Cisco Technology, Inc.

Vimal Srivastava

Srinath Gundavelli

Timothy Peter Stammers

Ravi Shekhar

Indermeet Singh Gandhi

Ravi Kiran Guntupalli

Sri Gundavelli

Sangram Kishore Lakkaraju

Sudhir Kumar Jain

Aeneas Sean Dodd-Noble

Mark Grayson

Aditya Prakash

Paras Jain

Oliver James Bull

Carlos M Pignataro

Nagendra Kumar Nainar

Chitresh Yadav

Vivek Pise

Anand K Oswal

Shree N Murthy

Ameo Ghosh

Nithin Chitta

Anal Srivastava

Amit Shivhare

Anurag Chaturvedi

Pradeep Kumar Kathail

Robert Michael Batz

Rajeev Koodli

Ian McDowell Campbell

Humberto Jose La Roche

Irfan Ali

Warren Scott Wainner

Abhishek Dhammawat

Vojislav Vucetic

Mukesh Yadav

Dishant Mukesh Parikh

Pankaj Tripathi

Armin Kasum

Sonal Chhabria

Provided herein are techniques to facilitate service-based network function (NF) selection for roaming scenarios involving multiple home core networks. In one instance, a method may include obtaining, by a visited public land mobile network (PLMN) from a home PLMN that is to provide a first service for a wireless device, service hosting information that identifies a service hosting data network name and a service hosting PLMN that is to provide a second service for the wireless device in which the service hosting information is obtained by the visited PLMN through registration of the wireless device with the home PLMN. Upon determining that a session for the second service is to be established for the wireless device, the method may include performing a NF query to the service hosting PLMN identified from the service hosting information obtained through the registration in order to identify a NF to facilitate the session.

Service-based network function selection for roaming scenarios involving multiple home core networks

Techniques and mechanisms for use in facilitating home network assisted concurrent access to network slices in multiple visited public land mobile networks (VPLMNs) are described. A control plane (CP) function for mobility management may receive, from a UE (e.g., configured without dual connectivity), a message which indicates a registration request for registration using a first network slice and a second network slice. The CP function may manage registration for the UE in response to the registration request. The CP function may receive, from the UE, a message which indicates a request for establishing a protocol data unit (PDU) session using the second network slice which is not supported or available in the first VPLMN. The CP function may forward the request for establishing the PDU session to an application function (AF) for managing establishment of the PDU session for the UE using the second network slice in a second VPLMN.

Home network assisted concurrent access to network slices in multiple visited public land mobile networks (VPLMNs)

The present disclosure is directed to migrating network traffic from a licensed spectrum to an unlicensed spectrum within the same radio access technology (RAT). In one aspect, a method includes identifying a user device connected to a cellular wireless access technology, over a licensed spectrum; determining whether a condition for switching network traffic associated with the user device to an unlicensed spectrum is triggered; in response to determining that the condition is triggered, determining an unlicensed spectrum to move the network traffic to, the unlicensed spectrum being within a same cell as the licensed spectrum or in a different cell compared to a cell in which the licensed spectrum is; and migrating at least a portion of the network traffic to the unlicensed spectrum while maintaining network connectivity of the user device over the cellular wireless access technology.

Migration of network traffic between licensed and unlicensed spectrum

In one embodiment, an apparatus comprising networking circuitry adapted to receive, at a mobile network operated by an SP, flows associated with enterprise applications executing on device(s) in an enterprise network, the device(s) including a CPE and/or one or more devices behind the CPE, and processing circuitry adapted to vary, during a duration in which there is IP connectivity between the CPE and the mobile network, a pool of dedicated bearers for binding the flows, in response to at least part of changes occurring during the duration with respect to the flows, wherein the changes include variations during the duration in number of the flows and/or differences during the duration in detected characteristics of the flows, the detected characteristics of the flows having been detected based on inspection of respective packet(s) of the flows, and bind at least part of the flows to respective dedicated bearers included in the pool.

Adaptive quality of service for enterprise traffic

The present disclosure is directed to systems and techniques for providing service continuity for User Equipment (UE) services associated with certain network slices. In one example, the systems and techniques can receive a registration request from a UE, wherein the registration request includes a requested slice, and determine a current network location of the UE. In response to determining that the current network location of the UE does not support the requested slice, one or more additional network locations that support the requested slice can be identified. Location information associated with the one or more additional network locations can be identified and a registration response message can be transmitted to the UE, wherein the registration response message includes location information of an one or more additional Tracking Area Identities (TAIs) or additional Registration Areas (RAs) that support the requested slice.

User equipment (UE) steering between network slices for service continuity

Techniques are provided for operator specific customization of a network service configuration. In some embodiments, an operator defines a mapping between an application executing on a user equipment (UE) and a network service configuration. In some embodiments, the network service configuration indicates whether the application is to be supported via a UPF instance located within the core network or deployed at a network edge. The mapping is then provided to the UE, and passed back to the core network, for example, when the UE establishes a connection on behalf of the UE application. The core network then supports the UE application consistent with the configuration specified by the mapping.

