Generic policy framework for an o1 interface

Abstract

A method and an apparatus for providing a generic policy framework for an O1 interface are disclosed. The method comprises receiving policy management capability information corresponding to at least one MnS producer over an O1 interface. The method further comprises determining whether to create one or more policies for at least one MnS producer based on the received policy management capability information. The method also comprises in response to determining to create one or more policies for the at least one MnS producer, creating one or more policies for the at least one MnS producer. Each of the one or more policies comprises at least one of a policy scope, a policy goal, a policy statement, a condition to implement the policy. The method further comprises transmitting the one or more created policies to the at least one MnS producer over the O1 interface.

Description

GENERIC POLICY FRAMEWORK FOR AN O1 INTERFACECROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION (S)

[0001] This application claims priorities to Indian provisional application No. 202411042444, filed on May 31, 2024; and Indian non provisional application No. 202411042444, filed on December 3, 2024, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference.FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates to a generic policy framework for an 01 interface.BACKGROUND

[0003] The information disclosed in this background section is only for the enhancement of understanding of the general background of the disclosure and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.

[0004] Management of Fifth-Generation (5G) networks aims to enhance energy efficiency by reducing energy consumption while ensuring coverage, capacity, and quality of service are maintained. The allowable impact on coverage, capacity, and quality of service is determined by network operator's discretion. Intra-RAT energy saving focuses on scenarios where a Next Generation Node B (gNB) candidate cell(s) provide coverage for New Radio (NR) capacity booster cells that are switched off.

[0005] Moreover, the requirements for energy saving (for example, as explained in 3GPP TS 28.310) include a Requirement Energy Saving Collection Function-1 (REQ-ESCOL-FUN-1). Specifically, in such a scenario, the MnS producer responsible for energy saving has the capability to allow the associated authorized consumer to configure cell overlaid relations, energy saving policies, and to enable or disable the function for an NR capacity booster cell to enter energy saving mode.SUMMARY

[0006] This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts, in a simplified format, that are further described in the detailed description of the disclosure. This summary is neither intended to identify key or essential inventive concepts of the disclosure nor is it intended for determining the scope of the disclosure.

[0007] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, an apparatus is disclosed. The apparatus is configured to receive, from at least one Managed Network Service (MnS) producer, policy management capability information corresponding to the at least one MnS producer over an 01 interface. The apparatus is further configured to determine whether to create one or more policies for the at least one MnS producer in response to the received policy management capability information. In response to determining to create the one or more policies for the at least one MnS producer, the apparatus is configured to create the one or more policies for the at least one MnS producer. Each of the one or more policies comprises at least one of a policy scope, a policy goal, a policy statement, and a condition to implement the policy. The apparatus is further configured to transmit, to the at least one MnS producer, the one or more created policies over the 01 interface.

[0008] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a method is disclosed. The method comprises receiving, by a Managed Network Service (MnS) consumer, policymanagement capability information corresponding to at least one MnS producer over an 01 interface. The method further comprises determining, by the MnS consumer, whether to create one or more policies for the at least one MnS producer in response to the received policy management capability information. In response to determining to create the one or more policies for the at least one MnS producer, the method comprises creating, by the MnS consumer, the one or more policies for the at least one MnS producer. Each of the one or more policies comprises at least one of a policy scope, a policy goal, a policy statement, and a condition to implement the policy. The method further comprises transmitting, by the MnS consumer, the one or more created policies to the at least one MnS producer over the 01 interface.

[0009] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a non-transitory computer- readable medium is disclosed. The non-transitory computer-readable medium stores instructions. The instructions comprising one or more instructions that are executed by an apparatus. The apparatus comprising one or more processors. The instructions cause the one or more processors to receive, from at least one Managed Network Service (MnS) producer, policy management capability information corresponding to the at least one MnS producer over an 01 interface. The one or more instructions further cause the one or more processors to determine whether to create one or more policies for the at least one MnS producer based on the received policy management capability information. In response to determining to create the one or more policies for the at least one MnS producer, the one or more instructions cause the one or more processors to create the one or more policies for the at least one MnS producer. Each of the one or more policies include at least one of a policy scope, a policy goal, a policy statement, and a condition to implement the policy. The one or more instructions further causethe one or more processors to transmit, to the at least one MnS producer, the one or more created policies over the 01 interface.

[0010] To further clarify the advantages and features of the present disclosure, a more particular description of the disclosure will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof, which are illustrated in the appended drawings. It is appreciated that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the disclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. The disclosure will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail in the accompanying drawings.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] Features, aspects, and advantages of embodiments of the disclosure will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals denote like elements, and wherein:FIGS. 1A-1B illustrate one or more functionalities associated with a Distributed Edge Service (DES) and a Centralized Edge Service (CES) of a policy framework, according to a related art; FIG. 2 illustrates interfaces between various entities involved in a policy framework, according to a related art;FIG. 3 illustrates a policy framework, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;FIG. 4 illustrates an environment for creating a policy framework using an 01 interface, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;FIGS. 5A-5D illustrate signal flow diagrams of creating and managing one or more policies using the 01 interface, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;FIGS. 6-7 illustrate example scenarios for implementing the one or more policies, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;FIG. 8 illustrates an example policy framework between various network entities, according to an embodiment of present disclosure;FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart depicting a method for creating the one or more policies; and FIG. 10 illustrates a diagram of example components of a device, according to an embodiment as disclosed herein.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0012] The following detailed description of example embodiments refers to the accompanying drawings. The foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the implementations to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above disclosure or may be acquired from the practice of the implementations. Further, one or more features or components of one embodiment may be incorporated into or combined with another embodiment (or one or more features of another embodiment). Additionally, the flowchart and description of operations provided below relate to one of the various embodiments. It should be noted that it is possible to make other embodiments that do not exactly match the flowchart and its description. It is understood that in other embodiments one or more operations may be omitted, one or more operations may be added, and one or more operations may be performed simultaneously (at least in part).

[0013] It will be apparent that systems and / or methods, described herein, may be implemented in different forms of hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. The actual specialized control hardware or software code used to implement these systems and / or methods is not limiting of the implementations. Thus, the operation and behavior of the systems and / or methods are described herein without reference to specific software code. It is understood thatsoftware and hardware may be designed to implement the systems and / or methods based on the description herein.

[0014] Even though particular combinations of features are recited in the claims and / or disclosed in the specification, these combinations are not intended to limit the disclosure of implementations. In fact, many of these features may be combined in ways not specifically recited in the claims and / or disclosed in the specification. Although each dependent claim listed below may directly depend on only one claim, the disclosure of implementations includes each dependent claim in combination with every other claim in the claim set.

[0015] No element, act, or instruction used herein should be construed as critical or essential unless explicitly described as such. Also, as used herein, the articles “a” and “an” are intended to include one or more items, and may be used interchangeably with “one or more.” Also, as used herein, the terms “has,” “have,” “having,” “include,” “including,” or the like are intended to be open-ended terms. Further, the phrase “based on” is intended to mean “based, at least in part, on” unless explicitly stated otherwise. Furthermore, expressions such as “at least one of [A] and [B],” “[A] and / or [B],” or “at least one of [A] or [B]” are to be understood as including only A, only B, or both A and B.

