Method, user equipment, system or mobile communication network, program and computer readable medium for operating user equipment in radio environment comprising plurality of radio cells of plurality of mobile communication networks

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for operating a user equipment in a radio environment comprising a plurality of radio cells of a plurality of mobile communication networks, each of the radio cells being respectively associated with at least one of the plurality of mobile communication networks, wherein the user equipment measures or detects a reception condition with respect to the plurality of radio cells, and then selects a mobile communication network from the plurality of mobile communication networks and / or registers with the mobile communication network wherein the user equipment has or is associated with a home public land mobile network, HPLMN, the user equipment comprises a terminal equipment entity or functionality and a mobile terminal entity or functionality, in which enhanced selection criteria provided by the HPLMN are stored in the user equipment with respect to cell selection and / or network selection by the user equipment-in which enhanced selection criteria provided by the HPLMN are stored in the user equipment with respect to cell selection and / or network selection by the user equipment-in which enhanced selection criteria provided by the HPLMN are stored in the user equipment with respect to cell selection by the user equipment. The radio cell of the considered radio access technology is considered to be an appropriate radio cell only in the case where the corresponding reception condition measured by the user equipment corresponds to or exceeds the enhanced selection criterion provided by the HPLMN with respect to the considered radio access technology, and / or-the network selection by the user equipment, only such mobile communication networks corresponding to appropriate radio cells of the radio access technology considered, having or corresponding to reception conditions corresponding to or exceeding the enhanced selection criteria, are considered for network selection of the user equipment, wherein the method comprises the following steps:-in a first step, the terminal equipment entity or functionality requests selection parameter information relating to or indicating whether an enhanced selection criterion provided by the HPLMN is used or applied by the mobile terminal entity or functionality, and / or a parameter value relating to or indicating an enhanced selection criterion provided by the HPLMN,-in a second step the terminal equipment entity or functionality receives the selection parameter information.

Description

Background Art

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for operating a user equipment in a radio environment comprising a plurality of radio cells of a plurality of mobile communication networks, the user equipment measuring or detecting reception conditions about the plurality of radio cells and subsequently selecting a mobile communication network from the plurality of mobile communication networks and / or registering to the mobile communication network, wherein the user equipment has or is associated with a Home Public Land Mobile Network (HPLMN), and the user equipment comprises a terminal equipment entity or functionality and a mobile terminal entity or functionality.

[0002] Furthermore, the present invention relates to a user equipment operated in a radio environment comprising a plurality of radio cells of a plurality of mobile communication networks, the user equipment being configured to measure or detect reception conditions regarding the plurality of radio cells and to subsequently select a mobile communication network from the plurality of mobile communication networks and / or to register with the mobile communication network, wherein the user equipment has or is associated with a home public land mobile network HPLMN, and the user equipment comprises a terminal equipment entity or functionality and a mobile terminal entity or functionality.

[0003] Additionally, the present invention relates to a system or a mobile communication network for operating a user equipment in a radio environment comprising a plurality of radio cells of a plurality of mobile communication networks, each of the radio cells being respectively associated with at least one of the plurality of mobile communication networks, the user equipment being configured to measure or detect reception conditions regarding the plurality of radio cells and to subsequently select a mobile communication network from the plurality of mobile communication networks and / or to register to the mobile communication network, wherein a home public land mobile network HPLMN is associated with the user equipment and the user equipment comprises a terminal equipment entity or functionality and a mobile terminal entity or functionality, wherein regarding the cell selection and / or network selection performed by the user equipment, enhanced selection criteria provided by the HPLMN are stored in the user equipment.

[0004] Furthermore, the invention relates to a program and a computer-readable medium for operating a user equipment in a radio environment comprising a plurality of radio cells of a plurality of mobile communication networks according to the method according to the invention.

[0005] In currently deployed mobile communication networks, user equipment or mobile stations typically experience a radio environment comprising at least a plurality of radio cells that can be detected and / or received by the respective user equipment or mobile station (i.e., different radio frequency signals that the user equipment can potentially receive at different frequencies and / or frequency bands and / or at different points in time or time intervals or time slots at its current location or position). One such radio cell is typically provided by a base station entity, i.e., the antenna device of a particular base station entity transmits radio frequency signals so that the user equipment can receive such radio frequency signals with sufficient quality (usually with sufficient signal-to-noise ratio) at its current location or position. If this is the case, the radio environment of the user equipment includes the radio cell under consideration. The plurality of radio cells (i.e., the plurality of radio cells of the base station entity) are typically part of a mobile communication network that is a cellular mobile communication network. Therefore, the plurality of radio cells of the radio environment of the user equipment are typically part of a plurality of mobile communication networks, and typically each of these radio cells is respectively associated with one of the plurality of mobile communication networks or with more than one of the plurality of mobile communication networks. Therefore, by selecting a radio cell (from a plurality of radio cells present or receivable in the radio environment at the considered location or position of the user equipment), the user equipment also selects a mobile communication network (associated with the radio cell). However, before a mobile communication network is considered as a network selection candidate (i.e., a candidate mobile communication network), the user equipment needs to find a suitable radio cell in the mobile communication network or public land mobile network to camp on. The criteria for a radio cell to be considered as a suitable radio cell (to camp on) depends on the considered network technology (or radio access technology) defined in or with the help of relevant standardization documents (mostly referred to as 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) documents).

