Network slice admission control in a wireless communications system based on energy criteria

Abstract

Various aspects of the present disclosure relate to a first network entity for wireless communication. The first network entity may be configured to, capable of, or operable to: detect a trigger for updating a number of entities permitted to use a network slice; obtain an energy-related information from an at least one energy monitoring function, wherein the energy-related information comprises an energy metric for at least one entity; determine the energy consumption of the network slice based upon at least the energy metric for at least one entity and the number of entities using the network slice; and compare the energy consumption of the network slice to a maximum energy threshold for the network slice, and updating the number of entities permitted to use the network slice based on the result of the comparison.

Description

NETWORK SLICE ADMISSION CONTROL IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM BASED ON ENERGY CRITERIATECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communication, including slice admission control in a wireless communication system based on energy criteria.BACKGROUND

[0002] A wireless communications system may include one or multiple network communication devices, which may be otherwise knowns as network equipment (NE) supporting wireless communications for one or multiple user communication devices, which may be otherwise known as user equipment (UE), or other suitable terminology. The wireless communications system may support wireless communications with one or multiple user communication devices by utilizing resources of the wireless communication system (e.g., time resources (e.g., symbols, slots, subframes, frames, or the like) or frequency resources (e.g., subcarriers, carriers, or the like). Additionally, the wireless communications system may support wireless communications across various radio access technologies including third generation (3G) radio access technology, fourth generation (4G) radio access technology, fifth generation (5G) radio access technology, among other suitable radio access technologies beyond 5G (e.g., sixth generation (6G)).SUMMARY

[0003] An article “a” before an element is unrestricted and understood to refer to “at least one” of those elements or “one or more” of those elements. The terms “a,” “at least one,” “one or more,” and “at least one of one or more” may be interchangeable. As used herein, including in the claims, “or” as used in a list of items (e.g., a list of items prefaced by a phrase such as “at least one of’ or “one or more of’ or “one or both of’) indicates an inclusive list such that, for example, a list of at least one of A, B, or C means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). Also, as used herein, the phrase “based on” shall not be construed as a reference to a closed set of conditions. For example, an example step that is described as “based on condition A” may be based on both a condition A and acondition B without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, as used herein, the phrase “based on” shall be construed in the same manner as the phrase “based at least in part on. Further, as used herein, including in the claims, a “set” may include one or more elements.

[0004] Energy efficiency is a critical issue in wireless communication networks such as 5G systems defined by the 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3 GPP). The potential to deploy wireless communication networks in areas without a reliable energy source requires new methods of managing energy consumption not only in the UEs but throughout all components of the 5G system.

[0005] A first network entity for wireless communication is described. The first network entity may be configured to, capable of, or operable to perform one or more operations as described herein. For example, the first network entity may include at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled with the at least one memory and configured to cause the first network entity to: detect a trigger for updating a number of entities permitted to use a network slice; obtain an energy-related information from an at least one energy monitoring function, wherein the energy-related information comprises an energy metric for at least one entity; determine the energy consumption of the network slice based upon at least the energy metric for at least one entity and the number of entities using the network slice; and compare the energy consumption of the network slice to a maximum energy threshold for the network slice, and updating the number of entities permitted to use the network slice based on the result of the comparison.

[0006] A processor for wireless communication is described. The processor may be configured to, capable of, or operable to perform one or more operations as described herein. For example, the processor may comprise at least one controller coupled with at least one memory and configured to cause the processor to: detect a trigger for updating a number of entities permitted to use a network slice; obtain an energy-related information from an at least one energy monitoring function, wherein the energy-related information comprises an energy metric for at least one entity; determine the energy consumption of the network slice based upon at least the energy metric for at least one entity and the number of entities using the network slice; and compare the energy consumption of the network sliceto a maximum energy threshold for the network slice, and updating the number of entities permitted to use the network slice based on the result of the comparison.

[0007] A method performed or performable by a first network entity is described. The method may comprise: detecting a trigger for updating a number of entities permitted to use a network slice; obtaining an energy-related information from an at least one energy monitoring function, wherein the energy-related information comprises an energy metric for at least one entity; determining the energy consumption of the network slice based upon at least the energy metric for at least one entity and the number of entities using the network slice; and comparing the energy consumption of the network slice to a maximum energy threshold for the network slice, and updating the number of entities permitted to use the network slice based on the result of the comparison.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] Figure 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communications system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0009] Figure 2 illustrates an example of a process flow wherein slice admission control is applicable to one or more UEs, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0010] Figure 3 illustrates an example of a process flow wherein slice admission control is applicable to one or more PDU sessions, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0011] Figure 4 illustrates an example of a UE 400 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0012] Figure 5 illustrates an example of a processor 500 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0013] Figure 6 illustrates an example of an NE 600 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0014] Figure 7 illustrates a flowchart of a method 700 performed by a NE in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0015] A wireless communication system, including one or more UE and NE, may use network slicing to enable the multiplexing of virtualized and independent logical networks on the same physical network infrastructure. Energy efficiency is becoming a critical issue in wireless communication networks such as 5G systems defined by 3GPP, and there is a need to optimise the energy efficiency of network slices for different use cases.

[0016] A first network entity operating as described herein may perform energy-aware slice admission control. This allows for the monitoring and control of the number of active UEs, PDU sessions, and other entities, per network slice based on energy criteria for one or more services / sessions or UEs within a slice. The energy criteria may be based on at least one of energy usage, consumption, or credit limit. This allows for more refined control of the energy required for the provision of the network slice.

[0017] Aspects of the present disclosure are described in the context of a wireless communications system.

[0018] Figure 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communications system 100 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The wireless communications system 100 may include one or more NE 102, one or more UE 104, and a core network (CN) 106. The wireless communications system 100 may support various radio access technologies. In some implementations, the wireless communications system 100 may be a 4G network, such as an LTE network or an LTE- Advanced (LTE-A) network. In some other implementations, the wireless communications system 100 may be a NR network, such as a 5G network, a 5G- Advanced (5G-A) network, or a 5G ultrawideband (5G-UWB) network. In other implementations, the wireless communications system 100 may be a combination of a 4G network and a 5G network, or other suitable radio access technology including Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20. The wireless communications system 100 may support radio access technologies beyond 5G, for example, 6G. Additionally, the wireless communications system 100 may support technologies, such as time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), or code division multiple access (CDMA), etc.

[0019] The one or more NE 102 may be dispersed throughout a geographic region to form the wireless communications system 100. One or more of the NE 102 described herein may be or include or may be referred to as a network node, a base station, a network element, a network entity, a network entity, a radio access network (RAN), a NodeB, an eNodeB (eNB), a next-generation NodeB (gNB), or other suitable terminology. An NE 102 and a UE 104 may communicate via a communication link, which may be a wireless or wired connection. For example, an NE 102 and a UE 104 may perform wireless communication (e.g., receive signalling, transmit signalling) over a Uu interface.

[0020] An NE 102 may provide a geographic coverage area for which the NE 102 may support services for one or more UEs 104 within the geographic coverage area. For example, an NE 102 and a UE 104 may support wireless communication of signals related to services (e.g., voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, etc.) according to one or multiple radio access technologies. In some implementations, an NE 102 may be moveable, for example, a satellite associated with a non-terrestrial network (NTN). In some implementations, different geographic coverage areas associated with the same or different radio access technologies may overlap, but the different geographic coverage areas may be associated with different NE 102.

[0021] The one or more UE 104 may be dispersed throughout a geographic region of the wireless communications system 100. A UE 104 may include or may be referred to as a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, a remote device, a subscriber device, a transmitter device, a receiver device, or some other suitable terminology. In some implementations, the UE 104 may be referred to as a unit, a station, a terminal, or a client, among other examples. Additionally, or alternatively, the UE 104 may be referred to as an Internet-of-Things (loT) device, an Internet-of-Everything (loE) device, or machine-type communication (MTC) device, among other examples.

[0022] A UE 104 may be able to support wireless communication directly with otherUEs 104 over a communication link. For example, a UE 104 may support wireless communication directly with another UE 104 over a device-to-device (D2D) communication link. In some implementations, such as vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) deployments, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) deployments, or cellular-V2X deployments, thecommunication link may be referred to as a sidelink. For example, a UE 104 may support wireless communication directly with another UE 104 over a PC5 interface.

[0023] An NE 102 may support communications with the CN 106, or with another NE 102, or both. For example, an NE 102 may interface with other NE 102 or the CN 106 through one or more backhaul links (e.g., SI, N2, N2, or network interface). In some implementations, the NE 102 may communicate with each other directly. In some other implementations, the NE 102 may communicate with each other or indirectly (e.g., via the CN 106. In some implementations, one or more NE 102 may include subcomponents, such as an access network entity, which may be an example of an access node controller (ANC). An ANC may communicate with the one or more UEs 104 through one or more other access network transmission entities, which may be referred to as a radio heads, smart radio heads, or transmission-reception points (TRPs).

[0024] The CN 106 may support user authentication, access authorization, tracking, connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. The CN 106 may be an evolved packet core (EPC), or a 5G core (5GC), which may include a control plane entity that manages access and mobility (e.g., a mobility management entity (MME), an access and mobility management functions (AMF)) and a user plane entity that routes packets or interconnects to external networks (e.g., a serving gateway (S-GW), a Packet Data Network (PDN) gateway (P-GW), or a user plane function (UPF)). In some implementations, the control plane entity may manage non-access stratum (NAS) functions, such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management (e.g., data bearers, signal bearers, etc.) for the one or more UEs 104 served by the one or more NE 102 associated with the CN 106.

