JP7510502B2 - Communication Management Device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to QoS (Quality of Service) control in communication systems.

The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is currently studying a wireless communication system called 5G in order to achieve even larger system capacity, even faster data transmission speeds, and even lower latency in wireless sections. Various technologies are being studied for 5G to meet the requirements of achieving a throughput of 10 Gbps or more while keeping wireless section latency to 1 ms or less.

In addition, for 5G, studies are underway to build flexible networks using virtualization technology. Specifically, for example, studies are underway on high-speed computing processing near terminals (MEC) and the provision of logical networks for each purpose (network slicing).

3GPP TS 23.501 V16.4.0 (2020-03) 3GPP TS 23.203 V16.2.0 (2019-12)

Studies are underway on a service that provides the optimal network depending on the type of application used by the terminal. The optimal network here is a network that performs optimal QoS control depending on the type of application. With this service, for example, a low-latency network is provided when an application such as a real-time game is used.

Possible QoS control options in QoS control services include, for example, bandwidth control to provide high-capacity communications and priority control to provide low-latency communications.

One possible method for achieving the above-mentioned QoS control is to use quality index values such as 5QI (Non-Patent Document 1) and QCI (Non-Patent Document 2). For example, a quality index value corresponding to the desired QoS control can be notified to a network device such as a base station device, thereby causing the network device to perform the desired QoS control.

However, among the base station devices installed in various areas, there may be some that are unable to perform QoS control corresponding to the desired quality index value due to their specifications or circumstances such as the number of simultaneous connections.

In other words, it is conceivable that the quality index value supported by the network for communications with a terminal may change depending on the area in which the terminal is located or the time of day. In this specification, "time" includes not only hours, minutes, and seconds, but also days of the week, dates, months, seasons, and the like. However, in conventional technologies (e.g., Non-Patent Document 1 and Non-Patent Document 2), there is no concept that the supported quality index value changes depending on the area or time. Therefore, conventional technologies may not be able to properly execute QoS control depending on the area or time.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and aims to provide a technology that enables QoS control for communications performed by a terminal to be appropriately performed depending on the area or time.

According to the disclosed technology, a control unit determines one or more quality index values supported in a network device for performing QoS control for communication performed by a terminal based on an area in which the terminal exists or a time when the terminal performs the communication;
a transmitter configured to transmit to the network device a quality index value to be applied to the communication, among the one or more quality index values.

The disclosed technology provides technology that enables QoS control for communications performed by a terminal to be appropriately performed depending on the area or time.

1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an overview of communication according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a database that holds information associating areas with quality index values. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a database that holds information associating base station devices with quality index values. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a database that holds information in which time is associated with a quality index value. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a sequence for changing a quality index value. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a database that holds information associating areas, quality index values, and network parameters. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a database that holds information associating base station devices, quality index values, and network parameters. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a database that holds information in which time, quality index values, and network parameters are associated with each other. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a sequence according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a database that holds information in which quality index values are associated with billing information. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a sequence during handover. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the function of an API. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a base station device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the communication management device according to the embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a data communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a billing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the embodiment described below is an example, and the embodiment to which the present invention is applicable is not limited to the following embodiment.

In operating the communication system of the embodiment of the present invention, existing technology may be used as appropriate. The existing technology is, for example, existing 5G or existing LTE, but is not limited to existing 5G or existing LTE.

(System configuration example)
FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication system according to the present embodiment includes a terminal 10, a base station device 20, a data communication device 30, a communication management device 40, an application server 50, and a billing device 60, which are connected as shown in the figure. Devices connected by lines in FIG. 1 can communicate with each other. Also, in FIG. 1, communication may be performed between devices that are not connected by lines. Although one each of the terminal 10, the base station device 20, the data communication device 30, and the application server 50 are shown in the figure, multiple each of them may be provided. Also, the configuration consisting of the base station device 20 and the data communication device 30 may be called a "network."

The terminal 10 is a device that has a wireless communication function and can execute various applications, such as a smartphone. The terminal 10 also has a function to perform QoS control based on a quality index value. The terminal 10 may also be referred to as UE (User Equipment).

The base station device 20 performs wireless communication with the terminal 10, performs data communication (data plane communication) with the data communication device 30, and performs control communication (control plane communication) with the communication management device 40. The base station device 20 also has a function of performing QoS control based on a quality index value for each of the UL (uplink) communication and DL (downlink) communication. The base station device 20 may also be referred to as a RAN (Radio Access Network).

The communication management device 40 performs control communication with the terminal 10, the base station device 20, and the data communication device 30 to set up a packet communication path between the terminal 10 and the data communication device 30, and sets quality index values for all or part of the terminal 10, the base station device 20, and the data communication device 30, thereby enabling the desired QoS control to be performed on the flow in the packet communication path between the terminal 10 and the data communication device 30.

The communication path may be called a session or a bearer. In this embodiment, one or more flows (packet flows) flow on the communication path, and QoS control can be performed individually for each flow. The flows may be called QoS flows, service data flows, etc. QoS control may be performed on a communication path basis. In this case, for example, if three flows flow on one communication path, the same QoS control will be performed on the three flows.

The data communication device 30 receives packets (user data) transmitted from the application server 50 and transfers them to the terminal 10, and receives packets transmitted from the terminal 10 and transfers them to the application server 50. The data communication device 30 also has a function of performing QoS control based on quality index values for each of the UL and DL. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the application server 50 and the applications in the terminal 10 both transmit and receive IP packets, but they may also transmit and receive Ethernet (registered trademark) packets.

The data communication device 30 also has the function of counting packets sent and received and transmitting the count value (number of packets) to the billing device 60.

The billing device 60 has a function of billing the user. The function of the billing device 60 may be included in the communication management device 40. In this case, the function of the billing device 60 is provided in the control unit of the communication management device 40.

The application server 50 is a server that communicates with applications running on the terminal 10. In this embodiment, it is assumed that a different application server 50 is used for each application running on the terminal 10.

A 5G core network may be configured by the base station device 20, the data communication device 30, the communication management device 40, and the billing device 60. In this case, the base station device 20 is a gNB, the data communication device 30 is a UPF, the communication management device 40 is an SMF, and the billing device 60 is a PCF.

The communication management device 40 may include AMF and SMF. The communication management device 40 may also include AMF, SMF, and PCF. The communication management device 40 may also include AMF, SMF, PCF, and UDM.

An EPC network may be configured with a base station device 20, a data communication device 30, a communication management device 40, and a billing device 60. In this case, the base station device 20 is an eNB, the data communication device 30 is an S-GW or a P-GW or an S-GW and a P-G, the communication management device 40 is an MME, and the billing device 60 is a PCRF. Note that the communication management device 40 may include an MME, an HSS, and a PCRF.

(Overview of the operation of the communication system)
In this embodiment, for example, QoS control is performed on communication between the terminal 10 and the application server 50 depending on the type of application used in the terminal 10. At this time, QoS control is performed taking into account the quality index value supported in the network (base station device 20 and data communication device 30) depending on the area (location) or time in which the terminal 10 communicates. Hereinafter, "application" may be referred to as "app".

QoS control in this embodiment includes, for example, control for providing high-speed, large-capacity communications (large-capacity QoS control, high-speed QoS control), control for providing low-latency communications (low-latency QoS control), control for suppressing jitter (jitter suppression QoS), priority control for UL communications (upstream priority QoS), priority control for DL communications (downstream priority QoS), etc.

