WO2024007582A1

WO2024007582A1 - Context aware quality-of-service sustainability analytics

Info

Publication number: WO2024007582A1
Application number: PCT/CN2023/075137
Authority: WO
Inventors: Antonio Consoli; Ali HAMIDIAN; Shufeng Shi
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2022-07-08
Filing date: 2023-02-09
Publication date: 2024-01-11
Also published as: WO2024007311A1

Abstract

A network node (100) and a service consumer (300) provide enhanced quality-of-service (QoS) sustainability analytics for a client device (600). According to examples of the new analytics filter information related to speed, device and subscription information is introduced. Upon a request from the service consumer (300) for QoS sustainability analytics for a client device (600) indicating at least one of the new analytics filter information, the network node (100) obtains at least one of speed, device, and subscription information and determines QoS sustainability analytics for the client device (600) based on the obtained information. Thereby, both the context and information granularity of the QoS sustainability analytics can be enhanced and QoS sustainability analytics valid for client devices (600) with specific characteristics and/or subscriptions can be provided. Furthermore, it also relates to corresponding methods and a computer program.

Description

CONTEXT AWARE QUALITY-OF-SERVICE SUSTAINABILITY ANALYTICS

Technical Field

Examples of the invention relates to a network node and a service consumer for providing context aware quality-of-service (QoS) sustainability analytics for a client device. Furthermore, the invention also relates to corresponding methods and a computer program.

Background

In 3GPP communication systems, QoS sustainability analytics can be provided by a network data analytics function (NWDAF) . QoS sustainability analytics provides information about QoS change statistics for a target period in the past in a certain area or the likelihood of a QoS change for a target period in the future in a certain area. The consumer of QoS sustainability analytics, e.g., an application function (AF) or a network function (NF) , requests or subscribes to analytics information in "QoS Sustainability" provided by the NWDAF. The NWDAF collects the corresponding statistics information for the relevant 5G QoS identifiers (5QIs) from the operations, administration and maintenance (OAM) , as defined in 3GPP technical specification (TS) 28.554, and provides response or notification in "QoS Sustainability" to the consumer based on reporting thresholds (s) provided by consumer.

Currently, enhancements to QoS sustainability analytics are being discussed in 3GPP and has been identified as a key issue e.g., in clause 5.7 of 3GPP TR 23700-81.

Summary

An objective of examples of the invention is to provide a solution which mitigates or solves the drawbacks and problems of conventional solutions.

Another objective of examples of the invention is to provide enhanced QoS sustainability analytics by improving the context, accuracy and information granularity of the QoS sustainability analytics.

The above and further objectives are solved by the subject matter of the independent claims. Further examples of the invention can be found in the dependent claims.

According to a first aspect of the invention, the above mentioned and other objectives are achieved with a network node for a communication system, the network node being configured to:

receive a first message from a service consumer, the first message indicating a request for quality-of-service, QoS, sustainability analytics for at least one client device in a spatial area, and further indicating analytics filter information for the client device in a group comprising at least one of: a speed information, a device information, and a subscription information;

obtain at least one of the speed information, the device information, and the subscription information;

determine QoS sustainability analytics for the client device in the spatial area based on at least one of the speed information, the device information, and the subscription information; and

transmit a second message to the service consumer, the second message indicating the QoS sustainability analytics for the client device in the spatial area.

An advantage of the network node according to the first aspect is that the service consumer may further specify the context in which the QoS sustainability analytics shall be generated based on collected information. Such additional information allows the network node to generate the QoS sustainability analytics based on measurements that are taken in a context that better fits the context to which the QoS sustainability analytics are requested. As the context may be specified according to speed, device and/or subscription information, the service consumer can provide one or more of the mentioned filter information so that the analytics enabler can use such filter information to filter the measurements that are used to collect the QoS sustainability analytics. Thereby, improved accuracy and information granularity of the QoS sustainability analytics is provided.

In an implementation form of a network node according to the first aspect, the analytics filter information for the client device further comprises a serving user plane function, UPF, for a packet data unit, PDU, session of the client device, and the network node is configured to:

obtain an identity of the serving UPF;

obtain at least one of the speed information, the device information, and the subscription information associated with the identity of the serving UPF; and

determine the QoS sustainability analytics for the client device in the spatial area based on at least one of the speed information, the device information, and the subscription information associated with the identity of the serving UPF.

An advantage with this implementation form is that the QoS sustainability analytics that is generated can take into account measurements that are generated according to a specific serving UPF node. In mobile edge computing deployments, the location of the UPF node and its distance from the served client device (such as a served UE) may cause significance variation in the performance. For example, the closer the UPF node is, the lower the latency is expected. By considering only measurements in which the UPF node is the same, the network node may reduce the variance due to QoS measurements collected under different UPF nodes, therefore providing QoS sustainability analytics which have higher accuracy and better relate to the specific context in which the QoS sustainability analytics should apply according to the request of the service consumer.

In an implementation form of a network node according to the first aspect, the network node is configured to:

receive a third message from a UPF or a session management function, SMF, the third message indicating QoS information associated with the client device in the spatial area; and

determine the QoS sustainability analytics for the client device in the spatial area further based on the third message.

An advantage with this implementation form is that the network node may use the information collected from the SMF or UPF, in addition to the information collected from conventional procedures (e.g., OAM) to obtain more accurate QoS sustainability analytics. The SMF can be used to collect information on the PDU sessions which are associated to the client device and/or to a specific network location or finer granular area. For the PDU session it is also possible to collect the information on all the QoS flows and the relevant QoS information for each of the QoS flows. Such information may be used to understand how the network resources have been allocated for the client device and for the network location or finer granular area. Such information can be used to further understand the context in which the measurement was taken and therefore derive potential root causes for QoS changes. The UPF can be used to collect QoS measurements that apply to the specific client device and potentially to other client devices in the same network area or finer granular area within a cell. Those measurements can be labelled with the additional filter information herein disclosed. Labelled measurements can later be filtered by the network node, according to the initial filter information provided by the service consumer, in order to derive QoS sustainability analytics that pertain to the specific context for which analytics are requested.

receive a fourth message from a unified data management, UDM, the fourth message indicating a permanent equipment identifier, PEI, associated with the client device; and

obtain at least one of the speed information, the device information, and the subscription information based on the fourth message.

An advantage with this implementation form is that the PEI may be used to add additional filter labels to the collected QoS measurements for each client device. Those filter labels can be used later for filtering of QoS measurements. At the same time, the additional filter information, such as speed information, device information and subscription information, can be correlated with the PEI.

In an implementation form of a network node according to the first aspect, the network node is configured to

transmit a fifth message to a device information server, the fifth message indicating at least one part of the PEI; and

receive a sixth message from the database information server, the sixth message indicating the device information.

An advantage with this implementation form is that the device information server, such as provided by the GSMA database or a similar implementation, can provide–in response to the PEI or part of the PEI such as the TAC, IMEISV, IMEI or IMEI/IMEISV range–a set of information elements that better categorize the client device for which the measurements are collected. Each information element can be utilized as a filter label. Example of device information elements retrieved from the device information server may include and is not limited to device name, device manufacturer, supported frequency bands, type of device, etc.

receive a seventh message from a policy control function, PCF, the seventh message indicating the subscription information.

An advantage with this implementation form is that the network node can match the collected information that relates to the measurements for the client device with the analytics filter information provided by the service consumer in order to consider only the QoS measurements that match the requested client device context. Another advantage with this implementation form is that the PCF may already have collected this subscription information such as operating system identifiers or subscriber categories from an UDR for other reasons (e.g., policy management) and can therefore share such information with the network node without the need of additional signaling.

In an implementation form of a network node according to the first aspect, the seventh message is a Npcf_PolicyAuthorization_Notify message.