Techniques for binding operator-defined network service configurations to applications

Provisioning User Equipment (UE) Route Selection Policies (URSP) may be provided. A policy of a user equipment (UE) may be updated by a Policy Control Function (PCF). Then, the PCF may create a UE route selection policy (URSP) based on the updated UE policy. Next, the PCF may set a flag in in the URSP that may indicate to the UE that the URSP is applicable for new sessions and inapplicable for ongoing sessions. The PCF may then send the URSP to the UE, wherein the UE applies the URSP for new sessions.

Provisioning user equipment route selection policies with service assurance

The present disclosure provides solutions to registration and discovery of NFs in the vertical 5G networks, at the operator network, as well as handling tasks such as authentication of connecting end terminals at the operator network level. In one aspect, a method includes receiving, at network controller of an operator network and from an end terminal, a request for access to a network function (NF) of a vertical network, the request including a type of the NF in the vertical network; authenticating, at the network controller, the end terminal; upon authenticating the end terminal, identifying, at the network controller, the NF requested by the end terminal based at least on the type of the NF included in the request; and facilitating, by the network controller, access to the NF in the vertical network by the end terminal.

Device authentication and network function registration and discovery for 5G vertical networks

Presented herein are techniques to facilitate delivering standalone non-public network (SNPN) credentials from an enterprise authentication server to a user equipment (UE) using an Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) process. In one example, a method may include determining, by an authentication server of an enterprise, that a UE for the enterprise is to receive credentials to enable the UE to connect to a SNPN of the enterprise in which the determining is performed based, at least in part, on connection of the UE to an access network that is different than the SNPN for the enterprise; and performing an authentication process with the UE by the authentication server in which the authentication process includes providing the credentials to the UE via a first authentication message and obtaining confirmation from the UE via a second authentication message that indicates successful provisioning of the credentials for the UE.

Delivering standalone non-public network (SNPN) credentials from an enterprise authentication server to a user equipment over extensible authentication protocol (EAP)

Disclosed are a system and method for updating a user equipment route selection policy. The method includes receiving, at a home network in communication with a user equipment, an indication that a user of the user equipment desires to connect to a standalone non-public network for an event, receiving service hosting information for the event, revising a user equipment route selection policy at the home network based on the service hosting information to yield an updated user equipment route selection policy and transmitting the updated user equipment route selection policy to the user equipment. The user equipment registers, based on the updated user equipment route selection policy, with the standalone non-public network for the event.

Systems and methods for supporting localized services using a multi-operator user equipment route selection policy

Presented herein are techniques to provide an operator-encrypted application specific user equipment (UE) route selection policy (URSP) to a UE via different network elements and/or distribution techniques. In one example, a method may include obtaining, by a network element, a policy object from a policy function of a mobile network operated by a mobile network operator, wherein the policy object comprises an application specific user equipment route selection policy (URSP) for an application in which the application specific URSP is encrypted by the policy function; and providing, by the network element, the policy object to a user equipment that has at least one session established with the mobile network, wherein the user equipment is to decrypt the application specific URSP to facilitate network communications for the application via the user equipment.

Providing an operator-encrypted partial user equipment route selection policy to user equipment

Presented herein are techniques to facilitate providing slice attribute information to a user equipment (UE) for one or more slice types with which the user equipment is allowed to establish one or more session(s). In one example, a method may include obtaining, by a network element, a registration request for connection of a UE to a mobile network; performing an authentication for connection of the UE to the mobile network; and upon successful authentication, providing, by the network element, a registration response to the UE, wherein the registration response identifies one or more network slice types with which the UE is authorized to establish a session and the registration response identifies one of: attribute information for each of the one or more network slice types or network location information from which attribute information for each of the one or more network slice types is to be obtained.

Providing slice attribute information to user equipment in a mobile network environment

A mobile network is operative to perform a quota validation procedure in relation to a maximum number of user equipments (UEs) permitted in a network slice. In one illustrative example, a control plane (CP) function of the mobile network may receive, from the UE, a message which indicates a registration request for registration and includes a slice ID of the network slice. The CP function may manage a registration procedure for assigning resources of the network slice to the UE. The CP function may alternatively manage the registration procedure to refrain from assigning the resources of the network slice to the UE, at least for a delay time period, based on identifying that an indication of the UE indicates an expected delay in use of service in the network slice. The indication may be included in the message and indicate the delay time period of the expected delay.

Slice resource management for reducing the negative impacts of slice quotas

In one illustrative example, a unified data management (UDM) of a mobile network is established in a UDM set with a plurality of private network UDMs instances of a plurality of private mobile networks. The UDM of the mobile network provides access to a plurality of subscription profiles associated with a plurality of subscribers of the mobile network, and each private network UDM instance provides access to a subset of the subscription profiles associated with a subset of the subscribers in the private mobile network. The UDM of the mobile network operates to communicate, in an authentication procedure, authentication data for authentication of a user equipment (UE) in the mobile network. After the authentication of the UE in the mobile network, the UDM operates to push authentication status information of the UE to the private network UDM instance of the private mobile network.

Facilitating services for devices in private mobile networks based on device authentications in an operator network

A Radio Access Network (RAN) element provides an internet indication to a User Equipment (UE) to enable the UE to quickly obtain internet access. The RAN element determines that the RAN element is connected to at least one gateway that provides public internet access, and broadcasts an internet indication. The RAN element determines that the UE has requested public internet access via the RAN element and provides the UE with public internet access.

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Bengaluru, India

Vimal Srivastava