WO2021046803A1

WO2021046803A1 - Method, device, computer-readable storage and carrier for policy control

Info

Publication number: WO2021046803A1
Application number: PCT/CN2019/105706
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hui Yang; Gang Ren
Original assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ)
Priority date: 2019-09-12
Filing date: 2019-09-12
Publication date: 2021-03-18

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a method for a UE, operative in a mobile communication network, comprising: transmitting, from the UE, a first request message, comprising first data for indicating the UE's capability to support UE policy, the first data comprising a first data part and a second data part, the first data part indicating the UE's capability to support a first UE policy, the second data part indicating the UE's capability to support a second UE policy; receiving, at the UE, a first response message for the UE. The present disclosure also provides a corresponding method for a first network entity and a second network entity, the corresponding devices, computer programs, and computer-readable storage, etc.

Description

METHOD, DEVICE, COMPUTER-READABLE STORAGE AND CARRIER FOR POLICY CONTROL

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to the technical field of wireless communications, and particularly, to a method, device, computer-readable storage and carrier for policy control.

BACKGROUND

This section is intended to provide a background to the various embodiments of the technology described in this disclosure. The description in this section may include concepts that could be pursued, but are not necessarily ones that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, what is described in this section is not prior art to the description and/or claims of this disclosure and is not admitted to be prior art by the mere inclusion in this section.

In 5 ^th Generation (5G) architecture defined in 3GPP 23.501, User Equipment (UE) policy control is defined to support between Policy Control Function (PCF) and UE via Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) . The AMF sends UE policy control create request to the PCF and receives UE policy from the PCF via N15 and transfers the UE policy to the UE via N1. The AMF determines to establish UE policy control session with the PCF when receiving the UE STATE INDICATION message in the information element of Payload Container of a Registration Register message. If the UE has one or more stored UE policy sections identified by a UE policy section identifier (UPSI) with the PLMN ID part indicating the HPLMN or the selected PLMN, the UE shall include the UE STATE INDICATION message (see 3GPP TS 24.501 annex D) in the Payload container Information Element (IE) of the REGISTRATION REQUEST message.

SUMMARY

UPSI is operator specific data and it is supposed to be pre-provisioned in Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM) . However, the pre-provisioning may not be a common scenario in operator's network due to extra burden. It is possible that a UE knows its policy capability, but does not have the UPSI information to include the UE STATE INDICATION message to trigger UE policy control procedure because of lacking of the pre-provisioned data. Meanwhile, with the current procedure defined in 3GPP, pre-provisioning UPSI for UE takes a lot of efforts for the operator and has impact on Time-To-Market.

It is therefore objects of the present disclosure to address or at least partially address the above mentioned problems.

According to one embodiment of the disclosure, there is provided a method for a UE, operative in a mobile communication network, comprising: transmitting, from the UE, a first request message, comprising first data for indicating the UE's capability to support UE policy, the first data comprising a first data part and a second data part, the first data part indicating the UE's capability to support a first UE policy, the second data part indicating the UE's capability to support a second UE policy; receiving, at the UE, a first response message for the UE.

According to another embodiment of the disclosure, there is provided a method for a first network entity, comprising: receiving, from a UE, operative in a mobile communication network, a first request message, comprising first data for indicating the UE's capability to support UE policy, the first data comprising a first data part and a second data part, the first data part indicating the UE's capability to support a first UE policy, the second data part indicating the UE's capability to support a second UE policy; determining whether a second request message should be sent by the first network entity to a second network entity, based on the first request message.

According to a third embodiment of the disclosure, there is provided a method for a second network entity, comprising: receiving, from a first network entity, a second request message, comprising third data indicating a UE's capability to support a UE policy or fourth data indicating the UE's capability to support a UE policy, the UE being operative in a mobile communication network; and transmitting, based on the second request message, a second response message to the first network entity.

According to a fourth embodiment of the disclosure, there is provided a UE, operative in a mobile communication network, comprising: a transmitter, configured to transmit a first request message, comprising first data for indicating the UE's capability to support UE policy, the first data comprising a first data part and a second data part, the first data part indicating the UE's capability to support a first UE policy, the second data part indicating the UE's capability to support a second UE policy; and a receiver, configured to receive a first response message for the UE.

According to a fifth embodiment of the disclosure, there is provided a first network entity, comprising: a receiver, configured to receive from a UE, operative in a mobile communication network, a first request message, comprising first data for indicating the UE's capability to support UE policy, the first data comprising a first data part and a second data part, the first data part indicating the UE's capability to support a first UE policy, the second data part indicating the UE's capability to support a second UE policy; and a determiner, configured to determine whether a second request message should be sent by the first network entity to a second network entity, based on the first request message.