[0006] In currently known mobile communication networks, i.e., in networks conforming to currently defined standards or standard documents, a number of disadvantages may occur: under poor or unfavorable radio coverage conditions (of user equipment), the order or priority ranking defined by 3GPP on how to select a mobile communication network to obtain a communication service or any service is not appropriate in all relevant cases. For example, in some cases, the field strength and / or quality (of a radio signal or multiple radio signals) of a radio cell (of the radio environment of the user equipment) is not considered in the network selection process (PLMN selection process), which results in the user equipment being unable to receive and / or transmit data after the initial network selection process (PLMN selection process). Such situations include situations where some user equipment may fail to obtain data services, even if the selected public land mobile network satisfies the cell selection criteria for considering the corresponding mobile communication network (public land mobile network) in the network selection (or PLMN selection) process. Specifically, in a situation where the user equipment is at or in an unfavorable location, the applicable cellular cell selection criteria (e.g., the "RX Access Lev min" criterion in GSM or the S criterion in GSM successor technologies) may be barely met, so that the user equipment considers the corresponding public land mobile network for PLMN selection, but in fact, due to, for example, fading or local interference at the location of the user equipment, data transmission between the network and the user equipment may subsequently fail. Such a situation occurs in particular with respect to cellular user equipment or devices for Internet of Things or M2M (machine to machine) communication services, which are usually used in a stationary manner (e.g., meters or various sensors, etc.) and in situations of unfavorable radio (reception) conditions, and this problem may exist permanently for such user equipment, resulting in a situation where such user equipment (especially in automatic network selection mode) is stuck on the PLMN and cannot transmit data at the same time.

[0007] Therefore, in currently known mobile communication networks, it has been proposed to apply an offset to the minimum required field strength to allow network access, or in the case of 3GPP technologies such as UMTS, LTE or 5G, to apply an offset or an absolute value (threshold) in the S criterion or in the network selection phase to alleviate the problem. However, in this case, the application-level control entity or functionality of the user equipment does not know whether such a mechanism is actually applied and / or whether an offset or an absolute value (threshold) is used and / or which exact value is used. Summary of the invention

[0008] The object of the present invention is to provide a technically simple, efficient and cost-effective solution for operating a user equipment in a radio environment comprising multiple radio cells of multiple mobile communication networks. A further object of the present invention is to provide a corresponding user equipment, a system or a mobile communication network, and a corresponding program and a computer-readable medium.

[0009] The object of the present invention is achieved by a method for operating a user equipment in a radio environment comprising a plurality of radio cells of a plurality of mobile communication networks, each of these radio cells being respectively associated with at least one mobile communication network of the plurality of mobile communication networks,

[0010] wherein the user equipment measures or detects reception conditions on the plurality of radio cells and subsequently selects a mobile communication network from the plurality of mobile communication networks and / or registers to the mobile communication network, wherein the user equipment has or is associated with a Home Public Land Mobile Network (HPLMN), and the user equipment comprises a terminal equipment entity or functionality and a mobile terminal entity or functionality, wherein with respect to cell selection and / or network selection by the user equipment, enhanced selection criteria provided by the HPLMN are stored in the user equipment,

[0011] - wherein with respect to cell selection by the user equipment, a radio cell of the radio access technology under consideration is considered a suitable radio cell only if corresponding reception conditions measured by the user equipment correspond to or exceed enhanced selection criteria provided by the HPLMN for the radio access technology under consideration, and / or

[0012] - wherein with respect to network selection by the user equipment, only such mobile communication networks corresponding to suitable radio cells of the considered radio access technology having or corresponding to reception conditions corresponding to or exceeding the enhanced selection criterion are considered for network selection of the user equipment,

[0013] The method comprises the following steps:

[0014] - in a first step, the terminal equipment entity or functionality requests selection parameter information, the selection parameter information relating to or indicating whether an enhanced selection criterion provided by the HPLMN is used or applied by the mobile terminal entity or functionality and / or relating to or indicating a parameter value of the enhanced selection criterion provided by the HPLMN,

[0015] - In a second step, the terminal equipment entity or functionality receives the selection parameter information.

[0016] Thus, according to the present invention, it is advantageously possible not only to flexibly apply the enhanced selection criteria provided by the HPLMN (instead of applying the conventionally used procedures), but also to ensure that the user equipment, in particular the terminal equipment entity or functionality or the application-level entity or functionality within the terminal equipment entity or functionality is aware of the enhanced selection criteria provided by the HPLMN and / or its application or use and / or its parameter values. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is advantageously possible to perform network and / or cellular cell selection in an optimized manner, thereby in particular leading to avoiding problems associated with using conventionally used network selection procedures (such as those mentioned above). In particular, commands towards the mobile terminal entity or functionality can be generated based on the terminal equipment entity or functionality's knowledge of the selection parameter information (e.g., through settings of the user equipment application, i.e., settings of the terminal equipment entity or functionality, such as events, in particular periodic events, etc.); subsequently, the results of such commands can be reported to the network or backend application server (e.g., via application layer and / or non-access stratum (NAS) communication). Additionally, the home network (or HPLMN) or backend application server may send a command to the user equipment (e.g., via application layer and / or non-access stratum communication) to trigger a user equipment application (as part of or within a terminal equipment entity or functionality) to retrieve the threshold value. This information may be used beneficially in situations where the application (within the terminal equipment entity or functionality or triggered by the backend application server) may manually select another network and / or radio access technology type, i.e., RAT type (e.g., a network or radio access technology that has not been selected in situations where a threshold or offset has been applied during automatic selection); the application may want to make such a manual selection in situations where the automatic selection of the applied threshold value leads to undesirable results. In addition, by leveraging (the terminal equipment entity or functional application) the knowledge of whether and which offsets or thresholds (regarding enhanced selection criteria) are set by the home operator, faults can be advantageously mitigated and troubleshooted according to the present invention: according to the present invention, an application executed on the user equipment can query the (enhanced selection criteria) value and report it to a backend application server (e.g., running on a server in the cloud) or directly to the home operator network; thus, in the event that the device becomes unresponsive or unavailable or suffers from coverage and connectivity issues, the customer is able to contact the operator to adjust the thresholds or offsets in order to resolve the connectivity issues.

[0017] Conventionally, cell selection criteria are used for radio cells that are considered suitable radio cells (i.e. for the user equipment to camp on), and these cell selection criteria usually depend on the used network technology (or radio access technology) under consideration, i.e. the radio access technology used by both the user equipment and the radio cell. Typically, different generations of mobile communication systems (i.e. different radio access technologies) are considered, most often including one, all or a subset of the following:

[0018] 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G technologies (i.e., second generation mobile communication system (GSM, i.e. Global System for Mobile Communications), third generation mobile communication system (UMTS, i.e. Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (including its radio technology UTRA, i.e. UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access)), fourth generation mobile communication system (LTE, i.e. Long Term Evolution (including its radio technology E-UTRA, i.e. Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access)), and fifth generation mobile communication system (5GS, i.e. 5G system (including its radio technology NR, i.e. New Radio))), but according to the present invention, further or additional or replacement radio access technologies are not excluded.

