Network device and network control method

Abstract

This network device comprises: a control unit that generates information used for paging for a terminal in an inactive state; and a transmission unit that transmits the information to a base station that executes the paging for the terminal.

Description

Network device, network control method

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a network device and a network control method.

[0002] The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP (registered trademark)) has standardized the 5th generation mobile communication system (also called 5G, New Radio (NR) or Next Generation (NG)). Furthermore, it is also promoting the standardization of the next generation mobile communication system called Beyond 5G, 5G Evolution or 6G.

[0003] As paging for calling a terminal, there are known CN paging led by a network device (for example, Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF)) that constitutes a core network (CN), and RAN paging led by a base station that constitutes a radio access network (RAN). CN paging is executed when the terminal is in the idle state in the radio resource control (RRC) layer, and RAN paging is executed when the terminal is in the inactive state in the RRC layer (Non-Patent Document 1).

[0004] 3GPP TS 23.501 V19.2.1, 3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Services and System Aspects; System architecture for the 5G System (5GS); Stage 2 (Release 19), 3GPP, January 2025

[0005] Therefore, even for paging for the same terminal, the information required for CN paging is managed by the CN, and the information required for RAN paging is managed by the base station. Such a paging mechanism is inefficient and there is room for improvement.

[0006] Therefore, this disclosure aims to provide a network device and a network control method that can achieve efficient paging.

[0007] One aspect of the disclosure is a network device comprising a control unit (control unit 320) that generates information used for paging for an inactive terminal, and a transmission unit (transmitting / receiving unit 310) that transmits the information to a base station that performs the paging on the terminal.

[0008] One aspect of the disclosure is a network control method that generates information to be used for paging to an inactive terminal and transmits the information to a base station that performs the paging to the terminal.

[0009] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the overall configuration of a wireless communication system. Figure 2 is a diagram showing the frequency range used in the wireless communication system. Figure 3 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of wireless frames, subframes, slots, and symbols used in the wireless communication system. Figure 4 is a functional block diagram of a network device. Figure 5 is a functional block diagram of a base station. Figure 6 is a functional block diagram of a terminal. Figure 7 is a diagram showing an example of information used in conventional paging. Figure 8 is a diagram showing the sequence of RAN paging. Figure 9 is a diagram showing the sequence for notifying the base station of a sub TA or RAN TA. Figure 10 is a diagram showing the sequence for notifying the base station of a sub TA or RAN TA based on the terminal's location information. Figure 11 is a diagram showing the sequence for notifying the base station of a sub TA or RAN TA based on the prediction of a learning model. Figure 12 is a diagram showing the sequence for notifying the terminal of a sub TA or RAN TA. Figure 13 is a diagram showing the sequence when the terminal leaves a sub TA. Figure 14 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a network device, base station, and terminal. Figure 15 is a diagram showing an example of a vehicle configuration.

[0010] The embodiments will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that identical or similar reference numerals are used to denote the same functions and components, and their descriptions will be omitted as appropriate.

[0011] (1) Wireless communication system configuration The wireless communication system 10 shown in Diagram 1 is a wireless communication system that follows a method called 5G. On the other hand, wireless communication system 10 may also be a wireless communication system that follows a method called Beyond 5G, 5G Evolution, or 6G.

[0012] The wireless communication system 10 can support Massive Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (Massive MIMO), which generates a more directional beam by controlling the wireless signals transmitted from multiple antenna elements; carrier aggregation (CA), which uses multiple component carriers (CCs) bundled together; and dual connectivity (DC), which enables simultaneous communication with two base stations.

[0013] As shown in Figure 1, the wireless communication system 10 includes a base station 100 (hereinafter also referred to as BS100) that constitutes the Radio Access Network (RAN) 20, and a terminal 200 (hereinafter also referred to as user equipment (UE) 200) that communicates wirelessly with the BS100. The BS100 may also be called a RAN node.

[0014] RAN20 is connected to the core network (CN) 30. CN30 consists of multiple network functions (NFs). Examples of NFs include the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 300 and the Network Data Analytics Function (NWDAF) 400. AMF300 performs tasks such as registering UE200. NWDAF400 performs tasks such as optimizing CN30. NFs may also be referred to as network devices. For example, AMF300 may be referred to as network device 300.

[0015] The specific configuration of the wireless communication system 10, for example, the number of BS100 and UE200, is not limited to the example shown in Figure 1. RAN20 and CN30 may simply be called the "network (NW)". A system consisting of RAN20 and CN30 may be called a network system. Note that the network system may also include UE200.

[0016] BS100 may consist of distributed units (DUs) that form cells to which UE200 is connected, and a central unit (CU) that controls the DUs. The CU may consist of a CU-CP that controls the control plane (CP) and a CU-UP that controls the user plane (UP). In other words, BS100 may consist of DUs, CU-CPs, and CU-UPs.

[0017] Furthermore, the wireless communication system 10 may support multiple frequency ranges (FRs). That is, as shown in Figure 2, the wireless communication system 10 may support the following FRs: • FR1: 410 MHz to 7.125 GHz • FR2-1: 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz • FR2-2: Over 52.6 GHz to 71 GHz • FR3: 7.125 GHz to 24.25 GHz

[0018] In FR1, a subcarrier spacing (SCS) of 15, 30, or 60 kHz and a bandwidth (BW) of 5 to 100 MHz may be used. In FR2-1, an SCS of 60 or 120 kHz (or 240 kHz) and a BW of 50 to 400 MHz may be used.

[0019] In FR2-2, to avoid an increase in phase noise, Cyclic Prefix-Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (CP-OFDM) or Discrete Fourier Transform-Spread-Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (DFT-S-OFDM) with a larger SCS may be applied.

[0020] Furthermore, the wireless communication system 10 may support a frequency band higher than FR2-2.

[0021] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 3, one slot in the wireless communication system 10 consists of 14 symbols. If this configuration is maintained, the larger (wider) the SCS becomes, the shorter the symbol period (and slot period). Note that the SCS is not limited to the frequencies shown in Figure 3, and may be other frequencies such as 480 kHz or 960 kHz.

[0022] Furthermore, the number of symbols constituting one slot does not necessarily have to be 14; for example, it could be 28 or 56 symbols. In addition, the number of slots per subframe may vary depending on the SCS.

