WO2019039987A1 - Procédé de comptage de dispositifs - Google Patents

Procédé de comptage de dispositifs Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2019039987A1
WO2019039987A1 PCT/SE2018/050831 SE2018050831W WO2019039987A1 WO 2019039987 A1 WO2019039987 A1 WO 2019039987A1 SE 2018050831 W SE2018050831 W SE 2018050831W WO 2019039987 A1 WO2019039987 A1 WO 2019039987A1
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WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
connection
user equipment
network node
time window
vendors
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PCT/SE2018/050831
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English (en)
Inventor
Dung PHAM VAN
Andreas HÖGLUND
Magnus Stattin
Paul Schliwa-Bertling
Tuomas TIRRONEN
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Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ)
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Publication of WO2019039987A1 publication Critical patent/WO2019039987A1/fr

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W4/00—Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
    • H04W4/24—Accounting or billing
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04M15/00—Arrangements for metering, time-control or time indication ; Metering, charging or billing arrangements for voice wireline or wireless communications, e.g. VoIP
    • H04M15/58—Arrangements for metering, time-control or time indication ; Metering, charging or billing arrangements for voice wireline or wireless communications, e.g. VoIP based on statistics of usage or network monitoring
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W24/00—Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
    • H04W24/08—Testing, supervising or monitoring using real traffic
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W4/00—Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
    • H04W4/70—Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]

Definitions

  • the application relates to systems, methods, and apparatus for wireless communication, and in particular, for techniques for counting devices used by different vendors in a wireless communication system.
  • a radio access network e.g., eNBs, gNBs
  • NB-loT Narrow Band Internet of Things
  • eMTC/LTE-M UEs served by them e.g., eMTC/LTE-M UEs served by them in a specific period.
  • RAN radio access network
  • CN core network
  • GUTI Global UE Temporary Identity
  • RAN receives a part of this GUTI, i.e., the S-TMSI.
  • a mobile management entity maintains UE information including MM and EPS context.
  • the eNBs can acquire UE information stored at MME as input to make decisions in various RAN activities/procedures.
  • UE information may be updated in RAN and eNBs can then upload the updated UE information for storage in MME.
  • the signaling procedures used to facilitate the exchange and update of UE information among eNBs and between eNBs and MME are specified in S1-AP and X2-AP protocols. Actual signaling procedures are specified based on type of UE information in need and in what RAN activities/procedures the information is used.
  • the eNB does not store any UE context when a UE is released to RRCJDLE mode
  • the MME on the other hand is used for mobility and stores a UE context for UEs that are attached in a Tracking Area (TA) belonging to the MME.
  • TA Tracking Area
  • the traditional model to base counting on the number of connected (RRC_CONNECTED) UEs may be no longer suitable and may lead to inaccurate tallies of a number of UEs that have utilized a given network in a given time period. Accordingly, improved techniques are needed for counting the number of UEs in a given time period, particularly in the loT implementation contexts.
  • the solution presented herein counts the number of UEs that connect to a network within a specified time period. To that end, the solution presented herein determines whether a connecting (or connected) UE was previously connected to a node for a vendor during the specified time period. If it is determined that the UE was not previously connected to the node, a device count is incremented. Otherwise, the device count is not incremented.
  • One exemplary embodiment comprises a method of counting user equipment connected to a wireless communication system.
  • the method comprises defining a counting time window for a group of vendors comprising one or more vendors serving the wireless communication system.
  • the counting time window is bounded by a starting time and an ending time.
  • the method further comprises determining whether a connection of a user equipment to a network node for a vendor in the group of vendors is a first connection, during the counting time window, of the user equipment to any of the network nodes of the group of vendors.
  • the method comprises incrementing a device count specific to the counting time window and to the group of vendors.
  • One exemplary embodiment comprises a computer program product for controlling a network node in a wireless communication system
  • the computer program product comprises software instructions which, when run on at least one processing circuit in the network node, causes the network node to define a counting time window for a group of vendors comprising one or more vendors serving the wireless communication system.
  • the counting time window is bounded by a starting time and an ending time.
  • the software instructions When run on at least one processing circuit in the network node, the software instructions further cause the network node to determine whether a connection of a user equipment to a network node for a vendor in the group of vendors is a first connection, during the counting time window, of the user equipment to any of the network nodes of the group of vendors.
  • a computer-readable medium comprises the computer program product. In one exemplary embodiment, the computer-readable medium comprises a non-transitory computer-readable medium.
