First node, second node and method executed thereby for processing identification of a communication network

Abstract

A method performed by a first node (111) managing a P‑CSCF in a first communication network (101). The method is used to process identification of a second communication network (201). One of the communication networks is a home network and the other is a visited network. The first node (111) obtains (701) a unique identifier that uniquely identifies the second communication network (201) among multiple networks (200) that share a mobile network identifier. The unique identifier is based on: a) an MCC and an MNC corresponding to a shared PLMN identifier, and b) a subscriber identifier corresponding to the second network (201). The first node (111) also processes (702) across the communication network to provide IMS services to a device (230) operating in a visited network based on the identifier. In the home network, the processing (702) includes one of: i) application of a policy or rule, and ii) routing the communication to the S‑CSCF.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to a first node and a method performed thereby for processing identification of a communication network. The present disclosure generally relates to a second node and a method performed thereby for processing identification of a communication network. Background Art

[0002] A node in a communication network may be a wireless device, such as a user equipment (UE), a station (STA), a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a terminal and / or a mobile station (MS). A wireless device is capable of communicating wirelessly in a cellular communication network or a wireless communication network (sometimes also referred to as a cellular radio system, a cellular system or a cellular network). Communication may be performed, for example, between two wireless devices, between a device and a conventional phone, and / or between a wireless device and a server via a radio access network (RAN) and possibly one or more core networks included in the communication network. To mention only some other examples, a wireless device may also refer to a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a laptop computer or a tablet computer, etc., with wireless capabilities. A wireless device in this context may be, for example, a portable, pocket-storable, handheld, computer-included or vehicle-mounted mobile device capable of transmitting voice and / or data to another entity (e.g., another terminal or server) via a RAN.

[0003] A node may also be a network node, such as a radio network node (e.g., a transmission point (TP)). The communication network coverage may be divided into a geographical area of ​​cell areas, each cell area being served by a network node such as a base station (BS), such as a radio base station (RBS), which may sometimes be referred to as, for example, a gNB, an evolved Node B ("eNB"), "eNodeB", "NodeB", "B Node" or BTS (Base Transceiver Station) depending on the technology and terminology used. Base stations may be of different categories based on transmission power and thus also based on cell size, such as wide area base stations, medium range base stations, local area base stations and home base stations. A cell is a geographical area where a base station provides radio coverage at a base station site. One base station located at a base station site may serve one or more cells. In addition, each base station may support one or several communication technologies. The communication network may also be a non-cellular system including a network node, which may serve a receiving node (such as a wireless device) with a service beam. In the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE), a base station, which may be referred to as an eNodeB or even an eNB, may be directly connected to one or more core networks. In the context of the present disclosure, the expression "downlink (DL)" may be used for a transmission path from a base station to a wireless device. From a radio perspective, the so-called 5G system was standardized starting with 3GPP, and the so-called New Radio (NR) is the name of the radio interface. The NR architecture is discussed in 3GPP. In the current concept, gNB stands for NR BS, where one NR BS may correspond to one or more transmission / reception points. The expression "uplink (UL)" may be used for a transmission path in the opposite direction, i.e., from a wireless device to a base station.

[0004] Standardization organization 3GPP is currently in the process of specifying a new radio interface called "New Radio (NR)" or "5G Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA)", and a fifth generation (5G) packet core network, which may be referred to as the Next Generation (NG) Core Network, abbreviated as NG-CN, NGC or 5G CN.

[0005] At present, the concept of network slicing has been introduced in the 5G architecture. This concept can be understood as "a collection of network functions, and the resources to run these network functions, forming a complete instantiated logical network to meet certain network characteristics required by the service instance." The instantiated logical network can be understood as a collection of dedicated instantiated network resources, software, and hardware, which can be understood as forming a complete network configuration isolated from other logical network instances, for a collection of user terminals authorized to connect to the logical network instance (ie, the network slice instance).

[0006] Network slicing can be understood as mainly including the following components: physical resources, logical resources, and network functions.

[0007] A physical resource may be understood as a physical asset capable of performing computation, storage, or transmission (including radio access). A logical resource may be understood as a partition of a physical resource, or a grouping of multiple physical resources, that is dedicated to a network function or shared between a collection of network functions. A network function (NF) may be understood to refer to a processing function that performs a dedicated task in a network. This may include, but is not limited to, telecommunications node functions and switching functions, such as Ethernet switching functions and Internet Protocol (IP) routing functions.

[0008] A network slice may be defined in a public land mobile network (PLMN) and may be understood to include core network control plane and user plane network functions, and in a serving PLMN at least one of the following: an NG radio access network, and an N3IWF acting on non-3GPP access networks.

[0009] In the home network, the PLMN operator can manage and coordinate the network slicing operations for 5G subscribers. These slicing operations can include: designing, instantiating, operating, and deactivating network slices for 5G subscribers. The slice selection mechanism can be based on PLMN, access point name (APN), UE usage type, single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI), etc.

[0010] However, for 5G roaming subscribers, there can be two main mechanisms for control plane signaling: home routing and local breakout.

[0011] In the home routing mechanism, also referred to herein as S8 Home Routing (S8HR), roaming subscriber user plane data plane information may be routed back to the home public land mobile network (HPLMN), which may be controlled and managed by the home operator. This mechanism has the disadvantages of considerable latency and service level agreement (SLA) issues.

[0012] In Local Breakout (LBO) mechanism, the visited operator can be understood as having the control and mechanism of roaming subscriber signaling. This mechanism has limitations which can be understood as the home network cannot control the service and it is difficult to make it consistent across the network.

[0013] The Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) Alliance (CBRS-A) defines a standard that enables 3GPP LTE / 4G and NR / 5G support in the 3.5GHz band 3550MHz to 3700MHz in the United States. CBRS-A is currently working to define support for Release 3 of the CBRS Alliance standard, and support for roaming and IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) is also in the scope as part of the work. IMS can be understood as a service engine that can provide communication services such as voice, video, and messaging to subscribers.

[0014] Several use cases are envisioned in this band, and one scenario that has been identified is a deployment when an operator cannot obtain a unique PLMN identifier (id). This deployment could be a factory or a smaller enterprise. To support this scenario, the CBRS Alliance has obtained a PLMN id that can be shared between several networks. This may be called a shared home network identifier (SHNI).

[0015] As mentioned above, in a similar manner, 3GPP is currently working on specifications for what is commonly referred to as 5G. In this effort, use cases for supporting what are referred to as non-public networks (NPNs) have been identified, and 3GPP has defined a number of different work items to specify support for NPNs.

[0016] NPN can be generally understood as a network that can provide 5G network services to a well-defined user organization or group of organizations (such as a closed collection of users in a factory or industrial deployment). There are currently two alternative versions supporting the currently specified NPN, Public Network Integrated NPN (PNI-NPN) and Standalone NPN (SNPN).

[0017] In the PNI-NPN solution, operators can also integrate the NPN using their own PLMN-id, and the proposal here is to use something similar to the closed subscriber group concept in the Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) to restrict access to the NPN.

[0018] In a SNPN solution, a non-public network may be able to use a unique or non-unique PLMN id, i.e. a PLMN id may be shared between several deployments. The PLMN id may be coupled with a network identifier (NID). The NID may be locally assigned or globally unique.

[0019] When a network is deployed using a shared, i.e. not uniquely identifiable, PLMN, and the network is needed to support roaming users, the home network cannot be identified solely by the Mobile Country Code (MCC) + Mobile Network Code (MNC), as several networks may have the same combination. To alleviate this problem, CBRS has specified the use of a Diameter agent (i.e. a node that can perform routing decisions) to route initial authentication messages about the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) or IMSI Block Number (IBN) between the visited network and the home network, and by these means, a data connection to the home public land mobile network (HPLMN) can be established through the visited public land mobile network (vPLMN).

[0020] The IMSI ranges for CBRS Home Network Identity (HNI) deployments follow the guidelines documented in CBRSA-TR-0100 V1.0.0_Identifier Guidelines for Shared HNI.docx and as Figure 1 shown. Figure 1 The schematic diagram shows how the 15-digit (d) IMSI 11 is composed of the 6-digit SHNI 12 and the 9-digit Mobile Subscriber Identification Number (MSIN) 13. The SHNI 12 is composed of the 3d MCC 14 and the 3d MNC 15. The MSIN 13 is composed of the 4d IBN 16 and the 5d Unique Identification Number (UIN) 17.

[0021] The CBRS operator may be responsible for acquiring at least one IBN for its sole use. The IMSI range is managed by the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) IMSI Oversight Committee (ATIS IOC). The shared HNI + operator-specific IBN may then form a globally unique operator identifier. The CBRS operator may be understood to be responsible for creating a unique identifier by assigning a different UIN to each subscriber and / or subscription.

[0022] When supporting Voice over LTE (VoLTE) IMS roaming, there are two alternative methods, namely Figure 2 The S8HR and Figure 3 These methods have been briefly described above.

[0023] In the S8HR model, all IMS nodes, i.e. any of the nodes that manage functional entities according to the 3GPP definition of the IMS architecture (3GPP TS 23.228) (e.g. P-CSCF, S-CSCF, IMS application server), may be deployed in the HPLMN 18, and the IMS nodes may not be in the VPLMN 19. The routing back to the HPLMN 18 may be understood as using the existing data path connection, and no specific IMS level, i.e. protocols that may carry the IMS media plane (e.g. voice payload) may be applied. However, the IMS nodes in the HPLMN 18 may be understood to depend on the identification of the VPMN 19 to enable the operation of VPMN 19 specific policies. Policies may be defined on the MCC+MNC combination, and the IMS may retrieve the PLMN-id from the packet core, for example, via the Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) 20 Figure 2 Depicted in FIG. 1 are the paths followed by the control plane of the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) 21 and the user plane of the Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP) 22 through the E-UTRAN 23, the Signaling Gateway (SGW) 24, the Mobility Management Entity (MME) 25, the Packet Gateway (PGW) 26, the Interconnection Border Control Function (IBCF) / Transition Gateway (TrGW) / Breakout Gateway Control Function (BGCF) / Media Gateway Control Function (MGCF) 27, the Proxy Call / Session Control Function (P-CSCF) 28, the Home Subscriber Server (HSS) 29, the Serving Call / Session Control Function (SCSCF) 30, the Telephony Application Server (TAS) 31, the Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) or IP Switching (IPX) connection 32 to the other party's network (B-party) 33, and the IPX connection 34 between the HPLMN 18 and the VPLMN 19.

[0024] In the LBO roaming model, the IMS Proxy Call Session Control Function (P-CSCF) 35 and / or the IMS Access Gateway (AGW) 36 may be understood to be in the VPLMN 37, while all other IMS nodes may be understood to be in the HPLMN 38. Routing to the HPLMN IMS network may therefore be required. Figure 3Depicted in FIG. 1 is the path followed by the control plane 39 and media plane 40 from the UE 41 through the SGSN 42, the packet data network gateway (PDN-GW) 44, the E-UTRAN 23, the signaling gateway (SGW) 24, the visited network policy and charging rules function (V-PCRF) 45, the IPX connection 46, the home online charging system (H-OCS) 47, the S-CSCF 48 and the IMS application server (AS) 49 and the HSS 50. When LBO is used, roaming to the home network can be based on SIP level information. The routing information can be based on the home domain name and can be generated according to 3GPP 23.003 using the MCC and MNC.

