Patent Application
20240276359
Embodiments herein relate to a radio network node, a user equipment (UE), a network node and methods performed therein regarding wireless communication. Furthermore, a computer program product and a computer-readable storage medium are also provided herein. In particular, embodiments herein relate to handling communication, such as handling a service, in a wireless communications network.
In a typical wireless communications network, UEs, also known as wireless communication devices, mobile stations, stations (STA) and/or wireless devices, communicate via a Radio Access Network (RAN) with one or more core networks (CN). The RAN covers a geographical area which is divided into service areas or cells, with each service area or cell being served by a radio network node such as an access node e.g. a Wi-Fi access point or a radio base station (RBS), which in some networks may also be called, for example, a NodeB, a gNodeB, or an eNodeB. The service area or cell is a geographical area where radio coverage is provided by the radio network node. The radio network node operates on radio frequencies to communicate over an air interface with the UEs within range of the radio network node. The radio network node communicates over a downlink (DL) to the UE and the UE communicates over an uplink (UL) to the radio network node.
A Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is a third generation (3G) telecommunication network, which evolved from the second generation (2G) Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). The UMTS terrestrial radio access network (UTRAN) is essentially a RAN using wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) and/or High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) for communication with user equipment. In a forum known as the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), telecommunications suppliers propose and agree upon standards for present and future generation networks and investigate, e.g., enhanced data rate and radio capacity. In some RANs, e.g., as in UMTS, several radio network nodes may be connected, e.g., by landlines or microwave, to a controller node, such as a radio network controller (RNC) or a base station controller (BSC), which supervises, and coordinates various activities of the plural radio network nodes connected thereto. The RNCs are typically connected to one or more core networks.
Specifications for the Evolved Packet System (EPS) have been completed within the 3GPP and present and coming 3GPP releases, such as New Radio (NR) and extensions, are worked on. The EPS comprises the Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), also known as the Long-Term Evolution (LTE) radio access network, and the Evolved Packet Core (EPC), also known as System Architecture Evolution (SAE) core network. E-UTRAN/LTE is a 3GPP radio access technology wherein the radio network nodes are directly connected to the EPC core network. As such, the Radio Access Network (RAN) of an EPS has an essentially “flat” architecture comprising radio network nodes connected directly to one or more core networks.
With the emerging 5G technologies such as new radio (NR), the use of very many transmit- and receive-antenna elements may be of great interest as it makes it possible to utilize beamforming, such as transmit-side and receive-side beamforming. Transmit-side beamforming means that the transmitter can amplify the transmitted signals in a selected direction or directions, while suppressing the transmitted signals in other directions. Similarly, on the receive-side, a receiver can amplify signals from a selected direction or directions, while suppressing unwanted signals from other directions.
3GPP is currently working on Release 17 enhancements to first specifications of the 5G system of Release (Rel) 15 and/or 16. These types of enhancements are made to functionality that was introduced in early releases of the 5G specification.
One such functionality is Non-Public Networks, also known as NPNs, that was introduced in Release 16.
3GPP introduced support for two non-public networks deployment options from Release 16. The first NPN option outlines how operators could support non-public networks or dedicated deployments by associating them directly to the operator network. Such improvements resulted in solutions for what is commonly referred to as Public Network Integrated NPN's (PNI-NPN).
The second NPN option is the stand-alone NPN, or SNPN for short. In almost all aspects, this is a network that carries the same functionality and characteristics as the more commonly known Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), but it differs in some aspects, e.g., an SNPN is identified by an SNPN ID rather than a PLMN ID. The SNPN ID is composed of a PLMN ID and a Network ID (NID). Additionally, there is no support for mobility between SNPNs, in the same way as is possible between, equivalent, PLMNs and mobility between SNPNs and PLMNs are solved via interworking functionality, in a similar way as for Wi-Fi and PLMNs.
In a cell, herein understood as an entity that sends a broadcast, e.g., system information block one (SIB1) message, there can be one or many NPNs or PLMNs sharing the resources, e.g., frequency and processing capabilities, and such situations are commonly referred to as RAN sharing. Several SNPNs, PNI NPNs and PLMNs can share a cell and when they do, they can be associated with separate cell identities.
System Information Block (SIB) broadcast can thus represent different networks and for each of these, there can be specific identifiers such as Cell IDs, i.e., different “logical” cells, and different Tracking Area Codes (TAC). In the following, NPN will be used to denote both SNPNs and PNI NPNs.
To account also for sharing between PLMNs and NPNs, between PLMNs only or between NPNs only, two different lists have been defined in the broadcast, one for listing NPNs, comprising both SNPNs and PNI-NPNs (or Closed Access Group (CAG) cells), referred to as npn-IdentityInfoList and one for listing PLMNs, referred to as plmn-IdentityList, see below.
These lists are defined in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.331 v16.3.1 and are broadcast in SIB1.
The different lists allow an operator, PLMN-specific or, e.g., neutral host operator, to support a number of different PLMNs and NPNs in the broadcast. Abstract Syntax Notation (ASN; ASN1; ASN.1) used herein, e.g., as code snippets, describes what information is/may be communicated in each referenced scenario.
