Random access channel preamble transmission parameters based on coverage enhancement level

1. A method of operating a user equipment (UE), comprising:

determining one or more physical random access channel (PRACH) preamble transmission parameters associated with one or more PRACH coverage enhancement (CE) levels of a RACH procedure, wherein the one or more PRACH preamble transmission parameters comprise a beam sweeping pattern for the one or more PRACH CE levels of the RACH procedure and a first transmission attempt threshold that indicates a first number of PRACH preamble transmission attempts at a first PRACH CE level of the RACH procedure that will trigger a transition to a second PRACH CE level that is higher than the first PRACH CE level; and

performing the RACH procedure in accordance with the one or more PRACH preamble transmission parameters,

wherein each PRACH preamble transmission attempt associated with the first number of PRACH preamble transmission attempts comprises transmission of a PRACH preamble on each of a plurality of beams in accordance with the beam sweeping pattern before any feedback to any PRACH preamble of the PRACH preamble transmission attempt is received.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second PRACH CE level is associated with a second transmission attempt threshold that indicates a second number of PRACH preamble transmission attempts at the second PRACH CE level of the RACH procedure that will trigger a transition to a third PRACH CE level that is higher than the second PRACH CE level.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the second transmission attempt threshold is higher than the first transmission attempt threshold.

4. The method of claim 1 ,

wherein the one or more PRACH preamble transmission parameters further comprise a first PRACH preamble power ramping step associated with the first PRACH CE level and a second PRACH preamble power ramping step associated with the second PRACH CE level, and

wherein transmission power in successive PRACH preamble transmission attempts is ramped based on the first and second PRACH preamble power ramping steps for PRACH preamble transmissions associated with the first and second PRACH CE levels, respectively.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the second PRACH preamble power ramping step is different than the first PRACH preamble power ramping step.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more PRACH preamble transmission parameters further comprise a highest PRACH CE level permitted for the RACH procedure.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more PRACH preamble transmission parameters further comprise a power ramping threshold that indicates a maximum transmission power level or a maximum number of PRACH preamble transmission attempts for a respective PRACH CE level.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the RACH procedure comprises a 4-Step RACH procedure.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the performing comprises receiving a Msg 2 physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) with a repetition level associated with a repetition level of a most recent PRACH preamble transmission attempt.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the performing comprises receiving a Msg 2 physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) comprising an uplink grant that indicates a repetition level for a Msg 3 from the UE.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the RACH procedure comprises a 2-Step RACH procedure.

12. The method of claim 11 ,

wherein a repetition level associated with MsgA PRACH preamble transmission is mapped to a respective repetition level of MsgA physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission, or

wherein the MsgA PUSCH transmission is associated with an inter-band frequency hopping pattern with inter-band frequency hopping between different bandwidths (BWs) supported by the UE, or

a combination thereof.

13. The method of claim 11 ,

wherein the 2-Step RACH procedure comprises two or more MsgA PRACH preamble transmissions that are transmitted in accordance with the beam sweeping pattern, and

wherein the 2-Step RACH procedure comprises two or more MsgA physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmissions that are transmitted in accordance with the beam sweeping pattern.

14. The method of claim 11 ,

wherein the performing includes initially attempting the 2-Step RACH procedure, and

wherein the performing further includes attempting a 4-Step RACH procedure if the 2-Step RACH procedure is unsuccessful at a highest PRACH CE level associated with the 2-Step RACH procedure.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the one or more PRACH preamble transmission parameters include the highest PRACH CE level for the 2-Step RACH procedure.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more PRACH preamble transmission parameters further comprise one or more MsgA physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) repetition levels that are mapped to each of the one or more PRACH CE levels.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more PRACH preamble transmission parameters further comprise a repetition level that is associated with a random access response (RAR) window size.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the RACH procedure corresponds to a licensed NR 4-Step RACH procedure and the indication in Downlink Control Indicator (DCI) comprises 4 or more bits to indicate a system frame number (SFN).

19. A method of operating a network component, comprising:

transmitting an indication of one or more physical random access channel (PRACH) preamble transmission parameters associated with one or more PRACH coverage enhancement (CE) levels of a RACH procedure, wherein the one or more PRACH preamble transmission parameters comprise a beam sweeping pattern for the one or more PRACH CE levels of the RACH procedure and a first transmission attempt threshold that indicates a first number of PRACH preamble transmission attempts at a first PRACH CE level of the RACH procedure that will trigger a transition to a second PRACH CE level that is higher than the first PRACH CE level; and

performing a RACH procedure with a user equipment (UE) in accordance with the one or more PRACH preamble transmission parameters,

wherein each PRACH preamble transmission attempt by the UE associated with the first number of PRACH preamble transmission attempts comprises transmission of a PRACH preamble on each of a plurality of beams in accordance with the beam sweeping pattern before any feedback to any PRACH preamble of the PRACH preamble transmission attempt is transmitted to the UE by the network component.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the second PRACH CE level is associated with a second transmission attempt threshold that indicates a second number of PRACH preamble transmission attempts at the second PRACH CE level of the RACH procedure that will trigger a transition to a third PRACH CE level that is higher than the second PRACH CE level.

