User interaction for privacy in a communication network

Abstract

A gateway network node (20-1, 20-2, 20-3) is configured for use in a communication network (10). The gateway network node (20-1, 20-2, 20-3) obtains privacy check action information (22) indicating, for each of one or more communication devices (12) that are, or are candidates to be, reference or located communication devices (12) in a sidelink positioning or ranging procedure (13), whether and / or what interaction with a user (16) of the communication device (12) is required by a privacy profile (11) associated with the communication device (12). The gateway network node (20-1, 20-2, 20-3) sends the privacy check action information (22) towards another network node.

Description

[0001] USER INTERACTION FOR PRIVACY IN A COMMUNICATION NETWORK

[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present application relates generally to a communication network, and relates more particularly to user interaction for privacy in such a network.

[0004] BACKGROUND

[0005] Positioning in a communication network aims to estimate the geographical position of a so-called target communication device that is the target of the positioning. Positioning traditionally relies on measurement of downlink and / or uplink signals transmitted between the target communication device and one or more radio network nodes. The introduction of a sidelink as a direct communication interface between communication devices, with a communication path that does not traverse any network node, not only improves performance by reducing communication latency but also provides an opportunity for another approach to positioning. Sidelink positioning in this regard exploits measurement of signals transmitted on a sidelink between peer communication devices in proximity. The position of the target communication device may for instance be determined relative to the position of one or more peer communication devices that serve as a reference for the positioning. In these and other cases, the location of one or more reference communication device may be used to deduce the position of the target communication device. Sidelink positioning may thereby extend positioning even to communication devices outside of network coverage and / or supplement traditional positioning so as to improve positioning reliability. Similarly, sidelink ranging aims to determine a distance or range between peer communication devices by measuring signals transmitted on the sidelink between those devices.

[0006] Sidelink positioning or ranging may constitute a service in and of itself, e.g., via a so- called Sidelink (SL) Mobile Terminated (MT) Location Request (SL-MT-LR) procedure in a 5G network. In this case sidelink positioning or ranging may estimate the relative locations or distances and / or directions between peer communication devices. Or, sidelink positioning or ranging may support another location service, whereby the other location service is assisted by sidelink positioning or ranging, e.g., via a so-called 5G Core (5GC) MT LR (5GC-MT-LR) procedure using SL positioning in a 5G network. When sidelink positioning or ranging supports another location service, the reference communication device(s) mentioned above are replaced with located communication device(s). In this case, then, the other location service may estimate the location of a target communication device by using the location of located communication device(s) and the distance and / or direction between the target communication device and the located communication device(s).

[0007] Challenges exist in exploiting the sidelink for positioning and / or ranging, though, whether as part of its own service or as part of assisting another service. Indeed, the nature of sidelink positioning and / or ranging threatens the privacy of user’s information. For example, information about the location of a reference or located communication device may be indirectly or tangentially revealed when reporting the position and / or range of the target communication device to a service user, e.g., a location services client or an application function (AF). And existing approaches tailored for the traditional positioning paradigm prove inadequate in safeguarding privacy for sidelink positioning and / or ranging, especially where the user has specified that he or she must be notified or must actually grant or deny requests to determine or use his or her position or range. In these and other contexts, then, a need remains for improving privacy protection in a communication network.

[0008] SUMMARY

[0009] An object of some embodiments herein is to enable improvement to privacy protection in a communication network.

[0010] Some embodiments herein protect the privacy of information about the location of a communication device in a communication network. Some embodiments in this regard protect against this location information being exposed and / or used without notification to and / or verification by a user of the communication device, e.g., even for a reference or located communication device in a sidelink positioning and / or ranging procedure. One or more embodiments for example introduce, into a procedure for a service that comprises or is assisted by a sidelink positioning or ranging procedure, signaling for ensuring compliance with any user interaction requirements specified by a privacy profile for a reference or located communication device in the sidelink positioning or ranging procedure. Further, some embodiments herein provide solution(s) when one or more Reference UEs or Located UEs are involved in Ranging and Sidelink positioning procedure, when and how the privacy check of the Reference / Located UE is performed during the procedure of Ranging / SL Positioning service. These and other embodiments may thereby advantageously improve privacy protection for reference or located communication devices in sidelink positioning or ranging.

[0011] More particularly, embodiments herein include a method performed by a gateway network node in a communication network. The method comprises obtaining privacy check action information indicating, for each of one or more communication devices that are, or are candidates to be, reference or located communication devices in a sidelink positioning or ranging procedure, whether and / or what interaction with a user of the communication device is required by a privacy profile associated with the communication device. The method also comprises sending the privacy check action information towards another network node.

[0012] In some embodiments, the privacy check action information may indicate whether a privacy check related action with the user of the communication device is required by the privacy profile associated with the communication device.

[0013] In some embodiments, the method may further comprise receiving a request for the service. The service comprises, or assisted by, the sidelink positioning or ranging procedure to obtain or use a position or range of the communication device. Responsive to receiving the request, the method may comprise sending a message towards a mobility management network node in the same or a different communication network. In some embodiments, the privacy check action information is included in the message. In some embodiments, the another network node is the mobility management network node in the same or a different communication network.

[0014] In some embodiments, the sending the message towards the mobility management network node in the different communication may be via a gateway network node in the different communication network.

[0015] In some embodiments, the sending the message towards the mobility management network node in the same or different communication network may be in response to the privacy check action information indicating that the privacy check related action with the user of the communication device is required by the privacy profile associated with the communication device.

[0016] In some embodiments, the obtaining the privacy check action information may comprise obtaining the privacy check action information from an Unified Data Management (UDM) in the same communication network or a gateway network node in the different communication network, for the one or more communication devices.

[0017] In some embodiments, the method may further comprise, for each of at least one of the one or more communication devices, determining, based on results for the service, that additional interaction with the user of the communication device is required by the privacy profile associated with the communication device in order for the service to obtain or use a position or range of the communication device. In some embodiments, the method may further comprise sending, to the another network node, additional privacy check action information indicating, for each of the at least one of the one or more communication devices, what additional interaction with the user of the communication device is required by the privacy profile associated with the communication device in order for the service to obtain or use a position or range of the communication device.

[0018] In some embodiments, the gateway network node may be a gateway network node for the one or more communication devices, and the privacy check action information may be sent towards a gateway network node for another communication device. In some embodiments, the another network node may be the gateway network node for another communication device.

[0019] In some embodiments, for each of the one or more communication devices, the privacy check action information may indicate that at least positioning is allowed for the communication device without notifying the user of the communication device. In other embodiments, the privacy check action information may indicate that at least positioning is allowed for the communication device with notification to the user of communication device. In yet other embodiments, the privacy check action information may indicate that at least positioning requires a notification to the user of the communication device and verification by the user of the communication device such that positioning is allowed only if granted by the user of the communication device or if there is no response to the notification. In still yet other embodiments, the privacy check action information may indicate that at least positioning requires a notification to the user of the communication device and verification by the user of the communication device such that positioning is allowed only if granted by the user of the communication device.

[0020] In some embodiments, for each of the one or more communication devices, the privacy check action information may also indicate one or more time period during which positioning is allowed for the communication device. In some embodiments, for each of the one or more communication devices, the privacy check action information may also alternatively or additionally indicate one or more geographical areas within which positioning is allowed for the communication device.

[0021] In some embodiments, the privacy check action information may comprise a list of one or more identities identifying the one or more communication devices and / or one or more indicators corresponding to the one or more identities. In some embodiments, the indicator corresponding to an identity for a communication device may indicate whether and / or what interaction with a user of the communication device is required by the privacy profile associated with the communication device.

[0022] In some embodiments, the method may further comprise receiving, from the another network node, a response that indicates privacy check results. In some embodiments, the privacy check results may indicate for each of the one or more communication devices for which interaction with the user of the communication device was triggered, a result of the interaction triggered with the user of the communication device. In some embodiments, the privacy check results may indicate for each of the one or more communication devices for which interactions with the user of the communication device was triggered and successful, information indicating the communication device for which interaction with the user of the communication device was successful. In other embodiments, the privacy check results may indicate for each of the one or more communication devices for which interaction with the user of the communication device was triggered but was unsuccessful, information indicating the communication device for which interaction with the user of the communication device was unsuccessful or a cause of failure.

[0023] In some embodiments, the method may further comprise, determining, from the privacy check results, which of the one or more communication devices participated in the sidelink positioning or ranging procedure. In some embodiments, the method may further comprise, transmitting, to a user of the service, information indicating which of the one or more communication devices participated in or granted permission the sidelink positioning or ranging procedure according to said determining. In other embodiments, the method may further comprise transmitting a failure message indicating that none of the communication device participated in or granted permission for the sidelink positioning or ranging procedure according to said determining.

[0024] Other embodiments herein include a method performed by a mobility management network node in a communication network. The method comprises receiving, from a gateway network node, privacy check action information indicating, for each of one or more communication devices that are, or are candidates to be, reference or located communication devices in a sidelink positioning or ranging procedure, whether and / or what interaction with a user of the communication device is required by a privacy profile associated with the communication device The method comprises, for each of the one or more communication devices for which interaction with the user of the communication device is required according to the privacy check action information, triggering the required interaction with the user of the communication device.

[0025] In some embodiments, the privacy check action information may relate to a service that comprises, or is assisted by, the sidelink positioning or ranging procedure to obtain or use a position or range of the communication device.

[0026] In some embodiments, the privacy check action information may indicate whether a privacy check related action with the user of the communication device is required by the privacy profile associated with the communication device (12).

[0027] In some embodiments, for each of the one or more communication devices, the privacy check action information may indicate that at least positioning is allowed for the communication device without notifying the user of the communication device. In other embodiments, the privacy check action information may indicate that at least positioning is allowed for the communication device with notification to the user of communication device. In yet other embodiments, the privacy check action information may indicate that at least positioning requires a notification to the user of the communication device and verification by the user of the communication device such that positioning is allowed only if granted by the user of the communication device or if there is no response to the notification. In still yet other embodiments, the privacy check action information may indicate that at least positioning requires a notification to the user of the communication device and verification by the user of the communication such that positioning is allowed only if granted by the user of the communication device.

[0028] In some embodiments, for each of the one or more communication devices, the privacy check action information may also indicate one or more time period during which positioning is allowed for the communication device. In some embodiments, for each of the one or more communication devices, the privacy check action information may also alternatively or additionally indicate one or more geographical areas within which positioning is allowed for the communication device.

[0029] In some embodiments, the privacy check action information may comprise a list of one or more identities identifying the one or more communication devices and / or one or more indicators corresponding to the one or more identities. In some embodiments, the indicator corresponding to an identity for a communication device may indicate whether and / or what interaction with a user of the communication device is required by the privacy profile associated with the communication device.

[0030] In some embodiments, for each of the one or more communication devices for which interaction with the user of the communication device is required according to the privacy check action information, said triggering may comprise initiating a network-triggered service request procedure to establish a signaling connection with the communication device, if no signaling connection is already established with the communication device. In some embodiments, for each of the one or more communication devices for which interaction with the user of the communication device is required according to the privacy check action information, said triggering may comprise sending a notification invoke message to the communication device using the signaling connection. In some embodiments, the notification invoke message may invoke a notification to the user of the communication device that the position or range of the communication device is to be obtained or used by the service. In some embodiments, the notification invoke message may indicate whether the user of the communication device is required to verify that the user grants permission to the service to obtain or use the position or range of the communication device.

[0031] In some embodiments, the method may further comprise receiving, from each of the one or more communication devices for which interaction with the user of the communication device is required according to the privacy check action information, a result of the required interaction. In some embodiments, the method may further comprise generating a filtered list of one or more communication devices that are to be one or more reference or located communication devices in the sidelink positioning or ranging procedure, by generating the list to include one or more communication devices for which no interaction with the user of the communication device was required. In other embodiments, the method may further comprise generating a filtered list of one or more communication devices that are to be one or more reference or located communication devices in the sidelink positioning or ranging procedure, by generating the list to alternatively or additionally include one or more communication devices for which the corresponding required interaction with the user of the communication device was successful. In some embodiments, the method may further comprise transmitting, towards the location server, a location request that includes the filtered list.

[0032] In some embodiments, the method further comprises sending, towards the gateway network node, a response that indicates privacy check results. In some embodiments, the privacy check results may indicate for each of the one or more communication devices for which interaction with the user of the communication device was triggered, a result of the interaction triggered with the user of the communication device. In other embodiments, the privacy check results may indicate for each of the one or more communication device (12) for which interaction with the user of the communication device was triggered and successful, information indicating the communication device for which interaction with the user of the communication device was successful. In other embodiments, the privacy check results may indicate for each of the one or more communication devices for which interaction with the user of the communication device was triggered but was unsuccessful, information indicating the communication device for which interaction with the user of the communication device was unsuccessful.

[0033] In some embodiments, the method may further comprise after triggering the required interaction with the user of at least one of the one or more communication devices, receiving, from the gateway network node, additional privacy check action information indicating, for each of at least one of the one or more communication devices, what additional interaction with the user of the communication device is required by the privacy profile associated with the communication device in order for the service to obtain or use a position or range of the communication device. In some embodiments, the method may further comprise, for each of the at least one of the one or more communication devices, triggering the required additional interaction with the user of the communication device.

[0034] Other embodiments herein include a method performed by a service user node that is a user of a service provided by one or more communication networks. The method comprises transmitting, to a gateway network node, a request for the service. In some embodiments, the service comprises, or is assisted by, a sidelink positioning or ranging procedure for which one or more communication devices are, or are candidates to be, reference or located communication devices. The method also comprises receiving, from the gateway network node, results of the service and information indicating which of the one or more communication devices participated in the sidelink positioning or ranging procedure.

[0035] Other embodiments herein include a gateway network node in a communication network. The gateway network node is configured to obtain privacy check action information indicating, for each of one or more communication devices that are, or are candidates to be, reference or located communication devices in a sidelink positioning or ranging procedure, whether and / or what interaction with a user of the communication device is required by a privacy profile associated with the communication device. The gateway network node is also configured to send the privacy check action information towards another network node.

[0036] In some embodiments, the gateway network node may be configured to perform the steps described above for a gateway network node in a communication network.

[0037] Other embodiments herein include a mobility management network node in a communication network. The mobility management network node is configured to receive, from a gateway network node, privacy check action information indicating, for each of one or more communication devices that are, or are candidates to be, reference or located communication devices in a sidelink positioning or ranging procedure, whether and / or what interaction with a user of the communication device is required by a privacy profile associated with the communication device. The mobility management network node is also configured to, for each of the one or more communication devices for which interaction with the user of the communication device is required according to the privacy check action information, trigger the required interaction with the user of the communication device.

