WO2021258379A1

WO2021258379A1 - Component carrier combination

Info

Publication number: WO2021258379A1
Application number: PCT/CN2020/098295
Authority: WO
Inventors: Luanxia YANG; Changlong Xu; Jing Sun; Xiaoxia Zhang; Hao Xu
Original assignee: Qualcomm Incorporated
Priority date: 2020-06-25
Filing date: 2020-06-25
Publication date: 2021-12-30

Abstract

Various aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communication. In some aspects, a user equipment may determine that a primary component carrier (PCC) and one or more secondary component carriers (SCCs) are to be used as a single band for communication with a base station, and communicate with the base station using the PCC and the one or more SCCs as the single band. Numerous other aspects are provided.

Description

COMPONENT CARRIER COMBINATION

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communication and to techniques and apparatuses for component carrier combination.

BACKGROUND

Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, and broadcasts. Typical wireless communication systems may employ multiple-access technologies capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmit power, and/or the like) . Examples of such multiple-access technologies include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency-division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, single-carrier frequency-division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems, and Long Term Evolution (LTE) . LTE/LTE-Advanced is a set of enhancements to the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) mobile standard promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) .

A wireless network may include a number of base stations (BSs) that can support communication for a number of user equipment (UEs) . A user equipment (UE) may communicate with a base station (BS) via the downlink and uplink. The downlink (or forward link) refers to the communication link from the BS to the UE, and the uplink (or reverse link) refers to the communication link from the UE to the BS. As will be described in more detail herein, a BS may be referred to as a Node B, a gNB, an access point (AP) , a radio head, a transmit receive point (TRP) , a New Radio (NR) BS, a 5G Node B, and/or the like.

The above multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enables different user equipment to communicate on a municipal, national, regional, and even global level. New Radio (NR) , which may also be referred to as 5G, is a set of enhancements to the LTE mobile standard promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) . NR is designed to better support mobile broadband Internet access by improving spectral efficiency, lowering costs, improving services, making use of new spectrum, and better integrating with other open standards using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) with a cyclic prefix (CP) (CP-OFDM) on the downlink (DL) , using CP-OFDM and/or SC-FDM (e.g., also known as discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) ) on the uplink (UL) , as well as supporting beamforming, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology, and carrier aggregation. As the demand for mobile broadband access continues to increase, further improvements in LTE, NR, and other radio access technologies remain useful.

SUMMARY

In some aspects, a method of wireless communication, performed by a user equipment (UE) , may include determining that a primary component carrier (PCC) and one or more secondary component carriers (SCCs) are to be used as a single band for communication with a base station; and communicating with the base station using the PCC and the one or more SCCs as the single band.

In some aspects, a method of wireless communication, performed by a base station, may include determining that a PCC and one or more SCCs are to be used as a single band for communication with a UE; and communicating with the UE using the PCC and the one or more SCCs as the single band.

In some aspects, a non-transitory computer-readable medium may store one or more instructions for wireless communication. The one or more instructions, when executed by one or more processors of a UE, may cause the one or more processors to determine that a PCC and one or more SCCs are to be used as a single band for communication with a base station; and communicate with the base station using the PCC and the one or more SCCs as the single band.

In some aspects, a non-transitory computer-readable medium may store one or more instructions for wireless communication. The one or more instructions, when executed by one or more processors of a base station, may cause the one or more processors to determine that a PCC and one or more SCCs are to be used as a single band for communication with a UE; and communicate with the UE using the PCC and the one or more SCCs as the single band.

In some aspects, a UE for wireless communication may include a memory and one or more processors operatively coupled to the memory. The memory and the one or more processors may be configured to determine that a PCC and one or more SCCs are to be used as a single band for communication with a base station; and communicate with the base station using the PCC and the one or more SCCs as the single band.

In some aspects, a base station for wireless communication may include a memory and one or more processors operatively coupled to the memory. The memory and the one or more processors may be configured to determine that a PCC and one or more SCCs are to be used as a single band for communication with a UE; and communicate with the UE using the PCC and the one or more SCCs as the single band.

In some aspects, an apparatus for wireless communication may include means for determining that a PCC and one or more SCCs are to be used as a single band for communication with a base station; and means for communicating with the base station using the PCC and the one or more SCCs as the single band.

In some aspects, an apparatus for wireless communication may include means for determining that a PCC and one or more SCCs are to be used as a single band for communication with a UE; and means for communicating with the UE using the PCC and the one or more SCCs as the single band.

Aspects generally include a method, apparatus, system, computer program product, non-transitory computer-readable medium, user equipment, base station, wireless communication device, and/or processing system as substantially described herein with reference to and as illustrated by the drawings and specification.

The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of examples according to the disclosure in order that the detailed description that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages will be described hereinafter. The conception and specific examples disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present disclosure. Such equivalent constructions do not depart from the scope of the appended claims. Characteristics of the concepts disclosed herein, both their organization and method of operation, together with associated advantages will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying figures. Each of the figures is provided for the purposes of illustration and description, and not as a definition of the limits of the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

So that the above-recited features of the present disclosure can be understood in detail, a more particular description, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to aspects, some of which are illustrated in the appended drawings. It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only certain typical aspects of this disclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the description may admit to other equally effective aspects. The same reference numbers in different drawings may identify the same or similar elements.

Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless network, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a base station in communication with a UE in a wireless network, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 is a diagram illustrating examples of carrier aggregation, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure

Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example associated with component carrier combination, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

Figs. 5 and 6 are diagrams illustrating example processes associated with component carrier combination, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various aspects of the disclosure are described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. This disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to any specific structure or function presented throughout this disclosure. Rather, these aspects are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. Based on the teachings herein, one skilled in the art should appreciate that the scope of the disclosure is intended to cover any aspect of the disclosure disclosed herein, whether implemented independently of or combined with any other aspect of the disclosure. For example, an apparatus may be implemented or a method may be practiced using any number of the aspects set forth herein. In addition, the scope of the disclosure is intended to cover such an apparatus or method which is practiced using other structure, functionality, or structure and functionality in addition to or other than the various aspects of the disclosure set forth herein. It should be understood that any aspect of the disclosure disclosed herein may be embodied by one or more elements of a claim.

Several aspects of telecommunication systems will now be presented with reference to various apparatuses and techniques. These apparatuses and techniques will be described in the following detailed description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, modules, components, circuits, steps, processes, algorithms, and/or the like (collectively referred to as “elements” ) . These elements may be implemented using hardware, software, or combinations thereof. Whether such elements are implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system.

It should be noted that while aspects may be described herein using terminology commonly associated with a 5G or NR radio access technology (RAT) , aspects of the present disclosure can be applied to other RATs, such as a 3G RAT, a 4G RAT, and/or a RAT subsequent to 5G (e.g., 6G) .

Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless network 100, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. The wireless network 100 may be or may include elements of a 5G (NR) network, an LTE network, and/or the like. The wireless network 100 may include a number of base stations 110 (shown as BS 110a, BS 110b, BS 110c, and BS 110d) and other network entities. A base station (BS) is an entity that communicates with user equipment (UEs) and may also be referred to as an NR BS, a Node B, a gNB, a 5G node B (NB) , an access point, a transmit receive point (TRP) , and/or the like. Each BS may provide communication coverage for a particular geographic area. In 3GPP, the term “cell” can refer to a coverage area of a BS and/or a BS subsystem serving this coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used.

A BS may provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a pico cell, a femto cell, and/or another type of cell. A macro cell may cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscription. A pico cell may cover a relatively small geographic area and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscription. A femto cell may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a home) and may allow restricted access by UEs having association with the femto cell (e.g., UEs in a closed subscriber group (CSG) ) . A BS for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro BS. A BS for a pico cell may be referred to as a pico BS. A BS for a femto cell may be referred to as a femto BS or a home BS. In the example shown in Fig. 1, a BS 110a may be a macro BS for a macro cell 102a, a BS 110b may be a pico BS for a pico cell 102b, and a BS 110c may be a femto BS for a femto cell 102c. A BS may support one or multiple (e.g., three) cells. The terms “eNB” , “base station” , “NR BS” , “gNB” , “TRP” , “AP” , “node B” , “5G NB” , and “cell” may be used interchangeably herein.

In some aspects, a cell may not necessarily be stationary, and the geographic area of the cell may move according to the location of a mobile BS. In some aspects, the BSs may be interconnected to one another and/or to one or more other BSs or network nodes (not shown) in the wireless network 100 through various types of backhaul interfaces such as a direct physical connection, a virtual network, and/or the like using any suitable transport network.

Wireless network 100 may also include relay stations. A relay station is an entity that can receive a transmission of data from an upstream station (e.g., a BS or a UE) and send a transmission of the data to a downstream station (e.g., a UE or a BS) . A relay station may also be a UE that can relay transmissions for other UEs. In the example shown in Fig. 1, a relay BS 110d may communicate with macro BS 110a and a UE 120d in order to facilitate communication between BS 110a and UE 120d. A relay BS may also be referred to as a relay station, a relay base station, a relay, and/or the like.

Wireless network 100 may be a heterogeneous network that includes BSs of different types, e.g., macro BSs, pico BSs, femto BSs, relay BSs, and/or the like. These different types of BSs may have different transmit power levels, different coverage areas, and different impacts on interference in wireless network 100. For example, macro BSs may have a high transmit power level (e.g., 5 to 40 watts) whereas pico BSs, femto BSs, and relay BSs may have lower transmit power levels (e.g., 0.1 to 2 watts) .

A network controller 130 may couple to a set of BSs and may provide coordination and control for these BSs. Network controller 130 may communicate with the BSs via a backhaul. The BSs may also communicate with one another, e.g., directly or indirectly via a wireless or wireline backhaul.

UEs 120 (e.g., 120a, 120b, 120c) may be dispersed throughout wireless network 100, and each UE may be stationary or mobile. A UE may also be referred to as an access terminal, a terminal, a mobile station, a subscriber unit, a station, and/or the like. A UE may be a cellular phone (e.g., a smart phone) , a personal digital assistant (PDA) , a wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a tablet, a camera, a gaming device, a netbook, a smartbook, an ultrabook, a medical device or equipment, biometric sensors/devices, wearable devices (smart watches, smart clothing, smart glasses, smart wrist bands, smart jewelry (e.g., smart ring, smart bracelet) ) , an entertainment device (e.g., a music or video device, or a satellite radio) , a vehicular component or sensor, smart meters/sensors, industrial manufacturing equipment, a global positioning system device, or any other suitable device that is configured to communicate via a wireless or wired medium.

Some UEs may be considered machine-type communication (MTC) or evolved or enhanced machine-type communication (eMTC) UEs. MTC and eMTC UEs include, for example, robots, drones, remote devices, sensors, meters, monitors, location tags, and/or the like, that may communicate with a base station, another device (e.g., remote device) , or some other entity. A wireless node may provide, for example, connectivity for or to a network (e.g., a wide area network such as Internet or a cellular network) via a wired or wireless communication link. Some UEs may be considered Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices, and/or may be implemented as NB-IoT (narrowband internet of things) devices. Some UEs may be considered a Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) . UE 120 may be included inside a housing that houses components of UE 120, such as processor components, memory components, and/or the like. In some aspects, the processor components and the memory components may be coupled together. For example, the processor components (e.g., one or more processors) and the memory components (e.g., a memory) may be operatively coupled, communicatively coupled, electronically coupled, electrically coupled, and/or the like.

In general, any number of wireless networks may be deployed in a given geographic area. Each wireless network may support a particular RAT and may operate on one or more frequencies. A RAT may also be referred to as a radio technology, an air interface, and/or the like. A frequency may also be referred to as a carrier, a frequency channel, and/or the like. Each frequency may support a single RAT in a given geographic area in order to avoid interference between wireless networks of different RATs. In some cases, NR or 5G RAT networks may be deployed.

In some aspects, two or more UEs 120 (e.g., shown as UE 120a and UE 120e) may communicate directly using one or more sidelink channels (e.g., without using a base station 110 as an intermediary to communicate with one another) . For example, the UEs 120 may communicate using peer-to-peer (P2P) communications, device-to-device (D2D) communications, a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) protocol (e.g., which may include a vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) protocol, a vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) protocol, and/or the like) , a mesh network, and/or the like. In this case, the UE 120 may perform scheduling operations, resource selection operations, and/or other operations described elsewhere herein as being performed by the base station 110.

Devices of wireless network 100 may communicate using the electromagnetic spectrum, which may be subdivided based on frequency or wavelength into various classes, bands, channels, and/or the like. For example, devices of wireless network 100 may communicate using an operating band having a first frequency range (FR1) , which may span from 410 MHz to 7.125 GHz, and/or may communicate using an operating band having a second frequency range (FR2) , which may span from 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz. The frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are sometimes referred to as mid-band frequencies. Although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6 GHz, FR1 is often referred to as a “sub-6 GHz” band. Similarly, FR2 is often referred to as a “millimeter wave” band despite being different from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz –300 GHz) which is identified by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) as a “millimeter wave” band. Thus, unless specifically stated otherwise, it should be understood that the term “sub-6 GHz” or the like, if used herein, may broadly represent frequencies less than 6 GHz, frequencies within FR1, and/or mid-band frequencies (e.g., greater than 7.125 GHz) . Similarly, unless specifically stated otherwise, it should be understood that the term “millimeter wave” or the like, if used herein, may broadly represent frequencies within the EHF band, frequencies within FR2, and/or mid-band frequencies (e.g., less than 24.25 GHz) . It is contemplated that the frequencies included in FR1 and FR2 may be modified, and techniques described herein are applicable to those modified frequency ranges.

