The present disclosure generally relates to communication networks, and more specifically, to a method and apparatus for relay service code (RSC) management.
This section introduces aspects that may facilitate a better understanding of the disclosure. Accordingly, the statements of this section are to be read in this light and are not to be understood as admissions about what is in the prior art or what is not in the prior art.
Communication service providers and network operators have been continually facing challenges to deliver value and convenience to consumers by, for example, providing compelling network services and performance. With the evolution of wireless communication, a requirement for supporting device-to-device (D2D) communication features in various applications is proposed. An extension for the D2D work may consist of supporting vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, which may include any combination of direct communications among vehicles, pedestrians and infrastructure. Wireless communication networks such as fourth generation (4G)/long term evolution (LTE) and fifth generation (5G)/new radio (NR) networks may be expected to use V2X services and support communication for V2X capable user equipment (UE).
This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.
In a communication network supporting V2X services, for a remote UE in the network (NW), e.g., a UE that may be out of cell coverage and may not be able to connect with a network node directly, a UE-to-NW relay UE may provide the functionality to support connectivity to the NW for the remote UE. In some cases, the remote UE may communicate with another UE via one or more UE-to-UE relay UEs, and various traffics of the remote UE may be forwarded by the one or more UE-to-UE relays. In 4G/LTE systems, a relay service code (RSC) may be used to identify a connectivity service that a UE-to-NW relay UE provides to public safety applications. However, in 5G/NR systems, not only UE-to-NW relay but also UE-to-UE relay may provide a connectivity service. In addition, various relays in 5G/NR systems may be designed for both public safety services and commercial services. Therefore, it may be desirable to implement the management of RSCs in a more efficient way.
Various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure propose a solution for RSC management, which can enable a UE (e.g., a remote UE, a relay UE, etc.) to get one or more RSCs from a network function/device (e.g., a direct discovery name management function (DDNMF), an application server (AS), etc.), so as to improve RSCs provisioning for commercial UE-to-NW relay and/or UE-to-UE relay discovery.
It can be appreciated that the “remote UE” described in this document may refer to a UE that may communicate with a relay UE e.g. via PC5/sidelink (SL) interface, and/or communicate with a network node e.g. via Uu interface. As an example, the remote UE may be a 5G proximity-based services (ProSe) enabled UE that may communicate with a network (NW) via a ProSe 5G UE-to-NW relay UE. As another example, the remote UE may be a 5G ProSe enabled UE that may communicate with another UE via a ProSe 5G UE-to-UE relay UE.
It can be appreciated that the terms “relay UE” and “relay” described in this document may refer to “UE-to-NW relay UE” or “UE-to-UE relay UE”. As an example, the relay UE may be a 5G ProSe enabled UE that is capable of supporting or provides functionality to support connectivity to the NW and/or other UE(s) for the remote UE.
It can be appreciated that the “UE-to-NW relay UE” described in this document may also be referred to as “UE-to-Network relay UE”, “UE-to-Network relay” and “UE-to-NW relay”. Thus, the terms “UE-to-NW relay UE”, “UE-to-Network relay UE”, “UE-to-Network relay” and “UE-to-NW relay” may be used interchangeably in this document.
It can be appreciated that the “UE-to-UE relay UE” described in this document may also be referred to as “UE-to-UE relay”. Thus, the terms “UE-to-UE relay UE” and “UE-to-UE relay” may be used interchangeably in this document.
According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method performed by a UE. The method comprises: transmitting a message to a first network (e.g., a 5G/NR network, etc.) to request a RSC. In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the method further comprises: receiving a response to the message from the first network. The response to the message may include the RSC, which may be managed by a first direct discovery name manager (e.g., a DDNMF, etc.), a second direct discovery name manager (e.g., another DDNMF, etc.) or an application server (e.g., a ProSe application server, etc.).
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the message transmitted to the first network may include one or more of:
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, when the RSC is used for Layer-3 UE-to-Network relay, the message transmitted to the first network may include one or more of:
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the response to the message may further include one or more of:
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the first network may be a home network (e.g., a home public land mobile network (HPLMN), etc.) of the UE, and the message may be transmitted to the first direct discovery name manager for the first network.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the RSC may be managed by the first direct discovery name manager, and the UE may receive the RSC from the first direct discovery name manager.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the RSC may be managed by the second direct discovery name manager for a second network, and the UE may receive the RSC from the second direct discovery name manager via the first direct discovery name manager.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the second network may be a network (e.g., a visiting public land mobile network (VPLMN), etc.) which may be potentially to be visited by the UE.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the RSC may be managed by the application server, and the UE may receive the RSC from the first direct discovery name manager which is able to get the RSC from the application server.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the UE may be a remote UE or a relay UE.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, for the case that the UE is a remote UE, the second network may be a home network (e.g., a HPLMN, etc.) of a relay UE which may be potentially to be connected by the remote UE.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the RSC may be provisioned by the application server to an application registered to the first network.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the UE may receive the RSC during registering to the first network.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the UE may receive the RSC from the first network via a policy control function (PCF).
