WO2025058547A1

WO2025058547A1 - Wireless device, network node, and methods performed thereby, for handling exchange of data

Info

Publication number: WO2025058547A1
Application number: PCT/SE2023/050909
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jan Christoffersson; Min Wang
Original assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ)
Priority date: 2023-09-15
Filing date: 2023-09-15
Publication date: 2025-03-20

Abstract

A method, performed by a wireless device (130), for handling exchange of data. The wireless device (130) operates in a wireless communications network (100). The wireless device (130) exchanges (206) the data, with a network node (110) operating in the wireless communications network (100), in a first secondary cell (123) served by the network node (110). A size of the data is below a first threshold. The exchanging (206) is performed responsive to an indication received from the network node (110). The indication indicates that one or more first secondary cells (122) served by the network node (110) and comprising the first secondary cell (123) are enabled for communication of the data between the wireless device (130) and the network node (110). The exchanging (206) is performed while the wireless device (130) is in inactive state.

Description

WIRELESS DEVICE, NETWORK NODE, AND METHODS PERFORMED THEREBY, FOR HANDLING EXCHANGE OF DATA

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to a wireless device and methods performed thereby for handling exchange of data. The present disclosure further relates generally to a network node and methods performed thereby, for handling the exchange of data.

BACKGROUND

Wireless devices within a wireless communications network may be e.g., User Equipments (UEs), stations (STAs), mobile terminals, wireless terminals, terminals, and/or Mobile Stations (MS). Wireless devices are enabled to communicate wirelessly in a cellular communications network or wireless communication network, sometimes also referred to as a cellular radio system, cellular system, or cellular network. The communication may be performed e.g., between two wireless devices, between a wireless device and a regular telephone and/or between a wireless device and a server via a Radio Access Network (RAN) and possibly one or more core networks, comprised within the wireless communications network. Wireless devices may further be referred to as mobile telephones, cellular telephones, laptops, or tablets with wireless capability, just to mention some further examples. The wireless devices in the present context may be, for example, portable, pocket-storable, hand-held, computer-comprised, or vehicle-mounted mobile devices, enabled to communicate voice and/or data, via the RAN, with another entity, such as another terminal or a server.

The wireless communications network covers a geographical area which may be divided into cell areas, each cell area being served by a network node, which may be an access node such as a radio network node, radio node or a base station, e.g., a Radio Base Station (RBS), which sometimes may be referred to as e.g., gNB, evolved Node B (“eNB”), “eNodeB”, “NodeB”, “B node”, Transmission Point (TP), or Base Transceiver Station (BTS), depending on the technology and terminology used. The base stations may be of different classes such as e.g., Wide Area Base Stations, Medium Range Base Stations, Local Area Base Stations, Home Base Stations, pico base stations, etc... , based on transmission power and thereby also cell size. A cell is the geographical area where radio coverage is provided by the base station or radio node at a base station site, or radio node site, respectively. One base station, situated on the base station site, may serve one or several cells. Further, each base station may support one or several communication technologies. The base stations communicate over the air interface operating on radio frequencies with the terminals within range of the base stations. The wireless communications network may also be a non-cellular system, comprising network nodes which may serve receiving nodes, such as wireless devices, with serving beams. In 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE), base stations, which may be referred to as eNodeBs or even eNBs, may be directly connected to one or more core networks. In the context of this disclosure, the expression Downlink (DL) may be used for the transmission path from the base station to the wireless device. The expression Uplink (UL) may be used for the transmission path in the opposite direction i.e., from the wireless device to the base station.

Internet of Things (loT)

The Internet of Things (loT) may be understood as an internetworking of communication devices, e.g., physical devices, vehicles, which may also be referred to as "connected devices" and "smart devices", buildings and other items — embedded with electronics, software, sensors, actuators, and network connectivity that may enable these objects to collect and exchange data. The loT may allow objects to be sensed and/or controlled remotely across an existing network infrastructure.

"Things," in the loT sense, may refer to a wide variety of devices such as heart monitoring implants, biochip transponders on farm animals, electric clams in coastal waters, automobiles with built-in sensors, DNA analysis devices for environmental/food/pathogen monitoring, or field operation devices that may assist firefighters in search and rescue operations, home automation devices such as the control and automation of lighting, heating, e.g. a “smart” thermostat, ventilation, air conditioning, and appliances such as washer, dryers, ovens, refrigerators or freezers that may use telecommunications for remote monitoring. These devices may collect data with the help of various existing technologies and then autonomously flow the data between other devices.

It is expected that in a near future, the population of loT devices will be very large. Various predictions exist, among which one assumes that there will be >60000 devices per square kilometer, and another assumes that there will be 1000000 devices per square kilometer. A large fraction of these devices are expected to be stationary, e.g., gas and electricity meters, vending machines, etc.

Machine Type Communication (MTC)

Machine Type Communication (MTC) has in recent years, especially in the context of the Internet of Things (loT), shown to be a growing segment for cellular technologies. An MTC device may be a communication device, typically a wireless communication device or simply user equipment, that is a self and/or automatically controlled unattended machine and that is typically not associated with an active human user in order to generate data traffic. An MTC device may be typically simpler, and typically associated with a more specific application or purpose, than, and in contrast to, a conventional mobile phone or smart phone. MTC involves communication in a wireless communication network to and/or from MTC devices, which communication typically may be of quite different nature and with other requirements than communication associated with e.g., conventional mobile phones and smart phones. In the context of and growth of the loT, it is evident that MTC traffic will be increasing and thus needs to be increasingly supported in wireless communication systems.

NR small data transmissions in Inactive state

In Rel-15, 3GPP introduced a new radio-access technology known as New Radio (NR). The technology was further enhanced in release 16, and will continue to evolve in release 17, and later. In NR, a device may be in Radio Resource Control (RRC) idle, in RRC connected or in RRC inactive state. Until release 16, the data transmission was possible only in RRC connected. Therefore, a UE may have been required to transition to a connected state from idle or inactive states every time there may have been data transfer between UE and gNB. The transition from RRCJdle or RRCJnactive state to RRC_Connected leads to significant signaling overhead and power consumption, particularly for the UEs that may need infrequent transmission of small data packets. In RRC nactive state, the UE may be understood to have established RRC context and core network connection. Therefore, the transition from Inactive to Connected state may be relatively fast and may require less signaling, compared to the transition from Idle to Connected state.

There may be many instances in which UEs may only need to send or receive small amounts of data, and this may happen infrequently. In order to enable efficient transmission of small infrequent data packets, 3GPP has approved a new study item on NR Small Data Transmissions (SDT) in RRCJnactive state. The use cases for SDT may be understood to be many. For example, normal UEs where transmissions of small data amounts may be triggered by various applications. Another use case may be for machine type communication (MTC), such as sensors or cameras. In this case, SDT may be useful when, e.g., requesting an update of a sensor reading or image or automatic updates triggered when certain conditions may be fulfilled.

In Rel-17, 3GPP specified mobile originated small data transmission (MO-SDT) to allow small packet transmission for UL-oriented packets. A Work Item (Wl) RP-200954 ‘New Work Item on NR small data transmissions in INACTIVE state’ was started for Rel-17 with the focus of optimizing the transmission for UL initiated small data payloads by reducing the signaling overhead. The Wl contains the following relevant objectives to enable small data transmission in RRCJNACTIVE state. For the RRCJNACTIVE state, a first objective is to enable UL small data transmissions for Random Access Channel (RACH)-based schemes, e.g., 2-step and 4- step RACH. This comprises the general procedure to enable User Plane (UP) data transmission for small data packets from INACTIVE state, e.g., using MSGA or MSG3, [RAN2], Also, to enable flexible payload sizes larger than the Rel-16 Common Control Channel (CCCH) message size that may be possible currently for INACTIVE state for MSGA and MSG3 to support UP data transmission in UL. The actual payload size may be up to network configuration [RAN2], The first objective further comprises to enable context fetch and data forwarding, with and without anchor relocation, in INACTIVE state for RACH-based solutions [RAN2, RAN3], A second objective of the Wl is to enable transmission of UL data on pre-configured Physical Uplink Shared CHannel (PUSCH) resources, e.g., reusing the configured grant type 1, when timing advance (TA) may be valid. The second objective comprises to enable the general procedure for small data transmission over configured grant type 1 resources from INACTIVE state [RAN2], and the configuration of the configured grant typel resources for small data transmission in UL for INACTIVE state [RAN2],

In Release 18, mobile terminated (MT) SDT is specified, that is, DL-triggered small data, to allow similar benefits, e.g., reducing signaling overhead and UE power consumption by not transitioning to RRC_CONNECTED, and reducing latency by allowing fast transmission of small and infrequent packets, e.g., for positioning. The scope of this work item majorly addresses two main objectives. A Rel-18 MT-SDT work item description (WID) may be found in RP-222993. The WID contains the following objectives to specify the support for paging- triggered SDT (MT-SDT) [RAN2, RAN3], One objective is to specify MT-SDT triggering mechanism for UEs in RRCJNACTIVE, supporting RACH procedure based and Configured Grant (CG)-SDT procedure based UL response. Another objective is to specify MT-SDT procedure for initial DL data reception and subsequent UL/DL data transmissions in RRCJNACTIVE. It may be noted that data transmission in DL within paging message was not in scope of this Wl.

In short, the MO-SDT procedure may be triggered by the UE receiving UL data in its buffer. If the UL data is mapped to a Data Radio Bearer (DRB) configured for SDT, it may further check that the data volume may be below a Data Volume Threshold (DVT), and that the Received Strength Received Power (RSRP) may be above a configured threshold. If these conditions are satisfied, the UE may initiate the SDT procedure. It may then use either CG- SDT or Random Access (RA)-SDT based access.

RA-SDT may be understood to mean that either legacy 4-step Random Access Channel (RACH), or 2-step RACH, procedure may be used as a baseline, but that a user-plane data payload may be appended, multiplexed with the RRCResumeRequest message, in Msg3, or MsgA. Configured Grant (CG)-SDT may be understood to mean that the UEs may be configured via RRC to have periodic CG-SDT occasions which, contention-free, may be used for uplink transmission. In this way, Msg1 and Msg2 may be omitted but it may be understood to be a requirement that the UE have a valid Timing Advance (TA) and is uplink synchronized to be able to use the resources for transmission.

The CG-SDT may use configured grants and may require the UE to remain in the cell where it was released to inactive and that its RSRP does not change more than a threshold from the RSRP it had when it was released to inactive. There may be also a specific timing advance timer (TAT), CG-SDT-TAT, which may need to be running.

When the 2-step RA is applied for SDT, the MsgA may contain the RRCResumeRequest message and UP data. The gNB may, as in the legacy case, respond with the contention resolution Identifier (CR-ID) to resolve contention. It may also send a Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI) and the UE may monitor Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) for Downlink Control Information (DCI) scrambled by C-RNTI to obtain new UL grants or assignments for DL data, in case subsequent transmissions may be needed. As for the 4-step procedure, the SDT procedure may end when the gNB may send an RRCRelease with suspend config message and thereby keep the UE in Inactive state. Alternatively, the gNB may instead send a RRCResume and move the UE to connected state.

When the 4-step RA may be applied for SDT, the Msg3 may contain the RRCResumeRequest message and UP data. The gNB may, as in the legacy case, respond with the CR-ID to resolve contention and, at this point, the Temporary C-RNTI (TC-RNTI) may be used by the UE as C-RNTI, e.g., the UE may monitor PDCCH for DCI scrambled by C- RNTI to obtain new UL grants or assignments for DL data, in case subsequent transmissions may be needed. The SDT procedure may end when the gNB may send an RRCRelease with suspend config message and thereby keep the UE in Inactive state. Alternatively, the gNB may instead send a RRCResume and move the UE to connected state.

Specification of MT-SDT is currently ongoing in 3GPP Rel-18. It may be initiated by the gNB paging the UE for MT-SDT. The UE may then follow the procedure of MO-SDT, except that it may not transmit any data in the first UL transmission and may receive data in DL already in Msg4 or MsgB.

For Narrow Band loT (NB-loT) and LTE for Machines (LTE-M), similar signaling optimizations for small data have been introduced through Rel-15 Early Data Transmission (EDT) and Rel-16 Preconfigured Uplink Resources (PUR). The main difference for the NR SDT methods may be understood to be that the Rel-17 NR Small Data may only be supported for RRC INACTIVE state, may include also 2-step RACH based small data, and that it may need to also include regular complexity Mobile BroadBand (MBB) UEs. Both may support mobile originated (MO) traffic only. NR SDT may also, unlike LTE EDT, support transmission of subsequent data, that may be larger payload sizes which may require more than one transmission.

For Rel-19, several suggestions for improvements and enhancements have been proposed. Among the proposals is allowing a larger DVT, e.g., using MO-SDT.

Carrier aggregation (CA)

CA may be understood to be an important technique to enable higher data rates in both UL and DL when the UE may be in connected mode. TS 38.300, v. 17.5.0, specified that in CA, two or more Component Carriers (CCs) may be aggregated. A UE may simultaneously receive or transmit on one or multiple CCs depending on its capabilities. A UE with single timing advance capability for CA may simultaneously receive and/or transmit on multiple CCs corresponding to multiple serving cells sharing the same timing advance, multiple serving cells grouped in one Tracking Area Group (TAG). A UE with multiple timing advance capability for CA may simultaneously receive and/or transmit on multiple CCs corresponding to multiple serving cells with different timing advances, multiple serving cells grouped in multiple TAGs. NG-RAN may ensure that each TAG may contain at least one serving cell. A non-CA capable UE may receive on a single CC and transmit on a single CC corresponding to one serving cell only, one serving cell in one TAG.

CA may be supported for both contiguous and non-contiguous CCs. When CA is deployed, frame timing and System Frame Number (SFN) may be aligned across cells that may be aggregated, or an offset in multiples of slots between the Primary Cell (PCell)/Primary Secondary Cell (PSCell) and a Secondary Cell (SCell) may be configured to the UE. The maximum number of configured CCs for a UE may be 16 for DL and 16 for UL.

