Quality improvement methods, UPF nodes, and programs

Abstract

Providing a quality improvement method, UPF node, SMF, and program that can contribute to enriching the range of configurations that can improve the quality of user traffic as needed with a simple setup. [Solution] The UPF (User Plane Function) node includes a receiving means for receiving base station information where the UE (User Equipment) is located from the SMF (Session Management Function), a confirming means for referring to a base station list that manages base stations subject to quality improvement and confirming whether the base station where the UE is located is included in the base station list, and a requesting means for requesting a predetermined quality improvement function to improve the quality of the UE's session if the base station where the UE is located is included in the base station list.

Description

Technical Field

[0006] , , ,

[0005] ,

[0001] The present invention relates to a quality improvement method, a UPF node, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] In Patent Document 1, since a user equipment (hereinafter, referred to as "UE") has a limited ability to determine whether the base station to which it is connected is congested, a method of providing congestion information to the UE from the network platform side is disclosed. More specifically, this method includes steps of receiving a service user ID related to the UE and a related base station ID, receiving a congestion warning event message, identifying a service user on the congested base station, and notifying a user equipment on the congested base station.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the method of Patent Document 1 described above, a network congestion monitoring element is arranged on the network side and the corresponding UE is notified to prompt switching of the base station or the network and change of the behavior of the UE. However, this method has a problem that the quality of user traffic cannot be improved in real time.

[0005] The present disclosure aims to provide a quality improvement method, a UPF node, and a program that can contribute to prevention below and can improve the quality of user traffic as needed with a simple configuration.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] From the first perspective, a quality improvement method is provided which involves receiving base station information where the UE (User Equipment) is located from the SMF (Session Management Function), referring to a base station list that manages base stations subject to quality improvement, checking whether the base station where the UE is located is included in the base station list, and if the base station where the UE is located is included in the base station list, requesting a predetermined quality improvement function to improve the quality of the UE's session.

[0007] From a second perspective, a User Plane Function (UPF) node is provided, comprising: a receiving means for receiving base station information where the User Equipment (UE) is located from a Session Management Function (SMF); a confirming means for referring to a base station list that manages base stations subject to quality improvement and confirming whether the base station where the UE is located is included in the base station list; and a requesting means for requesting a predetermined quality improvement function to improve the quality of the UE's session if the base station where the UE is located is included in the base station list.

[0008] From a third perspective, a program is provided that causes a computer to perform the following steps: receive base station information where the UE (User Equipment) is located from the SMF (Session Management Function); refer to a base station list that manages base stations subject to quality improvement and check whether the base station where the UE is located is included in the base station list; and, if the base station where the UE is located is included in the base station list, request a predetermined quality improvement function to improve the quality of the UE's session. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to this disclosure, it is possible to provide a quality improvement method, UPF node, and program that can contribute to enriching the range of configurations that can improve the quality of user traffic as needed with a simple configuration. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] This figure shows one configuration of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] This is a flowchart illustrating the operation of this disclosure. [Figure 3] This is a diagram illustrating the operation of this disclosure. [Figure 4] This figure shows one configuration of the present disclosure. [Figure 5] This is a functional block diagram showing the detailed configuration of the UPF in this disclosure. [Figure 6] This figure shows an example of a list of base stations referenced by the UPF in this disclosure. [Figure 7] This is a sequence diagram illustrating the operation of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] This is a diagram illustrating the operation of this disclosure. [Figure 9] This is a sequence diagram illustrating another operation of the present disclosure. [Figure 10] This is a diagram illustrating another operation of this disclosure. [Figure 11] This is a functional block diagram showing another configuration of the UPF in this disclosure. [Figure 12] This diagram shows the configuration of the computers that make up the UPF node in this disclosure. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] First, an overview of one embodiment of this disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. The reference numerals in the drawings provided in this overview are for convenience and serve as examples to aid understanding; they are not intended to limit this disclosure to the illustrated embodiments. Furthermore, the connecting lines between blocks in the drawings and other references in the following description include both bidirectional and unidirectional lines. Unidirectional arrows schematically represent the flow of the main signal (data) and do not exclude bidirectional communication. The program is executed via a computer device, which includes, for example, a processor, storage device, input device, communication interface, and, if necessary, a display device. This computer device is also configured to communicate with internal or external devices (including computers) via the communication interface, whether wired or wireless. While there are ports or interfaces at the input / output connection points of each block in the diagram, they are not shown in the illustration.