[0016] The foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the implementations to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above disclosure or may be acquired from the practice of the implementations.

[0017] Management of Fifth-Generation (5G) networks aims to enhance energy efficiency by reducing energy consumption while ensuring coverage, capacity, and quality of service are maintained. The allowable impact on coverage, capacity, and quality of service is determined by network operator's discretion. Intra-RAT energy saving focuses on scenarios where a NextGeneration Node B (gNB) candidate cell(s) provide coverage for New Radio (NR) capacity booster cells that are switched off. Intra-RAT energy saving (ES) consists of two approaches i.e., a distributed energy saving mode and a centralized energy saving mode. FIG. 1 A illustrates the distributed energy saving mode 100A, according to a related art. As shown in FIG. 1A, in the distributed energy saving mode 100A, an energy-saving decision is made in an NR cell with the assistance of Management Service (MnS) producer(s) to provide relevant information, such as policies. FIG. IB illustrates the centralized energy saving mode 100B, according to a related art. As shown in FIG. IB, in the centralized energy saving mode 100B, the energysaving decision is made in a MnS producer (as per clause 15.4 in TS 38.300

[0013] ).

[0018] FIG. 2 illustrates interfaces between various entities involved in a policy framework, according to a related art. As shown in FIG. 2, network interfaces are introduced between different network entities to enable communication and integration. Examples of the network entities may include a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) 201, an O-cloud 203, and an Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) Network Element (O-NE) 205. The O-NE 205 may include O-RAN components, such as an O-RAN network Function (O-RAN NF), an O- RAN Radio Unit (O-RU) 205a, and an O-RAN-Distributed Unit (O-DU) 205b. Further, an 02 interface is introduced between the O-cloud 203 and the SMO 201. Additionally, an 01 Management Services (MnSs) interface is introduced between the O-NE 205 and the SMO 201. Furthermore, an Open Fronthaul (FH) M-plane is introduced between the O-DU 205b and the O-RU 205a. Further, a hybrid Open FH M-plane is introduced between the O-RU 205a and the SMO 201. These interfaces allow for the exchange of data from the O-RAN NEs 205 to the SMO 201.

[0019] FIG. 3 illustrates a policy framework 300, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. There are multiple policies or interfaces utilized between one or more networkentities. Examples of network entities may include the SMO 301 also referred to as a NonReal -time Radio Access Network (RAN) Intelligent Controller (non-RT RIC), a near-real-time RIC (near-RT RIC) 303, a next-generation Node B (gNB) 305, and a plurality of User Equipment (UEs) 307a, 307b, and 307c. Further, the gNB 305 includes an O-RAN Centralized Unit (O-CU) 305a, the O-DU 305b, and the O-RU 305c. Examples of various interfaces include an Al interface, an E2 interface, an Fl interface, a Fronthaul (FH) interface, and an Over-The- Air (OTA) interface. The Fl interface is a standardized interface between the O-DU 305b and the O-CU 305a, enabling an exchange of control, user, and management plane information. The FH interface corresponds to a standardized interface between the O-RU 305c and the O- DU 305b. The FH interface between the O-RU 305c and the O-DU 305b enables transmission of radio signals and associated control / management information. Further, various policies are defined for different network entities. For example, an Al policy is defined for the Near-RT RIC 303. According to the Al policy, the non-RT RIC 201 provides high-level policy guidance to the near-RT RIC 303 to steer corresponding operations and convey the network operator's intent and objectives. Further, an E2 policy is defined for the O-DU 305b and the O-CU 305a. According to the E2 policy, the near-RT RIC 303 provides low-level configurations and policies to the O-CU 305a and the O-DU 305b. Similarly, an OTA policy is defined for the UEs 307a, 307b, 307c, and the O-RU 305c. According to the OTA policy, policies governing UE operations, such as handover, resource utilization, and network energy saving are defined.

[0020] However, there is a lack of a policy framework for sending policies from SMO 301 to O-RAN network functions (O-CU-CP 305a and O-DU 305b) via the 01 interface. Such policies are required at the O-CU 305a and the O-DU 305b to support various optimization features. Accordingly, the present disclosure discloses 01 policies that enable the SMO 301 to deliver high-level guidelines and optimization directives to the O-CU 305a and the O-DU 305b.These policies empower network operators to dynamically influence scheduling, Radio Resource Management (RRM), and other critical functionalities. Thus, these policies may ensure the effective implementation of network-wide optimization objectives and alignment with business intents.

[0021] Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS. 4 to 10, where similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the figures, there are shown preferred embodiments.

[0022] FIG. 4 illustrates an environment 400 for creating a policy framework using the 01 interface, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The environment 400 may include an MnS consumer 410 connected to at least one MnS producer 420 via an 01 interface 430. It can be noted that, although only one MnS producer 420 is depicted, the MnS consumer 410 may be connected to more than one MnS producers 420. Examples of the MnS consumer 410 may include, but are not limited to, Network Operations Center (NOC) applications, an Element Management System (EMS), a Network Management System (NMS), and Orchestration and Automation platforms, such as SMO. Examples of the MnS producer 420 may include, but are not limited to, Network Function (NF) instances (e.g., gNB, Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF)), a Network Repository Function (NRF), a 5G Network Exposure Function (NEF), a 5G Management Function (5GMF), and Network Elements (NEs) such as O-CU 305a, 0-DU 305b.

[0023] The MnS consumer 410 may be configured to receive policy management capability information from the at least one MnS producer 420 over the 01 interface. In a non-limiting embodiment, the policy management capability information may include, but is not limited to, one or more Measurement Reports (MRs), Performance Management (PM) data associated with the MnS producer 420, Connection Management (CM) data associated with the MnSproducer 420, and a plurality of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) corresponding to the at least one MnS producer 420. The at least one MnS producer 420 may correspond to NF instances such as gNB, AMF, SMF, NRF, NEF, 5GMF, and NEs such as O-CU 305a, and O- DU 305b.

[0024] The MnS consumer 410 may then be configured to determine whether to create one or more policies for the at least one MnS producer 420 based on the received policy management capability information.

[0025] The MnS consumer 410 may be configured to create the one or more policies for the at least one MnS producer 420 based on the determination. Specifically, the MnS consumer 410 may create the one or more policies if the MnS consumer 410 determines that the one or more policies are to be created. Each of the one or more policies may include, but is not limited to, a policy scope, a policy goal, a policy statement, and a condition to implement the policy. In a non-limited embodiment, the policy scope may include, but is not limited to, the cell ID to identify the targeted cell, the slice ID to identify the targeted slice, and the 5G QoS ID to identify the targeted service. In an embodiment, the policy scope may be defined based on at least one of the O-RU, the O-DU, the cell, the O-CU level, or the feature.

