A method and device for verifying the location of a user equipment

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a method and apparatus for verifying the positioning of a user equipment (UE). This solution can determine whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on positioning verification information, thus making up for the deficiency in the prior art of lacking a method for determining whether to perform UE positioning verification.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of mobile communication technologies, and particularly to a method and apparatus for verifying the positioning of a user equipment (UE). Background Art

[0002] In the current mobile communication network system, the location information of a user equipment (UE) can be reported to the network side. However, in some scenarios, the accuracy of the reported location information of the user equipment may not meet the requirements, and it is necessary to verify the reported location information to obtain more accurate location information. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The present disclosure provides a method and apparatus for verifying the positioning of a user equipment (UE) to confirm whether it is necessary to perform positioning verification on the UE, that is, to obtain more accurate location information of the user equipment.

[0004] An embodiment of the first aspect of the present disclosure provides a method for verifying the positioning of a user equipment (UE). The method is applied to a first network element, and the method includes: determining whether to perform positioning verification on the UE based on positioning verification information.

[0005] An embodiment of the second aspect of the present disclosure provides a method for verifying the positioning of a UE. The method is applied to a Policy Control Function (PCF) network element, and the method includes: in response to the reported positioning verification information, determining whether to perform positioning verification on the UE based on the positioning verification information and a pre-configured policy; and when it is determined to perform positioning verification on the UE, sending positioning verification indication information to the first network element that reported the positioning verification information, where the positioning verification indication information includes a positioning verification indication indicating the execution of positioning verification.

[0006] An embodiment of the third aspect of the present disclosure provides an apparatus for verifying the positioning of a UE. The apparatus is applied to a first network element, and the apparatus includes: a determining module, configured to determine whether to perform positioning verification on the UE based on positioning verification information.

[0007] An embodiment of the fourth aspect of the present disclosure provides an apparatus for verifying the positioning of a UE. The apparatus is applied to a Policy Control Function (PCF) network element, and the apparatus includes: a determining module, configured to determine whether to perform positioning verification on the UE based on the positioning verification information and a pre-configured policy in response to the reported positioning verification information; and a sending module, configured to send the positioning verification indication information to the first network element that reported the positioning verification information when it is determined to perform positioning verification on the UE, where the positioning verification indication information includes a positioning verification indication indicating the execution of positioning verification.

[0008] An embodiment of the fifth aspect of the present disclosure provides a communication device, including: a transceiver; a memory; and a processor, which is respectively connected to the transceiver and the memory, and is configured to control the wireless signal transceiver of the transceiver by executing computer-executable instructions on the memory, and can implement the method described in the embodiment of the first aspect or the second aspect above.

[0009] An embodiment of the sixth aspect of the present disclosure provides a computer storage medium, wherein the computer storage medium stores computer-executable instructions; after being executed by a processor, the computer-executable instructions can implement the method described in the embodiment of the first aspect or the second aspect above.

[0010] A method and device for confirming UE positioning verification provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure can determine whether to perform positioning verification on a UE based on positioning verification information, thereby making up for the deficiency in the prior art of lacking how to determine whether to perform UE positioning verification.

[0011] Additional aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will be given in part in the following description, become apparent in part from the following description, or be understood through the practice of the present disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] The above and / or additional aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent and understandable from the following description of the embodiments in conjunction with the drawings.

[0013] Wherein:

[0014] Figure 1 FIG. is a schematic flowchart of a method for confirming UE positioning verification according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0015] Figure 2 FIG. is a schematic flowchart of a method for confirming UE positioning verification according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0016] Figure 3 FIG. is a schematic flowchart of a method for confirming UE positioning verification according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0017] Figure 4 FIG. is a schematic flowchart of a method for confirming UE positioning verification according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0018] Figure 5 FIG. is a schematic flowchart of a method for confirming UE positioning verification according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0019] Figure 6 FIG. is a schematic flowchart of another method for confirming UE positioning verification according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0020] Figure 7Schematic diagram of a confirmation device for UE positioning verification provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0021] Figure 8 Schematic diagram of a confirmation device for UE positioning verification provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0022] Figure 9 Schematic diagram of another confirmation device for UE positioning verification provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0023] Figure 10 Schematic diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. Detailed implementation manners

[0024] The embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below. Examples of the embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, where the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are intended to explain the present disclosure, but should not be construed as limiting the present disclosure.

[0025] In the current mobile communication network system, the location information of a user equipment (UE) can be reported to the network side. However, in some scenarios, the accuracy of the reported location information of the user equipment may not meet the requirements, and it is necessary to verify the reported location information to obtain more accurate location information. However, in the prior art, there is a lack of a method for determining whether positioning verification is required.

[0026] For this reason, the present application provides a confirmation method and device for UE positioning verification, which can determine whether to perform positioning verification on the UE based on positioning verification information, thus making up for the deficiency in the prior art of lacking a method for determining whether to perform UE positioning verification.

[0027] Figure 1 FIG. shows a flowchart of a confirmation method for UE positioning verification according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. This method is executed by a first network element, thus providing a confirmation method for performing positioning verification on the UE, as Figure 1 shown, the confirmation method for UE positioning verification includes the following steps:

[0028] S101, based on the positioning verification information, determine whether to perform positioning verification on the UE.

[0029] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the network device can determine whether to perform positioning verification on the UE based on the positioning verification information, thus making up for the deficiency in the prior art of lacking a method for determining whether to perform UE positioning verification.

[0030] In some embodiments, the positioning verification information may include at least one of a satellite link indication and UE's location identification information. The satellite link indication may be used to indicate whether the UE is using at least one of satellite access and satellite backhaul. The location identification information may include at least one of the following information: the identification of the cell where the UE is located, the identification of the access network node to which the cell belongs, and the tracking area identity (TAI) corresponding to the UE.

[0031] That is, the first network element may determine whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the satellite link indication and / or the UE's location identification information. In some embodiments, the first network element may directly determine to perform positioning verification for the UE or determine not to perform positioning verification for the UE without making a judgment. That is, the first network element may determine to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the satellite link indication and / or the UE's location identification information, or the first network element may determine not to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the satellite link indication and / or the UE's location identification information.

[0032] In some embodiments, the first network element may determine whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the satellite link indication, where the satellite link indication is used to indicate whether the UE is using satellite access and / or satellite backhaul. In some embodiments, the first network element may determine to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the satellite link indication, where the satellite link indication is used to indicate that the UE is using satellite access and / or satellite backhaul. In some embodiments, the first network element may determine not to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the satellite link indication, where the satellite link indication is used to indicate that the UE is not using satellite access and / or satellite backhaul. For example, if it is detected that the UE is using satellite access and / or satellite backhaul, since the coverage of satellites is usually large and may cover multiple service areas, such as multiple provinces or even countries, in this case, the coverage identified by the reported location information of the UE (usually cell identification, base station identification, etc.) may be larger than the area of interest, and thus UE positioning verification may be required to identify more accurate location information of the UE. The first network element determines to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the satellite link indication indicating that the UE is using satellite access and / or satellite backhaul. Another example is that if it is detected that the UE is not using satellite access and / or satellite backhaul, then UE positioning verification may not be required, and the first network element determines not to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the satellite link indication indicating that the UE is not using satellite access and / or satellite backhaul. Therefore, the first network element may determine whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the satellite link indication indicating whether the UE is using satellite access and / or satellite backhaul.

[0033] In some other embodiments, the first network element may determine whether to perform positioning verification for a UE based on the location identification information of the UE, where the location identification information of the UE includes at least one of the following information: the identification of the cell where the UE is located, the identification of the access network node to which the cell belongs, and the tracking area identity (TAI) corresponding to the UE. In some embodiments, the first network element may determine to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the location identification information of the UE, or the first network element may determine not to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the location identification information of the UE. For example, if the service requirement is to push advertisement information, etc. to UEs entering a certain area, such as a shopping mall, etc., and since the coverage identified by the reported location information of the UE (usually cell identification, base station identification, etc.) is usually larger than this area, in this case, in order to avoid mis-pushing advertisement information to UEs that have not entered this area, it may be necessary to perform UE positioning verification to identify the more accurate location information of the UE, and the first network element may determine to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the location identification information of the UE. Another example is that if the location identification information of the UE shows that the UE has not entered this shopping mall, then it may not be necessary to perform UE positioning verification, and the first network element may determine not to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the location identification information of the UE. Therefore, the first network element may determine whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the location identification information of the UE.

