Determination of energy consumption by a radio access network

Abstract

A radio access network (RAN) collecting measurements relating to energy consumption 404 by the RAN, performing an analysis 406 of the collected measurements and based on the analysis identifying 408

Description

FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY

[0001] The present disclosure relates to wireless networks, and more specifically to methods and apparatus for determining energy consumption by a Radio Access Network (RAN) of a wireless network. BACKGROUND

[0002] Energy consumption is a significant contributor to the operational cost of a wireless network. Reduction in energy consumption by a wireless network is important to contribute to global sustainability goals and requirements, and to reduce operational cost of the wireless network. An operator of a wireless network aims to reduce energy consumption by the wireless network even as demands for network traffic increases.

[0003] Obtaining and utilizing energy consumption information for a wireless network to identify high energy consumption by the wireless network is important for improving energy efficiency of the wireless network.

[0004] Improvements in energy consumption measurements and utilization of the energy consumption measurements for improving energy efficiency of a wireless network is desirable. SUMMARY

[0005] According to one aspect of an embodiment, a method of a radio access network (RAN) is provided. The method includes collecting one or more measurements related to energy consumption by the RAN, performing an analysis of the one or more measurements collected and performing one or more operations to reduce energy consumption by the RAN.

[0006] The method may include receiving a request or command to collect the one or more measurements related to energy consumption, and the collecting may be carried out in response to the request or command to collect the one or more measurements related to energy consumption. Such a request or command may include an indication of the one or more measurements related to energy consumption.

[0007] Performing the analysis may include utilizing the one or more measurements to determine an abnormal condition related to energy consumption. The method may include reporting the abnormal condition related to energy consumption to a network entity for at least one of the core network, an Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (0AM), a RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC), another RAN node, and / or another entity to perform another operation to reduce energy consumption. Reporting the abnormal condition may include identifying a component having abnormal energy consumption.

[0008] The method may include sharing the analysis of the measurements with one or more other entities.

[0009] Collecting the one or more measurements, performing the analysis of the one or more measurements collected, and identifying the one or more operations to be performed, may be carried out at a RAN node, the method may further include sharing the analysis of the one or more measurements with at least one other RAN node.

[0010] Performing the operation to reduce energy consumption may include one or more of reconfiguring and enabling or disabling a function at the RAN.

[0011] Collecting one or more measurements may include collecting one or more of measurements: for all User Equipment (UE); per UE; per group of UE; per Packet Data Unit (PDU) session; per network slice; per cell; per RAN protocol function; per network; and / or per subnetwork.

[0012] Collecting one or more measurements may include collecting measurements related to energy consumption for at least one of an area, a time interval, a percentile relative to previous measurements or indication of comparison to previous measurements, an abnormality criteria, and / or a baseline criteria.

[0013] Performing the analysis may include comparing the one or more measurements collected to a threshold or to one or more previously collected measurements.

[0014] Performing the one or more operations may include providing an alarm indication to one or both of a core network and to an Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (0AM).

[0015] Performing the one or more operations to reduce energy consumption at the RAN may include one or more of reducing energy consumption per cell, reducing energy consumption per RAN node, reducing energy consumption per User Equipment (UE), reducing energy consumption per PDU session, and reducing energy consumption per tracking area (TA).

[0016] Performing the one or more operations may be in response to one or more of: a change in energy state of a given cell; a change in number of active cells; load measurements in one of a cell, a tracking area (TA), a central unit (CU) a distributed unit (DU), a functional block, or a physical resource block (PRB) usage threshold; or an 0AM identified condition.

[0017] According to another aspect, a mehod of a radio access network (RAN) is provided. The method includes collecting one or more measurements related to energy consumption at the RAN, performing an analysis of the one or more measurements collected and identifying an abnormal condition related to energy consumption, and based on the analysis, providing an alarm indication to at least one of a core network and an Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (0AM) entity, a RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC), another RAN node, and / or another entity.

[0018] Performing the analysis may include comparing the one or more measurements to a threshold or to one or more previously collected measurements to identify the abnormal condition.

[0019] The method may include receiving a request or command to collect the one or more measurements related to energy consumption, and wherein the collecting is carried out in response to receipt of the request or command to collect the one or more measurements related to energy consumption.

[0020] Receiving the request or command may include receiving from the 0AM and, wherein the method comprises providing a response, based on the measurements collected, to the 0AM.

[0021] Receiving the request or command may include receiving an Next Generation (NG) Setup Response message from an Access and Mobility Function (AMF), and wherein the method comprises providing results of the analysis to the AMF utilizing a Next Generation Application Protocol (NGAP) message.

[0022] The method may include sending an initial User Equipment (UE) message or Uplink non-access stratum (NAS) Transport message to an Access and Mobility Function (AMF), and receiving the request or command comprises receiving one of a UE Context Create Request message, or UE Context Modification Request message, or Downlink NAS Transport message that includes information related to the analysis of the one or more measurements collected.

[0023] The method may include sending an initial User Equipment (UE) message or Uplink non-access stratum (NAS) Transport message to a core network, and receiving the request or command comprises receiving a Downlink NAS Transport message that includes information related to the analysis of the one or more measurements collected, the method further comprising sending a report based on the analysis.

[0024] Receiving the request or command comprises receiving from a Session Management Function (SMF), via the AMF, a Downlink non-access stratum (NAS) message that includes information related to the analysis of the one or more measurements collected.

[0025] The request may include an indication of the one or more measurements related to energy consumption.

[0026] Reporting the abnormal condition may include identifying a component having abnormal energy consumption.

[0027] Collecting one or more measurements may include collecting one or more of measurements: for all User Equipment (UE); per UE; per group of UE; per Packet Data Unit (PDU) session; per network slice; per cell; per RAN protocol function; per network; and / or per subnetwork.

[0028] Collecting one or more measurements may include collecting measurements related to energy consumption for at least one of an area, a time interval, a percentile relative to previous measurements or indication of comparison to previous measurements, an abnormality criteria, and / or a baseline criteria.

[0029] The method may include performing one or more operations to reduce energy consumption at the RAN.

[0030] The abnormal condition may include one or more of: a change in energy state of a given cell; a change in number of active cells; a threshold load measured in one of a cell, a tracking area (TA), a distributed unit (DU), or a physical resource book (PRB) usage threshold; or a condition identified by an 0AM entity.

[0031] According to another aspect of an embodiment, a Radio Access Network (RAN) node includes: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions, wherein the instructions are executable by the at least one processor to cause the RAN node to perform any one of the above methods.

[0032] According to another aspect of an embodiment, a Radio Access Network (RAN) includes a plurality of RAN nodes, the RAN including a controller configured to carry out the method.

[0033] According to still another aspect of an embodiment a non-transitory computer-readable medium includes instructions stored thereon for execution by at least one processor of a Radio Access Network (RAN) to cause the processor to perform any one of the above methods.

[0034] According to another aspect of an embodiment, a computer program includes instructions, wherein the computer program when executed by at least one processor of a Radio Access Network (RAN), causes the RAN to perform the method. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0035] Embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the attached figures.

[0036] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating parts of a communication network in accordance with an aspect of an embodiment.

[0037] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a Radio Access Network (RAN) of a communication network in accordance with an aspect of an embodiment.

[0038] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a component, such as a controller of a RAN in accordance with an aspect of an embodiment.

[0039] FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method in accordance with an example of an embodiment.

[0040] FIG. 5 through FIG. 7 are diagrams showing operations in methods in accordance with embodiments.

[0041] FIG. 8 through FIG. 13 are diagrams showing operations in methods in accordance with examples of embodiments.

