User equipment and core network signaling for radio access network slice-based cell reselection

Abstract

Techniques described herein can facilitate network slice-based cell reselection. One exemplary aspect is a baseband processor of a user equipment (UE) comprising one or more processors configured to determine support for slice-based cell reselection (SCR), generate an SCR information element (IE) indicating capability support for cell reselection based on network slicing, generate a registration request including the SCR IE in response to determining the support for the SCR, receive a REGISTRATION ACCEPT message including slice radio resource management information (SRRMI) in response to generating the registration request, and generate a REGISTRATION COMPLETE message in response to receiving the SRRMI.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to wireless technologies, including New Radio (NR) RAN slicing, including systems and methods for cell reselection based on radio access network (RAN) slicing. [Background technology]

[0002] Mobile communications in next-generation wireless communication systems, 5G, or new radio (NR) networks, will provide ubiquitous connectivity, access to information, and data-sharing capabilities worldwide. 5G networks and network slicing are unified, service-based frameworks that aim to meet diverse, and sometimes conflicting, performance criteria. 5G networks will serve highly heterogeneous application domains, ranging from Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) to massive Machine-Type Communications (mMTC), Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communications (URLLC), and other communications. In general, NR will evolve with additional enhanced radio access technologies (RATs) based on the third generation partnership project (3GPP) long-term evolution (LTE) advanced technology to enable seamless and faster wireless connectivity solutions. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0003] [Figure 1]FIG. 1 is an exemplary block diagram illustrating an example of user equipment (UE) communicatively coupled to a network in accordance with various aspects described herein.

[0004] [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a resource diagram illustrating different slice, cell, and frequency allocations corresponding to different cell areas for slice-based cell re-selection (SCR).

[0005] [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a fifth-generation of mobility telecommunications technology mobility management (5GMM) IE diagram showing a slice-based cell re-selection (SCR) information element (IE).

[0006] [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a fifth-generation of mobility telecommunications technology mobility management (5GMM) IE diagram showing a slice-based cell re-selection (SCR) information element (IE) comprising one or more SCR IEs.

[0007] [Figure 5A] FIG. 1 is a SRRMI IE diagram showing slice radio resource management information (SRRMI) information elements (IEs) including slice configuration information.

[0008] [Figure 5B]FIG. 1 is an alternative SRRMI IE diagram illustrating a slice radio resource management information (SRRMI) information element (IE) including slice configuration information.

[0009] [Figure 5C] FIG. 1 is an alternative SRRMI IE diagram illustrating a slice radio resource management information (SRRMI) information element (IE) including slice configuration information.

[0010] [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is a signal flow diagram outlining an example of slice-based cell re-selection (SCR) signaling between a user equipment (UE) and a network, in accordance with various aspects described herein.

[0011] [Figure 7A] FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of a method for slice and frequency prioritization for slice-based cell re-selection (SCR) by a UE.

[0012] [Figure 7B] 1 is a flow diagram of a method for alternative cell reselection by a UE.

[0013] [Figure 8] FIG. 1 is a signal flow diagram outlining an example of a service request initiated by a user equipment (UE) to update slice radio resource management information (SRRMI) information.

[0014] [Figure 9]FIG. 1 is a signal flow diagram outlining an example of a configuration update command initiated by an access and mobility function (AMF) to update slice radio resource management information (SRRMI);

[0015] [Figure 10] 1 is a flow diagram of an example method for slice-based cell re-selection (SCR) signaling for user equipment (UE).

[0016] [Figure 11] FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of an example method for slice-based cell re-selection (SCR) signaling of an access and mobility function (AMF).

[0017] [Figure 12] 1 is a flow diagram of an example method for base station (BS) slice-based cell re-selection (SCR) signaling.

[0018] [Figure 13] 1 is a flow diagram of an example method for a user equipment (UE) initiated service request to update slice radio resource management information (SRRMI).

[0019] [Figure 14]FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of an example method for access and mobility function (AMF) signaling associated with a service request for updating slice radio resource management information (SRRMI).

[0020] [Figure 15] 1 is a flow diagram of an example method for base station (BS) signaling associated with a service request for updating slice radio resource management information (SRRMI).

[0021] [Figure 16] 1 is a flow diagram of an example method for user equipment (UE) signaling associated with a configuration update command for updating slice radio resource management information (SRRMI).

[0022] [Figure 17] FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of an example method for a service request to update slice radio resource management information (SRRMI) initiated by an access and mobility function (AMF).

[0023] [Figure 18] 1 is a flow diagram of an example method for base station (BS) signaling associated with a configuration update command for updating slice radio resource management information (SRRMI).

[0024] [Figure 19] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of infrastructure equipment in accordance with various aspects.

[0025] [Figure 20] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a platform in accordance with various aspects. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0026] 5G or NR networks can use network slicing for resource selection and allocation appropriate for specific services. In some aspects, some applications running on user equipment (UE) may benefit from allocation of network resources that support high data rates and throughput. Therefore, network slicing includes resources from the access network and the core network (CN). NR technology can therefore support radio access network (RAN) platforms that meet a wide range of performance characteristics, including throughput, capacity, latency, mobility, reliability, location accuracy, etc. To meet a wide range of performance characteristics, it is beneficial for RAN slicing to support slice-based cell reselection (SCR) and slice-based random access channel (RACH) configurations associated with slice resources. SCR can include various signaling and configurations that need to be determined, including how slices are grouped, how slice priorities are determined, how slices are mapped to associated frequencies, how available slices in a cell and neighboring cells are grouped and how associated priorities are communicated to the UE, signaling between operation administration and maintenance (OAM) entities, access and mobility function (AMF), UEs, and base stations (BSs) to facilitate SCR, and communication from the UE access stratum (AS) to the UE non-access stratum (NAS) to facilitate SCR.

[0027] Various aspects of the present disclosure are directed to facilitating SCR. To facilitate SCR, mechanisms are presented herein by which an OAM entity, an AMF, a UE, a UE AS, a UE NAS, and a BS interact. To facilitate SCR, mechanisms are presented herein by which network slices are grouped, prioritized, and mapped to associated frequencies. The mechanisms presented herein enable a UE to perform cell reselection based on slice priority and availability across cells in a battery power efficient and optimized manner.

[0028] In some aspects, the OAM entity transmits a slice group configuration, which may include slice-specific RACH information, to the BS. The BS transmits a broadcast message to the UE including information about slices available in the cell and neighboring cells, their grouping and priority information, indicating network support for slice group and priority-based cell reselection. In some aspects, the BS may also transmit a next generation (NG) setup request including the slice group configuration included in slice radio resource management information (SRRMI) to the AMF according to the NG application protocol (NGAP). The AMF transmits an NG setup response according to the NGAP message, and thus the AMF is configured with the slice group configuration. In other aspects, the OAM entity transmits the slice group configuration directly to directly configure the AMF with the slice group configuration, thereby avoiding NGAP signaling.

[0029] A UE, including a UE AS and a UE NAS, generates an SCR information element (IE) indicating capability support for cell reselection based on network slicing. The SCR IE can be indicated, for example, by a single-bit field in a fifth-generation mobile telecommunications technology (5G) mobility management (MM) capability IE. In another aspect, the SCR IE is indicated by multiple IEs including a slice group IE indicating UE support for slice grouping, a slice priority support IE indicating UE support for slice prioritization, and a slice radio resource management (SRRM) support IE indicating UE support for SRRM configuration. The SCR IE can further indicate support for SCR while the UE is in a radio resource control (RRC) idle (RRC_IDLE) state and an RRC inactive (RRC_INACTIVE) state.

[0030] The UE sends a registration request including the SCR IE to the BS, and the BS forwards the SCR IE to the AMF. In some aspects, the UE can optionally calculate single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI) using one or more of the UE-supported slices, the UE-supported slice priorities, or the UE-supported slice IDs. The AMF evaluates the SCR IE from the UE and, if the S-NSSAI is available, evaluates the S-NSSAI from the UE.

[0031] The AMF determines a complete S-NSSAI structure to include in a slice radio resource management information (SRRMI) IE. The SRRMI includes an S-NSSAI number corresponding to the number of slices, an S-NSSAI value, an S-NSSAI group ID, and an S-NSSAI priority, all of which are associated with the S-NSSAI number. Furthermore, the AMF determines radio resource management (RRM) information for the S-NSSAI, including several frequencies supported by several S-NSSAIs and associated frequency values ​​and frequency priorities. The SRRMI is determined for each cell. The AMF constructs the complete S-NSSAI structure based on the UE SCR IE, or if the UE determines the S-NSSAI information, the AMF constructs the complete S-NSSAI structure based on the UE SCR IE and AMF network information.

[0032] The AMF sends a REGISTRATION ACCEPT message including an SRRMI IE with S-NSSAI information to the UE via the BS according to the aspects described above. After receiving the SRRMI IE from the AMF, the UE NAS communicates the SRRMI IE to the UE AS. The UE applies the configuration information according to the SRRMI IE from the AMF without further communication from the network. In response to receiving the REGISTRATION ACCEPT message, the UE sends a REGISTRATION COMPLETE message to the AMF via the BS, confirming the REGISTRATION ACCEPT message.

[0033] One or more of the UE or AMF determine S-NSSAI grouping information and associated S-NSSAI prioritization. The S-NSSAI grouping information can be determined by one or more of grouping together network slices available on the same frequency or grouping together network slices in the same tracking area (TA) or registration area (RA). Slices in the same S-NSSAI group can have the same priority, and the slice priority can be the S-NSSAI priority for the S-NSSAI group. An S-NSSAI group ID associated with the S-NSSAI group can be determined from the UE's SCR and the UE's subscription information. An S-NSSAI may belong to only one group or to no groups.

[0034] The slice priority assignment for determining the S-NSSAI priority may be based on various factors, including the UE's S-NSSAI configuration and the priority of the S-NSSAI associated with the UE's home public land mobility network (HPLMN) status or visited public land mobile network (VPLMN) status. The various factors may further include active applications running on the UE, or protocol data unit (PDU) session information and associated available network slices, or priorities of active applications running on the UE and user plane traffic associated with the UE. The various factors may further include network slice overload information in the TA or RA, or the S-NSSAI inclusion mode.

[0035] The UE may initiate a service request using the AMF according to the aspects described above to establish a radio bearer and update the UE's SRRMI data if the SRRMI data changes. Furthermore, the AMF may initiate a configuration update command to update the UE's SRRMI data when the AMF determines that the SRRMI data has changed. After the UE applies the configuration information according to the SRRMI received by the UE AS, the UE may perform slice-based cell reselection. Thus, the UE may perform cell reselection based on slice priority and slice availability across cells in a battery-power-efficient and optimized manner.

[0036] Additional aspects and details of the disclosure are further described below with reference to the figures.

[0037] FIG. 1 illustrates an example architecture of a network wireless communication system 100 including a UE 101a and a UE 101b (collectively referred to as “UEs 101” or “UEs 101”), a radio access network (RAN) 110, and a core network (CN) 120. The UEs communicate with the CN 120 via the RAN 110. In aspects, the RAN 110 may be a next-generation (NG) RAN or 5G RAN, an evolved-UMTS terrestrial RAN (E-UTRAN), or a legacy RAN such as a UTRAN or GERAN. As used herein, terms such as “NG RAN” can refer to a RAN 110 operating in an NR or 5G system, and terms such as “E-UTRAN” can refer to a RAN 110 operating in an LTE or 4G system. The UE 101 utilizes connections (or channels) 102 and 104, respectively, each of which includes a physical communication interface / layer.

[0038] Alternatively, or additionally, the UE 101 may be configured with dual connectivity (DC) as multi-RAT or multi-Radio Dual Connectivity (MR-DC), where a multiple Rx / Tx capable UE may be configured to utilize resources provided by two different nodes (e.g., 111a, 111b, 112, or other network nodes) that may be connected over a non-ideal backhaul, for example, one providing NR access and the other providing either E-UTRA for LTE or NR access for 5G.

