Solution for UE to request initial provisioning or updating of UE policy

Abstract

Described herein is a solution for a UE to request an initial allocation or update of a UE policy. A device of a user equipment (UE) includes a radio frequency (RF) interface and one or more processors coupled to the RF interface. In one embodiment, the one or more processors are configured to: encode an indication of a UE policy allocation request in a container that is transparent to an access and mobility management function (AMF) in a non-access stratum (NAS) message. In another embodiment, the one or more processors are configured to: encode an indication of a UE policy update request in a container that is transparent to an access and mobility management function (AMF) in a non-access stratum (NAS) message. The one or more processors are also configured to: send a NAS message to an AMF via an RF interface; and receive a response from a policy control function (PCF) via the AMF.

Description

[0001] Priority claim

[0002] This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 62 / 682,725, filed on June 8, 2018, entitled “MECHANISMS TO REQUEST USER EQUIPMENT (UE) POLICY INITIAL PROVISIONING OR UPDATE,” and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 62 / 688,300, filed on June 21, 2018, entitled “MECHANISMS TO REQUEST USER EQUIPMENT (UE) POLICY INITIAL PROVISIONING OR UPDATE,” both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Technical Field

[0003] Various embodiments herein generally relate to the field of wireless communications, and more particularly, to a solution for a UE to request initial provisioning or updating of UE policies. Background Art

[0004] Wireless mobile communication technology can use various standards and protocols to transmit data between base stations and wireless mobile devices. Wireless communication system standards and protocols may include: the third generation partnership project (3GPP) long term evolution (LTE); the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.16 standard, commonly known as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) in the industry; and the IEEE 802.11 standard for wireless local area networks (WLANs), commonly known as Wi-Fi in the industry. In the 3GPP radio access network (RAN) in the LTE system, the base station may include a RAN node (e.g., an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) node B (also commonly referred to as an evolved node B, enhanced node B, eNodeB, or eNB)) and / or a radio network controller (RNC) in the E-UTRAN, which communicates with a wireless communication device called a user equipment (UE). In the fifth generation (5G) wireless RAN, the RAN node may include a 5G node, a new air interface (NR) node, or a g-node B (gNB). BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0005] The features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Figure 1 The invention illustrates features of the present disclosure by way of example; and wherein:

[0006] Figure 1 The architecture of a system of networks according to some embodiments is shown.

[0007] Figure 2 An architecture of another system including a second core network (CN) according to some embodiments is shown.

[0008] Figure 3 Depicted is a simplified diagram showing a modified registration process in accordance with some embodiments.

[0009] Figure 4 Depicted is a simplified diagram illustrating a UE-triggered UE policy provisioning procedure in accordance with some embodiments.

[0010] Figure 5 A method performed at a user equipment (UE) for UE policy provisioning request according to some embodiments is shown.

[0011] Figure 6 A method for a UE policy update request performed at a user equipment (UE) according to some embodiments is shown.

[0012] Figure 7 Example components of a device according to some embodiments are shown.

[0013] Figure 8 An example interface of a baseband circuit according to some embodiments is shown.

[0014] Fig. 9 is a diagram of a control plane protocol stack according to some embodiments.

[0015] Fig.10 is a diagram of a user plane protocol stack according to some embodiments.

[0016] Fig.11 is a block diagram illustrating components capable of reading instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (eg, a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and performing any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, according to some example embodiments.

[0017] Reference will now be made to the exemplary embodiments illustrated, and specific language will be used herein to describe the same. However, it will be understood that no limitation of the scope of the technology is intended thereby. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numerals may be used in different figures to identify the same or similar elements. In the following description, specific details such as specific structures, architectures, interfaces, technologies, etc. are set forth for the purpose of explanation rather than limitation, so as to provide a thorough understanding of various aspects of the claimed embodiments. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art who benefit from the present disclosure that various aspects of the claimed embodiments may be practiced in other examples that depart from these specific details. In some cases, descriptions of well-known devices, circuits, and methods are omitted to avoid obscuring the description of the embodiments of the present disclosure by unnecessary details.

[0019] The various aspects of the illustrative embodiments will be described using terms commonly used by those skilled in the art to convey the essence of their work to other persons skilled in the art. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that alternative embodiments may be practiced with only some of the described aspects. For purposes of explanation, specific numbers, materials, and configurations are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the illustrative embodiments. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that alternative embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other cases, well-known features have been omitted or simplified to avoid obscuring the illustrative embodiments.

[0020] In addition, various operations will be described as multiple discrete operations in a manner that is most helpful for understanding the illustrative embodiments. However, the order of description should not be interpreted as implying that these operations must be dependent on the order. In particular, these operations do not need to be performed in the order presented.

[0021] The phrase "in various embodiments," "in some embodiments," etc. is used repeatedly. The phrase generally does not refer to the same embodiment; however, it may. The terms "comprising," "having," and "including" are synonymous unless the context dictates otherwise. The phrase "A or B" means (A), (B), or (A and B).

[0022] Example embodiments may be described as a process, which is depicted as a flow chart, a flowchart, a data flow diagram, a structure diagram, or a block diagram. Although a flow chart may describe the operations as a sequential process, many operations may be performed in parallel, concurrently, or simultaneously. In addition, the order of the operations may be rearranged. A process may terminate when its operations are completed, but may also have additional operations not included in the figures. A process may correspond to a method, a function, a procedure, a subroutine, a subprogram, etc. When a process corresponds to a function, its termination may correspond to the function returning to the calling function and / or the main function.

[0023] As used herein, the term "processor" refers to, is part of, or includes the following circuits: capable of sequentially and automatically performing a series of arithmetic or logical operations; recording, storing, and / or transmitting digital data. The term "processor" may refer to one or more application processors, one or more baseband processors, a physical central processing unit (CPU), a single-core processor, a dual-core processor, a triple-core processor, a quad-core processor, and / or any other device capable of executing or operating computer-executable instructions (e.g., program code, software modules, and / or function processing). As used herein, the term "interface" refers to, is part of, or includes the following circuits: providing information exchange between two or more components or devices. The term "interface" may refer to one or more hardware interfaces (e.g., a bus, an input / output (I / O) interface, a peripheral component interface, etc.).

[0024] Figure 1 The architecture of a system 100 of a network according to some embodiments is shown. System 100 is shown to include user equipment (UE) 101 and UE 102. UE 101 and 102 are shown as smart phones (e.g., handheld touch screen mobile computing devices that can connect to one or more cellular networks), but may also include any mobile or non-mobile computing devices, such as personal data assistants (PDAs), pagers, laptop computers, desktop computers, wireless handheld devices, or any computing device that includes a wireless communication interface.

[0025] In some embodiments, any of UEs 101 and 102 may include an Internet of Things (IoT) UE, which may include a network access layer designed for low-power IoT applications that utilize short-term UE connections. The IoT UE may utilize technologies such as machine-to-machine (M2M) or machine-type communication (MTC) to exchange data with an MTC server or device via a public land mobile network (PLMN), proximity services (ProSe) or device-to-device (D2D) communication, a sensor network, or an IoT network. The M2M or MTC data exchange may be a machine-initiated data exchange. The IoT network describes interconnected IoT UEs, which may include uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices (within the Internet infrastructure) with short-term connections. The IoT UE may execute background applications (e.g., keep-alive messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate connectivity to the IoT network.

[0026] UEs 101 and 102 may be configured to connect (e.g., be communicatively coupled) to a radio access network (RAN) 110, which may be, for example, an evolved universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN), a NextGen RAN (NG RAN), or other types of RANs. UEs 101 and 102 utilize connections 103 and 104, respectively, each of which includes a physical communication interface or layer (discussed in further detail below); in this example, connections 103 and 104 are shown as air interfaces for achieving communicatively coupling, and may conform to cellular communication protocols, such as a global system for mobile communications (GSM) protocol, a code division multiple access (CDMA) network protocol, a push-to-talk (PTT) protocol, a PTT over cellular (POC) protocol, a universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) protocol, a 3GPP long term evolution (LTE) protocol, a fifth generation (5G) protocol, a new radio (NR) protocol, etc.

[0027] In this embodiment, UE 101 and 102 may also directly exchange communication data via the ProSe interface 105. The ProSe interface 105 may alternatively be referred to as a sidelink interface, which includes one or more logical channels, including but not limited to a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), a physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH), and a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH).

[0028] UE 102 is shown as being configured to access access point (AP) 106 via connection 107. Connection 107 may include a local wireless connection, such as a connection compliant with any IEEE 802.11 protocol, wherein AP 106 would include wireless fidelity In this example, AP 106 is shown connected to the Internet and not to the core network of the wireless system (described in further detail below).

[0029] The RAN 110 may include one or more access nodes that enable connections 103 and 104. These access nodes (ANs) may be referred to as base stations (BSs), NodeBs, evolved NodeBs (eNBs), next generation NodeBs (gNBs), RAN nodes, etc., and may include ground stations (e.g., terrestrial access points) or satellite stations that provide coverage within a geographic area (e.g., a cell). The RAN 110 may include one or more RAN nodes (e.g., macro RAN nodes 111) for providing macro cells and one or more RAN nodes (e.g., low power (LP) RAN nodes 112) for providing femto cells or pico cells (e.g., cells with smaller coverage areas, smaller user capacity, or higher bandwidth than macro cells).

[0030] Either of the RAN nodes 111 and 112 may terminate the air interface protocol and may be the first point of contact for the UEs 101 and 102. In some embodiments, either of the RAN nodes 111 and 112 may perform various logical functions of the RAN 110, including but not limited to radio network controller (RNC) functions, such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management and data packet scheduling, and mobility management.

[0031] According to some embodiments, UEs 101 and 102 may be configured to communicate with each other or with any of RAN nodes 111 and 112 using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) communication signals on a multi-carrier communication channel according to various communication techniques, such as but not limited to orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) communication techniques (e.g., for downlink communication) or single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) communication techniques (e.g., for uplink and ProSe or sidelink communication), but the scope of the embodiments is not limited thereto. The OFDM signal may include multiple orthogonal subcarriers.

[0032] In some embodiments, a downlink resource grid may be used for downlink transmissions from either of the RAN nodes 111 and 112 to the UEs 101 and 102, while uplink transmissions may utilize similar techniques. The grid may be a time-frequency grid, referred to as a resource grid or a time-frequency resource grid, which is a physical resource in each time slot in the downlink. This time-frequency plane representation is a common practice in OFDM systems, which makes radio resource allocation intuitive. Each column and row of the resource grid corresponds to an OFDM symbol and an OFDM subcarrier, respectively. The duration of the resource grid in the time domain corresponds to a time slot in a radio frame. The smallest time-frequency unit in the resource grid is called a resource element. Each resource grid includes a plurality of resource blocks, which describe the mapping of certain physical channels to resource elements. Each resource block includes a set of resource elements; in the frequency domain, this may represent the minimum amount of resources that can currently be allocated. There are several different physical downlink channels that are transmitted using such resource blocks.

