Method, user equipment, system or mobile communication network, coverage information entity or functionality, program and computer-readable medium for providing communication services to a user equipment using an access network of

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for providing a communication service to a user equipment using an access network of a mobile communication network or an access network associated with the mobile communication network, where the access network is or at least comprises a part corresponding to or as a part of a non-terrestrial network, wherein the user equipment can be connected to or served by a base station entity, the base station entity being part of a non-terrestrial network or part of a non-terrestrial network of the access network, the user equipment can or has a high possibility of being able to connect to or being served by at least one further base station entity, the at least one further base station entity is part of a terrestrial access network of a further mobile communication network or part of a terrestrial access network associated with the further mobile communication network, or part of a terrestrial access network of the mobile communication network or part of a terrestrial access network associated with the mobile communication network, wherein the coverage information indicates a specific geographical coverage area of the at least one further base station entity or of the terrestrial access network, the coverage information comprising at least one coverage parameter information segment, and wherein, in order to provide a communication service to the user equipment, the method comprises the following steps:-in a first step, the coverage information indicates a specific geographical coverage area of the at least one further base station entity or of the terrestrial access network; when the user equipment is connected to or served by the base station entity and the base station entity has the coverage information, at least coverage parameter information is transmitted by the base station entity to the user equipment, the coverage information and the location information of the user equipment are used to detect whether the user equipment is currently located or will be subsequently located in or near the particular geographic coverage area,-in a second step, the user equipment changes or is changed from connecting to or being served by the base station entity to connecting to or being served by the at least one further base station entity or the terrestrial access network using at least one coverage parameter information segment.

Description

Background Art

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for providing communication services to user equipment using an access network of a mobile communication network or an access network associated with the mobile communication network, wherein the access network is or at least includes a portion corresponding to a non-terrestrial network or is a portion of the non-terrestrial network,

[0002] Wherein, when the user equipment is located in or near a specific geographic coverage area, the user equipment is able to or has a high probability of being able to connect to or be served by at least one additional base station entity, and the at least one additional base station entity is part of a terrestrial access network of another mobile communication network or part of a terrestrial access network associated with the other mobile communication network, or is part of a terrestrial access network of the mobile communication network or part of a terrestrial access network associated with the mobile communication network.

[0003] Furthermore, the present invention relates to a user equipment for providing a communication service using an access network of a mobile communication network or an access network associated with the mobile communication network, wherein the access network is or at least comprises a part corresponding to or being a part of a non-terrestrial network,

[0004] Wherein, when the user equipment is located in or near a specific geographic coverage area, the user equipment is able to or has a high probability of being able to connect to or be served by at least one additional base station entity, and the at least one additional base station entity is part of a terrestrial access network of another mobile communication network or part of a terrestrial access network associated with the other mobile communication network, or is part of a terrestrial access network of the mobile communication network or part of a terrestrial access network associated with the mobile communication network.

[0005] In addition, the present invention relates to a system or a mobile communication network for providing communication services to user equipment using an access network of a mobile communication network or an access network associated with the mobile communication network, wherein the access network is or at least includes a portion corresponding to a non-terrestrial network or is a portion of the non-terrestrial network, wherein, when the user equipment is located in or near a specific geographic coverage area, the user equipment is able or has a high probability of being able to connect to at least one additional base station entity or be served by the at least one additional base station entity, and the at least one additional base station entity is part of a terrestrial access network of another mobile communication network or a part of a terrestrial access network associated with the another mobile communication network, or is part of a terrestrial access network of the mobile communication network or a part of a terrestrial access network associated with the mobile communication network.

[0006] Furthermore, the invention relates to a coverage information entity or functionality being part of or assigned to or accessible to (or available for) the system or mobile communication network according to the invention.

[0007] Furthermore, the present invention relates to a program and a computer-readable medium for providing communication services to user equipment using an access network of a mobile communication network or an access network associated with the mobile communication network according to the method of the present invention.

[0008] A mobile communication network (such as a public land mobile network) is typically implemented as a cellular mobile communication network, i.e. comprises (or uses or is associated with or assigned to) a radio access network, which includes radio cells. Such cellular systems are known to conform to different mobile communication standards or radio access technologies, such as 2G / 3G / 4G / 5G radio access technologies (referring to different generations of radio access technologies), and typically comprise (or consist of) one or more cells (or radio cells) of the corresponding radio access technologies. Such mobile communication networks purely or mainly based on the ground infrastructure of the radio access network (and therefore also referred to as ground networks or TN networks) are typically organized in a repetitive pattern of typical stationary (radio) cells (and associated base station entities) that typically belong to a mobile network operator (MNO) (or are used by or are associated with or assigned to the MNO) throughout a country (or part of a country or a region within a country). Modern mobile communication networks, such as 5G systems using in particular 5G NR (New Radio) radio (access) technology, are evolving using air-based and / or space-based infrastructures, and therefore at least partially rely on non-terrestrial infrastructures, in particular in the form of satellites and / or high altitude platforms HAPs, thereby enabling non-terrestrial networks NTN (or satellite communication networks). Examples of such air-based and / or space-based network infrastructures include, for example, mobile satellite connectivity with low earth orbit (LEO) satellites, medium earth orbit (MEO) satellites and / or geostationary orbit (GEO) satellites, and so-called high altitude platforms or high altitude pseudo-satellites (HAPS). Such non-terrestrial networks will allow global cellular (radio) coverage and interworking between terrestrial networks (TN) and non-terrestrial network(s) (NTN). The main use case for non-terrestrial networks is to fill in radio coverage in areas where there is no available TN network coverage, such as remote areas and oceans.

[0009] Therefore, for situations of low (radio) coverage or non-existent (radio) coverage (of the TN network), a user equipment supporting a non-terrestrial network will leave the coverage of the terrestrial network and - based on standardized mobility procedures from PLMN selection, via cell reselection including an equivalent public land mobile network to actual handover, in particular based on TN interworking with national roaming or cross-border mobility between PLMNs - the user equipment will eventually connect to or register on the non-terrestrial network. However, once a user equipment is connected to (or registered with or served by) a non-terrestrial network, this user equipment typically performs periodic network selection attempts, i.e. attempts to find a higher priority network, typically a public land mobile network. Such periodic network selection attempts typically involve so-called "background public land mobile network searches" (see 3GPP TS22.011, 3GPP TS23.122), which can typically be controlled by settings in the user's equipment's universal integrated circuit card or module (or SIM card) (related to the possible repetition time interval of this search procedure) and can range from 6 minutes to a default of 60 minutes, or even to 24 hours or more.

[0010] However, performing this background public land mobile network search or periodic network selection attempt typically requires relatively high energy and thus involves relatively high battery consumption, particularly for battery powered devices or user equipment. Summary of the invention

[0011] The object of the present invention is to provide a technically simple, efficient and cost-effective solution for providing communication services to a user equipment, such that a user equipment that is using a non-terrestrial network (or is connected to or served by the non-terrestrial network) can switch to the home network (or at least the higher priority network) once the user equipment is (again) located in a location (or geographical area) where coverage of the home network or the higher priority network is available. 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.

