CORESET GROUPING

Description

The present application concerns the field of wireless communication systems or networks, more specifically, enhancements or improvements in the communication among entities of the wireless communication network. Embodiments concern enhancements or improvements for obtaining control information, like DCI or SCI, for one or more user devices from multiple CORESETs in a single-band operation or in a multi-band operation, for example, a NR-U operation or a NR carrier aggregation operation.

Fig. 1 is a schematic representation of an example of a terrestrial wireless network 100 including, as is shown in Fig. 1(a), a core network 102 and one or more radio access networks RAN1, RAN2, ... RANN. Fig. 1(b) is a schematic representation of an example of a radio access network RANn that may include one or more base stations gNB1 to gNB5, each serving a specific area surrounding the base station schematically represented by respective cells 1061 to 1065. The base stations are provided to serve users within a cell. The one or more base stations may serve users in licensed and/or unlicensed bands. The term base station, BS, refers to a gNB in 5G networks, an eNB in UMTS/LTE/LTE-A/ LTE-A Pro, or just a BS in other mobile communication standards. A user may be a stationary device or a mobile device. The wireless communication system may also be accessed by mobile or stationary loT devices which connect to a base station or to a user. The mobile devices or the loT devices may include physical devices, ground based vehicles, such as robots or cars, aerial vehicles, such as manned or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), the latter also referred to as drones, buildings and other items or devices having embedded therein electronics, software, sensors, actuators, or the like as well as network connectivity that enables these devices to collect and exchange data across an existing network infrastructure. Fig. 1(b) shows an exemplary view of five cells, however, the RANn may include more or less such cells, and RANn may also include only one base station. Fig. 1(b) shows two users UE1 and UE2, also referred to as user equipment, UE, that are in cell IO62 and that are served by base station gNB2. Another user UE3 is shown in cell 1064 which is served by base station gNB4. The arrows 1081, 1082 and 1083 schematically represent uplink/downlink connections for transmitting data from a user UE1, UE2 and UE3 to the base stations gNB2, gNB4 or for transmitting data from the base stations gNB2, gNB4 to the users UE1, UE2, UE3. This may be realized on licensed bands or on unlicensed bands. Further,

Fig. 1 (b) shows two loT devices 1101 and H O2 in cell I O64, which may be stationary or mobile devices. The loT device 1101 accesses the wireless communication system via the base station gNB4 to receive and transmit data as schematically represented by arrow 1121. The loT device 1102 accesses the wireless communication system via the user UE3 as is schematically represented by arrow 1122. The respective base station gNB1 to gNB5 may be connected to the core network 102, e.g. via the S1 interface, via respective backhaul links 1141 to 114s, which are schematically represented in Fig. 1 (b) by the arrows pointing to “core”. The core network 102 may be connected to one or more external networks. Further, some or all of the respective base station gNBi to gNBs may connected, e.g. via the S1 or X2 interface or the XN interface in NR, with each other via respective backhaul links 1161 to 1165, which are schematically represented in Fig. 1 (b) by the arrows pointing to “gNBs”.

For data transmission a physical resource grid may be used. The physical resource grid may comprise a set of resource elements to which various physical channels and physical signals are mapped. For example, the physical channels may include the physical downlink, uplink and sidelink shared channels (PDSCH, PUSCH, PSSCH) carrying user specific data, also referred to as downlink, uplink and sidelink payload data, the physical broadcast channel (PBCH) carrying for example a master information block (MIB) and a system information block (SIB), the physical downlink, uplink and sidelink control channels (PDCCH, PUCCH, PSCCH) carrying for example the downlink control information (DCI), the uplink control information (UCI) and the sidelink control information (SCI). For the uplink, the physical channels may further include the physical random access channel (PRACH or RACH) used by UEs for accessing the network once a UE synchronized and obtained the MIB and SIB. The physical signals may comprise reference signals or symbols (RS), synchronization signals and the like. The resource grid may comprise a frame or radio frame having a certain duration in the time domain and having a given bandwidth in the frequency domain. The frame may have a certain number of subframes of a predefined length, e.g.

1 ms. Each subframe may include one or more slots of 12 or 14 OFDM symbols depending on the cyclic prefix (CP) length. A frame may also consist of a smaller number of OFDM symbols, e.g. when utilizing shortened transmission time intervals (sTTI) or a mini-slot/nonslot-based frame structure comprising just a few OFDM symbols.

The wireless communication system may be any single-tone or multicarrier system using frequency-division multiplexing, like the orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) system, the orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) system, or any other

IFFT-based signal with or without CP, e.g. DFT-s-OFDM. Other waveforms, like non-orthogonal waveforms for multiple access, e.g. filter-bank multicarrier (FBMC), generalized frequency division multiplexing (GFDM) or universal filtered multi carrier (UFMC), may be used. The wireless communication system may operate, e.g., in accordance with the LTE-Advanced pro standard, or the 5G or NR, New Radio, standard, or the NU-U, New Radio Unlicensed, standard, or the 802.11ax, or the 802.11be.

The wireless network or communication system depicted in Fig. 1 may by a heterogeneous network having distinct overlaid networks, e.g., a network of macro cells with each macro cell including a macro base station, like base station gNBi to gNB5, and a network of small cell base stations (not shown in Fig. 1), like femto or pico base stations.

In addition to the above described terrestrial wireless network also non-terrestrial wireless communication networks exist including spaceborne transceivers, like satellites, and/or airborne transceivers, like unmanned aircraft systems. The non-terrestrial wireless communication network or system may operate in a similar way as the terrestrial system described above with reference to Fig. 1, for example in accordance with the LTE-Advanced Pro standard or the 5G or NR, new radio, standard.

In mobile communication systems or networks, like those described above with reference to Fig. 1, for example in a LTE or 5G/NR network, the respective entities may communicate using one of more frequency bands. A frequency band includes a start frequency, an end frequency and all intermediate frequencies between the start and end frequencies. In other words, the start, end and intermediate frequencies may define a certain bandwidth, e.g., 20MHz. A frequency band may also be referred to as a carrier, a bandwidth part, BWP, a subband, and the like.

When using a single frequency band, the communication may be referred to as a singleband operation, e.g., a UE transmits/receives radio signals to/from another network entity on frequencies being within the 20MHz band.

When using a two or more frequency bands, the communication may be referred to as a multi-band operation or as a wideband operation or as a carrier aggregation operation. The frequency bands may have different bandwidths or the same bandwidth, like 20MHz. For example, in case of frequency bands having the same bandwidths a UE may transmit/receive radio signals to/from another network entity on frequencies being within two or more of the 20MHz bands so that the frequency range for the radio communication may be a multiple of 20MHz. The two or more frequency bands may be continuous/adjacent frequency bands or some or all for the frequency bands may be separated in the frequency domain.

The multi-band operation may include frequency bands in the licensed spectrum, or frequency bands in the unlicensed spectrum, or frequency bands both in the licensed spectrum and in the unlicensed spectrum.

Carrier aggregation, CA, is an example using two or more frequency bands in the licensed spectrum and/or in the unlicensed spectrum.

5G New Radio (NR) may support an operation in the unlicensed spectrum so that a multiband operation may include frequency bands in the unlicensed spectrum bands. This may be as NR-based access to unlicensed spectrum, NR-U, and the frequency bands may be referred to as subbands. The unlicensed spectrum may include bands with a potential IEEE 802.11 coexistence, such as the 5GHz and the 6GHz bands. NR-U may support bandwidths that are an integer multiple of 20 MHz, for example due to regulatory requirements. The splitting into the subbands is performed so as to minimize interference with coexisting systems, like IEE 802.11 systems, which may operate in one or more of the same bands with the same nominal bandwidth channels, like 20 MHz channels. Other examples, of coexisting systems may use subbands having subband sizes and nominal frequencies different from the above-described IEEE 802.11 systems. For example, the unlicensed spectrum may include the 5GHz band, the 6GHz band, the 24GHz band or the 60GHz band. Examples of such unlicensed bands include the industrial, scientific and medical, ISM, radio bands reserved internationally for the use of radio frequency energy for industrial, scientific and medical purposes other than telecommunications.

During an operation using unlicensed subbands, Listen-before-talk, LBT, is to be performed separately per subband. This may lead to a situation in which one or more of the subbands are busy or occupied due to an interference, for example, from other communication systems coexisting on the same band, like other public land mobile networks, PLMNs or systems operating in accordance with the IEEE 802.11 specification. In such a situation, the transmitter, either the transmitting gNB or the transmitting UE, is only allowed to transmit on the subbands which are detected to be not busy, also referred to as subbands being free or non-occupied, as is determined by the LBT algorithm. For example for a transmission

spanning more than 20MHz in the 5GHz operational unlicensed band, the transmitter, like the gNB or the UE, performs Listen-Before-Talk, LBT, separately on each subband. Once the LBT results are available for each subband, the devices, for example, the gNB in the downlink, DL, or the UE in the uplink, UL, are allowed to transmit on those subbands which are determined to be free or unoccupied, i.e., to transmit on the won subband(s). No transmission is allowed on the occupied, busy or non-won subbands.

