Related Applications

This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application serial number 63/429,793, filed December 2, 2022, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a cellular communications system and, more specifically, User Equipment (UE) capability reporting in a cellular communications system.

Background

Some features specified in 3 ^rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) New Radio (NR) (and Long Term Evolution (LTE)) are optional for the User Equipment (UE) to support. To allow the NR base station (gNB) to know which features the gNB can configure for the UE, the UE indicates the capabilities of the UE. The UE capabilities are sent by the UE upon request from the gNB. More specifically, the gNB sends a UE capability enquiry message to the UE, and the UE responds with the UE capability message.

First, note that a UE may support operation of NR only on some frequency bands. Those frequency bands are indicated in a field named supportedBandList. Further, the UE may be able to operate using a combination of those bands at the same time, e.g., using the Carrier Aggregation (CA) feature. For this purpose, the UE can indicate the so-called band combinations that the UE supports. The band combinations are signaled as a list where each entry is a band combination. A band combination indicates a list of bands. For example, a UE may support bands A, B, and C. but the UE cannot operate in any combinations of these bands. It may for example only support the following band combinations:

• Band combination 1 : Band A + Band B

• Band combination 2: Band A + Band C

This example UE can therefore be configured with Bands A and B together or Bands A and C together. However, this UE cannot operate in Bands B and C at the same time, nor in Bands A, B, and C at the same time.

Whether the UE supports a certain feature may depend on the band combination with which the UE is currently configured. For example, the example UE above may support a feature X when operating using the band combination Band A and Band B, but not when operating in the combination of Band A and Band C. The UE would therefore indicate that it supports feature X in band combination 1, but not in band combination 2. Note that not all features are possible to indicate support for on a band combination level, some features are indicated per UE, per band, per band per band combination, etc.

The band combination signaling may be large. Therefore, 3GPP added the possibility for the network to indicate with a filter (i.e., a band combination filter) the band combinations for which the UE shall report UE capabilities. For example, a gNB which supports band A and band B but not band C would not be interested in receiving a band combination of band A and band C since the gNB does not support band C.

The filtering functionality works as follows. The gNB indicates, in the UE capability enquiry message via the filter, the bands in which the gNB is interested. The example gNB above would indicate band A and band B. When the UE receives the UE capability enquiry message, the gNB would include only the band combinations with the bands in the gNB-provided filter. The example UE above would, if the gNB sends the filter with band A and band B, reply only with Band combination 1 (Band A + Band B). Band combination 2 (Band A + Band C) would be omitted since the gNB band C was not part of the filter. This filtering approach saves UE capability signaling size, but also reduces processing in the gNB since the gNB would not need to consider unusable band combinations when deciding which bands to configure for the UE.

The filter is the field “frequencyBandListFilter” and is shown in the following excerpt from the NR Radio Resource Control (RRC) specification (i.e., 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.331 V17.2.0):

***** START EXCERPT FROM 3GPP TS 38.331 *****

- UE-CapabilityRequestFilterNR

The IE UE-CapabilityRequestFilterNR is used to request filtered UE capabilities.

UE-CapabilityRequestFilterNR information element

- ASN1 START

- TAG-UE-CAPABILITYREQUESTFILTERNR-START

UE-CapabilityRequestFilterNR : := SEQUENCE { frequencyBandListFilter FreqBandList OPTIONAL, - Need N nonCriticalExtension UE-CapabilityRequestFilterNR-vl 540

OPTIONAL

UE-CapabilityRequestFilterNR-vl540 ::= SEQUENCE { srs-SwitchingTimeRequest ENUMERATED {true} OPTIONAL, - Need

N nonCriticalExtension UE-CapabilityRequestFilterNR-vl710

OPTIONAL

}

UE-CapabilityRequestFilterNR-v 1710 ::= SEQUENCE { sidelinkRequest-rl7 ENUMERATED {true} OPTIONAL, — Need N nonCriticalExtension SEQUENCE {} OPTIONAL

- TAG-UE-CAPABILITYREQUESTFILTERNR-STOP

- ASN1STOP

***** END EXCERPT FROM 3GPP TS 38.331 *****

In regard to capabilities during mobility, during mobility (either a handover or that the UE has entered IDLE or INACTIVE mode and moves to another cell (under another gNB)), a later gNB that the UE connects to would also need the UE’s capabilities in order to serve the UE. For this purpose, it is possible that that later gNB receives the UE’s capabilities from a previous gNB, rather than having to request the UE to send the capabilities again. The capabilities can be sent from an earlier gNB to a later gNB over a gNB-to-gNB interface (e.g., Xn in NR). When a gNB receives the capabilities from the UE, that gNB will send the UE’s capabilities to a core network node. This then allows for the later gNB to fetch the capabilities which has been uploaded to the core network by an earlier gNB.

Different gNBs in the system may support different bands. It may be so that the earlier gNB supports only band A and band B, while a later gNB supports band A and band B and band C. As explained above, the UE’s reported band combinations can be filtered by the gNB when the gNB requests them. This can result in that the earlier gNB only requested band combinations for band A and band B, but not band C. The later gNB would therefore not have all capabilities that are of interest to the later gNB.

To allow the later gNB to know whether the UE capabilities it has received for the UE contain all band combinations that the later gNB is interested in, a field was introduced in the UE capability message which indicates which filter was used by the UE when the UE constructed the UE’s capabilities. The applied filter is indicated in the field “appliedFreqBandListFilter”, which is shown in the following excerpt from the NR RRC specification and will sometimes be referred to as the mirrored filter.

