Enabling network assisted registration for power constrained IoT devices

Abstract

.Systems, methods, and instrumentalities may be configured to enable network-assisted registration for power-constrained loT devices. A first network node may send a first message to a second network node, including any of an aioT WTRU event triggering request for registration initialization. This request may include a CDAF instance identifier, registration trigger, aioT WTRU identifier, security seed, aloT category, capabilities, WTRU type, and / or energization information. The first network node may receive a registration triggering notification from the second network node, and in response, send a registration triggering notification response. The first network node may receive a registration accept message, including any of an aioT identifier, CDAF instance identifier, WTRU fingerprint, and / or encrypted identity information. The first network node may send a second aioT WTRU event triggering request for registration acceptance.

Description

ENABLING NETWORK ASSISTED REGISTRATION FOR POWER CONSTRAINED IOT DEVICES CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of US Provisional Patent Application No.63 / 530,775 filed August 4, 2023, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein. BACKGROUND

[0002] Mobile communications using wireless communication continue to evolve. A fifth generation of mobile communication radio access technology (RAT) may be referred to as 5G new radio (NR). A previous (legacy) generation of mobile communication RAT may be, for example, fourth generation (4G) long term evolution (LTE). SUMMARY

[0003] Systems, methods, and instrumentalities may be configured for enabling network assisted registration for power constrained Internet of Things (IoT) devices. A first network node may send, to a second network node, a first message comprising a first ambient Internet of Things (aIoT) wireless transmit receive unit (WTRU) event triggering request associated with a registration initialization of an aIoT WTRU. The first aIoT WTRU event triggering request may include one or more of a constrained device assistance function (CDAF) instance identifier, an indication of triggering for registration, an aIoT WTRU identifier, a security seed, an aIoT category, an aIoT capability, an aIoT WTRU type, energization information, an energization indication, or an event type. The first network node may receive, from the second network node, a second message comprising a registration triggering notification associated with the aIoT WTRU. The first network node may, based on the registration triggering notification, send to the second network node, a third message comprising a registration triggering notification response associated with the aIoT WTRU. The first network node may receive, from the second network node, a fourth message comprising a registration accept message. The registration accept message may include one or more of an aIoT identifier, the CDAF instance identifier, an aIoT WTRU fingerprint, or encrypted identity information of the aIoT WTRU. The first network node may send, to the second network node, a fifth message including a second aIoT WTRU event triggering request associated with a registration acceptance of the aIoT WTRU. The second aIoT WTRU event triggering request may include one or more of: an indication of triggering for registration acceptance, a CDAF instance identifier, an aIoT WTRU identifier, a security seed, an aIoT category, an aIoT capability, an aIoT WTRU type, energization information, an energization indication, or an event type.

[0004] The first network node may derive a second aIoT WTRU fingerprint based on the security seed. The first network node may determine that the second aIoT WTRU fingerprint matches the aIoT WTRU fingerprint. The first network node may decrypt the encrypted identity information. The first network node may perform a security key and security context establishment based on the decrypted identity information. The first network node may include a CDAF, and the second network node may include an application management function (AMF). The first network node may receive, from the second network node, an authentication request message. The first network node may perform an authentication computation associated with the aIoT WTRU and on behalf of the aIoT WTRU. The first network node may send, to the second network node, a third aIoT event triggering request to authenticate the aIoT WTRU. The first network node may receive, from the second network node, a verification response indicating that the event triggering request to authenticate the aIoT WTRU has been validated. The first network node may send an aIoT WTRU authentication request to an access network (AN), wherein the aIoT WTRU authentication request indicates to energize the aIoT WTRU. The first network node may send to the second network node at an expiration of a timer, a request to energize the aIoT WTRU and trigger a re-registration. The timer may include a delegate periodic registration timer. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0005] FIG.1A is a system diagram illustrating an example communications system in which one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented.

[0006] FIG.1B is a system diagram illustrating an example wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU) that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG.1A according to an embodiment.

[0007] FIG.1C is a system diagram illustrating an example radio access network (RAN) and an example core network (CN) that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG.1A according to an embodiment.

[0008] FIG.1D is a system diagram illustrating a further example RAN and a further example CN that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG.1A according to an embodiment.

[0009] FIGS.2A and 2B illustrate a network assisted aIoT WTRU registration. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0010] FIG.1A is a diagram illustrating an example communications system 100 in which one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented. The communications system 100 may be a multiple access system that provides content, such as voice, data, video, messaging, broadcast, etc., to multiple wireless users. The communications system 100 may enable multiple wireless users to access such content through the sharing of system resources, including wireless bandwidth. In examples, the communications systems 100 may employ one or more channel access methods, such as code division multiple access(CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), zero-tail unique-word DFT-Spread OFDM (ZT UW DTS-s OFDM), unique word OFDM (UW-OFDM), resource block-filtered OFDM, filter bank multicarrier (FBMC), and the like.

[0011] As shown in FIG.1A, the communications system 100 may include wireless transmit / receive units (WTRUs) 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, a RAN 104 / 113, a CN 106 / 115, a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 108, the Internet 110, and other networks 112, though it will be appreciated that the disclosed embodiments contemplate any number of WTRUs, base stations, networks, and / or network elements. Each of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may be any type of device configured to operate and / or communicate in a wireless environment. By way of example, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, any of which may be referred to as a “station” and / or a “STA”, may be configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals and may include a user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a fixed or mobile subscriber unit, a subscription-based unit, a pager, a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smartphone, a laptop, a netbook, a personal computer, a wireless sensor, a hotspot or Mi-Fi device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, a medical device and applications (e.g., remote surgery), an industrial device and applications (e.g., a robot and / or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and / or an automated processing chain contexts), a consumer electronics device, a device operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, and the like. Any of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and 102d may be interchangeably referred to as a WTRU.

[0012] The communications systems 100 may also include a base station 114a and / or a base station 114b. Each of the base stations 114a, 114b may be any type of device configured to wirelessly interface with at least one of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d to facilitate access to one or more communication networks, such as the CN 106 / 115, the Internet 110, and / or the other networks 112. By way of example, the base stations 114a, 114b may be a base transceiver station (BTS), a Node-B, an eNode B, a Home Node B, a Home eNode B, a gNB, a NR NodeB, a site controller, an access point (AP), a wireless router, and the like. While the base stations 114a, 114b are each depicted as a single element, it will be appreciated that the base stations 114a, 114b may include any number of interconnected base stations and / or network elements.

[0013] The base station 114a may be part of the RAN 104 / 113, which may also include other base stations and / or network elements (not shown), such as a base station controller (BSC), a radio network controller (RNC), relay nodes, etc. The base station 114a and / or the base station 114b may be configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals on one or more carrier frequencies, which may be referred to as a cell (not shown). These frequencies may be in licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or a combination of licensed and unlicensed spectrum. A cell may provide coverage for a wireless service to a specificgeographical area that may be relatively fixed or that may change over time. The cell may further be divided into cell sectors. In examples, the cell associated with the base station 114a may be divided into three sectors. Thus, in one embodiment, the base station 114a may include three transceivers, i.e., one for each sector of the cell. In an embodiment, the base station 114a may employ multiple-input multiple output (MIMO) technology and may utilize multiple transceivers for each sector of the cell. In examples, beamforming may be used to transmit and / or receive signals in desired spatial directions.

[0014] The base stations 114a, 114b may communicate with one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d over an air interface 116, which may be any suitable wireless communication link (e.g., radio frequency (RF), microwave, centimeter wave, micrometer wave, infrared (IR), ultraviolet (UV), visible light, etc.). The air interface 116 may be established using any suitable radio access technology (RAT).

[0015] More specifically, as noted above, the communications system 100 may be a multiple access system and may employ one or more channel access schemes, such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA, and the like. In examples, the base station 114a in the RAN 104 / 113 and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), which may establish the air interface 115 / 116 / 117 using wideband CDMA (WCDMA). WCDMA may include communication protocols such as High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) and / or Evolved HSPA (HSPA+). HSPA may include High-Speed Downlink (DL) Packet Access (HSDPA) and / or High-Speed UL Packet Access (HSUPA).

[0016] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA), which may establish the air interface 116 using Long Term Evolution (LTE) and / or LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) and / or LTE-Advanced Pro (LTE-A Pro).

[0017] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as NR Radio Access, which may establish the air interface 116 using New Radio (NR).

[0018] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement multiple radio access technologies. In examples, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement LTE radio access and NR radio access together, for instance using dual connectivity (DC) principles. Thus, the air interface utilized by WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may be characterized by multiple types of radio access technologies and / or transmissions sent to / from multiple types of base stations (e.g., an eNB and a gNB).

[0019] In other embodiments, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement radio technologies such as IEEE 802.11 (i.e., Wireless Fidelity (WiFi), IEEE 802.16 (i.e., Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)), CDMA2000, CDMA20001X, CDMA2000 EV-DO, Interim Standard 2000 (IS-2000), Interim Standard 95 (IS-95), Interim Standard 856 (IS-856), Global System forMobile communications (GSM), Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), GSM EDGE (GERAN), and the like.

[0020] The base station 114b in FIG.1A may be a wireless router, Home Node B, Home eNode B, or access point, for example, and may utilize any suitable RAT for facilitating wireless connectivity in a localized area, such as a place of business, a home, a vehicle, a campus, an industrial facility, an air corridor (e.g., for use by drones), a roadway, and the like. In one embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.11 to establish a wireless local area network (WLAN). In an embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.15 to establish a wireless personal area network (WPAN). In yet another embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may utilize a cellular-based RAT (e.g., WCDMA, CDMA2000, GSM, LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR etc.) to establish a picocell or femtocell. As shown in FIG.1A, the base station 114b may have a direct connection to the Internet 110. Thus, the base station 114b may not be required to access the Internet 110 via the CN 106 / 115.

[0021] The RAN 104 / 113 may be in communication with the CN 106 / 115, which may be any type of network configured to provide voice, data, applications, and / or voice over internet protocol (VoIP) services to one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d. The data may have varying quality of service (QoS) requirements, such as differing throughput requirements, latency requirements, error tolerance requirements, reliability requirements, data throughput requirements, mobility requirements, and the like. The CN 106 / 115 may provide call control, billing services, mobile location-based services, pre-paid calling, Internet connectivity, video distribution, etc., and / or perform high-level security functions, such as user authentication. Although not shown in FIG.1A, it will be appreciated that the RAN 104 / 113 and / or the CN 106 / 115 may be in direct or indirect communication with other RANs that employ the same RAT as the RAN 104 / 113 or a different RAT. In examples, in addition to being connected to the RAN 104 / 113, which may be utilizing a NR radio technology, the CN 106 / 115 may also be in communication with another RAN (not shown) employing a GSM, UMTS, CDMA 2000, WiMAX, E-UTRA, or WiFi radio technology.