It is noted that the information in the above section is only for enhancing the understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form prior art that is already known to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Starting from a prior art as described above, there may be a need for improvements in a wireless communication system for obtaining control information for one or more user devices in a multi-band operation, like a NR-U wideband operation.

Embodiments of the present invention are now described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 shows a schematic representation of an example of a wireless communication system;

Fig. 2 is a schematic representation of a wireless communication system including a transmitter, like a base station, and one or more receivers, like user devices, UEs;

Fig. 3(a) schematically illustrates a single-band transmission including respective control information for the receiving UE;

Fig. 3(b) schematically illustrates a multi-band transmission including respective control information for the receiving UE;

Fig. 4 illustrates an embodiment of applying search space grouping in accordance with the inventive approach, wherein Fig. 4(a) illustrates a single-band

communication similar as in Fig. 3(a), and Fig. 4(b) illustrates a multi-band communication similar as in Fig. 3(b);

Fig. 5 illustrates an embodiment of applying CORESET grouping in accordance with the inventive approach, wherein Fig. 5(a) illustrates a single-band communication similar as in Fig. 3(a), and Fig. 5(b) illustrates a multi-band communication similar as in v Fig. 3(b);

Fig. 6 illustrates, with respect to the CORESET grouping an embodiment in accordance with which CORESETs being within a certain time window are further separated into different groups;

Fig. 7 illustrates embodiments of the grouping of CORESETs with different search space configurations;

Fig. 8 illustrates an embodiment combining CORESET grouping and search space grouping;

Fig. 9 illustrates an embodiment of a group on/off approach allowing the grouping to be enabled or disabled;

Fig. 10 illustrates an embodiment in which a UE creates a virtual or group search space;

Fig. 11 illustrates embodiments restricting a blind decoding to CORESETs having a certain configuration;

Fig. 12 illustrates an embodiment in accordance with which the CORESET or search space configuration may be consistent across a gNB COT;

Fig. 13 illustrates embodiments providing for an explicit relationship between CORESETs of a group;

Fig. 14 illustrates an embodiment for providing backup CORESETs to be used within one or more frequency bands;

Fig. 15 illustrates schematically an embodiment restricting the search space to frequency band borders; and

Fig. 16 illustrates an example of a computer system on which units or modules as well as the steps of the methods described in accordance with the inventive approach may execute.

Embodiments of the present invention are now described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in which the same or similar elements have the same reference signs assigned.

In wireless communication systems or networks as described above, control information for users may be provided in a so-called control resource set, CORESET. The CORESET is a collection of time/frequency resources dedicated to the transmission of the control information, e.g. the PDCCH which carries the downlink control information, DCI, or scheduling information for respective UEs being within a certain cell or coverage area of a base station, gNB, or being served by the gNB. A CORESET may include a common search space, CSS, that is common across all the UEs in the cell and/or a UE specific search space, USS, that is specific to a particular UE in the cell. Within the CORESET, based on the distance, the channel conditions or reliability requirements between the UE and the gNB, the gNB may assign different aggregation levels, ALs, per DCI per UE so as to maintain a certain reliability of decoding the PDCCH. As a result, the UEs having a higher AL may require a larger allocation of the time/frequency resources within the CORESET.

A UE does not have prior knowledge of the AL and, therefore, considers all possible aggregation levels which are indicated in the search space configurations of the CORESET. Currently, the aggregation level may be 1, 2, 4, 8 and 16, meaning that a certain PDCCH has allocated 1, 2, 4, 8 or 16 control channel elements, CCEs. Considering all possible aggregation levels means that the UE performs blind decoding for each AL. More specifically, blind decoding the CORESET initially involves extracting the appropriate time/frequency resources associated with the CORESET, as specified, for example, by a certain radio resource control, RRC, configuration. Then, for each AL, the UE performs a certain number of decodings on the extracted resources to check the result of the CRC. Based on the result of the CRC, the UE may consider the DCI meant for itself and it may continue to decode the subsequent PDCCH channels. When considering a communication

using a plurality of subbands, like a wideband operation in NR-U, for obtaining control information, the UE needs to perform the decoding at least in such subbands that carry the control information or that include CORESETs.

In case of the above-described single-band operation, the frequency band may include a plurality of CORESETs provided at different time/frequency resources within the frequency band.

In case of the above-described multi-band operation, one or more or all of the frequency bands may include one or more CORESETs that are provided at certain time/frequency resources within the frequency bands.

A receiver, like a UE, may be configured with respective CORESET configurations indicating the CORESETs including search spaces carrying control information for this UE.

When considering an operation in the licensed spectrum, the base station or gNB may decide not to transmit a CORESET in one or more of the frequency bands, e.g., because no control information is available for a transmission or a more stringent transmission has to be transmitted. For example, a high priority packet for a URLLC device may arrive and the gNB may decide to prioritize the high priority packet over the CORESET transmission. This leads to an increased blind decoding effort of the UE. The UE may first scan for the presence of a CORESET, e.g. using a DMRS correlation, or monitor an indication from the gNB, e.g. DL reserved regions, in order to detect that no CORESET is transmitted by the gNB, and then perform blind decoding only on the CORESETs whose presence is detected or indicated by the gNB. Thus, an increase of power consumption and, in turn, a reduction in energy efficiency, may occur in systems operating in one or more frequency bands of the licensed spectrum. More specifically, in systems operating in one or more frequency bands of the licensed spectrum a UE has to do the blind decoding on all CORESETs in one or more of the frequency bands used. Even in case of a single-band setup, i.e., when only one frequency band is used, there may be two or more CORESETs in this one frequency band and then again the UE has to do the blind decoding independently for all the CORESETs which leads to an increase of power consumption.

In case of the above-described multi-band operation in which some or all of the frequency bands are in the unlicensed spectrum, additional uncertainty is introduced due to the result of the LBT procedure for a NR-U gNB as the UEs connected to the gNB perform a blind

decoding of the control channel, PDCCH, across all the unlicensed subbands. Some of the unlicensed subbands, also referred to as LBT subbands, may be configured with a respective CORESET which needs to be decoded by a UE which, inherently, reduces the energy/power efficiency, like the battery lifetime, at the UE side. In other words, in the NR-U wideband-operation scenario in which some or all of the subbands are unlicensed bands, the UE scheduling or control information may span across all or some of the subbands so that the UE may perform a blind decoding on each of the subbands independently. This leads to an increase in power consumption at the UE. In addition to the blind decoding overhead across all the unlicensed subbands, there may also be a dependence on the outcome of the LBT procedure. For example, the UE may first scan all the subbands using a reference signal decorrelation, like a DMRS decorrelation, so as to check the result of the LBT procedure and then perform blind decoding of the PDCCH across those subbands where the LBT is successful. Thus, since the result of the LBT procedure is probabilistic, there is a further reduction of the energy efficiency at the UE.

Information regarding the result of a LBT procedure, i.e., information which subbands are available for reception, may be transmitted in the group-common, GC, PDCCH as part of the CCEs of a CORESET. Since the LBT procedure may be applied several times during a gNB COT, the UE performs the blind decoding of the CG-PDCCH at the corresponding number of times within the COT also resulting in an increase of power consumption and, in turn, a reduction in energy efficiency.

Thus, an increase of power consumption and, in turn, a reduction in energy efficiency, may also occur in NR-U systems.

Embodiments of the present invention provide improvements and enhancements addressing the above issues and reducing or avoiding an increase in power consumption and a reduction in energy efficiency when communicating over one or more frequency band carrying control information to be obtained by the UE or different service types which may preempt a CORESET transmission are served simultaneously by the same serving cell or the gNB is optimized to reduce the CORESET transmissions if possible to increase the available bandwidth for data transmissions.

Embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in a wireless communication system as depicted in Fig. 1 including base stations and users, like mobile terminals or loT devices. Fig. 2 is a schematic representation of a wireless communication system including a transmitter 300, like a base station, and one or more receivers 3021 to 302n, like user devices, UEs. The transmitter 300 and the receivers 302 may communicate via one or more wireless communication links or channels 304a, 304b, 304c, like a radio link. The transmitter 300 may include one or more antennas ANTT or an antenna array having a plurality of antenna elements, a signal processor 300a and a transceiver 300b, coupled with each other. The receivers 302 include one or more antennas ANTR or an antenna array having a plurality of antennas, a signal processor 302a1, 302an, and a transceiver 302bi, 302bn coupled with each other. The base station 300 and the UEs 302 may communicate via respective first wireless communication links 304a and 304b, like a radio link using the Uu interface, while the UEs 302 may communicate with each other via a second wireless communication link 304c, like a radio link using the PC5 interface. When the UEs are not served by the base station, are not be connected to a base station, for example, they are not in an RRC connected state, or, more generally, when no SL resource allocation configuration or assistance is provided by a base station, the UEs may communicate with each other over the sidelink. The system, the one or more UEs 302 and the base stations 300 may operate in accordance with the inventive teachings described herein.

USER DEVICE

The present invention provides (see for example claim 1) a user device, UE, for a wireless communication system, wherein the UE is to be served by a base station and is to use one or more frequency bands for a communication with one or more entities, e.g., other UE(s) or other gNB(s) in the wireless communication system, wherein one or more or all of the frequency bands include one or more CORESETs, each CORESET including one or more search spaces carrying control information, e.g., DCI(s), for the UE,

wherein the UE is to group

• some or all of the CORESETs into respective CORESET groups, or

• some or all of the search spaces into respective search space groups,

wherein a CORESET group includes some or all CORESETs within a certain time window, and wherein a search space group includes some or all search spaces within the certain time window, and

wherein the grouping is responsive to

• one or more group IDs the UE is configured with, each group ID pointing to or indicating a CORESET group or a search space group, and/or

• determining CORESETs or search spaces to be within the same time window.

In accordance with embodiments (see for example claim 2), the UE is to use one frequency band for the communication, and a CORESET group/search space group includes some or all CORESETs/search spaces in the one frequency band that are provided within a certain time window, or the UE is to use a plurality of frequency bands for the communication, and a CORESET group/search space group includes some or all CORESETs/search spaces in one or more or all of the plurality of frequency bands that are provided within a certain time window.

In accordance with embodiments (see for example claim 3), the certain time window comprises one or more slots or a plurality of consecutive symbols.

In accordance with embodiments (see for example claim 4), the UE is to group the search spaces further based on one or more of the following parameters in a search space information element (searchspace):

• searchSpaceld

• monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset

• duration

• monitoringSymbolsWithinSlot

• searchSpaceType

• dciFormats

In accordance with embodiments (see for example claim 5), the UE is to be configured with a CORESET group information element, the CORESET group information element indicating CORESET configurations to be considered for the grouping.

In accordance with embodiments (see for example claim 6), the UE is to be configured, e.g., using RRC signaling, with one or more CORESET information elements (controlResourceSet), wherein a CORESET information element includes the group ID (groupindex) so as to indicate which CORESET configurations to consider for the grouping.

In accordance with embodiments (see for example claim 7), the UE is to be configured with a search space group information element, the search space group information element indicating search spaces and associated CORESETs being part of the same search space group.

In accordance with embodiments (see for example claim 8), the UE is to be configured, e.g., using RRC signaling, with one or more CORESET information elements (controiResourceSet) and one or more search space information elements (searchspace), wherein a search space information element includes a search space group indication element (searchSpaceGroup) including the group ID (groupIndex).

In accordance with embodiments (see for example claim 9), the UE is to be configured with a parameter activating or deactivating the grouping.

In accordance with embodiments (see for example claim 10), the UE is to coordinate decoding the control information for the UE from the search spaces using the grouping, wherein the decoding may include blind decoding.

In accordance with embodiments (see for example claim 11), the UE is to concatenate or combine the CORESETs or the search spaces of a group, whereby a virtual CORESET or a virtual search space is defined.

In accordance with embodiments (see for example claim 12), the UE is to not expect more than one or more particular control parameters, e.g., one DL assignment per serving cell, or one UL grant per serving cell, within the virtual search space or the virtual CORESET.

In accordance with embodiments (see for example claim 13), the UE is to receive a default CORESET configuration for a group, and to configure the remaining CORESETs of the group according to the default CORESET configuration.

In accordance with embodiments (see for example claim 14), to configure the one or more CORESETs, the UE is to apply at least a part of a search space configuration of the default CORESET to the other CORESETs of the same group.

In accordance with embodiments (see for example claim 15), the default CORESET configuration is indicated:

• explicitly, e.g., by the BS; or

• implicitly, e.g., by the first received CORESET configuration or by a CORESET configuration having certain CORESET ID, e.g. lowest or highest ID.

In accordance with embodiments (see for example claim 16), the UE is to replicate a default CORESET configuration for further frequency domain monitoring locations in one or more subbands that are different from the subband associated with the default CORESET configuration.

In accordance with embodiments (see for example claim 17), in case the UE successfully finds control information, e.g., DCI(s), in a current CORESET having a certain aggregation level, AL, the UE is not to expect control information for itself, e.g., DCI(s), in a CORESET with another AL, or in case the UE successfully finds control information, e.g., DCI(s), in a current search space having a certain aggregation level, AL, the UE is not to expect control information for itself, e.g., DCI(s), in a search space with another AL.

In accordance with embodiments (see for example claim 18), the UE is to continue looking only for the certain AL in the current and in the other CORESETs/search spaces of the same CORESET group/search space group at least for the successfully decoded DCI format.

In accordance with embodiments (see for example claim 19), in case the UE successfully finds control information, e.g., DCI(s), in a current CORESET, the UE is not to expect control information for itself, e.g., DCI(s), in another CORESETs.

In accordance with embodiments (see for example claim 20), once the UE successfully decoded one PDCCH in a CORESET the UE is to stop or deactivate the blind decoding in other CORESETs of the CORESET group.

In accordance with embodiments (see for example claim 21), responsive to successfully detecting a PDCCH in a certain subband, e.g., in one of the frequency domain monitoring locations, i.e. a CORESET of a CORESET group, for a time window, e.g. a COT duration or an uninterrupted DL burst, the UE is to continue to blind decode only within the frequency domain monitoring location, i.e. a CORSET of a CORESET group, at which the PDCCH is found for the search space associated with the found PDCCH or a pre-configured subset or all search spaces which are associated with the CORESET group.

In accordance with embodiments (see for example claim 22), the CORESETs or search spaces of a certain group are prioritized or ranked, and wherein the UE is to blind decode the CORESETs or search spaces of the certain group according to the prioritization or ranking thereof.

In accordance with embodiments (see for example claim 23), the UE is to receive from the BS an indication of the prioritization or ranking of the CORESETs or the search spaces of the certain group, e.g., upon receiving the CORESET or search space configurations.

In accordance with embodiments (see for example claim 24), responsive to decoding control information, e.g., DCI(s), from a CORESET or from a search space of a group, the UE is to apply a timing before which the UE is not to accept a DL assignment or an UL grant, the timing selected dependent on the priority or rank of the CORESET or search space, wherein the timing may decrease with an increase in priority or rank.

In accordance with embodiments (see for example claim 25), the control information of some or all of the CORSETs indicate in which of the CORSETs out of the CORESET group control information for the UE is present.

The present invention provides (see for example claim 26) a user device, UE, for a wireless communication system, wherein the UE is to be served by a base station and is to use one or more frequency bands for a communication with one or more entities, e.g., other UE(s) or other gNB(s), in the wireless communication system, wherein one or more or all of the frequency bands include one or more CORESETs carrying control information, e.g., DCI(s), for the UE, and wherein the control information of some or all of the CORSETs indicate in which of the CORSETs control information for the UE is present.

In accordance with embodiments (see for example claim 27), a CORSET includes a DCI pointing to or indicating the CORSETs including control information for the UE.

The present invention provides (see for example claim 28) a user device, UE, for a wireless communication system, wherein the UE is to be served by a base station and is to use a plurality of frequency bands for a communication with one or more entities, e.g., other UE(s) or other gNB(s), in the wireless communication system, wherein some, e.g., two or more, or all of the plurality of frequency bands include one or more CORESETs carrying control information, e.g., DCI(s), for the UE, wherein the UE is to decode the control information, e.g., DCI(s), from one or more of the CORSETs, and wherein in one or more neighboring frequency bands one or more of the CORESETs are located within a pre-defined continuous frequency range extending in both neighboring frequency bands.

In accordance with embodiments (see for example claim 29), the UE is configured to monitor only the continuous frequency range at least for the duration of the CORESETs.

In accordance with embodiments (see for example claim 30), the UE comprises a timer, the timer to start at the end of the CORESETs, and the UE is to receive UL grants or DL assignments located within the whole of the one or more neighboring frequency bands after the timer expired.