21. The method of claim 19 ,

wherein the one or more PRACH preamble transmission parameters further comprise a first PRACH preamble power ramping step associated with the first PRACH CE level and a second PRACH preamble power ramping step associated with the second PRACH CE level, and

wherein transmission power in successive PRACH preamble transmission attempts is ramped based on the first and second PRACH preamble power ramping steps for PRACH preamble transmissions associated with the first and second PRACH CE levels, respectively.

22. The method of claim 19 , wherein the one or more PRACH preamble transmission parameters further comprise a highest PRACH CE level permitted for the RACH procedure.

23. The method of claim 19 , wherein the one or more PRACH preamble transmission parameters further comprise a power ramping threshold that indicates a maximum transmission power level or a maximum number of PRACH preamble transmission attempts for a respective PRACH CE level.

24. The method of claim 19 ,

wherein the RACH procedure comprises a 4-Step RACH procedure, and

wherein the performing comprises transmitting a Msg 2 physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) with a repetition level associated with a repetition level of a received PRACH preamble transmission, or

wherein the performing comprises transmitting a Msg 2 physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) comprising an uplink grant that indicates a repetition level for a Msg 3 from the UE, or

a combination thereof.

25. The method of claim 19 , wherein the RACH procedure comprises a 2-Step RACH procedure.

26. The method of claim 25 ,

wherein a repetition level associated with MsgA PRACH preamble transmission is mapped to a respective repetition level of MsgA physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission, or

wherein the MsgA PUSCH transmission is associated with an inter-band frequency hopping pattern with inter-band frequency hopping between different bandwidths (BWs) supported by the UE, or

wherein the 2-Step RACH procedure comprises two or more MsgA PRACH preamble transmissions that are transmitted in accordance with the beam sweeping pattern, and the 2-Step RACH procedure comprises two or more MsgA PUSCH transmissions that are transmitted in accordance with the beam sweeping pattern, or

a combination thereof.

27. The method of claim 19 , wherein the one or more PRACH preamble transmission parameters further comprise one or more MsgA physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) repetition levels that are mapped to each of the one or more PRACH CE levels.

28. The method of claim 19 , wherein the one or more PRACH preamble transmission parameters further comprise a repetition level that is associated with a random access response (RAR) window size.

29. A user equipment (UE), comprising:

a memory;

a communication interface; and

at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the communication interface, the at least one processor configured to:

determine one or more physical random access channel (PRACH) preamble transmission parameters associated with one or more PRACH coverage enhancement (CE) levels of a RACH procedure, wherein the one or more PRACH preamble transmission parameters comprise a beam sweeping pattern for the one or more PRACH CE levels of the RACH procedure and a first transmission attempt threshold that indicates a first number of PRACH preamble transmission attempts at a first PRACH CE level of the RACH procedure that will trigger a transition to a second PRACH CE level that is higher than the first PRACH CE level; and

perform the RACH procedure in accordance with the one or more PRACH preamble transmission parameters,

wherein each PRACH preamble transmission attempt associated with the first number of PRACH preamble transmission attempts comprises transmission of a PRACH preamble on each of a plurality of beams in accordance with the beam sweeping pattern before any feedback to any PRACH preamble of the PRACH preamble transmission attempt is received.

30. A network component, comprising:

a memory;

a communication interface; and

at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the communication interface, the at least one processor configured to:

cause the communication interface to transmit an indication of one or more physical random access channel (PRACH) preamble transmission parameters associated with one or more PRACH coverage enhancement (CE) levels of a RACH procedure, wherein the one or more PRACH preamble transmission parameters comprise a beam sweeping pattern for the one or more PRACH CE levels of the RACH procedure and a first transmission attempt threshold that indicates a first number of PRACH preamble transmission attempts at a first PRACH CE level of the RACH procedure that will trigger a transition to a second PRACH CE level that is higher than the first PRACH CE level; and

perform a RACH procedure with a user equipment (UE) in accordance with the one or more PRACH preamble transmission parameters,

wherein each PRACH preamble transmission attempt associated with the first number of PRACH preamble transmission attempts comprises transmission of a PRACH preamble on each of a plurality of beams in accordance with the beam sweeping pattern before any feedback to any PRACH preamble of the PRACH preamble transmission attempt is transmitted to the UE by the network component.