According to a sixth embodiment of the disclosure, there is provided a second network entity, comprising: a receiver, configured to receive, from a first network entity, a second request message, comprising third data indicating a UE's capability to support a UE policy or fourth data indicating the UE's capability to support a UE policy, the UE being operative in a mobile communication network; and a transmitter, configured to transmit, based on the second request message, a second response message to the first network entity.

According to a seventh embodiment of the disclosure, there is provided a device for mobile communication, comprising: a storage, adapted to store instructions therein; a processor, adapted to perform the steps of any of the methods herein; and a network interface, adapted to communicate data with other entities in the mobile communication network.

According to an eighth embodiment of the disclosure, there is provided a computer-readable storage storing computer-executable instructions thereon, when executed by a computing device, causing the computing device to implement the method of any of any of the methods herein.

According to a ninth embodiment of the disclosure, there is provided a device adapted to perform any of the methods herein.

According to a tenth embodiment of the disclosure, there is provided a computer program, comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the method according to any one of the methods herein.

According to an eleventh embodiment of the disclosure, there is provided a carrier containing the computer program of the eighth embodiment, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, a radio signal, or a computer readable storage.

The embodiments of the present invention, as a whole or by scenario, allow UE to include the indication of UE policy capability directly in e.g. a Register Request message. Based on the indication and local policies the AMF could determine whether to establish UE policy association session with the PCF even if the AMF could not receive UE STATE INDICATION message from the UE.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other features of this disclosure will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only several embodiments in accordance with the disclosure and are, therefore, not to be considered limiting of its scope, the disclosure will be described with additional specificity and details through use of the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 illustrates a 5G system architecture to which embodiments of the present invention are applicable.

Fig. 2 illustrates a sequence diagram of a method 200 in a wireless communication system according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 illustrates a flowchart of a method for a UE according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 illustrates a flowchart of a method for a first network entity according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 5 illustrates a flowchart of a method for a second network entity according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 6 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a UE 210 according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 7 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a first network entity according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 8 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a second network entity according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 9 schematically illustrates an embodiment of an arrangement 900 which may be used in any of the UE 210, the first network entity and the second network entity.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments herein will be described in detail hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which embodiments are shown. These embodiments herein may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. The elements of the drawings are not necessarily to scale relative to each other. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms "a" , "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises" "comprising, " "includes" and/or "including" when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood. It will be further understood that terms used herein should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of this specification and the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein, for example, "preamble" should be construed as "random access preamble" herein.

Embodiments of the present invention can be supported by standard documents disclosed in at least one of wireless access systems including the IEEE 802, 3GPP, and 3GPP2 specifications. In other words, among the embodiments of the present invention, those steps or parts omitted for the purpose of clearly describing technical principles of the present invention can be supported by the documents above. Also, all of the terms disclosed in this document can be explained with reference to the standard documents.

Fig. 1 illustrates a 5G system architecture to which embodiments of the present invention are applicable. A 5G system is an advanced technology from 4G LTE mobile communication technology and supports a new Radio Access Technology (RAT) , extended Long Term Evolution (eLTE) as an extended technology of LTE, non-3GPP access (e.g., Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) access) , etc. through the evolution of an existing mobile communication network structure or a Clean-state structure. The 5G system is defined based on a service, and an interaction between Network Functions (NFs) in an architecture for the 5G system can be represented in two ways, one of which is reference point representation: indicating an interaction between NF services in NFs described by a point-to-point reference point (e.g., N11) between two NFs (e.g. AMF and SMF) , the other of which is service-based representation: network functions (e.g., AMF) within a Control Plane (CP) allowing other authenticated network functions to access its services. Fig. 1 belongs to the latter.

Referring to Fig. 1, a5G system architecture may include various entities (i.e., network functions (NFs) ) . FIG. 1 illustrates some of the various entities including an Authentication Server Function (AUSF) , a (Core) Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) , a Session Management Function (SMF) , a (NSSF) , a Network Exposure Function (NEF) , a NF Repository Function (NRF) , a Policy Control function (PCF) , an Application Function (AF) , a Unified Data Management (UDM) , Data network (DN) , User plane Function (UPF) , a (Radio) Access Network ( (R) AN) , and a User Equipment (UE) . It is noted that Fig. 1 simply illustrates an example of a 5G system, and does not intend to be limiting.

