Methods for handling, in real time, the abnormal call release when a number of active calls are released almost simultaneously

Abstract

A method at a cell level of a network node (1010A-1010B, 1200, 1502, 1604) to detect an abnormal call release when a number of active calls on a cell are released substantially simultaneously includes determining (201) whether within a time interval, T1, a predefined number of calls on a cell that is less than a total number of calls on the cell was abnormally released. The method includes responsive to determining that the predefined number of calls on the cell was abnormally released within the time interval T1, transmitting (203) a first notification denoted as notif1 to an operations support systems, OSS, node (1300) indicating a number of calls that were abnormally released within the time interval T1.

Description

METHODS FOR HANDLING, IN REAL TIME, THE ABNORMAL CALL RELEASE WHEN A NUMBER OF ACTIVE CALLS ARE RELEASEDALMOST SIMULTANEOUSLYTECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to communications, and more particularly to communication methods and related devices and nodes supporting wireless communications.BACKGROUND

[0002] In every wireless network, the occurrence of call abnormal release is unavoidable. A call could be, generically, a PDN (packet data network) Connection or PDU (protocol data unit) Session but could also be an IMS (Internet Protocol Multimedia System) Voice / Voice over Long-Term Evolution (VoLTE)ZVoice over New Radio (VoNR) call, for example. There are different reasons for an abnormal release. In one example, the subscriber that is on the call moves to an area out of radio coverage and the call is dropped. In another example, the operator staff might cause the abnormal release of some calls, e.g., by taking some actions on the equipment, e.g., by restarting a Radio Base Station.

[0003] All the different known causes of abnormal call release are listed in the standards, e.g., in 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Technical Specification (TS) 23.502 (V16.10.0) (section 4.2.6) and 3GPP TS 38.413 (vl6.8.0) (section 9.3.1) for 5G and in 3GPP TS 36.413 (section 9.2.1) for 4G, each of which is incorporated by reference herein for all purposes. An example of existing causes, as listed in the latest release of 3GPP TS 23.502, are:Radio Access Network (RAN)-initiated with cause e.g., O&M (operation and maintenance) Intervention, Unspecified Failure, Inter-System Redirection, request for establishment of QoS (quality of service) Flow for IMS Voice, Release due to User Equipment (UE) generated signalling connection release, mobility restriction, Release Assistance Information (RAI) from the UE, etc. ; orAMF (access and mobility management function) initiated with cause, e.g., Unspecified Failure, etc.

[0004] Note that in 5G, either the NR (New Radio) or AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function) triggers the abnormal release message. If the NR has triggered the abnormal release, it will send a signalling message to the AMF that contains the cause of therelease, and vice versa if the AMF has triggered the abnormal release, it will send a signalling message to the NR that contains the cause of the release.

[0005] It is in the benefit of each operator to detect the cause of the abnormal call release and take a necessary action in order to prevent their occurrence in the future.SUMMARY

[0006] There currently exist certain challenge(s). One challenge is that by looking at one KPI (key performance indicator) report, an operation cannot tell whether all, or the majority, of the failures have been released within a short time interval or at different times (i.e., a longer period within the KPI measured time).

[0007] Another challenge is there is no real-time notification whenever a number of calls that are abnormally released within a short time interval exceed a predetermined threshold.

[0008] A further challenge is there is no real-time auto-healing procedure when calls are abnormally released due to a software bug which does not generate an alarm at the OSS (operations support system).

[0009] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. According to some embodiments, a method is disclosed at a cell level to detect an abnormal call release when a number of active calls on a cell are released substantially simultaneously. The method includes determining whether within a time interval, Tl, a predefined number of calls on a cell that is less that a total number of calls on the cell was abnormally released. The method includes responsive to determining that the predefined number of calls on the cell was abnormally released within the time interval Tl, transmitting a first notification denoted as notifl to operations support systems, OSS, node indicating a number of calls that were abnormally released within the time interval Tl.

[0010] In some of the embodiments, the method further includes determining whether, within the time interval Tl, all calls on a cell were abnormally released. The method further includes responsive to determining that all calls on the cell were abnormally released within the time interval Tl, transmitting a second notification denoted as notif2 to the OSS indicating the total number of calls in the cell were abnormally released within the time interval Tl.

[0011] In some other of the embodiments, the method further includes responsive to the second notification being sent, determining whether calls are possible on the cell. The method further includes responsive to determining that no calls on the cell are possible, generating a third notification, denoted notif3, to be sent to the OSS, indicating to the operator or to an automation tool that no calls are possible after the occurrence of notif2.

[0012] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s). Some advantages that may be achieved include enabling the monitoring staff to know, in real-time the number of active calls that were abnormally released within a short (and configurable) time period. The monitoring staff can know in real time, whether the number of calls that were abnormally released, within a short time interval, was triggered by a known alarm, by a command at OSS, or by a new software bug. The embodiments not only allow the operator and / or the network (e.g., any OSS existing tool) to know about the occurrence and the number of calls that were abnormally released simultaneously, but also it could take some predefined network auto-healing actions, e.g., restart site, as soon as the issue of multiple call drop was detected, in order to solve any software bug that has caused the abnormal call issue.

[0013] According to some other embodiments, a method at an operations support systems, OSS, node includes responsive to a notification denoted notif3 appearing at the OSS node, implementing an OSS entity. The method includes checking, by the OSS entity, whether any activity was triggered at the OSS within a time interval of an occurrence of notif3 or an occurrence of receiving a notification denoted notif2. The method includes responsive to determining that an activity was triggered at the OSS within the time interval, performing, by the OSS entity, an action. In some of these other embodiments, the method further includes responsive to determining that no action was triggered at the OSS within the time interval, restarting, by the OSS entity, the cell and / or a radio node handling the cell and notifying an operator about the restart by sending a notification denoted notif4.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate certain non-limiting embodiments of inventive concepts. In the drawings:

[0015] Figures 1A-B are a flowchart illustrating operations of network entities according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0016] Figures 2-8 are flowcharts illustrating operations that a cell level entity of a network performs according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0017] Figure 9 is a flowchart illustrating operations that an OSS entity of a network performs according to some embodiments;

[0018] Figure 10 is a block diagram of a communication system in accordance with some embodiments;

[0019] Figure 11 is a block diagram of a user equipment in accordance with some embodiments;

[0020] Figure 12 is a block diagram of a network node in accordance with some embodiments;

[0021] Figure 13 is a block diagram of an operations support system, OSS, node in accordance with some embodiments;

[0022] Figure 14 is a block diagram of a host computer communicating with a user equipment in accordance with some embodiments;

[0023] Figure 15 is a block diagram of a virtualization environment in accordance with some embodiments; and

[0024] Figure 16 is a block diagram of a host computer communicating via a network node with a user equipment over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art, in which examples of embodiments of inventive concepts are shown. Inventive concepts may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of present inventive concepts to those skilled in the art. It should also be noted that these embodiments are not mutually exclusive. Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present / used in another embodiment.

