Wireless communication network control component and method for wireless communication network control

Abstract

This invention relates to wireless communication network control components and methods for controlling wireless communication networks. [Solution] A wireless communication network control component is described according to one embodiment. The component includes a controller configured to determine an association for each of one or more propagation environment elements of a radio wave propagation environment, specifying which of one or more base stations of the wireless communication network will use the propagation environment element to communicate with a mobile terminal by radio wave propagation through the propagation environment element; and a receiver configured to receive a wireless communication network and a message indicating a change in the operation of one or more propagation environment elements. One or more propagation environment elements include a network control repeater and / or a programmable metasurface unit, and the controller is configured to update the association in response to the receipt of a message and to trigger a command to one or more base stations to operate according to the updated association.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to wireless communication network control components and methods for wireless communication network control.

Background Art

[0002] A communication system may include propagation environment elements that can interact with one or more of the radio access networks (RANs) of the communication system and can direct the propagation of radio waves to a mobile terminal. For example, towards 6G, programmable metasurfaces are expected to play an important role in expanding the RAN capabilities close to the mobile terminal. In principle, the capabilities of propagation environment elements may be limited, and when two or more RAN components (i.e., typically base stations) impose different requirements on the operation of the propagation environment elements, it may not be possible for the same propagation environment element to support the communication of these RAN components. Therefore, an efficient approach for controlling a radio access network that includes or operates within a propagation environment containing (e.g., controllable) propagation environment elements is desirable.

Summary of the Invention

[0003] According to one embodiment, a wireless communication network control component is provided. The wireless communication network control component includes a controller configured to determine an association for each of one or more propagation environment elements of a radio wave propagation environment, specifying which of one or more base stations of the wireless communication network will use the propagation environment element to communicate with a mobile terminal by radio wave propagation through the propagation environment element; and a receiver configured to receive messages indicating a change in the operation of the wireless communication network or one or more propagation environment elements. Here, one or more propagation environment elements include one or more network control repeaters and / or one or more programmable metasurface units, and the controller is configured to update the association in response to the receipt of a message and to trigger a command to one or more base stations to operate in the updated manner according to the association.

[0004] In a further embodiment, a method is provided for controlling a wireless communication network according to the wireless communication network control component described above. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0005] In the drawings, similar reference numerals generally refer to the same parts throughout different views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, and instead, the emphasis is generally on illustrating the principles of the invention. Various embodiments are described in the following description with reference to the following drawings. [Figure 1] Figure 1 shows a mobile wireless communication system according to one embodiment. [Figure 2] Figure 2 shows the propagation environment in which two RANs (radio access networks) exchange radio waves with UEs (user equipment). [Figure 3]Figure 3 shows the data flow path between a disaggregated RAN and an UE in the case of propagation via a PMU (Programmable Metasurface Unit). [Figure 4] Figure 4 shows the data flow path between a non-aggregated RAN and an UE in the case of propagation via an NCR (Network Controlled Repeater). [Figure 5] Figure 5 shows the data flow for RAN-PEE (Propagation Environment Elements) association management. [Figure 6] Figure 6 shows the communication between the RAN and UE in a multi-hop scheme. [Figure 7] Figure 7 shows a graphical representation of multiple paths, each with multiple hops between the RAN and UE, via multiple PEEs. [Figure 8] Figure 8 illustrates the RAN-PEE association management approach described above in an O-RAN (Open RAN) environment. [Figure 9] Figure 9 shows a flowchart illustrating PMU reconfiguration in an O-RAN (Open RAN) environment. [Figure 10] Figure 10 shows a flowchart illustrating how to handle PMU failures in an O-RAN (Open RAN) environment. [Figure 11] Figure 11 shows a wireless communication network control component according to one embodiment. [Figure 12] Figure 12 shows a flowchart illustrating how to control a wireless communication network. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0006] The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate specific details and embodiments of the present disclosure in which the present invention may be carried out. Other embodiments may be utilized, and structural, logical, and electrical modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Since some embodiments of the present disclosure may be combined with one or more other embodiments of the present disclosure to form new embodiments, the various embodiments of the present disclosure are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

[0007] Various examples corresponding to the aspects of this disclosure are described below.

[0008] Example 1 is a wireless communication network control component, a controller configured to determine associations, the associations including a controller that, for each of one or more propagation environment elements of a radio wave propagation environment, specifies which of one or more base stations of the wireless communication network will use the propagation environment element to communicate with a mobile terminal by radio wave propagation through the propagation environment element, and a receiver configured to receive messages indicating changes in the operation of the wireless communication network or the one or more propagation environment elements. The controller is configured to update the associations in response to the receipt of the messages and to trigger a command to the one or more base stations to operate in accordance with the updated associations.

