Method for operating wireless devices in a cellular network

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for operating a wireless device in a cellular network, the wireless device utilizing a base node of the cellular network, the method comprising the step of suppressing access to the base node when a prohibition indication is received at the wireless device from the base node under the following conditions: - the wireless device is operating in an intensive usage mode, and - the wireless device is operating in a non-privileged service.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application. The parent application is entitled "Method for Operating a Wireless Device in a Cellular Network", filed on April 5, 2017, with application number 201780022325.1. Technical Field

[0002] This invention relates to a method for operating a wireless device in a cellular network. The invention also relates to a wireless device using the method. Furthermore, the invention relates to cellular networks for wireless communication. Background Technology

[0003] As part of the latest developments in wireless cellular communications, a new category of wireless devices has been introduced in addition to existing mobile handsets. This new category includes machine-type communication (MTC) devices. The number of MTC devices operating in cellular networks is expected to—at least in some areas—significantly exceed the number of mobile handsets.

[0004] Therefore, for cellular networks, especially taking into account certain characteristics of services, such as machine-type communication, particularly stationary behavior or infrequent but periodic data transmission primarily in one direction, data-only communication, or latency-tolerant communication schemes, methods have been developed to allow for handling this anticipated growth.

[0005] These developments were specifically incorporated into the development of the Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard (particularly LTE-MTC, or LTE-Category 0 or 1).

[0006] Part of this development is the so-called Extended Access Barring (EAB) or Access Class Barring (ACB), which allows cellular networks used by certain base nodes or eNodeBs to prevent devices from accessing the base node, or at least allocating cellular network resources, based on their service class, under overload conditions. Such service classes specifically involve bandwidth-reducing devices and / or devices operating in enhanced coverage.

[0007] By utilizing the EAB functionality, cellular networks have a means to ensure network stability, at least as a last resort.

[0008] The concept of access banning includes the fact that the affected basic node is inaccessible to all wireless devices. This all-or-nothing concept is adopted for access class banning to affect only those wireless devices in a certain access class, and therefore it is envisioned for M-SIB decoding, where the "cellBarred" flag is set.

[0009] However, such an all-or-nothing concept is disadvantageous because it leads to a ban on all machine-type communication devices from accessing cellular networks. Thus, regardless of the strength of the signal, the purpose of the wireless communication, or the type of wireless device, all machine-type communication devices are treated the same.

[0010] Therefore, the object of the present invention is to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks and to propose a solution for an improved access prohibition concept that takes into account both the needs of cellular networks and the affected wireless devices.

[0011] Therefore, further alternative and advantageous solutions would be desirable in this field. Summary of the Invention

[0012] Therefore, according to a first aspect of the invention, a method for operating a wireless device according to claim 1 is proposed. According to a second aspect of the invention, a wireless device according to claim 10 is further proposed. According to a third aspect of the invention, a cellular network according to claim 15 is further proposed.

[0013] According to a first aspect of the invention, a method for operating a wireless device in a cellular network, the wireless device operating using a base node of the cellular network, the method comprising the step of suppressing access to the base node under the following conditions upon noticing a prohibition indication received at the wireless device from the base node:

[0014] - Wireless devices are operating in intensive usage mode, and

[0015] - The wireless device is operating in a non-privileged service.

[0016] This invention relates to a wireless device operating in a cellular network for wireless communication. The wireless device is generally any type of device and includes at least a communication unit, an antenna for accessing a wireless air interface to a serving base node, a control processing unit, and a subscriber identity unit. The serving base node is one of a plurality of base nodes belonging to the cellular network. It is the base node that the wireless device is currently camping on.

[0017] A basic node is the entry point to the cellular network via the air interface. Depending on the supported technologies, such as 2G (GSM, GPRS, EDGE), 3G (UMTS, HSPA), and 4G (LTE, LTE-Catx, LTE-M), the basic node is specifically implemented as a base station (BS), nodeB, or eNodeB.

[0018] During operation in a cellular network, wireless devices periodically decode broadcast channels transmitted from the serving primary node. System information is typically submitted as part of the broadcast channel. This system information is preferably arranged in a so-called System Information Block (SIB).

