User Equipment Roaming Network Priority Adjustment

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Solution Overview

Problem

User equipment experiences significant delays in initially accessing a network from a roaming area due to lengthy registration processes, especially in regions with numerous operators, affecting user experience.

Innovation Solution

The user equipment utilizes historical roaming information to adjust network priorities, with successfully registered networks receiving higher priority and unsuccessfully registered networks receiving lower priority, thereby optimizing the registration process and reducing access time.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the UE follows the standard PLMN selection process (HPLMN --> UPLMN --> OPLMN --> OTHER Available PLMN) and attempts registration with each available network in descending order of priorities, then the UE can systematically select an appropriate network, but the registration delay becomes relatively large due to multiple rounds of signaling message exchange and repeated attempt requirements

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvenetwork registration reliabilityVSAvoidregistration delay
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies preliminary action by having the UE acquire and store historical roaming information (including lists of successfully and unsuccessfully registered networks) before the actual PLMN selection process. This pre-acquired information is then used to adjust the priority ordering of available networks, allowing the UE to skip networks that are likely to fail and prioritize those with higher success probability, thereby reducing registration delay while maintaining reliability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Adaptability or versatility

If the UE systematically attempts to register with multiple available networks in a roaming area with numerous operators (up to dozens of PLMN-RAT elements), then the UE can find a suitable network, but the available network list becomes long and the registration process becomes time-consuming

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveroaming network compatibilityVSAvoidnetwork access time
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies preliminary action by pre-acquiring historical roaming information that includes records of successfully and unsuccessfully registered networks. Before the UE attempts registration with the long list of available networks in a roaming area, it uses this historical data to adjust the priority ordering, placing networks with proven successful registration history at the top. This allows the UE to adapt to the specific roaming environment efficiently without systematically testing all dozens of available networks, significantly reducing network access time while maintaining broad compatibility.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies feedback by using historical roaming information (feedback from past registration attempts) to dynamically adjust the PLMN selection strategy. The UE stores feedback in the form of successful and unsuccessful registration records, then uses this feedback to reorder the available network list, prioritizing networks that have demonstrated compatibility. This feedback mechanism enables the UE to adapt to roaming environments with numerous operators by learning from past experiences, reducing access time while maintaining versatility.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentEP3116266B1Method and apparatus for network entry when roaming
Publication Date: 2019.07.03 HUAWEI DEVICE CO LTD
  • EP3116266B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3116266B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3116266B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

Embodiments of the present invention provide a roaming network access method and apparatus, where the method includes: searching, by user equipment, for at least one available network in a roaming area; acquiring, by the user equipment, historical roaming information, where the historical roaming information is used to record information about a network to which a registration attempt has been made when a user roams; adjusting, by the user equipment, a priority of the at least one found available network according to the historical roaming information; and successively selecting, by the user equipment in descending order of an adjusted priority of the at least one found available network, the at least one found available network as a registration attempt network, and attempting to register with the registration attempt network. In the used roaming network access method and apparatus provided in the embodiments of the present invention, a time for initially accessing a network from a roaming area user equipment can be shortened, thereby improving user experience.