WO2022082541A1

WO2022082541A1 - Capacity boosting based on airborne platform

Info

Publication number: WO2022082541A1
Application number: PCT/CN2020/122607
Authority: WO
Inventors: Xiang Xu; Jeroen Wigard; Tzu-Chung Frank Hsieh
Original assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co., Ltd.; Nokia Solutions And Networks Oy; Nokia Technologies Oy
Priority date: 2020-10-21
Filing date: 2020-10-21
Publication date: 2022-04-28
Also published as: CN116326190A

Abstract

Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate to devices, methods, apparatuses and computer readable storage media for capacity boosting based on an airborne platform. In example embodiments, clustering information of a group of user equipment (UEs) is obtained. An action to be performed is determined based on the clustering information. The action comprises activating a new cell to serve the group of UEs via an airborne platform, adjusting a coverage area of an existing cell to serve the group of UEs via the airborne platform, or sending the clustering information of the group of UEs to a neighboring device.

Description

CAPACITY BOOSTING BASED ON AIRBORNE PLATFORM

FIELD

Example embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of communications, and in particular, to devices, methods, apparatuses and computer readable storage media for capacity boosting based on an airborne platform.

BACKGROUND

A High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) is a station operating on a stratospheric airborne platform to provide a telecommunication infrastructure for rural and remote areas. The HAPS may operate at an altitude between 20 km to 50 km to cover a service area up to 800,000 square kilometers with a diameter of 1,000 km. The HAPS may be deployed on a balloon or solar powered high-altitude plane. Currently, a HAPS-based architecture can be implemented on balloons to provide Long Term Evolution (LTE) coverage.

The study item (SI) /work item (WI) with respect to a Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) involves HAPS related issues in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) , which additionally covers Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and Geostationary Orbit (GEO) satellites. The HAPS related issues under discussion are mainly concerned about co-existence with terrestrial networks.

The 3GPP specifications define several alternative architectures for an NTN and/or a HAPS. For example, in a transparent payload mode, a HAPS may function as an analogue radio frequency (RF) repeater between user equipment (UE) and a New Radio (NR) NodeB (gNB) . The HAPS may alternatively function as a gNB or at least a part of the gNB. For example, in the case that a gNB is implemented in a distributed mode, a distributed unit (DU) of the gNB (gNB-DU) may be implemented by a HAPS. A central unit (CU) of the gNB (gNB-CU) may be deployed on the ground or implemented by another HAPS. A HAPS can host a plurality of cells that can be activated or inactivated when needed.

SUMMARY

In general, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide devices, methods, apparatuses and computer readable storage media for capacity boosting based on an airborne platform.

In a first aspect, a device is provided which comprises at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the device to obtain clustering information of a group of UEs. The device is further caused to determine, based on the clustering information, an action to be performed. The action comprises activating a new cell to serve the group of UEs via an airborne platform, adjusting a coverage area of an existing cell to serve the group of UEs via the airborne platform, or sending the clustering information of the group of UEs to a neighboring device.

In a second aspect, a device is provided which comprises at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the device to receive, from a further device, an indication of activating a new cell or adjusting a coverage area of an existing cell, to serve a group of UEs via an airborne platform. The device is further caused to activate the new cell or adjust the coverage area of the existing cell based on the received indication.

In a third aspect, a method is provided. In the method, clustering information of a group of UEs is obtained. An action to be performed is determined based on the clustering information. The action comprises activating a new cell to serve the group of UEs via an airborne platform, adjusting a coverage area of an existing cell to serve the group of UEs via the airborne platform, or sending the clustering information of the group of UEs to a neighboring device.

In a fourth aspect, a method is provided. In the method, an indication of activating a new cell or adjusting a coverage area of an existing cell is received from a further device to serve a group of UEs via an airborne platform. Based on the received indication, the new cell is activated, or the coverage area of the existing cell is adjusted.

In a fifth aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising means for performing the method according to the third or fourth aspect.

In a fourth aspect, there is provided a computer readable storage medium comprising program instructions stored thereon. The instructions, when executed by a processor of a device, cause the device to perform the method according to the third or fourth aspect.

It is to be understood that the summary section is not intended to identify key or essential features of example embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become easily comprehensible through the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, where:

FIGS. 1 (a) , 1 (b) and 1 (c) illustrate example scenarios of cell activation by a HAPS;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example environment in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented;

FIG. 3 illustrates example cell activation according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates a flowchart of an example method according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of an example method according to some other example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 6 (a) , 6 (b) and 6 (c) illustrate example processes of cell activation and adjustment according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 illustrates a signaling flow for cell update according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 illustrates a signaling flow for cell update according to some other example embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 9 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a device that is suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure.

Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar element.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Principle of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It is to be understood that these example embodiments are described only for the purpose of illustration and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, without suggesting any limitation as to the scope of the disclosure. The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various manners other than the ones described below.

In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skills in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

As used herein, the term “airborne platform” refers to a platform operating over the air and providing services to a ground device or an airborne device. The airborne platform may typically operate in the stratosphere. The airborne platform may be based on HAPSs, LEO and GEO satellites and other airborne devices.

As used herein, the term “user equipment” (UE) refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communications with each other or with a base station. The communications may involve transmitting and/or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic signals, radio waves, infrared signals, and/or other types of signals suitable for conveying information over air. In some example embodiments, the UE may be configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction. For example, the UE may transmit information to the base station on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to a request from the network side. Examples of the UE include, but are not limited to, smart phones, wireless-enabled tablet computers, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE) , laptop-mounted equipment (LME) , wireless customer-premises equipment (CPE) , sensors, metering devices, personal wearables such as watches, and/or vehicles that are capable of communication.

As used herein, the term “base station” refers to a network device capable of serving a terminal device or UE in a communication network. The base station may comprise any suitable device via which a UE can access the communication network. Examples of the base stations include a relay, an access point (AP) , a transmission point (TRP) , a node B (NodeB or NB) , an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB) , a New Radio (NR) NodeB (gNB) , a Remote Radio Module (RRU) , a radio header (RH) , a remote radio head (RRH) , a low power node such as a femto, a pico, and the like. For the purpose of discussion, some example embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to a gNB as an example of the base station.