[0039] Alternatively, or in addition, the UE 101 may be configured in a CA mode in which multiple frequency bands are aggregated between CCs to increase data throughput between the UE 101 and the nodes 111a and 111b. For example, the UE 101a may communicate with the node 111a according to the CC in the CA mode. Furthermore, the UE 101a may simultaneously communicate with the node 112 in the DC mode and additionally communicate with the node 112 in the CA mode.

[0040] In this example, connections 102 and 104 are shown as air interfaces that enable a communicative coupling. In an aspect, UE 101 can directly exchange communication data via ProSe interface 105. ProSe interface 105 can alternatively be referred to as sidelink (SL) interface 105 and can comprise one or more logical channels.

[0041] The RAN 110 may include one or more access nodes or RAN nodes 111 a, 111 b (collectively referred to as “RAN node 111” or “RAN nodes 111”) that enable connections 102 and 104. As used herein, the terms “access node,” “access point,” etc. may describe equipment that provides wireless baseband functionality for data and / or voice connectivity between a network and one or more users. These access nodes may be referred to as base stations (BS) 111, next generation base stations (gNBs), RAN nodes, evolved next generation base stations (eNBs), Node Bs, RSUs, Transmission Reception Points (TRxPs), or TRPs, etc.

[0042] In an aspect where the wireless communication system 100 is a 5G or NR system, the node 112 may: interface 112, or NG interface 112, or Xn interface Tosu The Xn interface may be defined between two or more RAN nodes 111 (e.g., two or more gNBs) that connect to the 5GC 120, between a RAN node 111 (e.g., a gNB) and an eNB that connect to the 5GC 120, and / or between two eNBs that connect to the 5GC 120.

[0043] The RAN 110 is shown communicatively coupled to a core network, in this embodiment, a CN 120. The CN 120 may comprise a number of network elements 122 configured to provide various data and communication services to customers / subscribers (e.g., users of UEs 101) connected to the CN 120 via the RAN 110.

[0044] In general, the application server 130 may be an element that provides applications that use IP bearer resources in conjunction with a core network (e.g., a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System Packet Services (UMTS PS) domain, LTE PS data services, etc.). The application server 130 may also be configured to support one or more communication services (e.g., VoIP sessions, PTT sessions, group communication sessions, social networking services, etc.) for the UE 101 via an evolved packet core (EPC) of the CN 120.

[0045] The CN 120 may be a 5GC (e.g., referred to as "5GC 120"), and the RAN 110 may be connected to the CN 120 via a node 112. In an embodiment, the node 112 may be divided into two parts: a Next Generation (NG) user plane (NG-U) interface 114 that carries traffic data between the RAN node 111 and a User Plane Function (UPF), and an S1 control plane (NG-C) interface 115 that is a signaling interface between the RAN node 111 and an Access and Mobility Function (AMF) 124. The CN 120 may also be a 5GC 120. The core network may include an Operation, Administration and Maintenance (OAM) entity 126 that may manage operations between the UE 101, the RAN 110, and the CN 120.

[0046] The wireless communication system 100 may include protocol layers, including one or more of a physical layer (PHY), a media access control layer (MAC), a radio link control layer (RLC), a packet data convergence protocol layer (PDCP), a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), a radio resource control layer (RRC), and a non-access stratum (NAS), in addition to other higher layer functions. The protocol layers may include one or more service access points that may provide communication between two or more protocol layers.

[0047] The NAS may form the highest layer of the control plane between the UE 101 and the AMF 124. The NAS supports the mobility and session management procedures of the UE 101 to establish and maintain IP connectivity between the UE 101 and other systems. The AMF 124 may provide control plane functions within the CN 120, including registration management, connection management, reachability management, and mobility management.

[0048] In an NR implementation, the application layer signaling protocol (AP) can be an NG application protocol layer (NGAP or NG-AP) for the NG interface 113 defined between the BS 111 and the AMF 124, or the AP can be an Xn application protocol layer (XnAP or Xn-AP) for the Xn interface defined between two or more RAN nodes 111. The OAM entity 126 can communicate slice group configuration information, random access channel (RACH) information, and NGAP information, among other things. Slice-based cell reselection

[0049] 2 is a resource diagram 200 illustrating different slices, cells, and frequency allocations corresponding to different cell regions for slice-based cell re-selection (SCR). Resource diagram 200 shows two different regions, Region 1 202 and Region 2 216. Each region can include one or more cells, e.g., Cell 1 204 and Cell 2 210 corresponding to Region 1 202, and Cell 3 218 and Cell 4 222 corresponding to Region 2 216. Each cell has an associated slice and / or slice group, a slice group priority, and a corresponding frequency allocation and priority.

[0050] Slices can be configured to suit specific applications such as Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communications (URLLC), massive Machine-Type Communications (mMTC), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), internet of things (IoT), etc. Thus, either the UE 101, the AMF 124, or the UE 101 and the AMF 124 can configure slices, slice groups, slice priorities, and associated frequencies to suit the UE 101 application and network needs.

[0051] When the UE 101 is in range, the UE 101 can select or reselect a cell, slice, and frequency suitable for use by the UE 101 application. For example, the UE 101 can connect to cell 1 204 and slice 1 206 supported by frequency 1 (F1) 208. If the UE 101 reselects to cell 2 210, the UE 101 needs to configure slice priorities for network resources. For example, cell 2 210 can support slice 1 206 and slice 2 220 on frequency 2 (F2) 214. However, slice 1 206 may have priority over slice 2 220 within cell 2, and therefore the UE 101 can configure slice 1 206 resources when connecting to cell 2 210. Alternatively, slice 1 206 and slice 2 220 may be the slice group 212 with the highest configured priority, and UE 101 may configure slice group 212 when connecting to cell 2.

[0052] When UE 101 moves to region 2 216, slice 2 220 is supported by F1 208 in cell 3 218, slice 1 206 is supported by F2 214 in cell 4 222, but there are no slice groups supported in region 2 216. Thus, the example scenario shows that different slices may be supported by different frequencies, that slices may be available in a particular region, that multiple slices may be available in a region or cell, that some slices may be prioritized over other slices, and that slice groups may be supported in some cells or regions and not in others. The number of slices, slice groups, slice priorities, and associated frequencies may collectively be referred to as slice radio resource management information (SRRMI).

[0053] Due to the various permutations of SRRMI associated with cells and regions, slice configuration and signaling are required for the network (e.g., CN 120) and UE 101 to establish communications in accordance with the SRRMI. Accordingly, various aspects of the present disclosure describe facilitating SCR, including signaling between network entities and mechanisms by which slices are configured such that UE 101 can select a cell and frequency that can support the highest priority slice for its application.

[0054] FIG. 3 is a diagram 300 of fifth-generation mobility telecommunications technology mobility management (5GMM) information elements (IEs) showing the SCR IE.

[0055] One aspect of determining the SRRMI includes determining the SCR capability of the UE 101. Accordingly, the 5GMM Capabilities IE 302 may include an SCR IE 304 indicating the UE 101's support for SCR. In some aspects, the UE 101 determines its SCR capability and indicates that capability by configuring the SCR IE 304 with a single bit. For example, a bit value of '1' in the SCR IE 304 indicates that the UE 101 supports SCR, and a bit value of '0' in the SCR IE 304 indicates that the UE 101 does not support SCR. In some aspects, the 5GMM Capabilities IE is a Type 4 information element having at least 6 octets and a maximum length of 15 octets. In other or similar aspects, the SCR IE 304 is included in octet 6 of the 5GMM Capabilities IE.

[0056] In an alternative aspect, the SCR IE 304 can include one or more SCR IEs. Figure 4 is a 5GMM IE diagram 400 illustrating an SCR IE 304 including one or more SCR IEs. One or more SCR IEs can include a slice grouping support (SG) IE 402, indicating that the UE 101 supports slice grouping. One or more SCR IEs can include a slice priority support (SP) IE 404, indicating that the UE 101 supports slice priority for individual slices and / or groups of slices. One or more SCR IEs can include a slice radio resource management (SRRM) IE 406, indicating that the UE 101 supports slice radio resource management (RRM) configurations including frequency information, slice-to-frequency mapping, and frequency priority. Thus, the SCR IE 304 can include one or more of the SG IE 402, the SP IE 404, or the SRRM IE 406. The SG IE 402, the SP IE 404, or the SRRM IE 406 can each be indicated by a single bit.

[0057] The SCR IE 304 may also indicate that the UE 101 supports SCR while in the RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE states. After the UE 101 determines its SCR capabilities, the UE 101 generates a 5GMM Capability IE 302 that includes the SCR IE 304 according to the aspects described above.

[0058] FIG. 5A is an SRRMI IE diagram 500a illustrating an SRRMI IE 502a that includes slice configuration information.

[0059] Either the UE 101, the AMF 124, or the UE 101 and the AMF 124 can determine the slice, slice group configuration, and priority information and generate the SRRMI IE 502a accordingly. A network slice or slices can be identified by a single network slice specification assistance information (S-NSSAI). In some aspects, the S-NSSAI is a concatenation of one or more of a slice / service type (SST) or a slice differentiator (SD). The SST can refer to features and services associated with the slice and the expected behavior of the slice and can be indicated with up to 8 bits. Services can include eMBB, URLLC, mMTC, V2X, IoT, etc. The SD can distinguish slices with the same SST value for use with different subscriber groups using the same type of SST and can be indicated with up to 24 bits. Two or more S-NSSAIs can be referred to as network slice specification assistance information (NSSAI).

[0060] The SRRMI IE 502a may include one or more S-NSSAI IEs that describe additional slice information. The one or more S-NSSAI IEs may include an S-NSSAI Number IE 504 that identifies the number of S-NSSAIs for the cell, an S-NSSAI Value IE 506 that identifies a value for the number of S-NSSAIs or a group of NSSAIs, an S-NSSAI Group ID IE 508 that identifies an ID for a group of S-NSSAIs, and an S-NSSAI Priority IE 510 that assigns a priority to the number of S-NSSAIs. The S-NSSAI IE may further include radio resource management (RRM) information, including a Frequency Number IE 512 that identifies the number of frequencies supporting the S-NSSAI or S-NSSAI group, a Frequency Value IE 514 that identifies the value of the frequencies supported by the S-NSSAI or S-NSSAI group, and a Frequency Priority IE 516 that identifies a priority for the frequencies supporting the S-NSSAI or S-NSSAI group.

[0061] In another aspect, the S-NSSAI Group ID IE 508 and the S-NSSAI Priority IE 510 are included in the S-NSSAI IE, where the S-NSSAI IE may be a Type 4 information element comprising one or more of the following: S-NSSAI IE Content Length, SST Information, SD Information, HPLMN SST Mapping Information, HPLMN SD Mapping Information, Slice Group ID, and Slice Priority Information. In a similar or other aspect, the Slice Group ID is included in octet 11 of the S-NSSAI IE, and the Slice Priority Information is included in octet 12 of the S-NSSAI IE. The Group ID may include an 8-bit slice group identifier to which the S-NSSAI belongs. The Group ID value may range from 1 to 7, with a value of 0 specifying that the S-NSSAI does not belong to any group, and all other values ​​being reserved. S-NSSAIs with the same Group ID may have the same slice priority value. The slice priority information includes the priority of the S-NSSAI, which may range from 1 to 7, where a value of 0 specifies that the S-NSSAI is not associated with any priority, and all other values ​​are reserved.

[0062] The SRRMI IE 502a may correspond to a cell, and in the case of multiple cells, an SRRMI IE 502a may be generated for each cell. The determination of the SRRMI IE 502a may be based on the UE 101 capability information in the SCR IE 304. In some aspects, the UE 101 determines the SRRMI IE 502a or a subset of the SRRMI IE 502a based on the SCR IE 304. In some aspects, the AMF 124 determines the SRRMI IE 502a based on the SCR IE 304 or determines the SRRMI IE 502a based on the SCR IE 304 and the SRRMI IE 502a from the UE 101.

