CN115885524B

CN115885524B - Network entity equipment, user equipment and method for dynamically adjusting MBMS transmission area

Info

Publication number: CN115885524B
Application number: CN202080102968.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 艾哈迈德·穆罕默德·米凯尔; 生嘉
Original assignee: JRD Communication Shenzhen Ltd
Current assignee: JRD Communication Shenzhen Ltd
Priority date: 2020-07-09
Filing date: 2020-07-09
Publication date: 2025-03-11
Anticipated expiration: 2040-07-09
Also published as: CN115885524A; WO2022006818A1

Abstract

The present invention discloses a method for dynamically adjusting a multimedia broadcast/multicast service (MBMS) transmission area. A network entity groups multiple user equipment (UE) into multiple UE groups. Each UE group is associated with one of multiple MBMS sub-areas, and the multiple MBMS sub-areas belong to one MBMS area. The network entity generates an MBMS transmission configuration for the sub-area and transmits the configuration for the multiple sub-areas to the multiple UEs. The multiple UEs receive and decode MBMS services/data according to the configuration for the sub-areas.

Description

Network entity equipment, user equipment and method for dynamically adjusting MBMS transmission area

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of wireless communications, and in particular, to a multimedia broadcast/multicast service (multimedia broadcast/multicast service, MBMS) system.

Background

Multimedia broadcast/multicast service (multimedia broadcast/multicast service, MBMS) is a point-to-multipoint interface aimed at providing efficient broadcast and multicast services for third generation partnership project (Third Generation Partnership Project,3 GPP) cellular networks. MBMS traffic may be transmitted in a physical multicast channel (physical multicast channel, PMCH) and unicast traffic may be transmitted in a physical downlink shared channel (physical downlink SHARED CHANNEL, PDSCH). MBMS provides multicast services within a Single Cell using Single-Cell Point-to-Multipoint (SC-PTM) transmissions and broadcast services within a set of multiple cells using multimedia broadcast multicast service Single frequency network (MBMS Single frequency network, MBSFN) transmissions. SC-PTM is transmitted using the same long term evolution (Long Term Evolution, LTE) Downlink (DL) shared channel and subframe structure, while MBSFN defines a new channel and has a different subframe structure than regular subframe LTE to ensure that the transmission is made over a set of cells.

Technical problem

In the current standard, a common MBMS zone configuration is provided for all UEs within the MBMS zone. MBMS-related radio resources are allocated to a physical multicast channel (physical multicast channel, PMCH) regardless of the actual number of ongoing sessions and UE channel conditions. The UE has no mechanism available to request dynamic adjustment of the MBMS transmission area configuration.

In addition, using different resource allocation methods for MBMS traffic of PMCH bearers and unicast traffic of PDSCH bearers requires the UE to change reception behavior and increases design complexity of the UE.

Disclosure of Invention

A first aspect of the present disclosure provides a method executable in a network entity device, comprising grouping a plurality of User Equipments (UEs) into a plurality of groups of user equipments in a plurality of multimedia broadcast/multicast service (multimedia broadcast/multicast service, MBMS) sub-areas. Each of the groups of user equipments is associated with one of the sub-areas, the plurality of MBMS sub-areas being located in an MBMS area. The method also includes generating a configuration of the sub-region, and transmitting the configuration of the sub-region to the plurality of UEs.

A second aspect of the present disclosure provides a method executable in a User Equipment (UE) comprising transmitting an indication message comprising channel quality and service interest of the UE. The indication message is for associating the user equipment with a first multimedia broadcast/multicast service (multimedia broadcast/multicast service, MBMS) sub-area of a plurality of MBMS sub-areas. The plurality of MBMS sub-areas belong to one MBMS area. The method further comprises receiving a configuration of the first MBMS sub-area and receiving and decoding an MBMS session according to the configuration of the first MBMS sub-area.

A third aspect of the invention provides a network entity device comprising a transceiver and a processor coupled to the transceiver. The processor is configured to perform steps comprising:

Grouping a plurality of User Equipments (UEs) into a plurality of user equipment groups in a plurality of multimedia broadcast/multicast service (multimedia broadcast/multicast service, MBMS) sub-areas, wherein each of the user equipment groups is associated with one of the sub-areas, the plurality of MBMS sub-areas being located in an MBMS area;

Generating a configuration of the sub-areas, and

Transmitting the configuration of the sub-region to the plurality of user devices.

A fourth aspect of the present disclosure provides a User Equipment (UE) comprising a transceiver and a processor coupled to the transceiver. The processor is configured to perform steps comprising:

Transmitting an indication message comprising channel quality and service interest of the user equipment, wherein the indication message is used to associate the user equipment with a first multimedia broadcast/multicast service (multimedia broadcast/multicast service, MBMS) sub-area of a plurality of MBMS sub-areas, wherein the plurality of MBMS sub-areas belong to one MBMS area;

Receiving a configuration of the first MBMS sub-area, and

And receiving and decoding the MBMS session according to the configuration of the first MBMS sub-area.

The disclosed method may be implemented on a chip. The chip may include a processor configured to invoke and run a computer program stored in a memory to cause a device on which the chip is installed to perform the disclosed methods.

The disclosed methods may be programmed as computer-executable instructions stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The non-transitory computer readable medium, when loaded into a computer, instructs a processor of the computer to perform the disclosed method.

The non-transitory computer readable medium may include at least one of the group consisting of a hard disk, an optical disk read-only memory (Compact disc read only memory, CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, an erasable programmable read-only memory (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory, EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (ELECTRICALLY ERASABLE PROGRAMMABLE READ ONLY MEMORY, EEPROM), and a flash memory.

The disclosed methods can be programmed as a computer program product to cause a computer to perform the disclosed methods.

The disclosed methods can be programmed as a computer program that causes a computer to perform the disclosed methods.

Advantageous effects

The present invention provides a mechanism that allows dynamic control and adjustment of MBSFN area transmission configurations based on the user distribution and service requirements. The present invention also provides the following advantages at the User Equipment (UE) side and the network side.

UE side efficacy includes:

Improved MBMS reception quality the disclosed method provides improved UE reception quality compared to the current MBMS standard. The current MBMS standard defines a generic MBMS configuration in which the same modulation and coding scheme (modulation and coding scheme, MCS) is applied to all UEs within the MBMS area, regardless of the actual channel quality condition of the UEs. The disclosed method allows for selecting different optimal MCSs for different UEs according to the actual channel quality conditions of the UEs, thereby improving the MBMS reception quality at the UE side.

Reducing UE processing capability requirements-selecting the optimal MCS also helps to reduce UE processing capability requirements. In the disclosed method, for example, a UE having a high channel quality condition may receive MBMS using a high MCS. In current MBMS standards with pre-configured and generic MCS allocation, such UEs may be configured with a low MCS, which may lead to a situation where the UE needs more receive intervals to receive and decode the amount of data than when selecting the best MCS.

Reduced UE design complexity the disclosed method allows the UE to use the same resource allocation method for MBMS in PMCH and unicast in PDSCH. In addition, the disclosed method allows the UE to use the same resource allocation method for the MBMS data channel MTCH (i.e., multicast traffic channel multicast TRAFFIC CHANNEL, MTCH) and the signaling channel MCCH (i.e., multicast control channel multicast control channel, MCCH). The UE may thus utilize a unified behavior or mechanism in receiving and decoding these channels. Network side efficacy includes:

● Efficient resource utilization since operators need to optimize MCS selection for MBSFN service areas, the optimization process requires the base station to utilize efficient measurement tools and labor to select the maximum MCS that meets the UE coverage requirements. Selecting a low MCS for eMBMS data transmission may achieve good user coverage at the expense of the unicast occupying radio resources, while selecting a higher MCS may result in the resources being over-provisioned to the MBMS service. The disclosed method allows the network scheduler to optimize MCS selection for MBMS transmissions based on UE channel conditions.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or related arts, the embodiments will be briefly described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is evident that the figures are only some embodiments of the invention, from which a person skilled in the art can obtain other figures without paying out the premises.

FIG. 1 is a schematic system diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a 5G core network.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an MBMS area according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the disclosed method.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the disclosed method.

