Patent Description:
In a communication network, a network node such as a content provider may deliver a message to a group of user equipments (UEs) via a broadcast and/or multicast service. An exemplary broadcast and/or multicast architecture is xMB architecture as defined by 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). <FIG> shows an xMB reference model which is a copy of Figure <NUM>. 4A-<NUM> of clause <NUM>. <NUM> of 3GPP TS <NUM> V15. As shown in <FIG>, a reference point between a content provider and BM-SC (Broadcast-Multicast Service Centre) is called the xMB interface. Using the xMB reference point, the content provider can invoke procedures supported by BM-SC(s) to setup and manage MBMS (Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service) user service from BM-SC to the MBMS clients. BM-SC defines an endpoint with all supported procedures on the xMB interface, which can then be converted to SGmb procedures for the interface between BM-SC and MBMS GW (gateway) (not depicted in <FIG>). The BM-SC may forward the received content for unicast delivery for appropriate functions (e.g., MBMS user service fallback). The control plane (xMB-C) and the user plane (xMB-U) may be optionally terminated by 3GPP defined enabler/exposure functions such as network exposure function (NEF) or Service Capability Exposure Function (SCEF), which exposes the same or a different interface to content providers.

<FIG> shows group message delivery by using xMB as southbound interface, which is a copy of Figure <NUM>. <NUM>-<NUM> of clause <NUM>. <NUM> of 3GPP TS <NUM> V16. The specific procedure handling for group message delivery using MBMS is described in clause <NUM>. <NUM> of 3GPP TS <NUM> V16.

<FIG> shows a procedure of modification of previously submitted group message, which is a copy of Figure <NUM>. <NUM>-<NUM> of clause <NUM>. <NUM> of 3GPP TS <NUM> V16. The specific procedure handling for modification of previously submitted Group Message is described in clause <NUM>. <NUM> of 3GPP TS <NUM> V16.

"xMB Procedures", SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO. LTD, S4h160669, 3GPP TSF-SA4 Ad-Hoc Meeting, November <NUM>, describes xMB procedures and, in particular, changes to the procedures.

<CIT> describes technology for a user equipment.

The current Group Message Delivery (GMD) function doesn't support to deliver a message to a specific group of UEs via MBMS when such capability is exposed by the SCEF via GMDviaMBMSbyxMB API (Application Program Interface) as defined in 3GPP TS <NUM> V16. <NUM> and the service announcement mode is set to "SACH (service announcement channel)" which means the BM-SC is responsible for service announcement information. Therefore when BM-SC receives a Create session request message from the SCEF (acting as the content provider), it will send the message to a designated Service Area via MBMS and all UEs in such area (including UEs not in the group) will receive the broadcasted message.

To overcome or mitigate at least one above mentioned problem or other problems or provide a useful solution, the embodiments of the present disclosure propose an improved group content delivery solution.

The present invention is defined by the appended independent claims, to which reference should now be made. Specific embodiments are defined in the dependent claims.

According to embodiments of the disclosure, a content provider node may send one or more group identifiers to a broadcast-multicast service node. The broadcast-multicast service node may generate a group filter based on the one or more group identifiers and send service announcement information including the group filter to one or more user equipments (UEs). The UEs may receive a group message based on the group filter. For example, in the xMB architecture, the xMB interface may be enhanced with one or more group identifiers, which will be used by the BM-SC in the user service announcement information for filtering purpose. The proposed group content delivery solution can solve the aforementioned issue to avoid message being broadcasted to wrong UEs.

As used herein, the term "network" refers to a network following any suitable wireless/wired communication standards such as new radio (NR), long term evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced, wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), high-speed packet access (HSPA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Address (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) and other wireless networks. A CDMA network may implement a radio technology such as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), etc. UTRA includes WCDMA and other variants of CDMA. An OFDMA network may implement a radio technology such as Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE <NUM> (Wi-Fi), IEEE <NUM> (WiMAX), IEEE <NUM>, Flash-OFDMA, Ad-hoc network, wireless sensor network, etc. In the following description, the terms "network" and "system" can be used interchangeably. Furthermore, the communications between two devices in the network may be performed according to any suitable communication protocols, including, but not limited to, the communication protocols as defined by a standard organization such as 3GPP. For example, the communication protocols as defined by 3GPP may comprise the second generation (<NUM>), third generation(<NUM>), fourth generation (<NUM>), <NUM>, the fourth generation (<NUM>) communication protocols, and/or any other protocols either currently known or to be developed in the future.