***** START EXCERPT FROM 3GPP TS 38.331 *****

RF -Parameters ::= SEQUENCE { supportedB andLi stNR SEQUENCE (SIZE (L.maxBands)) OF BandNR, supportedBandCombinationList BandCombinationList OPTIONAL, appliedFreqBandListFilter FreqBandList OPTIONAL,

<Omitted some text>

]]

***** END EXCERPT FROM 3GPP TS 38.331 *****

With this field, the later gNB can know whether all the bands that the later gNB is interested in has been considered by the UE when the UE created the capabilities that the later gNB has acquired (acquired either directly from an old gNB or via the core network). If the later gNB supports other bands which were not considered by the UE when the UE constructed the indicated UE capabilities, the later gNB can re-acquire the UE’s capabilities but in this case ensure to also include those other bands that were missing.

Summary

Systems and methods for reporting and handling of User Equipment (UE) capabilities are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method performed by a UE comprises receiving, from a network node, a UE capability enquiry message comprising a first filter that indicates a set of frequency bands for which the network node requests UE supported band combinations. The method further comprises sending, to the network node, a UE capability message in response to the UE capability enquiry message, the UE capability message comprising a second filter that indicates a second set of frequency bands wherein the second filter is not based on the first filter. In this manner, the UE may create, define, or generate the UE capability message before receiving the UE capability enquiry message, which in turn puts less strict processing requirements on the UE.

In one embodiment, the second filter is not a mirror of the first filter.

In one embodiment, the second set of frequency bands indicated by the second filter is a set of all frequency bands supported by the UE.

In one embodiment, the second set of frequency bands indicated by the second filter is a set of all frequency bands supported by the UE within a certain radio access technology.

In one embodiment, the second set of frequency bands indicated by the second filter is a set of all New Radio (NR) frequency bands supported by the UE.

In one embodiment, the second filter is predefined.

In one embodiment, the method further comprises, prior to receiving the UE capability enquiry message from the network node, generating the UE capability message comprising the second filter.

Corresponding embodiments of a UE are also disclosed. In one embodiment, a UE is adapted to receive, from a network node, a UE capability enquiry message comprising a first filter that indicates a set of frequency bands for which the network node requests UE supported band combinations. The UE is further adapted to send, to the network node, a UE capability message in response to the UE capability enquiry message, the UE capability message comprising a second filter that indicates a second set of frequency bands wherein the second filter is not based on the first filter.

In another embodiment, a UE comprises a communication interface comprising a transmitter and a receiver, and processing circuitry associated with the communication interface. The processing circuitry is configured to cause the UE to receive, from a network node, a UE capability enquiry message comprising a first filter that indicates a set of frequency bands for which the network node requests UE supported band combinations. The processing circuitry is further configured to cause the UE to send, to the network node, a UE capability message in response to the UE capability enquiry message, the UE capability message comprising a second filter that indicates a second set of frequency bands wherein the second filter is not based on the first filter.

In one embodiment, the second filter is not a mirror of the first filter.

In one embodiment, the second set of frequency bands indicated by the second filter is a set of all frequency bands supported by the UE.

In one embodiment, the second set of frequency bands indicated by the second filter is a set of all frequency bands supported by the UE within a certain radio access technology.

In one embodiment, the second set of frequency bands indicated by the second filter is a set of all NR frequency bands supported by the UE.

In one embodiment, the second filter is predefined.

In one embodiment, the processing circuitry is further configured to cause the UE to, prior to receiving the UE capability enquiry message from the network node, generate the UE capability message comprising the second filter.

Embodiments of a method performed by a network node are also disclosed. In one embodiment, a method performed by a network node comprises obtaining UE capability information of a UE and determining whether to re-enquire UE capability information from the UE based on whether the network node desires UE capabilities of the UE for one or more frequency bands that are: (a) supported by the UE as indicated by the UE capability information of the UE and supported by the network node and (b) are not part of the UE capability information of the UE. The method further comprises operating in accordance with a result of the determining.

In one embodiment, the UE capability information comprises a field defined to indicate a frequency band filter applied by the UE to determine a list of frequency band combinations supported by the UE comprised in the UE capability information, where the frequency band filter indicated by the field is instead a filter that is not based on a frequency band filter indicated in a UE capability enquiry message received by the UE and in response to which the UE sent the UE capability information to another network node.

In one embodiment, the filter indicated by the field indicates all allowed frequency bands of the UE. In one embodiment, determining whether to re-enquire UE capability information of the UE comprises determining that the network node is to re-enquire UE capability information of the UE for one or more frequency bands that are: (a) supported by the UE as indicated by the UE capabilities of the UE and supported by the network node and (b) are not part of the UE capabilities of the UE, and operating in accordance with the result of the determining comprises sending a UE capability enquiry message to the UE.

In one embodiment, operating in accordance with the result of the determining comprises sending a UE capability enquiry message to the UE if the result of the determining is that the network node desires UE capabilities of the UE for one or more frequency bands that are: (a) supported by the UE as indicated by the UE capabilities of the UE and supported by the network node and (b) are not part of the UE capabilities of the UE, and otherwise, refraining from sending a UE capability enquire message to the UE.

Corresponding embodiments of a network node are also disclosed. In one embodiment, a network node is adapted to obtain UE capability information of a UE and determine whether to re-enquire UE capability information from the UE based on whether the network node desires UE capabilities of the UE for one or more frequency bands that are: (a) supported by the UE as indicated by the UE capability information of the UE and supported by the network node and (b) are not part of the UE capability information of the UE. The network node is further adapted to operate in accordance with a result of the determining.