[0026] In an embodiment, the 5G QoS characteristics may be referred to as guidelines for setting node-specific parameters for each QoS Flow, such as 3 GPP radio access link layer protocol configurations. Standardized or pre-configured 5G QoS characteristics are indicated through the 5QI value. The standardized or pre-configured 5G QoS characteristics are not signaled on any interface unless certain 5G QoS characteristics are modified as specified in the relevant clauses of 3GPP 23.501 (5.7.3.3, 5.7.3.4, 5.7.3.6, and 5.7.3.7). As there are no default values specified, the pre-configured 5G QoS characteristics may include all of the characteristics listed above. The resource type determines whether dedicated network resourcesrelated to a QoS Flow-level Guaranteed Flow Bit Rate (GFBR) value are permanently allocated (e.g., by an admission control function in a radio base station). The GBR QoS Flows are typically authorized “on demand”, which requires dynamic policy and charging control. A GBR QoS Flow uses either the GBR resource type or the Delay-critical GBR resource type. The definitions of Packet Delay Budget (PDB) and Packet Error Rate (PER) are different for GBR and Delay-critical GBR resource types. The Maximum Data Burst Volume (MDBV) parameter applies only to the Delay-critical GBR resource type. A Non-GBR QoS Flow may be pre-authorized through static policy and charging control and uses only the Non-GBR resource type. In addition, 3GPP 23.501 may include information based on at least one of MDBV, QoS, PDB, delay critical GBR, GBR, non-GBR, and standardized 5QI to QoS characteristics mapping.

[0027] In a further embodiment, according to 3GPP 38.300 NR and NG-RAN overall description, Stage-2, in the case of the GBR QoS flow, GFBR for both the uplink and downlink directions is defined. Further, a Maximum Flow Bit Rate (MFBR) for both the uplink and downlink directions is defined. A maximum packet loss rate for both the uplink and downlink directions is also defined. In a non-limited embodiment, the maximum packet loss rate (for both uplink and downlink) is only provided for the GBR QoS flow belonging to voice media. Further, a delay critical resource type and a notification control are also defined for the GBR QoS flow.

[0028] In another embodiment, in the case of the Non-GBR QoS flow, a Reflective QoS Attribute (RQA) when included, indicates that some (not necessarily all) traffic carried on this QoS flow is subject to Reflective Quality of Service (RQoS) at the Non-Access Stratum (NAS). Additional QoS flow information may also be included for Non-GBR QoS flow. Additionally, an Aggregate Maximum Bit Rate (AMBR) is linked to each Packet Data Unit (PDU) session(Session-AMBR). The AMBR defines the maximum combined bit rate allowed across all Non- GBR QoS Flows within a specific PDU session. This limit is enforced by a User Plane Function (UPF). Each UE-AMBR specifies the maximum aggregate bit rate that can be provided across all Non-GBR QoS flows of the UE and is enforced by the RAN, as outlined in clause 10.5.1. Further, each slice per UE (UE-Slice-MBR) defines the maximum aggregate bit rate that can be provided across all GBR and Non-GBR QoS flows associated with the PDU sessions of the UE for a specific slice (SNSSAI). This limit is enforced by the RAN, as specified in clause 10.5.1.

[0029] Further, 5QI is associated with QoS characteristics, which provide guidelines for setting node-specific parameters for each QoS Flow. The standardized or pre-configured 5G QoS characteristics are derived from the 5QI value and are not explicitly signaled. Signaled QoS characteristics are included as part of the QoS profile. The QoS characteristics consist of, for instance (as per TS 23.501 [3]), priority level packet delay budget, packet error rate averaging window, and maximum data burst volume. The priority level packet delay budget may include, but is not limited to, the core network packet delay budget.

[0030] The policy goal may include, but is not limited to, at least one of Network Energy Saving (NES), a load balancing, a traffic steering, a capacity optimization, and a coverage optimization. In a non-limited embodiment, the policy goal of NES may be represented by a targetEc. The targetEc may include various attributes, for example, targetEc (type: Real; multiplicity: 0..1; isOrdered: N / A; isUnique: N / A; defaultValue: None; isNullable: False). The targetEc represents the target average value of energy consumption. While energy-saving actions may lead to potential performance degradation, the performance cannot fall below the QoS requirements specified by the core network. If the current energy consumption of the O- RU 305c is less than the provided targetEc, no additional energy-saving action is expected fromthe O-DU 305b. The MnS consumer 410 may provide a revised targetEc based on the feedback and performance measurement data. Alternatively, if the MnS consumer 410 had previously set a lower “targetEc” to conserve energy, the MnS consumer 410 can now configure a higher value to enhance performance and energy consumption. In this scenario, the configured "targetEc" is expected to be higher than the current energy consumption of the O-RU. The trigger may include various attributes, for example, ApplicableTimeWindows (type: TimeWindow; multiplicity: 1..*; isOrdered: False; isUnique: True; defaultvalue: N / A; isNullable: False). Optionally, the trigger may inform the E2 nodes on when to enforce the recommended policy and define the list of time windows at which the NES policy is applicable.

[0031] The policy statement may indicate one or more resources to be utilized for implementing each policy. The policy statement may vary depending on the policy goal. For example, when the policy goal is energy saving, the policy statement may specify energy consumption reduction in percentage, QoS / Quality of Experience (QoE) performance targets, recommended sleep mode, and antenna mask. In another example, when the policy goal is the load balancing, the policy statement may specify target Physical Resource Block (PRB) utilization in percentage on designated cells. In a non-limited embodiment, the policy statement and one or more associated attributes, for example, are outlined as follows: a. policyType (type: ENUM; multiplicity: 1; isOrdered: N / A; isUnique: N / A; defaultValue: N / A; isNullable: False). This attribute indicates the type of energy-saving policy that is applicable. i. allowed values: “TRX CONTROL”: the policy is for TRx Control (RF channel reconfiguration) based energy saving; “ASM”: the policy is for advanced sleep mode-based energy saving.b. New Radio Cell Distributed Unit Reference (nRCellDURef) (type: Data Network (DN); multiplicity: 1; isOrdered: N / A; isUnique: N / A; defaultValue: N / A; isNullable: False). This attribute holds the DN of a New Radio Cell Distributed Unit (NRCellDU) entity with which the policies are associated. i. allowed values: DN of the NRCellDU Managed Object Instance (MOI)(s) that are name contained in the parent GNBDUFunction. c. Configured Network Energy Saving (NES) policy list (type: DN; multiplicity: 1..*; isOrdered: True; isUnique: True; defaultValue: N / A; isNullable: False). This attribute holds an ordered list of DNs of the NES policies that are configured for a given NRCellDU. The evaluation of the NES policy is performed by the O-DU 305b in increasing order of their precedence in the list. The order represents the policy priorities, i.e., the policy whose DN appears first has higher priority than the policies that follow. i. allowed values: DNs of the NESPolicy Managed Object Instance (MOI) that are named and contained in the parent GNBDUFunction.

