WO2023156001A1

WO2023156001A1 - Access provision to a localized hosting network

Info

Publication number: WO2023156001A1
Application number: PCT/EP2022/054121
Authority: WO
Inventors: Sumesh Parameswaran Nair; Ravi Prasad R K; Rajat Duggal; Rajesh Babu NATARAJAN
Original assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy
Priority date: 2022-02-18
Filing date: 2022-02-18
Publication date: 2023-08-24

Abstract

A user equipment operable in a mobile communications environment is registered to a serving network and a hosting network provides a service with temporal and/or geographical limita- tions such as a location-based service at a three-day sports event. To provide the user equip- ment access to the hosting network, an indication of availability of the hosting network is sent from the serving network to the user equipment and the user equipment connects to the host- ing network based on the indication of the availability of the hosting network.

Description

ACCESS PROVISION TO A LOCALIZED HOSTING NETWORK

FIELD

[0001] The subject disclosure generally relates to mobile communication systems. More specifically, the subject disclose relates to providing a user equipment access to localized and/or temporarily available services via a hosting network.

BACKGROUND

[0002] The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Technical Report (TR) 22.844 V18.2.0 (2021-12) "Study on 5 G Networks Providing Access to Localized Services" (PALS) recites the scenarios where a user equipment is subscribed to multiple temporary networks that provide localized services in addition to a public land mobile network (PLMN) to which the user equipment is generally subscribed.

[0003] Various use cases are set forth such as providing access to services through the hosting network on demand, temporary and/or cover specific locations, providing access over different radio access technologies (RAT) including 3 GPP and non-3GPP RATs as well as licensed or unlicensed frequency spectrums. In addition, it is envisaged to investigate potential new service requirements such as enabling users or the user equipment to discover availability of specific target networks and specific service through a hosting network and enabling access to the hosting network and specific services without previous relationships with the hosting network.

[0004] Hence, a need arises to seek for technical solutions to facilitate access to a temporary /localized/on-demand hosting network providing services in addition to a serving network or PLMN of the user equipment.

SUMMARY

[0005] According to a first aspect of the subject disclosure, a method is provided for providing a user equipment access to a hosting network in a mobile communications environment, the user equipment being registered to a serving network and the hosting network providing a service with temporal and/or geographical limitations, the method comprising, at the user equipment, receiving, from the serving network, an indication of an availability of the hosting network and connecting to the hosting network based on the indication of the availability of the hosting network.

[0006] In some method embodiments, the receiving of the indication comprises receiving the indication by a broadcasting message

[0007] In some method embodiments, the broadcasting message comprises a System Information Block message with the indication. [0008] In some method embodiments, the receiving of the indication comprises receiving the indication from a cell of the serving network that overlaps with geographically coverage of the hosting network

[0009] In some method embodiments, wherein the indication comprises a flag indicating the availability of the hosting network.

[0010] In some method embodiments, the user equipment receives at least one of a serving network Tracking identifier and a serving network cell identifier identifying at least one cell of the serving network physically overlapping with the coverage area of the hosting network, by way of a dedicated provisioning procedure.

[0011] In some embodiments, the user equipment receives the at least one of a serving network Tracking Area identifier and the serving network cell identifier is performed in the course of at least one of a subscription procedure by which the user equipment subscribes to one or more services provided by the hosting network, a provisioning procedure of the serving network, and a configuration update procedure.

[0012] In some method embodiments, the user equipment compares, in response to receiving the indication of the availability of the hosting network, at least one of the serving network Tracking Area identifier received by way of the dedicated provisioning procedure with a current serving network Tracking Area identifier broadcasted by the serving network and the serving network cell identifier received by way of the dedicated provisioning procedure with a current serving network cell identifier broadcasted by the serving network. In response to determining that the serving network Tracking Area identifier received by way of the dedicated provisioning procedure and the current serving network Tracking Area identifier broadcasted by the serving network and/or determining that the serving network cell identifier received by way of the dedicated provisioning procedure and the current serving network cell identifier broadcasted by the serving network are identical, the user equipment searches for the hosting network and connects to a cell of the hosting network

[0013] In some method embodiments, the user equipment receives at least one of a current serving network Tracking Area identifier and a current serving network cell identifier broadcasted by the serving network. The user equipment compares the current serving network Tracking Area identifier with the serving network Tracking Area identifier received by way of the dedicated provision procedure and/or compares the serving network cell identifier received by way of the dedicated provisioning procedure with the current serving network cell identifier broadcasted by the serving network. In response to determining that the serving network Tracking Area identifier received by way of the dedicated provisioning procedure and the current serving network Tracking Area identifier broadcasted by the serving network and/or the serving network cell identifier received by way of the dedicated provisioning procedure and the current serving network cell identifier broadcasted by the serving network are identical, the user equipment requests an on-demand System Information Block message from the serving network comprising the indication of the availability of the hosting network. In response to determining that the indication of the availability of the hosting network indicates that the hosting network is currently available, the user equipment searches for the hosting network and connects to a cell of the hosting network

[0014] According to a second aspect, a user equipment operable in a mobile communication environment is provided. The user equipment is registered to a serving network and a hosting network providing a service with temporal and/or geographical limitations. The user equipment comprises, at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code causing the user equipment, when executed with the at least one processor, to receive, from the serving network, an indication of an availability of the hosting network and to connect to the hosting network based on the indication of the availability of the hosting network.

[0015] In some embodiments, the computer program code causes the user equipment, when executed with the at least one processor, to receive the indication by way of a configuration update procedure to provide, by the serving network, or as part of provisioning of the Hosting Network subscription information, indication of cells of the Serving Network where the Hosting Network Service Overlaps and/or timing information about the availability of hosting network. [0016] In some embodiments, the computer program code causes the user equipment, when executed with the at least one processor, to receive the indication by a broadcasting message.

[0017] In some embodiments, the broadcasting message comprises a System Information Block message with the indication.

[0018] In some embodiments, wherein the computer program code causes the user equipment, when executed with the at least one processor, to receive the indication from a cell of the serving network that overlaps with geographically coverage of the hosting network.

[0019] In some embodiments, the indication comprises a flag indicating the availability of the hosting network.

[0020] In some embodiments, the computer program code causes the user equipment to receive at least one of a serving network Tracking Area identifier and a serving network cell identifier by way of a dedicated provisioning procedure.

[0021] In some embodiments, the computer program code causes the user equipment to receive the at least one of a serving network Tracking Area identifier and the serving network cell identifier is performed in the course of at least one of a subscription procedure by which the user equipment subscribes to one or more services provided by the hosting network, a provisioning procedure of the serving network, and a configuration update procedure.

[0022] In some embodiments, the computer program code causes the user equipment to compare, in response to receiving the indication of the availability of the hosting network, at least one of the serving network Tracking Area identifier received by way of the dedicated provisioning procedure with a current serving network Tracking Area identifier broadcasted by the serving network and the serving network cell identifier received by way of the dedicated provisioning procedure with a current serving network cell identifier broadcasted by the serving network. In response to determining that the serving network Tracking Area identifier received by way of the dedicated provisioning procedure and the current serving network Tracking Area identifier broadcasted by the serving network and/or determining that the serving network cell identifier received by way of the dedicated provisioning procedure and the current serving network cell identifier broadcasted by the serving network are identical, the computer program code causes the user equipment to search for the hosting network and to connect to a cell of the hosting network.

[0023] In some embodiments, the computer program code causes the user equipment to receive at least one of a current serving network Tracking Area identifier and a current serving network cell identifier broadcasted by the serving network and to compare the current serving network Tracking Area identifier with the serving network Tracking Area identifier received by way of the dedicated provision procedure and/or to compare the serving network cell identifier received by way of the dedicated provisioning procedure with the current serving network cell identifier broadcasted by the serving network. In response to determining that the serving network Tracking Area identifier received by way of the dedicated provisioning procedure and the current serving network Tracking Area identifier broadcasted by the serving network and/or the serving network cell identifier received by way of the dedicated provisioning procedure and the current serving network cell identifier broadcasted by the serving network are identical, the computer program code causes the user equipment to request an on-demand System Information Block message from the serving network comprising the indication of the availability of the hosting network. In response to determining that the indication of the availability of the hosting network indicates that the hosting network is currently available, the computer program code causes the user equipment to search for the hosting network and to connect to a cell of the hosting network.

[0024] According to a third aspect, a method is provided for providing a user equipment access to a hosting network in a mobile communications environment, the user equipment being registered to a serving network and the hosting network providing a service with temporal and/or geographical limitations, wherein the serving network comprises a network element, the method comprising, at the network element, sending, to the user equipment, an indication of an availability of the hosting network to enable the user equipment to connect to the hosting network based on the indication of the availability of the hosting network.