[0012] The object of the present invention is achieved by a method for providing communication services to user equipment using a mobile communication network or an access network associated with the mobile communication network, wherein the access network is or at least includes a portion corresponding to a non-terrestrial network or is a portion of the non-terrestrial network, wherein the user equipment can be connected to or served by a base station entity, the base station entity being a portion of the non-terrestrial network or the non-terrestrial network portion of the access network,

[0013] wherein when the user equipment is located in or near a specific geographical coverage area, the user equipment is able or has a high probability of being able to connect to or be served by at least one further base station entity, the at least one further base station entity being part of a terrestrial access network of or associated with a further mobile communication network, or being part of a terrestrial access network of or associated with a mobile communication network,

[0014] The coverage information indicates a specific geographical coverage area of ​​the at least one other base station entity or the terrestrial access network, and the coverage information includes at least one coverage parameter information segment,

[0015] In order to provide the user equipment with a communication service, the method comprises the following steps:

[0016] - in a first step, when the user equipment is connected to the base station entity or is served by the base station entity and the base station entity has the coverage information, at least coverage parameter information is transmitted by the base station entity to the user equipment,

[0017] The coverage information and the location information of the user equipment are used to detect whether the user equipment is currently located or will be subsequently located in or near the specific geographic coverage area.

[0018] --In a second step, the user equipment uses the at least one coverage parameter information fragment to change or be changed from being connected to the base station entity or being served by the base station entity to being connected to the at least one other base station entity or the terrestrial access network or being served by the at least one other base station entity or the terrestrial access network.

[0019] In particular by providing at least coverage parameter information - to a user equipment - it is advantageously possible according to the invention to reduce the number or timing of the need for background public land mobile network searches or periodic network selection attempts and / or to reduce the scope of such searches for candidate public land mobile networks or radio cells. Thus, in particular the associated or required energy provided by a battery (used by the considered user equipment to perform such searches, in particular background public land mobile network searches or periodic network selection attempts) can be saved or avoided to be consumed. Additionally, advantageously, the respective most suitable terrestrial network can be found to provide coverage in a more efficient manner and / or using less time. Thus, according to the invention, an optimization for the situation in which the user equipment is roaming on a non-terrestrial (access) network is proposed.

[0020] According to the present invention, it is assumed that the user equipment under consideration is capable of connecting to (or being served by) a base station entity which is part of a non-terrestrial network or a non-terrestrial network part of an access network of a mobile communication network - i.e. typically the user equipment has the capability of connecting to a non-terrestrial network, which is also referred to as a mobile communication network in the following. It is further assumed that, when the user equipment under consideration is located in or near (or above) a specific geographical coverage area (or: in the case where it is located in or near or above the specific geographical coverage area), the user equipment under consideration is able (or at least has a high probability of being able) to connect to at least one further base station entity (or to be served by the at least one further base station entity), wherein the at least one further base station entity is part of a terrestrial access network of or associated with a further mobile communication network, or is part of a terrestrial access network of or associated with a mobile communication network - i.e., typically, the terrestrial (access) network is also referred to as another mobile communication network hereinafter, in particular because it is typically another mobile communication network (compared to the mobile communication network), i.e. typically operated by another network operator; however, according to the present invention it is not excluded that, at least in some parts of the specific geographical coverage area, the terrestrial (access) network belongs to or is part of the mobile communication network / NTN network and / or has the same operator (or is operated by the same operator).

[0021] Of course, a specific geographic coverage area does not necessarily correspond to a continuous (or adjacent or connected) area or surface; it simply means specifying a number (or a set of) points or locations or positions where the user equipment under consideration will typically have (with a high probability of having) connectivity to or be covered by another mobile communication network.

[0022] In the context of the present invention, information about (or relating to) the specific geographical coverage area is referred to as coverage information. The coverage information (as a whole) specifically indicates the specific geographical coverage area; thus, the coverage information may comprise different coverage information fragments, for example indicating a geographical point or a location or position at which the user equipment will typically have (have a high probability of having) connectivity to or be covered by the further mobile communication network, i.e. in particular by at least one further base station entity or by another (further) base station entity of the terrestrial access network.

[0023] In addition to indicating a specific geographical coverage area, i.e. geographically indicating, the coverage information also includes at least one coverage parameter information segment. According to the present invention, the coverage parameter information (or multiple coverage parameter information segments) is used to guide the user equipment (receiving the coverage information and / or the coverage parameter information) to use the coverage parameter information, such as frequency information, in order to avoid performing background public land mobile network searches or periodic network selection attempts.

[0024] As an example of coverage parameter information, the coverage parameter information comprises in particular frequency information (in particular which frequency or which frequency band is used at which location), but additional information components may also be part of the coverage parameter information. In particular, the coverage parameter information in the form of frequency information is used or can be used by the user equipment to be informed about a specific frequency or a set of frequencies (i.e. by using an ARFCN absolute reference frequency channel number) or a frequency band (i.e. by a corresponding frequency band number) of a broadcast (control) channel used by at least one further base station entity of the terrestrial access network (or by other (further) base station entities) so that tuning a receiver of the user equipment to this frequency can potentially avoid performing a background public land mobile network search or a periodic network selection attempt.

[0025] Therefore, according to the present invention, in order to provide a communication service to a (considered) user equipment, the method comprises the following steps:

[0026] - in a first step, when the user equipment is (actually) connected to or served by the base station entity and the base station entity has coverage information, at least coverage parameter information is transmitted by the base station entity to the user equipment, the coverage information and the location information of the user equipment are used to detect whether the user equipment is currently located or will be subsequently located in or near the specific geographical coverage area,

[0027] --In a second step, the user equipment changes or is changed from being connected to the base station entity or being served by the base station entity to being connected to the at least one other base station entity or the terrestrial access network or being served by the at least one other base station entity or the terrestrial access network using the at least one coverage parameter information fragment, i.e., based on the knowledge of the at least one coverage parameter information fragment, the user equipment (under consideration).

[0028] According to the invention, during a first step, coverage information is available at least to a base station entity (i.e., the base station entity has the coverage information), and the coverage information is used together with location information of a user equipment (or related to the positioning or location of the user equipment) to detect whether the user equipment is currently located or will subsequently be located in or near a specific geographic coverage area; an alternative solution according to the invention involves the detection being performed or carried out in or by the base station entity, in which case the base station entity needs to have some location information related to the user equipment; another alternative solution according to the invention is that the detection is performed or carried out in or by the user equipment, in which case the user equipment needs to have the coverage information (received from the base station entity) or at least part of it, so that the user equipment is able to - together with some location information (for example, obtained from a global navigation satellite system receiver that is part of the user equipment) - detect whether the user equipment is currently located or will subsequently be located in or near the specific geographic coverage area.

