Abstract: Disclosed are methods and systems for configuring service of a user equipment device (UE). When the UE has dual-connectivity service, such as EN-DC service, high quality on one of the UE's air-interface connections could result in transition of the UE to operate in discontinuous reception (DRX) mode on the UE's other air-interface connection.

Abstract: A method and system for responding to a processing failure of an Internet Protocol (IP) Multimedia Subsystem (IMS). An example method includes a computing system detecting the processing failure of the IMS and responsively causing one or more user equipment devices (UEs) to forgo using the IMS for voice over IP (VoIP) call placement and to instead use an alternate VoIP calling service for VoIP call placement. For instance, a given UE may be configured by default to use the IMS for VoIP call placement, but the UE may detect an IMS processing failure and may responsively instead make a next VoIP call placement attempt using an alternate VoIP calling service, such as a third party VoIP calling application running on the UE.

Abstract: A method for coordinated control-channel signaling by first and second access nodes that provide overlapping coverage on respective first and second carriers that overlap in frequency with each other. The first access node configures a first enhanced physical downlink control channel (ePDCCH) on the first carrier and the second access node configures a second ePDCCH on the second carrier, with the first ePDCCH and second ePDCCH overlapping in frequency and time with each other, for efficient use of PDSCH capacity of the two carriers. In an implementation, the two access nodes could operate according to different radio access technologies. For instance, the first access node could provide LTE service, and the second access node could provide 5G NR service.

Abstract: A mechanism for controlling operation of a first access node that supports operation according to a first radio access technology (RAT) but does not support dual-connectivity operation according to the first RAT and a second RAT. A system detects a high extent of occurrences of dual-connectivity-capable user equipment devices (UEs) being connected with the first access node when the dual-connectivity-capable UEs could instead connect with a second access node that supports the dual-connectivity operation. And in response, the first access node blocks dual-connectivity-capable UEs from being connected with the first access node while allowing UEs that are not dual-connectivity capable to be connected with the first access node.

Abstract: When access nodes provide collocated service on overlapping carriers with different subcarrier spacing than each other, at least one of the access nodes could be configured to cluster its respective allocation of air-interface resources at an end of the frequency-overlap region, and a single guard band could then separate that clustered resource allocation from the remainder of the frequency-overlap region in which the other access node could allocate resources. In an example implementation for instance, the access nodes could be configured to cluster their respective concurrent allocation of resources at different respective ends of the frequency-overlap region so as to help maximize frequency width between transmission in the frequency-overlap region on one of the carriers with one subcarrier spacing and transmission in the frequency-overlap region on the other carrier with the other subcarrier spacing.

Abstract: When a UE is served with dual-connectivity by a master node (MN) over master connection on a first radio access technology (RAT) and a secondary node (SN) over a secondary connection on a second RAT and where the UE is engaged in a voice call over the master connection, an entity detects that quality of the UE's master connection has become threshold poor and responsively carries out a sequence of operations including (i) releasing the UE's secondary connection with the SN so as to transition the UE from dual-connectivity to standalone-connectivity served by the MN, and (ii) then transferring the UE's voice call from being served by the MN on the first RAT to instead being served by a tertiary node (TN) on a third RAT.

Abstract: A method and system for controlling connectivity of a user equipment device (UE). When the UE is connected with an access node in a cell provided by the access node, the access node determines that uplink noise in the cell is threshold high. And responsive to at least determining that uplink noise in the cell is at least threshold high, the access node applies a battery-level-based UE-offloading process to offload the UE from the cell. For instance, the access node could cause the UE to hand over or otherwise transition from being connected in the cell to instead being connected in another cell.

Abstract: Disclosed are structures and processes to help enable a wireless communication device (WCD) to support operation in a dual-connectivity scenario, such as where the WCD operates concurrently with 4G and 5G wireless connections over frequency channels in a common frequency band. Downlink low-noise-amplification could be controlled with a split dual-stage arrangement and control communication between modems in the WCD. And uplink maximum-power reduction could be controlled based on an evaluation of the frequency channels used by the respective connections, given knowledge of frequency resources allocated for one of those connections, and with a presumed worst-case-scenario frequency-resource allocation on the other connection.

Abstract: A method and system for controlling air-interface resources on a radio-frequency (RF) carrier on which an access node provides wireless communication service. While the access node is set to apply at least two resource-reservations (e.g., PRB-reservations) that are mutually exclusive on the carrier, a computing system detects that resource-availability on the carrier is threshold low. And in response to the detecting, the computing system causes the access node to combine together the at least two resource-reservations on the carrier The combining together of the at least two resource-reservations on the carrier retains the at least two resource-reservations on the carrier but results in a reduction in aggregate total quantity of air-interface resources consumed by the at least two resource-reservations on the carrier.

Abstract: Disclosed are methods and systems to facilitate use of a single channel for voice communications and of multiple channels for non-voice communications. In particular, a transmitting node may determine that data is to be communicated from the transmitting node to a receiving node and may then make a determination of whether the data is to be communicated as part of a voice communication. If the determination is that the data is not to be communicated as part of a voice communication, then the transmitting node may responsively communicate the data to the receiving node over two or more channels. Whereas, if the determination is that the data is to be communicated as part of a voice communication, then the transmitting node may responsively communicate the data to the receiving node over just one channel rather than communicating the data to the receiving node over two or more channels.

