Method, access network, core network node, and user equipment

Abstract

A method for an access network node to determine a network energy saving configuration includes transmitting a broadcast within a cell operated by the access network node (5) to cause a user equipment (UE) (3) camping on the cell in idle mode to respond to the access network node (5), receiving a response from the idle mode UE (3) camping on the cell, using the response to determine an estimated value of the number of idle mode UEs (3) camping on the cell, and using the estimated number of idle mode UEs (3) camping on the cell to determine a network energy saving configuration for the access network node (5). Advantageously, the method enables an accurate determination of the cell load, which is advantageous in situations where network energy saving decisions are made.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a communication system.

Background Art

[0002] The present disclosure relates to a wireless communication system and its devices operating according to the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP (registered trademark)) standard or its equivalents or derivatives. The present disclosure has a specific relevance to, but is not exclusively related to, energy saving techniques in so-called "5G" or "New Radio" systems (also called "next-generation" systems) and similar systems.

[0003] Under the 3GPP standard, NodeB (or "eNB" in LTE and "gNB" in 5G) is a base station through which a communication device (User Equipment, i.e., "UE") connects to the core network and communicates with other communication devices or remote servers. Communication between the UE and the base station is controlled using the so-called Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol. The communication device may be, for example, a mobile communication device such as a mobile phone, smartphone, smartwatch, portable information terminal, laptop / tablet computer, web browser, e-book reader, etc. Such mobile (or more generally fixed) devices are usually operated by a user (thus, they are often collectively referred to as User Equipment (UE)), but it is also possible to connect Internet of Things (IoT) devices and similar Machine Type Communication (MTC) devices to the network. For simplicity, this application uses the term base station to refer to any such base station and the term mobile device or UE to refer to any such communication device.

[0004] The latest development of the 3GPP specifications is the so-called "5G" or "New Radio" (NR) specifications, which refer to the developing communication technology expected to support various applications and services such as MTC / IoT communication, vehicle communication and autonomous vehicles, high-resolution video streaming, and smart city services. 3GPP intends to support 5G by means of the so-called 3GPP Next Generation (NextGen) radio access network (RAN) and 3GPP Next Gen core (NGC) network. Various details of the 5G network are described, for example, in the "NGMN 5G White Paper" V1.0 by the Next Generation Mobile Network (NGMN) Alliance, and the document is available from https: / / www.ngmn.org / 5g-white-paper.html.

[0005] End-user communication devices are generally called user equipment (UE), which may include devices operated by humans or automated (MTC / IoT) devices. The base stations of the 5G / NR communication system are generally called new radio base stations (New Radio - Base Station: "NR-BS") or "gNBs", but it will be understood that they may sometimes be called using the term "eNB" (or 5G / NR eNB) associated with long term evolution (LTE) base stations (also commonly called "4G" base stations). 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.300 V16.7.0 and 3GPP TS37.340 V16.7.0 define, among other things, the following nodes: gNB: A node that provides protocol terminations for the NR user plane and control plane towards the UE and is connected to the 5G core network (5GC) via the NG interface. ng-eNB: A node that provides protocol terminations for the Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) user plane and control plane towards the UE and is connected to the 5GC via the NG interface. En-gNB: A node that provides protocol terminations for the NR user plane and control plane towards the UE and functions as a secondary node in E-UTRA-NR Dual Connectivity (EN-DC). NG-RAN node: Either a gNB or an ng-eNB.

[0006] The terms base station or RAN node are used in this specification to refer to any such node.

[0007] The energy consumption of base stations and other similar access network nodes presents concerns regarding the impact on the environment of an operating telecommunications network, and also represents a significant operational expense for network operators. There are various tools for saving energy on the network side. For example, it is possible to switch off capacity cells (i.e., cells deployed to support a specific area during peak hours), and neighboring cells recognize whether a capacity cell is available or not. This feature enables the optimization of energy consumption, for example, in deployments where capacity boosters can be distinguished from cells providing basic coverage, and realizes the possibility that an E-UTRA cell or an E-UTRA-New Radio Dual Connectivity (EN-DC) cell provides additional capacity via single or dual connections and is switched off when that capacity is no longer needed and reactivated as required. This decision is usually based on cell load information. The switch-off decision may also be made by an Operations and Maintenance (O&M) node, or another suitable core network node.

Prior Art Documents

Non-Patent Documents

[0008]

Non-Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0009] The base station can initiate a handover action to offload a switched-off cell. For example, when selecting a target cell for a subsequent handover, the reason for the handover can be indicated with an appropriate cause value to support the target node in performing subsequent operations.

[0010] It is offloaded to adjacent cells. However, (since the network still has to guarantee service to the UE) this may not always be achievable, for example, if other cells are not available, e.g., in a coverage cell. Moreover, in some cases, switching off an entire cell may result in adjacent cells using more power than the power saved by the switched-off cell (to enhance their own coverage). It also causes some overhead signaling related to the handover of the UE to the appropriate adjacent cell.

[0011] The efficient implementation of network energy saving (NES) by the base station may include the following steps: 1) evaluate the current total load on the cell (optionally taking into account the load of adjacent cells and the core network), 2) determine an appropriate NES configuration from the available configurations (e.g., switch off the cell of the base station), 3) implement the determined NES configuration. Therefore, an important aspect of this process is to well understand the load on the cell.

[0012] Generally speaking, the network knows the number of UEs in the RRC connection mode (which may also be called the NR RRC connected mode) and / or the RRC inactive mode (which may also be called the NR RRC inactive mode), as well as the number of UEs for which network energy savings are possible for a given serving cell. However, the network does not recognize the number of UEs camping on the cell in the RRC idle mode (which may also be called the NR RRC idle mode). This is because these UEs do not have an RRC connection to the serving cell. As a result, such idle mode UEs do not notify that they are camping on the serving cell until they update their tracking area as part of the Tracking Area Update (TAU) procedure, which may occur periodically or when the UE moves to a cell in a new tracking area (TA) where the UE is not registered.

[0013] It is desirable to make better decisions regarding network energy savings. The base station can do this if it has more accurate load information for one or more cells it controls and / or more accurate load information for neighboring cells. Specifically, if the base station has more accurate load information, including information regarding the number of idle mode UEs camping on the cell and / or the number of idle mode UEs camping on neighboring cells, the base station can make better decisions regarding implementing available network energy saving configurations.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0014] Accordingly, the present disclosure seeks to provide a method and related apparatus for addressing or at least mitigating (at least in part) the problems described above. The present disclosure is set forth in the appended independent claims. Optional features are set forth in the appended dependent claims.

[0015] According to one aspect, the present disclosure provides a method for an access network node. The method includes transmitting broadcast information within a cell operated by the access network node to cause at least one user equipment (UE) camping on the cell in idle mode to transmit a message to the access network node; receiving a message from the idle mode UE among the at least one UE when the idle mode UE starts and / or stops camping on the cell, or when the idle mode UE wakes up from the idle mode; and using the message to determine an estimated value of the number of at least one UE.

[0016] According to another aspect, the present disclosure provides a method for a core network node. The method includes maintaining a record of at least one user equipment (UE) in idle mode, including for each of the at least one UE in idle mode, an identifier of the cell on which the at least one UE in idle mode is camping; receiving from a first access network node first information indicating that a first UE has started camping on a cell of the first access network node; and using the first information to update the record of the first UE to reflect the cell on which the first UE has started camping.

[0017] According to another aspect, the present disclosure provides a method for a user equipment (UE) in idle mode. The method includes receiving broadcast information within a cell operated by an access network node; and transmitting a message to the access network node when the UE starts and / or stops camping on the cell, or when the UE wakes up from the idle mode, the message being used by the access network node to determine an estimated value of the number of at least one UE camping on the cell in idle mode.

