Slice-aware PLMN selection

Abstract

Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide techniques for slice-aware network selection. Certain aspects provide a method for wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE). The method generally includes: obtaining network slicing information for one or more networks, the network slicing information indicating one or more slice identifiers supported in the one or more networks; deriving a list of one or more preferred networks based at least in part on the network slicing information; and selecting a network to register with from the list of one or more preferred networks.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to U.S. Application No. 17 / 195,452, filed on March 8, 2021, which claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 987,106, filed on March 9, 2020, both of which are assigned to the assignee of this application and are hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference in their entirety as if fully set forth below and for all applicable purposes.

[0003] public domain

[0004] Aspects of the present disclosure relate to wireless communications and, more particularly, to techniques for selecting a network based at least in part on offered services.

[0005] introduction

[0006] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, broadcasts, etc. These wireless communication systems may employ multiple-access technologies capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmit power, etc.). Examples of such multiple-access systems include 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) systems, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) systems, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) systems, Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) systems, Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) systems, and Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA) systems, to name a few.

[0007] These multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enables different wireless devices to communicate at a city, country, region, and even global level. New radio (e.g., 5G NR) is an example of an emerging telecommunication standard. NR is an enhancement to the LTE mobile standard promulgated by 3GPP. NR is designed to better support mobile broadband Internet access by using OFDMA with a cyclic prefix (CP) on the downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) to improve spectrum efficiency, reduce costs, improve services, utilize new spectrum, and better integrate with other open standards. To this end, NR supports beamforming, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology, and carrier aggregation.

[0008] However, as the demand for mobile broadband access continues to grow, there is a need for further improvements to NR and LTE technologies. Preferably, these improvements should also apply to other multiple access technologies and the telecommunication standards that employ them.

[0009] Overview

[0010] The systems, methods, and devices of the present disclosure each have several aspects, no single one of which is solely responsible for its desirable attributes. Without limiting the scope of the disclosure as expressed in the appended claims, some features will now be briefly discussed. After considering this discussion, and particularly after reading the section entitled "Detailed Description," one will understand how the features of the present disclosure provide advantages, including improved Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (NSSAI) signaling.

[0011] Certain aspects may be implemented in a method for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE). The method generally includes obtaining network slicing information for one or more networks, the network slicing information indicating one or more slice identifiers supported in the one or more networks; deriving a list of one or more preferred networks based at least in part on the network slicing information; and selecting a network to register with from the list of one or more preferred networks.

[0012] Certain aspects may be implemented in a device for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE). The device may include a processing system comprising: a memory including computer-executable instructions; and one or more processors configured to execute the computer-executable instructions and cause the processing system to perform the following operations: obtain network slicing information for one or more networks, the network slicing information indicating one or more slice identifiers supported in the one or more networks; derive a list of one or more preferred networks based at least in part on the network slicing information; and select a network to register from the list of one or more preferred networks.

[0013] Certain aspects may be implemented in an apparatus for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE). The apparatus may include: means for obtaining network slicing information for one or more networks, the network slicing information indicating one or more slice identifiers supported in the one or more networks; means for deriving a list of one or more preferred networks based at least in part on the network slicing information; and means for selecting a network to register with from the list of one or more preferred networks.

[0014] Certain aspects may be implemented in a non-transitory computer-readable medium for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE). The non-transitory computer-readable medium may include computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a processing system, cause the processing system to: obtain network slicing information for one or more networks, the network slicing information indicating one or more slice identifiers supported in the one or more networks; derive a list of one or more preferred networks based at least in part on the network slicing information; and select a network to register from the list of one or more preferred networks.

[0015] Certain aspects may be implemented in a computer program product for wireless communications by a user equipment (UE) embodied on a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium may include code for: obtaining network slicing information for one or more networks, the network slicing information indicating one or more slice identifiers supported in the one or more networks; deriving a list of one or more preferred networks based at least in part on the network slicing information; and selecting a network to register with from the list of one or more preferred networks.

[0016] Certain aspects may be implemented in a method for wireless communications by a user equipment (UE). The method generally includes sending a registration request for a new service to a first network; receiving a registration response from the first network, the registration response including an indication that the new service is not supported in the first network; and initiating deregistration with the first network based on the registration response.

[0017] Certain aspects may be implemented in a device for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE). The device may include a processing system comprising: a memory including computer-executable instructions; and one or more processors configured to execute the computer-executable instructions and cause the processing system to: send a registration request for a new service to a first network; receive a registration response from the first network, the registration response including an indication that the new service is not supported in the first network; and initiate deregistration with the first network based on the registration response.

[0018] Certain aspects may be implemented in an apparatus for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE). The apparatus may include: means for sending a registration request for a new service to a first network; means for receiving a registration response from the first network, the registration response including an indication that the new service is not supported in the first network; and means for initiating deregistration with the first network based on the registration response.

[0019] Certain aspects may be implemented in a non-transitory computer-readable medium for wireless communications by a user equipment (UE). The non-transitory computer-readable medium may include computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a processing system, cause the processing system to: send a registration request for a new service to a first network; receive a registration response from the first network, the registration response including an indication that the new service is not supported in the first network; and initiate deregistration with the first network based on the registration response.

[0020] Certain aspects may be implemented in a computer program product for wireless communications by a user equipment (UE) embodied on a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium may include code for: sending a registration request for a new service to a first network; receiving a registration response from the first network, the registration response including an indication that the new service is not supported in the first network; and initiating deregistration with the first network based on the registration response.

[0021] The foregoing has broadly outlined the features and technical advantages of examples according to the present disclosure in an effort to make the following detailed description better understood. Additional features and advantages will be described hereinafter. The concepts and specific examples disclosed can be readily used as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for implementing the same purposes as the present disclosure. Such equivalent constructions do not depart from the scope of the appended claims. The characteristics of the concepts disclosed herein, both in terms of their organization and method of operation, as well as the associated advantages, will be better understood by considering the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Each of the figures is provided for illustration and description purposes and is not intended to define limitations on the claims.

[0022] Although various aspects and embodiments are described in this application by way of illustration of some examples, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that additional implementations and use cases may be generated in many different arrangements and scenarios. The innovations described herein may be implemented across many different platform types, devices, systems, shapes, sizes, and packaging arrangements. For example, various embodiments and / or uses may be generated via integrated chip embodiments and other devices based on non-module components (e.g., end-user devices, vehicles, communication devices, computing devices, industrial equipment, retail / shopping devices, medical devices, AI-enabled devices, etc.). Although some examples may or may not be specifically for each use case or application, the wide applicability of the described innovations may occur. The scope of each implementation may range from chip-level or module components to non-module, non-chip-level implementations, and further to aggregated, distributed, or OEM devices or systems incorporating one or more aspects of the described innovations. In some practical environments, the devices incorporating the various aspects and features described may also necessarily include additional components and features for implementing and practicing the claimed and described embodiments. For example, the transmission and reception of wireless signals necessarily include several components for analog and digital purposes (e.g., hardware components including antennas, RF chains, power amplifiers, modulators, buffers, processors, interleavers, adders / summers, etc.). The innovations described herein are intended to be practiced in a wide variety of devices, chip-level components, systems, distributed arrangements, end-user devices, and the like, of various sizes, shapes, and configurations.

[0023] For purposes of illustration, the following description and drawings set forth certain features. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] In order that the manner in which the above-recited features of the present disclosure may be understood in detail, a more particular description of the content briefly summarized above may be obtained by reference to various aspects, some of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It should be noted, however, that the accompanying drawings illustrate only certain typical aspects of the disclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, as the description may admit to other equally effective aspects.

[0026] Figure 1 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example telecommunications system in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0027] Figure 2 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating designs of example base stations (BSs) and user equipment (UEs) in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0028] Figure 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example architecture of a core network (CN) and a radio access network (RAN) in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0029] Figure 4This is an example format of the Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (NSSAI) Information Element (IE).

[0030] Figure 5 This is an example format of a Single NSSAI (S-NSSAI) IE.

[0031] Figure 6 is a table showing example NSSAI inclusion patterns.

[0032] Figure 7 This section illustrates a call flow that illustrates example NSSAI signaling.

[0033] Figure 8 Illustrated are example operations for slice-aware network selection by a user equipment (UE) in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0034] Figure 9 Illustrated are examples of slice-aware network selection in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0035] Figures 10A-10C An example of a preferred network list according to certain aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0036] Figures 11A-11B An example of a preferred network list according to certain aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0037] Figure 12 Illustrated is a comparison between conventional network selection and slice-aware network selection according to certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0038] Figure 13 Illustrated are examples of slice-aware network selection in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0039] Figures 14A-14B An example of a preferred network list according to certain aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0040] Figure 15 Illustrated are example operations for UE-initiated deregistration in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0041] Figure 16 Illustrated are an example wireless communication device configured to perform the operations of the methods disclosed herein, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0042] To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have been used, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common to the figures. It is contemplated that elements disclosed in one aspect may be beneficially utilized in other aspects without specific recitation.

[0043] Detailed description

[0044] Various aspects of the present disclosure provide apparatuses (devices), methods, processing systems, and computer-readable media for slice-aware network selection. As will be described in more detail below, a preferred network list (PNL) may be derived based on desired services and services supported at available networks.