[0034] In some other embodiments, the first network element may determine whether to perform positioning verification for a UE based on a satellite link indication and the UE's location identification information, where the satellite link indication is used to indicate whether the UE is using satellite access and / or satellite backhaul; the UE's location identification information includes at least one of the following information: the identification of the cell where the UE is located, the identification of the access network node to which the cell belongs, and the tracking area identification (TAI) corresponding to the UE. In some embodiments, the first network element may determine to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the satellite link indication and the UE's location identification information, where the satellite link indication is used to indicate that the UE is using satellite access and / or satellite backhaul; the UE's location identification information includes at least one of the following information: the identification of the cell where the UE is located, the identification of the access network node to which the cell belongs, and the tracking area identification (TAI) corresponding to the UE. In some embodiments, the first network element may determine not to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the satellite link indication and the UE's location identification information, where the satellite link indication is used to indicate that the UE is not using satellite access and / or satellite backhaul; the UE's location identification information includes at least one of the following information: the identification of the cell where the UE is located, the identification of the access network node to which the cell belongs, and the tracking area identification (TAI) corresponding to the UE. For example, if it is detected that the UE is using satellite access and / or satellite backhaul, since the coverage area of a satellite is usually large and may cover multiple service areas, such as multiple provinces or even a country, and the service requirement is to push prompt information to the UE that spans service areas. In this case, since it is difficult to identify whether the UE spans service areas through the reported location information of the UE (usually cell identification, base station identification, etc.), it may be necessary to perform UE positioning verification to more accurately identify whether the UE spans service areas. Therefore, the first network element may determine whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the satellite link indication and the UE's location identification information.

[0035] In some embodiments, the first network element may include at least one of a session management function (SMF) network element and an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element.

[0036] Figure 2 The flowchart shows a method for confirming UE positioning verification according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. This method is executed by the first network element, thereby providing a method for confirming UE positioning verification, as Figure 2 shown, the method for confirming UE positioning verification includes the following steps:

[0037] S201, based on the positioning verification indication, determine whether to perform positioning verification for the UE.

[0038] In this embodiment, the positioning verification indication may come from a second network element. For example, when the first network element is an SMF network element, the positioning verification indication may come from a Policy Control Function (PCF) network element. When the first network element is an AMF network element, the positioning verification indication may come from a PCF network element or an SMF network element. The positioning verification indication may be obtained by the second network element based on positioning verification information. The positioning verification information may include at least one of a satellite link indication and UE location identification information. The satellite link indication may be used to indicate whether the UE is using at least one of satellite access and satellite backhaul. The location identification information may include at least one of the following: the identification of the cell where the UE is located, the identification of the access network node to which the cell belongs, and the Tracking Area Identity (TAI) corresponding to the UE. The second network element may determine whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the positioning verification information, and when it is determined to perform positioning verification, send a positioning verification indication to the first network element. The manner in which the second network element obtains the positioning verification indication based on the positioning verification information may refer to the description above of how the first network element determines whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the positioning verification information.

[0039] Specifically, the second network element may be obtained based on the positioning verification information and pre-configured policies in the second network element. The pre-configured policies may include at least one of the following: whether a UE using a satellite link requires information with a finer granularity than cell-level positioning granularity, UE service information that requires a finer granularity than cell-level positioning granularity, and policy information specifying an area that requires a finer granularity than cell-level positioning granularity. The second network element may determine whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the positioning verification information and the pre-configured policies in the second network element, and when it is determined to perform positioning verification, send a positioning verification indication to the first network element.

[0040] That is to say, the first network element may receive a positioning verification indication from the second network element and determine whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the positioning verification indication. In some embodiments, the first network element may directly determine to perform positioning verification for the UE or determine not to perform positioning verification for the UE without making a judgment. That is, the first network element may determine to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the positioning verification indication (for example, the positioning verification indication may indicate to perform positioning verification), or the first network element may determine not to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the positioning verification indication (for example, the positioning verification indication is a negative indication, that is, it indicates not to perform positioning verification). Of course, in some embodiments, if no positioning verification indication is received, it is default determined not to perform positioning verification for the UE.

[0041] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the network device can determine whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the positioning verification indication, thus making up for the deficiency in the prior art of lacking how to determine whether to perform UE positioning verification.

[0042] Figure 3 FIG. 4 shows a schematic flowchart of a method for confirming UE positioning verification according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. This method is executed by the SMF network element, thus providing a method for the SMF network element to confirm the positioning verification of the UE. On the basis of the embodiment shown in Figure 1 As shown, the method for confirming the UE positioning verification includes the following steps: Figure 3 Shown, the method for confirming the UE positioning verification includes the following steps:

[0043] S301, determine whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the positioning verification information.

[0044] Among them, the positioning verification information includes at least one of a satellite link indication and the location identification information of the UE. The satellite link indication is used to indicate whether the UE is using at least one of satellite access and satellite backhaul. The location identification information includes at least one of the following information: the identification of the cell where the UE is located, the identification of the access network node to which the cell belongs, and the tracking area identification TAI corresponding to the UE.

[0045] In some embodiments, the above step S301 can be implemented by at least one of the following steps S3011 and S3012.

[0046] S3011, determine whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the positioning verification information and the pre-configured policy in the SMF network element, where the pre-configured policy includes at least one of the following information: whether a UE using a satellite link needs information with a finer granularity than the cell-level positioning granularity, UE service information that needs a finer granularity than the cell-level positioning granularity, and policy information specifying an area that needs a finer granularity than the cell-level positioning granularity.

[0047] The SMF network element can be pre-configured with a policy, and the policy can include at least one of the following information: whether a UE using a satellite link needs information with a finer granularity than the cell-level positioning granularity, UE service information that needs a finer granularity than the cell-level positioning granularity, and policy information specifying an area that needs a finer granularity than the cell-level positioning granularity.

[0048] In this embodiment, the SMF network element may determine whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on positioning verification information including satellite link indication and / or UE's location identification information and preconfigured policies. In some embodiments, the SMF network element may directly determine to perform positioning verification for the UE or determine not to perform positioning verification for the UE without making a judgment. That is, the SMF network element may determine to perform positioning verification for the UE based on positioning verification information including satellite link indication and / or UE's location identification information and preconfigured policies, or the SMF network element may determine not to perform positioning verification for the UE based on positioning verification information including satellite link indication and / or UE's location identification information and preconfigured policies.

[0049] In some embodiments, the SMF network element may determine whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the satellite link indication and preconfigured policies, where the satellite link indication is used to indicate whether the UE is using satellite access and / or satellite backhaul. In some embodiments, the SMF network element may determine to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the satellite link indication and preconfigured policies, where the satellite link indication is used to indicate that the UE is using satellite access and / or satellite backhaul. In some embodiments, the SMF network element may determine not to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the satellite link indication and preconfigured policies, where the satellite link indication is used to indicate that the UE is not using satellite access and / or satellite backhaul. For example, if it is detected that the UE uses satellite access and / or satellite backhaul, since the coverage of satellites is usually large and may cover multiple service areas, such as multiple provinces or even countries, in this case, the coverage identified by the reported location information of the UE (usually cell identification, base station identification, etc.) may be larger than the area of interest. If the preconfigured policy in the SMF network element indicates that UEs using satellite access and / or satellite links require a finer granularity than cell-level positioning granularity, then UE positioning verification needs to be performed to identify the more accurate location information of the UE. The SMF network element determines to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the satellite link indication indicating that the UE is using satellite access and / or satellite backhaul and the preconfigured policy; while if the preconfigured policy in the SMF network element indicates that UEs using satellite access and / or satellite links do not require a finer granularity than cell-level positioning granularity, then UE positioning verification is not required, and the SMF network element determines not to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the satellite link indication indicating that the UE is not using satellite access and / or satellite backhaul and the preconfigured policy. Therefore, the SMF network element may determine whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the satellite link indication indicating whether the UE is using satellite access and / or satellite backhaul and the preconfigured policy.

[0050] In some other embodiments, the SMF network element may determine whether to perform positioning verification for a UE based on the location identification information of the UE and a pre-configured policy, where the location identification information of the UE includes at least one of the following information: the identification of the cell where the UE is located, the identification of the access network node to which the cell belongs, and the tracking area identification TAI corresponding to the UE. In some embodiments, the SMF network element may determine to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the location identification information of the UE and a pre-configured policy, or the SMF network element may determine not to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the location identification information of the UE and a pre-configured policy. For example, if the policy pre-configured in the SMF network element indicates that the UE subscribes to a service that requires a finer-grained positioning granularity than the cell-level positioning granularity, and if the UE has subscribed to a certain service among the above-mentioned UE subscription services, for example, the service is to push advertisement information to the UE that enters a certain area, such as a shopping mall, etc., and since the coverage identified by the reported location information of the UE (usually the cell identification, base station identification, etc.) is usually larger than this area, in this case, in order to avoid mis-pushing advertisement information to the UE that has not entered this area, it is necessary to perform UE positioning verification to identify the more accurate location information of the UE, and the SMF network element may determine to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the location identification information of the UE and a pre-configured policy. Another example is that if the location identification information of the UE shows that the UE has not entered the shopping mall, then it may not be necessary to perform UE positioning verification, and the SMF network element may determine not to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the location identification information of the UE and a pre-configured policy. Therefore, the SMF network element may determine whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the location identification information of the UE and a pre-configured policy.

