WO2025171609A1

WO2025171609A1 - Cell activation

Info

Publication number: WO2025171609A1
Application number: PCT/CN2024/077299
Authority: WO
Inventors: Parham KAZEMI; Lei Du; Lars Dalsgaard; Bent Henneberg RYSGAARD
Original assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy; Nokia Technologies Oy
Current assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy; Nokia Technologies Oy
Priority date: 2024-02-16
Filing date: 2024-02-16
Publication date: 2025-08-21
Anticipated expiration: 2026-08-16

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to cell activation. In an aspect, a terminal device determines a cell activation delay for each of to-be-activated cells in a first frequency range and a second frequency range, based on parallel cell activation of the terminal device for the first frequency range and the second frequency range. The terminal device activates the to-be-activated cell within the cell activation delay. As such, the terminal device can determine a time period to be used for cell activation based on parallel cell activation of the terminal device.

Description

CELL ACTIVATION

FIELD

Various example embodiments relate to the field of communication and in particular, to a terminal device, a network device, methods, apparatuses and a computer readable storage medium for cell activation.

BACKGROUND

In the communications area, there is a constant evolution ongoing in order to provide efficient and reliable solutions for utilizing wireless communication networks. Each new generation has its own technical challenges for handling the different situations and processes that are needed to connect and serve devices connected to the wireless network. To meet the demand for wireless data traffic having increased since deployment of 4th generation (4G) communication systems, efforts have been made to develop an improved 5th generation (5G) , pre-5G communication system, 6th generation (6G) communication systems or beyond. The new communication systems can support various types of service applications for terminal devices.

In new radio (NR) -as in long term evolution (LTE) , a cell can be activated or deactivated. The transitions between activated and deactivated status are mainly based on media access control (MAC) control elements commands from the network e.g. the cell activation/deactivation command. When the user equipment (UE) activates a deactivated cell, it takes time to transition from deactivated to activated status. Radio access network 4 (RAN4) defines the delay requirements within which the UE shall be able to activate a deactivated cell, upon receiving cell activation command in slot n, no later than a time period.

SUMMARY

In general, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for determining cell activation delay. With this solution, the terminal device determines a time period to be used for cell activation based on parallel cell activation of the terminal device.

In a first aspect, there is provided a terminal device. The terminal device comprises at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions. The instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the terminal device at least to: determine a cell activation delay for each of to-be-activated cells in a first frequency range and a second frequency range, based on parallel cell activation of the terminal device for the first frequency range and the second frequency range; and activate the to-be-activated cell within the cell activation delay.

In a second aspect, there is provided a network device. The network device comprises at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions. The instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the network device at least to: determine, a cell activation delay for each of to-be-activated cells in a first frequency range and a second frequency range based on parallel cell activation of a terminal device for the first frequency range and the second frequency range; and receive, from the terminal device, a valid channel state information (CSI) report within the cell activation delay.

In a third aspect, there is provided a method implemented at a terminal device. The method comprises determining a cell activation delay for each of to-be-activated cells in a first frequency range and a second frequency range, based on parallel cell activation of the terminal device for the first frequency range and the second frequency range; and activating the to-be-activated cell within the cell activation delay.

In a fourth aspect, there is provided a method implemented at a network device. The method comprises determining, a cell activation delay for each of to-be-activated cells in a first frequency range and a second frequency range based on parallel cell activation of a terminal device for the first frequency range and the second frequency range; and receiving, from the terminal device, a valid CSI report within the cell activation delay.

In a fifth aspect, there is provided an apparatus. The apparatus comprises means for determining a cell activation delay for each of to-be-activated cells in a first frequency range and a second frequency range, based on parallel cell activation of the terminal device for the first frequency range and the second frequency range; and means for activating the to-be-activated cell within the cell activation delay.

In a sixth aspect, there is provided an apparatus. The apparatus comprises means for determining, a cell activation delay for each of to-be-activated cells in a first frequency range and a second frequency range based on parallel cell activation of a terminal device for the first frequency range and the second frequency range; and means for receiving, from the terminal device, a valid CSI report within the cell activation delay.

In a seventh aspect, there is provided a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method according to any one of the above third and fourth aspects.

In an eighth aspect, there is provided a computer program comprising instructions, which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the method according to any one of the above third and fourth aspects.

In a ninth aspect, there is provided a terminal device. The terminal device comprises: determining circuitry configured to determine a cell activation delay for each of to-be-activated cells in a first frequency range and a second frequency range, based on parallel cell activation of the terminal device for the first frequency range and the second frequency range; and activating circuitry configured to activate the to-be-activated cell within the cell activation delay.

In a tenth aspect, there is provided a network device. The network device comprises: determining circuitry configured to determine, a cell activation delay for each of to-be-activated cells in a first frequency range and a second frequency range based on parallel cell activation of a terminal device for the first frequency range and the second frequency range; and receiving circuitry configured to receive, from the terminal device, a valid channel state information (CSI) report within the cell activation delay.

It is to be understood that the summary section is not intended to identify key or essential features of embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become easily comprehensible through the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication network in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

FIG. 2 illustrates a signaling chart illustrating a process for multiple cell activation according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates another signaling chart illustrating a process for multiple cell activation according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates another signaling chart illustrating a process for multiple cell activation according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a terminal device according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a network device according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 illustrates a simplified block diagram of an apparatus that is suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 8 illustrates a block diagram of an example computer readable medium in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar element.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It is to be understood that these embodiments are described only for the purpose of illustration and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, without suggesting any limitation as to the scope of the disclosure. The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various manners other than the ones described below.

In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skills in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

References in the present disclosure to “one embodiment, ” “an embodiment, ” “an example embodiment, ” and the like indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but it is not necessary that every embodiment includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.

It shall be understood that although the terms “first” and “second” etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of example embodiments. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

The terminology used herein is for describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a” , “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” , “comprising” , “has” , “having” , “includes” and/or “including” , when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and/or components etc., but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and/or combinations thereof. As used herein, “at least one of the following: <a list of two or more elements>” and “at least one of <a list of two or more elements>” and similar wording, where the list of two or more elements are joined by “and” or “or” , mean at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all the elements.