[0025] The CN 106 may communicate with a packet data network over one or more backhaul links (e.g., via an SI, N2, N2, or another network interface). The packet data network may include an application server. In some implementations, one or more UEs 104 may communicate with the application server. A UE 104 may establish a session (e.g., a PDU session, or the like) with the CN 106 via an NE 102. The CN 106 may route traffic (e.g., control information, data, and the like) between the UE 104 and the application server using the established session (e.g., the established PDU session). The PDU session may bean example of a logical connection between the UE 104 and the CN 106 (e.g., one or more network entity s of the CN 106).

[0026] In the wireless communications system 100, the NEs 102 and the UEs 104 may use resources of the wireless communications system 100 (e.g., time resources (e.g., symbols, slots, subframes, frames, or the like) or frequency resources (e.g., subcarriers, carriers)) to perform various operations (e.g., wireless communications). In some implementations, the NEs 102 and the UEs 104 may support different resource structures. For example, the NEs 102 and the UEs 104 may support different frame structures. In some implementations, such as in 4G, the NEs 102 and the UEs 104 may support a single frame structure. In some other implementations, such as in 5G and among other suitable radio access technologies, the NEs 102 and the UEs 104 may support various frame structures (i.e., multiple frame structures). The NEs 102 and the UEs 104 may support various frame structures based on one or more numerologies.

[0027] One or more numerologies may be supported in the wireless communications system 100, and a numerology may include a subcarrier spacing and a cyclic prefix. A first numerology (e.g., / r=0) may be associated with a first subcarrier spacing (e.g., 15 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix. In some implementations, the first numerology (e.g., / r=0) associated with the first subcarrier spacing (e.g., 15 kHz) may utilize one slot per subframe. A second numerology (e.g., / r=l) may be associated with a second subcarrier spacing (e.g., 30 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix. A third numerology (e.g., / r=2) may be associated with a third subcarrier spacing (e.g., 60 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix or an extended cyclic prefix. A fourth numerology (e.g., / r=3) may be associated with a fourth subcarrier spacing (e.g., 120 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix. A fifth numerology (e.g., / r=4) may be associated with a fifth subcarrier spacing (e.g., 240 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix.

[0028] A time interval of a resource (e.g., a communication resource) may be organized according to frames (also referred to as radio frames). Each frame may have a duration, for example, a 10 millisecond (ms) duration. In some implementations, each frame may include multiple subframes. For example, each frame may include 10 subframes, and each subframe may have a duration, for example, a 1 ms duration. In some implementations,each frame may have the same duration. In some implementations, each subframe of a frame may have the same duration.

[0029] Additionally or alternatively, a time interval of a resource (e.g., a communication resource) may be organized according to slots. For example, a subframe may include a number (e.g., quantity) of slots. The number of slots in each subframe may also depend on the one or more numerologies supported in the wireless communications system 100. For instance, the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth numerologies (i.e., / r=0, jU=l , / r=2, jU=3, / r=4) associated with respective subcarrier spacings of 15 kHz, 30 kHz, 60 kHz, 120 kHz, and 240 kHz may utilize a single slot per subframe, two slots per subframe, four slots per subframe, eight slots per subframe, and 16 slots per subframe, respectively. Each slot may include a number (e.g., quantity) of symbols (e.g., OFDM symbols). In some implementations, the number (e.g., quantity) of slots for a subframe may depend on a numerology. For a normal cyclic prefix, a slot may include 14 symbols. For an extended cyclic prefix (e.g., applicable for 60 kHz subcarrier spacing), a slot may include 12 symbols. The relationship between the number of symbols per slot, the number of slots per subframe, and the number of slots per frame for a normal cyclic prefix and an extended cyclic prefix may depend on a numerology. It should be understood that reference to a first numerology (e.g., / r=0) associated with a first subcarrier spacing (e.g., 15 kHz) may be used interchangeably between subframes and slots.

[0030] In the wireless communications system 100, an electromagnetic (EM) spectrum may be split, based on frequency or wavelength, into various classes, frequency bands, frequency channels, etc. By way of example, the wireless communications system 100 may support one or multiple operating frequency bands, such as frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz - 7.125 GHz), FR2 (24.25 GHz - 52.6 GHz), FR3 (7.125 GHz - 24.25 GHz), FR4 (52.6 GHz - 114.25 GHz), FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6 GHz - 71 GHz), and FR5 (114.25 GHz - 300 GHz). In some implementations, the NEs 102 and the UEs 104 may perform wireless communications over one or more of the operating frequency bands. In some implementations, FR1 may be used by the NEs 102 and the UEs 104, among other equipment or devices for cellular communications traffic (e.g., control information, data).In some implementations, FR2 may be used by the NEs 102 and the UEs 104, among other equipment or devices for short-range, high data rate capabilities.

[0031] FR1 may be associated with one or multiple numerologies (e.g., at least three numerologies). For example, FR1 may be associated with a first numerology (e.g., / r=0), which includes 15 kHz subcarrier spacing; a second numerology (e.g., / r=l), which includes 30 kHz subcarrier spacing; and a third numerology (e.g., / r=2), which includes 60 kHz subcarrier spacing. FR2 may be associated with one or multiple numerologies (e.g., at least 2 numerologies). For example, FR2 may be associated with a third numerology (e.g., / r=2), which includes 60 kHz subcarrier spacing; and a fourth numerology (e.g., / r=3), which includes 120 kHz subcarrier spacing.

[0032] In 3GPP TS 22.261 v20.0.0 (September 2024) titled “Service requirements for the 5G system”, energy efficiency is defined as a requirement mainly for the network side to allow an energy saving mode for the RAN side. However, UE side energy efficiency is also defined. Section 6.15 of 3GPP TS 22.261 v20.0.0 states:

[0033] Furthermore, TS 22.261 v20.0.0 provides requirements on energy efficiency for the UE side for particular services (e.g. use of ranging services) as well as for different types of UEs (e.g. relay UE).

[0034] In 3 GPP Release 19, some use cases and requirements have been specified in Stage 1 for Energy Efficiency as Service Criteria. For example, 3GPP TR 22.882 vl9.3.0 (April 2024) titled “Study on Energy Efficiency as service criteria”. Section 6.15a of TS 22.261 v20.0.0 is titled “Energy efficiency as a service-criteria”, notes that energy efficiency is a strategic priority for network operators around the world, and goes on to define how services are to be delivered with diverse energy efficiency and energy consumption policies. According to TS 22.261 v20.0.0, energy consumption and efficiency information and network energy states can be exposed to third parties and energy consumption can be constrained according to specified limits.

[0035] One of the key use cases in the provisioning of such energy efficiency and energy consumption policies is to configure a maximum energy credit limit, e.g. for besteffort services. The maximum energy credit limit should operate to limit the total amount of energy consumption according to an energy charging rate. Such a policy is configured with a service level agreement (SLA) via Operations, Administration and Maintenance (0AM) to Policy Control Function (PCF), Unified Data Management (UDM), or User Data Repository (UDR) and can be selected for use.

[0036] These energy efficiency and energy consumption policies expand the options of subscription policies to control energy consumption in the 5G system. Some requirements are specified as follows:• Subject to operator’s policy, the 5G system shall support subscription policies that define a maximum energy credit limit for services without Quality of Service (QoS) criteria.• Subject to operator’s policy, the 5G system shall support a mechanism to perform energy consumption credit limit control for services without QoS criteria.• Subject to operator’s policy, the 5G system shall support a means to define subscription policies and means to enforce the policy that define a maximum energy consumption (i.e. quantity of energy for a specified period of time) for services without QoS criteria.• Subject to user consent and operator policy, 5G system shall be able to provide means to modify a communication service based on energy related information criteria based on subscription policies.• Subject to user consent, operator policy and regulatory requirements, the 5G system shall be able to provide means to operate part or the whole network according to energy consumption requirements, which may be based on subscription policies or requested by an authorized 3rd party.

[0037] Furthermore, there are requirements related to the slicing aspects for the monitoring and exposure:• Subject to operator's policy, the 5G network shall support energy consumption monitoring at per network slice and per subscriber granularity.• Subject to operator’s policy and agreement with 3rd party, the 5G system shall be able to expose information on energy consumption for serving this 3rd party.• NOTE: The energy consumption information can be related to the network resources of network slice, NPNs, etc.

[0038] In 3GPP SA2, an Energy Information Function (EIF) is defined and operates to collect total Energy Consumption information, and to calculate Energy Consumption information at the level of an entity, where the entity may be a UE, a PDU Session, or a QoS flow granularity. The EIF further stores the Energy consumption information ifapplicable and exposes the Energy Consumption information to the authorized consumer Network entity(s) (NF(s)) subject to operator’s policy.

[0039] The EIF can be deployed as a standalone function. The EIF may collect the Node-level energy consumption information, Node-level energy consumption or energy efficiency information from an 0AM and data volume of the required granularities from a UPF (via a session management function (SMF)). The EIF may calculate the Energy Consumption information based on Node-level energy consumption information, Nodelevel data volume, and data volume of the required granularities.

[0040] An AF or 5GC NF (e g., Network Data Analytics Function (NWDAF), PCF) may subscribe to the EIF for Energy consumption information providing assisted parameters or filter information.

[0041] The granularities of Energy Consumption information include per UE, per-UE- per-QoS flow and per PDU session.