[0042] FIG. 14 through FIG. 16 are diagrams showing operations in methods in accordance with embodiments.

[0043] FIG. 17 through FIG. 22 are diagrams showing operations in methods in accordance with examples of embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0044] For simplicity and clarity of illustration, reference numerals may be repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements. Numerous details are set forth to provide an understanding of the examples described herein. The examples may be practiced without these details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, and components are not described in detail to avoid obscuring the examples described. The description is not to be considered as limited to the scope of the examples described herein.

[0045] The present disclosure relates to a radio access network (RAN) and a method by a radio access network (RAN). The method includes collecting one or more measurements related to energy consumption by the RAN, performing an analysis of the one or more measurements collected and identifying one or more operations to be performed to reduce energy consumption by the RAN based on the analysis, and performing the one or more operations to reduce energy consumption by the RAN.

[0046] Reference is first made to FIG. 1, which shows a schematic diagram illustrating parts of a communication network 100, also referred to herein as a wireless network, configured to enable communication with user equipment (UE) in accordance with an aspect of an embodiment.

[0047] The communication network 100 includes radio access network (RAN) nodes 106, 108 that together provide a RAN, such as a 5G-RAN (otherwise referred to as a next generation (NG)-RAN) or a future generation RAN such as a 6G-RAN (e.g., a RAN operating in accordance with a future generation radio access technology, such as 6G). In this example, only two radio access network (RAN) nodes 106, 108 are illustrated. The RAN, however, includes many RAN nodes (otherwise referred to as base stations) and the RAN nodes may be, for example, gNodeBs (gNBs) when the RAN is a NG-RAN. The RAN 106 comprises a control plane connection to a network function 110 of the core network 114, such as an access and mobility function (AMF), to facilitate communication between the UE 102 and other network functions of the core network 114, such as the network function 112, of the core network 114.

[0048] The core network 114 also includes a network data analytics function (NWDAF) 116 that is utilized to collect data from network functions 110, 112. Although only two network functions are illustrated in FIG. 1, the core network includes many network functions that are not shown. The network function 110 may be the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) as referred to above. The network function 112 represents other suitable network functions. Such other network functions include the Session Management Function (SMF), Policy Control Function (PCF), and Unified Data Management (UDM), as well as network exposure functions, application functions, and other service functions. The NWDAF 116 may also obtain data from the operations, administration, and maintenance (0AM) system 118 of the communication network. The data obtained from the 0AM system 118 may be utilized to improve energy efficiency of the communication network or improve network performance or the data obtained from the 0AM system 118 may be exposed by the core network 114, externally, e.g., to 3rd party applications (e.g., applications that are external to the core network 114).

[0049] The UE 102 communicates with the core network 114 via a RAN node, such as the RAN node 106 or the RAN node 108 of the RAN, by a control plane connection of the RAN node to a network function. Thus, a connection between the UE 102 and the core network 114 is established either via the RAN node 106 having a control plane connection to the network function 110 or via the RAN node 108 having a control plane connection to the network function 110, depending on location of the UE 102. Similarly, the UE 104 communicates with the core network 114 either via the RAN node 106 and the network function 110 or via the RAN node 108 and the network function 110, depending on location of the UE 104.

[0050] In the example shown in FIG. 1, the RAN nodes 106, 108 may connect (e.g., may have a control plane connection) to the same network function 110 such as an AMF. Alternatively, the RAN nodes 106, 108 may connect (e.g., may have control plane connections) to different network functions (e.g., different AMFs).

[0051] In one example, the core network 114 is a 5G core network (5GC), in other words a core network that operates based on the 5th generation radio access technology described in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standard for new radio, which is referred to generally as the "3GPP 5G standard". The control plane connection of the UE 102 or the UE 104 to the AMF 110 via a RAN node of the RAN, is referred to as the N1 interface and a UE (e.g., UE 102 or UE 104) accessing the AMF 110 through this connection is referred to as operating in N1 mode. In another example, the core network 114 is 6G core network, in other words a core network that operates in accordance with the 6th generation communications technology.

[0052] The core network 114 has a service-based architecture and comprises a plurality of network functions, including control plane (CP) network functions (NFs) and user plane (UP) network functions. The control plane (CP) network functions include the access and mobility functions AMF 110 as well as several other functions (not shown) such as a trusted application function (AF), an authentication server function (AUSF), a binding support function (BSF), a network exposure function (NEF), a network slicing selection function (NSSF), a policy control function (PCF), a session management function (SMF), a unified data repository (UDR), a united data repository (UDM), a charging function (CHF), a network repository function (NRF), and the network data analytics function (NWDAF) 116. The user plane network functions include a user plane function (UPF).

[0053] The functionalities of the CP and UP network functions of the core network are well known to a person skilled in the art and hence are not shown or described in detail herein.

[0054] The 0AM system 118 manages a communication network or one or more elements, i.e., a RAN node or core network function, within a communication network. The 0AM entity 118 may also obtain data from elements of the communication network and utilize the obtained data to monitor the performance of the communication network and to detect or determine faults or anomalies in the communication network, including, for example, detecting or determining whether packet loss is occurring in the communication network or detecting or determining whether there are problem related to connectivity of UEs with the communication network. The OAM system 118 may also provide an alert or alarm when a fault or anomaly is detected or determined by the OAM system 118. The OAM system 118 may also correct or address any detected or determined anomalies or performance problems, for example, by rerouting data through the communication network or by replacing elements of the communication network. Elements of the communication network (e.g., RAN nodes and / or network functions of the communication) may be replaced or maintained by performing a maintenance activity, switching on or off one or more of the elements within the communication network, or providing policies, such as a policy indicating redirecting or relocation to another element to interact with.

[0055] As indicated, the RAN collects one or more measurements related to energy consumption by the RAN. For example, a RAN node of a RAN may collect one or more one or more measurements related to the energy consumption by the RAN node or may collect one or more measurements related to energy consumption by another RAN node. Collection, by a RAN node, of one or more measurements related to energy consumption by another RAN node may be carried out by the RAN node requesting the another RAN node provide the one or more measurements over the Xn interface between the RAN node and the another RAN node. Similarly, data collection of data that is used for generating analytics related to a RAN node and exposure of the generated analytics related to a RAN node and / or the data that is used for generating analytics can be carried out over the Xn interface. Additionally, one or more measurements related to energy consumption by the RAN may be collected from a RAN intelligent controller (RIC) of the RAN and the collection may be carried out via an interface, such as E2 interface described in Open RAN (ORAN) standards (0-RAN.WG3.E2AP: "O-RAN WG-3 Near-Rea I-Time RAN Intelligent Controller and E2 interface") in Open RAN (ORAN) . Similarly, data collection for generating analytics related to a RAN node and exposure of the generated analytics related to a RAN node may be carried out via the E2 interface. Exposure of analytics includes providing the analytics to another entity, e.g. via the E2 interface. Data that is used for generating analytics is referred to herein as an analytics input and analytics related to a RAN that are generated is referred to herein as an analytics output.

[0056] Referring to FIG. 2, an example of a RAN node having a split architecture where functions of the RAN node (e.g., an eNB or a gNB) are split between various entities. The RAN node shown in FIG. 2 comprises three radio units (Rll) 202, 204, 206 (otherwise referred to as a remote radio head (RRH), three distributed units (Dlls) 208, 210, 212, and a centralized unit (CU) 214 that controls operations of the three Dlls 208, 210, 212. Each respective DU 208, 210, 212 is connected to a RU 202, 204, 206 via a fronthaul. Each respective DU 208, 210, 212 is also connected to the CU 214 via a midhaul or Fl interface, and the CU 214 may be connected to a core network (e.g., core network 114) via a backhaul.