An advantage with this implementation form is that the network node can use the same mechanism used to access information for other analytics. Another advantage is that this message is already used to retrieve user specific information and the same mechanism can thus be reused to provide the additional subscription information to the network node.

collect QoS measurements for one or more client devices in the spatial area; and

obtain at least one of the speed information, the device information, and the subscription information for the client device based on the collected QoS measurements and the analytics filter information for the client device.

An advantage with this implementation form is that the network node can match the collected information that relates to the measurements for the client device and match it with the analytics filter information provided by the service consumer, in order to consider only the QoS measurements that match the requested client device context.

In an implementation form of a network node according to the first aspect,

the speed information comprises a horizontal velocity estimate and/or a vertical velocity estimate;

the device information comprises at least one in the group comprising: device type, number of antennas, supported frequency bands, name of device manufacturer, device model name, an operating system, an international mobile equipment identity, IMEI, range, an IMEI software version range, and a type allocation code, TAC; and

the subscription information comprises a subscription category and/or a supported operating system.

An advantage with this implementation form is that the additional analytics filter information that is provided by the service consumer, as well as the additional input data that is collected for the QoS measurements that are used to derive the QoS sustainability analytics can be filtered according to different subsets considering one or more of the information contained in the speed information, device information and subscription information in order to collect measurements that pertain better to the desired client device context and have the desired variance.

In an implementation form of a network node according to the first aspect, the first message is a request message or a subscription message, and wherein the second message is a response message or a notification message.

An advantage with this implementation form is that such additional filter information used for filtering the QoS sustainability analytics can be used either when the service consumer requests analytics according to a single request, or when they are requested according to a subscription for which one or more notifications are expected.

In an implementation form of a network node according to the first aspect, the network node is a networks data analytics function, NWDAF.

An advantage with this implementation form is that the additional filter information can be used in a 3GPP standard NWDAF or in a generic network node that implements analytics for a network, or interfaces an analytics network provider, such as the network exposure function or other network function that may interface the NWDAF.

According to a second aspect of the invention, the above mentioned and other objectives are achieved with a service consumer for a communication system, the service consumer being configured to

transmit a first message to a network node, the first message indicating a request or a subscription for QoS sustainability analytics for at least one client device in a spatial area, and further indicating analytics filter information for the client device in a group comprising at least one of: a speed information, a device information, and a subscription information; and

receive a second message from the network node, the second message indicating the QoS sustainability analytics for the client device in the spatial area.

An advantage of the service consumer according to the second aspect is that the service consumer may further specify the context in which the QoS sustainability analytics shall be generated based on collected information. Such additional information allows the network node to generate the QoS sustainability analytics based on measurements that are taken in a context that better fits the context to which the QoS sustainability analytics are requested. As the context may be specified according to speed, device and/or subscription information, the service consumer can provide one or more of the mentioned filter information so that the analytics enabler can use such filter information to filter the measurements that are used to collect the QoS sustainability analytics. Thereby, improved accuracy and information granularity of the QoS sustainability analytics is provided.

In an implementation form of a service consumer according to the second aspect, the analytics filter information further comprises a serving UPF for a PDU session of the client device.

An advantage with this implementation form is that the QoS sustainability analytics that is generated can take into account measurements that are generated according to a specific serving UPF node. In mobile edge computing deployments, the location of the UPF node and its distance from the served client device may cause significance variation in the performance. For example, the closer the UPF node is, the lower the latency is expected. By considering only measurements in which the UPF node is the same, the network node may reduce the variance due to QoS measurements collected under different UPF nodes, therefore providing QoS sustainability analytics which have higher accuracy and better relate to the specific context in which the QoS sustainability analytics should apply according to the request of the service consumer.

In an implementation form of a service consumer according to the second aspect,

the device information comprises at least one in the group comprising: device type, number of antennas, supported frequency bands, name of device manufacturer, device model name, an operating system, an IMEI range, an IMEI software version range, and a TAC; and

An advantage with this implementation form is that the additional analytics filter information that is provided by the service consumer, as well as the additional input data that is collected for the QoS measurements that are used to derive the analytics can be filtered according to different subsets considering one or more of the information contained in the speed information, device information and subscription information in order to collect measurements that pertain better to the desired client device context and have the desired variance.

In an implementation form of a service consumer according to the second aspect, the first message is a request message or a subscription message, and wherein the second message is a response message or a notification message.

According to a third aspect of the invention, the above mentioned and other objectives are achieved with a PCF for a communication system, the PCF being configured to:

transmit a seventh message to a network node, the seventh message indicating a subscription information for a client device.

An advantage with the PCF according to the third aspect is that the network node can match the collected information that relates to the measurements for the client device with the analytics filter information provided by the service consumer, in order to consider only the QoS measurements that match the requested client device context.

In an implementation form of a PCF according to the third aspect, the seventh message is a Npcf_PolicyAuthorization_Notify message.

An advantage with this implementation form is that the PCF may reuse existing notification mechanism to provide the additional information, e.g., subscription information containing operating system identity (OSId) and/or subscriber categories.

In an implementation form of a PCF according to the third aspect, the PCF is configured to:

transmit the seventh message to the network node upon receiving an eight message from a unified data register, UDR.

An advantage with this implementation form is that any time the related subscription information, e.g., subscriber categories, operating system identifiers, or other information changes in the UDR can be used as a trigger for the PCF to update the subscription information provided to the network node.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, the above mentioned and other objectives are achieved with a method for a network node, the method comprises

receiving a first message from a service consumer, the first message indicating a request for QoS sustainability analytics for at least one client device in a spatial area, and further indicating analytics filter information for the client device in a group comprising at least one of: a speed information, a device information, and a subscription information;

obtaining at least one of the speed information, the device information, and the subscription information;

determining QoS sustainability analytics for the client device in the spatial area based on at least one of the speed information, the device information, and the subscription information; and

transmitting a second message to the service consumer, the second message indicating the QoS sustainability analytics for the client device in the spatial area.

The method according to the fourth aspect can be extended into implementation forms corresponding to the implementation forms of the network node according to the first aspect. Hence, an implementation form of the method comprises the feature (s) of the corresponding implementation form of the network node.

The advantages of the methods according to the third aspect are the same as those for the corresponding implementation forms of the network node according to the first aspect.

According to a fifth aspect of the invention, the above mentioned and other objectives are achieved with a method for a service consumer, the method comprises

transmitting a first message to a network node, the first message indicating a request or a subscription for QoS sustainability analytics for at least one client device in a spatial area, and further indicating analytics filter information for the client device in a group comprising at least one of: a speed information, a device information, and a subscription information; and

receiving a second message from the network node, the second message indicating the QoS sustainability analytics for the client device in the spatial area.

The method according to the fifth aspect can be extended into implementation forms corresponding to the implementation forms of the service consumer according to the second aspect. Hence, an implementation form of the method comprises the feature (s) of the corresponding implementation form of the service consumer.

The advantages of the methods according to the fourth aspect are the same as those for the corresponding implementation forms of the service consumer according to the second aspect.

According to a sixth aspect of the invention, the above mentioned and other objectives are achieved with a method for a PCF, the method comprising

transmitting a seventh message to a network node, the seventh message indicating a subscription information for a client device.

The method according to the sixth aspect can be extended into implementation forms corresponding to the implementation forms of the PCF according to the third aspect. Hence, an implementation form of the method comprises the feature (s) of the corresponding implementation form of the PCF.

The advantages of the methods according to the sixth aspect are the same as those for the corresponding implementation forms of the PCF according to the third aspect.

