Methods, devices and medium for event monitoring and reporting

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to methods, devices and computer readable storage medium for event monitoring and reporting. In the method, a first network device receives, from a second network device or a third network device, a request for monitoring an event for a plurality of terminal devices. The request includes at least one condition for filtering at least one terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices. Based on the at least one condition, the first network device transmits a report of the monitored event to the second network device.

Description

METHODS, DEVICES AND MEDIUM FOR EVENT MONITORING AND REPORTINGFIELDS

[0001] Various embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of telecommunication and in particular, to methods, devices and computer readable storage medium for event monitoring and reporting.BACKGROUND

[0002] This section introduces aspects that may facilitate a better understanding of the disclosure. Accordingly, the statements of this section are to be read in this light and are not to be understood as admissions about what is in the prior art or what is not in the prior art.

[0003] In third-generation partnership project (3GPP) TS 29.518, Version 18.2.0, an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) event exposure service is supported. Exposed events may be related to locations, presence, time zones, access types, registration states, connectivity states, reachability, communication failures, and / or the like. A Network Function (NF) consumer can subscribe to "Any user equipment (UE)" as target groups for most of the events. For example, in data analytics scenarios, a Network Data Analytics Function (NWDAF) can subscribe to certain events related to an AMF and target any UE to collect inputs for data analytics. In these scenarios, the event monitoring is targeting equally towards any UE served by the AMF. This means that any UE served by an AMF can possibly be a target for monitoring and reporting of the events.SUMMARY

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

[0005] As described above, the AMF event exposure service supports subscriptions with "Any UE" as target groups for most of the events. As one AMF may serve millions of UEs, monitoring all the UEs for such event subscriptions introduces significant loads for the AMF. Therefore, mechanisms to reduce a scope of target UEs are expected for such subscriptions.

[0006] To overcome or mitigate at least one of the above-mentioned problems or other problems or provide a useful solution, embodiments of the present disclosure propose methods, devices and storage medium for event monitoring and reporting.

[0007] In a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method implemented at a first network device. In the method, the first network device receives, from a second network device or a third network device, a request for monitoring an event for a plurality of terminal devices. The request includes at least one condition for filtering at least one terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices. Based on the at least one condition, the first network device transmits a report of the monitored event to the second network device.

[0008] In an embodiment, the request may further include an indication whether the monitoring of the event is applied to a terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices satisfying or dissatisfying the at least one condition.

[0009] In an embodiment, the at least one condition may comprise at least one of: a packet data unit (PDU) session conditions, a subscription information condition, or a policy information condition.

[0010] In an embodiment, the PDU session condition is related to at least one of: a data network name (DNN) or signal network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI) associated with a PDU session, a type of PDU sessions, or an access type of PDU sessions indicating whether a PDU session is a single access PDU session or a multiple-access PDU session.

[0011] In an embodiment, the subscription information condition is related to at least one of: allowance for a service, the service including access stratum time distribution and / or remote provisioning; a mobility and / or roaming restriction; prioritization of a multimedia priority service, or a routing indicator.

[0012] In an embodiment, the policy information condition is related to at least one of: enabling of DNN replacement, enabling of an access and mobility (AM) policy influence, or enabling or disabling of a policy of a terminal device.

[0013] In an embodiment, the first network device retrieves information of the plurality of terminal devices. The information includes status data of respective PDU sessions, respective subscription data and / or respective applicable policies of the plurality of terminal devices. The first network device determines at least one terminal device from the plurality of terminal devices by matching the at least one condition against the retrieved information and transmits, to the second network device, the report of the event monitored for the determined at least one terminal device.

[0014] In an embodiment, the request may comprise a subscription request for the event for the plurality of terminal devices.

[0015] In an embodiment, the first network device may comprise a network function, the second network device may comprise a network function consumer, and the third network device may comprise a unified data management device.

[0016] In a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method implemented at a secondnetwork device. In the method, the second network device transmits, to a first network device, a request for monitoring an event for a plurality of terminal devices. The request includes at least one condition for filtering at least one terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices. The second network device receives a report of the monitored event from the first network device.

[0017] In an embodiment, the request may further include an indication whether the monitoring of the event is applied to a terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices satisfying or dissatisfying the at least one condition.

[0018] In an embodiment, the at least one condition may comprise at least one of: a PDU session conditions, a subscription information condition, or a policy information condition.

[0019] In an embodiment, the PDU session condition is related to at least one of: a DNN or S-NSSAI associated with a PDU session, a type of PDU sessions, or an access type of PDU sessions indicating whether a PDU session is a single access PDU session or a multiple-access PDU session.

[0020] In an embodiment, the subscription information condition is related to at least one of: allowance for a service, the service including access stratum time distribution and / or remote provisioning; a mobility and / or roaming restriction; prioritization of a multimedia priority service, or a routing indicator.

[0021] In an embodiment, the policy information condition is related to at least one of: enabling of DNN replacement, enabling of an AM policy influence, or enabling or disabling of a policy of a terminal device.

[0022] In an embodiment, the request may comprise a subscription request for the event for the plurality of terminal devices.

[0023] In an embodiment, the second network device may transmit the request to the first network device via a third network device.

[0024] In an embodiment, the first network device may comprise a network function, the second network device may comprise a network function consumer, and the third network device may comprise a unified data management device.

[0025] In a third aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method implemented at a third network device. In the method, the third network device receives, from a second network device, a first request for monitoring an event for a plurality of terminal devices. The third network device transmits, to the first network device, a second request for monitoring the event for the plurality of terminal devices, the second request including at least one condition for filtering at least one terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices.

[0026] In an embodiment, the third network device may generate the second request by adding the at least one condition into the first request.

[0027] In an embodiment, the first request may include at least one condition for filtering at least one terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices. The third network device may generate the second request by updating the at least one condition included in the first request.

[0028] In an embodiment, the request may further include an indication whether the monitoring of the event is applied to a terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices satisfying or dissatisfying the at least one condition.

[0029] In an embodiment, the at least one condition may comprise at least one of: a PDU session conditions, a subscription information condition, or a policy information condition.

[0030] In an embodiment, the PDU session condition is related to at least one of: a DNN or S-NSSAI associated with a PDU session, a type of PDU sessions, or an access type of PDU sessions indicating whether a PDU session is a single access PDU session or a multiple-access PDU session.

[0031] In an embodiment, the subscription information condition is related to at least one of: allowance for a service, the service including access stratum time distribution and / or remote provisioning; a mobility and / or roaming restriction; prioritization of a multimedia priority service, or a routing indicator.

[0032] In an embodiment, the policy information condition is related to at least one of: enabling of DNN replacement, enabling of an AM policy influence, or enabling or disabling of a policy of a terminal device.

[0033] In an embodiment, the request may comprise a subscription request for the event for the plurality of terminal devices.

[0034] In an embodiment, the first network device may comprise a network function, the second network device may comprise a network function consumer, and the third network device may comprise a unified data management device.

[0035] In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a first network device. The first network device comprises a memory containing instructions. The first network device further comprises a processor that executes the instructions to perform the method according to the first aspect.

[0036] In a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a second network device. The second network device comprises a memory containing instructions. The second network device further comprises a processor that executes the instructions to perform the method according to the second aspect.

[0037] In a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a third network device. The third network device comprises a memory containing instructions. The third network device further comprises a processor that executes the instructions to perform the method according to the third aspect.

[0038] In a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus. The apparatus comprises means for performing the method according to the first, second or third aspect.

[0039] In an eighth aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions, which, when executed by a processing system, cause the processing system to perform the method according to the first, second or third aspect.

[0040] With the present disclosure, a request for monitoring an event for a plurality of terminal devices includes at least one condition for filtering at least one terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices. Based on the at least one condition, some terminal devices may be selected from the plurality of terminal devices for monitoring. Thus, network loads for event monitoring and reporting may be reduced, and network traffic from notification of not interested terminal devices may be saved.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0041] Through the more detailed description of some embodiments of the present disclosure in the accompanying drawings, the above and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent, wherein the same reference generally refers to the same components in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0042] FIG. 1 is a signaling diagram showing an example communication environment in which embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented .

[0043] FIGS. 2A is a signaling diagram showing a communication process between a plurality of network devices in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0044] FIGS. 2B is a signaling diagram showing another communication process between a plurality of network devices in accordance with some other embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0045] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a flowchart of an example method of event monitoring and reporting at a first network device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure .

[0046] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a flowchart of an example method of event monitoring and reporting at a second network device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0047] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a flowchart of an example method of event monitoring and reporting at a third network device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0048] FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing functional structures of a first network device in accordance with some embodiments.

[0049] FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing functional structures of a second network device in accordance with some embodiments.

[0050] FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing functional structures of a third network device in accordance with some embodiments.

[0051] FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a communication device in accordance with some embodiments.

[0052] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a computer readable storage medium in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0053] FIG. 1 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a communication system in accordance with some embodiments.

[0054] FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a UE in accordance with some embodiments.

[0055] FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a network node in accordance with some embodiments.

[0056] FIG. 14 is a block diagram of a host in accordance with some embodiments.

[0057] FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized.

[0058] FIG. 16 is a communication diagram of a host communicating via a network node with a UE over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0059] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Other embodiments, however, are contained within the scope of the subject matter disclosed herein, the disclosed subject matter should not be construed as limited to only the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0060] Generally, all terms used herein are to be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning in the relevant technical field, unless a different meaning is clearly given and / or is implied from the context in which it is used. All references to a / an / the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc. are to be interpreted openly as referring to at least one instance of the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc., unless explicitly stated otherwise. The steps of any methods disclosed herein do not have to be performed in the exact order disclosed, unless a step is explicitly described as following or preceding another step and / or where it is implicit that a step must follow or precede another step . Any feature of any of the embodiments disclosed herein may be applied to any other embodiment, wherever appropriate . Likewise, any advantage of any of the embodiments may apply to any other embodiments, and vice versa . Other objectives, features and advantages of the enclosed embodiments will be apparent from the following description.

[0061] Reference throughout this specification to features, advantages, or similar language does not imply that all of the features and advantages that may be realized with the present disclosure should be or are in any single embodiment of the disclosure. Rather, language referring to the features and advantages isunderstood to mean that a specific feature, advantage, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure . Furthermore, the described features, advantages, and characteristics of the disclosure may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize that the disclosure may be practiced without one or more of the specific features or advantages of a particular embodiment. In other instances, additional features and advantages may be recognized in certain embodiments that may not be present in all embodiments of the disclosure.

[0062] As used herein, the terms "first", "second" and so forth refer to different elements . The singular forms "a" and "an" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms "comprises", "comprising", "has", "having", "includes" and / or "including" as used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and / or components and the like, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and / or combinations thereof. The term "based on" is to be read as "based at least in part on" . The term "one embodiment" and "an embodiment" are to be read as "at least one embodiment" . The term "another embodiment" is to be read as "at least one other embodiment" . Other definitions, explicit and implicit, may be included below.

[0063] As used herein, the term "terminal device” refers to a device which is intended for accessing services via an access network and configured to communicate over the access network . The terminal device may be able to communicate with a network node, such as a base station, or with another terminal device by transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals. For instance, the terminal device may include, but is not limited to: a mobile phone, a smart phone, a sensor device, a meter, a vehicle, a household appliance, a medical appliance, a media player, a camera, or any type of consumer electronic, for instance, but not limited to, a television, radio, lighting arrangement, a tablet computer, a laptop, or a personal computer (PC). The terminal device may also include a portable, pocket-storable, hand-held, computer-comprised, or vehicle-mounted mobile device, enabled to communicate voice and / or data, via a wireless con nection. In the following description, the terms "terminal device”, "user equipment” and "UE” may be used interchangeably.

[0064] As used herein, the term "network node” refers to a device in a communication network via which a terminal device receives services from the network. The terms "network node”, "network function” may be used interchangeably. A network function can be implemented either as a network element on a dedicated hardware, as a software instance running on a dedicated hardware, or as a virtualised function instantiated on an appropriate platform, e.g., on a cloud infrastructure. The network node comprises an access network node via which a terminal device accesses an access network. Examples of access network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio b ase stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and newNR NodeBs (gNBs)). In the following description, the terms "access network node”, "base station” and "BS” may be used interchangeably.

[0065] The network node may further comprise a core network node. Examples of core network nodes may include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), an evolved Packet Data Gateway (ePGW), a trusted wireless local area network (WLAN) access network (TWAN) node, a Home Subscriber Server (HSS), an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), a Session Management Function (SMF), a Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF), a Serving Gateway (SGW), a Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway (PGW), an Authentication Server Function (AUSF), a Subscription Identifier De-concealing function (SIDF), a Unified Data Management (UDM), a Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), a Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0066] As used herein, the term "communication device” refers to a device capable of communications. Examples of a communication device may comprise a terminal device and a network device.

[0067] As mentioned above, in the AMF event exposure service, as one AMF may serve millions of UEs, monitoring all the UEs served by the AMF introduces significant loads. Therefore, mechanisms to reduce a scope of target UEs are expected.

[0068] In certain data analytics scenarios, an NWDAF subscribe to certain events and target any UE to collect the input for data analytics. To reduce the scope of target UEs, the NWDAF may additionally provide sampling ratio. For example, one NWDAF can subscribe to any UE with sampling ratio to 1 %, which means that 1 % of all the UEs served by the AMF are monitored for event reporting and the AMF may decide which 1 % of the UE will be monitored.

[0069] In some other scenarios, if the NF consumer subscribes for certain events, the NF consumer may target a logic group of UEs with certain commonality. For example, when a Time Sensitive Communication and Time Synchronization Function (TSCTSF) is subscribing to any UE that have an active Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session with certain characteristics (e.g., associated with a certain Data Network Name (DNN) and Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (S-NSSAI)), an Event Filter may include a list of UE identities such as Generic Public Subscription Identifiers (GPSIs) or Groups of UEs identified by an External Group Identifier that further define the subset of the target UEs. If the request does not include UE identities nor External Group Identifier, the request is targeted to any UE with a PDU Session using the DNN and S-NSSAI. In this way, the TSCTSF may subscribe to a group of UEs for event monitoring.

[0070] As defined in 3GPP TS 29.518, Version 18.2.0, a Network Exposure Function (NEF) forwards the GPSIs or the External Group Identifier to the TSCTSF by including them or it inside the Ntsctsf_TimeSynchronization_CapsSubscribe request. An application function (AF) creates a time synchronization service configuration for a Precision Time Protocol (PTP) instance by invoking the Nnef_TimeSynchronization_ConfigCreate service operation. The request includes the parameters as described in Table 4.15.9.3, 3GPP TS 23.502, Version 18.2.0. The request contains a Subscription Correlation Identification (ID) and user-plane node ID as a reference to the target of the UEs and AF- sessions. The TSCTSF uses the Subscription Correlation ID and user-plane node ID inNtsctsf_TimeSynchronization_ConfigCreate to determine the target UEs and corresponding AF-sessions. Alternatively, the TSCTSF may also targeting to UEs with Access Stratum Time (ASTI) activated in subscription data (as part of Access Mobility Subscription for Access Stratum Based time synchronization service activation).

[0071] Another example may be for a Mobile Broadcasting Service. The NF Consumer may subscribe to any UE which allows 5G Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (5MBMS) within Subscription data. As another example, the NF consumer for Proximity based Services (ProSe) may subscribe for UEs with sidelink communication enabled.

[0072] However, on AMF Event Exposure Application Programming Interface (API), there is no mechanism to allow the NF consumer to accurately define a filtering condition of the target UEs when subscribing to any UE.

[0073] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. Some embodiments of the present disclosure propose a scheme to filter a target terminal device. With this scheme, a request for monitoring an event for a plurality of terminal devices includes at least one condition for filtering at least one terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices . Based on the at least one condition, some terminal devices may be selected from the plurality of terminal devices for monitoring.

