HK1229604B - Communication via dedicated network nodes - Google Patents

Description

Communication via dedicated network nodes

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Application No. 14/671,220, filed March 27, 2015, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/985,349, filed April 28, 2014. U.S. Application No. 14/671,220, filed March 27, 2015, in turn claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/985,349, filed April 28, 2014. The contents of both Application No. 61/985,349 and Application No. 14/671,220 are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

Background Art

The number of machine-type communication (MTC) devices is expected to reach 50 billion by the next decade. These types of devices may have different requirements than typical devices in a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) system in terms of optional feature support, service characteristics support, access priority, congestion management, signaling to user plane traffic ratio, etc. Many MTC devices and/or applications generate very low user plane traffic on the network, and many of these MTC devices and/or applications can be treated as low access priority. Low access priority for MTC devices and/or applications is defined in the 3GPP Release 10 technical specifications. Given such a large number of devices, even if they use low priority access and transmit only a small amount of data, they have the potential to overload the network, for example, the radio access network and/or the core network. Operators are concerned about how to effectively maintain the connectivity of a large number of such devices without impacting normal user equipment (UE) or human-to-human communication systems and overall system performance. Likewise, as a cost-effective mechanism to support different kinds of applications and/or services and devices and/or users, operators are considering deploying separate dedicated core networks with independent scales for specific features provided for specific users or service types and separating specific users and services from each other, due to the fact that existing specifications for MTC devices cannot handle the fact that they do not provide low access priority indication and do not support MME reselection.

The Release 13 work group recently approved the deployment of dedicated core networks, each dedicated to UEs sharing the same characteristics. These dedicated core networks can be considered overlay networks, built on top of existing networks but potentially more efficiently handling specific UE and service types. In the future, creating such dedicated network nodes will be facilitated by technologies such as software-defined networking/network function virtualization (SDN/NFV), for example by instantiating dedicated MME nodes as virtual network functions.

The new Release 13 work item group covers the core network (CN) and does not currently cover the radio access network (RAN) aspects, however, in order to effectively support the new layered network structure in future 3GPP Releases, the RAN aspects may also be considered. Therefore, the present invention proposes a method for establishing and controlling communication between dedicated devices and dedicated nodes, such as enhanced Node B (eNB) in the RAN, mobility management entity (MME) in the core network, serving gateway (S-GW) and packet gateway (P-GW). These dedicated nodes can be understood as, but not necessarily limited to, MTC nodes or low-cost and/or low-complexity nodes or nodes dedicated to specific purposes, such as small data, health, security, etc., which can reduce the operator's capital expenditure (CAPEX) while rolling out new MTC and/or Internet of Things (IoT) type services. The same concept can also be applied to dedicated devices, which can be understood as, but not necessarily limited to, MTC/IoT or low-complexity and/or low-cost devices. The goal of these dedicated networks is to create more optimized networks in the RAN and/or CN for new requirements to better support IoT type services; examples of these types of networks and services are always connected, small data, frequent data transfer, high priority access, health and safety networks, video surveillance networks, etc.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The claimed subject matter is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed at the conclusion of the specification. However, such subject matter can be understood by reference to the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG1 is a diagram of a network architecture including one or more dedicated network nodes according to one or more embodiments;

FIG2 is a diagram of a method for a given user equipment to connect to an appropriate dedicated node in accordance with one or more embodiments;

3 is an illustration of a method of redirecting a user equipment during an initial attach based at least in part on a power save mode in accordance with one or more embodiments;

FIG4 is a diagram illustrating a method of handing over a user equipment to a dedicated eNodeB according to one or more embodiments;

5 is a diagram illustrating interaction between dedicated and non-dedicated radio access nodes and a core network node according to one or more embodiments;

FIG6 is a diagram of S1 signaling for selecting a dedicated or special mobility management entity according to one or more embodiments;

FIG7A is a diagram of an extended access network discovery and selection function (ANDSF) management object (MO) for a cell type preferred by a user equipment according to one or more embodiments;

FIG7B is an illustration of a new independent management object (MO) for a user equipment preferred cell type according to one or more embodiments;

FIG8A is a diagram of an extended access network discovery and selection function (ANDSF) management object (MO) for preferred cell type per access point name (APN) in accordance with one or more embodiments;

FIG8B is an illustration of a new independent management object (MO) for preferred cell type per access point name (APN) in accordance with one or more embodiments;

FIG9A is a diagram of an extended access network discovery and selection function (ANDSF) management object (MO) for per-flow preferred cell type according to one or more embodiments;

FIG9B is an illustration of a new independent management object (MO) for each application preferred cell type according to one or more embodiments;

FIG10A is a diagram of an extended access network discovery and selection function (ANDSF) management object (MO) for a preferred cell type per application in accordance with one or more embodiments;

FIG10B is an illustration of a new independent management object (MO) for each application preferred cell type according to one or more embodiments;

11 is a block diagram of an information processing system capable of communicating via one or more dedicated network nodes in accordance with one or more embodiments;

12 is an isometric view of the information handling system of FIG. 11 , which may optionally include a touch screen, in accordance with one or more embodiments.

