Configuration and communication methods, entity of a telecommunications network, and user equipment

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for configuring, by an entity of a telecommunications network, user equipment connected to at least one service offered by the network, the method comprising: - determining, on the basis of information relating to an energy status of the user equipment, a bandwidth portion intended to be activated by the user equipment in order to transmit traffic relating to the service; - sending, to the user equipment, in at least one configuration message, an indicator designating the determined bandwidth portion.

Description

Description Title of the invention: Methods of configuration and communication, entity of a telecommunications network and user equipment Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the general field of telecommunications.

[0002] It is more particularly part of the context of a telecommunications network offering the possibility to a user equipment (or UE for "User Equipment" in English) of this network to receive or transmit data on only part of the bandwidth allocated by the network to the cell to which this user equipment is attached. Prior art

[0003] Such a feature, also known as BWP for "BandWidth Part" in English, was introduced in particular in the context of a 5G network (Le. de 5 èmeGeneration) and more specifically, the new 5G NR (for "New Radio") radio interface defined by the 3GPP standard as of Release 15. It allows dynamic adaptation of the bandwidth on which data associated with a UE are transmitted (i.e. sent or received by the UE) via the network, and incidentally the numerology used by the UE on this band. Numerology, in the context of an OFDM (for "Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing" in English) type transmission scheme such as that adopted by the 5G NR radio access technology, means the spacing between the subcarriers and the length of the cyclic prefix, or equivalently, the duration of an OFDM symbol.

[0004] The use of a single numerology as in 4G or LTE (Long Term Evolution) networks, namely a spacing of 15kHZ between subcarriers and a cyclic prefix length of approximately 4.7ps, is difficult to envisage in the context of a 5G network, particularly due to the multiple deployment scenarios envisaged, whether in terms of cell dimensions, allocated frequency bands, resulting propagation effects (such as delay spread), heterogeneous services offered in 5G (and the very diverse constraints resulting therefrom), etc. 5G NR radio access technology has therefore been designed to provide a certain flexibility in this area and support several numerologies for the same carrier frequency, as illustrated in Table 1 below.

[0005] [Table 1]

[0006] The use of these multiple numerologies advantageously makes it possible to respond to the diverse and varied constraints (also referred to as SLA for "Service Level Agreement" in English) in terms of latency, throughput and reliability, imposed by the different categories of services that 5G networks can offer. These different categories of services include in particular: eMBB type services (for "enhanced Mobile Broadband" in English) based on very high data rates to offer new experiences to users (e.g. virtual reality, augmented reality, HD video streaming, etc.); uRLLC type services (for "ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication" in English), which have strict requirements in terms of latency and reliability of communications (e.g.remote management services, industrial robots, telesurgery); and mMTC (massive Machine Type Communication) type services, which include the Internet of Things (or loT), and which have high requirements in terms of deployment density in particular (e.g., connected city, connected agriculture, etc.). V2X (Vehicle to Everything) type services, allowing a vehicle to exchange information with another vehicle, an infrastructure, the network and / or a pedestrian. V2X services include safety services, which aim, for example, to minimize accidents, risks for passengers or road users (e.g.,driving assistance or autonomous driving service), and which require very low latency (less than a few milliseconds) and transmission reliability close to 100%, and other services (or "non-safety services" in English) aimed more at improving traffic conditions, minimizing the influence of road congestion, improving the comfort of vehicle passengers, etc., and which certainly require high transmission rates but can tolerate a certain latency and lower reliability; and HMTC type services (for "High performance Machine Type Communications" in English), which, like mMTC type services, have high requirements in terms of deployment density (and therefore availability of resources to communicate), but also low latency and high transmission rates.

[0007] Thus, for example, as illustrated in Table 1, a high numerology (e.g. corresponding to a spacing of 120kHz between subcarriers) makes it possible to reduce the duration of a transmission interval or TTI, and incidentally the latency: it is therefore particularly well suited to uRLLC services. Conversely, a lower numerology makes it possible to achieve a higher throughput and is particularly well suited to eMBB services.

[0008] As mentioned above, 5G NR radio access technology allows a UE, via the BWP functionality, to use a narrower bandwidth than the total bandwidth allocated by a 5G network to the cell in which the UE is located. This narrower bandwidth corresponds to a part (referred to as BWP in the following) of the total bandwidth allocated by the network to the cell. Given the bandwidths envisaged in 5G (up to 400 MHz for a single carrier), the use of this functionality advantageously makes it possible, on the one hand, to adapt to UEs with reduced capacities in terms of supported bandwidth and / or that they can monitor, and on the other hand, to reduce the complexity of the processing carried out by the UEs (e.g. monitoring and decoding of control channels) and thus the power they consume.

[0009] Each BWP is characterized by a numerology (subcarrier spacing and cyclic prefix length) and by a number of consecutive physical resource blocks (PRBs) that follow this numerology. It starts at a certain common resource block (CRB) whose location is identified relative to a CRB that serves as a reference for all numerologies, also called Reference Point A. Different BWPs may use the same numerology but have different bandwidths.

[0010] It should be noted that in the 5G NR context, a Resource Block (RB) or “Resource Block” (such as a PRB or a CRB) is an element defined in the frequency domain and consisting of 12 consecutive subcarriers. The frequency spread of a RB therefore depends on the numerology considered: for example, 2 consecutive RBs for a numerology based on an Af spacing between the subcarriers occupy the same frequency band as one RB for a numerology based on a 2Af spacing between the subcarriers. A PRB is therefore the smallest radio unit allocated to a UE in the 5G NR context.

[0011] Figure 1 schematically illustrates the concept of BWP. In this figure, we consider two bandwidth parts denoted BWP1 and BWP2, defined within the bandwidth BW associated with a carrier C allocated to a cell of a 5G network. The band parts BWP1 and BWP2 are, in the example of Figure 1, respectively associated with two distinct numerologies corresponding to respective spacings between the subcarriers Af and 2Af. We denote PRB(Af), respectively CRB(Af), and PRB(2Af), respectively CRB(2Af), the PRBs, respectively the CRBs, corresponding to the spacings Af and 2Af between the subcarriers.The band portion BWP1 starts at block CBR(Af)#m, relative to reference point A, and consists of M consecutive PRB(Af) corresponding to a spacing Af between the subcarriers; the band portion BWP2 starts at block CBR(2Af)#n and consists of N consecutive PRB(2Af) corresponding to a spacing 2Af between the subcarriers, M and N denoting two integers greater than or equal to 1.

[0012] In accordance with the 3GPP standard, at the level of a UE, four BWPs can be configured in the downlink (or DL ​​for "DownLink" in English) and four BWPs can be configured in the uplink (or UL for "UpLink" in English) for data transmissions associated with the UE. The expression "transmission of data associated with the UE" here generally covers the reception of data by the UE and / or the transmission of data by the UE. In the remainder of the description, the term BWP can designate indifferently a UL BWP or a DL BWP depending on whether the transmission of an outgoing flow by the UE or the reception of an incoming flow by the UE is considered.

[0013] Depending on the service(s) used by a UE, activating one BWP may be more relevant than another, in particular due to the numerology associated with this BWP. Indeed, as previously highlighted, higher numerologies are particularly well suited to services requiring low latencies, such as uRLLC services, while lower numerologies are more suited to eMBB services requiring very high speeds. It is therefore not optimal to use the same numerology for two services with different constraints (or SLAs).

[0014] However, a UE in a 5G network can be connected or authorized to connect to different services simultaneously. For example, the 3GPP standard introduced the concept of "network slicing" (or dividing a network into slices), according to which a 5G physical network can be divided into several logical slices (or "slices" in English), each logical slice being associated with a distinct service, characterized by its own SLA, and having dedicated radio resources. A single UE can be connected to 8 network slices simultaneously and therefore access distinct services simultaneously. It should be noted that a UE in a 5G network can be connected to several distinct services even in the absence of network slicing.

[0015] According to the 3GPP standard, although multiple BWPs can be configured at the UE level, only one BWP can be active (i.e., used for transmitting UE-related data) at any given time in UL or DL. A UE can, however, switch from one BWP to another, i.e., activate a new BWP to replace the currently active BWP.