Abstract: A method and system for controlling connectivity of a user equipment device (UE). When a UE is served with dual connectivity by a first access node over a first connection in accordance with a first radio access technology (RAT) and a second access node over a second connection in accordance with a second RAT, initiation of a voice call for the UE will be detected. And in response to at least detecting the initiation of the voice call for the UE, the first access node will invoke transition of the UE from being served with the dual connectivity over the first connection and the second connection to instead being served with standalone connectivity over the first connection.

Abstract: When a serving base station encounters a trigger for handover of a UE to a target base station, the serving base station will responsively predict whether, before the serving base station would direct the UE to handover to the target base station, an inactivity timer for the UE will expire, and the serving base station will then control the handover based on that prediction. For instance, responsive to the predicting being that the inactivity timer will expire before the serving base station would send a handover command message to the UE, the serving base station could forgo engaging in handover-preparation signaling with the target base station for the handover, instead allowing the UE to transition to idle mode upon expiration of the timer, at which point the UE could then engage in idle-mode handover to the target base station.

Abstract: A method and system for concurrent transmission of (i) a first bit sequence from a first access node to a UE and (ii) a second bit sequence from a second access node to the UE, when the first access node serves the UE on a first carrier according to a first radio access technology (RAT), the second access node serves the UE on a second carrier according to a second RAT, and the first and second carriers overlap in frequency. Per the disclosure, the access nodes could orthogonally encode their respective bit sequences and could concurrently transmit the resulting encoded bit sequences to the UE on the same frequency as each other.

Abstract: A method and system for controlling uplink transmit power of a UE, for instance on an FDD connection. An example method includes, iteratively for each successive given time interval of a continuum of equal-duration time intervals (i) determining an actual average transmit power of the UE in the given time interval, (ii) using the determined actual average transmit power of the UE in the given time interval as a basis to set a maximum average transmit power of the UE in a respective subsequent time interval of the continuum of time intervals, and (iii) applying the set maximum average transmit power as a limitation on uplink transmit power of the UE in the respective subsequent time interval.

Abstract: Methods and systems for controlling application of MU-MIMO service by a base station are provided. The disclosure provides for determining a base station's buffer occupancy and then, based on the determined buffer occupancy, setting a maximum limit on a quantity of UEs that the base station will concurrently provide with MU-MIMO service. For instance, a system could determine that the base station's buffer occupancy is at least predefined threshold high and, based at least on that determination, could increase the maximum limit. Or, the system could determine that the base station's buffer occupancy is at least predefined threshold low and, based at least on that determination, could decrease the maximum limit.

Abstract: A method and system for enabling MMS message delivery to a recipient device. An MMSC receives and stores MMS message content to be delivered to the recipient device, and the MMSC responsively sends to the recipient device an MMS-notification message carrying an address of the MMS message content stored at the MMSC and then receives a reply indicating that the recipient device received the MMS-notification message. The MMSC then detects that, after the MMSC received the reply, (i) at least a predefined threshold amount of time has passed and (ii) the MMSC has not yet received from the recipient device a request to download the MMS message content. And responsive to at least the detecting, the MMSC then sends to the recipient device a data-service-trigger message that triggers turning on data service of the recipient device, thus enabling MMS-message delivery to the recipient device.

Abstract: A method and system for controlling application of MU-MIMO. The disclosure provides for considering a device's power class as a basis to decide whether to provide the device with MU-MIMO service. For instance, a base station could determine which of the base station's served devices that are threshold distant from the base station are each a high power device rather than a lower power device. And on at least that basis, the base station could select each such device to receive MU-MIMO service. Or faced with a choice between devices to receive MU-MIMO service, the base station could compare the devices' power classes and could select the devices that have higher power class to receive MU-MIMO service.

Abstract: A method and system to help facilitate communication between a user equipment device (UE) and an access node that is serving the UE, in a scenario where a bearer is configured for the UE, the bearer having a defined set of quality-of-service (QoS) requirements for communication of user-plane data on the bearer. When wireless coverage of the UE from the access node is threshold poor, the access node and a supporting core network could interwork to loosen the set of QoS requirements of the bearer in an effort to avoid loss of the bearer. And upon loosening of the set of QoS requirements, the access node could invoke Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) duplication for the communication between the UE and the access node on the bearer, to help improve quality of the communication between the UE and the access node in presence of the threshold poor wireless coverage.

Abstract: When a donor base station serves a relay on a wireless backhaul connection that encompasses at least two carriers, and where the relay includes a relay base station and a relay-WCD, communications over the wireless backhaul connection will be distributed among the carriers based on whether the communications are control-plane communications with the relay base station or rather user-plane communications with a WCD served by the relay base station. For instance, all such control-plane communication could be carried on one of the carriers, and all such user-plane communication could be carried instead on another of the carriers.

Abstract: A method and system for controlling connectivity of a user equipment device (UE), the UE being dual-connectivity capable. The UE detects that the UE has ping-ponged at a threshold high rate between standalone connectivity and dual connectivity. And responsive to at least detecting that the UE has ping-ponged at the threshold high rate between standalone connectivity and dual connectivity, the UE transmits, to an access node serving the UE, a report including an indication that the UE is not dual-connectivity capable, even though the UE is dual-connectivity capable. The access node could then use the indication in the report as a basis to forgo configuring of dual connectivity for the UE, which could thereby help discontinue the ping-ponging.