An NPN, identified by a PLMN ID+CAG ID or a SNPN ID, can further be associated with Human Readable Network Name (HRNN) broadcast in SIB10 to facilitate manual network selection. The below is the ASN.1 for SIB10, including an HRNN list.
The HRNNs were introduced mainly to support manual network selection of an NPN, such that if a UE detects several NPN's by PLMN and/or SNPN ID, it should be possible to also display a relevant network name in association to this, that would make it possible for a user to easier understand and select a network manually.
With Rel-17, enhancements to NPN were studied. These are described in 3GPP TR 23.700-07 v1.2.0, which is a technical report outlining several “key issues”, where a key issue is essentially an enhancement area or a new need that should be met.
SNPN access using credentials from a separate entity (Key issue #1)
Key issue #1 describes a situation when a UE can access an SNPN using credentials not from the SNPN itself, but from another, separate entity, which can be another Service Provider, SP, or Subscription Provider.
The challenges related to KI #1 are described in TR 23.700-07 v1.2.0 as:
“This key issue aims at addressing the following points for SNPN along with subscription owned by an entity separate from the SNPN:
3GPP TR 23.700-07 v1.2.0 indicates the following relevant conclusions for KI #1:
In the following, we explain the above conclusions for KI #1.
For a UE to detect, or find, and select an SNPN that supports other, service provider (SP), credentials, the SNPNs can indicate such network capabilities or services. The network would in essence broadcast that it accepts access using certain other credentials.
It is also envisioned that the possibility to access certain SNPNs with certain SP credentials may not be a static association between SNPNs and SP's, but rather that SP's would seek to add further SNPNs to its list of networks that can be accessed, e.g., through new agreements. Similarly, it may be in the interest of SNPN operators to attract more traffic to their network by adding agreement with more SP's. To avoid that such evolving business relations drive too much of management and upgrade tasks, the standard specifies a Group ID. The Group ID can be viewed as aggregation of several SP's, allowing that SNPNs that support access using credentials from these SP's does not have to broadcast more than support for the Group ID, instead of broadcasting support for each and every SP identity, and the UE would then be able to associate the Group ID with SNPNs that allow access with SP credentials included in the group.
Furthermore, it was also concluded to allow an SNPN to indicate whether it allows registration attempts from UEs that are not explicitly configured to select this SNPN, hence enabling UEs to perform blind registration attempts, which eventually, may fail if the SNPN does not have means to authenticate the UE.
Note that SP (service provider) is also referred to as “Credentials Holder (CH), being equivalent in meaning to the SP. The GID is thus a means to associate the SP with possible SNPNs to access. Its main benefit is an easier handling of changes to the relations between the SPs and the SNPNs and an easier broadcast of support. (Note that the GID is sometimes referred to as Group ID for Network Selection (GIN).
In the 3GPP TR 23.700-07 v1.2.0, the following UE behavior is captured:
In other words, a UE that is equipped with credentials from a service provider that can be used to access certain SNPNs, is thus also configured with one or more GIDs. When the UE is moving around, and performing network selection, it can scan and detect available networks and for a UE accessible SNPNs then broadcast a GID that corresponds to one the UE is preconfigured with. By associating a network ID to the GID, from the networks included in the npn-IdentityInfoLists an SNPN selection can be made that corresponds to the GID the UE is configured with and for this GID, the SNPN allows access using credentials from the UE's SP.
In addition, for manual network selection, whereby a user is being displayed a list of available network and manually select a network, the TR states:
It has thus also been proposed in 3GPP to broadcast a human readable name for the GIDs similar to HRNN used for NPNs. The human readable name for the GID, herein referred to as a Human Readable Group Name (HRGN), would be displayed to the user during the manual network selection so that the user can identify the group of SPs associated with an SNPN.
A similar group ID (GID), to what has been described above is also being discussed in connection to another of the Key Issues, referred to as “UE onboarding”, see TS 23.700, v1.2.0, where onboarding is referred to as Key issue #4:
Architecture and solutions to support UE onboarding and provisioning for the NPN. The term “Onboarding” refers to enabling connectivity to the UE for realizing remote provisioning, and in some cases the term “Onboarding” includes both enabling the connectivity as well as the remote provisioning of the UE with NPN credentials. This key issue includes some common aspects such as:
In relation to onboarding work it has been proposed that the GID can also be used to indicate a group of manufacturers, which provide UEs with default credentials for purposes of onboarding. SNPNs that support onboarding using default credentials from these manufacturers, would broadcast an onboarding indication and the GID identifying these manufacturers.
The GID usage is included in clause 8.4.1 of the updated TR 23.700-07 v2.0.0:
Both of the above Key issues share some aspects related to accessing an SNPN. For SP credentials it is about finding an SNPN that supports access with certain credentials, for onboarding, it is about finding an SNPN that supports onboarding. In both of the situations, a Group ID bridges access through SP or onboarding with networks that support such services, for the purpose that a UE should be able to find and select a network and/or SNPN that supports, either the SP or the onboarding.