As indicated above, Fig. 1 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard to Fig. 1.

Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example 200 of a base station 110 in communication with a UE 120 in a wireless network 100, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. Base station 110 may be equipped with T antennas 234a through 234t, and UE 120 may be equipped with R antennas 252a through 252r, where in general T ≥ 1 and R ≥ 1.

At base station 110, a transmit processor 220 may receive data from a data source 212 for one or more UEs, select one or more modulation and coding schemes (MCS) for each UE based at least in part on channel quality indicators (CQIs) received from the UE, process (e.g., encode and modulate) the data for each UE based at least in part on the MCS (s) selected for the UE, and provide data symbols for all UEs. Transmit processor 220 may also process system information (e.g., for semi-static resource partitioning information (SRPI) and/or the like) and control information (e.g., CQI requests, grants, upper layer signaling, and/or the like) and provide overhead symbols and control symbols. Transmit processor 220 may also generate reference symbols for reference signals (e.g., a cell-specific reference signal (CRS) , a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) , and/or the like) and synchronization signals (e.g., the primary synchronization signal (PSS) and secondary synchronization signal (SSS) ) . A transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor 230 may perform spatial processing (e.g., precoding) on the data symbols, the control symbols, the overhead symbols, and/or the reference symbols, if applicable, and may provide T output symbol streams to T modulators (MODs) 232a through 232t. Each modulator 232 may process a respective output symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM and/or the like) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modulator 232 may further process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and upconvert) the output sample stream to obtain a downlink signal. T downlink signals from modulators 232a through 232t may be transmitted via T antennas 234a through 234t, respectively.

At UE 120, antennas 252a through 252r may receive the downlink signals from base station 110 and/or other base stations and may provide received signals to demodulators (DEMODs) 254a through 254r, respectively. Each demodulator 254 may condition (e.g., filter, amplify, downconvert, and digitize) a received signal to obtain input samples. Each demodulator 254 may further process the input samples (e.g., for OFDM and/or the like) to obtain received symbols. A MIMO detector 256 may obtain received symbols from all R demodulators 254a through 254r, perform MIMO detection on the received symbols if applicable, and provide detected symbols. A receive processor 258 may process (e.g., demodulate and decode) the detected symbols, provide decoded data for UE 120 to a data sink 260, and provide decoded control information and system information to a controller/processor 280. The term "controller/processor" may refer to one or more controllers, one or more processors, or a combination thereof. A channel processor may determine reference signal received power (RSRP) , received signal strength indicator (RSSI) , reference signal received quality (RSRQ) , channel quality indicator (CQI) , and/or the like. In some aspects, one or more components of UE 120 may be included in a housing 284.

Network controller 130 may include communication unit 294, controller/processor 290, and memory 292. Network controller 130 may include, for example, one or more devices in a core network. Network controller 130 may communicate with base station 110 via communication unit 294.

On the uplink, at UE 120, a transmit processor 264 may receive and process data from a data source 262 and control information (e.g., for reports that include RSRP, RSSI, RSRQ, CQI, and/or the like) from controller/processor 280. Transmit processor 264 may also generate reference symbols for one or more reference signals. The symbols from transmit processor 264 may be precoded by a TX MIMO processor 266 if applicable, further processed by modulators 254a through 254r (e.g., for DFT-s-OFDM, CP-OFDM, and/or the like) , and transmitted to base station 110. In some aspects, the UE 120 includes a transceiver. The transceiver may include any combination of antenna (s) 252, modulators and/or demodulators 254, MIMO detector 256, receive processor 258, transmit processor 264, and/or TX MIMO processor 266. The transceiver may be used by a processor (e.g., controller/processor 280) and memory 282 to perform aspects of any of the methods described herein, for example, as described with reference to Figs. 4-6.

At base station 110, the uplink signals from UE 120 and other UEs may be received by antennas 234, processed by demodulators 232, detected by a MIMO detector 236 if applicable, and further processed by a receive processor 238 to obtain decoded data and control information sent by UE 120. Receive processor 238 may provide the decoded data to a data sink 239 and the decoded control information to controller/processor 240. Base station 110 may include communication unit 244 and communicate to network controller 130 via communication unit 244. Base station 110 may include a scheduler 246 to schedule UEs 120 for downlink and/or uplink communications. In some aspects, the base station 110 includes a transceiver. The transceiver may include any combination of antenna (s) 234, modulators and/or demodulators 232, MIMO detector 236, receive processor 238, transmit processor 220, and/or TX MIMO processor 230. The transceiver may be used by a processor (e.g., controller/processor 240) and memory 242 to perform aspects of any of the methods described herein, for example, as described with reference to Figs. 4-6.

Controller/processor 240 of base station 110, controller/processor 280 of UE 120, and/or any other component (s) of Fig. 2 may perform one or more techniques associated with component carrier combination, as described in more detail elsewhere herein. For example, controller/processor 240 of base station 110, controller/processor 280 of UE 120, and/or any other component (s) of Fig. 2 may perform or direct operations of, for example, process 500 of Fig. 5, process 600 of Fig. 6, and/or other processes as described herein.

Memories

242 and 282 may store data and program codes for base station 110 and UE 120, respectively. In some aspects, memory 242 and/or memory 282 may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing one or more instructions (e.g., code, program code, and/or the like) for wireless communication. For example, the one or more instructions, when executed (e.g., directly, or after compiling, converting, interpreting, and/or the like) by one or more processors of the base station 110 and/or the UE 120, may cause the one or more processors, the UE 120, and/or the base station 110 to perform or direct operations of, for example, process 500 of Fig. 5, process 600 of Fig. 6, and/or other processes as described herein. In some aspects, executing instructions may include running the instructions, converting the instructions, compiling the instructions, interpreting the instructions, and/or the like.

In some aspects, UE 120 may include means for determining that a PCC and one or more SCCs are to be used as a single band for communication with a base station, means for communicating with the base station using the PCC and the one or more SCCs as the single band, and/or the like. In some aspects, such means may include one or more components of UE 120 described in connection with Fig. 2, such as controller/processor 280, transmit processor 264, TX MIMO processor 266, MOD 254, antenna 252, DEMOD 254, MIMO detector 256, receive processor 258, and/or the like.

In some aspects, base station 110 may include means for determining that a PCC and one or more SCCs are to be used as a single band for communication with a UE, means for communicating with the UE using the PCC and the one or more SCCs as the single band, and/or the like. In some aspects, such means may include one or more components of base station 110 described in connection with Fig. 2, such as antenna 234, DEMOD 232, MIMO detector 236, receive processor 238, controller/processor 240, transmit processor 220, TX MIMO processor 230, MOD 232, antenna 234, and/or the like.

