Method of handling NAS messages for UEs using satellite access from disallowed locations

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a 5G or 6G communication system for supporting a higher data transmission rate. A method performed by a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system, the method comprising: receiving a first message including information on denial of service from an access and mobility management function (AMF); and determining that a second message of any predetermined data type is not sent to the AMF; wherein the information comprises a reason associated with the position of the terminal.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Certain examples of the present disclosure provide various techniques related to methods for processing non-access stratum (NAS) messages of a user equipment (UE) using satellite access from a non-allowed location, for example within a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) fifth generation (5G) New Radio (NR) and NR-based relay networks. Background Art

[0002] 5G mobile communication technology defines a wide frequency band so that high transmission rates and new services are possible, and can be realized not only in "below 6 GHz" frequency bands such as 3.5 GHz, but also in "above 6 GHz" frequency bands called mmWave including 28 GHz and 39 GHz. In addition, implementation of 6G mobile communication technology (called super 5G system) in terahertz frequency bands (e.g., 95 GHz to 3 THz frequency bands) has been considered in order to achieve a transmission rate fifty times faster than 5G mobile communication technology and an ultra-low latency one-tenth of 5G mobile communication technology.

[0003] At the beginning of the development of 5G mobile communication technology, in order to support services and meet performance requirements related to enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC), and massive machine type communications (mMTC), there has been ongoing standardization on beamforming and massive MIMO for mitigating radio wave path loss and increasing radio wave transmission distance in mmWave, parameter sets to support dynamic operation for efficient utilization of mmWave resources and time slot formats (e.g., operating multiple subcarrier spacings), initial access technology for supporting multi-beam transmission and wideband, definition and operation of BWP (bandwidth part) new channel coding methods such as LDPC (low-density parity check) codes for large data transmission and polar codes for highly reliable transmission of control information, L2 pre-processing, and network slicing for providing dedicated networks dedicated to specific services.

[0004] Currently, there are ongoing discussions on improvements and performance enhancements of initial 5G mobile communication technologies in view of the services that 5G mobile communication technologies are to support, and there has been physical layer standardization on technologies such as V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything) for assisting autonomous vehicles in making driving decisions based on information about the location and status of vehicles transmitted by the vehicles and for enhancing user convenience, NR-U (New Radio Unlicensed) for system operations that are intended to comply with various regulatory-related requirements in unlicensed bands, NR UE power saving, a non-terrestrial network (NTN) as UE-satellite direct communication for providing coverage in areas where communication with terrestrial networks is unavailable, and positioning.

[0005] In addition, there is ongoing standardization of air interface architecture / protocols for technologies such as Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) for supporting new services through interworking and convergence with other industries, IAB (Integrated Access and Backhaul) for providing nodes for network service area expansion by supporting wireless backhaul links and access links in an integrated manner, mobility enhancement including conditional handover and DAPS (Dual Active Protocol Stack) handover, and two-step random access (NR's two-step RACH) for simplifying the random access procedure. There is also ongoing standardization of system architecture / services for 5G baseline architecture (e.g., service-based architecture or service-based interface) for combining network function virtualization (NFV) and software-defined networking (SDN) technologies, and mobile edge computing (MEC) for receiving services based on UE location.

[0006] As 5G mobile communication systems are commercialized, the number of connected devices, which has been growing exponentially, will be connected to the communication network, and it is accordingly expected that enhanced functions and performance of the 5G mobile communication systems and integrated operations of the connected devices will be necessary. To this end, new research related to extended reality (XR) is arranged for effectively supporting AR (augmented reality), VR (virtual reality), MR (mixed reality), etc., improving 5G performance and reducing complexity by utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), AI service support, metaverse service support, and drone communication.

[0007] Furthermore, such development of 5G mobile communication systems will serve as a foundation for developing not only new waveforms for providing terahertz band coverage for 6G mobile communication technology, multi-antenna transmission technologies such as full-dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antennas, and massive antennas, metamaterial-based lenses and antennas for improving terahertz band signal coverage, high-dimensional spatial multiplexing technologies using OAM (orbital angular momentum), and high-dimensional spatial multiplexing technologies of RIS (reconfigurable smart surface), but also full-duplex technologies for improving frequency efficiency of 6G mobile communication technology and improving system networks, AI-based communication technologies for achieving system optimization and internalizing end-to-end AI support functions by utilizing satellites and AI (artificial intelligence) from the design stage, and next-generation distributed computing technologies for achieving services that exceed the level of sophistication that UEs can limit the limitations of UE operating capabilities by utilizing ultra-high-performance communication and computing resources.

[0008] Fifth generation (5G) or New Radio (NR) mobile communications have been gathering increasing momentum recently with all the global technical activities from industry and academia regarding various candidate technologies. Candidate enablers for 5G / NR mobile communications include massive antenna technologies from traditional cellular frequency bands up to high frequencies to provide beamforming gain and support increased capacity, new waveforms (e.g., new radio access technologies (RATs)) to flexibly accommodate various services / applications with different requirements, new multiple access schemes to support massive connections, etc. Summary of the invention

[0009] Technical issues

[0010] The object of the present disclosure is to provide an effective method for processing NAS messages of UE using satellite access from a non-allowed location. The technical subject matter pursued in the present disclosure may not be limited to the above-mentioned technical subject matter, and those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure belongs may clearly understand other technical subject matters not mentioned through the following description.

