PRIORITY APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/370,923 filed August 9, 2022, the content of which is fully incorporated herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates to wireless communications, and more specifically to wireless communications with quality of experience measurement reporting.

BACKGROUND

[0003] A wireless communications system may include one or multiple network communication devices, including base stations, which may be otherwise known as an eNodeB (eNB), a next-generation NodeB (gNB), or other suitable terminology. Each network communication device, such as a base station, may support wireless communications for one or multiple user communication devices, which may be otherwise known as user equipment (UE), or other suitable terminology. The wireless communications system may support wireless communications with one or multiple user communication devices by utilizing resources of the wireless communication system (e.g., time resources (e.g., symbols, slots, subframes, frames, or the like) or frequency resources (e.g., subcarriers, carriers). Additionally, the wireless communications system may support wireless communications across various radio access technologies including third generation (3G) radio access technology, fourth generation (4G) radio access technology, fifth generation (5G) radio access technology, and other suitable radio access technologies beyond 5G (e.g., sixth generation (6G)).

[0004] Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement is an important metric for the design and operation of wireless communication systems, especially for video services that have high traffic demands. Bad network performance may significantly affect the user's experience. QoE metrics are often measured at an end device and can conceptually be seen as the remaining quality after the distortion introduced during the preparation of the content and the delivery through the network, until reaching a decoder at the end device. Reporting of QoE by the end device to a network entity that manages QoE is required to identify and mitigate degradation in transmissions that reduce QoE.

SUMMARY

[0005] The present disclosure relates to methods, apparatuses, and systems that provide wireless communication with enhanced reporting of Quality of Experience (QoE) measurements. In response to determining that received control message(s) enable uplink segmentation of uplink messages for carrying QoE reports stored in a buffer, a device assigns the QoE report(s) to uplink message(s). The device segments any of the uplink message(s) that has a message size that exceeds a maximum message size limit. In response to determining that received control message(s) do not enable uplink segmentation, the device identifies a message size for each of the QoE report(s). The device removes any of the QoE report(s) that exceeds a maximum message size limit. The device assigns the QoE report(s) that remain to one or more uplink message(s) that individually do not exceed the maximum message size limit, and the device transmits the uplink message(s) to the network device.

[0006] Some implementations of the method and apparatuses described herein may include a method for wireless communication by a user device. The method includes receiving, via a transceiver of the user device from a network device, one or more control messages. In response to determining that the one or more control messages includes an indication that enables uplink segmentation of uplink messages for carrying the one or more QoE measurement reports stored in a buffer of the user device, the method includes assigning the one or more QoE measurement reports to one or more uplink messages. The method includes segmenting any of the one or more uplink messages that has the identified message size that exceeds a maximum message size limit. With the segmentation of uplink messages enabled, the QoE measurement reports from the buffer are placed in separate uplink messages to ensure that none of the uplink messages exceeds the message size limit.

[0007] In one or more particular embodiments, the method may further include identifying a message size for each of the one or more QoE measurement reports in the buffer in response to determining that the one or more control messages does not enable uplink segmentation of uplink messages for carrying the one or more QoE measurement reports. The method includes removing, from the buffer, any of the one or more QoE measurement reports that has an identified message size that exceeds a maximum message size limit. The method includes assigning the one or more QoE measurement reports that remain within the buffer to one or more uplink messages that individually do not exceed the maximum message size limit. The method includes transmitting, via the transceiver, the one or more uplink messages to the network device.

[0008] Some implementations of the method and apparatuses described herein may further include a method for wireless communication by a network device. The method includes transmitting, via a transceiver to a user device, one or more control messages with an indication that enables uplink segmentation of uplink messages for carrying one or more QoE measurement reports in a buffer of the user device. The method includes receiving from the user device one or more uplink messages to which the user device assigned the one or more QoE measurement reports to. The method includes de-segmenting (reassembling) any of the one or more uplink messages that the user device segmented as having a message size that exceeds a maximum message size limit.

[0009] In one or more particular embodiments, the method may further include transmitting one or more second control messages that do not enable uplink segmentation of uplink messages used for carrying one or more second QoE measurement reports in the buffer of the user device. The one or more second control messages prompt the user device to: (i) identify a message size for each of the one or more second QoE measurement reports; (ii) remove, from the buffer, any of the one or more QoE measurement reports that has an identified message size that exceeds a maximum message size limit; and (iii) assign the one or more QoE measurement reports that remain within the buffer to one or more uplink messages that individually do not exceed the maximum message size limit. The method includes receiving, via the transceiver, the one or more uplink messages from the user device modified based on the indication provided within the one or more second control messages. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communications system enabling wireless communication that supports Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement reporting, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0011] FIG. 2 is a diagram of a measurement report application layer message containing QoE measurement reports being segmented into uplink dedicated message segments for transmission as corresponding uplink dedicated message segments, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0012] FIG. 3 is an exemplary message flow diagram for signaling-based initiated QoE measurement collection (QMC) activation and deactivation, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0013] FIG. 4 is an exemplary uplink access stratum protocol layer configuration when QoE measurement reporting is configured, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0014] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram that presents a method for enhanced QoE measurement reporting, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0015] FIG. 6 is a diagram of a Radio Resource Control (RRC) buffer for Signaling Radio Bearer 4 (SRB4), in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0016] FIG. 7 is a diagram of an example measurement report application layer message before segmentation, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0017] FIG. 8 is a diagram of an example measurement report application layer message, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0018] FIG. 9 is a diagram of an example of a sequence of single QoE measurement reports contained in respective measurement report application layer messages, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. [0019] FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a block diagram of a device that supports wireless communication with enhanced QoE measurement reporting, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0020] FIG. 11 illustrates a flowchart of a method performed by a user device that supports wireless communication with enhanced QoE measurement reporting, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0021] FIG. 12 illustrates a flowchart of a method performed by a network device that supports wireless communication by prompting enhanced QoE measurement reporting by a user device, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] New Radio (NR) Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement information enables operators of streaming, Multimedia Telephony Service for Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (MTSI), and virtual reality (VR) services to better understand the user experience and optimize their NR network for the concerned services. A user equipment (UE) receives QoE measurement configurations from a communication network. The application layer of the UE collects QoE measurements for the configured services. The access stratum (AS) layer of the UE reports the collected QoE measurements to the communication network. Generally known QoE measurement collection (QMC) are only supported in Radio Resource Control (RRC) connected (“RRC_CONNECTED”) state.

[0023] An NR QoE -capable UE can be configured with up to sixteen (16) QoE measurement configurations. The UE AS layer can be configured by the network to report the following types of application layer measurements:

(i) Regular QoE measurements that are encapsulated in a transparent container, which in Abstract Syntax Notation 1 (ASN.l) is denoted as “measReportAppLayerContainer”. The size of a single QoE measurement report that is encapsulated in the container depends on the configured reporting interval and may be up to 144 kBytes. (ii) QoE measurement session status, which in ASN.1 is a one ( 1) bit field denoted as “appLayerSessionStatus”, indicates whether the QoE measurement session in the application layer starts or stops.

(iii) Radio Access Network (RAN)-visible QoE measurements, which in ASN.1 is denoted as “ran-VisibleMeasurements”, provides buffer level and/or playout delay for media start-up. The size of a single RAN-visible QoE measurement report depends on the configured reporting interval and may be up to 2183 bits, which is almost 273 bytes.

[0024] These three types of application layer measurements are sent by UE AS layer in the RRC MeasurementReportAppLayer message to the network. The UE implementation provides whether to send the above measurement types in the same or different RRC messages. Furthermore, the UE AS layer may send multiple measurement reports to the network in the same RRC message. The ASN.l structure of the MeasurementReportAppLayer message allows the transmission of up to sixteen (16) QoE measurement reports, sixteen (16) QoE measurement session status indications, and sixteen (16) RAN-visible QoE (RVQoE) measurement reports.