[0051] In some other embodiments, the SMF network element may determine whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the satellite link indication, the location identification information of the UE, and the pre-configured policy, where the satellite link indication is used to indicate whether the UE is using satellite access and / or satellite backhaul; the location identification information of the UE includes at least one of the following information: the identification of the cell where the UE is located, the identification of the access network node to which the cell belongs, and the tracking area identification (TAI) corresponding to the UE. In some embodiments, the SMF network element may determine to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the satellite link indication, the location identification information of the UE, and the pre-configured policy, where the satellite link indication is used to indicate that the UE is using satellite access and / or satellite backhaul; the location identification information of the UE includes at least one of the following information: the identification of the cell where the UE is located, the identification of the access network node to which the cell belongs, and the tracking area identification (TAI) corresponding to the UE. In some embodiments, the SMF network element may determine not to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the satellite link indication, the location identification information of the UE, and the pre-configured policy, where the satellite link indication is used to indicate that the UE is not using satellite access and / or satellite backhaul; the location identification information of the UE includes at least one of the following information: the identification of the cell where the UE is located, the identification of the access network node to which the cell belongs, and the tracking area identification (TAI) corresponding to the UE. For example, if it is detected that the UE is using satellite access and / or satellite backhaul, since the coverage area of the satellite is usually large and may cover multiple service areas, such as covering multiple provinces or even countries, and the UE has subscribed to a service that requires a finer-grained positioning granularity than the cell level as indicated by the pre-configured policy in the SMF network element, such as different rates for UEs spanning service areas for the subscribed service, in this case, since it is difficult to identify whether the UE has crossed the service area through the reported location information of the UE (usually the cell identification, base station identification, etc.), it is necessary to perform UE positioning verification to more accurately identify whether the UE has crossed the service area. Therefore, the SMF network element may determine whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the satellite link indication, the location identification information of the UE, and the pre-configured policy.

[0052] S3012, report the positioning verification information to the policy control function (PCF) network element, so that the PCF network element determines whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the positioning verification information and the pre-configured policy in the PCF network element; and determine to perform positioning verification for the UE when receiving the positioning verification indication information from the PCF network element. The pre-configured policy includes at least one of the following information: whether the UE using the satellite link needs information with a finer-grained positioning granularity than the cell level, the UE service information that requires a finer-grained positioning granularity than the cell level, and the policy information specifying the area that requires a finer-grained positioning granularity than the cell level. The positioning verification indication information includes a positioning verification indication indicating the execution of positioning verification and is sent by the PCF network element when determining to perform positioning verification for the UE.

[0053] In this embodiment, the SMF network element can report positioning verification information to the Policy Control Function (PCF) network element. A policy is pre-configured in the PCF network element, and the policy can include at least one of the following information: whether a UE using a satellite link requires information with a finer granularity than cell-level positioning granularity, UE service information that requires a finer granularity than cell-level positioning granularity, and policy information specifying an area that requires a finer granularity than cell-level positioning granularity. The PCF network element can determine whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the positioning verification information including satellite link indication and / or the location identification information of the UE and the pre-configured policy. Among them, the manner in which the PCF network element determines whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the positioning verification information and the pre-configured policy is similar to the manner in which the SMF network element determines whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the positioning verification information and the pre-configured policy. Reference can be made to the above description and will not be elaborated here. If the PCF network element determines to perform positioning verification for the UE, the PCF network element can send a positioning verification indication to the SMF network element to instruct the SMF network element to perform positioning verification.

[0054] In some embodiments, the positioning verification indication information is carried in a Session Management (SM) policy association establishment response or an SM policy association modification response and is sent by the PCF network element to the SMF network element.

[0055] In this embodiment, the PCF network element can send the positioning verification indication information to the SMF network element through an SM policy association establishment response or an SM policy association modification response. Specifically, the positioning verification indication information can be carried in the SM policy association establishment response or the SM policy association modification response.

[0056] In some embodiments, the positioning verification indication information includes the time period for performing positioning verification for the UE.

[0057] In this embodiment, the PCF network element can determine to perform positioning verification for the UE at a certain time period. The PCF network element can send the time period for performing positioning verification for the UE and the positioning verification indication to the SMF network element to instruct the SMF network element to perform positioning verification for the UE at this time period. In this way, it is possible to avoid always performing positioning verification for the UE, thereby saving resources.

[0058] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the SMF network element may determine whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on positioning verification information and a preconfigured policy, or may send the positioning verification information to the PCF network element so that the PCF network element determines whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the positioning verification information and the preconfigured policy, thereby making up for the deficiency in the prior art of lacking how to determine whether to perform UE positioning verification.

[0059] Figure 4 The flowchart shows a method for confirming UE positioning verification according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. This method is executed by the SMF network element, thereby providing a method for the SMF network element to confirm the positioning verification of the UE. Based on the embodiment shown in Figure 3 as shown, the method for confirming the UE positioning verification includes the following steps: Figure 4 as shown, the method for confirming the UE positioning verification includes the following steps:

[0060] S401, based on the positioning verification information, determine whether to perform positioning verification for the UE.

[0061] Among them, the positioning verification information includes at least one of a satellite link indication and UE location identification information. The satellite link indication is used to indicate whether the UE is using at least one of satellite access and satellite backhaul. The location identification information includes at least one of the following information: the identification of the cell where the UE is located, the identification of the access network node to which the cell belongs, and the tracking area identification TAI corresponding to the UE.

[0062] For the specific implementation of step S401, reference may be made to the implementation manner of step S201 shown above Figure 2 and details are not described herein again in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0063] S402, when it is determined to perform positioning verification for the UE, send positioning verification indication information to the AMF network element, where the positioning verification indication information includes a positioning verification indication indicating the execution of positioning verification.

[0064] When the SMF network element determines to perform positioning verification for the UE, it may send positioning verification indication information to the AMF network element that reports the positioning verification information to instruct the AMF network element to perform positioning verification.

[0065] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the SMF network element may determine whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the positioning verification information and send a definition verification indication to the AMF network element when it is determined to perform positioning verification for the UE, thereby making up for the deficiency in the prior art of lacking how to determine whether to perform UE positioning verification.

[0066] Figure 5The figure shows a schematic flowchart of a method for confirming UE positioning verification according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. This method is executed by the AMF network element, thereby providing a method for the AMF network element to confirm the positioning verification of the UE. Based on the Figure 1 embodiment shown, as Figure 5 shown, the method for confirming the UE positioning verification includes the following steps:

[0067] S501, based on the positioning verification information, determine whether to perform positioning verification on the UE.

[0068] Among them, the positioning verification information includes at least one of a satellite link indication and the UE's location identification information. The satellite link indication is used to indicate whether the UE is using at least one of satellite access and satellite backhaul. The location identification information includes at least one of the following information: the identification of the cell where the UE is located, the identification of the access network node to which the cell belongs, and the tracking area identification TAI corresponding to the UE.

[0069] In some embodiments, the above step S501 can be implemented by at least one of the following steps S5011 - S5013.

[0070] S5011, based on the positioning verification information and the pre - configured policy in the AMF network element, determine whether to perform positioning verification on the UE, where the pre - configured policy includes at least one of the following information: whether a UE using a satellite link requires information with a finer granularity than cell - level positioning granularity, UE service information that requires a finer granularity than cell - level positioning granularity, and policy information specifying an area that requires a finer granularity than cell - level positioning granularity.

[0071] The AMF network element can be pre - configured with a policy, and the policy can include at least one of the following information: whether a UE using a satellite link requires information with a finer granularity than cell - level positioning granularity, UE service information that requires a finer granularity than cell - level positioning granularity, and policy information specifying an area that requires a finer granularity than cell - level positioning granularity.

[0072] In this embodiment, the AMF network element can determine whether to perform positioning verification on the UE based on the positioning verification information including the satellite link indication and / or the UE's location identification information and the pre - configured policy. In some embodiments, the AMF network element can directly determine to perform positioning verification on the UE or determine not to perform positioning verification on the UE without judgment. That is, the AMF network element can determine to perform positioning verification on the UE based on the positioning verification information including the satellite link indication and / or the UE's location identification information and the pre - configured policy, or the AMF network element can determine not to perform positioning verification on the UE based on the positioning verification information including the satellite link indication and / or the UE's location identification information and the pre - configured policy.