[0042] With respect to slicing and energy criteria one solution has been studied in 3GPP TR 23.700-66 vl9.0.0 titled “Study on Energy Efficiency and Energy Saving”, and is described at the section titled “Solution #30: Network optimization for energy saving per S- NSSAI”. In this solution, a node equivalent to the EIF (such as the Energy Efficiency Coordination Function (EECF) or Energy Consumption Network entity (ECNF)) monitors energy states per Single - Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (S-NSSAI) in a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), and Network Slice Admission Control Function (NSACF) is enhanced to update the maximum number of UEs and maximum number of PDU sessions per S-NSSAI based on adjustment information from EECF, as well as to admit new entities to use the network slice based on threshold on consumed energy analytics or measurements in the network slice. However, this solution limits the maximum number of UEs without considering if the current UEs are active or not, but its impact on energy saving is questionable since non active UEs do not really impact the energy consumption. .

[0043] As described herein, the NSACF monitors and controls the number of registered UEs per network slice and / or the number of PDU Sessions per network slice for thenetwork slices that are subject to Network Slice Admission Control (NSAC). The NSACF is configured with the maximum number of UEs and / or the maximum number of PDU Sessions allowed to be served per S-NSSAI subject to NSAC. The NSACF is also configured with information indicating applicable access type(s) for the S-NSSAI (i.e. 3GPP Access Type, Non-3GPP Access Type, or both).

[0044] The NSACF also provides event-based Network Slice status notifications and reports to the consumer NFs (e.g. an application function (AF)). The NSACF may be responsible for one or more S-NSSAIs. For one S-NSSAI there may be one or multiple NSACFs deployed in a network (a PLMN or a SNPN).

[0045] If the network is configured with a single NSAC service area, a single NSACF is configured with the maximum number of UEs per network slice and / or the maximum number of PDU Sessions per network slice, which are valid in the network.

[0046] If the network is configured with multiple NSAC service areas, an NSACF may be deployed on a NSAC service area basis, which may comprise the allocation of one NSACF instance or one NSACF Set. This is then a multiple NSAC architecture; there are three multiple NSAC architecture options, as follows.

[0047] Option 1: non-Hierarchal NSAC architecture. In this architecture, independent NSACFs are deployed in every NSAC service area. There is no interaction between the NSACFs deployed in different NSAC service areas. Each NSACF is configured with the maximum number of UEs per network slice and / or the maximum number of PDU Sessions which are valid in the NSAC service area.

[0048] Option 2: Centralized NSAC architecture. In this architecture, a single centralized NSACF is deployed in the network to handle admissions in all NSAC service areas. The centralized NSACF is configured with the total number of UEs per network slice and the maximum number of PDU Sessions for the entire PLMN.

[0049] Option 3: Hierarchical NSAC architecture. In this architecture, there are two roles for an NSACF and interaction between them may be required. These roles are the Primary NSACF and the distributed NSACF. The primary NSACF controls and distributes the maximum number of UEs and / or the maximum number of PDU Sessions to thedistributed NSACF(s) deployed in different NS AC service Area. Each distributed NSACF handles admissions in a respective NS AC service area.

[0050] Table 1 specifies the following NF services for NSACF in 3GPP TS 23.502 vl9.1.0 (September 2024) titled “Procedures for the 5G System (5GS)”:Table 1: NF Services provided by NSACF

[0051] However, known NSACF capabilities fail to specify how to correlate the slice admission control and the energy credit / budget for a given service or slice. There is a need to monitor and control the number of active UEs and PDU sessions per network slice based on the energy criteria for one or more services / sessions or UEs within a slice. The energy criteria can be based on the energy usage or consumption or credit limit.

[0052] There is provided herein a mechanism to perform slice admission control based on energy criteria per application per UE (or group of UEs in a service area). The following paragraphs describe high-level steps for performing Slice Admission Control with energy targets.

[0053] An NSACF is configured with energy policies for admission control. The energy policies can be related to energy credit, energy budget, or allowed energy criteria threshold for a given slice. The allowed energy criteria threshold can be an alternative to the notion of credit, i.e., to impose a threshold on certain energy criteria. The configuration of policies can be either from 0AM or a Core NF (such as PCF). Energy criteria mayinclude energy consumption, energy efficiency. Energy criteria may be dependent on a source of electrical energy. The energy criteria may define renewable energy, or the carbon emissions resulting from the generation of the electrical energy being used. For example, the energy criteria may define an acceptable level of power consumption that is dependent on the current source of electrical power. If the current source of electrical power is a low carbon emissions generation source (such as a wind farm), then a higher level of power consumption may be allowed as compared to when the current source of electrical power is a natural gas fired power station.

[0054] The relevant core NF (AMF or SMF) is triggered to request, towards the NSACF, an update to the number of UEs or PDU sessions.

[0055] Where the request is for a UE number, the AMF may be triggered at UE Registration procedure, according to clause 4.2.2.2.2 of TS 23.502 vl9.1.0 either:• before the Registration Accept in step 21 if the Early Admission Control (EAC) mode is active; or• after the Registration Accept message if the EAC mode is not active.

[0056] Alternatively, where the request is for a UE number, the AMF may be triggered at UE Deregistration procedure, as per clause 4.2.2.3 of TS 23.502 vl9.1.0, after the Deregistration procedure is completed.

[0057] As a further alternative, where the request is for a UE number, the AMF may be triggered at UE Configuration Update procedure (which may result from NSSAA procedure or subscribed S-NSSAI change) either:• before the UE Configuration Update message if the EAC mode is active and the update flag is to increase; or• after the UE Configuration Update message if the EAC mode is active and the update flag is to decrease; or• after the UE Configuration Update message if the EAC mode is not active.

[0058] Where the request is for a PDU sessions SMF is triggered. The SMF anchoring the PDU session triggers the Number of PDU Sessions per network slice availability check and update procedure for the network slices that are subject to NS AC at the beginning of aPDU Session Establishment procedure (clause 4.3.2.2.1 and clause 4.3.2.2.2 of TS 23.502 vl 9.1.0) only for new PDU Sessions to be established and as a last step of successful PDU Session Release procedure (clause 4.3.4.2 and clause 4.3.4.3 of TS 23.502 vl9.1.0).

[0059] The Core NF that is triggered (e.g. AMF or SMF) sends a request for updating (reducing or increasing) the number of UEs or number of PDU sessions for the given slice. The slice is identified by NSSAI or S-NSSAI.

[0060] For a trigger related to the decrease of the number of UEs, the request may also include a cause for an update, where such cause can be the high energy consumption (or credit / budget) for the UE / PDU session or for the NF supporting an operation related to that slice. However, here the number of UEs may be either active UEs, or the number of UEs that is estimated statistically or predicted to be active for a period of time.

[0061] If the request is to increase the number of UEs / PDU session(s) for the slice, theNSACF requests from the Energy Monitoring Network entity, such as the EIF or CHF (or any relevant functionality which is responsible for monitoring and calculating energy usage and / or credit) what the expected or statistical energy usage and budget for the UE(s) / PDU session(s) of interest, considering also the proportional energy required per slice per target UE / session(s) for all NF supporting this UE(s) / session(s).

[0062] Alternatively, if the request is to decrease the number of UEs / PDU session(s) for the slice, the NSACF notifies the Energy Monitoring Network entity, such as the EIF (or any relevant functionality which is responsible for monitoring and calculating energy usage and / or credit) that the expected energy usage and budget aggregate for the slice will be reduced.

[0063] Optionally, the NSACF may also subscribe to the 0AM to get notifications about future decrease or increase of the energy usage per slice, in order to be updated on the difference between the maximum energy usage of the slice and the current energy usage of the slice. The energy usage of the slice may comprise the energy required to serve each entity using wireless communication services delivered via the slice. For completeness it is noted that “energy” is the term of art used in the 3GPP standards and so is used herein. The total energy used may be of interest, but more likely the rate of use of energy is monitored.Wherever ‘energy’ is mentioned herein or in the 3 GPP standards, this may be understood to mean ‘power’. Furthermore, wherever ‘energy’ is mentioned herein or in the 3GPP standards, this may be understood to mean ‘electrical power’. Further still, wherever ‘energy’ is mentioned herein or in the 3 GPP standards, this may be understood to mean ‘electrical power consumption’.

[0064] The Energy Monitoring Network entity, such as the EIF calculates the energy per slice per UE(s) / PDU session(s) of interest and sends to the NSCAF a message indicating the expected increase or the expected decrease for the slice, or the actual / expected energy contribution for the target UE(s) / PDU session(s).

[0065] The NSCAF receives the message indicating the expected increase or the expected decrease for the slice, or the actual / expected energy contribution for the target UE(s) / PDU session(s). The NSCAF then calculates or processes the calculation for the given slice and if the expected energy per slice given the new or expected admission for the new or expected UE / session, it identifies whether the maximum energy budget is reached or is expected to be reached.

[0066] If EAC is used, the NSACF interacts with SMF or AMF to not admit or degrade the new PDU session or UE registration (so, this may lead to a registration failure or UE configuration update failure or PDU session establishment failure).

[0067] Alternatively, if no EAC is used, the NS AC informs the Core NF (AMF or SMF) that the maximum allowable energy budget or credit or usage is reached for the slice and no further admissions are expected until further notice (pause / halt or suspend new admissions).