[0038] In some embodiments, the mobility management network node may be configured to perform the steps described above for a mobility management network node in a communication network.

[0039] Other embodiments herein include a service user node that is a user of a service provided by one or more communication networks, transmit, to a gateway network node, a request for the service. In some embodiments, the service comprises, or is assisted by, a sidelink positioning or ranging procedure for which one or more communication devices are, or are candidates to be, reference or located communication devices. The service user node is also configured to receive, from the gateway network node, results of the service and information indicating which of the one or more communication devices participated in the sidelink positioning or ranging procedure.

[0040] In some embodiments, a computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by at least one processor of a network node, causes the network node to perform the steps described above for a gateway network node in a communication network. In some embodiments, a carrier containing the computer program is one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or computer readable storage medium.

[0041] Other embodiments herein include a gateway network node in a communication network. The gateway network node comprises communication circuitry and processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to obtain privacy check action information indicating, for each of one or more communication devices that are, or are candidates to be, reference or located communication devices in a sidelink positioning or ranging procedure, whether and / or what interaction with a user of the communication device is required by a privacy profile associated with the communication device. The processing circuitry is also configured to send the privacy check action information towards another network node.

[0042] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry may be configured to perform the steps described above for a gateway network node in a communication network.

[0043] Other embodiments herein include a mobility management network node in a communication network. The mobility management network node comprises communication circuitry and processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to receive, from a gateway network node, privacy check action information indicating, for each of one or more communication devices that are, or are candidates to be, reference or located communication devices in a sidelink positioning or ranging procedure, whether and / or what interaction with a user of the communication device is required by a privacy profile associated with the communication device. The processing circuitry is also configured to, for each of the one or more communication devices for which interaction with the user of the communication device is required according to the privacy check action information, trigger the required interaction with the user of the communication device.

[0044] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry may be configured to perform the steps described above for a mobility management network node in a communication network.

[0045] Other embodiments herein include a service user node that is a user of a service provided by one or more communication networks. The service user node comprises communication circuitry and processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to transmit, to a gateway network node, a request for the service, wherein the service comprises, or is assisted by, a sidelink positioning or ranging procedure for which one or more communication devices are, or are candidates to be, reference or located communication devices. The processing circuitry is also configured to receive, from the gateway network node, results of the service and information indicating which of the one or more communication devices participated in the sidelink positioning or ranging procedure.

[0046] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0047] Figure 1 A is a block diagram of network nodes configured in accordance with some embodiments for complying with user interaction requirements for sidelink positioning or ranging.

[0048] Figure 1 B is a block diagram of network nodes configured in accordance with other embodiments for complying with user interaction requirements for sidelink positioning or ranging.

[0049] Figure 1 C is a block diagram of network nodes configured in accordance with some embodiments for complying with additional user interaction requirements for sidelink positioning or ranging.

[0050] Figure 2A is a block diagram of network nodes configured in accordance with some embodiments for complying with user interaction requirements for sidelink positioning or ranging, where the target communication device is roaming.

[0051] Figure 2B is a block diagram of network nodes configured in accordance with other embodiments for complying with user interaction requirements for sidelink positioning or ranging, where the target communication device is roaming.

[0052] Figure 2C is a block diagram of network nodes configured in accordance with some embodiments for complying with additional user interaction requirements for sidelink positioning or ranging, where the target communication device is roaming.

[0053] Figure 3A is a block diagram of network nodes configured in accordance with some embodiments where a home network of a located or reference communication device differs from a home network of a target communication device. Figure 3B is a block diagram of network nodes configured in accordance with some embodiments where at least some located or reference communication devices are served by different mobility management network nodes in the same communication network.

[0054] Figure 3C is a block diagram of network nodes configured in accordance with some embodiments where a serving network of a located or reference communication device differs from a serving network of a target communication device.

[0055] Figure 4 is a block diagram of -roaming reference architecture for Location Services (LCS) with ranging and Sidelink positioning in reference point representation in accordance with some embodiments.

[0056] Figures 5A-5B are a call flow diagram for SL-MT-LR according to some embodiments.

[0057] Figure 6 is a logic flow diagram of a method performed by a gateway network node according to some embodiments.

[0058] Figure 7A is a logic flow diagram of a method performed by a mobility management network node according to some embodiments.

[0059] Figure 7B is a logic flow diagram of a method performed by a service user node according to some embodiments.

[0060] Figure 8 is a block diagram of a gateway network node according to some embodiments.

[0061] Figure 9A is a block diagram of a mobility management network node according to some embodiments.

[0062] Figure 9B is a block diagram of a service user node according to some embodiments.

[0063] Figure 10 is a block diagram of a communication system in accordance with some embodiments.

[0064] Figure 11 is a block diagram of a user equipment according to some embodiments.

[0065] Figure 12 is a block diagram of a network node according to some embodiments.

[0066] Figure 13 is a block diagram of a host according to some embodiments.

[0067] Figure 14 is a block diagram of a virtualization environment according to some embodiments.

[0068] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0069] Figure 1A shows a communication network 10-1 that provides communication service to communication devices, e.g., user equipments (UEs). The communication service may for instance include a wireless communication service, in which case at least some of the communication devices may be wireless communication devices. In some embodiments, the communication network 10-1 comprises, for example, a 5G or 6G network.

[0070] The communication network 10-1 as shown provides a service (e.g., a location service) to a service user 14. The service is, or is assisted by, a sidelink positioning or ranging procedure 13. Figure 1A shows that at least communication devices 12-1 ...12-N participate in, or are candidates for participating in, this sidelink positioning or ranging procedure 13. These communication devices 12-1 ...12-N may be referred to herein generally as communication devices 12.

[0071] In some embodiments, the sidelink positioning or ranging procedure 13 is a procedure to estimate the relative locations of, or distances and / or directions between, communication devices. Each of the communication devices 12 in Figure 1A may serve as a reference communication device to provide a reference for positioning or ranging in the sidelink positioning or ranging procedure 13. In one or more of these embodiments, for example, the service may be invoked by the service user 14 with a Sidelink (SL) Mobile Terminated (MT) Location Request (LR) (SL-MT-LR) in order for the service user 14 to obtain ranging / sidelink positioning location results for the group of communication devices 12. In some embodiments, one of the communication devices 12 in the group may be designated as a target communication device. The communication network 10-1 may be the home network of this target communication device. The target communication device refers to the target communication device for the service, e.g. location estimation. The service user 14 may comprise an application function (AF), a network function (NF), or an LCS client.

[0072] In other embodiments, by contrast, the sidelink positioning or ranging procedure 13 is a procedure to estimate the absolute location of a target communication device, by using (i) the location of one or more of communication devices 12 as located communication device(s), in conjunction with (ii) the distance and / or direction between the target communication device and the located communication device(s) 12. For example, in one or more of these embodiments where the communication network 10-1 is a 5G network, the service may be invoked by the service user 14 with a 5G Core (5GC) Mobile Terminated (MT) Location Request (LR) (5GC- MT-LR). The communication network 10-1 may again be the home network of the target communication device.

[0073] No matter the particular type of service, then, the communication device(s) 12 are, or are candidates to be, reference or located communication device(s) in the sidelink positioning or ranging procedure 13. Communication device(s) 12 may therefore generally be referred to as a reference or located communication device(s) 12. The service may accordingly obtain or use a position or range of each reference or located communication device 12.

[0074] The service thereby risks exposing or revealing (to the service user 14) information about the position or range of each reference or located communication device 12. In fact, even if the service actually targets the positioning or ranging of a certain target communication device, the service nonetheless still risks exposing or revealing information about the position or range of each reference or located communication device 12.

[0075] In this context, privacy profiles 11 -1 ...11-N are defined in the communication network 10-1 as being associated with respective communication devices 12-1 ...12-N. Such privacy profiles 11 -1 ...11 -N may generally be referred to as privacy profiles 11 . The privacy profiles 11 may be specific for respective subscriptions based on which the communication devices 12 access the communication network 10-1. The privacy profile(s) 11 in these and other embodiments may be stored as subscription information and / or in a repository 15 in the communication network 10-1 , e.g., in a unified data management (UDM) function. Regardless, the privacy profile 11 associated with a respective communication device 12 is a profile that governs the privacy of information about the position or range of that communication device 12, e.g., in accordance with the preferences of a corresponding user 16-1 ...16-N of that communication device 12. The privacy profile 11 associated with a communication device 12 may for example govern what information the user 16 has consented to share, to whom the user 16 has consented to share that information, and / or for what purpose the user 16 has consented to share that information.

[0076] According to embodiments herein, the privacy profile 11 associated with a communication device 12 alternatively or additionally specifies whether and / or what interaction with the user 16 of the communication device 12 is required in order for the service to obtain or use a position or range of the communication device 12. For example, in some embodiments, the privacy profile 11 associated with a communication device 12 is configurable to specify whether the user 16 of the communication device 12 must be notified in order for the service to obtain or use a position or range of the communication device 12. As another example, the privacy profile 11 associated with a communication device 12 may be configurable to specify whether the user 16 of the communication device 12 must verify that the service is allowed to obtain or use a position or range of the communication device 12. The privacy profile 11 associated with a communication device 12 thereby protects against the position or range of the communication device 12 being exposed and / or used without notification to and / or verification by the user 16 of the communication device 12.

[0077] Embodiments herein support such a privacy profile 11 , even for a reference or located communication device12, by introducing, into a procedure for the service, signaling for ensuring compliance with any user interaction requirements specified by a privacy profile 11 . These and other embodiments may thereby advantageously improve privacy protection for reference or located communication devices 12 in sidelink positioning or ranging.

[0078] Figure 1 A illustrates additional details of some embodiments in this regard. As shown, the service user 14 transmits a service request 18 to (or towards) a gateway network node 20-1 . The gateway network node 20-1 may for instance implement a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC), e.g., a home GMLC or anchor GMLC of the target communication device. Where the gateway network node 20-1 is a home GMLC, the home GMLC may be the GMLC residing in the target communication device’s home communication network and the GMLC responsible for the control of privacy checking of the communication devices. The home GMLC may also support location requests from an external location services client or network external function (NEF) for the target communication device. The gateway network node 20-1 in embodiments herein obtains privacy check action information 22, e.g., by deriving, receiving or otherwise generating the privacy check action information 22 based on the privacy profile(s) 11 for the respective communication device(s) 12.

[0079] The privacy check action information 22 indicates, for each of the communication device(s) 12 that are, or are candidates to be, reference or located communication devices in the sidelink positioning or ranging procedure 13, whether and / or what interaction with a user 16 of the communication device 12 is required by the privacy profile 11 associated with the communication device 12 in order for the service to obtain or use a position or range of the communication device 12. That is, for communication device 12-1 , the privacy check action information 22 indicates whether and / or what interaction with a user 16-1 of the communication device 12-1 is required by the privacy profile 11 -1 associated with the communication device 12- 1 in order for the service to obtain or use a position or range of the communication device 12-1 . For communication device 12-2, the privacy check action information 22 indicates whether and / or what interaction with a user 16-2 of the communication device 12-2 is required by the privacy profile 11-2 associated with the communication device 12-2 in order for the service to obtain or use a position or range of the communication device 12-2. And so on.

[0080] For example, in some embodiments, for each of the communication device(s) 12, the privacy check action information 22 indicates a user interaction setting selected from among multiple possible user interaction settings, e.g., as selected by a user 16 of that communication device 12. One possible user interaction setting may be that positioning is allowed for a communication device 12 without notifying the user 16 of the communication device 12, i.e. , user notification is not required. Alternatively or additionally, another possible user interaction setting may be that positioning is allowed for the communication device 12 (but only) with notification to the user 16 of communication device 12, i.e., user notification is required. Alternatively or additionally, yet another possible user interaction setting may be that positioning requires a notification to the user 16 of the communication device 12 and verification by the user 16 of the communication device 12, such that positioning is allowed only if granted by the user 16 of the communication device 12 or if there is no response to the notification. In this case, then, user notification is required along with an attempt to successfully acquire user verification, but positioning is still allowed if the user verification attempt fails because it times out. Finally, the possible user interaction settings may alternatively or additionally include that positioning requires a notification to the user 16 of the communication device 12 and verification by the user 16 of the communication 12, such that positioning is allowed only if granted by the user 16 of the communication device 12. Contrasted with the previous possibility, then, both user notification and successful user verification is required, as positioning is not allowed even if the user verification attempt fails because it times out.

[0081] In some embodiments, the possible user interaction settings may be agnostic as to a type of positioning to which they are applicable, e.g., such that the possible user interaction settings are not specific to the service or to sidelink positioning or ranging. The possible user interaction settings may furthermore be agnostic as to the role of the communication device 12, e.g., so as to apply regardless of whether the communication device 12 is a target communication device, a reference communication device, a located communication device, etc.

[0082] In these and other embodiments, the privacy check action information 22 may indicate the above in any number of ways. The privacy check action information 22 may for example comprises a list of one or more identities identifying the one or more communication devices 12 and one or more indicators corresponding to the one or more identities. The indicator corresponding to an identity for a communication device 12 may indicate whether and / or what interaction with a user 16 of the communication device 12 is required by the privacy profile 11 associated with the communication device 12. In embodiments where the privacy check action information 22 indicates a user interaction setting selected from among multiple possible user interaction settings, for example, different indicators may correspond or indicate different possible user interaction settings.

[0083] Generally, then, the privacy check action information 22 may indicate whether a specific interactive check with a user 16 of a communication device 12 is required. Such check may also be referred to as a privacy check related action, e.g., in a location service procedure.

[0084] In any event, having obtained the privacy check action information 22 for communication devices 12-1...12-N, gateway network node 20-1 sends the privacy check action information 22 towards a mobility management node 24-1 , e.g., implementing an Access and Mobility Function (AMF). For example, gateway network node 20-1 may send the privacy check action information 22 towards the mobility management network node 24-1 as part of providing and / or enabling the service according to the service request 18. For example, gateway network node 20-1 may receive the service request 18 from the service user 14 and, responsive to receiving the service request 18, send a message 19 towards the mobility management network node 24-1 in order to provide and / or enable the requested service. The message 19 may for example be a location request, e.g., as part of an Ngmlc_Location_ProvideLocation service operation, to request a location as part of the service or as part of the sidelink positioning or ranging procedure 13. Regardless, gateway network node 20-1 notably includes the obtained privacy check action information 22 in this message 19.

