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Method, system and apparatus for multicast session management in 5G … — Nokia Solutions And Networks Oy (US12015967B2)

Nokia Solutions And Networks Oy · Google Patents

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davidnavratil nokiasolutionsandnetworksoy

patent, google patents, intellectual property, US12015967B2, Nokia Solutions And Networks Oy, David Navratil, en, 2024

ABSTRACT

Abstract

An apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer code for one or more programs, the at least one memory and the computer code configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus at least to: receive a message from at least one user equipment requesting to join a multicasting/broadcasting group; receive data for multicasting/broadcasting from a data network; generate multicasting/broadcasting session information for the data; route the data based on the multicasting/broadcasting session to at least one access point, wherein the access point wirelessly communicates the data to user equipment based on the multicasting/broadcasting session information.

Description

This application is a national phase entry of Patent Cooperation Treaty Application No. PCT/EP2017/082478 filed Dec. 12, 2017, entitled âMETHOD, SYSTEM AND APPARATUS FOR MULTICAST SESSION MANAGEMENT IN 5G COMMUNICATION NETWORK,â the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD

The present application relates to a method, apparatus, system and computer program and in particular but not exclusively to a method and apparatus for multicast session management in a 5G New Radio communications network.

BACKGROUND

A communication system can be seen as a facility that enables communication sessions between two or more entities such as user terminals, base stations/access points and/or other nodes by providing carriers between the various entities involved in the communications path. A communication system can be provided for example by means of a communication network and one or more compatible communication devices. The communication sessions may comprise, for example, communication of data for carrying communications such as voice, electronic mail (email), text message, multimedia and/or content data and so on. Non-limiting examples of services provided comprise two-way or multi-way calls, data communication or multimedia services and access to a data network system, such as the Internet.

In a wireless communication system at least a part of a communication session between at least two stations occurs over a wireless link.

A user can access the communication system by means of an appropriate communication device or terminal. A communication device of a user is often referred to as user equipment (UE). A communication device is provided with an appropriate signal receiving and transmitting apparatus for enabling communications, for example enabling access to a communication network or communications directly with other users. The communication device may access a carrier provided by a station or access point, and transmit and/or receive communications on the carrier.

The communication system and associated devices typically operate in accordance with a given standard or specification which sets out what the various entities associated with the system are permitted to do and how that should be achieved. Communication protocols and/or parameters which shall be used for the connection are also typically defined. One example of a communications system is UTRAN (3G radio), long-term evolution (LTE) of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), and now 5G New Radio (NR) radio-access technology with 5G Core Network (5GC). 5G NR is being standardized by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).

Multicast and broadcast in cellular networks is an area of discussion. Multicast session definition and management architecture for delivering content using multicast/broadcast in LTE-Advanced networks are known. Here wide-area delivery of content using multicast/broadcast is implemented using multicast broadcast single frequency networks (MBSFN) areas where the same content is delivered over the air using synchronized time-frequency physical resources. For delivery of such content to a smaller area, single cell-point-to-multipoint (SC-PTM) technology was developed.

SUMMARY

According to an aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer code for one or more programs, the at least one memory and the computer code configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus at least to: receive a message from at least one user equipment requesting to join a multicasting/broadcasting group; receive data for multicasting/broadcasting from a data network; generate multicasting/broadcasting session information for the data; route the data based on the multicasting/broadcasting session to at least one access point, wherein the access point wirelessly communicates the data to user equipment based on the multicasting/broadcasting session information.

The apparatus may be a user plane function within a 5G/NR network.

The apparatus may be further caused to: generate a multicast session notification message to a session management function based on the message from the at least one user equipment; receive a multicast session creation request from the session management function based on the multicast session notification message; and create and acknowledge the creation of a multicast session based on the multicast session creation request.

The apparatus caused to generate a multicast session notification message to a session management function based on the message from the at least one user equipment may be further caused to generate a multicast session notification message comprising at least one of: a packet data unit session identifier configured to indicate the session on which the message from at least one user equipment was received and for identifying the at least one user equipment; at least one internet protocol multicast address; at least one internet protocol source address; and tunnel end-point information.

