Method of initiating data transmission from a user equipment

Abstract

The present invention relates to a user equipment, UE, registered for a non-IP communication service performing an application function. For providing application data via a wireless access network, a method involves receiving a paging message and a subsequent radio link control, RLC, message according to a non-IP communication protocol. The paging message and the RLC message are initiated by an application server associated with the application function. The UE retrieves a network address of the application server according to an IP communication protocol stack and activates use of the IP communication protocol stack. Then, the UE requests an IP communication service from a core network via the wireless cellular network, obtains a dynamic network address according to an Internet protocol and uses the dynamic network address and the network address of the application server for providing application data to the application server using the IP communication service via the wireless cellular network.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates to a method of operating a user equipment registering a non-IP communication service with a core network via a wireless cellular radio access network for performing an application function and providing application data via the wireless cellular radio access network. The present invention also relates to a method of operating an application server for retrieving application data from a user equipment registering a non-IP communication service with a core network via a wireless cellular radio access network. The present invention also relates to a user equipment performing an application function and providing application data via a wireless cellular radio access network, an application server retrieving application data from a user equipment via a wireless cellular radio access network, and an arrangement generating application data and retrieving application data from a user equipment, the user equipment registering a non-IP communication service with a core network via a wireless cellular radio access network. Finally, the present invention also relates to a computer program comprising executable code instructing a programmable processor of a computer to perform a given one of the methods. BACKGROUND

[0002] In many machine-to-machine communication applications, a user equipment (UE) needs to transmit data periodically to one or more remote application servers via a cellular radio access network.

[0003] As an example, a metering device for electrical energy consumption transmits consumption data associated with the respective user of the metering device to an application server. This allows for invoicing of the provided electrical energy without having to rely on service personnel or customers performing readings. This consumption data transmission is done on request of the application server through the network of a mobile network operator (MNO).

[0004] A first alternative known solution involves restricting the connection options of the user equipment to the use of a fixed (static) IP address. The metering device can then operate in a listening mode and the application server can fetch data on demand.

[0005] However, in order to use a fixed IP address of the metering device, the mobile network operator (MNO) of the customer typically charges an additional fee therefor. Moreover, if for some reason a connection cannot be established, the application server cannot inform the metering device to initiate a connection. To cope with this problem, it is known to have the metering device periodically establish a connection with the application server. However, it is undesirable to have the application installed in the metering device to periodically establish a connection rather than establishing a connection on request of the server, as such a periodic connection can generate useless and thus undesirable data traffic.

[0006] Furthermore, in metering applications, it is often not known in advance when a metering device is to be read. For example, events such as a change in user due to a change in ownership or rental status cannot be relied upon to be periodic and are unpredictable. On the other hand, reading periodically at a high frequency (e.g. daily or weekly) sufficient to cover any event would incur additional costs for the user and service provider.

[0007] A second alternative known solution involves the use of dynamic IP addresses at the user equipment side. However, it is generally not possible for an application server to determine the dynamic IP address of a user equipment to request initiation of a data transfer from the user equipment to the application server. Therefore, currently, if a user equipment has a dynamic IP address and an application server wants to request a data transfer, the application server sends a text message (also commonly referred to as an SMS, "short message service") to the user equipment as a trigger. In response to receiving the SMS, the UE connects to the application server using its dynamic IP address and transmits the consumed data.

[0008] However, SMS capability and availability is not ubiquitous. For example, in 5G networks implementing the Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) communication standard, there is no SMS capability. NB-IoT communication is a Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) radio technology standard that was standardized to enable the use of cellular wireless communication networks to implement a wide range of Machine-to-Machine (M2M) services. NB-IoT uses a subset of the LTE (4G) standard but limits the bandwidth to a single narrow band of 200 kHz. It uses OFDM modulation for downlink communication and SC-FDMA for uplink communication. Therefore, NB-IoT is particularly suitable for the low-end M2M market, including the example of networked metering devices above. Therefore, the described solution of using an SMS trigger to request a data transfer from a UE to an application server is not available in 5G NB-IoT networks which are otherwise particularly suitable for M2M applications, including electronic metering.

[0009] Even if the network generally provides this service, the SMS can be temporarily unavailable. SUMMARY

[0010] Therefore, it is desirable to enable server-initiated data transfer from user equipment employing dynamic IP addresses to an application server in cases or times when SMS-based data transfer triggering is not available.

[0011] The present invention encompasses several aspects which are outlined below. In a first aspect, the present invention relates to a method of operating a user equipment registering a non-IP communication service with a core network via a wireless cellular radio access network for performing an application function and providing application data via the wireless cellular radio access network. According to a second aspect, the present invention also relates to a method of operating an application server for retrieving application data from a user equipment registering a non-IP communication service with a core network via a wireless cellular radio access network. According to a third aspect, the present invention also relates to a user equipment performing an application function and providing application data via a wireless cellular radio access network. In a fourth aspect, the present invention relates to an application server retrieving application data from a user equipment via a wireless cellular radio access network. According to a fifth aspect, the present invention relates to an arrangement generating application data and retrieving application data from a user equipment registering a non-IP communication service with a core network via a wireless cellular radio access network. In a sixth and seventh aspect, the present invention finally also relates to a computer program comprising executable code instructing a programmable processor of a computer to perform a given one of the methods.

[0012] Turning next to a more detailed description of the different aspects of the present invention.