As used herein, the term “circuitry” may refer to one or more or all of the following:

(a) hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations in only analog and/or digital circuitry) and

(b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as (as applicable) : (i) a combination of analog and/or digital hardware circuit (s) with software/firmware and (ii) any portions of hardware processor (s) with software (including digital signal processor (s) ) , software, and memory (ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions) and

(c) hardware circuit (s) and or processor (s) , such as a microprocessor (s) or a portion of a microprocessor (s) , that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation.

This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and/or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example and if applicable to the particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in a server, a cellular base station, or other computing or base station.

As used herein, the singular forms “a” , “an” , and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The term “includes” and its variants are to be read as open terms that mean “includes, but is not limited to” . The term “based on” is to be read as “based at least in part on” . The term “one embodiment” and “an embodiment” are to be read as “at least one embodiment” . The term “another embodiment” is to be read as “at least one other embodiment” . Other definitions, explicit and implicit, may be included below.

As used herein, the terms “first” , “second” and the like may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of example embodiments. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

A HAPS operating on airborne platform provides a new telecommunication infrastructure for rural and remote areas. Depending on a minimum elevation angle accepted from a location of a UE, the HAPS may operate at an altitude between 20 km to 50 km to cover a service area up to 800,000 square kilometers with a diameter of 1,000 km. A HAPS may be configured with a plurality of cells which may be activated when needed, to provide additional capacity.

FIGS. 1 (a) , 1 (b) and 1 (c) illustrate example scenarios of cell activation by a HAPS. In a scenario 100 as shown in FIG. 1 (a) , a HAPS 105 hosts many cells 110-1…110-N where N represents any suitable positive integer greater than 2, and all of the cells 105-1…105-N are activated. In a scenario 115, only one cell 110-K (where K represents a positive integer and 1<=K<=N) is activated by the HAPS 105. In a scenario 120, a new cell 105-M (where M represents a positive integer different from K, and 1=<M<=N) is activated by the HAPS 105.

Current LTE/NR systems allow for energy saving. For example, in the case that capacity boosting cells are deployed for capacity enhancement to basic coverage in a cell, a capacity boosting cell may be switched off when its capacity is no longer needed and be reactivated on a need basis. As such, additional capacity via single or dual connectivity may be provided in an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) or NR cell while energy consumption can be optimized.

A next generation radio access network (NG-RAN) node owning a capacity boosting cell can autonomously decide to switch-off such a cell (to be in an inactive state) to lower energy consumption. The decision may be made based on cell loads according to network configurations. The switch-off decision may also be made by an operation and maintenance (O&M) device instead of the NG-RAN node.

If it is decided that a capacity boosting cell is to be switched off, the NG-RAN node may initiate handover actions to off-load the UEs of the capacity boosting cell to a target node. The NG-RAN node may further indicate to the target node the reason for handover with an appropriate cause value to facilitate the target node to select a target cell, for example. Neighboring NG-RAN nodes may be informed by the NG-RAN node owning the concerned cell about the switch-off actions over an Xn interface. The informing may be implemented in a configuration update procedure. The informed nodes may update cell configuration such as neighbor relationship configuration if a certain cell is inactive.

In the case that basic coverage is ensured by cells of the individual NG-RAN nodes, an NG-RAN node owning non-capacity boosting cells may request re-activation of a capacity boosting cell from a neighboring node over the Xn interface if there is a capacity need for such a cell. This may be achieved via a cell activation procedure. During a switch-off time period of the capacity booster cell, the NG-RAN node may prevent UEs in an idle mode from camping on this cell and may prevent incoming handovers to the same cell. Accordingly, the NG-RAN node receiving such a request may make a switch-on decision. The switch-on decision may be alternatively made by the O&M device. Further, all peer NG-RAN nodes may be informed by the NG-RAN node owning the concerned cell about the re-activation of this cell by an indication over the Xn interface.

Unlike terrestrial cellular networks having a wired power source, a HAPS based network usually has limited energy. An energy-drained HAPS may shorten lifetime of the HAPS based network. For example, if that some HAPSs are out of services due to lack of energy, the absence of energy-exhausted HAPS may change network coverage or cause a coverage hole. This would cause network self-organization to maintain network connectivity, which may further exacerbate the drainage of the network energy. Accordingly, an energy-efficient HAPS is beneficial to prolong the lifetime of the HAPS based network and to avoid coverage holes.

Deactivation of a less loaded or less used cell may save the network energy. In LTE or NR, the deactivation is implemented by an evolved NodeB (eNB) or gNB-CU based on loads of cells, for example. However, current energy saving is based on the assumption that coverage of a neighboring cell is fixed and pre-configured. The neighboring eNB or gNB determines a cell to be activated based on the pre-planned/fixed coverage of the cell.

It is noticed that a HAPS is movable and a coverage area of a HAPS cell can be adjusted. The conventional approach of cell activation based on the pre-planned or fixed cell coverage may unnecessarily activate more HAPS cells and increase energy consumption. There is a need to re-activate the smaller number of cells to meet the capacity demand to save energy consumption of a HAPS.

Example embodiments of the present disclosure provide an energy efficient scheme to activate or adjust a cell provided via an airborne platform. This scheme collects clustering information of UEs to determine a cell to be activated or adjusted based on the clustering information of UEs. The clustering information may include any suitable information that can reflect that a group of UEs is clustered together or adjacent to each other. If the clustering information of UEs indicates that a group of UEs is being clustered or to be clustered together, a new cell may be activated via the airborne platform, or a coverage area of an existing cell may be adjusted via the airborne platform, to provide services to the clustered UEs. In this way, a more appropriate cell can be activated or adjusted on an airborne platform to serve a group of clustered UEs, thereby reducing the number of cells to be activated and saving the network energy.

FIG. 2 shows an example environment 200 in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented.