[0032] In a further embodiment, the one or more parameters for resource management, for example, are outlined as follows: a. sleep mode (type: integer; multiplicity: 1; isOrdered: N / A; isUnique: N / A; defaultValue: N / A; isNullable: False): i. It indicates the recommended sleep mode (defined in ORAN-WG4.CUS specification [z], clause 7.5.3.52) to be applied to the NR Cell(s) by the O-DU 305b for network energy saving. ii. Allowed values are the sleep modes supported by the 0-RU 305c (defined in ORAN-WG4.CUS specification [z], clause 16.1). iii. allowed values: 0, 1, 2, 3.b. antennaMask (type: Binary / BitString; multiplicity: 0..1; isOrdered: N / A; isUnique: N / A; defaultValue: None; isNullable: False): i. It defines the recommended antenna mask (defined in 0RAN-WG4.CUS specification [z], clause 7.5.3.54) to be applied to the NR Cell(s) by the O-DU 305b for network energy saving. ii. allowed values: Antenna mask values supported by the 0-RU 305c. c. slotMask (type: BitString / Binary; multiplicity: 0..1; isOrdered: N / A; isUnique: N / A; defaultValue: All ones; isNullable: N / A): i. Used to configure a periodic sleep pattern. For example, sleep in the last slots in every frame, or in every cycle whose length is indicated by the number of slots parameters. It is up to the O-DU 305b to manage the traffic scheduling to implement the slotMask-based sleep. ii. The number of slots in which the O-DU 305b activates the sleep mode in the O- RU 305c depends on the traffic conditions and the scheduling algorithm. In a non-limited embodiment, the O-DU 305b may send the notification to the MnS consumer 410 if the provided slot mask-based sleep pattern is utilized or implemented by the O-DU 305b or not, as part of a policy utilization notification. iii. allowed values: 14-bit mask. d. symbolMask (type: BitString / Binary; multiplicity: 0..1; isOrdered: N / A; isUnique: N / A; defaultValue: All ones; isNullable: True): i. Represents the symbol pattern to be applied only when sleep mode is set to SLEEP MODE O. ii. The MnS consumer 410 may provide “symbolMask” to the O-DU 305b, to configure a periodic sleep pattern. An example of “symbolMask” may include sleep in the firstor last few symbols in every slot or alternate slot. It is up to the O-DU 305b to manage the traffic scheduling to implement the symbolMask-based sleep. iii. The number of symbols depends on the traffic conditions and the scheduling algorithm. In a non-limited embodiment, the O-DU 305b can send a notification related to the symbol mask-based sleep pattern to the MnS consumer 410 as part of the policy utilization notification. The notification may indicate whether the provided symbol mask-based sleep pattern is utilized or implemented by the O-DU 305b or not. iv. allowed values: 14-bit mask.

[0033] The condition to implement the policy may indicate a trigger to activate the implementation of the corresponding policy. For example, the trigger may correspond to when a cell throughput is below a certain threshold. Further, the MnS consumer 410 may activate the one or more policies in two ways. For example, the MnS consumer 410 may create or deliver a policy instance for the created one or more policies and activate the one or more policies, whenever required. In another example, the MnS consumer 410 may deliver the one or more policies to the MnS producer 420. The MnS producer 420 may then decide when to activate and enforce the one or more policies. The condition to implement the policy may further indicate a constraint to restrict the implementation of the corresponding policy. For example, the condition to implement the policy may determine when to apply the policy for achieving a specific energy consumption reduction objective or when to apply a certain antenna mask or sleep mode. In a non-limited embodiment, the conditions, for example, are outlined as follows: a. perfObjTarget (type: String; multiplicity: *; isOrdered: False; isUnique: N / A; defaultValue: None; isNullable: N / A) : i. Represents the QoS performance target for each Network energy-saving use case while ensuring that it does not impact the service metrics defined by the 5QI value.ii. For example, when the traffic load is less than x %, activate the appropriate sleep mode or TRx control -based energy saving. Utilize 10% of the slots for energy saving without affecting operator-provided QoE per service. b. perfObjective.fiveQIValue (type: Integer; multiplicity: 1; isOrdered: N / A; isUnique: N / A; defaultValue: None; isNullable: False): i. It is the targeted 5QI to be configured with the perfObjective. c. perfObjective. delayBudget (type: Integer; multiplicity: 1; isOrdered: N / A; isUnique: N / A; defaultValue: None; isNullable: True): i. In addition to the 0-DU 305b optimization, the MnS consumer 410 can provide or configure the preferred scheduler delay in the unit of ms (< allowable delay and Packet Delay Budget (PDB) defined in 3GPP TS 23.501). This is based on the traffic prediction and the operator's policy, allowing the MnS consumer 410 to guide the 0-DU 305b in managing scheduling with the preferred delay. This approach prioritizes either performance improvement or energy saving while staying within the allocated QoS budget.

[0034] In a non-limited embodiment, Table 1 illustrates an example of the created policy:Table 1

[0035] In another example, the policy goal is NES which may represent the target average value of energy consumption of the 0-RU 305c in kWh, as defined in 3GPP TS 28.552, clause 5.1.1.19.3. Accordingly, the policy statement may indicate the 0-RU 305c power consumption threshold and time window used by energy-saving algorithms to activate certain Transmitter / Receiver (TRx) Control configurations. For example, the one or more resources may include time duration in seconds for which traffic is less than a specified percentage, traffic threshold as integer values between 0 and 100 representing percentage of Physical Resource Block (PRB) usage, antenna mask values from 1 to n for the Component Carrier N. The constraint may include coverage and capacity thresholds, where appropriate TRx Control configuration for a specific sleep mode based energy saving may be applied when traffic load remains below the threshold for a specified duration, or energy consumption exceeds a specified threshold. The trigger may be event-driven, such as emergency / disaster situation alerts, low traffic conditions, or high O-RU energy consumption scenarios.

[0036] Further, the MnS consumer 410 may be configured to transmit the one or more created policies to the at least one MnS producer 420 over the 01 interface. Further, the MnS consumer 410 may transmit the one or more policies in multiple ways. For example, the MnS consumer 410 may transmit the one or more policies by utilizing a file management process or other provisioning option like NETCONF edit-config <policy details». In another example, the MnS consumer 410 may create a policy instance in the MnS Producer 420. The MnS consumer 410 may then configure policy attributes and parameters required for optimization through the instance. Accordingly, the MnS consumer 410 may transmit a policy instance creation successful notification to the MnS producer 420. In response, the MnS consumer 410 may be further configured to receive a notification over the 01 interface, from the at least one MnSproducer 420 in response to transmitting the one or more created policies. The notification may indicate an acknowledgement of the reception of one or more created policies.

[0037] The MnS consumer 410 may be further configured to determine whether to activate the one or more created policies based on the data received from the at least one MnS producer 420. In a non-limited embodiment, the data may be received at the beginning, i.e., before determining whether to create the one or more policies. The data may comprise performance management (PM), fault management data (FM), and configuration management data (CM). The MnS consumer 410 may then be configured to activate the one or more created policies at the at least one MnS producer 420 in response to the determination. In response to the activation, the MnS consumer 410 may be configured to receive a notification from the at least one MnS producer 420 indicating the successful activation of the one or more created policies. The MnS consumer 410 may receive the notification over the 01 interface.

[0038] The MnS consumer 410 may be further configured to receive a policy utilization status from the at least one MnS producer 420. The policy utilization status may indicate implementation of at least one of the one or more policies at the at least one MnS producer 420. In an embodiment, the MnS consumer 410 may be configured to update the one or more created policies based on the received policy utilization status. In another embodiment, the MnS consumer 410 may be configured to delete the one or more created policies based on the received policy utilization status. In another embodiment, the MnS consumer 410 may be configured to deactivate the one or more created policies based on the received policy utilization status.