[0085] The mobility management network node 24-1 correspondingly receives the privacy check action information 22 from gateway network node 20-1 . For each of the communication device(s) 12 for which interaction with the user 16 of the communication device 12 is required according to the privacy check action information 22, the mobility management network node 24-1 triggers the required interaction with the respective user 16 of that communication device 12. This may for instance involve the mobility management network node 24-1 initiating a network-triggered service request procedure to establish a signaling connection 23 with the communication device 12, e.g., if no signaling connection 23 is already established with the communication device 12. The mobility management network node 24-1 may then send a notification invoke message (MSG) 26 to the communication device 12 using the signaling connection 23. This notification invoke message 26 invokes a notification to the user 16 of the communication device 12 that the position or range of the communication device 12 is to be obtained or used by the service. The notification invoke message 26 may also indicate whether the user 16 of the communication device 12 is required to verify that the user 16 grants permission to the service to obtain or use the position or range of the communication device 12.

[0086] Figure 1 A more particularly in this regard shows that mobility management network node 24-1 initiates a network-triggered service request procedure to establish a signaling connection 23-1 with communication device 12-1 , if no signaling connection 23-1 is already established with the communication device 12-1 . The mobility management network node 24-1 then sends a notification invoke message (MSG) 26-1 to communication device 12-1 using the signaling connection 23-1 . This notification invoke message 26-1 invokes a notification to the user 16-1 of communication device 12-1 that the position or range of the communication device 12-1 is to be obtained or used by the service. The notification invoke message 26-1 may also indicate whether the user 16-1 of communication device 12-1 is required to verify that the user 16-1 grants permission to the service to obtain or use the position or range of communication device 12-1 . The mobility management network node 24-1 operates similarly with respect to each of the other communication devices 12.

[0087] Some embodiments thereby propagate the privacy check action information 22 for each of the reference or located communication device(s) 12 to the mobility management network node 24-1 . This advantageously enables the mobility management network node 24-1 to invoke any user interaction requirements specified by the respective privacy profile(s) 11 of the communication device(s) 12.

[0088] Figure 1 B illustrates some embodiments for how the procedure handles the result of user interaction. In these embodiments, the mobility management network node 24-1 ensures that the position or range of a communication device 12 which is, or is a candidate to be, a reference or located communication device is not obtained or used unless the associated user interaction requirements have been met.

[0089] As shown in this regard, the mobility management network node 24-1 receives, from each of the communication device(s) 12 for which interaction with the user 16 of the communication device 12 is required according to the privacy check action information 22, a respective result 28 of the required interaction, e.g., receives result 26-1 from communication device 12-1 , result 28-N from communication device 12-N, etc.. The result 28 of the required interaction for a communication device 12 may for example indicate whether the user 16 of the communication device 12 was notified. Alternatively or additionally, the result 28 may indicate whether the user 16 of the communication device 12 granted or denied permission to the service to obtain or use the position or range of the communication device 12, or whether the predetermined time period.

[0090] From the result(s) 28 received, the mobility management network node 24-1 generates a filtered list 32 of communication device(s) that are (in fact) to be reference or located communication device(s) in the sidelink positioning or ranging procedure 13. The mobility management network node 24-1 does so by generating the filtered list 32 to include any of the communication device(s) 12 for which no interaction with the user 16 of the communication device 12 was required, and any of the communication device(s) 12 for which the corresponding required interaction with the user 16 of the communication device 12 was successful. The mobility management network node 24-1 accordingly excludes from the filtered list 32 any of the communication device(s) 12 for which the corresponding required interaction with the user 16 of the communication device 12 was unsuccessful, e.g., a required notification was not provided to the user 16 and / or a required verification was not received from the user 16 (unless timeout of the verification is allowed).

[0091] The mobility management network node 24-1 then transmits this filtered list 32 to a location server 30-1 , e.g., implementing a Location Management Function (LMF). The mobility management network node 24-1 may for example include this filtered list 32 in a location request 34 to the location server 30-1 . The location request 34 in some embodiments requests the location of a target communication device, to be estimated using sidelink positioning or ranging of the communication device(s) 12 included in the filtered list; in particular, to be estimated using the location of the communication device(s) 12 included in the filtered list and the distance and / or direction between the target communication device and those communication device(s) 12. In other embodiments, the location request 34 requests sidelink positioning or ranging for the communication device(s) included in the filtered list 32, i.e., the communication device(s) for which no user interaction was required or for which the corresponding required user interaction was successful. Either way, by performing this filtering of communication device(s) 12 on the basis of the user interaction result(s) 28, the mobility management network node 24-1 thereby avoids requesting sidelink positioning or ranging for any of the communication device(s) 12 for which the corresponding required interaction with the user 16 of the communication device 12 was unsuccessful.

[0092] Responsive to the location request 34, the location server 30-1 obtains results 36 of the location request 34, shown here as service results 36. The results 36 of the location request 34 may for instance be the position or range of communication device(s) 12, or be the location of a target communication device, as estimated based on the position or range of communication device(s) 12. In some embodiments, the location server 30-1 sends the service results 36 to the mobility management network node 24-1 . In this case, the mobility management network node 24-1 in turn sends a response 38 with the service results 36 towards gateway network node 20- 1 . In other embodiments not shown, though, the location server 30-1 sends the service results 36 directly to gateway network node 20-1 , rather than propagating them through the mobility management network node 24-1 . Either way, gateway network node 20-1 receives the service results 36 and transmits, to the service user 14, a service response 42 that indicates the service results 36.

[0093] Furthermore, according to some embodiments, the mobility management network node 24-1 also propagates information back towards the gateway network node 20-1 about the results of any user interaction. The mobility management network node 24-1 in this regard includes privacy check results 40 in its response 38 to gateway network node 20-1 . In some embodiments, the privacy check results 40 indicate, for each of the communication device(s) 12, the result of any user interaction required by the associated privacy profile 11 , whether or not that user interaction was successful or unsuccessful. In other embodiments, though, the privacy check results 40 selectively indicate any unsuccessful user interaction. In this case, the privacy check results 40 may comprise unsuccessful privacy check information indicating one or more of the communication device(s) 12 for which the corresponding required interaction with the user 16 of the communication device 12 was unsuccessful. Either way, the privacy check results 40 advantageously equip the gateway network node 20-1 to inform the service user 14 about which of the communication device(s) 12 participated in the sidelink positioning or ranging procedure 13. As shown in Figure 1 B, then, gateway network node 20-1 may include, in its service response 42 to the service user 14, information 44 indicating communication device(s) 12 that participated in the sidelink positioning or ranging procedure 13.

[0094] Some embodiments herein furthermore accommodate for user interaction requirements for at least one of the communication device(s) 12 to be conditionally required depending on the service results 36, e.g., so as to be position and / or range dependent. Figure 1 C shows one example of some embodiments in this regard.

[0095] In these embodiments, gateway network node 20-1 determines whether the service results 36 dictate that additional user interaction requirements are to be enforced for at least one of the communication device(s) 12. That is, for each of at least one of the communication device(s) 12, gateway network node 20-1 determines, based on the service results 36, that additional interaction with the user 16 of that communication device 12 is required by the privacy profile 11 associated with the communication device 12. In this case, gateway network node 20- 1 as shown sends additional privacy check action information 22A towards the mobility management network node 24-1 . The additional privacy check action information 22A indicates, for each of the at least one of the communication device(s) 12, what additional interaction with the user 16 of the communication device 12 is required by the privacy profile 11 associated with the communication device 12 in order for the service to obtain or use a position or range of the communication device 12.

[0096] For each of the at least one of these communication device(s) 12, the mobility management network node 24-1 triggers the required additional interaction with the user 16 of the communication device 12. In particular, the mobility management network node 24-1 sends an additional notification invoke message (MSG) 26A-1 to communication device 12-1 which invokes a notification to the user 16-1 of communication device 12-1 that the position or range of the communication device 12-1 is to be obtained or used by the service. In some embodiments, this additional notification invoke message 26-1 may have a location type indicating “notification only”. The additional notification invoke message 26A-1 may also indicate whether the user 16-1 of communication device 12-1 is required to verify that the user 16-1 grants permission to the service to obtain or use the position or range of communication device 12-1 . The mobility management network node 24-1 operates similarly with respect to each of the other communication devices 12.

[0097] The mobility management network node 24-1 correspondingly receives, from each of the communication device(s) 12 for which additional interaction with the user 16 of the communication device 12 is required according to the additional privacy check action information 22A, a respective result 28A of the required additional interaction, e.g., receives result 28A-1 from communication device 12-1 , result 28A-N from communication device 12-N, etc.. The result 28A of the required additional interaction for a communication device 12 may for example indicate whether the user 16 of the communication device 12 was notified. Alternatively or additionally, the result 28A may indicate whether the user 16 of the communication device 12 granted or denied permission to the service to obtain or use the position or range of the communication device 12, or whether the user 16 of the communication device failed to respond to the verification request after a predetermined time period.

[0098] Based on the additional notification invoke message 26A-1 having a location type of “notification only”, the mobility management network node 24-1 refrains from sending a location request to the location server 30-1 . Instead, the mobility management node 24-1 just sends additional privacy check results 52 towards gateway network node 20-1 . The additional privacy check results 52 indicate the results of the additional user interaction checks performed by the mobility management network node 24-1 .

[0099] If the additional privacy check results 52 indicate that any of the additional user interaction requirements have not been complied with, gateway network node 20-1 may consider the previously received service results 36 to be invalid or failed. In this case, then, gateway network node 20-1 may indicate such invalidity or failure in its service response 42 to the service user 14.

[0100] Figures 1A, 1 B, and 1C illustrate simplified embodiments herein where the communication network 10-1 is the home network and serving network for all of the communication device(s) 12-1 ...12-N. Figures 2A, 2B, and 2C by contrast illustrate other embodiments where the communication device(s) 12 are each roaming and served by communication network 10-2. In this case, communication network 10-1 is the home network of the communication device(s) 12, gateway network node 20-1 is the home gateway network node in the home network, communication network 10-2 is the serving network of the communication device(s) 12, gateway network node 20-1 is the serving gateway network node in the serving network, and mobility management network node 24-2 is the serving mobility management network node in the serving network. Embodiments described above as being implemented by mobility management network node 24-1 in communication network 10-1 are therefore applied in Figures 2A, 2B, and 2C by mobility management network node 24-2 in communication network 10-2. In this case, then, embodiments in Figures 2A, 2B, and 2C are similar to embodiments in Figures 1A, 1 B, and 1C, except that mobility management node 24-1 in communication network 10-1 is replaced by mobility management node 24-2 in communication network 10-2, and communication between the home gateway network node 20- 1 and the serving mobility management network node 24-2 takes place via the serving gateway network node 20-2 in the serving network 10-2.

[0101] No matter whether the communication device(s) 12-1 ...12-N are each served by the same communication network 10-1 or 10-2, though, at least one of the communication device(s) 12-1 ...12-N may have a home network different than that of the target communication device. Figure 3A illustrates one such embodiment for a given one 12-n of the communication device(s) 12-1 ...12-N. As shown, the home network 10-3 of the given communication device 12-n is communication network 10-3. In this case, the privacy profile 11 -n for the given communication device 12-n is stored in communication network 10-3, rather than communication network 10-1. The gateway network node 20-1 in communication network 10-1 accordingly obtains the privacy check action information 22 for this given communication device 12-1 by retrieving the privacy check action information 22 from gateway network node 20-3 in communication network 10-3, e.g., where gateway network node 20-3 may have generated the privacy check action information 22 from the privacy profile 11-n stored in communication network 10-3. Alternatively, the gateway network node 20-3 may provide the privacy check result from the given communication device 12-n to the gateway network node 20-1 , by directly sending the request including privacy check action information 22 to the mobility management network in the communication network 10-3. In some embodiments, the privacy check action information 22 in this case includes a serving mobility management network identity (ID) 29 that identifies a mobility management network node that serves the given communication device 12-n.

[0102] In these and other embodiments, then, at least some of the located or reference communication device(s) 12-1 ...12-N may be served by different mobility management network nodes, in the same or different communication network as the target communication device. Figure 3B illustrates an example for three communication devices 12-1 , 12-2, and 12-3, as an extension of the embodiments in Figures 1 A, 1 B, and 1 C except where at least some of the located or reference communication device(s) 12-1 ...12-N are served by different mobility management network nodes 24-1 A, 24-1 B in communication network 10-1. In particular, as shown in Figure 3B, communication device 12-1 is deemed the target communication device. Communication devices 10-1 and 10-2 are served by mobility management network node 24-1 A in communication network 10-1 , but communication device 12-3 is served by mobility management network node 24-1 B in communication network 10-1. In this example, then, gateway network node 20-1 sends privacy check action information 22A for communication devices 12-1 and 12-2 towards mobility management network node 24-1 A and sends privacy check action information 22B for communication device 12-3 towards mobility management network node 24-1 B, for example, via the gateway network node 20-3. That is, the privacy check action information 22A that gateway network node 20-1 sends towards mobility management network node 24-1 A includes privacy check action information for communication devices 12-1 and 12-2 but lacks privacy check action information for communication device 12- 3. This is because mobility management network node 24-1 A does not serve communication device 12-3. And only located or reference communication devices that are registered in the same mobility management network node can be included in the privacy check action information from the gateway network node 20-1 to the serving mobility management node. Accordingly, mobility management network node 24-1 A triggers any required user interaction with communication devices 12-1 and 12-2 as described above, but not with communication device 12-3. Instead, gateway network node 20-1 prompts separate privacy check(s) for any communication device(s) not served by mobility management network node 24-1 A. In particular, gateway network node 20-1 sends privacy action information 22B for communication device 12- 3 towards mobility management network node 24-1 B, for example, via the gateway network node 20-3. Mobility management network node 24-1 B correspondingly triggers any required user interaction with communication device 12-3 as described above.

[0103] Note that gateway network node 20-1 may send privacy check action information 22B for communication device 12-3 in a way that indicates to mobility management network node 24-1 B that mobility management network node 24-1 B is to only perform a privacy check for communication device 12-3, not trigger a location server to perform positioning. For example, in some embodiments, gateway network node 20-1 sends privacy check action information 22B in a location request with location type “notification and verification only.”

[0104] As a further variation, any given one 12-n of the located or reference communication device(s) 12-1 ...12-N may alternatively or additionally be served by a communication network different from the serving network of the target communication device. In this case, the privacy check for that given communication device 12-n is performed by a mobility management network node in the given communication device’s serving network, rather than by the mobility management network node 24-1 or 24-2 in the target communication device’s serving network. Figure 3C illustrates an example illustrating this.

