Method and apparatus for differentiating services

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a method and device for differentiating services. A method performed by a policy control node may include receiving a policy creation request including information about a protocol data unit (PDU) session of a terminal device from a session management node. The terminal device is connected to the network node via the gateway. The method may further include obtaining subscription data of the terminal device and / or subscription data of the gateway. The method may further include making a policy decision for the PDU session of the terminal device based on the subscription data of the terminal device and / or the subscription data of the gateway. The method may further include sending a policy creation response including policy information for the PDU session to a session management node.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Non-limiting and exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of communication technology, and particularly to methods and apparatus for differentiating services. Background Art

[0002] This section introduces various aspects that may help to better understand the present disclosure. Therefore, the statements in this section should be read in this light and should not be understood as admissions about what is or is not in the prior art.

[0003] In a communication network, support for differentiated services (e.g., quality of service (QoS) and / or charging) for devices (e.g., user equipment (UE)) connected behind a gateway (e.g., a fifth generation (5G) residential gateway (5G-RG) or a fixed network residential gateway (FN-RG)) may be required. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This Summary is provided in a simplified form to introduce selected concepts that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

[0005] One issue is how to distinguish the user type of a UE connected behind a gateway and provide differentiated services (e.g., QoS and / or billing) to that UE. For example, a UE can be a home UE or a visitor UE. A home UE can be associated with the gateway through which it connects. A home UE may require different service requirements (e.g., QoS and / or billing) than a visitor UE.

[0006] Section 6.2.2.2 of the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) TR 23.700-17 V1.1.1 (the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety) proposes a solution for QoS and charging differentiation based on user location information (ULI). According to this solution, user location information includes the UE's local Internet Protocol (IP) address and a trusted non-3GPP access point (TNAP) identifier.

[0007] Regarding the solution of TR 23.700-17 V1.1.1, there may be some issues as follows (for example, the home / guest issue is solved in Sol#2 and Sol#5).

[0008] Due to the requirements for 5G-RG, UE, some 5GC functions (such as UDR and NEF), and some session management control signals, the solution of TR 23.700-17 V1.1.1 may have a significant impact on the network (such as 5GC and 5G-RG). In addition, the update may be a time-consuming and labor-intensive process.

[0009] The solution of TR 23.700-17 V1.1.1 cannot be used in certain scenarios. For example, when a UE is connected to the network via an untrusted non-3GPP access (via 5G-RG), the gateway or access point serving the UE may be an untrusted non-3GPP access point instead of a TNAP. The solution of TR 23.700-17 V1.1.1 cannot be used in such scenarios. In addition, when some legacy TNAPs cannot be updated to support this feature, the solution of TR 23.700-17 V1.1.1 will not be used for these legacy TNAPs.

[0010] To overcome or alleviate at least one of the problems set forth above or other problems, an improved solution for differentiating services may be desired.

[0011] In a first aspect of the present disclosure, a method performed by a policy control node is provided. The method may include receiving a policy creation request including information about a protocol data unit (PDU) session of a terminal device from a session management node. The terminal device is connected to a network node via a gateway. The method may further include obtaining subscription data of the terminal device and / or subscription data of the gateway. The method may further include making a policy decision for the PDU session of the terminal device based on the subscription data of the terminal device and / or subscription data of the gateway. The method may further include sending a policy creation response including policy information for the PDU session to the session management node.

[0012] In an embodiment, the subscription data of the terminal device may include first information indicating a user type of the gateway to which the terminal device belongs.

[0013] In an embodiment, the subscription data of the gateway may include second information, where the second information indicates the user type of the gateway to which the terminal device belongs.

[0014] In an embodiment, the user type of the gateway may include at least one of a home user or a guest user.

[0015] In an embodiment, when both the first information and the second information include an identification of a gateway, it may indicate that the terminal device belongs to a specific user type of the gateway.

[0016] In an embodiment, the identification of the gateway may include a home identification.

[0017] In an embodiment, the subscription identifier of the gateway may be connected with the identification of the gateway.

[0018] In an embodiment, the gateway may include at least one of a fifth generation residential gateway or a fixed network residential gateway.

[0019] In an embodiment, the network node may include at least one of an interworking function or a trusted network gateway function.

[0020] In an embodiment, the method may further comprise obtaining information about the gateway.

[0021] In an embodiment, obtaining information about the gateway may further include sending a discovery request including an internet protocol address of a session of the gateway to the binding support function, and receiving a discovery response including information about the gateway from the binding support function.

[0022] In an embodiment, the information about the gateway may include at least one of the following: a subscription permanent identifier of the gateway, a data network name, an Internet Protocol address of the gateway, or single network slice selection assistance information.

[0023] In an embodiment, the policy creation request may include an Internet Protocol address of a session assigned to the end user's gateway.

[0024] In an embodiment, the gateway's PDU session has been registered in the binding support function.

[0025] In an embodiment, obtaining subscription data of the terminal device may include sending a first request including a subscription identifier of the terminal device to a data repository node, and receiving a first response including the subscription data of the terminal device from the data repository node.

[0026] In an embodiment, the first request may further include a data network name and / or single network slice selection assistance information.

[0027] In an embodiment, obtaining the subscription data of the gateway may include sending a second request including the subscription identifier of the gateway to the data repository node, and receiving a second response including the subscription data of the gateway from the data repository node.

[0028] In an embodiment, the second request may further include a data network name and / or single network slice selection assistance information.

[0029] In an embodiment, making a policy decision for a PDU session of a terminal device based on the subscription data of the terminal device and / or the subscription data of the gateway may include: determining a user type of the gateway to which the terminal device belongs based on the subscription data of the terminal device and / or the subscription data of the gateway; and making a policy decision for the PDU session of the terminal device based on the user type of the gateway to which the terminal device belongs.

[0030] In a second aspect of the present disclosure, a method performed by a data repository node is provided. The method may include receiving a request from a policy control node for obtaining subscription data of a terminal device and / or subscription data of a gateway. The method may further include sending a response including the subscription data of the terminal device and / or subscription data of the gateway to the policy control node.

[0031] In an embodiment, the terminal device is connected to the network node via a gateway.

[0032] In an embodiment, a policy decision for a PDU session of a terminal device is made based on subscription data of the terminal device and / or subscription data of a gateway.

[0033] In an embodiment, the subscription data of the terminal device may include first information indicating a user type of the gateway to which the terminal device belongs.

[0034] In an embodiment, the subscription data of the gateway may include second information indicating the user type of the gateway to which the terminal device belongs.

[0035] In an embodiment, the user type of the gateway may include at least one of a home user or a guest user.

[0036] In an embodiment, when both the first information and the second information include an identification of the gateway, it indicates that the terminal device belongs to a specific user type of the gateway.

[0037] In an embodiment, the identification of the gateway may include a home identification.

[0038] In an embodiment, the subscription identifier of the gateway is concatenated with the identification of the gateway.

[0039] In an embodiment, the gateway may include at least one of a fifth generation residential gateway or a fixed network residential gateway.

[0040] In an embodiment, the network node may include at least one of an interworking function or a trusted network gateway function.

[0041] In an embodiment, the request may include at least one of a subscription identifier of the terminal device, a subscription identifier of the gateway, a data network name, or single network slice selection assistance information.

[0042] In a third aspect of the present disclosure, a method performed by a terminal device is provided. The method may include sending a PDU session establishment request to a network node via a gateway.

[0043] In an embodiment, a policy decision for a PDU session of a terminal device is made based on subscription data of the terminal device and / or subscription data of a gateway.

[0044] In an embodiment, the subscription data of the terminal device may include first information indicating a user type of the gateway to which the terminal device belongs.

[0045] In an embodiment, the subscription data of the gateway may include second information, where the second information indicates the user type of the gateway to which the terminal device belongs.

[0046] In an embodiment, the user type of the gateway may include at least one of a home user or a guest user.

[0047] In an embodiment, when both the first information and the second information include an identification of a gateway, it indicates that the terminal device belongs to a specific user type of the gateway.

[0048] In an embodiment, the identification of the gateway may include a home identification.

[0049] In an embodiment, the subscription identifier of the gateway is concatenated with the identification of the gateway.

[0050] In an embodiment, the gateway may include at least one of a fifth generation residential gateway or a fixed network residential gateway.

[0051] In an embodiment, the network node may include at least one of an interworking function or a trusted network gateway function.

[0052] In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a policy control node is provided. The policy control node includes a processor and a memory coupled to the processor. The memory stores instructions executable by the processor. The policy control node is operable to receive a policy creation request from a session management node, the policy creation request including information about a protocol data unit (PDU) session of a terminal device. The terminal device is connected to a network node via a gateway. The policy control node is also operable to obtain subscription data of the terminal device and / or subscription data of the gateway. The policy control node is also operable to make a policy decision for the PDU session of the terminal device based on the subscription data of the terminal device and / or subscription data of the gateway. The policy control node is also operable to send a policy creation response including policy information for the PDU session to the session management node.

[0053] In a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, a data repository node is provided. The data repository node includes a processor and a memory coupled to the processor. The memory stores instructions executable by the processor. The data repository node is operable to receive a request from a policy control node for obtaining subscription data of a terminal device and / or subscription data of a gateway. The data repository node is also operable to send a response including the subscription data of the terminal device and / or subscription data of the gateway to the policy control node. The terminal device can be connected to the network node via the gateway. Policy decisions for PDU sessions of the terminal device can be made based on the subscription data of the terminal device and / or subscription data of the gateway.

[0054] In a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device includes a processor and a memory coupled to the processor. The memory stores instructions executable by the processor. The terminal device is operable to send a PDU session establishment request to a network node via a gateway. A policy decision for a PDU session of the terminal device may be made based on subscription data of the terminal device and / or subscription data of the gateway.

[0055] In a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, a policy control node is provided. The policy control node includes a receiving module configured to receive a policy creation request including information about a protocol data unit (PDU) session of a terminal device from a session management node. The terminal device is connected to a network node via a gateway. The policy control node may further include a first obtaining module configured to obtain subscription data of the terminal device and / or subscription data of the gateway. The policy control node may further include a making module configured to make a policy decision for the PDU session of the terminal device based on the subscription data of the terminal device and / or subscription data of the gateway. The policy control node may further include a sending module configured to send a policy creation response including policy information for the PDU session to the session management node.

[0056] In an embodiment, the policy control node may further include a second obtaining module configured to obtain information about a gateway.

[0057] In an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, a data repository node is provided. The data repository node includes a receiving module configured to receive a request for obtaining subscription data of a terminal device and / or subscription data of a gateway from a policy control node. The data repository node may further include a sending module configured to send a response including the subscription data of the terminal device and / or subscription data of the gateway to the policy control node. The terminal device is connected to a network node via the gateway. A policy decision for a PDU session of the terminal device is made based on the subscription data of the terminal device and / or subscription data of the gateway.

[0058] In a ninth aspect of the present disclosure, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device includes a sending module configured to send a PDU session establishment request to a network node via a gateway. A policy decision for the PDU session of the terminal device is made based on subscription data of the terminal device and / or subscription data of the gateway.

