Handover execution for mobility using lower layers

A processor for wireless communication, comprising:

• at least one controller coupled with at least one memory and configured to cause the processor to:
• transmit, based at least in part on executing a handover procedure between a serving base station and a target base station, first control signaling indicating completion of the handover procedure, the first control signaling associated with a first hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) identifier;
• monitor, in response to the first control signaling, for a downlink control channel message comprising an uplink grant associated with a second HARQ identifier;
• and
• determine, based at least in part on the first HARQ identifier having a same value as the second HARQ identifier, that the handover procedure is complete.

A method performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:

• transmitting, based on executing a handover procedure between a serving base station and a target base station, first control signaling indicating completion of the handover procedure, the first control signaling associated with a first hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) identifier;
• monitoring, in response to the first control signaling, for a downlink control channel message comprising an uplink grant associated with a second HARQ identifier;
• and
• determining, based on the first HARQ identifier having a same value as the second HARQ identifier, that the handover procedure is complete.

A target base station for wireless communication, comprising:

• at least one memory;
• and
• at least one processor coupled with the at least one memory and configured to cause the target base station to:
• monitor, based on executing a handover procedure between a serving base station and the target base station, for first control signaling indicating completion of the handover procedure, the first control signaling associated with a first hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) identifier;
• transmit, based at least in part on monitoring for the first control signaling, a downlink control channel message comprising an uplink grant associated with a second HARQ identifier, wherein the first HARQ identifier has a same value as the second HARQ identifier;
• and
• receive, based at least in part on the uplink grant, an uplink transmission.