RADIO NETWORK NODE AND METHOD PERFORMED THEREIN FOR POWER CONTROL

Abstract

Embodiments herein disclose e.g. a method performed by a radio network node for controlling power provision of one or more antenna elements associated with a user equipment. The radio network node obtains an indication of a capability relating to an output power of the user equipment; and a state indication of the user equipment indicating an activity level of the user equipment. The radio network node further controls a power arrangement controlling power provision to the one or more antenna elements, based on the state indication and/or the indication of the capability.

Claims

1. A method performed by a radio network node for controlling power provision of one or more antenna elements associated with a user equipment, the method comprising: obtaining an indication of a capability relating to an output power of the user equipment; obtaining a state indication of the user equipment indicating an activity level of the user equipment; and controlling a power arrangement controlling power provision to the one or more antenna elements, based on the state indication and/or the indication of capability.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein controlling the power arrangement comprises selectively activating and/or deactivating the one or more antenna elements.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein controlling the power arrangement comprises transmitting a command to one or more voltage regulators to switch on or off power of respective voltage regulator.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein controlling the power arrangement uses an output of a machine learning, ML, model.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein one or more input parameters of the ML model comprises one or more of the following: current state indication; current indication of capability; previous state indication; current indication of capability; location of user equipments; time of day; and radio parameters.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the capability relating to an output power of the user equipment comprises power mode, power class, level of output power, and/or pattern of output power, of the user equipment.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the power arrangement comprises a voltage regulator.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the voltage regulator comprises a point of load converter, and/or an amplifier.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the radio network node comprises the power arrangement or is connected to the power arrangement.

10. (canceled)

11. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, having stored thereon a computer program product comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to: obtain an indication of a capability relating to an output power of the user equipment; obtain a state indication of the user equipment indicating an activity level of the user equipment; and control a power arrangement controlling power provision to the one or more antenna elements, based on the state indication and/or the indication of capability.

12. A radio network node for controlling power provision of one or more antenna elements associated with a user equipment, wherein the radio network node comprises processing circuitry and a memory, said memory comprising instructions executable by said processing circuitry whereby said radio network node is configured to: obtain an indication of a capability relating to an output power of the user equipment; obtain a state indication of the user equipment indicating an activity level of the user equipment; and control a power arrangement controlling power provision to the one or more antenna elements, based on the state indication and/or the indication of the capability.

13. The radio network node according to claim 12, wherein the radio network node is configured to control the power arrangement by selectively activating and/or deactivating the one or more antenna elements.

14. The radio network node according to claim 12, wherein the radio network node is configured to control the power arrangement by transmitting a command to one or more voltage regulators to switch on or off power of respective voltage regulator.

15. The radio network node according to claim 12, wherein the radio network node is configured to use an output of a machine learning, ML, model to control the power arrangement.

16. The radio network node according to claim 15, wherein one or more input parameters of the ML model comprises one or more of the following: current state indication; current indication of capability; previous state indication; current indication of capability; location of user equipments; time of day; and radio parameters.

17. The radio network node according to claim 12, wherein the capability relating to an output power of the user equipment comprises power mode, power class, level of output power, and/or pattern of output power, of the user equipment.

18. The radio network node according to claim 12, wherein the power arrangement comprises a voltage regulator.

19. The radio network node according to claim 18, wherein the voltage regulator comprises a point of load converter, and/or an amplifier.