Figure 2 shows an example of QoS control for communication between terminal 10 and application server 50.

In the example of Fig. 2(a), app A is used in terminal 10, and terminal 10 communicates with application server 50A. On the network side (i.e., network devices such as base station device 20 and data communication device 30), for example, when app A is used by terminal 10 (i.e., when communicating with application server 50A), it is preset to perform large-capacity QoS control, and large-capacity QoS control is executed for the communication in accordance with the setting.

In the example of Fig. 2(b), app B is used in terminal 10, and terminal 10 communicates with application server 50B. On the network side, for example, when app B is used by terminal 10 (i.e., when communicating with application server 50B), it is pre-configured to perform low-latency QoS control, and low-latency QoS control is executed for the communication in accordance with the configuration.

Here, the base station device 20-1 to which the terminal 10 connects when it is present in area 1 has the capability of performing large-capacity QoS control, whereas the base station device 20-2 to which the terminal 10 connects when it is present in area 2 does not have the capability of performing large-capacity QoS control.

In this case, as shown in Figures 2(c) and 2(d), when terminal 10 is in area 1 and uses app A, large capacity QoS control is performed, but when terminal 10 is in area 2 and uses app A, large capacity QoS control is not performed and communication is performed, for example, on a best effort basis.

The above example is a control based on the capabilities (specs) of the base station device 20. In addition, it is also possible to perform control such that in sparsely populated areas (regions), QoS control is not performed because high-volume communication is possible with best-effort communication, and QoS control is performed in urban areas.

In addition, the base station device 20-3 to which the terminal 10 connects when it is present in area 3 has the capability to perform large-capacity QoS control at time T1, which is a time period excluding 17:00 to 21:00, but does not have the capability to perform large-capacity QoS control at time T2, which is a time period between 17:00 and 21:00.

In this case, as shown in Figures 2(c) and 2(d), when terminal 10 is present in area 3 and uses app A, high-capacity QoS control is performed at times other than between 17:00 and 21:00, but high-capacity QoS control is not performed between 17:00 and 21:00, and communication is performed, for example, on a best-effort basis.

Note that performing QoS control according to the application type as shown in Figure 2 is one example. QoS control may be performed, for example, according to the SIM in terminal 10, the SIM contract type, etc., without depending on the application type or the application server to be accessed. The technology according to the present invention is applicable to both QoS control according to the application type and QoS control independent of the application type.

For example, it is possible for terminal A to apply uniform large-capacity QoS control when communicating with base station device 1, and to apply uniform best effort when communicating with base station device 2, regardless of the application server being accessed.

In addition, in this embodiment, it is assumed that QoS control is performed on the communication between the terminal 10 and the application server 50, but the QoS control using the technology according to the present invention is applicable to communication between the terminal 10 and the application server 50 as well. In other words, the QoS control using the technology according to the present invention is applicable to communication between the terminal 10 and any device (e.g., an authentication device) in the network.

In this embodiment, as described above, it is possible to perform QoS control according to the area in which terminal 10 is located, the time when terminal 10 communicates, etc.

In this embodiment, QoS control is performed using quality index values such as QCI and 5QI. In the conventional technologies described in Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2, quality index values such as QCI and 5QI are not assumed to change depending on the area or time, and therefore the conventional technologies cannot realize the above-mentioned QoS control. On the other hand, the technology according to this embodiment makes such QoS control possible. Below, the operation of the communication system according to this embodiment, which makes such QoS control possible, is explained in more detail.

Below, examples 1 to 5 are explained, with example 1 being the basic example, and examples 2 to 5 each explaining functions added to example 1. Also, more than one of examples 2 to 5 may be combined with example 1. Also, the communication system in this embodiment may have all the functions of examples 1 to 5.

In addition, in this embodiment, one or more network parameters for QoS control are associated with the quality index value. For example, the base station device 10 that executes QoS control based on the quality index value = 3 for the application A of the terminal 10 performs QoS control according to one or more parameters associated with the quality index value = 3.

The network parameters are, for example, one or more of the following, or all of them: guaranteed bandwidth, no guaranteed bandwidth, maximum communication capacity (maximum bandwidth), priority, delay time, packet error rate, etc. For example, if a certain quality index value is linked to "guaranteed bandwidth" and "maximum bandwidth = 100 Mbps", QoS control is performed to guarantee "maximum bandwidth = 100 Mbps".

As a specific method of QoS control, for example, a network device determines the transmission method for a packet to be forwarded (such as giving priority to the packet over other packets) based on the header information of the packet, and transmits the packet according to the determined transmission method.

The information in the above header may be the quality index value itself, a value linked to the quality index value (e.g., a value that identifies the flow), or information other than these values.

The quality index value may be one or more parameters themselves. The quality index value may be referred to as a QCI, 5QI, QoS rule, QoS profile, etc.

In addition, the QoS control corresponding to a certain quality index value may be applied to both UL and DL communications, or a quality index value for UL and a quality index value for DL may be used separately. Also, only a quality index value for DL may be defined, and the same QoS control as for DL may be applied to UL. Furthermore, the terminal 10 may apply the same QoS control to UL as that applied to the received DL packets, without receiving a quality index value setting.

The following explanation describes control over area or time, but control based on a combination of area and time may also be performed.

Example 1
In the first embodiment, the quality index value supported by the network (the base station device 20 and the data communication device 30) changes depending on the area in which the terminal 10 exists or the time at which the terminal 10 communicates. Changing the quality index value supported depending on the area or time may mean that the quality index value supported in the network for each area/time is determined in advance based on the device specifications, the trend of traffic fluctuations depending on the area/time, etc., or the quality index value supported in the network for each area/time may be dynamically determined depending on the traffic situation.

In this embodiment, it is assumed that the quality index values supported for each area/time, which are either predetermined or dynamically determined, are stored in the communication management device 40. It is also assumed that the communication management device 40 determines the quality index values when they are dynamically determined. However, this is an example, and the network devices (base station device 20, data communication device 30, etc.) may also determine and store the quality index values that they support for each time.

Figures 3 to 5 show examples of information (tables) that the communication management device 40 holds in a storage device such as a memory in order to determine the quality index values supported in the network for each area/time. Figure 3 shows information that associates the area in which the terminal 10 exists with the quality index values supported by the network. Figure 4 shows information that associates base station devices with the quality index values supported by those base station devices. Figure 5 shows information that associates times (time periods) with the quality index values supported by the network in those time periods.

Figure 6 is a diagram showing an example of a sequence when a communication path is established in the communication system of this embodiment. With reference to Figure 6, an example of a case where a quality index value is set according to the area/time when a communication path is established will be described.

The terminal 10 launches a certain application (let's call it app A) and wishes to communicate with the application server 50A, and in S101 sends a connection request including information indicating that it wishes to communicate with the application server 50A (e.g., identification information for app A).

The communication management device 40, which receives a connection request from the terminal 10, determines a quality index value (quality index value A) for communication by the application A. Note that here, the quality index value (quality index value A) for communication by the terminal 10 may be determined based on the SIM information of the terminal 10 or the contract information of the terminal 10, regardless of the application type.