[0019] Once the user equipment (or more specifically the so-called AS, Access Stratum part of the user equipment) has read one or more PLMNs, i.e. one or more radio cells (which may belong to different mobile communication networks or public land mobile networks), the radio cells or public land mobile networks with the cell selection criteria (to be respectively applied in view of the potentially different radio access technologies) are reported to the so-called NAS, Non-Access Stratum (or the NAS part of the user equipment) for the subsequent phase (or step) of network selection. Typically, the report also includes information of the corresponding field strength values ​​(measured by the user equipment), such as for example RSRP (Reference Signal Received Power) values. Based on the report (in particular the report by the AS part of the user equipment to the NAS part of the user equipment), the actual network selection can be performed. Conventionally, in the network selection phase, all radio cells that were judged to be suitable radio cells (in the previous cell selection phase) are taken into consideration.

[0020] According to the present invention, the user equipment has or is associated with a home public land mobile network HPLMN, and the user equipment includes a terminal equipment entity or functionality (usually an application level entity or functionality runs or is located therein) and a mobile terminal entity or functionality. With respect to cell selection and / or network selection of the user equipment, an enhanced selection criterion provided by the HPLMN is stored in the user equipment (or at least can be stored in the user equipment).

[0021] According to the present invention, with respect to cell selection of a user equipment, a radio cell of the radio access technology under consideration is considered to be a suitable radio cell only in a case where a corresponding reception condition measured by the user equipment corresponds to or exceeds an enhanced selection criterion provided by the HPLMN regarding the radio access technology under consideration (or at least, the cell selection performed by the user equipment can be performed such that, in a case where the enhanced selection criterion provided by the HPLMN is provided (transmitted) to the user equipment and stored therein, a radio cell of the radio access technology under consideration is considered to be a suitable radio cell only in a case where a corresponding reception condition measured by the user equipment corresponds to or exceeds the enhanced selection criterion provided by the HPLMN regarding the radio access technology under consideration). According to the present invention, alternatively or cumulatively, with respect to network selection of a user equipment, only such mobile communication networks corresponding to suitable radio cells of the radio access technology under consideration and having or corresponding to reception conditions corresponding to or exceeding the enhanced selection criteria are considered for network selection of the user equipment (or at least, the network selection performed by the user equipment can be performed so that in a case where the enhanced selection criteria provided by the HPLMN are provided (transmitted) to the user equipment and stored therein, only such mobile communication networks corresponding to suitable radio cells of the radio access technology under consideration and having or corresponding to reception conditions corresponding to or exceeding the enhanced selection criteria are considered for network selection of the user equipment).

[0022] --According to the present invention, the method of the present invention includes: in a first step, the terminal equipment entity or functionality requests selection parameter information, the selection parameter information relates to or indicates whether the enhanced selection criteria provided by the HPLMN is used or applied by the mobile terminal entity or functionality, and / or relates to or indicates the parameter value of the enhanced selection criteria provided by the HPLMN, and, in a second step, the terminal equipment entity or functionality receives the selection parameter information.

[0023] This therefore means that according to the present invention it is advantageously possible to allow an application (or application level entity or functionality of a terminal equipment entity or functionality) to become aware if an offset or threshold (ie the enhanced selection criteria provided by the HPLMN) is set and what the actual value of the threshold is.

[0024] According to the invention, it is advantageously possible and preferred that the user equipment further comprises, in addition to the terminal equipment entity or functionality and the mobile terminal entity or functionality, a terminal adapter entity or functionality, wherein the terminal adapter entity or functionality receives a request for selection information from the terminal equipment entity or functionality during or after the first step, and wherein the terminal adapter entity or functionality transmits the selection information to the terminal equipment entity or functionality during or before the second step,

[0025] Therein, in particular, the user equipment is a machine type communication device.

[0026] Thus, according to the present invention, the invention can advantageously be implemented and realized relatively easily and offers greater applicability, since the user equipment generally has a terminal adapter entity or functionality in addition to both the terminal equipment entity or functionality and the mobile terminal entity or functionality.

[0027] Furthermore, according to the invention, it is advantageously possible and preferred that, during or after the first step, the terminal adapter entity or functionality transmits a further request for selection parameter information to the mobile terminal entity or functionality and wherein, during or before the second step, the terminal adapter entity or functionality receives the selection information from the mobile terminal entity or functionality.

[0028] Thus, according to the present invention, the present invention can advantageously be implemented and realized relatively easily.

[0029] Furthermore, according to the present invention, it is advantageously possible and preferred to use an AT command interface between the terminal equipment entity or functionality and the terminal adapter entity or functionality or the mobile terminal entity or functionality.

[0030] Thus, according to the present invention, the AT command interface can be used to allow an application (or an application-level entity or functionality of a terminal equipment entity or functionality) to become aware of whether an offset or threshold (i.e., an enhanced selection criterion provided by the HPLMN) is set, and what the actual value of the threshold is, thereby making it easier to implement and realize the present invention.

[0031] Furthermore, according to the invention, it is advantageously possible and preferred that the user equipment comprises a universal integrated circuit card and / or a subscriber identity module, in particular comprises a secure element or part of the user equipment, and / or

[0032] The terminal equipment entity or functionality includes an application or an application program.

[0033] Thus, according to the present invention, the present invention can advantageously be implemented and realized relatively easily.

[0034] Furthermore, according to the invention it is advantageously possible and preferred that

[0035] -- between a terminal equipment entity or functionality and a terminal adapter entity or functionality, or

[0036] -- between the terminal equipment entity or functionality and the mobile terminal entity or functionality

[0037] The AT command interface is used by a terminal equipment entity or a functional application or application program, in particular to perform application settings, in particular events (such as periodic events), or to execute commands of the HPLMN or a backend application server,

[0038] Therein, in particular, the terminal equipment entity or functional application or application program then reports the result to the HPLMN or a backend application server (in particular via the application layer and / or non-access layer communication NAS).

