Exposure function communication with application function

Abstract

There is provided, a method of an exposure function (14) of communicating with an application function (24) in a wireless communications system (100). The method comprising establishing (S101) a first communication interface (25) with the application function (24), establishing (S102) a second communication interface (26) with at least one operations support system (27), acquiring (S103) information indicating performance of the wireless communication system (100) from the at least one operations support system (27) via the second communication interface (26), and providing (S104) the acquired information indicating performance of the wireless communication system (100) to the application function (24) via the first communication interface (25). Devices, computer programs, computer program products and a subsystem are also disclosed.

Description

EXPOSURE FUNCTION COMMUNICATION WITH APPLICATION FUNCTIONTECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to methods of an exposure function communicating with an application function in a wireless communications system, and devices performing the methods. Computer programs, computer program products and a subsystem are also disclosed.BACKGROUND

[0002] In 5thgeneration (5G) data communication systems, great bandwidth and thus high download speeds are provided and it is therefore expected that the new 5G systems will handle massive amounts of data, both by serving devices such as smart phones, tablets, gaming consoles, connected vehicles, etc., with video data and by serving Internet-of-Things (loT) applications which may comprise thousands of loT devices to be managed in the form of e.g. measurement sensors implemented in automated homes and industry environments.

[0003] Thus, it is expected that 5G core networks typically will be required to handle massive amounts of data, firstly since already existing consumer devices will require download of high-bandwidth data and secondly since an loT network in for instance an industrial environment typically will include thousands of loT devices to be served.

[0004] A problem in the art is that current 5G core network have limited access to system performance information required to effectively serve the devices.SUMMARY

[0005] An objective is to solve, or mitigate, this problem in the art and to provide a method of an exposure function of communicating with an application function in a wireless communications system.

[0006] This objective is attained in a first aspect by a method of an exposure function of communicating with an application function in a wireless communications system. The method comprises establishing a first communication interface with the application function, establishing a second communicationinterface with at least one operations support system, acquiring information indicating performance of the wireless communication system from the at least one operations support system via the second communication interface, and providing the acquired information indicating performance of the wireless communication system to the application function via the first communication interface.

[0007] This objective is attained in a second aspect by an exposure function configured to communicate with an application function in a wireless communications system, the exposure function comprising a processing unit and a memory, said memory containing instructions executable by said processing unit, whereby the exposure function is operative to establish a first communication interface with the application function, establish a second communication interface with at least one operations support system, acquire information indicating performance of the wireless communication system from the at least one operations support system via the second communication interface, and to provide the acquired information indicating performance of the wireless communication system to the application function via the first communication interface.

[0008] This objective is attained in a third aspect by a method of an application function of communicating with an exposure function in a wireless communications system. The method comprises establishing a communication interface with the exposure function and acquiring information indicating performance of the wireless communication system from the exposure function via the established communication interface, the information having been acquired by the exposure function from at least one operations support system via another established communication interface.

[0009] This objective is attained in a fourth aspect by an application function configured to communicate with an exposure function in a wireless communications system, the application function comprising a processing unit and a memory, said memory containing instructions executable by said processing unit, whereby the application function is operative to establish a communication interface with the exposure function and to acquire information indicating performance of the wireless communication system from the exposure function via the established communication interface, the information having been acquired by the exposurefunction from at least one operations support system via another established communication interface.

[0010] This objective is attained in a fifth aspect by a method of an operations support system of communicating with an exposure function in a wireless communications system. The method comprises establishing a communication interface with the exposure function and providing requested information indicating performance of the wireless communication system to the exposure function via the established communication interface for further provision by the exposure function to an application function via a further established communications interface.[oon] This objective is attained in a sixth aspect by an operations support system configured to communicate with an exposure function in a wireless communications system, the operations support system comprising a processing unit and a memory, said memory containing instructions executable by said processing unit, whereby the operations support system is operative to establish a communication interface with the exposure function and to provide requested information indicating performance of the wireless communication system to the exposure function via the established communication interface for further provision by the exposure function to an application function via a further established communications interface.

