Patent Description:
A BS may be referred to as a Node B, a gNB, an access point (AP), a radio head, a transmit receive point (TRP), a new radio (NR) BS, a <NUM> Node B, and/or the like.

Multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunication standards. Wireless communication standards provide common protocols to enable different devices (e.g., user equipment) to communicate on a municipal, national, regional, and even global level. As demand for mobile broadband access continues to increase, there exists a need for further improvements in LTE and NR technologies. These improvements can apply to other multiple access technologies and the telecommunication standards that employ these technologies. 3GPP document TR23. <NUM>-<NUM> V0. <NUM><NUM> describes a study on enhanced support of non-public networks.

The following summarizes some aspects of the present disclosure to provide a basic understanding of the discussed technology. This summary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated features of the disclosure and is intended neither to identify key or critical elements of all aspects of the disclosure. The purpose of the summary is to present some concepts of one or more aspects of the disclosure in summary form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

As the quantity of visited standalone non-public networks (V-SNPNs) and the quantity of supported home service providers (SPs) continue to grow, the relationships between V-SNPNs and home SPs may result in scaling issues. For example, a V-SNPN may need to maintain and update a growing and/or ever-changing list of support home SPs, which may consume large amounts of processing and memory resources for the various devices and/or components included in the V-SNPN. Moreover, as the V-SNPN supports a greater quantity of home SPs, the quantity of home SP identifiers that the V-SNPN broadcasts or transmits also grows, which may result in too much information being transmitted in system information of the V-SNPN and/or may result in increased radio resource consumption. Some aspects described herein provide techniques and apparatus for discovery and selection of an SNPN based at least in part on an SNPN roaming group. In some aspects, the SNPN roaming group may be introduced to reduce the complexity and increase the scalability of maintaining lists of supported home SPs for an SNPN (e.g., a V-SNPN). Moreover, in some aspects, an SNPN roaming hub may be introduced to reduce the processing and memory resource consumption of devices and/or components included in V-SNPNs that would otherwise be consumed on maintaining lists of supported home SPs.

In some aspects, a method of wireless communication, performed by a user equipment (UE), may include receiving an indication of one or more SNPN roaming groups associated with a network to which the UE is subscribed; determining that a transmission from an SNPN identifies a roaming group identifier associated with an SNPN roaming group of the one or more SNPN roaming groups; and registering with the SNPN based at least in part on determining that the transmission identifies the roaming group identifier.

In some aspects, a UE for wireless communication may include memory and one or more processors operatively coupled to the memory. The memory and the one or more processors may be configured to receive an indication of one or more SNPN roaming groups associated with a network to which the UE is subscribed; determine that a transmission from an SNPN identifies a roaming group identifier associated with an SNPN roaming group of the one or more SNPN roaming groups; and register with the SNPN based at least in part on determining that the transmission identifies the roaming group identifier.

In some aspects, a non-transitory computer-readable medium may store one or more instructions for wireless communication. The one or more instructions, when executed by one or more processors of a UE, may cause the one or more processors to receive an indication of one or more SNPN roaming groups associated with a network to which the UE is subscribed; determine that a transmission from an SNPN identifies a roaming group identifier associated with an SNPN roaming group of the one or more SNPN roaming groups; and register with the SNPN based at least in part on determining that the transmission identifies the roaming group identifier.

In some aspects, an apparatus for wireless communication may include means for receiving an indication of one or more SNPN roaming groups associated with a network to which the UE is subscribed; means for determining that a transmission from an SNPN identifies a roaming group identifier associated with an SNPN roaming group of the one or more SNPN roaming groups; and means for registering with the SNPN based at least in part on determining that the transmission identifies the roaming group identifier.

Aspects generally include a method, apparatus, system, computer program product, non-transitory computer-readable medium, user equipment, base station, wireless communication device, and/or processing system as substantially described herein with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings and specification.

Such equivalent constructions do not depart from the scope of the appended claims if falling within the scope defined by the wording of the claims.