A communication network may comprise various devices. For example, in a wireless communication network such as a 3GPP-type cellular network, the network node may comprise a content provider node such as Services Capability Server (SCS) and Application Server(AS), a broadcast-multicast service node such as Broadcast-Multicast Service Centre (BM-SC), and a network exposure node network exposure function (NEF) or Service Capability Exposure Function (SCEF), etc., which may offer numerous services to customers who are interconnected by an access network device.

The term "terminal device" refers to any end device that can access a communication network and receive services therefrom. By way of example and not limitation, the terminal device refers to a mobile terminal, user equipment (UE), or other suitable devices. The UE may be, for example, a Subscriber Station (SS), a Portable Subscriber Station, a Mobile Station (MS), or an Access Terminal (AT). The terminal device may include, but not limited to, a portable computer, an image capture terminal device such as a digital camera, a gaming terminal device, a music storage and a playback appliance, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a voice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a tablet, a wearable device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable computer, a desktop computer, a wearable terminal device, a vehicle-mounted wireless terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, a laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), a laptop-mounted equipment (LME), a USB dongle, a smart device, a wireless customer-premises equipment (CPE) and the like. In the following description, the terms "terminal device", "terminal", "user equipment" and "UE" may be used interchangeably. As one example, a terminal device may represent a UE configured for communication in accordance with one or more communication standards promulgated by the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project), such as 3GPP' LTE standard or NR standard. As used herein, a "user equipment" or "UE" may not necessarily have a "user" in the sense of a human user who owns and/or operates the relevant device. In some embodiments, a terminal device may be configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a terminal device 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 communication network. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but that may not initially be associated with a specific human user.

As yet another example, in an Internet of Things (IOT) scenario, a terminal device 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 terminal device and/or network equipment. The terminal device may in this case be a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as a machine-type communication (MTC) device. As one particular example, the terminal device 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, for example refrigerators, televisions, personal wearables such as watches etc. In other scenarios, a terminal device 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.

For illustrative purposes, several embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in the context of xMB architecture as shown in <FIG>. Those skilled in the art will appreciate, however, that the concept and principle of the several embodiments of the present disclosure may be more generally applicable to any other suitable communication networks.

<FIG> shows a flowchart of a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, which may be performed by an apparatus implemented in/as a content provider node or communicatively coupled to a content provider node. As such, the apparatus may provide means for accomplishing various parts of the method <NUM> as well as means for accomplishing other processes in conjunction with other components. The content provider node may be a node which needs to deliver a message to a group of UEs. For example, the content provider node may be Content Provider/Multicast Broadcast Source/3GPP defined exposure functions as shown in <FIG>. In an embodiment, the content provider node may comprise a network exposure node. For example, the network exposure node may comprise network exposure function (NEF) or Service Capability Exposure Function (SCEF). In another embodiment, the content provider node may comprise SCS/AS. In other communication networks, the content provider node may be any other suitable node which needs to deliver a message to a group of UEs.

At block <NUM>, the content provider node may obtain one or more group identifiers. The one or more group identifiers may be obtained in various ways. For example, the content provider node may configure the one or more group identifiers by itself or receive them from another node. As an example, when the content provider node is SCS/AS, it may configure the one or more group identifiers by itself. As another example, when the content provider node is the network exposure node such as NEF or SCEF, it may receive the one or more group identifiers from SCS/AS. The one or more group identifiers may be network internal or external group identifiers. In an embodiment, when the one or more group identifiers are network external group identifiers, the content provider node may translate them into the network internal group identifiers by itself or by using another network node such as HLR/HSS.

At block <NUM>, the content provider node may send the one or more group identifiers to a broadcast-multicast service node. The broadcast-multicast service node may be a network node which can support broadcast-multicast service. For example, in xMB architecture, the broadcast-multicast service node may be BM-SC. In other communication networks, the broadcast-multicast service node may be any other suitable node which can support broadcast-multicast service. The one or more group identifiers may be included in any suitable existing or new message. For example, the one or more group identifiers may be included in a service creation request, a service modification request, a session creation request, or a session modification request, etc..