[0009] Example 2 is a wireless communication component according to Example 1, wherein the one or more propagation environment elements include at least one controllable propagation environment element, and the controller is configured to instruct the at least one controllable propagation environment element to operate according to the updated association.

[0010] Example 3 is a wireless communication component according to Example 1 or 2, where the one or more propagation environment elements are active propagation environment elements.

[0011] Example 4 is a wireless communication component according to any one of Examples 1 to 3, wherein the one or more propagation environment elements include one or more network control repeaters and / or one or more programmable metasurface units.

[0012] Example 5 is a wireless communication component according to any one of Examples 1 to 4, wherein the change in operation is a change in the operation of one of the one or more base stations and / or one of the one or more propagation environment elements, a failure of one of the one or more base stations and / or one of the one or more propagation environment elements, and / or a change in the load of one of the one or more base stations and / or one of the one or more propagation environment elements.

[0013] Example 6 is a wireless communication component according to any one of Examples 1 to 5, wherein the change in operation is a requested change in operation relating to one of the one or more base stations and / or one of the one or more propagation environment elements by the operation support system and / or business support system of the communication system to which the wireless communication network control component belongs.

[0014] Example 7 is a wireless communication component according to any one of Examples 1 to 6, wherein the change in operation is a change in the operation of one or more base stations, and the controller is configured to determine from the association which of the one or more propagation environment elements is affected by the change in operation because it is associated with at least one base station whose operation has changed, and to update the association taking into account the one or more affected propagation environment elements.

[0015] Example 8 is a wireless communication component according to any one of Examples 1 through 7, which is at least in part a service management and organization component, or part of a quasi-real-time wireless access network intelligent controller.

[0016] Example 10 is a wireless communication component according to any one of Examples 1 to 9, wherein the association is configured to be updated in consideration of the current configuration of one or more of the one or more base stations and / or one or more of the propagation environment elements.

[0017] Example 11 is a wireless communication component according to any one of Examples 1 to 10, wherein the receiver is configured to receive information regarding the current configuration and / or capabilities of one or more of the propagation environment elements, and wherein the controller is configured to determine the association and / or update the association in consideration of the current configuration and / or capabilities of one or more of the propagation environment elements.

[0018] Example 12 is a wireless communication component according to any one of Examples 1 to 11, wherein instructing the one or more base stations to operate according to the updated association includes notifying the one or more base stations about the updated association.

[0019] Example 13 is a wireless communication component according to any one of Examples 1 to 12, wherein determining the association includes receiving a specification of the association.

[0020] Example 14 is a wireless communication component according to any one of Examples 1 to 13, wherein the controller is configured to determine the association and / or the controller is configured to update the association in consideration of an operator policy.

[0021] Example 15 is a wireless communication component according to any one of Examples 1 to 14, wherein the association and / or the updated association specify, for at least some of one or more of the propagation environment elements, which propagation environment elements form a radio wave propagation path together.

[0022] Example 16 is a wireless communication component according to any one of Examples 1 to 15, wherein the controller is configured to trigger the organization and management system to be notified of the updated association.

[0023] Example 17 is a method for controlling a wireless communication network, the method comprising the step of determining associations, the associations being, for each of one or more propagation environment elements of a radio wave propagation environment, which of one or more base stations of the wireless communication network will use the propagation environment element to communicate with a mobile terminal by radio wave propagation through the propagation environment element; the step of receiving a message indicating a change in the operation of the wireless communication network or the one or more propagation environment elements; the step of updating the associations in response to the receipt of the message; and the step of instructing the one or more base stations to operate in accordance with the updated associations.

[0024] It should be noted that one or more of the features of the above examples can be combined with any one of the other examples. In particular, the examples described in the context of wireless communication network control components are equally valid for methods.

[0025] In a further embodiment, a computer-readable medium is provided which includes a computer program and, when executed by the computer, causes the computer to perform any one of the methods described above.

[0026] Various examples are explained in more detail below.

[0027] Figure 1 shows a mobile radio communication system 100. In this example, the mobile radio communication system 100 includes both a 4G portion and a 5G portion, but it may include only one of them.

[0028] The mobile radio communication system 100 includes mobile radio terminal devices 102, such as UE (user equipment). The mobile radio terminal devices 102, also called subscriber terminals, form the terminal side, while the other components of the mobile radio communication system 100 described below are part of the mobile communication network side, i.e., part of the mobile communication network (e.g., Public Land Mobile Network, PLMN).