[0026] In the description that follows, simultaneous call drops will be used to describe the various embodiments. The same processes described may be used in other scenarios such as handover failures, location update failures, or other radio or core network procedures.Additionally, the various embodiments could be part of OPEN RAN such as, for example, the subject of a dedicated rApp on SMO (Service Management and Orchestration) that is dedicated to handle the case where a certain number of abnormal releases occurred within a short time period.

[0027] As previously indicated, in a first problem, by looking at one KPI report, an OSS operator cannot tell whether all, or the majority, of the failures have been released within a short time interval or at different times (i.e., a longer period within the KPI measured time).

[0028] The operator staff monitors KPI (Key Performance Indicator) reports coming to OSS (Operations Support System) every period equal, e.g., everyl5 minutes. Suppose that the operator staff notices, at 11:15 am, that in the last received KPI report, there were 20 calls that were abnormally released during the period of the received report that is between 11 :00 to 11:15 am. There are two problems with this procedure:1- (Problem for operator staff) By just looking at the KPI report as is the case now, the operator could see 20 calls were abnormally released, but there is no way for the operator or any automation tool to know:■ whether all these 20 calls or a majority of them were released within a short time interval. Such scenario could lead to an assumption that the calls were abnormally released due to a single event.■ or whether the majority of these 20 calls were released separately at different times, which is e.g., due to different release events.2- (Problem for any real time automation tool) The troubleshooting, which is finding the root cause and hence the prevention of the issue, is easier in the case of one single event, e.g., 20 calls out of the 20 calls were released within a short time interval by a software bug on the cell, than the case where the 20 calls were released at different times. As a consequence, this creates a problem because without such differentiation, any real time auto-healing or Al (Artificial Intelligence) tool could not work efficiently on finding the root cause of the issue and hence solve it and prevent it as soon as possible.

[0029] As previously indicated, a second problem is there is no real time notification whenever a number of calls that are abnormally released within a short time interval exceeds a predefined threshold.

[0030] There is no function or tool at the cell level which sends a notification to the OSS each time a predefined number of calls were abnormally released simultaneously. The number of simultaneous calls could be defined by the operator, e.g., each time there were more than 10 simultaneous drop calls a notification is sent to the OSS. The absence of such notification is a problem, because the notifications could bring good value for any real time automation tool implemented on the OSS. Also, in case there is no real time automation tool, the operator manually handling a KPI report could react quicker and more efficiently with such notification than in the absence of it. Note that solving this issue could lead to solving the previous issue.

[0031] A third problem is that there is no real time auto-healing procedure when calls are abnormally released due to a software bug which does not generate an alarm at the OSS.

[0032] Equipment in a wireless network might hang, that is, it stops processing, e.g., due to a software bug. One of the known software bugs that occurs in a wireless network is called sleeping cell. When this occurs, the cell does not send any notification to the OSS, but it stops taking any new calls. Some vendors have already implemented a solution for such bug, which consists of checking periodically whether a cell is processing a call or not. It is believed that there are no tools that detect and solve in real time a specific software bug that causes a call drop, within a short time interval, for a certain number of calls. A software bug here is meant as a software issue that occurs at any entity of the network, in particular at cell level, which causes damage to the cell, e.g., drop calls or forbidding new calls etc., and which does not generate an alarm on the OSS.

[0033] Various embodiments disclosed herein detect simultaneous abnormal call drops. Figures 1A-1B illustrate a method in a network to handle the scenario where a certain number of calls in a cell are abnormally released within a short time interval. In the initial state, a software entity at the cell level that detects a predefined number of calls that were abnormally dropped simultaneously is instantiated. In the description that follows, this software entity shall be denoted nbr_calls_simult_released_at_cell. In order to detect and handle the scenario where a certain number of calls are abnormally released within a short time interval, the following parameters are defined.

[0034] One parameter that is defined is an integer threshold e.g., threshl. The parameter threshl is a fixed value over time e.g., 10 in the discussion herein.

[0035] A second parameter Totall is defined as the total number of calls that are active at any moment in time. In fact, if Totall > threshl, and a threshl number of calls were abnormally released, within a short time interval, the cell is still processing a call. Whereas if Totall of calls were abnormally released, within a short time interval, there is a possibility that the cell has stopped taking new calls due to an issue, e.g., software bug, etc. This is one reason why Totall is introduced in addition to threshl.

[0036] Note that the value of Totall is variable over time as the total number of calls handled by a cell continuously changes depending on subscribers’ behaviors (new calls or call releases) and also on their movement (new subscribers come to the cell, whereas some subscribers leave the cell).

[0037] A short, configurable, time period, (almost) simultaneously, is defined and denoted as Tl.

[0038] In step 1, if a number of calls abnormally released within T1 > threshl, a notification denoted notifl is transmitted to the operations support systems (OSS). Suppose that at one particular time, t, Totall is equal to 100 calls.

[0039] If the number of calls that were abnormally released, within Tl, on one cell, e.g., celll, is, e.g., 5 calls, < threshl, then no further action is taken.

[0040] However, if the number of calls that were abnormally released, within Tl, on one cell, e.g., celll, is > threshl (e.g., 16 calls) but is also less than Totall (e.g., 100 active calls), then nbr_calls_simult_released_at_cell will send to the OSS a notification, notifl, that includes the number of calls, e.g., 16 calls, that were abnormally released within Tl.

[0041] Figure 2 illustrates operations from the perspective of the cell level entity 1224 denoted nbr_calls_simult_released_at_cell. Turning to Figure 2, the cell level entity 1224 determines whether within a time interval, Tl, a predefined number of calls on a cell that is less than a total number of calls on the cell was abnormally released (Block 201). The cell level entity 1224, responsive to determining that the predefined number of calls on the cell was abnormally released within the time interval Tl, transmits a first notification denoted as notifl to operations support systems, OSS, node indicating a number of calls that were abnormally released within the time interval Tl (Block 203). The time interval Tl is a configurable time interval.