In an embodiment, before provisioning of services at the broadcast-multicast service node, the content provider node may be authenticated and authorized to perform service management functions. If the content provider node wants to modify or remove the provisioned services, it can do so by using a valid access token. For example, the authentication procedure may be used by the content provider node and the broadcast-multicast service node to authenticate each other. The content provider node may be authenticated with the broadcast-multicast service node when the content provider node wants to provision new services or manage existing services. Similarly, the broadcast-multicast service node may be authenticated by the content provider when the broadcast-multicast service node needs to send reports and notifications to the content provider node. Before using any of the procedure associated with the broadcast-multicast service node, the content provider may first use the authorization procedure to retrieve its authorization. After successful authorization based on the content provider's representative's credentials, operations such as service and session creation within the granted permissions become possible. For example, in the xMB architecture, it may use the authentication and authorization procedure as defined in clause <NUM>. <NUM> of 3GPP TS <NUM> V15.

In an embodiment, the content provider node may send the one or more group identifiers to the broadcast-multicast service node at one or more stages. For example, the one or more group identifiers may be sent during the content provider node creates a service with the broadcast-multicast service node and/or during the content provider node creates a session with the broadcast-multicast service node and/or during the content provider node modifies the session. For example, when the content provider node creates a service with the broadcast-multicast service node, it may send the one or more group identifiers for example in a service creation/update request. When the content provider node creates a session with the broadcast-multicast service node, it may send the one or more group identifiers for example in a session creation/update request. When the content provider node modifies a session with the broadcast-multicast service node, it may send the one or more group identifiers for example in a service update/modification request.

In an embodiment, when the one or more group identifiers are sent during the content provider node creates the service with the broadcast-multicast service node, the one or more group identifiers may be included in an update service request. For example, in the xMB architecture, the update service request may be similar to the service update request as defined in clause <NUM>. <NUM> of 3GPP TS <NUM> V15.

In an embodiment, when the one or more group identifiers are sent during the content provider node creates or modifies the session with the broadcast-multicast service node, the one or more group identifiers are included in an update session request. For example, in the xMB architecture, the update session request may be similar to the session update request as defined in clause <NUM>. <NUM> of 3GPP TS <NUM> V15.

In an embodiment, the one or more group identifiers may be used by the broadcast-multicast service node in service announcement information for a filtering purpose. For example, the broadcast-multicast service node may generate a group filter based on the one or more group identifiers and send service announcement information including the group filter to one or more user equipments such as MBMS clients. The syntax of the group filter may be similar to that as specified by the schema of the Filter Description fragment in clause <NUM>. <NUM> of 3GPP TS <NUM> V15. The group filter may be composed of group ID elements: each group filter element may be instantiated with a list of string identifiers classifying the targeted groups as group ID elements. Multiple instantiations of this element may be used to classify content targeted to different groups and could be mapped to various types of target group information, e.g., social group, age group, gender, profession, ethnic group, etc. An MBMS client may selectively receive contents with the group filter values known to match the profile of the user.

In an embodiment, when the one or more group identifiers are sent at two or more stages, the one or more group identifiers sent at a final stage have a higher priority to be used in the service announcement information for the filtering purpose. The final stage refers to the last stage in time. For example, the content provider node may first create a service with the broadcast-multicast service node, and then may modify the service, and then may create a session with the broadcast-multicast service node, and then may modify the session. In this case, the one or more group identifiers sent during the content provider node modifies the session may have a higher priority to be used in the service announcement information for the filtering purpose than the one or more group identifiers sent during other stage(s), and so on.

In an embodiment, there is an xMB interface between the content provider node and the broadcast-multicast service node. The xMB interface is similar to the corresponding xMB interface as defined in 3GPP TS <NUM> V15. The messages between the content provider node and the broadcast-multicast service node may be exchanged through the xMB interface.

In an embodiment, the content provider node may comprise a network exposure node and the broadcast-multicast service node may comprise Broadcast-Multicast Service Centre (BM-SC).

In an embodiment, the network exposure node may comprise network exposure function (NEF) or Service Capability Exposure Function (SCEF).

<FIG> shows a flowchart of a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, which may be performed by an apparatus implemented in a broadcast-multicast service node or communicatively coupled to a broadcast-multicast service node. As such, the apparatus may provide means for accomplishing various parts of the method <NUM> as well as means for accomplishing other processes in conjunction with other components. For some parts which have been described in the above embodiments, detailed description thereof is omitted here for brevity.

At block <NUM>, the broadcast-multicast service node may receive one or more group identifiers from a content provider node. For example, the content provider node may send one or more group identifiers to the broadcast-multicast service node at block <NUM> of <FIG>, and then the broadcast-multicast service node may receive the one or more group identifiers from the content provider node.