[0025] In some method embodiments, the method further comprises receiving, at the network element, the indication from the hosting network in response to the hosting network becoming available.

[0026] In some method embodiments, sending the indication to the user equipment comprises sending the indication by a broadcasting message. In some method embodiments, sending the indication to the user equipment comprises sending the indication of a cell of the serving network that overlaps with geographically coverage of the hosting network. [0027] Some method embodiments comprise the network element sending, to the user equipment, at least one of a serving network Tracking Area identifier and a serving network cell Identifier by way of a dedicated provisioning procedure.

[0028] Some method embodiments comprise the network element broadcasting a current serving network Tracking Area identifier and or a current serving network cell identifier and, in response to receiving a request for an on-demand System Information Block message from the user equipment having determined that the current serving network Tracking Area identifier is identical to the serving network Tracking Area identifier sent to the user equipment by way of the dedicated provisioning procedure and/or the having determined that the current serving network cell identifier is identical to at least one of the serving network cell identified s) sent to the user equipment by way of the dedicated provisioning procedure, sending the on-demand System Information Block message comprising the indication of the availability of the hosting network.

[0029] According to a fourth aspect, a network element for providing a user equipment access to a hosting network is provided. The user equipment is registered to the serving network and the hosting network provides a service with temporal and/or geographical limitations. The network element comprises at least one processor, and at least one memory including computer program causing the network element, when executed with the at least one processor, to send, to the user equipment, an indication of an availability of the hosting network to enable the user equipment to connect to the hosting network based on the indication of the availability of the hosting network.

[0030] In some embodiments, the computer program code causes the network element, when executed with the at least one processor, to receive the indication from the hosting network in response to the hosting network becoming available.

[0031] In some embodiments, the computer program code causes the network element, when executed with the at least one processor, to send the indication to the user equipment by a broadcasting message.

[0032] In some embodiments, the computer program code causes the network element, when executed with the at least one processor, to send the indication from a cell of the serving network that overlaps with geographically coverage of the hosting network.

[0033] In some embodiments, the computer program code causes the network element, when executed with the at least one processor, to send, to the user equipment, at least one of a serving network Tracking Area identifier and a serving network cell identifier by way of a dedicated provisioning procedure.

[0034] In some embodiments, the computer program code causes the network element, when executed with the at least one processor, to broadcast at least one of a current serving network Tracking Area identifier and a current serving network cell identifier and, in response to receiving a request for an on-demand System Information Block message from the user equipment having determined that the current serving network Tracking Area identifier is identical to the serving network Tracking identifier sent to the user equipment by way of the dedicated provisioning procedure and/or having determined that the current serving network cell identifier is identical to at least one of the serving network cell identifier (s) sent to the user equipment by way of the dedicated provisioning procedure, to send the on-demand System Information Block message comprising the indication of the availability of the hosting network. [0035] According to a fifth aspect, a computer program is provided comprising computer program code which, when executed by a user equipment, causes at least one user equipment to perform the method steps according to any one of the method embodiments outlined above. [0036] According to a sixth aspect, a computer program is provided comprising computer program code which, when executed by a network element, causes at least one user equipment to perform the method steps according to any one of the method embodiments outlined above. [0037] According to a seventh aspect, a computer program product is provided comprising program instructions stored on a computer readable medium to execute the method steps according to any one of the method embodiments outlined above when said program is executed on a user equipment.

[0038] According to an eight aspect, a computer program product is provided comprising program instructions stored on a computer readable medium to execute the method steps according to any one of the method embodiments outlined above when said program is executed on a network element.

[0039] According to a ninth aspect, a system for providing a user equipment access to a hosting network in a mobile communications environment is provided, the system comprising a user equipment according to any one of user equipment embodiments outlined above and a network element according to any one of the network element embodiments outlined above. [0040] The above-noted aspects and features may be implemented in systems, apparatuses, methods, articles and/or non-transitory computer-readable media depending on the desired configuration. The subject disclosure may be implemented in and/or used with a number of different types of devices, including but not limited to cellular phones, tablet computers, wearable computing devices, portable media players, and any of various other computing devices.

[0041] This summary is intended to provide a brief overview of some of the aspects and features according to the subject disclosure. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the abovedescribed features are merely examples and should not be construed to narrow the scope of the subject disclosure in any way. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subject disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description, drawings and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0042] To facilitate understanding of the subject disclosure, the following detailed description of various embodiments refers to the following drawings, in which: [0043] FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of an example communication system comprising a base station and a plurality of communication devices;

[0044] FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of an example mobile communication device;

[0045] FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of an example control apparatus;

[0046] FIG. 4 shows a sequence chart for providing a user equipment access to a hosting network in a mobile communications environment according to some embodiments;

[0047] FIG. 5 shows an overlap of a coverage of a hosting network with cells of a serving network;

[0048] FIG. 6 shows a sequence chart for a hosting network selection by a provisioned user equipment with a serving network and a hosting network overlapping each other according to some embodiments;

[0049] FIG. 7 shows a sequence chart for a network selection by an unprovisioned user equipment with a serving network and a hosting network overlapping each other, according to some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0050] Before explaining the functionalities, activities and examples of the subject disclosure in detail, certain general principles of a wireless communication system and mobile communication devices are briefly explained with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 to assist in understanding the technology underlying the described examples.

[0051] In a wireless communication system 100, such as that shown in FIG. 1, mobile communication devices or user equipment (UE) 102, 104, 105 are provided wireless access via at least one base station (e.g., next generation NB, gNB) or similar wireless transmitting and/or receiving node or point. Base stations may be controlled or assisted by at least one appropriate controller apparatus, so as to enable operation thereof and management of mobile communication devices in communication with the base stations. The controller apparatus may be located in a radio access network (e.g., wireless communication system 100) or in a core network (CN) (not shown) and may be implemented as one central apparatus or its functionality may be distributed over several apparatuses. The controller apparatus may be part of the base station and/or provided by a separate entity such as a Radio Network Controller. In FIG. 1 control apparatus 108 and 109 are shown to control the respective macro level base stations 106 and 107. The control apparatus of a base station can be interconnected with other control entities. The control apparatus is typically provided with memory capacity and at least one data processor. The control apparatus and functions may be distributed between a plurality of control units. In some systems, the control apparatus may additionally or alternatively be provided in a radio network controller.

[0052] In FIG. 1, base stations 106 and 107 are shown as connected to a wider communications network 113 via gateway 112. A further gateway function may be provided to connect to another network. [0053] As used herein, the term "base station" has the full breadth of its ordinary meaning, and at least includes a wireless communication station installed at a fixed location and used to communicate as part of a wireless telephone system or radio system. The communication area (or coverage area) of the base stations may be referred to as a "cell." The base stations and the UEs may be configured to communicate over the transmission medium using any of various radio access technologies (RATs), also referred to as wireless communication technologies, or telecommunication standards described hereinbelow. As illustrated in FIG. 1, while one of the base stations may act as a "serving cell" for UEs, each UE may also be capable of receiving signals from (and possibly within communication range of) one or more other cells (which might be provided by the base stations and/or any other base stations), which may be referred to as "neighboring cells".

[0054] The smaller base stations 116, 118 and 120 may also be connected to the network 113, for example by a separate gateway function and/or via the controllers of the macro level stations. The base stations 116, 118 and 120 may be pico or femto level base stations or the like. In the example, stations 116 and 118 are connected via a gateway 111 whilst station 120 connects via the controller apparatus 108. In some embodiments, the smaller stations may not be provided. Smaller base stations 116, 118 and 120 may be part of a second network, for example WLAN and may be WLAN APs. The communication devices 102, 104, 105 may access the communication system based on various access techniques, such as code division multiple access (CDMA), or wideband CDMA (WCDMA). Other non-limiting examples comprise time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA) and various schemes thereof such as the interleaved frequency division multiple access (IFDMA), single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) and orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), space division multiple access (SDMA) and so on.

[0055] An example of wireless communication systems are architectures standardized by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). A latest 3GPP based development is often referred to as the long-term evolution (LTE) of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) radio-access technology. The various development stages of the 3GPP specifications are referred to as releases. More recent developments of the LTE are often referred to as LTE Advanced (LTE-A). The LTE (LTE-A) employs a radio mobile architecture known as the Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) and a core network known as the Evolved Packet Core (EPC). Base stations of such systems are known as evolved or enhanced Node Bs (eNBs) and provide E-UTRAN features such as user plane Packet Data Convergence/Radio Link Control/Medium Access Control/Physical layer protocol (PDCP/RLC/MAC/PHY) and control plane Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol terminations towards the communication devices. Other examples of radio access system comprise those provided by base stations of systems that are based on technologies such as wireless local area network (WLAN) and/or WiMax (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access). A base station can provide coverage for an entire cell or similar radio service area. Core network elements include Mobility Management Entity (MME), Serving Gateway (S-GW) and Packet Gateway (P-GW).