[0025] The size of the regular QoE reports varies depending on the configured service types and reporting interval. For MTSI and streaming services, the length of QoE reports may be mostly smaller than 9 kBytes and, in rare cases, the size of QoE reports may exceed 9 kBytes. However, for advanced service types such as VR, the size of QoE reports may often exceed 9 kBytes (e.g., 18 kBytes for a reporting interval of 10 minutes). However, the maximum Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) Service Data Unit (SDU) size limit is 9 kBytes. A “MeasurementReportAppLayer” message carrying one or multiple QoE reports that exceeds the maximum RRC Packet Data Unit (PDU) size of 9 kBytes needs to be segmented. The “ULDedicatedMessageSegmenf ’ message is then used to transfer segments of the MeasurementReportAppLayer message. However, the support of uplink (UL) segmentation is optional for both the network and the UE. The network indicates to the UE AS layer via the “rrc-SegAllowed” flag in the QoE measurement configuration whether segmentation of MeasurementReportAppLayer message is enabled or not. [0026] The current procedure for QoE measurement reporting has some issues. The MeasurementReportAppLayer message is discarded by the UE AS layer when the message size exceeds the maximum PDCP SDU size limit of 9 kBytes and segmentation of MeasurementReportAppLayer message is not enabled by the network. However, this current UE behavior is not optimal for UE implementation in terms of UE processing resources. In addition, this current UE behavior has negative impacts to QoE measurement reporting.

[0027] In a first example, an NR QoE -capable UE in RRC_CONNECTED state has been configured to collect QoE measurements for MTSI, which is QoE configuration identity No. 1, and for VR, which is QoE configuration identity No. 2. At a certain time, two (2) QoE reports are available for transmission: (i) QoE measurement session status indication for configuration identity No. 1 ; and (ii) QoE report of size 18 kBytes for configuration identity No. 2. According to a current reporting procedure, the UE AS layer includes both reports in the MeasurementReportAppLayer message that will be discarded as having a message size that exceeds the 9 kBytes message size limit. When segmentation of MeasurementReportAppLayer message is not enabled, this discarding of the oversized QoE report is unavoidable and of little consequence. However, discarding of the QoE measurement session status indication is consequential. Without this relevant information, the network will not be able to activate or deactivate radio-related measurements based on the session status indication. Thus, the network may not be able to use the radio-related measurements to further evaluate and improve the QoE measurements.

[0028] In a second example, an NR QoE-capable UE in RRC_CONNECTED state has been configured to collect QoE measurements for MTSI, which is QoE configuration identity No. 1, and for VR, which is QoE configuration identity No. 2. At a certain time, four (4) QoE reports are available for transmission, including three (3) QoE reports for configuration identity No. 1 with each having a size of 2 kBytes and one (1) QoE report of size 18 kBytes for configuration identity No. 2. According to the current reporting procedure, the UE AS layer will include the four (4) reports in the MeasurementReportAppLayer message that will be discarded as having a message size that exceeds 9 kBytes. As with the first example, discarding the oversized QoE report of 18 kBytes for configuration identity No. 2 is not necessarily consequential. However, discarding the three reports for configuration identity No. 1 that are not oversized by themselves having a total of six (6) kBytes may be viewed as consequential. These three (3) reports would be successfully transmitted in a separate MeasurementReportAppLayer message but for the oversized first QoE report for the configuration identity No. 2.

[0029] In other aspects of the current procedure, five (5) cases have been specified for when application layer measurement reports (i.e., QoE and RVQoE reports) are discarded in the RRC layer:

(i) The “RRCSetup” message is received in response to an “RRCResumeRequest” or “RRCResumeRequestl” message;

(ii) Measurement reports corresponding to a QoE measurement configuration that is released by network;

(iii) The UE receives reports from the application layer that the application layer has no associated application layer measurement configuration configured;

(iv) The AS layer memory reserved for storing application layer measurement reports becomes full; or

(v) The UE moves to RRC_IDLE state.

[0030] However, the current procedure does not address when the QoE reports (i.e., regular QoE measurement reports, QoE measurement session status indications, and RVQoE measurement reports) should be discarded during the QoE measurement reporting procedure. In an example, the current procedure does not specify whether these QoE reports should be discarded when: (i) included in a MeasurementReportAppLayer message and submitted to lower layers for transmission; or (ii) the MeasurementReportAppLayer message has been successfully transmitted to the network.

[0031] According to aspects of the present disclosure, a QoE measurement reporting in a connected state addresses instances in which discarding of the measurements may be avoided, enabling improvements to streaming, MTSI, and VR services delivered to the UE. In one or more embodiments, the present disclosure specifies how to include QoE reports (e.g., regular QoE measurement reports, QoE measurement session status indications, and RVQoE measurement reports) in a MeasurementReportAppLayer message when segmentation of MeasurementReportAppLayer message is not enabled. In one or more embodiments, the present disclosure specifies when to discard the QoE reports during the QoE measurement reporting procedure.

[0032] In one aspect of the present disclosure, the UE AS layer determines and maintains a temporary list of QoE reports available to transmit from the QoE reports that are available in the RRC transmission buffer for signaling radio bearer 4 (SRB4). In another aspect of the present disclosure, when uplink (UL) segmentation is not enabled by the network, the UE AS layer removes the QoE reports that are larger than 9 kBytes from the temporary list and discards these oversized QoE reports also from the RRC buffer. The UE AS layer includes the remaining QoE reports in the temporary list in the MeasurementReportAppLayer message up to the maximum RRC message size of 9 kBytes. In an additional aspect of the present disclosure, the UE AS layer removes QoE reports from the list and discards them also from the RRC buffer once they have been included in the MeasurementReportAppLayer message.

[0033] In a further aspect of the present disclosure, a method for transmitting QoE measurement reports by a communication device in a communication network is provided. The method includes receiving, by the communication device, a first message from a communication network containing the configuration of QoE measurements for one or multiple service types. The method includes performing the QoE measurements by the communication device in accordance with the received first message. The method further includes one or more of the following described improvements. First, the method may include determining a list of QoE measurement reports to transmit from the QoE measurement reports that are available in the RRC transmission buffer of the device. Second, the method may include determining the overall size of the QoE measurement reports contained in the temporary list and checking whether uplink segmentation of the RRC message for carrying QoE measurement reports is enabled by the communication network. Third, the method may include removing one or more QoE measurement reports from the temporary list that exceed a maximum size limit in response to determining that uplink segmentation of the RRC message for carrying QoE measurement reports is not enabled by the communication network. Fourth, the remaining QoE measurement reports from the temporary list are included in the RRC message for carrying QoE measurement reports up to the maximum RRC message size. Fifth, the method may include transmitting at least a second message by the communication device to the communication network containing the QoE measurement reports that were not previously transmitted.

[0034] In one or more embodiments, the RRC transmission buffer is associated with the signaling radio bearer for transmitting the RRC message carrying QoE measurement reports. In one or more embodiments, the QoE measurement reports are removed from the temporary list and discarded from the RRC transmission buffer of the device when the QoE measurement reports are included in the RRC message for carrying QoE measurement reports. In one or more embodiments, all QoE measurement reports from the temporary list are included in the RRC message for carrying QoE measurement reports when uplink segmentation of the RRC message for carrying QoE measurement reports is enabled by the communication network.

