Methods, systems, or mobile communication networks, user equipments, programs, and computer readable media for using an access network and the access network using a notification channel to provide a communication service to a user equipment in a configurable manner

Abstract

The invention relates to a method of providing a communication service to a user equipment in a configurable manner using an access network using a notification channel, wherein the access network is an access network of a mobile communication network, or an access network assigned to or associated with a mobile communication network, and wherein the mobile communication network comprises a core network, or is assigned to or associated with a core network, wherein the notification channel is used or can be used in case it is detected that the user equipment is unresponsive to: - an incoming call for the user equipment and / or - an incoming paging indication for the user equipment and / or - a downlink data transmission indication, wherein the notification channel is used to convey one or more pieces of notification channel information to the user equipment, wherein for using the notification channel in a configurable manner, the core network and / or the access network receives and / or comprises a notification channel priority indication, and the method comprises the following steps: - in a first step, based on the notification channel priority indication, and in case the core network and / or the access network is able or potentially able to convey a specific piece of notification channel information to the user equipment, detecting whether the specific piece of notification channel information is related to a higher priority communication service or to a lower priority communication service, - in a second step, if the specific piece of notification channel information is related to a higher priority communication service, conveying the specific piece of notification channel information to the user equipment; if the specific piece of notification channel information is related to a lower priority communication service, refraining from conveying the specific piece of notification channel information.

Description

Background Technology

[0001] This invention relates to a method for providing communication services to user equipment in a configurable manner using an access network that uses a notification channel, wherein the access network is an access network of a mobile communication network, or an access network assigned to or associated with a mobile communication network, and wherein the mobile communication network includes, is assigned to, or is associated with a core network, wherein the notification channel is used or can be used when it is detected that the user equipment has not responded to any of the following: -- Incoming calls and / or for this user equipment -- Incoming paging indications and / or for this user equipment -- Downlink data transmission indication, The notification channel is used to transmit one or more notification channel messages to the user equipment.

[0002] Furthermore, the present invention relates to a system or mobile communication network for providing communication services to user equipment in a configurable manner using an access network that uses a notification channel, wherein the access network is an access network of a mobile communication network, or an access network assigned to or associated with a mobile communication network, and wherein the mobile communication network includes, is assigned to, or is associated with a core network, wherein the notification channel is used or can be used when it is detected that the user equipment has not responded to any of the following: -- Incoming calls and / or for this user equipment -- Incoming paging indications and / or for this user equipment -- Downlink data transmission indication, The notification channel is used to transmit one or more notification channel messages to the user equipment.

[0003] In addition, the present invention relates to a user equipment for providing communication services in a configurable manner using an access network and a mobile communication network, wherein the user equipment is part of a system or mobile communication network according to the present invention.

[0004] Furthermore, the present invention relates to a program and a computer-readable medium for providing communication services to user equipment in a configurable manner using an access network and a mobile communication network according to the method of the present invention.

[0005] Mobile communication networks (such as public terrestrial mobile networks) are typically implemented as cellular mobile communication networks, which include (or use, are associated with, or are assigned to) a radio access network comprising radio cells. Such cellular systems are known to conform to different mobile communication standards or radio access technologies, such as 2G / 3G / 4G / 5G / 6G radio access technologies (referring to different generations of radio access technologies), and typically comprise one or more cells (or radio cells) of the corresponding radio access technology (or consist of them).

[0006] Such mobile communication networks, which are purely or primarily based on terrestrial infrastructure of radio access networks (and are therefore also called terrestrial networks or TN networks), are typically organized throughout a country (or a part of a country or a region) in a repeating pattern of typically static (radio) cells (and associated base station entities) that typically belong to, are operated or used by, are associated with or assigned to a mobile network operator (MNO).

[0007] As part of such a known terrestrial cellular telecommunications network (or a geographical area or region operating such a terrestrial cellular telecommunications network), there are typically some (geographical) sections or locations where user equipment generally experiences better radio coverage (at least on average, i.e., with multiple user equipment), while other (geographical) sections or locations experience poorer radio coverage.

[0008] Compared to purely or primarily terrestrial mobile communication networks, it is also known to provide communication services using non-terrestrial networks (i.e., mobile communication networks that at least partially utilize non-terrestrial infrastructure such as radio access networks, non-terrestrial networks, or NTN networks), particularly using satellites and / or high-altitude platforms. Especially in the case of satellites—particularly non-geostationary satellites, which are preferred due to their relatively high latency—such a satellite typically (due to its movement relative to the Earth's surface, which usually occurs at a considerable speed, at least compared to typical (passenger) speeds (e.g., the speed of a car or train) on the Earth's surface) can only provide radio coverage within a specific geographic area and time period (or time interval), allowing radio coverage to be provided to another geographic area along the direction of the satellite's movement at a later time point (or another time interval). Therefore, the user equipment under consideration—located at a specific point in time—is typically served by different satellite and / or antenna entities or functions (or different base station entities) of a non-terrestrial network, where the radio coverage provided by such a non-terrestrial network and / or the quality of service experienced by the user equipment under consideration generally increases and decreases with the continuous movement of satellites of the non-terrestrial network. Thus, the quality of radio coverage (provided by the mobile communication network under consideration) depends on both the location of the user equipment under consideration and the time interval under consideration, and this dependence of radio coverage stems from the dynamic nature of such mobile communication networks that rely on non-terrestrial networks or non-terrestrial infrastructure.

[0009] In addition to the modulation of radio coverage provided by terrestrial or non-terrestrial (access) networks, the reception conditions of the user equipment under consideration—at its specific location—may be altered (and / or worsened) not only by interference effects (e.g., interference caused by other user equipment and / or by other base station entities or other entities affecting the radio environment of the user equipment under consideration), but also by shielding effects (e.g., shielding caused by buildings and / or vegetation, etc.), which may result in the user equipment under consideration not having a clear line of sight (NLOS, non-line-of-sight condition) to the satellite currently providing radio coverage. Furthermore, discontinuous radio coverage (or variations thereof—and thus, degradation of service quality) is possible in terrestrial networks (particularly when user equipment moves relative to stationary base station entities), and is generally more so in non-terrestrial networks (even when user equipment is stationary); this is especially true when satellite constellations are still under construction. Such modulation and / or discontinuous radio coverage may prove particularly detrimental in situations requiring the provision of critical or highly urgent communication services to user equipment (e.g., emergency calls).