[0073] In some embodiments, the AMF network element may determine whether to perform positioning verification for a UE based on a satellite link indication and a pre-configured policy, where the satellite link indication is used to indicate whether the UE is using satellite access and / or satellite backhaul. In some embodiments, the AMF network element may determine to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the satellite link indication and the pre-configured policy, where the satellite link indication is used to indicate that the UE is using satellite access and / or satellite backhaul. In some embodiments, the AMF network element may determine not to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the satellite link indication and the pre-configured policy, where the satellite link indication is used to indicate that the UE is not using satellite access and / or satellite backhaul. For example, if it is detected that the UE uses satellite access and / or satellite backhaul, since the coverage of satellites is usually large and may cover multiple service areas, such as multiple provinces or even countries, in this case, the coverage identified by the reported location information of the UE (usually cell identification, base station identification, etc.) may be larger than the area of interest. If the policy pre-configured in the AMF network element indicates that a UE using satellite access and / or satellite link requires a finer granularity than cell-level positioning granularity, then UE positioning verification needs to be performed to identify more accurate location information of the UE. The AMF network element determines to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the satellite link indication indicating that the UE is using satellite access and / or satellite backhaul and the pre-configured policy; if the policy pre-configured in the AMF network element indicates that a UE using satellite access and / or satellite link does not require a finer granularity than cell-level positioning granularity, then UE positioning verification is not required, and the AMF network element determines to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the satellite link indication indicating that the UE is not using satellite access and / or satellite backhaul and the pre-configured policy. Therefore, the AMF network element may determine whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the satellite link indication indicating whether the UE is using satellite access and / or satellite backhaul and the pre-configured policy.

[0074] In some other embodiments, the AMF network element may determine whether to perform positioning verification for a UE based on the location identification information of the UE and a preconfigured policy, where the location identification information of the UE includes at least one of the following information: the identification of the cell where the UE is located, the identification of the access network node to which the cell belongs, and the tracking area identification TAI corresponding to the UE. In some embodiments, the AMF network element may determine to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the location identification information of the UE and a preconfigured policy, or the AMF network element may determine not to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the location identification information of the UE and a preconfigured policy. For example, if the policy preconfigured in the AMF network element indicates that the UE subscription service requires a finer granularity than the cell-level positioning granularity, and if the UE has subscribed to a certain service among the above UE subscription services, for example, the service is to push advertisement information to the UE entering a certain area, such as entering a shopping mall or other places, and since the coverage identified by the reported location information of the UE (usually the cell identification, base station identification, etc.) is usually larger than this area, in this case, in order to avoid mis-pushing advertisement information to the UE that has not entered this area, it is necessary to perform UE positioning verification to identify the more accurate location information of the UE, and the AMF network element may determine to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the location identification information of the UE and a preconfigured policy. Another example is that if the policy preconfigured in the AMF network element indicates an area that requires a finer granularity than the cell-level positioning granularity, and if the UE enters this area, since the coverage granularity identified by the reported location information of the UE (usually the cell identification, base station identification, etc.) does not meet the granularity required for this area, in this case, it is necessary to perform UE positioning verification to identify the more accurate location information of the UE, and the AMF network element may determine to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the location identification information of the UE and a preconfigured policy. Another example is that if the location identification information of the UE indicates that the UE has not entered this area, then it may not be necessary to perform UE positioning verification, and the AMF network element may determine not to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the location identification information of the UE and a preconfigured policy. Therefore, the AMF network element may determine whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the location identification information of the UE and a preconfigured policy.

[0075] In some other embodiments, the AMF network element may determine whether to perform positioning verification for a UE based on a satellite link indication, the location identification information of the UE, and a pre-configured policy, where the satellite link indication is used to indicate whether the UE is using satellite access and / or satellite backhaul; the location identification information of the UE includes at least one of the following information: the identification of the cell where the UE is located, the identification of the access network node to which the cell belongs, and the tracking area identification (TAI) corresponding to the UE. In some embodiments, the AMF network element may determine to perform positioning verification for the UE based on a satellite link indication, the location identification information of the UE, and a pre-configured policy, where the satellite link indication is used to indicate that the UE is using satellite access and / or satellite backhaul; the location identification information of the UE includes at least one of the following information: the identification of the cell where the UE is located, the identification of the access network node to which the cell belongs, and the tracking area identification (TAI) corresponding to the UE. In some embodiments, the AMF network element may determine not to perform positioning verification for the UE based on a satellite link indication, the location identification information of the UE, and a pre-configured policy, where the satellite link indication is used to indicate that the UE is not using satellite access and / or satellite backhaul; the location identification information of the UE includes at least one of the following information: the identification of the cell where the UE is located, the identification of the access network node to which the cell belongs, and the tracking area identification (TAI) corresponding to the UE. For example, if it is detected that the UE is using satellite access and / or satellite backhaul, since the coverage area of a satellite is usually large and may cover multiple service areas, such as multiple provinces or even a country, and the UE has subscribed to a service that requires a finer-grained positioning granularity than the cell-level positioning for the UE subscription service pre-configured in the AMF network element, such as the subscription service requires different rates for UEs spanning service areas, in this case, since it is difficult to identify whether the UE has spanned the service area through the reported location information of the UE (usually the cell identification, base station identification, etc.), it is necessary to perform UE positioning verification to more accurately identify whether the UE has spanned the service area. Another example is that if it is detected that the UE is using satellite access and / or satellite backhaul, since the coverage area of a satellite is usually large and may cover multiple service areas, such as multiple provinces or even a country, and if the UE crosses the border, since different countries may use different operators, in this case, since it is difficult to identify whether the UE has crossed the border through the reported location information of the UE (usually the cell identification, base station identification, etc.), it is necessary to perform UE positioning verification to more accurately identify whether the UE has crossed the border so as to be able to reselect the local mobility anchor (PLMA) network element. Therefore, the AMF network element may determine whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on a satellite link indication, the location identification information of the UE, and a pre-configured policy.

[0076] S5012. Report the positioning verification information to the Policy Control Function (PCF) network element so that the PCF network element determines whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the positioning verification information and the pre-configured policies in the PCF network element; and determine to perform positioning verification for the UE when receiving the positioning verification indication information from the PCF network element.

[0077] The pre-configured policies include at least one of the following information: whether a UE using a satellite link requires information with a finer granularity than the cell-level positioning granularity, UE service information that requires a finer granularity than the cell-level positioning granularity, and policy information specifying an area that requires a finer granularity than the cell-level positioning granularity. The positioning verification indication information includes a positioning verification indication indicating the execution of positioning verification and is sent by the PCF network element when determining to perform positioning verification for the UE.

[0078] In this embodiment, the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) network element can report the positioning verification information to the Policy Control Function (PCF) network element, and there are pre-configured policies in the PCF network element. The policies can include at least one of the following information: whether a UE using a satellite link requires information with a finer granularity than the cell-level positioning granularity, UE service information that requires a finer granularity than the cell-level positioning granularity, and policy information specifying an area that requires a finer granularity than the cell-level positioning granularity. The PCF network element can determine whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the positioning verification information including the satellite link indication and / or the location identification information of the UE and the pre-configured policies. Among them, the way the PCF network element determines whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the positioning verification information and the pre-configured policies is similar to the way the AMF network element determines whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the positioning verification information and the pre-configured policies. Refer to the above description and will not be elaborated here. If the PCF network element determines to perform positioning verification for the UE, the PCF network element can send a positioning verification indication to the AMF network element to instruct the AMF network element to perform positioning verification.

[0079] S5013. Report the positioning verification information to the Session Management Function (SMF) network element so that the SMF network element determines whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the positioning verification information and the pre-configured policies in the SMF network element; and determine to perform positioning verification for the UE when receiving the positioning verification indication information from the SMF network element.

[0080] The pre-configured policies include at least one of the following information: whether a UE using a satellite link requires information with a finer granularity than the cell-level positioning granularity, UE service information that requires a finer granularity than the cell-level positioning granularity, and policy information specifying an area that requires a finer granularity than the cell-level positioning granularity. The positioning verification indication information includes a positioning verification indication indicating the execution of positioning verification and is sent by the SMF network element when determining to perform positioning verification for the UE.

[0081] In this embodiment, the AMF network element can report positioning verification information to the SMF network element. A policy is pre-configured in the SMF network element, and the policy can include at least one of the following information: whether a UE using a satellite link needs information with a finer granularity than cell-level positioning granularity, UE service information that requires a finer granularity than cell-level positioning granularity, and policy information specifying an area that requires a finer granularity than cell-level positioning granularity. The SMF network element can determine whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the positioning verification information including satellite link indication and / or UE location identification information and the pre-configured policy. If the SMF network element determines to perform positioning verification for the UE, the SMF network element can send a positioning verification indication to the AMF network element to instruct the AMF network element to perform positioning verification.

[0082] In some embodiments, the positioning verification indication information is carried in a UE policy association establishment response or a UE policy association modification response and sent by the PCF network element to the AMF network element.

[0083] In this embodiment, the PCF network element can send the positioning verification indication information to the AMF network element through a UE policy association establishment response or a UE policy association modification response. Specifically, the positioning verification indication information can be carried in a UE policy association establishment response or a UE policy association modification response.

