WO2025188337A1

WO2025188337A1 - Provisioning of o-ran energy-saving policies

Info

Publication number: WO2025188337A1
Application number: PCT/US2024/031831
Authority: WO
Inventors: Pankaj Tanaji SHETE; Awn Muhammad
Original assignee: Rakuten Mobile Inc; Rakuten Symphony Usa LLC
Current assignee: Rakuten Mobile Inc; Rakuten Symphony Usa LLC
Priority date: 2024-03-04
Filing date: 2024-05-31
Publication date: 2025-09-12
Anticipated expiration: 2026-09-04
Also published as: WO2025188337A8

Abstract

Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate to the provisioning of one or more O-RAN energy-saving policies. According to example embodiments, a system may include a non-real-time (Non-RT) radio access network intelligent controller (RIC) configured to: obtain a policy schema; generate, based on the policy schema, an energy-saving policy for execution by a near-real-time (Near-RT) RIC, wherein the energy-saving policy may include at least one of: an energy-saving control parameter, a restriction control parameter, and an operational and coverage state control parameter; and provide, to the Near-RT RIC via an A1 interface, the energy-saving policy.

Description

PROVISIONING OF O-RAN ENERGY-SAVING POLICIES

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/560,975, filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on March 4, 2024, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/563,507, filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on March 11, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates to provisioning of one or more energy-saving policies for an open radio access network (O-RAN).

BACKGROUND

[0003] The information disclosed in this background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the disclosure and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.

[0004] A radio access network (RAN) is an important component in a telecommunications system, as it connects end-user devices (or user equipment) to other parts of the network. The RAN includes a combination of various network elements (NEs) that connect end-users to a core network. Traditionally, hardware and/or software of a particular RAN is vendor specific.

[0005] Open RAN (O-RAN) technology has emerged to enable multiple vendors to provide hardware and/or software to a telecommunications system. Since different vendors are involved, the type of hardware and/or software provided may also be different. That is, different types of NEs may be provided by different vendors, and depending on the specific service, the NE could be virtualized in software form (e.g., virtual machine (VM)-based, etc.), or could be in physical hardware form (e.g., non-VM based, etc.) Accordingly, O-RAN disaggregates the RAN functions into different entities, such as a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), and a radio unit (RU). Since these entities have open protocols and interfaces between them, they can be developed by different vendors.

SUMMARY

[0006] Example embodiments of the present disclosure provide systems, apparatuses, methods, and the like, that facilitate the provisioning of one or more energy-saving policies of an O-RAN.

[0007] According to example embodiments, a system is provided. The system may include a non-real-time (Non-RT) radio access network intelligent controller (RIC) configured to: obtain a policy schema; generate, based on the policy schema, an energy-saving policy for execution by a near-real-time (Near-RT) RIC, wherein the energy-saving policy may include at least one of: an energy-saving control parameter, a restriction control parameter, and an operational and coverage state control parameter; and provide, to the Near-RT RIC via an Al interface, the energy-saving policy.

[0008] According to example embodiments, a method is provided. The method may include: obtaining a policy schema; generating, based on the policy schema, an energy-saving policy for execution by a near-real-time (Near-RT) RIC, wherein the energy-saving policy may include at least one of: an energy-saving control parameter, a restriction control parameter, and an operational and coverage state control parameter; and providing, to the Near-RT RIC via an Al interface, the energy-saving policy.

[0009] According to example embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium is provided. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium may have recorded thereon instructions executable by a system that comprises a non-real-time (Non-RT) radio access network intelligent controller (RIC) to cause the Non-RT RIC to perform a method including: obtaining a policy schema; generating, based on the policy schema, an energy-saving policy for execution by a near-real-time (Near-RT) RIC, wherein the energy-saving policy may include at least one of: an energy-saving control parameter, a restriction control parameter, and an operational and coverage state control parameter; and providing, to the Near-RT RIC via an Al interface, the energy-saving policy.

[0010] Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description that follows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may be realized by practice of the presented embodiments of the disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] Features, aspects, and advantages of embodiments of the disclosure will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals denote like elements, and wherein:

[0012] FIG. 1 illustrates an 0-RAN architecture in which one or more example embodiments may be applied;

[0013] FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an example energy-saving policy, according to one or more example embodiments; [0014] FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of an example policy resource, according to one or more example embodiments;

[0015] FIG. 4 illustrates a flow diagram of an example method for provisioning one or more energy-saving policies, according to one or more example embodiments; and

[0016] FIG. 5 illustrates a diagram of example components of a device for implementing one or more example embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] The following detailed description of example embodiments refers to the accompanying drawings. The foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the implementations to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above disclosure or may be acquired from practice of the implementations. Further, one or more features or components of one embodiment may be incorporated into or combined with another embodiment (or one or more features of another embodiment). Additionally, the flowchart and description of operations provided below relate to at least one of the embodiments in the present disclosure. It should be noted that it is possible to make other embodiments that do not exactly match the flowchart and its description. It is understood that in other embodiments one or more operations may be omitted, one or more operations may be added, one or more operations may be performed simultaneously (at least in part). Further, the order of one or more operations may be switched, as long as these modifications may not affect the resulting scope of the invention.

[0018] It will be apparent that systems and/or methods, described herein, may be implemented in different forms of hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. The actual specialized control hardware or software code used to implement these systems and/or methods is not limiting of the implementations. Thus, the operation and behavior of the systems and/or methods are described herein without reference to specific software code. It is understood that software and hardware may be designed to implement the systems and/or methods based on the description herein.

[0019] Even though particular combinations of features are recited in the claims and/or disclosed in the specification, the particular combinations are not intended to limit the disclosure of implementations. In fact, many of these features may be combined in ways not specifically recited in the claims and/or disclosed in the specification. Even if a dependent claim directly depends on only one claim, the present disclosure may indicate that the dependent claim is dependent on other claims in the claim set.

[0020] No element, act, or instruction used herein should be construed as critical or essential unless explicitly described as such. Also, as used herein, the articles “a” and “an” (in other words, nouns not mentioned in the plural) are intended to include one or more items, and may be used interchangeably with “one or more.” Also, as used herein, the terms “has,” “have,” “having,” “include,” “including,” or the like are intended to be open-ended terms. Further, the phrase “based on” is intended to mean “based, at least in part, on” unless explicitly stated otherwise. Furthermore, expressions such as “at least one of [A] and [B],” “[A] and/or [B],” or “at least one of [A] or [B]” are to be understood as including only A, only B, or both A and B. Further still, where only one item is intended, the term “one” or similar language is used.

[0021] The foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the implementations to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above disclosure or may be acquired from practice of the implementations.

[0022] It shall be noted that, descriptions of example embodiments of the present disclosure may include terms and names defined in one or more standard organizations, such as the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standard organization, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) standard organization, the Open Radio Access Network (0-RAN) Alliance standard organization, and the like. For instance, the terms “Non-RT RIC”, “Near-RT RIC”, “Al interface”, and the like, as well as the associated features and operations, are to be interpreted as consistent with those specified in one or more technical specifications.

[0023] With the evolvement in telecommunication network technologies, the RAN may be disaggregated into multiple nodes or entities. Specifically, in the 0-RAN architecture, the RAN functions may be disaggregated into multiple logical nodes or entities, such as a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), and a radio unit (RU). The CU may be a logical node for hosting Radio Resource Control (RRC), Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), and/or Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) sublayers of the RAN. The DU may be a logical node hosting Radio Link Control (RLC), Media Access Control (MAC), and Physical (PHY) sublayers of the RAN. A single DU may host or serve multiple network cells formed by multiple RUs. The RU may be a physical node that converts radio signals from antennas to digital signals that can be transmitted over the Front Haul to a DU. In this regard, a network cell may correspond to one or more radio units responsible for providing wireless coverage and signal transmission within the network cell. To this end, since the disaggregated entities have open protocols and interfaces between them, they can be developed by different vendors.

[0024] On the other hand, network energy-saving is an important aspect of O-RAN in order to optimize energy efficiency, reduce operating costs, and minimize carbon footprint, while maintaining high network performance and ensuring high quality of service (QoS). In the related art, the concept of policy-based carrier and cell switch off/on for energy-saving has been introduced. Nevertheless, the specific contents of the policies involved, and the specific mechanisms for provisioning such policies, are not specified or defined in the related art. In this regard, since entities from different vendors may be involved in the O-RAN architecture, it is crucial to define and specify the policies for energy-saving in a standardized manner, such that entities from different vendors can understand the policies and operate accordingly for energysaving.

[0025] Accordingly, system, methods, devices, and the like, provided in the example embodiments of the present disclosure facilitate the provisioning of energy policies in a network. [0026] According to example embodiments, a Non-RT RIC may generate an energysaving policy for execution by a near-real-time (Near-RT) RIC based on an obtained policy schema, where the generated energy-saving policy may include a parameter, such as an energy-saving control parameter, a restriction control parameter, and an operational and coverage state control parameter. Once the energy-saving policy is generated, the Non-RT RIC may provide the energysaving policy to the Near-RT RIC, such that the Near-RT RIC may execute the energy-saving policy to perform one or more operations in accordance with the energy-saving control parameter, the restriction control parameter, and the operational and coverage state control parameter. [0027] Ultimately, example embodiments of the present disclosure facilitate the provisioning of energy policies in a network, which provide guidance on achieving energy saving targets, while allowing for flexibility to avoid causing negative effects on the performance of important and critical network nodes/cells.

[0028] In this regard, it is contemplated that the example embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by any suitable modules or entities in the 0-RAN, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. For instance, although it is described herein that the Non-RT RIC may utilize the policy schema to generate and provide one or more energysaving policies to the Near-RT RIC, it can be understood that any other suitable modules or entities in any suitable systems (e g., O-RAN systems, 3GPP systems, 5G systems, 6G systems, etc.) may utilize the policy schema to generate or create the one or more energy-saving policies, said one or more energy-saving policies may be provided or transferred to other suitable modules or entities in any suitable systems for utilization, and the like.

[0029] It is contemplated that features, advantages, and significances of example embodiments described hereinabove are merely a portion of the present disclosure, and are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

[0030] Further descriptions of the features, components, configuration, operations, and implementations of the system of the present disclosure, according to one or more embodiments, are provided in the following.

Example System Architecture

[0031] FIG. 1 illustrates an 0-RAN architecture in which one or more example embodiments may be applied. As shown in FIG. 1, the system architecture may include at least one Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) framework 110 that includes at least one non- real-time RAN Intelligent Controller (Non-RT RIC) 120, at least one near-real-time RIC (Near- RT RIC) 130, at least one O-RAN Central Unit (O-CU) 140, at least open evolved NodeB (O-eNB) 150, at least one O-RAN Distributed Unit (O-DU) 160, a plurality of O-RAN Radio Units (O-RUs) 170, and at least one O-RAN Cloud (O-Cloud) 180. As further described below, the components may be communicatively coupled to another component(s) via a respective interface(s).

[0032] It is contemplated that the system architecture may include more/fewer components than illustrated, and/or may be configured in a different manner, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. For instance, in some implementations, the system architecture may include a plurality of O-DUs 160 each of which is communicatively coupled to the O-CU 140, and the like.

[0033] Generally, the RIC may be a software-defined component that implements modular applications to facilitate multivendor operability, as well as to automate and optimize RAN operations. As shown in FIG. 1, the RIC may be divided into two types, i.e., the Non-RT RIC 120 and the Near-RT RIC 130. In the following, descriptions of the Non-RT RIC 120 are provided, followed by the descriptions of the Near-RT RIC 130.

[0034] The Non-RT RIC 120 may refer to a logical function within the SMO framework 110 that drives the content carried across the Al interface to enable non-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources. The Al interface may refer to a logical interface between the Non-RT RIC 120 and the Near-RT RIC 130, which enables the Non-RT RIC 120 to provide policy-based guidance to the Near-RT RIC 130 and enables the Near-RT RIC 130 to provide one or more feedback to the Non-RT RIC 120 thereby enabling the Non-RT RIC 120 to monitor the status or implementation of one or more policies.

[0035] In some example implementations, the Non-RT RIC 120 may be the control point of a non-real-time control loop and may operate on a timescale greater than 1 second within the SMO framework 110. Generally, the functionalities of the Non-RT RIC 120 may include, for example, providing policy-based guidance and enrichment across the Al interface, performing data analytics, Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) models training and inference for RAN optimization, and/or recommending configuration management actions. In addition, as further described below, the Non-RT RIC 120 may also be configured to generate and provide one or more energy saving policies to the Near-RT RIC 130. As further described below, the Non-RT RIC 120 may access or communicate with other SMO framework functionalities or components via the Al interface, 01 interface, 02 interface, and one or more interfaces associated with one or more open fronthaul planes.