[0010] In cases where the considered (terrestrial or non-terrestrial) radio access network is able to provide degraded radio coverage to the considered user equipment—or where the reception conditions of such user equipment deteriorate—a notification channel (also known as robust notification) may be considered. This notification channel is designed to provide simple notification (or notification channel information) to the considered user equipment under specific circumstances or conditions. The robust notification channel will use better (more expensive) coding and modulation than conventionally known (and standardized) paging and / or data channels, and therefore will have better coverage, for example, up to 18 dB higher than these normal channels. Specifically, it is envisioned that such a robust notification channel will be used when an incoming call is received (detected by the access network and, for example, a standard paging procedure is performed) but the considered user equipment is unaware of the incoming call, i.e., the considered user equipment (ultimately) does not respond to (e.g.) the paging procedure because it is out of coverage and therefore unreachable for downlink transmission. It is also envisioned that such a robust notification channel will be used when downlink data transmission is scheduled for the considered user equipment but the user equipment (ultimately) does not receive the relevant message or notification.

[0011] However, the misuse or inflexible general use of such a (robust) notification channel may be undesirable (or even considered annoying) by users of the corresponding user equipment, and such general use may also lead to the need to consume a lot of resources (especially radio frequency or spectrum resources) to such a notification channel. Summary of the Invention

[0012] The object of this invention is to provide a technically simple, effective, and cost-efficient solution for the flexible use of such a (robust) notification channel, specifically for providing communication services to user equipment using an access network in a configurable manner. This access network uses such a notification channel, which is used or is capable of being used when (by the access network) it is detected that the user equipment has not responded to an incoming call and / or an incoming paging indication and / or a downlink data transmission indication for that user equipment. Another object of this invention is to provide a corresponding system or corresponding mobile communication network, corresponding user equipment, and corresponding programs and computer-readable media.

[0013] The object of the present invention is achieved by a method for providing communication services to user equipment in a configurable manner using an access network that uses a notification channel, wherein the access network is an access network of a mobile communication network, or an access network assigned to or associated with a mobile communication network, and wherein the mobile communication network includes, is assigned to, or is associated with a core network. The notification channel may be used or enabled when the user equipment fails to respond to any of the following: -- Incoming calls and / or for this user equipment -- Incoming paging indications and / or for this user equipment -- Downlink data transmission indication, The notification channel is used to transmit one or more notification channel messages to the user equipment. In order to use the notification channel in a configurable manner, the core network and / or the access network receives and / or includes a notification channel priority indication, and the method includes the following steps: -- In the first step, based on the notification channel priority indication, and if the core network and / or the access network are capable or potentially capable of transmitting specific notification channel information to the user equipment, it is determined whether the specific notification channel information is related to a higher-priority communication service or a lower-priority communication service. -- In the second step, if the specific notification channel information is related to a higher priority communication service, the specific notification channel information is transmitted to the user equipment; if the specific notification channel information is related to a lower priority communication service, the transmission of the specific notification channel information is suppressed.

[0014] By using a notification channel priority indicator, the notification channel can be advantageously used in a flexible and configurable manner according to the present invention—that is, one or more notification channel messages can be transmitted from the (serving) base station entity (or access network (node)) to the corresponding user equipment under consideration.

[0015] Therefore, according to the invention, it is particularly advantageous to use the notification channel only when necessary and / or as desired by the user of the user equipment under consideration—and especially not every time the service base station entity of the access network detects that the user equipment under consideration has not responded to an incoming call and / or an incoming paging indication and / or a downlink data transmission indication (and thus consume the corresponding radio or air interface resources).

[0016] In traditionally known existing mobile communication networks, such as 2G (second-generation systems), there were essentially only two cellular (or mobile communication) services: voice calls (especially circuit-switched) and SMS (Short Message Service). Today, in traditionally known mobile communication networks, modern user equipment—such as smartphones and / or tablets and / or other personal digital assistants or devices, such as wearables, smartwatches, etc.—is continuously or almost continuously connected (to the access network, particularly to the base station entity), and typically dozens of applications (either downloaded applications, apps, or applications built into (or connected to or associated with) the corresponding operating system of such devices (e.g., iOS, iPadOS, or Android)) receive downlink (DL) data (i.e., data sent or transmitted from the access network (or from access network nodes, particularly the corresponding serving base station entity) to the corresponding (considered) user equipment), such as (any type) status updates, emails, OTT messages (overhead messages), news feeds, software updates, instructions, etc.

[0017] Given that the user equipment under consideration is currently (i.e. at a particular point in time under consideration) in relatively poor radio coverage and / or poor reception conditions (e.g., due to interference, non-line-of-sight conditions toward the (serving) satellite), the abuse and unconfigurable use of such a (robust) notification channel would require its use to be quite frequent. This would at least potentially lead not only to the saturation of the notification channel (between the serving base station entity and the user equipment under consideration) and / or to such notifications being undesirable to the user of the user equipment, but also to the potential waste of radio transmission resources (of the serving base station entity).

[0018] For example, consider the case of a rural outdoor user who is only interested in certain information to be received in this situation, and especially if the user is outside the coverage area of ​​the access network (e.g., outside the radio coverage area of ​​a non-terrestrial network (NTN)). The user may not be interested in receiving the latest news updates, stock market information, or status changes, and only truly relevant information should be received. In this regard, such truly relevant information may include, for example, incoming IMS voice calls, SMS, OTT calls (WhatsApp, Signal, Skype, etc.), messages from specific OTT applications (WhatsApp, Signal, Skype, etc.), other notifications that may be important depending on the situation, especially public warning messages, such as public warning messages from a public warning system (PWS).