[0013] According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of operating a user equipment registering a non-IP communication service with a core network via a wireless cellular radio access network for performing an application function and providing application data via the wireless cellular radio access network. The method comprises

[0014] - generating application data when performing the application function;

[0015] - receiving a paging message and a subsequent radio link control, RLC, message according to a non-IP communication protocol stack, the paging message and the RLC message being initiated by an application server associated with the application function;

[0016] - retrieving from the RLC message a request for transmitting application data from the user equipment to the application server using an IP communication service via the wireless cellular network;

[0017] - retrieving from the RLC message a network address of the application server according to an internet protocol on a network protocol layer of an IP communication protocol stack to be used for the IP communication service;

[0018] - activating use of the IP communication protocol stack;

[0019] - requesting the IP communication service with the core network via the wireless cellular radio access network;

[0020] - obtaining, from the core network, a dynamic network address of the user equipment, which is an internet protocol on a network protocol layer of the IP communication protocol stack; and

[0021] - using the determined dynamic network address of the user equipment and the network address of the application server, providing application data to the application server using the IP communication service via the wireless cellular radio access network.

[0022] The method of the first aspect proposes a solution that enables the implementation of a server-initiated application data transmission from a user equipment to an application server via an IP communication service, which can be done without SMS capabilities. In particular, the solution is suitable for use in a scenario where a server-initiated data transmission is performed from a user equipment using a dynamic network address, such as a dynamic IP address, using an IP communication protocol stack via a 5G NB IoT network. The method involves initially operating the user equipment using a non-IP communication service via a wireless cellular radio access network. This enables the implementation of a trigger of the server-initiated data transmission using a paging and a subsequent RLC message, which provides a target network address of the application server for the data transmission requested from the user equipment.

[0023] Upon receiving the paging and the associated RLC message, the user equipment then switches from using the non-IP communication service to using the IP communication service by internally activating the use of the IP communication protocol stack and performing appropriate control communication with the core network via the wireless cellular network to obtain a dynamic network address under the internet protocol. Using this dynamic network address, or simply dynamic IP address, the user equipment subsequently establishes a requested transmission of application data to the application server via the wireless cellular radio access network.

[0024] The method of the present invention thus provides a non-IP / IP communication of asynchronous type that enables the immediate transmission of application data, the transmission endpoint being the application server provided as a target address for the data transmission. While the method is particularly suitable for use under the 5G NBIoT communication standard, it is not limited to such embodiments. The method broadly allows a server-initiated data transmission from a user equipment without having to rely on SMS. It can thus be used under other communication standards, for example in case a SMS-based triggering mechanism is not available or unsuccessful.

[0025] The method of the invention enhances the operation of a user equipment registered as a non-IP device. When registering for a non-IP communication service, the user equipment can operate as a non-IP device on a regular or periodic basis, e.g. using a service control exposure function (SCEF) to transmit its data. However, upon receiving an application server initiated paging message and a subsequent RLC message with an appropriate payload, the user equipment opens an IP tunnel to the network address indicated by the payload. Thus, the user equipment performs asymmetric traffic, i.e. non-IP traffic in the downlink direction and IP traffic in the uplink direction. This has the advantage that the end point of the uplink traffic is not the domain of the radio network operator, but directly to the application server, which in many application cases is also the all party providing the application data of the user equipment. Furthermore, the non-IP downlink on-demand triggering without the use of SMS allows the user equipment to operate with very low cost, e.g. in a NB IoT network. By transmitting the application data without a fixed network address of the user equipment, and by avoiding the need to perform regular traffic just to avoid losing the IP based connection to the application server, the cost is also kept low.

[0026] Embodiments of the method will be described next.

[0027] In some embodiments, to register for a non-IP communication service via a wireless cellular radio access network to a core network for performing an application function, the method further comprises, at any time before receiving the paging message,

[0028] - activating the use of a non-IP communication protocol stack for the non-IP communication service, the non-IP communication protocol stack excluding the use of an internet protocol on a network protocol layer; and

[0029] - registering for a non-IP communication service via a wireless cellular radio access network to a core network.

[0030] Preferably, these steps are also performed after providing application data to the application server using an IP communication service via the wireless cellular network, in order to return to the non-IP operation performed before the data transmission. The user equipment uses the IP protocol stack by opening a radio connection requesting an IP connection indicated by a PDN type IP. Alternatively, requesting a non-IP connection typically involves sending a communication request containing a PDN type "non-IP". In some embodiments, such a PDN type is used for non-IP data delivery (NIDD) over a SCEF.

[0031] Preferably, registering for a non-IP communication service via a wireless cellular radio access network to a core network comprises

[0032] - providing a packet data network (hereinafter PDN) connection request to the core network, specifying a PDN type as non-IP.

[0033] Thus, requesting a non-IP connection for data transfer is performed by sending a communication request containing a PDN type "non-IP" for non-IP data transfer (NIDD) through a service control exposure function, SCEF.

[0034] In another embodiment, requesting an IP communication service from the network via the wireless cellular network comprises

[0035] - opening a connection to a core network access node in charge of mobility management of said user equipment using an IP communication protocol stack, and requesting provision of bearer information for uplink IP communication service from the user equipment via the wireless cellular network, and requesting provision of a dynamic network address;

[0036] - receiving the bearer information and the dynamic network address from the core network access node via the wireless cellular network.

[0037] The user equipment uses the IP protocol stack, for example by opening a radio connection requesting an IP connection indicated by a PDN type "IP". Thus, the user equipment switches its communication mode and protocol to IP mode, opens a connection to a mobility management server in the core network, like a mobility management entity (MME), requesting allocation of a dynamic network address for the PDN context, and uses the received network address of the application server for tunneling application data through the operator network.

[0038] In some embodiments, providing application data to the application server after receiving the bearer information suitably comprises

[0039] - sending application data to the application server via the wireless cellular network and via the allocated core network serving gateway node using the bearer indicated by the bearer information, targeting the network address of the application server, and using the dynamic network address of the user equipment as source address.