In accordance with embodiments (see for example claim 31), one or more or all of the frequency bands are unlicensed subbands, and wherein

• following a successful Listen-Before-Talk, LBT, for one or more unlicensed subbands, a communication is allowed during a certain transmission time, (COT) in an available unlicensed subband.

• following a failed Listen-Before-Talk, LBT, for one or more unlicensed subbands, a communication is not allowed in a non-available unlicensed subband, and the UE is to not perform a communication on the non-available unlicensed subbands.

In accordance with embodiments (see for example claim 32), the one or more CORESETs carrying control information for the UE are transmitted once or several times during the certain transmission time (COT).

In accordance with embodiments (see for example claim 33), the UE is to stop or deactivate blind decoding for search spaces or CORESETs in unlicensed subbands in which the LBT failed.

The present invention provides (see for example claim 34) a user device, UE, for a wireless communication system, wherein the UE is to be served by a base station and is to use one or more frequency bands for a communication with one or more entities, e.g., other UE(s) or other gNB(s), in the wireless communication system, wherein one or more or all of the frequency bands include one or more CORESETs carrying control information, e.g. DCI(s), for the UE, and wherein one or more backup CORESETs are provided in one or more of the frequency bands.

In accordance with embodiments (see for example claim 35), the UE is configured or preconfigured with locations of the one or more backup CORESETs in the one or more frequency bands.

In accordance with embodiments (see for example claim 36), the UE is to employ a backup CORESET

• responsive to the UE detecting that a base station serving the UE does not transmit in a frequency band, e.g., responsive to an indication by the bases station about an LBT failure or an indication that the bases station does not transmit the CORESET, and/or

• responsive to the UE not being able to decode any valid control information in at least one or all of a plurality of CORESETs linked to the backup CORESET.

In accordance with embodiments (see for example claim 37), one or more or all of the plurality of frequency bands are unlicensed subbands on which a communication is allowed for a certain transmission time (COT) responsive to a successful Listen-Before-Talk, LBT, and following a failed gNB LBT for a certain unlicensed subband, the UE is to employ within the certain transmission time (COT) one or more backup CORESETs in one or more of the unlicensed subbands where the LBT was successful, e.g., in one or more unlicensed subbands other than a default unlicensed subband.

In accordance with embodiments (see for example claim 38), the UE is to perform blind decoding for control information, e.g., DCI(s), according to a CORESET or search space prioritization and/or based on an indication which CORESETs are indicated to be transmitted or to include information for the UE.

In accordance with embodiments (see for example claim 39), the UE is to equally or unequally distribute the number of the blind decoding attempts across the CORESETs and/or search spaces.

In accordance with embodiments (see for example claim 40), the UE is to skip CORESETs and/or search spaces that are indicated to be not transmitted or not meant for the UE.

In accordance with embodiments (see for example claim 41), the UE is to increase a number of blind decodes per search space within a search space group based on a formula in response to detecting that other search spaces of the same group are not transmitted or not relevant for the UE.

In accordance with embodiments (see for example claim 42), the total number of blind decodes per search space group stays the same.

In accordance with embodiments (see for example claim 43), the UE is to monitor only a subset of the CORESETs carrying control information, e.g., DCI(s), for the UE, e.g., responsive to an RRC configuration or reconfiguration message.

In accordance with embodiments (see for example claim 44), the subset of CORESETs to monitor is chosen based on detecting actually transmitted CORESETs out of a CORESET group.

In accordance with embodiments (see for example claim 45), the CORESETs to be monitored are selected so as to achieve a required distribution of the UEs across two or more of the frequency bands, e.g., to achieve load balancing.

In accordance with embodiments (see for example claim 46), the UE is to determine the CORESETs to be monitored as a subset of a CORESET group based on a formula indicated by the gNB which incorporates the number of actually transmitted CORESETs.

In accordance with embodiments (see for example claim 47), the UE is configured with a UE ID and, to determine an index of a CORESET to be monitored out of the actually transmitted CORESETs, the UE is to calculate (UE ID) % (Number of actually transmitted CORESETs), wherein % indicates the modulo operation.

BASE STATION

The present invention provides (see for example claim 48) a base station, BS, for a wireless communication system, wherein the BS is to serve one or more UEs and is to use one or more frequency bands for a communication with the one or more UEs in the wireless communication system, wherein one or more or all of the frequency bands include one or more CORESETs carrying control information for the one or more UEs, and wherein the BS is to configure, e.g., using RRC signaling, the one or more UEs with one or more group IDs, each group ID pointing to or indicating a group of one or more other CORESETs or one or more search spaces, wherein a CORESET group includes some or all CORESETs within a certain time window, and wherein a search space group includes some or all search spaces within the certain time window.

In accordance with embodiments (see for example claim 49), the BS is to include into some or all of the CORSETs an indication in which of the CORSETs out of the CORESET group control information for a certain UE is present.

The present invention provides (see for example claim 50) a base station, BS, for a wireless communication system, wherein the BS is to serve one or more UEs and is to use one or more frequency bands for a communication with one or more UEs in the wireless communication system, wherein one or more or all of the frequency bands include one or more CORESETs carrying control information, e.g., DCI(s), for the UE, and wherein the control information of some or all of the CORSETs indicate in which of the CORSETs in one or more other of the frequency bands control information for a receiving UE is present.

The present invention provides (see for example claim 51) a base station, BS, for a wireless communication system, wherein the BS is to serve one or more UEs and is to use a plurality of frequency bands for a communication with the one or more UEs, wherein some, e.g., two or more, or all of the plurality of frequency bands include one or more CORESETs carrying control information, e.g., DCI(s), for the one or more UEs, and wherein the BS is to transmit CORESETs of one or more neighboring frequency bands within a pre-defined continuous frequency range extending both in both neighboring frequency bands.

The present invention provides (see for example claim 52) a base station, BS, for a wireless communication system, wherein the BS is to serve one or more UEs and is to use one or more frequency bands for a communication with the one or more UEs in the wireless communication system, wherein one or more or all of the frequency bands include one or more CORESETs carrying control information, e.g., DCI(s), for the UE, and wherein the BS is to configure the one or more UEs with one or more backup CORESETs in the one or more frequency bands.

The present invention provides (see for example claim 53)a base station, BS, for a wireless communication system, wherein the BS is to serve one or more UEs and is to use a plurality of frequency bands for a communication with the one or more UEs in the wireless

communication system, wherein one or more or all of the plurality of frequency bands include one or more CORESETs carrying control information, e.g., DCI(s), for the UE, and wherein some or all of the plurality of frequency bands are unlicensed frequency bands on which a communication is allowed for a certain transmission time (COT) responsive to a successful Listen-Before-Talk, LBT, and wherein, responsive to an unsuccessful or failed LBT on one or more of the unlicensed frequency bands, the BS is to distribute the control information for the one or more UEs among the one or more frequency bands available for the communication, e.g., among one or more frequency bands which passed the LBT.

In accordance with embodiments (see for example claim 54), the one or more UEs served by the BS are configured with a UE ID and the BS is to indicate out of the actually transmitted CORESETs an index of a CORESET to be monitored by the one or more served UEs, the BS is to calculate (UE ID) % (Number of actually transmitted CORESETs), wherein % indicates the modulo operation.

In accordance with embodiments (see for example claim 55), the BS is to redistribute the control information, e.g., DCI(s), according to a CORESET or search space prioritization and/or based on an indication which CORESETs are to be transmitted or to include information for a specific UE.

SYSTEM

The present invention provides (see for example claim 56) a wireless communication system, comprising one or more UEs in accordance with the present invention, and one or more BSs in accordance with the present invention.

In accordance with embodiments (see for example claim 57), the UE comprises one or more of a mobile terminal, or stationary terminal, or cellular loT-UE, or vehicular UE, or vehicular group leader (GL) UE, an loT or narrowband loT, NB-loT, device, or a WiFi non Access Point STAtion, non-AP STA, e.g. 802.11ax or 802.11 be, or a ground based vehicle, or an aerial vehicle, or a drone, or a moving base station, or road side unit, or a building, or any other item or device provided with network connectivity enabling the item/device to communicate using the wireless communication network, e.g., a sensor or actuator, and/or the BS comprises one or more of a macro cell base station, or a small cell base station, or a central unit of a base station, or a distributed unit of a base station, or a road side unit, or a UE, or a group leader (GL), or a relay, or a remote radio head, or an AMF, or an SMF, or a core network entity, or mobile edge computing entity, or a network slice as in the NR or 5G core context, or a WiFi AP STA, e.g. 802.11 ax or 802.11 be, or any transmission/reception point, TRP, enabling an item or a device to communicate using the wireless communication network, the item or device being provided with network connectivity to communicate using the wireless communication network.