[0059] In a tenth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer program product comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform any of the methods according to the first, second and third aspects of the present disclosure.

[0060] In an eleventh aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions is provided, which, when executed on at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to perform any of the methods according to the first, second and third aspects of the present disclosure.

[0061] The embodiments herein provide many advantages, the following is a non-exhaustive list of examples of the advantages. In some embodiments herein, the proposed solution enables differentiated services for different types of devices (e.g., home UEs and visitor UEs) behind a gateway. In some embodiments herein, the proposed solution has minimal impact on the network (e.g., 5GC and 5G-RG), for example, a data repository node (e.g., UDR) is affected to add new parameters (e.g., home ID) to the policy subscription data. In some embodiments herein, the proposed solution enables a policy control node (e.g., PCF) to compare the subscription data of the gateway and the subscription data of the UE to determine the user type of the gateway to which the terminal device belongs, for example, whether they belong to the same family / group. In some embodiments herein, the proposed solution can be used for both untrusted non-3GPP access scenarios and trusted non-3GPP access scenarios. The embodiments herein are not limited to the above-mentioned features and advantages. Those skilled in the art will recognize additional features and advantages after reading the following detailed description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0062] The above and other aspects, features and benefits of various embodiments of the present disclosure will become more fully apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, by way of example, in which like reference numerals or letters are used to designate like or equivalent elements. The accompanying drawings are illustrated to facilitate a better understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure and are not necessarily drawn to scale, wherein:

[0063] Figure 1 The architecture for a UE behind a 5G-RG using non-trusted non-3GPP (N3GPP) access is shown;

[0064] Figure 2 shows a non-roaming architecture for UEs behind 5G-RG using trusted N3GPP access;

[0065] Figure 3 Schematically illustrates a high-level architecture in a fifth generation network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0066] Figure 4 A flowchart of a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0067] Figure 5a A flowchart showing a method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0068] Figure 5b A flowchart showing a method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0069] Figure 5c A flowchart showing a method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0070] Figure 5d A flowchart showing a method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0071] Figure 5e A flowchart showing a method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0072] Figure 5f A flowchart showing a method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0073] Figure 6a A flowchart showing a method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0074] Figure 6b A flowchart of PDU session establishment according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0075] Figure 7 shows a block diagram of an apparatus suitable for practicing some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0076] Figure 8a A block diagram of a policy control node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0077] Figure 8b A block diagram of a data repository node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0078] Figure 9 is a block diagram illustrating a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0079] Figure 10 An example of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0080] Figure 11 is a block diagram of a host according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0081] Figure 12 A communication diagram illustrating a host communicating with a UE via a network node over a partial wireless connection according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0082] Embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that these embodiments are discussed only for the purpose of enabling those skilled in the art to better understand and therefore implement the present disclosure, and that no limitation on the scope of the present disclosure is suggested. References to features, advantages or similar language throughout the specification do not mean that all features and advantages that can be implemented with the present disclosure should be in or in any single embodiment of the present disclosure. On the contrary, language referring to features and advantages should be understood to mean that specific features, advantages or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiments are included in at least an embodiment of the present disclosure. In addition, in one or more embodiments, the features, advantages and characteristics described in the present disclosure may be combined in any suitable manner. Those skilled in the relevant art will recognize that the present disclosure may be practiced without one or more of the specific features or advantages of a particular embodiment. In other cases, additional features and advantages may be recognized in certain embodiments, while the additional features and advantages may not be present in all embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0083] As used herein, the term "network" refers to a network that complies with any suitable communication standard, such as New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Advanced LTE, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA), and other wireless networks. A CDMA network can implement radio technologies such as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA). UTRA includes WCDMA and other variants of CDMA. A TDMA network can implement radio technologies such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). An OFDMA network can implement radio technologies such as Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDMA, Ad-hoc networks, wireless sensor networks, etc. In the following description, the terms "network" and "system" can be used interchangeably. Furthermore, communication between two devices in a network may be performed according to any suitable communication protocol, including but not limited to communication protocols defined by standards organizations such as 3GPP. For example, the communication protocol may include first generation (1G), 2G, 3G, 4G, 4.5G, 5G communication protocols, and / or any other protocol currently known or developed in the future.

[0084] The term "network device" or "network node" refers to any suitable network function (NF) that can be implemented in a (physical or virtual) network entity of a communication network. For example, a network function can be implemented as a network element on dedicated hardware, as a software instance running on dedicated hardware, or as a virtualized function instantiated on an appropriate platform (e.g., on a cloud infrastructure). For example, a 5G system (5GS) may include multiple NFs, such as access and mobility management function (AMF), session management function (SMF), authentication service function (AUSF), unified data management (UDM), policy control function (PCF), application function (AF), network exposure function (NEF), user plane function (UPF) and network repository function (NRF), radio access network (RAN), service communication agent (SCP), network data analysis function (NWDAF), network slice selection function (NSSF), network slice specific authentication and authorization function (NSSAAF), etc. For example, a 4G system (e.g., LTE (Long Term Evolution)) may include a Mobility Management Entity (MME), a Home Subscriber Server (HSS), a PCRF (Policy and Charging Rules Function), a Packet Data Network Gateway (PGW), a PGW Control Plane (PGW-C), a Serving Gateway (SGW), an SGW Control Plane (SGW-C), an E-UTRAN Node B (eNB), etc. In other embodiments, for example, depending on a specific network, the network functions may include different types of NFs.

[0085] Virtualization means creating a virtual version of a device or apparatus, which may include virtualized hardware platforms, storage devices, and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization may be applied to provider edge nodes and refers to an implementation in which at least a portion of functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components (e.g., via one or more applications, components, functions, virtual machines, or containers executed on one or more physical processing nodes in one or more networks).

[0086] In some embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines implemented in one or more virtual environments hosted by one or more hardware nodes. Furthermore, in embodiments where the virtual nodes are not radio access nodes or do not require radio connectivity (e.g., core network nodes), the provider edge nodes or PEs may be fully virtualized.

[0087] The functionality may be implemented by one or more applications (which may also be referred to alternatively as software instances, virtual devices, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.), which are operable to implement some of the features, functions, and / or advantages of some of the embodiments disclosed herein. The applications run in a virtualized environment that provides hardware including processing circuitry and memory. The memory stores instructions executable by the processing circuitry, whereby the applications are operable to provide one or more of the features, advantages, and / or functions disclosed herein.

[0088] The virtualization environment includes general-purpose or dedicated network hardware devices that include a collection of one or more processors or processing circuits, which may be commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) processors, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or any other type of processing circuit, including digital or analog hardware components or dedicated processors. Each hardware device may include memory, which may be non-persistent memory for temporarily storing instructions or software executed by the processing circuit. Each hardware device may include one or more network interface controllers (NICs), also known as network interface cards, which include physical network interfaces. Each hardware device may also include a non-temporary, persistent, machine-readable storage medium having software and / or instructions executable by the processing circuit stored therein. The software may include any type of software, including software for instantiating one or more virtualization layers (also known as hypervisors), software for executing virtual machines, and software that enables them to perform the functions, features, and / or advantages associated with some embodiments described herein.

[0089] A virtual machine includes virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interfaces, and virtual storage devices, and can be run by a corresponding virtualization layer or hypervisor. Different embodiments of instances of virtual devices can be implemented on one or more of the virtual machines and can be implemented in different ways.

[0090] During operation, the processing circuitry executes software to instantiate a hypervisor or virtualization layer, which may sometimes be referred to as a virtual machine monitor (VMM).The virtualization layer may present a virtual operating platform that appears to the virtual machine as networked hardware.

[0091] The term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device that can access a communication network and receive services therefrom. By way of example and not limitation, a terminal device refers to a mobile terminal, user equipment (UE), or other suitable device. A UE may be, for example, a subscriber station (SS), a portable subscriber station, a mobile station (MS), or an access terminal (AT). Terminal devices may include, but are not limited to, portable computers, image capture terminal devices such as digital cameras, gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback devices, mobile phones, cellular phones, smartphones, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, tablet computers, wearable devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable computers, desktop computers, wearable terminal devices, in-vehicle wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop embedded devices (LEEs), laptop mounted devices (LMEs), USB dongles, smart devices, wireless customer premises equipment (CPE), etc. In the following description, the terms "terminal device," "terminal," "user equipment," and "UE" may be used interchangeably. As an example, a terminal device may represent a UE configured for communicating in accordance with one or more communication standards promulgated by 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project), such as 3GPP's LTE standard or NR standard. As used herein, a "user equipment" or "UE" may not necessarily have a "user" in terms of a human user who owns and / or operates the associated device. In some embodiments, a terminal device may be configured to send and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For example, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to a request from a communication network, a terminal device may be designed to send information to the network according to a predetermined schedule. Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is intended to be sold to or operated by a human user but may not initially be associated with a specific human user.

[0092] As another example, in an Internet of Things (IoT) scenario, a terminal device may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurement, and sends the results of such monitoring and / or measurement to another terminal device and / or network device. In this case, the terminal device may be a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, which may be referred to as a machine type communication (MTC) device in the 3GPP context. As a specific example, the terminal device may be a UE that implements the 3GPP Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) standard. Specific examples of such machines or devices are sensors, metering devices (such as electricity meters), industrial machinery, or household or personal appliances, such as refrigerators, televisions, personal wearable devices (such as watches), etc. In other scenarios, the terminal device may represent a vehicle or other device that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting its operating status or other functions related to its operation.

[0093] References in the specification to "an embodiment," "an embodiment," "an exemplary embodiment," etc. indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment necessarily includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Furthermore, these phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in conjunction with an embodiment, it is intended that it is within the knowledge of those skilled in the art to affect that feature, structure, or characteristic in conjunction with other embodiments, whether or not explicitly described.

[0094] It should be understood that although the terms "first" and "second" etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the example embodiments, a first element may be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element may be referred to as a first element. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed terms.

[0095] As used herein, the phrase "at least one of A and B" or "at least one of A or B" should be understood to mean "only A, only B, or both A and B." The phrase "A and / or B" should be understood to mean "only A, only B, or both A and B."

[0096] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the example embodiments. Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, as used herein, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well. It will be further understood that when used herein, the terms "include," "comprising," "having," "having," "containing," and / or "covering" specify the presence of stated features, elements, and / or components, etc., but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0097] Note that these terms are used herein only for convenience of description and to distinguish between nodes, devices, or networks, etc. As technology develops, other terms with similar / identical meanings may also be used.

[0098] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0099] Although the subject matter described herein can be implemented in any suitable type of system using any suitable components, the embodiments disclosed herein are directed to systems that conform to Figure 1-3 For simplicity, the communication system is described based on the exemplary system architecture shown. Figure 1-3The system architecture depicts only some exemplary elements. In practice, the communication system may further include any additional elements suitable for supporting communication between terminal devices or between a wireless device and another communication device (e.g., a landline phone, a service provider, or any other network node or terminal device). The communication system may provide communication and various types of services to one or more terminal devices, so that the terminal devices can access and / or use services provided by or via the communication system.