  • One exemplary embodiment comprises a wireless communication system comprising one or more nodes configured to count a number of user equipment connected to the wireless communication system, the one or more nodes of the wireless communication system configured to define a counting time window for a group of vendors comprising one or more vendors serving the wireless communication system.
  • the counting time window is bounded by a starting time and an ending time.
  • the one or more nodes are further configured to determine whether a connection of a user equipment to a network node for a vendor in the group of vendors is a first connection, during the counting time window, of the user equipment to any of the network nodes of the group of vendors.
  • the one or more nodes are further configured to cause the network node to increment a device count specific to the counting time window and to the group of vendors.
  • One exemplary embodiment comprises a network node in a wireless communication system.
  • the network node comprises a receiver circuit, a processing circuit, and a transmitter circuit.
  • the receiver circuit is configured to obtain a counting time window for a group of vendors comprising one or more vendors. At least one vendor in the group of vendors is associated with the network node, and the counting time window is bounded by a starting time and an ending time.
  • the processing circuit is configured to determine whether a connection of a user equipment to the network node is a first connection, during the counting time window, of the user equipment to any network node in the wireless communication system associated with the group of vendors.
  • the processing circuit Upon in response to determining that the connection is the first connection during the counting time window, the processing circuit is configured to increment a device count for the counting time window and the group of vendors.
  • the transmitter circuit is configured to report the device count to a remote node in the wireless communication system.
  • One exemplary embodiment comprises a mobility management entity for a plurality of network nodes in a wireless communication system, wherein one or more of the network nodes are associated with a group of vendors comprising one or more vendors.
  • the mobility management entity comprises a receiver circuit and a processing circuit.
  • the receiver circuit is configured to obtain a counting time window for the group of vendors.
  • the counting time window is bounded by a starting time and an ending time.
  • the processing circuit is configured to determine whether a connection of a user equipment to one of the or more network nodes associated with the group of vendors is a first connection, during the counting time window, of the user equipment to any of the one or more network nodes associated with the group of vendors.
  • the processing circuit is further configured to, in response to determining that the connection is the first connection during the counting time window, increment a device count for the counting time window.
  • Figure 1 illustrates examples of timestamps for a UE that can be maintained at MMEs in certain examples.
  • Figure 2 illustrates a signaling flow for UE number counting in RAN.
  • Figure 3 illustrates another signaling flow for UE number counting in RAN.
  • Figure 4 illustrates example of handover counting cases according to the present disclosure.
  • Figure 5 illustrates and example wireless communication system according to aspects of the present disclosure.
  • Figure 6 illustrates a method performed by a network device (i.e. eNB/gNB, separate network device, MME, or core network node) according to one or more embodiments.
  • a network device i.e. eNB/gNB, separate network device, MME, or core network node
  • Figures 7 A and 7B illustrate aspects of an example device that can comprise a network node (eNB/gNB), MME, or core network node in example embodiments of the solution presented herein.
  • eNB/gNB network node
  • MME Mobility Management Entity
  • the present disclosure describes example techniques for counting UEs that have utilized a particular access network in a given time period.
  • these techniques involve storing a timestamp for a particular UE which can be subsequently utilized by a network node to determine whether that UE should be counted in a tally (or count) of the UEs utilized during the time period.
  • the status of a flag is used to determine whether the UE should be counted in a tally (or count) of the UEs utilized during the time period.
  • the solution presented herein increments a tally (or count) only when it is determined that the UE in question has not previously connected to a node associated with one or more vendors in a group of vendors during a counting time window defined for the group of vendors and bounded by a starting time and an ending time.
  • the group of vendors includes all vendors operating in the wireless communication system.
  • the group of vendors may include only one vendor of the wireless communication system, e.g., an Ericsson vendor.
  • the group of vendors may comprise some subset of all of the vendors operating in the wireless
  • CN core network
  • GUTI Global UE Temporary Identity
  • RAN has no means to reliably correlate the identity to any previous identity received in RAN, thus unable to check whether a UE has previously utilized the network during a given time period. It is therefore desirable to add a functionality in RAN to enable the eNB (or gNB in some cases) to identify and count the number of unique UEs which have been served by the eNB within a period, e.g., a counting time window bound by a starting time and an ending time.
  • the solution may support multi-vendor device counting and applicable to not only NB-loT, but also eMTC and legacy LTE and other radio access technologies.
  • the MME stores information for each of its visited UEs, for example, mobility history with most recent visited cells.