Examples of the invention also relates to a computer program, characterized in program code, which when run by at least one processor causes the at least one processor to execute any method according to examples of the invention. Further, examples of the invention also relate to a computer program product comprising a computer readable medium and the mentioned computer program, wherein the computer program is included in the computer readable medium, and may comprises one or more from the group of: read-only memory (ROM) , programmable ROM (PROM) , erasable PROM (EPROM) , flash memory, electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM) , hard disk drive, etc.

Further applications and advantages of examples of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The appended drawings are intended to clarify and explain different examples of the invention, in which:

-Fig. 1 shows a network node according to an example of the invention;

-Fig. 2 shows a flow chart of a method for a network node according to an example of the invention;

-Fig. 3 shows a service consumer according to an example of the invention;

-Fig. 4 shows a flow chart of a method for a service consumer according to an example of the invention;

-Fig. 5 shows a PCF according to an example of the invention;

-Fig. 6 shows a flow chart of a method for a PCF according to an example of the invention;

-Fig. 7 shows a communication system according to an example of the invention; and

-Fig. 8 shows signaling between a network node and a service consumer according to an example of the invention;

-Fig. 9 shows signaling for a network node according to an example of the invention;

-Fig. 10 shows QoS sustainability analytics signaling in a 3GPP implementation according to an example of the invention; and

-Fig. 11 shows input data used for the calculation of QoS sustainability analytics obtained by a NWDAF in a 3GPP implementation according to an example of the invention

Detailed Description

Currently, QoS sustainability analytics provides cell level granularity, However, it is not possible to assume that–statistically–all the user equipments (UEs) within a cell experience the same QoS. It would hence be beneficial to increase the granularity of the QoS sustainability analytics beyond cell level, to be able differentiate UEs located in the same cell. There are several factors that may influence the QoS of each UE in the cell differently. If the analytics enabler can receive information on those factors and correlate those factors with the measured QoS, it may infer better predictions that have finer granularity than the cell size, making it possible to differentiate predictions according to those factors for the UEs that are within a cell.

According to examples of the invention, a finer granularity than cell level granularity is therefore provided for the QoS sustainability analytics. The finer granularity is achieved by providing additional input to the analytics enabler and differentiating the output. Examples of the invention provides enhancement of the context granularity for the generation of the analytics, from analytics that are statistically valid for all UEs in the cell to analytics that are statistically valid for UEs in the cell with specific characteristics or subscriptions. This is achieved by collecting information on the actual UE context: subscription, device capabilities and/or speed. In addition, information on the actual resource and/or network utilization in the cell and sub-cell area may be collected.

In addition, examples of the invention provide enhancement of the information granularity in the analytics output by enabling a service consumer to set a finer set of UEs within the cell using additional analytics filter information and thresholds. Furthermore, enhancing predictions from predicting whether the guaranteed bite rate QoS flow is retained or not to predicting also the cause and/or the effect of a QoS degradation.

Fig. 1 shows a network node 100 according to an example of the invention. In the example shown in Fig. 1, the network node 100 comprises a processor 102, a transceiver 104 and a memory 106. The processor 102 is coupled to the transceiver 104 and the memory 106 by communication means known in the art. The network node 100 may be configured for wired communications in a communication system. The wired communication capability may be provided with a wired communication interface 108, e.g., coupled to the transceiver 104, over which the network node 100 may communicate with other nodes in a network NW.

The processor 102 may be referred to as one or more general-purpose CPU, one or more digital signal processor (DSP) , one or more application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) , one or more field programmable gate array (FPGA) , one or more programmable logic device, one or more discrete gate, one or more transistor logic device, one or more discrete hardware component, or one or more chipsets. The memory 106 may be a read-only memory, a random access memory (RAM) , or a non-volatile RAM (NVRAM) . The transceiver 304 may be a transceiver circuit, a power controller, or an interface providing capability to communicate with other communication modules or communication devices, such as network nodes and network servers. The transceiver 104, memory 106 and/or processor 102 may be implemented in separate chipsets or may be implemented in a common chipset. That the network node 100 is configured to perform certain actions can in this disclosure be understood to mean that the network node 100 comprises suitable means, such as e.g., the processor 102 and the transceiver 104, configured to perform the actions.

According to examples of the invention, the network node 100 is configured to receive a first message 510 from a service consumer 300. The first message 510 indicating a request for QoS sustainability analytics for at least one client device 600 in a spatial area 550, and further indicating analytics filter information for the client device 600 in a group comprising at least one of: a speed information, a device information, and a subscription information. The network node 100 is further configured to obtain at least one of the speed information, the device information, and the subscription information and determine QoS sustainability analytics for the client device 600 in the spatial area 550 based on at least one of the speed information, the device information, and the subscription information. The network node 100 is further configured to transmit a second message 520 to the service consumer 300, the second message 520 indicating the QoS sustainability analytics for the client device 600 in the spatial area 550.

Fig. 2 shows a flow chart of a corresponding method 200 which may be executed in a network node 100, such as the one shown in Fig. 1. The method 200 comprises receiving 202 a first message 510 from a service consumer 300. The first message 510 indicating a request for QoS sustainability analytics for at least one client device 600 in a spatial area 550, and further indicating analytics filter information for the client device 600 in a group comprising at least one of: a speed information, a device information, and a subscription information. The method 200 further comprises obtaining 204 at least one of the speed information, the device information, and the subscription information. The method 200 further comprises determining 206 QoS sustainability analytics for the client device 600 in the spatial area 550 based on at least one of the speed information, the device information, and the subscription information. The method 200 further comprises transmitting 208 a second message 520 to the service consumer 300, the second message 520 indicating the QoS sustainability analytics for the client device 600 in the spatial area 550.

Fig. 3 shows a service consumer 300 according to an example of the invention. In the example shown in Fig. 3, the service consumer 300 comprises a processor 302, a transceiver 304 and a memory 306. The processor 302 is coupled to the transceiver 304 and the memory 306 by communication means known in the art. The service consumer 300 may be configured for wired communications in a communication system. The wired communication capability may be provided with a wired communication interface 308 e.g., coupled to the transceiver 304, over which the service consumer 300 may communicate with other nodes in a network NW.

The processor 302 may be referred to as one or more general-purpose CPU, one or more digital signal processor (DSP) , one or more application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) , one or more field programmable gate array (FPGA) , one or more programmable logic device, one or more discrete gate, one or more transistor logic device, one or more discrete hardware component, one or more chipset. The memory 306 may be a read-only memory, a random access memory (RAM) , or a non-volatile RAM (NVRAM) . The transceiver 104 may be a transceiver circuit, a power controller, or an interface providing capability to communicate with other communication modules or communication devices. The transceiver 304, the memory 306 and/or the processor 302 may be implemented in separate chipsets or may be implemented in a common chipset. That the service consumer 300 is configured to perform certain actions can in this disclosure be understood to mean that the service consumer 300 comprises suitable means, such as e.g., the processor 302 and the transceiver 304, configured to perform the actions.

According to examples of the invention, the service consumer 300 is configured to transmit a first message 510 to a network node 100. The first message 510 indicates a request or a subscription for QoS sustainability analytics for at least one client device 600 in a spatial area 550, and further indicates analytics filter information for the client device 600 in a group comprising at least one of: a speed information, a device information, and a subscription information. The service consumer 300 is further configured to receive a second message 520 from the network node 100, the second message 520 indicating the QoS sustainability analytics for the client device 600 in the spatial area 550.

Fig. 4 shows a flow chart of a corresponding method 400 which may be executed in a service consumer 300, such as the one shown in Fig. 3. The method 400 comprises transmitting 402 a first message 510 to a network node 100. The first message 510 indicates a request or a subscription for QoS sustainability analytics for at least one client device 600 in a spatial area 550, and further indicates analytics filter information for the client device 600 in a group comprising at least one of: a speed information, a device information, and a subscription information. The method 400 further comprises receiving 404 a second message 520 from the network node 100, the second message 520 indicating the QoS sustainability analytics for the client device 600 in the spatial area 550.