[0057] Each respective RU 202, 204, 206 converts radio signals sent to and from an antenna into a digital signal for transmission over a packet network, handles a digital front end (DFE) and a lower PHY layer, and includes digital beamforming functionality. Each respective DU is a logical entity (e.g., software) that is hosted and run on a server located near one of the RUs 202, 204, 206. The CU 214 is a logical entity (e.g., software) that is hosted and run on a server. The CU 214 may be hosted and run on its own server or may be hosted and run on the same server that hosts and runs the DU 208, 210, 212 located near a RU 202, 204, 206. Each respective DU 208, 210, 212 includes a subset of the functions of a RAN node (e.g., eNB or gNB) depending on the split of functions between the DU 208, 210, 212 and the CU 214, and the CU 214 includes the other functions of a RAN node that are not in the subset of functions of the DU 208, 210, 212. In some implementations, the DU 208, 210, 212 may comprise a subset of the layers of a protocol stack of a RAN node and a CU 214 may comprise the other layers of the protocol stack that are not in the subset of layers in the DU 208, 210, 212. For example, in some implementations, a DU 208, 210, 212 may include a radio link control (RLC) layer, a medium access control (MAC) layer and a physical (PHY) layer of a protocol stack for a RAN node, whereas a CU 214 may comprise the layers of the protocol stack of a RAN node above the RLC layer, such as a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio resource control (RRC) layer and an internet protocol (IP) layer.

[0058] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an apparatus or component, such as a controller of a RAN node (e.g., a gNB), in accordance with an embodiment. Although an example embodiment of the apparatus 300 is shown and discussed below, other embodiments of the apparatus 300 may be utilized to implement examples disclosed herein, which may include components different from those shown. Although FIG. 3 shows a single instance of each element of the apparatus 300, multiple instances of one or all of the elements may be successfully implemented.

[0059] The apparatus 300 includes one or more processors 302, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a dedicated logic circuitry, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a tensor processing unit, a neural processing unit, a dedicated artificial intelligence processing unit, a hardware accelerator, a quantum processor, or any other suitable processing circuitry, or combinations thereof. The one or more processors 302 are collectively referred to as a processor 302 herein.

[0060] The apparatus 300 also includes one or more memories 304, collectively referred to as "memory 304", which may include a volatile or nonvolatile memory (e.g., a flash memory, a random-access memory (RAM), and / or a read-only memory (ROM)), or any other suitable memory circuitry. The non-transitory memory 304 may store instructions for execution by the processor 302. The instructions 306, when executed by the processor 302 causes the apparatus 300 to perform the actions or operations of the methods or processes of FIG. 4. The apparatus 300 may also include one or more network interfaces 308 for connecting the apparatus 300, i.e., the RAN node, to the core network.

[0061] The apparatus 300 may also include one or more electronic storage units (not shown), in addition to the memory 304, such as a solid-state drive, a hard disk drive, a magnetic disk drive and / or an optical disk drive. In some examples, one or more data and / or software modules may be provided by an external memory (e.g., an external drive in wired or wireless communication with the apparatus 300) or may be provided by a transitory or non-transitory computer-readable medium. Examples of non-transitory computer readable media include a RAM, a ROM, an erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), a flash memory, a CD-ROM, or other portable memory storage. The electronic storage units and / or external memory may be utilized in conjunction with memory 304 to store data, retrieve stored data, and cache data.

[0062] The components of the apparatus 300 may communicate with each other via a bus.

[0063] FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of a RAN in accordance with an example of an embodiment. The method may be carried out by a RAN node, such as, a CU (shown in FIG. 2) of the RAN node 106 or the RAN node 108, shown in FIG. 1. Alternatively, the method may be carried out by the RAN controller, such as the RIC referred to herein. The method shown includes the processes 402 to 410. The method, however, may include additional or fewer processes and other processes may occur in any suitable order. The method of FIG. 4 is described as carried out by the RAN, e.g., the RIC. The method may be carried out by a single RAN node or by several RAN nodes that are in communication. The method is therefore carried out by a RAN node or by several RAN nodes and reference to the RAN in describing the method herein is intended to include a RAN node or nodes.

[0064] The RAN may be configured with a configuration that includes information indicative of one or more measurements related to energy consumption that are to be collected by the RAN. The RAN is configured to collect one or more measurements related to energy consumption by the RAN. The one or more measurements may include energy consumption by the RAN for one or more of: a measurement indicating the energy consumption by the RAN when the RAN is serving all of the User Equipment (UE) in a coverage area of the RAN, or a measurement indicating the energy consumption by the RAN when the RAN is serving all of the User Equipment (UE) in a coverage area of the RAN on a per UE basis (e.g., for each UE of all the UEs that are served by the RAN); a measurement indicating energy consumption by the RAN when serving a group of UEs; a measurement indicating energy consumption by the RAN for each Packet Data Unit (PDU) session via the RAN; a measurement indicating energy consumption by the RAN for each network slice supported by the RAN; a measurement indicating the energy consumption by the RAN for each cell provided by the RAN; a measurement indicating the energy consumption by the RAN for each Quality of Service (QoS) flow via the RAN; a measurement indicating the energy consumption by a RAN protocol function; and / or a measurement indicating the energy consumption by a subnetwork of the RAN comprising a set of RAN nodes.

[0065] Thus, the one or more measurements related to energy consumption by the RAN (otherwise referred to as energy consumption measurements) may be made with sufficient granularity, i.e., with particular detail to facilitate identification of components of the RAN that have high energy consumption, or functions of the RAN that have high energy consumption, or services provided by the communication network via the RAN that have high energy consumption, or any combination thereof. In other words, the one or more measurements related to energy consumption by the RAN facilitate identification of components of the RAN, functions of the RAN, or services provided via the RAN that consume a large amount of energy.

[0066] The RAN may be configured to collect the one or more measurements at a particular time, at particular times, or for intervals of time, which may be regular or may be based on any suitable factor.

[0067] Alternatively, the RAN may be configured to collect one or more measurements in response to receipt of a request to collect measurements related to energy consumption by the RAN, from a core network (e.g., core network 114), from a RIC of the RAN or from an 0AM system (e.g., 0AM system 118). The request to collect measurements related to energy consumption by the RAN may include an indication of the one or more measurements related to energy consumption by the RAN that are to be collected.

[0068] The collection of one or more measurements related to energy consumption by the RAN is initiated at 402. As indicated, the collection may be initiated at regular intervals in time, at particular times, or in response to detecting of occurrence of particular events at the RAN, such as high overall energy consumption by the RAN. Alternatively, the RAN may receive a request to collect the one or more measurements related to energy consumption by the RAN. Such a request may be received from a core network (e.g., core network 114), from a RIC of the RAN or from the 0AM. In response to initiation of the collection of one or more measurements related to energy consumption by the RAN, the method continues at 404.

[0069] Such a configuration or request includes an identification of measurements related to energy consumption by the RAN to be collected, parameters of the measurements, one or more operations to be performed based on analysis of the collected measurements related to energy consumption against the parameters of the measurements, and parameters of the one or more operations to be performed, which are referred to as operation parameters herein, including: \an identification of measurements related to energy consumption by the RAN: e.g., for each UE, per group of UEs, per PDU session, per network slice, per cell, per RAN protocol function, based on area, based on time interval, percentile relative to previous measurements or indication of comparison to previous measurements, abnormality criteria including threshold, interval, percentile, and so forth, and other criteria such as last measurement collection time, value, and so forth; • an indication of an operation to be performed by the RAN: e.g., store, report, raise alarm, reconfiguration, etc.; and • parameters or characteristics related to the operation to be performed by the RAN: such as storing characteristics (duration, location, encoding, etc.), reporting characteristics (periodic, immediate, at release, on event, etc.), and alarm characteristics (threshold, percentile, criticality level, etc.)