[0012] This objective is attained in a seventh aspect by a subsystem arranged in a wireless communications system, which subsystem comprises an exposure function, an application function and an operations support system, whereby the exposure function is operative to establish a first communication interface with the application function, establish a second communication interface with at least one operations support system, acquire information indicating performance of the wireless communication system from the at least one operations support system via the second communication interface, and to provide the acquired information indicating performance of the wireless communication system to the application function via the first communication interface.

[0013] In further aspects, computer programs comprising computer-executable instructions for causing the exposure function, the application function and the operations support system to perform steps recited in the methods according to the first, third and fifth aspects, respectively, when the computer-executable instructionsare executed on processing units included in the exposure function, the application function and the operations support system.

[0014] In still other aspects, computer program products comprising computer readable mediums are provided having the computer programs of said further aspects embodied thereon.

[0015] Thus, an application function may request performance information of a wireless communication system via a first communication interface established with an exposure function. The exposure function will establish a second communication interface with an operations support system to acquire the requested performance information and provide the information to the exposure function via the second interface, wherein the exposure function provides the application function with the information via the first interface. Advantageously, the application function is thus provided instantly with the valuable performance information via the first and second interfaces.

[0016] In an embodiment, the exposure function receives, from the application function over the first communication interface, a request for said information indicating performance of the wireless communication system.

[0017] In an embodiment, said information indicating performance of the wireless communication system is related to a particular geographical area.

[0018] In an embodiment, the request received from the application function over the first communication interface is configured to comprise a cell identifier or a position indicating the geographical area.

[0019] In an embodiment, said information indicating performance of the wireless communication system is configured to indicate a measure of traffic load in the indicated geographical area.

[0020] In an embodiment, a measure of traffic load is provided for each radio access technology serving the indicated geographical area.

[0021] In an embodiment, the acquiring of the information indicating performance of the wireless communication system is performed by the exposure function subscribing to said information at the operations support system via the second communication interface.

[0022] In an embodiment, the acquired information indicating performance of the wireless communication system is stored for a time period to enable reuse of said information if another application function would make a request for the same information.

[0023] Generally, all terms used in the claims are to be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning in the technical field, unless explicitly defined otherwise herein. All references to "a / an / the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc." are to be interpreted openly as referring to at least one instance of the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc., unless explicitly stated otherwise. The steps of any method disclosed herein do not have to be performed in the exact order disclosed, unless explicitly stated.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] Aspects and embodiments are now described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0025] Figure 1 shows a 5G wireless communication system in which embodiments may be implemented;

[0026] Figure 2 shows a prior art 5G core network;

[0027] Figure 3 shows an embodiment implemented in the 5G core network of Figure 2;

[0028] Figure 4 shows a flowchart illustrating a method of an exposure function of communicating with an application function in a wireless communications system according to an embodiment;

[0029] Figure 5 shows a signalling diagram illustrating a method of an exposure function of communicating with an application function in a wireless communications system according to an embodiment;

[0030] Figure 6 illustrates an exposure function according to an embodiment;

[0031] Figure 7 illustrates an application function according to an embodiment; and

[0032] Figure 8 illustrates an operations support system according to an embodiment.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] The aspects of the present disclosure will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which certain embodiments of the invention are shown.

[0034] These aspects may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limiting; rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and to fully convey the scope of all aspects of invention to those skilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout the description.

[0035] Figure 1 illustrates a core network of a 5G telecommunication system 100 being connected to a Radio Access Network (RAN) 11 and a wireless communications device 10 referred to as a User Equipment (UE), and further being connected to a data network 13 such as the Internet via a User Plane Function (UPF) 12 being part of the core network and discussed further in the following.

[0036] Further shown is the capability of the 5G to connect to a core network 28 of a 4G telecommunication system (and further on to a 4G RAN and UE not shown in Figure 1). The core network of a 4G Long Term Evolution System is commonly referred to as Evolved Packet Core (EPC)

[0037] Commonly, the core network in a 5G telecommunication system is referred to as 5GC. Embodiments may be implemented in such a core network as will be discussed.