[0033] The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) may carry user data and higher layer signaling to the UEs 101 and 102. The physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) may carry information about the transport format and resource allocation related to the PDSCH channel, among other things. It may also inform the UEs 101 and 102 of the transport format, resource allocation, and H-ARQ (Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request) information related to the uplink shared channel. Typically, downlink scheduling (allocation of control channel resource blocks and shared channel resource blocks to the UEs 101 and 102 within the cell) may be performed at any of the RAN nodes 111 and 112 based on channel quality information fed back from any of the UEs 101 and 102. Downlink resource allocation information may be sent on the PDCCH for (e.g., allocated to) each of the UEs 101 and 102.

[0034] PDCCH can use control channel elements (CCE) to convey control information. Before being mapped to resource elements, PDCCH complex symbols can first be organized into quadruplets, which can then be arranged using a sub-block interleaver for rate matching. Each PDCCH can be sent using one or more of these CCEs, where each CCE can correspond to nine groups of four physical resource elements called resource element groups (REGs). Four orthogonal phase shift keying (QPSK) symbols can be mapped to each REG. PDCCH can be sent using one or more CCEs, depending on the size of the downlink control information (DCI) and channel conditions. Four or more different PDCCH formats with different numbers of CCEs (e.g., aggregation levels, L=1, 2, 4, or 8) can be defined in LTE.

[0035] Some embodiments may use a concept that is an extension of the above concept to allocate resources for control channel information. For example, some embodiments may utilize an enhanced physical downlink control channel (EPDCCH), which uses PDSCH resources for control information transmission. One or more enhanced control channel elements (ECCEs) may be used to send EPDCCH. Similar to the above, each ECCE may correspond to nine groups of four physical resource elements called enhanced resource element groups (EREGs). In some cases, ECCEs may have other numbers of EREGs.

[0036] The RAN 110 is shown as being communicatively coupled to a core network (CN) 120 via an S1 interface 113. In an embodiment, the CN 120 may be an evolved packet core (EPC) network, a next generation packet core (NPC) network, or some other type of CN. In this embodiment, the S1 interface 113 is divided into two parts: an S1-U interface 114, which carries traffic data between the RAN nodes 111 and 112 and a serving gateway (S-GW) 122; and an S1 mobility management entity (MME) interface 115, which is a signaling interface between the RAN nodes 111 and 112 and the MME 121.

[0037] In this embodiment, CN 120 includes MME 121, S-GW 122, Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway (P-GW) 123 and Home Subscriber Server (HSS) 124. MME 121 can be similar in function to the control plane of the legacy Serving General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Support Node (SGSN). MME 121 can manage mobility aspects in access, such as gateway selection and tracking area list management. HSS 124 can include a database for network users, including subscription-related information for supporting network entities to handle communication sessions. CN 120 can include one or more HSS 124, depending on the number of mobile subscribers, the capacity of the equipment, the organization of the network, etc. For example, HSS 124 can provide support for routing / roaming, authentication, authorization, naming / addressing solutions, location dependencies, etc.

[0038] The S-GW 122 may terminate the S1 interface 113 to the RAN 110 and route data packets between the RAN 110 and the CN 120. In addition, the S-GW 122 may be a local mobility anchor for inter-RAN node handovers and may also provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility. Other responsibilities may include legal interception, charging, and some policy enforcement.

[0039] The P-GW 123 may terminate the SGi interface to the PDN. The P-GW 123 may route data packets between the EPC network 123 and an external network (e.g., a network including an application server 130 (alternatively referred to as an application function (AF))) via an Internet Protocol (IP) interface 125. The application server 130 may be an element that provides applications (e.g., UMTS packet service (PS) domain, LTE PS data service, etc.) using IP bearer resources to the core network. In this embodiment, the P-GW 123 is shown as being communicatively coupled to the application server 130 via an IP communication interface 125. The application server 130 may also be configured to support one or more communication services (e.g., voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) sessions, PTT sessions, group communication sessions, social network services, etc.) for the UEs 101 and 102 via the CN 120.

[0040] The P-GW 123 may also be a node for policy enforcement and charging data collection. The Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) 126 is a policy and charging control element of the CN 120. In a non-roaming scenario, there may be a single PCRF associated with the UE's Internet Protocol Connectivity Access Network (IP-CAN) session in the Home Public Land Mobile Network (HPLMN). In a roaming scenario where the service is out of local, there may be two PCRFs associated with the UE's IP-CAN session: the Home PCRF (H-PCRF) within the HPLMN and the Visited PCRF (V-PCRF) in the Visited Public Land Mobile Network (VPLMN). The PCRF 126 may be communicatively coupled to the application server 130 via the P-GW 123. The application server 130 may signal the PCRF 126 to indicate a new service flow and select appropriate quality of service (QoS) and charging parameters. PCRF 126 may provide the rules to a Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF) (not shown) with the appropriate Traffic Flow Template (TFT) and QoS Class Identifier (QCI), which initiates the QoS and charging specified by application server 130 .

[0041] Figure 2 The architecture of another system 200 including a second core network (CN) 220 according to some embodiments is shown. The system 200 is shown to include: a UE 201, which can be the same or similar to the UEs 101 and 102 discussed previously; a (R) AN 210, which can be the same or similar to the RANs 111 and 112 discussed previously; a data network (DN) 203, which can be, for example, an operator service, Internet access, or a third-party service; and a 5G core network (5GC or CN) 220.

[0042] 5GC 220 may include: authentication server function (AUSF) 222; access and mobility management function (AMF) 221; session management function (SMF) 224; network exposure function (NEF) 223; policy control function (PCF) 226; network function (NF) repository function (NRF) 225; unified data management (UDM) 227; application function (AF) 228; user plane function (UPF) 202; and network slice selection function (NSSF) 229.

[0043] UPF 202 can act as an anchor point for intra-RAT and inter-RAT mobility, an external PDU session point for interconnection to DN 203, and a branch point to support multi-homing PDU sessions. UPF 202 can also perform packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, user plane portion of policy rules, legal interception packets (UP set), service usage reporting, QoS processing for the user plane (e.g., packet filtering, gating, UL / DL rate enforcement), uplink service verification (e.g., SDF to QoS flow mapping), transport level packet marking in uplink and downlink, and downlink data packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering. UPF 202 may include an uplink classifier to support routing of service flows to the data network. DN 203 may represent various network operator services, Internet access, or third-party services. DN 203 may include or be similar to the application server 130 discussed previously. UPF 202 may interact with SMF 224 via the N4 reference point between SMF 224 and UPF 202.

[0044] AUSF 222 may store data for authentication of UE 201 and handle authentication related functions. AUSF 222 may facilitate a common authentication framework for various access types. AUSF 222 may communicate with AMF 221 via an N12 reference point between AMF 221 and AUSF 222, and may communicate with UDM 227 via an N13 reference point between UDM 227 and AUSF 222. In addition, AUSF 222 may expose an interface based on Nausf services.

[0045] AMF 221 may be responsible for registration management (e.g., for registering UE 201, etc.), connection management, reachability management, mobility management, and lawful interception of AMF-related events, as well as access authentication and authorization. AMF 221 may be a termination point for the N11 reference point between AMF 221 and SMF 224. AMF 221 may provide for the transport of session management (SM) messages between UE 201 and SMF 224, and act as a transparent proxy for routing SM messages. AMF 221 may also provide for the transport of short message service (SMS) messages between UE 201 and the SMS function (SMSF). Figure 2 (not shown). The AMF 221 may act as a security anchor function (SEA), which may include interacting with the AUSF 222 and the UE 201, receiving intermediate keys established as a result of the UE 201 authentication process. In the case of using USIM-based authentication, the AMF 221 may obtain security information from the AUSF 222. The AMF 221 may also include a security context management (SCM) function, which receives keys from the SEA that it uses to derive access network-specific keys. In addition, the AMF 221 may be a termination point for the RAN CP interface, which may include or be an N2 reference point between the (R)AN 211 and the AMF 221, and the AMF 221 may be a termination point for NAS (N1) signaling and perform NAS encryption and integrity protection.

[0046] The AMF 221 may also support NAS signaling with the UE 201 over the N3 Interworking Function (IWF) interface. The N3 IWF may be used to provide access to untrusted entities. The N3 IWF may be a termination point for the N2 interface between the (R)AN 210 and the AMF 221 for the control plane, and may be a termination point for the N3 reference point between the (R)AN 210 and the UPF 202 for the user plane. Thus, the AMF 221 may process N2 signaling from the SMF 224 and the AMF 221 for PDU sessions and QoS, encapsulate / decapsulate packets for IPSec and N3 tunnels, mark N3 user plane packets in the uplink, and implement QoS corresponding to the N3 packet marking taking into account the QoS requirements associated with such marking received over N2. The N3IWF may also relay uplink and downlink control plane NAS signaling between the UE 201 and the AMF 221 via the N1 reference point between the UE 201 and the AMF 221, and relay uplink and downlink user plane packets between the UE 201 and the UPF 202. The N3IWF also provides a mechanism to establish an IPsec tunnel with the UE 201. The AMF 221 may expose an interface based on Namf services, and may be an N14 reference point between two AMFs 221 and an N14 reference point between the AMF 221 and the 5G Equipment Identity Register (5G-EIR) ( Figure 2 The termination point of the N17 reference point between the two terminals (not shown).

[0047] UE 201 may need to register with AMF 221 in order to receive network services. Registration Management (RM) is used to register or deregister UE 201 with the network (e.g., AMF 221) and establish a UE context in the network (e.g., AMF 221). UE 201 can operate in the RM-REGISTERED state or the RM-DEREGISTERED state. In the RM-DEREGISTERED state, UE 201 is not registered with the network, and the UE context in AMF 221 does not save the valid location or routing information of UE 201, so AM 221 cannot reach UE 201. In the RM-REGISTERED state, UE 201 is registered with the network, and the UE context in AMF 221 can save the valid location or routing information of UE 201, so AMF 221 can reach UE 201. In the RM-REGISTERED state, UE 201 can perform a mobility registration update procedure, perform a periodic registration update procedure triggered by the expiration of a periodic update timer (for example, to notify the network that UE 201 is still active), and perform a registration update procedure to update UE capability information or renegotiate protocol parameters with the network, etc.