[0074] This scheme provides a flexible mechanism that may allow the NF consumer to indicate the target UEs in AMF subscription for ANY UE or large group of UEs. The AMF may use the at least one filtering condition to scale down the scope of the target UEs, which may significantly reduce the AMF load for event monitoring and reporting as well as save the network traffic from notification of not interested UEs.

[0075] FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication environment 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented.

[0076] As shown in FIG. 1 , the communication environment 100, which may be a part of a communication network, comprises a plurality of terminal devices 110-1 , 110-2, .... 110-N (individually or collectively referred to as terminal device(s) 110 where N represent any positive integer) and a plurality of network devices 120, 130 and 140. In some embodiments, the network device 120 may operate as an access network device such as a base station via which the terminal devices 1 10 may access the communication network. The network devices 130 and 140 may operate as core network devices where the network device 130 may operate as an NF such as an AMF, and the network device 140 may operate as an NF consumer such as an NEF, an NWDAF and an TSCTSF. The communications in the communication environment 100 may use any suitable communication technologies and follow any communication protocols. The scope of the present disclosure will not be limited in this regard.

[0077] It is to be understood that the types and numbers of devices are shown in FIG. 1 only for the purpose of illustration, without suggesting any limitations. The communication environment 100 may comprise anynumbers and types of terminal devices and network devices. In some embodiments, between the two network devices 130 and 140 which may operate as an NF and an NF consumer, respectively, there may be deployed an intermediary network device such as a unified data management (UDM) device (also called a UDM).

[0078] In the communication environment 100, the network device 130 such as an NF may provide an event exposure service, and the network device 140 may consume this service. According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the network device 130 receives from the network device 140 a request for monitoring an event for a plurality of terminal devices 1 10-1 , .... 110-N. The request includes at least one condition for filtering at least one terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices 110-1 , .... 110-N. Accordingly, the network device 130 excludes at least one terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices 110-1 , .... 110- N from the event monitoring and reporting. Some example implementations will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B.

[0079] FIG. 2A shows a signaling of communication process 200 between a plurality of network devices in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0080] As shown in FIG. 2A, in the process 200, a first network device 205 receives (210) a request for monitoring an event for a plurality of terminal devices 110-1 , .... 110-N from a second network device 215 directly or via a third network device 220. The first network device 205 may operate as an NF such as an AMF and an SMF. The second network device 215 may operate as an NF consumer such as an NEF, an NWDAF and an TSCTSF. The third network device 220 may operate as an intermediary network device (such as a UDM device) between the first and second network devices 205 and 215.

[0081] The event may comprise any event associated with the first network device 205. For example, in the embodiments where the first network device 205 operates as an AMF, the event may be related to access and mobility management, which, for example, may be related to locations, presence, time zones, access types, registration states, connectivity states, reachability, communication failures, and / or the like. As another example, in the embodiments where the first network device 205 operates as an SMF, the event may be related to session management.

[0082] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the request includes at least one condition for filtering at least one terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices 110-1 , .... 110-N. The at least one condition may be used to include or exclude the at least one terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices 110-1 , .... 110-N for the event monitoring and reporting. This may allow the NF consumer to indicate the interested terminal device when subscribing to NF events directly or via an intermediary network device such as a UDM device. As such, the network loads may be reduced, the network traffic may be saved, and the network overhead may be reduced.

[0083] In some embodiments, the request may further include an indication whether the monitoring of theevent is applied to a terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices 1 10-1 , .... 110-N satisfying or dissatisfying the at least one condition . Based on this indication, the first network device 205 may determine whether terminal device(s) matching the condition(s) needs to be reported or terminal device(s) NOT matching the condition(s) needs to be reported. In other words, the first network device 205 may know whether the matched terminal device(s) is included for the event reporting or excluded for the event reporting.

[0084] The at least one condition may comprise any condition that can be used to filter a target terminal device for the event monitoring. In some embodiments, the at least one condition may comprise a PDU session condition. The PDU session condition may be used to match against status data of active PDU sessions of the plurality of terminal devices 110-1 , .... 110-N. The PDU session condition may comprise any condition related to a PDU session. For example, in the embodiments where the first network device 205 operates as an AMF, the PDU session condition may be related to the information listed in Table 5.2.2.2.2-1 : UE Context in AMF in 3GPP TS 23.502, Version 18.2.0 where context for each PDU session level may be also contained. Accordingly, the first network device 205 may use this information to match the PDU session condition.

[0085] As an example, the PDU session condition may be related to a DNN or S-NSSAI associated with a PDU session such as a specific DNN / or S-NSSAI for which the PDU session is established. Alternatively, or in addition, the PDU session condition may be related to a type of PDU sessions. The type of PDU sessions may comprise Internet Protocol (IP) Version 4 (IPv4), IP Version 6 (IPv6), I Pv4v6, Ethernet Type, Unstructured Type and / or the like. Alternatively, or in addition, the PDU session condition may be related to an access type of a PDU session which indicates whether a PDU session is a single access PDU session or a multiple-access PDU session.

[0086] In some embodiments, the at least one condition may comprise a subscription information condition. The subscription information condition may be used to match against subscription information of the plurality of terminal devices 1 10-1 , .... 1 10-N. The subscription information is specific to a NF type of the first network device 205. The subscription information may be received from a UDM device. The subscription information condition may comprise a condition related to any subscription information. For example, in the embodiments where the first network device 205 operates as an AMF, the subscription information condition may be related to all parameters included in Access Mobility Subscription data as specified for AccessAndMobilitySubscriptionData in clause 6. 1.6.2.4, 3GPP TS 29.503, Version 18.2.0. As another example, in the embodiments where the first network device 205 operates as an SMF, the subscription information condition may be related to all parameters included in SMF selection data as specified for SmfSelectionSubscriptionData in clause 6.1.6.2.5, 3GPP TS 29.503, Version 18.2.0. All the above parameters may be candidate condition parameters.

[0087] As an example, the subscription information condition may be related to allowance for a service.The service may include access stratum time distribution (e.g., denoted by timeSyncData or aerialUeSublnfo). Alternatively, or in addition, the service may include remote provisioning (e.g., denoted by remoteProvind). In another example, the subscription information condition may be related to a mobility and / or roaming restriction. Alternatively, or in addition, the subscription information condition may be related to characteristics of a terminal device such as UE characteristics. The characteristics may comprise prioritization of a multimedia priority service (MPS) (or MPS prioritized), a routing indicator, and / or the like.

[0088] In some embodiments, the at least one condition may comprise a policy information condition. The policy information condition may be used to match against policy information of the plurality of terminal devices, the policy information being specific to a NF type of the first network device . The policy information may be received from a Policy Control Function (PCF). The policy information condition may comprise a condition related to any policy information. For example, in the embodiments where the first network device 205 operates as an AMF, the policy information condition may be related to access and mobility management policies. In the embodiments where the first network device 205 operates as an SMF, the policy information condition may be related to session management policies. As an example, the policy information condition may be related to at least one of: enabling of DNN replacement (or DNN replacement enabled), enabling of an AM policy influence (or AM policy influence enabled), or enabling or disabling of a policy of a terminal device (or UE policy enabled or disabled).

[0089] In some embodiments, the request for monitoring the event may comprise a subscription request for the event for the plurality of terminal devices 110-1 , .... 110-N. In an example, in the embodiment where the first network device 205 operates as an AMF and the terminal devices operate as UEs, an AmfEventSubscription message may be used to request the event monitoring. Table 1 as below shows example information elements (lEs) in the AmfEventSubscription message with reference to 3GPP TS 29.518, Version 18.2.0.Table 1 : Definition of type AmfEventSubscription

[0090] As shown, in the AmfEventSubscription message, an IE “targetUeFilter” is added to indicate the conditions of the interested UEs for the subscription.