[0029] The present invention is particularly concerned with low earth orbit (LEO) satellites or high altitude platform entities, which are typically located up to 300 km to 1500 km (particularly 800 km to 1000 km) above the ground.

[0030] According to the present invention, it is advantageously possible and preferred that the coverage information is obtained from a coverage information entity or functionality, wherein, in order to obtain the coverage information, the base station entity retrieves the coverage information from the coverage information entity or functionality, preferably before the user equipment is connected to the base station entity or is served by the base station entity, or while the user equipment is connected to the base station entity or is served by the base station entity.

[0031] Advantageously, it is thereby possible that the base station entity can be provided with coverage information in a relatively easy and efficient manner; in particular, the coverage information entity or functionality corresponds to or exposes an interface of a network function or service within a mobile communication network (in particular its core network), wherein the coverage information entity or functionality exposes its functionality or service (to provide coverage information upon a request received, for example, from the base station entity) via a service-based interface (SBI), the SBI in particular employing a well-defined REST interface using HTTP / 2. The coverage information entity or functionality may be implemented as a cloudified network function similar to other network functions in a 3GPP service-based architecture (SBA).

[0032] According to the present invention, it is advantageously further possible and preferred that, in particular as part of the first step, the coverage information is used by the base station entity or the user equipment to detect whether the user equipment is currently located or will subsequently be located in or near a specific geographical coverage area, wherein, based on the coverage information, the coverage indication information is

[0033] --determined by the base station entity and transmitted to the user equipment, or

[0034] --determined by the user's equipment,

[0035] wherein the coverage indication information comprises an indication related to at least one location of the user equipment, whether the user equipment is located in or near a specific geographical coverage area, wherein the coverage indication information particularly refers to: a current location of the user equipment, and therefore a current point in time, and / or an expected future location and a future point in time of the user equipment,

[0036] And the coverage indication information particularly includes at least one coverage parameter information segment.

[0037] Thus, it is advantageously possible to implement the present invention easily and efficiently.

[0038] According to the present invention, it is further advantageously possible and preferred that, in particular as part of the first step, the location information of the user equipment corresponds to location information corresponding to or indicating one of a current location of the user equipment and an expected future location of the user equipment, the location information:

[0039] -- transmitted by the user equipment to a base station entity and / or an access network, or

[0040] -- generated by the base station entity and / or the access network or obtained in other ways,

[0041] wherein the base station entity determines, based on the coverage information, that one of the current location of the user equipment and the expected future location of the user equipment corresponds to a specific geographical coverage area, wherein the base station entity transmits mobility procedure information to the user equipment, the mobility procedure information particularly including the coverage parameter information, wherein the mobility procedure information instructs or specifies to the user equipment to perform the following operations:

[0042] -- performing a cell selection operation to be served by a further base station entity and / or -- modifying an equivalent public land mobile network configuration to cause the further base station entity to serve the user equipment and / or

[0043] --Performing a handover operation towards the further base station entity.

[0044] Thus, according to the invention it is advantageously possible that the base station entity serving the user equipment under consideration only needs to be provided with the location information of the user equipment (or needs to generate or determine this location information in some way) and can determine based on the coverage information whether the user equipment may have coverage provided by another base station entity; in this case, the base station entity can indicate or prescribe to the user equipment to perform a mobility procedure by transmitting mobility procedure information. In this case, the mobility procedure information comprises coverage parameter information, in particular frequency information indicating which frequency or frequency band is to be used in order to connect to (or be served by) at least one further base station entity or terrestrial access network. Thus again, the coverage parameter information (or at least one coverage parameter information fragment) transmitted to the user equipment (e.g. as part of the mobility procedure information) serves the user equipment to connect to or be served by at least one further base station entity without having to perform a background public land mobile network search or periodic network selection attempts.

[0045] Furthermore, it is advantageously possible and preferred according to the invention that, in particular as part of the first step, the base station entity transmits to the user equipment coverage information or a part thereof, the coverage information or a part thereof indicating a specific geographical coverage area of ​​at least one further base station entity or of the terrestrial access network,

[0046] wherein the user equipment determines, based on the coverage information or a portion thereof received from the base station entity, that one of a current location of the user equipment and an expected future location of the user equipment corresponds to the specific geographic coverage area,

[0047] The at least one coverage parameter information fragment is used by the user equipment to perform mobility operations, in particular to connect to or register with the at least one other base station entity or the terrestrial access network.

[0048] Thus, it is advantageously possible that the detection of whether the user equipment is currently located or will subsequently be located in or near a particular geographical coverage area is performed or carried out by the user equipment (rather than by the base station entity). Of course, this requires that the coverage information (or at least a portion thereof) is transmitted by the base station entity to the user equipment (i.e., the coverage information or at least a portion thereof is received by the user equipment). Again, the coverage parameter information (or at least one coverage parameter information fragment) is part of the coverage information transmitted to the user equipment so that the user equipment can be connected to or served by at least one further base station entity without having to perform background public land mobile network searches or periodic network selection attempts.

[0049] Furthermore, the present invention relates to a user equipment for providing communication services using an access network of a mobile communication network or an access network associated with the mobile communication network, wherein the access network is or at least comprises a portion corresponding to or being part of a non-terrestrial network, wherein the user equipment is connectable to or served by a base station entity, the base station entity being part of the non-terrestrial network or part of the non-terrestrial network portion of the access network,

[0050] wherein when the user equipment is located in or near a specific geographical coverage area, the user equipment is able or has a high probability of being able to connect to or be served by at least one further base station entity, the at least one further base station entity being part of a terrestrial access network of or associated with a further mobile communication network, or being part of a terrestrial access network of or associated with a mobile communication network,

[0051] The coverage information indicates the specific geographical coverage area of ​​the at least one other base station entity or the terrestrial access network, and the coverage information includes at least one coverage parameter information segment,

[0052] In order to provide the communication service to the user equipment, the user equipment is configured such that:

[0053] --when the user equipment is connected to the base station entity or is served by the base station entity and the base station entity has the coverage information, the user equipment receives at least the coverage parameter information from the base station entity,

[0054] The coverage information and the location information of the user equipment can be used to detect whether the user equipment is currently located or will be located in the future in or near the specific geographic coverage area.

[0055] --The user equipment uses the at least one coverage parameter information fragment to change or be changed from being connected to the base station entity or being served by the base station entity to being connected to the at least one other base station entity or the terrestrial access network or being served by the at least one other base station entity or the terrestrial access network.

[0056] Therefore, the present invention may be advantageously implemented using corresponding user equipment.