[0023] (2) Functional block configuration of the wireless communication system (2.1) Functional block configuration of the network device As shown in Figure 4, the network device 300 comprises a transmitting / receiving unit 310 and a control unit 320. Unless otherwise specified, the network device 300 is assumed to be an AMF300. However, the network device 300 is not limited to an AMF300 and may be a new NF that can be implemented in 6G and performs UE200 registration or mobility management.

[0024] The transmitting / receiving unit 310 can transmit and receive various types of information with BS100. The transmitting / receiving unit 310 may consist of a transmitting unit that transmits wireless signals to BS100 and a receiving unit that receives wireless signals from BS100.

[0025] The transmitting / receiving unit 310 can receive information transmitted by the transmitting / receiving unit 110. The transmitting / receiving unit 310 can also transmit information received by the transmitting / receiving unit 110. Furthermore, the transmitting / receiving unit 310 can transmit and receive the information described in the operation example.

[0026] The transmitting / receiving unit 310 of this embodiment can transmit information used for paging for an inactive UE200 to the BS100, which performs paging to the UE200.

[0027] The connection status of UE200 is the connection status at the RRC layer and may therefore be called the RRC state. The connection status of UE200 may be connected, standby, or inactive. Note that UE200 being connected to BS100 may be interpreted as meaning that user data can be sent and received.

[0028] The connected state may be understood as the RRC CONNECTED state. The connected state may be understood as a state in which the connection between UE200 and BS100 is maintained, and the connection between UE200 and CN30 is maintained. In the connected state, the RRC context is established. In this case, the connection state between UE200 and CN30 as seen from CN30 may be called the CM_CONNECTED state.

[0029] The standby state may be understood as the RRC IDLE state. The standby state may be understood as a state in which the connection between UE200 and BS100 is disconnected, and the connection between UE200 and CN30 is also disconnected. In the standby state, unlike the connected state, the RRC context is not established. In this case, the connection state between UE200 and CN30 as seen from CN30 may be called the CM_IDLE state.

[0030] The inactive state may be understood as the RRC INACTIVE state. The inactive state may be understood as a state in which the connection between UE200 and BS100 is disconnected, while the connection between UE200 and CN30 is maintained. In the inactive state, the RRC context is maintained. In this case, the connection state between UE200 and CN30 as seen from CN30 may be called the CM_CONNECTED state.

[0031] There are two types of paging: CN paging, led by CN30 (specifically AMF300), and RAN paging, led by RAN20 (specifically BS100). CN paging is for UE200 in standby mode, while RAN paging is for UE200 in inactive mode. In other words, the transceiver 310 can transmit information used for RAN paging to BS100, which performs paging to the UE200.

[0032] The information used for RAN paging in the embodiment may include the identifier of the UE200 used for RAN paging. The information used for RAN paging in the embodiment (the identifier of the UE200) may be a Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (TMSI) instead of the conventional INACTIVE Radio Network Temporary Identifier (I-RNTI). This TMSI may be the TMSI used for conventional CN paging (for example, 5G-S-TMSI). In other words, the identifier of the UE200 used for RAN paging in the embodiment may be a repurposed identifier of the UE200 used for CN paging. Alternatively, the identifier of the UE200 used for RAN paging in the embodiment may be understood as an integration of the conventional I-RNTI and 5G-S-TMSI.

[0033] The information used for RAN paging in the embodiment may include a parameter indicating the RAN paging period. The information used for RAN paging in the embodiment (paging period) may be CN UE Paging DRX instead of the conventional RAN UE Paging DRX. In other words, the paging period used for RAN paging in the embodiment may be a repurposed version of the CN paging period used for CN paging. Alternatively, the paging period used for RAN paging in the embodiment may be understood as an integration of the conventional RAN UE Paging DRX and CN UE Paging DRX.

[0034] The information used for RAN paging in the embodiment may be a paging area with finer granularity than the paging area (e.g., tracking area (TA)) used for CN paging. The information (paging area) used for RAN paging in the embodiment may be called sub TA or RAN TA. Sub TA or RAN TA may have a granularity similar to that of a conventional RAN-based Notification Area (RNA), or it may have a granularity even finer than RNA. Sub TA or RAN TA may be indicated by a novel identifier (e.g., sub TA ID or RAN TA ID) that indicates sub TA or RAN TA, similar to the RAN-based notification area code (RANAC) that indicates RNA.

[0035] The transmitting / receiving unit 310 of this embodiment may receive location information or movement information of UE200 from BS100. The movement information of UE200 may be the movement pattern of UE200 or the trajectory of UE200 predicted by a learning model installed in BS100.

[0036] The control unit 320 controls the AMF300. The control unit 320 can, for example, control the transmission and reception of various types of information by the transmitting / receiving unit 310.

[0037] The control unit 320 of the embodiment can generate the information used for RAN paging described above. Furthermore, the control unit 320 of the embodiment can manage the generated information used for RAN paging.

[0038] The control unit 320 of the embodiment may update a paging area with finer granularity than the paging area used for CN paging described above, based on the location information or movement information of the UE200. Updating the paging area may involve changing the granularity of the paging area, or it may involve updating the information indicating the paging area in which the UE200 is located.

[0039] (2.2) As shown in the functional block diagram 5 of the base station, the BS100 comprises a transmitting / receiving unit 110 and a control unit 120. Note that each component of the BS100 may be understood as a distributed unit (DU) located on the UE200 side, or as a central unit (CU) located on the network side.

[0040] The transmitting / receiving unit 110 can transmit and receive wireless signals with the UE 200. The transmitting / receiving unit 110 may consist of a transmitting unit that transmits wireless signals to the UE 200 and a receiving unit that receives wireless signals from the UE 200. The wireless signals may include various types of information, or may be interpreted as various types of information. Transmission may be interpreted as setting, instruction, notification, etc. Reception may be interpreted as reporting, notifying, etc. Setting may be implemented by setting information (information elements (IE)) of the Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer. Instructions may be implemented by control elements (CE) of the Media Access Control (MAC) layer, or by downlink control information (DCI).