Further description of CA is also given in TS 38.300, v. 17.5.0, as follows. When CA is configured, the UE may only have one RRC connection with the network. At RRC connection establishment/re-establishment/handover, one serving cell may provide the Non-Access Stratum (NAS) mobility information, and at RRC connection re-establishment/handover, one serving cell may provide the security input. This cell may be referred to as the PCell. Depending on UE capabilities, Secondary Cells (SCells) may be configured to form together with the PCell a set of serving cells. The configured set of serving cells for a UE may therefore always consist of one PCell and one or more SCells.

The reconfiguration, addition and removal of SCells may be performed by RRC. At intra- NR handover and during connection resume from RRCJNACTIVE, the network may also add, remove, keep, or reconfigure SCells for usage with the target PCell. When adding a new SCell, dedicated RRC signalling may be used for sending all required system information of the SCell, e.g., while in connected mode, UEs may not need to acquire broadcast system information directly from the SCells.

Another concept related to CA is SCell activation and deactivation. Deactivation may be used to enable a reasonable UE battery consumption when CA is configured. When an SCell is deactivated, the UE may not need to receive the corresponding PDCCH or Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), may not transmit in the corresponding uplink, nor it may be required to perform Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) measurements. Conversely, when an SCell is active, the UE may be required to receive PDSCH and PDCCH, if the UE is configured to monitor PDCCH from this Scell, and may be expected to be able to perform CQI measurements. When the set of serving cells is reconfigured, the SCells added to the set may be initially activated or deactivated. Also, the SCells which may remain in the set, either unchanged or reconfigured, may not change their activation status, activated or deactivated.

For UEs that resume from Inactive, the SCells may be activated or deactivated. If the RRCResume message does not contain the fullConfig, but contains restoreMCG-SCells, the SCells may be considered to be in deactivated state.

In legacy NR, CA may only be applied for UEs in connected mode and may also be subject to large activation latency since the SCells may need to be measured and synchronized before they may be added. The activation latency may be reduced by applying early measurements, which were introduced for NR in Rel-16. This feature may be understood to enable the UE to be configured to do measurements on SCells while in Idle or Inactive mode. For Inactive UEs, the configuration may be provided in the RRCRelease message which may release the UE from connected mode to Inactive mode. The configuration may also contain a validity timer, T331 , which may govern for how long the UE may perform these measurements. When the network may resume the UE to connected mode, the network may send a UElnformationRequest message to the UE, which may be multiplexed in RRCResume, and to which the UE may respond with a UElnformationResponse message, multiplexed in RRCResumeComplete, containing the measurements on the SCells. An alternative may be to have this exchange after the gNB may have sent the RRCResume message, e.g., after the UE may have entered connected mode. The RRCResumeComplete message may in this case include a measurement availability indication, so that the gNB may know there may be early measurements available.

Existing methods to exchange small amounts of data between a network node and a UE may result in an inefficient use of resources, such as radio, processing and/or energy resources, as well as increased latency in a wireless communications network.

SUMMARY

As part of the development of embodiments herein, one or more challenges with the existing technology will first be identified and discussed.

In Rel-17, MO-SDT may be understood to target relatively small UL transmissions. The parameter sdt-DataVolumeThreshold may be understood to control the maximum size of data that may be in the UL buffer of the UE when the MO-SDT procedure may be initiated. Even though the parameter may allow a rather large data volume, e.g., the maximum value may be 96Kbyte, the SDT procedure for larger amounts of data may not be equally efficient compared to resuming to connected mode and performing the transmissions there.

In Rel-18, MT-SDT may be understood to also be targeting transmissions of smaller data volumes. The benefits of going to connected mode for larger amounts of data may be understood to be for the same reasons as for MO-SDT: transmitting larger amounts of data with limited radio channel knowledge may require use of low coding rate and small Transport Block Size (TBS), implying that a large number of subsequent transmissions may be required compared to if the UE is resumed to connected mode and may apply link adaptation.

During SDT procedures, it may not be possible to apply Discontinued Reception (DRX). This may be understood to mean that long SDT procedures may consume more energy than if transmissions/receptions were to be performed by the UE in connected mode, where link adaptation may also be applied. Also, the maximum time for an SDT procedure may be limited to a fixed time period, e.g., 4 s, which may also limit the maximum amount of data that may be transmitted using SDT.

In accordance with the foregoing, methods to enable more efficient SDT transmissions of larger amounts of data may be understood to be desirable.

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

According to the foregoing, it is an object of embodiments herein to improve the handling of exchange of data.

According to a first aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by a method, performed by a wireless device. The method is handling exchange of data. The wireless device operates in a wireless communications network. The wireless device exchanges the data, with a network node operating in the wireless communications network in a first secondary cell. The first secondary cell is served by the network node. The size of the data is below a first threshold. The exchanging is performed responsive to an indication received from the network node. The indication indicates that one or more first secondary cells served by the network node and comprising the first secondary cell are enabled for communication of the data between the wireless device and the network node. The exchanging is performed while the wireless device is in inactive state.

According to a second aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by a method, performed by the network node. The method is for handling the exchange of data. The network node operates in the wireless communications network. The network node exchanges the data, with the wireless device operating in the wireless communications network, in the first secondary cell served by the network node. The size of the data is below the first threshold. The exchanging is performed responsive to the indication, sent by the network node to the wireless device. The indication indicates that the one or more first secondary cells served by the network node and comprising the first secondary cell are enabled for communication of the data between the wireless device and the network node. The exchanging is performed while the wireless device is in inactive state. According to a third aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by the wireless device, configured to perform the method. The wireless device may be understood to be for handling the exchange of data. The wireless device is configured to operate in the communications system. The wireless device is configured to exchange the data, with the network node configured to operate in the wireless communications network, in the first secondary cell configured to be served by the network node. The size of the data is configured to be below the first threshold. The exchanging is configured to be performed responsive to the indication configured to be received from the network node. The indication is configured to indicate that the one or more first secondary cells configured to be served by the network node and configured to comprise the first secondary cell are enabled for communication of the data between the wireless device and the network node. The exchanging is configured to be performed while the wireless device is in inactive state.

According to a fourth aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by the network node, configured to perform the method. The network node may be understood to be for handling the exchange of data. The network node is configured to operate in the communications system. The network node is configured to exchange the data, with the wireless device configured to operate in the wireless communications network, in the first secondary cell configured to be served by the network node. The size of the data is configured to be below the first threshold. The exchanging is configured to be performed responsive to the indication configured to be sent by the network node to the wireless device. The indication is configured to indicate that one or more first secondary cells configured to be served by the network node and configured to comprise the first secondary cell are enabled for communication of the data between the wireless device and the network node. The exchanging is configured to be performed while the wireless device is in inactive state.

By the wireless device and the network node exchanging the data having the size below the first threshold in the first secondary cell while the wireless device is in inactive state, the wireless device and the network node may be understood to enable more efficient transmissions of small data, since more data may be transmitted in the same amount of time, by using the first secondary cell, while enabling to reduce signaling overhead and power consumption by the wireless device, by refraining from transitioning to the connected state, and reducing latency by allowing fast transmission of small and infrequent packets. This may be understood to enable a more efficient use of SDT for larger amounts of data than what is presently possible. Furthermore, by the exchange being performed responsive to the indication indicating that one or more first secondary cells comprising the first secondary cell are enabled for communication of the data, the wireless device may be enabled to perform the exchange of the data in the inactive state and in the first secondary cell, only when the network node may consider that it may be more efficient to do so while the wireless device remains in inactive state, and not otherwise. For example, the network node may determine that the data volume that the wireless device may have planned to transmit may be above a threshold, so that not much saving for the power or energy may be achieved by the wireless device by exchanging the data in a particular secondary cell. Alternatively or additionally, the network node may be enabled to select the first secondary cell, as the secondary cell best suited for the exchange of data. Hence, the usage of resources in the wireless communications network, as well as the usage of energy resources in the wireless device may be more efficiently managed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Examples of embodiments herein are described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, according to the following description.

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram depicting an example of a wireless communications network, according to embodiments herein.

Figure 2 is a flowchart depicting a method in a wireless device, according to embodiments herein.

Figure 3 is a flowchart depicting a method in a network node, according to embodiments herein.

Figure 4 is a signalling diagram depicting a non-limiting example of a method in a wireless communications network, according to embodiments herein.

Figure 5 is a signalling diagram depicting another non-limiting example of a method in a wireless communications network, according to embodiments herein.

Figure 6 is a signalling diagram depicting yet another a non-limiting example of a method in a wireless communications network, according to embodiments herein.

Figure 7 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an embodiments of a wireless device, according to embodiments herein.

Figure 8 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a network node, according to embodiments herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Certain aspects of the present disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. Embodiments herein may be generally understood to relate to Carrier aggregation for SDT. Particularly, embodiments herein may relate to an approach that may provide methods to define how CA, or transmission using SCells may be applied to SDT.

In further detail, embodiments herein may relate to how CA may be applied in SDT procedures. In a first aspect, an SCell may be configured to be activated when SDT may be initiated based on certain conditions, e.g., amount of data triggering SDT, the DRB to which the data may be mapped and the mobility of the UE. As an option, the paging message may indicate that the SCell may have to be activated, or conditions under which it may need to be activated for MT-SDT procedures. In one aspect of embodiments herein, early measurements of the SCell(s) configured for SDT may be transmitted during the initiation of the procedure, for example in msg3/MsgA if the grant size permits, or scheduled immediately after msg3/MsgA or immediately after contention resolution.

In another aspect of embodiments herein, when the conditions may be fulfilled, the subsequent transmissions may be scheduled also on the Scell, initial transmission containing the RRCResumeRequest may always be to PCell.

Some of the embodiments contemplated will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which examples are shown. In this section, the embodiments herein will be illustrated in more detail by a number of exemplary embodiments. Other embodiments, however, are contained within the scope of the subject matter disclosed herein. The disclosed subject matter should not be construed as limited to only the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art. It should be noted that the exemplary embodiments herein are not mutually exclusive. Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present in another embodiment and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other exemplary embodiments.

Figure 4 depicts two non-limiting examples, in panel a) and panel b), respectively, of a wireless network or wireless communications network 100, sometimes also referred to as a wireless communications system, cellular radio system, or cellular network, in which embodiments herein may be implemented. The wireless communications network 100 may be a 5G system, 5G network, or Next Gen System. In other examples, the wireless communications network 100 may be a newer system with similar functionality. Yet in other examples, the wireless communications network 100 may in addition support other technologies such as, for example, Long-Term Evolution (LTE), e.g., LTE-M, LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD), LTE Half-Duplex Frequency Division Duplex (HD-FDD), LTE operating in an unlicensed band, such as LTE Licensed-Assisted Access (LAA), enhanced eLAA (eLAA), further enhanced LAA (feLAA) and/or MulteFire. Yet in other examples, the wireless communications network 100 may further support other technologies such as, for example Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA) TDD, Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) network, GSM/Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) Radio Access Network (GERAN) network, Ultra-Mobile Broadband (UMB), EDGE network, network comprising any combination of Radio Access Technologies (RATs) such as e.g. MultiStandard Radio (MSR) base stations, multi-RAT base stations etc., any 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) cellular network, WiFi networks, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), or any cellular network or system. The wireless communications network 100 may typically support MTC, eMTC, loT and/or NB-loT. Thus, although terminology from 5G/NR and LTE may be used in this disclosure to exemplify embodiments herein, this should not be seen as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein to only the aforementioned system.

The wireless communications network 100 may comprise a plurality of network nodes, whereof a network node 110 is depicted in the non-limiting example of Figure 4. The network node 110 is a radio network node. That is, a transmission point such as a radio base station, for example a gNB, or any other network node with similar features capable of serving a user equipment, such as a wireless device or a machine type communication device, in the wireless communications network 100. In some examples, such as that depicted in Figure 4 b, the network node 110 may be a distributed node, and may partially perform its functions in collaboration with a virtual node 114 in a cloud 115. The network node 110 may be directly connected to one or more core networks, e.g., to one or more network nodes in the one or more core networks.

The wireless communications network 100 may cover a geographical area, which in some embodiments may be divided into cell areas, wherein each cell area may be served by a radio network node, although, one radio network node may serve one or several cells. In the wireless communications network 100, the network node 110 may serve a primary cell 121 , one or more first secondary cells 122, which may comprise at least a first secondary cell 123, and one or more second secondary cells 124, which may comprise at least a second secondary cell 125. In the non-limiting example of Figure 4, the one or more first secondary cells 122 comprise three cells, and the one or more second secondary cells 124 comprise two cells. This may be understood to be for illustrative purposes only, and non-limiting. Each of the one or more first secondary cells 122 and the one or more second secondary cells 124 may comprise additional or fewer cells. Also, in the non-limiting example of Figure 4, the one or more first secondary cells 122 and the one or more second secondary cells 124, are depicted as entirely different groups of cells. However, it may be understood that this is for illustrative purposes only. The one or more first secondary cells 122 and the one or more second secondary cells 124 may be the same cells, entirely different cell groups, or they may partially overlap. That is, they may have one or more cells in common. Particularly, the first secondary cell 123 and the second secondary cell 125 may be the same cell, or be different cells. The network node 110 may be of different classes, such as, e.g., macro base station, home base station or pico base station, based on transmission power and thereby also cell size. In some examples, the network node 110 may serve receiving nodes with serving beams. The network node 100 may support one or several communication technologies, and its name may depend on the technology and terminology used.

A plurality of wireless devices may be located in the wireless communication network 100, whereof a wireless device 130, is depicted in the non-limiting example of Figure 4. The wireless device 130 comprised in the wireless communications network 100 may be a wireless communication device such as a User Equipment (UE), e.g., 5G UE or nUE, which may also be known as e.g., mobile terminal, wireless terminal and/or mobile station, a mobile telephone, cellular telephone, or laptop with wireless capability, just to mention some further examples. The wireless device 130 may be, for example, portable, pocket-storable, hand-held, computer- comprised, or a vehicle-mounted mobile device, enabled to communicate voice and/or data, via the RAN, with another entity, such as a server, a laptop, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), or a tablet, Machine-to-Machine (M2M) device, a sensor, loT device, NB-loT device, device equipped with a wireless interface, such as a printer or a file storage device, modem, or any other radio network unit capable of communicating over a radio link in a communications system. The wireless device 130 comprised in the wireless communications network 100 may be enabled to communicate wirelessly in the wireless communications network 100. The communication may be performed e.g., via a RAN, and possibly the one or more core networks, which may be comprised within the wireless communications network 100.

