Method and apparatus for wireless communication

Abstract

Wireless communication systems and methods related to on-demand ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC) are provided. In one embodiment, a base station (BS) receives a request for a protocol data unit (PDU) session on a network slice from a user equipment (UE) in a first cell frequency. The BS receives a resource configuration request for the PDU session on the network slice from a core network entity. The BS transmits a resource configuration response indicating the reason for rejecting the resource configuration request to the core network entity. In one embodiment, the UE transmits a network registration request message in a first cell frequency of the network requesting a network slice of the network that is not provided by the first cell frequency. The UE receives a network registration response message indicating that the network slice is allowed based on providing the requested network slice on a second cell frequency of the network.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Patent Application No. 16 / 937,050, filed on July 23, 2020; and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 880,556, filed on July 30, 2019, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference as if fully set forth below and for all applicable purposes.

[0003] introduction

[0004] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content, such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, etc. These systems may be capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). A wireless multiple-access communication system may include several base stations (BSs), each of which simultaneously supports communication for multiple communication devices, which may be otherwise referred to as user equipment (UE).

[0005] In order to meet the growing demand for extended mobile broadband connectivity, wireless communication technology is evolving from long term evolution (LTE) technology to next generation new radio (NR) technology, which may be referred to as the fifth generation (5G). For example, NR is designed to provide lower latency, higher bandwidth or higher throughput, and higher reliability compared to LTE. NR is designed to operate over a wide range of frequency bands, such as low frequency bands below about 1 gigahertz (GHz) and mid-frequency bands from about 1 GHz to about 6 GHz, to high frequency bands, such as millimeter wave (mmWave) bands. NR is also designed to operate across different spectrum types from licensed spectrum to unlicensed and shared spectrum. Spectrum sharing enables operators to opportunistically aggregate spectrum to dynamically support high bandwidth services. Spectrum sharing can extend the benefits of NR technology to operating entities that may not have access to licensed spectrum.

[0006] The improved latency, reliability, bandwidth, and / or throughput in NR enables various types of network deployments and / or services, such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable, low latency communications (URLLC), and / or Internet of Things (IoT) services. Different types of services may have different traffic requirements (e.g., latency, bandwidth, reliability, and / or throughput).

[0007] A brief overview of some examples

[0008] The following summarizes some aspects of the present disclosure to provide a basic understanding of the technology discussed. This summary is not an exhaustive overview of all conceived features of the present disclosure, and is neither intended to identify the key or decisive elements of all aspects of the present disclosure, nor to attempt to define the scope of any or all aspects of the present disclosure. Its only purpose is to give some concepts of one or more aspects of the present disclosure in an overview form as a prelude to a more detailed description given later.

[0009] For example, in one aspect of the present disclosure, a wireless communication method includes: receiving, by a base station (BS), a request for a protocol data unit (PDU) session on a network slice from a user equipment (UE) in a first cellular cell frequency; receiving, by the BS, a resource configuration request for the PDU session on the network slice from a core network entity; and transmitting, by the BS, a resource configuration response to the core network entity indicating a reason for rejecting the resource configuration request.

[0010] In an additional aspect of the present disclosure, a wireless communication method includes: transmitting, by a user equipment (UE), in a first cellular cell frequency of a network, a network registration request message requesting a network slice of the network that is not provided by the first cellular cell frequency; and receiving, by the UE in response to the network registration request message, a network registration response message indicating that the requested network slice is allowed to be provided based on a second cellular cell frequency of the network.

[0011] In an additional aspect of the present disclosure, a base station (BS) includes a transceiver configured to: receive a request for a protocol data unit (PDU) session on a network slice from a user equipment (UE) in a first cellular cell frequency; receive a resource configuration request for the PDU session on the network slice from a core network entity; and transmit a resource configuration response to the core network entity indicating a reason for rejecting the resource configuration request.

[0012] In an additional aspect of the present disclosure, a user equipment (UE) includes a transceiver configured to: transmit a network registration request message in a first cell frequency of a network requesting a network slice of the network that is not provided by the first cell frequency; and receive a network registration response message in response to the network registration request message, the network registration response message indicating that the requested network slice is allowed to be provided based on a second cell frequency of the network.

[0013] After studying the description of the specific exemplary embodiments of the present invention below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, other aspects, features and embodiments of the present invention will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Although features of the present invention may be discussed below with respect to certain embodiments and accompanying drawings, all embodiments of the present invention may include one or more advantageous features discussed herein. In other words, although one or more embodiments may be discussed to have certain advantageous features, one or more such features may also be used according to the various embodiments of the present invention discussed herein. In a similar manner, although exemplary embodiments may be discussed below as device, system or method embodiments, it should be appreciated that such exemplary embodiments may be implemented in various devices, systems, and methods. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Figure 1 A wireless communication network is illustrated in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0016] Figure 2 A wireless communication network system implementing network slicing according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is explained.

[0017] Figure 3 is a signaling diagram illustrating a network registration method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0018] Figure 4 is a block diagram of a user equipment (UE) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0019] Figure 5 is a block diagram of an exemplary base station (BS) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0020] Figure 6 is a block diagram of an exemplary network element according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0021] Figure 7 is a signaling diagram illustrating an on-demand ultra-reliable low latency (URLLC) method using network slicing according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0022] Figure 8 is a signaling diagram illustrating an on-demand URLLC method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0023] Fig. 9 is a flow chart of a communication method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0024] Fig.10 is a flow chart of a communication method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0025] Fig.11 is a flow chart of a communication method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0026] Fig.12 is a flow chart of a communication method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0027] Fig.13 is a flow chart of a communication method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0028] Detailed Description

[0029] The detailed description set forth below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings is intended as a description of various configurations and is not intended to represent the only configurations in which the concepts described herein may be practiced. This detailed description includes specific details in order to provide a thorough understanding of the various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and components are shown in block diagram form to avoid obscuring such concepts.

[0030] The present disclosure generally relates to wireless communication systems (also referred to as wireless communication networks). In various embodiments, various techniques and equipment may be used for wireless communication networks, such as code division multiple access (CDMA) networks, time division multiple access (TDMA) networks, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) networks, orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) networks, single carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) networks, LTE networks, global mobile communication systems (GSM) networks, fifth generation (5G) or new radio (NR) networks, and other communication networks. As described herein, the terms "network" and "system" may be used interchangeably.

[0031] OFDMA network can realize radio technology, such as Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, IEEE 802.16, IEEE 802.20, flash-OFDM, etc. UTRA, E-UTRA and GSM are part of Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). Specifically, Long Term Evolution (LTE) is a UMTS version using E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, GSM, UMTS and LTE are described in documents provided by an organization named "3rd Generation Partnership Project" (3GPP), while cdma2000 is described in documents from an organization named "3rd Generation Partnership Project 2" (3GPP2). These various radio technologies and standards are known or under development. For example, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is a collaboration between various telecommunications association groups, which aims to define a globally applicable third generation (3G) mobile phone specification. 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) is a 3GPP project aimed at improving the UMTS mobile phone standard. 3GPP may define specifications for next generation mobile networks, mobile systems, and mobile devices. The present disclosure focuses on the evolution of wireless technologies from LTE, 4G, 5G, NR and beyond with shared access to wireless spectrum between networks using a set of new and different radio access technologies or radio air interfaces.

[0032] Specifically, 5G networks envision diverse deployments, diverse spectrum, and diverse services and devices that can be implemented using a unified OFDM-based air interface. To achieve these goals, in addition to developing new radio technologies for 5G NR networks, further enhancements to LTE and LTE-A are also being considered. 5G NR will be able to scale to: (1) provide high-density (e.g., approximately 1M nodes / km) 2 (1) providing coverage for the Massive Internet of Things (IoT) with ultra-low complexity (e.g., on the order of tens of bits / second), ultra-low energy (e.g., on the order of 10+ years of battery life), and deep coverage capable of reaching challenging locations; (2) providing coverage including mission-critical control with strong security (to protect sensitive personal, financial, or confidential information), ultra-high reliability (e.g., on the order of 99.9999% reliability), ultra-low latency (e.g., on the order of 1 ms), and for users with a wide range of mobility or lack thereof; and (3) providing coverage with enhanced mobile broadband, including extremely high capacity (e.g., on the order of 10 Tbps / km 2 ), extreme data rates (e.g., multi-Gbps rates, 100+Mbps user experience rates), and deep cognition with advanced discovery and optimization.

[0033] 5G NR can be implemented to: use an optimized OFDM-based waveform with scalable parameter sets and transmission time intervals (TTIs); have a common, flexible framework to efficiently multiplex services and features using dynamic, low-latency time time division duplex (TDD) / frequency division duplex (FDD) designs; and have advanced wireless technologies such as massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), robust millimeter wave (mmWave) transmission, advanced channel coding, and device-centric mobility. The scalability of the parameter set in 5G NR (and the scaling of the subcarrier spacing) can efficiently address the operation of diverse services across diverse spectrums and diverse deployments. For example, in various outdoor and macro coverage deployments less than 3GHz FDD / TDD implementations, the subcarrier spacing can occur at 15kHz, such as on bandwidths (BW) such as 5, 10, 20MHz. For other various outdoor and small cell coverage deployments of TDD greater than 3GHz, the subcarrier spacing can occur at 30kHz on 80 / 100MHz BW. For various other indoor broadband implementations, subcarrier spacing may occur at 60kHz over 160MHz BW using TDD over the unlicensed portion of the 5GHz band. Finally, for various deployments transmitting using the mmWave component with TDD at 28GHz, subcarrier spacing may occur at 120kHz over 500MHz BW.

[0034] 5G NR's scalable parameter set facilitates scalable TTI to meet diverse latency and quality of service (QoS) requirements. For example, shorter TTIs can be used for low latency and high reliability, while longer TTIs can be used for higher spectral efficiency. Efficient multiplexing of long TTIs and short TTIs allows transmissions to start on symbol boundaries. 5G NR also contemplates a self-contained integrated subframe design with uplink / downlink scheduling information, data, and acknowledgment in the same subframe. Self-contained integrated subframes support communications in unlicensed or contention-based shared spectrum, supporting adaptive uplink / downlink that can be flexibly configured on a per-cell basis to dynamically switch between uplink and downlink to meet current traffic needs.

[0035] Various other aspects and features of the present disclosure are further described below. It should be apparent that the teachings herein can be embodied in a variety of forms, and any specific structure, function, or both disclosed herein are representative and non-restrictive. Based on the teachings herein, it should be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented independently of any other aspects and two or more of these aspects can be combined in various ways. For example, any number of aspects set forth herein can be used to implement a device or practice a method. In addition, other structures, functionality, or structures and functionality that are supplementary to or different from one or more aspects set forth herein can be used to implement such a device or practice such a method. For example, the method can be implemented as a part of a system, device, device, and / or as an instruction stored on a computer-readable medium for execution on a processor or computer. Not only that, an aspect can include at least one element of a claim.

[0036] NR can use network slicing to configure multiple network slices to support traffic with different traffic requirements. A network slice generally refers to a logical network that includes a set of network functions and corresponding resources necessary to provide certain network capabilities and network characteristics. A network slice may include the functions of an access network (AN) and a core network (CN). A network slice instance (NSI) is an instantiation of a network slice, that is, a deployed set of network functions that delivers the expected network slice service according to a network slice template.

[0037] In one example, a network slice includes the control plane and user plane functionality and resources required to implement a specific service or set of services, and may include: 1) core network control plane and user plane network functions, and their resources (in terms of computing, storage and network resources, including transportation resources between network functions); 2) radio access network; and 3) in the case where the network slice supports roaming services, a visitor public land mobile network (VPLMN) part and a home PLMN (HPLMN) part.

[0038] In some examples, the UE may be a smart phone that requires multiple services with different traffic requirements. For example, the UE may require an enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) service with high throughput most of the time, but may require a URLLC service during a specific time period. Some examples of applications that may require URLLC services may include: extended reality (XR) applications, healthcare applications, and / or intelligent transportation system applications. By using network slicing, operators can typically deploy one or more network slices with high throughput on a specific frequency carrier (e.g., F1) for providing eMBB services, and deploy one or more network slices with low latency on another frequency carrier (e.g., F2) for providing URLLC services. Frequency carrier F2 may be configured to have a communication configuration optimized for URLLC services. For example, the communication configuration for frequency carrier F2 may be a time division duplex (TDD) uplink / downlink (UL / DL) configuration having a parameter set (e.g., subcarrier spacing, transmission time interval, and / or cyclic prefix length) that can provide a short latency (e.g., less than about one millisecond). Although frequency carrier F2 optimized for URLLC services can also provide eMBB services and / or voice services, it may be expensive to carry eMBB services and / or voice services on URLLC frequency carrier F2. In this way, operators can configure network slices with different traffic requirements on different frequency carriers to benefit from network slicing. Accordingly, there is a need to provide a mechanism for UEs to request URLLC services on URLLC frequency carriers (e.g., F2) on demand when connected to eMBB frequency carriers (e.g., F1).

[0039] The present application describes a mechanism for providing on-demand URLLC services. For example, a network may implement network slicing to provide services with different requirements on different network slices and / or on different cell frequencies. The network may include a core network and a radio access network (RAN). In one embodiment, a first cell frequency of a network (e.g., in a RAN) may support eMBB slicing, but may not support URLLC slicing. In contrast, a second cell frequency of a network (e.g., in a RAN) may support URLLC slicing. In order to enable a UE to establish a protocol data unit (PDU) session on a URLLC slice when the UE accesses the network via a first cell frequency, the core network may indicate that the URLLC slice is allowed based on the network being able to provide URLLC slicing on another cell frequency (e.g., a second cell frequency). When the UE is on the first cell frequency, the URLLC PDU session is inactive and may not have any allocated user plane resources. When URLLC traffic arrives at the UE, the UE may transmit a service request for a PDU session to activate the PDU session. The network may instruct the UE to perform a handover to a second cell frequency, dual connectivity with the second cell frequency, or carrier aggregation with the second cell frequency. After the UE is on the second cell frequency, the UE may communicate URLLC traffic in a URLLC PDU session on a URLLC slice in the second cell frequency.