Furthermore, the communication management device 40, for example, by referring to the information shown in Figure 3, checks whether the network (network device) used when communicating in the area where the terminal 10 is located supports the quality index value A (S102). Note that the area where the terminal 10 is located can be determined from the information included in the connection request.

In this confirmation, it may be possible to refer to the information shown in Figure 4 and confirm whether or not the quality index value A is supported in the base station device to which the terminal 10 is connected (the base station device can be determined from the information included in the connection request). It may also be possible to refer to the information shown in Figure 5 and confirm whether or not the network device supports the quality index value A at the current time (the time when the connection request is sent).

If the communication management device 40 confirms that the quality index value A is supported, it transmits a communication path setting request including the quality index value A to the data communication device 30 (S103). The data communication device 30, which has received the communication path setting request including the quality index value A, performs a process (resource reservation, etc.) to set up a communication path so as to perform QoS control corresponding to the quality index value A for the flow of packets flowing between the terminal 10 and the application server 50A, and returns a response to the communication management device 40 (S104).

In this embodiment, it is assumed that QoS control is performed for both the core network side device (data communication device 30) and the RAN section (terminal 10-base station device 20), but this is not limited to this. For example, QoS control may be performed only for the RAN section (terminal 10-base station device 20). In that case, in S103, the communication path setting request sent to the data communication device 30 may not include the quality index value A. Conversely, QoS control may be performed only for the core network side device (data communication device 30), and QoS control may not be performed in the RAN section (terminal 10-base station device 20).

The communication management device 40 also transmits a communication path setting request including the quality index value A to the base station device 20 (S105). The base station device 20, which has received the communication path setting request including the quality index value A, performs a process (resource reservation, etc.) to set up a communication path so as to perform QoS control corresponding to the quality index value A for the flow of packets flowing between the terminal 10 and the application server 50A, and returns a response to the communication management device 40 (S106). Also, in S106, the communication management device 40 returns a response to the connection request of S101 to the terminal 10. This response includes the quality index value A. The terminal 10, which has received the quality index value A, can perform QoS control based on the quality index value A. Note that the response of S107 may not include a quality index value.

In S108, a communication path is established between the terminal 10 and the data communication device 30, and thereafter, packet communication is performed between the terminal 10 and the application server 50A via the communication path.

In addition, in the above S102, if the communication management device 40 determines that the quality index value A is not supported in the network device, it transmits, for example, a communication path setting request including a quality index value indicating the default quality as the quality index value to the data communication device 30/base station device 20. Information indicating that the quality index value indicating the default quality will be used may also be notified from the communication management device 40 to the terminal 10 (application) and the application server 50A.

In addition, when the communication management device 40 determines that the quality index value A is not supported in the network device, it may transmit a communication path setting request that does not include a quality index value to the data communication device 30/base station device 20. In this case, the data communication device 30/base station device 20 may determine to perform best-effort communication for the flow.

In addition, when the data communication device 30 and the base station device 20 each hold a quality index value (which changes depending on the time) that they support, the communication management device 40 may transmit a communication path setting request including the quality index value A to the data communication device 30/base station device 20 without making the judgment of S102. In this case, for example, if the data communication device 30 and the base station device 20 each support the quality index value A, they will accept it and execute QoS control based on the quality index value A. If the data communication device 30 and the base station device 20 each do not support the quality index value A, they will, for example, execute QoS control based on the default quality, or perform best-effort communication without executing QoS control.

By referring to the information in Fig. 3 or 5, when the communication management device 40 detects that the quality index value A applied to the communication is no longer supported by the network device due to the movement of the terminal 10 or the passage of time while the terminal 10 is communicating with the application server 50A, the communication management device 40 may notify each of the data communication device 30 and the base station device 20 of another supported quality index value (e.g., a quality index value that enables QoS control as close as possible to the QoS control by the quality index value A). The information indicating the use of the other quality index value may also be notified from the communication management device 40 to the terminal 10 (application) and the application server 50A.

In addition, in Example 1, it is assumed that each device uses default network parameters as one or more network parameters corresponding to the quality index value.

Example 2
In the second embodiment, the network parameters linked to the quality index values supported by the network devices (base station device 20, data communication device 30) change depending on the area in which the terminal 10 is located or the time at which the terminal 10 communicates.

For example, base station device 20-1 (or data communication device 30-1) that has been instructed by communication management device 40 to perform QoS control with quality index value A performs QoS control to provide a maximum bandwidth of 5 Mbps, while base station device 20-2 (or data communication device 30-2) that has been instructed by communication management device 40 to perform QoS control with the same quality index value A as above performs QoS control to provide a maximum bandwidth of 10 Mbps.

For example, the network devices (base station device 20, data communication device 30) each hold information that associates quality index values with network parameters, and can perform the above control by referring to that information.

For example, when base station device 20-1 is instructed by communication management device 40 to perform QoS control with quality index value A, it performs QoS control to provide a maximum bandwidth of 5 Mbps at a certain time period, while performing QoS control to provide a maximum bandwidth of 10 Mbps at a different time period.

For example, the network devices (base station device 20, data communication device 30) each hold information that associates time (time zone), quality index value, and network parameters, and can perform the above control by referring to that information.

In addition, the communication management device 40 may retain any one, more than one, or all of the information shown in Figures 7 to 9, and notify the base station device 20 and the data communication device 30 of one or more network parameters corresponding to the quality index value for the communication performed by the terminal 10.

Figure 7 shows information associating the area in which the terminal 10 exists, the quality index value, and the network parameters. Figure 8 shows information associating the base station device to which the terminal 10 connects, the quality index value, and the network parameters. Figure 9 shows information associating the time (time period) when the terminal 10 communicates, the quality index value, and the network parameters.

For example, in the sequence shown in Figure 6, the communication management device 40 receives a connection request from terminal 10 and determines that the quality index value for communication by app A is "3," and assumes that "3" is supported in the area in which terminal 10 is located and at that time.

The communication management device 40, for example, refers to the information shown in FIG. 7, acquires the network parameters corresponding to "3" in the area in which the terminal 10 exists, and transmits the quality index value ("3") and the network parameters to the data communication device 30 and the base station device 20 in a communication path setting request (S103, S105 in FIG. 6). The data communication device 30 and the base station device 20 each perform QoS control on the communication flow between the terminal 10 and the application server 50 based on the network parameters received from the communication management device 40.

In addition, the network parameters notified by the communication management device 40 to the data communication device 30 and the base station device 20 may be only network parameters that are different from the default network parameters corresponding to the quality index value ("3").

In addition, when acquiring the above network parameters, the network parameters corresponding to the base station device to which the terminal 10 is connected and the quality index value may be acquired by referring to the information shown in Figure 8, or the network parameters corresponding to the time zone of the current time (the time when the connection request was sent) and the quality index value may be acquired by referring to the information shown in Figure 9.

If the network parameters corresponding to the quality index value being used for communication change due to the movement of the terminal 10 or the passage of time while the terminal 10 is communicating with the application server 50, the changed network parameters may be notified to each of the base station device 20 and the data communication device 30. The communication management device 40 may further notify each of the changed network parameters to the terminal 10 and the application server 50.

An example of the sequence is shown in Figure 10. Here, for example, it is assumed that a communication path is established by the sequence shown in Figure 6, and that communication of a flow to which QoS control based on a quality index value ("3") is applied is being carried out between the terminal 10 and the application server 50. Also, it is assumed that initially, the terminal 10 is in area A, and the time is in the time slot from 0 to 4.