The NSSF can be used by the AMF (Core Access and Mobility Management Function) to assist with the selection of the Network Slice instances that will serve a particular device. As such, the NSSF will determine the Allowed NSSAI (Network Slice Selection Assistance Information) that is supplied to the device. Moreover, the NSSF may be used to allocate an appropriate AMF if the current AMF is not able to support all network slice instances for a given device.

The NEF provides a means to securely expose services and capabilities provided by 3GPP network functions, for example, 3rd party, internal exposure/re-exposure, application function, and edge computing. The NEF receives information from other network function (s) (based on exposed capabilities of other network function (s) ) . The NEF can store the received information as structured data using a standardized interface to a data storage network function. The stored information can be re-exposed by the NEF to other network functions and other application functions and can be used for other purposes such as analytics.

The NRF supports a service discovery function. The NRF receives NF Discovery Request from NF instance and provides information of the discovered NF instance to the NF instance. The NRF also maintains available NF instances and their supported services.

The PCF receives information about packet flow from an application server and provides functions of determining policies such as mobility management and session management. More specifically, the PCF supports functions of supporting a unified policy framework for controlling a network operation, providing a policy rule so that CP function (s) (e.g., AMF, SMF, etc. ) can enforce the policy rule, and implementing a front end for accessing related subscription information for policy decision in a User Data Repository (UDR) .

The UDM stores subscription data of user, policy data, etc. The UDM includes two parts, i.e., application front end (FE) and User Data Repository (UDR) .

The FE includes UDM FE taking charge of location management, subscription management, processing of credential, etc. and PCF taking charge of policy control. The UDR stores data required for functions provided by the UDM-FE and a policy profile required by the PCF. Data stored in the UDR includes user subscription data including subscription identifier, security credential, access and mobility related subscription data, and session related subscription data and policy data. The UDM-FE accesses subscription information stored in the UDR and supports functions of Authentication Credential Processing, User Identification Handling, access authentication, registration/mobility management, subscription management, SMS management, and the like.

The AF interacts with 3GPP core network to provide services (e.g., support functions of an application influence on traffic routing, network capability exposure access, interaction with policy framework for policy control, and the like) .

The AUSF stores data for the authentication of the UE.

The AMF provides a function for the connection and mobility management for each UE, and one AMF can be basically connected to one UE.

The SMF provides a session management function. If the UE has a plurality of sessions, the sessions can be respectively managed by different SMFs. More specifically, the SMF supports functions of session management (e.g., session establishment, modification, and release, including tunnel maintenance between the UPF and the AN node) , UE IP address allocation and management (including optional authentication) , selection and control of UP function, configuring traffic steering at UPF to route traffic to proper destination, termination of interfaces toward policy control functions, enforcement of control part of a policy and QoS, lawful intercept (for an interface to SM event and L1 system) , termination of SM part of a NAS message, downlink data notification, an initiator of AN specific SM information (sent to AN via the AMF over N2) , SSC mode decision of the session, a roaming function, and the like.

The UE means a user equipment. The user equipment may be referred to as a term such as a terminal, a mobile equipment (ME) , and a mobile station (MS) . The user equipment may be a portable device such as a notebook computer, a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA) , a smart phone, and a multimedia device, or a non-portable device such as a personal computer (PC) and a vehicle-mounted device.

(R) AN collectively refers to a new radio access network supporting both evolved E-UTRA, that is an evolved version of 4G radio access technology, and a New Radio (NR) access technology (e.g., gNB) .

The UPF transmits the downlink PDU received from the DN to the UE via the (R) AN and transmits the uplink PDU received from the UE to the DN via the (R) AN. More specifically, the UPF supports functions of anchor point for intra/inter RAT mobility, external PDU session point of interconnect to Data Network (DN) , packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection and user plane part of policy rule enforcement, lawful intercept, reporting of traffic usage, uplink classifier to support routing traffic flow to Data Network (DN) , branching point to support multi-homed PDU session, QoS handling (e.g., packet filtering, gating, uplink/downlink rate enforcement) for user plane, uplink traffic verification (SDF mapping between Service Data Flow (SDF) and QoS flow) , transport level packet marking in the uplink and downlink, downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering, and the like. Some or all of the functions of the UPF can be supported in a single instance of one UPF.

The DN means, for example, operator services, internet access, or 3rd party service. The DN transmits a downlink Protocol Data Unit (PDU) to the UPF or receives the PDU transmitted from the UE from the UPF.

Service-based interfaces illustrated in Fig. 1 indicate a set of services provided/exposed by a predetermined NF. The service-based interfaces are used in control plane. The following illustrates the service-based interfaces included in the 5G system architecture as represented in Fig. 1.

