Network exposure services targeting a roaming subscriber through an aggregating node

Abstract

Embodiments herein relate to a method performed by an aggregating node (11) for handling network exposure services in a communication network (100) The aggregating node (11): obtains a visited network indication, wherein the visited network indication5 indicates a visited network identity of a visited network that a user equipment, UE, (10), for which a network exposure service is requested, has roamed to, and also information associated with the visited network identity and / or the UE (10); and triggers an execution of the requested network exposure service targeting the UE based on the obtained visited network indication and the obtained10 information.

Description

[0001] NETWORK NODES, AGGREGATING NODE AND METHODS IN A COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK

[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] Embodiments herein relate to a first network node, a second network node, an aggregating node and methods performed therein for communication. Furthermore, a computer program and a computer readable storage medium are also provided herein. In particular, embodiments herein relate to providing a network exposure service in a communication network.

[0004] BACKGROUND

[0005] In a typical communication network, wireless devices, also known as wireless communication devices, mobile stations, stations (STA) and / or User Equipment (UE), communicate via a Wide Area Network or a Local Area Network such as a Wi-Fi network or a cellular network comprising a Radio Access Network (RAN) part and a Core Network (CN) part. The RAN covers a geographical area which is divided into service areas or cell areas, which may also be referred to as a beam or a beam group, with each service area or cell area being served by a radio network node such as a radio access node e.g., a WiFi access point, a Base Station (BS) or a radio base station (RBS), which in some networks may also be denoted, for example, a Base Station (BS), a NodeB, eNodeB (eNB), or gNodeB (gNB) as denoted in Fifth Generation (5G) telecommunications. A service area or cell area is a geographical area where radio coverage is provided by the radio network node. The radio network node communicates over an air interface operating on a radio frequency with the wireless devices within the range of the radio network node.

[0006] 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is the standardization body for specifying the standards for the cellular system evolution, e.g., including 3G, 4G, 5G and the future evolutions such as 6G. Specifications for Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) and Evolved Packet System (EPS) have been completed within the 3GPP. In 4G also called a Fourth Generation (4G) network, EPS is core network and E-UTRA is radio access network. In 5G, 5GC is core network, NR is radio access network, whereas 3GPP specifies a 5G network also referred to as 5G New Radio (NR) and 5G Core (5GC).With the emerging 5G technologies such as NR, the use of very many transmit-and receive-antenna elements may be of great interest as it makes it possible to utilize beamforming, such as transmit-side and receive-side beamforming. Transmit-side beamforming means that the transmitter can amplify the transmitted signals in a selected direction or directions, while suppressing the transmitted signals in other directions.

[0007] Similarly, on the receive-side, a receiver can amplify signals from a selected direction or directions, while suppressing unwanted signals from other directions.

[0008] Fig. 1a depicts the 5G reference architecture as defined by 3GPP. The Network Functions (NF) shown in Fig. 1 are described below.

[0009] The Application Function (AF) or Application Server (AS) interacts with the 3GPP Core Network and allows external parties to use the Exposure Application Programming Interfaces (API) offered by the network operator. The AF provides session related information to other nodes in the 5G core network (5GC).

[0010] The Network Exposure Function (NEF) supports different functionalities and NEF supports different Exposure APIs.

[0011] Network Repository Function (NRF) works as a registration centre of NF.

[0012] The Unified Data Repository (UDR) stores data grouped into distinct collections of subscription-related information: Subscription Data; Policy Data; Structured Data for Exposure; Application Data. Unified Data Management (UDM), also referred to as Unified Data Function (UDF), may be used to store subscription data for the user in the UDR and may execute essential functions on request from other NFs.

[0013] The Session Management Function (SMF) supports different functionalities, e.g. SMF receives Policy and Charging Control (PCC) rules from the Policy Control Function (PCF) and configures the User Plane Function (UPF) accordingly.

[0014] The UPF supports handling of user plane traffic based on the rules received from the SMF, e.g., packet inspection and different enforcement actions such as Quality of Service (QoS) handling.

[0015] The PCF supports a unified policy framework to govern the network behaviour. Specifically, the PCF provides PCC rules to the Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF), i.e. , the SMF or UPF that enforces policy and charging decisions according to provisioned PCC rules.

[0016] The Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) manages UE access, e.g., when a UE is connected through different access networks, and UE mobility aspects.

[0017] Charging Function (CHF) manages charging of services and / or functions.Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF), not shown, selects the Network Slicing Instance (NSI), determines the allowed Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (NSSAI), and sets the AMF to serve the UE.

[0018] Discussed herein is the concept of network exposure, particularly, service exposure in the network domain. Based on Service exposure: a critical capability in a 5G world, Ericsson Technology Review, 2019-05-07, service exposure service means providing access to any kind of consumer for the ordering of the execution of operations in the network and for the access to data. This is done using secure and controlled mechanisms, usually an application programming interface (API). Network exposure services may, for example, be services targeting a particular UE, for instance allowing to retrieve location of the UE, or alter the connectivity service that the UE is receiving.

[0019] One complication is that each communication service provider (CSP) is independently providing network exposure services allowing to target its own subscribers or UEs of the subscribers. To provide the exposure consumers with a unified service allowing to target subscribers from multiple CSPs, an aggregating node, also referred to as aggregator, can be introduced between the CSPs and the exposure consumers.

[0020] Through relations with multiple CSPs the aggregating node can provide a unified service, that under the hood calls the service from the CSP owning the targeted subscriber, see Beyond bit-pipes - new opportunities on the 6G platform, Ericsson Technology Review, 2024-07-06.

[0021] Another complication that must be considered is how a CSP, i.e. , a home CSP, can deliver a particular service when the targeted subscriber is roaming outbound. That is, when the subscriber is connected to a serving network that is operated by a different CSP, i.e., a visited CSP. Home CSP is thus a CSP to which the subscriber has a subscription, and visited CSP is thus a CSP to which the subscriber has no subscription to and that is currently serving their UE. This problem has traditionally been solved for network exposure services in the same fashion that it had been solved for voice or mobile broadband: through roaming agreements. An agreement is established between the two CSPs that describes how they can collaborate so that the visited CSP can assist the home CSP in providing the desired service to the targeted UE. Typically, a Network Function (NF) from the home CSP will send a request to a NF in the visited CSP, the visited CSP would execute an agreed upon procedure and send the result to the NF at the home CSP. For an example of this approach, see for instance 3GPP TS 23.273 version 18.5.0 - 5GS Location Services; Stage 2, 2024-05 section 5.6.6. It should be noted that this is not because the standard includes support for roaming its procedures that it iswidely available. For instance, although support for monitoring events in a roaming context has been mentioned in the 3GPP standard since 2018, as of 2024 it is currently still not supported in all AMF products.

[0022] In this approach the support for a request targeting an outbound roaming subscriber of a subscriber is completely handled internally to the service. That is, the request made to the service in the home network is agnostic of whether the subscriber is currently roaming or not. It is up to the service implementation to either locally fulfill the request, for a non-roaming subscriber, or involve NFs in the visited network for an outbound roaming subscriber.

[0023] In the context of network exposure and aggregation, when the aggregating node receives a request targeting a roaming subscriber, it is not aware that the subscriber is roaming, and hence forwards the request to the home CSP of that subscriber. The home CSP then needs to collaborate with the visited CSP, through the roaming agreement, to answer that request. This collaboration, and the involvement of the visited CSP, is invisible to the aggregating node.

[0024] Further, to simplify the handling of the numerous roaming relationships needed by the CSPs, solutions such as roaming hubs have been developed. Based on Report 5G Mobile Roaming Revisited (5GMRR) Phase 1, GSMA, 2022-11, a roaming hub is described as providing “a set of services to clients mobile network operators (MNO) to facilitate the deployment and operation of roaming and interworking services”. The roaming hubs provide services such as “Roaming Value-Added Services, routing, filtering, testing, troubleshooting, billing, invoicing and dispute management”. Hence, it is understood that the roaming hub’s main responsibilities are to handle the contract management, financial and data clearing, as well as transporting the control plane signaling and user plane traffic between the CSPs. Additionally, through the Roaming Value-Added Services, the roaming hub may normalize the message between the CSPs to facilitate interoperability. However, reading Report 5G Mobile Roaming Revisited (5GMRR) Phase 1, GSMA, 2022-11 section 5.2.2, this is deemed unnecessary for 5G inter-public land mobile network (PLMN) traffic as there are mechanisms for the CSPs to handle this. Hence, the technical integration between the network functions in the two CSPs remains a topic that is mostly expected to be solved by the CSPs themselves.

