阅读说明：本技术 空闲模式和非活动模式下的bwp处理 (BWP processing in idle mode and inactive mode ) 是由 J-P·科斯基南 J·科斯克拉 T·恩托南 于 2017-11-14 设计创作，主要内容包括：提供了一种方法,包括：监测关于网络带宽部分的限制的信息是否从小区被接收到；如果关于限制的信息被接收到,则使决定基于关于限制的信息以及终端支持终端带宽部分的能力,其中该决定是关于终端是否驻留在小区上以及终端是否重新选择小区中的至少一项；基于决定来关于驻留在小区上、以及重新选择小区中的至少一项指令终端。(There is provided a method comprising: monitoring whether information regarding a limitation of a bandwidth part of the network is received from a cell; if information about the restriction is received, basing a decision on the information about the restriction and the capability of the terminal to support the portion of the terminal's bandwidth, wherein the decision is at least one of whether the terminal is camped on a cell and whether the terminal reselects the cell; instructing the terminal with respect to at least one of camping on the cell and reselecting the cell based on the decision.)

1. An apparatus comprising at least one processor, at least one memory including computer program code, and the at least one processor arranged to, with the at least one memory and the computer program code, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following:

monitoring whether information regarding a limitation of a bandwidth part of the network is received from a cell;

if the information about the restriction is received, basing a decision on the information about the restriction and a capability of a terminal to support a terminal bandwidth part, wherein the decision is with respect to at least one of: whether the terminal is camped on the cell and whether the terminal reselects the cell;

based on the decision, instructing the terminal with respect to the at least one of: the camping on the cell, and the reselecting the cell.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the monitoring comprises at least one of:

monitoring whether the information regarding the restriction is received on a broadcast channel; and

monitoring whether the information on the restriction is received in dedicated signaling to the terminal.

3. An apparatus according to any one of claims 1 and 2, wherein the decision is as to whether the terminal is camped on the cell, and the at least one processor is arranged, with the at least one memory and the computer program code, to cause the apparatus to further perform the steps of:

prohibiting the terminal from camping on the cell if the restriction does not match the capability of the terminal.

4. The apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the at least one processor is arranged to, with the at least one memory and the computer program code, cause the apparatus to further perform the steps of:

supervising whether a priority for the terminal bandwidth part is received; wherein

The decision is additionally based on the priority for the terminal bandwidth part if the priority is received.

5. The apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 4, wherein if the decision is to camp on the cell or to reselect the cell, the at least one processor is arranged to, with the at least one memory and the computer program code, cause the apparatus to further perform the steps of:

selecting one of a plurality of access parameters based on the information about the restriction and the capability of the terminal;

instructing the terminal to reselect to the cell and camp on the cell using the selected one of the access parameters, respectively.

6. An apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein if the decision is to camp on the cell or to reselect the cell, the at least one processor is arranged to, with the at least one memory and the computer program code, cause the apparatus to further perform the steps of:

selecting one or more of a plurality of types of access based on the information about the restriction and the capability of the terminal;

instructing the terminal to access the cell in accordance with the one or more types of access selected;

barring the terminal from accessing the cell according to a different type of access than the one or more types of access selected.

7. The apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the at least one processor is arranged to, with the at least one memory and the computer program code, cause the apparatus to further perform the steps of:

checking whether the terminal belongs to a terminal type;

refraining from basing the decision on the information on the restriction if the terminal does not belong to the terminal type.

8. The apparatus of any of claims 1-7, wherein the restriction relates to at least one of:

-a portion of network bandwidth available for early data transmission;

-a portion of bandwidth available for data transmission by the terminal in "inactive" mode;

-a bandwidth portion available for data transmission by the terminal in "connected" mode;

-a bandwidth portion available for active data transfer;

-a bandwidth portion available for transmitting data encapsulated in a control plane message;

-a bandwidth portion available for ultra-reliable low-latency communication transmissions;

-a bandwidth portion reserved only for terminals of a certain CSG;

-a bandwidth portion available for carrier aggregation purposes;

-a bandwidth portion available for dual connectivity purposes; and

-a set of supported bandwidth parts in the cell.