[0063] The UE 101 and / or the AMF 124 can determine the single network slice specific assistance (S-NSSA) grouping information by various means. The S-NSSA grouping information corresponds to the number of S-NSSAIs IE 504 and the S-NSSAI group ID IE 508. In some aspects, the S-NSSA grouping information is determined by grouping together network slices available on the same frequency. For example, slice 1 206 and slice 2 220, which comprise slice group 212 in cell 2 210 of FIG. 2, are available in F2 214. Because slice 1 206 and slice 2 220 are available on the same frequency F2 214, they form slice group 212.

[0064] To increase network efficiency, cells are grouped together into Tracking Areas (TAs), and one or more TAs are assigned to the UE 101 as registration areas (RAs), which the network uses to locate the UE 101 and which the UE 101 uses to report its location. In some aspects, the S-NSSA grouping information is determined by grouping together available network slices on the same frequency and within the same TA or RA. The S-NSSAI group ID associated with the determined S-NSSA grouping information can be based on SCR capability information from the UE 101 and subscription information of the UE 101.

[0065] The S-NSSA slice prioritization associated with the S-NSSA grouping information may be determined by various means. The S-NSSA slice prioritization is associated with the S-NSSAI priority IE 510. In some aspects, slices within a group may have the same priority, where the slice priority becomes a slice group priority, such as an S-NSSAI priority. For example, slice 1 206 and slice 2 220 in cell 2 210 of FIG. 2 may have the same priority and form slice group 212, where the priority of slice group 212 is the same as the priority of slice 1 206 and slice 2 220.

[0066] In another aspect, S-NSSA slice prioritization can be based on UE 101 configured S-NSSAI resources and their priorities related to the UE's home public land mobile network (HPLMN) or visited public land mobile network (VPLMN) status. For example, S-NSSA slice prioritization is related to the public land mobile network (PLMN) on which UE 101 is currently based (home or visited).

[0067] In other aspects, the S-NSSA prioritization can be based on active applications running on the UE 101, including applications that may be affected by the requested S-NSSAI. The requested S-NSSAI can be an S-NSSAI that the UE 101 requested in RRC signaling and / or in a NAS registration request, where the network validates and uses the requested S-NSSAI.

[0068] In other aspects, S-NSSA prioritization can be based on protocol data unit (PDU) session information and associated slices, e.g., an authorized S-NSSAI. The authorized S-NSSAI can be an S-NSSAI assigned by the network and is valid in an RA or PLMN of a given access type. The UE 101 can establish PDU sessions associated with the authorized NSSAI across multiple network slices.

[0069] In other aspects, S-NSSA prioritization can be based on the relative priority of application and user plane traffic, or user preferences and associated configurations. In some aspects, S-NSSA grouping information is determined by the UE 101 or in cooperation between the UE 101 and the AMF 124, where subscription information and slice overload information during a TA or RA are the basis for S-NSSA prioritization.

[0070] In other aspects, the S-NSSA prioritization can be based on the S-NSSAI or NSSAI inclusion mode, such as S-NSSAI or NSSAI inclusion mode A, Mode B, Mode C, or Mode D. The S-NSSAI inclusion mode can be indicated in the S-NSSAI or NSSAI inclusion mode IE from the AMF 124 to the UE 101 or determined by the UE 101 and can indicate information about the UE 101 slice operation in a PLMN or a stand-alone non-public network (SNPN).

[0071] In other aspects, the S-NSSA prioritization can be based on a RACH configuration where slice-specific RACH resource pools are configured per slice or per slice group. Prioritization of slice-specific RACH parameters can be configured per slice or per slice group.

[0072] The S-NSSAI prioritization may be based on one or more of the aspects described above. The aspects of Figures 3-5 described above provide a basis for describing the UE 101 SCR capability and SRRMI to achieve slice configuration for UE 101 and network slice-based communication. The mechanism described below employs the above-described IEs in signaling to establish slice-based communication between UE 101 and the network.

[0073] FIG. 5B is an alternative SRRMI IE diagram 500b showing an SRRMI IE 502b that includes slice configuration information.

[0074] Similar to SRRMI IE diagram 500a of FIG. 5A, alternative SRRMI IE diagram 500b illustrates an SRRMI IE 502b intended to identify a collection of S-NSSAIs and corresponding group configurations, priorities, and associated RRM information. SRRMI IE 502b may be a Type 4 information element having a minimum of four octets, and alternative SRRMI IE diagram 500b illustrates octets 1 through octet V. SRRMI IE 502b includes various IEs, including one or more of an SRRMI information element identifier (IEI) 518 for identifying SRRMI IE 502b, a length of SRRMI IE 520 indicating the length of the content included in SRRMI IE 502b, and various RRM S-NSSAI IEs.

[0075] An example of an RRM S-NSSAI IE includes RRM S-NSSAI1 522 associated with octet 3 through octet M+1, where RRM S-NSSAI1 522 includes the RRM information related to S-NSSAI1. If there are more S-NSSAIs, they can be indicated by additional RRM S-NSSAIs, e.g., RRM S-NSSAI2 524 from octet M+1 through octet N is created with the associated RRM information of RRM S-NSSAI2 524 and any additional RRM information of the S-NSSAI as indicated by RRM S-NSSAI N 526 from octet U+1 through octet W.

[0076] The IE of SRRMI IE 502b may include up to 8 bits as represented by bit 519. The RRM may include information such as summarized in FIG. 5A, such as a frequency number identifying the number of frequencies supporting an S-NSSAI or S-NSSAI group, a frequency value identifying the frequency value supported by the S-NSSAI or S-NSSAI group, and a frequency priority identifying the priority of the frequency supporting an S-NSSAI or S-NSSAI group.

[0077] Thus, in some examples, the SRRMI IE 502b can indicate RRM information for multiple S-NSSAIs. Additionally, the SRRMI IE 502b can be used in conjunction with the S-NSSAI IE described previously if the S-NSSAI Group ID IE 508 and the S-NSSAI Priority IE 510 are included in the S-NSSAI IE rather than the SRRMI IE 502b.

[0078] FIG. 5C is an alternative SRRMI IE diagram 500c showing an SRRMI IE 502c that includes slice configuration information.

[0079] Similar to the SRRMI IE 502b, the SRRMI IE 502c is a Type 4 information element having a minimum of four octets and can contain group, priority, and RRM information for the slice. The SRRMI IE 502c IE can contain up to eight bits, as represented by bit 528. The SRRMI IE 502c can contain one or more IEs, including the SRRMI IE 518 in octet 1, the length of the SRRMI IE 520 in octet 2, the length of the RRM S-NSSAI IE 532 in octet 3 indicating the length of the S-NSSAI RRM-related data, the SST IE 534 in octet 4, the SD IE 536 in octet 5, and various RRM information for the S-NSSAI. The SST IE 534 and SD IE 536 are associated with the RRM information for the S-NSSAI.

[0080] The RRM information for the S-NSSAI may include one or more of: Group ID 538 in octet 6, which corresponds to the S-NSSAI Group ID IE 508 of Figure 5A; Slice Priority IE 540 in octet 7, which corresponds to the S-NSSAI Priority IE 510 of Figure 5A; and Number of Frequencies IE 542 in octet 8, which corresponds to the Number of Frequencies IE 512 of Figure 5A. The RRM information for the S-NSSAI may include one or more frequencies and associated priorities, for example, Frequency 1 IE 544 in octet 9, Frequency Priority 1 IE 546 in octet 10, which corresponds to the Frequency 1 priority in Frequency 1 IE 544, Frequency 2 IE 548 in octet 11, and Frequency Priority 2 IE 550 in octet 12, which corresponds to the Frequency 2 priority in Frequency 2 IE 548. The SRRMI IE 502c may include multiple Frequency IEs to identify the associated frequencies and priorities of the S-NSSAI contained in additional octets. The SRRMI IE 502c may include S-NSSAI information for one or more S-NSSAIs.

[0081] 6 is a signal flow diagram 600 outlining an example of slice-based cell re-selection (SCR) signaling between a UE 101 and a network in accordance with various aspects described herein. The signal flow diagram 600 illustrates signaling between several network devices and entities, including the UE 101, including a UE AS 601 and a UE NAS 603, the BS 111, the OAM entity 126, and the AMF 124. The network devices correspond to the network devices and entities described in FIG. 1.

[0082] At 602, the OAM entity 126 may transmit a configuration message to the BS 111 including a slice group configuration. In some examples, the slice group configuration is transmitted via an open mobile alliance device management (OMA-DM) managed object in an internet protocol (IP) message or an extensible markup language (XML)-based mechanism. The slice group configuration may be associated with one or more cells and comprise slice information corresponding to the SRRMI IE 502a of FIG. 5A. In some aspects, the slice group configuration may include one or more IEs in the SRRMI IE 502a of FIG. 5A. References to the slice group configuration later herein may be interpreted as including one or more IEs in the SRRMI IE 502a of FIG. 5A. The OAM entity 126 may also include RACH information associated with the slice group configuration at 602, where the RACH information may include a RACH configuration having a slice-specific RACH resource pool as described in FIG. 5A.

[0083] In response to receiving the slice group configuration, the BS 111 can transmit a broadcast message to the UE AS 601 at 604. The broadcast message can include the slice group configuration, which can include RACH information, from the OAM entity 126. The broadcast message can further indicate supported slices in the cell and neighboring cells and network support for slice group and slice-based cell reselection procedures. The broadcast message can further indicate slice group identifier information associated with the S-NSSAI group ID IE 508 of FIG. 5A. The slice group configuration also needs to be transmitted to the AMF 124. In one aspect, the OAM entity 126 can transmit the slice group configuration, which can include RACH information, directly to the AMF 124 at 606. The OAM entity 126 can transmit the slice group configuration, which can include RACH information, via an OMA-DM managed object in an internet protocol (IP) message or an extensible markup language (XML)-based mechanism. In this aspect, NGAP signaling is avoided. In an alternative aspect, the BS 111 may transmit an NG setup request to the AMF 124 in accordance with the NGAP including a slice group configuration, which may include RACH information, at 608. In response to receiving the NG setup request, the AMF 124 may transmit an NG setup response to the BS 111 in accordance with the NGAP as confirmation of receipt of the NG setup request, at 610. Thus, an initial slice group configuration is transmitted to the BS 111, the UE 101, and the AMF 124 in accordance with the aspects described above, and thus, further aspects can configure and communicate the SCR IE 304 and the SRRMI IE 502a for SCR.

[0084] After the broadcast message is received by the UE 101 at 604, the UE 101 may determine the UE 101's support for SCR and may generate an SCR IE 304 at 612 in accordance with the aspects and features of FIG. 3 or 4. The SCR IE 304 indicates an ability to support cell reselection based on network slicing and may be generated as part of a 5GMM capabilities IE, further indicating support for SCR while the UE 101 is in an RRC idle state or an RRC inactive state. At 612, the UE 101 may further generate an SRRMI IE 502a of FIG. 5A that includes one or more of the IEs described in accordance with FIG. 5A. The SRRMI IE 502a generated by the UE 101 may be referred to as a UE SRRMI IE. The UE SRRMI IE may be generated in accordance with the SCR IE 304 and may include slice information supported by the UE 101. The UE SRRMI IEs may include a subset of the SRRMI IEs, for example, the UE 101 may generate the Number of S-NSSAIs IE 504, the S-NSSAI Group ID IE 508, and the Supported S-NSSAI Priorities IE 510, but not other IEs. The generation of the SRRMI IE 502a is optional, and the UE 101 may not generate any UUE SRRMI IEs in 612, but may generate only the SCR IE 304.