[0039] Thus, according to the present invention, it is advantageously possible that a terminal equipment entity or a functional application or application program is able to take into account settings or configurations provided by the HPLMN and, in particular, react flexibly thereto, and / or that a terminal equipment entity or a functional application or application program is able to establish or close a feedback loop towards the HPLMN or a backend application server in order to be able to possibly adjust settings and / or values ​​of or regarding enhanced selection criteria provided by the HPLMN.

[0040] Furthermore, according to the invention it is advantageously possible and preferred that the enhanced selection criteria provided by the HPLMN include or take into account home operator-controlled values ​​set by the HPLMN or its operator or adjustable by the HPLMN or its operator, wherein the enhanced selection criteria provided by the HPLMN are in particular more restrictive than cell selection criteria lacking a home operator-controlled component, wherein in particular the enhanced selection criteria provided by the HPLMN are also applied in a normal cell selection procedure, in particular once network selection has taken place, and / or wherein in particular the enhanced selection criteria provided by the HPLMN triggers network selection in situations where the corresponding reception conditions measured by the user equipment do not correspond to or do not exceed the enhanced selection criteria provided by the HPLMN.

[0041] Thus, according to the present invention, it is advantageously possible for the home operator to influence the network selection process of the user equipment, so that the present invention can be implemented and realized relatively easily.

[0042] Furthermore, it is advantageously possible and preferred according to the present invention that the HPLMN provided enhanced selection criterion and / or the home operator controlled value of the HPLMN provided enhanced selection criterion corresponds to at least one of the following:

[0043] --absolute value, or

[0044] --relative value compared to the cell selection criteria lacking the home operator controlled component,

[0045] --An additional offset value applied compared to the cell selection criteria in the absence of a home operator controlled component.

[0046] Thus, according to the present invention, the present invention can advantageously be implemented and realized relatively easily.

[0047] Furthermore, according to the present invention, it is advantageously possible and preferred that the home operator controlled value of the enhanced selection criterion provided by the HPLMN

[0048] - stored in user equipment, in particular in or as part of a universal integrated circuit card and / or a subscriber identity module, and / or

[0049] - provided or transmitted to the user equipment, in particular by the HPLMN or its operator, in particular by using an over-the-air transmission method, and / or

[0050] -- Provided or delivered by the HPLMN to the user equipment via NAS signaling.

[0051] Thus, according to the present invention, the present invention can advantageously be implemented and realized relatively easily.

[0052] Furthermore, the invention relates to a user equipment operated in a radio environment comprising a plurality of radio cells of a plurality of mobile communication networks, each of these radio cells being respectively associated with at least one mobile communication network of the plurality of mobile communication networks,

[0053] wherein the user equipment is configured to measure or detect reception conditions in respect of the plurality of radio cells and is configured to subsequently select a mobile communication network from the plurality of mobile communication networks and / or to register with the mobile communication network, wherein the user equipment has or is associated with a Home Public Land Mobile Network (HPLMN), and the user equipment comprises a terminal equipment entity or functionality and a mobile terminal entity or functionality, wherein with respect to cell selection and / or network selection by the user equipment, enhanced selection criteria provided by the HPLMN are stored in the user equipment,

[0054] - wherein with respect to cell selection by the user equipment, a radio cell of the radio access technology under consideration is considered a suitable radio cell only if corresponding reception conditions measured by the user equipment correspond to or exceed enhanced selection criteria provided by the HPLMN for the radio access technology under consideration, and / or

[0055] - wherein with respect to network selection by the user equipment, only such mobile communication networks corresponding to suitable radio cells of the considered radio access technology having or corresponding to reception conditions corresponding to or exceeding the enhanced selection criterion are considered for network selection of the user equipment,

[0056] The user equipment is configured such that:

[0057] - the terminal equipment entity or functionality requests selection parameter information, the selection parameter information relating to or indicating whether an enhanced selection criterion provided by the HPLMN is used or applied by the mobile terminal entity or functionality and / or relating to or indicating a parameter value of the enhanced selection criterion provided by the HPLMN, and

[0058] --The terminal equipment entity or functionality receives the selection parameter information,

[0059] Therein, in particular, the user equipment is a machine type communication device.

[0060] Furthermore, the present invention relates to a system or a mobile communication network for operating a user equipment in a radio environment comprising a plurality of radio cells of a plurality of mobile communication networks, each of these radio cells being respectively associated to at least one mobile communication network of the plurality of mobile communication networks, the user equipment being configured to measure or detect reception conditions in relation to the plurality of radio cells and to subsequently select a mobile communication network from the plurality of mobile communication networks and / or to register to the mobile communication network, wherein a Home Public Land Mobile Network HPLMN is associated with the user equipment and the user equipment comprises a terminal equipment entity or functionality and a mobile terminal entity or functionality, wherein with respect to cell selection and / or network selection by the user equipment, enhanced selection criteria provided by the HPLMN are stored in the user equipment,

[0061] - wherein with respect to cell selection by the user equipment, a radio cell of the radio access technology under consideration is considered a suitable radio cell only if corresponding reception conditions measured by the user equipment correspond to or exceed enhanced selection criteria provided by the HPLMN for the radio access technology under consideration, and / or

[0062] - wherein with respect to network selection by the user equipment, only such mobile communication networks corresponding to suitable radio cells of the considered radio access technology having or corresponding to reception conditions corresponding to or exceeding the enhanced selection criterion are considered for network selection of the user equipment,

[0063] The system or mobile communication network is configured such that:

[0064] - the terminal equipment entity or functionality requests selection parameter information, the selection parameter information relating to or indicating whether an enhanced selection criterion provided by the HPLMN is used or applied by the mobile terminal entity or functionality and / or relating to or indicating a parameter value of the enhanced selection criterion provided by the HPLMN, and

[0065] --The terminal equipment entity or functionality receives the selection parameter information.