[0056] An example of a suitable communications system is the 5G or NR concept. Network architecture in NR may be similar to that of LTE Advanced. Base stations of NR systems may be known as next generation Node Bs (gNBs). Changes to the network architecture may depend on the need to support various radio technologies and finer QoS support, and some on-demand requirements for e.g. QoS levels to support QoE of user point of view. Also network aware services and applications, and service and application aware networks may bring changes to the architecture. Those are related to Information Centric Network (ICN) and User-Centric Content Delivery Network (UC-CDN) approaches. NR may use multiple input-multiple output (MIMO) antennas, many more base stations or nodes than the LTE (a so-called small cell concept), including macro sites operating in co-operation with smaller stations and perhaps also employing a variety of radio technologies for better coverage and enhanced data rates.

[0057] Future networks may utilize network functions virtualization (NFV) which is a network architecture concept that proposes virtualizing network node functions into "building blocks" or entities that may be operationally connected or linked together to provide services. A virtualized network function (VNF) may comprise one or more virtual machines running computer program codes using standard or general type servers instead of customized hardware. Cloud computing or data storage may also be utilized. In radio communications this may mean node operations to be carried out, at least partly, in a server, host or node operationally coupled to a remote radio head. It is also possible that node operations will be distributed among a plurality of servers, nodes or hosts. It should also be understood that the distribution of labor between core network operations and base station operations may differ from that of the LTE or even be non-existent.

[0058] An example 5G core network (CN) comprises functional entities. The CN is connected to a UE via the radio access network (RAN). An UPF (User Plane Function) whose role is called PSA (PDU Session Anchor) may be responsible for forwarding frames back and forth between the DN (data network) and the tunnels established over the 5G towards the UE(s) exchanging traffic with the DN.

[0059] The UPF is controlled by an SMF (Session Management Function) that receives policies from a PCF (Policy Control Function). The CN may also include an AMF (Access & Mobility Function).

[0060] A possible mobile communication device will now be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 2 showing a schematic, partially sectioned view of a communication device 200. Such a communication device is often referred to as user equipment (UE) or terminal device. An appropriate mobile communication device may be provided by any device capable of sending and receiving radio signals. Non-limiting examples comprise a mobile station (MS) or mobile device such as a mobile phone or what is known as a smart phone, a computer provided with a wireless interface card or other wireless interface facility (e.g., USB dongle), personal data assistant (PDA) or a tablet provided with wireless communication capabilities, or any combinations of these or the like. A mobile communication device may provide, for example, communication of data for carrying communications such as voice, electronic mail (e-mail), text message, multimedia and so on. Users may thus be offered and provided numerous services via their communication devices. Non-limiting examples of these services comprise two-way or multi-way calls, data communication or multimedia services or simply an access to a data communications network system, such as the Internet. Users may also be provided broadcast or multicast data. Non-limiting examples of the content comprise downloads, television and radio programs, videos, advertisements, various alerts and other information.

[0061] In an industrial application a communication device may be a modem integrated into an industrial actuator (e.g., a robot arm) and/or a modem acting as an Ethernet-hub that will act as a connection point for one or several connected Ethernet devices (which connection may be wired or unwired).

[0062] A mobile device is typically provided with at least one data processing entity 201, at least one memory 202 and other possible components 203 for use in software and hardware aided execution of tasks it is designed to perform, including control of access to and communications with access systems and other communication devices. The data processing, storage and other relevant control apparatus can be provided on an appropriate circuit board and/or in chipsets. This feature is denoted by reference 204. The user may control the operation of the mobile device by means of a suitable user interface such as keypad 205, voice commands, touch sensitive screen or pad, combinations thereof or the like. A display 208, a speaker and a microphone can be also provided. Furthermore, a mobile communication device may comprise appropriate connectors (either wired or wireless) to other devices and/or for connecting external accessories, for example hands-free equipment, thereto.

[0063] The communication device 200 may receive signals over an air or radio interface 207 via appropriate apparatus for receiving and may transmit signals via appropriate apparatus for transmitting radio signals. In FIG. 2 transceiver apparatus is designated schematically by block 206. The transceiver apparatus 206 may be provided for example by means of a radio part and associated antenna arrangement. The antenna arrangement may be arranged internally or externally to the mobile device.

[0064] The communication device 200 may also or alternatively be configured to communicate using one or more global navigational satellite systems (GNSS, e.g., GPS or GLONASS), one or more mobile television broadcasting standards (e.g., ATSC-M/H or DVB- H), and/or any other wireless communication protocol, if desired. Other combinations of wireless communication standards (including more than two wireless communication standards) are also possible.

[0065] Generally, the communication device 200 illustrated in FIG. 2 includes a set of components configured to perform core functions. For example, this set of components may be implemented as a system on chip (SOC), which may include portions for various purposes. Alternatively, this set of components may be implemented as separate components or groups of components for the various purposes. The set of components may be coupled (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) to various other circuits of the communication device 200. [0066] The communication device 200 may include at least one antenna in communication with a transmitter and a receiver (e.g., the transceiver apparatus 206). Alternatively, transmit and receive antennas may be separate. The communication device 200 may also include a processor (e.g., the at least one data processing entity 201) configured to provide signals to and receive signals from the transmitter and receiver, respectively, and to control the functioning of the communication device 200. The processor may be configured to control the functioning of the transmitter and receiver by effecting control signaling via electrical leads to the transmitter and receiver. Likewise, the processor may be configured to control other elements of the communication device 200 by effecting control signaling via electrical leads connecting processor to the other elements, such as a display (e.g., display 208) or a memory (e.g., the at least one memory 202). The processor may, for example, be embodied in a variety of ways including circuitry, at least one processing core, one or more microprocessors with accompanying digital signal processor(s), one or more processor(s) without an accompanying digital signal processor, one or more coprocessors, one or more multi-core processors, one or more controllers, processing circuitry, one or more computers, various other processing elements including integrated circuits (for example, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), and/or the like), or some combination thereof. Accordingly, in some examples, the processor may comprise a plurality of processors or processing cores.

[0067] The communication device 200 may be capable of operating with one or more air interface standards, communication protocols, modulation types, access types, and/or the like. Signals sent and received by the processor may include signaling information in accordance with an air interface standard of an applicable cellular system, and/or any number of different wireline or wireless networking techniques, comprising but not limited to Wi-Fi, wireless local access network (WLAN) techniques, such as Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, 802.16, 802.3, ADSL, DOCSIS, and/or the like. In addition, these signals may include speech data, user generated data, user requested data, and/or the like.

[0068] For example, the communication device 200 and/or a cellular modem therein may be capable of operating in accordance with various first generation (1G) communication protocols, second generation (2G or 2.5G) communication protocols, third-generation (3G) communication protocols, fourth-generation (4G) communication protocols, fifth-generation (5G) communication protocols, Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) communication protocols (for example, session initiation protocol (SIP) and/or the like). For example, the communication device 200 may be capable of operating in accordance with 2G wireless communication protocols IS-136, Time Division Multiple Access TDMA, Global System for Mobile communications, GSM, IS-95, Code Division Multiple Access, CDMA, and/or the like. In addition, for example, the communication device 200 may be capable of operating in accordance with 2.5G wireless communication protocols General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), and/or the like. Further, for example, the communication device 200 may be capable of operating in accordance with 3G wireless communication protocols, such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Code Division Multiple Access 2000 (CDMA2000), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Time Division-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA), and/or the like. The communication device 200 may be additionally capable of operating in accordance with 3.9G wireless communication protocols, such as Long-Term Evolution (LTE), Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), and/or the like. Additionally, for example, the communication device 200 may be capable of operating in accordance with 4G wireless communication protocols, such as LTE Advanced, 5G, and/or the like as well as similar wireless communication protocols that may be subsequently developed.

[0069] It is understood that the processor may include circuitry for implementing au- dio/video and logic functions of the communication device 200. For example, the processor may comprise a digital signal processor device, a microprocessor device, an analog-to-digital converter, a digital-to-analog converter, and/or the like. Control and signal processing functions of the communication device 200 may be allocated between these devices according to their respective capabilities. The processor may additionally comprise an internal voice coder (VC), an internal data modem (DM), and/or the like. Further, the processor may include functionality to operate one or more software programs, which may be stored in memory. In general, the processor and stored software instructions may be configured to cause the communication device 200 to perform actions. For example, the processor may be capable of operating a connectivity program, such as a web browser. The connectivity program may allow the communication device 200 to transmit and receive web content, such as location-based content, according to a protocol, such as wireless application protocol (WAP), hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), and/or the like.