Fig. 5 shows a policy control function (PCF) 750 according to an example of the invention. In the example shown in Fig. 5, the PCF 750 comprises a processor 752, a transceiver 754 and a memory 756. The processor 752 is coupled to the transceiver 754 and the memory 756 by communication means known in the art. The PCF 750 may be configured for wired communications in a communication system. The wired communication capability may be provided with a wired communication interface 758 e.g., coupled to the transceiver 754, over which the PCF 750 may communicate with other nodes in a network NW.

The processor 752 may be referred to as one or more general-purpose CPU, one or more digital signal processor (DSP) , one or more application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) , one or more field programmable gate array (FPGA) , one or more programmable logic device, one or more discrete gate, one or more transistor logic device, one or more discrete hardware component, one or more chipset. The memory 756 may be a read-only memory, a random access memory (RAM) , or a non-volatile RAM (NVRAM) . The transceiver 754 may be a transceiver circuit, a power controller, or an interface providing capability to communicate with other communication modules or communication devices. The transceiver 754, the memory 756 and/or the processor 752 may be implemented in separate chipsets or may be implemented in a common chipset. That the PCF 750 is configured to perform certain actions can in this disclosure be understood to mean that the PCF 750 comprises suitable means, such as e.g., the processor 752 and the transceiver 754, configured to perform the actions.

According to examples of the invention, the PCF 750 is configured to transmit a seventh message 580 to a network node 100, the seventh message 580 indicating a subscription information for a client device 600.

Fig. 6 shows a flow chart of a corresponding method 800 which may be executed in a PCF 750, such as the one shown in Fig. 5. The method 800 comprises transmitting 802 a seventh message 580 to a network node 100, the seventh message 580 indicating a subscription information for a client device 600.

Fig. 7 shows a communication system 500 according to an example of the invention. The communication system 500 in the disclosed example comprises a network node 100 and a service consumer 300 configured to communicate and operate in the communication system 500. For simplicity, the shown communication system 500 only comprises one network node 100 and one service consumer 300. However, the communication system 500 may comprise any number of network nodes 100 and any number of service consumers 300 without deviating from the scope of the invention.

Fig. 7 further shows a number of client devices 600 in a spatial area 550. In the shown example, the spatial area 550 corresponds to a cell provided by a network access node 555, such as a base station, but are not limited thereto. The network node 100 can provide QoS sustainability analytics for one or more of the client devices 600 upon a request or subscription from the service consumer 300. Since the request or subscription for QoS sustainability analytics cannot include information that identifies which client device 600 is the analytics requested for, the service consumer 300 can specify a set of client devices according to a set of initial filter information, which is provided to the network node 100 in a request or a subscription message. The network node 100 may collect information about the client device 600 as well as information about other client devices in the spatial area 550 from one or more nodes in a network (NW) connected to the network access node 555, e.g., from an operation, administration and maintenance (OAM) node, as well as from other nodes such as a UPF or a SMF. This information includes QoS measurements that relate to the observed client devices over a sufficiently long period of time. Those measurements are complemented by additional filter labels that may include the UPF node serving the client device, the speed of the client device for which the QoS measurement is collected, the client device information and the subscription information, as well as other information. The network node 100 can select the client devices that are used to collect measurements according to the filter labels of those measurements that best match the value of the initial filter information provided by the service consumer 300. The QoS measurements collected for those client devices can be used as input to a machine learning (ML) algorithm or other type of algorithm to derive suitable analytics about the client device 600 or for a set of client devices that match the conditions of the client device 600. The network node 100, the service consumer 300 and the network access node 555 may communicate with each other and with network nodes in the network over suitable interfaces such as e.g., interfaces defined by 3GPP.

Currently, collected data for QoS sustainability analytics is averaged per cell, e.g., statistics are generated by averaging the QoS measurements per cell. In a similar way, predictions are also averaged per cell. However, there are several factors that influence the QoS of each client devices 600 in the cell. For example, the client devices 600 may be stationary or moving along different roads at different speeds. The client devices 600 may be at different distances from the network access node 555 and have different capabilities and/or subscriptions. Hence, all the client devices 600 within the spatial area 550 will not experience the same QoS and the current QoS sustainability analytics averaged per cell will not reflect the experience of all the client device 600 in the spatial area 550 accurately.

According to examples of the invention, the granularity of the QoS sustainability analytics is therefore enhanced by collecting information related to speed, device and/or subscription for the client devices 600 and use this information during QoS sustainability analytics. More accurate QoS sustainability analytics can thereby be provided.

Fig. 8 shows the signaling between the network node 100 and the service consumer 300 according to an example of the invention. The network node 100 may be a network data analytics function (NWDAF) and the service consumer 300 may be an application function (AF) or a network function (NF) according to examples of the invention.

In step I in Fig. 8, the service consumer 300 transmits a first message 510 to the network node 100. The first message 510 indicates a request or a subscription for QoS sustainability analytics for at least one client device 600 in a spatial area 550. A spatial area may be defined as the intersection between a network area and a finer granular geographical area, where the network area may be identified in network coordinates such as cell identity and tracking area (TA) and the finer granular geographical area may be identified by global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) or global positioning system (GPS) coordinates. The first message 510 further indicates analytics filter information for the client device 600 in a group comprising at least one of: a speed information, a device information, and a subscription information. In examples of the invention, the content of the first message 510 may be provided in a single information element (IE) . Such a single IE may be a “UE subscription, device and context information” and contain internal sub-information element or information element inside another information element any of the information contained in the subscription information, the device information and the context information.

In examples, the first message 510 is a request message or a subscription message such as e.g., a NNWDAF_AnalyticsInfo_Request or NNWDAF_AnalyticsSubscription_Subscribe message as defined in 3GPP.

The network node 100 receives the first message 510 from the service consumer 300 in step II in Fig. 8. The network node 100 hence obtains the request or subscription for QoS sustainability analytics for the at least one client device 600 in the spatial area 550 indicated in the first message 510, as well as the indicated analytics filter information for the client device 600 in the group comprising at least one of: a speed information, a device information, and a subscription information.

In step III in Fig. 8, the network node 100 obtains at least one of the speed information, the device information, and the subscription information. The network node 100 may collect the information using requests or queries to other network nodes and/or functions. For example, speed information may be retrieved from a location management function (LMF) , a gateway mobile location centre (GMLC) or similar and the device and/or subscription information may be retrieved from a unified data management (UDM) or similar, as will be further described below with reference to Fig. 10.

In examples, the network node 100 may further collect QoS measurements for one or more client devices 600 in the spatial area 550 and obtain at least one of the speed information, the device information, and the subscription information for the client device 600 based on the collected QoS measurements and the analytics filter information for the client device 600.

The speed information may comprise a horizontal velocity estimate and/or a vertical velocity estimate. The device information may comprise at least one in the group comprising: device type, number of antennas, supported frequency bands, name of device manufacturer, device model name, an operating system, an international mobile equipment identity (IMEI) range, an IMEI software version range, and a type allocation code (TAC) . The subscription information may comprise a subscription category and/or a supported operating system.

In examples, the speed information, the device information, and/or the subscription information may be associated with an identity of a user plane function (UPF) 710 serving the client device 600 (see Fig. 9 and 10) . Thus, the analytics filter information for the client device 600 may further comprises a serving UPF 710 for a packet data unit (PDU) session of the client device 600. In this case, the network node 100 obtains an identity of the serving UPF 710, e.g., from a session management function (SMF) or a UDM, and obtains at least one of the speed information, the device information, and the subscription information associated with the identity of the serving UPF 710. The network node 100 further determines the QoS sustainability analytics for the client device 600 in the spatial area 550 based on at least one of the speed information, the device information, and the subscription information associated with the identity of the serving UPF 710. The network node 100 may e.g., collect QoS measurements for relevant client devices 600 in a cell, compare the identity of the serving UPF 710 in the analytics filter information with the identity of UPFs for the client devices 600 in the cell, use the QoS measurements of the client devices 600 in the cell that are served by the serving UPF to determine the QoS sustainability analytics for the client device 600 in the spatial area 550.