9. An apparatus comprising at least one processor, at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one processor arranged to, with the at least one memory and the computer program code, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following:

a base station is instructed to provide information regarding a limitation of a portion of network bandwidth provided by the base station.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the providing comprises at least one of: broadcasting said information about said restriction and providing said information about said restriction in dedicated signalling to the terminal.

11. The apparatus according to any of claims 9 and 10, wherein the at least one processor is arranged to, with the at least one memory and the computer program code, cause the apparatus to further perform the steps of:

instructing the base station to indicate a respective priority for each of one or more terminal bandwidth parts.

12. A method, comprising:

monitoring whether information regarding a limitation of a bandwidth part of the network is received from a cell;

if the information about the restriction is received, basing a decision on the information about the restriction and a capability of a terminal to support a terminal bandwidth part, wherein the decision is with respect to at least one of: whether the terminal is camped on the cell and whether the terminal reselects the cell;

based on the decision, instructing the terminal with respect to the at least one of: the camping on the cell, and the reselecting the cell.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the monitoring comprises at least one of:

monitoring whether the information regarding the restriction is received on a broadcast channel; and

monitoring whether the information on the restriction is received in dedicated signaling to the terminal.

14. The method according to any of claims 12 and 13, wherein the decision is as to whether the terminal is camped on the cell, and the method further comprises:

prohibiting the terminal from camping on the cell if the restriction does not match the capability of the terminal.

15. The method of any of claims 12 to 14, further comprising:

supervising whether a priority of the terminal bandwidth part is received; wherein

The decision is additionally based on the priority for the terminal bandwidth part if the priority is received.

16. The method of any of claims 12 to 15, further comprising, if the decision is to camp on the cell or reselect the cell:

selecting one of a plurality of access parameters based on the information about the restriction and the capability of the terminal;

instructing the terminal to reselect to the cell and camp on the cell using the selected one of the access parameters, respectively.

17. The method according to any of claims 12 to 16, further comprising, if the decision is to camp on the cell or reselect the cell:

selecting one or more of a plurality of types of access based on the information about the restriction and the capability of the terminal;

instructing the terminal to access the cell in accordance with the one or more types of access selected;

barring the terminal from accessing the cell according to a different type of access than the one or more types of access selected.

18. The method of any of claims 12 to 17, further comprising:

checking whether the terminal belongs to a terminal type;

refraining from basing the decision on the information on the restriction if the terminal does not belong to the terminal type.

19. The method of any of claims 12 to 18, wherein the restriction relates to at least one of:

-a portion of network bandwidth available for early data transmission;

-a portion of bandwidth available for data transmission by the terminal in "inactive" mode;

-a bandwidth portion available for data transmission by the terminal in "connected" mode;

-a bandwidth portion available for active data transfer;

-a bandwidth portion available for transmitting data encapsulated in a control plane message;

-a bandwidth portion available for ultra-reliable low-latency communication transmissions;

-a bandwidth portion reserved only for terminals of a certain CSG;

-a bandwidth portion available for carrier aggregation purposes;

-a bandwidth portion available for dual connectivity purposes; and

-a set of supported bandwidth parts in the cell.

20. A method, comprising:

a base station is instructed to provide information regarding a limitation of a portion of network bandwidth provided by the base station.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the providing comprises at least one of: broadcasting said information about said restriction and providing said information about said restriction in dedicated signalling to the terminal.

22. The method according to any one of claims 20 and 21, further comprising:

instructing the base station to indicate a respective priority for each of one or more terminal bandwidth parts.

23. A computer program product comprising a set of instructions which, when executed on an apparatus, is configured to cause the apparatus to perform the method of any of claims 12 to 22.

24. The computer program product according to claim 23, embodied as a computer-readable medium or directly loadable into a computer.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an apparatus, method and computer program product related to the processing of bandwidth parts, in particular to the processing of bandwidth parts in NRs.