[0029] In the 5G portion, the mobile radio communication system 100 includes a 5G radio access network (RAN) 103, which may include multiple radio access network nodes, i.e., 5G base stations (gNBs) configured to provide radio access in accordance with 5G (fifth-generation) radio access technology (5G new radio). Each 5G radio access network node may provide radio communication with the mobile radio terminal device 102 via an air interface. It should be noted that the 5G radio access network 103 may include any number of radio access network nodes.

[0030] Furthermore, in the 5G portion, the mobile radio communication system 100 includes a 5G core network (5GC) 101, which includes an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 104 and a Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF) 105 connected to the 5G RAN 103. There is also a Unified Data Management (UDM, not shown in Figure 1), which may further consist of an actual UE subscription database, and is known, for example, as a Unified Data Repository (UDR). The 5G core network further includes an Authentication Server Function (AUSF) 106, a Policy Control Function (PCF) 107, an Application Function (AF) 108, a Network Exposure Function (NEF) 109, and a Session Management Function (SMF) 110.

[0031] Furthermore, the 5G RAN103 is connected to the data network (DN)112 via the user plane function (UPF)111. The SMF110 is for handling PDU (Protocol Data Unit) sessions, specifically for creating, updating, and deleting PDU sessions, and for managing the session context with the user plane function (UPF)111.

[0032] In the 4G portion, the communication system 100 includes a 4G radio access network 113, i.e., E-UTRAN, which may include multiple radio access network nodes. These are 4G base stations (eNBs) configured to provide radio access according to 4G (fourth-generation) radio access technology, i.e., LTE (Long-Term Evolution). Again, it should be noted that each 4G radio access network node may provide wireless communication with the mobile radio terminal device 102 via an air interface, and that the 4G radio access network 103 may include any number of 4G radio access network nodes.

[0033] Furthermore, in the 4G portion, the mobile radio communication system 100 includes a 4G core network (4GS) 114, which includes a Serving Gateway (S-GW) 115, a PDN (Packet Data Network) gateway (P-GW) 116, a Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) 117, and a Mobility Management Entity (MME) 118.

[0034] The 5G RAN103 and 5G core network 101, and / or the 4G RAN113 and 4G core network 114, form the network side of a mobile radio communication system, or in other words, form a 5G and / or 4G mobile radio communication network. The mobile radio communication network and the mobile terminals that access the mobile radio communication network together form a mobile radio communication system.

[0035] Communication between RAN103, 113 and UE 102, i.e., the air interface, is facilitated by the transmission of radio waves in the propagation environment (PE). The propagation environment includes various PE elements (PEEs) 119, i.e., various objects that influence the propagation of radio waves. These may be cars and buildings, but may also be controllable and / or active PE elements that are intentionally positioned to influence the propagation of radio waves, in particular programmable metasurface units (PMUs) and network-controlled repeaters (NCRs).

[0036] According to various embodiments, the communication system 100 further includes a propagation environment function (PEF) 120 which can interact with both the 5G core network 101 and the 5G RAN 103, and similarly, both the 4G core network 114 and the 4G RAN 113. Each PEE 119 is connected to the PEF 120 by a propagation environment control and management component (PE-C) 121.

[0037] Figure 2 shows a propagation environment 200 in which two RANs 201 and 202 exchange radio waves with a UE 203 equipped with multiple PMUs 204 and multiple NCRs 205.

[0038] Figure 3 shows the data flow path between the non-aggregated RAN (specifically, the centralized unit 301, the distributed unit 302, and the wireless unit 303) and the UE 305 in the case of propagation via the PMU 304 within the PE.

[0039] Figure 4 shows the data flow path between the non-centralized RAN (specifically, the centralized unit 401, the distributed unit 402, and the wireless unit 403) and the UE 405 in the case of propagation via the NCR 404 within the PE.

[0040] A problem arises where, if one or more PE elements (PEEs) exist within the propagation environment (PE), a signal sent by a RAN (e.g., a base station (e.g., an eNB or gNB)) may reach the UE with or without passing through a given PEE used to communicate with the UE (sending data to the UE and / or receiving data from the UE).

[0041] For example, a PEE can only receive signals from a limited number (e.g., one) of RANs or base stations at a time and transmit them to a specific UE located in a designated room of a building.

[0042] For example, if multiple gNBs / RUs (belonging to the same operator / slice or different operators / slices) are transmitting to the same PMU located in the same geographic area, joint optimization of RAN operation with PMU operation may not be achievable (for example, depending on the PMU configuration, signal multiplexing in the PMU may lead to completely undesirable signal reception on the UE, or even no reception at all if the PMU is tuned to operate as a signal absorber).

[0043] Accordingly, according to various embodiments, approaches are provided to control, for example, which elements of the propagation environment (PE) are used by the RAN component (e.g., a base station, e.g., a given eNB or gNB) to transmit to the UE or group of UEs, for each of the RAN or groups of RAN components.