[0035] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communications system 100 enabling wireless communication that supports enhanced QoE measurement reporting, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The wireless communications system 100 may include one or more network devices 102, one or more UEs 104, a core network 106, and a packet data network 109. The wireless communications system 100 may support various radio access technologies. In some implementations, the wireless communications system 100 may be a 4G network, such as an LTE network or an LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) network. In some other implementations, the wireless communications system 100 may be a 5G network, such as a New Radio (NR) network. In other implementations, the wireless communications system 100 may be a combination of a 4G network and a 5G network. The wireless communications system 100 may support radio access technologies beyond 5G, or other suitable radio access technology including Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20. Additionally, the wireless communications system 100 may support technologies, such as time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), or code division multiple access (CDMA), etc.

[0036] The one or more network devices 102 may be dispersed throughout a geographic region to form the wireless communications system 100. One or more of the network devices 102 described herein may be, may include, or may be referred to as a network node, a base station, a network element, a radio access network (RAN), a base transceiver station, an access point, a NodeB, an eNodeB (eNB), a next-generation NodeB (gNB), a network device, or other suitable terminology. A network device 102 and a UE 104 may communicate via a communication link 108, which may be a wireless or wired connection. For example, a network device 102 and a UE 104 may wirelessly communicate (e.g., receive signaling, transmit signaling) over a user to user (Uu) interface.

[0037] A network device 102 may provide a geographic coverage area 112 for which the network device 102 may support services (e.g., voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, etc.) for one or more UEs 104 within the geographic coverage area 112. For example, a network device 102 and a UE 104 may support wireless communication of signals related to services (e.g., voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, etc.) according to one or multiple radio access technologies. In some implementations, a network device 102 may be moveable, for example, a satellite 103 associated with a non-terrestrial network that communicates via a link 105 to network devices 102. In some implementations, different geographic coverage areas 112 associated with the same or different radio access technologies may overlap, but the different geographic coverage areas 112 may be associated with different network devices 102. Information and signals described herein may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0038] The one or more UEs 104 may be dispersed throughout a geographic region of the wireless communications system 100. A UE 104 may include or may be referred to as a mobile device, a wireless device, a remote device, a remote unit, a handheld device, or a subscriber device, or some other suitable terminology. In some implementations, the UE 104 may be referred to as a unit, a station, a terminal, or a client, among other examples. Additionally, or alternatively, the UE 104 may be referred to as an Internet-of-Things (loT) device, an Internet-of-Everything (loE) device, or machine-type communication (MTC) device, among other examples. In some implementations, a UE 104 may be stationary in the wireless communications system 100. In some other implementations, a UE 104 may be mobile in the wireless communications system 100.

[0039] The one or more UEs 104 may be devices in different forms or having different capabilities. Some examples of UEs 104 are illustrated in FIG. 1. A UE 104 may be capable of communicating with various types of devices, such as the network devices 102, other UEs 104, or network equipment (e.g., the core network 106, the packet data network 109, a relay device, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, or another network equipment), as shown in FIG. 1. Additionally, or alternatively, a UE 104 may support communication with other network devices 102 or UEs 104, which may act as relays in the wireless communications system 100.

[0040] A UE 104 may also be able to support wireless communication directly with other UEs 104 over a communication link 113. For example, a UE 104 may support wireless communication directly with another UE 104 over a device -to-device (D2D) communication link. In some implementations, such as vehicle -to-vehicle (V2V) deployments, vehicle-to- everything (V2X) deployments, or cellular-V2X deployments, the communication link 113 may be referred to as a sidelink. For example, a UE 104 may support wireless communication directly with another UE 104 over a PC5 interface. PC5 refers to a reference point where the UE 104 directly communicates with another UE 104 over a direct channel without requiring communication with the network device 102.

[0041] A network device 102 may support communications with the core network 106, or with another network device 102, or both. For example, a network device 102 may interface with the core network 106 through one or more backhaul links 116 (e.g., via an SI, N2, or another network interface). The network devices 102 may communicate with each other over the backhaul links 116 (e.g., via an X2, Xn, or another network interface). In some implementations, the network devices 102 may communicate with each other directly (e.g., between the network devices 102) via a link 117. In some other implementations, the network devices 102 may communicate with each other indirectly (e.g., via the core network 106). In some implementations, one or more network devices 102 may include subcomponents, such as an access network entity, which may be an example of an access node controller (ANC). An ANC may communicate with the one or more UEs 104 through one or more other access network transmission entities, which may be referred to as radio heads, smart radio heads, or transmission-reception points (TRPs).

[0042] In some implementations, a network entity or network device 102 may be configured in a disaggregated architecture, which may be configured to utilize a protocol stack physically or logically distributed among two or more network entities or network devices 102, such as an integrated access backhaul (IAB) network, an open RAN (O-RAN) (e.g., a network configuration sponsored by the O-RAN Alliance), or a virtualized RAN (vRAN) (e.g., a cloud RAN (C-RAN)). For example, a network entity or network device 102 may include one or more of a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a radio unit (RU), a RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) (e.g., a Near-Real Time RIC (Near-RT RIC), a Non-Real Time RIC (Non-RT RIC)), a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) system, or any combination thereof.

[0043] An RU may also be referred to as a radio head, a smart radio head, a remote radio head (RRH), a remote radio unit (RRU), or a transmission reception point (TRP). One or more components of the network entities or network devices 102 in a disaggregated RAN architecture may be co-located, or one or more components of the network entities or network devices 102 may be located in distributed locations (e.g., separate physical locations). In some implementations, one or more network entities or network devices 102 of a disaggregated RAN architecture may be implemented as virtual units (e.g., a virtual CU (VCU), a virtual DU (VDU), and/or a virtual RU (VRU)).

[0044] The split of functionality between a CU, a DU, and an RU may be flexible and may support different functionalities depending upon which functions (e.g., network layer functions, protocol layer functions, baseband functions, radio frequency functions, and any combinations thereof) are performed at a CU, a DU, or an RU. For example, a functional split of a protocol stack may be employed between a CU and a DU such that the CU may support one or more layers of the protocol stack and the DU may support one or more different layers of the protocol stack. In some implementations, the CU may host upper protocol layer (e.g., a layer 3 (F3), a layer 2 (L2)) functionality and signaling (e.g., Radio Resource Control (RRC), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP)). The CU may be connected to one or more DUs or RUs, and the one or more DUs or RUs may host lower protocol layers, such as a layer 1 (LI) (e.g., physical (PHY) layer) or an L2 (e.g., radio link control (RLC) layer, medium access control (MAC) layer) functionality and signaling, and may each be at least partially controlled by the CU.

[0045] Additionally, or alternatively, a functional split of the protocol stack may be employed between a DU and an RU such that the DU may support one or more layers of the protocol stack and the RU may support one or more different layers of the protocol stack. The DU may support one or multiple different cells (e.g., via one or more RUs). In some implementations, a functional split between a CU and a DU, or between a DU and an RU may be within a protocol layer (e.g., some functions for a protocol layer may be performed by one of a CU, a DU, or an RU, while other functions of the protocol layer are performed by a different one of the CU, the DU, or the RU).

[0046] A CU may be functionally split further into CU control plane (CU-CP) and CU user plane (CU-UP) functions. A CU may be connected to one or more DUs via a midhaul communication link (e.g., Fl, Fl-c, Fl-u), and a DU may be connected to one or more RUs via a fronthaul communication link (e.g., open fronthaul (FH) interface). In some implementations, a midhaul communication link or a fronthaul communication link may be implemented in accordance with an interface (e.g., a channel) between layers of a protocol stack supported by respective network entities or network devices 102 that are in communication via such communication links.

[0047] The core network 106 may support user authentication, access authorization, tracking, connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. The core network 106 may be an evolved packet core (EPC), or a 5G core (5GC), which may include a control plane entity that manages access and mobility (e.g., a mobility management entity (MME), an access and mobility management function (AMF)) and a user plane entity that routes packets or interconnects to external networks (e.g., a serving gateway (S-GW), a Packet Data Network (PDN) gateway (P-GW), or a user plane function (UPF)). In some implementations, the control plane entity may manage non-access stratum (NAS) functions, such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management for the one or more UEs 104 served by the one or more network devices 102 associated with the core network 106.