As used in this application, the term “circuitry” may refer to one or more or all of the following:

(a) hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations in only analog and/or digital circuitry) and

(b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as (as applicable) :

(i) a combination of analog and/or digital hardware circuit (s) with software/firmware and

(ii) any portions of hardware processor (s) with software (including digital signal processor (s) ) , software, and memory (ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions) and

(c) hardware circuit (s) and or processor (s) , such as a microprocessor (s) or a portion of a microprocessor (s) , that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation.

This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and/or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example and if applicable to the particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

As used herein, the term “communication network” refers to a network following any suitable communication standards, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) , LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) , Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) , High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) , Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) and so on. Furthermore, the communications between a terminal device and a network device in the communication network may be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocols, including, but not limited to, the first generation (1G) , the second generation (2G) , 2.5G, 2.75G, the third generation (3G) , the fourth generation (4G) , 4.5G, the future fifth generation (5G) communication protocols, and/or any other protocols either currently known or to be developed in the future. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied in various communication systems. Given the rapid development in communications, there will of course also be future type communication technologies and systems with which the present disclosure may be embodied. It should not be seen as limiting the scope of the present disclosure to only the aforementioned system.

As used herein, the term “network device” and “access network device” refer to a node in a communication network via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services therefrom. The network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP) , for example, a node B (NodeB or NB) , an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB) , a NR NB (also referred to as a gNB) , a Remote Radio Unit (RRU) , a radio header (RH) , a remote radio head (RRH) , a relay, a low power node such as a femto, a pico, and so forth, depending on the applied terminology and technology. The “network device” may further comprise a core network device.

The term “terminal device” refers to any end device that may be capable of wireless communication. By way of example rather than limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, user equipment (UE) , a Subscriber Station (SS) , a Portable Subscriber Station, a Mobile Station (MS) , or an Access Terminal (AT) . The terminal device may include, but not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, a tablet, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA) , portable computers, desktop computer, image capture terminal devices such as digital cameras, gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback appliances, vehicle-mounted wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE) , laptop-mounted equipment (LME) , USB dongles, smart devices, wireless customer-premises equipment (CPE) , an Internet of Things (loT) device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD) , a vehicle, a drone, a medical device and applications (e.g., remote surgery) , an industrial device and applications (e.g., a robot and/or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and/or an automated processing chain contexts) , a consumer electronics device, a device operating on commercial and/or industrial wireless networks, and the like. In the following description, the terms “terminal device” , “communication device” , “terminal” , “user equipment” and “UE” may be used interchangeably.

As stated above, in NR -as in LTE, a cell can be activated or deactivated. The transitions between activated and deactivated status are mainly based on MAC control elements commands from the network e.g. the cell activation/deactivation command. When the UE activates a deactivated cell, it takes time to transition from deactivated to activated status. RAN4 defines the delay requirements within which the UE shall be able to activate a deactivated cell, upon receiving cell activation command in slot n, no later than a time period. In 3GPP TS 38.133, section 8.3.2, it defines that UE shall be able to activate a deactivated cell no later than in slotThe cell is SCell or PSCell. Herein, the SCell is taken as the example, but is not the limitation of the application.

When UE receives SCell activation command to activate multiple SCells, the SCell activation delay for each of the to-be-activated SCells is specified as in 3GPP TS 38.133 section 8.3.7. For example, the activation delay is the total delay of the multiple SCells.

If a PUCCH SCell is among the multiple SCells, the SCell activation delay is defined for activating the PUCCH SCell and the other SCells respectively in 3GPP TS38.133 section 8.3.13. In particular, the UE shall be able to transmit valid CSI report on PUCCH SCell and apply actions related to the SCell activation for the PUCCH SCell being activated no later than in slot n+ T_{activate_total_PUCCH_SCell}, where T_{activate_total_PUCCH_SCell} is and T_{delay_multiple_SCells_PUCCH_SCell} =T_{activation_time_multiple_scells} + max ( (T_{First_available_CSI} + T_{CSI_processing}) , (T1+T2+T3) , 3*T_{target_PL-RS}) + T_{CSI_reporting_after}. For example, the activation delay for PUCCH SCell is also the total of the multiple SCells. However, for multiple SCell activation in the current 38.133 section 8.3.7, it assumes any to-be-activated unknown SCell has active serving cells or known to-be-activated SCells on the same band. If the SCell is unknown in FR2, this means there is always some other SCells on the same band providing the timing info. Hence, existing multiple SCell activation did not consider the scenario where FR2 SCell is unknown and requires cell detection.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a solution for determining the activation delay of each to-be-activated cells for multiple cells activation, with the parallel cell detection of UE.

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of an example communication network 100 in which some embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication network 100 may include terminal device 110 and network devices 120 and 130. The network devices 120 may refer to a BS or AP and comprises one or more cells, such as, primary cell (PCell) 121, Cell 122 on a first frequency range. The network device 130 may refer to another BS or AP and comprises one or more cells, such as unknown PUCCH Cell 123, and Cell 124 on a second frequency range. And please note the PCell 121, Cell 122, PUCCH SCell 123 and SCell 124 also can be on same BS or AP.

It is to be understood that the number of network devices and terminal devices is only for the purpose of illustration without suggesting any limitations. The system 100 may include any suitable number of network devices and terminal devices adapted for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

Communications in the communication system 100 may be implemented according to any proper communication protocol (s) , comprising, but not limited to, cellular communication protocols of the first generation (1G) , the second generation (2G) , the third generation (3G) , the fourth generation (4G) and the fifth generation (5G) and on the like, wireless local network communication protocols such as Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 and the like, and/or any other protocols currently known or to be developed in the future. Moreover, the communication may utilize any proper wireless communication technology, comprising but not limited to: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) , Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) , Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) , Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) , Time Division Duplex (TDD) , Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) , Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple (OFDM) , Discrete Fourier Transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) and/or any other technologies currently known or to be developed in the future.