The apparatus caused to route the data based on the multicasting/broadcasting session to at least one access point, wherein the access point wirelessly communicates the data to user equipment based on the multicasting/broadcasting session information may be caused to implement a multicasting routing protocol to route the data from the data network to the at least one access point.

The apparatus caused to receive a message from at least one user equipment requesting to join a multicasting/broadcasting group is caused to receive a message may comprise at least one of: at least one internet protocol multicast address; and at least one internet protocol source address.

The apparatus may be further caused to: transmit a message to at least one session management function notifying the session management function of the request from the at least one user equipment to join the multicasting/broadcasting group and to perform a subscription check on the request to determine whether the request matches an active session; and receive, based on the subscription check failing to match the request to an active session, a multicasting session creation message, wherein the apparatus caused to generate multicasting/broadcasting session information for the data may be caused to generate multicasting/broadcasting session information for data to be multicast to the at least one user equipment based on the multicasting session creation message.

The apparatus may be further caused to receive based on the subscription check succeeding to match the request to an active session, a multicasting session message comprising an identifier for active multicasting/broadcasting session information, wherein the apparatus caused to generate multicasting/broadcasting session information for the data may be caused to update multicasting/broadcasting session information for data to be multicast to the at least one user equipment based on the active multicasting/broadcasting session information.

The apparatus caused to generate multicasting/broadcasting session information for the data may be further caused to generate multicasting/broadcasting session information for the data comprising at least one of: a packet data unit session identifier; at least one internet protocol multicast address; at least one internet protocol source address; and tunnel end-point information.

According to a second aspect there is provided an apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer code for one or more programs, the at least one memory and the computer code configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus at least to: receive a message from at least one user plane function notifying the apparatus of a request from at least one user equipment to join a multicasting/broadcasting group; perform a subscription check on the request to determine whether the request matches an active session; transmit, based on the subscription check failing to match the request to an active session, a multicasting session creation message to the at least one user plane function, such that the user plane function is caused to generate multicasting/broadcasting session information for data to be multicast to the at least one user equipment.

The apparatus caused to transmit, based on the subscription check failing to match the request to an active session, a multicasting session creation message to the at least one user plane function may be caused to transmit information comprising at least one of: packet detection rules; packet enforcement rules; packet reporting rules; packet quality of service rules; and packet charging rules, for the user plane function to implement with respect to the multicasting/broadcasting session.

The apparatus may be further caused to transmit based on the subscription check succeeding to match the request to an active session, a multicasting session message to the at least one user plane function, such that the user plane function identifies the active multicasting/broadcasting session information for data to be multicast to the at least one user equipment.

The apparatus may be further caused to: transmit a network management message associated with the multicast session, the network management message comprising at least one of: session management information to be forwarded at an access and mobility management function to the at least one access network node and the at least one user equipment.

The apparatus caused to transmit network management message associated with the multicast session may be caused to transmit at least one of: a cause value; session management information for an interface between the apparatus and an access network node, the session management information for an interlace between the apparatus and the access network node comprising at least one of: a multicast packet data unit identifier, a session identifier, at least one quality of service profile, core network tunnel information, a single network slice selection assistance information, and session-AMBR information; session management information for an interface between the at least one user equipment and the apparatus, the session management information of an interlace between the at least one user equipment and the apparatus comprising at least one of the a multicast packet data unit identifier, a session identifier, at least one quality of service profile, and session-AMBR information.

The apparatus may be further caused to receive, from the at least one user plane function, generated multicasting/broadcasting session creation information and which is used to generate the network management message associated with the multicast session.

The apparatus may be a session management function within a 5G/NR network.

According to a third aspect there is provided an apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer code for one or more programs, the at least one memory and the computer code configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus at least to: receive from an access and mobility management function a multicast session creation request message; receive from a user plane function data for multicasting/broadcasting from a data network; select for the data a set of radio bearers based on an availability of measurements and reported quantities in the measurements from at least one user equipment; and transmit using the set of radio bearers the data for multicasting/broadcasting to the at least one user equipment, the at least one user equipment having requested to join a multicasting/broadcasting group associated with the data for multicasting/broadcasting.

The apparatus caused to receive the multicast session request message may be further caused to receive within the multicast session request message information associating at least one user equipment with the multicast session request.