[0070] The RAN collects the one or more measurements related to energy consumption by the RAN at 404. As indicated, the one or more measurements related to energy consumption by the RAN may include energy consumption by the RAN for one or more of: a measurement indicating the energy consumption by the RAN when the RAN is serving all of the User Equipment (UE) in a coverage area of the RAN, or a measurement indicating the energy consumption by the RAN when the RAN is serving all of the User Equipment (UE) in a coverage area of the RAN on a per UE basis (e.g., for each UE of all the UEs that are served by the RAN); a measurement indicating energy consumption by the RAN when serving a group of UEs; a measurement indicating energy consumption by the RAN for each Packet Data Unit (PDU) session via the RAN; a measurement indicating energy consumption by the RAN for each network slice supported by the RAN; a measurement indicating the energy consumption by the RAN for each cell provided by the RAN; a measurement indicating the energy consumption by the RAN for each Quality of Service (QoS) flow via the RAN; a measurement indicating the energy consumption by a RAN protocol function; and / or a measurement indicating the energy consumption by a subnetwork of the RAN comprising a set of RAN nodes.

[0071] In the present example, the RAN is configured to perform an analysis of at least one of the one or more measurements related to energy consumption by the RAN at 406. The analysis may include, for example, comparing the one or more measurements collected to a threshold or to respective thresholds to identify high energy consumption by the RAN or abnormal energy use by the RAN.

[0072] Based on the analysis at 406, operations to be performed to reduce energy consumption by the RAN are identified at 408 based on the analysis of the one or more measurements related to energy consumption by the RAN at 406. The one or more operations to be performed may be identified in response to determining that the one or more measurements meets or exceeds the threshold or in response to identifying abnormal energy consumption by a component of the RAN, or any abnormal condition related to energy consumption by the RAN. Thus, the operations to be performed to reduce energy consumption by the RAN may be identified in response to identifying a change of energy state of a given cell of the RAN, a change in the number of active cells provided by the RAN, load measurements in one of a cell of the RAN, a tracking area (TA) of the RAN, a distributed unit (DU) of a RAN node, or a physical resource block (PRB) usage threshold. Alternatively, the operations to be performed may be identified based on a condition identified by the 0AM. The operations to be performed may be to continue measuring, reporting, or providing an alarm indication, or any combination thereof.

[0073] The operations to be performed to reduce energy consumption are identified at 408. This reduction may include one or more of reducing energy consumption of one or each cell of the RAN, reducing energy consumption of each RAN node, reducing energy consumption of each tracking area (TA) of the RAN, and / or reducing energy consumption of each registration area (RA).

[0074] The one or more operations to be performed identified to reduce energy may include enabling or disabling functionality of the RAN. For example, a cell of the RAN or beam provided by a RAN node of the RAN may be turned on or off, or one or more of mobility, access, and session resource parameters for a UE or PDU session may be reconfigured. Alternatively or additionally, the operations to be performed identified may include reporting an abnormal condition, which may include an indication of abnormal energy use by a component of the RAN, to one or both of a core network and to an Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (0AM) system in response to determining that the one or more measurements meets or exceeds the threshold. The abnormal condition may be reported as an alarm to notify the core network or 0AM of the abnormal condition for one or both the core network and the 0AM to perform an operation to reduce energy consumption by the RAN.

[0075] The operation identified at 408 is taken at 410 to reduce energy consumption by the RAN.

[0076] In the example in which a request is received at the RAN to collect the one or more measurements related to energy consumption, the method of FIG. 4 may also include providing a response to the request. The response may include the one or more measurements collected and the core network or the 0AM or both may perform an analysis on the measurements. Thus, the measurements may be sent to one or both of a core network and an Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (0AM) system for the network entity to perform an operation to cause the RAN to reduce energy consumption. Alternatively or additionally, a response to the request may include results of the analysis carried out at the RAN at 406. One or both of a core network and an Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (0AM) system may perform a further analysis or may perform an operation to cause the RAN to reduce energy consumption.

[0077] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing operations of a procedure for initiating via configuration, collection of one or more energy consumption measurements in a RAN node in accordance with one example. The procedure shown in FIG. 5 includes operations performed by a RAN node and messages sent between the RAN node, such as the RAN 106 node, and the RIC 500 and / or OAM system 118 in accordance with one example.

[0078] The RAN node is configured at 502 to collect one or more measurements related to energy consumption by the RAN. The RAN node may be configured by the OAM 118 or by the RIC 500. The RAN node may be configured at 502 with a configuration that includes the measurements to be collected, parameters of the measurements, parameters for reporting results, and operations to be performed by the RAN node based on the analysis. Examples of such measurements are referred to above with reference to FIG. 4. The RAN may be configured with a configuration to collect the measurements, for example by the OAM or by the RIC. The RAN may be configured to collect the one or more measurements related to energy consumption by the RAN for each UE served by the RAN, per group of UEs served by the RAN, per PDU session that is via the RAN, per network slice supported by the RAN, per cell provided by the RAN, per RAN protocol layer, per RAN protocol layer function of a protocol layer of the RAN, based on area, based on time interval, based on percentile relative to previous measurements or indication of comparison to previous measurements, based on other criteria such as last measurement collection time, previous measurement values, or other criteria.

[0079] The RAN may also be configured to perform the analysis as described above with reference to FIG. 4, to identify one or more operations to be performed by the RAN to reduce energy consumption of the RAN, and to carry out or perform the operation(s) identified. In addition, the RAN may be configured to store the data, report the data, provide an alarm indication, based on parameters. For example, the configuration may include a duration, a location, and encoding for storing the measurements collected. The RAN may be configured to report the data periodically, immediately, or in response to detection of an event. The alarm indication may be provided based on a threshold, percentile, criticality level, and any other parameters.

[0080] Based on the configuration, the RAN collects the measurements related to energy consumption by the RAN at 504. These measurements are in addition to other data that is collected by the RAN, including data indicative of a Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) and data indicative of a Signal to Interference and Noise Ratio (SINR).

[0081] The other data that is collected by the RAN includes any combination of, for example: • data indicative of an energy source of the RAN; • data indicative of an energy state of the RAN; • data indicative of weather at the RAN; • data indicative of humidity at the RAN; • data indicative of temperature of the hardware of the RAN; • data indicative of a HVAC system of the RAN. • data indicative of a frequency band that RAN operates at; • For each protocol layer of the RAN: i. a data volume at the protocol data layer of the RAN; and ii. data indicative of time spent at the protocol layer iii. data indicative of functions used within the protocol layer of the RAN iv. data indicative of time spent per function within the protocol layer of the RAN v. data indicative of criticality of per function within the protocol layer of the RAN (e.g., data indicative if a function is critical to the operation of a RAN node and / or data indicative a service provided to the UE(s)) vi. data indicative of the number of UEs per function per protocol layer of the RAN (e.g., not all functions are applied to all UEs, such as PDCP duplication) • data indicative of a location of a UE; • data indicative of QoS requirements for a UE; • data indicative of new services applied by the RAN, for example compute, ML training, storage at CN, storage at RAN i. a data volume, data indicative of a CPU load of the RAN, data indicative of time spent applying the new service; • data indicative of a number of UEs served by the RAN; • data indicative UE state of each UE served by the RAN.