[0036] According to example embodiments, the functionalities of the Non-RT RIC 120 may be implemented through at least one modular, Non-RT RIC application, such as the rApp 121. The rApp 121 may leverage the functionalities available in the SMO framework 110 and/or the Non-RT RIC 120 to provide value-added services related to RAN operation and optimization, such as policy management, radio resource management, data analytics, and providing enrichment information. In some example implementations, the Non-RT RIC 120 may implement a plurality of rApps 121.

[0037] According to example embodiments, the Non-RT RIC 120 (or the rApp 121 associated therewith) may be configured to generate and provide one or more policies to the Near RT RIC 130 via the Al interface, and may be configured to manage one or more policies that are provided to the Near-RT RIC 130 over the Al interface. Said policies may be referred to as “Al policies” herein, and are declarative policies that contain information applicable to one or more network nodes (e.g., one or more UEs, one or more network cells, etc.) As further described below, the one or more Al policies may consist of a scope identifier and one or more policy statements. The scope identifier may represent what the policy statements are to be applied on (e.g., cells, UEs, DUs, etc.) The policy statements may define the goals or objectives of the policy and may include information associated with one or more policy objectives and one or more policy resources. According to example embodiments, at least a portion of the Al policies are associated with energy-saving operations (may be referred to as “energy-saving policy” herein). The Non-RT RIC 120 (or the rApp 121 associated therewith) may provide the one or more Al policies to the Near- RT RIC 130, thereby providing guidance to the Near-RT RIC 130 towards one or more objectives or goals defined in the RAN intent. The RAN intent may refer to the high-level operational or business goal(s) to be achieved by the RAN, which may be defined by one or more desired service level agreements (SLAs) that the RAN is to fulfill for all users or for a subset of users in a given area over at least a predefined period of time.

[0038] According to example embodiments, the Non-RT RIC 120 (or the rApp 121 associated therewith) may be configured to perform one or more policy management operations to provide and manage one or more Al policies (e.g., energy-saving policy(s), etc.) Specifically, the Non-RT RIC 120 (or the rApp 121 associated therewith) may be configured to create, update, and delete one or more Al policies. According to example embodiments, the Non-RT RIC 120 (or the rApp 121 associated therewith) may manage the one or more Al policies to include information associated with energy-saving (examples of the information are further described below), and then provide the one or more Al policies to the Near-RT RIC 130 via the Al interface.

[0039] According to example embodiments, the Non-RT RIC 120 (or the rApp 121 associated therewith) may be configured to receive, from the Near-RT RIC 130 via the Al interface, one or more feedback associated with one or more Al policies (“Al policy feedback” herein). Similarly, the Non-RT RIC 120 (or the rApp 121 associated therewith) may be configured to receive one or more observables (e.g., events, counters, etc.) provided by the O-CU 140, the O- DU 160, and/or one or more of the O-RUs 170 over the 01 interface. Accordingly, the Non-RT RIC 120 (or the rApp 121 associated therewith) may be configured to continuously (or periodically) manage the one or more Al policies based on the Al policy feedback(s) and/or the observables provided over the 01 interface. For instance, the Non-RT RIC 120 (or the rApp 121 associated therewith) may continuously (or periodically) evaluate the impact or effectiveness of the one or more Al policies towards the fulfillment of the RAN intent and then configure or update the one or more Al policies accordingly.

[0040] In addition to the communication with the Near-RT -RIC 130 via the Al interface, the SMO framework 110 (as well as the Non-RT RIC 120 and/or the rApp 121 implemented therein) may communicate with the Near-RT RIC 130, the O-CU 140, the O-eNB 150, the O-DU 160, and the O-RU(s) 170 via the 01 interface. In this regard, the 01 interface may refer to a logical interface between the SMO framework 110, the Near-RT RIC 130, the O-CU 140, the O- eNB 150, the O-DU 160, and the O-RU(s) 170, which enables the SMO framework 110 (as well as the Non-RT RIC 120 and the rApp 121 implemented therein) to provide Fault, Configuration, Accounting, Performance, and Security (FCAPS) and other management operations, such as network monitoring, network discovery, and the like, to the Near-RT RIC 130, the O-CU 140, the O-eNB 150, the O-DU 160, and the O-RU(s) 170. Additionally, the 01 interface enables the Near- RT RIC 130, the O-CU 140, the O-eNB 150, the O-DU 160, and the O-RU(s) 170 to provide information or observable(s) that may be utilized by the Non-RT RIC 120 (or the rApp 121 associated therewith) to manage one or more Al policies, to train one or more AI/ML models, and the like.

[0041] Further, the SMO framework 110 (as well as the Non-RT RIC 120 and/or the rApp 121 implemented therein) may communicate with the O-Cloud 180 via the 02 interface. In this regard, the 02 interface may refer to a logical interface between the SMO framework 110 and the O-Cloud 180, which may be a collection of physical RAN nodes that host the Non-RT RIC 120, the Near-RT RIC 130, the O-CU 140, and the O-DU 160, the supporting software components (e.g., the operating systems and runtime environments), and the SMO framework 110 itself. In other words, the SMO framework 110 may manage the O-Cloud 180 from within, and the 02 interface may be the interface between the SMO framework 110 and the O-Cloud 180 it resides in. Through the 02 interface, the SMO framework 110 (as well as the Non-RT RIC 120 and/or the rApp 121 implemented therein) may provide infrastructure management services (IMS) and deployment management services (DMS) for the O-Cloud 180.

[0042] Furthermore, the SMO framework 110 (as well as the Non-RT RIC 120 and/or the rApp 121 implemented therein) may also communicate with the O-RU(s) 170 via an open fronthaul (O-FH) management plane (M-Plane) interface. In this regard, the O-FH M-Plane may enable the SMO framework 110 (as well as the Non-RT RIC 120 and/or the rApp 121 implemented therein) to perform one or more FCAPS operations on the O-RU(s) 170. [0043] Next, the descriptions of the Near-RT RIC 130 are provided. The Near-RT RIC 130 may refer to a logical function that enables near-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources. For instance, the Near-RT RIC 130 may provide near-real-time control and optimization via fine-grained (e.g., UE basis, Cell basis, etc.) data collection and actions over the E2 interface. In some example implementations, the Near-RT RIC 130 may operate on a timescale between 10 milliseconds and 1 second and may be coupled with the O-CU 140 and the O-DU 160 via the E2 interface. The Near-RT RIC 130 may use the E2 interface to control the underlying RAN elements (E2 nodes/network functions (NFs)) over a near-real-time control loop. [0044] According to example embodiments, the Near-RT RIC 130 may be configured to perform (based on one or more Al policies provided by the Non-RT RIC 120) one or more energysaving operations, such as cell/carrier shutdown, radio frequency (RE) channel reconfiguration, advanced sleep mode (ASM), and the like. Further, the Near-RT RIC 130 may monitor, suspend/stop, override, and control the E2 nodes (e.g., O-CU 140, O-DU 160, etc.) via utilizing one or more Al policies.

[0045] According to example embodiments, the Near-RT RIC 130 may host one or more applications, such as the xApp 131, to implement the associated functions or operations described herein. In this regard, the xApp 131 may consist of one or more microservices, which may be independent of the Near-RT RIC 130 and may be provided by any third party. The E2 interface may enable a direct association between the xApp 131 and other RAN functionalities (e g., O-CU 140, O-eNB 150, O-DU 160, etc.), thereby enabling the xApp 131 to provide information or data to the RAN functionalities for further utilization. According to example embodiments, the Near- RT RIC 130 may consist of multiple xApps 131 and a set of platform functions that are commonly used to support the specific functions hosted by the multiple xApps 131. In this regard, the Near-

RT RIC platform may communicate with the xApp(s) 131 via one or more application programming interfaces (APIs). Further, the Near-RT RIC platform may be configured to route Al policy management messages to the registered xApps based on Al policy type and operator policies.

[0046] Next, the descriptions of the O-CU 140, the O-eNB 150, the 0-DU 160, and the O- RU 170 are provided. Generally, the O-CU 140, the 0-DU 160, and the 0-RU 170 may constitute a base station, such as a gNodeB (gNB) of 5G NR or a node in Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN), a base station of a 6G network, and the like. On the other hand, the O-eNB 150 may refer to a 4G LTE version of the O-RAN-compliant node (e g., an eNB that adheres to the 0-RAN architecture).

[0047] The communication between the O-CU 140 and the 0-DU 160 may be performed via an Fl interface, while the communication between the 0-DU 160 and the O-RU 170 may be performed via one or more O-FH Control (C), User (U), Synchronization (S), and Management (M) plane interfaces. In some example implementations, the C, U, and S planes may be consolidated and referred to as the “CUS-plane”. According to example embodiments, the system may include a plurality of O-DUs 160, and the O-CU 140 may be communicatively coupled to the plurality of O-DUs via the Fl interface. Similarly, the system may include a plurality of O-RUs 170, and the O-DU(s) 160 may be communicatively coupled to the plurality of O-RUs via one or more of the O-FH C/U/S/M plane interfaces.

[0048] According to example embodiments, the O-CU 140 and the O-DU 160 may be defined in software form and may be deployed in one or more network nodes. For instance, the O- CU 140 and the O-DU 160 may be deployed in one or more servers in the form of virtualized network function (VNF), containerized and/or cloud-native function (CNF), and the like. According to example embodiments, the O-CU 140 and the O-DU 160 may be deployed in the same network node (e.g., same server) and/or may be located at a similar geographical location (e.g., be deployed in different servers in the same data center). According to example embodiments, the O-CU 140 and the O-DU 160 may be deployed in different network nodes and/or may be located at different geographical locations. For instance, the O-CU 140 may be deployed in one or more central servers (i.e., servers in one or more central data centers), and the O-DU 160 may be deployed in one or more edge servers (i.e., servers in one or more edge data centers).

[0049] The O-DU 160 may receive radio signals from an end user (via one or more UEs and one or more cells) and may provide operation or support for lower layers of protocol stacks (e.g., RUC layer, MAC layer, Physical Layer, etc.) accordingly. As an example, the O-DU 160 may perform one or more scheduling operations. The O-CU 140 may communicatively couple the O-DU 160 to a core network (e.g., 4G Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network, 5G Core network, etc.) and may receive the radio signals from the O-DU 160, thereby providing operation or support for higher layers of protocol stacks (e.g., PDCP layer, RRC layer, etc.) accordingly.

[0050] According to example embodiments, the O-CU 140 may include an O-CU control plane (O-CU-CP) 141 and an O-CU user plane (O-CU-UP) 142. The O-CU-CP 141 may refer to the logical node that hosts or implements the RRC and the control plane part of the PDCP protocol, and may be responsible for managing the signaling between the core network and the radio network, handling tasks such as session management, radio bearer control, and mobility management. On the other hand, the O-CU-UP 142 may refer to the logical node that hosts or implements the user plane part of the PDCP protocol and the SDAP protocol, and may be responsible for managing the data traffic and the transmission of user data packets. The O-CU-CP 141 and the O-CU-UP 142 may be coupled to each other via the El interface.

[0051] Further, a single 0-DU 160 may host or serve multiple network cells formed by multiple O-RUs 170. According to example embodiments, the 0-DU 160 may implement various radio technologies, such as massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), beamforming, and the like, to optimize radio communication among the multiple cells and the O-CU 140. In some example implementations, the 0-DU 160 may concurrently host or serve hundreds (e.g., 512, etc.) of cells at a time.

[0052] The O-RU(s) 170 may be a physical node that converts radio signals from antennas to digital signals that can be transmitted over the Front Haul to the O-DU 160. In this regard, a network cell described herein may correspond to one or more radio units responsible for providing wireless coverage and signal transmission within the network cell. The network cell may include a macro cell, a micro cell, a pico cell, a femto cell, and/or any other suitable type of network cell. Each of the cells may have an associated coverage area, in which at least one O-RU 170, at least one antenna system, and any other suitable type of transport network element (TNE), may be deployed therein.

[0053] According to example embodiments, the 0-DU 160 may be configured to control or instruct the associated O-RU(s) via one or more of the O-FH C/U/S/M plane interfaces. For instance, the O-DU 160 may instruct the O-RU(s) 170 to shut down or enter sleep mode via the O-FH C/U/S plane interfaces. On the other hand, the capability exchange between the O-DU 160 and the O-RU(s) 170 may be performed via the O-FH M-plane interface. As an example, the O- RU(s) 170 may inform the O-DU 160 of the amount of time it requires to maintain in sleep mode (or off mode) in order to save an amount of energy, and the like.

[0054] In view of the above, example embodiments of the present disclosure introduce a mechanism for provisioning one or more energy-saving policies in the O-RAN architecture. Specifically, the Non-RT RIC 120 may be utilized to generate and provide an energy-saving policy that includes various types of parameters to the Near-RT RIC 130, and the Near-RT RIC 130 may utilize the energy-saving policy provided by the Non-RT RIC 120 to perform appropriate energysaving operation(s). Further details of the energy-saving policies are provided in the following.