The wireless device 130 may be configured to communicate within the wireless communications network 100 with the network node 110 in the primary cell 121 over a first link 141 , e.g., a radio link. The wireless device 130 may be configured to communicate within the wireless communications network 100 with the network node 110 in each of the one or more first secondary cells 122 and the one or more second secondary cells 124 over a respective link, e.g., a radio link, which are not depicted in Figure 4 to simplify the figure. The network node 110 may be configured to communicate within the wireless communications network 100 with the virtual network node 114 over a second link 142, e.g., a radio link or a wired link.

In the non-limiting example of Figure 4, the wireless device 130 is depicted over the primary cell 121 and the one or more first secondary cells 122. This is for illustrative purposes only and should not be considered limiting.

Generally, all terms used herein are to be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning in the relevant technical field, unless a different meaning is clearly given and/or is implied from the context in which it is used. All references to a/an/the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc. are to be interpreted openly as referring to at least one instance of the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc., unless explicitly stated otherwise. The steps of any methods disclosed herein do not have to be performed in the exact order disclosed, unless a step is explicitly described as following or preceding another step and/or where it is implicit that a step must follow or precede another step. Any feature of any of the embodiments disclosed herein may be applied to any other embodiment, wherever appropriate. Likewise, any advantage of any of the embodiments may apply to any other embodiments, and vice versa. Other objectives, features and advantages of the enclosed embodiments will be apparent from the following description.

In general, the usage of “first” and/or “second” herein may be understood to be an arbitrary way to denote different elements or entities, and may be understood to not confer a cumulative or chronological character to the nouns they modify, unless otherwise noted, based on context.

Several embodiments are comprised herein. It should be noted that the examples herein are not mutually exclusive. Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present in another embodiment and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other exemplary embodiments.

More specifically, the following are embodiments related to a wireless device, such as the wireless device 130, e.g., a 5G UE, nllE or a UE, and embodiments related to a network node, such as the network node 110, e.g., a gNB.

Embodiments of a method, performed by the wireless device 130, will now be described with reference to the flowchart depicted in Figure 2. The method may be understood to be for handling exchange of data. The wireless device 130 operates in the wireless communications network 100. The method may be understood to be computer-implemented.

In some embodiments, the wireless communications network 100 may support New Radio (NR).

Several embodiments are comprised herein. In some embodiments all the actions may be performed. In some embodiments, one or more actions may be performed. It should be noted that the examples herein may be not mutually exclusive. One or more embodiments may be combined, where applicable. All possible combinations are not described to simplify the description. Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present in another embodiment and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other exemplary embodiments. A non-limiting example of the method performed by the wireless device 130 is depicted in Figure 2. Some actions may be performed in a different order than that shown in Figure 2. In particular embodiments, any of Actions 208-211 may be performed before Action 202 or Action 203. In Figure 2, optional actions are represented with dashed lines.

Embodiments herein may be understood to be focused on mechanisms or procedures which may enable the wireless device 130 to perform SDT transmission or reception in an SCell such as the first secondary cell 123.

Embodiments herein, as e.g., described in Actions 201-207, may be understood to relate to mechanisms and procedures for SDT in an SCell, such as the first secondary cell 123, when the wireless device 130 may be in the inactive mode.

The wireless device 130 may be in an inactive state, meaning that the wireless device 130 may be understood to be less active to perform or monitor data transmission or reception in any serving cell, e.g., PCell or any Scell, configured to the wireless device 130. The wireless device 130 may be in RRC CONNECTED while inactive in the concerned SCell, e.g., the SCell may be deactivated.

Action 201

In this Action 201, the wireless device 130 may obtain a first indication. The first indication may indicate a configuration of the one or more first secondary cells 122 to use for exchange of data with the network node 110 while the wireless device 130 may be in inactive state, wherein the data may have a size below a first threshold. That is, wherein the data may be small data. The exchange of the data may therefore be understood to be an SDT. The first threshold, in a non-limiting example, may be a DVT.

The inactive state may be, e.g., as defined in 5G or in a younger system having equivalent functionality, e.g., 5G. The inactive state may be, for example, an RRC inactive state.

Obtaining in this Action 201 may comprise receiving, e.g., from the network node 110, e.g., via the first link 141. In particular examples, the first indication may be a configuration obtained from the network node 110 in e.g., System Information (SI).

In some examples, the first indication may be received when the wireless device 130 may be released to the inactive state by, e.g., the network node 110.

In some embodiments, the obtaining in this Action 201 may comprise retrieving or fetching from a memory, e.g., at the wireless device 130. For example, when the wireless device 130 may be released to inactive mode, some SCellconfigurations for an SCell such as the first secondary cell 123, or any of the one or more first secondary cells 122, may be stored in the context of the wireless device 130, e.g., the UE context, together with an indication, which may be referred to herein as a previous indication, indicating whether the SCell may be activated for SDT when the wireless device 130 may be the inactive mode. Early measurement configuration specific to the first secondary cell 123, or any of the one or more first secondary cells 122 may also be given, e.g., stored by the wireless device 130 when it may have been released from the connected mode. There may be multiple SCells, e.g., the one or more first secondary cells 122, whose configurations may be stored by the wireless device 130, in which, thereafter, SDT may be activated in those SCells when the wireless device 130 may be in the inactive mode.

In some embodiments, the first indication may indicate one or more first conditions upon fulfilment of which the wireless device 130 may trigger the exchange of the data with the network node 110. Conditions for when the SCells, e.g., any of the one or more first secondary cells 122 and the one or more second secondary cells 124, may be activated may also be configured. Either dedicated to the wireless device 130, e.g., saved in UE context, or signalled by the network node 110 during the procedure. Some configurations such as data volume thresholds for activating any of the one or more first secondary cells 122 and the one or more second secondary cells 124 for SDT, may be configured in SI.

In some examples, the one or more first conditions may indicate conditions for activating SCells during a MO-SDT procedure.

The one or more first conditions may comprise at least one of the following. According to a first option, the one or more first conditions may comprise that the wireless device 130 is to resume in a same cell 121 wherein the wireless device 130 may last have been released to inactive state. To resume may be understood to mean, e.g., to resume in CONNECTED state. In a particular example of the first option, the one or more first conditions may indicate that the wireless device 130 may have to resume, e.g., SDT triggered, in the same primary cell 121 where wireless device 130 may have been released to inactive.

According to a second option, the one or more first conditions may comprise that the size of the data may have to have a first relation with respect to the first threshold. In a particular example of the second option, the one or more first conditions may indicate that the UL Data volume may need to be above a new DVT.

According to a third option, the one or more first conditions may comprise a data radio bearer being mapped to the data. In a particular example of the third option, the one or more first conditions may indicate that the UL Data may have to belong to a specific radio bearer, data radio bearer (DRB) or signalling radio bearer (SRB).

According to a fourth option, the one or more first conditions may comprise a new data arrival for a specific service. In a particular example of the fourth option, the one or more first conditions may indicate that the new data arrival for the specific service, mapped to a Radio Bearer (RB), may have a volume that may have been over a threshold, e.g., a second threshold. In a first further particular example of the fourth option, the service may be associated with a specific service type, e.g., identified by a specific application Identifier (ID). According to a fifth option, the one or more first conditions may comprise a flow of Quality of Service (QoS) mapped to a radio bearer being over the second threshold. In a first further particular example of the fifth option, the QoS flow may be associated with a specific QoS identifier, e.g., 5G QoS Identifier (5QI), a specific flow ID, e.g., QoS Flow Identifier (QFI). In a second further particular example of the fifth option, the service or the QoS flow may be associated with QoS requirements or QoS characteristics which may have to be of specific values or in specific value ranges. The example QoS requirements, or QoS characteristics may comprise bit rate, packet loss rate, packet delay, packet error rate etc. In a third further particular example of the fifth option, the service or the QoS flow may be mapped to at least one concerned Scell, e.g., the first secondary cell 123. The concerned Scell may be, e.g., whose configuration may have been stored by the wireless device 130 when the wireless device 130 may have been released to the inactive mode or the SCell may have been deactivated. In a fourth further particular example of the fifth option, the second threshold may be configured for the service or QoS flow by the network node 110. In a fifth further particular example of the fifth option, the second threshold may be preconfigured for the service or QoS flow.

According to a sixth option, the one or more first conditions may comprise a second relation of a first measured radio signal in the primary cell 121 serving the wireless device 130 to a third threshold. In a particular example of the sixth option, the third threshold may be an RSRP threshold for the Pcell.

According to a seventh option, the one or more first conditions may comprise a third relation of a second measured radio signal in the first secondary cell 123 to a fourth threshold. In a particular example of the seventh option, the one or more first conditions may indicate an RSRP threshold for the first secondary cell 123. In other examples, the current RSRP may not be changed more than a threshold, e.g., X dB, compared to the measured RSRP when the wireless device 130 may have been released to inactive, e.g., the channel conditions between the time when the wireless device 130 was released to inactive and the current time may need to be similar, or not differ more than the fourth threshold.

According to an eighth option, the one or more first conditions may comprise which of the one or more first secondary cells 122 may have to be resumed. In a particular example of the eighth option, the one or more first conditions may indicate which first secondary cells 122 which may be resumed may be linked to DVT and/or DRB.

According to a ninth option, the one or more first conditions may comprise a fourth relation of a respective channel of the one or more first secondary cells 122 to a fifth threshold. In a particular example of the ninth option, the one or more first conditions may indicate that the channel conditions in one or multiple concerned first secondary cells 122 may have to have been over the fifth threshold. The options first to ninth just described may correspond, in some examples, to the one or more first conditions for activating the one or more first secondary cells 122 during a MO- SDT procedure.

In other examples, the one or more first conditions may correspond to conditions for activating SCells during a MT-SDT procedure.

According to a tenth option, the one or more first conditions may comprise receipt of a paging message from the network node 110. In a particular example of the tenth option, the paging message may be only to the primary cell 121.

The tenth option just described may correspond, in some examples, to the one or more first conditions for activating SCells during a MT-SDT procedure.

In other examples, the one or more first conditions for activating SCells during the MT- SDT procedure may comprise that the first indication may be combined with the third threshold, e.g., an RSRP threshold.

In other examples, the one or more first conditions for activating SCells during the MT- SDT procedure may comprise that the first indication may indicate a specific set of the one or more first secondary cells 122, of the ones which configurations may be available.

In some embodiments, the one or more first conditions may be comprised in the obtained first indication.

By the wireless device 130 obtaining the first indication in this Action 201 , the wireless device 130 may be enabled to then be enabled to exchange the data that may have the size below the first threshold in the one or more first secondary cells 122 while in inactive state, thereby being enabled to exchange the data with the network node 110 in a more efficient manner since larger amounts of data may be transmitted in the same amount of time, by using the one or more first secondary cells 122. In some examples, the wireless device 130 may be further enabled to check the triggering one or more first conditions to exchange the data in inactive state in the one or more first secondary cells 122, so that the effectiveness of the procedure may be ensured.

Action 202

In some embodiments, the one or more first conditions may comprise this Action 202.

In this Action 202, the wireless device 130 may receive, from the network node 110, after having obtained the first indication, a second indication. The second indication may indicate a preamble to be used by the wireless device 130 in order to indicate, when sending the preamble to the network node 110, that the wireless device 130 is ready to exchange the data, that is, a small data transmission, in the DL from the network node 110.

In some examples, the preamble may be a Contention-Free Random Access (CFRA) preamble. In some examples, the second indication may be a paging message.

The receiving may be performed, e.g., via the first link 141.

In a particular example, the second indication may be RAN Paging received from the network node 110 as anchor gNB on the primary cell 121 , with an indicator for activation of a set of the one or more first secondary cells 122.

It may be understood that in case the wireless device 130 may have changed to a different network node, e.g., gNB, due to its mobility, the mechanisms may be not applicable due to that the timing difference between the currently camped cell and the stored SCells may be above a threshold. This may be understood to mean that the wireless device 130 may not be feasible to operate CA on the currently camped cell and stored SCells.

By the wireless device 130 receiving the second indication indicating the preamble to be used by the wireless device 130 from the network node 110 in this Action 202, e.g., the wireless device 130 may be enabled to, e.g., whenever the one or more first conditions may be fulfilled, indicate to the network node 110, that the wireless device 130 is ready to exchange the data, in the DL from the network node 110, that is, that the wireless device 130 is ready to perform MT-SDT.

Action 203

In some embodiments, in this Action 203, the wireless device 130 may trigger, after having obtained the first indication, the exchanging of the data with the network node 110 upon fulfilment of one or more first conditions.

Triggering may be understood as starting or performing.

To trigger the exchanging of the data, the wireless device 130 may check whether or not the one or more first conditions may have been fulfilled. The one or more first conditions may be satisfied for one or several of the one or more first secondary cells 122.

The procedure triggered in this Action 203 for the exchanging of the data may be a RA- SDT procedure or a CG-SDT procedure.

In some examples, the procedure triggered in this Action 203 for the exchanging of the data may be MO-SDT, while in others the procedure may be MT-SDT.

By the wireless device 130 triggering the exchanging of the data with the network node 110 upon fulfilment of the one or more first conditions in this Action 203, e.g., the wireless device 130 may be enabled to only perform the exchanging of the data whenever it may be more efficient to do so, and to refrain from performing the exchange whenever it may not, thereby managing the usage of resources more effectively. Action 204

In this Action 204, the wireless device 130 may send, to the network node 110, responsive to the triggering in Action 203 of the exchanging of the data with the network node 110, a third indication. The third indication may indicate whether or not the one or more first conditions may be fulfilled.

The sending may be performed, e.g., via the first link 141.

In some embodiments, the wireless device 130, e.g., in the third indication, may indicate one or more measurements performed by the wireless device 130 on at least one of the one or more first secondary cells 122.