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the UE may transmit the message to the application server for the first network to request the RSC, and receive the RSC from the application server.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the RSC may be used for a commercial application. In an embodiment, the UE may use the message to request multiple RSCs for one or more commercial applications. In another embodiment, the response to the message received by the UE may include one or multiple RSCs for one or more commercial applications.
According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus which may be implemented as a UE. The apparatus may comprise one or more processors and one or more memories storing computer program codes. The one or more memories and the computer program codes may be configured to, with the one or more processors, cause the apparatus at least to perform any step of the method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.
According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer-readable medium having computer program codes embodied thereon which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform any step of the method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.
According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus which may be implemented as a UE. The apparatus may comprise a transmitting unit and a receiving unit. In accordance with some exemplary embodiments, the transmitting unit may be operable to carry out at least the transmitting step of the method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure. The receiving unit may be operable to carry out at least the receiving step of the method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.
According to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method performed by a first direct discovery name manager (e.g., a DDNMF, etc.) for a first network (e.g., a home network of a UE). The method comprises: receiving a first message to request a RSC from a UE. In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the method further comprises: transmitting a response to the first message to the UE. The response to the first message may include the RSC, which may be managed by the first direct discovery name manager, a second direct discovery name manager or an application server.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the first message received by the first direct discovery name manager as described according to the fifth aspect of the present disclosure may correspond to the message transmitted by the UE as described according to the first aspect of the present disclosure. Similarly, the response to the first message transmitted by the first direct discovery name manager as described according to the fifth aspect of the present disclosure may correspond to the response to the message received by the UE as described according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the first message may be used to request one or multiple RSCs for one or more commercial applications. Correspondingly, the response to the first message transmitted by the first direct discovery name manager may include one or multiple RSCs for one or more commercial applications.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the RSC may be managed by the first direct discovery name manager.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the method according to the fifth aspect of the present disclosure may further comprise: determining whether a relay service is applicable to the UE in the first network; and generating the RSC, in response to determining that the relay service is applicable to the UE in the first network.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the RSC may be managed by the second direct discovery name manager for a second network. In an embodiment, the UE may be a remote UE or a relay UE, and the second network may be a network which is potentially to be visited by the UE. In another embodiment, the UE may be a remote UE, and the second network may be a home network of a relay UE which is potentially to be connected by the remote UE.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the method according to the fifth aspect of the present disclosure may further comprise: determining whether a relay service is applicable to the UE in the second network. In response to determining that the relay service is applicable to the UE in the second network, the first direct discovery name manager may transmit a second message to the second network to request the RSC.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the second message may include one or more of:
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the first direct discovery name manager may receive a response to the second message from the second network. The response to the second message may include the RSC. In an embodiment, the response to the second message may further include one or more of: an ID of the second network, an ID of the UE, an application ID, and an expiration time of the RSC.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the RSC may be managed by the application server and provisioned to an application registered to the first network.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the method according to the fifth aspect of the present disclosure may further comprise: transmitting a third message to the application server to request the RSC.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the method according to the fifth aspect of the present disclosure may further comprise: receiving the RSC from the application server.
According to a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus which may be implemented as a first direct discovery name manager (e.g., a DDNMF, etc.). The apparatus may comprise one or more processors and one or more memories storing computer program codes. The one or more memories and the computer program codes may be configured to, with the one or more processors, cause the apparatus at least to perform any step of the method according to the fifth aspect of the present disclosure.
According to a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer-readable medium having computer program codes embodied thereon which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform any step of the method according to the fifth aspect of the present disclosure.
According to an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus which may be implemented as a first direct discovery name manager. The apparatus may comprise a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. In accordance with some exemplary embodiments, the receiving unit may be operable to carry out at least the receiving step of the method according to the fifth aspect of the present disclosure. The transmitting unit may be operable to carry out at least the transmitting step of the method according to the fifth aspect of the present disclosure.