The apparatus caused to select for the data a set of radio bearers based on an availability of the measurements and reported quantities in the measurements from the at least one user equipment may be caused to: receive from the at least one user equipment the measurements of at least one parameter of: a received signal strength indicatorâRSSI; a reference signal received powerâRSRP; a reference signal received qualityâRSRQ; a block error rateâBLER, and beam information, location information and time information; and select at least one multicast radio bearer and/or at least one unicast radio bearer based on the at least one parameter.

The apparatus caused to select for the data a set of radio bearers based on the availability of measurements and reported quantities in the measurements from at least one user equipment may be caused to select at least one multicast bearer where no measurements are available.

The apparatus caused to select for the data a set of radio bearers based on the availability of measurements and reported quantities in the measurements from at least one user equipment may be caused to select at least one unicast bearer for the at least one user equipment where the measurements indicate a worse radio condition.

The apparatus may be further caused to select for the data the set of radio bearers further based on a determination of the type of data for multicasting/broadcasting to the at least one user equipment.

The apparatus may be at least one of: a gNB; and a relay node operating within a 5G/NR radio access network.

The apparatus caused to receive from an access and mobility management function a multicast session creation request message may be further caused to receive information comprising at least one of: packet detection rules; packet enforcement rules; packet reporting rules; packet quality of service rules; and packet charging rules, for the apparatus to implement with respect to the multicasting/broadcasting session.

According to a fourth aspect there is provided an apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer code for one or more programs, the at least one memory and the computer code configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus at least to: transmit a message from at least one user equipment requesting to join a multicasting/broadcasting group; receive from an access point via at least one of a selected unicast bearer or a multicast bearer data for multicasting/broadcasting from a data network associated with the multicasting/broadcasting group.

The apparatus may be further caused to: measure at least one parameter of: a received signal strength indicatorâRSSI; a reference signal received powerâRSRP; a reference signal received qualityâRSRQ; a block error rateâBLER; beam information; location information; and time information; and transmit the at least one parameter to at least one access point of a radio access network, wherein the at least one parameter is caused to enable the at least one access point to select the at least one of the unicast or multicast bearer.

The apparatus caused to transmit a message from at least one user equipment requesting to join a multicasting/broadcasting group may be caused to transmit a message comprising at least one of: at least one internet protocol multicast address; and at least one internet protocol source address.

The apparatus may be further caused to: receive a session management information; and determine, based on the received session management information, whether to repeat the request to join a multicast/broadcast group or not to repeat the request to join a multicast/broadcast group.

According to a fifth aspect there is provided a method comprising: receiving a message from at least one user equipment requesting to join a multicasting/broadcasting group; receiving data for multicasting/broadcasting from a data network; generating multicasting/broadcasting session information for the data; routing the data based on the multicasting/broadcasting session to at least one access point, wherein the access point wirelessly communicates the data to user equipment based on the multicasting/broadcasti

FIELD

BACKGROUND

In a wireless communication system at least a part of a communication session between at least two stations occurs over a wireless link.

SUMMARY

The apparatus may be a user plane function within a 5G/NR network.

The apparatus may be a session management function within a 5G/NR network.

The apparatus caused to select for the data a set of radio bearers based on the availability of measurements and reported quantities in the measurements from at least one user equipment may be caused to select at least one unicast bearer for the at least one user equipment where the measurements indicate a worse radio condition.

The apparatus may be at least one of: a gNB; and a relay node operating within a 5G/NR radio access network.

The method may be implemented within a user plane function within a 5G/NR network.

The method may further comprise: generating a multicast session notification message to a session management function based on the message from the at least one user equipment; receiving a multicast session creation request from the session management function based on the multicast session notification message; and creating and acknowledging the creation of a multicast session based on the multicast session creation request.

Generating a multicast session notification message to a session management function based on the message from the at least one user equipment may further comprise generating a multicast session notification message comprising at least one of: a packet data unit session identifier configured to indicate the session on which the message from at least one user equipment was received and for identifying the at least one user equipment; at least one internet protocol multicast address; at least one internet protocol source address; and tunnel end-point information.

