Cisco Technology, Inc.

Alcatel Lucent

Nokia Technologies Oy

At&t Bell Laboratories

Alcatel-lucent USA Inc.

Konstantin Livanos

Ian McDowell Campbell

Swapna Anandan

Sebastian Speicher

John Martin Graybeal

Malgorzata Kaczmarska-Wojtania

Bart A Brinckman

Robert Glenn Smith

Charles C Wolfinger

Timothy Peter Stammers

Bruno Landais

Laurent Thiebaut

Hendrikus G P Bosch

Aeneas Sean Dodd-Noble

Humberto Jose La Roche

Peretz Moshe Feder

Nirav Salot

Fernando Cuervo

Sape Jurrien Mullender

Ben Bleichman

Ian Mcdowell Campbell

Methods, apparatus, and systems for the process-efficient generation of data records for data communications involving groups or aggregates of user equipment (UE), such as IoT devices, are described. In one illustrative example, for each one of a plurality of UEs associated with a group or aggregation identifier (ID), a request which includes data indicative of a network resource usage event of the UE is received and the data are stored in association with the group or aggregation ID. In response to identifying a predetermined condition, the data indicative of the network resource usage events associated with the group or aggregation ID are aggregated, and a request for generating a data record based on the aggregated data is sent to a data function for generating the data record. The generated data record (e.g. a CDR) may be stored for subsequent retrieval for reporting, analysis, network/communications management, or billing.

Process-efficient generation of data records for data communications involving groups or aggregates of IoT devices

In some implementations, a message indicating a request for delivery of data to user equipment (UE) (e.g. an IoT device) operative for communications in a mobile network may be received from an application server. One or more first loading or congestion indication values indicative of a first loading or congestion at one or more first network nodes along a first mobile network route may be obtained. In addition, one or more second loading or congestion indication values indicative of a second loading or congestion at one or more second network nodes along a second mobile network route may be obtained. The first or the second mobile network route may be selected based on at least one of the one or more first and the second loading or congestion indication values. The data may be delivered to the UE over the selected mobile network route.

Methods and apparatus for selecting a network route for data communications for IoT devices

Methods and apparatus for use in establishing a group session in a mobile network for subscribers associated with a group are described. In one illustrative example, an access and mobility management function (AMF) entity receives, from a user equipment (UE), a request for registration which includes network slice selection assistance information (NSSAI). The NSSAI includes a group identifier associated with a group of subscribers. The AMF entity sends, to a unified data management (UDM) entity, a request for subscriber data which includes the group identifier. The AMF entity receives, from the UDM, a response to the request for subscriber data which includes a plurality of subscriber identifiers corresponding to the subscribers of the group. For a group session, the AMF entity creates a context associated with the group identifier and stores the context locally.

Methods and apparatus for establishing a group session in a mobile network for subscribers associated with a group

In one illustrated example, automated or semi-automated system operations for Massive IoT (MIoT) deployment may involve the automatic assignment of external IDs, subscriber IDs (e.g. IMSIs), and mobile network IDs (e.g. MSISDNs) to IoT devices of a group, followed by the provisioning of assigned identities at the relevant network nodes and the IoT devices themselves. The process may continue seamlessly with network slice orchestration for the creation of a network slice instance (NSI) and the provisioning of its associated Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (NSSAI) and NSI ID at the relevant network nodes. Network Slice Selection Policies (NSSP) may be derived and sent to a policy function and subsequently to IoT devices of the group. Signaling efficiency may be achieved by performing operations on a group basis.

Method and apparatus for zero-touch bulk identity assignment, provisioning and network slice orchestration for massive IoT (MIoT) deployments

A method is provided in one example embodiment and may include receiving congestion information for an environment in which a user equipment (UE) is operating; receiving a first request to deliver content to the UE; determining that the environment in which the UE is operating is experiencing congestion based, at least in part, on the congestion information; determining a re-try interval based, at least in part, on the congestion information; and deferring delivery of the content to the UE until the re-try interval has expired. In one example embodiment, the method can include provisioning one or more policy rules for a service data flow associated with the content and communicating the indication indicating that delivery of the content has been deferred to a charging system to set charging information for at least one of a user associated with the UE or a provider of the content.