Nausf: Service-based interface exhibited by the AUSF;

Namf: Service-based interface exhibited by the AMF;

Nsmf: Service-based interface exhibited by the SMF;

Nnssf: Service-based interface exhibited by the NSSF;

Nnef: Service-based interface exhibited by the NEF;

Nnrf: Service-based interface exhibited by the NRF;

Npcf: Service-based interface exhibited by the PCF;

Nudm: Service-based interface exhibited by the UDM;

Naf: Service-based interface exhibited by the AF.

A conceptual link connecting between the NFs in the 5G system is defined as a reference point. The following illustrates reference points included in the 5G system architecture as represented in Fig. 1.

N1: Reference point between the UE and the AMF;

N2: Reference point between the (R) AN and the AMF;

N3: Reference point between the (R) AN and the UPF;

N4: Reference point between the SMF and the UPF;

N6: Reference point between the UPF and the data network;

N9: Reference point between two core UPFs.

The NF service is one type of capability exposed by an NF (i.e., NF service producer) to other NF (i.e., NF service consumer) via the service-based interface. The NF can expose one or more NF service (s) . The following standard is applied to define the NF service.

The NF services are derived from information flow for explaining an end-to-end function. Complete end-to-end message flow is explained by a sequence of NF service invocation. Two operations that the NF (s) provide its services via the service-based interface are as follows:

i) “Request-response” : A control plane NF_B (i.e., NF service producer) is requested from another control plane NF_A (i.e., NF service consumer) to provide a certain NF service (including performing an operation and/or providing information) . The NF_B responses NF service result based on information provided by the NF_A in the Request.

In order to fulfil the request, the NF_B may in turn consume NF services from other NF (s) . In Request-response mechanism, communication is performed one to one between two NFs (i.e., consumer and producer) .

ii) “Subscribe-Notify”

A control plane NF_A (i.e., NF service consumer) subscribes to a NF service provided by another control plane NF_B (i.e., NF service producer) . Multiple control plane NFs may subscribe to the same control plane NF service. The NF_B notifies a result of this NF service to the interested NFs that are subscribed to this NF service. A subscription request from the consumer may include a notification request for periodic update or notification triggered through specific events (e.g., change of requested information, reaching a certain critical value, etc. ) . This mechanism also includes the case where the NF (s) (e.g., NF_B) implicitly subscribes to a specific notice without an explicit subscription request (e.g., the case where the NF (s) subscribes through a successful registration procedure) .

It is noted that some other entities and functions may be involved and some entities and functions described above may be omitted from the system illustrated in Fig. 1.

Fig. 2 illustrates a sequence diagram of a method 200 in a wireless communication system according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Three NFs are involved: a UE 210, a first entity 220 and a second entity 230. The UE 210 wants to acquire a service, and it initiates a “Request-response” procedure. The UE 220 sends a first request to the first entity 220 at step S201 to request for a service, probably via an access network. Such a service is not provided by the first entity 220, but the first entity 220 can determine whether to request for the service from a NF provider who provides the service at step S202. The determining can be made based on at least data comprised in the first request, and may also be based on local resources, such as local policy. Once the first entity 220 determines to trigger a “Request-response” procedure to request for such a service, it transmits a second request to a second entity 230, i.e., a NF provider at step S203. In return, the second entity 230 transmits a second response to the first entity 220, probably with the service data comprised therein, at step S204. Then the first entity 220 in return transmits a first response to the UE 210, probably with the service data comprised therein, at step S205.

In a specific example, the first request is a REGISTRATION REQUEST, the first entity 220 is an AMF entity and the second entity 230 is a PCF entity, the second request message is a policy control create request message, the second response message is a policy control create response message, and the first response message is a registration accept message.

Details of the method 200 will be described below with reference to Figs. 3-5.

Fig. 3 illustrates a flowchart of a method for a UE according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The UE is operative in a mobile communication network. The mobile communication network here may be a 5G network, or any other appropriate mobile communication network.

The method comprises:

Step 302, transmitting, from the UE 210, a first request message, comprising first data for indicating the UE's capability to support UE policy, the first data comprising a first data part and a second data part, the first data part indicating the UE's capability to support a first UE policy, the second data part indicating the UE's capability to support a second UE policy; and

Step 304, receiving, at the UE 210, a first response message for the UE 210.

Take a specific example, the first request message is a REGISTRATION REQUEST message and the first response message is a registration accept message. Then the first network entity is an AMF entity. The REGISTRATION REQUEST message is transmitted to the AMF entity via a 5G access network. In 3GPP TS 24.501, 5G capability is defined in register request message to provide the network with information concerning aspects of UE related to the 5GC or interworking with the EPS, wherein 5GC refers to 5G Core Network, i.e., a core network connected to a 5G access network. EPS refers to Evolved Packet System, i.e., a network system including an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) , that is an Internet Protocol (IP) based packet switched core network, and an access network such as LTE and UTRAN. The EPS is a network of an evolved version of a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) .