While blocks in Fig. 2 are illustrated as distinct components, the functions described above with respect to the blocks may be implemented in a single hardware, software, or combination component or in various combinations of components. For example, the functions described with respect to the transmit processor 264, the receive processor 258, and/or the TX MIMO processor 266 may be performed by or under the control of controller/processor 280.

As indicated above, Fig. 2 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard to Fig. 2.

Fig. 3 is a diagram illustrating examples 300 of carrier aggregation, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

Carrier aggregation is a technology that enables two or more component carriers (CCs, sometimes referred to as carriers) to be combined (e.g., into a single channel) for a single UE 120 to enhance data capacity. As shown, carriers can be combined in the same frequency band or different frequency bands. Additionally, or alternatively, contiguous or non-contiguous carriers can be combined. A base station 110 may configure carrier aggregation for a UE 120, such as in a radio resource control (RRC) message, downlink control information (DCI) , and/or the like.

As shown by reference number 305, in some aspects, carrier aggregation may be configured in an intra-band contiguous mode where the aggregated carriers are contiguous to one another and are in the same band. As shown by reference number 310, in some aspects, carrier aggregation may be configured in an intra-band non-contiguous mode where the aggregated carriers are non-contiguous to one another and are in the same band. As shown by reference number 315, in some aspects, carrier aggregation may be configured in an inter-band non-contiguous mode where the aggregated carriers are non-contiguous to one another and are in different bands.

As indicated above, Fig. 3 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard to Fig. 3.

NR is designed to operate over a wide array of spectrum bands, such as, from low-frequency bands below approximately 1 gigahertz (GHz) and mid-frequency bands from approximately 1 GHz to approximately 6 GHz, to high-frequency bands such as millimeter wave (mmWave or mmW) bands. NR is also designed to operate across different spectrum types, from licensed spectrum to unlicensed and shared spectrum. The operations or deployments of NR in an unlicensed spectrum are referred to as NR-U. Wideband operations have been considered in NR-U where the system bandwidth may be partitioned into multiple subbands. In particular, the system bandwidth may be approximately 80 megahertz (MHz) and may be partitioned into four 20 MHz subbands.

NR-U may support communications in a 6 GHz band, and different transmission powers may be specified for devices operating in the 6 GHz band. A standard-power access point (e.g., controlled by an automatic frequency coordination (AFC) function or device) , and/or a client device (e.g., a UE) connected to a standard-power access point (e.g., a base station) , may operate in a 5.925 to 6.425 GHz band or a 6.525 to 6.875 GHz band. A standard-power access point may use a maximum effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) of 36 decibel-milliwatts (dBm) and a maximum EIRP power spectral density (PSD) of 23 dBm/MHz. A client device connected to a standard-power access point may use a maximum EIRP of 36 dBm and a maximum EIRP PSD of 17 dBm/MHz. A low-power access point (e.g., for indoor use only) , and/or a client device (e.g., a UE) connected to a low-power access point (e.g., a base station) , may operate in a 5.925 to 6.425 GHz band, a 6.425 to 6.525 GHz band, a 6.525 to 6.875 GHz band, or a 6.875 to 7.125 GHz band. A low-power access point may use a maximum EIRP of 30 dBm and a maximum EIRP PSD of 5 dBm/MHz. A client device connected to a low-power access point may use a maximum EIRP of 24 dBm and a maximum EIRP PSD of -1 dBm/MHz. A very low power device may operate in a 5.925 to 6.425 GHz band, a 6.425 to 6.525 GHz band, a 6.525 to 6.875 GHz band, or a 6.875 to 7.125 GHz band. A very low power device may use a maximum EIRP of approximately 4 dBm to 14 dBm (e.g., in a 160 MHz channel) and a maximum EIRP PSD of approximately -18 dBm/MHz to -8 dBm/MHz. As described above, a client device (e.g., a UE) operating under the control of an access point (e.g., a base station operating in the standard-power mode or a base station operating in the low-power mode) may use a transmit power that is 6 dB lower than the maximum transmit power (e.g., according to a maximum EIRP or PSD) used by the access point.

A base station operating in a standard-power mode may communicate with an AFC device or function to determine a maximum EIRP and/or PSD. A base station may operate in a low-power indoor mode without communicating with an AFC device or function. A UE operating under the control of the base station operating in the low-power indoor mode, as well as the base station, may use a contention-based protocol for communications using the NR-U spectrum. A device operating in a very low power mode may be for indoor or outdoor use, and may operate across the entirety of the 6 GHz band without communicating with an AFC device or function. However, a device operating in a very low power mode may use only a limited transmission power (e.g., according to a maximum EIRP or PSD) , as described above.

In some cases, EIRP and/or PSD limitations for devices operating in the NR-U 6 GHz band may be substantially lower than devices operating in an NR-U 5 GHz band. In particular, a UE operating in the 6 GHz band may use a transmit power that is 11 dB lower than a UE operating in the 5 GHz band, and a base station operating in the 6 GHz band may use a transmit power that is 5 dB lower than a base station operating in the 5 GHz band. Accordingly, a link budget for communications in the 6 GHz band is reduced relative to a link budget for communications in the 5 GHz band, and uplink communications may be relatively weaker than downlink communications. Accordingly, a UE or a base station operating in an NR-U 6 GHz band may use a relatively weak transmission power, thereby affecting a performance of uplink and downlink communications.

Some techniques and apparatuses described herein increase a bandwidth for communications in an NR-U spectrum. By increasing the bandwidth for the communications, signals may be transmitted with greater power. In particular, communications using 320 MHz in the 6 GHz band may achieve peak transmission power. In some aspects, a primary component carrier (PCC) and one or more secondary component carriers (SCCs) , used for carrier aggregation, may be used as a single band, to thereby increase the bandwidth for communications. In NR-U, a maximum bandwidth per CC may be 80 MHz (relative to a maximum bandwidth per CC in NR FR1 of 100 MHz) . Thus, four CCs, of 80 MHz, may be used as a single band of 320 MHz, thereby increasing transmission power and improving a performance of uplink and downlink communications in the NR-U 6 GHz band.

Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example 400 associated with component carrier combination, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 4, example 400 includes a base station 110 and a UE 120. In some aspects, the base station 110 and the UE 120 may operate in a low-power indoor mode. That is, the UE 120 may be connected to the base station 110, which operates in a low-power indoor mode. In some aspects, the base station 110 and the UE 120 may be operating in an NR-U spectrum. In some aspects, the base station 110 and the UE 120 may be operating in a 6 GHz band in an NR-U spectrum.