As part of developing embodiments here one or more problems were first identified. As described in the background section, for the access using CH credentials and the onboarding service, in the future it is likely that additional services will be offered and for such services, UEs may not even have credentials to access networks or subscribe to services beforehand, but must onboard to both a network and a service. Also, there may be multiple networks providing same or similar services, some that the UE may use with existing credentials and/or subscription and some that may be used if the UE first performs onboarding to get provisioned with new credentials and subscription. The relation between a UE, the network, e.g., PLMN, PNI-NPN, or SNPN, and the service offered may evolve such that UEs may onboard to different networks by acquiring credentials on demand, and through the different networks, different types of services may be offered, by either the network operators themselves, or by 3rd party service providers that offer their services, making the PLMNs, PNI-NPNs or SNPNs a “hosting network” for such services. A development may be envisioned wherein the central aspect of an association between a UE and a network is not for purposes of being associated to a specific network, but rather to be associated with a specific service.
The current enhancements in 3GPP in association to the key issues described above does not solve or address such service-centric view, as in all aspects, the mechanisms are put in place to support a network selection, not a service selection.
In related discussions a number of different solutions to challenges have been addressed, associated to broadcasting information and support UE to find a network and a specific service.
U.S. application 63/164,595, describes various aspects of efficient encoding of broadcast for connecting Group ID to an SNPN ID.
U.S. application 63/167,156 introduces additional services represented by, e.g., a service ID or similar representation, which is associated with a Group ID and broadcast of such service IDs. The document also introduces alternative GID encoding approaches to minimize the number of bits for the GID encoding using different GID assignment modes.
U.S. application 63/167,165 introduces additional service information, such as Human Readable Service Information (HRSI) that may be used in particular for manual selection procedures. Methods for how the HRSI may be broadcast and connected with the corresponding, explicitly/implicitly indicated, service identities are outlined and in addition, HRSI content is expanded to also support expanded service information such as how to acquire credentials for access to networks and for subscribing to services including also various charging methods, costs, or time and locality information.
Herein an approach is described for providing information to the UE by the network and methods in the UE for using this information to access a network and get a desired service.
An object herein is to provide a mechanism to handle communication, such as a service, in an efficient manner in the wireless communications network.
According to an aspect the object is achieved, according to embodiments herein, by providing a method performed by a radio network node for handling communication in a wireless communications network. The radio network node receives, from a UE, an indication indicating selection of a service associated with a service indication out of at least one service indication. The indication may be a service ID, an index of the service ID or a GID. The radio network node, based on the received indication, selects a network node such as an AMF that supports the service indicated by the indication. The radio network node may then transmit a service request to the selected network node.
According to another aspect the object is achieved, according to embodiments herein, by providing a method performed by a user equipment for handling communication in a wireless communications network. The UE detects at least one service indication in a SI broadcast from a radio network node. The UE selects a service indication out of the at least one service indication from SI broadcast to represent the service the UE targets association with. The UE 10 then transmits an indication indicating selection of the service associated with the selected service indication.
According to yet another aspect the object is achieved, according to embodiments herein, by providing a method performed by a network node for handling communication in a wireless communications network. The network node receives from a radio network node an initial message with a service request. The service request may indicate the service indication and UE requesting the service. The network node selects a network for providing the requested service and responds to the radio network node 12 with a network indication of the selected network.
According to still another aspect the object is achieved, according to embodiments herein, by providing a radio network node, a network node and a UE configured to perform the methods, respectively.
According to still another aspect a radio network node for handling communication in a wireless communications network. The radio network node is configured to receive, from a UE, an indication indicating selection of a service associated with a service indication out of at least one service indication. The indication may be a service ID, an index of the service ID or a GID. The radio network node is configured to, based on the received indication, select a network node such as an AMF that supports the service indicated by the indication. The radio network node may then transmit a service request to the selected network node.
According to another aspect the object is achieved, according to embodiments herein, by providing a method performed by a user equipment for handling communication in a wireless communications network. The UE detects at least one service indication in a SI broadcast from a radio network node. The UE selects a service indication out of the at least one service indication from SI broadcast to represent the service the UE targets association with. The UE 10 then transmits an indication indicating selection of the service associated with the selected service indication.
According to yet another aspect the object is achieved, according to embodiments herein, by providing a method performed by a network node for handling communication in a wireless communications network. The network node receives from a radio network node an initial message with a service request. The service request may indicate the service indication and UE requesting the service. The network node selects a network for providing the requested service and responds to the radio network node 12 with a network indication of the selected network.
It is furthermore provided herein a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the method above, as performed by the radio network node, the network node, and the UE, respectively. It is additionally provided herein a computer-readable storage medium, having stored thereon a computer program product comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the method according to the method above, as performed by the UE, the network node, or the radio network node, respectively.
Embodiments herein disclose a way of, instead of selecting a network, selecting a service, represented by a service indication such as a group ID (GID), a service ID of any format indicating the desired service, even a human readable service information format. The UE is transmitting, e.g., signalling, to the radio network node the indication of the selected service, and the radio network node the, based on selected service, for example, group ID or service ID, performs an association to a network supporting the selected service. The association may be made by forwarding an access request from the UE to a network node such as an Access and Mobility management Function (AMF) associated with the network supporting the service. The UE is informed of the selected network in a subsequent step and procedures for registration to the network is pursued.
