Patent Description:
Some cellular networks may be optimized for consumer broadband type communications where the best performance per cell and user is strived for. In some examples, the best performance refers to the highest spectral efficiency resulting in the highest throughput for typically non-critical services such as web-browsing, messaging and media streaming services. Some radio bearers may offer low latency for jitter-critical services (e.g. voice calls), but for those bearers a network cannot guarantee a level of service once a User Equipment (UE) is attached to the network. The network may reject bearer requests when all resources are allocated already, or may deliver a best effort service. Therefore, the network may behave in a non-deterministic from a user's perspective.

<CIT> disclose a method for controlling a connection procedure for a terminal device, requesting a radio connection to a cell supported by network infrastructure equipment in a wireless telecommunication system.

One aspect of the present disclosure provides a method of determining whether a cell can guarantee at least one data transmission parameter. The method comprises, in response to a notification of an attach procedure of a User Equipment (UE) to attach to a cell, determining a traffic profile of the UE, wherein the traffic profile indicates the at least one data transmission parameter for the UE. The method also comprises determining whether the cell can guarantee the at least one data transmission parameter for the UE based on the traffic profile of the UE a traffic profile of at least one other UE attached to the cell, resource capabilities and available resources for the cell wherein the at least one data transmission parameter comprises at least one of a maximum average latency of the data transmissions, a maximum latency of the data transmissions, a maximum packet loss of the data transmissions, a minimum data rate of the data transmissions, and/or a minimum average data rate of the data transmissions-and causing the UE to detach from the cell in response to determining that the cell cannot guarantee the at least one data transmission parameter for the UE and/or allowing the UE to remain attached to the cell in response to determining that the cell can guarantee the at least one data transmission parameter for the UE.

Another aspect of the present disclosure provides apparatus for determining whether a cell can guarantee at least one data transmission parameter. The apparatus comprises a processor and a memory. The memory contains instructions executable by the processor such that the apparatus is operable to determine, in response to a notification of an attach procedure of a User Equipment (UE) to attach to a cell, a traffic profile of the UE, wherein the traffic profile indicates the at least one data transmission parameter for the UE, and determine whether the cell can guarantee the at least one data transmission parameter for the UE based on the traffic profile of the UE, a traffic profile of at least one other UE attached to the cell, resource capabilities and available resources of the cell, wherein the at least one data transmission parameter comprises at least one of a maximum average latency for the data transmissions, a maximum latency of the data transmissions, a maximum packet loss of the data transmissions, a minimum data rate of the data transmissions, and/or a minimum average data rate of the data transmissions.

In some embodiments, once a UE is attached to a cell (e.g. a cell in a cellular communications network), such as for example following a successful attach procedure or a handoff from another cell, a traffic profile is determined for the UE. The traffic profile may indicate at least one data transmission parameter for the UE. That is, for example, the data transmission parameter may indicate a latency, throughput or any other parameter that is required by the UE for data transmissions (including voice data transmissions) to and/or from the UE. In some embodiments, if the cell cannot guarantee the requirements of the UE as specified in the traffic profile, the UE may not remain attached or camped on the cell. For example, the network or the cell may instruct the UE to detach from the cell. The UE may then in some embodiments attempt to attach to a different cell, if available.

<FIG> is a flow chart of an example of a method <NUM> of determining whether a cell can guarantee at least one data transmission parameter, e.g. for a UE that has attached to the cell, or will become attached to the cell. In some embodiments, the method may be implemented in one or more network nodes.

The method comprises, in step <NUM>, in response to a notification of an attach procedure of a User Equipment (UE) to attach to a cell, determining a traffic profile for the UE, wherein the traffic profile indicates the at least one data transmission parameter for the UE. In some embodiments, the request may be received from a network control node, e.g. that determines that a UE has newly attached to a cell. In some embodiments, determining the traffic profile may comprise requesting the traffic profile from a network node or traffic profile repository, such as for example a Device Traffic Profile Manager (DTPM). The request may identify the UE. The traffic profile, or an indication of the traffic profile, may be provided in response.

The method <NUM> also comprises, in step <NUM>, determining whether the cell can guarantee the at least one data transmission parameter for the UE based on the traffic profile and available resources for the cell. In some embodiments, for example, the resources of the cell may be compared with the amount of resources that have already been allocated or guaranteed for other UEs or devices. If the difference (e.g. the amount of available resources) is sufficient to guarantee the resources specified in the traffic profile for the UE, then the UE may be allowed to remain attached to or camped on the cell. On the other hand, if the resources cannot be guaranteed, the UE may not be allowed to remain attached to or camped on the cell. In some embodiments, a cell guaranteeing a resource for the UE means that the resource is always available, even if the UE is not always using the resource. For example, where the resource is a maximum latency, the cell may guarantee that communications to and/or from the UE will always have a latency at or below the maximum latency.

