Methods for signalling list of packet data unit session information for core network buffering with long extended discontinuous reception

Abstract

A method (200) performed by a network node (510) for signalling Packet Data Unit, PDU, session information is provided. The method includes transmitting (202), to a core network, CN, (506), first PDU session information comprising a PDU session resource list indicating at least one PDU session that has active user plane resources. For example, the first PDU session information may include at least one PDU session identifier.

Description

[0001] METHODS FOR SIGNALLING LIST OF PACKET DATA UNIT SESSION INFORMATION

[0002] FOR CORE NETWORK BUFFERING WITH LONG EXTENDED DISCONTINUOUS

[0003] RECEPTION

[0004] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0005] The present disclosure relates, in general, to wireless communications and, more particularly, systems and methods for signalling a list of Packet Data Unit (PDU) session information for Core Network (CN) buffering with long Extended Discontinuous Reception (eDRX).

[0006] BACKGROUND

[0007] FIGURE 1 illustrates the overall 5thGeneration Radio Access Network (5G RAN or NG- RAN) architecture. The gNB in FIGURE 1 is depicted with a split architecture.

[0008] With respect to the Release 18 Reduce Capability (RedCap) work, support of a Radio Resource Control Inactive (RRC INACTIVE) state with long greater than 10.24s was specified by introducing new signalling procedures between the NG-RAN and CN.

[0009] For example, new procedures have been introduced in Next Generation Application Protocol (NGAP) in 3GPP TS 38.413 v.18.0.0, where the NG-RAN serving a User Equipment (UE) that enters RRC INACTIVE with long eDRX in Radio Resource Control (RRC) inactive sends a MT COMMUNICATION HANDLING REQUEST message to the CN. Once the CN receives the request message, it triggers High Latency Communication handling as defined in 3GPP TS 23.502 V.18.4.0. When there is downlink (DL) Mobile Termination (MT) data or DL signalling coming from the CN, the CN sends a RAN PAGING REQUEST message towards the NG-RAN node to perform RAN paging so that the UE in RRC INACTIVE triggers a connection resume procedure. If the paging has been successful and the UE becomes reachable, the NG-RAN sends a MT COMMUNICATION HANDLING REQUEST message to CN to inform CN that UE is reachable, so that the CN can deliver the buffered data / buffered signalling to the UE without risk of loss. FIGURE 2 corresponds to Figure 4.8.2.2b-l of 3GPP TS 23.502 V.18.4.0 and illustrates network-triggered connection resume for UE in RRC INACTIVE with CN based MT communication handling. Specifically, Section 4.8.2.2b of 3GPP TS 23.502 V.18.4.0 states:

[0010] When the UE is in CM-CONNECTED with RRC INACTIVE state with CN based mobile terminating (MT) communication handling, high latency communication as described in clause 5.31.8 of TS 23.501 [2] is applied.

[0011] This procedure may be triggered by MT data, or a N1 procedure from Session Management Function (SMF) and [User Plane Function (UPF)] as shown in Figure 4.8.2.2b-l. When the procedure is triggered by other [Network Functions (NFs) (e.g., Short Message Service Function (SMSF), Location Management Function (LMF), Gateway Mobile Location Centre ( GMLC)], the UPF (or SMF) in [Figure 4.8.2.2b-l] should be replaced by the respective NF (the corresponding service operations used by other NFs when they communicate with Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) may also be different from the service operations used by SMF / UPF).

[0012] During the procedure, the NG-RAN (i.e., [gNodeB (gNB)] performs RAN paging towards the UE based on the N2 message from the AMF in order to trigger the UE triggered Connection Resume procedure in clause 4.8.2.2. la. When downlink data is received and the SMF / UPF is requested to perform buffering as specified in clause 4.8.1.1a, the UPF / SMF checks with AMF for the possibility of data delivery, similar to step 2 of clause 4.24.2 with the following differences:

[0013] In the Namf M'! ' EnableUEReachability , the SMF may also send the PPI, the [Allocation and Retention Priority (ARP)] and the [5G QoS Identifier (5QI)], and / or [Quality Flow Indicator (QFI)] of the [Quality of Service (QoS)] Flow of the PDU Session which triggered the request for paging policy differentiation as defined in clause 5.4.3.2 of TS 23.501.

[0014] If the SMF, while waiting for UE triggered Connection Resume indication or a reject response (with Estimated Maximum Wait time) from the AMF, receives any additional Data Notification message due to additional data packets for another QoS Flow associated with a higher priority (i.e., ARP priority level) than the priority indicated to the AMF in the previous Namf Ml ' EnableUEReachability, or the SMF derive a different Paging Policy Indicator according to the additional Data Notification, the SMF invokes a new Namf MT EnableUEReachability indicating the higher priority or different Paging Policy Indicator to the AMF. The information contained in the new Namf M ' EnableUEReachability request overrides the information from the previous Namf JUT EnableUEReachability request that is stored in the AMF. If the SMF receives any additional Data Notification messages due to additional data packets for another QoS Flow associated with same or lower priority than the priority indicated to the AMF in the previous Nam MT EnableUEReachability or if the SMF has sent the second Namf M ' EnableUEReachability message indicating the higher priority and receives additional downlink data packets for this UE, the SMF buffers these downlink data packets and does not send a new Namf MT Enable UEReachability message .

[0015] The AMF determines if the UE is reachable based on the stored eDRX values for RRC INACTIVE state provided by NG-RAN in clause 4.8.1.1a. If the UE is unreachable, the AMF stores the information received in the Namf M ' EnableUEReachability request and provides the Estimated Maximum Wait time in the response message based on the eDRX values for RRC INACTIVE in AMF (steps 2-5 are postponed until the UE becomes reachable). If the UE is considered reachable, step 2 is executed immediately.

[0016] NOTE: This handling is similar to [Connection Management-Idle (CM-IDLE)] with eDRX. When the AMF provides the Estimated Maximum Wait time, it can consider the time needed for RRC level procedures (e.g., RRC RAN-based Notification Area (RNA) update procedure) when UE wakes up from the eDRX cycle.

[0017] 2. When the AMF determines that the UE is reachable, the AMF sends an N2 DL Data Notification message to NG-RAN with the request for the UE’s RRC connection to be resumed. The AMF may include the following parameter(s) the PPI, the ARP and the 5QI, and / or QFI of the QoS Flow of the PDU Session ID in the N2 DL Data Notification message to trigger and enable RAN paging.

[0018] 3. NG-RAN performs RAN paging towards the UE considering the parameters provided by the AMF.

[0019] 4. When the UE receives RAN paging, it initiates the UE triggered Connection Resume procedure and NG-RAN notifies CN as specified in clause 4.8.2.2 including the N2 Notification in step 3b.

[0020] 5. The UPF triggers downlink data delivery if there is any. The AMF sends downlink NAS messages if there is any.

[0021] NGAP Procedures

[0022] NGAP procedures are discussed in Section 8.3.13 of TS 138 413: 8.3.13 MT Communication Handling

[0023] 8.3.13.1 General

[0024] The purpose of the MT Communication Handling procedure is to request the AMF to activate or deactivate the CN based MT Communication handling for a UE in RRC IN ACTIVE state with extended DRX beyond 10.24 seconds as specified in TS 23.501 [9], The procedure uses UE- associated signalling.

