WO2017034605A1

WO2017034605A1 - Automatic neighbor relation for lte/wlan aggregation

Info

Publication number: WO2017034605A1
Application number: PCT/US2015/066639
Authority: WO
Inventors: Alexander Sirotkin
Original assignee: Intel IP Corporation
Priority date: 2015-08-21
Filing date: 2015-12-18
Publication date: 2017-03-02

Abstract

Systems, apparatus, user equipment (UE), evolved node B (eNB), computer readable media, and methods are described for automatic neighbor relations in long term evolution (LTE), LTE-advanced, or similar communication systems. In one embodiment, an eNB transmits a first ANR configuration communication requesting the first UE to scan for one or more wireless local area network (WLAN) access points (AP) that share a first public land mobile network (PLMN) with the UE. The UE receives details of a WLAN termination (WT) associated with the first AP, and generates an ANR relations table entry associating the first AP with the WT. This may then be used to establish an Xw connection with the WT, and may also be used for LTE/WLAN aggregation (LWA) in some embodiments.

Description

AUTOMATIC NEIGHBOR RELATION FOR LTE/WLAN AGGREGATION

PRIORITY CLAIM

[0001] This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 62/208,181, filed on August 21, 2015, and entitled "AUTOMATIC NEIGHBOR RELATION (ANR) FOR LTE/WLAN

AGGREGATION (LWA)", which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] Embodiments pertain to systems, methods, and component devices for wireless communications, and particularly to devices, instructions, and operations for managing and establishing automatic neighbor relations in long term evolution (LTE), LTE-advanced, or similar communication systems.

BACKGROUND

[0003] LTE and LTE-advanced are standards for wireless communication of high-speed data for user equipment (UE) such as mobile telephones. In LTE- advanced and various wireless systems, carrier aggregation is a technology used by LTE-advanced where multiple carrier signals operating on different frequencies may be used to carry communications for a single UE, thus increasing the bandwidth available to a single device. Carrier aggregation is a technology used in some communication systems where one or more component carriers operate on unlicensed frequencies, and in some such embodiments, other communication technologies and devices such as wireless local area network (WLAN) access points (APs) may be combined with LTE evolved node B (eNB) infrastructure to provide increased bandwidth to user devices. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0004] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system including an evolved node B (eNB) and user equipment (UE) that may operate according to some embodiments described herein.

[0005] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a system that may be used with various embodiments for automatic neighbor relations (ANR) as described herein.

[0006] FIG. 3 illustrates aspects of network communications for ANR according to some embodiments.

[0007] FIG. 4 illustrates aspects of an ANR table entry according to some embodiments.

[0008] FIG. 5d describes a method performed by an eNB for ANR according to some embodiments.

[0009] FIG. 6 describes a method performed by a UE for ANR according to some embodiments.

[0010] FIG. 7 illustrates aspects of a computing machine, according to some example embodiments.

[0011] FIG. 8 illustrates aspects of a UE, in accordance with some example embodiments.

[0012] FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an example computer system machine which may be used in association with various embodiments described herein.

[0013] FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an example user equipment including aspects of wireless communication systems, which may be used in association with various embodiments described herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0014] Embodiments relate to systems, devices, apparatus, assemblies, methods, and computer readable media to enhance wireless communications, and particularly to communication systems that operate to establish automatic neighbor relations (ANR) that may be used with long term evolution (LTE) wireless local area network (WLAN) aggregation (LWA). The following description and the drawings illustrate specific embodiments to enable those skilled in the art to practice them. Other embodiments can incorporate structural, logical, electrical, process, and other changes. Portions and features of some embodiments can be included in, or substituted for, those of other embodiments, and are intended to cover all available equivalents of the elements described.

[0015] FIGs. 1 and 2 illustrate different aspects of a communication network 100 which may provide network access to various devices such as user equipment (UE) 101. FIG. 1 illustrates wireless communications between eNB 150 and UE 101 across air interface 190. In various embodiments, eNB 150 and UE 101 communicate using licensed frequencies that an operator of eNB 150 has exclusive access to, using standardized communications under LTE, LTE- advanced, or related standardized communications. FIG. 2 illustrates a broader system in which UE 101 may also communicate with access point (AP) 170 via air interface 190, but using different unlicensed frequencies. Embodiments described herein include ANR managed through eNB 150 and UE 101 to generate ANR tables and table entries. Such ANR tables may be used, for example, with LWA where portions data requested from network 195 by UE 101 may be sent via both UE 101 and AP 170.

[0016] In some embodiments, LWA is structured to operate as an addition to an LTE system where eNB 150 is a primary initial interface for UE 101 to network 195, and where the LWA connections with AP 170 are managed via initial communications and connections established between eNB 150 and UE 101. Thus, in contrast to systems where an eNB 150 operates LTE

communications in unlicensed bands with listen before talk as part of license assisted access (LAA) or LTE-unlicensed (LTE-U) operations to coexist with WLAN AP communications, LWA allows standardized communications using, for example, Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (e.g. "WiFi") on unlicensed frequency band with third generation partnership (3GPP) standard LTE communications operating the licensed bands, with the two technologies combined at the UE 101 and using an Xw 210 connection as described below. This enables simple upgrades to existing LTE, WLAN, or related infrastructure. The WLAN AP 170 and the eNB 150 may each continue to provide separate access to appropriate devices, but may also provide a combined service that provides the benefit of existing LTE or LTE- advanced infrastructure to WLAN AP providers such as a provider operating WLAN AP 170 as well as providing increased bandwidth to operators of a cellular network that includes eNB 150.

[0017] FIG. 1 illustrates a wireless network 100 detailing aspects of UE 101 and eNB 150 connected via an air interface 190. UE 101 and eNB 150 communicate using a system that supports carrier aggregation, such that air interface 190 supports multiple frequency carriers, shown as component carrier 180 and component carrier 185. Although two component carriers are illustrated, various embodiments may include any number of two or more component carriers.

[0018] Long term evolution (LTE) cellular communications historically operate with a centrally managed system designed to operate in a licensed spectrum for efficient resource usage. By contrast, systems operating in unlicensed bands do not have such a centrally managed system, and are structured to coexist with other devices that may contend for the unlicensed bands. WiFi systems provide for a first-come first-served operation where a device listens to a channel to see if it is in use before transmitting on the channel. Operating with such centrally managed use within unlicensed channels where systems not centrally controlled that use different channel access mechanisms than legacy LTE may be present carries significant risk of direct interference. LWA deals with this interference by splitting the management of the licensed and unlicensed bands as mentioned above.

[0019] In wireless network 100, the UE 101 and any other UE in the system may be, for example, laptop computers, smartphones, tablet computers, printers, machine-type devices such as smart meters or specialized devices for healthcare monitoring, remote security surveillance, an intelligent transportation system, or any other wireless devices with or without a user interface. The eNB 150 provides the UE 101 network connectivity to a broader network 195. This UE 101 connectivity is provided via the air interface 190 in an eNB service area provided by the eNB 150. In some embodiments, such a broader network may be a wide area network operated by a cellular network provider, or may be the Internet. Each eNB service area associated with the eNB 150 is supported by antennas integrated with the eNB 150. The service areas are divided into a number of sectors associated with certain antennas. Such sectors may be physically associated with fixed antennas or may be assigned to a physical area with tunable antennas or antenna settings adjustable in a beamforming process used to direct a signal to a particular sector. One embodiment of the eNB 150, for example, includes three sectors each covering a 120 degree area with an array of antennas directed to each sector to provide 360 degree coverage around the eNB 150, whereas WLAN AP 170 may be a small device or a grid of small AP devices that provide access to unlicensed channels with a smaller connectivity distance.