  • the UE information stored at MME can be extended to allow for the association of the UE connection history with the eNBs it has visited/accessed.
  • Such added information can be vendor-specific. For example, for each UE, all eNBs of one or more vendor(s) can keep track of a common time variable (i.e., timestamp) that indicates the last time the UE visited their RAN, e.g., by connecting to any one or more network nodes associated with their RAN. This allows eNBs of a vendor group (i.e., one or more vendors) to count the number of UEs served by their RAN in a specific period.
  • a vendor group i.e., one or more vendors
  • TSs RAN timestamps
  • the eNB retrieves from MME or from its RAN the TS corresponding to the vendor and counts the UE if the TS indicates that the UE has not been counted in the current counting period. If a UE is counted at an eNB, its respective TS is updated then uploaded to MME (and/or another network element/node and/or maintained at the eNB/gNB itself) for future tracking among the relevant eNBs.
  • the eNB reports its count to a collection node that, for each vendor, sums up all counts received from its eNBs. The counts are reset for the next counting period.
  • the (network) node determining that the UE has not been counted in the current counting period and/or incrementing the count may alternatively be the MME or another network node (including a RAN node and/or CN node).
  • the eNB may not need to retrieve the TS.
  • the TS is instead retrieved by the node performing said functionality.
  • the (network) node updating the TS may alternatively be the MME or another network node. Update of the TS may be triggered by an indication from an eNB, MME or the node itself. In these cases, the eNB may not need to upload the TS. Where applicable, the TS is instead uploaded by the MME or another network node.
  • eNBs access network nodes
  • gNBs access network nodes
  • MMEs Mobility Management Entity
  • the solution described herein enables counting of the number of individual UEs making use of a particular RAN within a specific counting period (counting window). Moreover, it would enable charging based not on data volume (i.e. the number of connections often used for MBB) but rather of devices being active in the network (e.g. alarms etc. that do not normally generate any data volume).
  • the solution supports multi-vendor counting of devices and is applicable to NB-loT, LTE-M, and/or legacy LTE.
  • the solution allows network vendors to count also the UEs already deployed in the field.
  • the solution presented herein is described in terms of a counting time window, which is interchangeably referred to herein as a period, a counting period, a counting window, etc.
  • the counting time window is bound by a starting time and an ending time, such that the counting time window spans a period of time between the starting and ending times, and including the starting and ending times. It will be appreciated that the counting time window is defined for one or more vendors, and may be specified by any node in the wireless network in terms of the starting time, the ending time, and/or the amount of time between the starting and ending times.
  • the eNB is actively doing the counting (i.e., the eNB is a 'counting node'), the MME is unaware of the counting and only transparently stores the TS of UEs in the UE contexts, and the counting is reported to/requested by a third CN node (i.e., the 'charging node,' which also may be referred to herein as a
  • This exemplary embodiment is eNB-centric since the eNB would be in charge of doing the counting and keeping track of the current count. It will be appreciated that any other combination of the functionality among nodes would also be possible.
  • the solution may be MME-centric, where the solution would be transparent to eNBs and the MME would instead be in charge of both counting a UE upon the first connection during the counting time period and keeping the count per vendor (or group of vendors).
  • a new network node is in charge of both these functionalities.
  • the functionality of such examples can include the following:
  • Each of the functionalities a) to d) can, in a generalized sense, be located in any network node (eNB, MME, RNC, existing CN-node, a new CN-node, etc.) and in any combination of network nodes.
  • eNB evolved Node
  • MME mobile phone
  • RNC Radio Network Controller
  • a first network node When a UE is served by a (first) radio network, a first network node
  • the first network node may be, e.g., an eNB, an
  • MME Mobility Management Entity
  • the determining of whether the UE has been served by and/or has been counted with respect to the first radio network in the current counting period comprises determining whether a Time Stamp (TS) for the UE and pertaining to the first radio network has been set/reset in the current counting period.
  • TS Time Stamp
  • the determining whether a TS for the UE has been set/reset in the current counting period may comprise requesting and/or retrieving a TS from second network node.
  • the second network node may be, e.g. , an eNB (e.g., a previous eNB serving the UE), an MME, or another network node.
  • the request/retrieval may comprise identification of the radio network and/or the UE to which the TS is
  • the first network node may count the UE and/or indicate to a third network node a request and/or need to count the UE.
  • the third network node may be an MME, an eNB, a statistics collection/accounting node, or another network node.
  • the third network node may be the same as the second network node.