[0012] In one embodiment, this disclosure can be implemented in a UPF node 10, as shown in Figure 1, which includes a receiving means 11, a confirmation means 12, and a request means 13. More specifically, the receiving means 11 receives base station information where the UE is located from the SMF 20. The confirmation means 12 refers to a base station list that manages base stations subject to quality improvement and confirms whether the base station where the UE is located is included in the base station list. Then, if the base station where the UE is located is included in the base station list, the request means 13 requests a predetermined quality improvement function 30 to improve the quality of the UE's session.

[0013] The UPF node 10 configured as described above operates as follows: First, the UPF node 10 receives base station information where the UE is located from the SMF20 (step S01 in Figure 2).

[0014] Next, the UPF node 10 refers to a base station list that manages base stations to be targeted for quality improvement, and checks whether the base station where the UE is located is included in the base station list (step S02 in FIG. 2). As the base stations to be targeted for quality improvement, base stations where quality degradation has occurred, such as a large number of UEs being in the area, can be set.

[0015] As a result of the check, if the base station notified from the SMF 20 is included in the base station list, the UPF node 10 requests the predetermined quality improvement function 30 to improve the quality of the UE's session (step S03 in FIG. 2).

[0016] FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the present disclosure. In the example of FIG. 3, base station 60-1 is listed in the base station list, and base station 60-2 is not listed. Assume that new UEs UE1 and UE2 are newly connected to such base stations 60-1 and 60-2. First, when UE1 is connected, the UPF node 10 receives information on base station 60-1 from the SMF 20. In this case, since base station 60-1 is listed in the base station list, the UPF node 10 requests the quality improvement function 30 to improve the quality of the session of UE1. On the other hand, when UE2 is connected, the UPF node 10 receives information on base station 60-2 from the SMF 20. In this case, since base station 60-2 is not listed in the base station list, the UPF node 10 does not request the quality improvement function 30 to improve the quality of the session of UE2.

[0017] According to the UPF node 10 operating as described above, it is possible to identify traffic that requires quality improvement and perform necessary countermeasures without collecting and analyzing traffic. The present disclosure has an advantage in that it does not require a large amount of computing resources such as a network congestion monitoring element even in comparison with a configuration such as Patent Document 1.

[0018] [First Embodiment] Next, a first embodiment applying this disclosure to the UPF of a 5G (fifth-generation) core network (hereinafter, "5GC") will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Referring to Figure 4, a configuration is shown in which base stations gnb A to gnb C, an AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function) 400, an SMF 200, a UPF 100, and a quality improvement function 300 are arranged, and a UE can connect to a data network (DN) 600 such as the Internet. Note that 5GC includes UDM (Unified Data Management), AUSF (Authentication Server Function), PCF (Policy Control Function), etc., but these are omitted in Figure 5.

[0019] The AMF400 accommodates base stations gnb A to gnb C and manages the mobility of UEs. The SMF200 manages PDU (Protocol Data Unit) sessions and controls the UPF100 for purposes such as QoS (Quality of Service) and policy implementation. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the SMF200 has the function of transmitting information about the opposing base station (hereinafter referred to as "base station") where the UE is located to the UPF100, triggered by a notification of a new UE call connection or handover from the AMF400. In this embodiment, the SMF200 is described as transmitting the IP address of the base station as base station information.

[0020] The quality improvement function 300 is a function that improves the quality of a specific PDU session by applying TCP optimization processing that applies optimal communication parameters for each session according to network characteristics and conditions, video paging processing that controls traffic flow, and video compression processing. The quality improvement function 300 can also use the TMS media optimizer, which the applicant provides as a Traffic Management Solution (TMS).