20. The radio network node according to claim 12, wherein the radio network node comprises the power arrangement or is connected to the power arrangement.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0029] Embodiments will now be described in more detail in relation to the enclosed drawings, in which:

[0030] FIG. 1 shows a schematic overview depicting a wireless communication network according to embodiments herein;

[0031] FIG. 2 shows a schematic combined signaling scheme and flowchart depicting some embodiments herein;

[0032] FIG. 3 shows different configurations of POL converters providing power to one or more antenna elements;

[0033] FIG. 4 is a block diagram depicting a solution according to embodiments herein;

[0034] FIG. 5 is a POL voltage attenuation method according to embodiments herein;

[0035] FIG. 6 shows inputs and outputs from a ML model according to some embodiments herein;

[0036] FIG. 7 shows an example of a neural network that may be used in some embodiments herein;

[0037] FIG. 8 is a flowchart depicting a method performed by a radio network node according to embodiments herein;

[0038] FIG. 9 is a block diagram depicting a radio network node according to embodiments herein;

[0039] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram depicting a telecommunication network connected via an intermediate network to a host computer;

[0040] FIG. 11 is a generalized block diagram of a host computer communicating via a base station with a user equipment over a partially wireless connection; and

[0041] FIGS. 12 to 15 are flowcharts illustrating methods implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] Embodiments herein are described within the context of 3GPP NR radio technology (3GPP TS 38.300 V15.2.0 (2018-06)). It is understood, that the embodiments herein are equally applicable to wireless access networks and UEs implementing other access technologies and standards. NR is used as an example technology in the embodiments herein, and using NR in the description therefore is particularly useful for understanding the problem and solutions solving the problem. In particular, the embodiments herein are applicable also to 3GPP LTE, or 3GPP LTE and NR integration, also denoted as non-standalone NR.

[0043] Embodiments herein relate to wireless communication networks in general. FIG. 1 is a schematic overview depicting a wireless communication network 1. The wireless communication network 1 comprises one or more RANs e.g. a first RAN (RAN1), connected to one or more CNs. The wireless communication network 1 may use one or more technologies, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced, 5G, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Global System for Mobile communications/Enhanced Data rate for GSM Evolution (GSM/EDGE), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), or Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), just to mention a few possible implementations. Embodiments herein relate to recent technology trends that are of particular interest in a 5G context, however, embodiments are applicable also in further development of the existing communication systems such as e.g. 3G and LTE.

[0044] In the wireless communication network 1, wireless devices e.g. a UE 10 such as a mobile station, a non-access point (non-AP) station (STA), a STA, a UE and/or a wireless terminal, are connected via the one or more RANs, to the one or more CNs. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that “UE” is a non-limiting term which means any terminal, wireless communication terminal, communication equipment, Machine Type Communication (MTC) device, Device to Device (D2D) terminal, or user equipment e.g. smart phone, laptop, mobile phone, sensor, relay, mobile tablets or any device communicating within a cell or service area.

[0045] The wireless communication network 1 comprises a radio network node 12. The radio network node 12 is exemplified herein as a first radio network node or a first RAN node providing radio coverage over a geographical area, a first service area 11, of a first radio access technology (RAT), such as NR, LTE, UMTS, Wi-Fi or similar. The radio network node 12 may be a radio access network node such as radio network controller or an access point such as a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point or an Access Point Station (AP STA), an access controller, a base station, e.g. a radio base station such as a NodeB, a gNodeB, an evolved Node B (eNB, eNodeB), a base transceiver station, Access Point Base Station, base station router, a transmission arrangement of a radio base station, a stand-alone access point or any other network unit capable of serving a UE 10 within the service area served by the radio network node 12 depending e.g. on the radio access technology and terminology used and may be denoted as a primary radio network node. The radio network node 12 may alternatively be denoted as a serving radio network node providing a primary cell for the UE 10.

[0046] It should be noted that a service area may be denoted as cell, beam, beam group or similar to define an area of radio coverage.

[0047] According to embodiments herein the radio network node 12 obtains an indication of a capability relating to an output power of the UE 10 and obtains a state indication of the UE indicating an activity level of the UE. The radio network node 12 then controls a power arrangement controlling power provision to a one or more antenna elements, i.e. transmission points such as subarrays of an antenna, based on the state indication and/or the indication of the capability.