[0040] In some embodiments, the target address passed to the user equipment in the RCL message is the IP address of the application server that initiated the paging message. However, the term "application server" as used herein also encompasses embodiments with distributed application server functionality. Thus, the network address of the application server to receive the data transfer must be the network address of the application server that requested the data transfer. More specifically, in some embodiments, a first application server node under control of the operator of the application associated with the application functionality performed by the user equipment triggers the paging of said user equipment, and the passed network address of the application server to be used for user equipment data transfer application data is the network address of a second application server node.

[0041] In case the user equipment already has a dynamic IP address from a recent PDP activation, the control communication with the wireless cellular network in response to receiving the paging message can be reduced.

[0042] Other embodiments further comprise retrieving a challenge from the RLC message according to a challenge-response protocol after receiving the paging message from the application server. Here, providing the application data to the application server comprises providing a predetermined valid response according to the challenge-response protocol.

[0043] According to a second aspect of the application, there is provided a method of operating an application server to retrieve application data from a user equipment registered with a core network for a non-IP communication service via a wireless cellular radio access network. The method is defined in claim 6.

[0044] The method of the second aspect comprises

[0045] - sending a paging instruction to a core network node, the paging instruction initiating the core network node to control providing a paging message according to a non-IP communication stack for the non-IP communication service, the non-IP communication stack excluding use of an Internet Protocol on a network protocol layer, the paging message being for paging a selected user equipment via the wireless cellular radio access network, and initiating the core network node to control providing an RLC message after the paging message, for forwarding to the user equipment in the RLC message after the paging message, comprising:

[0046] - using an IP communication service between the user equipment and the application server via the wireless cellular radio access network and a request from the user equipment to the application server to transmit application data from the user equipment using a dynamic network address of the user equipment to be determined by the user equipment, and

[0047] - a network address of the application server according to an Internet Protocol on a network protocol layer of an IP communication protocol stack to be used for the IP communication service;

[0048] - receiving the requested application data from the user equipment via the wireless cellular radio access network using the IP communication service.

[0049] The method of the second aspect represents the operation of an application server in communication with one or more user equipment devices operating according to the method of the first aspect of the application for application data communication. The method of the second aspect therefore shares the advantages of the method of the first aspect.

[0050] In particular, the method allows an application server to initiate a data transmission from a user equipment without having to rely on a fixed network address, in particular a fixed IP address, of the user equipment for the application data transmission. The method enables triggering the user equipment to transmit application data even if the user equipment operates as a non-IP device and has no SMS capability. The method enables the application server to initiate an instant transmission of application data to the application server whose address is provided in the RLC message as a target address of the data transmission. The method is particularly suitable for use under the 5G NB IoT communication standard, but is not intended to be limited thereto.

[0051] Embodiments of the method of the second aspect will be described next.

[0052] In one embodiment, sending the paging message to the user equipment comprises

[0053] - providing a paging initiation instruction to a core network service control exposure function (hereinafter referred to as SCEF) node using an application program interface protocol, the paging initiation instruction instructing the core network SCEF node to initiate a provision of a paging message to the user equipment via a non-IP data transfer using a non-IP communication protocol stack via a wireless cellular radio access network.

[0054] In a variant of this embodiment, providing the paging initiation instruction to the core network SCEF node comprises - determining that the core network does not support short message service (SMS);

[0055] - providing a paging SMS message to a SMS gateway-replacer node, wherein

[0056] - the paging SMS message is an SMS message comprising an instruction for the SMS gateway-replacer node to generate and provide a paging initiation instruction to the SCEF node.

[0057] This variant introduces a new network node function, namely the SMS gateway-replacer node. This allows application servers that used to operate with "SMS triggers" in the form of paging SMS messages to continue using this known triggering method. Thus, the new server function operates based on the old customer application server function and replaces the SMS request by triggering a non-IP paging (MS-ISDN) in the downlink, so no changes are needed when going to NB-Iot without SMS functionality.

[0058] In response to detecting that the core network does not support SMS, the application server redirects the paging SMS message to the SMS gateway-replacer node. The SMS gateway-replacer node receives the paging SMS message and contacts the respective user equipment by initiating an asynchronous communication in response to receiving the paging SMS message.

[0059] In a mixed deployment variant where some user equipments register to a legacy network supporting SMS and other user equipments register to a network not supporting SMS, the SMS gateway surrogate node addresses "legacy devices" via SMS.

[0060] For operating the SMS gateway surrogacy, it is claimed

[0061] 1. For legacy installed base stations, normal SMS procedures will be triggered.

[0062] 2. For NB-loT devices not supporting SMS, non-IP downlink will be selected.

[0063] UL is always received directly by IP in the same way.

[0064] In another embodiment involving the SMS gateway surrogate node, sending a paging message to the user equipment comprises

[0065] - determining that the core network does not support SMS;

[0066] - providing the paging SMS message to the SMS gateway surrogate node, wherein

[0067] - the paging SMS message is an SMS message comprising instructions for the SMS gateway surrogate node to generate a paging initiation request and provide it to a core network serving gateway support (hereinafter SGSN) node, the paging initiation request instructing the core network SGSN node to initiate the provision of the paging message to the user equipment via the wireless cellular radio access network via non-IP data transfer using a non-IP communication protocol stack.