METHOD

The present invention provides (see for example claim 58) a method for operating a wireless communication system, wherein a UE is served by a base station and uses one or more frequency bands for a communication with one or more entities, e.g., other UE(s) or other gNB(s) in the wireless communication system, wherein one or more or all of the frequency bands include one or more CORESETs, each CORESET including one or more search spaces carrying control information, e.g., DCI(s), for the UE, and wherein method comprises grouping some or all of the CORESETs into respective CORESET groups, or some or all of the search spaces into respective search space groups,

wherein a CORESET group includes some or all CORESETs within a certain time window, and wherein a search space group includes some or all search spaces within the certain time window, and

wherein the grouping is responsive to

• one or more group IDs the UE is configured with, each group ID pointing to or indicating a CORESET group or a search space group, and/or

• determining CORESETs or search spaces to be within the same time window.

The present invention provides (see for example claim 59) a method for operating a wireless communication system, wherein a UE is served by a base station and uses one or more frequency bands for a communication with one or more entities, e.g., other UE(s) or other gNB(s), in the wireless communication system, wherein the one or more or all of the frequency bands include one or more CORESETs carrying control information, e.g., DCI(s), for the UE, and wherein the method comprises indicating in the control information of some or all of the CORSETs in which of the CORSETs control information for the UE is present.

The present invention provides (see for example claim 60) a method for operating a wireless communication system, wherein the UE is served by a base station and uses a plurality of frequency bands for a communication with one or more entities, e.g., other UE(s) or other gNB(s), in the wireless communication system, wherein some, e.g., two or more, or all of the plurality of frequency bands include one or more CORESETs carrying control information, e.g., DCI(s), for the UE, wherein the UE decodes the control information, e.g., DCI(s), from one or more of the CORSETs, and wherein the method comprises locating in one or more neighboring frequency bands one or more of the CORESETs within a predefined continuous frequency range extending in both neighboring frequency bands.

The present invention provides (see for example claim 61 ) a method for operating a wireless communication system, wherein the UE is served by a base station and uses one or more frequency bands for a communication with one or more entities, e.g., other UE(s) or other gNB(s), in the wireless communication system, wherein one or more or all of the frequency bands include one or more CORESETs carrying control information, e.g. DCI(s), for the UE, and wherein the method comprises providing one or more backup CORESETs in one or more of the frequency bands.

The present invention provides (see for example claim 62) a method for operating a wireless communication system, wherein a BS serves one or more UEs and uses a plurality of frequency bands for a communication with the one or more UEs in the wireless communication system, wherein one or more or all of the plurality of frequency bands include one or more CORESETs carrying control information, e.g., DCI(s), for the UE, and wherein some or all of the plurality of frequency bands are unlicensed frequency bands on which a communication is allowed for a certain transmission time (COT) responsive to a successful Listen-Before-Talk, LBT, and wherein the method comprises, responsive to an unsuccessful or failed LBT on one or more of the unlicensed frequency bands, distributing, by the BS, the control information for the one or more UEs among the one or more frequency bands available for the communication, e.g., among one or more frequency bands which passed the LBT.

COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT

The present invention provides a computer program product comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer, causes the computer to carry out one or more methods in accordance with the present invention.

The present invention provides embodiments for improving or enhancing the energy efficiency of a UE communicating in a wireless communication system using a one or more frequency bands wherein one or more or all of the frequency bands include control

information for the UE, and wherein the UE is to scan for the control information in a plurality of control regions, e.g. CORESETs, in the one or more frequency bands.

Fig. 3(a) schematically illustrates a single-band transmission between a base station and a UE, or, in accordance with other embodiments, between two UEs, including respective control information for the receiving UE. The communication over the frequency band SB comprises a plurality of time windows or slots. Fig. 3(a) illustrates four slots of the communication, namely slot 0, slot 1, slot 2 and slot 3. In the depicted embodiment, each of the slots includes control information, for example DCIs, for one or more UEs that are served, for example, by a base station. The control information is provided in respective control resource sets, CORESETs. In the embodiment of Fig. 3(a), in slot 0, three CORESETs C1 to C12 are transmitted. Each of the CORESETs includes the control information for one or more UEs, for example the UEs being within a cell of a base station, i.e., for UEs being served by a base station. In accordance with other embodiments, the different UEs may be one or more UEs with which a transmitting UE performs a communication over a sidelink. The invention is not limited to the specific configuration of control information transmission as indicated in Fig. 3(a), rather a different number of CORESETs may be transmitted in the respective slots.

Fig. 3(b) schematically illustrates a multi-band transmission between a base station and a UE, or, in accordance with other embodiments, between two UEs, including respective control information for the receiving UE. In the embodiment of Fig. 3(b), a multi-band transmission is assumed, in the licensed spectrum and/or in the unlicensed spectrum, using four immediately consecutive frequency bands, SB0 to SB3. The frequency bands SB0 to SB3 may have the same bandwidths, however, the inventive the inventive approach is not limited to such embodiments, rather, some or more of the frequency bands may have different bandwidths. Also, the inventive approach is not limited to immediately consecutive frequency bands, rather, in accordance with other embodiments, some or all of the frequency bands may be separated in the frequency domain, i.e., may not be immediately adjacent. The communication over the multiple frequency bands comprises a plurality of time windows or slots and Fig. 3(b) illustrates four slots of the communication, namely slot 0, slot 1, slot 2 and slot 3. In the depicted embodiment, each of the slots includes control information, for example DCIs, for one or more UEs that are served, for example, by a base station. The control information is provided in respective control resource sets, CORESETs. In the embodiment of Fig. 3, in slot 0, three CORESETs C1 to C3 are transmitted, one in frequency band SB0, one in frequency band SB1 and one in frequency band SB2. In slot 1,

CORESETs C4 to C6 are transmitted in frequency bands SB0, SB2 and SB3. In slots 2 and 3 the CORESETs C7 to C12 are transmitted in the respective frequency bands as indicated. Each of the CORESETs includes the control information for one or more UEs, for example the UEs being within a cell of a base station, i.e., for UEs being served by a base station. In accordance with other embodiments, the different UEs may be one or more UEs with which a transmitting UE performs a communication over a sidelink. The invention is not limited to the specific configuration of control information transmission as indicated in Fig. 3(b), rather a different number of CORESETs may be transmitted in the respective slots. In case of NR-U the frequency bands are also referred to as subbands.

Each of the CORESETs includes one or more search spaces, SS, in which the actual control information is transmitted. In the embodiments of Fig. 3, some of the CORESETs have two search spaces, SSO, SS1 (see CORESETs C1, C3 to C5, C7, C9to C11), while others have only a single search space SSO or SS1 (see CORESETs C2, C3, C6, C8 and C12). Naturally, in accordance with other embodiments, more than two search spaces may be provided within a CORESET. A UE receiving a communication from a transmitter, like a base station or another UE, including the plurality of bands as indicated in Fig. 3 performs blind decoding in the respective CORESETs so as to find search spaces carrying control information for this specific UE. The search spaces are the possible locations for the control information for the UE, and each of the possible locations is also referred to as a PDCCH candidate.

As indicated above, blind decoding over all of the CORESETs may not be efficient in terms of energy efficiency and the like, so that in accordance with embodiments of the present invention the UE may perform a CORESET or search space grouping, for example on the basis of configurations being consistent for different CORESETs in the one frequency band or across different frequency bands.

In accordance with embodiments, the grouping may be referred to as an explicit grouping, which includes a group ID that is received by the UE, for example from the transmitter, like the base station or the transmitting UE in a sidelink communication, and which indicates one or more CORESETs or search spaces that form a CORESET group or a search space group. In accordance with other embodiments, the grouping may be performed at the UE without further information or signaling from the transmitter, which is also referred to as an implicit grouping. For an implicit grouping the UE determines CORESETs or search groups having a consistent configuration in the one or more frequency bands and groups them into a group. In either case, CORESETs or search spaces that share a common time window, for example, CORESETs or search spaces that share the same slot or a certain duration within a slot or that share a number of consecutive symbols within a slot or the like are considered to form a group. The number of consecutive symbols may include a plurality of immediately consecutive symbols or consecutive symbols separated, e.g., by one or more reference symbols.