[0011] Technical Solution

[0012] A user equipment UE (200) of a communication network using a satellite is provided, wherein the UE is accessing the satellite using a public land mobile network PLMN; the UE receives a downlink DL non-access stratum NAS transmission message including a 5G mobility management 5GMM cause information element IE, the 5GMM cause IE indicating that the PLMN is not allowed to operate at the current UE location; and the UE does not send an uplink UL NAS transmission message to transmit multiple data types.

[0013] The purpose of certain examples of the present disclosure is to at least partially solve, address and / or alleviate at least one of the problems and / or disadvantages associated with the related art, such as at least one of the problems and / or disadvantages described herein. The purpose of certain examples of the present disclosure is to provide at least one advantage over the related art, such as at least one of the advantages described herein.

[0014] Beneficial Effects

[0015] The present disclosure provides an effective and efficient method for processing NAS messages for a UE using satellite access from a non-allowed location.

[0016] Advantageous effects obtainable from the present disclosure may not be limited to the above-mentioned effects, and other effects that are not mentioned may be clearly understood by those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains through the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure and its advantages, reference is now made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals represent like parts:

[0018] Figure 1 A UE according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] It may be helpful to set forth definitions of certain words and phrases used throughout this patent document: the terms "include" and "comprising" and their derivatives mean including, but not limited to; the term "or" is inclusive, meaning and / or; the phrases "associated with" and "associated with" and their derivatives may mean including, included within, interconnected with, containing, contained within, connected to or connected with, coupled to or coupled with, communicable with, cooperating with, interleaved, juxtaposed, proximate to, bound to or bound with, having, having the property of, and the like; and the term "controller" means any device, system, or portion thereof that controls at least one operation, such device may be implemented in hardware, firmware, or software, or some combination of at least two thereof. It should be noted that the functionality associated with any particular controller may be centralized or distributed, whether locally or remotely.

[0020] In addition, the various functions described below may be implemented or supported by one or more computer programs, each of which is formed by a computer-readable program code and embodied in a computer-readable medium. The terms "application" and "program" refer to one or more computer programs, software components, instruction sets, processes, functions, objects, classes, instances, related data, or a portion thereof, suitable for implementation in a suitable computer-readable program code. The phrase "computer-readable program code" includes any type of computer code, including source code, object code, and executable code. The phrase "computer-readable medium" includes any type of medium that can be accessed by a computer, such as a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a hard drive, a compact disk (CD), a digital video disk (DVD), or any other type of memory. "Non-transitory" computer-readable media excludes wired, wireless, optical, or other communication links that transmit temporary electrical or other signals. Non-transitory computer-readable media include media in which data can be permanently stored and media in which data can be stored and later rewritten, such as rewritable optical disks or erasable memory devices.

[0021] Definitions for certain words and phrases are provided throughout this patent document, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that in many, if not most instances, such definitions apply to prior, as well as future uses of such defined words and phrases.

[0022] Discussed below Figure 1The various embodiments used to describe the principles of the present disclosure in this patent document are illustrative only and should not be interpreted in any way to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art will understand that the principles of the present disclosure can be implemented in any appropriately arranged system or device.

[0023] The present disclosure is defined in the independent claims. Advantageous features are defined in the dependent claims. Embodiments or examples disclosed in the description and / or drawings that fall outside the scope of the claims should be understood as examples useful for understanding the present disclosure.

[0024] Other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0025] In 3GPP 5G NR, 3GPP 5G Release 16 has been frozen, and work on Release 17 is currently underway. The purpose of Release 17 is to develop and improve features related to developing solutions for UEs to use satellite access to the Evolved Packet Core (EPC) or 5G Core (5GC). Unlike terrestrial access (e.g., base stations eNB, gNB, etc.) with NG-RAN coverage, satellite access can span countries and therefore unintentionally provide coverage to neighboring countries. For example, satellite access may be deployed to provide coverage on Country A, but the coverage may "leak" to Country B. A UE that is using the Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) of Country A (referred to as PLMN A) may actually span to Country B and still detect coverage of PLMN A. In this way, the UE may be physically in Country B and therefore is actually roaming, but the UE may still receive coverage from PLMN A in Country A. In this case, when the network detects that the UE location is inaccurate relative to the PLMN that should serve the UE (i.e., PLMN A should not serve UEs in country B), then the network may reject the NAS message from the UE, or initiate a NAS procedure to deregister (or detach) the UE from PLMN A. While doing so, the network includes a cause value #78 ("PLMN not allowed to operate at current UE location") in the NAS (reject message) sent back to the UE.

[0026] For 5GC, the access and mobility management function (AMF) may reject a 5G session management (5GSM) message from the UE, or may reject a NAS message carrying a 5GSM message from the UE (e.g., a mobility management message such as an UL NAS transport message) because the UE is not in the correct location. In this case, the AMF sends a 5G mobility management (5GMM) cause value #78 to the UE. The 5GMM entity in the UE informs the 5GSM entity in the UE that the 5GSM message was not forwarded because the PLMN is not allowed to operate at the current UE location.

