Patent Description:
The <NUM> system architecture specified in 3GPP TS <NUM> v15. <NUM> does not consider URLLC (ultra-reliable low-latency communication) capabilities. Some background information about URLLC use cases and scenarios is provided in <NPL>" and <NPL>". Current industrial automation technologies are considering different wired/wireless communication technologies such as field bus systems, industrial Ethernet systems or wireless communication systems to connect distributed automation functions. 3GPP TR <NUM> summarizes a variety of technologies currently used in the industry and explains the special challenges/requirements for <NUM> systems supporting URLLC services.

Thus, there is a need for improved devices and methods for implementing an application-based quality of service notification scheme, in particular for URLLC services in a <NUM> communication network.

In "<NPL>, networked music performance applications are addressed as ultra-low delay sensitive applications, allowing geographically separate musicians to perform seamlessly as a tele-orchestra. For this application type, the quality-of-service indicator is the mouth-to-ear delay, which should be kept below <NUM>, including signal processing latency and network delay.

A networked music performance system comprises three key roles: transmitters, receivers, and an SDN controller. Transmitters are entities that generate audio, i.e., the devices of musicians participating in the teleorchestra. Receivers are entities that receive audio, i.e., the devices of the audience and of musicians that should receive audio flows from other musicians in order to be synchronized. Each transmitter comprises a network module, which transmits audio signals through the network and monitors network delays. The transmitters determine network delays by sending periodically UDP packets with specific header fields over each path towards the receiver. The receiver acts as an echo server and sends these packets back over the paths that were initially used. The transmitter then evaluates the network delay in terms of round-trip-time, and the results are sent to the SDN controller.

It is an object of the invention to provide improved devices and methods for implementing an application-based quality of service notification scheme, in particular for URLLC services in a <NUM> communication network. Advantageous embodiments of the invention are given by the dependent claims.

More specifically, according to a first aspect the invention relates to a network application entity for providing a communication service, in particular a URLLC service in a communication network, in particular a <NUM> communication network. The network application entity is configured to provide communication service quality information, in particular a communication service quality measure value, to a network management and/or control entity of the communication network. The URLLC service can include, for instance, industrial communication services, time sensitive network (TSN) communication services, automotive (i.e. V2X or eV2X) communication services and the like. The communication service quality information can be provided in form of a notification message. Furthermore, the communication service quality information can be exchanged in form of a request/response messaging and/or subscribe/notify messaging (e.g., similar to the messaging techniques used in service based architecture (SBA) defined in <NUM> system architecture specified by 3GPP TS <NUM> v15.

In a further possible implementation form of the first aspect, the network application entity is further configured to extract timing information, in particular one or more timestamps from an application layer uplink message, received from a user equipment as part of the communication service, to determine the communication service quality information on the basis of the timing information, and to provide the communication service quality information to the network management and/or control entity. The timing information, in particular the timestamp, can indicate, for instance, the generation time of the application layer downlink message and/or an offset value showing the execution time of the application layer downlink message, i.e. the corresponding data packet at the receiving node.

The network application entity can be implemented as an application server, wherein the application server is configured to receive the application layer message from the user equipment. The application server can be located in the core network of the communication network and/or in a cloud network (e.g., <NUM>rd party network) in communication with the communication network.

Alternatively, the network application entity can be an application function implemented in the communication network, wherein the application function is configured to extract the timing information from the application layer message exchanged between the user equipment and an application server providing the communication service.

In a further possible implementation form of the first aspect, the network application entity is configured to extract further timing information from a further application layer message received from the user equipment via a further communication path of the communication network and to determine the communication service quality information on the basis of the timing information and the further timing information.

In a further possible implementation form of the first aspect, the network application entity is configured to receive the communication service quality information from a user equipment of the communication network, wherein timing information has been extracted by the user equipment from an application layer message received from the network application entity as part of the communication service and the communication service quality information has been determined by the user equipment on the basis of the timing information.

In a further possible implementation form of the first aspect, the network application entity is configured to receive timing information from a user equipment of the communication network, wherein the timing information has been extracted by the user equipment from an application layer message received from the network application entity as part of the communication service, and to determine the communication service quality information on the basis of the timing information.

