodiments herein a number of issues with HARQ have been identified:

1) Carrier aggregation: PUCCH overhead vs. increased latency for PUCCH allocation due to scheduling dependency for a Primary cell (PCell) and/or for Secondary Cells (SCell) can be inefficient,

2) A size of PUCCH allocation may depend on scheduling decisions on PCell and/or SCell(s) may lead to a varying PUCCH allocation size increases decoding error probability,

3) Ambiguity may be caused by missed DCI vs. missed Uplink (UL) HARQ,

4) RLC retransmissions may happen due to feedback issues which may cause large delays. This may relate to that RLC retransmissions may be based on RLC timers, which are configured with delays allowing a certain number of HARQ retransmissions before triggering RLC retransmissions.

An object of embodiments herein may be to improve efficiency of HARQ-FB. In particular, the embodiments herein may relate to how a radio node such as a UE handles HARQ-FB to overcome or improve on some of the above-mentioned issues.

According to a first aspect, a method performed by a first radio node for handling HARQ-FB in a wireless communications network is provided. The first radio node may be a UE or any other suitable device. The method comprises obtaining at least one communication layer to use for transmitting HARQ-FB associated with one or more data transmissions scheduled from a second radio node to the first radio node. The second radio node may be a network node such as a gNB or any other suitable device. The method further comprises transmitting HARQ-FB for the one or more data transmissions using the obtained at least one communication layer.

According to a second aspect, a method performed by a second radio node for handling HARQ-FB in a wireless communications network is provided. The method comprises triggering one or more data transmissions from the second radio node to a first radio node. The first radio node may be a UE or any other suitable device. The second radio node may be a network node such as a gNB or any other suitable device. The method comprises receiving HARQ-FB for the one or more data transmissions using at least one communication layer. The HARQ-FB is indicative a reception status of the one or more data transmissions.

According to a third aspect, a first radio node configured to handle HARQ-FB in a wireless communications network is provided. The first radio node is configured to obtain at least one communication layer to use for transmitting HARQ-FB associated with one or more data transmissions scheduled from a second radio node to the first radio node. The first radio node is configured to transmit HARQ-FB for the one or more data transmissions using the obtained at least one communication layer.

According to a fourth aspect, a second radio node configured to handle HARQ-FB in a wireless communications network is provided. The second radio node is configured to trigger one or more data transmissions from the second radio node to a first radio node. The second radio node is configured to receive HARQ-FB for the one or more data transmissions using at least one communication layer. The HARQ-FB is indicative a reception status of the one or more data transmissions.

Since the HARQ-FB can be communicated using the at least one communication layer, the HARQ-FB may be communicated in a more efficient manner. In particular, the most efficient communication layer(s) for the situation may be used for communicating the HARQ-FB. For example, in some scenarios, using the physical layer may be more resource efficient as more information can be encoded into a timing of a transmission of the HARQ-FB, e.g., where a time offset between DL data transmission and LIL HARQ-FB transmission implicitly conveys information of a HARQ ID with which the HARQ-FB is associated with, and may be suitable when applicable resources are available. However, a more dynamic and flexible use of resources may sometimes be more efficient or needed, and hence, non-physical communication layers such as layer two (L2) may then be more efficient to use. Using such an approach of transmitting over L2 or other nonphysical layers, the size of the HARQ-FB does not need to be fixed and may be able to provide different content or information as compared to solutions over a physical layer. Furthermore, when using a higher level communications layer such as L2, compressing information of the HARQ-FB may be possible to further improve efficiency. Furthermore, it may be possible to, in some situations, communicate HARQ-FB over multiple layers for improved efficiency and/or robustness. In embodiments herein, the usage of the particular communication layer(s) of the at least one communication layer may be determined by one or more rules or by explicit signaling such as signaling between the first radio node and the second radio node. This means that the at least one communication layer can be set on demand by selection or by recognizing which communication layer may be most efficient by considering the one or more rules.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF DRAWINGS

Examples of embodiments herein are described in more detail with reference to attached drawings in which:

Fig. 1 illustrates an architecture according to prior art.

Fig. 2 illustrates DAI counter usage according to prior art.

Fig. 3 illustrates HARQ usage according to prior art.

Fig. 4 illustrates a schematic block diagram illustrating embodiments of a wireless communications network.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart depicting embodiments of a method.

Fig. 6 is a flowchart depicting embodiments of a method.

Fig. 7 illustrates an example scenario.

Fig. 8 illustrates a sequence diagram of an example scenario.

Fig. 9 illustrates a sequence diagram of an example scenario.

Fig. 10 is a schematic block diagram illustrating embodiments of a first radio node.

Fig. 11 is a schematic block diagram illustrating embodiments of a second radio node.

Fig. 12 is a schematic block diagram illustrating embodiments of a communication system.

Fig. 13 is a schematic block diagram illustrating embodiments of a UE.

Fig. 14 is a schematic block diagram illustrating embodiments of a Network node.

Fig. 15 is a schematic block diagram illustrating embodiments of a Host.

Fig. 16 is a schematic block diagram illustrating embodiments of a Virtualization environment.

Fig. 17 is a schematic block diagram illustrates communications with a host in an example scenario.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As summarized above a number of issues associated with HARQ have been identified which will further be explained below. One issue relates to carrier aggregation, e.g., PLICCH overhead vs. increased latency for PLICCH allocation due to scheduling dependency for PCell/SCell(s).

One issue relates to a size of resource allocation, e.g., PLICCH allocation depending on scheduling decisions on PCell/SCell(s). It follows that varying allocation size such as PLICCH allocation size increases a decoding error probability.

One issue relates to when a radio node such as a gNB receives NACK for a HARQ process as there is ambiguity whether the LIE missed the DCI or whether it could not decode the data, e.g., DL data on PDSCH.

One issue relates to that if a radio node such as a gNB does not detect HARQ feedback for a transmission, e.g., downlink transmission, the radio node does not know whether it had missed the HARQ-FB, e.g., due to poor connection such as poor LIL, or whether a corresponding radio node such as a LIE did not send any feedback due to a misdetection of DCI

One issue relates to RLC retransmissions due to feedback issues that cause large delays.

Embodiments herein may handle some of the above issues by transmitting HARQ feedback (FB) using a suitable communication layer in a dynamic manner, i.e. , using a physical layer also referred to as Layer 1 (L1), or encapsulated in a data transport block such as transmitted over a non-physical layer such as a radio layer e.g., Layer 2 (L2). Encapsulated in a data transport block may mean that the HARQ FB is transmitted in a MAC-CE or as part of a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message. In other words, the HARQ-FB may be transported in a radio layer such as Layer 2 (L2), or higher layers. This means that the HARQ-FB report may be mapped on resources/channels, e.g., PUSCH, with higher priority than if transmitted over a physical layer. This further means that in embodiments herein, the size of the HARQ-FB report may be dynamic such as that the size of the HARQ-FB may be dynamic if sent over L2 but fixed when sent over L1 . In embodiments herein the size of the HARQ-FB may be based on the at least one communication layer used for transmitting the HARQ-FB. In embodiments herein, the size of the HARQ-FB may be indicated by any suitable header such as a MAC-CE header.

In particular, some embodiments herein may relate to controlling what communication layer to use when a radio node such as a UE is generating HARQ-FB to transmit. At least one communication layer may be determined based on one or more predefined rules or based on explicit signaling to the radio node.

In some embodiments the HARQ-FB be an alternative to HARQ-FB on a physical control channel and instead transmitted on a data channel. In some embodiments, both a physical control channel and data channel based HARQ-FB may be used in parallel, e.g., for the same PDSCH transmission.

In some embodiments, e.g., special use-cases, only 1 or 2 bits may be used for HARQ-FB on physical layers, e.g., PLICCH, and may be supported to simplify and improve efficiency. These 1 or 2 bits may indicate status for multiple transmissions, e.g., that all are ACKed or NACKed. Further, some embodiments may utilize multi symbol/slot/carrier scheduling. The HARQ-FB in a data transport block, e.g., over a data channel, may be triggered if using the physical layer for HARQ-FB, in particular if any data is lost when mapping multiple HARQ feedback bits to 1 or 2 bits used for HARQ-FB over the physical layer, e.g., PLICCH.

Embodiments herein may provide a number of advantages as will be explained below. Some advantages will further be understood by the skilled person by the description.

HARQ-FB encapsulated in a data transport block, e.g., an L2 feedback message, is more robust than transmitting over a physical layer and may improve aspects such as size and timing flexibility of the HARQ-FB which allows and/or enables new types of feedback to be provided.

However, transmitting HARQ-FB over physical layers also has its benefits and/or may be suitable due to current traffic conditions. Hence, to be able to dynamically adapt, change, or select which communication layer, e.g., physical or radio layer, to use for the HARQ-FB, or to use both, may improve flexibility and/or redundancy for HARQ-FB.

Furthermore, embodiments herein may simplify HARQ-FB over the physical layer, e.g., PLICCH, and may in some cases reduce traffic over the physical layer, since if used, some embodiments only transmit 1 or 2 bits of HARQ-FB over the physical layer, and use encapsulation into data transport blocks, e.g., transmitting over L2, if further detail is needed. In other words, efficiency for the physical layer may be improved, and feedback reliability may be improved due to redundancy.

With regards to embodiments herein, naming and/or some technological entities mentioned may be with reference to 5G standardization. However, the embodiments herein may be able to be deployed in any future standardization, in particular with reference to the Sixth Generation telecommunications (6G) which have been identified as part of developing embodiments herein to be a suitable target for these embodiments. Hence, any naming or specific technology mentioned with reference to 5G or earlier generations of telecommunications may further also mean any corresponding name or technology applicable for future standards such as for 6G.

Fig. 4 is a schematic overview depicting a wireless communications network 100, wherein embodiments herein may be implemented. The wireless communications network 100 comprises one or more RANs and one or more CNs. The wireless communications network 100 may use 5G NR or may use any number of other different technologies, such as, 6G, Wi-Fi, (LTE), LTE-Advanced, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Global System for Mobile communications/enhanced Data rate for GSM Evolution (GSM/EDGE), or Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), just to mention a few possible implementations.

Network nodes operate in the wireless communications network 100. Each of the network nodes e.g. provides a number of cells and may use these cells for communicating with other network nodes. Each of the network nodes may be a transmission and reception point e.g. a network node, a radio access network node such as a base station, a radio base station, a NodeB, an evolved Node B (eNB, eNodeB, eNode B), an NR/g Node B (gNB), 6G radio access network function (RANF), a base transceiver station, a radio remote unit, an Access Point Base Station, a base station router, a transmission arrangement of a radio base station, a stand-alone access point, a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) access point, an Access Point Station (AP STA), an access controller, a UE acting as an access point or a peer in a Device to Device (D2D) communication, or any other network unit capable of communicating with a UE served by the network node depending e.g. on the radio access technology and terminology used.

