Network discovery, selection, and access control in vertical domains

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus of a user equipment (UE) device. In one embodiment, the apparatus of the UE device includes a memory storing non-public network (NPN) configuration information, a radio frequency (RF) interface, and a processing circuit coupled to the memory and the RF interface. The RF interface receives information broadcast by a radio access network (RAN) node of a specific NPN, wherein the information includes an NPN indicator indicating that the RAN node supports the NPN and NPN service information indicating services supported by the specific NPN. In response to detecting the NPN indicator in the information received from the RAN node, the processing circuit establishes a connection with the specific NPN based on the NPN configuration information and the NPN service information received from the RAN node.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 718,839, filed on August 14, 2018, entitled “Network Discovery, Selection, and Access Control in Vertical Domain,” the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure generally relates to network discovery, selection, and access control in the field of wireless communications. Background Art

[0004] Current wireless communication networks, such as third generation (3G) and fourth generation (4G) networks, barely support enhanced vertical and local area network (LAN) services. In the upcoming fifth generation (5G) wireless communication networks, mechanisms are needed to provide enhanced vertical and LAN services. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0005] For the sake of brevity and clarity, the elements shown in the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. For example, for the sake of clarity, the sizes of some elements may be exaggerated relative to other elements. In addition, reference numerals may be repeated in the drawings to indicate corresponding or similar elements. The drawings are listed below.

[0006] Figure 1 illustrates the architecture of a system of networks according to some embodiments;

[0007] Figure 2 shows exemplary components of an apparatus according to some embodiments;

[0008] Figure 3 is a diagram showing an exemplary user equipment (UE) connected to a non-public network according to some embodiments; and

[0009] FIG. 4A to FIG. 4C is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process for NPN discovery and selection according to some embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0010] The following specific embodiments relate to the accompanying drawings. The same figure numbers may be used to identify the same or similar elements in different drawings. In the following description, specific details, such as specific structures, architectures, interfaces, technologies, etc., are described for the purpose of illustration and not limitation, so as to provide a thorough understanding of various aspects of various embodiments. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art who benefit from the present disclosure that various aspects of various embodiments can be practiced in other examples that deviate from these specific details. In some cases, descriptions of well-known devices, circuits, and processes are omitted so as not to obscure the description of various embodiments due to unnecessary details. For the purposes of this document, the phrase "A or B" refers to (A), (B), or (A and B).

[0011] Figure 1 The architecture of a system 100 of a network according to some embodiments is shown. The system 100 is shown to include user equipment (UE) 101 and UE 102. UE 101 and UE 102 are shown as smart phones (e.g., handheld touch screen mobile computing devices that can connect to one or more cellular networks), but these UEs can also include any mobile or non-mobile computing devices, such as personal data assistants (PDAs), pagers, laptop computers, desktop computers, wireless handheld terminals, or any computing device that includes a wireless communication interface.

[0012] In some embodiments, either UE 101 and UE 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-based 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-lived connections. The IoT UE may execute background applications (e.g., keep-alive messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate connectivity to the IoT network.

[0013] UE 101 and UE 102 may be configured to connect, e.g., be communicatively coupled, to a radio access network (RAN) 110. UE 101 and UE 102 utilize connection 103 and connection 104, respectively, each of which includes a physical communication interface or layer (discussed in further detail below); in this example, connection 103 and connection 104 are shown as air interfaces to achieve the communicatively coupled, and may conform to a cellular communication protocol.

[0014] In this embodiment, UE 101 and UE 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 comprising 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).

[0015] The illustrated UE 102 is configured to access an access point (AP) 106 via a connection 107. The connection 107 may comprise a local wireless connection, such as a connection conforming to any IEEE 802.11 protocol.

[0016] The RAN 110 may include one or more access nodes that enable the connections 103 and 104. These access nodes (ANs) may be referred to as base stations (BS), 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).

[0017] Either the RAN node 111 or the RAN node 112 may terminate the air interface protocol and may be the first point of contact for the UE 101 or the UE 102. In some embodiments, either the RAN node 111 or the RAN node 112 may fulfill various logical functions of the RAN 110, including, but not limited to, functions of a radio network controller (RNC), such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management, data packet scheduling, and mobility management.

[0018] According to some embodiments, UE 101 and UE 102 may be configured to communicate with each other or with either RAN node 111 and RAN node 112 over a multi-carrier communication channel using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) communication signals according to various communication techniques, such as, but not limited to, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) communication techniques (e.g., for downlink communications) or single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) communication techniques (e.g., for uplink and ProSe or sidelink communications), although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. OFDM signals may include multiple orthogonal subcarriers.

[0019] RAN 110 is shown as being communicatively coupled to a core network (CN) 120 via an S1 interface 113. In various embodiments, 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, S1 interface 113 is divided into two parts: S1-U interface 114, which carries traffic data between RAN node 111 and RAN node 112 and a serving gateway (S-GW) 122; and S1-Mobility Management Entity (MME) interface 115, which is a signaling interface between RAN node 111 and RAN node 112 and MME 121.

[0020] 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 .

