Inter-PCRF Policy Coordination for Emergency Priority in Shared Networks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing communication network sharing protocols fail to provide prioritization of emergency responders' and public safety entities' communications in congested networks during disasters or emergencies, leading to difficulties in vital communication.
Innovation Solution
Extension of inter-PCRF communications to implement global prioritization by using a reserved session identifier in DIAMETER protocol messages, allowing overriding QoS rules to be applied to multiple sessions, ensuring higher priority for emergency responders' communications over other operators' subscribers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If network operators share radio spectrum resources and radio infrastructure, then resource utilization efficiency is improved, but communication priority for emergency responders deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-configures emergency responder priority rights in the policy repository before emergencies occur. When an emergency situation arises, the source PCRF retrieves these pre-configured priority policies and transmits them to target PCRFs, enabling immediate priority handling without waiting for emergency declaration. This preliminary configuration ensures that emergency communications can override normal shared network operations from the moment priority is needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces PCRF (Policy and Charging Rules Function) entities as intermediaries between network operators and the shared RAN. The source PCRF acts as a mediator that receives emergency priority requests, formulates appropriate QoS policies, and communicates these to target PCRFs across different network operators. This intermediary mechanism enables coordinated priority handling across multiple operators without requiring direct modification of the shared RAN infrastructure.
2Device complexity
If existing communication protocols are used without extension, then system complexity is reduced, but ability to provide global prioritization deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extends existing DIAMETER protocol messages (such as RAR - Re-Authentication Request) to carry both traditional authentication functions and new emergency priority policy transmission functions. By making these protocol messages multi-functional, the system can provide global prioritization across multiple network operators without introducing entirely new protocol structures, thus maintaining relative system simplicity while gaining enhanced adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameters and content of existing DIAMETER protocol messages to include emergency priority indicators and QoS policy information. Rather than creating new message types, the patent modifies existing messages to carry additional priority-related parameters, allowing the system to achieve global prioritization capability while minimizing increases in system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
Described herein are systems and techniques that can coordinate priority communications for the users of one telecommunications network relative to the users of other such networks. This may be useful in emergency situations where one of the networks comprises a public services entity, which may from time to time demand priority communications in order to efficiently respond to urgent situations.