[0100] Figure 1 The architecture for a UE behind 5G-RG using non-trusted non-3GPP (N3GPP) access is shown. Figure 1 This is the same as Figure 6.2.1-1 in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) TR 23.700-17 V1.1.1. As shown in the figure, a UE behind a 5G-RG can access a 5GC via a non-3GPP interworking function (N3IWF), where the combination of the 5G-RG, the wired 5G access network (W-5GAN), and the user plane function (UPF) serving the 5G-RG / FN-RG acts as an untrusted non-3GPP access network.

[0101] Figure 2 shows the non-roaming architecture for UEs behind 5G-RG using trusted N3GPP access, Figure 2 and 3 This is the same as Figure 6.2.1-2 of GPPTR 23.700-17 V1.1.1. As shown in the figure, a UE behind a 5G-RG can access the 5GC via a trusted non-3GPP gateway function (TNGF), where the combination of the 5G-RG, W-5GAN, and the UPF serving the 5G-RG acts as a trusted non-3GPP access network.

[0102] Figure 1-2 The architecture may include some exemplary elements, such as AMF, DNN (Data Network Name), SMF, UPF, UE, Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN), 5G-RG / FN-RG, W-5GAN, N3IWF, 5G-RG (TNAP), TNGF, etc.

[0103] like Figure 1-2 As further shown in FIG, it also shows some reference points, such as N1, N2, N3, N4, N6, N11, NWt, Ta and NWu, which can support the interaction between NF services in NF. For example, these reference points can be implemented through corresponding NF service-based interfaces and by specifying some NF service consumers and providers and their interactions to perform specific system processes.

[0104] Figure 1-2The various NFs shown in the figure may be responsible for functions such as session management, mobility management, access management, user plane functions, etc. AMF, SMF, UPF, UE, NG-RAN, 5G-RG / FN-RG, W-5GAN, N3IWF, 5G-RG (TNAP), TNGF may include, for example, functions as defined in various 3GPP specifications, such as 3GPP TS23.501 V17.5.0, 3GPP TR 23.700-17 V1.1.1, and 3GPP TS23.316 V18.0.0.

[0105] A 5G-RG / FN-RG connected to a 5GC via W-5GAN or NG-RAN access can provide connectivity for UEs behind the 5G-RG / FN-RG to access the N3IWF or TNGF. The UE can be 5GC-capable, i.e., supporting untrusted non-3GPP access and / or trusted non-3GPP access. This allows the connectivity of the 5G-RG / FN-RG, W-5GAN, and the 5G-RG / FN-RG via the 5GC to function together as untrusted / trusted N3GPP access to support UEs behind the 5G-RG / FN-RG.

[0106] When FN-RG / 5G-RG is serving a UE, the UE's control plane packets and user plane packets are transported using an FN-RG / 5G-RG Internet Protocol (IP) Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session and are then transferred from the PDU Session Anchor (PSA) UPF of the PDU session to the Interworking Function (IWF). A single FN-RG / 5G-RG IP PDU session can be used to serve multiple UEs.

[0107] 5G-RG can be connected to 5GC via W-5GAN, NG-RAN, or both accesses. UE can be connected to 5GC via untrusted / trusted non-3GPP access (via 5G-RG), NG-RAN, or both accesses.

[0108] Figure 1-2 The reference architecture in only shows the architecture and network functions directly connected to W-5GAN or TNGF / N3IWF, and the rest of the architecture is the same as defined in 3GPP TS 23.501 V17.5.0 clause 4.2.

[0109] 5G-RG can be used to connect the UE to the 5G core (5GC).Here, the 5G-RG network can be trusted or untrusted by the UE's network.

[0110] The network of 5G-RG is called the "underlay network", and the network of UE is called the "overlay network". It can be seen that the UE is connected to the 5G-RG, and the 5G-RG is connected to its core network (underlay network) through the W-5GAN. The UE is then connected to the UE network (overlay network) through the N3IWF or TNGF. This connection runs on the underlay network (i.e., the PDU session of the 5G-RG). The AMF and SMF are also involved in user registration and PDU session establishment. All user services pass through the UPF.

[0111] In addition to the functions described here, it can use a policy and charging function (PCF) connected to the SMF and the unified data repository (UDR). The PCF can register PDU session data (including session IP address and UE's SUPI (Subscription Permanent Identifier)) in the binding support function (BSF).

[0112] In certain scenarios, such as what is sometimes called "community Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity)", it is necessary to distinguish between "home UEs" and "guest UEs".

[0113] A “home UE” may refer to a UE belonging to a subscriber who is a member of the same family as a subscriber having a 5G-RG subscription.

[0114] “Guest UE may refer to a UE that is connected via 5G-RG but does not belong to the same household as the 5G-RG subscription owner.

[0115] The use cases of "home" and "guest" and residential environments described above are just examples. This may also be a relevant use case in commercial environments such as stores or coffee shops, where the services provided to employees and customers may be differentiated.

[0116] In these use cases, it is desirable to provide differentiated services, such as different QoS and / or different charging, for "home" and "guest" users in the UE's 5GC. When a UE connects to its 5GC via a 5G-RG, it is therefore necessary to know whether the UE is part of a 5G-RG "home group."

[0117] Figure 3 The figure schematically illustrates a high-level architecture in a fifth generation network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 3 The architecture is the same as described in 3GPP TS23.501V17.5.0 Figure 4 .2.3-2, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Figure 3The system architecture may include some exemplary elements, such as AUSF, AMF, DN (Data Network), NEF, NRF, NSSF, PCF, SMF, UDM, UPF, AF, UE, (R)AN, SCP (Service Communication Agent), NSSAAF (Network Slice Specific Authentication and Authorization Function), NSACF (Network Slice Admission Control Function), Edge Application Server Discovery Function (EASDF), etc.

[0118] The example system architecture includes service-based interfaces such as Nnrf, Nnef, Nausf, Nudm, Npcf, Namf, Nnsacf, Neasdf, and Nsmf exposed by NFs such as NRF, NEF, AUSF, UDM, PCF, AMF, NSACF, EASDF, and SMF. In addition, Figure 3 Some reference points, such as N1, N2, N3, N4, N6, and N9, are also shown, which can support the interaction between NF services in the NF. For example, these reference points can be implemented through corresponding NF service-based interfaces and by specifying some NF service consumers and providers and their interactions to perform specific system processes.

[0119] Figure 3 The various NFs shown in the figure may be responsible for functions such as session management, mobility management, authentication, security, etc. AUSF, AMF, DN, NEF, NRF, NSSF, PCF, SMF, UDM, UPF, AF, UE, (R)AN, SCP, NSACF, EASDF may include, for example, functions as defined in 3GPP TS 23.501 V17.5.0 clause 6.2.

[0120] Figure 4 A flowchart of a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. The method can be performed by an apparatus implemented in a terminal device, an apparatus implemented at a terminal device, an apparatus implemented as a terminal device, or an apparatus communicatively coupled to a terminal device. Therefore, the apparatus can provide components or modules for implementing various parts of method 400, as well as components or modules for implementing other processes in combination with other components.

[0121] At block 402 , a terminal device may send a PDU session establishment request to a network node via a gateway.

[0122] The gateway may be any suitable gateway. For example, the gateway may be able to act as a UE relative to the core network and connect to the core network (e.g., 5GC). In an embodiment, the gateway may include at least one of a fifth-generation residential gateway (5G-RG) or a fixed network residential gateway (FN-RG).

[0123] The network node may be any suitable network node. In an embodiment, the network node may include at least one of an interworking function (eg, N3IWF) or a trusted network gateway function (eg, TNGF).

[0124] In an embodiment, the PDU session establishment may correspond to various PDU session establishment procedures as described in various 3GPP specifications (eg, 3GPP TS 23.502 V17.5.0, 3GPP TR 23.700-17 V1.1.1, and 3GPP TS 23.316 V18.0.0).

[0125] In an embodiment, the PDU session establishment may correspond to at least one of the following:

[0126] -PDU session establishment process initiated by UE;

[0127] - UE-initiated PDU session handover between 3GPP and non-3GPP;

[0128] - UE initiated PDU session handover from Evolved Packet System (EPS) to 5GS; or

[0129] - Network-triggered PDU Session Establishment. In this case, the network sends a Device Trigger message to one or more applications on the UE. The payload included in the Device Trigger Request message contains information about which application on the UE is expected to trigger the PDU Session Establishment Request. Based on this information, one or more applications on the UE trigger the PDU Session Establishment procedure.

[0130] In an embodiment, the PDU session establishment request may be a PDU session establishment request as described in various 3GPP specifications (eg, 3GPP TS 23.502 V17.5.0, 3GPP TR 23.700-17 V1.1.1, and 3GPP TS 23.316 V18.0.0).

[0131] In an embodiment, the policy decision for the PDU session of the terminal device may be made based on the subscription data of the terminal device and / or the subscription data of the gateway.

[0132] The subscription data of the terminal device may include any suitable information that can be used to determine policy decisions for a PDU session of the terminal device. For example, the subscription data of the terminal device may include information indicating a user relationship between the terminal device and the gateway. The subscription data of the terminal device may include information indicating that the terminal device has partial or full rights to use the services of a particular gateway.

[0133] In an embodiment, the subscription data of the terminal device may include PDU session policy control subscription information as described in clause 6.2.1.3 of 3GPP TS 23.503 V18.0.0.

[0134] The gateway's subscription data may include any suitable information that can be used to determine policy decisions for PDU sessions with end devices. For example, the gateway's subscription data may include information indicating a user relationship between the end device and the gateway. The gateway's subscription data may include information indicating which end devices have partial rights to use the gateway's services and which end devices have full rights to use the gateway's services.

[0135] In an embodiment, the subscription data of the gateway may include PDU session policy control subscription information as described in 3GPP TS 23.503 V18.0.0 clause 6.2.1.3.

[0136] In an embodiment, the subscription data of the terminal device may include first information, where the first information indicates the user type of the gateway to which the terminal device belongs. The first information may be any suitable information, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0137] In an embodiment, the subscription data of the gateway may include second information, where the second information indicates the user type of the gateway to which the terminal device belongs. The second information may be any suitable information, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0138] The user type of the gateway may be any suitable user type, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In an embodiment, the user type of the gateway may include at least one of a home user, a guest user, a subscription user, or a non-subscription user.

[0139] In an embodiment, a specific user type of the gateway may correspond to a specific differentiated service or policy.

[0140] In an embodiment, when both the first information and the second information include an identification of the gateway, it may indicate that the terminal device belongs to a specific user type of the gateway, such as a home user.

[0141] In an embodiment, when the first information and the second information do not include the same gateway identifier, it may indicate that the terminal device belongs to another specific user type of the gateway, such as a guest user.

[0142] The identification of the gateway may be any suitable identification, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In an embodiment, the identification of the gateway includes a family identification (family ID).

[0143] For example, when both the first information and the second information include the same gateway's home ID, the terminal device can be determined as a home user of the gateway and can obtain differentiated services, such as high-quality QoS and / or lower fees. When the first information does not include the gateway's home ID, and the second information includes the gateway's home ID, the terminal device can be determined as a guest user of the gateway and can obtain differentiated services, such as lower QoS and / or higher fees.