[0019] The relevant technical standards define that at least one field in the service information is intended to provide a prohibition indication. This prohibition indication field—commonly referred to as the "cellBarred" flag—is, according to known standards, a binary field indicating that all wireless devices pre-empting the basic node are prohibited from initiating data transmission sessions on the serving basic node.

[0020] This specifically concerns those wireless devices to which the SIB is addressed in order to receive service information. Based on recent developments, dedicated SIBs for certain types of wireless devices are anticipated. This is particularly relevant to machine-type communication devices, for which a so-called M-SIB has been defined.

[0021] Therefore, network operators have the opportunity to restrict access to only this type of wireless device. This is useful because a large number of machine-type communication devices with relatively low and non-transient service requirements are expected, making them lower priority devices compared to human-operated mobile handheld devices.

[0022] In addition, the ban may depend on the service category of the wireless device. Thus, wireless devices operating only under a certain service category will be banned from accessing the cellular network, while others (such as handheld devices making normal calls) will not be banned.

[0023] Preferably, the prohibition instruction is modified as follows: the prohibition should only affect those wireless devices currently operating in intensive use mode.

[0024] Preferably, this is achieved by adding an additional field in the M-SIB to indicate the situation, or by enhancing an existing prohibition indication field with another dimension.

[0025] Intensive usage patterns utilize the large amount of available resources on the base node. This is particularly relevant for wireless devices, where the balance between payload data and overhead data shifts towards the latter. Many resources are used in this case, but the return is not considered.

[0026] This improvement is advantageous because it only affects wireless devices that operate in a manner that uses a lot of resources or power but is therefore given low priority.

[0027] In a preferred embodiment, the intensive usage mode includes operation in an enhanced coverage mode.

[0028] In this advantageous embodiment, the focus is on wireless devices under poor reception conditions. Enhanced Coverage Mode (EC) is defined as part of 3GPP Release 13, specifically for MTC devices. This EC mode addresses the reception problem by allowing communication such that, through numerous repeated receptions, the receiver often sufficiently combines the same data packets until the data packets can be reliably decoded by the receiver. This is typically done for wireless devices operating (e.g., in the basement of a building), such as metering devices.

[0029] The necessity of repeatedly transmitting each data packet leads to high resource usage at the base node. Therefore, wireless devices operating in enhanced coverage mode are intensive usage mode wireless devices.

[0030] The above also applies to extended coverage modes as defined for 2G technology standards.

[0031] Other intensive usage patterns further involve sidelink / relay devices defined for device-to-device (D2D) communication. Such relay devices operate as aggregators for other wireless devices that cannot directly access or can only access the base node with limited access. Therefore, relay devices have relatively high resource usage.

[0032] Another intensive use case might occur where a coding rate exceeding a certain level is needed to overcome transient interference on the air interface. Thus, it appears that due to the high coding rate, the number of bits transmitted becomes very high, while the transmitted payload remains small.

[0033] Therefore, this innovative approach includes a variety of options for intensive usage patterns.

[0034] Therefore, the wireless device receives a prohibition indication as part of the received broadcast signal and further identifies whether it applies to the wireless device. This can be the case only when the wireless device itself is operating in intensive usage mode, especially in enhanced coverage mode.

[0035] However, this is not the only prerequisite for prohibition. Because operations in intensive usage patterns do not tell anything about the type of operation of the wireless device, relying solely on usage pattern criteria to identify wireless devices that need to be prohibited in the case of congested basic nodes is insufficient.

[0036] Furthermore, as part of this inventive method, this is considered to be the type of service that the wireless device is currently operating with. Therefore, when the wireless device detects a prohibition indication for an intensive usage mode (in which the wireless device is operating), it specifically further identifies the service it is currently operating.

[0037] When a wireless device is operating in a non-privileged service, it only suppresses further access to the basic node.

[0038] Preferably, non-privileged services are services that are not privileged services.

[0039] Privileged services are those that have been assigned a higher priority, such as emergency services, or other services that are particularly important in terms of timeliness.

[0040] In the absence of such instructions, the service used is assumed to be a non-privileged service. Therefore, only in this case is access to the basic node suppressed and the ban effective for the corresponding wireless device.

[0041] This additional parameter is advantageous because it allows for the identification of wireless devices that may block many resources but do not affect—most likely a low share—the wireless devices operating in high-priority services.

