A method and radio access network device includes a processing unit configured to: separate a network measurement configuration command into at least first network measurements and second network measurements; forward the first network measurements of the network measurement configuration command over an air interface to a user equipment; receive, from the user equipment, the first network measurements on downlink communication channels to form first network measurement results; perform, in the radio access network device, the second network measurements on uplink communication channels to form second network measurement results; and combine, in the radio access network device, the first network measurement results from the user equipment with the second network measurement results from the radio access network device to form an aggregated network measurement report.