Data analysis method, apparatus, and system

Abstract

Embodiments of the present application provide a data analysis method, apparatus, and system, relating to the field of wireless communication technology, and implementing a chronological order in which a data analysis network element provides the position of a terminal to a consumer network function network element. This method includes the data analysis network element obtaining first indication information, where the first indication information instructs the first network element to provide mobility analysis information used to determine the chronological order of one or more positions of the terminal during a first time period. The data analysis network element obtains mobility-related information of the terminal from a second network element. The data analysis network element processes the mobility-related information based on the first indication information to obtain mobility analysis information, where the mobility analysis information includes information used to determine the chronological order of one or more positions of the terminal during the first time period. The data analysis network element transmits the mobility analysis information to the first network element. This solution can enhance the mobility analysis information provided from the data analysis network element to the first network element.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of wireless communication technologies, and more particularly, to data analysis methods, apparatuses, and systems.

Background Art

[0002] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202210490402.9, titled "DATA ANALYTICS METHOD, APPARATUS, AND SYSTEM", filed with the China National Intellectual Property Administration on May 6, 2022, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

[0003] The 5G network has introduced a Network Data Analytics Function (NWDAF) network element, which can receive subscription requests from consumer NF network elements. Subsequently, the NWDAF network element collects corresponding data from the network, processes and analyzes the data to obtain statistical or predictive analysis results. Finally, the NWDAF network element feeds back this analysis result to the consumer NF network element as mobility analysis information.

[0004] The NWDAF network element may provide terminal mobility analysis information to the consumer NF network element, but the mobility analysis information provided by the NWDAF network element to the consumer NF network element is incomplete and does not assist the consumer NF network element in performing data processing or information decision-making.

Summary of the Invention

[0005] Embodiments of this application provide a data analysis method, apparatus, and system to implement the chronological order in which a data analysis network element provides the location of a terminal to a consumer network function network element.

[0006] Embodiments of the present application provide the following technical solutions.

[0007] According to a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application is a data analysis method, wherein a data analysis network element obtains first indication information indicating the data analysis network element to a first network element, where the first indication information is used to provide mobility analysis information for determining the chronological order of one or more positions of a terminal during a first time period to the first network element. The data analysis network element obtains mobility-related information of the terminal from a second network element. The data analysis network element processes the mobility-related information based on the first indication information to obtain mobility analysis information. The mobility analysis information includes information used to determine the chronological order of one or more positions of the terminal during the first time period. Alternatively, the mobility analysis information includes information used to determine the chronological order of one or more positions of the terminal during any partial time period included in the first time period.

[0008] According to the data analysis method provided by the embodiment of the present application, in this method, the data analysis network element receives the first indication information. The first indication information instructs to provide mobility analysis information used to determine the chronological order of one or more positions of the terminal during the first time period to the first network element, helping the first network element know the chronological order of multiple positions of the terminal during one time period (for example, the first time period). Therefore, the mobility analysis information provided from the data analysis network element to the first network element indicates information about the chronological order of one or more positions of the terminal during the first time period.

[0009] Optionally, the first indication information instructing the data analysis network element to send the mobility analysis information of the terminal to the first network element may also indicate the chronological order of multiple positions of the terminal during the first time period.

[0010] In a possible implementation of the present application, the method provided in the embodiment of the present application may further include that a data analysis network element sends mobility analysis information to a first network element.

[0011] In a possible implementation of the present application, the data analysis network element may send mobility analysis information to the first network element when a reporting trigger condition is satisfied. For example, the data analysis network element may send mobility analysis information to the first network element when the load of the data analysis network element is less than a predetermined load threshold, or the data analysis network element may send mobility analysis information to the first network element during a time period indicated by the first network element. This is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0012] In a possible implementation of the present application, the first indication information may be sent from the first network element to the data analysis network element, or may be sent from another network element to the data analysis network element. This is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. When another network element sends the first indication information to the data analysis network element, this another network element may further provide information about the first network element, such as address information or identification information of the first network element, to the data analysis network element.

[0013] In a possible implementation of the present application, the method provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes that the data analysis network element receives second indication information. The second indication information instructs the data analysis network element to provide information about the stay time of the terminal at each location. In this way, it is convenient to determine the stay time (duration) of the terminal at each location based on the information about the stay time.

[0014] In a possible implementation of the present application, the data analysis network element transmitting the mobility analysis information to the first network element further includes the data analysis network element transmitting information about the residence time of the terminal at each location to the first network element.

[0015] For example, the mobility analysis information further includes information used to determine the residence time of the terminal at each location. In this solution, the information about the residence time of the terminal at each location may be included in the mobility analysis information. Alternatively, the information about the residence time of the terminal at each location may be transmitted to the first network element via information other than the mobility analysis information. This is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0016] In a possible implementation of the present application, the first time period includes one or more sub-time periods, the terminal has one or more positions during each sub-time period, the sub-time period corresponds to one time information and a duration of the sub-time period, and the time information of the sub-time period is the start time of the sub-time period.

[0017] In a possible implementation of the present application, the mobility analysis information includes the time information of each position of the terminal during each sub-time period of the first time period. This time information is the time when the terminal enters that position during the sub-time period, and the time information corresponding to any position indicates the time order of each of the one or more positions during the sub-time period. In other words, generally, the number of positions of the terminal during each time period can be one or more. Therefore, the mobility analysis information includes the time information associated with each position of the terminal during each sub-time period. By carrying the time information of each position in the mobility analysis information, the network element (such as the first network element) receiving the mobility analysis information can determine the time order of the multiple positions of the terminal during the same sub-time period based on the time information of each position.

[0018] In a possible implementation of the present application, the mobility analysis information includes information about one or more positions of the terminal during each sub-time period of the first time period, classified in ascending or descending chronological order. For example, in one sub-time period of the first time period, the position at an earlier time point is located before the position at a later time point.

[0019] In a possible implementation of the present application, the mobility analysis information includes one or more sub-mobility analysis information, and each sub-mobility analysis information corresponds to one sub-time period during the first time period. The multiple positions of the terminal included in the sub-mobility analysis information during one sub-time period are classified in ascending or descending chronological order. Alternatively, the multiple positions of the terminal during each sub-time period included in the mobility analysis information are classified in ascending or descending chronological order.

[0020] In a possible implementation of the present application, when each sub-mobility analysis information corresponds to one time period during the second time period, the data analysis network element may send each sub-mobility analysis information to the first network element in the order of each time period. Alternatively, the data analysis network element may also determine the number of each sub-mobility analysis information. The number of each sub-mobility analysis information is used to determine the chronological order of the sub-mobility analysis information. For example, each sub-mobility analysis information may carry information indicating the time period. For example, the information indicating the time period may be the start time point and the duration of that time period, or the information indicating the time period may be the start time point and the end time point of that time period.

[0021] In a possible implementation of the present application, the second time period includes one or more time periods, the mobility analysis information includes one position of the terminal during each time period and the first time information, the first time information is the time point when the terminal enters the position associated with the time period during that time period, and the position of the terminal is different in two temporally adjacent partial time periods. In this solution, one partial time period may correspond to only one position of the terminal. Thereby, the problem that multiple positions of the terminal are repeated during the same time period can be avoided.

[0022] In a possible implementation of the present application, the mobility analysis information further includes the duration of each partial time period, and the duration of the partial time period is used to reflect information about the stay time of the terminal at the position associated with the partial time period. In this solution, the duration of each partial time period may be used to reflect the stay time of the terminal at one position, and the information about the stay time of the terminal at each position is not added to the mobility analysis information.

[0023] In a possible implementation of the present application, the duration of the time period is less than a predetermined length of time. For example, the duration of the time period may be less than the stay time of the terminal at each position.

[0024] In a possible implementation of the present application, the mobility analysis information further includes information used to determine the stay time of the terminal at each position.

[0025] In a possible implementation of the present application, for the data analysis network element to obtain the mobility-related information of the terminal from the second network element, the data analysis network element includes transmitting a second message to the second network element. The second message is used to request the second network element to provide the mobility-related information of the terminal during the second time period. The data analysis network element receives the mobility-related information from the second network element, where the mobility-related information includes information about each position of the terminal during the second time period and time information associated with each position, and the time information is the time point when entering that position.

[0026] In a possible implementation of the present application, the second message carries third indication information, and the third indication information instructs the data analysis network element to provide the mobility-related information used to determine the chronological order of one or more positions of the terminal during the second time period. The mobility-related information further includes information about a plurality of positions of the terminal during the second time period classified in ascending or descending order of time information, or The mobility-related information further includes one position of the terminal and second time information during each partial time period of the second time period, and the second time information is the time point when the terminal enters the position associated with the partial time period during the partial time period, and the position of the terminal is different in two temporally adjacent partial time periods.

[0027] In a possible implementation of the present application, for the data analysis network element to transmit a second message to the second network element, the data analysis network element further includes transmitting third indication information to the second network element. The third indication information instructs the second network element to provide information used to determine the chronological order of the positions of the terminal. Thus, the first indication information may instruct the second network element to classify each position of the terminal or add time information to each position of the terminal.

[0028] Optionally, the third indication information may be carried in the second message, or the third indication information may be carried in a third message other than the second message. This is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0029] In a possible implementation of the present application, the data analysis network element sending the second message to the second network element may further include the data analysis network element sending fourth indication information to the second network element. The fourth indication information instructs the data analysis network element to provide information about the stay time of one or more positions of the terminal during the second time period. Correspondingly, the mobility-related information further includes information used to determine the stay time of the terminal at each position during the second time period.

[0030] Optionally, the fourth indication information may be carried in the second message, or the fourth indication information may be carried in a message other than the second message, such as a third message or a fourth message. This is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0031] According to a second aspect, the present application provides a data analysis method, including the first network element sending first indication information to the data analysis network element. The first indication information instructs the first network element to provide mobility analysis information used to determine the chronological order of one or more positions of the terminal during the first time period. The first network element receives the mobility analysis information from the data analysis network element, where the mobility analysis information includes information used to determine the chronological order of one or more positions of the terminal during the first time period.

[0032] Optionally, the first time period may be a past time period or a future time period. This is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0033] In a possible implementation of the present application, the method provided in the embodiments of the present application further includes sending, by the first network element, second indication information to the data analysis network element to instruct the data analysis network element to provide information about the residence time of the terminal at each location. In this way, this helps the data analysis network element to clarify the information about the residence time of the terminal at each location that needs to be provided to the first network element based on the second indication information.

[0034] In a possible implementation of the present application, the first indication information and the second indication information may be the same indication information. In other words, the indication information not only instructs the data analysis network element to provide information used to determine the chronological order of the positions of the terminal, but also instructs the data analysis network element to provide information about the residence time of the terminal at each location.

[0035] In a possible implementation of the present application, the first network element may instruct the data analysis network element to provide information used to determine the chronological order of the positions of the terminal in an explicit indication format, for example, by transmitting first indication information. Of course, the first network element may also instruct the data analysis network element to provide information used to determine the chronological order of the positions of the terminal in an implicit indication format. For example, the first network element transmits second indication information instead of the first indication information. In this way, when receiving the second indication information, the data analysis network element can determine that not only is the data analysis network element instructed to provide information used to determine the chronological order of the positions of the terminal, but also the data analysis network element is instructed to provide information about the residence time of the terminal at each position.

[0036] In a possible implementation of the present application, the first network element receiving mobility analysis information from the data analysis network element further includes the first network element receiving information about the residence time of the terminal at each position from the data analysis network element.

