Abstract: In a method of operating a Radio Access Network (RAN) to optimize a handover between two gNBs, in addition to exchanging the respective AMF region IDs between the two gNBs, all supported GUAMIs of each gNB shall be exchanged as part of the Xn setup procedure, thereby enabling each gNB to know the supported GUAMIs of the peer gNB. Before initiating the Xn handover, source gNB shall check whether the target gNB supports the AMF which currently serves the UE. If supported, the source gNB shall proceed with the Xn-based handover. If the AMF is not supported by the target gNB, the source gNB shall initiate the NGAP handover. In addition, whenever there is any change in supported GUAMIs (addition/deletion/modification), each gNB shall initiate a New Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN) Configuration Update procedure towards the peer gNB with the changed list of GUAMIs.

Abstract: Described are implementations for HARQ-disabling in IoT-NTN deployment AND disabling HARQ-ACK feedback. Signaling mechanisms include configurations for HARQ process ID(s), NPDCCH monitoring, a New Data Indicator (NDI) bit in Downlink Control Information (DCI), and a HARQ-ACK feedback transmission in the uplink.

Abstract: A method of optimizing traffic steering (TS) radio resource management (RRM) decisions for handover of individual user equipment (UE) in Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) includes: providing an O-RAN-compliant near real time RAN intelligent controller (near-RT RIC) configured to interact with O-RAN nodes; and utilizing an artificial intelligence (AO-based TS application xApp in the near-RT RIC to optimize TS handover control and maximize UE throughput utility. The TS xApp is configured utilizing a virtualized and simulated environment for O-RAN, which virtualized and simulated environment for O-RAN is provided by ns-O-RAN platform. The optimization problem to be solved is formulated as a Markov Decision Process (MDP), and a solution to the optimization problem is derived by using at least one reinforcement learning (RL) technique.

Abstract: A method is provided for enabling Narrowband Internet of Things (NBIOT) transport over fronthaul (FH) interface between distributed unit (DU) and radio unit (RU) for at least one of 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network and 5G New Radio (NR) network, which method includes: receiving, by an RU capable of at least one of NBIOT inband mode and NBIOT guardband mode, i) at least one of LTE and NR in-phase and quadrature (IQ) samples associated with a first endpoint, and ii) NBIOT ICI samples associated with a second endpoint; and configuring the RU functionality to be able to combine, in at least one of frequency domain and time domain, i) the at least one of LTE and NR in-phase and quadrature (IQ) samples associated with a first endpoint, and ii) the NBIOT ICI samples associated with a second endpoint.

Abstract: A method of processing multiple consecutive Narrowband Internet of Things (NBIOT) cells by a Radio Access Network (RAN) of a mobile network includes one of: a)1) shifting at least one first NBIOT cell relative to an adjacent second NBIOT cell to align all sub carriers of the first and second NBIOT cells to be mutually orthogonal; and a)2) using a first single fast Fourier transform (FFT) or first single inverse fast Fourier transform (iFFT) by the RAN to process both the first and second NBIOT cells; or b1) for a sequence of NBIOT cells, every third NBIOT cell is grouped into a single group, wherein all sub carriers of the NBIOT cells in the single group are mutually orthogonal; and b2) using the first single FFT or the first single iFFT by the RAN to process multiple NBIOT cells in the single group formed from the every third NBIOT cell.

Abstract: A method is presented which enables a controlled mechanism of applying the required set of settings, e.g., for cloud-based network infrastructure, by means of “profiles”. Infrastructure Management Service (IMS) applies one or more of Compute profile, Networking profile, Storage profile, Accelerator profile, and Application (“App”) profile to cloud infrastructure. The following set of procedures are defined to achieve the profile-based infrastructure management: a) profile definition; b) cloud-infrastructure-preparation based on profile(s); c) cloud audit and monitoring; and d) cloud preparation based on capability. Applying of a profile can involve one or more of: updating the BIOS settings, e.g., using Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) commands; updating the GRUB settings; updating the system/kernel parameters; updating interfaces (e.g., alias, bonding, etc.); creating required resources (e.g.

Abstract: A method of call handling when multiple namespaces are present for a call of a priority or emergency call type initiated by a subscriber of a wireless network includes: obtaining, by an originating Proxy Call Session Control Function (P-CSCF), a predetermined precedence order for the multiple namespaces; retrieving, by the originating P-CSCF, each namespace and associated priority from the subscriber's Registration Context; inserting, by the originating P-CSCF, a SIP Resource-Priority header for each namespace and associated priority; and inserting, by the originating P-CSCF, an additional SIP Resource-Priority header with an additional specified namespace (Multiple Namespace Precedence Order (MNPO)) and priority value identifying the predetermined precedence order for the multiple namespaces.