In another embodiment, a network node comprises processing circuitry configured to cause the network node to obtain UE capability information of a UE and determine whether to re- enquire UE capability information from the UE based on whether the network node desires UE capabilities of the UE for one or more frequency bands that are: (a) supported by the UE as indicated by the UE capability information of the UE and supported by the network node and (b) are not part of the UE capability information of the UE. The processing circuitry is further configured to cause the network node to operate in accordance with a result of the determining.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The accompanying drawing figures incorporated in and forming a part of this specification illustrate several aspects of the disclosure, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

Figure l is a flow chart that illustrates the operation of a User Equipment (UE) in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 2 illustrates the operation of a network node in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure;

Figure 3 shows an example of a communication system in accordance with some embodiments;

Figure 4 shows a UE in accordance with some embodiments;

Figure 5 shows a network node in accordance with some embodiments;

Figure 6 is a block diagram of a host, which may be an embodiment of the host of Figure 3, in accordance with various aspects described herein;

Figure 7 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized; and

Figure 8 shows a communication diagram of a host communicating via a network node with a UE over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments.

Detailed Description

The embodiments set forth below represent information to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments and illustrate the best mode of practicing the embodiments. Upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawing figures, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the disclosure and will recognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressed herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the disclosure.

There currently exist certain challenge(s). Some User Equipments (UEs) may have reduced processing power, e.g., processing power for encoding Abstract Syntax Notation One (ASN.1) messages. The filter-functionality for the band combinations require that the UE adjusts which supported band combinations the UE includes in the UE capability message sent to the NR base station (gNB). Further, the filter functionality requires the UE to set the applied filter field to mirror the filter that is received from the gNB. If the processing power to encode ASN.1 is not sufficiently large, the UE may not be able to be fast enough to prepare the UE capability message since the content of the message depends on the received filter.

Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges.

UE side: Embodiments of a UE for handling capabilities and corresponding embodiments of a method of operation of a UE for handling capabilities are disclosed. In one embodiment, the method in a UE comprises: • receiving, from a network node (e.g., gNB) in a UE capability enquiry message, a first filter comprising information that indicates bands for which the network node requests the UE's supported band combinations,

• sending, to the network node in a UE capability message, an indication of a second filter in a field for indicating an applied filter.

In one embodiment, the second filter is pre-defined and does not depend on the first filter. For example, the second filter could be a hard-coded filter.

In one embodiment, the second filter indicates all bands on which the UE supports operation.

Network node side: Embodiments of a network node (e.g., a gNB) for determining whether to re-enquire capabilities of a UE and corresponding embodiments of a method of operation of a network node for determining whether to re-enquire capabilities of a UE are also disclosed. In one embodiment, a method in a network node (e.g., gNB) for determining whether to re-enquire capabilities of a UE comprises:

• receiving capabilities associated with a UE from another network node,

• determining bands that the network node supports,

• determining a filter which has been considered when generating band combinations in the received UE capabilities,

• determining all bands that the UE supports,

• re-enquiring the UE capabilities if the network node supports bands which the UE also supports, but which are not present in the filter used by the UE when it generated the band combinations in the received UE capabilities.

Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s). Embodiments of the present disclosure may allow the UE to create/define/generate the UE capability message before receiving the UE capability enquiry message since the UE capability message does not depend on the received band filter. This therefore puts less strict processing requirements on the UE and could therefore potentially reduce the cost of the UE in terms of software and computational complexity.

Now, a more detailed description of embodiments of the present disclosure will be provided.

The UE receives a first filter from the network in a first message requesting the UE’ s capabilities. This may be the field “frequencyBandListFilter” in the NR Radio Resource Control (RRC) specification (3GPP TS 38.331 vl7.2.0) shown below. The first filter indicates which bands should be considered by the UE when generating the UE’s supported band combinations. According to the existing NR RRC specification, the UE is expected to compile a list of band combinations only consisting of bands included in the frequencyBandListFilter.

- UE-CapabilityRequestFilterNR

The IE UE-CapabilityRequestFilterNR is used to request filtered UE capabilities.

UE-CapabilityRequestFilterNR information element

- ASN1 START

- TAG-UE-CAPABILITYREQUESTFILTERNR-START

UE-CapabilityRequestFilterNR : := SEQUENCE { frequencyBandListFilter FreqBandList OPTIONAL, - Need N nonCriticalExtension UE-CapabilityRequestFilterNR-vl 540

OPTIONAL

UE-CapabilityRequestFilterNR-vl540 ::= SEQUENCE { srs-SwitchingTimeRequest ENUMERATED {true} OPTIONAL, — Need

N nonCriticalExtension UE-CapabilityRequestFilterNR-vl710

OPTIONAL

}

UE-CapabilityRequestFilterNR-vl710 ::= SEQUENCE { sidelinkRequest-rl7 ENUMERATED {true} OPTIONAL, -- Need N nonCriticalExtension SEQUENCE {} OPTIONAL

- TAG-UE-CAPABILITYREQUESTFILTERNR-STOP

- ASN1STOP

As per current procedures defined in the NR RRC specification, in response to receiving the first message, the UE will reply with a second message (or set of messages in case the second message is segmented). The second message(s) contains the UE’s capabilities. In the second message(s), the UE is, as per the current NR RRC specification, expected to indicate the applied filter. The applied filter is a copy/mirror of the first filter (i.e., the frequencyB andLi stFilter indicated in the first message requesting the UE’s capabilities), and this filter will be referred to as the mirror filter. The mirror filter is indicated by the field “appliedFreqBandListFilter” shown below.