[0048] Thus, embodiments presented herein are provided to enable power saving also in a RAT such as the new NR radio, based on e.g. the RRC state, such as UE active, inactive, and idle states, and/or capability relating to an output power such as UE power class. To optimize the usage of network resources and to minimize the usage of UE energy, embodiments herein propose that by using e.g. Machine learning (ML) model, to control e.g. power clipping of voltage converters, energy savings can be achieved. Thus, one may use a ML model to optimize the power to one or more transmission points of the antenna also. Embodiments herein avoid unnecessary power cycle inside e.g. an POL converter and enables energy storage of capacitors located on power circuit board (PCB) brunches to feed the radio network node or radio unit such as antenna elements.

[0049] FIG. 2 is a schematic combined signaling scheme and flowchart depicting embodiments herein.

[0050] Action 201. The radio network node 12 may obtain the indication of the capability of the UE such as power class capabilities of UEs. E.g. power class reported from the UE or received from another network node.

[0051] Action 202. The radio network node 12 may obtain e.g. determine state indication of the UE e.g. via RRC state messages sent or received from the UE.

[0052] Action 203. The radio network node 12 then controls the power arrangement such as a POL converter controlling power provision to one or more antenna elements, based on the state indication and/or the indication of power capability. E.g. the radio network node may perform smart array resource loading by transmitting commands to one or more POL converters to switch on or off power of respective POL converter based on power class and/or RRC state to the UE 10.

[0053] The general idea is to enable a power saving function and method to radio units of, or connected to, the radio network node 12, in order to control e.g. POL converters by using a power clipping arrangement, in direct relation to e.g. variable multiple UE's states conditions and/or multiple UE's power classes in a specific cell. Based on that power levels that are set for e.g. three different RRC states, and the UE specific power classes, the POL converter in one array may controlled e.g. be turned OFF— meaning that the particular array will not be used for transmission or reception of data to/from a UE.

[0054] The value of embodiments herein may increase further when NR units with multiple antenna ports will have even more power converters and smaller POL converters will be located close to the antenna ports see FIGS. 3a-3b. A POL converter may be very small but need to be controlled in a fast and predefined controlled way to enable power savings, based on traffic. In the proposed future radio power architecture for NR, one POL converter may be matched with one TX output.

[0055] By using the information of the indication and the state indication e.g. UE different states and UE power class, and to e.g. send status information of power to a POL converter, the POL converter can enable to use power clipping to enable power saving. In FIGS. 3a and 3b, a typical architecture example can be seen 1:16 relation. Other examples of architecture and relation as 1:1 or 1:4, 1:8 etc. depending on the total radio power unit that are developed. In one embodiment, the operation and RF output power of the UE's in different locations in one cell/cells are synthesized in relation to the different UE active and inactive/idle states.

[0056] In one embodiment the UE maximum RF output power is categorized in relation to the Radio unit in gNB to allow power savings in the radio unit.

[0057] In another embodiment, an ML method may be used to define and predict the different future UE states and power classes located in each cell, to foresee a more predictable control approach for the POL converter power clipping. For instance, the power saving mechanism can be also built based on unsupervised cluster tags which are identified by using the ML models also referred to as artificial intelligence models. Furthermore, for the unsupervised clustering models any relevant end-to-end information can be used as the input such as location of UEs, transmission nodes, radio parameters and more to the ML model and cluster tags may be the output of the unsupervised ML model. The cluster tags may indicate state such as whether the UE is active or inactive or even some sort of semi-inactive semi-idle status may be identified. Based on the identified RRC state of the UE 10 the proposed function will perform smart array resource triggering and thereby optimizing the consumed energy.

[0058] In another embodiment, the power information for each antenna element that is to be used, is sent to the POL converter that power feeds the antenna element, to be able to enable a power clipping, by setting the maximum limit of use of the POL converter. By sending the exact amount of power to be used in the small antenna element, unnecessary power cycle internally may be avoided and instead the energy in the capacitors may be stored in itself, wherein the capacitators are located on the PCB brunches.