According to a ninth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method performed by a second direct discovery name manager (e.g., a DDNMF, etc.) for a second network (e.g., a target network different from a home network of a UE, etc.). The method comprises: receiving, from a first direct discovery name manager for a first network (e.g., a home network of the UE), a message to request a RSC for a UE. In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the method further comprises: transmitting a response to the message to the first direct discovery name manager. The response to the message may include the RSC, which may be managed by the second direct discovery name manager.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the message received by the second direct discovery name manager as described according to the ninth aspect of the present disclosure may correspond to the second message transmitted by the first direct discovery name manager as described according to the fifth aspect of the present disclosure. Similarly, the response to the message transmitted by the second direct discovery name manager as described according to the ninth aspect of the present disclosure may correspond to the response to the second message received by the first direct discovery name manager as described according to the fifth aspect of the present disclosure.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the message received by the second direct discovery name manager may be used to request one or multiple RSCs for one or more commercial applications. Correspondingly, the response to the message transmitted by the second direct discovery name manager may include one or multiple RSCs for one or more commercial applications.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, when the RSC is used for Layer-3 UE-to-Network relay, the message received by the second direct discovery name manager may include one or more of:
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the UE may be a remote UE or a relay UE, and the second network may be a network which is potentially to be visited by the UE. In accordance with another exemplary embodiment, the UE may be a remote UE, and the second network may be a home network of a relay UE which is potentially to be connected by the remote UE.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the method according to the ninth aspect of the present disclosure may further comprise: determining whether a relay service is applicable to the UE in the second network; and generating the RSC, in response to determining that the relay service is applicable to the UE in the second network.
According to a tenth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus which may be implemented as a second direct discovery name manager (e.g., a DDNMF, etc.). The apparatus may comprise one or more processors and one or more memories storing computer program codes. The one or more memories and the computer program codes may be configured to, with the one or more processors, cause the apparatus at least to perform any step of the method according to the ninth aspect of the present disclosure.
According to an eleventh aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer-readable medium having computer program codes embodied thereon which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform any step of the method according to the ninth aspect of the present disclosure.
According to a twelfth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus which may be implemented as a second direct discovery name manager. The apparatus may comprise a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. In accordance with some exemplary embodiments, the receiving unit may be operable to carry out at least the receiving step of the method according to the ninth aspect of the present disclosure. The transmitting unit may be operable to carry out at least the transmitting step of the method according to the ninth aspect of the present disclosure.
According to a thirteenth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method performed by an application server (e.g., a ProSe application server, etc.). The method comprises: determining a RSC for an application registered to a network. In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the method further comprises: provisioning the RSC to the network.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the RSC may be provisioned to a UE (e.g., a remote UE, a relay UE, etc.) during a registration procedure of the UE for the network.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the RSC may be provisioned to a UE via a PCF of the network.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the method according to the thirteenth aspect of the present disclosure may further comprise: receiving a message to request the RSC for a UE from a direct discovery name manager for the network; and transmitting a response to the message to the direct discovery name manager. The response to the message may include the RSC.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the method according to the thirteenth aspect of the present disclosure may further comprise: receiving a message to request the RSC from a UE; and transmitting a response to the message to the UE, wherein the response to the message includes the RSC.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the message received by the application server may include one or more of:
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the response to the message transmitted by the application server may further include one or more of: an ID of the network, an ID of the UE, an application ID, and an expiration time of the RSC.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the RSC may be one of multiple RSCs provisioned to one or more commercial applications. In accordance with another exemplary embodiment, the message received by the application server may be used to request one or more RSCs.
According to a fourteenth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus which may be implemented as an application server (e.g., a ProSe application server, etc.). The apparatus may comprise one or more processors and one or more memories storing computer program codes. The one or more memories and the computer program codes may be configured to, with the one or more processors, cause the apparatus at least to perform any step of the method according to the thirteenth aspect of the present disclosure.
According to a fifteenth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer-readable medium having computer program codes embodied thereon which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform any step of the method according to the thirteenth aspect of the present disclosure.
According to a sixteenth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus which may be implemented as an application server. The apparatus may comprise a determining unit and a provisioning unit. In accordance with some exemplary embodiments, the determining unit may be operable to carry out at least the determining step of the method according to the thirteenth aspect of the present disclosure. The provisioning unit may be operable to carry out at least the provisioning step of the method according to the thirteenth aspect of the present disclosure.
According to a seventeenth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method implemented in a communication system which may include a host computer, a base station and a UE. The method may comprise providing user data at the host computer. Optionally, the method may comprise, at the host computer, initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the base station. The UE may perform any step of the method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.
