WO2016020003A1

WO2016020003A1 - Controlling communication element communicating in autonomous communication mode

Info

Publication number: WO2016020003A1
Application number: PCT/EP2014/066981
Authority: WO
Inventors: Vinh Van Phan; Ling Yu; Manivannan Thyagarajan
Original assignee: Nokia Solutions And Networks Oy
Priority date: 2014-08-07
Filing date: 2014-08-07
Publication date: 2016-02-11

Abstract

A method including receiving and processing a monitoring report indicating a result of a monitoring conducted by a monitoring element or function in a communication network, the monitoring being related to at least one communication element communicating in an autonomous mode of a device-to- device communication, deciding, on the basis of information contained in the monitoring report, whether or not a network intervention regarding a termination of a communication in the autonomous mode by at least one communication element reported in the monitoring report is to be initiated, and, in case the decision is affirmative, initiating the network intervention.

Description

CONTROLLING COMMUNICATION ELEMENT COMMUNICATING IN AUTONOMOUS COMMUNICATION MODE

DESCRIPTION BACKGROUND Field

The present invention relates to apparatuses, methods, systems, computer programs, computer program products and computer-readable media usable for controlling a communication element communicating in an autonomous communication mode.

Background Art

The following description of background art may include insights, discoveries, understandings or disclosures, or associations, together with disclosures not known to the relevant prior art, to at least some examples of embodiments of the present invention but provided by the invention. Some of such contributions of the invention may be specifically pointed out below, whereas other of such contributions of the invention will be apparent from the related context.

The following meanings for the abbreviations used in this specification apply:

3GPP 3^r Generation Partnership Project BS : base station

C : core network

CPU: central processing unit

D2D: device to device

eNB: evolved node B

ID: identification, identifier

LTE: Long Term Evolution

LTE-A: LTE Advanced

MME: mobility management element

ProSe: proximity services

PS: public safety

RLF: radio link failure

RRC: radio resource control

Rx: receiver, receiving

SA: scheduling assignment

SIB: system information block

Tx: transmitter, transmitting

UE: user equipment

Embodiments of the present invention are related to a communication network in which communication elements, such as UEs, are able to communicate in an autonomous mode and a controlled mode, for example, when conducting a D2D communication, and in particular to mechanisms allowing a control of such communication elements.

SUMMARY

According to an example of an embodiment, there is provided, for example, a method including receiving and processing a monitoring report indicating a result of a monitoring conducted by a monitoring element or function in a communication network, the monitoring being related to at least one communication element communicating in an autonomous mode of a device-to-device communication, deciding, on the basis of information contained in the monitoring report, whether or not a network intervention regarding a termination of a communication in the autonomous mode by at least one communication element reported in the monitoring report is to be initiated, and, in case the decision is affirmative, initiating the network intervention .

Furthermore, according to an example of an embodiment, there is provided, for example, an apparatus including at least one processing circuitry, and at least one memory for storing instructions to be executed by the processing circuitry, wherein the at least one memory and the instructions are configured to, with the at least one processing circuitry, cause the apparatus at least: to receive and process a monitoring report indicating a result of a monitoring conducted by a monitoring element or function in a communication network, the monitoring being related to at least one communication element communicating in an autonomous mode of a device-to-device communication, to decide, on the basis of information contained in the monitoring report, whether or not a network intervention regarding a termination of a communication in the autonomous mode by at least one communication element reported in the monitoring report is to be initiated, and to initiate the network intervention in case the decision is affirmative.

According to further refinements, these examples may include one or more of the following features:

- a monitoring element or function being located in the communication network may be configured for conducting the monitoring being related to at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode;

- the configuring may include providing information about a transmission resource pool usable by a communication element communicating in the autonomous mode;

- the monitoring report may include at least one of an identification indication of the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode, an indication of types of at least one of priorities, applications and services of the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode, and an indication of resources used by the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode;

- deciding, on the basis of information contained in the monitoring report, whether or not a network intervention regarding the termination of the communication in the autonomous mode by the at least one communication element reported in the monitoring report is to be initiated may include identifying the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode, and determining an allowance condition of the at least one communication element for communicating in the autonomous mode, and deciding, on the basis of the allowance condition, whether and when the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode has to terminate the autonomous mode. In this case, at least one of the identifying of the at least one communication element, the determination of the allowance condition and the deciding of whether and when the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode has to terminate the autonomous mode may be executed by exchanging information with a core network control element or function;

- deciding, on the basis of information contained in the monitoring report, whether or not a network intervention regarding the termination of the communication in the autonomous mode by the at least one communication element reported in the monitoring report is to be initiated may further include determining whether or not the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode is located in a coverage area to be controlled . - the network intervention regarding a termination of the communication in the autonomous mode by the at least one communication element may comprise at least one of causing transmission of a network control signaling or information to the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode for causing a change from the autonomous mode to a controlled mode of a device- to-device communication, causing a transmission of an instruction to the monitoring element or function for causing the monitoring element or function for transmitting a network control signaling or information to the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode for causing a change from the autonomous mode to a controlled mode of a device-to-device communication, and initiating network control actions for interrupting of the communication conducted by the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode ;

- the network intervention may be initiated after a predetermined time is elapsed starting from a receiving of the monitoring report;

- the processing may be implemented in a communication network control element configured to control at least one cell of the communication network, wherein the monitoring element or function may be included in a communication element including one of a user eguipment or terminal device being capable of conducting a device-to-device communication and being in a connected state to the communication network control element, wherein the communication network may be based on Long Term Evolution or Long Term Evolution Advanced specifications . In addition, according to an example of an embodiment, there is provided, for example, a method including conducting monitoring being related to at least one communication element communicating in an autonomous mode of a device-to-device communication in a communication network, preparing a monitoring report indicating a result of the monitoring, and causing transmission of the monitoring report to a communication network control element of the communication network.

Furthermore, according to an example of an embodiment, there is provided, for example, an apparatus including at least one processing circuitry, and at least one memory for storing instructions to be executed by the processing circuitry, wherein the at least one memory and the instructions are configured to, with the at least one processing circuitry, cause the apparatus at least: to conduct monitoring being related to at least one communication element communicating in an autonomous mode of a device-to-device communication in a communication network, to prepare a monitoring report indicating a result of the monitoring, and to cause transmission of the monitoring report to a communication network control element of the communication network. According to further refinements, these examples may include one or more of the following features:

- configuration information related to the monitoring being related to at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode may be received and processed;

- the configuration information may include information about a transmission resource pool usable by a communication element communicating in the autonomous mode;

- the monitoring may further include determining whether or not the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode is located in a coverage area to be controlled, wherein the monitoring report is prepared only for a communication element communicating in the autonomous mode which is located in the coverage area to be controlled;

- the monitoring report may be prepared for communication elements communicating in the autonomous mode, which belong to a specific user group, wherein the monitoring report may be prepared and transmission of the monitoring report may be caused when a new scheduling assignment is received; - an instruction for causing transmitting a network control signaling or information to the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode for initiating a change from the autonomous mode to a controlled mode of a device-to-device communication may be received and processed, and transmission of the network control signaling or information to the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode may be caused;

- the processing is implemented in a communication element acting as a monitoring element or function, wherein the communication element may include one of a user eguipment or terminal device being capable of conducting a device-to-device communication and being in a connected state to the communication network control element, wherein the communication network control element may be configured to control at least one cell of the communication network, wherein the communication network may be based on Long Term Evolution or Long Term Evolution Advanced specifications .