[0045] The following description provides examples and does not limit the scope, applicability, or examples set forth in the claims. Changes may be made to the functions and arrangements of the elements discussed without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Various examples may omit, substitute, or add various procedures or components as appropriate. For example, the methods described may be performed in an order different from that described, and various steps may be added, omitted, or combined. Moreover, features described with reference to some examples may be combined in some other examples. For example, a device or method may be implemented using any number of the aspects set forth herein. In addition, the scope of this disclosure is intended to cover such devices or methods that are practiced using other structures, functionalities, or structures and functionalities that are supplementary to or in addition to the various aspects of this disclosure set forth herein. It should be understood that any aspect of the disclosure disclosed herein may be implemented by one or more elements of the claims. The word "exemplary" is used herein to mean "used as an example, instance, or illustration." Any aspect described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as superior to or superior to other aspects.

[0046] In general, any number of wireless networks may be deployed in a given geographic area. Each wireless network may support a specific radio access technology (RAT) and may operate on one or more frequencies. A RAT may also be referred to as a radio technology, air interface, etc. A frequency may also be referred to as a carrier, subcarrier, frequency channel, tone, subband, etc. Each frequency may support a single RAT in a given geographic area to avoid interference between wireless networks of different RATs.

[0047] The techniques described herein can be used for various wireless networks and radio technologies. For clarity, although various aspects may be described herein using terminology typically associated with 3G, 4G, and / or new radio (e.g., 5G NR) wireless technologies, various aspects of the present disclosure may be applied in communication systems based on other generations (including later generations).

[0048] NR access can support various wireless communication services, such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) targeting wide bandwidth (e.g., 80 MHz or above), millimeter wave (mmW) targeting high carrier frequency (e.g., 25 GHz or above), massive machine type communication (MTC) targeting non-backward compatible MTC technology, and / or mission-critical services targeting ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC). These services may include latency and reliability requirements. These services may also have different transmission time intervals (TTIs) to meet corresponding quality of service (QoS) requirements. In addition, these services can coexist in the same subframe.

[0049] Some wireless networks utilize orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) on the downlink and single-carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) on the uplink. OFDM and SC-FDM divide the system bandwidth into multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers, often referred to as tones, bins, etc. Each subcarrier can be modulated with data. Generally speaking, modulation symbols are sent in the frequency domain for OFDM and in the time domain for SC-FDM. The spacing between adjacent subcarriers can be fixed, and the total number of subcarriers (K) can depend on the system bandwidth. The system bandwidth can also be divided into subbands.

[0050] 5G NR can utilize OFDM with a cyclic prefix (CP) on both the uplink and downlink, and includes support for half-duplex operation using time division duplex (TDD). A subframe can be 1ms, but the basic transmission time interval (TTI) can be referred to as a slot. A subframe contains a variable number of slots (e.g., 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, ... slots), depending on the subcarrier spacing (SCS). NR resource blocks (RBs) can be 12 consecutive frequency subcarriers. NR can support a base SCS of 15 kHz, and other subcarrier spacings can be defined relative to the base SCS, such as 30 kHz, 60 kHz, 120 kHz, 240 kHz, etc. The symbol and slot lengths scale with the SCS. The CP length also depends on the SCS. 5G NR can also support beamforming and dynamically configure the beam direction. Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) transmission with precoding can also be supported. In some examples, MIMO configurations in the DL can support up to 8 transmit antennas (with multi-layer DL transmission of up to 8 streams) and up to 2 streams per UE. In some examples, multi-layer transmission of up to 2 streams per UE can be supported. Aggregation of multiple cells can be supported using up to 8 serving cells.

[0051] Figure 1An example wireless communication network 100 is illustrated in which aspects of the present disclosure may be performed. For example, one or more UEs 120 (such as UE 120a) may include a network selection manager 122. The network selection manager 122 may be configured to perform Figure 8 Operation 800 and / or Figure 15 Operations 1500, and other operations disclosed herein for performing the various techniques discussed herein for performing slice-aware network selection and / or performing UE-initiated deregistration.

[0052] For example, the wireless communication network 100 may be a NR system (e.g., a 5G NR network). Figure 1 As shown, the wireless communication network 100 may be in communication with a core network 132. The core network 132 may be in communication with one or more BSs 110 and / or UEs 120 via one or more interfaces, as described below with respect to FIG. Figure 3 discussed in more detail.

[0053] like Figure 1 As illustrated in , the wireless communication network 100 may include several base stations (BSs) 110a-z (each also individually referred to herein as BS 110 or collectively referred to as BS 110) and other network entities. BS 110 may provide communication coverage for a particular geographic area (sometimes referred to as a "cell"), which may be stationary or mobile depending on the location of mobile BS 110. In some examples, BS 110 may interconnect with each other and / or to one or more other BSs or network nodes (not shown) in the wireless communication network 100 using any suitable transport network via various types of backhaul interfaces (e.g., direct physical connections, wireless connections, virtual networks, etc.). Figure 1 In the example shown in FIG, BSs 110a, 110b, and 110c may be macro BSs for macro cells 102a, 102b, and 102c, respectively. BS 110x may be a pico BS for pico cell 102x. BSs 110y and 110z may be femto BSs for femto cells 102y and 102z, respectively. A BS may support one or more cells. BS 110 communicates with user equipment (UEs) 120a-y (each also individually or collectively referred to herein as UE 120) in wireless communication network 100. UEs 120 (e.g., 120x, 120y, etc.) may be dispersed throughout wireless communication network 100, and each UE 120 may be stationary or mobile.

[0054] The wireless communication network 100 may also include a relay station (e.g., relay station 110r) (also referred to as a relay, etc.), which receives transmissions of data and / or other information from an upstream station (e.g., BS 110a or UE 120r) and sends transmissions of the data and / or other information to a downstream station (e.g., UE 120 or BS 110), or the relay station relays transmissions between each UE 120 to facilitate communication between the devices.

[0055] The wireless communication network 100 may be in communication with a CN 132, which includes one or more CN nodes 132a. A network controller 130 may be coupled to a set of BSs 110 and provide coordination and control for these BSs 110. The network controller 130 may communicate with the BSs 110 via a backhaul. The network controller 130 may also be coupled to one or more of the CN nodes 132a.

[0056] Figure 2 Illustrated are BS 110a and UE 120a (e.g., in Figure 1 Example components of the wireless communication network 100).

[0057] At BS 110a, transmit processor 220 may receive data from data source 212 and control information from controller / processor 240. This control information may be for a physical broadcast channel (PBCH), a physical control format indicator channel (PCFICH), a physical hybrid ARQ indicator channel (PHICH), a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a group common PDCCH (GC PDCCH), or the like. This data may be for a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), or the like. A medium access control (MAC)-control element (MAC-CE) is a MAC layer communication structure that may be used to exchange control commands between wireless nodes. For example, a base station may transmit a MAC CE to a UE to place the UE in discontinuous reception (DRX) mode to reduce the UE's power consumption. The MAC-CE may be carried in a shared channel, such as a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), or a physical sidelink shared channel. The MAC-CE may also be used to convey information that facilitates communication, such as information regarding buffer status and available power headroom.

[0058] Processor 220 may process (e.g., encode and symbol map) data and control information to obtain data symbols and control symbols, respectively. Transmit processor 220 may also generate reference symbols (such as for a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), and a cell-specific reference signal (CRS)). A transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor 230 may perform spatial processing (e.g., precoding) on data symbols, control symbols, and / or reference symbols, as applicable, and may provide output symbol streams to modulators (MODs) 232a-232t. Each modulator in transceivers 232a-232t may process a respective output symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modulator may further process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and frequency upconvert) the output sample stream to obtain a downlink signal. The downlink signals from the modulators in transceivers 232a-232t may be transmitted via antennas 234a-234t, respectively.

[0059] At UE 120a, antennas 252a-252r may receive downlink signals from BS 110a and may provide received signals to demodulators (DEMODs) in transceivers 254a-254r, respectively. Each demodulator in transceivers 254a-254r may condition (e.g., filter, amplify, downconvert, and digitize) its respective received signal to obtain input samples. Each demodulator may further process the input samples (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain received symbols. A MIMO detector 256 may obtain received symbols from all demodulators in transceivers 254a-254r, perform MIMO detection on the received symbols where applicable, and provide detected symbols. A receive processor 258 may process (e.g., demodulate, deinterleave, and decode) the detected symbols, provide decoded data for UE 120a to a data sink 260, and provide decoded control information to a controller / processor 280.

[0060] On the uplink, at the UE 120a, a transmit processor 264 may receive and process data from a data source 262 (e.g., for a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)) and control information from the controller / processor 280 (e.g., for a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH)). The transmit processor 264 may also generate reference symbols for reference signals (e.g., a sounding reference signal (SRS)). The symbols from the transmit processor 264 may be precoded by the TX MIMO processor 266, if applicable, further processed by a demodulator in the transceivers 254a-254r (e.g., for SC-FDM, etc.), and transmitted to the BS 110a. At BS 110a, the uplink signal from UE 120a may be received by antenna 234, processed by modulators in transceivers 232a-232t, detected by MIMO detector 236 if applicable, and further processed by receive processor 238 to obtain decoded data and control information sent by UE 120a. Receive processor 238 may provide the decoded data to a data sink 239 and the decoded control information to a controller / processor 240.