In a further possible implementation form of the first aspect, the communication service quality information comprises a communication service quality measure value, wherein the network application entity is configured to provide the communication service quality information to the network management and/or control entity, in case the communication service quality measure value is larger or equal or smaller than a threshold value, wherein the threshold value can be configured in advance by the network application entity.

In a further possible implementation form of the first aspect, the network application entity is configured to periodically or aperiodically provide the communication service quality information to the network management and/or control entity.

In a further possible implementation form of the first aspect, the communication service quality information comprises an end-to-end delay and/or a jitter of the communication service and/or wherein the network application entity is configured to further provide a quality of service (QoS) class identifier, a session identifier and/or a flow identifier associated with the communications service quality information to the network management and/or control entity.

According to a second aspect the invention relates to a network management and/or control entity for QoS monitoring of a communication service in a communication network. The network management and/or control entity is configured to receive communication service quality information from a user equipment and/or a network application entity of the communication network and to adjust the communication network for improving the QoS of the communication service on the basis of the communication service quality information.

The network management and/or control entity can be a management plane entity and/or a control plane entity, e.g. implemented as a distributed entity or function having some functionality in the core network and some functionality in the management plane of the communication network. For instance, the network management and/or control entity can be implemented as an access and mobility management function (AMF), a policy and control function (PCF), a session management function (SMF) or as another type of function implemented in the core network and/or management plane of the communication network.

In a further possible implementation form of the second aspect, the network management and/or control entity is configured to adjust the communication network by one or more of the following operations: re-selecting a user plane function (UPF) and/or radio access network (RAN) (e.g., distributed unit (DU) change, cell re-selection, handover to another cell, and beam re-selection) for an on-going communication session; selecting a new user plane function (UPF) and/or RAN for a new communication session; re-orchestrating one or more network functions; and/or re-configuration of the semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) configuration in RAN. A re-selection process can also imply a configuration update or change, e.g., to meet QoS requirements.

According to a third aspect the invention relates to a user equipment configured to use a communication service provided by a network application entity in a communication network. The user equipment is configured to provide communication service quality information, in particular a communication service quality measure value, to the network application entity of the communication network and/or to a network management and/or control entity of the communication network. The user equipment can comprise a firmware, wherein the firmware is configured to provide the communication service quality information to the network application entity and/or to the network management and/or control entity. The URLLC service can include, for instance, industrial communication services, time sensitive network (TSN) communication services, automotive (i.e. V2X or eV2X) communication services and the like. The communication service quality information can be provided in form of a notification message. Furthermore, the communication service quality information can be exchanged in form of a request/response messaging and/or subscribe/notify messaging (e.g., similar to the messaging techniques used in service based architecture (SBA) defined in <NUM> system architecture specified by 3GPP TS <NUM> v15.

In a further possible implementation form of the third aspect, the user equipment is configured to extract timing information, in particular one or more timestamps, from an application layer message received from the network application entity of the communication network and to determine the communication service quality information on the basis of the timing information.

In a further possible implementation form of the third aspect, the user equipment is configured to extract further timing information, in particular one or more further timestamps, from a further application layer message received from the network application entity via a further communication path of the communication network and to determine the communication service quality information on the basis of the timing information and the further timing information.

In a further possible implementation form of the third aspect, the user equipment is configured to provide the communication service quality information to the network application entity for forwarding the communication service quality information to the network management and/or control entity of the communication network.

In a further possible implementation form of the third aspect, the communication service quality information comprises a communication service quality measure value, wherein the user equipment is configured to provide the communication service quality information to the network application entity and/or to the network management and/or control entity, in case the communication service quality measure value is larger, or equal or smaller than a threshold value, wherein the threshold value can be configured in advance by the network application entity.

Alternatively or additionally, the user equipment can be configured to periodically or aperiodically provide the communication service quality information to the network application entity of the communication network and/or to the network management and/or control entity of the communication network. The periodically or aperiodically reported communication service quality information can contain an average measured delay/jitter, a maximum delay/jitter and/or a delay/jitter measurement time series.