FIG. 2 illustrates a signaling chart illustrating a process for reporting delay according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the process 200 will be described with reference to FIG. 1. The process 200 may involve the terminal devices 110, the network device 130 as illustrated in FIG. 1. It would be appreciated that although the process 200 has been described in the communication system 100 of FIG. 1, this process may be likewise applied to other communication scenarios where different network devices are jointly deployed to provide respective serving cells.

It is to be understood that the number of network devices and terminal devices is only for the purpose of illustration without suggesting any limitations. The process 200 may include any suitable number of network devices and terminal devices adapted for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 2, the terminal device 110 determines 201 cell activation delay for each of to-be-activated cells. Similarly, the network device 130 determines 202 cell activation delay for each of to-be-activated cells. In addition, the to-be-activated cell are in a first frequency range and a second frequency range. The activation delay is determined based on parallel cell activation of the terminal device 110 for the first frequency range and the second frequency range. Then the terminal device 110 activate 203 the to-be-activated cell within the cell activation delay. Also, the terminal device 110 transmits 204 the valid CSI report 205 to the network device 130 within the cell activation delay. For the solution of present application, the terminal device 110 determines the cell activation delay for each of to-be-activated cells based on parallel cell activation of the terminal device 110 for different frequency ranges.

FIG. 3 illustrates another signaling chart illustrating a process for multiple cell activation according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the process 300 will be described with reference to FIG. 1. The process 300 may involve the terminal devices 110, the PCell 121, Cell 122, unknown PUCCH SCell 123 as illustrated in FIG. 1. It would be appreciated that although the process 300 has been described in the communication system 100 of FIG. 1, this process may be likewise applied to other communication scenarios where different network devices are jointly deployed to provide respective serving cells.

As shown in FIG. 3, the terminal device 110 is in radio resource control (RRC) connected mode 301 with PCell 121. The terminal device 110 receives 304 the message for SCell configuration/addition 303 from PCell 121. For example, the network device configures one of the SCells as PUCCH SCell 123 e.g. in FR2 and adds both the PUCCH SCell 123 and Cell 122 in FR1 into carrier aggregation (CA) operation.

In some embodiments, the parallel cell activation of the terminal device 110 is determined based on at least one condition. For example, the to-be-activated cells are in different frequency ranges. In some embodiments, the first frequency range comprises FR1, or the second frequency range comprises FR2. And cells in FR1 and FR2 are being activated in parallel, i.e. without any interference. The parallel cell activation is applied to not only FR2 unknown PUCCH SCell but also the FR2 unknown non-PUCCH SCell which is being activated with other FR1 SCells in one medium access control (MAC) command.

In some embodiments, the parallel cell activation of the terminal device 110 is determined based on a capability of parallel cell activation based on multiple searchers of the terminal device 110. The searchers are used for radio resource management (RRM) measurement.

In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 has multiple searchers comprising more than one searchers for measurement of the cells in the first frequency range and the second frequency range. For example, the terminal device 110 has more than one searcher for cells except PCell. For example, the terminal device 110 has one searcher for PCell 12 and one searcher for cells in FR1 and one searcher for cells in FR2.

In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 has multiple searchers comprising a searcher dedicated for a PCell, and the terminal device 110 has a capability of switching the searcher dedicated for the PCell for a cell. For example, the terminal device 110 still has one searcher for cells except PCell. But the terminal device 110 is capable of switching the searcher dedicated for PCell for SCells use so that parallel FR1 and FR2 measurement is possible. In some embodiments, this may be possible when SCell activation delay does not exceed a time period, or the PCell searcher can be used for FR1/FR2 SCells no longer than a time period.

In some embodiments, the parallel cell activation of the terminal device 110 is determined based on a capability of supporting measurement gaps per frequency band by the terminal device. For example, there are different measurement gaps for per frequency band. And the terminals device 110 performs the measurement for cell detections in different measurement gaps for the different to-be-activated cells.

In some embodiments, the parallel cell activation of the terminal device 110 is determined based on a capability of separated RF or panels for receiving from the first frequency range and the second frequency range of the to-be-activated cells by the terminal device 110. For example, the terminal device 110 has separated RF or panels. And the RF or panels are for different FRs. So the terminal device 110 performs the cell detections for different FRs by the separated RF or panels. Then the parallel cell activation can be performed by the terminal device 110.

In some embodiments, the parallel cell activation of the terminal device 110 is determined based on a capability of supporting of measurement for configured separate SSB or SMTC for the first frequency range and the second frequency range by the terminal device 110. For example, the terminal device 110 supports and is configured with separate SSB or SMTC for FR1 and FR2 SCells.

In some embodiments, the measurements for the first frequency range and the second frequency range are performed by the terminal device 110 at different time occasions. For example, currently SMTC is configured per cell group i.e. FR1 and FR2 SCells in CA share the same SMTC. But terminal device 110 is able to measure FR1 and FR2 at different time occasions and perform the parallel cell activation.

In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 supports measurement for configured separate SSBs or SMTCs for the first frequency range and the second frequency range, and windows of the separate SSBs or SMTCs are separated beyond a certain time period. For example, the SSB/SMTC windows need to be separated beyond a certain time period to avoid any interference between FR1 and FR2 cell activation.

In some embodiments, all of the capabilities are indicated by the terminal device 110 explicitly or determined by conditions of the capabilities implicitly. For example, if the terminal device 110 has several searchers for cell detection, the terminal device indicate the capability of parallel cell activation is indicated. As shown in FIG. 3, the terminal device 110 transmit 305 the information of the capability 306 to PCell 121. The information indicates the capability of parallel cell detection/activation for FR1 and FR2 SCells. For example, the terminal device 110 indicates its capability of using two cell searchers, i.e., one for FR1 SCell and one for FR2 SCell. Or the terminal device 110 indicates its capability of parallel cell detection for activating FR1 and FR2 SCells.