[0061] Memories 242 and 282 may store data and program codes for BS 110a and UE 120a, respectively. A scheduler 244 may schedule UEs for data transmission on the downlink and / or uplink.

[0062] The antennas 252, processors 266, 258, 264, and / or controller / processor 280 of the UE 120a may be used to perform the various techniques and methods described herein. Figure 2 As shown in FIG, the controller / processor 280 of the UE 120a includes a network selection manager 281, which may be configured to perform Figure 8 and / or Figure 15 The operations illustrated in FIG. 1 and other operations disclosed herein for performing the various techniques discussed herein for performing slice-aware network selection and / or performing UE-initiated deregistration may be performed. Although illustrated at the controller / processor, other components of the UE 120a and BS 110 may also be used to perform the operations described herein.

[0063] Figure 3 is an illustration of a core network (CN) 300 (eg, such as a Figure 1 A block diagram of an example architecture of CN 132 in FIG. Figure 3 As shown in FIG, the example architecture includes CN 300, RAN 324, UE 322, and data network (DN) 328 (eg, operator services, Internet access, or third-party services).

[0064] CN 300 may host core network functions. CN 300 may be centrally deployed. CN 300 functionality may be offloaded (e.g., to Advanced Wireless Services (AWS)) in an effort to handle peak capacity. Figure 3 As shown in the figure, the example CN 300 can be implemented by one or more network entities that perform network functions (NFs), including a network slice selection function (NSSF) 304, a network exposure function (NEF) 306, an NF repository function (NRF) 308, a policy control function (PCF) 310, a unified data management (UDM) 312, an application function (AF) 314, an authentication server function (AUSF) 316, an access and mobility management function (AMF) 318, a session management function (SMF) 320; a user plane function (UPF) 326, and various other functions (not shown) such as an unstructured data storage function (UDSF); a unified data repository (UDR); a 5G equipment identity register (5G-EIR); and / or a security edge protection proxy (SEPP).

[0065] The AMF 318 may include the following functionality (some or all of the AMF functionality may be supported in one or more instances of the AMF): termination of the RAN control plane (CP) interface (N2); termination of the non-access stratum (NAS) (e.g., N1), NAS encryption and integrity protection; registration management; connection management; reachability management; mobility management; lawful interception (for AMF events and interfaces to the LI system); transmission of session management (SM) messages between the UE 322 and the SMF 320; a transparent proxy for routing SM messages; access authentication; access authorization; transmission of short message service (SMS) messages between the UE 322 and the SMS function (SMSF); security anchor functionality (SEAF); security context management (SCM), which receives keys from the SEAF, which uses the keys to derive access network specific keys; location service management for regulated services; and communication between the UE 322 and the location management function (LMF) and the RAN. Transmission of positioning service messages between 324 and LMF; EPS bearer ID allocation for interworking with Evolved Packet Service (EPS); and / or UE mobility event notification; and / or other functionalities.

[0066] The SMF 320 may support session management (e.g., session establishment, modification, and release), UE IP address allocation and management, Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) functions, termination of NAS signaling related to session management, downlink data notification, and traffic steering configuration for the UPF for proper traffic routing. The UPF 326 may support packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, Quality of Service (QoS) handling, an external Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session interconnection point to the DN 328, and an anchor point for intra-RAT and inter-RAT mobility. The PCF 310 may support a unified policy framework, providing policy rules for controlling protocol functions and / or accessing subscription information for policy decisions in the UDR. The AUSF 316 may act as an authentication server. The UDM 312 may support the generation of authentication and key agreement (AKA) credentials, user identity handling, access authorization, and subscription management. The NRF 308 may support service discovery functions and maintain NF profiles and available NF instances. The NSSF may support: selection of a network slice instance for serving the UE 322, determination of allowed network slice selection assistance information (NSSAI), and / or determination of an AMF set to be used to serve the UE 322.

[0067] NEF 306 can support: opening of capabilities and events, secure provision of information from external applications to 3GPP network, translation of internal / external information. AF 314 can support: application influence on traffic routing, access to NEF 306 and / or interaction with policy framework for policy control.

[0068] like Figure 3 As shown in FIG, CN 300 can be in communication with AS 302, UE 322, RAN 324, and DN 328. In some examples, CN 300 communicates with external AS 302 via NEF 306 and / or AF 314. In some examples, CN 300 communicates with RAN 324 (e.g., such as AMF 318) via AMF 318. Figure 1 10a) and / or UE 322 (e.g., such as BS 110a) in the wireless communication network 100 illustrated in FIG. Figure 1 1 and 2. The UE 120a) in the wireless communication network 100 illustrated in FIG.

[0069] The NSSF 304 supports the following functionality: selection of a network slice instance for serving the UE 322, determination of allowed network slice selection assistance information (NSSAI), and / or determination of an AMF set to be used to serve the UE 322.

[0070] As mentioned above, aspects of the present disclosure relate to network slice selection assistance information (NSSAI) signaling. A network slice can be defined as a logical network that provides specific network capabilities and network characteristics. A network slice instance can be defined as a collection of network function instances and the resources (e.g., compute, storage, and networking resources) required to form a deployed network slice.

[0071] A network slice is identified by Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (S-NSSAI). NSSAI is a list of one or more S-NSSAIs. S-NSSAI includes: a slice / service type (SST), which refers to the expected network slice behavior (e.g., features and services); and a slice differentiator (SD), which is optional information that supplements the SST(s) to distinguish between multiple network slices of the same SST. The S-NSSAI may have a standard value (e.g., including an SST with a standardized SST value and not including the SD) or a non-standard value (e.g., including the SST and SD, or including an SST without a standardized SST value and not including the SD). The S-NSSAI with a non-standard value identifies a single network slice associated with it within a PLMN. The UE may not use the S-NSSAI in access stratum procedures in any PLMN other than the PLMN associated with the S-NSSAI with the non-standard value.

[0072] Network slices may differ in supported features and network function optimizations. For example, different S-NSSAIs may have different SSTs. Operators may deploy multiple network slice instances that deliver the same features but target different UE groups (e.g., offering different S-NSSAIs with the same SST but different SDs to customers). The network may simultaneously serve a single UE (e.g., via the 5G-AN) with one or more network slice instances. In some examples, a UE may be associated with up to eight different S-NSSAIs in total.

[0073] The AMF instance may be common to the network slice instance serving the UE. The selection of a set of network slice instances for the UE is typically triggered by the first AMF contacted in the registration procedure through interaction with the NSSF. A PDU Session may belong to one specific network slice instance per PLMN. Different network slice instances may not share protocol data unit (PDU) sessions, although different slices may have slice-specific PDU sessions using the same data network name (DNN). In order to enable PDU transmission in a network slice, the UE may request the DN associated with the S-NSSAI and DNN to establish the PDU session in the network slice in the absence of an established PDU session sufficient for PDU transmission. The included S-NSSAI is part of the allowed NSSAI of the serving PLMN (which is a valid S-NSSAI value in the serving PLMN), and in roaming scenarios, the mapped S-NSSAI is also included for the PDU session (if available).

[0074] In some systems, the S-NSSAI value is provided in the NSSAI Information Element (IE). The NSSAI IE identifies the set of S-NSSAIs. Figure 4 is an example format of NSSAI IE 400. In some cases, Figure 4 The example NSSAI IE 400 shown in FIG4 may have a length of 4 to 146 octets. The NSSAI IE 400 may indicate up to eight S-NSSAI values 402 for either the requested NSSAI (sent by the UE) or the allowed NSSAI (sent by the network). The NSSAI IE may indicate up to sixteen S-NSSAI values 402 in the configured NSSAI (sent by the UE and / or the network).

[0075] In some cases, S-NSSAI identifies a network slice. Figure 5An example format of an S-NSSAI IE 500 is shown in FIG. The S-NSSAI IE 500 may have a length of 3 to 10 octets. In some cases, the S-NSSAI value may be encoded as the length and value portion of the example S-NSSAI IE, starting in the second octet. The length of the S-NSSAI field 502 may indicate the length of the included S-NSSAI content. The S-NSSAI IE 500 may also include a one-byte (e.g., eight-bit) slice / service type (SST) field 504, which may indicate the SST value. The SST value may indicate the expected network slice behavior in terms of functions and services. The S-NSSAI IE 500 may also include a three-byte slice differentiator (SD) field 506. The SD field 506 may indicate the SD value and may be used to supplement the slice / service type to distinguish between multiple network slices. The S-NSSAI IE 500 may also include a mapped home public land mobile network (HPLMN) SST field 508. The mapped HPLMN SST field 508 may indicate the SST value of the S-NSSAI to which the SST value in the S-NSSAI(s) of the HPLMN is mapped. The S-NSSAI IE 500 may also include a mapped HPLMN SD field 510. The mapped HPLMN SD field 510 may indicate the SD value of the S-NSSAI to which the SST value in the S-NSSAI(s) of the HPLMN is mapped.

[0076] In some systems (such as 5G NR), NSSAI IE (e.g., NSSAI 400) can be exchanged between the UE and the network as part of the mobility management procedure. NSSAI can be sent at both the non-access stratum (NAS) layer and the AS layer.