[0041] The transmitting / receiving unit 110 can transmit and receive various information with the AMF 300. The transmitting / receiving unit 110 may consist of a transmitting unit that transmits various information to the AMF 300 and a receiving unit that receives various information from the AMF 300.

[0042] The transmitting / receiving unit 110 can receive information transmitted by the wireless signal transmitting / receiving unit 210 or the transmitting / receiving unit 310. The transmitting / receiving unit 110 can also transmit information received by the wireless signal transmitting / receiving unit 210 or the transmitting / receiving unit 310. Furthermore, the transmitting / receiving unit 110 can transmit and receive the information described in the operation example.

[0043] The control unit 120 can control BS100. The control unit 120 can, for example, control the transmission and reception of various types of information by the transmitting and receiving unit 110.

[0044] The control unit 120 of the embodiment can predict the movement information of the UE 200 using a learning model. The learning model may be referred to as an Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning (AI / ML) model. Note that the learning model may be configured by a well-known architecture including a data collection unit, a model training unit, a management unit, an estimation unit, and a model storage unit, as shown in FIG. 4.4-1 of 3GPP TR 38.843, for example.

[0045] (2.3) As shown in the functional block configuration diagram 6 of the terminal, the UE 200 includes a radio signal transceiver 210 and a control unit 220.

[0046] The radio signal transceiver 210 can transmit and receive radio signals with the BS 100. The radio signal transceiver 210 may include a transmitter that transmits radio signals to the BS 100 and a receiver that receives radio signals from the BS 100. The radio signals may include various information and may be read as various information. Transmission may be read as reporting, notification, etc. Reception may be read as setting (being set), instruction (being instructed), notification (being notified), etc. Note that the setting may be realized by the setting information (information element (IE)) of the radio resource control (RRC) layer. The instruction may be realized by the control element (CE) of the media access control (MAC) layer or may be realized by the downlink control information (DCI).

[0047] The radio signal transceiver 210 can receive the information transmitted by the transceiver 110. Also, the radio signal transceiver 210 can transmit the information received by the transceiver 110. Also, the radio signal transceiver 210 can transmit and receive the information described in the operation example.

[0048] The control unit 220 can control the UE 200. The control unit 220 can control, for example, the transmission and reception of various information by the radio signal transceiver 210.

[0049] (3) Operation of the wireless communication system (3.1) Example of operation Figure 7 shows an example of information used for conventional paging. As shown in Figure 7, the information used for CN paging and the information used for RAN paging are all different in terms of the ID used for paging, the paging period, and the paging area. In addition, the information used for CN paging is managed by AMF300, while the information used for RAN paging is managed by BS100.

[0050] Figure 8 shows the RAN paging sequence. As shown in Figure 8, UE200 becomes inactive after receiving an RRCRelease message containing suspendConfig from BS100. BS100 notifies AMF300 that UE200 has become inactive. As a result, AMF300 recognizes that UE200 is in an inactive state (CM_CONNECTED state).

[0051] In this embodiment, the AMF300 notifies the BS100 of at least one of the following pieces of information used for RAN paging, so that the BS100 can perform RAN paging. The information used for RAN paging may include, for example, the identifier of the UE200 used for RAN paging (paging UE ID in the figure), a parameter indicating the paging period (paging cycle in the figure), and a paging area with finer granularity than the paging area (Tracking Area) used for CN paging (sub TA or RAN TA in the figure). The BS100 in this embodiment performs paging of the UE200 based on at least one of this information notified by the AMF300. The paging message may include the identifier of the UE200 used for RAN paging.

[0052] Thus, the AMF300 of this embodiment can manage the information used for RAN paging. As a result, the information used for CN paging and the information used for RAN paging are managed in one place (AMF300), enabling more efficient paging.

[0053] The UE200 identifier used for RAN paging (paging UE ID) may be an integrated version of the UE ID used for CN paging (5G-S-TMSI) and the UE ID used for RAN paging (I-RNTI), as shown in Figure 7. This integrated paging UE ID may be a new S-TMSI, such as 6G-S-TMSI.

[0054] The paging cycle IE parameter, which indicates the paging period, may be an integrated combination of the paging cycle IE used for CN paging (CN UE Paging DRX) and the paging cycle IE used for RAN paging (RAN UE Paging DRX), as shown in Figure 7. Note that DRX stands for discontinuous reception, so UE Paging DRX means the period during which UE200 receives paging (i.e., the period during which BS100 performs paging).

[0055] As shown in Figure 9, the AMF300 may create and manage paging areas (sub TA or RAN TA in the figure) with finer granularity than the Tracking Area used for CN paging. The Tracking Area may consist of multiple sub TA or RAN TAs. The AMF300 may introduce an ID (which may be called a sub TA ID or RAN TA ID) to identify the sub TA or RAN TA in order to notify the BS100 of the sub TA or RAN TA. Notification of the sub TA or RAN TA may be made via an Initial context setup request message requesting the setting of the UE context, or a UE context modification request message requesting a change in the UE context.

[0056] Figure 10 shows the sequence for creating a sub TA or RAN TA, or updating a managed sub TA or RAN TA, based on the location information of UE200. BS100 notifies AMF300 of the connection status of UE200 at the RRC layer (one of the connected, standby, or inactive states described above) and the location information of UE200. The location information of UE200 may be, for example, a cell ID, Tracking Area Identifier (TAI), or Network Identifier (NID).

[0057] The AMF300 may create a sub TA or RAN TA based on the location information of the UE200. The AMF300 may also update the sub TA or RAN TA it manages based on the location information of the UE200. The AMF300 then notifies the BS100 of the updated sub TA or RAN TA. This notification may be made using the sub TA ID or RAN TA ID described above. Alternatively, the notification may be made via the Initial context setup request message or UE context modification request message described above.

[0058] Figure 11 shows the sequence for creating a sub TA or RAN TA, or updating a managed sub TA or RAN TA, based on the movement information of the UE200 predicted by the learning model. The BS100 predicts the movement information of the UE200 using the learning model. The BS100 notifies the AMF300 of the connection status of the UE200 in the RRC layer (one of the connected, standby, or inactive states described above) and the movement information of the UE200 predicted using the learning model. The movement information of the UE200 may be, for example, the future movement pattern of the UE200 or the future movement trajectory of the UE200. Parameters such as the location information of the UE200 and the cell dwell time of the UE200 can be used for prediction using the learning model.