[0019] In conventional mobile communication networks, the flexible use of such (robust) notification channels (or their adaptation to the specific needs of user equipment or related applications) is not feasible. Therefore, in these currently known mobile communication networks, no further service differentiation of notification indications (or robust notification channels) is considered—that is, in a flexible and configurable manner, using robust notification channels (i.e., transmitting one or more corresponding notification channel messages) for Class 1 services (i.e., higher priority communication services), while not using robust notification channels (i.e., not transmitting one or more corresponding notification channel messages) for Class 2 services (i.e., lower priority communication services).

[0020] According to the present invention, the access network serving the user equipment under consideration—that is, the serving base station entity typically serving the user equipment under consideration—uses the (robust) notification channel in a configurable manner to transmit at least one notification channel message (i.e., one notification channel message or multiple notification channel messages) (i.e., the user equipment can receive the notification channel message at least as long as the transmission channel (between the serving base station entity and the user equipment) has not deteriorated to the point that transmission using the (robust) notification channel is no longer possible).

[0021] According to the present invention, the (robust) notification channel is used or can be used when the user equipment fails to respond to any of the following: -- Incoming calls and / or for this user equipment -- Incoming paging indications and / or for this user equipment -- Downlink data transmission indication.

[0022] This refers to the following situation: a serving base station entity attempts to notify the user equipment under consideration of an event or situation (incoming call, incoming paging indication, and / or downlink data transmission indication) that applies (or has occurred), and (since the notification has been sent to the user equipment under consideration) the serving base station entity expects the user equipment under consideration to respond or react in some way, for example, by at least acknowledging that such notification has been received. If the user equipment under consideration does not (or, at least the serving base station entity does not receive) such a response or reaction (as expected by the serving base station entity), the serving base station entity concludes that the user equipment under consideration is unreachable—at least not reachable by (if applicable, repeatedly) transmitting such notification messages according to established procedures and using standardized communication protocols and signal transmission procedures.

[0023] According to the present invention, this situation corresponds to the user equipment under consideration being detected (or having been detected) as not responding to an incoming call and / or an incoming paging indication and / or a downlink data transmission indication, and as a result of such detection or determination (by the access network or the corresponding serving base station entity), the (robust) notification channel is used (or more precisely, can be used) to transmit one or more notification channel messages to the user equipment.

[0024] According to the present invention, in the above-described case (using a (robust) notification channel), the notification channel is used in a configurable manner based on a notification channel priority indication available at the core network or at the access network (e.g., the serving base station entity) or at both the access network and the core network. This notification channel priority indication is available through the core network and / or the access network: -- it either already has (or includes) the notification channel priority indication, i.e., it is pre-configured accordingly (e.g., according to a standard or default configuration that may be based on the user's assumed consent based on the user's equipment under consideration but may be overridden by that user). -- Or by receiving the notification channel priority indication (especially specifically from the user equipment under consideration).

[0025] Therefore, according to the present invention, and based on the assumption that a notification channel priority indication is available to the core network and / or access network (depending on which one is invoking or triggering the use of the notification channel), the method according to the present invention includes the following steps: based on the notification channel priority indication, and if the core network and / or the access network is capable or likely to transmit specific notification channel information to the user equipment, detecting whether the specific notification channel information is related to a higher priority communication service or a lower priority communication service, and accordingly, either transmitting or not transmitting the specific notification channel information. This means that in the second step, -- If the specific notification channel information is related to a higher priority communication service, then the specific notification channel information is transmitted (to the user equipment), and -- If the specific notification channel information is associated with a lower priority communication service, the transmission of the specific notification channel information is suppressed (i.e., not transmitted). Therefore, according to the invention, the specific notification channel information may correspond to a simple 1-bit indication to a specific user equipment (i.e., the user equipment under consideration), such as indicating a missed downlink paging; in response to this reception, the user equipment (under consideration) may vibrate / beep / display a notification indicating that the user (or at least is) unreachable (or outside radio coverage). In addition to this signaling (or at least a 1-bit indication), there may also be indications (to the user of the user equipment) (i.e., optical indications typically achieved through the use of the user equipment's display device or display unit); for example, by using map information that has been transmitted previously (i.e., during the time interval when the user equipment under consideration has good radio coverage) indicating where the user of the user equipment under consideration should go (i.e., to which location or in which direction) to obtain better radio coverage. Therefore, according to the invention, the specific notification channel information—for example, corresponding to a 1-bit indication—may only indicate the information content “You missed a message / call / paging” to the user equipment in question or its user, or alternatively, it may (in addition to the information content and, if combined with other information such as map information) indicate where better coverage can be found; these two possibilities can even be distinguished by transmitting the specific notification channel information (using a 1-bit indication) as a binary “0” or as a binary “1”, such that in one possibility, only the information content (“You missed a message / call / paging”) is indicated, while in another possibility, the information content is indicated along with an indication of the location information of better coverage, which is also displayed (or otherwise signaled). Therefore, according to the invention, advantageously, the user (of the considered user equipment) can (pre-)configure the desired notification for different applications (i.e., flexibly configure how the robust notification channel should be used) before entering such a notification channel or extended notification situation (where radio coverage and / or reception conditions are relatively poor); furthermore, according to the invention, the necessary information elements on the relevant interface (for the configuration of such a notification channel) are preferably and advantageously defined to cover this possibility as part of the 3GPP 4G, 5G and / or 6G standards. In the context of this specification, the relevant details are described below exemplarily for 5G systems, and similarly apply to 4G systems, and are contemplated to be similarly applicable to 6G systems with necessary modifications.

[0026] According to the invention, advantageously and preferably, the specific notification channel information is associated with at least one of the following: -- One or more radio access bearers, which are one or more radio access bearers that the user equipment is currently using, can use, or is permitted to use. -- One or more Quality of Service (QoS) levels, which are the QoS levels that the user's equipment is currently using, can use, or is permitted to use. -- One or more applications running on the user's device.

[0027] Thus, the invention can be implemented easily and efficiently, wherein the configurable granularity of the notification channel (i.e., whether the notification channel information is transmitted to the user equipment or not) is at the radio access bearer level (i.e., which radio access bearer is linked to for a particular communication service or application) and can be configured (or turned on or off) at this level; in this respect, higher or lower priority communication services need to be understood as higher or lower priority radio access bearers (identifiers).