RF -Parameters ::= SEQUENCE { supportedB andLi stNR SEQUENCE (SIZE (L.maxBands)) OF

BandNR, supportedBandCombinationList BandCombinationList

OPTIONAL, appliedFreqBandListFilter FreqBandList

OPTIONAL,

<Omitted some text>

]]

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, instead of mirroring the first filter (i.e., the frequencyB andLi stFilter indicated in the first message requesting the UE’s capabilities), the UE sets the applied filter (e.g., sets the “appliedFreqBandListFilter”) to a second filter. In one embodiment, the second filter is a pre-determined filter, i.e., a filter which does not depend on the first filter. For example, it could be a hardcoded filter. In one embodiment, the second filter comprises all bands that the UE supports. Note that “all bands that the UE supports” may be limited to all bands that the UE supports within a certain Radio Access Technology, e g. supported NR bands but not supported Long Term Evolution (LTE) bands. Since the second filter does not depend on the received (first) filter, the whole UE capability message can be generated beforehand and hence the processing time from receiving the UE capability enquiry message to sending the UE capabilities can be shortened as the UE does not need to adjust the message depending on the enquiry (e.g. it does need to mirror the first filter to the second filter).

The above behavior therefore allows for the following example order of events at the UE:

1. Generating a UE capability response message. The message contains an appliedFreqBandListFilter field indicating all bands that the UE supports (i.e., the second filter).

2. Receiving a UE capability enquiry message with a first band filter.

3. Sending the UE capability response message generated in step 1.

Note, the order of events without using an embodiment of the present disclosure would be the following and event/step 2b in the below cannot be determined before the UE has processed the UE capability enquiry message.

1. Receiving a UE capability enquiry message with a first band filter.

2. Generate the UE capability response message including: a. only the supported band combinations that comprise bands in the first filter, i.e. omit any band combination with bands that are not present in the first filter. b. a mirror of the first filter

Figure 1 is a flow chart that illustrates the operation of a UE in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. Optional steps are indicated by dashed lines/boxes. As illustrated, the UE generates (i.e., creates) a UE capability response message that includes a frequency band filter (e.g., an applied frequency band list filter indicated, e.g., in the appliedFreqBandListFilter field of the UE capability response message) that is not based on a frequency band filter indicated by a network node (e.g., a frequency band list filter included in the UE capability enquiry message of step 102 below) (step 100). In one embodiment, the frequency band filter included in the UE capability response message is predefined. In one embodiment, the frequency band filter included in the UE capability response message includes all bands that the UE supports. Note that the UE capability response message may alternatively be predefined and stored at the UE. The UE receives, from a network node (e.g., a gNB), a UE capability enquiry message that includes a frequency band filter (e.g., in the field “frequencyBandListFilter”) (step 102). In response, the UE transmits, to the network node, the UE capability response message including the frequency band filter that is not based on the frequency band filter included in the UE capability enquiry message (step 104).

Now, a description of network node behavior in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure will be provided. For the following description, the network node is a gNB; however, the following embodiments are applicable to other similar network nodes. Note again: a (first) gNB requests the UE’s capabilities. The UE may get handed over to another gNB (or other base station), or the UE may go to IDLE/INACTIVE and later end up connecting to another (second) gNB. In this case, to avoid that the second gNB needs to request the UE’s capabilities again, mechanisms exist where the second gNB can acquire the UE’s capabilities that were acquired by the first gNB. This can either be achieved by the second gNB getting the capabilities from the first gNB directly (over an gNB-to-gNB interface, such as Xn) or from a core network node such as an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF).

Further, note that a purpose of the applied filter (i.e., the second filter) included in the UE capability response message is to allow the second gNB to understand the bands for which the first gNB requested the UE’s capabilities. For example, if the first gNB requested capabilities for band A and B, but the second gNB supports band A, B and C, the second gNB can know from the second filter indication associated with the UE’s capabilities that the UE potentially has capabilities for band C which were omitted by the UE. The second gNB can in this case reenquire the UE’s capabilities and indicate band A, B and C in the filter.

The above-described UE behavior where the second filter included in the UE capability response message is not a copy/mirror of the first filter included in the UE capability enquiry message could result in that the second gNB that acquires the UE’s capabilities from the first gNB or core network node would from the second filter believe that there are bands that the UE may support but that the UE has not provided band combinations for.

More specifically, if a gNB supports band A, B and C, the gNB may set the first filter included in the UE capability enquiry message to include bands A, B, and C to get UE capabilities (and band combinations) for all bands that the gNB is supporting. However, if the UE supports only bands A and B, the UE will of course only include band combinations with band A and B. A UE which is not implementing an embodiment of the present disclosure would set the second filter to be a mirror of the first filter, i.e., to have band A, B and C, as specified in the current 3 GPP RRC specification. On the other hand, a UE which would implement an embodiment of the present disclosure may set the second filter to contain only band A and band B. A second gNB (to which the UE is handed over or subsequently connects to after entering IDLE mode) based on the current 3 GPP specifications may see that the second filter that the UE included in the UE capabilities is missing band C and hence the second gNB may therefore reenquire the capabilities from the UE indicating filter with band A, B, and C. However, with the UE behavior described above, the UE would again reply with capabilities indicating a filter with band A and B.