[0105] Figure 3C extends the embodiments in Figures 2A, 2B, and 2C for three communication devices 12-1 , 12-2, and 12-3. Communication device 12-1 is the target communication device, communication network 10-1 is the target communication device’s home network, and communication network 10-2 is the target communication device’s serving network. Located or reference communication device 10-2 has the same serving network 10-2 as the target communication device 12-1 , but located or reference communication device 12-3 has a different serving network 10-4 than the target communication device 12-1. In this example, then, the privacy check action information 22 that gateway network node 20-1 sends towards mobility management network node 24-2 in communication network 10-2 (via a gateway network node in communication network 10-2) includes privacy check action information for communication devices 12-1 and 12-2 but lacks privacy check action information for communication device 12- 3. This is because mobility management network node 24-2 does not serve communication device 12-3. And only located or reference communication devices that are registered in the same mobility management network node can be included in the privacy check action information from the gateway network node 20-1 to the target communication device’s serving mobility management node. Accordingly, mobility management network node 24-2 triggers any required user interaction with communication devices 12-1 and 12-2 as described above, but not with communication device 12-3. Instead, gateway network node 20-1 prompts separate privacy check for any communication device(s) not served by the target communication device’s serving mobility management network node. In particular, gateway network node 20-1 sends privacy action information 22S for communication device 12-3 towards mobility management network node 24-4 in the serving network 10-4 of communication device 12-3 (via a gateway network node in communication network 10-4). Mobility management network node 24-2 correspondingly triggers any required user interaction with communication device 12-3 as described above.

[0106] Note that gateway network node 20-1 may send privacy check action information 22S for communication device 12-3 in a way that indicates to mobility management network node 24-4 that mobility management network node 24-4 is to only perform a privacy check for communication device 12-3, not trigger a location server in communication network 10-4 to perform positioning. For example, in some embodiments, gateway network node 20-1 sends privacy check action information 22S in a location request with location type “notification and verification only.”

[0107] Note that any of the above embodiments may be combinable with one another, e.g., reflecting different possibilities for the home and / or serving network of each of the located or reference communication device(s) 12.

[0108] Consider now examples of some embodiments herein in a context where the communication network(s) 10 include 5G network(s), where communication device(s) 12 are user equipment(s), where a gateway network node is a GMLC including Home GMLC or anchor GMLC, where a mobility management network node implements an Access and Mobility Function (AMF), and where a location server implements an LMF.

[0109] Moreover, the service may be exemplified in one example below as being invoked with a Sidelink Mobile Terminating Location Request (SL-MT-LR) in order for the service user 14 to obtain ranging / sidelink positioning location results for the group of communication devices 12, e.g., as otherwise specified by 3GPP TS 23.273 v18.3.0 and TS 23.586 v18.1 .0. In this case, the Ranging and SL positioning procedure is a procedure to estimate the relative locations or distances and / or directions between the UEs, or to estimate the absolute location of a UE by using the location of one or more Located UEs and the distance and / or direction between the UE and the Located UE(s).

[0110] Or, the service may be exemplified in another example below as being invoked by the service user 14 with a 5G Core (5GC) Mobile Terminated (MT) Location Request (LR) (5GC- MT-LR), e.g., as otherwise specified by 3GPP TS 23.273 v18.3.0 and TS 23.586 v18.1 .0. Figure 4 more specifically shows a non-roaming reference architecture for Location Services (LCS) with ranging and Sidelink positioning in reference point representation according to some embodiments consistent with TS 23.586 v18.1.0. In this case, the procedure is used to estimate the location of a UE by using the location of one or more Located UEs and the distance and / or direction between the UE and the Located UE(s).

[0111] In these examples, the following definitions are applicable.

[0112] Located UE: A SL Reference UE of which the location is known or is able to be known using Uu based positioning. A Located UE can be used to determine the location of a Target UE using Sidelink Positioning.

[0113] Positioning: A functionality, which detects a geographical location and optionally, velocity (of e.g., a mobile terminal).

[0114] Ranging: Refers to the determination of the distance between two UEs or more UEs and / or the direction of one UE (i.e., Target UE) from another UE (i.e., SL Reference UE) via PC5 interface.

[0115] Relative position: An estimate of the UE position relative to other network elements or relative to other UEs.

[0116] Relative velocity: An estimate of the UE velocity relative to another UE.

[0117] SL Reference UE: A UE, supporting positioning of target UE, e.g., by transmitting and / or receiving reference signals for positioning, providing positioning-related information, etc. using Sidelink.

[0118] Sidelink Positioning: Positioning UE using PC5 to obtain absolute position, relative position, or ranging information.

[0119] SL Positioning Client UE: A third-party UE, other than SL Reference UE and Target UE, which initiates Ranging / Sidelink positioning service request on behalf of the application residing on it. The SL Positioning Client UE does not have to support Ranging / Sidelink positioning capability, but a communication between the SL Positioning Client UE and SL Reference UE / Target UE has to be established, either via PC5 or via 5GC, for the transmission of the service request and the result.

[0120] SL Positioning Server UE: A UE offering method determination, assistant data distribution and / or location calculation functionalities for Sidelink Positioning and Ranging based service. It interacts with other UEs over PC5 as necessary in order to determine Ranging / SL Position method, distribute assistant data and calculate the location of the Target UE. Target UE or SL Reference UE can act as SL Positioning Server UE if any of the functionalities is supported.

[0121] Target UE: A UE whose distance, direction and / or position is measured with the support from one or multiple SL Reference UEs using Sidelink in the Ranging based service and Sidelink positioning.

[0122] Privacy profile

[0123] According to some embodiments, a UE privacy profile for LCS (location service) and Ranging / SL Positioning service is used to control whether LCS and Ranging / SL positioning service regarding a certain UE is permitted. For each UE subscriber, privacy preferences are stored in a UE privacy profile as part of UE subscription data in the UDM and queried from the UDM by another NF such as GMLC when LCS (location service) and Ranging / SL Positioning service is triggered.

[0124] For LCS service, UE LCS privacy profile may be as defined in clause 5.4.2 of TS 23.273 V18.3.0:

[0125] Table 7.1-1 : LCS privacy profile data stored in the UDM for a UE Subscriber

[0126] Specifically, the UE LCS privacy profile shall include information related to classes of the user of LCS service e.g., LCS client or AF / NF, referred to as "privacy classes", which are permitted, or conditionally permitted, to obtain location information for the UE. For one of these privacy classes, i.e. Call / session Unrelated Class, it also indicates whether a specific interactive check with the UE user is required (cf. clause 5.4.2.2.3 TS 23.273 V18.3.0), e.g.,

[0127] - positioning allowed without notifying the UE user (default case);

[0128] - positioning allowed with notification to the UE user;

[0129] - positioning requires notification and verification by the UE user: positioning is allowed only if granted by the UE user or if there is no response to the notification;

[0130] - positioning requires notification and verification by the UE user: positioning is allowed only if granted by the UE user.

[0131] Such check is also called privacy check related action in Location service procedure.

[0132] A UE LCS privacy profile covers the privacy check of location request towards a UE (i.e. , Target UE). Based on the privacy profile, there could be optional defined actions to trigger interactive check with the UE user, which is performed as part of a location service procedure.

[0133] Ranging / SL Positioning service can be used by the authorized user 14 (e.g., SL Positioning Client UE, 5GC NF or AF) to obtain the relative position or distance / direction result between two or more UEs capable of Ranging / SL Positioning, e.g., by SL-MO-LR and SL-MT- LR services

[0134] Ranging / SL Positioning service can also be used by the authorized user 14 (e.g. 5GC NF, AF or the LCS client) to obtain the absolute position of a Target UE, assisted by using the location of one or more reference / Located UEs and the distance and / or direction between the target UE and the reference / Located UE(s), e.g. by 5GC-MO-LR and 5GC -MT-LR services using SL positioning.

[0135] In a Location or Ranging / SL Positioning service, “Privacy check related action” of a target UE can be handled and performed within the existing MT-LR procedure and handled by (H)GMLC and the serving AMF of the target UE during MT-LT procedure, e.g., as step 7-8 defined in clause 6.1.2 5GC-MT-LR Procedure in TS 23.273 V18.3.0.

[0136] However, when one or more Reference UEs or Located UEs are involved in a Ranging and SL positioning procedure or Location service assisted by Ranging / SL positioning, it is heretofore unclear when and how the “Privacy check related action” of the Reference / Located UE is to be performed during the procedure of a Ranging / SL Positioning service. Some embodiments herein address this deficiency.

[0137] For example, according to some embodiments, the anchor GMLC, i.e. (H)GMLC of a target UE, obtains privacy related information of reference / located UE(s) 12 from the UDM of the reference UE / located UEs 12 (if they belong to the same Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) as HGMLC) or GMLC of the reference UE / located UEs 12 (if they belong to the different PLMN as HGMLC). This privacy related information includes an indicator of whether a privacy check related action is needed for the reference / located UE(s) 12. The anchor GMLC determines a list of the reference / located UE ID (s), and corresponding indicator whether privacy check related action is needed for each of the reference / located UE(s) 12. The anchor GMLC then sends a MT-LR to the serving AMF of the target UE, a list of the reference / located UE ID (s), and corresponding indicator(s) whether a privacy check related action is needed for each of the reference / located UE(s).

[0138] The serving AMF of the target UE correspondingly performs a privacy check related action for each of the reference / located UE(s) 12, e.g., over Non-Access Stratum (NAS) connectivity with the each of the reference / located UE(s) 12. The serving AMF then determines the reference / located UE(s) 12 which do not successfully acknowledge the privacy check related action, and sends a filtered list 32 of the reference / located UE(s) 12 to the LMF to continue the Ranging / SL Positioning service. The serving AMF sends a response to the MT-LR to the (H)GMLC of the target UE, which may contain the location / positioning results.

[0139] The LMF performs the Ranging / SL Positioning service and sends the location / positioning result to the serving AMF of the target UE or to the (H)GMLC directly.

[0140] In some embodiments, the location / positioning results also include information of the reference / located UE(s) 12 that do not perform successful privacy check related action.

[0141] Some embodiments thereby advantageously provide a solution for privacy related interaction with reference / Located UEs 12 for Ranging / SL Positioning service.

[0142] In the example above, the Anchor GMLC exemplifies gateway network node 20-1 , the privacy related information exemplifies the privacy check action information 22, the reference / located UE(s) 12 exemplify communication device(s) 12, the serving AMF 24 exemplifies the mobility management network node 24-1 or 24-2, and the LMF 30 exemplifies the location server 30-1 or 30-2.

[0143] Consider now more detailed examples where the Ranging / SL Positioning feature can be either (i) UE Positioning assisted by Sidelink Positioning to estimate the location of a Target UE with the assistance of the network by using the location of one or more Located UEs and the distance and / or direction between the Target UE and the Located UE(s) , i.e. the 5GC-MO-LR and 5GC-MT-LR services, or (ii) location service requests for relative positioning / range / direction between two or more UEs, i.e. the SL-MO-LR and SL-MT-LR services.

[0144] The Ranging / SL Positioning service can be exposed to the authorized SL Positioning Client UE, 5GC NF or AF to obtain the relative position or distance / direction result between two or more UEs capable of Ranging / SL Positioning. The Ranging / SL Positioning service also can be used by the authorized 5GC NF, AF or the LCS client to obtain the absolute position of Target UE if the 5GC NF, AF or the LCS client determines that Ranging / SL Positioning is applicable.

[0145] Accordingly, UE Positioning service assisted by Sidelink Positioning to estimate the location of a Target UE reuses LCS 5GC-MO-LR and 5GC-MT-LR services. And LCS client uses only UE Positioning service assisted by Sidelink Positioning to get absolute position of Target UE.

[0146] Some embodiments in this regard concern whether and how to apply Privacy Classes of LCS Client as defined in TS 23.271 v17.0.0 to Ranging / SL Positioning service. In particular, some embodiments concern how to support privacy verification, notification, codeword etc. over the SL-MT-LR flow.

[0147] According to some embodiments, for UE Positioning service assisted by Sidelink Positioning and service exposure over enhanced 5GC-MT-LR service, the existing LCS privacy profile is reused.

[0148] However, Privacy Classes of LCS Client as defined in TS 23.271 v17.0.0 are not appliable to Ranging / SL Positioning service over SL-MT-LR. Some embodiments accordingly introduce an indication in a privacy profile for privacy check to get relative positioning / range / direction between two or more UEs in concern.

[0149] In particular, a UE privacy profile for Ranging / SL Positioning service is used to control whether Ranging / SL positioning service exposure is permitted. For each UE subscriber, privacy preferences are stored in UE privacy profile for Ranging / SL Positioning service as part of UE subscription data in the UDM and queried from the UDM by another NF such as GMLC. The UDM may also store the UE privacy profile in the Uniform Data Repository (UDR).

[0150] For UE Positioning service assisted by Sidelink Positioning over 5GC-MT-LR service, the UE LCS privacy profile defined in clause 5.4.2 of TS 23.273 v18.3.0 is used.

[0151] The UE privacy profile data for Ranging / SL Positioning service is however defined as shown in Table 1 below according to some embodiments.

[0152] Table 1 : Ranging / SL Positioning privacy profile data stored in the UDM for a UE Subscriber

[0153] Consider now an example implementation of some embodiments herein in terms of a change to Section 6.3.5 of TS 33.533 v18.0.0. According to some embodiments, procedures for authorization of AF / 5GC NF for Ranging / SL positioning service exposure are as follows.

[0154] For the authorization of the AF or 5GC NF for Ranging / SL Positioning service exposure, the SL-MT-LR procedure specified in TS 23.273 v18.3.0 is taken as the baseline. The authorization shall be performed towards all the n UEs (n > 2), i.e. UE1 , UE2, ..., UEn in the request message. If all of the UEs don't grant permission for Ranging / SL Positioning exposure, the GMLC shall reject the service request from the AF / 5GC NF.

[0155] When receiving the Ranging / SL Positioning service request from the AF / 5GC NF, the GMLC interacts with the UDM to check the UE privacy profile for Ranging / SL Positioning service as specified in Table 1 .

[0156] The GMLC interacts with the AMF to request the ranging result of UEs, which may include an indication of a privacy related action. If the indicator of privacy check related action indicates that the UE must either be notified or notified with privacy verification, a notification invoke message is sent to the UE if the signalling connection is established. However, if the Ranging / SL Positioning service is disallowed by the UE, or signalling connection establishment fails and UE notification (including UE notification with privacy verification) is required, the AMF shall provide failure response to the GMLC.

[0157] Figures 5A-5B show a flow that uses the SL-MT-LR as an example, e.g., based on 6.20.3 Procedures of SL-MT-LR involving LMF of TS 23.273 V18.3.0. In this example, UE1 to UEn exemplifies communication device(s) 12-1 ...12-N, the AMF 24 exemplifies mobility management network node 24-1 or 24-2, LMF exemplifies the location server 30-1 or 30-2, VGMLC 20-2 exemplifies gateway network node 20-2, HGMLC exemplifies gateway network node 20-1 , UDM exemplifies repository 15, NEF / AF or LCS Client exemplifies the service user 14, and GMLC of UE (2...n) exemplifies gateway network node 20-3. As such, the respective entities are identified with the corresponding reference numbers of the entities in Figures 1-3 that they exemplify.