Abbreviations

3GPP third generation partnership project

5G fifth generation

5GC 5G core network

BWP bandwidth portion

CN core network

CP control plane

DL downlink

EDT early data transfer

EPC evolved packet core

FDM frequency division multiplexing

gNB 5G node B

IOT (Internet of things)

LTE Long term evolution

LTE-A LTE advanced

MF MulteFire

MSG messages

NAS non-access stratum

NR new radio

NW network

PCell primary cell

PRB physical resource block

PSCell Primary SCell

RACH random access channel

Rel version

RRC radio resource control

RRM radio resource management

SCell secondary cell

SS synchronization signal

SSB SS block

SUL Secondary uplink

TDM time division multiplexing

UE user equipment

UL uplink

UP user plane

WB broadband

WiFi Wireless Fidelity

Background

The bandwidth part is defined as the number of PRBs (which indicates a specific bandwidth at a specific frequency) that a UE can be scheduled in UL/DL. For DL, the BWP used may also affect the bandwidth over which the UE is expected to perform measurements. Each bandwidth portion may also have a different numerology (i.e., subcarrier spacing). Some basic use cases of BWP are described in fig. 1 and 2. The Network (NW) Bandwidth (BW) specifies the total bandwidth provided by the network (e.g., by the cells, where the cells are considered representative of the network).

As shown in fig. 1, the network may schedule different BWPs (BWP1, BWP2) for the UE at different time slots, e.g., to adapt the load on the Wideband (WB) carriers comprising the NW BW. Different BWPs may share the same bandwidth (same number of PRBs) but different center frequencies (left side of fig. 1), or they may have different bandwidths (right side of fig. 1).

As shown in fig. 2, BWP may have different number schemes in different time slots. In TDM operation, BWPs of different digital schemes occupy the same bandwidth (left side of fig. 2), whereas in FDM operation, BWPs of different digital schemes may not overlap (right side of fig. 2). Different cells of the network may provide different BWPs (also referred to as NW BWPs).

Thus, the bandwidth part (BWP) comprises a part of the entire gbb bandwidth (also referred to as NW BW). In "connected" mode, each UE may be allocated a potentially different portion of UL/DL cell bandwidth, and this is referred to as BWP. In NR Rel-15, it has been agreed that for each serving cell there is only one single active BWP (UL and/or DL, PCell/PSCell for both UL & DL), but more than one BWP may be configured at the UE so that the currently active BWP can be switched with one of the other configured BWPs (i.e. the configured (but inactive) BWP becomes the active BWP, while the previously active BWP becomes the configured (but inactive) BWP).

The following agreements have been reached in RAN 2:

protocol for BWP operation in "connected" mode:

the effect of BWP on "connected" mode will be performed 12 months and 17 days before. The impact on "idle" mode/"inactive" mode UEs will be discussed with the SA after 12 months and 17 days.

Rrc signaling supports configuring 1 or more BWPs (for both DL BWPs and ul BWPs) for the serving cell (PCell, PSCell).

RRC signaling supports configuration of 0, 1 or more BWPs (for both DL BWP and UL BWP) for the serving cell SCell (at least 1 DL BWP) (effect of SUL is yet to be discussed)

3. For a UE, the PCell, PSCell, and each SCell have a single associated SSB in frequency (RAN1 term is "cell-defining SSB")

4. The cell-defined SS block may be changed by synchronization reconfiguration for PCell/PSCell and SCell release/addition for SCell.

5. Each SS block frequency that needs to be measured by the UE should be configured as an individual measurement object (i.e., one measurement object corresponds to a single SS block frequency).

6. The cell-defined SS block is considered as the time reference of the serving cell and, for the RRM serving cell, is considered to be based on the SSB measurements (regardless of which BWP is activated).

The following contributions include some discussions about "idle" mode handling:

r2-1711387: "Impacts of BWP for UE in IDLE and INACTIVE", LG electronics, discussing, Release 15, NR _ newRAT-Core;

R2-1710216：“Definition of cells for idle and connected UEs”，

hua is, Hisilicon, discussing, Rel-15, NR _ newRAT-Core.