[0048] AMF 221 may store one or more RM contexts for UE 201, each RM context being associated with a specific access to the network. The RM context may be a data structure, a database object, etc., which in particular indicates or stores the registration status and periodic update timer for each access type. AMF 221 may also store a 5GC MM context, which may be the same or similar to the (E)MM context discussed previously. In various embodiments, AMF 221 may store CE mode B restriction parameters for UE 201 in an associated MM context or RM context. When necessary, AMF 221 may also derive the value from the UE's usage setting parameters already stored in the UE context (and / or MM / RM context).

[0049] Connection Management (CM) may be used to establish and release a signaling connection between the UE 201 and the AMF 221 over the N1 interface. The signaling connection is used to enable NAS signaling exchanges between the UE 201 and the CN 120, and includes an AN signaling connection between the UE and the access network (AN) (e.g., an RRC connection or a UE-N3IWF connection for non-3GPP access) and an N2 connection for the UE 201 between the AN (e.g., RAN 210) and the AMF 221. The UE 201 may operate in one of two CM states, CM-IDLE mode or CM-CONNECTED mode. When the UE 201 operates in the CM-IDLE state / mode, the UE 201 may not have a NAS signaling connection established with the AMF 221 over the N1 interface, and there may be an (R)AN 210 signaling connection for the UE 201 (e.g., N2 and / or N3 connections). When the UE 201 operates in the CM-CONNECTED state / mode, the UE 201 may have a NAS signaling connection established with the AMF 221 through the N1 interface, and there may be a (R) AN 210 signaling connection (e.g., N2 and / or N3 connection) for the UE 201. Establishing an N2 connection between the (R) AN 210 and the AMF 221 may cause the UE 201 to transition from the CM-IDLE mode to the CM-CONNECTED mode, and when the N2 signaling between the (R) AN 210 and the AMF 221 is released, the UE 201 may transition from the CM-CONNECTED mode to the CM-IDLE mode.

[0050] SMF 224 may be responsible for session management (SM) (e.g., session establishment, modification, and release, including tunnel maintenance between UPF and AN nodes); UE IP address allocation and management (including optional authorization); selection and control of UP functions; configuration of UPF's service steering to route services to the correct destination; termination of interfaces toward policy control functions; control of policy enforcement and part of QoS; lawful interception (for SM events and interfaces to LI system); termination of the SM portion of NAS messages; downlink data notification; initiator of AN-specific SM information, sent to AN via AMF over N2; determination of the SSC mode for the session. SM may refer to the management of a PDU session, which may refer to a PDU connection service that provides or enables the exchange of PDUs between a UE 201 and a data network (DN) 203 identified by a data network name (DNN). A PDU session may be established upon request by UE 201, modified upon request by UE 201 and 5GC 220, and released upon request by UE 201 and 5GC 220, all using NAS SM signaling exchanged over the N1 reference point between UE 201 and SMF 224. Upon request by an application server, 5GC 220 may trigger a specific application in UE 201. In response to receiving a trigger message, UE 201 may pass the trigger message (or relevant parts / information of the trigger message) to one or more identified applications in UE 201. The identified references in UE 201 may establish a PDU session to a specific DNN. SMF 224 may check whether the UE 201 request complies with the user subscription information associated with UE 201. In this regard, SMF 224 may obtain and / or request to receive update notifications about SMF 224-level subscription data from UDM 227.

[0051] SMF 224 may include the following roaming functions: handling local implementation to apply QoS SLA (VPLMN); charging data collection and charging interface (VPLMN); lawful interception (in VPLMN of SM event and interface to LI system); support interaction with external DN to transmit signaling for PDU session authorization / authentication by external DN. An N16 reference point between two SMFs 224 may be included in system 200, which in a roaming scenario may be between another SMF 224 in a visited network and an SMF 224 in a home network. In addition, SMF 224 may expose an interface based on Nsmf services.

[0052] NEF 223 may provide a means for securely opening services and capabilities provided by 3GPP network functions for third parties, internal opening / reopening, application functions (e.g., AF 228), edge computing or fog computing systems, etc. In such an embodiment, NEF 223 may authenticate, authorize and / or restrict AF. NEF 223 may also convert information exchanged with AF 228 and information exchanged with internal network functions. For example, NEF 223 may convert between AF service identifiers and internal 5GC information. NEF 223 may also receive information from other network functions (NFs) based on the open capabilities of other network functions. The information may be stored in NEF 223 as structured data or in a data storage NF using a standardized interface. The stored information may then be reopened by NEF 223 to other NFs and AFs, and / or used for other purposes, such as analysis. In addition, NEF 223 may expose an interface based on Nnef services.

[0053] NRF 225 may support service discovery functionality, receive NF discovery requests from NF instances, and provide information of discovered NF instances to NF instances. NRF 225 also maintains information of available NF instances and their supported services. As used herein, the terms "instantiation", "instantiation", etc. may refer to the creation of an instance, and "instance" may refer to the specific occurrence of an object, which may occur, for example, during the execution of program code. In addition, NRF 225 may expose an interface based on Nnrf services.

[0054] The PCF 226 may provide policy rules to control plane functions to implement them, and may also support a unified policy framework to manage network behavior. The PCF 226 may also implement a front end (FE) to access subscription information related to policy decisions in the UDR of the UDM 227. The PCF 226 may communicate with the AMF 221 via the N15 reference point between the PCF 226 and the AMF 221, which may include the PCF 226 and the AMF 221 in the visited network in a roaming scenario. The PCF 226 may communicate with the AF 228 via the N5 reference point between the PCF 226 and the AF 228, and communicate with the SMF 224 via the N7 reference point between the PCF 226 and the SMF 224. The system 200 and / or the CN 120 may also include an N24 reference point between the PCF 226 (in the home network) and the PCF 226 in the visited network. In addition, the PCF 226 may expose an interface based on Npcf services.

[0055] The UDM 227 may process subscription-related information to support the processing of communication sessions by network entities, and may store subscription data of the UE 201. For example, the subscription data may be transmitted via the N8 reference point ( Figure 2 (not shown) is transmitted between UDM 227 and AMF 221. UDM 227 may include two parts: application FE and user data repository (UDR) ( Figure 2 FE and UDR are not shown in the figure). UDR can store subscription data and policy data for UDM 227 and PCF 226, and / or structured data of open and application data for NEF 223 (including packet flow description (PFD) for application detection, application request information for multiple UE 201). Nudr service-based interface can be exposed by UDR 221 to allow UDM 227, PCF 226 and NEF 223 to access a specific set of stored data, as well as read, update (e.g., add, modify), delete and subscribe to notifications of changes to related data in UDR. UDM can include UDM FE, which is responsible for credential processing, location management, subscription management, etc. Several different front ends can serve the same user in different transactions. UDM-FE accesses subscription information stored in UDR and performs authentication credential processing, user identification processing, access authorization, registration / mobility management and subscription management. UDR can interact with SMF 224 via the N10 reference point between UDM 227 and SMF 224. UDM 227 may also support SMS management, where SMS-FE implements similar application logic as described above. In addition, UDM 227 may expose Nudm service-based interfaces.

[0056] AF 228 can provide application impact on service routing, access network capability opening (NCE), and interact with the policy framework for policy control. NCE can be a mechanism that allows 5GC 220 and AF 228 to provide information to each other via NEF 223, which can be used for edge computing implementation. In such an implementation, network operators and third-party services can be close to UE201 attachment access points to achieve efficient service delivery through reduced end-to-end delay and load on the transmission network. For edge computing implementation, 5GC can select UPF 202 close to UE 201 and perform service guidance from UPF 202 to DN203 via the N6 interface. This can be based on UE subscription data, UE location and information provided by AF 228. In this way, AF 228 can affect UPF (re) selection and service routing. Based on operator deployment, when AF 228 is considered a trusted entity, the network operator can allow AF 228 to interact directly with the relevant NF. In addition, AF 228 can display an interface based on Naf services.

[0057] NSSF 229 may select a set of network slice instances to serve UE 201. If necessary, NSSF 229 may also determine the allowed network slice selection assistance information (NSSAI) and the mapping to the subscribed single NSSAI (S-NSSAI). NSSF229 may also determine the set of AMFs to be used to serve UE 201, or a list of candidate AMFs 221, based on appropriate configuration and possibly by querying NRF 225. The selection of a set of network slice instances for UE 201 may be triggered by the AMF 221 registered with UE 201 through interaction with NSSF 229, which may result in a change of AMF 221. NSSF 229 may interact with AMF 221 via the N22 reference point between AMF 221 and NSSF 229, and may communicate with AMF 221 via the N31 reference point ( Figure 2 229 in the visited network. In addition, the NSSF 229 may expose an interface based on the Nnssf service.

[0058] As previously described, CN 220 may include SMSF, which may be responsible for SMS subscription checking and verification, and relaying SM messages from UE 201 to other entities (e.g., SMS-GMSC / IWMSC / SMS-Router) or from other entities to UE 201. SMS may also interact with AMF 221 and UDM 227 for notification procedures that UE 201 is available for SMS delivery (e.g., setting a UE unreachable flag, and notifying UDM 227 when UE 201 is available for SMS).

[0059] CN 120 may also include Figure 2 Other elements not shown, such as data storage system / architecture, 5G equipment identity register (5G-EIR), security edge protection proxy (SEPP), etc. The data storage system may include a structured data storage network function (SDSF), an unstructured data storage network function (UDSF), etc. Any NF can communicate with the UDSF via the N18 reference point ( Figure 2 UDSF (not shown) stores unstructured data (e.g., UE context) in UDSF or obtains unstructured data from UDSF. Each NF can share a UDSF for storing their own unstructured data, or each NF can have its own UDSF located at or near each NF. In addition, UDSF can expose an interface based on Nudsf service ( Figure 2Not shown). The 5G-EIR may be a NF that checks the status of the Permanent Equipment Identifier (PEI) for determining whether a particular device / entity is blacklisted from the network, and the SEPP may be a non-transparent proxy that performs topology hiding, message filtering and policing on the inter-PLMN control plane interface.

[0060] Additionally, there may be more reference points and / or service-based interfaces between NF services in a NF. However, for clarity, Figure 2 These interfaces and reference points are omitted in the description. In one example, CN 220 may include an Nx interface, which is an inter-CN interface between an MME (e.g., MME 121) and an AMF 221, so as to enable interworking between CN 220 and CN 120. Other example interfaces / reference points may include an N5g-eir service-based interface exposed by 5G-EIR, an N27 reference point between an NRF in a visited network and an NRF in a home network, and an N31 reference point between an NSSF in a visited network and an NSSF in a home network.