[0144] In an embodiment, the subscription identifier (eg, SUPI) of the gateway may be connected with the identity of the gateway. For example, the subscription identifier (eg, SUPI) of the gateway may be used to retrieve subscription data of the gateway.

[0145] Figure 5a A flowchart of a method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. The method can be performed by an apparatus implemented in a policy control node, or an apparatus implemented at a policy control node, or an apparatus implemented as a policy control node, or an apparatus communicatively coupled to a policy control node. Therefore, the apparatus can provide components or modules for implementing various parts of method 500, as well as components or modules for implementing other processes in combination with other components. For the sake of brevity, the description of some parts that have been described in the above embodiments is omitted here.

[0146] At block 502 , a policy control node may receive a policy creation request including information about a PDU session of a terminal device from a session management node.

[0147] In an embodiment, the terminal device is connected to the network node via a gateway.

[0148] In an embodiment, the gateway comprises at least one of a fifth generation residential gateway or a fixed network residential gateway.

[0149] In an embodiment, the network node comprises at least one of an interworking function or a trusted network gateway function.

[0150] The policy control node may be any suitable network node capable of providing policy control functionality. In an embodiment, the policy control node may be a PCF.

[0151] The session management node may be any suitable network node capable of providing session management functionality. In an embodiment, the session management node may be an SMF.

[0152] The policy creation request may be any suitable policy creation request. For example, the policy creation request may be used to request the creation of a session management policy association and provide relevant parameters about the PDU session to a policy control node (e.g., PCF). In an embodiment, the policy creation request may be an Npcf_SMPolicyControl_Create request as described in 3GPP TS 23.502 V17.5.0.

[0153] In an embodiment, the policy creation request may include an Internet Protocol address of a gateway (eg, PDU) session assigned to the end user.

[0154] The policy creation request may further include any other suitable information, such as the inputs described in 3GPP TS 23.502 V17.5.0, clause 5.2.5.4.2. In an embodiment, the policy creation request may further include a data network name (DNN) and / or single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI). The S-NSSAI may be the same as the S-NSSAI described in 3GPP TS 23.502 V17.5.0. In an embodiment, the policy creation request may further include a subscription identifier (e.g., SUPI) of the gateway.

[0155] Information about the PDU session of the terminal device may include any suitable information, such as user location information (such as UE local IP address, cell information, tracking area identifier, etc.), subscription identifier of the terminal device (such as SUPI), DNN, S-NSSAI, etc.

[0156] In an embodiment, the UE local IP address is the IP address assigned to the PDU session of the gateway.

[0157] In an embodiment, Figure 4 In block 402 , after the terminal device sends a PDU session establishment request to the network node via the gateway, the policy control node may receive a policy creation request from the session management node.

[0158] At block 504 , the policy control node may obtain subscription data of the terminal device and / or subscription data of the gateway.

[0159] The policy control node can obtain the terminal device's subscription data and / or the gateway's subscription data in various ways. For example, if the policy control node has previously obtained and stored the terminal device's subscription data and / or the gateway's subscription data, the policy control node can obtain such information locally. The policy control node can also obtain the terminal device's subscription data and / or the gateway's subscription data from a network node that stores the terminal device's subscription data and / or the gateway's subscription data.

[0160] In an embodiment, the subscription data of the terminal device may include first information indicating a user type of the gateway to which the terminal device belongs.

[0161] In an embodiment, the subscription data of the gateway may include second information, where the second information indicates the user type of the gateway to which the terminal device belongs.

[0162] In an embodiment, the user type of the gateway may include at least one of a home user, a guest user, a subscribing user, or a non-subscribing user.

[0163] In an embodiment, when both the first information and the second information include an identification of the gateway, it indicates that the terminal device belongs to a specific user type of the gateway.

[0164] In an embodiment, the identification of the gateway comprises a home identification.

[0165] In an embodiment, the subscription identifier of the gateway is concatenated with the identification of the gateway.

[0166] At block 506 , the policy control node may make a policy decision for the PDU session of the terminal device based on the subscription data of the terminal device and / or the subscription data of the gateway.

[0167] The policy control node may make policy decisions for the PDU session of the terminal device based on any suitable information in the subscription data of the terminal device and / or the subscription data of the gateway.

[0168] In an embodiment, the policy control node may determine the user type of the gateway to which the terminal device belongs based on the subscription data of the terminal device and / or the subscription data of the gateway. The policy control node may then make a policy decision for the PDU session of the terminal device based on the user type of the gateway to which the terminal device belongs.

[0169] In an embodiment, the policy decisions for PDU sessions of different users of the gateway may be different. For example, the policy decisions for PDU sessions of home users (or subscribing users) of the gateway may include high-quality QoS, lower fees, greater bandwidth, more usage time, etc. The policy decisions for PDU sessions of guest users (or non-subscribing users) of the gateway may include lower QoS, higher fees, lower bandwidth, less usage time, etc.

[0170] For example, policy decisions may be based on the following considerations:

[0171] - If the subscription data of the terminal device and the subscription data of the gateway contain the same family ID, the policy control node may consider the terminal device to be a "family" user of the gateway.

[0172] - If the subscription data of the terminal device does not contain a family ID, and the subscription data of the gateway contains a family ID, the policy control node may consider the terminal device to be a "guest" user of the gateway.

[0173] A policy decision may, for example, select different QoS and charging parameters for "home" users and "guest" users.

[0174] The above considerations for policy decisions are merely examples, and actual policy decisions may be based on operator configuration.

[0175] At block 508 , the policy control node may send a policy creation response including policy information for the PDU session to the session management node.

[0176] The policy information for a PDU session may be similar to the PDU session-related policy information as described in 3GPP TS 23.503 V18.0.0, clause 6.4, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0177] The policy creation response may be any suitable policy creation response. In an embodiment, the policy creation request may be an Npcf_SMPolicyControl_Create response as described in 3GPP TS 23.502 V17.5.0.

[0178] The Policy Create Response may also include any other suitable information, such as the output described in 3GPP TS 23.502 V17.5.0, clause 5.2.5.4.2.

[0179] Figure 5b A flowchart of a method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. The method can be performed by an apparatus implemented in a policy control node, or an apparatus implemented at a policy control node, or an apparatus implemented as a policy control node, or an apparatus communicatively coupled to a policy control node. Therefore, the apparatus can provide components or modules for implementing various parts of method 510, as well as components or modules for implementing other processes in combination with other components. For the sake of brevity, the description of some parts already described in the above embodiments is omitted here.

[0180] At block 512, the policy control node may obtain information about the gateway.

[0181] The information about the gateway may include any suitable information. For example, the information about the gateway may include information about a PDU session of the gateway.

[0182] In an embodiment, the information about the gateway may include at least one of the following: a subscription permanent identifier of the gateway, a data network name, an Internet Protocol address of a PDU session of the gateway, or single network slice selection assistance information. The single network slice selection assistance information may be the same as the single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI) described in 3GPP TS 23.502 V17.5.0.

[0183] The policy control node can obtain information about the gateway in a variety of ways. For example, if the policy control node has previously obtained and stored information about the gateway, the policy control node can obtain information about the gateway locally. When the gateway's PDU session data (for example, including the PDU session IP address, the gateway's SUPI, DNN, S-NSSAI, etc.) has been registered in another network node (such as BSF), the policy control node can obtain information about the gateway from the other network node. In addition, the policy control node can also obtain information about the gateway from the gateway.

[0184] Figure 5c A flowchart of a method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. The method can be performed by an apparatus implemented in a policy control node, or an apparatus implemented at a policy control node, or an apparatus implemented as a policy control node, or an apparatus communicatively coupled to a policy control node. Therefore, the apparatus can provide components or modules for implementing various parts of method 520, as well as components or modules for implementing other processes in combination with other components. For the sake of brevity, the description of some parts already described in the above embodiments is omitted here.

[0185] In an embodiment, the gateway's PDU session has been registered in the binding support function. For example, the gateway's policy control node can register the gateway's PDU session data (e.g., including the PDU session IP address, the gateway's SUPI, DNN, S-NSSAI, etc.) in the BSF.

[0186] At block 522, the policy control node may send a discovery request including the internet protocol address of the gateway's session to the binding support function. For example, the policy control node may receive the UE local IP address (received in the ULI). The UE local IP address is the IP address assigned to the gateway's PDU session.

[0187] At block 524 , the policy control node may receive a discovery response from the binding support function that includes information about the gateway.

[0188] Figure 5dA flowchart of a method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. This method can be performed by an apparatus implemented in a policy control node, an apparatus implemented at a policy control node, an apparatus implemented as a policy control node, or an apparatus communicatively coupled to a policy control node. Therefore, the apparatus can provide components or modules for implementing various parts of method 530, as well as components or modules for implementing other processes in conjunction with other components. For the sake of brevity, descriptions of some parts already described in the above embodiments are omitted here.

[0189] At block 532 , the policy control node may send a first request including a subscription identifier of the terminal device to the data repository node.

[0190] The data repository node may be any suitable network node capable of storing subscription data, such as subscription data of an end device and / or subscription data of a gateway.

[0191] In an embodiment, the data repository node may be a unified data repository (UDR) or UDM as described in 3GPP TS 23.5012 V17.5.0.

[0192] The first request may also include any other suitable information. In an embodiment, the first request may also include a data network name (DNN) and / or single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI). For example, the policy control node may retrieve PDU session policy control subscription data for the terminal device for the DNN and S-NSSAI.

[0193] At block 534 , the policy control node may receive a first response from the data repository node including subscription data for the terminal device.

[0194] Figure 5e A flowchart of a method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. The method can be performed by an apparatus implemented in a policy control node, or an apparatus implemented at a policy control node, or an apparatus implemented as a policy control node, or an apparatus communicatively coupled to a policy control node. Therefore, the apparatus can provide components or modules for implementing various parts of method 540, as well as components or modules for implementing other processes in combination with other components. For the sake of brevity, the description of some parts that have been described in the above embodiments is omitted here.

[0195] At block 542 , the policy control node may send a second request including the subscription identifier of the gateway to the data repository node.

[0196] In an embodiment, the data repository node may be a unified data repository (UDR) or UDM as described in 3GPP TS 23.5012 V17.5.0.

[0197] The second request may also include any other suitable information. In an embodiment, the second request may also include a data network name (DNN) and / or single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI). For example, the policy control node may retrieve PDU session policy control subscription data for the gateway for the DNN and S-NSSAI.

[0198] At block 544 , the policy control node may receive a second response from the data repository node including the subscription data of the gateway.

[0199] In an embodiment, the first request and the second request may be a single request, and the first response and the second response may be a single response. For example, the policy control node may send a single request to obtain subscription data of the terminal device and / or subscription data of the gateway.

[0200] Figure 5f A flowchart of a method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. The method can be performed by an apparatus implemented in a policy control node, or an apparatus implemented at a policy control node, or an apparatus implemented as a policy control node, or an apparatus communicatively coupled to a policy control node. Therefore, the apparatus can provide components or modules for implementing various parts of method 550, as well as components or modules for implementing other processes in combination with other components. For the sake of brevity, the description of some parts already described in the above embodiments is omitted here.

