Communication control device, communication control method, and program

Abstract

To provide a technique for informing users in areas where congestion is predicted of communication congestion status or the like.SOLUTION: A communication control device is provided that includes an acquisition unit that acquires traffic data of wireless communication, a detection unit that detects a wireless communication congestion status including an area where wireless communication congestion is predicted based on the traffic data, and a notification unit that notifies a terminal present in the area where wireless communication congestion is predicted of a prediction result of the wireless communication congestion status.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a communication control device, a communication control method, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] Currently, various wireless communication carriers including MNO (Mobile Network Operator) and MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) are providing various wireless communication services. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for automatically switching a profile according to the communication status of a mobile phone network.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Since wireless communication uses wireless, which is a finite resource, if a large number of terminals communicate simultaneously in the same area, the communication speed per terminal will decrease. If a user using a terminal knows in advance that the wireless communication in the area where the user is present will be congested, the user can avoid using wireless communication or change the time zone for using it, but such a technique has not been provided yet.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for notifying a user present in an area where congestion is predicted of the congestion status of communication and the like.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] A communication control device according to an aspect of the present invention includes an acquisition unit that acquires traffic data of wireless communication, a detection unit that detects a congestion situation of wireless communication including an area where congestion of wireless communication is predicted based on the traffic data, and a notification unit that notifies a terminal existing in an area where congestion of wireless communication is predicted of a prediction result of the congestion situation of wireless communication.

Advantages of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to notify a user existing in an area where congestion is predicted of the congestion situation of communication and the like.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4A

Figure 4B

Figure 5

Figure 6

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In each figure, those denoted by the same reference numerals have the same or similar configurations.

[0010] A. This Embodiment <System Configuration> FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the wireless communication system 1 according to the present embodiment. The wireless communication system 1 is a system that provides a wireless communication service to the terminal 10, and includes one or more base stations 20, a core network 30, a communication control device 40, and an NW management system 50. The wireless communication system 1 may support wireless communication technologies such as 3G, LTE (Long Term Evolution), 5G, and 6G and later defined by, for example, 3GPP (registered trademark) (Third Generation Partnership Project).

[0011] The terminal 10 is, for example, a smartphone, a mobile phone, a personal computer, an in-vehicle terminal, an in-vehicle device, a telematics control unit (TCU), or the like. The terminal 10 may be referred to as a UE (User Equipment).

[0012] The base station 20 is equipped with an antenna and forms one or more cells. The base station 20 may be referred to as an NB (NodeB), an eNB (enhanced NodeB), a gNB (gNodeB), or the like.

[0013] The core network 30 is connected to an external network and is a device that performs management of the location where the terminal 10 exists, routing control of data flowing between the terminal 10 and the external network, QoS (Quality of Service) control, management of user contract information, and the like. The core network 30 may be composed of a plurality of physical device groups or may be composed of a plurality of logical function groups. The external network includes the Internet, an enterprise internal network, and the like.

[0014] The communication control device 40 controls the communication speed of the terminal 10 based on the congestion status of the area, the contract information of the user, the load status of the base station 20 and the core network 30, etc. In the example of FIG. 1, the communication control device 40 is illustrated as a separate entity from the core network 30, but the present embodiment is not limited to this mode. The communication control device 40 may be a device different from the core network 30 or may be a part of the core network 30. Further, when it is a part of the core network 30, the communication control device 40 may be a PGW (Packet data network Gateway) or a UPF (User Plane Function) defined by 3GPP (registered trademark).

[0015] The NW management system 50 monitors the status of the base station 20 and the core network 30 and performs various controls on the base station 20 and the core network 30. The NW management system 50 may manage past and current traffic data, for example, in units of cells, base stations 20, and core networks 30 (more specifically, in units of PGW and UPF).

[0016] <Hardware Configuration> FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the communication control device 40. The communication control device 40 includes a processor 11 such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a GPU (Graphical Processing Unit), a memory (for example, a storage device 12 such as a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and / or an SSD (Solid State Drive)), a network IF (Network Interface) 13 that performs wired or wireless communication, an input device 14 that receives input operations, and an output device 15 that outputs information. The input device 14 is, for example, a keyboard, a touch panel, a mouse, and / or a microphone, etc. The output device 15 is, for example, a display, a touch panel, and / or a speaker, etc.