[0059] The AMF300 may create a sub TA or RAN TA based on the UE200's movement information. The AMF300 may also update the sub TA or RAN TA it manages based on the UE200's movement information. The AMF300 then notifies the BS100 of the updated sub TA or RAN TA. This notification may be made using the sub TA ID or RAN TA ID described above. Alternatively, the notification may be made via the Initial context setup request message or UE context modification request message described above.

[0060] Furthermore, in Figures 10 and 11, the AMF300 may manage the connection status of the UE200 in the RRC layer, as notified by the BS100. Based on the connection status of the UE200 in the RRC layer, the AMF300 may notify the BS100 of the Tracking Area to be used for conventional CN paging instead of notifying it of the updated sub TA or RAN TA.

[0061] Specifically, if the connection status of the UE200 at the RRC layer is inactive (CM_CONNECTED state), the AMF300 may notify the BS100 of the updated sub TA or RAN TA. On the other hand, if the connection status of the UE200 at the RRC layer is standby (CM_IDLE state), the AMF300 may notify the BS100 of the Tracking Area used for conventional CN paging.

[0062] Thus, the AMF300 of this embodiment can update the sub TA or RAN TA based on the location information or movement information of the UE200. This can increase the success rate of paging.

[0063] Referring to Figures 12 and 13, the sequence between BS100 and UE200 when AMF300 notifies BS100 of sub TA or RAN TA will be described. Note that Figures 12 and 13 assume that BS100 has received notification of sub TA or RAN TA from AMF300; please refer to the explanation above for this assumption.

[0064] As shown in Figure 12, after receiving notification of a sub TA or RAN TA from AMF300, BS100 may send an RRCRelease message containing suspendConfig to UE200. Here, BS100 may include not only the sub TA or RAN TA but also a short paging UE ID or a full paging UE ID in the suspendConfig. The short paging UE ID may be, for example, a short S-TMSI. The full paging UE ID may be, for example, a full S-TMSI. Note that the short paging UE ID may be understood as a part of the full paging UE ID.

[0065] As shown in Figure 13, after receiving notification of sub TA or RAN TA from AMF300, BS100 may send an RRCRelease message containing suspendConfig to UE200. The suspendConfig is assumed to contain sub TA or RAN TA, as in Figure 12.

[0066] Subsequently, the UE200 may move out of the area indicated by the sub TA (or RAN TA) notified by the BS100, due to the movement of the UE200's user or the mobile device on which the UE200 is installed. In this case, the UE200 may send an RRCResumeRequest message to the BS100 requesting a transition to the connected state. The UE200 may include the short paging UE ID (e.g., short S-TMSI) as the resume ID in the RRCResumeRequest message.

[0067] (4) Effects and Effects According to the embodiments described above, efficient paging can be achieved.

[0068] (5) Other Embodiments Although the contents of the present invention have been described above in accordance with the embodiments, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to these descriptions and that various modifications and improvements are possible.

[0069] The examples of operation described above may be combined and applied in combination, as long as no inconsistencies arise.

[0070] The block diagrams used in the description of the above embodiments show functional units. These functional blocks (components) are realized by any combination of at least one of hardware and software. Furthermore, the method of realizing each functional block is not particularly limited. That is, each functional block may be realized using one device that is physically or logically coupled, or it may be realized using two or more physically or logically separated devices that are directly or indirectly connected (for example, using wired or wireless connections). A functional block may also be realized by combining software with the one or more of the above devices.

[0071] Functions include, but are not limited to, judgment, decision, judgment, calculation, calculation, processing, derivation, investigation, exploration, confirmation, reception, transmission, output, access, resolution, selection, selection, establishment, comparison, assumption, expectation, assumption, broadcasting, notifying, communicating, forwarding, configuring, reconfiguring, allocating (mapping), and assigning. For example, a functional block (configuration part) that enables transmission is called a transmitting unit or transmitter. In all cases, as mentioned above, the method of implementation is not particularly limited.

[0072] For example, the network device 300, base station 100, terminal 200, etc. in one embodiment of the present disclosure may function as a computer that processes the wireless communication method of the present disclosure. Figure 14 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the network device 300, base station 100, and terminal 200 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The above-mentioned network device 300, base station 100, and terminal 200 may be physically configured as a computer device including a processor 1001, memory 1002, storage 1003, communication device 1004, input device 1005, output device 1006, bus 1007, etc.

[0073] In the following explanation, the term "device" can be replaced with "circuit," "device," "unit," etc. The hardware configuration of the network device 300, base station 100, and terminal 200 may include one or more of the devices shown in the diagram, or it may be configured to omit some of the devices.

[0074] Each function in the network device 300, base station 100, and terminal 200 is realized by loading predetermined software (programs) onto hardware such as the processor 1001 and memory 1002, which allows the processor 1001 to perform calculations, control communication by the communication device 1004, and control at least one of data reading and writing in the memory 1002 and storage 1003.

[0075] The processor 1001 controls the entire computer, for example, by running an operating system. The processor 1001 may consist of a central processing unit (CPU) that includes interfaces with peripheral devices, control units, arithmetic units, registers, and so on.

[0076] Furthermore, the processor 1001 reads programs (program code), software modules, data, etc., from at least one of the storage 1003 and the communication device 1004 into the memory 1002 and executes various processes accordingly. The program used is one that causes the computer to execute at least a part of the operations described in the above embodiment. Furthermore, although it has been explained that the above processes are executed by one processor 1001, they may be executed simultaneously or sequentially by two or more processors 1001. The processor 1001 may be implemented by one or more chips. The program may also be transmitted from a network via a telecommunications line.

[0077] Memory 1002 is a computer-readable recording medium and may consist of at least one of the following: Read Only Memory (ROM), Erasable Programmable ROM (EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM (EEPROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), etc. Memory 1002 may also be called a register, cache, main memory, etc. Memory 1002 can store executable programs (program code), software modules, etc., for carrying out a wireless communication method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0078] The storage 1003 is a computer-readable recording medium and may consist of at least one of the following: an optical disc such as a Compact Disc ROM (CD-ROM), a hard disk drive, a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk (e.g., Compact Disc, Digital Multipurpose Disc, Blu-ray® Disc), a smart card, flash memory (e.g., a card, stick, key drive), a floppy® disk, a magnetic strip, etc. The storage 1003 may also be called an auxiliary storage device. The above-mentioned storage medium may be, for example, a database, server, or other suitable medium including at least one of memory 1002 and storage 1003.