[0057] Furthermore, according to the present invention it is advantageously possible and preferred that, in particular with respect to the user equipment of the present invention, location information of the user equipment is transmitted by the user equipment to the base station entity, the location information corresponding to or indicating one of a current location of the user equipment and an expected future location of the user equipment, and the location information is transmitted in view of determining, in particular based on coverage information, that one of the current location of the user equipment and the expected future location of the user equipment corresponds to a specific geographical coverage area, wherein the user equipment receives mobility procedure information from the base station entity, the mobility procedure information in particular comprising coverage parameter information, the mobility procedure information instructing or prescribing to the user equipment to perform the following operations,

[0058] -- performing a cell selection operation to be served by a further base station entity and / or -- modifying an equivalent public land mobile network configuration to cause the further base station entity to serve the user equipment and / or

[0059] --Performing a handover operation towards the further base station entity.

[0060] Thus, the present invention may advantageously be implemented using corresponding user equipment, wherein a base station entity detects whether the user equipment is currently located or will subsequently be located within or near a specific geographical coverage area.

[0061] In particular, according to this embodiment of the invention, the transmission of the location information of the user equipment to the base station entity may occur as part of the mandatory requirement to support GNSS capabilities in the non-terrestrial network (capable) user equipment, which will send the user equipment geographical location information to the non-terrestrial network access network or the base station entity (or satellite) during registration and any connection establishment phase (according to 3GPP TS 38.300). This indication of the GNSS positioning (of the user equipment) is used by the (base station entity of the non-terrestrial access network) to verify that the user equipment is actually allowed to access the non-terrestrial access network from its location (because satellite services are not allowed in all countries, so national borders need to be distinguished).

[0062] Furthermore, it is advantageously possible and preferred according to the present invention, in particular with regard to a user equipment of the present invention, that the user equipment receives coverage information or a part thereof from a base station entity, the coverage information or a part thereof indicating a specific geographical coverage area of ​​at least one further base station entity or a terrestrial access network, wherein the user equipment determines that one of a current location of the user equipment and an expected future location of the user equipment corresponds to the specific geographical coverage area based on the coverage information or a part thereof received from the base station entity,

[0063] The at least one coverage parameter information fragment is used by the user equipment to perform mobility operations, in particular to connect to or register with the at least one other base station entity or the terrestrial access network.

[0064] Thus, the present invention may advantageously be implemented using corresponding user equipment, wherein the user equipment itself detects whether the user equipment is currently located or will subsequently be located within or near a particular geographical coverage area.

[0065] Furthermore, the present invention relates to a system or a mobile communication network for providing communication services to a user equipment using an access network of a mobile communication network or an access network associated with the mobile communication network, wherein the access network is or at least comprises a portion corresponding to or being a portion of a non-terrestrial network, wherein the user equipment can be connected to or served by a base station entity, the base station entity being part of the non-terrestrial network or the non-terrestrial network portion of the access network,

[0066] wherein when the user equipment is located in or near a specific geographical coverage area, the user equipment is able or has a high probability of being able to connect to or be served by at least one further base station entity, the at least one further base station entity being part of a terrestrial access network of or associated with a further mobile communication network, or being part of a terrestrial access network of or associated with a mobile communication network,

[0067] The coverage information indicates the specific geographical coverage area of ​​the at least one other base station entity or the terrestrial access network, and the coverage information includes at least one coverage parameter information segment,

[0068] Wherein, in order to provide communication services to the user equipment, the system or mobile communication network is configured so that: - when the user equipment is connected to the base station entity or is served by the base station entity and the base station entity has the coverage information, at least coverage parameter information is transmitted by the base station entity to the user equipment, and the coverage information and the location information of the user equipment are used to detect whether the user equipment is currently located or will be subsequently located in or near the specific geographical coverage area,

[0069] --The user equipment uses the at least one coverage parameter information fragment to change or be changed from being connected to the base station entity or being served by the base station entity to being connected to the at least one other base station entity or the terrestrial access network or being served by the at least one other base station entity or the terrestrial access network.

[0070] Furthermore, the present invention relates to a coverage information entity or functionality which is part of a system or a mobile communication network according to the present invention or is assigned to the system or the mobile communication network or can be accessed by (or is available for) the system or the mobile communication network, the coverage information entity or functionality being in particular implemented as a cloudified network function in a 3GPP service-based architecture (SBA).

[0071] 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.

[0072] 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.

[0073] 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. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0074] Figure 1 The present invention schematically illustrates a situation of a user equipment in a mobile communication network, which is a non-terrestrial network or at least includes a portion corresponding to a non-terrestrial network, wherein when the user equipment is located in or near a specific geographical coverage area, the user equipment is able to or has a high probability of being able to connect to at least one additional base station entity or be served by the at least one additional base station entity, and the at least one additional base station entity is part of a terrestrial access network of another mobile communication network or part of a terrestrial access network associated with the other mobile communication network.

[0075] Figure 2 Schematically illustrated is communication between a user equipment and a base station entity in a non-terrestrial network, wherein detection of whether the user equipment is currently located or will subsequently be located in or near a particular geographical coverage area is performed by the base station entity of the non-terrestrial network.

[0076] Figure 3The communication between a user equipment and a base station entity of a non-terrestrial network is schematically illustrated, wherein the detection of whether the user equipment is currently located or will subsequently be located in or near a particular geographical coverage area is performed by the user equipment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0077] 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.

[0078] 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.

[0079] 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.

[0080] exist Figure 1 In the figure, a user equipment 20 is schematically shown in a mobile communication network 100, the user equipment 20 exemplarily traveling or moving along a path indicated by a drawn (bold) arrow, and positioning indications are designated by reference numerals 1, 2, 3 and 4, which are intended to schematically illustrate different positions (or locations) of the user equipment 20 along its movement or travel path - a first position or location 1 of the user equipment 20, a second position or location 2 of the user equipment 20, a third position or location 3 of the user equipment 20 and a fourth position or location 4 of the user equipment 20. Figure 1 In the present invention, the movement or travel path of the user equipment 20 is schematically represented by a straight line (or arrow), however, this representation is only for simplicity; of course, the user equipment 20 moves or may move along a curve or other non-straight path, and this is usually the case in practice. In the context of the present invention, Figure 1 The user equipment 20 represented in FIG. 1 is also referred to as the user equipment under consideration or the specific user equipment; of course, additional user equipment is typically present and connected to the mobile communication network 100 (and / or served by the mobile communication network 100), however, again for simplicity, Figure 1 Such additional user equipment is not represented.