[0044] To this end, the following is provided in a communication system according to various embodiments: ●First component (hereinafter referred to as Component A (Comp-A)): Provides propagation environment (PE) information (e.g., configuration information, operating status, etc.). ●Second component (hereinafter referred to as Component B (Comp-B)): Comp-B collects information from base stations (e.g., gNB), RAN controllers, and other control and management systems (e.g., OSS / BSS (Operation Support System / Business Support System)), and determines the association between RAN elements (eNB, gNB, DU-RU, etc.) and PEEs (e.g., NCR, PMU), thereby enabling RAN elements to interact with PEEs (i.e., being permitted to interact) (hereinafter referred to as the "RAN-PEE" association). Comp-B can be deployed in a central function that has a global view of PE and RAN, or as a distributed component installed in each of multiple RAN elements (e.g., base stations (e.g., gNB)). ● Third component (hereinafter referred to as Component C (Comp-C)): Transfers association information to RAN elements (e.g., base stations (e.g., gNBs), or base station (e.g., gNB) management / control systems). Comp-C can be deployed in a central function that has a global view of PE and RAN, or as a distributed component installed in each of multiple RAN elements (e.g., base stations (e.g., gNBs)).

[0045] These components allow for control over the use of PEE when efficiently interacting with one or more RANs, thus enabling efficient RAN operation (for example, radio signal transmission uses beamforming, as omni-directional transmission can be suboptimal in terms of interference and transmit power management).

[0046] Changes in associations (see Comp-B) can be triggered by multiple factors. ●Policy updates sent via OSS / BSS ● Changes to the Service Level Agreement (SLA) between the PMU and / or NCR provider and the communication system operator (e.g., PLMN operator). ● Increased heavy load in the area of ​​the relevant wireless cell ● Receipt of intent requests (intent-based management requests for RANs, and / or intents targeting PMUs) ● Autonomous decision-making based on NWDAF (Network Data Analysis Function) and / or MDA analysis. ● Failure of RAN element or PE element

[0047] Figure 5 shows the data flow for RAN-PE element association management, which includes the three components described above. ●In this example, Comp-A is implemented by a first PE-C (Propagation Environment Control and Management) component 501 for NCR503 and a second PE-C component 502 for PMU504 (there may be multiple NCRs and / or multiple PMUs and / or multiple PE-Cs to implement Comp-A). ●Comp-B is implemented in this example by association decision policymaker 505. ●Comp-C is implemented in this example by output generator 506.

[0048] Comp-A, and possibly RAN-C507 (RAN control and management entities) coupled to one or more RAN 508s, their respective core networks 509, and further components such as OSS / BSS510, provide input information 513 for Comp-B (processed by input handler 511), for example consulting the association policy inventory 512 to determine RAN-PE element associations. New or updated associations are stored in the association policy inventory 512. Comp-C reads the new or updated policies from the association policy inventory 512 and feeds this information back to Comp-A, RAN-C507, RAN508, core network 509, and / or OSS / BSS510.

[0049] For simplicity, interactions between the core network 509 (e.g., 5G core) and one or more RAN 508s, RAN-507, and OSS / BSS510 (and possibly further components) are not shown.

[0050] It should be noted that Comp-B and Comp-C can be deployed either within a central functional PEF that has a global view of PE and RAN, or as distributed components installed in each of multiple RAN elements (e.g., a base station that may use a PE element whose association with one or more RANs is managed).

[0051] Furthermore, while most embodiments and examples described herein relate to 5G, it should be noted that the approaches described herein may also be applicable to 4G and next-generation networks.

[0052] Examples of the elements of input information 513 and their sources are as follows: ● Information regarding NCR503 from PE-C501: PE-C may be part of the base station service. ○ NCR capability (e.g., beamforming capability) ○NCR operating status (e.g., on / off state, semi-static TDD UL / DL configuration, etc.) ○Topological information (for example, decimal angle (Decimal degree, DD) 48.1448968617961, 11.502886385829893) ● Information regarding PMU504 from PE-C502: ○ PMU capabilities (e.g., virtualization capabilities) ○PMU operating status (e.g., frequency response, phase shift, spatial distribution, etc.) ○ Topology information ●Information from OSS / BSS510: ○RAN and / or PE topology information ○Policies (related to RAN-PE element association). These policies can be dynamically updated by Comp-B. ●Information from core network 509: ○ Information regarding the number of sessions (e.g., those currently established using the RANs involved) ○Security / Authorization Information ●Information from RAN-C507: ○ RAN topology ○RAN ability ○RAN operation status ○Security / Authorization Information ○ The necessity of handover ○ The necessity of load balancing

[0053] In addition, slice identification information may be considered (i.e., part of the input information 513). In the slice recognition system, PE elements and RAN elements may belong to the same slice and, therefore, be eligible for association.