[0091] Table 2 shows example lEs of targetUeFilter as below.Table 2: Definition of type TargetUeFilter

[0092] As shown in Table 2, targetUeFilter includes the lEs "pduSessionConds”, "sdmConds” and "policyConds” indicating the PDU session condition, the subscription information condition and the policy information condition, respectively. Based on these lEs, some UEs may be selected. For example, the IE "pduSessionConds” indicates that the UE needs to have at least one PDU session matching at least one PDU session condition. The IE "sdmConds” indicates that the subscription data of a target UE need tomatch at least one subscription information condition. The IE "policyConds” indicates that the AM policies and / or UE Policies of a target UE need to match at least one policy information condition.

[0093] In this example, targetUeFilter further includes the IE "excludelnd” which indicates whether the subscription is to be applied to the UEs matching the conditions or the UEs NOT matching the conditions. The "true” value of excludelnd indicates reporting to unmatched UEs, that is, matching UEs are excluded for reporting. The "false” value of excludelnd indicates reporting to matched UEs.

[0094] Table 3 shows example lEs of pduSessionConds as below.Table 3: Definition of type PduSesionCond

[0095] As shown in Table 3, the IE "Dnn” indicates the DNN of the matched PDU session. The IE "Snssai” indicates the S-NSSAI of the matched PDU session. The IE "maPduind” indicates whether the matched PDU session is a Multi-Access PDU session.

[0096] Table 4 shows example lEs of sdmConds as below.Table 4: Definition of type SdmCond

[0097] As shown in Table 4, the IE "astilnd” indicates that the ASTI needs to be allowed for a matched UE. The IE "mpslnd” indicates that the MPS Priority needs to be enabled for a matched UE . The IE "proSelnd” indicates that the 5G ProSe service is enabled for a matched UE. The IE "routingindicator'' indicates the routing indicator of a matched UE.

[0098] Table 5 shows example lEs of policyConds as below.Table 5: Definition of type PolicyCond

[0099] As shown in Table 5, the IE "dnnReplacelnd” indicates that the DNN replacement is required for a matched UE. The IE "amplnfuencelnd” indicates that the AM Policy Influence is enabled for a matched UE. The IE "uepEnabled” indicates that the UE Policy association is required for a matched UE.

[0100] After the first network device 205 receives (210) the request for monitoring the event, as shown in FIG. 2A, based on the at least one condition, the first network device 205 transmits (230) a report of the monitored event to the second network device 215 directly or via the third network device 220. In someembodiments, the first network device 205 may determine (225) at least one terminal device from the plurality of terminal devices 110-1 , .... 110-N by matching the at least one condition against retrieved information of the plurality of terminal devices 110-1 , .... 1 10-N. The retrieved information may include status data of respective PDU sessions, respective subscription data and / or respective applicable policies of the plurality of terminal devices 110-1 , .... 110-N.

[0101] By way of example, in the embodiments where the first network device 205 operates as an AMF and the terminal devices operate as UEs, after the first network device 205 receives a subscription request (as an example implementation of the request for monitoring the event) including Any UE filter to subscribe event monitoring and reporting to any UE, the first network device 205 may validate the information of each UE of all the served UEs in the UE context (including the PDU session context), AM subscription data from the UDM and AM Policy from the PCF and identify whether the UE is to be monitored and reported. As such, the first network device 205 may only report the target UE(s) that are really interested by the NF consumer.

[0102] In this way, the AMF may validate the conditions in the filter against the existing data of the UE in the AMF (UE Context, AM Subscription Data, AM Policy, etc.) and only activate the subscription towards matched (or unmatched if indication in the filter states to exclude the matched UEs) UE(s). The AMF may only report events for matched (or unmatched if indication in the filter states to exclude the matched UEs) UEs. Thus, the AMF loads may be significantly reduced, and the network traffic may be saved effectively and efficiently.

[0103] In some embodiments, the request from the second network device 215 to the first network device 205 may be forwarded by the third network device 220. For example, the proposed scheme can be applied when the event is configured in an AMF (as an example implementation of the first network device 205) directly by an NF consumer (as an example implementation of the second network device 215) (e.g., an NEF, an NWDAF and / or a TSCTSF) or when the NF consumer configures the event in the AMF via a UDM (an example implementation of the third network device 220) . In some embodiments, the UDM may receive from the NF consumer the subscription request for an event for AnyUE including the new target UE Filter criteria (e.g., “targetUeFilter” as shown in Table 1) and forwards it to ALL the AMFs within a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) the UDM belongs to.

[0104] In some embodiments, the UDM may modify the received subscription request by adding, inserting, changing, or replacing one or more conditions. Some embodiments in this regard will be described below with reference to FIG. 2B.

[0105] As shown in FIG. 2B, in the process 240, the third network device 220 receives (245) from the second network device 215 a request (referred to as a first request) for monitoring an event for a plurality of terminal devices. Then, the third network device 220 transmits (255) to the first network device 205 a second request for monitoring the event for the plurality of terminal devices 110-1 , .... 110-N. The secondrequest includes at least one condition for filtering at least one terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices 110-1 , .... 110-N.

[0106] In some embodiments, the third network device 220 may generate (250) the second request from the received first request which may or may not include the condition(s) for filtering at least one terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices. For example, in the embodiments where the first request includes no condition, the third network device 220 may add the at least one condition into the first request to generate the second request. The third network device 220 may determine the condition(s) based on its own knowledge for the NF consumer. For example, in the embodiments where the first network device 205 operates as an AMF, for the PDU session condition, the third network device 220 may derive the DNN / S- NSSAI for the PDU session, e.g., based on AF ID, and insert the new Any UE filter into the subscription request (as an example implementation of the first request) and forward the updated subscription request (as an example implementation of the first request) to the first network device 205.

[0107] If the first request has already included at least one condition, the third network device 220 may update the at least one condition included in the first request to generate the second request. In some embodiments, the third network device 220 may add or insert certain new condition(s) into the first request. In some other embodiments, the third network device 220 may modify the at least one condition included in the first request.

[0108] For example, in the embodiments where the first network device 205 operates as an AMF, the second network device 215 operates as an NF consumer, and the third network device 220 operates as a UDM, the third network device 220 may receive from the NF consumer the subscription request (as an example implementation of the first request) for an event for AnyUE including the new target UE Filter criteria (e.g., “targetUeFilter” as shown in Table 1). Then, the third network device 220 may derive certain condition(s) based on its own knowledge and modify the target UE filter criteria in the subscription request. The third network device 220 may forward the updated subscription request to the first network device 205.

[0109] The example implementations of the condition(s) as described above are also applicable for the third network device 220. In addition, in the embodiments where the third network device 220 operates as a UDM, when the NF consumer configures the event in the AMF via the UDM, updates to the Nudm_EE_Subscribe service operation as defined in 3GPP TS 29.503, Version 18.2.0 are similar to the updates to the AmfEventSubscription service operation .

[0110] FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of an example method 300 of event monitoring and reporting in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 300 may be implemented by the first network device 205 as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B. For the purpose of discussion, the method 300 will be described from the perspective of the first network device 205.

[0111] At block 305, the first network device 205 receives, from the second network device 215 or the thirdnetwork device 220, a request for monitoring an event for a plurality of terminal devices. The request includes at least one condition for filtering at least one terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices. At block 310, based on the at least one condition, the first network device 205 transmits a report of the monitored event to the second network device 215.

[0112] In an embodiment, the request may further include an indication whether the monitoring of the event is applied to a terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices satisfying or dissatisfying the at least one condition.

[0113] In an embodiment, the at least one condition may comprise at least one of: a packet data unit (PDU) session conditions, a subscription information condition, or a policy information condition.

[0114] In an embodiment, the PDU session condition is related to at least one of: a data network name (DNN) or signal network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI) associated with a PDU session, a type of PDU sessions, or an access type of PDU sessions indicating whether a PDU session is a single access PDU session or a multiple-access PDU session.

[0115] In an embodiment, the subscription information condition is related to at least one of: allowance for a service, the service including access stratum time distribution and / or remote provisioning; a mobility and / or roaming restriction; prioritization of a multimedia priority service, or a routing indicator.

