IP Library Granted Patent US 12707503
Granted Patent B2
US 12707503 · App. 18/043,922 · Granted Aug 11, 2026

Service groups for random access

Inventors: Peng Cheng (Beijing, CN); Linhai He (San Diego, CA); Ravi Agarwal (San Diego, CA)
Assignee: Qualcomm Incorporated
H04W74/0833H04W74/006H04W74/0836H04W74/0838
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12707503
App. No.
18/043,922
Granted
Aug 11, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

Aspects relate to random access procedures. Different random access channel (RACH) configurations may be defined for different service groups. For example, one or more service groups (e.g., network slice groups) may be defined where each service group includes one or more services (network slices). One RACH configuration may be defined for one service group, another RACH configuration may be defined for another service group, and so on. Each service group may be configured with a different set of RACH parameters. Within each service group, one or more services may be configured with dedicated (e.g., non-cell-specific) RACH resources, and other services may be configured with cell-specific RACH resources. Each service group may be configured with different RACH resources. Within each service group, one or more services may be configured with a set of dedicated (e.g., non-cell-specific) RACH parameters, and other services may be configured with a set of cell-specific RACH resources.

Claims (101)

1 . A method for wireless communication at a user equipment, the method comprising:

receiving a set of random access channel (RACH) configurations for a plurality of groups of services, the set of RACH configurations for the plurality of groups of services comprising a first RACH configuration for a first slice group and a second RACH configuration for a second slice group different from the first slice group,

the first RACH configuration for the first slice group specifying:

a first set of RACH parameters to be used with the first slice group,

a first dedicated RACH resource to be used with at least one first slice of the first slice group, and

a first cell-specific RACH resource to be used with at least one second slice of the first slice group, the at least one second slice comprising all slices of the first slice group other than the at least one first slice, wherein the first cell-specific RACH resource is specified for a first serving cell for the user equipment, and

the second RACH configuration for the second slice group specifying:

a second set of RACH parameters, different from the first set of RACH parameters, to be used with the second slice group,

a second dedicated RACH resource, different from the first dedicated RACH resource, to be used with at least one third slice of the second slice group, and

a second cell-specific RACH resource, different from the first cell-specific RACH resource, to be used with at least one fourth slice of the second slice group, the at least one fourth slice comprising all slices of the second slice group other than the at least one third slice, wherein the second cell-specific RACH resource is specified for the first serving cell for the user equipment;

identifying a service;

selecting the first RACH configuration for the service from the set of RACH configurations for the plurality of groups of services; and

conducting a RACH operation for the service according to the first RACH configuration.

2 . A user equipment, comprising:

one or more memories that store processor-executable code; and

one or more processors configured to execute the processor-executable code and cause the user equipment to:

receive a set of random access channel (RACH) configurations for a plurality of groups of services, the set of RACH configurations for the plurality of groups of services comprising a first RACH configuration for a first slice group and a second RACH configuration for a second slice group different from the first slice group,

the first RACH configuration for the first slice group specifying:

a first set of RACH parameters to be used with the first slice group,

a first dedicated RACH resource to be used with at least one first slice of the first slice group, and a first cell-specific RACH resource to be used with at least one second slice of the first slice group, the at least one second slice comprising all slices of the first slice group other than the at least one first slice, wherein the first cell-specific RACH resource is specified for a first serving cell for the user equipment, and

the second RACH configuration for the second slice group specifying:

a second set of RACH parameters, different from the first set of RACH parameters, to be used with the second slice group,

a second dedicated RACH resource, different from the first dedicated RACH resource, to be used with at least one third slice of the second slice group, and

a second cell-specific RACH resource, different from the first cell-specific RACH resource, to be used with at least one fourth slice of the second slice group, the at least one fourth slice comprising all slices of the second slice group other than the at least one third slice, wherein the second cell-specific RACH resource is specified for the first serving cell for the user equipment;

identify a service;

select the first RACH configuration for the service from the set of RACH configurations for the plurality of groups of services; and

conduct a RACH operation for the service according to the first RACH configuration.