[0042] A further advantage is that, under this additional criterion, decisions regarding whether a wireless device is prohibited can be made dynamically based on the circumstances. Depending on the service initiated or planned, a wireless device may be prohibited or not prohibited under the same circumstances and intensive usage patterns, even if it falls under the same prohibited service category.

[0043] In another preferred embodiment, the proposed intensive usage mode includes multiple intensive usage levels, and the conditions for suppressing access further include:

[0044] - Wireless devices should be operated at least at the intensive use level indicated by the prohibition signal.

[0045] This embodiment is based on the additional option that intensive usage patterns may have different usage levels. Because of this, intensive usage levels are defined. Depending on the implementation, such levels may utilize increasing level numbers to indicate the intensity of the increased use of cellular network resources.

[0046] In any case, at least two distinct levels of intensive use are distinguished, and when a prohibition indication is provided, the wireless device receives an indication of which intensive use level the prohibition is assigned to. Preferably, when a prohibition indication is provided, the intensive use level is transmitted in an additional field of the SIB or M-SIB.

[0047] In the presence of three intensive usage levels from 1 to 3, where level 3, indicating the highest intensity of wireless device usage, is as follows:

[0048] When the prohibition instruction describes strength usage level 2, the wireless device is considering prohibition—which, of course, depends on the service being operated—in this case, because it is operating at strength usage level 2 or 3.

[0049] When the prohibition instruction describes Intensity Use Level 3, the prohibition is considered only for wireless devices operating at Intensity Use Level 3.

[0050] When the prohibition instruction depicts Intensity Use Level 1, all wireless devices operating in Intensity Use Mode are addressed and considered for prohibition.

[0051] In conjunction with intensive usage patterns involving enhanced coverage, the intensive usage level preferably involves the necessary estimated repetition within the enhanced coverage pattern.

[0052] In this preferred embodiment, the increased resource usage reflects the enhanced coverage mode. It needs to be defined based on which intensive usage level is defined and how many estimated repetitions are involved. Preferably, enhanced coverage levels are defined, and those enhanced coverage levels relate to intensive usage levels.

[0053] Therefore, as the number of repetitions used to reliably decode the received signal increases, the resource usage of the basic node also increases. Matching the intensive usage level indicated by the prohibition indication with the enhanced coverage level simplifies this interaction and allows for fine-tuned prohibition indications for wireless devices that have exhausted most of their resources.

[0054] In particular, current 3GPP specifications recommend distinguishing enhanced coverage levels into CE-Mode A and CE-Mode B, or into any finer granularity that divides the entire enhanced coverage support into more than two distinct CE levels. Preferably, this anticipated classification is also applied to this embodiment.

[0055] This is particularly advantageous because it eliminates the need to maintain distinct classifications. Furthermore, classifying interactions between basic nodes and wireless devices into intensive use levels simplifies the differentiation of which wireless devices should be blocked. Finally, this also reduces the number of bits used in the SIB for blocking indications.

[0056] Regarding privileged or non-privileged services, according to another preferred embodiment, privileged services further include performing a communication session at least in a predetermined communication access category.

[0057] In this communication access category, wireless devices have a particular opportunity to easily identify the priority of the services that the wireless device is currently operating with or about to initiate.

[0058] Preferably, a set of certain communication access categories that are considered non-privileged services and / or a set that are considered privileged services are predefined.

[0059] Therefore, wireless devices can easily determine whether they need to suppress access to the cellular network in the event of a prohibition indication. Further instructions regarding the access category of that priority or privileged communication are further advantageous. Thus, indicating which privileged communications are not prohibited or which are prohibited will, in turn, allow for more granular means of controlling services within the cell.

[0060] Preferably, such privileged communication access class includes at least one of the following:

[0061] -Emergency communications

[0062] -Alarm communication,

[0063] -Abnormal communication, and

[0064] - Delayed critical communication.

[0065] Emergency communications specifically involve emergency calls, particularly those defined in ETSI TS 22.011.

[0066] Additional alert and anomalous communications will be considered privileged. Therefore, certain types of services require priority assignment based on category, specifically alert and / or anomalous communication categories.

[0067] Furthermore, delayed critical communication is preferably considered a privileged service. This is advantageous because, by its very nature, such communication requires a continuous / periodic flow of information. Environmental control sensors used in regulating systems may have such connectivity requirements.