[0068] According to a third aspect of the application, a user equipment performing an application function and providing application data via a wireless cellular radio access network is provided according to claim 10. The user equipment comprises:

[0069] - an application unit configured to generate application data when performing the application function;

[0070] - a communication control unit configured to

[0071] - activate the use of a non-IP communication protocol stack for non-IP communication services, the non-IP communication protocol stack excluding the use of an Internet Protocol on a network protocol layer;

[0072] - control the operation of the user equipment to register to a core network via the wireless cellular radio access network only for non-IP communication services;

[0073] - upon receiving a paging message and a subsequent RLC message according to the non-IP communication protocol stack, the paging message being initiated by an application server associated with the application function,

[0074] - retrieving from the RLC message a request to transmit application data from the user equipment to the application server using an IP communication service via the wireless cellular network; and

[0075] - retrieving from the RLC message a network address of the application server according to an Internet protocol on a network protocol layer of an IP communication stack to be used for the IP communication service;

[0076] - activating the use of the IP communication stack;

[0077] - controlling operation of the user equipment to request the IP communication service via the wireless cellular network from the core network and to obtain a dynamic network address of the user equipment from the core network, which is according to the Internet protocol on the network protocol layer of the IP communication stack; and

[0078] - controlling operation of the user equipment to provide the application data to the application server using the IP communication service via the wireless cellular network and the determined dynamic network address of the user equipment and the network address of the application server.

[0079] The user equipment of the third aspect is configured to perform the method of the first aspect and thus shares its advantages. Embodiments of the user equipment are configured to perform a respective one of the embodiments of the method of the first aspect as described above.

[0080] According to a fourth aspect of the present application, an application server is provided for retrieving application data from a user equipment via a wireless cellular radio access network according to claim 11.

[0081] The application server comprises

[0082] - a server control unit configured to

[0083] - control operation of the server to generate and send a paging instruction to a core network node, the paging instruction instructing the core network node to initiate provision of a paging message and a subsequent RLC message according to a non-IP communication stack for a non-IP communication service to a selected user equipment via the wireless cellular radio access network, the non-IP communication stack excluding use of an Internet protocol on a network protocol layer, the paging instruction comprising, for forwarding in the RLC message to the user equipment:

[0084] - a request to transmit application data from the user equipment to the application server using an IP communication service between the user equipment and the application server via the wireless cellular radio access network and a dynamic network address of the user equipment to be determined by the user equipment, and

[0085] - a network address of the application server according to an Internet protocol on a network protocol layer of an IP communication stack to be used for the IP communication service;

[0086] - controlling operation of the application server to receive the requested application data from the user equipment via the wireless cellular radio access network using the IP communication service.

[0087] The application server of the fourth aspect is configured to perform the method of the second aspect, and thus shares its advantages. Embodiments of the application server are configured to perform a respective one of the embodiments of the method of the second aspect as described above.

[0088] According to a fifth aspect of the application, there is provided an arrangement for generating application data and retrieving the application data from a user equipment via a wireless cellular radio access network according to claim 12. The arrangement comprises a user equipment according to the third aspect or one of its embodiments and an application server according to the fourth aspect or one of its embodiments.

[0089] Particular embodiments of the arrangement of the fifth aspect further comprise

[0090] - a Short Message Service, SMS, gateway surrogate node; wherein

[0091] - the application server is configured to

[0092] - determine that the core network does not support Short Message Service, hereinafter SMS; and

[0093] - provide the SMS gateway surrogate node with a paging SMS message; and wherein

[0094] - the SMS gateway surrogate node is configured to, upon receipt of the paging SMS message,

[0095] - generate and provide a paging initiation instruction to a core network Service Control Exposure Function, hereinafter SCEF, node using an Application Program Interface protocol, the paging initiation instruction instructing the core network SCEF node to initiate provision of a paging message to the user equipment via the wireless cellular radio access network via non-IP data transfer using a non-IP communication protocol stack.

[0096] As an alternative thereto, another embodiment of the arrangement further comprises

[0097] - a Short Message Service, SMS, gateway surrogate node; wherein

[0098] - the application server is configured to

[0099] - determine that the core network does not support Short Message Service, hereinafter SMS; and

[0100] - provide the SMS gateway surrogate node with a paging SMS message; and wherein

[0101] - the SMS gateway surrogate node is configured to, upon receipt of the paging SMS message,

[0102] - generating and providing a paging initiation request to a core network serving gateway support (hereinafter referred to as SGSN) node, the paging initiation request instructing the core network SGSN node to initiate providing a paging message to the user equipment via the wireless cellular radio access network via non-IP data transfer using a non-IP communication protocol stack.

[0103] A sixth aspect of the present application is formed by a computer program comprising executable code instructing a programmable processor of a computer to perform the method according to the first aspect or one of its embodiments. A seventh aspect is formed by a computer program comprising executable code instructing a programmable processor of a computer to perform the method according to the second aspect or one of its embodiments. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0104] The drawings are next described. In the drawings:

[0105] Figure 1 is an illustration of a prior art method of server initiated providing of application data from a user equipment to an application server via a wireless cellular radio access network;

[0106] Figure 2 is a schematic illustration of an IoT network architecture;

[0107] Figure 3 is an illustration of a first embodiment of a method of server initiated providing of application data from a user equipment to an application server via a wireless cellular radio access network according to the present application; and

[0108] Figure 4 is an illustration of a second and third embodiment of a method of server initiated providing of application data from a user equipment to an application server via a wireless cellular radio access network according to the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0109] Figure 1 is an illustration of a prior art method of server initiated providing of application data from a user equipment to an application server via a wireless cellular radio access network.