[0016] Such a switchover may be decided by the network (base station to which the UE is attached), for example in order to satisfy the quality of service (QoS) requirements of a new service required by the UE, the new BWP being considered better suited due to its numerology than the current active BWP for transmitting the data streams relating to this service. It is triggered by the sending by the base station, on a PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel), of DCI (Downlink Control Information) control information intended for the UE, in the format 0_1 ​​(for the UL) or 1_1 (for the DL), and comprising a BWP indicator (or Bandwidth Part indicator) designating the new BWP to be activated by the UE.

[0017] While such a mechanism for switching from one BWP to another can satisfy the QoS requirements of the different services required by the UE, it has an impact on the energy efficiency of the UE. Indeed, the frequent reception of DCI control information, their processing and the activation of the different BWPs based on the DCI control information represent an energy cost for the UE.

[0018] Energy efficiency optimization refers to maximizing energy use to achieve optimal results while minimizing energy waste and losses. In a global context where environmental concerns and economic imperatives converge, this optimization has become a central pillar of policies and initiatives aimed at promoting sustainable and balanced development.

[0019] Manufacturers, in particular, are increasingly aware of the importance of optimizing energy efficiency as a means of preserving the environment and promoting sustainable and virtuous economic growth.

[0020] As such, optimizing energy efficiency is at the heart of the deployment of 5G NR radio access technology and more generally of 5G networks. Thus, many solutions aimed at improving the energy efficiency of 5G networks and user equipment for these networks have been proposed.

[0021] One of these solutions consists of an evolution of the mechanism for switching from one BWP to another. This evolution allows the UE, when it no longer detects inactivity in its current active BWP, to automatically switch to a default BWP with which it was previously configured, upon expiry of an inactivity timer. The value of the inactivity timer is between 2 ms and 2560 ms.

[0022] This automatic switch to a default BWP allows the UE to reduce its energy consumption. However, this reduction in the UE's energy consumption is most often at the expense of QoS since the numerology characterizing this default BWP is not adapted to all the services to which the UE is connected. It is then necessary to wait for the reception of new DCI control information including a BWP indicator designating a new, more suitable BWP to be activated by the UE.

[0023] Another solution for improving the energy efficiency of a UE is the introduction of a DRX mechanism. Such a DRX mechanism alternates sleep periods during which the UE does not monitor the PDCCH control channel with wake-up periods during which the UE monitors the PDCCH control channel in order to access DCI control information useful for its operation.

[0024] This DRX mechanism, although allowing a reduction in the energy consumption of the UE, has the disadvantage of increasing the latency time since it is necessary to wait for the next UE wake-up period (several slots, i.e. several milliseconds) to be able to access the DCI control information and thus trigger a BWP change at the latter level.

[0025] Thus, there is no mechanism allowing a UE to be simultaneously connected to several BWPs to which multiple services are assigned in order to satisfy their respective SLAs, while taking into account the energy efficiency of the UE. Indeed, in the various mechanisms mentioned above, the choice of favoring one, between QoS or energy efficiency, is often made to the detriment of the other.

[0026] There is therefore a need for a solution offering a compromise between satisfying the QoS requirements of the services required by a UE at which several BWPs are configured and the latter's energy efficiency. Statement of the invention

[0027] The invention responds in particular to this need by proposing a method of configuration, by an entity of a telecommunications network, of user equipment connected to at least one service offered by the network.

[0028] Such a configuration method comprises: determining, based on information relating to an energy status of the user equipment, a portion of bandwidth intended to be activated by the user equipment to transmit traffic relating to the service; sending to the user equipment, in at least one configuration message, an indicator designating the determined bandwidth portion.

[0029] Correlatively, the invention also relates to an entity of a telecommunications network comprising: a determination module configured to determine, as a function of information relating to an energy status of a user equipment connected to at least one service offered by the network, a portion of bandwidth intended to be activated by the user equipment to transmit traffic relating to the service; a sending module, configured to send to the user equipment, in at least one configuration message, an indicator designating the determined portion of bandwidth.

[0030] It should be noted that the invention applies both to uplink (UL) and downlink (DL).

[0031] The telecommunications network entity is, for example, a network base station (also called gNB in ​​the context of a 5G network). It can be a hardware entity or a software entity, which can be distributed across one or more network functions or hosted by one or more hardware devices.

[0032] Information relating to the energy status of a user equipment may consist, for example, of information relating to the energy consumption of the user equipment and / or of information relating to the status of a battery of the user equipment.

[0033] Information relating to the energy consumption of the user equipment corresponds, among other things, to: an energy consumption rate, given for example as a percentage; a consumption duration, given for example in minutes, hours or days; a value of energy consumed, given for example in milliwatt hours (mWh).

[0034] Information relating to the status of a battery of the user equipment corresponds, among other things, to: an autonomy rate, given for example as a percentage (a rate of 50% meaning, for example, that the battery has consumed half of its charge); an autonomy duration, given for example in minutes, hours or days; a charge rate, given for example as a percentage (a rate of 100% corresponding, for example, to a fully charged battery); a charge duration, given for example in minutes, hours or days.

[0035] The underlying idea on which the invention is based is to use information relating to the energy status of the user equipment, such as the battery charge rate per example, in order to determine the BWP(s) to activate in order to both best respect the SLA of the service(s) to which the user equipment is connected and optimize the energy efficiency of the user equipment.

[0036] It should be noted that the invention can be advantageously implemented so as to dynamically adapt the BWP(s) to be activated by the user equipment.

[0037] The invention is very simple to implement. Indeed, it advantageously relies on mechanisms already implemented by the user equipment and by the network (switching from one BWP to another, switching to a default BWP upon expiry of an inactivity period, use of the DRX mechanism, etc.), which are adapted for the needs of the invention with low complexity and which it complements. Thus, the invention when implemented makes it possible to improve energy efficiency, in particular by contributing to the achievement of additional energy savings without sacrificing the QoS requirements of the services required by the user equipment.

[0038] Furthermore, the invention does not require modification of the formats of existing messages or DCI control information for its implementation: the determined BWP can be easily provided to the user equipment by using, for example, standardized fields of a message compliant with the RRC protocol (hereinafter referred to as an RRC message), such as the defaultDownlinkBWP-ld or defaultUplinkBWP-ld field for the default BWP in DL or UL. These fields are described in particular in the 3GPP TS 38.331 document entitled “Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; NR; Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol specification; Release 17”, v17.4.0 (2023-03). Thus, in a particular embodiment, said at least one configuration message is an RRC message.

[0039] Of course, other types of configuration messages may alternatively be used to communicate to the user equipment the BWP determined by means of the invention.

[0040] The invention is furthermore compatible with the constraint imposed by the 3GPP standard according to which a user equipment can only have a single BWP active at a given time (it should however be noted that the invention also applies in the absence of this constraint).

[0041] More particularly, when a value of the information relating to the energy status is less than or equal to a first threshold, the determined bandwidth portion corresponds to a bandwidth portion defined by default assigned to the user equipment to transmit the traffic relating to all the services to which the user equipment is connected.

[0042] In this first particular mode of implementation of the configuration method, the first threshold is considered to be a low threshold indicating that the energy status of the user equipment requires paying particular attention to the management of the energy consumed to operate the user equipment.

[0043] This corresponds, for example, to a situation in which the battery life of the user equipment is close to its minimum value, or in which the battery of the user equipment has a battery life rate less than or equal to 20%. Of course, other information relating to the energy status of the user equipment, and other values ​​of the battery life rate of the user equipment may be considered.

[0044] In order to reduce energy consumption and thus help extend the operating time of the user equipment, the network entity decides to use a single numerology for all services to which the user equipment is connected. For this, the network entity selects a BWP, for example the narrowest, characterized by this numerology.

[0045] In this situation, the user equipment no longer needs to switch from one BWP to another, which helps to significantly reduce its energy consumption and thus improve its energy efficiency.

[0046] This first particular implementation mode favors the energy efficiency of the user equipment.

[0047] When a value of the information relating to the energy status reaches or exceeds a second threshold: a first determined bandwidth portion corresponds to a bandwidth portion assigned to the user equipment for transmitting traffic relating to a first service; a second determined bandwidth portion corresponds to a bandwidth portion assigned to the user equipment for transmitting traffic relating to a second service; and a value of a waiting time between the sending of a first configuration message comprising an indicator designating the first bandwidth portion and the sending of a second configuration message comprising an indicator designating the second bandwidth portion is reduced compared to its current value.