[0061] Current 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards and specifications do not clearly define how a User Equipment (UE) requests the Policy Control Function (PCF) for initial provisioning of UE policy for at least the following two scenarios: (1) when the UE is powered on for the first time and has no UE policy; and (2) when a new UMTS User Identity Module (USIM) is inserted or enabled.

[0062] In addition, UE policy update only supports PCF trigger direction. In the case where the UE knows that the 5GC rejects the PDU session establishment request due to some wrong values ​​from the UE policy (e.g., invalid data network name (DNN), invalid session and service continuity (SSC) mode, invalid single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI)), based on the current design, there is no means for the UE to trigger the UE policy update, and the same error situation will occur again because the UE policy is not updated and the UE will still use the outdated policy to request a new PDU session establishment.

[0063] If the UE is not assigned any UE policy or when the UE policy is obviously wrong or outdated, the UE may not be able to select the correct or optimal combination of DNN and S-NSSAI to establish a PDU session, and therefore, the user may not be able to obtain any data / packet service in the 5G system (5GS). In this case, the embodiments discussed herein may allow the UE to notify the network (e.g., PCF) of an outdated or non-existent UE policy so that the PCF can signal the UE with a new UE policy and the user can be able to receive packet services.

[0064] According to various embodiments, if there is no UE policy when the UE is powered on for the first time or a new USIM is inserted or enabled, the UE can indicate an initial UE policy provisioning request to the PCF. The PCF can then provision the latest version of the UE policy to the UE accordingly.

[0065] According to various embodiments, if the UE knows that the UE policy is outdated based on the rejection reason received from the 5GC, the UE can indicate an initial UE policy allocation request or a UE policy update request with a corresponding policy identifier (e.g., a policy segment identifier (PSI)) to the PCF, and then the PCF can allocate or update the latest version of the corresponding UE policy.

[0066] UE policy initial provisioning request from UE

[0067] Figure 3 Depicted is a simplified diagram showing a modified registration process according to some embodiments.It should be noted that some well-known steps or actions may be omitted so as not to obscure the description of the embodiments of the present disclosure with unnecessary detail.

[0068] refer to Figure 3 , showing a user equipment (UE) 302, a (radio) access node ((R)AN) 304, an access and mobility management function (AMF) 306, and a policy control function (PCF) 308. In the case where the UE 302 does not have a UE policy when it is powered on for the first time or a new USIM is inserted, the UE 302 may initiate a registration procedure, for example, as defined in Section 4.2.2.2.2 of Technical Specification (TS) 23.502, V15.1.0 (March 2018). In some embodiments, the UE may include an indication of an initial UE policy provisioning request (e.g., a specific PSI value or a new indication included in a UE policy container or other container transparent to the AMF) in the initial registration request message, as indicated by 310, 312. The initial registration request may also include or indicate a registration type, a subscription hidden identifier (SUCI) or a 5G globally unique temporary UE identity (GUTI), a last visited TAI (if available), security parameters, requested NSSAI, UE 5GC capabilities, PDU session state, a list of PDU sessions to be activated, a follow request, a MICO mode preference, requested DRX parameters, UE support for request type flag "handover" during the attach procedure, and / or other similar parameters. Upon receiving the UE policy container (or other transparent container), the AMF 306 may forward the UE policy container (or other transparent container) to the PCF 308 in Npcf_AMPolicyControl_Create, as indicated at 314, for example, as defined in Section 4.16.1.2 of TS 23.502.

[0069] Next, as indicated by 316, the PCF 308 may respond to the AMF 306 with an Npcf_AMPolicy_Control_Create response, for example, as defined in Section 4.16.1.2 of TS 23.502. In some embodiments, if the UE policy is in the PCF and the PCF supports UE policy provisioning, the PCF 308 may include the latest version of the UE policy in the Npcf_AMPolicy_Control_Create response. The AMF 306 may then initiate a UE configuration update procedure to transmit the UE policy to the UE, as indicated by 318. In one example, the UE policy may be transmitted in a UE policy container that is transparent to the AMF. In other embodiments, if the UE policy is not in the PCF or the PCF does not support UE policy provisioning, the PCF 308 may include an indication in the Npcf_AMPolicy_Control_Create response that the PCF does not support UE policy provisioning. The AMF 306 may transmit the indication to the UE in a UE policy container or other transparent container included in a downlink NAS transport message.

[0070] UE policy update request from UE

[0071] In some instances, if the UE knows that the UE policy is outdated based on the rejection cause received from the 5GC, it may include an indication of an "initial UE policy provisioning request" (e.g., a specific PSI value or new indication included in a UE policy container or other container transparent to the AMF) or a "UE policy update request" in the Registration Request message as described above, optionally with a corresponding policy identifier (e.g., a policy section identifier included in the UE policy container). Upon receiving the UE policy container (or other transparent container), the AMF forwards the UE policy container (or other transparent container) to the PCF 308 in Npcf_AMPolicyControl_Create, as described above.

[0072] Next, similar to what is described above regarding the UE policy initial provisioning request, the PCF may respond to the AMF with an Npcf_AMPolicy_Control_Create response. In some embodiments, if the UE policy is in the PCF and the PCF supports UE policy provisioning, the PCF may include the latest version of the UE policy in the Npcf_AMPolicy_Control_Create response. The AMF may then initiate a UE configuration update process to transmit the UE policy to the UE. In one example, the UE policy may be transmitted in a UE policy container that is transparent to the AMF. In other embodiments, if the PCF does not have the UE policy or the PCF does not support UE policy provisioning, the PCF may include an indication in the Npcf_AMPolicy_Control_Create response that the PCF does not support UE policy provisioning. The AMF may transmit the indication to the UE in a UE policy container or other transparent container included in a downlink NAS transport message.

[0073] UE policy provisioning process triggered by UE

[0074] Figure 4 Depicted is a simplified diagram illustrating a UE-triggered UE policy provisioning process according to some embodiments.It should be noted that some well-known steps or actions may be omitted so as not to obscure the description of the embodiments of the present disclosure with unnecessary details.

[0075] refer to Figure 4 , showing a user equipment (UE) 402, a (radio) access node ((R)AN) 404, an access and mobility management function (AMF) 406, and a policy control function (PCF) 408. In some embodiments, the process may be initiated when the UE 402 determines that the UE policy is outdated (e.g., the rejection cause in a NAS MM or SM message from the network indicates an invalid DNN or S-NSSAI).

[0076] In some embodiments, the UE 402 may send a UE policy provisioning request to the AMF 404, the UE policy provisioning request including a UE policy container containing an indication of an initial UE policy provisioning request or a UE policy container containing an indication of a UE policy update and a corresponding PSI, as indicated at 410.

[0077] In some embodiments, the AMF 406 may send an Npcf_UEPolicyControl_Update request including the UE policy container received from the UE 402 to the PCF 406, as indicated by 412.

[0078] In some embodiments, the PCF 408 may then trigger a UE policy transfer procedure, e.g., as defined in Section 4.2.4.3 of TS 23.502. In particular, in one example, the AMF 406 may receive access and mobility related information or a UE policy container (UE access and PDU session selection related information) or both from the PCF 408 in an Npcf_AMPolicyControlGet response, as indicated by 414A. In another example, the AMF 406 may receive access and mobility related information or a UE policy container (UE access and PDU session selection related information) or both from the PCF 408 in an Npcf_AMPolicyControlUpdateNotify, as indicated by 414B.

[0079] In some embodiments, if the UE 402 is in CM-IDLE, the AMF 406 may trigger a network-triggered service request, and if the UE is unreachable, the AMF 406 may report to the PCF that the UE policy container cannot be delivered to the UE. In other embodiments, if the UE is in CM-CONNECTED, the AMF 406 may transparently deliver the UE policy container (UE access and PDU session selection related information) received from the PCF 408 to the UE. In one example, the UE policy container may include a PSI list to notify the UE that one or more PSIs have been added, removed, or modified.

[0080] Figure 5 A method 500 for UE policy provisioning request performed at a user equipment (UE) according to some embodiments is shown. The method 500 may begin at block 502 by encoding an indication of a UE policy provisioning request in a container that is transparent to an access and mobility management function (AMF) in a non-access stratum (NAS) message. In some embodiments, the NAS message may be a registration request message. In other embodiments, the NAS message may be a UE policy provisioning request message. In these embodiments, the UE policy provisioning request message may be carried in a NAS uplink transmission message. In some embodiments, the transparent container may be a UE policy container. In some embodiments, the transparent container may also include a policy type identifier that indicates at least one type of policy to be provisioned. In these embodiments, the type of policy may be any of an access network discovery and selection policy (ANDSP), a user routing selection policy (URSP), a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) related policy, or other new policy types. In some embodiments, the indication may be achieved by setting a policy segment identifier to a specific standardized value.

[0081] Method 500 may continue at block 504 by sending the NAS message to the AMF. The indication in the transparent container may then be forwarded by the AMF to a policy control function (PCF).

[0082] The method 500 may also include: at box 506, receiving a response to the UE policy provisioning request from the PCF via the AMF. In some embodiments, the response may be carried in a NAS downlink transmission message. In some embodiments, if there is a UE policy in the PCF and the PCF supports UE policy provisioning, the response may include the latest UE policy in a transparent container. In one example, the response may include the latest UE policy for the policy type requested by the UE. In other embodiments, if there is no UE policy in the PCF or the PCF does not support UE policy provisioning, the response may include an indication in the transparent container that the PCF does not support UE policy provisioning.

[0083] Figure 6 A method 600 for a UE policy update request performed at a user equipment (UE) according to some embodiments is shown. The method 600 may begin at block 602 by encoding an indication of a UE policy update request in a container transparent to an access and mobility management function (AMF) in a non-access stratum (NAS) message. In some embodiments, the NAS message may be a registration request message. In other embodiments, the NAS message may be a UE policy provisioning request message. In these embodiments, the UE policy provisioning request message may be carried in a NAS uplink transmission message. In some embodiments, the transparent container may be a UE policy container. In some embodiments, the UE policy information may be divided into policy sections, and each policy section may be uniquely identified by a policy section identifier between the UE and the PCF. In some embodiments, the transparent container may also include a policy section identifier of the policy section to be updated. In some embodiments, the transparent container may also include a policy type identifier indicating at least one type of policy to be updated. In one example, the type of policy may be any of an access network discovery and selection policy (ANDSP), a user routing selection policy (URSP), a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) related policy, or other new policy types. In some embodiments, this indication may be achieved by setting a policy section identifier to a particular standardized value.