Table 1 below is from 3GPP TS 24.501, which shows content of a REGISTRATION REQUEST message.

Table 1

Wherein the 5GMM capability is further defined as the following in table 2:

Table 2

Among the spare bits, two bits can be defined to indicate UE policy capability, such as to show ANDSP capability and URSP capability, as shown in the following table 3:

Table 3

For example, "0" in the ANDSP bit (an example of first data part) may represent that the UE does not support ANDSP (an example of the first UE policy) while "1" in the ANDSP bit may represent that the UE supports ANDSP. Similarly, "0" in the URSP bit (an example of second data part) may represent that the UE does not support URSP (an example of the second UE policy) while "1" in the URSP bit may represent that the UE supports URSP.

Optionally, if both UE policy capability in the 5GMM capability and the UE STATE INDICATION message in the Payload container (an example of the second data herein) are present in the REGISTRATION REQUEST message, the UE STATE INDICATION takes precedence over the UE policy capability, i.e., the registration accept message is generated based on the UE STATE INDICATION message.

Fig. 4 illustrates a flowchart of a method for a first network entity according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The first network entity is operative in a 5G network, or any other appropriate mobile communication network.

The method comprises:

Step 402, receiving, from a UE 210 operative in the mobile communication network, a first request message, comprising first data for indicating the UE's capability to support UE policy, the first data comprising a first data part and a second data part, the first data part indicating the UE's capability to support a first UE policy, the second data part indicating the UE's capability to support a second UE policy; and

Step 404, determining whether a second request message should be sent by the first network entity 220 to a second network entity 230, based on the first request message.

Optionally, the method further comprises:

Step 406, in response to determining the second request message should be sent, transmitting, by the first network entity 220, the second request message to the second network entity 230, the second request message comprising third data indicating the UE's capability to support a UE policy.

Continue with the specific example described with reference to fig. 3, then the second network entity 230 is a PCF entity, and the second request message is a policy control create request message. Once the AMF receives the REGISTRATION REQUEST message, it determines whether to perform a UE policy association establishment as follows:

If only the UE policy capability in the 5GMM capability is present in the REGISTRATION REQUEST message, the AMF determines whether to perform a UE policy association establishment based on the UE policy capability present in the 5GMM capability, and also other factors such as local policy. If the AMF determines to perform a UE policy association establishment, it transmits e.g. a Npcf_UEPolicyControl Create Request message with the UE policy capability obtained from the 5GMM capability comprised therein.

In such a scenario, a new attribute is added to include UE policy capability in Npcf_UEPolicyControl_Create request message for policy association establishment in 3GPP TS 29.525. Table 4 below shows the definition of the policy control create request message.

Table 4

Wherein the new data type UePolicyCapability is an enumeration defined in the following Table 5.

Table 5

Uinteg value	Description
"ANDSP"	UE has capability to support ANDSP
"URSP"	UE has capability to support URSP

While if both UE policy capability in the 5GMM capability and UE STATE INDICATION in the Payload container (an example of the second data herein) are present in the REGISTRATION REQUEST message, the UE STATE INDICATION takes precedence over the UE policy capability, i.e., the AMF determines whether to perform a UE policy association establishment based on the UE STATE INDICATION present in the Payload container, and also other factors such as local policy, without considering the UE policy capability in the 5GMM capability.

If the AMF determines to perform a UE policy association establishment, it transmits e.g. an Npcf_UEPolicyControl Create Request message with the UE STATE INDICATION message comprised therein, without considering the UE policy capability in the 5GMM capability. The UE STATE INDICATION message is transferred transparently during the creation of a policy association.

Fig. 5 illustrates a flowchart of a method for a second network entity according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The second network entity is operative in a 5G network, or any other appropriate mobile communication network.

The method comprises:

Step 502, receiving, from a first network entity 220, a second request message, comprising third data indicating a UE's capability to support a UE policy or fourth data indicating the UE's capability to support a UE policy, the UE being operative in a mobile communication network;

Step 504, transmitting, based on the second request message, a second response message to the first network entity 220.