[0038] The 5GC comprises a number of entities referred to as Network Functions(NFs) which will be described in the following. The UPF 12 is a service function that processes user plane packets; processing may include altering the packet’s payload and / or header, interconnection to data network(s), packet routing and forwarding, etc. The UPF 12 may in practice be decomposed into many small UPFs referred to as pUPFs.

[0039] Moreover, the 5GC comprises a Network Exposure Function (NEF) 14 for exposing capabilities and events and a corresponding Service Capability Exposure Function (SCEF) 15 for connecting to 4G, an NF (Network Function) Repository Function (NRF) 16 for providing discovery and registration functionality for NFs, aNetwork Slice Selection Function (NSSF) for managing so-called network slicing, and a Policy Control Function (PCF) 18.

[0040] The 5GC further comprises a Unified Data Management (UDM) 19 for storing subscriber data and profiles, an Authentication Server Function (AUSF) 20 storing data for authentication of the UE 11, a Unified Data Repository (UDR) acting as a centralized data repository for subscription data, subscriber policy data, sessions, contexts, and application states, an Access and Mobility Function (AMF) 22 for providing UE-based authentication, authorization, mobility management, etc., and a Session Management Function (SMF) 23 configured to perform session management, e.g. session establishment and modify and release.

[0041] Finally, the 5GC comprises an Application Function (AF) 24 for supporting application influence on traffic routing. As the name implies, the AF 24 provides application services to a subscriber of the UE 10. It may interact with the PCF 18 in order to influence traffic routing, to notify the PCF of application bandwidth requirements or usage thresholds, or to register for packet data unit (PDU) session events.

[0042] As previously mentioned, in 5G data communication systems, great bandwidth and thus high download speeds are provided and it is therefore expected that the new 5G systems will handle massive amounts of data, both by serving UEs such as smart phones, tablets, gaming consoles, connected vehicles, etc., with video data and by serving loT applications which may comprise thousands of loT devices to be managed in the form of e.g. measurement sensors implemented in automated homes and industry environments.

[0043] A problem in the art is that the AF 24 generally has limited access to information influencing the provision of this functionality.

[0044] Figure 2 illustrates another view of the prior art 5GC of Figure 1 (not including the UPF 12), where each interface is denoted by means of the technical specification (TS) with which it complies. That is, Nudr complies with TS 29.519, Npcf complies with TS 29.514, and so on.

[0045] Further, Figure 2 illustrates functionality provided by each NF upon the AF 25 interacting by said each NF via the NEF 14, such as for instance AF influence on traffic via the UDR 21, background data transfer (BDT) negotiation via the PCF 18,packet flow description (PFD) management via the SMF 23, device triggering via the AUSF 20, event monitoring via the AMF 22, and parameter provisioning via the UDM 21. Further illustrated is the NRF 16 and the NSSR 17.

[0046] Figure 3 illustrates an embodiment implemented in a 5GC as disclosed in Figures 1 and 2. Thus, in order to resolve the issue that the AF 24 generally has limited access to information influencing the provision of the AFs functionality, a first interface 25 is introduced between the AF 24 and the NEF 14, while a second interface 26 is introduced between the NEF 14 and one or more operations support systems (OSS) 27.

[0047] The OSS 27 is a system providing monitoring, controlling, analyzing and managing of the communications system 100, thus having access to a great variety of communication system performance data. The OSS 27 will typically monitor radio health conditions of the communications system 100 such as current number of connected UEs inside a cell or a radio node, current radio resource utilization inside a cell or a radio node, current throughput of a radio node or a cell, current radio access latency, cell or a radio node performance counter indicators of a previous time period (e.g. the last 15 minutes), etc. In other words, the monitored radio health conditions will reflect the system performance.

[0048] In this embodiment, the OSS 27 is advantageously inquired by the NEF 14 via the second interface 26 for data requested by the AF 24 via the first interface 25. The requested data is then reported by the NEF 14 to the AF 24 via the first interface 25-

[0049] For instance, assuming that the NEF 14 inquires the OSS 27 about degree of congestion in a particular cell, the OSS may turn e.g. to the AMF 22 which in its turn either already has access to such information or turn to the RAN 11 for such information. In another example, the NEF 14 inquires the OSS 27 about bandwidth capacity provided by the DN 13 to a particular cell, in which case the OSS may turn e.g. to the SMF 23 which in its turn either already has access to such information or turn to the UPF 12 for such information.