[0201] At block 552 , the policy control node may determine a user type of the gateway to which the terminal device belongs based on subscription data of the terminal device and / or subscription data of the gateway.

[0202] For example, the policy control node can check whether the terminal device belongs to the gateway's home group by comparing one or more home IDs in the terminal device's subscription data with the gateway's subscription data. If at least one home ID in the terminal device's subscription data and the gateway's subscription data is the same, the terminal device is considered a home user.

[0203] At block 554 , the policy control node may make a policy decision for the PDU session of the terminal device based on the user type of the gateway to which the terminal device belongs.

[0204] For example, a specific user type of the gateway can obtain specific policy and / or charging control related information. For example, a home user can obtain high-quality QoS and / or lower fees.

[0205] Figure 6aA flow chart of a method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown, which can be performed by an apparatus implemented in a data repository node, or an apparatus implemented at a data repository node, or an apparatus implemented as a data repository node, or an apparatus communicatively coupled to a data repository node. Thus, the apparatus can provide components or modules for implementing various parts of method 600, as well as components or modules for implementing other processes in conjunction with other components. For the sake of brevity, the description of some parts that have been described in the above embodiments is omitted here.

[0206] At block 602 , a data repository node may receive a request from a policy control node to obtain subscription data of an end device and / or subscription data of a gateway.

[0207] In an embodiment, the request may be two requests, for example, a first request for obtaining subscription data of the terminal device and a second request for obtaining subscription data of the gateway.

[0208] At block 604 , the data repository node may send a response including the subscription data of the terminal device and / or the subscription data of the gateway to the policy control node.

[0209] In an embodiment, the response may be two responses, for example, a first response including subscription data of the terminal device and a second response including subscription data of the gateway.

[0210] In an embodiment, the terminal device is connected to the network node via a gateway.

[0211] In an embodiment, a policy decision for a PDU session of a terminal device is made based on subscription data of the terminal device and / or subscription data of a gateway.

[0212] In an embodiment, the subscription data of the terminal device includes first information indicating a user type of the gateway to which the terminal device belongs.

[0213] In an embodiment, the subscription data of the gateway includes second information indicating a user type of the gateway to which the terminal device belongs.

[0214] In an embodiment, the user type of the gateway includes at least one of a home user, a guest user, a subscribing user, or a non-subscribing user.

[0215] In an embodiment, when both the first information and the second information include an identification of the gateway, it indicates that the terminal device belongs to a specific user type of the gateway.

[0216] In an embodiment, the identification of the gateway comprises a home identification.

[0217] In an embodiment, the subscription identifier of the gateway is concatenated with the identification of the gateway.

[0218] In an embodiment, the gateway comprises at least one of a fifth generation residential gateway or a fixed network residential gateway.

[0219] In an embodiment, the network node comprises at least one of an interworking function or a trusted network gateway function.

[0220] In an embodiment, the request includes at least one of a subscription identifier of the terminal device, a subscription identifier of the gateway, a data network name, or single network slice selection assistance information.

[0221] In an embodiment, the problem is how to distinguish different types of UEs behind a gateway, such as home UEs and visitor UEs, through an overlay network. For example, home UEs are associated with the gateway (e.g., 5G-RG / FN-RG) through which they connect, and they may require different policy and / or charging control related information than visitor UEs.

[0222] In an embodiment, a proposed method for distinguishing different types of UEs (e.g., home UEs and visitor UEs) involves assigning a new parameter (e.g., "home ID") to each gateway (e.g., 5G-RG / FN-RG). For example, the new parameter (e.g., "home ID") can be stored in the policy subscription data of the gateway (e.g., 5G-RG / FN-RG). The same new parameter (e.g., "home ID") is also assigned to each associated UE (e.g., "home" UE) and stored in the policy subscription data of these UEs.

[0223] In an embodiment, when the UE establishes a PDU session, the UE's policy control node may determine the subscription identifier (e.g., SUPI) of the gateway (e.g., 5G-RG / FN-RG) through which the UE is connected, and check whether the UE and the gateway (e.g., 5G-RG / FN-RG) have the same new parameter (e.g., "family ID") in their corresponding policy subscription data. If they share the same new parameter (e.g., "family ID"), they are considered to belong to the same group / family, otherwise the UE may be treated as another type of UE (e.g., visitor UE).

[0224] In an embodiment, in order to query the data repository node (e.g., UDR) for new parameters (e.g., Family ID) of the gateway (e.g., 5G-RG / FN-RG), the UE's policy control node needs to obtain the subscription identifier (e.g., SUPI) of the gateway (e.g., 5G-RG / FN-RG). In the proposed method, this can be achieved by querying the BSF using the PDU session IP address of the gateway (e.g., 5G-RG / FN-RG), which is available to the policy control node (e.g., PCF) as part of the User Location Information (ULI).

[0225] In an embodiment, a new method is provided to differentiate between home users and guest users for UEs behind a gateway (e.g., 5G-RG / FN-RG).

[0226] In an embodiment, a new parameter (eg, Family ID) stored in the PDU session policy subscription data is provided. A more general name may also be considered to cover non-residential use cases as well.

[0227] In an embodiment, a new method and signaling steps are provided to obtain the subscription identifier (e.g., SUPI) of the gateway (e.g., 5G-RG / FN-RG) using the ULI and BSF through the UE's policy control node.

[0228] In an embodiment, the proposed solution can be used Figure 1-2 The architecture shown in . It is assumed that the PCF of the 5G-RG / FN-RG registers the PDU session parameters of the 5G-RG / FN-RG in the BSF, including SUPI, DNN, S-NSSAI and the IP address of the 5G-RG. During the PDU session establishment of the UE, the IP address of the 5G-RG PDU session will be available to the PCF of the UE as the UE local IP address in the ULI.

[0229] Some embodiments are used to differentiate between home users and guest users.There may also be related use cases, for example in commercial environments such as stores or coffee shops, where the services provided to employees and customers should be differentiated.

[0230] In an embodiment, the 5G-RG / FN-RG and all its subscribed UEs include parameters (e.g., Family ID) to their PDU Session Policy Control subscription information in the UDR. For example, if the UE is a member of multiple families / groups, the PDU Session Policy Control subscription information may include more than one Family ID.

[0231] In an embodiment, during the UE's PDU session establishment process, the UE's PCF obtains the session IP address of the 5G-RG / FN-RG (i.e., the UE local IP address) as part of the ULI.

[0232] In an embodiment, the UE's PCF uses the UE's local IP address to discover the BSF that stores the 5G-RG / FN-RG PDU session information, and then queries the BSF via the IP address of the 5G-RG / FN-RG to obtain the SUPI, DNN and S-NSSAI of the 5G-RG / FN-RG.

[0233] In an embodiment, the PCF for a PDU session uses SUPI, DNN, and S-NSSAI to obtain new parameters (e.g., Family ID) from the UDR. Only when the UE and 5G-RG / FN-RG share the same new parameters (e.g., Family ID) is the UE considered a specific user (e.g., a family user).

[0234] Figure 6b A flowchart of PDU session establishment according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0235] Step a. Registration of RG.

[0236] Step b. RG's PDU session is established.

[0237] Step c. The PCF may perform an Nbsf_Management_Register service operation to register the PDU session data (eg, SUPI, IP address, DNN, S-NSSAI) of the RG in the BSF.

[0238] Steps ac may be based on existing 3GPP specifications, such as 3GPP TS 23.502 V17.5.0, 3GPP TR 23.700-17 V1.1.1, and 3GPP TS 23.316 V18.0.0.

[0239] Step 1. UE sends PDU session establishment to N3IWF via 5G-RG.

[0240] Step 2. N3IWF sends N2 message (ULI [UE local IP address], PDU session establishment message, ...) to the UE's AMF.

[0241] Step 3. The UE's AMF sends Nsmf_PDUSession_CreateSMContext(SUPI, ULI, PDU session establishment, ...) to the UE's SMF.

[0242] Step 4. The UE's SMF sends a Npcf_SMPolicyControl_Create request (SUPI, ULI, ...) to the UE's PCF.

[0243] Steps 1-4 may be based on existing 3GPP specifications, such as 3GPP TS 23.502 V17.5.0, 3GPP TR 23.700-17 V1.1.1, and 3GPP TS 23.316 V18.0.0.

[0244] Step 5a. The UE's PCF sends an Nbsf_Management_Discovery request (UE local IP address) to the BSF.

[0245] Step 5b. The BSF sends an Nbsf_Management_Discovery response (e.g., RG's SUPI, IP address, DNN, S-NSSAI) to the UE's PCF.

[0246] For example, the UE's PCF can use the UE's local IP address (received in the ULI) to query the BSF to retrieve the RG's PDU session data (e.g., RG's SUPI, IP address, DNN, S-NSSAI). This is possible because the UE's local IP address is the IP address assigned to the RG's PDU session and is therefore registered in the BSF in step c. This step can be based on existing BSF services. Note that according to existing 3GPP specifications, the PCF does not perform this action.

[0247] Step 6a. The UE's PCF sends a Get Policy Subscription Data Request (UE's SUPI) to the UDR.

[0248] Step 6b. The UE's PCF receives the UE's policy subscription data (eg, Family ID, ...) from the UDR.

[0249] Step 7a. The PCF of the UE sends a Get Policy Subscription Data Request (SUPI of the RG) to the UDR.

[0250] Step 7b. The UE's PCF receives the RG's policy subscription data (eg, Family ID, ...) from the UDR.

[0251] For example, the UE's PCF can retrieve PDU session policy control subscription data for the UE and 5G-RG, for example, for the same DNN and / or S-NSSAI. The PDU session policy control subscription data can contain one or more "family IDs" per subscriber. Note that according to existing 3GPP specifications, the PCF does not retrieve the RG's subscription data during the UE's PDU session establishment process.

[0252] Step 8: The UE's PCF checks whether the UE belongs to the RG's family group by comparing one or more family IDs in their PDU Session Policy Control Subscription Data.

[0253] Step 9: The UE's PCF makes a policy decision. As determined in step 8, if at least one of the family IDs in the UE and 5G-RG subscription data is the same, the UE is considered a "home user" and can, for example, obtain differentiated services, such as superior QoS and / or lower costs.

[0254] Table 6.2-2 of 3GPP TS 23.503 V18.0.0 may be modified as follows: A new information name (e.g., Home ID) may be added to Table 6.2-2. Note that any other suitable name may also be considered, e.g., to also cover non-residential use cases. Table 6.2-2: PDU session policy control subscription information

[0255] Figure 7 700 is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus suitable for practicing some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, any of the above-mentioned policy control nodes, data repository nodes, or terminal devices can be implemented as apparatus 700 or by apparatus 700.

[0256] The apparatus 700 includes at least one processor 721, such as a digital processor (DP), and at least one memory (MEM) 722 coupled to the processor 721. The apparatus 700 may further include a transmitter TX and a receiver RX 723 coupled to the processor 721. The MEM 722 stores a program (PROG) 724. The PROG 724 may include instructions that, when executed on the associated processor 721, enable the apparatus 700 to operate in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. The combination of the at least one processor 721 and the at least one MEM 722 may form a processing device 725 suitable for implementing various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0257] Various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by a computer program that may be executed by one or more of the processor 721 , software, firmware, hardware, or a combination thereof.