[0059] In another embodiment, the received information in for the UE power to be used, enables a calculation of the output capacitor reservoir on the POL converter, that enables or disables a power cycle of the POL converter.

[0060] It is herein assumed that there exists at least one antenna array, with at least one or more antenna elements, and at least one power arrangement such as a POL converter connected to that array see FIG. 4.

[0061] A new component associated with the POL converter is a control element, a logical node that attenuates current (power clipping) for every POL, using as input data UE state and power class of the UE 10. The control element is a logical component and may be part of an RU, BB or antenna, or be distributed among those. For example, the part of the control element probing or obtaining for the state indication may reside in the BB, whereas the part which makes power control decisions and initiates or actuates those decisions on the POLs may reside in the radio unit and/or antenna.

[0062] An example is illustrated in a sequence diagram shown in FIG. 5. It should be noted that while it is possible for the network to directly enquire for the UE power class using UE Capability Enquiry RRC message, the RRC state may be indirectly retrieved via transmission of messages such as [0063] RRCResume from UE to Control Node (RRC_INACTIVE to RRC_CONNECTED state) [0064] RRCRelease (using suspendConfig) from Control Node to UE from RRC_CONNECTED to RRC_INACTIVE state) [0065] RRCRelease (without using suspendConfig) from Control Node to UE from RRC_INACTIVE to RRC_IDLE state)

[0066] More information can be found at [3]. As there can be many scenarios for state transitions that are impractical to fit to the sequence diagram, we put a note of UE state update on it and resort to the explanation above with regards to how the network can identify certain UE states at any given time.

[0067] It should be noted that what FIG. 5 illustrates is a scenario where a machine learning method is used for predicting the state of POL converter for the next X number of steps. It is a non-limiting case, and it is also possible that a simpler rule-based approach can be used as well.

[0068] Thus, one may outline a non-limiting ML method which can be used in order to predict future power class and state of UEs, that can later be used for power clipping at the POL converter. It should be noted that depending on the architecture, a POL converted can feed an array matrix controlling more than one UEs, or a single antenna (in case of future NR/AIR products), which controls a single UE— the description disclosed here can accommodate any of these cases.

[0069] Specifically, a sequence to sequence Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) recurrent neural network (RN N) may be a suitable configuration for this case. The reason for using LSTMs is twofold: [0070] First, our dataset is a time series, meaning that input to the network is sequential rather than simultaneous/concurrent. The Latter for example is typical input for feed-forward convolutional neural network (CNNS) and classical regression problems, but unfit for data that exhibits seasonality and time-dependence. [0071] Second, the choice of LSTM over “vanilla” RRNS is due to the fact that the latter suffer from memory loss (especially long-term memory loss)—so longer-lasting patterns (sequential dependencies of data) will be harder capture with a vanilla RNN. Appendix A gives a brief introduction of vanilla RNN and LSTM.

[0072] In our case, we consider that we have an LST with input a 3-dimensional vector, as shown in FIG. 6a, while the output is a 2-dimensional vector shown in FIG. 6b.

[0073] Specifically, the input of the model is a list of lists of features of timestamped UE data, identifier, state and class of the UE, for every POL in the configuration see FIG. 6a. The output of the model is a maximum utilization rating, e.g. in percentage, for every POL, FIG. 6b. The model is executed every X amount of time (e.g. 5 minutes). The percentage, is an indication of load of the antenna elements fed from POL converter. It give as an indication which POL converter to switch OFF.

[0074] Embodiments herein may be used for doing forecasting is Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs). Such networks are feed-forward in nature but have a temporal dimension to them. A typical representation of an RNN is illustrated in FIG. 7. The RNN consists of an activation layer A, with a set of weights. Given an input X, it uses the weights and activation functions to produce an output h. In every time step weights from previous state pass to the current state, and that's a way for the neural network to keep in memory previous information.

[0075] RNNs suffer from memory issues, meaning that for patterns exhibited over larger amounts of time and data, special RNNs such as Long short term memory (LSTM) can be used—these have special operations in the activation layer to decide what to add to the weights of every state rather than simply copying the weights. In this way, LSTMs can learn dependencies in the longer term.