In S201, the communication management device 40 monitors the position (movement) of the terminal 10, and when it detects, for example, that the terminal 10 has moved from area A to area B, it determines that a change in network parameters is necessary, and obtains the network parameters corresponding to area B and the quality index value ("3") from the information shown in Figure 7.

Also, in S201, the communication management device 40 monitors the time, and when it detects, for example, that the time is within the time zone of 4 to 10, it determines that a change in the network parameters is necessary, and obtains the network parameters corresponding to the time zone (4 to 10) and the quality index value ("3") from the information shown in Figure 9.

In S202, S203, and S204, the communication control device 40 transmits a change instruction including the changed network parameters to each of the base station device 20, the data communication device 30, and the terminal 10. As described above, the change instruction may also be transmitted to the application server 50. The base station device 20, the data communication device 30, and the terminal 10 that have received the change instruction perform QoS control using the changed network parameters.

Example 3
As described in the first embodiment, in this embodiment, the quality index value supported by the network for the communication of the terminal 10 may change depending on the area in which the terminal 10 is located or the time when the terminal 10 communicates. In the third embodiment, the charging method is dynamically changed depending on the supported quality index value.

The billing device 60 (or the control unit of the communication management device 40) in Example 3 holds the information (table) shown in Figure 11. The billing device 60 (or the control unit of the communication management device 40) acquires information from the communication management device 40 indicating at what time and in what area the terminal 10 communicated. The billing device 60 (or the control unit of the communication management device 40) also holds the information shown in Figure 3. Furthermore, the billing device 60 (or the control unit of the communication management device 40) acquires from the data communication device 30 the number of packets of the terminal 10's communication (for example, time series data of the number of packets per unit time).

Here, as an example, the process of determining the charge for a certain month (say the 30th) will be described. If the charging device 60 (or the control unit of the communication management device 40) detects that the terminal 10 has communicated for 10 days in that month in an area that supports a quality index value of 1, it will determine the charge amount of 1000 x (1/3) based on the information in FIG. 11 as the charge amount for that period. If the charging device 60 (or the control unit of the communication management device 40) further detects that the terminal 10 has communicated X packets in an area that supports a quality index value of 2, it will perform pay-per-use charging based on the information in FIG. 11 as the charge amount for that period. For example, the charge amount is determined to be (X x packet cost) yen.

The billing device 60 (or the control unit of the communication management device 40) further detects that the terminal 10 is only in an area that supports a quality index value of 3, other than the area that supports a quality index value of 1 and the area that supports a quality index value of 2. No billing is charged in this area.

As a result, the billing device 60 (or the control unit of the communication management device 40) determines the amount to be charged to the user of the terminal 10 as "1000 x (1/3) + (X x packet price)" yen.

For example, if the billing device 60 (or the control unit of the communication management device 40) detects that the terminal 10 communicated for 10 days in that month at a time when the terminal 10 supported a quality index value of 1, the billing device 60 (or the control unit of the communication management device 40) determines the billing amount for that amount to be 1000 x (1/3) based on the information in FIG. 11. If the billing device 60 (or the control unit of the communication management device 40) further detects that the terminal 10 communicated X packets at a time when the terminal 10 supported a quality index value of 2, the billing device 60 performs pay-per-use billing based on the information in FIG. 11. For example, the billing amount is determined to be (X x packet cost) yen.

The billing device 60 (or the control unit of the communication management device 40) further detects that the terminal 10 communicates only at times when it supports a quality index value of 3, other than the times when it supports a quality index value of 1 and the times when it supports a quality index value of 2. No billing is charged at these times.

As a result, the billing device 60 (or the control unit of the communication management device 40) determines the amount to be charged to the user of the terminal 10 as "1000 x (1/3) + (X x packet price)" yen.

In the above example, area-based charging and time-based charging were explained separately, but the charge amount may also be determined by combining area and time.

Example 4
In the fourth embodiment, an example will be described in which the terminal 10 performs handover, and the base station device 20 to which the terminal 10 is connected is changed from the base station device 20A to the base station device 20B.

Figure 12 is a sequence diagram in Example 4. In the state before S301, for example, it is assumed that communication is being performed between the terminal 10 and the application server 50 via a communication path (using the base station device 20A) established by the sequence shown in Figure 6. It is also assumed that QoS control based on the quality index value A is applied to this communication.

In S301, the terminal 10 executes a handover from the base station device 20A to the base station device 20B. During the handover process, the base station device 20B is notified that the quality index value A is applied to the communication between the terminal 10 and the application server 50.

At S302, the terminal 10 transmits a handover notification including the ID of the post-handover base station device 20B to the communication management device 40. This allows the communication management device 40 to determine that the base station device 20 after the handover of the terminal 10 is the base station device 20B. The communication management device 40 may also determine that the base station device 20 after the handover of the terminal 10 is the base station device 20B by receiving information from the base station device 20B indicating that the terminal 10 has been connected.

In S303, the communication management device 40 refers to the information shown in FIG. 4 and determines whether the quality index value A is supported in the base station device 20B. If the quality index value A is supported in the base station device 20B, QoS control based on the quality index value A continues to be performed for communication after the handover.

If the quality index value A is not supported in the base station device 20B, the communication management device 40, for example, determines a quality index value that performs QoS control closest to the QoS control based on the quality index value A among the quality index values supported by the base station device 20B (and the data communication device 30), includes it in a change instruction, and notifies the base station device 20B, the data communication device 30, and the terminal 10 (S304, S305, S306). The changed quality index value may also be transmitted to the application server 50A. Each device that receives the changed quality index value executes QoS control based on the changed quality index value.

The communication management device 40 may also obtain the network parameters corresponding to the changed base station device 20B and the changed quality index value by referring to the information shown in Fig. 8, and in S304 to S306, notify each device of the changed quality index value and the corresponding network parameters. The changed network parameters may also be transmitted to the application server 50A.

In addition, in S303, if the communication management device 40 detects that there is no change in the quality index value A in the base station device 20B after the change, but that a change has occurred in the corresponding network parameters based on the information shown in Figure 8, it may notify each device of the changed network parameters in S304 to S306.

In addition, since the base station device 20B is notified that the quality index value A is applied to the communication between the terminal 10 and the application server 50 during the handover process, if the base station device 20B itself has a function to determine whether or not it supports the quality index value A, the base station device 20B itself may make that determination, and if it determines that it supports the quality index value A, it may execute QoS control based on the quality index value A for the communication after the handover, and if it determines that it does not support the quality index value A, it may determine a different quality index value and apply that quality index value. In this case, the base station device 20B notifies the data communication device 30, the terminal 10, the application server 50, etc. of the changed quality index value.

In addition, if the base station device 20B itself has the function of determining the network parameters corresponding to each quality index value, the base station device 20B itself may determine the network parameters for the quality index value to be used and notify the determined network parameters to the data communication device 30, the terminal 10, the application server 50, etc.

Example 5
In the fifth embodiment, the communication management device 40 includes an information providing function 41. The information providing function 41 is realized, for example, by an API. In response to an inquiry from another device (e.g., the terminal 10, the base station device 20, the data communication device 30, or the application server 50), the information providing function 41 provides the other device with supported quality index values for each area, each time, etc., and network parameters corresponding to the quality index values.