As shown by reference number 405, the base station 110 and the UE 120 may determine that multiple CCs (e.g., used for carrier aggregation) are to be used (e.g., combined) as a single band for communications between the base station 110 and the UE 120. A CC in an NR-U spectrum may have an 80 MHz bandwidth. In some aspects, the multiple CCs used as the single band may include a PCC and one or more SCCs (e.g., three SCCs, shown as SCC 1, SCC 2, and SCC 3) . Accordingly, rather than control information and data being communicated independently on each CC, control information and data may be communicated in a coordinated manner across the multiple CCs used as the single band. In this way, the base station 110 and the UE 120 may communicate in the multiple CCs in a same manner as the base station 110 and the UE 120 would communicate in a single band.

In some aspects, a quantity of the multiple CCs that are to be used as the single band may be a quantity such that a combined bandwidth of the multiple CCs satisfies a threshold value. In some aspects, the threshold value may be 320 MHz.

In some aspects, the base station 110 may determine that the multiple CCs are to be used as the single band based at least in part on a determination that the base station 110 is operating in an NR-U spectrum, is operating in a 6 GHz band in an NR-U spectrum, is operating under a maximum transmission power restriction (e.g., that does not satisfy a threshold value) , and/or the like. In some aspects, the UE 120 may determine that the multiple CCs are to be used as the single band, as described above for the base station 110, and/or based at least in part on information (e.g., a configuration) received from the base station 110. The information may include an indication that the multiple CCs are to be used as the single band. In addition, the information may identify the CCs that are to be used as the single band, identify a PCC and one or more SCCs, and/or the like. In some aspects, the UE 120 may be provisioned with the information.

As shown by reference number 410, the base station 110 and the UE 120 may communicate using the multiple CCs as the single band. The base station 110 may transmit downlink communications, or receive uplink communications, using the multiple CCs as the single band. The UE 120 may transmit uplink communications, or receive downlink communications, using the multiple CCs as the single band.

In some aspects, the base station 110 may transmit, and the UE 120 may receive, a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) communication in one or more of the multiple CCs. In some aspects, the UE 120 may use a particular aggregation level for PDCCH monitoring in a control resource set (CORESET) . The particular aggregation level may satisfy a threshold value (e.g., 32, 64, 128, 256, and/or the like) , thereby increasing a bandwidth used for PDCCH communications. In some aspects, a maximum aggregation level for the multiple CCs used as the single band is greater than a maximum aggregation level for an individual CC of the multiple CCs. In particular, in a frequency domain, for a 20 MHz band, the maximum aggregation level is 16, and for a 320 MHz band (e.g., resulting from using the multiple CCs as the single band) , the maximum aggregation level is 256.

In some aspects, a CORESET in the PCC of the multiple CCs may be mirrored (e.g., repeated) in one or more SCCs of the multiple CCs (as shown, the CORESET in the PCC may be mirrored in SCC 1, SCC 2, and SCC 3) . In this way, the UE 120 may receive a PDCCH communication in the mirrored CORESET. In some aspects, the base station 110 may transmit, and the UE 120 may receive, a PDCCH communication in the PCC that is repeated in one or more SCCs of the multiple CCs (e.g., the base station 110 may transmit multiple repetitions of the PDCCH communication in the PCC and the one or more SCCs) . The PDCCH communication in the PCC, and the repetitions of the PDCCH communication in the one or more SCCs, may have a same time and frequency position. The UE 120 may use a soft-combining technique, or another technique to combine data from multiple transmissions, for combining the PDCCH repetitions.

In some aspects, the base station 110 may transmit, and the UE 120 may receive, information (e.g., via radio resource control (RRC) signaling) that indicates whether the CORESET in the PCC is to be mirrored in one or more SCCs (e.g., identifies the SCCs in which the CORESET is to be mirrored) . Additionally, or alternatively, the base station 110 may transmit, and the UE 120 may receive, information (e.g., via RRC signaling) that indicates whether the PDCCH in the PCC is to be repeated in one or more SCCs (e.g., identifies the SCCs in which the PDCCH is to be repeated) . In some aspects, the information (e.g., for the CORESET mirroring or the PDCCH repetitions) may include a bitmap (e.g., a three-bit bitmap) that identifies the SCCs in which the CORESET is mirrored and/or the PDCCH repetitions are received. In particular, the bitmap may include a value of 1 1 0 to indicate that the CORESET is mirrored, and/or the PDCCH is repeated, in a first SCC and a second SCC, but not in a third SCC. In some aspects, the bitmap may include a value of all zeroes to indicate that the CORESET is not to be mirrored and/or the PDCCH is not to be repeated.

In some aspects, cross-carrier scheduling may be enabled for the SCCs, of the multiple CCs, in the PCC. In particular, the base station 110 may transmit, and the UE 120 may receive, a configuration (e.g., an RRC configuration) that enables cross-carrier scheduling for the SCCs in the PCC. According to cross-carrier scheduling, the UE 120 may detect a PDCCH communication in the PCC that includes a downlink grant or an uplink grant in an SCC. In some aspects (e.g., when cross-carrier scheduling is enabled) , the UE 120 may receive the PDCCH communication in only the PCC. In some aspects (e.g., when cross-carrier scheduling is enabled) , the UE 120 may receive the PDCCH communication in the PCC and repetitions of the PDCCH communication in one or more SCCs of the multiple CCs (e.g., the PDCCH is mirrored in the PCC and the one or more SCCs) , as described above.

DCI carried in the PDCCH may indicate one or more parameters, such as an MCS, a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process identifier, and/or the like. In some aspects, the one or more parameters indicated by the DCI are to be used for the PCC and the one or more SCCs, of the multiple CCs, scheduled by the DCI.

In some aspects, the PDCCH communication may indicate a carrier indicator value (e.g., in a carrier indicator field (CIF) of DCI) . In some aspects, a downlink grant or an uplink grant in the PDCCH communication may be for the PCC (e.g., by default) regardless of a value of the carrier indicator. In some aspects, a value of the carrier indicator may indicate whether one or more SCCs, of the multiple CCs, are to be used for transport block repetitions (e.g., the carrier indicator may indicate the one or more SCCs that are to be used for transport block repetitions) .

In some aspects, the base station 110 may transmit, and the UE 120 may receive, a transport block (e.g., a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) communication) in the PCC and repetitions of the transport block in one or more SCCs of the multiple CCs (as shown, the transport block repetitions may be received by the UE 120 in SCC 1 and SCC 3) . In some aspects, the UE 120 may transmit, and the base station 110 may receive, a transport block (e.g., a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) communication) in the PCC and repetitions of the transport block in one or more SCCs of the multiple CCs. The UE 120 may use a soft-combining technique, or another technique to combine data from multiple transmissions, for combining the transport block repetitions.

In some aspects, the carrier indicator value may include a bitmap (e.g., a three-bit bitmap) to indicate the SCCs that are to be used for transport block repetitions. In particular, the bitmap may include a value of 1 0 1 to indicate that a first SCC and a third SCC, but not a second SCC, are to carry transport block repetitions in a PDSCH (or a PUSCH) . In some aspects, the bitmap may include a value of all zeroes to indicate that the transport block is not to be repeated. The carrier indicator field may be allocated three bits (e.g., according to current 3GPP specifications) , and therefore, four CCs may be indicated by the carrier indicator field (e.g., without increasing a quantity of bits allocated to the carrier indicator field) . In this way, the base station 110 may variably and dynamically schedule transport block repetitions in different SCCs.

In some aspects, the transport block repetitions may be associated with the same redundancy version (RV) for the PCC and the one or more SCCs (e.g., thereby improving a coding gain associated with the transport block) . In particular, an RV indicated in the PDCCH communication may be used for repetitions in the PCC and the one or more SCCs (e.g., RV-a= RV-b = RV-c) . In some aspects, the transport block repetitions may be associated with different RVs for the PCC and the one or more SCCs. In some aspects, the UE 120 may determine the RVs used for the one or more SCCs according to one or more rules.

In particular, RVs used for the one or more SCCs may be based at least in part on an RV indicated in the PDCCH communication (e.g., DCI) for the PCC. In some aspects, an RV for an SCC (RV _SCC) may correspond to a sum of an RV for the PCC (RV _PCC) and an index value associated with the SCC (I _SCC) modulo 4 (i.e., RV _SCC = (RV _PCC + I _SCC) mod 4) . In some aspects, an index value for an SCC may be an absolute index value associated with the SCC (e.g., an index value that is determined without regard to the SCCs in which transport block repetitions are communicated) . In particular, if transport block repetitions are communicated in a first SCC and a third SCC, but not a second SCC, then the first SCC may be associated with an index value 1 and the third SCC may be associated with an index value 3 (e.g., RV-a= RV, RV-b = (RV+1) mod 4, RV-c = (RV+3) mod 4) . In some aspects, an index value for an SCC may be a relative (e.g., a re-arranged) index value associated with the SCC based at least in part on the SCCs in which transport block repetitions are communicated. In particular, if transport block repetitions are communicated in a first SCC and a third SCC, but not a second SCC, then the first SCC may be associated with an index value 1 and the third SCC may be associated with an index value 2 (e.g., RV-a= RV, RV-b =(RV+1) mod 4, RV-c = (RV+2) mod 4) .

In some aspects, the UE 120 may transmit, and the base station 110 may receive, a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) communication in at least the PCC. In particular, the UE 120 may transmit HARQ feedback for the transport block repetitions in the PUCCH communication. In some aspects, the UE 120 may transmit repetitions of the PUCCH communication in one or more SCCs of the multiple CCs.

In this way, the base station 110 and the UE 120 may use multiple CCs as a single band. Accordingly, the transmission bandwidth used for communications in an NR-U 6 GHz band may be increased, thereby improving the performance of uplink and downlink communication.

As indicated above, Fig. 4 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with respect to Fig. 4.

Fig. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example process 500 performed, for example, by a UE, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. Example process 500 is an example where the UE (e.g., UE 120 and/or the like) performs operations associated with component carrier combination.

As shown in Fig. 5, in some aspects, process 500 may include determining that a PCC and one or more SCCs are to be used as a single band for communication with a base station (block 510) . For example, the UE (e.g., using controller/processor 280 and/or the like) may determine that a PCC and one or more SCCs are to be used as a single band for communication with a base station, as described above.

As further shown in Fig. 5, in some aspects, process 500 may include communicating with the base station using the PCC and the one or more SCCs as the single band (block 520) . For example, the UE (e.g., using antenna 252, DEMOD 254, MIMO detector 256, receive processor 258, controller/processor 280, transmit processor 264, TX MIMO processor 266, MOD 254, and/or the like) may communicate with the base station using the PCC and the one or more SCCs as the single band, as described above.

Process 500 may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or any combination of aspects described below and/or in connection with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein.

In a first aspect, the PCC and the one or more SCCs are associated with a New Radio unlicensed spectrum.

In a second aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect, the UE is operating in a low-power indoor mode.

In a third aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first and second aspects, a maximum aggregation level for the PCC and the one or more SCCs used as the single band is greater than a maximum aggregation level for an individual component carrier of the PCC and the one or more SCCs.

In a fourth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through third aspects, a CORESET in the PCC is mirrored in the one or more SCCs.

In a fifth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fourth aspects, process 500 includes receiving information that identifies whether a PDCCH communication that is to be received in the PCC is to be repeated in at least one SCC of the one or more SCCs.

In a sixth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fifth aspects, communicating using the PCC and the one or more SCCs as the single band includes receiving PDCCH communication repetitions in the PCC and at least one SCC of the one or more SCCs, where the PDCCH communication repetitions are associated with a same location in the PCC and the at least one SCC.

In a seventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through sixth aspects, process 500 includes receiving a configuration that enables cross-carrier scheduling for the one or more SCCs in the PCC.

In an eighth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through seventh aspects, communicating using the PCC and the one or more SCCs as the single band includes receiving a PDCCH communication that includes a downlink or uplink grant in at least the PCC.

In a ninth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eighth aspects, the PDCCH communication is received only in the PCC.

In a tenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through ninth aspects, the PDCCH communication is received in the PCC and repeated in at least one SCC of the one or more SCCs.

In an eleventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through tenth aspects, the downlink or uplink grant is for the PCC regardless of a carrier indicator value indicated by the PDCCH communication.

In a twelfth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eleventh aspects, a carrier indicator, indicated by a PDCCH communication, includes a three-bit bitmap that identifies whether a transport block that is to be received in the PCC is to be repeated in at least one SCC of the one or more SCCs.

In a thirteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twelfth aspects, communicating using the PCC and the one or more SCCs as the single band includes receiving transport block repetitions in a PDSCH of the PCC and at least one SCC of the one or more SCCs.

In a fourteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through thirteenth aspects, the transport block repetitions are associated with a same redundancy version for the PCC and the one or more SCCs.

In a fifteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fourteenth aspects, the transport block repetitions are associated with different redundancy versions for the PCC and the one or more SCCs.

In a sixteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fifteenth aspects, redundancy versions for the one or more SCCs are based at least in part on a redundancy version associated with the PCC.

In a seventeenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through sixteenth aspects, one or more parameters indicated by DCI are to be used for the PCC and the one or more SCCs.

In an eighteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through seventeenth aspects, communicating using the PCC and the one or more SCCs as the single band includes transmitting a PUCCH communication in the PCC.