[0028] Alternatively or cumulatively, the configurable granularity of the notification channel is at the Quality of Service (QoS) level (i.e., which QoS is linked to for a specific communication service or application) and can be configured (or enabled or disabled) at that level; in this respect, higher or lower priority communication services need to be understood as higher or lower priority QoS levels (identifiers).

[0029] Alternatively or cumulatively, the configurable granularity of the notification channel is at the application level (i.e., which application it is linked to for a specific communication service or application) and can be configured (or enabled or disabled) at that level; in this respect, higher or lower priority communication services need to be understood as higher or lower priority applications (identifiers).

[0030] According to the invention, it is advantageously possible and preferred that the access network includes at least one base station entity, wherein the at least one base station entity provides services to the user equipment, and wherein the notification channel is used to transmit one or more notification channel information from the serving base station entity to the user equipment.

[0031] Therefore, according to the present invention, it is advantageous to implement and carry out the method of the present invention in a relatively simple and efficient manner.

[0032] According to all the different embodiments and variations of the invention, it is advantageously possible and preferred that the transmission of one or more notification channel information via or using the notification channel is based on the use of a special transmission mode or configuration, wherein the special transmission mode or configuration allows for an improved signal-to-noise ratio, resulting in an increased link budget, wherein the improved link budget is at least 10 dB higher, preferably at least 15 dB higher, and more preferably at least 18 dB higher, compared to normal or standard downlink radio transmission from the serving base station entity to the user equipment.

[0033] Therefore, according to the present invention, it is advantageous to realize and implement a robust notification channel, thereby enabling reliable transmission of notification channel information to the user equipment even when the radio coverage and / or reception conditions of the user equipment under consideration are quite poor.

[0034] According to all the different embodiments and variations of the invention, it is advantageously possible and preferred that: -- Specifically, the notification channel is used or is only permitted if the base station entity or the access network detects that the user equipment has not responded to any of the following: -- Incoming calls and / or for this user equipment -- Incoming paging indications and / or for this user equipment -- Downlink data transmission indication, or: -- Specifically, the base station entity or access network shall use or be able to use the notification channel only if the base station entity or access network detects that the user equipment ultimately fails to respond to any of the following: -- Incoming calls and / or for this user equipment -- Incoming paging indications and / or for this user equipment -- Downlink data transmission indication.

[0035] Therefore, according to the invention, the method of the invention can be advantageously implemented and carried out in a relatively simple and efficient manner; in particular, the notification channel is a notification channel used only when the user equipment misses an incoming call and / or an incoming paging indication and / or a downlink data transmission indication. Furthermore, in particular, the notification channel is preferably invoked or activated only when it is detected that the user equipment under consideration ultimately does not respond to such an incoming call / paging indication or downlink data transmission indication, i.e., for example, the following situation may exist: an incoming call is indicated to the user equipment under consideration once, and if the user equipment does not respond, the incoming call indication is repeated (at least once), and the notification channel is invoked only when the last possible indication (i.e., after the last possible indication, i.e., according to the configuration of the serving base station entity by the mobile network operator, for example) or its repetition) is not detected by the serving base station entity as any response or reply from the user equipment under consideration.

[0036] According to the invention, it is also advantageously possible and preferred that, in a third step prior to the first step, the user equipment transmits a notification channel configuration message to the access network and / or to the core network, wherein the notification channel configuration message includes or indicates a notification channel priority indication. In particular, the notification channel configuration message and / or the notification channel priority indicator indicate whether the notification channel information is transmitted or suppressed if it is associated with one or more of the following: -- IP Multimedia Subsystem Voice Call -- Short Message Service Message -- Over-the-top voice calls, especially differentiated by application, particularly WhatsApp, Signal, Threema, and Skype. -- Overhead messaging services, especially differentiated by application, particularly WhatsApp, Signal, Threema, and Skype. -- Status updates for top contacts, especially differentiated by application, particularly WhatsApp, Signal, Threema, and Skype. -- News scrolling bar -- Software update.

[0037] Therefore, according to the present invention, it is advantageous to implement and carry out the method of the present invention in a relatively simple and efficient manner.

[0038] Furthermore, according to the invention, it is advantageously possible and preferred that the notification channel priority indication is associated with at least one of the following: -- First and / or second priority communication services, wherein the first priority communication service corresponds to a higher priority communication service, and the second priority communication service corresponds to a lower priority communication service. -- First, second, and / or third priority communication services, wherein the first and second priority communication services correspond to higher priority communication services and the third priority communication service corresponds to lower priority communication services, or wherein the first priority communication service corresponds to higher priority communication services and the second and third priority communication services correspond to lower priority communication services. -- First, second, third, and / or fourth priority communication services, wherein: -- The first, second, and third priority communication services correspond to higher priority communication services, while the fourth priority communication service corresponds to lower priority communication services, or -- The first and second priority communication services correspond to higher priority communication services, while the third and fourth priority communication services correspond to lower priority communication services, or -- The first priority communication service corresponds to a higher priority communication service, while the second, third, and fourth priority communication services correspond to lower priority communication services.

[0039] Therefore, according to the present invention, it is advantageous to implement and carry out the method of the present invention in a relatively simple and efficient manner: In the presence of only first and / or second priority communication services, it is advantageous to provide a very high level of flexibility regarding the possibility of configuring notification channel functions; for example, for a user of the user equipment under consideration, a specific individual application and / or a specific communication service associated with a specific quality of service level can be defined as (corresponding to) a first priority communication service (i.e., a higher priority communication service that transmits one or more notification channel messages), while (all) other applications and / or communication services will be second priority communication services (i.e., lower priority communication services that do not transmit one or more notification channel messages).

[0040] Furthermore, in the presence of first, second, and / or third priority communication services or first, second, third, and / or fourth priority communication services, a high level of flexibility regarding the possibility of configuring the notification channel function can also be advantageously provided; for example, by having (if applicable) multiple predefined communication service groups (or priority levels), the user of the user equipment under consideration can choose to activate or deactivate the priority level of the communication service for the notification channel function (i.e., by, for example, defining only the first priority communication service as a higher priority communication service (while all others are defined as lower priority communication services), or alternatively, defining the first and second priority communication services as higher priority communication services (while all others are defined as lower priority communication services)). Thus, by using multiple predefined communication service groups (or priority levels), an enhanced level of data privacy (regarding which applications the user equipment under consideration is involved in (or uses) and / or the user's preferences regarding the notification channel function) can be advantageously achieved.