[0079] The communication device 1004 is hardware (transceiver / receiver device) for communicating between computers via at least one of a wired network and a wireless network, and is also referred to as a network device, network controller, network card, communication module, etc. The communication device 1004 may be configured to include, for example, a high-frequency switch, duplexer, filter, frequency synthesizer, etc., in order to implement at least one of frequency division duplex (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD).

[0080] The input device 1005 is an input device that accepts input from an external source (e.g., a keyboard, mouse, microphone, switch, button, sensor, etc.). The output device 1006 is an output device that outputs to an external source (e.g., a display, speaker, LED lamp, etc.). The input device 1005 and the output device 1006 may be configured as an integrated unit (e.g., a touch panel).

[0081] Furthermore, each device, such as the processor 1001 and memory 1002, is connected by a bus 1007 for communicating information. The bus 1007 may be configured using a single bus, or different buses may be configured for each device.

[0082] Furthermore, the network device 300, base station 100, and terminal 200 may be configured to include hardware such as a microprocessor, digital signal processor (DSP), application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), programmable logic device (PLD), and field programmable gate array (FPGA), and some or all of each functional block may be realized by such hardware. For example, the processor 1001 may be implemented using at least one of these hardware components.

[0083] Information notification is not limited to the embodiments described herein and may be carried out by other means. For example, information notification may be carried out by physical layer signaling (e.g., Downlink Control Information (DCI), Uplink Control Information (UCI)), upper layer signaling (e.g., Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, Medium Access Control (MAC) signaling), broadcast information (Master Information Block (MIB), System Information Block (SIB)), other signals, or combinations thereof. RRC signaling may also be called RRC messages, and may be, for example, RRC Connection Setup messages, RRC Connection Reconfiguration messages, etc.

[0084] Each aspect / embodiment described herein may apply to systems utilizing Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4th generation mobile communication system (4G), 5th generation mobile communication system (5G), 6th generation mobile communication system (6G), xth generation mobile communication system (xG) (where x is, for example, an integer or decimal), Future Radio Access (FRA), New Radio (NR), New radio access (NX), Future generation radio access (FX), W-CDMA®, GSM®, CDMA2000, Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi®), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX®), IEEE 802.20, Ultra-WideBand (UWB), Bluetooth®, and other appropriate systems, as well as at least one of the next-generation systems that are extended, modified, created, or defined based thereon. Furthermore, multiple systems may be applied in combination (for example, a combination of at least one of LTE and LTE-A with 5G).

[0085] The processing procedures, sequences, flowcharts, etc., of each aspect / embodiment described in this disclosure may be reordered, provided they do not contradict each other. For example, the methods described in this disclosure present various step elements using exemplary order and are not limited to the specific order presented.

[0086] The specific operations described in this disclosure as being performed by a base station may, in some cases, be performed by its upper node. In a network consisting of one or more network nodes having a base station, it is clear that various operations performed for communication with a terminal can be performed by the base station and at least one other network node (for example, an MME or S-GW, but not limited to these). Although the above example illustrates the case where there is one other network node besides the base station, it may also be a combination of multiple other network nodes (for example, an MME and an S-GW).

[0087] Information and signals (such as data) can be output from a higher layer (or lower layer) to a lower layer (or higher layer). Input and output may occur via multiple network nodes.

[0088] Input and output information may be stored in a specific location (e.g., memory) or managed using a management table. Input and output information may be overwritten, updated, or appended to. Output information may be deleted. Input information may be transmitted to other devices.

[0089] The determination may be made by a value represented by one bit (0 or 1), by a boolean value (true or false), or by a numerical comparison (for example, a comparison with a predetermined value).

[0090] Each aspect / embodiment described in this disclosure may be used individually, in combination, or switched between as needed during implementation. Furthermore, notification of specific information (e.g., notification that "X is") is not limited to explicit notification, but may also be implicit (e.g., by not providing such notification).

[0091] Software should be broadly interpreted to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, execution threads, procedures, functions, and so on, whether they are called software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description languages, or by any other name.

[0092] Furthermore, software, instructions, information, etc., may be transmitted and received via a transmission medium. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using at least one of wired technology (such as coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, or digital subscriber line (DSL)) and wireless technology (such as infrared or microwave), then at least one of these wired and wireless technologies is included in the definition of a transmission medium.

[0093] The information, signals, etc. described in this disclosure may be represented using any of the various different technologies. For example, the data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, chips, etc. that may be referred to throughout the above description may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or photons, or any combination thereof.

[0094] In addition, terms used in this disclosure and terms necessary for understanding this disclosure may be replaced with terms having the same or similar meanings. For example, at least one of the channel and symbol may be a signal (signaling). Also, a signal may be a message. Furthermore, a component carrier (CC) may be called a carrier frequency, cell, frequency carrier, etc.

[0095] The terms “system” and “network” as used in this disclosure are interchangeable.

[0096] Furthermore, the information, parameters, etc., described in this disclosure may be expressed using absolute values, relative values ​​from a given value, or corresponding other information. For example, wireless resources may be indicated by an index.

[0097] The names used for the parameters described above are not restrictive in any way. Furthermore, the formulas and other expressions using these parameters may differ from those expressly disclosed in this disclosure. Various channels (e.g., PUCCH, PDCCH, etc.) and information elements can be identified by any suitable name, and therefore, the various names assigned to these various channels and information elements are not restrictive in any way.

[0098] In this disclosure, terms such as "Base Station (BS)", "wireless base station", "fixed station", "NodeB", "eNodeB (eNB)", "gNodeB (gNB)", "access point", "transmission point", "reception point", "transmission / reception point", "cell", "sector", "cell group", "carrier", and "component carrier" may be used interchangeably. Base stations may also be referred to by terms such as macrocell, small cell, femtocell, and picocell.