Further recall that the UE capabilities comprise:

• a list of all the bands for which the UE supports operation in the

“ supportedBandLi st”;

• a list of band combinations, each entry in this list is a combination of the bands (i.e., a combination of at least a subset of those bands in the supportedBandList). For the special case that the UE does not support simultaneous operation of bands, the band combination list would be a list of single-band band combinations;

• a mirror of applied band list filter, which in case of the UE based embodiments described above is, e.g., a list of all bands that the UE supports (regardless of the received band filter list in the UE capability enquiry message).

In one embodiment, the second gNB will perform re-enquiry of the UE’s capabilities only in the case where, for the second gNB, there is one or more bands for which the second gNB wants to get band combinations that are: (a) present in the supportedBandList of the UE and (b) are not part of the acquired UE capabilities. This may mean that the first gNB that enquired the capabilities from the UE did not ask for a certain band X that the second gNB is interested in, but that the UE actually supports, just that the UE did not include capabilities with band X since the first filter did not include it.

This gNB approach also works well if the UE applies the described UE based embodiments above, e.g., if the UE includes in the second filter all those bands that the UE supports since in this case the second gNB would not re-enquire the UE’s capabilities since the UE does not support any band that is missing from the second filter.

Figure 2 illustrates the operation of a network node (e.g., a (second) gNB after handover of a UE from a first gNB to the second gNB or after connection of the UE to second gNB after previously sending UE capabilities to a first gNB and entering IDLE mode), in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. As illustrated, the network node obtains UE capabilities of a UE, e.g., from another network node (e.g., a first gNB in the case where the network node is a second gNB, or a core network node such as, e.g., an AMF) (step 200). The network node determines a set of frequency bands supported by the UE from the obtained UE capabilities of the UE (e.g., from the Supported Band List field) (step 202). The network node also obtains a band filter (e.g., an applied frequency band filter) from the obtained UE capabilities of the UE (e.g., from the Applied Frequency Band List Filter field) (step 204). In one embodiment, the band filter obtained in step 204 is from a field in the UE capabilities of the UE that is defined for storing a band filter applied by the UE when generating the UE capabilities. Further, in one embodiment, this band filter obtained in step 204 is not based on (e.g., not a mirror of) a band filter included in a UE enquiry request message received by the UE and, in response to which, the UE provided the UE capabilities to another network node, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure described above. In one embodiment, the band filter obtained from the UE capabilities is a predefined list of frequency bands, e.g., all allowed frequency bands of the UE.

The network node determines whether to re-enquire UE capabilities from the UE based on whether the network node desires UE capabilities for one or more frequency bands that are: (a) supported by both the network node and the UE and (b) not part of the obtained UE capabilities of the UE (e.g., no UE capabilities indicated for the UE related to that frequency band(s)) (step 206). The network node then operates in accordance with a result of the determination made in step 206 (step 208). More specifically, if the network desires UE capabilities for one or more frequency bands that are supported by both the network node and the UE and are not part of the obtained UE capabilities of the UE, the network node sends a UE capabilities enquiry message to the UE and, in response, receives new UE capabilities from the UE. Otherwise, the network node does not re-enquire the UE capabilities from the UE.

Figure 3 shows an example of a communication system 300 in accordance with some embodiments.

In the example, the communication system 300 includes a telecommunication network 302 that includes an access network 304, such as a Radio Access Network (RAN), and a core network 306, which includes one or more core network nodes 308. The access network 304 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 310A and 310B (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 310), or any other similar Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access node or non-3GPP Access Point (AP). The network nodes 310 facilitate direct or indirect connection of User Equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 312A, 312B, 312C, and 312D (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 312) to the core network 306 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 300 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 300 may include and/or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and/or other similar type of system.

The UEs 312 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 310 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 310 are arranged, capable, configured, and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 312 and/or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 302 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 302.

In the depicted example, the core network 306 connects the network nodes 310 to one or more hosts, such as host 316. 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 306 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 308) 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 308. 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 De-Concealing Function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and/or a User Plane Function (UPF).

The host 316 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 304 and/or the telecommunication network 302, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 316 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 300 of Figure 3 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system 300 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 Second, Third, Fourth, or Fifth Generation (2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G) standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., Sixth Generation (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 302 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunication network 302 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 302. For example, the telecommunication network 302 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 Internet of Things (loT) services to yet further UEs.

In some examples, the UEs 312 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 304 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 304. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi -Radio Access Technology (RAT) or multi-standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of WiFi, New Radio (NR), and LTE, i.e. be configured for Multi -Radio Dual Connectivity (MR-DC), such as Evolved UMTS Terrestrial RAN (E-UTRAN) NR - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

In the example, a hub 314 communicates with the access network 304 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e g., UE 312C and/or 312D) and network nodes (e.g., network node 310B). In some examples, the hub 314 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 314 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 306 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 314 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 310, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 314. As another example, the hub 314 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 314 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a Virtual Reality (VR) headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 314 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 314 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and/or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 314 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular in if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

The hub 314 may have a constant/persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 310B. The hub 314 may also allow for a different communication scheme and/or schedule between the hub 314 and UEs (e.g., UE 312C and/or 312D), and between the hub 314 and the core network 306. In other examples, the hub 314 is connected to the core network 306 and/or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 314 may be configured to connect to a Machine-to-Machine (M2M) service provider over the access network 304 and/or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 310 while still connected via the hub 314 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 314 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 310B. In other embodiments, the hub 314 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and the network node 310B, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and/or end point for certain data channels.