[0068] In case of further update request from the Core NF (AMF or SMF) where the update is to decrease the number of UE(s) / PDU session(s), after repeating the above described process from the triggering of the Core NF, the NSACF may also send a notification to the Core NF (AMF or SMF) to unsuspend or resume new admissions, so as to allow an increase in the number of UE(s) / PDU session(s) for the target slice.

[0069] Figure 2 illustrates an example of a process flow 200 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The process flow 200 may implement or be implemented byaspects of the wireless communication system 200. For example, the process flow 200 may include an AMF 202, an NSACF 210, an Energy Monitoring Network entity 220, and an 0AM 230, which may be one or more examples of devices described herein with reference to Figure 1. The Energy Monitoring Network entity 220 may comprise an EIF 220. Where an EIF is referenced herein any Energy Monitoring Network entity may be used instead.

[0070] The process flow 200 may be referred to as a procedure, including one or more operations performed by one or more of the AMF 202, the NSACF 210, the Energy Monitoring Network entity 220, and the 0AM 230. In the example of Figure 2, the process flow 200 may concern the slice admission control applicable to one or more UEs, and may include checking the availability of the number of UEs per network slice and an update procedure using energy criteria.

[0071] In the following description of the process flow 200, the operations or signalling performed between one or more of the AMF 202, the NSACF 210, the Energy Monitoring Network entity 220, and the 0AM 230 may be performed or signalled (e.g., transmitted, received) in a different order than the example order shown, or the operations or signalling performed by one or more of the AMF 202, the NSACF 210, the Energy Monitoring Network entity 220, and the 0AM 230 may be performed or signalled (e.g., transmitted, received) in different orders or at different times. Some operations or signalling may also be omitted from the process flow 200. Additionally, although some operations or signalling may be shown to occur at different times, these operations or signalling may occur at the same time or in overlapping time periods.

[0072] At 271, the AMF 202 monitors the Number of UEs per network slice. The AMF 202 triggers the Number of UEs per network slice availability check and update procedure to update the number of UEs registered with a network slice when a network slice subject to NS AC is:• included in the Allowed NSSAI;• included in the Partially Allowed NSSAI or• removed from the Allowed NSSAI; or• removed from the Partially Allowed NSSAI for a UE.

[0073] The trigger event at the AMF 202 also includes the change of Allowed NSSAI or Partially Allowed NSSAI in the case of inter-AMF mobility. The network slice may be included in the Partially Allowed NSSAI by way of the AMF 202 requesting to register the UE with the S-NSSAI. The network slice may be removed from the Partially Allowed NSSAI by way of AMF 202 requesting to de-register the UE from the S-NSSAI.

[0074] At 272, the AMF 202 sends (e.g. transmits, outputs) anNnsacf NSAC NumOfUEsUpdate Request message which the NSACF 210 acquires (e.g. receives, obtains). The AMF 202 includes in the message at least one of: the UE ID, Access Type to which the Allowed NSSAI or Partially Allowed NSSAI is applied, the S- NSSAI(s), the NF ID and an update flag. The update flag indicates whether the number of UEs registered with the S-NSSAI(s): is to be increased when the UE has gained registration to network slice(s) subject to NSAC; or is to be decreased when the UE has deregistered from S-NSSAI(s). Alternatively, the flag may indicate that the AMF 202 could not renew its registration to an S-NSSAI subject to NSAC.

[0075] The message may also include an energy criteria flag which indicates whether the energy criteria need to be accounted for in the slice admission control.

[0076] For the trigger related to the decrease of the number of UEs, the request may also include a cause for an update, where such cause can be the high energy consumption (or credit / budget) for the UE or for the NF supporting operation related to that slice. Such cause can be either identified based on further interactions with EIF 220 or based on the UE configuration update procedure (e.g. a UE identifies lower energy thresholds).

[0077] At 273, the NSACF 210 determines to send a request message to the EIF 220 (or any other NF responsible for monitoring the energy usage for the UEs).

[0078] At 273a, if the trigger in step 272 is to increase the number of UEs for the slice, the NSACF 210 sends (e.g. transmits, outputs) a requests which the EIF 220 acquires (e.g. receives, obtains), the request for the expected or statistical energy usage or budget for the UE(s) of interest for the one or more S-NSSAIs, considering also the proportional energy required per NSSAI / S-NSSAI per target UE (s) for all NF supporting this UE(s).

[0079] At 273b, optionally, if the request is to decrease the number of UE (s) for the slice, the NSACF 210 sends (e.g. transmits, outputs) a notification which the EIF 220 (or any relevant functionality which is responsible for monitoring and calculating energy usage and / or credit) acquires (e.g. receives, obtains); the notification indicating that the expected energy usage and budget aggregate for the slice will be reduced.

[0080] The EIF 220 may also interact with 0AM 230 to receive energy consumption per slice, since EIF 220 is not aware of the energy consumption for the entire slice. This information is used for the calculation in step 275.

[0081] At 274, the EIF 220 calculates the energy per slice per UE(s) of interest and sends to the NSCAF 210 a message indicating the expected increase or the expected decrease for the slice, or the actual / expected energy contribution for the target UE(s).

[0082] At 275, the EIF 220 sends (e.g. transmits, outputs) and the NSACF 210 acquires (e.g. receives, obtains) the calculated or expected energy per slice per UE(s) of interest.

[0083] At 276, NSACF 210 may also obtain the number of CONNECTED UEs or the proportion of CONNECTED vs IDLE UEs for the given slice.

[0084] At 277, the NSACF 210 identifies whether the maximum energy budget for the S-NSSAI / NSSAI is reached or is expected to be reached with the new UE(s) registration. This identification may also consider which of the UEs are in connected mode vs idle mode.

[0085] Then, the NSACF 210 updates the current number of UEs registered for the S- NSSAI, i.e. increases or decreases the number of UEs registered per network slice based on the information provided by the AMF 202 in the update flag parameter.

[0086] At 278, the NSACF 210 returns (e.g. sends, transmits, outputs), and the AMF 202 acquires (e.g. receives, obtains), W eNnsacf NSAC NumOfUEsUpdate Response message including a result indication per S-NSSAI. The result indication includes either 'maximum number of UEs registered with the network slice reached' or 'maximum number of UEs registered with the network slice not reached'.

[0087] The response message Nnsacf NSAC NumOfUEsUpdate Response may also include a cause for rejecting the UE registration to the given slice, which is about “maximum allowable energy or credit per slice reached” or “maximum allowable energy or credit for the UE of interest reached”.

[0088] Figure 3 illustrates an example of a process flow 300 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The process flow 300 may implement or be implemented by aspects of the wireless communication system 300. For example, the process flow 300 may include an SMF 304, an NSACF 310, an Energy Monitoring Network entity 320, and an 0AM 330, which may be one or more examples of devices described herein with reference to Figure 1. The Energy Monitoring Network entity 320 may comprise an EIF 320. Where an EIF is referenced herein any Energy Monitoring Network entity may be used instead.

[0089] The process flow 300 may be referred to as a procedure, including one or more operations performed by one or more of the SMF 304, the NSACF 310, the Energy Monitoring Network entity 320, and the 0AM 330. In the example of Figure 3, the process flow 300 may concern slice admission control in EAC and may include a check of the number of PDU sessions per network slice availability and an update procedure using energy criteria.

[0090] In the following description of the process flow 300, the operations or signalling performed between one or more of the SMF 304, the NSACF 310, the Energy Monitoring Network entity 320, and the 0AM 330 may be performed or signalled (e.g., transmitted, received) in a different order than the example order shown, or the operations or signalling performed by one or more of the SMF 304, the NSACF 310, the Energy Monitoring Network entity 320, and the 0AM 330 may be performed or signalled (e.g., transmitted, received) in different orders or at different times. Some operations or signalling may also be omitted from the process flow 300. Additionally, although some operations or signalling may be shown to occur at different times, these operations or signalling may occur at the same time or in overlapping time periods.

[0091] At 371, the SMF 304 anchoring the PDU session monitors the Number of PDU Sessions per network slice availability and triggers the Number of PDU Sessions per network slice availability update procedure for the network slices that are subject to NSACat the beginning of a PDU Session Establishment procedure only for new PDU Sessions to be established and as a last step of successful PDU Session Release procedure.

[0092] At 372, the SMF 304 anchoring the PDU session sends (e.g., outputs), and the NSACF 310 receives (e.g., obtains), Nnsacf NSAC NumOfPDUsUpdate Request message. The SMF 304 includes in the message the UE-ID, the PDU session ID, S-NSSAI for which the number of PDU Sessions per network slice update is required, Access Type and the update flag. The update flag may include one of the following values:• 'increase' which indicates that the number of PDUs established on the S- NSSAI is to be increased when the procedure is triggered at the beginning of PDU Session Establishment procedure or when a new user plane leg is to be established for an MA PDU Session;• 'decrease' which indicates that the number of PDU Sessions on the S-NSSAI is to be decreased when the procedure is triggered at the end of PDU Sessions Release procedure or when an existing user plane leg is to be released for an MA PDU Session. In the case of a PDU Session Establishment failure, the anchor SMF 304 triggers another request to the NSACF 310 with the update flag parameter equal to decrease in order to readjust back the PDU Session counter in the NSACF 310; or• 'update' which indicates that for existing PDU Session the Access Type is to be replaced with a new Access Type during inter access mobility.

[0093] The Nnsacf NSAC NumOfPDUsUpdate Request message may also include an energy criteria flag which indicates whether the energy criteria need to be accounted for in the slice admission control for the PDU session.