For another example, if the terminal device 110 supports measurement gaps per frequency band, the network device will determine that the terminal device 110 support parallel cell detection/activation implicitly. In another word, the message of indication can be optional if the terminal device 110 supporting per-FR measurement gaps is assumed capable of parallel per-FR cell detection.

As shown in FIG. 3, the terminal device 110 receives 310 SCell activation command 309 to activate the PUCCH SCell 123 and cell 122 in one MAC command and sends hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledge (ACK) . Both cells are unknown and require cell detection. Based on the UE capability of performing cell search for FR1 and FR2 at the same time, the terminal device 110 can detect SSBs related to each of PUCCH and FR1 SCell (Cell 122) in parallel. The terminal device 110 receives 313 SSB 312 from cell 122, and receives 316 SSB 315 from cell 122. Then the terminal device 110 performs automatic gain control (AGC) 317 and Time/Frame sync 318. At the same time, the terminal device 110 receives 321 SSB 320 from unknown PUCCH SCell 123, and receives 324 SSB 323 from unknown PUCCH SCell 123. Then the terminal device 110 performs automatic gain control (AGC) 325 and Time/Frame sync 326.

Then the terminal device 110 performs 327 layer 1 reference signal received power (L1 RSRP) measurement on PUCCH SCell 123 and cell 122. The terminal device 110 sends 328 L1-RSRP reporting to PCell 121. The terminal device 110 receives 333 the transmission configuration indication (TCI) activation command 332. And the terminal device 110 starts measuring path lose reference signal (PL-RS) based on its capability on the PUCCH SCell 123.

The terminal device 110 receives semi-persistent channel state information-reference signal (SP-CSI-RS) from PUCCH SCell 123. In another example, the terminal device 110 receives the periodic CSI-RS from PUCCH SCell 123. As shown in FIG. 3, the terminal device 110 receives 337 the SP-CSI-RS activation command. And the terminal device 110 receives 340 the CSI-RS 339, and receives 343 the CSI-RS 342. The terminal device 110 performs 344 random access procedure to acquire UL timing if there is no valid timing advance (TA) . And the terminal device 110 measures and sends 347 CSI reporting 348 using the uplink transition (UL Tx) power determined from PL-RS.

The SCell activation delay of PUCCH SCell with Multiple SCells can benefit from separate cell searchers for to-be-activated cells or parallel cell detection/activation for FR1 and FR2 SCells. With the capability of parallel cell detection/activation of terminal device 110, cell search/detection for FR1 and FR2 SCells, if needed, can be performed in parallel. Accordingly, the activation time for multiple SCell are determined for FR1 SCell, FR2 SCell separately.

In some embodiments, the cell activation delay for the unknown PUCCH SCell is determined by prioritizing activation of the unknown PUCCH SCell over the at least one other cell in the same frequency band or over the at least one other cell in a secondary PUCCH group.

As shown in FIG. 3, the terminal device 110 performs the FR1 and FR2 cell decoction at the same time. In some embodiments, the cell activation delay for the unknown PUCCH SCell is not impacted/delayed by the activation of the at least one other cell. For example, if there are other cells in the same FR of PUCCH SCell, the activation of other cells will not impact or delay the activation of PUCCH SCell. In another example, if the other cells and PUCCH SCell are in a secondary PUCCH group, the activation of other cells will not impact or delay the activation of PUCCH SCell.

In some embodiments, in case of the unknown PUCCH SCell is determined by prioritizing activation of the unknown PUCCH SCell over the at least one other cell in the same frequency band or over the at least one other cell in a secondary PUCCH group, if periodic CSI-RS is used for CSI reporting, the Unknown PUCCH SCell activation delay is calculated as: 6ms + T_{FirstSSB_MAX_multiple_scells} + T_{SMTC_MAX_multiple_scells} +8*T_rs + T_{L1-RSRP, measure} + T_{L1-RSRP, report} ₊ T_HARQ + max (T_{uncertainty_MAC_multiple_scells} + T_FineTiming + 2ms, T_{uncertainty_SP_multiple_scells}) .

And if periodic CSI-RS is used for CSI reporting, the Unknown PUCCH SCell activation delay is calculated as: 3ms + T_{FirstSSB_MAX_multiple_scells} + T_{SMTC_MAX_multiple_scells} +8*T_rs+ T_{L1-RSRP, measure} + T_{L1-RSRP, report} + max (T_HARQ + T_{uncertainty_MAC_multiple_scells} + 5ms +T_FineTiming, T_{uncertainty_RRC_multiple_scells} + T_{RRC_delay}) .

T_{FirstSSB_MAX_multiple_scells} is the time to the end of the first complete SSB burst. T_{SMTC_MAX_multiple_scells} is the longest SMTC periodicity. T_rs is the SMTC periodicity of the SCell being activated if the UE has been provided with an SMTC configuration for the SCell in SCell addition message, otherwise T_rs is the SMTC configured in the measObjectNR having the same SSB frequency and subcarrier spacing. T_{L1-RSRP, measure} is L1-RSRP measurement delay. T_{L1-RSRP, report} is delay of acquiring CSI reporting resources.

T_HARQ (in ms) is the timing between DL data transmission and acknowledgement. T_{uncertainty_MAC_multiple_scells} is the time period between reception of the activation command for PDCCH TCI, PDSCH TCI (when applicable) and SCell activation command of this unknown SCell. T_FineTiming is the time period between UE finish processing the last activation command for PDCCH TCI, PDSCH TCI (when applicable) and the timing of first complete available SSB corresponding to the TCI state. T_{uncertainty_RRC_multiple_scells} is the time period between reception of the RRC configuration message for TCI of periodic CSI-RS for CQI reporting (when applicable) and SCell activation command of this unknown SCell. T_{RRC_delay} is the RRC procedure delay.