[0158] The SL-MT-LR procedure is used to estimate the relative locations or distances and / or directions between the UEs.

[0159] Figures 5A-5B illustrate a procedure to enable an LCS Client or AF 14 to obtain Ranging / Sidelink Positioning location results for a group of n UEs (n>2) 12, i.e. , UE1 , UE2, ..., UEn. In the procedure, the GMLC 20-1 determines a UE 12-1 among the n UEs to be designated UE1 (i.e., Target UE in TS 23.586 V18.1 .0) and one or more other UEs designated UE2, UE3, ..., UEn (n>2) (i.e., Reference / Located UEs in TS 23.586 V18.1 .0). The Ranging / Sidelink Positioning location results may include absolute locations, relative locations or ranges and directions related to the UEs 12, based on the service request.

[0160] Precondition: At least one of the n UEs 12 is in coverage and registered with a serving PLMN.

[0161] Step 1 : SL positioning service user 14 e.g., the LCS Client or the AF (via NEF) sends an LCS service request to the (H)GMLC 20-1 for Ranging / Sidelink Positioning location results for the n UEs 12. The LCS service request exemplifies the service request 18 in Figure 1. The request may include UE IDs of the n UEs 12, the required quality of service (QoS), the required location results (e.g., absolute locations, relative locations or distances and / or directions related to the UEs), the SL reference UE(s) in case of relative locations, distance, or direction, SL positioning service user ID e.g., LCS client ID.

[0162] Step 2: The (H)GMLC 20-1 invokes a Nudm_SDM_Get service operation towards the UDM 15 of each of the n UEs 12 to get the privacy settings of the UE 12. The UDM 15 returns the UE Privacy setting of the UE 12. If one or more of the n UEs 12 belongs to different PLMNs of the PLMN where (H)GMLC 20-1 resides, (H)GMLC 20-1 instructs to perform privacy check of the concerned n UEs 12 towards the GMLC(s) 20-3 of each of the concerned n UEs 12.

[0163] The GMLC(s) 20-3 of each of the concerned n UEs 12 may include indication {whether privacy check response is successful or failure, or further privacy check related action is needed for that UE and / or the information related to the required actions e.g. "positioning allowed positioning allowed with notification to the UE user"} in the privacy check response towards the (H)GMLC 20-1 . The indication of further privacy check related action exemplifies the privacy check action information 22 sent from gateway network node 20-3 to gateway network node 20- 1 in Figure 1 .

[0164] The (H)GMLC 20-1 checks the UE privacy profile for each of n UEs 12, based on the privacy profile from UDM 15 of the n UEs 12 or the response of privacy check from the GMLC 20-3 of the n UEs 12. Alternatively, the GMLC 20-3 checks the UE privacy profile for the UEs 12 belonging to the same PLMN as the GMLC 20-3 without sending the response of privacy check to (H)GMLC 20-1.

[0165] The check result for each of the n UEs 12 can indicate {whether privacy check result for that UE is successful or failure, or indication of further privacy check related action is needed for that UE, and / or the information related to the required actions e.g., “positioning allowed positioning allowed with notification to the UE user “}.

[0166] The (H)GMLC 20-1 determines a list of the reference / located UE ID (s), and corresponding indicator whether privacy check related action is needed for each of the determined reference / located UE(s). For example, if the UE from n UEs 12 contains only Location Privacy Indication in its privacy profile, GMLC 20-1 determines there is no need to take further privacy related action for that UE 12.

[0167] The GMLC(s) 20-3 of each of the concerned n UEs may include also the serving AMF ID(s) of UE2..n in the privacy check response towards the (H)GMLC 20-1 in step 2.

[0168] If the serving AMF(s) 24-4 of UE2..n is different than the serving AMF 24-1 of UE1 (as of step 3) , the (H)GMLC 20-1 may send a location request to the serving AMF(s) 24-3 for each UE with location type indicating “notification and verification only” to perform interactive privacy verification with the user of UE2..n (same procedure as step 21-25). Based on the privacy verification result of UE2-n, the (H)GMLC 20-1 may exclude these UEs from the list of the reference / located UE ID (s) that is sent to the serving AMF 24-1 of UE1 .

[0169] Note that (H)GMLC 20-1 determines also whether privacy check related action is needed for UE1 also known as target UE, and include the related information in the MT-LR request. See, e.g., clause 6.1.2 of 23.273 V18.3.0.

[0170] Step 3. The (H)GMLC 20-1 invokes a Nudm_UECM_Get service operation towards the UDM 15 of each of the n UEs 12 to find the serving AMF 24 of the UE 12. The (H)GMLC 20-1 selects the UE 12 (e.g., which is treated as UE1 or target UE) that initiates the Ranging / SL Positioning and selects the corresponding serving AMF 24 of UE1 .

[0171] Step 4. For a non-roaming case, (H)GMLC 20-1 sends the request directly to the AMF 24. For the roaming case, the (H)GMLC 20-1 then sends the location request to the (V)GMLC 20-2 by invoking the Ngmlc_Location_ProvideLocation service operation towards the (V)GMLC 20-2. Here, the (V)GMLC 20-2 is the GMLC residing in the target UE’s visited PLMN. The location request here exemplifies the message 19 in Figure 1. In the cases when the (H)GMLC 20-1 did not receive the address of the (V)GMLC 20-2, or when the (V)GMLC address is the same as the (H)GMLC address, or when both PLMN operators agree, the (H)GMLC 20-1 sends the location service request message to the serving AMF 24. The service operation includes the UE IDs of UE1 , and the other n UEs 12, the required location results (e.g., relative locations or ranges and directions related to the UEs) and other attributes as received or determined in step 1 .

[0172] If the result of privacy check indicates that further privacy check related action is needed for any of the n UEs, the HGMLC 20-1 include in the service request a list of the UEs 12 that requires privacy check related action and the corresponding information related to the required actions e.g. "positioning allowed positioning allowed with notification to the UE user " for each of the UEs, and / or a codeword associated with the service user (e.g. the LCS Client). In this case, then, the service request exemplifies the message 19 in Figure 1 , with the list of UEs 12 and corresponding information related to the required actions exemplifying the privacy check action information 22.

[0173] Note, The Codeword info can be configured in the GMLC or obtained by the GMLC from LCS client in Step 1 .

[0174] Note, if any of the n UEs 12 is not allowed for Location or Ranging / SL positioning service based on privacy check result, (H)GMLC 20-1 may skip those UEs in the service request.

[0175] Step 5. The (H)GMLC 20-1 or (V)GMLC 20-2 invokes the Namf_Location_ProvidePositioninglnfo service operation towards the AMF 24 serving UE1 to request Sidelink positioning / ranging location results of the n UEs 12. The service operation includes the UE IDs of UE1 , and the n UEs, the required location results (e.g. relative locations or ranges and directions related to the UEs) and other attributes as received or determined in step 1 and in step 4.

[0176] Step 6. If UE1 is in CM-IDLE state, the AMF 24 initiates a network triggered Service Request procedure to establish a signalling connection with UE1.

[0177] If signalling connection establishment fails, steps 7-17 are skipped.

[0178] Step 7. If the indicator of privacy check indicates an action is needed for UE1 , AMF 24 sends a notification invoke message 26 to the UE1 , indicating the identity of the LCS client 14 and the service type (if that is both supported and available) and whether privacy verification is required, based on the received information related to the required actions for UE1 .

[0179] Step 8. The UE1 notifies the UE user 16 of the location request and / or ranging / SL positioning request and, if privacy verification was requested, waits for the user to grant or withhold permission. The UE1 returns a notification result 28 to the AMF 24 indicating, if privacy verification was requested, whether permission is granted or denied for the current location request and / or ranging / SL positioning request. If the UE user 16 does not respond after a predetermined time period, the AMF 24 shall infer a "no response" condition. The AMF 24 may return an error response to the VGMLC 20-2 or HGMLC 20-1 for the location and / or ranging SL positioning service request if privacy verification was requested and either the UE user 16 of UE1 denies permission or there is no response.

[0180] The notification result 28 may also indicate the update of UE Privacy profile (e.g., Location Privacy Indication setting) of UE1 for subsequent LCS requests; i.e., whether subsequent LCS requests, if generated, will be allowed or disallowed by the UE1 . The AMF 24 triggers updates of UE Privacy profile towards the UDM 15 of UE1 (e.g. using Nudm_ParameterProvision_Update service operation) based the information received from the UE. The UDM 15 may then store the information in UE privacy profile of UE1 . Steps 6b-8b. If the indicator of privacy check indicates an action is needed for any of n UEs 12 is received, i.e. a list of the UEs 12 that requires privacy check related action and the corresponding information related to the required actions (e.g. the UE must either be notified or notified with privacy verification and if the UE supports LCS notification (according to the UE capability information provided during UE registration), for each of the UEs that requires privacy check related action, the AMF 24 initiates a network triggered Service Request procedure to establish a signalling connection with the UEs 12 (if not available yet). This signaling connection exemplifies the connection 23 in Figure 1 .

[0181] The AMF 24 sends a notification invoke message 26 to each of the UEs 12 that requires privacy check related action, indicating the identity of the LCS client 14 and the service type (if that is both supported and available) and whether privacy verification is required, based on the received information 22 related to the required actions for each of the UEs 12.

[0182] Each of the UEs 12 notifies the corresponding UE user 16 of the location request and / or ranging / SL positioning request and, if privacy verification was requested, waits for the user 16 to grant or withhold permission.

[0183] Each of the UEs 12 then returns a notification result 28 to the AMF 24 indicating, if privacy verification was requested, whether permission is granted or denied for the current location request and / or ranging / SL positioning request. If any UE user 16 does not respond after a predetermined time period, the AMF 24 shall infer a "no response" condition.

[0184] The AMF 24 picks out these UEs which do not successfully perform the privacy check related action (e.g., permission is denied or no response received by the corresponding UE user), based on the notification result that reference / located UE(s) 12, and forms a new list of the reference / located UE(s) based on the received the n UEs in step 5 and pick result. This new list exemplifies the filtered list 32 in Figure 2.

[0185] Based on local policy, the AMF 24 may return an error response to the VGMLC 20-2 or HGMLC 20-1 for the location and / or ranging SL positioning service request, if privacy verification was requested and none of the UEs 12 successfully acknowledges the privacy check related action.

[0186] The notification result 28 from each of the UEs 12 may also indicate the update of UE Privacy profile (e.g., Location Privacy Indication setting) of the corresponding UEs 12 for subsequent LCS requests; i.e., whether subsequent LCS requests, if generated, will be allowed or disallowed by the UE 12. The AMF 24 triggers updates of UE Privacy profile towards the UDM 15 of each of the UEs 12 (e.g., using Nudm_ParameterProvision_Update service operation) based on the information received from each of the UEs. The UDM 15 may then store the information in UE privacy profile of the corresponding UEs 12.

[0187] Step 9. The serving AMF 24 selects an LMF 30 serving UE1 (e.g., an LMF that supports Ranging / Sidelink Positioning) and sends an Nlmf_Location_DetermineLocation service operation towards the LMF 30 with the information received at step 5 e.g. required location results (e.g. relative locations or ranges and directions between pairs of UEs), UE IDs of the UEs if received in step 5 and updated in step 8 (i.e. target UE and updated list of reference / located UEs). The service operation includes a LCS Correlation identifier and exemplifies the sidelink location request 34 in Figure 2.

[0188] Step 10. The LMF 30 sends an SL-MT-LR request to the serving AMF 24 as a supplementary services message, using the Namf_Communication_N1 N2MessageTransfer service operation, and the session ID parameter is set to the LCS Correlation identifier.

[0189] The SL-MT-LR request may include the application layer IDs of the other UEs 2 to n, the types of required location results (e.g., relative locations or distances and / or directions) and SL reference UE(s) in case of relative locations.

[0190] Step 11 . The serving AMF 24 forwards the SL-MT-LR request and a Routing identifier equal to the LCS Correlation identifier to UE1 using a DL NAS TRANSPORT message.

[0191] Step 12. UE1 attempts to discover the other UE 2 to n using their Application Layer IDs if not already discovered using procedure defined in clause 6.4 of TS 23.586 v18.1 .0.

[0192] Step 13. UE1 obtains the sidelink positioning capabilities of the discovered UEs via the Sidelink LTE Positioning Protocol (SLPP) if not already obtained.

[0193] Step 14. UE1 returns a supplementary services SL-MT-LR response to the serving AMF 24 in an UL NAS TRANSPORT message and includes the Routing identifier received in step 11.

[0194] The SL-MT-LR response indicates which of UEs 2 to n have been discovered and the sidelink positioning capabilities of the discovered UEs.

[0195] Step 15. The serving AMF 24 forwards the SL-MT-LR response to the LMF 30 indicated by the Routing identifier received at step 14 and includes a LCS Correlation identifier equal to the Routing identifier.

[0196] Step 16. Ranging / Sidelink Positioning of UE1 and the other discovered UEs occurs as for an SL-MO-LR with the difference that Ranging / Sidelink Positioning location measurement data or results are always returned to the LMF 30 and the LMF 30 indicates to UE1 whether the Ranging / Sidelink Positioning location results will be calculated by the LMF 30 or by UE1 . For some undiscovered UEs among the other UEs 2 to n, the LMF 30 interacts with GMLC 20-1 to initiate the 5GC-MT-LR procedure for UE2 to n to get their absolute locations, and calculates the relative locations or distances and / or directions related to the UEs.

[0197] Step 17. The LMF 30 returns the Sidelink positioning / ranging location results, exemplifying the results 36 in Figure 2. The results also include failure information of the UE(s) that was not discovered. The LMF 30 may respond to AMF 24 in the Nlmf_location_determineLocation Response to indicate that the location result will be sent directly to GMLC 20-1.

[0198] Step 18. The AMF 24 returns the Namf_Location_ProvidePositioninglnfo Response towards the (V)GMLC 20-2 or HGMLC 20-1 , as an example of response 38, and returns the Sidelink positioning / ranging location results 36 if received from LMF 30 (see step 17). The AMF 24 also includes in the response the information of the UE(s) that did not successfully perform the privacy check related action (e.g., permission is denied or no response received). This information exemplifies the unsuccessful privacy check information 40 in Figure 2.

[0199] Step 19. In the case of roaming, the VGMLC 20-2 forwards the location result to (H)GMLC 20-1.