  • the first or third network node may set/reset the TS of the UE and provide/upload the TS to the second, or to a fourth, network node, or, the first or third network node may indicate to the second, or fourth, network node a request and/or need to set/reset the TS.
  • the upload/request may comprise identification of the radio network and/or the UE to which the TS is associated/pertains.
  • the fourth network node may be, e.g., an MME, an eNB (e.g.,, a next eNB to serve the UE), or another network node. It may be the same network node as the second network node.
  • the second or fourth network node Upon receiving a TS, the second or fourth network node stores the TS for the (first) radio network.
  • the second or fourth network node Upon receiving a request or indication of need to set/reset the TS, the second or fourth network node stores sets/resets the TS pertaining to the (first) radio network and stores the TS for the (first) radio network.
  • the counter in the first or third network node is reported to a fifth network node, where it may be aggregated with counter(s) from other network nodes pertaining to the first radio network and associated counting period.
  • the report comprises the counter value and may additionally comprise information about the associated counting period.
  • Information about the associated counting period may be an explicit identifier of the period or given implicitly by the time the report was sent/received.
  • the fifth network node may be a statistics collection, an accounting node, an MME or another network node supporting the purpose of counting devices in one or more radio networks.
  • the fifth network node may be the same as the third network node, in which case reporting may not be needed and/or may not require signaling.
  • the fifth network node can, based on the collected statistics/information, produce reports on how many UEs accessed a particular radio network in particular period.
  • access to a TS may be restricted such that only a subset of network nodes can access/retrieve/update the TS pertaining to a certain radio network.
  • the subset of network nodes may comprise, e.g., network nodes associated with a specific radio network and/or with a specific vendor/make of radio network.
  • a network node associated with a radio network and/or a radio network node may for instance be other eNBs of the same radio network and/or MME(s) to which a radio network node such as an eNB is connected.
  • the exchange of TSs and/or counters may be protected by means of ciphering and/or integrity protection.
  • the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth network nodes may not be distinct. One or more of the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth network nodes may be the same node.
  • the first network node is the eNB
  • the second network node is eNBs of the same vendor group as the first network node
  • the third network node is the MME
  • the fourth network node is a collection node.
  • the eNB For a UE visiting the network of a vendor for the first time, the eNB it is connected to counts the UE and updates its TS, e.g., assigning the current clock time to the TS.
  • the UE retrieves the respective TS and counts the UE based on defined counting criterion.
  • the UE visits a network for data transmissions, for example, starting with RRC connection establishment/re-establishment, RRC connection resume, and handover.
  • the UE When the UE is counted, its respective TS is updated by the eNB and then uploaded to MME. The updated TS received by MME shall replace the previously stored value of TS. 4. If a UE is connected in two or more consecutive counting periods, the UE counted in the first of the two consecutive counting periods, and is recounted in each of the subsequent consecutive counting periods during which the UE is connected.
  • the TS is available only to network entities of the same vendor group. In addition, the TSs being exchanged between eNBs and MME are protected.
  • the counts reported by eNBs of a network are aggregated to the total count for the entire network, and the network vendor can charge operators based on the sum.
  • the signaling flow facilitating the counting solution comprises the counting part and the count reporting part.
  • Figure 2 and Figure 3 show examples of signaling flow between an eNB and MME for counting, and between an eNB and the collection node for reporting the count, respectively. The description from hereafter is applicable but not limited to the aforementioned scenario.
  • the counting information used in the solution comprises:
  • Each UE is associated with one or more timestamps (TSs) maintained at the MME, each UE corresponding to a vendor of interest (see alternatives in Figure 1).
  • the TS of a UE for vendor V is used to indicate the most recent time the UE is counted while accessing any eNB of vendor V.
  • TSs are stored at the MME, and exchanged between the MME and eNBs and among eNBs of the same vendor group. However, TSs are updated only by eNBs of the same vendor group.
  • Each eNB associated with a vendor ID has a counter Count to count number of visiting UEs within a counting period.
  • the eNB counts a UE, i.e., increments its Count, it also updates the
  • Figure 1 shows exemplary information regarding TSs.
  • an eNB retrieves a TS of its vendor from the MME or from another eNB.
  • the MME and eNBs can decide to send either only the TS of the vendor or the whole TS array, i.e., including TSs of other vendors.
  • the former helps reduce the size of the messages carrying TSs in the network.
  • the MME is required to verify whether the eNB is requesting a TS of its vendor (i.e., some vendor indication would have to be appended to S1 signaling). In the latter, the MME is only responsible for storing TSs and the eNB can extract its respective TS from the received TS array.