[0025] The above architecture can be applied to roaming in 5G system (5GS), NR and / or 5G core (5GC), and also applies to 5G, but the 5GC entity may be as follows: Figure 4 The depicted IMS for home routing, and Figure 5 Depicted is for LBO IMS.

[0026] Figure 4 Corresponding to the home routing roaming model in the context of 5G system architecture, S8HR is the name used for 4G roaming. Figure 2 As described above, identification of VPMN 19 may be necessary. Figure 4 Depicted in FIG. 1 are the paths followed by the control plane 51 and the media plane 52 from the UE 53 through the RAN 54, the user plane function (UPF) 55 in the VPLM, another UPF 56 in the HPLM, the IBCF / BGCF / MGCF 57, the B-party 58, the application management function (AMF) 59, the visited network session management function (V-SMF) 60, the home SMF (V-SMF) 61, the home policy control function (H-PCF) 62, the P-CSCF 63, the serving call / session control function (S-CSCF) 64, the TAS 65, the unified data management / home subscriber server (UDM / HSS) 66. The different interfaces between the different nodes are also represented, such as N6 67, Sh 68, Cs 69 and Rx or N5 70.

[0027] Figure 5 Corresponding to the LBO model for roaming in the context of 5G system architecture. Figure 3 As described, routing to the HPLMN IMS network may therefore be necessary. Figure 5Depicted in the figure are the connections between the different nodes in the VPLMN 71 and the HPLMN 72, and the path followed by the media plane 73 from the UE 74 through the Evolved Packet System (EPS) / 5GS 75 or the Media Resource Function Processor (MRFP) 78 in the rest of the IMS Core 79. The UE's Point of Presence (IP-PoP) 80 is also shown. Other nodes in the feasible path are also shown as V-PCRF / Visited Network PCF (V-PCRF / vPCF) 81, Home Network PCRF (H-PCRF) 82, P-CSCF 83, Visited Network IBCF 84, Home Network IBCF 85 and S-CSCF 86. Different interfaces between the different nodes are also shown, such as Visited Network lx 87, Home Network lx 88, Rx or N5 89, Gm 90, S9 91 and Mx 92.

[0028] However, existing methods may still result in operators being unable to provide roaming users with network services that they may need, and / or may result in interruptions in the communication services provided. Summary of the invention

[0029] As part of embodiments according to this document, one or more challenges of the prior art will first be identified and discussed.

[0030] In the LBO and home routing roaming described in the background section, such as the S8HR, roaming model, when the MCC+MNC combination cannot be uniquely identified, there is a problem of uniquely identifying the network.

[0031] Because many VPLMNs may share the same MCC+MNC, the home routing model of IMS roaming (where the IMS functionality can be understood to be in the home network) may not be able to distinguish between the different VPLMNs to which its subscribers may roam. Therefore, a distinction may need to be made so that different policies can be applied. Since different VPLMNs have the same MCC+MNC, the home network cannot distinguish between different VPLMNs, so an additional identifier may be required in the home network to identify different visited networks sharing the same MCC+MNC that would otherwise be treated with the same policy. In particular, for VoLTE home routing roaming, such as S8HR roaming, the IMS network in the home network may need to enforce various policies, such as disabling IMS signaling encryption to enable Visited Public Mobile Network (VPMN) Evolved Packet Core (EPC) Lawful Interception (LI), performing number normalization considering the VPMN number plane and supplementary service execution considering the VPMN. This may occur, for example, when the full number format may not be dialed and the home network may need to convert the number to the correct format considering the VPLMN and how the number plan looks like there. The mechanism defined by 3GPP for this roaming model is the interaction from the P-CSCF of the HPLM to the PCRF over the Rx interface to retrieve the MNC and MCC of the VPLMN when the user may be roaming, and to create the necessary SIP level information to other IMS nodes indicating the subscriber's roaming status and VPMN information. If several plants / enterprises share the same MNC and MCC, the HPMN mobile network operator (MNO) will not be able to distinguish the difference to enable different policy settings, and the charging records will not contain any unique identifier. This is further described in Annex W of 3GPP TS23.228.

[0032] In the LBO model, the P-CSCF can be understood as being in a visited network, and providing IMS during roaming can be understood as finding the correct home network. The mechanism for finding the home network can be understood as being based on MCC+MNC, and since many enterprises may share the same MCC+MNC, additional extensions may be required. For example, for LBO, the UE may send a SIP registration message to the network (e.g., a VPMN P-CSCF), which may need to be routed to the home IMS network. The SIP registration may include a request uniform resource identifier (URI), which may be generated by the UE considering its IMSI and generating a domain name according to 3GPP TS 23.003. The domain name may only consider the MNC and MCC. This may be understood to mean that in order to route IMS services (e.g., establishing a call) to the correct home network IMS, it may not be possible to distinguish between domain names generated by UEs of factories and / or enterprises that share the same MNC and MCC.

[0033] In view of the foregoing, it is an object of embodiments herein to improve the process of identifying a communication network from another network.

[0034] According to a first aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, the object is achieved by a method performed by a first node. The first node manages a proxy call session control function in a first communication network. The method can be understood as being used to process the identification of a second communication network. One of the first communication network and the second communication network is a home network, and the other of the first communication network and the second communication network is a visited network. The first node obtains a unique identifier. The unique identifier uniquely identifies a second communication network among multiple communication networks that share a mobile network identifier. The unique identifier is based on: a) an MCC and an MNC corresponding to a shared PLMN identifier, and b) a subscriber identifier corresponding to the second communication network (201). The first node also processes the provision of IMS services to devices operating in a protected network across the first communication network and the second communication network. The processing is based on the obtained identifier. In the home network, the processing includes one of: i) application of a policy or rule, and ii) routing the communication to an S-CSCF.

[0035] According to a second aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, the object is achieved by a method performed by a second node. The method can be understood as being used to process the identification of a second communication network. The second node operates in one of a first communication network and a second communication network. One of the first communication network and the second communication network is a home network, and the other of the first communication network and the second communication network is a visited network. The second node receives an indication of a unique identifier. The unique identifier uniquely identifies a second communication network among multiple communication networks that share a mobile network identifier. The unique identifier is based on: a) an MCC and an MNC corresponding to a shared PLMN identifier, and b) a subscriber identifier corresponding to the second communication network (201). The second node also processes the provision of IMS services to a device operating in the visited network across the first communication network and the second communication network. The processing is based on the received identifier.

[0036] According to a third aspect of the embodiments of this invention, the purpose is achieved by a first node. The first node is configured to manage a P-CSCF in a first communication network. The first node can be considered to be used to process the identification of a second communication network. One of the first communication network and the second communication network is configured to be a home network, and the other of the first communication network and the second communication network is configured to be a visited network. The first node is also configured to obtain a unique identifier. The unique identifier is configured to uniquely identify a second communication network in a plurality of communication networks configured to share a mobile network identifier. The unique identifier is configured to be based on: a) an MCC and an MNC configured to correspond to a shared PLMN identifier, and b) a subscriber identifier configured to correspond to the second communication network. The first node is also configured to process providing IMS services to a device configured to operate in a visited network across the first communication network and the second communication network. The processing is configured to be based on an identifier configured to be obtained. In the home network, the processing includes one of: i) application of a policy or rule, and ii) routing the communication to the S-CSCF.

[0037] According to a fourth aspect of the embodiments of this document, the purpose is achieved by a second node. The second node can be understood as being used to process the identification of the second communication network. The second node is configured to operate in one of the first communication network and the second communication network. One of the first communication network and the second communication network is configured to be a home network, and the other of the first communication network 101 and the second communication network is configured to be a visited network. The second node is also configured to receive an indication of a unique identifier. The unique identifier is configured to uniquely identify a second communication network among multiple communication networks that share a mobile network identifier. The unique identifier is configured to be based on: a) an MCC and an MNC corresponding to a shared public land mobile network identifier, and b) a subscriber identifier corresponding to the second communication network. The second node is also configured to process providing IMS services to a device configured to operate in a visited network across the first communication network and the second communication network. The processing is configured to be based on an identifier configured to be received.

[0038] By obtaining the unique identifier, the first node may be able to identify a second communication network among multiple communication networks sharing the same mobile network identifier and may therefore be able to apply any rules or policies that may correspond to the device, or route communications to a Serving Call Session Control Function (S-CSCF) in order to provide IMS to the device.

[0039] By providing IMS services to the device based on the obtained identifier process, the first node may be able to appropriately apply any rules or policies that may correspond to the device, or route communications to an S-CSCF that may correspond to the device in order to provide IMS to the device.

[0040] By obtaining the indication from the first node, the second node may be able to identify, based on the obtained identifier, a second communication network among a plurality of communication networks sharing the same mobile network identifier, thereby adequately providing the IMS service to the device. This may be, for example, obtaining a subscriber profile corresponding to the device from the correct HSS at registration time in order to, for example, determine to which application server any service request may need to be sent, thereby enabling SIP message routing as part of the service establishment process. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0041] Examples of embodiments herein are described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and according to the following description.

[0042] Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of an IMSI block number plan when a shared HNI is used according to an existing method.

[0043] Figure 2 is a diagram showing an example of an S8HR roaming architecture according to the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) according to an existing approach.

[0044] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an LBO roaming architecture according to GSMA according to existing methods.

[0045] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of home routing IMS in 5GC according to the existing method.

[0046] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an EPS / 5GS architecture for IMS local breakout according to existing methods, where the P-CSCF is located in the visited network.

[0047] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram showing a communication network according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0048] Figure 7 A flow chart of a method in a first node according to embodiments herein is depicted.

[0049] Figure 8 A flow chart of a method in a second node according to embodiments herein is depicted.

[0050] Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a method in a communication network system according to an embodiment of this document.

[0051] Fig.10 are schematic block diagrams illustrating two non-limiting examples a) and b) of a first node according to embodiments herein.

[0052] Fig.11are schematic block diagrams illustrating two non-limiting examples a) and b) of a second node according to embodiments herein.

[0053] Fig.12 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a telecommunications network connected to a host computer via an intermediate network according to embodiments herein.

[0054] Fig.13 is a general block diagram of a host computer communicating with a user device via a base station over a partially wireless connection according to embodiments herein.

[0055] Fig.14 is a flow chart depicting an embodiment of a method in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment according to embodiments herein.

[0056] Fig.15 is a flow chart depicting an embodiment of a method in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment according to embodiments herein.

[0057] Fig.16 is a flow chart depicting an embodiment of a method in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment according to embodiments herein.