5G introduces a new mode beyond the "idle" and "connected" modes known to LTE and LTE-A: an "RRC inactive connection," also referred to as "inactive. When the UE moves to "inactive" mode, both the UE and the RAN retain the UE's RRC connected context information, such as UE capabilities and security context, acquired during RRC connection establishment. In contrast, in "idle" mode, no context information is maintained, and the UE always has to establish new context information with the network when moving from "idle" to "connected". Thus, the transition from "inactive" to "connected" for data transfer is lightweight (i.e., faster and requires less signaling) compared to the transition from "idle" to "connected".

In the "RRC inactive connection" mode, the UE is in a "CN connection", i.e., the CN considers the UE to be in a "connected" mode. Thus, when DL traffic arrives for a UE, the CN simply forwards the traffic to the RAN. The RAN then triggers paging for the UE (referred to as "RAN paging") to determine the location of the UE at the cell level, and forwards the data to the UE once the UE responds to the paging.

In both "idle" and "inactive" modes, the UE camps on a cell to listen for paging signals and perform other related procedures, such as cell reselection and system information reception. If the UE moves, it may reselect another cell to camp on, depending on the signal strength of the cell in question (i.e., the UE follows the specified cell reselection rules according to reselection information broadcast from the current serving cell). In both "idle" and "inactive" modes, cell reselection is controlled by the UE and is only indirectly affected by reselection information broadcast from the cell.

For more details see "3 GPP SA2architecture and functions for 5Gmobile communication system" by J.Kim et al, ICT Express 3 (2017), pages 1-8.

Disclosure of Invention

The object of the present invention is to improve the prior art.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided an apparatus comprising at least one processor, at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one processor arranged to, with the at least one memory and the computer program code, cause the apparatus at least to perform: monitoring whether information on a limitation of a bandwidth part of the network is received from a cell; if information about the restriction is received, basing a decision on the information about the restriction and the capability of the terminal to support the portion of the terminal's bandwidth, wherein the decision is at least one of whether the terminal is camped on a cell and whether the terminal reselects the cell; instructing the terminal with respect to the at least one of camping on the cell and reselecting the cell based on the decision.

The monitoring may include at least one of: monitoring whether information about a restriction is received on a broadcast channel; and monitoring whether information on the restriction is received in dedicated signaling to the terminal.

The decision may be as to whether the terminal is camped on a cell, and the at least one processor may be arranged to, with the at least one memory and the computer program code, cause the apparatus to further perform: if the restriction does not match the capabilities of the terminal, the terminal is prohibited from camping on the cell.

The at least one processor may be arranged to, with the at least one memory and the computer program code, cause the apparatus to further perform: supervising whether the priority of the bandwidth part of the terminal is received; wherein the decision may additionally be based on the priority for the bandwidth part of the terminal if received.

If the decision is to camp on a cell or to reselect a cell, the at least one processor may be arranged to, with the at least one memory and the computer program code, cause the apparatus to further perform: selecting one of a plurality of access parameters based on the information on the restriction and the capability of the terminal; the terminal is instructed to reselect to and camp on the cell using selected ones of the access parameters, respectively.

If the decision is to camp on a cell or to reselect a cell, the at least one processor may be arranged to, with the at least one memory and the computer program code, cause the apparatus to further perform: selecting one or more types of access among the plurality of types of access based on the information on the restriction and the capability of the terminal; instructing the terminal to access the cell according to the selected one or more types of access; the terminal is barred from accessing the cell based on a different type of access than the one or more types of access selected.

The at least one processor may be arranged to, with the at least one memory and the computer program code, cause the apparatus to further perform: checking whether the terminal belongs to a terminal type; if the terminal does not belong to the terminal type, the decision is prohibited from being based on the information about the restriction.

The restriction may relate to at least one of:

-a portion of network bandwidth available for early data transmission;

-a bandwidth portion available for data transmission by the terminal in "inactive" mode;

-a bandwidth portion available for data transmission by the terminal in "connected" mode;

-a bandwidth portion available for active data transfer;

-a bandwidth portion available for transmitting data encapsulated in a control plane message;

-a bandwidth portion available for ultra-reliable low-latency communication transmissions;

-a bandwidth portion reserved only for terminals of a certain CSG;

-a bandwidth portion available for carrier aggregation purposes;

-a bandwidth portion available for dual connectivity purposes; and

-a set of supported bandwidth parts in a cell.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided an apparatus comprising at least one processor, at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one processor arranged to, with the at least one memory and the computer program code, cause the apparatus at least to perform: the base station is instructed to provide information regarding the limitation of the portion of the network bandwidth provided by the base station.