[0021] UPF100 is responsible for routing and forwarding user packets, packet inspection, QoS processing, etc., under the control of SMF200. UPF100 corresponds to the UPF node 10 mentioned above.

[0022] Figure 5 is a functional block diagram showing the detailed configuration of the UPF100. Referring to Figure 5, the UPF100 comprises a receiving unit 101, a verification unit 102, a packet processing unit 103, and a base station list storage unit 104.

[0023] The receiving unit 101 receives information from the SMF 200 about the base station where the UE is located and sends it to the confirmation unit 102. Such a receiving unit 101 can be realized by a function that receives a control message containing the base station information from the SMF 200. Furthermore, this receiving unit 101 corresponds to the receiving means 11 described above.

[0024] The base station list storage unit 104 stores a list of base stations that are subject to quality improvement. Figure 6 shows an example of a base station list held in the base station list storage unit 104. In the example in Figure 6, the ID and IP address of the base station subject to quality improvement are set.

[0025] Such a list of base stations can be created by following these steps: First, (1) refer to the logs of the quality improvement function and extract UEs that meet the predetermined poor quality conditions. (2) Next, use the UPF100 logs to extract the base stations used by the UEs that meet those poor quality conditions.

[0026] Furthermore, it is desirable that the above-mentioned base station list be updated at predetermined time intervals. For example, the base station list can be updated by adding or removing base stations from the list using one or more rules such as the following. (3-1) Quality judgment results of other systems and network elements related to quality control Add base stations with poor quality assessment results and remove base stations with improved quality assessment results. (3-2) Event planning where people gather in a specific area, such as fireworks displays or New Year's visits to shrines. Add base stations in areas where people are expected to gather, and remove base stations once the expected gathering has ended. (3-3) Fault detection and maintenance schedule at surrounding base stations Add adjacent base stations to base stations that have stopped providing service, and remove adjacent base stations to base stations that have resumed service. (3-4) Increase or decrease in posts pointing out the decline in quality on SNS (Social Networking Service) We will add base stations in areas where the number of posts pointing out a decline in quality has increased, and remove base stations in areas where such posts have decreased. Of course, these are just examples, and base stations can be added or removed using other rules. Adding or removing base stations from the above-mentioned base station list may be done automatically by the UPF100 or other devices at predetermined time intervals, or it may be done manually by the system administrator.

[0027] When the confirmation unit 102 receives the base station information from the receiving unit 101, it checks whether the received base station information is included in the base station list described above, and notifies the packet processing unit 103 of the result. The confirmation unit 102 also retains the previous confirmation result for each base station for a predetermined period, and is able to detect when a base station has been removed from the base station list or when a base station has been newly added to the base station list. This confirmation unit 102 corresponds to the confirmation means 12 described above.

[0028] If the packet processing unit 103 confirms that the base station information is included in the base station list, it marks the corresponding UE's PDU session as a target for quality improvement and then forwards the corresponding UE's packets to the quality improvement function 300. On the other hand, if the base station information is not included in the base station list, the packet processing unit 103 forwards the packets of the corresponding UE's PDU session to the DN600 side as is. The marking of the PDU session can be achieved, for example, by writing information indicating that it is a target for quality improvement in a predetermined area of ​​the packet header. This packet processing unit 103 corresponds to the request means 13 described above.

[0029] Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Figure 7 is a sequence diagram showing the operation when a UE makes a new call connection. Referring to Figure 7, when the UE makes a call connection to 5GC via RAN (Radio Access Network), AMF400, and SMF (step S000), SMF200 transmits information about the base station where the UE is located to UPF100 (step S001).

[0030] Upon receiving the information of the aforementioned base station, UPF100 checks whether the UE's base station exists in the base station list (step S002). If the result of the check is that the UE's base station exists in the base station list (Yes in step S003), UPF100 requests the quality improvement function 300 to designate the UE's session as a target for quality improvement (step S004). Specifically, UE100 marks the UE's PDU session as a target for quality improvement and subsequently forwards the UE's packets to the quality improvement function 300.