[0058] Fig.17 is a flow chart depicting an embodiment of a method in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment according to embodiments herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0059] Certain aspects of the present disclosure and embodiments thereof may provide solutions to these or other challenges. Various embodiments are presented herein that address one or more of the issues disclosed herein.

[0060] As a brief overview, the embodiments herein may be understood as involving IMS roaming support using a shared PLMN.

[0061] Embodiments herein may be understood to involve adding additional identifiers in the network to enable IMS roaming for MCC+MNC combinations that cannot be uniquely identified individually.

[0062] In general, the embodiments herein may therefore be understood to be relevant to IMS, roaming, shared HNI, SHNI, shared PLMNid, NPN, SNPN, 5G and 4G.

[0063] Some of the embodiments contemplated will now be described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which examples are shown. In this section, the embodiments of this article will be described in more detail by means of a plurality of exemplary embodiments. However, other embodiments are included within the scope of the subject matter disclosed herein. The disclosed subject matter should not be construed as being limited to the examples set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art. It should also be noted that the exemplary embodiments herein are not mutually exclusive. Components from one embodiment may be assumed to exist in another embodiment by default, and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art how these components may be used in other exemplary embodiments.

[0064] Note that although terminology from LTE / 5G has been used in this disclosure to exemplify the embodiments of this disclosure, this should not be considered to limit the scope of the embodiments of this disclosure to only the systems mentioned above. Other wireless systems with similar features can also benefit from utilizing the ideas covered by this disclosure.

[0065] Figure 6 Two non-limiting examples of communication network systems 100 are depicted in panels a) and b), respectively, in which embodiments of the present invention may be implemented. The communication network system 100 includes a first communication network 101 and a plurality of communication networks 200 (i.e., a plurality of other communication networks 200). The plurality of communication networks 200 includes a second communication network 201. The plurality of communication networks 200 may include one or more additional communication networks. Figure 6 In the non-limiting example, the plurality of communication networks 200 includes a third communication network 202 and a fourth communication network 203 in addition to the second communication network 201. However, it is understood that the plurality of communication networks 200 may include more or fewer communication networks, and Figure 6 The quantities depicted are non-limiting.

[0066] The first communication network 101 and any of the communication networks included in the plurality of communication networks 200 may also sometimes be referred to as a cellular radio system, a cellular network, or a wireless communication system. The first communication network 101 and any of the communication networks included in the plurality of communication networks 200 may be, for example, a network such as a 5G system, or a next generation network, or a newer system supporting similar functionality. In some examples, the first communication network 101 and any of the communication networks included in the plurality of communication networks 200 may be a non-cellular system, including network nodes that can provide service beams for receiving nodes such as wireless devices. This may be a typical case in a 5G network using a new radio (NR) or a younger system with similar functionality. Any of the first communication network 101 and the second communication network 201 may also support other technologies, such as a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network (e.g., LTE frequency division duplex (FDD), LTE time division duplex (TDD), LTE half-duplex frequency division duplex (HD-FDD), LTE operating in an unlicensed band), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), UTRA TDD, a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) network, a GSM / Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) Radio Access Network (GERAN) network, an Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), an EDGE network, a network composed of any combination of Radio Access Technologies (RATs) (e.g., a Multi-Standard Radio (MSR) base station, a Multi-RAT base station, etc.), any Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) cellular network, a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) or WiFi network, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), a low power short range network based on IEEE 802.15.4 (such as 6LowPAN, Bluetooth, or any cellular network or system)

[0067] Although terminology from Long Term Evolution (LTE) / 5G has been used in this disclosure to illustrate the embodiments herein, this should not be considered to limit the scope of the embodiments herein to only the above-mentioned systems. Other wireless systems supporting similar or equivalent functionality may also benefit from utilizing the ideas covered by the present disclosure. In future radio access, such as in the sixth generation (6G), the terms used herein may need to be reinterpreted in view of possible terminological changes in future radio access technologies.

[0068] One of the first communication network 101 and the second communication network 201 is a home network, and the other of the first communication network 101 and the second communication network 201 is a visited network. In some specific examples, the first communication network 101 may be a HPLMN and the second communication network 201 may be a VPLMN. In other examples, the first communication network 101 may be a VPLMN and the second communication network 201 may be a HPLMN. Each of the first communication network 101 and the second communication network 201 may be operated by a respective operator. In some specific examples, such as the example depicted in panel a), the first communication network 101 may be a VPLMN and the second communication network 201 may be a HPLMN. In other examples, such as the example depicted in panel b), the first communication network 101 may be a HPLMN and the second communication network 201 may be a VPLMN.

[0069] The communication network system 100 may include a plurality of nodes, wherein a first node 111 and a second node 112 are connected in Figure 6 The first node 111 operates in the first communication network 101. The second node 112 may be Figure 6 b) depicts a first communication network 101 and a communication network such as Figure 6 1 . The embodiment of the present invention is a method for operating a distributed computing system in a second communication network 201 in another communication network (second communication network 201) depicted in the non-limiting example of panel a) in FIG. Any one of the first node 111 and the second node 112 can be understood as a first computer system and a second computer system, respectively. In some examples, any one of the first node 111 and the second node 112 can be implemented as an independent server in a host computer in the cloud, for example. In some examples, any one of the first node 111 and the second node 112 can be a distributed node or a distributed server, and some of the corresponding functions are implemented locally, for example, by a client manager, and some of its functions are implemented in the cloud, for example, by a server administrator. However, in other examples, any one of the first node 111 and the second node 112 can also be implemented as a processing resource in a server cluster.

[0070] Any one of the first node 111 and the second node 112 may be located at the same location or be the same node. However, in a typical example, the first node 111 and the second node 112 are different nodes. Figure 6 , Figure 6 Not all possible combinations are described.

[0071] In some examples of the embodiments herein, the first node 111 may be a node capable of managing a Proxy Call Session Control Function (P-CSCF) in the first communication network 101 .

[0072] In some examples, the second node 112 may be, for example, a service call session control function that manages the first communication network 101. In other examples, the second node 112 may be, for example, a telecommunications application server (TAS), or, for example, an IMS-AGW, a PDN-GW, a V-PCRF, a UPF, a H-PCF, an IBCF / BGCF / MGCF, a node that manages media plane functions, an IBCF, a vPCF, an EPS / 5GS node, a network data analysis function (NWDAF), a mobility management entity (MME), an access management function (AMF), a session management function (SMF), a serving gateway node (SGW), a packet data gateway node (PGW), a self-organizing network (SON) node, an operations support system node (OSS), a home subscriber server (HSS), a home location register (HLR), or a business support system (BSS).

[0073] exist Figure 6 In other examples not depicted in the figure, the communication network system 100 may be understood to include one or more additional nodes. Any one of the first node 111 and the second node 112 may be a core network node of the core network.

[0074] The first communication network 101 may include one or more devices, wherein the device 230 is Figure 6 . The device 230 may also be referred to as, for example, a UE, a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal and / or a mobile station, a mobile phone, a cellular phone or a laptop with wireless capabilities, or a customer premises equipment (CPE), to mention only some further examples. The device 230 in this context may be, for example, a portable, pocket-sized, handheld, computer-included, or vehicle-mounted mobile device capable of communicating with another entity (such as a server, a laptop, a personal digital assistant (PDA) or a tablet (sometimes referred to as a tablet with wireless capabilities, or simply a tablet) via the RAN, a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, a device equipped with a wireless interface (such as a printer or a file storage device), a modem, a laptop embedded equipment (LEE), a laptop mounted equipment (LME), a USB dongle, or a device capable of communicating with the first communication network 101 and / or the second communication network 101 via the RAN. The device 230 may be any other radio network unit that communicates with a link in the first communication network 101 or the second communication network 201. The device 230 may be wireless, that is, the device 230 may be capable of wireless communication in the first communication network 101 or the second communication network 201, and in some specific examples, the device 230 may be capable of supporting beamforming transmission. Communication may be performed, for example, between two devices, between a device and a radio network node, and / or between a device and a server. The communication may be performed, for example, via a RAN and one or more core networks that are feasible, which are respectively included in the first communication network 101 and the second communication network 201.

[0075] The communication network system 100 may include a plurality of radio network nodes. Figure 6 Not depicted in the figure. Any radio network node may generally be a base station or a transmission point (TP), or any other network unit capable of serving wireless devices or machine type nodes in the first communication network 101 and the second communication network 201, respectively. Any radio network node may be, for example, a 3G Node B (NB), a 4G eNB, a 5G gNB. Each of the first radio network node 131 and the second radio network node 132 may be, for example, a wide area base station, a medium range base station, a local area base station, and a home base station, based on the transmission power and therefore also on the coverage size. Any of the radio network nodes may be, for example, a gNB, a 4G eNB, or a 5G or alternative 5G radio access technology (e.g., a fixed access technology or a wifi access technology) node.

[0076] Any of the radio network nodes may be a fixed relay node or a mobile relay node.

[0077] Any of the radio network nodes may support one or several communication technologies, the names of which may depend on the technology and terminology used. Any of the radio network nodes may be directly connected to one or more networks and / or one or more core networks.

[0078] Any one of the radio network nodes may cover a geographical area, which may be divided into cell areas, wherein each cell area may be served by one radio network node, but one radio network node may serve one or several cells.

[0079] The first node 111 may communicate with the second node 112 via a first link 141 (e.g., a radio link or a wired link). The first node 111 may communicate with the device 230 via a second link 142 (e.g., a radio link or a wired link). Any one of the first link 141 and the second link 142 may be a direct link or include one or more links, for example, via one or more other network nodes, radio network nodes, or core network nodes.

[0080] Any one of the first link 141 and the second link 142 may be a direct link, or may pass through one or more computer systems or one or more core networks in the first communication network 101 or the second communication network 201, or may pass through an optional intermediate network. The intermediate network may be one or a combination of more than one of a public, private or managed network; the intermediate network (if any) may be a backbone network or the Internet; in particular, the intermediate network may include two or more sub-networks, which is Figure 6 Not shown.

[0081] Generally, the use of “first”, “second”, “third” and / or “fourth” herein may be understood as any manner of referring to different elements or entities and may be understood not to confer a cumulative or chronological characteristic on the nouns they modify.

[0082] Generally, unless clearly given and / or different meanings are implied from the context, all terms used in this article will be interpreted according to their common meaning in the relevant technical field. Unless otherwise clearly stated, all references to "one / an / element, device, assembly, equipment, step, etc." should be openly interpreted as referring to at least one example in element, device, assembly, equipment, step, etc. Unless a step must be clearly described as after or before another step and / or a step must be after or before another step implicitly, the steps of any method disclosed herein do not have to be performed in the exact order disclosed. Where appropriate, any feature of any embodiment disclosed herein may be applied to any other embodiment. Similarly, any advantage of any embodiment may be applicable to any other embodiment, and vice versa. By the following description, other purposes, features and advantages of the attached embodiments will be apparent.

