WO2019063867A1

WO2019063867A1 - Reduction of false paging

Info

Publication number: WO2019063867A1
Application number: PCT/FI2017/050686
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ahmad AWADA
Original assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy
Current assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy
Priority date: 2017-09-28
Filing date: 2017-09-28
Publication date: 2019-04-04
Anticipated expiration: 2020-03-28

Abstract

A network node transmits common configuration parameters that a UE uses to derive a first paging location. The first paging location is used to page the UE at times the user equipment is paged. It is determined that a paging rate of the UE is above the threshold. The network node configures the UE with a second paging location that is different from the first paging location and that is configured based on the UE having its paging rate above the threshold. The second paging location is used to page the UE at times the UE is paged, and the first paging location is not used for paging the user equipment. The UE receives the common configuration parameters for deriving the first paging location and monitors this location. The UE receives the second paging location and monitors the second paging location and not the first paging location.

Description

REDUCTION OF FALSE PAGING

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] This invention relates generally to paging user equipment in wireless networks and, more specifically, relates to reduction of false paging in wireless networks. BACKGROUND

[0002] This section is intended to provide a background or context to the invention disclosed below. The description herein may include concepts that could be pursued, but are not necessarily ones that have been previously conceived, implemented or described.

Therefore, unless otherwise explicitly indicated herein, what is described in this section is not prior art to the description in this application and is not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section. Abbreviations that may be found in the specification and/or the drawing figures are defined below, after the main part of the detailed description section.

[0003] The concept of beam sweeping in a New Radio (NR) operating at a high frequency band has been discussed, along with its implications on control information provisioning. See Nokia and Alcatel-Lucent Shanghai Bell, "On beam sweeping and its implications", R2- 163443, 3 GPP TSG-RAN WG2 Meeting #94, 23-27 May, 2016, Nanjing, China. To compensate for the high path loss, high gain beams with narrow half power beam- width are used for downlink transmission and uplink reception. As the number of concurrent high gain beams is limited in a Next Generation-Node B (gNB), beam sweeping is required to cover the whole cell area with common channels. In the downlink (DL) direction, these common channels are used to provide the User Equipment (UEs) with synchronization signals, cell/beam reference signals, system information (cf. MIB & SIB in LTE) as well as paging information. In the uplink direction, beam sweeping is performed by the gNB to allow RACH access via any beam direction in the cell.

[0004] The paging mechanism is used by the network to inform the UE about an incoming call or data message as well as for any system information update, Earthquake and Tsunami Warning System (EWTS) primary and secondary notifications or Commercial Mobile Alert Service (CMAS). See 3 GPP TS 36.331, Radio Resource Control. The paging agent in NR (cf. MME in LTE) sends a paging message to all gNBs belonging to the list of Tracking Area IDs (TAIs) for which the UE is registered, and the gNBs transmit in turn the paging message to the UEs. Upon decoding the paging message on a specific Paging

Occasion (PO), the UE can determine if it shall access the network for an incoming call or data transfer by checking the identities of the paged users. If the identity of the UE is listed in the paging record list, then the UE shall access the network to receive the incoming call or data.

[0005] While paging is quite useful, in certain situations, there are instances where false paging might occur. In particular, false paging can occur in a response-driven paging method, as described in more detail below, which is proposed for 3 GPP NR techniques.

BRIEF SUMMARY

[0006] This section is intended to include examples and is not intended to be limiting.

[0007] In an exemplary embodiment, a method comprises transmitting, by a network node, common configuration parameters that a user equipment uses to derive a first paging location, and comprises using, by the network node, the first paging location to page the user equipment at times the user equipment is paged. The method comprises determining at the network node that a paging rate of the user equipment is above the threshold, and comprises configuring, by the network node, the user equipment with a second paging location that is different from the first paging location and that is configured based on the user equipment having its paging rate above the threshold. The method comprises using, by the network node, the second paging location to page the user equipment at times the user equipment is paged, and ceasing to use the first paging location for paging the user equipment.

[0008] An additional exemplary embodiment includes a computer program, comprising code for performing the method of the previous paragraph, when the computer program is run on a processor. The computer program according to this paragraph, wherein the computer program is a computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium bearing computer program code embodied therein for use with a computer.

[0009] An exemplary apparatus includes one or more processors and one or more memories including computer program code. The one or more memories and the computer program code are configured to, with the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: transmitting, by a network node, common configuration parameters that a user equipment uses to derive a first paging location; using, by the network node, the first paging location to page the user equipment at times the user equipment is paged; determining at the network node that a paging rate of the user equipment is above the threshold; configuring, by the network node, the user equipment with a second paging location that is different from the first paging location and that is configured based on the user equipment having its paging rate above the threshold; and using, by the network node, the second paging location to page the user equipment at times the user equipment is paged, and ceasing to use the first paging location for paging the user equipment.

[0010] An exemplary computer program product includes a computer-readable storage medium bearing computer program code embodied therein for use with a computer. The computer program code includes: code for transmitting, by a network node, common configuration parameters that a user equipment uses to derive a first paging location; code for using, by the network node, the first paging location to page the user equipment at times the user equipment is paged; code for determining at the network node that a paging rate of the user equipment is above the threshold; code for configuring, by the network node, the user equipment with a second paging location that is different from the first paging location and that is configured based on the user equipment having its paging rate above the threshold; and code for using, by the network node, the second paging location to page the user equipment at times the user equipment is paged, and ceasing to use the first paging location for paging the user equipment.

[0011] In another exemplary embodiment, an apparatus comprises: means for transmitting, by a network node, common configuration parameters that a user equipment uses to derive a first paging location; means for using, by the network node, the first paging location to page the user equipment at times the user equipment is paged; means for determining at the network node that a paging rate of the user equipment is above the threshold; means for configuring, by the network node, the user equipment with a second paging location that is different from the first paging location and that is configured based on the user equipment having its paging rate above the threshold; and means for using, by the network node, the second paging location to page the user equipment at times the user equipment is paged, and means for ceasing to use the first paging location for paging the user equipment.

[0012] A further exemplary embodiment is a method that comprises receiving, by a user equipment, common configuration parameters for deriving a first paging location, and monitoring, by the user equipment, the first paging location. The method further comprises receiving, by the user equipment, a second paging location that is different from the first paging location and that is configured based on the user equipment having its paging rate above the threshold. The method also comprises monitoring, by the user equipment and based on the paging rate of the user equipment being above the threshold, the second paging location, and ceasing to monitor the first paging location. [0013] An additional exemplary embodiment includes a computer program, comprising code for performing the method of the previous paragraph, when the computer program is run on a processor. The computer program according to this paragraph, wherein the computer program is a computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium bearing computer program code embodied therein for use with a computer.

[0014] An exemplary apparatus includes one or more processors and one or more memories including computer program code. The one or more memories and the computer program code are configured to, with the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: receiving, by a user equipment, common configuration parameters for deriving a first paging location; monitoring, by the user equipment, the first paging location; receiving, by the user equipment, a second paging location that is different from the first paging location and that is configured based on the user equipment having its paging rate above the threshold; and monitoring, by the user equipment and based on the paging rate of the user equipment being above the threshold, the second paging location, and ceasing to monitor the first paging location.

[0015] An exemplary computer program product includes a computer-readable storage medium bearing computer program code embodied therein for use with a computer. The computer program code includes: code for receiving, by a user equipment, common configuration parameters for deriving a first paging location; code for monitoring, by the user equipment, the first paging location; code for receiving, by the user equipment, a second paging location that is different from the first paging location and that is configured based on the user equipment having its paging rate above the threshold; and code for monitoring, by the user equipment and based on the paging rate of the user equipment being above the threshold, the second paging location, and ceasing to monitor the first paging location.

[0016] In another exemplary embodiment, an apparatus comprises: means for receiving, by a user equipment, common configuration parameters for deriving a first paging location; means for monitoring, by the user equipment, the first paging location; means for receiving, by the user equipment, a second paging location that is different from the first paging location and that is configured based on the user equipment having its paging rate above the threshold; and means for monitoring, by the user equipment and based on the paging rate of the user equipment being above the threshold, the second paging location, and ceasing to monitor the first paging location. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] In the attached Drawing Figures:

[0018] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one possible and non-limiting exemplary system in which the exemplary embodiments may be practiced;

[0019] FIG. 2 is a signaling diagram indicating signaling flow when all RRC Idle UEs are paged using S-TMSI;

[0020] FIG. 3 is a logic flow diagram of an exemplary embodiment performed by a network node for reduction of false paging, and is used when the network node primarily controls the operations in the system for reduction of false paging and corresponds in part to a first option for an entity triggering actions performed by a user equipment in response to a paging rate of the user equipment being determined to be high;

[0021] FIG. 4 is a logic flow diagram performed by a user equipment corresponding to the flow in FIG. 3;

[0022] FIG. 5 is a logic flow diagram of an exemplary embodiment performed by a network node for reduction of false paging, and is used when the user equipment has a larger role for reduction of false paging than performed in FIGS. 3 and 4 and corresponds in part to a second option for an entity triggering actions performed by a user equipment in response to a paging rate of the user equipment being determined to be high; and

[0023] FIG. 6 is a logic flow diagram performed by a user equipment corresponding to the flow in FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] The word "exemplary" is used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any embodiment described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments. All of the

embodiments described in this Detailed Description are exemplary embodiments provided to enable persons skilled in the art to make or use the invention and not to limit the scope of the invention which is defined by the claims.