Figure 4 shows a UE 400 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 Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), wireless camera, 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-mounted or vehicle embedded/integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3GPP, including a Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) 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 3 GPP 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 400 includes processing circuitry 402 that is operatively coupled via a bus 404 to an input/output interface 406, a power source 408, memory 410, a communication interface 412, and/or any other component, or any combination thereof Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 4. 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 402 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 410. The processing circuitry 402 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 402 may include multiple Central Processing Units (CPUs).

In the example, the input/output interface 406 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 400. 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 408 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 408 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 408 itself, and/or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 400 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging the power source 408. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 408 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 400 to which power is supplied.

The memory 410 may be or be configured to include memory such as Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), Programmable ROM (PROM), Erasable PROM (EPROM), Electrically EPROM (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 410 includes one or more application programs 414, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 416. The memory 410 may store, for use by the UE 400, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

The memory 410 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 RAM (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as a tamper resistant module in the form of a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) including one or more Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs), such as a Universal SIM (USIM) and/or Internet Protocol Multimedia Services Identity Module (ISIM), other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as a ‘SIM card.’ The memory 410 may allow the UE 400 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 410, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

The processing circuitry 402 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 412. The communication interface 412 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 422. The communication interface 412 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 418 and/or a receiver 420 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 418 and receiver 420 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., the antenna 422) and may share circuit components, software, or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 412 may include cellular communication, WiFi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, NFC, 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 according to one or more communication protocols and/or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, NR, UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), Quick User Datagram Protocol Internet Connection (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 412, or 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 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 television, 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 VR, a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or itemtracking 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 400 shown in Figure 4.

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 3 GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3 GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship, 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.

Figure 5 shows a network node 500 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, APs (e.g., radio APs), Base Stations (BSs) (e.g., radio BSs, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs), and NR Node Bs (gNBs)).

BSs 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 BSs, pico BSs, micro BSs, or macro BSs. A BS 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 BS such as centralized digital units and/or Remote Radio Units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such RRUs may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio BS 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 access nodes, Multi -Standard Radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as Radio Network Controllers (RNCs) or BS 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 500 includes processing circuitry 502, memory 504, a communication interface 506, and a power source 508. The network node 500 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a Node B component and an 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 500 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 Node Bs. In such a scenario, each unique Node B and RNC pair may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 500 may be configured to support multiple RATs. In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 504 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., an antenna 510 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 500 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 500, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, Long Range Wide Area Network (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 the network node 500.

The processing circuitry 502 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, CPU, DSP, ASIC, FPGA, 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 500 components, such as the memory 504, to provide network node 500 functionality.

In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 502 includes a System on a Chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 502 includes one or more of Radio Frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 512 and baseband processing circuitry 514. In some embodiments, the RF transceiver circuitry 512 and the baseband processing circuitry 514 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 the RF transceiver circuitry 512 and the baseband processing circuitry 514 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

The memory 504 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, RAM, 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 502. The memory 504 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 502 and utilized by the network node 500. The memory 504 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 502 and/or any data received via the communication interface 506. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 502 and the memory 504 are integrated.

The communication interface 506 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and/or data between a network node, access network, and/or UE. As illustrated, the communication interface 506 comprises port(s)/terminal(s) 516 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 506 also includes radio front-end circuitry 518 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 510. The radio front-end circuitry 518 comprises filters 520 and amplifiers 522. The radio front-end circuitry 518 may be connected to the antenna 510 and the processing circuitry 502. The radio front-end circuitry 518 may be configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna 510 and the processing circuitry 502. The radio front-end circuitry 518 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 518 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of the filters 520 and/or the amplifiers 522. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 510. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 510 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 518. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 502. In other embodiments, the communication interface 506 may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components.

In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 500 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 518; instead, the processing circuitry 502 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 510. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 512 is part of the communication interface 506. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 506 includes the one or more ports or terminals 516, the radio frontend circuitry 518, and the RF transceiver circuitry 512 as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 506 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 514, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

The antenna 510 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals. The antenna 510 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 518 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and/or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 510 is separate from the network node 500 and connectable to the network node 500 through an interface or port. The antenna 510, the communication interface 506, and/or the processing circuitry 502 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and/or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node 500. Any information, data, and/or signals may be received from a UE, another network node, and/or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 510, the communication interface 506, and/or the processing circuitry 502 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node 500. Any information, data, and/or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node, and/or any other network equipment.

The power source 508 provides power to the various components of the network node 500 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 508 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 500 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 500 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid or an electricity outlet) via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 508. As a further example, the power source 508 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 500 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 5 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 500 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 500 and to allow output of information from the network node 500. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 500.

Figure 6 is a block diagram of a host 600, which may be an embodiment of the host 316 of Figure 3, in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, the host 600 may be or comprise various combinations of 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 600 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

The host 600 includes processing circuitry 602 that is operatively coupled via a bus 604 to an input/output interface 606, a network interface 608, a power source 610, and memory 612. 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 4 and 5, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the host 600.

The memory 612 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs 614 and data 616, which may include user data, e.g. data generated by a UE for the host 600 or data generated by the host 600 for a UE. Embodiments of the host 600 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. The host application programs 614 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), Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG), VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC), 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, and heads-up display systems). The host application programs 614 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 600 may select and/or indicate a different host for Over-The-Top (OTT) services for a UE. The host application programs 614 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 (DASH or MPEG-DASH), etc.