[0050] Figure 4 shows a flowchart illustrating a method of an exposure function, in this case the NEF 14, of communicating with the AF 24 in a wireless communications system such as the 5G communication system 100 illustrated inFigure 1 according to an embodiment. As is understood, the method may alternatively be performed in the SCEF 15 in case of interfacing towards 4G system.

[0051] Thus, in a first step S101, the NEF 14 establishes a first communication interface 25 with the AF 24.

[0052] In a second step S102, the NEF 14 establishes a second communication interface 26 with the AF OSS 27.

[0053] After having established the second interface 26, the NEF 14 acquires information indicating performance or radio health conditions of the wireless communication system 100 (in a given radio network area) from the OSS 27 via the second interface 26 in step S103.

[0054] As is understood, the acquiring of the system performance information by the NEF 14 may be performed in view of a direct inquiry from the AF 24 over the first interface 25, but may alternatively be part of a subscription service where the OSS 27 occasionally supplies the NEF 14 with system performance information previously having been subscribed to by the NEF 14. This subscription may initially have been initiated by the AF 24.

[0055] Finally, in step S104, the NEF 14 provides the acquired information to the AF 24 via the first interface 25.

[0056] In line with the previous example, after the first and second interfaces 25, 26 have been established in steps S101 and S102, the NEF 14 may for instance inquire the OSS 27 in step S103 about performance information pertaining to traffic load of a particular cell in which the UE 10 resides.

[0057] The OSS 27 may thus in step S103 respond to the inquiry by supplying performance information to the NEF 14 indicating a degree of traffic load or congestion in the cell in which the UE 10 resides.

[0058] The NEF 14 transmits this information to the AF 24 over the second interface 25 in step S104. Advantageously, the AF 24 may analyse the received traffic load information and subsequently conclude that the UE 10 will be better served by a neighbouring cell due to high traffic load in the cell in which the UE 10 currently resides, and even send a handover request to the AMF 22 accordingly.

[0059] Advantageously, with this embodiment, the communication path being established by means of the first communication interface 25 and the second communication interface 26 enables cell health check information to propagate in real time from the OSS 27 via the NEF 14 to the AF 24.

[0060] Figure 5 shows a signalling diagram illustrating a method according to an embodiment. In step S101, the first interface 25 is established with the AF 24 while in step S102, the second interface 26 is established with the OSS 27.

[0061] In step Sioia, the NEF 14 receives from the AF 24 a request for system performance information. In this embodiment, the request of Sioia comprises a cell identifier designating a particular cell in the system or another appropriate identifier of a particular geographical area in the system, such as a Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinate. As previously discussed, a subscription may be initiated by the AF 24 as part of a subscription service where the OSS 27 occasionally supplies the NEF 14 with system performance information, and such subscription request may be sent in step Sioia.

[0062] The NEF 14 acquires in step S103 the requested information by transmitting the request to the OSS 27, which in its turn acquires the requested info for the indicated geographical area and returns the requested information to the NEF 14. For instance, as previously described, the AF 24 may request a measure of traffic load in a particular cell. The request may further indicate a time period for which the traffic load is to be reported. For instance, the AF 24 may wish to receive an indication of traffic load occurring during the next two months.

[0063] Upon receiving the requested information from the OSS 27, the NEF 14 will deliver the information to the AF 24 in step S104. Thus, the AF 24 receives an indication of traffic load in the indicated cell and may advantageously base decisions on the received information, such as whether or not the UE 10 should be handed over to a neighbouring cell.