3 . The user equipment of claim 2 , wherein the plurality of groups of services comprises a plurality of groups of network slices.

4 . The user equipment of claim 2 , wherein the first set of RACH parameters comprises at least one of: a preamble ramping step, a backoff scaling factor, or a combination thereof.

5 . The user equipment of claim 4 , wherein the first dedicated RACH resource comprises at least one of: a group of preambles, a RACH occasion (RO), or a combination thereof.

6 . The user equipment of claim 2 , wherein the first RACH configuration and the RACH operation comprise at least one of: a 4-step RACH, a 2-step RACH, or a combination thereof.

7 . The user equipment of claim 2 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute the processor-executable code and cause the user equipment to:

receive the set of RACH configurations from a network entity via a radio resource control (RRC) message, a system information block (SIB), or a non-access stratum (NAS) message.

8 . The user equipment of claim 2 , wherein:

the first slice group is defined for a first use case consisting of one of: an industrial traffic use case, a mission critical traffic use case, a low latency traffic use case, a high throughput traffic use case, a sensor traffic use case, a best effort use case, or a medical use case; and

the second slice group is defined for a second use case, different from the first use case, consisting of one of: the industrial traffic use case, the mission critical traffic use case, the low latency traffic use case, the high throughput traffic use case, the sensor traffic use case, the best effort use case, or the medical use case.

9 . The user equipment of claim 2 , wherein:

the first RACH configuration for the first slice group specifies a first RACH resource; and

the second RACH configuration for the second slice group specifies a second RACH resource that is different from the first RACH resource.

10 . The user equipment of claim 9 , wherein:

the first RACH resource is a cell-specific RACH resource; and

the second RACH resource is a dedicated RACH resource that is different from the cell-specific RACH resource.

11 . The user equipment of claim 9 , wherein the first RACH configuration for the first slice group specifies:

a first RACH parameter for the at least one first slice of the first slice group; and

a second RACH parameter for the at least one second slice of the first slice group.

12 . The user equipment of claim 2 , wherein:

the first RACH configuration for the first slice group specifies a first RACH parameter; and

the second RACH configuration for the second slice group specifies a second RACH parameter.

13 . The user equipment of claim 2 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute the processor-executable code and cause the user equipment to:

determine that the RACH operation is triggered by an invocation of the service at the user equipment or by traffic arriving at the user equipment; and

provide, via a non-access stratum (NAS) message, information for the service to an access stratum (AS) layer;

wherein the AS layer selects the first RACH configuration for the service based on the information for the service.

14 . The user equipment of claim 2 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute the processor-executable code and cause the user equipment to:

determine that the RACH operation is not triggered by an invocation of the service at the user equipment or by traffic arriving at the user equipment; and

provide, via a non-access stratum (NAS) message, network slice selection assistance information (NSSAI) for the service and slice priority information to an access stratum (AS) layer;

wherein the AS layer selects the first RACH configuration for the service based on the NSSAI for the service and the slice priority information.

15 . The user equipment of claim 14 , wherein the AS layer selects the first RACH configuration for the service based on a highest priority slice associated with the NSSAI.

16 . The user equipment of claim 14 , wherein the AS layer selects the first RACH configuration for the service based on a lowest priority slice associated with the NSSAI.

17 . The user equipment of claim 2 , wherein the set of RACH configurations specifies that:

the first slice group is a mobile oriented traffic specific slice group; and

the second slice group is a mobile terminated traffic specific slice group.

18 . The user equipment of claim 2 , wherein:

the first RACH configuration further specifies that the first set of RACH parameters comprises a first subset of RACH parameters to be used with the at least one first slice;

the first subset of RACH parameters is associated with a first priority;

the first RACH configuration further specifies that the first set of RACH parameters comprises a second subset of RACH parameters, different from the first subset of RACH parameters, to be used with the at least one second slice; and

the second subset of RACH parameters is associated with a second priority that is lower than the first priority.