[0082] Based on the measurements related to energy consumption by the RAN, the RAN determines whether to initiate an operation at 506. The RAN may initiate an operation, for example, in response one or more of: • detecting a change in energy state of a given cell of the RAN, • activation of cells of the RAN, • deactivation of cells of the RAN,

[0083] addition of new cells provided by the RAN, removal of cells provided by the RAN, • load measurements for a cell of the RAN, • tracking area identity (TAI) / or distributed unit (DU • physical resource block (PRB) use threshold etc.,

[0084] an 0AM defined condition or conditions that may be enabled or disabled at particular times.

[0085] Optionally, based on the operations to be performed and operation characteristics configured in the RAN node at 502, the measurements related to energy consumption by the RAN may be sent to the RIC of the RAN at 508 and / or the 0AM system (e.g., the 0AM system 118) at 510. The one or measurements collected by the RAN and energy policy information may be sent to the RIC of the RAN and / or the 0AM system (e.g., 0AM system 118). Alternatively, an analysis or summary of the one or more measurements as well as an indication of abnormality in the RAN or an alarm at the RAN to the RIC of the RAN and / or the 0AM system (e.g., 0AM system 118).

[0086] The one or more collected measurements are utilized by the RAN at 512 to perform one or more operations to reduce energy consumption by the RAN. In addition, the one or more collected measurements may be utilized by the R.IC or the 0AM system to reduce energy consumption by the RAN. For example, the one or more measurements may be utilized for energy saving or efficiency policy performance monitoring, or energy consumption troubleshooting, or RAN optimization or reconfiguration, negotiated QoS degradation, exposure, or any other suitable operation to reduce energy consumption by the RAN.

[0087] R.eference is now made to FIG. 6, which shows a diagram illustrating operations of a procedure including messages sent between a RAN node or nodes, such as the RAN node 106 and the core network 114 in accordance with another example.

[0088] In the example of FIG. 6, the RAN receives request or command from the core network, to collect one or more measurements related to energy consumption by the RAN. The request or command includes an identification of measurements to be collected, parameters of the measurements, operations to be performed based on analysis, and operation parameters, including:

[0089] an identification of measurements to collect related to energy consumption for each UE, per group of UEs, per PDU session, per network slice, per cell, per RAN protocol function, based on area, based on time interval, percentile relative to previous measurements or indication of comparison to previous measurements, abnormality criteria including threshold, interval, percentile, and so forth, and other criteria such as last measurement collection time, value, and so forth; • an indication of an operation to be performed by the RAN node: e.g., store, report, raise alarm, reconfiguration, etc.; and • operation characteristics: such as storing characteristics (duration, location, encoding, etc.), reporting characteristics (periodic, immediate, at release, on event, etc.), and alarm characteristics (threshold, percentile, criticality level, etc.)

[0090] Thus, in FIG. 6, the RAN receives the request or command from the CN rather than being preconfigured to collect the measurements as in the example of FIG. 5.

[0091] The elements described and shown as 604, 606, and 612 are similar to 504, 506, and 512 as shown in FIG. 5 and described above and these are therefore not described again in detail.

[0092] In the Example of FIG. 6, the RAN sends a measurement response / indication to the core network at 608. The response includes the information related to the operation to be performed indicated in the request or command message from the CN via the operation to be performed and operation characteristics at 602. For example, the response may include the measurements related to energy consumption by the RAN. The collected measurements and energy policy information may be sent or an analysis or summary of the collected measurements as well as an indication of abnormality or an alarm indication.

[0093] In the case of FIG. 6, the RAN-core network interaction may occur over the control plane via existing or via new messages, i.e., between the RAN node and the AMF, or via user plane using new GTP-ll header extension field, and / or new path management message.

[0094] Referring to FIG. 7, a diagram illustrating operations of a procedure including messages sent between a RAN node or nodes, such as the RAN node 106 and the 0AM 118 in accordance with yet another example is shown.

[0095] In the example of FIG. 7, the RAN receives request or command from the 0AM. The request or command is similar to that described above from the core network 602.

[0096] Thus, in FIG. 7, the RAN receives the request or command from the 0AM rather than the CN as in the example of FIG. 6.

[0097] The elements described and shown as 704, 706, and 712 are similar to 604, 606, and 612 as shown in FIG. 6 and described above and these are therefore not described again in detail.

[0098] In the Example of FIG. 7, the RAN sends a measurement response / indication to the 0AM at 708. The response includes the operation to be performed indicated in the request or command message from the 0AM via the operation to be performed and operation characteristics at 702. For example, the response may include the measurements related to energy consumption by the RAN. The collected measurements and energy policy information may be sent or an analysis or summary of the collected measurements as well as an indication of abnormality or an alarm indication.

[0099] FIG. 8 through FIG. 13 are diagrams illustrating operations in examples of methods in accordance with embodiments. [OO1OO] FIG. 8 shows messages sent between a RAN node or nodes, such as the RAN node 106, the core network 114, and the 0AM 118. In this example, the NWDAF of the core network is configured to generate analytics from data obtained from the 0AM 802. The measurements include measurements related to RAN energy consumption. The NWDAF data collection from 0AM is carried out as described in TS 23.288 clauses 6.3 - 6.21. The interactions between the NWDAF and the 0AM as well as the 0AM and the RAN are extended with the additional measurements related to energy consumption as detailed above with reference to FIG. 5, FIG. 6, and FIG. 7. The NWDAF requests the data collection from the 0AM at 804. In case the 0AM does not already have the data requested by the CN, the 0AM sends a request / command to the RAN at 806, and the measurements are collected by the RAN at 808 and a response is sent to the 0AM at 810. The 0AM sends the data collection response including the measurements related to energy consumption at the RAN to the NWDAF at 812.

[00101] FIG. 9 shows messages sent between a RAN node, such as the RAN node 106, and the core network 114. In this example, the RAN node sends an NG Setup Request message to the AMF of the core network 902 to exchange application-level data with the AMF of the core network 902. In response to 902, at 904, the AMF sends the NG Setup Response message that, in this example, includes energy consumption measurement information as shown in the request / command 602 of FIG. 6. The RAN collects one or more measurements related to energy consumption by the RAN at 906. In this example, the one or more operations to be performed by the RAN to reduce energy consumption by the RAN includes reporting or sending an indication of an alarm. The RAN utilizes a new Next Generation Application Protocol (NGAP) message, Energy Consumption Measurement Report to send the one or more energy consumption measurements collected by the RAN node that includes the information related to the energy consumption measurement information indicated in the request or command message from the CN at 904. Energy consumption information at 904 includes content as described above with reference to reference 608 of FIG 6, such as measurements related to energy consumption by the RAN node, energy policy information applied at the RAN node or an analysis or summary of the collected measurements as well as an indication of abnormality or an alarm indication detected by the RAN node.

[00102] FIG. 10 shows messages sent between a RAN node or nodes, such as the RAN node 106, and the core network 114. For the purpose of this example, a User Equipment (UE) is attempting to register or update registration. The RAN sends the Initial UE message or Uplink non-access stratum (NAS) Transport message to the AMF at 1002. At 1004, the AMF sends to the RAN, a UE Context Create Request message or UE Context Modification Request message or Downlink NAS Transport message that includes (parameters with optional presence) energy consumption measurement information as described above with reference to 602 of FIG. 6. The RAN collects the measurements at 1006. In this example, the one or more operations to be performed to reduce energy consumption by the RAN includes reporting or sending an indication of an alarm. At 1008, the RAN utilizes a new Next Generation Application Protocol (NGAP) message, Energy Consumption Measurement Report that includes the content as described above with reference to reference 608 of FIG 6.