[0258] The MEM 722 may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology such as semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory, as non-limiting examples.

[0259] Processor 721 may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment, and may include one or more of a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture, as non-limiting examples.

[0260] In embodiments where the apparatus is implemented as or at a policy control node, the memory 722 stores instructions executable by the processor 721 whereby the policy control node operates according to any of the methods described above in relation to policy control nodes.

[0261] In embodiments where the apparatus is implemented as or at a data repository node, the memory 722 stores instructions executable by the processor 721 whereby the data repository node operates according to any of the methods described above in relation to data repository nodes.

[0262] In an embodiment where the apparatus is implemented as or at a terminal device, the memory 722 stores instructions that can be executed by the processor 721 , whereby the terminal device operates according to any method related to terminal devices as described above.

[0263] Figure 8a is a block diagram illustrating a policy control node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in the figure, the policy control node 800 includes a receiving module 801, which is configured to receive a policy creation request including information about a protocol data unit (PDU) session of a terminal device from a session management node. The terminal device is connected to the network node via a gateway. The policy control node 800 may further include a first obtaining module 802, which is configured to obtain subscription data of the terminal device and / or subscription data of the gateway. The policy control node 800 may further include a making module 803, which is configured to make a policy decision for the PDU session of the terminal device based on the subscription data of the terminal device and / or subscription data of the gateway. The policy control node 800 may further include a sending module 804, which is configured to send a policy creation response including policy information for the PDU session to the session management node.

[0264] In an embodiment, the policy control node 800 may further include a second obtaining module 805 configured to obtain information about a gateway.

[0265] Figure 8b A block diagram of a data repository node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. As shown, the data repository node 850 includes a receiving module 851, which is configured to receive a request for obtaining subscription data of a terminal device and / or subscription data of a gateway from a policy control node. The data repository node 850 may further include a sending module 852, which is configured to send a response including the subscription data of the terminal device and / or subscription data of the gateway to the policy control node. The terminal device is connected to the network node via the gateway. Policy decisions for the PDU session of the terminal device are made based on the subscription data of the terminal device and / or subscription data of the gateway.

[0266] Figure 9This is a block diagram illustrating a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown, the terminal device 900 includes a sending module 901 configured to send a PDU session establishment request to a network node via a gateway. Policy decisions regarding the PDU session for the terminal device are made based on the terminal device's subscription data and / or the gateway's subscription data.

[0267] The embodiments herein provide many advantages, the following is a non-exhaustive list of examples of the advantages. In some embodiments herein, the proposed solution enables differentiated services for different types of devices (e.g., home UEs and visitor UEs) behind a gateway. In some embodiments herein, the proposed solution has minimal impact on the network (e.g., 5GC and 5G-RG), for example, a data repository node (e.g., UDR) is affected to add new parameters (e.g., home ID) to the policy subscription data. In some embodiments herein, the proposed solution enables a policy control node (e.g., PCF) to compare the subscription data of the gateway and the subscription data of the UE to determine the user type of the gateway to which the terminal device belongs, for example, whether they belong to the same family / group. In some embodiments herein, the proposed solution can be used for both untrusted non-3GPP access scenarios and trusted non-3GPP access scenarios. The embodiments herein are not limited to the above-mentioned features and advantages. Those skilled in the art will recognize additional features and advantages after reading the following detailed description.

[0268] The term unit or module may have a conventional meaning in the field of electronic devices, electrical equipment and / or electronic equipment, and may include, for example, electrical and / or electronic circuits, devices, modules, processors, memories, logic solid-state and / or discrete devices, computer programs or instructions for performing corresponding tasks, processes, calculations, output and / or display functions, etc., such as those described herein.

[0269] By using functional units, policy control nodes, data storage nodes, or terminal devices no longer require fixed processors or memory. Any computing and storage resources can be deployed from policy control nodes, data storage nodes, or terminal devices in the communication system. The introduction of virtualization and network computing technologies can improve the efficiency of network resource utilization and network flexibility.

[0270] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a computer program product is provided, which is tangibly stored on a computer-readable storage medium and includes instructions. When the instructions are executed on at least one processor, the instructions cause the at least one processor to perform any of the above methods.

[0271] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores instructions. When the instructions are executed on at least one processor, the instructions enable the at least one processor to perform any of the above methods.

[0272] Furthermore, an exemplary overall communication system including terminal devices and network nodes will be introduced below.

[0273] Furthermore, an exemplary overall communication system including terminal devices and network nodes will be introduced below.

[0274] Figure 10 An example of a communication system QQ 100 is shown in accordance with some embodiments.

[0275] In this example, communication system QQ100 includes a telecommunications network QQ102, which includes an access network QQ104 (e.g., a radio access network (RAN)) and a core network QQ106, which includes one or more core network nodes QQ108. Access network QQ104 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes QQ110a and QQ110b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network node QQ110), or any other similar third generation partnership project (3GPP) access node or non-3GPP access point. Network node QQ110 facilitates direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as connecting UE QQ112a, QQ112b, QQ112c, and QQ112d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UE QQ112) to core network QQ106 via one or more wireless connections.

[0276] Example wireless communications over wireless connections include sending and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Additionally, in various embodiments, the communication system QQ100 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that can facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals, whether via a wired or wireless connection. The communication system QQ100 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar types of systems.

[0277] UE QQ 112 may be any of a variety of communication devices, including wireless devices that are arranged, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network node QQ 110 and other communication devices. Similarly, network node QQ 110 is arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with UE QQ 112 and / or with other network nodes or devices in telecommunication network QQ 102 to enable and / or provide network access (e.g., wireless network access) and / or perform other functions (e.g., management in telecommunication network QQ 102).

[0278] In the depicted example, core network QQ 106 connects network node QQ 110 to one or more hosts (e.g., host QQ 116). These connections can be direct or indirect via one or more intermediate networks or devices. In other examples, the network node can be directly coupled to the host. Core network QQ 106 includes one or more core network nodes (e.g., core network node QQ 108), which are composed of hardware and software components. The features of these components can be substantially similar to those described for the UE, network nodes, and / or hosts, so that the description generally applies to the corresponding components of core network node QQ 108. Example core network nodes include one or more of the following: a mobile switching center (MSC), a mobility management entity (MME), a home subscriber server (HSS), an access and mobility management function (AMF), a session management function (SMF), an authentication server function (AUSF), a subscription identifier dehiding function (SIDF), a unified data management (UDM), a security edge protection proxy (SEPP), a network exposure function (NEF), and / or a user plane function (UPF).

[0279] The host QQ 116 may be owned or controlled by a service provider other than the operator or provider of the access network QQ 104 and / or the telecommunications network QQ 102, and may be operated by or on behalf of the service provider. The host QQ 116 may host various applications to provide one or more services. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services (e.g., retrieving and compiling data on various environmental conditions detected by multiple UEs), analytics functions, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and monitoring center, or any other such functions performed by a server.

[0280] Overall, Figure 10The communication system QQ100 enables connectivity between UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In this sense, the communication system QQ100 can be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards, including but not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE) and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standards (e.g., 6G); Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard (WiFi); and / or any other suitable wireless communication standards, such as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) standards, such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[0281] In some examples, telecommunication network QQ 102 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Therefore, telecommunication network QQ 102 can support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices connected to telecommunication network QQ 102. For example, telecommunication network QQ 102 can provide ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) services to some UEs while providing enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or provide massive machine type communication (mMTC) / massive IoT services to more UEs.

[0282] In some examples, the UE QQ 112 is configured to send and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For example, the UE can be designed to transmit information to the access network QQ 104 according to a predetermined timeline, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to a request from the access network QQ 104. In addition, the UE can be configured to operate in a single or multi-RAT or multi-standard mode. For example, the UE can operate using any one or a combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio), and LTE, i.e., be configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio-Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0283] In this example, hub QQ 114 communicates with access network QQ 104 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE QQ 112c and / or QQ 112d) and a network node (e.g., network node QQ 110b). In some examples, hub QQ 114 can be a controller, a router, a content source and analyzer, or any other communication device described herein with respect to a UE. For example, hub QQ 114 can be a broadband router that enables a UE to access core network QQ 106. As another example, hub QQ 114 can be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in a UE. The commands or instructions can be received from a UE, network node QQ 110, or by executable code, scripts, processes, or other instructions in hub QQ 114. As another example, hub QQ 114 can be a data collector that acts as a temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, can perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, hub QQ 114 can be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, speaker, or other media delivery device, the hub QQ 114 can retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, and then the hub QQ 114 provides it to the UE directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In another example, the hub QQ 114 acts as a proxy server or coordinator for the UE, especially when one or more of the UEs are low-energy IoT devices.

[0284] Hub QQ 114 can have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection with network node QQ 110b. Hub QQ 114 can also allow for different communication schemes and / or schedules between hub QQ 114 and UEs (e.g., UE QQ 112c and / or QQ 112d) and between hub QQ 114 and core network QQ 106. In other examples, hub QQ 114 is connected to core network QQ 106 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Furthermore, hub QQ 114 can be configured to connect to an M2M service provider via access network QQ 104 and / or to another UE via a direct connection. In certain scenarios, a UE can establish a wireless connection with network node QQ 110 while still being connected via hub QQ 114 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, hub QQ 114 can be a dedicated hub, i.e., a hub whose primary function is to route communications from a UE to network node QQ 110b and / or from network node QQ 110b to a UE. In other embodiments, hub QQ 114 may be a non-dedicated hub, ie, a device operable to route communications between UEs and network node QQ 110b, but which is additionally operable as a communications origin and / or endpoint for certain data channels.

[0285] Figure 11 is a block diagram of a host QQ 400 according to various aspects described herein, which may be Figure 10 As used herein, host QQ 400 may be or include a combination of various hardware and / or software, including processing resources in a standalone server, blade server, cloud-enabled server, distributed server, virtual machine, container, or server farm. Host QQ 400 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

[0286] Host QQ400 includes processing circuitry QQ402, which is operatively coupled to input / output interface QQ406, network interface QQ408, power supply QQ410, and memory QQ412 via bus QQ404. Other components may be included in other embodiments. The features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the terminal devices in the previous figures (e.g., Figures QQ2 and QQ3), so that their descriptions generally apply to the corresponding components of host QQ400.

[0287] Memory QQ412 can store one or more computer programs (including one or more host applications QQ414) and data QQ416, which can include user data, such as data generated by a UE for host QQ400 or data generated by host QQ400 for a UE. Embodiments of host QQ400 may utilize only a subset of the components shown or all of them. Host application QQ414 can be implemented in a container-based architecture and can provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding (VVC), High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), Advanced Video Coding (AVC), MPEG, VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., FLAC, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MPEG, G.711), including transcoding for a variety of different classes, types, or implementations of UE (e.g., mobile phones, desktop computers, wearable display systems, heads-up display systems). Host application QQ414 can also provide user authentication and permission checks and can periodically report health, routing, and content availability to a central node (e.g., a device in the core network or on the edge). Thus, the host QQ 400 can select and / or indicate different hosts for over-the-top services for the UE. The host application QQ 414 can support various protocols, such as HTTP Live Streaming (HLS), Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (MPEG-DASH), etc.

