Resource isolation in wireless communication systems

Abstract

A method, device, system, and computer program product for resource isolation in wireless communication systems are provided. Communication networks in a plurality of communication networks of a wireless communication system are identified. Each communication network in the plurality of communication networks has one or more communication components that are logically isolated from one or more communication components of other communication networks in the plurality of communication networks. The identified communication network is selected for the transmission of data associated with a user device. Data associated with a user device is transmitted using the identified communication network.

Description

Technology Field

[0001] In some implementations, the subject of this topic relates to telecommunication systems, and in particular to resource isolation in wireless communication systems such as 5G New Radio ("NR") which may include, for example, a lower layer partitioning architecture. Background Technology

[0002] In today's world, cellular networks provide customized communication capabilities to individuals and businesses. Typically, a cellular network is a wireless network that can be distributed across terrestrial areas called cells. Each of these cells is served by at least one fixed-location transceiver, referred to as a cell site or base station. Each cell may utilize a different set of frequencies from its neighboring cells to avoid interference and provide improved service within that cell. When cells are connected together, they provide radio coverage over a wide geographical area, enabling a large number of mobile phones and / or other wireless devices or portable transceivers to communicate with each other and with fixed transceivers and phones anywhere within the network. This communication is carried out via base stations and is achieved even when mobile transceivers move through two or more cells during transmission. Major wireless carriers deploy these cell sites globally, thereby enabling communication mobile phones and mobile computing devices to connect to public switched telephone networks and the public internet.

[0003] A mobile phone is a portable telephone capable of making and receiving phone and / or data calls via cell sites or transmission towers by using radio waves to transmit signals to and from the mobile phone. From the perspective of a large number of mobile phone users, current mobile phone networks provide limited shared resources. In this regard, cell sites and handsets change frequencies and use low-power transmitters to enable simultaneous use of networks by many callers with less interference. The coverage of a cell site may depend on a specific geographical location and / or the number of users potentially available to the network. For example, in urban areas, a cell site may have a range of up to about 1 / 2 mile; in rural areas, the range may be as much as 5 miles; and in some areas, users may receive signals from a cell site 25 miles away.

[0004] The following are some examples of digital cellular technologies currently used by telecommunications providers: GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), GPRS (General Packet Radio Service), cdmaOne, CDMA2000, EV-DO (Evolution-Data Optimized), EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications), IS-136 / TDMA (Digital AMPS), and iDEN (Integrated Digital Enhanced Network). Long Term Evolution, or 4G LTE, developed by the 3GPP standards body, is a standard for high-speed wireless data communication for mobile phones and data terminals. The 5G LTE standard is currently under development. LTE is based on GSM / EDGE and UMTS / HSPA digital cellular technologies and enables increased capacity and speed by utilizing different radio interfaces along with core network improvements.

[0005] 5G NR networks implement various radio resource sharing deployment scenarios, including multi-operator radio access networks (MORAN) and multi-operator core networks (MOCN). Some aspects of multi-operator sharing networks are described in 3GPP standards (e.g., TS 32.130, TS 23.251, TS 23.501). However, many aspects of these multi-operator sharing networks, including resource partitioning and resource isolation, are not described and may depend on various network implementations.

[0006] In some implementations, the subject matter relates to a method implemented by a computer for resource isolation in wireless communication systems. The method may include the step of identifying a communication network in a plurality of communication networks of a wireless communication system. Each communication network in the plurality of communication networks may have one or more communication components that are logically isolated from one or more communication components of other communication networks in the plurality of communication networks. The method may further include the step of selecting an identified communication network for the transmission of data associated with a user device, and the step of transmitting data associated with a user device using the identified communication network.

[0007] In some implementations, the subject may include one or more of the following optional features. The method may further include the step of determining at least one communication component of a communication network for isolation based on an identified communication network. In some implementations, a plurality of communication networks may include at least one of a multi-operator radio access network (MORAN), a multi-operator core network (MOCN), a radio access network, a virtual radio access network, a core network, and any combination thereof. Additionally, the method may include the step of selecting one or more distributed units (DU) for data transmission based on at least one of one or more component carriers, one or more bandwidth portions, one or more physical resource block ranges, and any combination thereof.

[0008] In some implementations, at least one of the identifying, selecting, and transmitting steps may be performed by a base station. The base station may include at least one of the following communication components: one or more remote radio units (RU), one or more centralized units (CU), one or more distributed units (DU), one or more control plane portions (CU-CP) of one or more centralized units, one or more user plane portions (CU-UP) of one or more centralized units, one or more access and mobility functions (AMF), one or more user plane functions (UPF), and one or more session management functions (SMF). In some implementations, at least one of one or more CU-UPs, one or more AMFs, one or more UPFs, and one or more SMFs of one communication network in a plurality of communication networks is logically isolated from at least one of one or more CU-UPs, one or more AMFs, one or more UPFs, and one or more SMFs of another communication network in a plurality of communication networks. One or more remote RUs, one or more DUs, and one or more CU-CPs may be common to all communication networks in a plurality of communication networks. Data associated with a user device may then be transmitted using one or more communication networks.

[0009] In some implementations, the DUs, CU-UPs, AMFs, UPFs, and SMFs of different PLMNs can be logically isolated from all communication networks in multiple communication networks for the transmission of data associated with a user device.

[0010] In some implementations, the RUs, DUs, CU-UPs, CU-CPs, AMFs, UPFs, and SMFs of different PLMNs can be logically isolated from all communication networks in multiple communication networks for the transmission of data associated with a user device.

[0011] Non-transient computer program products (i.e., physically implemented computer program products) are also described for storing instructions that cause at least one data processor to perform the operations described herein when executed by one or more data processors of one or more computing systems. Similarly, computer systems that may include one or more data processors and memory coupled to one or more data processors are also described. The memory may temporarily or permanently store instructions that cause at least one processor to perform one or more of the operations described herein. Additionally, the methods may be implemented by one or more data processors within a single computing system or distributed among two or more computing systems. These computing systems may be connected through one or more connections, including but not limited to connections through a network (e.g., the Internet, a wireless wide area network, a local area network, a wide area network, a wired network, etc.), direct connections between one or more of the multiple computing systems, and may exchange data and / or commands or other instructions.

[0012] Details of one or more variations of the subject matter described herein are presented in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features and advantages of the subject matter described herein will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims. Brief explanation of the drawing

[0013] The accompanying drawings included in and constituting part of this specification illustrate specific aspects of the subject matter disclosed in this specification and, together with the description, help to explain some of the principles associated with the disclosed embodiments. FIG. 1a illustrates an exemplary conventional Long Term Evolution ("LTE") communication system. FIG. 1b illustrates additional details of the exemplary LTE system illustrated in FIG. 1a. FIG. 1c illustrates additional details of an advanced packet core of the exemplary LTE system illustrated in FIG. 1a. FIG. 1d illustrates an exemplary evolved node B of the exemplary LTE system illustrated in FIG. 1a. FIG. 2 illustrates additional details of the evolved node B illustrated in FIG. 1a through 1d. Figure 3 illustrates an exemplary virtual radio access network according to some implementations of the subject matter. Figure 4 illustrates an exemplary 3GPP partitioning architecture for providing users with access to higher frequency bands. Figure 5 illustrates an exemplary network slice architecture. Figure 6 illustrates an exemplary S-NSSAI identifier. Figure 7 illustrates an exemplary 5G wireless communication system. FIG. 8a illustrates an exemplary communication system for performing network slice separation in user plane portions of a centralized unit according to some implementations of the subject matter. FIG. 8b illustrates an exemplary communication system having one user device capable of utilizing one or more network slices according to some implementations of the subject matter. FIG. 9a illustrates an exemplary communication system for performing network slice separation in parts of distributed units (DU) according to some implementations of the subject matter. FIG. 9b illustrates an exemplary communication system having one user device capable of utilizing one or more network slices according to some implementations of the subject matter. FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary communication system for performing network slice separation in remote radio unit (RU) portions according to some implementations of the subject matter. FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary method for mapping one or more network slices to specific placement options discussed in relation to FIG. 8a through 10, according to some implementations of the subject matter. FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary process for updating a slice profile to implementation mapping according to some implementations of the subject. FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary MORAN network that can be implemented in a virtualized RAN on a shared COTS platform. Figure 14 illustrates an exemplary MOCN system. FIG. 15a illustrates an exemplary multi-operator communication system for performing resource isolation sharing in a multi-operator network according to some implementations of the subject matter. FIG. 15b illustrates an exemplary process for performing resource isolation or sharing using the system illustrated in FIG. 15a, according to some implementations of the subject matter. FIG. 16 illustrates an exemplary multi-operator communication system for performing resource isolation sharing in a multi-operator network according to some implementations of the subject matter. FIG. 17 illustrates an exemplary multi-operator communication system for performing resource isolation sharing in a multi-operator network according to some implementations of the subject matter. FIG. 18 illustrates an exemplary method for isolating one or more PLMN resources into specific placement options discussed in relation to FIG. 15a through 17, according to some implementations of the subject matter. FIG. 19 illustrates an exemplary system according to some implementations of the subject matter. FIG. 20 illustrates an exemplary method according to some implementations of the subject matter. Specific details for implementing the invention

[0014] The present topic may provide systems and methods that can be implemented in a lower-layer partitioning architecture for wireless communication systems. These systems may include various wireless communication systems, including 5G new radio communication systems, Long Term Evolution communication systems, etc.

[0015] One or more aspects of the subject matter may be integrated into the transmitter and / or receiver components of base stations (e.g., gNodeBs, eNodeBs, etc.) in these communication systems. The following is a general discussion of Long Term Evolution communication systems and 5G New Radio communication systems.

[0016] I. Long Term Evolution Communication System

[0017] FIGS. 1a through 1c and FIG. 2 illustrate an exemplary conventional Long Term Evolution ("LTE") communication system (100) with its various components. An LTE system, or 4G LTE, is regulated by a standard for high-speed data wireless communication for mobile phones and data terminals, as is commercially known. This standard is based on GSM / EDGE ("Global System for Mobile Communications" / "Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution") as well as UMTS / HSPA ("Universal Mobile Telecommunications System" / "High Speed ​​Packet Access") network technologies. This standard was developed by the 3GPP ("3rd Generation Partnership Project").