[0116] In an embodiment, the policy information condition is related to at least one of: enabling of DNN replacement, enabling of an access and mobility (AM) policy influence, or enabling or disabling of a policy of a terminal device.

[0117] In an embodiment, the first network device 205 retrieves information of the plurality of terminal devices. The information includes status data of respective PDU sessions, respective subscription data and / or respective applicable policies of the plurality of terminal devices. The first network device 205 determines at least one terminal device from the plurality of terminal devices by matching the at least one condition against the retrieved information and transmits, to the second network device 215, the report of the event monitored for the determined at least one terminal device.

[0118] In an embodiment, the request may comprise a subscription request for the event for the plurality of terminal devices.

[0119] In an embodiment, the first network device 205 may comprise a network function, the second network device 215 may comprise a network function consumer, and the third network device 220 may comprise a unified data management device.

[0120] FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of an example method 400 of event monitoring and reporting in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 400 may be implemented by the second network device 215 as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B. For the purpose of discussion, the method 400 will bedescribed from the perspective of the second network device 215.

[0121] As shown in FIG. 4, at block 410, the second network device 215 transmits, to the first network device 205, a request for monitoring an event for a plurality of terminal devices. The request includes at least one condition for filtering at least one terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices. At block 420, the second network device 215 receives a report of the monitored event from the first network device 205.

[0122] In an embodiment, the request may further include an indication whether the monitoring of the event is applied to a terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices satisfying or dissatisfying the at least one condition.

[0123] In an embodiment, the at least one condition may comprise at least one of: a PDU session conditions, a subscription information condition, or a policy information condition.

[0124] In an embodiment, the PDU session condition is related to at least one of: a DNN or S-NSSAI associated with a PDU session, a type of PDU sessions, or an access type of PDU sessions indicating whether a PDU session is a single access PDU session or a multiple-access PDU session.

[0125] In an embodiment, the subscription information condition is related to at least one of: allowance for a service, the service including access stratum time distribution and / or remote provisioning; a mobility and / or roaming restriction; prioritization of a multimedia priority service, or a routing indicator.

[0126] In an embodiment, the policy information condition is related to at least one of: enabling of DNN replacement, enabling of an AM policy influence, or enabling or disabling of a policy of a terminal device.

[0127] In an embodiment, the request may comprise a subscription request for the event for the plurality of terminal devices.

[0128] In an embodiment, the second network device 215 may transmit the request to the first network device 205 via the third network device 220.

[0129] In an embodiment, the first network device 205 may comprise a network function, the second network device 215 may comprise a network function consumer, and the third network device 220 may comprise a unified data management device.

[0130] FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of an example method 500 of event monitoring and reporting in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 500 may be implemented by the third network device 220 as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B. For the purpose of discussion, the method 500 will be described from the perspective of the third network device 220 220.

[0131] As shown in FIG. 5, at block 510, the third network device 220 receives, from the second network device 215, a first request for monitoring an event for a plurality of terminal devices. At block 520, the third network device 220 transmits, to the first network device 205, a second request for monitoring the eventfor the plurality of terminal devices. The second request including at least one condition for filtering at least one terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices.

[0132] In an embodiment, the third network device 220 may generate the second request by adding the at least one condition into the first request.

[0133] In an embodiment, the first request may include at least one condition for filtering at least one terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices. The third network device 220 may generate the second request by updating the at least one condition included in the first request.

[0134] In an embodiment, the request may further include an indication whether the monitoring of the event is applied to a terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices satisfying or dissatisfying the at least one condition.

[0135] In an embodiment, the at least one condition may comprise at least one of: a PDU session conditions, a subscription information condition, or a policy information condition.

[0136] In an embodiment, the PDU session condition is related to at least one of: a DNN or S-NSSAI associated with a PDU session, a type of PDU sessions, or an access type of PDU sessions indicating whether a PDU session is a single access PDU session or a multiple-access PDU session.

[0137] In an embodiment, the subscription information condition is related to at least one of: allowance for a service, the service including access stratum time distribution and / or remote provisioning; a mobility and / or roaming restriction; prioritization of a multimedia priority service, or a routing indicator.

[0138] In an embodiment, the policy information condition is related to at least one of: enabling of DNN replacement, enabling of an AM policy influence, or enabling or disabling of a policy of a terminal device.

[0139] In an embodiment, the request may comprise a subscription request for the event for the plurality of terminal devices.

[0140] In an embodiment, the first network device 205 may comprise a network function, the second network device 215 may comprise a network function consumer, and the third network device 220 may comprise a unified data management device.

[0141] All operations and features related to the first network device 205, the second network device 215, and the third network device 220 as described above with reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B are likewise applicable to the methods 300, 400 and 500 and have similar effects. For the purpose of simplification, the details will be omitted.

[0142] FIG. 6 shows function units of a first network device 600 in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0143] As shown in FIG. 6, the first network device 600 comprises a receiving unit 610 configured to receive,from a second network device or a third network device, a request for monitoring an event for a plurality of terminal devices, the request including at least one condition for filtering at least one terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices. The first network device 600 comprises a transmitting unit 620 configured to transmit, based on the at least one condition, a report of the monitored event to the second network device .

[0144] In some embodiments, the first network device 600 may further comprise units for implementing actions or operations according to any of the above-mentioned embodiments described with reference to FIGS. 2A, 2B and 3.

[0145] FIG. 7 shows function units of a second network device 700 in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0146] As shown in FIG. 7, the second network device 700 comprises a transmitting unit 710 configured to transmit, to a first network device, a request for monitoring an event for a plurality of terminal devices, the request including at least one condition for filtering at least one terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices. The second network device 700 comprises a receiving unit 720 configured to receive a report of the monitored event from the first network device.

[0147] In some embodiments, the second network device 700 may further comprise units for implementing actions or operations according to any of the above-mentioned embodiments described with reference to FIGS. 2A, 2B and 4.

[0148] FIG. 8 shows function units of a third network device 800 in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0149] As shown in FIG. 8, the third network device 800 comprises a receiving unit 810 configured to receive, from a second network device, a first request for monitoring an event for a plurality of terminal devices. The third network device 800 comprises a transmitting unit 820 configured to transmit, to the first network device, a second request for monitoring the event for the plurality of terminal devices, the second request including at least one condition for filtering at least one terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices.

[0150] In some embodiments, the third network device 800 may further comprise units for implementing actions or operations according to any of the above-mentioned embodiments described with reference to FIGS. 2A, 2B and 5.

[0151] The term unit may have conventional meaning in the field of electronics, electrical devices and / or electronic devices and may include, for example, electrical and / or electronic circuitry, devices, modules, processors, memories, logic solid state and / or discrete devices, computer programs or instructions for carrying out respective tasks, procedures, computations, outputs, and / or displaying functions, and so on, as such as those that are described herein.

[0152] FIG. 9 shows a communication device 900 in accordance with some embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

[0153] As shown in FIG. 9, the communication device 900 may comprise a memory 910 containing instructions 915. The communication device 900 may further comprise a processor 905 that executes the instructions 915 to implement actions or operations according to any of the above-mentioned embodiments described with reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B and FIGS. 3 to 5.

[0154] In some embodiments, the communication 900 may operate as the first network device 205. In these embodiments, the communication device 900 may be operative to: receive, from a second network device or a third network device, a request for monitoring an event for a plurality of terminal devices, the request including at least one condition for filtering at least one terminal device of the plurality of terminal dev ices; and transmit, based on the at least one condition, a report of the monitored event to the second network device.

[0155] In some embodiments, the communication 900 may operate as the second network device 215. In these embodiments, the communication device 900 may be operative to: transmit, to a first network device, a request for monitoring an event for a plurality of terminal devices, the request including at least one condition for filtering at least one terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices; and receive a report of the monitored event from the first network device.