  • a TS update can be based on either an absolute time or a relative time.
  • the eNB can update the TS using its own clock time.
  • the eNB can update the TS by adding the relative time gap between its current clock time and the received TS to the TS itself. The difference between the two methods is whether a TS is based on clock time of MME or eNBs.
  • the introduced TS is stored in a central node, e.g., MME so that any eNBs can retrieve the TS of a UE to check whether the UE has visited its network in the current counting period to make counting decision.
  • a central node e.g., MME
  • any eNB can manipulate the TSs of other vendors and thus tampering may occur.
  • the MME may belong to one of the RAN vendors, and thus should not be able to see TSs in plain text as well.
  • TSs being exchanged between eNBs and an MME are integrity protected so that only eNBs of the same vendor group can decode and read the TSs to avoid/mitigate the tampering issue.
  • TSs can be ciphered.
  • the keys and algorithms used for protection of counting information are shared among network nodes of the same vendor group.
  • the initialization of TS for a UE visiting the network in the first time can be performed by the eNB during the Initial Context Setup procedure.
  • the MME can indicate in the INITIAL CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST message that the UE has not ever visited the network.
  • the eNB is notified that the UE has not ever visited the network, it counts the UE, i.e., incrementing Count (see Figure 2) and initializes TS.
  • the eNB is expected to consider counting a device whenever it visits the eNB.
  • a UE may stay in connected mode with the eNB from a previous counting period to a current one, i.e., spanning multiple
  • the UE is considered to visit the network in multiple periods and thus is counted in all periods during which the UE is connected.
  • the events for triggering to consider counting the UE include:
  • Deferred counting i.e., at the transition from connected mode to idle, such as when the UE is released/suspended from the connection with the network.
  • the listed events are for the immediate counting method; the same principle can be used to develop the solutions based on in the deferred counting
  • the eNB in case of immediate counting, can consider counting a UE in all or some of following cases:
  • the eNB can choose to consider counting a UE in one or few of events mentioned above.
  • a UE For each counting period, a UE is counted at most once in a network.
  • the eNB decides to count the UE in a (current) counting period, if any of following conditions holds:
  • the UE has not been counted yet in the current counting period. This also means that if the UE is counted in a period, when it revisits the network (connected to any eNBs of the same vendor group) in the same period, it is not counted again.
  • a UE can be considered to visit a network when it enters a connected mode.
  • the network considers a visit only if the UE is in connected mode for a duration longer than a configured time duration.
  • the UE can be considered to visit a network when it initiates and mobile originating (MO) signaling or data transmission event, and transmits uplink data, or when the network initiates a mobile terminating (MT) data or signaling transmission event and the network sends the UE data after paging the UE.
  • MO mobile originating
  • MT mobile terminating
  • the eNB can initialize the TS of an UE in the first time it visits the network in an existing signaling procedure, such as the S1-AP Initial Context Setup procedure (TS36.413, section 8.3.1).
  • the eNB shall increment its Count and update the TS for each of UEs who are in the connected mode.
  • the recounting of a UE can be based on a timer
  • connectedCountTimer as shown in Figure 2.
  • the timer is reset when the UE is counted, suspended, or released from the network (see Figure 2).
  • connectedCountTimer is not zero, the UE is re-counted and the counter is increased as one. Signaling to facilitate counting information exchange
  • Signaling procedures facilitating the exchange and upload of TSs among eNBs and MME comprises:
  • the signaling procedures facilitating the TS exchange can be newly designed.
  • Figure 2 shows an example of the new procedures that may be used between an eNB and MME for the exchange of TSs, i.e., the RETRIEVE COUNTING INFO, COUNTING INFO RESPONSE, and COUNTING INFO UPDATE.
  • the exchange of the TSs between two eNBs of the same vendor group is not shown, but can be designed by applying the same principle.
  • the exchange of TSs among the network nodes is integrated in existing signaling procedures in S1-AP protocol (TS36.423) and X2-AP protocol (TS36.423).
  • the upload of TS from eNB to MME can be integrated into the existing UE CAPABILITY INFO INDICATION procedure (TS36.423, 8.9).
  • the TS can be included in the UE radio capability IE. This can help avoid designing such a new procedure as the COUNTING INFO UPDATE in Figure 2.
  • the TS exchange between an eNB and MME can be integrated into the Retrieve UE Information and UE Information Transfer procedures (TS36.423, 8.3.10 and 8.3.11).
