NTN Emergency Call Routing Through Terrestrial PDN Gateways
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Solution Overview
Problem
Non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) face high infrastructure costs and inefficiencies in handling emergency calls due to the need to select and route to thousands of public safety answering points (PSAPs), which is not feasible with existing 3GPP standards.
Innovation Solution
NTNs delegate the responsibility of routing emergency calls to the user equipment's (UE) home network or a designated terrestrial network (TN), using the UE's location and identification to select a packet data network (PDN) gateway (GW) and then route the call to the appropriate PSAP, bypassing the need for NTNs to invest in their own PSAP infrastructure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the NTN handles routing of emergency calls to PSAPs directly, then compliance with 3GPP emergency call standards is achieved, but infrastructure costs and device complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the PSAP routing function from the NTN and relocates it to the TN. The NTN no longer needs to maintain PSAP routing infrastructure, instead it forwards emergency calls to the TN which then handles the complex PSAP selection and routing. This resolves the contradiction by removing the burden of complex infrastructure from the NTN while still ensuring emergency call compliance through the TN's handling.
Solution Approach 2:
The TN acts as an intermediary between the NTN and the PSAPs. The NTN forwards emergency calls to the TN, which then uses the UE's location information to select and route to the appropriate PSAP. This intermediary approach allows the NTN to comply with emergency call handling requirements without directly implementing complex PSAP routing infrastructure.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the NTN selects and routes to thousands of PSAPs, then complete emergency coverage is provided, but infrastructure investment and costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the expensive PSAP routing infrastructure requirement from the NTN. Instead of the NTN investing in infrastructure to handle thousands of PSAPs, the TN assumes this responsibility. The NTN only needs to forward calls to the TN, dramatically reducing infrastructure investment while maintaining complete emergency coverage through the TN's existing capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The TN serves multiple functions: it receives emergency calls from the NTN, determines UE location, selects the appropriate PSAP, and routes the call. This multi-functional approach allows a single network (the TN) to handle both the call routing and PSAP selection, eliminating the need for the NTN to invest in separate PSAP infrastructure while maintaining universal emergency coverage.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the NTN implements full emergency call routing capability, then service completeness is improved, but resource burden and operational complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex routing operation from the NTN and places it in the TN. The NTN's role is simplified to receiving emergency calls and forwarding them to the TN, while the TN handles the complex operations of location determination, PSAP selection, and call routing. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining service completeness while reducing operational complexity for the NTN.
Solution Approach 2:
The TN acts as an intermediary that handles the complex routing operations. It receives the emergency call from the NTN, determines the UE's location, selects the appropriate PSAP, and routes the call accordingly. This intermediary approach allows the NTN to provide complete emergency service without bearing the operational complexity of PSAP routing.
Data Source
AI summary
Solutions for routing an emergency call made through a non-terrestrial network (NTN) include: receiving, by an NTN, from a user equipment (UE), an emergency call; not selecting, by the NTN, a public safety answering point (PSAP) for routing the emergency call; selecting, by the NTN, a packet data network (PDN) gateway (GW) in a terrestrial network (TN) to which to route the emergency call; and routing the emergency call to the selected PDN GW. Solutions also include: receiving, by the TN, from the NTN, the emergency call placed by the UE that is using the NTN; determining, by the TN, a location of the UE; selecting, by the TN, a PSAP using the location of the UE; and routing the emergency call to the selected PSAP.