WO-2021021423-A9 - NETWORK SLICE AVAILABILITY CHECK AND INDICATION

Abstract

Wireless communications systems and methods related to on-demand communications are provided. A first network entity receives, from a user equipment (UE), a network slice request. The first network entity transmits to a second network entity, a request for capability information associated with the UE based on the UE's network slice request. Additionally, the first network entity receives from the second networking entity, a response indicating the capability information associated with the UE.

Inventors

• ZHU, XIPENG
• HORN, GAVIN BERNARD
• GRIOT, MIGUEL
• ZISIMOPOULOS, HARIS
• FACCIN, STEFANO

Assignees

• QUALCOMM INCORPORATED

Dates

Publication Date

20260507

Application Date

20200713

Priority Date

20190731

Claims (20)

1. 1. A method of wireless communication, comprising: receiving, by a core network entity from a user equipment (UE), a network slice request; transmitting, by the core network entity to a first base station (BS), a request for capability information associated with the UE based on the UE’s network slice request; and receiving, by the core network entity from the first BS, a response indicating the capability information associated with the UE.
2. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the network slice request includes: receiving, by the core network entity, a network registration request message including requested network slice selection assistance information (NSSAI) indicating a first set of network slices and a second set of network slices requested by the UE, the first set of network slices being supported by a current tracking area associated with the first BS, and the second set of network slices not being supported by the current tracking area.
3. 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining whether a first network slice indicated in the network slice request is supported by a current tracking area associated with the first BS, wherein transmitting the request includes transmitting the request in response to a determination that the first network slice is not supported by the current tracking area.
4. 4. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the request includes: transmitting, by the core network entity, a UE capability check request message including requested NSSAI indicating a second set of network slices, the second set of network slices not being supported by a current tracking area associated with the first BS.
5. 5. The method of claim 4, wherein receiving the response includes: receiving, by the core network entity, a UE capability check response message including available NSSAI indicating a third set of network slices supported by a second BS operating in a different carrier frequency than the first BS, wherein the third set of network slices is a subset of the second set of network slices.
6. 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: 41 49606.639WO01 Qualcomm Ref. No. 194146WO determining, by the core network entity, that a first network slice indicated in the network slice request is available on-demand by the UE, wherein the first network slice is not supported by a current tracking area associated with the first BS; and transmitting a registration response in response to the network slice request, the registration response including a rejection of the first network slice and a cause of the rejection.
7. 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the network slice request indicates a second network slice that is supported by the current tracking area, and the response further includes allowed NSSAI indicating the second network slice.
8. 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining, by the core network entity, that a first network slice indicated in the network slice request is available on-demand by the UE, wherein the first network slice is not supported by a current tracking area associated with the first BS; and transmitting a registration response in response to the network slice request, the registration response including an indication that the first network slice is available on-demand by the UE.
9. 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the network slice request indicates a second network slice that is supported by a current tracking area associated with the first BS, and the response further includes allowed NSSAI indicating the second network slice.
10. 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the network slice request indicates a first network slice that is not supported by a current tracking area associated with the first BS, and the first BS operates over a first cell frequency, the method further comprising: receiving, by the core network entity from the UE, a protocol data unit (PDU) session establishment request message requesting PDU session establishment over the first network slice; transmitting, by the core network entity to the first BS, a PDU session resource setup request message to the first BS that causes the first BS to setup resources for the first network slice; and receiving, by the core network entity from the first BS, a PDU session resource setup response message indicating a failure status based on the first network slice not provided by the first cell frequency.
11. 11. The method of claim 10, further comprising: transmitting, by the core network entity to the UE, a PDU session establishment response message indicating that a PDU session established for the first network slice is in an inactive mode and indicating a PDU session ID for the established PDU session; and 42 49606.639WO01 Qualcomm Ref. No. 194146WO receiving, by the core network entity from the UE, a service request message indicating the PDU session ID for the first network slice.
12. 12. A method of wireless communication, comprising: transmitting, by a user equipment (UE), a request for a network slice of a network; and receiving, by the UE, a response indicating a rejection of the requested network slice and a cause of the rejection.
13. 13. The method of claim 12, wherein transmitting the request for the network slice includes: transmitting, by the UE, a network registration request message including requested network slice selection assistance information (NSSAI) indicating a first set of network slices and a second set of network slices requested by the UE, the first set of network slices being supported by a current tracking area associated with a base station (BS), and the second set of network slices not being supported by the current tracking area.
14. 14. The method of claim 12, wherein the UE is associated with a BS operating in a first frequency cell.
15. 15. The method of claim 12, wherein the cause of the rejection is indicated by a cause value indicating that the rejection is due to the requested network slice not being available in a current tracking area associated with the UE, but can be supported by next generation (NG)- radio access network (RAN) controlled mobility on-demand.
16. 16. The method of claim 12, wherein the request for the network slice indicates a first network slice that is not supported by a current tracking area associated with a BS, and the BS operates over a first cell frequency, the method further comprising: transmitting, by the UE to a core network entity via the BS, a protocol data unit (PDU) session establishment request message indicating the first network slice; and receiving, by the UE from the core network entity via the BS, a PDU session establishment response message indicating that a PDU session established for the first network slice is in an inactive mode and indicating a PDU session ID for the established PDU session.
17. 17. The method of claim 16, further comprising: transmitting, by the UE to the core network entity via the BS, a service request message indicating the PDU session ID for the first network slice.
18. 18. A method of wireless communication, comprising: 43 49606.639WO01 Qualcomm Ref. No. 194146WO transmitting, by a user equipment (UE), a request for a network slice of a network; and receiving, by the UE, a response indicating the requested network slice is available on- demand by the UE’s request, wherein the requested network slice is not supported by a current tracking area associated with the UE.
19. 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the response includes a cause-value indicating that a rejection is due to the requested network slice not being available in the current tracking area.
20. 20. An apparatus, comprising: a transceiver configured to: receive, from a user equipment (UE), a network slice request; transmit, to a first base station (BS), a request for capability information associated with the UE based on the UE’s network slice request; and receive, from the first BS, a response indicating the capability information associated with the UE.