The selection of the service in the UE may either be manual or automatic, based on a trigger from, e.g., an application layer or another higher layer in the UE.
In some embodiments herein, the UE is, in addition to providing indication of selected service indication to the network prior to network performing network selection, also providing additional information, such as information about Home PLMN or information about expected duration of requested service, or other information that may steer or restrict the way the network selection is done in the radio network node. In some embodiments, the selected service indication may be accompanied by the additional information related to, for example, desired quality or quality range, cost or cost range, available credentials that the UE may already have, desired means of transaction to acquire new necessary credentials and desired time-of-service.
In another aspect of embodiments herein a UE may select a service in a network that it has already registered to, using the same mechanisms that are used for selecting a service for purposes of allowing the network to make a network selection. In this embodiment, a UE may, from a number of different service IDs or GIDs that are broadcast in the cell, select one service or one GID using the same signalling methods as that of network selection. The radio network node may then forward the selected service to an AMF and/or other network control node that triggers actions necessary to associate the UE with the service indicated. These actions may be, for example, enable subscription to service, both in situations when the service is provided by the access network, or when the service is provided from a 3rd party that is not operating an access network.
By letting the UE directly proceed to select the desired service, it is possible, on one hand to simplify the UE's selection process and on the other hand, to reduce the burden on the network broadcast by letting the network itself do the selection.
An additional advantage is that it is possible for a network to advertise its services, or for a node representing many networks to advertise the sum of all available services and allow selection of such service, without requiring that the UE knows what network that is providing said service.
Decoupling service from the network selection at the UE also helps to improve reliability since instead of relying on a specific network offering the service the UE may be served by any network offering that service.
Hence, embodiments herein provide a mechanism to efficiently handle communication in the wireless communications network.
Embodiments will now be described in more detail in relation to the enclosed drawings, in which:
Embodiments herein relate to wireless communications networks in general.
In the wireless communications network 1, a user equipment (UE) 10, exemplified herein as a wireless device such as a mobile station, a non-access point (non-AP) station (STA), a STA and/or a wireless terminal, is comprised communicating via e.g. one or more Access Networks (AN), e.g. radio access network (RAN), to one or more core networks (CN). It should be understood by the skilled in the art that “UE” is a non-limiting term which means any terminal, wireless communications terminal, user equipment, narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT) device, Machine Type Communication (MTC) device, Device to Device (D2D) terminal, or node e.g. smart phone, laptop, mobile phone, sensor, relay, mobile tablets or even a small base station capable of communicating using radio communication with a radio network node within an area served by the radio network node.
The wireless communications network 1 comprises a radio network node 12 providing radio coverage over a geographical area, a first service area 11 or first cell, of a first radio access technology (RAT), such as NR, LTE, or similar. The radio network node 12 may be a transmission and reception point such as an access node, an access controller, a base station, e.g. a radio base station such as a gNodeB (gNB), an evolved Node B (eNB, eNode B), a NodeB, a base transceiver station, a radio remote unit, an Access Point Base Station, a base station router, a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) access point or an Access Point Station (AP STA), a transmission arrangement of a radio base station, a stand-alone access point or any other network unit or node capable of communicating with a wireless device within the area served by the radio network node depending e.g. on the first radio access technology and terminology used. The radio network node may be referred to as a serving radio network node wherein the service area may be referred to as a serving cell, and the serving network node communicates with the UE in form of DL transmissions to the UE and UL transmissions from the UE. It should be noted that a service area may be denoted as cell, beam, beam group or similar to define an area of radio coverage.
The wireless communications network further comprises a network node 13 for handling services in the wireless communications network. The network node 13 may be a control node such as a mobility management entity (MME) or an AMF.
In the embodiments described herein the UE 10 makes a service selection in the wireless communications network 1 in that the UE 10 detects at least one service indication, such as a service ID, in a SI broadcast from the radio network node 12. The UE 10 selects, for example, based on UE preference, a service indication out of the at least one service indication from SI broadcast to represent a service the UE targets association with. The UE 10 then signals in the wireless communications network 1, e.g. to the radio network node 12, an indication indicating selection of a service associated with said service indication. The UE 10 may signal the indication when the UE 10 is not registered to any network such as SNPN or PLMN. Alternatively, the UE 10 may signal the indication when the UE 10 is already registered to an SNPN or PLMN and the signalling of the indication is to a network the UE is already registered to. Alternatively, the UE 10 may signal the indication when the UE 10 is already registered to an SNPN or PLMN and the signalling of the indication is to a network the UE is not registered to.