The communication service quality information can comprise an end-to-end delay and/or a jitter of the communication service and/or wherein the user equipment is configured to further provide a QoS class identifier, a session identifier and/or a flow identifier associated with the communications service quality information to the network application entity and/or to the network management and/or control entity.

Thus, embodiments of the invention are based on the idea of using timing information, in particular one or more timestamps, at the application layer in the receiving node while measuring communication service quality measure values, such as end-to-end delay and/or jitter values for each received packet. Once the measurement is performed at the receiving node, the receiving node can generate a notification message and transmit the notification message to the transmitting node. According to embodiments of the invention this notification message (received by the transmitting node) can be used by the network for one or more of the following purposes.

According to embodiments of the invention the notification message allows to better understand long term transmission characteristics/statistics of each transmission path between one or more user plane functions (UPFs) and a radio access network (RAN) of the communication network and, based on this information, to perform UPF and/or RAN re-selection for on-going protocol data units (PDU) sessions or UPF and/or RAN selection for new PDU sessions. A re-selection process can also imply a configuration update or change, e.g., to meet QoS requirements.

According to embodiments of the invention the notification message allows making predictions about the transmission quality of each transmission path between UPF and RAN. Based on such prediction, UPF and/or RAN re-selection can be performed. A re-selection process can also imply a configuration update or change, e.g., to meet QoS requirements.

According to embodiments of the invention the notification message allows understanding short term transmission characteristics/statistics of each transmission path between UPF and RAN. In this case, if consecutive packets experience delay/jitter problems, a faster reaction from the core network (CN) side or radio access network (RAN) side can be expected.

Thus, embodiments of the invention provide an advantageous application layer delay/jitter notification mechanism for URLLC services in a <NUM> communication network. By using this advantageous notification mechanism, <NUM> System, 5GS (including <NUM> Core (5GC), <NUM>-RAN) can provide better end-to-end QoS control of URLLC service flows. Furthermore, no extra timestamp overhead at the lower layers is required, because the currently available timestamp information at the application layer is used. The mechanism provided by embodiments of the invention can be either used complementary to other QoS monitoring mechanisms (e.g. to increase the monitoring accuracy, to adjust the monitoring results of other monitoring solutions considering cross layer aspects, to be used in case the other monitoring mechanism is not available) or be used independently on per application basis.

Embodiments of the invention allow to extend the signaling procedures in a <NUM> communication network so as to improve the network monitoring capabilities, in particular for URLLC type services. It is foreseeable that <NUM> communication networks will accommodate various 3rd party applications and verticals use cases. Embodiments of the invention provide the enhanced procedures for QoS related information exchange between 3rd party applications/verticals, which facilitate the QoS assurance of the application/verticals.

In the following identical reference signs refer to identical or at least functionally equivalent features.

In the following description, reference is made to the accompanying figures, which form part of the disclosure, and which show, by way of illustration, specific aspects of embodiments of the invention or specific aspects in which embodiments of the present invention may be used. It is understood that embodiments of the invention may be used in other aspects and comprise structural or logical changes not depicted in the figures.

<FIG> is a diagram illustrating a notification message flow implemented in a communication network <NUM>, in particular <NUM> communication network <NUM>. As will be described in more detail below, the communication network <NUM> comprises or is configured to serve one or more user equipments <NUM>. The user equipment <NUM> is configured to use a communication service, in particular a URLLC service, provided by the communication network <NUM>. In an example, the URLLC service can include, for instance, industrial communication services, time sensitive network (TSN) communication services, automotive (i.e. V2X or eV2X) communication services and the like. As illustrated in <FIG>, by using the radio resource control (RRC) layer and/or the non-access stratum (NAS) layer, the user equipment <NUM> is configured to communicate with the communication network <NUM> via a radio access network, RAN, <NUM> of the communication network <NUM>.