[0025] The exemplary embodiments herein describe techniques for reduction of false paging. Additional description of these techniques is presented after a system into which the exemplary embodiments may be used is described.

[0026] Turning to FIG. 1, this figure shows a block diagram of one possible and non- limiting exemplary system in which the exemplary embodiments may be practiced. In FIG. 1, a user equipment (UE) 110 is in wireless communication with a wireless network 100. A UE is a wireless, typically mobile device that can access a wireless network. The UE 110 includes one or more processors 120, one or more memories 125, and one or more transceivers 130 interconnected through one or more buses 127. Each of the one or more transceivers 130 includes a receiver, Rx, 132 and a transmitter, Tx, 133. The one or more buses 127 may be address, data, or control buses, and may include any interconnection mechanism, such as a series of lines on a motherboard or integrated circuit, fiber optics or other optical

communication equipment, and the like. The one or more transceivers 130 are connected to one or more antennas 128. The one or more memories 125 include computer program code 123. The UE 110 includes a paging module 140, comprising one of or both parts 140-1 and/or 140-2, which may be implemented in a number of ways. The paging module 140 may be implemented in hardware as paging module 140-1, such as being implemented as part of the one or more processors 120. The paging module 140-1 may be implemented also as an integrated circuit or through other hardware such as a programmable gate array. In another example, the paging module 140 may be implemented as paging module 140-2, which is implemented as computer program code 123 and is executed by the one or more processors 120. For instance, the one or more memories 125 and the computer program code 123 may be configured to, with the one or more processors 120, cause the user equipment 110 to perform one or more of the operations as described herein. The UE 110 communicates with gNB 170 via a wireless link 111.

[0027] The next generation NodeB (gNB) 170 is a base station (e.g., evolved NodeB for LTE, long term evolution) that provides access by wireless devices such as the UE 110 to the wireless network 100. The gNB 170 includes one or more processors 152, one or more memories 155, one or more network interfaces (N/W I/F(s)) 161, and one or more

transceivers 160 interconnected through one or more buses 157. Each of the one or more transceivers 160 includes a receiver, Rx, 162 and a transmitter, Tx, 163. The one or more transceivers 160 are connected to one or more antennas 158. The one or more memories 155 include computer program code 153. The gNB 170 includes a paging module 150, comprising one of or both parts 150-1 and/or 150-2, which may be implemented in a number of ways. The paging module 150 may be implemented in hardware as paging module 150-1, such as being implemented as part of the one or more processors 152. The paging module 150-1 may be implemented also as an integrated circuit or through other hardware such as a

programmable gate array. In another example, the paging module 150 may be implemented as paging module 150-2, which is implemented as computer program code 153 and is executed by the one or more processors 152. For instance, the one or more memories 155 and the computer program code 153 are configured to, with the one or more processors 152, cause the gNB 170 to perform one or more of the operations as described herein. The one or more network interfaces 161 communicate over a network such as via the links 176 and 131. Two or more gNBs 170 communicate using, e.g., link 176. The link 176 may be wired or wireless or both and may implement, e.g., an X2 interface.

[0028] The one or more buses 157 may be address, data, or control buses, and may include any interconnection mechanism, such as a series of lines on a motherboard or integrated circuit, fiber optics or other optical communication equipment, wireless channels, and the like. For example, the one or more transceivers 160 may be implemented as a remote radio head (RRH) 195, with the other elements of the gNB 170 being physically in a different location from the RRH, and the one or more buses 157 could be implemented in part as fiber optic cable to connect the other elements of the gNB 170 to the RRH 195.

[0029] The wireless network 100 may include a network control element (NCE) 190 that may include MME (Mobility Management Entity)/SGW (Serving Gateway)/paging agent functionality, and which provides connectivity with a further network, such as a telephone network and/or a data communications network (e.g., the Internet). The gNB 170 is coupled via a link 131 to the NCE 190. The link 131 may be implemented as, e.g., an SI interface. The NCE 190 includes one or more processors 175, one or more memories 171, and one or more network interfaces (N/W I/F(s)) 180, interconnected through one or more buses 185. The one or more memories 171 include computer program code 173. The paging module 182 may be formed in one or both of the processor(s) 175 or the computer program code 173. The one or more memories 171 and the computer program code 173 may therefore configured to, with the one or more processors 175 and the paging module 182, cause the NCE 190 to perform one or more operations described herein.

[0030] It is noted that description herein indicates that "cells" perform functions, but it should be clear that the gNB that forms the cell will perform the functions. The cell makes up part of a gNB. That is, there can be multiple cells per gNB. For instance, there could be three cells for a single gNB carrier frequency and associated bandwidth, each cell covering one- third of a 360 degree area so that the single gNB's coverage area covers an approximate oval or circle. Furthermore, each cell can correspond to a single carrier and an gNB may use multiple carriers. So if there are three 120 degree cells per carrier and two carriers, then the gNB has a total of 6 cells.

[0031] The wireless network 100 may implement network virtualization, which is the process of combining hardware and software network resources and network functionality into a single, software-based administrative entity, a virtual network. Network virtualization involves platform virtualization, often combined with resource virtualization. Network virtualization is categorized as either external, combining many networks, or parts of networks, into a virtual unit, or internal, providing network-like functionality to software containers on a single system. Note that the virtualized entities that result from the network virtualization are still implemented, at some level, using hardware such as processors 152 or 175 and memories 155 and 171, and also such virtualized entities create technical effects.

[0032] The computer readable memories 125, 155, and 171 may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor based memory devices, flash memory, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory. The computer readable memories 125, 155, and 171 may be means for performing storage functions. The processors 120, 152, and 175 may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment, and may include one or more of general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on a multi-core processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. The processors 120, 152, and 175 may be means for performing functions, such as controlling the UE 110, gNB 170, NCE 190, and other functions as described herein.

[0033] In general, the various embodiments of the user equipment 110 can include, but are not limited to, cellular telephones such as smart phones, tablets, personal digital assistants (PDAs) having wireless communication capabilities, portable computers having wireless communication capabilities, image capture devices such as digital cameras having wireless communication capabilities, gaming devices having wireless communication capabilities, music storage and playback appliances having wireless communication capabilities, Internet appliances permitting wireless Internet access and browsing, tablets with wireless communication capabilities, as well as portable units or terminals that incorporate combinations of such functions.

[0034] Having thus introduced one suitable but non-limiting technical context for the practice of the exemplary embodiments of this invention, the exemplary embodiments will now be described with greater specificity.

[0035] As described above, while paging is quite useful, in certain situations, there are situations where false paging occurs. This will now be described in more detail.

[0036] As previously stated, the paging agent sends a paging message to all gNBs belonging to the list of TAIs for which the UE is registered, and the gNBs transmit in turn the paging message to the UEs. Upon decoding the paging message on a specific PO, the UE can know if it shall access the network for an incoming call or data transfer by checking the identities of the paged users. If the identity of the UE is listed in the paging record list, then the UE shall access the network to receive the incoming call or data.

[0037] In NR, the paging agent of the UE could be different depending on the RRC state of the paged UE. If the paged UE is in the RRC idle state, the paging agent is the MME. However, if the UE is in RAN controlled inactive state the paging agent may be the gNB terminating the SI connections of the UE (e.g., the anchor gNB). Concerning the RAN controlled inactive state, see Nokia and Alcatel-Lucent Shanghai Bell, "Discussion of RRC States in NR", R2- 163441, 3 GPP TSG-RAN WG2 Meeting #94, 23-27 May, 2016, Nanjing, China.

[0038] The size of the paging message is dominated by the size of the paging record list containing the identities of the UEs that are paged. The paging identity can be either SAE- Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (S-TMSI) of 40 bits (5 octets) or International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) of 64 bits (8 octets). The IMSI is used only in some abnormal cases for error recovery, see 3GPP TS 24.301 , Non-access stratum (NAS) protocol for evolved packet system.

[0039] In LTE, 16 UEs can be paged simultaneously in one PO. If this requirement is kept for NR, the size of the paging record list can be between 640 bits and 1024 bits corresponding to the case when all UEs are paged using S-TMSI and IMSI, respectively. As such, the transmission of the paging record list using beam sweeping is extremely expensive in terms of radio resources, considering the large size of the paging record list.