[0054] Based on the collected input information 513, Comp-B determines the association of RAN-PE elements (or "PE-RAN element" mapping) and enters the corresponding entry into the mapping inventory for each RAN element (e.g., base station), as shown below. [Table 1]

[0055] There are no restrictions on how Comp-B determines associations. For example, Comp-B can leverage artificial intelligence (AI) / machine learning (ML) to dynamically determine and / or update RAN-PE element associations.

[0056] Radio signal transmission between the RAN and UE may involve multiple hops; that is, the radio signal may propagate through multiple PEEs. Single-hop and multi-hop communication may be considered in the management (initial determination and updating) of RAN-PE element associations.

[0057] Figure 6 illustrates communication between RAN601 (e.g., base station) and UE602 in a multi-hop (and multipath) scheme. Specifically, the first propagation path is formed via the first PMU603 and the second PMU604, and the second propagation path is formed via the first PMU603 and the third PMU605 of the propagation environment 606.

[0058] Figure 7 shows a graphical representation of multiple paths, each having multiple hops between RAN701 and UE702, via multiple PEE703s.

[0059] If Comp-B supports multi-hop propagation paths, in addition to the association between RAN elements and PE elements, it determines PEE-PEE associations (i.e., whether they form hops in the propagation path) and inputs information about PEE-PEE associations for each PEE in the mapping inventory, for example, as shown below. [Table 2]

[0060] Depending on the various embodiments, Comp-B has one or more of the following functions: ●Responsible for deriving RAN-PE element association / mapping information, and PE-to-PE element association / mapping information. ● You can subscribe to / unsubscribe from notifications regarding newly registered / renewed / unsubscribed PE and PE-C elements (e.g., NCR and PMU services exposed by PE-C). ● AI / ML models can be trained to perform optimal associations. ● Supports functionality to enable service consumers to store and retrieve trained AI / ML models related to the association between RAN elements and PEEs, and the association between PEEs themselves. ● Supports data collection from external information sources. ● Supports the ability to filter information from any possible sources. This can be used to assist in correlation decision-making. ●Supports a variety of conditions (for determining RAN-PE element associations), such as the following: The PMUs participating in the mapping process can be virtual or physical. Virtual PMUs collaborate on and share resources with physical PMUs. ○Multi-hop communication via multiple PMUs may be considered. ● Supports the association of RAN-PE elements (also known as RAN-PEE) for each slice. ● Based on the input (in particular, including input information 513), it can autonomously decide to update the RAN-PE element associations. ● Based on requests (for example, from OSS / BSS), it can be decided to update the mapping.

[0061] After mapping (i.e., determination of RAN-PE element association) is performed, the information is stored in the association information inventory 512, and interested consumers such as the involved RAN 508 and core network 509 are notified of the association by Comp-C using the corresponding association (or "mapping") information. The involved RAN 508 and / or core network 509 can each optimize their respective operations based on the association information. For example, RAN 508 can enable beamforming and steering to a specific PEE associated with it in order to communicate with a given UE. With respect to the core network 509, the SMF can trigger traffic steering to a given UPF, RAN, and / or PE element. For example, in a geographic area where multiple PMUs are operating, if extreme load conditions occur for a particular slice, traffic may be rerouted accordingly to a specific UPF / RAN / PMU.

[0062] Depending on the various embodiments, Comp-B has one or more of the following functions: ●Transmit association information to RAN elements (e.g., base stations (e.g., gNBs) or base station (e.g., gNB) management / control systems) and other systems (e.g., OSS / BSS, core network). ● Supports subscribers (i.e., subscriber (e.g., network) components) to access association information. ● Supports the authentication function for service consumers.

[0063] Figure 8 illustrates the RAN-PEE association management approach described above in an O-RAN (Open RAN) environment.

[0064] In this embodiment, Comp-B operates as an internally shared function within the Non-RT RIC (RAN intelligent controller) 801.

[0065] Comp-A is associated with the O1 interface (or another dedicated interface) used for PMU / NCR FCAPS (Fault Management, Configuration, Accounting, Performance, and Security).

[0066] Comp-C is associated with the A1 interface. SMO802 and Near-RT RIC803 share association information determined by Comp-B. The Near-RT RIC PE policy is created / updated based on topology information and PE-RAN and PE-PE associations.

[0067] E2 Interface: The PE management and control entity 804 interacts with the Near-RT RIC803 for metric and real-time control.

[0068] The A1 and E2 interfaces may be extended accordingly to support RAN-PE element association management. The O1 interface may also be extended (and / or the existing PMU FCAPS mechanism may be used).