TABLE-US-00001 PlantUML Source for Sequence Diagram  @startuml  participant UE  participant ControlNode  participant POL  title POL Voltage Attenuation Based on UE State and Power  loop Periodically Retrieve Information about UE Power Class and  State  ControlNode−>UE: UE Capability Inquiry  UE−>ControlNode: ueCapabilityInformation\n\t[ue-  PowerClass[1-4], ...]  note over UE, ControlNode: Update UE State Information\n(See  section 2.1 for an explanation)  end  loop After Tdelta = T(curr) − T(prev)  ControlNode−>ControlNode: Produce Tdelta Input  Data\n\t[list(POLID(UE_ID, list(RRC State, RRC Power Class,  timestamp)))  ControlNode−>ControlNode:Execute Network using Tdelta Input  Data\n\tOutput: list(POL_ID, Utilization)  loop For each POLID  ControlNode−>POL: Vreg according to Utilziation  POL−>ControlNode:ACK  end  end @enduml

[0076] The method actions performed by the radio network node 12 for controlling/managing power provision of one or more antenna elements associated with the UE 10 in the wireless communication network according to embodiments will now be described with reference to a flowchart depicted in FIG. 8. The actions do not have to be taken in the order stated below, but may be taken in any suitable order. Actions performed in some embodiments are marked with dashed boxes.

[0077] Action 801. The radio network node 12 obtains the indication of the capability relating to an output power of the UE 10. E.g. the radio network node 12 may receive capability indication from UE; retrieve it from within the radio network node or be configured with it. The capability relating to an output power of the UE 10 may comprise power mode, power class, level of output power, and/or pattern of output power, of the UE.

[0078] Action 802. The radio network node 12 obtains the state indication of the UE 10 indicating the activity level of the UE. E.g. the radio network node 12 may receive or transmit messages from or for the UE and based on these messages determine state indication of the UE 10.

[0079] Action 803. The radio network node 12 further controls the power arrangement controlling power provision to the one or more antenna elements, based on the state indication and/or the indication of the capability. E.g. the radio network node 12 may control the power arrangement by selectively activating and/or deactivating the one or more antenna elements based on the state indication and/or the indication. E.g. the radio network node 12 may control the power arrangement by transmitting a command to one or more voltage regulators to switch on or off power of respective voltage regulator based on the state indication and/or the indication. Additionally or alternatively, the radio network node 12 may control the power arrangement by using an output of a ML model to control the power arrangement. One or more input parameters of the ML model may comprise one or more of the following: current state indication; current indication of capability; previous state indication; current indication of capability; location of UEs; time of day; and radio parameters. The power arrangement may comprise a voltage regulator e.g. a point of load converter, an amplifier or similar. The radio network node 12 may comprise the power arrangement or may be connected to the power arrangement.

[0080] FIG. 9 is a block diagram depicting the radio network node 12 for controlling power provision of one or more antenna elements associated to a user equipment according to embodiments herein. The radio network node may comprise the power arrangement or may be connected to the power arrangement.

[0081] The radio network node 12 such as a radio base station may comprise processing circuitry 901, e.g. one or more processors, configured to perform the methods herein. Thus, the radio network node 12 comprises processing circuitry and a memory, said memory comprising instructions executable by said processing circuitry whereby said radio network node is configured to perform the methods herein—

[0082] The radio network node 12 may comprise an obtaining unit 902, e.g. a receiver or transceiver. The radio network node 12, the processing circuitry 901 and/or the obtaining unit 902 is configured to obtain the indication of the capability relating to the output power of the user equipment; and the state indication of the user equipment indicating an activity level of the user equipment. The radio network node may be configured to receive indication of the capability of power classes and also the state indication. The capability relating to an output power of the user equipment may comprise power mode, power class, level of output power, and/or pattern of output power, of the user equipment.