[0041] According to the invention, it is also advantageously possible and preferred that the notification channel priority indication be transmitted to the radio access network in one of the following ways: -- Packet Data Unit Session Resource Establishment Request (PDU) messages, particularly when the user equipment is in Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection mode or Radio Resource Control inactive mode, especially when sent by the access and mobility management functions of the core network to the corresponding network node of the access network, particularly the serving base station entity. -- Dynamic 5QI descriptor messages, especially when the user equipment is in Radio Resource Control (RRC) connected mode or Radio Resource Control (RRC) inactive mode, particularly when sent by the access and mobility management functions of the core network to the corresponding network nodes of the access network, especially the serving base station entity. -- Paging messages, especially when the user equipment is in Radio Resource Control Idle Mode, i.e., RRC Idle Mode.

[0042] Therefore, according to the present invention, it is advantageous to implement and carry out the method of the present invention in a relatively simple and efficient manner.

[0043] Furthermore, according to the invention, it is advantageous and preferred that the access network corresponds to a terrestrial access network or a non-terrestrial access network.

[0044] Therefore, according to the present invention, it is advantageous to implement and carry out the method of the present invention in a relatively simple and efficient manner.

[0045] Furthermore, the present invention relates to a system or mobile communication network for providing communication services to user equipment in a configurable manner using an access network and a notification channel of the access network, wherein the access network is an access network of a mobile communication network, or an access network assigned to or associated with a mobile communication network, and wherein the mobile communication network includes, is assigned to, or is associated with a core network. The notification channel may be used or enabled when the user equipment fails to respond to any of the following: -- Incoming calls and / or for this user equipment -- Incoming paging indications and / or for this user equipment -- Downlink data transmission indication, The notification channel is used to transmit one or more notification channel messages to the user equipment. In order to use the notification channel in a configurable manner, the core network and / or the access network receives and / or includes a notification channel priority indication, and the system or mobile communication network is configured such that: -- Based on the notification channel priority indication, and where the core network and / or the access network are capable or potentially capable of transmitting specific notification channel information to the user equipment, detect whether the specific notification channel information is related to a higher-priority communication service or a lower-priority communication service. -- If the specific notification channel information is related to a higher priority communication service, the specific notification channel information is transmitted to the user equipment; if the specific notification channel information is related to a lower priority communication service, the transmission of the specific notification channel information is suppressed.

[0046] In addition, the present invention relates to a user equipment for providing communication services in a configurable manner using an access network and a mobile communication network, wherein the user equipment is part of a system or mobile communication network according to the present invention.

[0047] Furthermore, the present invention relates to a program comprising computer-readable program code that, when executed on a computer and / or a network node of a user equipment and / or a mobile communication network, particularly on a core network or a network node of the access network, especially on a serving base station entity of the user equipment, or partially executed on a user equipment and / or partially executed on a network node of a mobile communication network, particularly on a core network or a network node of the access network, especially on a serving base station entity of the user equipment, causes the computer and / or the user equipment and / or the network node of the mobile communication network to perform the method of the present invention.

[0048] Furthermore, the present invention relates to a computer-readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed on a computer and / or a network node of a user equipment and / or a mobile communication network, particularly on a core network or a network node of the access network, especially on a serving base station entity of the user equipment, or partially on a user equipment and / or partially on a network node of a mobile communication network, particularly on a core network or a network node of the access network, especially on a serving base station entity of the user equipment, cause the computer and / or the user equipment and / or the network node of the mobile communication network to perform the method of the present invention.

[0049] These and other features, characteristics, and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the principles of the invention by way of example. This description is given by way of example only and does not limit the scope of the invention. The reference figures cited below refer to the accompanying drawings.

[0050] Brief description of the attached figures

[0051] Figure 1 The illustration and example show a user equipment in a mobile communication network using an access network (of or associated with the mobile communication network) that uses a (robust) notification channel, wherein communication services can be provided to the user equipment in a configurable manner and using the notification channel.

[0052] Figure 2The illustration provides an example and provides more detailed depiction of a scenario where the user equipment under consideration is served by an access network (or its base station entity), which is part of or associated with a mobile communication network, and which includes a core network (or is assigned to or associated with a core network), wherein the notification channel is configurably used or is capable of being used in the event that the user equipment is detected not responding to an incoming call and / or an incoming paging indication and / or a downlink data transmission indication for the user equipment. Detailed Implementation

[0053] The invention will be described with reference to specific embodiments and accompanying drawings, but is not limited thereto; rather, it is defined solely by the claims. The described drawings are merely illustrative and not restrictive. In the drawings, the dimensions of some elements may be exaggerated and not drawn to scale for illustrative purposes.

[0054] Use the indefinite or definite article when referring to a singular noun. For example, unless otherwise specified, “one,” “a,” and “the” include the plural form of the noun.

[0055] Furthermore, the terms first, second, third, etc., used in the specification and claims are used to distinguish between similar elements and are not necessarily used to describe order or chronological sequence. It is to be understood that such terms are interchangeable where appropriate, and the embodiments of the invention described herein can operate in an order different from that described or illustrated herein.

[0056] exist Figure 1 The diagram schematically and exemplaryly illustrates a user equipment 20 in a mobile communication network 100 using an access network 110 (of or associated with the mobile communication network 100). The mobile communication network 100—via the access network 110—is able to use a (robust) notification channel, even when the user equipment 20 is currently in a relatively poor radio coverage situation. According to the invention, and compared to what is possible in conventional known mobile communication networks, the use of a (robust) notification channel enables communication services to be provided to the user equipment in a configurable—and therefore flexible—way.