[0040] In another embodiment, the network may configure eMBB slices on a first cell frequency and a second cell frequency, wherein eMBB services may be provided on eMBB slices in the first cell frequency, and URLLC services may be provided on eMBB slices in the second cell frequency. The network may allow the UE to establish a PDU session for URLLC when the UE accesses the network via the first cell frequency. However, the established URLLC PDU session is inactive and may not have any allocated user plane resources. When the URLLC traffic arrives at the UE, the UE may transmit a service request for the PDU session to activate the PDU session. The core network may request the BS operating on the first cell frequency to configure resources and / or quality of service (QoS) flows for the URLLC PDU session. The BS may instruct the UE to perform a switch to the second cell frequency, dual connectivity with the second cell frequency, or carrier aggregation with the second cell frequency. The BS may reject the resource configuration request from the core network and provide the core network with a reason or cause for the rejection. The core network may re-initiate resource and / or QoS flow establishment after switching or redirection.

[0041] Various aspects of the present disclosure may provide several benefits. For example, the disclosed embodiments allow a UE to establish a URLLC PDU session when the UE is on a cell frequency that does not support URLLC slicing or URLLC services, as long as the network includes a cell frequency that supports URLLC slicing or URLLC services. Although the disclosed embodiments are described in the context of eMBB services and URLLC services, the disclosed embodiments may be applied to any suitable type of service.

[0042] Figure 1 A wireless communication network 100 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated. The network 100 may be a 5G network. The network 100 includes several base stations (BSs) 105 (respectively labeled 105a, 105b, 105c, 105d, 105e, and 105f) and other network entities. The BS 105 may be a station that communicates with the UE 115, and may also be referred to as an evolved B node (eNB), a next generation eNB (gNB), an access point, and the like. Each BS 105 may provide communication coverage for a particular geographic area. In 3GPP, the term "cell" may refer to the particular geographic coverage area of ​​the BS 105 and / or the BS subsystem that serves the coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used.

[0043] BS105 may provide communication coverage for macro cells or small cells (such as pico cells or femto cells), and / or other types of cells. Macro cells generally cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., a radius of several kilometers) and may allow unrestricted access by UEs that have service subscriptions with a network provider. Small cells (such as pico cells) generally cover a relatively small geographic area and may allow unrestricted access by UEs that have service subscriptions with a network provider. Small cells (such as femto cells) generally also cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a residence) and, in addition to unrestricted access, may provide restricted access to UEs associated with the femto cell (e.g., UEs in a closed subscriber group (CSG), UEs of users in the residence, etc.). A BS for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro BS. A BS for a small cell may be referred to as a small cell BS, a pico BS, a femto BS, or a home BS. In Figure 1In the example shown in , BS105d and 105e can be conventional macro BSs, while BS105a-105c can be macro BSs enabled with one of three-dimensional (3D), full-dimensional (FD), or massive MIMO. BS105a-105c can utilize its higher dimensional MIMO capabilities to utilize 3D beamforming in both elevation and azimuth beamforming to increase coverage and capacity. BS105f can be a small cell BS, which can be a home node or a portable access point. BS105 can support one or more (e.g., two, three, four, etc.) cellular cells.

[0044] The network 100 may support synchronous or asynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, each BS may have similar frame timing, and transmissions from different BSs may be approximately aligned in time. For asynchronous operation, each BS may have different frame timing, and transmissions from different BSs may not be aligned in time.

[0045] UE 115 is dispersed throughout the wireless network 100, and each UE 115 can be stationary or mobile. UE 115 can also be referred to as a terminal, a mobile station, a subscriber unit, a station, etc. UE 115 can be a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, etc. In one aspect, UE 115 can be a device including a universal integrated circuit card (UICC). On the other hand, UE can be a device that does not include UICC. In some aspects, UE 115 that does not include UICC can also be referred to as IoT device or Internet of Everything (IoE) device. UE 115a-115d is an example of a mobile smart phone type device of access network 100. UE 115 can also be a machine specially configured for connected communication (including machine type communication (MTC), enhanced MTC (eMTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), etc.). UE 115e-115k are examples of various machines configured for communication of access network 100. UE 115 may be capable of communicating with any type of BS (whether a macro BS, a small cell, etc.). Figure 1 , a lightning beam (eg, a communication link) indicates a wireless transmission between the UE 115 and the serving BS 105 or an expected transmission between BSs and a backhaul transmission between BSs, the serving BS 105 being a BS designated to serve the UE 115 on a downlink and / or uplink.

[0046] In operation, BSs 105a-105c may use 3D beamforming and coordinated spatial techniques such as coordinated multipoint (CoMP) or multi-connectivity to serve UEs 115a and 115b. Macro BS 105d may perform backhaul communications with BSs 105a-105c, and small cell BS 105f. Macro BS 105d may also transmit multicast services that are subscribed to and received by UEs 115c and 115d. Such multicast services may include mobile TV or streaming video, or may include other services for providing community information such as weather emergencies or alerts, such as Amber Alerts or Gray Alerts.

[0047] The BSs 105 may also communicate with a core network. The core network may provide user authentication, access authorization, tracking, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. At least some of the BSs 105 (e.g., which may be examples of gNBs or access node controllers (ANCs)) may interface with the core network via a backhaul link (e.g., NG-C, NG-U, etc.) and may perform radio configuration and scheduling for communication with the UE 115. In various examples, the BSs 105 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., through the core network) over a backhaul link (e.g., X1, X2, etc.), which may be a wired or wireless communication link.

[0048] The network 100 may also support mission-critical communications with ultra-reliable and redundant links for mission-critical devices such as UE 115e, which may be a drone. The redundant communication links with UE 115e may include links from macro BSs 105d and 105e, and links from small cell BS 105f. Other machine-type devices such as UE 115f (e.g., a thermometer), UE 115g (e.g., a smart meter), and UE 115h (e.g., a wearable device) may communicate directly with a BS such as small cell BS 105f and macro BS 105e through the network 100, or in a multi-hop configuration by communicating with another user device that relays its information to the network (e.g., UE 115f communicates temperature measurement information to smart meter UE 115g, which is then reported to the network through small cell BS 105f). The network 100 may also provide additional network efficiency through dynamic, low latency TDD / FDD communications, such as in vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V).

[0049] In some implementations, the network 100 communicates using an OFDM-based waveform. An OFDM-based system may divide the system BW into multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers, which are also commonly referred to as subcarriers, frequency modulations, frequency slots, etc. Each subcarrier may be modulated with data. In some instances, the subcarrier spacing between adjacent subcarriers may be fixed, and the total number of subcarriers (K) may depend on the system BW. The system BW may also be divided into subbands. In other instances, the subcarrier spacing and / or the duration of the TTI may be scalable.

[0050] In one embodiment, BS105 may assign or schedule transmission resources (e.g., in the form of time-frequency resource blocks (RBs)) for downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) transmissions in network 100. DL refers to the transmission direction from BS105 to UE 115, and UL refers to the transmission direction from UE 115 to BS105. The communication may take the form of a radio frame. A radio frame may be divided into a plurality of subframes or time slots, for example, about 10. Each time slot may be further divided into subslots. In FDD mode, simultaneous UL and DL transmissions may occur in different frequency bands. For example, each subframe includes a UL subframe in the UL frequency band and a DL subframe in the DL frequency band. In TDD mode, UL and DL transmissions occur in different time periods using the same frequency band. For example, a subset of subframes in a radio frame (e.g., DL subframes) may be used for DL ​​transmissions, and another subset of subframes in a radio frame (e.g., UL subframes) may be used for UL transmissions.

[0051] DL subframes and UL subframes may be further divided into several regions. For example, each DL or UL subframe may have a predefined region for the transmission of reference signals, control information, and data. A reference signal is a predetermined signal that facilitates communication between BS105 and UE 115. For example, a reference signal may have a specific pilot pattern or structure, wherein the pilot tones may span an operating BW or frequency band, and each pilot tone may be positioned at a predefined time and a predefined frequency. For example, BS105 may transmit a reference signal (CRS) and / or a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) that varies from cell to cell to enable UE 115 to estimate a DL channel. Similarly, UE 115 may transmit a sounding reference signal (SRS) to enable BS105 to estimate an UL channel. Control information may include resource assignments and protocol controls. Data may include protocol data and / or operational data. In some embodiments, BS105 and UE 115 may communicate using self-contained subframes. A self-contained subframe may include a portion for DL ​​communication and a portion for UL communication. A self-contained subframe may be DL-centric or UL-centric. A DL-centric subframe may include a duration for DL ​​communication that is longer than a duration for UL communication. A UL-centric subframe may include a duration for UL communication that is longer than a duration for UL communication.

[0052] In one embodiment, network 100 may be an NR network deployed on a licensed spectrum. BS 105 may transmit synchronization signals (e.g., including a primary synchronization signal (PSS) and a secondary synchronization signal (SSS)) in network 100 to facilitate synchronization. BS 105 may broadcast system information associated with network 100 (e.g., including a master information block (MIB), remaining system information (RMSI), and other system information (OSI)) to facilitate initial network access. In some instances, BS 105 may broadcast PSS, SSS, and / or MIB in the form of a synchronization signal block (SSB) on a physical broadcast channel (PBCH), and may broadcast RMSI and / or OSI on a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

[0053] In one embodiment, a UE 115 attempting to access the network 100 may perform an initial cell search by detecting a PSS from the BS 105. The PSS may enable synchronization of period timing and may indicate a physical layer identity value. The UE 115 may then receive the SSS. The SSS may enable radio frame synchronization and may provide a cell identity value that may be combined with the physical layer identity value to identify the cell. The PSS and SSS may be located in the center portion of the carrier or at any suitable frequency within the carrier.

[0054] After receiving the PSS and SSS, the UE 115 may receive the MIB. The MIB may include system information for initial network access and scheduling information for RMSI and / or OSI. After decoding the MIB, the UE 115 may receive the RMSI and / or OSI. The RMSI and / or OSI may include radio resource control (RRC) information related to random access channel (RACH) procedures, paging, control resource sets (CORESET) for physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring, physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), power control, and SRS.

[0055] After obtaining the MIB, RMSI and / or OSI, the UE 115 may perform a random access procedure to establish a connection with the BS 105. In some examples, the random access procedure may be a four-step random access procedure. For example, the UE 115 may transmit a random access preamble, and the BS 105 may respond with a random access response. The random access response (RAR) may include a detected random access preamble identifier (ID) corresponding to the random access preamble, timing advance (TA) information, UL grant, temporary cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI), and / or a backoff indicator. Upon receiving the random access response, the UE 115 may transmit a connection request to the BS 105 and the BS 105 may respond with a connection response. The connection response may indicate a contention resolution method. In some examples, the random access preamble, the RAR, the connection request, and the connection response may be referred to as message 1 (MSG 1), message 2 (MSG 2), message 3 (MSG 3), and message 4 (MSG 4), respectively. In some examples, the random access procedure may be a two-step random access procedure, in which the UE 115 may transmit a random access preamble and a connection request in a single transmission, and the BS 105 may respond by transmitting a random access response and a connection response in a single transmission. The combined random access preamble and connection request in the two-step random access procedure may be referred to as message A (MSG A). The combined random access response and connection response in the two-step random access procedure may be referred to as message B (MSG B).

[0056] After establishing the connection, UE 115 and BS 105 may enter a normal operation phase, wherein operation data may be exchanged. For example, BS 105 may schedule UE 105 for UL and / or DL ​​communication. BS 105 may transmit UL and / or DL ​​scheduling grants to UE 115 via PDCCH. BS 105 may transmit DL communication signals to UE 115 via PDSCH according to the DL scheduling grant. UE 115 may transmit UL communication signals to BS 105 via PUSCH and / or PUCCH according to the UL scheduling grant. This connection may be referred to as an RRC connection. When UE 115 is actively exchanging data with BS 105, UE 115 is in an RRC connected state.

[0057] In one example, after establishing a connection with BS105, UE 115 may initiate an initial network attachment procedure with network 100. BS105 may coordinate with various network entities or fifth generation core (5GC) entities such as access and mobility function (AMF), serving gateway (SGW), and / or packet data network gateway (PGW) to complete the network attachment procedure. For example, BS105 may coordinate with network entities in 5GC to identify UE, authenticate UE, and / or authorize UE to send and / or receive data in network 100. In addition, AMF may assign a group of tracking areas (TAs) to UE. Once the network attachment procedure is successful, a context is established for UE 115 in AMF. After successfully attaching to the network, UE 115 may move around the current TA. For tracking area updates (TAUs), BS105 may request UE 115 to periodically update network 100 with the location of UE 115. Alternatively, UE 115 may report the location of UE 115 to network 100 only when entering a new TA. TAU allows network 100 to quickly locate UE 115 and page UE 115 upon receiving an incoming data packet or call for UE 115. A registration area may have one or more tracking areas. A tracking area may have one or more cellular cells. Additionally, a tracking area identity (TAI) is an identifier used to track each tracking area. TAI can be constructed from the PLMN identity to which the tracking area belongs and the tracking area code (TAC) of the tracking area.

[0058] In one embodiment, the network 100 may operate on a system BW or a component carrier BW. The network 100 may divide the system BW into multiple BWPs (e.g., multiple parts). The BS 105 may dynamically assign the UE 115 to operate on a certain BWP (e.g., a certain part of the system BW). The assigned BWP may be referred to as an active BWP. The UE 115 may monitor the active BWP to find signaling information from the BS 105. The BS 105 may schedule the UE 115 to perform UL or DL ​​communications in the active BWP. In some embodiments, the BS 105 may assign a pair of BWPs within a component carrier to the UE 115 for UL and DL communications. For example, the BWP pair may include one BWP for UL communication and one BWP for DL ​​communication.

[0059] In one embodiment, the network 100 may be a 5G network. The network 100 may implement network slicing to create multiple isolated virtual networks or independent logical network slices to support a variety of application services in the network 100. The network 100 may configure each network slice according to the specific requirements of the service being provided. In one embodiment, the network 100 may configure a network slice with high throughput for providing eMBB services, and configure another network slice with low latency and high reliability for providing URLLC services. The network 100 may configure network slices with different traffic requirements on different frequency carriers. For example, the network 100 may configure different frequency carriers with different communication configurations. The network 100 may configure frequency carrier F1 with a communication configuration that can provide high throughput, and configure another frequency carrier F2 with a communication configuration that can provide low latency. The network 100 may configure one or more network slices in the frequency carrier F1 to provide eMBB services. The network 100 may configure one or more network slices in the frequency carrier F2 to provide URLLC services. UE 115 may be served by BS 105 in eMBB frequency carrier F1 and may receive eMBB services on one or more eMBB network slices on F1. When UE 115 detects the arrival of URLLC data, UE 115 may require URLLC services. This document describes in more detail a mechanism for UE 115 to request URLLC services on demand when being served on an eMBB frequency carrier.