  • the eNB and MME can exchange of the UE's TS by using:
  • the INITIAL UE MESSAGE shall be extended to include in indication for such request, and
  • TS36.413, 8.3.1 Context Setup procedure for the MME to provide the eNB with requested TS.
  • the TS of a UE is included in the message.
  • the Initial UE Message can also be used to indicate the eNB that the UE has never been in the RAN of the vendor, so that eNB can initialize its TS.
  • the eNB and MME can exchange the UE's TS by using the new procedures RETRIEVE COUNTING INFO, COUNTING INFO RESPONSE.
  • the eNB considers counting a UE in the event of the RRC connection resumes, the eNB and MME can exchange the UE's TS by means of the UE Connection Resume procedure (TS36.413, 8.3.8).
  • the TS of a UE shall be included in the two messages UE CONTEXT RESUME REQUEST and UE CONTEXT RESUME
  • the two S1-AP messages are extended to include the TS.
  • the target eNB acquires the TS from the MME. Otherwise, the two eNBs of the same vendor group can exchange the TS via X2 signaling by means of, for example, the Handover Preparation procedure (TS36.423, 8.2.1). Handover
  • Figure 4 illustrates the different HO scenarios for the case the TS is sent to only eNBs/MME of the same vendor group in the exchange among network nodes.
  • HO when the two eNBs are served by the same MME pool, the UE's TSs are stored in the MME. However, in case they are served by two MME pools (see Figure 4), it is assumed that the source MME transfers the NAS UE context including the TS to the target MME.
  • Case 1 X2 HO and two eNBs of the same vendor group.
  • the target eNB can receive the TS from the source eNB via X2 signaling by means of, for example, the
  • Case 2 X2 HO and two eNBs are from different vendors.
  • the target eNB shall retrieve the target vendor TS from the MME it is associated with.
  • Case 3 S1 HO and two eNBs of the same vendor group. Since the two eNBs perform the HO via MME, the target eNB shall retrieve the TS of the UE from the MME. In one embodiment, the source eNB shall upload the TS using the Handover preparation procedure (TS36.413, 8.4.1), i.e., HANDOVER
  • the target eNB shall retrieve the TS from the MME using the Handover Resource Allocation procedure (TS36.413, 8.4.2), i.e., the HANDOVER REQUEST message.
  • Case 4 S1 HO and two eNBs are from different vendors.
  • the target vendor TS is stored at the MME and thus the target eNB shall retrieve the TS by using the Handover Resource Allocation procedure (TS36.413, 8.4.2), i.e., the HANDOVER REQUEST message.
  • TS36.413, 8.4.2 Handover Resource Allocation procedure
  • the solutions for S1 HO are still valid.
  • the target eNB can receive the whole TS array from the source eNB and obtain its own TS, without the involvement of the MME.
  • the eNB shall be responsible for reporting its Count, i.e., number of served UEs from the beginning of a counting period, to other trusted network entities, for example, for checking, auditing or collection purposes.
  • Figure 3 shows some examples, in which the eNB reports its Count to a collection node.
  • the eNB shall reports its count to a collection node that is responsible for summing up all the number of UEs which have visited the RAN of a vendor for billing. This collection node is expected to ensure fairness among network vendors.
  • Such reporting can be requested by the collection node or triggered by a local timer maintained at the eNB i.e., counterTimer n Figure 3.
  • the decision on what node is used as the collection node shall determine how the signaling procedure facilitating the reporting is designed.
  • reporting counts to the collection node can be done whenever the UE is counted.
  • network nodes of the same vendor group can acquire the Count of an eNB, for their own checking purpose.
  • the exchange of a TS between an eNB and other network nodes of same vendor group can be realized by using existing signaling procedures depending on what is the network node that requests the count.
  • the counting period can be determined independently by vendors. For example, vendors can set their counting period on a monthly basis.
  • the counting period is known at least by the entities that update the Counts, i.e., the eNB(s) and the nodes that receive the reported Counts, e.g., the collection node in Figure 3.
  • the collection node can be a logical node of the same vendor group with the eNBs.
  • the collection node can be an auditing entity that is not belonging to any of the vendor groups under consideration to prevent the possible tampering.
  • the counting would not even have to be based on a timestamp per UE.
  • the MME would be aware of the counting time period boundaries, e.g., the starting and end time of the counting time period, and upon the first connection during a counting time period, the MME would increment the counting for the vendor of the involved eNB (vendor indication would have to be introduced for the S1 signaling).