[0037] In a possible implementation of the present application, the mobility analysis information includes time information of each position of the terminal during each sub-time period of the first time period. This time information is the time point when the terminal enters that position during that sub-time period. The time information corresponding to any position indicates the chronological order of one or more of the positions during the sub-time period.

[0038] In a possible implementation of the present application, the mobility analysis information includes a plurality of positions of the terminal during a second time period classified in ascending or descending chronological order. Alternatively, the mobility analysis information includes information about one or more positions of the terminal during each sub-time period of the first time period classified in ascending or descending chronological order.

[0039] In a possible implementation of the present application, the first time period includes one or more partial time periods, the mobility analysis information includes one position of the terminal during each partial time period and the first time information, the first time information is the time when the terminal enters the position associated with the partial time period during that partial time, and the position of the terminal is different in two temporally adjacent partial time periods.

[0040] In a possible implementation of the present application, the mobility analysis information further includes the duration of the partial time period, and the duration of the partial time period is used to reflect the stay time of the terminal at the position during that partial duration. In this solution, the duration of the partial time period may be used to reflect the stay time of the terminal at the position during that partial time period, and the signaling overhead caused by adding the stay time of the terminal at each position to the mobility analysis information can be omitted.

[0041] In a possible implementation of the present application, the duration of the partial time period is less than a predetermined length of time.

[0042] In a possible implementation of the present application, the mobility analysis information further includes information used to determine the stay time of the terminal at each position.

[0043] According to a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device. This communication device can implement the method of the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect, and thus can further implement the advantageous effects of the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect. This communication device may be a data analysis network element, or may be a device that supports the data analysis network element to implement the method of the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect, such as a chip used in the data analysis network element. This communication device can implement the above method by software or hardware, or by the hardware executing the corresponding software.

[0044] In one example, the communication device may include a processing unit and a communication unit. The communication unit is configured to perform steps related to reception / transmission executed by a data analysis network element in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect. The processing unit is configured to perform steps related to processing executed by a data analysis network element in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect.

[0045] For example, when the communication device is a chip or a chip system within a data analysis network element, the processing unit may be a processor, and the communication unit may be a communication interface. For example, the communication interface can be an input / output interface, a pin, or a circuit, etc. The processing unit executes instructions stored in a storage unit to enable the data analysis network element to implement the data analysis method described in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect. The storage unit may be a storage unit within the chip (such as a register or a cache), or a storage unit external to the chip within the data analysis network element (such as a read-only memory or a random access memory).

[0046] According to a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device. This communication device can implement the method of the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect, and thus can further implement the advantageous effects of the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect. This communication device may be a first network element, or may be a device that supports the first network element to implement the method of the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect, such as a chip used in the first network element. This communication device can implement the above method by software or hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software.

[0047] In one example, the communication device may include a processing unit and a communication unit. The communication unit is configured to perform steps related to reception / transmission executed by the first network element in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect. The processing unit is configured to perform steps related to processing executed by the first network element in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0048] For example, when the communication device is a chip or a chip system within the first network element, the processing unit may be a processor, and the communication unit may be a communication interface. For example, the communication interface may be an input / output interface, a pin, or a circuit, etc. The processing unit executes instructions stored in the storage unit to enable the first network element to implement the data analysis method described in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect. The storage unit may be a storage unit within the chip (such as a register or a cache), or a storage unit external to the chip within the first network element (such as a read-only memory or a random access memory).

[0049] According to a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium. This computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are executed on a computer, the computer can execute the data analysis method described in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect. The computer may be a data analysis network element.

[0050] According to a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium. This computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are executed on a computer, the computer can execute the data analysis method described in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect. The computer may be a first user plane network element.

[0051] According to a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product including instructions. When the instructions are executed on a computer, the computer can execute the data analysis method described in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect.

[0052] According to an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product including instructions. When the instructions are executed on a computer, the computer can execute the data analysis method described in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0053] According to a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device configured to implement any one of the methods of the first aspect and the second aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect and the second aspect. This communication device may be the above data analysis network element, a device including the above data analysis network element, or a component (such as a chip) used in the data analysis network element. Alternatively, this communication device may be the above first network element, a device including the above first network element, or a component (such as a chip) used in the first network element. This communication device includes corresponding modules or units for implementing the above method. This module or unit can be implemented by hardware or software, or by hardware executing corresponding software. This hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the above functions.

[0054] It should be understood that the communication device according to the ninth aspect may further include a bus and a memory. The memory is configured to store code and data. Optionally, at least one processor, a communication interface, and a memory are coupled to each other.

[0055] According to a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device. The communication device includes a communication interface and at least one processor. The at least one processor communicates with the communication interface. When the communication device operates, the at least one processor executes computer-executable instructions or programs stored in the memory so that the communication device can execute the method of the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect. For example, the communication device may be a data analysis network element or a chip used within a data analysis network element.

[0056] According to an eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device. The communication device includes a communication interface and at least one processor. The at least one processor communicates with the communication interface. When the communication device operates, the at least one processor executes computer-executable instructions or programs stored in the memory so that the communication device can execute the method of the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect. For example, the communication device may be a first network element or a chip used within a first network element.

[0057] According to a twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device. The communication device includes one or more modules configured to implement any one of the methods of the first aspect and the second aspect, and the one or more modules may correspond to the steps of any one of the methods of the first aspect and the second aspect.

[0058] According to the 13th aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip system. This chip system includes at least one processor, and this processor is configured to read and execute a computer program stored in a memory to execute the method of the 1st aspect or any possible implementation of the 1st aspect.

[0059] According to the 14th aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip system. This chip system includes at least one processor, and this processor is configured to read and execute a computer program stored in a memory to execute the method of the 2nd aspect or any possible implementation of the 2nd aspect.

[0060] Optionally, this chip system may be a single chip or a chip module including multiple chips.

[0061] Optionally, this chip system may further include a memory. The memory and the processor are connected via a circuit or wiring.

[0062] Optionally, this chip system may further include a communication interface. The communication interface is configured to communicate with modules other than the chip.

[0063] According to the 15th aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system. This communication system includes a data analysis network element and a first network element. The data analysis network element is configured to execute the method of the 1st aspect or any possible implementation of the 1st aspect, and the first network element is configured to execute the method of the 1st aspect or any possible implementation of the 1st aspect.

[0064] Optionally, this communication system may further include one or more second network elements configured to provide required data to the data analysis network element.

[0065] Any device, computer storage medium, computer program product, chip, or communication system provided above is configured to execute the corresponding method provided above. Therefore, for the advantageous effects that can be achieved, reference may be made to the advantageous effects of the corresponding solution in the corresponding method provided above. Details will not be repeated herein.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0066]

Figure 1

Figure 2a

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Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0067] In order to clearly explain the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application, in the embodiments of this application, terms such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish the same items from each other, or items having basically the same function, or similar items serving basically the same purpose. For example, the first network element and the second network element are only intended to distinguish different network elements, and their order is not intended to be limited. Those skilled in the art can understand that terms such as "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity or execution order, and terms such as "first" and "second" do not indicate a clear difference.

[0068] It should be noted that in this application, words such as "example" or "for example" are used to give examples, illustrations, or explanations. Any embodiment or design pattern described as an "example" or "for example" in this application is not described as being more preferable or having more advantages than another embodiment or design pattern. Strictly speaking, the words such as "example" or "for example" are used to specifically present related concepts.

[0069] The network architectures and service scenarios described in the embodiments of this application are for more clearly explaining the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application, and do not limit the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application. Those skilled in the art can understand that with the evolution of network architectures and the emergence of new service scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0070] In this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "a plurality of" means two or more. "And / or" describes the relationship between related objects and indicates that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent the following cases: namely, the case where only A exists, the case where both A and B exist, and the case where only B exists, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates an "or" relationship between related objects. "At least one of the following items (parts)", or a similar expression, refers to any combination of those items, such as one item (part) or a plurality of items (parts). For example, when referring to at least one item (part) among a, b, or c, it can indicate a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, or alternatively a, b, and c, where a, b, and c can be singular or plural.

[0071] The steps of the data analysis method provided in the embodiments of this application are merely examples. Not all steps are essential steps, nor is all the content of each piece of information or message essential. Additions or deletions may be made as required during the usage process.

[0072] In different embodiments, the same steps in the embodiments of this application, or steps or messages having the same function, are cross-referenced.

[0073] The system architecture and service scenarios described in the embodiments of this application are for more clearly explaining the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application and do not constitute a limitation to the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application. Those skilled in the art can understand that with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new service scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application are also applicable to similar technical problems. In the embodiments of this application, an example where the provided method is applied to an NR system or a fifth-generation mobile communication technology (fifth-generation mobile network or fifth-generation wireless system, 5G) network is used for illustration.

[0074] Figure 1 is a diagram of the architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of this application. This system includes a consumer network function network element 100, a data analysis network element 200, and one or more data providing network elements 300.

[0075] The data analysis network element 200 is configured to provide the consumer network function network element 100 with mobility analysis results of a terminal, such as one or more positions of the terminal during a movement process of the terminal, for example, during a time period, and information used to determine the chronological order in which the terminal enters each position.

[0076] The data providing network element 300 is configured to provide the data analysis network element 200 with terminal mobility-related information used to obtain terminal mobility analysis results, such as terminal mobility information or service data related to the terminal's mobility.

[0077] In one example, the one or more data providing network elements 300 may include an application network element, a mobility management network element, or a network management network element.

[0078] For example, the system shown in FIG. 1 is applied to the 5G network architecture shown in FIG. 2a or FIG. 2b. The consumer network function network element 100 may be a network element such as OAM and a network management network element in the 5G core network (5G Core, 5GC) shown in FIG. 2a or FIG. 2b. For example, the network element in the 5G core network (5G Core, 5GC) may be any one of the following network elements, namely, a policy control function (PCF) network element, a network slice selection function (NSSF) network element, an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, a session management function (SMF) network element, a network exposure function (NEF) network element, an application function (AF) network element, an NWDAF network element, and a data collection coordination function (DCCF) network element. The application network element may be an AF network element, the mobility management network element may be an AMF network element, and the network management network element may be an OAM network element.In a 5G network, the data analysis network element of the embodiments of the present application may be a network data analytics function (NWDAF) network element in the 5GC, or a management data analytics function (MDAF) network element of the network management system, or a data analysis network element on the radio access network (RAN) side.

[0079] Optionally, in addition to the above network elements, the 5G network architecture shown in FIG. 2a or FIG. 2b may further include a terminal, a (R)AN device, a user plane function (UPF) network element, a unified data management (UDM) network element, a data network (DN), a user data repository (UDR), a binding support function (BSF) network element, a charging function (CHF) network element, and a network repository function (NRF) network element. The NRF network element is mainly configured to discover network elements.

[0080] In Figure 2a, the terminal accesses the network via the (R)AN device, and the terminal communicates with the AMF network element via the N1 interface (abbreviation: N1). The SMF network element communicates with one or more UPF network elements via the N4 interface (abbreviation: N4). The UPF network element communicates with the DN via the N6 interface (abbreviation: N6). The (R)AN device communicates with the AMF network element via the N2 interface (abbreviation: N2). The (R)AN device communicates with the UPF network element via the N3 interface (abbreviation: N3). Control plane network elements may also interact with each other via service-based interfaces. For example, as shown in Figure 2b, the AMF network element, the SMF network element, the UDM network element, and the PCF network element interact with each other via service-based interfaces. For example, the service-based interface presented by the AMF network element may be Namf. The service-based interface presented by the SMF network element may be Nsmf. The service-based interface presented by the UDM network element may be Nudm. The service-based interface presented by the PCF network element may be Npcf. The service-based interface presented by the NSSF network element may be Nnssf. The service-based interface presented by the NEF network element may be Nnef. The service-based interface presented by the AF network element may be Naf. The service-based interface presented by the NRF network element may be Nnrf. The service-based interface presented by the BSF network element may be Nbsf. The service-based interface presented by the CHF network element may be Nchf (not shown in Figure 2b). The service-based interface presented by the NWDAF network element may be Nnwdaf.The service-based interface presented by the BSF network element may be Nbsf. The service-based interface presented by the NRF network element may be Nnrf. For the related descriptions of the names of various service-based interfaces, please refer to the figure of the prior art 5G system architecture. This will not be described in detail in this specification.