[0025] 8.3.13.2 Successful Operation

[0026] The NG-RAN node initiates the procedure by sending the MT COMMUNICATION HANDLING REQUEST message to the AMF. If the 5GC Action IE is included in the MT COMMUNICATION HANDLING REQUEST message and set to "HLCom Activate", the AMF shall activate MT communication handling as specified in TS 23.501 [9] and take into account the NR Paging Long eDRX Information for RRC INACTIVE IE when applying MT communication handling as specified in TS 38.304

[0012] and TS 23.502

[0010] ,

[0027] If the 5GC Action IE is included in the MT COMMUNICATION HANDLING REQUEST message and set to "HLCom Deactivate", the AMF shall deactivate MT communication handling as specified in TS 23.501 [9],

[0028] 8.3.13.3 Unsuccessful Operation

[0029] If the AMF is not able to activate CN based mobile terminating communication handling for the UE configured with eDRX cycle value longer than 10.24 seconds in RRC INACTIVE state, it shall send a MT COMMUNICATION HANDLING FAILURE message to the NG-RAN node.

[0030] 8.3.14 RAN Paging Request

[0031] 8.3.14.1 General

[0032] This procedure is initiated by the AMF to indicate that there is DL data buffered in 5GC or DL signalling arrives for the UE. The procedure uses UE-associated signalling.

[0033] 8.3.14.2 Successful Operation

[0034] The AMF initiates the RAN Paging Request procedure by sending the RAN PAGING REQUEST message to the NG-RAN node.

[0035] Upon reception of the RAN PAGING REQUEST message, the NG-RAN node shall perform RAN Paging for the UE in RRC IN ACTIVE state.

[0036] If the Paging Policy Differentiation IE is included in the RAN PAGING REQUEST message, the NG-RAN node shall, if supported, take it into account when performing RAN Paging for the UE in RRC INACTIVE state.

[0037] If the DL Signalling IE is included in the RAN PAGING REQUEST message, the NG-RAN node shall, if supported, take it into account when performing RAN Paging for the UE in RRC INACTIVE state.

[0038] 8.3.14.3 Abnormal Conditions

[0039] Void.

[0040] There currently exist certain challenge(s), however. For example, the current procedures are lacking information to support RRC Inactive with long eDRX including Network Triggered Connection Resume in RRC INACTIVE with CN based MT communication handling.

[0041] In fact, SA2 requirements are as follows: In clause 4.8.1.1a of TS 23.502, it reads:

[0042] For each of the PDU sessions with user plane resources have been activated, the AMF invokes Nsmf PDUSession UpdateSMContext Request (PDU Session ID, Cause, Operation type, User Location Information, Age of Location Information, N2 SM Information (Secondary RAT usage data), CN based MT handling indication) towards SMF. The Operation Type is set to a value that indicates to stop user plane DL data transmissions towards the UE and enable data buffering. The SMF starts data buffering for MT data if the data buffering is handled in SMF.

[0043] However, the AMF has no precise knowledge if the user plane resources for a given PDU session is established or not. The AMF is made transparent to those Session Management procedures.

[0044] Similarly, during resume, clause 4.8.2.2 of TS 23.502 states:

[0045] “4b.2 The AMF invokes Nsmf_PDUSession_UpdateSMContext Request towards SMF indicating the Downlink data delivery for each PDU session with active user plane, if the AMF has requested data buffering as described in clause 4.8.1.1a.”

[0046] Requiring the AMF to send an Update SM Context Request to ALL SMFs to “SUSPEND” or “RESUME”, regardless of whether the corresponding user plane resource is established leads to a lot of extra signalling.

[0047] Requiring the AMF to remember there was DL data / signaling for a given PDU session from the SMF and generate the Update SM Context request towards that SMF correspondingly adds a new requirement to the AMF and is not actually needed since all SMFs for the PDU Session having PDU Session resource established are notified that UP connection is SUSPENDED when UE enters RRC Inactive with long eDRX. As such, the SMF triggers EnableUeReachability upon receiving DL data. However, if UE is resumed, the UP connection status for all PDU sessions should be updated from SUSPENDED to ACTIVATED. This limits the functionality to only the PDU session which has some DL data to send. SUMMARY

[0048] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. For example, methods and systems are provided for signalling list of PDU session information for CN buffering with long eDRX.

[0049] According to certain embodiments, a method by a network node for signalling PDU session information includes transmitting, to a CN, first PDU session information, which includes a PDU session resource list indicating at least one PDU session that has active UP resources.

[0050] According to certain embodiments, a network node for signalling PDU session information is configured to transmit, to a CN, first PDU session information, which includes a PDU session resource list indicating at least one PDU session that has active UP resources.

[0051] According to certain embodiments, a method by a CN for signalling PDU session information includes receiving, from a network node, first PDU session information, which includes a PDU session resource list indicating at least one first PDU session that has active UP resources.

[0052] According to certain embodiments, a CN for signalling PDU session information is configured to receive, from a network node, first PDU session information, which includes a PDU session resource list indicating at least one first PDU session that has active UP resources.

[0053] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s). For example, certain embodiments may provide a technical advantage of enabling the AMF to know which PDU sessions have active user plane resource connection. As another example, certain embodiments may provide a technical advantage of enabling NG-RAN to know which PDU sessions the SMF has received MT calls and trigger paging for.

[0054] Other advantages may be readily apparent to one having skill in the art. Certain embodiments may have none, some, or all of the recited advantages.

[0055] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0056] For a more complete understanding of the disclosed embodiments and their features and advantages, reference is now made to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0057] FIGURE 1 illustrates the overall 5thGeneration Radio Access Network (5G RAN or NG- RAN) architecture;

[0058] FIGURE 2 illustrates network-triggered connection resume for UE in RRC INACTIVE with CN based MT communication handling;

[0059] FIGURE 3 illustrates an example method by a network node for signalling PDU session information, according to certain embodiments;

[0060] FIGURE 4 illustrates another example method by a network node for signalling PDU session information, according to certain embodiments;

[0061] FIGURE 5 illustrates an example method by a CN for signalling PDU session, according to certain embodiments;

[0062] FIGURE 6 illustrates another example method by a CN for signalling PDU session, according to certain embodiments;

[0063] FIGURE 7 illustrates an example communication system, according to certain embodiments;

[0064] FIGURE 8 illustrates an example UE, according to certain embodiments;

[0065] FIGURE 9 illustrates an example network node, according to certain embodiments; and

[0066] FIGURE 10 illustrates a virtualization environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized, according to certain embodiments.

[0067] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0068] 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.