[0099] A base station can house one or more (e.g., three) cells (also called sectors). If a base station houses multiple cells, the entire coverage area of ​​the base station can be divided into multiple smaller areas, each of which may be provided with communication services by a base station subsystem (e.g., a Remote Radio Head, RRH). The terms "cell" or "sector" refer to part or all of the coverage area of ​​at least one of the base station and / or base station subsystems providing communication services in that coverage.

[0100] In this disclosure, the transmission of information by a base station to a terminal may be interpreted as the base station instructing the terminal to perform control or operation based on the information.

[0101] In this disclosure, terms such as “terminal,” “user terminal,” “Mobile Station (MS),” and “User Equipment (UE)” may be used interchangeably.

[0102] A mobile station may also be referred to by those skilled in the art as a subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, wireless unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscriber station, access terminal, mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, handset, user agent, mobile client, client, or several other appropriate terms.

[0103] At least one of the base station and the mobile station may be called a transmitting device, a receiving device, a communication device, etc. At least one of the base station and the mobile station may also be a device mounted on a mobile body, the mobile body itself, etc. The mobile body refers to a movable object, and its speed of movement is arbitrary. This also includes the case when the mobile body is stationary. The mobile body includes, but is not limited to, vehicles, transport vehicles, automobiles, motorcycles, bicycles, connected cars, excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders, dump trucks, forklifts, trains, buses, handcarts, rickshaws, ships and other watercraft, airplanes, rockets, satellites, drones (registered trademark), multicopters, quadcopters, balloons, and items mounted on them. The mobile body may also be a mobile body that moves autonomously based on operation commands. It may be a vehicle (e.g., a car, an airplane, etc.), an unmanned mobile body (e.g., a drone, an autonomous vehicle, etc.), or a robot (manned or unmanned). Furthermore, at least one of the base station and the mobile station may include devices that do not necessarily move during communication operations. For example, at least one of the base station and the mobile station may be an Internet of Things (IoT) device such as a sensor.

[0104] Furthermore, the term "base station" in this disclosure may be interpreted as "terminal." For example, the various aspects / embodiments of this disclosure may be applied to a configuration in which communication between a base station and a terminal is replaced with communication between multiple terminals (which may be called, for example, Device-to-Device (D2D), Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X), etc.). In this case, the terminal 200 may have the functions that the base station 100 has. Also, terms such as "uplink" and "downlink" may be interpreted as terms corresponding to terminal-to-terminal communication (for example, "side"). For example, uplink channel, downlink channel, etc., may be interpreted as side channel.

[0105] Similarly, the term "terminal" in this disclosure may be replaced with "base station." In this case, the base station 100 may be configured to have the same functions as the terminal 200 described above.

[0106] Figure 15 shows an example of the configuration of vehicle 2001. As shown in Figure 15, vehicle 2001 includes a drive unit 2002, a steering unit 2003, an accelerator pedal 2004, a brake pedal 2005, a shift lever 2006, left and right front wheels 2007, left and right rear wheels 2008, an axle 2009, an electronic control unit 2010, various sensors 2021 to 2029, an information service unit 2012, and a communication module 2013.

[0107] The drive unit 2002 is composed of, for example, an engine, a motor, or a hybrid of an engine and a motor.

[0108] The steering unit 2003 includes at least a steering wheel (also called a handle) and is configured to steer at least one of the front wheels and the rear wheels based on the operation of the steering wheel, which is operated by the user.

[0109] The electronic control unit 2010 consists of a microprocessor 2031, memory (ROM, RAM) 2032, and communication ports (IO ports) 2033. Signals from various sensors 2021 to 2027 installed in the vehicle are input to the electronic control unit 2010. The electronic control unit 2010 may also be called an Electronic Control Unit (ECU).

[0110] Signals from various sensors 2021 to 2029 include current signals from the current sensor 2021 that senses motor current, front and rear wheel rotation speed signals obtained by the rotation speed sensor 2022, front and rear wheel air pressure signals obtained by the air pressure sensor 2023, vehicle speed signals obtained by the vehicle speed sensor 2024, acceleration signals obtained by the acceleration sensor 2025, accelerator pedal depression signals obtained by the accelerator pedal sensor 2029, brake pedal depression signals obtained by the brake pedal sensor 2026, shift lever operation signals obtained by the shift lever sensor 2027, and detection signals obtained by the object detection sensor 2028 for detecting obstacles, vehicles, pedestrians, etc.

[0111] The Information Services Unit 2012 consists of various devices for providing (outputting) various types of information such as driving information, traffic information, and entertainment information, including car navigation systems, audio systems, speakers, televisions, and radios, and one or more ECUs that control these devices. The Information Services Unit 2012 uses information acquired from external devices via communication modules 2013, etc., to provide various multimedia information and multimedia services to the occupants of the vehicle 2001.

[0112] The Information Services Unit 2012 may include input devices that accept input from external sources (e.g., keyboards, mice, microphones, switches, buttons, sensors, touch panels, etc.) and output devices that output to external sources (e.g., displays, speakers, LED lamps, touch panels, etc.).

[0113] The driver assistance system unit 2030 consists of various devices that provide functions to prevent accidents or reduce the driver's workload, such as millimeter-wave radar, Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), cameras, positioning locators (e.g., GNSS), map information (e.g., high-definition (HD) maps, autonomous vehicle (AV) maps), gyro systems (e.g., Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), Inertial Navigation System (INS)), Artificial Intelligence (AI) chips, and AI processors, as well as one or more ECUs that control these devices. The driver assistance system unit 2030 also sends and receives various information via the communication module 2013 to realize driver assistance functions or autonomous driving functions.

[0114] The communication module 2013 can communicate with the microprocessor 2031 and components of the vehicle 2001 via its communication port. For example, the communication module 2013 sends and receives data via the communication port 2033 between the drive unit 2002, steering unit 2003, accelerator pedal 2004, brake pedal 2005, shift lever 2006, left and right front wheels 2007, left and right rear wheels 2008, axle 2009, the microprocessor 2031 and memory (ROM, RAM) 2032 in the electronic control unit 2010, and sensors 2021 to 2029 provided in the vehicle 2001.

