Method and apparatus for managing services of user equipment based on energy constraints

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a 5G or 6G communication system for supporting a higher data transmission rate. The invention provides a method and a device of a terminal. In the case where the cell prohibits access to the terminal, the terminal receives, from the base station, a message including information indicating that the cell is prohibited from accessing, where the cell prohibits access to the terminal based on the energy information, and where the terminal is capable of supporting an energy saving operation.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the management of user equipment (UE) operating within a telecommunications network, particularly with regard to controlling energy usage of the network and associated UEs. Background Art

[0002] Fifth-generation (5G) mobile communications technology defines wide frequency bands, enabling high transmission rates and new services. This technology is achievable not only in "sub-6 GHz" frequency bands such as 3.5 GHz, but also in "above 6 GHz" frequency bands, known as mmWave (millimeter waves), including 28 GHz and 39 GHz. Furthermore, consideration is being given to implementing 6G mobile communications technology in the terahertz frequency band (e.g., the 95 GHz to 3 THz band) (referred to as "beyond 5G systems") in order to achieve transmission rates fifty times faster than 5G mobile communications technology and ultra-low latency one-tenth that of 5G mobile communications technology.

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

[0004] Currently, in view of the services to be supported by 5G mobile communication technology, discussions are underway on improvements and performance enhancements to initial 5G mobile communication technology, and there is already physical layer standardization on the following technologies: V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything) for assisting autonomous vehicles in driving determination based on information about the position and status of vehicles transmitted by the vehicles and for enhancing user convenience, NR-U (New Radio Unlicensed) for enabling system operation in unlicensed bands to comply with various regulatory requirements, NR UE power saving, non-terrestrial network (NTN) as UE-satellite direct communication for providing coverage in areas where communication with terrestrial networks is unavailable, and positioning.

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

[0006] With the commercialization of 5G mobile communication systems, the already exponentially growing number of connected devices will be connected to the communication network, and accordingly, it is expected that enhanced functionality and performance of 5G mobile communication systems and the integrated operation of connected devices will become necessary. To this end, new research is planned related to the following technologies: extended reality (XR) for effectively supporting augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), mixed reality (MR), etc.; improving 5G performance and reducing 5G complexity by utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML); AI service support; metaverse service support; and drone communication.

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

[0008] Fifth-generation (5G) or New Radio (NR) mobile communications has been gathering momentum recently, driven by global activity from industry and academia regarding various candidate technologies. Candidate enablers for 5G / NR mobile communications include massive antenna technologies extending from traditional cellular frequency bands up to high frequencies to provide beamforming gain and support increased capacity, new waveforms (e.g., new radio access technologies (RATs)) to flexibly accommodate a variety of services / applications with varying requirements, and new multiple access schemes to support massive connectivity. Summary of the Invention

[0009] Technical issues

[0010] According to the development of communication systems and the need for energy saving, it is necessary to manage UE services based on energy constraints.

[0011] The technical subject matter pursued in the present disclosure may not be limited to the above-mentioned technical subject matter, and other technical subject matter not mentioned may be clearly understood by those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains through the following description.

[0012] Technical Solution

[0013] A method performed by a base station in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:

[0014] Identifying whether a cell is a Network Energy Saving (NES) cell; and if the cell is an NES cell and the terminal is allowed to access the cell, sending a message including information indicating that the terminal is allowed to access the cell to the terminal;

[0015] Among them, the terminal can support energy saving.

[0016] The message includes a system information block 1 for determining a cell access-barred state.

[0017] This information is used for access to a cell or for residency restrictions.

[0018] In the case where a cell is prohibited from being accessed by the terminal, a message without this information is sent to the terminal.

[0019] A method performed by a terminal in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:

[0020] In case that a cell is a network energy saving (NES) cell and the cell is allowed to be accessed by a terminal, a message including information indicating that the cell is allowed to be accessed by the terminal is received from a base station; and whether the terminal is allowed to access the cell is identified; wherein the terminal can support energy saving.

[0021] A base station in a wireless communication system, the base station comprising:

[0022] a transceiver; and at least one processor coupled to the transceiver and configured to:

[0023] Identifying whether a cell is a Network Energy Saving (NES) cell, and sending a message to a terminal, if the cell is an NES cell and the terminal is allowed to access the cell, the message including information indicating that the terminal is allowed to access the cell, wherein the terminal is capable of supporting energy saving.

[0024] A terminal in a wireless communication system, the terminal comprising:

[0025] a transceiver; and at least one processor coupled to the transceiver and configured to:

[0026] In case that a cell is a network energy saving (NES) cell and the cell is allowed to be accessed by a terminal, a message including information indicating that the cell is allowed to be accessed by the terminal is received from a base station, and whether the terminal is allowed to access the cell is identified, wherein the terminal can support energy saving.

[0027] A method of operating a telecommunications network is disclosed, wherein the telecommunications network employs access control to at least one user equipment (UE) according to an energy policy.

[0028] Beneficial effects

[0029] The present disclosure provides an effective and efficient method for managing services for UEs based on energy constraints. Advantageous effects obtainable from the present disclosure may not be limited to the above effects, and those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains may clearly understand other effects not mentioned through the following description.

[0030] It may be helpful to set forth definitions of certain words and phrases used throughout this patent document: the terms "include" and "comprising" and their derivatives mean including, but not limited to; the term "or" is inclusive, meaning and / or; the phrases "associated with" and "associated therewith" and their derivatives may mean including, included within, interconnected with, containing, contained within, connected to or connected with, coupled to or coupled with, communicable with, cooperating with, interleaved, juxtaposed, proximate to, bound to or bound with, having, having the property of, and the like; and the term "controller" means any device, system, or portion thereof that controls at least one operation, such device being implemented in hardware, firmware, or software, or some combination of at least two thereof. It should be noted that the functionality associated with any particular controller may be centralized or distributed, whether locally or remotely.

[0031] Furthermore, the various functions described below may be implemented or supported by one or more computer programs, each of which is formed of computer-readable program code and embodied in a computer-readable medium. The terms "application" and "program" refer to one or more computer programs, software components, instruction sets, procedures, functions, objects, classes, instances, related data, or portions thereof, suitable for implementation in suitable computer-readable program code. The phrase "computer-readable program code" includes any type of computer code, including source code, object code, and executable code. The phrase "computer-readable medium" includes any type of medium that can be accessed by a computer, such as read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), hard drives, compact disks (CDs), digital video disks (DVDs), or any other type of memory. "Non-transitory" computer-readable media excludes wired, wireless, optical, or other communication links that transmit transitory electrical or other signals. Non-transitory computer-readable media includes media in which data can be permanently stored as well as media in which data can be stored and later rewritten, such as rewritable optical disks or erasable memory devices.