[0085] In 614, the UE 101 generates a registration request via the NAS 603 and sends it to the UE BS 111. The BS 111, as an intermediate entity, receives the REGISTRATION REQUEST message from the UE 101 via RRC signaling and forwards the REGISTRATION REQUEST message to the AMF 124. The registration request may include the SCR IE 304 generated by the UE 101 and may also include the UE SRRMI IE if the UE 101 generates the UE SRRMI IE. The registration request may be sent as an initial registration request, an initial registration request not associated with emergency services, or a mobility and periodic registration update (MRU) when the UE 101 moves between cells. Additionally, the registration request may be sent based on a change-based event. For example, the change-based event may include one or more of a change between generations of wireless network technology (e.g., 4G transition and 5G transition), a change in tracking area, a change in registration area, a change in protocol data unit (PDU) session, or a change in network slice configuration.

[0086] After receiving the registration request, the AMF 124 evaluates the SCR IE 304 and, if available, the UE SRRMI IE, and generates a complete SRRMI IE at 616. The complete SRRMI IE may include one or more of the IEs in the SRRMI IE 502a of FIG. 5A. The AMF 124 may generate the complete SRRMI IE according to the capability information from the UE 101 in the SCR IE 304. The AMF 124 may further generate the complete SRRMI IE according to the SCR IE 304 and the UE SRRMI IE. In this aspect, the UE SRRMI IE may include all or a subset of the IEs described in FIG. 5A. The AMF 124 may generate the complete SRRMI IE including some or all of the IEs from the UE SRRMI IE, or the AMF 124 may generate a complete SRRMI IE that is different from the UE SRRMI IE, taking into account the UE SRRMI IE and other network information, along with the SCR IE 304. In some aspects, the UE SRRMI IE includes slice group and priority information but does not include RRM information, so the AMF 124 generates the RRM information associated with the SRRMI IE 502a of Figure 5A. The complete SRRMI IE can be generated according to the aspects described in Figure 5A.

[0087] After generating the complete SRRMI IE, the AMF 124 may generate and send 618 a REGISTRATION ACCEPT message including the complete SRRMI IE. The REGISTRATION ACCEPT message may be received by the BS 111 and then sent by the BS 111 to the UE NAS 603.

[0088] In response to receiving the REGISTRATION ACCEPT message, the UE NAS 603 communicates the complete SRRMI IE to the UE AS 601 at 620. If the UE 101 previously generated the UE SRRMI IE, the UE 101 may update the UE SRRMI IE with the complete SRRMI IE and configure the complete SRRMI IE accordingly. In other aspects where the UE 101 did not generate the UE SRRMI IE, the UE 101 may configure the completed SRRMI IE.

[0089] Further, in response to receiving the REGISTRATION ACCEPT message, the UE 101 may generate and send 622 a REGISTRATION COMPLETE message by the UE NAS 603 as confirmation of receipt of the REGISTRATION ACCEPT message. The REGISTRATION COMPLETE message may be sent to the BS 111, which may forward the REGISTRATION COMPLETE message to the AMF 124.

[0090] After sending the REGISTRATION COMPLETE message K, the UE 101 can perform cell reselection according to the complete SRRMI IE.

[0091] 7A is a flow diagram 700a of a method for slicing and frequency prioritization for SCR by a UE 101. Flow diagram 700a illustrates cell reselection at 624 of FIG.

[0092] After the UE NAS 603 communicates the complete SRRMI IE to the UE AS 601 at 620, the UE 101 can perform cell reselection at 624 of Figure 6. In response to the operation at 620, the UE 101 initiates SCR by having the UE AS 601 process the complete SRRMI IE and sort the slices from the complete SRRMI IE according to priority at 702. Thus, the UE AS 601 processes the S-NSSAI Priority IE 510, the Number of S-NSSAI IE 504, the S-NSSAI Value IE 506, and the S-NSSAI Group ID IE 508 of the complete SRRMI IE and sorts the slices according to the S-NSSAI Priority IE 510.

[0093] At 704, the UE AS 601 selects slices in order of priority, starting with the highest priority slice. At 706, the UE AS 601 sorts one or more frequencies associated with the slice selected from 704 according to the Number of Frequencies IE 512, the Frequency Value IE 514, and the associated Frequency Priority IE 516 of the complete SRRMI IE. At 708, the UE AS 601 selects frequencies for the selected slice in order of priority, starting with the highest priority frequency from 706. At 710, the UE 101 performs measurements associated with the frequency selected from 708. The measurements may include beam measurements, signal measurements, quality measurements, etc. At 712, the UE AS 601 determines whether the selected frequency from 708 is suitable for cell reselection based on the measurements performed in 710. For example, if the performed measurements meet measurement criteria, the selected frequency may be suitable for SCR. Thus, if the metric from 712 is met, the UE 101 may select a cell associated with the slice selected at 704 and the frequency selected at 708. In some aspects, the UE 101 may camp on the selected cell at 714.

[0094] If the selected frequency does not meet the measurement criteria at 712, the UE AS601 may determine at 716 whether there is another preferred frequency available for the selected slice. The UE AS601 may select at 708 the next prioritized frequency associated with the slice and continue performing measurements associated with the next prioritized frequency at 710. For example, if the selected slice is associated with two frequencies and the first preferred frequency is selected and determined to not meet the measurement criteria, the UE AS601 may select at 708 the second preferred frequency. The UE AS601 then continues the SCR process according to the measurements associated with the second preferred frequency at 710.

[0095] If there is no other preferred frequency available for the selected slice according to the frequency sorting in 706, the UE AS601 may determine whether there are any remaining preferred slices available in 718. If there are any remaining preferred slices, the UE AS601 may select the next preferred slice in 704 according to the slices sorted in 702. For example, if there are two slices configured with complete SRRMI IEs and the frequency associated with the first slice does not meet the measurement criteria, the second slice is selected according to the slice priority in 704, and the SCR process continues accordingly.

[0096] If no other priority slice is available at 718, the UE AS 601 may perform an alternative cell reselection at 720 according to other means, e.g., according to a legacy process or some other cell reselection process. The aspects of performing cell reselection associated with 624 may apply to a single cell, multiple cells, or may be performed on a cell-by-cell basis. Furthermore, performing SCR associated with flow diagram 700A may be performed while the UE 101 is in an RRC_IDLE state or an RRC_INACTIVE state. Finally, the aspects of cell reselection at 624 may apply to slice and frequency sorting and selection according to analogous IEs from SRRMI IE 502a of FIG. 5A, SRRMI IE 502b of FIG. 5B, or SRRMI IE 502c of FIG. 5C.

[0097] Figure 7B is a flow diagram 700b of a method for alternative cell reselection by the UE 101. Flow diagram 700b illustrates the alternative cell reselection at 720 of Figure 7A.

[0098] At 718, after the UE 101 determines that there are no remaining slices, the UE AS 601 may perform alternative cell reselection according to other means, including cell reselection at 720 of FIG. 7B. At 722, the UE AS 601 may perform a cell search and detection process to find a new candidate cell. After detecting the new cell, the UE AS 601 may select a candidate cell at 724. At 726, the UE AS 601 may perform appropriate RACH and registration procedures to register with the selected candidate cell. In response to performing appropriate RACH and registration procedures at 726, the UE AS 601 may perform cell reselection measurements at 728. At 730, if the measurements at 728 meet the measurement criteria for cell reselection, the UE 101 may select the candidate cell at 732. If the measurements at 728 do not meet the metric criteria for cell reselection at 730, the UE 101 may return to 722 and perform a subsequent cell search and detection process to find a new candidate cell and continue the alternative cell reselection process at 720.

[0099] 6 and 5 illustrate SCR signaling for some aspects of network and UE 101 signaling. In other aspects, there are additional or alternative examples of SCR, as described below.

[0100] 8 is a signal flow diagram 800 outlining an example of a service request initiated by a UE 101 to update SRRMI information. Signal flow diagram 800 illustrates alternative or additional SCR signaling relative to FIG.

[0101] In some aspects, the UE 101 transitions its RRC state from an RRC_IDLE state or an RRC_INACTIVE state to an RRC CONNECTED state and establishes radio bearers. Thus, the UE 101 may benefit from having updated SRRMI information before the RRC state switch to facilitate SCR. In some aspects, the UE 101 may have previously received SRRMI information from the network, e.g., according to the aspects described in FIG. 6, and may decide to begin receiving updated SRRMI information from the network after a predefined time or based on a trigger event. Thus, the UE 101 has the opportunity to update its SRRMI configuration when configured SRRMI resources become stale, idle, inactive, or otherwise unavailable. Signal flow diagram 800 illustrates signaling that may provide the UE 101 with updated SRRMI information from the network.

[0102] At 802, the UE 101 may generate an updated SCR IE and, optionally, a UE SRRMI IE, according to the aspects of FIGS. 3 and 4 and at 612 of FIG. 6. At 804, the UE 101 may determine, via the UE NAS 603, to generate and send a service request to the BS 111. After receiving the service request, the BS 111 may send the service request to the AMF 124. The service request may include the updated SCR IE and, optionally, the UE SRRMI IE. At 806, the AMF 124 evaluates the updated SCR IE and, if available, the UE SRRMI IE, and generates a new, completed SRRMI IE in response to receiving the service request at 804. The new, completed SRRMI IE may be based on the updated SCR IE and, if available, the UE SRRMI IE. The aspect of 806 corresponds to the similar aspect of 616 in Figure 6, the new complete SRRMI IE is similar to the complete SRRMI IE of 616, the updated SCR IE is similar to the SCR IE 304 of 616, and the UE SRRMI IE in Figure 8 corresponds to the UE SRRMI IE of 616. At 808, the new completed SRRMI IE is generated and sent to BS 111 along with a service accept message. After receiving the service accept message, BS 111 sends the service accept message to UE NAS 603.

[0103] At 810, the UE NAS 603 transmits the new completed SRRMI IE received in the service accept message to the UE AS 601 without any additional communication from the network. The aspect of 810 corresponds to the aspect of 620 in FIG. 6. At 812, the UE 101 can perform cell reselection according to the new completed SRRMI IE. The aspect of 812 corresponds to the aspect of 624 in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7A and can include the slice and frequency prioritization in the flow diagram 700a in FIG. 7A. Thus, the signal flow diagram 800 shows how the UE 101 can receive updated SRRMI information and initiate a service request to update the old SRRMI information before performing SCR.

[0104] 9 is a signal flow diagram 900 outlining an example of a configuration update command initiated by the AMF 124 to update SRRMI information. The signal flow diagram 900 illustrates alternative or additional SCR signaling relative to FIGS. 6 and 8.

[0105] In some aspects, after UE 101 is configured with SRRMI resources from previous SRRMI-related signaling with the network, e.g., the aspects described in FIG. 6 or FIG. 8, the SRRMI resources on the network side may change. For example, the network or AMF 124 may detect that a slice has become unavailable or overloaded, that a new slice has become available, that a previously rejected or unavailable slice has become a valid slice, that UE 101 subscription has changed, or that RRM information associated with a network slice has changed, where the above aspects of the changed slice resource information relate to the previously configured complete SRRMI IE. In this aspect, AMF 124 may decide to send updated SRRMI information to UE 101.

[0106] In alternative aspects, the REGISTRATION COMPLETE message at 622 from the UE 101 may fail, and the AMF 124 may not receive the REGISTRATION COMPLETE message, which serves as confirmation that the UE 101 received the SRRMI associated with the REGISTRATION ACCEPT message at 618 of FIG. 6. In this aspect, the AMF 124 may determine that the REGISTRATION COMPLETE message failed if the REGISTRATION COMPLETE message is not received within a specified time frame. In some aspects, the UE 101 may not receive the REGISTRATION ACCEPT at 618 of FIG. 6 and may not configure the complete SRRMI generated by the AMF 124. Thus, the UE 101 does not generate and send the REGISTRATION COMPLETE message at 622 of FIG. 6. In these aspects, the AMF 124 may not receive the REGISTRATION COMPLETE message at 622 of FIG. 6 and may determine that the UE 101 may not be configured with proper or updated SRRMI information. As a result, the AMF 124 may decide to send updated SRRMI information to the UE 101.