UEs operate in the wireless communications network 100. The UEs may respectively e.g. be an NR device, a mobile station, a wireless terminal, an internet of things (loT) device, an enhanced Machine Type Communication (eMTC) device, an NR RedCap device, a CAT-M device, a Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) device, Vehicle-to- Vehicle (V2V) device, a Vehicle-to-Pedestrian (V2P) device, a Vehicle-to-lnfrastructure (V2I) device, a Vehicle-to-Network (V2N) device, a Wi-Fi device, an LTE device, a non- access point (non-AP) STA, a STA, that communicates via a base station, and one or more Access Networks (AN), e.g. RAN, to one or more core networks (CN). It should be understood by the skilled in the art that the term UE relates to a non-limiting term which means any UE, terminal, wireless communication terminal, user equipment, (D2D) terminal, or node e.g. smart phone, laptop, mobile phone, sensor, relay, mobile tablets or even a small base station communicating within a cell. Radio nodes operate in the wireless communications network 100 such as a first radio node 1 and a second radio node 2. The first radio node 1 may be any suitable radio device, e.g., a LIE or a network node as described above. The second radio node 2 may be any suitable radio device, e.g., a LIE or a network node as described above. In other words, communications or transmissions herein may relate to Sidelink (SL), DL, and/or LIL, associated with the first radio node 1 and the second radio node 2, in any suitable manner.

Methods herein may in one aspect be performed by the first radio node 1 and/or the second radio node 2. As an alternative, a Distributed Node (DN) and functionality, e.g. comprised in a cloud 190 as shown in Fig. 4, may be used for performing or partly performing the methods of embodiments herein. The cloud 190 may comprise a cloud network infrastructure. A cloud network infrastructure may e.g. be a collection of hardware and software elements such as computing power, networking, storage, and virtualization resources needed to enable cloud computing in a wireless communications network such as e.g. a communications network.

Embodiments herein may in particular relate to one or more rules, heuristics, or signaling indicating to the first radio node 1 , which at least one communication layer to use, e.g., physical layer and/or non-physical layer, when transmitting HARQ-FB.

A number of embodiments will now be described, some of which may be seen as alternatives, while some may be used in combination.

A method according to embodiments will now be described from the view of the first radio node 1 together with Fig. 5. Fig. 5 depicts example embodiments of a method performed by the first radio node 1 for handling feedback for HARQ data transmissions, i.e. , HARQ-FB, in the wireless communications network 100. Any one or more actions below may be performed in response to receiving a HARQ-FB request from the second radio node 2.

The method comprises any one or more of the following actions, which actions may be taken in any suitable order.

Action 501

In some embodiments, the method comprises obtaining at least one communication layer to use for transmitting HARQ-FB associated with one or more data transmissions scheduled from the second radio node 2 to the first radio node 1 . The one or more data transmissions may be any suitable messages. The one or more data transmissions may be the HARQ data transmissions as discussed above, or a subset thereof. The one or more data transmissions may be managed by one or more corresponding HARQ processes. The one or more transmissions may have been transmitted by the second radio node 2 and each transmission, respectively, may or may not have been received by the first radio node 1.

Obtaining the at least one communication layer may relate to determining the at least one communication layer, e.g., based on predefined one or more rules or conditions, or by receiving an indication of the at least one communication layer, e.g., from the second radio node 2.

The at least one communication layer typically relates to any or both out of:

- A physical layer, e.g., a physical communication channels such as PLICCH for transmitting HARQ-FB, and/or

- A radio layer, e.g., encapsulation into a data transport block, such as transmission over L2, or use of MAC-CE or RRC for transmitting HARQ-FB.

In some embodiments, obtaining the at least one communication layer comprises determining whether to: transmit the HARQ-FB using a physical layer, e.g., Layer 1 , such as using PUCCH, transmit the HARQ-FB encapsulated in a data transport block, e.g., using higher communication layers, e.g. one or more Medium Access Control, MAC, Control Elements, MAC-CEs, over a radio layer, e.g., Layer 2, or a combination thereof.

The determination of the at least one communication layer may be based on one or more predefined rules or other information obtainable by the first radio node 1.

In some embodiments, the first radio node 1 is configured with a feedback condition which when fulfilled, HARQ-FB is transmitted for the one or more data transmissions as encapsulated in a data transport block. “As encapsulated” as used in examples herein may mean encapsulated, and vice versa.

In some embodiments, obtaining the at least one communication layer comprises determining the at least one communication layer based on detecting whether the feedback condition is fulfilled. For example, the feedback condition may be fulfilled when detecting that the first radio node 1 is scheduled to use and/or is using a resource, carrier, or frequency. In some embodiments, the at least one communication layer may be indicated by signalling in a control channel, e.g., as received by an indication transmitted in a control channel.

In some embodiments, obtaining the at least one communication layer comprises receiving a feedback request indicative of the at least one communication layer to use for transmitting HARQ-FB for the one or more data transmissions. In these embodiments, determining the at least one communication layer may be based on the feedback request. The feedback request may further be a request for HARQ-FB for the one or more data transmissions.

In some embodiments, the feedback request is received from the second radio node 2 as part of one or more Control Information (Cl) messages, e.g., one or more DCI messages or one or more UCI messages. The one or more Cl messages may optionally indicate the feedback request by any one or more out of:

- as part of a latency and/or priority field of the one or more Cl messages, and

- by a difference or equality of radio resources indicated by the one or more Cl messages, or

- any other suitable field, bit, or flag, or

- a combination thereof.

In some embodiments, obtaining the at least one communication layer comprises determining the at least one communication layer based on an overlap of physical layer HARQ resources for the one or more data transmissions and resources of the one or more data transmissions to the second radio node 2, e.g. based on whether PLISCH is used when HARQ-FB is for a downlink transmission. When there is an overlap of physical layer HARQ resources for the one or more data transmissions and resources of the one or more data transmissions to the second radio node 2, the HARQ-FB may be transmitted encapsulated in a data transport block.

In some embodiments, obtaining the at least one communication layer comprises determining the at least one communication layer based on resource allocation messages of one or more physical control channels, e.g., PUCCH/PDCCH, e.g., by a time offset of the one or more physical control channel resource allocation messages. In other words, the resource allocation messages of one or more physical control channels may indicate the at least one communication layer.

In some embodiments, obtaining the at least one communication layer comprises determining the at least one communication layer based on a decoding success of the one or more data transmissions. If decoding is not successful or if the physical layer will not be able to indicate a sufficiently detailed HARQ-FB, e.g. due to using too few bits, the data transport block, e.g., layer 2, may be used for HARQ-FB. To illustrate that the embodiments herein may also be used in any dynamic manner, in some embodiments, if decoding is instead successful, the data transport block, e.g., layer 2, may be used for HARQ-FB.

In some embodiments, obtaining the at least one communication layer comprises determining the at least one communication layer based on the reception status of the one or more data transmissions, e.g., as described below in action 502.

Action 502

In some embodiments, the method comprises determining a reception status of the one or more data transmissions. The reception status may be determined prior to, or after, action 501 , or partially both.

The reception status may be ACK or NACK. In some embodiments, other states may also be used, e.g., MISSED, as in that scheduling assignments may have been missed for one or more transmissions of the one or more data transmissions. Another state that may be included is PENDING, e.g., if it is determined that the one or more transmissions is pending to be decoded.

Action 503

In some embodiments, the method comprises transmitting HARQ-FB for the one or more data transmissions using the obtained at least one communication layer, e.g., as obtained in action 501.

The HARQ-FB may be indicative of a reception status of the one or more data transmissions, e.g., in any suitable manner compressed or not, e.g., indicating at least part of reception status of action 502.

In some embodiments, transmitting the HARQ-FB comprises compressing the HARQ-FB and transmitting the compressed HARQ-FB to the second radio node 2.

The compressed HARQ-FB may indicate that the one or more data transmissions relate to all Acknowledgements ACKs, all Negative Acknowledgements, NACKs, or with a mix of ACKs and NACKs.

All ACKs or NACKs may be indicated by 1 bit. A mix thereof may in some embodiments be indicated in a compressed manner by encoding the ACK and NACKs in any suitable manner. As an example for when indicating, if there are 64 bits for reception status information for a number of transmissions out of the one or more data transmissions, e.g., as obtained in action 602, e.g. if there are 44 ACKs, using 6 bits, + 6 NACKs, using 6 bits, +14 ACKs, using 6 bits,. To indicate the HARQ-FB as compressed HARQ-FB, the number of ACKs, then the ACKs and NACKs may be encoded, as three lists e.g., of 6 bits each. This scheme would then indicate e.g. 3 list entries, e.g. using 3 bits which would then result in using 27 bits instead of 64 bits of information of the reception status. However, this requires that the ACKs/NACKs are consecutive or that some ordering of how to encode the ACKs and NACKs is predefined.

In some embodiments, the compressed HARQ-FB indicates a reception status which is invalid or ambiguous for at least one of the one or more data transmissions. This means that the HARQ-FB may be indicated in the physical layer by just 1 or 2 bits, but that may not be correct for all data transmissions, e.g., when there is a mix of ACKs and NACKs. As a response, the first radio node 1 may transmit to the second radio node 2, non-compressed HARQ-FB encapsulated in a data transport block, e.g., using a MAC-CE over a radio layer such as layer 2.

Non-compressed HARQ-FB as used herein may be any HARQ-FB format with less ambiguity than the compressed HARQ-FB, e.g., the non-compressed HARQ-FB may be larger in size or have more information entropy than the compressed HARQ-FB. The noncompressed HARQ-FB, may comprise a feedback message with a finer granularity than the compressed HARQ-FB which may have a more course grained granularity.

Action 504

In some embodiments, the method comprises, when the reception status, e.g., as in action 502, indicates at least one Negative Acknowledgement, NACK, for the one or more data transmissions, the method may comprise transmitting to the second radio node 2, one or more messages, e.g., transport blocks. The one or more messages may be indicative of any one or more out of: one or more symbols, one or more Component Carriers (CCs), and one or more slots of the respective data transmissions associated with the at least one NACK.

In other words, NACKed information may be retransmitted to the second radio node 2 in any suitable manner.

A method according to embodiments will now be described from the view of the second radio node 2 together with Fig. 6. Fig. 6 depicts example embodiments of a method performed by the second radio node 2 for handling feedback for HARQ data transmissions, i.e., HARQ-FB, in the wireless communications network 100.

The method comprises any one or more of the following actions, which actions may be taken in any suitable order. All features of actions 501-504 may also apply to below actions in a corresponding manner.

Action 601 In some embodiments, the method may comprise triggering one or more data transmissions from the second radio node 2 to the first radio node 1 .

The one or more data transmissions from the second radio node 2 to the first radio node 1 may be any suitable transmissions, e.g., SL, DL, or LIL, from the second radio node 2 to a first radio node 1. Triggering the one or more data transmissions may comprise scheduling or transmitting the one or more data transmissions, or may comprise trigger another radio node or scheduler to do so. The one or more data transmissions corresponds to the one or more data transmission of actions 501-504 above.

Action 602

In some embodiments, the method may comprise, transmitting to the first radio node 1 , e.g., as part of Control Information (Cl), e.g., UCI or DCI, a feedback request indicative of the at least one communication layer to use for transmitting HARQ-FB for the one or more data transmissions. The feedback request may further be a request for HARQ-FB for the one or more data transmissions.