[0069] As used herein, ‘node’ can be a network node or a UE. Examples of network nodes are NodeB, base station (BS), multi-standard radio (MSR) radio node such as MSR BS, eNodeB (eNB), gNodeB (gNB), Master eNB (MeNB), Secondary eNB (SeNB), integrated access backhaul (IAB) node, network controller, radio network controller (RNC), base station controller (BSC), relay, donor node controlling relay, base transceiver station (BTS), Central Unit (e.g. in a gNB), Distributed Unit (e.g. in a gNB), Baseband Unit, Centralized Baseband, C-RAN, access point (AP), transmission points, transmission nodes, Remote Radio Unit (RRU), Remote Radio Head (RRH), nodes in distributed antenna system (DAS), CN node (e.g. Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), etc.), Operations & Maintenance (O&M), Operations Support System (OSS), Self-Organizing Network (SON), positioning node (e.g. E- SMLC), etc.

[0070] Another example of a node is user equipment (UE), which is a non-limiting term and refers to any type of wireless device communicating with a network node and / or with another UE in a cellular or mobile communication system. Examples of UE are target device, device to device (D2D) UE, vehicular to vehicular (V2V), machine type UE, MTC UE or UE capable of machine to machine (M2M) communication, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), Tablet, mobile terminals, smart phone, laptop embedded equipment (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), Unified Serial Bus (USB) dongles, etc.

[0071] In some embodiments, generic terminology, “radio network node” or simply “network node (NW node)”, is used. It can be any kind of network node which may comprise base station, radio base station, base transceiver station, base station controller, network controller, evolved Node B (eNB), Node B, gNodeB (gNB), relay node, access point, radio access point, Remote Radio Unit (RRU) Remote Radio Head (RRH), Central Unit (e.g. in a gNB), Distributed Unit (e.g. in a gNB), Baseband Unit, Centralized Baseband, C-RAN, access point (AP), etc.

[0072] The term radio access technology (RAT), may refer to any RAT such as, for example, Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRA), Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRA), narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT), WiFi, Bluetooth, next generation RAT, NR, 4G, 5G, etc. Any of the equipment denoted by the terms node, network node or radio network node may be capable of supporting a single or multiple RATs.

[0073] The term signal or radio signal used herein can be any physical signal or physical channel. Examples of downlink (DL) physical signals are reference signal (RS) such as Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS), Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS), Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSLRS), Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS) signals in SS / PBCH block (SSB), discovery reference signal (DRS), Cell Specific Reference Signal (CRS), Positioning Reference Signal (PRS), etc. RS may be periodic. For example, RS occasions carrying one or more RSs may occur with certain periodicity (e.g., 20 ms, 40 ms, etc.). The RS may also be aperiodic.

[0074] Each SSB carries New Radio-Primary Synchronization Signal (NR-PSS), New RadioSecondary Synchronization Signal (NR-SSS) and New Radio-Physical Broadcast Channel (NR- PBCH) in four successive symbols. One or multiple Synchronization Signal Blocks (SSBs) are transmitted in one SSB burst which is repeated with certain periodicity such as, for example, 5 ms, 10 ms, 20 ms, 40 ms, 80 ms, and 160 ms. The UE is configured with information about SSB on cells of certain carrier frequency by one or more SS / PBCH block measurement timing configuration (SMTC) configurations. The SMTC configuration comprising parameters such as SMTC periodicity, SMTC occasion length in time or duration, SMTC time offset with regard to reference time (e.g., serving cell’s SFN) etc. Therefore, SMTC occasion may also occur with certain periodicity (e.g., 5 ms, 10 ms, 20 ms, 40 ms, 80 ms, and 160 ms). Examples of uplink (UL) physical signals are reference signals such as Sounding Reference Signals (SRS), Demodulation Reference Signals (DMRS), etc. The term physical channel refers to any channel carrying higher layer information e.g. data, control etc. Examples of physical channels are Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH), Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), Short PUSCH (sPUCCH), Short PDSCH (sPDSCH), Short PUCCH (sPUCCH), Short PUSCH (sPUSCH), MTC PDCCH (MPDCCH), Narrowband PBCH (NPBCH), Narrowband PDCCH (NPDCCH), Narrowband PDSCH (NPDSCH), Narrowband PUSCH (NPUSCH), Enhanced PDCCH (E-PDCCH), etc.

[0075] The term time resource used herein may correspond to any type of physical resource or radio resource expressed in terms of length of time. Examples of time resources are: symbol, time slot, subframe, radio frame, TTI, interleaving time, slot, sub-slot, mini-slot, system frame number (SFN) cycle, hyper-SFN (H-SFN) cycle etc.

[0076] According to certain embodiment, methods and systems are provided for signalling list of PDU session information for CN buffering with long eDRX. For example, according to certain embodiments, a list of PDU sessions Information is added in the MT COMMUNICATION HANDLING REQUEST message from NG-RAN to CN, to let AMF be aware of User Plane Connection status for a PDU session and, in particular embodiments, trigger further signalling towards SMF. Specifically, in a particular embodiment, since the NG-RAN should be able to tell AMF which PDU sessions have corresponding PDU session resources established in the NG-RAN, the NG-RAN includes “a list of PDU Session IDs” in the MT COMMUNICATION HANDLING REQUEST message to instruct the AMF that the user plane connections for these PDU sessions are to be “Suspended” or “Resumed” since the UE enters RRC Inactive with long eDRX. As such, the AMF is able to trigger UpdateSmContext correspondingly. Later, when AMF receives MT signalling from SMF that supports multiple PDU sessions, the AMF provides a list of PDU sessions in the RAN paging request message to NG-RAN, so that the RAN uses the list of PDU decisions when deciding on a paging strategy such as, for example, paging on small data transmission based on the accumulated data sizes accross all PDU sessions.

[0077] In a particular embodiment, when sending the NGAP MT COMMUNICATION HANDLING REQUEST message, the NG-RAN includes the list of PDU Session Information (e.g., PDU Session ID) for which AMF should consider this PDU session has active user plane resources in network.

[0078] In a particular embodiment, the AMF considers the received PDU sessions as having active user plane connections and decides to trigger UpdateSmContext correspondingly. Specifically, the AMF may perform one of the following:

[0079] - If the 5GC Action is set to “HLCOM Activate”, the AMF triggers UpdateSmContext to enable buffering for the indicated PDU sessions.

[0080] - If the 5GC Action is set to “HLCOM Deactivate”, the AMF triggers UpdateSmContext to enable stop buffering of the indicated PDU sessions.

[0081] Examples Implementation in 3GPP TS 38.413

[0082] In a particular embodiment, Section 9.2.2.22 of 3GPP TS 38.413, which relates to the MT COMMUNICATION HANDLING REQUEST is updated as follows, where the revised or added texts is indicated with underline and italics:

[0083] 9.2.2.22 MT COMMUNICATION HANDLING REQUEST

[0084] This message is sent by the NG-RAN node to the AMF to request activating or deactivating CN based MT communication handling for UEs in RRC INACTIVE state with long eDRX beyond 10.24 seconds as specified in TS 23.501 [9], Direction: NG-RAN node ® AMF

[0085] In another particular embodiment, the AMF includes a list of PDU sessions in the RAN PAGING REQUEST message. A possible revision to TS 38.413 V18.0.0 to affect this implementation is provided below, where the revised or added texts is indicated with underline and italics:

[0086] 9.3.3.63 Paging Policy Differentiation

[0087] This IE provides paging policy differentiation information for a UE in

[0088] RRC INACTIVE state.