In step IV in Fig. 8, the network node 100 determines QoS sustainability analytics for the client device 600 in the spatial area 550 based on at least one of the speed information, the device information, and the subscription information obtained in step III in Fig. 8. The network node 100 may further use additional information when determining QoS sustainability analytics. The QoS sustainability analytics for the client device 600 in the spatial area 550 may hence be determined based on the speed, device and/or subscription information, as well as other information available to or obtained by the network node 100.

The determination in step IV in Fig. 8 may comprise determining QoS change statistics for a target period in the past in the spatial area 550 and/or the likelihood of a QoS change for a target period in the future in the spatial area 550, i.e., predicting the QoS sustainability analytics.

In step V in Fig. 8, the network node 100 transmits a second message 520 to the service consumer 300. The second message 520 indicates the QoS sustainability analytics for the client device 600 in the spatial area 550. In examples, the second message 520 is a response message or a notification message such as e.g., a NNWDAF_AnalyticsInfo_Response or NNWDAF_AnalyticsSubscription_Notify message as defined in 3GPP.

The service consumer 300 receives the second message 520 from the network node 100 in step VI in Fig. 8. The second message 520 indicates the QoS sustainability analytics for the client device 600 in the spatial area 550 determined by the network node 100. The service consumer 300 may use the indicated QoS sustainability analytics to perform application-specific decisions. For example, in case the service consumer 300 is integrated in a remote driving or tele-operated driving applications, the service consumer 300 may change the remote driving parameters (e.g., driving speed, driving lane) or stop the tele-operation when the QoS is predicted to become lower than the minimum requirements since these types of services require a minimum QoS in order to be operational as specified by the 5GAA. The tele-operated driving service requires a maximum latency in order to send the tele-operation commands from the remote control center to the vehicle. At the same time, it is required that the uplink stream is capable of supporting a minimum bit rate in order to send a sufficient number of camera streams from the vehicle to the remote control center. In another non-limiting example, the service consumer 300 may be connected to a vehicle choosing a route from location A to location B. As several potential routes may be available for the same destination, the vehicle may utilize the QoS prediction information for each route in order to select the best path according to services that are needed along the path. In fact, each of the requested services may require a specific QoS, and if the QoS is not predicted to be adequate for the requested services, that specific path may not be suitable.

In further examples of the invention, the network node 100 may implement novel behavior when one or more of the analytics filter information for the client device 600, i.e., the speed information, the device information, and the subscription information, is missing. Since filters are used to match relevant data points for QoS measurements, when too many filters are selected by the NF consumer there could be little or no data points matching the analytics request that contains too many filters. In such case, the network node 100 e.g., as a NWDAF may decide to ignore any of the IEs in the filter if too few data measurement points are collected with all of the filters included in the NF consumer request. In that case the network node 100 may add a novel message in the analytics output about which of the filters that have been ignored.

Fig. 9 shows further signaling involving the network node 100 for obtaining additional information used to determine QoS sustainability analytics for the client device 600 in the spatial area 550 according to examples of the invention. The signaling shown in Fig. 9 is optional and the messages are therefore indicated with dashed arrows.

In step I in Fig. 9, the network node 100 receives a third message 530 from a UPF 710 or a SMF 720. The third message 530 indicates QoS information associated with the client device 600 in the spatial area 550. When the network node 100 receives the third message 530, the network node 100 may determine the QoS sustainability analytics for the client device 600 in the spatial area 550 further based on the third message 530. The third message 530 may be a Nsmf_EventExposure_Notify service operation when received from a SMF or a Nupf_EventExposure_Notify service operation when received from a UPF.

In step II in Fig. 9, the network node 100 receives a fourth message 540 from a UDM 730. The fourth message 540 indicates a permanent equipment identifier (PEI) associated with the client device 600. The network node 100 may then obtain at least one of the speed information, the device information, and the subscription information based on the fourth message 540. The fourth message 540 may be a Nudm_SubscriberDataManagement get service operation as specified in cl. 5.2.2.1 of 3GPP TS 29.503 Unified Data Management Services and cl. 6.4.6.2.3 (associationType) of 3GPP TS 29.503 Unified Data Management Services. Alternatively, the network node 100 as a NWDAF can use an UDR interface to retrieve the PEI.

When the network node 100 receives the fourth message 540 and hence the PEI associated with the client device 600, the network node 100 may use at least one part the PEI to obtain the device information from a device information server 740, such as e.g., a global system for mobile communication association (GSMA) database, i.e., from a database associated with the GSMA organization. With reference to step IIIa and IIIb in Fig. 9, the network node 100 may obtain the device information by transmitting a fifth message 560 to a device information server 740, where the fifth message 560 indicates the part of the PEI. In response to the fifth message 560, the network node 100 receives a sixth message 570 from the database information server 740, where the sixth message 570 indicates the device information. The sixth message 570 may e.g., comprise TAC.

In an alternative or as a complement to the procedure described above to obtain the subscription information based on the fourth message 540, the network node 100 may obtain subscription information from a PCF 750. Thus, in step IVa in Fig. 9 the network node 100 may send a subscription message 572 to the PCF 750. More precisely, the subscription message 572 sent to the PCF may be a Npcf_PolicyAuthorization_Subscribe message. In response to the reception of the Npcf_PolicyAuthorization_Subscribe message the PCF 750 transmits a seventh message 580 to the network node 100. The seventh message 580 indicates the subscription information of the client device 600. Based on the seventh message 580 the network node 100 obtains the subscription information of the client device 600 and in step IVb uses the subscription information as described in the present disclosure. It may be noted that the PCF 750 may be triggered to send the seventh message 580 to the network node 100 upon receiving an eight message 590 transmitted by a unified data register (UDR) 760 as shown in step V in Fig. 9. The UDR 760 may send the eight message 590 to signal that new or updated data is available for the specific subscriber (client device) such as updated operating system identifiers or updated subscriber categories.

Further details related to QoS sustainability analytics according to the invention will now be described in a 3GPP 5G context with reference to Fig. 10. The network node 100 according to the invention may in the scenarios below be configured to perform any of the described functions of a 3GPP NWDAF 100. In a similar way, the service consumer 300 according to the invention may in the scenarios below be configured to perform any of the described functions of a 3GPP AF/service consumer 300. The client device 600 may herein be denoted UE 600.

In step 1 in Fig. 10, the AF/service consumer 300 requests or subscribes to analytics information on “QoS Sustainability” provided by the NWDAF 100. The parameters included in the request are defined in 3GPP TS 23.288 clause 6.9.1. The AF 300 can request QoS sustainability statistics or predictions or both. The AF 300 provides the tracking area identities (TAIs) or cell IDs, and finer granularity area, e.g., smaller than cell size via longitude/latitude range etc. in “Location information” when requesting QoS sustainability analytics.