[0040] To reduce the radio resource overhead, it has been proposed for NR that the UE monitors one specific Paging Indicator (PI) per PO. See Nokia, Alcatel-Lucent Shanghai Bell, "Paging in NR at HF Operation", R2- 1700807, 3 GPP TSG-RAN WG2 NR #97,

February 2017. Different groups of UEs, distributed over all POs, monitor different Pis. A PO is a subframe in a paging frame, see, 3GPP TS 36.304 V14.3.0 (2017-06), Section 7, or more generally a time occasion in which the corresponding PI of a UE is transmitted. A PI can be a Paging Group Identity (PGID), e.g., PGID = 1, 2, ..., in the PO, or a specific bit position in a bitmap, e.g., a bitmap of N bits can differentiate between N groups/Pis, in the PO. For instance, if there are four Paging Groups (PGs) monitoring a PO, then a bitmap of, e.g., 1010 may indicate that the UEs of the first and third PGs are paged, and each bit in the bitmap is a PI for UEs in a corresponding group. [0041] All UEs in the group that are monitoring the same PI and able to decode the paging message perform uplink access if their corresponding PI is indicated/set in PO

(irrespective of whether it is a paged UE or not). In the uplink access, these UEs convey their user identity to gNBs, which in turn compare the user identities received from the UEs with the list of user identities for the paged UEs received from the paging agent. Then, gNBs reply with a response to all those UEs that are paged, and, for other UEs monitoring the same PI but that are not paged, these UEs do not get a response from the gNB or as an alternative option receive a false paging indication. Although the UE is not paged by the network, it has to perform UL access each time its corresponding PI is set by the network. The UL access should be performed by the UE since it does not know if it is paged or not. If it is not paged, then the UL access was in vain, resulting in so called "false-paging".

[0042] FIG. 2 shows a paging signaling flow for RRC idle UEs when a paging record list received from the paging agent (e.g. MME) contains only S-TMSIs. Note that only Pis are transmitted using beam sweeping and all other messages between the UE and the network are signaled using dedicated transmission.

[0043] For step 210, the paging agent (e.g., MME) 190 sends a paging record list containing the user identities (e.g., S-TMSIs) of paged UEs 110. The base station (e.g., gNB) 170 in step 220 sends Pis of paged UEs, transmitted using beam sweeping to, e.g., UE 110. In step 230, each UE 110 monitoring one of the indicted Pis reply with its individual S-TMSI. In step 240, the base station 170 compares the S-TMSI received from the UEs with the list of S- TMSIs received from the paging agent 190: For UEs 110 with S-TMSI match, the base station 170 replies with a response. The response is illustrated in step 250, where the base station 170 responds for all UEs with S-TMSI match.

[0044] Using this approach, the paging record list need not be transmitted over the downlink since the network is checking as to which UEs are paged. This requires that Pis having much smaller size than a paging record list are transmitted using beam sweeping instead of using the paging record list. Transmission of Pis rather than the complete paging record list leads to a much better usage of radio resources and to more efficient system.

[0045] The current assumption is that the UE will use its IMSI to determine the paging indicator (PG ID or a bit in a bitmap) to which it belongs. See Nokia, Alcatel-Lucent Shanghai Bell, "Evaluation of UL Access using Paging Indicators", R2-1702780, 3 GPP TSG- RAN WG2 NR #97-bis, April 2017. In particular, the k^th UE of a cell is assigned to the i^th PG, i = 1, Ng, as follows:

PGi = 1 + (IMSI_k mod Ng), where IMSlk is the IMSI of the k^th UE, Ng is the total number of PGs, and mod is the modulo operation. Due to the random nature of the IMSI, the UEs in the cell are expected be distributed evenly over all PGs and POs.

[0046] A problem with this approach is that a frequently paged UE(s) such as a hotline, an emergency line or UE(s) running applications that receive data more frequently from remote servers, may map or belong to the same PG containing UEs that are paged infrequently or with a much lower frequency. Consequently, the infrequently paged UEs may have to perform additional unnecessary UL access each time the frequently-paged UE(s) is paged. This leads to an increase in the rate of false paging causing higher signaling overhead and increased UE power consumption.

[0047] The techniques herein address how to reduce false paging rate in scenarios such as but not limited to this.

[0048] Concerning typical paging techniques, in LTE for instance, the UE 110 determines the PO and radio frame containing the PO, denoted by paging frame, using the UE ID defined as the following (see 3GPP TS 36.331, Radio Resource Control):

UE ID = IMSI mod 1024.

The use of IMSI ensures that the UEs are distributed to some extent evenly over all POs and paging frames.

[0049] The LTE proposal is similar to what is currently proposed for NR, see Nokia, Alcatel- Lucent Shanghai Bell, "Evaluation of UL Access using Paging Indicators", R2-

1702780, 3 GPP TSG-RAN WG2 NR #97-bis, April 2017. It is believed this does not solve the problem described above.

[0050] It is helpful to also provide a summary of the paging methods used in 3G, LTE and the response-driven paging proposed for NR.

[0051] In 3G, the UE needs to monitor one Paging Indicator (PI) per one Paging

Occasion (PO) per DRX cycle. The Pis are carried on a Paging Indicator Channel (PICH) physical channel. If the PI is set in a PICH frame, a paging message containing the user identities (S-TMSI/IMSI) is transmitted on the Paging Channel (PCH) transport channel which is mapped to Secondary Common Control Physical Channel (S-CCPCH), i.e., S- CCPCH carries the paging message corresponding to the PI in the PICH.

[0052] Looking at 3G specifications in 3 GPP TS 25.304, the high layer PI is determined by the UE using the following formula:

PI = DRX Index mod Np,

where DRX Index = IMSI div 8192. [0053] As stated in this equation, the PI is determined using the IMSI, which is a fixed and permanent identifier. From that perspective, the PI that the UE will monitor is fixed according the specifications. This is similar to LTE, where the paging frame and paging occasion are determined using the IMSI of the UE.

[0054] In LTE, the network broadcasts the paging message containing the user identities (S-TMSI/IMSI) of the paged UEs. Upon receiving the paging message, the UE checks if its user identity is present in the paging record list. If present, the UE performs UL access to get the incoming call/data transfer. Otherwise, the UE sleeps again.

[0055] For the response-driven paging for NR, each UE checks if its PI is broadcasted in a PO. If broadcasted, all the UEs monitoring the same PI perform UL access and convey their UE identities to the network, see FIG. 2. The network acknowledges the truly paged UEs, and sends a false-indication for non-paged UE.

[0056] In the paging method of 3G and LTE, the paging message containing the user identities is transmitted over the radio. Thus, each UE knows if it is paged or not by simply reading the paging message. Only paged UEs perform UL access. As such, false-paging should not occur as in the response-driven paging for NR.

[0057] The exemplary embodiments herein propose that some UEs 110 may be configured to start monitoring a specific/new Paging Indicator (PI), e.g., paging group ID (PGID) or a specific bit in a bitmap, or a new PO that is distinct from those used by the remaining UEs, if their paging rate is deemed to be high. These new specific PI/PO can be exclusive to one UE, or shared by other UEs that are as well highly paged. The trigger for such action can be either initiated by the network using dedicated signaling or initiated by the UE using signaled configuration from the network. Moreover, the UE can inform (e.g., via signaling) the network about its capability of monitoring a new PI/PO in case its paging rate is deemed to be high. This helps the network to identify the UEs that can be configured to monitor a new specific PI/PO. The implementation details are described below.

[0058] The techniques allow grouping of frequently paged UEs separately from infrequently paged UEs. As a result, the infrequently paged UEs do not have to perform additional unnecessary UL access each time the frequently paged UEs are paged. This reduces the false paging rate along with the associated UL signaling overhead and UE power consumption.

[0059] The implementation details of the invention are explained in the following. The following part of this disclosure is divided into titled sections for ease of exposition. [0060] Section A. Actions performed by the UE upon determining (by the network or UE, see Section B below) that its paging rate is high. It is assumed that paging rate is a number of pages to a UE divided by a time period.

[0061] In more detail, a paging rate is considered high if the paging rate is greater or equal to a threshold value. The threshold value may be set to the average paging rate of all UEs in the scope of view, e.g., scope may be a cell or a paging area, a tracking area, and other views on the network. The threshold could be as well set considering only the paging rates of the UEs belonging to the same paging group and monitoring the same PI: For instance, the threshold may be set such that only UEs with outlier paging rates exceed the paging rate. The threshold value may be also set to some other value, e.g., so that 90% (90 percent) of the UEs are not considered as having a high paging rate.

[0062] The following are examples of actions performed by the UE 110 upon determining (by the network or UE, see Section B below) that its paging rate is high:

[0063] 1. The UE may be configured to start monitoring a new specific PI. The paging indicator could be the last bit in a bitmap or a specific PG ID, e.g., 1111.

[0064] 2. Or, the UE may be configured to start monitoring a new specific PO.

[0065] The new specific PI/PO are different from the PI/PO that are derived using IMSI. Moreover, they can be configured only for one UE or for multiple UEs that are highly paged.

[0066] Section B. Entity triggering the actions summarized in Section A and radio signaling

[0067] This section concerns the entity triggering the actions summarized in Section A and radio signaling.

[0068] I. In a first exemplary option for an entity triggering the actions in Section A, the following are possible implementations.