[0200] Step 20. Upon receiving Namf_Location_ProvidePositioninglnfo Response from AMF 24 and the Sidelink positioning / ranging location results from AMF 24 (or from LMF 30 directly see step17), if the privacy check result in step 2 for any of n UEs 12 indicates that additional privacy checks are needed based on the Sidelink positioning / ranging location results (e.g., Notification to the UE is required based on location request result e.g., the current measured location of the UE), the (H)GMLC 20-1 shall perform an additional privacy check in order to decide whether the (H)GMLC 20-1 can forward the Sidelink positioning / ranging location results 36 to the LCS client or AF 14.

[0201] One example when this additional privacy check is needed is when the user 16 of the UEs 12 has defined different privacy settings for different geographical locations. This can be defined as one of privacy actions in the privacy profile, e.g., “Notification to the UE based on measured location result”. When steps 6-8 are performed, the current measured location of UE 12 is unknown yet, thus “Notification to the UE based on measured location result” can’t be fulfilled at step 8 / 8b. Thus, an additional notification to UE 12 might be needed.

[0202] When an additional privacy check is not needed, steps 21 and 25 are skipped.

[0203] Step 21 . If the result of privacy checks in step 20 indicates that the notification (and verification) based on location request result (e.g., current location) is needed, and in the case of roaming, the (H)GMLC 20-1 shall send a location request to the VGMLC 20-2 with location type indicating "notification only", with the list of UEs 12 that the additional privacy check is needed.

[0204] Step 22. The (H)GMLC 20-1 or VGMLC 20-2 invokes the Namf_Location_ProvidePositioninglnfo service operation towards the AMF 24 to request notification (and verification) based on current location. This operation exemplifies the message 48 with additional privacy check action information 22A in Figure 3.

[0205] Step 23. The AMF 24 sends a notification invoke message 26A to each of the list of UEs 12 that the additional privacy check is needed for the privacy related actions (e.g., notification or verification), same as step 6-8 or step 6b-8b.

[0206] Step 24. The AMF 24 returns the Namf_Location_ProvidePositioninglnfo Response towards the (V)GMLC 20-2 or HGMLC 20-1 with an indication of the result of notification and verification procedure.

[0207] Step 25. In the case of roaming, the VGMLC 20-2 forwards an indication of the result of notification and verification procedure to the HGMLC 20-1. Step 26. If an indication of the result of notification and verification procedure shows that any of the involved UEs 12 that did not successfully perform the privacy check related action (e.g., permission is denied or no response received), the (H)GMLC 20-1 consider the Sidelink positioning / ranging location results 36 received in step 19 as failed and rejects Sidelink positioning / ranging location request.

[0208] The (H)GMLC 20-1 sends the Sidelink positioning / ranging location results result to the SL positioning service user 14, e.g., LCS client or AF. The GMLC 20-1 also includes in the response 42, the information 44 of the UE(s) 12 that participates in the Sidelink positioning / ranging location procedure, e.g., excluded the UEs indicated by the AMF 24 in step 18.

[0209] Embodiments herein are equally extendable to 5GC-MT-LR when referenced UE is replaced as Located UE.

[0210] In view of the modifications and variations herein, Figure 6 depicts a method performed by a gateway network node 20-1 , 20-2, or 20-3 in a communication network 10 in accordance with particular embodiments. The method includes obtaining privacy check action information 22 indicating, for each of one or more communication devices 12 that are, or are candidates to be, reference or located communication devices 12 in a sidelink positioning or ranging procedure 13, whether and / or what interaction with a user 16 of the communication device 12 is required by a privacy profile 11 associated with the communication device 12 in order for a service that comprises, or is assisted by, the sidelink positioning or ranging procedure 13 to obtain or use a position or range of the communication device 12 (Block 600). The method includes sending the privacy check action information 22 towards another network node 20-1 , 20-3, or 24 (Block 610).

[0211] Note here that the communication device(s) 12 for which privacy check action information 22 is obtained in the method may include all of the communication device(s) 12 that are, or are candidates to be, reference of located communication devices in the sidelink positioning or ranging procedure 13. This may be the case for instance if all of the communication device(s) 12 that are, or are candidates to be, reference of located communication devices in the sidelink positioning or ranging procedure 13 have the same home network, the same serving network, and are served by the same mobility management network node. In other embodiments, though, the communication device(s) 12 for which privacy check action information 22 is obtained in the method may include only a proper subset of the communication device(s) 12 that are, or are candidates to be, reference of located communication devices in the sidelink positioning or ranging procedure 13. This may be the case for instance if at least some of the communication device(s) 12 that are, or are candidates to be, reference of located communication devices in the sidelink positioning or ranging procedure 13 have different home networks, different serving networks, and / or are served by the different mobility management network nodes. Regardless, in some embodiments, the method further comprises receiving a request 18 for the service. In some embodiments, the method also comprises, responsive to receiving the request 18, sending a message 19 towards a mobility management network node 24 in the same or a different communication network 10. If the mobility management network node 24 is in a different communication network, the message 19 may be sent via a GMLC in the different communication network. In some embodiments, the privacy check action information 22 is included in the message 19. In some embodiments, the another network node is the mobility management network node 24 in the same or a different communication network 10. In some embodiments, the method further comprises receiving the privacy check action information 22 from a gateway network node 20-3 for the one or more communication devices 12. In some embodiments, the method further comprises, for each of at least one of the one or more communication devices 12, determining, based on results 36 for the service, that additional interaction with the user 16 of the communication device 12 is required by the privacy profile 11 associated with the communication device 12 in order for the service to obtain or use a position or range of the communication device 12. In some embodiments, the method further comprises sending, to the another network node 20-3 or 24, additional privacy check action information 22A indicating, for each of the at least one of the one or more communication devices 12, what additional interaction with the user 16 of the communication device 12 is required by the privacy profile 11 associated with the communication device 12 in order for the service to obtain or use a position or range of the communication device 12.

[0212] In some embodiments, the gateway network node 20-1 , 20-2, or 20-3 is a gateway network node 20-3 for the one or more communication devices 12, and the privacy check action information 22 is sent towards a gateway network node 20-1 for another communication device 12. In some embodiments, the another network node 20-1 , 20-2, or 20-3 is the gateway network node 20-1 for another communication device 12.

[0213] In some embodiments, for each of the one or more communication devices 12, the privacy check action information 22 indicates that at least positioning is allowed for the communication device without notifying the user 16 of the communication device 12. In other embodiments, the privacy check action information 22 indicates that at least that positioning is allowed for the communication device 12 with notification to the user 16 of communication device 12. In yet other embodiments, the privacy check action information 22 indicates that at least that positioning requires a notification to the user 16 of the communication device 12 and verification by the user 16 of the communication device 12 such that positioning is allowed only if granted by the user 16 of the communication device 12 or if there is no response to the notification. In still yet other embodiments, the privacy check action information 22 indicates that at least that positioning requires a notification to the user 16 of the communication device 12 and verification by the user 16 of the communication such that positioning is allowed only if granted by the user 16 of the communication device 12. In some embodiments, for each of the one or more communication devices 12, the privacy check action information 22 also indicates one or more time period during which positioning is allowed for the communication device 12. In some embodiments, for each of the one or more communication devices 12, the privacy check action information 22 also alternatively or additionally indicates one or more geographical areas within which positioning is allowed for the communication device 12.

[0214] In some embodiments, the privacy check action information 22 comprises a list of one or more identities identifying the one or more communication devices 12 and one or more indicators corresponding to the one or more identities. In some embodiments, the indicator corresponding to an identity for a communication device 12 indicates whether and / or what interaction with a user 16 of the communication device 12 is required by the privacy profile 11 associated with the communication device 12.

[0215] In some embodiments, the method further comprises receiving, from the another network node, a response 38 that indicates privacy check results 40. In some embodiments, the privacy check results 40 indicate, for each of the one or more communication devices 12 for which interaction with the user 16 of the communication device 12 was triggered, a result of the interaction triggered with the user 16 of the communication device 12. In other embodiments, the privacy check results 40 indicate, for each of the one or more communication devices 12 for which interaction with the user 16 of the communication device 12 was triggered but was unsuccessful, information indicating the communication device 12 for which interaction with the user 16 of the communication device 12 was unsuccessful.

[0216] In some embodiments, the method further comprises determining, from the privacy check results 40, which of the one or more communication devices 12 participated in the sidelink positioning or ranging procedure 13. In some embodiments, the method further comprises transmitting, to a user 14 of the service, information 44 indicating which of the one or more communication devices 12 participated in the sidelink positioning or ranging procedure 13 according to said determining.

[0217] Figure 7A depicts a method performed by a mobility management network node 24-1 , 24-2, 24-3 in a communication network 10 in accordance with other particular embodiments. The method includes receiving, from a gateway network node 20-1 , 20-2, or 20-3, privacy check action information 22 indicating, for each of one or more communication devices 12 that are, or are candidates to be, reference or located communication devices 12 in a sidelink positioning or ranging procedure 13, whether and / or what interaction with a user 16 of the communication device 12 is required by a privacy profile 11 associated with the communication device 12 in order for a service that comprises, or is assisted by, the sidelink positioning or ranging procedure 13 to obtain or use a position or range of the communication device 12 (Block 700). The method includes, for each of the one or more communication devices 12 for which interaction with the user 16 of the communication device 12 is required according to the privacy check action information 22, triggering the required interaction with the user 16 of the communication device 12 (Block 710).

[0218] Note here that the communication device(s) 12 for which privacy check action information 22 is received in the method may include all of the communication device(s) 12 that are, or are candidates to be, reference of located communication devices in the sidelink positioning or ranging procedure 13. This may be the case for instance if all of the communication device(s) 12 that are, or are candidates to be, reference of located communication devices in the sidelink positioning or ranging procedure 13 have the same home network, the same serving network, and are served by the same mobility management network node. In other embodiments, though, the communication device(s) 12 for which privacy check action information 22 is received in the method may include only a proper subset of the communication device(s) 12 that are, or are candidates to be, reference of located communication devices in the sidelink positioning or ranging procedure 13. This may be the case for instance if at least some of the communication device(s) 12 that are, or are candidates to be, reference of located communication devices in the sidelink positioning or ranging procedure 13 have different home networks, different serving networks, and / or are served by the different mobility management network nodes.

[0219] In some embodiments, for each of the one or more communication devices 12, the privacy check action information 22 indicates that at least positioning is allowed for the communication device 12 without notifying the user 16 of the communication device 12. In other embodiments, the privacy check action information 22 indicates that at least positioning is allowed for the communication device 12 with notification to the user 16 of communication device 12. In yet other embodiments, the privacy check action information 22 indicates that at least positioning requires a notification to the user 16 of the communication device 12 and verification by the user 16 of the communication device 12 such that positioning is allowed only if granted by the user 16 of the communication device 12 or if there is no response to the notification. In still yet other embodiments, the privacy check action information 22 indicates that at least positioning requires a notification to the user 16 of the communication device 12 and verification by the user 16 of the communication device 12 such that positioning is allowed only if granted by the user 16 of the communication device 12.

[0220] In some embodiments, for each of the one or more communication devices 12, the privacy check action information 22 also indicates one or more time period during which positioning is allowed for the communication device 12. In some embodiments, for each of the one or more communication devices 12, the privacy check action information 22 also alternatively or additionally indicates one or more geographical areas within which positioning is allowed for the communication device 12.

[0221] In some embodiments, the privacy check action information 22 comprises a list of one or more identities identifying the one or more communication devices 12 and one or more indicators corresponding to the one or more identities. In some embodiments, the indicator corresponding to an identity for a communication device 12 indicates whether and / or what interaction with a user 16 of the communication device 12 is required by the privacy profile 11 associated with the communication device 12.

[0222] In some embodiments, for each of the one or more communication devices 12 for which interaction with the user 16 of the communication device 12 is required according to the privacy check action information 22, said triggering comprises initiating a network-triggered service request procedure to establish a signaling connection 23 with the communication device 12, if no signaling connection 23 is already established with the communication device 12. In some embodiments, for each of the one or more communication devices 12 for which interaction with the user 16 of the communication device 12 is required according to the privacy check action information 22, said triggering comprises sending a notification invoke message 26 to the communication device 12 using the signaling connection 23. In some embodiments, the notification invoke message 26 invokes a notification to the user 16 of the communication device 12 that the position or range of the communication device 12 is to be obtained or used by the service. In some embodiments, the notification invoke message 26 indicates whether the user 16 of the communication device 12 is required to verify that the user 16 grants permission to the service to obtain or use the position or range of the communication device 12.

[0223] In some embodiments, the method further comprises receiving, from each of the one or more communication devices 12 for which interaction with the user 16 of the communication device 12 is required according to the privacy check action information 22, a result 28 of the required interaction. In some embodiments, the method further comprises generating a filtered list 32 of one or more communication devices 12 that are to be one or more reference or located communication devices 12 in the sidelink positioning or ranging procedure 13, by generating the list to include one or more communication devices 12 for which no interaction with the user 16 of the communication device 12 was required. In other embodiments, the method further comprises generating a filtered list 32 of one or more communication devices 12 that are to be one or more reference or located communication devices 12 in the sidelink positioning or ranging procedure 13, by generating the list to alternatively or additionally include one or more communication devices 12 for which the corresponding required interaction with the user 16 of the communication device 12 was successful. In some embodiments, the method further comprises transmitting, towards a location server 30-1 , 30-2, a location request 34 that includes the filtered list 32.

[0224] In some embodiments, the method further comprises sending, towards the gateway network node 20-1 , 20-2, 20-3, a response 38 that indicates privacy check results 40. In some embodiments, the privacy check results 40 indicate, for each of the one or more communication devices 12 for which interaction with the user 16 of the communication device 12 was triggered, a result of the interaction triggered with the user 16 of the communication device 12. In some embodiments, the privacy check results 40 indicate, for each of the one or more communication devices 12 for which interaction with the user 16 of the communication device 12 was triggered but was unsuccessful, information indicating the communication device 12 for which interaction with the user 16 of the communication device 12 was unsuccessful.

[0225] In some embodiments, the method further comprises, after triggering the required interaction with the user 16 of at least one of the one or more communication devices 12, receiving, from the gateway network node 20-1 , 20-2, additional privacy check action information 22A indicating, for each of at least one of the one or more communication devices 12, what additional interaction with the user 16 of the communication device 12 is required by the privacy profile 11 associated with the communication device 12 in order for the service to obtain or use a position or range of the communication device 12. In some embodiments, the method further comprises, for each of the at least one of the one or more communication devices 12, triggering the required additional interaction with the user 16 of the communication device 12.