It will be appreciated that for the sake of brevity and/or clarity of illustration, the elements illustrated in the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of certain elements may be exaggerated relative to other elements for the sake of clarity. Further, where deemed appropriate, reference numerals have been repeated in the figures to indicate corresponding and/or similar elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are given to provide a thorough understanding of the claimed subject matter. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the claimed subject matter may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components, and/or circuits are not described in detail.

In the following description and/or claims, the terms coupling and/or connection and their derivatives may be used. In a particular embodiment, connection may be used to indicate that two or more elements are in direct physical and/or electrical contact with each other. Coupling may mean that two or more elements are in direct physical and/or electrical contact. However, coupling may also mean that two or more elements may not be in direct contact with each other, but may still cooperate and/or interact with each other. For example, "coupling" may mean that two or more elements are not in direct contact with each other, but are indirectly combined together via another element or an intermediate element. Finally, the terms "on...", "overlapping," and "above..." may be used in the following description and claims. "on...", "overlapping," and "above..." may be used to indicate that two or more elements are in direct physical contact with each other. However, "above..." may also mean that two or more elements are not in direct contact with each other. For example, "above..." may mean that one element is on another element, but is not in contact with each other, and may have another element or multiple elements between the two elements. Furthermore, the term "and/or" may mean "and," it may mean "or," it may mean "exclusive or," it may mean "one," it may mean "some, but not all," it may mean "none," and/or it may mean "all," although the scope of claimed subject matter is not limited in this respect. In the following description and/or claims, the terms "comprise" and "include," and their derivatives, may be used and are intended to be synonymous with each other.

1, an illustration of a network architecture including one or more dedicated network nodes according to one or more embodiments will be discussed. FIG1 shows an exemplary architecture of a network 100 including one or more legacy nodes, such as an enhanced Node B (eNB), a mobility management entity (MME)/serving gateway (S-GW) 112, and/or a packet gateway (P-GW) 114, and one or more dedicated nodes, such as a dedicated eNB 116, a dedicated MME/S-GW 118, and/or a dedicated P-GW 120. Assuming that the dedicated eNB 116 is on a radio access network (RAN) or evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) 122 portion of the network 100, the legacy eNB 110 can be interconnected via an X2 interface. Furthermore, the legacy eNB 112 and the dedicated eNB 116 can be interconnected with the legacy MME/S-GW 112 and/or the dedicated MME/S-GW 118 via an S1 interface. On the Evolved Packet System (EPS) 124 portion of network 100, dedicated MME/S-GW 118 can interconnect with legacy MME/S-GW 112 via an S10/S11 interface, where the MMEs are interconnected using the S10 interface and the S-GWs are interconnected using the S11 interface. Furthermore, on the EPS 124 portion of network 100, legacy MME/S-GW 112 can interconnect with legacy P-GW 114 via an S5/S8 interface. Similarly, dedicated MME/S-GW 118 can interconnect with dedicated P-GW 120 via an S5/S8 interface. Legacy P-GW 114 and dedicated P-GW 120 can interconnect with Access Network Discovery and Selection Function (ANDSF) 126 via an S14 interface. In one or more embodiments, a user equipment (UE) machine type communication (MTC) device 128 may be coupled to the network 100 and connected with any of the legacy network nodes and, as needed, one or more dedicated network nodes.

Referring now to FIG2 , an illustration of a method for connecting a given user equipment to an appropriate dedicated node in accordance with one or more embodiments will be discussed. As shown in FIG2 , at block 210, a user equipment (UE) 128, which is a machine type communication (MTC) device, connects to the network 100. At block 212, the UE 128 may optionally choose to communicate with a dedicated enhanced Node B (eNB) 116. At block 214, the UE 128 may optionally choose to communicate with a dedicated mobility management entity (MME) and/or a dedicated serving gateway (S-GW) 118. At block 216, the UE 128 may optionally choose to communicate with a dedicated packet gateway (P-GW) 120. At block 218, the UE 128 may select a cell type preference. Details of the steps of method 200 will be discussed in further detail below.

In one or more embodiments, one or more blocks of method 200 of FIG. 2 may be combined in various arrangements to provide a portion of an overall solution for controlling the connection of a dedicated device, such as UE 128, to various dedicated nodes of network 100. Various combinations and/or subcombinations of the blocks of method 200 of FIG. 2 also operate independently. In one or more embodiments, the terms UE, dedicated UE, dedicated device, MTC device, and UE MTC application may be used interchangeably herein. Special classes of eNBs may also be referred to as dedicated MTC nodes, low-cost eNBs, low-cost MTC eNBs, and MTC eNBs, and such special classes of eNBs may be interconnected to corresponding dedicated core network entities, such as a special dedicated MME, a special dedicated S-GW, a special dedicated P-GW, and the like, as well as conventional core network and/or radio network entities, and the scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited in these respects.