In an embodiment, the one or more group identifiers may be received during the content provider node creates a service with the broadcast-multicast service node and/or during the content provider node creates a session with the broadcast-multicast service node and/or during the content provider node modifies the session.

In an embodiment, when the one or more group identifiers are received during the content provider node creates the service with the broadcast-multicast service node, the one or more group identifiers may be included in an update service request.

In an embodiment, when the one or more group identifiers are received during the content provider node creates the session with the broadcast-multicast service node, the one or more group identifiers may be included in an update session request.

In an embodiment, when the one or more group identifiers are received at two or more stages, the one or more group identifiers received at a final stage have a higher priority to be used in the service announcement information.

At block <NUM>, the broadcast-multicast service node may generate a group filter based on the one or more group identifiers. In an embodiment, the syntax of the group filter may be similar to that as specified by the schema of the Filter Description fragment in clause <NUM>. <NUM> of 3GPP TS <NUM> V15.

In an embodiment, the group filter may include one or more group filter identifiers. One or more group filters can be derived from the received one or more group identifiers in the broadcast-multicast service node such as BM-SC. The mapping relationship may be N:M for the one or more group filters and the received one or more group identifiers in the broadcast-multicast service node such as BM-SC.

At block <NUM>, the broadcast-multicast service node may send service announcement information including the group filter to one or more user equipments. In an embodiment, the service announcement information may be similar to the corresponding service announcement information as described in clause <NUM>. <NUM> of 3GPP TS <NUM> V16. <NUM> except that it further includes the group filter. The broadcast-multicast service node may send the service announcement information at any suitable time point, for example, when generating the group filter and/or when there is a change of the group filter and/or when a group message is to be delivered, etc. In an embodiment, the broadcast-multicast service node may send service announcement information including the group filter to one or more user equipments during the content provider node creates a session with the broadcast-multicast service node and/or during the content provider node modifies the session.

<FIG> shows a flowchart of a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, which may be performed by an apparatus implemented in a UE or communicatively coupled to a UE. As such, the apparatus may provide means for accomplishing various parts of the method <NUM> as well as means for accomplishing other processes in conjunction with other components. For some parts which have been described in the above embodiments, detailed description thereof is omitted here for brevity.

At block <NUM>, the UE may receive service announcement information including a group filter from a broadcast-multicast service node. The group filter may be generated by the broadcast-multicast service node based on the one or more group identifiers received from a content provider node as described above.

At block <NUM>, the UE may receive a group message based on the group filter. For example, the UE may selectively receive contents with the group filter values known to match the profile of the user of the UE.

<FIG> shows a flowchart of a procedure of group message delivery according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In this embodiment, the group message delivery is implemented in the xMB architecture. The network elements UE, RAN (Radio access network), MBMS-GW/GGSN (Gateway GPRS (General Packet Radio Services) support node) MME(Mobility Management Entity)/SGSN(serving GPRS support node), BM-SC, HSS/HLR(Home Subscriber Server/Home Location Register), SCEF and SCS/AS are similar to those as shown in Figure <NUM>. <NUM>-<NUM> of clause <NUM>. <NUM> of 3GPP TS <NUM> V16.

At step <NUM>, SCS/AS may send a create service request such as Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) POST to SCEF.

At step <NUM>, SCEF may perform an authorization procedure with HSS/HLR. The authorization procedure may be similar to the corresponding authorization procedure as described in clause <NUM>. <NUM> of 3GPP TS <NUM> V15.

At step 603a, SCEF may send a create service request such as HTTP POST to BM-SC. The create service request may be similar to the corresponding create service as described in clause <NUM>. <NUM> of 3GPP TS <NUM> V15.

At step 603b, BM-SC may send a create service response such as "<NUM> Created" to SCEF.

At step 603c, SCEF may reads service attributes for example by using HTTP GET from BM-SC. This step may be similar to the Get Service Properties as described in clause <NUM>. <NUM> of 3GPP TS <NUM> V15.

At step 603d, SCEF may send an update service request with group identifier(s) such as HTTP PUT/PATCH to BM-SC. The update service request may be similar to the service update as described in clause <NUM>. <NUM> of 3GPP TS <NUM> V15. <NUM> except that it further includes the group identifier(s).

At step 603e, BM-SC may send an update service response such as "<NUM> OK" to SCEF.

At step <NUM>, SCEF may send a create service response such as "<NUM> Created" to SCS/AS.