[0070] The communication device 200 may also comprise a user interface including, for example, an earphone or speaker, a ringer, a microphone, a display, a user input interface, and/or the like, which may be operationally coupled to the processor. The display may, as noted above, include a touch sensitive display, where a user may touch and/or gesture to make selections, enter values, and/or the like. The processor may also include user interface circuitry configured to control at least some functions of one or more elements of the user interface, such as the speaker, the ringer, the microphone, the display, and/or the like. The processor and/or user interface circuitry comprising the processor may be configured to control one or more functions of one or more elements of the user interface through computer program instructions, for example, software and/or firmware, stored on a memory accessible to the processor, for example, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, and/or the like. The communication device 200 may include a battery for powering various circuits related to the mobile terminal, for example, a circuit to provide mechanical vibration as a detectable output. The user input interface may comprise devices allowing the communication device 200 to receive data, such as a keypad (e.g., keypad 206) and/or other input devices. The keypad can also be a virtual keyboard presented on display or an externally coupled keyboard.

[0071] The communication device 200 may also include one or more mechanisms for sharing and/or obtaining data. For example, the communication device 200 may include a short- range radio frequency (RF) transceiver and/or interrogator, so data may be shared with and/or obtained from electronic devices in accordance with RF techniques. The communication device 200 may include other short-range transceivers, such as an infrared (IR) transceiver, a Bluetooth™ (BT) transceiver operating using Bluetooth™ wireless technology, a wireless universal serial bus (USB) transceiver, a Bluetooth™ Low Energy transceiver, a ZigBee transceiver, an ANT transceiver, a cellular device-to-device transceiver, a wireless local area link transceiver, and/or any other short-range radio technology. The communication device 200 and, in particular, the short-range transceiver may be capable of transmitting data to and/or receiving data from electronic devices within the proximity of the apparatus, such as within 10 meters, for example. The communication device 200 including the Wi-Fi or wireless local area networking modem may also be capable of transmitting and/or receiving data from electronic devices according to various wireless networking techniques, including 6LoWpan, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi low power, WLAN techniques such as IEEE 802.11 techniques, IEEE 802.15 techniques, IEEE 802.16 techniques, and/or the like.

[0072] The communication device 200 may comprise memory, such as one or more Subscriber Identity Modules (SIM), one or more Universal Subscriber Identity Modules (USIM), one or more removable User Identity Modules (R-UIM), one or more eUICC, one or more UICC, and/or the like, which may store information elements related to a mobile subscriber. In addition, the communication device 200 may include other removable and/or fixed memory. The communication device 200 may include volatile memory and/or non-volatile memory. For example, the volatile memory may include Random Access Memory (RAM) including dynamic and/or static RAM, on-chip or off-chip cache memory, and/or the like. The non-volatile memory, which may be embedded and/or removable, may include, for example, read-only memory, flash memory, magnetic storage devices, for example, hard disks, floppy disk drives, magnetic tape, optical disc drives and/or media, non-volatile random-access memory (NVRAM), and/or the like. Like volatile memory, the non-volatile memory may include a cache area for temporary storage of data. At least part of the volatile and/or non-volatile memory may be embedded in the processor. The memories may store one or more software programs, instructions, pieces of information, data, and/or the like which may be used by the apparatus for performing operations disclosed herein.

[0073] The memories may comprise an identifier, such as an International Mobile Equipment Identification (IMEI) code, capable of uniquely identifying the communication device 200. The memories may comprise an identifier, such as an international mobile equipment identification (IMEI) code, capable of uniquely identifying the communication device 200. In the example embodiment, the processor may be configured using computer code stored at memory to cause the processor to perform operations disclosed herein.

[0074] Some of the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented in software, hardware, application logic, or a combination of software, hardware, and application logic. The software, application logic, and/or hardware may reside on the memory, the processor, or electronic components, for example. In some example embodiment, the application logic, software or an instruction set is maintained on any one of various conventional computer-readable media. In the context of this document, a "computer-readable medium" may be any non-transitory media that can contain, store, communicate, propagate or transport the instructions for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer or data processor circuitry, with examples depicted at FIG. 2, computer-readable medium may comprise a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that may be any media that can contain or store the instructions for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer.

[0075] In some embodiments, the communication device 200 (i.e., a user equipment (UE) in a network) comprises the processor (e.g., the at least one data processing entity 201) and the memory (e.g., the at least one memory 202). The memory includes computer program code causing the communication device 200 to perform processing according to the methods described below with reference to FIG. 4 as well as FIGS. 6 to 8.

[0076] FIG. 3 shows an example embodiment of a control apparatus for a communication system, for example to be coupled to and/or for controlling a station of an access system, such as a RAN node, e.g., a base station, eNB or gNB, a relay node or a core network node such as an MME or S-GW or P-GW, or a core network function such as AMF/SMF, or a server or host. The method may be implanted in a single control apparatus or across more than one control apparatus. The control apparatus may be integrated with or external to a node or module of a core network or RAN. In some embodiments, base stations comprise a separate control apparatus unit or module. In other embodiments, the control apparatus can be another network element such as a radio network controller or a spectrum controller. In some embodiments, each base station may have such a control apparatus as well as a control apparatus being provided in a radio network controller. The control apparatus 300 can be arranged to provide control on communications in the service area of the system. The control apparatus 300 comprises at least one memory 301, at least one data processing unit 302, 303 and an input/output interface 304. Via the interface the control apparatus can be coupled to a receiver and a transmitter of the base station. The receiver and/or the transmitter may be implemented as a radio front end or a remote radio head.

[0077] Generally, the control apparatus 300 has an antenna, which transmits and receives radio signals. A radio frequency (RF) transceiver module, coupled with the antenna, receives RF signals from antenna, converts them to baseband signals and sends them to processor (e.g., the at least one data processing unit 302, 303). RF transceiver also converts received baseband signals from processor, converts them to RF signals, and sends out to antenna. Processor processes the received baseband signals and invokes different functional modules to perform features in control apparatus 300. Memory (e.g., the at least one memory 301) stores program instructions and data to control the operations of the control apparatus 300. In the example of FIG. 3, the control apparatus 300 also includes protocol stack and a set of control functional modules and circuit. PDU session handling circuit handles PDU session establishment and modification procedures. Policy control module that configures policy rules for UE. Configuration and control circuit provides different parameters to configure and control UE of related functionalities including mobility management and session management. Suitable processors include, by way of example, a special purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a plurality of micro-processors, one or more micro-processor associated with a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), file programmable gate array (FPGA) circuits, and other type of integrated circuits (ICs), and/or state machines.

[0078] In some embodiments, the control apparatus 300 (i.e., the base station or the wireless transmitting and/or receiving point equipment) comprises the processor (e.g., the at least one data processing unit 302, 303) and the memory (e.g., the at least one memory 301).

[0079] Now turning to the more specific description, the subject disclosure addresses the need for technical solutions to provide a user equipment (such as UE 102, 104, 105 and device 200) access to a hosting network. The user equipment is registered to a serving network such as a PLMN with e.g. a country-wide geographic coverage and continuous provision of numerous service such as data services, messaging services, multimedia service and voice services. The serving network may be the home network of the user equipment, i.e. the network of the network provider with which the user has a mobile service contract and which is defined in the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) to be the home network. The serving network may also be a visited network, e.g. in the event of roaming. The functionalities and services of the serving network are provided by network elements of the serving network including radio access network (RAN) elements such as base stations (eNBs) and core network elements such as the Application Function (AF). A functionality of the serving network and its network elements as introduced herein include sending messages to a user equipment with indications of the availability of a hosting network.

[0080] On the other hand, the hosting network to which the user equipment is to be connected is another mobile communication network, i.e. a network different from the serving network and e.g. operated by a different network provider. Generally, the hosting network is available for a limited span of time and geographic extent, as per demand and use case. An example for a hosting network may be a network that is temporarily setup only at the ground of a sport, culture or art event or a trade fair by temporarily establishing one or more base stations, such as base stations 106, 107, 116, 118, 120 of FIG. 1, and by setting up the corresponding controllers 108, 109 and the gateways 111 of FIG. 1. Another example for a hosting network is a mobile communication network that is installed permanently or temporarily on a passenger ship such as a cruise ship.

[0081] The coverage of the hosting network provided by one or more cells of the hosting network is limited to the ground where and to the time when such event takes place. When the event has ended, the hosting network is usually dismantled again. The coverage of a hosting network installed on a ship may extend throughout the decks of the ship.