[0018] As illustrated in FIG. 1a, the system (100) may include an advanced universal terrestrial radio access network ("EUTRAN") (102), an advanced packet core ("EPC") (108), and a packet data network ("PDN") (101), wherein the EUUTRAN (102) and the EPC (108) provide communication between user equipment (104) and the PDN (101). The EUUTRAN (102) may include a plurality of advanced node Bs ("eNodeB" or "ENODEB" or "enodeb" or "eNB") or base stations (106a, 106b, 106c) (illustrated in FIG. 1b) that provide communication capabilities to a plurality of user equipment (104a, 104b, 104c). User equipment (104) may be a mobile phone, smartphone, tablet, personal computer, personal digital assistant ("PDA"), server, data terminal, and / or any other type of user equipment, and / or any combination thereof. User equipment (104) may connect to the EPC (108) and ultimately the PDN (101) via any eNodeB (106). Typically, user equipment (104) may connect to the eNodeB (106) closest in terms of distance. In the LTE system (100), the EUTRAN (102) and the EPC (108) work together to provide connectivity, mobility, and services to the user equipment (104).

[0019] FIG. 1b illustrates additional details of the network (100) illustrated in FIG. 1a. As mentioned above, the EUUTRAN (102) comprises a plurality of eNodeBs (106), also known as cell sites. The eNodeBs (106) provide radio functions and perform key control functions, including scheduling of air link resources or radio resource management, active mode mobility or handover, and acceptance control for services. The eNodeBs (106) are responsible for protocol features such as header compression and encryption, as well as selecting which mobility management entities (MMEs as illustrated in FIG. 1c) will serve the user equipment (104). The eNodeBs (106) constituting the EUUTRAN (102) cooperate with each other for radio resource management and handover.

[0020] Communication between the user equipment (104) and the eNodeB (106) occurs via an air interface (122) (also known as the "LTE-Uu" interface). As illustrated in FIG. 1b, the air interface (122) provides communication between the user equipment (104b) and the eNodeB (106a). The air interface (122) utilizes Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access ("OFDMA") and Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access ("SC-FDMA"), a variant of OFDMA, in the downlink and uplink, respectively. OFDMA enables the use of multiple known antenna technologies, such as Multiple Input Multiple Output ("MIMO").

[0021] The air interface (122) utilizes various protocols including radio resource control ("RRC") for signaling between user equipment (104) and eNodeB (106) and a non-access stratum ("NAS") for signaling between user equipment (104) and MME (shown in FIG. 1c). In addition to signaling, user traffic is transmitted between user equipment (104) and eNodeB (106). Both signaling and traffic in the system (100) are transmitted via physical layer ("PHY") channels.

[0022] Multiple eNodeBs (106) can be interconnected using X2 interfaces (130a, 130b, 130c). As illustrated in FIG. 1a, X2 interface (130a) provides interconnection between eNodeB (106a) and eNodeB (106b); X2 interface (130b) provides interconnection between eNodeB (106a) and eNodeB (106c); and X2 interface (130c) provides interconnection between eNodeB (106b) and eNodeB (106c). X2 interfaces can be established between two eNodeBs to provide the exchange of signals that may include load or interference-related information as well as handover-related information. eNodeBs (106) communicate with the evolved packet core (108) through the S1 interface (124a, 124b, 124c). The S1 interface (124) can be divided into two interfaces, one for the control plane (illustrated in FIG. 1c as the control plane interface (S1-MME interface) (128)) and the other for the user plane (illustrated in FIG. 1c as the user plane interface (S1-U interface) (125)).

[0023] The EPC (108) establishes and enforces the Quality of Service ("QoS") for user services and enables user equipment (104) to maintain a consistent Internet Protocol ("IP") address while in motion. It should be noted that each node within the network (100) has its own IP address. The EPC (108) is designed to work with legacy wireless networks. The EPC (108) is also designed to separate the control plane (i.e., signaling) and the user plane (i.e., traffic) in the core network architecture, which enables greater flexibility in implementation and independent scalability of control and user data functions.

[0024] The EPC (108) architecture is dedicated to packet data and is illustrated in more detail in FIG. 1c. The EPC (108) includes a serving gateway (S-GW) (110), a PDN gateway (P-GW) (112), a mobility management entity ("MME") (114), a home subscriber server ("HSS") (116) (subscriber database for the EPC (108)), and a policy control and billing rules function ("PCRF") (118). Some of these (e.g., S-GW, P-GW, MME, and HSS) are often combined into nodes depending on the manufacturer's implementation.

[0025] The S-GW (110) functions as an IP packet data router and is the bearer path anchor for user equipment in the EPC (108). Thus, as user equipment moves from one eNodeB (106) to another eNodeB (106) during mobility operations, the S-GW (110) remains the same, and the bearer path toward the EUUTRAN (102) is switched to communicate with the new eNodeB (106) serving user equipment (104). If user equipment (104) moves to the domain of another S-GW (110), the MME (114) will transfer all of the user equipment's bearer paths to the new S-GW. The S-GW (110) establishes the user equipment's bearer paths up to one or more P-GWs (112). When downstream data for idle user equipment is received, the S-GW (110) buffers the downstream packets and requests the MME (114) to find and re-establish bearer paths to and through the EUTRAN (102).

[0026] The P-GW (112) is a gateway between the EPC (108) (and user equipment (104) and EUTRAN (102)) and the PDN (101) (shown in FIG. 1a). The P-GW (112) functions as a router for user traffic and performs functions on behalf of the user equipment. These include assigning IP addresses to the user equipment, packet filtering of downstream user traffic to ensure placement on an appropriate bearer path, and enforcement of downstream QoS, including data rates. Depending on the services used by the subscriber, there may be multiple user data bearer paths between the user equipment (104) and the P-GW (112). The subscriber may use services on PDNs served by different P-GWs, in which case the user equipment has at least one bearer path established to each P-GW (112). During the handover of user equipment from one eNodeB to another eNodeB, if the S-GW (110) is also changed, the bearer path from the P-GW (112) is switched to the new S-GW.

[0027] The MME (114) manages user equipment (104) within the EPC (108), including managing subscriber authentication, maintaining context for authenticated user equipment (104), establishing data bearer paths in the network for user traffic, and tracking the location of idle mobiles that are not disconnected from the network. For idle user equipment (104) that needs to be reconnected to the access network to receive downstream data, the MME (114) initiates paging to locate the user equipment and re-establishes bearer paths to and through the EUUTRAN (102). The MME (114) for a specific user equipment (104) is selected by the eNodeB (106) to which the user equipment (104) initiates system access. The MME is typically part of a collection of MMEs within the EPC (108) for load sharing and redundancy. In establishing the user's data bearer paths, the MME (114) is responsible for selecting the P-GW (112) and S-GW (110) to configure the endpoints of the data path through the EPC (108).

[0028] The PCRF (118) is responsible for policy control decision-making as well as controlling flow-based billing functions in the policy control enforcement function ("PCEF") present in the P-GW (110). The PCRF (118) provides QoS permissions (QoS class identifier ("QCI") and bit rates) that determine how a specific data flow will be processed in the PCEF and ensure that this is consistent with the user's subscription profile.

[0029] As mentioned above, IP services (119) are provided by the PDN (101) (shown in FIG. 1a).

[0030] FIG. 1d illustrates an exemplary structure of an eNodeB (106). The eNodeB (106) may include at least one remote radio head ("RRH") (132) (typically, there may be three RRHs (132)) and a baseband unit ("BBU") (134). The RRH (132) may be connected to antennas (136). The RRH (132) and the BBU (134) may be connected using an optical interface that complies with the common public radio interface ("CPRI") (142) standard specifications. The operation of the eNodeB (106) can be characterized by the following standard parameters (and specifications): radio frequency band (Band 4, Band 9, Band 17), bandwidth (5, 10, 15, 20 MHz), access method (downlink: OFDMA; uplink: SC-OFDMA), antenna technology (downlink: 2x2 MIMO; uplink: 1x2 single input multiple output ("SIMO")), number of sectors (up to 6), maximum transmission power (60 W), maximum transmission speed (downlink: 150 Mb / s; uplink: 50 Mb / s), S1 / X2 interface (1000Base-SX, 1000Base-T), and mobile environment (up to 350 km / h). The BBU (134) can be responsible for digital baseband signal processing, termination of the S1 line, termination of the X2 line, call processing, and monitoring control processing. IP packets received from the EPC (108) (not shown in FIG. 1d) can be modulated into digital baseband signals and transmitted to the RRH (132). Conversely, digital baseband signals received from the RRH (132) can be demodulated into IP packets for transmission to the EPC (108).

[0031] The RRH (132) can transmit and receive radio signals using antennas (136). The RRH (132) can convert digital baseband signals from the BBU (134) into radio frequency ("RF") signals (using a converter ("CONV") (140)) and power amplify them (using an amplifier ("AMP") (138) for transmission to user equipment (104) (not shown in FIG. 1d). Conversely, RF signals received from user equipment (104) are amplified (using the AMP (138)) and converted into digital baseband signals (using the CONV (140)) for transmission to the BBU (134).

[0032] FIG. 2 illustrates additional details of an exemplary eNodeB (106). The eNodeB (106) includes multiple layers: LTE Layer 1 (202), LTE Layer 2 (204), and LTE Layer 3 (206). LTE Layer 1 includes a physical layer ("PHY"). LTE Layer 2 includes media access control ("MAC"), radio link control ("RLC"), and packet data convergence protocol ("PDCP"). LTE Layer 3 includes various functions and protocols, including radio resource control ("RRC"), dynamic resource allocation, eNodeB measurement configuration and provision, radio acceptance control, access mobility control, and radio resource management ("RRM"). The RLC protocol is an automated repeat request ("ARQ") fragmentation protocol used through a cellular air interface. The RRC protocol handles LTE Layer 3 control plane signaling between the user equipment and the EUUTRAN. RRC includes functions for connection establishment and release, broadcasting of system information, radio bearer establishment / reconfiguration and release, RRC connection mobility procedures, paging notification and release, and outer loop power control. PDCP performs IP header compression and decompression, transmission of user data, and maintenance of sequence numbers for radio bearers. The BBU (134) illustrated in FIG. 1d may include LTE layer L1 through LTE layer L3.

[0033] One of the main functions of the eNodeB (106) is radio resource management, which includes scheduling both uplink and downlink air interface resources for the user equipment (104), controlling bearer resources, and acceptance control. The eNodeB (106), acting as an agent for the EPC (108), is responsible for transmitting paging messages used to locate mobiles when they are idle. The eNodeB (106) also performs the communication of over-the-air common control channel information, header compression, encryption and decryption of user data transmitted over-the-air, and the establishment of handover reporting and triggering criteria. As mentioned above, the eNodeB (106) can cooperate with other eNodeBs (106) via the X2 interface for handover and interference management. The eNodeBs (106) communicate with the EPC's MME via the S1-MME interface and with the S-GW via the S1-U interface. In addition, the eNodeB (106) exchanges user data with the S-GW through the S1-U interface. The eNodeB (106) and the EPC (108) have a many-to-many relationship to support load sharing and redundancy between the MMEs and the S-GWs. The eNodeB (106) selects an MME from a group of MMEs so that the load can be shared by multiple MMEs to avoid congestion.