Steps <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, 608a are similar to steps <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, 8a, 8b as shown in Figure <NUM>. <NUM>-<NUM> of clause <NUM>. <NUM> of 3GPP TS <NUM> V16.

At step 608c, SCEF may read session attributes for example by using HTTP GET from BM-SC. This step may be similar to the Get Session Properties as described in clause <NUM>. <NUM> of 3GPP TS <NUM> V15.

At step 608d, SCEF may send an update session request with group identifier(s) such as HTTP PUT/PATCH to BM-SC. The update session request may be similar to the session update as described in clause <NUM>. <NUM> of 3GPP TS <NUM> V15. <NUM> except that it further includes the group identifier(s).

At step 608d, BM-SC may send service announcement including the group filter to UE(s). The group filter may be set according to the received one or more group identifiers as described above. This step may be similar to the corresponding step as described in clause <NUM>. <NUM> of 3GPP TS <NUM> V16. <NUM> except that the service announcement further includes the group filter.

Steps <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, 613a, 613b and <NUM> are similar to steps <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, 13a, 13b and <NUM> as shown in Figure <NUM>. <NUM>-<NUM> of clause <NUM>. <NUM> of 3GPP TS <NUM> V16.

<FIG> shows a flowchart of a procedure of modification of group message request according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In this embodiment, the group message delivery is implemented in the xMB architecture. The network elements UE, RAN (Radio access network), MBMS-GW/GGSN (Gateway GPRS (General Packet Radio Services) support node) MME(Mobility Management Entity)/SGSN(serving GPRS support node), BM-SC, HSS/HLR(Home Subscriber Server/Home Location Register), SCEF and SCS/AS are similar to those as shown in Figure <NUM>. <NUM>-<NUM> of clause <NUM>. <NUM> of 3GPP TS <NUM> V16. Steps <NUM>-<NUM> of <FIG> are similar to the corresponding steps <NUM>-<NUM> of Figure <NUM>. <NUM>-<NUM> of clause <NUM>. <NUM> of 3GPP TS <NUM> V16. <NUM> except that step <NUM> for session modification is related to group identifier(s). For example, SCEF may send an update session request with group identifier(s) such as HTTP PUT/PATCH to BM-SC.

In an embodiment, Table <NUM>. <NUM>-<NUM> of 3GPP TS <NUM> V15. <NUM> may add a Property Token group-ids as following, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

The service instance resource with the property group-ids can be shown using the following JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) schema:
"group-ids": {
"type": "array",
"description": "List of group identifiers",
"items" : {
type" : "string"
}
}.

In an embodiment, Table <NUM>. <NUM>-<NUM> of 3GPP TS <NUM> V15. <NUM> may add a Property Token group-ids as following.

The session instance resource with the property group-ids for each session can be shown using the following JSON schema:
"group-ids": {
"type": "array",
"description": "List of group identifiers",
"items" : {
type" : "string"
}
}.

In an embodiment, Table <NUM>-<NUM> of 3GPP TS <NUM> V15. <NUM> may add a Feature GroupContentDelivery as following:.

In an embodiment, JSON Schema of Annex B (normative) of 3GPP TS <NUM> V15. <NUM> may add information related to "group-ids" as followings
"group-ids": {
"type": "array",
"description": "List of group identifiers",
"items" : {
type" : "string"
}
}.

<FIG> illustrates a simplified block diagram of an apparatus <NUM> that may be embodied in/as a content provider node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. <FIG> illustrates an apparatus <NUM> that may be embodied in/as a broadcast-multicast service node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. <FIG> illustrates an apparatus <NUM> that may be embodied in/as a UE according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The apparatus <NUM> may comprise at least one processor <NUM>, such as a data processor (DP) and at least one memory (MEM) <NUM> coupled to the processor <NUM>. The apparatus <NUM> may further comprise a transmitter TX and receiver RX <NUM> coupled to the processor <NUM>. The MEM <NUM> stores a program (PROG) <NUM>. The PROG <NUM> may include instructions that, when executed on the associated processor <NUM>, enable the apparatus <NUM> to operate in accordance with the embodiments of the present disclosure, for example to perform the method <NUM>. A combination of the at least one processor <NUM> and the at least one MEM <NUM> may form processing means <NUM> adapted to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure.