[0039] The MnS consumer 410 may further be configured to receive a policy conflict notification from the at least one MnS producer 420. The policy conflict notification may correspond to one or more activated policies. In an embodiment, the policy conflict may benoted by an NF of the MnS producer 420. The MnS producer 420 may then transmit the policy conflict notification over the 01 interface to the MnS consumer 410. In response, the MnS consumer 410 may be configured to deactivate the corresponding policies for which the policy conflict notification is received. In another embodiment, the MnS consumer 410 may be configured to delete the corresponding policies for which the policy conflict notification is received.

[0040] The MnS consumer 410 may be further configured to determine whether to request a status of the one or more created policies from the at least one MnS producer 420. In a nonlimited embodiment, the MnS consumer 410 may also request a status of the delivered policies, i.e., the policies already transmitted to the MnS producer 420. Accordingly, the MnS consumer 410 may transmit a query to the at least one MnS producer 420 to request the status of the one or more created or delivered policies. In response, the MnS consumer 410 may receive a notification indicating the status of the one or more created or delivered policies from the at least one MnS producer 420.

[0041] The MnS consumer 410 may be configured to categorize each policy into one of a plurality of predefined categories. The plurality of predefined categories may include, but are not limited to, an event based category, a threshold based category, an objective based category, a notification / alarm based category, a KPI based category, and a time and resource based category. In an embodiment, the MnS consumer 410 may categorize each policy based on at least one of the policy scope, the policy goal, the policy statement, and the condition to implement the policy. In a non-limited embodiment, Table 2 illustrates an example of the categorization:Table 2

[0042] FIGS. 5A-5D illustrate signal flow diagrams 500 of creating and managing the one or more policies using the 01 interface, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In a non-limited embodiment, a connection is successfully established between the MnS producer 504 and the MnS consumer 502 via the 01 interface. Further, the MnS consumer 502 has subscribed to the MnS producer 504 for the Connection Management (CM) notifications. The MnS consumer 502 may correspond to the MnS consumer 410 and the MnS producer 504 may correspond to the MnS producer 420. As shown, at operation 508, the MnS consumer 502 may retrieve policy management capabilities information from the MnS producer 504 via the 01 interface. Subsequently, in a policy creation phase, at operation 510, the MnS consumer 502 may create the one or more policies and transmit the created one or more policies to the MnS producer 504. In response, at operation 512, the MnS producer 504 may transmit a policy creation notification corresponding to creation of the one or more policies to the MnS consumer 502. Thereafter, in a policy activation phase, at operation 514, the MnS consumer 502 may activate the created one or more policies at the MnS producer 504. At operation 516, the MnS producer 504 may respond with one or more policies activation notification indicating the successful activation of the one or more created policies. Then, in a policy update phase, at operation 518, the MnS consumer 502 may transmit a policy update notification for updating the one or more policies to the MnS Producer 504. In response, at operation 520, the MnS producer 504 may transmit one or more policies utilization status to the MnS consumer 502. Then, in a policy conflict detection phase, at operation 522, an NF 506 may detect one or more policies conflict at the MnS producer 504 and may inform the conflict to the MnS producer 504. At operation 524, the MnS producer 504 may transmit one or more policies conflict notification to the MnS consumer 502. Then in a policy deactivation phase, at operation 526, the MnS consumer 502 may transmit a deactivate policy message to deactivate the one or morepolicies to the MnS producer 504. At operation 528, the MnS producer 504 may respond with one or more policies deactivation notification. In a policy deletion phase, at operation 530, the MnS consumer 502 may transmit a delete policy message to delete the one or more policies to the MnS producer 504. At operation 532, the MnS producer 504 may respond with one or more policies removal notification. In a policy query phase, at operation 534, the MnS consumer 502 may request a status of the one or more policies by transmitting the query to request the status to the MnS producer 504. At operation 536, the MnS producer 504 may respond with one or more policies status response notification. In a non-limited embodiment, even though the signal flow diagrams 500 have been explained in respect of one MnS producer only, the same is applicable to more than one MnS producers.

[0043] FIG. 6 illustrates an example scenario 600 for implementing the one or more policies, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The example scenario 600 illustrates two policies 401 and 402 for managing a delay in a communication network. In an embodiment, a rate of communication is 30 bits, i.e., 30 bits is to be transmitted in 30 seconds. According to the policy 401, 10 bits may be sequentially transmitted in three intervals, i.e., every 10 seconds. Whereas, according to the policy 402, 30 bits are transmitted in the same interval. The policies 401 and 402 may be created based on traffic prediction, user equipment behavior, data throughput, and resource requirements.

[0044] FIG. 7 illustrates another example scenario 700 for implementing the one or more policies, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. For example, in FIG. 7, a throughput reduction scenario for various RF channel configurations, according to an embodiment as disclosed herein. The example scenario 700 illustrates policies 701 and 702 for throughput and RF configurations with corresponding data transmission rates and energysaving opportunities. As shown, the total time interval to transmit the data is 30 seconds.According to the policy 701, the data is transmitted in the initial 10 seconds and the last 20 seconds are used for the energy-saving opportunities. According to the policy 702, the data is transmitted in the initial 20 seconds and the last 10 seconds are used for the energy-saving opportunities. The scenario 700 emphasizes the relationship between reducing throughput and enabling energy-saving opportunities through RF channel adjustments.

[0045] FIG. 8 illustrates an example policy framework between various network entities, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The various network entities may include the 0-RU, the 0-DU, the O-CU, the Near-RT RIC, the SMO, and the plurality of UEs. The various network entities may be interlinked with each other via various policies such as but not limited to, 01 policy, Al policy, E2 policy, etc.

[0046] In an embodiment, Table 3 shows a policy framework for a Cell Energy Saving (CES) Management Function according to 3 GPP TS 28.541 policy framework:Table 3

[0047] The above function can be accomplished by the MnS consumer 502 if the MnS producer 504 supports energy saving feature. Then, the MnS consumer 502 may send a policy to let the MnS producer 504 to apply energy saving functions (Cell and Carrier Shut Down or TRx Control or ASM) when the conditions are met. Further, by adopting the controlmechanism of Table 4, the MnS consumer 502 may be able to activate the Cell and CarrierShut Down:Table 4

[0048] Accordingly, the below policy conditions shall be as follows:Table 5

[0049] In an embodiment, the constraints to achieve the policy of Table 2 are shown in Table4:Table 6

[0050] In an embodiment, the MnS producer 504 may define a set of Performance Counters (PC). The MnS producer 504 may then provide the PC to the MnS consumer 502. The PC may be defined as OR.O1.NesPolicyUtil Filter and OR.O1.NesPolicyNotUtil Filter in case of NESfeature related use cases, OR.Ol.SORUPolicyUtil Filter andsOR.O1 SORUP olicyNotUtil Filter in case of Shared O-RU feature related use cases and so on. The PC may include policy related performance counters. The policy related PCs may include policy utilization for Network Energy Saving based on policytype, as shown in Table 7:Table 7

[0051] The policy related PCs may further include policy not utilized or failed to use forNetwork Energy Saving based on policytype, as shown in Table 8:Table 8

[0052] The policy related PCs may further include policy utilization for Network EnergySaving based on policy ID, as shown in Table 9:Table 9

[0053] The policy related PCs may further include policy not utilized or failed to use forNetwork Energy Saving based on policy ID, as shown in Table 10:Table 10

[0054] The policy related PCs may further include policy utilization for Network EnergySaving based on policytype, as shown in Table 11 :Table 11

[0055] The policy related PCs may further include policy not utilized or failed to use forNetwork Energy Saving based on policytype as shown in Table 12:Table 12

[0056] The policy related PCs may further include policy utilization for Network EnergySaving based on policy ID or DN of NRCellDU for a given Cell(s) as shown in Table 13:Table 13

[0057] The policy related PCs may further include policy not utilized or failed to use for Network Energy Saving based on policy ID or DN of NRCellDU for a given Cell(s) as shown in Table 14:Table 14

[0058] FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart depicting a method 900 for creating the one or more policies, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method 900 may be performed by the MnS consumer 410.