[0022] The CN 106 / 115 may also serve as a gateway for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d to access the PSTN 108, the Internet 110, and / or the other networks 112. The PSTN 108 may include circuit- switched telephone networks that provide plain old telephone service (POTS). The Internet 110 may include a global system of interconnected computer networks and devices that use common communication protocols, such as the transmission control protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP) and / or the internet protocol (IP) in the TCP / IP internet protocol suite. The networks 112 may include wired and / or wireless communications networks owned and / or operated by other service providers. In examples, the networks 112 may include another CN connected to one or more RANs, which may employ the same RAT as the RAN 104 / 113 or a different RAT.

[0023] Some or all of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d in the communications system 100 may include multi-mode capabilities (e.g., the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may include multiple transceivers for communicating with different wireless networks over different wireless links). In examples, the WTRU 102c shown in FIG.1A may be configured to communicate with the base station 114a, which may employ a cellular-based radio technology, and with the base station 114b, which may employ an IEEE 802 radio technology.

[0024] FIG.1B is a system diagram illustrating an example WTRU 102. As shown in FIG.1B, the WTRU 102 may include a processor 118, a transceiver 120, a transmit / receive element 122, a speaker / microphone 124, a keypad 126, a display / touchpad 128, non-removable memory 130, removable memory 132, a power source 134, a global positioning system (GPS) chipset 136, and / or other peripherals 138, among others. It will be appreciated that the WTRU 102 may include any sub-combination of the foregoing elements while remaining consistent with an embodiment.

[0025] The processor 118 may be a general purpose processor, a special purpose processor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in association with a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) circuits, any other type of integrated circuit (IC), a state machine, and the like. The processor 118 may perform signal coding, data processing, power control, input / output processing, and / or any other functionality that enables the WTRU 102 to operate in a wireless environment. The processor 118 may be coupled to the transceiver 120, which may be coupled to the transmit / receive element 122. While FIG.1B depicts the processor 118 and the transceiver 120 as separate components, it will be appreciated that the processor 118 and the transceiver 120 may be integrated together in an electronic package or chip.

[0026] The transmit / receive element 122 may be configured to transmit signals to, or receive signals from, a base station (e.g., the base station 114a) over the air interface 116. In examples, in one embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 may be an antenna configured to transmit and / or receive RF signals. In an embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 may be an emitter / detector configured to transmit and / or receive IR, UV, or visible light signals, for example. In yet another embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 may be configured to transmit and / or receive both RF and light signals. It will be appreciated that the transmit / receive element 122 may be configured to transmit and / or receive any combination of wireless signals.

[0027] Although the transmit / receive element 122 is depicted in FIG.1B as a single element, the WTRU 102 may include any number of transmit / receive elements 122. More specifically, the WTRU 102 may employ MIMO technology. Thus, in one embodiment, the WTRU 102 may include two or moretransmit / receive elements 122 (e.g., multiple antennas) for transmitting and receiving wireless signals over the air interface 116.

[0028] The transceiver 120 may be configured to modulate the signals that are to be transmitted by the transmit / receive element 122 and to demodulate the signals that are received by the transmit / receive element 122. As noted above, the WTRU 102 may have multi-mode capabilities. Thus, the transceiver 120 may include multiple transceivers for enabling the WTRU 102 to communicate via multiple RATs, such as NR and IEEE 802.11, for example.

[0029] The processor 118 of the WTRU 102 may be coupled to, and may receive user input data from, the speaker / microphone 124, the keypad 126, and / or the display / touchpad 128 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) display unit or organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display unit). The processor 118 may also output user data to the speaker / microphone 124, the keypad 126, and / or the display / touchpad 128. In addition, the processor 118 may access information from, and store data in, any type of suitable memory, such as the non-removable memory 130 and / or the removable memory 132. The non-removable memory 130 may include random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), a hard disk, or any other type of memory storage device. The removable memory 132 may include a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, a memory stick, a secure digital (SD) memory card, and the like. In other embodiments, the processor 118 may access information from, and store data in, memory that is not physically located on the WTRU 102, such as on a server or a home computer (not shown).

[0030] The processor 118 may receive power from the power source 134, and may be configured to distribute and / or control the power to the other components in the WTRU 102. The power source 134 may be any suitable device for powering the WTRU 102. In examples, the power source 134 may include one or more dry cell batteries (e.g., nickel-cadmium (NiCd), nickel-zinc (NiZn), nickel metal hydride (NiMH), lithium-ion (Li-ion), etc.), solar cells, fuel cells, and the like.

[0031] The processor 118 may also be coupled to the GPS chipset 136, which may be configured to provide location information (e.g., longitude and latitude) regarding the current location of the WTRU 102. In addition to, or in lieu of, the information from the GPS chipset 136, the WTRU 102 may receive location information over the air interface 116 from a base station (e.g., base stations 114a, 114b) and / or determine its location based on the timing of the signals being received from two or more nearby base stations. It will be appreciated that the WTRU 102 may acquire location information by way of any suitable location- determination method while remaining consistent with an embodiment.

[0032] The processor 118 may further be coupled to other peripherals 138, which may include one or more software and / or hardware modules that provide additional features, functionality and / or wired or wireless connectivity. In examples, the peripherals 138 may include an accelerometer, an e-compass, a satellite transceiver, a digital camera (for photographs and / or video), a universal serial bus (USB) port, avibration device, a television transceiver, a hands free headset, a Bluetooth® module, a frequency modulated (FM) radio unit, a digital music player, a media player, a video game player module, an Internet browser, a Virtual Reality and / or Augmented Reality (VR / AR) device, an activity tracker, and the like. The peripherals 138 may include one or more sensors, the sensors may be one or more of a gyroscope, an accelerometer, a hall effect sensor, a magnetometer, an orientation sensor, a proximity sensor, a temperature sensor, a time sensor; a geolocation sensor; an altimeter, a light sensor, a touch sensor, a magnetometer, a barometer, a gesture sensor, a biometric sensor, and / or a humidity sensor.

[0033] The WTRU 102 may include a full duplex radio for which transmission and reception of some or all of the signals (e.g., associated with particular subframes for both the UL (e.g., for transmission) and downlink (e.g., for reception) may be concurrent and / or simultaneous. The full duplex radio may include an interference management unit to reduce and or substantially eliminate self-interference via either hardware (e.g., a choke) or signal processing via a processor (e.g., a separate processor (not shown) or via processor 118). In an embodiment, the WRTU 102 may include a half-duplex radio for which transmission and reception of some or all of the signals (e.g., associated with particular subframes for either the UL (e.g., for transmission) or the downlink (e.g., for reception)).

[0034] FIG.1C is a system diagram illustrating the RAN 104 and the CN 106 according to an embodiment. As noted above, the RAN 104 may employ an E-UTRA radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. The RAN 104 may also be in communication with the CN 106.

[0035] The RAN 104 may include eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c, though it will be appreciated that the RAN 104 may include any number of eNode-Bs while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may each include one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. In one embodiment, the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may implement MIMO technology. Thus, the eNode-B 160a, for example, may use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to, and / or receive wireless signals from, the WTRU 102a.

[0036] Each of the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may be associated with a particular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the UL and / or DL, and the like. As shown in FIG.1C, the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may communicate with one another over an X2 interface.

[0037] The CN 106 shown in FIG.1C may include a mobility management entity (MME) 162, a serving gateway (SGW) 164, and a packet data network (PDN) gateway (or PGW) 166. While each of the foregoing elements are depicted as part of the CN 106, it will be appreciated that any of these elements may be owned and / or operated by an entity other than the CN operator.

[0038] The MME 162 may be connected to each of the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c in the RAN 104 via an S1 interface and may serve as a control node. In examples, the MME 162 may be responsible for authenticating users of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, bearer activation / deactivation, selecting a particular serving gateway during an initial attach of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and the like. The MME 162 may provide a control plane function for switching between the RAN 104 and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radio technologies, such as GSM and / or WCDMA.

[0039] The SGW 164 may be connected to each of the eNode Bs 160a, 160b, 160c in the RAN 104 via the S1 interface. The SGW 164 may generally route and forward user data packets to / from the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. The SGW 164 may perform other functions, such as anchoring user planes during inter- eNode B handovers, triggering paging when DL data is available for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, managing and storing contexts of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and the like.

[0040] The SGW 164 may be connected to the PGW 166, which may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet 110, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices.

[0041] The CN 106 may facilitate communications with other networks. In examples, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to circuit-switched networks, such as the PSTN 108, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and traditional land-line communications devices. In examples, the CN 106 may include, or may communicate with, an IP gateway (e.g., an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as an interface between the CN 106 and the PSTN 108. In addition, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to the other networks 112, which may include other wired and / or wireless networks that are owned and / or operated by other service providers.

[0042] Although the WTRU is described in FIGS.1A-1D as a wireless terminal, it is contemplated that in certain representative embodiments that such a terminal may use (e.g., temporarily or permanently) wired communication interfaces with the communication network.

[0043] In representative embodiments, the other network 112 may be a WLAN.

[0044] A WLAN in Infrastructure Basic Service Set (BSS) mode may have an Access Point (AP) for the BSS and one or more stations (STAs) associated with the AP. The AP may have an access or an interface to a Distribution System (DS) or another type of wired / wireless network that carries traffic in to and / or out of the BSS. Traffic to STAs that originates from outside the BSS may arrive through the AP and may be delivered to the STAs. Traffic originating from STAs to destinations outside the BSS may be sent to the AP to be delivered to respective destinations. Traffic between STAs within the BSS may be sent through the AP, for example, where the source STA may send traffic to the AP and the AP may deliver the traffic to the destination STA. The traffic between STAs within a BSS may be considered and / or referred to as peer-to-peer traffic. The peer-to-peer traffic may be sent between (e.g., directly between) the source and destination STAs with a direct link setup (DLS). In certain representative embodiments, the DLS may use an 802.11e DLS or an 802.11z tunneled DLS (TDLS). A WLAN using an Independent BSS (IBSS) mode may not have an AP, and the STAs (e.g., all of the STAs) within or using the IBSS may communicate directly with each other. The IBSS mode of communication may sometimes be referred to herein as an “ad- hoc” mode of communication.