[0025] SUMMARY

[0026] As part of developing embodiments herein the inventors identified one or more problems which first will be discussed.One problem with the roaming-based solution is that it requires the establishment of a roaming agreement between the home CSP and all the possible visited CSPs. While such roaming agreements broadly exist for voice / text / mobile broadband, the roaming agreements most likely need to be amended to incorporate the technical and business details specific to each service that the home CSP wishes to expose with support for outbound roaming UEs. This includes for instance technical information about the integration between the two networks, e.g., interconnection, supported features, as well as business elements such as the service level agreement (SLA) or pricing. And while roaming hubs can help in the establishment of the roaming agreements, the roaming hubs do not completely remove the need for these agreements. For instance, the CSPs still need agreements with the roaming hubs that the CSPs participate in and may potentially decide to keep some bilateral roaming agreements.

[0027] Another problem is that the roaming-based solution is based on a CSP-to-CSP interaction. Hence, by definition, it requires both the home CSP and visited CSP to, at least once, implement and integrate service-specific logic to support that service-specific CSP-to-CSP interaction needed in the roaming scenario. For the home CSP this includes sending a request to the visited CSP, including the extra processing needed to create such a request, and handling the response, including correctly handling possible additional errors at the visited CSP. For the visited CSP, this includes implementing, in a new or existing service, the method that can be called by the home CSP, including the handling of the authorization and access control. To this can be added, in both CSPs, the additional complexities of handling the charging of this additional service offered by the visited CSP to the home CSP, e.g., usage reporting, charging, billing, reconciliation etc..

[0028] In short, the roaming-based solution requires the visited CSP to offer a roamingspecific service to the home CSPs. This creates service-specific burdens, both businesswise for the CSPs to agree on the delivered service and associated terms and conditions, as well as technical-wise for the visited CSP to implement the roaming-specific aspects of the service and for the home CSP to consume it.

[0029] As an example, a location service may be provided allowing an exposure consumer to request the current location of a UE. When the UE is not roaming, the home CSP can locate the UE by executing a procedure only involving NFs in its network.

[0030] However, when the UE is roaming outbound, the home network does not know the precise information about the UE location. Such information is only present in the visited network. Hence, some NF in the home network needs to request that information from a NF in the visited network.Looking at the technical specification 3GPP TS 23.273 version 18.5.0, the location service is centered around the gateway mobile location centre (GMLC), such as home GMLC (HGMLC) in the home network and visited GMLC (VGMLC) in the visited network. The roaming architecture is depicted in Fig. 1b.

[0031] From a high-level perspective, the support for an outbound roaming subscriber works as follows. When serving a request, the HGMLC notices that the UE is currently served by an AMF in a different network. Hence, instead of directly contacting an AMF in the home PLMN (HPLMN), the HGMLC forwards the location request to the VGMLC in the visited PLMN (VPLMN). The VGMLC authorizes the request, locates the UE, and sends the response to the HGMLC. The HGMLC then proceeds as if it had itself located the UE.

[0032] Technically, compared to the non-roaming case, the difference is mostly contained within two nodes, the HGMLC in the home network and the VGMLC in the visited network. However, the required changes are not trivial.

[0033] • The HGMLC needs the logic to discover the address of the VGMLC:

[0034] o Either the information is known by the UDM and can be provided to the HGMLC by the UDM; or

[0035] o the HGMLC can use the NRF service in the HPLMN to select a VGMLC in the VPLMN, based on the information present in the AMF address provided by the UDM. Under the hood this then relies on the NRF in the HPLMN to contact the NRF in the VPLMN.

[0036] • The HGMLC and the VGMLC need to be able to communicate. This means setting up a secure channel for inter-PLMN communication between the HGMLC and the VGMLC. A roaming hub could assist with that aspect.

[0037] • The VGMLC needs to authorize the request made by the HGMLC. This means managing and storing in the VPLMN authorization information, e.g., about allowed HGMLCs, or countries. As well as implementing the authorization and access control enforcement logic at the VGMLC.

[0038] • The HGMLC and VGMLC need to interface with the charging system of their respective network to produce the usage records that can then be used in the charging, billing, and / or reconciliation processes.

[0039] • From a business perspective, the two CSPs need to agree on the technical and business aspects of the service that the VPLMN will deliver to the HPLMN. This includes which option to use for the VPLMN discovery, how to integrate the HGMLC and VGMLC, the characteristics of the service delivered by the VPLMN,such as accuracy, response time, and / or rate limiting, as well as the price for the service, for example, setting up a price per request. For this aspect as well, a roaming hub could be of assistance, allowing the CSPs to only need an agreement with the roaming hub.

[0040] This example shows that even for a relatively simple service, where the interaction between the home and visited network is quite limited, there is a non-negligible impact on both the business and technical operation of both CSPs.

[0041] Ultimately, this translates into the visited CSP having to implement the above listed functionalities in their VGMLC and the home CSP in their HGMLC. Ideally, the implementation from both sides would be fully compliant with the standard, use the same implementation options and hence not require any integration work. However, in practice, mismatch in the versions, supported features or implementation details are likely to cause some integration work to be needed between each home and visited CSP.

[0042] The object of embodiments herein is to provide a mechanism handling network exposure services in an efficient manner.

[0043] According to an aspect of embodiments herein the object is achieved by providing a method performed by an aggregating node for handling network exposure services in a communication network. The aggregating node obtains a visited network indication, wherein the visited network indication indicates a visited network identity of a visited network that a UE, for which a network exposure service is requested, has roamed to. The aggregating node further obtains information associated with the visited network identity and / or the UE. The aggregating node then triggers an execution of the requested network exposure service targeting the UE based on the obtained visited network indication and the obtained information.

[0044] According to another aspect of embodiments herein the object is achieved by providing a method performed by a first network node in a home communication network for handling a network exposure service targeting a UE, wherein the home communication network is a home network of the UE. The first network node receives from an aggregating node, a request for executing a network exposure service targeting the UE, and determines that the UE is served in a visited network with a visited network identity. The first network node further retrieves information associated with the visited network identity and / or the UE and transmits to the aggregating node a visited network indication indicating the visited network identity, and also the information associated with the visited network identity and / or the UE.According to yet another aspect of embodiments herein the object is achieved by providing a method performed by a second network node in a visited communication network for handling a network exposure service targeting a UE, wherein the visited communication network is a visited network of the UE. The second network node receives from an aggregating node, a request for executing the network exposure service targeting the UE visiting the visited network, and information associated with a visited network identity of the visited network and / or the UE. The second network node authorizes the request using the received information; and, upon authorization, the second network node triggers an execution of the network exposure service targeting the UE as requested.

[0045] It is furthermore provided herein a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the methods herein, as performed by the aggregating node, the first network node, and the second network node, respectively. It is additionally provided herein a computer-readable storage medium, having stored thereon a computer program product comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the methods herein, as performed by the aggregating node, the first network node, and the second network node, respectively.

[0046] The object is further achieved by providing an aggregating node, a first network node, and a second network node, configured to perform the methods herein.

[0047] According to an aspect of embodiments herein the object is achieved by providing an aggregating node for handling network exposure services in a communication network. The aggregating node is configured to obtain a visited network indication, wherein the visited network indication indicates a visited network identity of a visited network that a UE, for which a network exposure service is requested, has roamed to. The aggregating node is further configured to obtain information associated with the visited network identity and / or the UE. The aggregating node is configured to trigger an execution of the requested network exposure service targeting the UE based on the obtained visited network indication and the obtained information.

[0048] According to another aspect of embodiments herein the object is achieved by providing a first network node in a home communication network for handling a network exposure service targeting a UE, wherein the home communication network is a home network of the UE. The first network node is configured to receive from an aggregating node, a request for executing a network exposure service targeting the UE, and determine that the UE is served in a visited network with a visited network identity. The first network node is further configured to retrieve information associated with the visited networkidentity and / or the UE and to transmit to the aggregating node a visited network indication indicating the visited network identity, and also the information associated with the visited network identity and / or the UE.

[0049] According to yet another aspect of embodiments herein the object is achieved by providing a second network node in a visited communication network for handling a network exposure service targeting a UE, wherein the visited communication network is a visited network of the UE. The second network node is configured to receive from an aggregating node, a request for executing the network exposure service targeting the UE visiting the visited network, and information associated with a visited network identity of the visited network and / or the UE. The second network node is configured to authorize the request using the received information; and, upon authorization, the second network node is configured to trigger an execution of the network exposure service targeting the UE as requested.

[0050] Embodiments herein disclose a mechanism where the home network detects a request targeting a roaming UE, and this triggers the collection of information, such as technical context of the UE and / or inter-PLMN authorization information, in the home network. The distribution of that information to the visited network is then be performed through the aggregating node. The information is then used in the visited network to trigger the execution of the network exposure service targeting the UE.