As another example, an MTC eNB may include a small cell eNB. If such a small cell eNB operates in conjunction with a macro cell eNB in a dual connectivity context, the dedicated small cell eNB may operate as a master eNB (MeNB) or a secondary eNB (SeNB). In addition, a small cell eNB may have multiple serving cells associated with it through carrier aggregation to create a cell group. Depending on the role of the small cell eNB, the associated serving cell group may be referred to as a master cell group (MCG) or a secondary cell group (SCG), although the scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited in these respects.

Now, referring to FIG3 , an illustration of a method for redirecting a user equipment during an initial attach based at least in part on a power save mode will be discussed in accordance with one or more embodiments. Method 300 of FIG3 illustrates one option of how a user equipment (UE) 128 may select or redirect to one or more dedicated network nodes of network 100 of FIG1 . In the option shown in FIG3 , a power save mode (PSM) may be utilized as a trigger for redirecting carrier and/or network selection. In one or more embodiments, the power save mode (PSM) may be part of a radio resource control (RRC) RRC_IDLE mode as described in Release 12 of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standard, although the scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited in this respect. Such a power save mode may be intended to allow the UE 128 to have longer periods of inactivity, thereby saving power. In the power save mode, the access stratum may be deactivated, and the UE 128 may not perform any idle mode activities, such as monitoring a paging channel, performing measurements for cell selection and/or reselection, and the like.

Initially, at step 310, UE 128 may transmit an RRC Connection Request message to eNB 110, and at step 312, eNB 110 may respond by transmitting an RRC Connection Setup message to UE 128. At step 314, UE 128 transmits an RRC Connection Setup Complete and Non-Access Stratum (NAS) message to eNB 110. When UE 128 includes a T3324 timer value within the RRC Connection Setup Complete and NAS messages as an Attach/Tracking Area Update (TAU) Request message transmitted to eNB 112 at step 314, UE 128 may request to utilize PSM. Next, at step 316, eNB 110 forwards the message to Mobility Management Entity (MME) 112 as an Initial UE Message NAS. If MME 112 accepts UE 128's use of PSM, MME 112 responds with the same or a different T3324 timer value in a corresponding Accept message.

Since no specific differentiation is made for UEs 128 with specific traffic types or characteristics, other options may be utilized to serve or differentiate such UEs 128. For example, information that UE 128 will use PSM mode, which is understood to be a deep sleep mode that typically lasts for a long period of time and in which UE 128 is unreachable for downlink traffic, may be utilized by MME 112 to instruct eNB 110 to either reject the RRC Connection Request message transmitted by UE 128 or, if the current cell is aware of a dedicated network carrier frequency, release the RRC connection with UE 128 and redirect UE 128 to a different carrier and/or dedicated node in network 100. For example, eNB 110 may transmit an RRC Connection Release message to UE 128 via eNB 110, such as step 320, including a redirected carrier information element with a carrier frequency of the dedicated eNB 116. At step 318 , MME 112 may indicate a reason for releasing the S1 connection with eNB 110 via an S1-AP Initial Context Release command, such as a PSM indication, a UE Inactivity Notification, a UE Idle_PSM Notification, etc. At step 322 , eNB 110 may respond via an S1-AP Initial Context Release message transmitted to MME 112 .

Referring now to FIG. 4 , an illustration of a method for handing over a user equipment to a dedicated enhanced Node B according to one or more embodiments will be discussed. The method 400 of FIG. 4 illustrates how a user equipment (UE) 128 can use handover to select or redirect to a selection of one or more dedicated network nodes of the network 100 of FIG. 1 . While a Radio Resource Control (RRC) Connection Release-type message may be an option for redirecting a UE 128 from one carrier to another, a normal handover procedure may be utilized to redirect a UE 128 in RRC_CONNECTED mode to another cell. For load balancing during congestion or based on other triggers such as a Power Save Mode (PSM) indication, Core Network (CN) assistance, a new service request, and/or capability exchange, the eNB 110 may locate another suitable cell controlled by a dedicated eNB 116 and/or supporting a dedicated MME 118 that better communicates for enhanced services for the UE 128 and meets certain characteristics, such as a small data or machine type communication (MTC) network. The method 400 of FIG. 4 illustrates one such example handover procedure to a dedicated eNB 116. The existing measurement report message provided by UE 128 to eNB 110 at step 410 may be utilized by eNB 110 to determine that handing over UE 128 to a dedicated eNB 116 is preferable, e.g., where dedicated eNB 116 includes a small cell that matches the service characteristics of UE 128. In such an arrangement, one condition triggering handover to a dedicated eNB 116 may be where eNB 110 knows that certain frequencies and/or dedicated eNBs 116 are suitable for certain dedicated services and when UE 128 reports such services via the legacy measurement report message transmitted at step 410. Another condition triggering handover to a dedicated eNB 116 may be where a new indicator is added to the current measurement report transmitted at step 410 to indicate that one or more dedicated eNBs 116 of a certain type are detected. Alternatively, such a new message may be utilized to indicate to the currently associated eNB 110 that one or more dedicated eNBs 116 of a certain type have been detected by the UE 128 during a measurement procedure while the UE 128 is in RRC_CONNECTED mode. Such an arrangement may be considered a form of UE-assisted dedicated eNB selection, and the network 100 may perform a handover decision 412 to decide, based on internal implementation, whether to handover the UE 128 to the dedicated eNB 116. In the event that a decision is made to handover the UE 128 to the dedicated eNB 116, a handover prepare message may be transmitted from the currently connected eNB 110 to the dedicated eNB 116 at step 414, and the dedicated eNB 116 may issue a handover command to the currently connected eNB 110 at step 416, which may then transmit an RRC connection reconfiguration message to the UE 128 at step 418 so that the UE 128 may be reconfigured to connect with the dedicated eNB 116.