Energy-saving Policies

[0055] As described above, example embodiments of the present disclosure facilitate the provisioning of one or more energy-saving policies. Specifically, example embodiments introduce new attributes and parameters for defining and specifying various types of energy-saving policies. These new attributes and parameters supplement those specified for the Al policies in the current version of technical specifications provided by the standard organizations like the O-RAN Alliance (e.g., 0-RAN.WG2.A1TD). In the following, descriptions of the energy-saving policies, according to one or more example embodiments, are provided.

[0056] FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an example energy-saving policy, according to one or more example embodiments. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the energy-saving policy includes information associated with at least one policy scope identifier, at least one policy objective, and at least one policy resource. In some example implementations, the policy objective and the policy resource may form a policy statement. In particular, the energy-saving policy may include the policy scope identifier and one or more policy statements. The at least one policy statement may define the goals or objectives of the energy-saving policy, and may include the policy objective and/or the policy resource.

[0057] The information of the energy-saving policy may be represented in enumerations and structured data types.

[0058] The information represented in enumerations in the energy-saving policy may include one or more of RfChannelReconfigType, ASMType, CellCarrierShutdownType, EsPreferenceType, and AvoidanceType.

[0059] The enumerations RfChannelReconfigType associated with the energy-saving policy may represent types of Radio Frequency (RF) Channel Reconfiguration energy-saving methods that the Near-RT RIC can choose from, and may be defined in the following Table 1.

Table 1: Definition of RfChannelReconfigType

[0060] The enumerations ASMType associated with the energy-saving policy may represent types of Sleep Modes for Advanced Sleep Mode (ASM) energy-saving methods that the Near-RT RIC can choose from, and may be defined in the following Table 2.

Table 2: Definition of ASMType

[0061] The enumerations CellCarrierShutdownType associated with the energy-saving policy may represent types of Cell and Carrier Shutdown energy-saving methods that the Near-RT RIC can choose from, and may be defined in the following Table 3.

Table 3: Definition of CellCarrierShutdownType

[0062] The enumerations EsPreferenceType associated with the energy-saving policy may represent the preference of a specific energy-saving method, and may be defined in the following Table 4.

Table 4: Definition of EsPreferenceType [0063] The enumerations AvoidanceType associated with the energy-saving policy may represent the avoidance of a specific network resource (e.g. cell usage), and may be defined in the following Table 5.

Table 5: Definition of AvoidanceType

[0064] The structured data types may refer to a collection of data items that is organized in a structured manner.

[0065] According to example embodiments, the policy scope identifier may be defined in the form of structured data type. According to example embodiments, the policy scope identifier of the energy-saving policy may include information defining the target or node on which the energy-saving policy should be applied. The information associated with the policy scope identifier may include one or more of: a user equipment (UE) identifier (ID), a group ID associated with multiple UEs, a cell ID, a slice ID associated with a network slice, a cell ID list comprising a plurality of cell IDs, a Quality of Service (QoS) ID, and a Tracking Area Identity (TAI) list. As further described below, by specifying the policy scope identifier based on the network levels or layers (e.g., network level, slice level, node level, etc.), the energy-saving policy may be specified and defined for optimizing energy efficiency in various network levels or layers (e.g., cell level, slice level, node level, network level, etc.) [0066] According to example embodiments, the policy scope identifier may be referred to as “Scopeidentifier”. It is contemplated that the policy scope identifier described herein may also be referred to or be defined in any other suitable terms, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In this regard, the policy scope identifier may contain one or more information or attributes as defined in the following Table 6.

Table 6: Definition of data type Scopeidentifier

[0067] The presence of condition “C” in Table 6 means that at least one attribute shall be included when the scope of the policy is defined. The allowable combinations of attributes may depend on the policy statement (i.e., the policy objective and policy resource, etc.) that is combined with the scope identifier and may be policy type specific. [0068] Further, cellld and cellldList may not be present at the same time in the Scopeidentifier when defining the policy.

[0069] According to example embodiments, cellldList may include only those cells that are associated with a unique Near-RT RIC. According to example embodiments, talList may include only those tracking area codes that are associated with a unique Near-RT RIC. According to example embodiments, cell IDs/cells within the cellldList may be associated with tracking area codes within the talList if provided as the Scopeidentifier.

[0070] Here, as described above, the policy objective and policy resource may form one or more policy statements that define the goals or objectives of the energy-saving policy. The information represented in structured data types in the energy-saving policy, which can be used in statements for the policy objective and/or the policy resource may include at least an EsType. The structured data types EsType associated with the energy-saving policy may represent types of energy-saving methods that the Near-RT RIC can choose from, and may be defined in the following Table 7.

Table 7: Definition of type EsType

[0071] The presence of condition “C” in Table 7 means that at least one attribute shall be included when this data type is used. [0072] According to example embodiments, the information associated with the policy objective may include an energy-saving objective (may be referred to as “ES” or “EsObjectives” herein). According to example embodiments, the structured data types and attributes that may be used for defining the policy objectives may be defined in the following Table 8.

Table 8: Statements for policy objectives

[0073] The types, contents or attributes of the EsObjectives may be defined in the following Table 9.

Table 9: Definition of statement type EsObjectives

[0074] The presence of condition “C” in Table 9 means that one and only attribute shall be included when this data type is used. [0075] According to example embodiments, the information associated with the policy resource may include an energy-saving resource (may be referred to as “EsResources” herein). According to example embodiments, the structured data types and attributes that may be used for defining the policy resources may be defined in the following Table 10.

Table 10: Statements for policy resources

[0076] The types, contents or attributes of the EsResources may be defined in the following

Table 11.

Table 11: Definition of type EsResource

[0077] The presence of condition “C” in Table 11 means that if cellldList is used then cell preference shall be included, and if EsType contains a single energy-saving method then EsPreference shall not be included. Further, the presence of condition “C” in Table 11 means that at least operationalCells or coverageCells shall be included when this statement is used. Furthermore, the presence of condition “C” in Table 11 means that the operationalPreference shall only be included in case operationalCells is included. Similarly, the presence of condition “C” in Table 11 means that the coveragePreference shall only be included in case coverageCells is included.

[0078] According to example embodiments, when the value of the preference attribute is set to “PREFER” or “AVOID”, the cellldList contains cells in descending order of importance for how they should be preferred or avoided, e.g., the first entry is the most preferred or most avoided. When the preference value is set to “SHALL” or “FORBID”, the cellldList contains cells that are of equal importance. Similarly, according to example embodiments, when the value of the esPreference attribute is set to “PREFER” or “AVOID”, the esType contains ES types in descending order of importance for how ES method should be preferred or avoided, e.g. the first

Es Type entry is most preferred or most avoided. When the preference value is set to “SHALL” or “FORBID”, the esType contains ES types that are of equal importance.

[0079] According to example embodiments, when attribute shutdownExclCellldList in the EsReource contains a list of cells, then cell/carrier shutdown-based energy saving to be excluded for that list of cells and other energy saving methods, such as ASM, RF Channel reconfiguration, and the like, can be applied. Similarly, according to example embodiments, when attribute rfChannelExclCellldList in the EsReource contains a list of cells, RF Channel reconfigurations- based energy saving to be excluded for that list of cells and other energy saving methods, such as Cell/Carrier Shutdown, ASM, and the like, can be applied. According to example embodiments, when both attribute shutdownExclCellldList and rfChannelExclCellldList in the EsReource contains a list of cells, Cell/Carrier Shutdown and RF Channel reconfigurations-based energy saving to be excluded for that list of cells and other energy saving methods, such as ASM and the like, can be applied.

[0080] According to example embodiments, when the value of the operationalPreference attribute is set to FORBID, the operationalCells contains cells that are forbidden from being non- operational while performing the network energy savings; where the operationalCells contains cells that are of equal importance. According to example embodiments, when the value of the operationalPreference attribute is set to AVOID, the operationalCells contains cells that should be avoided from being non-operational while performing the network energy savings; where the operationalCells contains cells in descending order of importance for how they should be avoided (e g. the first entry is most avoided from being non-operational while performing the network energy savings).

[0081] According to example embodiments, when the value of the coveragePreference attribute is set to FORBID, the coverageCells contains cells that are forbidden from having any coverage impact while performing the network energy savings; where the coverageCells contains cells that are of equal importance. According to example embodiments, when the value of the coveragePreference attribute is set to AVOID, the coverageCells contains cells that should be avoided from having any coverage impact while performing the network energy savings; where the coverageCells contains cells in descending order of importance for how they should be avoided (e g. the first entry is most avoided from having any coverage impact while performing the network energy savings).

[0082] An esResources statement may be defined in the following Table 12 as an array of the type EsResource defined in the above Table 11.

Table 12: Definition of statement type EsResources

[0083] As described above, the energy-saving policy may include the policy scope identifier and the one or more policy statements. According to example embodiments, the policy object may be referred to as “PolicyObject”, and may include one policy scope identifier and one or more policy statements (which can include the policy objective statement and/or the policy resource statement). According to example embodiments, the structured data types and attributes that may be used for defining the policy object may be defined in the following Table 13.

Table 13: General definition of Policy Object

[0084] The presence of condition “M” in Table 13 means that the data type shall be included in a PolicyObject. Further, the presence of condition “C” in Table 13 means that at least one Statement (for policy objectives and/or policy resources) shall be included. Furthermore, the presence of condition “O” in Table 13 means that the data type can be optionally included in a PolicyObject.

[0085] According to example embodiments, the energy-saving policy may have a dedicated identifier. For example, the identifier may be referred to as “ORAN_EnergySavings_l .0.0”.

[0086] According to a non-limiting use case, an energy saving statement (i.e., esObjectives statement and/or esResources statement) may be combined with one or more information or contents of the energy-saving policy. For example, the energy-saving statement may be applied together with Scopeidentifier containing different combinations of identifiers. Example of combinations of the energy saving statement with Scopeidentifier are presented in the following Table 14.

Table 14: Example combinations of esObjectives / esResources statement with Scopeidentifier

[0087] In the above Table 14, each row is listed with a combination of identifiers that is allowed for the indicated statement. In this regard, the notation is the same as for cardinality: "0" means the identifier shall not occur, "0..1" means the identifier may occur, and "1" means the identifier shall occur. Further, when the Scopeidentifier contains taiList or cellldList, and esResources is present, the cells indicated in esResources should be a subset of the cells implied by the Scopeidentifier.

[0088] It is contemplated that the above described tables may include more/fewer elements than illustrated, and/or may be configured in a different manner, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, contents of the EsResources in Table 10 may include only cellldList, preference, esType, and esPreference.

[0089] According to example embodiments, the energy-saving policy may be defined in the format of JavaScript Object Notation (JSON). In that case, the energy-saving policy may be generated or defined based on an associated JSON-based policy schema. Specifically, the JSON policy schema outlines the attributes or fields, the associated data types, and any other policy requirements that are required for defining an energy-saving policy, and may be utilized by the Non-RT RIC to define, generate, and configure the energy-saving policy.

[0090] An example of the JSON schema associated with the energy-saving policy, according to one or more example embodiments, is presented in the following Table 15.

Table 15: Example JSON based policy schema

[0091] According to example embodiments, the Non-RT RIC may generate, based on the policy schema, an energy-saving policy. The generated energy-saving policy may be for execution by a near-real-time (Near-RT) RIC, and may include a plurality of parameters that specify how cells within the network should operate under the energy-saving policy. According to example embodiments, the Non-RT RIC may generate, based on the policy schema, a plurality of energysaving policies.

[0092] Returning to FIG. 2, as described above, the energy-saving policy may include at least one policy scope identifier. According to example embodiments, the at least one policy scope identifier may specify one or more first cells in a network. According to example embodiments, the one or more first cells may include a list of cells and/or a list of TALs. For example, the at least one policy scope identifier may include the cellldList and/or the talList described above in relation to Table 6.

[0093] Further, the energy-saving policy may include at least one policy objective. According to example embodiments, the at least one policy objective may specify an energysaving target that the one or more first cells should achieve. According to example embodiments, the energy-saving target may include an average value of energy consumption of a physical network function or an energy consumption reduction of a physical network function in percentage. For example, the energy-saving target may include the targetPee. Energy or the esPercentage described above in relation to Table 9.

[0094] A first example of an energy-saving policy including the at least one policy scope identifier and the at least one policy objective is defined in the following Table 16.

Table 16: Example energy saving over tracking area

[0095] In the example of Table 16, the scope identifier of the energy-saving policy includes a TAI list that identifies the list of target area to which the energy-saving policy is applicable and a Public LAN Mobile Network (PLMN) ID that defines the PLMN associated with the target TAI list. Further, the policy objective of the energy-saving policy includes an average value of energy consumption which the physical network function under the identified TAI list should achieve.