[0083] The radio network node 12 may comprise a controlling unit 903, e.g. a transmitter or transceiver. The radio network node 12, the processing circuitry 901 and/or the controlling unit 903 is configured control the power arrangement controlling power provision to the one or more antenna elements, based on the state indication and/or the indication of the capability. The radio network node 12, the processing circuitry 901 and/or the controlling unit 903 may be configured control the power arrangement by selectively activating and/or deactivating the one or more antenna elements; and/or by transmitting the command to one or more voltage regulators to switch on or off power of respective voltage regulator. The radio network node 12, the processing circuitry 901 and/or the controlling unit 903 may be configured control the power arrangement by using the output of the ML model to control the power arrangement. One or more input parameters of the ML model may comprise one or more of the following: current state indication; current indication of capability; previous state indication; current indication of capability; location of user equipments; time of day; and radio parameters. The power arrangement may comprise a voltage regulator. The voltage regulator may comprise a point of load converter, an amplifier or similar.

[0084] The radio network node 12 further comprises a memory 904. The memory comprises one or more units to be used to store data on, such as indications, type of data traffic, applications to perform the methods disclosed herein when being executed, and similar. Thus, the radio network node 12 may comprise the processing circuitry and the memory, said memory comprising instructions executable by said processing circuitry whereby said radio network node is operative to perform the methods herein. The radio network node 12 may comprise a communication interface comprising a transmitter, a receiver, a transceiver and/or one or more antennas.

[0085] The methods according to the embodiments described herein for the radio network node 12 are respectively implemented by means of e.g. a computer program product 905 or a computer program, comprising instructions, i.e., software code portions, which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the radio network node 12. The computer program product 905 may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium 906, e.g. a disc, a universal serial bus (USB) stick, or similar. The computer-readable storage medium 906, having stored thereon the computer program product 905, may comprise the instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the radio network node 12. In some embodiments, the computer-readable storage medium may be a non-transitory or a transitory computer-readable storage medium.

[0086] As will be readily understood by those familiar with communications design, that functions means or modules may be implemented using digital logic and/or one or more microcontrollers, microprocessors, or other digital hardware. In some embodiments, several or all of the various functions may be implemented together, such as in a single application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or in two or more separate devices with appropriate hardware and/or software interfaces between them. Several of the functions may be implemented on a processor shared with other functional components of a radio network node, for example.

[0087] Alternatively, several of the functional elements of the processing means discussed may be provided through the use of dedicated hardware, while others are provided with hardware for executing software, in association with the appropriate software or firmware. Thus, the term “processor” or “controller” as used herein does not exclusively refer to hardware capable of executing software and may implicitly include, without limitation, digital signal processor (DSP) hardware, read-only memory (ROM) for storing software, random-access memory for storing software and/or program or application data, and non-volatile memory. Other hardware, conventional and/or custom, may also be included. Designers of radio network nodes will appreciate the cost, performance, and maintenance trade-offs inherent in these design choices.

[0088] With reference to FIG. 10, in accordance with an embodiment, a communication system includes a telecommunication network 3210, such as a 3GPP-type cellular network, which comprises an access network 3211, such as a radio access network, and a core network 3214. The access network 3211 comprises a plurality of base stations 3212a, 3212b, 3212c, such as NBs, eNBs, gNBs or other types of wireless access points being examples of the radio network nodes herein, each defining a corresponding coverage area 3213a, 3213b, 3213c. Each base station 3212a, 3212b, 3212c is connectable to the core network 3214 over a wired or wireless connection 3215. A first user equipment (UE) 3291, being an example of the wireless device 10, located in coverage area 3213c is configured to wirelessly connect to, or be paged by, the corresponding base station 3212c. A second UE 3292 in coverage area 3213a is wirelessly connectable to the corresponding base station 3212a. While a plurality of UEs 3291, 3292 are illustrated in this example, the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable to a situation where a sole UE is in the coverage area or where a sole UE is connecting to the corresponding base station 3212.