As illustrated in <FIG>, an application 101a can be executed on the user equipment <NUM>, which implements this communication service on the user equipment <NUM>. At the application layer the user equipment <NUM> (more specifically, the application 101a) is configured to communicate with a network application entity configured to provide the communication service to the user equipment <NUM>. In the embodiment shown in <FIG>, the network application entity is implemented as an application server <NUM>, which executes an application 107a for providing the communication service to the user equipment <NUM>. The application server <NUM> can be located in a core network <NUM> of the communication network <NUM> and/or in a cloud network in communication with the communication network <NUM>. As will be described in more detail further below, in further embodiments of the invention the network application entity providing the communication service to the user equipment <NUM> may be implemented by an application function 105a of a core network <NUM> of the communication network <NUM>.

As will be described in more detail below, the network application entity, in particular application server <NUM> is configured to provide communication service quality information, in particular a communication service quality measure value, to a network management and/or control entity of the communication network <NUM> for QoS monitoring of the communication service in the communication network <NUM>. The network management and/or control entity is configured to receive the communication service quality information from the network application entity, in particular the application server <NUM> and/or from the user equipment <NUM> and to adjust the communication network <NUM> for improving the QoS of the communication service on the basis of the communication service quality information. Thus, the user equipment <NUM> is configured to provide the communication service quality information to the network application entity, in particular the application server <NUM> of the communication network <NUM> and/or to a network management and/or control entity of the communication network <NUM>.

The network management and/or control entity can be a management plane entity and/or a control plane entity, e.g. implemented as a distributed entity or function having some functionality in the core network <NUM> and some functionality in the management plane of the communication network <NUM>. For instance, as illustrated in <FIG>, the network management and/or control entity can be in an access and mobility management function (AMF) 105b, a policy and control function (PCF) 105b, a session management function (SMF) 105b or as another type of function implemented in the core network <NUM> of the communication network. Alternatively or additionally, as illustrated in <FIG>, the network management and/or control entity can be in a network function 109a in the management plane <NUM> of the communication network <NUM>, such as a network slice subnet management function (NSSMF), a network slice management function (NSMF), management and orchestration (MANO), exposure governance management function (EGMF), performance management (PM); fault management (FM), configuration management (CM) and the like.

The communication service quality information can be provided in form of a notification message, as illustrated in <FIG>. In an embodiment, the communication service quality information can comprise, for instance, an end-to-end delay and/or a jitter of the communication service.

According to an option of the claimed invention, the network application entity, in particular application server <NUM> is further configured to extract timing information, in particular one or more timestamps, from an application layer uplink message received from the user equipment <NUM> as part of the communication service and to determine the communication service quality information on the basis of the timing information. The timing information, in particular the timestamp can indicate, for instance, the generation time of the application layer downlink message and/or an offset value showing the execution time of the application layer downlink message, i.e. the corresponding data packet at the receiving node.

According to the claimed invention, the user equipment <NUM> is configured to extract this timing information, in particular the one or more timestamps, from an application layer message received from the network application entity, in particular the application server <NUM> as part of the communication service and to determine the communication service quality information on the basis of the timing information. Furthermore, the user equipment <NUM> is configured to extract this timing information, in particular the one or more timestamps, from an application layer message received from the network application entity, in particular the application server <NUM>, and transmit back the extracted timing information to the network application entity, in particular the application server <NUM>, as part of the communication service, wherein the timing information can be used to determine the communication service quality information by the application server <NUM>.

Thus, embodiments of the invention can relate to notification message (e.g., including the form of a request/response messaging and/or subscribe/notify messaging) inside core network CN <NUM>, and/or management plane <NUM>, and/or RAN <NUM> including, e.g., interactions with application layer as a first option, and/or RRC layer, and/or NAS layer as a second option. Embodiments of the invention can be based on the assumption that only application layers at the UE and at the application server are synchronized. Thus, embodiments of the invention may not require any additional synchronization between the UE <NUM> and RAN <NUM> or the UE <NUM> and CN <NUM> or RAN <NUM> and CN <NUM>. According to embodiments of the invention application layer information may include timing information in the form of a timestamp showing the generation time of a corresponding packet and/or an offset value showing the execution time of the packet at the receiving node, or a timestamp showing the execution time of the packet at the receiving node. As will be appreciated, on the basis of one or more of such timestamps communication service quality measure values, such as packet jitter or end-to-end delay, can be determined. If such application layer information is used in the <NUM> network <NUM>, then there may not be a need for user plane QoS monitoring mechanism at the network layer. As will be described in more detail below, embodiments of the invention can also relate to communication between the network application entity, in particular the application server <NUM>, and the core network <NUM> of the communication network <NUM> and/or between the network application entity, in particular the application server <NUM>, and the management plane <NUM> of the communication network <NUM>. Such communication can be performed via currently being specified interfaces for the <NUM> system or possibly new interfaces that may be specified later.