FIG. 4 illustrates another signaling chart illustrating a process for multiple cell activation according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the process 400 will be described with reference to FIG. 1. The process 400 may involve the terminal devices 110, the PCell 121, cell 122, unknown PUCCH SCell 123, and cell 124 as illustrated in FIG. 1. It would be appreciated that although the process 400 has been described in the communication system 100 of FIG. 1, this process may be likewise applied to other communication scenarios where different network devices are jointly deployed to provide respective serving cells.

As shown in FIG. 4, the terminal device 110 is in radio resource control (RRC) connected mode 401with PCell 121. The terminal device 110 receives 404 the message for SCell configuration/addition 403 from PCell 121. For example, the network device configures one of the SCells as PUCCH SCell 123 e.g. in FR2 and adds both the PUCCH SCell 123 and Cell 122 in FR1, and cell 124 in another FR2 band into carrier aggregation (CA) operation.

In some embodiments, the parallel cell activation of the terminal device 110 is determined based on at least one condition as stated above. And cells in FR1 and FR2 are being activated in parallel, i.e. without any interference. And as shown in FIG. 4, the terminal device 110 transmit 405 the information of the capability 406 to PCell 121. The information indicates the capability of parallel cell detection/activation for FR1 and FR2 SCells. For example, the terminal device 110 indicates its capability of using two cell searchers, i.e., one for FR1 SCell and one for FR2 SCell. Or the terminal device 110 indicates its capability of parallel cell detection for activating FR1 and FR2 SCells. And as mentioned above, the capability of parallel cell activation is indicated by conditions of the capabilities implicitly.

As shown in FIG. 4, the terminal device 110 receives 409 SCell activation command to activate the PUCCH SCell 123 and cell 122 and cell 124 in one MAC command and sends hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledge (ACK) . All of the to-be-activated cells are unknown and require cell detection. Based on the UE capability of performing cell search for FR1 and FR2 at the same time, the terminal device 110 can detect SSBs related to each of PUCCH and FR1 SCell (Cell 122) in parallel. The terminal device 110 receives 413 SSB 412 from cell 122, and receives 416 SSB 415 from cell 122. Then the terminal device 110 performs AGC 417 and T/F sync 418. At the same time, the terminal device 110 receives 421 SSB 420 from unknown PUCCH SCell 122, and receives 424 SSB 423 from unknown PUCCH SCell 122. Then the terminal device 110 performs AGC 425 and T/F sync 426.

As shown in FIG. 4, cell detection of cell 124 can be performed after PUCCH cell detection. In some embodiments, since terminal device 110 has only one searcher dedicated to FR2, the rest FR2 SCells, such as cell 124, which are on another band other than PUCCH should wait until cell search for PUCCH is finished Or vice versa. PUCCH will wait until cell search on the other FR2 band is completed. The terminal device 110 receives 429 SSB 428 from cell 124, and receives 432 SSB 431 from cell 124. Then the terminal device 110 performs AGC 433 and T/F sync 434.

Then the terminal device 110 performs 435 L1 RSRP measurement on PUCCH SCell 123 and cell 122. The terminal device 110 sends 436 L1-RSRP reporting to PCell 121. The terminal device 110 receives 441 the TCI activation command 440. And the terminal device 110 starts measuring PL-RS based on its capability on the PUCCH SCell 123.

The terminal device 110 receives SP-CSI-RS from PUCCH SCell 123. In another example, the terminal device 110 receives the periodic CSI-RS from PUCCH SCell 123. As shown in FIG. 4, the terminal device 110 receives 444 the SP-CSI-RS activation command. And the terminal device 110 receives 447 the CSI-RS 446, and receives 450 the CSI-RS 449. The terminal device 110 performs 451 random access procedure to acquire UL timing if there is no valid TA. And the terminal device 110 measures and sends 454 CSI reporting 455 using the UL Tx power determined from PL-RS.

The SCell activation delay of PUCCH SCell with Multiple SCells can benefit from separate cell searchers for to-be-activated cells or parallel cell detection/activation for FR1 and FR2 SCells. With the capability of parallel cell detection/activation of terminal device 110, cell search/detection for FR1 and FR2 SCells, if needed, can be performed in parallel. Accordingly, the activation time for multiple SCell are determined for FR1 SCell, FR2 SCell separately. In some embodiments, the cell activation delay for the unknown PUCCH SCell is determined by a number of unknown cells requiring cell detection in the to-be-activated cells.

As shown in FIG. 4, the terminal device 110 performs the FR1 cell 122 and FR2 PUCCH SCell 123 decoction at the same time. And after that, the terminal device 110 performs FR2 cell 124 detection. Since the PUCCH SCell 123 and cell 124 are in same FR and the activation of PUCCH SCell is not prioritized over the cell 124, the delay of the PUCCH SCell activation is the total value of the delay of all unknown cells in the to-be-activated cells (PUCCH SCell 123 and cell 124) in FR2.

In some embodiments, in case of the unknown PUCCH SCell is determined by a number of unknown cells requiring cell detection in the to-be-activated cells, if periodic CSI-RS is used for CSI reporting, the Unknown PUCCH SCell activation delay is calculated as: 6ms + T_{FirstSSB_MAX_multiple_scells} + T_{SMTC_MAX_multiple_scells} +N₂*8*T_rs + T_L1-RSRP, _measure + T_L1- _RSRP, _report ₊ T_HARQ + max (T_{uncertainty_MAC_multiple_scells} + T_FineTiming + 2ms, T_{uncertainty_SP_multiple_scells}) .

And if periodic CSI-RS is used for CSI reporting, the Unknown PUCCH SCell activation delay is calculated as: 3ms + T_{FirstSSB_MAX_multiple_scells} + T_{SMTC_MAX_multiple_scells} +N₂*8*T_rs+ T_{L1-RSRP, measure} + T_{L1-RSRP, report} + max (T_HARQ + T_{uncertainty_MAC_multiple_scells} + 5ms +T_FineTiming, T_{uncertainty_RRC_multiple_scells} + T_{RRC_delay}) .

