Communication device measurement and report for pattern recognition of periodic resource availability for extended reality mobility

1 . A method of operating a user equipment, UE, in a communication network, the method comprising:

obtaining a traffic pattern of a cell by measuring a signal of the cell and/or by receiving information about the traffic pattern from the cell; and

using the obtained traffic pattern of the cell for performing one or more operational tasks,

wherein obtaining the traffic pattern of the cell comprises determining statistical information corresponding to idle interval in the cell when the UE is capable of being served by the cell with extended reality, XR, traffic with acceptable quality after a cell change.

2 . The method of claim 1 ,

wherein obtaining the traffic pattern of the cell further comprises determining if the cell has periodical resource availability based on a function of time instances of signal drop or rise; and

the method further comprising transmitting information about the traffic pattern of the cell to a network node that is configured to perform a cell change responsive to the traffic pattern of the cell.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein transmitting the information further comprises transmitting measured signal data to the network node to perform the cell change of the UE.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein obtaining the traffic pattern of the cell further comprises:

periodically monitoring signal level of signals in the cell; and

determining time instances at which the signal level drops below a predetermining threshold.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein obtaining the traffic pattern of the cell further comprises determining the statistical information based on a time of low activity in the cell when the UE is capable of being served for the XR traffic.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the statistical information comprises at least one of occurrence of the idle time, mean idle time, idle time variance, minimum idle time, and maximum idle time in a monitoring period.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein obtaining the traffic pattern further comprises:

monitoring one or more control and/or data channels that are transmitted by the cell to UEs, wherein the one or more control channels perform an allocation of resources to the UE,

responsive to the UE detecting a presence of the control or data channel, determining a high signal level or high activity level in the cell, and

responsive to the UE not detecting presence of the control channel for a period of time, determining no or low signal level or low activity level in the cell.

8 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

reporting status of only specific traffic types in the cell for which the UE determines a reporting condition is satisfied.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein using the obtained traffic pattern of the cell for performing one or more operational tasks comprises transmitting information about the traffic pattern to a network node.

10 . A method of operating a user equipment, UE, in a communication network, the method comprising:

configuring the UE to include information corresponding to traffic pattern based on a configuration message received from a network node and/or based on pre-defined information;

detecting a cell;

obtaining a traffic pattern of the cell based on estimating statistical information corresponding to an idle interval in the cell when the UE is capable of being served by the cell with extended reality (XR) traffic with acceptable quality after a cell change;

comparing the obtained traffic pattern of the cell with one or more configured patterns; and

using information obtained from the comparison for one or more operational tasks.

11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein using the obtained information further comprises:

responsive to the obtained traffic pattern in the cell matching one of the one or more configured traffic patterns, determining that the cell is suitable cell for cell change.

12 . The method of claim 10 , wherein using the obtained information further comprises:

responsive to a status of the traffic pattern or a type of the traffic pattern matching one of the one or more configured traffic patterns, determining that the cell is suitable cell for cell change.

13 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising:

transmitting the information obtained from the comparison to the network node configured to use the information for performing one or more tasks.

14 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising:

based on determining the cell has periodical resource availability based on a function of time instances of signal drop or rise, transmitting the information obtained from the comparison to the network node that is configured to perform a cell change.

15 . The method of claim 10 , wherein using the information obtained from the comparison comprises at least one of:

transmitting information about the traffic pattern and/or the information obtained from the comparison to the network node; and

using information about the traffic pattern and/or the information obtained from the comparison for performing cell change.

16 . A method of operating a network node in a communication network, the method comprising:

receiving, from a user equipment, UE, traffic pattern information about a traffic pattern of a cell;

obtaining from the traffic pattern information statistical information corresponding to an idle interval in the cell when the UE is capable of being served by the cell with extended reality (XR) traffic with acceptable quality after a cell change; and

performing a cell change for the UE responsive to the statistical information.

17 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising:

receiving, from the UE, measured signal data to perform the cell change of the UE.

18 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising:

broadcasting traffic pattern information to the cell for measurement by the UE.

19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the traffic pattern information that is broadcast comprises an identifier of traffic type and a traffic status.

20 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the traffic pattern information comprises information that is transmitted by the network node in a broadcast channel, wherein the traffic pattern information is transmitted periodically or aperiodically.