Referring now to FIG5 , an illustration of the interaction of dedicated and non-dedicated radio access nodes with core network nodes will be discussed in accordance with one or more embodiments. FIG5 illustrates a first scenario in which a legacy radio access network (RAN) 510 is capable of supporting a legacy core network (CN) 512. In one embodiment, the legacy RAN 510 may include support for a dedicated CN (A) 516, such that the legacy RAN 510 may interface with either the legacy CN 512 or the dedicated CN (A) 516, either directly or through the use of a dedicated RAN (514). In one particular embodiment, a first type of dedicated RAN (A) 514, indicated as type (A), is capable of interfacing with a dedicated CN (A) 516, also of type (A). In another embodiment, a dedicated RAN (A)(B) 518 may be capable of interfacing with a dedicated CN (A) 516 of type (A) and a dedicated CN (B) 520 of type (B).

One option for how a user equipment (UE) 128 can select or be directed to one or more network nodes includes the use of a new broadcast information element (IE) that identifies the dedicated eNB 116 supporting the dedicated feature, class of service, or category that can be supported. This type of information can be conveyed in different ways. A first new way to indicate network support can include a new optional access class barring indication for dedicated support as part of system information, for example, as defined in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standard, System Information Block 2 (SIB2), although the scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited in this respect. This access class barring can indicate when a UE 128 is blocked from accessing the network 100 if the UE 128 attempts to access the network 100 due to support for certain dedicated services. For example, an eNB 110 of a legacy RAN 510 can be connected to a legacy CN 512 and a dedicated CN (A) 516 supporting certain special services. There may be situations where the eNB 110 of the legacy RAN 510 wants to block an access UE 128 from accessing the dedicated CN 516 without blocking all other UEs 128 that terminate in the legacy CN 512. Depending on how the dedicated network is classified, different access blocking categories may be defined, such as Extended Access Barring (EAB) dedicated small data, EAB dedicated periodic data, or different general categories may be defined, such as EAB dedicated category 1, EAB dedicated category 2, etc.

Another new way to indicate network support can include a new optional indicator as part of the system information for support of a specific dedicated network. For example, a SIB2 may include a new information element indicating support for a dedicated eNB 116 and/or a dedicated CN 516. For example, as shown in FIG5 , a legacy RAN 510 with dedicated CN support can indicate its support for dedicated CN 516 and when the legacy RAN 510 is optimized for dedicated use only. Such support can also refer to the specific type of dedicated network. In another embodiment, a dedicated RAN 518 can support two types of dedicated core networks, such as dedicated CN (A) 516 and dedicated CN (B) 520.

Another new way to indicate network support may include defining a selection of new radio resource control (RRC) messages specifically for redirecting or handing over a machine type communication (MTC) UE 128 to a dedicated eNB 116. Such new control messages may be defined to redirect or hand over an MTC UE 128, or existing handover or redirection messages may be reused by the eNB 116 to carry only necessary information, such as when there is no X2 interface to the dedicated eNB 116. New handover messages may be defined and utilized specifically for moving a UE 128 to a dedicated network, or existing handover messages may be enhanced or updated with specific information that may be useful to the target dedicated eNB 116.

Yet another novel way to indicate network support may include using core network assistance information or information specific to the UE 128, such as from the UE 128 or a Home Subscriber Service (HSS), as a trigger for redirecting carrier and/or network selection. As part of Release 12 of the 3GPP standard, core network assistance information related to device service or activity mode configuration may be included. In one or more embodiments, the mobility management entity (MME) 112 and/or the eNB 110 may use this type of information to determine whether the UE 128 should be advised to connect to a different cell. When this service-related assistance information is available, such a decision may be made by the MME 112 or eNB 110, and at that point, the network 100 may decide to release the connection indicating a redirected carrier message or a list of information related to those dedicated eNBs 116 that should be used for connection instead. Alternatively, the network 100 may trigger a handover to another node, such as discussed herein.

