Wireless communication device, control method thereof, and program

Abstract

To improve user customer satisfaction.SOLUTION: A wireless communication device operating as user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system includes acquisition means that acquires degree information indicating whether an effect of a predetermined service provided in a base station to which the wireless communication device is wirelessly connected is lower than a predetermined degree, and control means that controls a notification output regarding activation of the predetermined service on the basis of the degree information acquired by the acquisition means. The degree information is derived on the basis of at least one of first information on a communication congestion degree in the base station and second information on a wireless connection quality between the base station and the wireless communication device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a technique for controlling the provision of communication services. [Background technology]

[0002] In providing communication services, a technology has been proposed that improves the quality of experience by performing priority control that prioritizes the allocation of communication resources to individual users / services (for example, Patent Document 1). By increasing the priority of packets of a communication service used by a specific user, it is possible to reduce the influence of other communications on that communication service, enabling communication with little delay / fluctuation and with a certain degree of communication speed (bandwidth). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-176245 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the radio access network (RAN) section of mobile communications (4G / 5G, etc.), it is generally difficult to ensure delay / fluctuation and communication speed even if the above-mentioned priority control is applied due to factors at a particular base station. The above-mentioned factors include the degree of communication congestion at the base station and the connection quality between the base station and the user device.

[0005] Therefore, if the above-mentioned priority control in mobile communications were provided as a paid service, it may happen that users who have subscribed to the service are unable to enjoy a comfortable communication service, which may lead to users distrusting the company that provides the service.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has an object to provide a technique for improving user customer satisfaction in wireless communication services. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a wireless communication device according to the present invention has the following arrangement. A wireless communication device operating as a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system an acquisition means for acquiring degree information indicating whether or not an effect of a predetermined service provided in a base station to which the wireless communication device is wirelessly connected is lower than a predetermined degree; a control means for controlling output of a notification regarding activation of the predetermined service based on the degree information acquired by the acquisition means; having The level information is derived based on at least one of first information on a communication congestion level at the base station and second information on a wireless connection quality between the base station and the wireless communication device. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a technique for improving user customer satisfaction in wireless communication services. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a wireless communication system. [Diagram 2] A diagram showing the hardware configuration of a UE. [Diagram 3] A diagram showing the functional configuration of a UE. [Figure 4] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a part of state information managed by each BS. [Diagram 5] 11 is a flowchart illustrating an operation in the UE. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a GUI displayed on a UE.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims. Although a plurality of features are described in the embodiments, not all of these plurality of features are essential for the invention, and the plurality of features may be arbitrarily combined. Further, in the accompanying drawings, the same or similar configurations are given the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations are omitted.

[0011] (First Embodiment) As a first embodiment of the wireless communication device according to the present invention, a smartphone as a user equipment (UE) will be described below by way of example. In particular, in the first embodiment, an example of providing a priority control service as an additional service (topping) that can be contracted on demand will be described.

[0012] <Overall Configuration of the System> FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a wireless communication system. This wireless communication system is a cellular communication system configured in accordance with a cellular communication standard such as the fourth generation (4G) or the fifth generation (5G) of the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP (registered trademark)), for example. The wireless communication system includes a plurality of base stations (BSs) 101 connected to a core network 121 and a plurality of user equipments (UEs) 111. In FIG. 1, BSs 101a connected to a large number of UEs and BS 101b connected to only one UE are shown in a simplified manner. The broken lines connecting the UE and the BS indicate wireless connections, and the solid lines connecting the core network and the BS indicate wired connections.

[0013] <Hardware Configuration of the UE> FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the UE 111. As described above, the UE 111 is a smartphone here.

[0014] In one example, UE111 is configured to include a processor 201, a ROM 202, a RAM 203, a storage device 204, a communication circuit 205, and a touch screen 206. The processor 201 is a computer including one or more processing circuits such as a general-purpose CPU (Central Processing Unit) or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), and reads and executes programs stored in the ROM 202 and the storage device 204 to execute the overall processing of the device and each of the processes described below.