[0027] When receiving cause value #78, the UE takes certain actions according to the NAS procedure in question. The detailed UE behavior is described in the 3GPP standard specifications. The following is an example showing how the network acts when the network detects that the UE is outside the allowed country and how the UE acts when the UE receives cause value #78:

[0028] "…[jump over]…

[0029] If the service request is via a satellite NG-RAN cell and the network determines that the UE is in a location where the network is not allowed to operate, see 3GPP TS 23.502, the network may set the 5GMM cause value in the SERVICE REJECT message to #78 "PLMN not allowed to operate at the current UE location".

[0030] …[jump over]…

[0031] #78 (PLMN is not allowed to operate at the current UE location).

[0032] This cause value received from a non-satellite NG-RAN cell is considered an abnormal case and the UE's behavior is specified in subclause 5.6.1.7.

[0033] The UE may set the 5G Session (5GS) Update Status to 5U3 Roaming Not Allowed (and may store it according to subclause 5.1.3.2.2) and may delete the 5G-GUTI, the last visited registration Tracking Area Identity (TAI), the TAI list and the identifier ngKSI. In addition, the UE may reset the registration attempt counter. The UE may store the PLMN identity and (if known) the current geographic location in a list of "PLMNs not allowed to operate at the current UE location" and may start the corresponding timer instance (see subclause 4.23.2). The UE may enter the state 5GMM-DEREGISTERED.PLMN-SEARCH and perform PLMN selection according to 3GPP TS23.122.

[0034] If the message is received via 3GPP access and the UE is operating in single registration mode, the UE may process the Evolved Packet System (EPS) Mobility Management (EMM) parameters EMM Status, EPS Update Status, 4G Globally Unique Temporary Identity (GUTI), Last Visited Registered TAI, TAI List and eKSI as specified in 3GPP TS 24.301

[15] for the case where the Service Request Procedure is Rejected and the EMM Cause has the same value.

[0035] …[jump over]…"

[0036] In addition, the UE may initiate an uplink (UL) NAS transfer procedure by sending a UL NAS transfer message in which the UE may include a 5GSM message destined for the Session Management Function (SMF). Also in this case, if the AMF detects that the UE is in the wrong area / location / country, the AMF may not forward the NAS message to the SMF, but the AMF may send a downlink (DL) NAS transfer message to the UE and the AMF may include a 5GSM message that is not forwarded to the SMF. The UENAS 5G Mobility Management (5GMM) layer may forward the 5GSM message to a 5GSM entity, i.e., a 5G NAS session management entity. The following is an excerpt from sections 5.4.5.3.1, 5.4.5.3.2, and 5.4.5.3.3 of the 3GPP standard specification, which shows the AMF behavior in this case:

[0037] "…[jump over]…

[0038] The purpose of the network-initiated NAS transfer process is to provide the following transfers:

[0039] …[jump over]…

[0040] i1) a single UL 5GSM message that is not forwarded because the UE is registered to the PLMN via a satellite NG-RAN cell that is not allowed to operate at the current UE location;

[0041] …[jump over]…

[0042] In case i1) in subclause 5.4.5.3.1, i.e. when sending a single UL 5 GSM message that is not forwarded due to the UE registering to the PLMN via a satellite NG-RAN cell that is not allowed to operate at the current UE location, the AMF may:

[0043] a) include the Payload Data Unit (PDU) Session ID in the PDU Session ID Information Element (IE);

[0044] b) Set the Payload Container Type IE to “N1 SM Information”;

[0045] c) Set the Payload Container IE to the Unforwarded 5GSM Message; and

[0046] d) Set the 5GMM Cause IE to 5GMM Cause #78 “PLMN is not allowed to operate at the current UE location”.

[0047] …[jump over]…

[0048] Upon receiving the DL NAS Transport message, the UE may stop timer T3346, if running.

[0049] Upon receiving a DL NAS Transport message, if the Payload Container Type IE is set to:

[0050] …[jump over]…

[0051] 5a) The 5GMM Cause IE is set to 5GMM Cause #78 “PLMN not allowed to operate at the current UE location”, the UE passes to the 5GSM sublayer an indication that the 5GSM message was not forwarded because the UE is registered to the PLMN via a satellite NG-RAN cell that is not allowed to operate at the current UE location, and the 5GSM message from the Payload Container IE of the DL NAS Transport message;

[0052] …[jump over]…

[0053] g) Receiving an indication that the 5GSM message was not forwarded because the PLMN is not allowed to operate at the current UE location

[0054] Upon receiving an indication that the 5GSM message was not forwarded because the UE access via the satellite NG-RAN cell was informed that the PLMN is not allowed to operate at the current UE location and a PDU Session Release Request message, where the PDU Session ID IE is set to the same value as the PDU Session ID sent by the UE, the UE may stop timer T3582, abort the procedure and locally release the PDU session.

[0055] …[jump over]…"

[0056] The following issues have been identified.

[0057] In general, receiving a Service Reject message may not cause the UE to enter the Deregistered state unless the cause value sent is such that it prompts the deletion of the UE context in the network. There are many cases where receiving a Service Reject in the UE results in a transition to a sub-state of the Registered state, although the UE in such a sub-state may not be able to receive normal service. However, at least remaining in the Registered state means that the UE's context is maintained in the network, so the UE's context can be acquired by another network entity, for example, by another AMF in the same or different PLMN.