According to an eighteenth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a communication system including a host computer. The host computer may comprise processing circuitry configured to provide user data, and a communication interface configured to forward user data to a cellular network for transmission to a UE. The UE may comprise a radio interface and processing circuitry. The UE's processing circuitry may be configured to perform any step of the method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.
According to a nineteenth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method implemented in a communication system which may include a host computer, a base station and a UE. The method may comprise, at the host computer, receiving user data transmitted to the base station from the UE which may perform any step of the method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.
According to a twentieth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a communication system including a host computer. The host computer may comprise a communication interface configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from a UE to a base station. The UE may comprise a radio interface and processing circuitry. The UE's processing circuitry may be configured to perform any step of the method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.
The disclosure itself, the preferable mode of use and further objectives are best understood by reference to the following detailed description of the embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
The embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that these embodiments are discussed only for the purpose of enabling those skilled persons in the art to better understand and thus implement the present disclosure, rather than suggesting any limitations on the scope of the present disclosure. Reference throughout this specification to features, advantages, or similar language does not imply that all of the features and advantages that may be realized with the present disclosure should be or are in any single embodiment of the disclosure. Rather, language referring to the features and advantages is understood to mean that a specific feature, advantage, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the described features, advantages, and characteristics of the disclosure may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize that the disclosure may be practiced without one or more of the specific features or advantages of a particular embodiment. In other instances, additional features and advantages may be recognized in certain embodiments that may not be present in all embodiments of the disclosure.
As used herein, the term “communication network” refers to a network following any suitable communication standards, such as new radio (NR), long term evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced, wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), high-speed packet access (HSPA), and so on. Furthermore, the communications between a terminal device and a network node in the communication network may be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocols, including, but not limited to, the first generation (1G), the second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, the third generation (3G), 4G, 4.5G, 5G communication protocols, and/or any other protocols either currently known or to be developed in the future.
The term “network node” refers to a network device in a communication network via which a terminal device accesses to the network and receives services therefrom. The network node may refer to a base station (BS), an access point (AP), a multi-cell/multicast coordination entity (MCE), a controller or any other suitable device in a wireless communication network. The BS may be, for example, a node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), a next generation NodeB (gNodeB or gNB), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio header (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a relay, a low power node such as a femto, a pico, and so forth.
Yet further examples of the network node comprise multi-standard radio (MSR) radio equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, positioning nodes and/or the like. More generally, however, the network node may represent any suitable device (or group of devices) capable, configured, arranged, and/or operable to enable and/or provide a terminal device access to a wireless communication network or to provide some service to a terminal device that has accessed to the wireless communication network.
The term “terminal device” refers to any end device that can access a communication network and receive services therefrom. By way of example and not limitation, the terminal device may refer to a mobile terminal, a user equipment (UE), or other suitable devices. The UE may be, for example, a subscriber station, a portable subscriber station, a mobile station (MS) or an access terminal (AT). The terminal device may include, but not limited to, portable computers, image capture terminal devices such as digital cameras, gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback appliances, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a tablet, a wearable device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a vehicle, and the like.
As yet another specific example, in an Internet of things (IoT) scenario, a terminal device may also be called an IoT device and represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring, sensing and/or measurements etc., and transmits the results of such monitoring, sensing and/or measurements etc. to another terminal device and/or a network equipment. The terminal device may in this case be a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, which may in a 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) context be referred to as a machine-type communication (MTC) device.
As one particular example, the terminal device may be a UE implementing the 3GPP narrow band Internet of things (NB-IoT) standard. Particular examples of such machines or devices are sensors, metering devices such as power meters, industrial machinery, or home or personal appliances, e.g. refrigerators, televisions, personal wearables such as watches etc. In other scenarios, a terminal device may represent a vehicle or other equipment, for example, a medical instrument that is capable of monitoring, sensing and/or reporting etc. on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.
As used herein, the terms “first”, “second” and so forth refer to different elements. The singular forms “a” and “an” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms “comprises”, “comprising”, “has”, “having”, “includes” and/or “including” as used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and/or components and the like, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and/or combinations thereof. The term “based on” is to be read as “based at least in part on”. The term “one embodiment” and “an embodiment” are to be read as “at least one embodiment”. The term “another embodiment” is to be read as “at least one other embodiment”. Other definitions, explicit and implicit, may be included below.