[0020] The UE 101 includes control circuitry 105 coupled with transmit circuitry 110 and receive circuitry 115. The transmit circuitry 110 and receive circuitry 115 may each be coupled with one or more antennas. The control circuitry 105 may be adapted to perform operations associated with wireless communications using carrier aggregation. The transmit circuitry 110 and receive circuitry 115 may be adapted to transmit and receive data, respectively. The control circuitry 105 may be adapted or configured to perform various operations such as those described elsewhere in mis disclosure related to a UE. The transmit circuitry 110 may transmit a plurality of multiplexed uplink physical channels. The plurality of uplink physical channels may be multiplexed according to time division multiplexing (TDM) or frequency division multiplexing (FDM) along with carrier aggregation. The transmit circuitry 110 may be configured to receive block data from the control circuitry 105 for transmission across the air interface 190. Similarly, the receive circuitry 115 may receive a plurality of multiplexed downlink physical channels from the air interface 190 and relay the physical channels to the control circuitry 105. The uplink and downlink physical channels may be multiplexed according to FDM. The transmit circuitry 110 and the receive circuitry 115 may transmit and receive both control data and content data (e.g. messages, images, video, et cetera) structured within data blocks that are carried by the physical channels.

[0021] FIG. 1 also illustrates the eNB 150, in accordance with various embodiments. The eNB 150 circuitry may include control circuitry 155 coupled with transmit circuitry 160 and receive circuitry 165. The transmit circuitry 160 and receive circuitry 165 may each be coupled with one or more antennas that may be used to enable communications via the air interlace 190.

[0022] The control circuitry 155 may be adapted to perform operations for managing channels and component carriers used with various UEs. The transmit circuitry 160 and receive circuitry 165 may be adapted to transmit and receive data, respectively, to any UE connected to eNB 150. The transmit circuitry 160 may transmit downlink physical channels comprised of a plurality of downlink subftames. The receive circuitry 165 may receive a plurality of uplink physical channels from various UEs including UE 101.

[0023] FIG. 2 then describes the system of FIG. 1 with WLAN AP 170 and associated WLAN termination (WT) 172 providing access to network 195, with a domain name system (DNS) 198 accessible via network 195. Additionally, XW 210 connection between eNB 150 and WT 172 is shown, which enables LWA communications in some embodiments.

[0024] Xw 210 is an interface to coordinate between eNB 150 and WLAN AP 170. The Xw 210 interface does not connect eNB 150 directly to AP 170, but terminates at WT 172. Details of the Xw 210 interface for some embodiments are defined by 3GPP standard release 13 (TS 36.461, 36.462,

3.463, 36.464 and 36.466.) In other embodiments, other interfaces may be used for managing such a connection.

[0025] WT 172 is a node that may physically be integrated with wireless circuitry in AP 170, or may be integrated with an access controller or another physical entity separate from AP 170 that is connected to AP 172. Regardless of whether WT 172 is integrated with AP 170 or separate from AP 170, all LWA communications using eNB 150 and AP 170 are managed through WT 172. This may include channel condition information or any other such information used by eNB 150 to manage LWA communications using AP 170.

[0026] As mentioned above, AP 170 and eNB ISO may be systems that operate independently. Discovery and configuration processes, including the ANR operations described herein, may be used to generate an ANR table at eNB 150 that stores information identifying AP 170 as available for various procedures such as LWA. The information in such an ANR table may then be used to establish Xw 210, and to then manage LWA via WT 172.

[0027] In order to establish the Xw 210 interface, eNB 150 uses a Transport Network Layer (TNL) address, which may be, for example, aninternet protocol (IP) address of WT 172. Without the IP address of WT 172, eNB 150 is unable to establish Xw 210. While in some embodiments, IP addresses for some WTs and other information (e.g. SS1D/BSSID) for corresponding APs may be provided directly by operator entry or selection, APs may be reconfigured or change. ANR processes described herein enable automatic discovery or updating of the information used by an eNB to establish and maintain an Xw connection with a WT associated with certain APs. Further, one an Xw connection is established, the ANR processes may further bue used to identify additional APs that are connected to the WT used for the Xw connection. In some systems, tens, hundreds, or even larger numbers of WLAN APs may exist within the coverage area for a single eNB. Direct configuration and maintenance of the information may thus be a substantial burden without the automation provided by ANR systems.

[0028] FIG. 3 then describes communications in network 100 according to certain embodiments. The example of FIG. 3 is shown with an illustrated embodiment using UE 101, eNB 150, WT 172, AP 170, and DNS 198. It will be apparent that other systems and configurations may be used, including systems with multiple UEs, WTs, APs, DNS servers and eNBs. For example, as a UE travels from the coverage area of a first eNB to the coverage area of a second eNB, the eNB managing any LWA communications will change. With certain overlapping situations, a single AP may be managed for LWA with different eNBs, while other APs and associated WTs will be different for different eNBs. In some embodiments, different DNS servers may be accessed to provide IP addresses for WTs in the coverage area of a single eNB. In other embodiments, any other such combinations of these elements may be structured as allowed by LWA operation. The ANR operations of FIG. 3 may be used for LWA purposes, but as mentioned above may also be used for other purposes, and some embodiments described herein do not include LWA communications. In some embodiments, for example, a radio area network (RAN) controlled LTE-WLAN internetworking (RCLWI) may use information from an ANR table.

[0029] The ANR operations described by FIG. 3 begin with measurement configuration operation 302 including eNB 150 transmitting an ANR configuration communication to UE 101. The UE does not necessarily know that the ANR configuration communication is for ANR, but the UE may simply receive this ANR configuration communication as an instruction to scan for information and return data. This communication operates as eNB 150 configuring UE 101 to perform a scan to identify APs. In embodiments where a particular SSID structure is used for LWA in the network, the eNB may use the measurement configuration operation 302 to inform UE 101 of the relevant SSID information and configure UE 101 to search for the relevant SSIDs. In some embodiments, this operation 302 is optional, and the UE 101 may have previously set configurations or to initiate ANR independent of the eNB. In some embodiments, the eNB may use other information to restrict UE scanning to limit the scanning for relevant APs only.

[0030] In operation 304, UE 101 scans for WLAN APs, and in operation 306, access network query protocol (ANQP) signaling is used to detect which public land mobile network (PLMN), if any, the AP belongs to. For example, in some embodiments, signaling according to IEEE 802.11-2012 section 8.4.4.11 "3GPP Cellular Network ANQP elements are used for operation 306. The content of such information may be defined by 3GPP specification TS 24.302, and includes a PLMN list. In other embodiments, ANQP may not be used. For example, if an operator uses a designated SSID for LWA-enabled APs, the check for PLMN using ANQP may not be needed. In various other embodiments, any such signaling may be used to allow the UE to determine relevant information for ANR, or simply to allow the UE to identify that the AP is associated with the UEs network operator independent of a specific ANR operation. This operation 306 may be repeated for every AP identified by the scanning of operation 304. In some embodiments, large numbers of APs may be identified by a single scan. Additionally, in some embodiments, the scan operation 304 may be performed periodically or in response to movement of UE 101 to identify APs that may not have been in range for an initial scan. For an AP that is not part of a relevant PLMN network, the AP is ignored. APs which belong to the same PLMN as eNB 150 such as AP 170 are flagged by UE 101 for inclusion in a measurement report. In some embodiments, multiple APs from the same PLMN may be identified, and the measurement report may additionally include signal quality information for each AP. In other embodiments, any other such signaling than ANR identification is handled separately.