[0034] II. 5G NR Wireless Communication Networks

[0035] In some implementations, this topic concerns 5G New Radio ("NR") communication systems. 5G NR is the next telecommunications standard that surpasses 4G / IMT-Advanced standards. 5G networks provide greater capacity than current 4G, enable a higher number of mobile broadband users per unit area, and allow for the consumption of larger and / or unlimited amounts of data—in gigabytes per month and per user. This can enable users to stream high-definition media for several hours a day using mobile devices, even when Wi-Fi networks are not available. 5G networks feature improved support for device-to-device communication, lower costs, lower latency than 4G equipment, and lower battery consumption. These networks have data rates of tens of megabits per second for a large number of users, data rates of 100 Mb / s for metropolitan areas, 1 Gb / s simultaneously for users within a limited area (e.g., an office), a large number of simultaneous connections for wireless sensor networks, improved spectrum efficiency, improved coverage, improved signaling efficiency, and reduced latency of 1 to 10 ms compared to existing systems.

[0036] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary virtual radio access network (300). The network (300) may provide communication between various components, including a base station (e.g., eNodeB, gNodeB) (301), radio equipment (307), a centralized unit (302), a digital unit (304), and a radio device (306). Components within the system (300) may be communicably coupled to a core using a backhaul link (305). A centralized unit ("CU") (302) may be communicably coupled to a distributed unit ("DU") (304) using a midhaul connection (308). Radio frequency ("RU") components (306) may be communicably coupled to a DU (304) using a fronthaul connection (310).

[0037] In some implementations, the CU (302) may provide intelligent communication capabilities to one or more DU units (308). The units (302, 304) may include one or more base stations, macro base stations, micro base stations, remote radio heads, etc., and / or any combination thereof.

[0038] In a lower-layer partitioning architecture environment, the CPRI bandwidth requirement for NR can be hundreds of Gb / s. CPRI compression can be implemented in the DU and RU (as shown in Fig. 3). In 5G communication systems, compressed CPRI over Ethernet frames is referred to as eCPRI and is the recommended fronthall interface. This architecture can enable the standardization of fronthall with fronthall / midhall and L1 partitioning architectures (Option 7) that may include upper-layer partitioning (e.g., Option 2 or Option 3-1 (upper / lower RLC partitioning architecture)).

[0039] In some implementations, the lower-layer partitioning architecture (e.g., Option 7) may include a receiver in the uplink, joint processing across multiple transmission points (TPs) for both DL / UL, and transmission bandwidth and latency requirements for ease of deployment. Furthermore, the lower-layer partitioning architecture of the subject may include a partition between cell-level processing and user-level processing, which may include cell-level processing in a remote unit ("RU") and user-level processing in a DU. Furthermore, using the lower-layer partitioning architecture of the subject, frequency domain samples may be transmitted over an Ethernet fronthaul, whereby the frequency domain samples may be compressed for reduced fronthaul bandwidth.

[0040] FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary communication system (400) capable of implementing 5G technology and providing users with access to higher frequency bands (e.g., above 10 GHz). The system (400) may include a macro cell (402) and small cells (404 and 406).

[0041] A mobile device (408) may be configured to communicate with one or more of the small cells (404, 406). The system (400) may enable the division of control planes (C-plane) and user planes (U-plane) between the macro cell (402) and the small cells (404, 406), wherein the C-plane and U-plane utilize different frequency bands. In particular, the small cells (402, 404) may be configured to utilize higher frequency bands when communicating with the mobile device (408). The macro cell (402) may utilize existing cellular bands for C-plane communication. The mobile device (408) may be coupled to communicate via the U-plane (412), wherein the small cell (e.g., small cell (406)) may provide higher data rates and more flexible / cost / energy-efficient operations. The macro cell (402) can maintain good connectivity and mobility through the C-plane (410). In addition, in some cases, LTE PUCCH and NR PUCCH can be transmitted at the same frequency.

[0042] III. Network Slicing

[0043] 5G network slicing refers to a network architecture that enables the multiplexing of virtualized and independent logical networks within the same physical network infrastructure, where each network slice is an isolated end-to-end network configured to serve different requirements that may be requested by specific applications. The control plane may contain some network functions that are common to two or more network slices. Network slicing technology implements various concepts of Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV) to enable the implementation of flexible and scalable network slices on a common network infrastructure. Each network slice can be managed by the same or different Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs), allowing the MVNO to autonomously deploy multiple network slices that can be customized for various applications.

[0044] FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary network slice architecture (500). The architecture (500) may include a network slice controller (502), a service layer (504), a network function layer (506), and an infrastructure layer (508). The network slice controller (502) interfaces with various functions performed by the layers (504 to 508) to manage requests by each slice. The controller (502) coordinates communications between the layers (504 to 508) to provide end-to-end service management (i.e., mapping various service instances (SLA requirements) to network functions that satisfy service constraints), virtual resource definition (i.e., virtualizing physical network resources to manage resources for the allocation of network functions), and slice lifecycle management (i.e., monitoring slice performance across all three layers (504 to 508) for dynamic reconfiguration of each slice to accommodate changes in SLA requirements).

[0045] The service layer (504) interfaces with one or more mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) (505) and one or more service providers (507). The MVNOs and providers (507) may share a physical network, where each service is represented as a service instance including all network characteristics as service level (SLA) requirements. The network function layer (506) creates each network slice in response to service instance requests coming from the layer (504). This includes various network functions that are placed on the virtual network infrastructure and can be combined to create end-to-end network slice instances according to the network characteristics requested by the service. The infrastructure layer (508) is the actual physical network topology where all network slices are multiplexed and provides physical network resources to host the network functions of each slice.

[0046] Although network slicing is a core feature of 5G communication networks and the selection of network functions and routing of data through isolated networks are based on slice IDs, end-to-end slicing modes for radio access networks and resource isolation for each slice are not yet defined and depend on specific implementations. Furthermore, while current standards define core network selection and routing toward the core network based on network slices, resource isolation and management of radio-level resources are also not defined in existing systems. This topic provides a solution to these problems by offering multiple deployment methods and system modes for achieving resource isolation in a RAN.

[0047] Network slice instances can be allocated or deallocated by network operators according to various 3GPP standards that specify profiles for slices (i.e., SliceProfiles) as well as characteristics for each slice. Some of these characteristics may include performance requirements (perfReq) attributes for the slice, which can be classified based on whether the slice / service type (SST) is Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC), Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC), etc. The following data models, as specified in 3GPP standards, can be used to define requirements for the slice:

[0048]

[0049] Additional characteristics may include the maximum number of user devices expected to use a specific slice, the coverage areas (or trace areas) where the slice is available, the latency characteristics of the slice, the user device mobility level (e.g., whether the user devices using the slice are expected to be stationary, nomadic, have limited mobility, or move rapidly, etc.), the resource sharing level (defined as shared / non-shared by 3GPP standards), the resource isolation level (which may indicate at which level in the RAN resources may need to be isolated), and the expected reliability for a specific slice. When an operator provides a slice template (defined by the code shown above), the template must be mapped to specific characteristics within the RAN and the core network.

[0050] The above network slicing architecture (500) may be based on the identifier S-NSSAI (Specific Network Slice Selection Assistance Information). FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary S-NSSAI identifier (600). The identifier (600) includes 8-bit standardized slice / service type (SST) values ​​(602) (referring to expected network slice behavior in terms of features and services) and 24-bit slice distinguisher (SD) values ​​(604) (referring to arbitrary information that complements the slice / service type(s) to distinguish different network slices of the same slice / service type). The S-NSSAI (600) is used by a user device (UE) when accessing a network within a public terrestrial mobile network (PLMN) to which the S-NSSAI is associated. In particular, during network registration, the UE provides the "requested NSSAI" to the RAN in its RRC signaling, where the NSSAI is a collection of S-NSSAIs (600). The RAN selects the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) in the 5G core network using the requested NSSAI. The AMF is a common element for all slices accessible to the UE. After the registration process is complete, the UE activates one or more slices by initiating a Packet Data Unit (PDU) session activation procedure. Each PDU session belongs to a single slice. The following activation procedure scenarios are possible: a single UE accessing multiple network slices (i.e., a single UE accessing multiple PDU sessions—each PDU session using a different S-NSSAI), and a single UE accessing only one network slice. However, the network may have deployed multiple network slices, and different UEs use different network slices.

[0051] FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary 5G wireless communication system (700) according to some implementations of the subject matter. The system (700) may be configured to have a lower-layer partitioned architecture according to Option 7-2. The system (700) may include a core network (702) (e.g., 5G core) and one or more gNodeBs (or gNBs), wherein the gNBs may have a centralized unit (gNB-CU). The gNB-CU may be logically partitioned into a control plane portion (gNB-CU-CP) (704) and one or more user plane portions (gNB-CU-UP) (706). The control plane portion (704) and the user plane portion (706) may be configured to be communicably coupled using an E1 communication interface (714) (as specified in 3GPP standards). The control plane portion (704) may be configured to be responsible for the execution of RRC and PDCP protocols of the radio stack.

[0052] The control plane portion and user plane portion (704, 706) of the centralized unit of the gNB may be configured to be communicably coupled to one or more distributed units (DU) (708, 710) according to a lower layer partitioning architecture. The distributed units (708, 710) may be configured to execute upper portions of the RLC layer protocol, MAC layer protocol, and PHY layer protocol of the radio stack. The control plane portion (704) may be configured to be communicably coupled to the distributed units (708, 710) using F1-C communication interfaces (716), and the user plane portion (706) may be configured to be communicably coupled to the distributed units (708, 710) using F1-U communication interfaces (718). The distributed units (708, 710) may be coupled to one or more remote radio units (RU) (712) via a fronthall interface (720), and the remote radio units (712) in turn communicate with one or more user equipment (not shown in FIG. 7). The remote radio units (712) may be configured to provide antenna capabilities to the remote units for communication with user equipment as well as to execute a sub-part of the PHY layer protocols (similar to the discussion above regarding FIG. 1a through 2).