[0081] Figure 1The case of a user equipment 20 in a mobile communication network 100 is illustrated, the mobile communication network 100 being a non-terrestrial network or at least comprising a part corresponding to a non-terrestrial network. The mobile communication network 100 comprises an access network 110 and a core network 120. The mobile communication network 100 is preferably a cellular telecommunication network, which typically comprises a plurality of network cells (or radio cells). The access network 110 is a part of or is associated with the mobile communication network 100, and the access network 110 is or at least comprises a part corresponding to or being a non-terrestrial network. The user equipment 20 is able to connect to a base station entity 111 (or be served by the base station entity 111), the base station entity 111 being part of a non-terrestrial network or a non-terrestrial network part of the access network 110. Typically, in addition to the (first) base station entity 111, the non-terrestrial access network 110 comprises further base station entities, wherein only one base station entity - a second base station entity 112 - is in the Figure 1 Each of the base station entities 111, 112 of the mobile communication network 100 (or its non-terrestrial access network 110) serves a radio coverage area or radio cell, the (first) base station entity 111 serving the first radio cell 11 and the second base station entity 112 serving the second radio cell 12. In practice, the radio coverage areas or radio cells 11, 12 provided by the base station entities 111, 112 of the non-terrestrial access network 110 may be geofixed (i.e. covering the same geographical area continuously at all times, such as in the case of coverage by geosynchronous orbiting satellites or high altitude platforms), quasi-geofixed (i.e. covering one geographical area for a limited time period and covering a different geographical area during another time period, such as in the case of coverage by non-geosynchronous orbiting satellites or high altitude platforms using steerable beams), or geomobile (i.e. the coverage area slides over the surface of the Earth, such as in the case of coverage by non-geosynchronous orbiting satellites or high altitude platforms using fixed or non-steerable beams), however, in the context of the present invention, this distinction is not particularly relevant, since it is assumed that the radio coverage provided by the non-terrestrial access network 110 is - at least in principle, and when the user equipment 20 is located in the area where the non-terrestrial access network 110 is deployed - available to the user equipment 20 regardless of which of the non-terrestrial access networks 110 is serving the user equipment 20 at the point in time considered.

[0082] exist Figure 1 In the exemplary case shown in FIG. 1 , the user equipment 20 is shown to be located in or near a specific geographic coverage area 250 (for some of the above-mentioned positions or locations of the user equipment 20, i.e., for the first, third and fourth locations or positions 1, 3, 4 of the user equipment 20), Figure 1In the example embodiment shown in , in or near a specific geographical coverage area 250, the user equipment 20 is able or has a high probability to be able to connect to or be served by at least one further base station entity 211, the at least one further base station entity 211 being part of a terrestrial access network 210 of or associated with the further mobile communication network 200. In addition to the terrestrial access network 210, the further mobile communication network 200 comprises a core network 220. Typically, in addition to the (first) base station entity 210, the terrestrial access network 211 comprises further base station entities, wherein only one base station entity - a second further base station entity 212 - is connected to the core network 220. Figure 1 Each of the further base station entities 211, 212 of the further mobile communication network 200 (or its terrestrial access network 210) also serves a respective radio coverage area or radio cell, the (first) further base station entity 211 serving the third radio cell 11' and the second further base station entity 212 serving the fourth radio cell 12'.

[0083] The specific geographical coverage area 250 is intended to correspond to a combination of the radio coverage areas 11', 12' of the terrestrial access network 210 (or to include all radio coverage areas 11', 12' of the terrestrial access network 210), even though for simplicity, Figure 1 Only the third radio cell 11', the fourth radio cell 12' are shown. The specific geographical coverage area 250 does not necessarily need to correspond to a continuous (or adjacent or connected) area or surface; it is only meant to specify or refer to a plurality of (or a group of) points or locations or positions or areas, where if the user equipment 20 under consideration is located at these positions or locations, then the user equipment 20 under consideration will generally have (with a high probability) connectivity to or be covered by the further mobile communication network 200 - this is as follows Figure 1 Schematically illustrated in FIG. 1 are scenarios for a considered user equipment 20 in its first position 1 , third position 3 and fourth position 4 .

[0084] According to the invention, the coverage information available via the non-terrestrial access network 110 - may indicate a specific geographical coverage area 250 as well as access parameters of the terrestrial access network 210, i.e. in particular at least one further base station entity 211, 212. Thus, this coverage information - designated in the figure by reference numeral 650 - comprises not only a geographical indication or geographical information of or relating to the specific geographical coverage area 250, but also at least one access parameter (but preferably a plurality of such access parameters) of the terrestrial access network 210, i.e. in particular at least one further base station entity 211, 212. These access parameters are hereinafter also referred to as coverage parameter information 50 or coverage parameter information fragment(s) 50.

[0085] The coverage information 650 is made available to the non-terrestrial access network 110 - in particular its base station entities 111, 112 - by means of a coverage information entity or functionality 600, which is part of the core network 120 of the mobile communication network 100 or is at least accessible by the core network 120 or by the non-terrestrial access network 110 or its base station entities 111, 112. In particular, the coverage information entity or functionality 600 corresponds to or exposes an interface of a network function or service within the mobile communication network 100 (in particular its core network 120), wherein the coverage information entity or functionality 600 exposes its functionality or service (e.g. to provide the coverage information 650 upon request received from one or more base station entities 111, 112 of the non-terrestrial access network 110) via a service-based interface (SBI), which in particular employs a well-defined REST interface using HTTP / 2.

[0086] Preferably, in order to obtain the coverage information 650, the base station entity 111 retrieves the coverage information 650 from the coverage information entity or functionality 600, preferably before the user equipment 20 is connected to the base station entity 111 or is served by the base station entity 111, or during the user equipment 20 is connected to the base station entity 111 or is served by the base station entity 111; this is Figure 1 This is schematically represented by a dotted arrow pointing from the coverage information entity or functionality 600 to the coverage information 650 of the (second) base station entity 112.

[0087] from Figure 1 It can be seen that the user equipment 20, when located at a first location or position 1 (because this is part of a specific geographical coverage area 250), is connected to or served by the further mobile communication network 200 (in this case, using the coverage provided by the second further (terrestrial) base station entity 212). The user equipment 20 may also typically (via Figure 1100) is connected to or served by the mobile communication network 100, but as long as terrestrial coverage is available to the user equipment 20, the user equipment 20 will have no reason to change to the mobile communication network 100 - in particular due to the fact that, from the perspective of the user equipment 20, being connected to or served by the (non-terrestrial) mobile communication network 100 is generally more energy consuming than being connected to or served by the further (terrestrial) mobile communication network 200. However, along its movement path, the user equipment 20 leaves the specific geographical coverage area 250, and thus leaves the coverage of the further terrestrial mobile communication network 200: at its second position or location 2, the user equipment 20 (necessarily, because there is no other available coverage) is connected to or served by the base station entity 111, and thus is connected to or served by the non-terrestrial mobile communication network 100; this Figure 1 This is schematically indicated by a double dashed arrow between the user equipment 20 and the (second) base station entity 112. The same is true at its third position or location 3 (which is Figure 1 100 ); however, in a third location or position 3, the user equipment 20 may (in addition to having coverage provided by the non-terrestrial mobile communication network 100) have coverage provided by a further terrestrial mobile communication network 200 via its further base station entity 211; this Figure 1 20 and the further base station entity 211. By performing a background public land mobile network search or a periodic network selection attempt, the user equipment 20 can in principle obtain the corresponding access parameters to be connected to or served by the further terrestrial mobile communication network 200; however, this generally requires relatively high energy.