Fig. 4 illustrates an embodiment in accordance with which search space grouping is applied. Fig. 4(a) illustrates a single-band communication similar as in Fig. 3(a). In accordance with this embodiment, search spaces of respective CORESETs which are within a predefined time window, which, in the example of Fig. 4(a) span a number of predefined consecutive symbols, are grouped together. Fig. 4(b) illustrates a multi-band communication similar as in Fig. 3(b). In accordance with this embodiment, search spaces of respective CORESETs which are within a predefined time window, which, in the example of Fig. 4 span a number of predefined consecutive symbols, are grouped together. As is depicted in Fig. 4(a) and Fig. 4(b), in slot 0, the respective search spaces SSO of the CORESETs C1, C2 and C3 are within a common or overlapping time window and are grouped together into search space group I. In slot 1, the search spaces SS1 of the respective CORESETs C4, C5 and C6 which are provided within an at least overlapping time window, in the example again using the same consecutive symbols within slot 1, are grouped together into the search space group II.

The grouping may be signaled to the UE explicitly, for example, by the transmitter, like the gNB or another UE transmitting information towards the UE. More specifically, the search groups may have assigned a certain group index or group identification, and the UE may be configured by the transmitter, for example using an RRC signaling as indicated below, with the respective group IDs indicating those search spaces in the respective CORESETs which belong to a common group. Below, an example of an RRC message with the CORESET group configuration in the SearchSpace config is shown

The above RRC message may be an existing Release 15 search space configuration (TS 38.311) further including a CORESET group configuration. The CORESET group configuration includes a group index and optionally the corresponding CORESET ID(s), which are part of this group.

In accordance with other embodiments of the explicit signaling of the search space groups, the following RRC configuration element may be employed, which, other than the previously described one, only includes the group ID.

The above RRC message may be an existing Release 15 search space configuration (TS 38.311) further including a group index.

In both cases mentioned above, the grouping of the search spaces as shown in Fig. 4 is signaled explicitly and the search space group includes search spaces being provided within a common time window. In accordance with further embodiments, the search spaces may be grouped further on the basis of the monitoring periodicity, the symbols to be monitored within a slot and other values described in the respective fields of the search space IE.

In accordance with other embodiments, the grouping may be done implicitly by the UE using information from the configurations of the search spaces. For example, the UE may recognize from the received configuration information those search spaces which have an overlapping or the same time window. For example, search spaces that span, at least partially, the same number of OFDM symbols in a certain slot are considered by the UE to belong to a common group in a certain slot as indicated in Fig. 4.

In accordance with other embodiments of the inventive approach, as mentioned above, instead of or in addition to providing search space groups, CORESET groups may be provided. Fig. 5 illustrates schematically the inventive approach of a CORESET grouping. In a similar way as in Fig. 4, Fig. 5(a) illustrates a communication including a single frequency band SB using respective slots 0 to 5 for a transmission from a transmitter, like gNB or a UE, to a receiving UE. Fig. 5(b) illustrates a communication including a plurality of frequency bands SB0 to SB3, e.g., subbands in case of NR-U, using respective slots 0 to 5 for a transmission from a transmitter, like gNB or a UE, to a receiving UE. In the respective slots the CORESETs carrying the respective control information in the associated search spaces are indicated. In accordance with this embodiment, CORESETs being within a certain time window, for example, being located in the same slot or being located within a slot at overlapping times, for example using overlapping OFDM symbols, are grouped into a CORESET group. Fig. 5 illustrates schematically CORESETs C1 to C4 in slot 0 which form the CORESET group I. Also, one or more of the CORESETs in the other slots may define respective CORESET groups. The CORESET grouping may be done explicitly or implicitly.

In case of an explicit CORESET grouping, the UE may receive from the transmiter a configuration indicating, in addition to the respective fields needed for defining the CORESETs, also a group index indicating those CORESETs forming a certain CORESET group. In accordance with embodiments, the explicit CORESET group signaling may include a CORESET group index information element in an RRC message, for example in the part of an existing Release-15 CORESET configuration as depicted below.

In case of an implicit grouping, rather than receiving an explicit group ID, the receiving UE determines from the received configuration information those CORESETs that share the certain time window and associates some or all of the CORESETs determined with a common group.

It is noted that the inventive approach is not limited to grouping all CORESETs or all search space within a certain slot and fulfilling the requirement of being within a certain predetermined time window into a common group. Rather, CORESETs or search spaces, which fulfill the requirement for grouping may be further grouped into further groups dependent on additional parameters. For example, search spaces being within a certain time window may further be grouped dependent on their monitoring periodicity, symbols to be monitored within a slot and the like. Also, CORESETs may be grouped dependent on further parameters like CORESET instances lying in the same time window, like a slot, or the monitoring periodicities and offsets of their search space configurations or the subband the CORESETs are assigned to. Fig. 6 illustrates, with respect to the CORESET grouping in an NR-U system, an embodiment in accordance with which CORESETs fulfilling the requirement of being within a certain time window are further separated into different groups dependent on one or more of the above mentioned further parameters. As is illustrated in Fig. 6, the CORESETs C1 to C4 that are provided in slot 0 and which are considered to be within a certain time window are further separated into CORESET groups I and II including CORESETs C1, C2 and C3, C4, respectively. The embodiment of Fig. 6 is equally

applicable for a single-band operation or for a multi-band operation in the licensed spectrum.

With regard to the CORESET grouping, it is noted that the present invention is not limited to the grouping of CORESETs having a structure as illustrated in Fig. 4, namely to CORESETs having the same search space configurations. In accordance with further embodiments, the CORESET grouping may group CORESETs with different search space configurations, as is illustrated in Fig. 7 showing, in a similar way as in Fig. 3(b), multi-band communication between a transmitter and a receiving UE in which the CORESETs C1 and C2 in slot 0 having a first search space configuration are grouped into CORESET group I, while CORESETs C3 and C4 having a different search space configuration in slot 3 for CORESET group II. The embodiment of Fig. 7 is equally applicable for a single-band operation or for a multi-band operation in the licensed spectrum.

Further, it is noted that the inventive approach is not limited to performing CORESET grouping or search space grouping, rather, in accordance with further embodiments, CORESET grouping may be combined with the flexibility of the search space grouping. Fig. 8 illustrates an embodiment combining CORESET grouping and search space grouping. In a similar way as in Fig. 5(b), the CORESETs C1 to C4 in slot 0 form a CORESET group I, and in addition, the search spaces SSO of the CORESETs C1 to C4 in the CORESET group I form a first search space group I, while the search spaces SS1 in CORESETs C5 to C8 in slot 1 form a second search space group II. The embodiment of Fig. 8 is equally applicable for a single-band operation or for a multi-band operation in the licensed spectrum.

As described above, in accordance with embodiments for the search space and CORESET grouping, the grouping is based on a location of the respective CORESETs or search spaces within a certain time window. Two or more of the CORESETs or search spaces may be grouped into common groups in case they fall into a common time window. The grouping may be based on the just mentioned similar configurations in the search space or CORESET RRC configurations, respectively. Further, the grouping may be useful not for all communications but only for certain types of communications that need to fulfill certain requirements. Especially, when a large number of CORESETs is to be configured to support reliable communication, e.g. for operation in unlicensed bands or multi TRP or URLLC where an ultra-low latency has to be achieved, the CORESET or search space grouping

CLAIMS

1. A user device, UE, for a wireless communication system,

wherein the UE is to be served by a base station and is to use one or more frequency bands for a communication with one or more entities, e.g., other UE(s) or other gNB(s) in the wireless communication system, wherein one or more or all of the frequency bands include one or more CORESETs, each CORESET including one or more search spaces carrying control information, e.g., DCI(s), for the UE,

wherein the UE is to group

• some or all of the CORESETs into respective CORESET groups, or

• some or all of the search spaces into respective search space groups,

wherein a CORESET group includes some or all CORESETs within a certain time window, and wherein a search space group includes some or all search spaces within the certain time window, and

wherein the grouping is responsive to

• one or more group IDs the UE is configured with, each group ID pointing to or indicating a CORESET group or a search space group, and/or

• determining CORESETs or search spaces to be within the same time window.

2. The UE of claim 1, wherein

the UE is to use one frequency band for the communication, and a CORESET group/search space group includes some or all CORESETs/search spaces in the one frequency band that are provided within a certain time window, or

the UE is to use a plurality of frequency bands for the communication, and a CORESET group/search space group includes some or all CORESETs/search spaces in one or more or all of the plurality of frequency bands that are provided within a certain time window.

3. The UE of claim 1 or 2, wherein the certain time window comprises one or more slots or a plurality of consecutive symbols.

4. The UE of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the UE is to group the search spaces further based on one or more of the following parameters in a search space information element (searchspace):

• searchSpaceld

• monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset

• duration

• monitoringSymbolsWithinSlot

• searchSpaceType

• dciFormats

5. The UE of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the UE is to be configured with a CORESET group information element, the CORESET group information element indicating CORESET configurations to be considered for the grouping.