The providing may include at least one of: broadcasting information about the restrictions and providing the information about the restrictions in dedicated signaling to the terminal.

The at least one processor may be arranged to, with the at least one memory and the computer program code, cause the apparatus to further perform: the base station is instructed to indicate a respective priority for each of the one or more terminal bandwidth parts.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a method comprising: monitoring whether information on a limitation of a bandwidth part of the network is received from a cell; if information about the restriction is received, basing a decision on the information about the restriction and the capability of the terminal to support the portion of the terminal's bandwidth, wherein the decision is at least one of whether the terminal is camped on a cell and whether the terminal reselects the cell; instructing the terminal with respect to the at least one of camping on the cell and reselecting the cell based on the determination.

The monitoring may include at least one of: monitoring whether information about a restriction is received on a broadcast channel; and monitoring whether information on the restriction is received in dedicated signaling to the terminal.

The decision may be as to whether the terminal is camped on a cell, and the method may further comprise: if the restriction does not match the capabilities of the terminal, the terminal is prohibited from camping on the cell.

The method may further comprise: supervising whether the priority of the bandwidth part of the terminal is received; wherein the decision may additionally be based on the priority for the bandwidth part of the terminal if received.

The method may further comprise, if the decision is to camp on a cell or reselect a cell: selecting one of a plurality of access parameters based on the information on the restriction and the capability of the terminal; the terminal is instructed to reselect to and camp on the cell using selected ones of the access parameters, respectively.

The method may further comprise, if the decision is to camp on a cell or reselect a cell: selecting one or more types of access among the plurality of types of access based on the information on the restriction and the capability of the terminal; instructing the terminal to access the cell according to the selected one or more types of access; the terminal is barred from accessing the cell based on a different type of access than the one or more types of access selected.

The method may further comprise: checking whether the terminal belongs to a terminal type; if the terminal does not belong to the terminal type, the decision is prohibited from being based on the information about the restriction.

The limit may relate to at least one of:

-a portion of network bandwidth available for early data transmission;

-a bandwidth portion available for data transmission by the terminal in "inactive" mode;

-a bandwidth portion available for data transmission by the terminal in "connected" mode;

-a bandwidth portion available for active data transfer;

-a bandwidth portion available for transmitting data encapsulated in a control plane message;

-a bandwidth portion available for ultra-reliable low-latency communication transmissions;

-a bandwidth portion reserved only for terminals of a certain CSG;

-a bandwidth portion available for carrier aggregation purposes;

-a bandwidth portion available for dual connectivity purposes; and

-a set of supported bandwidth parts in a cell.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method comprising: the base station is instructed to provide information regarding the limitation of the portion of the network bandwidth provided by the base station.

The providing may include at least one of: broadcasting information about the restrictions and providing the information about the restrictions in dedicated signaling to the terminal.

The method may further comprise: the base station is instructed to indicate a respective priority for each of the one or more terminal bandwidth parts.

Each of the methods of the third and fourth aspects may be a method of bandwidth part processing.

According to a fifth aspect of the invention, there is provided a computer program product comprising a set of instructions which, when executed on an apparatus, is configured to cause the apparatus to perform the method according to any one of the third and fourth aspects. The computer program product may be embodied as a computer-readable medium or directly loadable into a computer.

According to some embodiments of the invention, at least one of the following advantages may be achieved:

● BWP operates in both "idle" mode and "inactive" mode;

● UL/DL messages are not lost due to BWP mismatch between NW and UE;

● BWP may still be used to control the behavior of the UE to some extent even in "idle" or "inactive" mode.

● if the NW does not support BWP supported by the UE, the UE will not start unnecessary connection establishment.

