Base station signaling for user equipment direct transmission while inactive

A method, comprising:

• during a radio resource control (RRC) suspend process, transmitting a network configuration for direct uplink transmission while in RRC INACTIVE state to a user equipment (UE), the network configuration including a UE-dedicated physical random access channel (PRACH) preamble and a timer value, wherein the UE-dedicated PRACH preamble uniquely identifies the UE, further wherein the timer value specifies a maximum time, not including time during which the UE performs direct uplink transmission while in an RRC INACTIVE state, during which the UE-dedicated PRACH preamble is valid;
• broadcasting a message that indicates that a cell associated with the base station supports direct uplink transmission from UEs in RRC INACTIVE state, wherein the message indicates a plurality of supported preamble resources that are supported by the cell for direct uplink transmission from UEs in an RRC INACTIVE state;
• receiving, during a contention-free random access (CFRA) process the UE-dedicated PRACH preamble on one of the plurality of supported preamble resources from the UE;
• and
• receiving, during the CFRA process, uplink data from the UE while the UE is in an RRC INACTIVE state, wherein the uplink data does not include a message related to a request for the UE to enter an RRC CONNECTED state.

A baseband processor for a base station, configured to perform operations comprising:

• during a radio resource control (RRC) suspend process, causing the base station to transmit a network configuration for direct uplink transmission while in RRC INACTIVE state to a user equipment UE, the network configuration including a UE-dedicated physical random access channel (PRACH) preamble and a timer value, wherein the UE-dedicated PRACH preamble uniquely identifies the UE, further wherein the timer value specifies a maximum time, not including time during which the UE performs direct uplink transmission while in an RRC INACTIVE state, during which the UE-dedicated PRACH preamble is valid;
• causing the base station to broadcast a message that indicates that a cell associated with the base station supports direct uplink transmission from UEs in RRC INACTIVE state, wherein the message indicates a plurality of supported preamble resources that are supported by the cell for direct uplink transmission from UEs in an RRC INACTIVE state;
• receiving, during a contention-free random access (CFRA) process, the UE-dedicated PRACH preamble on one of the plurality of supported preamble resources from the UE;
• and
• receiving, during the CFRA process, uplink data from the UE while the UE is in a RRC INACTIVE state, wherein the uplink data does not include a message related to a request for the UE to enter an RRC CONNECTED state.