Continue with the specific example described with reference to figs. 3 and 4, and then the second response message is a policy control create response message. When the PCF receives the Npcf_UEPolicyControl Create Request message, the PCF will get either the UE STATE INDICATION message or uePolCap as described above. When receiving the UE STATE INDICATION message, the PCF shall determine based on the UPSIs, the ANDSP support indication and the OSId (s) indicated in that message, UPCS stored in the UDR and local policy whether any new UE policy sections need to be installed and any existing UE policy section need to be updated or deleted and act accordingly. For example, if the UE has indicated in the UE STATE INDICATION message it does not support ANDSP, i.e. the UE does not support non-3GPP access, the PCF shall not send any Access Network discovery and selection policies to the UE. When receiving uePolCap, the PCF shall perform ANDSP and/or URSP policy control based on the uePolCap.

Fig. 6 is a schematic block diagram of a UE 210 according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The UE is operative in a mobile communication network. The mobile communication network here may be a 5G network, or any other appropriate mobile communication network.

The part of UE 210 which is most affected by the adaptation of the herein described method, e.g., a part of the method described with reference to fig. 3, is illustrated as an arrangement 601, surrounded by a dashed line. The UE 210 and arrangement 601 may be further configured to communicate with other entities via a communication component 602 which may be regarded as part of the arrangement 601 (now shown) . The communication component 602 comprises means for radio communication. The arrangement 601 or UE 210 may further comprise further functionality 604, such as functional components providing regular UE functions, and may further comprise one or more storage (s) 603.

The arrangement 601 could be implemented, e.g., by one or more of: a processor or a microprocessor and adequate software and memory for storing of the software, a Programmable Logic Device (PLD) or other electronic component (s) or processing circuitry configured to perform the actions described above, and illustrated, e.g., in Fig. 3. The arrangement 601 of the UE 210 may be implemented and/or described as follows.

Referring to Fig. 6, the UE 210 may comprise a transmitter 610 and a receiver 620.

The transmitter 610 is configured to transmit a first request message, comprising first data for indicating the UE's capability to support UE policy, the first data comprising a first data part and a second data part, the first data part indicating the UE's capability to support a first UE policy, the second data part indicating the UE's capability to support a second UE policy

The receiving component 620 is configured to receive a first response message for the UE 210.

Specific examples of functions of the UE 210 have been described above with reference to fig. 3 and will not be reiterated here.

It should be noted that two or more different units in this disclosure may be logically or physically combined. For example, the transmitter 610 and the receiver 620 may be combined as one single unit, e.g., a transceiver in the UE 210.

Fig. 7 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a first network entity according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The first network entity is operative in a 5G network, or any other appropriate mobile communication network.

The part of first network entity 220 which is most affected by the adaptation of the herein described method, e.g., a part of the method described with reference to fig. 4, is illustrated as an arrangement 701, surrounded by a dashed line. The first network entity 220 and arrangement 701 are further configured to communicate with other entities via a communication component 702 which may be regarded as part of the arrangement 701. The communication component 702 comprises means for radio communication, and may comprise means for, e.g., wired communication. The arrangement 701 or the first network entity 220 may further comprise further functionality 704, such as functional components providing regular base station functions, and may further comprise one or more storage (s) 703.

The arrangement 701 could be implemented, e.g., by one or more of: a processor or a microprocessor and adequate software and memory for storing of the software, a Programmable Logic Device (PLD) or other electronic component (s) or processing circuitry configured to perform the actions described above, and illustrated, e.g., in Fig. 5. The arrangement part of the first network entity 220 may be implemented and/or described as follows.

Referring to Fig. 7, the first network entity 220 may include a receiver 710, a determiner 720, and optionally a transmitter 730.

The receiver 710 is configured to receive from the UE 210, a first request message, comprising first data for indicating the UE's capability to support UE policy, the first data comprising a first data part and a second data part, the first data part indicating the UE's capability to support a first UE policy, the second data part indicating the UE's capability to support a second UE policy.

The determiner 720 is configured to determine whether a second request message should be sent by the first network entity 220 to a second network entity 230, based on the first request message.

The transmitter 730 is configured to transmit, by the first network entity 220, the second request message to the second network entity 230, the second request message comprising third data indicating the UE's capability to support a UE policy or fourth data indicating the UE's capability to support a UE policy in response to determining the second request message should be sent.

Specific examples of functions of the first network entity 220 have been described above with reference to fig. 4 and will not be reiterated here.

It should be noted that two or more different units in this disclosure may be logically or physically combined. For example, the receiver 710 and the transmitter 730 may be combined as one single unit, e.g., a transceiver in the BS 110.

Fig. 8 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a second network entity according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The second network entity is operative in a 5G network, or any other appropriate mobile communication network.