Action 603

In some embodiments, the method may comprise receiving HARQ-FB for the one or more data transmissions using at least one communication layer, e.g., as transmitted in action 503. The HARQ-FB is indicative a reception status of the one or more data transmissions. The HARQ-FB may be received in the at least one communication layer, e.g., as obtained by the first radio node 1 in action 501, such as in one or two communication layers, as obtained by the first radio node 1.

In some embodiments, receiving the HARQ-FB for the one or more data transmissions using the at least one communication layer comprises: receiving the HARQ-FB using a physical layer, e.g., Layer 1 , receiving the HARQ-FB as encapsulated in a data transport block, e.g., using a non-physical layer, e.g. using one or more Medium Access Control, MAC, Control Elements, MAC-CEs, over a radio layer, e.g., Layer 2, or a combination thereof.

In some embodiments, receiving the HARQ-FB comprises receiving compressed HARQ-FB from the first radio node 1. Compressed HARQ-FB may be 1 or 2 bits of information of ACK or NACK that applies to all or some of the one or more data transmissions. For example, the compressed HARQ-FB may indicate that the one or more data transmissions relate to all Acknowledgements ACKs, all Negative Acknowledgements, NACKs, or with a mix of ACKs and NACKs. In some embodiments, the compressed HARQ-FB indicates a reception status which is invalid or ambiguous for at least one of the one or more data transmissions, and subsequently due to the invalid or ambiguous reception status, the method may comprises receiving as transmitted from the first radio node 1, non-compressed HARQ-FB encapsulated in a data transport block, e.g., using a MAC-CE over a radio layer, e.g., layer 2.

Action 604

In some embodiments, the method may comprise, when receiving HARQ-FB using the physical layer, e.g., Layer 1, e.g., as in action 603, detecting that the HARQ-FB is indicative of a mix of at least one Acknowledgement, ACK, and at least one Negative ACK, NACK.

Action 605

In some embodiments, the method may comprise, in response to detecting that the HARQ-FB is indicative of a mix of at least one Acknowledgement, ACK, and at least one Negative ACK, NACK, e.g., as in action 604, determining whether or not to: wait to receive an additional HARQ-FB encapsulated in a data transport block, e.g., by using one or more communication layers higher in abstraction layer from a physical layer, e.g. one or more Medium Access Control, MAC, Control Elements, MAC- CEs, over the radio layer, e.g., Layer 2, and/or to trigger a re-transmission of at least part of the one or more data transmissions, e.g., all transmission or only failed data transmissions.

Embodiments herein such as the embodiments mentioned above will now be further described and exemplified. The text below is applicable to embodiments herein and may be combined with any suitable embodiment described above.

In examples below, when discussing HARQ-FB, it may refer to any feedback information as part of a HARQ-FB report transmitted from the first radio node 1, e.g., as requested by the second radio node 2 in an explicit HARQ-FB request to the first radio node 1.

In examples below, when indicating a use of Layer 2 (L2) feedback, it may be interpreted as that the HARQ-FB may be transmitted as encapsulated in a data transport block over any suitable interface or channel or communication layer separate from the physical layer, i.e., by using a higher abstraction layer than the physical layer.

Fig. 7 illustrates an example scenario where the second radio node 2 performs HARQ transmissions, e.g., the one or more transmissions, to the first radio node 1 using HARQ processes. HARQ-FB for the HARQ transmissions is encapsulated in a data transport block and carried on a data channel towards the second radio node 2, e.g., as in action 504. The HARQ-FB may be transmitted autonomously by the first radio node 1 , e.g., as part of the HARQ-FB transmitted in action 503, using pre-configured or contention-based radio resources. The first radio node 1 may need to include sufficient information in the HARQ-FB report so that the second radio node 2 may associate the communicated HARQ-FB with the corresponding transmissions. Alternatively, a control message from the second radio node 2 to the first radio node 1 may be transmitted, e.g., as part of action 601 or 602. The control message may schedules data resources carrying data and/or the HARQ-FB. The control message includes timing information and/or a bundle ID to define the HARQ transmissions to be associated with the HARQ-FB. The first radio node 1 may transmit the HARQ-FB in accordance with the control message from the second radio node 2.

Fig. 8 illustrates example communication between the first radio node 1 and the second radio node 2. The communication may be in LIL, SL, or DL. The second radio node 2 may perform/transmit/schedule HARQ transmissions, e.g., the one or more transmissions, to the first radio node 1 using HARQ processes. HARQ-FB for the HARQ transmissions is encapsulated in a data transport block and may be carried on a data channel towards the second radio node 2, e.g., as part of action 503/603. A control message from the second radio node 2 may be transmitted to the first radio node 1, e.g., as part of any of actions 601-602. The control message may schedule data resources carrying data and/or the HARQ-FB. The control message may include timing information and/or a bundle ID to define the HARQ transmissions, e.g., the one or more transmissions, to be associated with the HARQ-FB. The first radio node 1 may transmit the HARQ-FB in accordance with the control message from the second radio node 2, e.g., as part of action 503/603.

Fig. 9 illustrates example communication between the first radio node 1 and the second radio node 2. The communication may be in LIL, SL, or DL. The second radio node may schedule/transmit/perform HARQ transmissions, e.g., the one or more transmissions, to the first radio node 1 using HARQ processes. Cl may optionally contain further information, e.g. bundle ID to determine the set of HARQ transmissions/processes. The Cl may comprise UCI or DCI. HARQ-FB for the HARQ transmissions is encapsulated in a data transport block and may be carried on a data channel towards the second radio node 2, e.g., as part of action 503/603. The HARQ-FB may be transmitted autonomously by the first radio node 1 using pre-configured or contention-based radio resources. If no Cl is provided, i.e., transmitted or otherwise indicated, from the second radio node 2 during the HARQ transmissions, then the first radio node 1 may need to include sufficient information, e.g., a HARQ ID or bundle ID, so that the second radio node may associate the HARQ-FB with the corresponding transmissions or, there need to be pre-configured or specified association rules e.g., for pre-configured or specified rules for associating the HARQ-FB with the HARQ transmissions. For example, if a HARQ-FB message is transmitted, it may include HARQ-FB for a latest, e.g., fully, received bundle ID, e.g., assuming e.g. always 4 HARQ transmissions or slots within a bundle. As a second example, if a HARQ-FB message is transmitted, it may use a pre-configured, e.g., RRC, or pre-defined KT value to determine a first HARQ transmission.

Cl controlled feedback

In some embodiments, a bit, or a bit-combination, may be used to indicate if the one or more data transmissions scheduled by Cl, e.g., DCI, should produce a L2 based feedback, and/or if HARQ-FB shall be encapsulated in a data transport block. The bit or bit combination may be part of a Cl message, e.g., DCI or feedback request, e.g., as in action 602.

In some embodiments fields of Cl messages for allocating resources, e.g., PLICCH resources, may be reused, such as to indicate a state in a time offset. Additionally or alternatively, resources such as PLICCH resources may be reused to trigger L2 feedback instead of PLICCH based HARQ feedback. In a separate example may a separate field, new or existing, be used to enable both PLICCH and L2 based reporting.

In some embodiments may a priority or latency field in the DCI be used to decide on the type of feedback to generate.

In some embodiments may the signaling be dependent on bit-indications in multiple separate DCIs. As an example may a LIE generate a L2 feedback if two different Cis such as DCIs indicate the same time and/or frequency resource for HARQ feedback, or if the time resource for L1 HARQ feedback overlaps with an uplink data resource, PLISCH.

In some embodiments L2 based HARQ feedback may be triggered from a Cl scheduling data, e.g., DCI scheduling uplink data, where the Cl or DCI indicate if and/or how many transmissions such as downlink transmissions to include HARQ-FB for. The Cl or DCI may indicate a number of transmissions or a time offset, where the first radio node 1 may include a number of transmissions signaled or may include all received transmissions over the given time offset, e.g., as part of the HARQ-FB. In some embodiments only not already transmitted HARQ feedback be generated, e.g., transmitted in the HARQ-FB of action 503. In other embodiments the same HARQ-FB be transmitted in different transmissions, e.g., using PLISCH. Semi-static configuration of L2 feedback

In some embodiments the first radio node 1 may be configured with conditions for when to generate L2 HARQ-FB, i.e., when the at least one communication layer shall comprise L2 by encapsulating the HARQ-FB in a data transport block. In some embodiments, the configuration may be related to a predefined or otherwise indicated resources, e.g., carrier, frequency or control channel configuration. When the first radio node 1 , if scheduled on/from/using said predefined or indicated resources a L2 feedback is generated, else not.

Rule based triggering of L2 feedback - Content based

As one example use-case for L2 based HARQ feedback is to avoid NACK to ACK errors where a transmitter mistakenly trusts that data has been delivered but where it in reality has failed to be delivered. To target this case some embodiments herein may stipulate that a receiver, e.g., the first radio node 1, is to generate a L2 based HARQ-FB only in response to successful decoding of a data transmission, e.g., out of the one or more data transmissions of action 601. In other embodiments the receiver only generates a L2 based HARQ-FB in response to successful decoding of a data transmission, e.g., out of the one or more data transmissions of action 601 , and/or if data of the data transmission comprises or is associated with a configurable or specified type of information. For example if the data comprise data from at least one logical channel ID from a configured set or range of logical channel IDs, then HARQ-FB may be transmitted in L2 or over the physical layer, such as based on a predefined configuration.

Rule based triggering of L2 feedback - Cl compression based

In some embodiments, fewer bits, e.g., below a set threshold, may be used for HARQ-FB. The bits may be fewer than a number of decodable units. Decodable units may refer to HARQ processes, transport blocks or subsets or transport blocks, e.g., a set of code-blocks, carrying at least one indication of successful decoding of one or more transmissions out of the one or more data transmissions, e.g. a CRC.

For example, independently on how many symbols/CCs/slots and/or independently of how many HARQ processes that have been scheduled, only one bit may be used for HARQ-FB, indicating all are ACK or not, e.g., all are NACK. Optionally 2 bits may be used, e.g., indicating all ACK, all NACK, or that some are ACK, e.g., there is a mix of NACKs and ACKs.

In order to map all HARQ-FB to a set low number of bits, e.g., some compression of the HARQ-FB may be needed. Compression may for example be performed using a logical and, or, or xor operation on multiple bits mapping to the same code-point. In some embodiments of the first radio node 1 may be instructed to generate HARQ-FB to be sent over the data channel if any information was lost in the compression step. For example if it can be determined, e.g., by reception status in action 502, that there is a mix of ACKs and NACKs. As an example, if all HARQ-FB is aggregated to a NACK, then L2 HARQ-FB is generated and transmitted, e.g., as in action 503, if at least one feedback was ACK. In some embodiments a L2 HARQ-FB is generated and transmitted, e.g., as in action 503, if a fraction or number of ACKs in the HARQ-FB aggregated to a NACK is higher than a threshold.