[0084] In some embodiments, the positioning verification indication information is carried in an access and mobility management (AM) policy association establishment response or an AM policy association modification response and sent by the PCF network element to the AMF network element.

[0085] In this embodiment, the PCF network element can send the positioning verification indication information to the AMF network element through an AM policy association establishment response or an AM policy association modification response. Specifically, the positioning verification indication information can be carried in a UE policy association establishment response or a UE policy association modification response.

[0086] In some embodiments, the positioning verification indication information includes a time period for performing positioning verification for the UE.

[0087] In this embodiment, the PCF network element can determine to perform positioning verification for the UE according to a certain time period. The PCF network element can send the time period for performing positioning verification for the UE and the positioning verification indication to the AMF network element to instruct the AMF network element to perform positioning verification for the UE according to this time period. In this way, it is possible to avoid always performing positioning verification for this UE, thereby saving resources.

[0088] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the AMF network element may determine whether to perform location verification for the UE based on the location verification information and the pre-configured policy, or may send the location verification information to the PCF network element so that the PCF network element determines whether to perform location verification for the UE based on the location verification information and the pre-configured policy, thereby making up for the deficiency in the prior art of lacking how to determine whether to perform UE location verification.

[0089] Figure 6 The flowchart of a method for confirming UE location verification according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. This method is executed by a Policy Control Function (PCF) network element, thereby providing a method for the PCF network element to confirm UE location verification, as Figure 6 shown, the method for confirming UE location verification includes the following steps:

[0090] S601, in response to the reported location verification information, determine whether to perform location verification for the UE based on the location verification information and the pre-configured policy.

[0091] In some embodiments, the location verification information includes at least one of a satellite link indication and the location identification information of the UE. The satellite link indication is used to indicate whether the UE is using at least one of satellite access and satellite backhaul. The location identification information includes at least one of the following information: the identification of the cell where the UE is located, the identification of the access network node to which the cell belongs, and the Tracking Area Identity (TAI) corresponding to the UE. The pre-configured policy includes at least one of the following information: whether a UE using a satellite link requires information with a finer granularity than the cell-level location granularity, the UE service information that requires a finer granularity than the cell-level location granularity, and the policy information specifying the area that requires a finer granularity than the cell-level location granularity.

[0092] The PCF network element may be pre-configured with a policy, and the policy may include at least one of the following information: whether a UE using a satellite link requires information with a finer granularity than the cell-level location granularity, the UE service information that requires a finer granularity than the cell-level location granularity, and the policy information specifying the area that requires a finer granularity than the cell-level location granularity.

[0093] In this embodiment, the PCF network element may determine whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on positioning verification information including satellite link indication and / or the location identification information of the UE and a pre-configured policy. In some embodiments, the PCF network element may directly determine to perform positioning verification for the UE or determine not to perform positioning verification for the UE without making a judgment. That is, the PCF network element may determine to perform positioning verification for the UE based on positioning verification information including satellite link indication and / or the location identification information of the UE and a pre-configured policy, or the PCF network element may determine not to perform positioning verification for the UE based on positioning verification information including satellite link indication and / or the location identification information of the UE and a pre-configured policy.

[0094] In some embodiments, the PCF network element may determine whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on a satellite link indication and a pre-configured policy, where the satellite link indication is used to indicate whether the UE is using satellite access and / or satellite backhaul. In some embodiments, the PCF network element may determine to perform positioning verification for the UE based on a satellite link indication and a pre-configured policy, where the satellite link indication is used to indicate that the UE is using satellite access and / or satellite backhaul. In some embodiments, the PCF network element may determine not to perform positioning verification for the UE based on a satellite link indication and a pre-configured policy, where the satellite link indication is used to indicate that the UE is not using satellite access and / or satellite backhaul. For example, if it is detected that the UE uses satellite access and / or satellite backhaul, since the coverage area of a satellite is usually large and may cover multiple service areas, such as multiple provinces or even countries, in this case, the coverage identified by the reported location information of the UE (usually cell identification, base station identification, etc.) may be larger than the area of interest. If the policy pre-configured in the PCF network element indicates that a UE using satellite access and / or satellite link requires a finer granularity than cell-level positioning granularity, then UE positioning verification needs to be performed to identify more accurate location information of the UE. The PCF network element determines to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the satellite link indication indicating that the UE is using satellite access and / or satellite backhaul and the pre-configured policy; if the policy pre-configured in the PCF network element indicates that a UE using satellite access and / or satellite link does not require a finer granularity than cell-level positioning granularity, then UE positioning verification is not required, and the PCF network element determines not to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the satellite link indication indicating that the UE is not using satellite access and / or satellite backhaul and the pre-configured policy. Therefore, the PCF network element may determine whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the satellite link indication indicating whether the UE is using satellite access and / or satellite backhaul and the pre-configured policy.

[0095] In some other embodiments, the PCF network element may determine whether to perform positioning verification for a UE based on the location identification information of the UE and a pre-configured policy, where the location identification information of the UE includes at least one of the following information: the identification of the cell where the UE is located, the identification of the access network node to which the cell belongs, and the tracking area identification TAI corresponding to the UE. In some embodiments, the PCF network element may determine to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the location identification information of the UE and a pre-configured policy, or the PCF network element may determine not to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the location identification information of the UE and a pre-configured policy. For example, if the policy pre-configured in the PCF network element indicates that the UE subscribes to a service that requires a finer granularity than cell-level positioning granularity, and if the UE has subscribed to a certain service among the above UE subscription services, for example, the service is to push advertisement information to the UE entering a certain area, such as entering a shopping mall or other places. Since the coverage identified by the reported location information of the UE (usually cell identification, base station identification, etc.) is usually larger than this area, in this case, in order to avoid mis-pushing advertisement information to the UE that has not entered this area, it is necessary to perform UE positioning verification to identify the more accurate location information of the UE. The PCF network element may determine to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the location identification information of the UE and a pre-configured policy. Another example is that if the location identification information of the UE shows that the UE has not entered the shopping mall, it may not be necessary to perform UE positioning verification, and the PCF network element may determine not to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the location identification information of the UE and a pre-configured policy. Therefore, the PCF network element may determine whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the location identification information of the UE and a pre-configured policy.

[0096] In some other embodiments, the PCF network element may determine whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on a satellite link indication, the UE's location identification information, and a pre-configured policy, where the satellite link indication is used to indicate whether the UE is using satellite access and / or satellite backhaul; the UE's location identification information includes at least one of the following information: the identification of the cell where the UE is located, the identification of the access network node to which the cell belongs, and the tracking area identification (TAI) corresponding to the UE. In some embodiments, the PCF network element may determine to perform positioning verification for the UE based on a satellite link indication, the UE's location identification information, and a pre-configured policy, where the satellite link indication is used to indicate that the UE is using satellite access and / or satellite backhaul; the UE's location identification information includes at least one of the following information: the identification of the cell where the UE is located, the identification of the access network node to which the cell belongs, and the tracking area identification (TAI) corresponding to the UE. In some embodiments, the PCF network element may determine not to perform positioning verification for the UE based on a satellite link indication, the UE's location identification information, and a pre-configured policy, where the satellite link indication is used to indicate that the UE is not using satellite access and / or satellite backhaul; the UE's location identification information includes at least one of the following information: the identification of the cell where the UE is located, the identification of the access network node to which the cell belongs, and the tracking area identification (TAI) corresponding to the UE. For example, if it is detected that the UE is using satellite access and / or satellite backhaul, since the coverage area of a satellite is usually large and may cover multiple service areas, such as multiple provinces or even a country, and the UE has subscribed to a service that requires a finer-grained positioning granularity than the cell-level positioning for the UE subscription service pre-configured in the PCF network element, such as the subscription service requires different rates for UEs spanning service areas, etc. In this case, since it is difficult to identify whether the UE has spanned the service area through the UE's reported location information (usually the cell identification, base station identification, etc.), it is necessary to perform UE positioning verification to more accurately identify whether the UE has spanned the service area. Therefore, the PCF network element may determine whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on a satellite link indication, the UE's location identification information, and a pre-configured policy.

[0097] S602, when it is determined to perform positioning verification for the UE, send the positioning verification indication information to the first network element that reports the positioning verification information, where the positioning verification indication information includes a positioning verification indication indicating the execution of positioning verification.

[0098] When the PCF network element determines to perform positioning verification for the UE, it may send the positioning verification indication information to the network element that reports the positioning verification information to instruct the network element to perform positioning verification.

[0099] In some embodiments, the first network element includes at least one of the SMF network element and the AMF network element.

[0100] In this embodiment, the SMF network element and / or the AMF network element may report positioning verification information to the PCF network element to request the PCF network element to determine whether to perform positioning verification for the UE.