[0048] More specifically, the second threshold is considered as a high threshold indicating that the energy status of the user equipment is optimal. This is for example the case when the battery of the user equipment is charging, e.g. when the user equipment is connected to an electricity supply network, when the battery life of the user equipment is close to its maximum value or when the battery life rate is greater than 50%. Of course, other information relating to the energy status of the user equipment, and other values ​​of the battery life rate of the user equipment can be considered.

[0049] In such a situation, since the energy efficiency of the user equipment is not a strong constraint, the network entity decides to use the most appropriate numerology for each of the services to which the user equipment is connected. For this, the network entity selects, for each of these services, a BWP allowing to satisfy their respective SLAs.

[0050] In this situation, the user equipment switches from one BWP to another according to the received DCI control information.

[0051] This second particular implementation mode prioritizes the satisfaction of the QoS requirements of the services required by the user equipment.

[0052] However, this second particular implementation mode is modified when a user equipment overheating indicator and / or a discontinuous reception mode of the user equipment is activated. In this case, the network entity decides to: maintain at its current value the value of the waiting time between sending two consecutive configuration messages including the indicator designating the first part of the bandwidth; and increase relative to its current value the value of the waiting time between sending two configuration messages including the indicator designating the second part of the bandwidth.

[0053] The activation of a user equipment overheating indicator indicates the need to take measures to prevent the energy status of the user equipment from degrading in an uncontrolled manner. The occurrence of overheating of the user equipment may, for example, be the consequence of abnormally high energy consumption which has a direct impact on the battery life of the user equipment. It is therefore important to adapt data transmission to this situation in order to avoid a significant degradation of the QoS requirements of the services required by the user equipment.

[0054] To this end, the network entity decides to prioritize one of the services required by the user equipment over the others. This service is subsequently called a priority service.

[0055] The network entity achieves its goal in a simple way by maintaining the frequency of sending DCI control data relating to the priority service and reducing the frequency of sending DCI control data relating to non-priority services.

[0056] This modification of the second particular implementation mode of the configuration method offers an interesting compromise between satisfying the QoS requirements of the services required by the user equipment and its energy efficiency.

[0057] Indeed, the QoS requirements of the services required by the user equipment remain satisfied since the traffic relating to each service is transmitted in a BWP allowing their respective SLAs to be satisfied; and the frequency of switching from one BWP to another is reduced, thus contributing to the reduction of the energy consumption of the user equipment and to its cooling.

[0058] The second particular implementation mode may be further modified to take into account the activation of a discontinuous reception mode of the user equipment in addition to the overheating indicator of the user equipment.

[0059] In this new scenario, the determined bandwidth portion corresponds to a default bandwidth portion assigned to the user equipment to transmit traffic relating to all the services to which the user equipment is connected.

[0060] Thus, although the energy status of the user equipment is optimal, the network entity prioritizes energy efficiency over meeting the QoS requirements of the services required by the user equipment.

[0061] The joint activation of the user equipment discontinuous reception mode and the user equipment overheating indicator indicates that beyond the desire to reduce the power consumption of the user equipment, there is a need to take measures to prevent the energy status of the user equipment from degrading in an uncontrolled manner.

[0062] For this purpose, the network entity decides to use a single numerology for all services to which the user equipment is connected by selecting a single BWP, for example the narrowest, characterized by this numerology.

[0063] It should be noted that, as an example, the discontinuous reception mechanism mode of the user equipment corresponds to the DRX mechanism.

[0064] In a third particular embodiment of the configuration method, when a value of the information relating to the energy status is between the first threshold and the second threshold: a first determined bandwidth portion corresponds to a bandwidth portion allocated to the user equipment for transmitting the traffic relating to a first service; a second determined bandwidth portion corresponds to a bandwidth portion allocated to the user equipment for transmitting the traffic relating to a second service; a value of a waiting time between the sending of two consecutive configuration messages comprising the indicator designating the first bandwidth portion is maintained at its current value; and a value of a waiting time between the sending of two configuration messages comprising the indicator designating the second bandwidth portion is increased relative to its current value.

[0065] In such a situation where the energy efficiency of the user equipment is neither optimal nor critical, the network entity applies a compromise solution.

[0066] One such compromise solution is to use the most appropriate numerology for each of the services to which the user equipment is connected while adapting data transmission to reduce the energy consumption of the user equipment.

[0067] To do this, the network entity selects, for each of the services to which the user equipment is connected, a BWP allowing their respective SLAs to be satisfied and prioritizes one of these services over the others.

[0068] The network entity achieves its goal in a simple way by maintaining the frequency of sending DCI control data related to the priority service and reducing the frequency of sending DCI control data related to non-priority services.

[0069] The third particular implementation mode can also be modified when the overheating indicator of the user equipment is activated. In such a case, the bandwidth portion determined by the network entity corresponds to a default bandwidth portion assigned to the user equipment to transmit traffic relating to all the services to which the user equipment is connected.

[0070] As discussed previously, activation of a user equipment overheating indicator indicates the need to take additional measures to prevent the energy status of the user equipment from degrading in an uncontrolled manner.

[0071] To help reduce energy consumption even more significantly, the network entity waives the responsibility of satisfying the QoS requirements of the services required by the user equipment by selecting a single BWP for all services to which the user equipment is connected.

[0072] I have discussed above particular modes of implementation in which the network entity is required to prioritize one of the services required by the user equipment over the others. In order to judiciously determine the service to be prioritized among all the services to which the user equipment is connected, the network entity may check several criteria.

[0073] A first criterion concerns the traffic volume of the different services. Thus, a service with the highest traffic volume among all the services to which the user equipment is connected can be selected as a priority service.

[0074] By choosing the service with the highest traffic volume as the priority service, the risks of congestion and data loss are reduced.

[0075] For equivalent traffic volumes between different services to which the user equipment is connected, a second criterion for determining the priority service is the type of service. More specifically, an "ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication" (uRLLC) service can be selected as a priority service.

[0076] A uRLLC service is a service that has high latency requirements (maximum latency below a given threshold, for example, 1 ms). It is generally based on the transmission of data streams to which a high priority (above a given threshold) or a QoS profile characterized by a high QoS indicator is associated. For example, a uRLLC service is considered to have priority over an eMBB service that has lower latency requirements.

[0077] When more than one service to which the user equipment is connected is uRLLC service, the service for which the portion of bandwidth intended to be activated by the user equipment to transmit traffic is the narrowest is considered to be a priority service.

[0078] Finally, if none of the preceding criteria has made it possible to identify a priority service among all the services to which the user equipment is connected, then the priority service is that for which the physical resources characterizing the part of the bandwidth intended to be activated by the user equipment to transmit the traffic are not congested.

[0079] In particular embodiments, prior to determining a portion of bandwidth intended to be activated, the configuration method further comprises receiving, from the user equipment, at least one item of information relating to an energy status of the user equipment.

[0080] In particular implementations, the first service is determined using a machine learning or ML, machine learning, or artificial intelligence algorithm, a mathematical model or heuristics.

[0081] In particular modes of implementation, the determination and sending steps are repeated periodically.

[0082] This embodiment offers additional flexibility: it allows the BWP to be activated to be revised if necessary based on changes in information relating to the energy status of the user equipment.

[0083] It should be noted, however, that the portion of bandwidth to be activated is not necessarily revised at each period, particularly when the information relating to the energy status of the user equipment has not changed.

[0084] It is also possible to envisage, in a particular embodiment, having a repetition period for these steps configurable by the network entity, for example depending on the context in which the user equipment is located or the services to which it is connected.

[0085] Alternatively, the determining and sending steps may be triggered upon detection of a particular event, such as, for example, the connection of the user equipment to a new service, the occurrence of incoming or outgoing traffic associated with the user equipment, a change in the energy status or a change in a status of a battery of the user equipment, etc.

[0086] In view of the above, the invention relies on the network entity implementing the configuration method according to the invention to optimally choose the default BWP and the inactivity timeout, but also on the user equipment itself.

[0087] Thus, according to a second aspect, the invention relates to a method of communication, by user equipment of a telecommunications network connected to at least one service offered by the network.

[0088] Such a communication method comprises: receiving at least one configuration message from a network entity, said at least one configuration message comprising an indicator designating a portion of bandwidth intended to be activated by the user equipment to transmit traffic relating to the service, said portion of bandwidth having been determined by the network entity as a function of information relating to an energy status of the user equipment; applying said determined portion of bandwidth.