T_{FirstSSB_MAX_multiple_scells} is the time to the end of the first complete SSB burst. T_{SMTC_MAX_multiple_scells} is the longest SMTC periodicity. N₂ is the number of different FR2 bands. T_rs is the SMTC periodicity of the SCell being activated if the UE has been provided with an SMTC configuration for the SCell in SCell addition message, otherwise T_rs is the SMTC configured in the measObjectNR having the same SSB frequency and subcarrier spacing. T_{L1-RSRP, measure} is L1-RSRP measurement delay. T_{L1-RSRP, report} is delay of acquiring CSI reporting resources.

In some embodiments, the to-be-activated cells comprise cells in the first frequency range, and the cell activation delay for the cells in the first frequency range is determined by a number of the cells in the first frequency range. For example, there are multiple unknown cells in FR1 and need to be activated. The terminal device 110 only has one searcher for FR1, and then the detection for these cells cannot be done in parallel. And the activation delay for these cells is based on the number of these cells.

In some embodiments, the to-be-activated cells comprise an unknown PUCCH SCell in a secondary physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) group and at least one other cell in the secondary group. In these embodiments, the cell activation delay for the unknown PUCCH SCell is a total value of (i) the cell activation delay for the at least one other cell determined by a number of the at least one other cell; and (ii) the cell activation delay for the unknown PUCCH SCell. For example, the PUCCH Cell 123 and cell 124 are in the same secondary PUCCH group, the activation of PUCCH SCell is not prioritized over the cell 124, and the CSI report for the cell 124 needs to be transmitted on PUCCH SCell 123. Hence the cell activation delay is determined based on the number of SCells requiring cell detection, but also the PUCCH SCell activation delay.

FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of a method 500 implemented at a terminal device 110 according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 500 will be described from the perspective of the access terminal device 110 with reference to FIG. 1.

At block 510, the terminal device 110 determines a cell activation delay for each of to-be-activated cells in a first frequency range and a second frequency range, based on parallel cell activation of the terminal device for the first frequency range and the second frequency range. At block 520, the terminal device 110 activates the to-be-activated cell within the cell activation delay.

In some embodiments, the parallel cell activation is determined based on at least one of the following: a capability of parallel cell activation based on multiple searchers of the terminal device; a capability of supporting measurement gaps per frequency band by the terminal device; a capability of separated radio frequency (RF) or panels for receiving from the first frequency range and the second frequency range of the to-be-activated cells by the terminal device; and a capability of supporting of measurement for configured separate synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel blocks (SSB) or SSB measurement timing configurations (SMTC) for the first frequency range and the second frequency range by the terminal device.

In some embodiments, all of the capabilities are indicated by the terminal device 110 explicitly or determined by conditions of the capabilities implicitly.

In some embodiments, the to-be-activated cells comprise an unknown physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) secondary cell (SCell) and at least one other cell in the same frequency range.

In some embodiments, the cell activation delay for the unknown PUCCH SCell is not impacted/delayed by the activation of the at least one other cell.

In some embodiments, the cell activation delay for the unknown PUCCH SCell is determined by a number of unknown cells requiring cell detection in the to-be-activated cells.

In some embodiments, the to-be-activated cells comprise cells in the first frequency range, and the cell activation delay for the cells in the first frequency range is determined by a number of the cells in the first frequency range.

In some embodiments, the to-be-activated cells comprise an unknown PUCCH SCell in a secondary physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) group and at least one other cell in the secondary group, and the cell activation delay for the unknown PUCCH SCell is a total value of the following: the cell activation delay for the at least one other cell determined by a number of the at least one other cell; and the cell activation delay for the unknown PUCCH SCell.

In some embodiments, the terminal device has multiple searchers comprising more than one searchers for measurement of the cells in the first frequency range and the second frequency range.

In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 has multiple searchers comprising a searcher dedicated for a primary cell (PCell) , and the terminal device has a capability of switching the searcher dedicated for the PCell for a cell.

In some embodiments, measurements for the first frequency range and the second frequency range are performed by the terminal device at different time occasions.

In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 supports measurement for configured separate SSBs or SMTCs for the first frequency range and the second frequency range, and windows of the separate SSBs or SMTCs are separated beyond a certain time period. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 transmits, to a network device, a valid channel state information (CSI) report within the cell activation delay.

In some embodiments, at least one of the following: the first frequency range comprises Frequency Range 1 (FR1) ; or the second frequency range comprises Frequency Range 2 (FR2) .

FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of an example method 600 implemented at a network device 120 or 130 in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 600 will be described from the perspective of the network device 120 or 130 with reference to FIG. 1.

At block 610, the network device 120 or 130 determines, a cell activation delay for each of to-be-activated cells in a first frequency range and a second frequency range based on parallel cell activation of a terminal device for the first frequency range and the second frequency range. At block 620, the network device 120 or 130 receives, from the terminal device, a valid channel state information (CSI) report within the cell activation delay.

In some embodiments, parallel cell activation is determined based on at least one of the following: a capability of parallel cell activation based on multiple searchers of the terminal device; a capability of supporting measurement gaps per frequency band by the terminal device; a capability of separated radio frequency (RF) or panels for receiving from the first frequency range and the second frequency range of the to-be-activated cells by the terminal device; and a capability of supporting of measurement for configured separate synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel blocks (SSB) or SSB measurement timing configurations (SMTC) for the first frequency range and the second frequency range by the terminal device.

In some embodiments, all of the capabilities are indicated by the terminal device explicitly or determined by conditions of the capabilities implicitly.

In some embodiments, the SCell activation delay for the unknown PUCCH SCell is determined by a number of unknown cells in the to-be-activated cells.

In some embodiments, the to-be-activated cells comprise cells in the first frequency range, and the cell activation delay for the cells in the first frequency range is determined by a number of the cells.

In some embodiments, the to-be-activated cells comprise an unknown physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) SCell in a secondary PUCCH group and at least one other cell in the secondary group, and the cell activation delay for the unknown PUCCH SCell is a total value of the following: the cell activation delay for the at least one other cell determined by a number of the at least one other cell; and the cell activation delay for the unknown PUCCH SCell.