[0031] After the scanning of operation 304 and the signaling of operation 306 is completed for at least one AP 170, a measurement report is sent from UE 101 to eNB 150 detailing the results of the scan in operation 308. In some embodiments, the creation of the measurement report also relys on AP measurement report trigger conditions, such as a signal strength threshold. If no APs sharing a PLMN arc identified or any discovered APs do not meet use thresholds, the report may include an identifier indicating this or the UE may simply not respond to the communication from the eNB. The eNB may assume that no appropriate AP was found if no response is received at the eNB. In some embodiments, a summary report for multiple APs sharing the PLMN is sent. In other embodiments, separate measurement report communications are sent for each AP sharing the same PLMN. In one embodiment, the measurement report includes a first identifier associated with the AP. This first identifier may be a basic SSID (BSSID), or any other such identifier associated with the AP, e.g. SSID or HESSID.

[0032] The eNB 150 then receives the information from the measurement report of operation 308, and uses this information to construct a domain name system (DNS) query using the identifier for AP 170 in the measurement report. This DNS query is then sent to DNS server 198, and is used to resolve an address of WT 172 in operation 308. In various embodiments, this operation 308 resolves a Transport Network Layer (TNL) address of the WT 172 when DNS 198 responds to the query from the eNB 150 with the address of WT 172. ENB 150 is then able to add this address information for AP 170 to an ANR table. The information may further be used to establish an Xw connection between eNB 150 and WT 172 in operation 312. As mentioned above, details of Xw connections are defined by the standards for the relevant communication system, and enable communications to and from UE 101 to be coordinated centrally via both eNB 150 and AP 170, as well as through other APs. For example, in some embodiments the Xw interface may be used to provide information about signal strength and loading for AP 170 to eNB 150. In other embodiments, the eNB may send an LWA activation request using a WT addition procedure to communicate a media access control (MAC) address of the UE which is about to connect to the AP as well as a security key to use for authentication.

[0033] As mentioned above, ANR operations such as those described above with respect to FIG. 3 and below with respect to FIGS. 5 and 6 result in an ANR table that may be used by communication systems for different purposes. Such an ANR table is used to establish and maintain an Xw connection between an eNB such as eNB 150 and a WT such as WT 172 associated with an AP. FIG. 4 illustrates an example ANR table structure 400, showing an example ANR table entry. Each table entry is associated with an AP that shares a PLMN with an eNB that has access to the table. The example structure includes elements in each entry for a WT identifier 410, a WT TNL address 420, an SSID list 425, a BSSID list 430, and a homogenous extended SSID (HESSID) 440. In various embodiments, any number of additional such elements may be included in an ANR table entry, or any of these elements may be structured separately or not used, so long as the ANR table includes information to enable an eNB to establish an Xw connection with the WTs of APs sharing the PLMN with the eNB.

[0034] FIG. 5 then describes a method 500 performed by an eNB for ANR. Additional details, examples, and alternatives then follow below. In various embodiments, different networks with different structures or additional devices may be used with an eNB performing such a method, and devices or instructions stored in memory may similarly be embodiments configured corresponding to the operations below. Circuitry of an eNB may be configured to perform method 500 according to any eNB or similar device described herein.

[0035] Initially, the eNB transmits, to a first UE, a first WLAN measurement configuration communication requesting the first UE to scan for one or more wireless local area network (WLAN) access points (AP) that share a first public land mobile network (PLMN) with the UE in operation 505.

[0036] In operation 510, the eNB receives from the first UE, a first identifier associated with a first AP identified by the first UE. This may include data described above with respect to FIG. 4, including SSID information, HESSID information, or any other identifiers associated with the an AP or the WT associated with an AP.

[0037] The eNB then determines, in operation 515, an address of the WLAN tennination (WT) associated with the first AP. This may be done by communicating with a domain name system (DNS) server to identify transport network layer (TNL) address ofaWT associated with the AP. A query may be sent to the DNS server requesting this information, with the eNB receiving a response including the TNL address.

[0038] In operation 520, the eNB generates an ANR relations table entry associating the first AP with the WT. This information may then be used by the eNB to initiate an Xw connection setup with the WT. The Xw connection setup may then be used by any UEs associated with the PLMN network. For example, a second UE associated with the same PLMN may rely on the Xw connection setup that was initiated previously without an interaction with the second UE. When the eNB identifies the second UE as enabled for LWA using APs on the same PLMN, the data from the ANR table and the established Xw connection may be used to communicate with the second UE via the WT and AP associated with the Xw connection.

[0039] FIG. 6 then describes a method 600 performed by a UE for ANR. Additional details, examples, and alternatives then follow. In various embodiments, different networks with different structures or additional devices may be used with a UE performing such a method, and devices or instructions stored in memory may similarly be embodiments configured corresponding to the operations below. Circuitry of a UE may be configured to perform method 500 according to any UE or similar device described herein.

[0040] The UE is configured to identify a public land mobile network (PLMN) associated with the UE in operation 60S. The UE then receives one or more wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) signals as part of a scanning process to identify one or more access points (APs) that share the PLMN with the UE in operation 610. In some embodiments, the UE may filter out APs that do belong to the same PLMN, but that do not support LWA.

[0041] Based on the signals received at the UE in operation 610, the UE accesses a set of ANR related information associated with the one or more WLAN AP signals. In various embodiments, this may include different SSID information associated with the APs. In other embodiments, this includes ANQP signaling to access an ANQP element that stores a list of PLMNs associated with the AP. The UE may parse this list for an AP to determine if a PLMN matching the PLMN associated with the UE is present in the APs ANQP element. In other embodiments, other information associated with an AP may be used. This information may be gathered for any number of APs by the UE as part of the ANR process.

[0042] In operation 620, the UE transmits WLAN measurement results information based on the data accessed from the APs in operation 620. In some embodiments, the ANR operations end at this point, with updated ANR information provided to an eNB by the UE. In optional operation 625, a LWA connection may be established using the eNB and the AP to provide data to the UE, based on the determination that the first AP is associated with the first PLMN.

EXAMPLES

[0043] In various embodiments, methods, apparatus, non-transitory media, computer program products, or other implementations may be presented as example embodiments in accordance with the descriptions provided above. Certain embodiments may include UEs such as phones, tablets, mobile computers, or other such devices. Some embodiments are integrated circuit components of such devices, such as baseband circuitry, application circuitry , radio frequency circuitry, or any other such circuitry of a device. In some embodiments, functionality may be on a single chip or multiple chips in an apparatus. Some such embodiments may further include transmit and receive circuitry on integrated or separate circuits, with antennas that are similarly integrated or separate structures of a device. Any such components or circuit elements may similarly apply to evolved node B embodiments described herein.

[0044] Example 1 is a computer readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, configure an evolved node B (eNB) for automatic neighbor relations (ANR), the instructions to configure the eNB to: transmit, to a first UE, a first ANR related WLAN measurement configuration communication requesting the first UE to scan for one or more wireless local area network (WLAN) access points (AP) that share a first public land mobile network (PLMN) with the UE; receive, from the first UE, a first identifier associated with a first AP identified by the first UE;

determine, by the eNB using the first identifier, an address of the WLAN termination (WT) associated with the first AP; and generate an ANR relations table entry associating the first AP with the WT.

[0045] In Example 2, the subject matter of Example 1 optionally includes wherein the instructions further configure the eNB to initiate an Xw connection setup with the WT associated the first AP.

[0046] In Example 3, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-2 optionally include-2 wherein the instructions further configure the eNB to determine the address of the WT with instructions to: generate, by the eNB, a first domain name system (DNS) query using the first identifier; initiate the DNS query to a DNS server to resolve a transport network layer (TNL) address of the WLAN termination (WT) associated with the first AP, wherein the TNL address is the address of the WT; and receive, from the DNS server, the TNL address of the first AP.