[0051] An advantage of the proposed solution is that it enables the delivery of a network exposure service targeting an outbound roaming UE, i.e. , a UE roaming to a visited network, for example, in the absence of a service-specific roaming agreement between the home and visited CSP covering that network exposure service.

[0052] Another benefit is the reduction of the scope of the interaction, and hence agreement, between the home CSP and visited CSPs. Eliminating the CSP-to-CSP service delivery and eliminating, or at least reducing, the service specific integration.

[0053] • Instead of relying on the visited CSP to provide a service to the home CSP, embodiments herein rely on the visited CSP providing a service to the aggregating node, to whom it most likely already provides a similar service for its own subscribers.

[0054] • The home CSP and visited CSPs only need to agree on a service agnostic way to securely exchange and verify the information such as technical context and inter- PLMN authorization information. This could be a one-time addition to the existing roaming agreement, instead of requiring a modification of the agreement for eachadded network exposure service. The CSPs may possibly need to agree on the content of the technical context if this is not part of the service specification.

[0055] Some embodiments herein, compared to the traditional approach where one may use a roaming hub, may simplify the setup of the business agreements needed to support outbound-roaming UE in network APIs.

[0056] From an implementation perspective, the implementation of a network exposure service may be simplified as the network exposure service would not need to be implemented as a part of an inter-PLMN distributed procedure. The complexity may be centralized in a proxy component at the respective network, and in the aggregating node. Indeed, the aggregating node’s responsibility will increase slightly as the aggregating node agrees with the CSPs on a technical and business context such that the CSPs are ready and offering non-only the “normal” version of the API but also the variants covering outbound-roaming UEs, acting as a home CSP, and inbound-roaming UEs, acting as a visited CSP.

[0057] Furthermore, from a charging / billing perspective, embodiments herein may simplify the business setup. Instead of having the home CSP selling a service based on its own capabilities, as well as capabilities it buys from all its roaming partners, embodiments herein propose that each CSP only sells services based on its own internal capabilities. For the targeted network exposure services, embodiments herein may remove the CSP-to-CSP charging, and possibly the associated clearing house, replacing it with both the home and visited CSP directly charging the aggregating node.

[0058] In short, for some of the new and future network APIs, embodiments herein provide a way to support execution of network exposure services targeting a roaming UE without impacting the CSP-to-CSP relationship, instead relying on existing relationships between each CSPs and an aggregating node.

[0059] Thereby embodiments herein handle network exposure services, such as execution of network exposure services, in an efficient manner.

[0060] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0061] Embodiments will now be described in more detail in relation to the enclosed drawings, in which:

[0062] Fig. 1a shows a schematic overview depicting a NF architecture according to prior art;

[0063] Fig. 1b shows a roaming architecture according to prior art;Fig. 2 shows an overview depicting a communication network according to embodiments herein;

[0064] Fig. 3 shows a combined signaling scheme and flowchart according to embodiments herein;

[0065] Fig. 4 shows a schematic flowchart depicting a method performed by an aggregating node according to embodiments herein;

[0066] Fig. 5 shows a schematic flowchart depicting a method performed by a first network node according to embodiments herein;

[0067] Fig. 6 shows a schematic flowchart depicting a method performed by a second network node according to embodiments herein;

[0068] Fig. 7 shows an overview depicting some embodiments herein;

[0069] Fig. 8 shows a combined flowchart and signaling scheme according to some embodiments herein;

[0070] Fig. 9 is a schematic overview depicting an aggregating node according to embodiments herein;

[0071] Fig. 10 is a schematic overview depicting a first network node according to embodiments herein; and

[0072] Fig. 11 is a schematic overview depicting a second network node according to embodiments herein.

[0073] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0074] Embodiments herein relate to communication networks in general. Fig. 2 is a schematic overview depicting a communication network 100. The communication network 100 comprises one or more RANs and one or more CNs. The communication network 100 may use one or a number of different technologies. Embodiments herein relate to recent technology trends that are of particular interest in a NR and / or 6G context, however, embodiments are also applicable in existing communications systems such as e.g. LTE or WCDMA, and upcoming releases. The communication network 100 may comprise a number of communication networks of different CSPs. Thus, one or more communication networks may be served by different CSPs.

[0075] In the communication network 100, a UE 10, exemplified herein as a wireless device such as a mobile station, a non-access point (non-AP) station (STA), a STA and / or a wireless terminal, is comprised communicating via, e.g., one or more Access Networks (AN), e.g., RAN, to one or more CN. It should be understood by the skilled in the art that “UE” is a non-limiting term which means any terminal, wireless communications terminal,user equipment, NarrowBand Internet of Things (NB-loT) device, Machine Type Communication (MTC) device, Device to Device (D2D) terminal, or node e.g. smart phone, laptop, mobile phone, sensor, relay, mobile tablets or even a small base station capable of communicating using radio communication with a radio network node within an area served by the radio network node.

[0076] The communication network 100 comprises one or more radio network nodes providing radio coverage over a geographical area, i.e. , a respective cell, of a respective Radio Access Technology (RAT), such as 6G, NR, LTE, or similar. The radio network node may be a transmission and reception point such as an access node, an access controller, a base station, e.g. a radio base station such as a gNodeB (gNB), an evolved Node B (eNB, eNode B), a NodeB, a base transceiver station, a radio remote unit, an Access Point Base Station, a base station router, a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) access point or an Access Point Station (AP STA), a transmission arrangement of a radio base station, a stand-alone access point or any other network unit or node capable of communicating with a wireless device within the area served by the radio network node depending e.g. on the first radio access technology and terminology used.

[0077] It should be noted that a cell may be denoted as service area, beam, beam group or similar to define an area of radio coverage.

[0078] It is herein provided an aggregating node 11 for communicating between CSPs and the exposure consumers. Especially the aggreging node is configured to communicate with a respective network node of respective communication network. The aggregation node 11 may through relations with multiple CSPs provide a unified service to a subscriber. Thus, the aggregating node 11 may agree with the CSPs, respectively, on a service-specific technical and business context.

[0079] The aggregating node 11 communicates with a first network node 12 in a home network NW1 of the UE 10, and a second network node 13 in a visited network NW2 of the UE 10. The first network node 12 may be a home proxy node related to a first CSP, and referred to as a home CSP. The second network node 13 may be a visited proxy node related to a second CSP, and referred to as a visited CSP.

[0080] According to embodiments herein the aggregating node 11 obtains a visited network indication indicating a visited network identity of the visited network that the UE 10, for which a network exposure service is requested, has roamed to. The aggregating node 11 further obtains information associated with the visited network identity and / or the UE 10 such as technical context for the service and / or authorization information. The aggregating node 11 then triggers an execution of the requested network exposureservice targeting the UE 10 based on the obtained visited network indication and the obtained information.

[0081] Embodiments herein provide a way to support execution of network exposure services targeting a roaming UE without impacting the CSP-to-CSP relationship, instead relying on existing relationships between each CSPs and the aggregating node 11.

[0082] Thereby embodiments herein handle network exposure services, such as execution of network exposure services, in an efficient manner.

[0083] Fig. 3 is a combined signaling scheme and flowchart according to some embodiments herein.

[0084] Action 301. The aggregating node 11 may receive a service request for a network exposure service targeting the UE 10. This may be received from a subscriber in a home network, and the service request may comprise a UE identity of the targeted UE 10. The service request may be originating from an application function of network node such as an application server (AS) or from a UE such as the UE 10 or another UE.

[0085] Action 302. The aggregating node 11 may transmit, to the first network node 12 selected based on the service request, for example, carrying information for identifying the home network, a request for executing a network exposure service targeting the UE 10.

[0086] Action 303. The first network node 12 determines that the targeted UE 10 is served in a visited network with a visited network identity. Thus, the first network node 12 may determine that the UE 10 has roamed.

[0087] Action 304. The first network node 12 further retrieves information associated with the visited network identity and / or the UE 10. Such information may comprise technical context for the service and / or authorization information. This information may be based on both the network identity and some information associated to the UE, e.g., collected consent. For example, it may be required for the CSP to collect consent from the subscriber before disclosing some data to an exposure consumer such as the UE location. The home CSP may verify that the subscriber owning the targeted UE has consented to their location being shared with the exposure consumer, and include this in the information. Consent may be approved up to a certain date, and that this date may be included in the information. Thus, the visited network may reject a request that would be executed after this date.