The environment 200 comprises a device 205 operating on an airborne platform. The device 205 may be implemented by any suitable device in a non-terrestrial network such as a HAPS, a LEO satellite, a GEO satellite or the like. In some example embodiments, the device 205 may function as a base station (for example, a gNB) or a part of a base station. For example, in the case that the base station is implemented in a distributed mode, the device 205 may function as a DU of the base station (for example, a gNB-DU) . In the case that the base station is implemented in a centralized mode, the device 205 may function as a whole base station. It may be also possible that the device 205 may also act as other devices such as a UE. For example, the device 205 may be an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node or a relay node that relays the traffic between the UEs in its coverage area and the ground station or base station on the ground.

As shown in FIG. 2, the device 205 hosts a coverage area 210 and is configured with a plurality of cells 215-1, 215-2, 215-3, 215-4, 215-5…215-L in the coverage area 210. L represents any suitable positive integer greater than 5. For the purpose of discussion, the cells 215-1…215-L will be collectively or individually referred to as a cell 215.

In the environment 200, with the coverage area 210, the device 205 can serve a plurality of UEs 220-1, 220-2, 220-3, 220-4…, 220-H which will be collectively or individually referred to a UE 220. H represents any suitable positive integer greater than 4.

It should be understood that any suitable number of cells 215 can be provided by the device 205. For example, it may be possible that less than five cells are supported. It should also be understood that any suitable number of UEs 220 can be served by the device 205 in the coverage area 210. In some example embodiments, there may be less than 4 UEs 220 located in the coverage area 210.

The UEs 220 may communicate with the device 205, or communicate to each other directly or indirectly via the device 205. The communications in the environment 200 may follow any suitable communication standards or protocols, which are already in existence or to be developed in the future, such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) , long term evolution (LTE) , LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) , the fifth generation (5G) New Radio (NR) , Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) and Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) standards, and employs any suitable communication technologies, including, for example, Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) , Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) , time division multiplexing (TDM) , frequency division multiplexing (FDM) , code division multiplexing (CDM) , Bluetooth, ZigBee, and machine type communication (MTC) , enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) , massive machine type communication (mMTC) , ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC) , Carrier Aggregation (CA) , Dual Connection (DC) , and New Radio Unlicensed (NR-U) technologies.

In various example embodiments of the present disclosure, the device 205 can obtain clustering information of UEs 220. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, four UEs 220-1, 220-2, 220-2 and 220-4 are clustered to be adjacent to each other. Accordingly, the device 205 can obtain the clustering information that indicates that the group of UEs 220-1, 220-2, 220-2 and 220-4 is clustered together. Based on the clustering information, a suitable cell 215 may be selected to be activated or adjusted to serve the group of the UEs 220-1, 220-2, 220-3 and 220-4.

As shown in FIG. 3, only a cell 215-6 may be activated to serve the UEs 220-1, 220-2, 220-3 and 220-4 by adjusting a coverage area of the cell 215-6. Compared with the conventional approach based on predefined or fixed cell coverage in which five cells 215-1, 215-2, 215-3, 215-4 and 215-5 may need to be activated as shown in FIG. 2, the cell activation approach according to embodiments of the present disclosure can reduce the number of cells to be activated and therefore reduce energy consumption in a network.

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of an example method 400 according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 400 may be implemented by the device 205 on an airborne platform. For the purpose of discussion, the method 400 will be described with reference to FIG. 2.

At block 405, information is received from a plurality of UEs 220. The information may comprise any suitable information associated with the UEs 220. For example, the device 205 may receive a measurement report from one or more UEs 220. The measurement report may include downlink (DL) measurements of the UEs 220 including, for example, positioning information, DL receiving power or a reference signal quality and the like. For example, the UEs 220 may report Reference Signal Receiving Power (RSRP) of stronger or strongest neighboring cells. Based on the measurement report from the UEs 220, the UEs 220 may be positioned to find the clustered UEs 220.

In some example embodiments, the device 205 may receive from one or more UEs 220 location information such as Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) data, Global Positioning System (GPS) data or longitude and/or latitude information. Based on the location information, current locations of the UEs 220 may be determined to find whether a group of UEs 220 is being clustered together.

In some other example embodiments, the information from the UEs 220 may comprise mobility information of at least one UE 220 such as a moving speed or direction. Accordingly, future locations of the UEs 220 may be determined to find the UEs 220 to be clustered in the near future. Alternatively or in addition, the information associated with the UEs 220 may comprise angle of arrival (AoA) , Timing Advance and Doppler frequency shift information. AoA may be related to orientation of a UE 220, Timing Advance may be related to a DL transmission distance, and Doppler frequency shift may be related to a mobility pattern of a UE 220. Accordingly, based on such information, it may be determined whether some UEs 220 are clustered.

The information associated with the UEs 220 may be reported by the UEs 220 periodically. For example, the UEs 220 may periodically send measurement reports to report such information. Alternatively or in addition, the UEs 220 may send the associated information when needed. For example, the device 205 may initiate a procedure to collect the information from the UEs 220. In some example embodiments, the device 205 may request one or more UEs 220 to provide location information such as current positioning data and mobility data. Based on such information, areas to which the UEs 220 will move shortly may be determined or predicted, and potential clustering of the UEs 220 may be determined.

In some example embodiments, the device 205 may send requests to one or more UEs 220 to transmit uplink signals such as sounding reference signals (SRSs) . As a response, the requested UE 220 may transmit a SRS. Accordingly, the device 205 may detect SRSs from the UEs 220 and determine received power and AoA of the SRSs. The AoA may be associated with a receiving beam that is used. Based on the received power and AoA of the SRSs, the device 205 may determine whether some UEs 220 are clustered together. In some other embodiments, when the device 205 may only support a part of the base station, for example, the device 205 only hosts the gNB-DU and the network device on the ground hosts the gNB-CU, the request may be sent from the gNB-CU to the device 205 and device 205 forwards the request to the UE 220. When the device 205 receives the information from the UE 220, the device 205 forwards the information to the gNB-CU on the ground.

At block 410, a group of UEs (such as the UEs 220-1, 220-2, 220-3 and 220-4) being clustered or to be clustered is determined from the plurality of UEs 220 based on the information associated with the plurality of UEs 220. At block 415, clustering information of the group of UEs is determined from the information associated with the plurality of UEs. The clustering information can indicate that the group of UEs 220 is clustered currently or to be clustered in the near future. In some example embodiments, the clustering information may indicate an area or a cell where the group of UEs 220 are clustered.