Figure 7 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 700 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 700 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, 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. Applications 702 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment 700 to implement some of the features, functions, and/or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

Hardware 704 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 706 (also referred to as hypervisors or VM Monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 708A and 708B (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 708), and/or perform any of the functions, features, and/or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 706 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 708.

The VMs 708 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking, or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 706. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 702 may be implemented on one or more of the VMs 708, 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 708 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 708, and that part of the hardware 704 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and/or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs 708, 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 708 on top of the hardware 704 and corresponds to the application 702.

The hardware 704 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. The hardware 704 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, the hardware 704 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 710, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of the applications 702. In some embodiments, the hardware 704 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 RAN or a BS. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 712 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

Figure 8 shows a communication diagram of a host 802 communicating via a network node 804 with a UE 806 over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments. Example implementations, in accordance with various embodiments, of the UE (such as the UE 312A of Figure 3 and/or the UE 400 of Figure 4), the network node (such as the network node 310A of Figure 3 and/or the network node 500 of Figure 5), and the host (such as the host 316 of Figure 3 and/or the host 600 of Figure 6) discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to Figure 8.

Like the host 600, embodiments of the host 802 include hardware, such as a communication interface, processing circuitry, and memory. The host 802 also includes software, which is stored in or is accessible by the host 802 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 806 connecting via an OTT connection 850 extending between the UE 806 and the host 802. In providing the service to the remote user, a host application may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 850.

The network node 804 includes hardware enabling it to communicate with the host 802 and the UE 806 via a connection 860. The connection 860 may be direct or pass through a core network (like the core network 306 of Figure 3) 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 806 includes hardware and software, which is stored in or accessible by the UE 806 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 the UE 806 with the support of the host 802. In the host 802, an executing host application may communicate with the executing client application via the OTT connection 850 terminating at the UE 806 and the host 802. 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 850 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 850.

The OTT connection 850 may extend via the connection 860 between the host 802 and the network node 804 and via a wireless connection 870 between the network node 804 and the UE 806 to provide the connection between the host 802 and the UE 806. The connection 860 and the wireless connection 870, over which the OTT connection 850 may be provided, have been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host 802 and the UE 806 via the network node 804, 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 850, in step 808, the host 802 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 UE 806. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with a UE 806 that shares data with the host 802 without explicit human interaction. In step 810, the host 802 initiates a transmission carrying the user data towards the UE 806. The host 802 may initiate the transmission responsive to a request transmitted by the UE 806. The request may be caused by human interaction with the UE 806 or by operation of the client application executing on the UE 806. The transmission may pass via the network node 804 in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. Accordingly, in step 812, the network node 804 transmits to the UE 806 the user data that was carried in the transmission that the host 802 initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 814, the UE 806 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be performed by a client application executed on the UE 806 associated with the host application executed by the host 802.

In some examples, the UE 806 executes a client application which provides user data to the host 802. The user data may be provided in reaction or response to the data received from the host 802. Accordingly, in step 816, the UE 806 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 UE 806. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided, the UE 806 initiates, in step 818, transmission of the user data towards the host 802 via the network node 804. In step 820, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the network node 804 receives user data from the UE 806 and initiates transmission of the received user data towards the host 802. In step 822, the host 802 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the UE 806.

One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 806 using the OTT connection 850, in which the wireless connection 870 forms the last segment.

In an example scenario, factory status information may be collected and analyzed by the host 802. As another example, the host 802 may process audio and video data which may have been retrieved from a UE for use in creating maps. As another example, the host 802 may collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicle congestion (e.g., controlling traffic lights). As another example, the host 802 may store surveillance video uploaded by a UE. As another example, the host 802 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 802 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 850 between the host 802 and the UE 806 in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and/or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 850 may be implemented in software and hardware of the host 802 and/or the UE 806. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with other devices through which the OTT connection 850 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or by supplying values of other physical quantities from which software may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of the OTT connection 850 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing, etc.; the reconfiguring need not directly alter the operation of the network node 804. 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 802. The measurements may be implemented in that software causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTT connection 850 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 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 hardwired 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.

Some example embodiments of the present disclosure are as follows: Group A Embodiments

Embodiment 1 : A method performed by a User Equipment, UE, the method comprising: receiving (102), from a network node, a UE capability enquiry message comprising a first filter that indicates a set of frequency bands for which the network node requests UE supported band combinations; and sending (104), to the network node, a UE capability message in response to the UE capability enquiry message, the UE capability message comprising a second filter that indicates a second set of frequency bands wherein the second filter is not based on (e.g., not a mirror of) the first filter.

Embodiment 2: The method of embodiment 1 wherein the second filter is predefined.

Embodiment 3 : The method of embodiment 1 wherein the second set of frequency bands indicated by the second filter is a set of all allowed frequency bands of the UE.

Embodiment 4: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 3 further comprising, prior to receiving (102) the UE capability enquiry message from the network node, generating (100) the UE capability message comprising the second filter.

Embodiment 5: The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising: providing user data; and forwarding the user data to a host via the transmission to the network node.

Group B Embodiments

Embodiment 6: A method performed by a network node, the method comprising: obtaining (200) User Equipment, UE, capabilities of a UE, the UE capabilities; determining (206) whether to re-enquire UE capabilities from the UE based on whether the network node desires UE capabilities of the UE for one or more frequency bands that are: (a) supported by the UE as indicated by the UE capabilities of the UE and supported by the network node and (b) are not part of the UE capabilities of the UE; and operating (208) in accordance with a result of the determining (206).