System and method for deferred delivery of content based on congestion in a network environment

A method is provided in one example embodiment and may include maintaining, by a Diameter Routing Agent (DRA), an availability status for a plurality of network elements; receiving a request associated with a user equipment (UE) session, wherein a first network element of the plurality of network elements is serving the UE session; determining that the first network element serving the UE session is unavailable; and re-establishing the UE session at a second network element of the plurality of network elements that is available, wherein the re-establishing is performed without terminating the UE session.

System and method to facilitate network element failure detection and session restoration in a network environment

Presented herein is a Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP) fully defined as a 5G network function (NF) that registers and is discoverable by consumer NFs. Inter-Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) roaming connectivity polices enable the SEPP in the visiting PLMN to select the SEPP per producer NF-Type in the home PLMN, and to select a direct route between PLMNs or an indirect route via one or more an Internetwork Packet Exchange (IPX) providers.

SEPP registration, discovery and inter-PLMN connectivity policies

A method is provided in one example embodiment and may include receiving load information for a plurality of cells of a Radio Access Network (RAN); determining, for each of a plurality of user equipment (UE) in each cell, identification information for each UE and an Access Point Name (APN) to which each UE is connected; identifying, from a plurality of policy servers, each policy server that serves each APN to which each UE in each cell of the plurality of cells is connected; and sending, to each of a particular policy server, congestion information comprising: an identity for each cell having UE that are connected to each APN served by the particular policy server; the corresponding congestion level for each of the cells; and a per-cell UE list identifying each of a plurality of UE connected to each of APNs served by the particular policy server.

System and method to facilitate group reporting of user equipment congestion information in a network environment

Single sign-on (SSO) techniques of the present disclosure provide for enterprise application user identities that are bound to a mobile identity (e.g. IMSI) associated with a user equipment (UE) for authentication, using general bootstrapping architecture (GBA)/general authentication architecture (GAA) functionality in combination with identity provider (IDP) functionality (e.g. OpenID Connect), all of which may be provided in an enterprise network. The present techniques need not rely on GBA/GAA infrastructure of a mobile network operator (MNO), and have little or no impact or effect on the mobile network.

Mobile identity for single sign-on (SSO) in enterprise networks

Method and apparatus for zero-touch bulk identity assignment, provisioning and network slice orchestration for massive IOT (MIOT) deployments

A policy enforcement technique may be performed at a network node configured for exposure of services and capabilities, such as a service and capability exposure function (SCEF) or a network exposure function (NEF). In one illustrative example, the network node may receive a message which includes a request for background data transfer from an application server (AS) to a plurality of UEs of a group. The message may include mobile-terminated (MT) data to be delivered, a group ID associated with the group, a total bandwidth for the background data transfer for the group, and a transfer policy ID associated with a transfer policy. The network node may verify whether the total bandwidth for the background data transfer for the group is within a predefined aggregate bandwidth limit indicated in the transfer policy data. The network node may cause the background data to be sent to each one of the plurality of UEs via the mobile network, if the total bandwidth is within the predefined aggregate bandwidth limit. In some implementations, the network node may be configured to facilitate background data transfers and perform policy enforcement for transfers involving both IP data delivery and non-IP data delivery (NIDD).

Policy enforcement methods and apparatus for background data transfers involving multiple UEs

Subscription-based, user equipment (UE) event notification techniques for use in a mobile network are described. In one illustrative example, an event subscription request from an application server may be received at a network exposure function (NEF) entity of a 5G mobile network. The event subscription request may include a list of one or more subscribed events for a UE, which may include a UE attach event and/or a UE detach event. A context which indicates the one or more subscribed events may be created for the UE. Sometime during network operation, an indication of an occurrence of an event associated with the UE is received. The indication is received from a policy and charging function (PCF) entity when the UE is configured for IP data delivery, or from an access and mobility management function (AMF) entity when the UE is configured for non-IP data delivery (NIDD).

Growing community of inventors

Naperville, IL, United States of America

Konstantin Livanos