[0081] For example, it should be noted that FIGS. 2a and 2b only show one UPF network element and one SMF network element as examples. Of course, FIGS. 2a and 2b may also include multiple UPF network elements and multiple SMF network elements, such as including SMF network element 1 and SMF network element 2. This is not particularly limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0082] It should be noted that the (R)AN device, AMF network element, SMF network element, UDM network element, UPF network element, PCF network element, etc. in FIGS. 2a and 2b are just names, and these names do not impose any restrictions on these devices. In the 5G network and other future networks, the network elements or entities corresponding to the (R)AN device, AMF network element, SMF network element, UDM network element, UPF network element, and PCF network element may alternatively have other names. This is not particularly limited in the embodiments of the present application. For example, the UDM network element may alternatively be replaced by a home subscriber server (HSS), a user subscription database (USD), or a database entity, etc. This will be uniformly described in this specification and will not be described in detail below.

[0083] A terminal is a device that enables a user to access network services.

[0084] A terminal may include various handheld devices, in-vehicle devices, wearable devices, and computing devices with wireless communication capabilities, or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem. The terminal may further include a subscriber unit, a cellular phone, a smartphone, a wireless data card, a personal digital assistant (PDA) computer, a tablet computer, a wireless modem, a handheld device, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a machine type communication (MTC) terminal, a user equipment (UE), a mobile station (MS), a terminal device, or a relay user equipment. The relay user equipment may be, for example, a 5G residential gateway (RG). For ease of explanation, in this application, the above devices are collectively referred to as terminals.

[0085] The terminal in the embodiments of this application may further be a terminal device of the Internet of Things, or a terminal in multiple vertical industry application fields such as, for example, a mobile robot, an automated guided vehicle (AGV), a self-driving vehicle, a train control device and sensors, or a control device and sensors deployed in a factory, ports, intelligent factories, railway transportation, logistics, unmanned aerial vehicles, and self-driving vehicles.

[0086] For example, in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal may alternatively be a wearable device. A wearable device, sometimes also referred to as a wearable intelligent device, is a general term for wearable devices that are highly functionally designed and developed for daily adornment using wearable technologies, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothes, and shoes. A wearable device is a portable device that can be directly worn on the body or integrated into the user's clothing or accessories. A wearable device is not only a hardware device but also realizes powerful functions through software support, data exchange, and cloud interaction. In a broad sense, wearable intelligent devices include full-function large-sized devices that can implement complete or partial functions without relying on a smartphone, such as smartwatches or smart glasses, and devices that are specialized for only one type of application function, such as various smart bands or smart jewelry that monitor physical signs and need to cooperate with other devices such as smartphones.

[0087] The NWDAF network element has a network data analysis function. The NWDAF network element has a data collection function, a training function, an analysis function, and an inference function, and is configured to collect relevant data from a network network element, a third-party service server, a terminal device, or a network management system, perform analysis training based on the relevant data, and provide the data analysis result to a network network element, a third-party service server, a terminal device, or a network management system. The data analysis result may, for example, assist the network in selecting service quality parameters of a service, or assist the network in performing traffic path designation, or assist the network in selecting a background data transfer policy.

[0088] A Network Function (NF) network element may be, for example, a PCF network element, an AMF network element, an SMF network element, a NEF network element, an AF network element, or a NWDAF network element.

[0089] The AMF network element is mainly responsible for managing user access and mobility, such as user registration, reachability, mobility management, N1 / N2 interface signaling transmission, access authentication, and authorization.

[0090] The AF network element transfers requirements from the application side on the network side, such as QoS requirements or subscription to user status events. The AF may be a third-party functional entity or an application server deployed by an operator.

[0091] OAM: Operation, Administration, and Maintenance, which is simply network management. OAM is mainly used to complete tasks such as analysis, prediction, planning, and configuration of routine networks and services, and to test and execute fault management for the network and network services. OAM may interact with the RAN to obtain the UE location on the RAN side, which is measured by the RAN or measured and reported by the UE.

[0092] The NWDAF network element supports the consumer NF network element in requesting / subscribing to the terminal mobility analysis results. After receiving the terminal mobility analysis results requested / subscribed by the consumer NF network element, the NWDAF network element needs to collect the corresponding data from the OAM network element, the AMF network element, and the AF network element, and obtain the corresponding analysis results through derivation. In particular, the NWDAF network element may obtain the position of the terminal from the OAM network element, where the position of the terminal in the OAM network element is included in the Minimization of Drive Tests (MDT) data. The MDT data is the measurement report data reported by the terminal to the OAM network element via the base station and / or the measurement report data of each terminal measured by the base station and then reported to the OAM network element, where this measurement report data includes the position of the terminal. Further, the NWDAF network element may also obtain the terminal mobility-related network data from the AMF network element, such as the position of the terminal, the terminal position trend, and the terminal access behavior trend. The specific content is shown in Table 1.

[0093]

Table 1

[0094] For example, the identifier of the terminal in the embodiments of the present application may be one or more of the following, namely, Internet Protocol (IP) address, Subscription Permanent Identifier (SUPI), Permanent Equipment Identifier (PEI), Generic Public Subscription Identifier (GPSI), International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI), IP address, and Mobile Subscriber International Integrated Services Digital Network Number (MSISDN). For the identifier of the terminal in the following embodiments, please refer to the description in this specification. Details will not be repeated hereinafter.

[0095] The NWDAF network element may further obtain service data related to the mobility of the terminal from the AF network element (which may be an AF network element within the core network or a third-party AF network element). Details are shown in Table 2.

[0096] [Table 2]

[0097] Based on the above information, the NWDAF network element may perform historical data analysis to obtain the statistical analysis results of the terminal's mobility as shown in Table 3.

[0098] [Table 3]

[0099] Alternatively, the NWDAF network element may train an artificial intelligence (AI) model based on historical data and use the AI model to predict the mobility information of the terminal in a future time period, as shown in Table 4.

[0100] [Table 4]

[0101] The time slots in the analysis result will be provided in chronological order (different time slots may overlap). If the analysis result is for a group of terminals (specifically, providing the group ID of the terminals), those terminals may be located in different location areas (e.g., location areas identified by TA / cell) during the same time slot, and the quantity ratio of terminals in different location areas may also be different. In this analysis result, the location areas will be enumerated in descending order based on the quantity ratio of the terminals (here, location areas with a very small quantity ratio of UEs may not be enumerated due to the limit of the maximum number of entries in the analysis result).

[0102] The mobility analysis results of terminals obtained by the NWDAF network element (which may also be referred to as mobility analysis information) may be the positions of multiple terminals during the same time slot (time period) obtained by statistical collection or prediction, or may be the multiple positions of one terminal at different points in time as shown in Table 5. However, currently, the mobility analysis results of terminals obtained by the data analysis network element do not define the order of multiple positions within the same time slot. However, in some scenarios, when performing data processing or information decision-making, the consumer NF network element needs to obtain the chronological order of multiple positions of the terminal from the NWDAF network element. For example, when warning information about traffic congestion or a traffic accident is sent to a vehicle traveling on a road, it is necessary to determine whether the vehicle is located in the uphill lane or the downhill lane of the road based on the position and direction information, and then it becomes possible to send the correct notification or warning information to the vehicle.

[0103]

Table 5

[0104] Table 5 shows in tabular form the mobility analysis results of the terminal provided by the NWDAF network element. From Table 5, it can be seen that the mobility analysis results include multiple positions of the terminal within one time slot (for example, time slot 1, that is, the time slot determined by time slot start 1 and duration 1). For example, position 11 indicates that the terminal is located in cell 1, and position 12 indicates that the terminal is located in cell 2. However, when obtaining the mobility analysis results of the terminal shown in Table 5, the consumer network function network element may know that the terminal is located in cell 1 and cell 2 in time slot 1, but it cannot determine the chronological order in which the terminal was located in cell 1 and cell 2, that is, it cannot determine whether the terminal was located in cell 1 first or in cell 2 first. In other words, the consumer network function network element cannot determine whether the terminal moved from cell 1 to cell 2 or from cell 2 to cell 1.

[0105] Based on this, an embodiment of the present application provides a data analysis method such that the mobility analysis information of the terminal provided by the data analysis network element to the consumer network function network element shows the chronological order of terminals at different positions, so as to assist the consumer NF network element in performing data processing or information decision-making.

[0106] In the embodiments of the present application, the specific structure of the entity that executes the data analysis method is not particularly limited in the embodiments of the present application as long as the entity can execute a program that records the code of the data analysis method of the embodiments of the present application and execute communication according to the data analysis method of the embodiments of the present application. For example, the entity that executes the data analysis method provided in the embodiments of the present application may be a functional module in a data analysis network element that can call and execute a program, or may be a communication device used in a data analysis network element such as a chip, a chip system, or an integrated circuit. The chip, the chip system, and the integrated circuit may be arranged within the data analysis network element or may be independent of the data analysis network element. This is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. The entity that executes the data analysis method provided in the embodiments of the present application may be a functional module in a first network element that can call and execute a program, or may be a communication device used in a first network element such as a chip, a chip system, or an integrated circuit. The chip, the chip system, and the integrated circuit may be arranged within the first network element or may be independent of the first network element. This is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0107] Figure 3 is a schematic flowchart of the data analysis method according to the embodiments of the present application. This method includes the following steps.

[0108] Step 301: The first network element sends first indication information to the data analysis network element. Correspondingly, the data analysis network element receives the first indication information from the first network element. The first indication information instructs the data analysis network element to send the mobility analysis information of the terminal.

[0109] Specifically, the first indication information instructs the data analysis network element to send mobility analysis information indicating the position order of the terminals to the first network element. In other words, the first indication information indicates that the mobility analysis information sent from the data analysis network element to the first network element needs to include information used to determine the order of multiple positions of the terminal.

[0110] Referring to FIG. 1, the first network element may be the consumer network function network element 100 shown in FIG. 1. The data analysis network element may be the NWDAF network element.

[0111] Optionally, the first indication information is carried in a first message, and the first message is used to request the data analysis network element to provide mobility analysis information of the terminal. Alternatively, the first indication information is carried in a message other than the first message. For example, the first network element first sends the first message to the data analysis network element and then sends the first indication information. Alternatively, the first indication information and the first message may be carried in the same message (such as a data subscription message or a data request message) and sent to the data analysis network element. This is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. The first message is used to be requested by the data analysis network element to provide mobility analysis information of the terminal, or to apply for mobility analysis information of the terminal from the data analysis network element. This is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0112] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, an example is used in which the first indication information is provided from the first network element to the data analysis network element. Of course, in an actual process, the first indication information may be sent from another network element other than the first network element to the data analysis network element. When sending the first indication information to the data analysis network element, this other network element may further provide information about the first network element and instruct the data analysis network element to send the obtained mobility analysis information to the first network element.