As already described, <FIG> shows the notification message flow for the first option mentioned above, i.e., core network CN <NUM> and RAN <NUM> notification via application layer interaction, for the downlink traffic case. In this case, the UE application 101a performs end-to-end delay and jitter measurement when it receives the packet. If the packet passes the end-to-end delay and jitter evaluation (i.e., the packet is received within the required delay and jitter threshold), it can be delivered for further processing. Meanwhile, the UE application 101a generates a notification message which informs the application server (AS) <NUM> about the measurement results, i.e. the communication service quality information. If the measurement result exceeds a certain threshold, this may even create a violation report with a cause. This cause could be a delay or jitter violation. Once the AS <NUM> receives the notification message, it passes this information to the <NUM> core network (5GC) <NUM> and radio access network (RAN) <NUM> over the interface provided in embodiments of the invention.

The threshold values (e.g., end-to-end delay per packet, jitter per packet, average end-to-end delay, average jitter, etc.) can be delivered to the UE(s) <NUM> beforehand by the application server <NUM> for each service type. The notification message can also be sent without considering any kind of threshold value and the UE <NUM> reports depending on the configuration by the application server <NUM>. For example, the application server <NUM> may ask the UE <NUM> to start reporting at a certain time and for certain duration.

<FIG> shows a further embodiment, where the application server <NUM> receives the notification message including the communication service quality information from the user equipment <NUM> and forwards this information to the network management and/or control entity implemented in form of a network function 109a in the management plane <NUM> of the communication network <NUM>.

<FIG> shows possible notification signaling for the embodiment shown in <FIG> for the downlink traffic case (a similar notification signaling can be implemented for the embodiment shown in <FIG>). The notification message can include not only delay and jitter measurement(s), i.e. the communication service quality information, but also a QoS indication information (e.g., QoS indication can be QCI as in LTE, which may be used also in case of LTE-<NUM> tight interworking, and/or 5QI as described in <NUM> system), Session ID and/or Flow ID information. When the AS <NUM> sends the notification message to 5GC <NUM> via the interface provided in embodiments of the invention (e.g., user plane interface or control plane interface or management plane interface), 5GC <NUM> may perform different operations such as User Plane Function (UPF) and/or RAN re-selection (e.g., distributed unit (DU) change, cell re-selection, handover to another cell, and beam re-selection). Furthermore, 5GC <NUM> may communicate this information to currently used UPF function(s) <NUM> and the UPF(s) <NUM> may check their internal schedules for this specific session/flow and may also change the internally assigned QoS indication information (e.g., QoS indication can be QCI as in LTE, which may be used also in case of LTE-<NUM> tight interworking, and/or 5QI as described in <NUM> system) for the flow. Furthermore, RAN <NUM> and 5GC <NUM> can additionally generate a response message and report back to the AS <NUM> about what kind of actions are to be taken for the session/flow. The final response message can also be sent to the UE <NUM> by the application server (AS) <NUM> or the application function (AF) 105a.

<FIG> shows the uplink traffic scenario, which is not according to the claims, and in which the AS <NUM> performs end-to-end delay and jitter measurement when it receives the uplink packet, i.e., the application layer message in the uplink direction. If the packet passes the end-to-end delay and jitter evaluation (i.e., the packet is received within the required delay and jitter threshold), it is delivered for further processing. Meanwhile, the AS <NUM> generates a notification message which informs the 5GC <NUM> and RAN <NUM> about the measurement result, i.e. the communication service quality information, over the interface. Similarly, if the measurement result exceeds a certain threshold, this may even create a violation report with a cause which could be a delay or jitter violation. Furthermore, a notification message can also be sent to the UE <NUM> by the AS <NUM> or the AF 105a as a feedback information of its uplink transmission.