[0089] Correlatively, the invention also relates to user equipment of a telecommunications network comprising: a reception module, configured to receive at least one configuration message from a network entity, said at least one configuration message comprising an indicator designating a portion of bandwidth intended to be activated by the user equipment to transmit traffic relating to at least one service, offered by the network, to which the user equipment is connected, said part of bandwidth having been determined by the network entity based on information relating to an energy status of the user equipment; an application module, configured to apply said determined part of bandwidth.

[0090] According to a third aspect, the invention relates to a communication system comprising: at least one entity of a telecommunications network according to the invention; and at least one user equipment according to the invention, attached to said at least one entity of the network.

[0091] The communication method, the user equipment, and the communication system according to the invention have the same advantages mentioned above as the configuration method and the network entity according to the invention. They also apply in the uplink and downlink, as mentioned above for the configuration method and the network entity.

[0092] In particular modes of implementation of the communication method, prior to receiving the configuration message, the latter comprises sending to the network entity at least one item of information relating to an energy status of the user equipment.

[0093] The user equipment having collected this information relating to its energy status, for example by means of native applications executed within its operating system, sends them to the network entity, for example in a particular RRC message called “UEAssistancel nformation”, as defined in the 3GPP TS 38.331 version 16.1.0 Release 16 standard, and which has been modified for the needs of the invention in order to be able to transport this information relating to an energy status of the user equipment.

[0094] As is known, a “UEAssistanceInformation” message comprises various information relating to the internal status of the user equipment such as, for example, the execution parameters of the DRX mechanism, the activated / deactivated status of the overheating indicator, or the RRC status “IDLE”, “CONNECTED” or “INACTIVE” of the user equipment. However, such a message is not configured to carry information relating to an energy status of the user equipment.

[0095] The invention proposes in a particular embodiment to introduce new fields into this “UEAssistancel nformation” message in order to allow the sending of different information relating to an energy status of the user equipment such as an energy consumption rate, a consumption duration, a consumed energy value, or even an autonomy rate, given for example as a percentage or a charging duration to the network entity.

[0096] Advantageously, such a modification of the "UEAssistanceInformation" messages allows their reuse in the context of the present invention, avoiding the sending of additional messages to the network entity. This modification of the "UEAssistanceInformation" messages also does not require substantial modification of the network entity which already knows how to process them.

[0097] In particular embodiments of the communication method, the information relating to an energy status of the user equipment is sent to the network entity for: a plurality of data transmission parameters; or a plurality of applications involved in the data transmission.

[0098] A transmission parameter means at least one of: an identifier of a network slice; an indicator of a portion of bandwidth.

[0099] Such a level of granularity of information relating to an energy status of the user equipment allows the network entity to determine the BWP to be activated in a more judicious manner leading to the adoption of more equitable trade-offs between satisfying the QoS requirements of the services required by the user equipment and the energy efficiency of the latter.

[0100] In a particular embodiment, the configuration and communication methods are implemented by a computer.

[0101] The invention also relates to a computer program on a recording medium, this program being capable of being implemented in a computer or more generally in an entity of a telecommunications network in accordance with the invention and comprising instructions adapted to the implementation of a configuration method as described above.

[0102] The invention also relates to a computer program on a recording medium, this program being capable of being implemented in a computer or more generally in user equipment in accordance with the invention and comprising instructions adapted to the implementation of a communication method as described above.

[0103] Each of these programs may use any programming language, and may be in the form of source code, object code, or code intermediate between source code and object code, such as in a partially compiled form, or in any other desirable form.

[0104] The invention also relates to an information medium or a recording medium readable by a computer, and comprising instructions of a computer program as mentioned above.

[0105] The information or recording medium may be any entity or device capable of storing programs. For example, the medium may include a storage medium, such as a ROM, for example a CD ROM or a microelectronic circuit ROM, or a magnetic recording medium, for example a hard disk, or a flash memory.

[0106] On the other hand, the information or recording medium may be a transmissible medium such as an electrical or optical signal, which may be conveyed via an electrical or optical cable, by radio link, by wireless optical link or by other means.

[0107] The program according to the invention can in particular be downloaded from an Internet-type network.

[0108] Alternatively, the information or recording medium may be an integrated circuit in which a program is incorporated, the circuit being adapted to execute or to be used in the execution of the configuration and communication methods according to the invention.

[0109] It may also be envisaged, in other embodiments, that the configuration and communication methods, the network entity, the user equipment and the communication system according to the invention have in combination all or part of the aforementioned characteristics. Brief description of the drawings

[0109] Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will emerge from the description given below, with reference to the appended drawings which illustrate an exemplary embodiment thereof without any limiting character. In the figures: [ Fig. 1 ] Figure 1 , already described, represents bandwidth parts (or BWP) defined from a nominal bandwidth allocated to a network; [ Fig. 2] Figure 2 represents a communication system in a telecommunications network, in accordance with the invention, in a particular embodiment; [ Fig. 3] Figure 3 schematically represents the hardware architecture of a computer on which a network entity and user equipment according to the invention are based, belonging to the communication system of Figure 2; [ Fig. 4] Figure 4 represents, in the form of a flowchart, the main steps of a configuration method according to the invention, as they are implemented by an entity of the network according to the invention belonging to the communication system of Figure 2; [ Fig. 5] Figure 5 represents in the form of a flowchart, the main steps leading to the selection of a priority service, as they are implemented by a network entity in accordance with the invention belonging to the communication system of Figure 2, [ Fig. 6] Figure 6 represents in the form of a flowchart, the main steps of a communication method according to the invention, as they are implemented by user equipment in accordance with the invention belonging to the communication system of Figure 2. Description of the invention

[0110] Figure 2 represents, in its environment, a communication system 1, in accordance with the invention in a particular embodiment. [01 1 1] In this embodiment, the system 1 comprises: at least one entity 2 of a telecommunications network NW, in accordance with the invention; and at least one user equipment or UE 3 of the telecommunications network NW, attached to said at least one entity 2, and in accordance with the invention.

[0112] In the remainder of the description and in Figure 2, for the sake of simplification, we consider a single entity 2 and a single user equipment 3 attached to this entity 2.

[0113] In the example of Figure 2, the NW telecommunications network is a 5G NR network as defined by the 3GPP standard (with the adaptations necessary for the implementation of the invention, described below). It notably implements the BWP functionality mentioned above, allowing a user equipment to use only a part of the total bandwidth allocated to the cell to which it is attached, whether in DL to receive data and / or in UL to transmit data.

[0114] In this context and in the embodiment described here, the entity 2 according to the invention is a base station (also called gNode B or gNB) of the NW network, covering at least one CELL cell of the NW network to which the UE 3 is attached and via which the UE 3 can access the services offered by the NW network. It is assumed here that the CELL cell is configured with at least one carrier frequency CF to which the operator of the NW network has allocated a bandwidth BW(CF). Thus, the BWP functionality allows the UE 3 to use in transmission (in DL and / or in UL) only a part (BWP) of the bandwidth BW(CF) associated with a certain numerology p (referred to hereinafter as "part of bandwidth BWP / p"), when it is attached to the CELL cell.

[0115] UE 3 is initially configured, at the time of connection establishment between UE 3 and gNB 2, with a current BWP BWPa>urante(0) / pcourante(0) (for UL, respectively for DL). More precisely, during RRC reconfiguration, gNB 2 sends an RRC message to UE 3 including a field defaultUplinkBWP-ld for UL, respectively defaultDownlinkBWP-ld for DL, containing an indicator designating the current BWP BWPcourante(0) / pcourante(0) to be used in UL, respectively in DL. These fields are described in more detail in the 3GPP TS 38.331 document cited above.

[0116] As mentioned previously, apart from this mechanism for switching to the BWP defined by default, the UE 3 is informed of the BWP and the associated numerology (BWP / p) to be activated at a given time via DCI control information intended for the UE 3 and sent by the gNB 2 in a PDCCH control channel, broadcast on the CELL cell. The DCI control information carried in the PDCCH control channels can take different formats depending on the elements they transport. The DCI control information according to a 0_1 format (dedicated to the UL) or 1_1 (dedicated to the DL) contains, in addition to the location of the time and frequency resources allocated in UL and / or in DL to the UE 3, an indicator of the BWP to be activated by it, this indicator designating unequivocally a BWP to be activated by the UE 3 and the associated numerology to be used.The 0_1 and 1_1 formats of DCI control information and the elements they contain, as well as other DCI control information formats proposed by the 3GPR standard, are described in particular in paragraph 7.3 of 3GPP TS 38.212 entitled “Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; NR; Multiplexing and channel coding (Release 17)”, v17.5.0, March 2023.