[0032] Definitions for certain words and phrases are provided throughout this patent document, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that in many, if not most instances, such definitions apply to prior, as well as future uses of such defined words and phrases. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0033] For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure and its advantages, reference is now made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals represent like parts:

[0034] Figure 1 An example of an architecture with ELUMF functionality provided in at least one network entity according to various embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0035] Figure 2 shows an example of SIB messages according to various embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0036] Figure 3 An example according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0037] Figure 4 shows an example of a base station according to various embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0038] Figure 5 An example of a terminal according to various embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0039] Discussed below Figures 1 to 4The various embodiments used to describe the principles of the present disclosure in this patent document are illustrative only and should not be interpreted in any way as limiting the scope of the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art will understand that the principles of the present disclosure can be implemented in any suitably arranged system or device.

[0040] Embodiments of the present disclosure are particularly, but not exclusively, used with fifth generation systems (5GS), but other standards, such as 6G and subsequent systems, may also benefit.

[0041] There is an increasing desire to conserve energy in many areas of human activity. The provision and operation of telecommunications networks is no exception.

[0042] From a network operator's perspective, the energy cost of running a network is one of the most important factors in operational expenditure (OpEx). This is in addition to the global goal of reducing energy use for climate reasons.

[0043] Research is currently underway to introduce energy efficiency as a service within telecommunications networks. An example of this is documented in 3GPP TR 22.882 V0.2.0. An overview of this research is provided below:

[0044] Climate change and global energy shortages are issues that require international cooperation and coordination at all levels. Many regions and countries have announced policies and requirements to control carbon emissions and improve energy efficiency. These policies have made energy efficiency a strategic priority for many telecom operators around the world. Energy efficiency has also been considered in many standards groups and specifications.

[0045] Existing research focuses more on how to meet user experience and try to achieve energy efficiency at the same time, as well as achieving energy efficiency within the network. Therefore, the requirements, use cases, and solutions are basically within the network itself. Vertical industries and customers have no way to obtain energy efficiency-related information from the network.

[0046] Introducing energy efficiency as a service will allow users the option to select appropriate energy efficiency standards as and when they need them, along with other network performance parameters. These parameters may include:

[0047] 1. Define and support energy efficiency standards as part of communication services to users and applications; and

[0048] 2. Provide information disclosure on system energy consumption or energy efficiency levels to vertical customers.

[0049] For example, in scenarios where both satellite and terrestrial coverage are available, energy conservation can be considered as a factor in providing communication services. Users or operators can choose to find the best approach to achieve both user experience and energy efficiency. From another perspective, the network can also respond to different energy consumption patterns of applications or adjust network resources.

[0050] Both of the above aspects require more interaction between applications and the network on energy consumption status. It is worth considering how to use energy efficiency as a service criterion, deliver services in conjunction with vertical preferences, and how to support strategies that process energy as part of the subscription.

[0051] The study also includes use cases that can define potential requirements. One of the use cases focuses on using energy as a performance criterion (for best-effort communication).

[0052] "Large-scale logistics company L has deployed numerous communication components. These components are integrated into vehicles, pallets, facilities, etc. Essentially, IoT terminals enable remote tracking and monitoring capabilities. The information collected is relevant but not constrained by latency. In fact, the final delivery of the communication (e.g., after several hours or even a full day) is perfectly acceptable to L. MNO M offers a 'green service' that limits the rate of energy used for communication within a specific time interval (e.g., daily), and this service is suitable for L. L's overall corporate goals are also served by the 'green service' as they strive to operate with energy efficiency."

[0053] 5GS, as well as other systems (e.g., Evolved Packet System, EPS), have mechanisms for controlling UE access to the network, such as unified access control (UAC) and congestion control, which can be at the mobility management level or the session management level. Based on the load level, the network applies the necessary access control at different layers, such as UAC at the radio access network (RAN) level and non-access stratum (NAS) congestion control at the NAS layer. For example, if the access and mobility management function (AMF) or session management function (SMF) is congested, the AMF or SMF can reject NAS messages from the UE and provide a back-off (BO) timer, which will then prohibit the UE from accessing the network until the timer expires (except in cases where the UE has an emergency call to make, among other rare exceptions). Different forms of access control can be found in 3GPP TS 23.501 and TS 24.501.

[0054] A problem in the prior art is that current mechanisms for network access control are not suitable for new use cases such as the "Energy Efficiency as a Service" standard.

[0055] As mentioned previously, existing mechanisms for incentivizing access control are primarily based on resource availability (or scarcity) at various levels or network entities. The criteria for this resource "congestion" are not well-defined, but are triggered by an inability to provide adequate service, such as due to a lack of memory resources, insufficient computing power, unacceptably long processing delays, and expiration of process timers. In all cases, they are considered a way to alleviate "congestion," where the network (RAN and core network (CN)) does not have sufficient capacity due to current usage load.

[0056] Therefore, these mechanisms are not suitable for other criteria, such as energy usage policy or energy state constraints, which may become another relevant metric for determining whether a UE can be served.

[0057] As an example, at any given time, there may be a certain upper limit on the energy level used by the network (e.g., within the RAN and / or CN, and / or any network entity / function), such that no more UEs can be accommodated due to the energy consumption level in the network being at that maximum energy level. Under such constraints, there is no appropriate solution to perform network access control based on energy levels or metrics.

[0058] As another example of energy state constraints, consider a UE used for infrequent data communication (e.g., a sensor), which may have only 5 minutes of remaining operational lifetime due to battery constraints. According to the "energy-constrained operation" strategy, the network may need to significantly reduce communications between the UE and the network to extend this lifetime, for example, operating for only 30 seconds per week at predefined times.

[0059] Another issue may arise with new "Energy as a Service" services. For example, a network could allow certain UEs to use only specific energy levels when communicating with the network, where the usage could be based on how much energy the network requires to serve the UE. If there were thresholds for this, a mechanism would be needed to stop the service for a certain period of time. Currently, no network can do this.

[0060] It is an aim of embodiments of the present disclosure to address these and other shortcomings of the prior art, in particular the goal is to control and ideally reduce energy usage in both fixed elements of the network and in UEs.

[0061] According to the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus and a method as set out in the accompanying claims. Further features of the present disclosure will be apparent from the dependent claims and the subsequent description.