[0047] In Example 4, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-3 optionally include-3 wherein the instructions further configure the eNB to establish the Xw connection with the WT associated with the first AP and transmits data to the first UE via the Xw connection as part of an long term evolution (LTE)AVLAN aggregation (LWA) connections between the first UE and the first AP using the Xw connection.

[0048] In Example 5, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-4 optionally include-4 wherein the instructions further configure eNB to generate and store a UE ANR relations table comprising the first identifier of the first AP with the first ANR relations table entry.

[0049] In Example 6, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-5 optionally include-5 wherein the ANR relations table further comprises a WT identifier for the first AP, a WT NTL address for the first AP, a service set identifier (SSID), and a basic service set identifier (BSSID) associated with the first AP.

[0050] In Example 7, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-6 optionally include-6 wherein the ANR relations table further comprises a first plurality of WT identifiers for a first plurality of APs associated with the first PLMN.

[0051] In Example 8, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-7 optionally include-7 wherein the ANR relations table further comprises a second plurality of WT identifiers for a second plurality of APs associated with a second PLMN different from the first PLMN.

[0052] In Example 9, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-8 optionally include-8 wherein the ANR relations table further comprises hotspot extended service set identifiers for one or more APs.

[0053] In Example 10, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 1-9 optionally include wherein the Xw connection is established without a request by the first UE for a data transmission.

[0054] In Example 11, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 1-10 optionally include- 10 wherein the instructions further configure the eNB to: transmit, to the second UE, a second ANR related WLAN measurement configuration communication requesting the second UE to scan for one or more WLAN APs that share the first PLMN with the second UE; receive, from the second UE, the first identifier associated with a first AP identified by the second UE; and identify the WT from the ANR relations table. [0055] In Example 12, the subject matter of Example 11 optionally includes wherein the instructions further configure the eNB to communicate at least a portion of the data to the second UE using a previously established Xw with the WT associated with the first AP.

[0056] In Example 13, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 11-12 optionally include wherein the instructions further configure the eNB to establish a second Xw connection with the WT in response to identifying the WT from the ANR relations table.

[0057] In Example 14, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 1-13 optionally include- 10 wherein the instructions further configure the eNB to: ; transmit, to the second UE, a second ANR related WLAN measurement configuration communication requesting the second UE to scan for one or more WLAN APs that share a second PLMN with the second UE;

receive, from the second UE, a second identifier associated with a second AP identified by the second UE; and determine that the second AP is not identified by the ANR relations table; determine, by the eNB using the second identifier, a second address of a second WLAN termination (WT) associated with the second AP; and generate a second ANR relations table entry associating the second AP with the second WT.

[0058] Example 15 is an apparatus of an evolved node B (eNB) for automatic neighbor relations (ANR), the eNB comprising: baseband circuitry configured to: initiate an ANR relations table update using a first ANR related WLAN measurement configuration communication requesting the first UE to scan for one or more wireless local area network (WLAN) access points (AP) that share a first public land mobile network (PLMN) with the UE; process first identifier associated with a first AP identified by the first UE; determine an address of the WLAN termination (WT) associated with the first AP; and establish an Xw connection with the WT.

[0059] In Example 16, the subject matter of Example 15 optionally includes further comprising: radio frequency circuitry configured to: transmit the first ANR related WLAN measurement configuration communication to the first UE; receive the first identifier from the first UE; transmit the first identifier to a domain name system; and receive the address of the WT from the domain name system.

[0060] Example 17 is a computer readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, configure a user equipment (UE) for measurement reporting associated with automatic neighbor relations (ANR), the instructions to configure the UE to: identify, by the UE, a public land mobile network (PLMN) associated with the UE; receive one or more wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) signals as part of a scanning process to identify one or more access points (APs) that share the PLMN with the UE; access, by the UE, a set of ANR related information associated with the one or more WLAN AP signals; and transmit the set of ANR information from the UE to an evolved node B (eNB).

[0061] In Example 18, the subject matter of Example 17 optionally includes wherein the instructions further configure the UE to: access, using access network query protocol (ANQP) signaling, a cellular network ANQP element comprising a list of PLMNs associated with the AP; and determine, that a first AP associated with a first WLAN AP signal of the one or more WLAN AP signals is associated with the first PLMN.

[0062] In Example 19, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 17-18 optionally include- 18 wherein the instructions further configure the UE to establish a long term evolution (LTE)/WLAN aggregation (LWA) connection with the first AP based on the determination that the first AP is associated with the first PLMN.

[0063] In Example 20, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 17-19 optionally include- 19 wherein the instructions configure the UE to establish the LWA connection using instructions for the UE to: determine a basic service set identifier (BSSID) associated with the first AP; and transmit the BSSID associated with the first AP to the eNB.

[0064] In Example 21, the subject matter of Examples 19-20 optionally includes embodiments wherein the instructions further configure the UE to establish the LWA connection using instructions for the UE to: receive, from the eNB, a first portion of a LWA communication established by the eNB with the first UE using domain name signaling to resolve the internet protocol address of the WLAN termination (WT) for the first access point using an Xw interface; receive, from the first eNB, a second portion of the LWA communication established by the eNB.

[0065] In Example 22, the subject matter of Example 21 optionally includes wherein the instructions further configure the UE to establish the LWA connection using instructions for the UE to: transmit a second ANQP signal, prior to establishing the LWA connection, to the first AP, wherein the second ANQP signal comprises a query to detect that the first AP supports LWA; and determine by the UE, in response to the second ANQP signal, that the first AP supports LWA.

[0066] In Example 23, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 21-22 optionally include wherein the instructions further configure the UE to establish the LWA connection using instructions for the UE to: identify a set of separate service set identifiers (SSIDs) for LWA-enabled APs; identify a first SSID for the first AP as port of the set of separate SSIDs for LWA-enabled APs; and communicate the first SSID from the UE to the eNB.

[0067] Example 24 is an apparatus of an user equipment (UE) for automatic neighbor relations (ANR), the UE comprising: radio frequency (RF) circuitry configured to: receive one or more wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) signals as part of a scanning process to identify one or more access points (APs) that share a public land mobile network (PLMN) with the UE; transmit the set of ANR information from the UE to an evolved node B (eNB); and baseband circuitry configured to: process the first ANR configuration communication to initiate a scan for the one or more WLAN AP signals; and identify the set of ANR information from the one or more WLAN AP signals.

[0068] In Example 25, the subject matter of Example 24 optionally includes further comprising: one or more antennas coupled to the RF circuitry; and application circuitry configured to initiate a request for application data from a network via the eNB; wherein the first ANR configuration communication is received at the UE in response to an ANR configuration process initiated by the eNB to generate WLAN measurements for ANR. [0069] Example 26 is an NB comprising baseband circuitry and/or radio frequency (RF) circuitry that include: a long term evolution (LTE) interface to communicate with a user equipment (UE); and a Xw interface to communicate with a wireless local area network (WLAN) termination (WT).

[0070] Example 27 may include the eNB of example25 or some other example herein, wherein the eNB is to schedule one or more UE WLAN measurements for automatic neighbor relation (ANR).

[0071] Example 28 may include the eNB of example 27 or some other example herein, wherein the eNB is further to query a domain name server (DNS) server to resolve a WT transport network layer (TNL) address based on a WLAN access point (AP) basic service set identification (BSSID) and/or homogenous extended service set identifier (HESSID).

[0072] Example 29 may include a method comprising communicating, by an evolved NodeB (eNB) via a long term evolution (LTE) interface, with a user equipment (UE); and communicating, by the eNB via an Xw interface, with a wireless local area network (WLAN) termination (WT).

[0073] Example 30 may include the method of example 29 or some other example herein, further comprising scheduling, by the eNB, one or more UE WLAN measurements for automatic neighbor relation (ANR).