[0059] At step 901, the method 900 may include receiving policy management capability information corresponding to at least one MnS producer 420 over the 01 interface.

[0060] Thereafter, at step 903, the method 900 may include determining whether to create one or more policies for the at least one MnS producer 420 based on the received policy management capability information.

[0061] Thereafter, at step 905, the method 900 may include creating one or more policies for the at least one MnS producer 420, each of the one or more policies comprises at least one of a policy scope, a policy goal, a policy statement, a condition to implement the policy.

[0062] Thereafter, at step 907, the method may include transmitting one or more created policies to the at least one MnS producer 420 over the 01 interface.

[0063] While the above-discussed steps in FIG. 9 are shown and described in a particular sequence, the steps may occur in variations to the sequence in accordance with various embodiments. Further, a detailed description related to the various steps of FIG. 9 is already covered in the description related to FIGS. 4A-8 and is omitted herein for the sake of brevity.

[0064] FIG. 10 is a diagram of example components of a wireless communication device 1000 (also referred to as the device / apparatus), according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In one or more embodiments, the wireless communication device 1000 may correspond to a wireless server, the MnS consumer 410, the MnS producer 420, the MnS consumer 502, and / or the MnS producer 504. As shown in FIG. 10, the device 1000 includes a processor 1010, a memory 1020, a storage component 1030, an input component 1040, an output component 1050, a communication interface 1060, and a bus 1070.

[0065] The processor 1010, as used herein, means any type of computational circuit that may comprise hardware elements and software elements. The processor 1010 may be embodied as a multi-core processor, a single-core processor, or a combination of one or more multi-core processors and / or one or more single-core processors, a distributed processing system, or the like. The processor 1010 may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), an Accelerated Processing Unit (APU), an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or another type of processing component.

[0066] The memory 1020 includes a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The memory 1020 includes a Random-Access Memory (RAM), a Read Only Memory (ROM), and / or another type of dynamic or static storage device (e.g., a flash memory, a magnetic memory, and / or an optical memory) that stores information and / or instructions for use by the processor 1010. The memory 1020 comprises machine-readable instructions which are executable by the processor 1010. These machine-readable instructions when executed by the processor 1010cause the processor 1010 to perform one or more method steps of an embodiment described above.

[0067] The storage component 1030 stores information and / or software related to the operation and use of the device 1000. For example, the storage component 1030 may include a hard disk (e.g., a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optic disk, and / or a solid-state disk), a Compact Disc (CD), a Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), a floppy disk, a cartridge, a magnetic tape, and / or another type of non-transitory computer-readable medium, along with a corresponding drive.

[0068] The input component 1040 is configured to receive information, such as user input. For example, the input component 1040 may include, but not be limited to, a touch screen display, a keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a button, a switch, and / or a microphone. Additionally, or alternatively, the input component 1040 may include a sensor for sensing information (e.g., a Global Positioning System (GPS), an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and / or an actuator).

[0069] The output component 1050 is configured to provide output information from the device 1000. For example, the output component 1050 may include, but is not limited to, a display, a speaker, an instruction device to an external device, and / or one or more Light- Emitting Diodes (LEDs).

[0070] The communication interface 1060 is an interface that provides a communication connection to other devices, such as external devices and internal devices. The connection by the communication interface 1060 can be a wired connection, a wireless connection, or a combination of wired and wireless connections, and can be a direct connection or an indirect connection via a communication network that exists between the device 1000 and other devices. In other words, the standard of the communication interface 1060 is not limited.

[0071] The bus 1070 acts as an interconnect between the processor 1010, the memory 1020, the storage component 1030, the input component 1040, the output component 1050, and the communication interface 1060 of the device 1000. The bus 1070 may include a wired interconnection or a wireless interconnection.

[0072] The number and arrangement of components shown in FIG. 10 are provided as an example. In practice, the device 1000 may include additional components, fewer components, different components, or differently arranged components than those shown in FIG. 10.

[0073] Additionally, or alternatively, a set of components (e.g., one or more components) of the device 1000 may perform one or more functions described as being performed by another set of components of the device 1000. Further, one or more method steps described in any of the embodiments may be performed utilizing a plurality of devices 1000 in communication with one another.

[0074] It is understood that terms including “unit” at the end may refer to the unit for processing at least one function or operation and may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.

[0075] In one embodiment, a method is described. The method includes receiving, by a Managed Network Service (MnS) consumer, policy management capability information corresponding to at least one MnS producer over an 01 interface. Further, the method includes, determining, by the MnS consumer, whether to create one or more policies for the at least one MnS producer in response to the received policy management capability information. Further in response to determining to create the one or more policies for the at least one MnS producer, the method includes creating, by the MnS consumer, the one or more policies for the at least one MnS producer, wherein each of the one or more policies comprises at least one of a policy scope, a policy goal, a policy statement, a condition to implement the policy. The method alsoincludes transmitting, by the MnS consumer, the one or more created policies to the at least one MnS producer over the 01 interface.

[0076] The method as described in

[0075] , wherein in response to transmitting the one or more created policies, the method further comprises: receiving, by the MnS consumer, a notification indicating an acknowledgement of the reception of the one or more created policies at the at least one MnS producer, from the at least one MnS producer over the 01 interface.

[0077] The method as described in any one of

[0075] -

[0076] , wherein in response to transmitting the one or more created policies, the method further comprises: determining, by the MnS consumer, whether to activate the one or more created policies based on a data received from the MnS producer; in response to determining to activate the one or more created policies, activating, by the MnS consumer, at the at least one MnS producer, the one or more created policies; and receiving, by the MnS consumer, a notification indicating successful activation of the one or more created policies, from the at least one MnS producer over the 01 interface.

[0078] The method as described in any one of

[0075] -

[0077] , the method further comprises: receiving, by the MnS consumer, a policy utilization status indicating implementation of at least one of the one or more policies at the at least one MnS producer, from the at least one MnS producer over the 01 interface; and performing, based on the received policy utilization status, at least one of: updating the one or more created policies; deleting the one or more created policies; and deactivating the one or more created policies.

[0079] The method as described in any one of

[0075] -

[0078] , the method further comprises:receiving, by the MnS consumer, a policy conflict notification corresponding to at least one of the one or more policies activated at the at least one MnS producer, from the at least one MnS producer over the 01 interface; and performing at least one of deactivating the corresponding at least one of the one or more policies; and deleting the corresponding at least one of the one or more policies.