[0110] An application server AS is operated to initiate an application data transmission from one or more user equipment devices UE to the application server AS. The user equipment UE is operated as an application device in a wireless cellular radio access network RAN for a non-IP communication service. The user equipment UE is registered with a core network CN. To retrieve application data collected by the user equipment UE, at step S 110, the application server AS contacts the user equipment UE by sending an SMS to a serving gateway support node SGSN in the core network. The SMS contains payload data instructing the user equipment UE to transmit the collected application data and provides an IP address of the application server as a target network address for the data transmission. As is known, to deliver the SMS, the serving gateway support node SGSN forwards the SMS to a mobility management entity MME (step S 120), which determines, at step S 130, an eNodeB (herein referred to as a base station) BS of the radio access network RAN in which the user equipment UE is operating and forwards the SMS to that base station BS so that ultimately, at step S 140, the SMS is delivered to the user equipment UE via the base station BS. At step S 150, upon receipt of the SMS, the user equipment UE requests an IP communication service from the core network CN via a packet data protocol (PDP) connection request in a control exchange with the mobility management entity MME. At step S 160, upon receipt of a dynamic IP address, the user equipment starts transmitting application data to the application server AS via the base station BS and a serving gateway server SGW in the core network CN. The end point of the application data is the application server, i.e. no further interaction with a mobile network operator (MNO) is required for the uplink.

[0111] As the user equipment operates with a dynamic IP address only when it uses an IP communication service, the described procedure relies on the availability of SMS to allow the application server AS to trigger the user equipment UE. Therefore, the described procedure cannot be used when the network does not provide SMS capabilities, either temporarily or permanently. This situation applies to networks compliant with the 5G NB-IoT communication standard.

[0112] The procedure of the present invention is based on the following considerations and realizations. To enable server initiated data transmission from the user equipment to the application server AS without SMS capabilities and with the user equipment UE using a dynamic IP address, one technical solution could be to require the user equipment UE to continuously maintain a data connection between the user equipment and the application server. However, this would increase data traffic and thus potentially incur costs for the operator of the user equipment UE without service benefits. Furthermore, this solution is unlikely to be accepted by the operator of the user equipment device which prefers to send data under its own control.

[0113] On the other hand, as already mentioned, the use of a fixed IP address results in higher costs to be charged by the mobile network operator (MNO). It is undesirable to let the user equipment establish a connection to the application server only intermittently, because such a connection results in potentially useless and thus undesirable data traffic in case no application data is to be transmitted. Therefore, the transmission of application data should only take place as required by the application server, and the point in time of transmission is likewise under the control of the application server.

[0114] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary IoT network architecture suitable for the present application. The network architecture is known per se. The user equipment device UE, the radio access network RAN and the core network are operated by a mobile network operator (MNO) in the MNO domain. Among the core network nodes of the MNO domain, only the mobility management entity MME, the serving gateway support node SGSN and the serving gateway S-GW are shown. The core network nodes are well known and thus do not need further explanation. The IoT core network forms an IoT domain as part of the core network. The IoT core network is usually operated by a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) or by the MNO itself. Among the network nodes of the IoT domain, the packet data network gateway P-GW and the gateway GPRS support node GGSN are shown. The service control exposure function or SCEF is used to operate an application programming interface to an application server (AS) in the enterprise domain. As shown, the SCEF can be located at the edge of the IoT domain. Alternatively, the SCEF can be located completely within the IoT domain, interfacing with an external API management platform located at the edge of the IoT domain. Figure 2

[0115] Figure 3 is a diagram of a first embodiment of a method according to the present application of server-initiated provision of application data from a user equipment to an application server via a wireless cellular radio access network. The embodiment shows at the same time a method of operating an application server to retrieve application data from a user equipment registered for a non-IP communication service with a core network via a wireless cellular radio access network. As already mentioned, the network structure shown is only schematic. The network structure explained in more detail in the context of Figure 1 Figure 3 Figure 2 is a diagram of a first embodiment of a method according to the present application of server-initiated provision of application data from a user equipment to an application server via a wireless cellular radio access network. The embodiment shows at the same time a method of operating an application server to retrieve application data from a user equipment registered for a non-IP communication service with a core network via a wireless cellular radio access network. As already mentioned, the network structure shown is only schematic. The network structure explained in more detail in the context of

[0116] Figure 3 ​​​​The illustrated method, the user equipment UE is operated to perform an application function that generates application data. One example of an application function is a metering function. In one example embodiment, the user equipment is a fixed metering device for measuring the electrical power consumed in a household and comprises a wireless communication device. At predefined intervals, like once a year, or at predefined occasions that are not allowed to be scheduled in advance, like a change of the household's inhabitants, the current reading of the metering device is to be provided to the operator of the user equipment / metering device in order to provide the required application data to a billing procedure. For this purpose, the operator of the user equipment also operates one or more application servers AS in the enterprise domain.

[0117] At the beginning of the method, the user equipment registers for a non-IP communication service with the core network via the wireless cellular radio access network RAN in order to perform its application function.

[0118] At step S310, the procedure is initiated by the application server sending a paging instruction to a core network node. In the present embodiment, the core network node is a SCEF in an loT core network. The paging instruction is provided using an application program interface protocol and the SCEF is initiated to initiate the provision of a paging message via a non-IP data transfer, thereby paging the selected user equipment UE via the wireless cellular radio access network RAN using and thus according to a non-IP communication. Thus, in contrast to the known method of Figure 1 The transmission of the application data is initiated using a completely different mechanism compared to the known method of

[0119] Paging is a technique that is commonly used to inform a user equipment of an incoming voice call or other network originated traffic. In the present method, paging is used for other purposes and involves other network nodes and the provision of other control information to the user equipment UE. In particular, it is not a mobile switching center (MSC) in the core network as in the known paging procedure, but a SCEF that is used by the application server AS to initiate the paging of the user equipment UE within the core network. For this purpose, at step S320, the SCEF sends a corresponding paging instruction to a mobility management entity MME. At a subsequent step S330, the MME forwards the paging together with the IMSI or MSISDN of the user equipment UE, which was originally received by the SCEF from the application server AS as the paging address to be used on the radio interface. Thus, at this step S330, the MME forwards the paging together with all other information (to be detailed below) to a base station BS of the RAN in which the UE is registered. The application server AS can or can not be aware of the RAN, depending on whether the user equipment is fixed or mobile. In any case, the mobility management entity MME is aware of the RAN. Then, at step S340, the base station BS performs the paging of the user equipment UE.