[00103] FIG. 11 shows messages sent between a RAN node or nodes, such as the RAN node 106, and the core network 114. For the purpose of this example, a User Equipment (UE) is attempting to establish a PDU session. The RAN sends the Uplink NAS Transport message to the AMF at 1102. At 1104, the AMF sends to the RAN Downlink NAS Transport message that includes (parameters with optional presence) energy consumption measurement information as described above with reference to 602 of FIG. 6 (which may be initiated / added by the Session Management Function (SMF)). The RAN collects the measurements related to energy consumption at 1106. In this example, the one or more operations to be performed to reduce energy consumption by the RAN includes reporting or sending an indication of an alarm. At 1108, the RAN sends the content as described above with reference to reference 608 of FIG 6, utilizing one of: 1108(a) a new Next Generation Application Protocol (NGAP) message, Energy Consumption Measurement Report; 1108(b) a new GPRS Tunnelling Protocol User Plane (GTP-U) extension header field over user plane (UP); or 1108(c) a new GTP-U Path Management message, Energy Consumption Measurement Notification over UP.

[00104] FIG. 12 shows messages sent between a RAN node or nodes, such as the RAN node 106, and the core network 114. In this example, the SMF detects a trigger either by local configuration or indicated by another core network function (CN NF), e.g., AMF, PCF, NWDAF, etc. to receive, from the RAN, measurements related to energy consumption by the RAN at 1202. At 1204, the SMF sends, via the AMF, Downlink NAS message (PDU Session Modification Command) to the RAN, that includes (parameters with optional presence) energy consumption measurement information as described above with reference to 602 of FIG. 6. The RAN collects the measurements related to energy consumption at 1206. At 1208, the RAN sends the content as described above with reference to reference 608 of FIG 6, utilizing one of: a) a new Next Generation Application Protocol (NGAP) message, Energy Consumption Measurement Report; b) a new GPRS Tunnelling Protocol User Plane (GTP-U) extension header field over user plane (UP); or c) a new GTP-U Path Management message, Energy Consumption Measurement Notification over UP.

[00105] FIG. 13 shows messages sent between a RAN node or nodes, such as the RAN node 106, and the core network 114. In this example, the SMF detects a trigger either by local configuration or indicated by another core network network function (CN NF), e.g., AMF, PCF, NWDAF, etc. to receive, from the RAN, measurements related to energy consumption by the RAN. At 1302, the AMF sends a new NGAP message, RAN Energy Consumption Measurement Request or RAN Energy Consumption Measurement Command, that includes (parameters with optional presence) energy consumption measurement information as described above with reference to 602 of FIG. 6. The RAN collects the measurements related to energy consumption at 1304. In this example, the one or more operations to be performed to reduce energy consumption by the RAN includes reporting or sending an indication of an alarm. At 1306, the RAN utilizes a new NGAP message, Energy Consumption Measurement Report that includes content as described above with reference to reference 608 of FIG 6.

[00106] Referring now to FIG. 14, a diagram showing operations of a procedure including messages sent between a RAN node or nodes, such as the RAN node 106 and the RIC 500 and / or 0AM 118 in accordance with one example is shown.

[00107] The RAN is configured at 1402 to collect one or more measurements related to energy consumption by the RAN. The configuration includes the measurements to be collected, parameters of the measurements, parameters for reporting results, and operations to be performed based on analysis. Examples of such measurements are referred to above with reference to FIG. 4. The RAN may be configured to collect the measurements, for example by the 0AM or by the RIC. The RAN may be configured to collect the measurements related to energy consumption for each UE, per group of UEs, per PDU session, per network slice, per cell, per RAN protocol function, based on area, based on time interval, percentile relative to previous measurements or indication of comparison to previous measurements, based on other criteria such as last measurement collection time, value, or other criteria.

[00108] The RAN is also configured to perform the analysis and generate analytics information. The analysis may be hierarchical such that the RAN performs an analysis that is sent to the core network for further analysis. The RAN may be configured to perform an analysis or more than one analysis including different analytics types such as abnormal or statistical v. predictive, and may be configured for filtering (e.g., sampling ratio and / or energy type, etc.).

[00109] In addition, the RAN may be configured to store the data, report the data, and / or provide an alarm indication, based on parameters. For example, the configuration may include a duration, a location, and encoding for storing the measurements collected. The RAN may be configured to report the data periodically, immediately, or in response to detection of an event. An alarm indication may be provided based on a threshold, percentile, criticality level, and any other parameters.

[00110] Based on the configuration or based on a command or request from another RAN node, the RAN collects the measurements related to energy consumption at 1404. Such measurements are described above, for example, with reference to 504 of FIG. 5.

[00111] The RAN utilizes the measurements to perform an analysis at 1406, generating the analytics. The RAN output provides statistical information or prediction of energy consumption or abnormal energy consumption based on the measurements collected. The RAN may also provide additional information related to abnormal energy consumption, including services or platform resources utilized, etc. and may include an identification of the component consuming the most energy and including any or all of services, functions, or platform resources utilized.

[00112] At 1408, the RAN may send to the RIC or the 0AM, the analytics generated. This may be an exchange or exposure of diagnosis information on high consumption or may be concealed for privacy of data.

[00113] The analytics and / or the collected measurements may be utilized by any one of a combination of the RAN, the RIC, or the 0AM at 1410. The analytics are utilized to perform one or more operations to reduce energy consumption at 1412. The analytics may be utilized for any suitable purpose such as, one or a combination of energy saving / efficiency policy performance monitoring, energy consumption troubleshooting, network optimization / reconfiguration which may include enabling or disabling function migration, negotiated QoS degradation, exposure, etc.

[00114] Reference is now made to FIG. 15, which shows a diagram illustrating operations of a procedure including messages sent between a RAN node or nodes, such as the RAN node 106 and the core network 114 in accordance with another example.

[00115] In the example of FIG. 15, the RAN receives request or command from the core network, to collect one or more measurements related to energy consumption by the RAN and to perform an analysis of the one or more measurements collected. The request or command includes an identification of measurements to be collected, parameters of the measurements, operations to be performed based on analysis, and operation parameters, as referred to with reference to FIG. 6. The command or request sent to the RAN is therefore similar to 602, as described with reference to FIG. 6 and also includes information related to the analysis. The analysis may be hierarchical such that the RAN performs an analysis that is sent to the core network for further analysis. The command or request may include an analysis type such as abnormal or statistical v. predictive, and may include information for filtering (e.g., sampling ratio and / or energy type, etc.).

[00116] Based on the command or request from the core network, the RAN collects the measurements related to energy consumption at 1504. Such measurements are described above, for example, with reference to 504 of FIG. 5.

[00117] The RAN utilizes the measurement to perform an analysis at 1506, generating the analytics. The RAN may also provide additional information related to abnormal energy consumption, including services or platform resources utilized, etc. and may include an identification of the component consuming the most energy and including any or all of services, functions, or platform resources utilized.

[00118] At 1508, the RAN sends, to the core network, the analytics generated. This may be an exchange or exposure of diagnosis information on high consumption or may be concealed for privacy of data. For example, the exchange may occur over the control plane (CP) via existing or new N2 procedures or over the user plane (UP) via a new GTP-U header extension field and / or a new path management message.