In a nineteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eighteenth aspects, repetitions of a communication received in the PCC and at least one SCC of the one or more SCCs are to be combined using a soft-combining technique.

Although Fig. 5 shows example blocks of process 500, in some aspects, process 500 may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or differently arranged blocks than those depicted in Fig. 5. Additionally, or alternatively, two or more of the blocks of process 500 may be performed in parallel.

Fig. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example process 600 performed, for example, by a base station, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. Example process 600 is an example where the base station (e.g., base station 110 and/or the like) performs operations associated with component carrier combination.

As shown in Fig. 6, in some aspects, process 600 may include determining that a PCC and one or more SCCs are to be used as a single band for communication with a UE (block 610) . For example, the base station (e.g., using controller/processor 240 and/or the like) may determine that a PCC and one or more SCCs are to be used as a single band for communication with a UE, as described above.

As further shown in Fig. 6, in some aspects, process 600 may include communicating with the UE using the PCC and the one or more SCCs as the single band (block 620) . For example, the base station (e.g., using antenna 234, DEMOD 232, MIMO detector 236, receive processor 238, controller/processor 240, transmit processor 220, TX MIMO processor 230, MOD 232, and/or the like) may communicate with the UE using the PCC and the one or more SCCs as the single band, as described above.

Process 600 may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or any combination of aspects described below and/or in connection with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein.

In a second aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect, the base station is operating in a low-power indoor mode.

In a fifth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fourth aspects, process 600 includes transmitting information that identifies whether a PDCCH communication that is to be received in the PCC is to be repeated in at least one SCC of the one or more SCCs.

In a sixth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fifth aspects, communicating using the PCC and the one or more SCCs as the single band includes transmitting PDCCH communication repetitions in the PCC and at least one SCC of the one or more SCCs, where the PDCCH communication repetitions are associated with a same location in the PCC and the at least one SCC.

In a seventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through sixth aspects, process 600 includes transmitting a configuration that enables cross-carrier scheduling for the one or more SCCs in the PCC.

In an eighth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through seventh aspects, communicating using the PCC and the one or more SCCs as the single band includes transmitting a PDCCH communication that includes a downlink or uplink grant in at least the PCC.

In a ninth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eighth aspects, the PDCCH communication is transmitted only in the PCC.

In a tenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through ninth aspects, the PDCCH communication is transmitted in the PCC and repeated in at least one SCC of the one or more SCCs.

In a twelfth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eleventh aspects, a carrier indicator, indicated by a PDCCH communication, includes a three-bit bitmap that identifies whether a transport block that is to be transmitted in the PCC is to be repeated in at least one SCC of the one or more SCCs.

In a thirteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twelfth aspects, communicating using the PCC and the one or more SCCs as the single band includes transmitting transport block repetitions in a PDSCH of the PCC and at least one SCC of the one or more SCCs.

In an eighteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through seventeenth aspects, communicating using the PCC and the one or more SCCs as the single band includes receiving a PUCCH in the PCC.

In a nineteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eighteenth aspects, repetitions of a communication transmitted in the PCC and at least one SCC of the one or more SCCs are to be combined using a soft-combining technique.

Although Fig. 6 shows example blocks of process 600, in some aspects, process 600 may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or differently arranged blocks than those depicted in Fig. 6. Additionally, or alternatively, two or more of the blocks of process 600 may be performed in parallel.

The foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the aspects to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations may be made in light of the above disclosure or may be acquired from practice of the aspects.

As used herein, the term “component” is intended to be broadly construed as hardware, firmware, and/or a combination of hardware and software. As used herein, a processor is implemented in hardware, firmware, and/or a combination of hardware and software. It will be apparent that systems and/or methods described herein may be implemented in different forms of hardware, firmware, and/or a combination of hardware and software. The actual specialized control hardware or software code used to implement these systems and/or methods is not limiting of the aspects. Thus, the operation and behavior of the systems and/or methods were described herein without reference to specific software code-it being understood that software and hardware can be designed to implement the systems and/or methods based, at least in part, on the description herein.

As used herein, satisfying a threshold may, depending on the context, refer to a value being greater than the threshold, greater than or equal to the threshold, less than the threshold, less than or equal to the threshold, equal to the threshold, not equal to the threshold, and/or the like.

Even though particular combinations of features are recited in the claims and/or disclosed in the specification, these combinations are not intended to limit the disclosure of various aspects. In fact, many of these features may be combined in ways not specifically recited in the claims and/or disclosed in the specification. Although each dependent claim listed below may directly depend on only one claim, the disclosure of various aspects includes each dependent claim in combination with every other claim in the claim set. A phrase referring to “at least one of” a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including single members. As an example, “at least one of: a, b, or c” is intended to cover a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, and a-b-c, as well as any combination with multiples of the same element (e.g., a-a, a-a-a, a-a-b, a-a-c, a-b-b, a-c-c, b-b, b-b-b, b-b-c, c-c, and c-c-c or any other ordering of a, b, and c) .

No element, act, or instruction used herein should be construed as critical or essential unless explicitly described as such. Also, as used herein, the articles “a” and “an” are intended to include one or more items and may be used interchangeably with “one or more. ” Further, as used herein, the article “the” is intended to include one or more items referenced in connection with the article “the” and may be used interchangeably with “the one or more. ” Furthermore, as used herein, the terms “set” and “group” are intended to include one or more items (e.g., related items, unrelated items, a combination of related and unrelated items, and/or the like) , and may be used interchangeably with “one or more. ” Where only one item is intended, the phrase “only one” or similar language is used. Also, as used herein, the terms “has, ” “have, ” “having, ” and/or the like are intended to be open-ended terms. Further, the phrase “based on” is intended to mean “based, at least in part, on” unless explicitly stated otherwise. Also, as used herein, the term “or” is intended to be inclusive when used in a series and may be used interchangeably with “and/or, ” unless explicitly stated otherwise (e.g., if used in combination with “either” or “only one of” ) .