[0031] Upon receiving the aforementioned request, the quality improvement function 300 starts the quality improvement process for the PDU session of the relevant UE (step S005). However, if it is determined in step S003 that there is no base station for the UE in the base station list (No. in step S003), the UPF 100 omits the above process.

[0032] Figure 8 illustrates the operation of UPF100 when a base station of a UE notified by SMF200 exists in the base station list. In the example in Figure 8, among base stations gnb A to gnb C, the areas of base stations gnb A and gnb C are congested, and information on these base stations is registered in the base station list. In this case, when UE1 connects to base station gnb A, UPF100 determines that UE1's PDU session is subject to quality improvement because base station gnb A, to which UE1 is connected, is registered in the base station list. As a result, UPF100 sends UE1's PDU session to the quality improvement function 300 and requests quality improvement. Note that if base station gnb A, to which UE1 is connected, is not registered in the base station list, UPF100 does not send a quality improvement request to the quality improvement function 300.

[0033] Let's assume that UE1 then moves and a handover occurs. Figure 9 is a sequence diagram showing the operation when the UE performs a handover. Referring to Figure 9, when the UE performs a handover (step S100), SMF200 transmits information about the base station where the UE is located to UPF100 again (step S101).

[0034] Upon receiving the information of the aforementioned base station, the UPF100 checks whether the UE's base station exists in the base station list (step S102). If, as a result of the check, UE1 moves from a congested base station to a normal, uncongested base station (Yes in step S103), the session of the corresponding UE is removed from the quality improvement target and the transfer to the quality improvement function 300 is canceled (step S104). Whether or not UE1 has moved from a congested base station to a normal, uncongested base station can be confirmed by the fact that UE1, which was registered in the base station list, is no longer registered in the base station list.

[0035] On the other hand, if UE1 moves from a normal, uncongested base station to a congested base station (Yes in step S105), UPF100 requests the quality improvement function 300 to designate the UE's session as a target for quality improvement (step S106). Specifically, UE100 marks the UE's PDU session as a target for quality improvement and subsequently forwards the UE's packets to the quality improvement function 300. Whether or not UE1 has moved from an uncongested base station to a congested base station can be confirmed by whether UE1, which was not registered in the base station list, becomes a registered base station in the base station list.

[0036] In other cases (No. in step S103, No. in step S105), UPF100 continues the previous processing.

[0037] Figure 10 illustrates the operation of UPF100 when UE1 moves from the service area of ​​base station gnb A to the less congested service area of ​​base station gnb B. At the time shown in Figure 10, the base station list remains unchanged, and it is assumed that the areas of base stations gnb A and gnb C are congested, and the information for these base stations is registered in the base station list. In this case, when UE1 hands over from the area of ​​base station gnb A to the area of ​​base station gnb B, SMF200 transmits the information of base station gnb B to which UE1 is connected to UPF100. Since base station gnb B is not registered in the base station list, UPF100 removes UE1's PDU session from the quality improvement target.

[0038] In the example shown in Figure 10, UPF100 continues to forward TCP communications already established before the handover to the quality improvement function 300 as targets for quality improvement. This is to avoid disconnecting communications due to the process of removing them from the quality improvement targets.

[0039] As explained above, this disclosure makes it possible to detect the occurrence of traffic requiring quality improvement and promptly implement quality improvement processing without deploying packet capture devices or analysis devices on the network side. This is because the system employs a configuration that determines whether quality improvement is necessary based on the base station where the UE is located and requests processing from the quality improvement function 300.

[0040] Furthermore, according to this disclosure, by appropriately updating the base station list held in the base station list storage unit 104, it is possible to respond to changes in congested areas that occur for various reasons. For example, if base station gnb B in Figure 8 is expected to be congested during a certain time period, the information of base station gnb B can be registered in the base station list. In this way, when a new UE connects to a call from base station gnb B, that PDU session can be targeted for quality improvement.