So that the above-recited features of the present disclosure can be understood in detail, a more particular description is provided herein, with some aspects of the disclosure being illustrated in the appended drawings. However, the appended drawings illustrate only some aspects of this disclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting of the scope of the disclosure.

These apparatuses and techniques will be described in the following detailed description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, modules, components, circuits, steps, processes, algorithms, and/or the like (collectively referred to as "elements" or "features").

While some aspects may be described herein using terminology commonly associated with <NUM> and/or <NUM> wireless technologies, aspects of the present disclosure can be applied in other generation-based communication systems, such as <NUM> and later, including NR technologies.

While aspects and embodiments are described in this application by illustration to some examples, those skilled in the art will understand that additional implementations and use cases may come about in many different arrangements and scenarios. Innovations described herein may be implemented across many differing platform types, devices, systems, shapes, sizes, packaging arrangements. For example, embodiments and/or uses may come about via integrated chip embodiments and/or other non-module-component based devices (e.g., end-user devices, vehicles, communication devices, computing devices, industrial equipment, retail/purchasing devices, medical devices, artificial intelligence-enabled devices, and/or the like). While some examples may or may not be specifically directed to use cases or applications, a wide assortment of applicability of described innovations may occur. Implementations may range a spectrum from chip-level or modular components to non-modular, non-chip-level implementations and further to aggregate, distributed, or OEM devices or systems incorporating one or more aspects of the described innovations. In some practical settings, devices incorporating described aspects and features may also necessarily include additional components and features for implementation and practice of claimed and described embodiments. For example, transmission and reception of wireless signals necessarily includes a number of components for analog and digital purposes (e.g., hardware components including one or more antennas, radio frequency (RF)-chains, power amplifiers, modulators, buffers, processors, interleavers, adders/summers, and/or the like). It is intended that innovations described herein may be practiced in a wide variety of devices, chip-level components, systems, distributed arrangements, end-user devices, etc. of varying sizes, shapes, and constitution.

Each BS may provide communication coverage for a particular area (e.g., a fixed or changing geographical area). In some scenarios, BSs <NUM> may be stationary or non-stationary. In some non-stationary scenarios, mobile BSs <NUM> may move with varying speeds, direction, and/or heights. In 3GPP, the term "cell" can refer to a coverage area of a BS <NUM> and/or a BS subsystem serving this coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used.

Additionally, or alternatively, a BS may support access to an unlicensed RF band (e.g., a Wi-Fi band and/or the like).

In other scenarios, BSs may be implemented in a software defined network (SDN) manner or via network function virtualization (NFV) manner.

A UE may be a cellular phone (e.g., a smart phone), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a tablet, a camera, a gaming device, a netbook, a smartbook, an ultrabook, a medical device or equipment, biometric sensors/devices, wearable devices (smart watches, smart clothing, smart glasses, smart wrist bands, smart jewelry (e.g., smart ring, smart bracelet)), an entertainment device (e.g., a music or video device, or a satellite radio), a vehicular component or sensor, smart meters/sensors, industrial manufacturing equipment, robotics, drones, implantable devices, augmented reality devices, a global positioning system device, or any other suitable device that is configured to communicate via a wireless or wired medium.

These components may be integrated in a variety of combinations and/or may be stand-alone, distributed components considering design constraints and/or operational preferences.

A UE performing scheduling operations can include or perform base-station-like functions in these deployment scenarios.

<FIG> is a diagram of a design <NUM> of base station <NUM> and UE <NUM>, which may be one of the base stations and one of the UEs in <FIG>. The T and R antennas may be configured with multiple antenna elements formed in an array for MIMO or massive MIMO deployments that can occur in millimeter wave (mmWave or mmW) communication systems.

