Cell-Level Network Slice Selection with Preferred Frequency Bands
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current wireless networks lack a direct nexus between network slice availability and cell, sector, sub-sector, carrier frequency, and frequency band, leading to suboptimal performance metrics for application services.
Innovation Solution
Implement a frequency and network slice selection service that provides preferred frequency/band information to end devices, manages idle and connected mode slice selection, and handles handovers due to mobility, optimizing network slice and frequency pairings for improved performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If network slice availability is not directly linked to cell, sector, sub-sector, carrier frequency, and frequency band, then network deployment is simpler, but application service performance metrics become suboptimal
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the network by creating direct associations between network slices and specific cells, sectors, sub-sectors, carrier frequencies, and frequency bands. This segmentation allows different parts of the network to be optimized independently for specific application services, thereby improving performance metrics while maintaining manageable complexity through structured organization.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by enabling different network slice configurations at different cell, sector, sub-sector, frequency, and band levels. Each local network element can be customized with appropriate slice availability based on local service requirements, improving application service performance while allowing flexible deployment without uniform complexity across the entire network.
2Reliability
If preferred frequency/band information is not provided to end devices, then network management is simpler, but idle and connected mode slice selection becomes suboptimal
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-determining and providing preferred frequency/band information to end devices before actual network access. This allows devices to perform more accurate idle and connected mode slice selection by having advance knowledge of suitable frequency/band associations for desired network slices, improving selection accuracy without requiring complex real-time decision-making mechanisms.
3Reliability
If handovers are not managed during mobility, then network operations are simpler, but network slice and frequency pairing optimization is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies feedback by implementing handover management mechanisms that monitor and optimize network slice and frequency pairings during device mobility. The system provides feedback about optimal frequency/band associations for network slices during handover decisions, ensuring that optimization is maintained dynamically as devices move through different network areas, thereby preserving performance optimization while managing mobility complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A method, a device, and a non-transitory storage medium are described in which a frequency and network slice selection service is provided. The service may configure network slices at a cell level which may include carrier frequencies or bands that may be ranked in terms of preference for a network slice. The service may provide frequency/band-network slice information to end devices via system information block and radio resource control messages. End devices may perform a cell search procedure and use other criteria to select and establish a network slice connection via a frequency/band of a network slice and in accordance with the service.