[0017] <Functional Block Configuration> FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the functional block configuration of the communication control device 40. The communication control device 40 includes a storage unit 100, an acquisition unit 101, a detection unit 102, a determination unit 103, and a notification unit 104. The storage unit 100 can be realized by using the storage device 12 included in the communication control device 40. Further, the acquisition unit 101, the detection unit 102, the determination unit 103, and the notification unit 104 can be realized by the processor 11 of the communication control device 40 executing a program stored in the storage device 12. Further, the program can be stored in a storage medium. The storage medium storing the program may be a non-transitory computer readable medium. The non-transitory storage medium is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, a storage medium such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory or a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read-Only Memory).

[0018] The storage unit 100 stores various data acquired by the acquisition unit 101. Further, the storage unit 100 stores a determination condition JC for determining the congestion level of wireless communication (details will be described later).

[0019] The acquisition unit 101 acquires traffic data regarding the congestion situation of wireless communication from the base station 20, the core network 30, and / or the NW management system 50.

[0020] The detection unit 102 detects an area where wireless communication congestion is predicted based on the traffic data acquired by the acquisition unit 101. For example, the detection unit 102 may detect in real time an area where current congestion is predicted based on the latest traffic data acquired by the acquisition unit 101.

[0021] Further, the detection unit 102 may detect the congestion status of wireless communication including areas and time zones where congestion is predicted based on the traffic data acquired by the acquisition unit 101. That is, the detection unit 102 may detect areas and time zones that are considered likely to become congested in the future from the trends of past and / or latest traffic data. Note that the detection unit 102 may detect not only areas and time zones that are considered likely to become congested in the future but also areas and time zones where congestion is actually occurring.

[0022] The determination unit 103 determines whether or not the predicted congestion level of wireless communication exceeds a threshold value by comparing the determination condition JC stored in the storage unit 100 with the traffic data. Hereinafter, for the sake of convenience, an area where the predicted congestion level of wireless communication exceeds the threshold value is referred to as a "congestion prediction area", and a time zone where the predicted congestion level of wireless communication exceeds the threshold value is referred to as a "congestion prediction time zone".

[0023] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the determination condition JC stored in the storage unit 100. In the example shown in FIG. 4A, as the determination condition JC, the congestion level and the reference traffic volume are registered in association with each other. For example, if the acquired traffic data is less than or equal to the reference traffic volume X1, the congestion level is "0"; if the acquired traffic data is within the range of the reference traffic volume X1 to X2, the congestion level is "1"; if the acquired traffic data is within the range of the reference traffic volume X2 to X3, the congestion level is "2", and so on. As an example, the congestion level "2" can be set as a threshold, but of course, it is not limited to this. Also, the upper limit of the communication speed may be set according to the congestion level. For example, as shown in FIG. 4B, when the congestion level is "0", no restrictions (including the upper limit) are imposed on the communication speed; when the congestion level is "1", the upper limit of the communication speed is set to 1 Mbps; when the congestion level is "2", the upper limit of the communication speed is set to 3 Mbps, and so on. Note that when the upper limit of the communication speed is set, the determination unit 103 may set the upper limit of the communication speed for the terminal 10 existing in the congestion prediction area during the congestion prediction time period based on the determination result. Here, the upper limit of the communication speed may be set to a value lower than the communication speed in an uncongested area (for example, about 75 Mbps to 100 Mbps in the case of LTE).