[0094] For the trigger related to the decrease of the number of PDU sessions, the Nnsacf NSAC NumOfP DU sUpdate Request request may also include a cause for an update, where such cause can be the high energy consumption (or credit / budget) for the UE or for the NF supporting operation related to that slice. Such cause can be identified based on further interactions with EIF 320.

[0095] At 373, the NSACF 310 determines to send a request message to the EIF 320 (or any other NF responsible for monitoring the energy usage for the PDU sessions).

[0096] At 373a, if the trigger in step 372 is to increase the number of PDU sessions for the slice, the NSACF 310 transmits (e.g., output), and the EIF 320 receives (e.g., obtain) a request for what is the expected or statistical energy usage or budget for the PDU session(s) of interest for the one or more S-NSSAIs, considering also the proportional energy required per NSSAI / S-NSSAI per target PDU session (s) for all NF supporting this PDU session (s).

[0097] EIF 320 may also interact with the 0AM 330 to receive energy consumption per slice, since EIF 320 is not aware of the energy consumption for the entire slice. This information is used for the calculation in step 375.

[0098] At 374, the EIF 320 calculates the energy per slice per PDU session (s) of interest and sends (e.g., outputs), and the NSACF 310 receives (e.g., obtains), a message indicating the expected increase or the expected decrease for the slice, or the actual / expected energy contribution for the target PDU session(s).

[0099] At 375, the NSACF 310 receives (e.g., obtains) the calculated or expected energy per slice per PDU session(s) of interest.

[0100] At 376, the NSACF 310 identifies whether the maximum energy budget for the S-NSSAI / NSSAI is reached or is expected to be reached with the new or modified PDU session(s).

[0101] The NSACF 310 updates the current number of PDU Sessions established on the S-NSSAI, i.e. increase or decrease the number of PDU Sessions per network slice based on the information provided by the anchor SMF 304 in the update flag parameter.

[0102] At 377, the NSACF 310 acknowledges (e.g. transmits, outputs) the update to the anchor SMF 304 which receives (e.g. obtains) aNnsacf NSAC NumOfPD J sUpdate Response message including a result indication. If the NSACF 310 returns a result indication including 'maximum number of PDU Sessions per S-NSSAI reached', the SMF 304 rejects the PDU Session establishment request with rejectcause set to 'maximum number of PDU Sessions per S-NSSAI reached' and optionally a back-off timer and the Access Type.

[0103] This message may also include a cause for rejecting the UE registration to the given slice, which is about “maximum allowable energy or credit per slice reached” or “maximum allowable energy or credit for the PDU session of interest reached”.

[0104] A further process comprises slice admission control in Early Admission Control (EAC). There is provided herein a method for the scenario where the EAC procedure uses energy criteria.

[0105] The process may implement or be implemented by aspects of a wireless communication system, which may be one or more examples of devices described herein with reference to Figure 1.

[0106] In the following description of the process, the operations or signalling performed between one or more of an AMF, an NSACF, an Energy Monitoring Network entity (which may be an EIF), may be performed or signalled (e.g., transmitted, received) in a different order than the example order shown, or the operations or signalling performed by one or more of the AMF, the NSACF, and the Energy Monitoring Network entity may be performed or signalled (e.g., transmitted, received) in different orders or at different times. Some operations or signalling may also be omitted from the process. Additionally, although some operations or signalling may be shown to occur at different times, these operations or signalling may occur at the same time or in overlapping time periods.

[0107] Configuration of EAC update procedure indicates to the AMF the activation or the deactivation of the EAC mode for the S-NSSAI subject to NSAC. EAC mode means that the AMF is required to perform the number of UEs per network slice availability check and update procedure before the S-NSSAI subject to NSAC is included in the Allowed NSSAI or Partially Allowed NSSAI and sent to the UE. EAC mode may only be applicable in the AMF when the update flag is set to increase.

[0108] A prerequisite is that the NSACF has subscribed to EIF to receive notifications related to high energy consumption per slice or reaching the energy credit / budget per slice.

[0109] The EIF notifies (e.g. sends, transmits, outputs), and the NSACF acquires (e.g. receives, obtains), a notification indicating that for the S-NSSAI the energy threshold / credit / budget or usage is high and is expected to reach the upper threshold.

[0110] The number of UEs registered with a network slice subject to NSAC crosses a certain operator defined threshold and / or the energy credit or usage threshold. The NSACF determines whether to activate or deactivate the EAC mode.

[0111] The NSACF triggers the Nnsacf NSAC EACNotify operation including the S- NSSAI(s) for which the EAC mode is to be activated or deactivated and a EAC flag(s) set to activated if the number of UEs registered with the network slice is above certain threshold or set to deactivated if the number of the UEs registered with the network slice is below certain threshold which may be same or different with respect to the activation threshold. This notification may also include a cause for activating the EAC mode is the reaching of the energy threshold (credit or usage) for the S-NSSAI.

[0112] The AMF uses the EAC flag to decide when to trigger the number of UEs per network slice availability check and update procedure so that delays to the registration procedure and impact to the already allowed network slices are avoided.

[0113] Figure 4 illustrates an example of a UE 400 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The UE 400 may include a processor 402, a memory 404, a controller 406, and a transceiver 408. The processor 402, the memory 404, the controller 406, or the transceiver 408, or various combinations thereof or various components thereof may be examples of means for performing various aspects of the present disclosure as described herein. These components may be coupled (e.g., operatively, communicatively, functionally, electronically, electrically) via one or more interfaces.

[0114] The processor 402, the memory 404, the controller 406, or the transceiver 408, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in hardware (e.g., circuitry). The hardware may include a processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or other programmable logic device, or any combination thereof configured as or otherwise supporting a means for performing the functions described in the present disclosure.

[0115] The processor 402 may include an intelligent hardware device (e.g., a general- purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, an ASIC, an FPGA, or any combination thereof). In some implementations, the processor 402 may be configured to operate the memory 404. In some other implementations, the memory 404 may be integrated into the processor 402. The processor 402 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in the memory 404 to cause the UE 400 to perform various functions of the present disclosure.

[0116] The memory 404 may include volatile or non-volatile memory. The memory 404 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code including instructions when executed by the processor 402 cause the UE 400 to perform various functions described herein. The code may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such the memory 404 or another type of memory. Computer-readable media includes both non- transitory computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A non-transitory storage medium may be any available medium that may be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer.

[0117] In some implementations, the processor 402 and the memory 404 coupled with the processor 402 may be configured to cause the UE 400 to perform one or more of the functions described herein (e.g., executing, by the processor 402, instructions stored in the memory 404). For example, the processor 402 may support wireless communication at the UE 400 in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. The UE 400 may be configured to support the arrangements described herein.

[0118] The controller 406 may manage input and output signals for the UE 400. The controller 406 may also manage peripherals not integrated into the UE 400. In some implementations, the controller 406 may utilize an operating system such as iOS®, ANDROID®, WINDOWS®, or other operating systems. In some implementations, the controller 406 may be implemented as part of the processor 402.

[0119] In some implementations, the UE 400 may include at least one transceiver 408. In some other implementations, the UE 400 may have more than one transceiver 408. The transceiver 408 may represent a wireless transceiver. The transceiver 408 may include one or more receiver chains 410, one or more transmitter chains 412, or a combination thereof.

[0120] A receiver chain 410 may be configured to receive signals (e.g., control information, data, packets) over a wireless medium. For example, the receiver chain 410 may include one or more antennas for receive the signal over the air or wireless medium. The receiver chain 410 may include at least one amplifier (e.g., a low-noise amplifier (LNA)) configured to amplify the received signal. The receiver chain 410 may include at least one demodulator configured to demodulate the receive signal and obtain the transmitted data by reversing the modulation technique applied during transmission of the signal. The receiver chain 410 may include at least one decoder for decoding the processing the demodulated signal to receive the transmitted data.

[0121] A transmitter chain 412 may be configured to generate and transmit signals (e.g., control information, data, packets). The transmitter chain 412 may include at least one modulator for modulating data onto a carrier signal, preparing the signal for transmission over a wireless medium. The at least one modulator may be configured to support one or more techniques such as amplitude modulation (AM), frequency modulation (FM), or digital modulation schemes like phase-shift keying (PSK) or quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM). The transmitter chain 412 may also include at least one power amplifier configured to amplify the modulated signal to an appropriate power level suitable for transmission over the wireless medium. The transmitter chain 412 may also include one or more antennas for transmitting the amplified signal into the air or wireless medium.

[0122] Figure 5 illustrates an example of a processor 500 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The processor 500 may be an example of a processor configured to perform various operations in accordance with examples as described herein. The processor 500 may include a controller 502 configured to perform various operations in accordance with examples as described herein. The processor 500 may optionally include at least one memory 504, which may be, for example, an L1 / L2 / L3 cache. Additionally, or alternatively, the processor 500 may optionally include one or more arithmetic-logic units (ALUs) 506. One or more of these components may be in electronic communication or otherwise coupled (e.g., operatively, communicatively, functionally, electronically, electrically) via one or more interfaces (e.g., buses).

[0123] The processor 500 may be a processor chipset and include a protocol stack (e.g., a software stack) executed by the processor chipset to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, obtaining, retrieving, transmitting, outputting, forwarding, storing, determining, identifying, accessing, writing, reading) in accordance with examples as described herein. The processor chipset may include one or more cores, one or more caches (e.g., memory local to or included in the processor chipset (e.g., the processor 500) or other memory (e.g., random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM), static RAM (SRAM), ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM), magnetic RAM (MRAM), resistive RAM (RRAM), flash memory, phase change memory (PCM), and others).

