Allocation of channel information transfer enhancing massive MIMO uplink in split RAN deployments

1 . A device, comprising:

a processing system including a processor; and

a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processing system, facilitate performance of operations, the operations comprising:

receiving sounding reference signal (SRS) data for an uplink transmission of a user equipment (UE) from a remote unit (RU);

determining a signal to interference and noise ratio (SINR) associated with an SRS from the SRS data resulting in a first determination;

based on the first determination, determining that the SINR does not satisfy an SRS SINR threshold resulting in a second determination;

based on the second determination, generating SRS-based beam weights;

transmitting the SRS-based beam weights to the RU;

instructing the RU to generate DMRS-based beam weights and send demodulation reference signal (DMRS) channel estimates from subsequent uplink transmissions of the UE; and

receiving the DMRS channel estimates from the RU.

2 . The device of claim 1 , wherein beam weights formed at the RU comprise the DMRS-based beam weights generated at the RU and the SRS-based beam weights transmitted to the RU.

3 . The device of claim 2 , wherein the operations further comprise: performing a third determination of how many beam weights are DMRS-based and how many beam weights are SRS-based.

4 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise: performing a fourth determination of whether to instruct the RU to calculate DMRS channel estimates based on a throughput of the RU.

5 . The device of claim 4 , wherein the fourth determination weighs potential communication performance gains against additional network and/or computational load on the throughput of the RU.

6 . The device of claim 5 , wherein the fourth determination is performed using an artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML) algorithm.

7 . The device of claim 6 , wherein the AI/ML algorithm performs the fourth determination based on inputs comprising data regarding user priority, user reliability requirements, user latency requirements, service level agreements, user channel conditions, user mobility, content type, communication load on a fronthaul, a first load on the device, a second load on the RU, network resource usage patterns, instantaneous user loading, or a combination thereof.

8 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the UE comprises high-priority uplink transmissions.

9 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise: determining a frequency of generating and transmitting SRS-based beam weights to the RU.

10 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise: determining a frequency of generating DMRS-based beam weights and transmitting DMRS channel estimates; and transmitting the frequency to the RU.

11 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the processing system comprises a plurality of processors operating in a distributed computing environment.

12 . A non-transitory, machine-readable medium, comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processing system including a processor, facilitate performance of operations, the operations comprising:

receiving sounding reference signal (SRS) data for an uplink transmission of a user equipment (UE) from a remote unit (RU);

determining a signal to interference and noise ratio (SINR) associated with an SRS from the SRS data resulting in a first determination;

based on the first determination, determining that the SINR does not satisfy an SRS SINR threshold resulting in a second determination;

based on the second determination, generating SRS-based channel estimates from the SRS data;

transmitting the SRS-based channel estimates to the RU;

instructing the RU to calculate demodulation reference signal (DMRS) channel estimates from the SRS-based channel estimates and subsequent uplink transmissions of the UE;

instructing the RU to provide the DMRS channel estimates; and

processing the uplink transmission using the DMRS channel estimates received from the RU.

13 . The non-transitory, machine-readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the operations further comprise: performing a third determination of whether to instruct the RU to calculate and provide the DMRS channel estimates based on a throughput of the RU.

14 . The non-transitory, machine-readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the third determination weighs potential communication performance gains against additional network and/or computational load on the throughput of the RU.

15 . The non-transitory, machine-readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the third determination is performed using an artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML) algorithm.

16 . The non-transitory, machine-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the AI/ML algorithm performs the third determination based on inputs comprising data regarding user priority, user reliability requirements, user latency requirements, service level agreements, user channel conditions, user mobility, content type, communication load on a fronthaul, a first load on the processing system, a second load on the RU, network resource usage patterns, instantaneous user loading, or a combination thereof.

17 . The non-transitory, machine-readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the UE comprises high-priority uplink transmissions.

18 . The non-transitory, machine-readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the processing system comprises a plurality of processors operating in a distributed computing environment.

19 . A method, comprising:

receiving, by a processing system including a processor, sounding reference signal (SRS) data for an uplink transmission of a user equipment (UE) from a remote unit (RU);

determining, by the processing system, a signal to interference and noise ratio (SINR) associated with an SRS from the SRS data resulting in a first determination;

based on the first determination, determining, by the processing system, that the SINR does not satisfy an SRS SINR threshold resulting in a second determination;

based on the second determination, generating, by the processing system, SRS-based channel estimates from the SRS data;

determining, by the processing system, whether to transmit the SRS-based channel estimates to the RU resulting in a third determination;

responsive to the third determination to transmit the SRS-based channel estimates to the RU, instructing, by the processing system, the RU to calculate demodulation reference signal (DMRS) channel estimates from the SRS-based channel estimates and subsequent uplink transmissions of the UE;

instructing, by the processing system, the RU to provide DMRS channel estimates; and

processing, by the processing system, the uplink transmission using the DMRS channel estimates received from the RU.

20 . The method of claim 19 , wherein the third determination is based on data regarding user priority, user reliability requirements, user latency requirements, service level agreements, user channel conditions, user mobility, content type, communication load on a fronthaul, a first load on the processing system, a second load on the RU, network resource usage patterns, instantaneous user loading, or a combination thereof.