The communication management device 40 holds any one or more or all of the information in Figures 3 to 5 and the information in Figures 7 to 9. For example, as shown in Figure 13, when a terminal 10 (more specifically, an application in the terminal 10) queries the communication management device 40 about the quality index values supported in area A (S401), the information provision function 41 refers to the information in Figure 3 and returns 1 to 10 to the terminal 10 as the quality index values supported in area A (S402).

Also, for example, when the application server queries the communication management device 40 for network parameters corresponding to the quality index value ("3") in area A (S501), the information provision function 41 returns the network parameters corresponding to the quality index value ("3") in area A to the application server 50 by referring to the information in FIG. 7 (S502).

In addition, the information provision function 41 may be provided in the base station device 20, in the data communication device 30, or in a device other than the communication management device 40, the base station device 20, and the data communication device 30.

(About the effects)
According to the first to fourth embodiments, it becomes possible to appropriately control the QoS of the communication executed by the terminal 10 according to the area or the time. According to the third embodiment, it becomes possible to appropriately charge the terminal 10 based on the supported quality index value. According to the fifth embodiment, it becomes possible to grasp the quality index value, network parameters, etc. available for each area and each time.

(Device configuration)
Next, examples of functional configurations of the terminal 10, the base station device 20, the communication management device 40, the data communication device 30, and the billing device 60 that perform the processes and operations described above will be described.

<Terminal 10>
Fig. 14 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the terminal 10. As shown in Fig. 14, the terminal 10 has a transmitting unit 110, a receiving unit 120, a setting unit 130, and a control unit 140. The functional configuration shown in Fig. 14 is merely an example. The names of the functional divisions and functional units may be any as long as they can execute the operations related to the embodiment of the present invention.

The transmitting unit 110 has a function of generating a signal to be transmitted and transmitting the signal. The receiving unit 120 has a function of receiving various signals and obtaining, for example, higher layer information from the received signal. The transmitting unit 110 and the receiving unit 120 have a function of performing QoS control. The transmitting unit 110 and the receiving unit 120 may be referred to as a transmitter and a receiver, respectively. The setting unit 130 stores setting information in a storage device (storage unit) and reads it out from the storage device as necessary. The control unit 140 controls the terminal 10.

<Base station device 20>
Fig. 15 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the base station device 20. As shown in Fig. 15, the base station device 20 has a transmitting unit 210, a receiving unit 220, a setting unit 230, and a control unit 240. The functional configuration shown in Fig. 15 is merely an example. The names of the functional divisions and functional units may be any as long as they can execute the operations related to the embodiment of the present invention.

The transmitting unit 210 includes a function for generating a signal to be transmitted and transmitting the signal. The receiving unit 220 includes a function for receiving various signals and obtaining, for example, information of a higher layer from the received signal. The transmitting unit 210 and the receiving unit 220 include a function for performing QoS control. The transmitting unit 210 and the receiving unit 220 may be referred to as a transmitter and a receiver, respectively. The setting unit 230 stores setting information in a storage device (storage unit) and reads it out from the storage device as necessary. The control unit 240 controls the base station device 20.

<Communication Management Device 40>
Fig. 16 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the communication management device 40. As shown in Fig. 16, the communication management device 40 has a transmitting unit 410, a receiving unit 420, a setting unit 430, and a control unit 440. The functional configuration shown in Fig. 16 is merely an example. The names of the functional divisions and functional units may be any as long as they can execute the operations related to the embodiment of the present invention.

The transmitting unit 410 has a function of generating a signal to be transmitted and transmitting the signal. The receiving unit 420 has a function of receiving various signals and acquiring, for example, information of a higher layer from the received signal. The transmitting unit 410 and the receiving unit 420 may be referred to as a transmitter and a receiver, respectively.

The setting unit 430 stores the setting information in a storage device (storage unit) and reads it out from the storage device as necessary. The contents of the setting information are, for example, the information shown in Figures 3 to 5 and Figures 7 to 9.

The control unit 440 controls the communication management device 40. For example, the control unit 440 determines one or more quality index values supported in a network device that performs QoS control for communication between the terminal 10 and the application server 50, based on the area in which the terminal 10 is located or the time at which the terminal 10 communicates.

<Data communication device 30>
Fig. 17 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the data communication device 30. As shown in Fig. 17, the data communication device 30 has a transmitting unit 310, a receiving unit 320, a setting unit 330, and a control unit 340. The functional configuration shown in Fig. 17 is merely an example. The names of the functional divisions and functional units may be any as long as they can execute the operations related to the embodiment of the present invention.

The transmitting unit 510 has a function of generating a signal to be transmitted and transmitting the signal. The receiving unit 520 has a function of receiving various signals and obtaining, for example, higher layer information from the received signal. The transmitting unit 310 and the receiving unit 320 have a function of performing QoS control. The transmitting unit 510 and the receiving unit 520 may be referred to as a transmitter and a receiver, respectively. The setting unit 530 stores setting information in a storage device (storage unit) and reads it out from the storage device as necessary. The control unit 540 controls the data communication device 30.

<Charging Device 60>
Fig. 18 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of billing device 60. As shown in Fig. 18, billing device 60 has a transmitting unit 610, a receiving unit 620, a setting unit 630, and a control unit 640. The functional configuration shown in Fig. 18 is merely an example. The names of the functional divisions and functional units may be any as long as they can execute the operations related to the embodiment of the present invention.

The transmitting unit 610 has a function of generating a signal to be transmitted and transmitting the signal. The receiving unit 620 has a function of receiving various signals and acquiring, for example, higher layer information from the received signal. The transmitting unit 610 and the receiving unit 620 may be referred to as a transmitter and a receiver, respectively. The setting unit 630 stores setting information in a storage device (storage unit) and reads it out from the storage device as necessary. The setting information is, for example, the information shown in FIG. 11. The control unit 640 controls the billing device 60. The control unit 640 also bills the terminal 10. Specifically, it calculates the amount to be billed for the terminal 10 and transmits the calculated result to the outside.

(Hardware configuration)
The block diagrams (FIGS. 14 to 18) used in the description of the above embodiments show functional blocks. These functional blocks (components) are realized by any combination of at least one of hardware and software. The method of realizing each functional block is not particularly limited. That is, each functional block may be realized using one device that is physically or logically coupled, or may be realized using two or more devices that are physically or logically separated and directly or indirectly connected (for example, using wires, wirelessly, etc.) and these multiple devices. The functional blocks may be realized by combining the one device or the multiple devices with software.

Functions include, but are not limited to, judgement, determination, judgment, calculation, computation, processing, derivation, investigation, search, confirmation, reception, transmission, output, access, resolution, selection, election, establishment, comparison, assumption, expectation, regard, broadcasting, notifying, communicating, forwarding, configuring, reconfiguring, allocating, mapping, and assignment. For example, a functional block (component) that performs the transmission function is called a transmitting unit or transmitter. In either case, as mentioned above, there are no particular limitations on the method of implementation.