In some embodiments, if HARQ-FB is provided on L2, e.g., as encapsulated in a data transport block, is provided for all decodable units, e.g. HARQ processes or associated data transmissions. For some embodiments, HARQ-FB is only provided for HARQ processes or associated data transmissions where a respective decoding result differ from results compressed in a L1 HARQ-FB i.e., a HARQ-FB transmitted in the physical layer. In some embodiments, a generation and subsequent transmission of L2 HARQ-FB, e.g., as part of action 503, may explicitly or implicitly be indicated in a transmitted Physical layer, L1, HARQ-FB, e.g., as part of action 503.

In some embodiment where some but not all reception status of the one or more data transmissions are NACK, the first radio node 1 triggers a MAC CE or other one or more data messages, indicating the NACKed symbols/CCs/slots. The MAC CE or the one or more data messages may comprise an explicit indication on NACKed HARQ processes, or may indicate a part of HARQ process or associated data transmissions that was not decoded or was not successfully decoded. The smallest part of a HARQ process of the one or more data transmissions that has its decoding status reported is a number of code blocks arranged together in a Code Block Bundle (CBB). The number of code blocks in a CBB may be any suitable number, e.g., one, two, or multiple. The explicit indication of NACKed HARQ processes/CBBs of the one or more data transmission may be used. If the indication or data is above a size threshold to report, a run length encoding may be used to encode and compress any of the suitable information of embodiments herein, or there may be a switch between using an explicit and compressed format.

When a two-bit HARQ feedback is used on L1 , i.e., the physical layer, this may result in less MAC-CE or other data transport blocks being sent, e.g., over L2, since those may only be triggered for the result where the reception status of the one or more data transmission are some but not all NACK.

Handling as performed in the second radio node 2 In some example scenarios, when a L1 HARQ feedback is received in the second radio node 2, e.g., a gNB, with, some but not all, NACK for the feedback, a MAC CE or other data message may be expected. The second radio node 2 may then decide to wait for the MAC CE or data message, or to immediately trigger a retransmission of associated one or more data transmissions, e.g., dependent on factors such as data content, e.g. logical channel, in the related data transmission and load, e.g., load of the network and/or the second radio node 2.

If the MAC CE or data message is decoded and comprises information not older than a max delay from transmission, the failed CBBs of the one or more data transmissions are granted DL retransmissions. In case of multi slot or multi-CC scheduling HARQ processes:

• In the option of “some but not all” in the L1 HARQ feedback, i.e. , a mix of ACKs and NACKs, the second radio node 2 may select to retransmit the complete HARQ process, e.g., the one or more data transmissions, with soft combining if a number of failed CBBs are over a threshold,

• If the number of failed CBBs are below a threshold the second radio node 2 may select to retransmit only the failed CBBs. This may be performed as part of a new HARQ process without soft combining.

Soft combining as used herein may mean that blocks of data e.g., along with respective CRC code are encoded using a FEC encoder before transmission.

Soft combining may imply performing as indicated above and send bits from the same FEC. The receiver may combine information from two transmissions in the decoding of the same encoded data.

If the MAC CE or data message is not decoded within a set time threshold, the second radio node 2 may grant retransmission, e.g., DL retransmission, of the complete HARQ process and grant a retransmission, e.g., LIL retransmission, of the not decoded transport block.

Fig. 10 shows an example of arrangement in the first radio node 1 .

The first radio node 1 may comprise an input and output interface 1000 configured to communicate with the second radio node 2. The input and output interface 1000 may comprise a receiver, e.g. wired and/or wireless, (not shown) and a transmitter, e.g. wired and/or wireless, (not shown).

The first radio node 1 is configured to handle feedback for HARQ data transmissions, i.e., HARQ-FB, in the wireless communications network 100. The first radio node 1 is configured to obtain at least one communication layer to use for transmitting HARQ-FB associated with one or more data transmissions scheduled from a second radio node 2 to the first radio node 1 .

The first radio node 1 is configured to transmit HARQ-FB for the one or more data transmissions using the obtained at least one communication layer.

According to some embodiments, the first radio node 1 is configured to obtain the at least one communication layer by determining whether to:

-transmit the HARQ-FB using a physical layer,

-transmit the HARQ-FB encapsulated in a data transport block, or

-a combination thereof.

According to some embodiments, obtaining the at least one communication layer comprises determining whether to transmit the HARQ-FB encapsulated in one or more MAC-CEs.

According to some embodiments, the size of the HARQ-FB is based on the at least one communication layer used for transmitting the HARQ-FB.

According to some embodiments, the first radio node 1 is configured with a feedback condition which when fulfilled, the first radio node 1 is configured to transmit HARQ-FB for the one or more data transmissions as encapsulated in a data transport block. In these embodiments, the first radio node 1 may be configured to obtain the at least one communication layer by determining the at least one communication layer based on detecting whether the feedback condition is fulfilled.

According to some embodiments, the first radio node 1 is configured to obtain the at least one communication layer by receiving a feedback request indicative of the at least one communication layer to use for transmitting HARQ-FB for the one or more data transmissions, and to determine the at least one communication layer based on the feedback request.

According to some embodiments, the feedback request is arranged to be received from the second radio node 2 as part of one or more Cl messages. The one or more Cl messages optionally are adapted to indicate the feedback request by any one or more out of:

-as part of a latency and/or priority field of the one or more Cl messages, and

-by a difference or equality of radio resources indicated by the one or more Cl messages.

According to some embodiments, the first radio node 1 is configured to obtain the at least one communication layer by determining the at least one communication layer based on an overlap of physical layer HARQ resources for the one or more data transmissions and resources of the one or more data transmissions to the second node.

According to some embodiments, the first radio node 1 is configured to obtain the at least one communication layer by determining the at least one communication layer based on resource allocation messages of one or more physical control channels.

According to some embodiments, the first radio node 1 is configured to obtain the at least one communication layer by determining the at least one communication layer based on a decoding success of the one or more data transmissions.

According to some embodiments, the first radio node 1 is configured to transmit the HARQ-FB by compressing the HARQ-FB and transmitting the compressed HARQ-FB to the second radio node 2.

According to some embodiments, the compressed HARQ-FB may be adapted to indicate a reception status which is invalid or ambiguous for at least one of the one or more data transmissions, and in response, the first radio node 1 may be configured to transmit to the second radio node 2, non-compressed HARQ-FB encapsulated in a data transport block.

According to some embodiments, the first radio node 1 is configured to determine a reception status of the one or more data transmissions, and when the reception status indicates at least one NACK for the one or more data transmissions, transmit to the second radio node 2, one or more messages. In these embodiments, the one or more messages may be indicative of any one or more out of: one or more symbols, one or more CCs and one or more slots of the respective data transmissions associated with the at least one NACK.

According to some embodiments, the first radio node 1 is a User Equipment, UE, and/or the second radio node 2 is a gNB.

The embodiments herein may be implemented through a respective processor or one or more processors, such as at least one processor 1010 of a processing circuitry in the first radio node 1 depicted in Fig. 10, together with computer program code for performing the functions and actions of the embodiments herein. The program code mentioned above may also be provided as a computer program product, for instance in the form of a data carrier carrying computer program code for performing the embodiments herein when being loaded into the first radio node 1 . One such carrier may be in the form of a CD ROM disc. It is however feasible with other data carriers such as a memory stick. The computer program code may furthermore be provided as pure program code on a server and downloaded to the first radio node 1 . The first radio node 1 and/or the processor 1010 is e.g., configured to perform actions of the method of the first radio node 1 as described above, e.g., by using the processor and/or memories of the first radio node 1.

The first radio node 1 may further comprise respective a memory 1010 comprising one or more memory units. The memory 1010 comprises instructions executable by the processor 1010 in the first radio node 1.

The memory 1010 is arranged to be used to store instructions, data, configurations, identifiers, indications, parameters, timing or control information, HARQ-FB, HARQ information, HARQ codebook, reports, and applications to perform the methods herein when being executed in the first radio node 1 .

In some embodiments, a computer program 1030 comprises instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor 1010, cause the at least one processor 1010 of the first radio node 1 to perform the actions above.

In some embodiments, a respective carrier 1040 comprises the respective computer program 1030, wherein the carrier 1040 is one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, an electromagnetic signal, a magnetic signal, an electric signal, a radio signal, a microwave signal, or a computer-readable storage medium.

Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the functional modules in the first radio node 1 , described below may refer to a combination of analog and digital circuits, and/or one or more processors configured with software and/or firmware, e.g. stored in the first radio node 1 , that when executed by the respective one or more processors such as the at least one processor 1010 described above cause the respective at least one processor 1010 to perform actions according to any of the actions above. One or more of these processors, as well as the other digital hardware, may be included in a single Application-Specific Integrated Circuitry (ASIC), or several processors and various digital hardware may be distributed among several separate components, whether individually packaged or assembled into a system-on-a-chip (SoC).

Fig. 11 shows an example of arrangement in the second radio node 2.

The second radio node 2 may comprise an input and output interface 1100 configured to communicate with the first radio node 1. The input and output interface 1100 may comprise a receiver, e.g. wired and/or wireless, (not shown) and a transmitter, e.g. wired and/or wireless, (not shown).

The second radio node 2 is configured to handle feedback for HARQ data transmissions, i.e., HARQ-FB, in the wireless communications network 100. The second radio node 2 is configured to trigger one or more data transmissions from the second radio node 2 to a first radio node 1. The second radio node 2 is configured to receive HARQ-FB for the one or more data transmissions using at least one communication layer. The HARQ-FB is indicative a reception status of the one or more data transmissions.

According to some embodiments, the second radio node 2 is configured to receive the HARQ-FB for the one or more data transmissions using the at least one communication layer by:

-receiving the HARQ-FB using a physical layer,

-receiving the HARQ-FB as encapsulated in a data transport block, or -a combination thereof.

According to some embodiments, receiving the at least one communication layer comprises receiving the HARQ-FB encapsulated in one or more MAC-CEs.

According to some embodiments, the second radio node 2 is configured to: when receiving HARQ-FB using the physical layer, and in response to detecting that the HARQ- FB is indicative of a mix of at least one ACK and at least one NACK determine whether or not to:

-wait to receive an additional HARQ-FB encapsulated in a data transport block, and/or

-to trigger a re-transmission of at least part of the one or more data transmissions.

According to some embodiments, the second radio node 2 is further configured to transmit to the first radio node 1 , a feedback request indicative of the at least one communication layer to use for transmitting HARQ-FB for the one or more data transmissions.

According to some embodiments, the second radio node 2 is configured to receive the HARQ-FB by receiving compressed HARQ-FB from the first radio node 1.

According to some embodiments, the compressed HARQ-FB is adapted to indicate a reception status which is invalid or ambiguous for at least one of the one or more data transmissions, and subsequently due to the invalid or ambiguous reception status, the second radio node 2 may be configured to receive as transmitted from the first radio node 1 , non-compressed HARQ-FB encapsulated in a data transport block.

The embodiments herein may be implemented through a respective processor or one or more processors, such as at least one processor 1110 of a processing circuitry in the second radio node 2 depicted in Fig. 11 , together with computer program code for performing the functions and actions of the embodiments herein. The program code mentioned above may also be provided as a computer program product, for instance in the form of a data carrier carrying computer program code for performing the embodiments herein when being loaded into the second radio node 2. One such carrier may be in the form of a CD ROM disc. It is however feasible with other data carriers such as a memory stick. The computer program code may furthermore be provided as pure program code on a server and downloaded to the second radio node 2.