[0088] Action 305. The first network node 12 transmits to the aggregating node 11 the visited network indication indicating the visited network identity, and also the information associated with the visited network identity and / or the UE 10. The visited networkindication and the information may be transmitted in one response message or in separate messages. Thus, the aggregating node 11 obtains the visited network indication indicating the visited network identity, and also the information associated with the visited network identity and / or the UE 10.

[0089] Action 306. The aggregating node 11 then triggers an execution of the requested network exposure service targeting the UE based on the obtained visited network indication and the obtained information. The aggregating node 11 may transmit to the second network node 13, a request, also referred to as second service request, for the network exposure service targeting the UE 10 and the information associated with the visited network identity of the visited network and / or the UE 10.

[0090] Action 307. The second network node 13 may then authorize the request using the received information. This may be based on the authorization information from the home network.

[0091] Action 308. The second network node 13 may, upon authorization, trigger execution of the network exposure service targeting the UE 10 as requested. This may comprise transmitting a response to the aggregating node 11 for providing the network exposure service.

[0092] Action 309. The aggregating node 11 may as well transmit another response or the response to the requestor.

[0093] The respective response may comprise service information, e.g., for network exposure services that impact services received by the UE, e.g., changing the QoS level for the UE 10, the response may comprise a confirmation that the requested service has been provisioned (or not) and / or as well as details on what has been provisioned.

[0094] Alternatively, or additionally, the response may comprise, for network exposure services that do not impact the service received by the UE, e.g., device location service, information about the UE such as its current location or similar.

[0095] Example embodiments of a method performed by the aggregating node 11, such as an aggregator, for handling network exposure services in the communication network 100 will now be described with reference to a flowchart depicted in Fig. 4. The actions do not have to be taken in the order stated below, but may be taken in any suitable order. Optional actions are marked in dashed boxes.

[0096] Action 401. The aggregating node 11 may receive the service request for the network exposure service targeting the UE 10. This may be received from a subscriber in a home network, and the service request may comprise a UE identity of the targeted UE10. The service request may be originating from an application function of network node such as an AS or from a UE such as the UE 10 or another UE.

[0097] Action 402. The aggregating node 11 obtains the visited network indication, wherein the visited network indication indicates a visited network identity of a visited network that the UE 10, for which a network exposure service is requested, has roamed to, and also information associated with the visited network identity and / or the UE 10. The aggregating node 11 may transmit a request, to the first network node 12 of a home network of the UE 10, for executing the network exposure service targeting the UE 10. The first network node 12 may respond to the aggregating node 11 with the visited network indication and the information.

[0098] Action 403. The aggregating node 11 further triggers the execution of the requested network exposure service targeting the UE based on the obtained visited network indication and the obtained information. As an example, the aggregating node 11 may trigger the execution by transmitting to the second network node 13 related to the visited network identity, a request for executing the requested network exposure service targeting the UE 10. The aggregating node 11 may further transmit the information to the second network node 13 for authorizing the request.

[0099] The aggregating node 11 may further receive from the first network node 12, technical context of the UE 10 for the network exposure service in action 402 and the aggregating node 11 may transmit the technical context to the second network node 13 when triggering the execution of the requested network exposure service.

[0100] Action 404. The aggregating node 11 may receive a response from the second network node 13 for executing the network exposure service targeting the UE 10. The response may comprise a confirmation that the requested service has been provisioned (or not) and / or as well as details on what has been provisioned. Alternatively, or additionally, the response may comprise information about the UE such as its current location or similar.

[0101] Action 405. The aggregating node 11 may transmit the response or a separate service response to the requestor such as an AS or a UE such as the UE 10 or another UE. Thus, the aggregating node 11 may transmit the service response to the UE 10 or a network node, such as AF, wherein the service response is related to the execution of the requested network exposure service. The service response may comprise a confirmation indication that the requested service has been provisioned (or not) and / or as well as details on what has been provisioned. Alternatively, or additionally, the service response may comprise information about the UE such as its current location or similar.Example embodiments of a method performed by the first network node 12, such as home proxy node, in a home communication network (NW1) for handling the network exposure service targeting the UE 10. The home communication network is a home network of the UE 10 and the method will now be described with reference to a flowchart depicted in Fig. 5. The actions do not have to be taken in the order stated below, but may be taken in any suitable order. Optional actions are marked in dashed boxes.

[0102] Action 501. The first network node 12 receives from the aggregating node 11 , the request for executing the network exposure service targeting the UE 10.

[0103] Action 502. The first network node 12 determines that the UE 10 is served in the visited network with the visited network identity.

[0104] Action 503. The first network node 12 may determine an absence of a roaming agreement between the home and visited network covering the network exposure service.

[0105] Action 504. The first network node 12 retrieves information associated with the visited network identity and / or the UE 10. The first network node may collect technical context of the UE 10 for the network exposure service.

[0106] Action 505. The first network node 12 transmits to the aggregating node 11, the visited network indication indicating the visited network identity, and also the information associated with the visited network identity and / or the UE 10. The first network node may transmit the collected technical context to the aggregating node 11.

[0107] Example embodiments of a method performed by the second network node 13, such as visited proxy node, in a visited communication network (NW2) for handling a network exposure service targeting the UE. The visited communication network is a visited network of the UE 10, and the method will now be described with reference to a flowchart depicted in Fig. 6. The actions do not have to be taken in the order stated below, but may be taken in any suitable order. Optional actions are marked in dashed boxes.

[0108] Action 601. The second network node 13 receives from the aggregating node 11, the request for executing the network exposure service targeting the UE 10 visiting the visited network, and the information associated with a visited network identity of the visited network and / or the UE 10. The second network node 13 may receive technical context of the UE (10) for the network exposure service, which technical context may be used at the second network node 13 for executing the network exposure service targeting the UE 10.Action 602. The second network node 13 authorizes the request using the received information.

[0109] Action 603. The second network node 13, upon authorization, triggers an execution of the network exposure service targeting the UE 10 as requested. The second network node 13 may transmit a response to the aggregating node 11 for executing the network exposure service targeting the UE 10. The response may comprise a confirmation indication that the requested service has been provisioned (or not) and / or as well as details on what has been provisioned. Alternatively, or additionally, the response may comprise information about the UE such as its current location or similar.

[0110] Embodiments herein disclose a mechanism where the detection, in the home network, of a request targeting a roaming UE triggers the collection of information, such as technical context of the UE and / or inter-PLMN authorization information, in the home network. The distribution of that information to the visited network is then be performed through the aggregating node 11. This information is then used in the visited network to trigger the execution of the network exposure service targeting the UE 10.

[0111] Embodiments herein offer an alternative to the traditional roaming architecture that is beneficial for a subset of network exposure services.

[0112] • Embodiments herein target network exposure services, i.e. , network APIs, delivered by the home network to a third party, e.g., application service provider, and requiring some assistance from the visited network. Such network exposure services are most likely not covered by existing roaming agreements, each CSP is probably already offering such network exposure services to an aggregating node and the network exposure services may require some rather simple interaction between the CSPs to support outbound roaming subscribers.

[0113] • Additionally, some services, e.g., Quality on Demand API while roaming in a network using local breakout, cannot currently technically work through CSP-to- CSP interaction. Hence for such network exposure services the aggregating node 11 directly contacts the visited CSP, as proposed herein.

[0114] Embodiments herein enable delivery of such network exposure service targeting an outbound roaming UE, in the absence of a roaming agreement between the home CSP and visited CSP covering that service. This is achieved by relying on the aggregating node 11 that orchestrates the distributed execution of the network exposure service between the home and visited CSPs.Within the CSPs, embodiments herein rely on the first network node 12 and the second network node 13 that are present in both the home and visited network. The first network node 12 is responsible in the home network for identifying the network where the UE is roaming and the first network node 12 may collect the information needed by the visited network to execute the network exposure service. In the visited network, the second network node 13 processes the information collected in the home network and uses it to trigger the execution of the service.

[0115] Referring back to the example of a location service mentioned in the Summary: For the support of the non-roaming case of the location service, the aggregating node 11 may establish business and technical relationships allowing the aggregating node 11 to consume the GMLC service provided by many CSPs.

[0116] Then, to add support for the roaming case, i.e., outbound roaming subscribers or UEs, to the network exposure service to support embodiments herein one may need one or more of the following:

[0117] Service agnostic:

[0118] • The home CSP (first network node) and visited CSP (second network node) may agree on how to exchange and verify the technical context and inter PLMN authorization such as using an inter-PLMN access token.

[0119] • The home CSP and visited CSP may implement one or more service-agnostic functionalities of the respective proxy node such as the first network node 12 and the second network node 13, i.e., enabling to check if a UE is roaming, retrieve roaming agreement, encrypt / decrypt technical context and generate / verify inter- PLMN access token.