[0045] When using the 802.11ac infrastructure mode of operation or a similar mode of operations, the AP may transmit a beacon on a fixed channel, such as a primary channel. The primary channel may be a fixed width (e.g., 20 MHz wide bandwidth) or a dynamically set width via signaling. The primary channel may be the operating channel of the BSS and may be used by the STAs to establish a connection with the AP. In certain representative embodiments, Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA / CA) may be implemented, for example in 802.11 systems. For CSMA / CA, the STAs (e.g., every STA), including the AP, may sense the primary channel. If the primary channel is sensed / detected and / or determined to be busy by a particular STA, the particular STA may back off. One STA (e.g., only one station) may transmit at any given time in a given BSS.

[0046] High Throughput (HT) STAs may use a 40 MHz wide channel for communication, for example, via a combination of the primary 20 MHz channel with an adjacent or nonadjacent 20 MHz channel to form a 40 MHz wide channel.

[0047] Very High Throughput (VHT) STAs may support 20MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, and / or 160 MHz wide channels. The 40 MHz, and / or 80 MHz, channels may be formed by combining contiguous 20 MHz channels. A 160 MHz channel may be formed by combining 8 contiguous 20 MHz channels, or by combining two non-contiguous 80 MHz channels, which may be referred to as an 80+80 configuration. For the 80+80 configuration, the data, after channel encoding, may be passed through a segment parser that may divide the data into two streams. Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) processing, and time domain processing, may be done on each stream separately. The streams may be mapped on to the two 80 MHz channels, and the data may be transmitted by a transmitting STA. At the receiver of the receiving STA, the above described operation for the 80+80 configuration may be reversed, and the combined data may be sent to the Medium Access Control (MAC).

[0048] Sub 1 GHz modes of operation are supported by 802.11af and 802.11ah. The channel operating bandwidths, and carriers, are reduced in 802.11af and 802.11ah relative to those used in 802.11n, and 802.11ac.802.11af supports 5 MHz, 10 MHz and 20 MHz bandwidths in the TV White Space (TVWS) spectrum, and 802.11ah supports 1 MHz, 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 8 MHz, and 16 MHz bandwidths using non- TVWS spectrum. According to a representative embodiment, 802.11ah may support Meter Type Control / Machine-Type Communications, such as MTC devices in a macro coverage area. MTC devicesmay have certain capabilities, for example, limited capabilities including support for (e.g., only support for) certain and / or limited bandwidths. The MTC devices may include a battery with a battery life above a threshold (e.g., to maintain a very long battery life).

[0049] WLAN systems, which may support multiple channels, and channel bandwidths, such as 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11af, and 802.11ah, include a channel which may be designated as the primary channel. The primary channel may have a bandwidth equal to the largest common operating bandwidth supported by all STAs in the BSS. The bandwidth of the primary channel may be set and / or limited by a STA, from among all STAs in operating in a BSS, which supports the smallest bandwidth operating mode. In the example of 802.11ah, the primary channel may be 1 MHz wide for STAs (e.g., MTC type devices) that support (e.g., only support) a 1 MHz mode, even if the AP, and other STAs in the BSS support 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 8 MHz, 16 MHz, and / or other channel bandwidth operating modes. Carrier sensing and / or Network Allocation Vector (NAV) settings may depend on the status of the primary channel. If the primary channel is busy, for example, due to a STA (which supports only a 1 MHz operating mode), transmitting to the AP, the entire available frequency bands may be considered busy even though a majority of the frequency bands remains idle and may be available.

[0050] In the United States, the available frequency bands, which may be used by 802.11ah, are from 902 MHz to 928 MHz. In Korea, the available frequency bands are from 917.5 MHz to 923.5 MHz. In Japan, the available frequency bands are from 916.5 MHz to 927.5 MHz. The total bandwidth available for 802.11ah is 6 MHz to 26 MHz depending on the country code.

[0051] FIG.1D is a system diagram illustrating the RAN 113 and the CN 115 according to an embodiment. As noted above, the RAN 113 may employ an NR radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. The RAN 113 may also be in communication with the CN 115.

[0052] The RAN 113 may include gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c, though it will be appreciated that the RAN 113 may include any number of gNBs while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may each include one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. In one embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement MIMO technology. In examples, gNBs 180a, 108b may utilize beamforming to transmit signals to and / or receive signals from the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c. Thus, the gNB 180a, for example, may use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to, and / or receive wireless signals from, the WTRU 102a. In an embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement carrier aggregation technology. In examples, the gNB 180a may transmit multiple component carriers to the WTRU 102a (not shown). A subset of these component carriers may be on unlicensed spectrum while the remaining component carriers may be on licensed spectrum. In an embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement Coordinated Multi-Point (CoMP) technology.In examples, WTRU 102a may receive coordinated transmissions from gNB 180a and gNB 180b (and / or gNB 180c).

[0053] The WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using transmissions associated with a scalable numerology. In examples, the OFDM symbol spacing and / or OFDM subcarrier spacing may vary for different transmissions, different cells, and / or different portions of the wireless transmission spectrum. The WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using subframe or transmission time intervals (TTIs) of various or scalable lengths (e.g., containing varying number of OFDM symbols and / or lasting varying lengths of absolute time).

[0054] The gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may be configured to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c in a standalone configuration and / or a non-standalone configuration. In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c without also accessing other RANs (e.g., such as eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c). In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may utilize one or more of gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c as a mobility anchor point. In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using signals in an unlicensed band. In a non-standalone configuration WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with / connect to gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c while also communicating with / connecting to another RAN such as eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c. In examples, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement DC principles to communicate with one or more gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c and one or more eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c substantially simultaneously. In the non-standalone configuration, eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may serve as a mobility anchor for WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may provide additional coverage and / or throughput for servicing WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c.

[0055] Each of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may be associated with a particular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the UL and / or DL, support of network slicing, dual connectivity, interworking between NR and E- UTRA, routing of user plane data towards User Plane Function (UPF) 184a, 184b, routing of control plane information towards Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 182a, 182b and the like. As shown in FIG.1D, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may communicate with one another over an Xn interface.

[0056] The CN 115 shown in FIG.1D may include at least one AMF 182a, 182b, at least one UPF 184a,184b, at least one Session Management Function (SMF) 183a, 183b, and possibly a Data Network (DN) 185a, 185b. While each of the foregoing elements are depicted as part of the CN 115, it will be appreciated that any of these elements may be owned and / or operated by an entity other than the CN operator.

[0057] The AMF 182a, 182b may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c in the RAN 113 via an N2 interface and may serve as a control node. In examples, the AMF 182a, 182b may beresponsible for authenticating users of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, support for network slicing (e.g., handling of different PDU sessions with different requirements), selecting a particular SMF 183a, 183b, management of the registration area, termination of NAS signaling, mobility management, and the like. Network slicing may be used by the AMF 182a, 182b in order to customize CN support for WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c based on the types of services being utilized WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. In examples, different network slices may be established for different use cases such as services relying on ultra-reliable low latency (URLLC) access, services relying on enhanced massive mobile broadband (eMBB) access, services for machine type communication (MTC) access, and / or the like. The AMF 182 may provide a control plane function for switching between the RAN 113 and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radio technologies, such as LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, and / or non-3GPP access technologies such as WiFi.

[0058] The SMF 183a, 183b may be connected to an AMF 182a, 182b in the CN 115 via an N11 interface. The SMF 183a, 183b may also be connected to a UPF 184a, 184b in the CN 115 via an N4 interface. The SMF 183a, 183b may select and control the UPF 184a, 184b and configure the routing of traffic through the UPF 184a, 184b. The SMF 183a, 183b may perform other functions, such as managing and allocating WTRU IP address, managing PDU sessions, controlling policy enforcement and QoS, providing downlink data notifications, and the like. A PDU session type may be IP-based, non-IP based, Ethernet-based, and the like.

[0059] The UPF 184a, 184b may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c in the RAN 113 via an N3 interface, which may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to packet- switched networks, such as the Internet 110, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices. The UPF 184, 184b may perform other functions, such as routing and forwarding packets, enforcing user plane policies, supporting multi-homed PDU sessions, handling user plane QoS, buffering downlink packets, providing mobility anchoring, and the like.

[0060] The CN 115 may facilitate communications with other networks. In examples, the CN 115 may include, or may communicate with, an IP gateway (e.g., an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as an interface between the CN 115 and the PSTN 108. In addition, the CN 115 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to the other networks 112, which may include other wired and / or wireless networks that are owned and / or operated by other service providers. In one embodiment, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may be connected to a local Data Network (DN) 185a, 185b through the UPF 184a, 184b via the N3 interface to the UPF 184a, 184b and an N6 interface between the UPF 184a, 184b and the DN 185a, 185b.

[0061] In view of Figures 1A-1D, and the corresponding description of Figures 1A-1D, one or more, or all, of the functions described herein with regard to one or more of: WTRU 102a-d, Base Station 114a-b, eNode-B 160a-c, MME 162, SGW 164, PGW 166,DN 185a-b, and / or any other device(s) described herein, may be performed by one or more emulation devices (not shown). The emulation devices may be one or more devices configured to emulate one or more, or all, of the functions described herein. In examples, the emulation devices may be used to test other devices and / or to simulate network and / or WTRU functions.

[0062] The emulation devices may be designed to implement one or more tests of other devices in a lab environment and / or in an operator network environment. In examples, the one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, or all, functions while being fully or partially implemented and / or deployed as part of a wired and / or wireless communication network in order to test other devices within the communication network. The one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, or all, functions while being temporarily implemented / deployed as part of a wired and / or wireless communication network. The emulation device may be directly coupled to another device for purposes of testing and / or may performing testing using over-the-air wireless communications.

[0063] The one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, including all, functions while not being implemented / deployed as part of a wired and / or wireless communication network. In examples, the emulation devices may be utilized in a testing scenario in a testing laboratory and / or a non-deployed (e.g., testing) wired and / or wireless communication network in order to implement testing of one or more components. The one or more emulation devices may be test equipment. Direct RF coupling and / or wireless communications via RF circuitry (e.g., which may include one or more antennas) may be used by the emulation devices to transmit and / or receive data.

[0064] Reference to a timer herein may refer to a time, a time period, tracking the time, tracking the period of time, etc. Reference to a timer expiration herein may refer to determining that the time may have occurred or that the period of time may have expired.