Avoiding unnecessary signaling

O saving UE Battery

It should be understood that any of the above-described modifications may be applied to the respective aspects to which they relate, alone or in combination, unless they are explicitly stated to exclude alternatives.

Drawings

Further details, features, objects and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates two basic use cases for BWP;

FIG. 2 illustrates two other basic use cases for BWP;

FIG. 3 shows an apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a method according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 shows an apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates a method according to an embodiment of the invention; and

fig. 7 shows an apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, certain embodiments of the present invention are described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein features of the embodiments can be freely combined with each other unless otherwise specified. It should be clearly understood, however, that the description of certain embodiments is given by way of example only and is not intended to limit the invention to the details disclosed.

Further, it should be understood that the apparatus is configured to perform a corresponding method, although in some cases only the apparatus or only the method is described.

The present invention is primarily directed to BWP processing in "idle" and "inactive" modes.

Although it is expected that there will be some minimum BW supported by both the UE and NW, in practice, the NW may support a different minimum bandwidth than the bandwidth supported by the UE. For example, the UE may only support 5MHz, while the NW may only support 20MHz, e.g., because the scheduler does not implement the lower BW option. Additionally, different BWP sizes may be used for different purposes: for example, UEs supporting very low BW may be served in a portion of the gNB BW (nwbw), while "regular" UEs may be served in a different portion of the gNB BW (or even in the entire nwbw). Therefore, it is unclear how to direct the UE to a different BWP, either "idle" or "inactive", or even to prevent the UE from camping in a cell with a minimum BW different from the minimum BW supported by the UE.

The UE may use different bandwidths for data transmission and there may be different mechanisms for transmitting data to the network. Typically, the UE uses the user plane for transmitting data, i.e. the communication established between the UE and the network, which utilizes configured resources implicitly or explicitly scheduled between the UE and the network. However, in some cases, the control plane that is normally used to establish data transmission between the UE and the network may also be used to transmit data. In particular, the data transmission may utilize, for example, signaling protocols commonly used to exchange NAS information between the UE and the network, or signaling messages used to establish an RRC connection between the UE and the network. These options are sometimes referred to as "control plane" or "early data transfer" optimizations for data transfer, and are generally envisaged for situations where only a small amount of data needs to be transferred between the UE and the network.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the network broadcasts its BWP limit to all UEs to facilitate "idle" or "inactive" mode operation. This information may affect the cell selection/reselection criteria for UE "idle" or "inactive" modes, so that UEs that do not support BW for a cell do not camp in a cell that cannot acquire service due to BWP mismatch. Further, UE cell access may depend on the amount of BW supported by the NW and the UE.

Certain aspects of the invention include the following:

-the NW broadcasting (advertising) information about BWP limits (e.g. minimum and/or maximum NW BWP size) of its DL and/or UL operation

-the UE receiving information on BWP restrictions. The UE may consider this information for, for example, the following cases:

cell camping criteria: a cell is not suitable if the BWP supported by the UE (UE BWP limit) does not meet the advertised NW BWP limit (e.g., minimum/maximum BW). That is, preferably, the UE's capability with respect to BWP restriction is the same as the restriction on NW BWP. In some embodiments, a cell may be selected if, in the DL, the NW BWP is smaller than the UE BWP, and in the UL, the NW BWP is larger than the UE BWP. Thus, it is ensured that no transmission is lost due to BWPs of different sizes.

Cell reselection criteria: the UE may prioritize cells/carriers that support certain types of BWP. Such prioritization may be predefined or the priority may be provided by the network.

■ As an example of a predefined priority, the UE may prefer to also support cells of the size of the bandwidth part supported by the UE. That is, a cell having a bandwidth part size exceeding the bandwidth part size of the UE (in uplink) or being smaller than the bandwidth part size of the UE (in downlink) is not preferable although feasible. In such embodiments, the UE implicitly establishes priority based on the advertised NW BWP restrictions. In these embodiments, the NW does not need to explicitly transmit the priority.

■ NW may indicate different priorities for UEs with different BWP capabilities to affect the UE's cell reselection priority; the priority (also referred to as terminal bandwidth fraction) of a certain BWP supported by the UE may be different or the same for different cells of the network.