[0058] The problem with the current behavior is that the UE enters a sub-state of the deregistered state due to being in the wrong region / location / country, however this may not actually result in context deletion, as being in a non-allowed region / location / country may only mean that normal service is not available. However, the UE may return to the correct region / location / country, and thus the UE's region / location / country may be considered allowed after the move. In this case, being in the deregistered state means that the UE context cannot be reused, so the UE has to re-register again, which in turn means signaling and delays.

[0059] Note that this question applies to both S1 mode and N1 mode.

[0060] Receiving a DL NAS transfer message with cause value #78 does not prohibit the UE from sending another UL NAS transfer message with other data types.

[0061] As mentioned before, when the UE receives a DL NAS transport message containing a 5GSM message with cause #78, the UE only forwards the 5GSM entity.

[0062] The problem is that this AMF behavior only considers the case of UL NAS transfers carrying 5GSM messages (which are ultimately rejected with cause value #78). However, the same issue may occur with other types of data that may be sent in UL NAS transfer messages, such as but not limited to Short Message Service (SMS) or Cellular Internet of Things (CIoT) user data, etc. Therefore, the AMF behavior is currently inconsistent and therefore the AMF actually processes other data types even if the UE is not in the correct region / location / country. For example, there is no AMF behavior on how to reject SMS sent in an UL NAS transfer message because the UE is in the wrong region / location / country or in a non-allowed region / location / country. Therefore, a consistent AMF behavior is needed so that the PLMN's policy is about not allowing other services because the UE is in the wrong region / location / country.

[0063] Another related issue is that when the UE receives a DL NAS transport message with cause value #78, which is currently only associated with 5GSM messages that are not forwarded by the AMF, the UE behavior is such that it only stops sending 5GSM messages. However, as mentioned above, the UE may actually have other data to be sent in the UL NAS transport message, such as SMS or CIoT user data, or other data types as defined in the 3GPP standard specifications. Since the AMF does not handle these data types, the AMF may actually allow them, and this leads to inconsistent behavior at the UE and the network, where it is expected that normal service may not be available due to sending cause value #78 to the UE. It would be disadvantageous to block only some messages from the UE (e.g., 5GSM messages) but not others (e.g., SMS), especially noting that SMS is actually a low priority service. Therefore, consistent behavior is required at both the UE and the core network with respect to handling cause value #78 and providing it to all possible services.

[0064] Lack of Mobility Management Entity (MME) processing of NAS messages from a UE in connected mode where the UE is in a non-allowed area / location / country.

[0065] The AMF in 5GS handles UL NAS transport messages, which contain 5GSM messages, as described previously for the case when the UE is considered to be in an unallowed area / location / country or when the UE is in a country where the PLMN should not operate. However, there is no defined behavior for the MME in EPS which actually handles the NAS mobility management and session management procedures and messages. For a UE in S1, it may reject its NAS messages if sent from idle mode and the MME may not reject the message if sent from connected mode. Therefore, this creates a problem as the network may not be able to enforce its policies for UEs in connected mode.

[0066] When the AMF informs the UE that 5GSM is not forwarded due to the UE's wrong location (i.e. with cause value #78), the UE may continue to send other types of data, although the UE is not actually allowed to use the PLMN from that location. For example, the UE is still able to send SMS, location service messages, etc. This may actually lead to unnecessary signaling and power usage in the UE, as the AMF may reject those messages again. If the UE does not stop sending this information, the UE power may simply be wasted and the signaling may increase in the network.

[0067] There is no defined behavior for the AMF when the AMF receives other data types from a UE that is determined to be in an area where PLMN operation is not allowed (i.e., the UE is in a location that may not be served by satellite). Other data types for which AMF behavior is missing include: Short Message Service (SMS), Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) message container, UE Policy container, Location Services message container, Service Object Request (SOR) transparent container, UE Parameter Update transparent container, or Service Level Anonymous Access (AA) container. Note that if the AMF behavior is not defined, different networks may act in a non-standardized manner and the overall behavior becomes unpredictable.

[0068] There is no Mobility Management Entity (MME) behavior when it receives any of the following NAS messages from a UE in a location where PLMN operation is not allowed: Uplink NAS Transport message, Uplink Generic NAS Transport message, PDN Connection Request message, PDN Disconnection Request message, Bearer Resource Allocation Request message, Bearer Resource Modification Request message, ESM Data Transfer message. Note that if the MME behavior is not defined, different networks can act in a non-standardized way and the overall behavior becomes unpredictable.

[0069] The above information is presented as background information only to assist with an understanding of the present disclosure. No determination has been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the above might be applicable as prior art with respect to the present disclosure.

[0070] With reference to the accompanying drawings, the following description of examples of the present disclosure is provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of the present disclosure as defined by the claims. The description includes various specific details to assist in understanding, but these details are to be considered exemplary only. Therefore, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes and modifications may be made to the examples described herein.

[0071] The following examples apply to 3GPP 5G and use terminology associated with 3GPP 5G. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the techniques disclosed herein are not limited to these examples or 3GPP 5G and may be applied to any suitable system or standard, such as one or more existing and / or future generations of wireless communication systems or standards. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the techniques disclosed herein may be applied to any existing or future versions of 3GPP 5G NR or any other relevant standards.