[0015] The ROM 202 is a read-only memory that stores information such as programs and various parameters related to the processing executed by the UE111. The RAM 203 functions as a workspace when the processor 201 executes a program and is a random access memory that stores temporary information. The storage device 204 is constituted by, for example, a removable external storage device or the like.

[0016] The communication circuit 205 is constituted by a circuit for wireless communication compliant with a predetermined communication standard. In the following description, the 4G / 5G standard is taken as an example of the predetermined communication standard for explanation, but any communication standard used in the system configuration as shown in FIG. 1 can be applied.

[0017] The touch screen 206 is, for example, a touch panel display, and is a component having both a display unit for providing information to the user and a reception unit for receiving an instruction by a touch operation from the user.

[0018] <Functional Configuration of UE> FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the functional configuration of the UE111. As its functions, the UE111 has, for example, a communication control unit 301, an information acquisition unit 302, a storage unit 303, a display control unit 304, and an operation reception unit 305. Note that FIG. 3 shows only the functions particularly related to the present embodiment, and illustration of other various functions that the UE111 may have is omitted. For example, when the UE111 is a smartphone, it naturally has other functions such as various input functions (GPS receiver, camera, microphone) and various output functions (vibration, speaker, etc.).

[0019] Moreover, the functional blocks in Fig. 3 are shown in a schematic manner, and each functional block may be realized as an integrated unit or may be further divided. Each function in Fig. 3 may be realized, for example, by the processor 201 executing a program stored in the ROM 202 or the storage device 204. Each function may also be realized, for example, by a processor present in the communication circuit 205 executing predetermined software.

[0020] The communication control unit 301 controls wireless communication via the communication circuit 205. Specifically, it executes wireless communication conforming to a predetermined communication standard. In particular, when communication has not been established with a partner device (here, a base station), it executes initial access and connects (attaches) to the base station. Also, when the quality of the wireless connection with the currently connected base station deteriorates, it executes handover to another base station according to the standard.

[0021] The information acquisition unit 302 acquires system information (including state information, described later) of the currently connected base station via the communication circuit 205 under the control of the communication control unit 301. Here, it is assumed that the system information is acquired from a master information block (MIB) or a system information block (SIB) periodically broadcast from the base station, but it may be acquired by individual unicast communication. The system information includes state information, which is information about the current communication connection of the base station (not limited to a moment, but may be, for example, the last few minutes or several tens of minutes). Details of the state information will be described later with reference to FIG. 4.

[0022] The storage unit 303 stores various information for controlling the operations of the communication control unit 301 and the display control unit 304. In addition, the storage unit 303 stores status information of the base station acquired by the information acquisition unit 302.

[0023] The display control unit 304 displays a graphical user interface (GUI) on the touch screen 206 to provide various information to the user. The operation reception unit 305 receives touch operations from the user via the GUI displayed on the touch screen 206. In the following description, an example will be described in which the GUI displays a setting screen for performing various settings of a wireless communication service that the wireless communication device has subscribed to and is using. The setting screen is displayed by executing a predetermined application. The application may be in the form of a standalone application that runs on the wireless communication device alone, or in the form of a web application that runs in cooperation with a web server.

[0024] Moreover, the display control unit 304 and the operation receiving unit 305 are configured to perform operations described below with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6 by executing the above-mentioned application.

[0025] <Base station status information> As described above, each base station manages information related to communication connections in the base station itself. The information may be not only information related to the current communication connection, but also information related to past communication connections. Here, it is assumed that at least one of the following first information and second information is managed. In the first embodiment, it is assumed that the first information is transmitted to the wireless communication device via periodic broadcast by the base station, and the second information is transmitted to the wireless communication device via unicast and acquired from the wireless communication device.

[0026] 4 is a diagram showing a part of the state information managed by each BS. The state information includes at least one of first information 401 and second information 402. Note that the state information changes over time, and the information obtained by broadcast / unicast also changes. Therefore, state information at multiple times may be obtained and stored in the storage unit 303.

[0027] The first information 401 is information related to the degree of communication congestion in the base station itself, and includes at least one piece of information of a resource block (RB) usage rate in the base station, the number of UEs wirelessly connected to the base station, and an average sector throughput in the base station.

