Uplink power control mechanism for dual connectivity networks

Abstract

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, a method in which a processing system of a first network element receives information indicating that a user equipment (UE) support dual connectivity with first and second inter-radio access technologies (IRATs). The UE is enabled to communicate with a second network element using the second IRAT. The system provides to the UE uplink power configurations for data transmissions between the UE and the network elements, and performs a closed loop control procedure that includes determining a first transmit power control (TPC) value for first data transmissions from the UE and a second TPC value for second data transmissions from the UE, and adjusting the first TPC value and the second TPC value to allocate UE uplink transmission power between the first IRAT and the second IRAT. Other embodiments are disclosed.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 receiving, by a processing system including a processor, capability information for a user equipment (UE) communicating on a network, the capability information indicating that the UE supports communication using a first inter-radio access technology (IRAT) and a second IRAT;   providing, by the processing system to the UE, a first uplink power configuration for first data transmissions between the UE and a first network element;   sending, by the processing system, the capability information to a second network element using the second IRAT;   providing, by the processing system to the UE, a second uplink power configuration for second data transmissions between the UE and the second network element;   obtaining, by the processing system, uplink performance information for the first IRAT and the second IRAT; and   adjusting, by the processing system based on the uplink performance information, a first UE uplink power and a second UE uplink power to allocate a remaining UE uplink transmission power between the first IRAT and the second IRAT.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first network element receives the capability information using the first IRAT. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the uplink performance information comprises UE demand for each of the first IRAT and the second IRAT and an estimate of a remaining UE uplink transmission power for each of the first IRAT and the second IRAT. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the adjusting comprises adjusting a first transmit power control (TPC) value for the first data transmissions and a second TPC value for the second data transmissions. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the obtaining and the adjusting comprise a closed loop control procedure to control the first UE uplink power for the first IRAT and the second UE uplink power for the second IRAT. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the uplink performance information further comprises a quality of service (QoS) measure associated with the UE. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first IRAT comprises a Long Term Evolution (LTE) communication system and the second IRAT comprises a 5G New Radio (5G-NR) communication system. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising separately setting, by the processing system, a first maximum uplink power for the UE associated with the LTE communication system and a second maximum uplink power for the UE associated with the 5G-NR communication system. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the setting is performed in a dedicated signaling procedure. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the second uplink power configuration is provided via an LTE Radio Resource Control (RRC) message. 
     
     
         11 . A device comprising:
 a processing system of a first network element including a processor, the first network element using a first inter-radio access technology (IRAT); and   a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processing system, facilitate performance of operations comprising:   receiving capability information for a user equipment (UE), the capability information indicating that the UE supports communication on a network using a first inter-radio access technology (IRAT) and a second IRAT;   providing to the UE a first uplink power configuration for first data transmissions between the UE and a first network element;   sending the capability information to a second network element using the second IRAT;   providing to the UE a second uplink power configuration for second data transmissions between the UE and the second network element;   obtaining uplink performance information for the first IRAT and the second IRAT; and   adjusting, based on the uplink performance information, a first UE uplink power and a second UE uplink power to allocate a remaining UE uplink transmission power between the first IRAT and the second IRAT.   
     
     
         12 . The device of  claim 11 , wherein the first network element receives the capability information using the first IRAT. 
     
     
         13 . The device of  claim 11 , wherein the uplink performance information comprises UE demand for each of the first IRAT and the second IRAT and an estimate of a remaining UE uplink transmission power for each of the first IRAT and the second IRAT. 
     
     
         14 . The device of  claim 11 , wherein the adjusting comprises adjusting a first transmit power control (TPC) value for the first data transmissions and a second TPC value for the second data transmissions. 
     
     
         15 . The device of  claim 11 , wherein the obtaining and the adjusting comprise a closed loop control procedure to control the first UE uplink power for the first IRAT and the second UE uplink power for the second IRAT. 
     
     
         16 . A non-transitory machine-readable medium comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processing system including a processor of a first network element, facilitate performance of operations, the first network element using a first inter-radio access technology (IRAT), the operations comprising:
 receiving capability information for a user equipment (UE), the capability information indicating that the UE supports communication on a network using a first inter-radio access technology (IRAT) and a second IRAT;   providing to the UE a first uplink power configuration for first data transmissions between the UE and a first network element;   sending the capability information to a second network element using the second IRAT;   providing to the UE a second uplink power configuration for second data transmissions between the UE and the second network element;   obtaining performance information for the first IRAT and the second IRAT; and   adjusting, based on the performance information, a first UE uplink power and a second UE uplink power to allocate a remaining UE uplink transmission power between the first IRAT and the second IRAT.   
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the first network element receives the capability information using the first IRAT. 
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the performance information comprises UE demand for each of the first IRAT and the second IRAT and an estimate of a remaining UE uplink transmission power for each of the first IRAT and the second IRAT. 
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the adjusting comprises adjusting a first transmit power control (TPC) value for the first data transmissions and a second TPC value for the second data transmissions. 
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the obtaining and the adjusting comprise a closed loop control procedure to control the first UE uplink power for the first IRAT and the second UE uplink power for the second IRAT.