In some embodiments, the windows of the separate SSB or SMTC are separated beyond a certain time period.

In some embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing any of the method 500 (for example, the terminal device 110) may comprise means for performing the respective steps of the method 500. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module.

In some embodiments, the apparatus comprises means for determining a cell activation delay for each of to-be-activated cells in a first frequency range and a second frequency range, based on parallel cell activation of a terminal device for the first frequency range and the second frequency range; and means for activating the to-be-activated cell within the cell activation delay.

In some embodiments, the cell activation delay for the unknown PUCCH SCell is determined by a number of unknown cells requiring cell detection in the to-be-activated cells. In some embodiments, the to-be-activated cells comprise cells in the first frequency range, and the cell activation delay for the cells in the first frequency range is determined by a number of the cells in the first frequency range.

In some embodiments, the terminal device has multiple searchers comprising a searcher dedicated for a primary cell (PCell) , and the terminal device has a capability of switching the searcher dedicated for the PCell for a cell.

In some embodiments, the terminal device supports measurement for configured separate SSBs or SMTCs for the first frequency range and the second frequency range, and windows of the separate SSBs or SMTCs are separated beyond a certain time period.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for transmitting, to a network device, a valid channel state information (CSI) report within the cell activation delay.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for performing other steps in some embodiments of the method 500. In some embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the performance of the apparatus.

In some embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing any of the method 600 (for example, the network devices 120 and 130) may comprise means for performing the respective steps of the method 600. The means may be implement in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module.

In some embodiments, the apparatus comprises mean for determining, a cell activation delay for each of to-be-activated cells in a first frequency range and a second frequency range based on parallel cell activation of a terminal device for the first frequency range and the second frequency range; and means for receive, from the terminal device, a valid channel state information (CSI) report within the cell activation delay.

In some embodiments, windows of the separate SSB or SMTC are separated beyond a certain time period.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for performing other steps in some embodiments of the method 600. In some embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the performance of the apparatus.

FIG. 7 is a simplified block diagram of a device 700 that is suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 700 may be provided to implement the communication device, for example the terminal device 110, the network devices 120 and 130 as shown in FIG. 1. As shown, the device 700 includes one or more processors 710, one or more memories 740 coupled to the processor 710, and one or more communication modules 740 coupled to the processor 710.

The communication module 740 is for bidirectional communications. The communication module 740 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication. The communication interface may represent any interface that is necessary for communication with other network elements.

The processor 710 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network and may include one or more of the following: general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on multicore processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. The device 800 may have multiple processors, such as an application specific integrated circuit chip that is slaved in time to a clock which synchronizes the main processor.

The memory 720 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of the non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a Read Only Memory (ROM) 724, an electrically programmable read only memory (EPROM) , a flash memory, a hard disk, a compact disc (CD) , a digital video disk (DVD) , and other magnetic storage and/or optical storage. Examples of the volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a random access memory (RAM) 722 and other volatile memories that will not last in the power-down duration.

A computer program 730 includes computer executable instructions that are executed by the associated processor 710. The program 730 may be stored in the ROM 720. The processor 710 may perform any suitable actions and processing by loading the program 730 into the RAM 722.

The embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by means of the program 730 so that the device 700 may perform any process of the disclosure as discussed with reference to FIGS. 2 to 6. The embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

In some embodiments, the program 730 may be tangibly contained in a computer readable medium which may be included in the device 700 (such as in the memory 720) or other storage devices that are accessible by the device 700. The device 700 may load the program 730 from the computer readable medium to the RAM 722 for execution. The computer readable medium may include any types of tangible non-volatile storage, such as ROM, EPROM, a flash memory, a hard disk, CD, DVD, and the like. FIG. 8 shows an example of the computer readable medium 800 in form of CD or DVD. The computer readable medium has the program 730 stored thereon.

Generally, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device. While various aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other pictorial representations, it is to be understood that the block, apparatus, system, technique or method described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, being executed in a device on a target real or virtual processor, to carry out the methods 500 and 600 as described above with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, or the like that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as desired in various embodiments. Machine-executable instructions for program modules may be executed within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

Program code for carrying out methods of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes may be provided to a processor or controller of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that the program codes, when executed by the processor or controller, cause the functions/operations specified in the flowcharts and/or block diagrams to be implemented. The program code may execute entirely on a machine, partly on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the machine and partly on a remote machine or entirely on the remote machine or server.

In the context of the present disclosure, the computer program codes or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable the device, apparatus or processor to perform various processes and operations as described above. Examples of the carrier include a signal, computer readable medium, and the like.

The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readable medium may include but not limited to an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of the computer readable storage medium would include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM) , a read-only memory (ROM) , an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory) , an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) , an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. The term “non-transitory, ” as used herein, is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal) as opposed to a limitation on data storage persistency (e.g., RAM vs. ROM) .

Further, while operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Likewise, while several specific implementation details are contained in the above discussions, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable sub-combination.

Although the present disclosure has been described in languages specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the present disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