At block 420, the clustering information of the group of UEs 220 is sent to a further device to further determine a cell to be activated or adjusted. For example, in the example embodiments where the device 205 functions as a DU of a base station, the device 205 may send the clustering information to a further device such as a CU of the base station operating either on an airborne platform or on the ground such that the corresponding cell activation or adjustment decision can be made at the further device. As an alternative example, in the example embodiments where the device 205 functions as a whole base station, the device 205 may send the clustering information to a further device such as a core network (CN) device on the ground to make the decision.

At block 425, an indication of activating a new cell or adjusting a coverage area of an existing cell is received from the further device to serve the group of UEs 220 via the airborne platform. Based on the received indication, at block 430, the device 205 activates the new cell or adjusts the coverage area of the existing cell.

It should be understood that

blocks

405, 410, 415 and 420 are optional in the method 400. In some example embodiments, the device 205 may not collect and/or determine the clustering information of UEs 220 while a further device does this. For example, in the example embodiments where the device 205 functions as a DU of a base station, a CU of the base station or a ground network device such as a CN device or an O&M device collects and/or determines the clustering information of UEs 220 and indicates the device 205 to activate or modify a cell for the clustered UEs 220.

Alternatively, in the example embodiments where the device 205 functions as a whole base station, the device 205 may utilize the clustering information to determine whether to activate a new cell or adjust a coverage area of an existing cell, to serve the group of UEs 220. If the clustering of the UEs 220 occurs in or near a coverage area of a neighboring device, the device 205 may send the clustering information of the UEs 220 to the neighboring device to cause the neighboring device to make a decision of whether to activate a new cell or adjust a coverage area of an existing cell.

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of an example method 500 according to some other example embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 500 can be implemented by the device 205 in the case that the device 205 functions as a whole base station. Alternatively, in the example embodiments where the device 205 acts as a DU of a base station such as a gNB-DU, the method 500 may be implemented by a CU of the base station such as a gNB-CU. The CU of the base station may operate either on an airborne platform or on the ground. It is also possible that the method 500 may be implemented by a network device on the ground. For the purpose of discussion, the method 500 will be described with reference to FIG. 2.

At block 505, clustering information of a group of UEs 220 is obtained. The clustering information can indicate that the group of UEs 220 such as the UEs 220-1, 220-2, 220-2 and 220-4 are clustered currently or to be clustered shortly. The clustering information may be obtained in any suitable way, for example, from the UEs 220, or from the gNB-DU, or from the neighboring base station. In the example embodiments where the method 500 is implemented by a CU of a base station and the device 205 as shown in FIG. 2 functions as a DU of the base station, the clustering information may be received from the device 205 or from the UEs 220 as described above.

In some example embodiments, the information associated with the UEs 220 may be first collected, and then collected information is utilized to determine the clustering information of the UEs 220. The collected information may comprise measurement reports, location information, mobility patterns, timing advance, Doppler frequency shift information, a reference signal quality and other information that can be used to determine the clustering of the UEs 220.

In some other example embodiments, the clustering information of the UEs 220 may be received from a neighboring device that may operate either on an airborne platform or on the ground. For example, the neighboring device may collect information from UEs in its own coverage area to detect occurrence of the UE clustering, and then provide the clustering information of the UEs.

The information collection and the clustering information provision may be implemented by the neighboring device in any suitable timing. For example, when the neighboring device is to activate a cell 215, or when the neighboring device is to handover one or more UEs to the device 205, the neighboring device may collect the information associated with the UEs and provide the clustering information of the UEs. The cell activation or handover may be determined by the neighboring device based on the capacity demand or mobility of UEs within its own coverage area.

The clustering information may be transmitted by the neighboring device in a wired or wireless way. For example, in the example embodiments where the method 500 is implemented by a CU of a base station or a base station on the ground and the neighboring device is implemented by a ground base station, the clustering information of the UEs may be transmitted via an interface such as an Xn interface between base stations. In the example embodiments where one or both of the transmitter and the receiver communicate over the air, the clustering information may be transmitted in a wireless way.

Based on the clustering information, at block 510, an action to be performed is determined to serve the group of UEs such as the UEs 220-1, 220-2, 220-3 and 220-4 via the airborne platform. The action comprises activating a new cell or adjusting a coverage area of an existing cell. For example, if there already has one or more cells being serving the group of UEs and one of the cells can meet the capacity demand of the group of UEs, it may be determined to adjust a coverage area of the cell to serve the group of UEs. The coverage area of the cell may be adjusted in terms of a size, shape and/or location of the cell. For example, a beam direction, a beam shape or an antenna direction may be changed or adjusted for the cell.

If there is no cell associated with the group of UEs 220, it may be determined to activate a new cell to serve these UEs 220. Alternatively, if the existing cell cannot meet capacity or throughput requirement of the UEs 220, a new cell may be activated. In some example embodiments, the capacity or throughput requirement of the UEs 220 may be compared with a threshold that may be set based on available energy or other factors related to the device 205 or associated devices. If the capacity or throughput requirement is higher than the threshold, a new cell may be activated.

Alternatively or in addition, the action to be performed may comprise sending the clustering information of the group of UEs 220 to a neighboring device either on an airborne platform or on the ground to cause the neighboring device to activate a new cell or adjust a coverage area of an existing cell to serve the group of UEs 220. For example, if it is determined that the group of UEs 220 is to be served by the neighboring device, the clustering information of the group of UEs 220 will be sent to the neighboring device.

The handover of the UEs 220 may be performed if the capacity or throughput requirement of the group of UEs 220 cannot be met in the coverage area 210 of the device 205. Alternatively or in addition, if it is determined based on the clustering information that the group of UEs 220 will move to a coverage area of the neighboring device, the clustering information may be sent to the neighboring device such that the neighboring device can activate a new cell or adjust an existing cell to serve the group of UEs.

All operations and features as described above with reference to FIGS. 1-4 are likewise applicable to the method 500 and have similar effects. For the purpose of simplification, the details will be omitted.