[0069] a. The paging agent (e.g., MME or anchor gNB) can determine which UE is frequently paged, e.g., paging rate > threshold, and can configure the UE using a dedicated signaling to start one of the actions summarized in Section A above. For instance, the dedicated signaling could be a Non- Access Stratum (NAS) message in case the paging agent is an MME. Regarding the anchor gNB, this is the gNB terminating the SI connection for PvRC inactive UEs. In contrast to RRC idle UEs, the SI connection of RRC inactive UEs is kept alive and is terminated by one gNB called the anchor gNB, i.e., however no radio interface/communication as in RRC idle UEs. If the RRC inactive UE has some data to receive from a remote server, the anchor gNB or the MME can initiate the paging procedure: If the paging procedure is initiated by gNB, it is then called "RAN paging". The anchor gNB will send the paging message to all gNBs of the tracking area (similar to what the MME does). Once receiving the paging message, the UE performs UL access and resumes the connection, i.e., no need to re-establish the SI connection as this connection is still alive. It is noted that the anchor gNB does not have to go through another anchor gNB in order to reach the UE. The UE can be reached by a gNB belonging to the "RAN tracking areas" that are under the reach/control of an anchor gNB. This is similar to the case when the paging agent is an MME.

[0070] b. Alternatively, the triggering of the action can be initiated by any gNB in the tracking area. That is, the gNB to which the highly paged UE will connect once being paged. This gNB belongs to the tracking area that is controlled by the paging agent (anchor gNB or MME). As an example, the gNB may configure the UE using dedicated signaling and inform the paging agent about its decision and signaled configuration.

[0071] c. As a second alternative, the paging agent can instruct the gNBs of the tracking areas to configure the UE using dedicated signaling and to inform the paging agent about the signaled configuration.

[0072] d. The paging agent informs all the cells in the tracking areas about the configured actions such that the cells can know how to transmit the paging indicator over the radio for these frequently paged UEs, i.e., which PI or PO to use.

[0073] e. The dedicated signaling can be performed in one of the instances the

UE is paged, as illustrated below.

[0074] i. The dedicated signaling may configure the UE to monitor a specific paging indicator in the same PO, or to monitor a new PO that is distinct from those used by remaining UEs.

[0075] 1. The dedicated signaling may specify directly the PI/PO to monitor.

[0076] 2. The dedicated signaling may provide the UE with new parameters that the UE will use to derive the new specific PI/PO.

[0077] ii. The dedicated signaling may only direct the UE to start one of the actions summarized in Section A above. The configuration parameters for deriving the new specific PI/PO can be conveyed in, e.g., Minimum System Information (SI) that is periodically broadcasted.

[0078] f. If the paging rate of a UE 110 falls again below a certain threshold, the network may reconfigure the UE to re-use the normal monitoring procedure for PI/PO (same as that used by the remaining UEs which has been described above). To avoid ping-pongs, the network may re-configure the UE only in response to the paging rate being below the threshold by a certain window value.

[0079] II. In a second exemplary option for an entity triggering the actions in Section A, the UE 110 triggers the start of one of the actions summarized in Section A using the assistance information broadcasted by the network, such as the following.

[0080] a. If the paging rate of the UE 110 exceeds a certain threshold that is pre- configured by the network, the UE may start one of the actions summarized in Section A as configured by the network.

[0081] b. The configuration of the threshold and one of the actions can be conveyed using Minimum SI. Note that the network knows how to send the PI for this UE, since it knows the paging rate of each UE and the actions made by the UE upon exceeding this rate.

[0082] c. The UE may stop the configured action if its paging rate becomes below the threshold by a certain window that is configured by the network.

[0083] Section C. Actions performed during tracking area update

[0084] This section describes possible actions performed during a tracking area update.

[0085] Upon performing a tracking area update, the new paging agent may fetch from the old MME or anchor gNB (i.e., the old paging agent) the paging configuration used for reaching a frequently paged UE 110, i.e., the specific PI or PO that are used only by frequently paged UEs, paging rate threshold, and the like.

[0086] Alternatively, a frequently paged UE may inform directly the new paging agent about its paging configuration upon performing tracking area update. Both options allow the continuity of the action configured for frequently paged UEs and avoid resetting the paging rate counters with each tracking area update.

[0087] In addition, the UE may inform the network about its capability of monitoring a new PI/PO in case its paging rate is deemed to be high. The UE can include in the signaling its IMSI, which identifies the UE uniquely. Using this signaling, the network can know which UEs the network can configure to monitor a new specific PI/PO.

[0088] As described above, there are two exemplary options, the first option in

Section B.I. and the second option in Section B.IL, regarding an entity triggering the actions performed by a user equipment in response to a paging rate of the user equipment being determined to be high. FIGS. 3 and 4 correspond in part to the first option in Section B.I., where FIG. 3 is directed to a network node and FIG. 4 is directed to a UE. In this first option, the UE has a smaller role (and the network has a larger role) in performing actions based on the threshold. Meanwhile, FIGS. 5 and 6 correspond in part to the second option in Section B.I., where FIG. 5 is directed to a network node and FIG. 6 is directed to a UE. In this second option, the UE has a larger role in performing actions based on the threshold. Each of these figures further illustrates the operation of an exemplary method or methods, a result of execution of computer program instructions embodied on a computer readable memory, functions performed by logic implemented in hardware, and/or interconnected means for performing functions in accordance with exemplary embodiments.

[0089] FIG. 3 is a logic flow diagram of an exemplary embodiment performed by a network node for reduction of false paging, and is used when the network node primarily controls the operations in the system for reduction of false paging and corresponds in part to a first option for an entity triggering actions performed by a user equipment in response to a paging rate of the user equipment being determined to be high. The blocks in FIG. 3 are assumed to be performed by a base station such as gNB 170, e.g., under control of the paging module 150 at least in part, although some of the blocks may also be performed by a paging agent (such as an MME) 190, e.g., under control of the paging module 182 at least in part. The term "network node" will be used, and it is assumed the network node is a base station unless described differently.

[0090] In the example of FIG. 3, the network has a larger role than does a UE 110 for performing actions in the system based on a threshold used to determine whether the paging rate of the UE is deemed to be high. For instance, the UE 110 does not perform comparisons of paging rate with the threshold in this example (and the example of FIG. 4).

[0091] Before proceeding with additional description of FIG. 3, it is helpful to described how a first paging location, used for low paging rate (e.g., "normal" UEs) is configured. The network broadcasts common configuration parameters, which the UEs will use to derive the first paging location. For instance, looking at the example above that uses the equation PGi = 1 + (IMSIk mod Ng), the number of groups Ng is one common configuration parameter that is delivered by broadcast. Using this common configuration, each UE will derive the first paging location using its IMSI. It could happen now that one UE in a paging group is paged more frequently than others, e.g., hotline. In order to reduce the false paging rate of other UEs in the same paging group, the network commands this highly-paged UE only (e.g., using dedicated signaling) to start using a second paging location. Dictating a UE to move to a specific paging location is not possible using the common configuration parameters since these are used for all UEs. Moreover, the role of the common configuration is to ensure that an almost equal number of UEs are monitoring the different PO/PIs in a DRX cycle. In other words, the paging rate of the UEs does not play a role for determining the first paging location.

[0092] The UEs will keep using the first paging location that they have derived until they are configured with the second paging location. Once receiving the configuration of the second paging location, the UE should know implicitly that it is a highly-paged UE. If the paging rate of this UE falls below a threshold- window, the network would configure the UE (or UEs) to stop using the second paging location.

[0093] In block 303 of FIG. 3, a network node (e.g., a base station 170) transmits common configuration parameters, e.g., via broadcast transmission, that all UEs (including UE 110) will use in addition to their UE identities, e.g., IMSI, to derive the first paging location. The first paging location may use a PI and/or PO, as described previously. The UE monitors the first paging location (and not the second paging location) as long as it did not receive a command from the network to monitor the second paging location. In block 305, the network node (e.g., base station 170) uses the first paging location (e.g., first PI, first PO) to page the UE 110 at times the user equipment is paged. That is, the base station 170 may or may not page the UE for each possible time the UE could be paged. It is also noted that the paging may cause communication by the UE with the network node, e.g., to receive a call and/or data. This is not illustrated in FIGS. 3 or 4 with respect to the first paging location, but is illustrated in block 340 with respect to the second paging location.

[0094] In block 310, the network node such as the base station 170 determines whether paging rate is high (e.g., greater than the threshold) for the UE. Note that "greater than the threshold" may mean equal to or greater than the threshold, or greater than the threshold, depending on implementation. Similarly, "less than the threshold" may mean (respectively) less than but not equal to the threshold, or equal to or less than the threshold, depending on implementation.

[0095] If the paging rate of the UE 110 is not high, less than the threshold (block 315 = No), the flow proceeds back to block 305. If the paging rate of the UE 110 is high, greater than the threshold (block 315 = Yes), the flow proceeds to block 320, where the UE is configured with a second paging location that is different from the first paging location and that is configured based on the user equipment 110 having its paging rate being above the threshold. The configuring in block 320 may use dedicated signaling specifying one or both of a paging indicator and a paging occasion, different from the common configuration parameters, to monitor by the user equipment for the second paging location. This configuration triggers the UE to monitor the second paging location (and not the first paging location). The second paging location is, e.g., the following (see also Section A above): A new (e.g., second) specific PI in block 325; and/or a new (e.g., second) specific PO in block 330. An exemplary and non-limiting summary of these options is as follows, where the second paging location is related to the first paging location, which was derived using the common configuration parameters as described above:

[0096] 1) Change a PI in same PO: Instead of monitoring, e.g., the first bit in 4-bit bitmap, the UE starts to monitor an additional 5th bit.