[0113] Optionally, the first message may further carry information used to determine a collection object (e.g., a terminal). For example, the first message may further carry one or more of the identification information of one or more terminals, information about the target area, information about the network slice, and information about the application.

[0114] For example, the first message carries the identification information of one or more terminals, which indicates that the first network element expects to provide the data analysis network element with the mobility analysis information of a specific terminal identified by the identification information of the one or more terminals, that is, the positions of each terminal at different times and the order of multiple positions of one terminal at different times. For example, the first message carries the identification information of terminal 0, which indicates that the first network element expects to provide the data analysis network element with the mobility analysis information of terminal 0.

[0115] For example, the first message may further carry information about a target area (e.g., TA or cell), which indicates that the first network element expects to provide mobility analysis information of one or more terminals located in the target area to the data analysis network element. For example, the first message carries information about the target area and identification information of one or more terminals, which indicates that the first network element expects to provide mobility analysis information of the terminals located in the target area, including the identification information of the one or more terminals, to the data analysis network element. For example, when the target area is cell 1, the identification information of one or more terminals includes that of terminals 1 to 4, and cell 1 includes terminals 0 to 100, the first network element may request mobility analysis information of terminals 1 to 4 located in cell 1 from the data analysis network element via the information about the target area and the identification information of terminals 1 to 4.

[0116] Optionally, the first message may further include an analysis target time period (analysis target period), which may indicate that the first network element expects to obtain terminal mobility analysis information during the analysis target time period. For example, the analysis target time period may be a past time period or a future time period (which indicates that the first network element hopes to obtain predicted terminal mobility analysis results). For example, the analysis target time period may be a past time period based on the current time. For example, when the current time is 11:00, the analysis target time period may be the time period from 8:00 to 9:00, or it may be a future time period based on the current time. When the current time is 11:00, the analysis target time period may be the time period between 12:00 and 13:00.

[0117] The analysis target time period is provided so that a data analysis network element can determine whether the mobility analysis information determined for the terminal is information about the collection of statistics on the position of the terminal in a past time period (i.e., the terminal's mobility statistical information), or information about the prediction of the position of the terminal in a future time period (i.e., the terminal's mobility prediction information).

[0118] Optionally, the first message may further carry a prediction indication or a statistics indication. The statistics indication instructs the data analysis network element to collect statistics on the mobility of the terminal in a past time period. The prediction indication instructs the data analysis network element to predict the mobility of the terminal in a future time period.

[0119] When the first message does not carry the analysis target time period but carries a prediction indication or a statistics indication, the data analysis network element may determine to use a time period before the current moment as the analysis target time period, or may select a time period after the current moment as the analysis target time period. This is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0120] Optionally, when the first message includes the analysis target time period, the first message may or may not include a prediction indication or a statistics indication. This is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0121] Optionally, the first message may further include one or more time information (e.g., time slots), and the lengths of different time information may be the same or different. For example, the length of the time information may be 3 seconds or 5 seconds. Since this one or more time information is provided, the data analysis network element determines the position order of the moving terminals in each time information. For example, the length of the time information is 3 seconds, which indicates that it is expected that the data analysis network element provides the time order of the positions of the moving terminals at 3 seconds.

[0122] For example, the first message carries the identification information of terminal 0 and the past time period between 8:00 and 10:00, which indicates that it is expected that the first network element provides the order of the positions of terminal 0 during the past time period between 8:00 and 10:00 to the data analysis network element.

[0123] For example, the first message carries information about the area of interest (AoI) and the past time period between 8:00 and 10:00, which indicates that it is expected that the first network element provides the time order of the positions of each terminal during the past time period between 8:00 and 10:00 in the area of interest indicated by the information about the AoI to the data analysis network element.

[0124] For example, the first message carries information about the AoI and a prediction indication, which indicates that it is expected that the first network element predicts the time order of the positions of each moving terminal during a certain time period in the area of interest indicated by the information about the AoI for the data analysis network element.

[0125] Step 302: The data analysis network element obtains the mobility-related information of the terminal from the second network element. The mobility-related information at least includes the time information associated with each position of the terminal during the second time period.

[0126] In one example, the second network element can be any one or more of an AMF network element, an AF network element, or an OAM network element. The mobility-related information provided to the data analysis network element by the AMF network element, the AF network element, or the OAM network element is shown in Tables 1 to 3. Details are not repeated herein.

[0127] Step 303: The data analysis network element processes mobility-related information based on the first indication information to obtain mobility analysis information. The mobility analysis information includes information used to determine the chronological order of one or more positions of the terminal during the first time period.

[0128] Optionally, the mobility analysis information may further include one or more positions of the terminal during the first time period.

[0129] When the data analysis network element obtains the analysis target time period, it can be understood that the first time period may be the analysis target time period or one time period within the analysis target time period. When the data analysis network element does not obtain the analysis target time period and determines that the mobility prediction information of the terminal needs to be obtained, the first time period may be a future time period determined by the data analysis network element. When the data analysis network element does not obtain the analysis target time period and determines that the mobility statistical information of the terminal needs to be obtained, the first time period may be a past time period determined by the data analysis network element.

[0130] Optionally, the mobility-related information of the embodiments of the present application may be the mobility-related information of the terminal during a first time period. When the data analysis network element determines that the provided mobility analysis information is used to predict the order of the positions of the moving terminal during a future time period, the first time period is a future time period. For example, in this case, the first time period is after the second time period, and the second time period is a past time period. When the data analysis network element determines to collect statistics on the order of the positions of the moving terminal during the past time period, the first time period may be the second time period, or a part of the second time period, or the first time period may include the second time period. This is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0131] Step 304: The data analysis network element sends the mobility analysis information to the first network element. Correspondingly, the first network element receives the mobility analysis information from the data analysis network element.

[0132] According to the data analysis method provided in the embodiments of the present application, in this method, the data analysis network element obtains first indication information. The first indication information instructs the data analysis network element to provide mobility analysis information of the terminal to help the first network element know the order of a plurality of positions of the terminal during one time period (for example, the second time period) and determine the moving direction of the terminal. Therefore, the mobility analysis information provided from the data analysis network element to the first network element indicates information about the chronological order of one or more positions of the terminal during the second time period.

[0133] In order to determine the residence time of a terminal at each location, in a possible embodiment of the present application, the method provided by the embodiment of the present application further includes a first network element sending second indication information to a data analysis network element. Correspondingly, the data analysis network element receives the second indication information from the first network element. The second indication information instructs the data analysis network element to report information about the residence time of the terminal at each location.

[0134] Similarly to the above, the data analysis network element may also obtain the second indication information from another network element.

[0135] In a possible implementation of the present application, even if the data analysis network element does not receive the second indication information, the data analysis network element may also determine that the mobility analysis information includes information about the residence time of the terminal at each location.

[0136] In a possible implementation of the present application, when the data analysis network element determines that information about the residence time of the terminal at each location needs to be provided, the mobility analysis information further includes information used to determine the residence time of the terminal at each location. The information used to determine the residence time of the terminal at each location may be information about the residence time associated with each location. In addition to the information about the residence time associated with each location, the time information associated with two temporally adjacent locations may also be further used to reflect the residence time of the terminal at each location, or when one partial time period corresponds to the location of one terminal, the duration of that partial time period may also reflect information about the residence time of the terminal at that location during that partial time period.

[0137] In this way, the first network element may obtain information about the stay time of the terminal at each position based on the time information associated with two temporally adjacent positions and the duration of the time period to which each position belongs.

[0138] For example, the terminal enters position 1 at 13:12:10 on May 1, 2022 during time period a, and the terminal enters position 2 at 13:12:15 on May 1, 2022 during time period a. In this way, the information about the stay time of the terminal at position 1 can be determined to be 5s. If the terminal enters position 3 at 13:12:19 on May 1, 2022 during time period b adjacent to time period a, the information about the stay time of the terminal at position 2 can be determined to be 4s. Assuming that the duration of time period a is 9s, after the information about the stay time at position 1 is obtained based on the time difference between the time of position 1 and the time of position 2, the information that the stay time of the terminal at position 2 during time period a is 4s can be obtained based on the duration of 9s of time period a.

[0139] For example, when the data analysis network element receives the second indication information from the first network element, the data analysis network element may determine to provide information about the stay time of the terminal at each position.

[0140] Hereinafter, the content of the mobility analysis information will be described from various aspects.

[0141] Pattern (1): Each position included in the mobility analysis information is associated with one piece of time information (for example, a timestamp).

[0142] In a possible implementation of the present application, the mobility analysis information includes the time information of each position of the terminal in each sub-time period of the first time period. In other words, the mobility analysis information includes the time information associated with each position of the terminal in each sub-time period of the first time period. When the first time period includes one sub-time period, it can be understood that the sub-time period is the first time period.

[0143] The time information is the time point when the terminal enters a position during one partial time period, and the time information of multiple positions is used to determine the order in which the terminal moves along those multiple positions.

[0144] Generally, the terminal may always stay at one position during one partial time period. The mobility terminal may be at multiple positions during one partial time period. Therefore, each position of the terminal during the same partial time period may be associated with one time information.

[0145] Optionally, when the first time period includes multiple partial time periods, the duration of each partial time period may be the same or different. This is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. When the first time period includes one partial time period, the first time period is that partial time period. For example, the first time period includes 10 seconds. Assuming that the terminal is located at 8 positions in those 10 seconds, the mobility analysis information may include time information associated with at least 8 positions. This is because when the second network element can obtain the mobility-related information of the terminal, assuming that the AMF network element collects the position of the terminal every 2 seconds and the position of the terminal may not change within two adjacent collection time periods, the terminal may correspond to two or more time information at the same position.

[0146] In a possible implementation of the present application, when determining the mobility analysis information, the data analysis network element may divide the first time period into one or more partial time periods, and then determine the time information associated with each position of the terminal during each partial time period. In other words, the mobility analysis information includes one or more partial mobility information, and each partial mobility information includes the time information associated with each position of the terminal during one time period of the first time period.

[0147] Assuming that the data analysis network element collects the content shown in Table 1 from the AMF network element, and that the content includes the positions of the terminals at different times (specifically, each position is associated with one piece of time information), it can be understood that the data analysis network element may obtain the terminal mobility analysis information shown in Table 6 based on the positions of the terminals at different times provided by the AMF network element.

[0148] As shown in Table 6 below, one timestamp may be added to the terminal mobility analysis information for each terminal's position. The timestamp can be obtained from the terminal mobility-related information returned by the AMF network element / AF network element / OAM network element.

[0149]

Table 6

[0150] For example, from Table 6, it can be seen that the terminal moves between Cell 1 and Cell 2 within 3 seconds starting from 11:37:18 on April 24, 2022, and this terminal enters Cell 1 at 11:37:18 on April 24, 2022, and enters Cell 2 at 11:37:19 on April 24, 2022. In this way, the first network element can obtain the chronological order of the multiple positions of the terminal based on the time information of the entry of the terminal into each position. For different terminals, the first network element can determine the order of two terminals at the same position based on the time information of each terminal at each position.

[0151] Optionally, when the first message conveys time information (e.g., the time slot indicated by Time Slot Start 1 and Duration 1 in Table 1, and the length of that time slot being 3 seconds, or the time slot indicated by Time Slot Start 2 and Duration 2 in Table 2, and the length of that time slot being 5 seconds), each partial mobility analysis information is associated with one piece of time information. For example, the content of partial mobility analysis information 1 includes Time Slot Start 1 in Table 1, Duration 1, UE Location 11, Timestamp 11 associated with UE Location 11, UE Location 12, and Timestamp 12 associated with UE Location 12. For example, the content of partial mobility analysis information 2 includes Time Slot Start 2 in Table 1, Duration 2, UE Location 21, Timestamp 21 associated with UE Location 21, UE Location 22, Timestamp 22 associated with UE Location 22, UE Location 23, and Timestamp 23 associated with UE Location 23.