[0060] Figure 2 A wireless communication network 200 implementing network slicing according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated. The network 200 may correspond to a portion of the network 100. The network 200 may be a 5G network. The network 200 includes a radio access network (RAN) 240 in communication with a core network 230 via a backhaul link 232. To simplify the illustration and discussion, Figure 2Three BSs 205a, 205b, and 205c and three UEs 215 are illustrated in RAN 240. However, RAN 240 may be scaled to include any suitable number of BSs (e.g., approximately 2, 4, 5, or more) and / or any suitable number of UEs (e.g., up to millions). BS 205 is similar to BS 105. UE 115 is similar to UE 115.

[0061] In network 200, BS 205a can serve UE 215 on frequency carrier 220 (shown as F1) in area 210a, BS 205b can serve UE 215 on another frequency carrier 222 (shown as F2) in area 210b, and BS 205c can serve UE 215 on frequency carrier 222 in area 210c. Frequency carrier 220 and frequency carrier 222 can be at any suitable frequency. In some examples, frequency carrier 220 and frequency carrier 222 can be at a sub-6 gigahertz (GHz) band. In some examples, frequency carrier 220 and frequency carrier 222 can be at a millimeter wave band. In some examples, one of frequency carriers 220 and 222 can be at a sub-6 GHz band, and the other of frequency carriers 220 and 222 can be at a millimeter wave band.

[0062] In one example, UE 215 may be a smart phone that requires eMBB services and may additionally require URLLC services. In one example, UE 215a may include extended reality (XR) applications and may require URLLC services for communicating XR application data. In one example, UE 215a may be a remote diagnostic device with a sensor that requires URLLC services for communicating health monitoring information. In one example, UE 215a may be associated with an intelligent transportation system that requires URLLC services to convey transportation information. In some examples, UE 215a may require both eMBB services and URLLC services.

[0063] In one example, the core network 230 is a 5G core network and can provide network functions such as an authentication server function (AUSF), an AMF, a session management function (SMF), a policy control function (PCF), a user plane function (UPF), an application function (AF), a unified data repository (UDR), an unstructured data storage network function (UDSF), a network open function (NEF), a NF repository function (NRF), a unified data management function (UDM), and / or a network slice selection function (NSSF). The BS 205 can coordinate with the core network 230 when serving the UE 215.

[0064] In one example, the network 200 may implement network slicing to provision eMBB services and URLLC services. For example, the network 200 may configure one or more network slices 250 on the frequency carrier F1 220 and one or more network slices 252 on the frequency carrier F2 222. Each of the network slices 250 and 252 may act as a logical network and may implement the AN and CN functionality as described above. In one example, all network slices 250 may provide one type of service (e.g., eMBB service or URLLC service). In one example, at least one network slice 250 may provide different types of services from other network slices 250. Similarly, in one example, all network slices 252 may serve one type of service (e.g., eMBB service or URLLC service). In one example, at least one network slice 252 may provide a different type of service from other network slices 252.

[0065] In an example, the network slices 250 on the frequency carrier F1 220 may provide one or more types of services, and the network slices 252 on the frequency carrier F2 220 may provide one or more types of services, but at least one type of service is provided by one of the network slices 250 and one of the network slices 252. For example, all network slices 250 may provide MBB services, at least one network slice 252 may provide URLLC services, and at least one network slice 252 may provide eMBB services. Alternatively, at least one network slice 250 may provide MBB services, at least one network slice 250 may provide voice services, at least one network slice 252 may provide URLLC services, and at least one network slice 252 may provide eMBB services.

[0066] In one example, network slice 250 and network slice 252 may provide different types of services. For example, network slice 250 on frequency carrier 220 may provide eMBB services but may not provide URLLC services, while network slice 252 on frequency carrier 222 may provide URLLC services but may not provide eMBB services.

[0067] In some examples, frequency carrier 220 may be at about 2.6 GHz and may be shared with an LTE TDD network, while frequency carrier 222 may be at about 4.9 GHz, which may not be shared with an LTE TDD network. Communications on the 2.6 GHz carrier may have various restrictions due to sharing with an LTE TDD network on the 2.6 GHz carrier. For example, the UL to DL and / or DL ​​to UL switching times for communications on the 2.6 GHz carrier need to be aligned with the UL to DL and / or DL ​​to UL switching times of the LTE TDD network. Therefore, some operators may deploy eMBB slices on the 2.6 GHz carrier, but not URLLC slices. In contrast, operators may deploy URLLC slices on a less restricted 4.9 GHz carrier.

[0068] In some instances, when UE 215a is served by BS 205a on frequency carrier 220 for eMBB service in network slice 250, UE 215a may launch an application that requires URLLC service. Therefore, network 200 is required to direct UE 215a to frequency carrier 222 so that UE 215a can receive URLLC service in network slice 252. However, the selection and / or configuration of network slices is typically performed by core network 230, as described in more detail herein. UE 215a may not know which frequency carrier or cellular cell in network 200 can provide a network slice that can support URLLC service. BS 205 may be aware of the active network slices used by UE 215, but may not be aware of which network slice is available or allowed in which frequency carrier on network 200.

[0069] Figure 3 300 is a signaling diagram illustrating a network slicing provisioning method 300 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Method 300 may be implemented by a UE similar to UE 115 and 215, a BS similar to BS 105 and 205, and an AMF (e.g., a component of a core network (such as core network 230)). The BS and AMF may generally be referred to as the network side. The steps of method 300 may be performed by a computing device (e.g., a processor, a processing circuit, and / or other suitable components) of the BS, UE, and AMF components. As illustrated, method 300 includes several enumeration steps, but various embodiments of method 300 may include additional steps before, after, and between these enumeration steps. In some embodiments, one or more of these enumeration steps may be omitted or performed in a different order.

[0070] At step 310, the BS transmits a Next Generation (NG) Setup Request message to the AMF. The NG Setup Request message indicates one or more network slices (e.g., network slice 250) supported by the BS. In an example, the NG Setup Request message may include a single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI) list per tracking area.

[0071] In response to the NG Setup Request message, the AMF transmits an NG Setup Response message to the BS in step 320. Based on the NG Setup Request message, the AMF may know the network slices supported by the BS and / or the tracking area of ​​the BS. The AMF may perform similar NG Setup Request and Response message exchanges with other BSs, and thus the AMF may know the network slices supported by other BSs and / or other tracking areas.

[0072] At step 330, the UE transmits an RRC connection setup complete message to the BS. For example, the UE may have completed a successful random access procedure with the BS. The random access procedure may include the above reference Figure 1 Described is the exchange of MSG 1, MSG 2, MSG 3, and MSG 4. In some examples, the RRC Connection Setup Complete message is exchanged after MSG 4 and may be referred to as message 5 (MSG 5).

[0073] In an example, the RRC connection setup complete message may include a NAS registration request. The NAS registration request may include a requested NSSAI. The requested NSSAI may indicate one or more network slices (e.g., network slice 250) requested by the UE, for example, based on an application that may be used or potentially used by the UE.

[0074] In step 340, upon receiving the RRC connection setup complete message indicating the NAS registration message, the BS transmits an initial UE message to the AMF. The initial UE message may include a NAS registration request.

[0075] In step 350, in response to the initial UE message, the AMF transmits an initial UE context setup request message to the BS. The initial UE context setup request message may include an allowed NSSAI. The allowed NSSAI may indicate the requested network slices allowed in the tracking area. The allowed NSSAI may be a minimum common set of the requested NSSAI, the subscribed NSSAI (e.g., based on the UE's subscription), and the NSSAI supported by the current tracking area. The initial UE context setup request message may include: a NAS registration accept message including the allowed NSSAI. In one example, in step 330, the UE may include slice A (e.g., network slice 250) and slice B (e.g., network slice 252) in the requested NSSAI. The AMF may allow slice A but may reject slice B. In such an example, the AMF may include the allowed NSSAI and the rejected NSSAI in the initial UE context setup request message. The allowed NSSAI may indicate slice A, and the rejected NSSAI may indicate slice B.

[0076] In step 360, after receiving the initial UE context setup request message from the AMF, the BS and the UE perform a security mode control procedure to exchange various security mode messages.

[0077] At step 370, after completing the security mode control procedure, the BS transmits an RRC reconfiguration message to the UE. The RRC reconfiguration message may include a NAS registration accept message indicating the allowed NSSAI. At this time, the UE may have a UE context 380, which includes (e.g., based on the pre-configuration of the UE) the configured NSSAI, the requested NSSAI, the allowed NSSAI, and / or the rejected NSSAI. The BS may have a UE context 382, ​​which includes the allowed NSSAI of the UE and the NSSAI of the active PDU session. The AMF may include a UE context 384, which includes the subscribed NSSAI, the requested NSSAI, the allowed NSSAI, and the rejected NSSAI.

[0078] Current network slicing technologies may have various limitations. For example, slice support is unified in a tracking area. Frequency carriers with different slice support are typically configured in different tracking areas. All slices in the allowed NSSAI are supported by the tracking area. The UE may not be allowed to request a slice indicated in the rejected NSSAI unless there is a tracking area change. The UE may only request PDU session establishment on slices within the allowed NSSAI. Limitations of current network slicing technologies and the lack of slice-to-frequency mapping information available at the BS and / or UE may pose challenges in providing on-demand URLLC services.

[0079] Accordingly, the present disclosure provides various techniques to allow a UE (e.g., UE 115 and / or 215) to request a URLLC PDU session when the UE is on a cellular cell frequency that does not support URLLC slicing or URLLC service.

[0080] Figure 4 400 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 1 and 2 115 or UE 215 discussed in . As shown, UE 400 may include: a processor 402, a memory 404, an application module 407, a network slicing module 408, a transceiver 410 including a modem subsystem 412 and a radio frequency (RF) unit 414, and one or more antennas 416. These elements may communicate with each other directly or indirectly, for example, via one or more buses.

[0081] The processor 402 may include a central processing unit (CPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a controller, a field programmable gate array (FPGA) device, another hardware device, a firmware device, or any combination thereof configured to perform the operations described herein. The processor 402 may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0082] The memory 404 may include cache memory (e.g., cache memory of the processor 402), random access memory (RAM), magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid-state memory devices, hard drives, other forms of volatile and non-volatile memory, or a combination of different types of memory. In one embodiment, the memory 404 includes a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The memory 404 may store or have recorded thereon instructions 406. The instructions 406 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 402, cause the processor 402 to perform the various embodiments disclosed herein (e.g., Figure 3 , 7, 8 and / or 11), instructions for the operations described with reference to UE 115. Instructions 406 may also be referred to as program code. The program code may be used to cause the wireless communication device to perform these operations, for example, by causing one or more processors (such as processor 402) to control or command the wireless communication device to do so. The terms "instructions" and "code" should be interpreted broadly to include any type of computer-readable statements. For example, the terms "instructions" and "code" may refer to one or more programs, routines, subroutines, functions, procedures, etc. "Instructions" and "code" may include a single computer-readable statement or many computer-readable statements.

[0083] Each of the application module 407 and the network slicing module 408 may be implemented via hardware, software, or a combination thereof. For example, each of the application module 407 and the network slicing module 408 may be implemented as a processor, a circuit, and / or an instruction 406 stored in the memory 404 and executed by the processor 402. In some examples, the application module 407 and the network slicing module 408 may be integrated within the modem subsystem 412. For example, the application module 407 and the network slicing module 408 may be implemented by a combination of software components (e.g., executed by a DSP or a general-purpose processor) and hardware components (e.g., logic gates and circuit systems) within the modem subsystem 412. In some examples, the UE may include one or both of the application module 407 and the network slicing module 408. In other examples, the UE may include all of the application module 407 and the network slicing module 408.

[0084] The application module 407 and the network slicing module 408 may be used in various aspects of the present disclosure, for example, Figure 3 , 7 , 8 and / or 11. The application module 407 is configured to implement two or more applications. The applications may have different service requirements (e.g., latency and / or bandwidth). The applications may include at least eMBB applications (e.g., streaming and / or file delivery) and URLLC applications (e.g., XR, remote healthcare related, or smart transportation related). The application module 407 is configured to transmit a request to the network slicing module 408 to establish a PDU session for an eMBB service or a URLLC service.

[0085] The network slicing module 408 is configured to perform an association with a BS (e.g., BS 105 and / or 205) operating on a first cell frequency (e.g., frequency carrier 220) of a network (e.g., network 100 and / or 200). The association may be based on cell selection, camping procedures, random access procedures, and / or RRC connection establishment. The network slicing module 408 is configured to: transmit a network registration to a core network (e.g., core network 230) of the network via the BS in the first cell frequency, the network registration indicating one or more network slices of the network (e.g., eMBB slices and / or URLLC slices similar to network slices 250 and 252); and receive a network registration response from the core network, the network registration response indicating that although the requested network slice is not provided by the first cell frequency, at least a first network slice (e.g., URLLC slice) of the requested one or more network slices is allowed. The indication that the unsupported first network slice is allowed is based on providing the first network slice at a second cell frequency of the network. The network slicing module 408 is configured to: request a PDU session on a first network slice when the UE 400 is on a first cell frequency; request the network to activate the PDU session when data (e.g., URLLC data) requiring services on the PDU session arrives (e.g., based on demand); receive instructions for: performing a switch to a second cell frequency providing the network slice, performing dual connectivity with the second cell frequency, or performing carrier aggregation with the second cell frequency; performing the switch, dual connectivity, and / or carrier aggregation based on the received instructions; and / or communicating data on the PDU session on the second cell frequency after performing the switch, dual connectivity, or carrier aggregation.

[0086] In one embodiment, the network slicing module 408 is configured to: transmit a request for a PDU session serving specific traffic (e.g., URLLC traffic) when the UE 400 is on a cell frequency that does not support the specific traffic; request the network to activate the PDU session when the specific traffic (e.g., URLLC data) arrives at the UE 400; receive instructions for the following operations: perform a handover to a second cell frequency that provides the PDU session, perform dual connectivity with the second cell frequency, or perform carrier aggregation with the second cell frequency; perform dual connectivity with the second cell frequency or perform carrier aggregation with the second cell frequency based on the received instructions; and / or after performing the handover, dual connectivity, or carrier aggregation, convey the specific traffic on the PDU session on the second cell frequency. Mechanisms for on-demand services (e.g., URLLC services) are described in more detail herein.