[0084] The method 600 may continue at block 604 by sending the NAS message to the AMF. The indication in the transparent container may then be forwarded by the AMF to a policy control function (PCF).

[0085] The method 600 may also include: at box 606, receiving a response to the UE policy update request from the PCF via the AMF. In some embodiments, the response may be carried in a NAS downlink transmission message. In some embodiments, if there is a UE policy in the PCF and the PCF supports UE policy allocation, the response may include the latest UE policy in a transparent container. In one example, the response may include the latest UE policy for a policy section identified by a policy section identifier indicated by the UE. In another example, the response may include the latest UE policy for the policy type requested by the UE. In other embodiments, if there is no UE policy in the PCF or the PCF does not support UE policy allocation, the response may include an indication in a transparent container that the PCF does not support UE policy allocation.

[0086] Figure 7 Example components of a device 700 according to some embodiments are shown. In some embodiments, the device 700 may include application circuitry 702, baseband circuitry 704, radio frequency (RF) circuitry 706, front end module (FEM) circuitry 708, one or more antennas 710, and power management circuitry (PMC) 712, coupled together at least as shown. The components of the device 700 shown may be included in a UE or a RAN node. In some embodiments, the device 700 may include fewer elements (e.g., the RAN node may not utilize the application circuitry 702, but instead include a processor / controller to process IP data received from the EPC). In some embodiments, the device 700 may include additional elements, such as memory / storage, a display, a camera, a sensor, or an input / output (I / O) interface. In other embodiments, the components described below may be included in more than one device (e.g., for a cloud RAN (C-RAN) implementation, the circuitry may be separately included in more than one device).

[0087] The application circuit 702 may include one or more application processors. For example, the application circuit 702 may include circuits such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processor may include any combination of general-purpose processors and special-purpose processors (e.g., graphics processors, application processors, etc.). The processor may be coupled to or may include memory / storage and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory / storage to enable various applications or operating systems to run on the device 700. In some embodiments, the processor of the application circuit 702 may process IP data packets received from the EPC.

[0088] The baseband circuit 704 may include circuits such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The baseband circuit 704 may include one or more baseband processors or control logic to process baseband signals received from the receive signal path of the RF circuit 706 and generate baseband signals for the transmit signal path of the RF circuit 706. The baseband circuit 704 may interface with the application circuit 702 to generate and process baseband signals and control the operation of the RF circuit 706. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuit 704 may include a third generation (3G) baseband processor 704A, a fourth generation (4G) baseband processor 704B, a fifth generation (5G) baseband processor 704C, or other baseband processors 704D for other existing generations, generations in development, or generations to be developed in the future (e.g., second generation (2G), sixth generation (6G), etc.). The baseband circuit 704 (e.g., one or more of the baseband processors 704A-D) may handle various radio control functions that enable communication with one or more radio networks via the RF circuit 706. In other embodiments, some or all of the functionality of the baseband processors 704A-D may be included in a module stored in the memory 704G and executed via the central processing unit (CPU) 704E. The radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation / demodulation, encoding / decoding, radio frequency shifting, etc. In some embodiments, the modulation / demodulation circuitry of the baseband circuitry 704 may include fast Fourier transform (FFT), precoding, or constellation mapping / demapping functionality. In some embodiments, the encoding / decoding circuitry of the baseband circuitry 704 may include convolution, tail-biting convolution, turbo, Viterbi, or low-density parity check (LDPC) encoder / decoder functionality. The embodiments of the modulation / demodulation and encoder / decoder functionality are not limited to these examples, and may include other suitable functionality in other embodiments.

[0089] In some embodiments, the baseband circuit 704 may include one or more audio digital signal processors (DSPs) 704F. The audio DSP 704F may include elements for compression / decompression and echo cancellation, and may include other suitable processing elements in other embodiments. In some embodiments, the components of the baseband circuit may be suitably combined in a single chip, a single chipset, or arranged on the same circuit board. In some embodiments, some or all of the constituent components of the baseband circuit 704 and the application circuit 702 may be implemented together, for example, on a system on a chip (SOC).

[0090] In some embodiments, the baseband circuit 704 may provide communications compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuit 704 may support communications with an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (EUTRAN) or other wireless metropolitan area network (WMAN), wireless local area network (WLAN), wireless personal area network (WPAN). Embodiments in which the baseband circuit 704 is configured to support radio communications of more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as multi-mode baseband circuits.

[0091] The RF circuit 706 may use modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium to enable communication with a wireless network. In various embodiments, the RF circuit 706 may include switches, filters, amplifiers, etc. to facilitate communication with a wireless network. The RF circuit 706 may include a receive signal path, which may include circuits for down-converting RF signals received from the FEM circuit 708 and providing baseband signals to the baseband circuit 704. The RF circuit 706 may also include a transmit signal path, which may include circuits for up-converting baseband signals provided by the baseband circuit 704 and providing RF output signals to the FEM circuit 708 for transmission.

[0092] In some embodiments, the receive signal path of the RF circuit 706 may include a mixer circuit 706a, an amplifier circuit 706b, and a filter circuit 706c. In some embodiments, the transmit signal path of the RF circuit 706 may include a filter circuit 706c and the mixer circuit 706a. The RF circuit 706 may also include a synthesizer circuit 706d for synthesizing the frequencies used by the mixer circuit 706a of the receive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 706a of the receive signal path may be configured to down-convert the RF signal received from the FEM circuit 708 based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuit 706d. The amplifier circuit 706b may be configured to amplify the down-converted signal, and the filter circuit 706c may be a low pass filter (LPF) or a band pass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from the down-converted signal to generate an output baseband signal. The output baseband signal may be provided to the baseband circuit 704 for further processing. In some embodiments, the output baseband signal may be a zero frequency baseband signal, but this is not a requirement. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 706a of the receive signal path may include a passive mixer, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this regard.

[0093] In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 706a of the transmit signal path may be configured to up-convert an input baseband signal based on a synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuit 706d to generate an RF output signal for the FEM circuit 708. The baseband signal may be provided by the baseband circuit 704 and may be filtered by the filter circuit 706c.

[0094] In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 706a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 706a of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadrature down-conversion and up-conversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 706a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 706a of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for image suppression (e.g., Hartley image suppression). In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 706a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 706a of the transmit signal path may be arranged for direct down-conversion and direct up-conversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 706a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 706a of the transmit signal path may be configured for superheterodyne operation.

[0095] In some embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be analog baseband signals, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited thereto. In some alternative embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be digital baseband signals. In these alternative embodiments, the RF circuit 706 may include an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuit, and the baseband circuit 704 may include a digital baseband interface to communicate with the RF circuit 706.

[0096] In some dual-mode embodiments, separate radio IC circuits may be provided for processing signals for each spectrum, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this regard.

[0097] In some embodiments, synthesizer circuit 706d may be a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional-N / N+1 synthesizer, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this regard, as other types of frequency synthesizers may be suitable. For example, synthesizer circuit 706d may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer including a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider.

[0098] The synthesizer circuit 706d may be configured to synthesize an output frequency based on the frequency input and the divider control input for use by the mixer circuit 706a of the RF circuit 706. In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuit 706d may be a fractional-N / N+1 synthesizer.

[0099] In some embodiments, the frequency input may be provided by a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), but this is not a requirement. The divider control input may be provided by baseband circuitry 704 or application processor 702, depending on the desired output frequency. In some embodiments, the divider control input (e.g., N) may be determined from a lookup table based on the channel indicated by application processor 702.

[0100] The synthesizer circuit 706d of the RF circuit 706 may include a divider, a delay locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer, and a phase accumulator. In some embodiments, the divider may be a dual-mode divider (DMD), and the phase accumulator may be a digital phase accumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured to divide the input signal by N or N+1 (e.g., based on a carry) to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, the DLL may include a set of cascaded tunable delay elements, a phase detector, a charge pump, and a D flip-flop. In these embodiments, the delay element may be configured to decompose the VCO cycle into Nd equal phase groups, where Nd is the number of delay elements in the delay line. In this way, the DLL provides negative feedback to help ensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO cycle.

[0101] In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuit 706d can be configured to generate a carrier frequency as an output frequency, while in other embodiments, the output frequency can be a multiple of the carrier frequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrier frequency) and used in conjunction with the quadrature generator and divider circuit to generate multiple signals with multiple different phases relative to each other at the carrier frequency. In some embodiments, the output frequency can be an LO frequency (fLO). In some embodiments, the RF circuit 706 can include an IQ / polar converter.

[0102] The FEM circuitry 708 may include a receive signal path, which may include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from one or more antennas 710, amplify the received signals, and provide an amplified version of the received signals to the RF circuitry 706 for further processing. The FEM circuitry 708 may also include a transmit signal path, which may include circuitry configured to amplify signals provided by the RF circuitry 706 for transmission for transmission by one or more of the one or more antennas 710. In various embodiments, amplification by the transmit signal path or the receive signal path may be accomplished only in the RF circuitry 706, only in the FEM 708, or in both the RF circuitry 706 and the FEM 708.

[0103] In some embodiments, the FEM circuit 708 may include a TX / RX switch to switch between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEM circuit may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the FEM circuit may include an LNA for amplifying a received RF signal and providing the amplified received RF signal as an output (e.g., to the RF circuit 706). The transmit signal path of the FEM circuit 708 may include: a power amplifier (PA) for amplifying an input RF signal (e.g., provided by the RF circuit 706); and one or more filters for generating an RF signal for subsequent transmission (e.g., by one or more of the one or more antennas 710).

[0104] In some embodiments, PMC 712 can manage the power provided to baseband circuit 704. In particular, PMC 712 can control power selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion. When device 700 is capable of being powered by a battery, such as when the device is included in a UE, PMC 712 can generally be included. PMC 712 can improve power conversion efficiency while providing a desired implementation size and heat dissipation characteristics.

[0105] Although Figure 7 The PMC 712 is shown coupled only to the baseband circuit 704, but in other embodiments, the PMC 712 may additionally or alternatively be coupled to other components and perform similar power management operations for the other components, such as but not limited to the application circuit 702, the RF circuit 706, or the FEM 708.

[0106] In some embodiments, the PMC 712 may control, or be part of, various power saving mechanisms of the device 700. For example, if the device 700 is in the RRC_Connected state (wherein it is still connected to the RAN node because it expects to receive traffic in the near future), it may enter a state known as discontinuous reception mode (DRX) after a period of inactivity. During this state, the device 700 may be powered down for brief intervals, thereby saving power.