The radio network node 12 may then transmit a selected network indication to the UE 10 e.g. in a message. The message may comprise an identity of the selected network in a non access stratum (NAS) message. The radio network node 12 may further transmit additional information to the UE 10. The additional information may comprise one or more of the following: payment of service, cost of service, duration of how long the service may be used, different quality-of-service levels etc. The selected network indication may be comprised in a radio resource control (RRC) message such as an RRC setup complete message, that ends setup of a radio resource control setup for the UE 10. An indication may be represented by a value, a name or similar
The method actions performed by the radio network node for handling services in the wireless communications network according to embodiments will now be described with reference to a flowchart depicted in
The method actions performed by the UE 10 for handling communication (services) in the wireless communications network according to embodiments will now be described with reference to a flowchart depicted in
The method actions performed by the network node 13 for handling communication (services) in the wireless communications network according to embodiments will now be described with reference to a flowchart depicted in
The 5G-RAN or NG-RAN consists of gNBs 102,104, examples of the radio network node 12, that connects to antenna elements 106, 108 via which wireless communication 119, 121 is possible to/from UEs 110,112, examples of the UE 10, within a certain coverage area 115, 117. The interface between the gNB and the UE is sometimes referred to as the Uu interface. Different gNB's may connect to each other via a direct interface referred to as Xn 135 interface. This interface is typically used for mobility between different gNB's, e.g., when UE's move between different coverage areas served by different gNB's. In the figure gNB2104 is illustrated with additional details in how it may be built-up. A gNB may consist of a Central Unit (CU) 120 and at least one Distributed Unit (DU) 122. The CU 120 may connect via an F1 interface 123. The gNB's are then connected to two different nodes in the 5G Core network, one for the user plane traffic and one for control plane traffic. The interface for control plane NG/N2 127, 131 towards an Access and Mobility management Function (AMF) 152 and the interface for user plane traffic N3, 129, 133 for communication towards a User Plane Function 154, UPF. The standard describes, e.g., N5, N7, etc., to be the reference point between two nodes/end points, we use it to be synonymous to interface, as is sometimes done also in specifications. The connection to the core network goes in the illustration above via the CU in the gNB, as exemplified by gNB2104 and CU 120. It may be the role of the gNB to terminate the control signalling that establishes and controls the air interface connection towards the UE. It may further be the role to be the communication point towards the radio access network 100 for the core network 150. While the interfaces have been denoted with, e.g., N5, N7 etc. in the figure (N+number) this is usually referring to a reference point between the different nodes, in this description the same denotations may be used to denote the interfaces between the entities in its entirety.
According to embodiments herein, the radio network node 12 may support a number of services where each service is associated to a service indication such as a service ID. The radio network node 12 may broadcast system information (SI) with at least one service indication. The service indication may be a service ID, a format of a Group ID, or it may follow a Group ID+Service type indication, or it may even be on a human readable format. If the service indication is some type of numerical value, there may in addition be a Human Readable Service Information (HRSI) associated to the service indication. The radio network node 12 may associate different networks to different services, and some services may be possible to use through a number of different networks. The networks that are reachable through the radio network node 12 may be represented by an entry in one of the network identity lists, npn-IdentityInfo or PLMN-IdentityLists that are broadcast in a system information block (SIB1).
The radio network node 12 and/or the network node 13 also includes selection mechanisms and/or rules such that for any given selection of a service from the UE 10, the service indication may be mapped and/or associated to a specific network in the network node 13. It is not necessary that a service provider and a network is the same entity. The services, as represented by the service indications, may be offered by, e.g., 3rd party providers that doesn't even operate any of the selectable networks, or it may be directly operated by the networks that are represented in the network node 13. The radio network node 12 is typically a gNB in an NG-RAN or an access node in any other access network.
In connection to the service indication, as described above, more detailed information related to the service may be available. Such additional information may be related to, e.g., payment of service, cost of service, duration of how long the service may be used, different quality-of-service levels etc. Even such additional information as valid credentials may be included. Such indications may correspond to informing the UE 10 that services may be accessed/enjoyed/used with credentials from public land mobile network (PLMN) operator N, SNPN operator D, etc., or services may be accessed if the UE 10 is configured to belong to the same Group ID as the service corresponds to, in case the Service indication is of a Group ID format.
According to embodiments herein, the UE 10 will read the SI for services as described above and, instead of making a network selection as is the normal behaviour before a UE has registered with the network, based on the service indications, the UE 10 will make a service selection. The service selection, whether it is done via an automated or application-triggered mechanism in the UE 10 or whether executed as a manual service selection mode, is represented by the indication in a message to the radio network node 12. In NG-RAN, it is standardized that the UE 10 includes a selected network, a PLMN or NPN identity in connection to an RRC Setup Complete message as described in 3GPP TS 38.331. Instead of including a network ID in the message, the indication such as a service ID would be included according to embodiments herein. The UE 10 would thus let the radio network node 12 know what service (but not necessarily what network) the UE 10 is interested in.