■ priority may additionally depend on the category of the UE: for example, different CN (EPC/MF) registered UEs may use different reselection parameters to allow different UEs to reselect different cells (e.g., direct certain UEs to certain frequency bands that may more efficiently handle such UEs)

■ NW may indicate the priority in the system information or via dedicated signaling provided to the UE for use by the UE in an "idle" or "inactive" state at the end of the RRC connection release. The NW may indicate the priority to the UE as well as information about BWP restrictions or a separate broadcast message or dedicated signaling.

The cell access parameters may also be grouped according to the allowed access bandwidth

● for example, a limited BW enabled UE may utilize different access resources than a wider BW enabled UE

● may also indicate that UEs supporting different network slices require a certain BW in the cell, so that a UE attempting a connection according to a certain network slice will access according to a different set of access parameters.

● NW notifies the UE of the packet via broadcast or dedicated signaling.

Depending on the advertised NW BWP restrictions, the UE may be allowed to camp on the cell, but only certain types of access are allowed

■ may allow Early Data Transmission (EDT), such as within RACH MSG3 and MSG4

■ may allow data encapsulated in CP messages

■ may allow signaling, for example, through NAS signaling or RRC signaling.

■ may allow predefined types of access, such as low/high priority data, etc.

In some embodiments of the invention, only certain types of UEs may consider information about NW BWP restrictions. For example, only "normal" UEs may consider NW BWP restrictions, but IOT devices (e.g., which may support a smaller BW than "normal" UEs) do not consider. As another example, a UE supporting only certain network slices may utilize slice-specific resources, including any slice-specific BWP.

In addition or alternatively to the minimum/maximum BWP, the NW may signal for example one of the following:

EDT BWP (i.e., BWP for EDT purposes)

RRC "Inactive" BWP (i.e., BWP used by UE in "Inactive")

O RRC "connected" BWP (i.e., BWP used by UE under "connected")

O data transfer BWP (i.e., BWP for active data transfer)

Control plane data BWP (i.e., BWP for sending data encapsulated in control plane messages)

Ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC) BWP (i.e., BWP for URLLC transmission purposes)

O Closed Subscriber Group (CSG) BWP (i.e., BWP reserved only for UEs immediately using a particular CSG)

O Carrier aggregation BWP (i.e., BWP for CA purposes)

O double connectivity BWP (i.e., BWP for DC purposes)

The set of BWPs supported in a cell (e.g., all BWPs used in the cell).

The UE may also consider this information about BWP when deciding on camping and/or cell reselection for the respective specific case.

In some embodiments of the invention, information about NW BWP restrictions may be advertised for "idle"/"inactive" mode (e.g., during transition from "connected" mode to "idle"/"inactive" mode) using dedicated signaling for "idle" or "inactive" mode usage when the UE is in "connected" mode.

Table 1 provides a signaling example of BWP processing in "idle"/"inactive" mode. Note that in step 7, the UE is in "idle" mode, and therefore, NW BWP restrictions for data transfer are relevant, as camping on a cell that cannot serve the UE has no meaning.

On the other hand, in step 14, the UE is in "inactive" mode (see step 12), and thus the NW BWP restriction of "inactive" mode is relevant. In the "inactive" mode, the inactive BWP may be used for data transmission in the "inactive" state, i.e. data transmission in random access messages 3 and 4. Message 3 may be used for data transmission in the uplink and message 4 may be used for data transmission in the downlink. Data transfer BWP is used in "connected" mode.

On the other hand, since the BWP restrictions for data transmission in downlink of the UE and the cell 5 do not match in the "connected" mode, the UE cannot enter the "connected" mode in the cell 5.

Table 1: signalling example according to an embodiment of the invention

Fig. 3 shows an apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention. The apparatus may be a terminal such as a UE, IoT device, MTC device, or an element thereof. Fig. 4 shows a method according to an embodiment of the invention. The apparatus according to fig. 3 may perform the method of fig. 4, but is not limited to this method. The method of fig. 4 may be performed by the apparatus of fig. 3, but is not limited to being performed by the apparatus.