[0087] As shown, the transceiver 410 may include a modem subsystem 412 and an RF unit 414. The transceiver 410 may be configured to communicate bidirectionally with other devices, such as the BS 105. The modem subsystem 412 may be configured to modulate and / or encode data from the memory 404 and / or the network slicing module 408 according to a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) (e.g., a low-density parity check (LDPC) coding scheme, a turbo coding scheme, a convolutional coding scheme, a digital beamforming scheme, etc.). The RF unit 414 may be configured to process (e.g., perform analog-to-digital conversion or digital-to-analog conversion, etc.) modulated / encoded data (e.g., NAS messages, RRC messages, eMBB data, URLLC data) transmitted from the modem subsystem 412 (on out-of-band transmission) or originated from another source, such as the UE 115 or the BS 105. The RF unit 414 may be further configured to perform analog beamforming in conjunction with digital beamforming. Although shown as integrated together in the transceiver 410, the modem subsystem 412 and the RF unit 414 may be separate devices that are coupled together at the UE 115 to enable the UE 115 to communicate with other devices.

[0088] The RF unit 414 may provide modulated and / or processed data (e.g., data packets (or more generally, data messages that may include one or more data packets and other information)) to the antenna 416 for transmission to one or more other devices. The antenna 416 may further receive data messages transmitted from other devices. The antenna 416 may provide the received data messages for processing and / or demodulation at the transceiver 410. The transceiver 410 may provide the demodulated and decoded data (e.g., NAS messages, RRC messages, URLLC data, eMBB data) to the network slicing module 408 for processing. The antenna 416 may include multiple antennas of similar or different designs to maintain multiple transmission links. The RF unit 414 may configure the antenna 416.

[0089] In an embodiment, the UE 400 may include multiple transceivers 410 that implement different RATs (e.g., NR and LTE). In an embodiment, the UE 400 may include a single transceiver 410 that implements multiple RATs (e.g., NR and LTE). In an embodiment, the transceiver 410 may include various components, where different combinations of components may implement different RATs.

[0090] Figure 5 5 is a block diagram of an exemplary BS 500 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. BS 500 may be as described above in Figure 1 and 3As shown, BS 500 may include a processor 502, a memory 504, a network slicing module 508, a transceiver 510 including a modem subsystem 512 and an RF unit 514, and one or more antennas 516. These elements may communicate with each other directly or indirectly, for example, via one or more buses.

[0091] The processor 502 may have various features as a special-purpose type of processor. For example, these features may include a CPU, a DSP, an ASIC, a controller, an FPGA device, another hardware device, a firmware device, or any combination thereof configured to perform the operations described herein. The processor 502 may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0092] Memory 504 may include cache memory (e.g., cache memory of processor 502), RAM, MRAM, ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, solid-state memory devices, one or more hard disk drives, memristor-based arrays, other forms of volatile and non-volatile memory, or a combination of different types of memory. In some embodiments, memory 504 may include non-transitory computer-readable media. Memory 504 may store instructions 506. Instructions 506 may include instructions that, when executed by processor 502, cause processor 502 to perform the operations described herein (e.g., Figure 3 and 7 -10 aspects) of the instructions. Instructions 506 may also be referred to as code, which may be broadly interpreted as including the above reference Figure 4 Any type of computer-readable statement in question.

[0093] The network slicing module 508 may be implemented via hardware, software, or a combination thereof. For example, the network slicing module 508 may be implemented as a processor, circuit, and / or instructions 506 stored in the memory 504 and executed by the processor 502. In some examples, the network slicing module 508 may be integrated within the modem subsystem 512. For example, the network slicing module 508 may be implemented by a combination of software components (e.g., executed by a DSP or a general-purpose processor) and hardware components (e.g., logic gates and circuit systems) within the modem subsystem 512.

[0094] The network slicing module 508 may be used in various aspects of the present disclosure, for example, Figure 3 and 7-10. The network slicing module 508 is configured to: serve a UE (e.g., UE 115, 215, and / or 400) on a first cell frequency (e.g., frequency carrier 220); receive a network registration request indicating one or more network slices of a network (e.g., eMBB slices and / or URLLC slices similar to network slices 250 and 252) from the UE; forward the network registration request to a BS; receive a network registration response from the core network, the network registration response indicating that although the requested network slice is not provided by the first cell frequency, at least a first network slice (e.g., a URLLC slice) of the one or more requested network slices is allowed, and / or forward the network registration response to the UE. The indication that the unsupported first network slice is allowed is based on providing the first network slice at a second cell frequency of the network. The network slicing module 508 is configured to: receive a request for a PDU session on a first network slice from a UE; forward the PDU session request to the core network; receive a request from the UE to activate the PDU session when data (e.g., URLLC data) that requires a service on the PDU session arrives (e.g., based on demand); forward the PDU session activation request to the core network; and transmit an instruction to the UE requesting the UE to perform the following operations: perform a switch to a second cellular cell frequency that provides the network slice, perform dual connectivity with the second cellular cell frequency, or perform carrier aggregation with the second cellular cell frequency.

[0095] In one embodiment, the network slicing module 508 is configured to: receive a PDU session resource establishment request from the core network (for example, based on a PDU session activation request from the UE), and transmit a PDU session resource establishment response to the core network. The network slicing module 508 may include an indication in the PDU session resource establishment response that the PDU session resource establishment request was accepted. Alternatively, the network slicing module may include in the PDU session resource establishment response an indication that the PDU session resource establishment request was rejected and the reason or cause for the rejection (for example, because on-demand URLLC has been triggered or service-based mobility has been triggered). The mechanism for provisioning on-demand URLLC services is described in more detail herein.

[0096] As shown, the transceiver 510 may include a modem subsystem 512 and an RF unit 514. The transceiver 510 may be configured to communicate bidirectionally with other devices (such as UE 115, 215 and / or 400 and / or another core network element). The modem subsystem 512 may be configured to modulate and / or encode data according to an MCS (e.g., an LDPC coding scheme, a turbo coding scheme, a convolutional coding scheme, a digital beamforming scheme, etc.). The RF unit 514 may be configured to process (e.g., perform analog-to-digital conversion or digital-to-analog conversion, etc.) modulated / encoded data (e.g., NAS messages, RRC messages, URLLC data, and / or eMBB data) from the modem subsystem 512 (on out-of-band transmission) or from another source (such as UE 115, 215, or 400). The RF unit 514 may be further configured to perform analog beamforming in conjunction with digital beamforming. Although shown as being integrated together in transceiver 510, modem subsystem 512 and / or RF unit 514 may be separate devices that are coupled together at BS 105 to enable BS 105 to communicate with other devices.

[0097] The RF unit 514 may provide modulated and / or processed data (e.g., data packets (or more generally, data messages that may include one or more data packets and other information)) to the antenna 516 for transmission to one or more other devices. This may include, for example, information transmission for completing attachment to a network and communication with a camped UE 115, 215, or 400 in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. The antenna 516 may further receive data messages transmitted from other devices and provide received data messages for processing and / or demodulation at the transceiver 510. The transceiver 510 may provide the demodulated and decoded data (e.g., NAS messages, RRC messages, URLLC data, and / or eMBB data) to the network slicing module 508 for processing. The antenna 516 may include multiple antennas of similar or different designs in order to maintain multiple transmission links.

[0098] In an embodiment, the BS 500 may include multiple transceivers 510 that implement different RATs (e.g., NR and LTE). In an embodiment, the BS 500 may include a single transceiver 510 that implements multiple RATs (e.g., NR and LTE). In an embodiment, the transceiver 510 may include various components, where different combinations of the components may implement different RATs.

[0099] Figure 6 600 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. The network unit 600 may be a core network (such as the one described above). Figure 2As shown, the network unit 600 may include a processor 602, a memory 604, a network slicing module 608, and a transceiver 610 including a modem subsystem 612 and a front end unit 614. These elements may communicate with each other directly or indirectly, for example, via one or more buses.

[0100] The processor 602 may have various features as a special-purpose type of processor. For example, these features may include a CPU, a DSP, an ASIC, a controller, an FPGA device, another hardware device, a firmware device, or any combination thereof configured to perform the operations described herein. The processor 602 may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0101] Memory 604 may include cache memory (e.g., cache memory of processor 602), RAM, MRAM, ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, solid-state memory devices, one or more hard disk drives, memristor-based arrays, other forms of volatile and nonvolatile memory, or a combination of different types of memory. In some embodiments, memory 604 may include non-transitory computer-readable media. Memory 604 may store instructions 606. Instructions 606 may include instructions that, when executed by processor 602, cause processor 602 to perform the operations described herein (e.g., Figure 3 and 7 -10 aspects) of the instructions. Instructions 606 may also be referred to as code, which may be broadly interpreted as including the above reference Figure 4 Any type of computer-readable statement in question.

[0102] The network slicing module 608 may be implemented via hardware, software, or a combination thereof. For example, the network slicing module 608 may be implemented as a processor, a circuit, and / or an instruction 606 stored in the memory 604 and executed by the processor 602. The network slicing module 608 may be used in various aspects of the present disclosure, for example, Figure 3 and 7-10 aspects. For example, the network slicing module 608 is configured to receive data from a UE (eg, UE 105 ) via a BS (eg, BS 105 , 205 , and / or 500 ) in a first cell frequency (eg, frequency carrier 220 ). 115, 215 and / or 400) receives a network registration request indicating one or more network slices of a network (e.g., eMBB slices and / or URLLC slices similar to network slices 250 and 252); determines that a first network slice (e.g., a URLLC slice) among the one or more requested network slices is not supported by a first cell frequency in which the UE is located; determines that the first network slice is supported by a second cell frequency (e.g., frequency carrier 222) of the network; transmits a network registration response to the UE, the network registration response indicating that the first network slice is provided based on the second cell frequency, and although the requested network slice is not provided by the first cell frequency, the first network slice is allowed; receives a request for a PDU session on the first network slice from the UE; transmits a PDU session resource establishment request to the BS; receives a PDU session resource establishment response from the BS; receives a request to activate the PDU session from the UE; participates in handover of the UE to the second cell frequency, dual connectivity of the UE with the second cell frequency, or carrier aggregation of the UE with the second cell frequency.

[0103] In one embodiment, the network slicing module 608 is configured to: receive a request from a UE via a BS in a first cell frequency to establish a PDU session for a first service not supported by the first cell frequency; transmit a PDU session establishment response to the UE accepting the PDU session establishment request; receive a request from the UE to activate the PDU session; transmit a PDU session resource establishment request to the BS (to establish resources and / or QoS flows for serving the PDU session); receive a PDU session resource establishment response from the BS; and / or participate in a handover of the UE to a second cell frequency of the network supporting the PDU session, dual connectivity of the UE with the second cell frequency, or carrier aggregation of the UE with the second cell frequency. The PDU session resource establishment response may include an indication that the PDU session resource establishment request is accepted. Alternatively, the PDU session resource establishment response may include an indication that the PDU session resource establishment request is rejected and a reason or cause for the rejection (e.g., because on-demand URLLC has been triggered or service-based mobility has been triggered). Upon receiving a PDU session resource setup rejection, the network slicing module 608 is configured to re-initiate QoS flow setup and / or PDU session resource setup after handover, dual connectivity, or carrier aggregation. Mechanisms for provisioning on-demand URLLC services are described in more detail herein.

[0104] As shown, the transceiver 610 may include a modem subsystem 612 and a front end unit 614. The transceiver 610 may be configured to communicate bidirectionally with other devices (such as BS105, 205 and 600 and / or another core network element). The modem subsystem 612 may be configured to modulate and / or encode data according to an MCS (e.g., an LDPC coding scheme, a turbo coding scheme, a convolutional coding scheme, etc.). The front end unit 614 may include an electro-optical (E / O) component and / or an optoelectronic (O / E) component that converts an electrical signal into an optical signal for transmission to a BS (such as BS105, 210 and 220) and / or receives an optical signal from a BS and converts the optical signal into an electrical signal. The front end unit 614 may be configured to process (e.g., perform analog-to-digital conversion or digital-to-analog conversion, optoelectronic conversion or electro-optical conversion, etc.) modulated / encoded data (on outbound transmission) from the modem subsystem 612 or modulated / encoded data of a transmission originating from another source (such as a backend or core network). Although shown as being integrated together in the transceiver 610, the modem subsystem 612 and the front end unit 614 may be separate devices that are coupled together at the network unit 600 to enable the network unit 600 to communicate with other devices. The front end unit 614 may transmit optical signals carrying modulated and / or processed data over an optical link, such as the link 232. The front end unit 614 may further receive the optical signals carrying data messages and provide the received data messages for processing and / or demodulation at the transceiver 610.

[0105] Figure 7 700 is a signaling diagram illustrating an on-demand URLLC method 700 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Method 700 may be implemented by a UE, a BS A, and a core network in a network similar to network 100 and / or 200. The UE may be similar to UE 115, 215, and / or 400. BS A may be similar to BS105, 205, and / or 500. The core network may be similar to core network 230, and may include one or more network components to network element 600. In one example, the core network may include an AMF component (e.g., network element 600) that implements method 700. As illustrated, method 700 includes several enumeration steps, but various embodiments of method 700 may include additional steps before, after, and between these enumeration steps. In some embodiments, one or more of these enumeration steps may be omitted or performed in a different order.

[0106] In method 700, BS A may operate on frequency A (e.g., frequency carrier 220) that supports eMBB slicing. The eMBB slice may also be configured as frequency B (e.g., frequency carrier 222) for the network. The eMBB slice may be substantially similar to network slices 250 and 252. The eMBB slice may support eMBB and / or voice services on frequency A, and may support URLLC services in frequency B. In some examples, frequency B may be additionally configured to have another slice B that supports URLLC services for IOT devices, but may not be used by a smart phone device (e.g., UE) for URLLC services. Method 700 may start after the UE has been associated with BS A on frequency A. For example, the UE has completed a random access procedure with BS A.

[0107] At step 705, the UE transmits a NAS registration request message to the core network via BS A. The registration request message may include the requested NSSAI requesting the eMBB slice.