Based on the indication from the UE 10, the radio network node 12 may assume the responsibility to associate the service request with a network supporting the service. The radio network node 12 may perform the selection via, for example, rules that allow for a mapping of network nodes, such as AMFs, that are associated with networks that support the selected service. The radio network node 12 may for example hold a mapping between services and AMFs such that it selects a predetermined network node per service, or that the radio network node 12 selects one of several possible network nodes for a service according to some more advanced prioritization of network, or using a round-robin mechanism. Aspects that may determine what network that is feasible to select for a UE requesting a service would be if the network had any additional information from the UE regarding, e.g., desired service quality or quality range, cost or cost range, available credentials that the UE may already have, desired means of monetary transaction to acquire new necessary credentials, and desired time-of-service, velocity, load, or home PLMN identity. The UE 10 may not only convey the indication indicating the selected service in a setup complete message, but may also convey any other conditions for selecting a network, if such exist, e.g. related to prioritization of networks among the list of networks. The inclusion of the indication in the setup complete message may be performed to signal to the network, irrespective whether a PLMN ID or network ID is indicated. And the service is prioritized over the network, meaning that the UE 10 wants the service, possibly on a certain network that may be indicated, but if not supported, on another network.
As listed above, in some embodiments herein, also for the purpose of making an optimal network selection, the UE 10 may provide UE additional information such as if it is a high-speed or a stationary UE, if the service is going to be enjoyed/used for long, with or without mobility etc. This type of UE additional information may support the radio network node 12 in making the best network selection for the requested service.
As shown in
If performed as an onboarding procedure, the signalling between the UE 10 and the radio network node 12 may be according to the
The example scenario of
Additionally or alternatively, the onboarding procedure and the service request are combined procedures, as illustrated in
The radio network node 12 may comprise processing circuitry 1101, e.g. one or more processors, configured to perform the methods herein.
The radio network node 12 may comprise a transmitting unit 1102, e.g. a transmitter or a transceiver. The radio network node 12, the processing circuitry 1101 and/or the transmitting unit 1102 may be configured to transmit or broadcast the SI, wherein the SI comprises at least one service indication such as a service ID indicating a type of service offered by one or more networks. The radio network node 12 may be configured with the mapping of service indications and networks providing the respective service.
The radio network node 12 may comprise a receiving unit 1103, e.g. a receiver or a transceiver. The radio network node 12, the processing circuitry 1101 and/or the receiving unit 1103 is configured to receive, from the UE 10, the indication indicating selection of the service associated with the service indication out of at least one service indication. The indication may be the service ID, an index of the service ID or a GID. The indication may be received in an access request. The radio network node 12, the processing circuitry 1101 and/or the receiving unit 1103 may further be configured to receive additional information (or the information indication indicating additional information) from the UE 10, wherein the additional information comprises one or more of the following: a desired quality or quality range, a cost or cost range, or available credentials that the UE may already have, desired means of monetary transaction to acquire new necessary credentials, and desired time-of-service.
The radio network node 12 may comprise a selecting unit 1104. The radio network node 12, the processing circuitry 601 and/or the selecting unit 1104 is configured to, based on the received indication, select the network node such as an AMF that supports the service indicated by the indication. The radio network node 12, the processing circuitry 1101 and/or the selecting unit 1104 may be configured to, when selecting the network node, in addition to the service indicated by the indication, also take into consideration the additional information. The selected network node may represent one of several networks that supports the service indicated by the indication, wherein the selected network node is one out of more than one network node that is selectable for the service. The selection of the network node may follow one or more prioritization rules in the network node for said service.
The radio network node 12, the processing circuitry 1101 and/or the transmitting unit 1102 may be configured to transmit the initial message to the selected network node 13.
The radio network node 12, the processing circuitry 1101 and/or the receiving unit 1103 may further be configured to receive the response from the network node 13 indicating a selected network.
The radio network node 12, the processing circuitry 1101 and/or the transmitting unit 1102 may be configured to forward the network indication of the selected network to the UE 10.
The radio network node 12 may comprise a memory 1105. The memory 1105 comprises one or more units to be used to store data on, such as data packets, mapping, name indication, Service IDs, type indication, GIDs, networks, mobility events, measurements, sizes related to types of data transmissions, events and applications to perform the methods disclosed herein when being executed, and similar. Furthermore, the radio network node 12 may comprise a communication interface 1108 such as comprising a transmitter, a receiver, a transceiver and/or one or more antennas.
The methods according to the embodiments described herein for the radio network node 12 are respectively implemented by means of e.g. a computer program product 1106 or a computer program, comprising instructions, i.e., software code portions, which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the radio network node 12. The computer program product 1106 may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium 1107, e.g. a disc, a universal serial bus (USB) stick or similar. The computer-readable storage medium 1107, having stored thereon the computer program product, may comprise the instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the radio network node 12. In some embodiments, the computer-readable storage medium may be a transitory or a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. Thus, embodiments herein may disclose a radio network node 12 for handling communication in a wireless communications network, wherein the radio network node 12 comprises processing circuitry and a memory, said memory comprising instructions executable by said processing circuitry whereby said radio network node 12 is operative to perform any of the methods herein.
The UE 10 may comprise processing circuitry 1201, e.g. one or more processors, configured to perform the methods herein.
The UE 10 may comprise a receiving unit 1202, e.g. a reader, a receiver or a transceiver. The UE 10, the processing circuitry 1201 and/or the receiving unit 1202 is configured to detect at least one service indication in the SI, broadcast from the radio network node. The UE 10, the processing circuitry 1201 and/or the receiving unit 1202 may be configured to read the at least one service indication such as service ID in the SI broadcast from the radio network node 12. The UE may be configured with the mapping, wherein the mapping maps one or more service indications to a respective service.