The part of second network entity 230 which is most affected by the adaptation of the herein described method, e.g., a part of the method described with reference to fig. 5, is illustrated as an arrangement 801, surrounded by a dashed line. The second network entity 230 and arrangement 801 may be further configured to communicate with other entities via a communication component 602 which may be regarded as part of the arrangement 801 (now shown) . The communication component 802 comprises means for radio communication. The arrangement 801 or second network entity 230 may further comprise further functionality 804, such as functional components providing regular UE functions, and may further comprise one or more storage (s) 803.

The arrangement 801 could be implemented, e.g., by one or more of: a processor or a microprocessor and adequate software and memory for storing of the software, a Programmable Logic Device (PLD) or other electronic component (s) or processing circuitry configured to perform the actions described above, and illustrated, e.g., in Fig. 3. The arrangement 801 of the second network entity 230 may be implemented and/or described as follows.

Referring to Fig. 8, the second network entity 230 may comprise a transmitter 810 and a receiver 820.

The transmitter 810 is configured to transmit a first request message, comprising first data for indicating the UE's capability to support UE policy, the first data comprising a first data part and a second data part, the first data part indicating the UE's capability to support a first UE policy, the second data part indicating the UE's capability to support a second UE policy.

The receiving component 820 is configured to receive a first response message for the UE 210.

Specific examples of functions of the second network entity 230 have been described above with reference to fig. 5 and will not be reiterated here.

It should be noted that two or more different units in this disclosure may be logically or physically combined. For example, the transmitter 810 and the receiver 820 may be combined as one single unit, e.g., a transceiver in the second network entity 230.

Fig. 9 schematically illustrates an embodiment of an arrangement 900 which may be used in any of the UE 210, the first network entity and the second network entity. Comprised in the arrangement 900 are here a processor 906, e.g., with a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) . The processor 906 may be a single unit or a plurality of units to perform different actions of procedures described herein. The arrangement 900 may also comprise an input unit 902 for receiving signals from other entities, and an output unit 904 for providing signal (s) to other entities. The input unit and the output unit may be arranged as an integrated entity or as illustrated in the example of Fig. 6 or Fig. 7.

Furthermore, the arrangement 900 comprises at least one computer program product 908 in the form of a non-volatile or volatile memory, e.g., an Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM) , a flash memory and a hard drive. The computer program product 908 comprises a computer program 910, which comprises code/computer readable instructions, which when executed by the processor 906 in the arrangement 900 causes the arrangement 900 and/or the UE or the first network entity or the second network entity in which it is comprised to perform the actions, e.g., of the procedure described earlier in conjunction with Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 or Fig. 5.

The computer program 910 may be configured as a computer program code structured in computer program modules. Hence, in an exemplifying embodiment when the arrangement 900 is used in the UE 210, the code in the computer program of the arrangement 900 when executed, will cause the processor 906 to perform the steps as described with reference to Fig. 3.

In another exemplifying embodiment when the arrangement 900 is used in the first network entity 220, the code in the computer program of the arrangement 900 when executed, will cause the processor 906 to perform the steps as described with reference to Fig. 4.

In another exemplifying embodiment when the arrangement 900 is used in the second network entity 230, the code in the computer program of the arrangement 900 when executed, will cause the processor 906 to perform the steps as described with reference to Fig. 5.

The processor 906 may be a single CPU (Central processing unit) , but could also comprise two or more processing units. For example, the processor 906 may include general purpose microprocessors, instruction set processors and/or related chips sets and/or special purpose microprocessors such as Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASICs) . The processor 906 may also comprise board memory for caching purposes. The computer program 910 may be carried by a computer program product 908 connected to the processor 906. The computer program product may comprise a computer readable medium on which the computer program is stored. For example, the computer program product may be a flash memory, a Random-access memory (RAM) , a Read-Only Memory (ROM) , or an EEPROM, and the computer program modules described above could in alternative embodiments be distributed on different computer program products in the form of memories within the UE.

While the embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made, and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the true scope of the present technology. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt to a particular situation and the teaching herein without departing from its central scope. Therefore it is intended that the present embodiments not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out the present technology, but that the present embodiments include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