Routing the data based on the multicasting/broadcasting session to at least one access point, wherein the access point wirelessly communicates the data to user equipment based on the multicasting/broadcasting session information may further comprise implementing a multicasting routing protocol to route the data from the data network to the at least one access point.

Receiving a message from at least one user equipment requesting to join a multicasting/broadcasting group may further comprise receiving a message comprising at least one of: at least one internet protocol multicast address; and at least one internet protocol source address.

The method may further comprise: transmitting a message to at least one session management function notifying the session management function of the request from the at least one user equipment to join the multicasting/broadcasting group and to perform a subscription check on the request to determine whether the request matches an active session; and receiving, based on the subscription check failing to match the request to an active session, a multicasting session creation message, wherein generating multicasting/broadcasting session information for the data may further comprise generating multicasting/broadcasting session information for data to be multicast to the at least one user equipment based on the multicasting session creation message.

The method may further comprise receiving, based on the subscription check succeeding to match the request to an active session, a multicasting session message comprising an identifier for active multicasting/broadcasting session information, wherein generating multicasting/broadcasting session information for the data may further comprise updating multicasting/broadcasting session information for data to be multicast to the at least one user equipment based on the active multicasting/broadcasting session information.

Generating multicasting/broadcasting session information for the data may further comprise generating multicasting/broadcasting session information for the data comprising at least one of: a packet data unit session identifier; at least one internet protocol multicast address; at least one internet protocol source address; and tunnel end-point information.

According to a sixth aspect there is provided a method comprising: receiving a message from at least one user plane function notifying a request from at least one user equipment to join a multicasting/broadcasting group; performing a subscription check on the request to determine whether the request matches an active session; transmitting, based on the subscription check failing to match the request to an active session, a multicasting session creation message to the at least one user plane function, such that the user plane function is caused to generate multicasting/broadcasting session information for data to be multicast to the at least one user equipment.

Transmitting, based on the subscription check failing to match the request to an active session, a multicasting session creation message to the at least one user plane function may further comprise transmitting information comprising at least one of: packet detection rules; packet enforcement rules; packet reporting rules; packet quality of service rules; and packet charging rules, for the user plane function to implement with respect to the multicasting/broadcasting session.

The method may further comprise transmitting, based on the subscription check succeeding to match the request to an active session, a multicasting session message to the at least one user plane function, such that the user plane function identifies the active multicasting/broadcasting session information for data to be multicast to the at least one user equipment.

The method may further comprise: transmitting a network management message associated with the multicast session, the network management message may comprise at least one of: session management information to be forwarded at an access and mobility management function to the at least one access network node and the at least one user equipment.

Transmitting a network management message associated with the multicast session may further comprise transmitting at least one of: a cause value; session management information for an interface between a session management function and an access network node, the session management information for an interface between the session management function and an access network node comprising at least one of: a multicast packet data unit identifier, a session identifier, at least one quality of service profile, core network tunnel information, a single network slice selection assistance information, and session-AMBR information; session management information for an interface between the at least one user equipment and a session management function, the session management information for an interface between the at least one user equipment and a session management function comprising at least one of the a multicast packet data unit identifier, a session identifier, at least one quality of service profile, and session-AMBR information.

The method may further comprise receiving, from the at least one user plane function, generated multicasting/broadcasting session creation information and which is used to generate the network management message associated with the multicast session.

The method may be implemented by a session management function within a 5G/NR network.

According to a seventh aspect there is provided a method comprising: receiving from an access and mobility management function a multicast session creation request message; receiving from a user plane function data for multicasting/broadcasting from a data network; selecting for the data a set of radio bearers based on an availability of measurements and reported quantities in the measurements from at least one user equipment; and transmitting using the set of radio bearers the data for multicasting/broadcasting to the at least one user equipment, the at least one user equipment having requested to join a multicasting/broadcasting group associated with the data for multicasting/broadcasting.

Receiving the multicast session request message may further comprise receiving within the multicast session request message information associating at least one user equipment with the multicast session request.

Selecting for the data a set of radio bearers based on an availability of the measurements and reported quantities in the measurements from the at least one user equipment may further comprise: receiving from the at least one user equipment the measurements of at least one parameter of: a received signal strength indicatorâRSSI; a reference signal received powerâRSRP; a reference signal received qualityâRSRQ; a block error rateâBLER, and beam information, location information and time information; and selecting at least one multicast radio bearer and/or at least one unicast radio bearer based on the at least one parameter.