[0117] It should be noted that the invention may be applied in other contexts or to other architectures than that described here, such as for example in an Open-RAN context (as discussed in more detail later) or in a future generation network, or even in a proprietary network, provided that the latter implements a BWP functionality. allowing a network user equipment to use only a part of the bandwidth allocated to the cell to which it is attached to transmit (i.e. send and / or receive) data.

[0118] In a manner known per se, the NW telecommunications network makes it possible to offer a plurality of services to its subscribers, each service being associated with specific constraints, in particular in terms of latency, transmission reliability, etc., defined by an SLA (for "Service Level Agreement" in English). By way of illustration, the following services are considered here for the NW network: an S1 service of the eMBB type (e.g. virtual reality, augmented reality, HD video broadcasting, etc.), requiring high data transmission rates; an S2 service of the uRLLC type (e.g. autonomous driving or remote management service) requiring low latency (less than one millisecond) and high data transmission reliability; and an S3 service of the mMTC type (e.g. loT) having a high requirement in terms of deployment density.

[0119] Furthermore, in the embodiment described here, the NW network implements network slicing. Each SL network slice is a logical subnetwork based on the physical infrastructure of the NW network and to which specific resources (e.g., hardware resources, software, etc.) are allocated. The different SL slices of the network are therefore advantageously isolated from each other and have their own resources.

[0120] Each slice here offers a distinct service and is identified by a unique slice identifier, such as for example an S-NSSAI identifier (for "Single-Network Slice Selection Assistance Information" in English) defined in the 3GPR standard. Thus, in the example of Figure 2, the slice SL(S1) is configured to offer the service S1 and identified by the identifier S-NSSAI 1, the slice SL(S2) ​​is configured to offer the service S2 and identified by the identifier S-NSSAI2, and the slice SL(S3) is configured to offer the service S3 and identified by the identifier S-NSSAI3. The result is that according to this configuration, not only does the S-NSSAI n associated with a slice SL(Sn), n designating an integer equal to 1, 2 or 3 in the example considered, uniquely identify this slice but also the service Sn that it offers.

[0121] It is assumed here, for illustration purposes, that the UE 3 is simultaneously connected to several slices of the NW network, and more particularly to the slices SL(S1) and SL(S2) ​​via which it can respectively access the services S1 and S2.

[0122] Of course, these assumptions are not limiting in themselves and this example is given for illustrative purposes only. Thus, other services may be offered by the NW network in addition to or as a variant of the aforementioned services, such as for example a V2x type service (which may, depending on the scenario envisaged, require a latency of less than a few milliseconds and a reliability close to 100% (so-called “Safety-related V2x” scenarios including autonomous driving for example), or as a variant, a high throughput, a higher latency and a low reliability (so-called “Non-Safety-related V2x” scenarios include for example high-speed mobile entertainment), an HMTC type service (requiring low latency, high availability and high throughput), etc. The NW network may also offer several distinct services of each category.

[0123] Furthermore, UE 3 can be connected to a different number of slices and / or to different services. Indeed, as mentioned previously, according to the 3GPR standard a UE can be connected to one or more slices (up to 8 simultaneously).

[0124] Finally, it is also possible to envisage that the NW network offers a plurality of services with different constraints without implementing network slicing. Each service offered by the NW network is then uniquely identified, for example using a service identifier.

[0125] In the embodiment described here, the gNB 2 and the UE 3 have the hardware architecture of a computer 4 as illustrated in FIG. 3. This hardware architecture notably comprises a processor PROC, a random access memory MEM, a read only memory ROM, a non-volatile memory NVM, and communication means COM allowing the gNB 2 and the UE 3 in particular to communicate with each other. The non-volatile memory NVM constitutes a recording medium in accordance with the invention, readable by the processor PROC and on which a program in accordance with the invention is recorded.

[0126] This program, denoted PROG2 when the hardware architecture of the computer 4 is that of the gNB 2, is recorded in the non-volatile memory NVM and comprises instructions defining the main steps of a configuration method according to the invention as implemented by the gNB 2 (network entity within the meaning of the invention). It more specifically defines the functional modules of the gNB 2, which rely on and / or control all or part of the PROC, MEM, ROM, NVM, and COM elements of the computer 4 cited above.

[0127] In the embodiment described here, the program PROG2 defines in particular the following functional modules of the gNB 2 (represented in FIG. 2), which are activated for each UE of the cell CELL for which the gNB 2 is requested to transmit in UL or in DL data associated with this UE (more particularly for the UE 3 in the example envisaged here): a determination module 2A, configured to determine, as a function of information relating to an energy status of the UE 3, the BWP and the numerology BWPcourante / pcourante to be used by the UE 3 to transmit traffic relating to at least one service among the services S1 and S2; a module 2B a sending module, configured to send to the UE 3, in a configuration message, an indicator designating the determined part of the bandwidth BWPcourente / pcourante. In the embodiment described here, these messages comply with the RRC protocol, and are called RRC messages.

[0128] It should be noted that the invention applies to both uplink (UL) and downlink (DL). For the sake of simplification here, the same BWPdet / pdet notations are used to designate the BWP defined by default and its associated numerology, whether in UL or DL. However, a BWP associated with a different numerology p can be defined by default in UL and DL.

[0129] The operation of modules 2A and 2B of the gNB 2 is detailed further later with reference to the steps of the configuration method according to the invention.

[0130] The computer program stored in non-volatile memory NVM, when the hardware architecture of the computer 4 is that of the UE 3, is noted PR0G3 and comprises instructions defining the main steps of a communication method according to the invention as implemented by the UE 3. It more specifically defines the functional modules of the UE 3, which rely on and / or control all or part of the PROC, MEM, ROM, NVM, and COM elements of the computer 4, cited previously.

[0131] The PROG3 program defines in particular the following functional modules of the UE 3 (represented in FIG. 2): a reception module 3A, configured to receive at least one configuration message (for example at least one RRC message) from an entity of the network according to the invention, and more particularly here from the gNB 2. This or these configuration messages comprise in particular an indicator of the BWP BWPdef / pdef determined by the gNB 2 for the UE 3 from information relating to an energy status of the UE 3; and an application module 3B, configured to apply the BWP BWPcourante / pcourante received by the reception module 3A.

[0132] The operation of the modules 3A and 3B of the UE 3 is detailed further later with reference to the steps of the communication method according to the invention.

[0133] For the sake of simplification, although as mentioned previously, the invention applies both in UL and in DL, it is limited here to DL access to the services S1 and S2 by the UE 3, in other words to downlink traffic received by the UE 3 via the NW network. A person skilled in the art would have no difficulty in adapting the following description to the transmission of uplink traffic, i.e. traffic sent by the UE 3 to a remote entity, which may be located in the NW network or outside it. To do this, it is sufficient to transpose what is described for incoming traffic (DL) to outgoing traffic (UL).Similarly, the person skilled in the art would have no difficulty in adapting the description to a combined transmission of uplink and downlink traffic, regardless of the multiplexing technique considered between UL and DL (TDD (for "Time Division Duplex" in English) or FDD (for "Frequency Division Duplex" in English), the invention being applied independently to the uplink and the downlink.

[0134] Figure 4 describes the main steps of a configuration method according to the invention, in a particular embodiment in which it is implemented by the gNB 2.

[0135] As mentioned previously, following the RRC reconfiguration of the UE 3 during the establishment of the connection between the UE 3 and the gNB 2, the BWP defined in DL for the UE 3 is configured with the bandwidth part BWPcurrent(0) / pcurrent(0) (step E00).

[0136] Thanks to the invention, this current BWP initially at the level of the UE 3 can be modified dynamically over time by the gNB 2 to adapt to the energy context of the UE 3. In the remainder of the description, the current defined BWP, noted BWPcurrent / pcurrent, is the BWP determined by the gNB 2, configured at the level of the UE 3 and applied at the time considered by the UE 3. Thus, after the step E00 of RRC reconfiguration of the UE 3: BWPcurrent / |Ucurrent= BWPcurrent(O) / Pcurrent(O) .