3GPP specifies the LTE D2D technology, also known as ProSe (Proximity Services) in Release 12 and Release 13 of LTE. As described in clause 4.4.1 of 3GPP technical specification (TS) 23.303 V15.1.0 (where the entire content of this technical specification is incorporated into the present disclosure by reference), the ProSe function is the logical function that is used for network related actions required for ProSe. The ProSe function may play different roles for each of the features of ProSe. In 3GPP TS 23.303 V15.1.0, it is assumed that there is only one logical ProSe function in each public land mobile network (PLMN) that supports proximity services. It is noted that if multiple ProSe functions are deployed within the same PLMN (e.g., for load reasons), then the method to locate the ProSe function that has allocated a specific ProSe application code or ProSe restricted code (e.g. through a database lookup, etc.) is not defined in 3GPP TS 23.303 V15.1.0.
The ProSe function may consist of three main sub-functions that perform different roles depending on the ProSe feature:
The ProSe function may support “on demand” announcing requested by a UE based on the operator's policy, in case of ProSe restricted discovery model A. The ProSe function may provide the necessary charging and security functionality for usage of ProSe (both ProSe via the EPC and for ProSe direct discovery, ProSe direct communication and WLAN direct discovery and communication).
The ProSe function in home public land mobile network (HPLMN) can be always reached if home routed configuration is applied for a packet data network (PDN) connection (e.g., a PDN gateway (GW) is located in the HPLMN), when such function is supported by the HPLMN. In case of local breakout (e.g., a PDN GW is located in the visiting public land mobile network (VPLMN)), a ProSe proxy function can be deployed by the VPLMN to support UE to home ProSe function communication, if inter-PLMN signaling is required. Whether a PDN connection is provided by local breakout or home routed is determined by the HSS configuration, e.g., as described in 3GPP TS 23.401 V16.9.0 (where the entire content of this technical specification is incorporated into the present disclosure by reference). The UE may not be aware of this and as such may not know which access point name (APN) can be used for communication with ProSe function unless specific APN information is configured in the UE indicating that this APN provides signaling connectivity between the UE and the home ProSe function.
As described in clause 4.5.1.1.2.3.2 of 3GPP TS 23.303 V15.1.0, the parameter provisioning for (ProSe) UE-to-Network relay discovery for public safety use case may be defined as the following:
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, as described in clause 4.6.4.3 of 3GPP TS 23.303 V15.1.0, the RSC may be defined as a parameter identifying a connectivity service the ProSe UE-to-Network relay provides to public safety applications. The RSCs may be configured in a ProSe UE-to-Network relay for advertisement. The RSCs may be configured in the remote UEs interested in related connectivity services. Additionally, the RSC may also identify authorized users the ProSe UE-to-Network relay may offer service to, and may select the related security policies or information e.g. necessary for authentication and authorization between the remote UE and the ProSe UE-to-Network relay (e.g., a RSC for relays for police members only may be different than a RSC for relays for fire fighters only, even though potentially they provide connectivity to same APN e.g. to support Internet access).
A 5G system (5GS) may support a service-based architecture, and the DDNMF may be network function (NF) that is not only able to interact with 5G NFs (e.g., to consume Nudm service operation) but also connects with a UE via user plane connectivity for support procedures over PC3 interface. In the architecture, it is proposed to introduce 5G DDNMF as shown in
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, PC3 interface may support a discovery request/response, a match report procedure, an announcing alert procedure, and a discovery update procedure, e.g. as described in 3GPP TS 23.303 V15.1.0. Which network slice selection assistance information (NSSAI) or data network name (DNN) to be used for user plane connectivity for PC3 interface may be up to MNO's configuration (e.g., it can be controlled by a UE route selection policy (URSP) or local configuration in the UE).
It is noted that the use case of UE-to-Network relay in 4G/LTE systems is for public safety only. Correspondingly, in a 4G system (4GS), the scenario of a remote UE accessing a 3GPP network via a UE-to-Network relay using PC5 interface, is defined for public safety services only. There is no support for UE-to-UE relay in 4G/LTE. But in 5GS, UE-to-Network relay may be applied to both public safety and commercial use cases, and UE-to-UE relay may need to be supported for both public safety services and commercial services.
In the current 5G ProSe study (e.g., 3GPP TR 23.752 V1.0.0), management mechanisms of RSC are not discussed and studied yet, especially for UE-to-UE and commercial use cases. In particular, which network function may be used to provide a RSC to a remote UE? If the remote UE is authorized to use the relay service, then how to guarantee that the remote UE and a relay UE get the same RSC, so that they can discover each other when they are in the proximity of each other.