[0069] It should be noted that in the official O-RAN architecture, PE-C and PE are not part of the architecture.

[0070] In accordance with O-RAN WG2, Non-RT RIC 801 can access other SMO framework functions, for example, influencing those carried via the O1, open fronthaul M plane, and O2 interfaces based on PMU status information. The same applies to other PE elements 805 such as NCRs. According to one embodiment, the Non-RT RIC framework function is extended to register PE-C / PE services with their service producers (PE-Cs) in the Non-RT RIC and SMO, and the Non-RT RIC framework is extended to identify potentially applicable Near-RT RICs for A1 policy creation when a Near-RT RIC identifier is not present in an A1 policy creation request received from rApp. This identification also takes into account registered PE-C / PEs.

[0071] Regarding the A1 policy for RAN-PE element association and PE-PE element association, according to one embodiment ● The Non-RT RIC framework functionality will be extended to register PEs and PE-Cs. ● The identification of PE or groups of PE, and PE-C or groups of PE-C, is used in the A1 policy. Identification is managed by Comp-B. ● An operational policy containing an association directive is provided for individual PEs or groups of PEs.

[0072] As mentioned above, RAN elements refer to base stations or base station components such as gNB, eNB, DU, RU, etc. Examples of PEs are NCR and PMU, which can be physical or virtual.

[0073] For Comp-B, at least a portion of the input information (for determining RAN-PE element associations) can be provided by the A1 interface. That is, ● Comp-B parses policies received via OSS / BSS or rApp. ● Based on all received inputs, Comp-B also determines the associations between PEs and RANs, and possibly (in the case of multi-hop) the associations between PEEs as well, and writes this information to the association information inventory. ○Option 1: Comp-B compiles an A1 policy that conforms to RAN-PE element association decisions. Comp-C also notifies other entities (e.g., core networks) about the associations. ○Option 2: The SMO / Non-RT RIC transmits the A1 policy to the Near-RT-RIC 803 without association information. The Near-RT 803 can directly read the information from the association inventory 806 to recognize the association information and update the policy accordingly. ● The provision of enrichment information is required for PEE805 by Near-RT RIC803. ● The EiTypeId associated with PEE / PE-C and related information is used and introduced by discovering enrichment information from NearRT RIC803. ●The Near-RT RIC803 can discover available EiTypeIds across the A1 interface and request the delivery of A1 enrichment information (i.e., input information 513 transferred via the A1 interface) associated with the available EiTypeIds for a set of PE / PE-C or PEE / PE-C.

[0074] PE-C must respect E2 setup procedures, RIC subscriptions, etc. The PE E2SM service model (topology and capability exposure) may be used in PE-C 804 (e.g., RIC subscription from Near-RT RIC803). For example, in E2SM (E2 service model RAN control procedure), PE topology information and its association with RAN elements, PE capability exposure, real-time PMU / NCR status, etc. are considered. Near-RT RIC803 is used, for example, for AI / ML tasks to determine (or provide information for) RAN-PE element associations.

[0075] The association information can be used to optimize the RAN's radio resource management (RRM) in real time.

[0076] Figure 9 shows a flowchart 900 illustrating PMU reconstruction.

[0077] OSS / BSS901, SMO902 (which implements Comp-B as mentioned above), PE-C903, Near-RT RIC904, and RAN905 are involved in the flow.

[0078] In 906, Comp-B determines RAN-PE and PE-PE association information and stores it in the association information inventory. The A1 policy is compiled based on this information, and / or Near-RT RIC904 is aware of the association information (e.g., updates to previous associations).

[0079] In 907, OSS / BSS901 decides to change the PMU configuration to function only as a reflector and sends a corresponding message regarding the change to SMO902. SMO902 forwards it to PE-C903.

[0080] In 908, the O1 extension is used to communicate a configuration change to PE-C to enable only the "reflection" function.

[0081] In 909, PE-C903 notifies Near-RT RIC904 of the changes.

[0082] In step 910, Near-RT RIC904 checks the association inventory for RAN elements affected by the change, and in step 911, it decides to update the corresponding RAN element configuration based on the association information.

[0083] In 911, Near-RT RIC904 uses the E2 control service to resume or initiate RAN control-related call processing and modifies RAN configuration and / or E2 service-related UE context information in accordance with association changes.

[0084] In 912, communication network components may be notified of various changes (if applicable).

[0085] Figure 10 shows a flowchart illustrating how to handle PMU failures.

[0086] SMO1001 (which implements Comp-B as described above), PE-C1002, Near-RT RIC1003, and RAN1004 are involved in the flow.