Referring now to FIG. 6 , an illustration of S1 signaling for selecting a dedicated or special mobility management entity, according to one or more embodiments, will be discussed. In one or more embodiments, a dedicated eNB 116, such as that shown in FIG. 1 , may select a special class of mobility management entity (MME) 112, such as an MME 112 dedicated for machine-type communication (MTC) purposes or a low-cost MME 112 belonging to a dedicated overlay network, to support a special class of devices. A first option for selecting a special or dedicated MME 112 may include using S1 signaling. The embodiment of FIG. 6 may be applicable in scenarios where a dedicated core network (CN) node is connected to both a legacy radio access network (RAN) node and a dedicated RAN node. In such an embodiment, a non-dedicated or legacy MME 112 for a particular class would convey sufficient information to the dedicated RAN node or non-dedicated RAN node. In one or more embodiments, the MME 112 may indicate this special class on the S1 interface to the eNB 110 by updating an existing S1 message or by defining a new S1 message. As an example, two S1 signaling options may be utilized to select a special or dedicated MME 118 as triggered by the MME 112. Such two S1 messages may be utilized by the MME 112 to redirect the eNB 110 to the special or dedicated MME 118. At step 610, information about the dedicated MME 118 may be conveyed in a new information element, redirectDedicatedMME, in an S1MMEConfigurationUpdate message transmitted from the MME 112 to the UE 128. In response, at step 612, the UE 128 may transmit an S1MMEConfigurationUpdateAcknowledge (ACK) message to the MME 112. Similarly, at step 614, the UE 128 may transmit an S1 Setup Request message to the MME 112, and at step 616, the MME 112 may transmit an S1 Setup Failure message with the redirectSpecialMME information element to the UE 128.

Another option for selecting a dedicated or special mobility management entity may include using eNB advertising and/or broadcasting information. In a given network 100, it is possible that a dedicated eNB 116 is connected to a certain set of MMEs, including a dedicated or special MME 118, while there may be other cells and/or eNBs 110 within the public land mobile network (PLMN) of the UE 128, as well as cells and/or eNBs 110 not associated with the dedicated or special MME 118. Alternatively, the category of dedicated or special MME 118 may have subcategories that support specific unique characteristics, such that different eNBs 110 or dedicated eNBs 116 may be associated with one or more different subcategories. Example categories or subcategories may be based on support for frequent bursty data, support for infrequent types of data, support for power saving mode (PSM), etc. The cell and/or eNB 110 or dedicated eNB 116 may advertise such information, and the UE 128 and/or other interested devices may connect to the eNB 110 or dedicated eNB 116 accordingly.

In the example Abstract Syntax Notation One (ASN: 1) code shown below, eNB 110 or dedicated eNB 116 can advertise in a new System Information Block (SIB) the Mobility Management Entity (MME) category to which eNB 110 or dedicated eNB 116 connects via a given domain—support MME category X (supportMMEcatX), support Dedicated MME class X (supportDedicatedMMEclassX), or support Special MME IoT (supportSpecialMMEIoT), where category and class mappings are predefined. In the example below, an example method for using the list of MME categories is shown.

In one or more embodiments, a dedicated packet gateway (P-GW) 120, as shown in FIG1 , can be selected using a P-GW selection function. For example, a specific access point name (APN) for dedicated P-GW selection can be utilized, where specific access point name (APN) configuration data can be configured as part of a user equipment (UE) subscription in a home subscriber service (HSS). This information can be provided to a mobility management entity (MME) 112 as part of an initial attach, allowing the MME 112 to select a dedicated P-GW 118. A specific access point name (APN) can also be configured in the UE 128, and instead of a default access point name (APN), the UE 128 can select a request for a specific access point name (APN). In one or more embodiments, the HSS subscription provides information for dedicated P-GW selection, for example, the HSS can provide a specific access point name operator identifier (APN-OI) alternative to the access point name fully qualified domain name (APN-FQDN) that the MME 112 uses to construct for domain name server (DNS) queries. The DNS query may provide, for example, the address of the dedicated P-GW 120 .

The format P-GW<dedicated>.MCC<mcc>.MNC<mnc>.gprs<dedicated> can be replaced by keywords such as low access priority, machine type communication (MTC), etc. New "service parameters" for direct naming authorization pointer (S-NAPTR). The S-NAPTR procedure can be defined, for example, in Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Request for Comments (RFC) 3958 and/or Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Technical Specification (TS) 29.303. Such new service parameters can be defined for selecting a dedicated P-GW as follows:

"x-3gpp-pgw:x-<interface name>-<protocol>-<special-keyword>"

The interfaces may include S5, S8, S2a, S2b, the protocols may include General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunneling Protocol (GTP) or Proxy Mobile Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) (PMIP), and the dedicated-keywords may include Machine Type Communication (MTC), Low Access Priority Indication (LAPI), etc. It should be noted that the same process may also be applied to select other dedicated network nodes, such as a Serving Gateway (S-GW), a Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN), a Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN), etc., and the scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited in this respect.