[0096] A second example of an energy-saving policy including the at least one policy scope identifier and the at least one policy objective is defined in the following Table 17.

Table 17: Example energy saving over cell list [0097] In the example of Table 17, the scope identifier of the energy-saving policy includes a cell ID list that identifies the list of cell IDs to which the energy-saving policy is applicable and a PLMN ID that defines the PLMN associated with the identified cell ID list. Further, the policy objective of the energy-saving policy includes an energy consumption reduction in percentage which the physical network function under the identified cell ID list should achieve.

[0098] Furthermore, the energy-saving policy may include at least one policy resource. According to example embodiments, at least one policy resource may specify at least one of: an energy-saving control parameter, a restriction control parameter, and an operational and coverage state control parameter.

[0099] FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of an example policy resource, according to one or more example embodiments. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the policy resource may include an energysaving control parameter, a restriction control parameter, and an operational and coverage state control parameter. It is contemplated that the policy resource may include more/fewer components than illustrated, and/or may be configured in a different manner, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. For instance, in some implementations, the policy resource may include the operational and coverage state control parameter without the energy-saving control parameter or restriction control parameter.

[0100] In the following, examples of each of the aforesaid parameters are described. Energy-Saving Control Parameter

[0101] The energy-saving control parameter may specify parameters controlling energysaving operations performed by one or more cells in a network. [0102] According to example embodiments, the energy-saving control parameter may include one or more of: an energy-saving type specifying one or more energy-saving methods; an energy-saving type preference comprising a preference of usage of the one or more energy-saving methods; a cell identifier (ID) list comprising one or more second cells; and a cell preference comprising a preference of usage of the one or more second cells.

[0103] The preference of usage of the energy-saving type may specify how the one or more energy-saving methods specified in the energy-saving type should be performed by the one or more first cell. According to example embodiments, the one or more energy-saving methods may include one or more of: a cell carrier shutdown, a radio frequency (RF) channel reconfiguration, and an advanced sleep mode (ASM). The above methods may have varying levels of service impact when being performed. For example, the cell carrier shutdown method may have a significant level of service impact, the RF channel reconfiguration method may have a moderate level of service impact, and the ASM method may have a minimal level of service impact.

[0104] According to example embodiments, the preference of usage of the energy-saving type may include one or more of: a preference to forbid the one or more energy-saving methods from being performed by the one or more first cells, a preference to allow the one or more energysaving methods to be performed by the one or more first cells, a preference to avoid the one or more energy-saving methods from being performed by the one or more first cells relative to each other, and a preference to prefer the one or more energy-saving methods to be performed by the one or more first cells relative to each other.

[0105] Here, it may be understood that the preference to avoid the one or more energysaving methods from being performed by the one or more first cells relative to each other may specify a priority order; where a first method of the one or more energy-saving methods (e.g., a method at the top of the list from among the one or more energy-saving methods) may have a highest priority to avoid being performed by the one or more first cells, while a last method of the one or more energy-saving methods (e.g., a method at the bottom of the list from among the one or more energy-saving methods) may have a lowest priority to avoid being performed by the one or more first cells (i.e., the last method may be selected to be performed by the one or more first cells before the first method). Similar explanation applies to the preference to prefer the one or more energy-saving methods to be performed by the one or more first cells relative to each other. [0106] A first example of an energy-saving policy including the energy-saving control parameter is defined in the following Table 18.

Table 18: Example ASM based energy-saving over cell list [0107] In the example of Table 18, the scope identifier of the energy-saving policy includes a cell ID list that identifies the list of cell IDs to which the energy-saving policy is applicable and a PLMN ID that defines the PLMN associated with the identified cell ID list (i.e., the one or more first cells; cells with ID (ncl: 71), (ncl: 72), and (ncl: 73) under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35)). Further, the policy objective of the energy-saving policy includes an average value of energy consumption which the physical network function under the identified cell ID list should achieve. Furthermore, the policy resource of the energy-saving policy includes an advanced sleep mode (ASM) energy-saving type, which specify ASM type SMO method and ASM type SM3 method to be performed by the one or more first cells (i.e., cells with ID (nd: 71), (nd: 72), and (nd: 73)).

[0108] A second example of an energy-saving policy including the energy-saving control parameter is defined in the following Table 19.

Table 19: Example cell/carrier shutdown based energy-saving over cell list

[0109] In the example of Table 19, the scope identifier of the energy-saving policy includes a cell ID list that identifies the list of cell IDs to which the energy-saving policy is applicable and a PLMN ID that defines the PLMN associated with the identified cell ID list (i.e., the one or more first cells; cells with ID (ncl: 71), (ncl: 72), and (ncl: 73) under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35)). Further, the policy objective of the energy-saving policy includes an average value of energy consumption which the physical network function under the identified cell ID list should achieve. Furthermore, the policy resource of the energy-saving policy includes a cell carrier shutdown energy-saving type, which specify cell shutdown method and carrier shutdown method. Further still, the policy resource of the energy-saving policy includes a preference to prefer the cell shutdown method and carrier shutdown method to be performed by the one or more first cells (i.e., cells with ID (ncl: 71), (nd: 72), and (nd: 73)) relative to each other (i.e., cell shutdown method has higher priority than carrier shutdown method).

[0110] The one or more second cells may be part of the one or more first cells, where the cell preference may specifically specify the usage of the one or more second cells from among the one or more first cells. According to example embodiments, the preference of usage of the one or more second cells may specify how the one or more second cells should perform the one or more energy-saving methods specified in the energy-saving type. According to example embodiments, the preference of usage of the one or more second cells may include one or more of: a preference to forbid the one or more second cells from performing the energy saving type, a preference to allow the one or more second cells to perform the energy saving type, a preference to avoid the one or more second cells from performing the energy saving type relative to each other, and a preference to prefer the one or more second cells to perform the energy saving type relative to each other.

[0111] Here, it may be understood that the preference to avoid the one or more second cells from performing the energy saving type relative to each other may specify a priority order; where a first cell of the one or more second cell (e.g., a cell at the top of the list from among the one or more second cell) may have a highest priority to avoid performing the energy saving type, while a last cell of the one or more second cell (e g., a cell at the bottom of the list from among the one or more second cell) may have a lowest priority to avoid performing the energy saving type (i.e., the last cell may be selected to perform the energy saving type before the first cell). Similar explanation applies to the preference to prefer the one or more second cells to perform the energy saving type relative to each other.

[0112] A third example of an energy-saving policy including the energy-saving control parameter is defined in the following Table 20.

Table 20: Example ASM based energy-saving over PLMN with forbidden cell list

[0113] In the example of Table 20, the scope identifier of the energy-saving policy includes a TAI list that identifies the list of target area to which the energy-saving policy is applicable and a PLMN ID that defines the PLMN associated with the target TAI list (i.e., the one or more first cells; cells under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35)). Further, the policy objective of the energysaving policy includes an average value of energy consumption which the physical network function under the identified cell ID list should achieve. Furthermore, the policy resource of the energy-saving policy includes an advanced sleep mode (ASM) energy-saving type, which specify ASM type SMO method, ASM type SMI method, ASM type SM2 method, and ASM type SM3 method to be performed by the one or more first cells (i.e., cells under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35)). Further still, the policy resource of the energy-saving policy includes a cell ID list that identifies a list of cell IDs (i.e., one or more second cells; cells with ID (ncl: 91), (ncl: 92), and (nd: 93) under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35)), and a preference to forbid such cells from performing the ASM energy-saving type. In other words, cells with ID (nd: 91), (nd: 92), and (nd: 93) (i.e., one or more second cells) under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35) (i.e., one or more first cells) are forbidden from performing the ASM energy-saving type, while other cells under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35) are allowed to perform the ASM energy-saving type.

[0114] The above configuration may be useful to prevent certain important and critical nodes/cells from having their performance affected by performing the energy-saving methods. In particular, as described above, the energy-saving methods may have different level of service impact. In this regard, it may be acceptable for certain cells to perform methods that have minimal level of service impact, but not acceptable for such cells to perform methods that have moderate or significant level of service impact. Accordingly the preference for such cells may be specified as appropriate via the energy-saving control parameter.

[0115] A fourth example of an energy-saving policy including the energy-saving control parameter is defined in the following Table 21.

Table 21: Example RF channel reconfiguration based energy saving per cell list over PLMN with forbidden cell list

[0116] In the example of Table 21, the scope identifier of the energy-saving policy includes a TAI list that identifies the list of target area to which the energy-saving policy is applicable and a PLMN ID that defines the PLMN associated with the target TAI list (i.e., the one or more first cells; cells under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35)). Further, the policy objective of the energysaving policy includes an average value of energy consumption which the physical network function under the identified cell ID list should achieve. Furthermore, the policy resource of the energy-saving policy includes a radio frequency (RF) channel reconfiguration energy-saving type, which specify TRX control method to be performed by the one or more first cells (i.e., cells under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35)). Further still, the policy resource of the energy-saving policy includes a cell ID list that identifies a list of cell IDs (i.e., one or more second cells; cells with ID (ncl: 91), (ncl: 92), and (ncl: 93) under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35)), and a preference to forbid such cells from performing the RF channel reconfiguration energy-saving type. In other words, cells with ID (nd: 91), (ncl: 92), and (nd: 93) (i.e., one or more second cells) under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35) (i.e., one or more first cells) are forbidden from performing the RF channel reconfiguration energy-saving type, while other cells under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35) are allowed to perform the RF channel reconfiguration energy-saving type.

[0117] A fifth example of an energy-saving policy including the energy-saving control parameter is defined in the following Table 22.

Table 22: Example cell/carrier shutdown based energy saving over PLMN with forbidden cell list

[0118] In the example of Table 22, the scope identifier of the energy-saving policy includes a TAI list that identifies the list of target area to which the energy-saving policy is applicable and a PLMN ID that defines the PLMN associated with the target TAI list (i.e., the one or more first cells; cells under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35)). Further, the policy objective of the energysaving policy includes an average value of energy consumption which the physical network function under the identified cell ID list should achieve. Furthermore, the policy resource of the energy-saving policy includes a cell carrier shutdown energy-saving type, which specify cell shutdown method and carrier shutdown method to be performed by the one or more first cells (i.e., cells under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35)). Further still, the policy resource of the energysaving policy includes a preference to prefer the cell shutdown method and carrier shutdown method to be performed by the one or more first cells relative to each other (i.e., cell shutdown method has higher priority than carrier shutdown method). Further still, the policy resource of the energy-saving policy includes a cell ID list that identifies a list of cell IDs (i.e., one or more second cells; cells with ID (ncl: 91), (ncl: 92), and (ncl: 93) under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35)), and a preference to forbid such cells from performing the cell carrier shutdown energy-saving type. In other words, cells with ID (nd: 91), (ncl: 92), and (ncl: 93) (i.e., one or more second cells) under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35) (i.e., one or more first cells) are forbidden from performing the cell carrier shutdown energy-saving type, while other cells under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35) are allowed to perform the cell carrier shutdown energy-saving type. [0119] A sixth example of an energy-saving policy including the energy-saving control parameter is defined in the following Table 23.

Table 23: Example comprehensive energy saving over PLMN with forbidden celllist

[0120] In the example of Table 23, the scope identifier of the energy-saving policy includes a TAI list that identifies the list of target area to which the energy-saving policy is applicable and a PLMN ID that defines the PLMN associated with the target TAI list (i.e., the one or more first cells; cells under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35)). Further, the policy objective of the energysaving policy includes an average value of energy consumption which the physical network function under the identified cell ID list should achieve. Furthermore, the policy resource of the energy-saving policy includes: an advanced sleep mode (ASM) energy-saving type specifying SMO method, SMI method, SM2 method, and SM3 method; a radio frequency (RF) channel reconfiguration energy-saving type specifying TRX control method and data layer control method; and a cell carrier shutdown energy-saving type specifying cell shutdown method and carrier shutdown method to be performed by the one or more first cells (i.e., cells under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35)). Further still, the policy resource of the energy-saving policy includes a preference to prefer the above methods to be performed by the one or more first cells relative to each other (i.e., SMO method has higher priority than carrier shutdown method). Further still, the policy resource of the energy-saving policy includes a cell ID list that identifies a list of cell IDs (i.e., one or more second cells; cells with ID (ncl: 91), (nd: 92), and (ncl: 93) under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35)), and a preference to forbid such cells from performing the above energysaving types. In other words, cells with ID (ncl: 91), (nd: 92), and (nd: 93) (i.e., one or more second cells) under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35) (i.e., one or more first cells) are forbidden from performing the above energy-saving types, while other cells under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35) are allowed to perform the above energy-saving types.