In addition, according to embodiments, there is provided, for example, a computer program product for a computer, including software code portions for performing the steps of the above defined methods, when said product is run on the computer . The computer program product may include a computer-readable medium on which said software code portions are stored. Furthermore, the computer program product may be directly loadable into the internal memory of the computer and/or transmittable via a network by means of at least one of upload, download and push procedures. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some embodiments of the present invention are described below, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 shows a diagram illustrating a general configuration of a communication network where some examples of embodiments are implementable ;

Fig. 2 shows a signaling diagram illustrating a control processing according to some examples of embodiments;

Fig. 3 shows a flow chart of a processing conducted in a communication network control element according to some examples of embodiments;

Fig. 4 shows a flow chart of a processing conducted in a communication element acting as a monitoring element or function according to some examples of embodiments;

Fig. 5 shows a diagram of a communication network control element according to some examples of embodiments; and Fig. 6 shows a diagram of a communication element acting as a monitoring element or function according to some examples of embodiments.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

In the last years, an increasing extension of communication networks, e.g. of wire based communication networks, such as the Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), DSL, or wireless communication networks, such as the cdma2000 (code division multiple access) system, cellular 3rd generation (3G) like the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), and fourth generation (4G) communication networks or enhanced communication networks based e.g. on LTE or LTE-A, cellular 2nd generation (2G) communication networks like the Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) , the General Packet Radio System (GPRS), the Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution (EDGE), or other wireless communication system, such as the Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) , Bluetooth or Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), took place all over the world. Various organizations, such as the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), Telecoms & Internet converged Services & Protocols for Advanced Networks (TISPAN), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), 3rd Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2), Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), the WiMAX Forum and the like are working on standards for telecommunication network and access environments. Embodiments are applicable to any user device, such as a user terminal, UE etc., as well as to any network element, relay node, server, node, corresponding component, and/or to any communication system or any combination of different communication systems that support required functionalities. The communication system may be a wireless communication system or a communication system utilizing both fixed networks and wireless networks. The protocols used, the specifications of communication systems, apparatuses, such as servers and user terminals, especially in wireless communication, develop rapidly. Such development may require extra changes to an embodiment. Therefore, all words and expressions should be interpreted broadly and they are intended to illustrate, not to restrict, embodiments.

In the following, different exemplifying embodiments will be described using, as an example of an access architecture to which the embodiments may be applied, a radio access architecture based on LTE Advanced (LTE-A), without restricting the embodiments to such an architecture, however. It is obvious for a person skilled in the art that the embodiments may also be applied to other kinds of communications networks having suitable means by adjusting parameters and procedures appropriately, e.g. an (evolved) universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) terrestrial radio access network (UTRAN or E-UTRAN) , LTE, WLAN or WiFi, worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) , Bluetooth®, personal communications services (PCS), ZigBee®, wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) , systems using ultra-wideband (UWB) technology, sensor networks, mobile ad-hoc networks (MANETs) and Internet Protocol multimedia subsystems (IMS).

The following examples and embodiments are to be understood only as illustrative examples. Although the specification may refer to "an", "one", or "some" example (s) or embodiment ( s ) in several locations, this does not necessarily mean that each such reference is related to the same example (s) or embodiment ( s ) , or that the feature only applies to a single example or embodiment. Single features of different embodiments may also be combined to provide other embodiments. Furthermore, terms like "comprising" and "including" should be understood as not limiting the described embodiments to consist of only those features that have been mentioned; such examples and embodiments may also contain features, structures, units, modules etc. that have not been specifically mentioned.

A basic system architecture of a communication system where examples of embodiments are applicable may include an architecture of one or more communication networks including a wired or wireless access network subsystem and a core network . Such an architecture may include one or more communication network control elements, access network elements, radio access network elements, access service network gateways or base transceiver stations, such as a base station (BS), an access point or an eNB, which control a respective coverage area or cell(s) and with which one or more communication elements, user devices or terminal devices, such as a UE, or another device having a similar function, such as a modem chipset, a chip, a module etc., which can also be part of an element, function or application capable of conducting a communication, such as a UE, an element or function usable in a machine to machine or D2D communication architecture, or attached as a separate element to such an element, function or application capable of conducting a communication, or the like, are capable to communicate via one or more channels for transmitting several types of data. Furthermore, core network elements such as gateway network elements, policy and charging control network elements, mobility management entities, operation and maintenance elements, and the like may be included.

The general functions and interconnections of the described elements, which also depend on the actual network type, are known to those skilled in the art and described in corresponding specifications, so that a detailed description thereof is omitted herein. However, it is to be noted that several additional network elements and signaling links may be employed for a communication to or from an element, function or application, like a communication element, such as a UE, a communication network control element, such as an eNB, and a communication network besides those described in detail herein below.

A communication network may also be able to communicate with other networks, such as a public switched telephone network or the Internet. The communication network may also be able to support the usage of cloud services. It should be appreciated that network elements of an access system, such as BSs and/or eNBs, of a core network etc., and/or respective functionalities may be implemented by using any node, host, server or access node etc. entity suitable for such a usage.

Furthermore, the described network elements, such as communication elements, like a UE, communication network control elements of a cell, access network elements etc., like an eNB, core network elements, like an MME etc., as well as corresponding functions as described herein, and other elements, functions or applications may be implemented by software, e.g. by a computer program product for a computer, and/or by hardware. For executing their respective functions, correspondingly used devices, nodes or network elements may include several means, modules, units, components, etc. (not shown) which are reguired for control, processing and/or communication/signaling functionality. Such means, modules, units and components may include, for example, one or more processors or processor units including one or more processing portions for executing instructions and/or programs and/or for processing data, storage or memory units or means for storing instructions, programs and/or data, for serving as a work area of the processor or processing portion and the like (e.g. ROM, RAM, EEPROM, and the like), input or interface means for inputting data and instructions by software (e.g. floppy disc, CD-ROM, EEPROM, and the like), a user interface for providing monitor and manipulation possibilities to a user (e.g. a screen, a keyboard and the like), other interface or means for establishing links and/or connections under the control of the processor unit or portion (e.g. wired and wireless interface means, radio interface means including e.g. an antenna unit or the like, means for forming a radio communication part etc.) and the like, wherein respective means forming an interface, such as a radio communication part, can be also located on a remote site (e.g. a radio head or a radio station etc.). It is to be noted that in the present specification processing portions should not be only considered to represent physical portions of one or more processors, but may also be considered as a logical division of the referred processing tasks performed by one or more processors.

It should be appreciated that according to some examples, a so-called "liguid" or flexible network concept may be employed where the operations and functionalities of a communication network element, network function, or of another entity of the communication network, such as of one or more of radio access network elements like an eNB, may be performed in different entities or functions, such as in a node, host or server, in a flexible manner. In other words, a "division of labor" between involved network elements, functions or entities may vary case by case.

So-called proximity based services (ProSe) or simply proximity services, which are also referred to as device- to-device (D2D) or machine-to-machine (M2M) communications are expected to become a feature in future communications networks. ProSe are designed to provide an option to offload (cellular) communications system, reduce battery consumption and increase bit-rate, and hence also enable new services. D2D communications may be implemented, for example, as an underlay to cellular networks, such as an LTE-A network. One intention of D2D communication in this case is to enable direct communication connection establishment between communication devices such as UEs. These communication connections may be controlled autonomously by the UEs, or be under a continuous network management and control .

One application field of D2D or ProSe may be, for example, to provide possibilities for public safety (PS) applications, wherein specific communication reguirements for public safety usage are to be considered.