[0053] IV. End-to-End Network Slicing

[0054] In some implementations, to provide end-to-end slicing capabilities, a base station may be composed of one or more executable processes (e.g., end-to-end solutions) for performing slice separation at various points of the communication system (700), as illustrated in FIG. 7. The determination of where slice separation should occur may depend on various network parameters, requirements of the communication session, and / or any other factors. Solutions may include slice separation occurring at (a) user plane portions of a centralized unit, (b) distributed units, and (c) remote units. One or more of these solutions may be implemented in the system (700) and are discussed below.

[0055] A. Slice separation in user plane portions of a centralized unit

[0056] FIG. 8a illustrates an exemplary communication system (800) for performing network slice separation in user plane portions of a centralized unit according to some implementations of the subject matter. The system (800) is similar to the system (700) illustrated in FIG. 7, and for convenience of illustration and discussion, only the relevant parts are illustrated in FIG. 8a.

[0057] The system (800) may include one or more user devices (802a, 802b, 802c), a remote unit (803), a distributed unit (805), and a control plane portion (807) of a centralized unit. In this implementation, the units (803 to 807) may be common to all network slices (three slices are shown in FIG. 8a). This means that all user devices (802) can access the same units (803 to 807) before network slice splitting occurs in the user plane portion of the centralized unit.

[0058] As illustrated in FIG. 8a, isolation between network slices may be provided from the gNB-CU-UP onwards. In particular, separate gNB-CU-UP instances (808a, 808b, 808c) for each slice may be created by the radio access network, which may be configured to serve or enable access by each user device (802a, 802b, 802c). Furthermore, due to the separation of the slices, separate instances of access and mobility functions (AMF) (810a, 810b, 810c), user plane functions (UPF1 to UPF3) (812a, 812b, 812c), and session management functions (SMF1 to SMF3) (814a, 814b, 814c) may also be created. Each network slice may be identified by notations a, b, or c (in addition to any common parts).

[0059] In 5G networks, the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) (replacing the MME entity in 4G networks) is responsible for receiving access and session-related information from user equipment and handling access and mobility management tasks. Messages related to session management can be passed to the Session Management Function (SMF). The SMF is responsible for interacting with the isolated data plane, creating, updating, and removing Protocol Data Unit (PDU) sessions, and managing session contexts using the User Plane Function (UPF). The UPF provides interconnection between the mobile infrastructure and the data network (DN) (encapsulation and deencapsulation of the GPRS Tunneling Protocol (GTP-U) to the user plane). It also performs packet routing and forwarding, including sending flows to specific data networks based on traffic matching filters, as well as acting as an Intermediate UPF (I-UPF) for two or more PDU sessions. UPF further performs application detection using Service Data Flow (SDF) traffic filter templates or 3-tuple packet flow descriptions (i.e., protocol, server-side IP address, and port number) received from SMF. It also performs flow-specific QoS handling, including transport-level packet marking for uplink (UL) and downlink (DL), rate limiting, and reflective QoS marking in DL. Furthermore, UPF reports on traffic usage, for example, for billing functions, lawful eavesdropping functions, etc.

[0060] Referring again to FIG. 8a, in some implementations, the selection of a specific set of slices may be based on NSSAI parameters requested by user equipment (802) during the registration process, and the selection of a specific slice may be based on S-NSSAI parameters requested by each user equipment (802) during the PDU session establishment process. Specifically, an appropriate AMF (810) may be selected during the registration process using NSSAI parameters (which may include one or more S-NSSAI parameters). Using S-NSSAI parameters, the AMF (810) may select an appropriate SMF (814) during the PDU session establishment process. Since the NSSAI parameters requested from each user equipment (802) may differ, different AMFs (810) may be assigned to different user equipment (802). Similarly, each UPF (812) and SMF (814) may be selected based on the S-NSSAI requested by the user equipment (802) during the PDU session establishment procedure. Again, since the requested S-NSSAI from each user equipment may be different, different UPFs (812) and SMFs (814) may be assigned to different user equipment (802). For example, user equipment (802a) may be assigned CU-UP (808a), UPF1 (812a), AMF1 (810a), and SMF1 (814a), each of which is configured to be specific to a particular network slice.

[0061] In some implementations, a single user device may be configured to use two or more network slices. FIG. 8b illustrates an exemplary communication system (820) having a single user device (822) capable of using one or more network slices, according to some implementations of the subject matter. The system (820) may be similar to the system (800) illustrated in FIG. 8a. However, instead of multiple AMF components as illustrated in FIG. 8a, a RU (803), a DU (805), a CU-CP (807), and a single AMF (819) may be common to all network slices. The remainder of the system (820) is similar to the system (800) illustrated in FIG. 8a. During operation, different user plane parts (i.e., CU-UP) (808) may be assigned to the user device (802) according to the S-NSSAI requested by the user device (822) for each PDU session.

[0062] B. Slice separation in the dispersion unit parts

[0063] FIG. 9a illustrates an exemplary communication system (900) for performing network slice separation in parts of distributed units (DU) according to some implementations of the subject matter. The system (900) is similar to the system (700) illustrated in FIG. 7, and again, for convenience of illustration and discussion, only the relevant parts are illustrated in FIG. 9a.

[0064] The system (900) may include one or more user devices (902a, 902b, 902c), a common remote unit (903), one or more distributed units (DU1 to DU3) (905a, 905b, 905c), and one or more corresponding control plane portions (CU-CP1 to CU-CP3) (907a, 907b, 907c) of a centralized unit. In this implementation, only the unit (903) may be common to all network slices (similar to FIG. 8a and 8b, where three slices are shown in FIG. 9a). This means that all user devices (902) can access the same remote unit (903) before network slice splitting occurs in the distributed units (905).

[0065] As illustrated in FIG. 9a and mentioned above, isolation between network slices can be provided from the DU onwards. In particular, in addition to separate DU1 to DU3 (905), control parts (CU-CP1 to CU-CP3) (907) for each slice that can be configured to serve or enable access by each user equipment (902a, 902b, 902c), and separate CU-UP instances (908a, 908b, 908c) can be created by the radio access network. Similarly, distinct instances of access and mobility functions (AMF) (910a, 910b, 910c), user plane functions (UPF1 to UPF3) (912a, 912b, 912c) and session management functions (SMF1 to SMF3) (914a, 914b, 914c) may also be created.

[0066] The selection of a specific slice in the system (900) may be similar to the selection procedure discussed above in relation to FIGS. 8a and 8b. In particular, different AMFs (910), UPF (912), and SMF (914) may be assigned to different user equipment (902). For example, user equipment (902a) may be assigned DU (905a), CU-CP (907a), CU-UP (908a), UPF1 (910a), AMF1 (912a), and SMF1 (914a), each of which is configured to be specific to a specific network slice. Each network slice may be identified by notations a, b, or c (in addition to any common parts).

[0067] In some implementations, because the DUs (905) control the radio bandwidth, each network slice may be allocated a specific bandwidth portion (BWP) within the carrier bandwidth. A 5G NR communication network may enable the carrier bandwidth to be divided into multiple bandwidth portions (as defined in 3GPP standards). Each DU (905) may be configured to control one of these bandwidth portions. Within the carrier bandwidth, different BWPs may be allocated different physical resource blocks (PRBs). For example, if the carrier bandwidth (CBW) is 100 MHz and the subcarrier spacing is 30 KHz, it will have a total of 273 PRBs. If this CBW is divided into four BWPs, one BWP may be 40 MHz, and the other three BWPs may each be 20 MHz. Each BWP may be allocated its own share of PRBs out of the total 273 PRBs. In addition, different user equipment (902) using different slices can be configured with a specific BWP of each slice during the PDU session establishment procedure (i.e., during RRC reconfiguration for dedicated radio bearer (DRB) setup).

[0068] The RU (903) can be configured to support multiple BWPs within the carrier bandwidth. Depending on the BWP receiving the uplink message, the RU (903) can route the message to the correct DU (905) via the fronthall interface, where each DU (905) can be connected to the slice-specific CU-CP (907) which is connected to the slice-specific CU-UP (908) and AMF (910) as mentioned above. In this way, the remaining radio processing and core network processing can be completely isolated for each network slice, except for the RU (903).

[0069] In some implementations, similar to the discussion regarding FIG. 8b, a single user device may be configured to use two or more network slices. FIG. 9b illustrates an exemplary communication system (920) having a single user device (922) capable of using one or more network slices, according to some implementations of the subject matter.

[0070] The system (920) may be similar to the system (900) illustrated in FIG. 9a. However, instead of multiple AMF components as illustrated in FIG. 9a, the RU (903), CU-CP (917), and AMF (919) may be common to all network slices. The rest of the system (920) may be similar to the system (900) illustrated in FIG. 9a. During operation, instead of controlling the RU (903) to split traffic based on BWP, the splitting may be based on different component carriers. User equipment (922) may be configured via RRC to use two component carriers in two different cell groups (e.g., a dual connectivity scenario). For example, when the user equipment (922) is using one slice (e.g., represented by components (905a, 908a, 912a, 914a)), the user equipment (922) can use one component carrier (CC1), and when the user equipment (922) is using another slice (e.g., represented by components (905b, 908b, 912b, 914b)), the user equipment (922) can use another component carrier (CC2).

[0071] In an alternative implementation, traffic may be divided from the RU into different DUs based on PRB ranges that can be assigned to different slices within the same BWP and / or the same component carrier. For example, assuming a scenario of a 100 MHz carrier bandwidth that is not divided into BWPs, among 273 PRBs, PRB ranges 1-100 may be used for slice 1 and PRB ranges 101-200 may be used for other slices, and the RU may divide the uplink traffic into each DU using the above PRB division (i.e., based on which PRBs the uplink traffic was received from).

[0072] C. Slice separation in remote radio unit parts

[0073] FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary communication system (1000) for performing network slice separation in remote radio unit (RU) portions according to some implementations of the subject matter. The system (1000) is similar to the system (700) illustrated in FIG. 7, and again, for convenience of illustration and discussion, only the relevant portions are illustrated in FIG. 10.

[0074] The system (1000) comprises one or more user equipment (1002a, 1002b, 1002c), one or more remote radio units (RU1 to RU3) (1003a, 1003b, 1003c), one or more distributed units (DU1 to DU3) (1005a, 1005b, 1005c), one or more control plane parts (CU-CP1 to CU-CP3) of a centralized unit (1007a, 1007b, 1007c), one or more user plane parts (CU-UP1 to CU-UP3) (1008a, 1008b, 1008c), one or more UPFs (UPF1 to UPF3) (1012a, 1012b, 1012c), one or more SMFs (SMF1 to SMF3) (1014a, 1014b, It may include 1014c), and one or more AMFs (AMF1 to AMF3) (1010a, 1010b, 1010c). Each network slice may be identified by notations a, b, or c. In this implementation, there are no units common to any of the three network slices. This means that all user equipment (1002) can access their own designated network slices (a, b, or c) because each network slice can be mapped to a different component carrier. Furthermore, different RUs may be deployed at each cell site, and one RU radiates one component carrier. Depending on the S-NSSAI used by a particular user equipment (1002), the user equipment (1002) may be configured to use each component carrier.