The UE 10 may comprise a selecting unit 1203. The UE 10, the processing circuitry 1201 and/or the selecting unit 1203 is configured to select the service indication out of the at least one service indication from the SI broadcast to represent the service the UE targets association with. For example, the UE 10, the processing circuitry 1201 and/or the selecting unit 1203 may be configured to select, based on the UE preference, the service indication out of the at least one service indication from SI broadcast to represent a service the UE targets association with (i.e. the service the UE wants to use). The UE 10, the processing circuitry 1201 and/or the selecting unit 1203 may be configured to select the service indication based on the UE preference. The UE preference may be based on received additional information from the radio network node (12
The UE 10 may comprise a transmitting unit 1204, e.g. a transmitter or a transceiver. The UE 10, the processing circuitry 1201 and/or the transmitting unit 1204 is configured to transmit the indication indicating the selection of the service associated with said service indication. The indication may be the service ID, the index of the service ID, or a GID. The indication may be transmitted in an access request.
The UE 10, the processing circuitry 1201 and/or the receiving unit 1202 may be configured to receive from the radio network node 12 the network indication of the selected network. The UE 10, and/or the processing circuitry may be configured to access the selected network based on the network indication and use the service
The UE 10 may comprise a memory 1205. The memory 1205 comprises one or more units to be used to store data on, such as data packets, grants, name indication(s), type indication(s), indices, bitmap, service IDs, indications, GIDs, mobility events, measurements, events and applications to perform the methods disclosed herein when being executed, and similar. Furthermore, the UE 10 may comprise a communication interface 1208 such as comprising a transmitter, a receiver, a transceiver and/or one or more antennas.
The methods according to the embodiments described herein for the UE 10 are respectively implemented by means of e.g. a computer program product 1206 or a computer program, comprising instructions, i.e., software code portions, which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the UE 10. The computer program product 1206 may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium 1207, e.g. a disc, a universal serial bus (USB) stick or similar. The computer-readable storage medium 1207, having stored thereon the computer program product, may comprise the instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the UE 10. In some embodiments, the computer-readable storage medium may be a transitory or a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. Thus, embodiments herein may disclose a UE 10 for handling communication in a wireless communications network, wherein the UE 10 comprises processing circuitry and a memory, said memory comprising instructions executable by said processing circuitry whereby said UE 10 is operative to perform any of the methods herein.
The network node 13 may comprise processing circuitry 1301, e.g. one or more processors, configured to perform the methods herein.
The network node 13 may comprise a receiving unit 1302, e.g. a receiver or a transceiver. The network node 13, the processing circuitry 1301 and/or the receiving unit 1302 is configured to receive from the radio network node 12 the initial message with the service request. The service request may indicate a service indication and a UE requesting the service.
The network node 13 may comprise a selecting unit 1303. The network node 13, the processing circuitry 1301 and/or the selecting unit 1303 is configured to select the network for providing the requested service.
The network node 13 may comprise a transmitting unit 1304, e.g. a transmitter or a transceiver. The network node 13, the processing circuitry 1301 and/or the transmitting unit 1304 is configured to respond to the radio network node 12 with an indication of the selected network.
The network node 13 may comprise a memory 1305. The memory 1305 comprises one or more units to be used to store data on, such as data packets, mapping, name indication, network indications, network information, Service IDs, type indication, GIDs, networks, mobility events, measurements, sizes related to types of data transmissions, events and applications to perform the methods disclosed herein when being executed, and similar. Furthermore, the network node 13 may comprise a communication interface 1308 such as comprising a transmitter, a receiver, and/or a transceiver.
The methods according to the embodiments described herein for the network node 13 are respectively implemented by means of e.g. a computer program product 1306 or a computer program, comprising instructions, i.e., software code portions, which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the network node 13. The computer program product 1306 may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium 1307, e.g. a disc, a universal serial bus (USB) stick or similar. The computer-readable storage medium 1307, having stored thereon the computer program product, may comprise the instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the network node 13. In some embodiments, the computer-readable storage medium may be a transitory or a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. Thus, embodiments herein may disclose a network node 13 for handling communication in a wireless communications network, wherein the network node 13 comprises processing circuitry and a memory, said memory comprising instructions executable by said processing circuitry whereby said network node 13 is operative to perform any of the methods herein.
In some embodiments a more general term “radio network node” is used and may correspond to any type of radio-network node or any network node, which communicates with a wireless device and/or with another network node. Examples of network nodes are NodeB, MeNB, SeNB, a network node belonging to Master cell group (MCG) or Secondary cell group (SCG), base station (BS), multi-standard radio (MSR) radio node such as MSR BS, eNodeB, gNodeB, network controller, radio-network controller (RNC), base station controller (BSC), relay, donor node controlling relay, base transceiver station (BTS), access point (AP), transmission points, transmission nodes, Remote radio Unit (RRU), Remote Radio Head (RRH), nodes in distributed antenna system (DAS), etc.