[0018] According to another aspect, the present disclosure provides means for causing an access network node to transmit broadcast information within a cell operated by the access network node to at least one user equipment (UE) camped on the cell in idle mode, means for receiving a message from the idle-mode UE among the at least one UE when the idle-mode UE starts and / or stops camping on the cell, or when the idle-mode UE wakes up from the idle mode, and means for using the message to determine an estimated value of the number of at least one UE, and provides an access network node.

[0019] According to another aspect, the present disclosure provides means for maintaining a record of at least one user equipment (UE) in idle mode, including an identifier of a cell on which each of the at least one UE in idle mode is camping, means for receiving from a first access network node first information indicating that the first UE has started camping on a cell of the first access network node, and means for using the first information to update the record of the first UE to reflect the cell on which the first UE has started camping, and provides a core network node.

[0020] According to another aspect, the present disclosure provides an idle mode User Equipment (UE), the UE comprising means for receiving broadcast information within a cell operated by an access network node, and means for transmitting a message to the access network node when the UE starts and / or stops camping on the cell, or when the UE wakes up from the idle mode, the message being used by the access network node to determine an estimated value of the number of at least one UE camping on the cell in the idle mode.

[0021] Each feature disclosed and / or illustrated in this specification (where the term includes the claims) may be incorporated into the present disclosure either independently of (or in combination with) any other disclosed and / or illustrated feature. In particular, without limitation, any feature of any claim dependent on a particular independent claim may be introduced into that independent claim either in any combination or individually.

[0022] Next, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0023]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

[0024] **Overview** FIG. 1 schematically shows a (cellular or wireless) mobile telecommunications system 1 to which an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure may be applied.

[0025] In this system 1, a user of a mobile device 3 (UE) can communicate with each other and other users via a base station 5 (and other access network nodes) and a core network 7 using an appropriate 3GPP Radio Access Technology (RAT), such as Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) and / or 5G RAT. It will be understood that several base stations 5 form a (radio) access network, i.e., (R)AN. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, for illustrative purposes, four mobile devices 3A, 3B, 3C, and 3D and two base stations 5A and 5B are shown in FIG. 1, but when implemented, the system will typically include other base stations / (R)AN nodes and mobile devices (UEs).

[0026] Each base station 5 controls one or more associated cells 6 (either directly or via other nodes such as a home base station, relay, remote radio head, distributed unit, etc.). A base station 5 that supports a next-generation / 5G protocol may be referred to as a "gNB". It will be understood that some base stations 5 may be configured to support both 4G and 5G communication protocols, and / or any other 3GPP or non-3GPP communication protocol.

[0027] The mobile device 3 and its serving base station 5 are connected via an appropriate radio interface (e.g., the so-called "NR" radio interface, "Uu" interface, etc.). Adjacent base stations 5 may be connected to each other via an appropriate inter-base station interface (such as the so-called "Xn" interface, "X2" interface, etc.). The base station 5 is also connected to a core network node via an appropriate interface (such as the so-called "NG-U" interface for the user plane, the so-called "NG-C" interface for the control plane, etc.).

[0028] The core network 7 (e.g., EPC in the case of LTE or NGC in the case of NR / 5G) typically includes logical nodes (or "functions") for subscriber management, mobility management, charging, security, call / session management, etc. to support communications in the telecommunication system 1. For example, the core network 7 of a "next-generation" / 5G system includes user plane entities and control plane entities such as one or more Control Plane Functions (CPF) 8-2 and one or more User Plane Functions (UPF) 8-3. The core network 7 is responsible for handling connections and mobility management tasks for the mobile device 3, such as the so-called Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 8-1 in 5G or the Mobility Management Entity (MME) in 4G, and also includes a Session Management Function (SMF) 8-4 responsible for handling communication sessions for the mobile device 3, such as session establishment, modification, and release. The core network 7 is connected to a data network 20, such as the Internet or a similar Internet Protocol (IP)-based network, via the UPF 11.

[0029] In this system 1, network energy savings may generally be achieved as follows. - Evaluate the current overall load of the network - For example, by calculating the load of a given cell associated with active, inactive, and idle mode UEs, an accurate estimate of the cell load at a given point in time can be calculated. Optionally, this evaluation can also consider the load of adjacent cells as well as the load of nodes within the core network. - Based on the evaluation, determine an appropriate network energy saving configuration for the network. - Implement the determined configuration.

[0030] User Equipment (UE) Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the main components of the mobile device (UE) 3 shown in Figure 1. As shown, UE 3 includes a transceiver circuit 31 operable to transmit signals to and receive signals from one or more connected nodes via one or more antennas 33. Although not necessarily shown in Figure 2, UE 3 of course has all the normal functions of a conventional mobile device (such as user interface 35), which may be provided by any one or any combination of hardware, software, and firmware as required. The controller 37 controls the operation of UE 3 according to the software stored in the memory 39. The software may be pre-installed in the memory 39 and / or may be downloaded, for example, via the telecommunications network 1 or from a Removable Data storage Device (RMD). The software includes, among other things, an operating system 41, a communication control module 43, and an energy saving module 45.

[0031] The communication control module 43 is responsible for processing (generating / sending / receiving) signaling messages and uplink / downlink data packets between UE 3 and other nodes including (R)AN node 5 and core network nodes. The signaling may include control signaling related to energy saving operations (e.g., via system information or RRC). It will be understood that the communication control module 43 may include several sub-modules ("layers" or "entities") to support specific functions. For example, the communication control module 43 may include a PHY sub-module, a MAC sub-module, an RLC sub-module, a PDCP sub-module, an SDAP sub-module, an IP sub-module, an RRC sub-module, etc.

[0032] The energy saving module 45 is responsible for operations related to energy saving (by the UE3 itself and / or by network nodes such as the access network node / base station 5). Energy saving by the UE itself is usually achieved by turning off certain components (e.g., the transceiver circuit 31) for a specific period. As will be described in more detail below, in the following exemplary embodiments, the UE3 can assist the network in performing energy saving by taking various actions that help the network obtain a more accurate picture of the actual load currently on the network.

[0033] Access network node (base station) Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the main components of the base station 5 (or a similar access network node) shown in Figure 1. As shown, the base station 5 includes a transceiver circuit 51 operable to transmit signals to and receive signals from one or more connected UEs 3 via one or more antennas 53, and to transmit signals to and receive signals from other network nodes (directly or indirectly) via a network interface 55. The network interface 55 typically includes appropriate base station - to - base station interfaces (such as the X2 / Xn interface) and appropriate base station - to - core network interfaces (such as the S1 / N1 / N2 / N3 interface). A controller 57 controls the operation of the base station 5 according to software stored in a memory 59. The software may be pre - installed in the memory 59 and / or may be downloaded, for example, via the telecommunications network 1 or from a Removable Data storage Device (RMD). The software includes, among other things, an operating system 61, a communication control module 63, and an energy saving module 65.

[0034] The communication control module 63 is responsible for the processing (generation / transmission / reception) of signaling between the base station 5 and other nodes such as the UE 3 and core network nodes. The signaling may include control signaling related to energy saving operations (e.g., via system information or RRC). It will be understood that the communication control module 63 may include several sub-modules (of "layers" or "entities") to support specific functions. For example, the communication control module 63 may include a PHY sub-module, a MAC sub-module, an RLC sub-module, a PDCP sub-module, an SDAP sub-module, an IP sub-module, an RRC sub-module, etc.

[0035] The energy saving module 65 is responsible for operations related to energy saving (by the UE 3 and / or by the access network node / base station 5 itself). Energy saving is typically achieved by turning off specific components (e.g., the transceiver circuit 51) for a specific period.

[0036] Core network function Figure 4 is a block diagram showing the main components of a general core network node or function 8, such as AMF8-1, CPF8-2, UPF8-3, or SMF8-4 shown in Figure 1. As shown, the core network function includes a transceiver circuit 71 operable to transmit signals to and receive signals from other nodes (including UE3, base station 5, and other core network nodes) via network interface 75. A controller 77 controls the operation of the core network function according to software stored in a memory 79. The software may be pre-installed in the memory 79 and / or downloaded, for example, via telecommunications network 1 or from a Removable Data storage Device (RMD). The software includes, among other things, an operating system 81, a communication control module 83, and an optional energy saving module 85.