[0089] In a particular embodiment, the NG-RAN takes the list of PDU sessions and accumulates the data size across all PDU sessions for Small Data Transmission (SDT) to decide on MT-SDT paging. FIGURE 3 illustrates an example method 100 by a network node for signalling PDU session information, according to certain embodiments. In the illustrated embodiment, the method includes at least one of a transmitting step at 102 and a receiving step at 104. For example, at step 102, the network node may transmit, to a CN, first PDU session information indicating at least active or inactive PDU session. Additionally or alternatively, at step 104, for example, the network node may receive, from the CN, second PDU session information triggering at least one paging message or at least one small data transmission.

[0090] In particular embodiments, the method by network node may include any of the operations and / or features disclosed in the Group C Example Embodiments included below and / or any other operations and / or features described herein. FIGURE 4 illustrates another example method 200 by a network node for signalling PDU session information, according to certain embodiments. In the illustrated embodiment, the method includes, at step 202, the network node transmitting, to a CN, first PDU session information comprising a PDU session resource list indicating at least one PDU session that has active user plane resources. In a particular embodiment, the first PDU session information comprises at least one PDU session identifier.

[0091] In a particular embodiment, the first PDU session information is transmitted to the CN in a NGAP MT communication handling request message.

[0092] In a further particular embodiment, the first PDU session information comprises or is included in a message with a request to activate CN-based MT communication handling for at least one UE associated with the at least one PDU session. Alternatively, the first PDU session information comprises or is included in a message with a request to deactivate CN-based MT communication handling for at least one UE associated with the at least one PDU session.

[0093] In a particular embodiment, the network node receives, from the CN, second PDU session information triggering at least one paging message or at least one small data transmission.6.

[0094] In a further particular embodiment, the second PDU session information indicates at least one second PDU session for which the network node is to transmit the at least one paging message or the at least one small data transmission.

[0095] In a further particular embodiment, the second PDU session information comprises or is included in a message with a request to transmit the at least one paging message or the at least one small data transmission to at least one UE associated with the at least one second PDU session.

[0096] In a further particular embodiment, the second PDU session information comprises or is included in a RAN paging request message.

[0097] In a further particular embodiment, based on the second PDU session information, the network node determines an accumulated data size for all PDU sessions for the at least one paging message and / or the at least one small data transmission and determines to transmit the at least one paging message and / or the at least one small data transmission based on the accumulated data size for all PDU sessions.

[0098] In a particular embodiment, the network node transmits the first PDU session information to the CN comprises transmitting the first PDU session information to an AMF.

[0099] In a particular embodiment, the first PDU session information is associated with at least one User Equipment, UE, in an RRC INACTIVE state.

[0100] FIGURE 5 illustrates an example method 300 by a CN for signalling PDU session, according to certain embodiments. In the illustrated embodiment, the method includes at least one of a receiving step at 302 and a transmitting step at 304. For example, at step 302, the CN receives, from a network node, first PDU session information indicating at least active or inactive PDU session. Additionally or alternatively, at step 304, for example, the CN transmits, to the network node, second PDU session information triggering at least one paging message or at least one small data transmission.

[0101] In particular embodiments, the method by CN may include any of the operations and / or features disclosed in the Group D Example Embodiments included below and / or any other operations and / or features described herein.

[0102] FIGURE 6 illustrates another example method 400 performed by a CN for signalling PDU session information, according to certain embodiments. In the illustrated embodiment, the method includes, at step 402, the CN receiving, from a network node, first PDU session information comprising a PDU session resource list indicating at least one first PDU session that has active user plane resources.

[0103] In a particular embodiment, based on the first PDU session information, the CN determines to trigger a context update for at least one UE.

[0104] In a particular embodiment, determining to trigger the context update for the at least one UE includes at least one of: when the 5GC Action is set to HLCOM Activate, trigger UpdateSmContext to enable buffering for the at least one first PDU session associated with the first PDU session information, and / or when the 5GC Action is set to HLCOM Deactivate, trigger UpdateSmContext to enable stop buffering of the at least one first PDU session associated with the first PDU session information.

[0105] In a particular embodiment, the first PDU session information comprises at least one PDU session identifier.

[0106] In a particular embodiment, the first PDU session information is received from the network node in a NGAP MT communication handling request message.

[0107] In a particular embodiment, the first PDU session information comprises or is included in a message with a request to activate CN-based MT communication handling for at least one UE associated with the at least one first PDU session. Alternatively, the first PDU session information comprises or is included in a message with a request to deactivate CN-based MT communication handling for at least one UE associated with the at least one first PDU session. In a particular embodiment, the CN transmits, to the network node, second PDU session information triggering at least one paging message or at least one small data transmission.

[0108] In a further particular embodiment, the second PDU session information indicates at least one second PDU session for which the network node is to transmit the at least one paging message or the at least one small data transmission.

[0109] In a further particular embodiment, the second PDU session information comprises or is included in a message with a request to transmit the at least one paging message or the at least one small data transmission to at least one UE associated with the at least one second PDU session.

[0110] In a particular embodiment, the second PDU session information comprises or is included in a RAN paging request message.

[0111] In a particular embodiment, the CN receives, from a SMF a message indicating at least one of: the SMF supports multiple PDU sessions, and the SMF has received at least one MT call for the at least one second PDU session associated with the at least one second PDU session information.

[0112] In a further particular embodiment, the at least one second PDU information is transmitted based on the message received from the SMF.

[0113] In a particular embodiment, when receiving the first PDU session information, the CN receives the first PDU session information by an AMF.

[0114] In a particular embodiment, the first PDU session information is associated with at least one UE in an RRC INACTIVE state.

[0115] FIGURE 7 illustrates an example of a communication system 500 in accordance with some embodiments. In the example, the communication system 500 includes a telecommunication network 502 that includes an access network 504, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a CN 506, which includes one or more CN nodes 508. The access network 504 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 510a and 510b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 510), or any other similar 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access node or non-3GPP access point. The network nodes 510 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 512a, 512b, 512c, and 512d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 512) to the CN 506 over one or more wireless connections. 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 500 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 500 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0116] The UEs 512 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 510 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 510 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 512 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 502 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 502.

[0117] In the depicted example, the CN 506 connects the network nodes 510 to one or more hosts, such as host 516. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The CN 506 includes one more CN nodes (e.g., CN node 508) 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 CN node 508. Example CN 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).

[0118] The host 516 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 504 and / or the telecommunication network 502 and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 516 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.

[0119] As a whole, the communication system 500 of FIGURE 7 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (WiFi); and / or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[0120] In some examples, the telecommunication network 502 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 502 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 502. For example, the telecommunications network 502 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 services to yet further UEs.

[0121] In some examples, the UEs 512 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 504 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 504. 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).

[0122] In the example, the hub 514 communicates with the access network 504 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 512c and / or 512d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 510b). In some examples, the hub 514 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 514 may be a broadband router enabling access to the CN 506 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 514 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 510, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 514. As another example, the hub 514 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 514 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 514 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 514 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 514 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.