[0097] 2) Change PO but same PI: The UE is configured to monitor a new PO but same PI (e.g., the first bit in a 4-bit bitmap).

[0098] 3) Change PO and PI: The UE monitors a new PO and a new PI in this new PO (e.g., the second bit instead of the first bit).

[0099] It is noted, as described above in Section B.I., that block 320 may be performed (see block 307) by a base station (gNB) 170 by itself, or a paging agent (MME 190 or anchor gNB). As described above in Section B.I.d., and as replicated in block 308, the paging agent may inform the cells in the tracking areas for the UE 110. That is, the paging agent may inform the cells in the tracking areas about the configured actions such that the cells can know how to transmit the paging indicator over the radio for these frequently paged UEs, i.e., which PI or PO to use.

[00100] In block 331, the network node, e.g., the base station 170, uses the second paging location to page the UE at times the user equipment is paged. In other words, the base station 170 may or may not need to page the UE for a second paging location that occurs at a certain time. It is also noted that the first location is no longer used by the network node for this UE, for paging purposes, while the second location is to be used. If the UE 110 is paged (block 335 = Yes) by the network node, e.g., the base station 170, in block 340 the network node communicates with the UE 110 in accordance with paging procedures, which may result in the UE receiving an incoming call or data. If the UE 110 is not paged (block 335 = No) by the network node or block 340 has been performed, in block 345 the network node determines whether the paging rate is no longer high (e.g., below the threshold, e.g., by a window). As described above, this may use a window to reduce or prevent ping-pongs in transitioning between the first and second paging locations.

[00101] If the paging rate is still high (block 350 = Still high) (i.e., greater than the threshold or less than the threshold but greater than the threshold minus the window, if used), the flow proceeds to block 331. If the paging rate is no longer high (block 350 = No longer high) (i.e., less than the threshold by the window if used), the network node (e.g., base station 170) stops using the second paging location to page the UE, in block 355. The network node then reconfigures the UE with the first paging location, in block 303.

[00102] FIG. 4 is a logic flow diagram performed by a user equipment, and this figure corresponds to the flow in FIG. 3. The blocks in FIG. 4 are assumed to be performed by the UE 110, e.g., under control of the paging module 140 at least in part. In block 403, the UE 110 receives a first common configuration from the network, e.g., via broadcast transmission, that the UE will use in addition to the UE identity, e.g., IMSI, to derive the first paging location. As described before, the first paging location is a first PI or first PO. The UE monitors the first paging location (and not the second paging location) as long as the UE did not receive a command from the network to monitor a second paging location.

[00103] In block 405, the UE 110 monitors the first paging location for paging information (e.g., and would access the base station in accordance with normal paging procedures if the UE receives paging on the first paging location).

[00104] In block 415, it is determined if a second configuration (with a second paging location) is received. If not (block 415 = No), the UE 110 continues to monitor the first paging location in block 405. If the second configuration is received (block 415 = Yes), the UE 110 in block 420 receives the second paging location that is different from the first paging location and that is configured based on the user equipment having a paging rate being above the threshold. This configuring triggers the UE to monitor the second paging location (and not the first paging location). As with FIG. 3, the second paging location may be a new (e.g., second) specific PI (block 32) and/or a new (e.g., second) specific PO (block 330).

[00105] The UE 110 in block 428 monitors the second paging location (e.g., and stops monitoring the first location). If the UE is paged (block 435 = Yes) in the second paging location, the UE 110 communicates with the base station in accordance with paging procedures, in block 440. If the UE is not paged (block 435 = No) or block 440 has been performed, the UE determines in block 450 whether it has received a command from the network to stop using the second configuration and start using the first paging location derived from the first common configuration. If not (block 450 = No), the UE continues to monitor the second paging location in block 428. If a command is received from the network (block 450 = Yes), the UE 110 stops monitoring the second paging location in block 455 and proceeds to block 403, where the first common configuration is received again.

[00106] In the example of FIGS. 5 and 6, the UE 110 has a larger role, relative to its role in FIGS. 3 and 4, for performing actions in the system based on a threshold used to determine whether the paging rate of the UE is deemed to be high. For instance, the UE 110 will perform comparisons of paging rate with the threshold in this example.

[00107] Turning to FIG. 5, this figure is a logic flow diagram of an exemplary embodiment performed by a network node for reduction of false paging, and is used when the user equipment has a larger role for reduction of false paging than performed in FIGS. 3 and 4 and corresponds in part to a second option for an entity triggering actions performed by a user equipment in response to a paging rate of the user equipment being determined to be high. The blocks in FIG. 5 are assumed to be performed by a base station such as gNB 170, e.g., under control of the paging module 150 at least in part, although some of the blocks may also be performed by a paging agent (such as an MME) 190, e.g., under control of the paging module 182 at least in part. The term "network node" will be used, and it is assumed the network node is a base station unless described differently.

[00108] In block 503 of FIG. 5, a network node (e.g., a base station 170) configures a UE 110 with common parameters to derive first paging location, a second paging location, a threshold, and possibly a window. As before, the first paging location is based on the user equipment having a paging rate below a threshold, and the second paging location is based on the user equipment having its paging rate greater than the threshold. The configuring the user equipment with the second paging location may be performed using dedicated signaling to specify parameters, different from the common configuration parameters, that the user equipment uses to derive the second paging location. Other options are also possible.

This block configures the UE 110 to use these values to determine whether the first or second paging location should be monitored, based on the threshold (with the window, if used). Block 503 may be performed (block 507) by a paging agent (MME or an anchor gNB), or a gNB (e.g., cell) to which the UE may connect when paged. Alternatively, the UE may receive the configuration using the Minimum System Information that is broadcasted periodically. As with block 308, in block 508, the paging agent may inform the cells in the tracking areas for the UE 110. That is, the paging agent may inform the cells in the tracking areas about the configured actions such that the cells can know how to transmit the paging indicator over the radio for these frequently paged UEs, i.e., which PI or PO to use. The first paging location is defined by a first PI or a first PO. The second paging location is defined based on a new (e.g., second) specific PI in block 325; and/or a new (e.g., second) specific PO (block 330). It is noted that the configuration in block 503 may be performed via single or multiple actions (e.g., messages), and may also take place at different locations in the flow. For example, configuration of the second paging location might take place after block 510. [00109] In block 505, the network node (e.g., base station 170) uses the first paging location (e.g., first PI, first PO) to page the UE 110 at times the user equipment is paged. That is, the base station 170 may or may not page the UE for each possible time the UE could be paged.

[00110] In block 515, the network node such as the base station 170 determines whether paging rate is high (e.g., greater than the threshold) for the UE. If the paging rate of the UE 110 is not high, less than the threshold (block 515 = No), the flow proceeds back to block 505. If the paging rate of the UE 110 is high, greater than the threshold (block 515 = Yes), the flow proceeds to block 520, where the network node, e.g., the base station 170, uses the second paging location to page the UE at times the user equipment is paged. In other words, the base station 170 may or may not need to page the UE for a second paging location that occurs at a certain time. It is also noted that the first location is no longer used by the network node for this UE, for paging purposes, while the second location is to be used.

[00111] If the UE 110 is paged (block 535 = Yes) by the network node, e.g., the base station 170, in block 540 the network node communicates with the UE 110 in accordance with paging procedures. If the UE 110 is not paged (block 535 = No) by the network node or block 540 has been performed, in block 545 the network node determines whether the paging rate is no longer high (e.g., below the threshold, e.g., by the window). As described above, this may use the window to reduce or prevent ping-pongs between transitions between the first and second paging locations.

[00112] If the paging rate is still high (block 550 = still high) (i.e., greater than the threshold), the flow proceeds to block 520. If the paging rate is no longer high (block 550 = no longer high) (i.e., less than the threshold by a value of at least the window), the network node (e.g., base station 170) stops using the second paging location to page the UE, in block 555. The flow proceeds to block 505, where the network node uses the first paging location to page the UE 110.

[00113] FIG. 6 is a logic flow diagram performed by a user equipment, and this figure corresponds to the flow in FIG. 5. The blocks in FIG. 6 are assumed to be performed by the UE 110, e.g., under control of the paging module 140 at least in part.

[00114] In block 603, the UE 110 is configured (by the network node) with common configuration parameters for deriving the first paging location, (e.g., parameters UE can use to derive) a second paging location, a threshold, and possibly a window. As before, the first paging location is based on the user equipment having a paging rate below a threshold, and the second paging location is based on the user equipment having its paging rate greater than the threshold. The first paging location is defined by a first PI or a first PO.

The second paging location is defined based on a new (e.g., second) specific PI in block 325; and/or a new (e.g., second) specific PO (block 330). The UE is configured to use these values to determine whether the first or second paging location should be monitored, based on the threshold (and with the window, if used).

[00115] In block 605, the UE 110 monitors the first paging location for paging information (e.g., and would access the base station in accordance with normal paging procedures if the UE receives paging on the first paging location).