For example, the terminal 10, base station device 20, communication management device 40, data communication device 30, and charging device 60 in one embodiment of the present disclosure may function as a computer that performs the processing of the present disclosure. FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the terminal 10, base station device 20, communication management device 40, data communication device 30, and charging device 60 in one embodiment of the present disclosure. The above-mentioned terminal 10, base station device 20, communication management device 40, data communication device 30, and charging device 60 may be physically configured as a computer device including a processor 1001, a storage device 1002, an auxiliary storage device 1003, a communication device 1004, an input device 1005, an output device 1006, a bus 1007, etc. In addition, the base station device 20, the communication management device 40, the data communication device 30, and the charging device 60 may each be a virtual machine.

In the following description, the term "apparatus" may be interpreted as a circuit, device, unit, etc. The hardware configurations of the terminal 10, base station apparatus 20, communication management apparatus 40, data communication apparatus 30, and billing apparatus 60 may be configured to include one or more of the apparatuses shown in the figures, or may be configured to exclude some of the apparatuses.

Each function of the terminal 10, base station device 20, communication management device 40, data communication device 30, and billing device 60 is realized by loading a specified software (program) onto hardware such as the processor 1001 and memory device 1002, causing the processor 1001 to perform calculations, control communication by the communication device 1004, and control at least one of the reading and writing of data in the memory device 1002 and the auxiliary memory device 1003.

The processor 1001, for example, operates an operating system to control the entire computer. The processor 1001 may be configured as a central processing unit (CPU) including an interface with peripheral devices, a control device, an arithmetic unit, a register, etc. For example, the control units of each of the above-mentioned devices may be realized by the processor 1001.

The processor 1001 also reads out a program (program code), software module, data, etc. from at least one of the auxiliary storage device 1003 and the communication device 1004 to the storage device 1002, and executes various processes according to the program. As the program, a program that causes a computer to execute at least a part of the operations described in the above-mentioned embodiment is used. For example, the control units of the terminal 10, the base station device 20, the communication management device 40, the data communication device 30, and the billing device 60 may be realized by a control program stored in the storage device 1002 and operated by the processor 1001. Although it has been described that the above-mentioned various processes are executed by one processor 1001, they may be executed simultaneously or sequentially by two or more processors 1001. The processor 1001 may be implemented by one or more chips. The program may be transmitted from a network via a telecommunication line.

The storage device 1002 is a computer-readable recording medium, and may be composed of at least one of, for example, a ROM (Read Only Memory), an EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM), a RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. The storage device 1002 may also be called a register, a cache, a main memory, etc. The storage device 1002 can store executable programs (program codes), software modules, etc. for implementing a communication method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

The auxiliary storage device 1003 is a computer-readable recording medium, and may be, for example, at least one of an optical disk such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc ROM), a hard disk drive, a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk (e.g., a compact disk, a digital versatile disk, a Blu-ray (registered trademark) disk), a smart card, a flash memory (e.g., a card, a stick, a key drive), a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a magnetic strip, etc. The above-mentioned storage medium may be, for example, a database, a server, or other suitable medium including at least one of the storage device 1002 and the auxiliary storage device 1003.

The communication device 1004 is hardware (transmitting/receiving device) for communicating between computers via at least one of a wired network and a wireless network, and is also called, for example, a network device, a network controller, a network card, a communication module, etc. The communication device 1004 may be configured to include a high-frequency switch, a duplexer, a filter, a frequency synthesizer, etc., to realize at least one of, for example, Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD). For example, a transmitting/receiving antenna, an amplifier unit, a transmitting/receiving unit, a transmission line interface, etc. may be realized by the communication device 1004. The transmitting/receiving unit may be implemented as a transmitting unit and a receiving unit that are physically or logically separated.

The input device 1005 is an input device (e.g., a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, a switch, a button, a sensor, etc.) that accepts input from the outside. The output device 1006 is an output device (e.g., a display, a speaker, an LED lamp, etc.) that performs output to the outside. Note that the input device 1005 and the output device 1006 may be integrated into one configuration (e.g., a touch panel).

In addition, each device such as the processor 1001 and the storage device 1002 is connected by a bus 1007 for communicating information. The bus 1007 may be configured using a single bus, or may be configured using different buses between each device.

In addition, the terminal 10, the base station device 20, the communication management device 40, the data communication device 30, and the billing device 60 may be configured to include hardware such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), or a field programmable gate array (FPGA), and some or all of the functional blocks may be realized by the hardware. For example, the processor 1001 may be implemented using at least one of these pieces of hardware.

(Summary of the embodiment)
According to this embodiment, at least the communication management device shown in the following items 1 to 6 is provided.
(Section 1)
a control unit that determines one or more quality index values supported in a network device for performing QoS control for communication performed by a terminal based on an area in which the terminal is located or a time when the terminal performs the communication;
a transmission unit that transmits to the network device a quality index value to be applied to the communication, among the one or more quality index values.
(Section 2)
The control unit determines a network parameter corresponding to a quality index value to be applied to the communication based on an area in which the terminal exists or a time when the terminal performs the communication;
2. The communication management device according to claim 1, wherein the transmission unit transmits the network parameters to the network device.
(Section 3)
When the control unit detects that the quality index value to be applied to the communication is no longer supported by the network device due to the passage of time or the movement of the terminal, the control unit changes the quality index value to be applied to the communication;
3. The communication management device according to claim 1, wherein the transmission unit transmits the changed quality index value to the network device.
(Section 4)
When the control unit detects that a network parameter corresponding to a quality index value to be applied to the communication has been changed due to the passage of time or the movement of the terminal,
4. The communication management device according to claim 1, wherein the transmission unit transmits the changed network parameters to the network device.
(Section 5)
The control unit charges the terminal based on the quality index value supported in the area in which the terminal communicates or at the time the terminal communicates. A communication management device as described in any one of claims 1 to 4.
(Section 6)
The control unit returns to the other device, in response to an inquiry from the other device, a quality index value or network parameters supported in a specific area or at a specific time. The communication management device described in any one of claims 1 to 5.

Any of the configurations described in paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 provides technology that enables QoS control for communications performed by a terminal to be appropriately performed depending on the area or time.

(Supplementary description of the embodiment)
Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the disclosed invention is not limited to such an embodiment, and those skilled in the art will understand various modifications, modifications, alternatives, replacements, and the like. Although the description has been given using specific numerical examples to facilitate understanding of the invention, unless otherwise specified, those numerical values are merely examples and any appropriate value may be used. The division of items in the above description is not essential to the present invention, and items described in two or more items may be used in combination as necessary, and items described in one item may be applied to items described in another item (as long as there is no contradiction). The boundaries of functional units or processing units in the functional block diagram do not necessarily correspond to the boundaries of physical parts. The operations of multiple functional units may be physically performed by one part, or the operations of one functional unit may be physically performed by multiple parts. The order of the processing procedures described in the embodiment may be changed as long as there is no contradiction. For convenience of explaining the processes, the terminal 10, the base station device 20, the communication management device 40, the data communication device 30, and the billing device 60 have been explained using functional block diagrams, but such devices may be realized by hardware, software, or a combination thereof. Software operated by processors included in the terminal 10, the base station device 20, the communication management device 40, the data communication device 30, and the billing device 60 according to the embodiment of the present invention may be stored in any suitable storage medium, such as random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read only memory (ROM), EPROM, EEPROM, register, hard disk (HDD), removable disk, CD-ROM, database, server, etc.

