Patent Description:
This section is intended to provide a background to the various embodiments of the invention that are described in this disclosure. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, what is described in this section should not be interpreted to be prior art by its mere inclusion in this section.

To receive service from a network, a User Equipment (UE) has to perform an attach procedure to the network, i.e. register itself to the network. To register itself to the network, the UE has to be associated with an Identity (ID), such that the network may differentiate between different UEs.

An International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) is a number that uniquely identifies every UE of a cellular network. However, due to security reasons the IMSI should not be transmitted in the network if it can be avoided. Therefore, several temporary identities for the UEs are used.

A Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (TMSI) is one temporary ID. It is, in a very simplified view, used to identify the UE with the Mobile Management Entity (MME). A Globally Unique Temporary Identifier (GUTI) consist of the TMSI and an ID called GUMMEI, which is an abbreviation for Globally Unique Mobility Management Entity Identifier. The GUMMEI uniquely identifies the MME that has allocated the GUTI. The UE uses the GUTI to identify to which MME a re-establish request should be sent. If the UE has moved from a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) cell to a Long Term Evolution (LTE) cell, the UE does not have its GUTI and a Tracking Area Update procedure is performed. A Packet TMSI (P-TMSI) is sent. In accordance with this, the MME, which is in control of the area to which the UE moved, can contact a Serving GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) Support Node (SGSN), which is in control of the area where the UE previously was, to request the current profile, e.g. IP address and default bearers. The situation is similar when a UE has moved from an LTE to a UMTS cell. The GUTI is sent as the P-TMSI parameter and the procedure is referred as Routing Area Update (RAU).

Other examples of identifiers are Radio Network Temporary Identifiers (RNTIs). Example of such IDs are Cell-RNTI (C-RNTI), Temporary C-RNTI (TC-RNTI) and Random Access RNTI (RA-RNTI). The RNTIs are temporary identifiers for the UE when it communicates with the Radio Access Network (RAN), i.e. the Base Station (BS).

As previously described, the UE has to perform an attach procedure to the network to receive services from the network. However, before that, the UE has to make a first random access; such process is illustrated in <FIG>. The Random Access CHannel (RACH) is designed to achieve uplink time synchronization for a UE that has not yet acquired or has lost its uplink synchronization.

When a UE attempts to establish a radio link, it selects a RACH preamble randomly and requests a random access to the BS, e.g. an eNB or a gNB. Thus, the first message (Msg1) transmitted by the UE to the BS is a RACH preamble, illustrated as step <NUM> in <FIG>. Another UE may have selected the same RACH preamble and therefore there is a risk of collision, i.e. contention-based RACH. In case of collision, the UE that loses the contention will have to re-initiate the random access with reselected preambles. The RACH access gives an identity of the UE to the network so that the network can address the UE in a next step. The identity, which the UE will use, is the RA-RNTI. The RA-RNTI is determined from the time slot number in which the preamble is sent. If the UE does not receive any response from the network within a given time window, it will ramp up its power and send another RACH preamble.

The BS responds with a Random Access Response (RAR) to the UE on a DownLink Shared CHannel (DL-SCH) addressed to the RA-RNTI, illustrated as step <NUM>, Msg2, in <FIG>. The response is calculated from the timeslot in which the preamble was sent. The response message carries a TC-RNTI, a timing advance value and an uplink grant resource for the next Radio Resource Control (RRC) signalling message. The BS informs the UE to adjust its timing by the timing advance value to compensate for the propagation delay caused by UE distance from the BS. The network, i.e. the BS, assigns initial resources and uplink grant resources to the UE so that the UE can use an UpLink Shared CHannel (UL-SCH) to transmit an RRC connection request message in a next step.

In step <NUM>, the UE sends the RRC connection request message (Msg3) to the BS using the UL-SCH. The UE is identified by the TC-RNTI, which was received in the RAR message in step <NUM>. The message further contains a UE identity, i.e. a TMSI or a random value, and a connection establishment cause value, which indicates the purpose of the UE to request the setup of the RRC connection.