Various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure propose a solution for RSC management. In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, a network device/function such as 5GDDNMF or AS may take care of the management of the RSC. When the commercial application is dependent on the VPLMN, e.g., a remote UE may only connect one or more relays that are being served by some specific PLMNs, the remote UE may send a RSC request to the 5GDDNMF of its HPLMN and provide a list of VPLMNs, then the 5GDDMNF of its HPLMN may contact the 5GDDMNFs of the VPLMNs to get the RSC. The relay UE may get the RSC in the same way as the remote UE. Alternatively or additionally, when the commercial application is bound to the HPLMN of the relay UE, e.g., the remote UE may only connect to the relay UEs that belong to a specific PLMN, the remote UE may send a RSC request to the 5GDDNMF of its HPLMN, then the 5GDDMNF of its HPLMN may contact the 5GDDMNF of the PLMN bound to the application and get the RSC. The relay UE can contact the 5GDDNMF in its HPLMN to get the RSC. Alternatively or additionally, when the ProSe application server is responsible for the management of the RSC, the remote UE and the relay UE may be able to get the RSC during the registration phase or later via PCF. In an embodiment, the remote UE and the relay UE can contact the application server directly via user plane and get the RSC.
Various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to support RSC provisioning for commercial UE-to-Network relay and UE-to-UE relay discovery. In addition, the RSC provisioning can be controlled by a network operator if the commercial use cases are PLMN dependent.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the remote UE/relay may require different RSCs at the same time, e.g., it may request the RSCs for both UE-to-UE relay and UE-to-Network relay, then the requests for different RSCs may be combined into one request message. Correspondingly, the remote UE/relay may receive multiple RSCs in one RSC response message.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, a 5GDDNMF may be responsible for RSC management, and commercial applications may be dependent on the HPLMNs of the relays. In this scenario, the RSC provisioning procedure for the remote UE may be the same as described in
It can be appreciated that the PLMN ID in step 1 and step 3 may be optional, since the 5GDDNMF knows its own PLMN ID.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, a ProSe application server may be responsible for RSC management.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the remote UE/relay may directly contact the ProSe application server to get the RSC(s). In this case, step 2 in
It is noted that some embodiments of the present disclosure are mainly described in relation to 4G/LTE or 5G/NR specifications being used as non-limiting examples for certain exemplary network configurations and system deployments. As such, the description of exemplary embodiments given herein specifically refers to terminology which is directly related thereto. Such terminology is only used in the context of the presented non-limiting examples and embodiments, and does naturally not limit the present disclosure in any way. Rather, any other system configuration or radio technologies may equally be utilized as long as exemplary embodiments described herein are applicable.
According to the exemplary method 410 illustrated in
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the message transmitted to the first network may include one or more of:
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, when the RSC is used for Layer-3 UE-to-Network relay, the message transmitted to the first network by the UE may include: a PDU session type, S-NSSAI, a DNN, and/or an SSC mode for a PDU session of a relay UE, etc.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the response to the message may further include: an ID of a second network (e.g., the target PLMN in
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the first network may be a home network (e.g., a HPLMN, etc.) of the UE, and the message may be transmitted from the UE to the first direct discovery name manager for the first network.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the RSC may be managed by the first direct discovery name manager, and the UE may receive the RSC from the first direct discovery name manager.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the RSC may be managed by the second direct discovery name manager for a second network, and the UE may receive the RSC from the second direct discovery name manager via the first direct discovery name manager.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the second network may be a network (e.g., a VPLMN, etc.) which may be potentially to be visited by the UE. In accordance with another exemplary embodiment, for the case that the UE is a remote UE, the second network may be a home network (e.g., a HPLMN, etc.) of a relay UE which may be potentially to be connected by the remote UE.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the RSC may be managed by the application server, and the UE may receive the RSC from the first direct discovery name manager which is able to get the RSC from the application server.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the RSC may be provisioned by the application server to an application registered to the first network, e.g., as described with respect to
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the UE may transmit the message to the application server for the first network to request the RSC, and receive the RSC from the application server.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the RSC may be used for a commercial application. According to an embodiment, the UE may use the message to request one or multiple RSCs for one or more commercial applications. According to another embodiment, the response to the message received by the UE may include one or multiple RSCs for one or more commercial applications.