19 . A method for wireless communication at a network entity, the method comprising:

defining a set of random access channel (RACH) configurations for a plurality of groups of services, the set of RACH configurations for the plurality of groups of services comprising a first RACH configuration for a first slice group and a second RACH configuration for a second slice group different from the first slice group,

the first RACH configuration for the first slice group specifying:

a first set of RACH parameters to be used with the first slice group,

a first dedicated RACH resource to be used with at least one first slice of the first slice group, and

a first cell-specific RACH resource to be used with at least one second slice of the first slice group, the at least one second slice comprising all slices of the first slice group other than the at least one first slice, wherein the first cell-specific RACH resource is specified for a first serving cell of the network entity, and

the second RACH configuration for the second slice group specifying:

a second set of RACH parameters, different from the first set of RACH parameters, to be used with the second slice group,

a second dedicated RACH resource, different from the first dedicated RACH resource, to be used with at least one third slice of the second slice group, and

a second cell-specific RACH resource, different from the first cell-specific RACH resource, to be used with at least one fourth slice of the second slice group, the at least one fourth slice comprising all slices of the second slice group other than the at least one third slice, wherein the second cell-specific RACH resource is specified for the first serving cell of the network entity;

transmitting an indication of the set of RACH configurations; and

receiving a RACH message according to the first RACH configuration of the set of RACH configurations, wherein the RACH message is for a service of a first group of the plurality of groups of services.

20 . A network entity, comprising:

one or more memories that store processor-executable code; and

one or more processors configured to execute the processor-executable code and cause the network entity to:

define a set of random access channel (RACH) configurations for a plurality of groups of services, the set of RACH configurations for the plurality of groups of services comprising a first RACH configuration for a first slice group and a second RACH configuration for a second slice group different from the first slice group,

the first RACH configuration for the first slice group specifying:

a first set of RACH parameters to be used with the first slice group,

a first dedicated RACH resource to be used with at least one first slice of the first slice group, and

a first cell-specific RACH resource to be used with at least one second slice of the first slice group, the at least one second slice comprising all slices of the first slice group other than the at least one first slice, wherein the first cell-specific RACH resource is specified for a first serving cell of the network entity, and

the second RACH configuration for the second slice group specifying:

a second set of RACH parameters, different from the first set of RACH parameters, to be used with the second slice group,

a second dedicated RACH resource, different from the first dedicated RACH resource, to be used with at least one third slice of the second slice group, and

a second cell-specific RACH resource, different from the first cell-specific RACH resource, to be used with at least one fourth slice of the second slice group, the at least one fourth slice comprising all slices of the second slice group other than the at least one third slice, wherein the second cell-specific RACH resource is specified for the first serving cell of the network entity;

transmit an indication of the set of RACH configurations; and

receive a RACH message according to the first RACH configuration of the set of RACH configurations, wherein the RACH message is for a service of a first group of the plurality of groups of services.

21 . The network entity of claim 20 , wherein the plurality of groups of services comprises a plurality of groups of network slices.

22 . The network entity of claim 20 , wherein:

the first slice group is defined for a first use case consisting of one of: an industrial traffic use case, a mission critical traffic use case, a low latency traffic use case, a high throughput traffic use case, a sensor traffic use case, a best effort use case, or a medical use case; and

the second slice group is defined for a second use case, different from the first use case, consisting of one of: the industrial traffic use case, the mission critical traffic use case, the low latency traffic use case, the high throughput traffic use case, the sensor traffic use case, the best effort use case, or the medical use case.

23 . The network entity of claim 20 , wherein:

the first RACH configuration further specifies that the first set of RACH parameters comprises a first subset of RACH parameters to be used with the at least one first slice;

the first subset of RACH parameters is associated with a first priority;

the first RACH configuration further specifies that the first set of RACH parameters comprises a second subset of RACH parameters, different from the first subset of RACH parameters, to be used with the at least one second slice; and

the second subset of RACH parameters is associated with a second priority that is lower than the first priority.