[0037] The communication control module 83 is responsible for processing (generating / sending / receiving) signaling between the core network function and other nodes such as UE3, base station 5, and other core network nodes. The signaling may include, for example, UE context / UE capability indication of UE3 related to energy saving.

[0038] When present, the energy saving module 85 is responsible for operations related to energy saving (e.g., by UE3 and / or by access network node / base station 5).

[0039] Detailed Description The following is an explanation of a method by which the network load can be determined, enabling the network to make better network energy saving decisions within the system 1 shown in FIG. 1. As will be explained in the example given below, this is achieved by obtaining the load information of the idle mode UEs within the network, specifically within the cells of the network. Naturally, determining the load information for the idle mode UEs must be performed in an energy-efficient manner, or the process itself may require more energy than can be saved using the network's energy saving means.

[0040] One solution for determining the load information for the idle mode UEs within the network is to automatically track the UEs in the idle mode. Specifically, when a UE joins a new cell or executes a Tracking Area Update (TAU) when leaving an old cell and joining a new cell, the node 8 within the core network 7 can track the number of UEs in the idle mode throughout the network and within each cell.

[0041] When a UE is configured to execute a Tracking Area Update (TAU) when joining a new cell and when leaving an old cell, each base station 5 can track the number of UEs in the idle mode within each cell it controls without obtaining this information from the core network 7.

[0042] A more detailed description of this solution is described with reference to the signaling diagram shown in FIG. 5. As shown in S101, UE3 operating in the idle mode selects a new cell to camp on. In a legacy system, if the selected cell is part of a new Tracking Area (TA), UE3 should execute a Tracking Area Update (TAU) procedure so that the core network 7 knows the new TA where it can find the UE. However, if the selected cell is part of the same TA where the UE camped on the previous cell, in a legacy system, UE3 should not execute the TAU procedure.

[0043] The new cell selected by UE3 is served by the new base station 5A. This base station broadcasts (as shown in S102) information within the System Information (SI) to trigger UEs newly camping on its cell to execute a TA update procedure regardless of whether the tracking area has changed. The new base station 5A can broadcast such information in the Master Information Block (MIB), System Information Block (SIB), or other system information as needed. Accordingly, in S103, UE3 contacts the base station 5A to start the normal tracking area update procedure. In response to receiving this TAU update message from UE3, the new base station 5A updates in S104 the number of UEs camping on its cell including UE3, and in S105 forwards the TA update message to the core network 7 in the normal way (e.g., of AMF8-1).

[0044] Upon receiving a TA update message, the core network 7 updates the TA accordingly. In this exemplary embodiment, the core network 7 also maintains records of idle mode UEs and the respective cells on which they are currently camped. Thus, in response to receiving a TA update message from the new base station 5A, the core network 7 updates, in S106, the cell on which the idle mode UE3 is camped within its table, and in S107, notifies the old base station 5B that controls the cell on which the UE was previously camped that the UE has stopped camping on that cell. In S108, the old base station 5B updates, accordingly, the number of idle mode UEs camping on that cell. Although not shown in FIG. 5, when a UE camping on a cell of base station 5A moves out and camps on a cell of another base station (e.g., base station 5B), the core network notifies base station 5A that the cell on which the UE is camping has changed, and in response, base station 5A can update the number of cells camping on that cell.

[0045] In this way, each base station 5 can accurately track the number of idle mode UEs camping on its cell, and this information can be used for the base station 5 to make better-informed decisions regarding its network energy saving configuration. Instead of incrementing and decrementing the count of UEs within its cell as described above, the base station inputs this information regarding the number of idle mode UEs camping on its cell, along with information regarding RRC connected mode UEs, into a Machine Learning (ML) algorithm to estimate the overall cell load within the cell as well as the type of UEs (legacy and NES capable). Such an ML algorithm can also take as input other information such as the traffic pattern of the associated base station 5 over a period of time, as well as the traffic patterns of other neighboring base stations that enable the ML algorithm to learn the optimal NES configuration that maximizes network energy savings for a given traffic pattern within the base station and its neighborhood.

[0046] As described above, FIG. 5 shows an exemplary embodiment in which the base station 5 triggers the UE3 to execute a TAU procedure when the UE3 camps on a new cell based on the information broadcast within its system information.

[0047] In an alternative exemplary embodiment, both the new base station 5A and the old base station 5B can broadcast within their system information information instructing idle-mode UEs, which are attempting to camp on the cell of the new base station 5A or already camping on the cell of the old base station 5B, to execute a TA update procedure when they respectively join or leave (stop camping on) their respective cells. Such a procedure is shown in FIG. 6.

[0048] As shown in FIG. 6, in S201, the new base station is configured to broadcast within the system information (System Information: SI) information indicating to the idle-mode UE that a TA update procedure should be executed when the idle-mode UE starts or stops camping on the cell of the base station 5A. Similarly to S201, the old base station 5B also broadcasts within the system information (System Information: SI) information indicating to the idle-mode UE that a TA update procedure should be executed when the idle-mode UE starts or stops camping on the cell of the base station 5B. Again, the broadcast information may be broadcast within the Master Information Block (MIB), System Information Block (SIB), or other system information as required.

[0049] Accordingly, and as shown in FIG. 6, when the UE3 decides in S203 to leave the cell it is camping on, it starts a TA update procedure towards the old base station 5B in S204. The UE camps on the new cell (S205) and starts a TA update procedure towards the new base station 5A in S206. In response to receiving the respective TAU update messages from the UE3, the base stations 5A and 5B update, respectively, in S207 to include the UE3 and in S208 to exclude the UE3, the number of UEs camping on their cells.

[0050] Thus, advantageously, according to this exemplary embodiment, each base station 5 can accurately track the number of idle-mode UEs camping on its cell without relying on being informed by the core network 7 (or another base station) when a UE stops camping on its cell. In fact, such an exemplary embodiment does not require the involvement of the core network. However, in some exemplary embodiments, the base station forwards the received TAU messages received from the UEs to the core network 7 so that the core network 7 can also track all idle-mode UEs in different cells of the network.

[0051] In the above-described exemplary embodiments, the UE was triggered to perform a TA update when starting to camp on a new cell and / or when stopping to camp on a cell. The purpose of triggering the TA update procedure is to notify the base station 5 whether the idle-mode UE3 is camping on the cell of the base station or trying to stop camping on it. As those skilled in the art will understand, it is not essential for the UE to perform a TA update. There may be established a new dedicated procedure that enables the UE to notify the base station that the idle-mode UE is currently camping on the cell of the base station and / or that the UE is trying to stop camping on that cell. The advantage of relying on the TA update procedure is that it is an existing low-energy procedure and is easy to implement. However, the new procedure should enable more information to be communicated from the UE to the base station. For example, the new procedure enables the UE to identify the cell on which it was camping before, or the cell on which the UE is trying to camp if it is leaving a cell, or to identify whether the UE is switched off, etc. Using such additional information, the base station 5 that receives a message from the UE can share the information with the core network node or directly share it with the relevant neighboring base station 5 via the Xn interface (or, if necessary, another inter-base station interface) that it has with that neighboring base station. For example, if the UE is only instructed to send a message to the new base station 5A when starting to camp on the cell of the new base station, the new base station 5A can use the information contained in the message from the UE3 to identify the cell on which the UE was camping before and, via the Xn interface, transmit it to the old base station 5B that controls the previous cell to inform the old base station 5B that the UE3 has stopped camping on the previous cell. In this way, both the new base station 5A and the old base station 5B can update the estimated number of idle-mode UEs camping on their respective cells.