For conducting a D2D communication between two (or more) UEs, for example, different communication modes related to resource control are conceivable. For example, as a first communication mode (referred to also as a controlled or scheduled mode or as Mode 1), resources to be used by the UEs for the D2D communication are scheduled by the network, e.g. the communication network control element (like an eNB) in which at least one of the UEs participating in a D2D communication is located. As a second communication mode (referred to also as an autonomous mode or as Mode 2), the UEs are configured for an autonomous use of resources. In order to select between these communication modes, for example, the communication network control element controlling the communication (e.g. the eNB) controls also whether a UE in the cell coverage may apply Mode 1 or Mode 2 for a D2D communication. For example, in a Mode 1 communication mode, a UE (referred to hereinafter as a transmitting UE or Tx UE) requests transmission (Tx) resources from an eNB, e.g. by sending a D2D scheduling request followed by a BSR to request Tx resources, based on which the eNB can determine that the UE intends to perform a D2D communication as well as the required amount of resources. The eNB then schedules corresponding Tx resources (e.g. specific resource blocks) for D2D user data or SA transmission. It is to be noted that in Mode 1, the UE is e.g. in an RRC Connected state in order to transmit D2D communication. For example, the eNB validates whether the UE being in the RRC connected state is authorized for conducting a ProSe direct communication transmission by using UE context information received from a core network element, e.g. the MME .

On the other hand, for a Mode 2 communication mode, the UEs are provided, for example, with information indicating a resource pool (time and frequency) from which resources for conducting D2D communications (SA or user data) can be selected in an autonomous manner.

When now establishing a D2D communication, the Tx UE provides SA for all UEs being capable of receiving the transmission (referred to hereinafter as Rx UEs). That is, Rx UEs being in-coverage and out-of-coverage of a communication cell have to be aware of the resource pool (time/frequency) for D2D communication reception. Thus, all UEs (i.e. both Mode 1 ("scheduled") and Mode 2 ("autonomous") UEs) are provided with a resource pool (time and frequency) in which they attempt to receive scheduling assignments from a (possible) Tx UE trying to establish a D2D communication. For example, the information forming the resource pool could be pre-configured in the respective devices, provided by a communication network control element via a suitable signaling (e.g. by an eNB in a SIB) or forwarded by other UEs being in coverage to a UE being out of coverage.

The SA sent by the Tx UE indicates, for example, resources on which an Rx UE can receive user data. For example, SA is transmitted by the Tx UE periodically on predefined resources (which are known to Rx UEs, as described above) .

According to some examples, during a normal operation, a UE may be allowed to switch between the communication modes for D2D communication (i.e. to change from mode 1 to mode 2 or vice versa) only if it is configured by the eNB to do so .

Generally, network operators prefer to have a tight control of D2D communication modes inside the network coverage for both Mode 1 and Mode 2 operations. However, as Mode 2 may be autonomously used by UEs e.g. in an RRC idle state or in some exceptional (or abnormal) cases/conditions in which UEs may temporarily experience some radio coverage problems or connection failures, it is sometimes difficult for the network to monitor and control those UEs using Mode 2 in such situations.

Furthermore, as indicated above, also PS reguirements are to be considered. For example, there may be also cases in which UEs for some good reasons determine to stay active in Mode 2 for a longer period of time than expected by the network (or preconfigured Mode 2 exit conditions), for example in case casting of a life-or-death important message is to be completed. However, a similar situation (i.e. that a UE stays active in Mode 2 for a longer period of time than expected by the network (or preconfigured Mode 2 exit conditions)) may arise also due to an incorrect behavior, e.g. due to an unauthorized use of Mode 2 resources. Thus, a certain degree of network control or supervision is desired.

With regard to network assisted D2D communications, UE may consider itself to be under exceptional conditions while, for example, specific timers of RLF recovery are running. For example, a T311 timer (which starts at a reguest for RRC connection re-establishment and stops at the receipt of RRC connection re-establishment or of RRC connection re- Establishment reject message or when a selected cell becomes unsuitable to continue further; at expiry, UE goes to RRC idle state) or T301 timer (which starts while initiating an RRC connection re-establishment procedure and stops upon selection of suitable E-UTRAN cell or a cell using another radio access technology; at expiry, the UE enters RRC idle state) are (not-limiting) examples for corresponding timers .

That is, while such timers are running, the UE may use Mode 2 resources (e.g. provided by the current cell for ProSe D2D communications) . However, it has to be defined when or how such a Mode 2 based communication can be exited. In this context, however, the reguirement that PS services need not have to rely on communication infrastructure has to be considered, which is e.g. the case for autonomous communications in Mode 2.

When looking at RLF procedures implemented in a regular cellular access, it is assumed that if RLF recovery is not successful then a corresponding service is simply interrupted or discontinued. However, in a PS application any interruption of e.g. life-or-death critical communications has to be avoided. Reflecting this on a Mode 2 exit condition for D2D communications, it is necessary to find a suitable control mechanism for a case where a UE did not (intentionally or not) follow a specified exit condition (e.g. an expiry of a predetermined timer or the like allowing the network to expect an exit condition to be fulfilled) .

Hence, apparatuses, methods, systems, computer programs, computer program products and computer-readable media are to be provided allowing to control a communication element communicating in an autonomous mode wherein network monitoring and controlling capabilities of e.g. Mode 2 inside the network coverage are facilitated and ensured.

With regard to Fig. 1, a diagram illustrating examples of a communication network configuration is shown where examples of embodiments of the invention are applicable. It is to be noted that the structure indicated in Fig. 1 shows only those devices, network elements and links which are useful for understanding principles underlying the examples of embodiments of the invention. As also known by those skilled in the art there may be several other network elements or devices involved in a communication in the network which are omitted here for the sake of simplicity.

In Fig. 1, reference sign 20 denotes a communication network control element, such as an eNB, controlling at least one communication area or cell 200.

Reference sign 60 denotes a core network control element, such as a MME . The MME 60 is connected to the access network (i.e. the eNB) via a suitable link or interface, such as an SI interface.

Reference signs 10, 30, 40 and 50, respectively, denote a communication element. Specifically, a UEl 10 is used as a monitoring device for monitoring autonomous transmission mode signaling in the communication network coming from another communication element conducting or establishing a D2D communication. For example, the UEl 10 is a communication device being capable of conducting a D2D communication in at least one of an autonomous mode (e.g. Mode 2) or a controlled mode (e.g. Mode 1) . Furthermore, according to some examples of embodiments, it is assumed that the UEl 10 acting as the monitoring device is in an RRC connected state with the eNB 20.

UE2 30 is another communication element being capable of conducting a D2D communication in an autonomous mode (e.g. Mode 2) or a controlled mode (e.g. Mode 1) . Specifically, it is assumed in the following that UE2 30 acts as a Tx UE in Mode 2 sending e.g. a SA to RX UEs, as described above. According to some examples of embodiments, the UE2 30 is assumed to be located in cell 200.

UE3 40 and UE4 50 represent other communication elements being capable of conducting a D2D communication in at least one of an autonomous mode (e.g. Mode 2) or a controlled mode (e.g. Mode 1) . In the example shown in Fig. 1, UE3 40 is located at a position outside the cell 200, wherein the position is however suitable for receiving D2D related signaling from UE2 30 (or from UEl 10) . On the other hand, UE4 50 is located in the cell 200. In some examples of embodiments described below, UE3 40 and UE4 50 are assumed to be other Rx UEs receiving e.g. a SA signaling from UE2 30.

Even though Fig. 1 shows four UEs acting as monitoring device, Tx UE and Rx UE, examples of embodiments are not limited to such an arrangement. There can be provided more UEs, wherein a plurality of monitoring devices can be employed for monitoring autonomous mode communication from a D2D capable communication element, and wherein also more than one Tx UE can be implemented.