[00116] In block 615, the UE 110 determines whether paging rate is high (e.g., greater than the threshold). If not (block 615 = No), the UE 110 continues to monitor the first paging location in block 605. If the paging rate is high (e.g., greater than the threshold) (block 615 = Yes), the UE 110 in block 620 monitors the second paging location that is different from the first paging location and that is configured based on the user equipment having its paging rate being above the threshold.

[00117] If the UE is paged (block 635 = Yes) in the second paging location, the

UE 110 communicates with the base station in accordance with paging procedures, in block 640. If the UE is not paged (block 635 = No) or block 640 has been performed, the UE determines in block 645 whether the paging rate of the UE is no longer high, which may mean the paging rate is less than the threshold, e.g., by a window. If the paging rate is still high (block 650 = still high), the UE continues to monitor the second paging location in block 620. If the first configuration is no longer high (block 650 = no longer high), which means the paging rate is less than the threshold by a window (assuming the window is used), the UE 110 stops monitoring the second paging location in block 655 and proceeds to block 605, to monitor the first paging location.

[00118] Without in any way limiting the scope, interpretation, or application of the claims appearing below, the following are exemplary advantages and technical effects of one or more of the embodiments.

[00119] As stated above, the techniques do not exclude the case when the UE is configured to monitor a new specific PI/PO that is exclusive for this UE. This may actually be one of the most prominent use cases for these techniques. For instance, assume that there are 10 UEs monitoring the same paging indicator, among which the paging rate of 9 UEs is X pages/min and for one highly paged UE Z the paging rate is 10X pages/min. If UE Z is put into a separate PI/PO, then each of the 9 UEs will save the 10 X pages/min of UE Z. This shows the clear advantage/gain of the techniques described above. [00120] As a second example, the UE may be configured to start monitoring the

PI/PO that is shared with other highly paged UEs. For instance, assume the following case:

[00121] · Group A monitoring the same PI/PO: 9 UEs with X pages/min and

UE Z with 10 X pages/min; and

[00122] · Group B of highly paged UEs monitoring the same PI/PO: 9 UEs with

5X pages/min.

[00123] Moving UE Z to group B will reduce the false paging rate on average since the paging rate of the 9 UEs in Group A is lower than those of Group B.

[00124] The following are additional examples.

[00125] Example 1. A method, comprising:

[00126] transmitting, by a network node, common configuration parameters that a user equipment uses to derive a first paging location;

[00127] using, by the network node, the first paging location to page the user equipment at times the user equipment is paged;

[00128] determining at the network node that a paging rate of the user equipment is above the threshold;

[00129] configuring, by the network node, the user equipment with a second paging location that is different from the first paging location and that is configured based on the user equipment having its paging rate above the threshold; and

[00130] using, by the network node, the second paging location to page the user equipment at times the user equipment is paged, and ceasing to use the first paging location for paging the user equipment.

[00131] Example 2. The method of example 1, further comprising the network node configuring the user equipment with the threshold to be used by the user equipment to determine when to monitor the second paging location and to cease monitoring the first paging location.

[00132] Example 3. The method of example 2, further comprising the network node configuring the user equipment with a window to be used in conjunction with the threshold to determine by the user equipment when to return to monitoring the first paging location instead of monitoring the second paging location.

[00133] Example 4. The method of example 1, wherein the network node triggers monitoring by the user equipment of the second paging location instead of the first paging location by configuring the user equipment with the second paging location, and triggers monitoring by the user equipment of the first paging location instead of the second paging location by configuring the user equipment to stop using the second paging location.

[00134] Example 5. The method of any one of examples 1 to 4, further comprising receiving by the network node and from the user equipment signaling informing the network node about a capability of the user equipment of monitoring the second paging location in case the paging rate of the user equipment is deemed to be high, and at least providing the user equipment with common configuration parameters to derive a first paging location and configuring the user equipment with the second paging location are performed in response to the signaling.

[00135] Example 6. The method of any one of examples 1 to 5, further comprising one of the network node or a paging agent informing cells within tracking areas for the user equipment about configured actions such that the cells can know how to transmit a paging indicator in the second paging location over a radio for at least the user equipment to be able to receive paging in the second paging location.

[00136] Example 7. A method, comprising:

[00137] receiving, by a user equipment, common configuration parameters for deriving a first paging location;

[00138] monitoring, by the user equipment, the first paging location;

[00139] receiving, by the user equipment, a second paging location that is different from the first paging location and that is configured based on the user equipment having its paging rate above the threshold; and

[00140] monitoring, by the user equipment and based on the paging rate of the user equipment being above the threshold, the second paging location, and ceasing to monitor the first paging location.

[00141] Example 8. The method of example 7, further comprising:

[00142] receiving by the user equipment a threshold;

[00143] determining by the user equipment the paging rate of the user equipment is greater than the threshold; and

[00144] in response to determining the paging rate of the user equipment is greater than the threshold, performing the monitoring of the second paging location and ceasing to monitor the first paging location.

[00145] Example 9. The method of example 8, further comprising:

[00146] determining by the user equipment the paging rate of the user equipment is less than the threshold; and [00147] in response to determining the paging rate of the user equipment is less than the threshold, performing the monitoring of the first paging location based on the common configuration and ceasing to monitor the second paging location.

[00148] Example 10. The method of example 7, further comprising:

[00149] receiving by the user equipment a threshold;

[00150] receiving by the user equipment a window;

[00151] determining by the user equipment a paging rate of the user equipment is greater than a value of the threshold minus the window or determining the paging rate of the user equipment is less than the value of the threshold minus the window;

[00152] in response to determining the paging rate of the user equipment is greater than a value of the threshold minus the window, performing the monitoring of the second paging location and ceasing to monitor the first paging location; and

[00153] in response to determining the paging rate of the user equipment is less than a value of the threshold minus the window, performing the monitoring of the first paging location based on the common configuration and ceasing to monitor the second paging location.

[00154] Example 11. The method of example 7, wherein the user equipment is configured to monitor the first paging location unless information for the second paging location is received, and wherein reception of the second paging location triggers the user equipment to monitor the second paging location and cease to monitor the first paging location.

[00155] Example 12. The method of any one of examples 7 to 11, further comprising the user equipment informing a network via signaling about its capability of monitoring the second paging location in case its paging rate is deemed to be high, and at least the common configuration to derive the first paging location and the second paging location are received in response to informing the network by the user equipment.

[00156] Example 13. The method of any one of examples 1 to 12, wherein the second paging location comprises one or both of the following: a specific paging indicator that differs from a paging indicator used for the first paging location; and a specific paging occasion that differs from a paging occasion used for the first paging location.

[00157] Example 14. The method of example 13, wherein the second location comprises, relative to what is used in the first paging location:

[00158] a change in a paging indicator is made but a same paging occasion used for the first paging location is used; [00159] a change in a paging occasion is made but a same paging indicator used for the first paging location is used;

[00160] changes in both paging occasion and paging indicator are made from what are used in the first paging location.

[00161] Example 15. The method of any one of examples 1 to 14, wherein configuring the user equipment with the second paging location comprises configuring the user equipment using dedicated signaling specifying one or both of a paging indicator and a paging occasion, different from the common configuration parameters, to monitor by the user equipment for the second paging location.

Example 15 A. The method of any one of examples 1 to 14, wherein receiving by the user equipment the second paging location comprises receiving by the user equipment dedicated signaling specifying one or both of a paging indicator and a paging occasion, different from the common configuration parameters, to monitor by the user equipment for the second paging location.

[00162] Example 16. The method of any one of examples 1 to 14, wherein configuring the user equipment with the second paging location comprises configuring the user equipment using dedicated signaling to specify parameters, different from the common configuration parameters, that the user equipment uses to derive the second paging location. Example 16A. The method of any one of examples 1 to 14, wherein receiving by the user equipment the second paging location comprises receiving by the user equipment dedicated signaling to specify parameters, different from the common configuration parameters, that the user equipment uses to derive the second paging location.

[00163] Example 17. The method of any one of examples 1 to 16, further comprising, in response to performing a tracking area update, a new paging agent for the user equipment fetching from an old paging agent a paging configuration used for paging the user equipment via the second paging location.

[00164] Example 18. The method of any one of examples 1 to 16, further comprising the user equipment informing a new paging agent about its paging configuration upon performing a tracking area update, the paging configuration used for paging the user equipment via the second paging location.

[00165] Example 19. An apparatus, comprising:

[00166] means for transmitting, by a network node, common configuration parameters that a user equipment uses to derive a first paging location; [00167] means for using, by the network node, the first paging location to page the user equipment at times the user equipment is paged;

[00168] means for determining at the network node that a paging rate of the user equipment is above the threshold;

[00169] means for configuring, by the network node, the user equipment with a second paging location that is different from the first paging location and that is configured based on the user equipment having its paging rate above the threshold; and

[00170] means for using, by the network node, the second paging location to page the user equipment at times the user equipment is paged, and means for ceasing to use the first paging location for paging the user equipment.

[00171] Example 20. The apparatus of example 19, further comprising means for the network node configuring the user equipment with the threshold to be used by the user equipment to determine when to monitor the second paging location and to cease monitoring the first paging location.

[00172] Example 21. The apparatus of example 20, further comprising the network node configuring the user equipment with a window to be used in conjunction with the threshold to determine by the user equipment when to return to monitoring the first paging location instead of monitoring the second paging location.