At base station <NUM>, a transmit processor <NUM> can carry out a number of functions associated with communications. For example, transmit processor <NUM> may receive data from a data source <NUM> for one or more UEs, select one or more modulation and coding schemes (MCS) for each UE based at least in part on channel quality indicators (CQIs) received from the UE, process (e.g., encode and modulate) the data for each UE based at least in part on the MCS(s) selected for the UE, and provide data symbols for all UEs. Each modulator <NUM> may process a respective output symbol stream (e.g., for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) and/or the like) to obtain an output sample stream.

At UE <NUM>, antennas 252a through 252r may receive downlink RF signals. The downlink RF signals may be received from and/or may be transmitted by one or more base stations <NUM>. The signals can be provided to demodulators (DEMODs) 254a through 254r, respectively.

For uplink communications, a UE <NUM> may transmit control information and/or data to another device, such as one or more base stations <NUM>. For example, at UE <NUM>, a transmit processor <NUM> may receive and process data from a data source <NUM> and control information (e.g., for reports comprising RSRP, RSSI, RSRQ, CQI, and/or the like) from controller/processor <NUM>.

Controller/processor <NUM> of base station <NUM>, controller/processor <NUM> of UE <NUM>, and/or any other component(s) of <FIG> may perform one or more techniques associated with discovery and selection of a standalone non-public network (SNPN) based at least in part on an SNPN roaming group, as described in more detail elsewhere herein. For example, controller/processor <NUM> of base station <NUM>, controller/processor <NUM> of UE <NUM>, and/or any other component(s) of <FIG> may perform or direct operations of, for example, process <NUM> of <FIG> and/or other processes as described herein. Memories <NUM> and <NUM> may store data and program codes for base station <NUM> and UE <NUM>, respectively.

In some aspects, the UE <NUM> may include a variety of means or components for implementing communication functions. For example, the variety of means may include means for receiving an indication of one or more SNPN roaming groups associated with a network to which the UE is subscribed, means for determining that a transmission from an SNPN identifies a roaming group identifier associated with an SNPN roaming group of the one or more SNPN roaming groups, means for registering with the SNPN based at least in part on determining that the transmission identifies the roaming group identifier, and/or the like.

In some aspects, the UE <NUM> may include a variety of structural components for carrying out functions of the various means. For example, structural components that carry out functions of such means may include one or more components of UE <NUM> described in connection with <FIG>, such as antenna <NUM>, DEMOD <NUM>, MOD <NUM>, MIMO detector <NUM>, receive processor <NUM>, transmit processor <NUM>, TX MIMO processor <NUM>, controller/processor <NUM>, and/or the like.

In some aspects, the base station <NUM> may include a variety of structural components for carrying out functions of the various means. For example, structural components that carry out functions of such means may include one or more components of base station <NUM> described in connection with <FIG>, such as transmit processor <NUM>, TX MIMO processor <NUM>, DEMOD <NUM>, MOD <NUM>, antenna <NUM>, MIMO detector <NUM>, receive processor <NUM>, controller/processor <NUM>, and/or the like.

<FIG> is a diagram illustrating an example <NUM> of an SNPN, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. An SNPN is a dedicated, private wireless network (e.g., a <NUM> network or another type of wireless network) that may be associated with an enterprise, a facility, or another entity or site. For example, an SNPN may be associated with a particular corporate campus, a particular factory, a particular industrial facility, and/or the like.

As shown in <FIG>, an SNPN (e.g., referred to as SNPN X in <FIG>) may be implemented in and by a wireless network, which may be referred to as a home service provider (home SP) wireless network for a UE (e.g., a UE <NUM>). In this case, a core network and a radio access network (RAN) of the home SP may be configured to provide the SNPN to the UE and/or other UEs that are permitted to access the SNPN.

The core network may include one or more network controllers <NUM> that provide various core network functions, such as a Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF), a Network Exposure Function (NEF), an Authentication Server Function (AUSF), a Unified Data Management (UDM) function, a Policy Control Function (PCF), an Application Function (AF), an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), a Session Management Function (SMF), a User Plane Function (UPF), an Inter-Working Function (IWF), and/or the like. The RAN may include one or more network controllers <NUM> and/or one or more BSs <NUM> that provide wireless coverage to UEs that access the home SP.