[0124] The controller 502 may be configured to manage and coordinate various operations (e.g., signalling, receiving, obtaining, retrieving, transmitting, outputting, forwarding, storing, determining, identifying, accessing, writing, reading) of the processor 500 to cause the processor 500 to support various operations in accordance with examples as described herein. For example, the controller 502 may operate as a control unit of the processor 500, generating control signals that manage the operation of various components of the processor 500. These control signals include enabling or disabling functional units, selecting data paths, initiating memory access, and coordinating timing of operations.

[0125] The controller 502 may be configured to fetch (e.g., obtain, retrieve, receive) instructions from the memory 504 and determine subsequent instruction(s) to be executed to cause the processor 500 to support various operations in accordance with examples as described herein. The controller 502 may be configured to track memory address of instructions associated with the memory 504. The controller 502 may be configured to decode instructions to determine the operation to be performed and the operands involved. For example, the controller 502 may be configured to interpret the instruction and determine control signals to be output to other components of the processor 500 to cause the processor 500 to support various operations in accordance with examples as described herein. Additionally, or alternatively, the controller 502 may be configured to manage flow of data within the processor 500. The controller 502 may be configured to control transferof data between registers, arithmetic logic units (ALUs), and other functional units of the processor 500.

[0126] The memory 504 may include one or more caches (e.g., memory local to or included in the processor 500 or other memory, such RAM, ROM, DRAM, SDRAM, SRAM, MRAM, flash memory, etc. In some implementations, the memory 504 may reside within or on a processor chipset (e.g., local to the processor 500). In some other implementations, the memory 504 may reside external to the processor chipset (e.g., remote to the processor 500).

[0127] The memory 504 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code including instructions that, when executed by the processor 500, cause the processor 500 to perform various functions described herein. The code may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as system memory or another type of memory. The controller 502 and / or the processor 500 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in the memory 504 to cause the processor 500 to perform various functions. For example, the processor 500 and / or the controller 502 may be coupled with or to the memory 504, the processor 500, the controller 502, and the memory 504 may be configured to perform various functions described herein. In some examples, the processor 500 may include multiple processors and the memory 504 may include multiple memories. One or more of the multiple processors may be coupled with one or more of the multiple memories, which may, individually or collectively, be configured to perform various functions herein.

[0128] The one or more ALUs 506 may be configured to support various operations in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementations, the one or more ALUs 506 may reside within or on a processor chipset (e.g., the processor 500). In some other implementations, the one or more ALUs 506 may reside external to the processor chipset (e.g., the processor 500). One or more ALUs 506 may perform one or more computations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division on data. For example, one or more ALUs 506 may receive input operands and an operation code, which determines an operation to be executed. One or more ALUs 506 be configured with a variety of logical and arithmetic circuits, including adders, subtractors, shifters, and logicgates, to process and manipulate the data according to the operation. Additionally, or alternatively, the one or more ALUs 506 may support logical operations such as AND, OR, exclusive-OR (XOR), not-OR (NOR), and not- AND (NAND), enabling the one or more ALUs 506 to handle conditional operations, comparisons, and bitwise operations.

[0129] The processor 500 may support wireless communication in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. The processor 500 may be configured to or operable to support a means for detecting a trigger for updating a number of entities permitted to use a network slice; obtaining an energy-related information from an at least one energy monitoring function, wherein the energy-related information comprises an energy metric for at least one entity; determining the energy consumption of the network slice based upon at least the energy metric for at least one entity and the number of entities using the network slice; and comparing the energy consumption of the network slice to a maximum energy threshold for the network slice, and updating the number of entities permitted to use the network slice based on the result of the comparison.

[0130] Figure 6 illustrates an example of a NE 600 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The NE 600 may include a processor 602, a memory 604, a controller 606, and a transceiver 608. The processor 602, the memory 604, the controller 606, or the transceiver 608, or various combinations thereof or various components thereof may be examples of means for performing various aspects of the present disclosure as described herein. These components may be coupled (e.g., operatively, communicatively, functionally, electronically, electrically) via one or more interfaces.

[0131] The processor 602, the memory 604, the controller 606, or the transceiver 608, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in hardware (e.g., circuitry). The hardware may include a processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or other programmable logic device, or any combination thereof configured as or otherwise supporting a means for performing the functions described in the present disclosure.

[0132] The processor 602 may include an intelligent hardware device (e.g., a general- purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, an ASIC, an FPGA, or any combination thereof). In some implementations, the processor 602 may be configured to operate the memory 604.In some other implementations, the memory 604 may be integrated into the processor 602. The processor 602 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in the memory 604 to cause the NE 600 to perform various functions of the present disclosure.

[0133] The memory 604 may include volatile or non-volatile memory. The memory 604 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code including instructions when executed by the processor 602 cause the NE 600 to perform various functions described herein. The code may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such the memory 604 or another type of memory. Computer-readable media includes both non- transitory computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A non-transitory storage medium may be any available medium that may be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer.

[0134] In some implementations, the processor 602 and the memory 604 coupled with the processor 602 may be configured to cause the NE 600 to perform one or more of the functions described herein (e.g., executing, by the processor 602, instructions stored in the memory 604). For example, the processor 602 may support wireless communication at the NE 600 in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. The NE 600 may be configured to support a means for detecting a trigger for updating a number of entities permitted to use a network slice; obtaining an energy-related information from an at least one energy monitoring function, wherein the energy-related information comprises an energy metric for at least one entity; determining the energy consumption of the network slice based upon at least the energy metric for at least one entity and the number of entities using the network slice; and comparing the energy consumption of the network slice to a maximum energy threshold for the network slice, and updating the number of entities permitted to use the network slice based on the result of the comparison.

[0135] The controller 606 may manage input and output signals for the NE 600. The controller 606 may also manage peripherals not integrated into the NE 600. In some implementations, the controller 606 may utilize an operating system such as iOS®, ANDROID®, WINDOWS®, or other operating systems. In some implementations, the controller 606 may be implemented as part of the processor 602.

[0136] In some implementations, the NE 600 may include at least one transceiver 608. In some other implementations, the NE 600 may have more than one transceiver 608. The transceiver 608 may represent a wireless transceiver. The transceiver 608 may include one or more receiver chains 610, one or more transmitter chains 612, or a combination thereof.

[0137] A receiver chain 610 may be configured to receive signals (e.g., control information, data, packets) over a wireless medium. For example, the receiver chain 610 may include one or more antennas for receive the signal over the air or wireless medium. The receiver chain 610 may include at least one amplifier (e.g., a low-noise amplifier (LNA)) configured to amplify the received signal. The receiver chain 610 may include at least one demodulator configured to demodulate the receive signal and obtain the transmitted data by reversing the modulation technique applied during transmission of the signal. The receiver chain 610 may include at least one decoder for decoding the processing the demodulated signal to receive the transmitted data.

[0138] A transmitter chain 612 may be configured to generate and transmit signals (e.g., control information, data, packets). The transmitter chain 612 may include at least one modulator for modulating data onto a carrier signal, preparing the signal for transmission over a wireless medium. The at least one modulator may be configured to support one or more techniques such as amplitude modulation (AM), frequency modulation (FM), or digital modulation schemes like phase-shift keying (PSK) or quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM). The transmitter chain 612 may also include at least one power amplifier configured to amplify the modulated signal to an appropriate power level suitable for transmission over the wireless medium. The transmitter chain 612 may also include one or more antennas for transmitting the amplified signal into the air or wireless medium.

[0139] Figure 7 illustrates a flowchart of a method 700 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 700 may be implemented by a NE as described herein. In some implementations, the NE may execute a set of instructions to control the function elements of the NE to perform the described functions.

[0140] At 702, the method 700 may include detecting a trigger for updating a number of entities permitted to use a network slice. The operations of 702 may be performed inaccordance with examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 702 may be performed by a NE as described with reference to Figure 6.

[0141] At 704, the method 700 may include obtaining an energy -related information from an at least one energy monitoring function, wherein the energy-related information comprises an energy metric for at least one entity. The operations of 704 may be performed in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 704 may be performed by a NE as described with reference to Figure 6.

[0142] At 706, the method 700 may include determining the energy consumption of the network slice based upon at least the energy metric for at least one entity and the number of entities using the network slice. The operations of 706 may be performed in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 706 may be performed a NE as described with reference to Figure 6.

[0143] At 708, the method 700 may include comparing the energy consumption of the network slice to a maximum energy threshold for the network slice, and updating the number of entities permitted to use the network slice based on the result of the comparison. The operations of 708 may be performed in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 708 may be performed by a NE as described with reference to Figure 6.

[0144] A first network entity for wireless communication is described. The first network entity may comprise a first network function. The first network entity may be configured to, capable of, or operable to perform one or more operations as described herein. For example, the first network entity may include at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled with the at least one memory and configured to cause the first network entity to: detect a trigger for updating a number of entities permitted to use a network slice; obtain an energy-related information from an at least one energy monitoring function, wherein the energy -related information comprises an energy metric for at least one entity; determine the energy consumption of the network slice based upon at least the energy metric for at least one entity and the number of entities using the network slice; and compare the energy consumption of the network slice to a maximum energy threshold forthe network slice, and updating the number of entities permitted to use the network slice based on the result of the comparison.