In some embodiments the non-limiting term wireless device or user equipment (UE) is used and it refers to any type of wireless device communicating with a network node and/or with another wireless device in a cellular or mobile communication system. Examples of UE are target device, device to device (D2D) UE, proximity capable UE (aka ProSe UE), machine type UE or UE capable of machine to machine (M2M) communication, Tablet, mobile terminals, smart phone, laptop embedded equipped (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles etc.
Embodiments are applicable to any RAT or multi-RAT systems, where the wireless device receives and/or transmit signals (e.g. data) e.g. New Radio (NR), Wi-Fi, Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Global System for Mobile communications/enhanced Data rate for GSM Evolution (GSM/EDGE), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), or Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), just to mention a few possible implementations.
As will be readily understood by those familiar with communications design, that functions means or circuits may be implemented using digital logic and/or one or more microcontrollers, microprocessors, or other digital hardware. In some embodiments, several or all of the various functions may be implemented together, such as in a single application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or in two or more separate devices with appropriate hardware and/or software interfaces between them. Several of the functions may be implemented on a processor shared with other functional components of a wireless device or network node, for example.
Alternatively, several of the functional elements of the processing means discussed may be provided through the use of dedicated hardware, while others are provided with hardware for executing software, in association with the appropriate software or firmware. Thus, the term “processor” or “controller” as used herein does not exclusively refer to hardware capable of executing software and may implicitly include, without limitation, digital signal processor (DSP) hardware and/or program or application data. Other hardware, conventional and/or custom, may also be included. Designers of communications devices will appreciate the cost, performance, and maintenance trade-offs inherent in these design choices.
Any appropriate steps, methods, features, functions, or benefits disclosed herein may be performed through one or more functional units or modules of one or more virtual apparatuses. Each virtual apparatus may comprise a number of these functional units. These functional units may be implemented via processing circuitry, which may include one or more microprocessor or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware, which may include digital signal processors (DSPs), special-purpose digital logic, and the like. The processing circuitry may be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which may include one or several types of memory such as read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc. Program code stored in memory includes program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and/or data communications protocols as well as instructions for carrying out one or more of the techniques described herein. In some implementations, the processing circuitry may be used to cause the respective functional unit to perform corresponding functions according one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.
With reference to
The telecommunication network 3210 is itself connected to a host computer 3230, 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 3230 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. The connections 3221, 3222 between the telecommunication network 3210 and the host computer 3230 may extend directly from the core network 3214 to the host computer 3230 or may go via an optional intermediate network 3220. The intermediate network 3220 may be one of, or a combination of more than one of, a public, private or hosted network; the intermediate network 3220, if any, may be a backbone network or the Internet; in particular, the intermediate network 3220 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 3300 further includes a base station 3320 provided in a telecommunication system and comprising hardware 3325 enabling it to communicate with the host computer 3310 and with the UE 3330. The hardware 3325 may include a communication interface 3326 for setting up and maintaining a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of the communication system 3300, as well as a radio interface 3327 for setting up and maintaining at least a wireless connection 3370 with a UE 3330 located in a coverage area (not shown in
The communication system 3300 further includes the UE 3330 already referred to. Its hardware 3335 may include a radio interface 3337 configured to set up and maintain a wireless connection 3370 with a base station serving a coverage area in which the UE 3330 is currently located. The hardware 3335 of the UE 3330 further includes processing circuitry 3338, 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 3330 further comprises software 3331, which is stored in or accessible by the UE 3330 and executable by the processing circuitry 3338. The software 3331 includes a client application 3332. The client application 3332 may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via the UE 3330, with the support of the host computer 3310. In the host computer 3310, an executing host application 3312 may communicate with the executing client application 3332 via the OTT connection 3350 terminating at the UE 3330 and the host computer 3310. In providing the service to the user, the client application 3332 may receive request data from the host application 3312 and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 3350 may transfer both the request data and the user data. The client application 3332 may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides.
It is noted that the host computer 3310, base station 3320 and UE 3330 illustrated in
In
The wireless connection 3370 between the UE 3330 and the base station 3320 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 3330 using the OTT connection 3350, in which the wireless connection 3370 forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve the performance since service and not the network is selected by the UE and thereby provide benefits such as reduced user waiting time, and better responsiveness.
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 3350 between the host computer 3310 and UE 3330, in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and/or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 3350 may be implemented in the software 3311 of the host computer 3310 or in the software 3331 of the UE 3330, or both. In embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with communication devices through which the OTT connection 3350 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 software 3311, 3331 may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of the OTT connection 3350 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not affect the base station 3320, and it may be unknown or imperceptible to the base station 3320. Such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, measurements may involve proprietary UE signalling facilitating the host computer's 3310 measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency and the like. The measurements may be implemented in that the software 3311, 3331 causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTT connection 3350 while it monitors propagation times, errors etc.
It will be appreciated that the foregoing description and the accompanying drawings represent non-limiting examples of the methods and apparatus taught herein. As such, the apparatus and techniques taught herein are not limited by the foregoing description and accompanying drawings. Instead, the embodiments herein are limited only by the following claims and their legal equivalents.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/SE2022/050409 | 4/28/2022 | WO |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63180679 | Apr 2021 | US |