Fig. 6 is an example schematic diagram of dynamically adjusting MBSFN area configuration according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 7 is a block diagram of a system for wireless communication according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

The technical matters, structural features, achieved objects and effects of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In particular, the terminology used in the described embodiments of the invention is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. In the description herein, the network may be referred to as a radio access network (radio access network, RAN), a Core Network (CN), or a combination of the RAN and CN. The RAN may include one or more RAN entities and the CN may include one or more CN entities.

The present invention relates to wireless communication, and more particularly to the multimedia broadcast/multicast service (multimedia broadcast/multicast service, MBMS) system. A method of dynamically controlling a multicast broadcast transmission area is provided. In the present disclosure, the UE transmits a message indicating UE channel quality conditions, location information, and service interests to the network through a radio resource control (radio resource control, RRC) message, uplink control information (uplink control information, UCI), or a medium access control (medium access control, MAC) Control Element (CE). Examples of the RRC message may include reference signal quality (REFERENCE SIGNAL RECEIVED quality, RSRQ), signal-to-INTERFERENCE PLUS NOISE RATIO (SINR), and temporary mobile group identity (temporary mobile group identity, TMGI). Examples of the UCI may include a channel quality indicator (channel quality indicator, CQI), SINR, and a service interest indication. Examples of the MAC CE may include a service interest indication. Based on the indication message received from the UE, the network classifies a plurality of UEs within an MBSFN area into different MBSFN sub-areas based on the channel quality conditions of the UE and the service interests in the indication message. The network associates an MBMS session to a UE based on the service interests of the UE and dynamically updates a downlink transmission configuration including RAN resources allocated to the session based on an average channel quality value for the MBSFN sub-area. The network sends the transmission configuration update including the session association and RAN resource allocation update to the UEs so that each UE can effectively receive broadcast MBMS services in the MBSFN area to which the UE is classified.

Referring to fig. 1, a telecommunication system comprising a UE 10a, a UE 10b, a base station 200a and a network entity device 300 performs the disclosed method according to one embodiment of the invention. Fig. 1 is shown for illustration and not limitation, and the system may include more UEs, BSs, and CN entities. The connections between the devices and the device components are shown as lines and arrows in fig. 1. The UE 10a may include a processor 11a, a memory 12a, and a transceiver 13a. The UE 10b may include a processor 11b, a memory 12b, and a transceiver 13b. The base station 200a may include a processor 201a, a memory 202a, and a transceiver 203a. The network entity device 300 may comprise a processor 301, a memory 302 and a transceiver 303. Each of the processors 11a, 11b, 201a, and 301 may be configured to implement the proposed functions, procedures, and/or methods in the description. The layers of the radio interface protocol may be implemented in the processors 11a, 11b, 201a and 301. Each of the memories 12a, 12b, 202a and 302 is operable to store various programs and information to operate the connected processors. Each of the transceivers 13a, 13b, 203a, and 303 is operatively coupled to a connected processor to transmit and/or receive radio signals or wired signals. The UE 10a may communicate with the UE 10b through a side chain. The base station 200a may be one of an eNB, a gNB or other radio node, and may configure radio resources and MBSFN sub-areas for the UE 10a and UE 10 b.

Each of the processors 11a, 11b, 201a, and 301 may include application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), other chipsets, logic circuits, and/or data processing devices. Each of the memories 12a, 12b, 202a, and 302 may include a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (random access memory, RAM), a flash memory, a memory card, a storage medium, and/or other storage devices. Each of the transceivers 13a, 13b, 203a, and 303 may include a baseband circuit and a Radio Frequency (RF) circuit to process radio frequency signals. When the embodiments are implemented in software, the techniques may be implemented with modules, programs, functions, entities, etc. performing the functions. The modules may be stored in memory and executed by the processor. The memory may be implemented within the processor or external to the processor, in which case it can be communicatively coupled to the processor via various means as is known in the art.

The network entity device 300 may be a node in the CN. The CN may include an LTE CN or 5G core network (5G core,5 gc) including a user plane function (user plane function, UPF), a session management function (session management function, SMF), a mobility management function (mobility management function, AMF), unified data management (unified DATA MANAGEMENT, UDM), a policy control function (policy control function, PCF), a control plane/user plane separation (control plane/user plane separation, CUPS), an authentication server (authentication server, AUSF), a network slice selection function (network slice selection function, NSSF), and the network exposure function (network exposure function, NEF).

The 5G NR system uses the existing unicast service architecture and flow as much as possible to deliver MBMS service. For example, referring to fig. 2, the application function (application function, AF) 212 in the 5gc 220 is enhanced by introducing a new network function called multicast service function (multicast service function, MSF), which MSF provides MBMS service layer functions via Npcf or Nnef interfaces. The network exposure function (network exposure function, NEF) and the policy control function (policy control function, PCF) 213 are enhanced to exchange 5G MBMS quality of service (quality of service, qoS) and service area related information with AF 212 and session policy related information with session management function (Session management function, SMF) 214. The functionality of the user plane function (user plane function, UPF) 216 is enhanced to support configuration/control of the MBMS stream. The access and mobility function (ACCESS AND mobility function, AMF) 215 is also enhanced to support management of MBMS transmission resources across next generation radio access network (NG-RAN) nodes 210 and 211. Interfaces N2, N3, N6 and N7 define the relevant criteria in 5G.

The MBMS operation is described in detail as follows. In the description herein, the disclosed method is performed in a system comprising a plurality of UEs and a network. The network may comprise at least one of the base station 200a and the network entity device 300. The plurality of UEs may include the UEs 10a and 10b.

MBMS in 5G NR aims to deliver multimedia broadcast/multicast services efficiently, with flexibility in terms of resource allocation and delay to support a wide range of emerging 5G applications and services, such as public safety, mission critical (mission critical, MC), internet of vehicles (V2X) and internet protocol television (Internet protocol television, IPTV) applications. In order to facilitate efficient delivery of MBMS services, the disclosed method proposes that the 5G MBMS system supports dynamic control of MBMS transmission area configuration according to the user distribution and service requirements. The disclosure provides a mechanism to dynamically control and adjust MBSFN area configuration based on user distribution and service requirements (session related ID, qoS information). The user profile includes channel quality and other location information, and the service requires session related Identifiers (IDs) and quality of service (quality of service, qoS) information. The MBSFN area definition and the possible MBMS area configuration in 5G NR are briefly described below in order to better understand the proposed method.

An example of MBMS zone configuration is detailed as follows:

in LTE MBMS, an MBSFN area is defined as a set of cells within an MBSFN synchronization area that cooperate to enable transmission of MBMS services. Multiple cells may belong to one MBSFN area, and each cell may belong to at most eight MBSFN areas. An MBSFN synchronization area is defined as a set of eNodeB base stations that synchronously perform MBSFN transmission. All cells within an MBSFN synchronization area transmit the same waveform with extended CP to a UE so that the UE can identify MBMS traffic within the MBSFN synchronization area. One MBSFN area may support multiple physical multicast channels (physical multicast channel, PMCHs), e.g., 15 PMCHs. Each PMCH corresponds to a multicast channel (multicast channel, MCH). Each MCH may multiplex multiple multicast logical channels, e.g., 29 channels. There may be one multicast control channel (multicast control channel, MCCH) per MBSFN area. Thus, one MCH may multiplex one MCCH and multiple Multicast Traffic Channels (MTCHs), and other MCHs may similarly multiplex multiple MTCHs. In 5G NR, a different MBSFN area scenario is required to reflect the gNB split architecture in the 5G NR network. The gNB split architecture in 5G NR introduces new elements on the RAN side, such as gNB centralized units (centralized unit, CU) and gNB Distributed Units (DU). The embodiments of the present invention may be applied to scenarios relying on the network elements, such as the gNB-CU, the gNB-DU and the cell, involving MBSFN area configuration, as shown in fig. 3.

Fig. 3 shows an example of an NR MBMS network architecture comprising the 5G NR core 220 interconnected to the gNB-CU 31 and the gNB-CU 32 using a control plane interface N2 and a user plane interface N3. The gNB-CU 31 is interconnected to gNB-DU 311 and gNB-DU 312 through an F1 interface, and to the gNB-CU 32 through an X2 logical interface. Fig. 3 shows three MBSFN scenarios, including:

1) In a gNB-DU MBSFN scenario, all cells involved in an MBSFN area are in one coverage area 311a of said gNB-DU 311. The MAC entity in the gNB-DU 311 performs radio resource scheduling and allocation. No external interface is involved in the scenario, so the expected delay of MBMS transmission is low and no synchronization protocol is needed.