[0074] Example 31 may include the eNB of example 30 or some other example herein, further comprising querying, by the eNB, a domain name server (DNS) server to resolve a WT transport network layer (TNL) address based on a WLAN access point (AP) basic service set identification (BSSID) and/or homogenous extended service set identifier (HESSID).

[0075] Example 32 may include an apparatus comprising means to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any of examples 26-31 or any other method or process described herein.

[0076] Example 33 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media comprising instructions to cause an electronic device, upon execution of the instructions by one or more processors of the electronic device, to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any of examples above, or any other method or process described herein. [0077] Example 34 may include an apparatus comprising logic, modules, and/or circuitry to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any of examples above, or any other method or process described herein.

[0078] Example 35 may include a method, technique, or process as described in or related to any of examples above, or portions or parts thereof.

[0079] Example 36 may include a method of communicating in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0080] Example 37 may include a system for providing wireless communication as shown and described herein.

[0081] Example 38 may include a device for providing wireless communication as shown and described herein.

[0082] Further, in addition to the specific combinations of examples described above, any of the examples detailing further implementations of an element of an apparatus or medium may be applied to any other corresponding apparatus or medium, or may be implemented in conjunction with another apparatus or medium. Thus, each example above may be combined with each other example in various ways both as implementations in a system and as combinations of elements to generate an embodiment from the combination of each example or group of examples. For example, any embodiment above describing a transmitting device will have an embodiment that receives the transmission, even if such an embodiment is not specifically detailed. Similarly, methods, apparatus examples, and computer readable medium examples may each have a corresponding example of the other type even if such examples for every embodiment are not specifically detailed.

EXAMPLE SYSTEMS AND DEVICES

[0083] FIG. 7 illustrates aspects of a computing machine according to some example embodiments. Embodiments described herein may be implemented into a system 700 using any suitably configured hardware and/or software. FIG. 7 illustrates, for some embodiments, an example system 700 comprising radio frequency (RF) circuitry 735, baseband circuitry 730, application circuitry 725, memory/storage 740, a display 705, a camera 720, a sensor 715, and an input/output (I/O) interface 710, coupled with each other at least as shown. [0084] The application circuitry 725 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processors) may include any combination of general-purpose processors and dedicated processors (e.g., graphics processors, application processors, etc.). The processors may be coupled with the memory/storage 740 and configured to execute instructions stored in the memory/storage 740 to enable various applications and/or operating systems running on the system 700.

[0085] The baseband circuitry 730 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processors) may include a baseband processor. The baseband circuitry 730 may handle various radio control functions that enable communication with one or more radio networks via the RF circuitry 735. The radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation, encoding, decoding, radio frequency shifting, and the like. In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 730 may provide for communication compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 730 may support communication with an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (EUTRAN), other wireless metropolitan area networks (WMANs), a wireless local area network (WLAN), or a wireless personal area network (WPAN). Embodiments in which the baseband circuitry 730 is configured to support radio communications of more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as multi-mode baseband circuitry.

[0086] In various embodiments, the baseband circuitry 730 may include circuitry to operate with signals that are not strictly considered as being in a baseband frequency. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 730 may include circuitry to operate with signals having an intermediate frequency, which is between a baseband frequency and a radio frequency.

[0087] The RF circuitry 735 may enable communication with wireless networks using modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. In various embodiments, the RF circuitry 735 may include switches, filters, amplifiers, and the like to facilitate the communication with the wireless network. [0088] In various embodiments, the RF circuitry 735 may include circuitry to operate with signals that are not strictly considered as being in a radio frequency. For example, in some embodiments, the RF circuitry 735 may include circuitry to operate with signals having an intermediate requency, which is between a baseband frequency and a radio frequency .

[0089] In various embodiments, the transmitter circuitry or receiver circuitry discussed above with respect to the UE or eNB may be embodied in whole or in part in one or more of the RF circuitry 735, the baseband circuitry 730, and/or the application circuitry 725.

[0090] In some embodiments, some or all of the constituent components of a baseband processor may be used to implement aspects of any embodiment described herein. Such embodiments may be implemented by the baseband circuitry 730, the application circuitry 725, and/or the memory/storage 740 may be implemented together on a system on a chip (SOC).

[0091] The memory/storage 740 may be used to load and store data and/or instructions, for example, for the system 700. The memory/storage 740 for one embodiment may include any combination of suitable volatile memory (e.g., dynamic random access memory (DRAM)) and/or non-volatile memory (e.g., flash memory).

[0092] In various embodiments, the I/O interface 710 may include one or more user interfaces designed to enable user interaction with the system 700 and/or peripheral component interfaces designed to enable peripheral component interaction with the system 700. User interfaces may include, but are not limited to, a physical keyboard or keypad, a touchpad, a speaker, a microphone, and so forth. Peripheral component interfaces may include, but are not limited to, a nonvolatile memory port, a universal serial bus (USB) port, an audio jack, and a power supply interface.

[0093] In various embodiments, the sensor 715 may include one or more sensing devices to determine environmental conditions and/or location information related to the system 700. In some embodiments, the sensors 715 may include, but are not limited to, a gyro sensor, an accelerometer, a proximity sensor, an ambient light sensor, and a positioning unit. The positioning unit may also be part of, or interact with, the baseband circuitry 730 and/or RF circuitry 735 to communicate with components of a positioning network (e.g., a global positioning system (GPS) satellite). In various embodiments, the display 705 may include a display (e.g., a liquid crystal display, a touch screen display, etc.).

[0094] In various embodiments, the system 700 may be a mobile computing device such as, but not limited to, a laptop computing device, a tablet computing device, a netbook, an ultrabook, a smartphone, and the like. In various embodiments, the system 700 may have more or fewer components, and/or different architectures.

[0095] FIG. 8 shows an example UE, illustrated as a UE 800. The UE 800 may be an implementation of the UE 71 , the eNB 150, or any device described herein. The UE 800 can include one or more antennas 808 configured to communicate with a transmission station, such as abase station (BS), an eNB, or another type of wireless wide area network (WWAN) access point. The UE 800 can be configured to communicate using at least one wireless communication standard including 3GPP LTE, WiMAX, High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), Bluetooth, and WiFi. The UE 800 can communicate using separate antennas for each wireless communication standard or shared antennas for multiple wireless communication standards. The UE 800 can communicate in a WLAN, a WPAN, and/or a WWAN.

[0096] FIG. 8 also shows a microphone 820 and one or more speakers 812 that can be used for audio input and output to and from the UE 800. A display screen 804 can be a liquid crystal display (LCD) screen, or another type of display screen such as an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display. The display screen 804 can be configured as a touch screen. The touch screen can use capacitive, resistive, or another type of touch screen technology. An application processor 814 and a graphics processor 818 can be coupled to an internal memory 816 to provide processing and display capabilities. A nonvolatile memory port 810 can also be used to provide data I/O options to a user. The non-volatile memory port 810 can also be used to expand the memory capabilities of the UE 800. A keyboard 806 can be integrated with the UE 800 or wirelessly connected to the UE 800 to provide additional user input. A virtual keyboard can also be provided using the touch screen. A camera 822 located on the front (display screen) side or the rear side of the UE 800 can also be integrated into the housing 802 of the UE 800.

[0097] FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an example computer system machine 900 upon which any one or more of the methodologies herein discussed can be run, and which may be used to implement the eNB 150, the UE 71, or any other device described herein. In various alternative embodiments, the machine operates as a standalone device or can be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines. In a networked deployment, the machine can operate in the capacity of either a server or a client machine in server-client network environments, or it can act as a peer machine in peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environments. The machine can be a personal computer (PC) that may or may not be portable (e.g., a notebook or a netbook), a tablet, a set-top box (STB), a gaming console, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a mobile telephone or smartphone, a web appliance, a network router, switch, or bridge, or any machine capable of executing instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. Further, while only a single machine is illustrated, the term "machine" shall also be taken to include any collection of machines that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein.

