Communication methods and apparatuses

1. A method, comprising:

receiving, at a user equipment (UE), synchronization information; and

determining an initial uplink (UL) bandwidth part (BWP) for the UE containing a random access channel (RACH) occasion associated with the synchronization information;

receiving configuration information indicating a group of preambles; and

transmitting a preamble of the group of preambles during the RACH occasion.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the initial UL BWP for the UE comprises:

determining the initial UL BWP for the UE to be an initial downlink (DL) BWP for the UE in a case that the RACH occasion is within the initial DL BWP for the UE.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the initial UL BWP for the UE comprises:

determining a first physical resource block (PRB) of the initial UL BWP to be a first PRB of the RACH occasion.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the initial UL BWP for the UE comprises:

determining a last physical resource block (PRB) of the initial UL BWP to be a last PRB of the RACH occasion.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the initial UL BWP for the UE comprises:

determining a center physical resource block (PRB) of the initial UL BWP to be a first PRB of the RACH occasion.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the initial UL BWP for the UE comprises selecting one of the following options:

determining a first physical resource block (PRB) of the initial UL BWP to be a first PRB of the RACH occasion;

determining a last PRB of the initial UL BWP to be a last PRB of the RACH occasion; or determining a center PRB of the initial UL BWP to be a first PRB of the RACH occasion;

wherein the selecting is based on whether the determined initial UL BWP for the UE is within a bandwidth of a control resource set indicated in the synchronization information.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the initial UL BWP for the UE comprises selecting one of the following options:

determining a first physical resource block (PRB) of the initial UL BWP to be a first PRB of the RACH occasion;

determining a last PRB of the initial UL BWP to be a last PRB of the RACH occasion; or

determining a center PRB of the initial UL BWP to be a first PRB of the RACH occasion;

wherein the selecting is based on a frequency offset between the determined initial UL BWP for the UE and an initial DL BWP for the UE.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining the RACH occasion from one or more RACH occasions associated with the synchronization information based on an identity of the UE.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

the UE operates with reduced capability as at least one of limited bandwidth, reduced power consumption, limited reception resources, or flexible latency; and

the preambles of the group of preambles are dedicated for the UE with reduced capability.

10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving scheduling information for transmitting a random access message of a random access procedure in the determined initial UL BWP for the UE, the random access message comprising an Msg3 message or an MsgA message; and

transmitting the random access message of the random access procedure in the determined initial UL BWP for the UE.

11. An apparatus, comprising:

a receiver;

a transmitter; and

a processor coupled to the receiver and the transmitter, the processor configured to cause the apparatus to:

receive synchronization information; and

determine an initial uplink (UL) bandwidth part (BWP) for the apparatus based on a random access channel (RACH) occasion associated with the synchronization information.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the processor is configured to cause the apparatus to determine the initial UL BWP for the apparatus as an initial downlink (DL) BWP for the apparatus in a case that the RACH occasion is within the initial DL BWP for the apparatus.

13. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the processor is configured to cause the apparatus to determine a first physical resource block (PRB) of the initial UL BWP to be a first PRB of the RACH occasion.

14. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the processor is configured to cause the apparatus to determine a last physical resource block (PRB) of the initial UL BWP to be a last PRB of the RACH occasion.

15. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the processor is configured to cause the apparatus to determine a center physical resource block (PRB) of the initial UL BWP to be a first PRB of the RACH occasion.

16. An apparatus, comprising:

a receiver;

a transmitter; and

a processor coupled to the receiver and the transmitter, the processor configured to cause the apparatus to:

transmit, to a user equipment (UE), synchronization information; and

determine an initial uplink (UL) bandwidth part (BWP) for the UE based on a random access channel (RACH) occasion associated with the synchronization information;

receive a preamble of a group of preambles allocated for the UE; and

identify the UE operating with reduced capability based on the received preamble.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the processor is configured to cause the apparatus to determine the initial UL BWP for the UE as an initial downlink (DL) BWP for the UE in a case that the RACH occasion is within the initial DL BWP for the UE.

18. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the processor is configured to cause the apparatus to determine a first physical resource block (PRB) of the initial UL BWP to be a first PRB of the RACH occasion.

19. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the processor is configured to cause the apparatus to determine a last physical resource block (PRB) of the initial UL BWP to be a last PRB of the RACH occasion.

20. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the processor is configured to cause the apparatus to determine a center physical resource block (PRB) of the initial UL BWP to be a first PRB of the RACH occasion.