[0042] Returning to Figure 1A, in step 2, a software entity 1312 is instantiated at OSS to handle abnormal calls released within Tl. There are two main advantages of notifl:Advantagel (for the operator): As mentioned above, the OSS receives, e.g., every 15 minutes, from every entity in the wireless network, e.g., a cell, a KPI report. Suppose that notifl was sent to the OSS at 11:06 am, then at time of reception of notifl, the KPI monitoring staff could now know that on celll and within Tl, a certain number of calls that is > threshl and < Totall, was abnormally released at 11:06 am. That information is then known 9 minutes before the next KPI report is received at 11:15 am. Hence, the operator could take an early action at 11 :06 am. In addition, when the KPI report is opened later at 11:15 am, the operator could see the proportion of the calls that were abnormally released simultaneously out of the total number of calls that were included in the KPI report. This could help in the troubleshooting. For example, if the operator sees in the KPI report received at 11:15 am that 18 calls were abnormally released, the operator could deduce immediately that 16 out of the 18 calls, were released within Tl, and hence they are more likely to be due to a single event, whereas the other 2 remaining releases might be due to other normal reasons,e.g., a subscriber passed by a radio coverage hole in his house or on a road or in the underground etc.- Advantage2 (for an automated tool): When notifl is received at the OSS, an automation tool, denoted here as OSS_handle_simult_released_calls, which has the role to handle any abnormal call release in the network at the OSS side, might collect or consider the following types of information: the number of calls included in notifl, 16 calls in our example above. look at the cause of abnormal release, described above, and included in signaling messages coming from the NR or the AMF. look if any OSS alarm has appeared T1 within the period when notifl was received.Then based on the above information, try to find the root cause of the issue that caused the triggering of notifl and maybe take further action to prevent the issue from occurring in the future.

[0043] In step 3, the nbr_calls_simult_released_at_cell cell level entity 1224 determines that the number of calls that were abnormally released is equal to Totall.

[0044] If the number of calls that were abnormally released is equal to Totall, that means that at one moment in time, e.g., at time t2, all active calls at one cell, e.g., celll, were released by celll within Tl. In such scenario, the nbr_calls_simult_released_at_cell cell level entity 1224 sends a notification to the OSS, denoted notif2, that includes the number of all active calls that were abnormally released, within Tl, at t2.

[0045] Figure 3 illustrates operations from the perspective of the cell level entity 1224 denoted nbr_calls_simult_released_at_cell in step 3. Turning to Figure 3, the cell level entity 1224 determines whether, within the time interval Tl, all calls on a cell were abnormally released (Block 301). The cell level entity 1224, responsive to determining that all calls on the cell were abnormally released within the time interval Tl, transmits a second notification denoted as notif2 to the OSS node indicating the total number of calls in the cell were abnormally released within the time interval Tl (Block 303).

[0046] As notif2 tells that all active calls were dropped within Tl, then:The actions listed in advantagel and advantage2 described above can be performed by the operator and / or any automation tool implemented at the OSS.In addition, one of two procedures, described in Step 4, can check whether within a predefined period of time, T2, new calls are possible or not.

[0047] The value of T2, set by the operator or hardcoded by the vendor, might be variable depending on the traffic conditions at the cell level, e.g., T2 is given a very low value, e.g., in milliseconds or in seconds, in a busy hour, whereas T2 might be given a high value, e.g., during low traffic periods, e.g., late at night or early morning. The value of T2 might be defined, (preferably) by a smart algorithm which looks at the number of calls and the time of their triggering before all active calls were abnormally released, by the operator, based on historical data of each cell, e.g., for one cell from 02:00 am to 06:00 am set T2, e.g., to one value equal to 5 minutes, and in the rest of the time set T2 value equal to 1 second. Whereas for another cell where there is a night activity in its area, set T2 equal to 1 second between 02:00 and 06:00 am, and set T2 value equal to 6 minutes for the rest of the period of the day. Note also that here two values of T2 are considered, but more values might be considered as well, like three or four, or more, values for T2, which could be used at different times of the day.

[0048] In step 4, procedures are performed to check whether the cell is processing calls after notif2 has been triggered.

[0049] For example, after notif2 is sent to the OSS, one of the following two procedures can be used to check whether calls are still processed at the cell or not:

[0050] The first procedure is a keep-alive procedure at the cell level. The cell level entity 1224 (nbr_calls_simult_released_at_cell) can check whether any call is possible on the cell for a period T2. This could be done, e.g., by inserting a new entity, e.g., denoted entity_call_setup_check, which checks whether a call is being established at the cell level or not. In one example, by looking at layer 3 protocol, which is a RRC (Radio Resource Control) layer described in specification 3GPP TS 38.331 (vl6.8.0), which is incorporated by reference herein for all purposes, for 5G, any call setup should start by the RRC Connection Establishment procedure where the UE sends an RRCSetupRequest to a network node, the network node responds with an RRCSetup, and the UE, after applying the parameters specified in the RRCSetup, sends an RRCSetupComplete message to the network node. In one example, if entity_call_setup_check detects that the cell is receiving from a UE RRCSetupRequest message but not responding with RRCSetup message to that UE, and if this applies for all new RRCSetupRequests coming from other UEs, then entity_call_setup_check might send notif3 to the OSS to notify that no calls are possible at that cell, and hence, a reaction from the operator staff or from any automation tool, e.g., cell lock / unlock or radio node restart etc., might be triggered in order to resume calls on that faulty cell. This is a non-limiting example of how toknow whether the cell is processing new calls or not. In other examples of application, entity_call_setup_check might be implemented at cell layer 1 or layer 2, and / or it might make other types of checks, not necessarily RRC signaling messages.

[0051] The second procedure is a keep-alive procedure at the OSS level. After receiving notif2, the OSS can check continuously whether there are calls on the cell for a period T2. This is done by the OSS sending real time commands to the cell that shows the number of active users. In some embodiments, every wireless vendor could use on the OSS a command that shows in real time the number of calls on each cell. The command might be used to check whether there are calls or not after notif2 was generated.

[0052] If, for example, during the period T2, those consecutive commands show zero active calls, then the cell is considered as not processing calls. Otherwise, if at least one call is shown in the command, then the cell is considered as processing calls.

[0053] The output of step 4 is to tell whether there are calls or not and, in each case, the proposed action is described in the next two steps.

[0054] Turning to Figure IB, step 5 illustrates operations that may be performed if after triggering of notif2, some calls were performed during the T2 period. If calls are possible on the cell during period T2, then the operator and / or any automation tool that has to deal with the abnormal call released might conclude that no further reaction is required other than collecting all possible logs and send them to the developers of the equipment so that they could understand what caused the issue and try to implement solutions in order to avoid the issue from happening in the future.

[0055] Step 6 illustrates operations that may be performed if after triggering of notif2, no calls were performed during the T2 period. If after notif2 is sent, no calls were possible on the cell for the period of time, T2, that means that most probably there is a software or a hardware issue that is active in the network and it is preventing the cell from taking any new call. In such situation.If the first procedure (in step 4) is used, then the cell level entity 1224 (nbr_calls_simult_released_at_cell) sends another notification, denoted here as notif3, to the OSS.If the second procedure (in step 4) is used, then the OSS will generate the notification, notif3, so that the operator and any automation tool will take the necessary action.