[0075] As illustrated in FIGS. 8a through 10, one or more remote radio units may be connected to one or more distributed units (wherein the connections may be defined by various standards). In particular, the remote unit may be controlled by one or more distributed units using one or more transmitted and / or received I / Q data samples (indicating changes in magnitude (or amplitude) and phase) to indicate which distributed unit is handling which component carrier or which set of PRBs within the carrier bandwidth. The DU port ID parameter of the distributed unit may be used to distinguish processing units within the distributed unit. The DU port ID parameter may be included in the section type control message eCPRI header along with the carrier component ID (CC ID) and the remote unit port ID (RU port ID). Each distributed unit may configure at least one of different component carriers, band sectors, subframes, slots, etc., in the remote unit. Furthermore, each distributed unit may configure the remote unit for different user equipment identifiers. Finally, depending on which slot / subframe the I / Q sample was received in, the remote unit can transmit the sample to the correct distributed unit.

[0076] Referring again to FIGS. 8a through 10, the systems illustrated in these figures provide various methods for flexibly configuring a base station (e.g., gNB) to accommodate various desired isolation levels of network slices. One isolation level (e.g., a first isolation level) may occur after the user plane portion (CU-UP) of the centralized unit in a processing pipeline where remote units and distributed units (RU and DU) can share. In the DU, all physical (PHY) layer, MAC and RLC configurations, and resources may be shared with other slices. This is exemplified by the system (800) illustrated in FIGS. 8a and 8b.

[0077] Although a different isolation level (e.g., a second isolation level) may occur after CU-UP in a processing pipeline having shared RUs and DUs, in the DU, each network slice (identified by the S-NSSAI parameters discussed above) may have specific physical layer, MAC, RLC, and PDCP configurations. For example, each requested S-NSSAI parameter may be mapped to a specific component carrier and / or a specific cell defining a synchronization signal block (SSB) within the same component carrier or a specific BWP within the DU. This isolation level may be similar to the systems illustrated in FIGS. 8a and 8b, but multiple component carriers / cells define SSB / BWP configurations within the same DU.

[0078] In some implementations, (e.g., as illustrated in FIG. 9a) a different isolation level (e.g., a third isolation level) may occur after the distribution unit, and each slice is mapped to a different distribution unit. (e.g., as illustrated in FIG. 9b) when a specific user device is using two or more slices, the user device may be connected to two or more DUs simultaneously and may be composed of separate MAC entities for the Master Cell Group (MCG) and Secondary Cell Group (SCG) distribution units. In some implementations, it may be possible to host the distribution units of each slice (i.e., slices (a, b, c) as illustrated in FIG. 9a) at different locations depending on the latency and / or other SLA requirements of each slice.

[0079] In some implementations, another isolation level (e.g., a fourth isolation level) may include isolation after the RU in the processing pipeline. In this case, there may be complete end-to-end isolation of user plane traffic. Each remote unit may support a distinct component carrier. As illustrated in FIG. 10, the user equipment may be configured to use distinct MAC entities as the MCG and SCG for each distributed unit.

[0080] FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary method (1100) for mapping one or more network slices to specific deployment options discussed in relation to FIG. 8a through 10, according to some implementations of the subject matter. In 1102, a network slice profile can be determined (as discussed above). Once the network slice profile is determined, in 1104, an isolation level can be determined. A combination of the network slice profile and the isolation level can be used in 1106 to determine which solution (i.e., the deployment options discussed in relation to FIG. 8a through 10) can be selected.

[0081] In some implementations, various combinations of slice profile information and isolation levels can determine which solution may be used in a particular configuration. As a non-limiting example, for the purposes of the discussion above, there may be nine combinations of slice-profile-isolation level scenarios. As can be understood, the subject matter is not limited to these combinations, and other factors may be used to select the specific solution discussed above or any other solution.

[0082] In some implementations, parameters that can characterize slice profiles may include at least one of latency, the number of UEs in a slice, the number of trace regions, UE mobility levels, isolation levels, activity factors, and / or any other parameters. In the first exemplary combination (i.e., the operations (1102 and 1104) illustrated in FIG. 11), the slice profile may be characterized by medium to high latency, a large number of UEs within the slice (e.g., millions), a large number of trace regions supported by the slice loading a maximum number of UEs into each cell or sector in the RAN (e.g., more than 1500 (implying that the number of UEs per TA or per cell may be about 700), mobile or restricted mobility of the UEs, a first isolation level (discussed above), and a high activity factor (implying that the network slice is always active). Based on this combination, the implementation illustrated in FIG. 8a may be selected for processing data to / from user equipment. In this combination, because the latency requirements are medium to high, CU-CP and CU-UP may be deployed in regional data centers, and thus far from the DU.

[0083] In the second exemplary combination, the latency parameter may be low, and the remaining parameters are similar to the first exemplary combination. Here, again, the implementation illustrated in FIG. 8a may be selected for processing data to / from user equipment. Since the latency requirements are low, CU-CP and / or CU-UP may be placed closer to the DU. Placing CU-CP closer to the DU may be determined based on whether low control plane latency is required for the slice. Placing CU-UP closer to the DU may also be determined based on whether low user plane latency is required for the slice.

[0084] In a third exemplary combination, the slice profile parameters may be similar to the first exemplary combination, except that the isolation level is changed to a second isolation level. In this case, the implementation illustrated in FIG. 8a may be selected again, and separate component carriers / cells defining the SSB / BWP for each slice may be used.

[0085] In the fourth exemplary combination, the slice profile parameters may be similar to the second exemplary combination (i.e., low latency), except that the isolation level is changed to the second isolation level. Again, the implementation illustrated in FIG. 8a may be selected, and distinct component carriers / cells defining the SSB / BWP for each slice may be used.

[0086] In the fifth exemplary combination, the slice profile parameters may be similar to the first exemplary combination, except that the isolation level is changed to the third isolation level. In this case, the implementation illustrated in FIG. 9a may be selected. Here, similar to the first exemplary combination, CU-CP and CU-UP may be placed in regional data centers, and thus away from the DU.

[0087] In the sixth exemplary combination, the slice profile parameters may be similar to the second exemplary combination (i.e., low latency), except that the isolation level is changed to the third isolation level. In this case, again, the implementation illustrated in FIG. 9a may be selected. Similar to the discussion of the second exemplary combination, CU-CP and / or CU-UP may be placed near the DU, where placing CU-CP closer to the DU may be determined based on whether low control plane latency is required for the slice, and placing CU-UP closer to the DU may also be determined based on whether low user plane latency is required for the slice.

[0088] In the seventh exemplary combination, the slice profile parameters may be similar to the first exemplary combination, except that the isolation level is changed to the fourth isolation level. Here, the implementation shown in FIG. 10 may be selected, where CU-CP and CU-UP may be placed far away from the DU.

[0089] In the eighth exemplary combination, the slice profile parameters may be similar to the second exemplary combination (i.e., low latency), except that the isolation level is changed to the fourth isolation level. In this case, again, the implementation illustrated in FIG. 10 may be selected, and the placement of CU-CP and / or CU-UP closer to the DU may be determined, respectively, based on whether low control plane latency and / or low user plane latency is required for the slice.

[0090] In the ninth exemplary combination, the slice parameters may be similar to the fifth and / or seventh exemplary combinations, which have low activity factors and low UE counts. In this case, the implementation illustrated in FIG. 8a may be selected because there is no need to provide isolated RAN resources for network slices with sporadic activity and low UE counts (as this would unnecessarily waste spectrum). Accordingly, the implementation illustrated in FIG. 8a may be used when there is isolation after CU-UP while the DU is shared with other slices.

[0091] In some implementations, tracking regions, mobility levels, etc., may not affect the selection of slice splitting options. These parameters may be used to determine the number of locations where DU, CU-CP, and / or CU-UP instances may need to be instantiated and / or which functions in the DU and / or CU may need to be enabled (e.g., for a slice that may be used for stationary user equipment, mobility profiles and Xn interfaces may not need to be configured in the CU-CP instance).

[0092] In some implementations, the process (1100) illustrated in FIG. 11 may be provisioned by the OAM within the gNB (e.g., as a static table). Mapping each slice profile to a specific solution and the corresponding placement logic for CU-CP and CU-UP may be configured accordingly.

[0093] In some implementations, the subject may also monitor slice SLAs by examining one or more key point indicators (KPIs) that may be reported for each slice. For example, for a specific slice marked as having a high activity factor with Level 4 isolation (e.g., the implementation shown in FIG. 10), reports indicating a reduced amount of data traffic (e.g., implying a low activity factor) are received, and the OAM may change the mapping of the slice profile, for example, from the implementation shown in FIG. 10 to the implementation shown in FIG. 8a.

[0094] FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary process (1200) for updating a slice profile to implementation mapping according to some implementations of the subject matter. The process (1200) may be executed by one or more components of the system (700) illustrated in FIG. 7 and / or any of the components in the 5G architecture. In 1202, control parts of one or more distributed units and / or centralized units may provide status indicators or key performance indicators (KPIs) related to various aspects of a particular current implementation (e.g., illustrated in FIG. 8a through 10) (e.g., latency, number of UEs, activity factors, etc., as discussed above). The KPIs may be provided to the OAM (operation, administration, and management) of the 5G network. The KPIs may then be provided to the operational support systems / business support systems (OSS / BSS) of the 5G networks. In 1204, the OSS / BSS can determine whether changes to the current implementation are necessary. If so, in 1206, a new mapping of the slice profile to the specific implementation can be determined (e.g., as illustrated in FIGS. 8a through 10). Based on this determination, in 1208, new virtual network function instantiation / de-instantiation rules for managing virtualized instances such as DU, CU-UP, etc., can be determined using the new mapping (according to the appropriate implementations illustrated in FIGS. 8a through 10). If no changes are necessary, monitoring and reporting of KPIs can continue.