[0066] Additionally, the present invention relates to a program comprising a computer-readable program code, which, when executed on a computer, and / or on a user equipment, and / or on a network node of a mobile communication network, or partly on the user equipment, and / or partly on the network node of the mobile communication network, causes the computer and / or the user equipment and / or the network node of the mobile communication network to perform the method according to the present invention.

[0067] Additionally, the present invention relates to a computer-readable medium comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, and / or on a user equipment, and / or on a network node of a mobile communication network, or partly on the user equipment, and / or partly on the network node of the mobile communication network, causes the computer and / or the user equipment and / or the network node of the mobile communication network to perform the method according to the present invention.

[0068] These and other characteristics, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which the principles of the present invention are illustrated in an exemplary manner. This description is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. The reference figures cited below are referenced to the accompanying drawings.

[0069] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0070] Figure 1 Schematically illustrated is a user equipment in a radio environment comprising a plurality of radio cells of a plurality of mobile communication networks.

[0071] Figure 2 The user equipment and its components are schematically illustrated in greater detail.

[0072] Figure 3 The situation in which a user equipment measures different signal strengths of different radio cells is schematically illustrated.

[0073] Figure 4 An example of communication between different parts within user equipment in the context of using a universal integrated circuit card as part of the user equipment is schematically illustrated. Specific implementation plan

[0074] The present invention will be described with respect to particular embodiments and with reference to certain drawings, but the invention is not limited thereto but only by the claims. The drawings described are merely schematic and non-limiting. In the drawings, the size of some of the elements may be exaggerated and not drawn to scale for illustrative purposes.

[0075] When referring to a singular noun an indefinite or definite article is used, for example "a", "an", "the" include plural forms of that noun unless something else is stated.

[0076] In addition, the terms first, second, third, etc. in the specification and claims are used to distinguish between similar elements and not necessarily to describe a sequential or chronological order. It should be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances, and that the embodiments of the invention described herein are capable of operating in a sequence different from that described or illustrated herein.

[0077] exist Figure 1 In FIG. 1 , a user equipment 20 is schematically shown in a radio environment comprising a plurality of radio cells of a plurality of mobile communication networks. Figure 1 In the exemplary representation of , the first radio cell 11 is associated or related to the first mobile communication network 100 , the second radio cell 12 is associated or related to the second mobile communication network 200 , and the third radio cell 13 is associated or related to the third mobile communication network 300 .

[0078] Schematically, a base station entity is represented with respect to each of the three radio cells 11, 12, 13 detected or "seen" by the user equipment 20: a first base station entity 111 (typically but not necessarily of the first mobile communication network 100) generates or provides radio coverage of the first radio cell 11 or with respect to the first radio cell 11, a second base station entity 112 (typically but not necessarily of the second mobile communication network 200) generates or provides radio coverage of the second radio cell 12 or with respect to the second radio cell 12, and a third base station entity 113 (typically but not necessarily of the third mobile communication network 200) generates or provides radio coverage of the third radio cell 13 or with respect to the third radio cell 13.

[0079] exist Figure 1In the figure, the user equipment 20 is shown to be located in the radio coverage area (illustrated by means of dashed circles) of the first radio cell 11, the second radio cell 12 and the third radio cell 13. The user equipment 20 measures or detects the reception conditions on the plurality of radio cells 11, 12, 13, and then selects a mobile communication network from the plurality of mobile communication networks 100, 200, 300 and / or registers to the mobile communication network.

[0080] Figure 2 The user equipment 20 and its components are shown in more detail: According to the present invention, the user equipment 20 comprises a terminal equipment entity or functionality 21 and a mobile terminal entity or functionality 23. Figure 2 In the exemplary embodiment shown, the user equipment 20 additionally comprises a terminal adapter entity or functionality 22 .

[0081] More generally, according to the present invention, in a first step of the method of the present invention, the terminal equipment entity or functionality 21 requests selection parameter information 521, which selection parameter information 521 relates to or indicates whether the enhanced selection criteria 520 provided by the HPLMN is used or applied by the mobile terminal entity or functionality 23, and / or relates to or indicates the parameter value of the enhanced selection criteria 520 provided by the HPLMN, and, in a second step of the method of the present invention, the terminal equipment entity or functionality 21 subsequently receives the selection parameter information 521.

[0082] exist Figure 2 In the exemplary embodiment shown, during or after a first step, the terminal adapter entity or functionality 22 receives a request 522 for (or regarding) selection information from a terminal equipment entity or functionality 21 (in particular triggered by user interaction and / or events of an application 211 of the terminal equipment entity or functionality 21), and during or before a second step, the terminal adapter entity or functionality 22 transmits selection parameter information 521 to the terminal equipment entity or functionality 21.

[0083] In addition, Figure 2 In the exemplary embodiment shown, during or after the first step, the terminal adapter entity or functionality 22 transmits a further request 524 for selection parameter information 521 to the mobile terminal entity or functionality 23, and during or before the second step, the terminal adapter entity or functionality 22 receives the selection parameter information 521 from the mobile terminal entity or functionality 23 (in particular as part of a message 523). Between the mobile terminal entity or functionality 23 (of the user equipment 20) and the network 100 (exemplarily, in Figure 2In the example, the first mobile communication network 100 is considered to be the HPLMN of the user equipment 20; however, the second or third network 200, 300 may also play this role), typically exchanging a plurality of network messages 230.

[0084] According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, request 522 (or request message 522) corresponds to an AT command; selection parameter information 521 corresponds to a corresponding response; another request 524 (or another request message 524) corresponds to a mobile terminal control command (usually based on a proprietary interface of the manufacturer of the terminal adapter entity or functionality 22 and / or the mobile terminal entity or functionality 23); message 523 (communicating or including selection parameter information 521) corresponds to a mobile terminal status message.

[0085] Thus, in particular, an AT command interface (or more generally, a terminal equipment-terminal adapter interface) is used between the terminal equipment entity or functionality 21 and the terminal adapter entity or functionality 22 or the mobile terminal entity or functionality 23, thereby allowing an application (or an application-level entity or functionality of the terminal equipment entity or functionality 21) to become aware of whether an offset or threshold (i.e., the enhanced selection criteria provided by the HPLMN) is set, and what the actual value of the threshold is.