It is to be noted that signaling exchanged between UEs m a D2D communication is indicated in Fig. 1 by dashed arrows, while signaling between UEl 10 (the monitoring device) and the communication network control element, such as eNB 20, is indicated by a solid arrow. Moreover, it is to be noted that even though in Fig. 1 the UEl 10 is defined to function as the monitoring device, according to some other examples of embodiments, a monitoring device or function can also be part of another network element or node located in the network and being capable of receiving and processing a D2D related communication of a Tx UE being in an autonomous mode, such as in Mode 2 or the like. For example, the monitoring device or function can be part of a remote radio head, a server or access node, a dedicated monitoring element, etc ..

As indicated above, some examples of embodiments of the invention are related to a mechanism allowing a control of a communication element communicating in an autonomous mode (e.g. Mode 2) wherein functions allowing a monitoring of the communication situation in the network and a control of capabilities of the UE using e.g. the Mode 2 are provided.

According to some examples of embodiments, a corresponding procedure usable for enhancing network control of a communicating element communicating in an autonomous mode, such as a Mode 2, in a D2D communication includes at least the following phases.

In a first phase, a monitoring element or function is designated by the communication network, e.g. by a communication network control element like an eNB. The task of the monitoring element or function is to check on communication elements communicating in the network (e.g. one or more specific cells) in an autonomous mode for a D2D communication, e.g. in a Mode 2. The monitoring element or function provides a corresponding report (referred to hereinafter as monitoring report) to the network (e.g. the communication network control element like the eNB) which in turn evaluates the contents of the report for determining UEs being of interest (i.e. UEs communicating in Mode 2 in the cell) .

According to some examples of embodiments, the network configures a ProSe capable UE (among active Mode 1 or Mode 2 UEs) in RRC connected state as a monitoring element, wherein the monitoring UE is capable to receive from in- coverage Mode 2 UEs in guestion.

In a next phase, in case the Mode 2 UE in guestion does not return to the network control, as expected, for example, a recovery or damage control procedure is executed with regard to the UE communicating in the autonomous Tx mode (i.e. the determined Mode2 UE). For this, interactions between the network (i.e. the eNB) and the Mode 2 UE (the Tx UE ) are initiated (referred to hereinafter also as network intervention or network control actions) . According to some examples of embodiments, also the monitoring UE may be involved. Fig. 2 shows a signaling diagram illustrating a corresponding control processing according to some examples of embodiments which correspond to the above described procedure. It is to be noted that the signaling partners indicated in Fig. 2 are related, for example, to the elements shown in Fig. 1.

In S20, one or more ProSe capable communication elements, such as UEl 10, which is in an RRC connected state with a corresponding communication network control element, such as eNB 20, is selected and configured to monitor and report (to a controlling communication network control element, such as the eNB 20) about other UEs using an autonomous mode, such as Mode 2, inside the network coverage from which the selected UEl 10 (as the monitoring element) receives transmissions. The communications being monitored comprises information such as IDs of the Tx UEs in Mode 2 from which a signaling is received, types of priorities/applications/services, resources being used etc., wherein the comprised information are used for preparing a corresponding monitoring report.

It is to be noted that according to some examples of embodiments, the UE being selected as a monitoring element is e.g. a UE conducting D2D communications in Mode 1, for instance .

Furthermore, it is to be noted that according to some examples of embodiments, the configuration of the ProSe capable UE being in an RRC connected state (e.g. an UE among active Mode 1 and Mode 2 UEs) as the monitoring element for monitoring and reporting in-coverage Mode 2 UEs is executed by the serving eNB 20, for example by means of providing corresponding configuration information as indicated in S10. Alternatively, the necessary information are e.g. already stored in the UEl 10, so that the configuration of the monitoring and the start of the monitoring can be executed without additional information as provided e.g. in S10.

According to some examples of embodiments, the configuration information includes, for example, information indicating Mode 2 transmission resource pool(s) from which resources used by an (in-coverage) Mode 2 UEs (in the serving cell and/or in neighboring cells) are chosen. Thus, the monitoring element is able to determine the in-coverage Mode 2 UE(s) which can be received, wherein a corresponding report is prepared (including e.g. IDs and types of priorities/applications/services of in-coverage Mode 2 UEs) .

After starting the monitoring in S20, the UEl 10 selected as the monitoring element receives in S30, for example, a signaling from a Mode 2 Tx UE (e.g. UE2 30) which includes, for example, SA according to a D2D Mode 2 communication.

In S40, the received signaling is processed for preparing a monitoring report. For example, the processing in S40 comprises a determination of whether the signaling is received from a UE being of interest, e.g. from a UE being located in a communication area or cell to be controlled (e.g. cell 200 of Fig. 1) . This determination is based, for example, on information provided in the configuration information and/or information comprised in the signaling from the Tx UE . Referring to Fig. 1, for example, a signaling from UE2 30 is determined to come from a UE being of interest (i.e. being located in the coverage area to be controlled) . On the other hand, in case it is assumed that a signaling is received from UE3 40 as a Tx UE, it may be determined that this UE is not in the coverage area to be controlled, so that a monitoring result related to the UE3 40 may not be reported.

It is to be noted that according to some further examples of embodiments, the processing of the monitoring in S40 (and hence a reporting based thereon) may be related to (all) active Mode 2 UEs which the monitoring element (UEl 10) receives. However, in this case, a determination of whether or not a Mode 2 UEs being detected is in a coverage area to be controlled is left for the network. That is, all received Mode 2 UEs are reported.

It is to be noted that in this case, the monitoring and reporting UE (e.g. UEl 10) may also be configured to report about resources used by the received Mode 2 UEs (e.g. of

UE2 30) . According to some examples of embodiments, this kind of monitoring and reporting is needed only in case the network intends to control Mode 2 (wherein normal and abnormal statuses of the UEs in Mode 2 is reassured) . Furthermore, a corresponding monitoring and reporting procedure does not cause significant additional processing load and signaling overhead to the monitoring element (e.g. UEl 10), as the corresponding UE (which is selected among active Mode 1 UEs, for example) can be configured in such a manner that a report is provided to the eNB 20 with regard to received Mode 2 UEs of their user groups, for example once per a new SA received from the Mode 2 UEs .

In S50, the monitoring element, i.e. the UEl 10, forwards the prepared monitoring report to the communication network control element, such as eNB 20.

The eNB 20, when receiving the monitoring report of S50, conducts in S60 a processing of the received information; for example, it identifies, based on the report indicating the Mode 2 UEs, the reported UEs and determines whether a network intervention or network control actions is/are needed on any individual reported UE or not. For example, the determination related to the necessity for further network intervention includes a determination of an allowance condition of a respective UE with regard to a communication in the autonomous Tx mode (i.e. Mode 2) . For example, in case the UE in guestion is a communication element authorized for PS communication, a general allowance condition may be assumed. On the other hand, in case the UE in guestion has no general allowance condition, timers or the like are considered in order to decide whether the UE is (still) allowed to communicate in an autonomous Tx mode. According to some examples of embodiments, in S60, the eNB 20 checks for the ID of the UE in guestion and/or for determining allowance conditions with the core network, e.g. with MME 60. That is, according to some examples of embodiments, the serving eNB 20 is not configured to be able to identify the reported Mode 2 UEs based on the provided information (e.g. corresponding ProSe related IDs, like L2 source IDs or higher-layers ProSe IDs) . Then, the eNB 20 checks with the MME 60 (the core network) so as to identify the UEs and to determine whether the individual UEs are in a "normal" operation mode or not, i.e. whether the autonomous mode currently detected is allowed or covered by the current settings (e.g. in case a connection failure is assumed or a PS related communication is conducted) .