[0062] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method of operating a telecommunications network, wherein the telecommunications network employs access control to at least one user equipment (UE) according to an energy policy.

[0063] In an embodiment, an energy policy includes one or more criteria related to energy consumption.

[0064] In an embodiment, the energy policy defines at least one threshold value related to energy usage, such that access of at least one UE to the telecommunication network is controlled if the at least one threshold value is met.

[0065] In an embodiment, access control includes at least one of the following:

[0066] - prohibiting at least one UE from accessing the network as a whole, a tracking area of ​​the network, a registration area of ​​the network, or one of the cells of the network;

[0067] - denying permission for at least one UE to connect to the network;

[0068] - rejecting a request by at least one UE to connect to the network;

[0069] - Remove at least one UE from the network;

[0070] - restricting service provision to at least one UE; and

[0071] - Restricting the functionality of at least one UE.

[0072] In an embodiment, the network is provided with at least one module for monitoring energy level usage within a network element or within the entire network.

[0073] In an embodiment, at least one module for monitoring energy level usage is collocated with one or more network entities.

[0074] In an embodiment, the network sends information related to the energy policy periodically or on demand.

[0075] In an embodiment, information related to the energy policy is transmitted via one or more of System Information Broadcast (SIB), Radio Resource Control (RRC), or Non-Access Stratum (NAS) signaling.

[0076] In an embodiment, the information is included in the SIB message by means of an information element (cellBarredEnergy).

[0077] In an embodiment, the energy policy comprises one or more criteria specifically related to the at least one UE such that access to the network is controlled based on at least one characteristic of the at least one UE.

[0078] In an embodiment, at least one UE reports its capability to support network access to the network based on the energy policy.

[0079] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus arranged to perform the method of the first aspect.

[0080] While certain preferred embodiments of the present disclosure have been shown and described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as defined in the appended claims.

[0081] According to various aspects of the present disclosure, the following are provided:

[0082] 1. Actions related to the network configuring specific UE behaviors based on energy usage / considerations in the network;

[0083] 2. Actions related to the UE providing its capability to support network access based on energy considerations in the network;

[0084] 3. Actions related to controlling the UE's access to (or stay in) cells in the network based on energy considerations;

[0085] a. Actions related to prohibiting an access UE (or multiple UEs) from residing in (or accessing) a given cell based on energy considerations;

[0086] 4. Indicate network-related actions that support energy saving;

[0087] a. UE check (presence) of a new IE related to energy considerations in the cell (e.g. cellBarredNES or any other suitable naming) included in SIB1;

[0088] 5. Actions related to delivering services based on energy-related subscriptions and policies to achieve energy savings;

[0089] 6. Actions related to enhancing UE subscription and policy control to support energy related information as a service standard:

[0090] a. Introducing new energy-related UE subscription information,

[0091] b. Use energy-related UE subscription information,

[0092] c. define new energy-related policies,

[0093] d. Perform energy-related policy control, such as to determine, provide and implement energy-related policies, and

[0094] e. Determine network energy related information;

[0095] 7. Actions related to introducing new logical functions to monitor and / or store energy usage levels in the network.

[0096] In certain embodiments, subscription or pricing plans can be implemented whereby UEs are charged based on the amount of energy required to service their needs. For example, low-energy UEs (such as remote sensors that only periodically communicate with the network and do not require high bandwidth) may be charged a lower rate or subscription. High-energy UEs (such as advanced mobile phones used for HD gaming or streaming high-definition (HD) or UHD) content, for example, may be charged a higher rate or subscription. In this way, users can control their personal consumption based on the energy needs of their UEs and the uses they place them for.

[0097] For a better understanding of the present disclosure, and to show how embodiments thereof may be practiced, reference will now be made, by way of example only, to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0098] Figure 1 An example of a 5G reference architecture with an Energy Level Usage Monitoring Function (ELUMF) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown; and

[0099] Figure 2 An example of a system information block (SIB) message according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0100] In a broad sense, embodiments of the present disclosure adapt and utilize certain protocols, some of which already exist in the prior art, and are modified for the new purpose of energy control in order to control energy usage / consumption of telecommunication equipment.

[0101] Conceptually, up to now it has generally been desirable to operate telecommunications networks in a manner that can accommodate a maximum number of users, each of whom is provided with a certain agreed level of service, regardless of the energy consumption associated with that service level.

[0102] In the prior art, it is known that a UE may experience a lower level of service, however, this service level may be defined in case of network congestion (e.g. in terms of data throughput, latency, bandwidth, type / number of services, etc.), but the service level experienced by the UE has not previously been explicitly linked to an energy usage policy.

[0103] Embodiments of the present disclosure explicitly bind the service level of a UE with an energy usage policy, as will be explained below.

[0104] This leads to the ability for network operators to control energy usage and therefore OpEx. Enhanced, more energy-intensive service levels can be offered to specific users through different charging structures, so that users who require more energy-intensive services are required to pay a premium for these services.

[0105] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide at least one of the following examples.

[0106] - At least one new logical function that monitors and / or stores energy usage in one or more network nodes or entities and / or functions. The network entity that monitors energy usage may be the same as the entity that stores and / or monitors energy usage, or the entity that monitors energy level usage may do so relative to another network entity, or the entity that monitors energy level usage may not be the same entity that monitors energy usage, or the entity that monitors energy usage may be monitored by more than one network entity and / or network function.

[0107] - At least one new logical function that determines how / when / whether to take action based on energy usage and energy usage policy in at least one network entity (and / or function). The action may be (a) do nothing, i.e., continue service as is, set an alarm or warning level (e.g., update the energy usage level to "acceptable," "underutilized," "overutilized," "recommended," "maximum capacity," or any other suitable warning indication or message); and / or (b) perform network access control (and / or notify another network entity / function to perform network access control) using any or any combination of the following methods:

[0108] > Indicate to at least one UE that network access is not currently allowed (e.g., at the current time and / or location), optionally due to energy consumption being at a certain level. This indication may be at the RAN level and / or the NAS level. Optionally, other assistance information related to the disallowed access (e.g., a cause value, a recommendation regarding the next available access slot and / or location (e.g., cell)) may be provided to the UE.

[0109] > Indicate a back-off timer to at least one UE so that the UE will not attempt to access the network during the indicated timer (ie not before the timer expires).

[0110] > Allocate a different network entity to serve the UE, where the target entity can be any network node, such as but not limited to a new SMF, a new UPF, etc. Note that allocating a new network entity can also be performed in the form of redirecting the UE to another network slice (or cell).