[0024] The notification unit 104 notifies the terminal 10 existing in the congestion prediction area of the prediction result of the congestion status of the wireless communication. For example, when the detection unit 102 detects the current congestion prediction area in real time, the notification unit 104 notifies the terminal 10 existing in the congestion prediction area of the prediction result of the congestion status of the wireless communication during the congestion prediction time period. On the other hand, when the detection unit 102 predicts a future congestion time period, the notification unit 104 notifies the terminal 10 existing in the congestion prediction area of the prediction result of the congestion status of the wireless communication during the congestion prediction time period. When notifying the prediction result of the congestion status of the wireless communication, the notification unit 104 may use a color map MP as shown in FIG. 5. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the position P1 of the terminal 10 is plotted on the map, and the surrounding area (for example, within a radius of 〇× km) including the congestion prediction area is color-coded and displayed for each congestion level. For example, the area with a congestion level of "0" is white, the area with a congestion level of "1" is blue, the area with a congestion level of "2" is yellow, the area with a congestion level of "3" is orange, and so on. The types and numbers of color-coding can be arbitrarily set according to the design and the like. Also, the color map MP may be configured to display the transition of the congestion level from the past to the future by using a slider SL or the like. As an example, the user may be able to check the transition of the congestion level from the past 24 hours to the future 24 hours by moving the slider left and right.

[0025] <Processing Procedure> FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing procedure executed by the communication control device 40.

[0026] In step S10, the acquisition unit 101 acquires traffic data from the core network 30 or the NW management system 50. The traffic data may be data representing the change over time, that is, the traffic volume from the past to the present, at a predetermined interval (for example, every minute). The traffic data may be, for example, data indicating the traffic volume (upload data volume and / or download data volume, etc.) for each wireless communication area (for example, cell), data indicating the traffic volume for each base station 20, data indicating the number of terminals 10 present (in the coverage area) in the wireless communication area, data indicating the change over time of the average traffic volume (for example, the average communication speed of upload data and download data) of a plurality of terminals 10 present in the same wireless communication area, and / or data indicating the processing load (CPU usage rate, memory usage rate, etc.) of the base station 20. Note that the upload data means data flowing from the terminal 10 toward the external network, and the download data means data flowing from the external network toward the terminal 10.

[0027] Further, the acquisition unit 101 may acquire data regarding the regional attributes of the wireless communication area (hereinafter referred to as "regional attribute data"). Examples of regional attributes include, for example, an area around a station, a residential area, an area where a shopping center exists, an area with many companies, an area where a festival is held, and the like. Further, the acquisition unit 101 may acquire weather prediction data, event schedule data, and / or pedestrian flow prediction data. The weather prediction data may be, for example, a weather forecast. The event schedule data indicates the date and time and location of an event to be held in the future. The pedestrian flow prediction data is data predicting how the flow of people changes over time.

[0028] In step S11, the detection unit 102 detects the congestion status of wireless communication including an area where congestion is predicted from the traffic data and the like acquired in step S10.

[0029] For example, the detection unit 102 may detect a wireless communication area where the traffic volume from a predetermined period before (not particularly limited, for example, 10 minutes before) to the present is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value as an area where congestion is predicted. For example, the detection unit 102 may detect a wireless communication area where the average communication speed of each terminal 10 of all terminals 10 located in the same wireless communication area is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value as an area where congestion is predicted. The unit of the area where congestion is predicted detected by the detection unit 102 may be a cell unit, or a unit including a plurality of cells (for example, a prefecture unit and / or a city, town, and village unit, etc.).

[0030] Further, the detection unit 102 may detect an area where congestion is predicted and a time zone where congestion is predicted based on the regional attribute data and traffic data of the wireless communication area acquired by the acquisition unit 101. For example, assume that there is a tendency that the traffic volume from 17:00 to 19:00 in the cell where the shopping center A exists is twice the traffic volume from 14:00 to 15:00. In this case, considering that the shopping center A exists in area A and the current traffic volume (15:00) in area A, the detection unit 102 may determine that area A corresponds to an area where congestion is predicted between 17:00 and 19:00 because the traffic volume during that time exceeds a predetermined threshold value.

[0031] Further, the detection unit 102 may estimate an area where congestion is predicted and a time zone when congestion is predicted based on at least one of the weather prediction data, event holding prediction data, and crowd flow prediction data acquired by the acquisition unit 101 and the traffic data. For example, if the traffic volume in area A is always less than a predetermined threshold, but considering that an event will be held from 17:00 to 18:00, the detection unit 102 may determine that area A from 17:00 to 18:00 corresponds to an area where congestion is predicted. Also, assume that the traffic volume in area A is always less than a predetermined threshold, but according to the crowd flow prediction data, the number of people is expected to increase in area A between 9:00 p.m. on December 31 and 3:00 a.m. on January 1. In this case, the detection unit 102 may determine that area A from 9:00 p.m. on December 31 to 3:00 a.m. on January 1 corresponds to an area where congestion is predicted.