[0052] Furthermore, it will be appreciated that system information having a trigger for the TA update procedure (or the new procedure described above) may be adjusted according to a specific type of UE. For example, the base station may be configured to broadcast such system information for all classes of UEs except for low-power / low-complexity UEs such as Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

[0053] Next, a further exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIG. 7.

[0054] According to this exemplary embodiment, the base station 5 polls the UEs camping on its cell (i.e., using on-demand signaling, the UE wakes up immediately and responds when it receives it). In this regard, the UE 3 operating in the idle mode is configured to listen for system information (such as a wake-up signal) or paging broadcast by the base station 5 in S302 (S301), which indicates to the UE 3 that it should notify the base station 5 of its presence via an uplink resource reserved for this purpose (as will be described in more detail below).

[0055] When the UE 3 receives the signaling transmitted in S302, the UE 3 wakes up and responds to the base station 5 in S303 using the reserved uplink resource, notifying the base station 5 of its presence and indicating to the base station 5 that it does not expect a downlink (DL) response (since it returns to sleep after transmitting its response to the base station 5). In S304, the base station 5 uses the response received from the idle-mode UE to update its estimated value of the number of idle-mode UEs camping on its cell.

[0056] Advantageously, according to this example, a UE operating in idle mode only wakes up to transmit a small uplink signal using the reserved uplink resource and then returns to sleep - using the reserved uplink resource in this way means that the UE does not need to transition from idle mode to connected mode.

[0057] The reserved uplink resource can be, according to one example, the preamble of Msg1 on a dedicated Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) on the reserved preamble space. In this example, the reserved preamble space refers to a set of preambles (1 to 64 per PRACH resource) located within a specified PRACH resource block that can be accessed by a particular UE (e.g., the uplink resource can be reserved for MTC devices if it is desirable to poll to see how many idle mode MTC devices are in a given tracking area at a particular time). When polled, the UE should randomly select one of the set of 64 PRACH preambles normally available for Msg1 when notifying the base station 5 (however, it will be understood that in alternative telecommunications systems, the UE can select more or fewer than 64 preambles). Since the UE does not expect a response from the base station 5, UE3 can return to its sleep state.

[0058] The UE is not uniquely identified via the PRACH preamble, but through this process, the base station 5 has sufficient information to determine a reasonably accurate estimate of the number of idle-mode UEs (idle-mode UEs of the polled type - this can be all idle-mode UEs). For example, if 10 out of the 64 available preambles are received from idle-mode UEs, this should indicate a high probability of the presence of 10 idle-mode UEs in the cell, and a lower probability of the presence of 11, 12, or more idle-mode UEs. However, if 50 preambles are received, it is more likely that multiple UEs selected and transmitted the same preamble, and thus the probability of the presence of more than 50 idle-mode UEs is higher.

[0059] If the base station 5 operating the cell for which the load is being calculated expects a large number of polled UEs (e.g., because the cell is located in a dense environment), a mechanism can be implemented to reduce the number of polled UEs that respond. This can be achieved, for example, by selecting the probability p of accessing the reserved uplink resource, or by enabling only UEs that meet certain conditions (such as its temporary mobile subscriber identity (TMSI) mod N = 0) to access the reserved uplink resource, and estimating the actual load by multiplying the estimated number by 1 / p or N. Calculating the load in the cell in this way can prevent congestion, save the reserved uplink resources, and (on average, since not all idle-mode UEs in this example have the right to use the reserved uplink resource) save the energy consumption of the UEs, even at the expense of a slightly less accurate load estimate.

[0060] Similar to the above exemplary embodiments using the existing TA update procedure, it is not necessary to use the existing PRACH polling procedure, and other low-power signaling procedures such as any low-bandwidth low-energy signaling (e.g., using sounding reference signal SRS) can be used instead.

[0061] An alternative form of the polling procedure described above relates to the case where the cell can wake up the UE via a paging request for polling purposes and prompt the UE to access the PRACH to indicate its idle mode status. Paging according to this example is performed on the PDSCH and is specific to the ID of the UE having a dedicated PRACH opportunity (time and frequency resources and a unique preamble signature, i.e., the RACH process in this example is "non-competitive"), but all UEs within a given tracking area need to be paged in this way. The paged UE responds to the paging of the base station by transmitting Msg1 using the dedicated PRACH opportunity. Since this paging procedure is for polling purposes (and different from the normal paging usually used to connect a call to the UE), the UE is configured to return to its sleep state after transmitting Msg1. That is, the UE does not expect Msg2 to come back from the base station 5. Similarly, after receiving Msg1 from the paged UE, the base station 5 is configured not to transmit Msg2 of the normal paging message sequence. The base station 5 can count the received responses and determine the number of idle mode UEs camping on its cell (or the number of idle mode UEs of a specific class being polled), and this information can be used, for example, to make a better decision regarding the NES configuration that the base station 5 should adopt. Of course, since this alternative form uses dedicated PRACH resources for each UE, the energy cost of implementing such a paging procedure needs to be balanced with the expected energy savings that can be achieved by receiving information from the UE via this alternative form, and as a result, a beneficial NES configuration for the entire network can be implemented.

[0062] Next, further exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. The core network 7 has a record of the number of UEs camped in each tracking area, but at the base station level, only the low / medium / high load of the cells formed by each respective base station 5 is currently reported to the core network 7.

[0063] A solution for determining more accurate load information of adjacent cells is shown in FIG. 8, which shows the use of an interface (such as an Xn interface) between base stations 5A and 5B.

[0064] In S401, base station 5A starts its network energy saving evaluation by requesting the load information of at least one adjacent base station, which is base station 5B in this example. The request identifies one or more parameters for which base station 5A desires to receive reports from base station 5B regarding them to assist in its network energy saving decision. The request may indicate that it is acceptable for base station 5A to receive only partial information from the adjacent base station. For example, if base station 5B does not know the exact number of legacy UEs in the idle mode, base station 5A can further obtain other requested information (such as the type of cell operated by base station 5B) to assist in making a network energy saving decision. Similarly, the request may also indicate that base station 5A desires to receive only complete load information from adjacent base station 5B.

[0065] The load information request may include requests regarding the capabilities of UEs in the adjacent cell in addition to the load information parameters. Examples of these parameters include - The number of connected-mode, non-active-mode, and (if available) idle-mode UEs in the adjacent cell (advantageously, the adjacent base station can determine the number of UEs operating in the idle mode in the manner described in the previous exemplary embodiment), - Whether the UEs operating in adjacent cells support Network Energy Saving (NES), and - Typical QoS requirements for traffic in adjacent cells Cell-specific information regarding the UE traffic load in the cell, such as

[0066] Additional parameters that the base station 5A can request to be included in the load information report are - The type of adjacent cell (e.g., whether the adjacent cell is a coverage cell), - Details of handovers to / from adjacent cells over a given period, - The NES pattern history of adjacent cells over a given period, and - Typical traffic observed on adjacent cells over a given period may be related to the adjacent cell-specific information of the base station 5B.

[0067] The base station 5B responds to the request in the load information report at S402, and the report includes the information requested by the base station 5A. Upon reception, the base station 5A can evaluate which NES configuration to use according to the overall load on the adjacent cells as indicated in the received one or more load information reports and make an NES decision. For example, if the load information report requested by the base station 5A indicates that the number of UEs in the cell of the base station 5B is small (e.g., 4 in connected mode, 2 in non-active mode, 1 in idle mode), and thus the load on that particular cell is also low, the base station 5A can decide to activate NES by handing over that UE to the cell of the base station 5B and switching off the power of its own cell.

[0068] An alternative scenario to the scenario of FIG. 8 is shown in FIG. 9, which describes how the base station 5 can request and obtain the above-described load information report via the core network 7 (rather than directly via another base station on the inter-base station interface). In one example, the core network node involved in the process is the Access Management Function (AMF) 8-1 of the 5G core network, and the base stations 5A and 5B are gNBs of the 5G access network.