[0108] At step 710, the core network transmits a NAS registration accept or response message to the UE via BS A. The NAS registration response message may include an indication of the allowed NSSAI of the eMBB slice.

[0109] The UE receives a request for URLLC service at step 715. The request may be initiated by an application requiring URLLC service or by a higher-level operating system (OS) of the UE.

[0110] In step 720, upon receiving a URLLC service request from an application or a higher layer OS, the UE performs a PDU session establishment for URLLC with BS A and the core network. For example, the UE may transmit a PDU session establishment request message to request a PDU session for URLLC. The PDU session establishment request message may include an S-NSSAI indicating an allowed NSSAI for the current access on frequency A. Additionally, the PDU session establishment request message may include a network domain name (DNN) for the requested PDU session. For example, the S-NSSAI may indicate eMBB, and the DNN may indicate URLLC.

[0111] In response, the core network may transmit a PDU session establishment response message to the UE. The PDU session establishment response message may indicate a successful PDU session establishment. The PDU session establishment response message may indicate a PDU session identifier (ID) for the PDU session. However, when the UE is on frequency A, the URLLC PDU session is in sleep mode or inactive mode. No user plane (U-plane) resources are allocated to the URLLC PDU session.

[0112] In step 725, the UE detects the arrival of URLLC traffic from the application. The URLLC traffic may include UL data and / or DL ​​data. The UL URLLC data may be generated by a UE application that requires URLLC service. The DL URLLC data may be generated by an application server (e.g., an IoT server), as described in more detail herein.

[0113] In step 730, upon detecting the arrival of UL URLLC data, the UE transmits a NAS service request message to the core network via BS A. The NAS service request message may request user plane activation of the URLLC PDU session. The NAS service request message may indicate a PDU session ID assigned to the URLLC PDU session. It should be noted that if the UE has not established a URLLC PDU session with the network upon the arrival of URLLC traffic, the UE may establish a URLLC PDU session upon the arrival of URLLC traffic.

[0114] In step 735, upon receiving the NAS service request for the URLLC PDU session, the core network transmits a PDU session resource setup request message to BS A. The PDU session resource setup request message may request BS A to configure data radio bearer (DRB) resources and / or any other user plane resources required to convey data on the URLLC PDU session. Additionally or alternatively, the PDU session resource setup request message may request BS A to modify certain configured radio resources to support the URLLC PDU session.

[0115] In some examples, the PDU session resource setup request message may indicate a 5G quality of service identifier (5QI) that identifies a specific quality of service (QoS) flow and / or S-NSSAI required for the URLLC PDU session. For example, when a URLLC PDU session is established, the URLLC PDU session may be configured with a default QoS flow, which may be a non-guaranteed bit rate (non-GBR) QoS flow. However, URLLC traffic may require a GBR QoS flow. Therefore, the PDU session resource setup request message may request BS A to establish a GBR QoS flow for serving the URLLC PDU session.

[0116] As described above, URLLC traffic may include DL data generated by an application server. Therefore, a mobile originator (MO) service request (e.g., from a UE) and / or a mobile terminating party (MT) service request (e.g., from an application server) may trigger URLLC QoS flow establishment.

[0117] In step 740, upon receiving the PDU session resource setup request message, BS A may configure radio resources as instructed by the core network. Depending on the 5QI and / or S-NSSAI, BS A may direct the UE to a frequency carrier (e.g., frequency B) with URLLC capability. In one example, BS A may instruct the UE to switch to frequency B. In one example, BS A may instruct the UE to perform dual connectivity with frequency B. In one example, BS A may instruct the UE to perform carrier aggregation with frequency B. Switching refers to converting the UE to frequency B (e.g., served by BS B on frequency B). Dual connectivity refers to configuring the UE to have a secondary cell (SCell) served by BS B on frequency B. Carrier aggregation refers to configuring the UE to have an SCell served by BSA on frequency B.

[0118] In step 745 , after completing radio resource configuration, handover, carrier aggregation configuration, or dual connectivity configuration, the BSA may transmit a PDU session resource setup response message to the core network.

[0119] In one example, BS A may accept a URLLC QoS flow setup and / or a PDU session request, and initiate a handover or redirection. In some instances, redirection may refer to a radio resource control (RRC) release under redirection. In other words, BS A may accept a PDU session request from the PDU session resource setup request message of step 735, and initiate a handover or redirection of the UE to frequency B in step 740. In another example, BS A may reject a URLLC QoS flow setup and / or a PDU session request. When BS A includes a rejection response in a PDU session resource setup response message, BS A may include a reason or cause for the rejection. The core network (e.g., an SMF component of the core network) may re-initiate a QoS flow setup and / or a PDU session setup after a handover or redirection.

[0120] BS A may indicate various reasons for rejecting PDU session resource establishment. For example, a first cause value may indicate that the rejection is due to an on-demand URLLC being triggered, while a second cause value may indicate that service-based mobility has been triggered. An on-demand URLLC triggered cause may be used to indicate that a handover or redirection of the UE is in progress to establish a URLLC PDU session. A service-based mobility triggered cause may be used to indicate that a handover or redirection of the UE is in progress to establish a PDU session for a specific service. In some examples, the cause may indicate that the rejection is due to an intra-NG system handover being triggered, an inter-NG system handover being triggered, an Xn handover being triggered (e.g., BS to BS handover), an unsupported 5QI value, and / or an Internet Multimedia System (IMS) Voice Evolved Packet System (EPS) fallback or a Radio Access Technology (RAT) fallback being triggered. In some examples, the rejection cause may be indicated in a radio network layer information element (IE), such as the July 2019 document entitled “3 rd The 3GPP triggering condition may be as described in 3GPP document TS 38.413 Release 15 of "3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; NG-RAN; NG Application Protocol (NGAP)", which is incorporated herein by reference. In general, BS A may indicate any cause described in 3GPP document TS 38.413 and / or the additional on-demand URLLC triggered causes and service-based mobility triggered causes described above.

[0121] In step 750, upon receiving the PDU session resource setup response message with an acceptance response, the core network may transmit a NAS service acceptance message to the UE via BS A. If the PDU session resource setup response message has a rejection and a rejection reason, the core network may re-initiate a QoS flow setup and / or a PDU session setup for URLLC. The core network may determine the re-initiation based on the reason.

[0122] After the UE is on frequency B (e.g., in communication with the network via frequency B) via handover, dual connectivity, or carrier aggregation, the UE may communicate URLLC data in a PDU session on an eMBB slice in frequency B. As can be observed from method 700, when the UE is on frequency A (e.g., in communication with BS A), the UE may establish and activate a URLLC PDU session requiring URLLC services. URLLC PDU session activation is completed after the UE is on frequency B.

[0123] In one example, the UE may establish a PDU session to communicate eMBB traffic on an eMBB slice on frequency A. The UE may receive URLLC traffic during the eMBB PDU session (e.g., as shown in step 725). The method 700 allows the UE to establish a PDU session for URLLC (e.g., step 720) or activate the user plane of the PDU session (e.g., step 730) when the eMBB PDU session is ongoing on frequency A. Accordingly, the method 700 may provide on-demand URLLC services using a single eMBB slice on multiple frequencies.

[0124] In one example, method 700 may be applied to a network deployment having a 2.6 GHz carrier (e.g., frequency A) and a 4.9 GHz carrier (e.g., frequency B), wherein the 2.6 GHz carrier is configured as an eMBB slice (e.g., network slice 250) for providing eMBB services and voice services, and the 4.9 GHz carrier is configured as an eMBB slice for providing URLLC services.

[0125] Although method 700 is described in the context of eMBB and URLLC services (where the UE requests URLLC services on demand while in communication with the eMBB frequency and / or slice), method 700 may be applied to any suitable type of service to provide on-demand services.

[0126] Figure 8 800 is a signaling diagram illustrating an on-demand URLLC method 800 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Method 800 may be implemented by a UE, a BS A, and a core network in a network similar to network 100 and / or 200. The UE may be similar to UE 115, 215, and / or 400. BS A may be similar to BS105, 205, and / or 500. The core network may be similar to core network 230, and may include one or more network components to network element 600. In one example, the core network may include an AMF component (e.g., network element 600) that implements method 800. As illustrated, method 800 includes several enumeration steps, but various embodiments of method 800 may include additional steps before, after, and between these enumeration steps. In some embodiments, one or more of these enumeration steps may be omitted or performed in a different order.

[0127] In method 800, BS A may operate on frequency A (e.g., frequency carrier 220) supporting slice A (e.g., eMBB slice). The network may include slice B on frequency B (e.g., frequency carrier 222) supporting slice B (e.g., URLLC slice) of the network. Method 800 may begin after a UE has associated with BS A on frequency A. Frequency A may be under a tracking area with tracking area code (TAC) 1. Frequency B may be under another tracking area with TAC 2 that is different from TAC 1. In other words, the 2.6 GHz carrier and the 4.9 GHz carrier may serve different tracking areas.

[0128] Method 800 may start after the UE has associated with BS A on frequency A. For example, the UE has completed a random access procedure with BS A. At step 805, the UE transmits a NAS registration request message to the core network via BS A in frequency A. The registration request message may include the requested NSSAI for slice A and slice B.

[0129] At step 810, upon receiving the NAS registration request message, the core network determines that slice A is supported in the current frequency A. Additionally, the core network determines that slice B is not supported in frequency B, but can support the slice B via handover, dual connectivity, carrier aggregation based on demand (e.g., on-demand based on a PDU session request from the UE). In an example, the core network may have information associated with a network slice-to-frequency mapping based on an NG setup request and / or NG setup response exchange with a BS (e.g., BS 105, 205, and / or 500). The NG setup request and / or NG setup response exchange may be substantially similar to steps 310 and 320 of method 300.

[0130] In step 815, the core network transmits a NAS registration acceptance or response message to the UE via BS A. The NAS registration response message may include an allowed NSSAI, which indicates that slice A and slice B are allowed. In a typical NAS registration process, the allowed NSSAI may not include slice B because slice B is not provided by the current frequency A. However, based on the network slice-to-frequency information obtained by the core network, the core network identifies that slice B is provided by frequency B. Accordingly, when responding to the NAS registration request, the core network includes slice B in the allowed NSSAI.

[0131] At step 820, the UE performs a PDU session establishment with BS A and the core network for slice A. For example, the UE may transmit a PDU session establishment request message to the core network to request a PDU session for a service (e.g., eMBB service) on slice A. The PDU session establishment request message may include an S-NSSAI indicating slice A.

[0132] In step 825, the UE transmits a PDU session establishment request message to the core network, where the PDU session establishment request message requests a PDU session on slice B. The PDU session establishment request message includes an S-NSSAI indicating slice B.

[0133] In step 830, upon receiving the PDU session establishment request message, the core network transmits a PDU session resource establishment request message to BS A. The PDU session resource establishment request message may request BS A to establish resources for slice B.

[0134] In response to the PDU session resource setup request message, BS A transmits a PDU session resource setup response message to the core network at step 835. The PDU session resource setup response message may indicate a failure because BS A does not support slice B on frequency A. The PDU session resource setup response message may indicate a reason or cause for the failure and indicate that a handover trigger is required.

[0135] At step 840, upon receiving the PDU session resource setup response message, the core network transmits a PDU session setup response message to the UE via BS A in frequency A. The core network may accept the PDU session setup request, but the PDU session setup response message may indicate that the PDU session established for slice B is in a dormant state or inactive mode. No resources (e.g., user plane resources) are allocated to the PDU session. The PDU session setup response message may indicate a PDU session ID for the established PDU session.

[0136] At step 845, the UE receives URLLC traffic, for example from an application of the UE.

[0137] At step 850, upon detecting the arrival of URLLC traffic, the UE transmits a NAS service request message to the core network. The NAS service request message may indicate the PDU session ID for slice B.

[0138] In step 855, BS A may instruct the UE to perform a handover to frequency B. Alternatively, BS A may configure the UE for dual connectivity or carrier aggregation with frequency B. The UE may perform a handover, dual connectivity, or carrier aggregation as instructed by BS A and in coordination with BS A, BS B, and / or the core network. For a handover, the UE may transition to being served by BS B on frequency B. For dual connectivity, the UE may continue to be served by BS A on frequency A and additionally be served by BS B on frequency B. For carrier aggregation, the UE may continue to be served by BS A on frequency A and additionally be served by BS A on frequency B.

[0139] After the UE is on frequency B (e.g., in communication with the network via frequency B) via handover, dual connectivity, or carrier aggregation, the UE may communicate URLLC data in a PDU session on slice B in frequency B.

[0140] Similar to method 700, the transmission of the PDU session resource setup message from the core network to the BS may be triggered by a NAS service request, a URLLC QoS flow setup, and / or a URLLC PDU session setup transmitted by the UE. Figure 7 The UE is configured using handover, redirection, dual connectivity and / or carrier aggregation.

[0141] As can be observed from method 800, when the UE is on frequency A (e.g., in communication with BS A), the UE can establish and activate a PDU session for slice B. The PDU session activation for slice B is completed after the UE is on frequency B. In addition, when the UE requests a PDU session on slice B (e.g., for communicating URLLC data), the UE can have an ongoing PDU session on slice A (e.g., for communicating eMBB data). Accordingly, method 800 can provide on-demand URLLC services to the UE by including URLLC slices in the allowed NSSAI based on the availability of URLLC slices in another frequency of the network when the UE is on a frequency that does not provide URLLC slices.

[0142] In one example, method 800 may be applied to a network deployment having a 2.6 GHz carrier (e.g., frequency A) and a 4.9 GHz carrier (e.g., frequency B), wherein the 2.6 GHz carrier is configured as an eMBB slice (e.g., network slice 250) for providing eMBB services and voice services, and the 4.9 GHz carrier is configured as a URLLC slice for providing URLLC services. In some examples, the 4.9 GHz carrier may also be configured for eMBB slicing so that the 4.9 GHz carrier can provide concurrent URLLC services and eMBB services. In some examples, the 2.6 GHz carrier may be in a tracking area with TAC 1, and the 4.9 GHz carrier may be in a tracking area with TAC 2 that is different from TAC 1. In other words, the 2.6 GHz carrier and the 4.9 GHz carrier may serve different tracking areas.

[0143] Although method 800 is described in the context of eMBB and URLLC services (where the UE requests URLLC services on demand while in communication with the eMBB frequency and / or slice), method 800 may be applied to any suitable type of service to provide on-demand services.