[0121] According to example embodiments, the policy resource in the energy-saving policy may include a plurality of sets of energy-saving control parameter. According to example embodiments, the energy-saving control parameter may include more than one energy-saving types; more than one energy-saving type preferences; more than one cell identifier (ID) lists; and/or more than one cell preferences.

[0122] A seventh example of an energy-saving policy including the energy-saving control parameter is defined in the following Table 24.

Table 24: Example RF channel reconfiguration based energy saving per cell list over cell list with specific energy saving preferences

[0123] In the example of Table 24, the scope identifier of the energy-saving policy includes a cell ID list that identifies the list of cell IDs to which the energy-saving policy is applicable and a PLMN ID that defines the PLMN associated with the identified cell ID list (i.e., one or more first cells; cells with ID (ncl: 71), (nd: 72), and (nd: 73) under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35)). Further, the policy objective of the energy-saving policy includes an average value of energy consumption which the physical network function under the identified cell ID list should achieve. [0124] Here, the policy resource of the energy-saving policy includes a first energy-saving type, a radio frequency (RF) channel reconfiguration energy-saving type specifying TRX control method and data layer control method to be performed by the one or more first cells (i.e., cells with ID (nd: 71), (nd: 72), and (nd: 73)). Further, the policy resource of the energy-saving policy includes a preference to prefer the TRX control method and data layer control method to be performed by the one or more first cells relative to each other (i.e., TRX control method has higher priority than data layer control method).

[0125] Additionally, the policy resource of the energy-saving policy includes a second energy-saving type, a radio frequency (RF) channel reconfiguration energy-saving type specifying data layer control method. Further, the policy resource of the energy-saving policy includes a cell ID list that identifies a list of cell IDs (i.e., one or more second cells; cell with ID (nd: 71) under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35)), and a preference to avoid such cells from performing the RF channel reconfiguration energy-saving type. In other words, cells with ID (nd: 71), (ncl: 72), and (nd: 73) (i.e., one or more first cells) are allowed to perform RF channel reconfiguration energysaving type with preference to perform TRX control method over data layer control method; however, the cell with ID (ncl: 71) (i.e., one or more second cells) should avoid performing data layer control method.

[0126] An eighth example of an energy-saving policy including the energy-saving control parameter is defined in the following Table 25.

Table 25: Example comprehensive energy saving over cell list

[0127] In the example of Table 25, the scope identifier of the energy-saving policy includes a cell ID list that identifies the list of cell IDs to which the energy-saving policy is applicable and a PLMN ID that defines the PLMN associated with the identified cell ID list (i.e., one or more first cells; cells with ID (ncl: 71), (nd: 72), (nd: 73), (ncl: 81), (nd: 82), and (nd: 83) under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35)). Further, the policy objective of the energy-saving policy includes an average value of energy consumption which the physical network function under the identified cell ID list should achieve.

[0128] Here, there are three sets of energy-saving control parameter specified in the policy resource.

[0129] The first set of the energy-saving control parameter specified in the policy resource includes an advanced sleep mode (ASM) energy-saving type specifying SMO method, SMI method, SM2 method, and SM3 method to be performed by the one or more first cells (i.e., cells with ID (nd: 71), (ncl: 72), (ncl: 73), (ncl: 81), (nd: 82), and (nd: 83)). Further, the first set includes a preference to prefer the above methods relative to each other (i.e., SMO method has higher priority than SM3 method). Furthermore, the first set includes a cell ID list that identifies a list of cell IDs (i.e., one or more second cells; cells with ID (nd: 71) and (nd: 72) under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35)), and a preference to prefer such cells to perform the ASM energy-saving type (i.e., cell with ID (nd: 71) has higher priority than cell with ID (nd: 72)). In other words, from among the cells with ID (ncl: 71), (nd: 72), (ncl: 73), (nd: 81), (ncl: 82), and (nd: 83) (i.e., one or more first cells), cell with ID (ncl: 71) (i.e., one of more second cells) has the highest priority to perform the ASM energy-saving type, followed by cell with ID (ncl: 72) (i.e., one or more second cells), and then followed by the remaining cells with equal priority; where the ASM energy-saving type may be performed with SMO method having the highest priority, followed by SMI method, followed by SM2 method, and then followed by SM3 method.

[0130] The second set of the energy-saving control parameter specified in the policy resource includes a radio frequency (RF) channel reconfiguration energy-saving type specifying TRX control method and data layer control method to be performed by the one or more first cells (i.e., cells with ID (ncl: 71), (ncl: 72), (nd: 73), (nd: 81), (nd: 82), and (nd: 83)). Further, the second set includes a preference to prefer the above methods relative to each other (i.e., TRX control method has higher priority than data layer control method). Furthermore, the second set includes a cell ID list that identifies a list of cell IDs (i.e., one or more second cells; cells with ID (nd: 73) and (ncl: 81) under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35)), and a preference to prefer such cells to perform the RF channel reconfiguration energy-saving type (i.e., cell with ID (ncl: 73) has higher priority than cell with ID (nd: 81)). In other words, from among the cells with ID (ncl: 71), (nd: 72), (nd: 73), (nd: 81), (nd: 82), and (nd: 83) (i.e., one or more first cells), cell with ID (nd: 73) (i.e., one of more second cells) has the highest priority to perform the RF channel reconfiguration energy-saving type, followed by cell with ID (nd: 81) (i.e., one or more second cells), and then followed by the remaining cells with equal priority; where the RF channel reconfiguration energy-saving type may be performed with TRX control method having the highest priority, followed by data layer control method.

[0131] The third set of the energy-saving control parameter specified in the policy resource includes a cell carrier shutdown energy-saving type specifying cell shutdown method and carrier shutdown method to be performed by the one or more first cells (i.e., cells with ID (ncl: 71), (nd:

72), (nd: 73), (nd: 81), (nd: 82), and (nd: 83)). Further, the third set includes a preference to prefer the above methods relative to each other (i.e., cell shutdown method has higher priority than carrier shutdown method). Furthermore, the third set includes a cell ID list that identifies a list of cell IDs (i.e., one or more second cells; cells with ID (nd: 82) and (ncl: 83) under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35)), and a preference to prefer such cells to perform the cell carrier shutdown energy-saving type (i.e., cell with ID (nd: 82) has higher priority than cell with ID (ncl: 83)). In other words, from among the cells with ID (nd: 71), (ncl: 72), (nd: 73), (ncl: 81), (nd: 82), and (nd: 83) (i.e., one or more first cells), cell with ID (nd: 82) (i.e., one of more second cells) has the highest priority to perform the cell carrier shutdown energy-saving type, followed by cell with ID (nd: 83) (i.e., one or more second cells), and then followed by the remaining cells with equal priority; where the cell carrier shutdown energy-saving type may be performed with cell shutdown method having the highest priority, followed by carrier shutdown method.

Restriction Control Parameter

[0132] The restriction control parameter may specify parameters controlling restrictions of operations performed by one or more cells in a network.

[0133] According to example embodiments, the restriction control parameter may include one or more of: a shutdown exclusion cell list comprising one or more third cells that are not allowed to perform shut down operations; and a radio frequency (RF) channel exclusion cell list comprising one or more fourth cells that are not allowed to perform RF channel reconfiguration.

[0134] The one or more third cells may be part of the one or more first cells, where cells and carriers included in the one or more third cells are not allowed to perform shutdown operations (i.e., not allowed to be shutdown). Similarly, the one or more fourth cells may be part of the one or more first cells, where cells and carriers included in the one or more fourth cells are not allowed to perform RF channel reconfiguration. It may be understood that cells and carriers included in both the one or more third cells and the one or more fourth cells are not allowed to perform shutdown operations or perform RF channel reconfiguration.

[0135] A first example of an energy-saving policy including the restriction control parameter is defined in the following Table 26.

Table 26: Example energy saving over tracking area with exclusion cell list for cell/carrier shutdow n

[0136] In the example of Table 26, the scope identifier of the energy-saving policy includes a TAI list that identifies the list of target area to which the energy-saving policy is applicable and a PLMN ID that defines the PLMN associated with the target TAI list (i.e., the one or more first cells; cells under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35)). Further, the policy objective of the energysaving policy includes an energy consumption reduction in percentage which the physical network function under the identified cell ID list should achieve. Furthermore, the policy resource of the energy-saving policy includes a shutdown exclusion cell list that identifies a list of cell IDs (i.e., one or more third cells; cells with ID (ncl: 91), (ncl: 92), and (ncl: 93) under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35)), where said cells are not allowed to perform shutdown operations. In other words, cells under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35) (i.e., one or more first cells) should achieve the energy consumption reduction in percentage specified in the policy objective, using any methods as appropriate. However, cells with ID (ncl: 91), (ncl: 92), and (nd: 93) under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35)) (i.e., one or more third cells) are not allowed to perform shutdown operations.

[0137] A second example of an energy-saving policy including the restriction control parameter is defined in the following Table 27.

Table 27: Example energy saving over tracking area with exclusion cell list for RF channel reconfiguration

[0138] In the example of Table 27, the scope identifier of the energy-saving policy includes a TAI list that identifies the list of target area to which the energy-saving policy is applicable and a PLMN ID that defines the PLMN associated with the target TAI list (i.e., the one or more first cells; cells under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35)). Further, the policy objective of the energysaving policy includes an energy consumption reduction in percentage which the physical network function under the identified cell ID list should achieve. Furthermore, the policy resource of the energy-saving policy includes a radio frequency (RF) channel exclusion cell list that identifies a list of cell IDs (i.e., one or more fourth cells; cells with ID (ncl: 91), (ncl: 92), and (ncl: 93) under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35)), where said cells are not allowed to perform RF channel reconfiguration. In other words, cells under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35) (i.e., one or more first cells) should achieve the energy consumption reduction in percentage specified in the policy objective, using any methods as appropriate. However, cells with ID (nd: 91), (nd: 92), and (nd: 93) under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35)) (i.e., one or more fourth cells) are not allowed to perform RF channel reconfiguration.

[0139] A third example of an energy-saving policy including the restriction control parameter is defined in the following Table 28.

Table 28: Example energy saving cell list with exclusion cell list for RF channel reconfiguration and cell cell/carrier shutdown [0140] In the example of Table 28, the scope identifier of the energy-saving policy includes a cell ID list that identifies the list of cell IDs to which the energy-saving policy is applicable and a PLMN ID that defines the PLMN associated with the identified cell ID list (i.e., the one or more first cells; cells with ID (ncl: 71), (nd: 72), (ncl: 73), (nd: 81), (nd: 82), (ncl: 83), (nd: 91), (nd: 92), and (nd: 93) under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35)). Further, the policy objective of the energy-saving policy includes an average value of energy consumption which the physical network function under the identified cell ID list should achieve.

[0141] Furthermore, the policy resource of the energy-saving policy includes a shutdown exclusion cell list that identifies a list of cell IDs (i.e., one or more third cells; cells with ID (nd: 71), (nd: 82), and (nd: 83) under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35)), where said cells are not allowed to perform shutdown operations. Further still, the policy resource of the energy-saving policy includes a radio frequency (RF) channel exclusion cell list that identifies a list of cell IDs (i.e., one or more fourth cells; cells with ID (nd: 71) and (ncl: 82) under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35)), where said cells are not allowed to perform RF channel reconfiguration.

[0142] In other words, cells with ID (ncl: 71), (nd: 72), (nd: 73), (ncl: 81), (ncl: 82), (nd: 83), (nd: 91), (nd: 92), and (nd: 93) under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35) (i.e., one or more first cells) should achieve the average value of energy consumption specified in the policy objective, using any methods as appropriate. However, cells with ID (nd: 71), (ncl: 82), and (nd: 83) under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35)) (i.e., one or more third cells) are not allowed to perform shutdown operations, and cells with ID (ncl: 71) and (nd: 82) under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35)) (i.e., one or more fourth cells) are not allowed to perform RF channel reconfiguration. [0143] According to example embodiments, the policy resource in the energy-saving policy may include a plurality of sets of restriction control parameter. According to example embodiments, the restriction control parameter may include more than one shutdown exclusion cell lists; and/or more than one RF channel exclusion cell lists.

Operational and Coverage State Control Parameter

[0144] The operational and coverage state control parameter may specify parameters controlling operational and coverage state of one or more cells in a network.

[0145] According to example embodiments, the operational and coverage state control parameter may include one or more of: an operational cell list comprising one or more fifth cells; an operational preference comprising a preference of operational state of the one or more fifth cells; a coverage cell list comprising one or more sixth cells; and a coverage preference comprising a preference of cell coverage impact of the one or more sixth cells.

[0146] The one or more fifth cells may be part of the one or more first cells, where the operational preference may specify a preference of operational state of the one or more fifth cells from among the one or more first cells. According to example embodiments, the preference of operational state of the one or more fifth cells may include one or more of: a preference to forbid the one or more fifth cells from becoming non-operational (i.e., performing some kind of operations that results in the one or more fifth cells becoming non-operational); and a preference to avoid the one or more fifth cells from becoming non-operational relative to each other.