[0072] For example, the functions and other features of the various network entities disclosed herein may be applied to corresponding or equivalent entities or features in other communication systems or standards. Corresponding or equivalent entities or features may be considered as entities or features that perform the same or similar roles, functions, operations or purposes within the network. For example, the functions of the IAB node in the following examples may be applied to any other suitable type of entity that performs the functions of a network node.

[0073] The skilled person will appreciate that the present disclosure is not limited to the specific examples disclosed herein. For example:

[0074] - The technology disclosed herein is not limited to 3GPP 5G;

[0075] - one or more entities in the examples disclosed herein may be replaced with one or more alternative entities that perform equivalent or corresponding functions, processes or operations;

[0076] - one or more of the messages in the examples disclosed herein may be replaced with one or more alternative messages, signals, or other types of information carriers that convey equivalent or corresponding information;

[0077] - one or more additional elements, entities and / or messages may be added to the examples disclosed herein;

[0078] - one or more non-essential elements, entities and / or messages may be omitted in certain examples;

[0079] - the functionality, process or operation of a particular entity in one example may be divided between two or more separate entities in alternative examples;

[0080] - the functions, processes or operations of two or more separate entities in one example may be performed by a single entity in an alternative example;

[0081] - information carried by a particular message in one example may be carried by two or more separate messages in an alternative example;

[0082] - information carried by two or more separate messages in one example may be carried by a single message in an alternative example;

[0083] - in alternative examples, the order in which the operations are performed may be modified if possible; and

[0084] - The transmission of information between network entities is not limited to the specific form, type and / or order of messages described with respect to the examples disclosed herein.

[0085] The present disclosure defines standardized UE and network (AMF & MME) behaviors to solve the above-mentioned problems.

[0086] Figure 1FIG. 1 shows a UE according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art will understand that Figure 1 The network entities shown in may be implemented, for example, as network elements on dedicated hardware, as software instances running on dedicated hardware, or as virtualized functions instantiated on an appropriate platform (eg, on a cloud infrastructure).

[0087] UE 200 includes a processor (or controller) 201, a transmitter 203, and a receiver 205. Receiver 205 is configured to receive one or more messages from one or more other entities of a communication network and a satellite. Transmitter 203 is configured to send one or more messages to one or more other entities of a communication network and a satellite. Processor 201 is configured to perform operations as described below.

[0088] The present disclosure proposes solutions to the identified problems. Note that some solutions can be applied to both S1 mode (EPS) or N1 mode (5GS). The proposals herein can be applied in any order and in any combination.

[0089] Receipt of reason value #78 may not result in entry into the logged out state.

[0090] In the present disclosure, when a UE (in S1 mode or N1 mode) receives a service rejection message with a 5GMM (or EMM) cause value #78 (PLMN is not allowed to operate at the current UE location), the UE may remain in a registered state or enter a sub-state within the registered state, and thus the UE may not enter a deregistered state or any sub-state within the deregistered state.

[0091] For example, when a UE in S1 mode receives a cause value #78 in a SERVICE REJECT message, the UE may enter the state EMM-REGISTERED.PLMN-SEARCH. The UE may perform a PLMN search / selection according to 3GPP TS 23.122. The UE may enter any other sub-state of the REGISTERED state, but it may not enter the DEREGISTERED state (or any of its sub-states).

[0092] For example, when a UE in N1 mode receives a cause value #78 in a SERVICE REJECT message, the UE may enter state 5GMM-REGISTERED.PLMN-SEARCH. The UE may perform a PLMN search / selection according to 3GPP TS 23.122. The UE may enter any other sub-state of the REGISTERED state, but it may not enter the DEREGISTERED state (or any of its sub-states).

[0093] New behavior after UE receives a DL NAS Transport message with cause value #78 and new AMF behavior to not handle other data types for UEs in non-allowed area / location / country.

[0094] The following disclosure is made for a UE receiving a DL NAS transport message with cause value #78, wherein optionally the DL NAS transport message comprises a 5GSM message (optionally, which is not forwarded by the AMF). When the listed conditions occur, the UE may apply the following proposal.

[0095] The UE may take the following actions in any combination or order:

[0096] - The UE may enter any of the following states:

[0097] 5GMM-REGISTERED.ATTEMPTING-REGISTRATION-UPDATE,

[0098] 5GMM-REGISTERED.NON-ALLOWED-SERVICE、

[0099] 5GMM-REGISTERED.LIMITED.SERVICE、

[0100] 5GMM-REGISTERED.PLMN-SEARCH, or any substate of the 5GMM-DEREGISTERED state, or simply the 5GMM-DEREGISTERED state;

[0101] - The UE may optionally enter any of the above states after entering 5G MM-IDLE mode. The UE may optionally enter 5G MM-IDLE mode, for example, by locally releasing the NAS signaling connection. Alternatively, the UE may start timer T3540 after receiving a DL NAS transmission with cause value #78;

[0102] -The UE may change its 5GS update status to 5U2: Not updated; or 5U3: Roaming not allowed;