The apparatus includes a monitoring section 10, a determination section 20, and an instruction section 30. Each of the monitoring part 10, the determination part 20, and the instruction part 30 may be a monitor, a determiner, and an instructor, respectively. Each of the monitoring part 10, the determination part 20, and the instruction part 30 may be a monitoring processor, a determination processor, and an instruction processor, respectively.

The monitoring section 10 monitors whether information on the limitation of the network bandwidth part is received from the cell (S10).

If the information on the restriction is received (yes at S10), the decision section 20 bases the decision on the information on the restriction and the capability of the terminal to support the bandwidth part of the terminal (S20). The decision is at least one of whether the terminal is camped on a cell and whether the terminal reselects a cell.

The instruction section 30 instructs the terminal with respect to at least one of camping on the cell and reselecting the cell based on the decision (S30).

Fig. 5 shows an apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention. The apparatus may be a base station such as a gbb, eNB, or NB, or an element thereof. FIG. 6 illustrates a method according to an embodiment of the invention. The apparatus according to fig. 5 may perform the method of fig. 6, but is not limited to this method. The method of fig. 6 may be performed by the apparatus of fig. 5, but is not limited to being performed by the apparatus.

The apparatus includes an instruction component 110. The instruction component 110 may be an instructor. Instruction unit 110 may be an instruction processor.

The instruction section 110 instructs the base station to provide information on the limitation of the network bandwidth part provided by the base station (S110).

Fig. 7 shows an apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention. The apparatus comprises at least one processor 410, at least one memory 420 comprising computer program code, the at least one processor 410 being arranged to, with the at least one memory 420 and the computer program code, cause the apparatus at least to perform at least one of the methods according to fig. 4 and 6.

Embodiments of the present invention are described with respect to a UE. A UE is a specific kind of terminal. Other terminals may belong to embodiments of the present invention. For example, the terminal in which embodiments of the present invention are implemented may be an IoT device, an MTC device, a laptop, a tablet, a smartphone, a mobile phone, and the like.

Some embodiments of the invention may be used in 3GPP devices. However, embodiments of the present invention are not limited to 3GPP devices. For example, if embodiments of the present invention provide functionality corresponding to portions of bandwidth, they may be used in other wireless or wired communication systems, such as WiFi.

Some embodiments of the invention are implemented as UE applications. However, they may be implemented differently, e.g. hard coded in a chip that may be integrated into the UE.

A piece of information may be transmitted from one entity to another in one or more messages. Each of these messages may include additional (different) information.

The names of network elements, protocols, and methods are all based on current standards. In other versions or other technologies, the names of these network elements and/or protocols and/or methods may be different as long as they provide the corresponding functionality.

The statement that two entities are different means that they perform different functions, unless otherwise indicated or clear from the context. This does not necessarily mean that they are based on different hardware. That is, each entity described in this specification may be based on different hardware, or some or all of the entities may be based on the same hardware. This does not necessarily mean that they are based on different software. That is, each entity described in this specification may be based on different software, or some or all of the entities may be based on the same software. Each of the entities described in this specification may be implemented in a cloud.

From the above description, it should thus be apparent that example embodiments of the present invention provide, for example, a terminal such as a UE, an IoT device, an MTC device, or component thereof, an apparatus embodying the same, a method for controlling and/or operating the same, and computer program(s) controlling and/or operating the same, as well as media carrying such computer program(s) and forming computer program product(s). Thus, it should be apparent from the above description that, for example, example embodiments of the present invention provide a base station, such as a NodeB, eNodeB, or gdnodeb, or a component thereof, an apparatus embodying the same, methods for controlling and/or operating the same, and computer program(s) controlling and/or operating the same, and a medium carrying such computer program(s) and forming computer program product(s).

By way of non-limiting example, implementations of any of the above blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques or methods include implementation as hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

It is to be understood that what has been described above is what is presently considered to be the preferred embodiments of the invention. It should be noted, however, that the description of the preferred embodiments has been given by way of example only and that various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.