The apparatus <NUM> comprises at least one processor <NUM>, such as a DP, and at least one MEM <NUM> coupled to the processor <NUM>. The apparatus <NUM> may further comprise a transmitter TX and receiver RX <NUM> coupled to the processor <NUM>. The MEM <NUM> stores a PROG <NUM>. The PROG <NUM> may include instructions that, when executed on the associated processor <NUM>, enable the apparatus <NUM> to operate in accordance with the embodiments of the present disclosure, for example to perform the method <NUM>. A combination of the at least one processor <NUM> and the at least one MEM <NUM> may form processing means <NUM> adapted to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure.

Various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by computer program executable by one or more of the processors <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>, software, firmware, hardware or in a combination thereof.

The MEMs <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory, as non-limiting examples.

The processors <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment, and may include one or more of general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on multicore processor architecture, as non-limiting examples.

Reference is now made to <FIG>, which illustrates a schematic block diagram of an apparatus <NUM> at a content provider node. The apparatus <NUM> is operable to carry out the exemplary methods related to the content provider node as described above.

As shown in <FIG>, the apparatus <NUM> may comprise an obtaining unit <NUM> configured to obtain one or more group identifiers and a sending unit <NUM> configured to send the one or more group identifiers to a broadcast-multicast service node.

Reference is now made to <FIG>, which illustrates a schematic block diagram of an apparatus <NUM> at a broadcast-multicast service node. The apparatus <NUM> is operable to carry out the exemplary methods related to the broadcast-multicast service node as described above.

As shown in <FIG>, the apparatus <NUM> may comprise a receiving unit <NUM> configured to receive one or more group identifiers from content provider node, a generating unit <NUM> configured to generate a group filter based on the one or more group identifiers and a sending unit <NUM> configured to send service announcement information including the group filter to one or more user equipments.

Reference is now made to <FIG>, which illustrates a schematic block diagram of an apparatus <NUM> at a UE. The apparatus <NUM> is operable to carry out the exemplary methods related to the UE as described above.

As shown in <FIG>, the apparatus <NUM> may comprise a first receiving unit <NUM> configured to receive service announcement information including a group filter from a broadcast-multicast service node, wherein the group filter is generated by the broadcast-multicast service node based on the one or more group identifiers received from a content provider node, and a second receiving unit <NUM> configured to receive a group message based on the group filter.

It would be appreciated that, some units or modules in the apparatus <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> can be combined in some implementations. For example, in one embodiment, it is possible to use a single transceiving unit to send and receive the information.

According to an aspect of the disclosure it is provided a computer program product being tangibly stored on a computer readable storage medium and including instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the method related to the content provider node as described above.

According to an aspect of the disclosure it is provided a computer program product being tangibly stored on a computer readable storage medium and including instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the method related to the broadcast-multicast service node as described above.

According to an aspect of the disclosure it is provided a computer program product being tangibly stored on a computer readable storage medium and including instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the method related to the UE as described above.

According to an aspect of the disclosure it is provided a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions which when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform the method related to the content provider node as described above.

According to an aspect of the disclosure it is provided a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions which when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform the method related to the broadcast-multicast service node as described above.

According to an aspect of the disclosure it is provided a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions which when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform the method related to the UE as described above.

The techniques described herein may be implemented by various means so that an apparatus implementing one or more functions of a corresponding apparatus described with an embodiment comprises not only prior art means, but also means for implementing the one or more functions of the corresponding apparatus described with the embodiment and it may comprise separate means for each separate function, or means that may be configured to perform two or more functions. For example, these techniques may be implemented in hardware (one or more apparatuses), firmware (one or more apparatuses), software (one or more modules), or combinations thereof. For a firmware or software, implementation may be made through modules (e.g., procedures, functions, and so on) that perform the functions described herein.

Likewise, while several specific implementation details are contained in the above discussions, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the subject matter described herein, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments.

While this specification contains many specific implementation details, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of any implementation or of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments of particular implementations.

Claim 1:
A method (<NUM>) at a communication network comprising a content provider node and a broadcast-multicast service node, wherein the content provider node needs to deliver a message to a group of user equipments via the broadcast multicast service node, the method comprising:
obtaining (<NUM>), by the content provider node, one or more group identifiers; and
sending (<NUM>), by the content provider node, the one or more group identifiers to the broadcast-multicast service node
wherein the one or more group identifiers are used by the broadcast-multicast service node to generate a group filter which is included in service announcement information for sending to one or more user equipments in the communication network thereby allowing the message to be delivered to said group of user equipments.