[0077] In some examples, there may be different NSSAIs, such as a configured NSSAI, a requested NSSAI, an allowed NSSAI, and a subscribed S-NSSAI. In some cases, the requested NSSAI IE may be sent in a registration request message unless triggered by a periodic update. As mentioned above, the requested NSSAI IE may include up to eight S-NSSAI entries, up to 74 octets in size.

[0078] In some examples, the Allowed NSSAI IE may be sent in a REGISTRATION ACCEPT message, which may be included if the procedure is triggered by a periodic update. As mentioned above, the Allowed NSSAI IE may include up to eight S-NSSAI entries, up to 74 octets in size.

[0079] In some examples, the Configured NSSAI IE may be sent in a Registration Accept message.As mentioned above, the Configured NSSAI IE may include up to sixteen S-NSSAI entries, up to 146 octets in size.

[0080] In some examples, the Allowed NSSAI IE and the Configured NSSAI IE may be sent in a CONFIGURATION UPDATE COMMAND message.

[0081] Thus, the UE NAS layer may provide NSSAI (requested NSSAI or allowed NSSAI) to lower layers and send an initial NAS message when the UE is in idle mode.

[0082] In addition to exchanging NSSAI information at the NAS layer, the UE may also be configured to send NSSAI information in the AS layer based on the NSSAI inclusion mode in which it is operating. Figure 6 600 is a table showing NSSAI information for different NSSAI inclusion modes and initial NAS messages. For example, as shown in Table 600, when the initial NAS message includes a Registration Request message containing a 5GS Registration Type set to "Initial Registration" and the UE is operating in NSSAI Inclusion Mode A, the UE may be configured to send the requested NSSAI. In some cases, the network (e.g., via the AMF 318) may indicate in which mode the UE is operating via an NSSAI Inclusion Mode IE that may be sent in a Registration Accept message.

[0083] Figure 7 7 is a call flow illustrating example NSSAI signaling. Following initial registration, the UE 702 may include the Requested NSSAI IE in a Registration Request message to the AMF 704, unless the procedure is triggered for periodic updates. Furthermore, the Requested NSSAI IE is included in the NAS message during initial registration, even if the UE already has a Configured NSSAI or Allowed NSSAI from a previous registration. If the UE is operating in NSSAI inclusion mode A or B, for which the same information is provided via the AS layer, the Requested NSSAI IE (which may be up to 74 octets long) may be considered a duplicate.

[0084] like Figure 7 As shown in , NSSAI signaling overhead may occur during: initial attach (e.g., such as in the Registration Request message 710 and the Registration Accept messages 708, 712), configuration update (e.g., such as in the Configuration Update Command 714), and / or PDU session establishment (e.g., such as in the UL NAS Transmission 718 and the PDU Session Accept message 722).

[0085] As a result, NSSAI signaling can be large, resulting in high overhead. Furthermore, lower layers may be configured to repeat the transmission many times, leading to further overhead and increased UE power consumption. The large overhead and increased power consumption can be undesirable for Internet of Things (IoT) devices, particularly narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) devices.

[0086] Accordingly, techniques and apparatus are needed for signaling NSSAI with reduced overhead.

[0087] Example of reduced overhead NSSAI signaling

[0088] Various aspects of the present disclosure provide apparatuses (devices), methods, processing systems, and computer-readable media for slice-aware network selection. As described in more detail below, a preferred network list (PNL) can be derived based on desired services and services supported by available networks. In some cases, the PNL can include several prioritized public land mobile networks (PLMNs) that can be considered when selecting a PLMN.

[0089] For example, with the proliferation of slices in cellular networks, it may be desirable to consider the services supported by the available slices before selecting a network (e.g., when performing the selection). Aspects of the present disclosure provide a PLMN selection procedure based on S-NSSAI.

[0090] Various aspects of the present disclosure may utilize mechanisms of the existing 3GPP framework, such as for PLMN selection mechanism, slicing mechanism, and combine these mechanisms to generate a new framework for S-NSSAI aware selection.

[0091] As will be described in more detail below, the PLMN selection procedure performed by the mobile equipment (ME, such as UE 120a) may take into account the pre-configuration in the User Subscriber Identity Module (USIM), the existing NSSAI configuration in the ME (e.g., configured NSSAI, allowed NSSAI), and the new pre-configuration of the desired / preferred service / S-NSSAI. Such a PLMN selection procedure may provide awareness of support for the desired S-NSSAI in the PLMN.

[0092] Figure 8 8 is a flow diagram illustrating example operations 800 for wireless communication in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. Operations 800 may be performed, for example, by a UE (such as, for example, UE 120a in wireless communication network 100) to perform slice-aware network selection. Operations 800 may be implemented as a process executed on one or more processors (e.g., Figure 2Furthermore, signal transmission and reception by the UE in operation 800 may be performed by, for example, one or more antennas (e.g., Figure 2 In certain aspects, signal transmission and / or reception by the UE may be achieved by obtaining and / or outputting signals via a bus interface of one or more processors (e.g., controller / processor 280).

[0093] Operation 800 begins by obtaining, at 802, network slicing information for one or more networks, the network slicing information indicating one or more slice identifiers supported in the one or more networks.

[0094] At 804, the UE derives a list of one or more preferred networks based at least in part on the network slice information.

[0095] At 806, the UE selects a network to register with from the list of one or more preferred networks.

[0096] Figure 9 Illustrated is an example of slice-aware network selection by UE 120a in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0097] like Figure 9 As illustrated in FIG, a PLMN selection procedure 901 may involve combining a PLMN selection configuration 902, which includes prioritized PLMN lists stored in the USIM (e.g., a user-controlled prioritized PLMN list 904 and an operator-controlled prioritized PLMN list 906), with a preferred network list (PNL) 908. The PNL 908 includes a number of prioritized networks that provide the desired S-NSSAI(s). According to various aspects, the UE 120a may use the PNL to select a network to register with.

[0098] In some cases, the prioritized networks in the PNL may include networks associated with different radio access technologies (RATs), such as 5G New Radio (NR) and / or 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE). In some cases, the 5G NR RAT and the 4G LTE RAT may be associated with different networks operated by different operators. In other cases, the 5G NR RAT and the 4G LTE RAT may be associated with networks operated by the same operator and share the same PLMN entity. In this case, the 5G NR RAT and the 4G LTE RAT may be considered different networks of the same operator and may each be listed separately in the PNL with different priorities. For example, in some cases, the 5G NR RAT network may have a first priority, while the 4G LTE RAT may have a second priority. In other words, in some cases, the PNL may include two networks with the same PLMN identity and using different radio access technologies (e.g., a 5G RAT network and a 4G LTE RAT network). In some cases, a PNL may include networks that share the same PLMN identity and the same radio access technology but use different frequencies (e.g., different operating frequencies of 5G or 4G RATs).

[0099] like Figure 9 As illustrated in FIG, PNL 908 may be derived based on existing network (NW) slice information 910 and service configuration information 912. Existing network slice information 910 may include existing configured NSSAI information 914 per PLMN and allowed NSSAI information 916 per PLMN. In some cases, configured NSSAI information 914 per PLMN and allowed NSSAI information 916 per PLMN may be stored in (a memory of) the ME (e.g., in a non-prioritized manner as shown) (e.g., as opposed to the USIM).

[0100] The configured NSSAI information 914 generally includes a list of S-NSSAIs supported by each PLMN. Additionally, there is typically one configured NSSAI per PLMN. Furthermore, the configured NSSAI information 914 is typically configured by the HPLMN, but can be updated by the serving PLMN using NAS signaling.

[0101] The allowed NSSAI information 916 generally refers to a list of S-NSSAIs supported by the serving PLMN. The allowed NSSAI information 916 is typically provided to the UE 120a via NAS signaling and, as shown, may be stored per PLMN.

[0102] The service configuration information 912 generally refers to a (new) S-NSSAI list 918 or preferred slice identifiers that a user (eg, UE 120a) wishes / expects / prefers to access. Figure 9 As shown in , S-NSSAI list 918 may be derived from a list of preferred services that a user (eg, UE 120a) wishes or desires to access. In some cases, S-NSSAI list 918 or preferred services may be prioritized.

[0103] In some cases, the S-NSSAI list 918 may be pre-configured in UE 120a based on the focused services. For example, in one embodiment, UE 120a may be configured as voice-centric. In such a case, UE 120a may be (pre-)configured with the highest priority given to S-NSSAIs carrying voice services. In another embodiment, UE 120a may be enterprise-owned and configured with the enterprise slice as the only allowed S-NSSAI.

[0104] In some cases, the service configuration information 912 may be dynamically configured by a user. As a specific example, a user may configure the UE 120a to prioritize S-NSSAI that carries certain preferred services (eg, from a particular streaming content provider).

[0105] Figures 10A-10C Various examples are illustrated of how a UE 120a, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure, may derive a PNL 1001 with prioritized PLMNs from a service configuration 1002 and network slice information 1004. Each of these examples assumes that the desired services (in order of priority) are S-NSSAI X, S-NSSAI Y, and S-NSSAI Z. As illustrated, there may be a mapping of service names / IDs from the VPLMN to service names / IDs in the HPLMN (e.g., a service name "Voice" in the VPLMN may be mapped to "VOIP" in the HPLMN).