A method for a user equipment (210) , UE, operative in a mobile communication network, comprising:

transmitting (302) , from the UE (210) , a first request message, comprising first data for indicating the UE's capability to support UE policy, the first data comprising a first data part and a second data part, the first data part indicating the UE's capability to support a first UE policy, the second data part indicating the UE's capability to support a second UE policy;

receiving (304) , at the UE (210) , a first response message for the UE (210) .
The method of claim 1, wherein the first UE policy is Access Network Discovery and Selection Policy, ANDSP, and the second policy is UE Route Selection Policy, URSP.
The method of claim 1, wherein the first request message further comprises second data for indicating the UE's capability to support UE policy.
The method of claim 3, wherein the second data is a UE state indication message.
The method of claim 3, wherein the first accept message is generated based on the second data of the first request message.
The method of claim 1, wherein the first request message is a registration request message, the first response message is a registration accept message, and the first network entity is an access and mobility management function entity.
A method for a first network entity (220) , comprising:

receiving (402) , from a user equipment (210) , UE, operative in a mobile communication network, a first request message, comprising first data for indicating the UE's capability to support UE policy, the first data comprising a first data part and a second data part, the first data part indicating the UE's capability to support a first UE policy, the second data part indicating the UE's capability to support a second UE policy;

determining (404) whether a second request message should be sent by the first network entity (220) to a second network entity (230) , based on the first request message.
The method of claim 7, further comprising:

in response to determining the second request message should be sent, transmitting (406) , by the first network entity (220) , the second request message to the second network entity (230) , the second request message comprising third data indicating the UE's capability to support a UE policy or fourth data indicating the UE's capability to support a UE policy.
The method of claim 7, wherein the first UE policy is Access Network Discovery and Selection Policy, ANDSP, and the second policy is UE Route Selection Policy, URSP.
The method of claim 7, wherein the first request message further comprise second data for indicating the UE's capability to support a UE policy.
The method of claim 10, wherein the second data is a UE state indication message.
The method of claim 10, wherein the second data takes precedence over the first data in the determining.
The method of claim 10, wherein the determining (404) further comprises:

in response to the first request message comprises the first data, without the second data, the determining is based on the first data; or

in response to the first request message comprises both the first data and the second data, the determining is based on the second data.
The method of claim 8, wherein:

in response to the first request message comprises the first data, without the second data, the second request message comprises the third data indicating the UE's capability to support a UE policy obtained from the first data; and

in response to the first request message comprises both the first data and the second data, the second request message comprises the fourth data indicating the UE's capability to support a UE policy obtained from the second data.
The method of claim 7, wherein the first network entity is an access and mobility management function entity, the second network entity is a policy control function entity, the first request message is a registration request message, and the second request message is a policy control create request message.
A method for a second network entity (230) , comprising:

receiving (502) , from a first network entity (220) , a second request message, comprising third data indicating a User Equipment, UE's capability to support a UE policy or fourth data indicating the UE's capability to support a UE policy, the UE being operative in a mobile communication network;

transmitting (504) , based on the second request message, a second response message to the first network entity (220) .
The method of claim 16, wherein the first network entity is an access and mobility management function entity, the second network entity is a policy control function entity, the second request message is a policy control create request message, and the second response message is a policy control create response message.
A user equipment (210) , UE, operative in a mobile communication network, comprising:

a transmitter (610) , configured to transmit a first request message, comprising first data for indicating the UE's capability to support UE policy, the first data comprising a first data part and a second data part, the first data part indicating the UE's capability to support a first UE policy, the second data part indicating the UE's capability to support a second UE policy;

a receiver (620) , configured to receive a first response message for the UE(210) .
A first network entity (220) , comprising:

a receiver, configured to receive from a user equipment (210) , UE, operative in a mobile communication network, a first request message, comprising first data for indicating the UE's capability to support UE policy, the first data comprising a first data part and a second data part, the first data part indicating the UE's capability to support a first UE policy, the second data part indicating the UE's capability to support a second UE policy;

a determiner, configured to determine whether a second request message should be sent by the first network entity (220) to a second network entity (230) , based on the first request message.
A second network entity (230) , comprising:

a receiver, configured to receive, from a first network entity (220) , a second request message, comprising third data indicating a User Equipment, UE's capability to support a UE policy or fourth data indicating the UE's capability to support a UE policy, the UE being operative in a mobile communication network;

a transmitter, configured to transmit, based on the second request message, a second response message to the first network entity (220) .
A device for mobile communications, comprising:

a storage (908) , adapted to store instructions therein;

a processor (906) , adapted to perform the steps of any of Claims 1-17 when the instructions are executed in the processor; and

a network interface (902, 904) , adapted to communicate data with other devices for the mobile communications.
A non-transitory computer-readable storage (908) storing computer-executable instructions thereon, when executed by a computing device, causing the computing device to implement the method of any of claims 1-17.
A device adapted to perform the method of any of claims 1-17.
Computer program (910) , comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor (906) , cause the at least one processor to carry out the method according to any one of claims 1-17.
A carrier (908) containing the computer program of claim 24, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, a radio signal, or a computer readable storage.