[0069] In S501 of FIG. 9, the base station 5A transmits a message to the core network 7 addressed to the adjacent base station 5B. This initial message can be a UL RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER message (since the interpretable request field is set to "load information", this message can be regarded as a load reporting request message). The message includes the Global ID (GID) of the source cell of the base station 5A, the GID of the target (adjacent) cell to which the request is addressed, and Self-Organising Network (SON) information.

[0070] Upon reception, the core network 7, in S502, identifies the target base station 5B using the GID of the target cell and forwards the request of the base station 5A to the base station 5B. The core network node can forward the request via a DL RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER message having the same source cell GID, target cell GID, SON information, and load information request.

[0071] Upon receiving the request, at S503, the base station 5B responds to the DL RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER message with its UL RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER message containing the requested load information - the requested load information can include any or all of the parameters described above in the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 8. This UL RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER message sets the source cell GID as the cell of base station 5B and sets the target cell GID as the source cell ID of the cell operated by base station 5A, such that the message is returned by the core network 7 to base station 5A. Again, beneficially, the neighboring base station 5B can use the techniques described above in the previous exemplary embodiment to determine, within its cell, the number of UEs operating in the idle mode and include this information in its reporting response message.

[0072] Upon receiving the UL RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER message from base station 5B, at S504, the core network 7 transmits to base station 5A a DL RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER message (load reporting response message) containing the load information provided by base station 5B. As described above, base station 5A can evaluate which NES configuration should be used according to the overall load on the neighboring cells as indicated in the one or more received DL RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER messages and make an NES decision.

[0073] Modifications and Alternatives Detailed exemplary embodiments have been described above. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, some modifications and alternatives can be made to those embodiments while further benefiting from the disclosure embodied in the above exemplary embodiments. By way of example, only some of these alternatives and modifications are described below.

[0074] It will be understood that the above exemplary embodiments can be applied to both 5G New Radio (5G NR) and LTE systems (E-UTRAN). The above exemplary embodiments can also be applied to future systems (such as 5G, 6G, etc.).

[0075] Next-generation mobile networks support diverse service requirements classified into three categories by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU): Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), Ultra-Reliable and Low-Latency Communication (URLLC), and Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC). eMBB aims to provide enhanced support for traditional mobile broadband and focuses on services that require guaranteed high-bandwidth, such as High Definition (HD) video, Virtual Reality (VR), and Augmented Reality (AR). URLLC is a requirement for critical applications such as autonomous driving and factory automation that need guaranteed access within an extremely short time. mMTC needs to support a huge number of connected devices such as smart meters and environmental monitoring, but can usually tolerate a certain access delay. Some of these applications may have relatively relaxed Quality of Service / Quality of Experience (QoS / QoE) requirements, while some applications may have relatively strict QoS / QoE requirements (e.g., high bandwidth and / or low latency). It will be understood that the energy-saving methods described herein may be applicable to at least one of the above categories of User Equipment (UE) and / or at least one type of service. Different energy-saving techniques may be applicable to different categories of UE and / or different services, if any.

[0076] In the above description, the UE, access network node (base station), and core network node are described as having several individual modules (such as a communication control module) for ease of understanding. These modules may be provided in this way, for example, in a specific application where an existing system is modified to implement the present disclosure. However, in other applications, such as a system designed from the beginning with the features of the present invention in mind, these modules may be incorporated into the overall operating system or code, and thus these modules may not be distinguishable as individual entities. These modules may be implemented in software, hardware, firmware, or a combination thereof.

[0077] Each controller may include a processing circuit in any suitable form, including, but not limited to, for example, one or more hardware-implemented computer processors, microprocessors, central processing units (CPUs), arithmetic logic units (ALUs), input / output (IO) circuits, internal memory / cache (program and / or data), processing registers, communication buses (such as control buses, data buses, and / or address buses), direct memory access (DMA) functions, hardware or software-implemented counters, pointers, and / or timers, etc.

[0078] In the above exemplary embodiments, several software modules were described. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, software modules may be provided in compiled or non-compiled form and may be supplied to the UE, access network nodes (base stations), and core network nodes via a computer network or as signals on a recording medium. Further, the functions performed by some or all of this software may be performed using one or more dedicated hardware circuits. However, the use of software modules is preferred as it facilitates the updating of the UE, access network nodes, and core network nodes to update their functions.

[0079] (referred to as a “distributed” base station or gNB) The functions of the base station may be split between one or more Distributed Units (DUs) and a Central Unit (CU), where the CU typically performs higher level functions and communication with the next generation core, and the DU performs lower level functions and communication via a radio interface with nearby UEs (i.e., within the cell served by the gNB). It will be understood that the distributed gNB includes the following functional units: gNB Central Unit (gNB-CU): A logical node that hosts the Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer, Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer, and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer (or the RRC layer and PDCP layer of an en-gNB) of the gNB that controls the operation of one or more gNB-DUs. The gNB-CU terminates the so-called F1 interface connected to the gNB-DU. gNB Distributed Unit (gNB-DU): A logical node that hosts the Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, Medium Access Control (MAC) layer, and Physical (PHY) layer of a gNB or en-gNB, and its operation is partially controlled by the gNB-CU. One gNB-DU supports one or more cells. One cell is supported by only one gNB-DU. The gNB-DU terminates the F1 interface connected to the gNB-CU. gNB-CU-Control Plane (gNB-CU-CP): A logical node that hosts the control plane part of the RRC and PDCP protocols of the gNB-CU for an en-gNB or gNB. The gNB-CU-CP terminates the so-called E1 interface connected to the gNB-CU-UP and the F1-C (F1 control plane) interface connected to the gNB-DU. gNB-CU-User Plane (gNB-CU-UP): A logical node that hosts the user plane part of the PDCP protocol of the gNB-CU for an en-gNB, as well as the user plane parts of the PDCP protocol and SDAP protocol of the gNB-CU for a gNB. The gNB-CU-UP terminates the E1 interface connected to the gNB-CU-CP and the F1-U (F1 User plane) interface connected to the gNB-DU.

[0080] When a distributed base station or similar control plane - user plane (CP - UP) split is adopted, the base station may be split into separate control plane entities and user plane entities, each of which may include associated transceiver circuits, antennas, network interfaces, controllers, memories, operating systems, and communication control modules. When the base station includes a distributed base station, the network interface (reference numeral 55 in FIG. 3) also includes an E1 interface and an F1 interface (F1 - C for the control plane and F1 - U for the user plane) for communicating signals between the respective functions of the distributed base station. In this case, the communication control module is also responsible for communication (generation, transmission, and reception of signaling messages) between the control plane part and the user plane part of the base station. When a distributed base station is used, as described in the above - exemplified embodiment, it will be understood that it is not necessary to include both the control plane part and the user plane part for pre - emption of communication resources. It will be understood that pre - emption can be processed by the user plane part of the base station without going through the control plane part (or vice versa).

[0081] The above - exemplified embodiments are also applicable to "non - mobile" or generally fixed user equipment. The mobile devices described above may include MTC / IoT devices and the like.

[0082] User Equipment (i.e., "UE", "mobile station", "mobile device", or "wireless device") in the present disclosure is an entity connected to a network via a wireless interface.

[0083] It should be noted that the present disclosure is not limited to dedicated communication devices and can be applied to any device having a communication function as described in the following paragraphs.

[0084] The terms "User Equipment", i.e., "UE", "mobile station", "mobile device", and "wireless device", when used by 3GPP, are generally intended to be synonymous with each other and include stand-alone mobile stations such as terminals, cell phones, smartphones, tablets, cellular IoT devices, IoT devices, and machines. It will be understood that the terms "mobile station" and "mobile device" also include devices that remain stationary for long periods of time.