[0056] Figure 4 illustrates operations from the perspective of the cell level entity 1224 denoted nbr_calls_simult_released_at_cell in step 4. The cell level entity 1224 responsive to the second notification being sent, determines whether calls are possible on the cell (Block 401). The cell level entity 1224 responsive to determining that no calls on the cell are possible, generates a third notification, denoted notif3, to be sent to the OSS node, indicating to the operator or to an automation tool that no calls are possible after the occurrence of notif2 (Block 403).

[0057] Figure 5 illustrates operations the cell level entity 1224 may perform to determine that no calls on the cell are possible. The cell level entity 1224 determines that no calls on the cell are possible by one of: determining that any signaling request, at any layer 1, 2, or 3, coming from a UE is not answered by the cell (Block 501A); or determining that the OSS node sent a command to the cell to check whether there are calls on the cell when the cell is showing no calls on the cell for a period of time T2 (Block 501B). The time T2 can be one of a predefined value or a dynamic value based on a total number of calls on the cell before notif3 has occurred.

[0058] Figure 6 illustrates operations the cell level entity 1224 may perform if calls on the cell are possible. The cell level entity 1224, responsive to determining that calls on the cell are possible, collects logs and transmits the logs to developers of equipment being used to enable the developers to understand what caused the issue and attempt to implement solutions to avoid the issue from occurring in the future (Block 601).

[0059] Thus, notifl is generated when a certain number of active calls on a cell are released within Tl, notif2 is generated when all active calls in a cell are released within Tl, and notif3 is generated when a new call is not possible on a cell after notif2 was generated.

[0060] Figures 7 and 8 illustrate further operations the cell level entity 1224 may perform. In Figure 7, the cell level entity 1224 determines whether the number of calls that were abnormally released belong to a same establishment cause or to different establishment causes (Block 701). The cell level entity 1224 indicates to the OSS node whether the number of calls that were abnormally released belong to the same establishment cause or to the different establishment causes (Block 703).

[0061] In Figure 8, the cell level entity 1224, responsive to a software or hardware entity at equipment in the network (e.g., in the cell) failing that could cause a drop call, transmits a notification to the OSS node indicating an estimated number of calls being simultaneously dropped, a type of call being dropped, and an identity of the equipment and / or an identity of the software or hardware entity (Block 801).

[0062] Returning to Figure IB, step 7 illustrates operations the OSS performs in some embodiments in response to receiving notif3. When notif3 is triggered, then OSS entity 1312,OSS_handle_simult_released_calls, will do some checks, e.g., it checks whether, around the time of notif2, there was, for any reason, a command triggered by the operator at OSS that could forbid new calls on a cell. there was any alarm on OSS that was generated.

[0063] Then the OSS entity 1312 (OSS_handle_simult_released_calls) takes best decision in order to restore the call on the cell.

[0064] Figure 9 illustrates operations from the perspective of an OSS network node 1300. The OSS network node 1300, responsive to a notification denoted notif3 appearing at the OSS node, implements (e.g., instantiates) an OSS entity 1312 (Block 901). The OSS entity 1312 checks whether any activity was triggered at the OSS within a time interval of an occurrence of notif3 or an occurrence of receiving a notification denoted notif2 (Block 903). Responsive to determining that an activity was triggered at the OSS within the time interval, the OSS entity 1312 performs an action (Block 905).

[0065] In some embodiments, responsive to determining that no action was triggered at the OSS within the time interval, the OSS entity 1312 restarts the cell and / or a radio node handling the cell and notifies an operator about the restart by sending a notification denoted notif4 (Block 907).

[0066] In some embodiments, the OSS entity 1312 checks whether any activity was triggered at the OSS by determining whether a command triggered by an operator at the OSS could forbid new calls on a cell. In other embodiments, the OSS entity 1312 checks whether any activity was triggered at the OSS by determining whether there was an alarm that was generated on the OSS.

[0067] Note that there is a difference between the procedure of recovering a sleeping cell and the software bug that causes a simultaneous drop call.

[0068] Procedure used for sleeping cell (which is a known software bug in the equipment): The cell software by itself does not detect a sleeping cell. An external tool, e.g., denoted here tooll, outside the OSS, e.g., implemented at the OSS, will try periodically to check whether a cell is sleeping or not. In one example, if after 15 minutes there were no calls on a busy cell then sleep cell check is triggered. In another example, tooll will try periodically e.g., every 5 minutes check whether a cell is taking calls or not. Note that such tool might check all the cells in the network which could be thousands of cells. The shorter the period, the more load is generated on the Radio Nodes handling the cells, because the OSS communicates with the cell via the Radio Node.

[0069] Procedure for the proposed software bug that detects simultaneous call drops: it is the cell level entity 1224 that will be aware about the simultaneous drop calls, and hence it could send immediately to the OSS a notification, e.g., notif2, about the potential of the occurrence of a software bug.

[0070] Difference between sleeping cell procedure and simultaneous drop call procedure: the detection of a software bug that might have caused the simultaneous call drop is detected in real time, unlike the case of the sleeping cell which might not be done in real time. It takes some time to detect the sleeping cell, depending on the period of check of tooll mentioned above. So, this is one main advantage over the sleeping cell detection procedure.

[0071] On the other hand, the reaction of the sleeping cell is usually lock / unlock cell or restart site. The reaction to the reception of the proposed drop call notification might be the ones used in case of sleep cell: that is, lock / unlock cell or restart site, but also they might be other actions, e.g., change the value of a radio parameter etc. For example, if an operator has changed the values of some radio parameters, e.g., paraml & param2, on one cell, celll, at time tl, and if notif2 has been generated around time tl, then one reaction of the network might be to reset to the original values of paraml & param2 that were running before tl. In other words, the reaction to simultaneous call drop is broader than that in the case of sleeping cell.

[0072] Examples of decisions taken using the various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0073] Example 1: The operator has triggered, on the OSS, a command that causes a drop call

[0074] If by coincidence the operator has triggered a command to forbid new calls on the cell, e.g., the operator has locked the cells or he has barred the cells (by setting a standard parameter that forbids a subscriber from accessing the cell), then no further action is taken by OSS_handle_simult_released_calls OSS entity 1312, as the issue of abnormal call release, within Tl, was taken on purpose by the operator. Note that in such example and in other examples, one way of implementing OSS_handle_simult_released_calls OSS entity 1312 could be as follows: (Detect) On one hand, each time the operator staff or any automation tool triggers a command on the OSS, that command is sent to a log file, which is accessed by OSS_handle_simult_released_calls OSS entity 1312.(React) On the other hand, OSS_handle_simult_released_calls OSS entity 1312 is equipped with some predefined rules, e.g., if a command to bar a cell or lock a cell was (detected) in its log then no further action is taken as the released calls have been triggered on purpose by the operator.

[0075] Example 2: Detecting a software bug

[0076] Two examples on how to detect a software bug are provided.