[0115] The communication module 2013 is a communication device that can be controlled by the microprocessor 2031 of the electronic control unit 2010 and can communicate with external devices. For example, it can send and receive various types of information to and from external devices via wireless communication. The communication module 2013 may be located either inside or outside the electronic control unit 2010. The external device may be, for example, a base station or a mobile station.

[0116] The communication module 2013 may transmit at least one of the following to an external device via wireless communication: signals from the various sensors 2021 to 2029 input to the electronic control unit 2010, information obtained based on said signals, and information based on input from an external source (user) obtained via the information service unit 2012. The electronic control unit 2010, the various sensors 2021 to 2029, the information service unit 2012, etc., may also be called input units that accept input. For example, the PUSCH transmitted by the communication module 2013 may include information based on the above input.

[0117] The communication module 2013 receives various information (traffic information, signal information, vehicle-to-vehicle information, etc.) transmitted from external devices and displays it on the information service unit 2012 installed in the vehicle. The information service unit 2012 may also be called an output unit, which outputs information (for example, it outputs information to devices such as displays and speakers based on the PDSCH (or data / information decoded from the PDSCH) received by the communication module 2013).

[0118] Furthermore, the communication module 2013 stores various information received from external devices in memory 2032, which is available to the microprocessor 2031. Based on the information stored in memory 2032, the microprocessor 2031 may control the drive unit 2002, steering unit 2003, accelerator pedal 2004, brake pedal 2005, shift lever 2006, left and right front wheels 2007, left and right rear wheels 2008, axles 2009, sensors 2021 to 2029, etc., which are provided in the vehicle 2001.

[0119] As used in this disclosure, the terms “determining” and “determining” may encompass a wide variety of actions. “Determining” may include, for example, judging, calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up, searching, or inquiring (e.g., searching in a table, database, or other data structure), or ascertaining. “Determining” may also include receiving (e.g., receiving information), transmitting (e.g., sending information), inputting, outputting, or accessing (e.g., accessing data in memory). Furthermore, “determining” may include resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, or comparing. In other words, "judgment" and "decision" can include considering that some action has been "judged" or "decided." Also, "judgment (decision)" can be reinterpreted as "assuming," "expecting," or "considering."

[0120] The terms “connected,” “coupled,” and any variations thereof mean any direct or indirect connection or coupling between two or more elements, and may include the presence of one or more intermediate elements between two elements that are “connected” or “coupled” with each other. The coupling or connection between elements may be physical, logical, or a combination thereof. For example, “connection” may be reinterpreted as “access.” As used in this disclosure, two elements may be considered to be “connected” or “coupled” with each other using at least one of one or more wires, cables, and printed electrical connections, and, in some non-limiting and non-exclusive examples, electromagnetic energy having wavelengths in the radio frequency domain, microwave domain, and optical (both visible and invisible) domain.

[0121] The reference signal may also be abbreviated as RS, and may be called Pilot depending on the applicable standard.

[0122] In this disclosure, the phrase "based on" does not mean "based solely on" unless otherwise specified. In other words, the phrase "based on" means both "based solely on" and "based at least on."

[0123] Any reference to elements using the designations “first,” “second,” etc., as used in this disclosure does not generally limit the quantity or order of those elements. These designations may be used in this disclosure as a convenient way to distinguish between two or more elements. Accordingly, references to the first and second elements do not imply that only two elements may be employed, or that the first element must precede the second element in any way.

[0124] In the configuration of each of the above devices, "means" may be replaced with "part," "circuit," "device," etc.

[0125] Where the terms “include,” “including,” and variations thereof are used in this disclosure, these terms are intended to be inclusive, as is the term “comprising.” Furthermore, the term “or” as used in this disclosure is not intended to mean exclusive OR.

[0126] A wireless frame may consist of one or more frames in the time domain. Each of these frames in the time domain may be called a subframe. A subframe may further consist of one or more slots in the time domain. A subframe may have a fixed time length (e.g., 1 ms) that is independent of numerology.

[0127] Numerology may be communication parameters applied to at least one of the transmission and reception of a signal or channel. Numerology may include, for example, at least one of the following: subcarrier spacing (SCS), bandwidth, symbol length, cyclic prefix length, transmission time interval (TTI), number of symbols per TTI, radio frame configuration, specific filtering processes performed by the transceiver in the frequency domain, and specific windowing processes performed by the transceiver in the time domain.

[0128] A slot may consist of one or more symbols in the time domain (such as Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols or Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) symbols). A slot may also be a time unit based on neurology.

[0129] A slot may include multiple mini-slots. Each mini-slot may consist of one or more symbols in the time domain. Mini-slots may also be called sub-slots. Mini-slots may consist of fewer symbols than a slot. A PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmitted in a time unit larger than a mini-slot may be called a PDSCH (or PUSCH) mapping type A. A PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmitted using a mini-slot may be called a PDSCH (or PUSCH) mapping type B.

[0130] Wireless frames, subframes, slots, minislots, and symbols all represent units of time when transmitting a signal. Different names may be used for each of these terms.

[0131] For example, one subframe may be called a transmission time interval (TTI), multiple consecutive subframes may be called a TTI, or one slot or one minislot may be called a TTI. In other words, at least one of a subframe and a TTI may be a subframe (1 ms) in existing LTE, a period shorter than 1 ms (e.g., 1 to 13 symbols), or a period longer than 1 ms. Note that the unit representing the TTI may be called a slot, minislot, etc., instead of a subframe.

[0132] Here, TTI refers to, for example, the smallest unit of time for scheduling in wireless communication. For example, in an LTE system, the base station schedules each terminal to allocate radio resources (such as the frequency bandwidth and transmission power available to each terminal) in TTI units. However, the definition of TTI is not limited to this.

[0133] TTI may be a transmission time unit for channel-encoded data packets (transport blocks), code blocks, code words, etc., or it may be a processing unit for scheduling, link adaptation, etc. Note that when a TTI is given, the actual time interval (e.g., number of symbols) in which the transport block, code block, code word, etc. are mapped may be shorter than the given TTI.

[0134] Furthermore, if one slot or one mini-slot is referred to as TTI, then one or more TTIs (i.e., one or more slots or one or more mini-slots) may constitute the minimum time unit of scheduling. In addition, the number of slots (number of mini-slots) that constitute the minimum time unit of scheduling may be controlled.