Abstract: A method of enabling enhanced Management Plane functions on the fronthaul interface between Open Radio Access Network Radio Unit (O-RU) and O-RAN Distributed Unit (O-DU) includes: identifying four subfields within 16-bit Extended Antenna Carrier Id (Eaxc-ID) field using a first set of four specified bitmasks including DU_Port_ID bitmask, BandSector_ID bitmask, CC_ID bitmask, and RU_Port_ID bitmask; and providing a second set of specified bitmasks including at least one of band-bitmask, sector-bitmask, channel-type-bitmask, and layer-antenna-port-bitmask, wherein: i) band bitmask defines which bits within the BandSector_ID bitmask subfield are used to indicate band; ii) sector bitmask defines which bits within the BandSector_ID bitmask subfield are used to indicate sector-id; iii) channel-type bitmask defines which bits within the RU_Port_ID bitmask subfield are used to indicate channel type; and iv) layer-antenna-port bitmask defines which bits within the RU_Port_ID bitmask subfield are used to indicate one o

Abstract: A system and method of operating an Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN, in which O-RAN the system includes: a baseband unit (BBU) having an O-RAN centralized unit (O-CU) and an O-RAN distributed unit (O-DU); an O-RAN radio unit (O-RU) remote from the BBU; and a fronthaul interface between the O-RU and the BBU. A functional split of O-RAN functions respectively assigned to O-RU and O-DU for the fronthaul interface between the BBU and the O-RU is different for downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) so that at least one of i) demodulation reference signal (DM-RS)-based channel estimation is performed by the O-DU in the DL and by the O-RU in the UL, ii) equalization is performed by the O-DU in the DL and by the O-RU in the UL, and iii) demodulation is performed by the O-DU in the DL and by the O-RU in the UL.

Abstract: A method of optimizing a monitoring time window of NB-IoT physical downlink control channel (NPDCCH) for one of i) narrow-band Internet-of-things (NB-IoT) for non-terrestrial network (NTN) including a satellite and a base station, or ii) 5th Generation New Radio NTN includes: receiving, by a user equipment (UE), a specified signal Kmac transmitted by the base station, wherein the specified signal Kmac enables the UE to calculate a signal transmission round-trip time (RTT) between the UE and the base station via the satellite; and adjusting, based on the specified signal Kmac, NPDCCH monitoring time window when the UE does not need to monitor a downlink (DL) signal transmitted by the base station in response to an uplink (UL) transmission. The signal RTT is equal to the sum of UE's TTA (timing offset between the start of a received downlink subframe and a transmitted uplink subframe) and Kmac.

Abstract: A method of optimizing Overload Control Information (OCI) handling for a Control Plane (CP) that has a first association with a first User Plane (UP 1) and a second association with a second User Plane (UP 2) includes: upon receiving from UP 1 an OCI containing i) overload reduction metric defining a target number of sessions for the first association, and ii) a specified period of validity for the OCI handling, initiating a timer for the period of validity for the OCI handling; periodically checking the number of sessions currently being handled by the first association; initiating new sessions with UP 1 if the number of sessions currently being handled by the first association is below the target number of sessions; and not initiating new sessions with the UP 1 if the number of sessions currently being handled by the first association is above the target number of sessions.

Abstract: An Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) system including a single frequency network (SFN) for handling signal transmissions involving a user equipment (UE) is provided, which system includes: a plurality of O-RAN radio units (O-RUs) configured to simultaneously send the same signal over the same frequency channel; and an O-RAN distributed unit (O-DU). The system is configured to filter out at least one of uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) signals associated with at least one of the plurality of O-RUs in the SFN based on one of signal power or signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Signal paths of the O-RUs toward the O-DU are linked directly to the O-DU, and each of the O-RUs filters one of UL and DL signals based on a comparison to a predetermined signal power or SNR threshold. The O-DU controls DL transmission to only use the O-RUs whose UL signals were above the predetermined threshold.