According to the exemplary method 420 illustrated in
It can be appreciated that the steps, operations and related configurations of the method 420 illustrated in
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the first message may be used to request one or multiple RSCs for one or more commercial applications. Correspondingly, the response to the first message transmitted to the UE by the first direct discovery name manager may include one or multiple RSCs for one or more commercial applications.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the first message may include one or more of:
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, when the RSC is used for Layer-3 UE-to-Network relay, the first message may include: a PDU session type, S-NSSAI, a DNN, and/or an SSC mode for a PDU session of a relay UE, etc.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the response to the first message may further include: an ID of a second network (e.g., the target PLMN in
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the RSC may be managed by the first direct discovery name manager. In this case, the first direct discovery name manager may determine whether a relay service is applicable to the UE in the first network. In response to determining that the relay service is applicable to the UE in the first network, the first direct discovery name manager may generate the RSC and transmit the generated RSC to the UE.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the RSC may be managed by the second direct discovery name manager for a second network (e.g., the second network node as described with respect to
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the first direct discovery name manager may determine whether a relay service is applicable to the UE in the second network. In response to determining that the relay service is applicable to the UE in the second network, the first direct discovery name manager may transmit a second message to the second network to request the RSC.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the second message may include one or more of:
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the first direct discovery name manager may receive a response to the second message from the second network. The response to the second message may include the RSC. In an embodiment, the response to the second message may further include: an ID of the second network, an ID of the UE, an application ID, and/or an expiration time of the RSC, etc.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the RSC may be managed by the application server and provisioned to an application registered to the first network. According to an embodiment, the first direct discovery name manager may transmit a third message (e.g., the RSC request in step 3 of
According to the exemplary method 430 illustrated in
It can be appreciated that the message received by the second direct discovery name manager according to the method 430 may correspond to the second message transmitted by the first direct discovery name manager according to the method 420. Thus, the second message as described with respect to
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the message received by the second direct discovery name manager may be used to request one or multiple RSCs for one or more commercial applications. Correspondingly, the response to the message transmitted by the second direct discovery name manager may include one or multiple RSCs for one or more commercial applications.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, when the RSC is used for Layer-3 UE-to-Network relay, the message received by the second direct discovery name manager may include: a PDU session type, S-NSSAI, a DNN, and/or an SSC mode for a PDU session of a relay UE, etc.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the UE for which the RSC is requested may be a remote UE or a relay UE, and the second network may be a network which is potentially to be visited by the UE. In accordance with another exemplary embodiment, the UE for which the RSC is requested may be a remote UE, and the second network may be a home network of a relay UE which is potentially to be connected by the remote UE.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the second direct discovery name manager may determine whether a relay service is applicable to the UE in the second network. In response to determining that the relay service is applicable to the UE in the second network, the second direct discovery name manager may generate the RSC and transmit the generated RSC to the first direct discovery name manager.
It can be appreciated that the first direct discovery name manager as described with respect to
According to the exemplary method 440 illustrated in
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the RSC may be provisioned to a UE (e.g., the UE as described with respect to
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the application server may receive a message (e.g., the third message as described with respect to
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the application server may receive a message to request the RSC from a UE (e.g., the UE as described with respect to
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the message received by the application server from the UE and/or the direct discovery name manager for the network may include one or more of:
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the response to the message transmitted by the application server may further include: an ID of the network, an ID of the UE, an application ID, and/or an expiration time of the RSC, etc.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the RSC may be one of multiple RSCs provisioned to one or more commercial applications. In accordance with another exemplary embodiment, the message received from the UE and/or the direct discovery name manager by the application server may be used to request one or more RSCs.
The various blocks shown in
In some implementations, the one or more memories 502 and the computer program codes 503 may be configured to, with the one or more processors 501, cause the apparatus 500 at least to perform any operation of the method as described in connection with
With reference to
The telecommunication network 710 is itself connected to a host computer 730, which may be embodied in the hardware and/or software of a standalone server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server or as processing resources in a server farm. The host computer 730 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider, or may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. Connections 721 and 722 between the telecommunication network 710 and the host computer 730 may extend directly from the core network 714 to the host computer 730 or may go via an optional intermediate network 720. An intermediate network 720 may be one of, or a combination of more than one of, a public, private or hosted network; the intermediate network 720, if any, may be a backbone network or the Internet; in particular, the intermediate network 720 may comprise two or more sub-networks (not shown).