[0088] According to the present invention, in this case (i.e., when the user equipment 20—at its second location or position 2 or third location or position 3—is connected to the base station entity 111 or is served by the base station entity 111), at least coverage parameter information 50 is transmitted by the base station entity 111 to the user equipment 20, and the user equipment 20 changes or is changed from being connected to the base station entity 111 or being served by the base station entity 111 to being connected to or being served by at least one further base station entity 211, 212 or the terrestrial access network 210 using at least one coverage parameter information fragment 50; the change is in Figure 11 is schematically indicated by a curved dashed arrow from the base station entity 111 towards the further base station entity 211. Of course, as a prerequisite, it must be detected that the user equipment 20 is actually in or near the specific geographical coverage area (250), i.e., the user equipment 20 is currently located there - while being in its third position or location 3 - or the user equipment 20 will subsequently (or soon) be located in its third position or location 3 - i.e., in this case, the user equipment 20 is actually in its second position or location 2, but it can be estimated that it will soon be in its third position or location 3.

[0089] In order to detect that the user equipment 20 is in or near a specific geographical coverage area 250, the coverage information 650 is used together with the location information of the user equipment 20. The different possibilities are as follows: Figure 2 and Figure 3 Schematically represented in FIG. 1 and explained in further detail below.

[0090] Figure 2 The communication between the user equipment 20 and the base station entities 111, 112 of the non-terrestrial mobile communication network 100 is schematically illustrated, wherein the detection of whether the user equipment 20 is currently located or will subsequently be located in or near a specific geographical coverage area 250 is performed by the base station entities 111, 112 of the non-terrestrial mobile communication network 100. Figure 2 On the left side of , the user equipment 20 is located or positioned at its second position or location 2 (and connected or served by the first base station entity 111). Figure 2 On the right side of , is the case where the user equipment 20 is located or positioned at its third position or location 3 (and is connected or served by the first base station entity 111). In any case, in the first processing step (in Figure 2 ), the location information 202, 203 is transmitted by the user equipment 20 to the corresponding base station entity 111, 112 of the non-terrestrial access network 110, and in a second processing step, the corresponding base station entity 111, 112 transmits mobility procedure information 150 to the user equipment 20, and the mobility procedure information 150 particularly includes coverage parameter information 50. The mobility procedure information 150 particularly instructs or specifies the following operations to the user equipment 20,

[0091] -- performing a cell selection operation to be served by the further base station entity 211 and / or -- modifying an equivalent public land mobile network configuration to cause the further base station entity 211 to serve the user equipment 20 and / or

[0092] --Perform a handover operation towards another base station entity 211.

[0093] The location information 202, 203 transmitted by the user equipment 20 in the first processing step corresponds to the current position of the user equipment (particularly the second position or location 2, the third position or location 3) (in the case where the user equipment 20 is located at the second position or location 2, or the third position or location 3, that is, if the user equipment 20 is located at the second position or location 2, it sends the location information 202 indicating its current position or location, and if the user equipment 20 is located at the third position or location 3, it sends the location information 203 indicating its current position or location). However, alternatively, the location information transmitted by the user equipment 20 in the first processing step may also correspond to the expected future position (particularly the third position or location 3 in the case where the user equipment 20 is located at the second position or location 2, or the fourth position or location 4 in the case where the user equipment 20 is located at the third position or location 3); however, this is not Figure 2 There is no specific indication.

[0094] Figure 2 Also not shown is another alternative, which relates to the possibility that the user equipment 20 does not explicitly (or intentionally) transmit location information to the corresponding base station entity 111, 112 in relation to or in view of determining whether the user equipment 20 has reached a specific geographical coverage area 250: in this case, the corresponding base station entity 111, 112 may alternatively be able to generate or otherwise obtain location information of the user equipment 20 or location information related to the user equipment 20. Figure 2 In all embodiments shown or implied in the above, the base station entity 111 determines based on the coverage information 650 (and based on the location information) that the current location 2, 3 of the user equipment 20 (or alternatively, the expected future location 3, 4 of the user equipment 20) corresponds to a specific geographical coverage area 250. Figure 2 In a second processing step, the base station entity 111 transmits mobility procedure information 150 including coverage parameter information 50 to the user equipment 20 .

[0095] In particular (but not necessarily), in particular as part of the first step according to the present invention, the coverage information 650 is used by the base station entity 111 to detect whether the user equipment 20 is currently located (or whether the user equipment 20 will subsequently be located) in or near a specific geographic coverage area 250, wherein the coverage indication information 450 is determined by the base station entity 111 based on the coverage information 650, wherein the mobility procedure information 150 and therefore the coverage parameter information 50 are derived from the coverage indication information 450.

[0096] In particular, the coverage indication information 450 includes an indication of whether the user equipment 20 is located in or near a specific geographical coverage area 250 in relation to at least one location 2, 3, 4 of the user equipment 20, wherein the coverage indication information 450 specifically refers to

[0097] - the current position 2, 3 of the user equipment 20 (when the user equipment 20 is in its second position or location 2 or third position or location 3), and therefore the current point in time and / or

[0098] an expected future position 3 , 4 of the user equipment 20 (again when the user equipment 20 is in its second position or location 2 , or in its third position or location 3 ) and a future point in time. The coverage indication information 450 comprises in particular at least one coverage parameter information segment 50 .

[0099] Figure 3 Schematically illustrated is the communication between a user equipment 20 and a base station entity 111, 112 of a non-terrestrial mobile communication network 100, wherein the detection of whether the user equipment 20 is currently located or subsequently located in or near a specific geographical coverage area is performed by the user equipment 20. Figure 3 On the left side of , the user equipment 20 is located or positioned at its second position or location 2 (and connected or served by the second base station entity 112). Figure 3 On the right side of , is the case where the user equipment 20 is located or positioned at its third position or location 3 (and is connected or served by the first base station entity 111). In any case, in the third processing step (in Figure 3 ), in particular as part of a first step according to the invention, the base station entity 111 transmits coverage information 650 (or at least a part thereof) to the user equipment 20. The coverage information 650 (or the part thereof transmitted to the user equipment 20) indicates a specific geographical coverage area 250 of - at least one further base station entity (211, 212) or a terrestrial access network (210) - at least in the approximate vicinity of the user equipment 20 or relating to the approximate vicinity of the user equipment 20, and the user equipment 20 determines based on the coverage information 650 (or the transmitted part thereof) received from the base station entity 111 that the current position 2, 3 (or alternatively, the expected future position 3, 4) of the user equipment 20 corresponds to the specific geographical coverage area 250. At least one coverage parameter information fragment 50 (as part of the coverage information 650) is subsequently used by the user equipment 20 to perform a mobility operation, in particular to connect to or register with at least one further base station entity 211, 212 or a terrestrial access network 210.