[0064] In an embodiment the NEF 14 may, based on the request received in step Sioia, place a subscription with the OSS 27 to continuously receive an indication of traffic load for the indicated cell and send the continuously received traffic load information to the AF 24 in step S104 during the specified two-month time period. An information update may thus be sent to the AF 24, say, every 5 minutes for aperiod of two months. Advantageously, this relieves the AF 24 from the burden of having to repeatedly indicate to the NEF 14 that it wishes to receive the information.

[0065] As is understood, the NEF 14 may serve as a translator of information being sent to the AF 24 and the OSS 27. For instance, the request received from the AF 24 in step Sioia over the first interface 25 may use a first format while the communication occurring over the second interface may utilize a second format. The NEF 14 may thus have to appropriately adapt the information received / transmitted over the to interfaces 25, 26.

[0066] In an embodiment, assuming that the cell identified by means of a cell identifier or GPS coordinate included in the request of step Sioia is served by various radio access technologies (RATs), such as 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G technologies - e.g.Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), LTE and New Radio (NR), respectively - the information indicting traffic load in the cell may include a measure of cell traffic for each RAT.

[0067] In such an embodiment, the AF 24 may for instance conclude that the while the UE 10 currently uses NR, it should be better served by LTE due to a currently high traffic load in the NR system, or e.g. that anyone of LTE and UMTS advantageously may be utilized.

[0068] In an embodiment, the AF 24 provides the UE 10 (and thus the user of the UE) with the received information. The user may even be given access to e.g. a map indicating traffic load of a number of cells in which the user moves, or of a number of cells in which the user intends to move, and may from the map identify the most beneficial cells from a traffic load perspective. The map may be colour-coded, where red indicates a congested cell, yellow indicates a cell with relatively high traffic load, while green indicates a cell with low traffic load.

[0069] In an embodiment, the NEF 14 advantageously stores the system performance information received from the OSS 27 in step S103 for potential reuse in case any other AF would request the same information, at least for a predetermined time period to avoid the information becoming outdated.

[0070] As is understood, even though the NEF 14 is illustrated to communicate with a single OSS 27, the NEF 14 may in practice communicate with a plurality of OSSs serving the communication system.

[0071] Figure 6 illustrates an NEF 14 configured to communicate with an AF according to an embodiment. The steps of the method performed by the NEF 14 are in practice performed by a processing unit no embodied in the form of one or more microprocessors arranged to execute a computer program 111 downloaded to a suitable storage volatile medium 112 associated with the microprocessor, such as a Random Access Memory (RAM), or a non-volatile storage medium such as a Flash memory or a hard disk drive. The processing unit no is arranged to cause the NEF 14 to carry out the method according to embodiments described herein, when the appropriate computer program 111 comprising computer-executable instructions is downloaded to the storage medium 112 and executed by the processing unit 110. The storage medium 112 may also be a computer program product comprising the computer program 111. Alternatively, the computer program 111 may be transferred to the storage medium 112 by means of a suitable computer program product, such as a Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) or a memory stick. As a further alternative, the computer program 111 may be downloaded to the storage medium 112 over a network. The processing unit no may alternatively be embodied in the form of a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), etc. The NEF 14 further comprises an interface 113 over which data may be received and transmitted, for instance for enabling the first and second interfaces 25, 26 towards the AF 24 and OSS 27, respectively, and any communication with remaining core network NFs as illustrated in Figure 3.

[0072] The NEF 14 of Figure 6 may be provided as a standalone device or as a part of at least one further device. For example, the NEF maybe provided in a node of the core network. Alternatively, functionality of the NEF may be distributed between at least two devices, or nodes. These at least two nodes, or devices, may either be part of the same network part (such as the core network) or may be spread between at least two such network parts. In general terms, instructions that are required to be performed in real time maybe performed in a device, or node, operatively closer to a radio cell than instructions that are not required to be performed in real time.

[0073] Thus, a first portion of the instructions performed by the NEF may be executed in a first device, and a second portion of the of the instructions performed by the NEF may be executed in a second device; the herein disclosed embodiments are not limited to any particular number of devices on which the instructions performed by the NEF may be executed.

[0074] Hence, the methods according to the herein disclosed embodiments are suitable to be performed by an NEF residing in a cloud computational environment. Therefore, although a single processing circuitry no is illustrated in Figure 6, the processing circuitry 110 may be distributed among a plurality of devices, or nodes.