[0077] Example 2- 1 : An implicit way

[0078] An algorithm / tool that has the role of detecting a software bug that causes call drop is implemented at the OSS.

[0079] Such a tool might be configured with some rules / checks set by the operator or by the OSS vendor. Following is an example of a configured rule:

[0080] Check if around the time of the occurrence of notif2 and / or notif3, the following three conditions are verified:1. There was no activity at the OSS at all, e.g., No commands (like lock cell, see example 1 above) AND no alarms AND no change in values of parameters that might cause a drop.2. There were some activities at OSS, but these are not related to the cell, e.g., celll, on which notif2 was generated, nor on any neighboring cells of celll.3. No other notification is received from other equipment, e.g., AMF or IMS, about the abnormal releases that occurred during notif3.

[0081] If the above three conditions are verified, then it is most likely that there is a software bug. In such situation, one action of OSS_handle_simult_released_calls might be collecting some internal traces (to be used later by the support team and the developers of the equipment).

[0082] Example 2-2 : An explicit way

[0083] The cell software sends a log together with notif2 informing the network that the simultaneous call drop was caused by an internal error in the software of the cell.

[0084] Once the network is aware of the software bug, it might be configured to take an action, e.g., restart the cell and check if new calls are possible. If there are still no calls, then OSS_handle_simult_released_calls OSS entity 1312 might restart the whole Radio Node that is handling the cell in question. Such restart most probably will solve the issue, and another notification, notif4, is generated at the OSS so that the operator knows about the restart and about the location of the traces that were collected.

[0085] Example 3: There was an alarm at time of occurrence of notif2

[0086] There were no commands triggered by the operator at OSS, but there was an alarm, e.g., denoted here alarml, that was raised at the OSS around the time of occurrence of notif2 and / or at time of notif3. In such case, there are two scenarios: case 1 : alarml is already known by the operator and / or by an automation tool that it relates to an issue that causes call drop, e.g., alarml is about an equipment failure that affects calls on the cell, e.g., Radio Unit equipment failure.case 2: alarml is a new alarm for the operator and the existing automation tool. This occurs when for example the operator introduces a new software release on the network.

[0087] In both cases, when OSS_handle_simult_released_calls OSS entity 1312 detects that there was an alarm, alarml in the example, that is generated around the time of the occurrence of notif2 and / or notif3, it waits for a period of time, e.g., denoted T3, leaving the opportunity for any existing OSS tools, e.g., denoted here as existing_OSS_handle_alarms, that deals with alarm appearances to take an action.

[0088] If after T3 expires,OSS_handle_simult_released_calls OSS entity 1312 detects that no action was taken by the operator staff (manual action) nor by the OSS tools (existing_OSS_handle_alarms), e.g., maybe because alarml is a new alarm (new software) and hence the existing_OSS_handle_alarms is not yet configured with that new alarm,And if there was still no calls after the reception of notif3,

[0089] Then OSS_handle_simult_released_calls OSS entity 1312 might take a predefined action, e.g., restart cell and / or Radio Node handling that cell, and send a notification to the OSS, e.g., notif4.

[0090] There are possible extensions to the above-described method. The detection of multiple call releases within a short period T1 applies on all equipment and to all type of calls.

[0091] The cell knows the type of the call from the field establishmentcause which is sent in RRCSetupRequest message during call setup.Establishment Cause ::= ENUMERATED {Emergency, highPriority Access, mt-Access, mo-Signalling, mo-Data, mo-VoiceCall, mo-VideoCall, mo-SMS, mps- Priority Access, mcs-Priority Access, spared, spare5, spared, spare3, spare2, spare 1 }

[0092] The method described above applies for all types of calls, i.e., generically a PDN Connection or PDU Session, but could also be an IMS Voice / VoLTE / VoNR call. In other words, whatever is the type of the active call being served by the cell, when a certain number of calls, exceeding a predefined threshold, are dropped within a short period Tl, then without looking at the type of the call (that is, whatever is the type of the establishmentcause'), the method described above can apply, and hence one of the corresponding notifications (notifl, notif2, notif3, and notif4 described above) can be triggered.

[0093] Two additional features can be added to the embodiments described above.

[0094] The first feature is that the type of the drop call is also reported by the cell level entity 1224. The method of Figure 1 will not only look at the number of simultaneous calls that were dropped within the predefined short period Tl, but it can also look at the type of call establishmentcause of these dropped calls and as a result, in any of its notification to the OSS, notifl or notif2 etc., on top of the number of simultaneous calls dropped, e.g., infol, the notification can contain additional information, e.g., info2, that tells whether all these reported simultaneous dropped calls belong to the same establishmentcause or to different establishmentcause. Such info2 could be useful for the troubleshooting for the receiver of the notification, which is either the operator staff and / or any automation tool implemented at the OSS.

[0095] The second feature is that the entity that causes a simultaneous call drop is not necessarily the cell but could be any entity belonging to any equipment in the network.

[0096] Any equipment or entity in the network might fail at any time, e.g., due to a software bug or due to a hardware failure. It might happen that for example, one software entity on a nonradio equipment, e.g., IMS, suddenly fails to process calls, e.g., due to a software bug, and that causes simultaneous call drops in the network.

[0097] Suppose that on one or more cells, e.g., celll and cell2, the VoLTE / VoNR calls being served were less than the predefined threshold, 16 in our example above. As a result based on the method of Figure 1 described above, even though all VoLTE / VoNR calls being served by celll and cell2 were dropped, within a short period Tl, no notification, like notifl, will be sent to the OSS because the number of dropped calls is < 16, the predefined threshold in this example. That is why the second feature comprises extending the method of Figure 1 to all other entities in the network as follows:

[0098] At any equipment in the network, e.g., IMS, AMF, UPF, etc., if there is failure of any software or hardware entity that could cause a drop call, then a notification is sent to the OSS that might contain the following information:An estimated number of calls being simultaneously dropped, The type of the call being dropped,The identity of the equipment, and maybe the entity in that equipment, which has caused the drop calls.

[0099] As a result of the method of Figure 1 above and the two features, at any time there are simultaneous drop calls caused by any entity in the network, then a notification is sent to the OSS that comprises some information about the drop calls and that could be useful for theoperator staff and / or any automation tool on the OSS. Thus, not only any certain number of simultaneous call drops is known in real time but also a procedure in order to solve the cause of failure is also triggered in real time. Hence, such methods could be part of future OSS / SMO tools as they bring a great commercial value.

[0100] Figure 10 shows an example of a communication system 1000 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0101] 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 node or non-3GPP access point. 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.

[0102] 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.

[0103] 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.

[0104] 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 directlycoupled 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).

[0105] 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.

[0106] 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 (Light Fidelity), and / or any low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa (Long Range) and Sigfox.