[0100] In particular (but not necessarily), in particular as part of the first step according to the present invention, the coverage information 650 is used by the user equipment 20 to detect whether the user equipment 20 is currently located (or whether the user equipment 20 will be located subsequently) in or near a specific geographical coverage area 250, wherein the coverage indication information 450 ( Figure 3 ), where the coverage parameter information 50 is derived from the coverage indication information 450.

[0101] In particular, the coverage indication information 450 includes an indication of whether the user equipment 20 is located in or near a specific geographical coverage area 250 in relation to at least one location 2, 3, 4 of the user equipment 20, wherein the coverage indication information 450 specifically refers to

[0102] - the current position 2, 3 of the user equipment 20 (when the user equipment 20 is in its second position or location 2 or third position or location 3), and therefore the current point in time and / or

[0103] an expected future position 3 , 4 of the user equipment 20 (again when the user equipment 20 is in its second position or location 2 or third position or location 3 ) and a future point in time. The coverage indication information 450 comprises in particular at least one coverage parameter information segment 50 .

[0104] Hence, according to the present invention, an optimization is proposed for the situation where the user equipment is roaming on a non-terrestrial (access) network.

[0105] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the following processing steps are performed by the user equipment 20, by the corresponding base station entity 111, 112 of the non-terrestrial (access) network 110 and / or by the corresponding base station entity 211, 212 of the terrestrial access network 210:

[0106] --The user equipment 20 determines its geographical location via a GNSS system;

[0107] --The user equipment 20 establishes a connection with the non-terrestrial (access) network 110;

[0108] --User equipment 20 reports its geographic GNSS position;

[0109] -- The non-terrestrial (access) network 110 knows the geographical location of the user equipment 20;

[0110] -- the user equipment 20 uses the non-terrestrial (access) network 110 (i.e. roams on the network in idle and connected modes);

[0111] -- The establishment of the call will update the location of the user equipment 20 known in the non-terrestrial (access) network 110; -- The non-terrestrial (access) network 110 receives a connection request from the user equipment 20, which includes its current geographical location (based on the GNSS report);

[0112] -- the non-terrestrial (access) network 110 uses the GNSS geographic location of the user equipment 20 to decide on a mobility procedure back to the terrestrial network 210 (based on coverage information 650 available to the non-terrestrial (access) network 110; in particular, the non-terrestrial (access) network 110 maintains a coverage database of the terrestrial network 210 and its geographic polygons, including in particular frequencies, i.e., coverage parameter information 50);

[0113] -- the non-terrestrial (access) network 110 compares the received GNSS position of the user equipment 20 with a coverage database to check whether terrestrial network coverage is available (i.e., it detects that the user equipment 20 is currently located or will subsequently be located in or near a particular geographic coverage area 250);

[0114] --The non-terrestrial (access) network 110 performs mobility procedures, such as cell reselection (possibly also including ePLMN configuration) or handover of the user equipment 20 from the non-terrestrial (access) network 110 to the terrestrial network 200, taking into account appropriate information about TN coverage and frequency from the match between the UE geographic location and the coverage database 650 / 600.

Claims

1. A method for providing communication services to a user equipment (20) using an access network (110) of a mobile communication network (100) or an access network (110) associated with the mobile communication network (100), wherein the access network (110) is or at least comprises a portion corresponding to or being a portion of a non-terrestrial network, wherein the user equipment (20) is connectable to or served by a base station entity (111), the base station entity (111) being a portion of the non-terrestrial network or a portion of the non-terrestrial network portion of the access network (110), wherein when the user equipment (20) is located in or near a specific geographical coverage area (250), the user equipment (20) is able or has a high probability of being able to connect to or be served by at least one further base station entity (211, 212), the at least one further base station entity (211, 212) being part of a terrestrial access network (210) of a further mobile communication network (200) or a part of a terrestrial access network (210) associated with the further mobile communication network (200), or being part of a terrestrial access network (210) of the mobile communication network (100) or a part of a terrestrial access network (210) associated with the mobile communication network (100), wherein the coverage information (650) indicates the specific geographical coverage area (250) of the at least one further base station entity (211, 212) or the terrestrial access network (210), the coverage information (650) comprising at least one coverage parameter information segment (50), in, In order to provide communication services to the user equipment (20), the method comprises the following steps: - in a first step, when the user equipment (20) is connected to the base station entity (111) or is served by the base station entity (111) and the base station entity (111) has the coverage information (650), at least the coverage parameter information (50) is transmitted by the base station entity (111) to the user equipment (20), The coverage information (650) and the location information (202, 202) of the user equipment (20) are used to detect whether the user equipment (20) is currently located or will subsequently be located in or near the specific geographic coverage area (250), --In a second step, the user equipment (20) uses the at least one coverage parameter information fragment (50) to change or be changed from being connected to the base station entity (111) or being served by the base station entity (111) to being connected to the at least one other base station entity (211, 212) or the terrestrial access network (210) or being served by the at least one other base station entity (211, 212) or the terrestrial access network (210).

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the coverage information (650) is obtained from a coverage information entity or functionality (600), wherein: In order to obtain the coverage information (650), the base station entity (111) retrieves the coverage information (650) from the coverage information entity or functionality (600), preferably before the user equipment (20) is connected to the base station entity (111) or is served by the base station entity (111), or during the time when the user equipment (20) is connected to the base station entity (111) or is served by the base station entity (111).

3. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein, in particular as part of the first step, the coverage information (650) is used by the base station entity (111) or the user equipment (20) to detect whether the user equipment (20) is currently located or will subsequently be located within or near the specific geographical coverage area (250), wherein Based on the coverage information (650), the coverage indication information (450) - determined by the base station entity (111) and transmitted to the user equipment (20), or - determined by the user equipment (20), The coverage indication information (450) comprises an indication of whether the user equipment (20) is located in or near the specific geographical coverage area (250) in relation to at least one location (2, 3, 4) of the user equipment (20), wherein the coverage indication information (450) specifically refers to - the current location (2, 3) of the user equipment (20), and therefore the current point in time and / or - the expected future location (3, 4) and future time point of the user equipment (20), And the coverage indication information (450) particularly includes at least one coverage parameter information segment (50).

4. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein, in particular as part of the first step, the position information (202, 203) of the user equipment (20) corresponds to position information (202, 203) corresponding to or indicative of one of the current position (2, 3) of the user equipment (20) and an expected future position (3, 4) of the user equipment (20), the position information (202, 203): -- transmitted by the user equipment (20) to the base station entity (111) and / or the access network (110), or -- generated by the base station entity (111) and / or the access network (110) or obtained in other ways, The base station entity (111) determines, based on the coverage information (650), that one of the current location (2, 3) of the user equipment (20) and the expected future location (3, 2) of the user equipment (20) corresponds to the specific geographical coverage area (250), wherein the base station entity (111) transmits mobility procedure information (150) to the user equipment (20), the mobility procedure information (150) particularly comprising the coverage parameter information (50), wherein the mobility procedure information (150) instructs or specifies to the user equipment (20) to perform the following operations: -- performing a cell selection operation to be served by said further base station entity (211) and / or -- modifying an equivalent public land mobile network configuration so that the further base station entity (211) serves the user equipment (20) and / or -- performing a handover operation towards said further base station entity (211).

5. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein, in particular as part of the first step, the base station entity (111) transmits the coverage information (650) or a part thereof to the user equipment (20), the coverage information (650) or a part thereof indicating the specific geographical coverage area (250) of the at least one further base station entity (211, 212) or the terrestrial access network (210), wherein the user equipment (20) determines, based on the coverage information (650) or a portion thereof received from the base station entity (111), that one of the current location (2, 3) of the user equipment (20) and the expected future location (3, 4) of the user equipment (20) corresponds to the specific geographical coverage area (250), The at least one coverage parameter information fragment (50) is used by the user equipment (20) to perform mobility operations, in particular to connect to or register with the at least one other base station entity (211, 212) or the terrestrial access network (210).

6. A user equipment (20) for providing communication services using an access network (110) of a mobile communication network (100) or an access network (110) associated with the mobile communication network (100), wherein the access network (110) is or at least comprises a portion corresponding to or being a portion of a non-terrestrial network, wherein the user equipment (20) is connectable to or served by a base station entity (111), the base station entity (111) being a portion of the non-terrestrial network or a portion of the non-terrestrial network portion of the access network (110), wherein when the user equipment (20) is located in or near a specific geographical coverage area (250), the user equipment (20) is able or has a high probability of being able to connect to or be served by at least one further base station entity (211, 212), the at least one further base station entity (211, 212) being part of a terrestrial access network (210) of a further mobile communication network (200) or a part of a terrestrial access network (210) associated with the further mobile communication network (200), or being part of a terrestrial access network (210) of the mobile communication network (100) or a part of a terrestrial access network (210) associated with the mobile communication network (100), wherein the coverage information (650) indicates the specific geographical coverage area (250) of the at least one further base station entity (211, 212) or the terrestrial access network (210), the coverage information (650) comprising at least one coverage parameter information segment (50), in, In order to provide the user equipment (20) with a communication service, the user equipment (20) is configured such that: - when the user equipment (20) is connected to the base station entity (111) or is served by the base station entity (111) and the base station entity (111) has the coverage information (650), the user equipment (20) receives at least the coverage parameter information (50) from the base station entity (111), The coverage information (650) and the location information (202, 202) of the user equipment (20) can be used to detect whether the user equipment (20) is currently located or will subsequently be located in or near the specific geographic coverage area (250), --The user equipment (20) uses the at least one coverage parameter information fragment (50) to change or be changed from being connected to the base station entity (111) or being served by the base station entity (111) to being connected to the at least one other base station entity (211, 212) or the terrestrial access network (210) or being served by the at least one other base station entity (211, 212) or the terrestrial access network (210).

7. The user equipment (20) according to claim 6, wherein the location information (202, 203) of the user equipment (20) is transmitted by the user equipment (20) to the base station entity (111), the location information (202, 203) corresponding to or indicating one of the current position (2, 3) of the user equipment (20) and the expected future position (3, 4) of the user equipment (20), and the location information (202, 203) is based on the coverage information (650) in particular. determining that one of the current position (2, 3) of the user equipment (20) and the expected future position (3, 4) of the user equipment (20) is transmitted corresponding to the specific geographical coverage area (250), wherein the user equipment (20) receives mobility procedure information (150) from the base station entity (111), the mobility procedure information (150) particularly comprising the coverage parameter information (50), the mobility procedure information (150) instructing or prescribing to the user equipment (20) to perform the following operations, -- performing a cell selection operation to be served by said further base station entity (211) and / or -- modifying an equivalent public land mobile network configuration so that the further base station entity (211) serves the user equipment (20) and / or -- performing a handover operation towards said further base station entity (211).

8. The user equipment (20) of claim 6, wherein the user equipment (20) receives the coverage information (650) or a part thereof from the base station entity (111), the coverage information (650) or a part thereof indicating the specific geographical coverage area (250) of the at least one further base station entity (211, 212) or the terrestrial access network (210), wherein the user equipment (20) determines, based on the coverage information (650) or a portion thereof received from the base station entity (111), that one of the current location (2, 3) of the user equipment (20) and the expected future location (3, 4) of the user equipment (20) corresponds to the specific geographical coverage area (250), The at least one coverage parameter information fragment (50) is used by the user equipment (20) to perform mobility operations, in particular to connect to or register with the at least one other base station entity (211, 212) or the terrestrial access network (210).

9. A system or a mobile communication network (100) for providing communication services to a user equipment (20) using an access network (110) of a mobile communication network (100) or an access network (110) associated with the mobile communication network (100), wherein the access network (110) is or at least comprises a portion corresponding to or being a portion of a non-terrestrial network, wherein the user equipment (20) is connectable to or served by a base station entity (111), the base station entity (111) being a portion of the non-terrestrial network or a portion of the non-terrestrial network portion of the access network (110), wherein when the user equipment (20) is located in or near a specific geographical coverage area (250), the user equipment (20) is able or has a high probability of being able to connect to or be served by at least one further base station entity (211, 212), the at least one further base station entity (211, 212) being part of a terrestrial access network (210) of a further mobile communication network (200) or a part of a terrestrial access network (210) associated with the further mobile communication network (200), or being part of a terrestrial access network (210) of the mobile communication network (100) or a part of a terrestrial access network (210) associated with the mobile communication network (100), wherein the coverage information (650) indicates the specific geographical coverage area (250) of the at least one further base station entity (211, 212) or the terrestrial access network (210), the coverage information (650) comprising at least one coverage parameter information segment (50), in, In order to provide communication services to the user equipment (20), the system or mobile communication network (100) is configured such that: when the user equipment (20) is connected to the base station entity (111) or is served by the base station entity (111) and the base station entity (111) has the coverage information (650), at least the coverage parameter information (50) is transmitted by the base station entity (111) to the user equipment (20), The coverage information (650) and the location information (202, 202) of the user equipment (20) are used to detect whether the user equipment (20) is currently located or will subsequently be located in or near the specific geographic coverage area (250), --The user equipment (20) uses the at least one coverage parameter information fragment (50) to change or be changed from being connected to the base station entity (111) or being served by the base station entity (111) to being connected to the at least one other base station entity (211, 212) or the terrestrial access network (210) or being served by the at least one other base station entity (211, 212) or the terrestrial access network (210).

10. A coverage information entity or functionality (600) being part of, assigned to, or accessible by, the system or mobile communication network (100) according to claim 9.

11. 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 partly on the user equipment (20), and / or partly 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 5.

12. 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), cause 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 5.

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