2) GNB-DU inter-MBSFN scenario-all cells involved in one MBSFN area belong to two or more gNB-DUs. For example, two cells in coverage area 311a and a cell in coverage area 312a of the gNB-DU 312 related to MBSFN area 31a belong to the gNB-DUs 311 and 312. The gNB-CU 31 performs radio resource scheduling and allocation, the scenario involving the F1 interface. As expected, the delay of MBMS transmissions is still low and no synchronization protocol is required.

Inter-CU MBSFN scenario: the cells involved in an MBSFN area are distributed over several gNB-DUs, where these gNB-DUs belong to two or more gNB-CUs. The Anchor/master CU performs the radio resource scheduling and allocation, and both Xn and F1 interfaces are involved in the scenario. The expected delay of MBMS transmissions is moderate, requiring a synchronization protocol.

Table 1 shows the delay and synchronization requirements for different NR MBMS scenarios:

TABLE 1 delay and synchronization requirements for different NR MBMS scenarios

Imagine	Involving interfaces	Predicted delay	Synchronization of
				GNB-DU interior	-	Low and low	Does not need
GNB-DU space	F1	Low and low	Does not need
				GNB-CU	F1,Xn	Medium and medium	Needs to be as follows

To facilitate efficient delivery MBNS of services in such diverse MBSFN area scenarios, MBMS in the NR network requires a new mechanism that allows dynamic adjustment of MBSFN areas. The present disclosure provides a method for dynamically adjusting an MBMS transmission area based on UE channel quality and service requirements. The method is applicable to all scenes including intra-DU MBSFN, inter-DU MBSFN and inter-CU MBSFN areas. In the detailed description of the embodiments of the disclosed method, the intra-DU MBSFN scenario is described as an example.

A general description of the disclosed method is given below.

Referring to fig. 4, the present invention provides a method for dynamically adjusting a multicast/broadcast transmission area according to the UE distribution and UE traffic demand. The UE distribution includes at least one of channel quality and location information. The location information of the UE may be represented by a reference signal time difference (REFERENCE SIGNAL TIME DIFFERENCE, RSTD) and/or other positioning assistance information such as angle of arrival and Cell-ID. In the disclosed method, a plurality of User Equipments (UEs) transmit an indication message to the network (block 400). Each indication message sent by a UE indicates the service interest and channel quality of the UE. The indication message may be carried in an RRC message, uplink control information (uplink control information, UCI), MAC control element, or any combination thereof. Examples of the RRC message may include reference signal quality (REFERENCE SIGNAL RECEIVED quality, RSRQ), signal-to-INTERFERENCE PLUS NOISE RATIO (SINR), and temporary mobile group identity (temporary mobile group identity, TMGI). Examples of the UCI may include a channel quality indicator (channel quality indicator, CQI), SINR, and a service interest indication. Examples of the MAC CE may include a service interest indication. The service interest indication may comprise an indication of a traffic type or a service type within a logical channel.

Based on the indication messages received from the plurality of UEs, the network groups the plurality of UEs within an MBSFN area into a plurality of groups or MBSFN sub-areas based on channel quality and service interests of the plurality of UEs (block 401). After the network receives the indication messages from the plurality of UEs, firstly determining the number of session clusters according to the service interests in the indication messages, and classifying the UEs into the session clusters according to channel quality and the service interests of the UEs. The service interest of a UE may include QoS requirements of the service that the UE is interested in receiving. The network clusters UEs into a number of channel quality groups equal to the number of session clusters. For example, the network, e.g., a CN entity or a base station, places UEs with similar channel quality values in the same channel quality group, or in other words, the same channel quality cluster. For each channel quality cluster, the network identifies an average channel quality value for the channel quality cluster and associates each cluster with an MBSFN sub-area. The network divides the UE into MBSFN sub-areas according to the difference of the actual channel quality values of the UE so as to average the channel quality values of the channel quality clusters.

The network associates MBMS sessions to the plurality of UEs based on their service interests and dynamically allocates RAN resources for these sessions based on the average of the channel quality of all UEs within each MBSFN area (block 402). For each MBSFN sub-area, the network dynamically allocates a transmission configuration, including the RAN resource allocation, for downlink transmission to the plurality of UEs within the MBSFN sub-area based on the channel quality average value of the MBSFN sub-area. The downlink transmission configuration includes a session associated with the MBSFN sub-area. The RAN resource configuration includes an MCS and a transport block size (transport block size, TBS) associated with the MBSFN sub-area.

The network side sends the transmission configuration to the plurality of UEs in a current scheduling interval, and sends an update of the transmission configuration to the plurality of UEs according to a report updated by the plurality of UEs in a next scheduling interval, so that each UE receives and decodes the configuration of the MBSFN sub-area and the configuration update to receive the MBMS service in the session associated with the service interest of the UE (block 403).

Referring to fig. 5, the present disclosure provides a method that allows one or more UEs, e.g., one or both of the UEs 10a and 10b, to receive MBMS and unicast services in the 5G NR system. The procedure described in fig. 5 may be applied to each of a plurality of UEs in RRC connected mode. For example, for each of the plurality of UEs, the UE determines a channel quality and an expected service interest of the UE and generates an indication message including the channel quality and the service interest (step 311). The UE sends the indication message including channel quality and the service interest to the Network (NW), e.g., one or both of the base station 200a and the NW entity 300 (step 312). The indication message is for associating the UE with a specific MBMS sub-area of a plurality of multimedia broadcast/multicast service (multimedia broadcast/multicast service, MBMS) sub-areas. The specific MBMS sub-area is hereinafter referred to as a first sub-area. The plurality of MBMS sub-areas belong to one MBMS area. In response to the indication message, the NW determines an MBMS area configuration (e.g., PMCH configuration, MBSFN sub-area configuration, and MBMS session) and sends the configuration to the UE (step 313). The NW transmits the MBMS zone configuration to the UE and transmits an MBMS session to the UE according to the configuration (step 314). The UE receives and decodes an MBMS session according to the configuration of the first MBMS sub-area. The configuration of the first MBMS sub-area includes configuration parameters of an MBMS session in the first MBMS sub-area and configuration parameters of a PMCH in the first MBMS sub-area. The method of fig. 5 may be applied to a plurality of UEs.

In one example, the MBSFN area under the gNB-DU coverage area includes a plurality of UEs, e.g., UE1, UE2, UE3, UE4, U5, UE6, and UE7. These UEs are interested in four services and may group these services into three clusters (S1, S2), (S3) and (S4) based on the QoS requirements of the services. For example, the QoS requirements may be represented by at least one or more of a QoS class identifier (QoS CLASS IDENTIFIER, QCI), guaranteed bit rate (guaranteed bit rate, GBR), maximum Bit Rate (MBR), latency and Packet Loss Rate (PLR). As shown in table 2, each UE transmits an indication message to the network, including a Channel Quality (CQ) measurement report and an indication of service interest of the UE. As shown in table 3, when the indication message is received from the plurality of UEs within an MBSFN area, the network determines the number of session clusters to which the UEs are to be clustered according to the service interests in the indication message, wherein the service interests include QoS requirements of the UEs. In the example, a plurality of UEs having service interests for services S1 and S2 are classified into a first session cluster. A plurality of UEs having service interest for service S3 are classified into a second session cluster. A plurality of UEs having C service interest for service S4 are classified into a third session cluster.

The network divides the plurality of UEs into a plurality of channel quality clusters according to the channel quality reports of the plurality of UEs, and sets the number of the channel quality clusters equal to the total number of the session clusters. As shown in table 3, three session clusters are associated with three channel quality clusters. The network places multiple UEs with similar channel quality in the same channel quality cluster. In the example, a plurality of UEs having CQ values of 1.0 and 1.5 are classified into a first CQ cluster and a first session cluster. The plurality of UEs having CQ values of 2.9 and 3.0 are classified into a second CQ cluster and a second session cluster. The UEs having CQ values of 4.8, 5.5 and 5.9 are classified into a third CQ cluster and a third session cluster.