[0065] The following abbreviations and acronyms are used herein: aIoT Ambient Internet of Things AMF Access and Mobility Management Function CDAF Constrained Device Assistance Function CP Control Plane DL Downlink DN Data Network DRX Discontinuous Reception IoT Internet of Things NAS Non-Access Stratum PDU Protocol Data Unit RRC Radio Resource ControlRSRP Reference Signal Received Power RSRQ Reference Signal Received Quality SMF Session Management Function UE User Equipment UL Uplink UP User Plane UPF User Plane Function

[0066] An AMF may support aIoT WTRU network registration. Features described herein may be associated with an aIoT WTRU registration trigger. The AMF may receive an aIoT WTRU event triggering and / or an aIoT WTRU registration request from the CDAF. The request may include a CDAF instance identifier, an aIoT WTRU identifier, a security seed, an aIoT category, an aIoT capability, an aIoT WTRU type, energization information, an energization indication, a registration duration, a geographical area, a topological area, and / or an event type. The event type may indicate a registration.

[0067] The AMF may send an aIoT WTRU registration request to the AN. The request may include a CDAF instance identifier, an aIoT WTRU identifier, a security seed, and / or an aIoT operation. The aIoT operation may indicate a registration request.

[0068] Features described herein may be associated with an aIoT WTRU registration. The AMF may receive a registration request from a WTRU. The request may indicate an aIoT_ID, a CDAF_ID, and an aIoT WTRU fingerprint. The AMF may identify that the request is for an aIoT device based on the aIoT_ID or CDAF_ID included in the request. The AMF may identify that the request is for a WTRU registration based on the request type. The AMF may retrieve the CDAF information from the NRF based on the CDAF_ID included in the request.

[0069] The AMF may send an aIoT WTRU event notification to the identified CDAF. The notification may include an aIoT ID and an aIoT WTRU fingerprint. The AMF may receive an aIoT WTRU registration notification response from the CDAF. The notification response may indicate aIoT WTRU options related to the aIoT WTRU instance. The AMF may perform the aIoT WTRU registration using the aIoT WTRU options received in the notification response.

[0070] Features described herein may be associated with an aIoT WTRU registration authentication. The AMF may receive a WTRU authentication request from the AUSF. The AMF may send an authentication request to the CDAF. The AMF may receive an aIoT event triggering request from the CDAF. The request may include a CDAF instance identifier, an aIoT WTRU identifier, and a security seed. The event type may indicate an authentication. The AMF may send an aIoT WTRU authentication request to the AN. The request may include a CDAF instance identifier, an aIoT WTRU identifier, a security seed, and an aIoT operation. The aIoT operation may indicate an authentication request.

[0071] The AMF may receive an authentication response from an aIoT WTRU. The response may indicate an aIoT_ID, a CDAF_ID, an aIoT WTRU fingerprint, and encrypted identity information. The AMF may identify that the response is for an aIoT device based on the aIoT_ID or CDAF_ID included in the request. The AMF may identify that the response is for WTRU authentication based on the response type. The AMF may retrieve the CDAF information from the NRF based on the CDAF_ID included in the request.

[0072] The AMF may send an aIoT WTRU event notification to the CDAF. The notification may include an aIoT ID, an aIoT WTRU fingerprint, and encrypted identity information.

[0073] Features described herein may be associated with an aIoT WTRU registration acceptance. The AMF may send a registration acceptance request to the CDAF. The request may include connectivity parameters associated with the aIoT WTRU instance determined by the AMF during the aIoT WTRU registration. The AMF may receive an aIoT WTRU registration accept request from the CDAF. The request may include a CDAF instance identifier, an aIoT WTRU identifier, and / or a security seed. The AMF may send an aIoT WTRU registration accept to the AN. The request may include a CDAF instance identifier, an aIoT WTRU identifier, a security seed, and an aIoT operation. The aIoT operation may indicate a registration accept request.

[0074] Features described herein may be associated with an aIoT WTRU fingerprint security. The aIoT WTRU may receive a request for executing an aIoT operation from an AMF. The request may include a CDAF instance identifier, an aIoT WTRU identifier, a security seed, and an aIoT operation. The aIoT operation may include an aIoT WTRU registration request, aIoT authentication request, and an aIoT registration acceptance. The WTRU may verify that the received aIoT WTRU identifier matches a locally stored aIoT WTRU identifier. The WTRU may verify that the received CDAF instance identifier matches a locally stored CDAF instance identifier. The WTRU may derive an aIoT WTRU fingerprint value based on the received security seed.

[0075] The aIoT WTRU may send a message to the AMF. The message may include an aIoT ID, a CDAF ID, and / or an aIoT WTRU fingerprint, on a condition that the request for executing the aIoT operation from the AMF is a registration request. The message may include an aIoT ID, a CDAF ID, an aIoT WTRU fingerprint, and / or encrypted identity information, on the condition that the request for executing the aIoT operation from the AMF may be an aIoT authentication request.

[0076] An aIoT WTRU network registration may be associated with CDAF assistance. Features described herein may be associated with an aIoT WTRU registration trigger. The CDAF may send an aIoT WTRU event triggering request to the AMF. The request may include a CDAF instance identifier, an aIoT WTRU identifier, a security seed, an aIoT category, an aIoT capability, an aIoT WTRU type, an energization information, and / or an energization indication. The CDAF may store the request information associated with the aIoT WTRU for future use.

[0077] Features described herein may be associated with an aIoT WTRU registration. The CDAF may receive an aIoT WTRU registration notification from the AMF. The request may include an aIoT WTRU identifier and an aIoT WTRU fingerprint. The CDAF may retrieve the security seed from the stored request information. The CDAF may derive an aIoT WTRU fingerprint based on the retrieved security seed. The CDAF may determine if the derived aIoT WTRU fingerprint matches the received aIoT WTRU fingerprint using the request information stored (e.g., when the CDAF sends the aIoT WTRU event triggering request). The CDAF may retrieve the aIoT options and connectivity parameters associated with the aIoT WTRU instance on the condition that the derived and the received aIoT WTRU fingerprint match.

[0078] The CDAF may send an aIoT WTRU registration notification response to the AMF. The notification response may include aIoT options related to the aIoT WTRU.

[0079] Features described herein may be associated with an aIoT WTRU registration authentication. The CDAF may receive an authentication request message from the AMF. The CDAF may send an aIoT WTRU event triggering request to the AMF. The request may include a CDAF instance identifier, an aIoT WTRU identifier, a security seed, an aIoT category, an aIoT capability, an aIoT WTRU type, energization information, an energization indication, and / or an event type. The event type may include authentication.

[0080] The CDAF may receive an aIoT authentication response from the AMF. The response may include an aIoT ID, a CDAF ID, an aIoT WTRU fingerprint and / or encrypted identity information. The CDAF may retrieve the security seed from the stored request information. The CDAF may derive an aIoT WTRU fingerprint based on the retrieved security seed. The CDAF may determine if the derived aIoT WTRU fingerprint matches the received aIoT WTRU fingerprint. The CDAF may decrypt the encrypted identity information. The CDAF may perform the security keys and security context establishment using the received identity information. The CDAF may send an authentication response to the AMF. The authentication response may include the EAP-Response / AKA'-Challenge message.

[0081] Features described herein may be associated with an aIoT WTRU registration accept. The CDAF may receive a registration accept notification from the AMF. The notification may include an aIoT WTRU identifier and connectivity parameters associated with an aIoT WTRU and related to an aIoT WTRU registration. The CDAF may store the received connectivity parameters for future use. The CDAF may start timers related to aIoT device registration on behalf of the aIoT WTRU. The CDAF may send an aIoT WTRU Registration Accept request to the AMF. The request may include a CDAF instance identifier, an aIoT WTRU identifier, a security seed, and / or an aIoT operation.

[0082] An IoT device may be ambient power enabled. Ambient power enabled IoT devices may be an IoT device that may harvest energy from environmental resources, such as wireless radio waves, motion, vibration, piezoelectricity, solar and wind, etc.

[0083] The IoT devices may be battery-less or have limited energy storage (e.g., using a capacitor). Ambient power-enabled IoT devices may be used in industrial wireless sensor networks where the environment is harsh (e.g., extremely high or low temperature) and where devices are battery-less, maintenance-free, and have a long service life. IoT devices may play a role in smart logistics and smart warehousing. The low-cost, small-form, battery-lessness, and durability of the IoT devices may make them suitable to be attached to goods and to facilitate efficient goods identifying, sorting, tracking, and inventory.

[0084] Ambient power enabled IoT devices may be supported in wireless networks. Because of the parameter (e.g., constraint) of available energy, the ambient power enabled IoT devices may not keep their wireless transceivers working for a duration. The active time, the amount of data that may be transmitted or received, the communication range, etc. may be affected by an energy parameter. With the power consumption saving technologies, such as long cycle DRX, IoT devices may meet challenges to perform activities (e.g., regular activities) in a wireless network.

[0085] Application groupings may be associated with aIoT devices. aIoT devices may be classified into application groupings comprised of inventory, sensors, positioning, and / or command. An aIoT device for inventory may be a device attached to inventoried items (e.g., product, equipment, etc.). The energy available (e.g., harvested, stored, etc.) to an aIoT device may be used for transmitting (UL) the item identity for inventory purposes. There may not be an indication that downlink traffic related to inventory is used other than to trigger identity reporting.

[0086] An aIoT device for sensing may be a device that is used to make measurements. The energy available (e.g., harvested, stored, etc.) to an aIoT device may be used for executing measurement and transmitting (UL) the measurement data. There may not be an indication that downlink traffic related to sensing is used, other than to trigger sensing reporting.

[0087] An aIoT device for positioning may be a device that is used to make location measurements. The same characteristics as aIoT for sensing may apply. An aIoT device for positioning may be a device that may make location measurements. One or more characteristics of aIoT for sensing may apply. An IoT device for commanding may be a controlled device. The energy available (e.g., harvested, stored, etc.) to a command aIoT device may be used for receiving (DL) command(s), executing the command, and / or transmitting (UL) the command result.

[0088] Based on the different groupings of aIoT devices, the following power budget principles may apply. A maximum amount of energy may be used for executing aIoT function and communicating aIoT data over the user plane. A minimum amount of energy may be used for establishing and maintaining user plane connectivity.