[0120] As another difference with the standard voice call paging procedure, the paging instructions provided according to the present embodiments additionally instruct the SCEF to control the provision of a specific Radio Link Control, RLC, message after the paging message. The following information is provided for forwarding to the user equipment in the RLC message after the paging message:

[0121] - a request to transmit application data from the user equipment UE to an application server AS using an IP communication service between the user equipment UE and the application server AS via a wireless cellular Radio Access Network, RAN, and a dynamic network address of the user equipment to be determined by the user equipment; and

[0122] - a network address of the application server to which the application data is to be delivered according to an Internet Protocol on a network protocol layer of an IP communication protocol stack to be used for the IP communication service.

[0123] As an alternative to the inclusion of a request to transmit application data from the user equipment to an application server AS using an IP communication service between the user equipment, the RLC message can only include a request to establish a connection channel to the application server. This is possible in particular in case the apparatus knows that all paging prescribed context establishment is always done in IP form and the control information therefore implies that a connection channel is to be established upon receipt of the request and therefore makes it unnecessary to include it explicitly in the application data transmission request.

[0124] In a further developed method, the message can also contain information related to a shared secret, intended to derive an identity from such a secret, for use in the encryption of the communication between the apparatus and the server.

[0125] In Figure 3 , the provision of the RLC message is not graphically distinguished from the paging procedure, as the nodes used are the same. The RLC message is provided by the base station / eNodeB and is based on UE capability information retrieved from the MME, if necessary. The MME is also the paging entity. In some embodiments, the procedures described are used only with fixed user equipment apparatuses. In other embodiments, the procedures are used with mobile user equipment apparatuses, or with a mix of mobile and fixed user equipment apparatuses. At least the core network knows the MSISDN of the user equipment apparatuses, enabling them to be addressed using the method of the present invention, even if they are mobile.

[0126] Upon receipt of the paging message, the user equipment UE does not perform the known service request procedure for a voice call to establish an RRC connection. Instead, it retrieves from the RLC message a request to transmit application data from the user equipment to an application server using an IP communication service via the wireless cellular network. This step is not in Figure 3The user equipment UE retrieves the IP network address of the application server from the RLC message. Then, the user equipment UE switches from the non-IP mode to the IP mode by activating the use of the IP communication protocol stack. At step S350, it requests an IP communication service to the core network, in particular to the mobility management entity MME, via the wireless cellular network. More specifically, the user equipment UE requests the provision of bearer information for an uplink IP communication service from the user equipment. In this way, it obtains a dynamic IP address and bearer information from the mobility management entity MME.

[0127] At step S360, the user equipment UE then sends application data to the application server AS via the wireless cellular network RAN and via the allocated core network serving gateway node SGW, using the bearer indicated by the received bearer information, with the IP address of the application server AS as target address and with the dynamic IP address of the user equipment itself as source address.

[0128] The application server AS thus receives the requested application data from the user equipment via the wireless cellular radio access network to complete the asynchronous communication method of the present embodiment.

[0129] As will be appreciated from the description of the procedure, although the data transmission from the user equipment UE involves the use of a dynamic IP address of the user equipment, the initiation of the data transmission is performed by the application server AS without the need to use SMS. In this way, the application server is also able to control the transmission of application data on demand when the wireless communication network does not provide SMS capabilities. The procedure is therefore particularly suitable for NB-IoT networks that do not provide legacy SMS services. It also allows the operator of the application server to act as service provider, thereby avoiding the MNO operator to act as service provider.

[0130] Moreover, since the use of the paging procedure is used for initiating the data transmission to the application server, the user equipment can operate in a cost- and energy-saving mode of operation involving the regular non-IP mode and the IP mode with the use of a dynamic IP address only for the data transmission. There is no need to maintain a connection to the application server or to periodically establish a connection to the application server for checking whether there is a need to transmit application data. The user equipment UE opens a PDP context with the MME and uses this context later for the transmission of application data.

[0131] The user equipment UE for performing the method of Figure 3 has specific features. In addition to comprising an application unit configured to generate application data when performing an application function, the user equipment UE has a specific communication control unit configured to

[0132] - activating the use of a non-IP communication protocol stack for non-IP communication services, said non-IP communication protocol stack excluding the use of an Internet Protocol on network protocol layers;

[0133] - controlling the operation of the user equipment to register only non-IP communication services via the wireless cellular radio access network to the core network;

[0134] - upon reception of a paging message and a subsequent RLC message according to the non-IP communication protocol stack, the paging message being initiated by an application server associated with an application function,

[0135] - retrieving from the RLC message a request to transmit application data from the user equipment to the application server using an IP communication service via the wireless cellular network; and

[0136] - retrieving from the RLC message a network address of the application server according to an Internet Protocol on network protocol layers of an IP communication protocol stack to be used for the IP communication service;

[0137] - activating the use of the IP communication protocol stack;

[0138] - controlling the operation of the user equipment to request the IP communication service via the wireless cellular network to the core network and to obtain a dynamic network address of the user equipment from the core network, which is according to an Internet Protocol on network protocol layers of the IP communication protocol stack; and

[0139] - controlling the operation of the user equipment to provide the application data to the application server using the IP communication service via the wireless cellular network and the determined dynamic network address of the user equipment and the network address of the application server.