[0086] In particular, when using an AT command interface, commands towards a mobile terminal entity or functionality can be generated relatively easily based on the knowledge of the terminal equipment entity or functionality of the selection parameter information (e.g., through the settings of the user equipment application). Thereafter, the results of such commands can be reported to the network or backend application server. Additionally, the home network (or HPLMN) or the backend application server can send a command to the user equipment (e.g., via application layer and / or non-access stratum communication) to trigger the user equipment application to retrieve the threshold value using an AT command. This information can be used beneficially in the case where the application manually selects another network and / or radio access technology type.

[0087] According to the present invention, preferably, the AT command interface is implemented between the terminal equipment entity or functionality 21 and the terminal adapter entity or functionality 22 or between the terminal equipment entity or functionality 21 and the mobile terminal entity or functionality 23 .

[0088] In particular, the AT command interface is used by an application or application program of the terminal equipment entity or functionality 21, and in particular to execute settings of the application, in particular events (such as periodic events), or to execute commands of the HPLMN or a backend application server; in particular, the application or application program of the terminal equipment entity or functionality 21 then reports the result to the HPLMN or the backend application server (in particular via the application layer and / or non-access layer communication NAS).

[0089] According to a particularly preferred embodiment of the present invention, the user equipment 20 is a machine type communication device.

[0090] Furthermore, according to the present invention, preferably, the terminal adapter entity or functionality 22 corresponds, for example, to a GSM data card (e.g., equal to DCE, i.e., data circuit terminal equipment), and the terminal equipment entity or functionality 21 corresponds, for example, to a computer (equal to DTE, i.e., data terminal equipment), or in the case of an Internet of Things device (or machine type communication device), it will be the actual application executed in the device.

[0091] Furthermore, the user equipment 20 comprises a universal integrated circuit card and / or a subscriber identity module, in particular comprises a secure element or part of the user equipment 20, and / or

[0092] The terminal equipment entity or functionality 21 comprises an application or application program.

[0093] According to the present invention, with respect to cell selection and / or with respect to network selection, the user equipment 20 is able to apply enhanced selection criteria provided by the HPLMN. Figure 3 The cell selection criterion provided by the HPLMN, designated by reference numeral 520 , is schematically illustrated in FIG. 5 , which represents a situation in which the user equipment 20 measures different signal strengths of different radio cells 11 , 12 , 13 .

[0094] Figure 3 The ordinate of the diagram shown in corresponds to the signal strength 500 or an indicator thereof (such as a field strength value or a signal quality parameter). According to the mechanisms in conventionally known mobile communication networks, the user equipment 20 applies a conventionally defined cell selection criterion 510 in the cell selection phase. According to this (conventionally defined) cell selection criterion 510, both the first radio cell 11 and the third radio cell 13 will be considered as suitable radio cells (according to or applying the cell selection criterion 510 in the cell selection phase and / or in the network selection phase), because the two radio cells 11, 13 are schematically shown as having or providing (at the location of the user equipment 20) a signal strength that corresponds to or exceeds the (conventionally defined) cell selection criterion 510.

[0095] According to the present invention, the HPLMN-provided enhanced selection criteria 520 are defined (i.e., received by the user equipment 20 in some manner from the HPLMN (e.g., initially stored on a universal integrated circuit card, or during operation of the user equipment 20)) and taken into account when selecting a radio cell and / or network. Since the HPLMN-provided enhanced selection criteria 520 generally require a higher or increased received signal level or quality (in Figure 3, schematically indicated by means of representing the enhanced selection criterion 520 provided by the HPLMN above the conventionally defined cell selection criterion 510, i.e., the enhanced selection criterion 520 provided by the HPLMN is particularly more restrictive than the conventionally defined cell selection criterion 510), so that in the case where the enhanced selection criterion 520 provided by the HPLMN is applied (i.e. required), only the third radio cell 13 is considered by the user equipment 20 to be or corresponds to a suitable radio cell and / or a suitable network (because it is the only one of the three radio cells for which the corresponding reception conditions measured by the user equipment 20 correspond to or exceed the enhanced selection criterion 520 provided by the HPLMN with respect to the radio access technology under consideration).

[0096] The HPLMN provided enhanced selection criteria 520 may correspond to the HPLMN provided cell selection criteria taken into account when selecting a radio cell. Alternatively or cumulatively, the HPLMN provided enhanced selection criteria 520 may correspond to the enhanced network selection criteria taken into account when selecting a network, in particular a public land mobile network, in particular in a first or initial part of a network selection phase.

[0097] exist Figure 1 and Figure 3 In both, only radio cells and mobile communication networks 100, 200, 300 are shown, without distinguishing between different radio access technologies. However, it will be understood that this also applies to different radio access technologies, for example, the third radio cell 13 may exceed the enhanced selection criteria 520 provided by the HPLMN only with respect to one specific radio access technology, but also a radio cell of another radio access technology provided or generated by the third base station entity 113 (not shown). Figure 1 Or 3) may not exceed the enhanced selection criteria 520 provided by the corresponding HPLMN to be applied in relation to the other radio access technology, and may be vice versa for the other radio cells 11, 12.

[0098] According to the present invention, the user equipment 20 typically has or is associated with a home public land mobile network HPLMN, and wherein the enhanced selection criteria 520 include or take into account home operator-controlled values ​​set by the HPLMN or its operator or adjustable by the HPLMN or its operator, wherein the enhanced selection criteria 520 provided by the HPLMN are in particular more restrictive compared to the cellular cell selection criteria 510 (or general cellular cell selection criteria) lacking a component controlled by the home operator, wherein the enhanced selection criteria 520 provided by the HPLMN are in particular also applied during normal cellular cell selection and / or during the network selection procedure.

[0099] Figure 4 Schematically illustrates an example of communication within the user equipment 20 in the case of using a universal integrated circuit card 24 as part of the user equipment 20; namely, Figure 4 The communication between the terminal equipment entity or functionality 21, the terminal adapter entity or functionality 22, the mobile terminal entity or functionality 23 and the universal integrated circuit card 24 is shown. The double arrow between the terminal equipment entity or functionality 21 and the terminal adapter entity or functionality 22 schematically and exemplarily indicates an AT command interface, and another double arrow between the mobile terminal entity or functionality 23 and the universal integrated circuit card 24 schematically and exemplarily indicates a mobile terminal entity or functionality-universal integrated circuit card interface.