[0137] The steps of the configuration method described below illustrate how this current BWP is updated by the gNB 2 in accordance with the invention, in a particular embodiment.

[0139] More specifically, the gNB 2 obtains, for example via its communication means COM, information relating to the energy status of the UE 3 (step E10). In the embodiment described here, this information is for example obtained from the gNB 2 coming from the UE 3.

[0140] Such information relating to the energy status of the UE 3 may consist in particular of information relating to the energy consumption of the UE 3 and / or of information relating to the status of a battery (not shown in the figures) of the UE 3 such as: an energy consumption rate, given for example as a percentage; a consumption duration, given for example in minutes, hours or days; a consumed energy value, given for example in milliwatt hours (mWh), or even an autonomy rate, given for example as a percentage (a rate of 50% meaning, for example, that the battery has consumed half of its charge); an autonomy duration, given for example in minutes, hours or days; a charge rate, given for example as a percentage (a rate of 100% corresponding, for example, to a fully charged battery); a charge duration, given for example in minutes, hours or days

[0138] Such a list is given as an example and is intended to be non-exhaustive and non-limiting. It should be noted that the gNB 2 may use one or more of these pieces of information relating to an energy status of the UE 3 to determine the BWP to be activated. In the remainder of the description and for the purpose of simplification, the piece of information relating to an energy status of the UE 3 used by the gNB 2 to determine the BWP to be activated is the battery autonomy rate of the UE 3.

[0139] In a first embodiment, the gNB 2 determines whether a value of the autonomy rate TAut of the battery of the UE 3 is lower than a first threshold Thr1. The threshold Thr1 is defined as being a low threshold indicating that the energy status of the UE 3 requires paying particular attention to operate the user equipment (test step E20).

[0140] As a non-limiting example, the value of the threshold Thr1 is set at 20%. Of course, other values ​​can be envisaged for the threshold Thr1, the latter being determined to satisfy the operating constraints of the NW network.

[0141] If the value of the autonomy rate TAut of the battery of the UE 3 is lower than the threshold Thr1 (response yes to the test step E20), the gNB 2 determines, via its module 2A, a default BWP BWPdef / pdef for all the services S1, S2, independently of their respective constraints (step E30). Such a default BWP BWPdef / pdef is for example a narrow BWP, or the narrowest BWP among a plurality of BWPs having the same pidef numerology. Thus, UE 3 no longer needs to switch from one BWP to another. As long as the energy situation of UE 3 remains unchanged, i.e. as long as the response to the test in step E20 is yes, the BWP indicator included in the DCI control information regularly transmitted by gNB 2 to UE 3 remains the default BWP indicator BWPdef / pdef.

[0142] If the response to the test of step E20 is no, that is to say when the value of the autonomy rate TAut of the battery of the UE 3 is greater than or equal to the threshold Thr1, the gNB 2 determines whether the value of the autonomy rate TAut of the battery of the UE 3 is greater than or equal to a second threshold Thr2 (test step E40).

[0143] Threshold Thr2 is considered a high threshold indicating that the energy status of the UE 3 is optimal. This is for example the case when the battery of the UE 3 is charging, e.g. when the UE 3 is connected to an electricity supply network.

[0144] As a non-limiting example, the value of the Thr2 threshold is set at 50%. Of course, other values ​​can be considered for the Thr2 threshold, the latter being determined, just as for the Thr1 threshold, to satisfy the operating constraints of the NW network.

[0145] If the value of the battery life rate TAut of the UE 3 is greater than or equal to the threshold Thr2 (yes response to test step E40), the gNB 2 then determines whether an overheating indicator Heatldx is activated or not (step E50). As already mentioned above, the activation of such an overheating indicator Heatldx may indicate abnormally high energy consumption which has an impact on the battery life and more generally on the operation of the UE 3. It is therefore important to adapt the data transmission to this situation.

[0146] When the response to the test of step E50 is no, i.e. when the overheating indicator Heatldx is not activated, the gNB 2 optionally determines whether a discontinuous reception mode of the UE 3, such as the DRX mechanism previously described, is activated (test of step E60) in order to determine whether energy saving measures are already implemented within the UE 3. This information prevents the gNB 2 from determining a BWP to be activated which would not be in line with the energy situation of the UE 3.

[0141] When the response to the test of step E60 is no, i.e. when the DRX mechanism is not implemented within the UE, the gNB 2 decides to use the most appropriate BWP for the service S1 and for the service S2. To this end, the gNB 2 selects a first BWP BWPoptsi / poptsi making it possible to satisfy the SLA of the service S1 and a second WP BWP O pts2 / popts2 allowing the SLA of service S2 to be satisfied (step E70).

[0147] In order to be able to transmit data relating to the S1 service and the S2 service, the UE 3 switches in a conventional manner from the first BWP BWP op tsi / poptsi to the BWPoptæ / poptæ according to the DCI control information received, which includes the indicator of the BWP to be activated at a given time to benefit from the corresponding service.

[0148] DCI control information is included in RRC messages transmitted episodically over time. It is, however, possible, optionally, to adapt the duration separating the transmission of two consecutive RRC messages and, if necessary, to deviate from a periodic transmission pattern.

[0149] Thus, in the example considered here, gNB 2 can further decide to increase, compared at its current value, the transmission frequency between two consecutive RRC messages. This has the effect of increasing the switching frequency between the first BWP BWPoptsi / poptsi and the second BWP BWPoptæ / poptæ, which makes it possible to contribute more to the satisfaction of the respective SLAs of the S1 and S2 services.

[0150] Returning to step E60, if the answer to the test is yes, i.e. if the DRX mechanism is implemented within the UE, the gNB 2 then decides to prioritize a service from among the set of services accessed by the UE 3 (i.e. S1 or S2 in the illustrative example considered here).

[0151] The steps leading to the determination, by the gNB 2, of the service to be prioritized are described with reference to figure 5. This figure represents the main steps of this determination of a priority service in a particular embodiment.

[0152] More particularly, in the embodiment described here, a positive response to the test of step E60 triggers the execution of a test step F10 during which the gNB 2 determines, among all the services S1, S2 to which the UE 3 is connected, which has the highest traffic volume. The volume represents, for a given duration, the number of data packets to be transmitted for the UE 3 for a given service.

[0153] The traffic volume of a service is obtained by estimating the traffic associated with the UE 3. Such an estimation can be, for example, performed by a network data analysis function also known as a network function NWDAF (for “NetWork Data Analysis Function” in English) in the context of a 5G network.

[0154] The gNB 2 may also determine the traffic volume of a service by estimating, for each service (or equivalently here, each slice) to which the UE 3 is connected, the volume (i.e. the number of data packets) to be transmitted for the UE 3 for each QoS flow identified for this service, each QoS flow being able to group together several service data flows relating to the UE 3 having the same QoS requirements.

[0155] For example, if service S1 has a higher volume than service S2, then gNB 2 determines that the priority service is service S1 (step F20) and then implements a step E80 of the configuration method which will be described in more detail later in the document.

[0156] In the case where all the services S1 and S2 have sufficiently close or equivalent volumes, the gNB 2 tests another criterion intended to allow the identification of a priority service among the services S1 and S2 such as, for example, the type of service required. More particularly here, the gNB 2 determines whether at least one of the services S1, S2 is a uRLLC type service (test step F30).

[0157] As is well known, a uRLLC service, here the S2 service, is considered a priority, due to the low latency it supports (less than a given threshold, namely one millisecond). Other services, such as eMBB or mMTC services, are considered non-priority.

[0158] Since the S2 service meets the test criteria of step F30, the gNB 2 identifies it as being the priority service (step F40) and implements step E80.

[0159] If several services S1, S2 to which the UE 3 is connected are uRLLC type services or if no service among the services S1 and S2 is a uRLLC type service, the gNB 2 determines for all services S1, S2, the width of the BWP BWP op tsi / poptsi and the width of the BWP BWP op ts2 / p O pts2 allowing to satisfy the respective SLAs of services S1 and S2 (step F50).

[0160] The priority service is then the Sn service for which the BWP BWP O ptsn / p O ptsn is the narrowest among all BWP BWP O ptsn / p O ptsn determined (step F60). As previously, once the priority service has been identified, gNB 2 implements step E80.