[0144] Fig. 9 is a flowchart of a communication method 900 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The steps of method 900 may be performed by a computing device (e.g., a processor, a processing circuit, and / or other suitable components) or other suitable means for performing the steps. For example, a network entity (such as BS 105, 205, and / or 500) may utilize one or more components (such as a processor 502, a memory 504, a network slicing module 508, a transceiver 510, a modem 512, and one or more antennas 516) to perform the steps of method 900. Alternatively, a network entity (such as a core network 230 and / or a network element 600) may utilize one or more components (such as a processor 602, a memory 604, a network slicing module 608, a transceiver 610, a modem 612, and a front end 614) to perform the steps of method 900. Method 900 may be implemented in the same manner as described above with respect to Figure 3 , 7 , and / or 8. As illustrated, method 900 includes several enumerated steps, but various embodiments of method 900 may include additional steps before, after, and between these enumerated steps. In some embodiments, one or more of these enumerated steps may be omitted or performed in a different order.

[0145] At step 910, method 900 includes receiving, by a network entity, a network registration request message from a UE in a first cell frequency (e.g., frequency carrier 220) of a network (e.g., network 100 and / or 200), the network registration request message indicating a network slice of the network (e.g., network slice 252) that is not provided by the first cell frequency.

[0146] At step 920, method 900 includes the network entity transmitting a network registration response message to the UE in response to the network registration request message, the network registration response message indicating that the requested network slice is allowed to be provided based on a second cell frequency of the network (e.g., cell frequency 222).

[0147] In an embodiment, the network entity corresponds to a BS (e.g., BS 105, 205, and / or 500). In such an embodiment, the network entity may relay or forward the network registration request message to a core network entity (e.g., core network 230 and / or network element 600). The network entity may relay a network registration response message from the core network entity to the UE.

[0148] In an embodiment, the network entity corresponds to a core network (e.g., core network 230 and / or network element 600). In such an embodiment, the network entity may receive the network registration request message via a BS (e.g., BS 105, 205, and / or 500) operating on the first cell frequency. The network entity may transmit a network registration response message to the UE via the BS.

[0149] In one embodiment, the network registration request is a NAS network registration request, and the transmission includes transmitting, by the network entity to the UE, a network registration response message including an allowed NSSAI indicating the requested network slice, for example, as shown in method 800.

[0150] In one embodiment, the network entity further determines, in response to the network registration request message, which cell frequency of the network provides the requested network slice, and the second cell frequency is identified based on the determination.

[0151] In one embodiment, the network entity further receives a NAS PDU session establishment request message indicating the network slice from the UE. The network entity further transmits a NAS PDU session establishment response message indicating an inactive PDU session mode (e.g., sleep) to the UE in the first cell frequency in response to the NAS PDU session establishment request message. In one embodiment, the network entity further communicates data with the UE in a PDU session on another network slice of the network in the first cell frequency, and the PDU session establishment request message may be received on the other network slice during the PDU session. In one embodiment, the network slice is a URLLC slice and the other network slice is an eMBB slice.

[0152] In one embodiment, when the network entity corresponds to the BS, the network entity forwards the PDU session establishment request message to the core network entity, and receives a PDU session resource establishment request message indicating the network slice from the core network entity. The network entity further transmits a PDU session resource establishment response message to the core network entity, and the PDU session resource establishment response message indicates a failure state based on that the network slice is not provided by the first cellular cell frequency.

[0153] In one embodiment, when the network entity corresponds to a core network entity, the network entity receives a PDU session establishment request message via a BS, and transmits a PDU session resource establishment request message indicating the network slice to the BS. The network entity further receives a PDU session resource establishment response message from the BS, and the PDU session resource establishment response message indicates a failure state based on that the network slice is not provided by the first cellular cell frequency.

[0154] In one embodiment, the network entity further receives at least one of a service request message indicating the network slice, a PDU session activation message indicating the network slice, or a flow setup request message indicating the network slice from the UE. The network entity further transmits to the UE an instruction for performing at least one of switching to a second cell frequency, dual connectivity with the second cell frequency, or carrier aggregation with the second cell frequency based on at least one of the service request message, the PDU session activation message, or the flow setup request message.

[0155] Fig.10is a flowchart of a communication method 1000 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The steps of method 1000 may be performed by a computing device (e.g., a processor, a processing circuit, and / or other suitable components) or other suitable means for performing the steps. For example, a network entity (such as BS 105, 205, and / or 500) may utilize one or more components (such as a processor 502, a memory 504, a network slicing module 508, a transceiver 510, a modem 512, and one or more antennas 516) to perform the steps of method 1000. Alternatively, a network entity (such as a core network 230 and / or a network element 600) may utilize one or more components (such as a processor 602, a memory 604, a network slicing module 608, a transceiver 610, a modem 612, and a front end 614) to perform the steps of method 1000. Method 1000 may be implemented in the same manner as described above with respect to Figure 3 , 7 8 and / or 900. As illustrated, method 1000 includes several enumerated steps, but various embodiments of method 1000 may include additional steps before, after, and between these enumerated steps. In some embodiments, one or more of these enumerated steps may be omitted or performed in a different order.

[0156] At step 1010, method 1000 includes receiving, by a first network entity, a request from a UE (e.g., UE 115, 215, and / or 400) in a first cell frequency (e.g., frequency carrier 220) for a communication session (e.g., a PDU session for URLLC) that is not supported by a network slice (e.g., network slices 250 and 252) on the first cell frequency.

[0157] At step 1020, method 1000 includes communicating, by the first network entity and the second network entity, a resource configuration request (eg, a NAS PDU session resource setup request) based on the requested communication session.

[0158] At step 1030, method 1000 includes communicating, by the first network entity and the second network entity, a resource configuration response (eg, a NAS PDU session resource setup response) indicating a reason for rejecting the resource configuration request.

[0159] In one embodiment, the first network entity corresponds to a BS (e.g., BS 105, 205, and / or 500), and the second network entity corresponds to a core network (e.g., core network 230 and / or network element 600). In such an embodiment, the first network entity receives a resource configuration request from the second network entity. The first network entity transmits a resource configuration response to the second network entity.

[0160] In one embodiment, the first network entity corresponds to a core network (e.g., core network 230 and / or network element 600), and the second network entity corresponds to a BS (e.g., BS 105, 205, and / or 500). In such an embodiment, the first network entity transmits a resource configuration request to the second network entity. The first network entity receives a resource configuration response from the second network entity.

[0161] In one embodiment, communicating the resource configuration response includes communicating, by the first network entity and the second network entity, the resource configuration response indicating that the resource configuration request is rejected based on the on-demand URLLC.

[0162] In one embodiment, communicating the resource configuration response includes communicating, by the first network entity and the second network entity, the resource configuration response indicating that the resource configuration request is rejected based on service-based mobility.

[0163] In one embodiment, the first network entity further participates in at least one of handover of the UE to the second cell frequency, dual connectivity of the UE with the second cell frequency, or carrier aggregation of the UE with the second cell frequency based on the requested communication session.

[0164] Fig.11 1 is a flow chart of a communication method 1100 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Each step of the method 1100 may be performed by a computing device (e.g., a processor, a processing circuit, and / or other suitable components) of a wireless communication device or other suitable means for performing each step. For example, a wireless communication device (such as UE 115, UE 215, and / or UE 400) may utilize one or more components (such as a processor 402, a memory 404, a network slicing module 408, a transceiver 410, a modem 412, and one or more antennas 416) to perform the steps of the method 1100. The method 1100 may be implemented in the same manner as described above with respect to Figure 3 , 7 8 and / or 900. As illustrated, method 1100 includes several enumerated steps, but various embodiments of method 1100 may include additional steps before, after, and between these enumerated steps. In some embodiments, one or more of these enumerated steps may be omitted or performed in a different order.

[0165] At step 1110, method 1100 includes transmitting, by the UE, a network registration request message in a first cell frequency (e.g., frequency carrier 220) of a network (e.g., network 100 and / or 200), the network registration request message indicating a network slice of the network (e.g., network slice 252) that is not provided by the first cell frequency.

[0166] In step 1120, method 1100 includes receiving, by the UE in response to the network registration request message, a network registration response message indicating that the requested network slice is allowed to be provided based on a second cell frequency of the network (e.g., cell frequency 222).

[0167] In one embodiment, the receiving includes receiving, by the UE, a network registration response message including allowed network slice selection assistance information (NSSAI) indicating the requested network slice, for example, as shown in method 800.

[0168] In one embodiment, the UE further transmits a NAS PDU session establishment request message indicating the network slice in the first cell frequency. The UE further receives a NAS PDU session establishment response message indicating an inactive PDU session mode (e.g., sleep mode) in the first cell frequency in response to the PDU session establishment request message.

[0169] In one embodiment, the UE further receives application data (e.g., URLLC data). The UE transmits at least one of a NAS service request message indicating the network slice, a NAS PDU session activation message indicating the network slice, or a QoS flow setup request message indicating the network slice in the first cell frequency in response to the received application data. The UE further receives in the first cell frequency an instruction for performing at least one of a handover to a second cell frequency, dual connectivity with the second cell frequency, or carrier aggregation with the second cell frequency.

[0170] Fig.12 1 is a flow chart of a communication method 1200 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Each step of the method 1200 may be performed by a computing device (e.g., a processor, a processing circuit, and / or other suitable components) or other suitable means for performing each step. For example, a network entity (such as the core network 230 and / or the network element 600) may utilize one or more components (such as a processor 602, a memory 604, a network slicing module 608, a transceiver 610, a modem 612, and a front end 614) to perform the steps of the method 1200. The method 1200 may be implemented in the same manner as described above with respect to Figure 3 , 7 8. As illustrated, method 1200 includes several enumerated steps, but various embodiments of method 1200 may include additional steps before, after, and between these enumerated steps. In some embodiments, one or more of these enumerated steps may be omitted or performed in a different order.

[0171] At step 1210, method 1200 includes receiving, by a core network entity, a request for a PDU session on a network slice (e.g., network slices 250 and 252) from a UE (e.g., UE 115, 215, and / or 400).

[0172] At step 1220, method 1200 includes transmitting, by a core network entity, a resource configuration request for a PDU session on the network slice to a BS (e.g., BS 105, 205, and / or 500).

[0173] At step 1230, method 1200 includes receiving, by the core network entity from the BS, a resource configuration response indicating a reason for rejecting the resource configuration request.

[0174] Fig.13 1300 is a flowchart of a communication method 1300 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Each step of the method 1300 may be performed by a computing device (e.g., a processor, a processing circuit, and / or other suitable components) or other suitable means for performing each step. For example, a network entity (such as BS 105, 205, and / or 500) may utilize one or more components (such as a processor 502, a memory 504, a network slicing module 508, a transceiver 510, a modem 512, and one or more antennas 516) to perform the steps of the method 1300. The method 1300 may be implemented in the same manner as described above with respect to Figure 3 , 7 8 and / or 900. As illustrated, method 1300 includes several enumerated steps, but various embodiments of method 1300 may include additional steps before, after, and between these enumerated steps. In some embodiments, one or more of these enumerated steps may be omitted or performed in a different order.

[0175] At step 1310, method 1300 includes receiving, by a BS, a request for a PDU session on a network slice (e.g., network slices 250 and 252) from a UE (e.g., UE 115, 215, and / or 400).

[0176] At step 1320, method 1300 includes receiving, by the BS from a core network entity (eg, core network 230 and / or network element 600), a resource configuration request for a PDU session on the network slice.

[0177] At step 1330, method 1300 includes receiving, by the BS from the core network entity, a resource configuration response indicating a reason for rejecting the resource configuration request.

[0178] A further embodiment of the present disclosure includes a wireless communication method. The wireless communication method includes: receiving, by a core network entity, a network registration request message from a user equipment (UE) associated with a first cellular cell frequency of a network, requesting a network slice of the network that is not provided by the first cellular cell frequency; and transmitting, by the core network entity, a network registration response message to the UE in response to the network registration request message, the network registration response message indicating that the requested network slice is allowed to be provided based on a second cellular cell frequency of the network.

[0179] In some aspects, the method may also include one or more of the following features. The method may include wherein the transmitting includes transmitting, by the core network entity, a network registration response message including allowed network slice selection assistance information (NSSAI) with the requested network slice to the UE. The method may include: determining, by the core network entity in response to the network registration request message, which cellular cell frequency of the network provides the requested network slice, the second cellular cell frequency being identified based on the determination. The method may include: receiving, by the core network entity, a protocol data unit (PDU) session establishment request message from the UE, the PDU session establishment request message requesting a PDU session establishment on a network slice not supported by the first cellular cell frequency; and transmitting, by the core network entity in response to the PDU session establishment request message, a PDU session establishment response message to the UE, the PDU session establishment response message indicating acceptance of the PDU session establishment using an inactive user plane. The method may include: transmitting, by the core network entity, a PDU session resource establishment request message indicating the network slice to a base station (BS) in communication with the UE on a first cellular cell frequency in response to the PDU session establishment request message; and receiving, by the core network entity, a PDU session resource establishment response message from the BS, the PDU session resource establishment response message indicating a failure state based on the fact that the network slice is not provided by the first cellular cell frequency. The method may include: receiving, by the core network entity, at least one of a service request message indicating the network slice, a PDU session activation message indicating the network slice, or a flow establishment request message indicating the network slice from the UE; and transmitting, by the core network entity, an instruction to direct the UE to a second cellular cell frequency based on at least one of the service request message, the PDU session activation message, or the flow establishment request message.

[0180] A further embodiment of the present disclosure includes a wireless communication method. The wireless communication method includes: receiving, by a core network entity, a request for a protocol data unit (PDU) session on a network slice from a user equipment (UE); transmitting, by the core network entity, a resource configuration request for the PDU session on the network slice to a base station (BS); and receiving, by the core network entity, a resource configuration response from the BS indicating a reason for rejecting the resource configuration request.

[0181] In some aspects, the method may also include one or more of the following features. The method may include where the BS operates on a first cell frequency; and receiving a resource configuration response includes receiving, by the core network entity, a resource configuration response from the BS indicating that the resource configuration request is rejected based on ultra-reliable low latency on demand (URLLC). The BS operates on a first cell frequency; and receiving a resource configuration response includes receiving, by the core network entity, a resource configuration response from the BS indicating that the resource configuration request is rejected based on service-based mobility. The method may include: the core network entity transmitting, in response to the resource configuration response, an instruction to the BS for directing the UE to a second cell frequency providing the network slice. The method may include: after the UE is directed to the second cell frequency, the core network entity transmitting, to the BS, another resource configuration request for the PDU session.

