Methods and devices for network link measurement

1 . A method, the method comprising:

receiving first Channel Impulse Response (CIR) information for a device and second CIR information for a network node;

performing a comparison of the received first and second CIR information; and

receiving one or more of measurement window information or a line-of-sight/non-line-of-sight (LOS/NLOS) detection decision from the device or the network node, further comprising one or more of:

evaluating a reliability of the received first or the second CIR information based at least in part on the comparison, or

evaluating a reliability of a position determination for the device based at least in part on the comparison, or

evaluating a reliability of the LOS/NLOS detection decision by the device or network node based at least in part on the comparison, or evaluating a CIR measurement window placement of the device or the network node based at least in part on the comparison.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein evaluating the reliability of the LOS/NLOS detection decision comprises validating the decision, wherein:

the validation is based on a correlation of the CIR information from the device and network node, or

the validation is based on whether a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) window placement by the device or network node is acceptable for time of arrival estimation.

3 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

providing a response to the device or network node, wherein the response is based at least in part on the comparison, wherein the response indicates one or more of:

(i) a validity of an LOS/NLOS determination made by the device or the network node,

(ii) a new measurement window configuration for LOS/NLOS measurements at the device or the network node,

(iii) a value indicative of the level of correlation between the first and the second CIR information,

(iv) a reliability metric for LOS/NLOS determinations or CIR measurements at the device or the network node, or

(v) an override of an LOS/NLOS determination made by the device or network node.

4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the new measurement window configuration is an FFT window parameter for CIR measurements.

5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

establishing one or more levels of reciprocity between measurements made by the device and the network node.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the received first or the second CIR information comprises peak power.

7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein comparing the first and the second CIR information comprises determining whether a first peak power within an FFT window is also the strongest peak power.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the method is performed in a server, radio access node, or core network node comprising an LMF.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the device is a user equipment (UE) and the network node is a gNB.

10 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the first CIR information is received form the device using the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP), the second CIR information is received from the network node using the NR Positioning Protocol A (NRPPa), the response is provided to the device using LPP, and the response is provided to the network node using NRPPa.

11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the device comprises a plurality of antennas and the first CIR information comprises CIR information corresponding to a plurality of receive beams of the device.

12 . A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions which when performed by processing circuitry of a node causes the node to perform the steps of claim 1 .

13 . A node configured to:

receive first Channel Impulse Response (CIR) information for a device and second CIR information for a network node;

perform a comparison of the received first and second CIR information; and

receive one or more of measurement window information or a line-of-sight/non-line-of-sight (LOS/NLOS) detection decision from the device or the network node,

wherein the node is further configured to perform one or more of:

evaluating a reliability of the received first or the second CIR information based at least in part on the comparison, or

evaluating a reliability of a position determination for the device based at least in part on the comparison, or

evaluating a reliability of the LOS/NLOS detection decision by the device or network node based at least in part on the comparison, or

evaluating a CIR measurement window placement of the device or the network node based at least in part on the comparison.

14 . A method performed by a user equipment (UE) for reporting channel information, the method comprising:

receiving a signal from a network node;

generating a Channel Impulse Response (CIR) based at least in part on the received signal;

reporting the CIR to a Location Management Function (LMF); and

performing a line-of-sight/non-line-of-sight (LOS/NLOS) detection for a link between the network node and the user equipment, based at least in part on the generated CIR,

wherein an LOS/NLOS determination is reported to the LMF with the CIR,

wherein reporting to the LMF comprises reporting information on a placement of a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) window used for generating the CIR.

15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the received signal comprises a plurality of reference signals.

16 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the user equipment comprises a plurality of antennas and a CIR is generated and reported for every resource and antenna pair for a link between the network node and the user equipment.

17 . The method of claim 14 , further comprising:

receiving a response from the LMF, wherein the response indicates one or more of:

(i) a validity of an LOS/NLOS determination made by the user equipment,

(ii) a new FFT window configuration,

(iii) an indication of discrepancy between CIR information reported from the network node and reported by the user equipment,

(iv) a reliability metric for LOS/NLOS determinations or CIR measurements made by the user equipment, or

(v) an override of an LOS/NLOS determination made by the user equipment.

18 . A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions which when performed by processing circuitry of a device causes the device to perform the steps of claim 14 .

19 . A method performed by a network node for reporting channel information, the method comprising:

receiving a signal from a device;

generating a Channel Impulse Response (CIR) based at least in part on the received signal;

reporting the CIR to a Location Management Function (LMF), wherein reporting to the LMF comprises reporting information on a placement of a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) window used for generating the CIR; and

receiving a response from the LMF, wherein the response indicates one or more of: (i) a new FFT window configuration, or (ii) an indication of discrepancy between CIR information reported from the network node and reported by the device.

20 . The method of claim 19 , wherein a CIR is generated and reported for every resource and antenna pair for a link between the node and the device.

21 . A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions which when performed by processing circuitry of a node causes the node to perform the steps of claim 19 .

22 . A network node configured to:

receive a signal from a device;

generate a Channel Impulse Response (CIR) based at least in part on the received signal;

report the CIR to a Location Management Function (LMF); and

receive a response from the LMF, wherein the response indicates one or more of: (i) a new FFT window configuration, or (ii) an indication of discrepancy between CIR information reported from the network node and reported by the device.