[0135] A TTI with a time length of 1 ms may also be called a normal TTI (TTI in LTE Rel. 8-12), a long TTI, a normal subframe, a long subframe, or a slot. A TTI shorter than a normal TTI may also be called a shortened TTI, a short TTI, a partial or fractional TTI, a shortened subframe, a short subframe, a mini slot, a subslot, or a slot.

[0136] Furthermore, long TTIs (e.g., normal TTIs, subframes, etc.) may be interpreted as TTIs with a time length exceeding 1 ms, and short TTIs (e.g., shortened TTIs, etc.) may be interpreted as TTIs with a TTI length less than that of a long TTI but 1 ms or more.

[0137] A resource block (RB) is a resource allocation unit in the time domain and frequency domain, and in the frequency domain, it may contain one or more consecutive subcarriers. The number of subcarriers in an RB may be the same regardless of the neurology, for example, 12. The number of subcarriers in an RB may be determined based on the neurology.

[0138] Furthermore, the time domain of RB may contain one or more symbols and may be the length of one slot, one minislot, one subframe, or one TTI. One TTI, one subframe, etc., may each consist of one or more resource blocks.

[0139] One or more RBs may also be called Physical RBs (PRBs), Sub-Carrier Groups (SCGs), Resource Element Groups (REGs), PRB pairs, RB pairs, etc.

[0140] Furthermore, a resource block may consist of one or more resource elements (REs). For example, one RE may be a radio resource area of ​​one subcarrier and one symbol. A bandwidth part (BWP) (also called a partial bandwidth, etc.) may represent a subset of consecutive common resource blocks (RBs) for a given neurology in a given carrier. Here, the common RBs may be identified by an index of the RBs relative to the common reference point of the carrier. PRBs may be defined in a BWP and numbered within that BWP.

[0141] A BWP may include BWPs for UL (UL BWP) and BWPs for DL ​​(DL BWP). One or more BWPs may be configured within a single carrier for a UE.

[0142] At least one of the configured BWPs may be active, and the UE does not need to assume that it will send or receive a given signal / channel outside of the active BWP. In this disclosure, terms such as "cell" and "carrier" may be read as "BWP".

[0143] The structures described above, such as wireless frames, subframes, slots, minislots, and symbols, are merely illustrative. For example, the number of subframes included in a wireless frame, the number of slots per subframe or wireless frame, the number of minislots included in a slot, the number of symbols and RBs included in a slot or minislot, the number of subcarriers included in an RB, and the number of symbols, symbol length, and cyclic prefix (CP) length within a TTI can be varied in various ways.

[0144] The term "maximum transmit power" as used in this disclosure may mean the maximum transmit power, the nominal UE maximum transmit power, or the rated UE maximum transmit power.

[0145] In this disclosure, if articles are added through translation, such as a, an, and the in English, this disclosure may include the fact that the noun following these articles is plural.

[0146] In this disclosure, the term "A and B are different" may mean "A and B are different from each other." The term may also mean "A and B are each different from C." Terms such as "separate" and "combine" may be interpreted similarly to "different."

[0147] Although the present disclosure has been described in detail above, it will be clear to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described herein. The present disclosure can be implemented in modified and altered forms without departing from the intent and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the claims. Therefore, the descriptions in the present disclosure are illustrative and not intended to be restrictive in any way.

[0148] (Note) The disclosure described above may also be expressed as follows:

[0149] The first feature is that the network device may include a control unit that generates information used for paging for inactive terminals, and a transmission unit that transmits the information to a base station that performs the paging for the terminals.

[0150] The second feature is that, in the first feature, the information may be a network device that includes the identifier of the terminal used for paging.

[0151] A third feature is that, in the first or second feature, the information may include a network device that includes a parameter indicating the paging period.

[0152] A fourth feature is that, in any of the first to third features, the network device may include a parameter that indicates a second paging area with finer granularity than a first paging area used for paging for the standby terminal.

[0153] A fifth feature is that, in the fourth feature, the network device includes a receiving unit that receives location information or movement information of the terminal from the base station, and the control unit updates the second paging area based on the location information or movement information.

[0154] A sixth feature may be a network control method that generates information to be used for paging for an inactive terminal and transmits the information to a base station that performs the paging on the terminal.

[0155] This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2025-026756, filed on February 21, 2025. All of its contents are included herein.

[0156] 10 Wireless communication system 20 RAN 30 CN 100 Base station 110 Transceiver unit 120 Control unit 200 Terminal 210 Wireless signal transceiver unit 220 Control unit 300 AMF (Network device) 310 Transceiver unit 320 Control unit 400 NWDAF 1001 Processor 1002 Memory 1003 Storage 1004 Communication device 1005 Input device 1006 Output device 1007 Bus 2001 Vehicle 2002 Drive unit 2003 Steering unit 2004 Accelerator pedal 2005 Brake pedal 2006 Shift lever 2007 Left and right front wheels 2008 Left and right rear wheels 2009 Axle 2010 Electronic control unit 2012 Information service unit 2013 Communication module 2021 Current sensor 2022 Rotation speed sensor 2023 Air pressure sensor 2024 Vehicle speed sensor 2025 Acceleration sensor 2026 Brake pedal sensor 2027 Shift lever sensor 2028 Object detection sensor 2029 Accelerator pedal sensor 2030 Driver assistance system unit 2031 Microprocessor 2032 Memory (ROM, RAM) 2033 Communication port (I / O port)

Claims

1. A network device comprising: a control unit that generates information to be used for paging for inactive terminals; and a transmission unit that transmits the information to a base station that performs the paging for the terminals.

2. The network device according to claim 1, wherein the information includes an identifier of the terminal used for paging.

3. The network device according to claim 1, wherein the information includes a parameter indicating the paging period.

4. The network device according to claim 1, wherein the information includes a parameter indicating a second paging area that is finer in granularity than a first paging area used for paging for the standby terminal.

5. The network device according to claim 4, comprising a receiving unit that receives location information of the terminal or movement information of the terminal from the base station, wherein the control unit updates the second paging area based on the location information or movement information.

6. A network control method that generates information to be used for paging to an inactive terminal, and transmits the information to a base station that performs the paging to the terminal.

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