[0156] In some embodiments, the communication 900 may operate as the third network device 220. In these embodiments, the communication device 900 may be operative to: receive, from a second network device, a first request for monitoring an event for a plurality of terminal devices; and transmit, to the first network device, a second request for monitoring the event for the plurality of terminal devices, the second request including at least one condition for filtering at least one terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices.

[0157] Processor 905 may include one or more processors, which may be any kind of processing component, such as one or more microprocessor or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware, which may include digital signal processors (DSPs), special -purpose digital logic, and the like. If processor 905 includes multiple processors, one of these processors may execute all the steps described with reference to FIGS. 2A to 5, or some of these processors may execute part of the steps and other processors execute other step(s). Memory 910 may be any kind of storage component, such as read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory, cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc.

[0158] FIG. 10 shows a computer readable storage medium in accordance with some embodiments.

[0159] As shown in FIG. 10, the computer readable storage medium 1000 comprising instructions 915 which when executed by a processor system of a device, the processor system may comprise one or more processors to perform any above-mentioned embodiments described with reference to FIGS. 2A to 5 by any combination of the processors.

[0160] The computer readable storage medium 1000 may be configured to include memory such as RAM, ROM, programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, floppy disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, or flash drives.

[0161] In some embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing the method 300, 400 or 500 may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 400 or 500. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module.Example System

[0162] FIG. 11 shows an example of a communication system 1100 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0163] In the example, the communication system 1100 includes a telecommunication network 1 102 that includes an access network 1104, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 1106, which includes one or more core network nodes 1108. The access network 1 104 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 11 10a and 11 10b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 1110), or any other similar 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP access points. Moreover, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that network nodes include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunication network 1102 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node i n the telecommunication network 1102 that supports an ORAN specification (e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization) and may operate alone or together with other nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any node in the telecommunication network 1102, including one or more network nodes 1110 and / or core network nodes 1 108.

[0164] Examples of an ORAN network node include an open radio unit (O-RU), an open distributed unit (O- DU), an open central unit (O-CU), including an O-CU control plane (O-CU-CP) or an O-CU user plane (O- CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time or non-real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time control application (e.g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective "open” designating support of an ORAN specification). The network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an A1 , F1 , W1 , E1 , E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Moreover, an ORAN access node may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a ServiceManagement and Orchestration Framework via an 0-2 interface defined by the 0-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies. The network nodes 1 110 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 1112a, 1112b, 1112c, and 11 12d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 1112) to the core network 1106 over one or more wirel ess connections.

[0165] Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 1100 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The com munication system 1100 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0166] The UEs 11 12 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 11 10 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 1110 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 1112 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 1102 to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunication network 1 102.

[0167] In the depicted example, the core network 1106 connects the network nodes 1110 to one or more hosts, such as host 1116. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network 1106 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 1108) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and / or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 1108. Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier Deconcealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0168] The host 1116 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 1 104 and / or the telecommunication network 1 102, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 1116 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / videocontent, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.

[0169] As a whole, the communication system 1100 of FIG. 1 1 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (WiFi); and / or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[0170] In some examples, the telecommunication network 1102 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 1102 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 1102. For example, the telecommunications network 1 102 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC)ZMassive loT services to yet further UEs.

[0171] In some examples, the UEs 1112 are configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 1104 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an i nternal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 1104. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi-RAT or multi-standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi -Fi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e. being configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0172] In the example, the hub 1114 communicates with the access network 1104 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 11 12c and / or 1112d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 1 110b). In some examples, the hub 1114 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 1 114 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 1106 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 11 14 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs. Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes 1 110, or by executable code,script, process, or other instructions in the hub 11 14. As another example, the hub 1114 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 1114 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 1114 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 1114 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 1114 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0173] The hub 11 14 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 1110b. The hub 1114 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 1 114 and UEs (e.g., UE 1112c and / or 1112d), and between the hub 1114 and the core network 1106. In other examples, the hub 1 114 is connected to the core network 1106 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 1114 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 1104 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 1110 while still connected via the hub 11 14 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 1 114 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to / from the UEs from / to the network node 1110b. In other embodiments, the hub 1114 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 1110b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0174] FIG. 12 shows a UE 1200 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptopmounted equipment (LME), smart device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle, vehiclemounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-loT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0175] A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to-everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinklercontroller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).

[0176] The UE 1200 includes processing circuitry 1202 that is operatively coupled via a bus 1204 to an input / output interface 1206, a power source 1208, a memory 1210, a communication interface 1212, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in FIG. 12. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0177] The processing circuitry 1202 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine -readable computer programs in the memory 1210. The processing circuitry 1202 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general -purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 1202 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0178] In the example, the input / output interface 1206 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into the UE 1200. Examples of an input device include a touch -sensitive or presencesensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[0179] In some embodiments, the power source 1208 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used. The power source 1208 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 1208 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 1200 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 1208. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or othermodification to the power from the power source 1208 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 1200 to which power is supplied.

[0180] The memory 1210 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable readonly memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 1210 includes one or more application programs 1214, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 1216. The memory 1210 may store, for use by the UE 1200, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0181] The memory 1210 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini -dual inline memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external m icroDIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and / or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUlCC), integrated UICC (IUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.' The memory 1210 may allow the UE 1200 to access instructions, application programs and the like, stored on transitory or non -transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 1210, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0182] The processing circuitry 1202 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 1212. The communication interface 1212 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 1222. The communication interface 1212 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 1218 and / or a receiver 1220 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 1218 and receiver 1220 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 1222) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0183] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 1212 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voicecommunication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented in according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11 , Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol / internet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0184] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 1212, via a wireless connection to a network node. Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0185] As another example, a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the receive d input.

[0186] A UE, when in the form of an Internet of Things (loT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a m otion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door / window sensor, a flood / moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a head-mounted display for Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR), a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water spri nkler, an animal- or item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an loT device comprises circuitry and / or software in dependence of the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE 1200 shown in FIG. 12.

[0187] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another UE and / or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-loT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0188] In practice, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone's speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g. by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone's speed. The first and / or the second UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.

[0189] FIG. 13 shows a network node 1300 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunication network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)), O-RAN nodes or components of an O-RAN node (e.g., O-RU, O-DU, O-CU).

[0190] Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units, distributed units (e.g., in an O-RAN access node) and / or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0191] Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell / multicast coordination entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and / or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).

[0192] The network node 1300 includes a processing circuitry 1302, a memory 1304, a communication interface 1306, and a power source 1308. The network node 1300 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which the network node 1300 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 1300 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 1304 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 1310 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 1300 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 1300, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 1300.

[0193] The processing circuitry 1302 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application -specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and / or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 1300 components, such as the memory 1304, to provide network node 1300 functionality.

[0194] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1302 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1302 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1312 and baseband processing circuitry 1314. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1312 and the baseband processing circuitry 1314 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 1312 and baseband processing circuitry 1314 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0195] The memory 1304 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 1302. The memory 1304 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and / or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry 1302 and utilized by thenetwork node 1300. The memory 1304 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 1302 and / or any data received via the communication interface 1306. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1302 and memory 1304 is integrated.

[0196] The communication interface 1306 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between a network node, access network, and / or UE. As illustrated, the communication interface 1306 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 1316 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 1306 also includes radio front-end circuitry 1318 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 1310. Radio front-end circuitry 1318 comprises filters 1320 and amplifiers 1322. The radio front-end circuitry 1318 may be connected to an antenna 1310 and processing circuitry 1302. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 1310 and processing circuitry 1302. The radio front-end circuitry 1318 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 1318 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 1320 and / or amplifiers 1322. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 1310. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 1310 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 1318. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 1302. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0197] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 1300 does not include separate radio frontend circuitry 1318, instead, the processing circuitry 1302 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 1310. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 1312 is part of the communication interface 1306. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 1306 includes one or more ports or terminals 1316, the radio front-end circuitry 1318, and the RF transceiver circuitry 1312, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 1306 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 1314, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0198] The antenna 1310 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 1310 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 1318 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 1310 is separate from the network node 1300 and connectable to the network node 1300 through an interface or port.