[0083] Several embodiments are included herein. It should be noted that the examples herein are not mutually exclusive. Components from one embodiment may be assumed to exist in another embodiment by default, and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art how these components may be used in other exemplary embodiments.

[0084] More specifically, the following are embodiments related to a first node such as the first node 111 (eg, a P-CSCF node), and embodiments related to a second node such as the second node 112 (eg, an S-CSCF node).

[0085] Now refer to Figure 7 1 to 4. An embodiment of a method performed by a first node 111 is described with reference to the flowchart depicted in FIG. 1. The first node 111 manages a proxy call session control function P-CSCF in a first communication network 101. The method may be understood as being used to process identification of a second communication network 201. One of the first communication network 101 and the second communication network 201 is a home network, and the other of the first communication network 101 and the second communication network 201 is a visited network. In some embodiments, at least one of the first communication network 101 and the second communication network 201 may be a fifth generation (5G) network or a long term evolution (LTE) network.

[0086] In a specific example, the first communication network 101 may be a visited network, such as a VPMN.

[0087] Several embodiments are included herein. In some embodiments, all actions may be performed. In other embodiments, one or more actions may be performed. Where applicable, one or more embodiments may be combined. For the sake of simplicity of description, all possible combinations are not described. It should be noted that the examples herein are not mutually exclusive. Components from one embodiment may be assumed to exist in another embodiment by default, and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art how these components may be used in other exemplary embodiments. Figure 7 A non-limiting example of a method performed by the first node 111 is depicted in Figure 7 In the example, actions that may be optional in some examples are indicated by dashed boxes.

[0088] Action 701

[0089] During operation of the communication network 100, the device 230 may roam from its home network to a visited network. In some cases, the home network or visited network may be included in multiple communication networks 200, which may share the same identifier. For example, the multiple communication networks 200 may be multiple enterprises or plants sharing the same MCC and MNC. For example, in order to provide IMS services to the roaming device 230, the exact communication network in which the device 230 may roam as a visited network / the exact communication network from which it roams as a home network may need to be uniquely identified in order to fully handle the provision of IMS services to the device 230. IMS services may be understood as services provided by the IMS to a subscriber or services provided to an operator for a subscriber. This may be related to number and dialing plans, lawful interception, supplementary services, and special prohibition of related services when the subscriber may be roaming, etc.

[0090] Whether the communication network sharing a common identifier may be a home network or a visited network may become relevant based on, for example, the type of roaming that the device 230 may be using. As described above, in the home routing model of IMS roaming, the IMS function may be understood to be in the home network, and because many VPLMNs may share the same MCC+MNC, it may be necessary to distinguish between different VPLMNs that the device 230 may roam to. Since the home network cannot distinguish between different VPLMNs because they have the same MCC+MNC, an additional identifier may be required in the home network to identify different visited networks that share the same MCC+MNC.

[0091] In the LBO model, the first node 111 can be understood as being in a visited network, and may need to identify the correct home network in order to provide IMS during roaming. Since the existing mechanism for finding the home network can be understood as being based on MCC+MNC, and since many enterprises may share the same MCC+MNC, additional extensions may be required.

[0092] Consistent with the foregoing, in some embodiments, the first node 111 may be included in a visited network, while in other embodiments, the first node 111 may be included in a home network.

[0093] In order to facilitate the provision of IMS to the device 230 when roaming according to the foregoing, in this action 701, the first node 111 may obtain a unique identifier. The unique identifier uniquely identifies a second communication network 201 among a plurality of communication networks 200 that share a mobile network identifier. The unique identifier is based on: a) a mobile country code (MCC) and a mobile network code (MNC) corresponding to the shared public land mobile network identifier, and b) a subscriber identifier corresponding to the second communication network 201.

[0094] Acquiring may be understood as generating, determining, calculating, deriving or receiving from another node in the system of the communication network 100. Acquiring may also include retrieving from a memory.

[0095] In some embodiments, the subscriber identifier may be an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) series or an IMSI block number (IBN) corresponding to the second communication network 201. In other examples, the subscriber identifier may be an IMS Private User Identity (IMPI). That is, in some embodiments, a subscriber may be understood as an individual.

[0096] In other embodiments, the subscriber identifier may be an Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) organizational identity or a Network Access Identifier (NAI) corresponding to the second communication network 201. That is, in other embodiments, the subscriber may be understood as an organization, such as a factory or an enterprise.

[0097] In some embodiments, the obtaining in action 701 may be performed before generating Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) signaling to a) an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) core in the first communication network 101 or b) an application server in the first communication network 101 .

[0098] In some embodiments, the first communication network 101 may include a home routing roaming architecture, such as an SSHR architecture. Specific examples of each of these embodiments are described next.

[0099] S8HR and regular MNO subscribers roaming in Factory / NPN network:

[0100] In order to enable a Home Public Mobile Network (HPMN) IMS, i.e. a normal (i.e. current) MNO HPMN, to distinguish between different plants and / or enterprises sharing the same MNC and MCC, additional information may need to be considered before the first node 111 (e.g. P-CSCF) can generate SIP signaling towards the IMS core.

[0101] This may be based on the configuration of different IMSI families for different plants and / or enterprises and in addition to the MNC / MCC which may be received in action 701, for example in Fig. 9 In step 3, according to Annex W of 3GPP TS 23.228, the embodiment may also consider the IMSI series or IMSI block number (IBN), for example, provided by the ATIS IOC. It may be noted that, while the IMSI may not typically be used in the IMS, the IMPI may be used in the IMS. The IMPI may be generated by the device based on the IMSI, for example. A possible solution may be to configure the IMSI series or IBN for different plants and / or enterprises in the P-CSCF, and also consider the IMSI series or IBN when generating the P-Access Network Identifier (PVNI). For example, this may be a preconfigured addition to the PVNI defined in GSMAPRD IR.65, i.e., s8hr.ims.npn-id.mnc <mnc>.mcc <mcc>.3gppnetwork.org.

[0102] Note that this SIP header (ie PVNI) may need to be provided in additional SIP signalling, for example during call setup from the first node 111 (eg P-CSCF) to the IMS core and application server.

[0103] These embodiments can be understood as being based on a simple configuration and assuming that both parties agree to exchange the information that may be needed between the parties (e.g. between the respective operators of the first communication network 101 and the second communication network 201). Other models may make the solution more "automatic", but more complex. For example, additional information about the plant and / or enterprise identity, such as IMSI or IBN, can be provided to the home PDN-GW via SGW by MME and further provided to IMS via PCRF in action 701, and also for example when building PVNI in Fig. 9 It is used by IMS in step 3 of Fig. 9 .

[0104] Since this can also apply to 5GS and 5GC / NR roaming, since the configuration-based model may not affect the interaction with 5GC, the solution based on interaction with 5GC may mean that the first node 111 (e.g. P-CSCF) can retrieve information from the PCF via the Rx interface, see 23.501 of the 5GC architecture. The PCF may in turn need to retrieve information from the SMF / PDN Gateway (PGW-C) via N7 and retrieve information from the V-SMF and AMF via N16.

[0105] In another embodiment, the solution can use the identity defined by the NPN to perform identification of the access network, such as the IANA organization identity or the network access identifier (NAI). In this scenario, the identity can be provided by the 5GC entity defined by 3GPP.

[0106] NPN users roaming to other NPN networks or public PLMNs can also use NPN-defined identities, such as the IANA organization or NAI, to identify home networks and visited networks.

[0107] In other embodiments, the first communication network 101 may include a local breakout (LBO) architecture. Specific examples of each of these embodiments are described next.

[0108] IMS LBO roaming and factory / enterprise subscriber roaming in normal MNO:

[0109] For LBO roaming and routing of SIP registration to home (i.e., factory and / or enterprise), since the UE can generate the home domain name using the MNC and MCC from the IMSI based on 3GPPTS 23.003, the problem can be understood as it can be the same home domain name for multiple networks. For the first node 111, such as the P-CSCF and IBCF in the VPMN, it is possible to route the SIP registration to the correct HPMN, and additional differences may be required. One solution may again be that the first node 111, such as the VPMN P-CSCF, can use the IMPI, its IMSI part and local configuration to map the domain name to a unique domain name for a specific factory and / or enterprise. In any case, each of these factories and / or enterprises may need such a domain name, because the factory and / or enterprise and its subscribers may need to be reachable through the IMS network-to-network interface (NNI), and the interconnection between different operators can also be understood as a domain name built based on the operator's MNC and MCC, see GSMA PRD IR.67, "ims.mnc <mnc>.mcc <mcc>.3gppnetwork.org”.

[0110] As an example, the above content, i.e. ims.mnc <mnc>.mcc <mcc>.3gppnetwork.org, can be modified with the enterprise and / or factory, for example: <factory>.ims.mnc <mnc>.mcc <mcc>.3gppnetwork.org.

[0111] By obtaining the unique identifier in this action 701, the first node 111 may be able to identify a second communication network 201 among a plurality of communication networks 200 that share the same mobile network identifier, and may therefore be able to apply any rules or policies that may correspond to the device 230, or route communications to a Serving Call Session Control Function (S-CSCF) in order to provide the IMS to the device 230.

[0112] Action 702

[0113] In this action 702, the first node 111 processes the provision of IMS services to the device 230 operating in the visited network across the first communication network 101 and the second communication network 201. The processing in this action 702 is based on the obtained identifier. In the home network, the processing in this action 702 includes one of the following: i) application of a policy or rule, and b) routing the communication to a serving call session control function (S-CSCF), for example, to the second node 112.

[0114] IMS services may be based on SIP, for example based on SIP messaging or signaling.

[0115] In some embodiments, the processing in action 702 may include registering the device 230 roaming in the second communication network 201 as a visited public land mobile network (V-PLMN). In some such embodiments, the obtained identifier may be a private visit network identifier (PVNI).

[0116] In some embodiments, the first communication network 101 may include a home routing roaming architecture, such as an S8HR architecture. Some such embodiments may be those described in the previous paragraph.

[0117] In some embodiments, the processing in action 702 may include registering the device 230 roaming from the second communication network 201 as a home PLMN.

[0118] In some embodiments, the first communication network 101 may include a local breakout (LBO) architecture. Some such embodiments may be those described in the previous paragraph.

[0119] By providing IMS services to device 230 based on the identifier obtained in action 702, first node 111 may be able to appropriately apply any rules or policies that may correspond to device 230, or route communications to an S-CSCF that may correspond to device 230, so as to provide IMS to device 230.

[0120] Action 703

[0121] In this action 703 , the first node 111 may provide an indication of the obtained unique identifier to the second node 112 in one of the first communication network 101 and the second communication network 201 .

[0122] For example, the providing, eg, sending, may be performed via the first link 141 .

[0123] The first node 111 may be a P-CSCF in 5G.

[0124] The second node 112 may be an S-CSCF in 5G.

[0125] In some examples, the processing of act 702 and the providing of act 703 may be performed simultaneously and / or as part of the same process or act.