The communication system of
Example implementations, in accordance with an embodiment, of the UE, base station and host computer discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to
The communication system 800 further includes a base station 820 provided in a telecommunication system and comprising hardware 825 enabling it to communicate with the host computer 810 and with the UE 830. The hardware 825 may include a communication interface 826 for setting up and maintaining a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of the communication system 800, as well as a radio interface 827 for setting up and maintaining at least a wireless connection 870 with the UE 830 located in a coverage area (not shown in
The communication system 800 further includes the UE 830 already referred to. Its hardware 835 may include a radio interface 837 configured to set up and maintain a wireless connection 870 with a base station serving a coverage area in which the UE 830 is currently located. The hardware 835 of the UE 830 further includes a processing circuitry 838, which may comprise one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. The UE 830 further comprises software 831, which is stored in or accessible by the UE 830 and executable by the processing circuitry 838. The software 831 includes a client application 832. The client application 832 may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via the UE 830, with the support of the host computer 810. In the host computer 810, an executing host application 812 may communicate with the executing client application 832 via the OTT connection 850 terminating at the UE 830 and the host computer 810. In providing the service to the user, the client application 832 may receive request data from the host application 812 and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 850 may transfer both the request data and the user data. The client application 832 may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides.
It is noted that the host computer 810, the base station 820 and the UE 830 illustrated in
In
Wireless connection 870 between the UE 830 and the base station 820 is in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 830 using the OTT connection 850, in which the wireless connection 870 forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve the latency and the power consumption, and thereby provide benefits such as lower complexity, reduced time required to access a cell, better responsiveness, extended battery lifetime, etc.
A measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve. There may further be an optional network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 850 between the host computer 810 and the UE 830, in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and/or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 850 may be implemented in software 811 and hardware 815 of the host computer 810 or in software 831 and hardware 835 of the UE 830, or both. In embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with communication devices through which the OTT connection 850 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or supplying values of other physical quantities from which the software 811, 831 may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of the OTT connection 850 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not affect the base station 820, and it may be unknown or imperceptible to the base station 820. Such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling facilitating the host computer 810's measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency and the like. The measurements may be implemented in that the software 811 and 831 causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTT connection 850 while it monitors propagation times, errors etc.
According to some exemplary embodiments, there is provided a method implemented in a communication system which may include a host computer, a base station and a UE. The method may comprise providing user data at the host computer. Optionally, the method may comprise, at the host computer, initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the base station. The UE may perform any step of the exemplary method 410 as describe with respect to
According to some exemplary embodiments, there is provided a communication system including a host computer. The host computer may comprise processing circuitry configured to provide user data, and a communication interface configured to forward user data to a cellular network for transmission to a UE. The UE may comprise a radio interface and processing circuitry. The UE's processing circuitry may be configured to perform any step of the exemplary method 410 as describe with respect to
According to some exemplary embodiments, there is provided a method implemented in a communication system which may include a host computer, a base station and a UE. The method may comprise, at the host computer, receiving user data transmitted to the base station from the UE which may perform any step of the exemplary method 410 as describe with respect to
According to some exemplary embodiments, there is provided a communication system including a host computer. The host computer may comprise a communication interface configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from a UE to a base station. The UE may comprise a radio interface and processing circuitry. The UE's processing circuitry may be configured to perform any step of the exemplary method 410 as describe with respect to
In general, the various exemplary embodiments may be implemented in hardware or special purpose chips, circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. For example, some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device, although the disclosure is not limited thereto. While various aspects of the exemplary embodiments of this disclosure may be illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other pictorial representation, it is well understood that these blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques or methods described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.
As such, it should be appreciated that at least some aspects of the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure may be practiced in various components such as integrated circuit chips and modules. It should thus be appreciated that the exemplary embodiments of this disclosure may be realized in an apparatus that is embodied as an integrated circuit, where the integrated circuit may comprise circuitry (as well as possibly firmware) for embodying at least one or more of a data processor, a digital signal processor, baseband circuitry and radio frequency circuitry that are configurable so as to operate in accordance with the exemplary embodiments of this disclosure.
It should be appreciated that at least some aspects of the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure may be embodied in computer-executable instructions, such as in one or more program modules, executed by one or more computers or other devices. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types when executed by a processor in a computer or other device. The computer executable instructions may be stored on a computer readable medium such as a hard disk, optical disk, removable storage media, solid state memory, random access memory (RAM), etc. As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art, the function of the program modules may be combined or distributed as desired in various embodiments. In addition, the function may be embodied in whole or partly in firmware or hardware equivalents such as integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), and the like.
The present disclosure includes any novel feature or combination of features disclosed herein either explicitly or any generalization thereof. Various modifications and adaptations to the foregoing exemplary embodiments of this disclosure may become apparent to those skilled in the relevant arts in view of the foregoing description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, any and all modifications will still fall within the scope of the non-limiting and exemplary embodiments of this disclosure.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/CN2021/073674 | Jan 2021 | WO | international |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/CN2021/143867 | 12/31/2021 | WO |