[0075] Figure 7 illustrates an AF 24 configured to communicate with an NEF according to an embodiment. The steps of the method performed by the AF 24 are in practice performed by a processing unit 210 embodied in the form of one or more microprocessors arranged to execute a computer program 211 downloaded to a suitable storage volatile medium 212 associated with the microprocessor, such as a RAM, or a non-volatile storage medium such as a Flash memory or a hard disk drive. The processing unit 210 is arranged to cause the AF 24 to carry out the method according to embodiments described herein, when the appropriate computer program 211 comprising computer-executable instructions is downloaded to the storage medium 212 and executed by the processing unit 210. The storage medium 212 may also be a computer program product comprising the computer program 211. Alternatively, the computer program 211 maybe transferred to the storage medium 212 by means of a suitable computer program product, such as a DVD or a memory stick. As a further alternative, the computer program 211 maybe downloaded to the storage medium 212 over a network. The processing unit 210 may alternatively be embodied in the form of a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA, a CPLD, etc. The AF 24 further comprises an interface 213 over which data may be received and transmitted, for instance for enabling the first interface 25 towards the NEF 14, and any communication with remaining core network NFs as illustrated in Figure 3.

[0076] Figure 8 illustrates an OSS 27 configured to communicate with an NEF according to an embodiment. The steps of the method performed by the OSS 27 are in practice performed by a processing unit 310 embodied in the form of one or more microprocessors arranged to execute a computer program 311 downloaded to a suitable storage volatile medium 312 associated with the microprocessor, such as aRAM, or a non-volatile storage medium such as a Flash memory or a hard disk drive. The processing unit 310 is arranged to cause the OSS 27 to carry out the method according to embodiments described herein, when the appropriate computer program 311 comprising computer-executable instructions is downloaded to the storage medium 312 and executed by the processing unit 310. The storage medium 312 may also be a computer program product comprising the computer program 311. Alternatively, the computer program 311 maybe transferred to the storage medium 312 by means of a suitable computer program product, such as a DVD or a memory stick. As a further alternative, the computer program 311 may be downloaded to the storage medium 312 over a network. The processing unit 310 may alternatively be embodied in the form of a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA, a CPLD, etc. The OSS 27 further comprises an interface 313 over which data may be received and transmitted, for instance for enabling the second interface 26 towards the NEF 14, and any communication with remaining core network NFs as illustrated in Figure 3

[0077] The aspects of the present disclosure have mainly been described above with reference to a few embodiments and examples thereof. However, as is readily appreciated by a person skilled in the art, other embodiments than the ones disclosed above are equally possible within the scope of the invention, as defined by the appended patent claims.

[0078] Thus, while various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, other aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A method of an exposure function (14) of communicating with an application function (24) in a wireless communications system (100), comprising: establishing (S101) a first communication interface (25) with the application function (24); establishing (S102) a second communication interface (26) with at least one operations support system (27); acquiring (S103) information indicating performance of the wireless communication system (100) from the at least one operations support system (27) via the second communication interface (26); and providing (S104) the acquired information indicating performance of the wireless communication system (100) to the application function (24) via the first communication interface (25).

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving (Sioia), from the application function (24) over the first communication interface (25), a request for said information indicating performance of the wireless communication system (100).

3. The method of claims 1 or 2, said information indicating performance of the wireless communication system (100) being related to a particular geographical area.

4. The method of claims 2 and 3, the request received from the application function (24) over the first communication interface (25) being configured to comprise a cell identifier or a position indicating the geographical area.

5. The method of claim 4, said information indicating performance of the wireless communication system (100) being configured to indicate a measure of traffic load in the indicated geographical area.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein a measure of traffic load is provided for each radio access technology serving the indicated geographical area.

7. The method of any one of the preceding claims, the acquiring (S103) of the information indicating performance of the wireless communication system (100) being performed by the exposure function subscribing to said information at the operations support system (27) via the second communication interface (26).