[0057] Figure 1 Two examples of user equipment 20 located in (or as part of) mobile communication network 100 and using or associated with mobile communication network 100 are shown. Communication services may be able to be provided to user equipment 20 at a normal (or enhanced) quality of service level (i.e., in cases where radio coverage is fairly good—in Figure 1In the diagram, user equipment 20 (or an instance thereof) is schematically represented by a solid-line box, entirely within the radio coverage area 11 of base station entity 111. Furthermore, communication services may also be available to user equipment 20 under poor radio transmission conditions—in Figure 1 In the diagram, user equipment 20 (or another instance thereof) is located on or partially outside the radio coverage area 11 of base station entity 111 and is indicated by a dashed box.

[0058] In the context of this invention, Figure 1 The user equipment 20 referred to herein may also be referred to as the user equipment under consideration or a particular user equipment 20; of course, other user equipment is usually present and connected to (and / or served by) the mobile communication network 100, however, again for simplicity, these other user equipment are not mentioned. Figure 1 The Chinese side indicated that...

[0059] Figure 1 The description covers the user equipment 20 within a mobile communication network 100, which is typically a non-terrestrial network and includes an access network 110 and a core network 120. The mobile communication network 100 is preferably a cellular telecommunications network, typically comprising multiple network cells (or radio cells). The access network 110 is part of or associated with the mobile communication network 100. The user equipment 20 is capable of connecting to (a first) base station entity 111 and / or another (or second) base station entity 112 (or being served by them), both of which are part of the access network 110. Typically, the access network 110 includes additional base station entities besides the (first and second) base station entities 111 and 112, but for simplicity, these are not mentioned in the text. Figure 1 As shown in the figure. In an exemplary non-terrestrial network illustrated as an example of a mobile communication network 100 according to the present invention, each of the base station entities 111, 112 of the mobile communication network 100 (or its access network 110) serves a radio coverage area or radio cell, with (first) base station entity 111 serving a first radio cell 11 and a second base station entity 112 serving a second radio cell 12. In the non-terrestrial network, such radio coverage areas or radio cells 11, 12 provided or generated by the base station entities 111, 112 of the access network 110 are generally geographically mobile (i.e., continuously covering a specific geographical area at a specific point in time, but moving relative to the Earth's surface, typically along the movement path of the respective base station entity).

[0060] The terms base station entities 111 and 112 serving user equipment 20 are here associated with satellites or high-altitude platforms that are part of the non-terrestrial infrastructure of mobile communication network 100 or its (or assigned or associated) access network 110, particularly by way of example; however, it should be understood that such satellites do not necessarily need to include (or provide as) all the functional elements or functions of base station entities, such as gNBs in 5G mobile communication network 100: there are usually (and necessarily) additional infrastructure elements, such as ground stations providing feeder links, within or as part of the non-terrestrial network, and the distribution of the functionality (or parts thereof) of base station entities may also be distributed among these additional infrastructure elements; nevertheless, user equipment 20 is served by the functionality of base station entities, and at least the antenna portion—or radio unit—needs to be located on a satellite or satellite equipment or high-altitude platform in the non-terrestrial network; therefore, at least from the perspective of user equipment 20, the functionality of base station entities is located on the satellite or high-altitude platform.

[0061] According to the present invention, the communication service is provided to the user equipment 20 using the access network 110 of the mobile communication network 100 or the access network 110 associated with the mobile communication network 100. This situation is illustrated and exemplary in Figure 2 As shown, the user equipment is served by access network 110, that is, typically by base station entity 111 of access network 110, and access network 110 is part of or associated with mobile communication network 100, which includes core network 120 (or is assigned to or associated with core network 120). Figure 2 Two instances of user equipment 20 are also shown: -- Upper (or first) instance (in) Figure 2 In the middle, the solid-line box indicates a normal (or improved) quality of service level (thus indicating fairly good radio coverage), and -- The lower (or second) instance (dashed box) represents poorer radio transmission conditions. If the user equipment 20 under consideration is in the upper or first instance, multiple dedicated data radio access bearers RAB 115 are used to provide communication services to the user equipment 20 under consideration. If the user equipment 20 under consideration is in the lower or second instance, notification channel 116 is used or can be used, i.e., the serving base station entity 111 potentially transmits one or more notification channel messages 117 to the user equipment 20 under consideration. Figure 2In the example shown, notification channel 116 is activated only for two of the three radio access bearers 115, meaning that notification channel information (or one or more of it) is transmitted only for these two radio access bearers 115. According to the invention, this filtering can be implemented via (or based on) notification channel priority indication 119. Notification channel priority indication 119 can be accessed by core network 120 and / or access network 110 (particularly by serving base station entity 111); in particular, notification channel priority indication 119 is provided to core network 120 and / or access network 110, or provided through (initial) configuration and / or through transmission of notification channel priority indication 119 by the user equipment 20 under consideration.

[0062] therefore, Figure 2 The invention illustrates three services (for simplicity, each on a dedicated data radio access bearer RAB 115): it is assumed that the core network 120 can determine either at each (established) service level or at least at each data radio bearer, for which the 4G / 5G Quality of Service (QoS) concept with its QCI / 5QI can be used.

[0063] (Radio) access network 110 can be satellite-based (SAN, satellite access network, or non-terrestrial network, possibly with a high-altitude platform) or terrestrial access network 110, and the user equipment 20 under consideration is initially in normal coverage (first instance, Figure 2 (As shown in the upper part of the figure), all three services 115 and their associated downlink data transmissions are enabled. In the lower part of the figure (dashed lines), the user equipment 20 under consideration is outside radio coverage and is only reachable via a dedicated notification channel. In the exemplary case shown, this dedicated notification channel is enabled only for services / RAB #1 and #2 based on pre-configured filtering (i.e., based on notification channel priority indication 119). This filtering is applied...

[0064] -- Or directly in the core network 120 (e.g., in the case where the user equipment 20 under consideration is in idle mode (radio resource control idle mode), see reference numeral 119 as a representation of the core network 120). -- Either in (radio) access network 110, such as satellite access network SAN (e.g., in the case where the user equipment 20 under consideration is in an inactive mode (radio resource control inactive mode) or in a connected mode (radio resource control connected mode)).