[0120] • The aggregating node 11 may implement logic enabling the aggregating node 11 to forward a service request to the visited CSP, based on a response to the service request sent to the home CSP.

[0121] Service specific:

[0122] • The home CSP and visited CSP may agree on the content of the technical context for this service. For instance, in this example, the technical context may comprise one or more of the following: UE ID, the AMF ID, as well as other request parameters, e.g., requested accuracy.• The home CSP and visited CSP may implement the integration between the respective network node and the network exposure service, e.g., collect technical context, create the service request and / or similar.

[0123] • The aggregating node 11 may agree with both CSPs on one or more business terms, e.g., pricing, for the usage of the service in this scenario.

[0124] In this example, compared to prior solutions, embodiments herein reduce the scope of the integration between the home and visited CSP, drastically limiting the servicespecific aspects.

[0125] As for the agreement between the CSPs and the aggregating node 11, the network exposure service being delivered by the home CSP in the non-roaming case and by the visited CSP in the roaming case are very similar. Hence, the roaming case may be covered by a straightforward extension of the agreement between the aggregating node 11 and CSP covering the non-roaming case.

[0126] Similarly, if there is a service level agreement (SLA) covering the performance of the location service delivered by the aggregating node 11 to the exposure consumer, it needs to be based on both the SLA delivered by the home CSP and visited CSP to the aggregating node 11. For instance, if the aggregating node 11 offers an SLA of 10 ms for the response time, then it needs to ensure that the sum of the SLA for the response time provided by the home CSP and visited CSP doesn’t exceed 10 ms.

[0127] Fig. 7 shows a schematic overview depicting a system according to some embodiments herein.

[0128] The system may be composed of one or more of the following components:

[0129] Exposure consumer: this entity may be a third party consuming a network exposure service exposed by a CSP. According to embodiments herein, it is not calling the service directly at the CSP but instead through the aggregating node 11. In the context of network exposure, this is typically an enterprise or an application service provider, an AS, and / or an AF, that is using some network API.

[0130] Aggregating node 11 or aggregator 11 : this may be an entity that is responsible for aggregating the network services provided by multiple CSPs, providing a unified service to the exposure consumer.

[0131] • In some embodiments, the aggregating node 11 may have an additional role to play in enabling the network exposure service to support subscribers or UEs roaming in a visited network with whom the home network does not have a roaming agreement covering the network exposure service. To do so, the aggregating node 11 may beleveraging its relationship with the visited network to forward to the second network node 13 the service request, together with the information provided by the home network, i.e. , technical context and inter-PLMN authorization.

[0132] Proxies 12’, 13’: These are the first and second network nodes and this is the component in both the home and visited network that may be differentiating between different types of requests and ensuring that the requests are processed correctly.

[0133] • Requests for which the CSP cannot provide an answer, i.e., because the requests are targeting an outbound-roaming subscriber currently in a network without a roaming agreement covering the service.

[0134] o In the home network: the first network node 12 may identify the visited network, orchestrate the collection and encryption of the technical context, and / or the generation of the authorization information such as inter-PLMN authorization needed by the visited CSP to deliver the network exposure service.

[0135] • Request for which the CSP can provide an answer either on their own or relying on a roaming agreement covering the network exposure service.

[0136] o In the home network: the first network node 12 may forward the request to the responsible network function internally.

[0137] o In the visited network: the second network node 13 may orchestrate the validation of the inter-PLMN authorization and decryption of the technical context. Forward the request to the responsible network function internally. Network exposure service: this is the service being exposed by both the home and visited CSP and that the exposure consumer wants to consume.

[0138] • In the presence of a roaming agreement covering the network exposure service, the network exposure service is internally able to support outbound roaming subscribers or UEs, for example, through the collaboration of the instances in the home and visited CSP.

[0139] • The functionalities of the proxy could alternatively directly be implemented in the network exposure service. Herein it is described that the functionalities are provided by the proxy to clearly separate the responsibility of each of the components.

[0140] Network Function (NF): This component is a placeholder representing the various NFs that the proxy could interact with to collect the technical context needed by the network exposure service instance in the visited CSP.

[0141] • For instance, for the location service, the proxy could interact with the UDM to fetch the ID of the AMF serving a UE, as well as the address of the VGMLC.Authorization & Consent: This component is responsible for authorizing the request from the aggregating node 11.

[0142] • The Authorization part is responsible for validating that the aggregating node 11 is a valid consumer of the network exposure service being proxied, e.g., the aggregating node 11 is allowed to consume the location service

[0143] • The consent part is responsible for validating that there is a legal basis for the request to be served, e.g., the subscriber or UE has provided consent to the exposure consumer getting their location.

[0144] Partner CSP management: This component may be responsible for:

[0145] • Storing agreement information related to the relationship between the CSPs, e.g., details of the roaming agreements

[0146] • Generating and / or validating the inter-PLMN authorization, e.g., generating and / or validating inter-PLMN access token)

[0147] • Encrypting or decrypting the technical context

[0148] Fig. 8 shows in detail an exemplified signaling scheme according to some embodiments herein.

[0149] 01. The exposure consumer sends to the aggregating node 11 a request for a network exposure service, e.g., location service, targeting a particular UE 10 identified by a UE ID, e.g., generic public subscription identifier (GPSI). The exposure consumer is not aware of whether the targeted UE 10 is currently roaming or not. The network exposure service may be referred to as the service.

[0150] • The request may include additional parameters, depending on the inputs expected by the network exposure service.

[0151] 02. The aggregating node 11 identifies the home CSP of the UE 10, using the provided UE ID.

[0152] • This may for instance be based on the telco-finder solution proposed by GSMA.

[0153] 03. The aggregating node 11 may send a request to the proxy 12’ of the home CSP, the request identifies the requested network exposure service and contains the UE ID, an access token, and / or other input parameters that may have been provided by the exposure consumer.

[0154] • This request is identified as being a HOME REQUEST, i.e. , a request sent to the home CSP of the targeted UE 10.• It is assumed that the aggregating node 11 has acquired an access token before calling the proxy 12’. This could for instance be based on the procedures defined by CAMARA.

[0155] 04. The proxy 12’ may be leveraging the Authorization & Consent component to verify that the request is authorized and that there is a valid legal basis to serve it, e.g., consent from subscriber / UE.

[0156] • This action may be performed before the following ones to avoid unnecessary work, if the request is not authorized, or even forwarding an unauthorized request to the visited CSP.

[0157] 05. In this procedure the request is assumed to be authorized. If this were not the case, an error message may be returned to the aggregating node 11 and the procedure stops.

[0158] 06. The proxy 12’ may be calling the UDM, passing the UE ID, to check if the targeted UE is currently roaming, and if this is the case return the identity of the visited network.

[0159] • This may be achieved for instance using the UE Context Management Service of the UDM to retrieve the Amf3GppAccessRegistration Information.

[0160] • In this example the UE 10 is roaming. If this were not the case, the proxy 12’ can just call the network exposure service like what is presented in actions 10-12.

[0161] 07. The identity of the visited network is returned, this may be, for instance, its PLMN ID.

[0162] 08. The proxy 12’ is calling the Partner CSP Management, passing the PLMN ID and the requested service, to retrieve the roaming agreement between the home CSP and the visited CSP for the requested service.

[0163] 09. The Partner CSP Information returns the roaming agreement if there is one.

[0164] If there is a roaming agreement between the home and visited CSP covering the service.

[0165] 10. The proxy 12’ forwards the request to the network exposure service, passing the UE ID and any other parameter provided by the aggregating node 11.

[0166] • This is the existing “roaming-based solution”. The network exposure service delivers the requested service by collaborating internally with the network exposure service instance in the visited CSP.

[0167] 11. The network exposure service sends the response to the proxy 12’.

[0168] 12. The proxy 12’ forwards the response to the aggregating node 11, marking it as being a response to a service request.Else, if there is no roaming agreement between the home and visited CSP covering the network exposure service.

[0169] 13. The proxy 12’ interacts with the NFs within the home CSP to collect the technical context for the network exposure service.

[0170] • The technical context contains the technical information that may be needed by the network exposure service instance in the visited CSP to be able to serve the request. This includes the input parameters provided by the exposure consumer, as well as the information coming from the home network. For instance, for the location service that would be the ID of the AMF serving the UE and maybe the address of the GMLC.

[0171] • The technical context may contain at least a UE ID that also identifies the CSP it belongs to, e.g., subscription permanent identifier (SUPI). The conversion between the different identifiers can for instance be done using the UDM Subscriber Data Management service.

[0172] • The technical context, as well as the interaction with the NFs needed to collect it, may be specific to each network exposure service.