[0140] Furthermore, the application server AS requires specific capabilities which are not known to the application server so far. In particular, the application server has a server control unit configured to

[0141] - control the operation of the server to generate and send to a core network node a paging instruction instructing the core network node to initiate the provision of a paging message and a subsequent RLC message according to a non-IP communication stack for non-IP communication services, said non-IP communication stack excluding the use of an Internet Protocol on network protocol layers, to a selected user equipment via a wireless cellular radio access network, said paging instruction comprising:

[0142] - a request to transmit application data from the user equipment to the application server using an IP communication service between the user equipment and the application server via the wireless cellular radio access network and a dynamic network address of the user equipment to be determined by the user equipment, and

[0143] -Based on the network address of the application server using the Internet Protocol (IP) layer of the IP communication protocol stack to be used for IP communication services; and

[0144] - Control the operation of the server to receive requested application data from user equipment via a wireless cellular radio access network using IP communication services.

[0145] Figure 4 These are illustrations of the second and third embodiments of a method for providing application data from a user equipment to an application server via a wireless cellular radio access network, as proposed by the present invention.

[0146] This process is largely similar to the reference. Figure 3 The process of description. Therefore, the following description will focus on the differences to avoid lengthy repetition.

[0147] Figure 4 The embodiments are designed to allow application servers to use the same initiation process, regardless of whether the core network used to trigger the associated user equipment device supports SMS. For this purpose, as... Figure 4 As shown, the network structure enhancement in this embodiment includes an additional network node, which is the SMS gateway replacement node SMS-GW-RP.

[0148] Figure 4 Two different process embodiments are illustrated, involving the use of different SMS gateway replacement nodes with different capabilities. In the first embodiment, the SMS gateway replacement node is configured to: upon receiving a paging SMS message, generate a paging initiation command using an application programming interface protocol and provide it to the core network service control exposure function (hereinafter referred to as SCEF) node. (See below for details.) Figure 3 As described in the context, the paging initiation command instructs the core network SCEF node to initiate a paging message to the user equipment via non-IP data transmission using a non-IP communication protocol stack through the wireless cellular radio access network. This embodiment allows the application server to use legacy SMS messages as paging commands, referred to herein as paging SMS messages. Therefore, the application server uses a paging SMS directed to the SMS gateway replacement node SMS-GW-RP, rather than communicating directly with the SCEF via the API. Depending on whether the corresponding user equipment is operating in a legacy network that supports SMS or a network that does not support SMS, the SMS gateway replacement node SMS-GW-RP then either forwards the paging SMS to the SGSN or generates a paging command and provides it to the SCEF, as shown in [the original text]. Figure 3 As described in the context.

[0149] The SMS GW-Rp is an additional feature which is transparent to legacy devices, which are not IP aware, and therefore modifies the request to non-IP devices. The SMS gateway replacement node SMS-GW-RP can be implemented as an integral part of the application server. In other embodiments, it is a separate node. This has the particular advantage of allowing the use of legacy application servers without modification.

[0150] In summary, a user equipment UE registered for a non-IP communication service executes an application function. In order to provide application data via a radio access network, a method involves receiving a paging message and a subsequent radio link control (RLC) message according to a non-IP communication protocol. The paging message and the RLC message are initiated by an application server associated with the application function. The UE retrieves a network address of the application server according to an IP communication protocol stack and activates the use of the IP communication protocol stack. Then, the UE requests an IP communication service from a core network via a wireless cellular network, obtains a dynamic network address according to an Internet protocol, and uses the dynamic network address and the network address of the application server to provide application data to the application server using the IP communication service via the wireless cellular network.

[0151] Thus, an asynchronous communication method is disclosed, wherein a user equipment is registered in a network as a non-IP device and accordingly uses its non-IP communication capabilities in addition to using its IP communication capabilities when paged by a non-IP, which includes a target IP address for transmitting its payload. In this case, the user equipment establishes an IP tunnel directly to the provided server IP address in response to the paging. In a more advanced embodiment, the user equipment is also aware of the IP address and the paging includes a challenge response for additional security.

Claims

1. A method of operating a user equipment, the user equipment registering non-IP communication services with a core network via a cellular radio access network to perform application functions and provide application data via the cellular radio access network, the method comprising: - Generate application data when performing application functions; - Receive paging messages and subsequent Radio Link Control (RLC) messages based on the non-IP communication protocol stack. The paging messages and RLC messages are initiated by the application server associated with the application function. - Retrieve requests from RLC messages to transmit application data from a user equipment to an application server via IP communication services over a wireless cellular network; - Retrieve the network address of the application server based on the Internet Protocol layer of the IP communication protocol stack to be used for IP communication services from the RLC message; -Activate the use of the IP communication protocol stack; - Requesting IP communication services from the core network via the wireless cellular network; - Obtain the dynamic network address of the user equipment from the core network, which is based on the Internet Protocol on the network protocol layer of the IP communication protocol stack; as well as - Using the determined dynamic network address of the user equipment and the network address of the application server, application data is provided to the application server via IP communication services through the wireless cellular network.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, Requesting IP communication services from the network via wireless cellular network includes - Use the IP communication protocol stack to open a connection to the core network access node responsible for mobility management of the user equipment, and request bearer information via the wireless cellular network for uplink IP communication services from the user equipment, and request a dynamic network address. - Receive bearer information and dynamic network addresses from the core network access node via the wireless cellular network.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein, Providing application data to the application server includes - Use the bearer indicated by the bearer information, the network address of the application server as the destination address, and the dynamic network address of the user equipment as the source address to send application data to the application server via the wireless cellular network and through the assigned core network service gateway node.

4. The method according to any one of the preceding claims further comprises, after receiving an RLC message following a paging message from the application server, retrieving a challenge from the RLC message according to a challenge response protocol; wherein... Providing application data to the application server includes providing a pre-defined valid response in accordance with the challenge-response protocol.

5. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, Registering non-IP communication services with the core network via the wireless cellular radio access network includes - Provide the core network with a packet data network (PDN) connection request, specifying the PDN type as non-IP.