[00173] Example 22. The apparatus of example 19, wherein the network node triggers monitoring by the user equipment of the second paging location instead of the first paging location by configuring the user equipment with the second paging location, and triggers monitoring by the user equipment of the first paging location instead of the second paging location by configuring the user equipment to stop using the second paging location.

[00174] Example 23. The apparatus of any one of examples 19 to 22, further comprising means for receiving by the network node and from the user equipment signaling informing the network node about a capability of the user equipment of monitoring the second paging location in case the paging rate of the user equipment is deemed to be high, and means for at least providing the user equipment with common configuration parameters to derive a first paging location and configuring the user equipment with the second paging location are performed in response to the signaling.

[00175] Example 24. The apparatus of any one of examples 19 to 23, further comprising means for one of the network node or a paging agent informing cells within tracking areas for the user equipment about configured actions such that the cells can know how to transmit a paging indicator in the second paging location over a radio for at least the user equipment to be able to receive paging in the second paging location.

[00176] Example 25. An apparatus, comprising:

[00177] means for receiving, by a user equipment, common configuration parameters for deriving a first paging location;

[00178] means for monitoring, by the user equipment, the first paging location;

[00179] means for receiving, by the user equipment, a second paging location that is different from the first paging location and that is configured based on the user equipment having its paging rate above the threshold; and

[00180] means for monitoring, by the user equipment and based on the paging rate of the user equipment being above the threshold, the second paging location, and ceasing to monitor the first paging location.

[00181] Example 26. The apparatus of example 25, further comprising:

[00182] means for receiving by the user equipment a threshold;

[00183] determining by the user equipment the paging rate of the user equipment is greater than the threshold; and

[00184] means, responsive to determining the paging rate of the user equipment is greater than the threshold, for performing the monitoring of the second paging location and ceasing to monitor the first paging location.

[00185] Example 27. The apparatus of example 26, further comprising:

[00186] means for determining by the user equipment the paging rate of the user equipment is less than the threshold; and

[00187] means, responsive to determining the paging rate of the user equipment is less than the threshold, for performing the monitoring of the first paging location based on the common configuration and ceasing to monitor the second paging location.

[00188] Example 28. The apparatus of example 25, further comprising:

[00189] means for receiving by the user equipment a threshold;

[00190] means for receiving by the user equipment a window;

[00191] means for determining by the user equipment a paging rate of the user equipment is greater than a value of the threshold minus the window or determining the paging rate of the user equipment is less than the value of the threshold minus the window;

[00192] means, responsive to determining the paging rate of the user equipment is greater than a value of the threshold minus the window, for performing the monitoring of the second paging location and ceasing to monitor the first paging location; and [00193] means, responsive to determining the paging rate of the user equipment is less than a value of the threshold minus the window, for performing the monitoring of the first paging location based on the common configuration and ceasing to monitor the second paging location.

[00194] Example 29. The apparatus of example 25, wherein the user equipment is configured to monitor the first paging location unless information for the second paging location is received, and wherein reception of the second paging location triggers the user equipment to monitor the second paging location and cease to monitor the first paging location.

[00195] Example 30. The apparatus of any one of examples 25 to 29, further comprising means for informing by the user equipment a network via signaling about its capability of monitoring the second paging location in case its paging rate is deemed to be high, and at least the common configuration to derive the first paging location and the second paging location are received in response to informing the network by the user equipment.

[00196] Example 31. The apparatus of any one of examples 19 to 30, wherein the second paging location comprises one or both of the following: a specific paging indicator that differs from a paging indicator used for the first paging location; and a specific paging occasion that differs from a paging occasion used for the first paging location.

[00197] Example 32. The apparatus of example 31, wherein the second location comprises, relative to what is used in the first paging location:

[00198] a change in a paging indicator is made but a same paging occasion used for the first paging location is used;

[00199] a change in a paging occasion is made but a same paging indicator used for the first paging location is used;

[00200] changes in both paging occasion and paging indicator are made from what are used in the first paging location.

[00201] Example 33. The apparatus of any one of examples 19 to 32, wherein the means for configuring the user equipment with the second paging location comprises means for configuring the user equipment using dedicated signaling specifying one or both of a paging indicator and a paging occasion, different from the common configuration parameters, to monitor by the user equipment for the second paging location.

[00202] Example 34. The apparatus of any one of examples 19 to 32, wherein the means for configuring the user equipment with the second paging location comprises means for configuring the user equipment using dedicated signaling to specify parameters, different from the common configuration parameters, that the user equipment uses to derive the second paging location.

[00203] Example 35. The apparatus of any one of examples 19 to 34, further comprising means, responsive to performing a tracking area update, for a new paging agent for the user equipment fetching from an old paging agent a paging configuration used for paging the user equipment via the second paging location.

[00204] Example 36. The apparatus of any one of examples 19 to 34, further comprising means for informing by the user equipment a new paging agent about its paging configuration upon performing a tracking area update, the paging configuration used for paging the user equipment via the second paging location.

[00205] Example 37. A communication system comprising any of the apparatus of examples 19 to 36.

[00206] Example 38. A computer program comprising program code for executing the method according to any of examples 1 to 18.

[00207] Example 39. The computer program according to example 38, wherein the computer program is a computer program product comprising a computer- readable medium bearing computer program code embodied therein for use with a computer.

[00208] Example 40. A computer program product comprising a computer- readable storage medium bearing computer program code embodied therein for use with a computer, the computer program code comprising code for performing any of the methods of examples 1 to 18.

[00209] Example 41. An apparatus, comprising:

[00210] one or more processors; and

[00211] one or more memories including computer program code,

[00212] the one or more memories and the computer program code configured, with the one or more processors, to cause the apparatus to perform any of the methods of examples 1 to 18.

[00213] Embodiments herein may be implemented in software (executed by one or more processors), hardware (e.g., an application specific integrated circuit), or a combination of software and hardware. In an example embodiment, the software (e.g., application logic, an instruction set) is maintained on any one of various conventional computer-readable media. In the context of this document, a "computer-readable medium" may be any media or means that can contain, store, communicate, propagate or transport the instructions for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer, with one example of a computer described and depicted, e.g., in FIG. 1. A computer-readable medium may comprise a computer-readable storage medium (e.g., memories 125, 155, 171 or other device) that may be any media or means that can contain, store, and/or transport the instructions for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer. A computer-readable storage medium does not comprise propagating signals.

[00214] If desired, the different functions discussed herein may be performed in a different order and/or concurrently with each other. Furthermore, if desired, one or more of the above-described functions may be optional or may be combined.

[00215] Although various aspects of the invention are set out in the independent claims, other aspects of the invention comprise other combinations of features from the described embodiments and/or the dependent claims with the features of the independent claims, and not solely the combinations explicitly set out in the claims.

[00216] It is also noted herein that while the above describes example embodiments of the invention, these descriptions should not be viewed in a limiting sense. Rather, there are several variations and modifications which may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.

[00217] The following abbreviations that may be found in the specification and/or the drawing figures are defined as follows:

3 GPP third generation partnership project

CMAS commercial mobile alert service

DRX discontinuous reception

eNB (or eNodeB) evolved Node B (e.g., an LTE base station) EWTS earthquake and tsunami warning system

gNG next generation Node B (e.g., an NG base station)

ID identity

I/F interface

IMSI International Mobile Subscriber Identity

LTE long term evolution

MIB master information block

MME mobility management entity

NAS non-access stratum

NCE network control element

NR new radio N/W network

PCH paging channel

PG paging group

PGID paging group identity

PI paging indicator

PICH pilot channel

PO paging occasion

RACH random access channel

RPvC radio resource control

RRH remote radio head

Rx receiver

S-CCPCH secondary common control physical channel

SGW serving gateway

SI system information

SIB system information block

S-TMSI SAE-Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity

TAI tracking area IDs

TS technical standard

Tx transmitter

UE user equipment (e.g., a wireless, typically mobile device)

UL uplink (e.g., from UE to base station)

Claims

CLAIMS claimed is: A method, comprising:

transmitting, by a network node, common configuration parameters that a user

equipment uses to derive a first paging location;

using, by the network node, the first paging location to page the user equipment at times the user equipment is paged;

determining at the network node that a paging rate of the user equipment is above the threshold;

configuring, by the network node, the user equipment with a second paging location that is different from the first paging location and that is configured based on the user equipment having its paging rate above the threshold; and

using, by the network node, the second paging location to page the user equipment at times the user equipment is paged, and ceasing to use the first paging location for paging the user equipment.

The method of claim 1 , further comprising the network node configuring the user equipment with the threshold to be used by the user equipment to determine when to monitor the second paging location and to cease monitoring the first paging location.

The method of claim 2, further comprising the network node configuring the user equipment with a window to be used in conjunction with the threshold to determine by the user equipment when to return to monitoring the first paging location instead of monitoring the second paging location.