According to some examples of embodiments, if it is determined that the monitored and reported Mode 2 UE is not in a "normal" operation, it is decided in S60 that a network intervention for terminating the autonomous Tx mode (Mode 2) is needed. For example, when a certain monitoring period of time which is e.g. based on a RLF timer duration or a duration of a specified timer of Mode 2 UE for abnormal situation (i.e. a time period after which the network can assume that the Mode 2 communication mode is terminated by the Tx UE by itself), the eNB 20 determines whether the Mode 2 UE is guestion is allowed to continue with Mode 2 operations (e.g. when the allowance condition is correspondingly set) . If it is determined that the Mode 2 UE (e.g. UE2 30) is not allowed, then the network initiates in S70 a network intervention or network control actions .

It is to be noted that according to examples of embodiments the timers indicated above are started at the eNB e.g. upon reception of the report from the monitoring element (i.e. UE1 10 in S50) .

For example, the network intervention in S70 may include different measures. One of these measure is to send a network control signaling, for example paging or the like, to the determined Mode 2 UE (i.e. UE2 30) in order to cause the Mode 2 UE to get it back into an RRC connected state and to change the communication mode for D2D communication to a controlled mode (e.g. Mode 1) . That is, in case the Tx UE in Mode 2 has not autonomously switched back to Mode 1, as expected within a certain time interval, a network control such as paging is executed to initiate this switchback. Further measures being usable as a network intervention includes, according to some examples of embodiments, for example, with regard UEs in Mode 2 e.g. a transmission of information, such as a warning message, indicating the detection of a misbehaving of the UE in guestion (and thus reguesting a change from the autonomous mode to a controlled mode), or network actions usable for interrupting communications of this UE, such as jamming measures or the like. It is to be noted that according to further examples of embodiments also the monitoring element is involved in the network intervention processing. For example, the monitoring element (i.e. UEl 10) is configured to send, upon reguest from the eNB 20, for example, network control signaling or information (warning indication) to the Tx UE in Mode 2, for example (see also S70) .

Furthermore, according to some examples of embodiments, some of these measures like paging can be also implemented to represent an intermediate intervention before other intervention measures, like the warning indication or the jamming, are initiated.

That is, according to some examples of embodiments, in case the communication network control element like the eNB 20 determines from information included in the monitoring report that a UE is continuing to use an autonomous mode such as Mode 2 in D2D communication even after a certain duration under which an exit conditions for exiting the autonomous mode (Mode 2) should have been met, the eNB 20 can force the Mode 2 UE to move to a connected state e.g. by using paging. Thus, when the UE is in a connected state, the network (i.e. the eNB 20) obtains full control of the transmission mode of the UE in guestion, so that is it possible to move the UE in guestion to the controlled mode (e.g. Mode 1 ) .

Fig. 3 shows a flow chart of a processing conducted in communication network control element, such as eNB according to some examples of embodiments . Specifically, the example according to Fig. 3 is related to a control procedure conducted by the communication network control element for controlling a communication element such as UE2 30 communicating in an autonomous communication mode.

In S110, a monitoring report indicating a result of a monitoring conducted by a monitoring element or function in a communication network is received and processed. The monitoring is related to at least one communication element (e.g. a UE) communicating in an autonomous mode of a D2D communication. According to examples of embodiments, the monitoring report includes at least one of an ID indication of the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode, an indication of types of at least one of priorities, applications and services of the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode, and an indication of resources used by the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode .

It is to be noted that according to examples of embodiments, before executing S110, S100 is executed in which the monitoring element or function being located in the communication network, such as a UE (e.g. UEl 10 in Fig. 1) being capable for conducting a D2D communication, is configured for conducting the monitoring being related to at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode. The configuration includes, for example, a provision of information about a transmission resource pool usable by a communication element communicating in the autonomous mode . Alternatively, the configuration of monitoring element or function is already pre-set, S100 is not necessary.

In S120, it is decided on the basis of information contained in the monitoring report, whether or not a network intervention regarding a termination of a communication in the autonomous mode by at least one communication element reported in the monitoring report is to be initiated. For example, according to examples of embodiments, the processing in S120 includes identifying the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode. Furthermore, an allowance condition of the at least one communication element for communicating in the autonomous mode is determined, i.e. it is determined whether the communication element is allowed to communicate in the autonomous mode and under which conditions (time limits or the like) such an autonomous mode is allowed. Then, on the basis of the allowance condition, it is decided whether and when the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode has to terminate the autonomous mode. According to examples of embodiments, the processing in S120 is executed in cooperation with the core network, e.g. by exchanging data with the MME, so that one or more of the processing for identifying the at least one communication element, the processing for determining the allowance condition and the processing for deciding of whether and when the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode has to terminate the autonomous mode is executed in cooperation with a core network control element or function . According to some examples of embodiments, the decision of whether or not a network intervention as discussed above is to be initiated further includes to determine whether or not the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode is located in a coverage area to be controlled (i.e., for example, whether the communication element in guestion is in the cell of the eNB 20), wherein, for example, a network intervention is only initiated in case the communication element in guestion is in the coverage are to be controlled.

In S130, in case the decision is affirmative that a network intervention (e.g. a network control signaling or network control actions) is necessary, the network intervention or network control action is initiated (otherwise, in case the decision is negative, the processing returns) .

For example, according to examples of embodiments, the network intervention regarding the termination of the communication in the autonomous mode by the at least one communication element includes to cause a transmission of a network control signaling to the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode, such as, for example, paging of the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode (e.g. by the eNB 20) for initiating a change from the autonomous mode (e.g. a Mode 2) to a controlled mode (e.g. a Mode 1) of a D2D communication. Alternatively, transmission of information, such as, for example, a warning indication (transmitted e.g. by the eNB 20), to the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode is caused for indicating that the autonomous mode is to be terminated. As a further alternative, an instruction is transmitted to the monitoring element or function (e.g. UEl 10) for causing the monitoring element or function to transmit the network control signaling (e.g. paging) to the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode for initiating a change from the autonomous mode (e.g. Mode 2) to a controlled mode (e.g. Mode 1) of a D2D communication. Alternatively, an instruction is transmitted to the monitoring element or function (e.g. UEl 10) for causing the monitoring element or function to transmit corresponding information, such as a warning indication, to the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode for indicating that the autonomous mode is to be terminated. As another alternative or in addition, other network control actions are initiated which are usable for interrupting the communication conducted by the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode; for example, the communication is jammed or interrupted in another manner .

According to examples of embodiments, the network intervention is initiated, for example, after a predetermined time is elapsed starting from a receiving of the monitoring report (based, for example, on an RLF timer or a specific Mode 2 related timer ) .

Fig. 4 shows a flow chart of a processing conducted in a communication element, such as UEl 10, acting as a monitoring element or device according to some examples of embodiments. Specifically, the example according to Fig. 4 is related to a control procedure conducted by the communication element acting as a monitoring element in the control procedure for controlling a communication element such as UE2 30 communicating in an autonomous communication mode .

In S210, monitoring being related to at least one communication element communieating in an autonomous mode of a D2D communication in a communication network is conducted .

It is to be noted that according to some examples of embodiments, before executing S210, S200 is executed in which configuration information related to the monitoring being related to at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode is received and processed. The configuration includes, for example, a receipt of information about a transmission resource pool usable by a communication element communicating in the autonomous mode. Alternatively, the configuration for conducting the monitoring is already pre-set, i.e. S200 is not necessary.

In S220, a monitoring report indicating a result of the monitoring is prepared. According to examples of embodiments, the monitoring report includes at least one of an ID indication of the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode, an indication of types of at least one of priorities, applications and services of the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode, and an indication of resources used by the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode .

According to some examples of embodiments, the monitoring includes a determination of whether or not the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode is located in a coverage area to be controlled (for example a coverage area or cell controlled by an eNB to which the UE (e.g. UEl 10) is attached, such as eNB 20), wherein according to some examples of embodiments the monitoring report is prepared only for a communication element communicating in the autonomous mode which is located in the coverage area to be controlled.

In addition, according to some examples of embodiments, the monitoring report is prepared for communication elements communicating in the autonomous mode, which belong to a specific user group, wherein in such a case the monitoring report is prepared when a new scheduling assignment is received .

In S230, transmission of the monitoring report to a communication network control element of the communication network, such as the eNB 20 is caused. It is to be noted that according to further examples of embodiments, an instruction for causing a transmission of network control signaling (such as paging) to the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode is received and processed, wherein the network control signaling is used for initiating a change from the autonomous mode (e.g. a Mode 2) to a controlled mode (e.g. a Mode 1) of a D2D communication. In this case, transmission of the network control signaling (paging) to the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode is conducted.

Alternatively, according to some examples of embodiments, an instruction for causing a transmission of information (such as a warning indication) to the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode is received and processed, the information being for indicating that the autonomous mode is to be terminated. In this case, a transmission of the information (e.g. the warning indication) to the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode is caused.

Fig. 5 shows a diagram of a communication network control element according to some examples of embodiments, which is configured to implement a control procedure as described in connection with some of the examples of embodiments . It is to be noted that the communication network control element, like eNB 20, which is shown in Fig. 5, may include further elements or functions besides those described herein below. Furthermore, even though reference is made to a communication network control element, the element may be also another device or function having a similar task, such as a chipset, a chip, a module, an application etc., which can also be part of a communication network control element or attached as a separate element to a communication network control element, or the like. It should be understood that each block and any combination thereof may be implemented by various means or their combinations, such as hardware, software, firmware, one or more processors and/or circuitry.

The communication network control element shown in Fig. 5 may include a processing circuitry, a processing function, a control unit or a processor 21, such as a CPU or the like, which is suitable for executing instructions given by programs or the like related to the control procedure. The processor 21 may include one or more processing portions or functions dedicated to specific processing as described below, or the processing may be run in a single processor or processing function. Portions for executing such specific processing may be also provided as discrete elements or within one or more further processors, processing functions or processing portions, such as in one physical processor like a CPU or in one or more physical or virtual entities, for example. Reference signs 22 and 23 denote transceiver or input/output (I/O) units or functions

(interfaces) connected to the processor or processing function 21. The I/O units 22 may be used for communicating with a communication element, such as a user eguipment or the like (e.g. UEl 10) . The I/O units 23 may be used for communicating with the core network, such as the MME 60.

The I/O units 22 and 23 may be a combined unit including communication eguipment towards several network elements, or may include a distributed structure with a plurality of different interfaces for different network elements . Reference sign 24 denotes a memory usable, for example, for storing data and programs to be executed by the processor or processing function 21 and/or as a working storage of the processor or processing function 21. It is to be noted that the memory 24 may be implemented by using one or more memory portions of the same or different type of memory.

The processor or processing function 21 is configured to execute processing related to the above described control procedure. In particular, the processor or processing circuitry or function 21 includes one or more of the following sub-portions. Sub-portion 210 is a processing portion which is usable for conducting a monitoring configuration. The portion 210 may be configured to perform processing according to S100 of Fig. 3. Furthermore, the processor or processing circuitry or function 21 may include a sub-portion 211 usable as a portion for conducting a monitoring report processing. The portion 211 may be configured to perform a processing according to SllO of Fig. 3. Furthermore, the processor or processing circuitry or function 21 may include a sub-portion 212 usable as a portion for deciding on a network intervention. The portion 212 may be configured to perform processing according to S120 of Fig. 3. Moreover, the processor or processing circuitry or function 21 may include a sub- portion 213 usable as a portion for initiating a network intervention or network control actions. The portion 213 may be configured to perform processing according to S130 of Fig. 3. Fig. 6 shows a diagram of a communication element according to some examples of embodiments, which is configured to implement a control procedure as a monitoring element or device, as described in connection with some of the examples of embodiments. It is to be noted that the communication element, like the UEl 10, which is shown in Fig. 6, may include further elements or functions besides those described herein below. Furthermore, even though reference is made to a communication element like a UE, the communication element may be also another device or function having a similar task, such as a chipset, a chip, a module, an application etc., which can also be part of a communication element or attached as a separate element to a communication element, or the like. It should be understood that each block and any combination thereof may be implemented by various means or their combinations, such as hardware, software, firmware, one or more processors and/or circuitry.

The communication element shown in Fig. 6 may include a processing circuitry, a processing function, a control unit or a processor 11, such as a CPU or the like, which is suitable for executing instructions given by programs or the like related to the control procedure. The processor 11 may include one or more processing portions or functions dedicated to specific processing as described below, or the processing may be run in a single processor or processing function. Portions for executing such specific processing may be also provided as discrete elements or within one or more further processors, processing functions or processing portions, such as in one physical processor like a CPU or in one or more physical or virtual entities, for example. Reference signs 12 and 13 denote transceiver or input/output (I/O) units or functions (interfaces) connected to the processor or processing function 11. The I/O units 12 may be used for communicating with another communication element, such as another UE (e.g. UE2 30), via a D2D communication, and the like. The I/O units 13 may be used for communicating with a communication network control element, such as eNB 20. The I/O units 12 and 13 may be a combined unit including communication eguipment towards several network elements, or may include a distributed structure with a plurality of different interfaces for different network elements. Reference sign 14 denotes a memory usable, for example, for storing data and programs to be executed by the processor or processing function 11 and/or as a working storage of the processor or processing function 11. It is to be noted that the memory 14 may be implemented by using one or more memory portions of the same or different type of memory.

The processor or processing function 11 is configured to execute processing related to the above described control procedure. In particular, the processor or processing circuitry or function 11 includes one or more of the following sub-portions. Sub-portion 110 is a processing portion which is usable for conducting a monitoring configuration processing. The portion 110 may be configured to perform processing according to S200 of Fig. 4. Furthermore, the processor or processing circuitry or function 11 may include a sub-portion 111 usable as a portion for conducting a monitoring. The portion 111 may be configured to perform processing according to S210 of Fig. 4. Furthermore, the processor or processing circuitry or function 11 may include a sub-portion 112 usable as a portion for preparing a monitoring report. The portion 112 may be configured to perform processing according to S220 of Fig. 4. In addition, the processor or processing circuitry or function 11 may include a sub-portion 113 usable as a portion for causing a transmission of the monitoring report. The portion 113 may be configured to perform processing according to S230 of Fig. 4.

According to another example of embodiments, there is provided an apparatus including means for receiving and processing a monitoring report indicating a result of a monitoring conducted by a monitoring element or function in a communication network, the monitoring being related to at least one communication element communicating in an autonomous mode of a device-to-device communication, means for deciding, on the basis of information contained in the monitoring report, whether or not a network intervention regarding a termination of a communication in the autonomous mode by at least one communication element reported in the monitoring report is to be initiated, and means for initiating the network intervention in case the decision is affirmative.

Furthermore, according to another example of embodiments, there is provided an apparatus including means for conducting monitoring being related to at least one communication element communicating in an autonomous mode of a device-to-device communication in a communication network, means for preparing a monitoring report indicating a result of the monitoring, and means for causing transmission of the monitoring report to a communication network control element of the communication network.

