UE Data Collection for NWDAF Analytics via User Plane
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current network data analytics in cellular systems primarily focus within the network domain, excluding User Equipments (UEs) from data analytics processes, despite potential benefits for optimizing user plane communications.
Innovation Solution
Enabling direct or indirect communication between UEs and User Plane Functions (UPFs) with the Network Data Analytics Function (NWDAF), allowing UEs to request data collection and analytics, and incorporating mechanisms for user consent and data anonymization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If UEs are excluded from network data analytics processes, then network domain focus is maintained and system complexity is reduced, but user plane communication optimization opportunities are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces the NWDAF (Network Data Analytics Function) as an intermediary component that bridges UEs and the core network. The NWDAF collects data from UEs, performs analytics processing, and provides optimization recommendations to the network, thereby enabling UE involvement in analytics without directly complicating the core network architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the analytics functionality into separate modular components: UE data collection module, NWDAF analytics processing module, and network optimization module. This segmentation allows each component to be independently managed and optimized, reducing overall system complexity while enabling specialized user plane optimizations.
2Measurement precision
If UE data is collected for analytics, then analytics precision is improved, but user privacy concerns increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts personally identifiable information (PII) from raw UE data before analytics processing. The NWDAF performs data anonymization and aggregation, separating useful analytics information from privacy-sensitive elements, thereby maintaining analytics precision while mitigating privacy concerns.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary user consent mechanisms and data anonymization procedures before analytics processing. User consent is obtained in advance, and data is anonymized prior to analysis, ensuring privacy protection is built into the analytics pipeline from the outset rather than added as an afterthought.
3Adaptability or versatility
If direct UE-NWDAF communication is implemented, then data collection capability is enhanced, but interface complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs the NWDAF interface to serve multiple functions: data collection from UEs, analytics processing, and network optimization recommendations. This multi-functional interface reduces the need for separate specialized interfaces, thereby enhancing data collection capability without proportionally increasing interface complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A user equipment “UE” may be configured with a client application for data collection, contact information pertaining to a network Application Function “AF,” and data collection information such as parameters, whereby the UE collects data that is specific to the UE and sends it to the AF over a user plane. The data collection parameters may include one or more of a type of data the UE should collect, data associated with one or more analytics IDs and application IDs, a data collection frequency, and a reporting frequency. The data collection information may include a processing requirement, an expiration time for the collected data, a timestamp of the data collection, and/or a correlation identifier that associates the collected data with the UE.