[0021] Figure 2 Exemplary components of a device 200 according to some embodiments are shown. In some embodiments, the device 200 may include an application circuit 202, a baseband circuit 204, a radio frequency (RF) circuit 206, a front-end module (FEM) circuit 208, one or more antennas 210, and a power management circuit (PMC) 212 (at least coupled together as shown). The components of the illustrated device 200 may be included in a UE or a RAN node. In some embodiments, the device 200 may include fewer elements (e.g., the RAN node cannot utilize the application circuit 202, but includes a processor / controller to process IP data received from the EPC). In some embodiments, the device 200 may include additional elements, such as, for example, a memory / storage device, 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., the circuit may be separately included in more than one device for a specific implementation of a cloud-RAN (C-RAN)).

[0022] The application circuit 202 may include one or more application processors. The baseband circuit 204 may include circuits such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The baseband circuit 204 may include one or more baseband processors or control logic components to process baseband signals received from the receive signal path of the RF circuit 206 and generate baseband signals for the transmit signal path of the RF circuit 206. The baseband processing circuit 204 may interact with the application circuit 202 to generate and process baseband signals and control the operation of the RF circuit 206. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuit 204 may include a third generation (3G) baseband processor 204A, a fourth generation (4G) baseband processor 204B, a fifth generation (5G) baseband processor 204C, or other baseband processors 204D of other existing generations, generations under development or generations to be developed in the future (e.g., second generation (2G), sixth generation (6G), etc.). The baseband circuit 204 (e.g., one or more of the baseband processors 204A-204D) may handle various radio control functions that can communicate with one or more radio networks via the RF circuit 206. In other embodiments, some or all of the functions of the baseband processors 204A-204D may be included in a module stored in the memory 204G and executed via the central processing unit (CPU) 204E. 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 circuit of the baseband circuit 204 may include fast Fourier transform (FFT), precoding, or constellation mapping / demapping functions. In some embodiments, the encoding / decoding circuit of the baseband circuit 204 may include convolution, tail-biting convolution, turbo, Viterbi, or low-density parity check (LDPC) encoder / decoder functions. The implementation of the modulation / demodulation and encoder / decoder functions is not limited to these examples, and may include other suitable functions in other embodiments.

[0023] In some embodiments, the baseband circuit 204 may include one or more audio digital signal processors (DSPs) 204F. The audio DSP 204F 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 appropriately combined in a single chip, a single chipset, or disposed on the same circuit board. In some embodiments, some or all of the components in the baseband circuit 204 and the application circuit 202 may be implemented together, such as, for example, on a system on a chip (SOC).

[0024] RF circuitry 206 may communicate with a wireless network through a non-solid medium using modulated electromagnetic radiation. RF circuitry 206 may include a receive signal path that may include circuitry for down-converting RF signals received from FEM circuitry 208 and providing baseband signals to baseband circuitry 204. RF circuitry 206 may also include a transmit signal path that may include circuitry for up-converting baseband signals provided by baseband circuitry 204 and providing an RF output signal to FEM circuitry 208 for transmission.

[0025] In some embodiments, the receive signal path of the RF circuit 206 may include a mixer circuit 206a, an amplifier circuit 206b, and a filter circuit 206c. In some embodiments, the transmit signal path of the RF circuit 206 may include a filter circuit 206c and a mixer circuit 206a. The RF circuit 206 may also include a synthesizer circuit 206d, which is used to synthesize the frequency used by the mixer circuit 206a for the receive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 206a of the receive signal path may be configured to down-convert the RF signal received from the FEM circuit 208 based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuit 206d. The amplifier circuit 206b may be configured to amplify the down-converted signal, and the filter circuit 206c 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 204 for further processing.

[0026] In some embodiments, mixer circuit 206a of the transmit signal path may be configured to upconvert an input baseband signal based on a synthesized frequency provided by synthesizer circuit 206d to generate an RF output signal for FEM circuit 208. The baseband signal may be provided by baseband circuit 204 and may be filtered by filter circuit 206c.

[0027] In some embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternative embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be digital baseband signals. In these alternatives, RF circuit 206 may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuits, and baseband circuit 204 may include a digital baseband interface to communicate with RF circuit 206.

[0028] In some dual-mode embodiments, separate radio IC circuits may be provided to process signals for each spectrum, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0029] In some embodiments, synthesizer circuit 206d may be a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional-N / N+1 synthesizer, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect, as other types of frequency synthesizers may also be suitable. For example, synthesizer circuit 206d may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer including a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider.

[0030] The synthesizer circuit 206d of the RF circuit 206 may include a frequency divider, a delay locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer, and a phase accumulator. In some embodiments, the frequency 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.

[0031] The FEM circuitry 208 may include a receive signal path that may include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from the one or more antennas 210, amplify the received signals, and provide an amplified version of the received signals to the RF circuitry 206 for further processing. The FEM circuitry 208 may also include a transmit signal path that may include circuitry configured to amplify a transmit signal provided by the RF circuitry 206 for transmission via one or more of the one or more antennas 210. In various embodiments, amplification by either the transmit or receive signal path may be accomplished only in the RF circuitry 206, only in the FEM 208, or in both the RF circuitry 206 and the FEM 208.