Furthermore, as described above, there is provided, as an aspect A, an apparatus including at least one processing circuitry, and at least one memory for storing instructions to be executed by the processing circuitry, wherein the at least one memory and the instructions are configured to, with the at least one processing circuitry, cause the apparatus at least: to receive and process a monitoring report indicating a result of a monitoring conducted by a monitoring element or function in a communication network, the monitoring being related to at least one communication element communicating in an autonomous mode of a device-to- device communication, to decide, on the basis of information contained in the monitoring report, whether or not a network intervention regarding a termination of a communication in the autonomous mode by at least one communication element reported in the monitoring report is to be initiated, and to initiate the network intervention in case the decision is affirmative.

As an aspect Al, in the apparatus according to aspect A, the at least one memory and the instructions are further configured to, with the at least one processing circuitry, cause the apparatus at least to configure a monitoring element or function being located in the communication network for conducting the monitoring being related to at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode.

As an aspect A2, in the apparatus according to aspect Al, the configuring further includes providing information about a transmission resource pool usable by a communication element communicating in the autonomous mode.

As an aspect A3, in the apparatus according to any of aspects A to A2, the monitoring report includes at least one of an identification indication of the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode, an indication of types of at least one of priorities, applications and services of the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode, and an indication of resources used by the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode.

As an aspect A4, in the apparatus according to any of aspects A to A3, the at least one memory and the instructions are further configured to, with the at least one processing circuitry, cause the apparatus, when deciding, on the basis of information contained in the monitoring report, whether or not a network intervention regarding the termination of the communication in the autonomous mode by the at least one communication element reported in the monitoring report is to be initiated, at least to identify the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode, and determine an allowance condition of the at least one communication element for communicating in the autonomous mode, and decide, on the basis of the allowance condition, whether and when the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode has to terminate the autonomous mode.

As an aspect A5, in the apparatus according to aspect A4, the at least one memory and the instructions are further configured to, with the at least one processing circuitry, cause the apparatus, for at least one of the identifying of the at least one communication element, the determination of the allowance condition and the deciding of whether and when the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode has to terminate the autonomous mode, execute this by exchanging information with a core network control element or function.

As an aspect A6, in the apparatus according to any of aspects A to A5, the at least one memory and the instructions are further configured to, with the at least one processing circuitry, cause the apparatus, when deciding, on the basis of information contained in the monitoring report, whether or not a network intervention regarding the termination of the communication in the autonomous mode by the at least one communication element reported in the monitoring report is to be initiated, to determine whether or not the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode is located in a coverage area to be controlled. As an aspect A7, in the apparatus according to any of aspects A to A6, the network intervention regarding a termination of the communication in the autonomous mode by the at least one communication element comprises at least one of causing transmission of a network control signaling or information to the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode for causing a change from the autonomous mode to a controlled mode of a device- to-device communication, causing a transmission of an instruction to the monitoring element or function for causing the monitoring element or function for transmitting a network control signaling or information to the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode for causing a change from the autonomous mode to a controlled mode of a device-to-device communication, and initiating network control actions for interrupting of the communication conducted by the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode .

As an aspect A8, in the apparatus according to any of aspects A to A7, the at least one memory and the instructions are further configured to, with the at least one processing circuitry, cause the apparatus to initiate the network intervention after a predetermined time is elapsed starting from a receiving of the monitoring report.

As an aspect A9, the apparatus according to any of aspects A to A8 is implemented in a communication network control element configured to control at least one cell of the communication network, wherein the monitoring element or function is included m a communication element including one of a user eguipment or terminal device being capable of conducting a device-to-device communication and being in a connected state to the communication network control element, wherein the communication network is based on Long Term Evolution or Long Term Evolution Advanced specifications .

Moreover, as described above, there is provided, as an aspect B, an apparatus including at least one processing circuitry, and at least one memory for storing instructions to be executed by the processing circuitry, wherein the at least one memory and the instructions are configured to, with the at least one processing circuitry, cause the apparatus at least : to conduct monitoring being related to at least one communication element communicating in an autonomous mode of a device-to-device communication in a communication network, to prepare a monitoring report indicating a result of the monitoring, and to cause transmission of the monitoring report to a communication network control element of the communication network.

As an aspect Bl, in the apparatus according to aspect B, the at least one memory and the instructions are further configured to, with the at least one processing circuitry, cause the apparatus to receive and process configuration information related to the monitoring being related to at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode. As an aspect B2, in the apparatus according to aspect Bl, the configuration information includes information about a transmission resource pool usable by a communication element communicating in the autonomous mode.

As an aspect B3, in the apparatus according to aspect B2, the at least one memory and the instructions are further configured to, with the at least one processing circuitry, cause the apparatus to determine whether or not the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode is located in a coverage area to be controlled, wherein the monitoring report is prepared only for a communication element communicating in the autonomous mode which is located in the coverage area to be controlled .

As an aspect B4, in the apparatus according to any of aspects B to B3, the monitoring report includes at least one of an identification indication of the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode, an indication of types of at least one of priorities, applications and services of the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode, and an indication of resources used by the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode.

As an aspect B5, in the apparatus according to any of aspects B to B4, the at least one memory and the instructions are further configured to, with the at least one processing circuitry, cause the apparatus to prepare the monitoring report for communication elements communicating in the autonomous mode, which belong to a specific user group, wherein the monitoring report is prepared and transmission of the monitoring report is caused when a new scheduling assignment is received.

As an aspect B6, in the apparatus according to any of aspects B to B5, the at least one memory and the instructions are further configured to, with the at least one processing circuitry, cause the apparatus to receive and process an instruction for causing transmitting a network control signaling or information to the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode for initiating a change from the autonomous mode to a controlled mode of a device-to-device communication, and to cause transmitting the network control signaling or information to the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode .

As an aspect B7, the apparatus according to any of aspects B to B6 is implemented in a communication element acting as a monitoring element or function, wherein the communication element includes one of a user eguipment or terminal device being capable of conducting a device-to-device communication and being in a connected state to the communication network control element, wherein the communication network control element is configured to control at least one cell of the communication network, wherein the communication network is based on Long Term Evolution or Long Term Evolution Advanced specifications . It should be appreciated that

- an access technology via which signaling is transferred to and from a network element may be any suitable present or future technology, such as WLAN (Wireless Local Access Network), WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access), LTE, LTE-A, Bluetooth, Infrared, and the like may be used; additionally, embodiments may also apply wired technologies, e.g. IP based access technologies like cable networks or fixed lines .

- a user device (also called UE, user eguipment, user terminal, terminal device, etc.) illustrates one type of an apparatus to which resources on the air interface may be allocated and assigned, and thus any feature described herein with a user eguipment may be implemented with a corresponding apparatus, such as a relay node. An example of such a relay node is a layer 3 relay ( self-backhauling relay) towards a base station or eNB . The user device typically refers to a portable computing device that includes wireless mobile communication devices operating with or without a subscriber identification module (SIM), including, but not limited to, the following types of devices: a mobile station (mobile phone), smartphone, personal digital assistant (PDA) , handset, device using a wireless modem (alarm or measurement device, etc.), laptop and/or touch screen computer, tablet, game console, notebook, and multimedia device. It should be appreciated that a user device may also be a nearly exclusive uplink only device, of which an example is a camera or video camera loading images or video clips to a network, or a nearly exclusive downlink only device, such as a portable video player. Also equipment used for measuring certain values, such as sensors which can measure a temperature, a pressure etc., can be used as a corresponding user device. It should be appreciated that a device may be regarded as an apparatus or as an assembly of more than one apparatus, whether functionally in cooperation with each other or functionally independently of each other but in a same device housing.