[0087] In 1005, Comp-B also determines the RAN-PE and possibly the PE-PE association information, stores it in the association information inventory, and / or notifies Near-RT RIC1003 of the association information (e.g., updates to previous associations).

[0088] In 1006, the Near-RT RIC1003 detects a failure in a RAN element operating a given radio cell, and, based on association information, in 1007, detects the affected PMU and / or NCR (i.e., the association information that specifies that it is associated with the failed RAN element).

[0089] In 1008, Near-RT RIC1003 makes decisions regarding RAN reconfiguration and serves UEs near the failed RAN area from another RAN, for example, to maintain QoS (Quality of Service) and reconfigure the corresponding PMUs.

[0090] In step 1009, Near-RT RIC1003 uses E2 control services to resume or start RAN control-related call processing, modify RAN configuration and / or E2 service-related UE context information, and redirect traffic to another RAN, and simultaneously reconfigure the relevant PMU, for example.

[0091] In 1010, communication network components may be notified of various changes (if applicable).

[0092] The examples in Figures 10 and 11 were described in relation to the PMU, but they can be similarly applied to other PE elements (in particular, the NCR).

[0093] For example, the following implementation options exist for Comp-A, Comp-B, and Comp-C.

[0094] In each option, Comp-A is run on PE-C1104.

[0095] Comp-B and / or Comp-C are implemented as part of the Propagation Environment Function (PEF). ●PEF may be a standalone 1105 function. ●PEF can be a core network function. ●PEF can be a RAN function (for example, RAN1107, inside a base station (e.g., gNB, eNB)).

[0096] For Comp-B, different options may be used compared to Comp-C.

[0097] In the case specific to O-RAN (as explained with reference to Figure 8), Comp-B can be implemented as follows: ●SMO802 ○Inside Non-RT RIC803 as an internal sharing function ○In SMO802 as a rApp ○A logical function within the SMO framework that is not an anchor function, i.e., may or may not be part of the Non-RT RIC framework. ●Near-RT RIC803 ○Inside the Near-RT RIC803 as an internal sharing function ○Inside the Near-RT RIC803 as an xApp

[0098] Near-RT RIC803 can utilize association information to perform AI / ML-based optimized RRM.

[0099] In summary, wireless communication network control components, as shown in Figure 11, are provided according to various embodiments.

[0100] Figure 11 shows a wireless communication network control component 1100 according to one embodiment.

[0101] The wireless communication network control component 1100 includes a controller 1101 configured to determine associations for each of one or more propagation environment elements of the radio wave propagation environment, specifying which of one or more base stations of the wireless communication network will use the propagation environment element to communicate with a mobile terminal by radio wave propagation through the propagation environment element.

[0102] The wireless communication network control component 1100 further includes a receiver (or input interface) 1102 configured to receive messages indicating changes in the operation of a wireless communication network (e.g., one or more base stations) or one or more propagation environment elements.

[0103] The controller 1101 is configured to respond to the reception of a message by updating the association and triggering, for example, commands to one or more base stations to operate according to the updated association (for example, by commanding one or more base stations to operate according to the updated association itself, or by requesting / commanding another component (Comp-C in the example above) to command one or more base stations to operate according to the updated association). It can be seen that the controller 1101 corresponds to Comp-B in the example above. Its receiver may be, for example, simply an input interface connected to (or corresponding to) the input handler 511.

[0104] In various embodiments, in other words, RAN elements are associated with PE elements, i.e., RAN elements are mapped to PE elements (or vice versa). This association may be monitored and modified, and dynamic reconfiguration of RAN and / or PE elements may be performed based on real-time performance. Organized actions for both mobile network operations (management of virtualized network elements, etc.) and programmable metasurface elements may be considered through topology management (in particular, management of RAN-PE-element associations).

[0105] The approach in Figure 11 can be applied to various use cases (e.g., metasurface management in stadiums, shopping malls, etc.) by considering co-optimization of RAN and propagation environment operations by taking dynamic correlations into account. It can be used to enhance telecommunications operator orchestration mechanisms with novel methods / mechanisms and interfaces that treat metasurfaces as telecommunications resources and correlate them with RAN deployments. This enables advanced orchestration mechanisms and new interactions to co-optimize RAN and PEE operations. This is not limited to a single orchestration framework such as 3GPP network functions or ETSI NFV-MANO, but can be applied to other designs, such as in O-RAN-based solutions. Furthermore, the approach in Figure 11 can operate on multi-technology PEE environments and can be used to cover both indoor and outdoor deployment scenarios.

[0106] The wireless communication network control component may be implemented in a distributed manner across multiple base stations, for example, so that each base station makes decisions regarding associations (with respect to PEEs and terminals within its service area).

[0107] The wireless communication network control component 1100 performs, for example, the method shown in Figure 12.