[0032] In some embodiments, the FEM circuit 208 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 to amplify a received RF signal and provide the amplified received RF signal as an output (e.g., to the RF circuit 206). The transmit signal path of the FEM circuit 208 may include a power amplifier (PA) to amplify an input RF signal (e.g., provided by the RF circuit 206), and one or more filters to generate an RF signal for subsequent transmission (e.g., through one or more of the one or more antennas 210).

[0033] In some implementations, PMC 212 may manage the power provided to baseband circuitry 204 .

[0034] The processor of the application circuit 202 and the processor of the baseband circuit 204 can be used to execute elements of one or more instances of the protocol stack. For example, the processor of the baseband circuit 204 can be used alone or in combination to perform layer 3, layer 2, or layer 1 functions, while the processor of the application circuit 204 can utilize data received from these layers (e.g., packet data) and further perform layer 4 functions (e.g., transport 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 described in further 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 described in further detail below. As mentioned herein, layer 1 may include a physical (PHY) layer of a UE / RAN node, which will be described in further detail below.

[0035] The present disclosure contemplates non-public networks (NPNs), which may be self-contained networks or interoperate with one or more service networks (the non-public networks may be operated by one or more mobile network operators (MNOs) or third-party service network operators (SNOs) that provide PLMN services). As used herein, a "type a network" may refer to a 3GPP network that is not used for public purposes and can have service continuity and roaming with a public PLMN, and a "type b network" may refer to an isolated 3GPP network that does not interact with a public PLMN. Type a and type b networks may be considered "non-public" because they are only accessible by UEs with appropriate NPN configuration information as described herein.

[0036] Various aspects of the present disclosure may provide solutions to the following problems that arise in the context of type a and type b networks: (1) type a and type b network subscriptions; (2) how to provide information identifying type a or type b networks to UEs for network discovery and selection; (3) what criteria the UE uses to automatically select type a or type b networks; (4) how to support manual selection of type a and type b networks; (5) how to prevent UEs that are not authorized for a given type a or type b network from attempting to automatically select and register for type a or type b networks; (6) how to enable the network to verify that the UE is authorized to access type a or type b networks; (7) which network entities perform access control on type a and type b networks; (8) access restriction aspects of type a and type b networks; (9) where access is configured restrictions (e.g., subscription or configuration); (10) how to enable a UE to access a type b network but prevent the same UE from accessing a public PLMN; (11) how to prevent a UE that does not support type a and type b networks from attempting to access type a and type b networks; (12) how to prevent NG-RAN from handing over a UE to a type a network if the UE is not allowed to access a type a network; (13) what information elements are included in the network identity and what is the granularity of each type of information (e.g., network operator identifier, network type, location information); (14) whether to provide a distinction between type a and type b networks in the network identity and how to provide such a distinction; (15) what assumptions are made about the uniqueness of the network identity; and / or (16) whether and how the network identity is related to the UE identity.

[0037] Current solutions include some research on MulteFire, which can provide methods for interworking MulteFire networks with LTE+EPC. However, some of the problems pointed out above have not been solved in these solutions, and the methods used for EPS may not be applicable to 5GS. In contrast, the implementation scheme of this article can provide a comprehensive solution to support different deployment options for enabling services in PLMN domains or vertical domains for 5GS UEs capable of type a / type b network communications. In addition, the present disclosure provides mechanisms to solve the above-mentioned open problems of network identification, network discovery and selection, and access control. In order to support type a / type b network access for UEs, the implementation scheme includes a set of UE configuration parameters in type a / type b network service files, as well as design principles of type a / type b network identification and service network identification, which can be used for UEs to perform PLMN selection, network discovery and selection based on the configured type a / type b network service files.

[0038] For the purpose of this disclosure, for a type a network, an interworking service network (e.g., Figure 3The serving network 332, 334) is a 5GS PLMN. However, the interworking system architecture may be of another type. In some cases, according to 3GPP TS 23.501, 502 and 503, it is assumed that the basic system architecture and UE configuration update procedures are supported and used in the NPN.

[0039] Figure 3 is a diagram showing exemplary user equipment (UE) 302, 304, 306 connected to a non-public network (NPN) 310 according to some embodiments. Specifically, Figure 3 An exemplary NPN and various use cases are shown, such as where the NPN is a self-contained network (e.g., for UE 306) or where the NPN provides interaction with an external service network (e.g., for UE 302, 304). In the example shown, the UE can access local / non-public network services (e.g., Internet 312) via NPN 310, or can access external services (e.g., direct service networks 332, 334, 336) via NPN 310. Service networks 332, 334, 336 can be third-party networks, and in some cases, can be public land mobile networks (PLMNs) that provide mobile cellular services in accordance with 3GPP TR 21.905.

[0040] From the perspective of the UE, the main difference between type a and type b networks is whether the UE is authorized to use services provided by the PLMN via the registered NPN 310. That is, if the UE is not authorized to use services provided by any PLMN, the UE registers to the type b network. On the other hand, the NPN 310 may support services provided by one or more service network providers, which may include an MNO. That is, in some cases, the NPN 310 may be both type a and type b. The UE actually selects a service network that can provide authorized services via the selected NPN 310.