In some cases, access to the SNPN may be limited to UEs having subscriptions to the SNPN. In this case, a UE may be provisioned and/or otherwise configured with subscription information associated with the SNPN so that the UE can use the subscription information to register with the SNPN. As shown in <FIG>, the subscription information may include a public land mobile network (PLMN) identifier associated with the home SP and an SNPN identifier (e.g., which may be referred to as a network identifier (NID)) associated with the SNPN. In some cases, the SNPN (e.g., one or more BSs <NUM> in the SNPN) may configure the UE with the subscription information as part of a subscriber identity module (SIM) over-the-air (OTA) update procedure, a UE parameters update (UPU) procedure via a UDM control plane procedure, a steering of roaming (SoR) procedure, and/or another type of provisioning procedure. The UE may receive the subscription information and may store the subscription information in a SIM component, a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) component, and/or another component configured to store subscription information. In some cases, the UE may be deployed with a SIM component or UICC component that is already configured with the subscription information.

To access the SNPN, the UE may scan or monitor for transmissions that identify the PLMN identifier and the NID of the SNPN. For example, the SNPN (e.g., one or more BSs <NUM> in the SNPN) may broadcast and/or otherwise transmit the PLMN identifier and the NID of the SNPN to that UEs may discover the SNPN. The UE may determine whether the PLMN identifier and the NID identified in the broadcast or transmission from the SNPN matches the PLMN identifier and the NID in the subscription information stored by the UE. If the PLMN identifier and the NID match, the UE may attempt to register with the SNPN. Once the UE has registered with the SNPN, the SNPN may grant the UE access to various non-public network services hosted by the SNPN.

<FIG> are diagrams illustrating examples <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> of SNPN access, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. In particular, <FIG> show communications between components (e.g., implementing various network functions) of a subscribed wireless network (e.g., a home SP) and an SNPN in connection with a registration procedure of a UE (e.g., UE <NUM>). Accordingly, as part of the registration procedure of the UE, the SNPN (e.g., one or more devices and/or components implementing the SNPN) may establish a connection to the subscribed wireless network (e.g., one or more devices and/or components implementing the subscribed wireless network). For example, based at least in part on an identifier provided by the UE as part of a registration procedure (e.g., a subscription permanent identifier (SUPI), a subscription concealed identifier (SUCI), and/or the like), a device implementing one or more components of the SNPN may determine an identity of the subscribed wireless network, and accordingly, may determine an address (e.g., using a mapping) at which the subscribed wireless network is reachable.

As shown in <FIG>, the SNPN may communicate with the subscribed wireless network to perform authentication of the UE and obtain subscription information for the UE. In particular, an AMF of the SNPN may communicate with an AUSF of the subscribed wireless network to authenticate the UE. For example, the AMF may transmit credentials of the UE that were provided with a registration request of the UE. In addition, the AMF and an SMF of the SNPN may communicate with a UDM function of the subscribed wireless network to obtain subscription information for the UE. For example, the AMF and/or the SMF may transmit an identifier of the UE (e.g., a SUPI or a SUCI) that was provided with a registration request of the UE. As shown in <FIG>, after registration, the UE may communicate with a data network (e.g., a data network providing non-public network services, and/or the like) via a UPF of the SNPN.

As shown in <FIG>, the SNPN may communicate with the subscribed wireless network to perform authentication of the UE and obtain subscription information for the UE, as described above. In particular, an AMF of the SNPN may communicate with an AUSF of the subscribed wireless network to authenticate the UE, as described above. In addition, the AMF may communicate with a UDM component of the subscribed wireless network to obtain subscription information for the UE, as described above. As shown in <FIG>, after registration, the UE may communicate with a data network (e.g., the Internet) via the subscribed wireless network. For example, a UPF of the SNPN may forward a session (e.g., a physical data unit (PDU) session) of the UE to a UPF of the subscribed wireless network for termination at the data network via the subscribed wireless network.