[0152] Referring to Table 6, it can be understood that the first time period may include a plurality of partial time periods. For example, the time slot indicated by Time Slot Start 1 and Duration 1 may be used as one partial time period of the first time period, and the time slot indicated by Time Slot Start 2 and Duration 2 may be used as another partial time period of the first time period.

[0153] Optionally, the mobility analysis information may further include information about the stay time of the terminal at each location. For example, Table 7 shows the mobility analysis information that conveys the information about the stay time provided in the embodiments of the present application.

[0154]

Table 7

[0155] For example, from Table 7, it can be seen that the UE moves between cell 1 and cell 2 within 3 seconds starting from 11:37:18 on April 24, 2022. This UE enters cell 1 at 11:37:18 on April 24, 2022, and the residence time of the UE in cell 1 is 1 s. This UE enters cell 2 at 11:37:19 on April 24, 2022, and the residence time of the UE in cell 2 is 2 s.

[0156] In a possible implementation of the present application, regardless of whether the first network element provides the second indication information, the data analysis network element may include information about the residence time of the terminal at each location in the mobility analysis information of the terminal.

[0157] In another possible implementation of the present application, when the first network element provides the second indication information to the data analysis network element, the data analysis network element includes information about the residence time of the terminal at each location in the mobility analysis information of the terminal.

[0158] In addition to processing the mobility analysis information into a table format such as the form from Table 6 to Table 12, for example, the data analysis network element may use the content of Table 6, for example, and the mobility analysis information may be in the following format, that is, {(time slot start 1, 2022-04-24 11:37:18), (duration 1 = 3 s), (UE position 11 = cell 1, timestamp = 2022-04-24 11:37:18), (UE position 12 = cell 2, timestamp = 2022-04-24 11:37:19)}, {(time slot start 2, 2022-04-24 11:37:21), (duration 2 = 5 s), (UE position 21 = cell 3, timestamp = 2022-04-24 11:37:21), (UE position 22 = cell 4, timestamp = 2022-04-24 11:37:23), and (UE position 23 = cell 5, timestamp = 2022-04-24 11:37:24)}. It can be understood that it may also be used.

[0159] For example, for Table 7, one partial time period is used as an example, and the content of the mobility analysis information is as follows, that is, {(Time Slot Start 1, 2022-04-24 11:37:18), (Duration 1 = 3s), (UE Location 11 = Cell 1, Timestamp = 2022-04-24 11:37:18, Stay Time 11 = 1s), and (UE Location 12 = Cell 2, Timestamp = 2022-04-24 11:37:19, Stay Time 12 = 2s)}.

[0160] Format (2): The positions of the terminal at different times included in the mobility analysis information are classified in a predetermined chronological order.

[0161] In Format (2), the mobility analysis information includes each position of the terminal classified in chronological order in each partial time period of the first time period. In other words, in Format (2), after obtaining each position of the terminal and the time information associated with each position from the first network element, the data analysis network element classifies all the positions of the terminal during the first time period in chronological order based on the time information associated with each position, or may classify all the positions in any partial time period of the first time period in ascending or descending chronological order. When the terminal is at the same position at different times, it can be understood that this classification may include the following results, that is, Position 1, Position 2, and Position 1, or Position 1, Position 1, and Position 2. When two or more adjacent positions in time are the same, when performing the position classification, the data analysis network element may include only one position at the earliest time point.

[0162] In a possible implementation of the present application, when determining the mobility analysis information, the data analysis network element may divide the first time period into one or more partial time periods, and then determine the time information associated with each position of the terminal in each partial time period. In other words, the mobility analysis information includes one or more partial mobility analysis information, and each partial mobility analysis information includes each position of the terminal classified in chronological order in one partial time period of the first time period.

[0163] For example, after obtaining the time information of the terminal at each position from the second network element, the data analysis network element classifies the multiple positions of the terminal during the same partial time period in chronological order based on the time information of the terminal at each position, and may obtain the mobility analysis information of the terminal as shown in Table 8.

[0164]

Table 8

[0165] For example, from Table 8, it can be seen that the terminal moves between cell 1 and cell 2 in a 3-second period starting from 11:37:18 on April 24, 2022. Since the position of cell 1 is before that of cell 2, this indicates that the terminal was first located at cell 1 and then moved from cell 1 to cell 2. The terminal moves between cell 3 and cell 5 in a 5-second period starting from 11:37:21 on April 24, 2022. This terminal is first located at cell 3, then moves from cell 3 to cell 4, and then moves from cell 4 to cell 5.

[0166] Optionally, the mobility analysis information shown in Table 8 may further carry the number of each position. For example, the position number of cell 1 is 1, and the position number of cell 2 is 2.

[0167] It can be understood that data analysis network elements may classify multiple positions within the same time slot in ascending or descending chronological order. This is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. Specifically, in order to help the first network element understand the chronological order of the classified positions of the moving terminal in the same time slot, the manner of classifying the positions may be determined by the first network element and the data analysis network element, or may be indicated from the first network element to the data analysis network element. For example, the first network element instructs the data analysis network element to first rank (e.g., cell 1) the position where the terminal first enters in the same time slot, and last rank (e.g., cell 2) the position where the terminal last enters in the same time slot.

[0168] Alternatively, when the data analysis network element provides the classification results of multiple positions during the same partial time period to the first network element, the data analysis network element may further indicate to the first network element whether the classification results are in ascending chronological order or descending chronological order.

[0169] In a possible implementation of the present application, regardless of whether the first network element provides the second indication information, the data analysis network element may include information about the residence time of the terminal at each position in the mobility analysis information of the terminal.

[0170] In another possible implementation of the present application, when the first network element provides the second indication information to the data analysis network element, the data analysis network element includes information about the residence time of the terminal at each position in the mobility analysis information of the terminal.

[0171] For example, Table 9 shows information about the residence time associated with each position classified in chronological order included in the mobility analysis information.

[0172]

Table 9

[0173] From Table 9, it can be seen that the order in which the terminal moves between Cell 1 and Cell 2 is to move from Cell 1 to Cell 2. The residence time 11 associated with Cell 1 is 1 s, which indicates that the residence time of the terminal in Cell 1 is 1 s. The residence time 11 associated with Cell 2 is 2 s, which indicates that the residence time of the terminal in Cell 2 is 2 s.

[0174] Pattern (3): Each time slot (one partial time period) includes only the position of one terminal.

[0175] In pattern (3), the first time period includes one or more partial time periods, and the mobility analysis information includes one position of the terminal in each partial time period and the first time information. The first time information is the time point when the terminal starts to enter one position of that partial time period in that partial time period. The positions of the terminal in two temporally adjacent partial time periods are different. As shown in Table 10, the first time period in Table 10 includes partial time period 1 and partial time period 2, where partial time period 1 is the time period determined by time slot start 1 and duration 1. Partial time period 2 is the time period determined by time slot start 2 and duration 2. Partial time period 1 includes the position of the terminal in Cell 1. Partial time period 2 includes the position of the terminal in Cell 2.

[0176]

Table 10

[0177] For example, the mobility analysis information includes one or more partial mobility analysis information, and each partial mobility analysis information includes one position of the terminal during one partial time period and first time information. The positions included in two temporally adjacent partial mobility analysis information are different. For example, as shown in Table 10, the mobility analysis information includes two partial mobility analysis information. The first time information included in one partial mobility analysis information is Time Slot Start 1, and the position is Cell 1. The first time information included in the other partial mobility analysis information is Time Slot Start 2, and the position is Cell 2.

[0178] In a possible implementation of the present application, the mobility analysis information further includes the duration of each partial time period included in the first time period, and the duration of any partial time period is used to reflect the stay time of the terminal at the position indicated by the position. For example, the partial time period may be Duration 1 or Duration 2 in Table 10. It can be understood that the duration of the first time period is determined by Duration 1 and Duration 2. The first time information may be Time Slot Start 1 or Time Slot Start 2 in Table 10.

[0179] In the above solution, the duration indication of the partial time period is used to reflect the stay time of the terminal at the position indicated by the position, so that no additional information about the stay time is added to the mobility analysis information. Thereby, the size of the mobility analysis information is reduced.

[0180] By comparing Table 10 with any one of Tables 6 to 9, it can be seen that the parameter "UE Position (1..max)" in Table 10 includes only the position of one terminal, that is, only UE Position 11, and "Time Slot Start" indicates the time point when entering that position. "Duration" indicates the stay time of the terminal at that position. The parameter "UE Position (1..max)" in any one of Tables 6 to 9 may include the position of one terminal, or may include multiple positions of that terminal, that is, UE Position 11 and UE Position 12.

[0181] In pattern (1) or pattern (2), as the terminal moves, the terminal may take multiple positions during the same partial time period. For example, at time point 1 during the partial time period, the terminal is at position 1, but at time point 2 during the same partial time period, the terminal is at a different position. However, the same partial time period may include multiple same positions. In this case, even if the terminal is moving at a low speed or has stopped moving, the AMF network element, AF network element, or OAM network element still collects the positions of the terminal at intervals in a specific partial time period based on the specified collection period. Thus, in this way, multiple same positions exist continuously in the same partial time period. If the time information of the terminal at multiple same positions is included in the mobility analysis information, a large amount of redundant information is further generated. This problem of information redundancy can be avoided in pattern (3). Each partial time period includes only the position of one terminal. The start time point of the partial time period is defined as the time when the terminal enters that position, and the length of the partial time period is defined as the residence time of the terminal at that position.

[0182] Pattern (4): The duration of the partial time period carried in the mobility analysis information is set to be as small as possible, as shown in Table 11 below. For example, the duration of the partial time period is below a predefined time length such as 1 ms or 0.5 ms.

[0183]

Table 11

[0184] In Table 11, since each time slot has only one position of the terminal, the "time slot start" in Table 11 indicates the time when the terminal enters that position, and the "duration" can be set to an extremely short time period such as 1 ms / 1 ns, etc. The purpose of this format is as follows. That is, in an exemplary short time slot, the position of the terminal usually does not change significantly. Therefore, a case where there are multiple positions of the terminal in the same time slot in format (1) and format (2) does not occur, and the chronological order of the positions of the terminal can be identified by the start times of different time slots.

[0185] When the data analysis network element further receives the second indication information, as shown in Table 12, the mobility analysis information may further include information about the residence time associated with each position. The information about the residence time may be obtained by performing subtraction between the timestamps of different positions after the start times of different time slots are classified in ascending or descending chronological order.

[0186]

Table 12

[0187] In a possible implementation of the present application, the data analysis network element may not carry the first indication information when requesting the mobility-related information of the terminal from the second network element. Thus, the second network element can provide the data analysis network element with the time information of the terminal at multiple positions. Generally, however, the provided time information of the terminal at those positions may not be classified in chronological order. In this case, after obtaining the time information of the terminal at those positions from the second network element, the data analysis network element may divide the time information of the terminal at those positions based on a time period to obtain the time information of the terminal at those positions in each time period. This is specifically the content from Table 6 to Table 12. For example, the second network element is an AMF network element. The mobility-related information of the terminal provided from the AMF network element to the data analysis network element may be as shown in Table 13.

[0188] [Table 13]

[0189] It can be understood that in Table 13, an example is used where all the positions of the terminal during one time period are described in one table. Of course, in the actual process, the AMF network element may also provide the data analysis network element with multiple mobility-related information, and each mobility-related information includes one position of the terminal and the time information of the terminal entering that position.