Thus, according to an embodiment, the AS <NUM> or the AF 105a is configured to transmit a notification message including the communication service quality information to the network management and/or control entity 105b, 109a implemented in the core network <NUM> and/or management plane <NUM> of the communication network <NUM>. Moreover, according to an embodiment, the AS <NUM> or the AF 105a is configured to extract timing information, in particular one or more timestamps, from an application layer uplink message received from the user equipment <NUM> as part of the communication service and to determine the communication service quality information on the basis of the timing information.

According to a further embodiment, the AS <NUM> or the AF 105a is configured to receive the timing information, e.g. the one or more timestamps from the UE <NUM> and to determine the communication service quality information on the basis of the timing information. In this case the timing information has been extracted by the UE <NUM> from an application layer message received from the AS <NUM> or the AF 105a as part of the communication service. In a further embodiment, the AS <NUM> or the AF 105a is configured to receive the communication service quality information directly from the UE <NUM>. In this case, the UE <NUM> has extracted the timing information, e.g. the one or more timestamps from an application layer message received from the AS <NUM> or the AF 105a as part of the communication service and determines the communication service quality information on the basis of the extracted timing information.

An embodiment similar to the embodiment shown in <FIG> is illustrated in <FIG>, where the network management and/or control entity 109a is implemented as a network function 109a in the management plane <NUM> of the communication network <NUM>, wherein the embodiments of <FIG> and <FIG> are not according to the claims.

<FIG> shows possible notification signaling for the embodiment shown in <FIG> for uplink traffic (a similar notification signaling can be implemented for the embodiment shown in <FIG>), wherein <FIG> is not according to the claims. The notification message can include not only delay and jitter measurement(s), i.e. the communication service quality information, but also a QoS indication information (e.g., QoS indication can be QCI as in LTE, which may be used also in case of LTE-<NUM> tight interworking, and/or 5QI as described in <NUM> system), Session ID and/or Flow ID information. When the AS <NUM> sends the notification message to 5GC <NUM> via the interface provided in embodiments of the invention (e.g., user plane interface or control plane interface or management plane interface), 5GC <NUM> may perform different operations such as User Plane Function (UPF) and/or RAN re-selection (e.g., distributed unit (DU) change, cell re-selection, handover to another cell, and beam re-selection). Furthermore, 5GC <NUM> may communicate this information to the currently used UPF function(s) <NUM> and the UPF(s) <NUM> may check their internal schedules for this specific session/flow and may also change the internally assigned QoS indication information for the flow. Furthermore, RAN <NUM> and 5GC <NUM> can additionally generate a response message and report back to the AS <NUM> about what kind of actions are to be taken for the session/flow. The final response message can also be sent to the UE <NUM> by the application server (AS) <NUM> or the application function (AF) 105a.

<FIG> shows the notification message flow for the embodiment shown in <FIG> for downlink traffic (a similar notification signaling can be implemented for the embodiment shown in <FIG>). In this case, the UE application 101a can perform end-to-end delay and jitter measurement(s) when it receives the packet (either directly received from AS <NUM> or via the application function (AF) 105a located in 5GC <NUM>). Similar to the previously described embodiments, the UE application 101a can perform end-to-end delay and jitter measurement(s), when it receives the packet. If the packet passes the end-to-end delay and jitter evaluation (i.e., the packet is received within the required delay and jitter threshold), it is delivered for further processing. Meanwhile, the UE application 101a generates a notification message which informs the application server (AS) 107a via the application function (AF) 105a about the measurement result, i.e. the communication service quality information, which may include a violation report with a cause. This cause could be a delay or jitter violation. Once the AF 105a receives the notification message, it directly passes this information to other <NUM> core network (5GC) <NUM> entities 105b and the radio access network (RAN) <NUM> over the interface provided in embodiments of the invention.