As shown in table 4, the network identifies the CQ mean for each cluster and associates each CQ mean with a group representing MBSFN sub-areas. The network groups a plurality of UEs into the MBSFN sub-area based on a difference of UE CQ and the QC-average value of the channel quality clusters. The network allocates sessions for a plurality of UEs within each MBSFN area based on the service interests of the UEs. Then, the network allocates the RAN resources for PMCH downlink channels for the session of the MBSFN sub-area according to the CQ average value of the specific MBSFN sub-area. Examples of the CQ average value include 1.25 of MBSFN sub-area A1, 2.95 of MBSFN sub-area A2, and 5.4 of MBSFN sub-area A3. The network scrambles the PMCH of each MBSFN sub-area with a specific radio network temporary identifier (Radio Network Tempory Identity, RNTI) of the MBSFN sub-area and transmits an MBMS session in the PMCH to UEs so that only areas of the UE associated with the MBSFN sub-area having the RNTI can decode and descramble the PMCH transmissions with the RNTI. Thus, only UEs belonging to the particular sub-region are able to identify and decode PMCH transmissions associated with the particular MBSFN sub-region. For example, according to the context of fig. 5, the UE descrambles the PMCH in the first MBMS sub-area using a specific RNTI for the first MBMS sub-area. The UE decodes the PMCH according to a bitmap defining radio resources within a radio frame allocated to the PMCH. The bitmap may include one of a frame-based bitmap, a subframe-based bitmap, and a slot-based bitmap, and the bitmap is included in the configuration of the first MBMS sub-region. The disclosed method improves MBMS reception quality because each PMCH transmission of a sub-region is encoded according to an actual sub-region channel quality and helps to direct the MBMS session to a plurality of UEs according to their service interests.

TABLE 2 indication message content

TABLE 3 report clustering

TABLE 4 grouping of UEs into MBSFN sub-areas

To capture rapid changes in user distribution and service requirements, such as SINR changes due to UE movement within the MBSFN area, the network dynamically adjusts the allocation of MBMS sessions and RAN resources according to changes in UE channel quality and service interest reports.

Fig. 6 illustrates how the network updates the session and allocation of RAN resources for MBSFN areas based on changes in the distribution of UEs across areas and service requirements. Four examples depicted as (a), (b), (c), and (d) are shown in fig. 6. Different examples are different UE distribution and service requirements. In each example of the diagram of fig. 6, a system with UE distribution in MBSFN area is associated with allocated RAN resources represented by the number of TBSs for a session and subframes for PMCH transmission.

The example (a) shows RAN resources in the current LTE MBMS allocation mechanism. In the example, the RAN resource allocation is fixed for MBSFN areas. As illustrated in the example (a) of fig. 6, seven RAN resources are allocated for transmitting MBMS to seven UEs, and the network reuses the allocation over time regardless of changes in UE channel quality or service requirements until the configuration of the resource allocation is changed, for example, by operation and maintenance (os AND MAINTENANCE, O & M) entities. The configuration of resource allocation according to the disclosed method is shown in examples (b), (c) and (b). Each example of fig. 6 represents a resource allocation configuration for a single MBFSN region within a particular period, referred to as a configuration adjustment interval or scheduling interval. Fig. 6 (b) shows a resource allocation configuration of an adjustment interval for a first area configuration, where the network divides the UEs into three MBMSN sub-areas (A1, A2, A3), allocates sessions according to traffic demands of the UEs in each MBSFN sub-area, and allocates RAN resources for the sessions to the UEs according to an average channel quality value of the MBSFN sub-areas. The network allocates fewer RAN resources to the MBSFN sub-areas A2 and A3 than the previous LTE allocation mechanism. This is because the resources allocated to each MBSFN sub-area are determined by the network scheduler, which selects the best MCS and TBS to meet the UE channel quality and service requirements within each MBSFN sub-area, thereby achieving efficient utilization of RAN resources. Fig. 6 (c) shows a resource allocation configuration of the second configuration adjustment section. Because the session of service S2 associated with UE3 and UE4 has stopped, fewer RAN resources than the first interval are allocated to the session of the UE. Fig. 6 (d) shows a resource allocation configuration of the third adjustment section. Only two RAN resource instances are allocated for the entire MBSFN area. Since the plurality of UEs associated with the sub-region A2 are very close to the gNB-DU and obtain good channel quality, the gNB allocates a high MCS for the session and a smaller amount of RAN resources to the UEs.

According to the current design of MBMS in the TS-36.331 and TS 36.300, when a MBMS capable UE enters an MBSFN area or is interested in receiving an MBMS service, the UE first acquires the SystemInformationBlockType (SIB 2), broadcasts the SIB2 on the broadcast control channel (broadcast control channel, BCCH) of the MBMS cell of the MBSFN area where the UE is located. After reading the content of SIB2, the UE acquires the MBMS subframe allocation information defined by mbsfn-SubframeConfigList information element (information element, IE). The IE indicates which radio frames are reserved for PMCH or MBMS transmission and which radio frames are reserved for PDSCH or unicast transmission. After determining the subframes allocated to MBMS, if the UE is interested in receiving MBMS services, the UE continues to acquire and read SystemInformationBlockType (SIB 13), the SIB13 carrying information required for acquiring the MBMS control information, the information required for MBMS control information being associated with one or more MBSFN areas. The set of information contained in the SIB13 includes the MBMS-NotificationConfig IE and the MBSFN-AreaInfoList IEs, and MBMS-NotificationConfig IE specifies an MBMS notification configuration applicable to all MBSFN areas. The MBSFN-AreaInfoList IE includes the information needed to acquire the MBMS control information associated with one or more MBSFN areas. The MBMS control information includes the MBSFN area identification and the MCCH channel configuration information. The MCCH channel configuration information includes an MCCH modification period (MCCH-ModificationPeriod-NR), a repetition period (MCCH-RepetitionPeriod), an MCCH Offset (MCCH-Offset), subframes (sf-AllocInfo) that may carry MCCH scheduling, the MCS applicable to those subframes, and a first subframe (i.e., SINGNALLINGMCS) of the multicast channel scheduling information (MCH scheduling information, MSI) period.

After acquiring and reading the MCCH configuration, the UE acquires the MCCH channel carrying a Message called MCCH-Message, which contains the MBSFNAreaConfiguration Message. The MBSFNAreaConfiguration message provides all the information needed to schedule MBMS services for an MBSFN area. The information includes the CommonSF-AllocPatternList, the commonSF-AllocPeriod, and the PMCH-InfoList IE. The CommonSF-AllocPatternList is the common subframe allocation (common subframe allocation, CSA) pattern list and defines patterns (patterns) of subframes within a radio frame allocated to the MBSFN area. The subframe pattern represents the subframes defined by the bitmap of MBSFN-SubframeConfig IE within the MBSFN-SubframeConfigList. The commonSF-AllocPeriod or the CSA period defines how many radio frames the allocation pattern defined by commonSF-Alloc is to repeat. The PMCH-InfoList IE provides configuration of all PMCHs belonging to the MBSFN area and configuration of sessions carried by each PMCH. The PMCH-InfoList IE may include a configuration of up to 15 PMCHs, up to 29 sessions per PMCH, with each session being associated with an individual MTCH. For each PMCH, information about which MBSFN subframes carry that PMCH (start, end) and the Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) in DATAMCSIE, applicable to the subframes of the PMCH or MCH, the commonSF-Alloc field of CommonSF-AllocPatternList indicates the subframes of the PMCH or MCH. After decoding the PMCH, the UE obtains the multicast channel scheduling information (MCH scheduling information, MSI), which carries the scheduling information of the MTCH. The logical channel ID of the MTCH is also mapped to a temporary mobile group identity (temporary mobile group identity, TMGI) that maps the session to the associated MBMS service in the application layer.

Currently, the UE does not transmit an indication or report to the network for the purpose of dynamically adjusting the MBMS transmission area configuration. Although mechanisms such as the described MBMS measurement using MeasResultListMBSFN-r12 are already included in LTE release 12 of the standard. However, the purpose of including such measurement indications is to enhance overall MBMS operation by identifying coverage holes, adding or removing cells to/from MBSFN areas, and identifying long term MCSs, locations of packet loss, and forward error correction (forward error correction, FEC) rates. Thus, in LTE, MBMS measurements only include measurements related to signal strength, such as PMCH RSRP and RSRQ, and measurements related to error rate, such as MCH-BLER shown in table 6.