[0068] With such a service decision in place, wireless devices can therefore easily detect whether they are prohibited from indicating the location of interest.

[0069] According to another preferred embodiment, the privileged services further include at least one of the following:

[0070] - Operate using a pre-determined cellular network tariff, or

[0071] - Privilege types related to wireless devices.

[0072] Those privileged services should be more stable and independent of the type of communication between the wireless device and the base node. Based on this, a certain usage rate indicates that the wireless device is operating as a high-priority device. This is advantageous because it ensures that by prohibiting operation, the service usage of a wireless device that receives more compensation than other wireless devices is not prohibited. This is especially true for car entertainment systems that further allow emergency calls, etc.

[0073] Furthermore, here, a combination of stable and communication type-related service priorities is anticipated and incorporated into this invention.

[0074] It should be noted that tariffs do not necessarily have to remain constant. Specifically, it is anticipated that tariffs will be significantly higher at certain times than at other times. Therefore, wireless devices will only perform data transmission sessions during expensive time windows when they are of high value. This embodiment therefore covers this situation in a simple and reliable manner.

[0075] Furthermore, tariff information may be changed via remote signaling (specifically via a bearer-independent protocol) to the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) connected to the wireless device. For such dynamic updates, it is proposed to check whether the current tariff is within the scope of privileged service in the event of each received prohibition indication.

[0076] Alternatively, the type of wireless device indicates whether it is a privileged or non-privileged service. For this purpose, the wireless device needs to internally store an indication of its device type.

[0077] One way to store such an indication is as part of a subscriber identity unit (specifically a SIM or UICC). Access to this subscriber identity unit allows the wireless device to determine the device type.

[0078] This embodiment is advantageous because alarm panels for home security systems rely more on reliable connectivity than electricity metering devices, even during periods of high congestion.

[0079] In such cases, this type of operation will not necessarily indicate the priority of the service.

[0080] According to a second aspect of the invention, a wireless device operating using a basic node of a cellular network is provided, the wireless device being configured to suppress access to the basic node upon notifying it of a prohibition indication received from the basic node under the following conditions:

[0081] - Wireless devices are operating in intensive usage mode, and

[0082] - The wireless device is operating in a non-privileged service.

[0083] The second aspect shares the advantages of the first aspect.

[0084] In a third aspect of the invention, a cellular network for wireless communication is proposed, which is configured to detect congestion in a coverage area of ​​the cellular network, the coverage area including at least one cell area of ​​a basic node that is part of the cellular network, and is configured to, in response to the detection, broadcast in the coverage area an instruction to prohibit signals of wireless devices operating in a dense use mode at a predetermined dense use level identified in the broadcast, and to allow access for such wireless devices if operating in a privileged service.

[0085] This aspect of the invention relates to a cellular network comprising a plurality of basic nodes. The cellular network is configured to handle congestion and take appropriate measures. This is particularly applicable to situations where a wireless device according to the second aspect of the invention is operating within a cellular network.

[0086] To this end, the cellular network is configured to detect congestion in its coverage area (particularly the cell area of ​​the base nodes). Preferably, this is done by determining the amount of resources used by the base nodes. Typically, an early warning threshold is defined when a certain resource usage level is reached.

[0087] Many methods are known in the art for enabling cellular networks or basic nodes or other components of cellular networks to detect congestion.

[0088] In the event of such a situation, the cellular network is configured to take action by providing a prohibition instruction in a broadcast to wireless devices operating using the basic node.

[0089] Such prohibition instructions are only applied to wireless devices operating at a certain level of intensive use.

[0090] Preferably this is sufficient, because then wireless devices that have exhausted a significant share of the resources of the base node will be prohibited from accessing the base node.

[0091] However, this restriction does not apply to wireless devices operating within privileged services. Therefore, access is not restricted for those wireless devices.

[0092] Preferably, the cellular network provides the prohibition indication with reference to the level of intensive use that is prohibited.

[0093] Additionally, it preferably includes instructions regarding at least one privileged service or at least one corresponding communication category for a non-privileged service that is not prohibited or is only prohibited.

[0094] According to a preferred embodiment of this aspect of the invention, a pre-determined congestion level for the coverage area is proposed for intensive use levels.

[0095] This embodiment indicates that, in particular, the intensive usage level indicated for prohibition is selected in response to congestion levels. Thus, the cellular network has a means to fine-tune the prohibition.