[0089] Features described herein may be associated with RF backscatter communication. Ambient backscatter (RF backscatter) may use existing radio frequency signals, such as radio, television, and mobile telephony, to transmit data without a battery or power grid connection. A device may use an antenna to pick up an existing signal and convert it into tens to hundreds of microwatts of electricity. The device may use the power to modify and reflect the signal, adding additional encoded data to the reflected signal. Antennas on other devices may detect the signal and may extract the additional encoded data from the reflected signal.

[0090] An aIoT device that uses RF backscatter communication may not transmit power on their own and may be energized by an RF signal to be awoken, perform their function, and transmit the result by reflecting and modulating in the reflected signal.

[0091] Ambient-powered IoT devices may have limited power or no power. As such, the ambient- powered IoT devices may not communicate over networks requiring connectivity procedures or protocols, for example, a cellular mobile network.

[0092] An aIoT device may not have accumulated energy. The powerless aIoT device may be dependent on the RF network to get energized in order to perform task(s) and transmit the resulting information. The powerless aIoT device may not be capable of performing tasks, such as maintaining a periodic timer, which may be used in communication protocols. To use a cellular mobile network to transmit information, aIoT devices may be able to register to the mobile network.

[0093] An aIoT device may be allowed from the following perspectives. An aIoT device may perform network registration with the cellular mobile network. An aIoT device may securely register to the mobile network, provided that the aIoT device may not have the capabilities (e.g., compute, storage) to derive dynamic security keys. An aIoT device may maintain its registration with the cellular mobile network, provided that the aIoT device may not have the capabilities (e.g., energy storage) to maintain timers. Examples described herein may be addressed from a core network perspective. The term aIoT device and aIoT WTRU may be used interchangeably as described herein.

[0094] An aIoT WTRU may be registered with the cellular mobile network. In examples, the aIoT WTRU may be capable of performing network-assisted registration in a manner minimizing power consumption related to network registration. A Constrained Device Assistance Function (CDAF) may be deployed in the core network to support the registration of the aIoT WTRU.

[0095] The CDAF may minimize power consumption related to network registration by minimizing the control plane communication, minimizing the data exchanged between the aIoT WTRU and the AMF, and minimizing control logic performed between the network and the aIoT device.

[0096] The CDAF may be implemented as a network function part of the core network (e.g., 5GS core network). The CDAF may be implemented as a component of an existing network function (e.g., the AMF may implement the CDAF functionality). The CDAF may be implemented as an independent application function communicating and using the core network. If the CDAF is not trusted by the network, the CDAF may use the NEF to access core network functionality (e.g., the network may use NEF to isolate CDAF).

[0097] FIG.2A may present the registration procedure for an aIoT WTRU with the system (e.g., the 5GS) with CDAF support. FIG.2A illustrates the network-assisted aIoT WTRU registration.

[0098] At 0, the CDAF may send an aIoT WTRU registration request (e.g., at 0a) to the AMF for registering and receiving notifications related to aIoT WTRU events from the AMF (e.g., the registration request may include an indication that the CDAF instance is associated to aIoT WTRU instances, and that it may be subscribed for receiving notifications related events related to the associated aIoT WTRUs (e.g., if an aIoT WTRU registers or an aIoT registration acceptance occurs).

[0099] The CDAF may send an aIoT WTRU event triggering request (e.g., at 0b) to the AMF for triggering one or more aIoT WTRUs to register to the network. In examples, the aIoT event triggering request may be sent by the CDAF based on a timer of the CDAF, an event happening at the CDAF, a detected location change, and / or a request received by the CDAF from another AF. In examples, a location change may include a topological location change (e.g., where the WTRU is connected to the network) or a geographical location change (e.g., the position of the WTRU). The CDAF may obtain the information from the core network (e.g., 5GC) services if the CDAF has the capabilities and may decide to trigger an aIoT event if the aIoT WTRU comes out of a predetermined area as described herein.

[0100] The aIoT WTRU registration request and aIoT WTRU event triggering request may include the following information. The CDAF instance identifier may identify a CDAF instance. In examples, the AMF may associate configuration and subscription information to the CDAF instance identifier for management purposes. The AMF may use the CDAF instance identifier to retrieve configuration information related to the CDAF instance when events (e.g., aIoT WTRU registration request, aIoT WTRU registration accept, etc.) occur.

[0101] The configuration information may include the notification endpoint that identifies the recipient (e.g., where to send notifications). In examples, the AMF may use the notification endpoint as the destination when sending notifications. The configuration information may include the event type that identifies the event or request type. In examples, the AMF may use the event type to determine events that may be notified to the CDAF in the subscription case. In examples, the AMF may use the event type to identify which event(s) (e.g., request) to trigger towards the aIoT WTRU in the aIoT WTRU event triggering request case.

[0102] The configuration information may include the aIoT WTRU identifier(s) that identify the aIoT WTRU instances. In examples, the AMF may use aIoT identifier(s) to decide whether a particular notification may be sent to a subscribed CDAF. For example, the AMF may use the aIoT WTRU identifier to trigger event(s) towards aIoT WTRU(s).

[0103] The configuration information may include the security seed identifying the aIoT WTRU fingerprint requested for the current request. The CDAF may provide a random value and / or a security seed to be sent to the aIoT WTRU for requesting an aIoT WTRU fingerprint that is based on the provided security seed. The CDAF may verify if the aIoT WTRU fingerprint returned by the aIoT WTRU is expected for a given aIoT WTRU.

[0104] The configuration information may include the aIoT WTRU category, capabilities, and type that provides information about the aIoT WTRU. The aIoT WTRU configuration information may be used (e.g., AMF) to modify the AMF behavior in accordance with the aIoT WTRU attributes, environmental, and contextual parameters (e.g., time of day, weather-related events, level of energy left or spent). In examples, a powered aIoT device may not request (e.g., require) the AMF to indicate to the AN that the aIoT WTRU is to be energized.

[0105] The configuration information may include the energization information that indicates how the energization of an aIoT WTRU may be performed. The energization information may be used by the AMF when aIoT devices include a parameter that energization is triggered by the network. In examples, the aIoT device energization information may indicate that the device may be activated using a RAN (e.g., 5G RAN) capability or may indicate that an independent (e.g., separate) energization function may be used.

[0106] The configuration information may include the energization indication indicating whether the request uses aIoT WTRU energization based on the receiving of the request. In examples, if the energization indication is present, the AMF may perform the processing associated to the request and indicate to the AN to energize the aIoT WTRU upon receiving request. In examples, if the energization indication is absent, the AMF may perform the processing associated to the request without indicating to the AN to energize the aIoT WTRU.

[0107] The configuration information may include the registration duration (e.g., may be expressed in time units or attempts units) for which the registration is valid. The AMF may consider the registration as valid until the duration time (or attempt number) is elapsed or the registration is renewed. The configuration information may include the geographical and / or topological area for which the registration is valid. The AMF may consider the location information of the aIoT WTRU to determine whether to notify the subscriber. In examples, the AMF may not notify the CDAF if the aIoT WTRU is outside a certain geographical area or if the aIoT WTRU is registered to a certain AMF.

[0108] It may be appreciated that the CDAF may or may not be trusted by the CN (e.g., 5G CN). In the case when the CDAF is not trusted by the CN, the CDAF may be isolated from the trusted area of the CN (e.g., 5G CN) by the NEF and communicate with the AMF using the Network Exposure Function (NEF) for sending the aIoT WTRU registration (e.g., at 0a) or aIoT event triggering request (e.g., 0b).

[0109] Upon receiving the registration request, the AMF may validate the request, verify if the CDAF is authorized to register to aIoT WTRU events (or request aIoT WTRU registration), and store information related to the request. If the CDAF is authorized, the AMF may trigger the AN based on the aIoT WTRU capability, type, energization indication, or energization information. In examples, the AMF may send an aIoT WTRU registration request (e.g., at 0c) to the AN, indicating the need to energize the particular or another (e.g., an indirect energization request) aIoT WTRU based on receiving the aIoT WTRU registration request (e.g., at 0a) or aIoT WTRU event triggering request (e.g., at 0b). The AN may store the context of the AMF initiated registration request, such as an AMF identifier / address and / or aIoT and / or CDAF identifier associated with the request, etc. The AN may use the information to match the aIoT device- initiated Registration Request to the AMF request.

[0110] Upon receiving the aIoT WTRU registration request, the AN may validate the request, verify if the AMF is authorized to send an aIoT WTRU registration request, may store information related to the request, and may send an aIoT WTRU registration request (e.g., 0d) to the aIoT WTRU. The request may indicate aIoT WTRU energization is used, and the AN may issue an RF signal that provides enough energy to the aIoT WTRU for performing the requested registration.

[0111] The aIoT WTRU registration request sent from the AMF to the AN (e.g., 0c) and from the AN to the aIoT WTRU (e.g., 0d) may contain any or any combination of the following information. The information may include the CDAF instance identifier that uniquely identifies a CDAF instance. The CDAF instance identifier may be stored and / or used by the aIoT WTRU when communicating to the network to indicate the CDAF instance that manages the aIoT device. If CDAF instance identifier(s) may be pre-provisioned on the aIoT WTRU, the aIoT WTRU may use the CDAF identifier received in the request to determine whether the aIoT WTRU may respond to the received message. The option may be beneficial to limit the number of aIoT WTRUs that may respond following an energization request.

[0112] The information may include the aIoT WTRU identifier that uniquely identifies an aIoT device or a list thereof. The aIoT WTRU may use the aIoT identifier(s) to determine whether the aIoT WTRU may respond to the received message.

[0113] The information may include the aIoT operation that identifies the request. The aIoT WTRU may use the aIoT operation to determine which operation may be performed. In examples, the aIoT operation may indicate that the aIoT WTRU may perform a registration with the network.

[0114] The information may include the aIoT security seed that identifies the current transaction (e.g., request). The aIoT WTRU may use the aIoT security seed to determine or derive an aIoT WTRU fingerprint (e.g., an aIoT WTRU fingerprint that is specific to the aIoT WTRU).

[0115] At 1, upon receiving the aIoT WTRU registration request and while energized, the aIoT WTRU may validate whether the requested operation may be executed. In examples, the aIoT WTRU may validate if the aIoT identifier included in the request matches a locally stored aIoT identifier. The aIoT WTRU may verify if the CDAF instance identifier included in the request matches a locally stored CDAF identifier. If the request may be valid, the aIoT WTRU may execute the aIoT operation specified in the request (e.g., the aIoT WTRU may send a registration request to the network).