As shown in <FIG>, the SNPN may communicate with the subscribed wireless network to perform authentication of the UE and obtain subscription information for the UE, as described above. In particular, an AMF of the SNPN may communicate with an AUSF of the subscribed wireless network to authenticate the UE, as described above. In addition, the AMF and an SMF of the SNPN may communicate with a UDM component of the subscribed wireless network to obtain subscription information for the UE, as described above. As shown in <FIG>, after registration, the UE may communicate with a data network (e.g., the Internet) via a UPF of the SNPN. As further shown in <FIG>, the UE may establish a tunnel, via the data network, to an inter-working function (IWF) of the subscribed wireless network, thereby enabling the UE to access a data network (e.g., for file retrieval) via the UPF of the subscribed wireless network.

In some cases, a UE (e.g., a UE <NUM>) may be capable of accessing an SNPN implemented by and/or hosted in a wireless network using a subscription for another wireless network. This may be referred to as SNPN roaming. In this case, the SNPN may be referred to as a visited SNPN (V-SNPN). A V-SNPN may broadcast and/or otherwise transmit the identifiers (e.g., PLMN identifiers and/or other types of identifiers) of the wireless networks (e.g., the home SPs) that the V-SNPN supports (e.g., to which the V-SNPN has a roaming agreement). A UE may receive a broadcast or transmission from the V-SNPN (e.g., in a system information block (SIB) or another type of system information transmission) and may determine whether the UE has a subscription to any of the PLMN identifiers identified in the broadcast or transmission. If the UE determines that the UE is subscribed to a PLMN identifier, the UE may register with the V-SNPN.

As the quantity of V-SNPNs and the quantity of supported home SPs continue to grow, the relationships between V-SNPNs and home SPs may result in scaling issues. For example, a V-SNPN may need to maintain and update a growing and/or ever-changing list of support home SPs, which may consume large amounts of processing and memory resources for the various devices and/or components included in the V-SNPN. Moreover, as the V-SNPN supports a greater quantity of home SPs, the quantity of home SP identifiers that the V-SNPN broadcasts or transmits also grows, which may result in too much information in the SIB(s) of the V-SNPN and/or may result in increased radio resource consumption.

Some aspects described herein provide techniques and apparatus for discovery and selection of an SNPN based at least in part on an SNPN roaming group. In some aspects, the SNPN roaming group may be introduced to reduce the complexity and increase the scalability of maintaining lists of supported home SPs for an SNPN (e.g., a V-SNPN). An SNPN roaming group may be identified by a roaming group identifier (RGID), which may also be referred to as a group identifier (GID) or a home SP group identifier (Home SP Group ID). An SNPN may be configured to include a plurality of networks (e.g., home SPs). In this way, an SNPN may broadcast or transmit the RGID to indicate the plurality of networks, which consumes fewer radio resources than explicitly broadcasting or transmitting the individual identifiers for each of the plurality of networks.

Moreover, in some aspects, an SNPN roaming hub (e.g., implemented by a network controller <NUM>) may be introduced to reduce the processing and memory resource consumption of devices and/or components included in V-SNPNs that would otherwise be consumed to maintain lists of supported home SPs. The SNPN roaming hub may configure an RGID for one or more V-SNPNs, and each V-SNPN may broadcast or transmit the RGID. Moreover, the SNPN roaming hub may offload the burden of keeping lists of supported home SPs up to date by updating the RGID as home SPs are added and/or removed from the SNPN roaming group associated with the RGID.

<FIG> and <FIG> are diagrams illustrating an example(s) <NUM> of discovery and selection of an SNPN based at least in part on an SNPN roaming group, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. As shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, example(s) <NUM> may include one or more SNPNs (e.g., V-SNPNs), one or more home SPs (e.g., wireless networks <NUM>), an SNPN roaming hub (e.g., a network controller <NUM>), and/or a UE (e.g., a UE <NUM>).