According to examples of the invention, the AF 300 may use additional new filters in the analytics filter information, described as follows:

a.[optional] Speed: the speed of the UE which can include either an integer value or a range, e.g., a range of values between a maximum and a minimum.

i. As an example, the analytics filter information may include the following: speed = 50 Km/h or 0 <= speed >= 50 Km/h.

b.[optional] UE info (string) : a regular expression including a set of UE information and related values, which can be one or more of the following:

i. IMEI: value or range or TAC which identifies the UE model as well as a specific version of a UE model, according to clause 5.1 of GSMA TS.06.

ii. Device manufacturer: name of device manufacturer according to clause 4.4.2 of GSMA SG. 18.

iii. Device marketing name/designation according to clause 4.4.2 of GSMA SG. 18.

iv. Frequency band supported by the device: e.g., 2G GSM &/or 3G WCDMA (Yes or No) 4G LTE (Yes or No) , 4G Carrier Aggregation (Yes or No) , 5G NR standalone (Yes or No) , 5G Dual Connectivity (Yes or No) , LPWAN (Yes or No) , according to clause 3.6 of GSMA TS. 30.

v. Equipment type: e.g., mobile phone, smartphone, tablet, dongle, modem WLAN router, IoT device, weareable, mobile test platform, unknown. Values according to clause 8.0 of GSMA TS. 06.

As an example, the analytics filter information UE info may include the following regular expression:

IMEI == “XYZABCDEXXXXXX” OR TAC == “XYZABCDE” OR Device_manufacturer == “Huawei” AND Device_marketing_name == “P9” AND Frequency_band. 4G LTE == “Yes” AND Equipment_type = “Smartphone”

c.[optional] Subscription info (string) : a regular expression including a set of UE information and related values, which can be one or more of the following, according to the following information specified in Table 6.2-1 of 3GPP TS 23.503

i. Operating system, which identifies the operating system supported by the UE, according to operating system ID information name contained in the UE context policy control subscription information.

ii. Subscriber categories, list of category identifiers associated with the subscriber according to relevant information name contained in the UE context policy control subscription information.

In step 2a in Fig. 10, if the request is authorized, and in order to provide the requested analytics, the NWDAF 100 decides the access and mobility management function AMF (s) 750 based on the TAIs and/or cell IDs, and obtains the UE list in the Tas and/or cells from AMF 750 by invoking Namf_EventExposure_Subscribe service operation using event ID “Number of Ues present in a geographical area” as described in 3GPP TS 23.502.

In step 2b in Fig. 10, the NWDAF 100 invokes Namf_EventExposure_Subscribe service operation to get the update of the UE list using event ID “UE moving in or out of Area of Interest” as described in 3GPP TS 23.502.

In step 3 in Fig. 10, the NWDAF 100 initiates the LCS Service Request to the GMLC/LMF 760 to get the location of UEs from the UE list provided by the AMF 750 in step 2.

In step 4 in Fig. 10, the GMLC/LMF 760 initiates the UE location service procedure and gets the location of the UEs. As novel information the speed of the UEs is also retrieved according to examples of the invention.

In step 5 in Fig. 10, the GMLC/LMF 760 provides location information for each UE in the UE list to the NWDAF 100 in a LCS Service Response.

In step 6 in Fig. 10, from the list of UE locations returned by the GMLC/LMF 760, the NWDAF 100 identifies the UEs located in finer granularity area by comparing the locations of the UEs to the finer granularity area, provided in step 1 in Fig. 10.

In step 7 in Fig. 10, the NWDAF 100 invokes Namf_EventExposure_Subscribe service operation to the AMF 750 to get the serving SMF 720 for the UE.

In step 8 in Fig. 10, the NWDAF 100 invokes Nsmf_EventExposure_Subscribe service operation to the serving SMF 720 identified by the operation in step 7 in Fig. 10 to get the UPF 710 information for the UE.

In step 9 in Fig. 10, the NWDAF 100 may collect QoS information from the UPF 710, as described with reference to Fig. 9. The NWDAF 100 may collect the QoS information either from the UPF 710 directly, or subscribe to the UPF 710 via the SMF 720. The NWDAF 100 may also collect QoS information from the SMF 720, e.g., receiving a Nsmf_EventExposure notification service operation message. This message may include the Upfinformation which may be used as novel input data together with the other QoS information collected as in conventional solutions. Novel input data is used to label the QoS information and later to filter such QoS information according to the initial filter information received in step 1 in Fig. 10. The QoS information may include the bandwidth and packet delay for the UE.

In step 10 in Fig. 10, as a novel step data collection for the UE from the UDM 730 such as the PEI and from the GSMA IMEI DB 740 may be performed, using part of the PEI retrieved from UDM 730 as described with reference to Fig. 9.

In step 11 in Fig. 10, the NWDAF 100 verifies whether the triggering conditions are met and derives the requested analytics. The NWDAF 100 can detect the need for notification based on comparing the requested analytics of the target 5G QoS identifier (5QI) against the reporting threshold (s) provided by the AF 300 in any cell over the requested analytics target period.

In step 12 in Fig. 10, the NWDAF 100 provides the response or notification on “QoS sustainability” to the AF 300.

When an AF/service consumer 300 subscribes to the analytics, it uses type EventSubscription to provide the information to the NWDAF 100 to describe to the subscribed events. According to examples of the invention the content of the type EventSubscription as defined in Table 5.1.6.2.3-1 of 3GPP TS 29.520: Definition of type EventSubscription is modified by adding the additional information elements listed in Table 1 below.

Table 1: New information elements in “Definition of type EventSubscription”

With the additional information elements, the service consumer 300 may filter a more fine-grained sets of use cases when requesting analytics, which may result in a more homogeneous QoS for the set, and therefore more accurate analytics which may be statistics or predictions.

The additional information elements may be the following:

uEInfo: uEInfo may be associated with a new data type UEInfo which may contain a regular expression of elements composed as information element == value. The information elements that may be used in the data type UEInfo may be the following:

·IMEI,

·TAC,

·Device_manufacturer,

·Device_marketing_name,

·Frequency_band,

·Equipment_type.

subscriptionInfo: subscriptionInfo may be associated with a new data type subscriptionInfo which may contain a regular expression of elements composed as information element == value. The information elements that may be used in subsInfo are the following:

·Operating_system,

·Subscriber_category.

finerGranularLocationArea: finerGranularLocationArea refers to a network-specified or geographical area within the cell. While TS 23.288 supports cell granularity as the minimum granularity for the QoS sustainability analytics, the support of a location within the cell which may be specified with GNSS/GPS coordinates has been proposed. As an alternative, the finer granular location area may be specified as a specific sector in the cell.

Speed: the information element speed can be defined using the types defined in Tables 6.1.6.2.17-21 in 3GPP TS 29.572 which contains a list of mutually exclusive alternatives for the speed information:

VelocityEstimate, HorizontalVelocity, HorizontalVelocityWithVerticalVelocity, Horizontal-VelocityWithUncertainty, and HorizontalVelocityWithVerticalVelocityAndUncertainty.

upfInfo: In ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC) and multi-access edge computing (MEC) deployments the QoS may change significantly depending on the location of the UPF 710. For this reason, it may be important to filter the analytics according to the UPF 710 that is serving a specific PDU session or QoS flow. Thus, it is proposed to include the identity of the UPF 710 according to existing data type UpfInformation. This data type is defined in clause 5.6.2.13 of 3GPP TS 29.508 as shown in Table 2.

Table 2: “Definition of type UpfInformation”

The NWDAF 100 may collect additional input data in order to be able to filter analytics according to the new analytics filter information.

UE speed (velocity) : for a UE 600 identified with a subscription permanent identifier (SUPI) can be collected from GMLC/LMF/LCS in step 4 in Fig. 10. According to conventional procedures, the NWDAF 100 already makes a query to GMLC/LMF/LCS for every UE 600 in a cell in order to retrieve its finer granular location and find out whether the UE 600 is within the finer granular area specified by the service consumer in the analytics request or subscription. According to examples of the invention the UE speed may also retrieved from GMLC/LMF/LCS as specified in clause 5.5 (Location service exposure) and in clause 6.1 (5GC-MT-LR procedure) of 3GPP TS 23.273 5G System (5GS) Location Services (LCS) . This additional information can be used to compare the UE speed with the speed provided in the new analytics filter information Ueinfo. In this way, the NWDAF 100 can decide whether the measurements collected for the UE 600 in question have to be considered or not for the generation of the requested analytics.