The second radio node 2 and/or the processor 1110 is e.g., configured to perform actions of the method of the second radio node 2 as described above, e.g., by using the processor and/or memories of the second radio node 2.

The second radio node 2 may further comprise respective a memory 1111 comprising one or more memory units. The memory 1111 comprises instructions executable by the processor 1110 in the second radio node 2.

The memory 1110 is arranged to be used to store instructions, data, configurations, identifiers, indications, parameters, timing or control information, HARQ-FB, HARQ information, HARQ codebook, reports, and applications to perform the methods herein when being executed in the second radio node 2.

In some embodiments, a computer program 1130 comprises instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor 1110, cause the at least one processor 1110 of the second radio node 2 to perform the actions above.

In some embodiments, a respective carrier 1140 comprises the respective computer program 1130, wherein the carrier 1140 is one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, an electromagnetic signal, a magnetic signal, an electric signal, a radio signal, a microwave signal, or a computer-readable storage medium.

Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the functional modules in the second radio node 2, described below may refer to a combination of analog and digital circuits, and/or one or more processors configured with software and/or firmware, e.g. stored in the second radio node 2, that when executed by the respective one or more processors such as the at least one processor 1110 described above cause the respective at least one processor 1110 to perform actions according to any of the actions above. One or more of these processors, as well as the other digital hardware, may be included in a single Application-Specific Integrated Circuitry (ASIC), or several processors and various digital hardware may be distributed among several separate components, whether individually packaged or assembled into a system-on-a-chip (SoC). Embodiments

Below, some example Embodiments 1-38 are shortly described. See e.g., Figures 4-11. The Embodiments 1-38 may be combined with any of the other embodiments herein in any suitable manner.

Embodiment 1. A method performed by a first radio node 1 , e.g., a User Equipment, UE, e.g., for handling feedback for Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request, HARQ, data transmissions, HARQ-FB, in a wireless communications network 100, the method comprising any one or more out of: obtaining 501 at least one communication layer to use for transmitting HARQ Feedback, HARQ-FB, associated with one or more data transmissions scheduled from a second radio node 2 to the first radio node 1 , and transmitting 503 HARQ-FB for the one or more data transmissions using the obtained at least one communication layer.

Embodiment 2. The method according to Embodiment 1 , wherein obtaining the at least one communication layer comprises determining whether to: transmit the HARQ-FB using a physical layer, e.g., Layer 1 , transmit the HARQ-FB encapsulated in a data transport block, e.g., using higher layers, e.g. one or more Medium Access Control, MAC, Control Elements, MAC- CEs, over a radio layer, e.g., Layer 2, or a combination thereof.

Embodiment 3. The method according to Embodiment 1 or 2, wherein the first radio node 1 is configured with a feedback condition which when fulfilled, HARQ-FB is transmitted for the one or more data transmissions as encapsulated in a data transport block, and wherein obtaining 501 the at least one communication layer comprises determining the at least one communication layer based on detecting whether the feedback condition is fulfilled, e.g., wherein the feedback condition is fulfilled by detecting that the first radio node 1 is scheduled to use and/or is using a resource, carrier, or frequency.

Embodiment 4. The method according to any one of Embodiments 1-3, wherein obtaining 501 the at least one communication layer comprises e.g., receiving a feedback request indicative of the at least one communication layer to use for transmitting HARQ-FB for the one or more data transmissions, and determining the at least one communication layer based on the feedback request. Embodiment 5. The method according to Embodiment 4 wherein the feedback request is received from the second radio node 2 as part of one or more Cl messages, e.g., one or more DCI messages or one or more UCI messages, wherein the one or more Cl messages optionally indicates the feedback request by any one or more out of: o as part of a latency and/or priority field of the one or more Cl messages, and o by a difference or equality of radio resources indicated by the one or more Cl messages,

Embodiment 6. The method according to any of Embodiments 1-5, wherein obtaining 501 the at least one communication layer comprises determining the at least one communication layer based on an overlap of physical layer HARQ resources for the one or more data transmissions and resources of the one or more data transmissions to the second radio node 2, e.g. based on whether PLISCH is used when HARQ-FB is for a downlink transmission.

Embodiment 7. The method according to any of Embodiments 1-6, wherein obtaining 501 the at least one communication layer comprises determining the at least one communication layer based on resource allocation messages of one or more physical control channels, e.g., PUCCH/PDCCH, e.g., by a time offset of the one or more physical control channel resource allocation messages.

Embodiment 8. The method according to any of Embodiments 1-7, wherein obtaining 501 the at least one communication layer comprises determining the at least one communication layer based on a decoding success of the one or more data transmissions.

Embodiment 9. The method according to any of Embodiments 1-8, wherein transmitting 503 the HARQ-FB comprises compressing the HARQ-FB and transmitting the compressed HARQ-FB to the second radio node 2, e.g., wherein the compressed HARQ-FB indicates that the one or more data transmissions relate to all Acknowledgements ACKs, all Negative Acknowledgements, NACKs, or with a mix of ACKs and NACKs.

Embodiment 10. The method according to Embodiment 9, wherein the compressed HARQ-FB indicates a reception status which is invalid or ambiguous for at least one of the one or more data transmissions, and in response, transmitting to the second radio node 2, non-compressed HARQ-FB encapsulated in a data transport block, e.g., using a MAC-CE over a radio layer such as layer 2.

Embodiment 11. The method according to any of Embodiments 1-10, further comprising determining 502 a reception status of the one or more data transmissions, and when the reception status indicates at least one Negative Acknowledgement, NACK, for the one or more data transmissions, transmitting 504 to the second radio node 2, one or more messages, e.g., transport blocks, wherein the one or more messages is indicative of any one or more out of: one or more symbols, one or more Component carriers, CCs, and one or more slots of the respective data transmissions associated with the at least one NACK.

Embodiment 12. A method performed by a second radio node 2, e.g., a network node such as a gNB, e.g., for handling feedback for Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request, HARQ, data transmissions, HARQ-FB, in a wireless communications network 100, the method comprising any one or more out of: triggering 601 one or more data transmissions from the second radio node 2 to a first radio node 1, receiving 603 HARQ-FB for the one or more data transmissions using at least one communication layer, wherein the HARQ-FB is indicative a reception status of the one or more data transmissions.

Embodiment 13. The method according to Embodiment 12, wherein receiving 603 the HARQ-FB for the one or more data transmissions using the at least one communication layer comprises: receiving the HARQ-FB using a physical layer, e.g., Layer 1 , receiving the HARQ-FB as encapsulated in a data transport block, e.g., using a non-physical layer, e.g. using one or more Medium Access Control, MAC, Control Elements, MAC-CEs, over a radio layer, e.g., Layer 2, or a combination thereof.

Embodiment 14. The method according to Embodiment 11 , wherein when receiving HARQ-FB using the physical layer, e.g., Layer 1, and in response to detecting 604 that the HARQ-FB is indicative of a mix of at least one Acknowledgement, ACK, and at least one Negative ACK, NACK, determining 605 whether or not to:

- wait to receive an additional HARQ-FB encapsulated in a data transport block, e.g., by using one or more communication layers higher in abstraction layer from a physical layer, e.g. one or more Medium Access Control, MAC, Control Elements, MAC-CEs, over the radio layer, e.g., Layer 2, and/or to trigger a re-transmission of at least part of the one or more data transmissions, e.g., all transmission or only failed data transmissions.

Embodiment 15. The method according to any one of Embodiments 12-14, further comprising transmitting 602 to the first radio node 1, e.g., as part of control information, Cl, a feedback request indicative of the at least one communication layer to use for transmitting HARQ-FB for the one or more data transmissions.

Embodiment 16. The method according to any of Embodiments 12-15, wherein receiving 603 the HARQ-FB comprises receiving compressed HARQ-FB from the first radio node 1, e.g., wherein the compressed HARQ-FB indicates that the one or more data transmissions relate to all Acknowledgements ACKs, all Negative Acknowledgements, NACKs, or with a mix of ACKs and NACKs.

Embodiment 17. The method according to Embodiment 16, wherein the compressed HARQ-FB indicates a reception status which is invalid or ambiguous for at least one of the one or more data transmissions, and subsequently due to the invalid or ambiguous reception status, receiving as transmitted from the first radio node 1, non-compressed HARQ-FB encapsulated in a data transport block, e.g., using a MAC-CE over a radio layer, e.g., layer 2.

Embodiment 18. A first radio node 1 , e.g., a User Equipment, UE, e.g., configured to handle feedback for Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request, HARQ, data transmissions, HARQ-FB, in a wireless communications network 100, the first radio node 1 is configured to any one or more out of: obtain at least one communication layer to use for transmitting HARQ Feedback, HARQ-FB, associated with one or more data transmissions scheduled from a second radio node 2 to the first radio node 1 , and transmit HARQ-FB for the one or more data transmissions using the obtained at least one communication layer.

Embodiment 19. The first radio node 1 according to Embodiment 18, configured to obtain the at least one communication layer by determining whether to: transmit the HARQ-FB using a physical layer, e.g., Layer 1 , transmit the HARQ-FB encapsulated in a data transport block, e.g., using higher layers, e.g. one or more Medium Access Control, MAC, Control Elements, MAC- CEs, over a radio layer, e.g., Layer 2, or a combination thereof.

Embodiment 20. The first radio node 1 according to Embodiment 18 or 19, wherein the first radio node 1 is configured with a feedback condition which when fulfilled, the first radio node 1 is configured to transmit HARQ-FB for the one or more data transmissions as encapsulated in a data transport block, and wherein the first radio node 1 is configured to obtain the at least one communication layer by determining the at least one communication layer based on detecting whether the feedback condition is fulfilled, e.g., wherein the feedback condition is fulfilled by detecting that the first radio node 1 is scheduled to use and/or is using a resource, carrier, or frequency.

Embodiment 21. The first radio node 1 according to any one of Embodiments 18-24, further configured to obtain the at least one communication layer by receiving a feedback request indicative of the at least one communication layer to use for transmitting HARQ-FB for the one or more data transmissions, and to determine the at least one communication layer based on the feedback request.

Embodiment 22. The first radio node 1 according to Embodiment 21 wherein the feedback request is arranged to be received from the second radio node 2 as part of one or more Cl messages, e.g., one or more DCI messages or one or more UCI messages, wherein the one or more Cl messages optionally are adapted to indicate the feedback request by any one or more out of: o as part of a latency and/or priority field of the one or more Cl messages, and o by a difference or equality of radio resources indicated by the one or more Cl messages.

Embodiment 23. The first radio node 1 according to any of Embodiments 18-22, further configured to obtain the at least one communication layer by determining the at least one communication layer based on an overlap of physical layer HARQ resources for the one or more data transmissions and resources of the one or more data transmissions to the second node, e.g. based on whether PLISCH is used when HARQ-FB is for a downlink transmission.