The method of claim 1 , wherein the network node triggers monitoring by the user equipment of the second paging location instead of the first paging location by configuring the user equipment with the second paging location, and triggers monitoring by the user equipment of the first paging location instead of the second paging location by configuring the user equipment to stop using the second paging location. The method of any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising receiving by the network node and from the user equipment signaling informing the network node about a capability of the user equipment of monitoring the second paging location in case the paging rate of the user equipment is deemed to be high, and at least providing the user equipment with common configuration parameters to derive a first paging location and configuring the user equipment with the second paging location are performed in response to the signaling.

The method of any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising one of the network node or a paging agent informing cells within tracking areas for the user equipment about configured actions such that the cells can know how to transmit a paging indicator in the second paging location over a radio for at least the user equipment to be able to receive paging in the second paging location.

A method, comprising:

receiving, by a user equipment, common configuration parameters for deriving a first paging location;

monitoring, by the user equipment, the first paging location;

receiving, by the user equipment, a second paging location that is different from the first paging location and that is configured based on the user equipment having its paging rate above the threshold; and

monitoring, by the user equipment and based on the paging rate of the user equipment being above the threshold, the second paging location, and ceasing to monitor the first paging location.

The method of claim 7, further comprising:

receiving by the user equipment a threshold;

determining by the user equipment the paging rate of the user equipment is greater than the threshold; and

in response to determining the paging rate of the user equipment is greater than the threshold, performing the monitoring of the second paging location and ceasing to monitor the first paging location.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

determining by the user equipment the paging rate of the user equipment is less than the threshold; and

in response to determining the paging rate of the user equipment is less than the

threshold, performing the monitoring of the first paging location based on the common configuration and ceasing to monitor the second paging location.

10. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

receiving by the user equipment a threshold;

receiving by the user equipment a window;

determining by the user equipment a paging rate of the user equipment is greater than a value of the threshold minus the window or determining the paging rate of the user equipment is less than the value of the threshold minus the window; in response to determining the paging rate of the user equipment is greater than a value of the threshold minus the window, performing the monitoring of the second paging location and ceasing to monitor the first paging location; and in response to determining the paging rate of the user equipment is less than a value of the threshold minus the window, performing the monitoring of the first paging location based on the common configuration and ceasing to monitor the second paging location.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the user equipment is configured to monitor the first paging location unless information for the second paging location is received, and wherein reception of the second paging location triggers the user equipment to monitor the second paging location and cease to monitor the first paging location.

12. The method of any one of claims 7 to 11, further comprising the user equipment

informing a network via signaling about its capability of monitoring the second paging location in case its paging rate is deemed to be high, and at least the common configuration to derive the first paging location and the second paging location are received in response to informing the network by the user equipment.

13. The method of any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the second paging location

comprises one or both of the following: a specific paging indicator that differs from a paging indicator used for the first paging location; and a specific paging occasion that differs from a paging occasion used for the first paging location.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the second location comprises, relative to what is used in the first paging location:

a change in a paging indicator is made but a same paging occasion used for the first paging location is used;

a change in a paging occasion is made but a same paging indicator used for the first paging location is used;

changes in both paging occasion and paging indicator are made from what are used in the first paging location.

15. The method of any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein configuring the user equipment with the second paging location comprises configuring the user equipment using dedicated signaling specifying one or both of a paging indicator and a paging occasion, different from the common configuration parameters, to monitor by the user equipment for the second paging location.

16. The method of any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein configuring the user equipment with the second paging location comprises configuring the user equipment using dedicated signaling to specify parameters, different from the common configuration parameters, that the user equipment uses to derive the second paging location.

17. The method of any one of claims 1 to 16, further comprising, in response to

performing a tracking area update, a new paging agent for the user equipment fetching from an old paging agent a paging configuration used for paging the user equipment via the second paging location.

18. The method of any one of claims 1 to 16, further comprising the user equipment

informing a new paging agent about its paging configuration upon performing a tracking area update, the paging configuration used for paging the user equipment via the second paging location.

9. An apparatus, comprising:

means for transmitting, by a network node, common configuration parameters that a user equipment uses to derive a first paging location;

means for using, by the network node, the first paging location to page the user

equipment at times the user equipment is paged;

means for determining at the network node that a paging rate of the user equipment is above the threshold;

means for configuring, by the network node, the user equipment with a second paging location that is different from the first paging location and that is configured based on the user equipment having its paging rate above the threshold; and means for using, by the network node, the second paging location to page the user equipment at times the user equipment is paged, and means for ceasing to use the first paging location for paging the user equipment.

The apparatus of claim 19, further comprising means for the network node configuring the user equipment with the threshold to be used by the user equipment to determine when to monitor the second paging location and to cease monitoring the first paging location.

The apparatus of claim 20, further comprising the network node configuring the user equipment with a window to be used in conjunction with the threshold to determine by the user equipment when to return to monitoring the first paging location instead of monitoring the second paging location.

The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the network node triggers monitoring by the user equipment of the second paging location instead of the first paging location by configuring the user equipment with the second paging location, and triggers monitoring by the user equipment of the first paging location instead of the second paging location by configuring the user equipment to stop using the second paging location.

The apparatus of any one of claims 19 to 22, further comprising means for receiving by the network node and from the user equipment signaling informing the network node about a capability of the user equipment of monitoring the second paging location in case the paging rate of the user equipment is deemed to be high, and means for at least providing the user equipment with common configuration parameters to derive a first paging location and configuring the user equipment with the second paging location are performed in response to the signaling.

The apparatus of any one of claims 19 to 23, further comprising means for one of the network node or a paging agent informing cells within tracking areas for the user equipment about configured actions such that the cells can know how to transmit a paging indicator in the second paging location over a radio for at least the user equipment to be able to receive paging in the second paging location.

An apparatus, comprising:

means for receiving, by a user equipment, common configuration parameters for deriving a first paging location;

means for monitoring, by the user equipment, the first paging location;

means for receiving, by the user equipment, a second paging location that is different from the first paging location and that is configured based on the user equipment having its paging rate above the threshold; and

means for monitoring, by the user equipment and based on the paging rate of the user equipment being above the threshold, the second paging location, and ceasing to monitor the first paging location.

The apparatus of claim 25, further comprising:

means for receiving by the user equipment a threshold;

means, responsive to determining the paging rate of the user equipment is greater than the threshold, for performing the monitoring of the second paging location and ceasing to monitor the first paging location.

The apparatus of claim 26, further comprising:

means for determining by the user equipment the paging rate of the user equipment less than the threshold; and means, responsive to determining the paging rate of the user equipment is less than the threshold, for performing the monitoring of the first paging location based on the common configuration and ceasing to monitor the second paging location.

The apparatus of claim 25, further comprising:

means for receiving by the user equipment a threshold;

means for receiving by the user equipment a window;

means for determining by the user equipment a paging rate of the user equipment is greater than a value of the threshold minus the window or determining the paging rate of the user equipment is less than the value of the threshold minus the window;

means, responsive to determining the paging rate of the user equipment is greater than a value of the threshold minus the window, for performing the monitoring of the second paging location and ceasing to monitor the first paging location; and

means, responsive to determining the paging rate of the user equipment is less than a value of the threshold minus the window, for performing the monitoring of the first paging location based on the common configuration and ceasing to monitor the second paging location.

The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the user equipment is configured to monitor the first paging location unless information for the second paging location is received, and wherein reception of the second paging location triggers the user equipment to monitor the second paging location and cease to monitor the first paging location.

The apparatus of any one of claims 25 to 29, further comprising means for informing by the user equipment a network via signaling about its capability of monitoring the second paging location in case its paging rate is deemed to be high, and at least the common configuration to derive the first paging location and the second paging location are received in response to informing the network by the user equipment.

31. The apparatus of any one of claims 19 to 30, wherein the second paging location

32. The apparatus of claim 31 , wherein the second location comprises, relative to what is used in the first paging location:

33. The apparatus of any one of claims 19 to 32, wherein the means for configuring the user equipment with the second paging location comprises means for configuring the user equipment using dedicated signaling specifying one or both of a paging indicator and a paging occasion, different from the common configuration parameters, to monitor by the user equipment for the second paging location.

34. The apparatus of any one of claims 19 to 32, wherein the means for configuring the user equipment with the second paging location comprises means for configuring the user equipment using dedicated signaling to specify parameters, different from the common configuration parameters, that the user equipment uses to derive the second paging location.

35. The apparatus of any one of claims 19 to 34, further comprising means, responsive to performing a tracking area update, for a new paging agent for the user equipment fetching from an old paging agent a paging configuration used for paging the user equipment via the second paging location.

36. The apparatus of any one of claims 19 to 34, further comprising means for informing by the user equipment a new paging agent about its paging configuration upon performing a tracking area update, the paging configuration used for paging the user equipment via the second paging location.

37. A communication system comprising any of the apparatus of claims 19 to 36.

38. A computer program comprising program code for executing the method according to any of claims 1 to 18.

39. The computer program according to claim 38, wherein the computer program is a computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium bearing computer program code embodied therein for use with a computer.

40. A computer program product comprising a computer-readable storage medium

bearing computer program code embodied therein for use with a computer, the computer program code comprising code for performing any of the methods of claims 1 to 18.

41. An apparatus, comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more memories including computer program code,

the one or more memories and the computer program code configured, with the one or more processors, to cause the apparatus to perform any of the methods of claims 1 to 18.