Huawei Technologies Co., Limited

Fih (hong Kong) Limited

Shenzhen Futaihong Precision Industry Co., Ltd.

Shenzhen Mindray Bio-medical Electronics Co., Ltd.

Huawei Technologies Canada Co., Ltd.

Zte Corporation

Foxconn Technology Co., Ltd.

Fu Zhun Precision Industry (shen Zhen) Co., Ltd.

Xu Li

Hang Zhang

Ngoc Dung Dao

Jaya Rao

Hamidreza Farmanbar

Nimal Gamini Senarath

Sophie Vrzic

Petar Djukic

Ngoc-Dung Dao

Aaron Callard

Alex Stephenne

Philippe Leroux

Chengchao Liang

Patrice Hede

Kaveh Shafiee

Chwan-Hwa Chiang

Xu Zhang

Xuemin Shen

Weihua Zhuang

Bidi Ying

Yi-Jun Huang

Jie Gao

Hai-Bo Pan

Ming Jia

Chun-Chi Chen

Ho Ting Cheng

Guangjian Wang

Gen-Ping Deng

Jingjing Huang

Remziye Irem Bor-Yaliniz

Zhi-Quan Luo

Ho-Ting Cheng

Yibo Lv

Shunan Li

Mingyi Hong

Jia-Lin Chen

Remziye Irem Bor Yaliniz

Zhongming Zheng

Dilip Andrade

Wei-Cheng Liao

Hamid Farmanbar

Zong-Hua Hu

Feng-Yuen Dai

Shanjun Chen

Aaron James Callard

There is provided a system including a platform controller for managing artificial intelligence services, wherein the system includes a processor coupled with a memory, having stored thereon instructions. The instructions, when executed by the processor, configure the platform controller to receive an artificial intelligence (AI) service registration request from an AI controller controlling the AI service, the AI service registration request including information indicative of locations of the AI service and transmit an AI service registration response to the AI controller, the AI service registration response including routing information at least in part specifying how to reach a coordinator associated with the AI service, the coordinator corresponding to a location of the AI service and transmit a notification indicative of availability of the AI service to a device. When a request for access to the AI service is received from the device, the platform controller is configured to transmit a response to the device, wherein the response is indicative of whether the request is accepted.

System and methods for supporting artificial intelligence service in a network

The present invention provides methods and apparatus for notifying Quality of Service (QoS) information to User Equipment (UE), Users, and Application server. Embodiments of the present invention may analyze the network QoS and/or statistics of QoS parameters using one or more functions such as Network Data Analytics Function (NWDAF). Embodiments may also provide control plane (CP) functions which may send the QoS information to the UE depending on the UE subscription, application and/or network slice.

Quality of service information notification to user equipment, users, and application server

Methods and system for supporting traffic steering through a service function chain, the service function chain comprising at least one data processing function. An aspect of the disclosure provides for a method for steering traffic of a packet data unit (PDU) performed by a session management function. The method includes receiving PCC rules from a policy control function, the PCC rules including information comprising at least one of service function chain information; final delivery indication; and selective traffic steering information and associated parameters. The method further includes configuring at least one user plane function (UPF) according to the information. In some embodiments the configuring the at least one UPF includes instructing a first UPF to detect traffic according to the packet detection rules and route the received packet according to the forwarding action rules.

Systems and methods for supporting traffic steering through a service function chain

The present invention provides methods, apparatuses and systems supporting in-order packet delivery during application relocation or UP (User Plane) path management events such as DNAI (Data Network Access Identifier) changes. In-order packet delivery may be enforced, ensured or supported by using an indication that in-order packet delivery is requested or required for a particular traffic flow of a UE during a user plane path management event. The methods may be performed by apparatuses implementing an application function (AF), a policy control function (PCF), a session management function (SMF), or UP entities such as PDU session anchors, of the communication network, or systems implementing a combination thereof. The SMF may configure UP entities to transmit packets and flow end markers to support in-order packet delivery and provide flow end marker information to the UP entities. The UP entities may signal path changes using flow end markers.

Method, apparatus and systems for supporting packet delivery

A method, apparatus and system for medium access control is provided. Time slots configured to include mini slots at the beginnings thereof. Devices are assigned time slot, mini slot combinations as transmission opportunities. A device can attempt to use a transmission opportunity when it has a packet to send, by beginning data transmission in its assigned slot and mini slot and potentially continuing the transmission up until the end of the assigned slot. If another device is already transmitting in the assigned slot, the device refrains from using its transmission opportunity. Higher priority devices can be assigned transmission opportunities corresponding to earlier mini slots within a slot. In some embodiments, multiple devices can be assigned the same transmission opportunity and a collision detection mechanism can be employed. In some embodiments, all devices detect if a slot is idle and advance the beginning of the next slot upon such detection.