[0123] The hub 514 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 510b. The hub 514 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 514 and UEs (e.g., UE 512c and / or 512d), and between the hub 514 and the CN 506. In other examples, the hub 514 is connected to the CN 506 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 514 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 504 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 510 while still connected via the hub 514 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 514 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 510b. In other embodiments, the hub 514 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 510b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels. FIGURE 8 shows a UE 600, which may be an embodiment of the UE 112 of FIGURE 7, in accordance with some embodiments.

[0124] 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 (3 GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0125] A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehi cl e-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).

[0126] The UE 600 includes processing circuitry 602 that is operatively coupled via a bus 604 to an input / output interface 606, a power source 608, a memory 610, a communication interface 612, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in FIGURE 8. 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.

[0127] The processing circuitry 602 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 610. The processing circuitry 602 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 602 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0128] In the example, the input / output interface 606 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 600. 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.

[0129] In some embodiments, the power source 608 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 608 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 608 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 600 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 608. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 608 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 600 to which power is supplied.

[0130] The memory 610 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 610 includes one or more application programs 614, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 616. The memory 610 may store, for use by the UE 600, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0131] The memory 610 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 610 may allow the UE 600 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 610, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0132] The processing circuitry 602 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 612. The communication interface 612 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 622. The communication interface 612 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 618 and / or a receiver 620 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 618 and receiver 620 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 622) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0133] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 612 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 / intemet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0134] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 612, 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).

[0135] 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.

[0136] A UE, when in the form of an Internet of Things (loT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door / window sensor, a flood / moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a head-mounted display for Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR), a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or itemtracking 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 600 shown in FIGURE 8.

[0137] 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 3 GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3 GPP 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.

[0138] 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.

[0139] FIGURE 9 shows a network node 700, which may be an embodiment of the network node 110 of FIGURE 7, in accordance with some embodiments.

[0140] 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)). Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units 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).

[0141] 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).

[0142] The network node 700 includes a processing circuitry 702, a memory 704, a communication interface 706, and a power source 708. The network node 700 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 700 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 700 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 704 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 710 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 700 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 700, 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 700.

[0143] The processing circuitry 702 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and / or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 700 components, such as the memory 704, to provide network node 700 functionality.

[0144] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 702 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 702 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 712 and baseband processing circuitry 714. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 712 and the baseband processing circuitry 714 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 712 and baseband processing circuitry 714 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0145] The memory 704 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 702. The memory 704 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 702 and utilized by the network node 700. The memory 704 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 702 and / or any data received via the communication interface 706. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 702 and memory 704 is integrated.

[0146] The communication interface 706 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 706 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 716 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 706 also includes radio frontend circuitry 718 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 710. Radio front-end circuitry 718 comprises filters 720 and amplifiers 722. The radio front-end circuitry 718 may be connected to an antenna 710 and processing circuitry 702. The radio frontend circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 710 and processing circuitry 702. The radio front-end circuitry 718 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 718 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 720 and / or amplifiers 722. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 710. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 710 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 718. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 702. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0147] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 700 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 718, instead, the processing circuitry 702 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 710. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 712 is part of the communication interface 706. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 706 includes one or more ports or terminals 716, the radio front-end circuitry 718, and the RF transceiver circuitry 712, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 706 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 714, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0148] The antenna 710 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 710 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 718 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 710 is separate from the network node 700 and connectable to the network node 700 through an interface or port.

[0149] The antenna 710, communication interface 706, and / or the processing circuitry 702 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 710, the communication interface 706, and / or the processing circuitry 702 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.

[0150] The power source 708 provides power to the various components of network node 700 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 708 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 700 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 700 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 708. As a further example, the power source 708 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.

[0151] Embodiments of the network node 700 may include additional components beyond those shown in FIGURE 9 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 700 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 700 and to allow output of information from the network node 700. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 700.

[0152] FIGURE 10 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 800 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized.

[0153] 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 800 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, CN node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a CN node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized.

[0154] Applications 802 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment Q400 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0155] Hardware 804 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 806 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 808a and 808b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 808), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 806 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 808.

[0156] The VMs 808 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 806. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 802 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 808, 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.

[0157] In the context of NFV, a VM 808 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 808, and that part of hardware 804 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 808 on top of the hardware 804 and corresponds to the application 802. Hardware 804 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 804 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 804 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 810, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 802. In some embodiments, hardware 804 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 812 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0158] 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. 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 functionalities 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.

[0159] EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

[0160] Group A Example Embodiments

[0161] Example Embodiment Al. A method performed by a user equipment for signalling PDU session information, the method comprising: any of the user equipment steps, features, or functions described above, either alone or in combination with other steps, features, or functions described above.

[0162] Example Embodiment A2. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising one or more additional user equipment steps, features or functions described above.

[0163] Example Embodiment A3. The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising: providing user data; and forwarding the user data to a host computer via the transmission to the network node.

[0164] Group B Example Embodiments

[0165] Example Embodiment Bl . A method performed by a network node for signalling PDU session information, the method comprising: any of the network node steps, features, or functions described above, either alone or in combination with other steps, features, or functions described above.

[0166] Example Embodiment B2. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising one or more additional network node steps, features or functions described above. Example Embodiment B3. The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising: obtaining user data; and forwarding the user data to a host or a user equipment.

[0167] Group C Example Embodiments

[0168] Example Embodiment Cl . A method performed by a network node for signalling PDU session information, the method comprising at least one of: transmitting, to a CN, first PDU session information indicating at least active or inactive PDU session; and receiving, from the CN, second PDU session information triggering at least one paging message or at least one small data transmission.

[0169] Example Embodiment C2. The method of Example Embodiment C 1 , wherein the first PDU session information indicates at least one first PDU session that has active user plane resources.

[0170] Example Embodiment C3. The method of Example Embodiment C2, wherein the first PDU session information comprises or is included in a message with a request to activate CN-based MT communication handling for at least one UE associated with the at least one first PDU session.

[0171] Example Embodiment C4. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to C3, wherein the first PDU session information indicates at least one first PDU session that has inactive user plane resources.

[0172] Example Embodiment C5. The method of Example Embodiment C4, wherein the first PDU session information comprises or is included in a message with a request to deactivate CN-based MT communication handling for at least one UE associated with the at least one first PDU session.

[0173] Example Embodiment C6. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to C5, wherein the first PDU session information is transmitted to the CN in a NGAP MT communication handling request message.

[0174] Example Embodiment C7. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to C6, wherein the second PDU session information indicates at least one second PDU session for which the network node is to transmit the at least one paging message or the at least one small data transmission.

[0175] Example Embodiment C8. The method of Example Embodiment C7, wherein the second PDU session information comprises or is included in a message with a request to transmit the at least one paging message or the at least one small data transmission to at least one UE associated with the at least one second PDU session. Example Embodiment C9. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to C8, wherein the second PDU session information indicates at least one second PDU session that has inactive user plane resources.

[0176] Example Embodiment CIO. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to C9, wherein the second PDU session information comprises or is included in a RAN paging request message.