[0107] If the AMF 124 determines to send updated SRRMI information to the UE 101 with respect to the aspects described above, the AMF 124 may generate an updated SRRMI IE at 902. Generating the updated SRRMI IE may include the aspects described with respect to the SRRMI generation at 616 of FIG. 6, where the updated SRRMI IE corresponds to the complete SRRMI IE at 616. In some aspects, the AMF 124 may generate the updated SRRMI IE using the SCR IE 304 from the UE 101 in the registration request at 614 of FIG. 6 or the updated SCR IE corresponding to the service request message at 804 of FIG. 8. In other aspects, the AMF 124 may generate the updated SRRMI IE without considering the SCR IE information. In another aspect, the UE SRRMI IE from the UE 101 may be used by the AMF 124 in generating an updated SRRMI IE, which corresponds to the aspect described in 612 of FIG. 6 or 802 of FIG. 8.

[0108] After generating the updated SRRMI IE, the AMF 124 may generate and send, at 904, a configuration update command including the updated SRRMI IE. The BS 111 receives the configuration update command and sends the configuration update command to the UE NAS 603. After receiving the configuration update command, the UE 101 generates and sends, at 906, a configuration update complete message by the UE NAS 603. The configuration update complete message acknowledges the configuration update command. The configuration update complete message is received by the BS 111 and sent, at 906, by the BS 111 to the AMF 124.

[0109] At 908, the UE NAS 603 communicates the updated SRRMI IE received in the configuration update command to the UE AS 601 without additional communication from the network. The aspect of 908 corresponds to aspect 620 of FIG. 6. At 910, the UE 101 can perform cell reselection according to the updated SRRMI IE. The aspect of 910 corresponds to aspect 624 of FIGS. 6 and 7A and can include the slice and frequency prioritization in flow diagram 700a of FIG. 7A. Thus, signal flow diagram 900 illustrates how the AMF 124 can initiate a configuration update command to update the SRRMI information of the UE 101 before the UE 101 performs SCR.

[0110] The aspects described above relate to slice grouping and prioritization for SCR, and UE 101 and network signaling to achieve SCR. To facilitate SCR, mechanisms by which network slices are grouped, prioritized, and mapped to associated frequencies are described, as well as cell reselection based on slice priority and availability across cells in an optimized, battery-power-efficient manner.

[0111] 10 is a flow diagram of an example method 1000 for SCR signaling for a UE. The example method 1000 may be performed, for example, by the UE 101 of FIGS.

[0112] At 1002, the method includes optionally receiving a broadcast message including a slice group configuration and optionally RACH information, the broadcast message indicating network support for a slice group and slice-based cell reselection procedure. 604 of FIG. 6 corresponds to some aspects of operation 1002.

[0113] At 1004, the method includes generating SCR capability information and, optionally, generating an SRRMI associated with the SCR capability information, where the SCR capability information indicates capability support for cell reselection based on network slicing. 612 of FIG. 6 corresponds to some aspects of operation 1004.

[0114] At 1006, the method includes generating a REGISTRATION REQUEST message including the SCR capabilities information in response to generating at least the SCR capabilities information. 614 in FIG. 6 corresponds to some aspects of operation 1004.

[0115] At 1008, the method includes receiving a REGISTRATION ACCEPT message including a complete SRRMI IE in response to generating the registration request. 618 in FIG. 6 corresponds to some aspects of operation 1008.

[0116] At 1010, the method includes a UE NAS of the UE communicating the complete SRRMI IE to a UE AS of the UE. 620 in FIG.

[0117] At 1012, the method includes generating a REGISTRATION COMPLETE message as confirmation of receiving the REGISTRATION ACCEPT message. 622 in Figure 6 corresponds to some aspects of operation 1012. Operation 1012 may occur before or after operation 1010.

[0118] At 1014, the UE may optionally perform cell reselection according to the complete SRRMI IE. 624 of FIG. 6 and FIG. 7A correspond to some aspects of operation 1014.

[0119] 11 is a flow diagram of an example method 1100 for SCR signaling of an AMF. The example method 1100 may be performed, for example, by the AMF 124 of FIGS.

[0120] At 1102, the method includes optionally receiving a slice group configuration, which may be received from a BS through an OAM entity of the network or through an NG setup request in accordance with the NGAP. 606 and 608 of FIG. 6 correspond to some aspects of operation 1102.

[0121] At 1104, the method optionally includes, in response to receiving the NG setup request, generating an NG setup response according to the NGAP. 610 in FIG.

[0122] At 1106, the method includes receiving a REGISTRATION REQUEST message including the SCR capability information and optionally including an SRRMI associated with the SCR capability information. 614 in FIG. 6 corresponds to some aspects of operation 1104.

[0123] At 1108, the method includes evaluating the SCR capability information, evaluating the associated SRRMI, if present, and generating a complete SRRMI IE. 616 in FIG. 6 corresponds to some aspects of operation 1108.

[0124] At 1110, the method includes generating a REGISTRATION ACCEPT message that includes the complete SRRMI IE. 618 in FIG.

[0125] At 1112, the method includes receiving a REGISTRATION COMPLETE message in response to generating the REGISTRATION ACCEPT message. 622 in FIG.

[0126] 12 shows a flow diagram of an example method 1200 for SCR signaling of a BS. The example method 1200 may be performed, for example, by the BS 111 of FIGS.

[0127] At 1202, the method optionally includes receiving a slice group configuration from an OAM entity of the network. 602 in FIG. 6 corresponds to some aspects of operation 1102.

[0128] At 1204, the method optionally includes generating a broadcast message including the slice group configuration and indicating network support for the slice group and slice-based cell reselection procedure. The broadcast message may also include a slice group ID associated with the slice group configuration. 604 in FIG. 6 corresponds to some aspects of operation 1204.

[0129] At 1206, the method includes optionally transmitting an NG setup request according to the NGAP that includes the slice group configuration. 608 in FIG.

[0130] At 1208, the method includes receiving an NG setup response message in response to generating the NG setup request. 610 in FIG.

[0131] At 1210, the method includes receiving, then generating, and transmitting a REGISTRATION REQUEST message that includes the SCR capability information and, optionally, an SRRMI associated with the SCR capability information. 614 of FIG. 6 corresponds to some aspects of operation 1210.

[0132] At 1212, the method includes receiving, then generating, and sending a REGISTRATION ACCEPT message that includes the complete SRRMI IE. 618 in FIG.

[0133] At 1214, the method includes receiving, then generating, and sending a REGISTRATION COMPLETE message in response to the REGISTRATION ACCEPT message. 622 in FIG.

[0134] 13 is a flow diagram of an example method 1300 for a UE-initiated service request to update the SRRMI. The example method 1300 may be performed, for example, by the UE 101 of FIGS. 1 and 8.

[0135] At 1302, the method includes generating SCR capability information and, optionally, generating an SRRMI associated with the SCR capability information, where the SCR capability information indicates capability support for cell reselection based on network slicing. 802 in FIG. 8 corresponds to some aspects of operation 1302.

[0136] At 1304, the method includes generating a service request message including the SCR capability information in response to generating at least the SCR capability information. In some aspects, the service request message also includes the generated SRRMI. 804 in FIG. 8 corresponds to some aspects of operation 1304.

[0137] At 1306, the method includes receiving a service accept message including the complete or updated SRRMI IE in response to generating the service request message. 808 in FIG. 8 corresponds to some aspects of operation 1306.

[0138] At 1308, the method includes the UE NAS of the UE communicating the complete or updated SRRMI IE to the UE AS of the UE. 812 in FIG.

[0139] At 1310, the UE may optionally perform cell reselection according to the complete SRRMI IE. 812 of FIG. 8 and FIG. 7A correspond to some aspects of operation 1310.

[0140] 14 is a flow diagram of an example method 1400 for AMF signaling associated with a service request for updating the SRRMI. The example method 1400 may be performed, for example, by the AMF 124 of FIGS. 1 and 8.

[0141] At 1402, the method includes receiving a service request message including SCR capability information and optionally including an SRRMI associated with the SCR capability information. 804 in FIG. 8 corresponds to some aspects of operation 1402.

[0142] At 1404, the method includes evaluating the SCR capability information, evaluating the associated SRRMI, if present, and generating a complete or updated SRRMI IE. 806 in FIG. 8 corresponds to some aspects of operation 1404.

[0143] At 1406, the method includes generating a service accept message including the complete or updated SRRMI IE. 808 in FIG.

[0144] 15 is a flow diagram of an example method 1500 for BS signaling associated with a service request to update the SRRMI. The example method 1500 may be performed, for example, by the BS 111 of FIGS. 1 and 8.

[0145] At 1502, the method includes receiving, then generating, and transmitting a service request message including SCR capability information and optionally including an SRRMI associated with the SCR capability information. 804 in FIG. 8 corresponds to some aspects of operation 1502.

[0146] At 1504, the method includes receiving, then generating, and transmitting a service accept message including the complete or updated SRRMI IE. 808 in FIG. 8 corresponds to some aspects of operation 1504.

[0147] 16 is a flow diagram of an example method 1600 for UE signaling associated with a configuration update command for updating the SRRMI. The example method 1600 may be performed, for example, by the UE 101 of FIGS. 1 and 9.

[0148] At 1602, the method includes receiving a configuration update command with a complete or updated SRRMI. 904 of FIG.

[0149] At 1604, the method includes generating a configuration update complete message in response to receiving the configuration update command. 906 of FIG.

[0150] At 1606, the method includes the UE NAS of the UE communicating the complete or updated SRRMI IE to the UE AS of the UE. 908 in FIG.

[0151] At 1608, the UE may optionally perform cell reselection according to the complete or updated SRRMI IE. 910 of FIG. 9 and FIG. 7A correspond to some aspects of operation 1608.

[0152] 17 is a flow diagram of an example method 1700 for a service request to update the SRRMI initiated by an AMF. The example method 1700 may be performed, for example, by the AMF 124 of FIGS. 1 and 9.

[0153] At 1702, the method includes generating an updated SRRMI IE. 902 in FIG.

[0154] At 1704, the method includes generating a configuration update command message including the updated SRRMI IE. 904 in FIG.

[0155] At 1706, the method includes receiving a configuration update complete message in response to generating the configuration update command message. 906 in FIG.

[0156] 18 is a flow diagram of an example method 1800 for BS signaling associated with a configuration update command to update the SRRMI. The example method 1800 may be performed, for example, by the BS 111 of FIGS. 1 and 9.

[0157] At 1802, the method includes receiving, then generating, and transmitting a configuration update command message including the updated SRRMI. 904 of FIG. 9 corresponds to some aspects of operation 1802.

[0158] At 1804, the method includes receiving, then generating, and transmitting a configuration update complete message in response to generating and transmitting the configuration update command message. 906 of FIG. 9 corresponds to some aspects of operation 1804.

[0159] 19 illustrates an example of infrastructure equipment 1900 according to various aspects. Infrastructure equipment 1900 (also referred to as "system 1900") may be implemented as a base station, a radio head, a RAN node such as BS 111 in FIG. 1, and / or any other element / device described herein. In other examples, system 1900 may be implemented in or by a UE, such as UE 101 in FIG. 1. In yet other aspects, some features of system 1900 may be implemented in or by an AMF, such as AMF 124 in FIG. 1.