[0199] The antenna 1310, communication interface 1306, and / or the processing circuitry 1302 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and / or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 1310, the communication interface 1306, and / or the processing circuitry 1302 may be configured to perform any transmittingoperations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment.

[0200] The power source 1308 provides power to the various components of network node 1300 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 1308 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 1300 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 1300 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 1308. As a further example, the power source 1308 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.

[0201] Embodiments of the network node 1300 may include additional components beyond those shown in FIG. 13 for providing certain aspects of the network node's functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 1300 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 1300 and to allow output of information from the network node 1300. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 1300.

[0202] FIG. 14 is a block diagram of a host 1400, which may be an embodiment of the host 1116 of FIG. 11 , in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, the host 1400 may be or comprise various combinations hardware and / or software, including a standalone server, a blade server, a cloud - implemented server, a distributed server, a virtual machine, container, or processing resources in a server farm. The host 1400 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

[0203] The host 1400 includes processing circuitry 1402 that is operatively coupled via a bus 1404 to an input / output interface 1406, a network interface 1408, a power source 1410, and a memory 1412. Other components may be included in other embodiments. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the devices of previous figures, such as FIGS. 12 and 13, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of host 1400.

[0204] The memory 1412 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs 1414 and data 1416, which may include user data, e.g., data generated by a UE for the host 1400 or data generated by the host 1400 for a UE. Embodiments of the host 1400 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. The host application programs 1414 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding (VVC), High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), Advanced Video Coding (AVC), MPEG, VP9) and audio codecs (e. g.,FLAG, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MPEG, G.711), including transcoding for multiple different classes, types, or implementations of UEs (e.g., handsets, desktop computers, wearable display systems, headsup display systems). The host application programs 1414 may also provide for user authentication and licensing checks and may periodically report health, routes, and content availability to a central node, such as a device in or on the edge of a core network. Accordingly, the host 1400 may select and / or ind icate a different host for over-the-top services for a UE. The host application programs 1414 may support various protocols, such as the HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) protocol, Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), Real- Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (MPEG-DASH), etc.

[0205] FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 1500 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an i mplementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 1500 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment 1500 includes components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface.

[0206] Applications 1502 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment 1500 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0207] Hardware 1504 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and / or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input / output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 1506 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 1508a and 1508b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 1508), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 1506 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 1508.

[0208] The VMs 1508 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1506. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 1502 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 1508, and the implementationsmay be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.

[0209] In the context of NFV, a VM 1508 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of the VMs 1508, and that part of hardware 1504 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs 1508 on top of the hardware 1504 and corresponds to the application 1502.

[0210] Hardware 1504 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 1504 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 1504 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g. such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 1510, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 1502. In some embodiments, hardware 1504 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 1512 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0211] FIG. 16 shows a communication diagram of a host 1602 communicating via a network node 1604 with a UE 1606 over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments. Example implementations, in accordance with various embodiments, of the UE (such as a UE 1112a of FIG. 11 and / or UE 1200 of FIG. 12), network node (such as network node 1110a of FIG. 1 1 and / or network node 1300 of FIG. 13), and host (such as host 1116 of FIG. 11 and / or host 1400 of FIG. 14) discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to FIG. 16.

[0212] Like host 1400, embodiments of host 1602 include hardware, such as a communication interface, processing circuitry, and memory. The host 1602 also includes software, which is stored in or accessible by the host 1602 and executable by the processing circuitry. The software includes a host application that may be operable to provide a service to a remote user, such as the UE 1606 connecting via an over-the- top (OTT) connection 1650 extending between the UE 1606 and host 1602. In providing the service to the remote user, a host application may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 1650.

[0213] The network node 1604 includes hardware enabling it to communicate with the host 1602 and UE 1606. The connection 1660 may be direct or pass through a core network (like core network 1106 of FIG.11) and / or one or more other intermediate networks, such as one or more public, private, or hosted networks. For example, an intermediate network may be a backbone network or the Internet.

[0214] The UE 1606 includes hardware and software, which is stored in or accessible by UE 1606 and executable by the UE's processing circuitry. The software includes a client application, such as a web browser or operator-specific "app” that may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via UE 1606 with the support of the host 1602. In the host 1602, an executing host application may communicate with the executing client application via the OTT connection 1650 terminating at the UE 1606 and host 1602. In providing the service to the user, the UE's client application may receive request data from the host's host application and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 1650 may transfer both the request data and the user data. The UE's client application may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides to the host application through the OTT connection 1650.

[0215] The OTT connection 1650 may extend via a connection 1660 between the host 1602 and the network node 1604 and via a wireless connection 1670 between the network node 1604 and the UE 1606 to provide the connection between the host 1602 and the UE 1606. The connection 1660 and wireless connection 1670, over which the OTT connection 1650 may be provided, have been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host 1602 and the UE 1606 via the network node 1604, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices.

[0216] As an example of transmitting data via the OTT connection 1650, in step 1608, the host 1602 provides user data, which may be performed by executing a host application. In some embodiments, the user data is associated with a particular human user interacting with the UE 1606. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with a UE 1606 that shares data with the host 1602 without explicit human interaction. In step 1610, the host 1602 initiates a transmission carrying the user data towards the UE 1606. The host 1602 may initiate the transmission responsive to a request transmitted by the UE 1606. The request may be caused by human interaction with the UE 1606 or by operation of the client application executing on the UE 1606. The transmission may pass via the network node 1604, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. Accordingly, in step 1612, the network node 1604 transmits to the UE 1606 the user data that was carried in the transmission that the host 1602 initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 1614, the UE 1606 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be performed by a client application executed on the UE 1606 associated with the host application executed by th e host 1602.

[0217] In some examples, the UE 1606 executes a client application which provides user data to the host 1602. The user data may be provided in reaction or response to the data received from the host 1602. Accordingly, in step 1616, the UE 1606 may provide user data, which may be performed by executing the client application. In providing the user data, the client application may further consider user input received from the user via an input / output interface of the UE 1606. Regardless of the specific manner in whi ch theuser data was provided, the UE 1606 initiates, in step 1618, transmission of the user data towards the host 1602 via the network node 1604. In step 1620, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the network node 1604 receives user data from the UE 1606 and initiates transmission of the received user data towards the host 1602. In step 1622, the host 1602 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the UE 1606.

[0218] One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 1606 using the OTT connection 1650, in which the wireless connection 1670 forms the last segment.

[0219] In an example scenario, factory status information may be collected and analyzed by the host 1602. As another example, the host 1602 may process audio and video data which may have been retrieved from a UE for use in creating maps. As another example, the host 1602 may collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicle congestion (e.g., controlling traffic lights). As another example, the host 1602 may store surveillance video uploaded by a UE. As another example, the host 1602 may store or control access to media content such as video, audio, VR or AR which it can broadcast, multicast or unicast to UEs. As other examples, the host 1602 may be used for energy pricing, remote control of non -time critical electrical load to balance power generation needs, location services, presentation serv ices (such as compiling diagrams etc. from data collected from remote devices), or any other function of collecting, retrieving, storing, analyzing and / or transmitting data.

[0220] In some examples, a measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve. There may further be an optional network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 1650 between the host 1602 and UE 1606, in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and / or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection may be implemented in software and hardware of the host 1602 and / or UE 1606. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with other devices through which the OTT connection 1650 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or supplying values of other physical quantities from which software may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of the OTT connection 1650 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not directly alter the operation of the network node 1604. Such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling that facilitates measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency and the like, by the host 1602. The measurements may be implemented in that software causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or 'dummy' messages, using the OTT connection 1650 while monitoring propagation times, errors, etc.

[0221] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices withdifferent combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0222] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non -transitory computer-readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and / or by end users and a wireless network generally.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A method (300) implemented at a first network function (205), the method (300) comprising: receiving (210, 310), from a second network function (215) or a third network function (220), a request for monitoring an event for a plurality of terminal devices (110), the request including at least one condition for filtering at least one terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices (110); and transmitting (230, 320), based on the at least one condition, a report of the monitored event to the second network device (215).

