A first method (and related first apparatus) includes transmitting, in a handover request message, an indication of a first protocol version; a second method (and related second apparatus) includes receiving, in the handover request message, the indication, deciding, based on the received indication and a second protocol version, on a value of an information element included in a handover request acknowledgement message to be transmitted, the information element indicating usage of a first or second signaling scheme, and transmitting the handover request acknowledgement message including the information element; and in the first method receiving the handover request acknowledgement message including the information element; and a third method (and related third apparatus) including receiving the handover command message including the information element, and configuring according to one of the first and second signaling schemes indicated by the information element.

A method of operating a source node of a wireless network for controlling handover of a device from the source node to a target node of the wireless network is provided. The method comprises selecting, by the source node, to handover the device from the source node to the target node at a future time on a basis of a predicted location of the device at the future time; transmitting, by the source node, a pre-configuration message to the device including a configuration for the handover of the device from the source node to the target node at the future time; and arranging, by the source node, for the device to receive a trigger instructing the device to handover from the source node to the target node at the future time.

A base station (BS) circuitry, configured to adapt operation of a user equipment (UE) between a stand-alone operation mode and a mobile network operator (MNO) assisted operation mode, includes: a first interface connectable to an MNO network; a second interface connectable to the UE; and a BS controller, configured to: transmit a first register message via the first interface to the MNO network, wherein the first register message indicates a request to operate the UE in at least one licensed frequency band of the MNO network, and signal a hand-over via the second interface to the UE, wherein the hand-over indicates a transition from operating the UE in at least one frequency band of the stand-alone operation mode to operating the UE in the at least one licensed frequency band of the MNO assisted operation mode.

According to some embodiments, a network node is capable of operating as an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node comprising a distributed unit (DU) and a mobile termination (MT). The IAB node performs a method comprising: obtaining (2012) configuration information for establishing an interface between the IAB node DU and a target IAB donor central unit (CU); and after a handover of the IAB node to the target donor, establishing (2114) the interface between the IAB node DU and the target IAB donor CU based on the obtained configuration information.

This disclosure relates to methods for inter-donor mobility. In one embodiment, a method includes migrating a wireless node from a source donor central unit (CU) to a target donor CU. In another embodiment, a method includes sending, by the source donor CU to the target donor CU, an XnAP mobility related request message requesting migration of the wireless node from the source donor CU to the target donor CU, and receiving, by the source donor CU from the target donor CU, an XnAP mobility related response message. In another embodiment, a method includes receiving, by a target donor CU from a source donor CU, an XnAP mobility related request message requesting migration of a wireless node from the source donor CU to the target donor CU, and sending, by the target donor CU to the source donor CU, an XnAP mobility related response message.

The present disclosure describes methods, systems, and devices for informing at least one downstream device of a migrating integrated access backhaul node (IAB-node) about an inter-donor migration status of migrating IAB node undergoing a migration from a source IAB-donor to a target IAB-donor. The method includes receiving, by a receiving device, a radio resource control (RRC) message sent from an IAB-donor. The RRC message includes an information element which indicates an inter-donor migration status of a migrating IAB-node. The method further includes in response to the information element indicating a successful inter-donor migration, sending, by the receiving device, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) status reports to a target IAB-donor. The PDCP status report corresponds to a radio link control acknowledged mode (RLC-AM) bearer configured to be allowed to send the PDCP status report in an uplink, and is configured to update data transmission for the receiving device.

In a method for adapting a mobile network, a terminal is connected to a first access node of the mobile network via a first connection and to a second access node via a second connection. The first access node controls a data transmission for the terminal and the second access node assists in the data transmission for the terminal. The method comprises determining whether a quality of at least one of the first connection and the second connection is degraded, acquiring quality degradation information about the degradation of the quality of at least one of the first connection and the second connection based on the step of determining, and adapting the mobile network based on the step of acquiring.

According to a communication method and a communications apparatus, in a process in which an access network device serving a terminal is handed over from a source access network device to a target access network device, a user plane function network element may transmit first information to the source access network device. The first information is used to indicate that the user plane function network element bicasts downlink packets to the source access network device and the target access network device, so that after determining that a data packet received before the first information is sent to the terminal, the source access network device triggers an air interface handover, to avoid a packet loss in a handover process, or so that the source access network device synchronizes a PDCP SN of the source access network device with a PDCP SN of the target access network device.

Methods and apparatuses for redirecting a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) to a dedicated core network (CN) node are described. An apparatus is configured to initiate a Service Request with a non-dedicated network node. The apparatus is configured to receive a special identifier in response to the Service Request, which indicates the apparatus should be redirected to a dedicated CN node based on subscription information. Radio access network resources associated with the apparatus may be released and the apparatus may then perform a tracking area update (TAU) request which is then forwarded to the dedicated CN node.

The present invention relates to a method of processing packets by a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system, wherein a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) entity of the UE has a first decompression function for a first network and a second decompression function for a second network. Especially, the method comprises receiving a first packet from the first network; delivering the first packet to an upper layer after decompressing the first packet using the first decompression function; connecting the second network with maintaining a connection of the first network; receiving the first packet and a second packet from the second network; discarding the first packet after decompressing the first packet using the second decompression function; and delivering the second packet to the upper layer after decompressing the second packet using the second decompression function.