[0065] Specifically, according to the present invention, the signaling between the core network 120 and the access network 110 is modified compared to currently known mobile communication networks: In the initial (optional) processing steps, an application-level connection is preferably established between the user equipment 20 under consideration and the mobile network operator's customer portal to (potentially individually) pre-configure the functionality of the notification channel 116 (i.e., when to send a notification (notification channel information 117 or one or more of it) for a missed incoming service (mobility termination) paging). Specifically, the mobile network operator's customer portal provides the customer (of the user equipment 20) with individual notification options for each applicable service, such as (i.e., involving at least one of the following): -- IMS voice call, -- SMS, -- OTT voice calls (may vary by application) -- WhatsApp voice message -- SignalVoice -- Threema voice, -- Skype voice message -- OTT messaging services (may be differentiated by application) -- WhatsApp message -- Signal message, -- Threema News -- Skype message, -- OTT Status Update -- Contact Status (may be differentiated by application) -- WhatsApp status update -- Signal status update -- Threema status update -- Skype status update -- News scrolling bar -- Software update, -- other.

[0066] This corresponds to the user equipment 20 under consideration transmitting a notification channel configuration message to the access network 110 and / or to the core network 120 (but more precisely to the core network 120), wherein (at least implicitly) the notification channel configuration message (via the selection transmitted to the mobile network operator portal) includes or indicates a notification channel priority indication 119.

[0067] Once the user equipment 20 under consideration is connected (i.e. served by the access network and / or one of its base station entities, such as base station entity 111), the pre-configured information (i.e., notification channel priority indication 119) is taken into account when establishing an individual connection between the core network 120 and the access network 110.

[0068] According to the present invention, it is proposed to enhance, for example, PDU session resource establishment request messages from Access and Mobility Management Functions (AMF) to NG-RAN (Next Generation Radio Access Network), or dynamic 5QI descriptors (or alternatives thereof), or paging messages, by adding relevant new information elements to transmit a notification channel priority indication 119 (or notification indication); in the context of the present invention, this is also referred to below as "PDU session notification indication" or "notification indication"—marked in the table below. New ( NEW ) is used to represent this.

[0069] For example, if the user equipment 20 under consideration is in connected mode or inactive mode, the PDU session resource establishment request message is updated to enable the transmission of notification channel priority indication 119: This message is sent by the AMF to request the NG-RAN node to allocate resources on Uu and NG-U for one or more PDU session resources.

[0070] Direction: AMF → NG-RAN node

[0071] Alternatively, the notification channel priority indication 119 is transmitted via a notification indication (information element) added to the 5QI concept: 9.3.1.18 Dynamic 5QI Descriptor This IE indicates the QoS features of non-standardized or unconfigured 5QI for downlink and uplink.

[0072]

[0073] According to the invention, particularly preferred is that the core network 120—in particular its Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF)—notifies the access network 110 of a (pre)configured notification indication at each radio bearer, 5QI, or PDU stream level, enabling the access network 110 to perform the notification channel function for the user equipment 20 under consideration, based on the preconfigured information (notification channel priority indication 119), to activate the notification channel 116 only for the desired service.

[0074] For idle mode-related procedures, the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) should apply a notification filter (i.e., notification channel priority indicator 119) before applying the paging procedure, and in particular, enhance the paging message by indicating the following: 9.2.4 Paging Message 9.2.4.1 Paging This message is sent by the AMF to page the UE in one or more tracking areas.

[0075] Direction: AMF → NG-RAN node

[0076] In another variant or embodiment of the invention, it is particularly preferred that the notification indication (i.e., the notification channel priority indication 119) not only indicates whether the notification channel 116 is activated or deactivated, but also indicates the number of retries for the notification (e.g., from 1 (indicating no retries) to a maximum number, such as 10; "1 ..

[10] ") (i.e., the number of times the access network 110 transmits one or more notification channel messages) and / or can add a repeat timer to the signaling (i.e. to the notification channel priority indication 119) (repeated once every X seconds for a duration of T seconds).

Claims

1. A method for providing communication services to user equipment (20) in a configurable manner using an access network (110), the access network (110) using a notification channel (116), wherein the access network (110) is an access network (110) of a mobile communication network (100), or an access network (110) assigned to or associated with a mobile communication network (100), and wherein the mobile communication network (100) includes a core network (120), or is assigned to or associated with a core network (120), The notification channel (116) is used or can be used when the user equipment (20) fails to respond to any of the following: -- Incoming calls and / or to the user equipment (20) -- Incoming paging indications and / or for the user equipment (20) -- Downlink data transmission indication, The notification channel (116) is used to transmit one or more notification channel messages (117) to the user equipment (20). In order to use the notification channel (116) in a configurable manner, the core network (120) and / or the access network (110) receive and / or include a notification channel priority indication (119), and the method includes the following steps: -- In the first step, based on the notification channel priority indication (119), and if the core network (120) and / or the access network (110) are able or potentially able to transmit specific notification channel information (117) to the user equipment (20), it is detected whether the specific notification channel information (117) is related to a higher priority communication service or a lower priority communication service. -- In the second step, if the specific notification channel information (117) is related to a higher priority communication service, the specific notification channel information (117) is transmitted to the user equipment (20); if the specific notification channel information (117) is related to a lower priority communication service, the transmission of the specific notification channel information (117) is suppressed.

2. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The specific notification channel information (117) is associated with at least one of the following: -- One or more radio access bearers (115), wherein the one or more radio access bearers (115) are one or more radio access bearers currently in use, capable of use, or permitted to be used by the user equipment (20). -- One or more Quality of Service (QoS) levels, wherein the one or more QoS levels are those currently in use, are available for use, or are permitted to be used by the user equipment (20). -- One or more applications running on the user equipment (20).