[0116] The registration request may include the following information. The registration request may include the aIoT identifier (aIoT_ID) uniquely identifying the aIoT WTRU. The aIoT_ID may be an application-specific value not known by the mobile network. The aIoT_ID may be an identifier known by the mobile network, such as the Subscriber Concealed Identifier (SUCI), the (e.g., 5G) Globally Unique Temporary Identifier (GUTI) (e.g., 5G-GUTI), and / or the Permanent Equipment Identifier (PEI) if such information may be available at the aIoT WTRU.

[0117] The registration request may include the CDAF instance identifier (CDAF_ID) which may uniquely identify the CDAF instance associated with the aIoT WTRU. The registration request may include the aIoT WTRU fingerprint that is derived from the security seed received in the aIoT WTRU registration request (e.g., at 0d) and may be used to mitigate impersonation or replay attacks. The registration request may include data to be transferred in the uplink direction and may be included in the registration request with the IEs described herein.

[0118] At 2, upon receiving the registration request, the AN may select an AMF based on pre-existing procedures described herein. The AN may detect that the registration request is from an aIoT WTRU, and the AN may select the AMF that may have originated the registration request. The determination may be based on AMF capabilities indicating support for aIoT devices, based on the CDAF_ID, or based on a pre- established list of AMF instances. If the uplink data that is sent is included at 1, the AMF may store the received uplink data.

[0119] At 3, the AN may send the registration request to the selected AMF. The request may include the aIoT_ID, the CDAF_ID, and / or the aIoT WTRU fingerprint received from the aIoT WTRU. Upon receiving the registration request, the AMF may (e.g., at 3a) identify if the request originates from an aIoT WTRU and (e.g., at 3b) obtain CDAF information based on the CDAF_ID provided by the aIoT WTRU. In examples, CDAF information may be obtained from the NRF. To identify if the request originates from an aIoT WTRU, the AMF may look for the presence of the aIoT_ID, the CDAF_ID, and / or aIoT WTRU fingerprint in theregistration request. To identify the CDAF instance, the AMF may look for the presence of the CDAF_ID in the registration request. In examples (e.g., example deployments), the CDAF may be pre-configured in the AMF.

[0120] If the CDAF has previously registered with the AMF, the AMF may send an aIoT WTRU registration notification to the CDAF notification endpoint. If the AMF is unable to identify that the request is for an aIoT WTRU, for example, if the request includes an aIoT_ID that is a SUCI, a GUTI (e.g., a 5G- GUTI), or a PEI, and does not include a CDAF_ID, the AMF may identify that the requesting WTRU is an aIoT WTRU based on the registration information. The AMF may notify a default (e.g., pre-configured) CDAF or multiple (e.g., all) subscribed CDAF(s) with the aIoT_ID in order to discover if the identifier is known from a CDAF and associated with the provided aIoT_ID. If the aIoT_ID is not known from a CDAF, the AMF may try with a different CDAF or consider and process the registration request as a non-aIoT WTRU, which may result in rejecting the registration.

[0121] The AMF may send an aIoT WTRU registration notification (e.g., at 3c) to the subscribed CDAF to indicate that an aIoT WTRU has registered. The notification may include the aIoT_ID and / or the aIoT WTRU fingerprint. Upon receiving the notification indicating aIoT registration, the CDAF may validate the received aIoT WTRU fingerprint.

[0122] If the aIoT WTRU is validated, the CDAF may use the aIoT_ID to retrieve the aIoT WTRU options associated with the aIoT WTRU instance. The CDAF may send an event monitoring notification response (e.g., at 3d) to the AMF, including the aIoT WTRU options and connectivity parameters associated with the aIoT WTRU instance if the aIoT WTRU had previously been registered.

[0123] The connectivity parameters associated with the aIoT WTRU instance may be information maintained by the CDAF to reflect the connectivity state of the aIoT WTRU with the network. For example, an aIoT WTRU may be configured for periodic registration, and the CDAF may maintain the registration timer on behalf of the aIoT WTRU to trigger aIoT periodic registration when the timer expires.

[0124] The aIoT WTRU options may be pre-provisioned in the CDAF or made available to the CDAF to read. In examples, a deployment may provide the aIoT configuration information from an aIoT WTRU registry or the Unstructured Data Storage Function (UDSF). The aIoT WTRU options may include information related to the aIoT device itself and may include configuration information that a WTRU provides.

[0125] The aIoT information may be included in the aIoT WTRU options. The aIoT information may include the aIoT identifier that identifies an aIoT device. The AMF may store this information in the WTRU context and may use the information to identify requests or events related to the aIoT WTRU. The aIoT information may include the aIoT WTRU category, capabilities, or type that identifies the capabilities of theaIoT device. The information may be used by the AMF to adapt its behavior according to the aIoT WTRU. For example, the powered aIoT device may not request (e.g., request (e.g., require)) the AMF to indicate to the AN that the aIoT WTRU is to be energized. The aIoT information may include the energization information that indicates how the energization of an aIoT WTRU may be performed. The energization information may indicate if the energization may be handled by the AN, identify a function for energizing the aIoT WTRU, an energization RF signal power, frequency, duration, a combination thereof, and / or the like. The aIoT information may include the geographical or topological area valid for registration that indicates the area where the aIoT WTRU may be energized.

[0126] Information associated with mobile network registration may be included in the aIoT options, for example, SUCI / GUTI (e.g., 5G-GUTI) / PEI identifiers may be pre-provisioned in the CDAF and mapped to aIoT WTRU identifiers if the aIoT WTRU cannot provide them. The NSSAI information (e.g., requested, assistance, or maps) may be pre-provisioned and stored in the CDAF if the CDAF is deployed as part of a network slice.

[0127] The following WTRU registration parameters, as described herein, may be modified to support the aIoT WTRU and may be included in the aIoT WTRU options. The registration type may be modified to indicate that the registration type is aIoT WTRU. The AMF may use the information to adapt the AMF behavior for the aIoT WTRU. In examples, the AMF may use the information to send messages, such as authentication request or registration accept to a CDAF (e.g., instead of sending the messages to a WTRU (e.g., NAS message)). Security parameters may be modified with an aIoT fingerprint table, a description of a fingerprint hashing function, and / or a fingerprint hashing parameter. The AMF may use the information described herein.

[0128] The WTRU MM Core Network Capability may be modified with an aIoT WTRU specific capability that indicates to the AMF which core network capabilities are supported by the CDAF and aIoT WTRU. The capabilities may indicate that the CDAF and aIoT WTRU support fingerprint security, that the aIoT WTRU supports energization triggered by the core network (e.g., 5GC), and that the CDAF and aIoT WTRU supports procedures such as registration / authentication / registration acceptance. The AMF may use the indication of fingerprint security support to determine if security parameters may be used to validate aIoT WTRU messages. The AMF may use the indication of energization triggered by the core network (e.g., 5GC) support to indicate to the AN that energization of the aIoT WTRU is used according to the energization information. The AMF may use the indication of procedures (e.g., supported procedures) to determine which procedures may be attempted with the CDAF.

[0129] Mobile Initiated Connection Only (MICO) mode preference may be indicated for self-powered aIoT WTRU with limited power in order to prevent the network from sending Mobile Terminated traffic to theaIoT WTRU that may deplete the aIoT device power. MICO mode may be used with back scattering aIoT WTRU to prevent unnecessary communications with the aIoT WTRU. In examples, MICO may be used to prevent depleting energy from a self-powered aIoT WTRU (e.g., a sensor) from reporting data periodically (e.g., when enough power has been harvested). In examples, MICO may be used to prevent communication with a backscattering aIoT WTRU (e.g., a smart tag).

[0130] The unavailability period duration may be indicated to the AMF when a WTRU becomes unavailable for a period of time. The period of time may be determined based on the aIoT device energy levels. In examples, a self-powered aIoT WTRU with limited power may indicate to the CDAF a remaining level of energy and / or a rate of charge. The CDAF may determine a period of time requested (e.g., required) for the aIoT device to recharge. In examples, the CDAF may report a solar powered aIoT WTRU as unavailable during nighttime.

[0131] Upon receiving the aIoT WTRU options from the CDAF, the AMF may use the aIoT WTRU options as described above to initiate network registration of the aIoT WTRU instance. If the registration procedure is completed between the AMF and the CDAF, the AMF may forward the stored uplink data received (e.g., at 1) to the SMF or (e.g., directly) to the UPF. The AMF may use the information received from the CDAF or from the aIoT WTRU, e.g., aIoT ID and / or CDAF ID, to send the uplink data to select the appropriate SMF / UPF or application function which receives the stored uplink data from the AMF.

[0132] At 4-5, the AMF may retrieve information from the old AMF that was previously used by the aIoT WTRU, as defined herein. At 6-7, if the SUCI was not provided in the aIoT WTRU options, by the CDAF at 3, or by the old AMF at 5, the AMF may send an identity request message to the CDAF to retrieve the SUCI. At 8, the AMF may perform AUSF selection, as described herein. At 9, the AMF with SEAF functionality may perform authentication procedures for the aIoT WTRU. The procedures may involve the UDM, the AUSF, and the SEAF shown in at 9a and at 9b, and as described herein.

[0133] The aIoT WTRU may not have the computational capabilities requested (e.g., required) for performing tasks such as security key derivation. The AMF / SEAF may send authentication requests (e.g., at 9c) to the CDAF instead of sending NAS messages to the WTRU when authenticating an aIoT WTRU. The CDAF may perform the authentication-related computations on behalf of the aIoT WTRU. Delegating the security computations to the CDAF, the CDAF may use USIM computation capabilities to compute authentication and security keys and user authentication information.

[0134] To supplement aIoT WTRU security, the CDAF may validate the aIoT WTRU identity by triggering an aIoT authentication request to the aIoT WTRU. Upon receiving the aIoT request, the aIoT WTRU may provide its fingerprints, as described herein. The aIoT WTRU may return authentication information. The CDAF may send an aIoT WTRU event triggering request (e.g., at 9d) to the AMFindicating an authentication request. The request may include the parameters described at 0 for the aIoT WTRU event triggering request.

[0135] Upon receiving the request, the AMF may validate the request and verify if the CDAF is authorized to request aIoT WTRU registration accept. If the CDAF is authorized, and based on the aIoT WTRU capability, type, energization indication and / or energization information, the AMF may trigger the AN. In examples, the AMF may send an aIoT WTRU authentication request (e.g., at 9e) to the AN, indicating to energize the aIoT WTRU based on receiving the aIoT WTRU event triggering request (e.g., at 9d).