[0173] 14. Providing the visited network PLMN ID and technical context, the proxy 12’ requests the Partner CSP Management to encrypt the technical context, as well as generate an inter-PLMN access token.

[0174] • The technical context may be encrypted in such a fashion that it can only be decrypted by the visited CSP. For instance, using asymmetric cryptography and the public key of the visited CSP. The encryption may be needed in the next steps to prevent the aggregating node 11 from reading the technical context which may contain sensitive information, e.g., internal UE ID.

[0175] • The inter-PLMN access token may be bound to a specific technical context and may be attesting that the home network is authorizing that request, i.e. , attesting that the home network has performed the necessary authorization and legal basis verifications.

[0176] • The home and visited CSP may have agreed on a way to exchange and verify the access token and technical context.

[0177] 15. The Partner CSP Management returns the inter-PLMN access token and the encrypted technical context to the proxy.

[0178] 16. The proxy 12’ sends a response to the aggregating node 11, indicating that the UE 10 is roaming, providing the PLMN ID of the visited network, the encrypted technical context and the inter-PLMN access token.17. Based on the response from the previous action, the aggregating node 11 may understand that it needs to forward the request to the visited CSP, identified by the PLMN ID provided in the response from the home CSP proxy 12’. Hence, it sends a request to the proxy 13’ of the visited CSP, the request may identify the requested network exposure service and provide an access token, the encrypted technical context and / or the inter-PLMN access token.

[0179] • The request may identified as being a ROAMING REQUEST, i.e. , a request initially sent to a home CSP and later forwarded to the visited CSP.

[0180] • Like in action 3, it is assumed that the aggregating node 11 may have acquired an access token allowing to access the proxy 13’ at the visited CSP.

[0181] 18. The proxy 13’ may verify that the aggregating node 11 is authorized to call the network exposure service.

[0182] • Contrary to action 4, there is no validation for the legal basis in this action. The visited network may rely on the home network to do that verification.

[0183] 19. The request is authorized. If this were not the case, an error message would be returned to the aggregating node 11 and the procedure stops.

[0184] 20. The proxy 13’ requests the Partner CSP Management to verify the inter-PLMN access token and to decrypt the technical context.

[0185] 21. The Partner CSP Management decrypts the technical context and verifies the inter-PLMN access token.

[0186] • As part of the verification, the Partner CSP Management verifies that the access token is valid, that the targeted UE 10 belongs to the CSP that issued the access token, and that the technical context matches the access token.

[0187] 22. The Partner CSP Management returns the result of the verification and the decrypted technical context to the proxy 13’.

[0188] 23. The proxy 13’ may build the request to be made towards the network exposure service based on the information present in the technical context.

[0189] • For instance, for the GMLC location service the request would be built based on the UE ID, e.g., SUPI, AMF ID as well as any additional parameters provided in the request made to the proxy 12’ in the home CSP, and later included in the technical context.

[0190] 24. The proxy 13’ may send to the network exposure service the request built in the previous action.

[0191] • The network exposure service serves the request using only resources from the visited CSP and the information contained in the request.• For instance, for the location service, the GMLC needs to be provided with the AMF ID to identify which AMF to send the request to in order to locate the targeted UE 10.

[0192] 25. The network exposure service sends the response to the proxy 13’.

[0193] 26. The proxy 13’ forwards the response to the aggregating node 11, marking it as being a response to a service request.

[0194] End if

[0195] 27. The aggregating node 11 may then forward the service response to the exposure consumer.

[0196] In the state of the art, the home CSP charges the aggregating node 11 for the location request. However, for a request targeting an outbound roaming UE 10 the home CSP may need to consider any cost charged by the visited CSP for the network exposure service used by the home CSP (e.g., GMLC) in its pricing. Similarly to how it may be more expensive to make a phone call while roaming abroad, it may be more expensive for the exposure consumer to request the location for an outbound roaming UE 10, to account for the charge from the visited CSP.

[0197] According to embodiments herein the home CSP may only charge the aggregating node 11 for the part of the network exposure service that the home CSP is delivering, e.g., identifying the visited CSP, collecting the authorization and technical context. Hence, the home CSP may not need to consider any external charge the request incurs from the visited CSP in that pricing.

[0198] Similarly, the visited CSP also only charges the aggregating node 11 for the part of the service that the visited CSP deliver, e.g., locating the UE 10.

[0199] Hence, everything is handled as part of the bilateral, and most likely preexisting, relationship between a CSP and the aggregating node 11 regarding a particular network service and / or network API. The only impact being that there are three types of requests that are handled differently by the CSP and possibly priced differently:

[0200] • Requests targeting a subscriber currently in the home network, i.e. , the CSP fulfills the request entirely itself

[0201] • Requests targeting a subscriber that is outbound roaming, i.e., the CSP just collects the authorization, visited CSP identity and technical context

[0202] • Requests targeting an inbound roaming subscriber, i.e., the CSP locates the UE 10 based on the authorization and technical context collected by the home CSP• A fourth type of request may be introduced if the CSP wants to also handle “traditional” requests targeting an outbound roaming subscriber for which there is a roaming agreement covering the service. For that type of request, one may use the state-of-the-art way of handling the charging / billing.

[0203] Embodiments may rely on network exposure standardization activities, e.g., in 3GPP or CAMARA, to define what network exposure services are offered by the CSPs and how the execution is split between HPLMN and VPLMN in a roaming context.

[0204] As they already do, the standard developing organizations (SDOs) may define what network exposure services the CSP can offer. The CSP may advertise the offering towards the aggregating node 11 using these standard services.

[0205] In addition to this, the SDO may also define the distribution of the execution when a service is executed in a roaming context following our invention. This could be either:

[0206] In a service agnostic fashion, i.e. , all services follow the same procedure. For instance, the aggregating node 11 may query the home CSP, get a response that is either the result of the query, the only option with current solutions, or, according to embodiments herein, a response referring the aggregating node 11 to the visited CSP and may comprise all the data needed to provide to the visited CSP. The aggregating node 11 may then just need to "blindly" execute a request based on this data and finally get the result of the query.

[0207] Service specific. Each network exposure service may have a different procedure that is defined by standardization and well known of the CSPs and the aggregating node 11.

[0208] For many network exposure services, each CSP is already having a version of the service targeting its own subscriber and for which methods shown herein are useful. For communication services, particularly differentiated connectivity, the interaction between the home and visited CSP needs to be tighter, and the CN standardization impact would be bigger, however these are not the services targeted by embodiments herein. Furthermore, it should not be forgotten that with the move of the telco industry towards network exposure and platforms, the network API kind of service is going to significantly increase in relevance.

[0209] Taking the example of the CAMARA location retrieval service:In the state of the art, a lot of CSPs are expected to offer that location retrieval service through an aggregating node 11 For that location retrieval service, in a roaming-agreement-based implementation, the visited CSP only needs two pieces of information from the home CSP, i.e. , the AMF ID and an authorization from the home CSP to disclose the subscriber location.

[0210] Hence, if the aggregating node 11 may provide the visited CSP with these two pieces of information, the visited CSP can offer the service without interaction with the home CSP even using the existing services implementations. Further, the location service is not an exception and the support for outbound-roaming UEs may be implemented in a similar fashion for other network exposure services with similar benefits, e.g., monitoring events from the AMF.

[0211] Fig. 9 is a block diagram depicting embodiments of the aggregating node 11 for handling network exposure services in the communication network according to embodiments herein.

[0212] The aggregating node 11 may comprise processing circuitry 901, e.g., one or more processors, configured to perform the methods herein.

[0213] The aggregating node 11 and / or the processing circuitry 901 may be configured to receive the service request for the network exposure service targeting the UE 10. This may be received from a subscriber in a home network, and the service request may comprise a UE identity of the targeted UE 10. The service request may be originating from an application function of network node such as an AS or from a UE such as the UE 10 or another UE.

[0214] The aggregating node 11 and / or the processing circuitry 901 is configured to obtain the visited network indication, wherein the visited network indication indicates the visited network identity of the visited network that the UE 10, for which a network exposure service is requested, has roamed to, and also information associated with the visited network identity and / or the UE 10. The aggregating node 11 and / or the processing circuitry 901 may be configured to transmit the request, to the first network node 12 of the home network of the UE 10, for executing the network exposure service targeting the UE 10. The aggregating node 11 and / or the processing circuitry 901 may be configured to receive the visited network indication and the information as requested.