A terminal device comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the terminal device at least to:

determine a cell activation delay for each of to-be-activated cells in a first frequency range and a second frequency range, based on parallel cell activation of the terminal device for the first frequency range and the second frequency range; and

activate the to-be-activated cell within the cell activation delay.
The terminal device of claim 1, wherein the parallel cell activation is determined based on at least one of the following:

a capability of parallel cell activation based on multiple searchers of the terminal device;

a capability of supporting measurement gaps per frequency band by the terminal device;

a capability of separated radio frequency (RF) or panels for receiving from the first frequency range and the second frequency range of the to-be-activated cells by the terminal device; and

a capability of supporting of measurement for configured separate synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel blocks (SSB) or SSB measurement timing configurations (SMTC) for the first frequency range and the second frequency range by the terminal device.
The terminal device of claim 2, wherein all of the capabilities are indicated by the terminal device explicitly or determined by conditions of the capabilities implicitly.
The terminal device of claims 1 or 2, wherein the to-be-activated cells comprise an unknown physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) secondary cell (SCell) and at least one other cell in the same frequency range.
The terminal device of claim 4, wherein the cell activation delay for the unknown PUCCH SCell is determined by prioritizing activation of the unknown PUCCH SCell over the at least one other cell in the same frequency band or over the at least one other cell in a secondary PUCCH group.
The terminal device of claim 5, wherein the cell activation delay for the unknown PUCCH SCell is not impacted/delayed by the activation of the at least one other cell.
The terminal device of claim 4, wherein the cell activation delay for the unknown PUCCH SCell is determined by a number of unknown cells requiring cell detection in the to-be-activated cells.
The terminal device of claim 1 or 2, wherein the to-be-activated cells comprise cells in the first frequency range, and the cell activation delay for the cells in the first frequency range is determined by a number of the cells in the first frequency range.
The terminal device of claim 1 or 2, wherein the to-be-activated cells comprise an unknown PUCCH SCell in a secondary physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) group and at least one other cell in the secondary group, and the cell activation delay for the unknown PUCCH SCell is a total value of the following:

the cell activation delay for the at least one other cell determined by a number of the at least one other cell; and

the cell activation delay for the unknown PUCCH SCell.
The terminal device of any of claims 1-9, wherein the terminal device has multiple searchers comprising more than one searchers for measurement of the cells in the first frequency range and the second frequency range.
The terminal device of any of claims 1-9, wherein the terminal device has multiple searchers comprising a searcher dedicated for a primary cell (PCell) , and the terminal device has a capability of switching the searcher dedicated for the PCell for a cell.
The terminal device of any of claims 1-11, wherein measurements for the first frequency range and the second frequency range are performed by the terminal device at different time occasions.
The terminal device of any of claims 1-12, wherein the terminal device supports measurement for configured separate SSBs or SMTCs for the first frequency range and the second frequency range, and windows of the separate SSBs or SMTCs are separated beyond a certain time period.
The terminal device of any of claims 1-13, wherein the terminal device is further caused to:

transmit, to a network device, a valid channel state information (CSI) report within the cell activation delay.
The terminal device of any of claims 1-14, wherein at least one of the following:

the first frequency range comprises Frequency Range 1 (FR1) ; or

the second frequency range comprises Frequency Range 2 (FR2) .
A network device comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the network device at least to:

determine, a cell activation delay for each of to-be-activated cells in a first frequency range and a second frequency range based on parallel cell activation of a terminal device for the first frequency range and the second frequency range; and

receive, from the terminal device, a valid channel state information (CSI) report within the cell activation delay.
The network device of claim 14, wherein the parallel cell activation is determined based on at least one of the following:

a capability of parallel cell activation based on multiple searchers of the terminal device;

a capability of supporting measurement gaps per frequency band by the terminal device;

a capability of separated radio frequency (RF) or panels for receiving from the first frequency range and the second frequency range of the to-be-activated cells by the terminal device; and

a capability of supporting of measurement for configured separate synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel blocks (SSB) or SSB measurement timing configurations (SMTC) for the first frequency range and the second frequency range by the terminal device.
The terminal device of claim 3, wherein all of the capabilities are indicated by the terminal device explicitly or determined by conditions of the capabilities implicitly.
The network device of any of claims 16 -18, wherein the to-be-activated cells comprise an unknown physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) secondary cell (SCell) and at least one other cell in the same frequency range.
The network device of claim 19, wherein the cell activation delay for the unknown PUCCH SCell is determined by prioritizing activation of the unknown PUCCH SCell over the at least one other cell in the same frequency band or over the at least one other cell in a secondary PUCCH group.
The network device of claim 20, wherein the cell activation delay for the unknown PUCCH SCell is not impacted/delayed by the activation of the at least one other cell.
The network device of claim 19, wherein the SCell activation delay for the unknown PUCCH SCell is determined by a number of unknown cells in the to-be-activated cells.
The network device of claim 16 or 17, wherein the to-be-activated cells comprise cells in the first frequency range, and the cell activation delay for the cells in the first frequency range is determined by a number of the cells.
The network device of claim 16 or 17, wherein the to-be-activated cells comprise an unknown physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) SCell in a secondary PUCCH group and at least one other cell in the secondary group, and the cell activation delay for the unknown PUCCH SCell is a total value of the following:

the cell activation delay for the at least one other cell determined by a number of the at least one other cell; and

the cell activation delay for the unknown PUCCH SCell.
The network device of claim 16, wherein windows of the separate SSB or SMTC are separated beyond a certain time period.
The network device of any of claims 16-25, wherein at least one of the following:

the first frequency range comprises Frequency Range 1 (FR1) ; or

the second frequency range comprises Frequency Range 2 (FR2) .
A method comprising:

determining, a cell activation delay for each of to-be-activated cells in a first frequency range and a second frequency range, based on a capability of parallel cell activation of the terminal device for the first frequency range and the second frequency range; and

activating, the to-be-activated cells within the cell activation delay.
A method comprising:

determining, a cell activation delay for each of to-be-activated cells in a first frequency range and a second frequency range based on a capability of parallel cell activation of a terminal device for the first frequency range and the second frequency range; and

receiving, from the terminal device, a valid channel state information (CSI) report within the cell activation delay.
An apparatus comprising:

means for determining, a cell activation delay for each of to-be-activated cell in a first frequency range and a second frequency range, based on a capability of parallel cell activation of the terminal device for the first frequency range and the second frequency range; and

means for activating, the to-be-activated cells within the cell activation delay.
An apparatus comprising:

means for determining, a cell activation delay for to-be-activated cells in a first frequency range and a second frequency range based on a capability of parallel cell activation of a terminal device for the first frequency range and the second frequency range; and

means for receiving, from the terminal device, a valid channel state information (CSI) report within the cell activation delay.
A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions that, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the method of any of claims 27 and 28.