[0226] Figure 7B depicts a method performed by the service user node 14 in accordance with particular embodiments. The method includes transmitting, to a gateway network node 20-1 , a request 18 for the service (Block 750). Here, the service comprises, or is assisted by, a sidelink positioning or ranging procedure 13 for which one or more communication devices 12 are, or are candidates to be, reference or located communication devices 12. The method further comprises receiving, from the gateway network node 20-1 , results 36 of the service and information 44 indicating which of the one or more communication devices 12 participated in the sidelink positioning or ranging procedure 13 (Block 760).

[0227] In some embodiments, the service user node 14 may comprises an application function, AF, a network function, NF, or a LCS client.

[0228] Embodiments herein also include corresponding apparatuses. Embodiments herein for instance include a gateway network node 20-1 , 20-2, or 20-3 configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the gateway network node 20-1 , 20-2, or 20-3.

[0229] Embodiments also include a gateway network node 20-1 , 20-2, or 20-3 comprising processing circuitry and power supply circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the gateway network node 20- 1 , 20-2, or 20-3. The power supply circuitry is configured to supply power to the gateway network node 20-1 , 20-2, or 20-3.

[0230] Embodiments further include a gateway network node 20-1 , 20-2, or 20-3 comprising processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the gateway network node 20-1 , 20-2, or 20-3. In some embodiments, the gateway network node 20-1 , 20-2, or 20-3 further comprises communication circuitry. Embodiments further include a gateway network node 20-1 , 20-2, or 20-3 comprising processing circuitry and memory. The memory contains instructions executable by the processing circuitry whereby the gateway network node 20-1 , 20-2, or 20-3 is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the gateway network node 20-1 , 20-2, or 20-3.

[0231] Embodiments herein also include a mobility management network node 24-1 , 24-2, or 24-3 configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the mobility management network node 24-1 , 24-2, or 24-3.

[0232] Embodiments also include a mobility management network node 24-1 , 24-2, or 24-3 comprising processing circuitry and power supply circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the mobility management network node 24-1 , 24-2, or 24-3. The power supply circuitry is configured to supply power to the mobility management network node 24-1 , 24-2, or 24-3.

[0233] Embodiments further include a mobility management network node 24-1 , 24-2, or 24-3 comprising processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the mobility management network node 24-1 , 24-2, or 24-3. In some embodiments, the mobility management network node 24-1 , 24-2, or 24-3 further comprises communication circuitry.

[0234] Embodiments further include a mobility management network node 24-1 , 24-2, or 24-3 comprising processing circuitry and memory. The memory contains instructions executable by the processing circuitry whereby the mobility management network node 24-1 , 24-2, or 24-3 is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the mobility management network node 24-1 , 24-2, or 24-3.

[0235] Embodiments herein further include a service user node 14 configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the service user 14.

[0236] Embodiments also include a service user node 14 comprising processing circuitry and power supply circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the service user 14. The power supply circuitry is configured to supply power to the service user node 14.

[0237] Embodiments further include a service user node 14 comprising processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the service user 14. In some embodiments, the service user node 14 further comprises communication circuitry.

[0238] Embodiments further include a service user node 14 comprising processing circuitry and memory. The memory contains instructions executable by the processing circuitry whereby the service user node 14 is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the service user 14.

[0239] More particularly, the apparatuses described above may perform the methods herein and any other processing by implementing any functional means, modules, units, or circuitry. In one embodiment, for example, the apparatuses comprise respective circuits or circuitry configured to perform the steps shown in the method figures. The circuits or circuitry in this regard may comprise circuits dedicated to performing certain functional processing and / or one or more microprocessors in conjunction with memory. For instance, the circuitry may include one or more microprocessor or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware, which may include digital signal processors (DSPs), special-purpose digital logic, and the like. The processing circuitry may be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which may include one or several types of memory such as read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory, cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc. Program code stored in memory may include program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and / or data communications protocols as well as instructions for carrying out one or more of the techniques described herein, in several embodiments. In embodiments that employ memory, the memory stores program code that, when executed by the one or more processors, carries out the techniques described herein.

[0240] Figure 8 for example illustrates a gateway network node 20-1 , 20-2, or 20-3 as implemented in accordance with one or more embodiments. As shown, the gateway network node 20-1 , 20-2, or 20-3 includes processing circuitry 810 and communication circuitry 820. The communication circuitry 820 (e.g., radio circuitry) is configured to transmit and / or receive information to and / or from one or more other nodes, e.g., via any communication technology. Such communication may occur via one or more antennas that are either internal or external to the communication device 800. The processing circuitry 810 is configured to perform processing described above, e.g., in Figure 6, such as by executing instructions stored in memory 830. The processing circuitry 810 in this regard may implement certain functional means, units, or modules.

[0241] Figure 9A illustrates a mobility management network node 24-1 , 24-2, or 24-3 as implemented in accordance with one or more embodiments. As shown, the mobility management network node 24-1 , 24-2, or 24-3 includes processing circuitry 910 and communication circuitry 920. The communication circuitry 920 is configured to transmit and / or receive information to and / or from one or more other nodes, e.g., via any communication technology. The processing circuitry 910 is configured to perform processing described above, e.g., in Figure 7A, such as by executing instructions stored in memory 930. The processing circuitry 910 in this regard may implement certain functional means, units, or modules.

[0242] Figure 9B illustrates a service user node 14 as implemented in accordance with one or more embodiments. As shown, the service user node 14 includes processing circuitry 950 and communication circuitry 970. The communication circuitry 970 is configured to transmit and / or receive information to and / or from one or more other nodes, e.g., via any communication technology. The processing circuitry 950 is configured to perform processing described above, e.g., in Figure 7B, such as by executing instructions stored in memory 960. The processing circuitry 950 in this regard may implement certain functional means, units, or modules.

[0243] Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that embodiments herein further include corresponding computer programs.

[0244] A computer program comprises instructions which, when executed on at least one processor of an apparatus, cause the apparatus to carry out any of the respective processing described above. A computer program in this regard may comprise one or more code modules corresponding to the means or units described above.

[0245] Embodiments further include a carrier containing such a computer program. This carrier may comprise one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or computer readable storage medium.

[0246] In this regard, embodiments herein also include a computer program product stored on a non-transitory computer readable (storage or recording) medium and comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor of an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform as described above.

[0247] Embodiments further include a computer program product comprising program code portions for performing the steps of any of the embodiments herein when the computer program product is executed by a computing device. This computer program product may be stored on a computer readable recording medium.

[0248] Figure 10 shows an example of a communication system 1000 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0249] In the example, the communication system 1000 includes a telecommunication network 1002 that includes an access network 1004, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 1006, which includes one or more core network nodes 1008. The access network 1004 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 1010a and 1010b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 1010), or any other similar 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP access points. Moreover, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that network nodes include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunication network 1002 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network 1002 that supports an ORAN specification (e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization) and may operate alone or together with other nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any node in the telecommunication network 1002, including one or more network nodes 1010 and / or core network nodes 1008.

[0250] Examples of an ORAN network node include an open radio unit (O-RU), an open distributed unit (O-DU), an open central unit (O-CU), including an O-CU control plane (O-CU- CP) or an O-CU user plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time or non-real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time control application (e.g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective “open” designating support of an ORAN specification). The network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an A1 , F1 , W1 , E1 , E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Moreover, an ORAN access node may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an 0-2 interface defined by the O-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies. The network nodes 1010 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 1012a, 1012b, 1012c, and 1012d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 1012) to the core network 1006 over one or more wireless connections.

[0251] Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 1000 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system 1000 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0252] The UEs 1012 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 1010 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 1010 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 1012 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 1002 to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunication network 1002.

[0253] In the depicted example, the core network 1006 connects the network nodes 1010 to one or more hosts, such as host 1016. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network 1006 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 1008) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and / or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 1008. Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-concealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0254] The host 1016 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 1004 and / or the telecommunication network 1002, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 1016 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.

[0255] As a whole, the communication system 1000 of Figure 10 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (WiFi); and / or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any low- power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[0256] In some examples, the telecommunication network 1002 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 1002 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 1002. For example, the telecommunications network 1002 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC)ZMassive loT services to yet further UEs.

[0257] In some examples, the UEs 1012 are configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 1004 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 1004. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi-RAT or multi-standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e. being configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0258] In the example, the hub 1014 communicates with the access network 1004 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 1012c and / or 1012d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 1010b). In some examples, the hub 1014 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 1014 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 1006 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 1014 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs. Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes 1010, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 1014. As another example, the hub 1014 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 1014 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 1014 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 1014 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 1014 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0259] The hub 1014 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 1010b. The hub 1014 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 1014 and UEs (e.g., UE 1012c and / or 1012d), and between the hub 1014 and the core network 1006. In other examples, the hub 1014 is connected to the core network 1006 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 1014 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 1004 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 1010 while still connected via the hub 1014 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 1014 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to / from the UEs from / to the network node 1010b. In other embodiments, the hub 1014 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 1010b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0260] Figure 11 shows a UE 1100 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), smart device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle, vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB- loT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0261] A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) , or vehicle-to-everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).

[0262] The UE 1100 includes processing circuitry 1102 that is operatively coupled via a bus 1104 to an input / output interface 1106, a power source 1108, a memory 1110, a communication interface 1112, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 11 . The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0263] The processing circuitry 1102 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 1110. The processing circuitry 1102 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 1102 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0264] In the example, the input / output interface 1106 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into the UE 1100. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[0265] In some embodiments, the power source 1108 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used. The power source 1108 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 1108 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 1100 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 1108. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 1108 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 1100 to which power is supplied.

[0266] The memory 1110 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 1110 includes one or more application programs 1114, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 1116. The memory 1110 may store, for use by the UE 1100, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0267] The memory 1110 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and / or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUlCC), integrated UICC (IUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’ The memory 1110 may allow the UE 1100 to access instructions, application programs and the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 1110, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0268] The processing circuitry 1102 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 1112. The communication interface 1112 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 1122. The communication interface 1112 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 1118 and / or a receiver 1120 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 1118 and receiver 1120 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 1122) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0269] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 1112 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented in according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11 , Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol / internet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0270] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 1112, via a wireless connection to a network node. Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0271] As another example, a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0272] A UE, when in the form of an Internet of Things (loT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door / window sensor, a flood / moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a head-mounted display for Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR), a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an loT device comprises circuitry and / or software in dependence of the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE 1100 shown in Figure 11.

[0273] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another UE and / or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-loT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0274] In practice, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g. by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed. The first and / or the second UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.

[0275] Figure 12 shows a network node 1200 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunication network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)), O-RAN nodes or components of an O-RAN node (e.g., O-RU, O-DU, O-CU).

[0276] Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units, distributed units (e.g., in an O-RAN access node) and / or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0277] Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell / multicast coordination entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and / or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).

[0278] The network node 1200 includes a processing circuitry 1202, a memory 1204, a communication interface 1206, and a power source 1208. The network node 1200 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which the network node 1200 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 1200 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 1204 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 1210 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 1200 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 1200, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 1200.

[0279] The processing circuitry 1202 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and / or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 1200 components, such as the memory 1204, to provide network node 1200 functionality.

[0280] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1202 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1202 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1212 and baseband processing circuitry 1214. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1212 and the baseband processing circuitry 1214 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 1212 and baseband processing circuitry 1214 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0281] The memory 1204 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 1202. The memory 1204 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and / or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry 1202 and utilized by the network node 1200. The memory 1204 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 1202 and / or any data received via the communication interface 1206. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1202 and memory 1204 is integrated.

[0282] The communication interface 1206 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between a network node, access network, and / or UE. As illustrated, the communication interface 1206 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 1216 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 1206 also includes radio front-end circuitry 1218 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 1210. Radio front-end circuitry 1218 comprises filters 1220 and amplifiers 1222. The radio front-end circuitry 1218 may be connected to an antenna 1210 and processing circuitry 1202. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 1210 and processing circuitry 1202. The radio front-end circuitry 1218 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 1218 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 1220 and / or amplifiers 1222. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 1210. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 1210 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 1218. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 1202. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0283] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 1200 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 1218, instead, the processing circuitry 1202 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 1210. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 1212 is part of the communication interface 1206. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 1206 includes one or more ports or terminals 1216, the radio front-end circuitry 1218, and the RF transceiver circuitry 1212, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 1206 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 1214, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0284] The antenna 1210 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 1210 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 1218 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 1210 is separate from the network node 1200 and connectable to the network node 1200 through an interface or port.

[0285] The antenna 1210, communication interface 1206, and / or the processing circuitry 1202 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and / or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 1210, the communication interface 1206, and / or the processing circuitry 1202 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment.

[0286] The power source 1208 provides power to the various components of network node 1200 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 1208 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 1200 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 1200 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 1208. As a further example, the power source 1208 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.

[0287] Embodiments of the network node 1200 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 12 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 1200 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 1200 and to allow output of information from the network node 1200. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 1200.

[0288] Figure 13 is a block diagram of a host 1300, which may be an embodiment of the host 1016 of Figure 10, in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, the host 1300 may be or comprise various combinations hardware and / or software, including a standalone server, a blade server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, a virtual machine, container, or processing resources in a server farm. The host 1300 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

[0289] The host 1300 includes processing circuitry 1302 that is operatively coupled via a bus 1304 to an input / output interface 1306, a network interface 1308, a power source 1310, and a memory 1312. Other components may be included in other embodiments. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the devices of previous figures, such as Figures 11 and 12, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of host 1300.

[0290] The memory 1312 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs 1314 and data 1316, which may include user data, e.g., data generated by a UE for the host 1300 or data generated by the host 1300 for a UE. Embodiments of the host 1300 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. The host application programs 1314 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding (VVC), High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), Advanced Video Coding (AVC), MPEG, VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., FLAC, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MPEG, G.711 ), including transcoding for multiple different classes, types, or implementations of UEs (e.g., handsets, desktop computers, wearable display systems, heads-up display systems). The host application programs 1314 may also provide for user authentication and licensing checks and may periodically report health, routes, and content availability to a central node, such as a device in or on the edge of a core network. Accordingly, the host 1300 may select and / or indicate a different host for over-the-top services for a UE. The host application programs 1314 may support various protocols, such as the HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) protocol, Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (MPEG-DASH), etc.

[0291] Figure 14 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 1400 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 1400 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment 1400 includes components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an 0-2 interface.

[0292] Applications 1402 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment Q400 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0293] Hardware 1404 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and / or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input / output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 1406 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 1408a and 1408b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 1408), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 1406 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 1408.

[0294] The VMs 1408 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1406. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 1402 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 1408, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.