[0107] If there is no data traffic activity for an extended period of time, the device 700 may transition to the RRC_Idle state (where it is disconnected from the network and does not perform operations such as channel quality feedback, handover, etc.). The device 700 enters a very low power state, and it performs paging, where it wakes up periodically again to listen to the network, and then powers down again. The device 700 cannot receive data in this state, and in order to receive data, it must transition back to the RRC_Connected state.

[0108] An additional power saving mode may allow a device to be unavailable to the network for a period longer than the paging interval (ranging from a few seconds to a few hours). During this time, the device is completely unavailable to the network and may be completely powered off. Any data sent during this time will incur a large delay, and it is assumed that this delay is acceptable.

[0109] The processor of the application circuit 702 and the processor of the baseband circuit 704 can be used to execute elements of one or more instances of the protocol stack. For example, the processor of the baseband circuit 704 (alone or in combination) can be used to perform layer 3, layer 2, or layer 1 functions, and the processor of the application circuit 704 can utilize data received from these layers (e.g., packet data) and further perform layer 4 layer functions (e.g., transmission communication protocol (TCP) and user datagram protocol (UDP) layers). As mentioned herein, layer 3 may include a radio resource control (RRC) layer, which will be further described in detail below. As mentioned herein, layer 2 may include a medium access control (MAC) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, which will be further described in detail below. As mentioned herein, layer 1 may include a physical (PHY) layer of a UE / RAN node, which will be further described in detail below.

[0110] Figure 8 1 shows an example interface of a baseband circuit according to some embodiments. As discussed above, Figure 7 The baseband circuit 704 may include processors 704A-704E and a memory 704G used by the processors. Each of the processors 704A-704E may include a memory interface 804A-804E, respectively, to send / receive data to / from the memory 704G.

[0111] The baseband circuit 704 may also include one or more interfaces for communicatively coupling to other circuits / devices, such as a memory interface 812 (e.g., an interface for sending / receiving data to / from a memory external to the baseband circuit 704), an application circuit interface 814 (e.g., an interface for sending / receiving data to / from a memory external to the baseband circuit 704), and an application circuit interface 815 (e.g., an interface for sending / receiving data to / from a memory external to the baseband circuit 704). Figure 7 The interface for sending / receiving data to / from the application circuit 702), the RF circuit interface 816 (for example, for sending / receiving data to / from Figure 7 an interface for sending / receiving data to / from the RF circuit 706), a wireless hardware connection interface 818 (e.g., for sending / receiving data to / from a near field communication (NFC) component, Components (e.g., low power ), components and other communication components to send / receive data) and a power management interface 820 (for example, an interface for sending / receiving power or control signals to / from PMC 712).

[0112] Fig. 9 is a diagram of a control plane protocol stack according to some embodiments. In this embodiment, the control plane 900 is shown as a communication protocol stack between UE 101 (or alternatively, UE 102), RAN node 111 (or alternatively, RAN node 112) and MME 121.

[0113] The PHY layer 901 may send or receive information used by the MAC layer 902 over one or more air interfaces. The PHY layer 901 may also perform link adaptation or adaptive modulation and coding (AMC), power control, cell search (e.g., for initial synchronization and handover purposes), and other measurements used by higher layers such as the RRC layer 905. The PHY layer 901 may still further perform error detection on transport channels, forward error correction (FEC) encoding / decoding of transport channels, modulation / demodulation of physical channels, interleaving, rate matching, mapping to physical channels, and multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna processing.

[0114] The MAC layer 902 can perform mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplex MAC service data units (SDUs) from one or more logical channels into transport blocks (TBs) for delivery to PHY via transport channels, demultiplex MAC SDUs from transport blocks (TBs) delivered from PHY via transport channels to one or more logical channels, multiplex MAC SDUs into TBs, schedule information reporting, perform error correction through hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), and prioritize logical channels.

[0115] The RLC layer 903 can operate in multiple operation modes, including: transparent mode (TM), unacknowledged mode (UM), and acknowledged mode (AM). The RLC layer 903 can perform transmission of upper layer protocol data units (PDUs), error correction through automatic repeat request (ARQ) for AM data transmission, and concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs for UM and AM data transmission. The RLC layer 903 can also perform re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs for AM data transmission, reordering of RLC data PDUs for UM and AM data transmission, detection of duplicate data for UM and AM data transmission, discarding of RLC SDUs for UM and AM data transmission, detection of protocol errors for AM data transmission, and performing RLC reconstruction.

[0116] The PDCP layer 904 can perform header compression and decompression of IP data, maintain the PDCP sequence number (SN), perform in-order delivery of upper layer PDUs when reestablishing lower layers, eliminate duplication of lower layer SDUs when reestablishing lower layers for radio bearers mapped on RLC AM, encrypt and decrypt control plane data, perform integrity protection and integrity verification of control plane data, control timer-based data discard, and perform security operations (e.g., encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification, etc.).

[0117] The main services and functions of the RRC layer 905 may include broadcasting of system information (e.g., included in a master information block (MIB) or a system information block (SIB) associated with a non-access stratum (NAS)), broadcasting of system information associated with an access stratum (AS), paging, establishment, maintenance and release of an RRC connection between a UE and an E-UTRAN (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification and RRC connection release), establishment, configuration, maintenance and release of point-to-point radio bearers, security functions (including key management), measurement configuration of radio access technology (RAT) mobility and UE measurement reporting. The MIB and SIB may include one or more information elements (IEs), each of which may include a separate data field or data structure.

[0118] UE 101 and RAN node 111 may utilize a Uu interface (eg, LTE-Uu interface) to exchange control plane data via a protocol stack including a PHY layer 901 , a MAC layer 902 , an RLC layer 903 , a PDCP layer 904 , and an RRC layer 905 .

[0119] Non-Access Stratum (NAS) protocol 906 forms the highest layer of the control plane between UE 101 and MME 121. NAS protocol 906 supports mobility of UE 101 and session management procedures to establish and maintain IP connectivity between UE 101 and P-GW 123.

[0120] The S1 application protocol (S1-AP) layer 915 may support the functionality of the S1 interface and include an elementary procedure (EP). The EP is an interaction unit between the RAN node 111 and the CN 120. The S1-AP layer services may include two groups: UE associated services and non-UE associated services. These services perform the following functions, including but not limited to: E-UTRAN radio access bearer (E-RAB) management, UE capability indication, mobility, NAS signaling transmission, RAN information management (RIM) and configuration transfer.

[0121] The stream control transmission protocol (SCTP) layer (alternatively referred to as the SCTP / IP layer) 914 can ensure reliable delivery of signaling messages between the RAN node 111 and the MME 121 based in part on the IP protocol supported by the IP layer 913. The L2 layer 912 and the L1 layer 911 can refer to communication links (e.g., wired or wireless) used by the RAN node and the MME to exchange information.

[0122] The RAN node 111 and the MME 121 may exchange control plane data via a protocol stack using an S1-MME interface, including an L1 layer 911 , an L2 layer 912 , an IP layer 913 , an SCTP layer 914 , and an S1-AP layer 915 .

[0123] Fig.10 1 is a diagram of a user plane protocol stack according to some embodiments. In this embodiment, the user plane 1000 is shown as a communication protocol stack between the UE 101 (or alternatively, the UE 102), the RAN node 111 (or alternatively, the RAN node 112), the S-GW 122, and the P-GW 123. The user plane 1000 may utilize at least some of the same protocol layers as the control plane 900. For example, the UE 101 and the RAN node 111 may utilize a Uu interface (e.g., an LTE-Uu interface) to exchange user plane data via a protocol stack, including a PHY layer 901, a MAC layer 902, an RLC layer 903, and a PDCP layer 904.

[0124] The General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunneling Protocol for User Plane (GTP-U) layer 1004 may be used to carry user data within the GPRS core network and between the radio access network and the core network. For example, the transmitted user data may be packets in any of the IPv4, IPv6, or PPP formats. The UDP and IP Security (UDP / IP) layer 1003 may provide checksums for data integrity, port numbers for addressing different functions at the source and destination, and encryption and authentication of selected data flows. The RAN node 111 and the S-GW 122 may utilize the S1-U interface to exchange user plane data via a protocol stack, including the L1 layer 911, the L2 layer 912, the UDP / IP layer 1003, and the GTP-U layer 1004. S-GW 122 and P-GW 123 may utilize an S5 / S8a interface to exchange user plane data via a protocol stack, including L1 layer 911, L2 layer 912, UDP / IP layer 1003, and GTP-U layer 1004. Fig. 9 As discussed, the NAS protocol supports the mobility of UE 101 and session management procedures to establish and maintain an IP connection between UE 101 and P-GW 123.

[0125] Fig.11 is a block diagram illustrating components capable of reading instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and executing any one or more of the methods discussed herein, according to some example embodiments. Specifically, Fig.11 A graphical representation of hardware resources 1100 is shown, including one or more processors (or processor cores) 1110, one or more memory / storage devices 1120, and one or more communication resources 1130, each of which may be communicatively coupled via a bus 1140. For embodiments utilizing node virtualization (e.g., NFV), a hypervisor 1102 may be executed to provide an execution environment for one or more network slices / sub-slices to utilize the hardware resources 1100.

[0126] Processor 1110 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), such as a baseband processor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), another processor, or any suitable combination thereof) may include, for example, processor 1112 and processor 1114.

[0127] The memory / storage device 1120 may include main memory, disk storage, or any suitable combination thereof. The memory / storage device 1120 may include, but is not limited to, any type of volatile or non-volatile memory, such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid-state storage, etc.

[0128] The communication resources 1130 may include an interconnect or network interface component or other suitable device to communicate with one or more peripheral devices 1104 or one or more databases 1106 via the network 1108. For example, the communication resources 1130 may include a wired communication component (e.g., for coupling via a universal serial bus (USB)), a cellular communication component, an NFC component, Components (e.g., low power ), components and other communication components.

[0129] The instructions 1150 may include software, programs, applications, applet programs, apps, or other executable code for causing at least any processor 1110 to perform any one or more of the methods discussed herein. The instructions 1150 may reside in whole or in part in at least one of the processor 1110 (e.g., in a cache of the processor), the memory / storage device 1120, or any suitable combination thereof. In addition, any portion of the instructions 1150 may be transmitted to the hardware resources 1100 from any combination of the peripheral device 1104 or the database 1106. Therefore, the memory of the processor 1110, the memory / storage device 1120, the peripheral device 1104, and the database 1106 are examples of computer-readable and machine-readable media.

[0130] Example

[0131] The following examples pertain to specific technical embodiments and point out specific features or elements that may be used or combined in implementing these embodiments.