[0161] Finally, if despite all this, gNB 2 has still not identified a priority service among the S1 and S2 services, it implements a final test (step F70), during which it determines the availability of physical resources, such as the physical blocks of PRB resources, respectively characterizing the BWP BWP op tsi / poptsi and the BWP BWPoptæ / poptss.

[0162] The gNB 2 identifies as the priority service the service for which the resources necessary for data transmission are available (step F80) and implements step E80.

[0163] It should be noted that gNB 2 may perform tests based on other criteria to identify a priority service. The number of tests performed by gNB 2 to identify a priority service may also vary and is not limited to 4 as in the example described. Once again, these choices are based, among other things, on the operational constraints of the NW network and are guided by the search for a compromise between satisfying the QoS requirements of the services required by UE 3 and the energy efficiency of the latter.

[0164] Returning to Figure 3, once the priority service has been identified, gNB 2 decides to use the most appropriate BWP for service S1 and for service S2 and selects a first BWP BWPoptsi / poptsi allowing to satisfy the SLA of service S1 and a second BWP BWPoptæ / p Opts2 allowing to satisfy the SLA of service S2 just as it did when the response to the test of step E60 is no (step E80).

[0165] However, in order to take into account the activation of the DRX mode, gNB 2 also decides to modify the transmission scheme of RRC messages including DCI control information relating to the non-priority service.

[0166] In this particular situation, gNB 2 reduces, compared to its current value, the transmission frequency between two consecutive RRC messages including DCI control information relating to the non-priority service. At the same time, gNB 2 maintains the transmission frequency between two consecutive RRC messages including DCI control information relating to the priority service at its current value.

[0167] This has the effect of reducing the switching frequency between the BWP BWPoptsprioritaire / poptsprioritaire BWP assigned to the priority service and the BWP BWPoptsnonprioritaire / poptsnonprioritaire BWP assigned to the non-priority service. Such a decision offers a balanced compromise between satisfying the respective SLAs of the priority and non-priority services and the energy efficiency of the UE 3.

[0168] Returning to step E50, when the test response is yes, i.e. when the overheating indicator Heatldx is activated, the gNB 2 determines whether the DRX mode is activated (test of step E90) in order to determine whether energy saving measures are already implemented. work within the EU 3.

[0169] When DRX mode is not implemented within the UE, i.e. when the response to the test of step E90 is no, the gNB 2 implements step E80 previously described.

[0170] If, on the contrary, the DRX mode is activated (yes response to step E90), the gNB then implements step E30.

[0171] Finally, when the value of the autonomy rate TAut of the battery of the UE 3 is greater than or equal to the first threshold Thr1 and is less than the second threshold Thr2 (step E100).

[0172] In such a case, the gNB 2 then determines whether an overheating indicator Heatldx is activated or not (step E1 10).

[0173] When the response to the test of step E1 10 is no, i.e. when the overheating indicator Heatldx is not activated, the gNB 2 implements step E80.

[0174] Conversely, when the Heatldx overheating indicator is activated (yes response to the test of step E1 10), the gNB 2 implements step E30.

[0175] Steps E10 to E1 10 are then repeated periodically.

[0176] In another embodiment, steps E10 to E110 may be repeated upon detection of a particular event, for example, a new service authorized for the UE 3, and / or the appearance of incoming traffic for a given service and / or a modification of a value of at least one of the information relating to an energy status of the UE 3.

[0177] It should be noted that in these different embodiments, steps E10 to E110 are executed to dynamically determine the bandwidth portion to be activated for a UE 3 as described herein. However, in another embodiment, these steps may be executed in a more static context, for example upstream of the RRC reconfiguration of the UE 3 to determine the bandwidth portion BWPcurrent(0) / pcurrent(0) to be applied when it is configured by the gNB 2 when establishing its connection therewith, or after this RRC reconfiguration.

[0178] Figure 6 illustrates the main steps of a communication method according to the invention as they are implemented by the UE 3 following step E30 or step E70 or step E80, in a particular embodiment.

[0179] The UE 3 receives, via its reception module 3A, the RRC configuration message(s) sent where appropriate by the module 2B of the gNB 2 during one of the steps E30, E70 or E80 (step G10). This or these RRC message(s) make it possible to reconfigure the current value(s) of the current BWP(s) applied by the UE 3 for the services S1 and S2 with the value(s) of the BWP determined by the gNB 2 and contained in the RRC message(s) (step G20).

[0180] Following this reconfiguration, the application module 3B of the UE 3 applies these new current values ​​to the transmission of incoming traffic intended for the UE 3 (step G30), until receiving new values ​​where appropriate from the gNB 2.

[0181] In a particular embodiment, during a preliminary step G00, the UE having collected information relating to its energy status, for example by means of native applications executed within its operating system, transmits to the gNB 2 at least one message comprising at least one of these pieces of information relating to its energy status. Such a message is, for example, in a particular RRC message called "UEAssistancel nformation", which has been modified for the needs of the invention in order to be able to transport this information relating to an energy status of the user equipment.

[0182] An example of the fields specially introduced for the purposes of the invention in a “UEAssistancel nformation” message is the following: UEAssistanceInformation-vl540-IEs ::= SEQUENCE { powerPreflndicationPerSlice ENUMERATED {very high for slice X, high for slice Y, normal, lowPowerConsumption, very low} OPTIONAL powerPreflndicationPerBWP ENUMERATED {very high for BWP X, high for BWP Y, normal, lowPowerConsumption, very low} OPTIONAL powerPreflndicationPer Application ENUMERATED {very high for application X, high, normal, lowPowerConsumption, very low} OPTIONAL powerPreflndication-RelativePerSlice ENUMERATED {higher for slice X, much higher, lower, same, much lower} OPTIONAL powerPreflndication-RelativePerBWP ENUMERATED { higher for BWP X, much higher, lower, same, much lower} OPTIONAL powerPreflndication-RelativePerApplication ENUMERATED { higher for application X, much higher, lower, same, much lower} OPTIONAL batteryConsumptionDescriptionPerSlice ENUMERATED {low for slice X, medium for slice Y, high} OPTIONAL batteryConsumptionDescriptionPerBWP ENUMERATED {low for BWP X, medium for BWP Y,high} OPTIONAL batteryConsumptionDescriptionPerApplication ENUMERATED {low for application X, medium for application Y, high} OPTIONAL batteryConsumptionPercentagePerSlice ENUMERATED {0...100} for slice ENUMERATED { 1...5} OPTIONAL batteryConsumptionPercentagePerBWP ENUMERATED {0...100} for BWP ID ENUMERATED {0...} OPTIONAL batteryConsumptionPercentagePerApplication ENUMERATED {0...100} for Application ID, ENUMERATED {0...} OPTIONAL batteryConsumptionHoursPerSlice ENUMERATED {0...} for slice ENUMERATED { 1...5} OPTIONAL batteryConsumptionHoursPerBWP ENUMERATED {0...} for BWP ID ENUMERATED {0...} OPTIONAL batteryConsumptionHoursPerApplication ENUMERATED {0...} for Application ID ENUMERATED {0...} OPTIONAL batteryConsumptionHours_mWhPerSlice ENUMERATED {0...} for slice ENUMERATED { 1 ...5} OPTIONAL batteryConsumptionHours_mWhPerBWP ENUMERATED {0...} for BWP ID ENUMERATED {0...} OPTIONAL batteryConsumptionHours_mWhPerApplication ENUMERATED {0...} for Application ID ENUMERATED {0...} OPTIONAL }

[0183] It appears that such a modified “UEAssistanceInformation” message includes information relating to the energy status of the UE 3 per network slice, and / or per BWP and / or per application.

[0184] As is known, an application is a computer program used to provide one or more services. Applications are deployed on an electronic device, in this case the user equipment, and run using the services of the operating system of the device on which they are deployed, to use the software and / or hardware resources of the latter. No assumption is made as to the nature of the application.

[0185] More specifically, the value of the "batteryConsumptionPercentage" field includes a list of numbers, each representing a value of a consumption percentage relative to a network slice or a BWP or an application listed in the "ENUMERATED" field. More specifically, the first value of the "batteryConsumptionPercentage" field corresponds to the first network slice (or BWP or application) listed in the "ENUMERATED" field.