[0106] exist Figure 10A In the example shown in , PLMN A is given the highest priority in PNL 1001 because the network slice information 1004 about PLMN A indicates that both S-NSSAI X and S-NSSAI Z are supported, while the network slice information about PLMN B indicates that only S-NSSAI Y and S-NSSAI Z are supported but not S-NSSAI X.

[0107] like Figure 10B As explained in

[0014] , in some cases, for a given PLMN, an allowed S-NSSAI takes precedence over a configured S-NSSAI. For example, in some cases, when deriving the PNL for UE 120a, UE 120a may give higher priority to one or more networks having allowed slices that support a preferred service over one or more networks having configured slices that support the preferred service.

[0108] For example, as explained, Figure 10B The network information 1004 in PNL 1001 may include a configured NSSAI 1006 for PLMN A, an allowed NSSAI 1008 for PLMN A, and a configured NSSAI 1010 for PLMN B. In the illustrated example, S-NSSAI X is not in the allowed NSSAI list for PLMN A. Therefore, in this case, PLMN B takes precedence over PLMN A in PNL 1001.

[0109] exist Figure 10C In the example of , service configuration 1002 indicates the mapped NSSAI name / ID. In this example, as in Figure 10A , PLMN A may be given the highest priority in PNL 1001 because the network information 1004 for PLMN A indicates support for both S-NSSAI X and S-NSSAI Z, even though NSSAI X is not in the allowed NSSAI list for PLMN B.

[0110] Figures 11A-11B Various examples of how a UE 120a with a non-prioritized PLMN may derive a PNL 1101 are illustrated. Figure 11A The desired services listed in the service configuration 1102 may also not be prioritized. Therefore, both PLMN A and PLMN B in the network slice information 1104 may be listed in the PNL 1101 because they each support two of these desired services. Figure 11B As shown in , for a service-centric device (desiring only one service), PNL 1101 may only include PLMNs that support that service. Figure 11B , PNL 1101 may include only PLMN B from network slice information 1104 because PLMN B supports the desired service but PLMN A does not. In other words, when deriving PNL 1101, UE 120a may give priority to PLMN B because PLMN B supports the desired service but PLMN A does not.

[0111] Figure 12 Illustrate a comparison between existing conventional network selection and slice-aware network selection according to certain aspects of the present disclosure.Existing network selection 1202 and slice-aware network selection 1204 illustrate methods for prioritizing networks (e.g., PLMNs) that a UE may consider when selecting a network to register with.

[0112] As illustrated at 1206 and 1208, similar considerations may be given between existing network selection 1202 and slice-aware network selection 1204 to attempt to select the last registered PLMN (RPLMN) or equivalent home (EHPLMN), except that the slice-aware network selection may include additional consideration as to whether such network (e.g., PLMN) is also in the PNL. In other words, in some cases, selecting a network to register on includes selecting the last RPLMN if it is in the PNL, or selecting the EHPLMN if it is in the PNL. In some cases, the UE 120a may store a list of the last RPLMNs for each desired S-NSSAI. In some cases, the EHPLMN may be automatically included in the PNL.

[0113] In some cases, if the RPLMN or EHPLMN is not in the PNL, the UE may select a VPLMN if it is in the PNL. For example, as illustrated at 1210 and 1212, similar considerations may be given between the existing network selection 1202 and the slice-aware network selection 1204 to attempt to select a VPLMN from a user-controlled or operator-controlled PLMN list, except that the slice-aware network selection may include additional consideration as to whether such VPLMN is also in the PNL. Accordingly, in some cases, selecting a network to register on includes selecting the VPLMN if it is in a preferred PLMN list. In some cases, the VPLMN may be prioritized based on the PLMN list in the USIM, or may be prioritized based on the PNL. Additionally, in some cases, when selecting a network to register on, the UE 120a may give priority to a VPLMN from the user-controlled PLMN list over an operator-controlled PLMN list.

[0114] In some cases, VPLMNs that do not appear in the user or operator controlled PLMN list (such as the high-quality VPLMNs illustrated at 1214 and the low-quality VPLMNs illustrated at 1216) may also be selected and prioritized by the UE 120a (e.g., if these VPLMNs are in the PNL). In some cases, the VPLMNs in the PNL may be selected / prioritized based on signal quality.

[0115] In some cases, RAN assistance information may be considered for slice-aware PLMN selection by UE 120a. In such cases, supported S-NSSAI may be broadcast by the network (e.g., by a base station such as BS 110a) in a system information block (SIB) and used for slice-aware PLMN selection by UE 120a. This broadcast information may be kept more accurate / up-to-date than the network slice information configured in the UE. Additionally, the UE does not need to register with the network to access the broadcast information, as opposed to having to register to receive allowed NSSAI from the network via NAS signaling.

[0116] Figure 13 It shows how this broadcast network slice information can be used (e.g., instead of Figure 9 ) to derive PNL 1301. In such cases, the SIB may broadcast the S-NSSAI of the slices supported in the network, as illustrated in network slice information 1302. In some cases, the SIB may also broadcast [S-NSSAI, mapped S-NSSAI] combinations supported for several other networks (e.g., indicating that the mapped S-NSSAI is the S-NSSAI in the UE's home network). In some cases, the SIB may broadcast information that may be used to derive one or more S-NSSAIs of the slices supported in the network. As illustrated, UE 120a may derive PNL 1301 based on the broadcasted network slice information 1302 and the service configuration information 1304. In some cases, UE 120a may perform the following operations as described above regarding Figure 9 PNL 1301 is derived in a manner similar to that described for PNL 908 as explained in Figure 13 UE 120a in the network may use the broadcasted network slice information 1302 instead of the existing network information 910). Thereafter, UE 120a may perform network selection 1306 taking into account PLMN selection configuration information 1308 and PNL 1301.

[0117] Figures 14A-14B Various examples are illustrated of how UE 120a may derive PNL from broadcast (SIB) NSSAI information.

[0118] exist Figure 14AIn the example shown in FIG, PLMN A is given the highest priority in PNL 1401 because SIB network slice information 1402 for PLMN A (e.g., received from the network) indicates support for both S-NSSAI X and S-NSSAI Y, while SIB network slice information 1404 for PLMN B indicates support for S-NSSAI Y and S-NSSAI Z. Since this example assumes that the desired services (in order of priority) are S-NSSAI X, S-NSSAI Y, and S-NSSAI Z, PLMN A is prioritized by UE 120a in PNL 1401.

[0119] like Figure 14B As illustrated in FIG, based on SIB network slice information 1402 and SIB network slice information 1404, UE 120a may determine that PLMN B supports the desired service, such as S-NSSAI H2 (e.g., which maps to S-NSSAI W in PLMN B). In such a scenario, PLMN B is the only PLMN included in PNL 141 by UE 120a in this example.

[0120] According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, slice-aware considerations may also be taken to trigger certain actions by UE 120a, such as deregistration. In other words, these techniques may be viewed as providing a slice-aware PLMN selection trigger.

[0121] Figure 15 1 is a flow diagram illustrating example operations 1500 for wireless communication in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. Operations 1500 may be performed, for example, by a UE (such as, for example, UE 120a in wireless communication network 100) for UE-initiated deregistration. Operations 1500 may be implemented as a process on one or more processors (e.g., Figure 2 Furthermore, signal transmission and reception by the UE in operation 1500 may be performed by, for example, one or more antennas (e.g., Figure 2 In certain aspects, signal transmission and / or reception by the UE may be achieved by obtaining and / or outputting signals via a bus interface of one or more processors (e.g., controller / processor 280).

[0122] Operations 1500 begin by sending a registration request for a new service to a first network at 1502 .

[0123] At 1504, the UE receives a registration response from the first network, the registration response including an indication that the new service is not supported in the first network.

[0124] At 1506, the UE initiates deregistration with the first network based on the registration response.

[0125] According to certain aspects, in some cases, UE 120a may initiate deregistration when the network does not support the desired / preferred S-NSSAI(s) and perform PLMN selection based on the PNL, e.g., to select a PLMN that supports the desired / preferred S-NSSAI(s). This may be considered a form of slice-aware PLMN selection. In some cases, this capability may be captured in the standard specification, e.g., by explicitly adding this slice-aware scenario as a trigger for UE-initiated deregistration.

[0126] This may be triggered, for example, due to a change in service configuration (e.g., by the user). As mentioned above, this may trigger PLMN selection. In some cases, for example, if the change in the requested NSSAI is triggered by an existing Registration Request (RR), a registration request to change the requested NSSAI may be triggered. In some cases, if the network does not provide the desired S-NSSAI in the response, the UE may deregister and perform PLMN selection based on the NPL (which may be slice-aware (as described above)), for example, to select a PLMN that supports the desired S-NSSAI.

[0127] For example, as mentioned above, in some cases, UE 120a may send a registration request for a new / desired service to the first network. UE 120a may then receive a registration response from the first network (e.g., based on the registration request), which includes an indication that the new service is not supported in the first network. The UE may then initiate deregistration with the first network based on the first network not supporting the new / desired service.