[0041] Furthermore, although not explained in the above-described embodiment, if the UE moves at high speed over a long distance, the UPF100 may switch to another UPF. By providing this destination UPF with the same functionality as the UPF100 of this disclosure, the handover determination described above can be performed, and the quality improvement process can be continued.

[0042] [Second Embodiment] For example, in the embodiments described above, the UPF 100 and the quality improvement function 300 were described as being independently provided, but the quality improvement function 300 may also be provided within the UPF 100. Figure 11 is a functional block diagram showing another configuration of the UPF of this disclosure. The difference from the UPF 100 of the first embodiment shown in Figure 5 is that a quality improvement unit 105 is provided within the UPF 100a, and the packet processing unit 103a requests quality improvement processing from this quality improvement unit 105.

[0043] The quality improvement unit 105, similar to the quality improvement function 300 of the first embodiment, improves the quality of a specific PDU session by performing TCP optimization processing, video paging processing with flow rate control, video compression processing, etc.

[0044] If the packet processing unit 103a confirms that the base station information is included in the base station list, it marks the corresponding UE's PDU session as a target for quality improvement and subsequently forwards the corresponding UE's packets to the quality improvement unit 105. On the other hand, if the base station information is not included in the base station list, the packet processing unit 103a forwards the packets of the corresponding UE's PDU session to the DN600 side as is.

[0045] As explained above, this disclosure can also be modified to include a configuration in which the UPF100 has a built-in quality improvement function, enabling the detection of traffic requiring quality improvement and prompt implementation of quality improvement processing without any problems.

[0046] While embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above, and further modifications, substitutions, and adjustments can be made without departing from the basic technical concept of the present disclosure. For example, the network configurations, element configurations, and data representations shown in each drawing are examples to aid in understanding the present disclosure and are not limited to the configurations shown in these drawings.

[0047] While embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above, and further modifications, substitutions, and adjustments can be made without departing from the basic technical concept of the present disclosure. For example, the network configurations, element configurations, and data representations shown in each drawing are examples to aid in understanding the present disclosure and are not limited to the configurations shown in these drawings.

[0048] For example, in the embodiment described above, an example was given in which the base station list storage unit 104 is provided within the UPF 100, 100a, but the base station list storage unit 104 may be located in an external storage device accessible by the UPF 100, 100a.

[0049] (Regarding hardware configuration) In each embodiment of this disclosure, each component of each device represents a functional unit block. Some or all of each component of each device is realized by any combination of an information processing device 900 and a program, for example, as shown in Figure 12. Figure 12 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the information processing device 900 that realizes each component of each device. The information processing device 900 includes, as an example, the following configuration. ·CPU(Central Processing Unit)901 • ROM (Read Only Memory) 902 ·RAM(Random Access Memory)903 Program 904 is loaded into RAM903. • Storage device 905 for storing program 904 • Drive device 907 for reading and writing recording medium 906 • Communication interface 908 connected to communication network 909 • Input / output interface 910 for data input and output. • Bus 911 connecting each component

[0050] Each component of each device in each embodiment is realized by the CPU 901 acquiring and executing a program 904 that realizes these functions. That is, the CPU 901 in Figure 12 executes a base station verification program and a packet processing program, and performs update processing of each calculation parameter held in RAM 903, storage device 905, etc. The program 904 that realizes the functions of each component of each device is, for example, stored in advance in storage device 905 or ROM 902, and read by the CPU 901 as needed. The program 904 may be supplied to the CPU 901 via a communication network 909, or it may be stored in advance in a recording medium 906, and the drive device 907 may read the program and supply it to the CPU 901.

[0051] There are various variations in how each device is implemented. For example, each device may be implemented by any combination of a separate information processing device 900 and a program for each component. Alternatively, multiple components of each device may be implemented by any combination of a single information processing device 900 and a program. That is, each part (processing means, function) of the UPF node (UPF) described above can be implemented by a computer program that causes a processor mounted on the device to execute the described processing using its hardware.