FIGS. 6 (a) , 6 (b) and 6 (c) show example processes of cell activation and adjustment according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

In this example, the device 205 is configured with a macro cell 605 to provide the coverage area 210 such that all the UEs 220 located in the coverage area 210 can perform random access. The cells 220 deployed in the coverage area 210 are small cells to provide additional capacity in the coverage area 210. The macro cell 605 and the cells 220 may use different bandwidth parts (BWPs) .

At a time point (for example, 10: 00) as shown in FIG. 6 (a) , only the macro cell 605 is activated. It may also be possible that one or more small cells may be activated at this time point. At a later time point (for example, 10: 10) as shown in FIG. 6 (b) , the cell 215-6 is selectively activated based on the clustering information of a group of UEs 220-1, 220-2, 220-3 and 220-4.

The clustering information of the UEs may be determined from information collected from the UEs 220 in the macro cell 605. For example, when usage (such as radio resource usage) of the macro cell 605 reaches a threshold, the device 205 may initiate a process of collecting information from the UEs 220 in the macro cell 605. The device 205 may collect from the UEs 220 measurement reports including location information and mobility information of the UEs 220. Based on the measurement reports, a potential area where the UEs 220 will move in the near future such as next 10 minutes may be determined.

In some example embodiments, the device 205 may request all the UEs 220 in the macro cell 605 to transmit SRSs in the same time period such as the same slot. The received power of the SRSs will be measured in the inactive cells 215 each with the corresponding receiving beam. The received power of many SRSs in the cell 215-6 is above a threshold, and thus it is determined that many UEs 220 are clustered in a coverage area of the cell 215-6 which should be activated. The threshold may be set based on the amount of available energy of the device 205. For example, a higher threshold may be set for a lower energy level of the device 205 to balance capacity boosting and energy saving.

At a further later time point (for example, 10: 20) as shown in FIG. 6 (c) , the group of UEs 220-1, 220-2, 220-3 and 220-4 is moving. Accordingly, the device 205 further adjusts a coverage area of the already activated cell 215-6 by considering the updated clustering information of the group of UEs 220-1, 220-2, 220-3 and 220-4. The coverage area of the cell 215-6 may be adjusted by adjusting an antenna direction, a beam width and/or a beam shape in the cell 215-6.

FIG. 7 shows an example signaling flow 700 for cell update according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. In this example, a base station is implemented by a gNB operating in a distributed mode, and the device 205 is implemented with a gNB-DU 705. For the purpose of discussion, the signaling flow 700 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 6 (a) -6 (c) .

As shown in FIG. 7, the gNB-DU 705 activates (710) only the macro cell 605 to serve the UEs 220-2 and 220-3 (labeled as UE1 and UE2, respectively) . Alternatively, the gNB-DU 705 may have one or more cells 220 (such as small cells) which are activated but not serve the UEs 220-2 and 220-3.

The device 205 sends (715) a request for the UE report, for example, a SRS, to the UE 220-2 and sends (720) a request for the UE report, for example, a SRS to the UE 220-3 in the macro cell 605 to collect the clustering information of the UEs 220-2 and 220-3. Alternatively or in addition, the device 205 may request the UEs 220-2 and 220-3 to provide the location information such as current locations or mobility patterns of the UEs 220-2 and 220-3.

The UE 220-2 transmits (725) a report, for example, a SRS to the device 205, and the UE 220-3 transmits (730) a report, for example, a SRS to the device 205. Alternatively or in addition, the UEs 220-2 and 220-3 may transmit other information such as locations, mobility patterns or the like.

The device 205 detects (735) the clustered UEs based on the received information from the UE, for example, the power of the SRSs in the individual cells 220 using different receiving beams or based on the locations and mobility patterns of the UEs 220-2 and 220-3. The device 205 sends (740) an F1 Application Protocol (F1AP) message to a gNB-CU 745 to provide the clustering information of the UEs 220-2 and 220-3. The clustering information may be transmitted as part of UE-associated signaling for the related UEs 220-2 and 220-3, or non-UE-associated signaling for all UEs that have been detected as clustered UEs. The gNB-CU 745 may also receive the clustering information of the UEs 220 from other devices on the airborne platform or on the ground such as a neighboring device. The clustering information may include the information received from the UEs, and may also include the identity of the UE, the required quality of service for the UE’s service, the geo area of the clustered UEs, or the like. In some embodiments, the information from the UE may be received in a message that can only be terminated at the gNB-CU. For example, the UE sends the information in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message that is only terminated at the gNB-CU. The gNB-CU 745 may consolidate the clustering information received from the UEs 220-2 and 220-3, from the gNB-DU 705, and from the neighboring gNB-CU. The gNB-CU 745 may make a final decision on the clustered UEs.

There are two options for the gNB-CU 745 to proceed. An option is to activate a new cell 215. As shown, the gNB-CU 745 determines (750) to activate a new cell. The gNB-CU 745 sends (755) an F1AP message to inform the device 205 to activate a cell for serving the clustered UEs 220-2 and 220-3. For example, the gNB-CU 745 may initiate an F1 CU configuration update procedure to activate the cell 215 for clustered UEs 220-2 and 220-3. The F1AP message sent by the gNB-CU 745 to the device 205 may include full or part of the clustering information of the UEs 220-2 and 220-3, and may also indicate a target coverage area that the new cell 215 to serve. Accordingly, the device 205 activates (760) the new cell 215 to serve the clustered UEs 220-2 and 220-3.

The other option for the gNB-CU 745 is to adjust a coverage area of an existing cell 215 if the device 205 has already activated a cell 215 for the UEs 220-2 and 220-3. As shown, the gNB-CU 745 determines (765) to adjust a coverage area of an existing cell 215 to serve the clustered UEs 220-2 and 220-3. The gNB-CU 745 sends (770) a F1AP message to inform adjustment of the coverage area of an existing cell 215. The gNB-CU 745 may include the clustering information of the UEs 220-2 and 220-3 in the F1AP message. The clustering information may indicate a target coverage area that the cell 215 to be adjusted needs to serve. Accordingly, the device 205 adjusts (775) the coverage area of the existing cell 215, for example, by changing the beam direction and/or beam shape. If an UE currently served by the cell 215 to be adjusted will be affected to be not able to connect to the cell 215 anymore, the gNB-CU 745 may handover this UE to the macro cell 605, or another cell 215.