[0041] like Figure 3 As shown, each of UE 302, UE 304, and UE 306 can register with the same NPN 310 identified as NID#X. However, logically: (1) if UE 302 is authorized to use services provided by PLMN#1, UE 302 registers with the type a network; (2) if UE 304 is not authorized to use any services provided by any PLMN, such as SN#N, UE 304 registers with the type b network; (3) UE 306 registers with a self-contained type b network that provides local non-public network services without any interaction with an external service network.

[0042] Some deployment options of NPN 310 may include: (1) NPN 310 is a type a network that provides PLMN services by acting as a RAN node in PLMN; (2) NPN 310 is a type a network that provides non-public network services and PLMN services by interworking with one or more PLMNs; (3) NPN 310 is a type b network that provides non-PLMN services by interworking with one or more service networks; or (4) NPN 310 is a self-contained type b network that provides local PLMN or non-PLMN services (also referred to herein as non-public network services) without any interaction with external service networks. The above deployment option 1 may be referred to as a non-standalone case, and the above deployment options 2 to 4 may be referred to as standalone cases.

[0043] The embodiments of the present invention provide a mechanism for a UE to access an NPN using the following principles of NPN identification: (1) the NPN may be able to support type a and / or type b, and both types may have a network identification defined as NID in the same format; (2) the NID of the NPN may be able to indicate support for an external service network (e.g., SN#1, ..., SN#N) or a non-public network service (e.g., as a self-contained private network); (3) the NPN may provide information of supported external service networks, such as SN#1, SN#N, which may be identified by a service network identification defined as SN-ID; (4) the SN-ID of the service network may be It can indicate support for MNOs in the format of PLMN-ID (for example, indicating the mobile country code (MCC) and mobile network code (MNC)), as well as other service network operators (SNOs) in the format of FFS; (5) RAN nodes in the NPN can broadcast the following information: (a) NID; and / or (b) a list of supported SN-IDs; (6) The UE can be configured with the following information in the NPN file: (a) a list of SN-IDs in priority order; (b) authentication parameters including credentials of the configured SN-ID, authentication method; and / or (c) DNN, S-NSSAI, SSC mode of the configured SN-ID.

[0044] For UEs configured with NPN profiles, it is important that NPN discovery and selection is compatible with existing PLMN selection procedures such as in 3GPP TS23.122 / TS36.304. For example, when the UE is powered on, the PLMN is selected by the NAS, and at the request of the NAS, the AS may perform a search for available PLMNs with a CN type (if each PLMN is available) and report these PLMNs to the NAS. Therefore, the UE may need to be able to select a PLMN-ID for the NPN, and the NPN selection process may need to be able to provide the UE with information to distinguish whether external services are provided via a serving network or non-public network services are supported.

[0045] The embodiments of this document provide a mechanism for the UE to access the NPN using the following principles of NPN discovery and selection. During the PLMN selection process, a reserved globally unique PLMN-ID can be used for the NPN as an indication of the access network that distinguishes between the 3GPP network and the NPN. The RAN node in the NPN can broadcast the reserved globally unique PLMN-ID and other supported PLMNs (if available) in the system information. As part of the configuration of the NPN file, the UE may also be configured with the following information: the reserved PLMN-ID to be used in the PLMN selection. When the UE configured with the NPN file detects and selects the reserved PLMN-ID, the UE continues the NPN discovery and selection process. For the NPN selection process, if external services are supported, the NPN selection can be based on information with a combination of SNID+NID, and if non-public network services are supported, the NPN selection can be based only on the NID.

[0046] In some cases, the UE may further consider the following two options to distinguish the type of NPN. First (Option 1), two different reserved PLMN-IDs may be allocated to represent two types of NPN selection processes for external services or non-public network services. Second (Option 2), the NID contains an indication for distinguishing whether the associated service is provided by an external service network or a non-public network service network.

[0047] Embodiments herein provide a mechanism for a UE to access an NPN using access category information, which may be stored in a USIM or as part of the configuration of an NPN profile. The UE may also be configured with access category information corresponding to a configured SN-ID. Access control of the NPN may be based on the RAN node of the NPN broadcasting information about the access category allowed / not allowed by the serving network identified by the SN-ID.

[0048] FIG. 4A to FIG. 4C 4 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process 400 for NPN discovery and selection according to some embodiments. The operations in the exemplary process 400 may be performed by one or more components of a UE device (e.g., Figure 2 The exemplary process 400 may include additional or different operations, and the operations may be performed in the order shown or in another order. In some cases, FIG. 4A to FIG. 4C One or more of the operations shown are implemented as a process including multiple operations, sub-processes or other types of routines. In some cases, the operations may be combined, performed in another order, performed in parallel, iterated or otherwise repeated or performed in another manner.

[0049] In one embodiment (embodiment 4.1, as Figure 4A ), the following exemplary process may be used to discover an NPN with external service support. The UE autonomously scans the frequency bands of cells applicable to 3GPP networks and NPNs at 402A, detects that the cell supports NPN based on a reserved PLMN-ID (broadcast by the cell) at 404A, and identifies the NID and a list of service networks (e.g., SN-IDs) supported by the NPN identified by the NID at 406A. The exemplary process may be used for NPN selection. The UE detects a match between a configured SN-ID and an available SN-ID at 408A, selects an SN-ID from the discovered SN-IDs based on a prioritized list of configured SN-IDs at 410A, connects to the NID of the service network identified as the SN-ID at 412A, and performs a corresponding authentication process.