[0107] 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 areconnected 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) / Massive loT (Internet of Things) services to yet further UEs.

[0108] 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).

[0109] 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 in if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0110] 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 corenetwork 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.

[0111] 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-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-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0112] 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).

[0113] 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 mayutilize 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.

[0114] 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).

[0115] 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.

[0116] 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 powerfrom the power source 1108 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 1100 to which power is supplied.

[0117] 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 readonly 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.

[0118] 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 (eUICC), 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.

[0119] 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 toone or more antennas (e.g., antenna 1122) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0120] 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.

[0121] 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).

[0122] 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.

[0123] 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 connecteddoorbell, 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.

[0124] 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-IoT 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.

[0125] 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.

[0126] 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)).

[0127] 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, ormacro 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 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).

[0128] 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).

[0129] 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 a single node (e.g., eNodeB for 4G or NR (Next Radio) for 5G) or it 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.

[0130] 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 suitablecomputing 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.

[0131] 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.

[0132] 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. For example, the cell level entity 1224 functionality may be stored in memory 1204 and executed by processing circuitry 1202. 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.

[0133] 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 mayreceive 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.

[0134] 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).

[0135] 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.

[0136] 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.

[0137] 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 beconnectable 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.

[0138] 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.

[0139] Figure 13 shows an operations support systems, OSS, node 1300 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, an OSS node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with network nodes, UEs, and with other OSS nodes or equipment, in a telecommunication network.

[0140] The OSS node 1300 includes a processing circuitry 1302, a memory 1304, a communication interface 1306, and a power source 1308. The OSS node 1300 may be composed of multiple physically separate components, which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which the OSS node 1300 comprises multiple separate components, one or more of the separate components may be shared among several OSS nodes.

[0141] The processing circuitry 1302 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 OSS node 1300 components, such as the memory 1304, to provide OSS node 1300 functionality.

[0142] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1302 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1302 includes baseband processing circuitry 1310. In some embodiments, the baseband processing circuitry 1310 may be on a separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as digital units.

[0143] The memory 1304 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer- readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotelymounted 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 1302. The memory 1304 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 1302 and utilized by the OSS node 1300. For example, the OSS entity 1312 functionality may be stored in memory 1304 and executed by processing circuitry 1302. The memory 1304 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 1302 and / or any data received via the communication interface 1306. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1302 and memory 1304 is integrated.

[0144] The communication interface 1306 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 1306 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 1314 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The data may be passed to the processing circuitry 1302. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0145] In certain alternative embodiments, the communication interface 1306 includes one or more ports or terminals 1314, and the communication interface 1306 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 1310, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0146] The communication interface 1306, and / or the processing circuitry 1302 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and / or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the OSS node 1300. Any information, data and / or signals may be received from a UE, another OSS node and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, the communication interface 1306, and / or the processing circuitry 1302 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the OSS node 1300. Any information, data and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another OSS node and / or any other network equipment.

[0147] The power source 1308 provides power to the various components of OSS node 1300 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 1308 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the OSS node 1300 with power forperforming the functionality described herein. For example, the OSS node 1300 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 1308. As a further example, the power source 1308 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.

[0148] Embodiments of the OSS node 1300 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 13 for providing certain aspects of the OSS 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 OSS node 1300 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the OSS node 1300 and to allow output of information from the OSS node 1300. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the OSS node 1300.

[0149] Figure 14 is a block diagram of a host 1400, which may be an embodiment of the host 1016 of Figure 10, in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, the host 1400 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 1400 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

[0150] The host 1400 includes processing circuitry 1402 that is operatively coupled via a bus 1404 to an input / output interface 1406, a network interface 1408, a power source 1410, and a memory 1412. 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 1400.

[0151] The memory 1412 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs 1414 and data 1416, which may include user data, e.g., data generated by a UE for the host 1400 or data generated by the host 1400 for a UE. Embodiments of the host 1400 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. The host application programs 1414 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, orimplementations of UEs (e.g., handsets, desktop computers, wearable display systems, heads-up display systems). The host application programs 1414 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 1400 may select and / or indicate a different host for over-the-top services for a UE. The host application programs 1414 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.

[0152] Figure 15 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 1500 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 1500 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.

[0153] Applications 1502 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment 1500 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0154] Hardware 1504 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 1506 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 1508 A and 1508B (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 1508), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 1506 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 1508.

[0155] The VMs 1508 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1506. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 1502 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 1508, 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.

[0156] In the context of NFV, a VM 1508 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 1508, and that part of hardware 1504 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 1508 on top of the hardware 1504 and corresponds to the application 1502.

[0157] Hardware 1504 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 1504 may implement some functions via virtualization.Alternatively, hardware 1504 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 1510, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 1502. In some embodiments, hardware 1504 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 1512 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0158] Figure 16 shows a communication diagram of a host 1602 communicating via a network node 1604 with a UE 1606 over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments. Example implementations, in accordance with various embodiments, of the UE (such as a UE 1012 A of Figure 10 and / or UE 1100 of Figure 11), network node (such as network node 1010A of Figure 10 and / or network node 1200 of Figure 12), and host (such as host 1016 of Figure 10 and / or host 1400 of Figure 14) discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to Figure 16.

[0159] Like host 1400, embodiments of host 1602 include hardware, such as a communication interface, processing circuitry, and memory. The host 1602 also includes software, which is stored in or accessible by the host 1602 and executable by the processing circuitry. The software includes a host application that may be operable to provide a service to a remote user, such as the UE 1606 connecting via an over-the-top (OTT) connection 1650 extending between the UE 1606 and host 1602. In providing the service to the remote user, a host application may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 1650.

[0160] The network node 1604 includes hardware enabling it to communicate with the host 1602 and UE 1606. The connection 1660 may be direct or pass through a core network and / or one or more other intermediate networks, such as one or more public, private, or hosted networks. For example, an intermediate network may be a backbone network or the Internet.

[0161] The UE 1606 includes hardware and software, which is stored in or accessible by UE 1606 and executable by the UE’s processing circuitry. The software includes a client application, such as a web browser or operator-specific “app” that may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via UE 1606 with the support of the host 1602. In the host 1602, an executing host application may communicate with the executing client application via the OTT connection 1650 terminating at the UE 1606 and host 1602. In providing the service to the user, the UE’s client application may receive request data from the host's host application and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 1650 may transfer both the request data and the user data. The UE’s client application may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides to the host application through the OTT connection 1650.

[0162] The OTT connection 1650 may extend via a connection 1660 between the host 1602 and the network node 1604 and via a wireless connection 1670 between the network node 1604 and the UE 1606 to provide the connection between the host 1602 and the UE 1606. The connection 1660 and wireless connection 1670, over which the OTT connection 1650 may be provided, have been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host 1602 and the UE 1606 via the network node 1604, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices.