[0089] The telecommunication network 3210 is itself connected to a host computer 3230, which may be embodied in the hardware and/or software of a standalone server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server or as processing resources in a server farm. The host computer 3230 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider, or may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The connections 3221, 3222 between the telecommunication network 3210 and the host computer 3230 may extend directly from the core network 3214 to the host computer 3230 or may go via an optional intermediate network 3220. The intermediate network 3220 may be one of, or a combination of more than one of, a public, private or hosted network; the intermediate network 3220, if any, may be a backbone network or the Internet; in particular, the intermediate network 3220 may comprise two or more sub-networks (not shown).

[0090] The communication system of FIG. 10 as a whole enables connectivity between one of the connected UEs 3291, 3292 and the host computer 3230. The connectivity may be described as an over-the-top (OTT) connection 3250. The host computer 3230 and the connected UEs 3291, 3292 are configured to communicate data and/or signaling via the OTT connection 3250, using the access network 3211, the core network 3214, any intermediate network 3220 and possible further infrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries. The OTT connection 3250 may be transparent in the sense that the participating communication devices through which the OTT connection 3250 passes are unaware of routing of uplink and downlink communications. For example, a base station 3212 may not or need not be informed about the past routing of an incoming downlink communication with data originating from a host computer 3230 to be forwarded (e.g., handed over) to a connected UE 3291. Similarly, the base station 3212 need not be aware of the future routing of an outgoing uplink communication originating from the UE 3291 towards the host computer 3230.

[0091] Example implementations, in accordance with an embodiment, of the UE, base station and host computer discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to FIG. 11. In a communication system 3300, a host computer 3310 comprises hardware 3315 including a communication interface 3316 configured to set up and maintain a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of the communication system 3300. The host computer 3310 further comprises processing circuitry 3318, which may have storage and/or processing capabilities. In particular, the processing circuitry 3318 may comprise one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. The host computer 3310 further comprises software 3311, which is stored in or accessible by the host computer 3310 and executable by the processing circuitry 3318. The software 3311 includes a host application 3312. The host application 3312 may be operable to provide a service to a remote user, such as a UE 3330 connecting via an OTT connection 3350 terminating at the UE 3330 and the host computer 3310. In providing the service to the remote user, the host application 3312 may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 3350.

[0092] The communication system 3300 further includes a base station 3320 provided in a telecommunication system and comprising hardware 3325 enabling it to communicate with the host computer 3310 and with the UE 3330. The hardware 3325 may include a communication interface 3326 for setting up and maintaining a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of the communication system 3300, as well as a radio interface 3327 for setting up and maintaining at least a wireless connection 3370 with a UE 3330 located in a coverage area (not shown in FIG. 11) served by the base station 3320. The communication interface 3326 may be configured to facilitate a connection 3360 to the host computer 3310. The connection 3360 may be direct or it may pass through a core network (not shown in FIG. 11) of the telecommunication system and/or through one or more intermediate networks outside the telecommunication system. In the embodiment shown, the hardware 3325 of the base station 3320 further includes processing circuitry 3328, which may comprise one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. The base station 3320 further has software 3321 stored internally or accessible via an external connection.

[0093] The communication system 3300 further includes the UE 3330 already referred to. Its hardware 3335 may include a radio interface 3337 configured to set up and maintain a wireless connection 3370 with a base station serving a coverage area in which the UE 3330 is currently located. The hardware 3335 of the UE 3330 further includes processing circuitry 3338, which may comprise one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. The UE 3330 further comprises software 3331, which is stored in or accessible by the UE 3330 and executable by the processing circuitry 3338. The software 3331 includes a client application 3332. The client application 3332 may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via the UE 3330, with the support of the host computer 3310. In the host computer 3310, an executing host application 3312 may communicate with the executing client application 3332 via the OTT connection 3350 terminating at the UE 3330 and the host computer 3310. In providing the service to the user, the client application 3332 may receive request data from the host application 3312 and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 3350 may transfer both the request data and the user data. The client application 3332 may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides.