[0095] V. Resource isolation or sharing of resources across multi-operator networks

[0096] In some implementations, this subject may be configured to provide resource isolation and / or resource sharing for various multi-operator networks that can be implemented in a 5G communication network environment. Some examples of multi-operator networks include multi-operator radio access network (MORAN) networks, multi-operator core networks (MOCN), etc. Some aspects of one or more of these networks have been described in various standards (e.g., 3GPP TS 32.130, TS 23.251, TS 23.501, etc.). However, many details of these networks are open to implementation. In particular, a virtualized RAN architecture may be configured to allow for the easy deployment of MORAN networks, where the gNBs of each participating operator (POP) (e.g., gNB-CU, gNB-DU, etc.) may be instantiated as distinct Virtual Network Functions (VNFs) on a common commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) host that may be owned by a master operator (MOP).

[0097] FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary MORAN network (1300) that can be implemented in a virtualized RAN on a shared COTS platform. In particular, in the network (1300), radio or remote units (RU1-3), common hosts (e.g., sites 1-3, RDC, etc.), as well as other physical infrastructure components, can be shared among various airborne and terrestrial mobile networks (PLMNs). However, other components (e.g., vDUs, vCUs) may be PLMN-specific entities (e.g., vDU PLMN1 and vCU PLMN1 may be part of PLMN1, while vDU PLMN2 and vCU PLMN2 may be part of PLMN2). In some cases, RUs may be partitioned into different component carriers (CC), where each CC may be assigned to a PLMN. Each component carrier can broadcast its own master information blocks / system information blocks (MIB / SIB), and the SIB can carry specific PLMN identifiers that can be assigned to the component carrier. User devices (1306, 1308) can select an appropriate component carrier based on the specific PLMN to which they belong by searching for the PLMN identifiers broadcast from the SIB.

[0098] FIG. 14 illustrates an exemplary MOCN system (1400). MOCN architectures have been described in various 3GPP standard specifications (e.g., TS 23.251, 3GPP TS 23.501 Section 5.18). MOCN systems can allow radio resources to be shared across multiple PLMNs. SIB broadcasts can carry up to 12 PLMNs in a new radio communication network. 3GPP specifications do not describe radio resource partitioning across shared PLMNs that would make implementation-specific.

[0099] As illustrated in FIG. 14, the MOCN system (1400) may include PLMN1 components (1402) (which may include application services (1406), unified data management (UDM) (1408), and AMF / SMF / UPF (1410)) and PLMN2 components (1404) (which may include their respective application services, UDM, and AMF / SMF / UPF). PLMN1-2 (1402, 1404) may be communicably coupled to common parts of a gNB base station, e.g., a vCU (1412), which, in turn, may be communicably coupled to one or more vDUs (1414). The vDUs (1414) may be communicably coupled to one or more RUs (1416). The RUs (1416) can be configured to communicate with appropriate user equipment that may belong to a specific PLMN (1402, 1404) (for example, the RU (1416) can communicate with user equipment belonging to PLMN1 (1402) via link (1418) and with user equipment belonging to PLMN2 (1404) via link (1420).

[0100] In some implementations, the subject may be configured to implement various aspects of the slicing architecture implementations described above in relation to FIGS. 8a through 10 and may be implemented in a communication system (e.g., a 5G communication system) illustrated in FIG. 7. In particular, the subject may be configured to provide various implementations of resource isolation and / or sharing in multi-operator networks (e.g., MORAN, MOCN, etc.).

[0101] FIG. 15a illustrates an exemplary multi-operator communication system (1500) for performing resource isolation sharing in a multi-operator network according to some implementations of the subject matter. The system (1500) may be similar to the system (800) illustrated in FIG. 8a and may be implemented in a MOCN network.

[0102] As illustrated in FIG. 15a, the system (1500) may include one or more user devices (1502a, 1502b, 1502c), a remote unit (1503), a distributed unit (1505), and a control plane portion (1507) of a centralized unit that may be common to all PLMNs that can be configured to share resources (as illustrated in FIG. 15a, there are three PLMNs sharing resources (as designated by "a", "b", and "c" in the reference numerals). This means that all user devices (1502) can access the same components (1503-1507) before the occurrence of partitioning into specific PLMNs.

[0103] In particular, PLMN-specific components may be provided after a common gNB-CU-UP. PLMN-specific gNB-CU-UP instances (1508a, 1508b, 1508c), as well as AMF1-3 (1510a, 1510b, 1510c), UPF1-3 (1512a, 1512b, 1512c), and SMF1-3 (1514a, 1514b, 1514c) may be created in their respective PLMNs and may be configured to serve or allow access by each user device (1502a, 1502b, 1502c) that may belong to a specific PLMN.

[0104] In some implementations, the RU (1503) may be shared by three PLMNs, wherein the RU (1503) may be configured to radiate three PLMNs identified in the System Information Broadcast (SIB). FIG. 15b illustrates an exemplary process (1520) for performing resource isolation or sharing using the system illustrated in FIG. 15a according to some implementations of the subject matter. Based on a specific PLMN to which the user equipment (1502) belongs (as determined in 1522), the CU-CP (1507) may be configured to select a core network element AMF (1510) of a specific PLMN in 1524. For example, AMF1 (1510a) may be selected for PLMN1; and AMF2 (1510b) may be selected for PLMN2. When a request from a user device is routed to a specific AMF (e.g., AMF1 for PLMN1 (1510a)), any additional selection of other core network functions, e.g., SMF, UPF (e.g., UPF1 for PLMN1 (1512a) and SMF1 (1514a)) may occur within that specific PLMN (e.g., PLMN1). Additionally, CU-CP (1507) may assign a different, e.g., PLMN-specific, CU-UP (e.g., CU-UP1 for PLMN1 (1508a)) during the PDU session establishment procedure in 1526. As previously mentioned, RU (1503), DU (1505), and CU-CP (1507) may be common network elements.

[0105] FIG. 16 illustrates an exemplary multi-operator communication system (1600) for performing resource isolation sharing in a multi-operator network according to some implementations of the subject matter. The system (1600) may be similar to the system (900) illustrated in FIG. 9a and may be implemented in a MOCN network (similar to the system (1500) illustrated in FIG. 15a). Similar to FIG. 15a, the system (1600) may include one or more user devices (1602a, 1602b, 1602c), a common remote unit (1603), one or more distributed units (DU1-3) (1605a, 1605b, 1605c), and a single control plane portion (CU-CP) (1607) of a centralized unit. In these implementations, only the unit (1603) may be common to PLMN1-3. This means that all user devices (1602) can access the same remote unit (1603). In addition, in addition to the separate DU1-3 (1605), separate CU-UP instances (1608a, 1608b, 1608c), separate instances of access and mobility functions (AMF) (1610a, 1610b, 1610c), user plane functions (UPF1-3) (1612a, 1612b, 1612c), and session management functions (SMF1-3) (1614a, 1614b, 1614c) can also be created within each PLMN.

[0106] As mentioned above, separate DU (1605) instances may be created for each PLMN. Since the DUs (1605) control the radio bandwidth, each PLMN may be allocated a specific bandwidth portion (BWP) within the master operator's carrier bandwidth. A 5G NR communication network may allow the carrier bandwidth to be divided into multiple bandwidth portions (as defined in 3GPP standards). Each DU (1605) may be configured to control one of these bandwidth portions. Within the carrier bandwidth, different physical resource blocks (PRBs) may be allocated to different BWPs. For example, if the carrier bandwidth (CBW) is 100 MHz with a subcarrier spacing of 30 KHz, there will be a total of 273 PRBs. If this CBW is divided into four BWPs, one BWP may be 40 MHz, and the other three BWPs may each be 20 MHz. Each BWP can be assigned its own share of the PRBs out of a total of 273 PRBs.

[0107] Additionally, different user devices (1602) utilizing different slices may be configured with their respective PLMN-specific BWPs during the RRC establishment procedure. While the initial BWP of the shared channel bandwidth carries SSB, MIB, and SIB broadcasts, the PLMN-specific BWP may be configured for the user device (1603) after the user device (1602) has completed the initial RRC connection setup. The CU-CP (1607) may be common to all PLMNs and may be configured to control MIB / SIB broadcast(s) and RRC termination. The initial BWP may be controlled from the CU-CP (1607), and one of the DUs (1605) may be used for the initial BWP. Once the user equipment (1602) is connected (i.e., RRC connected), the user equipment-specific BWP can be controlled through the BWP (PLMN)-specific DU (1605) (for example, UE1 (1602a) is controlled through the DU (1605a)).

[0108] The RU (1603) may be configured to support multiple BWPs within the carrier bandwidth. Depending on the BWP receiving the uplink message, the RU (1603) may route the message to the correct DU (1605) via the fronthall interface, where each DU (1605) may be connected to its PLMN-specific CU-CP (1607) and connected to its PLMN-specific CU-UP (1608) and AMF (1610), as mentioned above. In this way, the rest of the radio processing and core network processing, except for the RU (1603), can be completely isolated for each PLMN.

[0109] FIG. 17 illustrates an exemplary multi-operator communication system (1700) for performing resource isolation sharing in a multi-operator network according to some implementations of the subject matter. The system (1700) may be similar to the system (1000) illustrated in FIG. 10 and may be implemented in a MORAN network.

[0110] As illustrated in FIG. 17, each PLMN can be mapped to a different component carrier. Different RUs can be placed at each cell site where one RU radiates one component carrier. Depending on the PLMN configured for use by a specific UE, the specific UE is configured to use a respective component carrier. The DU, CU-CP, and CU-UP instances of the different PLMNs can be hosted on the same COTS server, thereby also allowing infrastructure sharing. In particular, as illustrated in FIG. 17, the system (1700) comprises one or more PLMN-specific user equipment (1702a, 1702b, 1702c), one or more remote radio units (RU1-3) (1703a, 1703b, 1703c), one or more distributed units (DU1-3) (1705a, 1705b, 1705c), one or more control plane portions (CU-CP1-3) (1707a, 1707b, 1707c) of a centralized unit, one or more user plane portions (CU-UP1-3) (1708a, 1708b, 1708c), one or more UPF1-3s (1712a, 1712b, 1712c), one or more SMF1-3s (1714a, 1714b, 1714c), and one or more It may include AMF1-3 (1710a, 1710b, 1710c). Each PLMN may be identified by the notations a, b, or c. In these implementations, no units are common to any of the three PLMNs.

[0111] Similar to the discussion in FIGS. 8a through 10, as illustrated in FIGS. 15a through 17, remote units (RUs (1503, 1603, 1703)) can be connected to and controlled by distributed units (e.g., DUs (1505, 1605, 1705)). Each DU can configure at least one of different component carriers, band sectors, subframes, slots, etc. in the remote unit, and can also configure RUs for different user equipment IDs, thereby allowing the RUs to transmit the sample to specific DUs according to the slot / subframe in which the I / Q sample is received.