[0182] A further embodiment of the present disclosure includes a wireless communication method. The wireless communication method includes: receiving, by a base station (BS), a request for a protocol data unit (PDU) session on a network slice from a user equipment (UE) in a first cellular cell frequency. The wireless communication method also includes receiving, by the BS, a resource configuration request for the PDU session on the network slice from a core network entity. The wireless communication method also includes transmitting, by the BS, to the core network entity, a resource configuration response indicating a reason for rejecting the resource configuration request.

[0183] In some aspects, the method may also include one or more of the following features. The method may include one or more of the following features. The method may include wherein transmitting a resource configuration response includes transmitting, by the BS to a core network entity, a resource configuration response indicating that the resource configuration request is rejected based on ultra-reliable low latency on demand (URLLC). Transmitting a resource configuration response includes transmitting, by the BS to a core network entity, a resource configuration response indicating that the resource configuration request is rejected based on service-based mobility. The method may include: receiving, by the BS in response to the resource configuration response, an instruction from the core network entity to direct the UE to a second cell frequency supporting the network slice. The method may include: after the UE is directed to the second cell frequency, receiving, by the BS, another resource configuration request for a PDU session from the core network entity. The method may include: transmitting, by the BS to the UE, an instruction to perform at least one of a handover to a second cell frequency, dual connectivity with a second cell frequency, or carrier aggregation with a second cell frequency.

[0184] A further embodiment of the present disclosure includes a wireless communication method. The wireless communication method includes: transmitting, by a user equipment (UE), a network registration request message in a first cell frequency of a network requesting a network slice of the network that is not provided by the first cell frequency; and receiving, by the UE in response to the network registration request message, a network registration response message indicating that the requested network slice is allowed to be provided based on a second cell frequency of the network.

[0185] In some aspects, the method may also include one or more of the following features. The method may include where the receiving includes receiving, by the UE, a network registration response message including allowed network slice selection assistance information (NSSAI) with the requested network slice. The method may include: transmitting, by the UE, a protocol data unit (PDU) session establishment request message in a first cell frequency, the PDU session establishment request message requesting a PDU session establishment on a network slice not supported by the first cell frequency; and receiving, by the UE in response to the PDU session establishment request message, a PDU session establishment response message in the first cell frequency, the PDU session establishment response message indicating acceptance of the PDU session establishment using an inactive user plane. The method may include: receiving application data by the UE; transmitting, by the UE in response to the received application data, at least one of a service request message indicating the network slice, a protocol data unit (PDU) session activation message indicating the network slice, or a flow establishment request message indicating the network slice; and receiving, by the UE, an instruction for performing at least one of a handover to a second cell frequency, dual connectivity with the second cell frequency, or carrier aggregation with the second cell frequency.

[0186] A further embodiment of the present disclosure includes a core network entity, which includes a transceiver configured to: receive a network registration request message from a user equipment (UE) associated with a first cellular cell frequency of a network, requesting a network slice of the network that is not provided by the first cellular cell frequency; and transmit a network registration response message to the UE in response to the network registration request message, the network registration response message indicating that the requested network slice is allowed to be provided based on a second cellular cell frequency of the network.

[0187] In some aspects, the core network entity may also include one or more of the following features. The core network entity may include a transceiver configured to transmit the network registration response message is further configured to transmit a network registration response message including allowed network slice selection assistance information (NSSAI) with the requested network slice to the UE. The core network entity may include a processor configured to determine which cellular cell frequency of the network provides the requested network slice in response to the network registration request message, and the second cellular cell frequency is identified based on the determination. The transceiver is further configured to: receive a protocol data unit (PDU) session establishment request message from the UE, the PDU session establishment request message requesting a PDU session establishment on a network slice not supported by the first cellular cell frequency; and transmit a PDU session establishment response message to the UE in response to the PDU session establishment request message, the PDU session establishment response message indicating acceptance of the PDU session establishment using an inactive user plane. The transceiver is further configured to: transmit a PDU session resource establishment request message indicating the network slice to a base station (BS) in communication with the UE on a first cell frequency in response to the PDU session establishment request message; and receive a PDU session resource establishment response message from the BS, the PDU session resource establishment response message indicating a failure state based on the network slice not being provided by the first cell frequency. The transceiver is further configured to: receive at least one of a service request message indicating the network slice, a PDU session activation message indicating the network slice, or a flow establishment request message indicating the network slice from the UE; and transmit an instruction to the BS for directing the UE to a second cell frequency based on at least one of the service request message, the PDU session activation message, or the flow establishment request message.

[0188] A further embodiment of the present disclosure includes a core network entity, which includes a transceiver configured to: receive a request for a protocol data unit (PDU) session on a network slice from a user equipment (UE); transmit a resource configuration request for the PDU session on the network slice to a base station (BS); and receive a resource configuration response from the BS indicating a reason for rejecting the resource configuration request.

[0189] In some aspects, the core network entity may also include one or more of the following features. The core network entity may include a BS operating on a first cell frequency; and the transceiver configured to receive the resource configuration response is further configured to: receive a resource configuration response from the BS indicating that the resource configuration request is rejected based on ultra-reliable low latency on demand (URLLC). The BS operates on a first cell frequency; and the transceiver configured to receive the resource configuration response is further configured to: receive a resource configuration response from the BS indicating that the resource configuration request is rejected based on service-based mobility. The transceiver is further configured to: transmit an instruction to the BS to direct the UE to a second cell frequency providing the network slice in response to the resource configuration response. The transceiver is further configured to: transmit another resource configuration request for the PDU session to the BS after the UE is directed to the second cell frequency.

[0190] A further embodiment of the present disclosure includes a base station (BS), comprising a transceiver configured to: receive a request for a protocol data unit (PDU) session on a network slice from a user equipment (UE) in a first cell frequency; receive a resource configuration request for the PDU session on the network slice from a core network entity; and transmit a resource configuration response to the core network entity indicating a reason for rejecting the resource configuration request.

[0191] In some aspects, the BS may also include one or more of the following features. The BS may include a transceiver configured to transmit the resource configuration response is further configured to transmit to the core network entity a resource configuration response indicating that the resource configuration request is rejected based on ultra-reliable low latency on demand (URLLC). The transceiver configured to transmit the resource configuration response is further configured to transmit to the core network entity a resource configuration response indicating that the resource configuration request is rejected based on service-based mobility. The transceiver is further configured to receive from the core network entity an instruction to direct the UE to a second cell frequency supporting the network slice in response to the resource configuration response. The transceiver is further configured to receive from the core network entity another resource configuration request for the PDU session after the UE is directed to the second cell frequency. The transceiver is further configured to transmit to the UE an instruction to perform at least one of a handover to the second cell frequency, dual connectivity with the second cell frequency, or carrier aggregation with the second cell frequency.

[0192] A further embodiment of the present disclosure includes a user equipment (UE) comprising a transceiver configured to: transmit, in a first cell frequency of a network, a network registration request message requesting a network slice of the network that is not provided by the first cell frequency; and receive, in response to the network registration request message, a network registration response message indicating that the requested network slice is allowed to be provided based on a second cell frequency of the network.

[0193] In some aspects, the UE may also include one or more of the following features. The UE may include a transceiver configured to receive the network registration response message is further configured to receive a network registration response message including allowed network slice selection assistance information (NSSAI) with the requested network slice. The transceiver is further configured to: transmit a protocol data unit (PDU) session establishment request message in a first cell frequency, the PDU session establishment request message requesting a PDU session establishment on a network slice not supported by the first cell frequency; and receive a PDU session establishment response message in the first cell frequency in response to the PDU session establishment request message, the PDU session establishment response message indicating acceptance of the PDU session establishment using an inactive user plane. The transceiver is further configured to: receive application data; receive at least one of a service request message indicating the network slice, a protocol data unit (PDU) session activation message indicating the network slice, or a flow establishment request message indicating the network slice in response to the received application data; and receive instructions for performing at least one of switching to a second cell frequency, dual connectivity with the second cell frequency, or carrier aggregation with the second cell frequency.

[0194] Additional embodiments of the present disclosure include a computer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon. The computer-readable medium also includes code for causing a core network entity to receive a network registration request message from a user equipment (UE) associated with a first cellular cell frequency of a network requesting a network slice of the network that is not provided by the first cellular cell frequency. The computer-readable medium also includes code for causing the core network entity to transmit a network registration response message to the UE in response to the network registration request message, the network registration response message indicating that the network slice is allowed for providing the requested network slice based on a second cellular cell frequency of the network.

[0195] In some aspects, the computer-readable medium may also include one or more of the following features. The computer-readable medium may include a code for causing the core network entity to transmit the network registration response message, wherein the code is further configured to transmit a network registration response message including allowed network slice selection assistance information (NSSAI) with the requested network slice to the UE. The computer-readable medium may include: a code for causing the core network entity to determine which cellular cell frequency of the network provides the requested network slice in response to the network registration request message, and the second cellular cell frequency is identified based on the determination. The computer-readable medium may include: a code for causing the core network entity to receive a protocol data unit (PDU) session establishment request message from the UE, the PDU session establishment request message requesting a PDU session establishment on a network slice not supported by the first cellular cell frequency; and a code for causing the core network entity to transmit a PDU session establishment response message to the UE in response to the PDU session establishment request message, the PDU session establishment response message indicating acceptance of the PDU session establishment using the inactive user plane. The computer-readable medium may include: code for causing a core network entity to transmit a PDU session resource establishment request message indicating the network slice to a base station (BS) in communication with the UE on a first cellular cell frequency in response to the PDU session establishment request message; and code for causing the network entity to receive a PDU session resource establishment response message from the BS, the PDU session resource establishment response message indicating a failure state based on the network slice not being provided by the first cellular cell frequency. The computer-readable medium may include: code for causing the network entity to receive at least one of a service request message indicating the network slice, a PDU session activation message indicating the network slice, or a flow establishment request message indicating the network slice from the UE; and code for causing the core network entity to transmit to the BS an instruction for directing the UE to a second cellular cell frequency based on at least one of the service request message, the PDU session activation message, or the flow establishment request message.

[0196] Additional embodiments of the present disclosure include a computer-readable medium having a program code recorded thereon. The computer-readable medium also includes code for causing a core network entity to receive a request for a protocol data unit (PDU) session on a network slice from a user equipment (UE). The computer-readable medium also includes code for causing the core network entity to transmit a resource configuration request for the PDU session on the network slice to a base station (BS). The computer-readable medium also includes code for causing the core network entity to receive a resource configuration response from the BS indicating a reason for rejecting the resource configuration request.

[0197] In some aspects, the computer-readable medium may also include one or more of the following features. The computer-readable medium may include where the BS operates on a first cell frequency; and the code for causing the core network entity to receive the resource configuration response is further configured to receive a resource configuration response from the BS indicating that the resource configuration request is rejected based on ultra-reliable low latency on demand (URLLC). The BS operates on a first cell frequency; and the code for causing the core network entity to receive the resource configuration response is further configured to receive a resource configuration response from the BS indicating that the resource configuration request is rejected based on service-based mobility. The computer-readable medium may include: code for causing the core network entity to transmit to the BS, in response to the resource configuration response, instructions for directing the UE to a second cell frequency providing the network slice. The computer-readable medium may include: code for causing the core network entity to transmit another resource configuration request for a PDU session to the BS after the UE is directed to the second cell frequency.

[0198] Additional embodiments of the present disclosure include a computer-readable medium having a program code recorded thereon. The computer-readable medium also includes code for causing a base station (BS) to receive a request for a protocol data unit (PDU) session on a network slice from a user equipment (UE) in a first cell frequency. The computer-readable medium also includes code for causing the BS to receive a resource configuration request for the PDU session on the network slice from a core network entity. The computer-readable medium also includes code for causing the BS to transmit a resource configuration response indicating a reason for rejecting the resource configuration request to the core network entity.

[0199] In some aspects, the computer-readable medium may also include one or more of the following features. The computer-readable medium may include a code for causing the BS to transmit the resource configuration response, wherein the code is further configured to transmit to the core network entity a resource configuration response indicating that the resource configuration request is rejected based on ultra-reliable low latency on demand (URLLC). The code for causing the BS to transmit the resource configuration response is further configured to transmit to the core network entity a resource configuration response indicating that the resource configuration request is rejected based on service-based mobility. The computer-readable medium may include: code for causing the BS to receive, in response to the resource configuration response, an instruction from the core network entity to direct the UE to a second cellular cell frequency supporting the network slice. The computer-readable medium may include: code for causing the BS to receive another resource configuration request for a PDU session from the core network entity after the UE is directed to the second cellular cell frequency. The computer-readable medium may include: code for causing the BS to transmit to the UE an instruction for performing at least one of a handover to the second cellular cell frequency, dual connectivity with the second cellular cell frequency, or carrier aggregation with the second cellular cell frequency.

[0200] Additional embodiments of the present disclosure include a computer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon. The computer-readable medium also includes code for causing a user equipment (UE) to transmit, in a first cell frequency of a network, a network registration request message requesting a network slice of the network that is not provided by the first cell frequency. The computer-readable medium also includes code for causing the UE to receive a network registration response message in response to the network registration request message, the network registration response message indicating that the network slice is allowed for providing the requested network slice based on a second cell frequency of the network.

[0201] In some aspects, the computer-readable medium may also include one or more of the following features. The computer-readable medium may include a code for causing the UE to receive the network registration response message, wherein the code is further configured to receive a network registration response message including allowed network slice selection assistance information (NSSAI) with the requested network slice. The computer-readable medium may include: a code for causing the UE to transmit a protocol data unit (PDU) session establishment request message in a first cell frequency, the PDU session establishment request message requesting a PDU session establishment on a network slice not supported by the first cell frequency; and a code for causing the UE to receive a PDU session establishment response message in the first cell frequency in response to the PDU session establishment request message, the PDU session establishment response message indicating acceptance of a PDU session establishment using an inactive user plane. The computer-readable medium may include: code for causing the UE to receive application data; code for causing the UE to transmit at least one of a service request message indicating the network slice, a protocol data unit (PDU) session activation message indicating the network slice, or a flow establishment request message indicating the network slice in response to the received application data; and code for causing the UE to receive instructions for performing at least one of switching to a second cell frequency, dual connectivity with the second cell frequency, or carrier aggregation with the second cell frequency.