A TMSI is used if the UE previously has connected to the same network. With the TMSI value, the UE is identified in the core network. A random value is used if the UE is connecting to the network for the first time. The random value, or the TMSI, helps to distinguish between UEs when the same TC-RNTI has been assigned to more than one UE, i.e. when a collision has occurred.

Thereafter, if the RRC Connection request was successfully received, the BS responds with a contention resolution message to the identified UE, step <NUM> (Msg4) in <FIG>. A corresponding Physical Downlink Control CHannel (PDCCH) transmission is addressed to the TC-RNTI, which has been assigned to UE in the RACH response. The UE identity, i.e. the TMSI or the random value, is also included in the message's Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE), indicating the success of contention resolution. The TC-RNTI is promoted to C-RNTI, which will be used by the UE for further communication.

After the random access procedure has been performed, a registration procedure, called an attach procedure in LTE, is started. A simplified signalling diagram for this procedure is illustrated in <FIG>. The registration procedure is performed in order for the UE to receive services from the network, i.e. to set-up a UE context and configure the bearers such that the UE can connect to the internet, or to make a phone or video call. The registration procedure is typically only performed when the UE is turned on.

The MME in LTE Core Network (called Evolved Packet Core (EPC)), or the corresponding function in the New Radio (NR) Core Network (5GC) (called the Access and Mobility management Function (AMF)), creates a UE context when a UE is turned on and registers to the network, i.e. the wireless communications system. It assigns a unique short temporary identity, a SAE-Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (S-TMSI), to the UE. The identity identifies the UE context in the AMF, or in the MME. The UE context holds user subscription information downloaded from the Home Subscriber Server (HSS).

When a UE makes a registration to the network a mutual authentication of the UE and the network is performed between the UE and the AMF/HSS, or MME/HSS in LTE. This authentication function also establishes the security keys that are used for encryption of the bearers.

The registration procedure in NR is very similar to the attach procedure in LTE, except that the attach procedure and bearer setups are separated. This split is done because the "registration" to the network is done by the AMF and a Session Management Function (SMF) does the session management, such as bearer setup.

Document <CIT> discloses group mobility concepts, in particular the function of a UE managing a group of UEs.

These and other aspects, features and advantages will be apparent and elucidated from the following description of various embodiments, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:.

The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those persons skilled in the relevant art. Like reference numbers refer to like elements throughout the description.

In one of its aspects, the disclosure presented herein concerns a method in a coordinator User Equipment (UE) for registering a group of UEs to a wireless communications system. The coordinator UE represents the group of UEs.

With reference to the <FIG> and <FIG>, a first embodiment will now be described. <FIG> illustrates a message sequence chart of a process for registering a group of UEs to a wireless communications system, or a network. <FIG> illustrates a method <NUM> in a coordinator UE <NUM> for registering a group of UEs to a wireless communications system. The coordinator UE <NUM> represents the group of UEs.

The method <NUM> comprises step <NUM> of transmitting, to a Radio Access Network (RAN) node <NUM>, a message comprising a group ID to initiate an authentication and security procedure to register the group of UEs to the wireless communications system. The group ID identifies the group of UEs.

Accordingly, the method <NUM> according to the present disclosure enables a coordinator UE <NUM>, i.e. the group coordinator, to perform an attach, or registration, procedure for the group of UEs. The coordinator UE <NUM> informs the RAN node <NUM> about the ID of the group of UEs that wants to register to the Core Network (CN) such that the group of UEs can receive services from the wireless communications system, i.e. configure bearers. The coordinator UE <NUM> itself is already registered to the network. Upon triggering of the group creation, the coordinator UE <NUM> can initiate a registration procedure for the group only. Thus, the proposed method <NUM> enables a context to be set up for the group of UEs and provides a solution for registering a group of UEs to a network, such that <NUM>-hop group cooperative transmissions can be supported.