[0032] In step S12, the determination unit 103 compares the determination condition JC stored in the storage unit 100 with the traffic data to determine whether the predicted congestion level of the wireless communication exceeds a threshold value (for example, level "2", etc.). If the predicted congestion level of the wireless communication is below the threshold value (step S12: NO), the process described above is terminated. On the other hand, if the predicted congestion level of the wireless communication exceeds the threshold value (step S12: YES), the area where congestion is predicted is recognized as a congestion prediction area, and the process proceeds to step S13.

[0033] In step S13, the notification unit 104 notifies the terminals 10 existing in the congestion prediction area of the prediction result of the congestion status of the wireless communication. When notifying the prediction result of the congestion status of the wireless communication, a color map MP as shown in FIG. 5 may be used. Each user can select the time zone for using the communication line (for example, the start time of the Web meeting) and the type of communication line to be used (for example, an optical communication line instead of a wireless communication line) by checking the color map MP representing the prediction result of the congestion status of the communication line displayed on their own terminal 10. Thereby, each user can realize stress-free communication.

[0034] B. Others The embodiments described above are for facilitating the understanding of the present invention and are not for limiting and interpreting the present invention. The flowcharts, sequences, each element included in the embodiments, and their arrangements, materials, conditions, shapes, sizes, etc. described in the embodiments are not limited to those illustrated and can be appropriately changed. Also, it is possible to partially replace or combine the configurations shown in different embodiments with each other.

[0035] For example, in the above-described embodiment, the determination unit 103 notified the prediction result of the wireless communication congestion situation to the terminal 10 existing in the area where the congestion level of the wireless communication exceeds the threshold (i.e., the congestion prediction area), but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the detection unit 102 may notify the prediction result of the wireless communication congestion situation to the terminal 10 existing in the area where the wireless communication congestion is predicted without passing through the determination unit 103.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0036] 1... Wireless communication system, 10... Terminal, 11... Processor, 12... Storage device, 13... Network IF, 14... Input device, 15... Output device, 20... Base station, 30... Core network, 40... Communication control device, 50... NW management system, 100... Storage unit, 101... Acquisition unit, 102... Detection unit, 103... Determination unit, 104... Notification unit

Claims

1. An acquisition unit that acquires traffic data of wireless communication; A detection unit that detects the congestion status of the wireless communication, including an area where congestion of the wireless communication is predicted, based on the traffic data; An informing unit that informs a terminal existing in an area where congestion of the wireless communication is predicted of a prediction result of the congestion status of the wireless communication; A communication control device comprising the above.

2. The detection unit detects the congestion status of the wireless communication, including a time zone where congestion is predicted together with an area where congestion of the wireless communication is predicted, based on the traffic data. The communication control device according to Claim 1.

3. A storage unit that stores determination conditions for determining the congestion level of the wireless communication; A determination unit that determines whether or not a predicted congestion level of the wireless communication exceeds a threshold by comparing the determination conditions with the traffic data; and further comprising: When the predicted congestion level of the wireless communication exceeds the threshold, the informing unit informs a terminal existing in an area where the congestion level exceeds the threshold of the congestion status of the wireless communication. The communication control device according to Claim 1.

4. The informing unit informs the congestion status of the wireless communication using a color map. The communication control device according to any one of Claims 1 to 3.

5. A step of acquiring traffic data of wireless communication; A step of detecting the congestion status of the wireless communication, including an area where congestion of the wireless communication is predicted, based on the traffic data; A step of informing a terminal existing in an area where congestion of the wireless communication is predicted of a prediction result of the congestion status of the wireless communication; A communication control method executed by a communication control device, including the above steps.

6. A step of acquiring traffic data of wireless communication; A step of detecting the congestion status of the wireless communication, including an area where congestion of the wireless communication is predicted, based on the traffic data; A step of informing a terminal existing in an area where congestion of the wireless communication is predicted of a prediction result of the congestion status of the wireless communication; A program for causing a computer to execute, including the above steps.

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