[0050] In another embodiment (embodiment 4.2, as Figure 4B ): The following exemplary process may be used for NPN discovery, in which different reserved PLMN-IDs indicate support for non-public network services or external services in the NPN. The UE autonomously scans the frequency bands of cells applicable to 3GPP networks and NPNs at 402B, and detects that the cell supports NPN based on the reserved PLMN-ID (broadcast by the cell) at 404B. Based on the reserved PLMN-ID, the UE determines at 406B whether the detected NPN provides external services or non-public network services. If the reserved PLMN-ID indicates that the NPN provides external services, the UE performs NPN discovery steps 408B, 410B, 412B (which are the same as steps 408A, 410A, 412A described above with respect to implementation 4.1, respectively). However, if the reserved PLMN-ID indicates that the NPN provides local non-public network services, the UE can identify the NID and detect a match between the UE's configured NID and the optionally configured non-public network service information (e.g., DNN, S-NSSAI, SSC mode, etc.) at 409B, and connect to the local / NPN service at 411B.

[0051] In another embodiment (embodiment 4.3, as Figure 4C), the following exemplary process may be used for NPN discovery, in which a bit (e.g., the first bit) in the NID indicates support for non-public network services or external services in the NPN. The UE autonomously scans the frequency bands of cells applicable to 3GPP networks and NPNs at 402C, detects that the cell supports NPN based on the reserved PLMN-ID at 404C, and identifies the NID and the list of SN-IDs supported by the NPN identified by the NID at 406C. Based on the first bit of the NID, the UE determines at 408C whether the NPN provides external services or local / non-public network services. If the NID indicates support for external services, the UE performs NPN discovery steps 410C, 412C, 414C (which are the same as steps 408A, 410A, 412A described above with respect to implementation scheme 4.1, respectively). However, if the NID indicates support for non-public network services, the UE may identify the NID at 409C (skipping the detection of the SN-ID list and NPN selection process), detect a match between the configured NID and the optionally configured non-public network service information (e.g., DNN, S-NSSAI, SSC mode, etc.) at 411C, and connect to the local / NPN service at 411C.

[0052] In some embodiments, the UE configuration in the NPN file includes an indication of the above-mentioned NPN deployment option 1 (non-standalone case) or deployment option 2, 3 or 4, which indicates which NPN deployment option is enabled. If deployment option 2, 3 or 4 is enabled, the UE may follow the above-mentioned process to perform PLMN selection and NPN discovery / selection. If deployment option 1 is enabled, loose coupling with NR-RAN nodes may also be supported, which may require enhanced features of RAN nodes in NPN. In this case, it is necessary to distinguish between NPN RAN nodes (referred to as NPN-RAN nodes herein) and other NR-RAN nodes. In some cases, the UE may be able to determine whether the cell-ID of the detected NPN-RAN node is NPN. Therefore, a new NPN-cell-ID may be designed as follows (e.g., as a supplement to TS 38.413). NPN may be a new category in NR-RAN-node, and the first [X] bit (e.g., the first bit) of the NPN-cell-ID may indicate the NPN-RAN-node ID. The UE NPN configuration file may include one or more NPN-RAN-node IDs supported by the UE. The UE may perform PLMN selection and select a cell that matches the configured NPN-RAN-Node ID.

[0053] In some embodiments, the NPN may use a UE configuration update procedure as described in TS23.501 or 23.502 to configure the UE with NPN profile configuration information having the following parameters. In some cases, the UE NPN profile includes an indication of a network deployment option (e.g., deployment option 1 (NPN as RAN node interworking, type a network) or option 2, 3, or 4 (NPN with self-contained services or external services)). In the case of indicating deployment option 1, the UE NPN profile may include a set of NR-RAN-node IDs supported by the UE. In the case of indicating deployment options 2, 3, or 4, the UE NPN profile may include one or more of the following: a reserved globally unique PLMN-ID and a list of SN-IDs in priority order. The following parameters may be provided for each SN-ID in the configured SN-ID list: authentication parameters (e.g., including credentials or authentication methods / procedures), access category information, local service information (e.g., DNN, S-NSSAI, SSC mode, if network slicing is supported in the serving network), or serving network type (e.g., IMS, 5GS, EPS).

[0054] The functions, operations, components and / or features described herein with reference to one or more embodiments may be used in combination with one or more other functions, operations, components and / or features described herein with reference to one or more other embodiments, or vice versa.

[0055] Example :

[0056] The following examples relate to additional implementations. It should be understood that some of the embodiments listed below may be combined with other embodiments or certain aspects of other embodiments. The embodiments listed below may be implemented in one or more components of a user equipment (UE) device (e.g., Figure 2 The method may be implemented in one or more components of the baseband circuit 204 of the user equipment (UE) device or performed by one or more components of the user equipment (UE) device.

[0057] Embodiment 1 includes an apparatus of a user equipment (UE) device, the apparatus comprising: a memory storing non-public network (NPN) configuration information; a radio frequency (RF) interface for receiving information broadcast by a radio access network (RAN) node of a specific NPN, the information comprising an NPN indicator indicating that the RAN node supports the NPN and NPN service information indicating services supported by the specific NPN; and a processing circuit coupled to the memory and the RF interface, the processing circuit establishing a connection with the specific NPN based on the NPN configuration information and the NPN service information received from the RAN node in response to detecting the NPN indicator in the information received from the RAN node.

