Nokia Technologies Oy

Alcatel Lucent

Lucent Technologies Inc.

Alcatel-lucent USA Inc.

Gemalto Sa

Alessio Casati

Sudeep K Palat

Bruno Landais

Said Tatesh

Devaki Chandramouli

Laurent Thiebaut

Philippe Godin

Nicolas Drevon

Deborah L Barclay

Sung Hwan Won

Hatef Yamini

Andrew Jonathan Bennett

Samuli Heikki Turtinen

Benoist Sebire

Xiang Xu

Malgorzata Tomala

Amaanat Ali

Michael F Dolan

Navin Hathiramani

Georgios Gkellas

Jin Yang

György Tamás Wolfner

Betsy Covell

Rajesh Babu Natarajan

Christophe Demarez

Jean-Jacques Trottin

Srinivas Bandi

Methods, apparatuses, and computer program products are described that support access to multiple mutually exclusive, isolated, and/or disjointed network slices by User Equipment, UE, across one or more networks. The UE connects () to multiple network slices via a Radio Access Network, RAN, by way of one or more Radio Resource Control, RRC, connections. The RRC connections are maintained () between the UE and a respective network slice by switching the connection to inactive or idle when another RRC connection needs to be established. The UE and/or the RAN switches () an RRC connection from an inactive state to an active state based on a trigger condition such as receipt of a notification that downlink data is available over the inactive RRC connection. A Unified Data Management Function, UDM, stores and updates registration state information for the UE and multiple Access and Mobility Management Functions, AMFs.

Methods, apparatuses, and computer program products for supporting simultaneous access to mutally isolated network slices

There is provided support for mobile self-backhauling wireless access nodes. A method includes receiving a radio interface control plane message for establishing a radio resource control connection, determining that the received radio interface control plane message includes information indicating that the received radio interface control plane message originates from a mobile self-backhauling wireless access node, determining a controller node configured to: serve for a centralized unit of distributed units of different radio access nodes, and connect to distributed units deployed to a plurality of service areas of the radio access network. A radio resource control connection of the mobile self-backhauling wireless access node is caused to terminate at the determined controller node.

Mobile self-backhauling wireless access node

Various communication systems may implement network management tools to help manage registration requests from a user equipment. For example, network functions in a communication system with a shared data layer may be used to manage requests from the user equipment. A method may include transmitting a request from a user equipment to a network function. The method may also include receiving at the user equipment a temporary identification from the network function The temporary identification comprises an identifier that helps locate a shared data layer function that stores context information for the user equipment. In addition, the method may include transmitting from the user equipment a subsequent request comprising the temporary identification to another network function or the network function.

Network selection with stateless network functions

Methods, systems, apparatuses, and computer program products for causing configuring user equipment (UE) for operator control of UE behavior in registering and deregistering with network slices and establishing and releasing PDU sessions in a communication system. A network entity can receive a registration request message from a UE. The network entity can determine one or more public land mobile network type (PLMN) types or PLMN identities and a version of an associated UE behavior policy, based at least in part on the registration request message. The network entity may request a UE behavior policy. The network entity may provide UE configuration update information to the UE.

Home public land mobile network controlled user equipment behavior tuning

A method, apparatus, and computer program product provide for adaptive paging for user equipment (UE) with multiple subscriber identification modules (SIMs). A UE may provide, in a registration message to the network, an indication that the UE supports multiple SIMs. The network may allow repeated paging to let a SIM miss a paging occasion without interpreting that the UE is unavailable. The indication from the UE can specify the number of SIMS supported by the UE. The network can adapt the number of paging repetitions to the UE. If the UE is accepting paging from another network or has a SIM that is already active with the network, the UE sends the network a paging control message. If the UE detects a paging occasion conflict, the UE sends the network a registration message with a replacement ID for paging another SIM, and the UE and the network negotiate appropriate paging.

Method, apparatus and computer program product for adaptive paging of user equipment supporting multiple subscriber identification modules

There is disclosed an apparatus comprising means for performing: receiving first radio capability information from a user equipment, the first radio capability information in a format of a first radio access technology; generating second radio capability information of the user equipment based on the first radio capability information, wherein the second radio capability information is generated in a format of a second radio access technology; and sending the first radio capability information and the second radio capability information to a core network node.

Signalling optimisation

A method comprising: obtaining, at a user equipment, information on a cell network slice support; determining, for the user equipment a network slice; and selecting one cell supporting the determined network slice based on the information.