Referring now to Figures 7A-7B, 8A-8B, 9A-9B, and 10A-10B, diagrams of Access Network Discovery and Selection Function (ANDSF) Management Objects (MOs) and new standalone Management Objects (MOs) for preferred cell types according to one or more embodiments will be discussed. Using Open Mobile Alliance-Device Management (OMA-DM) procedures, a user equipment (UE) 128 can be configured with a preferred cell type via an Open Mobile Alliance-Management Object (OMA-MO). Because a UE 128 can be multifaceted, supporting multiple different services, the selection of when to prefer connecting to a dedicated network, and when to have no preference, can be made when the UE 128 establishes a radio resource control (RRC) connection. In this case, the UE 128 may or may not be camped on a cell, and the UE 128 will check information about the cell before establishing an RRC connection for a specific service. The UE 128 will then be aware of the type of each cell, for example, by reading information broadcast in the cell, such as System Information Block 1 (SIB1) information. When initiating a connection establishment, the UE 128 will select a cell as the preferred cell based on OMA-MO rules, assuming that multiple cells are available. Configuration of the preferred cell type can be done via new OMA-MO or by enhancing existing OMA-MO rules, such as enhancing the rules for the Access Network Discovery and Selection Function (ANDSF) to also include the preferred cell type. It is also possible to include such rules into other existing management objects, and the scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited in these respects. Such examples include cell type preference configuration for UE based case, cell type preference configuration for Access Point Name (APN) based case, cell type preference configuration for flow based case (service specific), or per application case.

In one or more embodiments for cell type preference configuration based on UE circumstances, in order to know whether the UE 128 should give preference to connect to a private network, the UE 128 can be pre-configured in this way. One way to pre-configure the UE 128 is to use an Access Network Discovery and Selection Function (ANDSF) Management Object (MO), where a "Preferred Cell Type" can be added to include the preferred cell type. In Tables 1, 2, and 3, the following examples of possible values for the new preferred cell type (CellTypePreferred) leaf are given, where the preference indication can be given per private network, MME type, or RAN node type. The preferred cell type (CellTypePreferred) can be an optional parameter in the configuration. The preferred cell type (CellTypePreferred) parameter mapping includes:

<X>/Strategy/Preferred cell type

The preferred cell type leaf indicates the preferred cell type.

- Occurrence: One

-Format: integer

-Access Type: Get, Replace

- Value: <preferred cell type>

Possible values for the preferred cell type (CellTypePreferred) parameter are specified in Table 1, Table 2, and Table 3 below.

value describe 0 Reserved 1 No preference 2 Preferred private network 3-255 Reserved

Table 1: Examples of possible values for the CellTypePreferred leaf (dedicated network indication)

value describe 0 Reserved 1 No preference 2 Preferred supported MME type - X 3 Preferred supported MME type - Y 4 Preferred supported MME type - Z 5 Preferred supported MME type - X or Y 6 Preferred supported MME type - X or Z 7 Preferred supported MME type - Y or Z 8-255 Reserved

Table 2: Examples of possible values for the CellTypePreferred leaf (MME-Category Preference Indication)

Table 3: Examples of possible values for the CellTypePreferred leaf (RAN-Node-Category Preference Indication)

It should be noted that the number of bits shown in Table 1, Table 2, and Table 3 may vary and that the suggested values are shown as examples. The mappings and specific names used are also shown as examples only. In one or more embodiments, Table 1, Table 2, and/or Table 3 may be utilized to identify the type of cell to which the UE 128 should give preference for connecting.

In another embodiment for configuring cell type preference based on access point name (APN) context, one or more APNs can be configured with a preferred cell type. If an application requests a connection to a specific APN, the UE 128 will select a cell as preferred based on the type of APN, for example, if there are multiple available cells.

In another embodiment for flow-based (service-specific) cell type preference configuration, one or more applications can be configured with a preferred cell type. If an application requests a connection, the UE 128 will select a cell as preferred based on the application type, e.g., assuming multiple cells are available. This can be done per IP flow for multiple applications or per application individually.

Referring now to FIG11 , a block diagram of an information processing system capable of communicating via one or more dedicated network nodes in accordance with one or more embodiments will be discussed. The information processing system 1100 of FIG11 may be tangibly embodied as any one or more of the elements described herein, including, for example, UE 128, eNB 110, dedicated eNB 116, MME/S-GW 112, dedicated MME/S-GW 118, P-GW 114, dedicated P-GW 120, and ANDSF 126, with more or fewer components depending on the hardware specifications of a particular device. While information processing system 1100 represents one example of several types of computing platforms, information processing system 1100 may include more or fewer elements and/or a different arrangement of elements than shown in FIG11 , and the scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited in these respects.