[0136] Upon receiving the aIoT WTRU authentication request, the AN may validate the request, verify if the AMF is authorized to send an aIoT WTRU authentication request, and send an aIoT WTRU authentication request (e.g., at 9f) to the aIoT WTRU. The request may indicate aIoT WTRU energization is to be used, and the AN may issue an RF signal that provides enough energy to the aIoT WTRU for performing the requested operation. The content of the request (e.g., at 9e and at 9f) may be the same as the aIoT WTRU registration request (e.g., at step 0c and at 0d).

[0137] Upon receiving the aIoT WTRU authentication request, the aIoT WTRU may perform the fingerprint procedure as described herein. The aIoT WTRU may provide encrypted identity information, such as an IMSI, an authentication key (Ki), and service provider name (SPN). In examples, the encrypted identity information may be static and pre-provisioned on the aIoT WTRU. The encrypted identity information may not be decrypted at the aIoT. The CDAF may have the decryption key needed to obtain the encrypted identity information needed to make the USIM authentication and security calculations. The aIoT WTRU may send the aIoT authentication response to the CDAF, including the encrypted identity information along with the fingerprint information.

[0138] Upon receiving the aIoT authentication response, the CDAF may validate the response as described herein. If the response is valid, the CDAF may decrypt the identity information and perform the authentication on behalf of the aIoT WTRU (e.g., using USIM capabilities). The CDAF may send the authentication response, as described herein, to the AMF.

[0139] Upon receiving the authentication response from the CDAF, the AMF may complete the authentication procedure with the AUSF, as described herein. At 10 through 19, procedures related to registering to the cellular network may be performed using the WTRU information provided by the CDAF. At 21, if the AMF has determined at 3 that the registration is for an aIoT WTRU, the AMF may send a registration acceptance to the CDAF to indicate that the registration with the AMF succeeded. The connectivity parameters included in the registration acceptance may be provided by the AMF as a result of the registration procedure and stored by the CDAF.

[0140] In examples, the CDAF may use provided parameters as follows. A periodic registration update timer may be used by the CDAF to initiate a timer on behalf of the aIoT device. The CDAF may trigger a re- registration on behalf of the aIoT device based on the timer. Supported network behavior may be modified with aIoT WTRU specific capabilities that indicate to the CDAF and aIoT WTRU core network capabilities that are supported by the AMF. The capabilities may indicate that the AMF supports fingerprint security, that the AMF supports energization triggered by the core network (e.g., 5GC), that the AMF supports procedures such as aIoT WTRU registration, aIoT WTRU event triggering, aIoT WTRU authentication, and / or aIoT WTRU registration accept. The CDAF may use the indication of fingerprint security support to determine if the AMF validates the aIoT WTRU messages and may avoid validating messages at the CDAF. The CDAF may use the indication of energization triggered by the core network (e.g., 5GC) support to trigger the energization of the aIoT WTRU. The CDAF may use the indication of energization triggered by the core network (e.g., 5GC) support to attempt registering to another AMF which may support the mode. The CDAF may use the indication of supported procedures to determine which procedures may be attempted with the AMF.

[0141] The AMF may perform the WTRU policy association establishment (e.g., 21b) with the PCF. Upon receiving the registration acceptance from the AMF, the CDAF may store the connectivity parameters associated with the aIoT WTRU instance included in the request. Based on the received connectivity parameters, the CDAF may start timers (e.g., delegate timers) on behalf of the aIoT WTRU which may not have the capability or energy resources for running the timers. When the expiration of a delegate timer occurs, the CDAF may initiate actions on behalf of the aIoT WTRU. In examples, at the expiry of the delegated periodic registration timer, the CDAF may send a request to the AMF to activate / energize the aIoT WTRU and trigger a re-registration.

[0142] At 22, the CDAF may send an aIoT WTRU event triggering to the AMF indicating registration acceptance. The request may include the parameters described at 0 for the aIoT WTRU event triggering request. When receiving the request, the AMF may validate the request and may verify if the CDAF is authorized to request aIoT WTRU registration acceptance. If the CDAF may be authorized, and based on the aIoT WTRU capability, type, energization indication, and / or energization information, the AMF may trigger the AN. In examples, the AMF may send an aIoT WTRU registration acceptance (e.g., at 22b) to the AN (e.g., indicating to energize the aIoT WTRU based on receiving the aIoT WTRU event triggering request (e.g., at 22a).

[0143] When receiving the aIoT WTRU registration acceptance, the AN may validate the request, verify if the AMF is authorized to send an aIoT WTRU registration acceptance, and send an aIoT WTRU registration acceptance (e.g., at 22c) to the aIoT WTRU. The request may indicate that aIoT WTRUenergization is to be used, and the AN may issue an RF signal that provides enough energy to the aIoT WTRU to perform the requested operation.

[0144] The content of the request (e.g., at step 22b and at 22c) may be the same as the aIoT WTRU registration request (e.g., at step 0c and at 0d). When the registration is completed from the AMF perspective, and if the AMF has received uplink data from the WTRU at 1, the AMF, upon completion of the registration procedure, may forward the stored uplink data received at 1 to the SMF or directly to the UPF or Application function (AF). The AMF may use the information received from the CDAF, or from the AIoT WTRU (e.g., aIoT ID, CDAF ID) to send the uplink data to or select the appropriate SMF / UPF or application function which receives the stored uplink data from the AMF.

[0145] The aIoT WTRU may be associated with fingerprint security. The aIoT WTRU may be a restricted capabilities device and may not have sufficient power, compute, or storage capabilities for performing security primitives and executing security procedures. A security mechanism may allow the network to consider the data received from a trusted aIoT WTRU and to mitigate aIoT WTRU impersonation or replay attacks. The security mechanism may protect the privacy of the aIoT WTRU identity.

[0146] A security table containing aIoT WTRU fingerprints (e.g., values representing the aIoT identities) may be pre-provisioned on the aIoT WTRU (aiot-fp-table) (e.g., for an ultra-low complexity aIoT WTRU). The aiot-fp-table may be different for an aIoT WTRU instance. The number of aIoT WTRU fingerprint values (e.g., table size) in aiot-fp-table may be dependent on the WTRU complexity and resources. The aiot-fp-table values may be static.

[0147] The aIoT WTRU fingerprint value(s) (aiot-fp-value) may be included in messages sent from the aIoT device to the CDAF. In examples, when sending a network registration request, the aIoT WTRU may include aiot-fp-value obtained from aiot-fp-table. For an aIoT WTRU instance or aIoT WTRU identifier, the CDAF may be configured with a fingerprint table (cdaf-fp-table) that may be similar (e.g., identical) to the aiot-fp-table present on the corresponding aIoT WTRU.

[0148] When triggering an operation towards the aIoT WTRU instance, the CDAF may select a security seed (sec-seed) value that corresponds to a position in the aiot-fp-table. The sec-seed (e.g., the table position) may be randomly selected by the CDAF for a request sent towards the aIoT. Depending on implementation complexity, the sec-seed may be similar to a table index (e.g., a number) or may be encrypted in a way that obfuscates the position in the table (e.g., a number processed through a hashing function). The sec-seed may be decrypted by the aIoT WTRU. The CDAF may include the sec-seed in the triggering request sent to the aIoT WTRU. The CDAF may associate the sec-seed with a request identifier for the aIoT WTRU instance.

[0149] Upon receiving a triggering request containing the sec-seed, the aIoT WTRU may use the sec- seed to derive a fingerprint value (aiot-fp-value). The aiot-fp-value may be sent to the CDAF in the message resulting from the triggering request and information related to the triggered operation. Upon receiving the triggered message from the aIoT WTRU instance, the CDAF may retrieve the sec-seed (e.g., based on the request identifier) stored in the CDAF. The CDAF may retrieve the aIoT WTRU identifier and the aiot-fp-value from the message. The CDAF may use the retrieved sec-seed and the aIoT WTRU identifier to retrieve the fingerprint value (cdaf-fp-value) from the CDAF local fingerprint table associated with the aIoT WTRU identifier. The CDAF may consider the request valid if the aiot-fp-value matches the cdaf-fp-value.

[0150] A request sent by the CDAF may contain a randomly selected security seed (e.g., which may result in a different aiot-fpval sent to the CDAF on a transaction, which may make it difficult to impersonate an aIoT WTRU, performing a replay attack, or link aIoT fingerprints of the same aIoT WTRU). The same or a similar mechanism may be applicable in the opposite communication direction when the aIoT device issues a request to the CDAF to obtain information from the CDAF.

[0151] Depending on the complexity and capabilities of the aIoT WTRU, fingerprint values (e.g., aiot-fp- values and cdaf-fp-values) may be obtained using a hashing function known (e.g., standardized to be used) by the aIoT WTRU and the CDAF and used to hash the sec-seed and / or the fingerprints. Depending on the complexity and capabilities of the aIoT WTRU, fingerprint values (e.g., aiot-fp-value and cdaf-fp-value) contained in the fingerprint tables (e.g., aiot-fp-table and cdaf-fp-table) may be used as aIoT WTRU identifiers. In examples, fingerprint values may be used in place of aIoT WTRU identifiers (e.g., creating rotating identities for aIoT WTRU instances, affecting (e.g., improving) privacy as the aIoT IDs may be rotated for a transaction performed by the aIoT WTRU).

[0152] Fingerprint values (e.g., cdaf-fp-value) and fingerprint tables (e.g., cdaf-fp-table) may be pre- provisioned in the CDAF or dynamically generated by the CDAF. The CDAF may provide fingerprint tables to the aIoT WTRU. For example, when the CDAF triggers an aIoT registration request to the aIoT WTRU, the CDAF may include the fingerprint tables and values in the registration request message sent to the AMF.

[0153] The CDAF may include fingerprint values (e.g., cdaf-fp-value) and fingerprint tables (e.g., cdaf-fp- table) in the Security Parameters when sending aIoT WTRU registration notification responses (e.g., as described herein), and the AMF may use the provided fingerprint tables to validate aIoT messages received from the aIoT WTRU as described herein for the CDAF. The Security Parameters may be provided by the AMF to the AN for the same reason.