[0096] Specifically, in the first step, only the highest intensive usage level is disabled. The result is then an indication of to what extent the disabling will alleviate congestion.

[0097] If this is insufficient, especially when only a few wireless devices are operating at that level, the next intensive usage level is further disabled. This is repeated until an acceptable congestion level is reached.

[0098] This iterative approach is further capable of handling situations where a significant number of wireless devices operate in privileged services at high-intensity usage levels. In such cases, prohibiting the high-intensity usage level is unlikely to result in a significant reduction in congestion.

[0099] Therefore, in the second step, the next lower intensive usage level is also disabled. This typically affects more wireless devices and increases the chances of reducing congestion below the critical threshold. In this case, wireless devices operating in lower intensive or non-intensive usage modes, along with those operating in privileged services, can still continue to operate using the corresponding basic nodes.

[0100] As shown, the present invention advantageously solves the described problem and allows cellular networks to maintain stability and connectivity for most wireless devices through a fine-grained means of prohibiting wireless devices. This is shown to be advantageous compared to known all-or-nothing solutions, which ultimately fail to provide connectivity for anyone, including wireless devices using only the resources of a basic node. Attached Figure Description

[0101] The following description and accompanying drawings illustrate certain illustrative aspects in detail and indicate only a few of the various ways in which the principles of the embodiments can be employed. The features and advantages of the invention will become apparent when reading the following description and accompanying drawings, which are given as illustrative rather than limiting examples of advantageous embodiments.

[0102] Figure 1 A flowchart illustrating a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0103] Figure 2a , 2b The behavior of a wireless device according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown when a prohibition instruction is given. Detailed Implementation

[0104] Figure 1A preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the flowchart. It is contemplated as a wireless device or user equipment (UE) according to the invention. This wireless device is configured to operate using a cellular network supporting standard technologies such as 2G (GSM, GPRS, EDGE), 3G (UMTS, HSPA), and 4G (LTE, LTE-Catx, LTE-M).

[0105] Therefore, in step S1, it pre-claims a base node (BS). Depending on the technical standard of the supported cellular network or radio access network, this base node is specifically implemented as a base station (BS), nodeB, or eNodeB. The base node currently pre-claimed by the wireless device is called the serving base node.

[0106] This wireless device is specifically a machine-type communication (MTC) device. Such an MTC device is one of those wireless devices designed to enable communication between machines that is typically used for data transmission.

[0107] This includes metering devices that regularly send measured data to a remote server. Another example is a home security device that should send a message to a remote service center in an emergency. The embodiments illustrated here are, of course, not limited to those exemplary device types.

[0108] As part of routine operation, the wireless device periodically checks for system information broadcasts received from the serving base node, as indicated in step S2. These system information broadcasts are typically provided as part of the broadcast channel (BCCH). It contains a set of system information blocks (SIBs).

[0109] Depending on the implementation, it is specifically anticipated that: for special groups of wireless devices (especially MTC devices), a dedicated SIB, the so-called M-SIB, will be defined. In this case, for the inventive method, examining only the M-SIB is sufficient.

[0110] Regular checks occur periodically or event-triggered, or a combination of both. Preferably, the wireless device checks the SIB once during a predefined broadcast channel modification period. Particularly preferably, at least a subset of the SIB, particularly the BCCH value tag, is checked during preparation for a data transmission session to determine if any changes have occurred in the SIB since the last check. Any changes to the SIB (including changes to the cellBarred field) will result in an increment of the BCCH value tag. Therefore, if the BCCH value tag has not changed since the previous check (where no prohibition indication is valid), the wireless device knows that no prohibition indication is currently valid.

[0111] Using the cellBarred field, the base node indicates to the wireless device, or at least the MTC device, that a disabling mechanism is activated for any operation utilizing that base node. Therefore, this needs to be checked at least before the data transmission session begins.

[0112] Therefore, as part of the inventive method of checking in S3, if the SIB indicates a prohibition condition for such a group of wireless devices, then the corresponding wireless device belongs to that group.

[0113] If this is not the case, then for normal operation, the operation branches to step S4. Here, the wireless device is performing normal operations, such as sending or receiving data, or simply waiting until the next SIB check.

[0114] If a prohibition indication is found, the process flow follows the branch and branches to step S5.