[0190] In this way, the data analysis network element may process Table 13 according to a predefined rule (such as the duration of a time slot) to obtain the mobility analysis information reflected in any one of Table 6 to Table 12.

[0191] For example, the data analysis network element may consider the time period from 2022-04-24 11:37:18 to 2022-04-24 11:37:24 as the first time period, and may divide this first time period into two sub-time periods. In other words, the time period from 2022-04-24 11:37:18 to 2022-04-24 11:37:19 is sub-time period 1, and the time period from 2022-04-24 11:37:21 to 2022-04-24 11:37:24 is sub-time period 2. Then, the data analysis network element may separately add time stamps to UE position 11 and UE position 12 of the terminal during sub-time period 1, and separately add time stamps to UE position 21 to UE position 23 of the terminal during sub-time period 2, and add the start time and duration of sub-time period 1 and sub-time period 2 to obtain the mobility analysis information shown in Table 6. Optionally, the data analysis network element may further determine the stay time of the terminal at each position based on the difference between the time stamps of two temporally adjacent positions in Table 13, and then associate the stay time with each position to obtain the content shown in Table 7.

[0192] Of course, the data analysis network element may also organize the mobility-related information of the terminal when collecting the mobility-related information of the terminal, and then instruct the second network element to send the organized information to the data analysis network element. In this case, step 302 above may be implemented in the following manner. That is, the data analysis network element sends a second message to the second network element. The second message is used to request the second network element to provide the mobility-related information of the terminal during the second time period. The data analysis network element receives the mobility-related information from the second network element, where this mobility-related information includes each position of the terminal during the second time period and the time information associated with each position, and this time information is the time point when entering that position.

[0193] In a possible implementation of the present application, the data analysis network element may reach an agreement with the second network element as to whether the data analysis network element or the second network element provides the information used to determine the chronological order of the positions of the terminals. For example, if the data analysis network element and the second network element agree that the second network element provides the information used to determine the chronological order of the positions of the terminals, the data analysis network element may omit the process of transmitting the second indication information to the second network element.

[0194] In a possible implementation of the present application, the second message carries third indication information, and the third indication information instructs the data analysis network element to provide mobility-related information used to determine the chronological order of one or more positions of the terminal during the second time period. Correspondingly, the mobility-related information provided by the second network element further includes information about a plurality of positions of the terminal during the second time period, classified in ascending or descending order of time information, as shown in Table 14. Alternatively, the mobility-related information further includes one position of the terminal and the second time information during each partial time period of the second time period, as shown in Table 15. The second time information is the time when the terminal enters the position associated with the partial time period during the partial time period, and the position of the terminal is different in two temporally adjacent partial time periods. Optionally, the second time period includes the first time period, which will not be described in detail herein.

[0195]

Table 14

[0196] Optionally, when the mobility-related information provided by the AMF network element to the data analysis network element further includes information about a plurality of positions of the terminal during a second time period, which is classified in ascending or descending chronological order, the mobility-related information may optionally further include the residence time of the terminal at each position.

[0197]

Table 15

[0198] Table 15 shows that it further includes one position of the terminal and second time information during each sub-time period (e.g., sub-time period 1 and sub-time period 2) of the second time period. For example, the second time information may be 2022-04-24 11:37:19 or 2022-04-24 11:37:18.

[0199] In a possible implementation of the present application, the second time period is a past time period, and the first time period is a future time period. In this case, the data analysis network element may predict the chronological order of the positions of the terminal during each sub-time period included in the first time period based on the mobility-related information of the terminal during the second time period to obtain mobility analysis information.

[0200] In a possible implementation of the present application, the second message further includes fourth indication information, and the fourth indication information instructs to provide the data analysis network element with information about the residence time of one or more positions of the terminal during the second time period, and the mobility-related information further includes information used to determine the residence time of the terminal at each position during the second time period.

[0201] When the data analysis network element provides the third indication information to the second network element, the content of the mobility-related information fed back from the second network element to the data analysis network element may be as shown in Tables 13 to 15. When the data analysis network element determines to derive the statistical result of the UE's mobility, step 303 may be implemented in the following manner. That is, the data analysis network element may obtain mobility analysis information by organizing mobility-related information, for example, by organizing the content of Tables 13 to 15 to obtain Tables 6 to 12. When the data analysis network element determines that the prediction result of the UE's mobility is derived, the above step 303 may be implemented in the following manner. That is, the data analysis network element obtains mobility analysis information that is used to predict the chronological order of the positions of the terminal during each partial time period of the first time period, which is used to predict the residence time of the terminal at a specific position based on the mobility-related information.

[0202] Optionally, in addition to providing the third indication information to the second network element, the data analysis network element may further provide the fourth indication information to the data analysis network element. The fourth indication information is used to instruct the second network element to report information about the residence time of the terminal at each position. In this way, after receiving the fourth indication information, the second network element may obtain information about the residence time of the terminal at each position based on the time information of temporally adjacent positions. In this case, the mobility-related information fed back from the second network element to the data analysis network element may include information about the residence time of the terminal at each position.

[0203] The following describes a specific embodiment of the data analysis method provided in the embodiments of the present application using an example in which the first network element is a consumer NF network element, the data analysis network element is a NWDAF network element, and one or more second network elements include an AMF network element, an AF network element, and an OAM network element. As shown in FIG. 4, this method includes the following steps.

[0204] Step 401: The consumer NF network element sends a first service operation (corresponding to the above first message) to the NWDAF network element. Correspondingly, the data analysis network element receives the first service operation from the consumer NF network element.

[0205] The first service operation is used to request the NWDAF network element for the mobility analysis result (which may also be referred to as mobility analysis information) of the terminal.

[0206] In one example, the first service operation may be the Nnwdaf_AnalyticsInfo_Request service operation or the Nnwdaf_AnalyticsSubscription_Subscribe service operation. Alternatively, the Nnwdaf_AnalyticsInfo_Request service operation or the Nnwdaf_AnalyticsSubscription_Subscribe service operation carries the first message.

[0207] The first service operation carries an order indication (i.e., the above first indication information) and instructs the NWDAF network element to provide a mobility analysis result that can determine the position order of the terminal.

[0208] Optionally, the first service operation may further carry a residence time indication (i.e., the second indication information above) and instruct the NWDAF network element to provide information about the residence time of the terminal at each location. Optionally, the residence time indication may, in particular, instruct the NWDAF network element to indicate information about the residence time of the terminal at each location in the mobility analysis result.

[0209] In a possible implementation of the present application, the first service operation further carries one or more of the following parameters, namely an analytics ID, such as Analytics ID = terminal mobility (UE Mobility) of the present application, the object of mobility analysis (the object of the analysis report), i.e., one terminal or a group of terminals, and analytics filter information, such as area of interest (AoI), used to limit the scope of data analysis. For example, the area indicated by the AoI is Area 1 and Area 2, which indicates that the consumer NF network element expects the data analysis network element to provide the mobility analysis results of the terminals in Area 1 and Area 2. For example, Area 1 / Area 2 may be a Tracking Area (TA) or a cell. This is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. One area may include one or more TAs or one or more cells. The identification of the tracking area may be the Tracking Area Identity (TAI).

[0210] The analysis period indicates the time period of the statistics or prediction information to be obtained.

[0211] When the first service operation carries the object of mobility analysis (e.g., the identifier of one or more terminals), it indicates that the consumer NF network element expects the data analysis network element to provide the mobility analysis results of each terminal indicated by the identifier of one or more terminals. When the first service operation does not carry the object of mobility analysis, it indicates that the consumer NF network element expects the data analysis network element to provide the mobility analysis results of each terminal within the scope of data analysis limited by the analysis filter information.

[0212] In another possible implementation of the present application, the first service operation includes the following parameters, namely The maximum number of entries of the analysis information to be returned, the maximum number of entries (the maximum number of objects), The preferred accuracy level of the mobility analysis information preferred by the consumer NF network element, the preferred accuracy level (the preferred accuracy level of the analysis), The preferred time slot order (the preferred order of the results of the time slot entries) indicating that the consumer NF network element expects the data analysis network element to classify the multiple mobility analysis results of one terminal in ascending or descending order at the start time of the time slot, It may further include one or more of the following, such as the preferred granularity of location information (preferred granularity of location information) indicated by the consumer NF network element, such as TA granularity or cell granularity.

[0213] For example, when the preferred granularity of location information is TA, the location information included in the mobility analysis information is the TA where the terminal is located. When the preferred granularity of location information is a cell, the location information included in the mobility analysis information is the cell where the terminal is located.

[0214] Step 402: The NWDAF network element requests the mobility information of the terminal (corresponding to the above mobility-related information) from the AMF network element via the second service operation. Correspondingly, the AMF network element receives the second service operation from the data analysis network element.

[0215] In one example, the second service operation may be an event exposure subscribe (Namf_EventExposure_Subscribe) service operation sent from the NWDAF network element to the AMF network element.

[0216] In a possible implementation of the present application, the Namf_EventExposure_Subscribe service operation carries an indication for instructing the AMF network element to report the mobility-related information of the terminal.

[0217] In a possible implementation of the present application, the second service operation may carry the identifiers of one or more terminals, so that the AMF network element is determined to provide the mobility-related information of the terminals determined by the identifiers of the one or more terminals.

[0218] In a possible implementation of the present application, the second service operation may further carry information about the second time period, so that the AMF network element is determined to provide the mobility-related information of the terminal during the second time period.

[0219] Optionally, when the second service operation includes information about the second time period, the mobility-related information of the terminal provided from the AMF network element to the data analysis network element is the mobility-related information of the terminal during the first time period. For example, this first time period may be the second time period, or a partial time period within the second time period.

[0220] In a possible implementation of the present application, the second service operation may further carry information about the target area so that the AMF network element determines to provide mobility-related information of the terminal in the target area.

[0221] Optionally, when the second service operation includes the identifier of terminal 1, the third time period, and information about the target area, the NWDAF network element indicates that it expects the AMF network element to provide mobility-related information of terminal 1 located in its target area during the third time period.

[0222] Step 403: The AMF network element transmits the mobility-related information of the terminal collected by the AMF network element to the NWDAF network element via the event publishing notification service operation (Namf_EventExposure_Notify service operation). Correspondingly, the NWDAF network element receives the Namf_EventExposure_Notify service operation from the AMF network element.

[0223] It can be understood that the Namf_EventExposure_Notify service operation conveys the mobility information of the terminal collected by the AMF.

[0224] The content of the mobility-related information of the terminal collected by the AMF network element is shown in Table 1. Details will not be repeated in this specification.

[0225] Step 404: The NWDAF network element requests the AF network element for mobility-related service data of the terminal (corresponding to the above first information) via the third service operation. Correspondingly, the AF network element receives the third service operation from the NWDAF network element.

[0226] In one example, the third service operation may be an Event Exposure Subscribe service operation sent from the NWDAF network element to the AF network element. The Naf_EventExposure_Subscribe service operation is used to request the AF network element to provide terminal mobility-related service data. The third service operation may carry an indication to instruct the AF network element to provide terminal mobility-related service data. This is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0227] In a possible implementation of the present application, the third service operation may include one or more of the following information, namely, an identifier of one or more terminals, information about a target area, information about a target time period, and information about a target application.

[0228] In a possible implementation of the present application, when the third service operation carries the identifier of the terminal, it indicates that the NWDAF network element expects the AF network element to determine the mobility-related information of the specified terminal.