2. The method (300) of claim 1 , wherein the request further includes an indication whether the monitoring of the event is applied to a terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices (110) satisfying the at least one condition.

3. The method (300) of any of claims 1 -2, wherein the at least one condition comprises a packet data unit, PDU, session conditions; and, wherein the PDU session condition is related to a data network name, DNN, or signal network slice selection assistance information, S-NSSAI, associated with a PDU session.

4. The method (300) of claim 1 -2, wherein the at least one condition comprises a packet data unit, PDU, session conditions, wherein the PDU session condition is related to at least one of: a type of PDU sessions, or an access type of PDU sessions indicating whether a PDU session is a single access PDU session or a multiple-access PDU session.

5. The method (300) of claim 1-2, wherein the at least one condition comprises a subscription information condition; and, wherein the subscription information condition is related to at least one of: allowance for a service, the service including access stratum time distribution and / or remoteprovisioning, a mobility and / or roaming restriction, prioritization of a multimedia priority service, or a routing indicator.

6. The method (300) of claim 1-2, wherein the at least one condition comprises a policy information condition; and, wherein the policy information condition is related to at least one of: enabling of data network name, DNN, replacement, enabling of an access and mobility, AM, policy influence, or enabling or disabling of a policy of a terminal device.

7. The method (300) of any of claims 3-6, wherein transmitting (230, 320) the report of the monitored event comprises: retrieving information of the plurality of terminal devices (110), the information including status data of respective PDU sessions, respective subscription data and / or respective applicable policies of the plurality of terminal devices (110); and determining (225) at least one terminal device from the plurality of terminal devices (110) by matching the at least one condition against the retrieved information; and transmitting (230), to the second network device (215), the report of the event monitored for the determined at least one terminal device.

8. The method (300) of any of claims 1 -7, wherein the request comprises a subscription request for the event for the plurality of terminal devices (1 10).

9. The method (300) of any of claims 1 -8, the second network function (215) comprises a network function consumer, and the third network function (220) comprises a unified data management.

10. A method (400) implemented at a second network function (215), the method (400) comprising:transmitting (410), to a first network function (205), a request for monitoring an event for a plurality of terminal devices (110), the request including at least one condition for filtering at least one terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices (1 10); and receiving (420) a report of the monitored event from the first network function (205).1 1. The method (400) of claim 10, wherein the request further includes an indication whether the monitoring of the event is applied to a terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices (110) satisfying the at least one condition.

12. The method (400) of any of claims 10-1 1 , wherein the at least one condition comprises a packet data unit, PDU, session condition; and, wherein the PDU session condition is related to a data network name, DNN, or signal network slice selection assistance information, S-NSSAI, associated with a PDU session.

13. The method (400) of claim 10-1 1 , wherein the at least one condition comprises a packet data unit, PDU, session condition; and, the PDU session condition is related to a type of PDU sessions, or an access type of PDU sessions indicating whether a PDU session is a single access PDU session or a multiple-access PDU session.

14. The method (400) of claim 10-1 1 , wherein the at least one condition comprises subscription information condition; and, wherein the subscription information condition is related to at least one of: allowance for a service, the service including access stratum time distribution and / or remote provisioning, a mobility and / or roaming restriction, prioritization of a multimedia priority service, or a routing indicator.

15. The method (400) of claim 10-11 , wherein the at least one condition comprises policy information condition; wherein the policy information condition is related to at least one of: enabling of data network name, DNN, replacement, enabling of an access and mobility, AM, policy influence, or enabling or disabling of a policy of a terminal device.

16. The method (400) of any of claims 10-15, wherein the request comprises a subscription request for the event for the plurality of terminal devices (110).

17. The method (400) of any of claims 10-16, wherein transmitting (410) the request comprises: transmitting the request to the first network function (205) via a third network function (220).

18. The method (400) of claim 17, the second network function (215) comprises a network function consumer, and the third network function (220) comprises a unified data management.

19. A method (500) implemented at a third network function (220), the method (500) comprising: receiving (245, 510), from a second network function (215), a first request for monitoring an event for a plurality of terminal devices (110); and transmitting (255, 520), to the first network function (205), a second request for monitoring the event for the plurality of terminal devices (110), the second request including at least one condition for filtering at least one terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices (110).

20. The method (500) of claim 19, further comprising: generating (250) the second request by adding the at least one condition into the first request.

21. The method (500) of claim 19, wherein the first request includes at least one condition for filtering at least one terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices (110), and the method (500) further comprises: generating (250) the second request by updating the at least one condition included in the firstrequest.

22. The method (500) of any of claims 19-21 , wherein the second request further includes an indication whether the monitoring of the event is applied to a terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices (110) satisfying the at least one condition.

23. The method (500) of any of claims 19-22, wherein the at least one condition comprises a packet data unit, PDU, session condition, and, wherein the PDU session condition is related to a data network name, DNN, or signal network slice selection assistance information, S-NSSAI, associated with a PDU session.

24. The method (500) of claim 19-22, wherein the at least one condition comprises a packet data unit, PDU, session condition, and, wherein the PDU session condition is related to a type of PDU sessions, or an access type of PDU sessions indicating whether a PDU session is a single access PDU session or a multiple-access PDU session.

25. The method (500) of claim 19-22, wherein the at least one condition comprises subscription information condition; and, wherein the subscription information condition is related to at least one of: allowance for a service, the service including access stratum time distribution and / or remote provisioning, a mobility and / or roaming restriction, prioritization of a multimedia priority service, or a routing indicator.

26. The method (500) of claim 19-22, wherein the at least one condition comprises policy information condition; and,wherein the policy information condition is related to at least one of: enabling of data network name, DNN, replacement, enabling of an access and mobility, AM, policy influence, or enabling or disabling of a policy of a terminal device.

27. The method (500) of any of claims 19-26, wherein the request comprises a subscription request for the event for the plurality of terminal devices (110).

28. The method (500) of any of claims 19-27, the second network function (215) comprises a network function consumer, and the third network function (220) comprises a unified data management.

29. A first network device (205, 900) comprising: a processor (905); and a memory (910), the memory (910) containing instructions (915) executable by the processor (905), whereby the first network device (205, 900) is operative to: receive (210, 310), from a second network function (215) or a third network function (220), a request for monitoring an event for a plurality of terminal devices (110), the request including at least one condition for filtering at least one terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices (1 10); and transmit (230, 320), based on the at least one condition, a report of the monitored event to the second network function (215).

30. The first network device (205, 900) of claim 29, wherein the first network device (205, 900) is further operative to implement the method (300) according to any of claims 2-9.

31. A second network device (215, 900) comprising: a processor (905); and a memory (910), the memory (910) containing instructions (915) executable by the processor (905), whereby the second network device (215, 900) is operative to: transmit (410), to a first network function (205), a request for monitoring an event for a pluralityof terminal devices (110), the request including at least one condition for filtering at least one terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices (1 10); and receive (420) a report of the monitored event from the first network function (205).

32. The second network device (215, 900) of claim 31 , wherein the second network device (215, 900) is further operative to implement the method (400) according to any of claims 11 -18.

33. A third network device (220, 900) comprising: a processor (905); and a memory (910), the memory (910) containing instructions (915) executable by the processor (905), whereby the third network device (220, 900) is operative to: receive (245, 510), from a second network function (215), a first request for monitoring an event for a plurality of terminal devices (110); and transmit (255, 520), to the first network function (205), a second request for monitoring the event for the plurality of terminal devices (110), the second request including at least one condition for filtering at least one terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices (110).

34. The third network device (220, 900) of claim 33, wherein the third network device (220, 900) is further operative to implement the method (500) according to any of claims 20-28.

35. A computer-readable storage medium (1000) having instructions (915) stored thereon, the instructions (915), which, when executed by at least one processor of a device, causes the device to perform the method (300) according to any of claims 1 -9, the method (400) according to any of claims IQ- 18 or the method (500) according to any of claims 19-28.

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