In a first example, the third indication may be an RRCResumeRequest message transmitted on the primary cell 121 , e.g., on the SRB0, using RA-SDT, giving a larger msg3 grant, or CG-SDT resources indicating which SCells, e.g., of the one or more first secondary cells 122, the wireless device 130 may want to have activated for SDT purpose. This RRCResumeRequest message may also be an implicit indication that the channel conditions may be sufficient for these SCells. The indication may be a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE). The wireless device 130 may multiplex UE data as in legacy. The first example may be used in a case of MO-SDT, based on satisfied conditions.

In a second example, the third indication may be an RRCResumeRequest message transmitted on the primary cell 121 , e.g., on the SRB0, using RA-SDT, giving a larger msg3 grant, or CG-SDT resources comprising measurements for the configured one or more first secondary cells 122. In one option, the measurements may just be indications of which of the one or more first secondary cells 122 may be above a configured threshold, e.g., a short bitmap. The indication may be a MAC CE. The second example may be used in a case of MO-SDT, based on early measurements. In one option, if the complete measurements cannot be carried with the RRCResumeRequest message, the wireless device 130 may indicate the availability of measurements with the RRCResumeRequest and transmit the measurements with scheduled transmissions on the primary cell 121 after contention resolution (CR), but before the one or more first secondary cells 122 may be activated. In one option, only measurements above a configured threshold may be transmitted.

In embodiments herein, the term Pcell, e.g., the primary cell 121 , may be understood to refer to the cell where the wireless device 130 may be currently camping on. This camped cell may be the same or a different cell than the PCell wherein the wireless device 130 was in CA, e.g., before the wireless device 130 may have been released to the inactive mode. The wireless device 130 may send signaling/transmission firstly through the primary cell 121, which was the primary cell when the wireless device 130 was released to the inactive mode, wherein the signaling or the transmission may additionally indicate one or multiple stored first secondary cells 122, whose configurations may have been already stored in the wireless device 130 when the wireless device 130 may have been released to the inactive mode, which may be activated/resumed for SDT purpose. The network node 110 may decide one or multiple SCells for SDT purpose for the wireless device 130. The decision may be made by the network node 110 on its own, or considering the information/the indication received from the wireless device 130. Eventually, the SCells that the network node 110 may decide to be resumed/activated for the wireless device 130 for SDT purpose may be the same, different, or partial overlapping compared to the ones that the wireless device 130 may have has indicated.

In other examples, the third indication may be the preamble indicated by the second indication received in Action 202, e.g., the CFRA preamble supplied in paging. If the CFRA preamble is supplied in paging and the one or more first conditions are satisfied, the wireless device 130 may then, in this Action 204, transmit the preamble.

If the CFRA preamble may not have been supplied in paging, the wireless device 130 may transmit an RRCResumeRequest message, e.g., on legacy RA resources as in Rel-18 MT-SDT, transmitted on the primary cell 121. This message may also comprise an indicator indicating that either the one or more first conditions conditions may be satisfied or that early measurements may be available. As an option, RA-SDT resources may be used.

By sending the third indication to the network node 110 in this Action 204, indicating whether or not the one or more first conditions may be fulfilled, the wireless device 130 may enable the network node 110 to decide how the data may have to be exchanged with the wireless device 130. If the third indication indicates that the one or more first conditions for activation of at least one of the one or more first secondary cells 122 may be satisfied, the network node 110 may activate the at least one of the one or more first secondary cells 122. After this, data may be scheduled also on the at least one of the one or more first secondary cells 122. If the third indication indicates that measurements of at least one of the one or more first secondary cells 122 are available, the network node 110 may provide an UL grant and the wireless device 130 may transmit the measurements on the primary cell 121. The network node 110 may then determine which of the one or more first secondary cells 122 to activate and activate these first secondary cells 122 and thereafter transmit data also on the activated first secondary cells 122.

Action 205

In this Action 205, the wireless device 130 may receive, responsive to the sending in Action 204 of the third indication, an indication that the one or more first secondary cells 122 served by the network node 110 and comprising the first secondary cell 123 may be enabled for communication of the data between the wireless device 130 and the network node 110. The indication may be referred to herein as a fourth indication. The fourth indication may indicate that the one or more first secondary cells 122 served by the network node 110 and comprising the first secondary cell 123 may be activated for communication of the data. It may be understood that in some examples, only the first secondary cell 123 may be activated, whereas in other examples, several first secondary cells 122 including the first secondary cell 123 may be activated.

In some embodiments, at least one of the following may apply. According to one option, the one or more first conditions may be comprised in the obtained first indication. According to another option, the wireless device 130, e.g., in the third indication, may indicate one or more measurements performed by the wireless device 130 on at least one of the one or more first secondary cells 122. The received fourth indication may be based on the indicated one or more measurements. In other words, which of the one or more first secondary cells 122 may have been enabled for communication of the data between the wireless device 130 and the network node 110 by the network node 110, may have been decided by the network node 110 considering the indicated one or more measurements.

The receiving in this Action 205 may be performed, e.g., via the first link 141, e.g., in the primary cell 121.

In a particular example, the fourth indication may be a CR MAC CE and activation MAC CE indicating the activated SCells.

By receiving the fourth indication in this Action 204 from the network node 110, the wireless device 130 may enable the network node 110 to control how the data may have to be exchanged with the wireless device 130. The network node 110 may determine which of the one or more first secondary cells 122 to activate so that the exchanging of the data is only performed in the one or more secondary cells 122 where it may be more efficient to do so, and to refrain from performing the exchange in secondary cells where it may not, thereby managing the usage of resources for data transmission more effectively.

Action 206

In this Action 206, the wireless device 130 exchanges the data, with the network node 110 operating in the wireless communications network 100, in the first secondary cell 123 served by the network node 110. The size of the data is below the first threshold. That is, the data is small data, and the exchanging of the data is an SDT. The exchanging in this Action 206 is performed responsive to the indication received from the network node 110, the indication indicating that one or more first secondary cells 122 served by the network node 110 and comprising the first secondary cell 123 are enabled for communication of the data between the wireless device 130 and the network node 110. That is, responsive to the fourth indication. The exchanging in this Action 206 is performed while the wireless device 130 is in inactive state. Exchanging may be understood as any of receiving and transmitting. In some examples, the exchanging of the data in this Action 206 may be MO-SDT, in the UL. In other examples, the exchanging of the data in this Action 206 may be MT-SDT, in the DL.

Enabled for communication of the data may mean activated for communication of the data, or allowed for communication of the data while kept inactivated.

In some examples wherein in the fourth indication the network node 110 may have indicated the activated SCellsPCell, the network node 110 may schedule subsequent data, UL and/or DL, on the primary cell 121 and activated one or more first secondary cells 122, e.g., the first secondary cell 123, e.g., UL depending on the configuration of the first secondary cell 123.

To simplify the description of this Action 206, the exchange of the data is described as being performed in the first secondary cell 123. However, it may be understood that the exchange of the data may be performed in this Action 206 in several of the activated one or more first secondary cells 122.

By , in this Action 206, exchanging the data with the network node 110 in the first secondary cell 123 while the wireless device 130 is in inactive state, the wireless device 130 may be understood to enable more efficient transmissions of small data, since more data may be transmitted in the same amount of time, by using the first secondary cell 123, while enabling to reduce signaling overhead and power consumption by the wireless device 130, by refraining from transitioning to the connected state, and reducing latency by allowing fast transmission of small and infrequent packets. This may be understood to enable a more efficient use of SDT for larger amounts of data than what is presently possible. Furthermore, by the exchange being performed responsive to the fourth indication indicating that one or more first secondary cells 122 comprising the first secondary cell 123 are enabled for communication of the data, the wireless device 130 may be enabled to perform the exchange of the data in the inactive state and in the first secondary cell 123, only when the network node 110 may consider that it may be more efficient to do so while the wireless device 130 remains in inactive state, and not otherwise. For example, the network node 110 may determine that the data volume that the wireless device 130 may have planned to transmit may be above a threshold, so that not much saving for the power or energy may be achieved by the wireless device 130 by exchanging the data in a particular secondary cell. Alternatively or additionally, the network node 110 may be enabled to select the first secondary cell 123, as the secondary cell best suited for the exchange of data. Hence, the usage of resources in the wireless communications network 100, as well as the usage of energy resources in the wireless device 130 may be more efficiently managed. Action 207

In this Action 207, the wireless device 130 may receive, after the exchanging in Action 206 of the data, a fifth indication from the network node 110. The fifth indication may indicate one of: a) a resumption of a connection with the network node 110, and b) a return to an inactive state of the wireless device 130.

An example of the fifth indication indicating the return to the inactive state may be that the procedure may be terminated by a RRCRelease message, if the network node 110 may prefer to instruct the wireless device 130 to continue staying at the RRC INACTIVE. This may be performed, for example, whenever the amount of data for transmission may be too small to be justify the exchange being performed in connected state.

An example of the fifth indication indicating the resumption of the connection with the network node 110 may be that the procedure may be terminated by a RRCResume message, if the network node 110 may prefer to instruct the wireless device 130 to move to RRC CONNECTED. This may be performed, for example, whenever the further data may arrive for transmission and the amount of data to be exchanged may be too large to efficiently perform the exchange in inactive state.

The receiving in this Action 207 may be performed, e.g., via the first link 141.

By receiving the fifth indication in this Action 207, the wireless device 130 may enable the network node 110 to control the preservation of energy by the wireless device 130 by controlling how any further data may have to be exchanged with the wireless device 130. The network node 110 may determine to resume a connection with the wireless device 130 when it may be more efficient to do so, and to return the wireless device 130 to inactive state, thereby preserving its energy resources, when it may be more efficient to do so, thereby managing the usage of resources for data transmission more effectively.

Action 208

In some embodiments, before or after the exchanging in Action 206 of the data, the wireless device 130 may go into connected state, e.g., RRC CONNECTED. This may be, for example, as a result of the fifth indication received in Action 207 indicating the resumption of the connection with the network node 110.

In some of such embodiments wherein before or after the exchanging in Action 206 of the data, the wireless device 130 may go into connected state, the method may further comprise that, in this Action 208, the wireless device 130 may send a sixth indication to the network node 110. The sixth indication may indicate one or more second conditions for exchanging additional data of a size smaller than the first threshold with the network node 110 may be fulfilled. In some of these embodiments, the method may further comprise at least one of Actions 209, 210 and may further comprise Action 211.

Action 209

In some examples, after a while, due to low data activities or the need of power saving, the network node 110 may have instructed the wireless device 130 to deactivate one or multiple SCells. Later, due to the arrival of the additional, new, data for one or multiple services, QoS flows etc, the wireless device 130 or the network node 110 may determine it may be beneficial to let the wireless device 130 perform SDT in one or multiple deactivated SCells, without fully activating these SCells. Meanwhile, the wireless device 130 may remain in RRC CONNECTED.

In some of the embodiments, wherein before or after the exchanging in Action 206 of the data, the wireless device 130 may go into connected state, the method may further comprise that, after performing Action 208, in this Action 209, the wireless device 130 may send a seventh indication to the network node 110. The seventh indication may indicate the one or more second secondary cells 124 served by the network node 110 and comprising the second secondary cell 125 the wireless device 130 may request the network node 110 to activate for exchanging 211 the additional data.

In one example of this Action 209, the wireless device 130 may send the seventh indication as a signaling to the network node 110 indicating the one or more second secondary cells 124, e.g., one or multiple deactivated SCells, in which the wireless device 130 may prefer to perform SDT transmission. In addition, the seventh indication may carry at least one of the below configuration/information for each concerned deactivated second secondary cell 124, e.g., the second secondary cell 125: a) an indicator indicating whether the wireless device 130 may prefer to perform SDT in the second secondary cell 125 while the second secondary cell 125 is kept deactivated, b) indices or identifiers of Services, QoS flows, logical channels, or DRBs whose associated data may be preferred by the wireless device 130 to be transmitted in the second secondary cell 125 while the second secondary cell 125 is kept deactivated.

The wireless device 130 may send the seventh indication to the network node 110 via RRC signaling, as a MAC CE, or as a L1 signaling, e.g., Uplink Control Information (UCI) on Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH).

By sending the seventh indication to the network node 110 in this Action 209, the wireless device 130 may be enabled to then, if allowed by the network node 110, exchange 211 the additional data in the one or more second secondary cells 124 while inactivated, thereby enabling to efficiently manage the resources of the wireless communications network 100 while at the same time enabling the exchange of the data. Action 210

In some embodiments, before or after the exchanging in Action 206 of the data, the wireless device 130 may go into connected state, and the method may further comprise that, after performing Action 208, and optionally Action 209, the wireless device 130 may in this Action 210, receive an eighth indication from the network node 110. The eighth indication may indicate one of the following.

According to a first option, the eighth indication may indicate that the one or more second secondary cells 124 served by the network node 110 and comprising the second secondary cell 125 may be enabled for communication of the additional data while they may be kept inactivated.

In one example, after reception of the seventh indication, the network node 110 may further decide whether the wireless device 130 may be allowed to perform SDT in some deactivated second secondary cells 124. If the answer is yes, which second secondary cells 124 may have to be selected for the wireless device 130 to perform SDT operation. The network node 110 may further reply to the wireless device 130 with at least one of the below information/configuration: a) Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) resources, including preambles, RACH occasions, which may be allocated to the wireless device 130 and may be used by the wireless device 130 to perform SDT in the one or more second secondary cells 124, e.g., the second secondary cell 125; the PRACH resources may be associated with either 4-step RA and/or 2-step RA, b) Configured grant which may be allocated to the wireless device 130 and may be used by the wireless device 130 to perform SDT in the the second secondary cell 125; c) a data volume threshold that the wireless device 130 may not be allowed to transmit data over that threshold in the second secondary cell 125 while the second secondary cell 125 may be kept deactivated. In this example, the wireless device 130 may receive the eighth indication by a RRC signaling, a MAC CE or a L1 signaling, e.g., DCI on PDCCH.