Abstract: A system is provided for at least one of testing and validating at least one Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) remote radio head (RRH) present for installation at an installation site having no network connectivity to the RRH available, which system includes a network emulator configured to at least one of test and validate at least one of a device parameter and a functional parameter of the at least one RRH when selectively coupled to the at least one RRH. The network emulator is configured to be selectively coupled to a user equipment (UE) configured for displaying the at least one of the device parameter and the functional parameter of at least one RRH, and wherein the network emulator is one of 1) directly coupled to the at least one RRH, or 2) connected to the at least one RRH via a cell site router (CSR).

Abstract: A method for channel prediction for uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) massive Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) systems for Open Radio Access Network (0-RAN) fronthaul Split 7.2 networks enables prediction of a channel that is seen by the UL slot. The pre-processing matrix is computed by the distributed unit (DU) based on this predicted channel and sent to the radio unit (RU) for minimizing the effects of channel aging. A channel corresponding to sounding reference signal (SRS) symbol closest to uplink slot being decoded can be predicted from previous SRS symbols and can be used as a combining matrix. Alternatively, the channel of the uplink slot itself can be predicted from past SRS symbols, and a combining matrix can be generated based on the predicted channel.

Abstract: A system for optimizing one of a 5G New Radio (NR) network or a 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network operation, includes: an artificial intelligence (AI) engine configured to: a) implement at least one of the following: i) collection of raw training data set; ii) training of an AI agent; iii) inference generation triggered by UE; iv) using at least one of network key performance indicator (KPI) report and network operator inputs; and v) network KPI collection after application of inferences; and b) at least one of infer and apply at least one of i) network-wide optimal per-gNB or per transmission/reception point (TRP) Synchronization Signal (SS) burst set, and ii) associated channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) configurations for downlink (DL) reference signal transmissions, thereby enhancing at least one of network transmission power efficiency and spectral efficiency.

Abstract: There is provided a method for a session audit in a communication system having a first plane and a second plane. The method can be employed in a case in which the first plane is a control plane and the second plane is a user plane, or a case in which the first plane is a user plane and the second plane is a control plane. The first plane performs operations of (1) sending to the second plane, an association update request that contains a first vendor-specific information element (IE) having (a) a bit set to indicate a desire for a single control plane (CP) fully-qualified session identification (CP F-SEID), and (b) a CP F-SEID, and (2) receiving from the second plane, an association update response that contains a second vendor-specific IE having (a) the CP F-SEID, and (b) a mapped user plane (UP) fully-qualified session identification (UP F-SEID).

Abstract: A Shared Cell (SC) Controller uses deployment information, radio resource utilization measurements, cell load measurements, signal quality measurement, operator's policies and radio capabilities to make decisions on system configuration, re-configuration, and channel allocation related to the Shared Cell groups. The SC Controller may also use artificial intelligence/machine learning to predict future system state when making decisions on system configuration and channel allocation. The SC Controller can be implemented in the context of using a CBRS system, the ORAN architecture, and the Shared Cell group of Radio Units (RUs). SC Controller can be implemented as part of the Non-Real Time Radio Intelligent Controller (Non-RT RIC). The SC Controller interfaces with the Citizens Broadband Radio Service Device (CBSD) Controller, and the SC Controller sends the Shared Cell group information to the O-RU Controller so that the O-RU Controller can configure the radio components.

Abstract: There is provided, an open radio access network distributed unit (O-DU) having an electronic module that performs an FS-8 Radio Access Technology (RAT) functionality.

Abstract: A wireless communications system includes radio components (O-RU, O-DU, O-CU), an ORAN Non-Real-Time RAN Intelligent Controller (Non-RT RIC) framework, an O-RU Controller and a CBSD Controller interfacing with a Spectrum Access System (SAS) using the Wireless Innovation Forum (WINNF) CBSD-SAS Interface. An example of CBSD Controller is a Domain Proxy (DP) defined by WINNF. The CBSD Controller is disclosed as an application belonging to the Non-RT RIC. This application could be an rApp. The Non RT MC Framework operates as a broker to route information between the O-RU Controller and the CBSD Controller. Data types are defined to be exchanged over the R1 interface.

Abstract: There is provided an Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) that includes a fronthaul interface over which an O-RAN Distributed Unit (O-DU) and an O-RAN Radio Unit (O-RU) communicate with one another and exchange O-RAN standard defined user-plane (U-plane) packets and control-place (C-Plane) packets. The fronthaul interface carries control and management information via management-plane (M-Plane) message exchange, and timing synchronization is achieved in accordance with synchronization-plane (S-Plane) procedures, and the O-RAN accommodates communications via 2G and 3G based mobile networks.