[0112] Additionally, similar to the network slice isolation discussed above in relation to FIGS. 8a through 11, the systems illustrated in FIGS. 15a through 17 may be configured to flexibly configure base stations (e.g., gNBs) to accommodate various desired isolation levels for sharing network resources across different PLMNs. Specifically, one isolation level (e.g., a first isolation level) may occur after CU-UP, where RUs and DUs may be shared with other PLMNs. In the DU, all physical (PHY) layer, MAC and RLC configurations, and resources may be shared with other PLMNs. This is exemplified by the system (1500) illustrated in FIG. 15a.

[0113] Another isolation level (e.g., a second isolation level) may occur after CU-UP in a processing pipeline with shared RU and DU, but in the DU, each PLMN may have specific physical layer, MAC, RLC, and PDCP configurations. For example, each PLMN may be mapped to a specific cell and / or specific component carrier defining a specific BWP within the DU or a synchronization signal block (SSB) within the same component carrier. These isolation levels may be similar to the system (1500) illustrated in FIG. 15a, but multiple component carriers / cells define SSB / BWP configurations within the same DU.

[0114] Another isolation level (e.g., a third isolation level) may occur after the DU, where each PLMN maps to a different DU (e.g., as illustrated in FIG. 16). Finally, another isolation level (e.g., a fourth isolation level) may include isolation after the RU in the processing pipeline. These isolation levels can be implemented in a MORAN network. In this case, complete end-to-end isolation of user plane traffic may occur. Each RU may support a distinct component carrier, as illustrated in FIG. 17.

[0115] FIG. 18 illustrates an exemplary method (1800) for isolating one or more PLMN resources into specific deployment options discussed in relation to FIG. 15a through 17, according to some implementations of the subject matter. In 1802, a specific air-ground mobile network may be identified. Once the PLMN is determined, in 1804, a level of isolation (e.g., levels 1-4 discussed above) may also be determined. The combination of PLMN identification and isolation level may be used in 1806 to determine how specific network resources may be shared (e.g., deployment options discussed in relation to FIG. 15a through 17).

[0116] In some implementations, the subject may be configured to be implemented in a system (1900) as illustrated in FIG. 19. The system (1900) may include one or more of a processor (1910), memory (1920), a storage device (1930), and an input / output device (1940). Each of the components (1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940) may be interconnected using a system bus (1950). The processor (1910) may be configured to process instructions for execution within the system (600). In some implementations, the processor (1910) may be a single-threaded processor. In alternative implementations, the processor (1910) may be a multi-threaded processor. The processor (1910) may also be configured to process instructions stored in memory (1920) or on a storage device (1930), including receiving or transmitting information through an input / output device (1940). Memory (1920) may store information within the system (1900). In some implementations, memory (1920) may be a computer-readable medium. In alternative implementations, memory (1920) may be a volatile memory unit. Also in some implementations, memory (1920) may be a non-volatile memory unit. The storage device (1930) may provide mass storage for the system (1900). In some implementations, the storage device (1930) may be a computer-readable medium. In alternative implementations, the storage device (1930) may be a floppy disk device, a hard disk device, an optical disk device, a tape device, a non-volatile solid-state memory, or any other type of storage device. The input / output device (1940) may be configured to provide input / output operations for the system (1900). In some implementations, the input / output device (1940) may include a keyboard and / or a pointing device.In alternative implementations, the input / output device (1940) may include a display unit for displaying graphic user interfaces.

[0117] FIG. 20 illustrates an exemplary method (2000) according to some implementations of the subject matter. In FIG. 2002, one or more communication networks (e.g., air-land mobile networks (PLMNs)) operating in a wireless communication system may be identified. Each communication network in the plurality of communication networks may have one or more communication components (e.g., RU, DU, CU-CP, CU-UP, AMF, UPF, SMF, etc.) that are logically isolated from one or more communication components of other communication networks in the plurality of communication networks (e.g., as illustrated in FIG. 15a through FIG. 17).

[0118] In 2004, based on the identified communication network, the communication network in a plurality of communication networks may be selected for the transmission of data associated with the user device. In 2006, data associated with the user device may be transmitted using the selected communication network.

[0119] In some implementations, the subject may include one or more of the following optional features. The method may further include the step of determining at least one communication component of a communication network for isolation based on an identified communication network. In some implementations, a plurality of communication networks may include at least one of a multi-operator radio access network (MORAN), a multi-operator core network (MOCN), a radio access network, a virtual radio access network, a core network, and any combination thereof. Additionally, the method may include the step of selecting one or more distributed units (DU) for data transmission based on at least one of one or more component carriers, one or more bandwidth portions, one or more physical resource block ranges, and any combination thereof.

[0120] In some implementations, at least one of the identifying, selecting, and transmitting steps may be performed by a base station. The base station may include at least one of the following communication components: one or more remote radio units (RU), one or more centralized units (CU), one or more distributed units (DU), one or more control plane portions (CU-CP) of one or more centralized units, one or more user plane portions (CU-UP) of one or more centralized units, one or more access and mobility functions (AMF), one or more user plane functions (UPF), and one or more session management functions (SMF). In some implementations, at least one of one or more CU-UPs, one or more AMFs, one or more UPFs, and one or more SMFs of one communication network in a plurality of communication networks is logically isolated from at least one of one or more CU-UPs, one or more AMFs, one or more UPFs, and one or more SMFs of another communication network in a plurality of communication networks. One or more remote RUs, one or more DUs, and one or more CU-CPs may be common to all communication networks in a plurality of communication networks. This is similar to the system illustrated in FIG. 15a. Data associated with the user device can then be transmitted using one or more communication networks.

[0121] In some implementations, the DUs, CU-UPs, AMFs, UPFs, and SMFs of different PLMNs may be logically isolated from all communication networks in multiple communication networks for the transmission of data associated with a user device. This is similar to the system (1600) illustrated in FIG. 16.

[0122] In some implementations, the RUs, DUs, CU-UPs, CU-CPs, AMFs, UPFs, and SMFs of different PLMNs may be logically isolated from all communication networks in multiple communication networks for the transmission of data associated with a user device. This is similar to the system (1700) illustrated in FIG. 17.

[0123] The systems and methods disclosed herein may be implemented in various forms, including data processors, such as computers that also include databases, digital electronic circuits, firmware, software, or combinations thereof. Furthermore, the features and other aspects and principles of the implementations disclosed herein may be implemented in various environments. These environments and related applications may include general-purpose computers or computing platforms that are specifically configured to perform various processes and operations according to the disclosed implementations, or that are selectively enabled or reconfigured by code to provide necessary functions. The processes disclosed herein are not inherently related to any specific computer, network, architecture, environment, or other device and may be implemented by a suitable combination of hardware, software, and / or firmware. For example, various general-purpose machines may be used with programs written according to the teachings of the disclosed implementations, or it may be more convenient to configure a specialized device or system to perform the required methods and techniques.

[0124] The systems and methods disclosed herein may be implemented as computer program products for execution or control of operations by data processing devices, e.g., programmable processors, computers, or multiple computers, i.e., as computer programs tangibly implemented in information carriers, e.g., machine-readable storage devices, or radio signals. A computer program may be written in any form of programming language, including a compiled language or an interpreted language, and may be distributed in any form including as a standalone program or as a module, component, subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment. A computer program may be distributed to be executed on a single computer or on multiple computers located at a single site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communication network.

[0125] As used in this specification, the term "user" may refer to any entity, including a person or a computer.

[0126] While ordinal numbers such as first, second, etc., may relate to order in some situations, they do not necessarily imply order as used in this document. For example, ordinal numbers may be used merely to distinguish one item from another. For instance, they distinguish the first event from the second, but they do not need to imply an arbitrary chronological order or a fixed reference system (so that the first event in one paragraph of description may differ from the first event in another paragraph of description).

[0127] The foregoing description is intended to illustrate the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims and is not intended to limit it. Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims.

[0128] These computer programs, which may also be referred to as programs, software, software applications, applications, components, or code, include machine instructions for a programmable processor and may be implemented in a higher-level procedural and / or object-oriented programming language and / or assembly / machine language. As used herein, the term “machine-readable medium” refers to any computer program product, device, and / or device, such as, for example, magnetic disks, optical disks, memory, and programmable logic devices (PLDs), which is used to provide machine instructions and / or data to a programmable processor, comprising a machine-readable medium that receives machine instructions as machine-readable signals. The term “machine-readable signal” refers to any signal used to provide machine instructions and / or data to a programmable processor. A machine-readable medium may store these machine instructions non-transiently, for example, in non-transient solid-state memory or a magnetic hard drive or any equivalent storage medium. A machine-readable medium may, alternatively or additionally, store these machine instructions in a transient manner, such as in a processor cache or other random access memory associated with one or more physical processor cores.

[0129] To provide interaction with a user, the subject described herein may be implemented on a computer having a display device, such as a cathode ray tube (CRT) or liquid crystal display (LCD) monitor for displaying information to a user, a keyboard for which a user can provide input to the computer, and a pointing device, such as a mouse or a trackball. Other types of devices may also be used to provide interaction with a user. For example, feedback provided to a user may be any form of sensory feedback, such as visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; and input from a user may be received in any form, including but not limited to sound, voice, or tactile input.

[0130] The subject matter described herein may be implemented in a computing system comprising backend components, such as, for example, one or more data servers; middleware components, such as, for example, one or more application servers; frontend components, such as, for example, one or more client computers having a graphical user interface or web browser to which a user can interact with an implementation of the subject matter described herein; or any combination of such backend components, middleware components, or frontend components. The components of the system may be interconnected by any form or medium of digital data communication, such as, for example, a communication network. Examples of communication networks include, but are not limited to, local area networks (“LAN”), wide area networks (“WAN”), and the Internet.

[0131] A computing system may include clients and servers. Clients and servers are generally remote from each other, but not entirely, and typically interact through a communication network. The relationship between clients and servers is created by computer programs that run on their respective computers and have a client-server relationship with each other.