Embodiment 24. The first radio node 1 according to any of Embodiments 18-23, further configured to obtain the at least one communication layer by determining the at least one communication layer based on resource allocation messages of one or more physical control channels, e.g., PUCCH/PDCCH, e.g., by a time offset of the one or more physical control channel resource allocation messages. Embodiment 25. The first radio node 1 according to any of Embodiments 18-24, further configured to obtain the at least one communication layer by determining the at least one communication layer based on a decoding success of the one or more data transmissions. Embodiment 26. The first radio node 1 according to any of Embodiments 18-25, further configured to transmit the HARQ-FB by compressing the HARQ-FB and transmitting the compressed HARQ-FB to the second radio node 2, e.g., wherein the compressed HARQ-FB is adapted to indicate that the one or more data transmissions relate to all Acknowledgements ACKs, all Negative Acknowledgements, NACKs, or with a mix of ACKs and NACKs.

Embodiment 27. The first radio node 1 according to Embodiment 26, wherein the compressed HARQ-FB is adapted to indicate a reception status which is invalid or ambiguous for at least one of the one or more data transmissions, and in response the first radio node 1 is configured to transmit to the second radio node 2, non-compressed HARQ-FB encapsulated in a data transport block, e.g., using a MAC-CE over a radio layer such as layer 2.

Embodiment 28. The first radio node 1 according to any of Embodiments 18-27, further configured to determine a reception status of the one or more data transmissions, and when the reception status indicates at least one Negative Acknowledgement, NACK, for the one or more data transmissions, transmit to the second radio node 2, one or more messages, e.g., transport blocks, wherein the one or more messages is indicative of any one or more out of: one or more symbols, one or more Component carriers, CCs, and one or more slots of the respective data transmissions associated with the at least one NACK. Embodiment 29. A second radio node 2, e.g., a network node such as a gNB, e.g., configured to handle feedback for Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request, HARQ, data transmissions, HARQ-FB, in a wireless communications network 100, the second radio node 2 is configured to any one or more out of: trigger one or more data transmissions from the second radio node 2 to a first radio node 1, receive HARQ-FB for the one or more data transmissions using at least one communication layer, wherein the HARQ-FB is indicative a reception status of the one or more data transmissions. Embodiment 30. The second radio node 2 according to Embodiment 29, further configured to receive the HARQ-FB for the one or more data transmissions using the at least one communication layer by: receiving the HARQ-FB using a physical layer, e.g., Layer 1 , - receiving the HARQ-FB as encapsulated in a data transport block, e.g., using a non-physical layer, e.g. using one or more Medium Access Control, MAC, Control Elements, MAC-CEs, over a radio layer, e.g., Layer 2, or a combination thereof.

Embodiment 31. The second radio node 2 according to Embodiment 30, configured to: when receiving HARQ-FB using the physical layer, e.g., Layer 1, and in response to detecting that the HARQ-FB is indicative of a mix of at least one Acknowledgement, ACK, and at least one Negative ACK, NACK, determine whether or not to:

- wait to receive an additional HARQ-FB encapsulated in a data transport block, e.g., by using one or more communication layers higher in abstraction layer from a physical layer, e.g. one or more Medium Access Control, MAC, Control Elements, MAC-CEs, over the radio layer, e.g., Layer 2, and/or to trigger a re-transmission of at least part of the one or more data transmissions, e.g., all transmission or only failed data transmissions. Embodiment 32. The second radio node 2 according to any one of

Embodiments 29-31 , further configured to transmit to the first radio node 1, e.g., as part of control information, Cl, a feedback request indicative of the at least one communication layer to use for transmitting HARQ-FB for the one or more data transmissions. Embodiment 33. The second radio node 2 according to any of Embodiments 29-

32, further configured to receive the HARQ-FB by receiving compressed HARQ-FB from the first radio node 1, e.g., wherein the compressed HARQ-FB is adapted to indicate that the one or more data transmissions relate to all Acknowledgements ACKs, all Negative Acknowledgements, NACKs, or with a mix of ACKs and NACKs. Embodiment 34. The second radio node 2 according to Embodiment 33, wherein the compressed HARQ-FB is adapted to indicate a reception status which is invalid or ambiguous for at least one of the one or more data transmissions, and subsequently due to the invalid or ambiguous reception status, the second radio node 2 is configured to receive as transmitted from the first radio node 1, non-compressed HARQ-FB encapsulated in a data transport block, e.g., using a MAC-CE over a radio layer, e.g., layer 2.

Embodiment 35. A computer program 1030 comprising instructions, which when executed by a processor 1010, causes the processor 1010 to perform actions according to any of the Embodiments 1-11.

Embodiment 36. A carrier 1040 comprising the computer program 1030 of

Embodiment 35, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, an electromagnetic signal, a magnetic signal, an electric signal, a radio signal, a microwave signal, or a computer-readable storage medium. Embodiment 37. A computer program 1130 comprising instructions, which when executed by a processor 1110, causes the processor 1110 to perform actions according to any of the Embodiments 12-17.

Embodiment 38. A carrier 1140 comprising the computer program 1130 of

Embodiment 37, wherein the carrier 1140 is one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, an electromagnetic signal, a magnetic signal, an electric signal, a radio signal, a microwave signal, or a computer-readable storage medium.

ADDITIONAL EXPLANATION

Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

Fig. 12 shows an example of a communication system QQ100 in accordance with some embodiments.

In the example, the communication system QQ100 includes a telecommunication network QQ102 that includes an access network QQ104, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network QQ106, which includes one or more core network nodes QQ108 (e.g., the first or second radio node 1, 2). The access network QQ104 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes QQ110a and QQ110b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes QQ110 e.g., the first or second radio node 1, 2), or any other similar 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP access points. Moreover, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that network nodes include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunication network QQ102 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network QQ102 that supports an ORAN specification (e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization) and may operate alone or together with other nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any node in the telecommunication network QQ102, including one or more network nodes QQ110 and/or core network nodes QQ108.

Examples of an ORAN network node include an open radio unit (0-Rll), an open distributed unit (0-Dll), an open central unit (O-CU), including an O-CU control plane (O- CLI-CP) or an O-CU user plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time or non-real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time control application (e.g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective “open” designating support of an ORAN specification). The network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an A1, F1, W1 , E1, E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Moreover, an ORAN access node may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an 0-2 interface defined by the O-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies. The network nodes QQ110 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs QQ112a, QQ112b, QQ112c, and QQ112d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs QQ112 e.g., the first or second radio node 1, 2) to the core network QQ106 over one or more wireless connections.

Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and/or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and/or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system QQ100 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and/or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and/or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system QQ100 may include and/or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and/or other similar type of system. The UEs QQ112 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes QQ110 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes QQ110 are arranged, capable, configured, and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs QQ112 and/or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network QQ102 to enable and/or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and/or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunication network QQ102.

In the depicted example, the core network QQ106 connects the network nodes QQ110 to one or more hosts, such as host QQ116. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network QQ106 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node QQ108) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and/or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node QQ108. Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier Deconcealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and/or a User Plane Function (UPF).

The host QQ116 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network QQ104 and/or the telecommunication network QQ102, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host QQ116 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio/video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.

As a whole, the communication system QQ100 of Fig. 12 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and/or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, 6G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (WiFi); and/or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and/or any low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.

In some examples, the telecommunication network QQ102 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network QQ102 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network QQ102. For example, the telecommunications network QQ102 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and/or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC)/Massive loT services to yet further UEs.

In some examples, the UEs QQ112 are configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network QQ104 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network QQ104. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi- RAT or multi-standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e. being configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

In the example, the hub QQ114 communicates with the access network QQ104 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE QQ112c and/or QQ112d) and network nodes (e.g., network node QQ110b). In some examples, the hub QQ114 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub QQ114 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network QQ106 for the UEs. As another example, the hub QQ114 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs. Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes QQ110, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub QQ114. As another example, the hub QQ114 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for LIE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub QQ114 may be a content source. For example, for a LIE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub QQ114 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub QQ114 then provides to the LIE either directly, after performing local processing, and/or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub QQ114 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

The hub QQ114 may have a constant/persistent or intermittent connection to the network node QQ110b. The hub QQ114 may also allow for a different communication scheme and/or schedule between the hub QQ114 and UEs (e.g., UE QQ112c and/or QQ112d) , and between the hub QQ114 and the core network QQ106. In other examples, the hub QQ114 is connected to the core network QQ106 and/or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub QQ114 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network QQ104 and/or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes QQ110 while still connected via the hub QQ114 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub QQ114 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to/from the UEs from/to the network node QQ110b. In other embodiments, the hub QQ114 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node QQ110b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and/or end point for certain data channels.

Fig. 13 shows a UE QQ200 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and/or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop- embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), smart device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle, vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded/integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-loT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and/or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to-everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and/or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).

The UE QQ200 includes processing circuitry QQ202 that is operatively coupled via a bus QQ204 to an input/output interface QQ206, a power source QQ208, a memory QQ210, a communication interface QQ212, and/or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Fig. 13. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

The processing circuitry QQ202 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory QQ210. The processing circuitry QQ202 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry QQ202 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

In the example, the input/output interface QQ206 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and/or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into the UE QQ200. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

In some embodiments, the power source QQ208 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used. The power source QQ208 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source QQ208 itself, and/or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE QQ200 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source QQ208. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source QQ208 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE QQ200 to which power is supplied.

The memory QQ210 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory QQ210 includes one or more application programs QQ214, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data QQ216. The memory QQ210 may store, for use by the UE QQ200, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

The memory QQ210 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro- DI MM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (IIICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a IISIM and/or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The IIICC may for example be an embedded IIICC (elllCC), integrated IIICC (illlCC) or a removable IIICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’ The memory QQ210 may allow the UE QQ200 to access instructions, application programs and the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory QQ210, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

The processing circuitry QQ202 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface QQ212. The communication interface QQ212 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna QQ222. The communication interface QQ212 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter QQ218 and/or a receiver QQ220 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter QQ218 and receiver QQ220 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna QQ222) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface QQ212 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented in according to one or more communication protocols and/or standards, such as IEEE 802.11 , Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface QQ212, via a wireless connection to a network node. Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

As another example, a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.

A UE, when in the form of an Internet of Things (loT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door/window sensor, a flood/moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a head-mounted display for Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR), a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an loT device comprises circuitry and/or software in dependence of the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE QQ200 shown in Fig. 13.

As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and/or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and/or measurements to another UE and/or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-loT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and/or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

In practice, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g. by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed. The first and/or the second UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.

Fig. 14 shows a network node QQ300 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and/or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunication network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)), O- RAN nodes or components of an O-RAN node (e.g., O-RU, O-DU, O-CU).

Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units, distributed units (e.g., in an O-RAN access node) and/or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G/6G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi- cell/multicast coordination entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and/or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).

The network node QQ300 includes a processing circuitry QQ302, a memory QQ304, a communication interface QQ306, and a power source QQ308. The network node QQ300 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which the network node QQ300 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node QQ300 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory QQ304 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna QQ310 may be shared by different RATs). The network node QQ300 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node QQ300, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node QQ300.