TABLE 6 MeasResultListMBSFN-r12 IE

In one embodiment of the disclosed method, a UE sends an indication message to the network indicating the UE's channel quality and service interest for dynamic adjustment of MBMS transmission area. The indication message may be transmitted via an RRC message, UCI report, or MAC control element. Examples of the RRC message may include reference signal quality of reception (RSRQ) and/or RSRA and/or signal-to-INTERFERENCE PLUS NOISE RATIO (SINR), and temporary mobile group identity (temporary mobile group identity, TMGI). Examples of the UCI may include a channel quality indicator (channel quality indicator, CQI), SINR, and a service interest indication. Examples of the MAC CE may include the MAC CE and the traffic/service type indication within the MAC header, which may be specified by a logical channel identifier. For RRC-based MBSFN measurements, SINR-related measurements may include MBSFN SINR and/or MBSFN supportable channel quality indicator (channel quality indicator, CQI) reports, as a complement to the signal strength-related and error rate-related measurements. The MBSFN SINR and MBSFN CQI are indicated in MeasResultListMBSFN-NR IE of Table 7 by parameters sinrResultMBSFN-NR and CqiResultMBSFN-NR, respectively.

UCI-based and MAC CE-based indications indicating the service interests and the channel quality are provided by the UE together to the network. Similarly, an RRC message based indication is provided to the network together in the same RRC signaling message by indicating e.g. the TMGI in the MBSFN measurement message or by indicating the channel quality (e.g. RSRQ, RSRP or SINR of the quality of the MBMS frequency of interest in the service indication message), the RRC message based indication being used to indicate MBMS channel quality measurements and the MBMS service interest.

TABLE 7 MeasResultListMBSFN-NR IE

As shown in table 8, for the MBSFNAreaConfiguration-rxx message (where xx denotes LTE release), which provides the information required to schedule MBMS services within an MBSFN area, a fixed number of resources, e.g., subframes and radio frames, are the PMCH preconfigured to carry the session associated with the MBSFN area. These resources are allocated to the PMCH regardless of the actual number of ongoing sessions and UE channel conditions. In other words, the commonSF-Alloc IE configures a bitmap (bitmap) in advance to define subframes reserved for carrying PMCH in downlink, and sets a fixed repetition period by commonSF-AllocPeriod-rxx IE to define a period in which the reserved subframes repeat on a radio frame basis, regardless of the number of ongoing sessions. The period may range from 40ms to 2560ms. This configuration may result in inefficient use of radio resources by MBMS services in NR.

TABLE 8 MBSFNAreaConfiguration-rxx message

One embodiment of the disclosed method includes in the NR an MBSFNAreaConfiguration-NR message, e.g. MBSFNAreaConfiguration-NR IE in table 9, as a class extension within the message dedicated to carrying the MBSFN area configuration in the NR, e.g. MCCH message in table 9, or as a non-critical extension to the MBSFNAreaConfiguration-rxx message, e.g. MBSFNAreaConfiguration-rxx IE in table 10. This helps in the case when certain NR MBMS functions are supported in older MBMS versions.

TABLE 9 MCCH-Message

TABLE 10 MBSFNAreaConfiguration-rxx

One embodiment of the disclosed method, instead of statically pre-configuring the resources for PMCH only through commonSF-Alloc IE, configures according to the indication message received from UE including UE channel quality and service requirements, also allows the network, e.g. network scheduler, to determine the required number of PMCHs. The network may also dynamically allocate the number of radio resources, e.g., the number of subframes, slots, and/or minimum slots needed to carry these configured PMCHs within the allocated period. The period of the allocation may be referred to as a scheduling interval or allocation interval or Transmission Time Interval (TTI) TIME INTERVAL. The network allocates an amount of radio resources for each of the required number of PMCHs within a scheduling interval. The radio resources may be configured in units of subframes, slots, or minimum slots.

One embodiment of the disclosed method does not use only a pre-configured bitmap to define the subframes within the reserved and allocated radio frames for the PMCH, but also allows the network scheduler to determine the bitmap based on the actual resource requirements of unicast and PMCH-carried MBMS carried by PDSCH within the scheduling interval. The network side may acquire the actual resource requirement of the MBMS from the indication message of the UE. In addition, as shown in table 11, one embodiment of the disclosed method proposes three options for indicating the resources allocated by the scheduler, including:

1) Indicating the subframes within a radio frame allocated to a PMCH based on a bitmap indication of the frame;

2) Indicating the time slots within the subframe allocated to the PMCH based on a bitmap indication of the subframe, and

3) Based on the bitmap indication of the time slots, small time slots within the time slots allocated to the PMCH are indicated.

One of the reasons behind introducing such indications is to unify the MBMS and unicast user plane scheduling. Similar to the scheduling interval for unicast of PDSCH bearers, embodiments of the disclosed method provide scheduling intervals for MBMS of PMCH bearers. Another reason is to introduce units with finer granularity allocation, i.e. subframes, slots and minislots, allowing the network scheduler to apply different scheduling settings for different MBMS traffic types or different QoS requirements as indicated by the QoS Flow ID (QFI) in an MBMS protocol data unit (protocol data unit, PDU) session. The network allocates an amount of radio resources for each of the required number of PMCHs within a scheduling interval. The allocated radio resources may be configured in units of subframes, slots, or minimum slots by a dynamic allocation method, and the radio resources may be configured in units of one radio frame by a static allocation method. The network may configure the units of radio resource allocation for different traffic types. The service interest of the UE may include an indication of one of the different traffic types. Furthermore, the network side may configure the units of radio resource allocation for different QoS requirements. The service interest of the UE may include a QFI indicating one of the different QoS requirements.

Similarly, the scheduling interval may be configured in units of subframes, slots, or minimum slots by a dynamic allocation method, and the scheduling interval may be configured in units of one radio frame by a static allocation method. The network may configure the units of the scheduling interval for different traffic types. The service interest of the UE may include an indication of one of the different traffic types. Furthermore, the network side may configure the units of the scheduling interval for different QoS requirements. The service interest of the UE may include a QFI indicating one of the different QoS requirements.

One embodiment of the disclosed method introduces a new IE, namely MBMS-AllocationPattern-NR, in the mbsfnarea configuration-NR to indicate the static and dynamic allocation methods and the resource allocation, and the bitmap to indicate both cases. As shown in table 12, commonSF-Alloc-nr and commonSF-Allocperiod-nr represent bitmaps used in the Static allocation method and the allocation period, as static_alloc in tables 12, 13 and 15, and MBMS-Alloc-sf, MBMS-Alloc-sl and MBMS-Alloc-ms are bitmaps, respectively designating the frame-based, sub-frame-based and slot-based indications for the dynamic allocation method, as dynamic_alloc in tables 12, 13 and 15. In table 11, the number of small slots per slot is determined assuming a normal cyclic prefix and assuming that the small slots include two, four and seven OFDM symbols, respectively. The NR parameter set μ is variable, representing the subcarrier spacing and symbol length used in NR.

In one embodiment of the disclosed method, the network determines the quality of service (QoS) requirements (e.g., quality of service class identifier (SERVICE CLASS IDENTIFIER, QCI), e.g., data/bit rate, delay and packet loss rate, and different channel quality conditions) for the UE.

Table 11 bitmap sizes for the frame-based, subframe-based, and slot-based indications

Table 1 2:MBSFNAreaConfiguration-NR message

For the dynamic allocation method, rather than using a configurable repetition period during which the reserved resources for PMCH are repeated, embodiments of the disclosed method allow the network (e.g., network scheduler) to define allocation intervals, such as the duration of one or more frames, subframes, slots, or even small slots, wherein the time domain resources, such as subframes, slots, small slots, or symbols, and frequency domain resources are dynamically allocated to PMCH. As shown in table 13, one embodiment of the disclosed method introduces a new IE, namely MBMS-Alloc-interval, in the mbsfnarea configuration-NR to define the allocation interval or scheduling interval.