[0080] The method as described in any one of

[0075] -

[0079] , wherein in response to transmitting the one or more created policies, the method further comprises: determining, by the MnS consumer, whether to request a status of the one or more created policies; in response to determining to request the status of the one or more created policies, transmitting, by the MnS consumer, to the at the least one MnS producer, a query to request the status of the one or more created policies over the 01 interface; and receiving, by the MnS consumer, a notification indicating the status of the one or more created policies, from the at least one MnS producer over the 01 interface.

[0081] The method as described in any one of

[0075] -

[0080] , wherein the policy scope corresponding to each of the one or more policies comprises at least one of a cell identifier (ID), a slide ID, and a 5G QoS ID, wherein the at least one of the cell ID, the slide ID, and the 5G QoS ID indicates a corresponding at least one of a targeted cell, a targeted slice, and a targeted service.

[0082] The method as described in any one of

[0075] -

[0081] , wherein the policy goal includes at least one of a network energy saving, a load balancing, a traffic steering, a capacity optimization, and a coverage optimization, wherein the policy statement indicates one or more resources to be utilized for implementing each of the one or more policies, and wherein thecondition indicates at least one of a trigger to activate the implementation of the corresponding policy and a constraint to restrict the implementation of the corresponding policy.

[0083] In another embodiment, an apparatus is described. The apparatus is configured to receive, from at least one Managed Network Service (MnS) producer, policy management capability information corresponding to the at least one MnS producer over an 01 interface. The apparatus is further configured to determine whether to create one or more policies for the at least one MnS producer in response to the received policy management capability information. In response to determining to create the one or more policies for the at least one MnS producer, the apparatus is configured to create the one or more policies for the at least one MnS producer, wherein each of the one or more policies comprises at least one of a policy scope, a policy goal, a policy statement, a condition to implement the policy. The apparatus is further configured to transmit, to the at least one MnS producer, the one or more created policies over the 01 interface.

[0084] The apparatus as described in

[0083] , wherein in response to the transmitted one or more created policies, the apparatus is configured to: receive, from the at least one MnS producer, a notification indicating an acknowledgement of the reception of the one or more created policies at the at least one MnS producer over the 01 interface.

[0085] The apparatus as described in any one of

[0083] -

[0084] , wherein in response to the transmitted one or more created policies, the apparatus is configured to: determine whether to activate the one or more created policies based on a data received from the MnS producer; in response to determining to activate the one or more created policies, activate, at the at least one MnS producer, the one or more created policies; andreceive, from the at least one MnS producer, a notification indicating successful activation of the one or more created policies over the 01 interface.

[0086] The apparatus as described in any one of

[0083] -

[0085] , wherein the apparatus is further configured to: receive, from the at least one MnS producer, a policy utilization status indicating implementation of at least one of the one or more policies at the at least one MnS producer over the 01 interface; and perform, based on the received policy utilization status, at least one of: update the one or more created policies; delete the one or more created policies; and deactivate the one or more created policies.

[0087] The apparatus as described in any one of

[0083] -

[0086] , wherein the apparatus is further configured to: receive, from the at least one MnS producer, a policy conflict notification corresponding to at least one of the one or more policies activated at the at least one MnS producer over the 01 interface; and perform at least one of: deactivate the corresponding at least one of the one or more policies; and delete the corresponding at least one of the one or more policies.

[0088] The apparatus as described in any one of

[0083] -

[0087] , wherein in response to the transmitted one or more created policies, the apparatus is configured to: determine whether to request a status of the one or more created policies;in response to determining to request the status of the one or more created policies, transmit, to the at the least one MnS producer, a query to request the status of the one or more created policies over the 01 interface; and receive, from the at least one MnS producer, a notification indicating the status of the one or more created policies over the 01 interface.

[0089] The apparatus as described in any one of

[0083] -

[0088] , wherein the policy scope corresponding to each of the one or more policies comprises at least one of a cell identifier (ID), a slide ID, and a 5G Quality of Service (QoS) ID, wherein the at least one of the cell ID, the slide ID, and the 5G QoS ID indicates a corresponding at least one of a targeted cell, a targeted slice, and a targeted service.

[0090] The apparatus as described in any one of

[0083] -

[0089] , wherein the policy goal includes at least one of a network energy saving, a load balancing, a traffic steering, a capacity optimization, and a coverage optimization, wherein the policy statement indicates one or more resources to be utilized for implementing each of the one or more policies, and wherein the condition indicates at least one of a trigger to activate the implementation of the corresponding policy and a constraint to restrict the implementation of the corresponding policy.

[0091] In one embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions is described. The non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions, the instructions comprising: one or more instructions that, when executed by an apparatus, the apparatus comprising one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to receive, from at least one Managed Network Service (MnS) producer, policy management capability information corresponding to the at least one MnS producer over an 01 interface. The one or more instructions further cause the one or more processor to determine whether to create one or more policies for the at least one MnS producer based on the received policy management capabilityinformation. In response to determining to create the one or more policies for the at least one MnS producer, the one or more instructions cause the one or more processor to create the one or more policies for the at least one MnS producer. Each of the one or more policies include at least one of a policy scope, a policy goal, a policy statement, and a condition to implement the policy. The one or more instructions further cause the one or more processor to transmit, to the at least one MnS producer, the one or more created policies over the 01 interface.

[0092] Accordingly, the present disclosure provides techniques for providing a generic policy framework for the 01 interface.

[0093] Embodiments of the present disclosure offer several significant commercial and technical advantages, for example:

[0094] Integrating the 01 policy into the overall policy framework enhances the operator’s ability to manage the network holistically, bridging the gap between the high-level, network- wide optimizations carried out by the Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) and the real-time, localized control implemented by the near-RT RIC and the gNB.

[0095] While specific language has been used to describe the disclosure, any limitations arising on account of the same are not intended. As would be apparent to a person in the art, various working modifications may be made to the method in order to implement the inventive concept as taught herein.

[0096] The drawings and the forgoing description give examples of embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that one or more of the described elements may well be combined into a single functional element. Alternatively, certain elements may be split into multiple functional elements. Elements from one embodiment may be added to another embodiment. For example, orders of processes described herein may be changed and are not limited to the manner described herein.

[0097] Moreover, the actions of any flow diagram need not be implemented in the order shown; nor do all of the acts necessarily need to be performed. Also, those acts that are not dependent on other acts may be performed in parallel with the other acts. The scope of embodiments is by no means limited by these specific examples. Numerous variations, whether explicitly given in the specification or not, such as differences in structure, dimension, and use of material, are possible. The scope of embodiments is at least as broad as given by the following claims.

[0098] Benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have been described above with regard to specific embodiments. However, the benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any component(s) that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more pronounced are not to be construed as a critical, required, or essential feature or component of any or all the claims.

[0099] The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and / or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept. Therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of at least one embodiment, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the embodiments as described herein.