As shown in <FIG>, the SNPN roaming hub may function as a communication intermediary between the SNPNs and the home SPs. The SNPN roaming hub may be responsible for generating, configuring, and updating SNPN roaming groups and associated RGIDs for the SNPNs and the home SPs, may be responsible for providing indications of the SNPN roaming groups and associated RGIDs to the SNPNs and the home SPs, may be responsible for providing updated SNPN roaming groups and associated RGIDs to the SNPNs and the home SPs, and/or the like. In some aspects, the SNPN roaming hub may be omitted from example(s) <NUM>, in which case the SNPNs and home SPs may jointly generate, configure, and update the SNPN roaming groups and associated RGIDs.

In some aspects, the SNPN roaming hub may generate and/or configure an SNPN roaming group to include a plurality of home SPs. In some aspects, an SNPN roaming group may be subscription based or roaming agreement based. For example, the SNPN roaming hub may generate and/or configure an SNPN roaming group for an SNPN, where the SNPN has a roaming agreement with the home SPs included in the SNPN roaming group. In this case, UEs that are subscribed to the SNPN and any of the home SPs may access the SNPN from the home SP to which the UE is subscribed and via a different home SP in which the SNPN is provided (e.g., through the use of the roaming agreement).

As shown in <FIG>, a UE may discover and register with an SNPN (e.g., a V-SNPN) based at least in part on an SNPN roaming group associated with the SNPN. As shown by reference number <NUM>, the home SP to which the UE is subscribed (e.g., a BS <NUM> in the home SP of the UE) may transmit an indication of one or more SNPN roaming groups to the UE. The home SP of the UE may be associated with and/or included in each of the SNPN roaming groups. Each of the SNPN roaming groups may include one or more other home SPs (e.g., other wireless networks <NUM>). In this case, the home SP of the UE and the other home SPs associated with an SNPN roaming group may have a roaming agreement that permits UEs to access supported SNPNs via roaming on a home SP to which the UE is not subscribed. The UE may be permitted to access an SNPN that broadcasts or transmits an RGID associated with an SNPN roaming group via a roaming agreement between the home SP of the UE and another home SP included in the SNPN roaming group.

In some aspects, the one or more SNPN roaming groups may be generated or configured by the SNPN roaming hub, if included, which may transmit an indication of the one or more SNPN roaming groups to the home SP. Moreover, the SNPN roaming hub may transmit, to each SNPN, an indication the SNPN roaming group(s) supported by the SNPN so that the SNPN can broadcast the RGID(s) of the SNPN roaming group(s) along with the SNPN identifier (e.g., NID) of the SNPN. In this way, UEs can discover and register with SNPN.

In some aspects, the home SP may transmit the indication of the one or more SNPN roaming groups to the UE in system information (e.g., a SIB, a master information block (MIB), remaining minimum system information (RMSI), other system information (OSI), in downlink signaling (e.g., in a radio resource control (RRC) communication, in a medium access control control element (MAC-CE) communication, in a downlink control information (DCI) communication, and/or the like.

In some aspects, the UE may receive the indication of the one or more SNPN roaming groups as part of a SIM OTA update procedure, as part of a UE configuration update procedure, and/or the like. The UE may store information identifying the one or more SNPN roaming groups in a SIM component or UICC component of the UE (e.g., along with subscription information for the UE). Additionally and/or alternatively to receiving the indication of the one or more SNPN roaming groups, the UE may be provisioned and/or deployed with a SIM or UICC configuration that already includes the information identifying the one or more SNPN roaming groups. In this case, updates to the SNPN roaming groups may be provided to the UE via a SIM OTA update procedure or a UE configuration update procedure.

