Consent Preference Transfer in Network Handover for Location Reporting
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Solution Overview
Problem
In non-terrestrial networks, determining user consent for terminal location information reporting is challenging due to large coverage areas and privacy concerns, making it difficult for base stations to accurately obtain and manage user consent preferences during handovers between service networks.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus for transmitting and determining user consent preferences across service networks, involving core networks and base stations, to ensure that user consent preferences are accurately transferred and utilized to configure terminals appropriately regarding location information reporting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the terminal reports location information to the base station, then the base station can obtain location information for network management, but the terminal's privacy is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by obtaining user consent preference before location information reporting. The base station first acquires the terminal's consent preference information, then determines whether to request location information based on this pre-obtained consent. This ensures that location information is only collected when the user has previously agreed, thus protecting privacy while enabling necessary network management functions.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the base station determines user consent preference in real-time, then privacy protection is enhanced, but network management efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves this contradiction by performing the consent preference determination in advance during handover procedures. When a terminal hands over from a source base station to a target base station, the source base station determines the user consent preference and includes it in the handover request message sent to the target base station. This preliminary determination avoids repeated real-time consent checks during normal operations, thereby protecting privacy while maintaining network management efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses the handover process as an intermediary mechanism to transfer user consent preference information between base stations. During handover, the source base station acts as an intermediary that collects the terminal's consent preference and conveys it to the target base station through the core network. This intermediary approach allows consent information to be efficiently transmitted without requiring direct real-time communication between the terminal and each base station, thus balancing privacy protection with operational efficiency.
3Reliability
If user consent preference is transmitted during handover, then consent information is preserved across networks, but signaling overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the taking out principle by extracting only the essential user consent preference information from the terminal and including it in the handover request message. Instead of transferring all terminal data or repeatedly verifying consent, the system extracts and transmits only the specific consent preference parameter needed for location information management. This selective extraction maintains consent information continuity across network handovers while minimizing signaling overhead.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and methods for managing user consent preferences during terminal handovers between service networks are disclosed. A first core network in a first service network determines to hand over a terminal to a second service network, transmitting the terminal's user consent preference, which indicates whether the terminal consents to report location information. The user consent preference may be generic across locations or determined through other means if not received, including retrieval from a unified data management function (UDM) of the terminal's home network. The second core network processes and stores the consent preference and communicates it to the second base station as part of the handover process. The second base station configures the terminal for location reporting based on the user consent preference and communicates with the terminal accordingly. Communication devices implementing these methods enable seamless and compliant handover operations while respecting user privacy preference.