In some embodiments, the method <NUM> may further comprise step <NUM> of transmitting, to the RAN node <NUM>, a connection request message comprising an indicator identifying a group registration request. The method <NUM> may further comprise step <NUM> of receiving, from the RAN node <NUM>, if the coordinator UE <NUM> is allowed to register a group, a response message comprising a group ID. Accordingly, if no Proximity-based Services (ProSe) group is predefined, no group ID is predefined. In these embodiments, the coordinator UE <NUM> may add a flag in a message to the RAN node <NUM> for indicating a group registration request. The message may be, for example, the Msg3, previously described. The wireless communications system may check if this coordinator UE <NUM> is allowed to register a group, and if so, the wireless communications system may assign a corresponding group ID to the coordinator UE <NUM>. Furthermore, group security keys, which may be used for encryption of the group bearers, may be assigned. According to some embodiments, the method <NUM> may thereafter further comprise step <NUM> of assigning at least one UE to the group by associating the at least one UE with the group ID. Thus, the coordinator UE <NUM> may create a group based on the received group ID.

In some embodiments, the method <NUM> may further comprise step <NUM> of transmitting, to the RAN node <NUM>, a connection request message comprising the group ID to indicate that radio access is triggered for the group of UEs. The connection request message may be, for example, a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection request message (Msg3). If the connection request was successfully received, the method <NUM> may further comprise step <NUM> of receiving, from the RAN node <NUM>, a response message comprising a temporary group identity. The response message may be, for example, an RRC connection set up message (Msg4). The temporary group identity is a temporary identity to be used by the group when communicating with the RAN node <NUM>. In some embodiments, the method <NUM> may further comprise the step <NUM> of broadcasting the received temporary group identity to the UEs assigned to the group. The temporary group identity may be, for example, a Cell-Radio Network Temporary Identity (C-RNTI).

In some embodiments, if the coordinator UE <NUM> is not registered to the wireless communications system, the transmitted connection request message may further comprise a UE identity identifying the coordinator UE <NUM>. Thus, the connection request message transmitted by the coordinator UE <NUM> may comprise both the indicator identifying a group registration request, and the UE identity identifying the coordinator UE <NUM>. Thus, the coordinator UE <NUM> may be registered to the network at the same time as the group of UEs are registered.

In some embodiments, if the authentication and security procedure is successfully performed, a context for the group of UEs in the Core Network (CN) may be set up. A CN node, for example an Access and Mobility management Function (AMF), may set up this context. The context may include CN bearers, Tunnel Endpoint IDentifiers TEIDs), which cell the group is using etc. As known in the art, the TEIDs are used for the CN communication, i.e. to identify the group of UEs when the data is transmitted between the RAN node <NUM> and a User Plane Function (UPF), and a UPF and a packet gateway. Downlink group TEIDs may be used to send downlink data and uplink TEIDs may be used to send uplink data. Accordingly, group connections may be established associated with the group TEIDs.

According to a second aspect, there is provided a method <NUM> in a RAN node <NUM> for registering a group of UEs to a wireless communications system.

With reference to the <FIG> and <FIG>, a first embodiment will now be described. As stated above, <FIG> illustrates a message sequence chart of a process for registering a group of UEs to a wireless communications system. <FIG> illustrates a method <NUM> in a RAN node <NUM> for registering a group of UEs to a wireless communications system. A group coordinator UE <NUM> represents the group of UEs.

The method comprises step <NUM> of receiving, from the coordinator UE <NUM>, a message comprising a group ID to initiate an authentication and security procedure to register the group of UEs to the wireless communications system, i.e. the network. The group ID identifies the group of UEs.

Thus, the proposed method <NUM> provides a solution for performing an attach, or registration, procedure for a group of UEs to the wireless communications system. The RAN node <NUM> is informed about the group ID of the group of UEs that wants to register to the Core Network (CN) such that the group of UEs can receive services from the network, i.e. configure bearers. This information may thus be received in e.g. Msg5. This step is performed when the coordinator UE <NUM> already is registered to the network. Thus, the proposed method <NUM> enables a context to be set up for the group of UEs and provides a solution for registering a group of UEs to a network, such that <NUM>-hop group cooperative transmissions can be supported.