[0202] A further embodiment of the present disclosure includes a core network entity, the core network entity including: a device for receiving a network registration request message from a user equipment (UE) associated with a first cellular cell frequency of a network requesting a network slice of the network that is not provided by the first cellular cell frequency. The core network entity also includes: a device for transmitting a network registration response message to the UE in response to the network registration request message, the network registration response message indicating that the requested network slice is allowed for providing the network slice based on a second cellular cell frequency of the network.

[0203] In some aspects, the core network entity may also include one or more of the following features. The core network entity may include a device for transmitting the network registration response message is further configured to: transmit a network registration response message including allowed network slice selection assistance information (NSSAI) with the requested network slice to the UE. The core network entity may include a device for determining which cellular cell frequency of the network provides the requested network slice in response to the network registration request message, and the second cellular cell frequency is identified based on the determination. The core network entity may include a device for receiving a protocol data unit (PDU) session establishment request message from the UE, the PDU session establishment request message requesting a PDU session establishment on a network slice not supported by the first cellular cell frequency; and a device for transmitting a PDU session establishment response message to the UE in response to the PDU session establishment request message, the PDU session establishment response message indicating acceptance of the PDU session establishment using an inactive user plane. The core network entity may include a device for transmitting, in response to the PDU session establishment request message, a PDU session resource establishment request message indicating the network slice to a base station (BS) in communication with the UE on a first cellular cell frequency; and a device for receiving a PDU session resource establishment response message from the BS, the PDU session resource establishment response message indicating a failure state based on the network slice not being provided by the first cellular cell frequency. The core network entity may include a device for receiving, from the UE, at least one of a service request message indicating the network slice, a PDU session activation message indicating the network slice, or a flow establishment request message indicating the network slice; and a device for transmitting to the BS an instruction for directing the UE to a second cellular cell frequency based on at least one of the service request message, the PDU session activation message, or the flow establishment request message.

[0204] A further embodiment of the present disclosure includes a core network entity, the core network entity comprising: a device for receiving a request for a protocol data unit (PDU) session on a network slice from a user equipment (UE). The core network entity also includes: a device for transmitting a resource configuration request for the PDU session on the network slice to a base station (BS). The core network entity also includes: a device for receiving a resource configuration response from the BS indicating a reason for rejecting the resource configuration request.

[0205] In some aspects, the core network entity may also include one or more of the following features. The core network entity may include a BS operating on a first cell frequency; and the device for receiving the resource configuration response is further configured to: receive a resource configuration response from the BS indicating that the resource configuration request is rejected based on ultra-reliable low latency on demand (URLLC). The BS operates on a first cell frequency; and the device for receiving the resource configuration response is further configured to: receive a resource configuration response from the BS indicating that the resource configuration request is rejected based on service-based mobility. The core network entity may include a device for transmitting to the BS an instruction for directing the UE to a second cell frequency providing the network slice in response to the resource configuration response. The core network entity may include a device for transmitting another resource configuration request for a PDU session to the BS after the UE is directed to the second cell frequency.

[0206] A further embodiment of the present disclosure includes a base station (BS). The base station includes means for receiving a request for a protocol data unit (PDU) session on a network slice from a user equipment (UE) in a first cell frequency. The base station also includes means for receiving a resource configuration request for the PDU session on the network slice from a core network entity. The base station also includes means for transmitting a resource configuration response indicating a reason for rejecting the resource configuration request to the core network entity.

[0207] In some aspects, the BS may also include one or more of the following features. The BS may include a device for transmitting the resource configuration response is further configured to: transmit to the core network entity a resource configuration response indicating that the resource configuration request is rejected based on ultra-reliable low latency on demand (URLLC). The device for transmitting the resource configuration response is further configured to: transmit to the core network entity a resource configuration response indicating that the resource configuration request is rejected based on service-based mobility. The BS may include a device for receiving from the core network entity an instruction to direct the UE to a second cellular cell frequency supporting the network slice in response to the resource configuration response. The BS may include a device for receiving from the core network entity another resource configuration request for a PDU session after the UE is directed to the second cellular cell frequency. The BS may include a device for transmitting to the UE an instruction to perform at least one of switching to the second cellular cell frequency, dual connectivity with the second cellular cell frequency, or carrier aggregation with the second cellular cell frequency.

[0208] A further embodiment of the present disclosure includes a user equipment (UE). The user equipment includes means for transmitting a network registration request message in a first cell frequency of a network requesting a network slice of the network that is not provided by the first cell frequency. The user equipment also includes means for receiving a network registration response message in response to the network registration request message, the network registration response message indicating that the requested network slice is allowed to be provided based on a second cell frequency of the network.

[0209] In some aspects, the UE may also include one or more of the following features. The UE may include a device for receiving the network registration response message is further configured to: receive a network registration response message including allowed network slice selection assistance information (NSSAI) with the requested network slice. The UE may include a device for transmitting a protocol data unit (PDU) session establishment request message in a first cell frequency, the PDU session establishment request message requesting a PDU session establishment on a network slice not supported by the first cell frequency; and a device for receiving a PDU session establishment response message in the first cell frequency in response to the PDU session establishment request message, the PDU session establishment response message indicating acceptance of the PDU session establishment using an inactive user plane. The UE may include a device for receiving application data; a device for transmitting at least one of a service request message indicating the network slice, a protocol data unit (PDU) session activation message indicating the network slice, or a flow establishment request message indicating the network slice in response to the received application data; and a device for receiving an instruction for performing at least one of switching to a second cellular cell frequency, dual connectivity with the second cellular cell frequency, or carrier aggregation with the second cellular cell frequency.

[0210] Information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different techniques and technologies. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be mentioned throughout the above description may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0211] The various illustrative blocks and modules described in conjunction with the disclosure herein may be implemented or executed with a general purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in an alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration).

[0212] The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software executed by a processor, each function may be stored on a computer-readable medium or transmitted therefrom as one or more instructions or codes. Other examples and implementations fall within the scope of the present disclosure and the appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, the above functions may be implemented using software, hardware, firmware, hard wiring, or any combination thereof executed by a processor. The features that implement the functions may also be physically located in various locations, including being distributed so that the various parts of the functions are implemented at different physical locations. In addition, as used herein (including in the claims), the "or" used in the enumeration of items (e.g., enumeration of items with phrases such as "at least one of" or "one or more of") indicates an inclusive enumeration, so that, for example, the enumeration of [at least one of A, B, or C] means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C).

[0213] As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art and depending on the specific application at hand, many modifications, substitutions and changes may be made to the materials, devices, configurations and methods of use of the apparatus of the present disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. In view of this, the scope of the present disclosure should not be limited to the specific embodiments illustrated and described herein (as they are merely examples of the present disclosure), but should be fully equivalent to the appended claims and their functional equivalents.

Claims

1. A wireless communication method, comprising: receiving, by a network node, from a user equipment (UE) in a first cell frequency, a protocol data unit (PDU) session establishment request for a PDU session on a network slice, the PDU session establishment request requesting PDU session establishment on the network slice not supported by the first cell frequency; Receiving, by the network node from a core network entity, a resource configuration request for the PDU session on the network slice in response to the PDU session establishment request; as well as A resource configuration response indicating a reason for rejecting the resource configuration request is transmitted by the network node to the core network entity, wherein the resource configuration response indicates that the resource configuration request is rejected based on ultra-reliable low latency on demand (URLLC).

2. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the resource configuration response comprises: The resource configuration response is transmitted, by the network node, to the core network entity indicating that the resource configuration request is rejected based on service-based mobility.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein: Receiving the resource configuration request includes: The network node receives a PDU session resource establishment request message from the core network entity, where the PDU session resource establishment request message includes at least one of the following: a 5G quality of service identifier (5QI) associated with the network slice; or Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (S-NSSAI) associated with the network slice, and Transmitting the resource configuration response includes: The resource configuration response is transmitted by the network node to the core network entity indicating a reason for rejecting the resource configuration request based on at least one of the 5QI or the S-NSSAI.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: Instructions for performing a switch or redirection to a second cell frequency are transmitted by the network node to the UE in response to the resource configuration request for the PDU session on the network slice.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: Instructions for performing dual connectivity with a second cell frequency are transmitted by the network node to the UE in response to the resource configuration request for the PDU session on the network slice.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: An instruction for performing carrier aggregation with a second cell frequency is transmitted by the network node to the UE in response to the resource configuration request for the PDU session on the network slice.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising: After switching or redirection of a second UE to the first cell frequency, the network node receives a second resource configuration request for a second PDU session from the core network entity, and the second PDU session is on a second network slice provided by the first cell frequency.

8. A wireless communication method, comprising: transmitting, by a user equipment (UE), in a first cell frequency of a network requesting a network slice of the network that is not provided by the first cell frequency, wherein the network slice is associated with Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communications (URLLC); as well as receiving, by the UE in response to the network registration request message, a network registration response message indicating that provision of the requested network slice based on a second cell frequency of the network is allowed; Transmitting, by the UE, a protocol data unit (PDU) session establishment request message in the first cell frequency, the PDU session establishment request message requesting a PDU session establishment on the network slice not supported by the first cell frequency; as well as A PDU session establishment response message is received by the UE in the first cell frequency in response to the PDU session establishment request message, the PDU session establishment response message indicating acceptance of the PDU session establishment using an inactive user plane.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein receiving the network registration response message comprises: A network registration response message including allowed network slice selection assistance information (NSSAI) with the requested network slice is received by the UE.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising: Receiving application data by the UE; transmitting, by the UE in response to the received application data, a service request message indicating the network slice; as well as Instructions are received by the UE to perform at least one of handover or redirection to the second cell frequency, dual connectivity with the second cell frequency, or carrier aggregation with the second cell frequency.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising: Receiving application data by the UE; transmitting, by the UE in response to the received application data, a protocol data unit (PDU) session activation message indicating the network slice; as well as Instructions are received by the UE to perform at least one of handover or redirection to the second cell frequency, dual connectivity with the second cell frequency, or carrier aggregation with the second cell frequency.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising: Receiving application data by the UE; transmitting, by the UE in response to the received application data, a flow setup request message indicating the network slice; as well as Instructions are received by the UE to perform at least one of handover or redirection to the second cell frequency, dual connectivity with the second cell frequency, or carrier aggregation with the second cell frequency.

13. A network node, comprising: A transceiver, the transceiver being configured to: receiving, from a user equipment (UE) in a first cell frequency, a protocol data unit (PDU) session establishment request for a PDU session on a network slice, the PDU session establishment request requesting PDU session establishment on the network slice not supported by the first cell frequency; receiving, from a core network entity, a resource configuration request for the PDU session on the network slice in response to the PDU session establishment request; as well as A resource configuration response indicating a reason for rejecting the resource configuration request is transmitted to the core network entity, wherein the resource configuration response indicates that the resource configuration request is rejected based on ultra-reliable low latency on demand (URLLC).

14. The network node of claim 13, wherein the transceiver configured to transmit the resource configuration response is further configured to: The resource configuration response is transmitted to the core network entity indicating that the resource configuration request is rejected based on service-based mobility.

15. The network node of claim 13, wherein: The transceiver configured to receive the resource configuration request is configured to: A PDU session resource establishment request message is received from the core network entity, where the PDU session resource establishment request message includes at least one of the following: a 5G quality of service identifier (5QI) associated with the network slice; or Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (S-NSSAI) associated with the network slice, and The transceiver configured to transmit the resource configuration response is configured to: The resource configuration response is transmitted to the core network entity indicating a reason for rejecting the resource configuration request based on at least one of the 5QI or the S-NSSAI.

16. The network node of claim 13, wherein the transceiver is further configured to: In response to the resource configuration request for the PDU session on the network slice, instructions are transmitted to the UE for performing a switch or redirection to a second cellular cell frequency.

17. The network node of claim 13, wherein the transceiver is further configured to: Instructions for performing dual connectivity with a second cell frequency are transmitted to the UE in response to the resource configuration request for the PDU session on the network slice.

18. The network node of claim 13, wherein the transceiver is further configured to: Instructions for performing carrier aggregation with a second cell frequency are transmitted to the UE in response to the resource configuration request for the PDU session on the network slice.

19. The network node of claim 13, wherein the transceiver is further configured to: After switching or redirection of a second UE to the first cell frequency, a second resource configuration request for a second PDU session is received from the core network entity, and the second PDU session is on a second network slice provided by the first cell frequency.

20. A user equipment (UE), comprising: A transceiver, the transceiver being configured to: transmitting, in a first cell frequency of a network, a network registration request message requesting a network slice of the network that is not provided by the first cell frequency, wherein the network slice is associated with Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communications (URLLC); as well as receiving a network registration response message in response to the network registration request message, the network registration response message indicating that provision of the requested network slice based on a second cell frequency of the network is permitted; transmitting a protocol data unit (PDU) session establishment request message in the first cell frequency, the PDU session establishment request message requesting a PDU session establishment on the network slice not supported by the first cell frequency; as well as A PDU session establishment response message is received in the first cell frequency in response to the PDU session establishment request message, the PDU session establishment response message indicating acceptance of the PDU session establishment using an inactive user plane.

21. The UE of claim 20, wherein the transceiver configured to receive the network registration response message is further configured to: Receive the network registration response message including allowed network slice selection assistance information (NSSAI) with the requested network slice.

22. The UE of claim 20, wherein the transceiver is further configured to: Receive application data; transmitting, in response to the received application data, a service request message indicating the network slice; and Instructions are received to perform at least one of a handover or redirection to the second cell frequency, dual connectivity with the second cell frequency, or carrier aggregation with the second cell frequency.

23. The UE of claim 20, wherein the transceiver is further configured to: Receive application data; transmitting a protocol data unit (PDU) session activation message indicative of the network slice in response to the received application data; and Instructions are received to perform at least one of a handover or redirection to the second cell frequency, dual connectivity with the second cell frequency, or carrier aggregation with the second cell frequency.

24. The UE of claim 20, wherein the transceiver is further configured to: Receive application data; transmitting, in response to the received application data, a flow setup request message indicating the network slice; and Instructions are received to perform at least one of a handover or redirection to the second cell frequency, dual connectivity with the second cell frequency, or carrier aggregation with the second cell frequency.

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