[0163] As an example of transmitting data via the OTT connection 1650, in step 1608, the host 1602 provides user data, which may be performed by executing a host application. In some embodiments, the user data is associated with a particular human user interacting with the UE 1606. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with a UE 1606 that shares data with the host 1602 without explicit human interaction. In step 1610, the host 1602 initiates a transmission carrying the user data towards the UE 1606. The host 1602 may initiate the transmissionresponsive to a request transmitted by the UE 1606. The request may be caused by human interaction with the UE 1606 or by operation of the client application executing on the UE 1606. The transmission may pass via the network node 1604, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. Accordingly, in step 1612, the network node 1604 transmits to the UE 1606 the user data that was carried in the transmission that the host 1602 initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 1614, the UE 1606 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be performed by a client application executed on the UE 1606 associated with the host application executed by the host 1602.

[0164] In some examples, the UE 1606 executes a client application which provides user data to the host 1602. The user data may be provided in reaction or response to the data received from the host 1602. Accordingly, in step 1616, the UE 1606 may provide user data, which may be performed by executing the client application. In providing the user data, the client application may further consider user input received from the user via an input / output interface of the UE 1606. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided, the UE 1606 initiates, in step 1618, transmission of the user data towards the host 1602 via the network node 1604. In step 1620, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the network node 1604 receives user data from the UE 1606 and initiates transmission of the received user data towards the host 1602. In step 1622, the host 1602 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the UE 1606.

[0165] In an example scenario, factory status information may be collected and analyzed by the host 1602. As another example, the host 1602 may process audio and video data which may have been retrieved from a UE for use in creating maps. As another example, the host 1602 may collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicle congestion (e.g., controlling traffic lights). As another example, the host 1602 may store surveillance video uploaded by a UE. As another example, the host 1602 may store or control access to media content such as video, audio, VR or AR which it can broadcast, multicast or unicast to UEs. As other examples, the host 1602 may be used for energy pricing, remote control of non-time critical electrical load to balance power generation needs, location services, presentation services (such as compiling diagrams etc. from data collected from remote devices), or any other function of collecting, retrieving, storing, analyzing and / or transmitting data.

[0166] In some examples, a measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve. There may further be an optional network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection1650 between the host 1602 and UE 1606, in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and / or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection may be implemented in software and hardware of the host 1602 and / or UE 1606. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with other devices through which the OTT connection 1650 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or supplying values of other physical quantities from which software may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of the OTT connection 1650 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not directly alter the operation of the network node 1604. Such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling that facilitates measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency and the like, by the host 1602. The measurements may be implemented in that software causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTT connection 1650 while monitoring propagation times, errors, etc.

[0167] 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.

[0168] 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.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. A method at a cell level of a network node (1010A-1010B, 1200, 1502, 1604) to detect an abnormal call release when a number of active calls on a cell are released substantially simultaneously, the method comprising: determining (201) whether within a time interval, Tl, a predefined number of calls on a cell that is less than a total number of calls on the cell was abnormally released; and responsive to determining that the predefined number of calls on the cell was abnormally released within the time interval Tl, transmitting (203) a first notification denoted as notifl to an operations support systems, OSS, node (1300) indicating a number of calls that were abnormally released within the time interval Tl.

2. The method of Claim 1, wherein the time interval Tl comprises a configurable time interval.

3. The method of any of Claims 1-2, further comprising: determining (301) whether, within the time interval Tl, all calls on a cell were abnormally released; and responsive to determining that all calls on the cell were abnormally released within the time interval Tl, transmitting (303) a second notification denoted as notif2 to the OSS node (1300) indicating the total number of calls in the cell were abnormally released within the time interval Tl.

4. The method of Claim 3, further comprising: responsive to the second notification being sent, determining (401) whether calls are possible on the cell; and responsive to determining that no calls on the cell are possible, generating (403) a third notification, denoted notif3, to be sent to the OSS node (1300), indicating to the operator or to an automation tool that no calls are possible after the occurrence of notif2.

5. The method of Claim 4, wherein determining that no calls on the cell are possible comprises determining that, for a period of time T2, no calls on the cell are possible by one of: determining (501 A) that any signaling request, at any layer 1, 2, or 3, coming from a user equipment, UE, is not answered by the cell; ordetermining (501B) that the OSS node (1300) sent a command to the cell to check whether there are calls on the cell when the cell is showing no calls on the cell.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the time T2 comprises one of a predefined value or a dynamic value based on a total number of calls on the cell before notif3 has occurred.

7. The method of Claim 4, further comprising: responsive to determining that calls on the cell are possible, collecting (601) logs and transmitting the logs to developers of equipment being used to enable the developers to understand what caused the issue and attempt to implement solutions to avoid the issue from occurring in the future.

8. The method of any of Claims 1-7, further comprising: determining (701) whether the number of calls that were abnormally released belong to a same establishment cause or to different establishment causes; and indicating (703) to the OSS node (1300) whether the number of calls that were abnormally released belong to the same establishment cause or to the different establishment causes.

9. The method of any of Claims 1-8, further comprising: responsive to a software or hardware entity at equipment in the network failing that could cause a drop call, transmitting (801) a notification to the OSS node (1300) indicating an estimated number of calls being simultaneously dropped, a type of call being dropped, and an identity of the equipment and / or an identity of the software or hardware entity.

10. A method in an operations support systems, OSS, node (1300) comprising: responsive to a notification denoted notif3 appearing at the OSS node (1300), implementing (901) an OSS entity (1312); checking (903), by the OSS entity (1312), whether any activity was triggered at the OSS within a time interval of an occurrence of notif3 or an occurrence of receiving a notification denoted notif2; and responsive to determining that an activity was triggered at the OSS within the time interval, performing (905), by the OSS entity (1312), an action.

11. The method of Claim 10, further comprising:responsive to determining that no action was triggered at the OSS within the time interval, restarting (907), by the OSS entity (1312), the cell and / or a radio node handling the cell and notifying an operator about the restart by sending a notification denoted notif4.

12. The method of any of Claims 10-11, wherein checking, by the OSS entity (1312), whether any activity was triggered at the OSS comprises determining whether a command triggered by an operator at the OSS could forbid new calls on a cell.

13. The method of any of Claims 10-12, wherein checking, by the OSS entity (1312), whether any activity was triggered at the OSS comprises determining whether there was an alarm that was generated on the OSS.