[0186] The same applies to the “batteryConsumptionHours” field in which the numbers listed each represent a value of a battery life of the UE 3 relating to a network slice or a BWP or an application listed in the “ENUMERATED” field; and to the “batteryConsumptionHours_mWh” field in which the numbers listed each represent a value of a consumption in mWh of the battery of the UE 3 relating to a network slice or a BWP or an application listed in the “ENUMERATED” field.

[0187] As indicated above in the document, the invention applies in other contexts and to other network architectures, such as for example in a future generation network (6G, etc.), or a proprietary network, or an Open-RAN architecture as defined by the O-RAN Alliance, implementing a BWP functionality and in which a user equipment is likely to be connected simultaneously to several services.

[0188] As is well known, Open-RAN or Open Radio Access Network proposes an evolution of mobile network architectures based on a fully programmable Radio Access Network (RAN) consisting of virtualized and disaggregated functions. Typically for a 5G NR RAN, the base station or gNB is disaggregated into multiple radio units (O-RUs for Open Radio Units), distributed (O-DUs for Open Distributed Units) and centralized (O-CUs for Open Centralized Units). The interfaces between these units (e.g. A1, E1, E2, etc.) are open and interoperable. Each unit is responsible for a specific function and protocol layer. For example, the O-RU is responsible for the lower physical layer (processing such as FFT, beamforming, etc.).), while the O-DU is responsible for scheduling, the upper physical layer and layer 2 including the MAC (Medium Access Control) protocol.

[0189] In this architecture, RAN functions are controlled and optimized using an intelligent software controller or RIO (for "RAN Intelligent Controller" in English). The RIC is taken up in two logical forms, each performing a different function: a Non-RT RIC (for "Non-Real Time RIC" in English), which deals in particular with the management of configurations, devices, faults, performance and the cycle of life of all network elements, by means of intelligent algorithms (e.g. Al or ML) operating on a time scale greater than 1 s; and a Near-RT-RIC (for "Near-Real Time RI C" in English), which hosts a large number of micro-services or xApps, based on algorithms operating on a time scale between 10ms and 1 s. An xApp is a (software) entity of the network according to the invention, comprising functional modules similar or identical to the functional modules 2A to 2B of the gNB 2, described previously. They are not described in more detail here.

[0190] Steps E10 to E110 described previously are implemented by such an xApp in a similar or identical manner to what was described previously for the gNB 2, but involve communication interfaces specific to the Open-RAN architecture.

[0191] In yet another embodiment, the network entity according to the invention is hosted at the Non-RT RIC. The same interfaces as those described above are then used.

Claims

Claims

1. Method for configuring, by an entity (2) of a telecommunications network (NW), a user equipment (3) connected to at least one service offered by the network, the method comprising: determining (E30, E70, E80), as a function of information relating to an energy status of the user equipment, a bandwidth portion (BWP) intended to be activated by the user equipment to transmit traffic relating to the service (S1, S2); sending to the user equipment, in at least one configuration message, an indicator designating the determined bandwidth portion.

2. Configuration method according to claim 1 wherein, when a value of the information relating to the energy status is less than or equal (E20) to a first threshold (Thr1), the determined bandwidth portion corresponds to a bandwidth portion defined by default assigned to the user equipment to transmit the traffic relating to all of the services to which the user equipment is connected.

3. Configuration method according to claim 1 or claim 2, in which (E40) when a value of the information relating to the energy status reaches or exceeds a second threshold (Thr2): a first determined bandwidth part corresponds to a bandwidth part (BWP optsi / poptsi) assigned to the user equipment to transmit traffic relating to a first service (S1); a second determined bandwidth portion corresponds to a bandwidth portion (BWPoptæ / poptæ) assigned to the user equipment to transmit traffic relating to a second service (S2); and wherein a value of a waiting time between the sending of a first configuration message comprising an indicator designating the first bandwidth portion and the sending of a second configuration message comprising an indicator designating the second bandwidth portion is reduced compared to its current value.

4. Configuration method according to claim 3 wherein, when an overheating indicator of the user equipment (E50) and / or a discontinuous reception mode (E60) of the user equipment is activated: the value of the waiting time between the sending of two consecutive configuration messages comprising the indicator designating the first part of bandwidth is maintained at its current value; and the value of the waiting time between the sending of two configuration messages comprising the indicator designating the second part of bandwidth is increased relative to its current value.

5. Configuration method according to any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein when a value of the information relating to the energy status reaches or exceeds a second threshold (Thr2), an overheating indicator of the user equipment and a discontinuous reception mode of the user equipment are activated (E80), the determined bandwidth portion corresponds to a bandwidth portion defined by default assigned to the user equipment to transmit the traffic relating to all the services to which the user equipment is connected.

6. Configuration method according to any one of claims 1 to 5 in which, (E100) when a value of the information relating to the energy status is between a first threshold (Thr1) and a second threshold (Thr2): a first determined bandwidth part corresponds to a bandwidth part (BWP optsi / poptsi) assigned to the user equipment to transmit traffic relating to a first service; a second determined bandwidth portion corresponds to a bandwidth portion (BWPoptæ / poptæ) assigned to the user equipment to transmit traffic relating to a second service; and wherein: a value of a waiting time between the sending of two consecutive configuration messages comprising the indicator designating the first bandwidth portion is maintained at its current value; and a value of a waiting time between the sending of two configuration messages comprising the indicator designating the second bandwidth portion is increased relative to its current value.

7. Configuration method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein, when a value of the information relating to the energy status is between a first threshold and a second threshold, and an overheating indicator of the user equipment is activated (E100, E80), the determined bandwidth portion corresponds to a bandwidth portion defined by default assigned to the user equipment to transmit the traffic relating to all the services to which the user equipment is connected.

8. A configuration method according to claim 4 or claim 6 wherein the first service (S1, S2) is the service having the highest traffic volume (F20) among all the services (S1, S2) to which the user equipment is connected.

9. Configuration method according to claim 8 wherein, with equivalent traffic volume between different services (S1, S2) to which the user equipment is connected, the first service (S2) is an “ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication” service, uRLLC (F40).

10. A configuration method according to claim 9 wherein, when several services (S1, S2) to which the user equipment is connected are uRLLC services, the first service (S1, S2) is the service for which the bandwidth portion intended to be activated by the user equipment to transmit traffic is the narrowest (F60). [Claim 1 1] Configuration method according to claim 10 wherein, with equivalent bandwidth parts width between different services (S1, S2) to which the user equipment is connected, the first service (S1, S2) is the service for which the physical resources characterizing the bandwidth part intended to be activated by the user equipment to transmit the traffic are not congested (F80).

12. Configuration method according to any one of claims 1 to 11 comprising, prior to determining a portion of bandwidth intended to be activated, receiving, from the user equipment, at least one item of information relating to an energy status of the user equipment.

13. A configuration method according to any one of claims 1 to 12 wherein the steps of determining and sending are repeated periodically.

14. Method of communication, by a user equipment (3) of a telecommunications network (NW) connected to at least one service (S1, S2) offered by the network, the communication method comprising: the reception (G10) of at least one configuration message from an entity (2) of the network, said at least one configuration message comprising an indicator designating a bandwidth portion (BWP) intended to be activated by the user equipment to transmit traffic relating to the service, said bandwidth portion having been determined by the entity of the network as a function of information relating to an energy status of the user equipment; the application (G30) of said determined bandwidth portion.

15. Communication method according to claim 14 comprising, prior to receiving the configuration message, sending to the network entity at least one piece of information relating to an energy status of the user equipment.

16. Entity (2) of a telecommunications network comprising: a determination module (2A) configured to determine, as a function of information relating to an energy status of a user equipment (3) connected to at least one service offered by the network, a portion of bandwidth intended to be activated by the user equipment to transmit traffic relating to the service; a sending module (2B), configured to send to the user equipment, in at least one configuration message, an indicator designating the determined bandwidth portion.

17. User equipment (3) of a telecommunications network (NW) comprising: a reception module (2A), configured to receive at least one configuration message from an entity (2) of the network, said at least one configuration message comprising an indicator designating a bandwidth portion (BWP) intended to be activated by the user equipment to transmit traffic relating to at least one service (S1, S2), offered by the network, to which the user equipment is connected, said bandwidth portion having been determined by the network entity as a function of information relating to an energy status of the user equipment; an application module (2B), configured to apply said determined bandwidth portion.

18. A communication system comprising: at least one entity of a telecommunications network according to claim 16; and at least one user equipment according to claim 17, attached to said at least one entity of the network.

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