[0103] - The UE may stop initiating UL NAS transmission messages, optionally regardless of the type of data included in the UL NAS transmission. For example, the UE may not send any of the following data types in a UL NAS transmission:

[0104] - Single 5GSM message,

[0105] -SMS,

[0106] -LPP messages (see 3GPPT S37.355),

[0107] -SOR transparent container,

[0108] -UE policy container,

[0109] -UE parameter update transparent container,

[0110] - Location service messages (see 3GPP TS 24.080 [13A]),

[0111] -CIoT user data container,

[0112] - Service Level AA container,

[0113] - multiple payloads, and / or

[0114] - any other data type that may be defined in the future such that it is transmitted in / using a UL NAS Transport Message; and / or

[0115] - The UE may initiate a registration procedure and send a registration request message, or the UE may initiate a service request procedure and send a service request message. Alternatively, the UE may initiate a deregistration procedure and send a deregistration request message.

[0116] The following proposal is made for the AMF as a new behavior when the AMF receives an UL NAS transport message containing any of the data types listed above (e.g. SMS, LPP, SOR transparent container, etc.) from a UE that the AMF determines is not in an allowed area / location / country or the AMF determines may not provide service in the area / location / country of the UE in question. The AMF may use any means to determine the location of the UE and therefore the proposals in this document still apply.

[0117] The AMF may act based on any combination of the following proposals and optionally in any order:

[0118] - Optionally, whenever the Payload Container Type IE indicates any of the previously listed data types, the AMF discards the content of the UL NAS Transport message;

[0119] - When the Payload Container Type IE (in the UL NAS Transport message) is set to "LTE LPP Message Container", "SMS", "UE Policy Container", "Location Services Message Container", or when the Payload Container Type IE indicates any of the previously listed data types, then the AMF may abort the procedure (e.g. the AMF aborts the NAS Transport procedure or discards the UL NAS Transport message or its content, etc.);

[0120] -AMF initiates the deregistration procedure and sends a Deregistration Request message to the UE, including the cause value #78;

[0121] - The AMF sends a Configuration Update Command message and sets its content such that the AMF requests the UE to perform the registration procedure using the existing NAS signalling connection (i.e. without releasing the current NAS signalling connection). When the UE sends a Registration Request message after this, the AMF may reject the Registration Request and send a Registration Reject message and include a Cause value #78 in the NAS message;

[0122] - The AMF may not process the content of the UL NAS transport message. Additionally / alternatively, the AMF may send a DL NAS transport message and include cause value #78. The AMF may include the content(s) of the unprocessed UL NAS transport message, i.e., these contents may be included in the DL NAS transport message in an appropriate IE. The AMF may set the Payload Container Type IE to indicate the type of content received and not processed by the AMF;

[0123] -AMF may send a DL NAS transport message without any content, but may send a cause value of #78;

[0124] - The AMF may send a 5GMM STATUS message and include any 5GMM cause value, such as #78; and

[0125] - The AMF may also abort or discard any NAS response message sent by the UE to the AMF, and optionally when the AMF determines that the UE is in an area / location / country that may not be served by the network. For example, the AMF may discard the Security Mode Complete message, etc., or any other NAS response message when the listed conditions are verified to be true.

[0126] Whenever the UE receives a DL NAS transport message with a cause value #78, optionally regardless of the content type or regardless of the value of the payload container type IE, the UE may behave as proposed above for the case where a DL NAS transport message with a 5GSM message (which is not forwarded) and a cause value #78 is received. For example, if a DL NAS transport message is received in the UE, wherein the message includes a 5GMM cause value #78, the UE may behave as proposed above even if the DL NAS transport message does not include a 5GSM message. In this way, the UE may not attempt to send any UL NAS transport message with a 5GSM message or with any other data type. The UE may also change its state or update type, etc., and may apply any proposals that have been described previously. The AMF may also notify the upper layer, such as an SMS entity, an entity responsible for sending location information messages, or LPP, etc., that the corresponding data content was not successfully sent, and may return any data content received with the cause value #78 to the entity. Therefore, any entity that receives the content and the cause value #78 from the 5GMM sublayer may assume that any previous data that may have been sent was not successfully sent. The entity may stop sending any more content until the UE successfully registers with any PLMN (including the same PLMN). Upon successful registration with any PLMN (and optionally upon determining that the UE is in an allowed area / location / country), the 5G MM layer may inform the upper layers that data may now be sent.

[0127] New MME behavior for handling NAS messages from UEs in non-allowed area / location / country.

[0128] Optionally, new MME behavior is proposed when the MME determines by any means that the UE in question is in an area / location / country where the network is not allowed to operate or provide service, or for UEs in non-allowed area / location / country such that the use of cause value #78 would be required.

[0129] The MME may optionally take any of the following actions, in any order or combination, when it detects that the UE is in a non-allowed area / location / country or if the MME detects that the network may not operate in the UE's current area / location / country:

[0130] For any EPS Session Management (ESM) message received by the MME, the MME may send a corresponding NAS ESM Reject message and include a cause value #78, where the cause value may be defined as the ESM cause value, or any new cause value may be defined as the ESM cause value, where the value may be used such that it provides the same information as the current EPS Mobility Management (EMM) cause value #78;

[0131] For example, if the UE sends a PDN Connection Request message, the MME sends a PDN Connection Reject message with an ESM / EMM cause value #78.