[0126] For example, the indication may be included in a SIP REGISTER request. The indication may be, for example, a PVNI or a PANI.

[0127] By providing the indication in this action 703, the first node 111 may enable the second node 112 to identify, based on the received identifier, the second communication network 201 among the plurality of communication networks 200 that share the same mobile network identifier, and thereby enable the second node 112 to adequately provide the IMS service to the device 230, for example obtaining a subscriber profile corresponding to the device 230 from the correct HSS upon registration, for example to determine to which application server any service request may need to be sent, in order to enable routing of SIP messages as part of the service establishment process.

[0128] Now refer to Figure 8 1 to describe an embodiment of a method performed by the second node 112. The method may be understood as being used to process the identification of the second communication network 201. The second node 112 operates in one of the first communication network 101 and the second communication network 201. As previously described, one of the first communication network 101 and the second communication network 201 is a home network, and the other of the first communication network 101 and the second communication network 201 is a visited network.

[0129] In some embodiments, at least one of the first communication network 101 and the second communication network 201 may be a 5G network or an LTE network.

[0130] The method may include one or more of the following actions. Several embodiments are included herein. Where applicable, one or more embodiments may be combined. It should be noted that the examples herein are not mutually exclusive. Components from one embodiment may be assumed to exist in another embodiment by default, and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art how these components may be used in other embodiments. For the sake of simplicity of description, all possible combinations are not described. Figure 8 A non-limiting example of a method performed by the second node 112 is depicted in FIG. With respect to the actions described for the first node 111, the detailed description of some of the following contents corresponds to the same contents provided above, and thus is not repeated here to simplify the description. For example, the IMS service may be based on SIP, such as based on SIP information or signaling.

[0131] Action 801

[0132] In this action 801, the second node 112 receives an indication of a unique identifier. The unique identifier uniquely identifies a second communication network 201 of the plurality of communication networks 200 sharing a mobile network identifier. The unique identifier is based on: a) an MCC and an MNC corresponding to the shared public land mobile network identifier, and b) a subscriber identifier corresponding to the second communication network 201.

[0133] The receiving in action 801 may be implemented, for example, via the first link 141 .

[0134] In some embodiments, the subscriber identifier may be an IMSI series or an IBN corresponding to the second communication network 201. That is, in some embodiments, a subscriber may be understood as an individual.

[0135] In some embodiments, the indicated identifier may be a PVNI.

[0136] In other embodiments, the subscriber identifier may be an Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) organizational identity or a Network Access Identifier (NAI) corresponding to the second communication network 201. That is, in other embodiments, the subscriber may be understood as an organization or an enterprise.

[0137] In some embodiments, the first communication network 101 may include a home routing roaming architecture.

[0138] In some embodiments, the first communication network 101 may include a LBO architecture.

[0139] In some embodiments, the receiving in action 801 may be performed before generating SIP signaling to a) an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem IMS core in the first communication network 101 or b) an application server in the first communication network 101 .

[0140] The receiving in action 801 may be performed, for example, via the first link 141 .

[0141] The advantages of action 801 may be understood to correspond to the advantages provided by action 703 .

[0142] Action 802

[0143] In this action 802, the second node 112 processes the provision of IMS services to the device 230 operating in the visited network across the first communication network 101 and the second communication network 201. The processing is based on the received identifier.

[0144] The processing in action 802 may, for example, include obtaining a subscriber profile corresponding to device 230 from the correct HSS upon registration, for example to determine to which application server any service requests may need to be sent in order to enable routing of SIP messages as part of the service establishment process.

[0145] The advantages of action 802 may be understood to correspond to the advantages described in action 703 .

[0146] Example:

[0147] Some embodiments of the present invention will now be further described using some non-limiting examples. In the following description and in the examples of the embodiments described above, any reference to a / P-CSCF can be understood to refer to the first node 111 as well; any reference to a / I / S-CSCF can be understood to refer to the second node 112 as well; any reference to a / UE and / or a / "subscriber" or "MNO subscriber" can be understood to refer to the device 230 as well.

[0148] You can refer to Fig. 9 Signaling diagram. Fig. 9 Depicts a non-limiting example of how the procedures described in 3GPP TS 23.228, Annex W may be adapted to implement the embodiments herein. In particular, Fig. 9 The signaling that may occur during the IMS initial registration at the first node 111 (P-CSCF) to subscribe to the change of PLMN ID in the device 230 (here UE) with the H-PCRF or PCF 901 is described. Fig. 9 In the Figures 6 to 8 The second node 112 in this example is the interrogation (I) / S-CSCF. For this model, consider Fig. 9 In the call flow, the first node 111 (ie, P-CSCF) may be in the VPMN (ie, the first communication network 101), and the IBCF / TrGW may be in the boundary between the VPMN and the HPMN. Fig. 9 Not shown in the figure, and the rest of the IMS may be in the HPMN.

[0149] Fig. 9 The above functions in can then be applied to the VPMN P-CSCF. In step 1, the device 230 sends a SIP REGISTER request to the first node 111. In step 2, if this is an initial IMS registration, the first node 111 subscribes to the H-PCRF or PCF 901 to be informed of the PLMN ID to which the device 230 is currently attached. In step 3, the H-PCRF or PCF 901 forwards the PLMN ID to the first node 111. The first node 111 stores the PLMN ID. According to action 701, the first node 111 can then obtain (e.g., determine) a unique identifier. According to action 702, the first node 111 can then process 702 to provide the IMS to the device 230, and based on the obtained identifier, send a SIP REGISTER request to the appropriate IS-CSCF identified according to the obtained unique identifier. According to action 703, the first node 111 can provide the obtained unique identifier in the SIP REGISTER at the same time before forwarding the request. Then in step 5, the IMS registration process is completed.

[0150] The embodiments disclosed herein may be understood to provide advantages for enabling support for IMS roaming in deployment scenarios that may involve networks that do not have a unique MCC+MNC combination (eg, shared PLMNid, non-public network, etc.).

[0151] Fig.10 Two different examples of arrangements that the first node 111 may include are depicted in panels a) and b), respectively. In some embodiments, the first node 111 may include Fig.10 The following arrangement is depicted in a of . The first node 111 is configured to manage the P-CSCF in the first communication network 101, and the first node 111 can be understood as being used to handle the identification of the second communication network 201. One of the first communication network 101 and the second communication network 201 is configured to be a home network, and the other of the first communication network 101 and the second communication network 201 is configured to be a visited network. Several embodiments are included herein. Components from one embodiment may be assumed to exist in another embodiment by default, and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art how these components may be used in other exemplary embodiments. Regarding the actions described for the first network node 111, some specific descriptions of the following content correspond to the same content provided above and are not repeated here. For example, an IMS service may be based on SIP, such as based on SIP information or signaling.

[0152] exist Fig.10 Optional units are shown in dashed boxes.

[0153] The first node 111 is configured to perform the acquisition of action 701, for example, by an acquisition unit 1001 in the first node 111, the acquisition unit 1001 being configured to acquire a unique identifier. The unique identifier is configured to uniquely identify a second communication network 201 among a plurality of communication networks 200 configured to share a mobile network identifier. The unique identifier is configured to be based on: a) an MCC and an MNC configured to correspond to the shared PLMN identifier, and b) a subscriber identifier configured to correspond to the second communication network 201. The acquisition unit 1001 may be a processor 1005 of the first node 111 or an application running on such a processor.

[0154] The first node 111 is also configured to perform the processing of action 702, for example, by a processing unit 1002 in the first node 111, the processing unit 1002 being configured to process the provision of IMS services to a device 230 configured to operate in a visited network across the first communication network 101 and the second communication network 201. The processing is configured to be based on an identifier configured to be obtained. In the home network, the processing is further configured to include one of: i) application of a policy or rule, and b) routing the communication to the S-CSCF. The processing unit 1002 may be a processor 1005 of the first node 111 or an application running on such a processor.

[0155] The first node 111 may be configured to perform the provision of action 703, for example, by a providing unit 1003 in the first node 111, the providing unit 1003 being configured to provide an indication of the unique identifier configured to be obtained to the second node 112 in one of the first communication network 101 and the second communication network 201. The providing unit 1003 may be a processor 1005 of the first node 111 or an application running on such a processor.

[0156] In some embodiments, the subscriber identifier may be configured as an IMSI series or an IBN corresponding to the second communication network 201 .

[0157] In some embodiments, the subscriber identifier may be configured to be an IANA organizational identity or NAI corresponding to the second communication network 201 .

[0158] In some embodiments, the process may include registering the device 230 configured to roam in the second communication network 201 as a visiting PLMN, and the identifier configured to be acquired may be configured as a PVNI.

[0159] In some embodiments, the first communication network 101 may be configured to include a home-routed roaming architecture.

[0160] In some embodiments, the process may be configured to include registering the device 230 configured to roam from the second communication network 201 as a home PLMN.

[0161] In some embodiments, the first communication network 101 may be configured to include a LBO architecture.

[0162] In some embodiments, the obtaining may be configured to be performed before generating session initiation protocol signaling to a) an IMS core in the first communication network 101 or b) an application server in the first communication network 101 .

[0163] In some embodiments, at least one of the first communication network 101 and the second communication network 201 may be configured to be a 5G network or an LTE network.

[0164] The other unit 1004 may be included in the first node 111 .

[0165] In the embodiment of the first node 111 of the present invention, one or more processors (such as Fig.10 The processor 1005 in the first node 111 depicted in a of FIG. 1005) together with the computer program code for performing the functions and actions of the embodiments of this document is implemented. As used herein, a processor can be understood as a hardware component. The above program code can also be provided as a computer program product in the form of, for example, a data carrier, which carries the computer program code for performing the embodiments of this document when loaded into the first node 111. Such a carrier can be in the form of a CD ROM disk. However, it is also feasible to be other data carriers such as a memory stick. The computer program can also be provided as a pure program code on a server and downloaded to the first node 111.

[0166] The first node 111 may further include a memory 1006, which includes one or more memory units. The memory 1006 is arranged to store acquired information, store data, configurations, schedules and applications, etc., and is used to perform the methods herein when executed in the first node 111.

[0167] In some embodiments, the first node 111 may receive information from, for example, the second node 112, the device 230, or any other node via the receive port 1007. In some embodiments, the receive port 1007 may be connected, for example, to one or more antennas in the first node 111. In other embodiments, the first node 111 may receive information from another structure in the communication network 100 via the receive port 1007. Since the receive port 1007 may communicate with the processor 1005, the receive port 1007 may then send the received information to the processor 1005. The receive port 1007 may also be configured to receive other information.

[0168] The processor 1005 in the first node 111 may also be configured to transmit or send information to, for example, the second node 112 , the device 230 , or any other node or other structure in the communication network 100 via a transmission port 1008 , which may be in communication with the processor 1005 and the memory 1006 .