TABLE 13 MBSFNAreaConfiguration-NR message

In the current standard, a general region configuration is provided for all UEs within the MBMS region. In this configuration, e.g. the configuration provided by PMCH-InfoList-rxx in table 14, the same configuration applies to all PMCHs configured for an MBSFN area, regardless of the UE channel quality conditions within said MBSFN area or the service requirements of an MBMS session carried by said configured PMCH. Since in fact different UEs within an MBMS area may have different service requirements, i.e. quality of service class identifiers (QCIs), such as data/bit rate, delay and packet loss rate, and different channel quality conditions, different MBMS configurations may be required, such configurations may lead to reduced performance at the UE side and at the network side.

TABLE 14 PMCH-InfoList-rxx

In one embodiment of the disclosed method, the network groups a plurality of UEs within the MBSFN area into different MBSFN sub-areas, and provides session and PMCH configuration for each MBSFN sub-area, respectively. In particular, the network, e.g., a network scheduler, aggregates sessions in an MBSFN area into multiple session clusters based on UE service interests, which may include QoS requirements, e.g., QCI information. The session provided for each MBSFN sub-area may be a session for carrying a plurality of MBMS bearers and services, and may be denoted by MBMS-SessionInfoList-r 9. The PMCH configuration is detailed in table 18.

In one embodiment of the disclosed method, the network groups UEs within the MBSFN area into different MBSFN sub-areas by clustering the plurality of UEs into a number of plurality of channel quality clusters according to the channel quality of the plurality of UEs. The number of channel quality clusters is equal to the number of session clusters. Each channel quality cluster is associated with an individual MBSFN sub-area. The network dynamically allocates RAN resources for sessions within each MBSFN area based on the average or mean of channel quality for all UEs within the MBSFN area. Thus, one embodiment of the disclosed method introduces a new IE, nofSubAreaPerMBSFN, in the mbsfnarea configuration-NR message to indicate the number of MBSFN subregions into which the UE can be grouped during a specified scheduling interval (e.g., as specified by MBMS-Alloc-interval). Furthermore, as shown in table 15, the PMCH-InfoList IE is redefined to provide a set of PMCHs with different configurations for each MBSFN area, instead of providing a common configuration for all PMCHs of the MBSFN area.

TABLE 15 MBSFNAreaConfiguration-NR

As shown in table 16, one embodiment of the disclosed method introduces a new IE, i.e., PMCH-SubAreaInfo-NR IE, to specify the individual PMCH configuration associated with a particular MBSFN sub-area, and introduces PMCH-SubAreaConfigList IE in the IE to indicate configuration parameters of all PMCHs configured for the sub-area. The sub-region may be indicated by SubAreaID or a parameter MBSFN-SubAreaId. Furthermore, embodiments of the disclosed method introduce a PMCH-SubArea-Config IE in the PMCH-SubArea-ConfigList to specify configuration parameters for each individual PMCH indicated by PMCH-Config-nr and the configuration parameters for the session carried by the PMCH, the session being shown in mbms-SessionInfoList-nr.

One embodiment of the disclosed method optionally scrambles the PCMH configured for individual MBSFN sub-areas with a specific RNTI, e.g., RNTI specified by SubArea-RNTI, to distinguish the PMCH broadcast in each MBSFN sub-area and improve PMCH decoding performance on the UE side. For example, PMCH of the MBSFN subregion is configured based on the difference between the UE SNR value in the MBSFN subregion and the UE SNR value in other MBSFN subregions to improve PMCH decoding performance at the UE side.

TABLE 16 PMCH-SubAreaInfoList-NR IE

For each individual PMCH configured for an MBSFN sub-area designated for PMCH-Config-rxx IE, a Multicast Traffic Channel (MTCH) is configured to carry MBMS user data. The MTCH is carried on a PMCH that occurs in subframes reserved for MBMS according to a configurable period, e.g., 10ms to 10240ms defined by the MCH scheduling information or MSI (e.g., MCH-SchedulingPeriod-rxx). As shown in table 17, the period relates only to the time domain scheduling, which includes MCS and TBS or RB allocation of the PMCH, and other lower layer configurations are semi-static allocation, which may result in inefficient use of RAN resources. Using different resource allocation methods for MBMS traffic carried by PMCH and unicast traffic carried by PDSCH requires the UE to change the reception behavior and increases the design complexity of the UE.

TABLE 17 PMCH-Config-rxx IE

In one embodiment of the disclosed method, the network scheduler dynamically allocates frequency domain resources such as MCS, TBS and Radio Blocks (RBs) for each configured PMCH in a similar manner to the resource allocation method for unicast PDSCH and uses MSI scheduling intervals similar to the scheduling intervals for unicast PDSCH scheduling, e.g. based on the duration of subframes, slots or small slots. Accordingly, as shown in table 18, one embodiment of the disclosed method introduces a PMCH-Config-NR IE in PMCH-SubArea-Config to indicate the dynamic resource allocation for PMCH in MBSFN subregions as the PMCH configuration associated with the MBSFN subregions, and defines the following parameters in the IE PMCH-Config-NR:

1-dataMCS-PMCH, which represents a mapping of MCS values measured by the scheduler according to the UE RSRP/RSRSQ/SNR or CQI, the MCS selected from a MCS table (e.g., TS38.214 table 5.1.3.1-1, TS38.214 table 5.1.3.1-2, TS 38.214-table 5.1.3.1-3);

2-resourceAllocation this parameter indicates the frequency domain resource allocation for PMCH, including downlink resource allocation types such as those defined in TS 38.214-5.1.2.2;

3-rbg-Size, which indicates the resource block group configuration according to the Bandwidth Part (BWP) Size, such as the parameters given in TS 38.214-table 5.1.2.2.1-1 and table 6.1.2.2.1-1;

4-PRB-BundlingType, this parameter indicating the physical resource block (physical resourceblock, PRB) bundling type and bundling size;

5-PMCH-TimeDomainAllocationList, the parameters indicating the start and length of the time domain resource allocation in symbols of the PMCH, e.g. as specified in TS 38.214 5.1.2.1, and

6-Mch-SchedulingPeriod-nr, this parameter represents the period or the scheduling interval for MSI scheduling.

For the other lower layer configurations, such as the interleaving configuration (INTERLEAVING CONFIGURATION), zero-Power (ZP) CSI-RS resource allocation, etc., embodiments of the disclosed method use a configuration mechanism for PMCH that is as similar as possible to the configuration for unicast PDSCH channels. As shown in table 18, one embodiment of the disclosed method uses the same resource allocation method for PMCH carrying MBMS user data in MTCH and PMCH carrying MBMS signaling in MCCH to provide efficient and reliable MBMS control information scheduling according to UE channel quality and service requirements.

TABLE 18 PMCH-Config-NR

Fig. 7 is a block diagram of a system 700 for wireless communication, as an example, according to one embodiment of the invention. The embodiments described herein may be implemented into a system using any suitably configured hardware and/or software. Fig. 7 shows a system 700 comprising Radio Frequency (RF) circuitry 710, baseband circuitry 720, processing unit 730, memory/storage 740, display 750, camera 760, sensor 770, and input/output (I/O) interface 780 coupled to one another as shown.

The processing unit 730 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processor may include any combination of general-purpose and special-purpose processors, such as a graphics processor and an application processor (application processor). The processor may be coupled to the memory/storage and configured to execute instructions stored in the memory/storage to cause various applications and/or operating systems to execute on the system.

The baseband circuitry 720 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processor may comprise a baseband processor. The baseband circuitry may handle various radio control functions that enable communication with one or more radio networks through radio frequency circuitry. The radio control functions described above may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation, encoding, decoding, frequency modulation shifting, and the like. In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry described above may provide communications compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry may support communication with 5G NR, LTE, evolved universal terrestrial radio access networks (Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network, EUTRAN) and/or other wireless metropolitan area networks (Wireless Metropolitan Area Network, WMAN), wireless local area networks (Wireless Local Area Network, WLAN), wireless personal area networks (Wireless Personal Area Network, WPAN). An embodiment in which the baseband circuitry is configured to support radio communications of more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as a multi-mode baseband circuitry. In various embodiments, the baseband circuitry 720 may include circuitry to operate signals that are not strictly considered to be baseband frequencies. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry may include circuitry that operates on signals having an intermediate frequency that is between the baseband frequency and the frequency modulation.

The radio frequency circuitry 710 described above may enable communication with a wireless network using modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. In various embodiments, the RF circuitry described above may include switches, filters, amplifiers, and the like to facilitate communication with a wireless network. In various embodiments, the radio frequency circuitry 710 described above may include circuitry to operate on signals that are not strictly considered to be frequency modulated. For example, in some embodiments, the radio frequency circuit may include circuitry that operates on a signal having an intermediate frequency between the fundamental frequency and the frequency modulation.