Description

Qualcomm Ref. No. 194146WO NETWORK SLICE AVAILABILITY CHECK AND INDICATION Xipeng Zhu, Gavin Bernard Horn, Miguel Griot, Haris Zisimopoulos, Stefano Faccin CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS & PRIORITY CLAIM [0001] The present application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Nonprovisional Patent Application No. 16/925486, filed July 10, 2020, and of Greek Provisional Patent Application No. 20190100327, filed July 31, 2019, which are hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety as if fully set forth below and for all applicable purposes. TECHNICAL FIELD [0002] This application relates to wireless communication systems, and more particularly to indication and availability of a network slice. INTRODUCTION [0003] Wireless communications systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). A wireless multiple-access communications system may include a number of base stations (BSs), each simultaneously supporting communications for multiple communication devices, which may be otherwise known as user equipment (UE). [0004] To meet the growing demands for expanded mobile broadband connectivity, wireless communication technologies are advancing from the long-term evolution (LTE) technology to a next generation new radio (NR) technology, which may be referred to as 5th Generation (5G). For example, NR is designed to provide a lower latency, a higher bandwidth or a higher throughput, and a higher reliability than LTE. NR is designed to operate over a wide array of spectrum bands, for example, from low-frequency bands below about 1 gigahertz (GHz) and mid-frequency bands from about 1 GHz to about 6 GHz, to high-frequency bands such as millimeter wave (mmWave) bands. NR is also designed to operate across different spectrum types, from licensed spectrum to unlicensed and shared spectrum. Spectrum sharing enables operators to opportunistically aggregate 1 49606.639WO01 Qualcomm Ref. No. 194146WO spectrums to dynamically support high-bandwidth services. Spectrum sharing can extend the benefit of NR technologies to operating entities that may not have access to a licensed spectrum. [0005] The improved latency, reliability, bandwidth, and/or throughput in NR enable various types of network deployments and/or services such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultrareliable, low-latency communication (URLLC), and/or Internet of Things (IoT) services. The different types of services may have different traffic requirements (e.g., latency, bandwidth, reliability, and/or throughput). BRIEF SUMMARY OF SOME EXAMPLES [0006] The following summarizes some aspects of the present disclosure to provide a basic understanding of the discussed technology. This summary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated features of the disclosure and is intended neither to identify key or critical elements of all aspects of the disclosure nor to delineate the scope of any or all aspects of the disclosure. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects of the disclosure in summary form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later. [0007] For example, in an aspect of the disclosure, a method of wireless communication includes receiving, by a core network entity from a user equipment (UE), a network slice request; transmitting, by the core network entity to a first base station (BS), a request for capability information associated with the UE based on the UE’s network slice request; and receiving, by the core network entity from the first BS, a response indicating the capability information associated with the UE. [0008] In an additional aspect of the disclosure, an apparatus includes a transceiver configured to receive, from a UE, a network slice request; transmit, to a first BS, a request for capability information associated with the UE based on the UE’s network slice request; and receive, from the first BS, a response indicating the capability information associated with the UE. [0009] In an additional aspect of the disclosure, a computer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon, the program code includes code for causing a core network entity to receive from a UE, a network slice request; code for causing the core network entity to transmit to a BS, a request for capability information associated with the UE based on the UE’s network slice request; and code for causing the core network entity to receive from the BS, a response indicating the capability information associated with the UE. [0010] In an additional aspect of the disclosure, an apparatus includes means for receiving from a UE, a network slice request; means for transmitting to a BS, a request for capability information associated with the UE based on the UE’s netw