[0028] The second information 402 is information on the quality of wireless connection between the base station and the wireless communication device, and includes at least one of the following information: Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), Signal to Interference and Noise Power Ratio (SINR), Modulation and Coding Rate Scheme (MCS) index, and average user throughput. Note that the MCS index is an index that assigns numbers to a plurality of combinations of modulation schemes and coding rates in order from the lowest data transmission efficiency (highest error resistance) (index=0 is the lowest transmission efficiency).

[0029] Note that, here, the state information (first information 401 and second information 402) is described as being provided directly from the base station to the wireless communication device via broadcast / unicast, but the method of notifying the wireless communication device of the state information is not limited to this. For example, each base station may successively notify / register its own state information to a predetermined management device in the core network, and the wireless communication device may obtain state information corresponding to the base station to which it is currently connected from the predetermined management device.

[0030] <Device Operation> Fig. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the UE. Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a GUI displayed on the UE. The flowchart in Fig. 5 is started, for example, when a user executes a predetermined application on a smartphone (UE), and displays a setting screen (GUI) according to Fig. 6(a) and waits for an instruction input from the user.

[0031] In step S501, the display control unit 304 acquires status information of the base station to which the wireless communication device is currently connected. As described above, the currently connected status information is acquired by the information acquisition unit 302, for example, when the wireless communication device connects to the base station, and is stored in the storage unit 303. If the status information is not stored in the storage unit 303, the latest status information is acquired from the base station via the information acquisition unit 302. Note that status information related to past communication connections may also be acquired.

[0032] In step S502, the display control unit 304 derives degree information indicating whether the effect of providing the predetermined service is lower than a predetermined degree based on the acquired state information. As described above, in the first embodiment, the predetermined service is a priority control service. Also, here, it is estimated whether communication when the priority control service is implemented satisfies a desired quality.

[0033] The desired quality is an index showing whether the user can feel the improvement of the communication state, and may be a relative evaluation to the current state (before the priority control service is implemented) or an absolute evaluation. For example, the desired quality is satisfied when the communication speed is "X times faster than the current state" or "X Mbps or faster" and the delay time is "1 / X faster than the current state" or "X ms or less."

[0034] Specific relative evaluation values ​​and absolute evaluation values ​​may be obtained in advance based on the mean opinion score (MOS). Qualitatively, in a state where many UEs are connected, such as the BS 101a in FIG. 1, the BS is highly congested, and the quality of the wireless connection between the UE and the BS is degraded. On the other hand, in a state where only one UE is connected, such as the BS 101b in FIG. 1, the BS is less congested, and the quality of the wireless connection between the UE and the BS is good. Specifically, when at least one of the following is satisfied: the RB usage rate is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the number of UEs is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the average sector throughput is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the RSRP is equal to or less than a predetermined value, the SINR is equal to or less than a predetermined value, the MCS index is equal to or less than a predetermined value, and the average user throughput is equal to or less than a predetermined value, it is highly likely that the desired quality is not satisfied.

[0035] If the desired quality is not met, it is determined that "the effect of providing the predetermined service is lower than a predetermined level" and the process proceeds to S503. On the other hand, if the desired quality is met (the effect is equal to or higher than a predetermined level), the process proceeds to S504.

[0036] In step S503, when the user instructs the display control unit 304 to enable the priority control service via the operation reception unit 305, the display control unit 304 displays a warning indicating that the priority control service cannot be used. Then, the instruction to enable the priority control service is cancelled and the process is terminated. For example, when the user presses a toggle button for enabling the priority control service arranged on the setting screen (GUI), a message is displayed saying "This service is unlikely to improve communication. Activation will be cancelled" (FIG. 6(b)), and then the toggle button is returned to the off state.

[0037] In step S504, when the user instructs to enable the priority control service via the operation reception unit 305, the display control unit 304 changes the toggle button to an on state and ends the process. As a result, priority control is performed in subsequent communications.