[0082] Hence, due to the limited geographical coverage, the hosting network offers localized services, i.e. services which are accessed locally at the area of the hosting network and which may also be specific for the use case of the hosting network, e.g. by providing check-in functionalities to the event, event information services or navigation services. Further or other localized services provided by way or through the hosting services include e. g. streaming services for watching the ongoing of events, payment services for e. g. parking lots, food, tickets. The services may be provided by one or more servers (e.g. application servers) which are part of the hosting network itself and/or which may accessible by the user equipment connected to the hosting network. Once the temporary hosting network has been dismantled, these services are thus no longer available through the hosting network.

[0083] FIG. 4 shows a sequence chart for providing a user equipment (UE) 410 access to a hosting network 430 in a mobile communications environment according to aspects of the subject disclosure. The UE 410 is subscribed 440 to a serving network 420. The hosting network 430 provides a service or a number of services with temporal and/or geographical limitations. An example for services with temporal and/or geographical limitations are network services offered within a temporal network which has been installed at the sites of major sports and art events or at fairgrounds.

[0084] A network element of the serving network 420, such as a base station of the serving network 420, sends an indication indicating that the hosting network 430 has become available and, accordingly, one or more services are available by or through the hosting network 430. The UE 410 receives, in activity 450, the indication of the availability of the hosting network 430 from the serving network 420. In some embodiments, the serving network 420 has previously received, in activity 470, the indication from the hosting network 430 in response to the hosting network 430 becoming available. For example, the serving network 420 of the UE has received, by one of the network elements of the serving network 420, the indication from the temporary hosting network 430 at the moment when the hosting network 430 has been installed and become operational, which may be well ahead of the point in time when the UE 410 will access services provided by the hosting network 430.

[0085] In activity 460, the UE 410 connects to the hosting network 430 based on the indication of the availability of the hosting network 430. For example, the UE 410 connects to the temporary hosting network 430 of the site of sports or art event or the fairground.

[0086] In some embodiments, the indication of the availability of the hosting network comprises the availability of a particular hosting network service. Hence, the UE 410 is not only provided with the information that the hosting network 430 is available, but also with additional information which services have become available by way of the hosting network 430. In some embodiments, a number of hosting network services may be indicated. The hosting network service may be a paying service for parking lots, entry billets, restaurant bills etc.

[0087] The provision 450 of the hosting network availability indication can be technically realized in various manners. For example, in some embodiments, the UE receives the indication by a broadcasting message, which, for example, include a System Information Block (SIB) message such as SIB3. Hence, all UEs in the coverage area of the broadcasting network element of the serving network are enabled to receive the indication of the availability of the hosting network.

[0088] In some embodiments, the serving network 420 provides the hosting network availability indication, e.g. the broadcasting messages, via all cells of the serving network which geographically coincide with the geographic coverage of the hosting network 430. Hence, in such embodiments, receiving the indication by the UE 410 comprises receiving the indication of a cell of the serving network 420 that overlaps with geographically coverage of the hosting network 430. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, cell#l of the serving network 420 geographically overlaps with the geographical coverage of the hosting network 430, whereas cell#2 of the serving network 420 does not geographically overlap. Therefore, the indication is broadcast by the serving network 420 and received by the UE 410 via cell# 1 of the serving network 420, but not via cell#2. This facilitates service provision as the UE 410 is enabled to quickly reconnect from cell# 1 of the serving network 420 to an operative cell of the hosting network 430.

[0089] The indication may be encoded or represented in various manners. For example, in some embodiments, the indication comprises a flag indicating the availability of the hosting network. For example, a flag value of "0" indicates no availability, e.g. when the hosting network has been switched off after the end of the event, and a flag value of "1" indicates current availability of the hosting network. In some embodiments, the flag is included in a SIB broadcasting message.

[0090] In some embodiments, UE 410 is provided with more detailed information and additionally facilitating a connection of the UE 410 with the hosting network 430. For example, the UE 410 is provided with at least one of a Tracking Area identifier (e.g. 5G Tracking Area ID, TAI) and a cell identifier of the serving network 420 overlapping with the coverage area of hosting network 430. In the case of 5G, the TAI may be, as an example, constructed from the PLMN identity the tracking area belongs to and the TAC (Tracking Area Code) of the Tracking Area. In 5G, the cell identifiers may be a NR Cell Global Identifier (NCGI) used to identify NR cells globally. The NCGI may be constructed from a Public Land Mobile network (PLMN) identifier. The indication may also include any other location identifier. By providing the TAI and one or more cell IDs or any other type of location identifier, the UE 410 is enabled to efficiently reconnect to a cell of the hosting network 430 as it can be ensured that the UE 410 is in a physical coverage area with service provision of the serving network 430. [0091] In some embodiments, the UE 410 receives the at least one of a serving network Tracking Area identifier and the serving network cell identifier is performed in the course of at least one of a subscription procedure by which the user equipment subscribes to one or more services provided by the hosting network, a provisioning procedure of the serving network 420, and a configuration update procedure. That is, in some embodiments, the UE 410 is already provided with the aforementioned identifiers such as one or more serving network Tracking Area identifiers and one or more serving network cell identifiers at an earlier stage, before the actual availability indication is transmitted. Such provision may occur by way of a dedicated provisioning procedure which concerns the specific UE 410 (as opposed to broadcasting the information in the overall cell of the serving network 420). For example, the provisioning procedure is given or comprises a configuration update procedure to provide, by the serving network 420, indication of cells of the serving network which overlaps with the hosting network service area and/or timing information about the availability of the hosting network 430. For example, the UE 410 subscribes to localized services which will be provided by the temporary hosting network 430 installed at the site of the sport or art or fair event and a configuration update procedure is invoked during the subscription process to configure the UE 410 with Tracking Area identifiers(s) and/or cell identifiers(s) of the serving network 420 indicating network infrastructure of the serving network 420 which physically overlaps with the service area of the hosting network 430. In addition, the configuration update procedure (such as procedure 651 in FIG. 6 described further below) configures the UE 410 with configuration information about the hosting network such as one or more of frequencies, timing advance information, numerology information, cell IDs, tracking area IDs, routing area IDs, etc., so that the UE 410 is enabled to more efficiently connect to the hosting network 430 once hosting network 430 is available and is enabled to use the services provided at the site of the event, such as e. g. paying services. In some embodiments, any suitable dedicated provisioning procedure is utilized to enable the UE 410 to receive the serving network infrastructure identifiers indicating the portion of the serving network 420 in which the services of the hosting network 430 will be available. This provisioning procedure may be performed between the UE 410 and the serving network 420 or between the UE 410 and any other serving counterpart such as a subscription server located in the Internet which with the UE 410 communicates via Wi-Fi/WLAN.

[0092] In some embodiments, the UE 410 compares the serving network Tracking Area identifier(s) received by way of the dedicated provision procedure with a current serving network Tracking Area identifier broadcasted by the serving network after the UE 410 has received the indication of the availability of the hosting network 430. Furthermore, the comparison of the UE 410 determines that the serving network Tracking Area Identifier received during the provisioning procedure (650, 651) and the current serving network Tracking Area identifier are identical and the UE 410 then searches for a cell of the hosting network 630 and connects to the found cell of the hosting network. Alternatively or in addition, the UE 410 compares the serving network cell identified s) received by way of the dedicated provision procedure with a current serving network cell identifier broadcasted by the serving network after the UE 410 has received the indication of the availability of the hosting network 430. Furthermore, the comparison of the UE 410 determines that a serving network cell identifier received during the provisioning procedure and the current serving network cell identifier are identical and the UE 410 then searches for a cell of the hosting network 630 and connects to the found cell of the hosting network.

[0093] In some embodiments, the user equipment receives a current serving network Tracking Area identifier and/or a current cell ildentifier broadcasted by the serving network 420 and compares the current serving network Tracking Area identifier with the serving network Tracking Area ID received by way of the dedicated provisioning procedure. If the UE 410 determines that the serving network Tracking Area identifier previously provided and the current serving network Tracking Area identifier currently broadcast by the serving network are identical, the UE 410 requests an on-demand System Information Block message from the serving network comprising the indication of the availability of the hosting network. In response to determining that the indication of the availability of the hosting network received via the on- demand SIB message indicates that the hosting network is in fact currently available, the UE 410 searches for the hosting network and connects to a found cell of the hosting network. If the availability indication requested from the serving network 420 indicates a current unavailability (e.g. if the hosting network has not yet been fully set up), the UE 410 refrained from any connection attempt to the cell of the hosting network 430. Alternatively or in addition, the UE 410 compares the current serving network cell identifier broadcasted by the serving network with the serving network cell identifiers(s) received by way of the dedicated provision procedure. Furthermore, if the comparison of the UE 410 determines that a serving network cell identifier received during the provisioning procedure and the current serving network cell identifier are identical the UE 410 then solicitates for an on-demand SIB message as described before. If the Tracking Area identifiers and/or cell identifiers are not identical, the UE 410 does not request an on-demand SIB message from the serving network 420. Comparison of Tracking Area identifiers and/or cell identifiers may be a periodic process or be implemented event-based, e.g. each time the UE 430 changes the serving network cell on which the UE 430 camps.