Selecting for the data a set of radio bearers based on the availability of measurements and reported quantities in the measurements from at least one user equipment may further comprise selecting at least one multicast bearer where no measurements are available.

Selecting for the data a set of radio bearers based on the availability of measurements and reported quantities in the measurements from at least one user equipment may further comprise selecting at least one unicast bearer for the at least one user equipment where the measurements indicate a worse radio condition.

The method may further comprise selecting for the data the set of radio bearers further based on a determination of the type of data for multicasting/broadcasting to the at least one user equipment.

The method may be implemented in at least one of: a gNB; and a relay node operating within a 5G/NR radio access network.

Receiving from an access and mobility management function a multicast session creation request message may further comprise receiving information comprising at least one of: packet detection rules; packet enforcement rules; packet reporting rules; packet quality of service rules; and packet charging rules, for the apparatus to implement with respect to the multicasting/broadcasting session.

According to an eighth aspect there is provided a method comprising: transmitting a message from at least one user equipment requesting to join a multicasting/broadcasting group; and receiving from an access point via at least one of a selected unicast bearer or a multicast bearer data for multicasting/broadcasting from a data network associated with the multicasting/broadcasting group.

The method may further comprise: measuring at least one parameter of: a received signal strength indicatorâRSSI; a reference signal received powerâRSRP; a reference signal received qualityâRSRQ; a block error rateâBLER; beam information; location information; and time information; and transmitting the at least one parameter to at least one access point of a radio access network, wherein the at least one parameter is caused to enable the at least one access point to select the at least one of the unicast or multicast bearer.

Transmitting a message from at least one user equipment requesting to join a multicasting/broadcasting group may further comprise transmitting a message comprising at least one of: at least one internet protocol multicast address; and at least one internet protocol source address.

The method may further comprise: receiving a session management information; and determining, based on the received session management information, whether to repeat the request to join a multicast/broadcast group or not to repeat the request to join a multicast/broadcast group.

According to a ninth aspect there is provided an apparatus comprising: means for receiving a message from at least one user equipment requesting to join a multicasting/broadcasting group; means for receiving data for multicasting/broadcasting from a data network; generating multicasting/broadcasting session information for the data; routing the data based on the multicasting/broadcasting session to at least one access point, wherein the access point wirelessly communicates the data to user equipment based on the multicasting/broadcasting session information.

The apparatus may be a user plane function within a 5G/NR network.

The apparatus may further comprise: means for generating a multicast session notification message to a session management function based on the message from the at least one user equipment; means for receiving a multicast session creation request from the session management function based on the multicast session notification message; and means for creating and acknowledging the creation of a multicast session based on the multicast session creation request.

The means for generating a multicast session notification message to a session management function based on the message from the at least one user equipment may further comprise means for generating a multicast session notification message comprising at least one of: a packet data unit session identifier configured to indicate the session on which the message from at least one user equipment was received and for identifying the at least one user equipment; at least one internet protocol multicast address; at least one internet protocol source address; and tunnel end-point information.

The means for routing the data based on the multicasting/broadcasting session to at least one access point, wherein the access point wirelessly communicates the data to user equipment based on the multicasting/broadcasting session information may further comprise means for implementing a multicasting routing protocol to route the data from the data network to the at least one access point.

The means for receiving a message from at least one user equipment requesting to join a multicasting/broadcasting group may further comprise means for receiving a message comprising at least one of: at least one internet protocol multicast address; and at least one internet protocol source address.

The apparatus may further comprise: means for transmitting a message to at least one session management function notifying the session management function of the request from the at least one user equipment to join the multicasting/broadcasting group and to perform a subscription check on the request to determine whether the request matches an active session; and means for receiving, based on the subscription check failing to match the request to an active session, a multicasting session creation message, wherein the means for generating multicasting/broadcasting session information for the data may further comprise means for generating multicasting/broadcasting session information for data to be multicast to the at least one user equipment based on the multicasting session creation message.

