Usage of synchronization signal block index in new radio

An apparatus for wireless communication, the apparatus being a base station, comprising:

• a memory;
• and
• at least one processor coupled to the memory and configured to:
• determine a synchronization signal (SS) block index associated with an SS block for transmission;
• scramble information based on a SS block index portion comprising at least a portion of the determined SS block index, the information including at least one of data, paging information, control information, or a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) associated with control information;
• and
• transmit the SS block and the scrambled information.

An apparatus for wireless communication, the apparatus being a user equipment (UE), comprising:

• a memory;
• and
• at least one processor coupled to the memory and configured to:
• receive a synchronization signal (SS) block and information scrambled based on a SS block index portion comprising at least a portion of an SS block index associated with the SS block, the information including at least one of data, paging information, control information, or a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) associated with control information;
• and
• descramble the scrambled information based on the SS block index portion.