The processing circuitry QQ302 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and/or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node QQ300 components, such as the memory QQ304, to provide network node QQ300 functionality.

In some embodiments, the processing circuitry QQ302 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry QQ302 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry QQ312 and baseband processing circuitry QQ314. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry QQ312 and the baseband processing circuitry QQ314 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry QQ312 and baseband processing circuitry QQ314 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

The memory QQ304 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer- readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device- readable and/or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and/or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry QQ302. The memory QQ304 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and/or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry QQ302 and utilized by the network node QQ300. The memory QQ304 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry QQ302 and/or any data received via the communication interface QQ306. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry QQ302 and memory QQ304 is integrated.

The communication interface QQ306 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and/or data between a network node, access network, and/or LIE. As illustrated, the communication interface QQ306 comprises port(s)/terminal(s) QQ316 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface QQ306 also includes radio front-end circuitry QQ318 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna QQ310. Radio front-end circuitry QQ318 comprises filters QQ320 and amplifiers QQ322. The radio front-end circuitry QQ318 may be connected to an antenna QQ310 and processing circuitry QQ302. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna QQ310 and processing circuitry QQ302. The radio front-end circuitry QQ318 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry QQ318 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters QQ320 and/or amplifiers QQ322. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna QQ310. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna QQ310 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry QQ318. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry QQ302. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components.

In certain alternative embodiments, the network node QQ300 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry QQ318, instead, the processing circuitry QQ302 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna QQ310. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry QQ312 is part of the communication interface QQ306. In still other embodiments, the communication interface QQ306 includes one or more ports or terminals QQ316, the radio front-end circuitry QQ318, and the RF transceiver circuitry QQ312, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface QQ306 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry QQ314, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

The antenna QQ310 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals. The antenna QQ310 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry QQ318 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and/or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna QQ310 is separate from the network node QQ300 and connectable to the network node QQ300 through an interface or port.

The antenna QQ310, communication interface QQ306, and/or the processing circuitry QQ302 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and/or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be received from a LIE, another network node and/or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna QQ310, the communication interface QQ306, and/or the processing circuitry QQ302 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be transmitted to a LIE, another network node and/or any other network equipment.

The power source QQ308 provides power to the various components of network node QQ300 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source QQ308 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node QQ300 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node QQ300 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source QQ308. As a further example, the power source QQ308 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.

Embodiments of the network node QQ300 may include additional components beyond those shown in Fig. 14 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and/or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node QQ300 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node QQ300 and to allow output of information from the network node QQ300. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node QQ300.

Fig. 15 is a block diagram of a host QQ400, which may be an embodiment of the host QQ116 of Fig. 12, in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, the host QQ400 may be or comprise various combinations hardware and/or software, including a standalone server, a blade server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, a virtual machine, container, or processing resources in a server farm. The host QQ400 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

The host QQ400 includes processing circuitry QQ402 that is operatively coupled via a bus QQ404 to an input/output interface QQ406, a network interface QQ408, a power source QQ410, and a memory QQ412. Other components may be included in other embodiments. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the devices of previous figures, such as Figures 21-23, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of host QQ400.

The memory QQ412 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs QQ414 and data QQ416, which may include user data, e.g., data generated by a LIE for the host QQ400 or data generated by the host QQ400 for a LIE. Embodiments of the host QQ400 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. The host application programs QQ414 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding (VVC), High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), Advanced Video Coding (AVC), MPEG, VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., FI_AC, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MPEG, G.711), including transcoding for multiple different classes, types, or implementations of UEs (e.g., handsets, desktop computers, wearable display systems, heads-up display systems). The host application programs QQ414 may also provide for user authentication and licensing checks and may periodically report health, routes, and content availability to a central node, such as a device in or on the edge of a core network. Accordingly, the host QQ400 may select and/or indicate a different host for over-the-top services for a LIE. The host application programs QQ414 may support various protocols, such as the HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) protocol, Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (MPEG-DASH), etc.

Fig. 16 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment QQ500 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments QQ500 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, LIE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment QQ500 includes components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an 0-2 interface.

Applications QQ502 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment Q400 to implement some of the features, functions, and/or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

Hardware QQ504 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and/or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and/or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input/output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers QQ506 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs QQ508a and QQ508b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs QQ508), and/or perform any of the functions, features and/or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer QQ506 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs QQ508.

The VMs QQ508 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer QQ506. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance QQ502 may be implemented on one or more of VMs QQ508, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.

In the context of NFV, a VM QQ508 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of the VMs QQ508, and that part of hardware QQ504 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and/or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs QQ508 on top of the hardware QQ504 and corresponds to the application QQ502.

Hardware QQ504 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware QQ504 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware QQ504 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g. such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration QQ510, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications QQ502. In some embodiments, hardware QQ504 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system QQ512 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units. Fig. 17 shows a communication diagram of a host QQ602 communicating via a network node QQ604 with a UE QQ606 over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments. Example implementations, in accordance with various embodiments, of the UE (such as a UE QQ112a of Fig. 12 and/or UE QQ200 of Fig. 13), network node (such as network node QQ110a of Fig. 12 and/or network node QQ300 of Fig. 14), and host (such as host QQ116 of Fig. 12 and/or host QQ400 of Fig. 15) discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to Fig. 17.

Like host QQ400, embodiments of host QQ602 include hardware, such as a communication interface, processing circuitry, and memory. The host QQ602 also includes software, which is stored in or accessible by the host QQ602 and executable by the processing circuitry. The software includes a host application that may be operable to provide a service to a remote user, such as the UE QQ606 connecting via an over-the-top (OTT) connection QQ650 extending between the UE QQ606 and host QQ602. In providing the service to the remote user, a host application may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection QQ650.

The network node QQ604 includes hardware enabling it to communicate with the host QQ602 and UE QQ606. The connection QQ660 may be direct or pass through a core network (like core network QQ106 of Fig. 12) and/or one or more other intermediate networks, such as one or more public, private, or hosted networks. For example, an intermediate network may be a backbone network or the Internet.

The UE QQ606 includes hardware and software, which is stored in or accessible by UE QQ606 and executable by the UE’s processing circuitry. The software includes a client application, such as a web browser or operator-specific “app” that may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via UE QQ606 with the support of the host QQ602. In the host QQ602, an executing host application may communicate with the executing client application via the OTT connection QQ650 terminating at the UE QQ606 and host QQ602. In providing the service to the user, the UE's client application may receive request data from the host's host application and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection QQ650 may transfer both the request data and the user data. The UE's client application may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides to the host application through the OTT connection QQ650.

The OTT connection QQ650 may extend via a connection QQ660 between the host QQ602 and the network node QQ604 and via a wireless connection QQ670 between the network node QQ604 and the UE QQ606 to provide the connection between the host QQ602 and the UE QQ606. The connection QQ660 and wireless connection QQ670, over which the OTT connection QQ650 may be provided, have been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host QQ602 and the LIE QQ606 via the network node QQ604, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices.

As an example of transmitting data via the OTT connection QQ650, in step QQ608, the host QQ602 provides user data, which may be performed by executing a host application. In some embodiments, the user data is associated with a particular human user interacting with the LIE QQ606. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with a LIE QQ606 that shares data with the host QQ602 without explicit human interaction. In step QQ610, the host QQ602 initiates a transmission carrying the user data towards the LIE QQ606. The host QQ602 may initiate the transmission responsive to a request transmitted by the LIE QQ606. The request may be caused by human interaction with the LIE QQ606 or by operation of the client application executing on the LIE QQ606. The transmission may pass via the network node QQ604, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. Accordingly, in step QQ612, the network node QQ604 transmits to the LIE QQ606 the user data that was carried in the transmission that the host QQ602 initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step QQ614, the LIE QQ606 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be performed by a client application executed on the LIE QQ606 associated with the host application executed by the host QQ602.

In some examples, the LIE QQ606 executes a client application which provides user data to the host QQ602. The user data may be provided in reaction or response to the data received from the host QQ602. Accordingly, in step QQ616, the LIE QQ606 may provide user data, which may be performed by executing the client application. In providing the user data, the client application may further consider user input received from the user via an input/output interface of the LIE QQ606. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided, the LIE QQ606 initiates, in step QQ618, transmission of the user data towards the host QQ602 via the network node QQ604. In step QQ620, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the network node QQ604 receives user data from the LIE QQ606 and initiates transmission of the received user data towards the host QQ602. In step QQ622, the host QQ602 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the LIE QQ606. One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the UE QQ606 using the OTT connection QQ650, in which the wireless connection QQ670 forms the last segment.

In an example scenario, factory status information may be collected and analyzed by the host QQ602. As another example, the host QQ602 may process audio and video data which may have been retrieved from a UE for use in creating maps. As another example, the host QQ602 may collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicle congestion (e.g., controlling traffic lights). As another example, the host QQ602 may store surveillance video uploaded by a UE. As another example, the host QQ602 may store or control access to media content such as video, audio, VR or AR which it can broadcast, multicast or unicast to UEs. As other examples, the host QQ602 may be used for energy pricing, remote control of non-time critical electrical load to balance power generation needs, location services, presentation services (such as compiling diagrams etc. from data collected from remote devices), or any other function of collecting, retrieving, storing, analyzing and/or transmitting data.

In some examples, a measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve. There may further be an optional network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection QQ650 between the host QQ602 and UE QQ606, in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and/or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection may be implemented in software and hardware of the host QQ602 and/or UE QQ606. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with other devices through which the OTT connection QQ650 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or supplying values of other physical quantities from which software may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of the OTT connection QQ650 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not directly alter the operation of the network node QQ604. Such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling that facilitates measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency and the like, by the host QQ602. The measurements may be implemented in that software causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTT connection QQ650 while monitoring propagation times, errors, etc. Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and/or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and/or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and/or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and/or by end users and a wireless network generally.

When using the word "comprise" or “comprising” it shall be interpreted as nonlimiting, i.e. meaning "consist at least of". The embodiments herein are not limited to the preferred embodiments described above. Various alternatives, modifications and equivalents may be used.

Claims

1. A method performed by a first radio node (1) for handling feedback for Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request, HARQ, data transmissions, HARQ-FB, in a wireless communications network (100), the method comprising: obtaining (501) at least one communication layer to use for transmitting HARQ Feedback, HARQ-FB, associated with one or more data transmissions scheduled from a second radio node (2) to the first radio node (1), and transmitting (503) HARQ-FB for the one or more data transmissions using the obtained at least one communication layer.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein obtaining the at least one communication layer comprises determining whether to: transmit the HARQ-FB using a physical layer, transmit the HARQ-FB encapsulated in a data transport block, or a combination thereof.

3. The method according to any of claims 1-2, wherein obtaining (501) the at least one communication layer comprises determining whether to transmit the HARQ-FB encapsulated in one or more Medium Access Control, MAC, Control Elements, MAC-CEs.

4. The method according to any of claims 1-3, wherein the size of the HARQ-FB is based on the at least one communication layer used for transmitting the HARQ-FB.