[0147] Here, it may be understood that the preference to avoid the one or more fifth cells from becoming non-operational relative to each other may specify a priority order; where a first cell of the one or more fifth cell (e.g., a cell at the top of the list from among the one or more fifth cell) may have a highest priority to avoid being non-operational, while a last cell of the one or more fifth cell (e.g., a cell at the bottom of the list from among the one or more fifth cell) may have a lowest priority to avoid being non-operational (i.e., the last cell may be selected to perform some energy saving methods that results in the last cell being non-operational before the first cell). [0148] A first example of an energy-saving policy including the operational and coverage state control parameter is defined in the following Table 29.

Table 29: Example energy saving over cells that must remain operational but can have come coverage impact

[0149] In the example of Table 29, the scope identifier of the energy-saving policy includes a TAI list that identifies the list of target area to which the energy-saving policy is applicable and a PLMN ID that defines the PLMN associated with the target TAI list (i.e., the one or more first cells; cells under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35)). Further, the policy objective of the energysaving policy includes an energy consumption reduction in percentage which the physical network function under the identified cell ID list should achieve. Furthermore, the policy resource of the energy-saving policy includes an operational cell list that identifies a list of cell IDs (i.e., one or more fifth cells; cells with ID (ncl: 91), (ncl: 92), and (ncl: 93) under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35)), and a preference to forbid such cells from becoming non-operational. In other words, cells under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35) (i.e., one or more first cells) should achieve the energy consumption reduction in percentage specified in the policy objective, using any methods as appropriate. However, cells with ID (ncl: 91), (ncl: 92), and (nd: 93) under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35)) (i.e., one or more fifth cells) are not allowed to be non-operational (i.e., not allowed to perform operations that result in said cells becoming non-operational).

[0150] The one or more sixth cells may be part of the one or more first cells, where the coverage preference may specify a preference of cell coverage impact of the one or more sixth cells from among the one or more first cells. According to example embodiments, the preference of cell coverage impact of the one or more sixth cells may include one or more of: a preference to forbid the one or more sixth cells from receiving any coverage impact (i.e., performing some kind of operations that results in the one or more sixth cells having any coverage impact); and a preference to avoid the one or more sixth cells from receiving any coverage impact relative to each other.

[0151] Here, it may be understood that the preference to avoid the one or more sixth cells from receiving any coverage relative to each other may specify a priority order; where a first cell of the one or more sixth cell (e.g., a cell at the top of the list from among the one or more sixth cell) may have a highest priority to avoid receiving any coverage impact, while a last cell of the one or more sixth cell (e.g., a cell at the bottom of the list from among the one or more sixth cell) may have a lowest priority to avoid receiving any coverage impact (i.e., the last cell may be selected to perform some energy saving methods that results in the last cell receiving any coverage impact before the first cell).

[0152] A second example of an energy-saving policy including the operational and coverage state control parameter is defined in the following Table 30.

Table 30: Example energy saving over cells that must remain operational and maintain full coverage

[0153] In the example of Table 30, the scope identifier of the energy-saving policy includes a TAI list that identifies the list of target area to which the energy-saving policy is applicable and a PLMN ID that defines the PLMN associated with the target TAI list (i.e., the one or more first cells; cells under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35)). Further, the policy objective of the energysaving policy includes an energy consumption reduction in percentage which the physical network function under the identified cell ID list should achieve.

[0154] Furthermore, the policy resource of the energy-saving policy includes an operational cell list that identifies a list of cell IDs (i.e., one or more fifth cells; cells with ID (nd: 91), (ncl: 92), and (nd: 93) under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35)), and a preference to forbid such cells from becoming non-operational. Further still, the policy resource of the energy-saving policy includes a coverage cell list that identifies a list of cell IDs (i.e., one or more sixth cells; cells with ID (nd: 91), (nd: 92), and (nd: 93) under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35)), and a preference to forbid such cells from receiving any coverage impact.

[0155] In other words, cells under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35) (i.e., one or more first cells) should achieve the energy consumption reduction in percentage specified in the policy objective, using any methods as appropriate. However, cells with ID (nd: 91), (ncl: 92), and (nd: 93) under the PLMN ID (mcc: 248, mnc: 35)) (i.e., one or more fifth cells and one or more sixth cells) are not allowed to be non-operational (i.e., not allowed to perform operations that result in said cells becoming non-operational) or receive any coverage impact (i.e., not allowed to perform operations that result in said cells receiving any coverage impact).

[0156] According to example embodiments, the policy resource in the energy-saving policy may include a plurality of sets of operational and coverage state control parameter. According to example embodiments, the operational and coverage state control parameter may include more than one operational cell lists; more than one operational preferences; more than one coverage cell lists; and/or more than one coverage preferences.

[0157] It is contemplated that any other suitable combination is applicable for provisioning the energy-saving policy with multiple types of parameters, without departing from the disclosure of the present disclosure.

[0158] To this end, by leveraging different parameters of energy-saving policy, example embodiments of the present disclosure efficiently and effectively facilitate the provisioning of energy policies that provide guidance on achieving energy saving targets, while allowing for flexibility to avoid causing negative effects on the performance of important and critical network nodes/cells.

[0159] It can be understood that the above-described energy policies (in Tables 16-30) are merely examples of possible configurations and the contents thereof are simplified for descriptive purposes. In the actual implementations, said energy policies may include more or less information and/or the contents therein may be arranged in a different manner, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Example Operations for Provisioning Energy-Saving Policy [0160] As described above, example embodiments of the present disclosure facilitate the provisioning of one or more energy-saving policies. Example operations associated therewith are described in the following.

[0161] FIG. 4 illustrates a flow diagram of an example method 400 for provisioning one or more energy-saving policies, according to one or more example embodiments. One or more operations of the method 400 may be performed by the Non-RT RIC 120 (described above with reference to FIG. 1). In some example implementations in which the Non-RT RIC 120 is implemented in a hardware (e.g., a server), one or more operations of the method 400 may be performed by a component of the hardware (e.g., a processor of the server upon executing computer-readable instruction stored in a memory of the server, etc.)

[0162] Referring to FIG. 4, at operation S410, the Non-RT RIC may be configured to obtain a policy schema. The policy schema may be obtained from a memory or a storage component of the hardware (e.g., server) in which the Non-RT RIC is implemented, or may be obtained from a different storage medium (e.g., another server, etc.) According to example embodiments, the policy schema may include a JSON schema (an example associated therewith has been described above with reference to Table 15).

[0163] Upon obtaining the policy schema, the method 400 may proceed to operation S420, at which the Non-RT RIC may be configured to generate, based on the policy schema, an energysaving policy for execution by a near-real-time (Near-RT) RIC. According to example embodiments, the energy-saving policy may include at least one of: an energy-saving control parameter, a restriction control parameter, and an operational and coverage state control parameter.

The energy-saving control parameter may specify parameters controlling energy-saving operations performed by one or more cells in a network. The restriction control parameter may specify parameters controlling restrictions of operations performed by the one or more cells. The operational and coverage state control parameter may specify parameters controlling operational and coverage state of the one or more cells.

[0164] As described above, in general, an energy-saving policy may include at least one policy scope identifier, at least one policy objective, and at least one policy resource. The at least one policy scope identifier may specify one or more first cells in a network. Further, the at least one policy objective may specify an energy-saving target of the one or more first cells. Furthermore, the at least one policy resource may specify the an energy-saving control parameter, a restriction control parameter, and an operational and coverage state control parameter.

[0165] According to example embodiments, the energy-saving control parameter may include one or more of: an energy-saving type specifying one or more energy-saving methods; an energy-saving type preference comprising a preference of usage of the one or more energy-saving methods; a cell identifier (ID) list comprising one or more second cells; and a cell preference comprising a preference of usage of the one or more second cells.

[0166] According to example embodiments, the preference of usage of the one or more second cells may include one or more of: a preference to forbid the one or more second cells from performing the energy saving type, a preference to allow the one or more second cells to perform the energy saving type, a preference to avoid the one or more second cells from performing the energy saving type relative to each other, and a preference to prefer the one or more second cells to perform the energy saving type relative to each other. According to example embodiments, the preference of usage of the energy-saving type may include one or more of: a preference to forbid the one or more energy-saving methods from being performed by the one or more first cells, a preference to allow the one or more energy-saving methods to be performed by the one or more first cells, a preference to avoid the one or more energy-saving methods from being performed by the one or more first cells relative to each other, and a preference to prefer the one or more energysaving methods to be performed by the one or more first cells relative to each other.

[0167] According to example embodiments, the one or more energy-saving methods may include one or more of: a cell carrier shutdown, a radio frequency (RF) channel reconfiguration, and an advanced sleep mode (ASM).

[0168] According to example embodiments, the restriction control parameter may include one or more of: a shutdown exclusion cell list comprising one or more third cells that are not allowed to perform shut down operations; and a radio frequency (RF) channel exclusion cell list comprising one or more fourth cells that are not allowed to perform RF channel reconfiguration.

[0169] According to example embodiments, the operational and coverage state control parameter may include one or more of: an operational cell list comprising one or more fifth cells; an operational preference comprising a preference of operational state of the one or more fifth cells; a coverage cell list comprising one or more sixth cells; and a coverage preference comprising a preference of cell coverage impact of the one or more sixth cells.

[0170] According to example embodiments, the preference of operational state may include one or more of: a preference to forbid the one or more fifth cells from becoming non- operational; and a preference to avoid the one or more fifth cells from becoming non-operational relative to each other. According to example embodiments, the preference of cell coverage impact may include one or more of: a preference to forbid the one or more sixth cells from receiving any coverage impact; and a preference to avoid the one or more sixth cells from receiving any coverage relative to each other.

[0171] According to example embodiments, the at least one policy scope identifier may include one or more of a cell identifier (ID) list comprising a plurality of cell IDs and a tracking area identity (TAI) list. According to example embodiments, the at least one policy objective comprises one or more of an average value of energy consumption and an energy consumption reduction.

[0172] Further details and example contents of the energy-saving policy have been described above with reference to Tables 16-30. Thus, redundant descriptions associated therewith may be omitted below for conciseness.

[0173] Upon generating the energy-saving policy, the method 400 may proceed to operation S430, at which the Non-RT RIC may be configured to provide the energy-saving policy to the Near-RT RIC via an Al interface. Accordingly, the Near-RT RIC may be configured to execute the energy-saving policy to perform one or more operations in accordance with the energysaving control parameter, the restriction control parameter, and the operational and coverage state control parameter.

[0174] In view of the above, example embodiments of the present disclosure efficiently and effectively facilitate the provisioning of energy policies that provide guidance on achieving energy saving targets, while allowing for flexibility to avoid causing negative effects on the performance of important and critical network nodes/cells.

Examples of System Hardware Components [0175] One or more components of the system of the example embodiments (e.g., Non-RT

RIC, Near-RT RIC, etc.), as well as the operations associated therewith (e.g., one or more operations in FIG. 4, one or more energy-saving operations, etc.), may be implemented in one or more devices or hardware components, such as one or more servers, and the like. In the following, descriptions of a device in which the systems or components of the example embodiments may be implemented are provided. It is contemplated that one or more operations or methods described above with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 4 may be performed by the device. For instance, the one or more operations or methods may be performed by at least one processor of the device upon executing machine-readable instructions or computer-readable instructions (e.g., instructions for implementing the Non-RT RIC, etc.) stored in a memory or a storage component of the device.

[0176] FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment of a device 500 for implementing one or more example embodiments. As shown in FIG. 5, the device 500 may include a processor 510, a memory 520, a storage component 530, an input component 540, an output component 550, a communication interface 560, and a bus 570.

[0177] The processor 510, as used herein, means any type of computational circuit that may comprise hardware elements and software elements. The processor 510 may be embodied as a multi-core processor, a single core processor, or a combination of one or more multi-core processors and/or one or more single core processors, a distributed processing system, or the like. The processor 510 may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), an accelerated processing unit (APU), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or another type of processing component. [0178] Memory 520 includes a non-transitory computer readable medium. Memory 520 includes a random-access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), and/or another type of dynamic or static storage device (e.g., a flash memory, a magnetic memory, and/or an optical memory) that stores information and/or instructions for use by processor 510. The memory 520 comprises machine-readable instructions which are executable by the processor 510. These machine-readable instructions when executed by the processor 510 cause the processor 510 to perform one or more method steps of an embodiment described above.

[0179] Storage component 530 stores information and/or software related to the operation and use of the device 500. For example, storage component 530 may include a hard disk (e.g., a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optic disk, and/or a solid-state disk), a compact disc (CD), a digital versatile disc (DVD), a floppy disk, a cartridge, a magnetic tape, and/or another type of non-transitory computer-readable medium, along with a corresponding drive.