[0169] Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the above-mentioned units 1001 to 1004 may refer to a combination of analog and digital circuits and / or one or more processors configured with software and / or firmware stored, for example, in a memory, which, when executed by one or more processors, such as processor 1005, is executed as described above. One or more of these processors and other digital hardware may be included in a single application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or several processors and various digital hardware may be distributed among several separate components, whether packaged separately or assembled into a system on a chip (SoC).

[0170] Likewise, in some embodiments, the above-mentioned different units 1001 to 1004 may be implemented as one or more applications running on one or more processors (such as processor 1005 ).

[0171] Therefore, the methods according to the embodiments described herein for the first node 111 may be respectively implemented by a computer program 1009 product, which includes instructions (i.e., software code portions) that, when executed on at least one processor 1005, cause at least one processor 1005 to perform the actions described herein as performed by the first node 111. The computer program 1009 product may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium 1010. The computer-readable storage medium 1010 having the computer program 1009 stored thereon may include instructions that, when executed on at least one processor 1005, cause at least one processor 1005 to perform the actions described herein as performed by the first node 111. In some embodiments, the computer-readable storage medium 1010 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (such as a CD ROM disk or a memory stick). In other embodiments, the computer program 1009 product may be stored on a carrier containing the computer program 1009 just described, wherein the carrier is one of an electrical signal, an optical signal, a radio signal, or a computer-readable storage medium 1010 as described above.

[0172] The first node 111 may include a communication interface configured to facilitate communication between the first node 111 and other nodes or devices (e.g., the second node 112, the device 230, or any other node). The interface may, for example, include a transceiver configured to send and receive radio signals over an air interface according to a suitable standard.

[0173] In other embodiments, the first node 111 may include Fig.10 The first node 111 may include a processing circuit 1005 in the first node 111, for example, one or more processors (such as the processor 1005) and a memory 1006. The first node 111 may also include a radio circuit 1011, which may include, for example, a receiving port 1007 and a transmitting port 1008. The processing circuit 1005 may be configured or operable to communicate with the Fig.10 A similar method is performed according to the description of Figure 7 , Fig. 9 and / or Figures 13 to 17 The radio circuit 1011 may be configured to at least establish and maintain a wireless connection with the second node 112, the device 230 and / or any other node. A circuit may be understood herein as a hardware component.

[0174] Therefore, embodiments herein also relate to a first node 111 operable to operate in a communication network 100. The first node 111 may include a processing circuit 1005 and a memory 1006, wherein the memory 1006 contains instructions executable by the processing circuit 1005, whereby the first node 111 is also operable to perform the actions described herein with respect to the first node 111 (e.g., Figure 7 , Fig. 9 and / or Figures 13 to 17 middle).

[0175] Fig.11 Two different examples of arrangements that the second node 112 may include are depicted in panels a) and b), respectively. In some embodiments, the second node 112 may include Fig.11 The following arrangement depicted in a of . The second node 112 can be understood as being used to process the identification of the second communication network 201. The second node 112 is configured to operate in one of the first communication network 101 and the second communication network 201. One of the first communication network 101 and the second communication network 201 is configured to be a home network, and the other of the first communication network 101 and the second communication network 201 is configured to be a visited network. Several embodiments are included herein. Several embodiments are included herein. Components from one embodiment may be assumed to exist in another embodiment by default, and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art how these components may be used in other exemplary embodiments. Regarding the actions described for the second node 112, some of the specific descriptions of the following content correspond to the same content provided above, and are not repeated here. For example, an IMS service may be based on SIP, such as based on SIP information or signaling.

[0176] exist Fig.11 Optional units are shown in dashed boxes.

[0177] The second node 112 is configured to perform the reception of action 801, for example by a receiving unit 1101 in the second node 112, the receiving unit 1101 being configured to receive an indication of a unique identifier. The unique identifier is configured to uniquely identify a second communication network 201 among a plurality of communication networks 200 that share a mobile network identifier. The unique identifier is further configured to be based on: a) an MCC and an MNC corresponding to the shared PLMN identifier, and b) a subscriber identifier corresponding to the second communication network 201. The receiving unit 1101 may be a processor 1104 of the second node 112 or an application running on such a processor.

[0178] The second node 112 may also be configured to perform the processing of action 802, for example, by a processing unit 1101 in the second node 112, the processing unit 1101 being configured to process providing IMS services to a device 230 configured to operate in a visited network across the first communication network 101 and the second communication network 201. The processing is configured to be based on an identifier configured to be received. The receiving unit 1101 may be a processor 1104 of the second node 112 or an application running on such a processor.

[0179] In some embodiments, the subscriber identifier may be configured as an IMSI series or an IBN corresponding to the second communication network 201 .

[0180] In some embodiments, the subscriber identifier may be configured to be an IANA organizational identity or NAI corresponding to the second communication network 201 .

[0181] In some embodiments, the indicated identifier may be configured to be a PVNI.

[0182] In some embodiments, the first communication network 101 may be configured to include a home-routed roaming architecture.

[0183] In some embodiments, the first communication network 101 may be configured to include a LBO architecture.

[0184] In some embodiments, the obtaining may be configured to be performed before generating session initiation protocol signaling to a) an IMS core in the first communication network 101 or b) an application server in the first communication network 101 .

[0185] In some embodiments, at least one of the first communication network 101 and the second communication network 201 may be configured to be a 5G network or an LTE network.

[0186] The other unit 1103 may be included in the second node 112 .

[0187] In the embodiment of the second node 112 of the present invention, one or more processors (such as Fig.11 The computer program code can be implemented by a processor 1104 in the second node 112 depicted in a of FIG. 1 together with a computer program code for performing the functions and actions of the embodiments herein. As used herein, a processor can be understood as a hardware component. The above program code can also be provided as a computer program product in the form of, for example, a data carrier, which carries the computer program code for executing the embodiments herein when loaded into the second node 112. Such a carrier can be in the form of a CD ROM disk. However, it is also feasible to be other data carriers such as a memory stick. The computer program can also be provided as a pure program code on a server and downloaded to the second node 112.

[0188] The second node 112 may further include a memory 1105 including one or more memory units. The memory 1105 is arranged to store acquired information, store data, configurations, schedules and applications, etc., to perform the methods herein when executed in the second node 112.

[0189] In some embodiments, the second node 112 may receive information from, for example, the first node 111, the device 230, or any other node via the receive port 1106. In some embodiments, the receive port 1106 may be connected, for example, to one or more antennas in the second node 112. In other embodiments, the second node 112 may receive information from another structure in the communication network 100 via the receive port 1106. Since the receive port 1106 may communicate with the processor 1104, the receive port 1106 may then send the received information to the processor 1104. The receive port 1106 may also be configured to receive other information.

[0190] The processor 1104 in the second node 112 may also be configured to transmit or send information to, for example, the first node 111 , the device 230 , or any other node or other structure in the communication network 100 via a transmission port 1107 , which may communicate with the processor 1104 and the memory 1105 .

[0191] Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the above-mentioned units 1101 to 1103 may refer to a combination of analog and digital circuits and / or one or more processors configured with software and / or firmware stored, for example, in a memory, which, when executed by one or more processors, such as processor 1104, is executed as described above. One or more of these processors and other digital hardware may be included in a single application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or several processors and various digital hardware may be distributed among several separate components, whether packaged separately or assembled into a system on a chip (SoC).

[0192] Likewise, in some embodiments, the above-mentioned different units 1101 to 1103 may be implemented as one or more applications running on one or more processors (such as processor 1104 ).

[0193] Thus, the methods according to the embodiments described herein for the second node 112 may be respectively implemented by a computer program 1108 product, which includes instructions (i.e., software code portions) that, when executed on at least one processor 1104, cause at least one processor 1104 to perform the actions described herein as performed by the second node 112. The computer program 1108 product may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium 1109. The computer-readable storage medium 1109 on which the computer program 1108 is stored may include instructions that, when executed on at least one processor 1104, cause at least one processor 1104 to perform the actions described herein as performed by the second node 112. In some embodiments, the computer-readable storage medium 1109 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (such as a CDROM disk or a memory stick). In other embodiments, the computer program 1108 product may be stored on a carrier containing the computer program 1108 just described, wherein the carrier is one of an electrical signal, an optical signal, a radio signal, or a computer-readable storage medium 1109 as described above.

[0194] The second node 112 may include a communication interface configured to facilitate communication between the second node 112 and other nodes or devices (e.g., the first node 111, the device 230, or any other node or other structure). The interface may, for example, include a transceiver configured to send and receive radio signals over an air interface according to a suitable standard.

[0195] In other embodiments, the second node 112 may include Fig.11 The second node 112 may include a processing circuit 1104 in the second node 112, such as one or more processors (such as the processor 1104) and a memory 1105. The second node 112 may also include a radio circuit 1210, which may include, for example, a receiving port 1106 and a transmitting port 1107. The processing circuit 1104 may be configured or operable to communicate with the Fig.11 A similar method is performed according to the description of Figure 8 , Fig. 9 and / or Figures 13 to 17 The radio circuit 1210 may be configured to at least establish and maintain a wireless connection with the first node 111, the device 230 and / or any other node. A circuit may be understood herein as a hardware component.

[0196] Therefore, embodiments herein also relate to a second node 112 operable to operate in the communication network 100. The second node 112 may include a processing circuit 1104 and a memory 1105, wherein the memory 1105 contains commands executable by the processing circuit 1104, whereby the second node 112 is also operable to perform the actions described herein with respect to the second node 112 (e.g., Figure 8 , Fig. 9 and / or Figures 13 to 17 middle).

[0197] As used herein, the expression "at least one of:" followed by a list of alternatives separated by commas, and wherein the last alternative is preceded by an "and" term, may be understood as only one of the alternatives in the list may be applicable, more than one of the alternatives in the list may be applicable, or all of the alternatives in the list may be applicable. This expression may be understood to be equivalent to the expression "at least one of:" followed by a list of alternatives separated by commas, and wherein the last alternative is preceded by an "or" term.

[0198] When the word "comprises" or "comprising" is used, it should be interpreted as non-limiting, ie meaning "consisting at least of...".

[0199] A processor may be understood herein as a hardware component.

[0200] The embodiments herein are not limited to the preferred embodiments described above. Various alternatives, modifications and equivalents may be used. Therefore, the embodiments described above should not be understood to limit the scope of the present invention.

[0201] Further expansion and changes

[0202] Fig.12 : A telecommunications network connected to a host computer via an intermediate network according to some embodiments

[0203] refer to Fig.12 According to one embodiment, the communication system includes a telecommunication network 1210, such as any one of the first communication network 101 and the second communication network 201, the telecommunication network 1210 is, for example, a 3GPP type cellular network, which includes an access network 1211 such as a radio access network and a core network 1214. The core network 1214 includes a plurality of nodes, such as any one of the first node 111 and / or the second node 112. The access network 1211 includes a plurality of base stations 1212a, 1212b, 1212c, such as NBs, eNBs, gNBs or other types of wireless access points, each base station defining a corresponding coverage area 1213a, 1213b, 1213c. Each base station 1212a, 1212b, 1212c can be connected to the core network 1214 via a wired or wireless connection 1215. In Fig.12 , a first UE 1291 located in a coverage area 1213c is configured to be wirelessly connected to or paged by a corresponding base station 1212c. A second UE 1292 in a coverage area 1213a may be wirelessly connected to a corresponding base station 1212a. Although multiple UEs 1291, 1292 are shown in this example, the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable to situations where a sole UE is located in a coverage area or a sole UE is connected to a corresponding base station 1212. Any of the UEs 1291, 1292 may be considered to act as an example of a device 230.