In some examples, determining whether the cell can guarantee the at least one data transmission parameter for the UE based on resource capabilities for the cell and a traffic profile for at least one other device attached to the cell. That is, for example, determining whether the cell can guarantee the at least one data transmission parameter comprises determining whether the cell can guarantee the at least one data transmission parameter for the UE based on resource capabilities for the cell and a traffic profile for at least one other device attached to the cell. For example, the resource capabilities for the cell may be the maximum available resource for that cell, e.g. a maximum bandwidth available, or may be another indication of the cell's capabilities. The traffic profile for at least one other device (e.g. one or more other UEs) attached to the cell may along with the resource capabilities indicate how much of the resource is remaining to be allocated (e.g. guaranteed) for another UE. The at least one other device may for example be at least one other device attached to the cell and associated with a respective traffic profile. In some embodiments, the at least one other device comprises all devices attached to the cell and associated with respective traffic profiles. In some examples, the method <NUM> comprises determining the resource capabilities of the cell by determining a number of UEs with the traffic profile that the cell can support. For example, the number of UEs may be the potential number of UEs that can be supported by the cell (e.g. their traffic profiles can be guaranteed) that share a particular traffic profile, or that have similar data transmission parameters.

In some embodiments, the method <NUM> comprises causing the UE to detach from the cell in response to determining that the cell cannot guarantee the at least one data transmission parameter for the UE. The UE is then no longer camping on the cell and cannot use the cell's resources. The UE may for example attempt to attach to a different cell, if available. In some embodiments, causing the UE to detach from the cell comprises sending an instruction to the UE to detach from the cell.

If the cell can guarantee the data transmission parameter(s) of the UE's traffic profile, the method <NUM> may in some embodiments comprise allowing the UE to remain attached to the cell in response to determining that the cell can guarantee the at least one data transmission parameter for the UE. The UE may then use the cell's resources, e.g. may transmit and/or receive data, and the traffic parameter(s), such as for example latency, bandwith, and/or other parameters, can be guaranteed by the cell.

In some embodiments, the notification of the attach procedure comprises a notification of a requested, ongoing or completed attach procedure for the UE to attach to the cell. The notification may be received or example from a network control node.

In some embodiments, if the cell cannot guarantee the traffic profile (data transmission parameter(s)) for a UE, the UE may be requested to use a second traffic profile as an alternative, whereby the second traffic profile may have lower requirements than the first traffic profile. For example, the second traffic profile may have at least one more relaxed data transmission requirement, such as for example a lower bandwidth or higher latency guarantee. The method <NUM> may therefore in some examples comprise determining a second traffic profile for the UE, wherein the second traffic profile indicates at least one second data transmission parameter for the UE, and determining whether the cell can guarantee the at least one data transmission parameter for the UE based on the second traffic profile and available resources for the cell. In some examples, before requesting the UE to use the second traffic profile, it may be determined whether the cell can meet the requirements of the second traffic profile for the UE. As a result, in some embodiments, the method <NUM> may comprise causing the UE to detach from the cell in response to determining that the cell cannot guarantee the at least one second data transmission parameter for the UE, and allowing the UE to remain attached to the cell in response to determining that the cell can guarantee the at least one data transmission parameter for the UE.

In some embodiments, if a cell is loaded (e.g. the usage or guarantee of resources is above a threshold level), the cell may automatically request that a newly attached UE use a second traffic profile associated with the UE, the second traffic profile having lower requirements (e.g. one or more more relaxed data transmission parameters). Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, if the loading of the cell has exceeded the threshold, one or more UEs already attached to the cell may be requested to use a second, more relaxed traffic profile. For example, the method <NUM> may comprise, in response to usage of resources of the cell exceeding a threshold, sending a request to one or more UEs attached to the cell to use a second traffic profile associated with each respective UE, wherein the second traffic profile indicates at least one second data transmission parameter for the UE.

In some embodiments, determining the traffic profile for the UE comprises receiving an identification of the UE, and retrieving the traffic profile from storage based on the identification. Therefore, for example, the traffic profile may be stored locally at the tntity implementing the method <NUM>.

In some embodiments, the at least one data transmission parameter comprises at least one of a maximum average latency for data transmissions, a maximum latency for data transmissions, a maximum packet loss for data transmissions, a minimum data rate for data transmissions, a minimum average data rate for data transmissions, and/or any other parameter for data transmissions (including voice data transmissions) to and/or from the UE.

Exemplary embodiments will now be described below.