[0048] The core network 106 may communicate with the packet data network 109 over one or more backhaul links 116 (e.g., via an SI, N2, N2, or another network interface). The packet data network 109 may include an application server 118. In some implementations, one or more UEs 104 may communicate with the application server 118. A UE 104 may establish a session (e.g., a protocol data unit (PDU) session, or the like) with the core network 106 via a network entity or network device 102. The core network 106 may route traffic (e.g., control information, data, and the like) between the UE 104 and the application server 118 using the established session (e.g., the established PDU session). The PDU session may be an example of a logical connection between the UE 104 and the core network 106 (e.g., one or more network functions of the core network 106).

[0049] In the wireless communications system 100, the network entities or network devices 102 and the UEs 104 may use resources of the wireless communications system 100 (e.g., time resources (e.g., symbols, slots, subframes, frames, or the like) or frequency resources (e.g., subcarriers, carriers)) to perform various operations (e.g., wireless communications). In some implementations, the network entities or network devices 102 and the UEs 104 may support different resource structures. For example, the network entities or network devices 102 and the UEs 104 may support different frame structures. In some implementations, such as in 4G, the network entities or network devices 102 and the UEs 104 may support a single frame structure. In some other implementations, such as in 5G and among other suitable radio access technologies, the network entities or network devices 102 and the UEs 104 may support various frame structures (i.e., multiple frame structures). The network entities or network devices 102 and the UEs 104 may support various frame structures based on one or more numerologies.

[0050] One or more numerologies may be supported in the wireless communications system 100, and a numerology may include a subcarrier spacing and a cyclic prefix. A first numerology (e.g., /r=0) may be associated with a first subcarrier spacing (e.g., 15 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix. In some implementations, the first numerology (e.g., /r=0) associated with the first subcarrier spacing (e.g., 15 kHz) may utilize one slot per subframe. A second numerology (e.g., /r=l) may be associated with a second subcarrier spacing (e.g., 30 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix. A third numerology (e.g., /r=2) may be associated with a third subcarrier spacing (e.g., 60 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix or an extended cyclic prefix. A fourth numerology (e.g., /r=3) may be associated with a fourth subcarrier spacing (e.g., 120 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix. A fifth numerology (e.g., /r=4) may be associated with a fifth subcarrier spacing (e.g., 240 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix.

[0051] A time interval of a resource (e.g., a communication resource) may be organized according to frames (also referred to as radio frames). Each frame may have a duration, for example, a 10 millisecond (ms) duration. In some implementations, each frame may include multiple subframes. For example, each frame may include 10 subframes, and each subframe may have a duration, for example, a 1 ms duration. In some implementations, each frame may have the same duration. In some implementations, each subframe of a frame may have the same duration.

[0052] Additionally, or alternatively, a time interval of a resource (e.g., a communication resource) may be organized according to slots. For example, a subframe may include a number (e.g., quantity) of slots. The number of slots in each subframe may also depend on the one or more numerologies supported in the wireless communications system 100. For instance, the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth numerologies (i.e., /r=0, jU=l, /r=2, /r=3, /r=4) associated with respective subcarrier spacings of 15 kHz, 30 kHz, 60 kHz, 120 kHz, and 240 kHz may utilize a single slot per subframe, two slots per subframe, four slots per subframe, eight slots per subframe, and 16 slots per subframe, respectively. Each slot may include a number (e.g., quantity) of symbols (e.g., OFDM symbols). In some implementations, the number (e.g., quantity) of slots for a subframe may depend on a numerology. For a normal cyclic prefix, a slot may include 14 symbols. For an extended cyclic prefix (e.g., applicable for 60 kHz subcarrier spacing), a slot may include 12 symbols. The relationship between the number of symbols per slot, the number of slots per subframe, and the number of slots per frame for a normal cyclic prefix and an extended cyclic prefix may depend on a numerology. It should be understood that reference to a first numerology (e.g., /r=0) associated with a first subcarrier spacing (e.g., 15 kHz) may be used interchangeably between subframes and slots. [0053] In the wireless communications system 100, an electromagnetic (EM) spectrum may be split, based on frequency or wavelength, into various classes, frequency bands, frequency channels, etc. By way of example, the wireless communications system 100 may support one or multiple operating frequency bands, such as frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz - 7.125 GHz), FR2 (24.25 GHz - 52.6 GHz), FR3 (7.125 GHz - 24.25 GHz), FR4 (52.6 GHz - 114.25 GHz), FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6 GHz - 71 GHz), and FR5 (114.25 GHz - 300 GHz). In some implementations, the network entities or network devices 102 and the UEs 104 may perform wireless communications over one or more of the operating frequency bands. In some implementations, FR1 may be used by the network entities or network devices 102 and the UEs 104, among other equipment or devices for cellular communications traffic (e.g., control information, data). In some implementations, FR2 may be used by the network entities or network devices 102 and the UEs 104, among other equipment or devices for short- range, high data rate capabilities.

[0054] FR1 may be associated with one or multiple numerologies (e.g., at least three numerologies). For example, FR1 may be associated with a first numerology (e.g., /r=0), which includes 15 kHz subcarrier spacing; a second numerology (e.g., /r=l), which includes 30 kHz subcarrier spacing; and a third numerology (e.g., /r=2), which includes 60 kHz subcarrier spacing. FR2 may be associated with one or multiple numerologies (e.g., at least 2 numerologies). For example, FR2 may be associated with a third numerology (e.g., /r=2), which includes 60 kHz subcarrier spacing; and a fourth numerology (e.g., /r=3), which includes 120 kHz subcarrier spacing.

[0055] In one or more embodiments, the present disclosure provides a QoE application layer measurement reporting procedure. The UE AS layer initiates the reporting procedure when there are QoE reports (e.g., regular QoE measurement reports, QoE measurement session status indications, and RVQoE measurement reports) available in RRC sublayer for transmission. The UE AS layer may create and submit the MeasurementReportAppLayer message to lower layers as follows:

(i) For each QoE measurement configuration identity (“measConfigAppLayerld” in ASN.l), the UE AS layer creates the IE MeasReportAppLayer and includes the available QoE reports corresponding to this QoE measurement configuration identity into that information element (IE).

(ii) Each created IE MeasReportAppLayer is then concatenated into the MeasurementReportAppLayerList, and the UE AS layer determines the resulting size of the MeasurementReportAppLayer message.

(iii) If the size of the RRC message is larger than the maximum size of an RRC message of 9000 bytes and UL RRC segmentation is enabled by network, then the UE AS layer performs segmentation of the message. The UE AS layer ensures that the size of each segment is less than or equal to the RRC message size limit. Each segment is then included in the ULDedicatedMessageSegment message and submitted to lower layers.

(iv) If the size of the RRC message is larger than the maximum size of an RRC message of 9000 bytes and UL RRC segmentation is not enabled by network, then the UE AS layer discards the RRC message.

(v) If the size of the RRC message is smaller than the maximum size of an RRC message of 9000 bytes, then the UE AS layer submits the RRC message to lower layers.

[0056] FIG. 2 is a diagram 200 of a measurement report application layer (“MeasurementReportAppLayer”) message 202 whose content is segmented for uplink transmission. With segmentation enabled, the user device 104 (FIG. 1) is able to create and transmit multiple QoE reports that may exceed the 9 kBytes (9000) size limit for an RRC message. In the example, the measurement report application layer message 202 carries N QoE reports (QoE reports #1, #2, to #N) 204a, 204b, ... 204n. The RRC message is segmented into L segments (UL dedicated message segments (#1, #2, ... #L) 206a, 206b, ... 206L) and each segment is included in the UL dedicated message segment (“ULDedicatedMessageSegment”) messages 208a, 208b, ... 208L, respectively, and submitted to lower layers. QoE reports (#1, #2, to #N) 204a, 204b, ... 204n that exceed the maximum message size are not discarded prior to segmentation. According to aspects of the present disclosure, discarding of QoE reports is reduced or avoided when segmentation is not enabled as described below.