- embodiments suitable to be implemented as software code or portions of it and being run using a processor or processing function are software code independent and can be specified using any known or future developed programming language, such as a high-level programming language, such as objective-C, C, C++, C#, Java, etc., or a low-level programming language, such as a machine language, or an assembler.

- implementation of embodiments is hardware independent and may be implemented using any known or future developed hardware technology or any hybrids of these, such as a microprocessor or CPU (Central Processing Unit), MOS (Metal Oxide Semiconductor), CMOS (Complementary MOS), BiMOS (Bipolar MOS), BiCMOS (Bipolar CMOS), ECL (Emitter Coupled Logic), and/or TTL (Transistor-Transistor Logic).

- embodiments may be implemented as individual devices, apparatuses, units, means or functions, or in a distributed fashion, for example, one or more processors or processing functions may be used or shared in the processing, or one or more processing sections or processing portions may be used and shared in the processing, wherein one physical processor or more than one physical processor may be used for implementing one or more processing portions dedicated to specific processing as described,

- an apparatus may be implemented by a semiconductor chip, a chipset, or a (hardware) module including such chip or chipset ;

- embodiments may also be implemented as any combination of hardware and software, such as ASIC (Application Specific IC (Integrated Circuit)) components, FPGA (Field- programmable Gate Arrays) or CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device) components or DSP (Digital Signal Processor) components .

- embodiments may also be implemented as computer program products, including a computer usable medium having a computer readable program code embodied therein, the computer readable program code adapted to execute a process as described in embodiments, wherein the computer usable medium may be a non-transitory medium.

Although the present invention has been described herein before with reference to particular embodiments thereof, the present invention is not limited thereto and various modifications can be made thereto.

Claims

1. A method including receiving and processing a monitoring report indicating a result of a monitoring conducted by a monitoring element or function in a communication network, the monitoring being related to at least one communication element communicating in an autonomous mode of a device-to-device communication, deciding, on the basis of information contained in the monitoring report, whether or not a network intervention regarding a termination of a communication in the autonomous mode by at least one communication element reported in the monitoring report is to be initiated, and, in case the decision is affirmative, initiating the network intervention .

2. The method according to claim 1, further including configuring a monitoring element or function being located in the communication network for conducting the monitoring being related to at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the configuring further includes providing information about a transmission resource pool usable by a communication element communicating in the autonomous mode .

4. The method according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the monitoring report includes at least one of an identification indication of the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode, an indication of types of at least one of priorities, applications and services of the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode, and an indication of resources used by the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode.

5. The method according to any of claims 1 to 4, wherein deciding, on the basis of information contained in the monitoring report, whether or not a network intervention regarding the termination of the communication in the autonomous mode by the at least one communication element reported in the monitoring report is to be initiated includes identifying the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode, and determining an allowance condition of the at least one communication element for communicating in the autonomous mode, and deciding, on the basis of the allowance condition, whether and when the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode has to terminate the autonomous mode .

6. The method according to claim wherein at least one of the identifying of the at least communication element. the determination of the allowance condition and the deciding of whether and when the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode has to terminate the autonomous mode is executed by exchanging information with a core network control element or function .

7. The method according to any of claims 1 to 6, wherein deciding, on the basis of information contained in the monitoring report, whether or not a network intervention regarding the termination of the communication in the autonomous mode by the at least one communication element reported in the monitoring report is to be initiated further includes determining whether or not the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode is located in a coverage area to be controlled.

8. The method according to any of claims 1 to 7, wherein the network intervention regarding a termination of the communication in the autonomous mode by the at least one communication element comprises at least one of causing transmission of a network control signaling or information to the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode for causing a change from the autonomous mode to a controlled mode of a device-to- device communication, causing a transmission of an instruction to the monitoring element or function for causing the monitoring element or function for transmitting a network control signaling or information to the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode for causing a change from the autonomous mode to a controlled mode of a device-to-device communication, and initiating network control actions for interrupting of the communication conducted by the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode.

9. The method according to any of claims 1 to 8, wherein the network intervention is initiated after a predetermined time is elapsed starting from a receiving of the monitoring report .

10. The method according to any of claims 1 to 9, wherein the method is implemented in a communication network control element configured to control at least one cell of the communication network, wherein the monitoring element or function is included in a communication element including one of a user eguipment or terminal device being capable of conducting a device-to-device communication and being in a connected state to the communication network control element, wherein the communication network is based on Long Term Evolution or Long Term Evolution Advanced specifications.

11. An apparatus including at least one processing circuitry, and at least one memory for storing instructions to be executed by the processing circuitry, wherein the at least one memory and the instructions are configured to, with the at least one processing circuitry, cause the apparatus at least: to receive and process a monitoring report indicating a result of a monitoring conducted by a monitoring element or function in a communication network, the monitoring being related to at least one communication element communicating in an autonomous mode of a device-to-device communication, to decide, on the basis of information contained in the monitoring report, whether or not a network intervention regarding a termination of a communication in the autonomous mode by at least one communication element reported in the monitoring report is to be initiated, and, to initiate the network intervention in case the decision is affirmative.

12. A method including conducting monitoring being related to at least one communication element communicating in an autonomous mode of a device-to-device communication in a communication network, preparing a monitoring report indicating a result of the monitoring, and causing transmission of the monitoring report to a communication network control element of the communication network .

13. The method according to claim 12, further including receiving and processing configuration information related to the monitoring being related to at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the configuration information includes information about a transmission resource pool usable by a communication element communicating in the autonomous mode .

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the monitoring further includes determining whether or not the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode is located in a coverage area to be controlled, wherein the monitoring report is prepared only for a communication element communicating in the autonomous mode which is located in the coverage area to be controlled.

16. The method according to any of claims 12 to 15, wherein the monitoring report includes at least one of an identification indication of the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode, an indication of types of at least one of priorities, applications and services of the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode, and an indication of resources used by the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode.

17. The method according to any of claims 12 to 16, wherein the monitoring report is prepared for communication elements communicating in the autonomous mode, which belong to a specific user group, wherein the monitoring report is prepared and transmission of the monitoring report is caused when a new scheduling assignment is received.

18. The method according to any of claims 12 to 17, further comprising receiving and processing an instruction for causing transmitting a network control signaling or information to the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode for initiating a change from the autonomous mode to a controlled mode of a device-to-device communication, and causing transmitting the network control signaling or information to the at least one communication element communicating in the autonomous mode.

19. The method according to any of claims 12 to 18, wherein the method is implemented in a communication element acting as a monitoring element or function, wherein the communication element includes one of a user eguipment or terminal device being capable of conducting a device-to- device communication and being in a connected state to the communication network control element, wherein the communication network control element is configured to control at least one cell of the communication network, wherein the communication network is based on Long Term Evolution or Long Term Evolution Advanced specifications.

20. An apparatus including at least one processing circuitry, and at least one memory for storing instructions to be executed by the processing circuitry, wherein the at least one memory and the instructions are configured to, with the at least one processing circuitry, cause the apparatus at least: to conduct monitoring being related to at least one communication element communicating in an autonomous mode of a device-to-device communication in a communication network, to prepare a monitoring report indicating a result of the monitoring, and to cause transmission of the monitoring report to a communication network control element of the communication network .

21. A computer program product for a computer, including software code portions for performing the steps of any of claims 1 to 10 or any of claims 12 to 19 when said product is run on the computer .

22. The computer program product according to claim 21, wherein the computer program product includes a computer- readable medium on which said software code portions are stored, and/or the computer program product is directly loadable into the internal memory of the computer and/or transmittable via a network by means of at least one of upload, download and push procedures .