[0052] Furthermore, some or all of the components of each device are realized by other general-purpose or dedicated circuits, processors, etc., or combinations thereof. These may be made up of a single chip or multiple chips connected via a bus.

[0053] Some or all of the components of each device may be realized by a combination of the circuits and programs described above.

[0054] When some or all of the components of each device are implemented by multiple information processing devices or circuits, these multiple information processing devices or circuits may be centrally located or distributed. For example, the information processing devices or circuits may be implemented in a form in which each is connected via a communication network, such as a client-and-server system or a cloud computing system.

[0055] The embodiments described above are preferred embodiments of this disclosure and do not limit the scope of this disclosure to these embodiments alone. That is, a person skilled in the art can modify or substitute the embodiments described above to construct various modified forms without departing from the gist of this disclosure.

[0056] Some or all of the above embodiments may also be described as follows, but are not limited to these.

[0057] [Note 1] The Session Management Function (SMF) receives information about the base station where the User Equipment (UE) is located. Refer to the base station list that manages the base stations subject to quality improvement, and check whether the base station where the UE is located is included in the base station list. If the base station where the aforementioned UE is located is included in the base station list, a request is made to a predetermined quality improvement function to improve the quality of the UE's session. Quality improvement methods. [Note 2] In the quality improvement method described above, If the base station where the aforementioned UE is located is not included in the base station list, a method can be adopted to exclude the UE's session from the quality improvement target. [Note 3] In the above-described quality improvement method, The base station information where the aforementioned UE is located can be provided by a method that notifies the UE when it connects to a call or when it performs a handover. [Note 4] In the quality improvement method described above, The base station list may be created by extracting UEs that are subject to quality improvement in the quality improvement function, and then extracting the base stations used by those UEs. [Note 5] In the quality improvement method described above, The aforementioned base station list may be updated using one or more of the following: event information around the base station, base station failure reports, or user complaints. [Note 6] A receiving means for receiving base station information where the UE (User Equipment) is located from the SMF (Session Management Function), A means for checking whether the base station where the UE is located is included in the base station list, which manages the base stations subject to quality improvement, and which refers to a list of base stations that manages the base stations subject to quality improvement. If the base station where the aforementioned UE is located is one of the base stations included in the base station list, a request means for requesting a predetermined quality improvement function to improve the quality of the UE's session, A UPF (User Plane Function) node equipped with [this feature]. [Note 7] The request means of the UPF node described above can be configured to exclude the UE's session from the quality improvement target if the base station where the UE is located is not included in the base station list. [Note 8] In the UPF node described above, Information about the base station where the aforementioned UE is located can be notified when the UE establishes a call or during a handover. [Note 9] In the UPF node described above, The base station list can be created by extracting the UEs that are subject to quality improvement in the quality improvement function, and then extracting the base stations used by those UEs. [Note 10] In the UPF node described above, The aforementioned base station list can be updated using one or more of the following: event information around the base station, base station failure reports, or user complaints. [Note 11] The SMF (Session Management Function) transmits base station information where the UE is located to the UPF node mentioned above. [Note 12] The process involves receiving information about the base station where the UE (User Equipment) is located from the SMF (Session Management Function), and The process involves referring to a list of base stations that manage the base stations subject to quality improvement, and checking whether the base station where the UE is located is included in the base station list. If the base station where the aforementioned UE is located is a base station included in the base station list, the process of requesting a predetermined quality improvement function to improve the quality of the UE's session is performed. A program that is executed by a computer. Furthermore, the forms described in each of the above appendices can be combined with each other after making the necessary modifications. For example, a configuration that combines the contents described in appendice 2 and the contents described in appendice 3 is also included in the scope of disclosure of this specification. In this case, the communication method of this disclosure notifies the base station information where the UE is located when the UE connects to a call or when a handover occurs, and if the base station where the UE is located is not included in the base station list, the UE's session is excluded from the quality improvement target. Furthermore, the form described in appendice 12 can be expanded into the forms described in appendices 2 to 5, similar to appendice 1.