[0204] The telecommunications network 1210 itself is connected to a host computer 1230, which may be implemented in hardware and / or software as a standalone server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, or as a processing resource in a server cluster. The host computer 1230 may be owned or controlled by a service provider, or may be operated by or on behalf of a service provider. The connections 1221, 1222 between the telecommunications network 1210 and the host computer 1230 may extend directly from the core network 1214 to the host computer 1230, or may pass through an optional intermediate network 1220. The intermediate network 1220 may be one or more of a public, private, or managed network; the intermediate network 1220 (if present) may be a backbone network or the Internet; specifically, the intermediate network 1220 may include two or more subnetworks (not shown).

[0205] Fig.12 The communication system as a whole implements a connection between the connected UEs 1291, 1292 and the host computer 1230. The connection may be described as an over-the-top (OTT) connection 1250. The host computer 1230 and the connected UEs 1291, 1292 are configured to transmit data and / or signaling via the OTT connection 1250 using the access network 1211, the core network 1214, any intermediate networks 1220, and possible other infrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries. The OTT connection 1250 may be transparent in the sense that the participating communication devices through which the OTT connection 1250 passes are unaware of the routing of the uplink and downlink communications. For example, the base station 1212 may not be informed or may not need to be informed of the past routing of the incoming downlink communication with data originating from the host computer 1230 to be forwarded (e.g., handed over) to the connected UE 1291. Similarly, the base station 1212 need not be aware of the future routing of outgoing uplink communications originating from the UE 1291 to the host computer 1230 .

[0206] Regarding the following description Fig.13 , Fig.14 , Fig.15 , Fig.16 and Fig.17 It can be understood that the UE can be considered as an example of the device 230, and any description provided for the UE is also applicable to the device 230. It can also be understood that the core network node is an example of any one of the first node 111 and / or the second node 112, and any description provided for the core network node is also applicable to any one of the first node 111 and / or the second node 112.

[0207] Fig.13 : A host computer that communicates with a user device over a partially wireless connection via a base station according to some embodiments.

[0208] Now refer to Fig.13 An example implementation of a UE according to an embodiment is described as an example of the device 230, base station, and host computer discussed in the above paragraphs. In a communication system 1300 such as any one of the first communication network 101 and the second communication network 201, a host computer 1310 includes hardware 1315, the hardware 1315 including a communication interface 1316, the communication interface 1316 being configured to establish and maintain a wired connection or a wireless connection with an interface of different communication devices of the communication system 1300. The host computer 1310 also includes a processing circuit 1318, which may have storage capacity and / or processing capacity. In particular, the processing circuit 1318 may include one or more programmable processors, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or a combination of such devices (not shown) suitable for executing instructions. The host computer 1310 also includes software 1311, which is stored in or accessible by the host computer 1310 and can be executed by the processing circuit 1318. The software 1311 includes a host application 1312. The host application 1312 is operable to provide services to a remote user, such as a UE 1330, connected via an OTT connection 1350 terminated at the UE 1330 and the host computer 1310. In providing services to the remote user, the host application 1312 may provide user data sent using the OTT connection 1350.

[0209] The communication system 1300 also includes a base station 1320 provided in the telecommunication system, which includes hardware 1325 enabling it to communicate with the host computer 1310 and the UE 1330. The hardware 1325 may include: a communication interface 1326 for establishing and maintaining a wired or wireless connection between interfaces of different communication devices of the communication system 1300; and a radio interface 1327 for establishing and maintaining at least a connection with a network located in a coverage area (in a region) served by the base station 1320. Fig.13 The communication interface 1326 may be configured to facilitate a connection 1360 with the host computer 1310. The connection 1360 may be direct, or it may pass through a core network of the telecommunications system (in Fig.13 1320) and / or through one or more intermediate networks external to the telecommunications system. In the illustrated embodiment, the hardware 1325 of the base station 1320 also includes processing circuitry 1328, which may include one or more programmable processors, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or combinations thereof (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. The base station 1320 also has software 1321 stored internally or accessible via an external connection.

[0210] The communication system 1300 also includes the UE 1330 already mentioned. Its hardware 1335 may include a radio interface 1337, which is configured to establish and maintain a wireless connection 1370 with a base station serving the coverage area where the UE 1330 is currently located. The hardware 1335 of the UE 1330 also includes a processing circuit 1338, which may include one or more programmable processors, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or a combination of such devices (not shown) suitable for executing instructions. The UE 1330 also includes software 1331, which is stored in the UE 1330 or can be accessed by the UE 1330 and can be executed by the processing circuit 1338. The software 1331 includes a client application 1332. The client application 1332 is operable to provide services to human or non-human users via the UE 1330 under the support of the host computer 1310. In the host computer 1310, the executing host application 1312 can communicate with the executing client application 1332 via the OTT connection 1350, which is terminated at the UE 1330 and the host computer 1310. When providing services to users, the client application 1332 can receive request data from the host application 1312 and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 1350 can transmit both the request data and the user data. The client application 1332 can interact with the user to generate user data provided by the user.

[0211] It is worth noting that Fig.13 The host computer 1310, base station 1320 and UE 1330 shown in FIG. Fig.12 The host computer 1230, one of the base stations 1212a, 1212b, 1212c, and one of the UEs 1291, 1292 may be similar or identical. That is, the internal workings of these entities may be similar to or identical to those of the host computer 1230, one of the base stations 1212a, 1212b, 1212c, and one of the UEs 1291, Fig.13 As shown, and independently, the surrounding network topology can be Fig.12 network topology.

[0212] exist Fig.13 , an OTT connection 1350 has been abstractly drawn to illustrate communications between a host computer 1310 and a UE 1330 via a base station 1320, without explicitly mentioning any intermediate devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices. The network infrastructure may determine the routing, which may be configured to be hidden from the UE 1330 or hidden from the service provider operating the host computer 1310, or both. While the OTT connection 1350 is active, the network infrastructure may also make decisions that it dynamically changes the routing (e.g., based on load balancing considerations or reconfiguration of the network).

[0213] The wireless connection 1370 between the UE 1330 and the base station 1320 is in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout the present disclosure. One or more of the various embodiments improves the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 1330 using the OTT connection 1350, wherein the wireless connection 1370 forms the last leg in the OTT connection 1350. More specifically, the teachings of these embodiments can improve latency, signaling overhead, and service interruption, thereby providing benefits such as reduced user waiting time, better responsiveness, and extended battery life.

[0214] For the purpose of monitoring the data rate, latency and other factors improved by one or more embodiments, a measurement process may be provided. There may also be an optional network function for reconfiguring the OTT connection 1350 between the host computer 1310 and the UE 1330 in response to changes in the measurement results. The measurement process and / or network function for reconfiguring the OTT connection 1350 may be implemented in software 1311 and hardware 1315 of the host computer 1310 or in software 1331 and hardware 1335 of the UE 1330 or in both. In an embodiment, a sensor (not shown) may be deployed in or associated with a communication device through which the OTT connection 1350 passes; the sensor may participate in the measurement process by providing the value of the monitored quantity of the above example or providing the value of other physical quantities that the software 1311, 1331 can use to calculate or estimate the monitored quantity. Reconfiguration of the OTT connection 1350 may include message formats, retransmission settings, preferred routes, etc.; the reconfiguration need not affect the base station 1320, and the reconfiguration may be unaware or imperceptible to the base station 1320. Such processes and functions may be known and practiced in the art. In a particular embodiment, the measurement may involve proprietary UE signaling that facilitates the host computer 1310 to measure throughput, propagation time, latency, etc. The measurement may be implemented as follows: the software 1311 and 1331 enables the use of the OTT connection 1350 to send messages (specifically, empty messages or "fake" messages) while it monitors propagation time, errors, etc.

[0215] Fig.14 : Method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment according to some embodiments

[0216] Fig.14 is a flow chart showing a method implemented in a communication system according to an embodiment. The communication system includes: a host computer, a base station and a UE, which can be a reference Fig.12 and Fig.13 For the sake of simplicity of this disclosure, only the host computers, base stations and UEs described herein will be included in this section. Fig.14 In step 1410, the host computer provides user data. In sub-step 1411 of step 1410 (which may be optional), the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In step 1420, the host computer initiates a transmission to the UE that carries the user data. In step 1430 (which may be optional), in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout the present disclosure, the base station sends the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the host computer to the UE. In step 1440 (which may also be optional), the UE executes a client application associated with the host application executed by the host computer.

[0217] The first node 111 embodiment involves Figure 6 , Figure 7 , Fig. 9 , Fig.10 and Figures 12 to 17 .

[0218] The first node 111 may include an interface unit to facilitate communication between the first node 111 and other nodes or devices (e.g., the second node 112, the device 230, the host computer 1310, or any other node). In some specific examples, the interface may, for example, include a transceiver configured to send and receive radio signals over an air interface according to a suitable standard.

[0219] The first node 111 may include Fig.10 or Fig.13 Arrangement shown.

[0220] The first node 111 may also be configured to communicate user data with a host application unit in the host computer 1310 , for example via another link such as 1350 .

[0221] The second node 112 embodiment involves Figure 6 , Figure 8 , Fig. 9 , Fig.11 and Figures 12 to 17 .

[0222] The second node 112 may include an interface unit to facilitate communication between the second node 112 and other nodes or devices (e.g., the first node 111, the device 230, the host computer 1310, or any other node). In some specific examples, the interface may, for example, include a transceiver configured to send and receive radio signals over an air interface according to an appropriate standard.

[0223] The second node 112 may also be configured to communicate user data with a host application unit in the host computer 1310 , for example via another link such as 1350 .

[0224] The second node 112 may include Fig.11 or Fig.13 Arrangement shown.

[0225] Fig.15 : Method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment according to some embodiments

[0226] Fig.15 is a flow chart showing a method implemented in a communication system according to an embodiment. The communication system includes: a host computer, a base station and a UE, which can be a reference Fig.12 and Fig.13 For the sake of simplicity of this disclosure, only the host computers, base stations and UEs described herein will be included in this section. Fig.15 In step 1510 of the method, the host computer provides user data. In an optional sub-step (not shown), the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In step 1520, the host computer initiates a transmission to the UE carrying the user data. According to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout the present disclosure, the transmission may be delivered via a base station. In step 1530 (which may be optional), the UE receives the user data carried in the transmission.