[0057] FIG. 3 is an exemplary message flow diagram for signaling-based initiated QoE measurement collection (QMC) activation and deactivation. A communication environment 300 includes a measurement collection entity (MCE) 302, an operations and maintenance (0AM) 304, a core network (CN) 306, radio access network (RAN) 308, UE access stratum (AS) 310, and UE application layer (AL) 312 of UE 104. The communication environment 300 may perform QMC for streaming, MTSI, and VR services over the RAN 308, including 0AM initiated QMC activation/deactivation (via signaling-based and management-based initiation). The signaling -based method is a C-plane method wherein the CN 306 is involved, and the CN 306 determines the qualified UEs 104 to send the QoE measurement configuration. According to this method, the 0AM 304 initiates QMC, but actually CN activates QMC towards RAN. The management-based method is a method wherein the CN is not involved, and the 0AM directly activates/deactivates a QoE measurement configuration towards RAN.

[0058] At 320 (“Step 0”), RAN 308 receives UE capability information from UE AS layer 310. The UE capability information indicates whether the UE 104 supports QMC or not. At 321 (“Step 1”), 0AM 304 is interested in receiving QoE measurements for certain services from UEs 104 that are being serviced in a public land mobile network (PLMN) and sends to CN a “Configure QoE measurement” message. The “Configure QoE measurement” message may include information such as service type, area scope (list of cells or list of tracking areas (TAs)), QoE collection entity address (IPv4 or IPv6 address of the MCE 302 to which the QoE measurement reports shall be transferred), QoE reference (QoE measurement collection session identifier in the network), and the QoE measurement configuration container (QoE measurement configuration that is relevant for the UE AL 312 and that is encapsulated in a container). At 322 (“Step 2”), in accordance with the received QoE measurement configuration from 0AM 304, the CN 306 activates the QoE measurement configuration for a qualified UE 104 and forwards the QoE measurement configuration to RAN 308 using an “Activate QoE measurement” message. At 323, (“Step 3”), RAN 308 sends the QoE measurement configuration in a DL RRC message to the UE AS layer 310. At 324 (“Step 4”), the UE AS layer 310 sends the received QoE measurement configuration to the UE AL 312 using AT command, where “AT” stands for ATtention. At 325 (“Step 5”), the UE AL 312 starts QoE measurement collection in accordance with the received QoE measurement configuration. The QoE measurement configuration may include parameters such as PLMN target, session to record of an application, service type, area scope (list of cells or list of TAs), QoE metrics of the concerned service type and reporting interval. For instance, QoE metrics for streaming services include amongst other things, Average Throughput, Initial Playout Delay, Buffer Level, Play List, and Device information. At 326 (“Step 6”), if the QoE measurements have been collected according to the configuration parameters, the UE AL sends the collected QoE measurement results to its AS layer in a QoE measurement report container using AT command. At 327 (“Step 7”), the UE AS layer 310 sends the QoE measurement report container in a UL RRC message to RAN 308. At 328 (“Step 8”), RAN 308 forwards the received QoE measurement report container to the MCE 302. The RRC message in Step 3 may be the “RRCReconfiguration” message and the RRC message in Step 7 may be the “MeasurementReportAppLayer” message. The RRCReconfiguration message is sent on signaling radio bearer 1 (SRB1) and may contain one or multiple QoE measurement configurations. The MeasurementReportAppLayer message is sent on signaling radio bearer 4 (SRB4) and may contain one or multiple QoE measurement reports.

[0059] If 0AM 304 is not interested in receiving QoE measurements for certain services from UEs 104 anymore, such as when 0AM 304 has enough QoE information for those services, then 0AM 304 initiates QMC deactivation. At 329 (“Step 9”), 0AM 304 sends to CN 306 a “Configure Deactivation” message including an indication of the concerned service(s). At 330 (“Step 10”), in accordance with the received “Configure Deactivation” message from 0AM 304, the CN 306 sends “Deactivate QoE measurement” message to RAN 308 with the indication for which UE 104 the concerned QoE measurement configuration should be deactivated. At 331 (“Step 11”), RAN 308 sends the deactivation indication in a DL RRC message to the UE AS layer 310 to release the concerned QoE measurement configuration. The RRC message may be the RRCReconfiguration message. At 332 (“Step 12”), the UE AS layer 310 sends the received deactivation indication to UE AL 312 using AT command. The UE AL 312 stops the recording and reporting of the concerned QoE measurements.

[0060] FIG. 4 is an exemplary UL AS protocol layer configuration 400 when NR QoE is configured. In C-plane 402, three (3) SRBs are configured for transmitting data from RRC sublayer 404 of network layer or Layer 3 (L3) 406: SRB1 408a for transmitting high priority RRC messages; SRB2408b for transmitting NAS messages; and SRB4408d for transmitting the lower priority MeasurementReportAppLayer message. In U-plane 410, two (2) data radio bearers (DRBs) are configured for transmitting data from service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) sublayer 412 of L3 406: DRB1 414a for transmitting data of a MTSI service; and DRB2 414b for transmitting data of a VR service.

[0061] In PDCP sublayer 416, each RB (SRB or DRB) is associated with one PDCP entity 418a, 418b, 418d, 420a, and 420b. In accordance with the configuration received from the gNB, each PDCP entity performs amongst other header compression and/or security (integrity protection and ciphering) for the UL data to be transmitted. SRB 1 408a is received by PDCP entity 418a for security. SRB2408b is received by PDCP entity 418b for security. SRB4 408d is received by PDCP entity 418d for security. DRB1 414a is received by PDCP entity 420a for header compression and security. DRB1 414b is received by PDCP entity 420b for header compression and security.

[0062] In RLC sublayer 422, each PDCP entity 418a, 418b, and 418d is associated with respective acknowledged mode (AM) of transmission RLC entities 424a, 424b and 424d. PDCP entity 420a is associated with unacknowledged mode (UM) of transmission RLC entity 426. PDCP entity 420b is associated with AM mode RLC entity 424e. Each RLC entity 424a, 424b, 424d, 424e and 426, receives UL data from the associated PDCP entity 418a, 418b, 418d, 420a, and 420b and sends the UL data respectively via dedicated control channel 1 (DCCH1) 428a, DCCH2 428b, DCCH4 428d, dedicated traffic channel 5 (DTCH5) 430a, and DTCH6 430b to MAC sublayer 432. MAC sublayer 432 includes scheduling/priority handling function 434, then multiplexing function 436, and then hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) function 438 that communicates via uplink shared channel 440 to physical (PHY) layer 442 for transmitting physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) 444. In MAC sublayer 432, the UE 104 (FIG. 1) creates a single MAC PDU (non-multiple input multiple output (MIMO) case) to be transmitted on PUSCH 444 in PHY layer 442. A MAC PDU refers to a transport block and contains UL data from the different logical channels. The UE 104 (FIG. 1) performs the scheduling and priority handling of the UL data from the different logical channels in accordance with the configuration received from the network entity or network device 102 (FIG. 1) (e.g., gNB). [0063] The network controls the scheduling and priority handling of UL data by the following main parameters:

(i) priority in the range 1 to 16, where value 1 is highest priority and value 16 is lowest priority. The parameter is set for each configured logical channel.