[0038] Note that, instead of canceling the activation uniformly as in S503, the configuration may be such that an additional instruction from the user is accepted. For example, when a toggle button for activating the priority control service arranged on the setting screen (GUI) is pressed by the user, before changing the on / off state of the toggle button, a message "The communication state may not improve. Do you want to activate?" (FIG. 6(c)) is displayed, and buttons for selecting "Enable" or "Do not activate" are displayed. Then, when the "Enable" button is pressed, the toggle button is changed to the on state. On the other hand, when the "Do not activate" button is pressed, the toggle button is returned to the off state.

[0039] Furthermore, the GUI component (such as a toggle button) for instructing the activation of the priority control service may be configured to be hidden in advance (FIG. 6(d)). This allows the user to know that the priority control service cannot currently be activated.

[0040] As described above, according to the first embodiment, the display output of the setting screen regarding the activation of the priority control service is controlled based on the status information of the currently connected base station. This makes it possible to prevent a situation in which the user is unable to enjoy a comfortable communication service despite having contracted for the priority control service. As a result, the priority control service is activated (contracted) only when the effect of the priority control service can be obtained (or when the user understands that there is a possibility that it will not be effective). Therefore, it is possible to provide the user with a service that gives a real feeling, and it is possible to improve the user's customer satisfaction.

[0041] In the above description, a form has been described in which service activation by the user is prevented when the desired quality is not satisfied (Yes in S502). However, it is also possible to configure the display control unit 304 to display a message that actively suggests / recommends the user to activate the service when the desired quality is satisfied. A user who activates the service in response to the suggestion and realizes the effect is more likely to use the service again.

[0042] In addition, advertisement display within an application may be used as a method for actively proposing / recommending service activation to a user. When such advertisement display is performed, the presence or absence of advertisement display may be controlled according to the determination result in S502. In other words, if the desired quality is not satisfied, it is preferable to configure so that advertisement display is suppressed.

[0043] Furthermore, in the above description, the display output on the setting screen that accepts service activation is controlled, but other outputs related to service activation may be controlled. For example, the output of voice guidance related to service activation or the output of messages (SMS or email) related to service activation may be controlled.

[0044] (Variation 1) In the above-described first embodiment, the base station transmits state information to the wireless communication device (UE), and the UE estimates whether the communication quality when the priority control service is implemented satisfies the desired quality. However, the base station (or the network) may estimate the state information.

[0045] In this case, the base station, for example, triggered by connection of the UE to the base station (or an information acquisition request from the UE), derives degree information indicating whether the effect of providing a predetermined service is lower than a predetermined degree based on status information (first information 401 and second information 402) related to the current communication connection managed by the base station. Then, the base station provides (transmits) the derived degree information to the UE. As a result, for example, on a setting screen of the UE, display output control based on the degree information provided by the base station is implemented.

[0046] Further, in addition to deriving the above-mentioned degree information from current state information, the above-mentioned degree information may be derived (estimated) based on past state information. For example, a database (DB) linking location information (or base station ID) and state information (first information or second information) in past connections is prepared inside each base station or as an external DB common to multiple base stations. Then, for example, the base station can obtain location information of the UE from the UE and derive the degree information based on information from the DB having the corresponding location information. Note that the DB may be configured to store data linking the above-mentioned degree information to location information instead of state information (first information or second information).

[0047] (Variation 2) In the above explanation, the case of topping priority control has been described, but it may also be applied to the case of topping (adding) data capacity. Generally, in a communication contract, the data capacity (1GB, 3GB, 10GB, etc.) that can be used for a certain period (for example, a calendar month) is predetermined. This data capacity is the data capacity that allows best-effort communication (high-speed communication of several tens of Mbps or more) without any intentional restrictions. If the data capacity is used up during the specified period, only low-speed communication (128kbps, 1Mbps, etc.) will be possible.

[0048] Therefore, it is expected that users will top up their data capacity to resolve the low-speed communication state when they run out of (high-speed communication) available data (Figure 6(a)).

[0049] However, as in the first embodiment described above, depending on the situation, even if topping is performed, it is expected that only low-speed communication will be possible. Therefore, it may happen that a comfortable communication service cannot be enjoyed even if data capacity is added. On the other hand, since the added data capacity is valid for a specified period (one day, one week, one month, etc.), the additional data capacity is not entirely wasted. Therefore, it is preferable to display a warning message similar to that shown in FIG. 6(c) when topping on additional data capacity.