[0115] Because this innovative approach is based on an improved prohibition indication scheme, it should not simply prohibit access for all wireless devices or at least all MTC devices on the cell. Instead, the prohibition indication includes information about the categories of services that are prohibited.

[0116] In the presence of this service category, according to this preferred embodiment of the invention, a prohibition is defined regarding resource usage dependent on the base node in intensive usage modes. This service category particularly relates to wireless devices operating in enhanced coverage modes.

[0117] Therefore, when a prohibition indication is given in step S5 to indicate that a wireless device operating within the enhanced coverage will be prohibited, the wireless device actually operating within the enhanced coverage in step S6 will branch to step S7. Otherwise, it will never be affected by the prohibition indication and can continue operating using step S4.

[0118] Alternatively, the prohibited service categories concern not only whether a wireless device operates within enhanced coverage, but also what level of enhanced coverage it operates at. This reflects situations where wireless devices operating in deep coverage may require significant duplication to reliably decode signals from base nodes under much better reception conditions compared to other wireless devices, yet still operate within enhanced coverage. Resource allocation for wireless devices operating in deep coverage is relatively higher than for those operating later in the coverage, thus it is advantageous to prohibit those deep coverage devices first.

[0119] Preferably, the service category relates to an enhanced coverage level. Preferably, such a level is defined based on the estimated number of repetitions required to reliably decode the signal. Thus, by utilizing a prohibition indication relating to one or more service categories, this directly describes a wireless device operating at an enhanced coverage level.

[0120] Therefore, in step S6, the wireless device checks whether it is operating at the described enhanced coverage level.

[0121] Using these checks, based on the inventive method, it is still not determined whether the corresponding wireless device is prohibited from accessing the basic node based on the received prohibition indication, even if the wireless device is found to be operating in the service category indicated in the prohibition indication in step S6.

[0122] To determine whether it is prohibited, the wireless device further determines in step S7 what service it is currently providing or what service it should be operating. The decision in step S8 anticipates whether the wireless device is operating within a privileged service. Such privileged services are particularly high-priority services, such as emergency communications initiated by an alarm panel. Therefore, priority identification categories are preferably defined.

[0123] Alternatively or additionally, the SIB may, preferably together with the prohibition indication, further indicate the priority category of privileged services that should not be prohibited.

[0124] If the envisioned service belongs to such a high-priority category, then in step S8 it is determined that the prohibition indication does not affect the wireless device. Instead, it should continue operating in step S4.

[0125] Such privileged services may also involve the type of wireless device and / or the current effective tariffs for data operations.

[0126] In any case, if it is not determined in step S8 that the wireless device is operating in a high-priority service, the process branch proceeds to step S9. The wireless device then terminates its operation using the current serving base node. This termination specifically includes the wireless device needing to cease pre-empting the base node and thus being forced to perform a cell reselection.

[0127] In an alternative scenario, simply terminating and suppressing any data transmission session is sufficient.

[0128] exist Figure 2a and 2b The effect of this inventive method on several wireless devices 1 that pre-occupy a basic node 3 is shown.

[0129] Figure 2a Several wireless devices 1 are shown operating in the cell area of ​​a basic node 3 in cellular network 2. Each of the wireless devices 1 shown operates in enhanced coverage (EC). Each wireless device has been assigned an enhanced coverage level (EC-level) between 1 and 3. The more estimated repetitions required, the higher the enhanced coverage level. Figure 2a In this context, different shading lines are used to indicate this, as explained in the explanatory text.

[0130] Furthermore, a wireless device 1' is shown operating in a high-priority service. This could be, for example, a home security panel operating for emergency calls, or a device for the elderly, such as one used to call an ambulance.

[0131] Figure 2a This shows the situation when the basic node 3 is operating normally, which means that a prohibition indication is not broadcast in the SIB.

[0132] Now Figure 2b The diagram shows the same constellation of the wireless devices along with their serving base node 3. The only difference is that base node 3 now broadcasts a prohibition indication using M-SIB. This affects several wireless devices in the prohibited cell area. The prohibited wireless devices are shown using dashed lines as indicated in the explanatory text.

[0133] In the event of a general prohibition instruction, all indicated wireless devices will be prohibited.

[0134] If all enhanced coverage devices are disabled, all indicated wireless devices will also be disabled.