Claims

We Claim:

1. An apparatus (1000) configured to: receive, from at least one Managed Network Service (MnS) producer (420), policy management capability information corresponding to the at least one MnS producer (420) over an 01 interface 430; determine whether to create one or more policies for the at least one MnS producer (420) in response to the received policy management capability information; in response to determining to create the one or more policies for the at least one MnS producer (420), create the one or more policies for the at least one MnS producer (420), wherein each of the one or more policies comprises at least one of a policy scope, a policy goal, a policy statement, a condition to implement the policy; and transmit, to the at least one MnS producer (420), the one or more created policies over the 01 interface 430.

2. The apparatus (1000) as claimed in claim 1, wherein in response to the transmitted one or more created policies, the apparatus (1000) is configured to: receive, from the at least one MnS producer (420), a notification indicating an acknowledgement of the reception of the one or more created policies at the at least one MnS producer (420) over the 01 interface 430.

3. The apparatus (1000) as claimed in claim 1, wherein in response to the transmitted one or more created policies, the apparatus (1000) is configured to:determine whether to activate the one or more created policies based on a data received from the MnS producer (420); in response to determining to activate the one or more created policies, activate, at the at least one MnS producer (420), the one or more created policies; and receive, from the at least one MnS producer (420), a notification indicating successful activation of the one or more created policies over the 01 interface 430.

4. The apparatus (1000) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the apparatus (1000) is further configured to: receive, from the at least one MnS producer (420), a policy utilization status indicating implementation of at least one of the one or more policies at the at least one MnS producer (420) over the 01 interface 430; and perform, based on the received policy utilization status, at least one of: update the one or more created policies; delete the one or more created policies; and deactivate the one or more created policies.

5. The apparatus (1000) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the apparatus (1000) is further configured to: receive, from the at least one MnS producer (420), a policy conflict notification corresponding to at least one of the one or more policies activated at the at least one MnS producer (420) over the 01 interface 430; and perform at least one of:deactivate the corresponding at least one of the one or more policies; and delete the corresponding at least one of the one or more policies.

6. The apparatus (1000) as claimed in claim 1, wherein in response to the transmitted one or more created policies, the apparatus (1000) is configured to: determine whether to request a status of the one or more created policies; in response to determining to request the status of the one or more created policies, transmit, to the at the least one MnS producer (420), a query to request the status of the one or more created policies over the 01 interface 430; and receive, from the at least one MnS producer (420), a notification indicating the status of the one or more created policies over the 01 interface 430.

7. The apparatus (1000) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the policy scope corresponding to each of the one or more policies comprises at least one of a cell identifier (ID), a slide ID, and a 5G Quality of Service (QoS) ID, wherein the at least one of the cell ID, the slide ID, and the 5G QoS ID indicates a corresponding at least one of a targeted cell, a targeted slice, and a targeted service.

8. The apparatus (1000) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the policy goal includes at least one of a network energy saving, a load balancing, a traffic steering, a capacity optimization, and a coverage optimization, wherein the policy statement indicates one or more resources to be utilized for implementing each of the one or more policies, andwherein the condition indicates at least one of a trigger to activate the implementation of the corresponding policy and a constraint to restrict the implementation of the corresponding policy.

9. A method (900) comprising: receiving (901), by a Managed Network Service (MnS) consumer (410), policy management capability information corresponding to at least one MnS producer (420) over an 01 interface 430; determining (903), by the MnS consumer (410), whether to create one or more policies for the at least one MnS producer (420) in response to the received policy management capability information; in response to determining to create the one or more policies for the at least one MnS producer (420), creating (905), by the MnS consumer (410), the one or more policies for the at least one MnS producer (420), wherein each of the one or more policies comprises at least one of a policy scope, a policy goal, a policy statement, a condition to implement the policy; and transmitting (901), by the MnS consumer (410), the one or more created policies to the at least one MnS producer (420) over the 01 interface 430.

10. The method (900) as claimed in claim 9, wherein in response to transmitting the one or more created policies, the method (900) further comprising: receiving, by the MnS consumer (410), a notification indicating an acknowledgement of the reception of the one or more created policies at the at least oneMnS producer (420), from the at least one MnS producer (420) over the 01 interface 430.

11. The method (900) as claimed in claim 9, wherein in response to transmitting the one or more created policies, the method (900) further comprising: determining, by the MnS consumer (410), whether to activate the one or more created policies based on a data received from the MnS producer (420); in response to determining to activate the one or more created policies, activating, by the MnS consumer (201), at the at least one MnS producer (420), the one or more created policies; and receiving, by the MnS consumer (410), a notification indicating successful activation of the one or more created policies, from the at least one MnS producer (420) over the 01 interface 430.

12. The method (900) as claimed in claim 9, wherein the method (900) further comprising: receiving, by the MnS consumer (410), a policy utilization status indicating implementation of at least one of the one or more policies at the at least one MnS producer (420), from the at least one MnS producer (420) over the 01 interface 430; and performing, based on the received policy utilization status, at least one of: updating the one or more created policies; deleting the one or more created policies; and deactivating the one or more created policies.

13. The method (900) as claimed in claim 9, the method (900) further comprising: receiving, by the MnS consumer (410), a policy conflict notification corresponding to at least one of the one or more policies activated at the at least one MnS producer (420), from the at least one MnS producer (420) over the 01 interface 430; and performing at least one of: deactivating the corresponding at least one of the one or more policies; and deleting the corresponding at least one of the one or more policies.

14. The method (900) as claimed in claim 9, wherein in response to transmitting the one or more created policies, the method (900) further comprising: determining, by the MnS consumer (410), whether to request a status of the one or more created policies; in response to determining to request the status of the one or more created policies, transmitting, by the MnS consumer (410), to the at the least one MnS producer (420), a query to request the status of the one or more created policies over the 01 interface 430; and receiving, by the MnS consumer (410), a notification indicating the status of the one or more created policies, from the at least one MnS producer (420) over the 01 interface 430.

15. The method (900) as claimed in claim 9, wherein the policy scope corresponding to each of the one or more policies comprises at least one of a cell identifier (ID), a slideID, and a 5G QoS ID, wherein the at least one of the cell ID, the slide ID, and the 5G QoS ID indicates a corresponding at least one of a targeted cell, a targeted slice, and a targeted service.

16. The method (900 as claimed in claim 9, wherein the policy goal includes at least one of a network energy saving, a load balancing, a traffic steering, a capacity optimization, and a coverage optimization, wherein the policy statement indicates one or more resources to be utilized for implementing each of the one or more policies, and wherein the condition indicates at least one of a trigger to activate the implementation of the corresponding policy and a constraint to restrict the implementation of the corresponding policy.

17. The method (900) as claimed in claim 9, the method (900) further comprising: categorizing each of the one or more policies into one of a plurality of predefined categories.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions, the instructions comprising: one or more instructions that, when executed by an apparatus (400), the apparatus (400) comprising one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: receive, from at least one Managed Network Service (MnS) producer (420), policy management capability information corresponding to the at least one MnS producer (420) over an 01 interface 430;determine whether to create one or more policies for the at least one MnS producer (420) in response to the received policy management capability information; in response to determining to create the one or more policies for the at least one MnS producer (420), create the one or more policies for the at least one MnS producer (420), wherein each of the one or more policies include at least one of a policy scope, a policy goal, a policy statement, a condition to implement the policy; and transmit, to the at least one MnS producer (420), the one or more created policies over the 01 interface 430.

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