[0111] - Note that the assignment of another network entity may be based on a default policy resulting in selection of a new entity to serve the UE, or may be based on the energy consumption level of that entity, e.g. an entity is selected if its energy consumption is below a certain threshold.

[0112] The network may apply one or more of the above methods to only a selected UE or group of UEs, or a given type or category of UEs, while other UEs or groups of UEs of a given type or category may be exempted from network access control based on energy usage. In another example, UE selection may be based on user subscriptions, pre-configured criteria, and / or assistance information from the UE and / or any other network entity and / or network function. For example, at a given energy usage level, the network may allow one group of UEs to access the network, while other groups of UEs may be assigned different time slots for network access.

[0113] >The network configures a given UE behavior for the controlled access case based on energy usage in the network.

[0114] >In one example, the UE provides the network with its capability to support network access based on energy usage / level / consumption in the network.

[0115] >The network can provide auxiliary information about new network behavior to the UE to control UE access based on energy level.

[0116] The network can expose functionality so that a third party can request the network to intervene on behalf of the application function (AF) to be aware of a UE in a critical energy state (limited available service time). The network can use the above mechanism to restrict UE communications to specific intervals and inform the third party (AF) through network exposure when the next opportunity (or opportunities) to communicate with the UE will occur.

[0117] >The UE notifies the network of its critical energy state, and the network applies a subscription policy that "draws out" or extends the lifetime of the UE by reducing the opportunities for the UE to communicate with the network, as described above.

[0118] The network can be configured to determine whether at least one UE has exceeded its energy quota while using the network (e.g., at the slice level, QoS flow level, signaling, etc.). If so, the network can apply congestion control to the UE, for example, backing off the UE (at the NAS or radio resource control (RRC) layer), and optionally provide a backoff timer. The network can define new subscription information to identify which UEs can have such treatment and what the energy quota / threshold is that requires such treatment if reached.

[0119] It should be noted that the term "access control" in this document is not limited to access control at the RAN level only, but it may also mean control of general access to or use of the network, and may therefore include mechanisms like congestion control at any layer (e.g., RRC, NAS, etc.) or any back-off mechanism.

[0120] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide logic functions for monitoring and / or storing energy usage levels in a network.

[0121] A new logic function is provided, where the function can have any of the following characteristics and can take any of the following actions in any order or combination as shown below.

[0122] There may be at least one of the new logical functions. The new function is called Energy Level Usage Monitoring Function (ELUMF), noting that this naming is only an example and should not be considered limiting, and other names are possible and used in practice.

[0123] -The new logical function can reside anywhere in the network, for example, it can be a new network function (NF) and therefore considered a new network entity, or it can be collocated with any other network entity, such as (but not limited to): AMF, SMF, NG-RAN, UPF, NEF, etc.

[0124] - The new function is connected with other NFs, such as but not limited to: AMF, SMF, NG-RAN, UPF, NEF, etc.

[0125] - New feature monitors the Energy Level Usage (ELU) in the network, which may mean that at least one node reports its ELUMF.

[0126] - The ELUMF may aggregate the total ELU in the network based on the ELU in at least one network entity by taking into account the ELU in each other network entity that reported its ELU to the ELUMF. The new function may then update the total energy usage to a certain level, for example, in terms of a percentage, or in terms of a specified level such as "low", "medium", "high acceptable", "high critical", "very high action required", etc.

[0127] - Based on the current ELU in the network, the ELUMF may notify other network entities (such as but not limited to: AMF, SMF, UPF, NEF, NG-RAN, etc.) to take certain actions. For example, these actions may be:

[0128] > Apply access control to restrict UE access to the system;

[0129] > Release active UEs (or a certain number of active UEs) from the system;

[0130] > Restricting (or equivalently allowing) a specific number of active UEs to use a set of procedures or services (e.g., energy-intensive procedures or services);

[0131] > Allow (a certain number of UEs) to access the system;

[0132] > allow access to (or equivalently restrict) certain types (classes) of UEs to the system; and / or

[0133] > No restrictions, i.e., any number of UEs are allowed to use the system.

[0134] Note that many other actions may be defined accordingly, and further note that the above should be considered as exemplary actions only.

[0135] It should be noted that the ELUMF can be a function residing in a node (network entity) that can execute ELUs in the node where the ELUMF resides and can be configured to report ELUs to another ELUMF or another network entity. Thus, there can be a central ELUMF that acts as a central point, aggregating ELUs in the network based on ELU reports from other ELUMFs residing in other network nodes. In this model, each non-central ELUMF can register with the central ELUMF and establish a connection / context to report ELUs. For example, the registration of a non-central ELU can indicate information related to the registering node (e.g., source node ID, ELUMF ID, etc.) and / or information related to the node collecting the report (e.g., central node ID, ELUMF ID, etc.), and / or optionally other information related to the reported energy levels (e.g., energy metrics, measurements, timestamp of the reported energy levels, process ID, etc.).

[0136] The ELUMF (which may or may not be the central ELUMF) may request ELU reports from other network entities (as listed above) or from other non-central ELUMFs. Alternatively, it may configure the other network entities listed herein to periodically send their ELUMFs based on the indicated periodicity level. Alternatively, it may configure the other network entities listed herein to send their ELUMFs based on indicated triggering events (e.g., energy level thresholds or criteria).

[0137] The ELUMF may determine changes to previously requested actions taken in other network functions based on the updated ELU in the network. For example, if energy levels are high and critical, causing the ELUMF to request that a node perform access control to restrict all UEs, then if the ELUMF determines that the ELU in the network is now acceptable, the ELUMF may notify the target network entity that (a certain number or all) UEs are now allowed to access the system. Note that this is merely an example of how the indicated action may be updated and is not intended to be considered a limitation on the behavior of the NF.

[0138] If the ELUMF is local to the entity, for example if the ELUMF is part of the AMF, then all the details of this article apply, so the location of this new NF may not impose any restrictions on the actions that the NF may take.

[0139] Figure 1 A reference architecture is shown with the ELUMF functionality provided in at least one network entity, which may be its own standalone entity 100 or may be collocated with other network functions / entities such as AMF 110, SMF 120, NG-RAN 130, UPF 140, NEF 150, etc. Note that potentially this NF (ELUMF) may be included in any other network entity or function, even if not in Figure 1 As shown in Figure 1 Illustrative only.