The apparatus may further comprise means for receiving, based on the subscription check succeeding to match the request to an active session, a multicasting session message comprising an identifier for active multicasting/broadcasting session information, wherein means for generating multicasting/broadcasting session information for the data may further comprise means for updating multicasting/broadcasting session information for data to be multicast to the at least one user equipment based on the active multicasting/broadcasting session information.

The means for generating multicasting/broadcasting session information for the data may further comprise means for generating multicasting/broadcasting session information for the data comprising at least one of: a packet data unit session identifier; at least one internet protocol multicast address; at least one internet protocol source address; and tunnel end-point information.

According to a tenth aspect there is provided an apparatus comprising: means for receiving a message from at least one user plane function notifying the apparatus of a request from at least one user equipment to join a multicasting/broadcasting group; means for performing a subscription check on the request to determine whether the request matches an active session; means for transmitting, based on the subscription check failing to match the request to an active session, a multicasting session creation message to the at least one user plane function, such that the user plane function is caused to generate multicasting/broadcasting session information for data to be multicast to the at least one user equipment.

The means for transmitting, based on the subscription check failing to match the request to an active session, a multicasting session creation message to the at least one user plane function may further comprise means for transmitting information comprising at least one of: packet detection rules; packet enforcement rules; packet reporting rules; packet quality of service rules; and packet charging rules, for the user plane function to implement with respect to the multicasting/broadcasting session.

The apparatus may further comprise means for transmitting, based on the subscription check succeeding to match the request to an active session, a multicasting session message to the at least one user plane function, such that the user plane function identifies the active multicasting/broadcasting session information for data to be multicast to the at least one user equipment.

The apparatus may further comprise: means for transmitting a network management message associated with the multicast session, the network management message may comprise at least one of: session management information to be implemented at an access and mobility management function for controlling the at least one access network node and the at least one user equipment.

The means for transmitting a network management message associated with the multicast session may further comprise means for transmitting at least one of: a cause value; session management information for an interface between the access and mobility management function and an access network node, the session management for an interface between the access and mobility management function and an access network node may comprise at least one of: a multicast packet data unit identifier, a session identifier, at least one quality of service profile, core network tunnel information, a single network slice selection assistance information, and session-AMBR information; session management information of an interface between the at least one user equipment and the access and mobility management function, the session management information of an interface between the at least one user equipment and the access and mobility management function may comprise at least one of the a multicast packet data unit identifier, a session identifier, at least one quality of service profile, and session-AMBR information.

The apparatus may further comprise means for receiving, from the at least one user plane function, generated multicasting/broadcasting session creation information and which is used to generate the network management message associated with the multicast session.

The apparatus may be a session management function within a 5G/NR network.

According to a eleventh aspect there is provided an apparatus comprising: means for receiving from an access and mobility management function a multicast session creation request message; means for receiving from a user plane function data for multicasting/broadcasting from a data network; means for selecting for the data a set of radio bearers based on an availability of measurements and reported quantities in the measurements from at least one user equipment; and means for transmitting using the set of radio bearers the data for multicasting/broadcasting to the at least one user equipment, the at least one user equipment having requested to join a multicasting/broadcasting group associated with the data for multicasting/broadcasting.

The means for receiving the multicast session request message may further comprise means for receiving within the multicast session request message information associating at least one user equipment with the multicast session request.

The means for selecting for the data a set of radio bearers based on an availability of the measurements and reported quantities in the measurements from the at least one user equipment may further comprise: means for receiving from the at least one user equipment the measurements of at least one parameter of: a received signal strength indicatorâRSSI; a reference signal received powerâRSRP; a reference signal received qualityâRSRQ; a block error rateâBLER, and beam information, location information and time information; and means for selecting at least one multicast radio bearer and/or at least one unicast radio bearer based on the at least one parameter.

The means for selecting for the data a set of radio bearers based on the availability of measurements and reported quantities in the measurements from at least one user equipment may further comprise means for selecting at least one multicast bearer where no measurements are available.

The means for selecting for the data a set of radio bearers based on the availability of measurements and reported quantities in the measurements from at least one user equipment may further comprise means for selecting at least one unicast bearer for the at least one user equipment where the measurements indicate a worse radio condition.