[0180] Input component 540 is configured to receive information, such as user input. For example, the input component 540 may include, but not be limited to, a touch screen display, a keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a button, a switch, and/or a microphone. Additionally, or alternatively, the input component 540 may include a sensor for sensing information (e.g., a global positioning system (GPS), an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and/or an actuator).

[0181] Output component 550 is configured to provide output information from the device 500. For example, the output component 550 may be, but not limited to, a display, a speaker, instructions to an external device, and/or one or more light-emitting diodes (LEDs).

[0182] Communication interface 560 is an interface that provides a communication connection to other devices, such as external devices and internal devices. The connection by the communication interface 560 can be a wired connection, a wireless connection, or a combination of wired and wireless connections, and can be a direct connection or an indirect connection via a communication network that exists between the device 500 and other devices. In other words, the standard of the communication interface 560 is not limited.

[0183] The bus 570 acts as an interconnect between the processor 510, the memory 520, the storage component 530, the input component 540, the output component 550, and the communication interface 560 of the device 500. The bus 570 may include a wired interconnection or a wireless interconnection.

[0184] The number and arrangement of components shown in FIG. 5 are provided as an example. In practice, device 500 may include additional components, fewer components, different components, or differently arranged components than those shown in FIG. 5. Additionally, or alternatively, a set of components (e.g., one or more components) of device 500 may perform one or more functions described as being performed by another set of components of device 500. Further, one or more method steps described in any of the embodiments may be performed utilizing a plurality of device 500 in communication with one another.

Various Aspects of Embodiments

[0185] It is contemplated that the example embodiments described hereinabove with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 5 are merely examples of possible embodiments of the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit or restrict the scope of the present disclosure.

[0186] Specifically, the foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the implementations to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above disclosure or may be acquired from practice of the implementations.

[0187] Some embodiments may relate to a device (e.g., network node, etc.), a system, a method, and/or a computer readable medium at any possible technical detail level of integration. Further, one or more of the above components described above may be implemented as instructions stored on a computer readable medium and executable by at least one processor (and/or may include at least one processor). The computer readable medium may include a computer-readable non-transitory storage medium (or media) having computer readable program instructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out operations.

[0188] The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that can retain and store instructions for use by an instruction execution device. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but is not limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device, an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, a semiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of the computer readable storage medium includes the following: a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such as punch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructions recorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. A computer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construed as being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freely propagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagating through a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulses passing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmitted through a wire.

[0189] Computer readable program instructions described herein can be downloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computer readable storage medium or to an external computer or external storage device via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprise copper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wireless transmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/or edge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in each computing/processing device receives computer readable program instructions from the network and forwards the computer readable program instructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium within the respective computing/processing device.

[0190] Computer readable program code/instructions for carrying out operations may be assembler instructions, instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state-setting data, configuration data for integrated circuitry, or either source code or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++, or the like, and procedural programming languages, such as the "C" programming language or similar programming languages. The computer readable program instructions may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a standalone software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider). In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example, programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readable program instructions by utilizing state information of the computer readable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry, in order to perform aspects or operations.

[0191] These computer readable program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can direct a computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or other devices to function in a particular manner, such that the computer readable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises an article of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects of the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

[0192] The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other device to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computer implemented process, such that the instructions which execute on the computer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

[0193] The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods, and computer readable media according to various embodiments. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a microservice(s) module, segment, or portion of instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). The method, computer system, and computer readable medium may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or differently arranged blocks than those depicted in the Figures. In some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of the order noted in the Figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed concurrently or substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

[0194] It will be apparent that systems and/or methods, described herein, may be implemented in different forms of hardware, firmware, or a combination of hardware and software. The actual specialized control hardware or software code used to implement these systems and/or methods is not limiting of the implementations. Thus, the operation and behavior of the systems and/or methods were described herein without reference to specific software code-it being understood that software and hardware may be designed to implement the systems and/or methods based on the description herein. [0195] In view of the above various further respective aspects and features of embodiments of the present disclosure may be defined by the following items:

Item [1]: A system is provided. The system may include a non-real-time (Non-RT) radio access network intelligent controller (RIC) configured to: obtain a policy schema; generate, based on the policy schema, an energy-saving policy for execution by a near- real-time (Near-RT) RIC, wherein the energy-saving policy may include at least one of: an energy-saving control parameter, a restriction control parameter, and an operational and coverage state control parameter; and provide, to the Near-RT RIC via an Al interface, the energy-saving policy.

Item [2]: The system according to item [1], wherein the energy-saving policy may include at least one policy scope identifier specifying one or more first cells in a network, at least one policy objective specifying an energy-saving target of the one or more first cells, and at least one policy resource.

Item [3]: The system according to item [2], wherein the energy-saving control parameter may be specified in the at least one policy resource, and may include one or more of: an energy-saving type specifying one or more energy-saving methods; an energysaving type preference comprising a preference of usage of the one or more energy-saving methods; a cell identifier (ID) list comprising one or more second cells; and a cell preference comprising a preference of usage of the one or more second cells.

Item [4]: The system according to item [3], wherein: the preference of usage of the one or more second cells may include one or more of: a preference to forbid the one or more second cells from performing the energy saving type, a preference to allow the one or more second cells to perform the energy saving type, a preference to avoid the one or more second cells from performing the energy saving type relative to each other, and a preference to prefer the one or more second cells to perform the energy saving type relative to each other; and the preference of usage of the energy-saving type may include one or more of: a preference to forbid the one or more energy-saving methods from being performed by the one or more first cells, a preference to allow the one or more energysaving methods to be performed by the one or more first cells, a preference to avoid the one or more energy-saving methods from being performed by the one or more first cells relative to each other, and a preference to prefer the one or more energy-saving methods to be performed by the one or more first cells relative to each other.

Item [5]: The system according to one of items [3]-[4], wherein the one or more energy-saving methods may include one or more of: a cell carrier shutdown, a radio frequency (RF) channel reconfiguration, and an advanced sleep mode (ASM).

Item [6]: The system according to one of items [2]-[5], wherein the restriction control parameter may be specified in the at least one policy resource, and may include one or more of: a shutdown exclusion cell list comprising one or more third cells that are not allowed to perform shut down operations; and a radio frequency (RF) channel exclusion cell list comprising one or more fourth cells that are not allowed to perform RF channel reconfiguration.

Item [7]: The system according to one of items [2]-[6], wherein the operational and coverage state control parameter may be specified in the at least one policy resource, and may include one or more of: an operational cell list comprising one or more fifth cells; an operational preference comprising a preference of operational state of the one or more fifth cells; a coverage cell list comprising one or more sixth cells; and a coverage preference comprising a preference of cell coverage impact of the one or more sixth cells.

Item [8]: The system according to item [7], wherein: the preference of operational state may include one or more of: a preference to forbid the one or more fifth cells from becoming non-operational; and a preference to avoid the one or more fifth cells from becoming non-operational relative to each other; and the preference of cell coverage impact may include one or more of: a preference to forbid the one or more sixth cells from receiving any coverage impact; and a preference to avoid the one or more sixth cells from receiving any coverage impact relative to each other.

Item [9]: The system according to one of items [2]-[8], wherein: the at least one policy scope identifier may include one or more of a cell identifier (ID) list comprising a plurality of cell IDs and a tracking area identity (TAI) list; and the at least one policy objective may include one or more of an average value of energy consumption and an energy consumption reduction.

Item [10]: A method that may include: obtaining a policy schema; generating, based on the policy schema, an energy-saving policy for execution by a near-real-time (Near-RT) RIC, wherein the energy-saving policy may include at least one of: an energy-saving control parameter, a restriction control parameter, and an operational and coverage state control parameter; and providing, to the Near-RT RIC via an Al interface, the energysaving policy. Item [11]: The method according to item [10], wherein the energy-saving policy may include at least one policy scope identifier specifying one or more first cells in a network, at least one policy objective specifying an energy-saving target of the one or more first cells, and at least one policy resource.

Item [12]: The method according to item [11], wherein the energy-saving control parameter may be specified in the at least one policy resource, and may include one or more of: an energy-saving type specifying one or more energy-saving methods; an energysaving type preference comprising a preference of usage of the one or more energy-saving methods; a cell identifier (ID) list comprising one or more second cells; and a cell preference comprising a preference of usage of the one or more second cells.

Item [13]: The method according to item [12], wherein: the preference of usage of the one or more second cells may include one or more of: a preference to forbid the one or more second cells from performing the energy saving type, a preference to allow the one or more second cells to perform the energy saving type, a preference to avoid the one or more second cells from performing the energy saving type relative to each other, and a preference to prefer the one or more second cells to perform the energy saving type relative to each other; and the preference of usage of the energy-saving type may include one or more of: a preference to forbid the one or more energy-saving methods from being performed by the one or more first cells, a preference to allow the one or more energysaving methods to be performed by the one or more first cells, a preference to avoid the one or more energy-saving methods from being performed by the one or more first cells relative to each other, and a preference to prefer the one or more energy-saving methods to be performed by the one or more first cells relative to each other.

Item [14]: The method according to one of items [12]-[ 13], wherein the one or more energy-saving methods may include one or more of: a cell carrier shutdown, a radio frequency (RF) channel reconfiguration, and an advanced sleep mode (ASM).

Item [15]: The method according to one of items [11]-[14], wherein the restriction control parameter may be specified in the at least one policy resource, and may include one or more of: a shutdown exclusion cell list comprising one or more third cells that are not allowed to perform shut down operations; and a radio frequency (RF) channel exclusion cell list comprising one or more fourth cells that are not allowed to perform RF channel reconfiguration.

Item [16]: The method according to one ofitems [11]-[15], wherein the operational and coverage state control parameter may be specified in the at least one policy resource, and may include one or more of: an operational cell list comprising one or more fifth cells; an operational preference comprising a preference of operational state of the one or more fifth cells; a coverage cell list comprising one or more sixth cells; and a coverage preference comprising a preference of cell coverage impact of the one or more sixth cells.

Item [17]: The method according to item [16], wherein: the preference of operational state may include one or more of: a preference to forbid the one or more fifth cells from becoming non-operational; and a preference to avoid the one or more fifth cells from becoming non-operational relative to each other; and the preference of cell coverage impact may include one or more of: a preference to forbid the one or more sixth cells from receiving any coverage impact; and a preference to avoid the one or more sixth cells from receiving any coverage impact relative to each other.

Item [18]: The method according to one of items [11]-[17], wherein: the at least one policy scope identifier may include one or more of a cell identifier (ID) list comprising a plurality of cell IDs and a tracking area identity (TAI) list; and the at least one policy objective may include one or more of an average value of energy consumption and an energy consumption reduction.

Item [19]: A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium that may have recorded thereon instructions executable by a system that comprises a non-real-time (Non- RT) radio access network intelligent controller (RIC) to cause the Non-RT RIC to perform a method including: obtaining a policy schema; generating, based on the policy schema, an energy-saving policy for execution by a near-real-time (Near-RT) RIC, wherein the energy-saving policy may include at least one of: an energy-saving control parameter, a restriction control parameter, and an operational and coverage state control parameter; and providing, to the Near-RT RIC via an Al interface, the energy-saving policy.

Item [20]: The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to item [19], wherein the energy-saving policy may include at least one policy scope identifier specifying one or more first cells in a network, at least one policy objective specifying an energy-saving target of the one or more first cells, and at least one policy resource.

[0196] It can be understood that numerous modifications and variations of the present disclosure are possible in light of the above teachings. It will be apparent that within the scope of the appended clauses, the present disclosures may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.

Additional Descriptions

[0197] 3.3 Abbreviations

[0198] For the purposes of the present document, the abbreviations given in Al GAP [2], A1AP [3], and the following apply: MOS Mean Opinion Score; SDU Service Data Unit; Tai Tracking Area Identity; TSP Traffic Steering Preference; PEE Power, Energy and Environment.

[0199] 2 References

[0200] 2.1 Normative references

[0201] 3GPP TS 32.425: "Performance Management (PM); Performance measurements

Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN)".

[0202] 6 Al-P data model

[0203] 6.1 Introduction

[0204] This clause specifies the application data model and data types supported by the Al-P API specified in A1AP [3]). The data model is based on policy statements that include attributes and are combined with a scope identifier into policy objects.

[0205] Simple data types and enumerations can be referenced from structured data type and policy types. Clause 6.3 defines attributes to be used for scope information and attributes that are not defined as part of the statements (structured data types as defined in coming clauses).

[0206] For policy objectives, policy statements for the following characteristics are defined: QoS targets; QoE targets; UE level targets; Slice SLA targets; Load balancing targets. Energy saving targets. [0207] For policy resources, policy statements for the following characteristics are defined: Traffic steering optimization; Slice SLA assurance; Load balancing; Energy saving.

