Network Node, User Equipment, and Methods for Handling Communications using Multiple SIM Modules

A method performed by a user equipment (UE) having multiple Subscriber Identity Modules (SIM) for simultaneous communication with two or more wireless communications networks, the method comprising:

• providing, to a first network node associated with a first wireless communications network associated with a first SIM, information on full capability of the UE, wherein the UE is registered with the first wireless communications network;
• providing, to a second network node associated with a second wireless communications network associated with a second SIM, the information on the full capability of the UE, wherein the UE is registered with the second wireless communications network such that the UE is simultaneously registered with the first wireless communications network and the second wireless communications network;
• splitting the full capability among the first and second SIMs into a first reduced capability and a second reduced capability;
• and
• providing a first indication of the first reduced capability to the first network node and/or providing a second indication of the second reduced capability to the second network node, wherein at least one of the first indication of the first reduced capability and/or the second indication of the second reduced capability is provided in an In-Device-Coexistence (IDC) assistance information in combination with a multiple SIM (MUSIM) indication, and wherein at least one of the first indication of the first reduced capability and the second indication of the second reduced capability comprises an indication of one or more carrier frequencies that are not to be used as compared to carrier frequencies in the full capacity.

A method performed by a first network node associated with a first wireless communications network, the method comprising:

• receiving, from a user equipment (UE), information on a full capability of the UE, wherein the UE has at least two Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs) and is simultaneously registered with the first wireless communications network and at least a second wireless communications network;
• receiving, from the UE, a first indication of a first reduced capability of the UE indicating a split of the full capability of the UE among the at least two SIMs, wherein the first indication of the first reduced capability is provided in In-Device-Coexistence (IDC) assistance information in combination with a multiple SIM indication, and wherein the first indication of the first reduced capability comprises an indication of one or more carrier frequencies that are not to be used as compared to carrier frequencies in the full capacity;
• and
• providing, to the UE, a reconfiguration instruction, in response to the received first indication of the first reduced capability of the UE.

A user equipment (UE) having multiple Subscriber Identity Modules (SIM) for simultaneous communication with two or more wireless communications networks, wherein the UE comprises:

• processing circuitry configure to:
• provide, to a first network node associated with a first wireless communications network associated with a first SIM, information on full capability of the UE, wherein the UE is registered with the first wireless communications network;
• provide, to a second network node associated with a second wireless communications network associated with a second SIM, the information on the full capability of the UE, wherein the UE is registered with the second wireless communications network such that the UE is simultaneously registered with the first wireless communications network and the second wireless communications network;
• split the full capability among the first and second SIMs into a first reduced capability and a second reduced capability;
• and
• provide a first indication of the first reduced capability to the first network node and/or provide a second indication of the second reduced capability to the second network node, wherein at least one of the first indication of the first reduced capability and/or the second indication of the second reduced capability is provided in an In-Device-Coexistence (IDC) assistance information in combination with a multiple SIM indication, and wherein at least one of the first indication of the first reduced capability and the second indication of the second reduced capability comprises an indication of one or more carrier frequencies that are not to be used as compared to carrier frequencies in the full capacity.

A first network node associated with a first wireless communications network, wherein the first network node comprises:

• processing circuitry configured to:
• receive, from a user equipment (UE), information on a full capability of the UE, wherein the UE has at least two Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs) and is simultaneously registered with the first wireless communications network and at least a second wireless communications network;
• receive, from the UE, a first indication of a first reduced capability of the UE indicating a split of the full capability of the UE among the at least two SIMs, wherein the first indication of the first reduced capability is provided in an In-Device-Coexistence (IDC) assistance information in combination with a multiple SIM indication, and wherein the first indication of the first reduced capability comprises an indication of one or more carrier frequencies that are not to be used as compared to carrier frequencies in the full capacity;
• and
• provide, to the UE, a reconfiguration instruction, in response to the received first indication of the first reduced capability of the UE.