[0101] In some embodiments, if the network element reporting the positioning verification information includes the SMF network element, sending the positioning verification indication information to the first network element reporting the positioning verification information includes: sending an SM policy association establishment response or an SM policy association modification response carrying the positioning verification indication information to the SMF network element.

[0102] In this embodiment, if the SMF network element reports the positioning verification information to the PCF network element, when the PCF network element determines to perform positioning verification for the UE, the PCF network element may send the positioning verification indication information to the SMF network element through an SM policy association establishment response or an SM policy association modification response to indicate the SMF network element to perform positioning verification for the UE. Specifically, the positioning verification indication information may be carried in the SM policy association establishment response or the SM policy association modification response.

[0103] In some embodiments, if the network element reporting the positioning verification information includes the AMF network element, sending the positioning verification indication information to the first network element reporting the positioning verification information includes: sending an AM policy association establishment response or an AM policy association modification response carrying the positioning verification indication information to the AMF network element.

[0104] In this embodiment, if the AMF network element reports the positioning verification information to the PCF network element, when the PCF network element determines to perform positioning verification for the UE, the PCF network element may send the positioning verification indication information to the AMF network element through an AM policy association establishment response or an AM policy association modification response to indicate the AMF network element to perform positioning verification for the UE. Specifically, the positioning verification indication information may be carried in the AM policy association establishment response or the AM policy association modification response.

[0105] In some embodiments, if the network element reporting the positioning verification information includes the AMF network element, sending the positioning verification indication information to the first network element reporting the positioning verification information includes: sending a UE policy association establishment response or a UE policy association modification response carrying the positioning verification indication information to the AMF network element.

[0106] In this embodiment, if the AMF network element reports location verification information to the PCF network element, when the PCF network element determines to perform location verification for the UE, the PCF network element may send location verification indication information to the AMF network element through a UE policy association establishment response or a UE policy association modification response to instruct the AMF network element to perform location verification for the UE. Specifically, the location verification indication information may be carried in the UE policy association establishment response or the UE policy association modification response.

[0107] In some embodiments, the location verification indication information includes the time period for performing location verification for the UE.

[0108] In this embodiment, the PCF network element may determine to perform location verification for the UE according to a certain time period. The PCF network element may send the time period for performing location verification for the UE and the location verification indication to the AMF network element or the SMF network element to instruct the AMF network element or the SMF network element to perform location verification for the UE according to this time period. In this way, it is possible to avoid always performing location verification for the UE, thereby saving resources.

[0109] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the PCF network element may determine whether to perform location verification for the UE based on location verification information and pre-configured policies, thus making up for the deficiency in the prior art of lacking how to determine whether to perform UE location verification.

[0110] Corresponding to the UE location verification confirmation methods provided in the above several embodiments, the present disclosure also provides a UE location verification confirmation device. Since the UE location verification confirmation device provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure corresponds to the UE location verification confirmation methods provided in the above several embodiments, the implementation manners of the UE location verification confirmation methods are also applicable to the UE location verification confirmation device provided in this embodiment and will not be described in detail in this embodiment. Figures 7 - 9 It is a schematic structural diagram of a UE location verification confirmation device proposed according to the present disclosure.

[0111] Figure 7 It is a schematic structural diagram of a UE location verification confirmation device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure. This device is applied to the first network element.

[0112] As Figure 7 shown, the UE location verification confirmation device 700 includes:

[0113] A determination module 701, configured to determine whether to perform location verification for the UE based on location verification information;

[0114] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the SMF network element can determine whether to perform positioning verification for a UE based on positioning verification information, thus making up for the deficiency in the prior art of lacking how to determine whether to perform UE positioning verification.

[0115] In some embodiments, the positioning verification information includes at least one of a satellite link indication and the location identification information of the UE; the satellite link indication is used to indicate that the UE is using at least one of satellite access and satellite backhaul; and the location identification information includes at least one of the following information: the identification of the cell where the UE is located, the identification of the access network node to which the cell belongs, and the tracking area identification TAI corresponding to the UE.

[0116] In some embodiments, the first network element may include at least one of a session management function (SMF) network element and an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element.

[0117] In some embodiments, the determination module 701 is configured to determine whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on a pre-configured policy in the first network element and the positioning verification information, where the pre-configured policy includes at least one of the following information: whether a UE using a satellite link requires information with a finer granularity than cell-level positioning granularity, UE service information that requires a finer granularity than cell-level positioning granularity, and policy information specifying an area that requires a finer granularity than cell-level positioning granularity.

[0118] In some embodiments, the determination module 701 is configured to: report the positioning verification information to a policy control function (PCF) network element, so that the PCF network element determines whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the positioning verification information and a pre-configured policy in the PCF network element, where the pre-configured policy includes at least one of the following information: whether a UE using a satellite link requires information with a finer granularity than cell-level positioning granularity, UE service information that requires a finer granularity than cell-level positioning granularity, and policy information specifying an area that requires a finer granularity than cell-level positioning granularity; and determine to perform positioning verification for the UE when receiving positioning verification indication information from the PCF network element, where the positioning verification indication information includes a positioning verification indication indicating the execution of positioning verification and is sent by the PCF network element when determining to perform positioning verification for the UE.

[0119] In some embodiments, when the first network element includes an AMF network element, the determination module 701 is configured to: report the positioning verification information to the SMF network element, so that the SMF network element determines whether to perform positioning verification on the UE based on the positioning verification information and the pre-configured policies in the SMF network element, where the pre-configured policies include at least one of the following information: whether a UE using a satellite link requires information with a finer granularity than cell-level positioning granularity, UE service information that requires a finer granularity than cell-level positioning granularity, and policy information specifying an area that requires a finer granularity than cell-level positioning granularity; and when receiving positioning verification indication information from the SMF network element, determine to perform positioning verification on the UE, where the positioning verification indication information includes a positioning verification indication indicating the execution of positioning verification and is sent by the PCF network element when determining to perform positioning verification on the UE.

[0120] In some embodiments, refer to Figure 8 As shown, when the first network element includes an SMF network element, the confirmation device 700 for UE positioning verification further includes: a sending module 702, configured to send positioning verification indication information to the AMF network element when it is determined to perform positioning verification on the UE, where the positioning verification indication information includes a positioning verification indication indicating the execution of positioning verification.

[0121] In some embodiments, the positioning verification indication information further includes a time period for performing positioning verification on the UE.

[0122] In some embodiments, when the first network element includes an SMF network element, the positioning verification indication information is carried in a session management (SM) policy association establishment response or an SM policy association modification response and is sent by the PCF network element to the SMF network element.

[0123] In some embodiments, when the first network element includes an AMF network element, the positioning verification indication information is carried in a UE policy association establishment response or a UE policy association modification response and is sent by the PCF network element to the AMF network element.

[0124] In some embodiments, when the first network element includes an AMF network element, the positioning verification indication information is carried in an access and mobility management (AM) policy association establishment response or an AM policy association modification response and is sent by the PCF network element to the AMF network element.

[0125] Figure 9 FIG. is a schematic structural diagram of a confirmation device for UE positioning verification provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. This device is applied to a PCF network element.

[0126] As shown Figure 9 in FIG. 900, the confirmation device for UE positioning verification includes:

[0127] A determination module 901, configured to determine whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the reported positioning verification information and a pre-configured policy in response to the reported positioning verification information; and

[0128] A sending module 902, configured to send positioning verification indication information to a first network element that reports the positioning verification information, where the positioning verification indication information includes a positioning verification indication indicating to perform positioning verification.

[0129] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the PCF network element may determine whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the positioning verification information and the pre-configured policy, thus making up for the deficiency in the prior art of lacking how to determine whether to perform UE positioning verification.

[0130] In some embodiments, the positioning verification information includes at least one of a satellite link indication and the UE's location identification information; the satellite link indication is used to indicate that the UE is using at least one of satellite access and satellite backhaul; the location identification information includes at least one of the following information: the identification of the cell where the UE is located, the identification of the access network node to which the cell belongs, and the tracking area identification TAI corresponding to the UE; and the pre-configured policy includes at least one of the following information: information with a finer granularity than the cell-level positioning granularity is required for a UE using a satellite link, UE service information with a finer granularity than the cell-level positioning granularity is required, and policy information specifying an area with a finer granularity than the cell-level positioning granularity.

[0131] In some embodiments, the positioning verification indication information further includes a time period for performing positioning verification on the UE.

[0132] In some embodiments, the first network element includes at least one of a session management function SMF network element and an access and mobility management function AMF network element.

[0133] In some embodiments, when the first network element includes the SMF network element, the sending module 902 is configured to send an SM policy association establishment response or an SM policy association modification response carrying the positioning verification indication information to the SMF network element.

[0134] In some embodiments, when the first includes the AMF network element, the sending module 902 is configured to send a UE policy association establishment response or a UE policy association modification response carrying the positioning verification indication information to the AMF network element.