<FIG> shows the corresponding uplink traffic scenario, which is not according to the claims, and where the AF 105a performs the end-to-end delay and jitter measurement when it receives the uplink packet and relays the traffic to the AS <NUM>. For further details reference is made to the description of <FIG> above.

<FIG> shows the notification message flow according to further embodiments of the invention. In this case, a firmware 101b can be implemented in the UE <NUM> which provides the notification messages to the AF 105a. Once the AF 105a receives the notification message from the UE firmware 101b, it directly passes this information to other <NUM> core network (5GC) <NUM> entities 105b and the radio access network (RAN) <NUM> over the interface as provided by embodiments of the invention.

<FIG> shows the notification message flow for the second option mentioned above, i.e., CN <NUM> and RAN <NUM> notification including, e.g., RRC layer and/or NAS layer interaction. In this case, when the UE application 101a generates the notification message, the message is transmitted to RRC and/or NAS layers in the UE <NUM> (i.e., the UE modem, as illustrated by the protocol stack shown in <FIG>), the UE modem passes the message to the RAN <NUM> (e.g., via RRC layer) or to the CN <NUM> (e.g., via Non-Access Stratum (NAS) layer). The RAN <NUM> may also pass the notification message to the CN <NUM> over a standardized interface. Such a mechanism can be also used for uplink traffic in a way that the network <NUM> (i.e. RAN <NUM> or 5GC <NUM>) can generate notification messages and deliver them to the UE <NUM> via RRC and NAS signaling.

<FIG> shows a possible notification message signaling for the embodiment shown in <FIG> considering interactions of UE with RAN and CN to provide notification information. In this case, the UE <NUM> can communicate with the RAN <NUM>, e.g., over RRC messages, and the CN <NUM>, e.g., over NAS messages, separately while providing notification information.

<FIG> illustrates another possible notification message signaling for the embodiment shown in <FIG>, wherein, when the RAN <NUM> receives the notification message from the UE <NUM>, it performs a local check of the session (e.g., SPS schedule checking) and also relays the notification message directly to the CN <NUM>.

Further embodiments of the invention make use of multipath transmission scenarios in the communication network <NUM>. In these multipath transmission scenarios URLLC data can be transmitted over two different communication paths (this could be also two different mobile network operator (PLMN)). Thus, according to an embodiment relating to such a multipath transmission scenario, the UE <NUM> can send different notification messages for each transmission path to the AS <NUM> or AF 105a or RAN <NUM>. In case, both paths belong to the same session (i.e., multi-home session), then an extra identifier can be provided in addition to the session ID (e.g. path ID, UPF ID, PLMN ID).

Thus, in an embodiment, the user equipment <NUM> is configured to transmit at least two notification messages including the communication service quality measure information to the network application entity <NUM>, 105a of the communication network <NUM> via different communication paths.

According to a further embodiment, the user equipment <NUM> is configured to extract further timing information, in particular a further timestamp, from a further application layer downlink message received from the network application entity <NUM>, 105a via a further communication path and to determine the communication service quality information on the basis of the timing information and the further timing information.

Likewise, according to a further embodiment, the network application entity <NUM>, 105a is configured to extract further timing information, in particular a further timestamp, from a further application layer uplink message received from the user equipment <NUM> via a further communication path and to determine the communication service quality information on the basis of the timing information and the further timing information.

According to embodiments of the invention, the application server <NUM> or application function 105a may configure the UE <NUM> about a certain notification type as illustrated in <FIG>. This notification type configuration may consider an event/threshold based reporting (e.g., delay/jitter above a certain threshold) and/or a periodic or aperiodic reporting. According to embodiments the reporting may comprise: an average measured delay/jitter within a certain time period (e.g., <NUM> sec); a maximum measured delay/jitter within a certain time period (e.g., <NUM> sec); and/or a delay/jitter measurement time series per time period (e.g., <NUM> sec).