  • the MME could either keep the counters per vendor (or group of vendors) and at the end of the counting time period report them to the charging entity (which would summarize the reports from all MMEs), or it could directly report every count directly to the charging entity when it occurs, where for this embodiment, the charging entity would keep the counts for each vendor.
  • the MME would in some way need to keep track of whether a UE has been counted already in the current counting time period. This could be done either with a timestamp (now used only within the MME) or a simple flag, e.g., a "not-yet- counted flag" (the drawback of this is that at the end of the counting time period there would be quite some processing to restore all flags to the 'not counted'-state).
  • any other node could perform the functions of the MME above, but signaling may have to be introduced to indicate when a UE is connected, adding/updating information in the MME UE context, etc.
  • the solution introduces support for storing RAN vendor specific TSs of each UE in the MME.
  • the introduced information can be used by RAN to count the number of its served UEs in a specific period.
  • FIG 5 illustrates an exemplary wireless communication system 100 that implements aspects of the device counting techniques described herein. As shown, wireless
  • the communication system 100 may include one or more network nodes of one or more networks, including radio access networks and core networks.
  • the system 100 may include network nodes 106 (e.g., eNBs, gNBs, etc.), an MME 108, and one or more UEs 102 for tallying/counting by the one or more nodes.
  • network nodes 106 e.g., eNBs, gNBs, etc.
  • MME 108 Mobility Management Entity
  • UEs 102 for tallying/counting by the one or more nodes.
  • these devices can perform aspects of embodiments described throughout the present disclosure in order to maintain UE counts for a network (and/or separate vendor devices/networks) in a particular time period.
  • any UE described above may constitute UE 102, any network node, eNB, gNB, general network device, server, etc., described herein may constitute network node 106, any MME described throughout may constitute MME 108, and any core network node (or device) described herein may comprise network node 1 10 or 120 of Figure 5.
  • the collection node of Figure 3 may be implemented as collection node 120 in CN 110. In other embodiments, the collection node 120 may be separate from CN 1 10, as alternatively shown in Figure 5. In some embodiments, the collection node 120 may connect to one or more of the network nodes 106.
  • the system 100 topology of Figure 5 is exemplary, however, and is in no means meant to be limiting. In some examples, though shown as different devices/nodes in the Figure 5, these entities may be realized in modularized components inside a same device.
  • the method 600 includes defining a counting time window for a group of vendors comprising one or more vendors serving the wireless communication system (Block 602).
  • the counting time window is bounded by a starting time and an ending time.
  • the method further includes determining whether a connection of a user equipment to a network node for a vendor in the group of vendors is a first connection, during the counting time window, of the user equipment to any of the network nodes of the group of vendors (block 604).
  • the method comprises incrementing a device count specific to the counting time window and to the group of vendors. As such, the device count is not incremented if the connection is not the first connection (Block 608).
  • the network device can obtain a timestamp for a UE from an MME, and may determine, based on the timestamp relative to the counting time window, whether this timestamp has been set or reset during the counting time window. The network device can identify a need to count the UE (increment the device count) for the current counting time window based on whether the timestamp has been set or reset.
  • Figure 7 A illustrates additional details of an example network device of a wireless communication system 100 (see Figure 5) according to one or more embodiments.
  • the network device may constitute, in some examples, a network node 106 (e.g. eNB, gNB), an MME 108, a core network node 110, as well as potentially another type of network device utilized in other features of the present disclosure (such as those described in reference to Figures 1-4, above and/or the Appendix).
  • the network device is configured, e.g., via functional means, components, modules, or units to implement processing to perform certain aspects described above in reference to at least method 600 Figure 6, and may include additional or alternative functional means, components, modules, circuits, or units configured to perform aspects described in reference to Figures 1-4 and/or the attached Appendix.
  • these means, modules, components, circuits, or units may be realized via processing circuitry 1000 of Figure 7A, which can execute instructions for performing such features (sometimes stored in memory 1020).
  • the network device comprises one or more processing circuits 1000 configured to implement processing of the embodiments described herein, such as by implementing functional means or units above.
  • the processing circuit(-s, -ry) 1000 implements functional means or units as respective circuits.
  • the circuits in this regard may comprise circuits dedicated to performing certain functional processing and/or one or more microprocessors in conjunction with memory 1020.
  • memory 1020 which may also be referred to as a computer-readable medium, comprise one or several types of memory such as read-only memory (ROM), random- access memory, cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc.