8. The method of any one of the preceding claims, further comprising: storing the acquired information indicating performance of the wireless communication system (100) for a time period to enable reuse of said information if another application function would make a request for the same information.

9. A computer program (111) comprising computer-executable instructions for causing an exposure function (14) to perform steps recited in any one of claims 1-8 when the computer-executable instructions are executed on a processing unit (110) included in the exposure function (14).

10. A computer program product comprising a computer readable medium (112), the computer readable medium having the computer program (111) according to claim 9 embodied thereon.

11. A method of an application function (24) of communicating with an exposure function (14) in a wireless communications system (100), comprising: establishing (S101) a communication interface (25) with the exposure function (14); and acquiring (S104) information indicating performance of the wireless communication system (100) from the exposure function (14) via the established communication interface (25), the information having been acquired by the exposure function (14) from at least one operations support system (27) via another established communication interface (26).

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising: transmitting (Sioia), to the exposure function (14) over the established communication interface (25), a request for said information indicating performance of the wireless communication system (100).

13. The method of claims 11 or 12, said information indicating performance of the wireless communication system (100) being related to a particular geographical area.

14. The method of claims 12 and 13, the request transmitted to the exposure function (14) over the established communication interface (25) being configured to comprise a cell identifier or a position indicating the geographical area.

15. The method of claim 14, said information indicating performance of the wireless communication system (100) being configured to indicate a measure of traffic load in the indicated geographical area.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein a measure of traffic load is provided for each radio access technology serving the indicated geographical area.

17. A computer program (211) comprising computer-executable instructions for causing an application function (24) to perform steps recited in any one of claims 11- 16 when the computer-executable instructions are executed on a processing unit (210) included in the application function (24).

18. A computer program product comprising a computer readable medium (212), the computer readable medium having the computer program (211) according to claim 17 embodied thereon.

19. A method of an operations support system (27) of communicating with an exposure function (14) in a wireless communications system (100), comprising: establishing (S102) a communication interface (26) with the exposure function (14); and providing (S103) requested information indicating performance of the wireless communication system (100) to the exposure function (14) via the established communication interface (26) for further provision by the exposure function (14) to an application function (24) via a further established communications interface.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising: receiving (S103), from the exposure function (24) over the established communication interface (26), a request for said information indicating performance of the wireless communication system (100).

21. The method of claims 19 or 20, said information indicating performance of the wireless communication system (100) being related to a particular geographical area.

22. The method of claims 20 and 21, the request received from the exposure function (14) over the established communication interface (26) being configured to comprise a cell identifier or a position indicating the geographical area.

23. The method of claim 22, said information indicating performance of the wireless communication system (100) being configured to indicate a measure of traffic load in the indicated geographical area.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein a measure of traffic load is provided for each radio access technology serving the indicated geographical area.

25. The method of any one of claims 19-24, the providing (S103) of the requested information indicating performance of the wireless communication system (100) being performed by the exposure function (14) subscribing to said information at the operations support system (27) via the established communication interface (26).

26. A computer program (311) comprising computer-executable instructions for causing an exposure function (14) to perform steps recited in any one of claims 19-25 when the computer-executable instructions are executed on a processing unit (310) included in the operations support system (27).

27. A computer program product comprising a computer readable medium (312), the computer readable medium having the computer program (311) according to claim 26 embodied thereon.

28. An exposure function (14) configured to communicate with an application function (24) in a wireless communications system (100), the exposure function (14) comprising a processing unit (110) and a memory (112), said memory containing instructions (111) executable by said processing unit (110), whereby the exposure function (14) is operative to: establish a first communication interface (25) with the application function (24); establish a second communication interface (26) with at least one operations support system (27); acquire information indicating performance of the wireless communication system (100) from the at least one operations support system (27) via the second communication interface (26); and provide the acquired information indicating performance of the wireless communication system (100) to the application function (24) via the first communication interface (25).

29. The exposure function (14) of claim 28, further being operative to: receive, from the application function (24) over the first communication interface (25), a request for said information indicating performance of the wireless communication system (100).