(ii) “prioritisedBitRate” that sets the Prioritized Bit Rate (PBR) in the value range {OkBps, 8kBps, 16kBps, 32kBps, 64kBps, 128kBps, 256kBps, 512kBps, 1024kBps, 2048kBps, 4096kBps, 8192kBps, 16384kBps, 32768kBps, 65536kBps, infinity}. For SRBs, the PBR is set to infinity. The PBR corresponds to a guaranteed minimum bit rate.

(iii) “buckets izeDuration” which sets the Bucket Size Duration (BSD) in the value range {5ms, 10ms, 20ms, 50ms, 100ms, 150ms, 300ms, 500ms, 1000ms}. The bucket size duration indicates the time for transmitting uplink data of a logical channel by using the prioritized bit rate until the bucket size (i.e., PBR x BSD) is reached.

[0064] The above parameters ensure that the UE transmits the UL data according to the QoS of each configured radio bearer and the allocated radio resources. On the other hand, the parameters ensure that potential starvation of UL data from lower priority radio bearers is avoided. TABLE 1 provides an exemplary configuration for MAC scheduling and priority handling:

TABLE 1.

[0065] Aspects of the present disclosure provide transmission of segmented UL RRC messages. If the size of an UL RRC message, e.g., MeasurementReportAppLayer message, exceeds the maximum RRC PDU size of 9000 bytes (which is equivalent to the maximum PDCP SDU size limit) then the message needs to be segmented and the ULDedicatedMessageSegment message, as specified, is then used to transfer segments of the MeasurementReportAppLayer message. The ULDedicatedMessageSegment message carries a single segment of the MeasurementReportAppLayer message. The ULDedicatedMessageSegment message contains the following parameters:

(i) segmentNumber: Identifies the sequence number of a segment within the encoded message. The UE transmits the segments with continuously increasing segmentNumber order so that the network expects to obtain them in the correct order. For the ULDedicatedMessageSegment, a maximum number of 16 segments have been specified.

(ii) rrc-MessageSegmentContainer: Includes a segment of the encoded message. The size of the included segment in this container should not exceed the RRC PDU size limit.

(iii) rrc-MessageSegmentType: Indicates whether the included message segment is the last segment of the message or not.

[0066] The support of UL segmentation is optional for both the network and the UE. The network indicates to the UE via the “rrc-SegAllowed” flag in the QoE measurement configuration whether segmentation of MeasurementReportAppLayer message is enabled or not. According to aspects of the present disclosure, further enhancements to the QoE measurement reporting procedure in the connected state are provided. The enhancements include reduction in discarding of QoE reports when segmentation is not enabled.

[0067] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram that presents a method 500 for enhanced QoE measurement reporting. For brevity, FIG. 5 depicts the term “RRC message” to refer to the MeasurementReportAppLayer message, the term “QoE reports” to refer to regular QoE measurement reports, QoE measurement session start status indications and RVQoE measurement reports, and the term “lower layers” to refer to the PDCP, RLC, MAC and PHY sublayers. The UE AS layer initiates the reporting procedure when there are QoE reports (regular QoE measurement reports, QoE measurement session status indications, and RVQoE measurement reports) available in the RRC transmission buffer for SRB4. The UE AS layer then creates and submits the MeasurementReportAppLayer message to lower layers as follows. At 502 (“Step 1”), the UE AS layer determines and maintains a temporary list of QoE reports to transmit from the QoE reports which are available in the RRC transmission buffer for SRB4. At 504 (“Step 2”), a determination is made whether UL RRC segmentation is enabled. Since the UE AS layer knows the size of the QoE reports whenever the UE AS layer receives them from UE AL, the UE AS layer determines the overall size of the QoE reports and checks whether UL segmentation is enabled by the network. At 506 (“Step 3 A”), if UL segmentation is enabled by the network, the UE AS layer includes the QoE reports from the list in the MeasurementReportAppLayer message. At 508 (“Step 4A”), afterwards the UE AS layer removes the included QoE reports from the list and also discards the QoE reports from the RRC buffer. At 510 (“Step 5A”), the UE AS layer checks if the size of the MeasurementReportAppLayer message is larger than 9000 bytes. At 512 (“Step 6C”), if the size of the MeasurementReportAppLayer message is larger than 9000 bytes, then the UE AS layer segments the RRC message and submits the message segments to lower layers. Then method 500 ends. At 514 (“Step 6A”), if the size of the MeasurementReportAppLayer message is equal to or smaller than 9000 bytes, then the UE AS layer directly submits the message segments to lower layers. Then method 500 ends.

[0068] At 516 (“Step 3B”), if UL segmentation is not enabled by the network, the UE AS layer removes the QoE reports that are larger than 9000 bytes from the list and discards the oversized QoE reports also from the RRC buffer. At 518 (“Step 4B”), the UE AS layer includes the remaining QoE reports from the list in the MeasurementReportAppLayer message up to the maximum RRC message size of 9000 bytes. At 520 (“Step 5B”), the UE AS layer removes the included QoE reports from the list and discards them also from the RRC buffer. At 522 (“Step 6B”), the UE AS layer directly submits the MeasurementReportAppLayer message to lower layers. Then method 500 ends.

[0069] If after Step 5B there are still QoE reports in the list, the UE AS layer initiates a new reporting procedure to transmit them to the network. If after Step 5B the list is empty, then the UE AS layer waits for new QoE reports from the UE AL before initiating a new reporting procedure.

[0070] The proposed solution for enhancing the QoE application layer measurement reporting procedure may have at least the following advantages: (i) Any discard of the MeasurementReportAppLayer message during the QoE measurement reporting procedure can be avoided in case UL segmentation is not enabled by the network.

(ii) The usage of UE processing resources can be optimized by avoiding unnecessary waste of UE processing resources.

(iii) Any unnecessary discard of a QoE report whose size is smaller than 9000 bytes can be avoided.

[0071] In the following disclosure, some embodiments with regards to the proposed solution are described. In a first embodiment, the following assumptions are made:

(i) An NR QoE-capable UE in RRC_CONNECTED state has been configured to collect QoE measurements for Multimedia Telephony Service for IMS (MTSI), which is QoE configuration identity #1, and virtual reality (VR), which is QoE configuration identity #2. IMS refers to Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem.

(ii) The UE AS layer applies the UL AS protocol layer configuration, as depicted in FIG. 4.

(iii) The UE AL starts QoE measurement collection in accordance with the received QoE measurement configurations and sends the collected QoE measurement results, according to the configured reporting interval, to the UE AS layer in a QoE report.

(iv) The UE AS layer stores the received QoE reports in the UE RRC buffer for SRB4.

(v) Segmentation of MeasurementReportAppLayer message is enabled by the network.

[0072] FIG. 6 is an example diagram of RRC buffer 600 for SRB4 referred to above in the fourth assumption as a current RRC buffer status. Overall, six (6) QoE reports of total 44 kBytes are stored for transmission. In order to transmit the six (6) QoE reports in the RRC buffer, the UE AS layer performs the steps 1, 2, 3A, 4A, 5 A and 6C described above with regard to FIG. 5 of the enhanced QoE measurement reporting procedure. At Step 1, the temporary list of QoE reports to transmit contains six (6) QoE reports of total 44 kBytes (QoE report #1 to #4 for QoE configuration identity #1, and QoE report #1 to #2 for QoE configuration identity #2). At Step 2, the UE AS layer determines the overall size of the QoE reports and checks whether UL segmentation is enabled by the network. At Step 3A, since UL segmentation is enabled by the network, the UE AS layer includes all six (6) QoE reports from the list in the MeasurementReportAppLayer message. FIG. 7 is a diagram of an example MeasurementReportAppLayer message 700 before segmentation created from the six (6) QoE reports.