  • the memory 1020 stores program code that, when executed by the one or more for carrying out one or more microprocessors, carries out the techniques described herein.
  • Such memory 1020 may comprise a non-transitory computer-readable medium.
  • the network device also comprises communication circuitry 1010.
  • the communication circuitry 1010 includes various components (e.g., antennas) for sending and receiving data and control signals. More particularly, the circuitry 1010 includes a transmitter that is configured to use known signal processing techniques, typically according to one or more standards, and is configured to condition a signal for transmission (e.g., over the air via one or more antennas). Similarly, the communication circuitry includes a receiver that is configured to convert signals received (e.g., via the antenna(s)) into digital samples for processing by the one or more processing circuits.
  • embodiments herein further include corresponding computer programs, e.g., stored in a computer-readable medium.
  • a computer program comprises instructions which, when executed on at least one processor of the network device, cause these devices to carry out any of the respective processing described above.
  • the processing or functionality of the network device may be considered as being performed by a single instance or device or may be divided across a plurality of instances of network nodes 106, MMEs 108, core network nodes 1 10, or UE 102 that may be present in a given system 100 such that together the device instances perform all disclosed functionality.
  • the user equipment 102 may correspond to any mobile (or even stationary) device that is configured to receive/consume user data from a network-side infrastructure, including laptops, phones, tablets, loT devices, etc.
  • the network node 106 may be any network device, such as a base station, eNB, gNB, MME, CN, access point, or any other similar device.
  • Embodiments further include a carrier containing such a computer program.
  • This carrier may comprise one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or computer readable storage medium.
  • a computer program in this regard may comprise one or more code modules corresponding to the means or units described above.

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  • Signal Processing (AREA)
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Abstract

L'invention concerne le comptage, lors d'une première connexion à un système de communication sans fil, des UE qui se connectent au système de communication sans fil pendant une période spécifiée. Pour ce faire, un nœud dans le réseau détermine si un UE de connexion (ou relié) a été préalablement relié à un nœud quelconque pour un fournisseur pendant une fenêtre de temps de comptage, la fenêtre de temps de comptage étant spécifiée/définie pour un groupe de fournisseurs comprenant un ou plusieurs fournisseurs desservant le système de communication sans fil. S'il est déterminé que l'UE n'a pas été préalablement relié à un nœud de réseau quelconque associé au groupe de fournisseurs, un compteur de dispositifs est incrémenté. Sinon, le compteur de dispositifs n'est pas incrémenté.
PCT/SE2018/050831 2017-08-21 2018-08-16 Procédé de comptage de dispositifs WO2019039987A1 (fr)

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EP1986376A1 (fr) * 2007-04-27 2008-10-29 Alcatel Lucent Procédé pour compter le nombre de stations mobiles dans un accès radio
EP2341660A1 (fr) * 2010-01-05 2011-07-06 Alcatel Lucent Traitement de services M2M dans un système de communication
EP2512171A1 (fr) * 2011-04-14 2012-10-17 Alcatel Lucent Procédé de gestion de l'état de micro-stations de base en suivant les variations des exigences de trafic et dispositif contrôleur correspondant
WO2015113185A1 (fr) * 2014-01-29 2015-08-06 Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson (Publ) Collecte de statistiques d'équipement utilisateur (ue) dans une zone d'urgence
WO2015152588A1 (fr) * 2014-03-31 2015-10-08 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Procédé d'obtention de résultat de comptage d'ue, et procédé et appareil de suspension de transmission de données
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EP1986376A1 (fr) * 2007-04-27 2008-10-29 Alcatel Lucent Procédé pour compter le nombre de stations mobiles dans un accès radio
EP2341660A1 (fr) * 2010-01-05 2011-07-06 Alcatel Lucent Traitement de services M2M dans un système de communication
EP2512171A1 (fr) * 2011-04-14 2012-10-17 Alcatel Lucent Procédé de gestion de l'état de micro-stations de base en suivant les variations des exigences de trafic et dispositif contrôleur correspondant
WO2015113185A1 (fr) * 2014-01-29 2015-08-06 Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson (Publ) Collecte de statistiques d'équipement utilisateur (ue) dans une zone d'urgence
WO2015152588A1 (fr) * 2014-03-31 2015-10-08 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Procédé d'obtention de résultat de comptage d'ue, et procédé et appareil de suspension de transmission de données
WO2016048224A1 (fr) * 2014-09-26 2016-03-31 Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson (Publ) Rapport de connexions de terminal de réseau local sans fil à des noeuds 3 gpp

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