[0215] The aggregating node 11 and / or the processing circuitry 901 is configured to trigger the execution of the requested network exposure service targeting the UE 10 based on the obtained visited network indication and the obtained information. As anexample, the aggregating node 11 and / or the processing circuitry 901 may be configured to trigger the execution by transmitting to the second network node 13 related to the visited network identity, the request for executing the requested network exposure service targeting the UE 10. The aggregating node 11 and / or the processing circuitry 901 may be configured to further transmit the information to the second network node 13 for authorizing the request.

[0216] The aggregating node 11 and / or the processing circuitry 901 may be configured to receive, from the first network node 12, technical context of the UE 10 for the network exposure service, and the aggregating node 11 and / or the processing circuitry 901 may be configured to transmit the technical context to the second network node 13 when triggering the execution of the requested network exposure service.

[0217] The aggregating node 11 and / or the processing circuitry 901 may be configured to receive the response from the second network node 13 for executing the network exposure service targeting the UE 10. The response may comprise a confirmation that the requested service has been provisioned (or not) and / or as well as details on what has been provisioned. Alternatively, or additionally, the response may comprise information about the UE such as its current location or similar.

[0218] The aggregating node 11 and / or the processing circuitry 901 may be configured to transmit the response or the service response to the requestor such as an AS or a UE such as the UE 10 or another UE. Thus, the aggregating node 11 and / or the processing circuitry 901 may be configured to transmit the service response to the UE 10 or a network node, such as AF, wherein the service response is related to the execution of the requested network exposure service. The service response may comprise a confirmation indication that the requested service has been provisioned (or not) and / or as well as details on what has been provisioned. Alternatively, or additionally, the service response may comprise information about the UE such as its current location or similar.

[0219] The aggregating node 11 may comprise a memory 905. The memory 905 comprises one or more units to be used to store data on, such as CSP information, changing information, network identities, network information, requests, responses, configuration, events and applications to perform the methods disclosed herein when being executed, and similar. Furthermore, the aggregating node 11 may comprise a communication interface 906 comprising such as a transmitter, a receiver, a transceiver and / or one or more antennas.

[0220] The methods according to the embodiments described herein for the aggregating node 11 are respectively implemented by means of e.g., a computer program product907 or a computer program, comprising instructions, i.e. , software code portions, which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the aggregating node 11. The computer program product 907 may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium 908, e g., a disc, a universal serial bus (USB) stick or similar. The computer-readable storage medium 908, having stored thereon the computer program product, may comprise the instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the aggregating node 11. In some embodiments, the computer-readable storage medium may be a transitory or a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. Thus, embodiments herein may disclose an aggregating node 11 for handling network exposure services in the communication network, wherein the aggregating node 11 comprises processing circuitry and a memory, said memory comprising instructions executable by said processing circuitry whereby said aggregating node 11 is operative to perform any of the methods herein.

[0221] Fig. 10 is a block diagram depicting embodiments of the first network node 12, such as home CSP or proxy, for handling a network exposure service in the communication network according to embodiments herein.

[0222] The first network node 12 may comprise processing circuitry 1001, e.g., one or more processors, configured to perform the methods herein.

[0223] The first network node 12 and / or the processing circuitry 1001 is configured to receive from the aggregating node 11, the request for executing the network exposure service targeting the UE 10.

[0224] The first network node 12 and / or the processing circuitry 1001 is configured to determine that the UE 10 is served in the visited network with the visited network identity.

[0225] The first network node 12 and / or the processing circuitry 1001 may be configured to determine the absence of a roaming agreement between the home and visited network covering the network exposure service.

[0226] The first network node 12 and / or the processing circuitry 1001 is configured to retrieve the information associated with the visited network identity and / or the UE 10. The first network node 12 and / or the processing circuitry 1001 may be configured to collect technical context of the UE 10 for the network exposure service.The first network node 12 and / or the processing circuitry 1001 is configured to transmit to the aggregating node 11, the visited network indication indicating the visited network identity, and also the information associated with the visited network identity and / or the UE 10. The first network node 12 and / or the processing circuitry 1001 is configured to transmit the collected technical context to the aggregating node 11.

[0227] The first network node 12 may comprise a memory 1005. The memory 1005 comprises one or more units to be used to store data on, such as CSP information, changing information, network identities, network information, requests, responses, configuration, events and applications to perform the methods disclosed herein when being executed, and similar. Furthermore, the first network node 12 may comprise a communication interface 1006 comprising such as a transmitter, a receiver, a transceiver and / or one or more antennas.

[0228] The methods according to the embodiments described herein for the first network node 12 are respectively implemented by means of e.g., a computer program product 1007 or a computer program, comprising instructions, i.e. , software code portions, which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the first network node 12. The computer program product 1007 may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium 1008, e.g., a disc, a universal serial bus (USB) stick or similar. The computer-readable storage medium 1008, having stored thereon the computer program product, may comprise the instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the first network node 12. In some embodiments, the computer-readable storage medium may be a transitory or a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. Thus, embodiments herein may disclose a first network node 12 for handling a network exposure service in the communication network, wherein the first network node 12 comprises processing circuitry and a memory, said memory comprising instructions executable by said processing circuitry whereby said first network node 12 is operative to perform any of the methods herein.

[0229] Fig. 11 is a block diagram depicting embodiments of the second network node 13, such as visited CSP or proxy, for handling a network exposure service in the communication network according to embodiments herein.

[0230] The second network node 13 may comprise processing circuitry 1101, e.g., one or more processors, configured to perform the methods herein.The second network node 13 and / or the processing circuitry 1101 is configured to receive, from the aggregating node 11, the request for executing the network exposure service targeting the UE 10 visiting the visited network, and the information associated with a visited network identity of the visited network and / or the UE 10. The second network node 13 and / or the processing circuitry 1101 may be configured to receive technical context of the UE (10) for the network exposure service, which technical context may be used at the second network node 13 for executing the network exposure service targeting the UE 10.

[0231] The second network node 13 and / or the processing circuitry 1101 is configured to authorize the request using the received information.

[0232] The second network node 13 and / or the processing circuitry 1101 is configured to, upon authorization, trigger an execution of the network exposure service targeting the UE 10 as requested. The second network node 13 and / or the processing circuitry 1101 may be configured to transmit the response to the aggregating node 11 for executing the network exposure service targeting the UE 10. The response may comprise a confirmation indication that the requested service has been provisioned (or not) and / or as well as details on what has been provisioned. Alternatively, or additionally, the response may comprise information about the UE 10 such as its current location or similar.

[0233] The second network node 13 may comprise a memory 1105. The memory 1105 comprises one or more units to be used to store data on, such as data packets, configuration, sensing information, sensing context data, UE information, accuracy values, sensing mode or topology, measurements, events and applications to perform the methods disclosed herein when being executed, and similar. Furthermore, the second network node 13 may comprise a communication interface 1106 comprising such as a transmitter, a receiver, a transceiver and / or one or more antennas.

[0234] The methods according to the embodiments described herein for the second network node 13 are respectively implemented by means of e.g., a computer program product 1107 or a computer program, comprising instructions, i.e., software code portions, which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the second network node 13. The computer program product 1107 may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium 1108, e.g., a disc, a universal serial bus (USB) stick or similar. The computer-readable storage medium 1108, having stored thereon the computer program product, may comprise the instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the actions described herein, as performedby the second network node 13. In some embodiments, the computer-readable storage medium may be a transitory or a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. Thus, embodiments herein may disclose a second network node 13 for handling a network exposure service, wherein the second network node 13 comprises processing circuitry and a memory, said memory comprising instructions executable by said processing circuitry whereby said second network node 13 is operative to perform any of the methods herein.

[0235] In some embodiments a more general term “network node” is used and it can correspond to any type of radio-network node or any network node, which communicates with a UE and / or with another network node.

[0236] In some embodiments the non-limiting term wireless device or user equipment (UE) is used and it refers to any type of wireless device communicating with a network node and / or with another wireless device in a cellular or mobile communication system. Examples of UE are target device, device to device (D2D) UE, proximity capable UE (aka ProSe UE), loT capable device, machine type UE or UE capable of machine to machine (M2M) communication, Tablet, mobile terminals, smart phone, laptop embedded equipped (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles etc.

[0237] Embodiments are applicable to any RAT or multi-RAT systems, where the wireless device receives and / or transmit signals (e.g. data) e.g. NR, Wi-Fi, LTE, LTE-Advanced, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Global System for Mobile communications / enhanced Data rate for GSM Evolution (GSM / EDGE), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), or Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), just to mention a few possible implementations.

[0238] As will be readily understood by those familiar with communications design, that functions means or circuits may be implemented using digital logic and / or one or more microcontrollers, microprocessors, or other digital hardware. In some embodiments, several or all of the various functions may be implemented together, such as in a single application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or in two or more separate devices with appropriate hardware and / or software interfaces between them. Several of the functions may be implemented on a processor shared with other functional components of a wireless device or network node, for example.