[0058] Furthermore, each disclosure in the above-mentioned patent documents is incorporated into this document by reference and may be used as the basis or part of this disclosure as necessary. Within the framework of this disclosure (including the claims), further modifications and adjustments to the embodiments or examples are possible based on their fundamental technical ideas. Also, within the framework of this disclosure, various combinations or selections (including partial deletions) of various disclosure elements (including each element of each claim, each element of each embodiment or example, each element of each drawing, etc.) are possible. In other words, this disclosure naturally includes the entire disclosure, including the claims, and various modifications and alterations that a person skilled in the art could make in accordance with the technical idea. In particular, with respect to the numerical ranges described in this document, any numerical value or sub-range included within that range should be interpreted as being specifically described, even if not otherwise stated. Furthermore, each disclosure item of the above-mentioned cited documents may, as necessary, be used in part or in whole as part of this disclosure, in accordance with the spirit of this disclosure, and this is also considered to be included in the disclosure items of this application. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0059] 10 UPF nodes 11 Receiving means 12. Verification methods 13. Method of making a request 20,200 SMF 30, 300 quality improvement functions 60-1, 60-2, gnb A~gnb C base station 100, 100a UPF 400 AMF 600 DN 101 Receiving Unit 102 Verification Section 103, 103a Packet Processing Unit 104 Base station list storage unit 105 Quality Improvement Department 900 Information Processing Equipment 901 CPU(Central Processing Unit) 902 ROM (Read Only Memory) 903 RAM (Random Access Memory) 904 Program 905 Storage device 906 Recording media 907 Drive unit 908 Communication Interface 909 Communication Network 910 Input / Output Interface 911 Bus

Claims

1. The UE (User Equipment) receives base station information from the SMF (Session Management Function) and Refer to the base station list that manages the base stations subject to quality improvement, and check whether the base station where the UE is located is included in the base station list. If the base station where the aforementioned UE is located is one of the base stations included in the base station list, a request is made to a predetermined quality improvement function to improve the quality of the UE's session. Quality improvement methods.

2. If the base station where the aforementioned UE is located is not included in the base station list, the UE's session will be excluded from the quality improvement target. The quality improvement method of claim 1.

3. The quality improvement method of claim 1, wherein the base station information in which the UE is located is notified when the UE connects to a call or during a handover.

4. The method for improving quality according to claim 1, wherein the base station list is created by extracting UEs that are subject to quality improvement in the quality improvement function and extracting the base stations used by the UEs.

5. A quality improvement method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the base station list is updated using one or more of the following: event information around the base station, base station failure reports, and user complaints.

6. A receiving means that receives base station information where a UE (User Equipment) is located from an SMF (Session Management Function), A means for checking whether the base station in which the UE is located is included in the base station list that manages the base stations subject to quality improvement, and which refers to a list of base stations that manages the base stations subject to quality improvement. If the base station where the UE is located is a base station included in the base station list, a request means for requesting a predetermined quality improvement function to improve the quality of the UE's session, A UPF (User Plane Function) node equipped with [the necessary features].

7. The request means excludes the session of the UE from the quality improvement target if the base station in which the UE is located is not included in the base station list, according to claim 6.

8. The UPF node of claim 6, in which the base station information of the UE located is notified when the UE connects to a call or during a handover.

9. The UPF node according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the base station list is updated using one or more of the following: event information around the base station, base station failure reports, and user complaints.

10. The process involves receiving base station information where the UE (User Equipment) is located from the SMF (Session Management Function), and The process involves referring to a list of base stations that manage the base stations subject to quality improvement, and checking whether the base station where the UE is located is included in the base station list. If the base station where the UE is located is one of the base stations included in the base station list, the process of requesting a predetermined quality improvement function to improve the quality of the UE's session is performed. A program that is executed by a computer.

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