[0132] Example 1 may include an apparatus of a user equipment (UE), comprising: a radio frequency (RF) interface; and one or more processors coupled to the RF interface and configured to: encode an indication of a UE policy allocation request in a container that is transparent to an access and mobility management function (AMF) in a non-access stratum (NAS) message; and send the NAS message to the AMF via the RF interface.

[0133] Example 2 may include the subject matter of Example 1 or any other example herein, wherein the indication in the transparent container is to be forwarded by the AMF to a policy control function (PCF).

[0134] Example 3 may include the subject matter of Example 1 or any other example herein, wherein the transparent container is a UE policy container.

[0135] Example 4 may include the subject matter of Example 1 or any other example herein, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: encode a policy type identifier in the transparent container to indicate at least one type of policy to be dispensed.

[0136] Example 5 may include the subject matter of Example 4 or any other example herein, wherein at least one type of policy is any of an access network discovery and selection policy (ANDSP), a user routing selection policy (URSP), a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) related policy, or other new policy types.

[0137] Example 6 may include the subject matter of Example 1 or any other example herein, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: receive a response to the UE policy provisioning request from a policy control function (PCF) via the AMF.

[0138] Example 7 may include the subject matter of Example 6 or any other example herein, wherein the response is carried in a NAS downlink transport message.

[0139] Example 8 may include the subject matter of Example 6 or any other example herein, wherein the response includes the latest UE policy in the transparent container.

[0140] Example 9 may include the subject matter of Example 8 or any other example herein, wherein the response includes a latest UE policy for a policy type requested by the UE via a NAS message.

[0141] Example 10 may include the subject matter of Example 6 or any other example herein, wherein the response includes, in the transparent container, an indication that the PCF does not support UE policy provisioning.

[0142] Example 11 may include the subject matter of Example 1 or any other example herein, wherein the indicating is accomplished by setting a policy section identifier to a specific standardized value.

[0143] Example 12 may include the subject matter of Example 1 or any other example herein, wherein the NAS message is a registration request message.

[0144] Example 13 may include the subject matter of Example 1 or any other example herein, wherein the NAS message is a UE POLICY PROVISIONING REQUEST message.

[0145] Example 14 may include the subject matter of Example 13 or any other example herein, wherein the UE policy provisioning request message is carried in a NAS uplink transport message.

[0146] Example 15 may include a device of a user equipment (UE), comprising: a radio frequency (RF) interface; and one or more processors coupled to the RF interface and configured to: encode an indication of a UE policy update request in a container that is transparent to an access and mobility management function (AMF) in a non-access stratum (NAS) message; and send the NAS message to the AMF via the RF interface.

[0147] Example 16 may include the subject matter of Example 15 or any other example herein, wherein the UE policy information is divided into policy sections and each policy section is uniquely identified by a policy section identifier.

[0148] Example 17 may include the subject matter of Example 16 or any other example herein, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: encode a policy section identifier of the policy section to be updated in the transparent container.

[0149] Example 18 may include the subject matter of Example 15 or any other example herein, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: encode a policy type identifier in the transparent container to indicate at least one type of policy to be updated.

[0150] Example 19 may include the subject matter of Example 18 or any other example herein, wherein at least one type of policy is any of an access network discovery and selection policy (ANDSP), a user routing selection policy (URSP), a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) related policy, or other new policy types.

[0151] Example 20 may include the subject matter of Example 15 or any other example herein, wherein the indication in the transparent container is to be forwarded by the AMF to a policy control function (PCF).

[0152] Example 21 may include the subject matter of Example 15 or any other example herein, wherein the transparent container is a UE policy container.

[0153] Example 22 may include the subject matter of Example 15 or any other example herein, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: receive a response to the UE policy update request from a policy control function (PCF) via the AMF.

[0154] Example 23 may include the subject matter of Example 22 or any other example herein, wherein the response is carried in a NAS downlink transport message.

[0155] Example 24 may include the subject matter of Example 22 or any other example herein, wherein the response includes the latest UE policy in a transparent container.

[0156] Example 25 may include the subject matter of Example 24 or any other example herein, wherein the response includes a latest UE policy for a policy section identified by a policy section identifier indicated by the UE.

[0157] Example 26 may include the subject matter of Example 24 or any other example herein, wherein the response includes a latest UE policy for a policy type requested by the UE via a NAS message.

[0158] Example 27 may include the subject matter of Example 22 or any other example herein, wherein the response includes, in the transparent container, an indication that the PCF does not support UE policy provisioning.

[0159] Example 28 may include the subject matter of Example 15 or any other example herein, wherein the indicating is accomplished by setting a policy section identifier to a specific standardized value.

[0160] Example 29 may include the subject matter of Example 15 or any other example herein, wherein the NAS message is a registration request message.

[0161] Example 30 may include the subject matter of Example 15 or any other example herein, wherein the NAS message is a UE POLICY PROVISIONING REQUEST message.

[0162] Example 31 may include the subject matter of Example 30 or any other example herein, wherein the UE policy provisioning request message is carried in a NAS uplink transport message.

[0163] Example 32 may include a computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to: encode an indication of a UE policy allocation request in a container that is transparent to an access and mobility management function (AMF) in a non-access stratum (NAS) message; and send the NAS message to the AMF.

[0164] Example 33 may include the subject matter of Example 32 or any other example herein, wherein the indication in the transparent container is to be forwarded by the AMF to a policy control function (PCF).

[0165] Example 34 may include the subject matter of Example 32 or any other example herein, wherein the transparent container is a UE policy container.

[0166] Example 35 may include the subject matter of Example 32 or any other example herein, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the UE to: encode a policy type identifier in the transparent container to indicate at least one type of policy to be allocated.

[0167] Example 36 may include the subject matter of Example 35 or any other example herein, wherein at least one type of policy is any of an access network discovery and selection policy (ANDSP), a user routing selection policy (URSP), a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) related policy, or other new policy types.

[0168] Example 37 may include the subject matter of Example 32 or any other example herein, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the UE to: receive a response to the UE policy provisioning request from a policy control function (PCF) via the AMF.

[0169] Example 38 may include the subject matter of Example 37 or any other example herein, wherein the response is carried in a NAS downlink transport message.

[0170] Example 39 may include the subject matter of Example 37 or any other example herein, wherein the response includes the latest UE policy in the transparent container.

[0171] Example 40 may include the subject matter of Example 39 or any other example herein, wherein the response includes a latest UE policy for a policy type requested by the UE via a NAS message.

[0172] Example 41 may include the subject matter of Example 37 or any other example herein, wherein the response includes, in the transparent container, an indication that the PCF does not support UE policy provisioning.

[0173] Example 42 may include the subject matter of Example 32 or any other example herein, wherein the indicating is accomplished by setting a policy section identifier to a specific standardized value.

[0174] Example 43 may include the subject matter of Example 32 or any other example herein, wherein the NAS message is a registration request message.

[0175] Example 44 may include the subject matter of Example 32 or any other example herein, wherein the NAS message is a UE POLICY PROVISIONING REQUEST message.

[0176] Example 45 may include the subject matter of Example 44 or any other example herein, wherein the UE policy provisioning request message is carried in a NAS uplink transport message.

[0177] Example 46 may include a computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to: encode an indication of a UE policy update request in a container that is transparent to an access and mobility management function (AMF) in a non-access stratum (NAS) message; and send the NAS message to the AMF.

[0178] Example 47 may include the subject matter of Example 46 or any other example herein, wherein the UE policy information is divided into policy sections and each policy section is uniquely identified by a policy section identifier.

[0179] Example 48 may include the subject matter of Example 47 or any other example herein, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the UE to: encode a policy section identifier of the policy section to be updated in the transparent container.

[0180] Example 49 may include the subject matter of Example 46 or any other example herein, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the UE to: encode a policy type identifier in the transparent container to indicate at least one type of policy to be updated.

[0181] Example 50 may include the subject matter of Example 49 or any other example herein, wherein at least one type of policy is any of an access network discovery and selection policy (ANDSP), a user routing selection policy (URSP), a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) related policy, or other new policy types.

[0182] Example 51 may include the subject matter of Example 46 or any other example herein, wherein the indication in the transparent container is to be forwarded by the AMF to a policy control function (PCF).

[0183] Example 52 may include the subject matter of Example 46 or any other example herein, wherein the transparent container is a UE policy container.

[0184] Example 53 may include the subject matter of Example 46 or any other example herein, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the UE to: receive a response to the UE policy update request from a policy control function (PCF) via the AMF.

[0185] Example 54 may include the subject matter of Example 53 or any other example herein, wherein the response is carried in a NAS downlink transport message.

[0186] Example 55 may include the subject matter of Example 53 or any other example herein, wherein the response includes the latest UE policy in a transparent container.

[0187] Example 56 may include the subject matter of Example 55 or any other example herein, wherein the response includes a latest UE policy for a policy section identified by a policy section identifier indicated by the UE.

[0188] Example 57 may include the subject matter of Example 55 or any other example herein, wherein the response includes a latest UE policy for a policy type requested by the UE via a NAS message.

[0189] Example 58 may include the subject matter of Example 53 or any other example herein, wherein the response includes, in the transparent container, an indication that the PCF does not support UE policy provisioning.

[0190] Example 59 may include the subject matter of Example 46 or any other example herein, wherein the indicating is accomplished by setting a policy section identifier to a specific standardized value.

[0191] Example 60 may include the subject matter of Example 46 or any other example herein, wherein the NAS message is a registration request message.

[0192] Example 61 may include the subject matter of Example 46 or any other example herein, wherein the NAS message is a UE POLICY PROVISIONING REQUEST message.

[0193] Example 62 may include the subject matter of Example 61 or any other example herein, wherein the UE policy provisioning request message is carried in a NAS uplink transport message.

[0194] As used herein, the term "circuit" may refer to, be part of, or include an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) and / or memory (shared, dedicated, or group) that executes one or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, and / or other suitable hardware components that provide the functionality. In some aspects, a circuit may be implemented in one or more software or firmware modules, or the functionality associated with a circuit may be implemented by one or more software or firmware modules. In some aspects, a circuit may include logic that operates at least partially in hardware.