[0160] System 1900 includes application circuitry 1905, baseband circuitry 1910, one or more radio front end modules (RFEM) 1915, memory circuitry 1920, power management integrated circuitry (PMIC) 1925, power tee circuitry 1930, network controller circuitry 1935, network interface connector 1940, satellite positioning circuitry 1945, and user interface 1950. In some aspects, the devices of system 1900 may include additional elements, such as memory / storage, a display, a camera, sensors, or input / output (I / O) interfaces. In other aspects, the components described below may be included in two or more devices. For example, the circuits may be included separately in two or more devices for a CRAN, vBBU, or other similar implementation. The baseband circuitry 1910 may be used to transmit one or more of the slice group configurations by the OAM entity 126, transmit or retransmit one or more of a broadcast message, a registration request, a registration accept, or a registration complete message by the BS 111, transmit a registration request, a registration complete, a service request, or a configuration update complete message by the UE 101, and / or transmit a registration accept, a service accept, or a configuration update command by the AMF 124.

[0161] The application circuitry 1905 includes, but is not limited to, one or more processors (or processor cores), processing circuits, cache memory, and one or more circuits such as low drop-out voltage regulators (LDOs), interrupt controllers, serial interfaces such as SPI, I2C, or universal programmable serial interface modules, real time clocks (RTCs), timer counters including interval timers and watchdog timers, general-purpose input / output (I / O or IO), memory card controllers such as Secure Digital (SD) Multi Media Card (MMC), Universal Serial Bus (USB) interfaces, Mobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI), and Joint Test Access Group (JTAG) test access ports. The processors (or cores) of the application circuitry 1905 may be coupled to or include memory / storage elements and may be configured to execute instructions stored in memory / storage elements to enable various applications or operating systems to run on the system 1900. In some implementations, the memory / storage element may be an on-chip memory circuit, which may include any suitable volatile and / or non-volatile memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, solid-state memory, and / or any other type of memory device technology as described herein. The application circuit 1905 may facilitate generating and / or updating one or more IEs associated with the 5GMM capabilities IE 302, the SRRMI IEs 502a, 502b, or 502c, and the S-NSSAI IE for the UE 101 and / or the AMF 124.The memory circuit 1920 may store one or more IEs associated with the 5GMM capability IE 302, the SRRMI IE 502a, 502b, or 502c, and the S-NSSAI IE for the UE 101 and / or the AMF 124.

[0162] The processor of application circuitry 1905 may include, for example, one or more processor cores (CPUs), one or more application processors, one or more graphics processing units (GPUs), one or more reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processors, one or more Acorn RISC Machine (ARM) processors, one or more complex instruction set computing (CISC) processors, one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), one or more FPGAs, one or more PLDs, one or more ASICs, one or more microprocessors or controllers, or any suitable combination thereof. In some aspects, application circuitry 1905 may include or be a special purpose processor / controller that operates in accordance with various aspects of the present specification. By way of example, the processor(s) of application circuitry 1905 may include one or more Apple® processors, Intel® processor(s), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Ryzen® processor(s), accelerated processing units (APUs), or Epyc® processors, ARM-based processor(s) licensed from ARM Holdings Ltd., such as the ARM Cortex-A family processors, and processors of MIPS-based designs offered by MIPS Technologies, Inc., such as the ThunderX2® offered by Cavium™, Inc., MIPS Warrior P-class processors, etc. In some aspects, system 1900 may not utilize application circuitry 1905 and instead may include a dedicated processor / controller for processing IP data received from, for example, the EPC or 5GC.The application circuit 1905 may be used to generate one or more slice group configurations by the OAM entity 126, generate one or more of a broadcast message, a registration request, a registration accept, or a registration complete message by the BS111, generate a registration request, a registration complete, a service request, or a configuration update complete message by the UE101, and / or generate a registration accept, a service accept, or a configuration update command by the AMF124.

[0163] User interface 1950 may include one or more user interfaces designed to enable user interaction with system 1900 or peripheral component interfaces designed to enable peripheral component interaction with system 1900. User interfaces may include, but are not limited to, one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., a reset button), one or more indicators (e.g., light emitting diodes (LEDs)), a physical keyboard or keypad, a mouse, a touchpad, a touchscreen, a speaker or other audio emitting device, a microphone, a printer, a scanner, a headset, a display screen or device, etc. Peripheral component interfaces may include, but are not limited to, a non-volatile memory port, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port, an audio jack, a power interface, etc.

[0164] The components shown in FIG. 19 can communicate with each other using communicatively coupled interface circuits, which may include any number of bus and / or interconnect (IX) technologies, such as industry standard architecture (ISA), extended ISA (EISA), peripheral component interconnect (PCI), peripheral component interconnect extended (PCIx), PCI express (PCIe), or any number of other technologies. The bus / IX may be, for example, a proprietary bus used in an SoC-based system. Other bus or IX systems may include an I2C interface, an SPI interface, a point-to-point interface, and a power bus, among others.

[0165] FIG. 20 illustrates an example of a platform 2000 (also referred to as “device 2000”) according to various aspects. In an aspect, the platform 2000 may be suitable for use as the UE 101 of FIG. 1 and / or any other element / device described herein, such as the BS 111 or AMF 124 of FIG. 1. The platform 2000 may include any combination of the components illustrated in the example. The components of the platform 2000 may be implemented as integrated circuits (ICs), portions thereof, discrete electronic devices, or other modules, logic, hardware, software, firmware, or combinations thereof, adapted to the platform 2000, or as components integrated within the chassis of a larger system. The block diagram of FIG. 20 is intended to illustrate a high-level view of the components of the platform 2000. However, some of the illustrated components may be omitted, additional components may be present, and different arrangements of the illustrated components may occur in other implementations.

[0166] The application circuitry 2005 includes, but is not limited to, one or more processors (or processor cores), memory circuitry 2020 (including a memory interface), cache memory, and circuits such as one or more LDOs, an interrupt controller, a serial interface such as SPI, I2C, or a universal programmable serial interface module, a timer counter including an RTC, interval and watchdog timers, a general-purpose I / O, a memory card controller such as SD MMC, a USB interface, a MIPI interface, and a JTAG test access port. The processors (or cores) of the application circuitry 2005 may be coupled to or may include memory / storage elements and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory / storage elements to enable various applications or operating systems to run on the system 2000. In some implementations, the memory / storage elements may be on-chip memory circuits, which may include any suitable volatile and / or non-volatile memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, solid-state memory, and / or any other type of memory device technology as described herein.

[0167] The application circuit 2005 can facilitate generation of SCR / SRRMI messages for either the UE 101 or the AMF 124, and the application circuit 2005 can also facilitate performing cell reselection for the UE 101 associated with the aspect of FIG. 7A at 624, as well as passing messaging between the UE AS 601 and the UE NAS 603. The application circuit 2005 can facilitate generating and / or updating one or more IEs associated with the 5GMM capability IE 302, the SRRMI IE 502a, 502b, or 502c, and the S-NSSAI IE for the UE 101 and / or the AMF 124. The memory circuit 2020 can store the 5GMM capability IE 302, the SRRMI IE 502a, 502b, or 502c, and the one or more IEs associated with the S-NSSAI IE for the UE 101 and / or the AMF 124.

[0168] By way of example, the processor(s) of application circuit 2005 may include a general-purpose or special-purpose processor such as an A-series processor (e.g., A13 Bionic) available from Apple® Inc. of Cupertino, California, or any other such processor. The processor of the application circuit 2005 may also include one or more of an Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Ryzen® processor or accelerated processing unit (APU); Intel® Inc.'s core processor(s), Qualcomm® Technologies Inc.'s Snapdragon™ processor(s), Texas Instruments® Open Multimedia Application Platform (OMAP)™ processor(s), or MIPS-based designs from MIPS Technologies, Inc., such as the MIPS Warrior M-class, Warrior I-class, and Warrior P-class processors, ARM-based designs licensed from ARM Holdings, Ltd., such as the ARM Cortex-A, Cortex-R, and Cortex-M family of processors, etc. In some implementations, the application circuit 2005 may be part of a system on a chip (SoC) in which the application circuit 2005 and other components are formed on a single integrated circuit or package.

[0169] The baseband circuit or processor 2010 may be implemented, for example, as a soldered board containing one or more integrated circuits, a single package integrated circuit soldered to a main circuit board, or a multi-chip module containing two or more integrated circuits. Furthermore, the baseband circuit or processor 2010 may cause transmission of various resources. The baseband circuit or processor 2010 may, for example, facilitate reception of one or more of a broadcast message, a registration accept message, a service accept message, or a configuration update command for the UE 101. The baseband circuit or processor 2010 may, for example, facilitate transmission of one or more of a registration request, registration complete, service request, or configuration update complete message for the UE 101.

[0170] Platform 2000 may also include interface circuitry (not shown) used to connect external devices with platform 2000. The interface circuitry may communicatively couple one interface to another. External devices connected to platform 2000 via the interface circuitry include sensor circuitry 2021 and electro-mechanical components (EMC) 2022, as well as a removable memory device coupled to removable memory circuitry 2023.

[0171] The battery 2030 may provide power to the platform 2000, although in some examples, the platform 2000 may be deployed and mounted at a fixed location and may have a power source coupled to an electric grid. The battery 2030 may be a lithium-ion battery, a metal-air battery such as a zinc-air battery, an aluminum-air battery, a lithium-air battery, etc. In some implementations, such as for V2X applications, the battery 2030 may be a typical lead-acid automotive battery.

[0172] While the method is illustrated and described above as a series of acts or events, it is understood that the illustrated order of such acts or events should not be construed in a limiting sense. For example, some acts may occur in a different order and / or concurrently with other acts or events other than those illustrated and / or described herein. In addition, not all illustrated acts are required to implement one or more aspects or examples of the present disclosure. Also, one or more of the acts illustrated herein may be performed in one or more separate acts and / or phases. In some examples, the above-described method may be implemented on a computer-readable medium using instructions stored in a memory. Many other examples and variations are possible within the scope of the claimed disclosure.

[0173] As used herein, the term "processor" can refer to virtually any computing processing unit or device, including, but not limited to, a single-core processor, a single processor with software multithreading execution capabilities, a multi-core processor, a multi-core processor with software multithreading execution capabilities, a multi-core processor with hardware multithreading technology, a parallel platform, and a parallel platform with distributed shared memory. Furthermore, a processor can refer to an integrated circuit, an application-specific integrated circuit, a digital signal processor, a field programmable gate array, a programmable logic controller, a complex programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof, designed to perform the functions and / or processes described herein. The processor can utilize nanoscale architectures, including, but not limited to, molecular dot and quantum dot-based transistors, switches, and gates, etc., to optimize space usage or improve performance of mobile devices. A processor can also be implemented as a combination of computing processing units. A processor or baseband processor can be configured to execute the instructions described herein.

[0174] A UE or BS, for example, UE 101 or BS 111 or AMF 124 in FIG. 1, may include a memory interface and a processing circuit or baseband processing circuit communicatively coupled to the memory interface configured to execute the instructions described herein.

[0175] Embodiments (configurations) may include subject matter such as a method, means for performing an operation or block of a method, at least one machine-readable medium containing instructions that, when executed by a machine (e.g., a processor with memory, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), etc.), cause the machine to perform the operation of the method or the operation of an apparatus or system to perform simultaneous communication using multiple communication technologies according to the configurations and embodiments described herein.

[0176] Example 1 is a baseband processor of a user equipment (UE), including one or more processors, the one or more processors configured to: determine support for slice based cell re-selection (SCR); generate an SCR information element (IE) indicating capability support for cell re-selection based on network slicing; generate a registration request including the SCR IE in response to determining the support for SCR; receive a REGISTRATION ACCEPT message including slice radio resource management information (SRRMI) in response to generating the registration request; and generate a REGISTRATION COMPLETE message in response to receiving the SRRMI.

[0177] Example 2 may include Example 1, and is further configured to receive a broadcast message indicating network support for a slice group and a slice-based cell reselection procedure, and generate an SCR IE in response to receiving the broadcast message.