[00119] The analytics and / or the collected measurements may be utilized by the RAN or the core network, or both at 1510. The analytics are utilized to perform operation(s) to reduce energy consumption. The analytics may be utilized for any suitable purpose such as, one or a combination of energy saving / efficiency policy performance monitoring, energy consumption troubleshooting, network optimization / reconfiguration which may include enabling or disabling function migration, negotiated QoS degradation, exposure, etc. Thus, the RAN may perform the analysis and may report, for example, an indication of an abnormal condition, to the core network for the core network to perform an operation to reduce energy consumption.

[00120] Reference is now made to FIG. 16, which shows a diagram illustrating operations of a procedure including messages sent between a RAN node, such as the RAN node 106 and 0AM 118 in accordance with another example.

[00121] In the example of FIG. 16, the RAN receives request or command from the 0AM, to collect one or more measurements related to energy consumption by the RAN and to perform an analysis of the one or more measurements collected. The request or command includes an identification of measurements to be collected, parameters of the measurements, operations to be performed based on analysis, and operation parameters, as referred to with reference to FIG. 6. The command or request sent to the RAN is therefore similar to 602, as described with reference to FIG. 6 and also includes information related to the analysis. The analysis may be hierarchical such that the RAN performs an analysis that is sent to the core network for further analysis. The command or request may include an analysis type such as abnormal or statistical v. predictive, and may include information for filtering (e.g., sampling ratio and / or energy type, etc.).

[00122] Based on the command or request from the 0AM, the RAN collects the measurements related to energy consumption at 1604. Such measurements are described above, for example, with reference to 504 of FIG. 5.

[00123] The RAN utilizes the measurement to perform an analysis at 1606, generating the analytics. The RAN may also provide additional information related to abnormal energy consumption, including services or platform resources utilized, etc. and may include an identification of the component consuming the most energy and including any or all of services, functions, or platform resources utilized.

[00124] At 1608, the RAN sends, to the 0AM, the analytics generated. This may be an exchange or exposure of diagnosis information on high consumption or may be concealed for privacy of data.

[00125] The analytics and / or the collected measurements may be utilized by the RAN or the 0AM, or both at 1610. The analytics may be utilized for any suitable purpose such as, one or a combination of energy saving / efficiency policy performance monitoring, energy consumption troubleshooting, network optimization / reconfiguration which may include enabling or disabling function migration, negotiated QoS degradation, exposure, etc. Thus, the RAN may perform the analysis and may report, for example, an indication of an abnormal condition, to the core network for the core network to perform an operation to reduce energy consumption.

[00126] FIG. 17 through FIG. 22 are diagrams illustrating operations in examples of methods in accordance with embodiments. FIG. 17 through FIG. 22 show messages sent between a RAN node or nodes, such as the RAN node 106, the core network 114, and the 0AM 118.

[00127] FIG. 17 through FIG. 22 are similar to FIG. 8 through FIG. 13. In the examples of FIG. 17 through FIG. 22, however, information related to the analysis of the one or more measurements related to energy consumption is included in the requests or commands illustrated in the message flows. In addition, the RAN reports or provides the analytics or information relating to the analysis performed by the RAN. The information relating to the analysis performed is provided in addition to or instead of providing the one or more measurements.

[00128] Referring to FIG. 17, 1702, 1704, 1706, 1708, 1710, and 1712 are similar to 802, 804, 806, 808, 810, 810, and 812 of FIG. 8. In 1702, however, the NWDAF of the core network is configured to generate analytics from data obtained from the 0AM 118 including the analysis of the one or more measurements related to energy consumption from the RAN. The NWDAF requests the analysis, also referred to herein as the data analytics, from the 0AM at 1704 and the OAM sends a request / command to the RAN, the request including a request for the data analytics at 1706. The measurements are collected by the RAN at 1708 and the analysis carried out. A response is sent to the OAM at 1710. The OAM sends the analysis of the one or more measurements related to energy consumption at the RAN to the NWDAF at 1712.

[00129] Similarly, 1802, 1804, 1806, and 1808 of FIG. 18 are similar to 902, 904, 906, and 908 of FIG. 9. In FIG. 18, however, the AMF sends the NG Setup Response message that, in this example, includes an analytics enablement flag and data analytics related information. The RAN collects the measurements related to energy consumption by the RAN and performs the analysis at 1806. The RAN utilizes a new Next Generation Application Protocol (NGAP) message, to provide the data analytics.

[00130] FIG. 19 shows messages sent between a RAN node or nodes, such as the RAN node 106, and the core network 114. For the purpose of this example, a User Equipment (UE) is attempting to register or update registration. The RAN sends the Initial UE message or Uplink non-access stratum (NAS) Transport message to the AMF at 1902. At 1904, the AMF sends to the RAN, a UE Context Create Request message or UE Context Modification Request message or Downlink NAS Transport message that includes (parameters with optional presence) energy consumption data analytics information. The RAN collects the measurements and performs the analysis at 1906. In this example, the RAN utilizes a new Next Generation Application Protocol (NGAP) message, to send a report that includes the data analytics at 1908.

[00131] FIG. 20 shows messages sent between a RAN node or nodes, such as the RAN node 106, and the core network 114. The RAN sends an Initial UE message or an Uplink non-access stratum (NAS) Transport message to the CN at 2002. At 2004, the CN sends to the RAN, a Downlink NAS Transport message that includes (parameters with optional presence) energy consumption data analytics information. The RAN collects the measurements and performs the analysis at 2006. The RAN sends a report that includes the data analytics utilizing one of: 2008(a) a new Next Generation Application Protocol (NGAP) message, Energy Consumption Measurement Report; 2008(b) a new GPRS Tunnelling Protocol User Plane (GTP-U) extension header field over user plane (UP); or 2008(c) a new GTP-U Path Management message, Energy Consumption Measurement Notification over UP.

[00132] FIG. 21 shows messages sent between a RAN node or nodes, such as the RAN node 106, and the core network 114. In this example, the SMF detects a trigger either by local configuration or indicated by another core network network function (CN NF), e.g., AMF, PCF, NWDAF, etc. to receive, from the RAN, measurements related to energy consumption by the RAN at 2102. At 2104, the SMF sends, via the AMF, Downlink NAS message (PDU Session Modification Command) to the RAN, that includes (parameters with optional presence) energy consumption data analytics information. The RAN collects the measurements and performs the analysis at 2106. The RAN sends a report that includes the data analytics utilizing one of: c) a new Next Generation Application Protocol (NGAP) message, Energy Consumption Measurement Report; d) a new GPRS Tunnelling Protocol User Plane (GTP-U) extension header field over user plane (UP); or c) a new GTP-U Path Management message, Energy Consumption Measurement Notification over UP.

[00133] FIG. 22 shows messages sent between a RAN node or nodes, such as the RAN node 106, and the core network 114. At 2202, the AMF sends a new NGAP message, RAN energy consumption analytics request or RAN energy consumption analytics Command, that includes (parameters with optional presence) energy consumption analytics information. The RAN collects the measurements and performs the analysis at 2206. The RAN sends a report that includes the data analytics at 2206.

[00134] Additionally, the initiation of the analysis may stem from NWDAF, for example, based on subscription to include, for example, newly deployed RAN nodes, or newly registered UEs, or newly established PDU sessions, or any combination thereof. Other network functions of the core network may initiate the request or command sent to the RAN, on behalf of NWDAF.

[00135] Referring to the examples shown in FIG. 8 through FIG, 13 and FIG. 17 through FIG. 22, measurements such as whole RAN or per area energy consumption measurement or analytics are not UE-associated as the measurements are not measurements of services provided to a UE, The Examples shown in FIG. 8, FIG. 9, FIG. 13, FIG. 17, FIG. 18, and FIG. 22 may be non-UE-associated, supporting whole RAN or per area energy consumption measurement or analytics.