According to a second option, the eighth indication may indicate that the one or more second secondary cells 124 served by the network node 110 and comprising the second secondary cell 125 may have to be inactivated, and may be enabled for communication of the additional data while they may be kept inactivated.

In one example, the network node 110 may send the eight indication as a signaling to the wireless device 130 instructing the wireless device 130 to deactivate the one or more second secondary cells 124, e.g., one or multiple SCells. In addition, the signaling may carry at least one of the below configuration/information for each deactivated second secondary cell 124, e.g., the second secondary cell 125: a) an indicator indicating whether the wireless device 130 may be allowed to perform SDT in the second secondary cell 125 while the second secondary cell 125 is kept deactivated, b) indices or identifiers of Services, QoS flows, logical channels, or DRBs whose associated data may be allowed to be transmitted in the second secondary cell 125 while the second secondary cell 125 is kept deactivated, c) PRACH resources, including preambles, RACH occasions, which may be allocated to the wireless device 130 and may be used by the wireless device 130 to perform SDT in the second secondary cell 125; the PRACH resources may be associated with either 4-step RA and/or 2- step RA, d) configured grant which may be allocated to the wireless device 130 and may be used by the wireless device 130 to perform SDT in the second secondary cell 125, and e) a data volume threshold over which the wireless device 130 may not be allowed to transmit data in the second secondary cell 125 while the second secondary cell 125 is kept deactivated. In this example, the eighth indication may be carried by a RRC signaling, a MAC CE or a L1 signaling, e.g., DCI on PDCCH.

According to a third option, the eighth indication may indicate that the one or more second secondary cells 124 served by the network node 110 and comprising the second secondary cell 125 may be activated and enabled for communication of the additional data.

In one example of the third option, it may have been that, upon reception of the seventh indication from the wireless device 130 indicating that the wireless device 130 may prefer to perform SDT operation in a deactivated second secondary cell 124 of the one or more second secondary cells 124, the network node 110 may not agree with the wireless device 130 to activate SDT operation in that second secondary cell 124. Instead, the network node 110 may decide to activate the second secondary cell 125 for the wireless device 130, so that the wireless device 130 may perform normal data transmission or reception in that second secondary cell 125. This may be due to that the network node 110 may determine the data volume that the wireless device 130 may have planned to transmit in that second secondary cell 125 may be above a threshold, so that not much saving for the power or energy may be achieved by the wireless device 130 by doing SDT in that second secondary cell 125. In another case, the network node 110 may determine that the data that the wireless device 130 may have planned to transmit in that second secondary cell 125 may have stringent QoS requirements. QoS requirements may not be met if the wireless device 130 may transmit in that second secondary cell 125 using a generally small grant/or limited resources without fully activating that second secondary cell 125.

Receiving in this Action 210 may be performed, e.g., via the first link 141.

In one example, for any signaling described in any one of the above embodiments, the signaling may be triggered by the network node 110 or the wireless device 130 for indicating the need/wish of enabling SDT in a deactivated SCell, the signaling may be transmitted in another active serving cell, which may be different from the SCells which may be being deactivated, and in which the wireless device 130 may perform SDT. In the existing 3GPP specifications, a UE may perform the below actions in case an SCell is deactivated, as described in clause 5.9 of TS 38.321 v 17.4.0:

1 > if the SCG associated with the activated SCell is deactivated:

2> deactivate the SCell according to the timing

2> stop the SCellDeactivationTimer associated with the SCell;

2> stop the bwp-lnactivityTimer associated with the SCell;

2> deactivate any active Bandwidth part (BWP) associated with the SCell;

2> clear any configured downlink assignment and any configured uplink grant Type 2 associated with the SCell respectively;

2> clear any PLISCH resource for semi-persistent Channel State Information (CSI) reporting associated with the SCell;

2> suspend any configured uplink grant Type 1 associated with the SCell;

2> flush all Hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) buffers associated with the SCell;

2> cancel, if any, triggered consistent Listen Before Talk (LBT) failure for the SCell.

According to the foregoing, in order to enable the wireless device 130 to transmit small data in a deactivated SCell such as the second secondary cell 125, the wireless device 130 may be required to be enabled to support at least one of the below capabilities. As a first capability, the wireless device 130 may need to be enabled to transmit or receive small data, e.g., up to certain data volume, in that second secondary cell 125. As a second capability, the wireless device 130 may need to be allowed to monitor PDCCH for a configured time period when the wireless device 130 may operate SDT transmission or reception in that second secondary cell 125. As a third capability, the wireless device 130 may need to be enabled to resume configured grant Type 1 for a configured time period, e.g., when the wireless device 130 may operate SDT transmission or reception in that second secondary cell 125. As a fourth capability, the wireless device 130 may need to be enabled to resume configured downlink assignment for a configured time period, e.g., when the wireless device 130 may operate SDT transmission or reception in that second secondary cell 125.

By receiving the eighth indication in this Action 210, the wireless device 130 may be enabled to exchange the additional data, while enabling the network node 110 to exert control of how the additional data may have to be exchanged so that the resources of the wireless communications network 100 may be efficiently managed during the exchange of the data. Action 211

In some embodiments, before or after the exchanging in Action 206 of the data, the wireless device 130 may go into connected state, and the method may further comprise that, after performing Action 208, and optionally any or both of Action 209 and Action 210, in this Action 211 , the wireless device 130 may exchange the additional data with the network node 110 while the wireless device 130 may be in connected state via the second secondary cell 125.

By exchanging the additional data with the network node 110 in this Action 211 , the wireless device 130 may be enabled to efficiently exchange the additional data with the network node 110, so that a larger amount of data may be exchanged within a same amount of time with the network node 110 by using the second secondary cell 125, while the second secondary cell 125 may be kept activated or deactivated, as the network node 110 may consider it may be more beneficial, from an energy effectivity point of view.

Embodiments of a method, performed by the network node 110 will now be described with reference to the flowchart depicted in Figure 3. The method may be understood to be for handling the exchange of the data. The network node 110 operates in the wireless communications network 100. The method may be understood to be computer-implemented.

In some embodiments, the wireless communications network 100 may support NR.

Several embodiments are comprised herein. In some embodiments all the actions may be performed. In some embodiments, one or more actions may be performed. It should be noted that the examples herein may be not mutually exclusive. One or more embodiments may be combined, where applicable. All possible combinations are not described to simplify the description. Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present in another embodiment and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other exemplary embodiments. A non-limiting example of the method performed by the network node 110 is depicted in Figure 3. Some actions may be performed in a different order than that shown in Figure 3. In Figure 3, optional actions are represented with dashed lines. The detailed description of some of the following corresponds to the same references provided above, in relation to the actions described for the wireless device 130 and will thus not be repeated here. For example, the inactive state may be the RRCJnactive state.

Action 301

In this Action 301, the network node 110 may send the first indication to the wireless device 130. The first indication may indicate the configuration of the one or more first secondary cells 122 to use for exchange of the data with the network node 110 while the wireless device 130 may be in inactive state. The data may have the size below the first threshold.

The first indication may comprise the one or more first conditions.

The one or more first conditions may comprise at least one of: a) the wireless device 130 is to resume in the same cell 121 wherein the wireless device 130 was last released to inactive state, b) the size of the data having the first relation with respect to the first threshold, b) the radio bearer being mapped to the data, c) the new data arrival for the specific service, d) the flow of QoS mapped to the radio bearer being over the second threshold, e) the second relation of the first measured radio signal in the primary cell 121 serving the wireless device 130 to the third threshold, f) the third relation of the second measured radio signal in the first secondary cell 123 to the fourth threshold, g) which of the one or more first secondary cells 122 may be resumed, h) the fourth relation of the respective channel of the one or more first secondary cells 122 to the fifth threshold, and i) the receipt of the paging message from the network node 110.

Action 302

In some embodiments, the one or more first conditions may comprise that, in this Action 302, the network node 110 may send, to the wireless device 130, after having sent the first indication, the second indication. The second indication may indicate the preamble to be used by the wireless device 130 in order to indicate, when sending the preamble to the network node 110, that the wireless device 130 is ready to exchange the data in the downlink from the network node 110.

Action 303

In this Action 303, network node 110 may receive, from the wireless device 130, the third indication indicating whether or not one or more first conditions for triggering in the wireless device 130 the exchanging of the data may be fulfilled. The one or more first conditions may have been indicated by the first indication.

Action 304

In this Action 304, the network node 110 may decide, responsive to the received third indication, how the data may have to be exchanged with the wireless device 130.

Action 305

In this Action 305, the network node 110 may send, based on a result of the deciding in Action 304, the indication that the one or more first secondary cells 122 served by the network node 110 and comprising the first secondary cell 123 may be enabled for communication of the data between the wireless device 130 and the network node 110. The indication may be a fourth indication. The fourth indication may indicate that the one or more first secondary cells 122 served by the network node 110 and comprising the first secondary cell 123 may be activated for communication of the data.

In some embodiments, at least one of the following may apply: a) the one or more first conditions may be comprised in the sent first indication, and b) the network node 110 may receive an additional indication from the wireless device 130 indicating the one or more measurements performed by the wireless device 130 on the at least one of the one or more first secondary cells 122. The sent fourth indication may be based on the indicated one or more measurements.

Action 306

In this Action 306, the network node 110 exchanges the data, with the wireless device 130 operating in the wireless communications network 100, in the first secondary cell 123 served by the network node 110. The size of the data is below the first threshold. The exchanging in this Action 306 is performed responsive to the indication, that is, the fourth indication, sent by the network node 110 to the wireless device 130. The indication indicates that the one or more first secondary cells 122 served by the network node 110 and comprising the first secondary cell 123 are enabled for communication of the data between the wireless device 130 and the network node 110. The exchanging in this Action 306 is performed while the wireless device 130 is in inactive state.

Action 307

In this Action 307, the network node 110 may send, after the exchanging in Action 306 of the data, the fifth indication to the wireless device 130. The fifth indication may indicate one of: a) the resumption of the connection with the wireless device 130, and b) the return to the inactive state of the wireless device 130.

Action 308

In some embodiments, the method may further comprise, before or after the exchanging in Action 306 of the data, and while the wireless device 130 may be connected state that, in this Action 308, the network node 110 may receive the sixth indication from the wireless device 130. The sixth indication may indicate the one or more second conditions for exchanging the additional data of the size smaller than the first threshold with the network node 110 may be fulfilled. In some of these embodiments, the method may further comprise at least one of Actions 309, 310, and may further comprise Action 311. Action 309

In some embodiments, the method may further comprise, before or after the exchanging in Action 306 of the data, and while the wireless device 130 may be connected state that, after performing Action 308, in this Action 309, network node 110 may receive the seventh indication from the wireless device 130. The seventh indication may indicate the one or more second secondary cells 124 served by the network node 110 and comprising the second secondary cell 125 the wireless device 130 may request the network node 110 to activate for exchanging 211 the additional data.

Action 310

In some embodiments, the method may further comprise, before or after the exchanging in Action 306 of the data, and while the wireless device 130 may be connected state that, after performing Action 308, and optionally Action 309, in this Action 310, the network node 110 may send the eighth indication to the wireless device 130. The eighth indication may indicate one of the following options. According to a first option, the eighth indication may indicate that the one or more second secondary cells 124 served by the network node 110 and comprising the second secondary cell 125 are enabled for communication of the additional data while they are kept inactivated. According to a second option, the eighth indication may indicate that the one or more second secondary cells 124 served by the network node 110 and comprising the second secondary cell 125 are to be inactivated, and are enabled for communication of the additional data while they are kept inactivated.

According to a third option, the eighth indication may indicate that the one or more second secondary cells 124 served by the network node 110 and comprising the second secondary cell 125 are activated and enabled for communication of the additional data.

In one example, upon reception of the seventh indication from the wireless device 130 indicating that the wireless device 130 may prefer to perform SDT operation in a deactivated SCell, such as the second secondary cell 125, the network node 110 may not agree with the wireless device 130 to activate SDT operation in that SCell. Instead, the network node 110 may decide to activate the SCell for the wireless device 130 so that the wireless device 130 may perform normal data transmission or reception in that SCell. This may be due to that the network node 110 may determine the data volume that the wireless device 130 may have planned to transmit in that SCell may be above a threshold, so that not much saving for the power or energy may be achieved by the wireless device 130 by doing SDT in that SCell. In another case, the wireless device 130 may determine that the data that the wireless device 130 may have planned to transmit in that SCell may have stringent QoS requirements. QoS requirements may not be met if the wireless device 130 transmits in that SCell using a generally small grant/or limited resources without fully activating that Scell. Action 311

In some embodiments, the method may further comprise, before or after the exchanging in Action 306 of the data, and while the wireless device 130 may be connected state that, after performing Action 308, and optionally any or both of Action 309 and Action 310, in this Action 311 , the network node 110 may exchange the additional data with the wireless device 130 while the wireless device 130 is in connected state via the second secondary cell 125.