[0094] FIG. 6 shows a sequence chart for a hosting network selection by a UE 610 that is already provisioned 650 with user or access credentials of the hosting network 630 and is thus readily able to connect to the hosting network 630 once the hosting network 630 is indicated to be available. The scenario of FIG. 6 assumes that the serving network 620 and the hosting network 630 geographically overlap to at least some extent. According to FIG. 6, cell#l 641 of the serving network 620 geographically overlaps with the hosting network 630 service area, whereas cell#2 642 of serving network 620 does not overlap with the hosting network 630 service area (see also FIG. 5).

[0095] As mentioned, UE 610 is provisioned 650 with temporary credentials to access hosting network 630 and its services. For example, provisioning 650 involves the user manually registering for one or more services of the (e.g. not-yet-operable) hosting network 630 via a portal before visiting the event where the hosting network 640 will be deployed. The provisioning procedure 650 may also be realized via a further user terminal such as a computer or a laptop which synchronizes the credentials with the UE 610 at some point of time.

[0096] As part of the provisioning procedure 650, the UE 610 may be provided with the list of Tracking Area and/or cell identifiers physically overlapping with the service area of the hosting network 630 and timing details about the hosting network service availability in order to enable the UE 610 to connect to the hosting network 630 at still a later point of time.

[0097] For examplethe serving network 620 triggers a dedicated provisioning procedure such as a configuration update procedure 651 to provide the list of Tracking Area and/or cell identifiers of the serving network physically overlapping with the service area of the hosting network 630 and timing details about the hosting network service availability in order to enable the UE 610 to connect to the hosting network 630 at still a later point of time. In activity 652, the hosting network 630 indicates to the serving network 620 that the hosting network deployment and setup process is completed and the hosting network 630 is operable for UE access.

[0098] In activity 653, serving network 620, such as the core network of the serving network 620, indicates to those cells of the serving network 620 overlapping with hosting network 630 (e. g. cell#l 641) that the hosting network 630 is available. The serving network 620 broadcasts in activity 653 through SIB messages in cells overlapping the physical area where the hosting network 630 is available, such as cell#l 641, an indication regarding the availability of the hosting network 630 and thus, at least implicitly, about the presence of hosting network services.

[0099] In 660, the UE 610 is still outside of the coverage area of cell#l 641, however, in 661, the UE 610 reaches an area where the hosting network services are available and, thus, also an area in which cells (cell#l) of the serving network 620 advertise the availability of the hosting network 630. With receiving, in activity 654, a SIB message by cell#l 641 of the serving network 620 indicating the availability of hosting network 630, the UE 610 recognizes and discovers, in activity 655, the availability of hosting network 630. The UE 610 checks if the current tracking area and/or cell identity is the same as the tracking area identity and/or cell identity which was provided to the UE 610 before, for example, as part of the configuration update procedure 651. If affirmative, it is confirmed that the UE 610 is located in a location in which the service(s) by the hosting network 630 are available to the UE 610. Accordingly, the UE 610 selects, in activity 656, the hosting network 630 and is enabled to access local services provided by or through the hosting network 630. UE 610 may disconnect from the serving network 620 and re-connect to the hosting network 630. Alternatively, the UE 610 connects to the hosting network 630, while keeping the existing connection to serving network 620 alive if the UE 610 is equipped with corresponding capabilities. Alternatively, in some embodiments, the UE 610 provides the indication of hosting network availability to the user for a manual network selection process or prompts the user to connect to the hosting network 630. [0100] In an exemplary scenario, the home network is A, the serving network is B, and A can be same as B if the UE is not roaming. The hosting network is C and is deployed in a stadium. Inside the stadium, coverage of serving (home) network is provided by cell Bl (or Al if the UE is not roaming). Cell B1(A1) is broadcasting its cell identifier as B1(A1), and Tracking Area identifier as TBl(TAl). Inside the stadium, coverage of hosting network is provided by Cell Cl. Cl is broadcasting its cell Identifier as Cl, and Tracking Area identifier as TCI. When the UE gets provisioned with credentials of the hosting network (e.g.: activity 650 in FIG. 6), the UE receives the information where to expect the hosting network in the physical environment of the serving network e.g. as part of the provisioning (subscription) parameters. More specifically, in the present scenario, the UE receives information to expect hosting network to be available in the coverage area of serving network B where the cell identifier is Bl and Tracking Area identifier as TB1. The UE stores this information. Alternatively, if the UE is not roaming and located in its home network A and the hosting network will become available in the UE home network coverage area, these parameters would inform the UE to expect the hosting network to be available in the coverage area of Network A where the cell identifier is Al and Tracking Area identifier as TAI.

[0101] At some point (activity 661 in FIG. 6), the UE reaches the stadium and is under the coverage area of Serving Network B. The UE reads the SIB messages and finds that hosting network is available in that area. The UE reads the Tracking Area identifier /cell identifier as currently broadcast by the serving network, more specifically, by cell Bl, namely the Tracking Area identifier as TB1 and cell identifier as Bl. The UE compares the received Tracking area identifier/cell identifier with the Tracking Area identifier/cell identifier previously received as part of the subscription procedure 650. The UE finds that as part of the provisioning 650, the UE received Tracking Area identifier as TB1 and cell identifier as Bl. Hence, both identifier pairs are matching. Then UE is then be trigged to search for the hosting network and to either disconnect from serving network B and to connect to hosting network C or, alternatively to connect to hosting network C and to keep the connection to serving network B intact.

[0102] In a variation to the sequence shown in FIG. 6, the hosting network availability indication is indicated through on-demand SIB messages. In such variations, the UE 610 compares its current location, e.g. by way of the serving network Tracking Area identifier / Cell identifier which is broadcasted by the cells of the service network 620 in the current location of the UE 610, and the locations of the serving network 620 physically overlapping with the coverage area of hosting network 630 as provided by way of the dedicated provisioning procedure 651, e.g. the Tracking Area identifier/cell identifier. If there is a match, the UE 610 requests an on-demand SIB message from the serving network 620 which indicates whether or not the hosting network 630 is currently available (e.g. by way of a flag as explained above).

[0103] An exemplary use case of the selection process of FIG. 6 may be an animal theme park built with living animals on an island having a surface of 30 square miles, which opens once a year to allow visitors to onboard and enjoy three days adventures. From the lessons learned from a disaster happened in another animal theme park in 1993, the animal park management as service provider of local hosting network A (SP-A) decides to replace the wirelines with 5G networks around the island for better network coverage and advanced and secure 5G features.

[0104] The SP-A operator creates an agreement with the service providers of networks B and C (SP-B and SP-C) which provides the localized service configuration. The SP-B and SP- C operators can subscribe this localized service with required service policies for their UEs. The SP-B and SP-C can then configure their UEs for localized service. Based on this agreement, the hosting network can be configured with localized service at a specific time and location for its subscribers (other network operator), e.g. localized service policies of time, location, net- work-A access parameters, including spectrum, access technologies (3 GPP or non-3GPP), network slice, charging policies, and subscriber's network policies for authentication, and routing. Also based on this agreement, the hosting network configuration creation and termination can be performed by SP-A or a trusted third-party application of the subscriber representing other network operator. With the application layer approach, the localized service can be used by authorized UEs of SP-A, as well as of service provider of network B (SP-B) and network C (SP-C) which subscribes the service.

[0105] At the animal theme park on an island hosting three days adventures for visitors, the park has SP-A network coverage for a hosting network-A providing access to localized service which has been subscribed by SP-B and SP-C for their UEs based the agreement established by SP-A for sharing this localized service. In the meantime, SP-B's network is not available on the island and SP-C's network is very spotty and only available at some zones. For the on-demand dedicated services, SP-A deploys localized services on its owned Service Hosting Environment-A for streaming live video and immersive media in different animal zones. SP-B also provides localized services on its Service Hosting Environment-B connected to the hosting network for superhero interactive game via hosting network-A. The SP-C subscribes SP-A's and SP-B’s localized services for their UEs attending adventures on the island. In addition, the SP-C rents the resource from the SP-A for providing localized services for interactive animal hunting games on its owned Service Hosting Environment-C connected to the hosting network. When the scheduled event is started, the network-A starts to provision localized services as well as the temporary localized services provided by different service providers.

[0106] Two visitors of the theme park attend this annual event. Their UEs, UE-C1 and UE- C2, are both with SP-C's subscriptions. The SP-C subscribed SP-A’s localized services configures their UEs with information of hosting network identity for selecting hosting network and credentials for accessing localized services via hosting network. When visiting the animal rehabilitation center where both SP-A and SP-C networks are available, UE-C1 and UE-C2 configured with localized service can select and connect to hosting network-A and its SP-C’s network simultaneously. The hosting network-A authenticates the UE-C1 and UE-C2 and both UEs use their configured user credentials for accessing to localized services via hosting network.