[0145] A first network entity operating as described herein may perform energy-aware slice admission control. This tends to address the problem of how to monitor and control the number of active UEs and PDU sessions per network slice based on energy criteria for one or more services / sessions or UEs within a slice. This allows for more refined control of the energy required for the provision of the network slice. The energy criteria may be based on at least one of energy usage, consumption, or credit limit.

[0146] The relevant core NF (AMF or SMF) is triggered to request an update to the number of UEs or PDU sessions towards NSACF. The trigger may comprise receiving a request from a second network entity for updating the number of the UEs and / or PDU sessions for the network slice. The second network entity may comprise an AMF. The second network entity may comprise an SMF.

[0147] The first network entity may comprise a first network function. The first network entity may comprise a slice admission control function. The first network entity may comprise a NSACF. The network slice may comprise a network slice in a wireless communications system. The terms ‘slice’ and ‘network slice’ are used interchangeably herein.

[0148] Updating the number of entities permitted to use the network slice may comprise either increasing or decreasing the number of entities permitted to use the network slice. Updating the number of entities permitted to be use the network slice may comprise sending a notification to at least one network entity, the notification indicating a change in the number of entities permitted to use the network slice.

[0149] The number of entities permitted to use a network slice may comprise the maximum number of entities to be permitted to use a network slice at the same time. The number of entities permitted to be connected to a network slice may comprise the maximum number of entities to be admitted to use a network slice at the same time. An entity using the network slice may comprise an entity having access to the network slice.An entity using the network slice may comprise an entity being connected to the network slice.

[0150] The energy metric for at least one entity and the number of entities connected to the network slice may be used to determine the energy consumption of the network slice by obtaining an energy metric for all entities using the network slice.

[0151] The energy metric for at least one entity and the number of entities connected to the network slice may be used to determine the energy consumption of the network slice by obtaining an energy metric for less than all entities using the network slice, and using an average of known energy metrics to extrapolate a value for the energy consumption of the network slice.

[0152] The method may further comprise identifying active entities from a list of registered entities for the network slice. The energy metric for at least one entity and the number of entities connected to the network slice may be used to determine the energy consumption of the network slice by obtaining an energy metric for at least one active entity using the network slice, and using an average of known energy metrics to extrapolate a value for the energy consumption of the network slice for all active entities using the network slice.

[0153] The at least one entity may comprise a UE and / or a PDU session.

[0154] The at least one processor being configured to cause the first network entity to obtain an energy-related information from an at least one energy monitoring function may comprise the at least one processor being further configured to cause the first network entity to: send a request for an energy-related information to an at least one energy monitoring function, wherein the energy-related information comprises an energy metric for at least one entity; and receive the energy-related information from the at least one energy monitoring function in response to the request for the energy-related information.

[0155] The at least one processor being configured to cause the first network entity to detect a trigger may comprise the at least one processor being further configured to cause the first network entity to identify a requirement for activating an early admission control for the network slice. The requirement for activating an early admission control for thenetwork slice may require increasing the maximum number of allowed entities for the network slice.

[0156] The trigger for updating the number of entities permitted to use a network slice may be associated with an energy criterion. The trigger for updating the number of entities permitted to use a network slice may comprise an energy criterion. The energy criterion may comprise a threshold, the trigger condition may be met when the threshold is exceeded. The energy criterion may comprise an energy metric change. The energy criterion may comprise an energy metric reaching a threshold for the network slice. The energy criterion may comprise an energy metric reaching a threshold for the constituent network entitys of the network slice.

[0157] The energy metric may comprise a measured energy metric or an expected energy metric. The energy metric may be related to the network slice and is at least one of: an energy consumption parameter, an energy efficiency parameter, an energy credit limit, or an allowable energy consumption threshold.

[0158] The at least one processor may be further configured to cause the first network entity to receive at least one energy policy for the network slice. The at least one energy policy may be related to energy credit or budget or allowed energy criteria threshold for a given slice. The configuration of policies can be either from 0AM or Core NF (PCF). The at least one energy policy may include energy consumption, energy efficiency, renewable energy, or carbon emissions. The at least one energy policy for the network slice may comprise a maximum allowable energy usage per network slice.

[0159] The network slice may be identified by at least one of: a Single - Network Slice Selection Assistance Information, S-NSSAI, a Network Slice Selection Assistance Information, NSSAI, a slice identifier, or an External Network Slice Information, ENSI.

[0160] The at least one processor may be further configured to cause the first network entity to discover the at least one energy monitoring function. The energy monitoring function may comprise at least one of an energy information function, a core network entity, or management function.

[0161] The maximum energy threshold may be based on the energy metric and is at least one of: an energy consumption threshold for the slice, or an energy credit limit for the slice.

[0162] The at least one processor may be further configured to cause the first network entity to process the energy-related information obtained from the energy monitoring function, by determining the energy-related information per network slice based on at least one energy policy for the network slice. The determining may comprise any of abstracting or calculating or estimating. The at least one energy policy for the network slice may comprise energy information per entity.

[0163] A processor for wireless communication is described. The processor may be configured to, capable of, or operable to perform one or more operations as described herein. For example, the processor may comprise at least one controller coupled with at least one memory and configured to cause the processor to: detect a trigger for updating a number of entities permitted to use a network slice; obtain an energy-related information from an at least one energy monitoring function, wherein the energy-related information comprises an energy metric for at least one entity; determine the energy consumption of the network slice based upon at least the energy metric for at least one entity and the number of entities using the network slice; and compare the energy consumption of the network slice to a maximum energy threshold for the network slice, and updating the number of entities permitted to use the network slice based on the result of the comparison.

[0164] A method performed or performable by a first network entity is described. The method may comprise: detecting a trigger for updating a number of entities permitted to use a network slice; obtaining an energy-related information from an at least one energy monitoring function, wherein the energy-related information comprises an energy metric for at least one entity; determining the energy consumption of the network slice based upon at least the energy metric for at least one entity and the number of entities using the network slice; and comparing the energy consumption of the network slice to a maximum energy threshold for the network slice, and updating the number of entities permitted to use the network slice based on the result of the comparison.

[0165] A first network entity operating as described herein may perform energy-aware slice admission control. This tends to address the problem of how to monitor and control the number of active UEs and PDU sessions per network slice based on energy criteria for one or more services / sessions or UEs within a slice. This allows for more refined control of the energy required for the provision of the network slice. The energy criteria may be based on at least one of energy usage, consumption, or credit limit.

[0166] The relevant core NF (AMF or SMF) is triggered to request an update to the number of UEs or PDU sessions towards NSACF. The trigger may comprise receiving a request from a second network entity for updating the number of the UEs and / or PDU sessions for the network slice. The second network entity may comprise an AMF. The second network entity may comprise an SMF.

[0167] The first network entity may comprise a first network function. The first network entity may comprise a slice admission control function. The first network entity may comprise a NSACF. The network slice may comprise a network slice in a wireless communications system. The terms ‘slice’ and ‘network slice’ are used interchangeably herein.

[0168] Updating the number of entities permitted to use the network slice may comprise either increasing or decreasing the number of entities permitted to use the network slice. Updating the number of entities permitted to be use the network slice may comprise sending a notification to at least one network entity, the notification indicating a change in the number of entities permitted to use the network slice.

[0169] The number of entities permitted to use a network slice may comprise the maximum number of entities to be permitted to use a network slice at the same time. The number of entities permitted to be connected to a network slice may comprise the maximum number of entities to be admitted to use a network slice at the same time. An entity using the network slice may comprise an entity having access to the network slice. An entity using the network slice may comprise an entity being connected to the network slice.

[0170] The energy metric for at least one entity and the number of entities connected to the network slice may be used to determine the energy consumption of the network slice by obtaining an energy metric for all entities using the network slice. The energy metric for at least one entity and the number of entities connected to the network slice may be used to determine the energy consumption of the network slice by obtaining an energy metric for less than all entities using the network slice, and using an average of known energy metrics to extrapolate a value for the energy consumption of the network slice.

[0171] The method may further comprise identifying active entities from a list of registered entities for the network slice. The energy metric for at least one entity and the number of entities connected to the network slice may be used to determine the energy consumption of the network slice by obtaining an energy metric for at least one active entity using the network slice, and using an average of known energy metrics to extrapolate a value for the energy consumption of the network slice for all active entities using the network slice.

[0172] The at least one entity may comprise a UE and / or a PDU session.

[0173] Obtaining an energy-related information from an at least one energy monitoring function may comprise: sending a request for an energy-related information to an at least one energy monitoring function, wherein the energy-related information comprises an energy metric for at least one entity; and receiving the energy-related information from the at least one energy monitoring function in response to the request for the energy-related information.

[0174] Detecting a trigger may comprise identifying a requirement for activating an early admission control for the network slice. The requirement for activating an early admission control for the network slice may require increasing the maximum number of allowed entities for the network slice.

[0175] The trigger for updating the number of entities permitted to use a network slice may be associated with an energy criterion. The trigger for updating the number of entities permitted to use a network slice may comprise an energy criterion. The energy criterion may comprise a threshold, the trigger condition may be met when the threshold isexceeded. The energy criterion may comprise an energy metric change. The energy criterion may comprise an energy metric reaching a threshold for the network slice. The energy criterion may comprise an energy metric reaching a threshold for the constituent network entitys of the network slice.

[0176] The energy metric may comprise a measured energy metric or an expected energy metric. The energy metric may be related to the network slice and is at least one of: an energy consumption parameter, an energy efficiency parameter, an energy credit limit, or an allowable energy consumption threshold.