[0288] Figure 12 A communication diagram is shown in which a host QQ 602 communicates with a UE QQ 606 via a network node QQ 604 over a partially wireless connection according to some embodiments. Figure 12 To describe the UE discussed in the previous paragraphs (e.g. Figure 10 UE QQ112a of FIG. QQ2 and / or UE QQ200 of FIG. QQ2), a network node (eg Figure 10 and / or network node QQ300 of FIG. QQ3) and a host (e.g., Figure 10 Host QQ116 and / or Figure 11 An example implementation of the host QQ400).

[0289] As with host QQ 400, embodiments of host QQ 602 include hardware, such as a communication interface, processing circuitry, and memory. Host QQ 602 also includes software, which is stored in or accessible by host QQ 602 and executed by the processing circuitry. The software includes a host application that is operable to provide services to a remote user, such as a UE QQ 606 connected via an over-the-top (OTT) connection QQ 650 extending between the UE QQ 606 and the host QQ 602. In providing services to the remote user, the host application can provide user data transmitted using the OTT connection QQ 650.

[0290] The network node QQ 604 includes hardware that enables the network node QQ 604 to communicate with the host QQ 602 and the UE QQ 606. The connection QQ 660 can be direct or through a core network (such as Figure 10 The core network QQ106) and / or one or more other intermediate networks (e.g., one or more public, private, or managed networks). For example, the intermediate network can be a backbone network or the Internet.

[0291] UE QQ606 includes hardware and software, the software is stored in UE QQ606 or can be accessed by UE QQ606, and can be executed by the processing circuit of the UE. The software includes a client application, such as a web browser or an operator-specific "application", which is operable to provide services to human users or non-human users via UE QQ606 with the support of host QQ602. In host QQ602, the executing host application can communicate with the executing client application via an OTT connection QQ650 that terminates between UE QQ606 and host QQ602. When providing services to the user, the UE's client application can receive request data from the host application of the host and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection QQ650 can transmit both the request data and the user data. The UE's client application can interact with the user to generate user data, which is provided to the host application via the OTT connection QQ650.

[0292] The OTT connection QQ650 may extend via a connection QQ660 between the host QQ602 and the network node QQ604 and via a wireless connection QQ670 between the network node QQ604 and the UE QQ606 to provide connectivity between the host QQ602 and the UE QQ606. The connection QQ660 and the wireless connection QQ670 (via which the OTT connection QQ650 may be provided) have been drawn abstractly to illustrate communication between the host QQ602 and the UE QQ606 via the network node QQ604, without explicitly mentioning any intermediate devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices.

[0293] As an example of transmitting data via OTT connection QQ650, in step QQ608, host QQ602 provides user data, which can be performed by running a host application. In some embodiments, the user data is associated with a specific human user interacting with UE QQ606. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with UE QQ606, which shares data with host QQ602 without explicit human interaction. In step QQ610, host QQ602 initiates a transmission carrying the user data to UE QQ606. Host QQ602 may initiate the transmission in response to a request sent by UE QQ606. The request may be initiated by human interaction with UE QQ606 or by operation of a client application running on UE QQ606. In accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described in this disclosure, the transmission may be delivered via network node QQ604. Therefore, in step QQ612, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, network node QQ604 transmits the user data carried in the transmission initiated by host QQ602 to UE QQ606. In step QQ614 , UE QQ606 receives the user data carried in the transmission. This reception may be performed by a client application running on UE QQ606 , which is associated with a host application running on host QQ602 .

[0294] In some examples, UE QQ 606 runs a client application that provides user data to host QQ 602. The user data can be provided as a reaction or response to data received from host QQ 602. Therefore, in step QQ 616, UE QQ 606 can provide the user data, which can be performed by running the client application. When providing the user data, the client application can also consider user input received from the user via the input / output interface of UE QQ 606. Regardless of the specific method of providing the user data, UE QQ 606 initiates the transmission of the user data to host QQ 602 via network node QQ 604 in step QQ 618. In step QQ 620, according to the teachings of the embodiments described in the present disclosure, network node QQ 604 receives the user data from UE QQ 606 and initiates the transmission of the received user data to host QQ 602. In step QQ 622, host QQ 602 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by UE QQ 606.

[0295] One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to UE QQ606 using OTT connection QQ650, wherein wireless connection QQ670 forms the last segment. More specifically, in some embodiments herein, the proposed solution can enable differentiated services for different types of devices (e.g., home UE and visitor UE) behind the gateway. In some embodiments herein, the proposed solution has minimal impact on the network (e.g., 5GC and 5G-RG), for example, data repository nodes (e.g., UDR) are affected to add new parameters (e.g., family ID) to policy subscription data. In some embodiments herein, the proposed solution can enable a policy control node (e.g., PCF) to compare the subscription data of the gateway and the subscription data of the UE to determine the user type of the gateway to which the terminal device belongs, for example, whether they belong to the same family / group. In some embodiments herein, the proposed solution can be used for both untrusted non-3GPP access scenarios and trusted non-3GPP access scenarios. The embodiments herein are not limited to the above-mentioned features and advantages. Those skilled in the art will recognize additional features and advantages after reading the following detailed description.

[0296] In an example scenario, host QQ602 can collect and analyze plant status information. As another example, host QQ602 can process audio and video data that may have been retrieved from the UE for use in creating a map. As another example, host QQ602 can collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicle congestion (e.g., controlling traffic lights). As another example, host QQ602 can store surveillance videos uploaded by the UE. As another example, host QQ602 can store or control access to media content such as video, audio, VR, or AR that can be broadcast, multicast, or unicast to the UE. As other examples, host QQ602 can be used for energy pricing, remote control of non-time-critical power loads to balance power generation demand, location services, presentation services (compiling charts of data collected from remote devices, etc., for example), or any other function that collects, retrieves, stores, analyzes, and / or transmits data.

[0297] In some examples, a measurement process may be provided for monitoring data rate, latency, and other factors that may be improved by one or more embodiments. An optional network function may also be provided for reconfiguring the OTT connection QQ650 between the host QQ602 and the UE QQ606 in response to changes in measurement results. The measurement process and / or the network function for reconfiguring the OTT connection may be implemented in the software and hardware of the host QQ602 and / or the UE QQ606. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or associated with other devices through which the OTT connection QQ650 passes. The sensors may participate in the measurement process by providing values of the aforementioned monitored quantities or other physical quantities, from which the software may calculate or estimate the monitored quantities. Reconfiguration of the OTT connection QQ650 may include message formats, retransmission settings, preferred routing, and the like; reconfiguration does not require direct changes to the operation of the network node QQ604. Such processes and functions are known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, the measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling that facilitates the host QQ602 in measuring throughput, propagation time, latency, and the like. The measurement can be achieved by software causing a message (particularly an empty or "dummy" message) to be transmitted using the OTT connection QQ650 while monitoring propagation time, errors, etc.

[0298] Embodiment 1. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising:

[0299] processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and

[0300] A network interface configured to initiate transmission of user data to a network node in a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), the network node having a communication interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the network node being configured to perform operations as described above in relation to the network node to send user data from a host to the UE.

[0301] Embodiment 2. The host of the aforementioned embodiment, wherein:

[0302] The processing circuitry of the host is configured to run a host application that provides user data; and

[0303] The UE includes processing circuitry configured to run a client application associated with a host application to receive a transmission of user data from the host.

[0304] Embodiment 3. A method implemented in a host, the host being configured to operate in a communication system further comprising a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:

[0305] Providing user data to the UE; and

[0306] A transmission carrying user data is initiated to a UE via a cellular network including a network node, wherein the network node performs operations related to the network node as described above to send user data from a host to the UE.

[0307] Embodiment 4. The method of the aforementioned embodiment further comprises sending, at the network node, user data provided by the host for the UE.

[0308] Embodiment 5. The method of any of the previous two embodiments, wherein the user data is provided at the host by running a host application that interacts with a client application running on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

[0309] Embodiment 6. A communication system configured to provide an over-the-top service, the communication system comprising:

[0310] Host, including:

[0311] processing circuitry configured to provide user data for a user equipment (UE), the user data being associated with an over-the-top service; and

[0312] A network interface configured to initiate transmission of user data to a cellular network node for transmission to a UE, the network node having a communication interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the network node being configured to perform operations as described above in relation to the network node to transmit user data from a host to the UE.

[0313] Embodiment 7. The communication system of the above embodiment further comprises:

[0314] Network nodes; and / or

[0315] User equipment.

[0316] Embodiment 8. The communication system of the first two embodiments, wherein:

[0317] The processing circuitry of the host is configured to run a host application to provide user data; and

[0318] The host application is configured to interact with a client application running on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

[0319] Embodiment 9. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising:

[0320] processing circuitry configured to initiate receipt of user data; and

[0321] A network interface is configured to receive user data from a network node in a cellular network, the network node having a communication interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the network node being configured to perform operations related to the network node as described above to receive user data from a UE for a host.

[0322] Embodiment 10. The host in the first two embodiments, wherein:

[0323] The processing circuitry of the host is configured to run a host application to provide user data; and

[0324] The host application is configured to interact with a client application running on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

[0325] Embodiment 11. The host of any of the preceding two embodiments, wherein initiating reception of user data comprises requesting the user data.

[0326] Embodiment 12. A method implemented by a host, the host being configured to operate in a communication system further comprising a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:

[0327] At the host, reception of user data from the UE is initiated, the user data originating from a transmission that the network node has received from the UE, wherein the network node performs operations as described above with respect to the network node to receive user data from the UE for the host.

[0328] Embodiment 13. The method of the above embodiment further comprises, at the network node, sending the received user data to the host.

[0329] Embodiment 14. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising:

[0330] processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and

[0331] A network interface configured to initiate transmission of user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), wherein the UE includes a communication interface and processing circuitry, the communication interface and processing circuitry of the UE being configured to perform operations related to the terminal device as described above to receive user data from a host.

[0332] Embodiment 15. The host of the preceding embodiment, wherein the cellular network further comprises a network node configured to communicate with the UE to send user data from the host to the UE.

[0333] Embodiment 16. The host of the first two embodiments, wherein:

[0334] The processing circuitry of the host is configured to run a host application to provide user data; and

[0335] The host application is configured to interact with a client application running on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

[0336] Embodiment 17. A method implemented by a host operating in a communication system further comprising a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:

[0337] Providing user data to the UE; and

[0338] A transmission carrying user data is initiated to the UE via a cellular network including a network node, wherein the UE performs terminal device-related operations as described above to receive user data from the host.

[0339] Embodiment 18. The method of the above embodiment further comprises:

[0340] At the host, a host application is run in association with the client application running on the UE to receive user data from the UE.