[0085] The UE can be, for example, an item of equipment for production or manufacturing and / or an item of energy-related machinery (such as boilers; engines; turbines; solar panels; wind turbines; hydroelectric generators; thermal power generators; nuclear power generators; batteries; nuclear systems and / or related equipment; heavy electrical machinery; pumps including vacuum pumps; compressors; fans; blowers; hydraulic equipment; pneumatic equipment; metalworking machines; manipulators; robots and / or their application systems; tools; molds or dies; rolls; conveying equipment; elevators; material handling equipment; textile machines; sewing machines; printing and / or related machines; paper processing machines; chemical machines; mining machines and / or construction machines and / or related equipment; machinery and / or appliances for agriculture, forestry, and / or fisheries; safety and / or environmental protection equipment; tractors; precision bearings; chains; gears; power transmission equipment; lubrication equipment; valves; pipe fittings; and / or application systems for any of the foregoing equipment or machinery).

[0086] The UE can be, for example, an item of transportation equipment (such as transportation equipment like rolled materials; automobiles; motorcycles; bicycles; trains; buses; carts; human-powered vehicles; ships and other watercraft; aircraft; rockets; satellites; drones; balloons, etc.).

[0087] The UE can be, for example, an item of information and communication equipment (such as information and communication equipment like electronic computers and related equipment; communication and related equipment; electronic components, etc.).

[0088] The UE can be, for example, a refrigerator, a refrigeration appliance product, an item of a goods and / or service industry equipment, a vending machine, an automatic service machine, an office machine or equipment, a consumer electronic device, and an electronic device (such as an audio device; a video device; a loudspeaker; a radio; a television; a microwave oven; a rice cooker; a coffee machine; a dishwasher; a washing machine; a dryer; a consumer electronic device such as an electric fan or related equipment; a vacuum cleaner, etc.).

[0089] The UE can be, for example, an electrical application system or equipment (such as an X-ray system; a particle accelerator; a radioisotope equipment; a sound wave equipment; an electromagnetic application equipment; an electric application equipment, etc.).

[0090] The UE can be, for example, an electronic lamp, a lighting fixture, a measuring instrument, an analyzer, a tester, or a measuring or detecting device (such as a smoke alarm; a human sensor; a motion sensor; a wireless tag, etc.), a wristwatch or clock, an inspection device, an optical device, a medical device and / or system, a weapon, an item of cutting tools, a hand tool, etc.

[0091] The UE can be a portable information terminal or related equipment of wireless equipment (such as a wireless card or module designed to be attached to or inserted into another electronic device (such as a personal computer, an electrical measuring instrument)).

[0092] The UE can be part of a device or system that uses various wired and / or wireless communication technologies to provide applications, services, and solutions described later regarding the Internet of Things (IoT).

[0093] Internet of Things devices (or "things") can be equipped with appropriate electronic devices, software, sensors, network connections, etc. that enable these devices to collect and exchange data with each other and with other communication devices. IoT devices may include automated devices that follow software instructions stored in internal memory. IoT devices can operate without the need for human supervision or interaction. IoT devices may also remain stationary and / or inactive for long periods of time. IoT devices may (generally) be implemented as part of a fixed installation. IoT devices may also be incorporated into non-fixed devices (e.g., vehicles) or attached to animals or people being monitored / tracked.

[0094] It will be understood that IoT technology can be implemented on any communication device that can be connected to a communication network to send / receive data, regardless of whether such a communication device is controlled by human input or software instructions stored in memory.

[0095] It will be understood that IoT devices are sometimes also referred to as Machine Type Communication (MTC) devices or Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication devices. It will be understood that a UE can support one or more IoT or MTC applications. Some examples of MTC applications are listed in Table 1 below (Source: 3GPP TS22.368 V13.1.0, Annex B, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference). This list is not exhaustive and is intended to show some examples of machine type communication applications.

Table 1

[0096] Applications, services, and solutions can include Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) services, emergency wireless communication systems, Private Branch eXchange (PBX) systems, PHS / digital cordless communication systems, Point of Sale (POS) systems, advertising call systems, Multimedia Broadcast and Multicast Service (MBMS), Vehicle to Everything (V2X) systems, train wireless systems, location-based services, disaster / emergency wireless communication services, community services, video streaming services, femtocell application services, Voice over LTE (VoLTE) services, charging services, wireless on-demand services, roaming services, activity monitoring services, telecommunications carrier / communication network selection services, function-limited services, Proof of Concept (PoC) services, personal information management services, ad hoc network / Delay Tolerant Networking (DTN) services, and the like.

[0097] Furthermore, the UE categories described above are only examples of the application of the technical ideas and exemplary embodiments described in this document. Needless to say, these technical ideas and exemplary embodiments are not limited to the UEs described above, and various modifications can be made to them.

[0098] Various other modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art and are not described in further detail here.