[0128] In some cases, a registration request may include a requested NSSAI information element, such as Figure 5 In addition, in some cases, the requested NSSAI information element may indicate at least one S-NSSAI of the slices supporting the new service.

[0129] In some cases, the indication that the new service is not supported in the first network may include an allowed NSSAI that does not include an S-NSSAI for slices that support the new service. In other cases, the indication that the new service is not supported in the first network may include a rejected NSSAI that includes an S-NSSAI for slices that support the new service.

[0130] In some cases, UE 120a may initiate at least one new service while already registered with the first network. According to various aspects, if the first network does not support the at least one new service, UE 120a may initiate deregistration with the first network.

[0131] In some cases, in response to receiving an indication that the new service is not supported in the first network or initiating deregistration with the first network, UE 120a may search for a new network that supports the new service to register with. For example, in some cases, UE 120a may perform a search for a second network that supports the new service, and if the search is successful, UE 120a may send a registration request to the second network to request the new service from the second network.

[0132] Example Wireless Communication Device

[0133] Figure 16 Illustrated are operations that may include those configured to perform the techniques disclosed herein, such as Figure 8 or Figure 15 16. The wireless communication device 1600 may include various components (eg, corresponding to means-plus-function components) that may implement the various operations illustrated in one or more of the embodiments.

[0134] The communication device 1600 includes a processing system 1602 coupled to a transceiver 1608 (e.g., a transmitter and / or a receiver). The transceiver 1608 is configured to transmit and receive signals for the communication device 1600 (such as the various signals described herein) via an antenna 1610. The processing system 1602 may be configured to perform processing functions for the communication device 1600, including processing signals received and / or to be transmitted by the communication device 1600.

[0135] The processing system 1602 includes a processor 1604 coupled to a computer-readable medium / memory 1612 via a bus 1606. In some aspects, the computer-readable medium / memory 1612 is configured to store instructions (e.g., computer-executable code) that, when executed by the processor 1604, cause the processor 1604 to perform Figure 8 and / or Figure 15 , and other operations for performing the various techniques discussed herein for performing slice-aware network selection and / or performing UE-initiated deregistration. In some cases, the processor 1604 may include reference to Figure 2 One or more components of the UE 120a, such as, for example, the controller / processor 280, the transmit processor 264, the receive processor 258, etc. Additionally, in some cases, the computer-readable medium / memory 1612 may include reference to Figure 2 One or more components of the UE 120a, such as, for example, the memory 282.

[0136] In some aspects, the computer-readable medium / memory 1612 stores code for obtaining 1614, code for deriving 1616, code for selecting 1618, code for prioritizing 1620, code for sending 1622, code for receiving 1624, code for initiating 1626, and code for executing 1628.

[0137] In some cases, the code for obtaining 1614 may include code for obtaining network slice information for one or more networks, the network slice information indicating one or more slice identifiers supported in the one or more networks.

[0138] In some cases, the code for deriving 1616 may include code for deriving a list of one or more preferred networks based at least in part on the network slice information.

[0139] In some cases, code for selecting 1618 may include code for selecting a network to register with from a list of one or more preferred networks.

[0140] In some cases, the code for selecting 1618 may include code for selecting a last registered PLMN (RPLMN) or an equivalent home (EHPLMN) if in the preferred PLMN list.

[0141] In some cases, code for selecting 1618 may include code for selecting a visited PLMN (VPLMN) if the VPLMN is in a preferred PLMN list.

[0142] In some cases, code for prioritizing 1620 may include code for prioritizing a preferred network list.

[0143] In some cases, code for prioritization 1620 may include code for giving priority to one or more networks having at least one slice that supports a preferred service.

[0144] In some cases, code 1620 for prioritization may include code for giving higher priority to one or more networks having allowed slices that support the preferred service relative to one or more networks having configured slices that support the preferred service.

[0145] In some cases, code for sending 1622 may include code for sending a registration request for the new service to the first network.

[0146] In some cases, the code for receiving 1624 may include code for receiving a registration response from the first network, the registration response including an indication that the new service is not supported in the first network.

[0147] In some cases, code for initiating 1626 may include code for initiating deregistration with the first network based on the registration response.

[0148] In some cases, code for initiating 1626 may include code for initiating at least one new service while already registered with the first network.

[0149] In some cases, code for executing 1628 may include code for performing a search for a second network that supports the new service.

[0150] In some cases, code for sending 1622 may include code for sending a registration request to the second network to request new service from the second network.

[0151] In certain aspects, processor 1604 has circuitry configured to implement code stored in computer-readable medium / memory 1612. For example, processor 1604 includes circuitry for obtaining 1634, circuitry for deriving 1636, circuitry for selecting 1638, circuitry for prioritizing 1640, circuitry for sending 1642, circuitry for receiving 1644, circuitry for originating 1646, and circuitry for executing 1648.

[0152] In some cases, the circuit system for obtaining 1634 may include a circuit system for obtaining network slice information for one or more networks, the network slice information indicating one or more slice identifiers supported in the one or more networks.

[0153] In some cases, circuitry for deriving 1636 may include circuitry for deriving a list of one or more preferred networks based at least in part on network slice information.

[0154] In some cases, circuitry for selecting 1638 may include circuitry for selecting a network to register with from a list of one or more preferred networks.

[0155] In some cases, circuitry 1638 for selecting may include circuitry for selecting a last registered PLMN (RPLMN) or an equivalent home (EHPLMN) if in a preferred PLMN list.

[0156] In some cases, the circuitry for selecting 1638 may include circuitry for selecting a visited PLMN (VPLMN) if the VPLMN is in a preferred PLMN list.

[0157] In some cases, circuitry for prioritizing 1640 may include circuitry for prioritizing a preferred network list.

[0158] In some cases, the circuit system 1640 for prioritization may include a circuit system for giving priority to one or more networks having at least one slice that supports a preferred service.

[0159] In some cases, the circuit system 1640 for prioritization may include a circuit system for giving higher priority to one or more networks having allowed slices that support the preferred service relative to one or more networks having configured slices that support the preferred service.

[0160] In some cases, circuitry for sending 1642 may include circuitry for sending a registration request for the new service to the first network.

[0161] In some cases, the circuitry for receiving 1644 may include circuitry for receiving a registration response from the first network, the registration response including an indication that the new service is not supported in the first network.

[0162] In some cases, circuitry for initiating 1646 may include circuitry for initiating deregistration with the first network based on the registration response.

[0163] In some cases, circuitry for initiating 1646 may include circuitry for initiating at least one new service while already registered with the first network.

[0164] In some cases, circuitry for performing 1648 may include circuitry for performing a search for a second network that supports the new service.

[0165] In some cases, circuitry for sending 1642 may include circuitry for sending a registration request to the second network to request new service from the second network.

[0166] In some cases, Figures 11 and Figure 15 The operations illustrated in and other operations described herein for performing slice-aware network selection and / or performing UE-initiated deregistration may be implemented by one or more means-plus-function components. For example, in some cases, such operations may be implemented by means for obtaining, means for deriving, means for selecting, means for prioritizing, means for sending, means for receiving, means for initiating, and means for performing.

[0167] In some cases, means for sending (or means for transmitting or means for outputting for transmission) includes Figure 2 The transceiver 254 and / or antenna(s) 252 of the UE 120a illustrated in FIG. Figure 16 The circuit system 1642 of the communication device 1600 for transmitting.

[0168] In some cases, the means for receiving (or the means for obtaining) includes Figure 2 The receiver and / or antenna(s) 252 of the UE 120a illustrated in FIG. Figure 16 The circuit system 1634 for receiving of the communication device 1600 in FIG.

[0169] In some cases, the means for deriving, the means for selecting, the means for prioritizing, the means for initiating, and the means for executing comprise a processing system, which may include one or more processors, such as Figure 2 The receive processor 258, transmit processor 264, TX MIMO processor 266 and / or controller / processor 280 of the UE 120a illustrated in FIG. Figure 16 The processing system 1602 of the communication device 1600 in FIG.

[0170] Sample Clauses

[0171] Implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses.

[0172] Clause 1: A method for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE), comprising: obtaining network slicing information for one or more networks, the network slicing information indicating one or more slice identifiers supported in the one or more networks; deriving a list of one or more preferred networks based at least in part on the network slicing information; and selecting a network to register with from the list of one or more preferred networks.

[0173] Clause 2: A method as in clause 1, wherein selecting a network to register from the list of one or more preferred networks comprises selecting a public land mobile network (PLMN) for one or more networks based on: one or more prioritized lists of preferred networks; and one or more lists of slice identifiers supported in the network.

[0174] Clause 3: As in the method of Clause 2, the selection of the PLMN is also based on a preferred slice identifier list.

[0175] Clause 4: A method as in any of clauses 1-3, wherein the list of one or more preferred networks includes a list of public land mobile networks (PLMNs) that provide the desired service; and selecting a network to register on is based on a combination of the list of PLMNs that provide the desired service and the PLMNs stored on the UE.

[0176] Clause 5: A method as described in any of clauses 1-3, wherein the list of one or more preferred networks includes a list of preferred public land mobile networks (PLMNs) that provide the desired service; and selecting a network to register on includes: selecting a last registered PLMN (RPLMN) if the RPLMN is in the preferred PLMN list; or selecting an equivalent home PLMN (EHPLMN) if the EHPLMN is in the preferred PLMN list.