[0177] Example Embodiment Cl 1. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to CIO, comprising: based on the second PDU session information, making a decision regarding the at least one paging message and / or the at least one small data transmission.

[0178] Example Embodiment C12. The method of Example Embodiment Cl 1, comprising: based on the second PDU session information, determining an accumulated data size for all PDU sessions for the at least one paging message and / or the at least one small data transmission; and determining to transmit the at least one paging message and / or the at least one small data transmission based on the accumulated data size for all PDU sessions.

[0179] Example Embodiment C13. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to Cl 2, wherein at least one of the first PDU session information and the second PDU session information comprises a PDU session resource list.

[0180] Example Embodiment C14. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to C13, wherein at least one of the first PDU session information and the second PDU session information comprises at least one PDU session ID.

[0181] Example Embodiment Cl 5. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to Cl 4, wherein: transmitting the first PDU session information to the CN comprises transmitting the first PDU session information to a CN node; and / or receiving the second PDU session information from the CN comprises receiving the second PDU session information from a CN node.

[0182] Example Embodiment Cl 6. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to Cl 5, wherein: transmitting the first PDU session information to the CN comprises transmitting the first PDU session information to an AMF; and / or receiving the second PDU session information from the CN comprises receiving the second PDU session information from an AMF.

[0183] Example Embodiment Cl 7. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to Cl 6, wherein at least one of the first PDU session information and the second PDU session information is associated with at least one UE in an RRC INACTIVE state. Example Embodiment Cl 8. The method of Example Embodiment Cl 3, wherein the at least one UE is configured with long eDRX greater than 10.24 seconds.

[0184] Example Embodiment Cl 9. The method of any of the previous Example Embodiments, further comprising: obtaining user data; and forwarding the user data to a host or a user equipment.

[0185] Example Embodiment C20. A network node comprising processing circuitry configured to perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments Cl to Cl 9.

[0186] Example Embodiment C21. A network node configured to perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments Cl to Cl 9.

[0187] Example Embodiment C22. A computer program comprising instructions which when executed on a computer perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments Cl to Cl 9.

[0188] Example Embodiment C23. A computer program product comprising computer program, the computer program comprising instructions which when executed on a computer perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments Cl to Cl 9.

[0189] Example Embodiment C24. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions which when executed by a computer perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments Cl to Cl 9.

[0190] Group D Example Embodiments

[0191] Example Embodiment DI. A method performed by a CN for signalling PDU session, the method comprising at least one of: receiving, from a network node, first PDU session information indicating at least active or inactive PDU session; and transmitting, to the network node, second PDU session information triggering at least one paging message or at least one small data transmission.

[0192] Example Embodiment D2. The method of Example Embodiment DI, comprising: based on at least one of the first PDU session information and / or the second PDU session information, determining to trigger a context update for at least one UE.

[0193] Example Embodiment D3. The method of Example Embodiment D2, wherein determining to trigger the context update for the at least one UE comprises at least one of: when the 5GC Action is set to HLCOM Activate, trigger UpdateSmContext to enable buffering for at least one PDU session associated with the first PDU session information and / or the second PDU session information, and when the 5GC Action is set to HLCOM Deactivate, trigger UpdateSmContext to enable stop buffering of at least one PDU session associated with the first PDU session information and / or the second PDU session information.

[0194] Example Embodiment D4. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to D3, wherein the first PDU session information indicates at least one first PDU session that has active user plane resources.

[0195] Example Embodiment D5. The method of Example Embodiment D4, wherein the first PDU session information comprises or is included in a message with a request to activate CN- based MT communication handling for at least one UE associated with the at least one first PDU session.

[0196] Example Embodiment D6. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to D5, wherein the first PDU session information indicates at least one first PDU session that has inactive user plane resources.

[0197] Example Embodiment D7. The method of Example Embodiment D6, wherein the first PDU session information comprises or is included in a message with a request to deactivate CN- based MT communication handling for at least one UE associated with the at least one first PDU session.

[0198] Example Embodiment D8. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to D7, wherein the first PDU session information is received from the network node in a NGAP MT communication handling request message.

[0199] Example Embodiment D9. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to D8, wherein the second PDU session information indicates at least one second PDU session for which the network node is to transmit the at least one paging message or the at least one small data transmission.

[0200] Example Embodiment DIO. The method of Example Embodiment D9, wherein the second PDU session information comprises or is included in a message with a request to transmit the at least one paging message or the at least one small data transmission to at least one UE associated with the at least one second PDU session.

[0201] Example Embodiment DI 1. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to DIO, wherein the second PDU session information indicates at least one second PDU session that has inactive user plane resources. Example Embodiment D12. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to Dl l, wherein the second PDU session information comprises or is included in a RAN paging request message.

[0202] Example Embodiment D13. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to DI 2, comprising receiving, from a SMF, a message indicating at least one of: the SMF supports multiple PDU sessions, and the SMF has received at least one MT call for at least one second PDU session associated with the at least one second PDU session information.

[0203] Example Embodiment D14. The method of Example Embodiment D13, wherein the at least one second PDU information is transmitted based on the message received from the SMF.

[0204] Example Embodiment DI 5. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to DI 4, wherein at least one of the first PDU session information and the second PDU session information comprises a PDU session resource list.

[0205] Example Embodiment DI 6. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to DI 5, wherein at least one of the first PDU session information and the second PDU session information comprises at least one PDU session ID.

[0206] Example Embodiment DI 7. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to DI 6, wherein: receiving the first PDU session information from the network node comprises receiving the first PDU session information by a CN node; and / or transmitting the second PDU session information from the CN comprises transmitting the second PDU session information from a CN node.

[0207] Example Embodiment DI 8. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to DI 7, wherein: receiving the first PDU session information comprises receiving the first PDU session information by an AMF; and / or transmitting the second PDU session information transmitting the second PDU session information by an AMF.

[0208] Example Embodiment DI 9. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to DI 8, wherein at least one of the first PDU session information and the second PDU session information is associated with at least one UE in an RRC INACTIVE state.

[0209] Example Embodiment D20. The method of Example Embodiment DI 9, wherein the at least one UE is configured with long eDRX greater than 10.24 seconds.

[0210] Example Embodiment D21. The method of any of the previous Example Embodiments, further comprising: obtaining user data; and forwarding the user data to a host or a user equipment. Example Embodiment D22. A network node comprising processing circuitry configured to perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments DI to D21.

[0211] Example Embodiment D23. A network node configured to perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments DI to D21.

[0212] Example Embodiment D24. A computer program comprising instructions which when executed on a computer perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments DI to D21.

[0213] Example Embodiment D25. A computer program product comprising computer program, the computer program comprising instructions which when executed on a computer perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments DI to D21.

[0214] Example Embodiment D26. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions which when executed by a computer perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments DI to D21.

[0215] Group E Example Embodiments

[0216] Example Embodiment El. A user equipment for signalling PDU session information, the UE comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A Example Embodiments; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

[0217] Example Embodiment E2. A network node for signalling PDU session, the network node comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B, C, and D Example Embodiments; power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

[0218] Example Embodiment E3. A user equipment (UE) for signalling PDU session, the UE comprising: an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals; radio front-end circuitry connected to the antenna and to processing circuitry, and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuitry; the processing circuitry being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A Example Embodiments; an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry; an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry; and a battery connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the UE.