[00136] Other measurements are UE-associated as they are measurements of services provided to one or more UEs. The Examples shown in FIG, 8, FIG. 13, FIG, 17, and FIG. 22 may be UE associated, supporting measurement per UE, per group of UEs, per PDU session, per slice, per area (all UEs in area), whole RAN (all UEs), etc. The Examples shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. 19 may be UE associated, supporting measurement per UE. The Examples shown in FIG. 11, FIG. 12, FIG 20, and FIG. 22 may be UE associated, supporting measurements per UE and per PDU session.

[00137] As used in the present disclosure, the term "circuitry", for example in the processing circuitry, logic circuitry, or memory circuitry, as used herein, in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure, may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations in only analog and / or digital circuitry) and (b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as (as applicable): (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuit(s) with software / firmware and (ii) any portions of hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processor(s)), software, and memory(ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions) and (iii) hardware circuit(s) and or processor(s), such as a microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s), that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation. This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in the present disclosure, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example and if applicable to the particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[00138] The scope of the claims should not be limited by the preferred embodiments set forth in the examples, but should be given the broadest interpretation consistent with the description as a whole. While examples described herein refer to wireless communications utilizing 5th generation radio access technology or a 5G network, the methods described herein may also be carried out utilizing a 6th generation radio access technology or 6G network. What is claimed is:

Claims

1. A method of a radio access network (RAN), the method comprising:collecting one or more measurements related to energy consumption by the RAN;performing an analysis of the one or more measurements collected and, based on the analysis, identifying one or more operations to be performed to reduce energy consumption by the RAN; andperforming the one or more operations to reduce energy consumption by the RAN.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising receiving a request or command to collect the one or more measurements related to energy consumption, and wherein the collecting is carried out in response to the request or command to collect the one or more measurements related to energy consumption.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the request or command includes an indication of the one or more measurements related to energy consumption.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein performing the analysis comprises utilizing the one or more measurements to determine an abnormal condition related to energy consumption.

5. The method of claim 4, comprising reporting the abnormal condition related to energy consumption to a network entity for at least one of the core network, an Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM), a RAN IntelligentController (RIC), another RAN node, and / or another entity to perform another operation to reduce energy consumption.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein reporting the abnormal condition comprises identifying a component having abnormal energy consumption.

7. The method of claim 1, comprising sharing the analysis of the measurements with one or more other entities.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein collecting the one or more measurements, performing the analysis of the one or more measurements collected, and identifying the one or more operations to be performed, are carried out at a RAN node, the method further comprising sharing the analysis of the one or more measurements with at least one other RAN node.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein performing the operation to reduce energy consumption comprises one or more of reconfiguring and enabling or disabling a function at the RAN.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein collecting one or more measurements comprises collecting one or more of measurements:for all User Equipment (UE);per UE;per group of UE;per Packet Data Unit (PDU) session;per network slice;per cell;per RAN protocol function;per network; and / orper subnetwork.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein collecting one or more measurements comprises collecting measurements related to energy consumption for at least one of an area, a time interval, a percentile relative to previous measurements or indication of comparison to previous measurements, an abnormality criteria, and / or a baseline criteria.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein performing the analysis comprises comparing the one or more measurements collected to a threshold or to one or more previously collected measurements.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein performing the one or more operations comprises providing an alarm indication to one or both of a core network and to an Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM).

14. The method of claim 1, wherein performing the one or more operations to reduce energy consumption at the RAN comprises one or more of reducing energy consumption per cell, reducing energy consumption per RAN node, reducing energy consumption per User Equipment (UE), reducing energy consumption per PDU session, and reducing energy consumption per tracking area (TA).

15. The method of claim 1, wherein performing the one or more operations is in response to one or more of:a change in energy state of a given cell;a change in number of active cells;load measurements in one of a cell, a tracking area (TA), a central unit (CU) a distributed unit (DU), a functional block, or a physical resource block (PRB) usage threshold; oran OAM identified condition.

16. A method of a radio access network (RAN), the method comprising:collecting one or more measurements related to energy consumption at the RAN;performing an analysis of the one or more measurements collected and identifying an abnormal condition related to energy consumption; andbased on the analysis, providing an alarm indication to at least one of a core network and an Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM) entity, a RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC), another RAN node, and / or another entity.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein performing the analysis comprises comparing the one or more measurements to a threshold or to one or more previously collected measurements to identify the abnormal condition.

18. The method of claim 16, comprising receiving a request or command to collect the one or more measurements related to energy consumption, and wherein the collecting is carried out in response to receipt of the request or command to collect the one or more measurements related to energy consumption.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein receiving the request or command comprises receiving from the OAM and, wherein the method comprises providing a response, based on the measurements collected, to the OAM.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein receiving the request or command comprises receiving an Next Generation (NG) Setup Response message from an Access and Mobility Function (AMF), and wherein the method comprises providing results of the analysis to the AMF utilizing a Next Generation Application Protocol (NGAP) message.

21. The method of claim 18, comprising sending an initial User Equipment (UE) message or Uplink non-access stratum (NAS) Transport message to an Access and Mobility Function (AMF), and wherein receiving the request or command comprises receiving one of a UE Context Create Request message, or UE Context Modification Request message, or Downlink NAS Transport message that includes information related to the analysis of the one or more measurements collected.

22. The method of claim 18, comprising sending an initial User Equipment (UE) message or Uplink non-access stratum (NAS) Transport message to a core network, and wherein receiving the request or command comprises receiving a Downlink NAS Transport message that includes information related to the analysis of the one or more measurements collected, the method further comprising sending a report based on the analysis.

23. The method of claim 18, wherein receiving the request or command comprises receiving from a Session Management Function (SMF), via the AMF, a Downlink non-access stratum (NAS) message that includes information related to the analysis of the one or more measurements collected.

24. The method of claim 18, wherein the request includes an indication of the one or more measurements related to energy consumption.

25. The method of claim 16, wherein reporting the abnormal condition comprises identifying a component having abnormal energy consumption.

26. The method of claim 16, wherein collecting one or more measurements comprises collecting one or more of measurements:for all User Equipment (UE);per UE;per group of UE;per Packet Data Unit (PDU) session;per network slice;per cell;per RAN protocol function;per network; and / or per subnetwork.

27. The method of claim 16, wherein collecting one or more measurements comprises collecting measurements related to energy consumption for at least one of an area, a time interval, a percentile relative to previous measurements or indication of comparison to previous measurements, an abnormality criteria, and / or a baseline criteria.

28. The method of claim 16, comprising performing one or more operations to reduce energy consumption at the RAN.

29. The method of claim 16, wherein the abnormal condition comprises one or more of:a change in energy state of a given cell;a change in number of active cells;a threshold load measured in one of a cell, a tracking area (TA), a distributed unit (DU), or a physical resource book (PRB) usage threshold; ora condition identified by an OAM entity.

30. A Radio Access Network (RAN) node comprising: at least one processor;at least one memory storing instructions, wherein the instructions are executable by the at least one processor to cause the RAN node to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 29.5 31. A Radio Access Network (RAN) comprising a plurality of RAN nodes, the RANincluding a controller configured to carry out the method according to claim 1 or claim 16.

32. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions stored 10 thereon for execution by at least one processor of a Radio Access Network (RAN) to cause the processor to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 29.

33. A computer program comprising instructions, wherein the computer program 15 when executed by at least one processor of a Radio Access Network (RAN), causes the RAN to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 29.

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