Embodiment 7: The method of embodiment 6 wherein the UE capabilities comprises field that defined to indicate a frequency band filter applied by the UE to determine a list of frequency band combinations comprised in the UE capabilities, where the frequency band filter is instead a predefined filter that is not based on a frequency band filter indicated in a UE capability enquiry message received by the UE and in response to which the UE sent the UE capabilities to another network node.

Embodiment 8: The method of embodiment 6 or 7 wherein the predefined filter indicates all allowed frequency bands of the UE. Embodiment 9: The method of any of embodiments 6 to 8 wherein operating (208) in accordance with the result of the determining (206) comprises: sending a UE capability enquiry message to the UE if the result of the determining (206) is that the network node desires UE capabilities of the UE for one or more frequency bands that are: (a) supported by the UE as indicated by the UE capabilities of the UE and supported by the network node and (b) are not part of the UE capabilities of the UE.

Embodiment 10: The method of any of embodiments 6 to 8 wherein operating (208) in accordance with the result of the determining (206) comprises: sending a UE capability enquiry message to the UE if the result of the determining (206) is that the network node desires UE capabilities of the UE for one or more frequency bands that are: (a) supported by the UE as indicated by the UE capabilities of the UE and supported by the network node and (b) are not part of the UE capabilities of the UE; and otherwise, refraining from sending a UE capability enquire message to the UE.

Embodiment 11 : The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising: obtaining user data; and forwarding the user data to a host or a user equipment.

Group C Embodiments

Embodiment 12: A user equipment comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

Embodiment 13 : A network node comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

Embodiment 14: A user equipment (UE) comprising: an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals; radio front-end circuitry connected to the antenna and to processing circuitry, and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuitry; the processing circuitry being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments; an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry; an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry; and a battery connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the UE.

Embodiment 15: A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), wherein the UE comprises a communication interface and processing circuitry, the communication interface and processing circuitry of the UE being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments to receive the user data from the host.

Embodiment 16: The host of the previous embodiment, wherein the cellular network further includes a network node configured to communicate with the UE to transmit the user data to the UE from the host.

Embodiment 17: The host of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and the host application is configured to interact with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

Embodiment 18: A method implemented by a host operating in a communication system that further includes a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: providing user data for the UE; and initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the network node, wherein the UE performs any of the operations of any of the Group A embodiments to receive the user data from the host.

Embodiment 19: The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising: at the host, executing a host application associated with a client application executing on the UE to receive the user data from the UE.

Embodiment 20: The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising: at the host, transmitting input data to the client application executing on the UE, the input data being provided by executing the host application, wherein the user data is provided by the client application in response to the input data from the host application.

Embodiment 21 : A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), wherein the UE comprises a communication interface and processing circuitry, the communication interface and processing circuitry of the UE being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments to transmit the user data to the host.

Embodiment 22: The host of the previous embodiment, wherein the cellular network further includes a network node configured to communicate with the UE to transmit the user data from the UE to the host. Embodiment 23 : The host of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and the host application is configured to interact with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

Embodiment 24: A method implemented by a host configured to operate in a communication system that further includes a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: at the host, receiving user data transmitted to the host via the network node by the UE, wherein the UE performs any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments to transmit the user data to the host.

Embodiment 25 : The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising: at the host, executing a host application associated with a client application executing on the UE to receive the user data from the UE.

Embodiment 26: The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising: at the host, transmitting input data to the client application executing on the UE, the input data being provided by executing the host application, wherein the user data is provided by the client application in response to the input data from the host application.

Embodiment 27 : A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a network node in a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), the network node having a communication interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the network node configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group B embodiments to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.

Embodiment 28: The host of the previous embodiment, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application that provides the user data; and the UE comprises processing circuitry configured to execute a client application associated with the host application to receive the transmission of user data from the host.

Embodiment 29: A method implemented in a host configured to operate in a communication system that further includes a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: providing user data for the UE; and initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the network node, wherein the network node performs any of the operations of any of the Group B embodiments to transmit the user data from the host to the UE. Embodiment 30: The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising, at the network node, transmitting the user data provided by the host for the UE.

Embodiment 31 : The method of any of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein the user data is provided at the host by executing a host application that interacts with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

Embodiment 32: A communication system configured to provide an over-the-top service, the communication system comprising a host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data for a user equipment (UE), the user data being associated with the over-the-top service; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data toward a cellular network node for transmission to the UE, the network node having a communication interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the network node configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group B embodiments to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.

Embodiment 33 : The communication system of the previous embodiment, further comprising: the network node; and/or the user equipment.

Embodiment 34: A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to initiate receipt of user data; and a network interface configured to receive the user data from a network node in a cellular network, the network node having a communication interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the network node configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group B embodiments to receive the user data from a user equipment (UE) for the host.

Embodiment 35 : The host of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and the host application is configured to interact with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

Embodiment 36: The host of the any of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein the initiating receipt of the user data comprises requesting the user data.

Embodiment 37: A method implemented by a host configured to operate in a communication system that further includes a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: at the host, initiating receipt of user data from the UE, the user data originating from a transmission which the network node has received from the UE, wherein the network node performs any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments to receive the user data from the UE for the host. Embodiment 38: The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising at the network node, transmitting the received user data to the host.

Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modifications to the embodiments of the present disclosure. All such improvements and modifications are considered within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein.