Application-Level Policy Rules for Uniform QoS and Charging

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current 3GPP standards lack a mechanism to apply Quality of Service (QoS) and charging treatment on a per application basis for user sessions, particularly for applications like social media with a large number of subscribers, limiting content providers' ability to ensure consistent service levels and charging structures.

Innovation Solution

Implementing application rules in the Policy Control Function (PCF) that identify applications by AF-ID and App-ID, allowing service requirements to be applied to all existing and future user sessions, with higher precedence over per-session rules, and instructing the Session Management Function (SMF) to enforce these rules through new APIs.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If per-session policy rules are used to control QoS and charging, then individual user sessions can be managed flexibly, but content providers cannot apply uniform service levels across all users of the same application

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveflexibility in per-session QoS controlVSAvoidcomplexity of policy management

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments policy rules into two distinct types: application-level rules (applied to all sessions of a specific application) and session-level rules (applied to individual user sessions). This segmentation allows content providers to define uniform service levels for applications while maintaining the ability to override with session-specific policies when needed, resolving the contradiction between uniform application control and flexible per-session management.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces application-level rules that are established in advance before individual user sessions are created. These pre-defined application rules serve as default policies that automatically apply to all sessions of a specific application, eliminating the need to configure each session individually and reducing overall policy management complexity while maintaining flexibility.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Reliability

If per-session PCC rules are applied to all user sessions, then individual user needs can be met, but signaling overhead increases significantly for applications with many subscribers

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveaccuracy of per-user service deliveryVSAvoidsignaling overhead

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges the policy control for multiple individual user sessions into a single application-level rule. Instead of sending separate policy rules to the SMF for each user session, the system sends one application-level rule that covers all sessions of a specific application, dramatically reducing signaling overhead while maintaining reliable service delivery through the hierarchy that allows session-level overrides when needed.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

3Adaptability or versatility

If application-level rules are introduced with higher precedence, then content providers can enforce uniform charging and QoS, but existing per-session rule configurations may be overridden

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveability to apply uniform application policiesVSAvoidsimplicity of policy configuration

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a dynamic precedence mechanism where application-level rules have higher precedence than session-level rules by default, but the session-level rules can override application-level rules when needed. This dynamic hierarchy allows content providers to enforce uniform application policies easily while maintaining operational flexibility, as the system automatically adjusts which rule applies based on the policy type and configuration.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentUS20250330541A1Methods of and devices for implementing and executing policy rules on a per application basis in a telecommunications system

Publication Date: 2025.10.23 TELEFONAKTIEBOLAGET LM ERICSSON (PUBL)

AI summary

Implementation of an application rule for an application to be accessed by a User Equipment, UE, in a user session in a Service Based Architecture, SBA, domain in a core network of a telecommunications system is disclosed. The SBA, among others, comprises a Policy Control Function, PCF (6), an Application Function, AF (5), and a Session Management Function, SMF (9). The method comprising the steps of receiving, by the PCF (6), an application rule comprising an AF Identifier, AF-ID, identifying the application rule, an Application Identifier, App-ID, identifying the application, and at least one service requirement for processing the application in the SBA domain. The PCF (6) instructing the SMF (9) to execute the at least one service requirement to all present and future user sessions pertaining to the respective application. Complementary methods of supporting the execution of the application rule and devices are also presented.