[0178] Example 3 may include example 2, in which the broadcast message includes information of slices supported in the current cell and the neighboring cells.

[0179] Example 4 may include example 1, in which, after receiving the REGISTRATION ACCEPT message, the SRRMI is communicated from a non-access stratum (NAS) protocol of the UE to an access stratum (AS) protocol of the UE.

[0180] Example 5 may include example 1, in which the registration request is sent as an initial registration request, a mobility and periodic registration update (MRU), or a change-based event.

[0181] Example 6 may include example 6, wherein the change-based event is associated with a change between generations of wireless network technology, a change in tracking area, a change in registration area, a change in protocol data unit (PDU) session, or a change in network slice configuration.

[0182] Example 7 may include example 1, in which the SCR IE is indicated by a single bit field in a fifth-generation of mobile telecommunications technology (5G) mobility management (MM) capability IE, further indicating support for SCR while the UE is in a radio resource control (RRC) idle (RRC_IDLE) state and an RRC inactive (RRC_INACTIVE) state.

[0183] Example 8 may include Example 1, in which the SCR IE is indicated in a fifth-generation mobile telecommunications technology (5G) mobility management (MM) capability IE, further indicating support of SCR while the UE is in a radio resource control (RRC) idle (RRC_IDLE) state and an RRC inactive (RRC_INACTIVE) state, and the SCR IE includes a slice grouping support IE indicating support of slice grouping, a slice priority support IE indicating support of slice prioritization, and an SRRM support IE indicating support of slice radio resource management (SRRM) configuration.

[0184] Example 9 may include example 1, and is further configured to determine an SRRMI including information elements (IEs) including one or more of the number of single network slice specific assistance information (S-NSSAI), the value of the S-NSSAI, a group ID of the S-NSSAI, the priority of the S-NSSAI, the number of frequencies associated with the S-NSSAI, the value of the frequency associated with the S-NSSAI, or the frequency priority associated with the S-NSSAI, and generate a registration request to include the IEs.

[0185] Example 10 may include Example 9, further configured to update the determined SRRMI with the SRRMI included in the REGISTRATION ACCEPT message.

[0186] Example 11 may include Example 1 or 10, wherein the SRRMI included in the REGISTRATION ACCEPT message is configured to include all of the number of single network slice specific assistance information (S-NSSAI), the value of the S-NSSAI, the group ID of the S-NSSAI, the priority of the S-NSSAI, the number of frequencies associated with the S-NSSAI, the value of the frequency associated with the S-NSSAI, and the frequency priority associated with the S-NSSAI.

[0187] Example 12 may include example 9 or 11, wherein S-NSSAIs associated with the same frequency in a cell are grouped together and have the same S-NSSAI priority.

[0188] Example 13 may include example 9 or 11, wherein the priority of the S-NSSAI is based on an active application on the UE.

[0189] Example 14 may include Example 1 or 11, and is further configured: when the REGISTRATION COMPLETE message fails or in response to generating the REGISTRATION COMPLETE message, receive a configuration update command including an SRRMI; update the SRRMI included in the REGISTRATION ACCEPT message with the SRRMI included in the configuration update command; in response to receiving the configuration update command, generate a configuration update complete message; and perform SCR based on the SRRMI included in the configuration update command, where the SCR is performed by an access stratum (AS) protocol of the UE.

[0190] Example 15 may include any one of Examples 1 to 14, and is further configured to perform SCR based on the SRRMI included in the REGISTRATION ACCEPT message, where the SCR is performed by an access stratum (AS) protocol of the UE.

[0191] Example 16 may include any one of Examples 1 to 15, in which the SCR is performed during a radio resource control (RRC) idle (RRC_IDLE) state or an RRC inactive (RRC_INACTIVE) state.

[0192] Example 17 is an access and mobility function (AMF) entity configured to receive a registration request including a slice based cell re-selection (SCR) information element (IE) indicating an ability of a user equipment (UE) to support cell re-selection based on network slicing, determine slice radio resource management information (SRRMI) including slice group configuration information in response to receiving the registration request, and transmit a REGISTRATION ACCEPT message including the SRRMI in response to determining the SRRMI.

[0193] Example 18 may include example 17, further configured to receive a REGISTRATION COMPLETE message in response to generating the REGISTRATION ACCEPT message.

[0194] Example 19 may include example 17 or 18, in which the SRRMI enables SCR between the UE and a base station (BS).

[0195] Example 20 can include example 17 or 18, wherein the SRRMI is determined based on the SCR IE.

[0196] Example 21 may include Example 17, and is further configured to receive a next generation (NG) application protocol (NGAP) setup request included in NG setup request signaling, the NG setup request including an initial SRRMI including a slice group configuration; transmit an NG setup response in response to receiving the NG setup request; receive a registration request after receiving the NG setup request; and determine the SRRMI based on the initial SRRMI.

[0197] Example 22 may include example 21, in which the NG setup request is received from a base station (BS).

[0198] Example 23 may include example 21, in which the NG setup request is received from an operation administration and maintenance (OAM) entity.

[0199] Example 24 may include Example 21, and the slice group configuration included in the initial SRRMI includes one or more of the number of single network slice specific assistance information (S-NSSAI), the value of the S-NSSAI, the group ID of the S-NSSAI, the priority of the S-NSSAI, the number of frequencies associated with the S-NSSAI, the value of the frequency associated with the S-NSSAI, or the frequency priority associated with the S-NSSAI.

[0200] Example 25 may include any one of Examples 17 to 24, and the slice group configuration included in the determined SRRMI includes all of the number of single network slice specific assistance information (S-NSSAI), the value of the S-NSSAI, the group ID of the S-NSSAI, the priority of the S-NSSAI, the number of frequencies associated with the S-NSSAI, the value of the frequency associated with the S-NSSAI, and the frequency priority associated with the S-NSSAI.

[0201] Example 26 may include Example 25, wherein S-NSSAIs associated with the same frequency in a tracking area (TA) or registration area (RA) are grouped together and have the same S-NSSAI priority.

[0202] Example 27 may include example 25, wherein the S-NSSAI priority is based on protocol data unit (PDU) session information and associated available network slices.

[0203] Example 28 may include Example 25, wherein the registration request includes an SSRMI information element (IE) including one or more of the number of single network slice specific assistance information (S-NSSAI), the value of the S-NSSAI, a group ID of the S-NSSAI, the priority of the S-NSSAI, the number of frequencies associated with the S-NSSAI, the value of the frequency associated with the S-NSSAI, and the frequency priority associated with the S-NSSAI, and the SRRMI is further configured to determine the SRRMI based on the SRRMI IE included in the registration request.

[0204] Example 29 may include example 17, in which the registration request is received as an initial registration request or a mobility and periodic registration update (MRU).

[0205] Example 30 may include any one of Examples 17 to 29, wherein the SCR IE is indicated by a single bit field in a fifth-generation of mobile telecommunications technology (5G) mobility management (MM) capability IE, further indicating support for SCR while the UE is in a radio resource control (RRC) idle (RRC_IDLE) state and an RRC inactive (RRC_INACTIVE) state.

[0206] Example 31 may include any one of Examples 17 to 29, wherein the SCR IE is indicated in a fifth-generation mobile telecommunications technology (5G) mobility management (MM) capability IE, and the SCR IE includes: a slice grouping support IE indicating user equipment (UE) support for slice grouping; a slice priority support IE indicating UE support for slice prioritization; and a slice radio resource management (SRRM) support IE indicating UE support for SRRM configuration.

[0207] Example 32 may include claim 17, and is further configured to: when a REGISTRATION COMPLETE message is not received within a time frame or when slice group configuration information of the determined SRRMI changes, send a configuration update command comprising an updated SRRMI including updated slice group configuration information; and receive a configuration update complete message in response to generation of the configuration update command.

[0208] Example 33 is a method for performing network group slice configuration, the method including: determining single network slice specific assistance (S-NSSA) grouping information; determining S-NSSA slice prioritization associated with the S-NSSA grouping information; and generating slice radio resource management information (SRRMI) including the S-NSSA grouping information and the S-NSSA slice prioritization.

[0209] Example 34 may include example 33, wherein the method is performed by an access and mobility function (AMF) of a core network (CN).

[0210] Example 35 may include Example 33, wherein the method is performed by a user equipment (UE).

[0211] Example 36 may include Example 33, wherein the S-NSSA grouping information is determined by grouping together network slices available on the same frequency.

[0212] Example 37 may include Example 36, wherein the S-NSSA grouping information is further determined by grouping together network slices within the same tracking area (TA) or registration area (RA).

[0213] Example 38 may include Example 36 or 37, wherein all network slices in the same group have the same priority, and the slice priority of the same group is a single network slice specific assistance information (S-NSSAI) priority.

[0214] Example 39 may include any one of Examples 36 to 38, and includes determining a single network slice specific assistance information (S-NSSAI) group ID associated with the determined S-NSSA grouping information, where the S-NSSAI group ID is based on slice based cell re-selection (SCR) capability information of the user equipment (UE) and subscription information of the UE.

[0215] Example 40 may include example 33, wherein the S-NSSA slice prioritization is based on a single network slice specific assistance information (S-NSSAI) configuration of a user equipment (UE) and a priority of the S-NSSAI associated with a home public land mobile network (HPLMN) status or a visited public land mobile network (VPLMN) status of the UE.

[0216] Example 41 may include Example 33, wherein the S-NSSA slice prioritization is based on active applications running on a user equipment (UE).

[0217] Example 42 may include example 33, wherein the S-NSSA slice prioritization is based on protocol data unit (PDU) session information and associated available network slices.

[0218] Example 43 may include example 33, wherein the S-NSSA slice prioritization is based on priorities of active applications running on a user equipment (UE) and user plane traffic associated with the UE.

[0219] Example 44 may include Example 33, wherein the S-NSSA slice prioritization is based on network slice overload information in a tracking area (TA) or a registration area (RA).

[0220] Example 45 may include example 33, in which the S-NSSA slice prioritization is based on a single network slice specific assistance information (S-NSSAI) inclusion mode.

[0221] Example 46 may include example 33, in which the S-NSSA slice prioritization is based on a random access channel (RACH) configuration.

[0222] Example 47 may include Example 33, in which the S-NSSA slice prioritization is based on any of the methods of Examples 41 to 46.

[0223] Example 48 may include any one of Examples 33 to 47, and further includes determining one or more information elements (IEs) including the number of single network slice specific assistance information (S-NSSAI), a value of S-NSSA based on S-NSSA grouping information, an S-NSSAI group ID associated with the S-NSSAI value, a priority of S-NSSAI based on S-NSSAI slice prioritization, the number of frequencies supported by the S-NSSAI, a value of a frequency associated with the S-NSSAI, or a frequency priority associated with the S-NSSAI, and generating an SRRMI having the IEs.

[0224] Example 49 is a baseband processor of a base station (BS), including one or more processors, the one or more processors being configured to receive a registration request including slice based cell re-selection (SCR) information elements (IEs) indicating an ability of a user equipment (UE) to support cell re-selection based on network slicing, transmit a REGISTRATION ACCEPT message including slice radio resource management information (SRRMI) including slice group configuration information in response to receiving the registration request, and receive a REGISTRATION COMPLETE message in response to transmitting the REGISTRATION ACCEPT message.

[0225] Example 50 may include Example 49, and is further configured to generate an NG setup request according to a next generation (NG) application protocol (AP), the NG setup request including an initial SRRMI including a slice group configuration, receive an NG setup response in response to generating the NG setup request, and send a registration request after receiving the NG setup request.

[0226] Example 51 may include Example 49 or 50, and is further configured to receive a slice group configuration message from an operation administration and maintenance (OAM) entity indicating network support for a slice-based cell reselection procedure, and generate a broadcast message including the slice group configuration message before receiving the registration request.

[0227] Example 52 may include Example 51, wherein the slice group configuration message is associated with random access channel (RACH) information.