6. A method for operating an application server to retrieve application data from a user equipment, the user equipment registering non-IP communication services with a core network via a wireless cellular radio access network, the method comprising: - A paging command is sent to the core network node, initiating the core network node to control the provision of a paging message according to a non-IP communication stack for non-IP communication services, which excludes the use of the Internet Protocol at the network protocol layer. The paging message is used to page a selected user equipment via a wireless cellular radio access network, and the core network node is also initiating control to provide an RLC message following the paging message for forwarding to the user equipment in the RLC message following the paging message: Using the IP communication service between the user equipment and the application server, a request for application data is sent from the user equipment to the application server via the wireless cellular radio access network and the dynamic network address of the user equipment to be determined. The network address of the application server is based on the Internet Protocol (IP) at the network protocol layer of the IP communication protocol stack used for the IP communication service; and - Use IP communication services to receive requested application data from user equipment via a wireless cellular radio access network.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein, Sending paging messages to user equipment includes - Use the application programming interface protocol to provide a paging initiation instruction to the core network service control exposure function (SCEF) node, which instructs the core network SCEF node to initiate a paging message to the user equipment via the wireless cellular radio access network using non-IP data transmission using a non-IP communication protocol stack.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein, Provide paging initiation commands to the core network SCEF nodes, including - It was determined that the core network does not support Short Message Service (SMS). - Provide paging SMS messages to the SMS gateway replacement node, where - A paging SMS message is an SMS message that includes instructions to cause the SMS gateway to generate a paging initiation command on behalf of the node and provide it to the SCEF node.

9. The method according to claim 6, wherein, Sending paging messages to user equipment includes - It was determined that the core network does not support Short Message Service (SMS). - Provide paging SMS messages to the SMS gateway replacement node, where - A paging SMS message is an SMS message that includes instructions to instruct the SMS gateway to generate a paging initiation request and provide it to the core network service gateway supporting the SGSN node. The paging initiation request instructs the core network SGSN node to initiate the paging message to the user equipment via the wireless cellular radio access network using non-IP data transmission with a non-IP communication protocol stack.

10. A user equipment that performs application functions and provides application data via a wireless cellular radio access network, the user equipment comprising: - Application unit, configured to generate application data when performing application functions; - Communication control unit, configured to - activate the use of a non-IP communication protocol stack for non-IP communication services, wherein the non-IP communication protocol stack excludes the use of Internet Protocol at the network protocol layer; - Control the operation of user equipment to register non-IP communication services with the core network via the wireless cellular radio access network; - Upon receiving a paging message based on a non-IP communication protocol stack and subsequent RLC messages, the paging message is initiated by the application server associated with the application function. - Retrieve requests from RLC messages to transmit application data from a user equipment to an application server via IP communication services over a wireless cellular network; as well as - Retrieve the network address of the application server based on the Internet Protocol layer of the IP communication protocol stack to be used for IP communication services from the RLC message; -Activate the use of the IP communication protocol stack; - Control the operation of user equipment to request IP communication services from the core network via the wireless cellular network and obtain the dynamic network address of the user equipment from the core network, which is based on the Internet Protocol on the network protocol layer of the IP communication protocol stack. as well as - Control the operation of user equipment to provide application data to the application server using IP communication services via wireless cellular network and the determined dynamic network address of the user equipment and the network address of the application server.

11. An application server that retrieves application data from a user equipment via a wireless cellular radio access network, the application server comprising: - A server control unit, configured to - control the operation of the server to generate paging instructions and send them to a core network node. The paging instructions instruct the core network node to initiate the provision of a paging message and subsequent RLC message to a selected user equipment via a wireless cellular radio access network, based on a non-IP communication stack for non-IP communication services, excluding the use of the Internet Protocol at the network protocol layer. For forwarding to the user equipment in the RLC message, the paging instructions include: - Requests to transmit application data from the user equipment to the application server using IP communication services between the user equipment and the application server via a wireless cellular radio access network, and the user equipment's dynamic network address determined by the user equipment. -Based on the network address of the application server, which is the Internet Protocol layer on the IP communication protocol stack to be used for IP communication services; - Control the operation of the server to receive requested application data from user equipment via a wireless cellular radio access network using IP communication services.

12. A system for generating application data and retrieving application data from a user equipment via a wireless cellular radio access network, the system comprising: - The user equipment according to claim 10, and - The application server according to claim 11.

13. The system of claim 12, further comprising: -SMS gateway replacement node; among which - The application server is configured to - determine that the core network does not support Short Message Service (SMS); as well as - Provide paging SMS messages to the SMS gateway replacement node; and in -The SMS gateway replacement node is configured to respond to a paging SMS message. - Generate and provide paging initiation instructions to the Core Network Service Control Exposure Function (SCEF) node using the Application Programming Interface (API) protocol. The paging initiation instructions instruct the SCEF node to initiate paging messages to the user equipment via non-IP data transmission using a non-IP communication protocol stack through the wireless cellular radio access network.

14. The system according to claim 12 or 13, further comprising: -SMS gateway replacement node; among which - The application server is configured to - determine that the core network does not support Short Message Service (SMS); - Provide paging SMS messages to the SMS gateway replacement node; and in which -The SMS gateway replacement node is configured to respond to a paging SMS message. - Generate and provide a paging initiation request to the core network service gateway supporting the SGSN node. The paging initiation request instructs the core network SGSN node to initiate a paging message to the user equipment via the wireless cellular radio access network using non-IP data transmission with a non-IP communication protocol stack.

15. A computer product comprising a computer program, the computer program including executable code that instructs a programmable processor of a computer to perform the method according to claim 1 or the method according to claim 6.

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