[0227] Fig.16 : Method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment according to some embodiments

[0228] Fig.16 is a flow chart showing a method implemented in a communication system according to an embodiment. The communication system includes: a host computer, a base station and a UE, which can be a reference Fig.12 and Fig.13 In order to simplify the present disclosure, only the host computers, base stations and UEs described herein are included in this section. Fig.16 . In step 1610 (which may be optional), the UE receives input data provided by the host computer. Additionally or alternatively, in a second step 1620, the UE provides user data. In sub-step 1621 of step 1620 (which may be optional), the UE provides user data by executing a client application. In sub-step 1611 of step 1610 (which may be optional), the UE executes a client application that provides user data in response to received input data provided by the host computer. When providing user data, the executed client application may also consider user input received from the user. Regardless of the specific manner of providing user data, the UE initiates transmission of user data to the host computer in sub-step 1630 (which may be optional). In step 1640 of the method, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout the present disclosure, the host computer receives user data sent from the UE.

[0229] Fig.17 : Method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment according to some embodiments

[0230] Fig.17 is a flow chart showing a method implemented in a communication system according to an embodiment. The communication system includes: a host computer, a base station and a UE, which can be a reference Fig.12 and Fig.13 For the sake of simplicity of this disclosure, only the host computers, base stations and UEs described herein will be included in this section. Fig.17 In step 1710 (which may be optional), in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the base station receives user data from the UE. In step 1720 (which may be optional), the base station initiates a transmission of the received user data to the host computer. In step 1730 (which may be optional), the host computer receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the base station.

[0231] Any suitable steps, methods, features, functions or benefits disclosed herein may be performed by one or more functional units or modules of one or more virtual devices. Each virtual device may include a plurality of these functional units. These functional units may be implemented by a processing circuit, which may include one or more microprocessors or microcontrollers and other digital hardware (may include a digital signal processor (DSP), dedicated digital logic, etc.). The processing circuit may be configured to execute program codes stored in a memory, which may include one or more types of memory, such as a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a cache memory, a flash memory device, an optical storage device, etc., and the program codes stored in the memory include program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and / or data communication protocols, and instructions for executing one or more technologies described herein. In some implementations, the processing circuit may be used to cause the corresponding functional unit to perform corresponding functions according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0232] The term unit may have a conventional meaning in the field of electronics, electrical devices and / or electronic devices, and may include, for example, electrical and / or electronic circuits, devices, modules, processors, memories, logical solid-state and / or discrete devices, computer programs or instructions for performing corresponding tasks, processes, calculations, output and / or display functions, etc., such as those described herein.

[0233] References

[0234] 1.CBRSA-TR-0100 V1.0.0_Identifier Guidelines for Shared HNI.docx.< / mcc> < / mnc> < / factory> < / mcc> < / mnc> < / mcc> < / mnc> < / mcc> < / mnc>

Claims

1. A method performed by a first node (111) that manages a proxy call session control function in a first communication network (101), the method for processing an identification of a second communication network (201), wherein: One of the first communication network (101) and the second communication network (201) is a home network, and the other of the first communication network (101) and the second communication network (201) is a visited network, the method comprising: Obtaining (701) a unique identifier, the unique identifier uniquely identifying the second communication network (201) among a plurality of communication networks (200) sharing a mobile network identifier, the unique identifier being based on: a) the Mobile Country Code (MCC) and the Mobile Network Code (MNC) corresponding to the shared public land mobile network identifier, and b) a subscriber identifier corresponding to the second communication network (201), and A process (702) provides an IP Multimedia Subsystem service to a device (230) operating in the visited network across the first communication network (101) and the second communication network (201), the process (702) being based on the obtained identifier, in the home network, the process (702) comprising one of the following: i) apply policies or rules, and ii) Routes the communication to the Serving Call Session Control Function S-CSCF.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: An indication of the obtained unique identifier is provided (703) to a second node (112) in one of the first communication network (101) and the second communication network (201).

3. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein: The subscriber identifier is an International Mobile Subscriber Identity IMSI series or an IMSI block number IBN corresponding to the second communication network (201).

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein: The subscriber identifier is an Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) organizational identity or a Network Access Identifier (NAI) corresponding to the second communication network (201).

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: The process (702) includes registering a device (230) roaming in the second communication network (201) as a visited public land mobile network PLMN, and wherein the obtained identifier is a visited private network identifier PVNI.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein: The first communication network (101) comprises a home routing roaming architecture.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: The process (702) includes registering the device (230) roaming from the second communication network (201) as a home PLMN.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein: The first communication network (101) comprises a local breakout (LBO) architecture.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein: The obtaining (701) is performed before generating a session initiation protocol signaling to a) an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem IMS core in the first communication network (101) or b) an application server in the first communication network (101).

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein: At least one of the first communication network (101) and the second communication network (201) is a fifth generation 5G network or a long term evolution LTE network.

11. A method performed by a second node (112) for processing an identification of a second communication network (201), the second node (112) operating (201) in one of a first communication network (101) and a second communication network, wherein: One of the first communication network (101) and the second communication network (201) is a home network, and the other of the first communication network (101) and the second communication network (201) is a visited network, the method comprising: Receiving (801) an indication of a unique identifier, the unique identifier uniquely identifying the second communication network (201) among a plurality of communication networks (200) sharing a mobile network identifier, the unique identifier being based on: a) the Mobile Country Code (MCC) and the Mobile Network Code (MNC) corresponding to the shared public land mobile network identifier, and b) a subscriber identifier corresponding to the second communication network (201), and A process (802) provides IP Multimedia Subsystem services to a device (230) operating in the access network across the first communication network (101) and the second communication network (201), the process (802) being based on the received identifier.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein: The subscriber identifier is an International Mobile Subscriber Identity IMSI series or an IMSI block number IBN corresponding to the second communication network (201).

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein: The subscriber identifier is an Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) organizational identity or a Network Access Identifier (NAI) corresponding to the second communication network (201).

14. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein: The indicated identifier is the Private Access Network Identifier PVNI.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein: The first communication network (101) comprises a home routing roaming architecture.

16. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 14, wherein: The first communication network (101) comprises a local breakout (LBO) architecture.

17. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 15, wherein: The receiving (801) is performed before generating a session initiation protocol signaling to a) an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem IMS core in the first communication network (101) or b) an application server in the first communication network (101).

18. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 17, wherein: At least one of the first communication network (101) and the second communication network (201) is a fifth generation 5G network or a long term evolution LTE network.

19. A first node (111) configured to manage a proxy call session control function in a first communication network (101), the first node (111) being configured to process an identification of a second communication network (201), wherein: One of the first communication network (101) and the second communication network (201) is configured as a home network, and the other of the first communication network (101) and the second communication network (201) is configured as a visited network, and the first node (111) is further configured to: Obtaining a unique identifier, the unique identifier being configured to uniquely identify the second communication network (201) among a plurality of communication networks (200) configured to share a mobile network identifier, the unique identifier being configured based on: a) a Mobile Country Code (MCC) and a Mobile Network Code (MNC) configured to correspond to a shared public land mobile network identifier, and b) a subscriber identifier configured to correspond to the second communication network (201), and Processing provides IP Multimedia Subsystem services to a device (230) configured to operate in the visited network across the first communication network (101) and the second communication network (201), the process (702) being configured to be based on an identifier configured to be acquired, and in the home network, the process is further configured to include one of the following: i) apply policies or rules, and ii) Routes the communication to the Serving Call Session Control Function S-CSCF.

20. The first node (111) according to claim 19, further configured to: An indication of a unique identifier configured to be obtained is provided to a second node (112) in one of the first communication network (101) and the second communication network (201).

21. The first node (111) according to any one of claims 19 to 20, wherein: The subscriber identifier is configured to be an International Mobile Subscriber Identity IMSI series or an IMSI block number IBN corresponding to the second communication network (201).

22. The first node (111) according to any one of claims 19 to 20, wherein: The subscriber identifier is configured to be an Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) organizational identity or a Network Access Identifier (NAI) corresponding to the second communication network (201).

23. The first node (111) according to any one of claims 19 to 22, wherein: The process includes registering the device (230) configured to roam in the second communication network (201) as a visited public land mobile network (PLMN), and wherein the identifier configured to be acquired is configured to be a visited private network identity (PVNI).

24. The first node (111) according to any one of claims 19 to 23, wherein: The first communication network (101) is configured to include a home routing roaming architecture.

25. The first node (111) according to any one of claims 19 to 21, wherein: The process is configured to include registering a device (230) configured to roam from the second communication network (201) as a home PLMN.

26. The first node (111) according to claim 25, wherein The first communication network (101) is configured to include a local breakout (LBO) architecture.

27. The first node (111) according to any one of claims 19 to 26, wherein: The obtaining is configured to be performed before generating a session initiation protocol signaling to a) an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem IMS core in the first communication network (101) or b) an application server in the first communication network (101).

28. The first node (111) according to any one of claims 19 to 27, wherein: At least one of the first communication network (101) and the second communication network (201) is configured to be a fifth generation 5G network or a long term evolution LTE network.

29. A second node (112) for processing an identification of a second communication network (201), the second node (112) being configured to operate in one of a first communication network (101) and a second communication network (201), wherein: One of the first communication network (101) and the second communication network (201) is configured as a home network, and the other of the first communication network (101) and the second communication network (201) is configured as a visited network, and the second node (112) is further configured to: Receiving an indication of a unique identifier, the unique identifier being configured to uniquely identify the second communication network (201) among a plurality of communication networks (200) sharing a mobile network identifier, the unique identifier being further configured to be based on: a) the Mobile Country Code (MCC) and the Mobile Network Code (MNC) corresponding to the shared public land mobile network identifier, and b) a subscriber identifier corresponding to the second communication network (201), and The process provides IP Multimedia Subsystem services across the first communication network (101) and the second communication network (201) to a device (230) configured to operate in the access network, the process (802) being configured to be based on an identifier configured to be received.

30. The second node (112) according to claim 29, wherein The subscriber identifier is configured to be an International Mobile Subscriber Identity IMSI series or an IMSI block number IBN corresponding to the second communication network (201).

31. The second node (112) of claim 29, wherein: The subscriber identifier is configured to be an Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) organizational identity or a Network Access Identifier (NAI) corresponding to the second communication network (201).

32. The second node (112) according to any one of claims 29 to 31, wherein: The indicated identifier is configured to be a Private Access Network Identifier PVNI.

33. The second node (112) according to claim 32, wherein The first communication network (101) is configured to include a home routing roaming architecture.

34. The second node (112) according to any one of claims 29 to 32, wherein: The first communication network (101) is configured to include a local breakout (LBO) architecture.

35. The second node (112) according to any one of claims 29 to 34, wherein The receiving is configured to be performed before generating a session initiation protocol signaling to a) an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem IMS core in the first communication network (101) or b) an application server in the first communication network (101).

36. The second node (112) according to any one of claims 29 to 35, wherein: At least one of the first communication network (101) and the second communication network (201) is configured to be a fifth generation 5G network or a long term evolution LTE network.

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