[0135] In some embodiments, when the first network element includes the AMF network element, the sending module 902 is configured to send an AM policy association establishment response or an AM policy association modification response carrying the positioning verification indication information to the AMF network element.

[0136] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the present disclosure also provides a communication device and a computer-readable storage medium.

[0137] As Figure 10 shown, it is a block diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The communication device is intended to represent various forms of digital computers, such as, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a workbench, a personal digital assistant, a server, a blade server, a mainframe computer, and other suitable computers. The communication device can also represent various forms of mobile devices, such as, a personal digital processor, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a wearable device, and other similar computing devices. The components shown herein, their connections and relationships, and their functions are merely examples and are not intended to limit the implementation of the present disclosure described and / or claimed herein.

[0138] As Figure 10 shown, the communication device includes: one or more processors 1010, a memory 1020, and an interface for connecting the components, including a high-speed interface and a low-speed interface. The various components are interconnected using different buses and can be installed on a common motherboard or in other ways as needed. The processor can process instructions executed within the communication device, including instructions stored in the memory or on the memory to display graphical information of a GUI on an external input / output device (such as, a display device coupled to the interface). In other embodiments, if necessary, multiple processors and / or multiple buses can be used with multiple memories and multiple memories. Similarly, multiple communication devices can be connected, and each device provides part of the necessary operations (such as, as a server array, a set of blade servers, or a multi-processor system). Figure 10 Here, one processor 1010 is taken as an example.

[0139] The memory 1020 is the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium provided by the present disclosure. Wherein, the memory stores instructions executable by at least one processor, so that the at least one processor executes the data transmission method provided by the present disclosure. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of the present disclosure stores computer instructions, and the computer instructions are used to cause a computer to execute the data transmission method provided by the present disclosure.

[0140] The memory 1020 serves as a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and can be used to store non-transitory software programs, non-transitory computer-executable programs, and modules, such as the program instructions / modules corresponding to the data transmission method in the embodiments of the present disclosure. The processor 1010 executes various functional applications and data processing of the server by running the non-transitory software programs, instructions, and modules stored in the memory 1020, that is, implements the data transmission method in the above method embodiments.

[0141] The memory 1020 may include a program storage area and a data storage area. Among them, the program storage area can store an operating system and application programs required for at least one function; the data storage area can store data created according to the use of the positioning communication device, etc. In addition, the memory 1020 may include high-speed random access memory and may also include non-transitory memory, such as at least one magnetic disk storage device, a flash memory device, or other non-transitory solid-state storage devices. Optionally, the memory 1020 may optionally include a memory remotely provided with respect to the processor 1010, and these remote memories can be connected to the positioning communication device through a network. Examples of the above network include but are not limited to the Internet, an enterprise intranet, a local area network, a mobile communication network, and combinations thereof.

[0142] The communication device may further include: an input device 1030 and an output device 1040. The processor 1010, the memory 1020, the input device 1030, and the output device 1040 can be connected through a bus or other means. Figure 10 Taking the connection through the bus as an example.

[0143] The input device 1030 can receive input digital or character information and generate key signal inputs related to the user settings and function controls of the positioning communication device, such as input devices like a touch screen, a keypad, a mouse, a trackpad, a touchpad, a pointing stick, one or more mouse buttons, a trackball, a joystick, etc. The output device 1040 may include a display device, an auxiliary lighting device (e.g., an LED), and a haptic feedback device (e.g., a vibration motor), etc. The display device may include but is not limited to a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light-emitting diode (LED) display, and a plasma display. In some embodiments, the display device may be a touch screen.

[0144] The various embodiments of the systems and techniques described herein can be implemented in digital electronic circuitry, integrated circuit systems, application specific ASICs (application specific integrated circuits), computer hardware, firmware, software, and / or combinations thereof. These various embodiments can include: being implemented in one or more computer programs that are executable and / or interpretable on a programmable system including at least one programmable processor, which may be a special-purpose or general-purpose programmable processor that receives data and instructions from, and transmits data and instructions to, a storage system, at least one input device, and at least one output device.

[0145] These computer programs (also referred to as programs, software, software applications, or code) include machine instructions for a programmable processor and can be implemented using high-level procedural and / or object-oriented programming languages, and / or assembly / machine languages. As used herein, the terms “machine-readable medium” and “computer-readable medium” refer to any computer program product, apparatus, and / or device (e.g., a disk, optical disk, memory, programmable logic device (PLD)) for providing machine instructions and / or data to a programmable processor, including a machine-readable medium that receives machine instructions as a machine-readable signal. The term “machine-readable signal” refers to any signal for providing machine instructions and / or data to a programmable processor.

[0146] For providing interaction with a user, the systems and techniques described herein can be implemented on a computer having: a display device (e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor) for displaying information to the user; and a keyboard and a pointing device (e.g., a mouse or a trackball) by which the user can provide input to the computer. Other kinds of devices can also be used for providing interaction with the user; for example, the feedback provided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback (e.g., visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback); and input from the user can be received in any form (including acoustic, speech, or tactile input).

[0147] The systems and techniques described herein can be implemented in a computing system that includes backend components (e.g., as a data server), or a computing system that includes middleware components (e.g., an application server), or a computing system that includes frontend components (e.g., a user computer having a graphical user interface or a web browser through which a user can interact with an implementation of the systems and techniques described herein), or a computing system that includes any combination of such backend components, middleware components, or frontend components. The components of the system can be interconnected to each other by digital data communication in any form or medium (e.g., a communication network). Examples of communication networks include: local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), and the Internet.

[0148] A computer system can include a client and a server. The client and the server are generally remote from each other and typically interact through a communication network. The client-server relationship is created by computer programs that run on the respective computers and have a client-server relationship with each other.

[0149] It should be understood that various forms of the flow shown above can be used, steps can be reordered, added, or deleted. For example, the steps recited in this disclosure can be executed in parallel, sequentially, or in a different order, as long as the desired results of the technical solutions disclosed in this disclosure can be achieved, and this is not limited herein.

[0150] The above specific implementation manners do not constitute a limitation on the protection scope of this disclosure. Those skilled in the art should understand that various modifications, combinations, sub-combinations, and substitutions can be made according to design requirements and other factors. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, and improvements made within the spirit and principle of this disclosure shall be included within the protection scope of this disclosure.

Claims

1. A method for confirming user equipment (UE) positioning verification, characterized in that, the method is applied to a first network element, which includes at least one of a session management function (SMF) network element and an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, and the method includes: determining whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on positioning verification information and a pre-configured policy in the first network element, where the pre-configured policy includes at least one of the following information: whether a UE using a satellite link requires information with a finer granularity than cell-level positioning granularity, UE service information that requires a finer granularity than cell-level positioning granularity, and policy information specifying an area that requires a finer granularity than cell-level positioning granularity.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, the positioning verification information includes at least one of a satellite link indication and the UE's location identification information; the satellite link indication is used to indicate that the UE is using at least one of satellite access and satellite backhaul; the location identification information includes at least one of the following information: the identification of the cell where the UE is located, the identification of the access network node to which the cell belongs, and the tracking area identification (TAI) corresponding to the UE.

3. A method for confirming user equipment (UE) positioning verification, characterized in that, the method is applied to an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, and the method includes: reporting the positioning verification information to a session management function (SMF) network element, so that the SMF network element determines whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the positioning verification information and a pre-configured policy in the SMF network element, where the pre-configured policy includes at least one of the following information: whether a UE using a satellite link requires information with a finer granularity than cell-level positioning granularity, UE service information that requires a finer granularity than cell-level positioning granularity, and policy information specifying an area that requires a finer granularity than cell-level positioning granularity; when receiving positioning verification indication information from the SMF network element, determining to perform positioning verification for the UE, where the positioning verification indication information includes a positioning verification indication indicating the execution of positioning verification and is sent by the SMF network element when determining to perform positioning verification for the UE.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, the positioning verification information includes at least one of a satellite link indication and the UE's location identification information; the satellite link indication is used to indicate that the UE is using at least one of satellite access and satellite backhaul; the location identification information includes at least one of the following information: the identification of the cell where the UE is located, the identification of the access network node to which the cell belongs, and the tracking area identification (TAI) corresponding to the UE.

5. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, the positioning verification indication information further includes a time period for performing positioning verification for the UE.