Figure 4 is a signalling diagram depicting a first non-limiting example of a method in the wireless communications network 100, according to embodiments herein. In this example, the wireless device 130 is a UE, and the network node 110 is a gNB. The method depicted in the first example of Figure 4 is signalling for activation of SCells for use during an MO-SDT-case, based on satisfied conditions. In the first step, in accordance with Action 301 and Action 201, the network node 110 may release the wireless device 130 to RRC inactive state, and configure the one or more first secondary cells 122 for SDT. Next, accordance with Action 203, an RA-SDT procedure or an CG-SDT may be triggered, and the one or more first conditions satisfied for may be one or several SCells. The wireless device 130 may then, in accordance with Action 204, transmit an RRCResumeRequest message on the primary cell 121 , on SRB0, using RA-SDT, giving a larger msg3 grant, or CG-SDT resources indicating which SCells, e.g., the one or more first secondary cells 122, the wireless device 130 may want to have activated for SDT purpose. This may also be an implicit indication that the channel conditions may be sufficient for these SCells. The indication may be a MAC CE. The wireless device 130 may multiplex UE data as in legacy. In the primary cell 121 , upon reception of the RRCResumeRequest message in accordance with Action 303, the network node 110 may, in accordance with Action 304, determine to enable the SCells requested by the wireless device 130. Next, in accordance with Action 305 and Action 205, the network node 110 may respond with a CR MAC CE and activation MAC CE indicating the activated SCells, e.g., of the one or more first secondary cells 122. Data may also be multiplexed in this transmission/message. After this, the network node 110 may schedule subsequent data,(UL/DL, on the primary cell 121 and the activated SCells in the UL, depending on configuration of SCell. This may lead to subsequent UL and DL data exchange in the primary cell 121 and the selected SCells, in accordance with Action 306 and 206. The procedure may be terminated by the network node 110 sending, in accordance with Action 307 and Action 207, an RRCRelease message, if the network node 110 may prefer to instruct the wireless device 130 to continue staying at the RRC INACTIVE, or RRCResume message, if the network node 110 may prefer to instruct the wireless device 130 to move to RRC CONNECTED. Figure 5 is a signalling diagram depicting a second, alternative, non-limiting example of a method in the wireless communications network 100, according to embodiments herein. In this example, the wireless device 130 is a UE, and the network node 110 is a gNB. The method depicted in Figure 5 is for an example of the signalling using early measurements. In the first step, in accordance with Action 301 and Action 201, the network node 110 may release the wireless device 130 to RRC inactive state, and configure the one or more first secondary cells 122 for SDT as well as configure early measurements for SCells. Next, accordance with Action 203, the wireless device 130 may trigger MO-SDT, based on the early measurements. The wireless device 130 may then, in accordance with Action 204, transmit an RRCResumeRequest message on the primary cell 121 , on SRB0, using RA-SDT, giving a larger msg3 grant, or CG-SDT resources containing measurements for the configured SCells. In one option, the measurements may just be indications of which SCells may be above a configured threshold, e.g. a short bitmap. The indication may be a MAC CE. The wireless device 130 may multiplex UE data as in legacy. In one option, if the complete measurements cannot be carried with the RRCResumeRequest message, the wireless device 130 may indicate the availability of measurements with the RRCResumeRequest and transmit the measurements with scheduled transmissions on the primary cell 121 after contention resolution (CR) but before the SCells may be activated. In one option, only measurements above a configured threshold may be transmitted. In the primary cell 121 , the network node 110 may, in accordance with Action 304, may evaluate the received measurements and respond, in accordance with Action 305 and Action 205, with a CR MAC CE and activation MAC CE indicating the activated SCells, e.g., the one or more first secondary cells 122. After this, the network node 110 may schedule subsequent data, UL/DL, on the primary cell 121 and the activated SCells. This may lead to subsequent UL and DL data exchange in the primary cell 121 and the selected SCells, in accordance with Action 306 and 206. The procedure may be terminated by the network node 110 sending, in accordance with Action 307 and Action 207, an RRCRelease message, if the network node 110 may prefer to instruct the wireless device 130 to continue staying at the RRC INACTIVE, or a RRCResume message, if the network node 110 may prefer to instruct the wireless device 130 to move to RRC CONNECTED.

Figure 6 is a signalling diagram depicting a third non-limiting example of a method in the wireless communications network 100, according to embodiments herein. In this example, the wireless device 130 is a UE and the network node 110 is a gNB. The method depicted in the third example of Figure 6 is of a first example use case of embodiments herein of signalling for the MT-SDT case using CFRA preamble. The first step is the same as that described for Figure 4. Here, in accordance with Action 302 and Action 202, the wireless device 130 may receive a RAN Paging from the network node 110, here the anchor gNB, on the primary cell

121 , with an indicator for activation of a set of SCells, the one or more first secondary cells

122. The paging may contain a CFRA preamble. In case the wireless device 130 may have changed to a different gNB due to its mobility, the mechanisms may be not applicable due to that the timing difference between the currently camped cell and the stored SCells may be above a threshold, meaning that the wireless device 130 may not be feasible to operate CA on the currently camped cell and stored SCells. Next, accordance with Action 203, the wireless device 130 may trigger MT-SDT and may check the one or more first conditions for SCell activation. If the CFRA preamble supplied in the paging and the one or more first conditions are satisfied, the wireless device 130 may transmit the preamble in accordance with Action 204 and Action 303, on the primary cell 121. The network node 110 may then, according to Action 304 determine to activate the one or more first secondary cells 122, and, according to Action 305 and Action 205, transmit an activation MAC CE and schedule DL data on the primary cell 121 using the C-RNTI which may be available in the UE context. After this, data may be scheduled also on activated SCells. This may lead to subsequent UL and DL data exchange in the primary cell 121 and the selected SCells, in accordance with Action 306 and 206. The procedure may be terminated by the network node 110 as described for Figure 4. This is the scenario illustrated in Figure 6. If the CFRA preamble is not supplied in the paging, the wireless device 130 may transmit, in accordance with Action 204 and Action 303, a RRCResumeRequest message, on legacy RA resources as in Rel-18 MT-SDT, transmitted on the primary cell 121. This message may also contain an indicator of that, either the one or more first conditions may be satisfied or that early measurements may be available. As an option, RA-SDT resources may be used, which may require a standard change for MT-SDT, and the procedure may follow the lines of the MO-SDT case from Action 203. If legacy RA resources are used, the network node 110 may send, in accordance with Action 305 and Action 205, a CR MAC CE, and may schedule DL data on the primary cell 121. If the indication in the RRCResumeRequest indicates that the one or more first conditions for SCell activation are satisfied, the network node 110 may activate the SCells, e.g., the one or more first secondary cells 122. After this, the data may be scheduled also on SCells, e.g., the one or more first secondary cells 122. If the indication in the RRCResumeRequest indicates that measurements of the SCells are available, the network node 110 may provide an UL grant and the wireless device 130 may transmit the measurements on the primary cell 121. The network node 110 may then determine, in accordance with Action 304, which SCells to activate and activate these SCells and thereafter transmit data, in accordance with Action 306 and Action 206, also on the activated SCells, e.g., the one or more first secondary cells 122. The procedure may be terminated by the network node 110 sending, in accordance with Action 307 and Action 207, an RRCRelease message, if the network node 110 may prefer to instruct the wireless device 130 to continue staying at the RRC INACTIVE, or RRCResume message, if the network node 110 may prefer to instruct the wireless device 130 to move to RRC CONNECTED.

Certain embodiments disclosed herein may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s), which may be summarized as follows. Embodiments herein, may be understood to enable more efficient transmissions in SDT. This may be understood to enable efficient use of SDT for larger amounts of data than what is presently possible.

Figure 7 depicts an example of the arrangement that the wireless device 130 may comprise to perform the method actions described above in relation to Figure 2, and/or any of Figures 4-6. The wireless device 130 may be understood to be for handling the exchange of data. The wireless device 130 may be configured to operate in the wireless communications network 100.

In some embodiments, the wireless communications network 100 may be configured to support NR.

Several embodiments are comprised herein. It should be noted that the examples herein are not mutually exclusive. One or more embodiments may be combined, where applicable. All possible combinations are not described to simplify the description. Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present in another embodiment and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other exemplary embodiments. The detailed description of some of the following corresponds to the same references provided above, in relation to the actions described for the wireless device 130 and will thus not be repeated here. For example, the inactive state may be configured to be the RRCJnactive state.

The wireless device 130 is configured to exchange the data, with the network node 110 configured to operate in the wireless communications network 100, in the first secondary cell 123 configured to be served by the network node 110. The size of the data is configured to be below the first threshold. The exchanging is configured to be performed responsive to the indication configured to be received from the network node 110, that is, the fourth indication. The indication is configured to indicate that the one or more first secondary cells 122 configured to be served by the network node 110 and configured to comprise the first secondary cell 123 are enabled for communication of the data between the wireless device 130 and the network node 110. The exchanging is configured to be performed while the wireless device 130 is in inactive state. In some embodiments, the wireless device 130 may be further configured with at least one of the following five configurations.

In some embodiments, the wireless device 130 may be further configured to obtain the first indication configured to indicate the configuration of the one or more first secondary cells 122 to use for exchange of data with the network node 110 while the wireless device 130 is in inactive state. The data is configured to have the size below the first threshold.

In some embodiments, the wireless device 130 may be further configured to trigger, after having obtained the first indication, the exchanging of the data with the network node 110 upon fulfilment of the one or more first conditions. The first indication may be configured to indicate the one or more first conditions.

In some embodiments, the wireless device 130 may be further configured to send, to the network node 110, responsive to the triggering of the exchanging of the data with the network node 110, the third indication configured to indicate whether or not the one or more first conditions are fulfilled.

In some embodiments, the wireless device 130 may be further configured to receive, responsive to the sending of the third indication, the indication that the one or more first secondary cells 122 configured to be served by the network node 110 and configured to comprise the first secondary cell 123 are enabled for communication of the data between the wireless device 130 and the network node 110. The indication may be configured to be the fourth indication. The fourth indication may be configured to indicate that the one or more first secondary cells 122 configured to be served by the network node 110 and configured to comprise the first secondary cell 123 are activated for communication of the data.

In some embodiments, the wireless device 130 may be further configured to receive, after the exchanging of the data, the fifth indication from the network node 110. The fifth indication may be configured to indicate one of: a) the resumption of the connection with the network node 110, and b) the return to the inactive state of the wireless device 130.

In some embodiments, the one or more first conditions may be configured to comprise receiving, from the network node 110, after having obtained the first indication, the second indication configured to indicate the preamble to be used by the wireless device 130 in order to indicate, when sending the preamble to the network node 110, that the wireless device 130 is ready to exchange the data in the DL from the network node 110.

In some embodiments, the one or more first conditions may be configured to comprise at least one of: a) the wireless device 130 is to resume in the same cell 121 wherein the wireless device 130 was last released to inactive state, b) the size of the data having the first relation with respect to the first threshold, c) the radio bearer being mapped to the data, d) the new data arrival for the specific service, e) the flow of QoS mapped to the radio bearer being over the second threshold, f) the second relation of the first measured radio signal in the primary cell 121 serving the wireless device 130 to the third threshold, g) the third relation of the second measured radio signal in the first secondary cell 123 to the fourth threshold, h) which of the one or more first secondary cells 122 are resumed, i) the fourth relation of the respective channel of the one or more first secondary cells 122 to the fifth threshold, and j) the receipt of the paging message from the network node 110.

In some embodiments, at least one of the following may apply: a) the one or more first conditions may be configured to be comprised in the first indication configured to be obtained, and b) the wireless device 130 may be configured to indicate the one or more measurements configured to be performed by the wireless device 130 on at least one of the one or more first secondary cells 122, and the fourth indication configured to be received may be configured to be based on the one or more measurements configured to be indicated.

In some embodiments, the wireless device 130 may be further configured to, when, before or after the exchanging of the data, the wireless device 130 may go into connected state, send the sixth indication to the network node 110 configured to indicate the one or more second conditions for exchanging the additional data of the size smaller than the first threshold with the network node 110 are fulfilled. In some of such embodiments, the wireless device 130 may be further configured with at least one of the following two configurations.

In some embodiments, the wireless device 130 may be further configured to, send the seventh indication to the network node 110. The seventh indication may be configured to indicate the one or more second secondary cells 124 configured to be served by the network node 110 and configured to comprise the second secondary cell 125 the wireless device 130 may request the network node 110 to activate for exchanging 211 the additional data.

In some embodiments, the wireless device 130 may be further configured to, receive the eighth indication from the network node 110. The eighth indication may be configured to indicate one of the following three options. According to a first option, the eighth indication may be configured to indicate the one or more second secondary cells 124 configured to be served by the network node 110 and configured to comprise the second secondary cell 125 are enabled for communication of the additional data while they are kept inactivated. According to a second option, the eighth indication may be configured to indicate the one or more second secondary cells 124 configured to be served by the network node 110 and configured to comprise the second secondary cell 125 may be to be inactivated, and may be enabled for communication of the additional data while they are kept inactivated. According to a third option, the eighth indication may be configured to indicate the one or more second secondary cells 124 configured to be served by the network node 110 and configured to comprise the second secondary cell 125 are activated and enabled for communication of the additional data. In some embodiments, e.g., some of the embodiments described in the last three paragraphs, the wireless device 130 may be further configured to, exchange the additional data with the network node 110 while the wireless device 130 is in connected state via the second secondary cell 125.

The embodiments herein in the wireless device 130 may be implemented through one or more processors, such as a processing circuitry 701 in the wireless device 130 depicted in Figure 7, together with computer program code for performing the functions and actions of the embodiments herein. A processor, as used herein, may be understood to be a hardware component. The program code mentioned above may also be provided as a computer program product, for instance in the form of a data carrier carrying computer program code for performing the embodiments herein when being loaded into the wireless device 130. One such carrier may be in the form of a CD ROM disc. It is however feasible with other data carriers such as a memory stick. The computer program code may furthermore be provided as pure program code on a server and downloaded to the wireless device 130.

The processing circuitry 701 may be configured to, or operable to, perform the method actions according to Figure 2, and/or any of Figures 4-6.

The wireless device 130 may further comprise a memory 702 comprising one or more memory units. The memory 702 is arranged to be used to store obtained information, store data, configurations, schedulings, and applications etc. to perform the methods herein when being executed in the wireless device 130.

In some embodiments, the wireless device 130 may receive information from, e.g., the network node 110, or another network node, device or structure in the wireless communications network 100, through a receiving port 703. In some embodiments, the receiving port 703 may be, for example, connected to one or more antennas in wireless device 130. Since the receiving port 703 may be in communication with the processing circuitry 701 , the receiving port 703 may then send the received information to the processing circuitry 701. The receiving port 703 may also be configured to receive other information.

The processing circuitry 701 in the wireless device 130 may be further configured to transmit or send information to e.g., the network node 110, or another network node, device or structure in the wireless communications network 100, through a sending port 704, which may be in communication with the processing circuitry 701, and the memory 702.

Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the processing circuitry 701 described above may comprise a combination of analog and digital modules, and/or one or more processors configured with software and/or firmware, e.g., stored in memory, that, when executed by the one or more processors such as the processing circuitry 701 , perform as described above. One or more of these processors, as well as the other digital hardware, may be included in a single Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or several processors and various digital hardware may be distributed among several separate components, whether individually packaged or assembled into a System-on-a-Chip (SoC).

