User Equipment (UE) Parallel Search in Connected Mode

An apparatus comprising:

• processing circuitry configured to perform operations comprising:
• determining to perform a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) search on a first connection instance;
• determining that the first connection instance is in radio resource control (RRC) connected mode;
• determining whether a second connection instance is available for the PLMN search;
• and
• in response to determining that the second connection instance is available, performing the PLMN search on the second connection instance, wherein the PLMN search comprises one or more frequency scans.

A method comprising:

• determining to perform a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) search on a first connection instance;
• determining that the connection instance is in radio resource control (RRC) connected mode;
• determining whether a second connection instance is available for the PLMN search;
• and
• in response to determining that the second connection instance is available, performing the PLMN search on the second connection instance, wherein the PLMN search comprises one or more frequency scans.