Method and apparatus for sib based cell changes in a wireless communication system

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

• receiving, from a base station (BS) in a non-terrestrial network (NTN), a system information block (SIB);
• determining that the SIB includes first neighboring cell information and first timing information associated therewith;
• determining that a first neighboring cell is not a candidate cell for a cell selection or re-selection operation when a current time is before or equal to a time indicated by the first timing information;
• and
• determining that the first neighboring cell is a candidate cell for the cell selection or re-selection operation when the current time is after the time indicated by the first timing information.

A base station (BS) in a non-terrestrial network (NTN), the BS comprising:

• a processor configured to generate a system information block (SIB) including first neighboring cell information and first timing information associated therewith;
• and
• a transceiver operably coupled to the processor, the transceiver configured to transmit, to a user equipment (UE), the SIB,
• wherein:
• a first neighboring cell is not determined as a candidate cell for a cell selection or re-selection operation when a current time is before or equal to a time indicated by the first timing information;
• and
• the first neighboring cell is determined as a candidate cell for the cell selection or re-selection operation when the current time is after the time indicated by the first timing information.