Permanent equipment identifier (PEI) : defined in 3GPP TS 29.571 clause 5.3.2 which can be either an IMEI or IMEI software version for a UE 600 identified with a SUPI for the relevant UE 600 can be collected as in step 10 in Fig. 10 of the procedure with a query to UDM 730 using Nudm_SubscriberDataManagement Get service operation as specified in clause 5.2.2.1 of 3GPP TS 29.503 Unified Data Management Services and clause 6.4.6.2.3 (associationType) of 3GPP TS 29.503 Unified Data Management Services. Alternatively, the NWDAF 100 can use a unified data repository (UDR) interface to retrieve PEI, as described below.

Type allocation code (TAC) : as specified in clause 6.2 of 3GPP TS 23.003, this identifies the UE model, as well as a specific version of a UE model. GSM Association (GSMA) is responsible for TAC allocation, TAC can be collected as described above for the PEI, since it is a portion of the IMEI. The IMEI comprises 15 digits of which 8 digits are the TAC.

Serial number (SNR) : unique identification of a device with a specific TAC, i.e., all the UEs 600 having the same TAC will get different serial number.

Check digit (CD) : It is calculated from a combination of the TAC and serial number. CD provides a mechanism for detecting data entry errors, e.g., when the IMEI is manually entered into a system.

Using a query to the GSMA IMEI database 740, the NWDAF 100 can use the IMEI e.g., retrieved from PEI to obtain additional information on the UE 600, as listed below:

·Device_manufacturer defined as part of the System Device Status List Record (Record Format 2) in clause 4.4.2 of GSMA SG. 18 v7.0.

·Device_marketing_name defined as part of the System Device Status List Record (Record Format 2) in clause 4.4.2 of GSMA SG. 18 v7.0.

·Frequency_band defined in clause 3.6 of GSMA TS. 30–IMEI Database Application Forms.

·Equipment_type defined in clause 3.4 of GSMA TS. 30–IMEI Database Application Forms.

By collecting one or more of the above-described additional information on the UE 600, the NWDAF 100 can augment the measurement retrieved for the specific UE 600 with additional information that can be used to filter the specific measurement when serving an analytics request or subscription. In this way NWDAF 100 may only use relevant measurements that match only the wanted UE characteristics.

Additional information on the UE subscription can be obtained from UDR interface, specifically the following:

·Operating_system.

·Subscriber_category.

·PEI (as an alternative method to the one described above) .

The NWDAF 100 can use the UDR interface to retrieve the PEI, subscriber category and operating system, by providing the identity of the subscribers, e.g., SUPI or generic public subscription identifier (GPSI) . This is described in 3GPP TS 23.503 clause 6.2.1.3, while data type retrieved from UDR is specified in 3GPP TS 29.519 clause 5.4.2.4. The NWDAF 100 shall use Nudr service for data set “Policy Data” and data subset “UE context policy control data” .

The UePolicySet is described in “Table 5.4.2.4-1” of 3GPP TS 29.519 and the relevant information from this table is listed in Table 3 below.

Table 3: Relevant information from Table 5.4.2.4-1 of 3GPP TS 29.519

In addition to what specified below the NWDAF 100 may collect relevant information from the type EventNotification from SMF, specifically UpfInformation, which is a data type specified in clause 5.6.2.13 of 3GPP TS 29.508 and shown in Table 2 above.

This UpfInformation parameter can be retrieved from SMF event, from the data type EventNotification according to TS 29.508, see Table 4 below.

Table 4: Relevant information elements in “Definition of type EventNotification”

SMF event may be collected with a specific subscription to SMF events for the UE 600 as already described in step 9 of the procedure and in 3GPP TS 23.288 clause 6.2.2.2.

The NWDAF 100 enhanced with the novel features according to the invention can provide enhanced QoS sustainability analytics which can be differentiated according to a greater set of parameters pertaining to the UE 600 and the network. A better understanding of the causes of potential QoS degradation can thereby be obtained and better predictions for future potential QoS changes can be provided. Examples of the invention enable the NWDAF 100 to build a detailed cell-based model in which for each UE measurement of QoS in the cell or within a finer granular area, obtained via prior art mechanisms e.g., as described in 3GPP TS 23.288 and enhancements of solution #50 or solution #19 in TR 23.700-81, the NWDAF 100 collects a larger set of contextual Information, as shown in the table in Fig. 11.

As described in the present disclosure, the additional input data collection is triggered in the network node 100 by the reception of a first message 510 from the service consumer/AF 300 and performed in steps 4 (speed) , 9 (UPFinformation) and 10 (uEinfo, subscription info) in Fig. 10. The additional input data collection may also alternatively be triggered in the network node 100 before receiving the first message 510 from the service consumer/AF 300 and used in a similar fashion for the calculation of the QoS sustainability analytics even before an analytics request or subscription is received by the service consumer 300. An alternative trigger used for such purpose in conventional solution is the reception in the network node 100 of a notification control message for a QoS change from a PCF node, such as the Npcf_PolicyAuthorization Notify service operation described in cl. 5.2.5.3.5 of 3GPP TS 23.502.

In the table in Fig. 11, a number of QoS information used as input data by the network node 100 can be seen. Within such input data, a number of QoS degradation events can be seen, i.e., events where the QoS is not fulfilled for a QoS flow or resource type “GBR” as described in cl. 5.7 of TS 23.501. These events are marked with solid circles in the table in Fig. 11 in column 15 with title “Fulfil yes/no” . From the information collected by the NWDAF 100 according to examples of the invention it is further possible to identify relevant potential causes for the QoS degradation events. The potential causes are marked with dashed circles in the table in Fig. 11 in the columns preceding and following column 15. In the example the QoS information of column 15 (fulfilment of a GBR QoS flow) is correlated with the novel filter information. Other examples of the invention may include the correlation of other QoS information such as but not limited to: measured bit rate of a QoS flow, measured latency of a QoS flow (e.g., packet delay in ms) , measured packet error rate, measured jitter, and availability of the communication channel.

By building a detailed cell model of QoS change events, e.g., radio access network unfulfillment, and of the conditions when such event happened, the NWDAF 100 may be able to correlate potential QoS changes with such conditions. The following conclusions may e.g., be drawn from the information collected and shown in the table in Fig. 11:

·UE#1 QoS change may be related to the UE type and the fact that resources were occupied by QFI-2.

·UE#3 QoS change may be related to an issue in the UPF node and the subscription type which may have a data rate cap.

·UE#4 QoS change may be related to the fact that the UE was preparing for handover. Such information may be provided by the RAN to the AMF and collected by the network node 100 in the step 7 or alternatively in step 9.

·UE#9 QoS change may be related to the specific area in the cell and the speed of the UE.

The network node 100 herein may be denoted as a network data analysis function (NWDAF 100) . The NWDAF 100 may be a function configured for communication in 3GPP related LTE and LTE-Advanced, in WiMAX and its evolution, and in fifth generation wireless technologies, such as new radio (NR) .

The service consumer 300 herein may be denoted as an application function (AF) . The AF 300 may be a function configured for communication in 3GPP related LTE and LTE-Advanced, in WiMAX and its evolution, and in fifth generation wireless technologies, such as new radio (NR) .

Furthermore, any method according to examples of the invention may be implemented in a computer program, having code means, which when run by processing means causes the processing means to execute the steps of the method. The computer program is included in a computer readable medium of a computer program product. The computer readable medium may comprise essentially any memory, such as previously mentioned a read-only memory (ROM) , a programmable read-only memory (PROM) , an erasable PROM (EPROM) , a flash memory, an electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM) , or a hard disk drive.