[0229] In a possible implementation of the present application, when the third service operation carries the information about the target application, it indicates that the NWDAF network element expects the AF network element to determine the mobility-related information of one or more terminals accessing the target application.

[0230] In a possible implementation of the present application, when the third service operation carries the information about the target time period, it indicates that the NWDAF network element expects the AF network element to determine the mobility-related information of the terminal during the target time period.

[0231] An example is used where the third service operation includes a target time period and a target application. In this case, the AF network element may determine to provide the NWDAF network element with mobility-related information of one or more terminals accessing the target application during the target time period. Further, when the third service operation further includes the identifier of terminal 1 in addition to the target time period and the target application, the AF network element may determine to provide the NWDAF network element with the mobility-related information of terminal 1 accessing the target application during the target time period.

[0232] Step 405: After collecting the mobility-related information of the terminal, the AF network element transmits the mobility-related information of the terminal to the NWDAF network element via the fourth service operation. Correspondingly, the NWDAF network element receives the mobility-related information of the terminal from the AF network element via the fourth service operation.

[0233] The AF network element in step 404 and step 405 may be an AF network element within the core network or a third-party AF network element. This is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0234] In one example, the fourth service operation may be an event exposure notification (Naf_EventExposure_Notify) service operation transmitted from the AF network element to the NWDAF network element.

[0235] Step 406: The NWDAF network element collects the mobility-related information of the terminal from the OAM network element.

[0236] It can be understood that the NWDAF network element may obtain terminal mobility-related information from one or more network elements among the AF network element, the AMF network element, or the OAM network element. In other words, the NWDAF network element may execute one of steps 402, 404, and 406, or may execute all of these steps.

[0237] Step 407: The NWDAF network element derives terminal statistical mobility data analysis information or predicted mobility data analysis information based on the collected data and the first indication information.

[0238] For the specific implementation of step 407, refer to the descriptions in Tables 6 to 12. In this specification, it will not be described in detail repeatedly.

[0239] Step 408: The NWDAF network element sends the terminal mobility analysis information to the consumer NF network element via the analytics information response (Nnwdaf_AnalyticsInfo_Response) service operation or the analytics information subscription notification (Nnwdaf_AnalyticsSubscription_Notify) service operation.

[0240] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, when the consumer NF network element subscribes to / requests the terminal mobility analysis information from the NWDAF network element, it conveys an order indication and includes the information indicating the terminal position order in one of the four modes of the terminal mobility analysis information of this embodiment for conveyance, instructing the NWDAF network element to assist the consumer NF network element in performing data processing or information decision-making.

[0241] FIG. 5 is a specific embodiment of another data analysis method according to the embodiment of the present application. This method includes the following steps.

[0242] Step 501 is the same as Step 401, and in this specification, it will not be described in detail again.

[0243] Step 502: The NWDAF network element requests the mobility information of the terminal (corresponding to the above mobility-related information) from the AMF network element via the second service operation. Correspondingly, the AMF network element receives the second service operation from the data analysis network element. The second service operation carries an order indication.

[0244] Optionally, the second service operation may further carry a sojourn time indication.

[0245] For a detailed description of the second service operation, refer to the description of Step 402. In this specification, it will not be described in detail again.

[0246] Step 503: The AMF network element collects the mobility information of the terminal based on the second service operation to obtain the mobility-related information of the terminal requested by the NWDAF network element.

[0247] Since the second service operation conveys the order indication, after collecting the mobility information of the terminal (as shown in Table 1), it can be understood that the AMF network element may process the collected mobility information to obtain the content shown in Table 6, Table 8, Table 10, or Table 11. Specifically, the mobility-related information sent from the AMF network element to the NWDAF network element may be what is shown in Table 6, which includes the time information of the terminal at each position during one time period. Alternatively, the mobility-related information sent from the AMF network element to the NWDAF network element may also be what is shown in Table 8, which includes the ascending or descending classification result based on the time of each position of the terminal during one time period. Alternatively, the mobility-related information sent from the AMF network element to the NWDAF network element may be what is shown in Table 10, that is, one position of the terminal may be included in one time period.

[0248] In a possible implementation of the present application, when the second service operation conveys the sojourn time indication, after collecting the mobility information of the terminal (as shown in Table 1), the AMF network element may process the collected mobility information to obtain the content shown in Table 7, Table 9, and Table 12. Specifically, the mobility-related information sent from the AMF network element to the NWDAF network element may be what is shown in Table 7, which includes the time information of the terminal at each position during one time period and the information about the sojourn time of the terminal at each position. Alternatively, the mobility-related information sent from the AMF network element to the NWDAF network element may also be what is shown in Table 9, which includes the ascending or descending classification result based on the time of each position of the terminal during one time period and the information about the sojourn time of the terminal at each position. Alternatively, the mobility-related information sent from the AMF network element to the NWDAF network element may be what is shown in Table 12, that is, one position of the terminal and the information about the sojourn time of the terminal at each position may be included in one time period.

[0249] When the second service operation carries the order indication, the difference between the solution shown in FIG. 5 and the solution shown in FIG. 4 is that in FIG. 4, the NWDAF network element sorts out the content shown in Table 1 to obtain the content shown in Table 6, Table 8, Table 10, or Table 11. In FIG. 5, the AMF network element sorts out the content shown in Table 1 to obtain the content shown in Table 6, Table 8, Table 10, or Table 11.

[0250] Specifically, information about the residence time of the terminal at each location may be determined by the AMF network element based on the time information associated with each temporally adjacent location.

[0251] Step 504 is the same as step 403. The difference is that in step 403, the mobility-related information of the terminal is not processed as in step 503, and in step 504, the mobility-related information of the terminal is processed by the AMF network element.

[0252] Steps 505 to 509 are the same as steps 404 to 408, and details will not be repeated herein.

[0253] However, the difference between steps 505 to 509 and steps 404 to 408 is that in steps 505 and 507, when requesting the mobility-related information of the terminal from the AF network element or the OAM network element, the NWDAF network element further provides the order indication and / or the residence time indication to the AF network element or the OAM network element. In this case, the AF network element or the OAM network element may process the collected content shown in Table 2 to obtain the content shown in Tables 6 to 15, and provide the content to the NWDAF network element as the mobility-related information of the terminal.

[0254] The difference between step 508 and step 408 is that in step 508, since the AMF / AF / OAM executes the required processing on the data based on the order indication and the stay time indication, the NWDAF network element only needs to process the collected information to obtain mobility analysis information such as determining the start time information and the duration information of each partial time period included in the first time period. When the prediction result of the terminal's mobility is derived, after obtaining the prediction result, the NWDAF network element further processes the prediction result based on the order indication and the stay time indication, and needs to indicate the chronological order of the UE positions and the information about the stay time of the UE at a specific position in the predicted UE mobility result.

[0255] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, when requesting / applying for the terminal's mobility-related information from the AMF network element / AF network element / OAM network element, the NWDAF network element may carry the order indication and / or the stay time indication, indicating that the AMF network element / AF network element / OAM network element shows the chronological order of the terminal's positions and the information about the stay time of the terminal at a specific position in the provided mobility-related information of the terminal, so as to assist the consumer NF network element in performing data processing or information decision-making.

[0256] It should be noted that even when the NDWAF network element does not provide the order indication and the stay time indication to the AMF network element / AF network element / OAM network element, the AMF network element / AF network element / OAM network element may process the collected mobility information of the terminal to obtain mobility-related information indicating the chronological order of the terminal's positions and the information about the stay time of the terminal at a specific position.

[0257] Above, the solutions of the embodiments of the present application have been described mainly from the perspective of the interaction between network elements. It can be understood that in order to implement the above functions, network elements such as the first network element and the data analysis network element include corresponding structures and / or software modules for executing their functions. Those skilled in the art will easily notice that the present application may be implemented in hardware or in a combination of hardware and computer software in combination with the example units and algorithm steps described in the embodiments disclosed herein. Whether the function is implemented by hardware or by hardware driven by computer software is determined by the individual application fields and design constraints of the technical solutions. Those skilled in the art can use various methods to implement the described functions according to each individual application field, but it is considered that such implementation is not outside the scope of the present application.

[0258] In the embodiments of the present application, the division into functional units may be executed by the first network element and the data analysis network element based on the examples of the above methods. For example, each functional unit may be obtained by division based on its corresponding function, or two or more functions may be integrated into one processing unit. The integrated unit may be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of a software functional unit. It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, the division into these units is only an example and is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, another division method may be used.

[0259] Above, the method of the embodiments of the present application has been described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5. Below, a communication device provided in the embodiments of the present application for executing the above method will be described. Those skilled in the art can understand that the method and the device can be combined with each other and referenced. The communication device provided in the embodiments of the present application can execute the steps executed by the first network element and the data analysis network element in the data analysis method shown in FIGS. 3 to 5.

[0260] When an integrated unit is used, FIG. 6 shows the communication device in the above embodiment. This communication device may include a communication module 613 and a processing module 612.

[0261] In an optional implementation, the communication device may further include a storage module 611 configured to store the program code and data of the communication device.

[0262] In one example, the communication device is a first network element or a chip used in the first network element. In this case, the communication module 613 is configured to support the communication device to communicate with an external network element (for example, a data analysis network element). For example, the communication module 613 is configured to perform signal reception and transmission operations executed by the first network element in the embodiment of the above method. The processing module 612 is configured to perform signal processing operations executed by the first network element in the embodiment of the above method.

[0263] According to one aspect, in the embodiment of the present application, the communication module 613 is configured to perform a reception action executed by the first network element in step 304 of FIG. 3 and a transmission action executed by the first network element in step 301 of the above embodiment. The processing module 612 is configured to support the communication device to execute a process of making a decision based on the mobility analysis information of the terminal.

[0264] In yet another example, the communication device is a data analysis network element or a chip used in a data analysis network element. In this case, the communication module 613 is configured to support the communication device to communicate with an external network element (for example, a first network element, an AF network element / AF network element, or a network management network element). For example, the communication module 613 is configured to perform signal reception and transmission operations executed by the data analysis network element in the embodiments of the above method. The processing module 612 is configured to perform signal processing operations executed by the data analysis network element in the embodiments of the above method.

[0265] According to one aspect, in the embodiments of the present application, the communication module 613 is configured to perform a transmission action executed by the data analysis network element in step 304 of FIG. 3 and a reception action executed by the data analysis network element in steps 301 and 302 of the above embodiments. The processing module 612 is configured to support the communication device to perform the processing action step 303 executed by the data analysis network element.

[0266] The processing module 612 can be a processor or a control device. For example, the processing module 612 can be a central processing unit, a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array or another programmable logic device, a transistor logic device, a hardware component, or any combination thereof. The processor can implement or execute various exemplary logic blocks, modules, and circuits described with reference to the content disclosed in this application. Alternatively, the processor can be a combination of processors that implement computing functions, such as, for example, a combination of one or more microprocessors, or a combination of a digital signal processor and a microprocessor. The communication module can be a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, or a communication interface, etc. The storage module can be a memory.

[0267] When the processing module 612 is the processor 701 or the processor 705, the communication module 613 is the communication interface 703, and the storage module 611 is the memory 702, the communication device of this application can be the communication device shown in FIG. 7.

[0268] FIG. 7 is a diagram of the hardware structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of this application. For the structures of the first network element and the data analysis network element of the embodiment of this application, refer to the diagram of the structure of the communication device shown in FIG. 7. This communication device includes a processor 701, a communication line 704, and at least one communication interface (in FIG. 7, the communication interface 703 is used as an example for illustration).

[0269] The processor 701 can be a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits configured to control program execution in the solution of this application.

[0270] The communication line 704 may include a path for transmitting information between the above-described components.