[0094] It is noted that the host computer 3310, base station 3320 and UE 3330 illustrated in FIG. 11 may be identical to the host computer 3230, one of the base stations 3212a, 3212b, 3212c and one of the UEs 3291, 3292 of FIG. 10, respectively. This is to say, the inner workings of these entities may be as shown in FIG. 11 and independently, the surrounding network topology may be that of FIG. 10.

[0095] In FIG. 11, the OTT connection 3350 has been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host computer 3310 and the user equipment 3330 via the base station 3320, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices. Network infrastructure may determine the routing, which it may be configured to hide from the UE 3330 or from the service provider operating the host computer 3310, or both. While the OTT connection 3350 is active, the network infrastructure may further take decisions by which it dynamically changes the routing (e.g., on the basis of load balancing consideration or reconfiguration of the network).

[0096] The wireless connection 3370 between the UE 3330 and the base station 3320 is in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 3330 using the OTT connection 3350, in which the wireless connection 3370 forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments controlling the power provision may improve energy consumption on e.g. the radio network node and thereby provide benefits such as energy efficient, and also a more efficient usage of resources.

[0097] A measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve. There may further be an optional network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 3350 between the host computer 3310 and UE 3330, in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and/or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 3350 may be implemented in the software 3311 of the host computer 3310 or in the software 3331 of the UE 3330, or both. In embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with communication devices through which the OTT connection 3350 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or supplying values of other physical quantities from which software 3311, 3331 may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of the OTT connection 3350 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not affect the base station 3320, and it may be unknown or imperceptible to the base station 3320. Such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling facilitating the host computer's 3310 measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency and the like. The measurements may be implemented in that the software 3311, 3331 causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTT connection 3350 while it monitors propagation times, errors etc.

[0098] FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system, in accordance with one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE which may be those described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to FIG. 12 will be included in this section. In a first step 3410 of the method, the host computer provides user data. In an optional substep 3411 of the first step 3410, the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In a second step 3420, the host computer initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the UE. In an optional third step 3430, the base station transmits to the UE the user data which was carried in the transmission that the host computer initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In an optional fourth step 3440, the UE executes a client application associated with the host application executed by the host computer.

[0099] FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system, in accordance with one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE which may be those described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to FIG. 13 will be included in this section. In a first step 3510 of the method, the host computer provides user data. In an optional substep (not shown) the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In a second step 3520, the host computer initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the UE. The transmission may pass via the base station, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In an optional third step 3530, the UE receives the user data carried in the transmission.

[0100] FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system, in accordance with one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE which may be those described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to FIG. 14 will be included in this section. In an optional first step 3610 of the method, the UE receives input data provided by the host computer. Additionally or alternatively, in an optional second step 3620, the UE provides user data. In an optional substep 3621 of the second step 3620, the UE provides the user data by executing a client application. In a further optional substep 3611 of the first step 3610, the UE executes a client application which provides the user data in reaction to the received input data provided by the host computer. In providing the user data, the executed client application may further consider user input received from the user. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided, the UE initiates, in an optional third substep 3630, transmission of the user data to the host computer. In a fourth step 3640 of the method, the host computer receives the user data transmitted from the UE, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure.

[0101] FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system, in accordance with one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE which may be those described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to FIG. 15 will be included in this section. In an optional first step 3710 of the method, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the base station receives user data from the UE. In an optional second step 3720, the base station initiates transmission of the received user data to the host computer. In a third step 3730, the host computer receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the base station.

[0102] It will be appreciated that the foregoing description and the accompanying drawings represent non-limiting examples of the methods and apparatus taught herein. As such, the apparatus and techniques taught herein are not limited by the foregoing description and accompanying drawings. Instead, the embodiments herein are limited only by the following claims and their legal equivalents.