[0107] FIG. 7 shows a sequence chart for a network selection by an unprovisioned UE 710 with a serving network 720 and a hosting network 730 overlapping each other, according to some embodiments. Similar to the scenario of FIG. 6, cell# 1 741 of the serving network 720 of FIG. 7 overlaps with the hosting network 730 service area, whereas cell#2 of the serving network 720, does not overlap with the hosting network 730 service area (cf. FIG. 5). Activity 760 assumes that the UE 710 was not provisioned with any credentials to access hosting network 730 and its services. Rather, in 760, the UE 710 receives an unsolicited service advertisement from the serving network 720 describing service provided by hosting network 730 and e.g. signup details enabling the UE 710 to subscribe to a service which will later be provided by the hosting network. In response to the hosting network 730 setup being completed and the hosting network 730 being ready for UE 710 access, the hosting network 730 sends an indication, in activity 761, to the serving network 720 indicating the availability of the hosting network 730. [0108] The serving network 720 broadcasts, in activity 762, through SIB messages in cells overlapping the physical area where the hosting network is available, such as cell#l 741, an indication regarding the availability of hosting network services. In 770, the UE 710 is still outside of the coverage of cell# 1 (i.e. does not camp on cell# 1 ) and likewise outside the tracking area of the hosting network 730. In 771, the UE 710 reaches an area where the hosting network 730 services are available and which is also covered by cell#l of the serving network 620. With receiving, in activity 763, a SIB message by cell#l 741 indicating the availability of hosting network 730, the UE 710 discovers in activity 764, the presence of hosting network 730 and notifies the availability of hosting network 730 to the user. A service advertisement describing the service(s) provided by the available hosting network 730 may be stored on the UE 710. In activity 765, the user of the UE 710 manually locates the service advertisement stored on the UE 710 and signs up for the hosting network 730 and is provisioned with the temporary credentials to access the hosting network 730. To do so, in activity 766, the UE 710 contacts a subscription server 750 (which may be accessible via the serving network 720) for sign-up and gets provisioned with hosting network access credentials. In 767 UE, the provision of the UE 710 is completed and the sign-up for the local services provided by the hosting network is successful, the UE 710 selects, in activity 767, the hosting network 730 and accesses local services, as already described before.

[0109] An exemplary use case of the scenario of FIG. 7 relates to a temporary Hosting Network A which is set up at the mountain pass Col du Tourmalet in the French Pyrenees to support completion of the 14^th stage of Tour de France. Hosting Network A is set up as a Standalone Private Network. A 3^rd party service provider can lease this hosting network to provide the service (e.g. streaming video) to its users. The owner and operator of Hosting Network A can also be the operator of PLMN Network B, or the owner/operator of Hosting Network A can have a service agreement with PLMN Network B operator. According to the service agreement, PLMN Network B operator allows Hosting Network A operator to advertise services in the PLMN and solicit PLMN users to access the services provided by the hosting network for the temporary event. PLMN Network B’s billing infrastructure can be utilized to charge the users for the service and the two operators can share the revenue generated by the service.

[0110] The operator of Hosting Network A has a service agreement with the operator of PLMN Network B, and the users of PLMN Network B don’t have any subscription or configuration data for the temporary Hosting Network A.

[OHl] The users in PLMN Network B receive service advertisement over the PLMN, e.g. via SMS or broadcast information (e. g. SIB messages). If the users are interested and consent to use the service and when they are within the service area, they can request, over the PLMN, a temporary subscription to the hosting network and acquire network di scovery/sel ection information (e.g. network identifier of the hosting network) and temporary credentials for accessing the hosting network. Based on the user's subscription and credit information with the PLMN Network B, the PLMN network can specify relevant service requirements, like QoS requirements and charging information (e.g. monetary or volume credit), for the service usage in the Hosting Network A. When the users are within the service area, the user can manually or automatically select the hosting network according to the acquired network discovery/selection information and access the network using the acquired temporary credentials in addition to the existing PLMN connection, or manually select to leave the existing PLMN connection to connect to the hosting network.

[0112] It should be understood that the apparatuses may comprise or be coupled to other units or modules etc., such as radio parts or radio heads, used in or for transmission and/or reception. Although the apparatuses have been described as one entity, different modules and memory may be implemented in one or more physical or logical entities.

[0113] It is noted that whilst embodiments have been described in relation to LTE and 5G NR., similar principles can be applied in relation to other networks and communication systems where enforcing fast connection re-establishment is required. Therefore, although certain embodiments were described above by way of example with reference to certain example architectures for wireless networks, technologies and standards, embodiments may be applied to any other suitable forms of communication systems than those illustrated and described herein.

[0114] It is also noted herein that while the above describes exemplary embodiments, there are several variations and modifications which may be made to the disclosed solution without departing from the scope of the subject disclosure.

[0115] In general, the various exemplary embodiments may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects of the subject disclosure may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device, although the subject disclosure is not limited thereto. While various aspects of the subject disclosure may be illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other pictorial representation, it is well understood that these blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques or methods described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0116] Example embodiments of the subject disclosure may be implemented by computer software executable by a data processor of the mobile device, such as in the processor entity, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. Computer software or program, also called program product, including software routines, applets and/or macros, may be stored in any apparatus-readable data storage medium and they comprise program instructions to perform particular tasks. A computer program product may comprise one or more computer-executable components which, when the program is run, are configured to carry out embodiments. The one or more computer-executable components may be at least one software code or portions of it.

[0117] Further in this regard it should be noted that any blocks of the logic flow as in the figures may represent program steps, or interconnected logic circuits, blocks and functions, or a combination of program steps and logic circuits, blocks and functions. The software may be stored on such physical media as memory chips, or memory blocks implemented within the processor, magnetic media such as hard disk or floppy disks, and optical media such as for example DVD and the data variants thereof, CD. The physical media is a non-transitory media. [0118] The memory 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. The data processors may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment, and may comprise one or more of general-purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), FPGA, gate level circuits and processors based on multi-core processor architecture, as non-limiting examples.

[0119] Example embodiments of the subject disclosure may be practiced in various components such as integrated circuit modules. The design of integrated circuits is by and large a highly automated process. Complex and powerful software tools are available for converting a logic level design into a semiconductor circuit design ready to be etched and formed on a semiconductor substrate.

[0120] The foregoing description has provided by way of non-limiting examples a full and informative description of the exemplary embodiment of the subject disclosure. However, various modifications and adaptations may become apparent to those skilled in the relevant arts in view of the foregoing description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the appended claims. However, all such and similar modifications of the teachings of this invention will still fall within the scope of the subject disclosure as defined in the appended claims. Indeed, there is a further embodiment comprising a combination of one or more embodiments with any of the other embodiments previously discussed.

Claims

1. A method for providing a user equipment access to a hosting network in a mobile communications environment, the user equipment being registered to a serving network, and the hosting network providing a service with temporal and/or geographical limitations, the method comprising, at the user equipment:

- receiving, from the serving network, an indication of an availability of the hosting network; connecting to the hosting network based on the indication of the availability of the hosting network.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein receiving the indication comprises receiving the indication by a broadcasting message.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the broadcasting message comprises a System Information Block message with the indication.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein receiving the indication comprises receiving the indication from a cell of the serving network that overlaps with geographically coverage of the hosting network.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the indication comprises a flag indicating the availability of the hosting network.