6. The UE of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the UE is to be configured, e.g., using

RRC signaling, with one or more CORESET information elements

(controiResourceSet), wherein a CORESET information element includes the group ID (groupIndex) so as to indicate which CORESET configurations to consider for the grouping.

7. The UE of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the UE is to be configured with a search space group information element, the search space group information element indicating search spaces and associated CORESETs being part of the same search space group.

8. The UE of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the UE is to be configured, e.g., using

RRC signaling, with one or more CORESET information elements

(ControlResourceSet) and one or more search space information elements (searchspace), wherein a search space information element includes a search space group indication element (searchSpaceGroup) including the group ID (groupindex).

9. The UE of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the UE is to be configured with a parameter activating or deactivating the grouping.

10. The UE of any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the UE is to coordinate decoding the control information for the UE from the search spaces using the grouping, wherein the decoding may include blind decoding.

11. The UE of any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the UE is to concatenate or combine the CORESETs or the search spaces of a group, whereby a virtual CORESET or a virtual search space is defined.

12. The UE of claim 11, wherein the UE is to not expect more than one or more particular control parameters, e.g., one DL assignment per serving cell, or one UL grant per serving cell, within the virtual search space or the virtual CORESET.

13. The UE of any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the UE is to receive a default CORESET configuration for a group, and to configure the remaining CORESETs of the group according to the default CORESET configuration.

14. The UE of claim 13, wherein, to configure the one or more CORESETs, the UE is to apply at least a part of a search space configuration of the default CORESET to the other CORESETs of the same group.

15. The UE of claim 13 or 14, wherein the default CORESET configuration is indicated:

• explicitly, e.g., by the BS; or

• implicitly, e.g., by the first received CORESET configuration or by a CORESET configuration having certain CORESET ID, e.g. lowest or highest ID.

16. The UE of any one of claims 13 to 15, wherein the UE is to replicate a default CORESET configuration for further frequency domain monitoring locations in one or more subbands that are different from the subband associated with the default CORESET configuration.

17. The UE of any one of the preceding claims, wherein,

in case the UE successfully finds control information, e.g., DCI(s), in a current CORESET having a certain aggregation level, AL, the UE is not to expect control information for itself, e.g., DCI(s), in a CORESET with another AL, or

in case the UE successfully finds control information, e.g., DCI(s), in a current search space having a certain aggregation level, AL, the UE is not to expect control information for itself, e.g., DCI(s), in a search space with another AL.

18. The UE of claim 17, wherein the UE is to continue looking only for the certain AL in the current and in the other CORESETs/search spaces of the same CORESET group/search space group at least for the successfully decoded DCI format.

19. The UE of any one of the preceding claims, wherein, in case the UE successfully finds control information, e.g., DCI(s), in a current CORESET, the UE is not to expect control information for itself, e.g., DCI(s), in another CORESETs.

20. The UE of any one of the preceding claims, wherein, once the UE successfully decoded one PDCCH in a CORESET the UE is to stop or deactivate the blind decoding in other CORESETs of the CORESET group.

21. The UE of any one of the preceding claims, wherein, responsive to successfully detecting a PDCCH in a certain subband, e.g., in one of the frequency domain monitoring locations, i.e. a CORESET of a CORESET group, for a time window, e.g. a COT duration or an uninterrupted DL burst, the UE is to continue to blind decode only within the frequency domain monitoring location, i.e. a CORSET of a CORESET group, at which the PDCCH is found for the search space associated with the found PDCCH or a pre-configured subset or all search spaces which are associated with the CORESET group.

22. The UE of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the CORESETs or search spaces of a certain group are prioritized or ranked, and wherein the UE is to blind decode the CORESETs or search spaces of the certain group according to the prioritization or ranking thereof.

23. The UE of claim 22, wherein the UE is to receive from the BS an indication of the prioritization or ranking of the CORESETs or the search spaces of the certain group, e.g., upon receiving the CORESET or search space configurations.

24. The UE of claim 22 or 23, wherein, responsive to decoding control information, e.g., DCI(s), from a CORESET or from a search space of a group, the UE is to apply a

timing before which the UE is not to accept a DL assignment or an UL grant, the timing selected dependent on the priority or rank of the CORESET or search space, wherein the timing may decrease with an increase in priority or rank.

25. The UE of any one the preceding of claims, wherein the control information of some or all of the CORSETs indicate in which of the CORSETs out of the CORESET group control information for the UE is present.

26. A user device, UE, for a wireless communication system,

wherein the UE is to be served by a base station and is to use one or more frequency bands for a communication with one or more entities, e.g., other UE(s) or other gNB(s), in the wireless communication system, wherein one or more or all of the frequency bands include one or more CORESETs carrying control information, e.g., DCI(s), for the UE,

wherein the control information of some or all of the CORSETs indicate in which of the CORSETs control information for the UE is present.

27. The UE of claim 26 or 27, wherein a CORSET includes a DCI pointing to or indicating the CORSETs including control information for the UE.

28. A user device, UE, for a wireless communication system,

wherein the UE is to be served by a base station and is to use a plurality of frequency bands for a communication with one or more entities, e.g., other UE(s) or other gNB(s), in the wireless communication system, wherein some, e.g., two or more, or all of the plurality of frequency bands include one or more CORESETs carrying control information, e.g., DCI(s), for the UE,

wherein the UE is to decode the control information, e.g., DCI(s), from one or more of the CORSETs, and

wherein in one or more neighboring frequency bands one or more of the CORESETs are located within a pre-defined continuous frequency range extending in both neighboring frequency bands.

29. The UE of claim 28, wherein the UE is configured to monitor only the continuous frequency range at least for the duration of the CORESETs.

30. The UE of claim 28 or 29, wherein the UE comprises a timer, the timer to start at the end of the CORESETs, and the UE is to receive UL grants or DL assignments located within the whole of the one or more neighboring frequency bands after the timer expired.

31. The UE of any one of the preceding claims, wherein one or more or all of the frequency bands are unlicensed subbands, and wherein

• following a successful Listen-Before-Talk, LBT, for one or more unlicensed subbands, a communication is allowed during a certain transmission time, (COT) in an available unlicensed subband.

• following a failed Listen-Before-Talk, LBT, for one or more unlicensed subbands, a communication is not allowed in a non-available unlicensed subband, and the UE is to not perform a communication on the non-available unlicensed subbands.

32. The UE of claim 31, wherein the one or more CORESETs carrying control information for the UE are transmitted once or several times during the certain transmission time (COT).

33. The UE of claim 31 or 32, wherein the UE is to stop or deactivate blind decoding for search spaces or CORESETs in unlicensed subbands in which the LBT failed.

34. A user device, UE, for a wireless communication system,

wherein the UE is to be served by a base station and is to use one or more frequency bands for a communication with one or more entities, e.g., other UE(s) or other gNB(s), in the wireless communication system, wherein one or more or all of the frequency bands include one or more CORESETs carrying control information, e.g. DCI(s), for the UE, and

wherein one or more backup CORESETs are provided in one or more of the frequency bands.

35. The UE of claim 34, wherein the UE is configured or preconfigured with locations of the one or more backup CORESETs in the one or more frequency bands.

36. The UE of claim 34 or 35, wherein the UE is to employ a backup CORESET

• responsive to the UE detecting that a base station serving the UE does not transmit in a frequency band, e.g., responsive to an indication by the bases station about an LBT failure or an indication that the bases station does not transmit the CORESET, and/or

• responsive to the UE not being able to decode any valid control information in at least one or all of a plurality of CORESETs linked to the backup CORESET.

37. The UE of any one of claims 34 to 36, wherein

one or more or all of the plurality of frequency bands are unlicensed subbands on which a communication is allowed for a certain transmission time (COT) responsive to a successful Listen-Before-Talk, LBT, and

following a failed gNB LBT for a certain unlicensed subband, the UE is to employ within the certain transmission time (COT) one or more backup CORESETs in one or more of the unlicensed subbands where the LBT was successful, e.g., in one or more unlicensed subbands other than a default unlicensed subband.

38. The UE of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the UE is to perform blind decoding for control information, e.g., DCI(s), according to a CORESET or search space prioritization and/or based on an indication which CORESETs are indicated to be transmitted or to include information for the UE.

39. The UE of claim 38, wherein the UE is to equally or unequally distribute the number of the blind decoding attempts across the CORESETs and/or search spaces.

40. The UE of claim 38 or 39, wherein the UE is to skip CORESETs and/or search spaces that are indicated to be not transmitted or not meant for the UE.

41. The UE of any one of claims 38 to 40, wherein the UE is to increase a number of blind decodes per search space within a search space group based on a formula in

response to detecting that other search spaces of the same group are not transmitted or not relevant for the UE.