[0050] Furthermore, the present invention will make it possible to provide, for example, a more comfortable wireless communication environment, thereby contributing to Goal 9 of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which is to "build resilient infrastructure, promote industry, innovation and infrastructure."

[0051] The invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the gist of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0052] 101 base station (BS); 111 user equipment (UE); 301 communication control unit; 302 information acquisition unit; 303 storage unit; 304 display control unit; 305 operation reception unit

Claims

1. A wireless communication device operating as a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system, comprising: an acquisition means for acquiring degree information indicating whether or not an effect of a predetermined service provided in a base station to which the wireless communication device is wirelessly connected is lower than a predetermined degree; a control means for controlling output of a notification regarding activation of the predetermined service based on the degree information acquired by the acquisition means; having The degree information is derived based on at least one of first information on a communication congestion degree in the base station and second information on a wireless connection quality between the base station and the wireless communication device.

23. A wireless communication device comprising:

2. The predetermined service is a priority control service that increases the priority of allocation of communication resources to the wireless communication device.

2. The wireless communication device according to claim 1 .

3. The acquisition means includes: a status acquisition means for acquiring at least one of the first information and the second information from the base station; a derivation means for deriving the degree information based on the information acquired by the state acquisition means; have 2. The wireless communication device according to claim 1 .

4. The extent information is derived in the base station; The acquiring means receives the degree information transmitted from the base station.

2. The wireless communication device according to claim 1 .

5. The first information includes at least one of a resource block (RB) usage rate in the base station, a number of UEs wirelessly connected to the base station, and an average sector throughput; The second information includes at least one of a reference signal received power (RSRP), a reference signal received quality (RSRQ), a signal to interference and noise power ratio (SINR), a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) index, and an average user throughput for the wireless communication device.

2. The wireless communication device according to claim 1 .

6. The degree information is derived as the effect of implementing the predetermined service being lower than the predetermined degree when at least one of the following is satisfied: the RB usage rate is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, the number of UEs is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, the average sector throughput is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, the RSRP is equal to or lower than a predetermined value, the RSRQ is equal to or lower than a predetermined value, the SINR is equal to or lower than a predetermined value, the MCS index is equal to or lower than a predetermined value, and the average user throughput is equal to or lower than a predetermined value.

6. The wireless communication device according to claim 5,

7. The control means performs control so as to notify a user that the predetermined service cannot be used when the degree information indicates that the effect of providing the predetermined service is lower than the predetermined degree and when a user instructs to enable the predetermined service.

2. The wireless communication device according to claim 1 .

8. The control means performs control so that, when the degree information indicates that the effect of providing the specified service is lower than the specified degree and activation of the specified service is instructed by a user, a notification indicating that the effect of implementing the specified service is low is given prior to activation of the specified service.

2. The wireless communication device according to claim 1 .

9. When the degree information indicates that an effect of providing the predetermined service is lower than the predetermined degree, the control means controls to hide a graphical user interface (GUI) part for enabling the predetermined service on a setting screen that accepts the activation of the predetermined service.

2. The wireless communication device according to claim 1 .

10. The control means performs control so as to give a notification indicating that activation of the predetermined service is recommended when the degree information does not indicate that an effect of providing the predetermined service is lower than the predetermined degree.

2. The wireless communication device according to claim 1 .

11. The notification output includes at least one of a display output on a setting screen that accepts the activation of the predetermined service, a voice guidance output regarding the activation of the predetermined service, and a message output regarding the activation of the predetermined service.

2. The wireless communication device according to claim 1 .

12. A method for controlling a wireless communication device operating as a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system, comprising: an acquisition step of acquiring degree information indicating whether or not an effect of a predetermined service provided in a base station to which the wireless communication device is wirelessly connected is lower than a predetermined degree; a control step of controlling output of a notification regarding activation of the predetermined service based on the degree information acquired by the acquisition step; Including, The degree information is derived based on at least one of first information on a communication congestion degree in the base station and second information on a wireless connection quality between the base station and the wireless communication device. A control method comprising:

13. A program for causing a computer to execute the control method according to claim 12.

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