30. The exposure function (14) of claims 28 or 29, said information indicating performance of the wireless communication system (100) being related to a particular geographical area.

31. The exposure function (14) of claims 29 and 30, the request received from the application function (24) over the first communication interface (25) being configured to comprise a cell identifier or a position indicating the geographical area.

32. The exposure function (14) of claim 31, said information being configured to indicate performance of the wireless communication system (100) being configured to indicate a measure of traffic load in the indicated geographical area.

33. The exposure function (14) of claim 32, wherein a measure of traffic load is configured to be provided for each radio access technology serving the indicated geographical area.

34. The exposure function (14) of any one of claims 28-33, being operative to acquire the information indicating performance of the wireless communication system (100) by subscribing to said information at the operations support system (27) via the second communication interface (26).

35. The exposure function (14) of any one of claims 28-34, further being operative to: store the acquired information indicating performance of the wireless communication system (100) for a time period to enable reuse of said information if another application function would make a request for the same information.

36. An application function (24) configured to communicate with an exposure function (14) in a wireless communications system (100), the application function (24) comprising a processing unit (210) and a memory (212), said memory containing instructions (211) executable by said processing unit (210), whereby the application function (24) is operative to: establish a communication interface (25) with the exposure function (14); and acquire information indicating performance of the wireless communication system (100) from the exposure function (14) via the established communication interface (25), the information having been acquired by the exposure function (14) from at least one operations support system (27) via another established communication interface (26).37- The application function (24) of claim 36, further being operative to: transmit, to the exposure function (14) over the established communication interface (25), a request for said information indicating performance of the wireless communication system (100).

38. The application function (24) of claims 36 or 37, said information indicating performance of the wireless communication system (100) being related to a particular geographical area.

39. The application function (24) of claims 37 and 38, the request transmitted to the exposure function (14) over the established communication interface (25) being configured to comprise a cell identifier or a position indicating the geographical area.

40. The application function (24) of claim 39, said information indicating performance of the wireless communication system (100) being configured to indicate a measure of traffic load in the indicated geographical area.

41. The application function (24) of claim 40, wherein a measure of traffic load is configured to be provided for each radio access technology serving the indicated geographical area.

42. An operations support system (27) configured to communicate with an exposure function (14) in a wireless communications system (100), the operations support system (27) comprising a processing unit (310) and a memory (312), said memory containing instructions (311) executable by said processing unit (310), whereby the operations support system (27) is operative to: establish a communication interface (26) with the exposure function (14); and provide requested information indicating performance of the wireless communication system (100) to the exposure function (14) via the established communication interface (26) for further provision by the exposure function (14) to an application function (24) via a further established communications interface.

43. The operations support system (27) of claim 42, further being operative to: receive, from the exposure function (24) over the established communication interface (26), a request for said information indicating performance of the wireless communication system (100).44- The operations support system (27) of claims 42 or 43, said information indicating performance of the wireless communication system (100) being related to a particular geographical area.

45. The operations support system (27) of claims 43 and 44, the request received from the exposure function (14) over the established communication interface (26) being configured to comprise a cell identifier or a position indicating the geographical area.

46. The operations support system (27) of claim 45, said information indicating performance of the wireless communication system (100) being configured to indicate a measure of traffic load in the indicated geographical area.

47. The operations support system (27) of claim 46, wherein a measure of traffic load is configured to be provided for each radio access technology serving the indicated geographical area.

48. The operations support system (27) of any one of claims 42-47, being operative to provide the requested information indicating performance of the wireless communication system (100) by the exposure function (14) subscribing to said information at the operations support system (27) via the established communication interface (26).

49. A subsystem arranged in a wireless communications system (100), which subsystem comprises an exposure function (14), an application function (24) and an operations support system (27), whereby the exposure function (14) is operative to: establish a first communication interface (25) with the application function (24); establish a second communication interface (26) with at least one operations support system (27); acquire information indicating performance of the wireless communication system (100) from the at least one operations support system (27) via the second communication interface (26); and provide the acquired information indicating performance of the wireless communication system (100) to the application function (24) via the first communication interface (25).

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