[0098] The example computer system machine 900 includes a processor 902 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), or both), a main memory 904, and a static memory 906, which communicate with each other via an interconnect 908 (e.g., a link, a bus, etc.). The computer system machine 900 can further include a video display unit 910, an alphanumeric input device 912 (e.g., a keyboard), and a user interface (UI) navigation device 914 (e.g., a mouse). In one embodiment, the video display unit 910, input device 912, and UI navigation device 914 are a touch screen display. The computer system machine 900 can additionally include a mass storage device 916 (e.g., a drive unit), a signal generation device 918 (e.g., a speaker), an output controller 932, a power management controller 934, a network interface device 920 (which can include or operably communicate with one or more antennas 930, transceivers, or other wireless communications hardware), and one or more sensors 928, such as a GPS sensor, compass, location sensor, accelerometer, or other sensor.

[0099] The storage device 916 includes a machine-readable medium 922 on which is stored one or more sets of data structures and instructions 924 (e.g., software) embodying or utilized by any one or more of the methodologies or functions described herein. The instructions 924 can also reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory 904, static memory 906, and/or processor 902 during execution thereof by the computer system machine 900, with the main memory 904, the static memory 906, and the processor 902 also constituting machine-readable media.

[00100] While the machine-readable medium 922 is illustrated in an example embodiment to be a single medium, the term "machine-readable medium" can include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) that store the one or more instructions 924. The term "machine-readable medium" shall also be taken to include any tangible medium that is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution by the machine and that cause the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies of the present disclosure, or that is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying data structures utilized by or associated with such instructions.

[00101] The instructions 924 can further be transmitted or received over a communications network 926 using a transmission medium via the network interface device 920 utilizing any one of a number of well-known transfer protocols (e.g., hypertext transfer protocol HTTP). The term "transmission medium" shall be taken to include any medium that is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution by the machine, and includes digital or analog communications signals or other intangible media to facilitate communication of such software.

[00102] FIG. 10 illustrates, for one embodiment, example components of a UE 1000 in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the UE 1000 may include application circuitry 1002, baseband circuitry 1004, Radio Frequency (RF) circuitry 1006, front-end module (FEM) circuitry 1008, and one or more antennas 1010, coupled together at least as shown. In some embodiments, the UE 1000 may include additional elements such as, for example, memory/storage, a display, a camera, a sensor, and/or an input/output (I/O) interface.

[00103] The application circuitry 1002 may include one or more application processors. For example, the application circuitry 1002 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processor(s) may include any combination of general-purpose processors and dedicated processors (e.g., graphics processors, application processors, etc.). The processors may be coupled with and/or may include memory/storage and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory/storage to enable various applications and/or operating systems to run on the UE 1000.

[00104] The baseband circuitry 1004 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The baseband circuitry 1004 may include one or more baseband processors and/or control logic to process baseband signals received from a receive signal path of the RF circuitry 1006 and to generate baseband signals for a transmit signal path of the RF circuitry 1006. The baseband circuity 1004 may interface with the application circuitry 1002 for generation and processing of the baseband signals and for controlling operations of the RF circuitry 1006. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 1004 may include a second generation (2G) baseband processor 1004a, third generation (3G) baseband processor 1004b, fourth generation (4G) baseband processor 1004c, and/or other baseband processors) 1004d for other existing generations, generations in development, or generations to be developed in the future (e.g., fifth generation (5G), 6G, etc.). The baseband circuitry 1004 (e.g., one or more of the baseband processors 1004a-d) may handle various radio control functions that enable communication with one or more radio networks via the RF circuitry 1006. The radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation/demodulation, encoding/decoding, radio frequency shifting, etc. In some embodiments, modulation/demodulation circuitry of the baseband circuitry 1004 may include Fast-Fourier Transform (FFT), precoding, and/or constellation

mapping/demapping functionality. In some embodiments, encoding/decoding circuitry of the baseband circuitry 1004 may include convolution, tail-biting convolution, turbo, Viterbi, and/or Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) encoder/decoder functionality. Embodiments of modulation/demodulation and encoder/decoder functionality are not limited to these examples and may include other suitable functionality in other embodiments.

[00105] In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 1004 may include elements of a protocol stack such as, for example, elements of an EUTRAN protocol including, for example, physical (PHY), media access control (MAC), radio link control (RLC), packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), and/or RRC elements. A central processing unit (CPU) 1004e of the baseband circuitry 1004 may be configured to run elements of the protocol stack for signaling of the PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP, and/or RRC layers. In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 1004 may include one or more audio digital signal

processors) (DSP) 1004f. The audio DSP(s) 1004f may include elements for compression/decompression and echo cancellation and may include other suitable processing elements in other embodiments. Components of the baseband circuitry 1004 may be suitably combined in a single chip or a single chipset, or disposed on a same circuit board in some embodiments. In some embodiments, some or all of the constituent components of the baseband circuitry 1004 and the application circuitry- 1002 may be implemented together, such as, for example, on a system on a chip (SOC) .

[00106] In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 1004 may provide for communication compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 1004 may support communication with an EUTRAN and/or a WMAN, a WLAN, or a WPAN . Embodiments in which the baseband circuitry 1004 is configured to support radio

communications of more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as multi- mode baseband circuitry.

[00107] The RF circuitry 1006 may enable communication with wireless networks using modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. In various embodiments, the RF circuitry 1006 may include switches, filters, amplifiers, et cetera to facilitate the communication with the wireless network. The RF circuitry 1006 may include a receive signal path which may include circuitry to down-convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry 1008 and provide baseband signals to the baseband circuitry 1004. The RF circuitry 1006 may also include a transmit signal path which may include circuitry to up-con vert baseband signals provided by the baseband circuitry 1004 and provide RF output signals to the FEM circuitry 1008 for transmission.

[00108] In some embodiments, the RF circuitry 1006 may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the RF circuitry 1006 may include mixer circuitry 1006a, amplifier circuitry 1006b, and filter circuitry 1006c. The transmit signal path of the RF circuitry 1006 may include the filter circuitry 1006c and the mixer circuitry 1006a. The RF circuitry 1006 may also include synthesizer circuitry 1006d for synthesizing a frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 1006a of the receive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 1006a of the receive signal path may be configured to down-convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry 1008 based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuitry 1006d. The amplifier circuitry 1006b may be configured to amplify the down- converted signals, and the filter circuitry 1006c may be a low-pass filter (LPF) or band-pass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from the down- converted signals to generate output baseband signals. Output baseband signals may be provided to the baseband circuitry 1004 for further processing. In some embodiments, the output baseband signals may be zero-frequency baseband signals, although this is not a requirement. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 1006a of the receive signal path may comprise passive mixers, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[00109] In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 1006a of the transmit signal path may be configured to up-convert input baseband signals based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuitry 1006d to generate RF output signals for the FEM circuitry 1008. The baseband signals may be provided by the baseband circuitry 1004 and may be filtered by the filter circuitry 1006c. The filter circuitry 1006c may include an LPF, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[00110] In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 1006a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 1006a of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadrature down conversion and/or up conversion respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 1006a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 1006a of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for image rejection (e.g., Hartley image rejection). In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 1006a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 1006a of the transmit signal path may be arranged for direct down conversion and/or direct up conversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 1006a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 1006a of the transmit signal path may be configured for super-heterodyne operation.

[00111] In some embodiments, the output baseband signals and the input baseband signals may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternate embodiments, the output baseband signals and the input baseband signals may be digital baseband signals. In these alternate embodiments, the RF circuitry 1006 may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry and the baseband circuitry 1004 may include a digital baseband interface to communicate with the RF circuitry 1006.