[0208] Clause 6.4 contains the formal representation definitions of the policy representation object types defined in the Al-P service decription in Al AP [3],

[0209] 6.2 Simple data types and enumerations

[0210] 6.2.2 Enumerations

[0211] 6.2.2.4 AvoidanceType

[0212] The enumeration AvoidanceType represents the avoidance of a specific network resource (e.g. cell usage). It shall comply with the provisions defined in table 6.2.2.4-1

Table 6.2.2.4-1 : Definition of AvoidanceType

[0213] 6.3.1 Scopeidentifier

[0214] 6.3.1.1 Introduction

[0215] Al policies are defined in Al GAP [2] as containing a scope identifier and one or more policy statements where policy statements contain policy objectives and/or policy resources. This clause defines the structured data type Scopeidentifier.

[0216] The Scopeidentifier contains the attributes defined in table 6.3.1.1-1 : Table 6.3.1.1-1 : Definition of data type Scopeidentifier

[0217] 6.3.3 Statements for policy objectives

[0218] 6.3.3.1 Introduction

[0219] Al policies are defined in A1GAP [2] as containing a scope identifier and one or more policy statements where policy statements contain policy objectives and/or policy resources. This clause defines the structured data types and attributes to be used for policy objectives.

[0220] Table 6.3.3.1-1 specifies the data types defined for policy objectives in the Al-P interface protocol. The possible combinations of these are defined in clause 7. Table 6.3.3.1-1 : Statements for policy objectives

[0221] 6.3.3.7 Energy saving targets

[0222] The EsObjectives statement contains the attributes defined in table 6.3.3.7-1 :

Table 6.3.3.7-1 : Definition of statement type EsObjectives

NOTE: Presence condition "C" means that one and only attribute shall be included when this data type is used

[0223] 6.3.4 Statements for policy resources

[0224] 6.3.4.5 Energy Savings resources

[0225] The EsResources statement is defined in Table 6.3.4.5-2 as an array of the type

EsResource defined in Table 6.3.4.5-1.

Table 6.3.4.5-1 : Definition of type EsResource

Table 6.3.4.5-2: Definition of statement type EsResources

[0226] When the value of the operationalPreference attribute is set to FORBID, the operationalCells contains cells that are forbidden from being non-operational while performing the network energy savings. The operationalCells contains cells that are of equal importance.

[0227] When the value of the operationalPreference attribute is set to AVOID, the operationalCells contains cells that should be avoided from being non-operational while performing the network energy savings. The operationalCells contains cells in descending order of importance for how they should be avoided, e.g. the first entry is most avoided from being non- operational while performing the network energy savings. [0228] When the value of the coveragePreference attribute is set to FORBID, the coverageCells contains cells that are forbidden from having any coverage impact while performing the network energy savings. The coverageCells contains cells that are of equal importance.

[0229] When the value of the coveragePreference attribute is set to AVOID, the coverageCells contains cells that should be avoided from having any coverage impact while performing the network energy savings. The coverageCells contains cells in descending order of importance for how they should be avoided, e.g. the first entry is most avoided from having any coverage impact while performing the network energy savings.

[0230] 6.4 Policy representations objects

[0231] 6.4.1 Policy object

[0232] 6.4.1.1 General

[0233] A PolicyObject is based on IETF RFC 8259 [6] (JSON) and it always contains one set of: one Scopeidentifier, and one or more Statements.

[0234] The PolicyObject can contain objective and/or resource statements as defined in table 6.4.1.1-1.

Table 6.4.1.1-1 : General definition of PolicyObject

NOTE: Presence condition "M" means that the data type shall be included in a PolicyObject Allowed combinations are listed in clause 7. Presence condition "C" means that at least one Statement (for policy objectives and/or policy resources) shall be included. Presence condition “O” means that the data type can be optionally included in a PolicyObject.

[0235] This definition is general and indicates how to formally construct a PolicyObject.

The policy types in clause 7 defines PolicyObjects for usage in the Al procedures defined in Al AP

[3].

[0236] 7.2 Policy type definitions

[0237] 7.2.9 Energy Savings

[0238] 7.2.9.1 Policy type identifier

[0239] PolicyTypeld: ORAN_EnergySaving_1.0.0

[0240] 7.2.9.2 Rationale

[0241] 7.2.9.2.1 Use case

[0242] See "Use case 8: Network Energy saving Use Cases " in Non-RT RIC & Al interface: Use Cases and Requirements [1],

[0243] 7.2.9.2.2 Statements, restrictions and extensions

[0244] An energy saving statement (i.e. esObjectives and/or esResources) statement can be applied together with Scopeidentifier containing different combinations of identifiers. Not all combinations are relevant. The following table indicates combinations that are allowed. Table 7.2.9.2.2-1 : Allowed combinations of esObjectives/ esResources statement with Scopeidentifier

NOTE 1 : On each row is listed a combination of identifiers that is allowed for the indicated statement Notation is the same as for cardinality: "0" means the identifier shall not occur, means the identifier may occur and "1" means the identifier shall occur. Only at most one occurrence of an identifier is allowed in the present version.

NOTE 2 : When Scopeidentifier contains taiList or cellldList, and esResources is present, the cells indicated in esResources should be a subset of the cells implied by the Scopeidentifier.

[0245] 7.2.9.3 JSON schemas

[0246] 7.2.9.3.1 Policy schema

[0247] 7.2.9.3.2 Policy status schema

[0248] The generic policy status schema in clause 7.1.2.2 is used.

[0249] A.11 Energy Savings

[0250] A.1 1 .1 Comprehensive energy saving

[0251 ] A.11.1.1 Energy saving over tracking area

[0252] A.11.1.2 Energy saving over cell list

[0253] A.11.2 Energy saving with exclusion cell list

[0254] A.11.2.1 Energy saving Over cells that must remain operational but can have some coverage impact.

[0255] A.11.2.2 Energy saving over cells that must remain operational and maintain full coverage.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A system comprising: a non-real-time (Non-RT) radio access network intelligent controller (RIC) configured to: obtain a policy schema; generate, based on the policy schema, an energy-saving policy for execution by a near- real-time (Near-RT) RIC, the energy-saving policy comprising at least one of: an energysaving control parameter, a restriction control parameter, and an operational and coverage state control parameter; and provide, to the Near-RT RIC via an Al interface, the energy-saving policy.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the energy-saving policy comprises at least one policy scope identifier specifying one or more first cells in a network, at least one policy objective specifying an energy-saving target of the one or more first cells, and at least one policy resource.

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein the energy-saving control parameter are specified in the at least one policy resource, and comprise one or more of: an energy-saving type specifying one or more energy-saving methods; an energy-saving type preference comprising a preference of usage of the one or more energy-saving methods; a cell identifier (ID) list comprising one or more second cells; and a cell preference comprising a preference of usage of the one or more second cells.

4. The system according to claim 3, wherein: the preference of usage of the one or more second cells comprises one or more of: a preference to forbid the one or more second cells from performing the energy saving type, a preference to allow the one or more second cells to perform the energy saving type, a preference to avoid the one or more second cells from performing the energy saving type relative to each other, and a preference to prefer the one or more second cells to perform the energy saving type relative to each other; and the preference of usage of the energy-saving type comprises one or more of: a preference to forbid the one or more energy-saving methods from being performed by the one or more first cells, a preference to allow the one or more energy-saving methods to be performed by the one or more first cells, a preference to avoid the one or more energysaving methods from being performed by the one or more first cells relative to each other, and a preference to prefer the one or more energy-saving methods to be performed by the one or more first cells relative to each other.

5. The system according to claim 3, wherein the one or more energy-saving methods comprise one or more of: a cell carrier shutdown, a radio frequency (RF) channel reconfiguration, and an advanced sleep mode (ASM).

6. The system according to claim 2, wherein the restriction control parameter are specified in the at least one policy resource, and comprise one or more of: a shutdown exclusion cell list comprising one or more third cells that are not allowed to perform shut down operations; and a radio frequency (RF) channel exclusion cell list comprising one or more fourth cells that are not allowed to perform RF channel reconfiguration.

7. The system according to claim 2, wherein the operational and coverage state control parameter are specified in the at least one policy resource, and comprise one or more of: an operational cell list comprising one or more fifth cells; an operational preference comprising a preference of operational state of the one or more fifth cells; a coverage cell list comprising one or more sixth cells; and a coverage preference comprising a preference of cell coverage impact of the one or more sixth cells.

8. The system according to claim 7, wherein: the preference of operational state comprises one or more of: a preference to forbid the one or more fifth cells from becoming non-operational; and a preference to avoid the one or more fifth cells from becoming non-operational relative to each other; and the preference of cell coverage impact comprises one or more of: a preference to forbid the one or more sixth cells from receiving any coverage impact; and a preference to avoid the one or more sixth cells from receiving any coverage impact relative to each other.

9. The system according to claim 2, wherein: the at least one policy scope identifier comprises one or more of a cell identifier (ID) list comprising a plurality of cell IDs and a tracking area identity (TAI) list; and the at least one policy objective comprises one or more of an average value of energy consumption and an energy consumption reduction.

10. A method comprising: obtaining a policy schema; generating, based on the policy schema, an energy-saving policy for execution by a near-real-time (Near-RT) RIC, wherein the energy-saving policy comprises at least one of: an energy-saving control parameter, a restriction control parameter, and an operational and coverage state control parameter; and providing, to the Near-RT RIC via an Al interface, the energy-saving policy.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the energy-saving policy comprises at least one policy scope identifier specifying one or more first cells in a network, at least one policy objective specifying an energy-saving target of the one or more first cells, and at least one policy resource.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the energy-saving control parameter are specified in the at least one policy resource, and comprise one or more of: an energy-saving type specifying one or more energy-saving methods; an energy-saving type preference comprising a preference of usage of the one or more energy-saving methods; a cell identifier (ID) list comprising one or more second cells; and a cell preference comprising a preference of usage of the one or more second cells.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein: the preference of usage of the one or more second cells comprises one or more of: a preference to forbid the one or more second cells from performing the energy saving type, a preference to allow the one or more second cells to perform the energy saving type, a preference to avoid the one or more second cells from performing the energy saving type relative to each other, and a preference to prefer the one or more second cells to perform the energy saving type relative to each other; and the preference of usage of the energy-saving type comprises one or more of: a preference to forbid the one or more energy-saving methods from being performed by the one or more first cells, a preference to allow the one or more energy-saving methods to be performed by the one or more first cells, a preference to avoid the one or more energysaving methods from being performed by the one or more first cells relative to each other, and a preference to prefer the one or more energy-saving methods to be performed by the one or more first cells relative to each other.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein the one or more energy-saving methods comprise one or more of: a cell carrier shutdown, a radio frequency (RF) channel reconfiguration, and an advanced sleep mode (ASM).

15. The method according to claim 11, wherein the restriction control parameter are specified in the at least one policy resource, and comprise one or more of: a shutdown exclusion cell list comprising one or more third cells that are not allowed to perform shut down operations; and a radio frequency (RF) channel exclusion cell list comprising one or more fourth cells that are not allowed to perform RF channel reconfiguration.

16. The method according to claim 11, wherein the operational and coverage state control parameter are specified in the at least one policy resource, and comprise one or more of: an operational cell list comprising one or more fifth cells; an operational preference comprising a preference of operational state of the one or more fifth cells; a coverage cell list comprising one or more sixth cells; and a coverage preference comprising a preference of cell coverage impact of the one or more sixth cells.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein: the preference of operational state comprises one or more of: a preference to forbid the one or more fifth cells from becoming non-operational; and a preference to avoid the one or more fifth cells from becoming non-operational relative to each other; and the preference of cell coverage impact comprises one or more of: a preference to forbid the one or more sixth cells from receiving any coverage impact; and a preference to avoid the one or more sixth cells from receiving any coverage impact relative to each other.

18. The method according to claim 11, wherein: the at least one policy scope identifier comprises one or more of a cell identifier (ID) list comprising a plurality of cell IDs and a tracking area identity (TAI) list; and the at least one policy objective comprises one or more of an average value of energy consumption and an energy consumption reduction.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon instructions executable by a system that comprises a non-real-time (Non-RT) radio access network intelligent controller (RIC) to cause the Non-RT RIC to perform a method comprising: obtaining a policy schema; generating, based on the policy schema, an energy-saving policy for execution by a near-real-time (Near-RT) RIC, wherein the energy-saving policy comprises at least one of: an energy-saving control parameter, a restriction control parameter, and an operational and coverage state control parameter; and providing, to the Near-RT RIC via an Al interface, the energy-saving policy.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 19, wherein the energy-saving policy comprises at least one policy scope identifier specifying one or more first cells in a network, at least one policy objective specifying an energy-saving target of the one or more first cells, and at least one policy resource.