42. The UE of claim 41, wherein the total number of blind decodes per search space group stays the same.

43. The UE of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the UE is to monitor only a subset of the CORESETs carrying control information, e.g., DCI(s), for the UE, e.g., responsive to an RRC configuration or reconfiguration message.

44. The UE of claim 43, wherein the subset of CORESETs to monitor is chosen based on detecting actually transmitted CORESETs out of a CORESET group.

45. The UE of claim 43 or 44, wherein the CORESETs to be monitored are selected so as to achieve a required distribution of the UEs across two or more of the frequency bands, e.g., to achieve load balancing.

46. The UE of any one of claims 43 to 45, wherein the UE is to determine the CORESETs to be monitored as a subset of a CORESET group based on a formula indicated by the gNB which incorporates the number of actually transmitted CORESETs.

47. The UE of claim 46, wherein the UE is configured with a UE ID and, to determine an index of a CORESET to be monitored out of the actually transmitted CORESETs, the UE is to calculate (UE ID) % (Number of actually transmitted CORESETs), wherein % indicates the modulo operation.

48. A base station, BS, for a wireless communication system,

wherein the BS is to serve one or more UEs and is to use one or more frequency bands for a communication with the one or more UEs in the wireless communication system, wherein one or more or all of the frequency bands include one or more CORESETs carrying control information for the one or more UEs, and

wherein the BS is to configure, e.g., using RRC signaling, the one or more UEs with one or more group IDs, each group ID pointing to or indicating a group of one or more other CORESETs or one or more search spaces, wherein a CORESET group

includes some or all CORESETs within a certain time window, and wherein a search space group includes some or all search spaces within the certain time window.

49. The base station of claim 48, wherein the BS is to include into some or all of the CORSETs an indication in which of the CORSETs out of the CORESET group control information for a certain UE is present.

50. A base station, BS, for a wireless communication system,

wherein the BS is to serve one or more UEs and is to use one or more frequency bands for a communication with one or more UEs in the wireless communication system, wherein one or more or all of the frequency bands include one or more CORESETs carrying control information, e.g., DCI(s), for the UE,

wherein the control information of some or all of the CORSETs indicate in which of the CORSETs in one or more other of the frequency bands control information for a receiving UE is present.

51. A base station, BS, for a wireless communication system,

wherein the BS is to serve one or more UEs and is to use a plurality of frequency bands for a communication with the one or more UEs, wherein some, e.g., two or more, or all of the plurality of frequency bands include one or more CORESETs carrying control information, e.g., DCI(s), for the one or more UEs,

wherein the BS is to transmit CORESETs of one or more neighboring frequency bands within a pre-defined continuous frequency range extending both in both neighboring frequency bands.

52. A base station, BS, for a wireless communication system,

wherein the BS is to serve one or more UEs and is to use one or more frequency bands for a communication with the one or more UEs in the wireless communication system, wherein one or more or all of the frequency bands include one or more CORESETs carrying control information, e.g., DCI(s), for the UE, and

wherein the BS is to configure the one or more UEs with one or more backup CORESETs in the one or more frequency bands.

53. A base station, BS, for a wireless communication system,

wherein the BS is to serve one or more UEs and is to use a plurality of frequency bands for a communication with the one or more UEs in the wireless communication system, wherein one or more or all of the plurality of frequency bands include one or more CORESETs carrying control information, e.g., DCI(s), for the UE, and wherein some or all of the plurality of frequency bands are unlicensed frequency bands on which a communication is allowed for a certain transmission time (COT) responsive to a successful Listen-Before-Talk, LBT,

wherein, responsive to an unsuccessful or failed LBT on one or more of the unlicensed frequency bands, the BS is to distribute the control information for the one or more UEs among the one or more frequency bands available for the communication, e.g., among one or more frequency bands which passed the LBT.

54. The BS of claim 53, wherein the one or more UEs served by the BS are configured with a UE ID and the BS is to indicate out of the actually transmitted CORESETs an index of a CORESET to be monitored by the one or more served UEs, the BS is to calculate (UE ID) % (Number of actually transmitted CORESETs), wherein % indicates the modulo operation.

55. The BS of claim 53 or 54, wherein the BS is to redistribute the control information, e.g., DCI(s), according to a CORESET or search space prioritization and/or based on an indication which CORESETs are to be transmitted or to include information for a specific UE.

56. A wireless communication system, comprising:

one or more UEs of any one of claims 1 to 47, and

one or more BSs of any one of claims 48 to 55.

57. The wireless communication system of claim 56, wherein

the UE comprises one or more of a mobile terminal, or stationary terminal, or cellular loT-UE, or vehicular UE, or vehicular group leader (GL) UE, an loT or narrowband loT, NB-loT, device, or a WiFi non Access Point STAtion, non-AP STA, e.g. 802.11ax or 802.11 be, or a ground based vehicle, or an aerial vehicle, or a drone, or a moving base station, or road side unit, or a building, or any other item or device provided with network connectivity enabling the item/device to communicate using the wireless communication network, e.g., a sensor or actuator, and/or

wherein the BS comprises one or more of a macro cell base station, or a small cell base station, or a central unit of a base station, or a distributed unit of a base station, or a road side unit, or a UE, or a group leader (GL), or a relay, or a remote radio head, or an AMF, or an SMF, or a core network entity, or mobile edge computing entity, or a network slice as in the NR or 5G core context, or a WiFi AP STA, e.g. 802.11 ax or 802.11 be, or any transmission/reception point, TRP, enabling an item or a device to communicate using the wireless communication network, the item or device being provided with network connectivity to communicate using the wireless communication network.

58. A method for operating a wireless communication system,

wherein a UE is served by a base station and uses one or more frequency bands for a communication with one or more entities, e.g., other UE(s) or other gNB(s) in the wireless communication system, wherein one or more or all of the frequency bands include one or more CORESETs, each CORESET including one or more search spaces carrying control information, e.g., DCI(s), for the UE,

wherein method comprises grouping some or all of the CORESETs into respective CORESET groups, or some or all of the search spaces into respective search space groups,

wherein a CORESET group includes some or all CORESETs within a certain time window, and wherein a search space group includes some or all search spaces within the certain time window, and

wherein the grouping is responsive to

• one or more group IDs the UE is configured with, each group ID pointing to or indicating a CORESET group or a search space group, and/or

• determining CORESETs or search spaces to be within the same time window.

59. A method for operating a wireless communication system,

wherein a UE is served by a base station and uses one or more frequency bands for a communication with one or more entities, e.g., other UE(s) or other gNB(s), in the wireless communication system, wherein the one or more or all of the frequency bands include one or more CORESETs carrying control information, e.g., DCI(s), for the UE,

wherein the method comprises indicating in the control information of some or all of the CORSETs in which of the CORSETs control information for the UE is present.

60. A method for operating a wireless communication system,

wherein the UE is served by a base station and uses a plurality of frequency bands for a communication with one or more entities, e.g., other UE(s) or other gNB(s), in the wireless communication system, wherein some, e.g., two or more, or all of the plurality of frequency bands include one or more CORESETs carrying control information, e.g., DCI(s), for the UE, wherein the UE decodes the control information, e.g., DCI(s), from one or more of the CORSETs, and

wherein the method comprises locating in one or more neighboring frequency bands one or more of the CORESETs within a pre-defined continuous frequency range extending in both neighboring frequency bands.

61. A method for operating a wireless communication system,

wherein the UE is served by a base station and uses one or more frequency bands for a communication with one or more entities, e.g., other UE(s) or other gNB(s), in the wireless communication system, wherein one or more or all of the frequency bands include one or more CORESETs carrying control information, e.g. DCI(s), for the UE, and

wherein the method comprises providing one or more backup CORESETs in one or more of the frequency bands.

62. A method for operating a wireless communication system,

wherein a BS serves one or more UEs and uses a plurality of frequency bands for a communication with the one or more UEs in the wireless communication system, wherein one or more or all of the plurality of frequency bands include one or more CORESETs carrying control information, e.g., DCI(s), for the UE, and wherein some or all of the plurality of frequency bands are unlicensed frequency bands on which a communication is allowed for a certain transmission time (COT) responsive to a successful Listen-Before-Talk, LBT,

wherein the method comprises, responsive to an unsuccessful or failed LBT on one or more of the unlicensed frequency bands, distributing, by the BS, the control information for the one or more UEs among the one or more frequency bands available for the communication, e.g., among one or more frequency bands which passed the LBT.

63. A computer program product comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer, causes the computer to carry out one or more methods in accordance with one of claims 58 to 62.