6. The method according to any one of claims to 1 to 5, the method comprising, at the user equipment: receiving at least one of a serving network Tracking Area identifier and a serving network cell identifier identifying at least one cell of the serving network physically overlapping with the coverage area of the hosting network, by way of a dedicated provisioning procedure. The method of claim 6, wherein receiving the at least one of a serving network Tracking Area identifier and the serving network cell identifier is performed in the course of at least one of a subscription procedure by which the user equipment subscribes to one or more services provided by the hosting network, a provisioning procedure of the serving network, a configuration update procedure. The method according to claim 6 or claim 7, the method comprising, at the user equipment: in response to receiving the indication of the availability of the hosting network, comparing at least one of the serving network Tracking Area identifier received by way of the dedicated provisioning procedure with a current serving network Tracking Area identifier broadcasted by the serving network and the serving network cell identifier received by way of the dedicated provisioning procedure with a current serving network cell identifier broadcasted by the serving network; in response to determining that the serving network Tracking Area identifier received by way of the dedicated provisioning procedure and the current serving network Tracking Area identifier broadcasted by the serving network and/or determining that the serving network cell identifier received by way of the dedicated provisioning procedure and the current serving network cell identifier broadcasted by the serving network are identical, searching for the hosting network and connecting to a cell of the hosting network. The method according to claim 6 or claim 7, the method comprising, at the user equipment: receiving at least one of a current serving network Tracking Area identifier and a current serving network cell identifier broadcasted by the serving network; comparing the current serving network Tracking Area identifier with the serving network Tracking Area identifier received by way of the dedicated provision procedure and/or comparing the serving network cell identifier received by way of the dedicated provisioning procedure with the current serving network cell identifier broadcasted by the serving network; in response to determining that the serving network Tracking Area identifier received by way of the dedicated provisioning procedure and the current serving network Tracking Area identifier broadcasted by the serving network and/or the serving network cell identifier received by way of the dedicated provisioning procedure and the current serving network cell identifier broadcasted by the serving network are identical, requesting an on-demand System Information Block message from the serving network comprising the indication of the availability of the hosting network; in response to determining that the indication of the availability of the hosting network indicates that the hosting network is currently available, searching for the hosting network and connecting to a cell of the hosting network A user equipment to be provided with access to a hosting network in a mobile communication environment, the user equipment being registered to a serving network, and the hosting network providing a service with temporal and/or geographical limitations, the user equipment comprising: at least on processor, and at least one memory including computer program code causing the user equipment, when executed with the at least one processor, to:

- receive, from the serving network, an indication of an availability of the hosting network; connect to the hosting network based on the indication of the availability of the hosting network. The user equipment according to claim 10, wherein the computer program code causes the user equipment, when executed with the at least one processor, to receive the indication by a broadcasting message. The user equipment according to claim 11, wherein the broadcasting message comprises a System Information Block message with the indication. The user equipment according to any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein the computer program code causes the user equipment, when executed with the at least one processor, to receive the indication from a cell of the serving network that overlaps with geographically coverage of the hosting network. The user equipment according to any one of claims 10 to 13, wherein the indication comprises a flag indicating the availability of the hosting network. The user equipment according to any one of claims to 10 to 14, wherein the computer program code causes the user equipment, when executed with the at least one processor, to: receive, from the serving network, at least one of a serving network Tracking Area identifier and a serving network cell identifier identifying at least one cell of the serving network physically overlapping with the coverage area of the hosting network, by way of a dedicated provisioning procedure. The user equipment according to claim 15, wherein the computer program code causes the user equipment, when executed with the at least one processor, to receive the at least one of a serving network Tracking Area identifier and the serving network cell identifier in the course of at least one of a subscription procedure by which the user equipment subscribes to one or more services provided by the hosting network, a provisioning procedure of the serving network, a configuration update procedure. The user equipment according to claim 15 or claim 16, wherein the computer program code causes the user equipment, when executed with the at least one processor, to: in response to receiving the indication of the availability of the hosting network, compare at least one of the serving network Tracking Area identifier received by way of the dedicated provisioning procedure with a current serving network Tracking Area identifier broadcasted by the serving network and the serving network cell identifier received by way of the dedicated provisioning procedure with a current serving network cell identifier broadcasted by the serving network; in response to determining that the serving network Tracking Area identifier received by way of the dedicated provisioning procedure and the current serving network Tracking Area identifier broadcasted by the serving network and/or determining that the serving network cell identifier received by way of the dedicated provisioning procedure and the current serving network cell identifier broadcasted by the serving network are identical, searching for the hosting network and connecting to a cell of the hosting network.

18. The user equipment according to claim 15 or claim 16, wherein the computer program code causes the user equipment, when executed with the at least one processor, to: receive at least one of a current serving network Tracking Area identifier and a current serving network cell identifier broadcasted by the serving network; compare the current serving network Tracking Area identifier with the serving network Tracking Area identifier received by way of the dedicated provision procedure and/or comparing the serving network cell identifier received by way of the dedicated provisioning procedure with the current serving network cell identifier broadcasted by the serving network; in response to determining that the serving network Tracking Area identifier received by way of the dedicated provisioning procedure and the current serving network Tracking Area identifier broadcasted by the serving network and/or the serving network cell identifier received by way of the dedicated provisioning procedure and the current serving network cell identifier broadcasted by the serving network are identical, request an on-demand System Information Block message from the serving network comprising the indication of the availability of the hosting network; in response to determining that the indication of the availability of the hosting network indicates that the hosting network is currently available, search for the hosting network and connect to a cell of the hosting network.

19. A method for providing a user equipment access to a hosting network in a mobile communications environment, the user equipment being registered to a serving network, and the hosting network providing a service with temporal and/or geographical limitations, wherein the serving network comprises a network element, the method comprising, at the network element: sending, to the user equipment, an indication of an availability of the hosting network to enable the user equipment to connect to the hosting network based on the indication of the availability of the hosting network.

20. The method according to claim 19, further comprising, at the network element, receiving the indication from the hosting network in response to the hosting network becoming available.

21. The method according to claim 19 or claim 20, wherein sending the indication to the user equipment comprises sending the indication by a broadcasting message.

22. The method according to claim 21, wherein the broadcasting message comprises a System Information Block message with the indication.

23. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 22, wherein sending the indication to the user equipment comprises sending the indication from a cell of the serving network that overlaps with geographically coverage of the hosting network.

24. The method according to any one of claim 19 to 23, wherein the indication comprises a flag indicating the availability of the hosting network.

25. The method according to any one of claims to 19 to 24, the method comprising, at the network element: sending, to the user equipment, at least one of a serving network Tracking Area identifier and a serving network cell identifier by way of a dedicated provisioning procedure.

26. The method according to claim 25, the method comprising, at the network element: broadcasting at least one of a current serving network Tracking Area identifier and a current serving network cell identifier; in response to receiving a request for an on-demand System Information Block message from the user equipment having determined that the current serving network Tracking Area identifier is identical to the serving network Tracking Area identifier sent to the user equipment by way of the dedicated provisioning procedure and/or having determined that the current serving network cell identifier is identical to the serving network cell identifier sent to the user equipment by way of the dedicated provisioning procedure, sending the on-demand System Information Block message comprising the indication of the availability of the hosting network.

27. A network element of a serving network for providing a user equipment access to a hosting network, the user equipment being registered to the serving network and the hosting network providing a service with temporal and/or geographical limitations, wherein the network element of the serving network comprises: at least one processor, and at least one memory including computer program causing the network element, when executed with the at least one processor, to: send, to the user equipment, an indication of an availability of the hosting network to enable the user equipment to connect to the hosting network based on the indication of the availability of the hosting network.

28. The network element according to claim 27, wherein the computer program code causes the network element, when executed with the at least one processor, to receive the indication from the hosting network in response to the hosting network becoming available.

29. The network element according to claim 27 or 28, wherein the computer program code causes the network element, when executed with the at least one processor, to send the indication to the user equipment by a broadcasting message.

30. The network element according to claim 29, wherein the broadcasting message comprises a System Information Block message with the indication.

31. The network element according to any one of claims 27 to 30, wherein the computer program code causes the network element, when executed with the at least one processor, to send the indication from a cell of the serving network that overlaps with geographically coverage of the hosting network. The network element according to any one of claims 27 to 31, wherein the indication comprises a flag indicating the availability of the hosting network. The network element according to any one of claims to 27 to 32, wherein the computer program code causes the network element, when executed with the at least one processor, to send, to the user equipment, at least one of a serving network Tracking Area identifier and a serving network cell identifier by way of a dedicated provisioning procedure. The network element according to claim 33, wherein the computer program code causes the network element, when executed with the at least one processor, to: broadcast at least one of a current serving network Tracking Area identifier and a serving network cell identifier; in response to receiving a request for an on-demand System Information Block message from the user equipment having determined that the current serving network Tracking Area identifier is identical to the serving network Tracking ID sent to the user equipment by way of the dedicated provisioning procedure and/or having determined that the current serving network cell identifier is identical to the serving network cell identifier sent to the user equipment by way of the dedicated provisioning procedure, send the on-demand System Information Block message comprising the indication of the availability of the hosting network. A computer program comprising computer program code which, when executed by a user equipment, causes at least one user equipment to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 9. A computer program comprising computer program code which, when executed by a network element, causes at least one network element to perform the method of any one of claims 19 to 26.

37. A computer program product comprising program instructions stored on a computer readable medium to execute the method steps according to any one of claims 1 to 9 when said program is executed on a user equipment. 38. A computer program product comprising program instructions stored on a computer readable medium to execute the method steps according to any one of claims 19 to 26 when said program is executed on a network element.

39. A system for providing a user equipment access to a hosting network in a mobile com- munications environment, the system comprising a user equipment according to any one of claims 10 to 18 and a network element according to any one of claims 27 to 34.