[0219] Example Embodiment E4. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), wherein the UE comprises a communication interface and processing circuitry, the communication interface and processing circuitry of the UE being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A Example Embodiments to receive the user data from the host.

[0220] Example Embodiment E5. The host of the previous Example Embodiment, wherein the cellular network further includes a network node configured to communicate with the UE to transmit the user data to the UE from the host.

[0221] Example Embodiment E6. The host of the previous 2 Example Embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and the host application is configured to interact with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

[0222] Example Embodiment E7. A method implemented by a host operating in a communication system that further includes a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: providing user data for the UE; and initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the network node, wherein the UE performs any of the operations of any of the Group A embodiments to receive the user data from the host.

[0223] Example Embodiment E8. The method of the previous Example Embodiment, further comprising: at the host, executing a host application associated with a client application executing on the UE to receive the user data from the UE.

[0224] Example Embodiment E9. The method of the previous Example Embodiment, further comprising: at the host, transmitting input data to the client application executing on the UE, the input data being provided by executing the host application, wherein the user data is provided by the client application in response to the input data from the host application.

[0225] Example Embodiment E10. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), wherein the UE comprises a communication interface and processing circuitry, the communication interface and processing circuitry of the UE being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A Example Embodiments to transmit the user data to the host.

[0226] Example Embodiment El l. The host of the previous Example Embodiment, wherein the cellular network further includes a network node configured to communicate with the UE to transmit the user data from the UE to the host.

[0227] Example Embodiment E12. The host of the previous 2 Example Embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and the host application is configured to interact with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

[0228] Example Embodiment El 3. A method implemented by a host configured to operate in a communication system that further includes a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: at the host, receiving user data transmitted to the host via the network node by the UE, wherein the UE performs any of the steps of any of the Group A Example Embodiments to transmit the user data to the host.

[0229] Example Embodiment E14. The method of the previous Example Embodiment, further comprising: at the host, executing a host application associated with a client application executing on the UE to receive the user data from the UE.

[0230] Example Embodiment El 5. The method of the previous Example Embodiment, further comprising: at the host, transmitting input data to the client application executing on the UE, the input data being provided by executing the host application, wherein the user data is provided by the client application in response to the input data from the host application.

[0231] Example Embodiment E16. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a network node in a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), the network node having a communication interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the network node configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group B, C, and D Example Embodiments to transmit the user data from the host to the UE. Example Embodiment El 7. The host of the previous Example Embodiment, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application that provides the user data; and the UE comprises processing circuitry configured to execute a client application associated with the host application to receive the transmission of user data from the host.

[0232] Example Embodiment El 8. A method implemented in a host configured to operate in a communication system that further includes a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: providing user data for the UE; and initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the network node, wherein the network node performs any of the operations of any of the Group B, C, and D Example Embodiments to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.

[0233] Example Embodiment E19. The method of the previous Example Embodiment, further comprising, at the network node, transmitting the user data provided by the host for the UE.

[0234] Example Embodiment E20. The method of any of the previous 2 Example Embodiments, wherein the user data is provided at the host by executing a host application that interacts with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

[0235] Example Embodiment E21. A communication system configured to provide an over-the- top service, the communication system comprising: a host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data for a user equipment (UE), the user data being associated with the over-the-top service; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data toward a cellular network node for transmission to the UE, the network node having a communication interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the network node configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group B, C, and D Example Embodiments to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.

[0236] Example Embodiment E22. The communication system of the previous Example Embodiment, further comprising: the network node; and / or the user equipment.

[0237] Example Embodiment E23. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to initiate receipt of user data; and a network interface configured to receive the user data from a network node in a cellular network, the network node having a communication interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the network node configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group B, C, and D Example Embodiments to receive the user data from a user equipment (UE) for the host.

[0238] Example Embodiment E24. The host of the previous 2 Example Embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and the host application is configured to interact with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

[0239] Example Embodiment E25. The host of the any of the previous 2 Example Embodiments, wherein the initiating receipt of the user data comprises requesting the user data.

[0240] Example Embodiment E26. A method implemented by a host configured to operate in a communication system that further includes a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: at the host, initiating receipt of user data from the UE, the user data originating from a transmission which the network node has received from the UE, wherein the network node performs any of the steps of any of the Group B, C, and D Example Embodiments to receive the user data from the UE for the host. Example Embodiment E27. The method of the previous Example Embodiment, further comprising at the network node, transmitting the received user data to the host.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A method (200) performed by a network node (510) for signalling Packet Data Unit, PDU, session information, the method comprising: transmitting (202), to a core network, CN, (506), first PDU session information comprising a PDU session resource list indicating at least one PDU session that has active user plane resources.

2. The method of Claim 1, wherein the first PDU session information comprises at least one PDU session identifier.

3. The method of any one of Claims 1 to 2, wherein the first PDU session information is transmitted to the CN in a Next-Generation Application Protocol Machine Type, NGAP MT, communication handling request message.

4. The method of Claim 3, wherein: the first PDU session information comprises or is included in a message with a request to activate CN-based Machine Type, MT, communication handling for at least one User Equipment, UE, associated with the at least one PDU session, or the first PDU session information comprises or is included in a message with a request to deactivate CN-based Machine Type, MT, communication handling for at least one User Equipment, UE, associated with the at least one PDU session.

5. The method of any one of Claims 1 to 4, comprising receiving, from the CN, second PDU session information triggering at least one paging message or at least one small data transmission.

6. The method of Claim 5, wherein the second PDU session information indicates at least one second PDU session for which the network node is to transmit the at least one paging message or the at least one small data transmission.

7. The method of any one of Claims 5 to 6, wherein the second PDU session information comprises or is included in a message with a request to transmit the at least one paging message or the at least one small data transmission to at least one User Equipment, UE, associated with the at least one second PDU session.

8. The method of any one of Claims 5 to 7, wherein the second PDU session information comprises or is included in a RAN paging request message.

439. The method of any one of Claims 5 to 8, comprising: based on the second PDU session information, determining an accumulated data size for all PDU sessions for the at least one paging message and / or the at least one small data transmission; and determining to transmit the at least one paging message and / or the at least one small data transmission based on the accumulated data size for all PDU sessions.

10. The method of any one of Claims 1 to 9, wherein: transmitting the first PDU session information to the CN comprises transmitting the first PDU session information to an AMF.

11. The method of any one of Claims 1 to 10, wherein the first PDU session information is associated with at least one User Equipment, UE, in an RRC INACTIVE state.

12. A method (400) performed by a core network, CN, (506) for signalling Packet Data Unit, PDU, session information, the method comprising: receiving (402), from a network node (510), first PDU session information comprising a PDU session resource list indicating at least one first PDU session that has active User Plane resources.

13. The method of Claim 12, comprising: based on the first PDU session information, determining to trigger a context update for at least one UE.