[0140] Therefore, all details provided herein apply regardless of where the functionality is located. Furthermore, although illustrated within the architecture of a 5G system, the embodiments should not be considered limited to 5GS and may also be applied to other systems such as 4G and 6G. For example, network functions may be hosted in EPS network entities such as, but not limited to: MME, SGW, PGW, SCEF, RAN, eNB, etc.

[0141] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide for at least one network function to take any of the following actions in any order and / or combination.

[0142] - Based on the energy level of the network, the network updates the energy level to reflect the latest energy usage. For example, certain energy usage categories or tags can be defined to reflect a certain level of energy usage in the network (as explained above).

[0143] - The network may take action based on the ELU or based on the current level or state of energy usage in the network, where for example a certain level may imply or require a certain action. The following examples are provided:

[0144] > ELU is "very high critical": it may require the network to deny new UEs access to the system and / or release some or all of the UEs currently accessing the system. Optionally, it may allow access to a specific number of UEs, such as high priority UEs, while releasing a specific number of active UEs;

[0145] >ELU being “very high-non-critical” may mean that a certain percentage of UEs may be admitted, while UEs that have already accessed the system are allowed.

[0146] >ELU being “low underutilized” may mean that the ELU is well below the critical point and the system can allow any number of UEs to access it;

[0147] Other levels / thresholds can be defined to provide the desired degree of granularity.

[0148] It should be noted that these levels are provided as examples only, and any levels may be defined to define a specific set of energy states and a specific set of actions that the network needs to take.

[0149] - The network may update the state or level of energy considered to be used in the network, for example, based on a change in the ELU, and as a result, the network may update the actions that need to be taken, for example, the network may have previously decided to apply access control and / or reject the UE based on a high energy usage level, but now decides to accept the UE based on a decrease in the energy usage level or a change in the energy usage level of the network. Other changes and actions are also possible, of which the above are provided as examples.

[0150] When taking action on a UE, such as rejecting a UE or releasing a UE already in the system, the network may do so for the following:

[0151] - all UEs, e.g. based on network policy;

[0152] - some UEs, e.g. based on UE type or UE category or UE capabilities; and

[0153] - some UEs, e.g. based on network policy, or based on subscription information indicating that the UE may be subject to actions taken by the network due to ELU (as described above) (i.e. actions related to energy consumption / energy level / energy usage in the network):

[0154] > Accordingly, subscription information may be updated to include new indications of whether a UE is subject to ELU-based access control, and potentially when action may be taken, e.g., when the level is high, low, medium, etc. For example, some UEs may be affected earlier than others based on UE priority or UE subscription, UE capabilities, UE type or UE category, etc.; and

[0155] Any new subscription information may also indicate the level at which access control may be performed (for any UE, a specific number of UEs, or all UEs), where potential levels may be the following: mobility management level (e.g., NAS mobility management level), session management level (e.g., NAS session management level), RAN mobility or RAN access, or any combination. Other levels may also include an exposure framework where, for example, the NEF (or SCEF in EPS) may optionally deny requests from the AF for some or all UEs based on the ELU in the network.

[0156] Note that although the above details are made with reference to a "network", this reference may refer to any entity in the network that may or may not carry an ELUMF.

[0157] A network entity may take action based on an ELU in the network, where the determination to take action may be based on any combination of the following triggers:

[0158] - local determination, e.g. based on knowledge about the entity of the ELU;

[0159] - Based on a local ELUMF, which monitors or receives ELUs about the network or entities carrying ELUs; and

[0160] - Based on receiving an indication of an ELU from another entity which may be an ELUMF.

[0161] The indication may be associated with an action to be taken or a recommendation regarding an action or set of actions to be taken, or may indicate a certain energy level (as previously described by way of example).

[0162] A network entity may take the following actions, for example, based on any of the triggers defined herein.

[0163] -AMF / SMF may decide to reject the NAS message from the UE and optionally provide a back-off (BO) timer to the UE, thereby applying energy (level) based congestion control. The AMF / SMF may provide a new cause value to indicate that the BO (and / or access request rejection) is due to the energy level in the network (e.g., a new cause value "no access due to energy level" or any other suitable naming). When a BO timer is provided, the value or duration of the timer may be set based on network policy or based on the current energy usage level in the network (or a given entity) or based on an expected period during which the energy usage level is expected to change (e.g., fall below a given / defined threshold).

[0164] >AMF can determine to prevent the UE from sending 5GSM messages or requesting user plane resources based on the energy level usage in the network (e.g. in SMF, UPF, etc.). Therefore, congestion control can be at a per-PDU session level or a slice level (or slice and DNN level), all of which also apply when the SMF applies congestion control.

[0165] In this way, the AMF may determine not to forward a 5GSM message (e.g., which may be received in a UL NAS transport message) due to energy levels in the network (e.g., in an SMF in another network entity) being at a certain level. Therefore, the 5GSM message may be forwarded back to the UE using DL NAS transport. The AMF may provide the BO timer and cause value as described above. Upon receiving a DL NAS transport message containing a 5GSM message that was not forwarded at the UE, the 5GMM entity may forward the BO timer along with any received cause value to the 5GSM entity.

[0166] - The SMF may indicate to the AMF a certain energy level in the network (e.g. in the SMF, UPF, etc.). The SMF may also indicate an action to be taken, for example, preventing the UE from accessing the SMF or accessing user plane resources (because it involves the UPF, etc.). Alternatively, the SMF may indicate a recommendation regarding an action or set of actions.

[0167] > Note that the SMF may also indicate actions so that the AMF may allow the UE to access the network, e.g. after an ELU failure. In this way, the action may be to block (or back off, i.e. apply congestion control or access control) or allow (e.g. stop applying back off or energy based congestion control) access of the UE, or to release a certain number of existing active UEs so that a new set of UEs can be allowed to access.

[0168] -The NG-RAN (or gNB) may determine to perform access control (e.g., restricting UE access to the system or allowing UE access to the system) based on the ELU in the network (e.g., based on local information, policy, O&M, or instructions (e.g., actions, recommendations, or simple assistance information) from another network entity (e.g., but not limited to AMF, UPF, ELUMF, etc.)).

[0169] The NG-RAN (or gNB) can use system information blocks, SIBs, or dedicated RRC signaling to notify UEs that they are not allowed to access the network due to high energy usage in the network, for example, when a UE already connected to the system must be released. For example, a cell served by the NG-RAN can broadcast an indication via system information (e.g., a known or newly added SIB) that cell access is controlled by energy levels in the network. For example, if the indication is a bit flag, "1" means that access to the cell is not allowed due to energy levels, while "0" means that access to the cell is not controlled by energy levels.