Moreover, it should be realized that the network node 100, the service consumer 300 and the PCF comprise the necessary communication capabilities in the form of e.g., functions, means, units, elements, etc., for performing or implementing examples of the invention. Examples of other such means, units, elements and functions are: processors, memory, buffers, control logic, encoders, decoders, rate matchers, de-rate matchers, mapping units, multipliers, decision units, selecting units, switches, interleavers, de-interleavers, modulators, demodulators, inputs, outputs, antennas, amplifiers, receiver units, transmitter units, DSPs, MSDs, TCM encoder, TCM decoder, power supply units, power feeders, communication interfaces, communication protocols, etc. which are suitably arranged together for performing the solution.

Therefore, the processor (s) of the network node, the service consumer and the PCF may comprise, e.g., one or more instances of a central processing unit (CPU) , a processing unit, a processing circuit, a processor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) , a microprocessor, or other processing logic that may interpret and execute instructions. The expression “processor” may thus represent a processing circuitry comprising a plurality of processing circuits, such as e.g., any, some or all of the ones mentioned above. The processing circuitry may further perform data processing functions for inputting, outputting, and processing of data comprising data buffering and device control functions, such as call processing control, user interface control, or the like.

Finally, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to the examples described above, but also relates to and incorporates all examples within the scope of the appended independent claims.

Claims

A network node (100) for a communication system (500) , the network node (100) being configured to:

receive a first message (510) from a service consumer (300) , the first message (510) indicating a request for quality-of-service, QoS, sustainability analytics for at least one client device (600) in a spatial area (550) , and further indicating analytics filter information for the client device (600) in a group comprising at least one of: a speed information, a device information, and a subscription information;

obtain at least one of the speed information, the device information, and the subscription information;

determine QoS sustainability analytics for the client device (600) in the spatial area (550) based on at least one of the speed information, the device information, and the subscription information; and

transmit a second message (520) to the service consumer (300) , the second message (520) indicating the QoS sustainability analytics for the client device (600) in the spatial area (550) .
The network node (100) according to claim 1, wherein the analytics filter information for the client device (600) further comprises a serving user plane function, UPF, (710) for a packet data unit, PDU, session of the client device (600) , and wherein the network node (100) is configured to:

obtain an identity of the serving UPF (710) ;

obtain at least one of the speed information, the device information, and the subscription information associated with the identity of the serving UPF (710) ; and

determine the QoS sustainability analytics for the client device (600) in the spatial area (550) based on at least one of the speed information, the device information, and the subscription information associated with the identity of the serving UPF (710) .
The network node (100) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the network node (100) is configured to:

receive a third message (530) from a user plane function (710) or a session management function, SMF, (720) , the third message (530) indicating QoS information associated with the client device (600) in the spatial area (550) ; and

determine the QoS sustainability analytics for the client device (600) in the spatial area (550) further based on the third message (530) .
The network node (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the network node (100) is configured to:

receive a fourth message (540) from a unified data management, UDM, (730) , the fourth message (540) indicating a permanent equipment identifier, PEI, associated with the client device (600) ; and

obtain at least one of the speed information, the device information, and the subscription information based on the fourth message (540) .
The network node (100) according to claim 4, wherein the network node (300) is configured to:

transmit a fifth message (560) to a device information server (740) , the fifth message (560) indicating at least one part of the PEI; and

receive a sixth message (570) from the database information server (740) , the sixth message (570) indicating the device information.
The network node (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the network node (300) is configured to:

receive a seventh message (580) from a policy control function, PCF, (750) , the seventh message (580) indicating the subscription information.
The network node (100) according to claim 6, wherein the seventh message (580) is a Npcf_PolicyAuthorization_Notify message.
The network node (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the network node (100) is configured to:

collect QoS measurements for one or more client devices (600′) in the spatial area (550) ; and

obtain at least one of the speed information, the device information, and the subscription information for the client device (600) based on the collected QoS measurements and the analytics filter information for the client device (600) .
The network node (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein

the speed information comprises a horizontal velocity estimate and/or a vertical velocity estimate;

the device information comprises at least one in the group comprising: device type, number of antennas, supported frequency bands, name of device manufacturer, device model name, an operating system, an international mobile equipment identity, IMEI, range, an IMEI software version range, and a type allocation code, TAC; and

the subscription information comprises a subscription category and/or a supported operating system.
The network node (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first message (510) is a request message or a subscription message, and wherein the second message (520) is a response message or a notification message.
The network node (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the network node (100) is a networks data analytics function, NWDAF.
A service consumer (300) for a communication system (500) , the service consumer (300) being configured to

transmit a first message (510) to a network node (100) , the first message (510) indicating a request or a subscription for QoS sustainability analytics for at least one client device (600) in a spatial area (550) , and further indicating analytics filter information for the client device (600) in a group comprising at least one of: a speed information, a device information, and a subscription information; and

receive a second message (520) from the network node (100) , the second message (520) indicating the QoS sustainability analytics for the client device (600) in the spatial area (550) .
The service consumer (300) according to claim 12, wherein the analytics filter information further comprises a serving UPF (710) for a PDU session of the client device (600) .
The service consumer (300) according to claim 12 or 13, wherein

the speed information comprises a horizontal velocity estimate and/or a vertical velocity estimate;

the device information comprises at least one in the group comprising: device type, number of antennas, supported frequency bands, name of device manufacturer, device model name, an operating system, an IMEI range, an IMEI software version range, and a TAC; and

the subscription information comprises a subscription category and/or a supported operating system.
The service consumer (300) according to any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein the first message (510) is a request message or a subscription message, and wherein the second message (520) is a response message or a notification message.
A PCF (750) for a communication system (500) , the PCF (750) being configured to:

transmit a seventh message (580) to a network node (100) , the seventh message (580) indicating a subscription information for a client device (600) .
The PCF (750) according to claim 16, wherein the seventh message (580) is a Npcf_PolicyAuthorization_Notify message.
The PCF (750) according to claim 16 or 17, wherein the PCF (750) is configured to:

transmit the seventh message (580) to the network node (100) upon receiving an eight message (590) from a unified data register, UDR, (760) .
A method (200) for a network node (100) , the method (200) comprising

receiving (202) a first message (510) from a service consumer (300) , the first message (510) indicating a request for QoS sustainability analytics for at least one client device (600) in a spatial area (550) , and further indicating analytics filter information for the client device (600) in a group comprising at least one of: a speed information, a device information, and a subscription information;

obtaining (204) at least one of the speed information, the device information, and the subscription information;

determining (206) QoS sustainability analytics for the client device (600) in the spatial area (550) based on at least one of the speed information, the device information, and the subscription information; and

transmitting (208) a second message (520) to the service consumer (300) , the second message (520) indicating the QoS sustainability analytics for the client device (600) in the spatial area (550) .
A method (400) for a service consumer (300) , the method (400) comprising

transmitting (402) a first message (510) to a network node (100) , the first message (510) indicating a request or a subscription for QoS sustainability analytics for at least one client device (600) in a spatial area (550) , and further indicating analytics filter information for the client device (600) in a group comprising at least one of: a speed information, a device information, and a subscription information; and

receiving (404) a second message (520) from the network node (100) , the second message (520) indicating the QoS sustainability analytics for the client device (600) in the spatial area (550) .
A method (800) for a PCF (730) , the method (800) comprising

transmitting (802) a seventh message (580) to a network node (100) , the seventh message (580) indicating a subscription information for a client device (600) .
A computer program with a program code for performing a method according to any one of claims 19 to 21 when the computer program runs on a computer.