[0073] At Step 4A, the UE AS layer removes the included QoE reports from the list and also discards the QoE reports from the RRC buffer. At Step 5A, the UE AS layer checks if the size of the MeasurementReportAppLayer message is larger than 9000 bytes. At Step 6C, since the size of the MeasurementReportAppLayer message is larger than 9000 bytes, the UE AS layer segments the RRC message and submits the message segments to lower layers.

[0074] In a second embodiment, the assumptions are mostly the same as in the first embodiment. The only exception is that in the second embodiment, the assumption is that segmentation of MeasurementReportAppLayer message is not enabled by the network. In this case the UE AS layer performs the steps 1, 2, 3B, 4B, 5B and 6B depicted in FIG. 5 of the enhanced QoE measurement reporting procedure. At Step 1, the temporary list of QoE reports to transmit contains the same six (6) QoE reports of total 44 kBytes (QoE report #1 to #4 for QoE configuration identity #1, and QoE report #1 to #2 for QoE configuration identity #2). At Step 2, the UE AS layer determines the overall size of the QoE reports and checks whether UL segmentation is enabled by the network. At Step 3B, since UL segmentation is not enabled by the network, the UE AS layer removes the QoE reports that are larger than 9000 bytes from the list and discards them also from the RRC buffer. That means the QoE report #1 to #2 for QoE configuration identity #2 are removed and discarded. At Step 4B, the UE AS layer includes the remaining QoE reports from the list in the MeasurementReportAppLayer message up to the maximum RRC message size of 9000 bytes. In this case, all four (4) QoE reports (QoE report #1 to #4 for QoE configuration identity #1) are included in the RRC message. At Step 5B, the UE AS layer removes the included QoE reports from the list and discards them also from the RRC buffer. At Step 6B, the UE AS layer directly submits the MeasurementReportAppLayer message to lower layers.

[0075] FIG. 8 is a diagram of the MeasurementReportAppLayer message 800 created after step 4B. FIG. 9 is a diagram of a sequence of measurement report application layer messages 900 as an alternative to MeasurementReportAppLayer message 800 (FIG. 8) if the UE AS layer wants to send only one QoE report in a MeasurementReportAppLayer message. In this case the UE AS layer includes in step 4B only one QoE report from the list in the MeasurementReportAppLayer message. After the reporting procedure has been completed the UE AS layer initiates a new reporting procedure since the temporary list of QoE reports to transmit is not empty.

[0076] FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a block diagram 1000 of a device 1002 that supports wireless communication with enhanced QoE measurement reporting, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device 1002 may be an example of a network entity or network device 102 or a UE 104 (FIG. 1) as described herein. The device 1002 may support wireless communication with one or more network entities or network devices 102, UEs 104, or any combination thereof. The device 1002 may include components for bidirectional communications including components for transmitting and receiving communications, such as a processor 1004, a memory 1006, a transceiver 1008, and an I/O controller 1010. These components may be in electronic communication or otherwise coupled (e.g., operatively, communicatively, functionally, electronically, electrically) via one or more interfaces (e.g., buses).

[0077] The processor 1004, the memory 1006, the transceiver 1008, or various combinations thereof or various components thereof may be examples of means for performing various aspects of the present disclosure as described herein. For example, the processor 1004, the memory 1006, the transceiver 1008, or various combinations or components thereof may support a method for performing one or more of the operations described herein.

[0078] In some implementations, the processor 1004, the memory 1006, the transceiver 1008, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in hardware (e.g., in communications management circuitry). The hardware may include a processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field- programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof configured as or otherwise supporting a means for performing the functions described in the present disclosure. In some implementations, the processor 1004 and the memory 1006 coupled with the processor 1004 may be configured to perform one or more of the functions as a controller 1007, as described herein (e.g., executing, by the processor 1004, instructions stored in the memory 1006).

[0079] The processor 1004 may include an intelligent hardware device (e.g., a general- purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, a microcontroller, an ASIC, an FPGA, a programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic component, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof). In some implementations, the processor 1004 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In some other implementations, a memory controller may be integrated into the processor 1004. The processor 1004 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., the memory 1006) to cause the device 1002 to perform various functions of the present disclosure.

[0080] The memory 1006 may include random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM). The memory 1006 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code including instructions that, when executed by the processor 1004 cause the device 1002 to perform various functions described herein. The code may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as system memory or another type of memory. In some implementations, the code may not be directly executable by the processor 1004 but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform functions described herein. In some implementations, the memory 1006 may include, among other things, a basic I/O system (BIOS) which may control basic hardware or software operation such as the interaction with peripheral components or devices.

[0081] In an example, the controller 1007 may support wireless communication at the device 1002 in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In one or more embodiments, the memory 1006 stores a QoE measurement reporting application 1009 that, when executed by the processor 1004, configures the device 1002 to process and transmit QoE measurement reports 1011 in an RRC transmission buffer 1013 in the memory 1006. The RRC transmission buffer 1013 is associated with a signaling radio bearer for transmitting an RRC message carrying QoE measurement reports. [0082] The I/O controller 1010 may manage input and output signals for the device 1002. The I/O controller 1010 may also manage peripherals not integrated into the device 1002. In some implementations, the I/O controller 1010 may represent a physical connection or port to an external peripheral. In some implementations, the I/O controller 1010 may utilize an operating system such as iOS®, ANDROID®, MS-DOS®, MS-WINDOWS®, OS/2®, UNIX®, LINUX®, or another known operating system. In some implementations, the I/O controller 1010 may be implemented as part of a processor, such as the processor 1004. In some implementations, a user may interact with the device 1002 via the I/O controller 1010 or via hardware components controlled by the I/O controller 1010.

[0083] In some implementations, the device 1002 may include a single antenna 1012. However, in some other implementations, the device 1002 may have more than one antenna 1012 (i.e., multiple antennas), including multiple antenna panels or antenna arrays, which may be capable of concurrently transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions. The transceiver 1008 may communicate bi-directionally using one or more receivers 1015 and one or more transmitters 1017, via the one or more antennas 1012, wired, or wireless links as described herein. For example, the transceiver 1008 may represent a wireless transceiver and may communicate bi-directionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver 1008 may also include a modem to modulate the packets, to provide the modulated packets to one or more antennas 1012 for transmission, and to demodulate packets received from the one or more antennas 1012.

[0084] According to aspects of the present disclosure, the device 1002 may be a user device 104 (FIG. 1) for wireless communication. The device 1002 has the transceiver 1008 that includes at least one receiver 1015 and at least one transmitter 1017 that enable the device 1002 to communicate with a network entity or network device 102 (FIG. 1). The device 1002 includes the memory 1006 having a buffer such as the RRC transmission buffer 1013 that stores one or more quality of experience (QoE) measurement reports 1011. The controller 1007 includes a processor 1004 that is communicatively coupled to the memory 1006 and to the transceiver 1008, The controller 1007 (i.e., the processor 1004) receives, via the transceiver 1008 from the network device 102 (FIG. 1), one or more control messages. In response to determining that the one or more control messages enable uplink segmentation of uplink messages for carrying the one or more QoE measurement reports 1011, the processor 1004/con trailer 1007 assigns the one or more QoE measurement reports 1011 to one or more uplink messages. The processor 1004/controller 1007 segments any of the one or more uplink messages that has the identified message size that exceeds a maximum message size limit.

[0085] In one or more embodiments, in response to determining that the one or more control messages does not enable uplink segmentation of uplink messages for carrying the one or more QoE measurement reports 1011, the processor 1004/controller 1007 identifies a message size for each of the one or more QoE measurement reports in the buffer (1013). The processor 1004/controller 1007 removes, from the buffer (1013), any of the one or more QoE measurement reports 1011 that has an identified message size that exceeds a maximum message size limit. The processor 1004/controller 1007 assigns the one or more QoE measurement reports 1011 that remain within the buffer (1013) to one or more uplink messages that individually do not exceed the maximum message size limit. The processor 1004/controller 1007 transmits, via the transceiver 1008, the one or more uplink messages to the network device 102 (FIG. 1). In one or more embodiments, the processor 1004/controller 1007 discards from the buffer (1013) each of the QoE measurement reports 1011 that is transmitted in the one or more uplink messages.

