Private Cellular Network ID Segmentation to Prevent UE Lock-Out
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for resolving UE lock-out from private cellular networks due to mismatched network identifiers involve significant signaling and processing overhead, which are inefficient and cumbersome.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a method where the UE stores a Static IDentifier (SID) and first Network IDentifier (NID) for identifying the private network, allowing the UE to connect using a modified second NID that includes the SID and a Variable IDentifier (VID), enabling seamless attachment even when the NID changes, thereby reducing lock-out scenarios.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the network identifier (NID) is changed to update the private network identification, then the network can be reidentified with a new identifier, but the UE becomes locked out because the stored NID no longer matches the broadcast NID
Solution Approach 1:
The network identifier NID is segmented into two distinct parts: a static portion (first network identifier) that remains unchanged and a variable portion (second network identifier) that can be modified. This segmentation allows the network to update its identifier while maintaining a stable reference point for UEs, resolving the contradiction between identifier flexibility and connectivity reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The UE is pre-configured with both the static NID portion and the initial variable NID portion. When the network needs to update its identifier, only the variable portion changes while the static portion remains as a predetermined anchor, allowing the UE to maintain connectivity without requiring full reconfiguration.
2Reliability
If a RRC Reconfiguration message is sent to update the stored NID in the SIM, then the UE can be reconnected to the private network, but significant signaling overhead is required
Solution Approach 1:
The variable portion of the NID is extracted as a separate updateable element from the static portion. This allows the network to update only the necessary variable portion rather than transmitting the entire NID or requiring complex reconfiguration messages, significantly reducing signaling overhead while maintaining reconnection capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The UE is pre-configured with the static NID portion that serves as a permanent reference. When updates are needed, only the variable portion requires communication, leveraging the pre-established static reference to minimize the amount of signaling required for reconnection.
3Reliability
If the SIM is replaced with another SIM having the new NID, then the UE can connect to the updated network, but the process is cumbersome and requires user intervention
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the NID into static and variable portions stored in the UE, the system eliminates the need for physical SIM replacement. The static portion remains in the original SIM while the variable portion can be updated remotely, making the process as simple as a network parameter update rather than requiring user intervention for SIM replacement.
Solution Approach 2:
The static NID portion is copied and stored in the UE's memory alongside the variable portion. This creates a redundant reference that allows the UE to identify the network using the static copy even when the variable portion changes, eliminating the need to replace the physical SIM card.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method (300) of operating a cellular telecommunications system (100), said system comprising User Equipment (105), UE, and a cellular private network (110-2), and the method comprising the steps of: storing, at the UE and at the private network, a: Static IDentifier, SID; and first Network IDentifier, NID, for uniquely identifying the private network to the UE, wherein the first NID comprises the SID; by the private network: broadcasting the first NID; modifying the first NID into a second, different, NID for uniquely identifying the private network (350), wherein the second NID is unfamiliar to the UE for the purposes of permitting the UE to request a connection to the private network on the basis of the second NID, and in which the second NID comprises: the SID, wherein the SID remains unchanged as between the first and second NIDs; and a Variable IDentifier, VID, consisting of at least one character that is different to a corresponding portion of the first NID; and subsequently broadcasting the second NID instead of the first NID, thereby instead to identify the private network using the second NID; by the UE: detecting the broadcast second NID (360); determining, using the SID, that the detected second NID comprises the SID (330-2); and requesting, in response to determining that the broadcast second NID comprises the SID, attachment to the private network using the SID, despite the second NID being unfamiliar to the UE (330-1).