[0100] In order to allow the application (i.e., the terminal equipment entity or functionality 21) to query the offset or threshold (of the enhanced selection criteria 520) stored and remotely maintained by the home operator on the subscriber identity module or sim card (or universal integrated circuit card), it is necessary to define the corresponding command set and corresponding procedures for the "AT (-command) interface" and for the "MT-UICC" interface. The message flow between the application (or user) 211, the terminal equipment entity or functionality 21, the terminal adapter entity or functionality 22, the mobile terminal entity or functionality 23 and the universal integrated circuit card 24 can, for example, result in the following processing steps:

[0101] In a first processing step, the user / application 211 triggers a query (towards the terminal equipment entity or functionality 21) in order to obtain the current enhanced selection criteria 520 state / value (done via API / software library based interaction with the terminal equipment).

[0102] In a second processing step (601), the terminal equipment entity or functionality 21 issues an AT command (set) via the AT command line interface (serial interface) (to the terminal adapter entity or functionality 22), for example,<AT+CURT> (“AT” as a typical start of an AT command sequence; “C” is usually used for interaction with 'cellular'; “URT” corresponds to the actual command, for example for “User Related Threshold”); the second processing step corresponds to the first step of the method according to the invention, i.e. the terminal equipment entity or functionality 21 requests selection parameter information 521.

[0103] In a third processing step, the terminal adapter entity or functionality 22 forwards the request to the mobile terminal entity or functionality 23 .

[0104] In a fourth processing step (602), the mobile terminal entity or functionality 23 queries the universal integrated circuit card 24.

[0105] In a fifth processing step (603), the universal integrated circuit card 24 responds with the current threshold value, ie provides the selection parameter information 521 to the mobile terminal entity or functionality 23.

[0106] In a sixth processing step, the mobile terminal entity or functionality 23 forwards the result, ie the selection parameter information 521 , to the terminal adapter entity or functionality 22 .

[0107] In a seventh processing step (604), the terminal adapter entity or functionality 22 responds with an AT command result (e.g.: <cr> <lf>+CURT:(0-20,12) <cr> <lf>The result (ie, the selection parameter information 521 ) is forwarded to the terminal equipment entity or functionality 21 in the form of (where +CURT refers to a query of the CURT value at the result; (0-20,12) corresponds to a value range of 0-20 and a current value of 12)).

[0108] In an eighth processing step, the terminal equipment entity or functionality 21 forwards the result to the application 211 (or user).< / lf> < / cr> < / lf> < / cr>

Claims

1. A method for operating a user equipment (20) in a radio environment comprising a plurality of radio cells (11, 12, 13) of a plurality of mobile communication networks (100, 200, 300), each of the radio cells (11, 12, 13) being associated with at least one mobile communication network of the plurality of mobile communication networks (100, 200, 300), wherein the user equipment (20) measures or detects reception conditions on the plurality of radio cells (11, 12, 13) and subsequently selects a mobile communication network from the plurality of mobile communication networks (100, 200, 300) and / or registers to a mobile communication network, wherein the user equipment (20) has or is associated with a home public land mobile network (HPLMN), and the user equipment (20) comprises a terminal equipment entity or functionality (21) and a mobile terminal entity or functionality (23), wherein with respect to cell selection and / or network selection by the user equipment (20), enhanced selection criteria (520) provided by the HPLMN are stored in the user equipment (20), wherein, with respect to cell selection by the user equipment (20), a radio cell of the radio access technology under consideration is considered a suitable radio cell only if corresponding reception conditions measured by the user equipment (20) correspond to or exceed enhanced selection criteria (520) provided by the HPLMN for the radio access technology under consideration, and / or - wherein with regard to network selection by the user equipment (20), only such mobile communication networks corresponding to suitable radio cells of the considered radio access technology having or corresponding to reception conditions corresponding to or exceeding the enhanced selection criterion are considered for network selection by the user equipment (20), The method comprises the following steps: - in a first step, the terminal equipment entity or functionality (21) requests selection parameter information (521), the selection parameter information (521) relating to or indicating whether an enhanced selection criterion (520) provided by the HPLMN is used or applied by the mobile terminal entity or functionality (23) and / or relating to or indicating a parameter value of the enhanced selection criterion (520) provided by the HPLMN, - In a second step, the terminal equipment entity or functionality (21) receives the selection parameter information (521).

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the user equipment (20) comprises, in addition to the terminal equipment entity or functionality (21) and the mobile terminal entity or functionality (23), a terminal adapter entity or functionality (22), wherein the terminal adapter entity or functionality (22) receives a request (522) for the selection parameter information (521) from the terminal equipment entity or functionality (21) during or after the first step, and wherein the terminal adapter entity or functionality (22) transmits the selection parameter information (521) to the terminal equipment entity or functionality (21) during or before the second step, in, In particular, the user equipment (20) is a machine type communication device.

3. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein during or after the first step, the terminal adapter entity or functionality (22) transmits a further request (524) for the selection parameter information (521) to the mobile terminal entity or functionality (23), and wherein during or before the second step, the terminal adapter entity or functionality (22) receives the selection parameter information (521) from the mobile terminal entity or functionality (23).

4. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein an AT command interface is used between the terminal equipment entity or functionality (21) and the terminal adapter entity or functionality (22) or the mobile terminal entity or functionality (23).

5. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the user equipment (20) comprises a universal integrated circuit card and / or a subscriber identity module, in particular comprises a secure element or part of the user equipment (20), and / or The terminal equipment entity or functionality (21) comprises an application or an application program.

6. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein - between said terminal equipment entity or functionality (21) and said terminal adapter entity or functionality (22), or - between the terminal equipment entity or functionality (21) and the mobile terminal entity or functionality (23) The AT command interface is used by an application or application program of the terminal equipment entity or functionality (21), in particular to execute settings of the application, in particular events, such as periodic events, or to execute commands of the HPLMN or a backend application server, in, In particular, the application or application program of the terminal equipment entity or functionality (21) then reports the result to the HPLMN or a backend application server, in particular via the application layer and / or non-access stratum communication NAS.

7. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the HPLMN provided enhanced selection criteria (520) include or take into account home operator controlled values ​​set by the HPLMN or its operator or adjustable by the HPLMN or its operator, wherein the HPLMN provided enhanced selection criteria (520) are in particular more restrictive than cell selection criteria (510) lacking a home operator controlled component, wherein the HPLMN provided enhanced selection criteria (520) are also applied during a normal cell selection procedure, in particular once network selection has taken place, and / or wherein the HPLMN provided enhanced selection criteria (520) triggers the network selection, in particular in case the corresponding reception conditions measured by the user equipment (20) do not correspond to or do not exceed the HPLMN provided enhanced selection criteria (520).

8. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the HPLMN provided enhanced selection criteria (520) and / or the home operator controlled value of the HPLMN provided enhanced selection criteria (520) corresponds to at least one of the following: --absolute value, or a relative value compared to said cell selection criteria (510) in the absence of a home operator controlled component, -- An additional applied offset value compared to said cell selection criteria (510) in the absence of a home operator controlled component.

9. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the home operator controls the value of the enhanced selection criteria (520) provided by the HPLMN. - stored in the user equipment (20), in particular in or as part of the universal integrated circuit card and / or the subscriber identity module, and / or - provided or transmitted to the user equipment (20), in particular by the HPLMN or its operator, in particular by using an over-the-air transmission method, and / or -- provided or transmitted by the HPLMN to the user equipment (20) via non-access stratum NAS signaling.

10. A user equipment (20) operated in a radio environment comprising a plurality of radio cells (11, 12, 13) of a plurality of mobile communication networks (100, 200, 300), each of the radio cells (11, 12, 13) being associated with at least one mobile communication network of the plurality of mobile communication networks (100, 200, 300), wherein the user equipment (20) is configured to measure or detect reception conditions in relation to the plurality of radio cells (11, 12, 13) and is configured to subsequently select a mobile communication network from the plurality of mobile communication networks (100, 200, 300) and / or to register with a mobile communication network, wherein the user equipment (20) has or is associated with a home public land mobile network (HPLMN), and the user equipment (20) comprises a terminal equipment entity or functionality (21) and a mobile terminal entity or functionality (23), wherein in relation to cell selection and / or network selection by the user equipment (20), enhanced selection criteria (520) provided by the HPLMN are stored in the user equipment (20), wherein, with respect to cell selection by the user equipment (20), a radio cell of the radio access technology under consideration is considered a suitable radio cell only if corresponding reception conditions measured by the user equipment (20) correspond to or exceed enhanced selection criteria (520) provided by the HPLMN for the radio access technology under consideration, and / or - wherein with regard to network selection by the user equipment (20), only such mobile communication networks corresponding to suitable radio cells of the considered radio access technology having or corresponding to reception conditions corresponding to or exceeding the enhanced selection criterion are considered for network selection by the user equipment (20), The user equipment (20) is configured such that: the terminal equipment entity or functionality (21) requests selection parameter information (521), the selection parameter information (521) relating to or indicating whether an enhanced selection criterion (520) provided by the HPLMN is used or applied by the mobile terminal entity or functionality (23) and / or relating to or indicating a parameter value of the enhanced selection criterion (520) provided by the HPLMN, and - the terminal equipment entity or functionality (21) receives the selection parameter information (521), in, In particular, the user equipment (20) is a machine type communication device.

11. A system or a mobile communication network for operating a user equipment (20) in a radio environment comprising a plurality of radio cells (11, 12, 13) of a plurality of mobile communication networks (100, 200, 300), each of the radio cells (11, 12, 13) being associated with at least one of the plurality of mobile communication networks (100, 200, 300), the user equipment (20) being configured to measure or detect reception conditions with respect to the plurality of radio cells (11, 12, 13) and being configured to The method is arranged to subsequently select a mobile communication network from the plurality of mobile communication networks (100, 200, 300) and / or register with a mobile communication network, wherein a home public land mobile network (HPLMN) is associated with the user equipment (20), and the user equipment (20) comprises a terminal equipment entity or functionality (21) and a mobile terminal entity or functionality (23), wherein enhanced selection criteria (520) provided by the HPLMN with respect to cell selection and / or network selection by the user equipment (20) are stored in the user equipment (20), wherein, with respect to cell selection by the user equipment (20), a radio cell of the radio access technology under consideration is considered a suitable radio cell only if corresponding reception conditions measured by the user equipment (20) correspond to or exceed enhanced selection criteria (520) provided by the HPLMN for the radio access technology under consideration, and / or - wherein with regard to network selection by the user equipment (20), only such mobile communication networks corresponding to suitable radio cells of the considered radio access technology having or corresponding to reception conditions corresponding to or exceeding the enhanced selection criterion are considered for network selection by the user equipment (20), The system or the mobile communication network (100) is configured such that: the terminal equipment entity or functionality (21) requests selection parameter information (521), the selection parameter information (521) relating to or indicating whether an enhanced selection criterion (520) provided by the HPLMN is used or applied by the mobile terminal entity or functionality (23) and / or relating to or indicating a parameter value of the enhanced selection criterion (520) provided by the HPLMN, and -- The terminal equipment entity or functionality (21) receives the selection parameter information (521).

12. A program comprising a computer-readable program code, which, when executed on a computer, and / or on a user equipment (20), and / or on a network node of a mobile communication network (100), or partially on the user equipment (20), and / or partially on the network node of the mobile communication network (100), causes the computer and / or the user equipment (20) and / or the network node of the mobile communication network (100) to perform a method according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

13. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, and / or on a user equipment (20), and / or on a network node of a mobile communication network (100), or partially on the user equipment (20), and / or partially on the network node of the mobile communication network (100), causes the computer and / or the user equipment (20) and / or the network node of the mobile communication network (100) to perform a method according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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