In some embodiments, the method <NUM> may further comprise the step <NUM> of transmitting, to a CN node <NUM>, the received message comprising the group ID to initiate the authentication and security procedure to register the group of UEs to the wireless communications system. The authentication and security procedure may be initiated to set up a context for the group of UEs and to establish security keys, which may be used for encryption of the group bearers.

In some embodiments, the method may further comprise, if the authentication and security procedure is successfully performed, the step of setting up a context for the group of UEs in the CN. The method may, for example, comprise step <NUM> of receiving, from the CN node <NUM>, a registration accept message comprising at least one uplink group TEID to be used for sending uplink data. The method <NUM> may further comprise step <NUM> of transmitting, to the CN node <NUM>, a response comprising at least one downlink group TEID to be used for sending uplink data.

In some embodiments, the method may further comprise step <NUM> of receiving, from the coordinator UE <NUM>, a connection request message comprising an indicator identifying a group registration request. The method <NUM> may further comprise step <NUM> of determining if the coordinator UE <NUM> is allowed to register a group and, if the coordinator UE <NUM> is allowed to register a group, the method <NUM> may further comprise step <NUM> of transmitting, to the coordinator UE <NUM>, a response message comprising the group ID.

In some embodiments, the method <NUM> may further comprise step <NUM> of receiving, from the coordinator UE <NUM>, a connection request message comprising the group ID to indicate that radio access is triggered for the group. The method may further comprise step <NUM> of transmitting, to the coordinator UE <NUM>, if the connection request was successfully received, a response message comprising a temporary group identity. The temporary group identity is a temporary identity to be used by the group when communicating with the RAN node <NUM>. The temporary identity may be, for example, a C-RNTI.

In some embodiments, if the coordinator UE <NUM> is not registered to the wireless communications system, the received connection request message may further comprise a UE identity identifying the coordinator UE <NUM>.

An example embodiment of the proposed methods <NUM>,<NUM> is now going to be described with reference to <FIG>. As seen in <FIG>, the wireless communications system comprises a coordinator UE <NUM>, a RAN node <NUM>, a CN node <NUM> and a UPF <NUM>. The RAN node <NUM> according to the present example embodiment is a gNB and the CN node <NUM> is an AMF. In the present example embodiment, the coordinator UE <NUM> has already established a group of UEs, but has not yet registered itself nor the group to the CN. Thus, the group of UEs already has a group ID.

The process for registering a group of UEs to a wireless communications system, according to the present example, starts with that a Random Access CHannel (RACH) procedure is initiated. The coordinator UE transmits a RACH preamble to the RAN node <NUM> in step <NUM> (Msg1) and receives a Random Access Response (RAR) in step <NUM> (Msg2). Thereafter, the coordinator UE <NUM>, in step <NUM>, transmits a connection request message, e.g. a RRC connection request (Msg3), to the RAN node <NUM>. The RRC connection request comprises the UE identity identifying the coordinator UE <NUM> and the group ID, which identifies the group of UEs. It may be appreciated that if the coordinator UE <NUM> itself is already registered to the network, the RRC connection request does not have to comprise the UE identity. In step <NUM>, if the RRC connection request was successfully received, the coordinator UE <NUM> receives a response message, e.g. a RRC connection setup (Msg4), comprising a temporary group identity. The temporary group identity is to be used by the group when communicating with the RAN node <NUM>. The temporary group identity, according to the present example, is a group C-RNTI.

Thereafter, at step <NUM>, the coordinator UE <NUM> transmits a message comprising a group ID to initiate authentication and security procedure to register the group of UEs to the wireless communications system. The message may be a RRC setup complete message. The message may initiate a Non-Access Stratum (NAS) authentication and security procedure. Thereafter, the message received by the RAN node <NUM> is transmitted to the CN node <NUM>, i.e. the AMF. The message additionally includes a RAN UE NGAP ID and the RRC establishment cause.

