APN Routing Mapping for Home or Local Breakout Selection
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
User equipment (UE) in telecommunications networks cannot reliably determine whether connecting using a specific Access Point Name (APN) would result in a home routed or Local Breakout (LBO) routed connection, limiting its ability to choose optimal routing for service compatibility and charging purposes.
Innovation Solution
The method involves providing a mapping between APNs and their associated routing types (home routing or LBO routing) to the UE by the Mobility Management Entity (MME), allowing the UE to make informed connection decisions based on this information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If the UE attempts to determine routing type by looking up IP address associated with APN, then routing information may be obtained, but a large amount of extra signalling is required
Solution Approach 1:
The MME pre-provides routing type information mapping to APNs to the UE before the UE needs to make connection decisions. This eliminates the need for the UE to perform IP address lookups and extra signalling exchanges, as the routing information is already available in advance through the provided mapping.
Solution Approach 2:
The MME acts as an intermediary that provides the routing type mapping information to the UE. Instead of the UE directly performing complex IP address lookups and signalling exchanges with multiple network elements, the MME mediates by providing pre-computed routing information that simplifies the UE's decision-making process.
2Productivity
If the UE connects without knowing the routing type, then connection can be established quickly, but the UE cannot make informed decisions about service compatibility and charging optimization
Solution Approach 1:
The routing type mapping information is provided to the UE in advance, before the UE needs to make connection decisions. This allows the UE to quickly establish connections while already having the necessary routing information to make informed decisions about service compatibility and charging optimization.
Solution Approach 2:
The solution provides routing information specifically tailored to each APN that the UE may use. Instead of providing generic routing information, the MME provides a mapping that is locally optimized for each specific APN, allowing the UE to make precise routing decisions appropriate to each connection scenario.
Data Source
AI summary
It is desirable for a user equipment (UE) 100 to be able to determine if connecting using an access point name (APN) would result in a home routed or local breakout (LBO) routed connection. With this information, the UE can decide which APNs to use for packet data network (PDN) connections e.g. to ensure that the bearers on the PDN connection are able to carry certain services which are incompatible with home routing or LBO routing, or to ensure that charging is carried out by the home or visited network, as desired (e.g. to avoid roaming fees). Alternatively, the user can be presented with the option of home routing or LBO routing for a connection. In order to provide this information to the UE, modified signalling is proposed, among others, by means of a method of operating a mobility management entity (MME) 200 in a mobile telecommunications network. The MME provides, S103, to a UE a mapping between an APN that has been or may be used by the UE to establish a connection to a PGN gateway and a routing type associated with the connection. The routing type is one of home routing and local breakout, LBO, routing. The UE is roaming in a geographical area controlled by the MME.