[0228] A method substantially as described herein with reference to Examples 1-51 and any combination thereof, including those included in the detailed description.

[0229] A non-transitory computer-readable medium substantially as described herein with reference to Examples 1-51 and the detailed description, each and any combination thereof, substantially as described herein.

[0230] A wireless device configured to perform any operation or combination of operations substantially as described in Examples 1-51 and the detailed description of the present specification.

[0231] An integrated circuit configured to perform any operation or combination of operations substantially as described in Examples 1-51 and the detailed description herein.

[0232] An apparatus configured to perform any operation or combination of operations substantially as described in Examples 1-51 and the detailed description herein.

[0233] A baseband processor configured to perform any operation or combination of operations substantially as described in Examples 1-51 and the detailed description herein.

[0234] Moreover, various aspects or features described herein may be implemented as a method, apparatus, or article of manufacture using standard programming and / or engineering techniques. The term "article of manufacture," as used herein, is intended to encompass a computer program accessible from any computer-readable device, carrier, or medium. For example, computer-readable media may include, but are not limited to, magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disks, floppy disks, magnetic strips, etc.), optical disks (e.g., compact disks (CDs), digital versatile disks (DVDs), etc.), smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g., EPROMs, cards, sticks, key drives, etc.). Furthermore, various storage media described herein may represent one or more devices and / or other machine-readable media for storing information. The term "machine-readable medium" may include, but is not limited to, wireless channels and various other media capable of storing, containing, and / or carrying instruction(s) and / or data. Furthermore, a computer program product may include a computer-readable medium having one or more instructions or code operable to cause a computer to perform the functions described herein.

[0235] Communication media includes computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other structured or unstructured data in a data signal such as a modulated data signal, e.g., carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and includes any information delivery or transport medium. A "modulated data signal" or signals refers to a signal that has one or more characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in one or more signals. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media includes wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media.

[0236] An exemplary storage medium may be coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. Alternatively, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. Further, in some aspects, the processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC may reside in a user terminal or device.

[0237] In this regard, while the disclosed subject matter has been described in connection with various embodiments and corresponding drawings, it should be understood that, where applicable, other similar embodiments can be used to perform the same, similar, alternative, or substitute functions of the disclosed subject matter, or modifications and additions can be made without departing from the described embodiments. Accordingly, the disclosed subject matter should not be limited to any single embodiment described herein, but rather should be construed according to the breadth and scope of the following appended claims.

[0238] In particular, with regard to the various functions performed by the above-described components (assemblies, devices, circuits, systems, etc.), the terms used to describe such components (including references to "means") are intended to correspond to any component or structure that performs the specified function of the described component (e.g., that is functionally equivalent), even if it is not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structure that performs that function in the exemplary implementations of the present disclosure shown herein. Furthermore, while a particular feature may be disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, such feature can be combined with one or more other features of other implementations, as may be desirable or advantageous for any given or particular application.

[0239] The present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout, and wherein the structures and devices depicted are not necessarily drawn to scale. As used herein, terms such as “component,” “system,” “interface,” and the like are intended to refer to computer-related entities, hardware, (e.g., executing) software, and / or firmware. For example, a component may be a processor (e.g., a microprocessor, controller, or other processing device), a process running on a processor, a controller, an object, an executable file, a program, a storage device, a computer, a tablet PC, and / or user equipment (e.g., a mobile phone) equipped with a processing device. Illustratively, an application running on a server and that server may also be a component. One or more components may reside within a process, and a component may be localized on one computer and / or distributed among two or more computers. This specification may describe a set of elements or other components, where the term “set” may be interpreted as “one or more.”

[0240] Additionally, these components may execute, e.g., as modules, from various computer-readable or non-transitory computer-readable storage media having various data structures stored thereon. Components may communicate, for example, via local and / or remote processes, according to signals comprising one or more data packets (e.g., data from a component interacting with another component via signals in a local system, a distributed system, and / or across a network, e.g., the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network, or a similar network with other systems).

[0241] As another example, a component may be a device having particular functionality provided by mechanical parts operated by electrical or electronic circuitry, where the electrical or electronic circuitry may be operated by software or firmware applications executed by one or more processors. The one or more processors may be internal or external to the device and may execute at least a portion of the software or firmware applications. As yet another example, a component may be a device that provides particular functionality through electronic components without mechanical parts, where the electronic components may comprise one or more processors that execute software and / or firmware that at least partially impart the functionality of the electronic components.

[0242] As used herein, the term "circuitry" refers to, is a part of, or can include an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group), or associated memory (shared, dedicated, or group) operably coupled to a circuit that executes one or more software or firmware programs, a combinatorial logic circuit, or other suitable hardware component that provides the described functionality. In some forms, a circuit may be implemented in, or functions associated with, a circuit may be performed by, one or more software or firmware modules. In some aspects, a circuit may include logic operable at least partially in hardware.

[0243] The use of the word "exemplary" is intended to make a concept concrete. The term "or" as used herein is intended to mean an inclusive "or," not an exclusive "or." That is, unless otherwise specified or clear from the context, "X uses A or B" is intended to mean any of all possible permutations. That is, "X uses A," "X uses B," or "X uses A and B" all satisfy "X uses A or B." Additionally, the articles "a" and "an" as used in this application and the appended claims should generally be interpreted to mean "one or more" unless otherwise specified or clear from the context to refer to the singular form. Furthermore, when "including," "includes," "having," "has," "with," or variations thereof are used in either the detailed description or the claims, these terms are intended to be inclusive, similar to the term "comprising." Furthermore, in situations where one or more numbered items are recited (e.g., "first X," "second X," etc.), in some situations the context may indicate that one or more numbered items are separate or the same, but in general these one or more numbered items may be separate or the same.

[0244] It is well understood that the use of personal information should comply with generally recognized privacy policies and practices that meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. In particular, personal information data should be managed and handled in a manner that minimizes the risk of unintended or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized uses should be clearly indicated to users.

Claims

1. 1. A baseband processor, comprising: one or more processors, the one or more processors Generate a slice-based cell reselection (SCR) information element (IE) indicating capability support for cell reselection based on network slicing, the SCR IE including a slice grouping support IE indicating user equipment (UE) support of the baseband processor for slice grouping; causing transmission of a registration request including said SCR IE; receiving a REGISTRATION ACCEPT message including slice radio resource management information (SRRMI) in response to transmitting the registration request; a baseband processor configured to cause transmission of a REGISTRATION COMPLETE message in response to receiving the SRRMI.

2. 2. The baseband processor of claim 1, wherein after receiving the REGISTRATION ACCEPT message, the SRRMI is communicated from a non-access stratum (NAS) protocol of a user equipment (UE) that includes the baseband processor to an access stratum (AS) protocol of the UE.

3. The baseband processor of claim 1 , wherein the registration request is sent as an initial registration request, a mobility and periodic registration update (MRU), or a change-based event.

4. 2. The baseband processor of claim 1, wherein the SCR IE is indicated by a single-bit field in a fifth generation mobile communications technology (5G) mobility management (MM) capability IE, further indicating support for SCR while a user equipment (UE) including the baseband processor is in a radio resource control (RRC) idle (RRC_IDLE) state and an RRC inactive (RRC_INACTIVE) state.

5. The SCR IE is indicated in a fifth generation mobile communications technology (5G) mobility management (MM) capability IE, and further indicates support for SCR while a user equipment (UE) including the baseband processor is in a radio resource control (RRC) idle (RRC_IDLE) state and an RRC inactive (RRC_INACTIVE) state, and the SCR IE a slice priority support information element (IE) indicating support of the UE for slice prioritization; 10. The baseband processor of claim 1, further comprising: a slice radio resource management (SRRM) support IE for the UE indicating support for SRRM configuration.

6. Determine an SRRMI including an information element (IE) including the number of Single Network Slice Specific Support Information (S-NSSAI), a value of the S-NSSAI, a group ID of the S-NSSAI, a priority of the S-NSSAI, the number of frequencies associated with the S-NSSAI, the value of the frequency associated with the S-NSSAI, and a frequency priority associated with the S-NSSAI; The baseband processor of claim 1 , further configured to generate the registration request to include the IE.

7. The baseband processor of claim 6 , further configured to update the determined SRRMI with the SRRMI included in the REGISTRATION ACCEPT message.

8. 8. The baseband processor of claim 1, wherein the SRRMI included in the REGISTRATION ACCEPT message includes all of the following: a number of Single Network Slice Specific Support Information (S-NSSAI), a value of the S-NSSAI, an S-NSSAI group ID, a priority of the S-NSSAI, a number of frequencies associated with the S-NSSAI, a value of the frequency associated with the S-NSSAI, and a frequency priority associated with the S-NSSAI.

9. The baseband processor of claim 6 , wherein the S-NSSAI priority is based on active applications on a user equipment (UE) that includes the baseband processor.

10. An Access and Mobility Function (AMF) entity, comprising: receiving a registration request including a slice-based cell reselection (SCR) information element (IE) indicating a capability of a user equipment (UE) to support cell reselection based on network slicing, the SCR IE including a slice grouping support IE indicating support of the UE for slice grouping; In response to receiving the registration request, determine slice radio resource management information (SRRMI) including slice group configuration information; In response to determining the SRRMI, an AMF entity is configured to send a REGISTRATION ACCEPT message including the SRRMI.

11. The AMF entity of claim 10 , further configured to receive a REGISTRATION COMPLETE message in response to generating the REGISTRATION ACCEPT message.

12. The AMF entity of claim 10 or 11, wherein the SRRMI enables SCR between the UE and a base station (BS).

13. The AMF entity according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the SRRMI is determined based on the SCR IE.

14. 11. The AMF entity of claim 10, wherein the slice group configuration information includes one or more of: a number of Single Network Slice Specific Support Information (S-NSSAI), a value of the S-NSSAI, a group ID of the S-NSSAI, a priority of the S-NSSAI, a number of frequencies associated with the S-NSSAI, a value of a frequency associated with the S-NSSAI, or a frequency priority associated with the S-NSSAI.

15. The AMF entity of claim 14, wherein the S-NSSAIs associated with the same frequency in a tracking area (TA) or registration area (RA) are grouped together and have the same S-NSSAI priority.

16. The AMF entity of claim 14, wherein the S-NSSAI priority is based on protocol data unit (PDU) session information and associated available network slices.

17. The registration request includes an SRRMI information element (IE) including one or more of the number of Single Network Slice Specific Support Information (S-NSSAI), a value of the S-NSSAI, a group ID of the S-NSSAI, a priority of the S-NSSAI, the number of frequencies associated with the S-NSSAI, the value of the frequency associated with the S-NSSAI, and a frequency priority associated with the S-NSSAI; The AMF entity of claim 14 , further configured to determine the SRRMI based on the SRRMI IE included in the registration request.

18. The AMF entity of claim 10, wherein the registration request is received as an initial registration request or a periodic registration update (MRU).

19. The SCR IE is indicated by a single-bit field in a fifth generation mobile communications technology (5G) mobility management (MM) capability IE, and further indicates support for SCR while the UE is in a radio resource control (RRC) idle (RRC_IDLE) state and an RRC inactive (RRC_INACTIVE) state. The AMF entity according to any one of claims 10, 11, and 14 to 18.

20. A user equipment (UE), comprising: Memory and one or more processors coupled to the memory, determining a capability support of the UE for a slice based on cell reselection (SCR); Generate an SCR information element (IE) indicating the UE's determined capability support for cell reselection based on network slicing, the SCR IE including a slice grouping support IE indicating the UE's support for slice grouping; In response to determining support for SCR, transmitting, by radio frequency circuitry, a registration request including the SCR IE; In response to transmitting the registration request, a REGISTRATION ACCEPT message is received, the REGISTRATION ACCEPT message including slice radio resource management information (SRRMI). one or more processors configured to A UE equipped with the above.

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