[0135] However, in the scenario shown, the prohibition instruction only applies to wireless devices operating at EC Level 3. This means that the SIB instruction targets a prohibition instruction corresponding to the intensive use level of EC Level 3. In response, four of the wireless devices shown are now indicated as prohibited. All of these wireless devices are depicted as operating at EC Level 3.

[0136] However, although operating at EC Level 3, wireless device 1' was not prohibited. The wireless device was operating in a high-priority service, therefore the prohibition order against the wireless device was overturned due to the service it was operating.

[0137] What becomes apparent from this illustrative example is that the present invention results in a good trade-off between the needs of basic nodes in order to cope with congestion and the operation of wireless devices with intensive use and likely operating in high-priority services. This inventive method also takes into account the priority of the services in which the wireless device is operating, and thus provides a better balance than known methods.

[0138] In the detailed description above, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments have been described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. It should be understood that the various embodiments of the invention, while different, are not necessarily mutually exclusive. For example, a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described herein in connection with one embodiment may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention. Furthermore, it should be understood that the position or arrangement of individual elements within each disclosed embodiment may be modified without departing from the scope of the invention. Therefore, the detailed description above should not be interpreted in a limiting sense, and the scope of the invention is defined only by the appended claims as properly interpreted, together with the full scope of their equivalents.

Claims

1. A method for operating a wireless device in a cellular network, the wireless device utilizing the basic nodes of the cellular network. The operation is performed by clicking, and the method includes: Receive a prohibition indication from the base node, the prohibition indication identifying a first intensive use level among a plurality of intensive use levels for prohibition, wherein the plurality of intensive use levels indicate the intensity of increased use of the available resources of the base node; Based on the fact that the wireless device's use of the available resources of the basic node is above a threshold, it is determined whether the wireless device is operating in an intensive usage mode. Based on the amount of available resources of the base node being used by the wireless device, determine which of the plurality of intensive usage levels is associated with the wireless device; In response to determining that the wireless device is operating in the intensive usage mode, it is determined whether the wireless device is operating in a privileged service or a non-privileged service, wherein the privileged service has a higher priority than the non-privileged service; In response to determining that the wireless device is operating in the privileged service, the operation of the wireless device using the base node continues, regardless of the determined intensive use level associated with the wireless device; In response to determining that the wireless device is operating in the non-privileged service and is associated with a dense use level among the plurality of dense use levels that is associated with a lower use intensity than the use intensity indicated by the first dense use level identified, the operation of the wireless device using the base node continues; as well as In response to determining that the wireless device is operating in the non-privileged service and associated with a dense usage level among the plurality of dense usage levels that is equal to or higher than the usage intensity indicated by the identified first dense usage level, the operation of the wireless device using the base node is terminated. The operation of terminating the use of the base node by the wireless device includes: stopping the pre-occupation of the base node and performing cell reselection.

2. The method according to claim 1, The aforementioned intensive usage mode includes operation in enhanced coverage mode.

3. The method according to claim 1, Determining whether the wireless device is operating in the intensive usage mode includes: It is determined that the wireless device is operating at a dense use level at least equal to the first dense use level indicated by the prohibition signal.

4. The method according to claim 3, The increased intensity of the use of the available resources of the basic nodes involves the necessary estimated repetition in the enhanced coverage pattern.

5. The method according to claim 3, The first intensive usage level involves a coverage enhancement level based on congestion associated with the coverage area.

6. The method according to claim 1, The non-privileged service refers to a service within the cellular network that is not a privileged service.

7. The method according to claim 6, The privileged services mentioned therein include performing communication sessions at least in a predetermined communication access category.

8. The method according to claim 7, The communication access category includes at least one of the following: - Emergency communications - Alarm communication, - Abnormal communication, or - Delayed critical communication.

9. The method according to claim 6, The privileged services mentioned above include at least one of the following: - Operate using a pre-determined cellular network rate, or - Privilege types related to wireless devices.