In addition, the notification of information is not limited to the aspects/embodiments described in the present disclosure, and may be performed using other methods. For example, the notification of information may be performed by physical layer signaling (e.g., DCI (Downlink Control Information), UCI (Uplink Control Information)), higher layer signaling (e.g., RRC (Radio Resource Control) signaling, MAC (Medium Access Control) signaling, broadcast information (MIB (Master Information Block), SIB (System Information Block)), other signals, or combinations thereof. In addition, the RRC signaling may be called an RRC message, and may be, for example, an RRC Connection Setup message, an RRC Connection Reconfiguration message, etc.

Each aspect/embodiment described in this disclosure may be applied to at least one of systems utilizing LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4G (4th generation mobile communication system), 5G (5th generation mobile communication system), FRA (Future Radio Access), NR (new Radio), W-CDMA (registered trademark), GSM (registered trademark), CDMA2000, UMB (Ultra Mobile Broadband), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.20, UWB (Ultra-WideBand), Bluetooth (registered trademark), or other suitable systems, and next generation systems enhanced based on these. In addition, multiple systems may be applied in combination (for example, a combination of at least one of LTE and LTE-A with 5G, etc.).

The processing steps, sequences, flow charts, etc. of each aspect/embodiment described herein may be reordered unless inconsistent. For example, the methods described in this disclosure present elements of various steps using an example order and are not limited to the particular order presented.

In this specification, specific operations that are described as being performed by the base station device 20, the communication management device 40, the data communication device 30, and the billing device 60 may in some cases be performed by other nodes (upper nodes).

The information or signals described in this disclosure may be output from a higher layer (or a lower layer) to a lower layer (or a higher layer). They may be input and output via multiple network nodes.

The input and output information, etc. may be stored in a specific location (e.g., memory) or may be managed using a management table. The input and output information, etc. may be overwritten, updated, or appended. The output information, etc. may be deleted. The input information, etc. may be transmitted to another device.

In the present disclosure, the determination may be made based on a value represented by one bit (0 or 1), a Boolean (true or false) value, or a numerical comparison (e.g., comparison with a predetermined value).

Software shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise.

Additionally, software, instructions, information, etc. may be transmitted and received via a transmission medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using wired technologies (such as coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)), and/or wireless technologies (such as infrared, microwave), then these wired and/or wireless technologies are included within the definition of a transmission medium.

The information, signals, etc. described in this disclosure may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies. For example, the data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, chips, etc. that may be referred to throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or photons, or any combination thereof.

Note that the terms described in this disclosure and the terms necessary for understanding this disclosure may be replaced with terms having the same or similar meanings. For example, at least one of the channel and the symbol may be a signal (signaling). Also, the signal may be a message. Also, a component carrier (CC) may be called a carrier frequency, a cell, a frequency carrier, etc.

As used in this disclosure, the terms "system" and "network" are used interchangeably.

In addition, the information, parameters, etc. described in this disclosure may be expressed using absolute values, may be expressed using relative values from a predetermined value, or may be expressed using other corresponding information. For example, radio resources may be indicated by an index.

The names used for the above-mentioned parameters are not limiting in any way. Moreover, the formulas etc. using these parameters may differ from those explicitly disclosed in this disclosure. The various channels (e.g., PUCCH, PDCCH, etc.) and information elements may be identified by any suitable names, and therefore the various names assigned to these various channels and information elements are not limiting in any way.

In this disclosure, terms such as "base station (BS)", "radio base station", "base station device", "fixed station", "NodeB", "eNodeB (eNB)", "gNodeB (gNB)", "access point", "transmission point", "reception point", "transmission/reception point", "cell", "sector", "cell group", "carrier", and "component carrier" may be used interchangeably. A base station may also be referred to by terms such as macrocell, small cell, femtocell, and picocell.

A base station can accommodate one or more (e.g., three) cells. When a base station accommodates multiple cells, the entire coverage area of the base station can be divided into multiple smaller areas, and each smaller area can also provide communication services by a base station subsystem (e.g., a small indoor base station (RRH: Remote Radio Head). The term "cell" or "sector" refers to a part or the entire coverage area of at least one of the base station and base station subsystems that provide communication services in this coverage.

In this disclosure, terms such as "Mobile Station (MS)," "user terminal," "User Equipment (UE)," and "terminal" may be used interchangeably.

A terminal may also be referred to by those skilled in the art as a mobile station, subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, wireless unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscriber station, access terminal, mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, handset, user agent, mobile client, client, or some other suitable terminology.

At least one of the base station and the mobile station may be called a transmitting device, a receiving device, a communication device, etc. At least one of the base station and the mobile station may be a device mounted on a moving body, the moving body itself, etc. The moving body may be a vehicle (e.g., a car, an airplane, etc.), an unmanned moving body (e.g., a drone, an autonomous vehicle, etc.), or a robot (manned or unmanned). At least one of the base station and the mobile station may include a device that does not necessarily move during communication operation. For example, at least one of the base station and the mobile station may be an IoT (Internet of Things) device such as a sensor.

As used in this disclosure, the terms "determining" and "determining" may encompass a wide variety of actions. "Determining" and "determining" may include, for example, judging, calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up, searching, inquiring (e.g., searching in a table, database, or other data structure), ascertaining, and the like. "Determining" and "determining" may also include receiving (e.g., receiving information), transmitting (e.g., sending information), input, output, accessing (e.g., accessing data in memory), and the like. In addition, "judgment" and "decision" can include considering resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, comparing, etc., to be a "judgment" or "decision." In other words, "judgment" and "decision" can include considering some action to be a "judgment" or "decision." Furthermore, "judgment (decision)" can be interpreted as "assuming," "expecting," "considering," etc.

The terms "connected" and "coupled", or any variation thereof, refer to any direct or indirect connection or coupling between two or more elements, and may include the presence of one or more intermediate elements between two elements that are "connected" or "coupled" to each other. The coupling or connection between elements may be physical, logical, or a combination thereof. For example, "connected" may be read as "access". As used in this disclosure, two elements may be considered to be "connected" or "coupled" to each other using at least one of one or more wires, cables, and printed electrical connections, as well as electromagnetic energy having wavelengths in the radio frequency range, microwave range, and light (both visible and invisible) range, as some non-limiting and non-exhaustive examples.

The reference signal may also be abbreviated as RS (Reference Signal) or may be called a pilot depending on the applicable standard.

As used in this disclosure, the phrase "based on" does not mean "based only on," unless expressly stated otherwise. In other words, the phrase "based on" means both "based only on" and "based at least on."

Any reference to elements using designations such as "first," "second," etc., used in this disclosure does not generally limit the quantity or order of those elements. These designations may be used in this disclosure as a convenient way to distinguish between two or more elements. Thus, a reference to a first and a second element does not imply that only two elements may be employed or that the first element must precede the second element in some way.

The "means" in the configuration of each of the above devices may be replaced with "part," "circuit," "device," etc.

When used in this disclosure, the terms "include," "including," and variations thereof are intended to be inclusive, similar to the term "comprising." Additionally, the term "or," as used in this disclosure, is not intended to be an exclusive or.

A radio frame may be composed of one or more frames in the time domain. Each of the one or more frames in the time domain may be called a subframe. A subframe may further be composed of one or more slots in the time domain. A subframe may have a fixed time length (e.g., 1 ms) that is independent of numerology.