[0170] >The NG-RAN (or gNB) may reject an RRC connection request from a UE (or a group of UEs) to access the network and provide a BO timer and possibly a new cause value to indicate the reason for the rejection, for example, a high energy usage level (or any other reason related to energy levels). For example, the NG-RAN may include the BO timer (e.g., a value in seconds or minutes, etc.) and the rejection cause value in existing RRC messages and IEs (e.g., RRCReject message, RRCReject-IE) or in newly defined RRC messages and / or IEs.

[0171] >The NG-RAN (or gNB) may release the UE's connection based on a determined action that needs to be taken due to the network's energy usage level being at, below, or above a certain threshold or value. The NG-RAN may also provide a BO timer (e.g., a value in seconds or minutes, etc.) and a new cause value as described. For example, the NG-RAN (or gNB) includes the BO timer and release cause value in an existing RRC message and IE (e.g., RRCRelease message, RRCRelease-vXX-IE) or in a newly defined RRC message and / or IE.

[0172] The NG-RAN (or gNB) can move the UE to a different RRC connection state (e.g., releasing it to RRC_IDLE or moving it to RRC_INACTIVE, or any other state). The NG-RAN (or gNB) can apply UAC based on a set of access identities and access categories to reduce energy usage. Note that this mechanism will indiscriminately reduce access to all UEs in the area where access control is applied (e.g., a specific cell). This can be used to reduce energy usage in that area. UAC cannot be used to target certain / specific UEs. New access identities and / or categories can be defined for this purpose, and the UE can be configured with this information to determine whether UAC applies when implementing service access restrictions as described herein.

[0173] - NOTE: Any of the nodes listed above may take the recommended actions due to local information or policy or O&M, or based on a local ELUMF, or based on explicit instructions that may be received from any other network function in the network, including the ELUMF or UPF, SMF, NEF, etc. In addition, network entities may take any of the above actions for a specific UE, for example, based on available subscription information. For example, any new subscription information (which may indicate whether energy-based congestion control may or may not apply to a UE) may be provided from the UDM (or HSS) to the AMF and SMF, as well as the NG-RAN, using appropriate methods. This information may also be provided to the NEF / SCEF.

[0174] - Note that when the energy level usage in the network becomes below a certain maximum threshold or becomes acceptable, any of the network entities listed above may take other actions to allow UEs to access the system, thereby allowing more UEs. These network nodes may then take actions to stop congestion control, such as any of the following.

[0175] >AMF can request NG-RAN to page the UE (or a group of UEs).

[0176] >SMF can request AMF to page the UE (or a group of UEs).

[0177] >NG-RAN can indicate to the UE (e.g. via SIB (periodic or on-demand) or UAC, etc.) that access to the system is now allowed, for example, using an explicit indication of a bit flag in an existing SIB or a newly defined SIB (1 / 0=1 indicates access is not allowed, and 0 indicates access is allowed).

[0178] >Thus, when the energy usage level becomes acceptable, all the above details will apply in a similar manner so that the UE can be allowed to access the system. In this case, the action taken by the network entity can be to indicate to the UE that access is now allowed, or to allow access requests from the UE (i.e., not block them), etc.

[0179] > NOTE: For all the above proposals, the BO timer for UE or from NEF to AF can be a new BO timer or the existing congestion control BO timer can be reused.

[0180] > NOTE: When an entity (e.g. SMF or ELUMF) requests another entity (e.g. AMF) to perform congestion control (e.g. blocking the request due to high energy usage, etc.), the requesting entity may provide a timer indicating the duration for which the congestion control is expected to continue. The target entity may then apply the necessary congestion control mechanisms within that duration, e.g. applying access control for the duration of that timer, and / or providing a BO timer to the other entity (e.g. UE) such that the duration of the BO timer is not less than the indicated duration.

[0181] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide that the network may monitor how much energy is used due to a request by the UE, or how much energy is used by the UE based on metrics monitored in the network.

[0182] The following should be noted:

[0183] - The energy usage of a UE may be determined in more than one way, such as but not limited to:

[0184] >The data rate used by the UE over a period of time, or based on a particular QoS flow being used, where the flow can be associated with a particular QoS characteristic;

[0185] > the number (or type) of NAS messages that have been exchanged with the UE, or the number (or type) of NAS messages that the UE has sent to the network, or the number (or type) of NAS messages that the network has sent to the UE, or the number (or type) of procedures that the UE has performed with the network, or the number (or type) of procedures that the network has performed internally to serve the UE (e.g., the number of requests between core network nodes to set up user plane resources, etc.);

[0186] The total amount of energy used by the network divided by the total number of UEs, where:

[0187] - is currently using the network (in connected mode, or idle mode, or connected mode with RRC inactivity indication, or in any NAS / RRC mode or state), or

[0188] - Already registered with the network, or has registered with the network and has performed certain signaling or procedures within a certain period of time;

[0189] >The UE reports to the network the total amount of energy used by the UE, where this reporting may be configured by the network (or via other means), such as periodic reporting, or when a certain amount of energy is used locally in the UE for the purpose of communicating with the network, the UE will report this event and possibly the amount. All of these reporting details shall be:

[0190] - pre-configured in the UE; and

[0191] - configured by the network via any signalling means, such as but not limited to: NAS, UE policy container, etc. Such configuration may also be performed by the HPLMN in a secure manner via the guidance of the roaming mechanism. In this way, the UE can verify the integrity of the message authentication code (MAC) or data and use it only if the security check has not failed, otherwise the UE discards any data that has not passed the security check; and

[0192] >Any of the above can be based on per slice or per PLMN etc.

[0193] The network may define other means by which the UE's energy usage (relative to the network, i.e., not necessarily the UE's local energy consumption) can be measured or determined. The network may make this determination, and if the UE's energy usage exceeds a certain threshold, the network may take certain actions on the UE, such as, for example, backing off the UE, optionally using a backoff timer, etc., as will be explained below.

[0194] When the network determines that the UE has used a certain level of energy (e.g., in terms of using the system or in terms of signaling and / or data exchange with the network, or in terms of how much energy the UE has used as described above), the network may apply a backoff mechanism to the UE using any of the following options:

[0195] - A NAS message for a UE may be rejected using a back-off (BO) timer and, optionally, a new cause value (e.g., a new value X (where X is an integer) indicating "Energy threshold usage exceeded"). Note that the cause value name may be different and is considered an example only. The BO timer and / or cause value may be included in any existing or new NAS message, such as a Registration Reject, Service Reject, Configuration Update Command message, DL NAS Transport message, or any other NAS message.