[0154] Systems, methods, and instrumentalities may be configured for enabling network assisted registration for power constrained Internet of Things (IoT) devices. A first network node may send, to a second network node, a first message comprising a first ambient Internet of Things (aIoT) wireless transmit receive unit (WTRU) event triggering request associated with a registration initialization of an aIoT WTRU. The first aIoT WTRU event triggering request may include one or more of a constrained device assistance function (CDAF) instance identifier, an indication of triggering for registration, an aIoT WTRU identifier, a security seed, an aIoT category, an aIoT capability, an aIoT WTRU type, energization information, an energization indication, or an event type. The first network node may receive, from the second network node, a second message comprising a registration triggering notification associated with the aIoT WTRU. The first network node may, based on the registration triggering notification, send to the second network node, a third message comprising a registration triggering notification response associated with the aIoT WTRU. The first network node may receive, from the second network node, a fourth message comprising a registration accept message. The registration accept message may include one or more of an aIoT identifier, the CDAF instance identifier, an aIoT WTRU fingerprint, or encrypted identity information of the aIoT WTRU. The first network node may send, to the second network node, a fifth message including a second aIoT WTRU event triggering request associated with a registration acceptance of the aIoT WTRU. The second aIoT WTRU event triggering request may include one or more of: an indication of triggering for registration acceptance, a CDAF instance identifier, an aIoT WTRU identifier, a security seed, an aIoT category, an aIoT capability, an aIoT WTRU type, energization information, an energization indication, or an event type.

[0155] The first network node may derive a second aIoT WTRU fingerprint based on the security seed. The first network node may determine that the second aIoT WTRU fingerprint matches the aIoT WTRU fingerprint. The first network node may decrypt the encrypted identity information. The first network node may perform a security key and security context establishment based on the decrypted identity information. The first network node may include a CDAF, and the second network node may include an application management function (AMF). The first network node may receive, from the second network node, an authentication request message. The first network node may perform an authentication computation associated with the aIoT WTRU and on behalf of the aIoT WTRU. The first network node may send, to the second network node, a third aIoT event triggering request to authenticate the aIoT WTRU. The first network node may receive, from the second network node, a verification response indicating that the event triggering request to authenticate the aIoT WTRU has been validated. The first network node may send an aIoT WTRU authentication request to an access network (AN), wherein the aIoT WTRU authentication request indicates to energize the aIoT WTRU. The first network node may send to the second networknode at an expiration of a timer, a request to energize the aIoT WTRU and trigger a re-registration. The timer may include a delegate periodic registration timer.

[0156] Systems, methods, and instrumentalities may be configured for enabling network assisted registration for power constrained Internet of Things (IoT) devices. A Wireless Transmit Receive Unit (WTRU) may receive, from a network node (e.g., an Access and Mobility Management Function / Security Anchor Function (AMF / SEAF), a first message. The first message may indicate a first ambient Internet of Things (aIoT) registration request. The WTRU may send, to the network node, a second message. The second message may include a second aIoT registration request. The WTRU may receive, from the network node, a third message. The third message may include an aIoT WTRU authentication request. The WTRU may send, to the network node, a fourth message. The fourth message may include an aIoT WTRU authentication confirmation. The WTRU may receive, from the network node, a fifth message. The fifth message may include an aIoT WTRU registration acceptance.

[0157] The first aIoT registration request of the first message may indicate one or more of a Constrained Device Assistance Function (CDAF) instance identifier, an aIoT WTRU identifier, and / or a security seed.

[0158] The WTRU may include, in the second message, an aIoT operation that indicates a registration request, and / or data to be transferred in an uplink direction. The aIoT operation may be based on the CDAF instance identifier, the aIoT WTRU identifier, and / or the security seed received in the first message.

[0159] The aIoT WTRU authentication request of the third message may include a CDAF identifier, an aIoT WTRU identifier, and / or a security seed.

[0160] The WTRU may include, in the fourth message, an authentication confirmation that may be based on an aIoT WTRU fingerprint derived from the security seed, the CDAF identifier, and / or encrypted identity information stored on the aIoT WTRU.

[0161] The aIoT WTRU registration acceptance of the fifth message may include connectivity parameters associated with the WTRU, and the aIoT WTRU registration acceptance of the fifth message may further indicate successful registration of the aIoT WTRU.

[0162] Although features and elements described above are described in particular combinations, each feature or element may be used alone without the other features and elements of the preferred embodiments, or in various combinations with or without other features and elements.

[0163] Although the implementations described herein may consider 3GPP specific protocols, it is understood that the implementations described herein are not restricted to this scenario and may be applicable to other wireless systems. In examples, although the solutions described herein consider LTE, LTE-A, New Radio (NR) or 5G specific protocols, it is understood that the solutions described herein are not restricted to this scenario and are applicable to other wireless systems as well.

[0164] The processes described above may be implemented in a computer program, software, and / or firmware incorporated in a computer-readable medium for execution by a computer and / or processor. Examples of computer-readable media include, but are not limited to, electronic signals (transmitted over wired and / or wireless connections) and / or computer-readable storage media. Examples of computer- readable storage media include, but are not limited to, a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a register, cache memory, semiconductor memory devices, magnetic media such as, but not limited to, internal hard disks and removable disks, magneto-optical media, and / or optical media such as compact disc (CD)-ROM disks, and / or digital versatile disks (DVDs). A processor in association with software may be used to implement a radio frequency transceiver for use in a WTRU, terminal, base station, RNC, and / or any host computer.

Claims

CLAIMS What is Claimed:

1. A first network node comprising: a processor configured to: send, to a second network node, a first message comprising a first ambient Internet of Things (aIoT) wireless transmit receive unit (WTRU) event triggering request associated with a registration initialization of an aIoT WTRU, wherein the first aIoT WTRU event triggering request comprises one or more of: a constrained device assistance function (CDAF) instance identifier, an indication of triggering for registration, an aIoT WTRU identifier, a security seed, an aIoT category, an aIoT capability, an aIoT WTRU type, energization information, an energization indication, or an event type; receive, from the second network node, a second message comprising a registration triggering notification associated with the aIoT WTRU; based on the registration triggering notification, send to the second network node, a third message comprising a registration triggering notification response associated with the aIoT WTRU; receive, from the second network node, a fourth message comprising a registration accept message, wherein the registration accept message comprises one or more of an aIoT identifier, the CDAF instance identifier, an aIoT WTRU fingerprint, or encrypted identity information of the aIoT WTRU; send, to the second network node, a fifth message comprising a second aIoT WTRU event triggering request associated with a registration acceptance of the aIoT WTRU, wherein the second aIoT WTRU event triggering request comprises one or more of: an indication of triggering for registration acceptance, a CDAF instance identifier, an aIoT WTRU identifier, a security seed, an aIoT category, an aIoT capability, an aIoT WTRU type, energization information, an energization indication, or an event type.

2. The first network node of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to: derive a second aIoT WTRU fingerprint based on the security seed; and determine that the second aIoT WTRU fingerprint matches the aIoT WTRU fingerprint.

3. The first network node of claim 1 or 2, wherein the processor is further configured to: decrypt the encrypted identity information; and perform a security key and security context establishment based on the decrypted identity information.

4. The first network node of any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first network node comprises a constrained device assistance function (CDAF), and wherein the second network node comprises an application management function (AMF).

5. The first network node of any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the processor is further configured to: receive, from the second network node, an authentication request message; and perform an authentication computation associated with the aIoT WTRU and on behalf of the aIoT WTRU.

6. The first network node of any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the processor is further configured to: send, to the second network node, a third aIoT event triggering request to authenticate the aIoT WTRU; receive, from the second network node, a verification response indicating that the event triggering request to authenticate the aIoT WTRU has been validated; and send an aIoT WTRU authentication request to an access network (AN), wherein the aIoT WTRU authentication request indicates to energize the aIoT WTRU.

7. The first network node of any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the processor is further configured to send, to the second network node at an expiration of a timer, a request to energize the aIoT WTRU and trigger a re-registration.

8. The first network node of claim 7, wherein the timer comprises a delegate periodic registration timer.

9. A method for a first network node, the method comprising: sending, to a second network node, a first message comprising a first ambient Internet of Things (aIoT) wireless transmit receive unit (WTRU) event triggering request associated with a registration initialization of an aIoT WTRU, wherein the first aIoT WTRU event triggering request comprises one or more of: a constrained device assistance function (CDAF) instance identifier, an indication of triggering for registration, an aIoT WTRU identifier, a security seed, an aIoT category, an aIoT capability, an aIoT WTRU type, energization information, an energization indication, or an event type; receiving, from the second network node, a second message comprising a registration triggering notification associated with the aIoT WTRU;based on the registration triggering notification, sending to the second network node, a third message comprising a registration triggering notification response associated with the aIoT WTRU; receiving, from the second network node, a fourth message comprising a registration accept message, wherein the registration accept message comprises one or more of an aIoT identifier, the CDAF instance identifier, an aIoT WTRU fingerprint, or encrypted identity information of the aIoT WTRU; sending, to the second network node, a fifth message comprising a second aIoT WTRU event triggering request associated with a registration acceptance of the aIoT WTRU, wherein the second aIoT WTRU event triggering request comprises one or more of: an indication of triggering for registration acceptance, a CDAF instance identifier, an aIoT WTRU identifier, a security seed, an aIoT category, an aIoT capability, an aIoT WTRU type, energization information, an energization indication, or an event type.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the method further comprises: deriving a second aIoT WTRU fingerprint based on the security seed; and determining that the second aIoT WTRU fingerprint matches the aIoT WTRU fingerprint.

11. The method of claim 9 or 10, wherein the method further comprises: decrypting the encrypted identity information; and performing a security key and security context establishment based on the decrypted identity information.

12. The method of any of claims 9 to 11, wherein the first network node comprises a constrained device assistance function (CDAF), and wherein the second network node comprises an application management function (AMF).

13. The method of any of claims 9 to 12, wherein the method further comprises: receiving, from the second network node, an authentication request message; and performing an authentication computation associated with the aIoT WTRU and on behalf of the aIoT WTRU.

14. The method of any of claims 9 to 13, wherein the method further comprises: sending, to the second network node, a third aIoT event triggering request to authenticate the aIoT WTRU; receiving, from the second network node, a verification response indicating that the event triggering request to authenticate the aIoT WTRU has been validated; andsending an aIoT WTRU authentication request to an access network (AN), wherein the aIoT WTRU authentication request indicates to energize the aIoT WTRU.

15. The method of any of claims 9 to 14, wherein the method further comprises sending, to the second network node at an expiration of a timer, a request to energize the aIoT WTRU and trigger a re-registration.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the timer comprises a delegate periodic registration timer.

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