Method and apparatus for selecting a network cell or frequency influenced by network slicing

There are provided measures for enforcement of maximum number of admitted terminals per network slice. Such measures exemplarily comprise receiving a packet data connection related request concerning a network slice being configured with a maximum number of terminals to be admitted to said network slice, maintaining a counter indicative of a number of terminals admitted to said network slice based on said packet data connection related request, and transmitting a response to said packet data connection related request.

Enforcement of maximum number of admitted terminals per network slice

A method, apparatus and computer program product are provided herein to provide a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session priority parameter. For example, a method is provided that comprises identifying a need in a user equipment (UE) for establishing a new protocol data unit PDU session. The method also includes evaluating whether to establish a new PDU session and determining whether to establish a new PDU session based on a PDU session priority parameter when a maximum number of PDU sessions the UE can establish in the network is reached.

Method and apparatus for admission control of sessions based on priority

Systems, methods, apparatuses, and computer program products for selective indications towards a UE (), for example, at de-registration () from an AMF with request to re-register () with another AMF, are provided.

Selective indications towards user equipment

Methods, systems, apparatuses, and computer program products for providing an enforcement mechanism for the maximum number of PDU sessions per network slice in a communication system are provided. A method, system, and apparatus may receive, from a user equipment (UE), a protocol data unit (PDU) session establishment request message and Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (S-NSSAI) through an access network (AN). The method, system, and apparatus may cause, upon detecting that the S-NSSAI is subject to the capping number of PDU sessions per network slice, transmission of a service request message to a network slice selection function (NSSF). The service request message includes an indication indicating that the S-NSSAI is subject to a capping number of PDU sessions per network slice. The indication may cause the NSSF to increment a counter associated with PDU sessions for a network slice associated with the S-NSSAI.

Method and apparatus for enforcement of maximum number of protocol data unit sessions per network slice in a communication system

Methods, systems, apparatuses, and computer program products are provided for managing mode of access to a compatible set of network slices of a communications network. In this regard, a registration request message is received from user equipment. The registration request message includes an indication of at least one simultaneous network slice use mode of operation for the user equipment. Furthermore, a selected simultaneous network slice use mode of operation for the user equipment is determined. The selected simultaneous network slice use mode of operation is a simultaneous network slice use mode of operation indicated by the user equipment or an alternate mode of operation associated with a configured network slice selection assistance information (NSSAI). Configuration information is also provided to the user equipment. The configuration information includes instructions for the user equipment to be configured with the selected simultaneous network slice use mode of operation, the configured NSSAI, and an allowed NSSAI.

Managing mode of access to a compatible set of network slices

Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, are provided for managing configuration updates. In some example embodiment, there may be provided an apparatus including at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: receive an indication regarding whether a home network of said apparatus makes a change to first configuration information stored at said home network and associated with the apparatus; and delete, in an instance in which the received indication represents the change, second configuration information stored at said apparatus, said second configuration information comprising information regarding one or more configurations associated with a visited network currently serving said apparatus and information regarding one or more configurations associated with one or more other visited networks.

Managing VPLMN configuration updates in the UE due to home PLMN configuration changes

Methods, systems, apparatuses, and computer program products for providing an enforcement mechanism for the maximum number of user equipments per network slice in a communication system are provided. A method, system, and apparatus may receive, from a user equipment (UE), a registration request message comprising requested Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (NSSAI) through an access network (AN). The requested NSSAI comprises one or more single-NSSAIs (S-NSSAIs) subject to a capping number of UEs allowed to access one or more network slices associated with the one or more S-NSSAIs. The method, system, and apparatus may cause transmission of a service request message to a network slice selection function (NSSF). The service request message includes indications of the one or more S-NSSAIs. The method, system, and apparatus may receive a service response from the network slice selection function. The service response comprises an allowed NSSAI that includes at least one of 1) one or more allowed S-NSSAIs or 2) a list of rejected S-NSSAIs due to a maximum number of UEs allowed to access the network slices associated with the one or more S-NSSAIs has been reached.

Method and apparatus for enforcement of maximum number of user equipments per network slice in a communication system

Systems, methods, apparatuses, and computer program products for determining random access channel (RACH) resources or parameters based on network slice-based resource allocation classes (RACs) may be provided. A mapping between network slices and a set of RACs may be determined by a core network (CN). The CN may send this mapping to the UE. The UE may select RACH resources or parameters for a network slice. The radio access network (RAN) may determine a mapping between the RACs and the RACH resources or parameters. The UE may determine the corresponding RACH resources or parameters to be used for a RAC.

Growing community of inventors

Swindon, United Kingdom

Alessio Casati