[0086] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, the device 1002 is a network device 102 (FIG. 1) for wireless communication. The device 1002 has the transceiver 1008 that includes at least one receiver 1015 and at least one transmitter 1017 that enable the device 1002 to communicate with a user device 104 (FIG. 1). The controller 1007 is communicatively coupled to the transceiver 1008, The controller 1007 transmits, via the transceiver 1008 to the user device 102 (FIG. 1), one or more control messages that enable uplink segmentation of uplink messages for carrying one or more QoE measurement reports in a buffer of the user device. The controller 1007 receives from the user device 102 (FIG. 1) one or more uplink messages to which the user device 102 (FIG. 1) assigned the one or more QoE measurement reports to. The controller 1007 de-segments any of the one or more uplink messages that the user device segmented as having a message size that exceeds a maximum message size limit. [0087] In one or more embodiments, the controller 1007 transmits one or more second control messages that do not enable uplink segmentation of uplink messages for carrying one or more second QoE measurement reports in a buffer of the user device 102 (FIG. 1). The one or more second control messages prompt the user device 102 (FIG. 1) to: (i) identify a message size for each of the one or more second QoE measurement reports; (ii) remove, from the buffer, any of the one or more QoE measurement reports that has an identified message size that exceeds a maximum message size limit; and (iii) assign the one or more QoE measurement reports that remain within the buffer to one or more uplink messages that individually do not exceed the maximum message size limit. The controller 1007 receives, via the transceiver 1008, the one or more uplink messages from the user device 102 (FIG. 1).

[0088] FIG. 11 illustrates a flowchart of a method 1100 that supports wireless communication by a user device with a network device, in particular with enhanced QoE measurement reporting, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 1100 may be implemented by a user device or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 1100 may be performed by a UE 104 or device 1002 as described with reference to FIGs. 1 through 10. In some implementations, the device may execute a set of instructions to control the function elements of the device to perform the described functions. Additionally, or alternatively, the device may perform aspects of the described functions using special-purpose hardware.

[0089] At 1105, the method 1100 may include receiving, via a transceiver of a user device from the network device, one or more control messages. The operations of 1105 may be performed in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 1105 may be performed by a device as described with reference to FIGs. 1 or 10.

[0090] At 1110, the method 1100 may include assigning the one or more QoE measurement reports to one or more uplink messages in response to determining that the one or more control messages enable uplink segmentation of uplink messages for carrying the one or more QoE measurement reports stored in a buffer of the user device. The operations of 1110 may be performed in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 1110 may be performed by a device as described with reference to FIGs. 1 or 10.

[0091] At 1115, the method 1100 may include segmenting any of the one or more uplink messages that has the identified message size that exceeds a maximum message size limit. The operations of 1115 may be performed in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 1115 may be performed by a device as described with reference to FIGs. 1 or 10.

[0092] In one or more embodiments, in response to determining that the one or more control messages does not enable uplink segmentation of uplink messages for carrying the one or more QoE measurement reports, the method 1100 may include identifying a message size for each of the one or more QoE measurement reports in the buffer. The method may include removing, from the buffer, any of the one or more QoE measurement reports that has an identified message size that exceeds a maximum message size limit. The method may include assigning the one or more QoE measurement reports that remain within the buffer to one or more uplink messages that individually do not exceed the maximum message size limit. The method may include transmitting, via the transceiver, the one or more uplink messages to the network device.

[0093] In one or more embodiments, the buffer is an RRC transmission buffer that is associated with a signaling radio bearer for transmitting an RRC message carrying QoE measurement reports. In one or more embodiments, the method may further include discarding from the buffer each of the QoE measurement reports that is transmitted in the one or more uplink messages.

[0094] FIG. 12 illustrates a flowchart of a method 1200 that that supports wireless communication by network device with a user device with enhanced QoE measurement reporting, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 1200 may be implemented by a device or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 1200 may be performed by a network device, base node, or network device 102 or device 1002 as described with reference to FIGs. 1 through 10. In some implementations, the network device may execute a set of instructions to control the function elements of the network device to perform the described functions. Additionally, or alternatively, the network device may perform aspects of the described functions using special-purpose hardware.

[0095] At 1205, the method may include transmitting, via a transceiver to a user device, one or more control messages that enable uplink segmentation of uplink messages for carrying one or more QoE measurement reports in a buffer of the user device. The operations of 1205 may be performed in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 1205 may be performed by a device as described with reference to FIGs. 1 or 10.

[0096] At 1210, the method may include receiving from the user device one or more uplink messages to which the user device assigned the one or more QoE measurement reports to. The operations of 1210 may be performed in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 1210 may be performed by a device as described with reference to FIGs. 1 or 10.

[0097] At 1215, the method may include de-segmenting (reassembling) any of the one or more uplink messages that the user device segmented as having a message size that exceeds a maximum message size limit. The operations of 1215 may be performed in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 1215 may be performed by a device as described with reference to FIGs. 1 or 10.

[0098] In one or more embodiments, the method 1200 may include transmitting one or more second control messages that do not enable uplink segmentation of uplink messages for carrying one or more second QoE measurement reports in the buffer of the user device. The one or more second control messages prompt the user device to: (i) identify a message size for each of the one or more second QoE measurement reports; (ii) remove, from the buffer, any of the one or more QoE measurement reports that has an identified message size that exceeds a maximum message size limit; and (iii) assign the one or more QoE measurement reports that remain within the buffer to one or more uplink messages that individually do not exceed the maximum message size limit. In one or more embodiments, the method 1200 may include receiving, via the transceiver, the one or more uplink messages from the user device.

[0099] The various illustrative blocks and components described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed with a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, a CPU, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0100] The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations are within the scope of the disclosure and appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, functions described herein may be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or combinations of any of these. Features implementing functions may also be physically located at various positions, including being distributed such that portions of functions are implemented at different physical locations.

[0101] Computer-readable media includes both non-transitory computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A non-transitory storage medium may be any available medium that may be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, non-transitory computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, compact disk (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transitory medium that may be used to carry or store desired program code means in the form of instructions or data structures and that may be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer, or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor.

[0102] Any connection may be properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of computer-readable medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, include CD, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0103] As used herein, including in the claims, “or” as used in a list of items (e.g., a list of items prefaced by a phrase such as “at least one of’ or “one or more of’) indicates an inclusive list such that, for example, a list of at least one of A, B, or C means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). Also, as used herein, the phrase “based on” shall not be construed as a reference to a closed set of conditions. For example, an example step that is described as “based on condition A” may be based on both a condition A and a condition B without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, as used herein, the phrase “based on” shall be construed in the same manner as the phrase “based at least in part on. Further, as used herein, including in the claims, a “set” may include one or more elements.

[0104] The terms “transmitting,” “receiving,” or “communicating,” when referring to a network entity, may refer to any portion of a network entity (e.g., a base station, a CU, a DU, a RU) of a RAN communicating with another device (e.g., directly or via one or more other network entities).

[0105] The description set forth herein, in connection with the appended drawings, describes example configurations and does not represent all the examples that may be implemented or that are within the scope of the claims. The term “example” used herein means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration,” and not “preferred” or “advantageous over other examples.” The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing an understanding of the described techniques. These techniques, however, may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described example.

[0106] The description herein is provided to enable a person having ordinary skill in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be apparent to a person having ordinary skill in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein but is to be accorded the broadest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.