In the authentication and security procedure, the AMF <NUM> and the coordinator UE <NUM> exchange an authentication challenge, a selected NAS security algorithm and the coordinator UE's International Mobile Equipment Identity Software version (IMEISV), illustrated as steps <NUM>-<NUM> in <FIG>. Thereafter, the AMF <NUM> initiates a session setup with the RAN node <NUM>. The message typically contains the registration accept NAS message. The message carries one or more PDU session setup requests. Each PDU session is addressed with the PDU session ID. The message also carries the uplink TEID for every PDU session, including the group uplink TEID.

In step <NUM>, a RRC reconfiguration message is sent to the UE for setting up radio bearers, setting up a secondary cell and initiating UE measurements. In steps <NUM> and <NUM>, the TEID, per PDU session, that the UPF <NUM> will use to send downlink data to the RAN node <NUM> is allocated. This includes the downlink group TEID. Thereafter, the NAS registration is complete, and the coordinator UE <NUM> has connections with the network. The RAN node <NUM> will send UL data with the uplink TEID, while the UPF <NUM> will send the DL data with the downlink TEID. Additionally, the group of UEs will now have connections with the network. The RAN node <NUM> will send the group UL data with the uplink group TEID, while the UPF <NUM> will send the group DL data with the downlink group TEID. Accordingly, the group of UEs has been registered to the wireless communications system, via the coordinator UE <NUM>, and thus, <NUM>-hop cooperative group transmission is supported.

According to a third aspect, there is provided a coordinator UE <NUM> configured to perform the method <NUM> according to the first aspect.

The coordinator UE <NUM> is now going to be described with reference to <FIG>. The coordinator UE <NUM> may be used in, but are not limited to, a wireless communication system. The coordinator UE <NUM> represents the group of UEs.

The coordinator UE <NUM> is configured for registering a group of UEs to a wireless communications system. As illustrated in <FIG>, the coordinator UE <NUM> comprises a processor, or a processing circuitry <NUM>, and a memory, or a memory circuitry <NUM>.

Additionally, or alternatively, the coordinator UE <NUM> may further comprise a transmitter, or a transmitting circuitry <NUM>, configured to transmit data to other apparatuses, such as the RAN node <NUM>.

Additionally, or alternatively, the coordinator UE <NUM> may further comprise a receiver, or a receiving circuitry <NUM>, configured to receive data from other apparatuses, such as the RAN node <NUM>.

The memory circuit <NUM> stores computer program code which, when run in the processing circuitry <NUM>, causes the coordinator UE <NUM> to transmit, to the RAN node <NUM>, a message comprising a group ID to initiate an authentication and security procedure to register the group of UEs with to the wireless communications system. The group ID identifies the group of UEs.

In some embodiments, the memory circuitry <NUM> storing computer program code which, when run in the processing circuitry <NUM>, may further cause the coordinator UE <NUM> to transmit, to the RAN node <NUM>, a connection request message comprising an indicator identifying a group registration request. The coordinator UE <NUM> may further be caused to receive, from the RAN node <NUM>, if the coordinator UE <NUM> is allowed to register a group, a response message comprising a group ID.

In some embodiments, the memory circuitry <NUM> storing computer program code which, when run in the processing circuitry <NUM>, may further cause the coordinator UE <NUM> to assign at least one UE to the group by associating the at least one UE with the group ID.

In some embodiments, the memory circuitry <NUM> storing computer program code which, when run in the processing circuitry <NUM>, may further cause the coordinator UE <NUM> to transmit, to the RAN node <NUM>, a connection request message comprising the group ID to indicate that radio access is triggered for the group of UEs. The coordinator UE <NUM> may further be caused to receive, from the RAN node <NUM>, if the connection request was successfully received, a response message comprising a temporary group identity. The temporary group identity is a temporary identity to be used by the group when communicating with the RAN node.