[0177] Clause 6: The method of clause 5, wherein selecting a network to register further comprises: if the last RPLMN and the EHPLMN are not in the preferred PLMN list, selecting a visited PLMN (VPLMN) if the VPLMN is in the preferred PLMN list.

[0178] Clause 7: The method of clause 6, wherein a VPLMN from the user-controlled PLMN list is given priority over the operator-controlled PLMN list.

[0179] Clause 8: The method of clause 6, wherein the VPLMN is selected based on signal quality.

[0180] Clause 9: A method as described in any of clauses 1-8, wherein the network slice information includes at least one of the following: configured network slice selection assistance information (NSSAI); or allowed NSSAI.

[0181] Clause 10: A method as described in any of clauses 1-9, wherein the network slice information is obtained via broadcast system information.

[0182] Clause 11: The method of any of clauses 1-10, wherein the list of one or more preferred networks is derived further based on the preferred service list.

[0183] Clause 12: The method of clause 11, wherein the preferred service list is prioritized.

[0184] Clause 13: The method of any of clauses 11-12, further comprising: prioritizing the list of one or more preferred networks.

[0185] Clause 14: The method of clause 13, wherein prioritizing the list of one or more preferred networks comprises giving priority to one or more networks having at least one slice that supports the preferred service.

[0186] Clause 15. A method as described in clause 14, wherein prioritizing the list of one or more preferred networks includes: giving higher priority to one or more networks having allowed slices that support the preferred service relative to one or more networks having configured slices that support the preferred service.

[0187] Clause 16: A method for wireless communications by a user equipment (UE), comprising: sending a registration request for a new service to a first network; receiving a registration response from the first network, the registration response including an indication that the new service is not supported in the first network; and initiating deregistration with the first network based on the registration response.

[0188] Clause 17: The method of clause 16, further comprising: initiating at least one new service while registered with the first network.

[0189] Clause 18: The method of any of clauses 16-17, further comprising: performing a search for a second network that supports the new service; and if the search is successful, sending a registration request to the second network to request the new service from the second network.

[0190] Clause 19: A method as described in any of clauses 16-18, wherein the registration request includes a requested network slice selection assistance information (NSSAI) information element.

[0191] Clause 20: The method of clause 19, wherein the requested NSSAI information element indicates at least one single NSSAI (S-NSSAI) for a slice supporting the new service.

[0192] Clause 21: A method as in any of clauses 16-20, wherein the indication comprises: the allowed network slice selection assistance information (NSSAI) does not include a single NSSAI (S-NSSAI) for a slice supporting the new service; or the rejected NSSAI includes the S-NSSAI for a slice supporting the new service.

[0193] Clause 22: A processing system comprising: a memory including computer-executable instructions; one or more processors configured to execute the computer-executable instructions and cause the processing system to perform the method according to any of clauses 1-21.

[0194] Clause 23: A processing system comprising means for performing the method according to any of clauses 1-21.

[0195] Clause 24: A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a processing system, cause the processing system to perform the method according to any of clauses 1-21.

[0196] Clause 25: A computer program product embodied on a computer-readable storage medium, the computer-readable storage medium comprising code for performing the method according to any of clauses 1-26.

[0197] Additional considerations

[0198] The techniques described herein can be used for various wireless communication technologies such as NR (e.g., 5G NR), 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE), Advanced LTE (LTE-A), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA), Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA), and other networks. The terms "network" and "system" are often used interchangeably. A CDMA network can implement radio technologies such as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA) and cdma2000. UTRA includes Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) and other variants of CDMA. cdma2000 covers IS-2000, IS-95, and IS-856 standards. A TDMA network can implement radio technologies such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). OFDMA networks can implement radio technologies such as NR (e.g., 5G RA), Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDMA, and others. UTRA and E-UTRA are parts of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). LTE and LTE-A are versions of UMTS that use E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE, LTE-A, and GSM are described in documents from an organization called the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). cdma2000 and UMB are described in documents from an organization called the 3rd Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2). NR is an emerging wireless communication technology under development.

[0199] In 3GPP, the term "cell" can refer to the coverage area of a Node B (NB) and / or the NB subsystem serving that coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used. In NR systems, the terms "cell" and base station (BS), next-generation Node B (gNB or g-Node B), access point (AP), distributed unit (DU), carrier, or transmit reception point (TRP) can be used interchangeably. A BS can provide communication coverage for macro cells, pico cells, femto cells, and / or other types of cells. A macro cell can cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., several kilometers in radius) and can allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptions. A pico cell can cover a relatively small geographic area and can allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptions. A femto cell can cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a residence) and can allow restricted access by UEs associated with the femto cell (e.g., UEs in a closed subscriber group (CSG), UEs for users in a residence, etc.). A BS for a macro cell can be referred to as a macro BS. A BS for a pico cell may be referred to as a pico BS. A BS for a femto cell may be referred to as a femto BS or a home BS.

[0200] A UE may also be referred to as a mobile station, a terminal, an access terminal, a subscriber unit, a station, a customer premises equipment (CPE), a cellular phone, a smartphone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a tablet computer, a camera, a gaming device, a netbook, a smartbook, an ultrabook, an appliance, a medical device or medical equipment, a biometric sensor / device, a wearable device (such as a smart watch, smart clothing, smart glasses, a smart wristband, smart jewelry (e.g., a smart ring, a smart bracelet, etc.)), an entertainment device (e.g., a music device, a video device, a satellite radio, etc.), a vehicle component or sensor, a smart meter / sensor, industrial manufacturing equipment, a global positioning system device, or any other suitable device configured to communicate via a wireless or wired medium. Some UEs may be considered machine type communication (MTC) devices or evolved MTC (eMTC) devices. MTC and eMTC UEs include, for example, robots, drones, remote devices, sensors, meters, monitors, location tags, etc., which can communicate with a base station, another device (e.g., a remote device), or some other entity. A wireless node can provide connectivity to or to a network (e.g., a wide area network (such as the Internet) or a cellular network) via, for example, a wired or wireless communication link. Some UEs may be considered Internet of Things (IoT) devices, which may be narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) devices.

[0201] In some examples, access to the air interface may be scheduled. A scheduling entity (e.g., a BS) allocates resources for communication between some or all devices and equipment within its service area or cell. The scheduling entity may be responsible for scheduling, assigning, reconfiguring, and releasing resources for one or more subordinate entities. That is, for scheduled communications, the subordinate entities utilize the resources allocated by the scheduling entity. The base station is not the only entity that can be used as a scheduling entity. In some examples, a UE may act as a scheduling entity and may schedule resources for one or more subordinate entities (e.g., one or more other UEs), and other UEs may utilize the resources scheduled by the UE for wireless communication. In some examples, a UE may act as a scheduling entity in a peer-to-peer (P2P) network and / or in a mesh network. In the mesh network example, UEs may communicate directly with each other in addition to communicating with the scheduling entity.

[0202] In some examples, two or more subordinate entities (e.g., UEs) may communicate with each other using sidelink signals. Real-world applications of such sidelink communications may include public safety, proximity services, UE-to-network relay, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications, Internet of Everything (IoE) communications, IoT communications, mission-critical mesh networks, and / or various other suitable applications. Generally, a sidelink signal may refer to a signal that is communicated from one subordinate entity (e.g., UE1) to another subordinate entity (e.g., UE2) without relaying the communication through a scheduling entity (e.g., UE or BS), even though the scheduling entity may be used for scheduling and / or control purposes. In some examples, the sidelink signal may be communicated using licensed spectrum (unlike wireless local area networks, which typically use unlicensed spectrum).

[0203] Each method disclosed herein includes one or more steps or actions for implementing the method. These method steps and / or actions may be interchangeable with one another without departing from the scope of the claims. In other words, unless a specific order of steps or actions is specified, the order and / or use of the specific steps and / or actions may be modified without departing from the scope of the claims.

[0204] As used herein, a phrase referring to "at least one of" a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including single members. As an example, "at least one of a, b, or c" is intended to encompass: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, and abc, as well as any combination with multiples of the same elements (e.g., aa, aaa, aab, aac, abb, acc, bb, bbb, bbc, cc, and ccc, or any other ordering of a, b, and c).

[0205] As used herein, the term "determining" encompasses a wide variety of actions. For example, "determining" may include calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, searching (e.g., searching in a table, database, or another data structure), ascertaining, and the like. Furthermore, "determining" may include receiving (e.g., receiving information), accessing (e.g., accessing data in a memory), and the like. Furthermore, "determining" may include resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, and the like.

[0206] The preceding description is provided to enable anyone skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the universal principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects. Accordingly, the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but rather should be granted the full scope consistent with the claim language, wherein singular references to elements are not intended to mean "one and only one" (unless specifically stated otherwise) but rather "one or more." Unless specifically stated otherwise, the term "some" refers to one or more. All structural and functional equivalents of the elements of the various aspects described throughout this disclosure, now or hereafter known to those of ordinary skill in the art, are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be covered by the claims. Furthermore, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the public, regardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly stated in the claims. No element of a claim should be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. §112(f) unless the element is explicitly recited using the phrase "means for..." or, in the case of a method claim, the element is recited using the phrase "step for..."