Also, in some embodiments, the wireless device 130 may be configured to perform the actions of Figure 2, and/or any of Figures 4-6 with respective units that may be implemented as one or more applications running on one or more processors such as the processing circuitry 701.

Thus, the methods according to the embodiments described herein for the wireless device 130 may be respectively implemented by means of a computer program 705 product, comprising instructions, i.e., software code portions, which, when executed on at least one processing circuitry 701 , cause the at least one processing circuitry 701 to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the wireless device 130. The computer program 705 product may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium 706. The computer- readable storage medium 706, having stored there on the computer program 705, may comprise instructions which, when executed on at least one processing circuitry 701 , cause the at least one processing circuitry 701 to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the wireless device 130. In some embodiments, the computer-readable storage medium 706 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as a CD ROM disc, or a memory stick. In other embodiments, the computer program 705 product may be stored on a carrier containing the computer program 705 just described, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or the computer-readable storage medium 706, as described above.

The wireless device 130 may comprise a communication interface configured to facilitate communications between the wireless device 130 and other nodes or devices, e.g., the network node 110, or another network node, device or structure in the wireless communications network 100. The interface may, for example, include a transceiver configured to transmit and receive radio signals over an air interface in accordance with a suitable standard.

In other embodiments, the wireless device 130 may also comprise a radio circuitry 707, which may comprise e.g., the receiving port 703 and the sending port 704. The radio circuitry 707 may be configured to set up and maintain at least a wireless connection with the network node 110, or another network node, device or structure in the wireless communications network 100. Circuitry may be understood herein as a hardware component.

Hence, embodiments herein also relate to the wireless device 130 comprising the processing circuitry 701 and the memory 702, said memory 702 containing instructions executable by said processing circuitry 701, whereby the wireless device 130 is operative to perform the actions described herein in relation to the wireless device 130, e.g., in Figure 2, and/or any of Figures 4-6. Figure 8 depicts an example of the arrangement that the network node 110 may comprise to perform the method actions described above in relation to Figure 3, and/or any of Figures 4-6. The network node 110 may be understood to be for handling the exchange of data. The network node 110 may be configured to operate in the wireless communications network 100.

The network node 110 is configured to exchange the data, with the wireless device 130 configured to operate in the wireless communications network 100, in the first secondary cell 123 configured to be served by the network node 110. The size of the data is configured to be below the first threshold. The exchanging is configured to be performed responsive to the indication configured to be sent by the network node 110 to the wireless device 130. The indication is configured to indicate that one or more first secondary cells 122 configured to be served by the network node 110 and configured to comprise the first secondary cell 123 are enabled for communication of the data between the wireless device 130 and the network node 110. The exchanging is configured to be performed while the wireless device 130 is in inactive state.

In some embodiments, the network node 110 may be further configured with at least one of the following five configurations.

In some embodiments, the network node 110 may be further configured to send the first indication to the wireless device 130. The first indication may be configured to indicate the configuration of the one or more first secondary cells 122 to use for exchange of data with the network node 110 while the wireless device 130 may be in inactive state. The data may have the size below the first threshold.

In some embodiments, the network node 110 may be further configured to receive, from the wireless device 130, the third indication configured to indicate whether or not the one or more first conditions for triggering in the wireless device 130 the exchanging of the data may be fulfilled. The one or more first conditions may be configured to have been indicated by the first indication.

In some embodiments, the network node 110 may be further configured to decide, responsive to the third indication configured to be received, how the data may have to be exchanged with the wireless device 130.

In some embodiments, the network node 110 may be further configured to send, based on the result of the deciding 304, the indication that the one or more first secondary cells 122 configured to be served by the network node 110 and configured to comprise the first secondary cell 123 may be enabled for communication of the data between the wireless device 130 and the network node 110. The indication may be configured to be the fourth indication. The fourth indication may be configured to indicate that the one or more first secondary cells 122 configured to be served by the network node 110 and configured to comprise the first secondary cell 123 may be activated for communication of the data.

In some embodiments, the network node 110 may be further configured to send, after the exchanging of the data, the fifth indication to the wireless device 130. The fifth indication may be configured to indicate one of: a) the resumption of the connection with the wireless device 130, and b) the return to the inactive state of the wireless device 130.

In some embodiments, the one or more first conditions may be configured to comprise sending, to the wireless device 130, after having sent the first indication, the second indication configured to indicate the preamble to be used by the wireless device 130 in order to indicate, when sending the preamble to the network node 110, that the wireless device 130 may be ready to exchange the data in the downlink from the network node 110.

In some embodiments, at least one of the following may apply: a) the one or more first conditions may be configured to be comprised in the first indication configured to be sent, and b) the network node 110 may be configured to receive the additional indication configured to indicate the one or more measurements configured to be performed by the wireless device 130 on at least one of the one or more first secondary cells 122, and the fourth indication configured to be sent may be configured to be based on the one or more measurements configured to be indicated.

In some embodiments, the network node 110 may be further configured to, before or after the exchanging of the data, and while the wireless device 130 may be in connected state, receive the sixth indication from the wireless device 130 configured to indicate the one or more second conditions for exchanging the additional data of the size smaller than the first threshold with the network node 110 are fulfilled. In some of such embodiments, the network node 110 may be further configured with at least one of the following two configurations.

In some embodiments, the network node 110 may be further configured to, receive the seventh indication from the wireless device 130. The seventh indication may be configured to indicate the one or more second secondary cells 124 configured to be served by the network node 110 and configured to comprise the second secondary cell 125 the wireless device 130 may request the network node 110 to activate for exchanging the additional data.

In some embodiments, the network node 110 may be further configured to, send the eighth indication to the wireless device 130. The eighth indication may be configured to indicate one of the following three options. According to a first option, the eighth indication may be configured to indicate the one or more second secondary cells 124 configured to be served by the network node 110 and configured to comprise the second secondary cell 125 are enabled for communication of the additional data while they are kept inactivated. According to a second option, the eighth indication may be configured to indicate the one or more second secondary cells 124 configured to be served by the network node 110 and configured to comprise the second secondary cell 125 may be to be inactivated, and may be enabled for communication of the additional data while they are kept inactivated. According to a third option, the eighth indication may be configured to indicate the one or more second secondary cells 124 configured to be served by the network node 110 and configured to comprise the second secondary cell 125 are activated and enabled for communication of the additional data.

In some embodiments, e.g., some of the embodiments described in the last three paragraphs, the network node 110 may be further configured to, exchange the additional data with the wireless device 130 while the wireless device 130 is in connected state via the second secondary cell 125.

The embodiments herein in the network node 110 may be implemented through one or more processors, such as a processing circuitry 801 in the network node 110 depicted in Figure 8, together with computer program code for performing the functions and actions of the embodiments herein. A processor, as used herein, may be understood to be a hardware component. The program code mentioned above may also be provided as a computer program product, for instance in the form of a data carrier carrying computer program code for performing the embodiments herein when being loaded into the network node 110. One such carrier may be in the form of a CD ROM disc. It is however feasible with other data carriers such as a memory stick. The computer program code may furthermore be provided as pure program code on a server and downloaded to the network node 110.

The processing circuitry 801 may be configured to, or operable to, perform the method actions according to Figure 3, and/or any of Figures 4-6.

The network node 110 may further comprise a memory 802 comprising one or more memory units. The memory 802 is arranged to be used to store obtained information, store data, configurations, schedulings, and applications etc. to perform the methods herein when being executed in the network node 110.

In some embodiments, the network node 110 may receive information from, e.g., the wireless device 130, another network node, or another device or structure in the wireless communications network 100, through a receiving port 803. In some embodiments, the receiving port 803 may be, for example, connected to one or more antennas in network node 110. In other embodiments, the network node 110 may receive information from another structure in the wireless communications network 100 through the receiving port 803. Since the receiving port 803 may be in communication with the processing circuitry 801 , the receiving port 803 may then send the received information to the processing circuitry 801. The receiving port 803 may also be configured to receive other information.

The processing circuitry 801 in the network node 110 may be further configured to transmit or send information to e.g., the wireless device 130, another network node, or another device or structure in the wireless communications network 100, through a sending port 804, which may be in communication with the processing circuitry 801, and the memory 802.

Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the processing circuitry 801 described above may comprise a combination of analog and digital modules, and/or one or more processors configured with software and/or firmware, e.g., stored in memory, that, when executed by the one or more processors such as the processing circuitry 801 , perform as described above. One or more of these processors, as well as the other digital hardware, may be included in a single Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or several processors and various digital hardware may be distributed among several separate components, whether individually packaged or assembled into a System-on-a-Chip (SoC).

Also, in some embodiments, the network node 110 may be configured to perform the actions of Figure 6 with respective units that may be implemented as one or more applications running on one or more processors such as the processing circuitry 801.

Thus, the methods according to the embodiments described herein for the network node 110 may be respectively implemented by means of a computer program 805 product, comprising instructions, i.e., software code portions, which, when executed on at least one processing circuitry 801 , cause the at least one processing circuitry 801 to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the network node 110. The computer program 805 product may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium 806. The computer- readable storage medium 806, having stored thereon the computer program 805, may comprise instructions which, when executed on at least one processing circuitry 801 , cause the at least one processing circuitry 801 to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the network node 110. In some embodiments, the computer-readable storage medium 806 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as a CD ROM disc, or a memory stick. In other embodiments, the computer program 805 product may be stored on a carrier containing the computer program 805 just described, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or the computer-readable storage medium 806, as described above.

The network node 110 may comprise a communication interface configured to facilitate communications between the network node 110 and other nodes or devices, e.g., the wireless device 130, another network node, or another device or structure in the wireless communications network 100. The interface may, for example, include a transceiver configured to transmit and receive radio signals over an air interface in accordance with a suitable standard.

In other embodiments, the network node 110 may also comprise a radio circuitry 807, which may comprise e.g., the receiving port 803 and the sending port 804. The radio circuitry 807 may be configured to set up and maintain at least a wireless connection with the wireless device 130, another network node, or another device or structure in the wireless communications network 100. Circuitry may be understood herein as a hardware component.

Hence, embodiments herein also relate to the network node 110 comprising the processing circuitry 801 and the memory 802, said memory 802 containing instructions executable by said processing circuitry 801, whereby the network node 110 is operative to perform the actions described herein in relation to the network node 110, e.g., in Figure 3, and/or any of Figures 4-6.

As used herein, the expression “at least one of:” followed by a list of alternatives separated by commas, and wherein the last alternative is preceded by the “and” term, may be understood to mean that only one of the list of alternatives may apply, more than one of the list of alternatives may apply or all of the list of alternatives may apply. This expression may be understood to be equivalent to the expression “at least one of:” followed by a list of alternatives separated by commas, and wherein the last alternative is preceded by the “or” term.

REFERENCES

1. RP-200954 "Work Item on NR small data transmissions in INACTIVE state", ZTE, 3GPP TSG RAN Meeting #86.

2. RP-222993 "Revised Wl: Mobile Terminated-Small Data Transmission (MT-SDT) for NR", ZTE, 3GPP TSG RAN Meeting #98e.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A method performed by a wireless device (130), the method being for handling exchange of data, the wireless device (130) operating in a wireless communications network (100), and the method comprising:

- exchanging (206) the data, with a network node (110) operating in the wireless communications network (100), in a first secondary cell (123) served by the network node (110), wherein a size of the data is below a first threshold, and wherein the exchanging (206) is performed responsive to an indication received from the network node (110), the indication indicating that one or more first secondary cells (122) served by the network node (110) and comprising the first secondary cell (123) are enabled for communication of the data between the wireless device (130) and the network node (110), and wherein the exchanging (206) is performed while the wireless device (130) is in inactive state.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising at least one of:

- obtaining (201) a first indication indicating a configuration of the one or more first secondary cells (122) to use for exchange of data with the network node (110) while the wireless device (130) is in inactive state, wherein the data has a size below the first threshold,

- triggering (203), after having obtained the first indication, the exchanging of the data with the network node (110) upon fulfillment of one or more first conditions, and wherein the first indication indicates the one or more first conditions, and

- sending (204), to the network node (110), responsive to the triggering (203) of the exchanging of the data with the network node (110), a third indication indicating whether or not the one or more first conditions are fulfilled,

- receiving (205), responsive to the sending (204) of the third indication, the indication that the one or more first secondary cells (122) served by the network node (110) and comprising the first secondary cell (123) are enabled for communication of the data between the wireless device (130) and the network node (110), wherein the indication is a fourth indication, wherein the fourth indication indicates that the one or more first secondary cells (122) served by the network node (110) and comprising the first secondary cell (123) are activated for communication of the data, and

- receiving (207), after the exchanging (206) of the data, a fifth indication from the network node (110), the fifth indication indicating one of: i. a resumption of a connection with the network node (110), and ii. a return to an inactive state of the wireless device (130).

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the one or more first conditions comprise:

- receiving (202), from the network node (110), after having obtained the first indication, a second indication indicating a preamble to be used by the wireless device (130) in order to indicate, when sending the preamble to the network node (110), that the wireless device (130) is ready to exchange the data in the DL from the network node (110).

4. The method according to any of claims 2-3, wherein the one or more first conditions comprise at least one of:

- the wireless device (130) is to resume in a same cell (121) wherein the wireless device (130) was last released to inactive state,

- the size of the data having a first relation with respect to the first threshold,

- a radio bearer being mapped to the data,

- a new data arrival for a specific service,

- a flow of Quality of Service, QoS, mapped to a radio bearer being over a second threshold,

- a second relation of a first measured radio signal in a primary cell (121) serving the wireless device (130) to a third threshold,

- a third relation of a second measured radio signal in the first secondary cell (123) to a fourth threshold,

- which of the one or more first secondary cells (122) are resumed,

- a fourth relation of a respective channel of the one or more first secondary cells (122) to a fifth threshold, and

- receipt of a paging message from the network node (110).

5. The method according to any of claims 2-4, wherein at least one of:

- the one or more first conditions are comprised in the obtained first indication, and

- wireless device (130) indicates one or more measurements performed by the wireless device (130) on at least one of the one or more first secondary cells (122), and wherein the received fourth indication is based on the indicated one or more measurements.