FIG. 8 shows an example signaling flow 800 for cell update according to some other example embodiments of the present disclosure.

Compared to the signaling flow 700 as shown in FIG. 7, the signaling flow 800 involves a neighboring gNB 805. As shown in FIG. 8, the neighboring gNB 805 sends (810) an Xn message to provide the clustering information of the UEs 220-2 and 220-3 to the gNB-CU 745. In an example embodiment, the gNB-CU 745 may make the determination considering at least one of the information from the gNB-DU 705, the information from the UE, and the information from the neighboring gNB.

FIG. 9 is a simplified block diagram of a device 800 that is suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure.

As shown, the device 900 includes a processor 910, a memory 920 coupled to the processor 910, a communication module 930 coupled to the processor 910, and a communication interface (not shown) coupled to the communication module 930. The memory 920 stores at least a program 940. The communication module 930 is for bidirectional communications, for example, via multiple antennas. The communication interface may represent any interface that is necessary for communication.

The program 940 is assumed to include program instructions that, when executed by the associated processor 910, enable the device 900 to operate in accordance with the example embodiments of the present disclosure, as discussed herein with reference to FIGS. 1-8. The example embodiments herein may be implemented by computer software executable by the processor 910 of the device 900, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. The processor 910 may be configured to implement various example embodiments of the present disclosure.

The memory 920 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, semiconductor based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory, as non-limiting examples. While only one memory 920 is shown in the device 900, there may be several physically distinct memory modules in the device 900. The processor 910 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network, and may include one or more of general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on multicore processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. The device 900 may have multiple processors, such as an application specific integrated circuit chip that is slaved in time to a clock which synchronizes the main processor.

When the device 900 acts as the device 205, the processor 910 and the communication module 930 may cooperate to implement the method 400 as described above with reference to FIGS. 2-4. When the device 900 acts as a base station or a part of the base station such as a CU of the base station or a network device such as a CN device or an O&M device, the processor 910 and the communication module 930 may cooperate to implement the method 500 as described above with reference to FIG. 5. All operations and features as described above with reference to FIGS. 2-8 are likewise applicable to the device 900 and have similar effects. For the purpose of simplification, the details will be omitted.

Generally, various example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device. While various aspects of example embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other pictorial representations, it is to be understood that the block, apparatus, system, technique or method described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, being executed in a device on a target real or virtual processor, to carry out the

method

400 or 500 as described above with reference to FIGS. 2-8. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, or the like that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as desired in various example embodiments. Machine-executable instructions for program modules may be executed within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

Program code for carrying out methods of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes may be provided to a processor or controller of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that the program codes, when executed by the processor or controller, cause the functions/operations specified in the flowcharts and/or block diagrams to be implemented. The program code may execute entirely on a machine, partly on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the machine and partly on a remote machine or entirely on the remote machine or server.

In the context of the present disclosure, the computer program codes or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable the device, apparatus or processor to perform various processes and operations as described above. Examples of the carrier include a signal, computer readable media.

The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readable medium may include but not limited to an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of the computer readable storage medium would include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM) , a read-only memory (ROM) , an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory) , an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) , Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) , an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

Further, while operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Likewise, while several specific implementation details are contained in the above discussions, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular example embodiments. Certain features that are described in the context of separate example embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple example embodiments separately or in any suitable sub-combination.

Although the present disclosure has been described in languages specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the present disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Various example embodiments of the techniques have been described. In addition to or as an alternative to the above, the following examples are described. The features described in any of the following examples may be utilized with any of the other examples described herein.

In some aspects, a device comprises: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the device to: obtain clustering information of a group of UEs; and determine, based on the clustering information, an action to be performed, the action comprising: activating a new cell to serve the group of UEs via an airborne platform, adjusting a coverage area of an existing cell to serve the group of UEs via the airborne platform, or sending the clustering information of the group of UEs to a neighboring device.

In some example embodiments, the device is caused to obtain the clustering information of the group of UEs by: collecting information associated with a plurality of UEs; determining, based on the information associated with the plurality of UEs, the group of UEs from the plurality of UEs; and determining the clustering information of the group of UEs from the information associated with the plurality of UEs.

In some example embodiments, the information associated with the plurality of UEs comprises at least one of: a measurement report from at least one of the plurality of UEs, location information of at least one of the plurality of UEs, mobility information of at least one of the plurality of UEs, timing advance of at least one of the plurality of UEs, Doppler frequency shift information of at least one of the plurality of UEs, or a reference signal quality from at least one of the plurality of UEs.

In some example embodiments, the device is further caused to obtain the clustering information of the group of UEs by: receiving the clustering information of the group of UEs from at least one of a device operating on the airborne platform, or a neighboring device.

In some example embodiments, the device is caused to determine the action to be performed by: in accordance with a determination that the group of UEs is to be served by the neighboring device, determining to send the clustering information of the group of UEs to the neighboring device.

In some example embodiments, the device is implemented at a central unit of a base station, and the device is further caused to: in accordance with a determination to activate the new cell or adjust the coverage area of the existing cell, send, to a distributed unit of the base station operating on the airborne platform, an indication of activating the new cell or adjusting the coverage area of the existing cell.

In some aspects, a device comprises: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the device to: receive, from a further device, an indication of activating a new cell or adjusting a coverage area of an existing cell, to serve a group of UEs via an airborne platform; and activate the new cell or adjust the coverage area of the existing cell based on the received indication.

In some example embodiments, the device is further caused to: receive, from a plurality of UEs, information associated with the plurality of UEs; determine, based on the information associated with the plurality of UEs, the group of UEs from the plurality of UEs; determine clustering information of the group of UEs from the information associated with the plurality of UEs; and send, to the further device, the clustering information of the group of UEs.

In some example embodiments, the device is further caused to: send, to at least one of the plurality of UEs, a request for information associated with the at least one of the plurality of UEs.

In some example embodiments, the received information associated with the plurality of UEs comprises at least one of: a measurement report from at least one of the plurality of UEs, location information of at least one of the plurality of UEs, mobility information of at least one of the plurality of UEs, timing advance of at least one of the plurality of UEs, Doppler frequency shift information of at least one of the plurality of UEs, or a reference signal quality from at least one of the plurality of UEs.