In some embodiments, the memory circuitry <NUM> storing computer program code which, when run in the processing circuitry <NUM>, may further cause the coordinator UE <NUM> to broadcast the received temporary group identity to the UEs assigned to the group. The temporary group identity may be a C-RNTI.

In some embodiments, if the coordinator UE <NUM> is not registered to the wireless communications system, the transmitted connection request message may further comprise an UE identity identifying the coordinator UE.

In some embodiments, if the authentication and security procedure is successfully performed, group TEIDs may be assigned for the group of UEs. A downlink group TEID may be used to send downlink data and an uplink group TEID may be used to send uplink data.

According to a fourth aspect, there is provided a RAN node <NUM> for implementing the method <NUM> according to the second aspect.

The RAN node <NUM> is now going to be described with reference to <FIG>. The RAN node <NUM> may be used in, but are not limited to, wireless communications system.

The RAN node <NUM> is configured for registering a group of UEs to a wireless communications system. A coordinator UE <NUM> represents the group of UEs. As illustrated in <FIG>, the RAN node <NUM> comprises a processor, or a processing circuitry <NUM>, and a memory, or a memory circuitry <NUM>.

Additionally, or alternatively, the RAN node <NUM> may further comprise a transmitter, or a transmitting circuitry <NUM>, configured to transmit data to other apparatuses, such as the coordinator UE <NUM>.

Additionally, or alternatively, the RAN node <NUM> may further comprise a receiver, or a receiving circuitry <NUM>, configured to receive data from other apparatuses, such as the coordinator UE <NUM>.

The memory circuitry <NUM> stores computer program code which, when run in the processing circuitry <NUM>, causes the RAN node <NUM> to receive, from the coordinator UE <NUM>, a message comprising a group ID to initiate an authentication and security procedure to register the group of UEs to the wireless communications network. The group ID identifies the group UEs.

In some embodiments, the memory circuitry <NUM> storing computer program code which, when run in the processing circuitry <NUM>, may further cause the RAN node <NUM> to transmit, to a CN node <NUM>, the received message comprising the group ID to initiate the authentication and security procedure to register the group of UEs to the wireless communications system.

In some embodiments, the memory circuitry <NUM> storing computer program code which, when run in the processing circuitry <NUM>, if the authentication and security procedure is successfully performed, may further cause the RAN node <NUM> to set up a context for the group of UEs in the CN. The RAN node <NUM> may be caused to receive, from the CN node <NUM>, a registration accept message comprising at least one uplink group TEID, to be used for sending uplink data. The RAN node <NUM> may further be caused to transmit, to the CN node <NUM>, a response comprising at least one downlink group TEID to be used for sending uplink data.

In some embodiments, the memory circuitry <NUM> storing computer program code which, when run in the processing circuitry <NUM>, may further cause the RAN node <NUM> to receive, from the coordinator UE <NUM>, a connection request message comprising an indicator indicating a group registration request. The RAN node <NUM> may further be caused to determine if the coordinator UE <NUM> is allowed to register a group and, if the coordinator UE <NUM> is allowed to register a group, transmit, to the coordinator UE <NUM>, a response message comprising the group ID.

In some embodiments, the memory circuitry <NUM> storing computer program code which, when run in the processing circuitry <NUM>, may further cause the RAN node <NUM> to receive, from the coordinator UE <NUM>, a connection request message comprising the group ID to indicate that radio access is triggered for the group. The RAN node <NUM> may further be caused to transmit, to the coordinator UE <NUM>, if the connection request was successfully received, a response message comprising a temporary group identity. The temporary group identity is a temporary identity to be used by the group when communicating with the RAN node <NUM>. The temporary group identity may be a C-RNTI.

In some embodiments, if the coordinator UE <NUM> is not registered to the wireless communications system, the received connection request message may further comprises an UE identity identifying the coordinator UE <NUM>.

In some embodiments, the RAN node <NUM> may be an eNB. In other embodiments, the RAN node <NUM> may be a gNB.