6. The method according to any of claims 1-5, wherein, before or after the exchanging (206) of the data, the wireless device (130) goes into connected state, and wherein the method further comprises:

- sending (208) a sixth indication to the network node (110) indicating one or more second conditions for exchanging additional data of a size smaller than the first threshold with the network node (110) are fulfilled, and wherein the method further comprises at least one of:

- sending (209) a seventh indication to the network node (110), the seventh indication indicating one or more second secondary cells (124) served by the network node (110) and comprising a second secondary cell (125) the wireless device (130) requests the network node (110) to activate for exchanging (211) the additional data, and

- receiving (210) an eighth indication from the network node (110), wherein the eighth indication indicates one of: i. the one or more second secondary cells (124) served by the network node (110) and comprising the second secondary cell (125) are enabled for communication of the additional data while they are kept inactivated, ii. the one or more second secondary cells (124) served by the network node (110) and comprising the second secondary cell (125) are to be inactivated, and are enabled for communication of the additional data while they are kept inactivated, and iii. the one or more second secondary cells (124) served by the network node (110) and comprising the second secondary cell (125) are activated and enabled for communication of the additional data, and wherein the method further comprises:

- exchanging (211) the additional data with the network node (110) while the wireless device (130) is in connected state via the second secondary cell (125).

7. A method performed by a network node (110), the method being for handling exchange of data, the network node (110) operating in a wireless communications network (100), and the method comprising:

- exchanging (306) the data, with a wireless device (130) operating in the wireless communications network (100), in a first secondary cell (123) served by the network node (110), wherein a size of the data is below a first threshold and wherein the exchanging (306) is performed responsive to an indication sent by the network node (110) to the wireless device (130), the indication indicating that one or more first secondary cells (122) served by the network node (110) and comprising the first secondary cell (123) are enabled for communication of the data between the wireless device (130) and the network node (110), and wherein the exchanging (306) is performed while the wireless device (130) is in inactive state.

8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising at least one of:

- sending (301) a first indication to the wireless device (130), the first indication indicating a configuration of the one or more first secondary cells (122) to use for exchange of data with the network node (110) while the wireless device (130) is in inactive state, wherein the data has a size below the first threshold,

- receiving (303), from the wireless device (130), a third indication indicating whether or not one or more first conditions for triggering in the wireless device (130) the exchanging of the data are fulfilled, the one or more first conditions having been indicated by the first indication,

- deciding (304), responsive to the received third indication, how the data is to be exchanged with the wireless device (130),

- sending (305), based on a result of the deciding (304), the indication that the one or more first secondary cells (122) served by the network node (110) and comprising the first secondary cell (123) are enabled for communication of the data between the wireless device (130) and the network node (110), wherein the indication is a fourth indication, wherein the fourth indication indicates that the one or more first secondary cells (122) served by the network node (110) and comprising the first secondary cell (123) are activated for communication of the data, and

- sending (307), after the exchanging (306) of the data, a fifth indication to the wireless device (130), the fifth indication indicating one of: a) a resumption of a connection with the wireless device (130), and b) a return to an inactive state of the wireless device (130).

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the one or more first conditions comprise:

- sending (302), to the wireless device (130), after having sent the first indication, a second indication indicating a preamble to be used by the wireless device (130) in order to indicate, when sending the preamble to the network node (110), that the wireless device (130) is ready to exchange the data in the downlink from the network node (110).

10. The method according to any of claims 8-9, wherein the one or more first conditions comprise at least one of:

- a radio bearer being mapped to the data,

- a new data arrival for a specific service,

- which of the one or more first secondary cells (122) are resumed,

- receipt of a paging message from the network node (110).

11. The method according to any of claims 8-10, wherein at least one of:

- the one or more first conditions are comprised in the sent first indication, and

- the network node (110) receives an additional indication from the wireless device (130) indicating one or more measurements performed by the wireless device (130) on at least one of the one or more first secondary cells (122), and wherein the sent fourth indication is based on the indicated one or more measurements.

12. The method according to any of claims 7-11 , wherein the method further comprises, before or after the exchanging (306) of the data, and while the wireless device (130) is connected state:

- receiving (308) a sixth indication from the wireless device (130) indicating one or more second conditions for exchanging additional data of a size smaller than the first threshold with the network node (110) are fulfilled, and wherein the method further comprises at least one of:

- receiving (309) a seventh indication from the wireless device (130), the seventh indication indicating one or more second secondary cells (124) served by the network node (110) and comprising a second secondary cell (125) the wireless device (130) requests the network node (110) to activate for exchanging (211) the additional data, and

- sending (310) an eighth indication to the wireless device (130), wherein the eighth indication indicates one of: i. the one or more second secondary cells (124) served by the network node (110) and comprising the second secondary cell (125) are enabled for communication of the additional data while they are kept inactivated, ii. the one or more second secondary cells (124) served by the network node (110) and comprising the second secondary cell (125) are to be inactivated, and are enabled for communication of the additional data while they are kept inactivated, and iii. the one or more second secondary cells (124) served by the network node (110) and comprising the second secondary cell (125) are activated and enabled for communication of the additional data, and wherein the method further comprises:

- exchanging (311) the additional data with the wireless device (130) while the wireless device (130) is in connected state via the second secondary cell (125).

13. A wireless device (130), for handling exchange of data, the wireless device (130) being configured to operate in a wireless communications network (100), and the wireless device (130) being further configured to:

- exchange the data, with a network node (110) configured to operate in the wireless communications network (100), in a first secondary cell (123) configured to be served by the network node (110), wherein a size of the data is configured to be below a first threshold, and wherein the exchanging is configured to be performed responsive to an indication configured to be received from the network node (110), the indication being configured to indicate that one or more first secondary cells (122) configured to be served by the network node (110) and configured to comprise the first secondary cell (123) are enabled for communication of the data between the wireless device (130) and the network node (110), and wherein the exchanging is configured to be performed while the wireless device (130) is in inactive state.

14. The wireless device (130) according to claim 13, further configured to at least one of:

- obtain a first indication configured to indicate a configuration of the one or more first secondary cells (122) to use for exchange of data with the network node (110) while the wireless device (130) is in inactive state, wherein the data is configured to have a size below the first threshold,

- trigger, after having obtained the first indication, the exchanging of the data with the network node (110) upon fulfillment of one or more first conditions, and wherein the first indication is configured to indicate the one or more first conditions, and

- send, to the network node (110), responsive to the triggering of the exchanging of the data with the network node (110), a third indication configured to indicate whether or not the one or more first conditions are fulfilled,

- receive, responsive to the sending of the third indication, the indication that the one or more first secondary cells (122) configured to be served by the network node (110) and configured to comprise the first secondary cell (123) are enabled for communication of the data between the wireless device (130) and the network node (110), wherein the indication is configured to be a fourth indication, wherein the fourth indication is configured to indicate that the one or more first secondary cells (122) configured to be served by the network node (110) and configured to comprise the first secondary cell (123) are activated for communication of the data, and

- receive, after the exchanging of the data, a fifth indication from the network node (110), the fifth indication being configured to indicate one of: i. a resumption of a connection with the network node (110), and ii. a return to an inactive state of the wireless device (130).

15. The wireless device (130) according to claim 14, wherein the one or more first conditions are configured to comprise:

- receiving, from the network node (110), after having obtained the first indication, a second indication configured to indicate a preamble to be used by the wireless device (130) in order to indicate, when sending the preamble to the network node (110), that the wireless device (130) is ready to exchange the data in the DL from the network node (110).

16. The wireless device (130) according to any of claims 14-15, wherein the one or more first conditions are configured to comprise at least one of:

- a radio bearer being mapped to the data, - a new data arrival for a specific service,

- which of the one or more first secondary cells (122) are resumed,

- receipt of a paging message from the network node (110).

17. The wireless device (130) according to any of claims 14-16, wherein at least one of:

- the one or more first conditions are configured to be comprised in the first indication configured to be obtained, and

- the wireless device (130) is configured to indicate one or more measurements configured to be performed by the wireless device (130) on at least one of the one or more first secondary cells (122), and wherein the fourth indication configured to be received is configured to be based on the one or more measurements configured to be indicated.

18. The wireless device (130) according to any of claims 13-17, wherein the wireless device (130) is further configured to when, before or after the exchanging of the data, the wireless device (130) goes into connected state:

- send a sixth indication to the network node (110) configured to indicate one or more second conditions for exchanging additional data of a size smaller than the first threshold with the network node (110) are fulfilled, and wherein the wireless device (130) is further configured to at least one of:

- send a seventh indication to the network node (110), the seventh indication being configured to indicate one or more second secondary cells (124) configured to be served by the network node (110) and configured to comprise a second secondary cell (125) the wireless device (130) requests the network node (110) to activate for exchanging (211) the additional data, and

- receive an eighth indication from the network node (110), wherein the eighth indication is configured to indicate one of: i. the one or more second secondary cells (124) configured to be served by the network node (110) and configured to comprise the second secondary cell (125) are enabled for communication of the additional data while they are kept inactivated, ii. the one or more second secondary cells (124) configured to be served by the network node (110) and configured to comprise the second secondary cell (125) are to be inactivated, and are enabled for communication of the additional data while they are kept inactivated, and iii. the one or more second secondary cells (124) configured to be served by the network node (110) and configured to comprise the second secondary cell (125) are activated and enabled for communication of the additional data, and wherein the wireless device (130) is further configured to:

- exchange the additional data with the network node (110) while the wireless device (130) is in connected state via the second secondary cell (125).

19. A network node (110), for handling exchange of data, the network node (110) being configured to operate in a wireless communications network (100), and the network node (110) being further configured to:

- exchange the data, with a wireless device (130) configured to operate in the wireless communications network (100), in a first secondary cell (123) configured to be served by the network node (110), wherein a size of the data is configured to be below a first threshold and wherein the exchanging is configured to be performed responsive to an indication configured to be sent by the network node (110) to the wireless device (130), the indication being configured to indicate that one or more first secondary cells (122) configured to be served by the network node (110) and configured to comprise the first secondary cell (123) are enabled for communication of the data between the wireless device (130) and the network node (110), and wherein the exchanging is configured to be performed while the wireless device (130) is in inactive state.

20. The network node (110) according to claim 19, being further configured to at least one of:

- send a first indication to the wireless device (130), the first indication being configured to indicate a configuration of the one or more first secondary cells (122) to use for exchange of data with the network node (110) while the wireless device (130) is in inactive state, wherein the data has a size below the first threshold, - receive, from the wireless device (130), a third indication configured to indicate whether or not one or more first conditions for triggering in the wireless device (130) the exchanging of the data are fulfilled, the one or more first conditions being configured to have been indicated by the first indication,

- decide, responsive to the third indication configured to be received, how the data is to be exchanged with the wireless device (130),

- send, based on a result of the deciding (304), the indication that the one or more first secondary cells (122) configured to be served by the network node (110) and configured to comprise the first secondary cell (123) are enabled for communication of the data between the wireless device (130) and the network node (110), wherein the indication is configured to be a fourth indication, wherein the fourth indication is configured to indicate that the one or more first secondary cells (122) configured to be served by the network node (110) and configured to comprise the first secondary cell (123) are activated for communication of the data, and

- send, after the exchanging of the data, a fifth indication to the wireless device (130), the fifth indication being configured to indicate one of: a) a resumption of a connection with the wireless device (130), and b) a return to an inactive state of the wireless device (130).

21. The network node (110) according to claim 20, wherein the one or more first conditions are configured to comprise:

- sending, to the wireless device (130), after having sent the first indication, a second indication configured to indicate a preamble to be used by the wireless device (130) in order to indicate, when sending the preamble to the network node (110), that the wireless device (130) is ready to exchange the data in the downlink from the network node (110).

22. The network node (110) according to any of claims 20-21, wherein the one or more first conditions are configured to comprise at least one of:

- a radio bearer being mapped to the data,

- a new data arrival for a specific service,

- a flow of Quality of Service, QoS, mapped to a radio bearer being over a second threshold, - a second relation of a first measured radio signal in a primary cell (121) serving the wireless device (130) to a third threshold,

- a third relation of a second measured radio signal in the first secondary cell

(123) to a fourth threshold,

- which of the one or more first secondary cells (122) are resumed,

- receipt of a paging message from the network node (110).

23. The network node (110) according to any of claims 20-22, wherein at least one of:

- the one or more first conditions are configured to be comprised in the first indication configured to be sent, and

- the network node (110) is configured to receive an additional indication from the wireless device (130) configured to indicate one or more measurements configured to be performed by the wireless device (130) on at least one of the one or more first secondary cells (122), and wherein the fourth indication configured to be sent is configured to be based on the one or more measurements configured to be indicated.

24. The network node (110) according to any of claims 19-23, wherein the network node (110) is further configured to, before or after the exchanging of the data, and while the wireless device (130) is connected state:

- receive a sixth indication from the wireless device (130) configured to indicate one or more second conditions for exchanging additional data of a size smaller than the first threshold with the network node (110) are fulfilled, and wherein the network node (110) is further configured to at least one of:

- receive a seventh indication from the wireless device (130), the seventh indication being configured to indicate one or more second secondary cells

(124) configured to be served by the network node (110) and configured to comprise a second secondary cell (125) the wireless device (130) requests the network node (110) to activate for exchanging the additional data, and

- send an eighth indication to the wireless device (130), wherein the eighth indication is configured to indicate one of: i. the one or more second secondary cells (124) configured to be served by the network node (110) and configured to comprise the second secondary cell (125) are enabled for communication of the additional data while they are kept inactivated, ii. the one or more second secondary cells (124) configured to be served by the network node (110) and configured to comprise the second secondary cell (125) are to be inactivated, and are enabled for communication of the additional data while they are kept inactivated, and iii. the one or more second secondary cells (124) configured to be served by the network node (110) and configured to comprise the second secondary cell (125) are activated and enabled for communication of the additional data, and wherein the network node (110) is further configured to:

- exchange the additional data with the wireless device (130) while the wireless device (130) is in connected state via the second secondary cell (125).