In one or more embodiments, information processing system 1100 may include an application processor 1110 and a baseband processor 1112. Application processor 1110 may be utilized as a general-purpose processor to run applications and various subsystems for information processing system 1100. Application processor 1110 may include a single core or, alternatively, may include multiple processing cores, one or more of which may include a digital signal processor or digital signal processing (DSP) core. Furthermore, application processor 1110 may include a graphics processor or coprocessor located on the same chip, or, alternatively, the graphics processor coupled to application processor 1110 may include a separate, discrete graphics chip. Application processor 1110 may include onboard memory, such as a cache, and may further be coupled to external storage devices, such as synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM) 1114 for storing and/or executing applications during operation, and NAND flash memory 1116 for storing applications and/or data even when information processing system 1100 is powered off. In one or more embodiments, instructions for operating or configuring the information handling system 1100 and/or any of its components or subsystems to operate in a manner as described herein may be stored on an article of manufacture including a non-transitory storage medium. In one or more embodiments, the storage medium may include any of the storage devices shown and described herein, although the scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited in this respect. The baseband processor 1112 may control the broadband wireless functionality of the information handling system 1100. The baseband processor 1112 may store code for controlling such broadband wireless functionality in the NOR flash memory 1118. The baseband processor 1112 controls a wireless wide area network (WWAN) transceiver 1120 for modulating and/or demodulating broadband network signals, for example, for communicating via a 3GPP LTE or advanced LTE network or the like.

In general, the WWAN transceiver 1120 may operate according to any one or more of the following wireless communication technologies and/or standards, including but not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) wireless communication technology, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) wireless communication technology, Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) wireless communication technology, and/or Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) wireless communication technologies, such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Freedom Multimedia Access (FOMA), 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE), 3GPP Advanced Long Term Evolution (LTE-Advanced), Code Division Multiple Access 2000 (CDMA), and the like. 2000), Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD), Mobitex, Third Generation (3G), Circuit Switched Data (CSD), High-Speed Circuit Switched Data (HSCSD), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (Third Generation) (UMTS(3G)), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) (W-CDMA(UMTS)), High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA), High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), High-Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA), High-Speed Packet Access Plus (HSPA+), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System - Time Division Duplex (UMTS-TDD), Time Division - Code Division Multiple Access (TD-CDMA), Time Division - Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-CDMA), 3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 8 (previous 4G) (3GPP Rel.8 (previous 4G)), UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA), Long Term Evolution (4G) Advanced (LTE-Advanced (4G)), cdmaOne (2G), Code Division Multiple Access 2000 (3rd Generation) (CDMA2000 (3G)), Evolution-Data Optimized or Evolution-Data Only (EV-DO), Advanced Mobile Phone System (1G) (AMPS (1G)), Total Access Communications System/Extended Total Access Communications System (TACS/ETACS), Digital AMPS (2G) (D-AMPS (2G)), Push-to-Talk (PTT), Mobile Telephone System (MTS), Improved Mobile Telephone System (IMTS), Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMTS), OLT (Norwegian Public Land Mobile Telecommunications, Public Land Telephone), M TD (Swedish abbreviation for Mobile Telephone System D, or Mobile Phone System D), Public Automatic Land Mobile (Autotel/PALM), ARP (Finnish Automatic Radio Telephone, "Car Radio Telephone"), NMT (Nordic Mobile Telephone), High Capacity Version of NTT (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone) (Hicap), Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD), Mobitex, DataTAC, Integrated Digital Enhanced Network (iDEN), Personal Digital Cellular (PDC), Circuit Switched Data (CSD), Personal Handyphone System (PHS), Wideband Integrated Digital Enhanced Network (WiDEN), iBurst, Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) (also known as the 3GPP Universal Access Network, or GAN standard), Zigbee, and/or Universal Telemetry Transceiver, and generally, any type of RF circuitry or RFI sensing circuitry. It should be noted that such standards may become obsolete and/or new standards may be promulgated, and the scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited in this respect.

The WWAN transceiver 1120 is coupled to one or more power amplifiers 1142, each of which is coupled to one or more antennas 1124 for transmitting and receiving radio frequency signals via the WWAN broadband network. The baseband processor 1112 may also control a wireless local area network (WLAN) transceiver 1126, which is coupled to one or more appropriate antennas 1128 and is capable of communicating via Wi-Fi, and/or amplitude modulation (AM) or frequency modulation (FM) wireless standards, including IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n standards or the like. It should be noted that these are merely example implementations for the application processor 1110 and the baseband processor 1112, and the scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited in these respects. For example, any one or more of the SDRAM 1114, NAND flash memory 1116, and/or NOR flash memory 1118 may include other types of memory technologies, such as magnetic memory, chalcogenide memory, phase change memory, or austenite memory, and the scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited in this respect.