3. The method as described in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, The access network (110) includes at least one base station entity (111), wherein the at least one base station entity (111) provides services to the user equipment (20), and wherein the notification channel (116) is used to transmit one or more notification channel information (117) from the serving base station entity (111) to the user equipment (20). In particular, the transmission of one or more notification channel messages (117) via or using the notification channel (116) is based on the use of a special transmission mode or configuration, wherein the special transmission mode or configuration allows for an improved signal-to-noise ratio, resulting in an increased link budget, wherein the improved link budget is at least 10 dB higher, preferably at least 15 dB higher, and more preferably at least 18 dB higher, compared to normal or standard downlink radio transmission from the serving base station entity (111) to the user equipment (20). Specifically, the notification channel (116) is used or is available only if the base station entity (111) or the access network (110) detects that the user equipment (20) has not responded to any of the following: -- Incoming calls and / or to the user equipment (20) -- Incoming paging indications and / or for the user equipment (20) -- Downlink data transmission indication, Specifically, the notification channel (116) is used or is able to be used only if the base station entity (111) or the access network (110) detects that the user equipment (20) ultimately fails to respond to any of the following: -- Incoming calls and / or to the user equipment (20) -- Incoming paging indications and / or for the user equipment (20) -- Downlink data transmission indication.

4. The method as described in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, In the third step prior to the first step, the user equipment (20) transmits a notification channel configuration message to the access network (110) and / or to the core network (120), wherein the notification channel configuration message includes or indicates the notification channel priority indication (119). In particular, the notification channel configuration message and / or the notification channel priority indication (119) indicate whether the notification channel information (117) is transmitted or suppressed if it is associated with one or more of the following: -- IP Multimedia Subsystem Voice Call -- Short Message Service Message -- Overhead voice calls, especially differentiated by application, particularly WhatsApp, Signal, Threema, and Skype. -- Overhead messaging services, especially differentiated by application, particularly WhatsApp, Signal, Threema, and Skype. -- Status updates for top contacts, especially differentiated by application, particularly WhatsApp, Signal, Threema, and Skype. -- News scrolling bar -- Software update.

5. The method as described in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, The notification channel priority indication (119) is associated with at least one of the following: -- First and / or second priority communication services, wherein the first priority communication service corresponds to a higher priority communication service, and the second priority communication service corresponds to a lower priority communication service. -- First, second, and / or third priority communication services, wherein the first and second priority communication services correspond to higher priority communication services and the third priority communication service corresponds to lower priority communication services, or wherein the first priority communication service corresponds to a higher priority communication service and the second and third priority communication services correspond to lower priority communication services. -- First, second, third, and / or fourth priority communication services, wherein: -- The first, second, and third priority communication services correspond to higher priority communication services, while the fourth priority communication service corresponds to a lower priority communication service, or -- The first and second priority communication services correspond to higher priority communication services, while the third and fourth priority communication services correspond to lower priority communication services, or -- The first priority communication service corresponds to a higher priority communication service, while the second, third, and fourth priority communication services correspond to lower priority communication services.

6. The method as described in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, The notification channel priority indication (119) is transmitted to the radio access network (110) in one of the following ways: -- Packet Data Unit Session Resource Establishment Request Message, i.e. PDU Session Resource Establishment Request Message, especially when the user equipment (20) is in Radio Resource Control Connection Mode, i.e. RRC Connection Mode, or Radio Resource Control Inactive Mode, i.e. RRC Inactive Mode, especially sent by the access and mobility management functions of the core network (120) to the corresponding network node of the access network (120), especially the serving base station entity (111). -- Dynamic 5QI descriptor messages, especially when the user equipment (20) is in radio resource control connection mode, i.e., RRC connection mode or radio resource control inactive mode, i.e., RRC inactive mode, are sent, in particular, by the access and mobility management functions of the core network (120) to the corresponding network nodes of the access network (120), especially the serving base station entity (111). -- Paging messages, especially when the user equipment (20) is in Radio Resource Control Idle Mode, i.e., RRC Idle Mode.

7. The method as described in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, The access network (110) corresponds to a terrestrial access network or a non-terrestrial access network.

8. A system or mobile communication network (100) for providing communication services to user equipment (20) in a configurable manner using an access network (110), the access network (110) using a notification channel (116), wherein the access network (110) is an access network (110) of a mobile communication network (100), or an access network (110) assigned to or associated with a mobile communication network (100), and wherein the mobile communication network (100) includes a core network (120), or is assigned to or associated with a core network (120), The notification channel (116) is used or can be used when the user equipment (20) fails to respond to any of the following: -- Incoming calls and / or to the user equipment (20) -- Incoming paging indications and / or for the user equipment (20) -- Downlink data transmission indication, The notification channel (116) is used to transmit one or more notification channel messages (117) to the user equipment (20). In order to use the notification channel (116) in a configurable manner, the core network (120) and / or the access network (110) receive and / or include a notification channel priority indication (119), and the system or mobile communication network (100) is configured such that: -- Based on the notification channel priority indication (119), and if the core network (120) and / or the access network (110) are able or potentially able to transmit specific notification channel information (117) to the user equipment (20), detect whether the specific notification channel information (117) is related to a higher priority communication service or a lower priority communication service. -- If the specific notification channel information (117) is associated with a higher priority communication service, the specific notification channel information (117) is transmitted to the user equipment (20); if the specific notification channel information (117) is associated with a lower priority communication service, the transmission of the specific notification channel information (117) is suppressed.

9. A user equipment (20) for providing communication services in a configurable manner using an access network (110) and a mobile communication network (100), wherein the user equipment (20) is part of the system or mobile communication network (100) as claimed in claim 8.

10. A program comprising computer-readable program code that, when executed on a computer and / or a network node of a user equipment (20) and / or a mobile communication network (100), particularly on a network node of the core network (120) or the access network (110), especially on a serving base station entity (111) of the user equipment (20), or partially on the user equipment (20) and / or partially on a network node of the mobile communication network (100), particularly on a network node of the core network (120) or the access network (110), especially on a serving base station entity (111) of the user equipment (20), wherein the program code causes the computer and / or the user equipment (20) and / or the network node of the mobile communication network (100) to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 7.

11. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed on a computer and / or a network node of a mobile communication network (100), particularly on a network node of the core network (120) or the access network (110), especially on a serving base station entity (111) of the user equipment (20), or partially on the user equipment (20) and / or partially on a network node of the mobile communication network (100), particularly on a network node of the core network (120) or the access network (110), especially on a serving base station entity (111) of the user equipment (20), wherein the instructions cause the computer and / or the user equipment (20) and / or the network node of the mobile communication network (100) to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 7.

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