[0207] The various operations of the methods described above may be performed by any suitable device capable of performing the corresponding functions. These devices may include various hardware and / or software components and / or modules, including but not limited to circuits, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or processors. Generally, where there are operations illustrated in the figures, these operations may have corresponding counterpart means-plus-function components with similar numbering.

[0208] The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the present disclosure may be implemented or executed with a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device (PLD), discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any commercially available processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0209] If implemented in hardware, an example hardware configuration may include a processing system in a wireless node. The processing system may be implemented using a bus architecture. Depending on the specific application and overall design constraints of the processing system, the bus may include any number of interconnecting buses and bridges. The bus may link together various circuits including a processor, a machine-readable medium, and a bus interface. The bus interface may be used to connect a network adapter, etc., to the processing system via the bus. The network adapter may be used to implement signal processing functions at the PHY layer. In the user equipment 120 (see Figure 1 ), a user interface (e.g., a keypad, display, mouse, joystick, etc.) may also be connected to the bus. The bus may also link various other circuits, such as timing sources, peripherals, voltage regulators, power management circuits, and the like, which are well known in the art and will not be described further. The processor may be implemented using one or more general and / or special purpose processors. Examples include microprocessors, microcontrollers, DSP processors, and other circuitry capable of executing software. Those skilled in the art will recognize how to best implement the functionality described with respect to the processing system, depending on the specific application and the overall design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0210] If implemented in software, each function may be stored as one or more instructions or codes on or transmitted via a computer-readable medium. Software should be broadly interpreted to mean instructions, data, or any combination thereof, whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media, including any media that facilitates the transfer of a computer program from one location to another. The processor may be responsible for managing the bus and general processing, including executing software modules stored on a machine-readable storage medium. A computer-readable storage medium may be coupled to the processor so that the processor can read and write information from / to the storage medium. In an alternative embodiment, the storage medium may be integrated into the processor. As an example, the machine-readable medium may include a transmission line, a carrier modulated by data, and / or a computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon that is separate from the wireless node, all of which may be accessed by the processor via a bus interface. Alternatively or additionally, the machine-readable medium or any portion thereof may be integrated into the processor, such as a cache and / or general register file. As examples, examples of machine-readable storage media may include RAM (random access memory), flash memory, ROM (read-only memory), PROM (programmable read-only memory), EPROM (erasable programmable read-only memory), EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read-only memory), registers, magnetic disks, optical disks, hard drives, or any other suitable storage media, or any combination thereof. Machine-readable media may be embodied in a computer program product.

[0211] A software module may include a single instruction or many instructions and may be distributed across several different code segments, between different programs, and across multiple storage media. A computer-readable medium may include several software modules. These software modules include instructions that, when executed by a device (such as a processor), cause a processing system to perform various functions. These software modules may include a transmitting module and a receiving module. Each software module may reside in a single storage device or be distributed across multiple storage devices. As an example, when a triggering event occurs, a software module may be loaded from a hard drive into RAM. During the execution of the software module, the processor may load some instructions into a cache to increase access speed. One or more cache lines may then be loaded into a general register file for execution by the processor. When describing the functionality of a software module below, it will be understood that such functionality is implemented by the processor when the processor executes instructions from the software module.

[0212] Likewise, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies (such as infrared (IR), radio, and microwave), then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies (such as infrared, radio, and microwave) are included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and Disks typically reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically using lasers. Thus, in some aspects, computer-readable media may include non-transitory computer-readable media (e.g., tangible media). Additionally, for other aspects, computer-readable media may include transient computer-readable media (e.g., signals). Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0213] Thus, certain aspects may include a computer program product for performing the operations presented herein. For example, such a computer program product may include a computer-readable medium having instructions stored (and / or encoded) thereon, the instructions being executable by one or more processors to perform the operations described herein, for example, to perform the operations described herein and in Figure 8 and / or Figure 15 The operations illustrated in and other instructions disclosed herein for performing the various techniques discussed herein for performing slice-aware network selection and / or performing UE-initiated deregistration.

[0214] In addition, it should be appreciated that the modules and / or other appropriate means for performing the methods and techniques described herein can be downloaded and / or otherwise obtained by the user terminal and / or base station where applicable. For example, such a device can be coupled to a server to facilitate the transfer of the means for performing the methods described herein. Alternatively, the various methods described herein can be provided via a storage device (e.g., RAM, ROM, a physical storage medium such as a compact disc (CD) or floppy disk, etc.) so that once the storage device is coupled to or provided to the user terminal and / or base station, the device can obtain the various methods. In addition, any other suitable technology suitable for providing the methods and techniques described herein to a device can be utilized.

[0215] It will be understood that the claims are not limited to the precise configuration and components illustrated above. Various changes, substitutions and variations may be made in the arrangement, operation and details of the methods and apparatus described above without departing from the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE), comprising: obtaining one or more prioritized lists of public land mobile networks (PLMNs); obtaining, for one or more networks, network slicing information indicating one or more slice identifiers supported in the one or more networks; deriving a list of two or more preferred networks providing desired services for the UE based on the network slice information; as well as A network to register with is selected based at least in part on the one or more prioritized PLMN lists and the list of preferred networks.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein Selecting a network to register with from the list of preferred networks includes selecting a PLMN based on one or more lists of slice identifiers supported in the network for one or more networks.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein selecting the PLMN is further based on a preferred slice identifier list.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein: The list of preferred networks includes a list of PLMNs that provide the desired service; and Selecting a network to register with is based on a combination of the list of PLMNs providing the desired service and the PLMNs stored on the UE.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein: The list of preferred networks includes a list of preferred PLMNs that provide the desired service; and The networks you choose to register include: selecting a last registered PLMN (RPLMN) if the RPLMN is in the preferred PLMN list; or If an Equivalent Home PLMN (EHPLMN) is in the preferred PLMN list, the EHPLMN is selected.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein: Selecting a network to register further includes: if the last RPLMN and the EHPLMN are not in the preferred PLMN list, selecting a visited PLMN (VPLMN) if the VPLMN is in the preferred PLMN list.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein: A VPLMN from the user controlled PLMN list is given priority over the operator controlled PLMN list.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein: The VPLMN is selected based on signal quality.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein: The network slice information includes at least one of the following: configured Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (NSSAI); or As permitted by NSSAI.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein: The network slice information is obtained via broadcast system information.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein: The list of preferred networks is also derived based on the list of preferred services.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein: The preferred service list is prioritized.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising: The list of preferred networks is prioritized.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein: Prioritizing the list of preferred networks includes giving priority to one or more networks having at least one slice that supports a preferred service.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein: Prioritizing the list of preferred networks includes giving higher priority to one or more networks having allowed slices that support the preferred service relative to one or more networks having configured slices that support the preferred service.

16. An apparatus for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE), comprising: one or more processors, the one or more processors being individually or collectively configured to execute instructions stored on one or more memories and cause the UE to: obtaining one or more prioritized lists of public land mobile networks (PLMNs); obtaining, for one or more networks, network slicing information indicating one or more slice identifiers supported in the one or more networks; deriving a list of two or more preferred networks providing desired services for the UE based on the network slice information; as well as A network to register with is selected based at least in part on the one or more prioritized PLMN lists and the list of preferred networks.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein: To select a network to register with from the list of preferred networks, the one or more processors are configured to cause the UE to select a PLMN for one or more networks based on: one or more prioritized lists of preferred networks; and A list of one or more slice identifiers supported in the network.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein: The selection of the PLMN is also based on a preferred slice identifier list.

19. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein: The list of preferred networks includes a list of PLMNs that provide the desired service; and The one or more processors are configured to cause the UE to select a network to register with based on a combination of the list of PLMNs providing the desired service and PLMNs stored on the UE.

20. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein: The list of preferred networks includes a list of preferred PLMNs that provide the desired service; and The networks you choose to register include: selecting a last registered PLMN (RPLMN) if the RPLMN is in the preferred PLMN list; or If an Equivalent Home PLMN (EHPLMN) is in the preferred PLMN list, the EHPLMN is selected.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein: To further select a network to register, the one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE to: if the last RPLMN and the EHPLMN are not in the preferred PLMN list, select a visited PLMN (VPLMN) if the VPLMN is in the preferred PLMN list.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein: A VPLMN from the user controlled PLMN list is given priority over the operator controlled PLMN list.

23. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein: The VPLMN is selected based on signal quality.

24. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein: The network slice information includes at least one of the following: configured Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (NSSAI); or As permitted by NSSAI.

25. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein: The network slice information is obtained via broadcast system information.

26. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein: The list of preferred networks is also derived based on the list of preferred services.

27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein: The preferred service list is prioritized.

28. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein: The one or more processors are configured to cause the UE to prioritize the list of preferred networks.

29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein To prioritize the list of preferred networks, the one or more processors are configured to cause the UE to give priority to one or more networks having at least one slice supporting a preferred service.

30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein: In order to prioritize the list of preferred networks, the one or more processors are configured to cause the UE to give higher priority to one or more networks having allowed slices supporting the preferred service relative to one or more networks having configured slices supporting the preferred service.

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