[00112] In some dual-mode embodiments, a separate radio IC circuitry may be provided for processing signals for each spectrum, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[00113] In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 1006d may be a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional N/N+l synthesizer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect, as other types of frequency synthesizers may be suitable. For example, the synthesizer circuitry 1006d may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer comprising a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider.

[00114] The synthesizer circuitry 1006d may be configured to synthesize an output frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 1006a of the RF circuitry 1006 based on a frequency input and a divider control input. In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 1006d may be a fractional N/N+l synthesizer.

[00115] In some embodiments, frequency input may be provided by a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), although that is not a requirement. Divider control input may be provided by either the baseband circuitry 1004 or the application circuitry 1002 depending on the desired output frequency. In some

embodiments, a divider control input (e.g., N) may be determined from a lookup table based on a channel indicated by the application circuitry 1002.

[00116] The synthesizer circuitry 1006d of the RF circuitry 1006 may include a divider, a delay-locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer, and a phase accumulator. In some embodiments, the divider may be a dual modulus divider (DMD) and the phase accumulator may be a digital phase accumulator (DP A). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured to divide the input signal by either N or N+l (e.g., based on a carry out) to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, the DLL may include a set of cascaded, tunable delay elements, a phase detector, a charge pump, and a D-type flip-flop. In these embodiments, the delay elements may be configured to break a VCO period up into Nd equal packets of phase, where Nd is the number of delay elements in the delay line. In this way, the DLL provides negative feedback to help ensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO cycle.

[00117] In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 1006d may be configured to generate a carrier frequency as the output frequency, while in other embodiments, the output frequency may be a multiple of the carrier frequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrier frequency) and used in conjunction with quadrature generator and divider circuitry to generate multiple signals at the carrier frequency with multiple different phases with respect to each other. In some embodiments, the output frequency may be a LO frequency (fLO). In some embodiments, the RF circuitry 1006 may include an IQ/polar converter.

[00118] The FEM circuitry 1008 may include a receive signal path which may include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from the one or more antennas 1010, amplify the received signals, and provide the amplified versions of the received signals to the RF circuitry 1006 for further processing. The FEM circuitry 1008 may also include a transmit signal path which may include circuitry configured to amplify signals for transmission provided by the RF circuitry 1006 for transmission by one or more of the one or more antennas 1010. [00119] In some embodiments, the FEM circuitry 1008 may include a TX/RX switch to switch between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEM circuitry 1008 may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the FEM circuitry 1008 may include a low-noise amplifier (LNA) to amplify received RF signals and provide the amplified received RF signals as an output (e.g., to the RF circuitry 1006). The transmit signal path of the FEM circuitry 1008 may include a power amplifier (PA) to amplify input RF signals (e.g., provided by the RF circuitry 1006), and one or more filters to generate RF signals for subsequent transmission (e.g., by one or more of the one or more antennas 1010).

[00120] In some embodiments, the UE 1000 comprises a plurality of power saving mechanisms. If the UE 1000 is in an RRC_Connected state, where it is still connected to the eNB as it expects to receive traffic shortly, then it may enter a state known as Discontinuous Reception Mode (DRX) after a period of inactivity. During this state, the UE 1000 may power down for brief intervals of time and thus save power.

[00121] If there is no data traffic activity for an extended period of time, then the UE 1000 may transition to an RRC Idle state, where it disconnects from the network and does not perform operations such as channel quality feedback, handover, etc. The UE 1000 goes into a very low-power state and performs paging, wherein it periodically wakes up to listen to the network and then powers down again. The UE 1000 cannot receive data in this state, and in order to receive data, it transitions back to the RRC_Connected state.

[00122] An additional power saving mode may allow a device to be unavailable to the network for periods longer than a paging interval (ranging from seconds to a few hours). During this time, the device is totally unreachable to the network and may power down completely. Any data sent during this time incurs a large delay, and it is assumed that the delay is acceptable.

[00123] Various techniques, or certain aspects or portions thereof, may take the form of program code (i.e., instructions) embodied in tangible media, such as floppy diskettes, CD-ROMs, hard drives, non-transitory computer readable storage media, or any other machine-readable storage medium wherein, when the program code is loaded into and executed by a machine, such as a computer, the machine becomes an apparatus for practicing the various techniques. In the case of program code execution on programmable computers, the computing device may include a processor, a storage medium readable by the processor (including volatile and non-volatile memory and/or storage elements), at least one input device, and at least one output device. The volatile and non-volatile memory and/or storage elements may be a RAM, Erasable Programmable Readonly Memory (EPROM), flash drive, optical drive, magnetic hard drive, or other medium for storing electronic data. The base station and mobile station may also include a transceiver module, a counter module, a processing module, and/or a clock module or timer module. One or more programs that may implement or utilize the various techniques described herein may use an application programming interface (API), reusable controls, and the like. Such programs may be implemented in a high level procedural or object-oriented programming language to communicate with a computer system. However, the program(s) may be implemented in assembly or machine language, if desired. In any case, the language may be a compiled or interpreted language, and combined with hardware implementations.

[00124] Various embodiments may use 3GPP LTE/LTE-A, Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 902.11, and Bluetooth

communication standards. Various alternative embodiments may use a variety of other WW AN, WLAN, and WPAN protocols and standards in connection with the techniques described herein. These standards include, but are not limited to, other standards from 3GPP (e.g., HSPA+, UMTS), IEEE 902.16 (e.g., 902.16p), IEEE 802.1 lad (e.g. WiGig) or Bluetooth (e.g., Bluetooth 8.0, or like standards defined by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group) standards families. Other applicable network configurations can be included within the scope of the presently described communication networks. It will be understood that communications on such communication networks can be facilitated using any number of PANs, LANs, and WANs, using any combination of wired or wireless transmission mediums.

[00125] The embodiments described above can be implemented in one or a combination of hardware, firmware, and software. Various methods or techniques, or certain aspects or portions thereof, can take the form of program code (i.e., instructions) embodied in tangible media, such as flash memory, hard drives, portable storage devices, read-only memory (ROM), RAM,

semiconductor memory devices (e.g., EPROM, Electrically Erasable

Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM)), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, and any other machine-readable storage medium or storage device wherein, when the program code is loaded into and executed by a machine, such as a computer or networking device, the machine becomes an apparatus for practicing the various techniques.

[00126] It should be understood that the functional units or capabilities described in this specification may have been referred to or labeled as components or modules in order to more particularly emphasize their implementation independence. For example, a component or module can be implemented as a hardware circuit comprising custom very-large-scale integration (VLSI) circuits or gate arrays, off-the-shelf semiconductors such as logic chips, transistors, or other discrete components. A component or module can also be implemented in programmable hardware devices such as field programmable gate arrays, programmable array logic, programmable logic devices, or the like. Components or modules can also be implemented in software for execution by various types of processors. An identified component or module of executable code can, for instance, comprise one or more physical or logical blocks of computer instructions, which can, for instance, be organized as an object, procedure, or function. Nevertheless, the executables of an identified component or module are not necessarily physically located together, but can comprise disparate instructions stored in different locations which, when joined logically together, comprise the component or module and achieve the stated purpose for the component or module.

[00127] Indeed, a component or module of executable code can be a single instruction, or many instructions, and can even be distributed over several different code segments, among different programs, and across several memory devices. Similarly, operational data can be identified and illustrated herein within components or modules, and can be embodied in any suitable form and organized within any suitable type of data structure. The operational data can be collected as a single data set, or can be distributed over different locations including over different storage devices, and can exist, at least partially, merely as electronic signals on a system or network. The components or modules can be passive or active, including agents operable to perform desired functions.