[0239] Alternatively, several of the functional elements of the processing means discussed may be provided through the use of dedicated hardware, while others are provided with hardware for executing software, in association with the appropriate software or firmware. Thus, the term “processor” or “controller” as used herein does notexclusively refer to hardware capable of executing software and may implicitly include, without limitation, digital signal processor (DSP) hardware and / or program or application data. Other hardware, conventional and / or custom, may also be included. Designers of communications devices will appreciate the cost, performance, and maintenance trade-offs inherent in these design choices.

[0240] Any appropriate steps, methods, features, functions, or benefits disclosed herein may be performed through one or more functional units or modules of one or more virtual apparatuses. Each virtual apparatus may comprise a number of these functional units. These functional units may be implemented via processing circuitry, which may include one or more microprocessor or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware, which may include digital signal processors (DSPs), special-purpose digital logic, and the like. The processing circuitry may be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which may include one or several types of memory such as read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc. Program code stored in memory includes program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and / or data communications protocols as well as instructions for carrying out one or more of the techniques described herein. In some implementations, the processing circuitry may be used to cause the respective functional unit to perform corresponding functions according one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0241] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface maybe configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0242] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and / or by end users and a wireless network generally.

[0243] It will be appreciated that the foregoing description and the accompanying drawings represent non-limiting examples of the methods and apparatus taught herein. As such, the apparatus and techniques taught herein are not limited by the foregoing description and accompanying drawings. Instead, the embodiments herein are limited only by the following claims and their legal equivalents.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A method performed by an aggregating node (11) for handling network exposure services in a communication network (100); the method comprisingobtaining (402) a visited network indication, wherein the visited network indication indicates a visited network identity of a visited network that a user equipment, UE, (10), for which a network exposure service is requested, has roamed to, and also information associated with the visited network identity and / or the UE (10); andtriggering (403) an execution of the requested network exposure service targeting the UE based on the obtained visited network indication and the obtained information.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein triggering (403) the execution comprises transmitting to a second network node (13) related to the visited network identity, a request for executing the requested network exposure service targeting the UE (10).

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein triggering (403) execution comprises transmitting the information to the second network node (13) for authorizing the request.

4. The method according to any of the claims 2-3, further comprisingreceiving (404) a response from the second network node (13) for executing the network exposure service targeting the UE (10).

5. The method according to any of the claims 1-4, wherein obtaining (402) the visited network indication and information comprises transmitting to a first network node (12) of a home network of the UE (10), a request for executing the network exposure service targeting the UE (10).

6. The method according to any of the claims 1-5, further comprising transmitting (405) a service response to the UE (10) or a network node, wherein the service response is related to the execution of the requested network exposure service.

7. The method according to any of the claims 1-6, wherein obtaining (402) the visited network indication and information comprises receiving from a first network node (12) technical context of the UE (10) for the network exposure service, and triggering (403) the execution of the requested network exposure service comprises transmitting the technical context to the second network node (13).

8. A method performed by a first network node (12) in a home communication network (NW1) for handling a network exposure service targeting a user equipment, UE, (10), wherein the home communication network is a home network of the UE (10); the method comprisingreceiving (501) from an aggregating node (11), a request for executing a network exposure service targeting the UE (10);determining (502) that the UE is served in a visited network with a visited network identity;retrieving (504) information associated with the visited network identity and / or the UE (10); andtransmitting (505) to the aggregating node (11) a visited network indication indicating the visited network identity, and also the information associated with the visited network identity and / or the UE (10).

9. The method according to claim 8, further comprisingdetermining (503) an absence of a roaming agreement between the home and visited network covering the network exposure service.

10. The method according to any of the claims 8-9, wherein retrieving (504) the information comprises collecting technical context of the UE (10) for the network exposure service and transmitting (505) the visited network indication and the information further comprises transmitting the technical context to the aggregating node (11).

11. A method performed by a second network node (13) in a visited communication network (NW2) for handling a network exposure service targeting a user equipment, UE, (10), wherein the visited communication network is a visited network of the UE (10), the method comprisingreceiving (601) from an aggregating node (11), a request for executing the network exposure service targeting the UE (10) visiting the visited network, and information associated with a visited network identity of the visited network and / or the UE (10);authorizing (602) the request using the received information; andupon authorization, triggering (603) an execution of the network exposure service targeting the UE (10) as requested.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein triggering (603) the execution comprises transmitting a response to the aggregating node (11) for executing the network exposure service targeting the UE (10).

13. The method according to any of the claims 11-12, wherein receiving (601) the request and information further comprises receiving from the aggregating node (11), technical context of the UE (10) for the network exposure service, which technical context is used at the second network node (13) for executing the network exposure service targeting the UE (10).

14. An aggregating node (11) for handling network exposure services in a communication network (100), wherein the aggregating node (11) is configured to:obtain a visited network indication, wherein the visited network indication indicates a visited network identity of a visited network that a user equipment, UE, (10), for which a network exposure service is requested, has roamed to, and also information associated with the visited network identity and / or the UE (10); andtrigger an execution of the requested network exposure service targeting the UE based on the obtained visited network indication and the obtained information.

15. The aggregating node (11) according to claim 14, wherein the aggregating node (11) is configured to trigger the execution by transmitting to a second network node (13) related to the visited network identity, a request for executing the requested network exposure service targeting the UE (10).

16. The aggregating node (11) according to claim 15, wherein the aggregating node (11) is configured to trigger the execution by transmitting the information to the second network node (13) for authorizing the request.

17. The aggregating node (11) according to any of the claims 15-16, wherein the aggregating node (11) is configured to receive a response from the second network node (13) for executing the network exposure service targeting the UE (10).

18. The aggregating node (11) according to any of the claims 14-17, wherein the aggregating node (11) is configured to obtain the visited network indication and information by transmitting to a first network node (12) of a home network of the UE (10), a request for executing the network exposure service targeting the UE (10).

19. The aggregating node (11) according to any of the claims 1-5, wherein the aggregating node (11) is configured to transmit a service response to the UE (10) or a network node, wherein the service response is related to the execution of the requested network exposure service20. The aggregating node (11) according to any of the claims 14-19, wherein the aggregating node (11) is configured to obtain the visited network indication and information by receiving from a first network node (12) technical context of the UE (10) for the network exposure service, and the aggregating node (11) is configured to trigger the execution of the requested network exposure service by transmitting the technical context to the second network node (13).

21. A first network node (12) in a home communication network (NW1) for handling a network exposure service targeting a user equipment, UE, (10), wherein the home communication network is a home network of the UE (10), wherein the first network node (12) is configured to:receive from an aggregating node (11), a request for executing a network exposure service targeting the UE (10);determine that the UE is served in a visited network with a visited network identity;retrieve information associated with the visited network identity and / or the UE (10); andtransmit to the aggregating node (11) a visited network indication indicating the visited network identity, and also the information associated with the visited network identity and / or the UE (10).

22. The first network node (12) according to claim 21 , wherein the first network node (12) is configured to:determine an absence of a roaming agreement between the home and visited network covering the network exposure service.

23. The first network node (12) according to any of the claims 21-22, wherein the first network node (12) is configured to:collect technical context of the UE (10) for the network exposure service and transmitting the visited network indication and the information further comprises transmitting the technical context to the aggregating node (11).

24. A second network node (13) in a visited communication network (NW2) for handling a network exposure service targeting a user equipment, UE, (10), wherein the visited communication network is a visited network of the UE (10), wherein the second network node (13) is configured to:receive from an aggregating node (11), a request for executing the network exposure service targeting the UE (10) visiting the visited network, and information associated with a visited network identity of the visited network and / or the UE (10);authorize the request using the received information; and upon authorization, trigger an execution of the network exposure service targeting the UE (10) as requested.

25. The second network node (13) according to claim 24, wherein the second network node (13) is configured to trigger the execution by transmitting a response to the aggregating node (11) for executing the network exposure service targeting the UE (10).

26. The second network node (13) according to any of the claims 24-25, wherein the second network node (13) is configured to receive the request and information by receiving from the aggregating node (11), technical context of the UE (10) for the network exposure service, which technical context is used at the second network node (13) for executing the network exposure service targeting the UE (10).

27. A computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the method according to any of the claims 1-13, as performed by the aggregating node, the first network node and the second network node, respectively.

28. A computer-readable storage medium, having stored thereon a computer program product comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the method according to any of the claims 1-13, as performed by the aggregating node, the first network node and the second network node, respectively.

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