Drone Subscription Configuration for Cellular Authentication
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing technologies lack comprehensive solutions for authenticating and managing subscription information of aerial vehicles (drones) in cellular networks, particularly in the SA2 domain, which is crucial for ensuring proper connectivity and interference management.
Innovation Solution
A method and core network architecture for subscription information configuration, including AS identity, UE identity, mobility restrictions, and air-borne assistance information, which are exchanged between the aerial server, SCEF, and HSS to manage drone connectivity and interference.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If drone UEs are connected to cellular networks for various commercial use cases, then connectivity and network coverage are improved, but interference management and authentication complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an aerial server as an intermediary component between drone UEs and the cellular network infrastructure. This server acts as a dedicated mediator that handles authentication, subscription information management, and interference coordination specifically for aerial vehicles, thereby improving connectivity while containing complexity in a specialized component rather than the entire network system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the network architecture by introducing a dedicated aerial server that handles drone-specific functions separately from the general cellular network infrastructure. This segmentation allows standard network elements to remain simple while providing enhanced capabilities for drone connectivity through the specialized server component.
2Reliability
If subscription information configuration is implemented for drone UEs, then authentication effectiveness is improved, but signaling overhead and network complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-configuring subscription information in the HSS database before drone UEs attempt to connect to the network. This advance preparation ensures that authentication can proceed efficiently during actual connection attempts without requiring extensive real-time signaling or information exchange, thereby reducing signaling overhead while maintaining reliable authentication.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If mobility restrictions and air-borne assistance information are configured, then interference management is improved, but device complexity and configuration overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The aerial server serves as an intermediary that centrally manages mobility restrictions and air-borne assistance information configuration. By concentrating configuration management in this dedicated server rather than distributing complexity across multiple network elements, the system achieves effective interference management while containing overall configuration complexity in a single manageable component.
Data Source
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AI summary
Methods and system are disclosed for subscription information configuration (200). A method comprises transmitting a subscription information configuration message from an external server to an authenticate apparatus, wherein the subscription information configuration message includes assistance information that configures parameters of a base unit for a mobile unit; authenticating, at the authenticate apparatus, the subscription information configuration message, and in response to a success of the authentication, sending the subscription information configuration message to a subscriber server; and storing, at the subscriber server, the subscription information configuration message.