[0099] For example, all or part of the exemplary embodiments disclosed above can be described as follows, but are not limited thereto. (Appendix 1) A method for an access network node to determine a network energy saving configuration, the method comprising Transmitting a broadcast within a cell operated by an access network node to cause an access network node to respond to at least one user equipment (UE) camping on the cell in idle mode, and Receiving at least one response from at least one idle mode UE among the at least one UE, and Determining an estimated value of the number of at least one UE using the at least one response, and Determining a network energy saving configuration for the access network node using the number of at least one UE A method comprising: (Appendix 2) The method according to Appendix 1, wherein the broadcast causes at least one UE to transmit at least one response when at least one event occurs. (Appendix 3) The method according to Appendix 2, wherein at least one event is when at least one UE starts camping on the cell. (Appendix 4) Receiving, from a core network node or another access network node, first information for indicating when an idle mode UE stops camping on the cell Further comprising: Determining the network energy saving configuration is performed using the first information. The method according to Appendix 3. (Appendix 5) The method according to Appendix 2, wherein at least one event is when at least one UE attempts to stop camping on the cell. (Appendix 6) Receiving, from a core network node or another access network node, second information for indicating when an idle mode UE starts camping on the cell Further comprising: Determining the network energy saving configuration is performed using the second information, The method described in Appendix 5. (Appendix 7) The method described in Appendix 2, where the broadcast causes at least one response to be sent to at least one UE when the UE starts camping on a cell and when the UE attempts to stop camping on a cell. (Appendix 8) The method described in any one of Appendices 1 to 7, where the broadcast causes at least one UE to perform a tracking area update. (Appendix 9) The method described in Appendix 1, where the broadcast causes at least one UE to send a message indicating the presence of at least one UE to an access network node. (Appendix 10) The method described in Appendix 9, where the broadcast causes at least one UE to send a message to an access network node using a dedicated uplink resource for the at least one UE to send a message to the access network node. (Appendix 11) The method described in Appendix 9 or 10, where the broadcast is a polling signal for at least one UE to wake up, send a message, and return to sleep. (Appendix 12) The method described in any one of Appendices 9 to 11, where the broadcast causes at least one UE to send a message without establishing a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection with an access network node. (Appendix 13) The method described in any one of Appendices 9 to 12, where receiving at least one response is performed on a dedicated Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH). (Appendix 14) The method according to appendix 13, wherein receiving at least one response includes receiving a preamble randomly selected from a set of available preambles. (Appendix 15) The method according to appendix 14, wherein determining an estimated value of the number of at least one UE uses the number of received randomly selected preambles. (Appendix 16) The broadcast causes a message to the access network node to be sent to a subset of at least one UE, Determining an estimated value of the number of at least one UE uses at least one response received from a subset of at least one UE, The method according to any one of appendices 9 to 15. (Appendix 17) The broadcast includes a Master Information Block (MIB), a System Information Block (SIB), or a paging message, and the method according to any one of appendices 1 to 16. (Appendix 18) Receiving load information of another access network node or the entire network further includes, Determining a network energy saving configuration for the access network node is performed taking into account the load information, The method according to any one of appendices 1 to 17. (Appendix 19) Sending a request for load information to a core network node or another access network node further includes, Receiving the load information includes receiving from a core network node or another access network node in response to the request, The method according to appendix 18. (Appendix 20) An access network node for determining a network energy saving configuration, the access network node comprising: means for transmitting a broadcast within a cell operated by the access network node to cause at least one user equipment (UE) camping on the cell in idle mode to respond to the access network node; means for receiving at least one response from at least one idle mode UE among the at least one UE; means for using the at least one response to determine an estimated value of the number of at least one UE; means for using the number of at least one UE to determine a network energy saving configuration for the access network node An access network node comprising the above. (Appendix 21) A method for a core network node of a telecommunication network, the method comprising: maintaining a record of user equipment (UE) operating in idle mode within the telecommunication network, including for each UE, an identifier of the cell on which it is camping; receiving from a first access network node first information indicating that a first UE has started camping on a cell of the first access network node; using the first information to update the record of the first UE to reflect the cell on which the UE has started camping A method comprising the above. (Appendix 22) The method according to Appendix 21, further comprising identifying a second access network node that controls the previous cell used by the first UE for camping before the update, and notifying the second access network node that the UE is no longer camping on that cell. (Appendix 23) Receiving, at an access network node, a load information request requesting load information of another access network node; Transmitting, to the access network node requesting the load information, load information of another access network node, the load information including load information of any UE camped on a cell of the other access network node; The method according to appendix 21 or 22, further comprising the above. (Appendix 24) A core network node of a telecommunication network, the core network node comprising: means for maintaining, for each UE, a record of user equipment (UE) operating in idle mode within the telecommunication network, the record including an identifier of a cell on which they are camped; means for receiving, from a first access network node, first information indicating that a first UE has started camping on a cell of the first access network node; Comprising; The core network node is configured to update the record of the first UE using the first information to reflect the cell on which the UE started camping. Core network node. (Appendix 25) A method for a user equipment (UE) to assist in determining a network energy saving configuration, the method comprising: Receiving a broadcast from an access network node within a cell operated by the access network node; Transmitting a response to the access network node when the UE is operating in idle mode; Including; The response includes: A tracking area update when the UE joins and / or leaves a cell operated by the access network node, or A message indicating the presence of the UE within a cell operated by the access network node. Including; Method. (Appendix 26) A user equipment (UE) for assisting in determining a network energy saving configuration, wherein the UE means for receiving a broadcast from an access network node within a cell operated by the access network node; means for transmitting a response to the access network node when the UE is operating in the idle mode; and wherein the response is for a tracking area update when the UE joins and / or leaves a cell operated by the access network node, or a message indicating the presence of the UE within a cell operated by the access network node and includes the UE. (Appendix 27) A method for an access network node, the method comprising: transmitting a broadcast within a cell operated by the access network node to cause at least one user equipment (UE) camping on the cell in the idle mode to transmit a preamble from a plurality of preambles on a random access channel; receiving at least one preamble from at least one idle mode UE among at least one UE from the random access channel; determining an estimated value of the number of at least one UE using the at least one preamble; and including (Appendix 28) The method according to Appendix 27, wherein the random access channel is a dedicated physical random access channel (PRACH). (Appendix 29) wherein the method when the broadcast indicates a probability p of accessing the dedicated PRACH, or By permitting only UEs that meet the conditions to access the dedicated PRACH, reducing the access of at least one UE to the random access channel The method according to appendix 28, further comprising. (Appendix 30) The method according to appendix 29, wherein the condition is that its Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (TMSI) mod N = 0. (Appendix 31) Determining, by multiplying the number of preambles received by the base station by 1 / p or N, the estimated number of at least one UE, the method according to appendix 30. (Appendix 32) The method according to any one of appendices 28 to 31, wherein the preamble is received in Msg1 of the random access procedure and the access network node does not transmit Msg2 of the random access procedure. (Appendix 33) A method for a User Equipment (UE) operating in idle mode, the method comprising: Receiving a broadcast from an access network node within a cell operated by the access network node, the broadcast indicating that the UE should transmit a message indicating the presence of the UE on the random access channel to the access network node; Selecting a preamble from a plurality of preambles; Transmitting a first message to the access network node on the random access channel, the first message including the selected preamble; Returning to the sleep state after transmitting the first message The method comprising. (Appendix 34) The method according to Appendix 33, wherein the random access channel is a dedicated physical random access channel (PRACH). (Appendix 35) The method according to Appendix 34, wherein the access of the UE to the random access channel is reduced when the broadcast indicates the probability p of accessing the dedicated PRACH, or when the UE must meet conditions to access the dedicated PRACH. (Appendix 36) The method according to Appendix 35, wherein the condition is that its temporary mobile subscriber identity (TMSI) mod N = 0. (Appendix 37) The method according to any one of Appendices 33 to 36, wherein transmitting is to transmit Msg1 of the random access procedure. (Appendix 38) Means for receiving a broadcast from an access network node within a cell operated by the access network node when operating in the idle mode, wherein the broadcast indicates that the UE should transmit a message indicating the presence of the UE on the random access channel to the access network node, Means for selecting a preamble from a plurality of preambles, Means for transmitting a first message to the access network node on the random access channel, wherein the first message includes the selected preamble, Means for returning to the sleep state after transmitting the first message A UE comprising the above. (Appendix 39) A method for an access network node to determine a network energy saving configuration, the method comprising: Transmitting a request for obtaining load information of another access network node or the entire network, Receiving load information from a core network node or another access network node, wherein the load information is the following information: The number of UEs in a connected mode, a non-active mode, and / or an idle mode, Whether a UE operating within at least one cell adjacent to the access network node is capable of supporting Network Energy Saving (NES), Typical Quality of Service (QoS) requirements for traffic in at least one cell adjacent to the access network node, The type of at least one cell adjacent to the access network node, Details of handovers to / from at least one cell adjacent to the access network node over a given period, The NES pattern history of at least one cell adjacent to the access network node over a given period, and Typical traffic observed on at least one cell adjacent to the access network node over a given period including one or more of: Receiving the load information, and determining a network energy saving configuration of the access network node taking the load information into account A method comprising: (Appendix 40) The method according to Appendix 39, wherein the request indicates that the access network node should receive some or all of the requested load information. (Appendix 41) Means for sending a request for load information of another access network node or the entire network, Means for receiving load information from a core network node or another access network node, wherein the load information is the following information: The number of UEs in the connected mode, inactive mode, and / or idle mode Whether a UE operating within at least one cell adjacent to an access network node is capable of supporting Network Energy Saving (NES) Typical Quality of Service (QoS) requirements for traffic in at least one cell adjacent to an access network node The type of at least one cell adjacent to an access network node Details of handovers to / from at least one cell adjacent to an access network node over a given period The NES pattern history of at least one cell adjacent to an access network node over a given period, and Typical traffic observed on at least one cell adjacent to an access network node over a given period including one or more of: means, means for determining a network energy saving configuration of an access network node taking into account load information An access network node comprising: (Appendix 42) A method for a network node, the method comprising: Receiving a request for load information; Transmitting load information to a core network node or an access network node wherein the load information is the following information: The number of UEs in the connected mode, inactive mode, and / or idle mode Whether a UE operating within at least one cell adjacent to an access network node is capable of supporting Network Energy Saving (NES) Whether a UE operating within at least one cell adjacent to an access network node is capable of supporting Network Energy Saving (NES) Typical Quality of Service (QoS) requirements for traffic in at least one cell adjacent to an access network node The type of at least one cell adjacent to an access network node Details of handovers to / from at least one cell adjacent to an access network node over a given period The NES pattern history of at least one cell adjacent to an access network node over a given period, and Typical traffic observed on at least one cell adjacent to an access network node over a given period One or more of Method (Appendix 43) The method according to Appendix 42, wherein the request indicates that the network node should receive some or all of the requested load information (Appendix 44) The method according to Appendix 42 or 43, wherein a request for load information is sent within a UL or DL RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER message having an indication set in the load information, and the load information is sent to a core network node or an access network node within the UL or DL RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER message (Appendix 45) The method according to Appendix 43, wherein the UL and DL RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER messages include a source cell Global ID (GID) and a target cell GID (Appendix 46) Means for receiving a request for load information, and Means for sending load information to a core network node or an access network node A network node comprising The load information is the following information: The number of UEs in a connection mode, a non-active mode, and / or an idle mode, Whether a UE operating within at least one cell adjacent to an access network node is capable of supporting Network Energy Saving (NES), Typical Quality of Service (QoS) requirements for traffic in at least one cell adjacent to an access network node, The type of at least one cell adjacent to an access network node, Details of handovers to / from at least one cell adjacent to an access network node over a given period, The NES pattern history of at least one cell adjacent to an access network node over a given period, and Typical traffic observed on at least one cell adjacent to an access network node over a given period including one or more of the above, a network node.