[0295] In the context of NFV, a VM 1408 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of the VMs 1408, and that part of hardware 1404 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs 1408 on top of the hardware 1404 and corresponds to the application 1402. Hardware 1404 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 1404 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 1404 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g. such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 1410, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 1402. In some embodiments, hardware 1404 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 1412 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0296] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0297] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer- readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer- readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and / or by end users and a wireless network generally. Notably, modifications and other embodiments of the present disclosure will come to mind to one skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the present disclosure is not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of this disclosure. Although specific terms may be employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

Claims

CLAIMS1 . A method performed by a gateway network node (20-1 , 20-2, 20-3) in a communication network (10), the method comprising: obtaining (600) privacy check action information (22) indicating, for each of one or more communication devices (12) that are, or are candidates to be, reference or located communication devices (12) in a sidelink positioning or ranging procedure (13), whether and / or what interaction with a user (16) of the communication device (12) is required by a privacy profile (11) associated with the communication device (12); and sending (610) the privacy check action information (22) towards another network node.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the privacy check action information (22) indicates whether a privacy check related action with the user (16) of the communication device (12) is required by the privacy profile (11) associated with the communication device (12).

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, further comprising: receiving a request (18) for a service, wherein the service comprises, or is assisted by, the sidelink positioning or ranging procedure (13) to obtain or use a position or range of the communication device (12), and responsive to receiving the request (18), sending a message (19) towards a mobility management network node (24) in the same or a different communication network (10), wherein the privacy check action information (22) is included in the message (19), wherein the another network node is the mobility management network node (24) in the same or a different communication network (10).

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the sending the message (19) towards the mobility management network node (24) in the different communication (10) is via a gateway network node in the different communication network (10).

5. The method according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the sending the message (19) towards the mobility management network node (24) in the same or the different communication network (10) is in response to the privacy check action information indicating that the privacy check related action with the user (16) of the communication device (12) is required by the privacy profile (11) associated with the communication device (12).

6. The method of any of claims 1 -5, wherein obtaining (600) the privacy check action information (22) comprises obtaining (600) the privacy check action information from an Unified Data Management (UDM) in the same communication network (19) or a gateway network node(20-3) in the different communication network (19), for the one or more communication devices (12).

7. The method of any of claims 3-6, further comprising: for each of at least one of the one or more communication devices (12), determining, based on results (36) for the service, that additional interaction with the user (16) of the communication device (12) is required by the privacy profile (11) associated with the communication device (12) in order for the service to obtain or use a position or range of the communication device (12); and sending, to the another network node, additional privacy check action information (22) indicating, for each of the at least one of the one or more communication devices (12), what additional interaction with the user (16) of the communication device (12) is required by the privacy profile (11) associated with the communication device (12) in order for the service to obtain or use a position or range of the communication device (12).

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the gateway network node (20-1 , 20-2, 20-3) is a gateway network node (20-3) for the one or more communication devices (12), and wherein the privacy check action information (22) is sent towards a gateway network node (20-1) for another communication device (12), wherein the another network node is the gateway network node (20-1) for another communication device (12).

9. The method of any of claims 1 -8, wherein, for each of the one or more communication devices (12), the privacy check action information (22) indicates that: positioning is allowed for the communication device (12) without notifying the user (16) of the communication device (12) positioning is allowed for the communication device (12) with notification to the user (16) of communication device (12); positioning requires a notification to the user (16) of the communication device (12) and verification by the user (16) of the communication device (12) such that positioning is allowed only if granted by the user (16) of the communication device 12 or if there is no response to the notification; or positioning requires a notification to the user (16) of the communication device (12) and verification by the user (16) of the communication device (12) such that positioning is allowed only if granted by the user (16) of the communication device (12).

10. The method of claim 1-9, wherein, for each of the one or more communication devices(12), the privacy check action information (22) also indicates: one or more time period during which positioning is allowed for the communication device (12); and / or one or more geographical areas within which positioning is allowed for the communication device (12).11 . The method of any of claims 1 -10, wherein the privacy check action information (22) comprises a list of one or more identities identifying the one or more communication devices (12).

12. The method of any one of claims 1-11 , wherein the privacy check action information (22) comprises one or more indicators corresponding to the one or more identities, wherein the indicator corresponding to an identity for a communication device (12) indicates whether and / or what interaction with a user (16) of the communication device (12) is required by the privacy profile (11) associated with the communication device (12).

13. The method of any of claims 1 -12, further comprising receiving, from the another network node, a response (38) that indicates privacy check results (40), wherein the privacy check results (40) indicate: for each of the one or more communication devices (12) for which interaction with the user (16) of the communication device (12) was triggered, a result of the interaction triggered with the user (16) of the communication device (12); for each of the one or more communication devices (12) for which interaction with the user (16) of the communication device (12) was triggered and successful, information indicating the communication device (12) for which interaction with the user (16) of the communication device (12) was successful; or for each of the one or more communication devices (12) for which interaction with the user (16) of the communication device (12) was triggered but was unsuccessful, information indicating the communication device (12) for which interaction with the user (16) of the communication device (12) was unsuccessful or a cause of failure.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising: determining, from the privacy check results (40), which of the one or more communication devices (12) participated in the sidelink positioning or ranging procedure (13); and transmitting, to a user (14) of the service, information (44) indicating which of the one or more communication devices (12) participated in or granted permission for thesidelink positioning or ranging procedure (13) according to said determining, or transmitting a failure message indicating that none of the communication device (12) participated in or granted permission for the sidelink positioning or ranging procedure (13) according to said determining.

15. A method performed by a mobility management network node (24-1 , 24-2, 24-3) in a communication network (10), the method comprising: receiving (700), from a gateway network node (20-1 , 20-2, 20-3), privacy check action information (22) indicating, for each of one or more communication devices (12) that are, or are candidates to be, reference or located communication devices (12) in a sidelink positioning or ranging procedure (13), whether and / or what interaction with a user (16) of the communication device (12) is required by a privacy profile (11) associated with the communication device (12); and for each of the one or more communication devices (12) for which interaction with the user (16) of the communication device (12) is required according to the privacy check action information (22), triggering (710) the required interaction with the user (16) of the communication device (12).

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the privacy check action information (22) relates to a service that comprises, or is assisted by, the sidelink positioning or ranging procedure (13) to obtain or use a position or range of the communication device (12).

17. The method of claim 15 or 16, wherein the privacy check action information (22) indicates whether a privacy check related action with the user (16) of the communication device (12) is required by the privacy profile (11) associated with the communication device (12).

18. The method of any of claims 15-17, wherein, for each of the one or more communication devices (12), the privacy check action information (22) indicates that: positioning is allowed for the communication device (12) without notifying the user (16) of the communication device (12); positioning is allowed for the communication device (12) with notification to the user (16) of communication device (12); positioning requires a notification to the user (16) of the communication device (12) and verification by the user (16) of the communication device (12) such that positioning is allowed only if granted by the user (16) of the communication device (12) or if there is no response to the notification; or positioning requires a notification to the user (16) of the communication device (12) and verification by the user (16) of the communication device (12) such thatpositioning is allowed only if granted by the user (16) of the communication device (12).

19. The method of any of claims 15-18, wherein, for each of the one or more communication devices (12), the privacy check action information (22) also indicates: one or more time period during which positioning is allowed for the communication device (12); and / or one or more geographical areas within which positioning is allowed for the communication device (12).

20. The method of any of claims 15-19, wherein the privacy check action information (22) comprises a list of one or more identities identifying the one or more communication devices (12).21 . The method of any of claims 15-20, wherein the privacy check action information (22) comprises one or more indicators corresponding to the one or more identities, wherein the indicator corresponding to an identity for a communication device (12) indicates whether and / or what interaction with a user (16) of the communication device (12) is required by the privacy profile (11) associated with the communication device (12).

22. The method of any of claims 16-21 , wherein, for each of the one or more communication devices (12) for which interaction with the user (16) of the communication device (12) is required according to the privacy check action information (22), said triggering comprises: initiating a network-triggered service request procedure to establish a signaling connection (23) with the communication device (12), if no signaling connection (23) is already established with the communication device (12.

23. The method of any of claims 16-22, wherein, for each of the one or more communication devices (12) for which interaction with the user (16) of the communication device (12) is required according to the privacy check action information (22), said triggering comprises: sending a notification invoke message (26) to the communication device (12) using the signaling connection (23), wherein the notification invoke message (26): invokes a notification to the user (16) of the communication device (12) that the position or range of the communication device (12) is to be obtained or used by the service; or indicates whether the user (16) of the communication device (12) is required to verify that the user (16) grants permission to the service to obtain or use the position or range of the communication device (12).

24. The method of any of claims 15-23, further comprising: receiving, from each of the one or more communication devices (12) for which interaction with the user (16) of the communication device (12) is required according to the privacy check action information (22), a result (28) of the required interaction; generating a filtered list (32) of one or more communication devices (12) that are to be one or more reference or located communication devices (12) in the sidelink positioning or ranging procedure (13), by generating the list to include: one or more communication devices (12) for which no interaction with the user (16) of the communication device (12) was required; and / or one or more communication devices (12) for which the corresponding required interaction with the user (16) of the communication device (12) was successful; and transmitting, towards a location server (30-1 , 30-2), a location request (34) that includes the filtered list (32).

25. The method of any of claims 15-24, further comprising sending, towards the gateway network node (20-1 , 20-2, 20-3), a response (38) that indicates privacy check results (40), wherein the privacy check results (40) indicate: for each of the one or more communication devices (12) for which interaction with the user (16) of the communication device (12) was triggered, a result of the interaction triggered with the user (16) of the communication device (12); for each of the one or more communication device (12) for which interaction with the user (16) of the communication device (12) was triggered and successful, information indicating the communication device (12) for which interaction with the user (16) of the communication device (12) was successful; or for each of the one or more communication devices (12) for which interaction with the user (16) of the communication device (12) was triggered but was unsuccessful, information indicating the communication device (12) for which interaction with the user (16) of the communication device (12) was unsuccessful or a cause of failure.

26. The method of any of claims 15-25, further comprising: after triggering the required interaction with the user (16) of at least one of the one or more communication devices (12), receiving, from the gateway network node (20-1 , 20-2), additional privacy check action information (22) indicating, for each of at least one of the one or more communication devices (12), what additionalinteraction with the user (16) of the communication device (12) is required by the privacy profile (11) associated with the communication device (12) in order for the service to obtain or use a position or range of the communication device (12); and for each of the at least one of the one or more communication devices (12), triggering the required additional interaction with the user (16) of the communication device (12).

27. A method performed by a service user node (14) that is a user of a service provided by one or more communication networks (10), the method comprising: transmitting, to a gateway network node (20-1), a request (18) for the service, wherein the service comprises, or is assisted by, a sidelink positioning or ranging procedure (13) for which one or more communication devices (12) are, or are candidates to be, reference or located communication devices (12); and receiving, from the gateway network node (20-1), results (36) of the service and information (44) indicating which of the one or more communication devices (12) participated in the sidelink positioning or ranging procedure (13).

28. A gateway network node (20-1 , 20-2, 20-3) in a communication network (10), the gateway network node (20-1 , 20-2, 20-3) configured to: obtain privacy check action information (22) indicating, for each of one or more communication devices (12) that are, or are candidates to be, reference or located communication devices (12) in a sidelink positioning or ranging procedure (13), whether and / or what interaction with a user (16) of the communication device (12) is required by a privacy profile (11) associated with the communication device (12); and send the privacy check action information (22) towards another network node.

29. The gateway network node (20-1 , 20-2, 20-3) of claim 28, configured to perform the method of any of claims 2-14.

30. A mobility management network node (24-1 , 24-2, 24-3) in a communication network (10), the mobility management network node (24-1 , 24-2, 24-3) configured to: receive, from a gateway network node (20-1 , 20-2, 20-3), privacy check action information (22) indicating, for each of one or more communication devices (12) that are, or are candidates to be, reference or located communication devices (12) in a sidelink positioning or ranging procedure (13), whether and / or whatinteraction with a user (16) of the communication device (12) is required by a privacy profile (11) associated with the communication device (12); and for each of the one or more communication devices (12) for which interaction with the user (16) of the communication device (12) is required according to the privacy check action information (22), trigger the required interaction with the user (16) of the communication device (12).31 . The mobility management network node (24) of claim 22, configured to perform the method of any of claims 15-26.

32. A service user node (14) that is a user of a service provided by one or more communication networks (10), the service user node (14) configured to: transmit, to a gateway network node (20-1), a request (18) for the service, wherein the service comprises, or is assisted by, a sidelink positioning or ranging procedure (13) for which one or more communication devices (12) are, or are candidates to be, reference or located communication devices (12); and receive, from the gateway network node (20-1), results (36) of the service and information (44) indicating which of the one or more communication devices (12) participated in the sidelink positioning or ranging procedure (13).

33. A computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by at least one processor of a network node, causes the network node to perform the method of any of claims 1-26.

34. A carrier containing the computer program of claim 33, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or computer readable storage medium.

35. A gateway network node (20-1 , 20-2, 20-3) in a communication network (10), the gateway network node (20-1 , 20-2, 20-3) comprising: communication circuitry (820); and processing circuitry (810) configured to: obtain privacy check action information (22) indicating, for each of one or more communication devices (12) that are, or are candidates to be, reference or located communication devices (12) in a sidelink positioning or ranging procedure (13), whether and / or what interaction with a user (16) of the communication device (12) is required by a privacy profile (11) associated with the communication device (12); and send the privacy check action information (22) towards another network node.

36. The gateway network node (20-1 , 20-2, 20-3) of claim 35, the processing circuitry (810) configured to perform the method of any of claims 2-14.

7. A mobility management network node (24-1 , 24-2, 24-3) in a communication network (10), the mobility management network node (24-1 , 24-2, 24-3) comprising: communication circuitry (920); and processing circuitry (910) configured to: receive, from a gateway network node (20-1 , 20-2, 20-3), privacy check action information (22) indicating, for each of one or more communication devices (12) that are, or are candidates to be, reference or located communication devices (12) in a sidelink positioning or ranging procedure (13), whether and / or what interaction with a user (16) of the communication device 12 is required by a privacy profile (11 ) associated with the communication device (12); and for each of the one or more communication devices (12) for which interaction with the user (16) of the communication device (12) is required according to the privacy check action information (22), trigger the required interaction with the user (16) of the communication device (12).

38. The mobility management network node (24) of claim 37, the processing circuitry (910) configured to perform the method of any of claims 15-26.

39. A service user node (14) that is a user of a service provided by one or more communication networks (10), the service user node (14) comprising: communication circuitry (920); and processing circuitry (910) configured to: transmit, to a gateway network node (20-1), a request (18) for the service, wherein the service comprises, or is assisted by, a sidelink positioning or ranging procedure (13) for which one or more communication devices(12) are, or are candidates to be, reference or located communication devices (12); and receive, from the gateway network node (20-1), results (36) of the service and information (44) indicating which of the one or more communication devices (12) participated in the sidelink positioning or ranging procedure(13).

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