A network node, e.g. logical loT (Internet of Things) entity, Device Traffic Profile Manager (DTPM) may store respective Traffic Profiles that are assigned to UEs. These traffic profiles can be assigned to respective UEs before they are onboarded to the loT system and before network (NW) attach via manual configuration management processes that specify the traffic profiles.

The parameters of the Traffic Profiles may specify one or more of:.

In some examples, a respective second Traffic Profile (with more relaxed parameters) can be assigned to one or more UEs with values for the above parameters that are less capacity demanding. Whether or not such a second Traffic Profile can be assigned (e.g. agreed by the UE) may depend on the application of the UE in question.

The DTPM may have one or more of the following functions:.

A new logical network function Network Admittance Controller (NAC) is introduced. The NAC may have one or more of the following functions:.

<FIG> is a schematic of an example of a communication system <NUM>, e.g. part of a network, that illustrates an example procedure as defined in the following steps. <FIG> includes each step number between the entities that may communicate during the respective step.

One or more embodiments described herein may allow a NW operator to guarantee data transmission parameters (e.g. traffic profiles or Service Level Agreements, SLAs) to users (e.g. industrial users) who require a deterministic communications behaviour. Applications such as for example industrial applications may use the cellular network infrastructure for critical communication channels instead of building specialized NWs for such purposes or using wired communication technologies instead. In some embodiments, a NW operator can define certain geographical areas which may be determined by the radio propagation range of one or more cells/sectors, and only in these areas a guarantee can be applied while the other cells/sectors of a network may conform to for example a consumer mobile broadband (MBB) model. The NW operator can also in some embodiments define a NW slice for which traffic profiles (e.g. data transmission parameter or SLA guarantees) can be applied, while other slice(s) may conform to a consumer MBB model (e.g. one where traffic profiles may not be guaranteed). In some examples, a UE and/or an application on a UE may know at the time of attach or at cell change (e.g. handover) whether or not its traffic profile can be guaranteed or not.

In some examples, to achieve a deterministic behaviour, the NW operator may:.

<FIG> shows an example of an apparatus <NUM> according to an embodiment of this disclosure. For example, the apparatus <NUM> may be apparatus for determining whether a cell can guarantee at least one data transmission parameter. The apparatus <NUM> may be configured to perform the method of <FIG> or any other example.

The apparatus <NUM> comprises processing circuitry <NUM> (e.g. a processor) and memory <NUM> in communication with the processing circuitry <NUM>. The memory <NUM> contains instructions executable by the processing circuitry <NUM>. In one embodiment, the memory <NUM> contains instructions <NUM> executable by the processing circuitry <NUM> such that the apparatus is operable to determine, in response to a notification of an attach procedure of a User Equipment (UE) to attach to a cell, a traffic profile for the UE, wherein the traffic profile indicates the at least one data transmission parameter for the UE. The memory <NUM> may also contain instructions <NUM> executable by the processing circuitry <NUM> such that the apparatus is operable to determine whether the cell can guarantee the at least one data transmission parameter for the UE based on the traffic profile and available resources for the cell.

<FIG> is a schematic of an example of apparatus <NUM>, for example apparatus for determining whether a cell can guarantee at least one data transmission parameter. The apparatus <NUM> comprises a first determining module <NUM> configured to determine, in response to a notification of an attach of a User Equipment (UE) to attach to a cell, determining a traffic profile for the UE, wherein the traffic profile indicates the at least one data transmission parameter for the UE. The apparatus also comprises a second determining module <NUM> configured to determine whether the cell can guarantee the at least one data transmission parameter for the UE based on the traffic profile and available resources for the cell.

Claim 1:
A method of determining whether a cell can guarantee at least one data transmission parameter, the method comprising:
in response to a notification of an attach procedure of a User Equipment, UE, to attach to a cell, determining a traffic profile of the UE, wherein the traffic profile indicates the at least one data transmission parameter for data transmissions to and/or from the UE; and
determining whether the cell can guarantee the at least one data transmission parameter for the UE based on the traffic profile of the UE, a traffic profile of at least one other UE attached to the cell, resource capabilities and available resources of the cell;
wherein the at least one data transmission parameter comprises at least one of a maximum average latency of the data transmissions, a maximum latency of the data transmissions, a maximum packet loss fof the data transmissions, a minimum data rate of the data transmissions, and/or a minimum average data rate of the data transmissions
the method further comprising:
causing the UE to detach from the cell in response to determining that the cell cannot guarantee the at least one data transmission parameter for the UE; and/or
allowing the UE to remain attached to the cell in response to determining that the cell can guarantee the at least one data transmission parameter for the UE.