Granted Patent B2

US 12,267,737 · App. 18/381,145 · Granted Apr 1, 2025

Inventors: Parisa Pakniat (Norrköping, SE); Icaro L. J. Da Silva (Solna, SE); Gunnar Mildh (Sollentuna, SE)

Assignee: TELEFONAKTIEBOLAGET LM ERICSSON (PUBL)

H04W36/0061H04W36/008357H04W92/20

Abstract

Claims (27)

1. A host computer, comprising:

processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and

a communication interface in communication with the processing circuitry, the communication interface configured to initiate a transmission of the user data to a network, the network comprising a serving base station of a serving cell serving a user equipment (UE) and a neighbor base station of a neighbor cell, wherein

the neighbor base station comprises a radio interface, memory configured to store instructions, and processing circuitry configured to execute the instructions, wherein the neighbor base station is configured to:

transmit network support information associated with the neighbor cell, wherein the network support information indicates that the neighbor cell supports a Stand-Alone (SA) mode of operation and/or a Non-Stand-Alone (NSA) mode of operation, and wherein, if the neighbor cell supports the SA mode of operation, then the neighbor cell has a control plane connection to a core network, and, if the neighbor cell supports the NSA mode operation, then the neighbor cell is operable to rely on a serving network node as a master node, and

the UE is configured such that, after obtaining the network support information transmitted by the neighbor base station, the UE transmits to the serving base station a report indicating that the neighbor cell supports the SA mode of operation and/or the NSA mode of operation and comprising identification information associated with the neighbor cell.

2. The host computer of claim 1 , wherein

the report comprises the network support information, and

the network support information comprises at least one of: a Cell Global Identity (CGI), a Tracking Area Code, a Core Network (CN) identifier, or a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) identifier.

3. The host computer of claim 2 , wherein

the SA mode of operation and/or NSA mode of operation supported by the neighbor cell is derived based on the at least one of: the CGI, the Tracking Area Code, the CN identifier, or the PLMN identifier.

4. The host computer of claim 1 , further comprising:

transmitting a cell identifier for identifying the neighbor cell, wherein the cell identifier is used by the UE to obtain the network support information.

5. The host computer of claim 4 , wherein transmitting the network support information comprises:

transmitting system information associated with the cell identifier, wherein the system information is broadcast and comprises the network support information, wherein the UE obtains the network support information from the received system information.

6. The host computer of claim 4 , wherein the UE:

transmits a request for system information to the base station;

receives the requested system information from the base station, wherein the system information comprises the network support information; and

obtains the network support information from the received system information.

7. The host computer of claim 1 , wherein the UE, after obtaining the network support information, determines, based on the obtained network support information, whether the neighbor cell supports the SA mode of operation and/or the NSA mode of operation.

8. A host computer, comprising:

processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and

a communication interface in communication with the processing circuitry, the communication interface configured to initiate a transmission carrying the user data to a network, the network comprising a serving base station of a serving cell and a neighbor base station of a neighbor cell, the serving base station and neighbor base station each comprising a radio interface, memory configured to store instructions, and processing circuitry configured to execute the instructions, wherein the serving base station is configured to:

receive a report transmitted by a communication device, wherein the report comprises network support information, wherein the network support information indicates that the neighbor cell supports a Stand-Alone (SA) mode of operation and/or a Non-Stand-Alone (NSA) mode of operation; and

based on the report, determine i) a type of interface to establish between the serving cell and the neighbor cell or ii) whether an interface between the serving cell and the neighbor cell should be established, wherein

the neighbor cell has a control plane connection to a core network if the neighbor cell supports the SA mode of operation, and

the neighbor cell does not have a control plane connection to a core network if the neighbor cell supports the NSA mode operation and not the SA mode of operation.

Continuity (5)

References Cited (56)

Cited By (1)

US 12,382,346