Claims

A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE) , comprising:

determining that a primary component carrier (PCC) and one or more secondary component carriers (SCCs) are to be used as a single band for communication with a base station; and

communicating with the base station using the PCC and the one or more SCCs as the single band.
The method of claim 1, wherein the PCC and the one or more SCCs are associated with a New Radio unlicensed spectrum.
The method of claim 1, wherein the UE is operating in a low-power indoor mode.
The method of claim 1, wherein a maximum aggregation level for the PCC and the one or more SCCs used as the single band is greater than a maximum aggregation level for an individual component carrier of the PCC and the one or more SCCs.
The method of claim 1, wherein a control resource set in the PCC is mirrored in the one or more SCCs.
The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving information that identifies whether a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) communication that is to be received in the PCC is to be repeated in at least one SCC of the one or more SCCs.
The method of claim 1, wherein communicating using the PCC and the one or more SCCs as the single band comprises:

receiving physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) communication repetitions in the PCC and at least one SCC of the one or more SCCs,

wherein the PDCCH communication repetitions are associated with a same location in the PCC and the at least one SCC.
The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a configuration that enables cross-carrier scheduling for the one or more SCCs in the PCC.
The method of claim 1, wherein communicating using the PCC and the one or more SCCs as the single band comprises:

receiving a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) communication that includes a downlink or uplink grant in at least the PCC.
The method of claim 9, wherein the PDCCH communication is received only in the PCC.
The method of claim 9, wherein the PDCCH communication is received in the PCC and repeated in at least one SCC of the one or more SCCs.
The method of claim 9, wherein the downlink or uplink grant is for the PCC regardless of a carrier indicator value indicated by the PDCCH communication.
The method of claim 1, wherein a carrier indicator, indicated by a physical downlink control channel communication, includes a three-bit bitmap that identifies whether a transport block that is to be received in the PCC is to be repeated in at least one SCC of the one or more SCCs.
The method of claim 1, wherein communicating using the PCC and the one or more SCCs as the single band comprises:

receiving transport block repetitions in a physical downlink shared channel of the PCC and at least one SCC of the one or more SCCs.
The method of claim 14, wherein the transport block repetitions are associated with a same redundancy version for the PCC and the one or more SCCs.
The method of claim 14, wherein the transport block repetitions are associated with different redundancy versions for the PCC and the one or more SCCs.
The method of claim 16, wherein redundancy versions for the one or more SCCs are based at least in part on a redundancy version associated with the PCC.
The method of claim 1, wherein one or more parameters indicated by downlink control information are to be used for the PCC and the one or more SCCs.
The method of claim 1, wherein communicating using the PCC and the one or more SCCs as the single band comprises:

transmitting a physical uplink control channel communication in the PCC.
The method of claim 1, wherein repetitions of a communication received in the PCC and at least one SCC of the one or more SCCs are to be combined using a soft-combining technique.
A method of wireless communication performed by a base station, comprising:

determining that a primary component carrier (PCC) and one or more secondary component carriers (SCCs) are to be used as a single band for communication with a user equipment (UE) ; and

communicating with the UE using the PCC and the one or more SCCs as the single band.
The method of claim 21, wherein the PCC and the one or more SCCs are associated with a New Radio unlicensed spectrum.
The method of claim 21, wherein the base station is operating in a low-power indoor mode.
The method of claim 21, wherein a maximum aggregation level for the PCC and the one or more SCCs used as the single band is greater than a maximum aggregation level for an individual component carrier of the PCC and the one or more SCCs.
The method of claim 21, wherein a control resource set in the PCC is mirrored in the one or more SCCs.
The method of claim 21, further comprising:

transmitting information that identifies whether a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) communication that is to be received in the PCC is to be repeated in at least one SCC of the one or more SCCs.
The method of claim 21, wherein communicating using the PCC and the one or more SCCs as the single band comprises:

transmitting physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) communication repetitions in the PCC and at least one SCC of the one or more SCCs,

wherein the PDCCH communication repetitions are associated with a same location in the PCC and the at least one SCC.
The method of claim 21, further comprising:

transmitting a configuration that enables cross-carrier scheduling for the one or more SCCs in the PCC.
The method of claim 21, wherein communicating using the PCC and the one or more SCCs as the single band comprises:

transmitting a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) communication that includes a downlink or uplink grant in at least the PCC.
The method of claim 29, wherein the PDCCH communication is transmitted only in the PCC.
The method of claim 29, wherein the PDCCH communication is transmitted in the PCC and repeated in at least one SCC of the one or more SCCs.
The method of claim 29, wherein the downlink or uplink grant is for the PCC regardless of a carrier indicator value indicated by the PDCCH communication.
The method of claim 21, wherein a carrier indicator, indicated by a physical downlink control channel communication, includes a three-bit bitmap that identifies whether a transport block that is to be transmitted in the PCC is to be repeated in at least one SCC of the one or more SCCs.
The method of claim 21, wherein communicating using the PCC and the one or more SCCs as the single band comprises:

transmitting transport block repetitions in a physical downlink shared channel of the PCC and at least one SCC of the one or more SCCs.
The method of claim 34, wherein the transport block repetitions are associated with a same redundancy version for the PCC and the one or more SCCs.
The method of claim 34, wherein the transport block repetitions are associated with different redundancy versions for the PCC and the one or more SCCs.
The method of claim 36, wherein redundancy versions for the one or more SCCs are based at least in part on a redundancy version associated with the PCC.
The method of claim 21, wherein one or more parameters indicated by downlink control information are to be used for the PCC and the one or more SCCs.
The method of claim 21, wherein communicating using the PCC and the one or more SCCs as the single band comprises:

receiving a physical uplink control channel communication in the PCC.
The method of claim 21, wherein repetitions of a communication transmitted in the PCC and at least one SCC of the one or more SCCs are to be combined using a soft-combining technique.
A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions for wireless communication, the set of instructions comprising:

one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a user equipment (UE) , cause the UE to:

determine that a primary component carrier (PCC) and one or more secondary component carriers (SCCs) are to be used as a single band for communication with a base station; and

communicate with the base station using the PCC and the one or more SCCs as the single band.
A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions for wireless communication, the set of instructions comprising:

one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a base station, cause the base station to:

determine that a primary component carrier (PCC) and one or more secondary component carriers (SCCs) are to be used as a single band for communication with a user equipment (UE) ; and

communicate with the UE using the PCC and the one or more SCCs as the single band.
A user equipment (UE) for wireless communication, comprising:

a memory; and

one or more processors operatively coupled to the memory, the memory and the one or more processors configured to:

determine that a primary component carrier (PCC) and one or more secondary component carriers (SCCs) are to be used as a single band for communication with a base station; and

communicate with the base station using the PCC and the one or more SCCs as the single band.
A base station for wireless communication, comprising:

a memory; and

one or more processors operatively coupled to the memory, the memory and the one or more processors configured to:

determine that a primary component carrier (PCC) and one or more secondary component carriers (SCCs) are to be used as a single band for communication with a user equipment (UE) ; and

communicate with the UE using the PCC and the one or more SCCs as the single band.
An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

means for determining that a primary component carrier (PCC) and one or more secondary component carriers (SCCs) are to be used as a single band for communication with a base station; and

means for communicating with the base station using the PCC and the one or more SCCs as the single band.
An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

means for determining that a primary component carrier (PCC) and one or more secondary component carriers (SCCs) are to be used as a single band for communication with a user equipment (UE) ; and

means for communicating with the UE using the PCC and the one or more SCCs as the single band.