[0177] The method may further comprise receiving at least one energy policy for the network slice. The at least one energy policy may be related to energy credit or budget or allowed energy criteria threshold for a given slice. The configuration of policies can be either from 0AM or Core NF (PCF). The at least one energy policy may include energy consumption, energy efficiency, renewable energy, or carbon emissions. The at least one energy policy for the network slice may comprise a maximum allowable energy usage per network slice.

[0178] The network slice may be identified by at least one of: a Single - Network Slice Selection Assistance Information, S-NSSAI, a Network Slice Selection Assistance Information, NSSAI, a slice identifier, or an External Network Slice Information, ENSI.

[0179] The method may further comprise discovering the at least one energy monitoring function. The energy monitoring function may comprise at least one of an energy information function, a core network entity, or management function.

[0180] The maximum energy threshold may be based on the energy metric and is at least one of: an energy consumption threshold for the slice, or an energy credit limit for the slice.

[0181] The method may further comprise processing the energy-related information obtained from the energy monitoring function, wherein processing comprises determining the energy-related information per network slice based on at least one energy policy for the network slice.

[0182] The determining may comprise any of abstracting or calculating or estimating. The at least one energy policy for the network slice may comprise energy information per entity.

[0183] Accordingly, the NSACF described herein is arranged to provide slice admission control, and in particular to check and enforce the maximum number of UEs or PDU sessions within a slice. At least some embodiments described herein address the problem of how to monitor and control the number of active UEs and PDU sessions per network slice based on the energy criteria (which can be based on the energy usage or consumption or credit limit) for one or more services / sessions or UEs within a slice.

[0184] The solution described herein comprises a method to monitor the energy criteria (credit, balance, usage) per UE / app and perform energy-aware slice admission control based on a trigger event from a NF (AMF or SMF). This method provides enhancement to NSACF and also to EIF (energy information function) to support energy-driven slice admission control. This method also supports providing early admission control using energy criteria.A benefit provided by the NSACF described herein is the detection of an event from a NF and interacting with the EIF / OAM (which is equivalent to EECF) to obtain information on the energy per UE / app and translating to energy-aware slice admission control.

[0185] A method performed by a slice admission control function is described. The method may comprise: detecting a trigger for updating the number of UEs and / or PDU sessions connected to a network slice; determining to query, and query energy-related information from at least one energy monitoring function, wherein energy-related information comprises the actual or expected energy metric for at least one UE and / or PDU session; receiving energy-related information from at least one energy monitoring function based on the query; and determining whether the update of the number of UEs and / or PDU sessions for the slice reaches a maximum energy threshold for the slice.

[0186] The method may further comprise obtaining a maximum allowable energy usage per slice in the communications system.

[0187] Detecting a trigger may comprise receiving a request from a network entity [AMF, SMF] for updating the number of the UEs and / or PDU sessions for the network slice.

[0188] Detecting a trigger may comprise identifying a requirement for activating an early admission control for the network slice, wherein the requirement relates to increasing the number of the UEs and / or PDU sessions for the network slice.

[0189] The trigger may be associated with an energy criterion, wherein the energy criterion comprises an energy metric change or an energy metric reaching a threshold for the network slice and / or its constituent network entitys.

[0190] The energy metric may be related to the network slice and is one or more of: an energy consumption parameter, an energy efficiency parameter, an energy credit limit, an allowable energy consumption threshold.

[0191] Updating the number of UEs and / or PDU sessions may involve either increasing or decreasing the number of UEs and / or PDU sessions.

[0192] The network slice may be identified by: a S-NSSAI, NSSAI, a slice identifier, an ENSI.

[0193] The method may further comprise discovering at least one energy monitoring function, wherein the function is an energy information function, a core network entity or management function.

[0194] The maximum energy threshold may be based on the energy metric and is either an energy consumption threshold for the slice, or an energy credit limit for the slice.

[0195] The method may further comprise processing the energy-related information from the energy monitoring function, wherein processing comprises abstracting or calculating or estimating the energy-related information per slice based on the per UE or PDU session energy information.

[0196] The method may further comprise updating the number of UEs and / or PDU sessions based on the determined action, wherein updating comprises sending a notification to at least one network entity, indicating a change in the number of PDU sessions or UEs.

[0197] It should be noted that the method described herein describes a possible implementation, and that the operations and the steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified and that other implementations are possible.

[0198] The description herein is provided to enable a person having ordinary skill in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be apparent to a person having ordinary skill in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein but is to be accorded the broadest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

[0199] The following abbreviations are relevant in the field addressed by this document: UDR, Unified Data Repository, EIF, Energy Information Function; 5GC, 5G Core; NSSAI, Network Slice Selection Assistance Information; S-NSSAI, Single - Network Slice Selection Assistance Information; EECF, Energy Efficiency Coordination Function; ECNF, Energy Consumption NF; NSACF, Network Slice Admission Control Function; NSAC, Network Slice Admission Control; PDU, Protocol Data Unit; EAC, Early Admission Control; CHF, Charging Function; and MA, Multi-access.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. A first network entity for wireless communication, comprising: at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled with the at least one memory and configured to cause the first network entity to: detect a trigger for updating a number of entities permitted to use a network slice; obtain an energy-related information from an at least one energy monitoring function, wherein the energy -related information comprises an energy metric for at least one entity; determine the energy consumption of the network slice based upon at least the energy metric for at least one entity and the number of entities using the network slice; and compare the energy consumption of the network slice to a maximum energy threshold for the network slice, and updating the number of entities permitted to use the network slice based on the result of the comparison.

2. The first network entity of claim 1, wherein the at least one entity comprises at least one of a user equipment, UE, and / or a protocol data unit, PDU, session.

3. The first network entity of claims 1 or 2, wherein the at least one processor configured to cause the first network entity to obtain an energy-related information from an at least one energy monitoring function comprises the at least one processor being further configured to cause the first network entity to: send a request for an energy-related information to an at least one energy monitoring function, wherein the energy-related information comprises an energy metric for at least one entity; and receive the energy-related information from the at least one energy monitoring function in response to the request for the energy-related information.

4. The first network entity of claim 3, wherein the at least one processor configured to cause the first network entity to detect a trigger comprises the at least one processor being further configured to cause the first network entity to identify a requirement for activating an early admission control for the network slice.

5. The first network entity of claim 3 or 4, wherein the trigger for updating the number of entities permitted to use a network slice is associated with an energy criterion.

6. The first network entity of any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the energy metric comprises a measured energy metric or an expected energy metric.

7. The first network entity of any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the energy metric is related to the network slice and is at least one of: an energy consumption parameter, an energy efficiency parameter, an energy credit limit, or an allowable energy consumption threshold.

8. The first network entity of any of claims 1 to 7, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the first network entity to receive at least one energy policy for the network slice.

9. The first network entity of any of claims 1 to 8, wherein the network slice is identified by at least one of: a Single - Network Slice Selection Assistance Information, S- NSSAI, a Network Slice Selection Assistance Information, NSSAI, a slice identifier, or an External Network Slice Information, ENSI.

10. The first network entity of any of claims 1 to 9, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the first network entity to discover the at least one energy monitoring function.

11. The first network entity of any of claims 1 to 10, wherein the maximum energy threshold is based on the energy metric and is at least one of: an energy consumption threshold for the slice, or an energy credit limit for the slice.

12. The first network entity of any of claims 1 to 11, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the first network entity to process the energy-related information obtained from the energy monitoring function, by determining the energy- related information per network slice based on at least one energy policy for the network slice.

13. A processor for wireless communication, comprising: at least one controller coupled with at least one memory and configured to cause the processor to: detect a trigger for updating a number of entities permitted to use a network slice; obtain an energy-related information from an at least one energy monitoring function, wherein the energy -related information comprises an energy metric for at least one entity; determine the energy consumption of the network slice based upon at least the energy metric for at least one entity and the number of entities using the network slice; and compare the energy consumption of the network slice to a maximum energy threshold for the network slice, and updating the number of entities permitted to use the network slice based on the result of the comparison.

14. A method performed or performable by a first network entity, the method comprising: detecting a trigger for updating a number of entities permitted to use a network slice; obtaining an energy-related information from an at least one energy monitoring function, wherein the energy -related information comprises an energy metric for at least one entity; determining the energy consumption of the network slice based upon at least the energy metric for at least one entity and the number of entities using the network slice; andcomparing the energy consumption of the network slice to a maximum energy threshold for the network slice, and updating the number of entities permitted to use the network slice based on the result of the comparison.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the at least one entity comprises at least one of a UE and / or a PDU session.

16. The method of claims 14 or 15, wherein obtaining an energy -related information from an at least one energy monitoring function comprises: sending a request for an energy-related information to an at least one energy monitoring function, wherein the energy-related information comprises an energy metric for at least one entity; and receiving the energy-related information from the at least one energy monitoring function in response to the request for the energy-related information.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein detecting a trigger comprises identifying a requirement for activating an early admission control for the network slice.

18. The method of claim 16 or 17, wherein the trigger for updating the number of entities permitted to use a network slice is associated with an energy criterion.

19. The method of any of claims 14 to 18, wherein the energy metric comprises a measured energy metric or an expected energy metric.

20. The method of any of claims 14 to 19, wherein the energy metric is related to the network slice and is at least one of: an energy consumption parameter, an energy efficiency parameter, an energy credit limit, or an allowable energy consumption threshold.

Images