6. A method for confirming user equipment (UE) positioning verification, characterized in that, The method is applied to a first network element, which includes at least one of a Session Management Function (SMF) network element and an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) network element. The method includes: Reporting positioning verification information to a Policy Control Function (PCF) network element, so that the PCF network element determines whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the positioning verification information and pre-configured policies in the PCF network element. The pre-configured policies include at least one of the following information: whether a UE using a satellite link requires information with a finer granularity than cell-level positioning granularity, UE service information that requires a finer granularity than cell-level positioning granularity, and policy information specifying an area that requires a finer granularity than cell-level positioning granularity; When receiving positioning verification indication information from the PCF network element, determining to perform positioning verification for the UE, where the positioning verification indication information includes a positioning verification indication indicating the execution of positioning verification and is sent by the PCF network element when determining to perform positioning verification for the UE.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein, the positioning verification information includes at least one of a satellite link indication and the UE's location identification information; the satellite link indication is used to indicate that the UE is using at least one of satellite access and satellite backhaul; the location identification information includes at least one of the following information: the identification of the cell where the UE is located, the identification of the access network node to which the cell belongs, and the Tracking Area Identity (TAI) corresponding to the UE.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein, the positioning verification indication information further includes a time period for performing positioning verification on the UE.

9. The method according to claim 6, wherein, when the first network element includes an SMF network element, the positioning verification indication information is carried in a Session Management (SM) policy association establishment response or an SM policy association modification response and is sent by the PCF network element to the SMF network element.

10. The method according to claim 6, wherein, when the first network element includes an AMF network element, the positioning verification indication information is carried in a UE policy association establishment response or a UE policy association modification response and is sent by the PCF network element to the AMF network element.

11. The method according to claim 6, wherein, when the first network element includes an AMF network element, the positioning verification indication information is carried in an Access and Mobility Management (AM) policy association establishment response or an AM policy association modification response and is sent by the PCF network element to the AMF network element.

12. A method for confirming user equipment (UE) positioning verification, wherein, the method is applied to a Policy Control Function (PCF) network element, and the method includes: Responding to the reported positioning verification information, determining whether to perform positioning verification for the UE based on the positioning verification information and pre-configured policies; and When determining to perform positioning verification for the UE, sending positioning verification indication information to the first network element that reported the positioning verification information, where the positioning verification indication information includes a positioning verification indication indicating the execution of positioning verification; The pre-configured policy includes at least one of the following information: whether the UE using the satellite link requires information with a finer granularity than the cell-level positioning granularity, UE service information that requires a finer granularity than the cell-level positioning granularity, and policy information specifying an area that requires a finer granularity than the cell-level positioning granularity.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein, the positioning verification information includes at least one of a satellite link indication and the location identification information of the UE; the satellite link indication is used to indicate that the UE is using at least one of satellite access and satellite backhaul; the location identification information includes at least one of the following information: the identification of the cell where the UE is located, the identification of the access network node to which the cell belongs, and the tracking area identification TAI corresponding to the UE.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein, the positioning verification indication information further includes a time period for performing positioning verification on the UE.

15. The method according to claim 12, wherein, the first network element includes at least one of a session management function SMF network element and an access and mobility management function AMF network element.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein, when the first network element includes the SMF network element, the sending of the positioning verification indication information to the first network element that reports the positioning verification information includes: sending a session management SM policy association establishment response or an SM policy association modification response carrying the positioning verification indication information to the SMF network element.

17. The method according to claim 15, wherein, when the first network element includes the AMF network element, the sending of the positioning verification indication information to the first network element that reports the positioning verification information includes: sending a UE policy association establishment response or a UE policy association modification response carrying the positioning verification indication information to the AMF network element.

18. The method according to claim 15, wherein, when the first network element includes the AMF network element, the sending of the positioning verification indication information to the first network element that reports the positioning verification information includes: sending an access and mobility management AM policy association establishment response or an AM policy association modification response carrying the positioning verification indication information to the AMF network element.

19. A method for confirming UE positioning verification, wherein, the method is applied to a session management function SMF network element, and the method includes: responding to the reported positioning verification information, determining whether to perform positioning verification on the UE based on the positioning verification information and the pre-configured policy; and when it is determined to perform positioning verification on the UE, sending the positioning verification indication information to the AMF network element that reports the positioning verification information, where the positioning verification indication information includes a positioning verification indication indicating the execution of positioning verification. The preconfigured policy includes at least one of the following information: whether the UE using a satellite link requires information with a finer granularity than the cell-level positioning granularity, UE service information that requires a finer granularity than the cell-level positioning granularity, and policy information specifying an area that requires a finer granularity than the cell-level positioning granularity.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein, the positioning verification information includes at least one of a satellite link indication and the location identification information of the UE; the satellite link indication is used to indicate that the UE is using at least one of satellite access and satellite backhaul; the location identification information includes at least one of the following information: the identification of the cell where the UE is located, the identification of the access network node to which the cell belongs, and the tracking area identification TAI corresponding to the UE.

21. The method according to claim 19, wherein, the positioning verification indication information further includes the time period for performing positioning verification on the UE.

22. An apparatus for confirming UE positioning verification, wherein, the apparatus is applied to a first network element, the first network element includes at least one of a session management function SMF network element and an access and mobility management function AMF network element, and the apparatus includes: a determination module, configured to determine whether to perform positioning verification on the UE based on the positioning verification information and the preconfigured policy in the first network element, where the preconfigured policy includes at least one of the following information: whether the UE using a satellite link requires information with a finer granularity than the cell-level positioning granularity, UE service information that requires a finer granularity than the cell-level positioning granularity, and policy information specifying an area that requires a finer granularity than the cell-level positioning granularity.

23. An apparatus for confirming UE positioning verification, wherein, the apparatus is applied to an access and mobility management function AMF network element, and the apparatus includes: a determination module, configured to report the positioning verification information to a session management function SMF network element, so that the SMF network element determines whether to perform positioning verification on the UE based on the positioning verification information and the preconfigured policy in the SMF network element, where the preconfigured policy includes at least one of the following information: whether the UE using a satellite link requires information with a finer granularity than the cell-level positioning granularity, UE service information that requires a finer granularity than the cell-level positioning granularity, and policy information specifying an area that requires a finer granularity than the cell-level positioning granularity; and when receiving the positioning verification indication information from the SMF network element, determine to perform positioning verification on the UE, where the positioning verification indication information includes a positioning verification indication indicating the execution of positioning verification and is sent by the SMF network element when determining to perform positioning verification on the UE.

24. An apparatus for confirming UE positioning verification, wherein, the apparatus is applied to a first network element, the first network element includes at least one of a session management function SMF network element and an access and mobility management function AMF network element, and the apparatus includes: A determination module, configured to report positioning verification information to a Policy Control Function (PCF) network element, so that the PCF network element determines whether to perform positioning verification on the UE based on the positioning verification information and pre-configured policies in the PCF network element. The pre-configured policies include at least one of the following information: whether a UE using a satellite link requires information with a finer granularity than cell-level positioning granularity, UE service information that requires a finer granularity than cell-level positioning granularity, and policy information specifying an area that requires a finer granularity than cell-level positioning granularity; when receiving positioning verification indication information from the PCF network element, determine to perform positioning verification on the UE, where the positioning verification indication information includes a positioning verification indication indicating the execution of positioning verification and is sent by the PCF network element when determining to perform positioning verification on the UE.

25. A User Equipment (UE) positioning verification apparatus Characterized in that The apparatus is applied to a Policy Control Function (PCF) network element, and the apparatus includes: A determination module, configured to, in response to the reported positioning verification information, determine whether to perform positioning verification on the UE based on the positioning verification information and pre-configured policies; and A sending module, configured to, when it is determined to perform positioning verification on the UE, send positioning verification indication information to a first network element that reported the positioning verification information, where the positioning verification indication information includes a positioning verification indication indicating the execution of positioning verification; The pre-configured policies include at least one of the following information: whether a UE using a satellite link requires information with a finer granularity than cell-level positioning granularity, UE service information that requires a finer granularity than cell-level positioning granularity, and policy information specifying an area that requires a finer granularity than cell-level positioning granularity.

26. A confirmation apparatus for UE positioning verification Characterized in that The apparatus is applied to a Session Management Function (SMF) network element, and the apparatus includes: A determination module, configured to, in response to the reported positioning verification information, determine whether to perform positioning verification on the UE based on the positioning verification information and pre-configured policies; and A sending module, configured to, when it is determined to perform positioning verification on the UE, send positioning verification indication information to an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) network element that reported the positioning verification information, where the positioning verification indication information includes a positioning verification indication indicating the execution of positioning verification; The pre-configured policies include at least one of the following information: whether a UE using a satellite link requires information with a finer granularity than cell-level positioning granularity, UE service information that requires a finer granularity than cell-level positioning granularity, and policy information specifying an area that requires a finer granularity than cell-level positioning granularity.

27. A communication device Wherein It includes: A transceiver; A memory; A processor, respectively connected to the transceiver and the memory, configured to control the wireless signal transceiver of the transceiver by executing computer-executable instructions on the memory, and capable of implementing the method according to any one of claims 1-21.

28. A computer storage medium Wherein The computer storage medium stores computer-executable instructions; after the computer-executable instructions are executed by a processor, the method according to any one of claims 1-21 can be implemented.

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