5. The method according to any of claims 1-4, wherein the first radio node (1) is configured with a feedback condition which when fulfilled, HARQ-FB is transmitted for the one or more data transmissions as encapsulated in a data transport block, and wherein obtaining (501) the at least one communication layer comprises determining the at least one communication layer based on detecting whether the feedback condition is fulfilled.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, wherein obtaining (501) the at least one communication layer comprises receiving a feedback request indicative of the at least one communication layer to use for transmitting HARQ-FB for the one or more data transmissions, and determining the at least one communication layer based on the feedback request.

7. The method according to claim 6 wherein the feedback request is received from the second radio node (2) as part of one or more Control Information, Cl, messages, wherein the one or more Cl messages optionally indicates the feedback request by any one or more out of: as part of a latency and/or priority field of the one or more Cl messages, and by a difference or equality of radio resources indicated by the one or more Cl messages.

8. The method according to any of claims 1-7, wherein obtaining (501 ) the at least one communication layer comprises determining the at least one communication layer based on an overlap of physical layer HARQ resources for the one or more data transmissions and resources of the one or more data transmissions to the second radio node (2).

9. The method according to any of claims 1-8, wherein obtaining (501 ) the at least one communication layer comprises determining the at least one communication layer based on resource allocation messages of one or more physical control channels.

10. The method according to any of claims 1-9, wherein obtaining (501 ) the at least one communication layer comprises determining the at least one communication layer based on a decoding success of the one or more data transmissions.

11. The method according to any of claims 1-10, wherein transmitting (503) the HARQ- FB comprises compressing the HARQ-FB and transmitting the compressed HARQ- FB to the second radio node (2).

12. The method according to claim 11 , wherein the compressed HARQ-FB indicates a reception status which is invalid or ambiguous for at least one of the one or more data transmissions, and in response, transmitting to the second radio node (2), noncompressed HARQ-FB encapsulated in a data transport block.

13. The method according to any of claims 1-12, further comprising determining (502) a reception status of the one or more data transmissions, and when the reception status indicates at least one Negative Acknowledgement, NACK, for the one or more data transmissions, transmitting (504) to the second radio node (2), one or more messages, wherein the one or more messages is indicative of any one or more out of: one or more symbols, one or more Component Carriers, CCs, and one or more slots of the respective data transmissions associated with the at least one NACK.

14. The method of any of claims 1-13, wherein the first radio node (1) is a User Equipment, UE, and/or wherein the second radio node (2) is a network node or network function arranged for sixth generation telecommunications, 6G.

15. A method performed by a second radio node (2) for handling feedback for Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request, HARQ, data transmissions, HARQ-FB, in a wireless communications network (100), the method comprising: triggering (601) one or more data transmissions from the second radio node (2) to a first radio node (1), receiving (603) HARQ-FB for the one or more data transmissions using at least one communication layer, wherein the HARQ-FB is indicative a reception status of the one or more data transmissions.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein receiving (603) the HARQ-FB for the one or more data transmissions using the at least one communication layer comprises: receiving the HARQ-FB using a physical layer, receiving the HARQ-FB as encapsulated in a data transport block, or a combination thereof.

17. The method according to any of claims 15-16, wherein receiving (603) the at least one communication layer comprises receiving the HARQ-FB encapsulated in one or more Medium Access Control, MAC, Control Elements, MAC-CEs.

18. The method according to any of claims 15-17, wherein the size of the HARQ-FB is based on the at least one communication layer used for transmitting the HARQ-FB.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein when receiving HARQ-FB using the physical layer, and in response to detecting (604) that the HARQ-FB is indicative of a mix of at least one Acknowledgement, ACK, and at least one Negative ACK, NACK, determining (605) whether or not to:

- wait to receive an additional HARQ-FB encapsulated in a data transport block, and/or to trigger a re-transmission of at least part of the one or more data transmissions.

20. The method according to any one of claims 15-19, further comprising transmitting (602) to the first radio node (1), a feedback request indicative of the at least one communication layer to use for transmitting HARQ-FB for the one or more data transmissions.

21. The method according to any of claims 15-20, wherein receiving (603) the HARQ- FB comprises receiving compressed HARQ-FB from the first radio node (1).

22. The method according to claim 21 , wherein the compressed HARQ-FB indicates a reception status which is invalid or ambiguous for at least one of the one or more data transmissions, and subsequently due to the invalid or ambiguous reception status, receiving as transmitted from the first radio node (1), non-compressed HARQ-FB encapsulated in a data transport block.

23. The method of any of claims 15-22, wherein the first radio node (1) is a User Equipment, UE, and/or wherein the second radio node (2) is a network node or network function arranged for sixth generation telecommunications, 6G.

24. A first radio node (1) configured to handle feedback for Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request, HARQ, data transmissions, HARQ-FB, in a wireless communications network (100), the first radio node (1) is configured to: obtain at least one communication layer to use for transmitting HARQ Feedback, HARQ-FB, associated with one or more data transmissions scheduled from a second radio node (2) to the first radio node (1), and transmit HARQ-FB for the one or more data transmissions using the obtained at least one communication layer.

25. The first radio node (1) according to claim 24, configured to obtain the at least one communication layer by determining whether to: transmit the HARQ-FB using a physical layer, transmit the HARQ-FB encapsulated in a data transport block, or a combination thereof.

26. The first radio node (1) according to any of claims 24-25, wherein obtaining the at least one communication layer comprises determining whether to transmit the HARQ-FB encapsulated in one or more Medium Access Control, MAC, Control Elements, MAC-CEs.

27. The first radio node (1) according to any of claims 24-26, wherein the size of the HARQ-FB is based on the at least one communication layer used for transmitting the HARQ-FB.

28. The first radio node (1) according to any of claims 24-27, wherein the first radio node (1) is configured with a feedback condition which when fulfilled, the first radio node (1) is configured to transmit HARQ-FB for the one or more data transmissions as encapsulated in a data transport block, and wherein the first radio node (1) is configured to obtain the at least one communication layer by determining the at least one communication layer based on detecting whether the feedback condition is fulfilled.

29. The first radio node (1) according to any one of claims 24-28, further configured to obtain the at least one communication layer by receiving a feedback request indicative of the at least one communication layer to use for transmitting HARQ-FB for the one or more data transmissions, and to determine the at least one communication layer based on the feedback request.

30. The first radio node (1) according to claim 29 wherein the feedback request is arranged to be received from the second radio node (2) as part of one or more Control Information, Cl, messages, wherein the one or more Cl messages optionally are adapted to indicate the feedback request by any one or more out of: as part of a latency and/or priority field of the one or more Cl messages, and by a difference or equality of radio resources indicated by the one or more Cl messages.

31. The first radio node (1) according to any of claims 24-30, further configured to obtain the at least one communication layer by determining the at least one communication layer based on an overlap of physical layer HARQ resources for the one or more data transmissions and resources of the one or more data transmissions to the second node.

32. The first radio node (1) according to any of claims 24-31 , further configured to obtain the at least one communication layer by determining the at least one communication layer based on resource allocation messages of one or more physical control channels.

33. The first radio node (1) according to any of claims 24-32, further configured to obtain the at least one communication layer by determining the at least one communication layer based on a decoding success of the one or more data transmissions.

34. The first radio node (1) according to any of claims 24-33, further configured to transmit the HARQ-FB by compressing the HARQ-FB and transmitting the compressed HARQ-FB to the second radio node (2).

35. The first radio node (1) according to claim 34, wherein the compressed HARQ-FB is adapted to indicate a reception status which is invalid or ambiguous for at least one of the one or more data transmissions, and in response the first radio node (1) is configured to transmit to the second radio node (2), non-compressed HARQ-FB encapsulated in a data transport block.

36. The first radio node (1) according to any of claims 24-35, further configured to determine a reception status of the one or more data transmissions, and when the reception status indicates at least one Negative Acknowledgement, NACK, for the one or more data transmissions, transmit to the second radio node (2), one or more messages, wherein the one or more messages is indicative of any one or more out of: one or more symbols, one or more Component Carriers, CCs, and one or more slots of the respective data transmissions associated with the at least one NACK.

37. The first radio node (1) of any of claims 24-36, wherein the first radio node (1) is a User Equipment, UE, and/or wherein the second radio node (2) is a network node or network function arranged for sixth generation telecommunications, 6G.

38. A second radio node (2), configured to handle feedback for Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request, HARQ, data transmissions, HARQ-FB, in a wireless communications network (100), the second radio node (2) is configured to: trigger one or more data transmissions from the second radio node (2) to a first radio node (1), receive HARQ-FB for the one or more data transmissions using at least one communication layer, wherein the HARQ-FB is indicative a reception status of the one or more data transmissions.

39. The second radio node (2) according to claim 29, further configured to receive the HARQ-FB for the one or more data transmissions using the at least one communication layer by: receiving the HARQ-FB using a physical layer, receiving the HARQ-FB as encapsulated in a data transport block, or a combination thereof.

40. The second radio node (2) according to any of claims 38-39, wherein receiving the at least one communication layer comprises receiving the HARQ-FB encapsulated in one or more Medium Access Control, MAC, Control Elements, MAC-CEs.

41. The second radio node (2) according to any of claims 38-40, wherein the size of the HARQ-FB is based on the at least one communication layer used for transmitting the HARQ-FB.

42. The second radio node (2) according to any of claims 38-41 , configured to: when receiving HARQ-FB using the physical layer, and in response to detecting that the HARQ-FB is indicative of a mix of at least one Acknowledgement, ACK, and at least one Negative ACK, NACK, determine whether or not to:

43. The second radio node (2) according to any one of claims 38-42, further configured to transmit to the first radio node (1), a feedback request indicative of the at least one communication layer to use for transmitting HARQ-FB for the one or more data transmissions.

44. The second radio node (2) according to any of claims 38-43, further configured to receive the HARQ-FB by receiving compressed HARQ-FB from the first radio node (1).

45. The second radio node (2) according to claim 44, wherein the compressed HARQ- FB is adapted to indicate a reception status which is invalid or ambiguous for at least one of the one or more data transmissions, and subsequently due to the invalid or ambiguous reception status, the second radio node (2) is configured to receive as transmitted from the first radio node (1), non-compressed HARQ-FB encapsulated in a data transport block.

46. The second radio node (1) of any of claims 38-45, wherein the first radio node (1) is a User Equipment, UE, and/or wherein the second radio node (2) is a network node or network function arranged for sixth generation telecommunications, 6G.

47. A computer program (1030) comprising instructions, which when executed by a processor (1010), causes the processor (1010) to perform actions according to any of the claims 1-14.

48. A carrier (1040) comprising the computer program (1030) of claim 47, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, an electromagnetic signal, a magnetic signal, an electric signal, a radio signal, a microwave signal, or a computer-readable storage medium.

49. A computer program (1130) comprising instructions, which when executed by a processor (1110), causes the processor (1110) to perform actions according to any of the claims 15-23.

50. A carrier (1140) comprising the computer program (1130) of claim 49, wherein the carrier (1140) is one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, an electromagnetic signal, a magnetic signal, an electric signal, a radio signal, a microwave signal, or a computer-readable storage medium.