According to a fifth aspect, there is provided a computer program, comprising instructions which, when executed on a processing circuitry, cause the processing circuitry to carry out the method according to the first aspect and/or the second aspect.

According to a sixth aspect, there is provided a carrier containing the computer program of the fifth aspect, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or computer readable storage medium.

Although the subject matter described herein may be implemented in any appropriate type of system using any suitable components, the embodiments described herein relate to a wireless network, such as the example wireless communication network illustrated in <FIG>. For simplicity, the wireless communication network of <FIG> only depicts network <NUM>, network nodes <NUM> and 1060b, and Wireless Devices (WDs) <NUM>, 1010b, and 1010c. The wireless communication network may further include any additional elements suitable to support communication between wireless devices or between a wireless device and another communication device, such as a landline telephone. Of the illustrated components, network node <NUM> and wireless device (WD) <NUM> are depicted with additional detail. The illustrated wireless communication network may provide communication and other types of services to one or more wireless devices to facilitate the wireless devices' access to and/or use of the services provided by the wireless communication network.

The wireless communication network may comprise and/or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, and/or radio network or other similar type of system. In some embodiments, the wireless communication network may be configured to operate according to specific standards or other types of predefined rules or procedures. Thus, particular embodiments of the wireless communication network may implement communication standards, such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE), and/or other suitable <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM> standards; wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the IEEE <NUM> standards; and/or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, and/or ZigBee standards.

These components may work together in order to provide network node and/or wireless device functionality, such as providing wireless connections in a wireless network. In different embodiments, the wireless network may comprise any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, base stations, controllers, wireless devices, relay stations, and/or any other components that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and/or signals whether via wired or wireless connections.

As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a wireless device and/or with other network nodes or equipment in the wireless communication network to enable and/or provide wireless access to the wireless device and/or to perform other functions (e.g., administration) in the wireless communication network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, and evolved Node Bs (eNBs)). As another example, network node <NUM> may be a virtual network node as described in more detail below. More generally, however, network nodes may represent any suitable device (or group of devices) capable, configured, arranged, and/or operable to enable and/or provide a wireless device with access to the wireless communication network or to provide some service to a wireless device that has accessed the wireless communication network.

In <FIG>, Network node <NUM> includes processing circuitry <NUM>, device readable medium <NUM>, interface <NUM>, user interface equipment <NUM>, auxiliary equipment <NUM>, power source <NUM>, power circuitry <NUM>, and antenna <NUM>. Although network node <NUM> illustrated in the example wireless communication network of <FIG> may represent a device that includes the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise network nodes with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that a network node may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and/or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein.

In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein as being provided by a network node, base station, eNB or other such network device may be provided by processing circuitry <NUM> executing instructions stored on device readable medium <NUM> or memory within processing circuitry <NUM>.

Interface <NUM> is used in the wired or wireless communication of signaling and/or data between network node <NUM>, network <NUM>, and/or WDs <NUM>.

As used herein, wireless device (WD) refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and/or other wireless devices. Unless otherwise noted, the term WD may be used interchangeably herein with user equipment (UE). Communicating wirelessly may involve transmitting and/or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and/or other types of signals suitable for conveying information through air. In some embodiments, a WD may be configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a WD may be designed to transmit information to a network on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the network. Examples of a WD include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, a mobile phone, a cell phone, a voice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a desktop computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless cameras, a gaming console or device, a music storage device, a playback appliance, a wearable terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, a tablet, a laptop, a laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), a laptop-mounted equipment (LME), a smart device, a wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), a vehicle-mounted wireless terminal device, etc.. A WD may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) and may in this case be referred to as a D2D communication device. As yet another specific example, in an Internet of Things (IoT) scenario, a WD may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and/or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and/or measurements to another WD and/or a network node. The WD may in this case be a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the WD may be a UE implementing the 3GPP narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) standard. Particular examples of such machines or devices are sensors, metering devices such as power meters, industrial machinery, or home or personal appliances (e.g. refrigerators, televisions, etc.) personal wearables (e.g., watches, fitness trackers, etc.). In other scenarios, a WD may represent a vehicle or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and/or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation. A WD as described above may represent the endpoint of a wireless connection, in which case the device may be referred to as a wireless terminal. Furthermore, a WD as described above may be mobile, in which case it may also be referred to as a mobile device or a mobile terminal.