[0341] Example 19. The method of the above embodiment further comprises:

[0342] At the host, input data is sent to the client application running on the UE, the input data being provided by the running host application,

[0343] The user data is provided by the client application in response to input data from the host application.

[0344] Embodiment 20. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising:

[0345] processing circuitry configured to utilize user data; and

[0346] a network interface configured to receive a transmission of user data transmitted by a user equipment (UE) to a cellular network,

[0347] The UE includes a communication interface and a processing circuit, and the communication interface and the processing circuit of the UE are configured to perform the operations related to the terminal device as described above to send user data to the host.

[0348] Embodiment 21. The host of the preceding embodiment, wherein the cellular network further comprises a network node configured to communicate with the UE to send user data from the UE to the host.

[0349] Embodiment 22. The host of the first two embodiments, wherein:

[0350] The processing circuitry of the host is configured to run a host application to provide user data; and

[0351] The host application is configured to interact with a client application running on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

[0352] Embodiment 23. A method implemented by a host, the host configured to operate in a communication system further including a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:

[0353] At the host, user data sent by the UE to the host via the network node is received, wherein the UE performs the terminal device-related operations described above to send the user data to the host:

[0354] Embodiment 24. The method of the above embodiment further comprises:

[0355] At the host, a host application is run in association with the client application running on the UE to receive user data from the UE.

[0356] Embodiment 25. The method of the above embodiment further comprises:

[0357] At the host, input data is sent to the client application running on the UE, the input data being provided by the running host application,

[0358] The user data is provided by the client application in response to input data from the host application.

[0359] In addition, the present disclosure may also provide a carrier containing the above-mentioned computer program, wherein the carrier is an electronic signal, an optical signal, a radio signal, or a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium may be, for example, an optical disc or an electronic storage device such as RAM (random access memory), ROM (read-only memory), flash memory, magnetic tape, CD-ROM, DVD, Blu-ray disc, etc.

[0360] The techniques described herein can be implemented in various ways such that a device that implements one or more functions of the corresponding device described using the embodiments includes not only prior art components, but also components for implementing one or more functions of the corresponding device described using the embodiments, and it can include separate components for each separate function, or can be configured to perform two or more functions. For example, these techniques can be implemented in hardware (one or more devices), firmware (one or more devices), software (one or more modules), or a combination thereof. For firmware or software, implementation can be accomplished by modules (e.g., processes, functions, etc.) that perform the functions described herein.

[0361] Exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to block diagrams and flow charts of methods and apparatus. It will be understood that each block of the block diagrams and flow charts, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and flow charts, respectively, can be implemented by various components comprising computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be loaded onto a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine, such that the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable data processing device create components for implementing the functions specified in the flow chart block or blocks.

[0362] In addition, although operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that the operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequence, or that all illustrated operations be performed to achieve the desired result. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although the above discussion contains several specific implementation details, these should not be interpreted as limitations on the scope of the subject matter described herein, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to a particular embodiment. Certain features described in the context of a separate embodiment may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, the various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments individually or in any suitable subcombination.

[0363] While this specification contains many specific implementation details, these should not be interpreted as limitations on the scope of any implementation or the scope of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to a particular embodiment of a particular implementation. Certain features described in this specification in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented separately in multiple embodiments or in any suitable subcombination. Furthermore, while the features described above may be described as working in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more features from the claimed combination may be deleted from the combination in some cases, and the claimed combination may be directed to subcombinations or variations of subcombinations.

[0364] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that, as technology advances, the present invention can be implemented in various ways. The above embodiments are provided to illustrate, not to limit, the present disclosure, and it should be understood that modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure, as readily understood by those skilled in the art. Such modifications and variations are considered to be within the scope of the present disclosure and the appended claims. The scope of protection of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method (500) performed by a policy control node (800), comprising: receiving (502) a policy creation request from a session management node, the policy creation request including information about a protocol data unit (PDU) session of a terminal device (900), wherein the terminal device (900) is connected to a network node via a gateway; Obtaining (504) subscription data of the terminal device (900) and / or subscription data of the gateway; making (506) a policy decision for the PDU session of the terminal device (900) based on the subscription data of the terminal device (900) and / or the subscription data of the gateway; and A policy creation response including policy information for the PDU session is sent (508) to the session management node.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The subscription data of the terminal device includes first information indicating a user type of the gateway to which the terminal device belongs, and / or The subscription data of the gateway includes second information, and the second information indicates a user type of the gateway to which the terminal device belongs.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein: The user type of the gateway includes at least one of the following: Home users, or Guest user.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, wherein: When both the first information and the second information include the identification of the gateway, it indicates that the terminal device belongs to a specific user type of the gateway.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein The identifier of the gateway includes a home identifier.

6. The method according to claim 4 or 5, wherein: The subscription identifier of the gateway is connected via the identification of the gateway.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein The gateway includes at least one of the following: Fifth generation residential gateway, or Fixed network residential gateway.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein The network node includes at least one of the following: intercommunication function, or Trusted network gateway function.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising: Information about the gateway is obtained (512).

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein: Obtaining information about the gateway further includes: sending (522) a discovery request including the internet protocol address of the session of the gateway to a binding support function; and A discovery response including the information about the gateway is received (524) from the binding support function.

11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, wherein: The information about the gateway includes at least one of the following: the subscription permanent identifier of the gateway, Data network name, the Internet Protocol address of the gateway, or Single network slice selection auxiliary information.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein The policy creation request includes an Internet Protocol address of the gateway session assigned to the end user, and / or The PDU session of the gateway has been registered in the binding support function.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein Obtaining subscription data of the terminal device (900) includes: sending (532) a first request including a subscription identifier of the terminal device (900) to a data repository node (850); and A first response including the subscription data of the terminal device (900) is received (534) from the data repository node (850).

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein The first request further includes a data network name and / or single network slice selection assistance information.

15. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein Obtaining the subscription data of the gateway includes: sending (542) a second request including the gateway's subscription identifier to a data repository node (850); and A second response including the subscription data for the gateway is received (544) from the data repository node (850).

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein The second request further includes a data network name and / or single network slice selection assistance information.

17. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein: Making a policy decision for the PDU session of the terminal device (900) based on the subscription data of the terminal device (900) and / or the subscription data of the gateway comprises: determining (552) a user type of the gateway to which the terminal device (900) belongs based on the subscription data of the terminal device (900) and / or the subscription data of the gateway; and The policy decision for the PDU session of the terminal device (900) is made (554) based on the user type of the gateway to which the terminal device (900) belongs.

18. A method (600) performed by a data repository node (850), comprising: Receiving (602) a request from a policy control node (800) for obtaining subscription data of a terminal device (900) and / or subscription data of a gateway; as well as sending (604) a response comprising the subscription data of the terminal device (900) and / or the subscription data of the gateway to the policy control node (800), wherein the terminal device (900) is connected to a network node via the gateway, The policy decision for the PDU session of the terminal device (900) is made based on the subscription data of the terminal device (900) and / or the subscription data of the gateway.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein The subscription data of the terminal device includes first information indicating a user type of the gateway to which the terminal device belongs, and / or The subscription data of the gateway includes second information, and the second information indicates a user type of the gateway to which the terminal device belongs.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein The user type of the gateway includes at least one of the following: Home users, or Guest user.

21. The method according to claim 19 or 20, wherein When both the first information and the second information include the identification of the gateway, it indicates that the terminal device belongs to a specific user type of the gateway.

22. The method according to claim 21, wherein The identifier of the gateway includes a home identifier.

23. The method according to claim 21 or 22, wherein The subscription identifier of the gateway is connected via the identification of the gateway.

24. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 23, wherein: The gateway includes at least one of the following: Fifth generation residential gateway, or Fixed network residential gateway.

25. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 24, wherein The network node includes at least one of the following: intercommunication function, or Trusted network gateway function.

26. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 25, wherein The request includes at least one of the following: a subscription identifier of the terminal device, the subscription identifier of the gateway, Data network name, or Single network slice selection auxiliary information.

27. A method (400) performed by a terminal device (900), comprising: Sending (402) a PDU session establishment request to a network node via a gateway, Wherein, the policy decision for the PDU session of the terminal device (900) is made based on the subscription data of the terminal device and / or the subscription data of the gateway.

28. The method according to claim 27, wherein The subscription data of the terminal device includes first information indicating a user type of the gateway to which the terminal device belongs, and / or The subscription data of the gateway includes second information, and the second information indicates a user type of the gateway to which the terminal device belongs.

29. The method according to claim 28, wherein The user type of the gateway includes at least one of the following: Home users, or Guest user.

30. The method according to claim 28 or 29, wherein When both the first information and the second information include the identification of the gateway, it indicates that the terminal device belongs to a specific user type of the gateway.

31. The method according to claim 30, wherein The identifier of the gateway includes a home identifier.

32. The method according to claim 30 or 31, wherein The subscription identifier of the gateway is connected via the identification of the gateway.

33. The method according to any one of claims 27 to 32, wherein: The gateway includes at least one of the following: Fifth generation residential gateway, or Fixed network residential gateway.

34. The method according to any one of claims 27 to 33, wherein: The network node includes at least one of the following: intercommunication function, or Trusted network gateway function.

35. A policy control node (700), comprising: Processor (721); as well as a memory (722) coupled to the processor (721), the memory (722) storing instructions executable by the processor (721), whereby the policy control node (700) is operable to: receiving a policy creation request from a session management node, the policy creation request including information about a protocol data unit (PDU) session of a terminal device, wherein the terminal device is connected to the network node via a gateway; Obtaining subscription data of the terminal device and / or subscription data of the gateway; making a policy decision for the PDU session of the terminal device based on the subscription data of the terminal device and / or the subscription data of the gateway; and A policy creation response including policy information for the PDU session is sent to the session management node.

36. The policy control node (700) according to claim 35, wherein: The policy control node (700) is further operable to perform the method of any one of claims 2 to 17.

37. A data storage repository node (700), comprising: Processor (721); as well as A memory (722) coupled to the processor (721), the memory (722) storing instructions executable by the processor (721), whereby the data repository node (700) is operable to: receiving a request from a policy control node for obtaining subscription data of a terminal device and / or subscription data of a gateway; as well as sending a response including the subscription data of the terminal device and / or the subscription data of the gateway to the policy control node, wherein the terminal device is connected to the network node via the gateway, The policy decision for the PDU session of the terminal device is made based on the subscription data of the terminal device and / or the subscription data of the gateway.

38. The data storage repository node (700) of claim 37, wherein: The data repository node (700) is further operable to perform the method of any one of claims 19 to 26.

39. A terminal device (700), comprising: Processor (721); as well as A memory (722) coupled to the processor (721), the memory (722) storing instructions executable by the processor (721), whereby the terminal device (700) is operable to: Send a PDU session establishment request to the network node via the gateway, The policy decision for the PDU session of the terminal device is made based on the subscription data of the terminal device and / or the subscription data of the gateway.

40. The terminal device (700) according to claim 39, wherein The terminal device (700) is further operable to perform the method of any one of claims 28 to 34.

41. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 34.

42. A computer program product comprising instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 34.

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