USER EQUIPMENT AND METHOD FOR CELL RESELECTION

1 . A method for cell reselection performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:

receiving a Radio Resource Control (RRC) Release message from a serving cell, the RRC Release message including slice information of neighboring cells of the serving cell;

receiving, by an RRC layer of the UE, information of an intended slice from a Non-Access Stratum (NAS) layer of the UE; and

performing a cell reselection procedure based on the slice information of the neighboring cells and the information of the intended slice.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the information of the intended slice includes at least one of a requested Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (S-NSSAI) or an allowed S-NSSAI.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the slice information of the neighboring cells indicates at least one slice supported by the neighboring cells and cell identities of the neighboring cells supporting the at least one slice.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the cell reselection procedure comprises:

performing at least one measurement on a list of candidate cells indicated by the slice information of the neighboring cells.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the cell reselection procedure comprises:

performing at least one measurement on a list of candidate cells that support at least one same slice.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the cell reselection procedure comprises:

selecting a suitable cell that supports the intended slice.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the information of the intended slice indicates a plurality of slices, and the method further comprises:

selecting a prioritized intended slice among the plurality of slices based on a priority order.

8 . The method of claim 7 , further comprising:

receiving the priority order from the serving cell via dedicated signaling.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the serving cell does not support the intended slice.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the intended slice includes at least one of a network slice or a Radio Access Network (RAN) slice.

11 . A user equipment (UE) for cell reselection, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory coupled to the at least one processor, wherein the at least one memory stores a computer-executable program that, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the UE to:

receive a Radio Resource Control (RRC) Release message from a serving cell, the RRC Release message including slice information of neighboring cells of the serving cell;

receive, by an RRC layer of the UE, information of an intended slice from a Non-Access Stratum (NAS) layer of the UE; and

perform a cell reselection procedure based on the slice information of the neighboring cells and the information of the intended slice.

12 . The UE of claim 11 , wherein the information of the intended slice includes at least one of a requested Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (S-NSSAI) or an allowed S-NSSAI.

13 . The UE of claim 11 , wherein the slice information of the neighboring cells indicates at least one slice supported by the neighboring cells and cell identities of the neighboring cells supporting the at least one slice.

14 . The UE of claim 11 , wherein the cell reselection procedure comprises:

performing at least one measurement on a list of candidate cells indicated by the slice information of the neighboring cells.

15 . The UE of claim 11 , wherein the cell reselection procedure comprises:

performing at least one measurement on a list of candidate cells that support at least one same slice.

16 . The UE of claim 11 , wherein the cell reselection procedure comprises:

selecting a suitable cell that supports the intended slice.

17 . The UE of claim 11 , wherein the information of the intended slice indicates a plurality of slices, and the computer-executable program further causes the UE to:

select a prioritized intended slice among the plurality of slices based on a priority order.

18 . The UE of claim 17 , wherein the computer-executable program further causes the UE to:

receive the priority order from the serving cell via dedicated signaling.

19 . The UE of claim 11 , wherein the serving cell does not support the intended slice.

20 . The UE of claim 11 , wherein the intended slice includes at least one of a network slice or a Radio Access Network (RAN) slice.