[0132] For example, if the UE sends a BEARER RESOURCE ASSIGNMENT REQUEST message, the MME sends a BEARER RESOURCE ASSIGNMENT REJECT message with an ESM / EMM cause value #78.

[0133] For example, if the UE sends a BEARER RESOURCE MODIFY REQUEST message, the MME sends a BEARER RESOURCE MODIFY REJECT message with ESM / EMM cause value #78, and

[0134] In summary, the MME may reject the ESM NAS message. Alternatively, any existing ESM cause value may be used;

[0135] The MME may abort the ESM procedure. The MME may optionally discard the ESM message or its contents. Afterwards, the MME may initiate a detach procedure. This proposal also applies to ESM Data Transfer messages or any other ESM message that the MME may receive, and it also applies to any ESM procedure, which may include SMS, or when the UE sends an UL Generic NAS Transfer message. In any of these cases, the MME may abort the procedure and / or discard the message, and optionally discard the contents of the message;

[0136] The MME may send an ESM STATUS message and include any ESM cause value, such as ESM / EMM cause value #78 or any existing cause value;

[0137] Optionally, after taking any of the above actions, the MME may initiate a detach procedure and include cause #78 in the detach request message;

[0138] Note that the above proposal applies to any other NAS message that may be an EMM message, such as but not limited to the Authentication Response message, the Security Mode Complete message, or any existing NAS message that the UE may send as a response. In this case, if the MME determines that the UE is in an area / location / country that the network should not provide service for, the MME may discard the message or abort the procedure;

[0139] The MME may also send a DL Generic NAS Transport Message or a DL NAS Transport Message and include an EMM cause value #78 as a response to any NAS message (such as an ESM message) that the UE may have sent. This does not prohibit the MME from sending a NAS ESM message as a response. When the UE receives a DL Generic NAS Transport Message or a DL NAS Transport Message with cause value #78, the UE may stop sending any UL Generic NAS Transport Message or UL NAS Transport Message or any ESM message until the UE successfully registers with the network, for example via a Tracking Area Update procedure or an Attach procedure; and

[0140] The UE may, for example, change its EMM state to any state of the EMM-DEREGISTERED state or any sub-state of the EMM-REGISTERED state, such as EMM-REGISTERED.LIMITED.SERVICE, EMM-REGISTERED.PLMN-SEARCH, EMM-REGISTERED.UPDATE-NEERED, upon receiving any ESM message with cause #78 or any EMM message with cause value #78 already proposed above. The UE may also change its EPS update state to EU2: Not updated, or to EU3: Roaming not allowed. Additionally or optionally, the UE may perform a tracking area update procedure or an attach procedure. The UE may also apply any proposals made for a UE in N1 mode as described above, for example, the UE may autonomously release its NAS signaling connection and enter EMM-IDLE mode, the UE may start T3440, etc.

[0141] Note that the proposals herein may be applied in any order and in any combination. Whenever possible / applicable, the actions proposed for a UE in N1 mode may be applied to a UE in S1 mode with corresponding / equivalent message names or NAS states, etc. Similarly, whenever possible / applicable, the actions proposed for a UE in S1 mode may be applied to a UE in N1 mode with corresponding / equivalent message names or NAS states, etc.

[0142] Certain examples of the present disclosure provide a network or wireless communication system, including a first network entity and a second network entity according to any example, embodiment, aspect and / or claim disclosed herein.

[0143] Certain examples of the present disclosure provide a computer program comprising instructions, which, when executed by a computer or a processor, causes the computer or the processor to perform a method according to any example, embodiment, aspect and / or claim disclosed herein.

[0144] Certain examples of the present disclosure provide a computer or processor readable data carrier having stored thereon a computer program according to the aforementioned examples.

[0145] Certain examples of the present disclosure may be provided in the form of an apparatus / equipment / network entity configured to perform one or more defined network functions and / or methods thereof. Such an apparatus / equipment / network entity may include one or more elements, such as one or more of a receiver, a transmitter, a transceiver, a processor, a controller, a module, a unit, etc., each of which is configured to perform one or more corresponding processes, operations and / or method steps for implementing the technology described herein. For example, the operation / function of X may be performed by a module (or X module) configured to perform X. Certain examples of the present disclosure may be provided in the form of a system (e.g., a network) and / or methods thereof including one or more such apparatus / equipment / network entities. For example, in the following examples, a network may include one or more IAB nodes.

[0146] It should be understood that examples of the present disclosure may be implemented in the form of hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. Certain examples of the present disclosure may provide a computer program including instructions or codes that, when executed, implement the method, system, and / or apparatus according to any aspect, claim, example, and / or embodiment disclosed herein. Certain embodiments of the present disclosure provide a machine-readable memory that stores such a program.

[0147] The same or similar components may be denoted by the same or similar reference numerals even though they may be shown in different drawings.

[0148] DETAILED DESCRIPTION For the sake of clarity and conciseness and to avoid obscuring the subject matter of the present disclosure, detailed descriptions of techniques, structures, configurations, functions, or processes known in the art may be omitted.

[0149] The terms and words used herein are not limited to the bibliographical or standard meanings, but, are merely used to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the examples disclosed herein.