14. A network node (1010A-1010B, 1200, 1502, 1604) in a radio access network, RAN, instantiating a cell level entity (1224) at a cell level to detect an abnormal call release when a number of active calls on a cell are released substantially simultaneously, the network node (1010A-1010B, 1200, 1502, 1604) comprising: processing circuitry (1202); and memory (1204) coupled with the processing circuitry, wherein the memory includes instructions that when executed by the processing circuitry causes the network node to perform, by the cell level entity (1224) instantiated by the network node, operations comprising: determining (201) whether within a time interval, Tl, a predefined number of calls on a cell that is less that a total number of calls on the cell was abnormally released; and responsive to determining that the predefined number of calls on the cell was abnormally released within the time interval Tl, transmitting (203) a first notification denoted as notifl to operations support systems, OSS, node (1300) indicating a number of calls that were abnormally released within the time interval Tl.

15. The network node (1010A-1010B, 1200, 1502, 1604) of Claim 14, wherein the time interval Tl comprises a configurable time interval.

16. The network node (1010A-1010B, 1200, 1502, 1604) of any of Claims 14-15, wherein the memory includes further instructions that when executed by the processing circuitry causes the cell level entity (1224) to perform further operations comprising: determining (301) whether, within the time interval Tl, all calls on a cell were abnormally released; andresponsive to determining that all calls on the cell were abnormally released within the time interval Tl, transmitting (303) a second notification denoted as notif2 to the OSS node (1300) indicating the total number of calls in the cell were abnormally released within the time interval Tl.

17. The network node (1010A-1010B, 1200, 1502, 1604) of Claim 16, wherein the memory includes further instructions that when executed by the processing circuitry causes the cell level entity (1224) to perform further operations comprising: responsive to the second notification being sent, determining (401) whether calls are possible on the cell; and responsive to determining that no calls on the cell are possible, generating (403) a third notification, denoted notif3, to be sent to the OSS node (1300), indicating to the operator or to an automation tool that no calls are possible after the occurrence of notif2.

18. The network node (1010A-1010B, 1200, 1502, 1604) of Claim 17, wherein determining that no calls on the cell are possible comprises determining that, for a period of time T2, no calls on the cell are possible by one of: determining (501 A) that any signaling request, at any layer 1, 2, or 3, coming from the user equipment, UE, is not answered by the cell; or determining (501B) that the OSS node (1300) sent a command to the cell to check whether there are calls on the cell when the cell is showing no calls on the cell.

19. The network node (1010A-1010B, 1200, 1502, 1604) of claim 18, wherein the time T2 comprises one of a predefined value or a dynamic value based on a total number of calls on the cell before notif3 has occurred.

20. The network node (1010A-1010B, 1200, 1502, 1604) of Claim 17, wherein the memory includes further instructions that when executed by the processing circuitry causes the cell level entity (1224) to perform further operations comprising: responsive to determining that calls on the cell are possible, collecting (601) logs and transmitting the logs to developers of equipment being used to enable the developers to understand what caused the issue and attempt to implement solutions to avoid the issue from occurring in the future.

21. The network node (1010A-1010B, 1200, 1502, 1604) of any of Claims 14-20, wherein the memory includes further instructions that when executed by the processing circuitry causes the cell level entity (1224) to perform further operations comprising: determining (701) whether the number of calls that were abnormally released belong to a same establishment cause or to different establishment causes; and indicating (703) to the OSS node (1300) whether the number of calls that were abnormally released belong to a same establishment cause or to different establishment causes.

22. The network node (1010A-1010B, 1200, 1502, 1604) of any of Claims 14-21, wherein the memory includes further instructions that when executed by the processing circuitry causes the cell level entity (1224) to perform further operations comprising: responsive to a software or hardware entity at equipment in the network failing that could cause a drop call, transmitting (801) a notification to the OSS node (1300) indicating an estimated number of calls being simultaneously dropped, a type of call being dropped, and an identity of the equipment and / or an identity of the software or hardware entity.

23. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory storage medium including program code to be executed by processing circuitry (1202) of a network node (1010A-1010B, 1200, 1502, 1604), whereby execution of the program code causes the network node (1010A- 1010B, 1200, 1502, 1604) to instantiate a cell level entity (1224) at a cell level to detect an abnormal call release when a number of active calls on a cell are released substantially simultaneously by performing operations comprising: determining (201) whether within a time interval, Tl, a predefined number of calls on a cell that is less that a total number of calls on the cell was abnormally released; and responsive to determining that the predefined number of calls on the cell was abnormally released within the time interval Tl, transmitting (203) a first notification denoted as notifl to operations support systems, OSS, node (1300) indicating a number of calls that were abnormally released within the time interval Tl.

24. The computer program product of Claim 23 wherein non-transitory storage medium includes further program code whereby execution of the further program code causes the cell level entity (1224) instantiated by the network node (1010A-1010B, 1200, 1502, 1604) to perform operations according to any of claims 2-9.

25. An operations support systems, OSS, node (1300) at an OSS comprising: processing circuitry (1302); andmemory coupled (1304) with the processing circuitry (1302), wherein the memory includes instructions that when executed by the processing circuitry (1302) causes the OSS node (1300) to perform operations comprising: responsive to a notification denoted notif3 appearing at the OSS node (1300), implementing (901) an OSS entity (1312); checking (903), by the OSS entity (1312), whether any activity was triggered at the OSS within a time interval of an occurrence of notif3 or an occurrence of receiving a notification denoted notif2; and responsive to determining that an activity was triggered at the OSS within the time interval, performing (905), by the OSS entity (1312), an action.

26. The OSS node (1300) of Claim 25, wherein the memory includes instructions that when executed by the processing circuitry (1302) causes the OSS node (1300) to perform operations comprising: responsive to determining that no action was triggered at the OSS within the time interval, restarting (907), by the OSS entity (1312), the cell and / or a radio node handling the cell and notifying an operator about the restart by sending a notification denoted notif4.

27. The OSS node (1300) of any of Claims 25-26, wherein checking, by the OSS entity (1312), whether any activity was triggered at the OSS comprises determining whether a command triggered by an operator at the OSS could forbid new calls on a cell.

28. The OSS node (1300) of any of Claims 25-27, wherein checking, by the OSS entity (1312), whether any activity was triggered at the OSS comprises determining whether there was an alarm that was generated on the OSS.

29. A computer program product comprising a non- transitory storage medium including program code to be executed by processing circuitry (1302) of an operations support systems, OSS, node (1300), whereby execution of the program code causes the OSS node (1300) to perform operations comprising: responsive to a notification denoted notif3 appearing at the OSS node (1300), implementing (901) an OSS entity (1312); checking (903), by the OSS entity (1312), whether any activity was triggered at the OSS within a time interval of an occurrence of notif3 or an occurrence of receiving a notification denoted notif2; andresponsive to determining that an activity was triggered at the OSS within the time interval, performing (905), by the OSS entity (1312), an action.

30. The computer program product of Claim 29 wherein the non-transitory storage medium includes further program code whereby execution of the further program code causes the OSS entity (1312) implemented by the OSS node (1300) to perform operations according to any of Claims 11-13.

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