[0271] The communication interface 703 is configured to exchange information with another device using any type of device such as a transceiver, and is configured to communicate with another device or a communication network such as, for example, Ethernet, a radio access network (RAN), or a wireless local area network (WLAN).

[0272] Optionally, the communication device may further include a memory 702.

[0273] Memory 702 may be a read-only memory (ROM) or another type of static memory device that can store static information and instructions, or it may be a random access memory (RAM) or another type of dynamic memory device that can store information and instructions, or an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other compact disc storage, optical disc storage (including compact optical discs, laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile discs, or Blu-ray discs, etc.), magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be accessed by a computer and can be used to carry or store the intended program code in the form of instructions or data structures. However, this is not limited thereto. The memory may exist independently, but is connected to the processor via communication line 704. Alternatively, the memory may be integrated with the processor.

[0274] Memory 702 is configured to store computer-executable instructions for executing the solution of the present application, and the execution is controlled by processor 701. Processor 701 is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions stored in memory 702 to implement the data analysis method provided in the following embodiments of the present application.

[0275] Optionally, the computer-executable instructions of the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as application program code. This is not particularly limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0276] In a particular implementation, in one embodiment, the processor 701 may include one or more CPUs, such as CPU0 and CPU1 shown in FIG. 7 for example.

[0277] In a particular implementation, in one embodiment, the communication device may include a plurality of processors, such as the processor 701 and the processor 705 in FIG. 7 for example. Each processor may be a single-CPU processor or a multi-CPU processor. The processors in this specification may be one or more devices, circuits, and / or processing cores configured to process data (such as computer program instructions).

[0278] For the steps executed by the processor 701 and the processor 705, please refer to the steps executed by the processing module 612. For the steps executed by the communication interface 703, please refer to the steps executed by the communication module 613.

[0279] FIG. 8 is a diagram of the structure of the chip 130 according to an embodiment of the present application. The chip 130 includes one or two or more (including two) processors 1310 and a communication interface 1330.

[0280] Optionally, the chip 130 further includes a memory 1340. The memory 1340 includes read-only memory and random access memory, and may provide operation instructions and data to the processor 1310. A part of the memory 1340 may further include non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM).

[0281] In some implementations, the memory 1340 stores the following elements, namely executable modules or data structures, subsets thereof, or extended sets thereof.

[0282] In an embodiment of the present application, by calling operation instructions stored in the memory 1340 (the operation instructions may also be stored in the operating system), corresponding operations are executed.

[0283] In a possible implementation, the structures of the first network element and the data analysis network element are similar, and different devices may implement their respective functions using different chips.

[0284] The processor 1310 controls the processing operations of either the first network element or the data analysis network element, and the processor 1310 may also be called a central processing unit (CPU).

[0285] The memory 1340 includes a read-only memory and a random access memory, and can provide instructions and data to the processor 1310. A part of the memory 1340 may further include NVRAM. For example, in one application field, the memory 1340, the communication interface 1330, and the memory 1340 are coupled using a bus system 1320. The bus system 1320 may include not only a data bus, but also a power bus, a control bus, and a status signal bus, etc. However, for clarity of explanation, the various types of buses in FIG. 8 are shown as the bus system 1320.

[0286] The method disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to processor 1310 or implemented by processor 1301. Processor 1310 may be an integrated circuit chip and has signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, each step of the above method can be completed using the integrated logic circuit of the hardware in processor 1310 or instructions in the form of software. Processor 1310 may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or another programmable logic device, an individual gate or transistor logic device, or an individual hardware component. It can implement or execute the methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or the processor may be any conventional processor or the like. The steps of the method disclosed with reference to the embodiments of the present application may be directly executed and completed by the decoding processor of the hardware, or may be executed and completed using a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module may be located in a mature storage medium in the art, such as random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, or a register. The storage medium is located in memory 1340. Processor 1310 reads the information in memory 1340 and cooperates with the hardware of processor 1310 to complete the steps of the above method.

[0287] In a possible implementation, communication interface 1330 is configured to execute the receiving step and the transmitting step of the first network element in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 3 to 5. Processor 1310 is configured to execute the processing step of the first network element in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 3 to 5.

[0288] In another possible implementation, the communication interface 1330 is configured to perform the receiving step and the transmitting step of the data analysis network element in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 3 to 5. The processor 1310 is configured to perform the processing step of the data analysis network element in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 3 to 5.

[0289] According to one aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided. This computer-readable storage medium stores instructions. When the instructions are executed, the functions performed by the data analysis network element in FIGS. 3 to 5 are implemented.

[0290] According to one aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided. This computer-readable storage medium stores instructions. When the instructions are executed, the functions performed by the first network element in FIGS. 3 to 5 are implemented.

[0291] According to one aspect, a computer program product including instructions is provided. This computer program product includes instructions. When the instructions are executed, the functions performed by the data analysis network element in FIGS. 3 to 5 are implemented.

[0292] According to one aspect, a computer program product including instructions is provided. This computer program product includes instructions, and when the instructions are executed, the functions performed by the first network element in FIGS. 3 to 5 are implemented.

[0293] According to one aspect, a chip is provided. This chip is used in the first network element. This chip includes at least one processor and a communication interface. The communication interface is coupled to the at least one processor. The processor is configured to execute instructions to implement the functions performed by the first network element in FIGS. 3 to 5.

[0294] According to one aspect, a chip is provided. This chip is used in a data analysis network element. This chip includes at least one processor and a communication interface. The communication interface is coupled to the at least one processor. The processor is configured to execute instructions to implement the functions executed by the data analysis network element in FIGS. 3 to 5.

[0295] Embodiments of the present application provide a communication system. This communication system includes a first network element and a data analysis network element. The first network element is configured to execute the functions executed by the first network element in FIGS. 3 to 5, and this data analysis network element is configured to execute the functions executed by the data analysis network element in FIGS. 3 to 5.

[0296] Optionally, the system may further include one or more of an AMF network element, an AF network element, or an OAM network element configured to execute the steps executed by the AMF network element, the AF network element, or the OAM network element in FIG. 4 or FIG. 5.

[0297] All or part of the above-described embodiments may be implemented using software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When software is used to implement an embodiment, all or part of the embodiment may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. A computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the procedures or functions of the embodiments of the present application are executed. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a dedicated computer, a computer network, a network device, a user device, or another programmable device. The computer program or instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer program or instructions may be transmitted in a wired or wireless manner from a website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium accessible by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. Alternatively, the available medium may be an optical medium such as a digital video disc (DVD), for example. Alternatively, the available medium may be a semiconductor medium such as a solid-state drive (SSD), for example.

[0298] Although the present application has been described with reference to the embodiments, those skilled in the art can understand and implement other variants of the disclosed embodiments by referring to the accompanying drawings, the disclosed content, and the appended claims in the process of implementing the present application for which protection is claimed. In the claims, "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and "a" or "one" does not exclude a plurality of cases. A single processor or another unit may implement some of the functions recited in the claims. Although some means are recited in different independent claims, this does not mean that these means cannot be combined to produce better effects.

[0299] Although the present application has been described with reference to its specific features and embodiments, it is obvious that various modifications and combinations can be made to them without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Therefore, the present specification and the accompanying drawings are merely exemplary descriptions of the present application defined by the appended claims, and are considered to cover any or all of the modifications, variations, combinations, or equivalents of the present application. It is obvious that those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. The present application is intended to cover these modifications and variations of the present application provided that they are within the scope of protection defined by the following claims and their equivalent technologies.

Claims

Claim 1 A data analysis method, the method comprising: a step in which a data analysis network element receives first indication information from a first network element, the first indication information instructing the first network element to provide mobility analysis information used to determine a chronological order of one or more positions of a terminal during a first time period; a step in which the data analysis network element obtains mobility-related information of the terminal from a second network element; a step in which the data analysis network element processes the mobility-related information based on the first indication information to obtain the mobility analysis information, the mobility analysis information including information used to determine the chronological order of the one or more positions of the terminal during the first time period; a step in which the data analysis network element transmits the mobility analysis information to the first network element A data analysis method comprising the above steps. Claim 2 The method further comprises: a step in which the data analysis network element receives second indication information from the first network element, the second indication information instructing the data analysis network element to provide information about the stay time of the terminal at each position, according to the method of claim 1. Claim 3 The step in which the data analysis network element transmits the mobility analysis information to the first network element further comprises: a step of transmitting, to the first network element, the information about the stay time of the terminal at each position, according to the method of claim 1 or 2. Claim 4 The first time period includes one or more partial time periods, the terminal has one or more positions during each partial time period, the partial time period corresponds to one time information and a duration of the partial time period, and the time information of the partial time period is a start point of the partial time period, according to any one of claims 1 to 3. Claim 5 The mobility analysis information includes time information of each position of the terminal during each partial time period of the first time period, the time information is the time point when the terminal enters the position during the partial time period, and the time information corresponding to any position indicates the time order of each position among the one or more positions during the partial time period. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. The mobility analysis information includes information about the one or more positions of the terminal during each partial time period of the first time period, classified in ascending or descending time order. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

7. The first time period includes one or more partial time periods, the mobility analysis information includes one position of the terminal and first time information during each partial time period, the first time information is the time point when the terminal enters the position during the partial time period, and the position of the terminal is different in two temporally adjacent partial time periods. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

8. The mobility analysis information further includes the duration of the partial time period, and the duration of the partial time period is used to reflect information about the stay time of the terminal at the position. The method according to claim 7.

9. The duration of the partial time period is less than a predetermined time length. The method according to claim 7.

10. The mobility analysis information further includes the information used to determine the stay time of the terminal at each position. The method according to claim 5, 6, or 9.

11. The step in which the data analysis network element obtains the mobility-related information of the terminal from the second network element is The step in which the data analysis network element transmits a second message to the second network element, and the second message is used to request the second network element to provide the mobility-related information of the terminal during the second time period. The step in which the data analysis network element receives the mobility-related information from the second network element, wherein the mobility-related information includes information about each position of the terminal during the second time period and time information associated with each position, and the time information is the time point when entering the position The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, comprising the above.

12. The second message carries third indication information, and the third indication information instructs to provide the data analysis network element with mobility-related information used to determine the chronological order of the positions of the terminal during the second time period The mobility-related information further includes information about a plurality of positions of the terminal during the second time period classified in ascending or descending order of the time information, or The mobility-related information further includes one position of the terminal and second time information during each partial time period of the second time period, and the second time information is the time point when the terminal enters the position of the partial time period during the partial time period, and the position of the terminal is different in two temporally adjacent partial time periods. The method according to claim 11.

13. The second message further carries fourth indication information, and the fourth indication information instructs to provide the data analysis network element with information about the stay time of the terminal at one or more positions during the second time period The mobility-related information further includes information used to determine the stay time of the terminal at each position during the second time period. The method according to claim 11 or 12.

14. A computer-readable storage medium, wherein the readable storage medium stores instructions, and when the instructions are executed, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13 is implemented.

15. A chip, wherein the chip includes a processor, the processor is coupled to a communication interface, the processor is configured to execute a computer program or instructions to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, and the communication interface is configured to communicate with modules other than the chip.

16. A communication device, the device comprising a communication unit and a processing unit, the processing unit being configured to execute the processing steps executed by the data analysis network element in the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, the communication unit being configured to execute the reception / transmission steps executed by the data analysis network element in the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13. **Claim 17** A communication system, the system comprising a data analysis network element and a first network element communicating with the data analysis network element, the first network element being configured to provide first indication information to the data analysis network element, the data analysis network element being configured to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

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