[0150] Throughout the specification and claims, the words “comprise,” “contain,” and “include” and variations thereof (such as “comprising,” “containing,” and “including”) mean “including but not limited to,” and are not intended to (and do not) exclude other features, elements, components, integers, steps, processes, functions, properties, etc.

[0151] Throughout the specification and claims, singular forms such as "a," "an," and "the" include plural referents unless the context requires otherwise. For example, reference to "an object" includes reference to one or more of such objects.

[0152] Throughout the specification and claims, language of the general form of “X for Y” (where Y is some action, procedure, function, activity, or step, and X is some means for performing the action, procedure, function, activity, or step) encompasses means X that is specifically, but not necessarily exclusively, adapted, configured, or arranged to perform Y.

[0153] Features, elements, components, integers, steps, processes, functions, characteristics, etc. described in conjunction with a particular aspect, embodiment, example, or claim are to be understood to be applicable to any other aspect, embodiment, example, or claim disclosed herein unless incompatible therewith.

[0154] While the present disclosure has been shown and described with reference to certain examples, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the following claims.

[0155] Although the present disclosure has been described with various embodiments, various changes and modifications may be suggested to one skilled in the art. The present disclosure is intended to encompass such changes and modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method performed by a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system, the method comprising: receiving a first message including information about denial of service from an access and mobility management function (AMF); as well as Determining not to send any second message of the predetermined data type to the AMF; The information includes a reason associated with the location of the terminal.

2. The method according to claim 1, in, The first message is included in a non-access stratum (NAS) transport message.

3. The method according to claim 1, in, The predetermined data type includes at least one of the following: A single Fifth Generation Session Management (5GSM) message; Short Message Service (SMS); Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) messages; Service Object Request (SOR) transparent container; UE policy container; UE parameter update transparent container; Location service messages; Cellular Internet of Things (CIoT) user data container; Service-level Anonymous Access (AA) containers; and Multiple payloads.

4. A method performed by an access and mobility management function (AMF) in a wireless communication system, the method comprising: receiving, from a user equipment (UE), a first message including information associated with a predetermined data type; Identifying whether the UE is already registered with a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) that is not allowed to operate at the current UE location; as well as A process associated with the first message is aborted.

5. The method according to claim 4, in, The first message is included in a non-access stratum (NAS) transport message.

6. The method according to claim 4, in, The predetermined data type includes at least one of the following: Short Message Service (SMS); Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) message container; UE policy container; Location service message container; Service Object Request (SOR) transparent container; UE parameter update transparent container; and Service-level Anonymous Access (AA) container.

7. A method performed by a mobility management entity (MME) in a wireless communication system, the method comprising: receiving a first message from a user equipment (UE); Identify whether the UE is in a location where Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) operation is not permitted; as well as discard the first message; The first message includes at least one of an evolved packet system (EPS) session management (ESM) message and an EPS mobility management message (EMM).

8. The method according to claim 7, in, The first message is included in a non-access stratum (NAS) transport message.

9. The method according to claim 7, in, The first message includes at least one of the following: Packet Data Network (PDN) Connectivity Request message; PDN disconnection request message; Carrying resource allocation request message; Carrying resource modification request message; and ESM data transmission message.

10. A user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system, the UE comprising: Transceiver; as well as At least one processor coupled to the transceiver and configured to: receiving a first message including information about denial of service from an access and mobility management function (AMF); Determining not to send any second message of the predetermined data type to the AMF, The information includes a reason associated with the location of the terminal.

11. The UE according to claim 10, in, The first message is included in a non-access stratum (NAS) transmission message, The predetermined data type includes at least one of the following: A single Fifth Generation Session Management (5GSM) message; Short Message Service (SMS); Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) messages; Service Object Request (SOR) transparent container; UE policy container; UE parameter update transparent container; Location service messages; Cellular Internet of Things (CIoT) user data container; Service-level Anonymous Access (AA) containers; and Multiple payloads.

12. An access and mobility management function (AMF) in a wireless communication system, the AMF comprising: Transceiver; as well as At least one processor coupled to the transceiver and configured to: receiving a first message including information associated with a predetermined data type from a user equipment (UE), Identify whether the UE is already registered with a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) that is not allowed to operate at the current UE location, and A process associated with the first message is aborted.

13. The AMF according to claim 12, in, The first message is included in a non-access stratum (NAS) transmission message, The predetermined data type includes at least one of the following: Short Message Service (SMS); Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) message container; UE policy container; Location service message container; Service Object Request (SOR) transparent container; UE parameter update transparent container; and Service-level Anonymous Access (AA) container.

14. A mobility management entity (MME) in a wireless communication system, the MME comprising: Transceiver; as well as At least one processor coupled to the transceiver and configured to: receiving a first message from a user equipment (UE), Identify if the UE is in a location where Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) operation is not permitted, and Discard the first message, The first message includes at least one of an evolved packet system (EPS) session management (ESM) message and an EPS mobility management message (EMM).

15. The MME according to claim 14, in, The first message is included in a non-access stratum (NAS) transmission message, The first message includes at least one of the following: Packet Data Network (PDN) Connectivity Request message; PDN disconnection request message; Carrying resource allocation request message; Carrying resource modification request message; and ESM data transmission message.

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