Claims

What is claimed is: 1. A computer readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, configure an evolved node B (eNB) for automatic neighbor relations (ANR), the instructions to configure the eNB to:

transmit, to a first user equipment (UE), a first ANR related WLAN measurement configuration communication requesting the first UE to scan for one or more wireless local area network (WLAN) access points (AP) that share a first public land mobile network (PLMN) with the UE;

receive, from the first UE, a first identifier associated with a first AP identified by the first UE;

determine, by the eNB using the first identifier, an address of the WLAN termination (WT) associated with the first AP; and

generate an ANR relations table entry associating the first AP with the WT.

2. The computer readable medium of claim 1 wherein the instructions further configure the eNB to initiate an Xw connection setup with the WT associated the first AP.

3. The computer readable medium of claims 1-2 wherein the instructions further configure the eNB to determine the address of the WT with instructions to: generate, by the eNB, a first domain name system (DNS) query using the first identifier;

initiate the DNS query to a DNS server to resolve a transport network layer

(TNL) address of the WLAN termination (WT) associated with the first AP, wherein the TNL address is the address of the WT; and

receive, from the DNS server, the TNL address of the first AP.

4. The computer readable medium of claims 1-3 wherein the instructions further configure the eNB to establish the Xw connection with the WT associated with the first AP and transmits data to the first UE via the Xw connection as part of an long term evolution (LTE)/WLAN aggregation (LWA) connections between the first UE and the first AP using the Xw connection.

5. The computer readable medium of claims 1-4 wherein the instructions further configure the first eNB to generate and store a UE ANR relations table comprising the first identifier of the first AP with the ANR relations table entry.

6. The computer readable medium of claims 1-5 wherein the ANR relations table further comprises a WT identifier for the first AP, a WT TNL address for the first AP, a service set identifier list (SSID) comprising a first SSID associated with the first AP, and a basic service set identifier (BSSID) list associated with the first AP.

7. The computer readable medium of claims 1-6 wherein the ANR relations table further comprises a first plurality of WT identifiers for a first plurality of APs associated with the first PLMN.

8. The computer readable medium of claims 1-7 wherein the ANR relations table further comprises a second plurality of WT identifiers for a second plurality of APs associated with a second PLMN different from the first PLMN.

9. The computer readable medium of claims 1-8 wherein the ANR relations table further comprises hotspot extended service set identifiers for one or more APs.

10. The computer readable medium of claim 1 wherein the Xw connection is established without a request by the first UE for a data transmission.

11. The computer readable medium of claims 1-10 wherein the instructions further configure the eNB to: transmit, to the second UE, a second ANR related WLAN measurement configuration communication requesting the second UE to scan for one or more WLAN APs that share the first PLMN with the second UE; receive, from the second UE, the first identifier associated with a first AP identified by the second UE; and

identify the WT from the ANR relations table.

12. The computer readable medium of claim 11 wherein the instructions further configure the eNB to communicate at least a portion of the data to the second UE using a previously established Xw with the WT associated with the first AP.

13. The computer readable medium of claim 11 wherein the instructions further configure the eNB to establish a second Xw connection with the WT in response to identifying the WT from the ANR relations table.

14. The computer readable medium of claims 1-10 wherein the instructions further configure the eNB to: transmit, to the second UE, a second ANR related WLAN configuration communication requesting the second UE to scan for one or more WLAN APs that share a second PLMN with the second UE;

receive, from the second UE, a second identifier associated with a second AP identified by the second UE; and

determine that the second AP is not identified by the ANR relations table; determine, by the eNB using the second identifier, a second address of a second WLAN termination (WT) associated with the second AP; and

generate a second ANR relations table entry associating the second AP with the second WT.

15. An apparatus of an evolved node B (eNB) for automatic neighbor relations (ANR), the eNB comprising:

baseband circuitry configured to:

initiate an ANR relations table update using a first ANR related

WLAN measurement configuration communication requesting the first UE to scan for one or more wireless local area network (WLAN) access points (AP) that share a first public land mobile network (PLMN) with the UE; process first identifier associated with a first AP identified by the first

UE;

determine an address of the WLAN termination (WT) associated with the first AP; and

establish an Xw connection with the WT; and

radio frequency circuitry configured to

transmit the first ANR related WLAN measurement configuration communication to the first UE.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein the radio frequency circuitry is further configured to:

receive the first identifier from the first UE;

transmit the first identifier to a domain name system; and

receive the address of the WT from the domain name system.

17. A computer readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, configure a user equipment (UE) for measurement reporting associated with automatic neighbor relations (ANR), the instructions to configure the UE to:

receive, from an evolved node B (eNB), a first ANR related wireless local area network (WLAN) measurement configuration communication;

scan, using receive circuitry of the UE, for one or more wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) signals;

access, by the UE, a set of ANR information associated with the one or more

WLAN AP signals; and

transmit the set of ANR information from the UE to the eNB.

18. The computer readable medium of claim 17 wherein the instructions further configure the UE to:

identify, by the UE, a first public land mobile network (PLMN) associated with the UE; access, using access network query protocol (ANQP) signaling, a cellular network ANQP element comprising a list PLMNs associated with the AP; and determine, that a first AP associated with a first WLAN AP signal of the one or more WLAN AP signals is associated with the first PLMN.

19. The computer readable medium of claims 17-18 wherein the instructions further configure the UE to establish a long term evolution (LTE)AVLAN aggregation (LWA) connection with the first AP based on the determination that the first AP is associated with the first PLMN.

20. The computer readable medium of claims 17-19 wherein the instructions configure the UE to establish the LWA connection using instructions for the UE to: determine a basic service set identifier (BSS1D) associated with the first AP; and

transmit the BSSID associated with the first AP to the eNB.

21. The computer readable medium of claims 19-20 wherein the instructions further configure the UE to establish the LWA connection using instructions for the UE to:

receive, from the eNB, a first portion of a LWA communication established by the eNB with the first UE using domain name signaling to resolve the internet protocol address of the WLAN termination (WT) for the first access point using an Xw interface;

receive, from the first eNB, a second portion of the LWA communication established by the eNB.

22. The computer readable medium of claim 21 wherein the instructions further configure the UE to establish the LWA connection using instructions for the UE to:

transmit a second ANQP signal to the first AP prior to estabUshing the LWA connection and receiving an LWA activation request from the first AP, wherein the second ANQP signal comprises a query to detect mat the first AP supports LWA; and determine by the UE, in response to the second ANQP signal, that the first AP supports LWA.

23. The computer readable medium of claim 21 wherein the instructions further configure the UE to establish the LWA connection using instructions for the UE to:

identify a set of separate service set identifiers (SSIDs) for LWA-enabled

APs;

identify a first SSID for the first AP as port of the set of separate SSIDs for LWA-enabled APs; and

communicate the first SSID from the UE to the eNB.

24. An apparatus of an user equipment (UE) for automatic neighbor relations (ANR), the UE comprising:

radio frequency (RF) circuitry configured to:

receive, from an evolved node B (eNB), a first ANR related WLAN configuration communication;

receive one or more wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) signals; and

transmit the set of ANR related WLAN measurement results information from the UE to the eNB; and

baseband circuitry configured to:

process the first ANR related WLAN measurement configuration communication to initiate a scan for the one or more WLAN AP signals; and

identify the set of ANR related information from the one or more WLAN AP signals.

25. The apparatus of claim 24 further comprising:

one or more antennas coupled to the RF circuitry; and

application circuitry configured to initiate a request for application data from a network via the eNB; wherein the first ANR configuration communication is received at the UE response to a configuration process initiated by the eNB to generate WLAN measurements for ANR.