[0196] - The network may release the UE's connection (for UEs in connected mode) and may also include the BO timer and cause value (new or existing).

[0197] The network may apply any of the above behaviors based on its policies to the following UEs:

[0198] -Any UE that is using the network or is using a specific slice or a specific service or supports a specific feature.

[0199] For example, both the UE and the network may exchange capability indications for the above-mentioned behaviors, where for example the UE may indicate that it supports handling access / congestion control based on energy usage (where this may mean that the UE may handle new rejection cause values ​​at any layer). The UE may provide this indication in any IE or NAS message, for example, in a 5GMM Capability IE (which is sent in a Registration Request) or in a 5GSM Capability IE (which is sent in, for example, a PDU Session Establishment Request or any other 5GSM message).

[0200] -UE can be an IoT device or can support specific access technologies.

[0201] - The UE may be part of a group of UEs for which the network has a policy to apply the mechanisms proposed herein.

[0202] - UEs for which new subscription information has been defined, such that a subscription may indicate any one or more of the following:

[0203] The network may optionally apply a BO mechanism (as described herein) to a UE based on a given threshold, where the threshold may be defined for a UE or a group of UEs;

[0204] > Optional priority levels or other indications that inform the network when the proposed mechanism can be applied to a UE. For example, a UE may be subject to BO, but not immediately because it has a slightly higher priority. In this case, the network can first start applying BO to other UEs (subscription information indicating lower priority), so that if the network needs to apply further BO (due to energy), it continues by selecting the next priority, etc. Note that the priority levels are only examples, but other levels can be defined to perhaps reflect some order of UEs (or UE groups or UE types) to which BO applies, etc.; and

[0205] 1. Note: The network defines the subscription information, as described above.

[0206] 2. Note that the above proposals can be applied to any network node, such as but not limited to: AMF, SMF, NG-RAN, etc. For any subscription information defined in UDM ( / HSS) as described herein, the subscription information can be sent to AMF, SMF or NG-RAN (e.g. via AMF). In the case of NG-RAN applying BO, NG-RAN can do so using appropriate RRC signaling, which can be dedicated or broadcast.

[0207] 3. In one example, a cell may advertise or indicate to at least one UE (or a group of UEs, or all UEs, or any UE) attempting to access the cell that the cell or network supports any of the features described herein, e.g., that the network supports energy-constrained services or access control / backoff mechanisms based on energy usage (as described herein, where any other name may be given to this announcement). This cell indication may be performed using system information broadcasts (periodically or on demand). For example, the cell (or network) may use a new flag (e.g., a 1-bit flag) that may be included in system information (either an existing SIB or a newly added SIB) to indicate support for energy-constrained services. For example, a new IE, EnergyConstraintFlag-rxx, may be defined, where a value of "true" indicates that energy-constrained access / backoff mechanisms based on energy usage are applied in the cell / network. A value of "false" may indicate that energy-constrained services are not applied to access to the cell / network. In another example, the presence of the energyConstraintFlag-rxx IE may indicate to a UE (or group of UEs or all UEs) the need to (optionally) provide UE capabilities to support energy constrained services when attempting to access a cell / network.

[0208] 4. In another example, a cell may notify or indicate to at least one UE (or a group of UEs, or all UEs, or any UE) attempting to access the cell that access to the cell is prohibited due to energy restrictions (or energy usage, energy congestion), where optionally this is for certain UEs (as described herein, where, for example, the UEs may be pre-configured to comply with the indication and access restrictions / controls). Cell indication may be performed using system information broadcast (periodically or on demand).

[0209] 5. In one example, if a UE (or a group of UEs, or all UEs) is barred from accessing a given cell, the UE (or a group of UEs, or all UEs) may attempt to select a different cell. This different cell may also be under energy control or not under energy control, or the UE (or group of UEs, or all UEs) may attempt to re-access the original cell again (e.g., upon expiration of a backoff timer).

[0210] 6. For example, the cell access barring indication may be provided in the MIB or SIB, or included in a newly defined SIB. Figure 2 As shown, a new IE (cellBarredEnergy, or any other suitable name) may be included in the SIB1 message.

[0211] 7. In another example, based on network configuration or O&M or instructions from the AMF, the NG-RAN may modify UE access (or connection mode to a cell), for example, allowing or blocking access based on energy usage (in the network or by some UEs as described herein). For example, the NG-RAN may change or update system information (via broadcast and / or using dedicated signaling).

[0212] Note that all details set forth herein apply in any order or combination and may be applicable to any network functionality in 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, 6G, or other systems known or yet to be defined.

[0213] Figure 3 An example according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0214] At S301 , the UE attempts to access (or camp on) a cell (the UE is capable of network energy-saving operation). Optionally, the UE provides (to the base station) its capability to support network access based on energy considerations in the network.

[0215] At S302 , the base station (or core network) identifies whether a cell is prohibited from being accessed by a terminal based on energy information (eg, based on an embodiment of the present disclosure).

[0216] At S303, if the cell is allowed for the UE, the base station sends a message (e.g., SIB) to the UE including information indicating that the cell is allowed for the UE. Optionally, if the cell is prohibited from being accessed by the terminal, the base station sends a message to the terminal without information indicating that the cell is allowed for the UE.

[0217] Figure 4 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a base station 400 in a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 4 The configuration of can be understood as a part of the configuration of BS 400. Figure 4 The base station 400 may include at least one processor 402, a communication unit 404 (eg, a communicator or a communication interface), and a storage unit 406 (eg, a storage device). The communication unit 404 may perform functions for transmitting and receiving signals via a wireless channel.

[0218] By way of example, processor 402 may be a single processing unit or multiple units, all of which may include multiple computing units. Processor 402 may be implemented as one or more microprocessors, microcomputers, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, central processing units, state machines, logic circuits, and / or any device that manipulates signals based on operational instructions. Among other capabilities, processor 402 is configured to retrieve and execute computer-readable instructions and data stored in memory. Processor 402 may include one or more processors. In this case, one or more processors 402 may be general-purpose processors such as a central processing unit (CPU) or an application processor (AP), graphics-only processing units such as a graphics processing unit (GPU) or a vision processing unit (VPU), and / or AI-specific processors such as a neural processing unit (NPU). One or more processors 402 may control the processing of input data based on predefined operational rules or artificial intelligence (AI) models stored in non-volatile and volatile memory (i.e., memory unit 406). The predefined operational rules or AI models are provided through training or learning.