According to further embodiments of the invention, as already described above, a management and orchestration layer (M&O) can be considered. The Core Network (CN) <NUM> controls the short-term actions, such as UE-associated session management, while the M&O handles long-term actions. Accordingly, the notification message content can also be utilized to collect long-term statistics. That is, the notification message content can be used, e.g., for short-term actions by the network layer (i.e., CN, transport network (TN), or RAN) or can be used for long-term actions by the M&O layer <NUM>. For example, if the delay requirements cannot be met for a time period, the M&O layer <NUM> may initiate a re-orchestration of the network functions (NFs) 109a. The re-orchestration may imply, e.g., instantiating a user plane function (UPF) closer to the RAN <NUM> such as at the edge cloud or radio cloud, instead of at the central cloud. An M&O layer decision can be providing different requirements to the transport network (TN), e.g., in terms of delay budget. Another M&O decision could be slice re-configuration such that different delay budgets are distributed to the domains of the network layer (such as CN, TN, RAN). The access network (AN) can comprise 3GPP-based RAN or non-3GPP based AN, such as Wi-Fi network or private LAN.

As already described above in the context of <FIG>, the M&O layer <NUM> can contain 3GPP-defined functions, e.g., communication service management function (CSMF), network slice management function (NSMF), network slice subnet management function (NSSMF), management data analytics function (MDAF), as well as the ETSI Network Function Virtualization (NFV) defined functions needed for network function (NF) orchestration. Open-source functions can also be part of the M&O layer, such as open network automation platform (ONAP). The notification message content can thus be utilized by the data analytics functions (e.g., Network Data Analytics Function (NWDAF) in the CN and MDAF in the M&O) from which the analytics could be used by control functions in the network layer (e.g., SMF) and management functions in the M&O layer <NUM> (e.g., performance management, PM). Also, the analytics can be shared among such functions. For example, the notification message content can be utilized to generate analytics by the NWDAF which may be shared with the MDAF in the M&O layer <NUM>. Accordingly, the decision on the control or management can be taken jointy by CN <NUM> and M&O <NUM>. The analytics generated by such analytics functions can also be used in the new slice set-up. The analytics may be generated by, e.g., machine learning (ML) or artificial intelligence (AI) designs.

The notification message content may be also directly shared with the M&O <NUM> via, e.g., Application APIs through network exposure function or monitoring in the application (e.g., tenant, customer, or enterprise) or in the life-cycle management (LCM) function in the application. The level of actions considering the analytics or notification message content can be also mid-term, such as re-configuration of the semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) configuration.

While a particular feature or aspect of the disclosure may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, such feature or aspect may be combined with one or more other features or aspects of the other implementations as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms "include", "have", "with", or other variants thereof are used in either the detailed description or the claims, such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term "comprise". Also, the terms "exemplary", "for example" and "e.g." are merely meant as an example, rather than the best or optimal. The terms "coupled" and "connected", along with derivatives may have been used. It should be understood that these terms may have been used to indicate that two elements cooperate or interact with each other regardless whether they are in direct physical or electrical contact, or they are not in direct contact with each other.

Claim 1:
A method for providing a communication service in a communication network (<NUM>), comprising:
sending, by a network application entity (<NUM>, 105a), an application layer downlink message to a user equipment (<NUM>); and
providing, by the network application entity (<NUM>, 105a), communication service quality information, in particular a communication service quality measure value, to a network management and/or control entity (105b; 109a) of the communication network (<NUM>); wherein the communication service quality information is determined based on timing information; and
wherein the method further comprises:
receiving, by the network application entity (<NUM>; 105a), the communication service quality information from the user equipment (<NUM>) of the communication network (<NUM>), wherein the communication service quality information comprises an end-to-end delay and/or a jitter evaluated by the user equipment based on the application layer downlink message; or
receiving, by the network application entity (<NUM>; 105a), the timing information from the user equipment (<NUM>) of the communication network (<NUM>), wherein the timing information is a timestamp showing an execution time of the application layer downlink message at the user equipment or an offset value showing the execution time of the application layer downlink message at the user equipment, and determining, by the network application entity (<NUM>; 105a), the communication service quality information on the basis of the timing information.