[0195] Various techniques or some aspects or parts thereof may take the form of program codes (i.e., instructions) embodied in tangible media, such as floppy disks, compact disk read-only memories (CD-ROMs), hard disk drives, transient or non-transient computer-readable storage media, or any other machine-readable storage media, wherein when the program code is loaded into and executed by a machine such as a computer, the machine becomes a device for practicing various techniques. Circuits may include hardware, firmware, program codes, executable codes, computer instructions, and / or software. Non-transient computer-readable storage media may be computer-readable storage media that do not include signals. In the case of executing program codes on a programmable computer, a computing device may include a processor, a storage medium (including volatile and non-volatile memory and / or storage elements) readable by the processor, at least one input device, and at least one output device. Volatile and non-volatile memory and / or storage elements may be random access memory (RAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash drives, optical drives, magnetic hard disk drives, solid-state drives, or other media for storing electronic data. The nodes and wireless devices may also include a transceiver module (i.e., a transceiver), a counter module (i.e., a counter), a processing module (i.e., a processor), and / or a clock module (i.e., a clock) or a timer module (i.e., a timer). One or more programs that may implement or utilize the various techniques described herein may use an application programming interface (API), reusable controls, etc. These programs may be implemented in a high-level procedural or object-oriented programming language to communicate with a computer system. However, if desired, the program may be implemented in assembly language or machine language. In any case, the language may be a compiled language or an interpreted language, and combined with a hardware implementation.

[0196] It should be understood that many of the functional units described in this specification have been labeled as modules in order to more particularly emphasize their implementation independence. For example, a module can be implemented as a hardware circuit, including a custom very large scale integration (VLSI) circuit or gate array, an off-the-shelf semiconductor (e.g., a logic chip, a transistor, or other discrete component). A module can also be implemented in a programmable hardware device, such as a field programmable gate array, a programmable array logic, a programmable logic device, etc.

[0197] Modules may also be implemented in software so as to be executed by various types of processors. An identified executable code module may, for example, include one or more physical or logical blocks of computer instructions, which may, for example, be organized as objects, procedures, or functions. However, the executable files of the identified modules may not be physically located together, but may include different instructions stored in different locations, which, when logically combined together, constitute the module and achieve the stated purpose of the module.

[0198] In fact, the module of executable code can be a single instruction or many instructions, and can even be distributed on several different code segments, among different programs and across several memory devices. Similarly, operating data can be identified and shown in the module herein, and can be embodied in any suitable form and organized in any suitable type of data structure. Operating data can be collected as a single data set, or can be distributed in different locations, including on different storage devices, and can exist at least in part as electronic signals on a system or network. Modules can be active or passive, including agents that can be operated to perform desired functions.

[0199] References throughout this specification to "example" or "exemplary" mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in conjunction with the example is included in at least one embodiment of the present technology. Thus, the phrase "in an example" or the word "exemplary" appearing in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

[0200] As used herein, for convenience, multiple items, structural elements, constituent elements and / or materials may be presented in a public list. However, these lists should be interpreted as if each member in the list is individually identified as an independent and unique member. Therefore, in the absence of contrary instructions, any single member in such a list should not be understood as being in fact equivalent to any other member in the same list based solely on their presentation in a public group. In addition, various embodiments and examples of the present technology may be mentioned herein together with alternatives to its various components. It should be understood that these embodiments, examples and alternatives should not be interpreted as in fact equivalents to each other, but should be interpreted as separate and autonomous representations of the present technology.

[0201] In addition, the described features, structures or characteristics can be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the following description, many specific details are provided, such as examples of layouts, distances, network examples, etc., to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present technology. However, those skilled in the relevant art will recognize that the technology can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, layouts, etc. In other cases, well-known structures, materials or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid covering up various aspects of the technology.

[0202] Although the foregoing examples illustrate the principles of the present technology in one or more specific applications, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made in the form, use, and details of the implementation without inventive effort and without departing from the principles and concepts of the technology. Therefore, it is not intended to limit the technology except as set forth in the claims below.

Claims

1. A device of a user equipment UE, comprising: Radio frequency RF interface; and One or more processors, coupled to the RF interface, and configured to: Encoding the indication of the UE policy provisioning request in a non-access stratum NAS message in a container that is transparent to the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF); as well as The NAS message is sent to the AMF via the RF interface.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein: The indication in the transparent container will be forwarded by the AMF to the policy control function PCF.

3. The device according to claim 1, wherein: The transparent container is a UE policy container.

4. The device according to claim 1, wherein: The one or more processors are further configured to: A policy type identifier is encoded in the transparent container to indicate at least one type of policy to be dispensed.

5. The device according to claim 4, wherein: The at least one type of policy is any one of the following: access network discovery and selection policy ANDSP, user routing selection policy URSP, vehicle-to-everything V2X related policy or other new policy types.

6. The device according to claim 1, wherein: The one or more processors are further configured to: A response to the UE policy provisioning request is received from a Policy Control Function (PCF) via the AMF.

7. The device according to claim 6, wherein: The response is carried in a NAS downlink transmission message.

8. The device according to claim 6, wherein: The response includes the latest UE policy in the transparent container.

9. The device of claim 8, wherein: The response includes the latest UE policy for the policy type requested by the UE via the NAS message.

10. The device of claim 6, wherein: The response includes in the transparent container an indication that the PCF does not support UE policy provisioning.

11. The device of claim 1, wherein: The indication is achieved by setting the policy section identifier to a specific standardized value.

12. The device of claim 1, wherein: The NAS message is a registration request message.

13. The device of claim 1, wherein: The NAS message is a UE policy provisioning request message.

14. The device of claim 13, wherein: The UE policy allocation request message is carried in a NAS uplink transmission message.

15. A device of a user equipment UE, comprising: Radio frequency RF interface; and One or more processors, coupled to the RF interface, and configured to: Encode the indication of the UE policy update request in a container transparent to the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) in a Non-Access Stratum NAS message; as well as The NAS message is sent to the AMF via the RF interface.

16. The device of claim 15, wherein: The UE policy information is divided into policy sections, and each policy section is uniquely identified by a policy section identifier.

17. The device of claim 16, wherein: The one or more processors are further configured to: A policy section identifier of the policy section to be updated is encoded in the transparent container.

18. The device of claim 15, wherein: The one or more processors are further configured to: A policy type identifier is encoded in the transparent container to indicate at least one type of policy to be updated.

19. The device of claim 18, wherein: The at least one type of policy is any one of the following: access network discovery and selection policy ANDSP, user routing selection policy URSP, vehicle-to-everything V2X related policy or other new policy types.

20. The device of claim 15, wherein: The indication in the transparent container will be forwarded by the AMF to the policy control function PCF.

21. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein: The transparent container is a UE policy container.

22. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein: The one or more processors are further configured to: A response to the UE policy update request is received from a policy control function (PCF) via the AMF.

23. The device of claim 22, wherein: The response is carried in a NAS downlink transmission message.

24. The device of claim 22, wherein: The response includes the latest UE policy in the transparent container.

25. The device of claim 24, wherein: The response includes the latest UE policy for the policy section identified by the policy section identifier indicated by the UE.

26. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein: The response includes the latest UE policy for the policy type requested by the UE via the NAS message.

27. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein: The response includes in the transparent container an indication that the PCF does not support UE policy provisioning.

28. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein: The indication is achieved by setting the policy section identifier to a specific standardized value.

29. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein: The NAS message is a registration request message.

30. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein: The NAS message is a UE policy provisioning request message.

31. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein: The UE policy allocation request message is carried in a NAS uplink transmission message.

32. A method of a user equipment UE, comprising: Encoding the indication of the UE policy provisioning request in a non-access stratum NAS message in a container that is transparent to the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF); as well as Send the NAS message to the AMF.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein: The indication in the transparent container will be forwarded by the AMF to the policy control function PCF.

34. The method of claim 32, wherein: The transparent container is a UE policy container.

35. The method of claim 32, further comprising: A policy type identifier is encoded in the transparent container to indicate at least one type of policy to be dispensed.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein: The at least one type of policy is any one of the following: access network discovery and selection policy ANDSP, user routing selection policy URSP, vehicle-to-everything V2X related policy or other new policy types.

37. The method of claim 32, further comprising: A response to the UE policy provisioning request is received from a Policy Control Function (PCF) via the AMF.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein: The response is carried in a NAS downlink transmission message.

39. The method of claim 37, wherein: The response includes the latest UE policy in the transparent container.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein: The response includes the latest UE policy for the policy type requested by the UE via the NAS message.

41. The method of claim 37, wherein: The response includes in the transparent container an indication that the PCF does not support UE policy provisioning.

42. The method of claim 32, wherein: The indication is achieved by setting the policy section identifier to a specific standardized value.

43. The method of claim 32, wherein: The NAS message is a registration request message.

44. The method of claim 32, wherein: The NAS message is a UE policy provisioning request message.

45. The method of claim 44, wherein: The UE policy allocation request message is carried in a NAS uplink transmission message.

46. ​​A method of a user equipment UE, comprising: Encode the indication of the UE policy update request in a container transparent to the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) in a Non-Access Stratum NAS message; as well as Send the NAS message to the AMF.

47. The method of claim 46, wherein: The UE policy information is divided into policy sections, and each policy section is uniquely identified by a policy section identifier.

48. The method of claim 47, further comprising: A policy section identifier of the policy section to be updated is encoded in the transparent container.

49. The method of claim 46, further comprising: A policy type identifier is encoded in the transparent container to indicate at least one type of policy to be updated.

50. The method of claim 49, wherein: The at least one type of policy is any one of the following: access network discovery and selection policy ANDSP, user routing selection policy URSP, vehicle-to-everything V2X related policy or other new policy types.

51. The method of claim 46, wherein: The indication in the transparent container will be forwarded by the AMF to the policy control function PCF.

52. The method of claim 46, wherein: The transparent container is a UE policy container.

53. The method of claim 46, further comprising: A response to the UE policy update request is received from a policy control function (PCF) via the AMF.

54. The method of claim 53, wherein: The response is carried in a NAS downlink transmission message.

55. The method of claim 53, wherein: The response includes the latest UE policy in the transparent container.

56. The method of claim 55, wherein: The response includes the latest UE policy for the policy section identified by the policy section identifier indicated by the UE.

57. The method of claim 55, wherein: The response includes the latest UE policy for the policy type requested by the UE via the NAS message.

58. The method of claim 53, wherein: The response includes in the transparent container an indication that the PCF does not support UE policy provisioning.

59. The method of claim 46, wherein: The indication is achieved by setting the policy section identifier to a specific standardized value.

60. The method of claim 46, wherein: The NAS message is a registration request message.

61. The method of claim 46, wherein: The NAS message is a UE policy provisioning request message.

62. The method of claim 61, wherein: The UE policy allocation request message is carried in a NAS uplink transmission message.

63. A computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by one or more processors of a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to perform the method of any one of claims 32-62.

64. A computer program product, the computer program product comprising a program, the program comprising instructions, which when executed by one or more processors of a user equipment (UE) causes the UE to perform the method according to any one of claims 32-62.

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