10. A wireless device that operates using basic nodes of a cellular network, comprising: A communication unit is configured to receive a prohibition indication from the base node, the prohibition indication identifying a first intensive use level among a plurality of intensive use levels for prohibition, wherein the plurality of intensive use levels indicate the intensity of increased use of the available resources of the base node; as well as The control processing unit is configured to: Based on the fact that the wireless device's usage of the available resources of the basic node exceeds a threshold, it is determined whether the wireless device is operating in an intensive usage mode. Based on the amount of available resources of the base node being used by the wireless device, determine which of the plurality of intensive usage levels is associated with the wireless device. In response to determining that the wireless device is operating in the intensive usage mode, it is determined whether the wireless device is operating in a privileged service or a non-privileged service, wherein the privileged service has a higher priority than the non-privileged service; The communication unit is further configured to: In response to determining that the wireless device is operating within the privileged service, the wireless device continues to operate using the base node, regardless of the determined intensive usage level associated with the wireless device. In response to determining that the wireless device is operating in the non-privileged service and associated with a dense usage level among the plurality of dense usage levels that is associated with a usage intensity lower than that indicated by the identified first dense usage level, the operation of the wireless device using the base node continues, and In response to determining that the wireless device is operating in the non-privileged service and associated with a dense usage level among the plurality of dense usage levels that is equal to or higher than the usage intensity indicated by the identified first dense usage level, the operation of the wireless device using the base node is terminated. The operation of terminating the use of the base node by the wireless device includes: stopping the pre-occupation of the base node and performing cell reselection.

11. The wireless device according to claim 10, The aforementioned intensive usage mode includes operation in enhanced coverage mode.

12. The wireless device according to claim 10, The control processing unit is further configured to determine that the wireless device is operating at a dense use level that is at least equal to a first dense use level identified by a prohibition signal.

13. The wireless device according to claim 10, The non-privileged service refers to a service within the cellular network that is not a privileged service.

14. The wireless device according to claim 13, The privileged service includes performing a communication session at least in a predetermined communication access class, and the communication access class includes at least one of the following: - Emergency communications - Alarm communication, - Abnormal communication, or - Delayed critical communication.

15. A cellular network for wireless communication, comprising: Basic nodes; as well as One or more wireless devices that operate using the aforementioned basic node. The base node is configured to transmit a prohibition indication to the one or more wireless devices, the prohibition indication identifying a first intensive use level among a plurality of intensive use levels for prohibition, wherein the plurality of intensive use levels indicate an increasing intensity of the use of the base node's available resources. Each of the one or more wireless devices is configured to: Receive the prohibition instruction. Based on the fact that the corresponding wireless device's usage of the available resources of the basic node is above a threshold, it is determined whether the corresponding wireless device is operating in an intensive usage mode. Based on the amount of available resources of the base node being used by the corresponding wireless device, determine which of the plurality of intensive usage levels is associated with the corresponding wireless device. In response to determining that the corresponding wireless device is operating in the intensive usage mode, it is determined whether the corresponding wireless device is operating in a privileged service or a non-privileged service, wherein the privileged service has a higher priority than the non-privileged service. In response to determining that the corresponding wireless device is operating in the privileged service, the operation of the corresponding wireless device using the base node continues, regardless of the determined intensive use level associated with the corresponding wireless device. In response to determining that the corresponding wireless device is operating in the non-privileged service and associated with a dense usage level among the plurality of dense usage levels that is associated with a usage intensity lower than that indicated by the identified first dense usage level, the operation of the corresponding wireless device using the base node continues, and In response to determining that the corresponding wireless device is operating in the non-privileged service and associated with a dense usage level among the plurality of dense usage levels that is equal to or higher than the usage intensity indicated by the identified first dense usage level, the operation of the corresponding wireless device using the base node is terminated. The operation of terminating the use of the basic node by the corresponding wireless device includes: stopping the pre-occupation of the basic node and performing cell reselection.

16. The cellular network according to claim 15, Each corresponding wireless device is configured to determine whether it is operating in the intensive use mode by determining that the corresponding wireless device is operating at a intensive use level at least equal to a first intensive use level identified by a prohibition signal.

17. The cellular network of claim 16, wherein the increased intensity of the use of the available resources of the basic node involves the necessary estimated repetition in the enhanced coverage pattern.

18. The cellular network of claim 16, wherein the first dense usage level relates to a coverage enhancement level based on congestion associated with the coverage area.

19. The cellular network of claim 16, wherein the non-privileged service is a service within the cellular network that is not a privileged service.

20. The cellular network of claim 15, wherein the intensive usage mode includes operation in an enhanced coverage mode.

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