In various embodiments, the transmitter circuitry, control circuitry, or receiver circuitry discussed above with respect to the UE, eNB, or gNB may be embodied in whole or in part in one or more of radio frequency circuitry, baseband circuitry, and/or processing units. As used herein, "circuitry" may refer to, or be part of, or include an Application SPECIFIC INTEGRATED Circuit (ASIC), an electronic Circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) and/or memory (shared, dedicated, or group) that execute one or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logic Circuit, and/or other suitable hardware components that provide the described functionality. In some embodiments, the electronic device circuitry may be implemented in or functions associated with one or more software or firmware modules. In some embodiments, some or all of the constituent components of the baseband circuitry, processing unit, and/or memory/storage may be implemented together On a System On a Chip (SOC).

The memory/storage 740 may be used to load and store data and/or instructions, for example, for the system described above. The memory/storage described above for one embodiment may include any combination of suitable volatile memory, such as dynamic random access memory (Dynamic random access memory, DRAM), and/or non-volatile memory, such as flash memory. In various embodiments, the I/O interface 780 may include one or more user interfaces intended for a user to interact with the system and/or peripheral component interfaces intended for a peripheral component to interact with the system. The user interface may include, but is not limited to, a physical keyboard or keypad, a touchpad, a speaker, a microphone, and the like. Peripheral component interfaces may include, but are not limited to, non-volatile memory ports, universal serial bus (Universal Serial Bus, USB) ports, audio jacks, and power interfaces.

In various embodiments, the sensor 770 may include one or more sensing devices to determine environmental conditions and/or location information related to the system. In some embodiments, the above-described sensors may include, but are not limited to, gyroscopic sensors, accelerometers, proximity sensors, ambient light sensors, and positioning units. The positioning unit may also be part of, or interact with, a baseband circuit and/or a radio frequency circuit to communicate with components of a positioning network, such as Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites. In various embodiments, the display 750 may include one display, such as a liquid crystal display and a touch screen display. In various implementations, the system 700 described above may be a mobile computing device, such as, but not limited to, a notebook computing device, a tablet computing device, a netbook tablet (Netbook), an ultra-extreme pen (Ultrabook), a smart phone, and the like. In various embodiments, the system may have more or fewer components, and/or different architectures. The methods described herein may be implemented as a computer program where appropriate. The computer program may be stored on a storage medium, such as a non-transitory storage medium.

An embodiment of the present invention is a combination of techniques/procedures that may be employed in the 3GPP specifications to create the end product.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that each of the elements, algorithms, and steps described and disclosed in the embodiments of the invention are implemented using electronic hardware or combinations of software in a computer and electronic hardware. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the technology. Those of ordinary skill in the art may implement the functionality of each particular application in different ways without departing from the scope of the invention. It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that, since the operation of the systems, devices and units described above are substantially identical, reference may be made to the operation of the systems, devices and units in the above embodiments. For ease of description and simplicity, these operations will not be described in detail.

It is to be understood that the disclosed systems, devices, and methods in the embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in other ways. The above embodiments are merely exemplary. The division of the units mentioned above is based on the division of the logic functions only, but other manners of division are possible when implemented. It is possible that multiple units or components are combined or integrated into another system. It is also possible that some features may be omitted or skipped. On the other hand, mutual coupling, direct coupling or communicative coupling in the above description or discussion is achieved by some ports, devices or units, whether communicating indirectly or through electronic, mechanical or other kind of means.

The elements mentioned above as separate components for explanation may be physically separate or not physically separate components. The units mentioned above may be physical units or not, that is to say may be arranged in one place or distributed over a plurality of network units. Some or all of the above units may be used according to the purpose of the embodiment. Furthermore, each functional unit in each embodiment may be integrated into one processing unit, or physically separate, or integrated into one processing unit having two or more units.

If the software functional unit is implemented for use and sale as a product, it may be stored on a computer readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution proposed by the present invention may be implemented in a basic key part or in part in the form of a software product. Or a part of a technical program beneficial to the conventional technology may be implemented as a software product. The software product in the computer is stored in a storage medium including a plurality of commands for a computing device (e.g., a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to perform all or part of the steps disclosed in embodiments of the present invention. Storage media include USB disk, removable hard disk, read Only Memory (ROM), random Access Memory (RAM), floppy disk, or other types of media capable of storing program code.

The MBMS objective in NR is to efficiently provide various broadcast multicast services in NR, which requires dynamic adjustment of MBMS areas according to user distribution or service requirements. The present invention provides a method that allows for dynamic adjustment of MBMS zone configuration according to UE distribution and/or service requirements. The disclosure provides a method of supporting dynamic control of MBMS areas while satisfying the user distribution and service requirements, such as QoS, data rate, delay and packet loss rate. Furthermore, the present disclosure provides dynamic and intelligent control of broadcast/multicast transmission areas by allowing the UE to configure MBMS transmission areas based on UE service interests and channel quality.

While the present disclosure has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the present disclosure is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiment, but is intended to cover the broadest interpretation of the appended claims by various arrangements without departing from the scope.

Claims

1. A method executed in a network entity device, comprising:

Grouping a plurality of user equipments (UE) into a plurality of user equipment groups in a plurality of multimedia broadcast/multicast service MBMS sub-areas, wherein each of the user equipment groups is associated with one of the sub-areas, and the plurality of MBMS sub-areas belong to one MBMS area;

generating a configuration of the sub-region;

transmitting the configuration of the sub-area to the plurality of user devices;

receiving indication messages from the plurality of user equipments, each indication message of the plurality of indication messages being received from one of the plurality of user equipments and comprising a channel quality and a service interest of the user equipment, the plurality of indication messages comprising the channel quality and the service interest of the plurality of user equipments;

According to the service interests of the multiple user devices, the multiple user devices are grouped into a plurality of session clusters;

Based on channel qualities of the multiple user equipments, grouping the multiple user equipments into multiple channel quality clusters;

Determining the required number of physical multicast channels PMCH to be configured according to the indication messages of the multiple user equipments; and

Within a scheduling interval, a certain amount of radio resources is allocated to each of the required number of PMCHs, wherein the allocation of the radio resources is configured in units of subframes, time slots or minimum time slots through a dynamic allocation method, or is configured in units of one or more radio frames through a static allocation method.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the number of the channel quality clusters is equal to the number of the session clusters.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that the MBMS area configuration includes a parameter indicating the number of the MBMS sub-areas, the number of the MBMS sub-areas is equal to the number of the channel quality clusters, and the MBMS area configuration includes the configuration of the sub-areas.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

Obtaining a channel quality mean value in each of the channel quality clusters to form a plurality of channel quality mean values of the plurality of channel quality clusters; and

The plurality of user equipments are grouped into the plurality of MBMS sub-areas according to the plurality of channel quality averages of the plurality of channel quality clusters.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

The configuration parameters of the session and the configuration parameters of the physical multicast channel (PMCH) of each MBMS sub-area are provided, wherein the configuration parameters of the session and the configuration parameters of the PMCH are included in the configuration of the sub-area.

6. The method according to claim 5 is characterized in that the configuration parameters of the PMCH include the configuration of the frequency domain and time domain resource allocation of the PMCH.

7. The method according to claim 6 is characterized in that the configuration of the frequency domain resources of the PMCH includes at least one of a modulation and coding scheme (MCS), a transport block size (TBS) and a resource block (RB).

8. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that the configuration parameters of the PMCH include parameters for indicating resource block group configuration according to a bandwidth part (Bandwidth Part, BWP) size.

9. The method according to claim 5 is characterized in that the configuration parameters of the PMCH include parameters for indicating a physical resource block (PRB) bundling type and a bundling size.

10. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that the configuration parameters of the PMCH include parameters for indicating the start and length of time domain resource allocation of the PMCH.

11. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

scrambling the PMCH of each MBMS sub-area in the MBMS sub-area using a specific Radio Network Temporary Identity (RNTI) of the MBMS sub-area; and

The MBMS session is sent to the user equipment in the PMCH.

12. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

The message dedicated to carrying MBMS single frequency network (MBSFN) area configuration includes MBMS area configuration as a class extension, wherein the MBMS area configuration includes the configuration of the sub-area.

13. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

The message dedicated to carrying MBMS single frequency network (MBSFN) area configuration includes the MBMS area configuration as a non-critical extension, wherein the MBMS area configuration includes the configuration of the sub-area.

14. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the unit is configured for different service types, and the service interest of the user equipment includes an indication of one of the different service types.

15. The method according to claim 1 is characterized in that the unit can be configured for different quality of service (QoS) requirements, and the service interest of the user equipment includes a QoS flow identifier (QFI) indicating one of the different QoS requirements.

16. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

A bitmap is determined to define the radio resources within a radio frame allocated to the PMCH, wherein the bitmap comprises one of a frame-based bitmap, a subframe-based bitmap, and a slot-based bitmap, and the bitmap is included in an MBMS zone configuration.

17. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

The scheduling interval is determined, wherein the scheduling interval is configured in units of subframes, time slots, or minimum time slots.

18. A method executable in a user equipment (UE), comprising:

transmitting an indication message including a channel quality and a service interest of the user equipment, wherein the indication message is used to associate the user equipment with a first multimedia broadcast/multicast service MBMS sub-area of a plurality of MBMS sub-areas, wherein the plurality of MBMS sub-areas belong to one MBMS area;

receiving a configuration of the first MBMS sub-area; and

receiving and decoding an MBMS session according to said configuration of said first MBMS sub-area;

Wherein, the indication message includes the channel quality and service interest of the user equipment;

The user equipment is grouped into a session cluster associated with the service interest of the user equipment among a plurality of session clusters;

The user equipment is grouped into a channel quality cluster associated with the channel quality of the user equipment among a plurality of channel quality clusters;

The required number of physical multicast channels PMCH configured for the user equipment is determined according to the indication message of the user equipment; and

Within a scheduling interval, each of the required number of PMCHs is allocated a certain amount of radio resources, wherein the allocation of the radio resources is configured in units of subframes, time slots or minimum time slots through a dynamic allocation method, or is configured in units of one or more radio frames through a static allocation method.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that the configuration of the first MBMS sub-area comprises configuration parameters of the MBMS session in the first MBMS sub-area and configuration parameters of the PMCH in the first MBMS sub-area.

20. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that the configuration parameters of the PMCH include frequency domain and time domain resource allocation of the PMCH.

21. The method according to claim 20 is characterized in that the configuration of the frequency domain resources of the PMCH includes at least one of a modulation and coding scheme (MCS), a transport block size (TBS) and a resource block (RB).

22. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that the configuration parameters of the PMCH include parameters for indicating resource block group configuration according to a bandwidth part (Bandwidth Part, BWP) size.

23. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that the configuration parameters of the PMCH include parameters for indicating a physical resource block (PRB) bundling type and a bundling size.

24. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that the configuration parameters of the PMCH include parameters for indicating the start and length of time domain resource allocation of the PMCH.

25. The method according to claim 19 is characterized in that the configuration parameters for the PMCH include parameters indicating the scheduling interval, and the scheduling interval is used for multicast channel scheduling information (MCH scheduling information, MSI) scheduling.

26. The method according to claim 25 is characterized in that the scheduling interval can be configured in units of subframes, time slots or minimum time slots.

27. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

The PMCH in the first MBMS sub-zone is descrambled using a specific Radio Network Temporary Identity (RNTI) of the first MBMS sub-zone.

28. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

The PMCH is decoded according to a bitmap that defines radio resources within a radio frame allocated to the PMCH, wherein the bitmap comprises one of a frame-based bitmap, a subframe-based bitmap, and a slot-based bitmap, and the bitmap is included in the configuration of the first MBMS sub-area.

29. A network entity device, comprising:

transceiver; and

A processor, connected to the transceiver, is used to perform the following steps, including:

generating a configuration of the sub-region;

30. The device according to claim 29, wherein the number of the channel quality clusters is equal to the number of the session clusters.

31. The device according to claim 30, characterized in that the MBMS area configuration includes a parameter indicating the number of the MBMS sub-areas, the number of the MBMS sub-areas is equal to the number of the channel quality clusters, and the MBMS area configuration includes the configuration of the sub-areas.

32. The device according to claim 29, wherein the processor further performs the following steps, comprising:

33. The device according to claim 29, wherein the processor further performs the following steps, comprising:

34. The device according to claim 33 is characterized in that the configuration parameters of the PMCH include the configuration of frequency domain and time domain resources of the PMCH.

35. The device according to claim 34 is characterized in that the configuration of the frequency domain resources of the PMCH includes at least one of a modulation and coding scheme (MCS), a transport block size (TBS) and a resource block (RB).

36. The device according to claim 33, characterized in that the configuration parameters of the PMCH include parameters for indicating resource block group configuration according to a bandwidth part (Bandwidth Part, BWP) size.

37. The device according to claim 33 is characterized in that the configuration parameters of the PMCH include parameters for indicating a physical resource block (PRB) bundling type and a bundling size.

38. The device according to claim 33, characterized in that the configuration parameters of the PMCH include parameters for indicating the start and length of time domain resource allocation of the PMCH.

39. The device according to claim 29, wherein the processor further performs the following steps, comprising:

The MBMS session is sent to the user equipment in the PMCH.

40. The device according to claim 29, wherein the processor further performs the following steps, comprising:

41. The device of claim 29, wherein the processor further performs the following steps, comprising:

42. The device of claim 29, wherein the unit is configured for different service types, and the service interest of the user equipment comprises an indication of one of the different service types.

43. The device according to claim 29 is characterized in that the unit can be configured for different quality of service (QoS) requirements, and the service interest of the user equipment includes a QoS flow identifier (QFI) indicating one of the different QoS requirements.

44. The device of claim 29, wherein the processor further performs the following steps, comprising:

45. The device of claim 29, wherein the processor further performs the following steps, comprising:

46. A user equipment (UE), comprising:

transceiver; and

receiving a configuration of the first MBMS sub-area; and

47. The user equipment according to claim 46, characterized in that the configuration of the first MBMS sub-area includes configuration parameters of the MBMS session in the first MBMS sub-area and configuration parameters of the PMCH in the first MBMS sub-area.

48. The user equipment according to claim 46, characterized in that the configuration parameters of the PMCH include frequency domain and time domain resource allocation of the PMCH.

49. The user equipment according to claim 48 is characterized in that the configuration of the frequency domain resources of the PMCH includes at least one of a modulation and coding scheme (MCS), a transport block size (TBS) and a resource block (RB).

50. The user equipment according to claim 46, characterized in that the configuration parameters of the PMCH include parameters for indicating resource block group configuration according to a bandwidth part (Bandwidth Part, BWP) size.

51. The user equipment according to claim 46, characterized in that the configuration parameters of the PMCH include parameters for indicating a physical resource block (PRB) bundling type and a bundling size.

52. The user equipment according to claim 46, characterized in that the configuration parameters of the PMCH include parameters for indicating the start and length of time domain resource allocation of the PMCH.

53. The user equipment according to claim 46 is characterized in that the configuration parameters for the PMCH include parameters indicating the scheduling interval, and the scheduling interval is used for multicast channel scheduling information (MCH scheduling information, MSI) scheduling.

54. The user equipment according to claim 53 is characterized in that the scheduling interval can be configured in units of subframes, time slots or minimum time slots.

55. The user equipment according to claim 46, wherein the processor further performs the following steps, comprising:

56. The user equipment according to claim 46, wherein the processor further performs the following steps, comprising:

57. A chip, comprising:

A processor, used to call and run a computer program stored in a memory, so that a device equipped with the chip executes the method described in any one of claims 1 to 17.

58. A chip, comprising:

A processor, used to call and run a computer program stored in a memory, so that a device equipped with the chip executes a method as claimed in any one of claims 18 to 28.

59. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored therein, wherein the computer program causes the computer to execute the method of any one of claims 1 to 17.

60. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored therein, wherein the computer program causes a computer to execute the method of any one of claims 18 to 28.

61. A computer program product comprising a computer program, wherein the computer program causes a computer to execute the method of any one of claims 1 to 17.

62. A computer program product comprising a computer program, wherein the computer program causes a computer to execute the method of any one of claims 18 to 28.