[0058] Embodiment 2 may include the subject matter of Embodiment 1, and optionally, wherein the NPN indicator is a reserved Public Land Mobile Network Identifier (PLMN-ID) for use by any RAN node to indicate that the RAN node supports NPN.

[0059] Embodiment 3 may include the subject matter of embodiment 1, and optionally, wherein the NPN configuration information indicates a network identifier (NID) supported by the UE device, the information broadcast by the RAN node also includes the NID for the specific NPN, and the processing circuit establishes the connection with the specific NPN based on detecting that the NID in the NPN configuration information matches the NID for the specific NPN.

[0060] Embodiment 4 may include the subject matter of Embodiment 3 and, optionally, wherein the NID indicates that the particular NPN does not support external services.

[0061] Embodiment 5 may include the subject matter of Embodiment 1, and optionally, wherein the NPN indicator further indicates that the particular NPN does not support external services.

[0062] Embodiment 6 may include the subject matter of any one of Embodiments 1 to 5, and optionally, wherein the NPN configuration information also includes local service information, the local service information including one or more of a data network name (DNN), single network segment selection assistance information (S-NSSAI), and session and service continuity (SSC) mode information, and the processing circuit establishes the connection with the specific NPN based on detecting at least a portion of the local service information and the NPN service information.

[0063] Embodiment 7 may include the subject matter of Embodiment 1, and optionally, wherein the NPN service information includes a set of serving network identifiers (SN-IDs) for corresponding external serving networks (SNs) supported by the particular NPN.

[0064] Embodiment 8 may include the subject matter of embodiment 7, and optionally, wherein at least one of the external SNs supported by the specific NPN is a public land mobile network (PLMN) provided by a mobile network operator (MNO), and the SN-ID corresponding to the PLMN provided by the MNO is an identifier for the MNO, the identifier for the MNO comprising a mobile country code (MCC) and a mobile network code (MNC).

[0065] Embodiment 9 may include the subject matter of embodiment 7, and optionally, wherein at least one of the external SNs supported by the specific NPN is a third-party service, and the SN-ID corresponding to the third-party service is a domain name for the third-party service.

[0066] Embodiment 10 may include the subject matter of any one of Embodiments 7 to 9, and optionally, wherein the NPN configuration information includes a set of SN-IDs for service networks supported by the UE device, and the processing circuit establishes the connection with the specific NPN based on detecting that the SN-ID in the NPN service information matches the SN-ID in the NPN configuration information.

[0067] Embodiment 11 may include the subject matter of embodiment 10, and optionally, wherein the NPN configuration indicates a respective priority of each SN-ID, and the processing circuit further establishes the connection with the particular NPN based on the priority of the SN-ID.

[0068] Embodiment 12 may include the subject matter of embodiment 10, and optionally, wherein the NPN configuration information further includes authentication information for at least one of the SN-IDs, the authentication information including credentials and one or more of the authentication processes corresponding to the SN-ID.

[0069] Embodiment 13 may include the subject matter of embodiment 10, and optionally, wherein the NPN configuration information further includes access category information for at least one of the SN-IDs, the information broadcast by the RAN node further includes access category information of allowed or disallowed access categories for at least one SN-ID, and the processing circuit further establishes the connection with the specific NPN based on the access category information in the NPN configuration information and the access category information in the information broadcast by the RAN node.

[0070] Embodiment 14 may include the subject matter of embodiment 1, and optionally, wherein the NPN configuration information indicates network deployment information of the NPN supported by the UE device, and the network deployment information indicates whether the NPN is independently deployed or non-independently deployed.

[0071] Embodiment 15 may include the subject matter of Embodiment 14, and optionally, wherein the network deployment information indicates a non-standalone NPN deployment, and the NPN configuration information indicates an identifier for an NPN RAN node supported by the UE device.

[0072] Embodiment 16 may include the subject matter of any preceding embodiment, and optionally, further includes a front end module coupled to the processing circuit.

[0073] Embodiment 17 may include the subject matter of Embodiment 16, and optionally, further comprising at least one antenna coupled to the front end module.

[0074] Embodiment 18 includes a method performed at a processing circuit of a user equipment (UE) device, the method comprising: obtaining information broadcast by a radio access network (RAN) node of a specific non-public network (NPN), the information comprising an NPN indicator indicating that the RAN node supports the NPN and NPN service information indicating services supported by the specific NPN; and in response to detecting the NPN indicator in the information broadcast by the RAN node, establishing a connection with the specific NPN based on the NPN service information and NPN configuration information for the UE device indicating support for the specific NPN.

[0075] Embodiment 19 may include the subject matter of Embodiment 18, and optionally, wherein the NPN indicator is a reserved Public Land Mobile Network Identifier (PLMN-ID) for use by any RAN node to indicate that the RAN node supports NPN.

[0076] Embodiment 20 may include the subject matter of embodiment 18, and optionally, wherein the NPN configuration information indicates network identifiers (NIDs) supported by the UE device, the information broadcast by the RAN node also includes the NID for the specific NPN, and establishing the connection with the specific NPN is based on detecting that the NID in the NPN configuration information matches the NID for the specific NPN.