The numerology may be a communication parameter that applies to at least one of the transmission and reception of a signal or channel. The numerology may indicate at least one of, for example, the subcarrier spacing (SCS), the bandwidth, the symbol length, the cyclic prefix length, the transmission time interval (TTI), the number of symbols per TTI, the radio frame structure, a particular filtering operation performed by the transceiver in the frequency domain, and a particular windowing operation performed by the transceiver in the time domain.

A slot may consist of one or more symbols in the time domain (such as an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbol, a Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) symbol, etc.). A slot may be a time unit based on numerology.

A slot may include multiple minislots. Each minislot may consist of one or multiple symbols in the time domain. A minislot may also be called a subslot. A minislot may consist of fewer symbols than a slot. A PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmitted in a time unit larger than a minislot may be called PDSCH (or PUSCH) mapping type A. A PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmitted using a minislot may be called PDSCH (or PUSCH) mapping type B.

Radio frame, subframe, slot, minislot, and symbol all represent time units for transmitting signals. Radio frame, subframe, slot, minislot, and symbol may each be referred to by a different name.

For example, one subframe may be called a Transmission Time Interval (TTI), multiple consecutive subframes may be called a TTI, or one slot or one minislot may be called a TTI. In other words, at least one of the subframe and the TTI may be a subframe (1 ms) in existing LTE, a period shorter than 1 ms (e.g., 1-13 symbols), or a period longer than 1 ms. Note that the unit representing the TTI may be called a slot, minislot, etc., instead of a subframe.

Here, TTI refers to, for example, the smallest time unit for scheduling in wireless communication. For example, in an LTE system, a base station schedules each user plane device 50 by allocating radio resources (such as frequency bandwidth and transmission power that can be used by each user plane device 50) in TTI units. Note that the definition of TTI is not limited to this.

A TTI may be a transmission time unit for a channel-coded data packet (transport block), a code block, a code word, etc., or may be a processing unit for scheduling, link adaptation, etc. When a TTI is given, the time interval (e.g., the number of symbols) in which a transport block, a code block, a code word, etc. is actually mapped may be shorter than the TTI.

In addition, when one slot or one minislot is called a TTI, one or more TTIs (i.e., one or more slots or one or more minislots) may be the minimum time unit of scheduling. In addition, the number of slots (minislots) constituting the minimum time unit of scheduling may be controlled.

A TTI having a time length of 1 ms may be called a normal TTI (TTI in LTE Rel. 8-12), normal TTI, long TTI, normal subframe, normal subframe, long subframe, slot, etc. A TTI shorter than a normal TTI may be called a shortened TTI, short TTI, partial or fractional TTI, shortened subframe, short subframe, minislot, subslot, slot, etc.

Note that a long TTI (e.g., a normal TTI, a subframe, etc.) may be interpreted as a TTI having a time length exceeding 1 ms, and a short TTI (e.g., a shortened TTI, etc.) may be interpreted as a TTI having a TTI length less than the TTI length of a long TTI and equal to or greater than 1 ms.

A resource block (RB) is a resource allocation unit in the time domain and frequency domain, and may include one or more consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain. The number of subcarriers included in an RB may be the same regardless of the numerology, for example, 12. The number of subcarriers included in an RB may be determined based on the numerology.

In addition, the time domain of an RB may include one or more symbols and may be one slot, one minislot, one subframe, or one TTI in length. One TTI, one subframe, etc. may each be composed of one or more resource blocks.

In addition, one or more RBs may be referred to as a physical resource block (PRB), a sub-carrier group (SCG), a resource element group (REG), a PRB pair, an RB pair, etc.

A resource block may also be composed of one or more resource elements (REs). For example, one RE may be a radio resource region of one subcarrier and one symbol.

A Bandwidth Part (BWP), which may also be referred to as a partial bandwidth, may represent a subset of contiguous common resource blocks (RBs) for a given numerology on a given carrier, where the common RBs may be identified by an index of the RB relative to a Common Reference Point of the carrier. PRBs may be defined in a BWP and numbered within the BWP.

The BWP may include a BWP for UL (UL BWP) and a BWP for DL (DL BWP). One or more BWPs may be configured for a UE within one carrier.

At least one of the configured BWPs may be active, and the UE may not expect to transmit or receive a given signal/channel outside the active BWP. Note that the terms "cell", "carrier", etc. in this disclosure may be read as "BWP".

The above-mentioned structures of radio frames, subframes, slots, minislots, and symbols are merely examples. For example, the number of subframes included in a radio frame, the number of slots per subframe or radio frame, the number of minislots included in a slot, the number of symbols and RBs included in a slot or minislot, the number of subcarriers included in an RB, as well as the number of symbols in a TTI, the symbol length, the cyclic prefix (CP) length, and other configurations can be changed in various ways.

In this disclosure, where articles have been added through translation, such as a, an, and the in English, this disclosure may include that the nouns following these articles are in the plural form.

In this disclosure, the term "A and B are different" may mean "A and B are different from each other." In addition, the term may mean "A and B are each different from C." Terms such as "separate" and "combined" may also be interpreted in the same way as "different."

Each aspect/embodiment described in this disclosure may be used alone, in combination, or switched depending on the implementation. In addition, notification of specific information (e.g., notification that "X is the case") is not limited to being done explicitly, but may be done implicitly (e.g., not notifying the specific information).

Although the present disclosure has been described in detail above, it is clear to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described herein. The present disclosure can be implemented in modified and altered forms without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the claims. Therefore, the description of the present disclosure is intended to be illustrative and does not have any limiting meaning on the present disclosure.

10 Terminal 110 Transmitting unit 120 Receiving unit 130 Setting unit 140 Control unit 20 Base station device 210 Transmitting unit 220 Receiving unit 230 Setting unit 240 Control unit 30 Data communication device 310 Transmitting unit 320 Receiving unit 330 Setting unit 340 Control unit 40 Communication management device 410 Transmitting unit 420 Receiving unit 430 Setting unit 440 Control unit 60 Billing device 610 Transmitting unit 620 Receiving unit 630 Setting unit 640 Control unit 50 Application server 1001 Processor 1002 Storage device 1003 Auxiliary storage device 1004 Communication device 1005 Input device 1006 Output device

Claims (6)

a control unit that determines one or more quality index values supported in a network device for performing QoS control for communication performed by a terminal based on an area in which the terminal is located or a time when the terminal performs the communication;
a transmission unit that transmits to the network device a quality index value to be applied to the communication, among the one or more quality index values. The control unit determines a network parameter corresponding to a quality index value to be applied to the communication based on an area in which the terminal exists or a time when the terminal performs the communication;
The communication management device according to claim 1 , wherein the transmission unit transmits the network parameters to the network device. When the control unit detects that the quality index value to be applied to the communication is no longer supported by the network device due to the passage of time or the movement of the terminal, the control unit changes the quality index value to be applied to the communication;
The communication management device according to claim 1 , wherein the transmission unit transmits the changed quality index value to the network device. When the control unit detects that a network parameter corresponding to a quality index value to be applied to the communication has been changed due to the passage of time or the movement of the terminal,
The communication management device according to claim 1 , wherein the transmission unit transmits the changed network parameters to the network device. The communication management device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the control unit charges the terminal based on a quality index value supported in the area in which the terminal communicates or at the time in which the terminal communicates. The communication management device according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit, in response to an inquiry from another device, returns to the other device a quality index value or network parameters supported in a specific area or at a specific time.

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