[0132] The implementations presented in the foregoing description do not represent all implementations according to the subject matter described herein. Rather, they are merely some examples according to the aspects related to the described subject matter. While some variations have been described in detail above, other modifications or additions are possible. In particular, additional features and / or variations may be provided in addition to those presented herein. For example, the implementations described above may relate to various combinations and sub-combinations of the disclosed features and / or combinations and sub-combinations of various additional features disclosed above. Additionally, the logical flows depicted in the accompanying drawings and / or described herein do not necessarily require a specific order or sequential order in which they are illustrated to achieve the desired results. Other implementations may fall within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

Claim 1 A method implemented by a computer, comprising: determining a network slice profile for each communication network in a plurality of communication networks of a wireless communication system, wherein each communication network in the plurality of communication networks has one or more communication components that are logically isolated from one or more communication components of other communication networks in the plurality of communication networks; determining an isolation level for each of the plurality of communication networks; selecting one of the plurality of communication networks for the transmission of data associated with a user device based on the determined network slice profile and the determined isolation level; and transmitting data associated with the user device using the selected communication network. Claim 2 A method implemented by a computer according to claim 1, further comprising the step of determining at least one communication component of the communication network for isolation based on the selected communication network. Claim 3 A method implemented by a computer, wherein the plurality of communication networks comprises at least one of a multi-operator radio access network, a multi-operator core network, a radio access network, a virtual radio access network, a core network, and any combination thereof. Claim 4 A method implemented by a computer, further comprising the step of selecting one or more distributed units for data transmission based on at least one of one or more component carriers, one or more bandwidth portions, one or more physical resource block ranges, and any combination thereof, in paragraph 3. Claim 5 A method implemented by a computer, wherein at least one of the steps of determining the network slice profile, determining the isolation level, selecting, and transmitting is performed by a base station. Claim 6 A method implemented by a computer, wherein the base station comprises the following communication components: one or more remote radio units, one or more centralized units, and one or more distributed units, and the core network comprises the following communication components: one or more control plane portions of the one or more centralized units, one or more user plane portions of the one or more centralized units, one or more access and mobility functions, one or more user plane functions, and one or more session management functions. Claim 7 In claim 6, at least one of the one or more user plane portions, the one or more access and mobility functions, the one or more user plane functions, and the one or more session management functions of the one or more centralized units of one or more communication networks in the plurality of communication networks is logically isolated from at least one of the one or more user plane portions, the one or more access and mobility functions, the one or more user plane functions, and the one or more session management functions of the one or more centralized units of another communication network in the plurality of communication networks; one or more remote radio units, one or more distributed units, and one or more control plane portions of the one or more centralized units are common to all communication networks in the plurality of communication networks; and the transmitting step comprises the step of transmitting data associated with the user device using one or more communication networks, a method implemented by a computer. Claim 8 In claim 6, at least one of the one or more distributed units of one communication network in the plurality of communication networks, the one or more user plane portions of the one or more centralized units, the one or more access and mobility functions, the one or more user plane functions, and the one or more session management functions is logically isolated from at least one of the one or more distributed units of another communication network in the plurality of communication networks, the one or more user plane portions of the one or more centralized units, the one or more access and mobility functions, the one or more user plane functions, and the one or more session management functions; and the one or more control plane portions of the one or more centralized units and the one or more remote radio units are common to all communication networks in the plurality of communication networks; and the transmitting step comprises the step of transmitting data associated with the user device using one or more communication networks, a method implemented by a computer. Claim 9 In claim 6, at least one of the one or more remote radio units of one communication network in the plurality of communication networks, the one or more distributed units, the one or more control plane portions of the one or more centralized units, the one or more user plane portions of the one or more centralized units, the one or more access and mobility functions, the one or more user plane functions, and the one or more session management functions is logically isolated from at least one of the one or more remote radio units of another communication network in the plurality of communication networks, the one or more distributed units, the one or more control plane portions of the one or more centralized units, the one or more user plane portions of the one or more centralized units, the one or more access and mobility functions, the one or more user plane functions, and the one or more session management functions; and the transmitting step comprises the step of transmitting data associated with the user device using one or more communication networks, a method implemented by a computer. Claim 10 A device comprising: at least one programmable processor; and a non-transient machine-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one programmable processor, cause the at least one programmable processor to perform operations, wherein the operations include: determining a network slice profile for each communication network in a plurality of communication networks of a wireless communication system, wherein each communication network in the plurality of communication networks has one or more communication components logically isolated from one or more communication components of other communication networks in the plurality of communication networks; determining an isolation level for each of the plurality of communication networks; selecting one of the plurality of communication networks for the transmission of data associated with a user device based on the determined network slice profile and the determined isolation level; and transmitting data associated with the user device using the selected communication network. Claim 11 A device according to claim 10, wherein the above operations further include determining at least one communication component of the communication network for isolation based on the selected communication network. Claim 12 In paragraph 10, the device comprises at least one of the plurality of communication networks, a multi-operator radio access network, a multi-operator core network, a radio access network, a virtual radio access network, a core network, and any combination thereof. Claim 13 A device according to claim 12, wherein the operations further comprise selecting one or more distributed units for data transmission based on at least one of one or more component carriers, one or more bandwidth portions, one or more physical resource block ranges, and any combination thereof. Claim 14 A device according to claim 10, wherein at least one of determining the network slice profile, determining the isolation level, selecting, and transmitting is performed by a base station. Claim 15 In paragraph 14, the base station comprises at least one of the following communication components: one or more remote radio units, one or more centralized units, one or more distributed units, one or more control plane portions of the one or more centralized units, one or more user plane portions of the one or more centralized units, one or more access and mobility functions, one or more user plane functions, and one or more session management functions. Claim 16 In paragraph 15, at least one of the one or more user plane portions, the one or more access and mobility functions, the one or more user plane functions, and the one or more session management functions of the one or more centralized units of one or more communication networks in the plurality of communication networks is logically isolated from at least one of the one or more user plane portions, the one or more access and mobility functions, the one or more user plane functions, and the one or more session management functions of the one or more centralized units of another communication network in the plurality of communication networks; one or more remote radio units, one or more distributed units, and one or more control plane portions of the one or more centralized units are common to all communication networks in the plurality of communication networks; and the transmitting includes transmitting data associated with the user device using one or more communication networks. Claim 17 In paragraph 15, at least one of the one or more distributed units of one communication network in the plurality of communication networks, the one or more user plane portions of the one or more centralized units, the one or more access and mobility functions, the one or more user plane functions, and the one or more session management functions is logically isolated from at least one of the one or more distributed units of another communication network in the plurality of communication networks, the one or more user plane portions of the one or more centralized units, the one or more access and mobility functions, the one or more user plane functions, and the one or more session management functions; the one or more control plane portions of the one or more centralized units and the one or more remote radio units are common to all communication networks in the plurality of communication networks; and the transmitting includes transmitting data associated with the user device using one or more communication networks. Claim 18 In claim 15, at least one of the one or more remote radio units of one communication network in the plurality of communication networks, the one or more distributed units, one or more control plane portions of the one or more centralized units, one or more user plane portions of the one or more centralized units, one or more access and mobility functions, one or more user plane functions, and one or more session management functions is logically isolated from at least one of the one or more remote radio units of another communication network in the plurality of communication networks, one or more distributed units, one or more control plane portions of the one or more centralized units, one or more user plane portions of the one or more centralized units, one or more access and mobility functions, one or more user plane functions, and one or more session management functions; and the transmitting includes transmitting data associated with the user device using one or more communication networks. Claim 19 A computer program stored on a non-transient machine-readable medium, wherein the computer program comprises instructions that, when executed by at least one programmable processor, cause the at least one programmable processor to perform operations, the operations comprising: determining a network slice profile for each communication network in a plurality of communication networks of a wireless communication system, wherein each communication network in the plurality of communication networks has one or more communication components logically isolated from one or more communication components of other communication networks in the plurality of communication networks; determining an isolation level for each of the plurality of communication networks; selecting one of the plurality of communication networks for the transmission of data associated with a user device based on the determined network slice profile and the determined isolation level; and transmitting data associated with the user device using the selected communication network. Claim 20 A computer program stored on a non-transient machine-readable medium, wherein, in paragraph 19, the above operations further include determining at least one communication component of the communication network for isolation based on the selected communication network. Claim 21 In paragraph 19, the plurality of communication networks comprises at least one of a multi-operator radio access network, a multi-operator core network, a radio access network, a virtual radio access network, a core network, and any combination thereof, a computer program stored on a non-transient machine-readable medium. Claim 22 A computer program stored on a non-transient machine-readable medium, wherein, in paragraph 21, the operations further comprise selecting one or more distribution units for data transmission based on at least one of one or more component carriers, one or more bandwidth portions, one or more physical resource block ranges, and any combination thereof. Claim 23 In claim 19, a computer program stored on a non-transient machine-readable medium, wherein at least one of determining the network slice profile, determining the isolation level, selecting, and transmitting is performed by a base station. Claim 24 In paragraph 23, the base station comprises at least one of the following communication components: one or more remote radio units, one or more centralized units, one or more distributed units, one or more control plane portions of the one or more centralized units, one or more user plane portions of the one or more centralized units, one or more access and mobility functions, one or more user plane functions, and one or more session management functions, a computer program stored on a non-transient machine-readable medium. Claim 25 In paragraph 24, at least one of the one or more user plane portions, the one or more access and mobility functions, the one or more user plane functions, and the one or more session management functions of the one or more centralized units of one or more communication networks in the plurality of communication networks is logically isolated from at least one of the one or more user plane portions, the one or more access and mobility functions, the one or more user plane functions, and the one or more session management functions of the one or more centralized units of another communication network in the plurality of communication networks; one or more remote radio units, one or more distributed units, and one or more control plane portions of the one or more centralized units are common to all communication networks in the plurality of communication networks; and the transmitting includes transmitting data associated with the user device using one or more communication networks, a computer program stored on a non-transient machine-readable medium. Claim 26 In paragraph 24, at least one of the one or more distributed units of one communication network in the plurality of communication networks, the one or more user plane portions of the one or more centralized units, the one or more access and mobility functions, the one or more user plane functions, and the one or more session management functions is logically isolated from at least one of the one or more distributed units of another communication network in the plurality of communication networks, the one or more user plane portions of the one or more centralized units, the one or more access and mobility functions, the one or more user plane functions, and the one or more session management functions; the one or more control plane portions of the one or more centralized units and the one or more remote radio units are common to all communication networks in the plurality of communication networks; and the transmitting includes transmitting data associated with the user device using one or more communication networks, a computer program stored on a non-transient machine-readable medium. Claim 27 In paragraph 24, at least one of the one or more remote radio units of one communication network in the plurality of communication networks, the one or more distributed units, one or more control plane portions of the one or more centralized units, one or more user plane portions of the one or more centralized units, one or more access and mobility functions, one or more user plane functions, and one or more session management functions is logically isolated from at least one of the one or more remote radio units of another communication network in the plurality of communication networks, one or more distributed units, one or more control plane portions of the one or more centralized units, one or more user plane portions of the one or more centralized units, one or more access and mobility functions, one or more user plane functions, and one or more session management functions; and the transmitting includes transmitting data associated with the user device using one or more communication networks, a computer program stored on a non-transient machine-readable medium.

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