UE <NUM> may be any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a NB-IoT UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and/or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE. UE <NUM>, as illustrated in <FIG>, is one example of a WD configured for communication in accordance with one or more communication standards promulgated by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as 3GPP's GSM, UMTS, LTE, and/or <NUM> standards.

Network connection interface <NUM> may be configured to provide a communication interface to network 1143a. Network 1143a may encompass wired and/or wireless networks such as a local-area network (LAN), a wide-area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another like network or any combination thereof. For example, network 1143a may comprise a Wi-Fi network.

In <FIG>, processing circuitry <NUM> may be configured to communicate with network 1143b using communication subsystem <NUM>. Network 1143a and network 1143b may be the same network or networks or different network or networks. Communication subsystem <NUM> may be configured to include one or more transceivers used to communicate with network 1143b.

Network 1143b may encompass wired and/or wireless networks such as a local-area network (LAN), a wide-area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another like network or any combination thereof. For example, network 1143b may be a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, and/or a near-field network. Power <NUM> source <NUM> may be configured to provide alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC) power to components of UE <NUM>.

Virtualization environment <NUM>, comprises general-purpose or special-purpose network hardware devices <NUM> comprising a set of one or more processors or processing circuitry <NUM>, which may be commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) processors, dedicated Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), or any other type of processing circuitry including digital or analogue hardware components or special purpose processors.

NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high-volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.

In some embodiments, some signaling can be affected with the use of control system <NUM> which may alternatively be used for communication between the hardware nodes <NUM> and radio units <NUM>.

Access network <NUM> comprises a plurality of base stations 1312a, 1312b, 1312c, such as NBs, eNBs, gNBs or other types of wireless access points, each defining a corresponding coverage area 1313a, 1313b, 1313c. Each base station 1312a, 1312b, 1312c is connectable to core network <NUM> over a wired or wireless connection <NUM>. A first UE <NUM> located in coverage area 1313c is configured to wirelessly connect to, or be paged by, the corresponding base station 1312c. A second UE <NUM> in coverage area 1313a is wirelessly connectable to the corresponding base station 1312a.

Connection <NUM> may be direct, or it may pass through a core network (not shown in <FIG>) of the telecommunication system and/or through one or more intermediate networks outside the telecommunication system.

It is noted that host computer <NUM>, base station <NUM> and UE <NUM> illustrated in <FIG> may be similar or identical to host computer <NUM>, one of base stations 1312a, 1312b, 1312c and one of UEs <NUM>, <NUM> of <FIG>, respectively.

Wireless connection <NUM> between UE <NUM> and base station <NUM> is in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to UE <NUM> using OTT connection <NUM>, in which wireless connection <NUM> forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve the data rate and thereby provide benefits such as better responsiveness.

These functional units may be implemented via processing circuitry, which may include one or more microprocessor or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware, which may include Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), special-purpose digital logic, and the like. The processing circuitry may be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which may include one or several types of memory such as Read-Only Memory (ROM), Random-Access Memory (RAM), cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc. Program code stored in memory includes program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and/or data communications protocols as well as instructions for carrying out one or more of the techniques described herein.

It will be further understood that the terms "comprises" "comprising," "includes" and/or "including" when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

Claim 1:
A method (<NUM>) in a coordinator User Equipment, UE, (<NUM>) for registering a group of UEs to a wireless communications system, wherein the coordinator UE (<NUM>) represents the group of UEs, the method (<NUM>) comprising:
- transmitting (<NUM>), to a Radio Access Network, RAN, node (<NUM>), a message comprising a group IDentity, ID, to initiate an authentication and security procedure to register the group of UEs to the wireless communications system, wherein the group ID identifies the group of UEs.