14. The method of Claim 13, wherein determining to trigger the context update for the at least one UE comprises at least one of: when the 5GC Action is set to HLCOM Activate, trigger UpdateSmContext to enable buffering for the at least one first PDU session associated with the first PDU session information, and when the 5GC Action is set to HLCOM Deactivate, trigger UpdateSmContext to enable stop buffering of the at least one first PDU session associated with the first PDU session information.

15. The method of any one of Claims 12 to 14, wherein the first PDU session information comprises at least one PDU session identifier.4416. The method of any one of Claims 12 to 15, wherein the first PDU session information is received from the network node in a Next- Generation Application Protocol Machine Type, NGAP MT, communication handling request message.

17. The method of any one of Claims 12 to 16, wherein: the first PDU session information comprises or is included in a message with a request to activate CN-based Machine Type, MT, communication handling for at least one User Equipment, UE, associated with the at least one first PDU session, or the first PDU session information comprises or is included in a message with a request to deactivate CN-based MT communication handling for at least one UE associated with the at least one first PDU session.

18. The method of any one of Claims 12 to 17, comprising transmitting, to the network node, second PDU session information triggering at least one paging message or at least one small data transmission.

19. The method of Claim 18, wherein the second PDU session information indicates at least one second PDU session for which the network node is to transmit the at least one paging message or the at least one small data transmission.

20. The method of any one of Claims 18 to 19, wherein the second PDU session information comprises or is included in a message with a request to transmit the at least one paging message or the at least one small data transmission to at least one UE associated with the at least one second PDU session.

21. The method of any one of Claims 18 to 19, wherein the second PDU session information comprises or is included in a RAN paging request message.

22. The method of any one of Claims 18 to 21, comprising receiving, from a Session Management Function, SMF, a message indicating at least one of: the SMF supports multiple PDU sessions, and the SMF has received at least one Machine Type, MT, call for the at least one second PDU session associated with the at least one second PDU session information.

23. The method of Claim 22, wherein the at least one second PDU information is transmitted based on the message received from the SMF.4524. The method of any one of Claims 12 to 23, wherein: receiving the first PDU session information comprises receiving the first PDU session information by an AMF.

25. The method of any one of Claims 12 to 24, wherein the first PDU session information is associated with at least one User Equipment, UE, in an RRC INACTIVE state. \26. A network node (510) for signalling Packet Data Unit, PDU, session information, the network node configured to perform at least one of: transmitting, to a core network, CN, (506), first PDU session information comprising a PDU session resource list indicating at least one PDU session that has active user plane resources.

27. The network node of Claim 26, wherein the first PDU session information comprises at least one PDU session identifier.

28. The network node of any one of Claims 26 to 27, wherein the first PDU session information is transmitted to the CN in a Next-Generation Application Protocol Machine Type, NGAP MT, communication handling request message.

29. The network node of Claim 28, wherein: the first PDU session information comprises or is included in a message with a request to activate CN-based Machine Type, MT, communication handling for at least one User Equipment, UE, associated with the at least one PDU session, or the first PDU session information comprises or is included in a message with a request to deactivate CN-based Machine Type, MT, communication handling for at least one User Equipment, UE, associated with the at least one PDU session.

30. The network node of any one of Claims 26 to 29, configured to receive, from the CN, second PDU session information triggering at least one paging message or at least one small data transmission.

31. The network node of Claim 30, wherein the second PDU session information indicates at least one second PDU session for which the network node is to transmit the at least one paging message or the at least one small data transmission.

32. The network node of any one of Claims 30 to 31, wherein the second PDU session information comprises or is included in a message with a request to transmit the at least one pagingmessage or the at least one small data transmission to at least one User Equipment, UE, associated with the at least one second PDU session.

33. The network node of any one of Claims 30 to 32, wherein the second PDU session information comprises or is included in a RAN paging request message.

34. The network node of any one of Claims 30 to 33, configured to: based on the second PDU session information, determine an accumulated data size for all PDU sessions for the at least one paging message and / or the at least one small data transmission; and determine to transmit the at least one paging message and / or the at least one small data transmission based on the accumulated data size for all PDU sessions.

35. The network node of any one of Claims 26 to 34, wherein, when transmitting the first PDU session information to the core network, the network node is configured to transmit the first PDU session information to an AMF.

36. The network node of any one of Claims 26 to 35, wherein the first PDU session information is associated with at least one User Equipment, UE, in an RRC INACTIVE state.

37. A core network, CN, node (508) for signalling Packet Data Unit, PDU, session information, the CN node configured to: receive, from a network node (510), first PDU session information comprising a PDU session resource list indicating at least one PDU session that has active user plane resources.

38. The CN node of Claim 37, configured to: based on the first PDU session information, determine to trigger a context update for at least one UE.

39. The CN node of Claim 38, wherein when determining to trigger the context update for the at least one UE the CN node is configured to perform at least one of: when the 5GC Action is set to HLCOM Activate, trigger UpdateSmContext to enable buffering for the at least one first PDU session associated with the first PDU session information, andwhen the 5GC Action is set to HLCOM Deactivate, trigger UpdateSmContext to enable stop buffering of the at least one first PDU session associated with the first PDU session information.

40. The CN node of any one of Claims 37 to 39, wherein the first PDU session information comprises at least one PDU session identifier.

41. The CN node of any one of Claims 37 to 40, wherein the first PDU session information is received from the network node in a Next- Generation Application Protocol Machine Type, NGAP MT, communication handling request message.

42. The CN node of any one of Claims 37 to 41, wherein: the first PDU session information comprises or is included in a message with a request to activate CN-based Machine Type, MT, communication handling for at least one User Equipment, UE, associated with the at least one first PDU session, or the first PDU session information comprises or is included in a message with a request to deactivate CN-based MT communication handling for at least one UE associated with the at least one first PDU session.

43. The CN node of any one of Claims 37 to 42, configured to transmit, to the network node, second PDU session information triggering at least one paging message or at least one small data transmission.

44. The CN node of Claim 43, wherein the second PDU session information indicates at least one second PDU session for which the network node is to transmit the at least one paging message or the at least one small data transmission.

45. The CN node of any one of Claims 43 to 44, wherein the second PDU session information comprises or is included in a message with a request to transmit the at least one paging message or the at least one small data transmission to at least one UE associated with the at least one second PDU session.

46. The CN node of any one of Claims 43 to 44, wherein the second PDU session information comprises or is included in a RAN paging request message.

47. The CN node of any one of Claims 37 to 46, configured to receive, from a Session Management Function, SMF, a message indicating at least one of:48the SMF supports multiple PDU sessions, and the SMF has received at least one Machine Type, MT, call for the at least one second PDU session associated with the at least one second PDU session information.

48. The CN node of Claim 47, wherein the at least one second PDU information is transmitted based on the message received from the SMF.

49. The CN node of any one of Claims 37 to 48, wherein: when receiving the first PDU session information, the CN node is configured to receive the first PDU session information by an AMF.

50. The CN node of any one of Claims 37 to 49, wherein the first PDU session information is associated with at least one User Equipment, UE, in an RRC INACTIVE state.49

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