In the case of explicit FRB configuration, the FRB can be provided together with the carrier frequency information (e.g. ARFCN-ValueNR in the case of NR or ARFCN-ValueEUTRA in the case of E-UTRA/LTE). The FRB information can be provided as an integer known by the UE to be mapped to a very specific frequency resources where the UE should search for a particular RS.

The FRB information can be provided together with the FC. Hence, for a given MO, the UE will know which chunk and which FRB to search the RS. Also, the UE knows that if it finds an RS in the indicated FRB/FC, that RS should be associated with the configured MO (and reportConfig and measId).

The FRB can have a hierarchical structure that is combined with the FC (e.g., for a given FC there can be a finite set of FRBs indicated by an integer). These two parameters could be combined in a single IE that is part of the measurement object.

C. Only FC and FRB Define a Measurement Object

The measurement object is characterized by the FC (e.g., the carrier frequency becomes a secondary information), to certain extent. In that case, the network configures the UE with the exact FC where the UE should search for the RS. Different MO's would have different FCs, although they could still be within the UE's minimum bandwidth to avoid frequency re-tuning in the case of overlapping carriers.

The measurement object is characterized by both the FC and the FRB. In that case, the network configures the UE with the exact FC where the UE should search for the RS and the exact FRB. Different MO's would have different FCs/FRBs couple, so that the same FC could be defined for different carriers but different FRBs would characterize that these are different carriers.