In some aspects, the indication of the one or more SNPN roaming groups may identify the respective RGIDs associated with each of the one or more SNPN roaming groups. In some aspects, the indication of the one or more SNPN roaming groups may further identify a ranked list of the one or more SNPN roaming groups. In this case, if the UE is capable of accessing a plurality of SNPNs via different SNPN roaming groups (e.g., via different SNPN roaming groups that each include the home SP to which the UE is subscribed), the UE may select and access the SNPN associated with the highest ranked SNPN roaming group or via other rules and/or parameters that are based at least in part on the ranked list of the one or more SNPN roaming groups. The SNPN roaming groups may be ranked or order, in the ranked list (which may be referred to as a separate entity controlled prioritized list), based at least in part on priority (e.g., from highest priority to lowest priority).

As further shown in <FIG>, and by reference number <NUM>, to register with an SNPN, the UE may receive a transmission (e.g., a broadcast, a multicast, a group cast, a unicast, and/or the like) from the SNPN (e.g., from a BS <NUM> included in the SNPN) and may determine whether the transmission identifies an RGID associated with an SNPN roaming group of the one or more SNPN roaming groups. As shown by reference number <NUM>, if the UE determines that the transmission from the SNPN identifies an RGID associated with an SNPN roaming group of the one or more roaming groups, the UE may register with the SNPN.

In some aspects, if the UE receives transmissions from a plurality of SNPNs, and each of the transmissions identifies a respective RGID that is associated with an SNPN roaming group of the one or more SNPN roaming groups, the UE may select the SNPN to register with based at least in part on a ranked list of the one or more SNPN roaming groups. For example, the UE may identify the highest ranked SNPN roaming group, in the ranked list, that was identified in the transmissions from the plurality of SNPNs and may register with the SNPN that transmitted the RGID associated with the highest ranked SNPN roaming group.

In some aspects, the UE may register with the SNPN using one or more of the techniques described above in connection with <FIG>. After registration with the SNPN, the UE may be granted access to communicate with various data networks provided via the SNPN, such as data networks providing non-public network services and/or the like.

In this way, the SNPN roaming group may be used to reduce the complexity and increase the scalability of maintaining lists of supported home SPs for an SNPN (e.g., a V-SNPN). An SNPN may broadcast or transmit an RGID to indicate the plurality of networks, which consumes fewer radio resources than explicitly broadcasting or transmitting the individual identifiers for each of the plurality of networks. Moreover, in this way, the SNPN roaming hub may reduce the processing and memory resource consumption of devices and/or components included in V-SNPNs that would otherwise be consumed to maintain lists of supported home SPs. The SNPN roaming hub may configure an RGID for one or more V-SNPNs, and each V-SNPN may broadcast or transmit the RGID. Moreover, the SNPN roaming hub may offload the burden of keeping lists of supported home SPs up to date by updating the RGID as home SPs are added and/or removed from the SNPN roaming group associated with the RGID.

As indicated above, <FIG> and <FIG> are provided as one or more examples. Other examples may differ from what is described with respect to <FIG> and <FIG>.

<FIG> is a diagram illustrating an example process <NUM> performed, for example, by a UE, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. Example process <NUM> is an example where a UE (e.g., UE <NUM> illustrated in and/or described in connection with one or more of <FIG>, <FIG>, <FIG> and <FIG>, and/or the like) performs operations associated with discovery and selection of an SNPN based at least in part on an SNPN roaming group.

As shown in <FIG>, in some aspects, process <NUM> may include receiving an indication of one or more SNPN roaming groups associated with a network to which the UE is subscribed (block <NUM>). For example, the UE (e.g., using antenna <NUM>, DEMOD <NUM>, MIMO detector <NUM>, receive processor <NUM>, controller/processor <NUM>, memory <NUM>, and/or the like) may receive an indication of one or more SNPN roaming groups associated with a network to which the UE is subscribed, as described above.

As further shown in <FIG>, in some aspects, process <NUM> may include determining that a transmission from an SNPN identifies a roaming group identifier associated with an SNPN roaming group of the one or more SNPN roaming groups (block <NUM>). For example, the UE (e.g., using receive processor <NUM>, transmit processor <NUM>, controller/processor <NUM>, memory <NUM>, and/or the like) may determine that a transmission from an SNPN identifies a roaming group identifier associated with an SNPN roaming group of the one or more SNPN roaming groups, as described above.