Method, apparatus and system for medium access control

A network architecture and methods of managing packet data unit (PDU) sessions in a network are provided. The methods include PDU session establishment procedures, PDU session modification procedures, PDU session state transfer procedures, PDU session release procedures, and user equipment (UE) handover procedures.

System and methods for session management

Application Function (AF) influenced routing for peer-to-peer (P2P) communications is provided. Core network elements correlate PDU sessions and optimize the UP path for peer-to-peer traffic. UP selection, reselection, configuration or reconfiguration can be performed in support of P2P traffic routing. P2P traffic between a pair of UEs is routed or rerouted through a bridge. The bridge may be established between the first UP and the second UP, and/or between associated RAN nodes. One or more application functions can be included along the bridge path. A policy control function (PCF) directs underlying resources to route P2P traffic via the bridge, for example in response to a trigger from the AF. A session management function (SMF) directs underlying resources to configure or reconfigure user plane data paths to route P2P traffic via the bridge. First and second SMFs of the first and second UPs can cooperate to establish the desired traffic routing. One or more UPFs can be configured to support P2P traffic detection.

Method and apparatus for traffic routing and path optimization for peer-to-peer communications

The present invention provides systems and methods and apparatuses for user plane handling. An aspect of the disclosure provides a method of user plane handling. Such a method includes sending, by a first user plane entity, to a second user plane entity, a trigger message for changing the user plane handling for a protocol data unit (PDU) session. Another aspect of the disclosure provides a method of using a shared tunnel. Such a method includes receiving from a reception tunnel by a first user plane entity a tunnel packet including a tunnel header and a data packet. Such a method further includes routing, by the first user plane entity to a second tunnel using information in the tunnel header without processing the data packet.

Systems and methods for user plane handling

Systems and methods for performing User Plane (UP) path selection or reselection over a communications network with a 3party entity, and for notifying network entities of UP changes in a communications network, are disclosed. The method includes: receiving an application program interface based request for UP path selection from the 3party entity; performing a validation and authorization procedure with the request; transmitting a UP path selection configuration request to a Control Plane Function that maintains configuration data; obtaining a reference number confirming the UP path selection configuration request; and installing the UP path selection according to the reference number.

Systems and methods for user plane path selection, reselection, and notification of user plane changes

There is provided systems and methods for the grouping of UEs, such that UEs can share a UE group context or share a PDU session context or both. In this manner, network resource usage, with respect to UE context and PDU session context management, can be mitigated.

System and method for UE context and PDU session context management

Methods by which User Plane (UP) management information is exchanged between an Application Function (AF) supporting one or more applications and a Slice Management Function (SMF) configured to manage traffic flows in a given slice of the network. The exchange of UP management information may be initiated from either the AF or the SMF. In the case of AF-initiated information exchange, the UP management information provided by the AF may comprise traffic requirements of applications supported by the AF. In the case of SMF-initiated information exchange, the UP management information provided by the SM may comprise operator policy information or events, and the AF may respond with information of traffic requirements of applications supported by the AF.

Systems and methods for application-friendly protocol data unit (PDU) session management

The present application provides a method and apparatus for supporting general registration of user equipment to facilitate MO only mode preferences.

Method and apparatus for supporting access control and mobility management

A network data analytics (NWDA) function and method of policy optimization in a communication network are provided. The NWDA performs data analytics on the communication network traffic, and includes communication interfaces to connect to other network elements in the communication network. The method comprises the NWDA function configured to receive a request for a policy input, send instructions to network elements to obtain network performance measurement data, receive the measurement data from the network elements, and transmit a policy input based on the received measurement data.

System and method of network policy optimization

Methods and Systems for modifying or releasing a Multicast/Broadcast (MB) session for delivery of MB Data to a plurality of Electronic Devices (EDs) connected to a (Radio) Access Network (R)AN node is disclosed. The method includes receiving one or more triggers, and instructing the various network functions and (R)AN nodes to modify (or release) the MB session dependent on the received trigger.

Methods and systems for multicast-broadcast session release and modification

An aspect of the disclosure provides for a method for user equipment (UE) internet protocol (IP) address management. The method includes sending by an application function (AF), a request to a policy control function (PCF), the request including information identifying traffic and an indication that a UE IP address associated with the traffic should be preserved. The method further includes sending by the PCF, to a session management function (SMF) being responsible for managing a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session associated with the traffic, a policy and charging control (PCC) rule including the indication. In some embodiments, the request is sent by the AF to the PCF via a network exposure function (NEF). In some embodiments, the method further includes managing, by the SMF, the UE IP address according to the PCC rule. In some embodiments, the managing includes preserving the UE IP address for a PDU session associated with the traffic. In some embodiments, the preserving includes preventing reselection of a protocol data unit (PDU) session anchor (PSA) to which the UE IP address is associated.

Message and system for application function influence on traffic routing

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Nepean, Canada

Xu Li