Abstract: An apparatus includes at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: establish a connection with a source cell; determine a first timing advance that indicates a propagation delay of uplink transmission to the source cell; determine a second timing advance that indicates a propagation delay of uplink transmission to a target cell; determine whether to initiate a handover procedure to the target cell, based at least on the first timing advance; and synchronize to the target cell during the handover procedure.

Abstract: The disclosure relates to an apparatus comprising including at least one processor and at least one memory including computer code for one or more programs, the at least one memory and the computer code configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus at least to: obtain user equipment information indicating whether a user equipment served by the apparatus would need repetitions of a reference signal transmitted by a target base station to successfully select a receiving beam aligned with a transmitting beam in a beam management procedure with the target base station; and send, to the target base station, the user equipment information.

Abstract: A UE, in response to a beam failure being detected for a serving cell that serves the user equipment, determines whether a timer is running. One of the following is performed by the UE: in response to the timer running, a beam failure recovery procedure with a target non-serving cell; or in response to the timer not running, a beam failure recovery procedure with the serving cell. Methods, apparatus, computer programs, and computer program products are disclosed.

Abstract: A source network apparatus (10) which provides access for a user equipment (30) to a communication network transmits (S102) a handover command to the user equipment (30), the handover command indicating a target network apparatus (20) for providing access for the user equipment (30) to the communication network, and a detach condition on when the user equipment (30) is to detach from the source network apparatus (10) after having accessed the target network apparatus (20) (S204) and received user plane data packets from the target network apparatus (20) (S205), wherein the source network apparatus (10) continues exchanging user plane data packets with the user equipment (30) (S101, S103) until the user equipment (30) detaches (S306) from the source network apparatus (10).

Abstract: Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, are provided for conditional handovers. In some example embodiments, there may be provided a method including sending, by a first node serving a user equipment, a message to a second node, the message including an indication of whether a conditional cell change is prohibited at the second node; and receiving, by the first node, an acknowledgment in response to the message.

Abstract: There are provided measures for enabling/realizing load balancing between neighboring cells in a system with beamformed radio access. Such measures exemplarily include determining a load balancing condition, including at least one beam as a candidate beam and at least one target radio access entity for offloading terminal entities being currently served by the candidate beam, specifying a load balancing hypothesis for a hypothetical case of deactivation of the candidate beam, including information on an impact of the hypothetical beam deactivation, inquiring non-/acceptance of deactivation of the candidate beam from the at least one target radio access entity on the basis of the load balancing hypothesis, and deactivating the candidate beam if acceptance of deactivation of the candidate beam is inquired from the at least one target radio access entity.

Abstract: There is provided an apparatus, a method and a computer program product. In accordance with an embodiment the method includes measuring signals of one or more beams of a cell of a wireless communication network for handover; obtaining information of an identity of the one or more beams from the measured signals; storing the measurement results and the identity of the one or more beams; and sending the measurement results and the identity of the one or more beams to the wireless communication network when at least one predetermined condition is fulfilled.

Abstract: There are provided measures for beam failure recovery enhancement. Such measures exemplarily comprise, at a terminal, identifying a beam failure with respect to a radio beam provided by a serving cell of said terminal, and deciding, in response to an identified beam failure, to perform beam failure recovery attempts including at least a first beam failure recovery attempt and a second beam failure recovery attempt with respect to said serving cell of said terminal and at least one non-serving cell of said terminal.

Abstract: A system, apparatus, method, and non-transitory computer readable medium for providing location management function (LMF) assisted mobility robustness optimization (MRO) may include a radio access network (RAN) node which is caused to, collect network handover information associated with at least one first user equipment (UE) device, determine whether to update a mobility policy associated with the RAN node based on the collected network handover information and a desired threshold condition, perform a first mobility policy update procedure for the RAN node based on results of the determination, receive current location information corresponding to at least one second UE device traveling between the at least one cell pair from a location management function (LMF) network device, and assign updated mobility configuration parameters to the at least one second UE device.

Abstract: Methods, apparatuses, and computer program products are described that support operational mode configurations for switching between serving cells. A serving cell may configure a plurality of cells to support the operational mode configuration. Each cell of the plurality of cells and an associated user equipment may store the operational mode configurations associated with the plurality of cells to improve additional switching between serving cells. A user equipment may provide intracell or intercell beam management reporting associated with the plurality of cells to assist a determination for switching between serving cells. Timing advance information may be stored to support switching back to a serving cell. A serving cell may cause switching to another serving cell for a user equipment.