In some example embodiments, the device is caused to adjust the coverage area of the existing cell by: adjusting at least one of an antenna direction, a beam width or a beam shape, associated with the existing cell.

In some example embodiments, the device is implemented at a distributed unit of a base station, the distributed unit operating on an airborne platform.

In some aspects, a method comprises: obtaining clustering information of a group of UEs; and determining, based on the clustering information, an action to be performed, the action comprising: activating a new cell to serve the group of UEs via an airborne platform, adjusting a coverage area of an existing cell to serve the group of UEs via the airborne platform, or sending the clustering information of the group of UEs to a neighboring device.

In some example embodiments, obtaining the clustering information of the group of UEs comprises: collecting information associated with a plurality of UEs; determining, based on the information associated with the plurality of UEs, the group of UEs from the plurality of UEs; and determining the clustering information of the group of UEs from the information associated with the plurality of UEs.

In some example embodiments, obtaining the clustering information of the group of UEs further comprises: receiving the clustering information of the group of UEs from at least one of a device operating on the airborne platform, or a neighboring device.

In some example embodiments, determining the action to be performed comprises: in accordance with a determination that the group of UEs is to be served by the neighboring device, determining to send the clustering information of the group of UEs to the neighboring device.

In some example embodiments, the method is implemented at a central unit of a base station, and the method further comprises: in accordance with a determination to activate the new cell or adjust the coverage area of the existing cell, sending, to a distributed unit of the base station operating on the airborne platform, an indication of activating the new cell or adjusting the coverage area of the existing cell.

In some aspects, a method comprising: receiving, from a further device, an indication of activating a new cell or adjusting a coverage area of an existing cell, to serve a group of UEs via an airborne platform; and activating the new cell or adjusting the coverage area of the existing cell based on the received indication.

In some example embodiments, the method further comprises: receiving, from a plurality of UEs, information associated with the plurality of UEs; determining, based on the information associated with the plurality of UEs, the group of UEs from the plurality of UEs; determining clustering information of the group of UEs from the information associated with the plurality of UEs; and sending, to the further device, the clustering information of the group of UEs.

In some example embodiments, the method further comprises: sending, to at least one of the plurality of UEs, a request for information associated with the at least one of the plurality of UEs.

In some example embodiments, wherein adjusting the coverage area of the existing cell comprises: adjusting at least one of an antenna direction, a beam width or a beam shape, associated with the existing cell.

In some example embodiments, the method is implemented at a distributed unit of a base station, the distributed unit operating on an airborne platform, and the further device comprises a central unit of the base station.

In some aspects, an apparatus comprises: means for obtaining clustering information of a group of UEs; and means for determining, based on the clustering information, an action to be performed, the action comprising: activating a new cell to serve the group of UEs via an airborne platform, adjusting a coverage area of an existing cell to serve the group of UEs via the airborne platform, or sending the clustering information of the group of UEs to a neighboring device.

In some example embodiments, the means for obtaining the clustering information of the group of UEs comprises: means for collecting information associated with a plurality of UEs; means for determining, based on the information associated with the plurality of UEs, the group of UEs from the plurality of UEs; and means for determining the clustering information of the group of UEs from the information associated with the plurality of UEs.

In some example embodiments, the means for obtaining the clustering information of the group of UEs further comprises: means for receiving the clustering information of the group of UEs from at least one of a device operating on the airborne platform, or a neighboring device.

In some example embodiments, the means for determining the action to be performed comprises: means for in accordance with a determination that the group of UEs is to be served by the neighboring device, determining to send the clustering information of the group of UEs to the neighboring device.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus is implemented at a central unit of a base station, and the apparatus further comprises: means for in accordance with a determination to activate the new cell or adjust the coverage area of the existing cell, sending, to a distributed unit of the base station operating on the airborne platform, an indication of activating the new cell or adjusting the coverage area of the existing cell.

In some aspects, an apparatus comprises: receiving, from a further device, an indication of activating a new cell or adjusting a coverage area of an existing cell, to serve a group of UEs via an airborne platform; and means for activating the new cell or adjusting the coverage area of the existing cell based on the received indication.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: means for receiving, from a plurality of UEs, information associated with the plurality of UEs; means for determining, based on the information associated with the plurality of UEs, the group of UEs from the plurality of UEs; means for determining clustering information of the group of UEs from the information associated with the plurality of UEs; and means for sending, to the further device, the clustering information of the group of UEs.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: means for sending, to at least one of the plurality of UEs, a request for information associated with the at least one of the plurality of UEs.

In some example embodiments, wherein the means for adjusting the coverage area of the existing cell comprises: means for adjusting at least one of an antenna direction, a beam width or a beam shape, associated with the existing cell.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus is implemented at a distributed unit of a base station, the distributed unit operating on an airborne platform.

In some aspects, a computer readable storage medium comprises program instructions stored thereon, the instructions, when executed by a processor of a device, causing the device to perform the method according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

Claims

A device comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code;

the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the device to:

obtain clustering information of a group of user equipment, UEs; and

determine, based on the clustering information, an action to be performed, the action comprising:

activating a new cell to serve the group of UEs via an airborne platform,

adjusting a coverage area of an existing cell to serve the group of UEs via the airborne platform, or

sending the clustering information of the group of UEs to a neighboring device.
The device of claim 1, wherein the device is caused to obtain the clustering information of the group of UEs by:

collecting information associated with a plurality of UEs;

determining, based on the information associated with the plurality of UEs, the group of UEs from the plurality of UEs; and

determining the clustering information of the group of UEs from the information associated with the plurality of UEs.
The device of claim 2, wherein the information associated with the plurality of UEs comprises at least one of:

a measurement report from at least one of the plurality of UEs,

location information of at least one of the plurality of UEs,

mobility information of at least one of the plurality of UEs,

timing advance of at least one of the plurality of UEs,

Doppler frequency shift information of at least one of the plurality of UEs, or

a reference signal quality from at least one of the plurality of UEs.
The device of claim 1, wherein the device is further caused to obtain the clustering information of the group of UEs by:

receiving the clustering information of the group of UEs from at least one of a device operating on the airborne platform, or a neighboring device.
The device of any of claims 1-4, wherein the device is caused to determine the action to be performed by:

in accordance with a determination that the group of UEs is to be served by the neighboring device, determining to send the clustering information of the group of UEs to the neighboring device.
The device of any of claims 1-5, wherein the device is implemented at a central unit of a base station, and the device is further caused to:

in accordance with a determination to activate the new cell or adjust the coverage area of the existing cell, send, to a distributed unit of the base station operating on the airborne platform, an indication of activating the new cell or adjusting the coverage area of the existing cell.
A device comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code;

the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the device to:

receive, from a further device, an indication of activating a new cell or adjusting a coverage area of an existing cell, to serve a group of user equipment, UEs, via an airborne platform; and

activate the new cell or adjust the coverage area of the existing cell based on the received indication.
The device of claim 7, wherein the device is further caused to:

receive, from a plurality of user equipment, UEs, information associated with the plurality of UEs;

determine, based on the information associated with the plurality of UEs, the group of UEs from the plurality of UEs;

determine clustering information of the group of UEs from the information associated with the plurality of UEs; and

send, to the further device, the clustering information of the group of UEs.
The device of claim 8, wherein the device is further caused to:

send, to at least one of the plurality of UEs, a request for information associated with the at least one of the plurality of UEs.
The device of claim 8 or 9, wherein the received information associated with the plurality of UEs comprises at least one of:

a measurement report from at least one of the plurality of UEs,

location information of at least one of the plurality of UEs,

mobility information of at least one of the plurality of UEs,

timing advance of at least one of the plurality of UEs,

Doppler frequency shift information of at least one of the plurality of UEs, or

a reference signal quality from at least one of the plurality of UEs.
The device of any of claims 7-10, wherein the device is caused to adjust the coverage area of the existing cell by:

adjusting at least one of an antenna direction, a beam width or a beam shape, associated with the existing cell.
The device of any of claims 8-11, wherein

the device is implemented at a distributed unit of a base station, the distributed unit operating on the airborne platform.
A method comprising:

obtaining clustering information of a group of user equipment, UEs; and

determining, based on the clustering information, an action to be performed, the action comprising:

activating a new cell to serve the group of UEs via an airborne platform,

adjusting a coverage area of an existing cell to serve the group of UEs via the airborne platform, or

sending the clustering information of the group of UEs to a neighboring device.
The method of claim 13, wherein obtaining the clustering information of the group of UEs comprises:

collecting information associated with a plurality of UEs;

determining, based on the information associated with the plurality of UEs, the group of UEs from the plurality of UEs; and

determining the clustering information of the group of UEs from the information associated with the plurality of UEs.
The method of claim 14, wherein the information associated with the plurality of UEs comprises at least one of:

a measurement report from at least one of the plurality of UEs,

location information of at least one of the plurality of UEs,

mobility information of at least one of the plurality of UEs,

timing advance of at least one of the plurality of UEs,

Doppler frequency shift information of at least one of the plurality of UEs, or

a reference signal quality from at least one of the plurality of UEs.
The method of claim 13, wherein obtaining the clustering information of the group of UEs further comprises:

receiving the clustering information of the group of UEs from at least one of a device operating on the airborne platform, or a neighboring device.
The method of any of claims 13-16, wherein determining the action to be performed comprises:

in accordance with a determination that the group of UEs is to be served by the neighboring device, determining to send the clustering information of the group of UEs to the neighboring device.
The method of any of claims 13-17, wherein the method is implemented at a central unit of a base station, and the method further comprises:

in accordance with a determination to activate the new cell or adjust the coverage area of the existing cell, sending, to a distributed unit of the base station operating on the airborne platform, an indication of activating the new cell or adjusting the coverage area of the existing cell.
A method comprising:

receiving, from a further device, an indication of activating a new cell or adjusting a coverage area of an existing cell, to serve a group of user equipment, UEs, via an airborne platform; and

activating the new cell or adjusting the coverage area of the existing cell based on the received indication.
The method of claim 19, further comprising:

receiving, from a plurality of user equipment, UEs, information associated with the plurality of UEs;

determining, based on the information associated with the plurality of UEs, the group of UEs from the plurality of UEs;

determining clustering information of the group of UEs from the information associated with the plurality of UEs; and

sending, to the further device, the clustering information of the group of UEs.
The method of claim 20, further comprising:

sending, to at least one of the plurality of UEs, a request for information associated with the at least one of the plurality of UEs.
The method of claim 20 or 21, wherein the received information associated with the plurality of UEs comprises at least one of:

a measurement report from at least one of the plurality of UEs,

location information of at least one of the plurality of UEs,

mobility information of at least one of the plurality of UEs,

timing advance of at least one of the plurality of UEs,

Doppler frequency shift information of at least one of the plurality of UEs, or

a reference signal quality from at least one of the plurality of UEs.
The method of any of claims 19-22, wherein adjusting the coverage area of the existing cell comprises:

adjusting at least one of an antenna direction, a beam width or a beam shape, associated with the existing cell.
The method of any of claims 19-23, wherein

the method is implemented at a distributed unit of a base station, the distributed unit operating on the airborne platform.
An apparatus comprising:

means for obtaining clustering information of a group of user equipment, UEs; and

means for determining, based on the clustering information, an action to be performed, the action comprising:

activating a new cell to serve the group of UEs via an airborne platform,

adjusting a coverage area of an existing cell to serve the group of UEs via the airborne platform, or

sending the clustering information of the group of UEs to a neighboring device.
An apparatus comprising:

means for receiving, from a further device, an indication of activating a new cell or adjusting a coverage area of an existing cell, to serve a group of user equipment, UEs, via an airborne platform; and

means for activating the new cell or adjusting the coverage area of the existing cell based on the received indication.
A computer readable storage medium comprising program instructions stored thereon, the instructions, when executed by a processor of a device, causing the device to perform the method of any of claims 13-18.
A computer readable storage medium comprising program instructions stored thereon, the instructions, when executed by a processor of a device, causing the device to perform the method of any of claims 19-24.