UE PLMN Selection During Disaster Network Outages
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Solution Overview
Problem
The 3GPP has not clarified methods for providing notifications to User Equipment (UE) about disaster conditions in Public Land Mobile Networks (PLMNs) and selecting alternative PLMNs, which are crucial for maintaining communication services during disasters.
Innovation Solution
The UE includes transmission and reception circuitry to receive a list of usable PLMNs during disaster conditions and performs PLMN selection through a registration or configuration update procedure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the UE receives a list of usable PLMNs through registration or configuration update procedures, then the UE can select alternative PLMNs during disaster conditions, but the standardization of notification methods and selection procedures was not clarified
Solution Approach 1:
The network pre-configures and provides the UE with a list of usable PLMNs that can be used during disaster conditions. This preliminary action ensures that when a disaster occurs, the UE already has the necessary information to quickly select an alternative PLMN without needing complex real-time decision-making procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The UE autonomously performs PLMN selection from the pre-provided list of usable PLMNs based on its own judgment and current network conditions. This self-service approach eliminates the need for complex centralized control and notification mechanisms, simplifying the overall system while maintaining reliability.
2Productivity
If the UE autonomously performs PLMN selection from the received list, then service continuity is maintained, but detailed methods for notification and recognition were not standardized
Solution Approach 1:
The network provides the complete list of usable PLMNs in advance through registration or configuration update procedures, ensuring that all necessary information is available before the disaster occurs. This eliminates information loss during critical moments and enables rapid service restoration.
Solution Approach 2:
The same configuration mechanism (registration or configuration update procedure) serves multiple purposes: it establishes the UE's identity in the network, updates the UE's configuration, and simultaneously provides the list of usable PLMNs for disaster roaming. This multi-functional approach ensures information completeness without requiring separate notification procedures.
Data Source
AI summary
A unit is provided through an application of a disaster condition to a PLMN in 5GS, the unit being for transmitting and/or receiving a notification in a case that a communication service cannot be provided to a UE and for selecting a roaming destination PLMN by the UE. Provided are a procedure to allow the UE to recognize a state of a certain PLMN and transmit and/or receive information for appropriately selecting a PLMN as a moving destination in a case that a disaster condition applies or no longer applies to the certain PLMN, a method of selecting a PLMN based on information received and stored by the UE through a notification from the PLMN or the like, and a communication unit.