[0100] This application claims the benefit of priority based on UK Patent Application No. 2209742.2 filed on 1 July 2022, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Description of Reference Numerals

[0101] 1 Telecommunication system 3 Mobile device 5 Base station 6 Cell 7 Core network 8-1 AMF 8-2 CPF 8-3 UPF 8-4 SMF 31 Transceiver circuit 33 Antenna 35 User interface 37 Controller 39 Memory 41 Operating System 43 Communication Control Module 45 Energy Saving Module 51 Transceiver Circuit 53 Antenna 55 Network Interface 57 Controller 59 Memory 61 Operating System 63 Communication Control Module 65 Energy Saving Module 71 Transceiver Circuit 75 Network Interface 77 Controller 79 Memory 81 Operating System 83 Communication Control Module 85 Energy Saving Module

Claims

1. A method for an access network node, the method comprising: Transmitting broadcast information within a cell operated by the access network node to cause at least one user equipment (UE) camping on the cell in idle mode to send a message to the access network node; Receiving the message from the idle-mode UE among the at least one UE when the idle-mode UE starts and / or stops camping on the cell, or when the idle-mode UE wakes up from the idle mode; Using the message to determine an estimated value of the number of the at least one UE A method comprising the steps of:

2. Determining a network energy saving configuration for the access network node using the number of the at least one UE The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

3. Receiving first information from a core network node or another access network node to indicate when the idle-mode UE stops camping on the cell Further comprising: The determining of the network energy saving configuration is performed using the first information. The method according to claim 2.

4. Receiving second information from a core network node or another access network node to indicate when the idle-mode UE starts camping on the cell Further comprising: The determining of the network energy saving configuration is performed using the second information. The method according to claim 2.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the message is received via a tracking area update procedure.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the message indicates the presence of the idle-mode UE.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the message is transmitted by the idle-mode UE using dedicated uplink resources for the idle-mode UE to send the message to the access network node.

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the broadcast information is a polling signal for the UE in the idle mode to wake up, transmit the message, and return to sleep.

9. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the message is transmitted by the UE in the idle mode without establishing a radio resource control (RRC) connection with the access network node.

10. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein receiving the message is performed on a dedicated physical random access channel (PRACH).

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the message includes a preamble randomly selected by the UE in the idle mode from a set of available preambles.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein determining the estimated value of the number of the UEs in the idle mode is performed using the number of types of the randomly selected preambles received.

13. A specific type of randomly selected preamble is for only a subset of the at least one UE to transmit the message to the access network node. The method according to claim 12.

14. When the broadcast information indicates a probability p of accessing the dedicated PRACH, or by permitting only UEs satisfying a condition to access the dedicated PRACH, reducing access of the UEs in the idle mode to the dedicated PRACH The method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, further comprising.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the condition is that a temporary mobile subscriber identity (TMSI) of the UE in the idle mode mod N = 0.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein determining includes determining the estimated value of the number of the at least one UE by multiplying the number of the preambles received by the base station by 1 / p or N.

17. The preamble is received in Msg1 of a random access procedure. The access network node does not transmit Msg2 of the random access procedure. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 16. **Claim 18** Further comprising receiving load information of another access network node or the entire network. Determining the network energy saving configuration for the access network node is performed taking into account the load information. The method according to claim 2. **Claim 19** Further comprising transmitting a request for obtaining the load information to a core network node or another access network node. Receiving the load information includes receiving from the core network node or the other access network node in response to the request. The method according to claim 18. **Claim 20** The load information includes the number of UEs in the connected mode, non-active mode, and / or idle mode, whether a UE operating in at least one cell adjacent to the access network node is capable of network energy saving (NES), typical quality of service (QoS) requirements for traffic in the at least one cell adjacent to the access network node, the type of the at least one cell adjacent to the access network node, details of handovers to / from the at least one cell adjacent to the access network node over a given period, the NES pattern history of the at least one cell adjacent to the access network node over a given period, and typical traffic observed on the at least one cell adjacent to the access network node over a given period. including at least one of Determining the network energy saving configuration for the access network node is performed taking into account the load information. The method according to claim 19. **Claim 21** The method according to claim 20, wherein the request indicates that the access network node should receive some or all of the load information. **Claim 22** ​ ​ The request to obtain load information is sent within a UL or DL RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER message having an indication set in the load information, The load information is sent to the core network node or the access network node within a UL or DL RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER message, The method according to any one of claims 19 to 21.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein the UL and DL RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER message includes a source cell global ID (Global ID: GID) and a target cell GID.

24. A method for a core network node, the method comprising: For each of at least one user equipment (UE) in the idle mode, maintaining a record of the at least one UE in the idle mode, including an identifier of a cell on which each of the at least one UE in the idle mode is camped; Receiving, from the first access network node, first information indicating that a first UE has started camping on a cell of the first access network node; Using the first information to update the record of the first UE to reflect the cell on which the first UE has started camping; A method comprising:

25. Identifying a second access network node that controls a previous cell used by the first UE for camping before the update; Notifying the second access network node that the UE is no longer camping on its cell; The method according to claim 24, further comprising:

26. Receiving, from an access network node, a request to request load information of another access network node; Transmitting the load information of the other access network node, including the load information of any UE camping on a cell of the other access network node; The method according to claim 24 or 25, further comprising:

27. A method for a user equipment (UE) in the idle mode, the method comprising: Receiving broadcast information within a cell operated by an access network node; When the UE starts camping on the cell and / or stops camping on the cell, or when the UE wakes up from the idle mode, sending a message to the access network node; comprising; The message is used by the access network node to determine an estimated value of the number of at least one UE camping on the cell in the idle mode; Method. **Claim 28** An access network node, means for transmitting broadcast information within a cell operated by the access network node to cause at least one user equipment (UE) camping on the cell in the idle mode to send a message to the access network node; means for receiving the message from the UE in the idle mode among the at least one UE when the UE in the idle mode starts camping on the cell and / or stops camping on the cell, or when the UE in the idle mode wakes up from the idle mode; means for using the message to determine an estimated value of the number of the at least one UE; An access network node comprising. **Claim 29** A core network node, means for maintaining a record of the at least one UE in the idle mode, including an identifier of a cell on which each of the at least one UE in the idle mode is camping; means for receiving from the first access network node first information indicating that the first UE has started camping on a cell of the first access network node; means for using the first information to update the record of the first UE to reflect the cell on which the first UE has started camping; A core network node comprising. **Claim 30** A user equipment (UE) in the idle mode, wherein the UE Means for receiving broadcast information within a cell operated by an access network node, and means for transmitting a message to the access network node when the UE starts and / or stops camping on the cell, or when the UE wakes up from the idle mode comprising wherein the message is used by the access network node to determine an estimated value of the number of at least one UE camping on the cell in the idle mode UE.

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