[0219] Memory 406 may include any non-transitory computer-readable medium known in the art, including, for example, volatile memory (such as static random access memory (SRAM) and dynamic random access memory (DRAM)) and / or non-volatile memory (such as read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM, flash memory, hard disks, optical disks, and magnetic tape).

[0220] Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a terminal or user equipment (UE) 500 in a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 5 The configuration of can be understood as a part of the configuration of UE 500. Figure 5 UE 500 may include at least one processor 502, a communication unit 504 (e.g., a communicator or communication interface), and a storage unit 506 (e.g., a storage device). As an example, UE 500 may be a user device such as a cellular phone or other device that communicates over multiple cellular networks (such as 3G, 4G, 5G or pre-4G, 6G networks, or any future wireless communication networks). Communication unit 504 may perform functions for sending and receiving signals via wireless channels.

[0221] By way of example, processor 502 may be a single processing unit or multiple units, all of which may include multiple computing units. Processor 502 may be implemented as one or more microprocessors, microcomputers, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, central processing units, state machines, logic circuits, and / or any device that manipulates signals based on operational instructions. Among other capabilities, processor 502 is configured to retrieve and execute computer-readable instructions and data stored in memory. Processor 502 may include one or more processors. In this case, one or more processors 502 may be general-purpose processors such as a central processing unit (CPU) or an application processor (AP), graphics-only processing units such as a graphics processing unit (GPU) or a vision processing unit (VPU), and / or AI-specific processors such as a neural processing unit (NPU). One or more processors 502 may control the processing of input data based on predefined operational rules or artificial intelligence (AI) models stored in non-volatile memory and volatile memory (i.e., memory unit 506). The predefined operational rules or AI models are provided through training or learning.

[0222] The memory 506 may include any non-transitory computer-readable medium known in the art, including, for example, volatile memory (such as static random access memory (SRAM) and dynamic random access memory (DRAM)) and / or non-volatile memory (such as read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM, flash memory, hard disks, optical disks, and magnetic tape).

[0223] At least some of the example embodiments described herein can be constructed partially or entirely using dedicated, special-purpose hardware. Terms such as "component," "module," or "unit" as used herein may include, but are not limited to, hardware devices, such as circuits in discrete or integrated component form, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), that perform certain tasks or provide associated functionality. In some embodiments, the described elements may be configured to reside on a tangible, persistent, addressable storage medium and may be configured to execute on one or more processors. In some embodiments, these functional elements may include, for example, components (such as software components, object-oriented software components, class components, and task components), processes, functions, properties, procedures, subroutines, program code segments, drivers, firmware, microcode, circuits, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, and variables. Although the example embodiments have been described with reference to the components, modules, and units discussed herein, such functional elements may be combined into fewer elements or separated into additional elements. Various combinations of optional features have been described herein, and it should be understood that the described features may be combined in any suitable combination. In particular, features of any example embodiment may be appropriately combined with features of any other embodiment, except where such combinations are mutually exclusive. Throughout the specification, the term "comprising" or "comprises" is intended to include specified components but not to exclude the presence of other components.

[0224] Attention is paid to all papers and documents related to this application that were filed concurrently with or before this specification and are open to public inspection with this specification, and the contents of all such papers and documents are incorporated herein by reference.

[0225] All features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings) and / or all steps of any method or process so disclosed may be combined in any combination, except combinations where at least some of such features and / or steps are mutually exclusive.

[0226] Unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract, and drawings) may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent, or similar purpose. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.

[0227] The present disclosure is not limited to the details of the foregoing embodiments. The present disclosure extends to any novel feature or any novel combination of features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), or to any novel step or any novel combination of steps of any method or process so disclosed.

[0228] Although the present disclosure has been described with various embodiments, various changes and modifications may be suggested to one skilled in the art. It is intended that the present disclosure encompass such changes and modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method performed by a base station in a wireless communication system, the method comprising: Identify whether the cell is a Network Energy Saving (NES) cell; and In a case where the cell is an NES cell and the terminal is allowed to access the cell, sending a message including information indicating that the terminal is allowed to access the cell to the terminal; Among them, the terminal can support energy saving.

2. The method according to claim 1, in, The message includes a system information block 1 for determining a cell access barring status.

3. The method according to claim 1, in, The information is used for access to a cell or for residency restriction.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: In the case that the cell prohibits access to the terminal, the message without the information is sent to the terminal.

5. A method performed by a terminal in a wireless communication system, the method comprising: In a case where the cell is a network energy saving (NES) cell and the cell is allowed to be accessed by the terminal, receiving, from the base station, a message including information indicating that the cell is allowed to be accessed by the terminal; and Identify whether the terminal is allowed to access the cell; Among them, the terminal can support energy saving.

6. The method according to claim 5, in, The message includes a system information block 1 for determining a cell access barring state, The information is used for access to a cell or residence restriction.

7. The method according to claim 5, further comprising: In case that the cell is barred from access to the terminal, the message without the information is received from the base station.

8. A base station in a wireless communication system, the base station comprising: transceiver; and At least one processor coupled to the transceiver and configured to: Identify whether the cell is a Network Energy Saving (NES) cell; and In a case where the cell is an NES cell and the terminal is allowed to access the cell, a message including information indicating that the terminal is allowed to access the cell is sent to the terminal, Among them, the terminal can support energy saving.

9. The base station according to claim 8, in, The message includes a system information block 1 for determining a cell access barring status.

10. The base station according to claim 8, in, The information is used for access to a cell or for residency restriction.

11. The base station according to claim 8, wherein: The at least one processor is further configured to: In case that the cell is prohibited from being accessed by the terminal, the message without the information is sent to the terminal.

12. A terminal in a wireless communication system, the terminal comprising: transceiver; and At least one processor coupled to the transceiver and configured to: In a case where the cell is a Network Energy Saving (NES) cell and the cell is allowed to be accessed by the terminal, receiving a message including information indicating that the cell is allowed to be accessed by the terminal from the base station, and Identify whether the terminal is allowed to access the cell, Among them, the terminal can support energy saving.

13. The terminal according to claim 12, in, The message includes a system information block 1 for determining a cell access barring status.

14. The terminal according to claim 12, in, The information is used for access to a cell or for residency restriction. The terminal according to claim 12 , wherein: The at least one processor is further configured to: In case that the cell is barred from access to the terminal, the message without the information is received from the base station.

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