[0108] Figure 12 shows a flowchart 1200 illustrating how to control a wireless communication network.

[0109] In 1201, for each of one or more propagation environment elements of the radio wave propagation environment, a (RAN-PE element) association is determined that specifies which of one or more base stations of the wireless communication network will use the propagation environment element to communicate with a mobile terminal by radio wave propagation through the propagation environment element.

[0110] In 1202, a message is received indicating a change in the operation of a wireless communication network (e.g., one or more base stations) or one or more propagation environment elements.

[0111] In step 1203, the association is updated in response to the receipt of a message.

[0112] In 1204, one or more base stations are instructed to operate according to the updated association.

[0113] Wireless communication network control components (e.g., controllers and receivers), and other components of the communication system they comprise, may be implemented by, for example, one or more circuits. “Circuit” can be understood as any kind of logic implementation entity. This could be a dedicated circuit or processor that runs software stored in memory, firmware, or any combination thereof. Thus, “circuit” can be a hardwired logic circuit, or a programmable logic circuit such as a programmable processor, e.g., a microprocessor. “Circuit” can also be a processor that runs software, e.g., any kind of computer program. Any other kind of implementation relating to each of the functions described above may also be understood as “circuit.”

[0114] While specific embodiments have been described, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications in form and detail are possible without departing from the scope of the embodiments of this disclosure as defined by the attached claims. Accordingly, the scope is indicated by the attached claims, and all modifications that fall within the meaning and scope of the equivalents of the claims are therefore intended to be included.

Claims

1. Wireless communication network control component, A controller configured to determine associations, The association specifies, for each of one or more propagation environment elements of the radio wave propagation environment, which of one or more base stations of the wireless communication network will use the propagation environment element to communicate with a mobile terminal by radio wave propagation through the propagation environment element. Controller and The wireless communication network, or a receiver configured to receive messages indicating changes in the operation of one or more propagation environment elements, The one or more propagation environment elements include one or more network control repeaters and / or one or more programmable metasurface units. The aforementioned controller, In response to receiving the aforementioned message, the association is updated, and, The one or more base stations are instructed to operate according to the updated association, triggering the following: It is structured in such a way. Wireless communication network control component.

2. The one or more propagation environment elements include at least one controllable propagation environment element, The controller is configured to instruct the at least one controllable propagation environment element to operate in accordance with the updated association. The wireless communication network control component according to claim 1.

3. The one or more propagation environment elements are active propagation environment elements. A wireless communication network control component according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The aforementioned change in operation is A change in the operation of one of the above base stations and / or one of the above propagation environment elements, Failure of one of the above one or more base stations and / or one of the above one or more propagation environment elements and / or A change in the load of one of the one or more base stations and / or one of the one or more propagation environment elements, A wireless communication network control component according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The aforementioned change in operation is a requested change in operation relating to one of the one or more base stations and / or one of the one or more propagation environment elements, by the operation support system and / or business support system of the communication system to which the wireless communication network control component belongs. A wireless communication network control component according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. The aforementioned change in operation is a change in the operation of one or more base stations. The controller is configured to determine from the association which of the one or more propagation environment elements is affected by the change in operation because it is associated with at least one base station whose operation has changed, and to update the association taking into account the one or more affected propagation environment elements. A wireless communication network control component according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. At least partially, it is a service management and organization component, or part of a quasi-real-time radio access network intelligent controller. A wireless communication network control component according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. The controller is configured to update the association taking into account the current configuration relating to one or more base stations and / or one or more of the propagation environment elements. A wireless communication network control component according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. The receiver is configured to receive information relating to the current configuration and / or capabilities of one or more of the propagation environment elements, The controller is configured to determine and / or update the association, taking into consideration the current configuration and / or capabilities of one or more of the propagation environment elements. A wireless communication network control component according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. Instructing one or more base stations to operate in accordance with the updated association includes notifying one or more base stations of the updated association. A wireless communication network control component according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

11. Determining the association includes receiving the specifications of the association. A wireless communication network control component according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

12. The controller is configured to determine the association and / or, The controller is configured to update the association taking the operator policy into consideration. A wireless communication network control component according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

13. A method for controlling a wireless communication network, This is the step in determining the association. The association specifies, for each of one or more propagation environment elements of the radio wave propagation environment, which of one or more base stations of the wireless communication network will use the propagation environment element to communicate with a mobile terminal by radio wave propagation through the propagation environment element. Steps and The steps include receiving a message indicating a change in the operation of the wireless communication network or one or more propagation environment elements, The steps include updating the association in response to receiving the aforementioned message, The steps include instructing one or more base stations to operate according to the updated association, Methods that include...

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