[0077] Embodiment 21 may include the subject matter of Embodiment 20, and optionally, wherein the NID indicates that the particular NPN does not support external services.

[0078] Embodiment 22 may include the subject matter of Embodiment 18, and optionally, wherein the NPN indicator further indicates that the particular NPN does not support external services.

[0079] Embodiment 23 may include the subject matter of any one of Embodiments 18 to 22, and optionally, wherein the NPN configuration information further includes local service information, the local service information including one or more of a data network name (DNN), single network segment selection assistance information (S-NSSAI), and session and service continuity (SSC) mode information, and establishing the connection with the specific NPN is based on detecting at least a portion of the local service information and the NPN service information.

[0080] Embodiment 24 may include the subject matter of Embodiment 18, and optionally, wherein the NPN service information includes a set of serving network identifiers (SN-IDs) for corresponding external serving networks (SNs) supported by the particular NPN.

[0081] Embodiment 25 may include the subject matter of embodiment 24, and optionally, wherein at least one of the external SNs supported by the specific NPN is a public land mobile network (PLMN) provided by a mobile network operator (MNO), and the SN-ID corresponding to the PLMN provided by the MNO is an identifier for the MNO, and the identifier for the MNO includes a mobile country code (MCC) and a mobile network code (MNC).

[0082] Embodiment 26 may include the subject matter of embodiment 24, and optionally, wherein at least one of the external SNs supported by the specific NPN is a third-party service, and the SN-ID corresponding to the third-party service is a domain name for the third-party service.

[0083] Embodiment 27 may include the subject matter of any one of Embodiments 24 to 26, and optionally, wherein the NPN configuration information includes a set of SN-IDs for service networks supported by the UE device, and establishing the connection with the particular NPN is based on detecting that the SN-ID in the NPN service information matches the SN-ID in the NPN configuration information.

[0084] Embodiment 28 may include the subject matter of Embodiment 27, and optionally, wherein the NPN configuration indicates a respective priority of each SN-ID, and establishing the connection with the particular NPN is further based on the priority of the SN-ID.

[0085] Embodiment 29 may include the subject matter of embodiment 27, and optionally, wherein the NPN configuration information further includes authentication information for at least one of the SN-IDs, the authentication information including credentials and one or more of the authentication processes corresponding to the SN-ID.

[0086] Embodiment 30 may include the subject matter of embodiment 27, and optionally, wherein the NPN configuration information further includes access category information for at least one of the SN-IDs, the information broadcast by the RAN node further includes access category information of allowed or disallowed access categories for at least one SN-ID, and establishing the connection with the specific NPN is further based on the access category information in the NPN configuration information and the access category information in the information broadcast by the RAN node.

[0087] Embodiment 31 may include the subject matter of Embodiment 18, and optionally, wherein the NPN configuration information indicates network deployment information of the NPN supported by the UE device, and the network deployment information indicates whether the NPN is independently deployed or non-independently deployed.

[0088] Embodiment 32 may include the subject matter of Embodiment 31, and optionally, wherein the network deployment information indicates a non-standalone NPN deployment, and the NPN configuration information indicates an identifier for an NPN RAN node supported by the UE device.

[0089] Embodiment 33 includes a product comprising one or more tangible computer-readable non-transitory storage media, wherein the tangible computer-readable non-transitory storage media comprises computer-executable instructions, wherein the computer-executable instructions are operable to enable the at least one computer processor to perform the method described in any one of Embodiments 18 to 32 when executed by the at least one computer processor.

[0090] Embodiment 34 includes a system comprising an apparatus for establishing a connection between a user equipment (UE) device and a non-public network (NPN), wherein establishing the connection is based on NPN configuration information stored on the UE device and NPN service information broadcast by a radio access node (RAN) of the NPN indicating services supported by the NPN.

[0091] Embodiment 35 may include a device comprising logic components, modules or circuits for performing one or more elements of the method described in or related to any of the above embodiments or any other method or process described herein.

[0092] Embodiment 36 may include a signal or a portion or component thereof as described or related to any of the above embodiments.

[0093] Embodiment 37 may include signals in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0094] While certain features have been illustrated and described herein, numerous modifications, substitutions, changes, and equivalents may occur to those skilled in the art. It is therefore to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes that fall within the true spirit of the disclosure.

Claims

1. A device for a user equipment UE device, the device comprising: A memory storing non-public network NPN configuration information; a radio frequency (RF) interface, the RF interface being configured to receive information broadcasted by a radio access network (RAN) node of a specific NPN, the information comprising an NPN indicator indicating that the RAN node supports the NPN and NPN service information indicating services supported by the specific NPN, wherein the NPN service information comprises a set of service network identifiers (SN-IDs) for corresponding external service networks (SN) supported by the specific NPN; and a processing circuit coupled to the memory and the RF interface, the processing circuit being configured to, in response to detecting the NPN indicator in the information received from the RAN node, establish a connection with the specific NPN based on the NPN configuration information and the NPN service information received from the RAN node, The NPN configuration information indicates a network identifier NID supported by the UE device, the information broadcast by the RAN node also includes the NID for the specific NPN, and the processing circuit is used to establish the connection with the specific NPN based on detecting that the NID in the NPN configuration information matches the NID for the specific NPN.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the NPN indicator is a reserved Public Land Mobile Network Identifier (PLMN-ID) for use by any RAN node to indicate that the RAN node supports NPN. 3 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the NID indicates that the particular NPN does not support external services. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the NPN indicator further indicates that the particular NPN does not support external services.

5. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the NPN configuration information further includes local service information, the local service information including one or more of a data network name DNN, single network segment selection assistance information S-NSSAI, and session and service continuity SSC mode information, and the processing circuit is used to establish the connection with the specific NPN based on detecting that the local service information matches at least a portion of the NPN service information.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the external SNs supported by the specific NPN is a public land mobile network PLMN provided by a mobile network operator MNO, and the SN-ID corresponding to the PLMN provided by the MNO is an identifier for the MNO, the identifier for the MNO including a mobile country code MCC and a mobile network code MNC.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the external SNs supported by the specific NPN is a third-party service, and the SN-ID corresponding to the third-party service is a domain name for the third-party service.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuit is to establish the connection with the specific NPN based on detecting that an SN-ID in the NPN service information matches an SN-ID in the NPN configuration information. 9 . The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the processing circuit is configured to establish the connection with the specific NPN further based on a priority of the SN-ID.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the NPN configuration information further comprises authentication information for at least one of the SN-IDs, the authentication information comprising one or more of a credential and an authentication process corresponding to the SN-ID.

11. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the NPN configuration information further includes access category information for at least one of the SN-IDs, the information broadcast by the RAN node further includes access category information of allowed or disallowed access categories for at least one SN-ID, and the processing circuit is configured to establish the connection with the specific NPN further based on the access category information in the NPN configuration information and the access category information in the information broadcast by the RAN node. 12 . The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the NPN configuration information indicates network deployment information for the NPN supported by the UE device, the network deployment information indicating whether the NPN is independently deployed or non-independently deployed.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the network deployment information indicates a non-standalone NPN deployment, and the NPN configuration information indicates an identifier for an NPNRAN node supported by the UE device.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a front end module coupled to the processing circuit.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, further comprising at least one antenna coupled to the front end module.

16. A method to be performed at a processing circuit of a user equipment (UE) device, the method comprising: Acquire information broadcasted by a radio access network RAN ​​node of a specific non-public network NPN, the information comprising an NPN indicator indicating that the RAN node supports the NPN and NPN service information indicating services supported by the specific NPN, wherein the NPN service information comprises a set of service network identifiers SN-IDs for corresponding external service networks SN supported by the specific NPN; as well as in response to detecting the NPN indicator in the information broadcast by the RAN node, establishing a connection with the specific NPN based on the NPN service information and NPN configuration information for the UE device indicating support for the specific NPN, The NPN configuration information for the UE device indicates a network identifier NID supported by the UE device, the information broadcast by the RAN node also includes the NID for the specific NPN, and establishing the connection with the specific NPN is based on detecting that the NID in the NPN configuration information matches the NID for the specific NPN.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the NPN configuration information further comprises local service information, the local service information comprising one or more of a data network name DNN, single network segment selection assistance information S-NSSAI, and session and service continuity SSC mode information, and establishing the connection with the specific NPN is based on detecting that the local service information matches at least a portion of the NPN service information.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the external SN supported by the specific NPN is one or more of: a public land mobile network PLMN, the PLMN being provided by a mobile network operator MNO, and the SN-ID corresponding to the PLMN provided by the MNO being an identifier for the MNO, the identifier for the MNO comprising a mobile country code MCC and a mobile network code MNC; and A third-party service, and the SN-ID corresponding to the third-party service is a domain name for the third-party service.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein establishing the connection with the specific NPN is based on detecting that an SN-ID in the NPN service information matches an SN-ID in the NPN configuration information.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the NPN configuration information further includes access category information for at least one of the SN-IDs, the information broadcast by the RAN node further includes access category information of allowed or disallowed access categories for at least one SN-ID, and establishing the connection with the specific NPN is further based on the access category information in the NPN configuration information and the access category information in the information broadcast by the RAN node.

21. A computer-readable non-transitory storage medium comprising computer-executable instructions operable, when executed by at least one computer processor, to enable the at least one computer processor to perform the method according to any one of claims 16 to 20.

22. A computer program product comprising computer executable instructions operable, when executed by at least one computer processor, to enable the at least one computer processor to perform the method according to any one of claims 16 to 20.

23. A system for communication, the system comprising means for establishing a connection between a user equipment (UE) device and a non-public network (NPN), the connection being established based on NPN configuration information stored on the UE device and NPN service information broadcasted by a radio access node RAN of the NPN indicating services supported by the NPN, wherein the NPN service information comprises a set of service network identifiers SN-IDs for corresponding external service networks SN supported by a specific NPN, wherein the NPN configuration information indicates network identifiers NIDs supported by the UE device, the information broadcasted by the RAN node further comprises an NID for the specific NPN, and a processing circuit is used to establish the connection with the specific NPN based on detecting that the NID in the NPN configuration information matches the NID for the specific NPN.

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