In one or more embodiments, the application processor 1110 can drive a display 1130 for displaying various information or data, and can further receive touch input from a user via a touch screen 1132, such as via a finger or gesture. An ambient light sensor 1134 can be utilized to detect the amount of ambient light in which the information handling system 1100 operates, for example, to control the brightness or contrast value of the display 1130 as a function of the intensity of the ambient light detected by the ambient light sensor 1134. One or more cameras 1136 can be utilized to capture images for processing by the application processor 1110 and/or at least temporarily stored in the NAND flash memory 1116. Furthermore, the application processor can be coupled to a gyroscope 1138, an accelerometer 440, a magnetometer 1142, an audio encoder/decoder (CODEC) 1144, and/or a global positioning system (GPS) controller 1146 coupled to a suitable GPS antenna 1148 for detecting various environmental attributes, including the location, movement, and/or orientation of the information handling system 400. Alternatively, the controller 1146 may include a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) controller. The audio CODEC 1144 may be coupled to one or more audio ports 1150 to provide microphone input and speaker output via internal devices and/or via external devices coupled to the information processing system via the audio port 1150, for example, via a headset or microphone jack. In addition, the application processor 410 may be coupled to one or more input/output (I/O) transceivers 1152 to couple to one or more I/O ports 1154, such as a universal serial bus (USB) port, a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) port, a serial port, and the like. In turn, one or more of the I/O transceivers 1152 may be coupled to one or more memory slots 1156 for optional removable memory, such as a secure digital (SD) card or a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, although the scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited in these respects.

Referring now to FIG12 , an isometric view of the information handling system of FIG11 , which may optionally include a touch screen, in accordance with one or more embodiments, will be discussed. FIG12 illustrates an example implementation of the information handling system 1100 of FIG11 tangibly embodied as a cellular telephone, smartphone, tablet-type device, or the like. Information handling system 1100 may include a housing 1210 having a display 1130 that may include a user interface for receiving tactile input controls and commands via a user's finger 1216 and/or via gestures 1218 to control one or more application processors 1110. Housing 1210 may house one or more components of information handling system 1100, such as one or more application processors 1110, SDRAM 1114, NAND flash memory 1116, NOR flash memory 1118, baseband processor 1112, and/or WWAN transceiver 1120. The information handling system 1100 may further optionally include a physical activation area 1220, which may include a keyboard or buttons for controlling the information handling system via one or more buttons or switches. The information handling system 1100 may also include a memory port or slot 1156 for receiving non-volatile memory, such as flash memory, for example in the form of a secure digital (SD) card or a subscriber identity module (SIM) card. Optionally, the information handling system 1100 may further include one or more speakers and/or microphones 1224 and a connection port 1154 for connecting the information handling system 1100 to another electronic device, a docking station, a display, a battery charger, etc. In addition, the information handling system 1100 may include a headphone or speaker jack 1228 and one or more cameras 1136 on one or more sides of the housing 1210. It should be noted that in various arrangements, the information handling system 1100 of Figure 12 may include more or fewer elements than those shown, and the scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited in this respect.

Although the claimed subject matter has been described with a certain degree of specificity, it will be appreciated that elements thereof may be varied by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and/or scope of the claimed subject matter. It is believed that the subject matter relating to communication via a plurality of dedicated network nodes and their attendant facilities will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes in form, construction, and/or arrangement of components thereof may be made without departing from the scope and/or spirit of the claimed subject matter or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the forms described herein being merely illustrative embodiments thereof, and/or further providing no substantial changes thereto. It is intended that the claims encompass and/or include such variations.

Claims (4)

1. A mobility management entity (MME) for redirecting a dedicated user equipment (UE) to a dedicated enhanced node B (eNB), comprising: A processor and memory coupled to the processor, wherein instructions in the memory configure the processor to: While the dedicated UE is connected to the non-dedicated eNB, it receives non-access stratum (NAS) messages from the dedicated UE via the non-dedicated eNB; Receive Power Saving Mode (PSM) cells from the non-dedicated eNB; and In response to the PSM information in the NAS message, a release command is sent to the non-dedicated eNB, wherein the release command is used to cause the non-dedicated eNB to send a connection release message to the dedicated UE, wherein the connection release message includes a carrier redirection message for redirecting the dedicated UE to the dedicated eNB, and wherein the release command sent to the non-dedicated eNB includes a PSM indication as the reason for the release command. 2. The mobility management entity as claimed in claim 1, wherein NAS messages from a dedicated UE are transmitted via Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection establishment. 3. A computer-readable storage medium storing program instructions, which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the following steps: While the dedicated UE is connected to the non-dedicated eNB, it receives non-access stratum (NAS) messages from the dedicated UE via the non-dedicated eNB; Receive Power Saving Mode (PSM) cells from the non-dedicated eNB; and In response to the PSM information in the NAS message, a release command is sent to the non-dedicated eNB, wherein the release command is used to cause the non-dedicated eNB to send a connection release message to the dedicated UE, wherein the connection release message includes a carrier redirection message for redirecting the dedicated UE to the dedicated eNB, and wherein the release command sent to the non-dedicated eNB includes a PSM indication as the reason for the release command. 4. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 3, wherein NAS messages from a dedicated UE are transmitted via a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection established.