Abstract: An apparatus including: at least one processor; and at least one non-transitory memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: associate communication beams into at least two different groups, where at least one of the groups has at least two of the communication beams; based upon beam-group specific key performance indicators, where the beam-group specific key performance indicators have been based upon the association of the communication beams into the at least two different groups, use the beam-group specific key performance indicators to determine at least one beam-group specific mobility parameter for at least one of the groups of communication beams; and transmit the at least one beam-group specific mobility parameters to a base station.

Abstract: A technique of performing a HO includes the source BS sending a HO resume message to the UE at the conclusion of a RACH access procedure that occurs in response to a HO command while a second TRX of the UE continues to exchange data packets with the source BS as if no HO command were issued. By continuing to exchange data with the source BS as if there were no HO command until the HO resume message reintroduces a RACH-less HO procedure, the interruption may be reduced to about 4 msec. At any point in time the UE handles only one protocol stack and only one security, which avoids the complexity of the advanced prior art methods.

Abstract: Systems, methods, apparatuses, and computer program products for source cell to provide a service/slice indication to the target cell in the handover preparation. The source cell provides to a target cell a list of one or more service/slice specific indications for individual ones of one or more network slices in a request for enhanced handover from the source cell to the target cell in a handover preparation phase. The source cell receives from the target cell, indications in a handover request acknowledgement of one or more selected network slices to be handed over from the source cell to the target cell using enhanced handovers. Performs make-before-break handovers to hand over these selected network slices from the source cell to the target cell and performs normal handovers for the one or more other network slices.

Abstract: An example embodiment relates to Random Access Channel, RACH, procedure, for example in the New Radio, NR. Random access procedures may be of two types, contention based CBRA and contention free, CFRA. A client device may only perform CBRA fallback when none of the reference signal received strengths, RSRPs, of the synchronization signal blocks, SSBs, which is associated with the CFRA resources is above a predefined threshold, T1. All SSBs and CSI-RS with associated CFRA resources may be below the threshold. Then, the client device may select an SSB or CSI-RS according to a predefined rule and perform CFRA when CFRA resources are associated. Devices, methods and computer programs are disclosed accordingly.

Abstract: A solution for reliable communication in an apparatus of a communication system is provided. The solution comprises receiving (302) from a network element data packets to be transmitted to a user terminal; maintaining (304) one or more transmit buffers for transmitting data packets to the user terminal; transmitting (306) data packets to a user terminal; receiving (308) information from the user terminal regarding whether one or more data packets are successfully or not successfully received; transmitting (310) on the basis of received information acknowledgement information to another network element of the communication system; receiving (312) a notification that one or more packets have been successfully transmitted to the user terminal from a second corresponding apparatus; and, if the one or more transmit buffers comprise the successfully transmitted packets, removing (314) the packets from the buffers.

Abstract: Certain example embodiments provide systems, methods, apparatuses, and computer program products for a handover of a coordinated multi-point connection. For example, certain embodiment may transfer a first coordinated multi-point connection (e.g., a further enhanced multiple input multiple output (FeMIMO) connection) to a second coordinated multi-point connection where the network may instruct the UE to not perform at least one random access procedure. The first coordinated multi-point connection may be controlled by a first cell (the serving cell) where the UE is ready to receive from and transmit to a first set of cells that comprises the serving cell and one or more non-serving cells. After handover, the second coordinated multi-point connection may be controlled by a previous non-serving cell, and the UE may be ready to receive from and transmit to a second set of cells that comprises the previous non-serving cell.

Abstract: An apparatus and a method are described by which, upon preparing a handover of a terminal device in a source cell, mobility information and at least one connected slice network slice identifier identifying at least one network slice used by the terminal device is added to a terminal device history of the terminal device, and the terminal device history is sent to a target cell for the handover.

Abstract: In accordance with some embodiments, a method may include transmitting, by a source network entity, at least one handover prepare request comprising at least one extension indication to a target network entity. The method may further include receiving, by the source network entity, in response to the at least one handover prepare request, at least one handover request response from the target network entity. The method may further include transmitting, by the source network entity, at least one handover command acknowledgement to at least one user equipment based upon the at least one handover request response.

Abstract: An apparatus, comprising at least one processor, and at least one memory storing instructions, the at least one memory and the instructions configured to, with the at least one processor, cause a user equipment to determine a first information characterizing a spatial separation of a radio cell associated with the user equipment with respect to at least two antenna panels of the user equipment.

Abstract: Apparatus and method in a communication system are disclosed. One or more measurement reports are received (400) from a terminal device. One or more reference signals are received and measured (402) from the terminal device. The accuracy of the one or more received measurement reports is determined (404) based on comparison of the measurement reports and measured the reference signals and/or statistical analysis of the measurement reports.