As shown in <FIG>, in some aspects, process <NUM> may include registering with the SNPN based at least in part on determining that the transmission identifies the roaming group identifier (block <NUM>). For example, the UE (e.g., using receive processor <NUM>, transmit processor <NUM>, controller/processor <NUM>, memory <NUM>, and/or the like) may register with the SNPN based at least in part on determining that the transmission identifies the roaming group identifier, as described above.

In a first aspect, the indication of the one or more SNPN roaming groups identifies a respective roaming group identifier associated with each of the one or more SNPN roaming groups. In a second aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect, receiving the indication of the one or more SNPN roaming groups comprises receiving the indication of the one or more SNPN roaming groups as part of a UE configuration update procedure for the UE.

In a third aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first and second aspects, receiving the indication of the one or more SNPN roaming groups comprises receiving the indication of the one or more SNPN roaming groups as part of a subscriber identification module over-the-air update procedure for the UE. In a fourth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through third aspects, each of the one or more SNPN roaming groups is associated with one or more other networks.

In a fifth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fourth aspects, the indication of the one or more SNPN roaming groups comprises a ranked list of the one or more SNPN roaming groups, and registering with the SNPN based at least in part on determining that the transmission identifies the roaming group identifier comprises registering with the SNPN based at least in part on the ranked list of the one or more SNPN roaming groups. In a sixth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fifth aspects, the one or more SNPN roaming groups are configured by an SNPN roaming hub. In a seventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through sixth aspects, the transmission form the SNPN is a SIB broadcast.

<FIG> is a diagram of an example apparatus <NUM> for wireless communication, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. The apparatus <NUM> may be a UE, or a UE may include the apparatus <NUM>. In some aspects, the apparatus <NUM> includes a reception component <NUM> and a transmission component <NUM>, which may be in communication with one another (for example, via one or more buses and/or one or more other components). As shown, the apparatus <NUM> may communicate with another apparatus <NUM> (such as a UE, a base station, or another wireless communication device) using the reception component <NUM> and the transmission component <NUM>. As further shown, the apparatus <NUM> may include one or more of a determination component <NUM> and/or a registration component <NUM>, among other examples.

In some aspects, the apparatus <NUM> may be configured to perform one or more operations described herein in connection with <FIG>, <FIG>, <FIG>, and/or <FIG>. Additionally, or alternatively, the apparatus <NUM> may be configured to perform one or more processes described herein, such as process <NUM> of <FIG>. In some aspects, the apparatus <NUM> and/or one or more components shown in <FIG> may include one or more components of the UE described above in connection with <FIG>. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more components shown in <FIG> may be implemented within one or more components described above in connection with <FIG>. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more components of the set of components may be implemented at least in part as software stored in a memory. For example, a component (or a portion of a component) may be implemented as instructions or code stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and executable by a controller or a processor to perform the functions or operations of the component.

The reception component <NUM> may receive (e.g., from the apparatus <NUM>) an indication of one or more SNPN roaming groups associated with a network to which the apparatus <NUM> is subscribed. The determination component <NUM> may determine that a transmission from an SNPN identifies a roaming group identifier associated with an SNPN roaming group of the one or more SNPN roaming groups. The registration component <NUM> may register with the SNPN based at least in part on determining that the transmission identifies the roaming group identifier.

A phrase reffering to "at least one of" a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including single members.

Claim 1:
A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment, UE, comprising:
receiving (<NUM>) an indication of one or more standalone non-public network, SNPN, roaming groups associated with a network to which the UE is subscribed;
determining (<NUM>) that a transmission from an SNPN identifies a roaming group identifier associated with an SNPN roaming group of the one or more SNPN roaming groups; and
registering (<NUM>) with the SNPN based at least in part on determining that the transmission identifies the roaming group identifier.