The apparatus may further comprise means for selecting for the data the set of radio bearers further based on a determination of the type of data for multicasting/broadcasting to the at least one user equipment.

The apparatus may be at least one of: a gNB; and a relay node operating within a 5G/NR radio access network.

The means for receiving from an access and mobility management function a multicast session creation request message may further comprise means for receiving information comprising at least one of: packet detection rules; packet enforcement rules; packet reporting rules; packet quality of service rules; and packet charging rules, for the apparatus to implement with respect to the multicasting/broadcasting session.

According to an twelfth aspect there is provided an apparatus comprising: means for transmitting a message from at least one user equipment requesting to join a multicasting/broadcasting group; and means for receiving from an access point via at least one of a selected unicast bearer or a multicast bearer data for multicasting/broadcasting from a data network associated with the multicasting/broadcasting group.

The apparatus may further comprise: means for measuring at least one parameter of: a received signal strength indicatorâRSSI; a reference signal received powerâRSRP; a reference signal received qualityâRSRQ; a block error rateâBLER; beam information; location information; and time information; and transmitting the at least one parameter to at least one access point of a radio access network, wherein the at least one parameter is caused to enable the at least one access point to select the at least one of the unicast or multicast bearer.

The means for transmitting a message from at least one user equipment requesting to join a multicasting/broadcasting group may further comprise means for transmitting a message comprising at least one of: at least one internet protocol multicast address; and at least one internet protocol source address.

The apparatus may further comprise: means for receiving a session management information; and determining, based on the received session management information, whether to repeat the request to join a multicast/broadcast group or not to repeat the request to join a multicast/broadcast group.

In another aspect there is provided a computer program embodied on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, the computer program comprising program code for providing any of the above methods.

In another aspect there is provided a computer program product for a computer, comprising software code portions for performing the steps of any of the previous methods, when said product is run.

A computer program comprising program code means adapted to perform the method(s) may be provided. The computer program may be stored and/or otherwise embodied by means of a carrier medium.

In the above, many different embodiments have been described. It should be appreciated that further embodiments may be provided by the combination of any two or more of the embodiments described above.

DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

Embodiments will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying Figures in which:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of an example communication system comprising a plurality of base stations and a plurality of communication devices;

FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of an example mobile communication device;

FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of an example control apparatus;

FIG. 4 shows example known multicast/broadcast architecture;

FIG. 5 shows an example 5G NR architecture suitable for implementing some embodiments; and

FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of an example method for supporting multicast/broadcast in a 5G NR architecture according to some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The concept as discussed in further detail hereafter focuses on multicast session definition and management in 3GPP 5G architecture.

Before explaining in detail the examples, certain general principles of a wireless communication system and mobile communication devices are briefly explained with reference to FIGS. 1 to 2 to assist in understanding the technology underlying the described examples.

In a wireless communication system 100 , such as that shown in FIG. 1 , mobile communication devices or user equipment (UE) 102 , 104 , 105 are provided wireless access via at least one access point or similar wireless transmitting and/or receiving node or point. An access point or base station is referred to as a Node B or generally NB (for example an eNB in LTE and gNB in 5G NR). Base stations are typically controlled by at least one appropriate controller apparatus, so as to enable operation thereof and management of mobile communication devices in communication with the base stations. The controller apparatus may be located in a radio access network (e.g. wireless communication system 100 ) or in a core network (CN) (not shown) and may be implemented as one central apparatus or its functionality may be distributed over several apparatus. The controller apparatus may be part of the base station and/or provided by a separate entity such as a Radio Network Controller. In FIG. 1

control apparatus

108 and 109 are shown to control the respective macro level base stations

106 and 107 . In some systems, the control apparatus may additionally or alternatively be provided in a radio network controller.

LTE (and 5G) systems may however be considered to have a so-called âflatâ architecture, without the provision of RNCs; rather the NB is in communication with a system architecture evolution gateway (SAE-GW) and a mobility management entity (MME), which entities may also be pooled meaning that a plurality of these nodes may serve a plurality (set) of NBs. Each UE is served by only one MME and/or S-GW at a time and the NB keeps track of current association. SAE-GW is a âhigh-levelâ user plane core network element in LTE, which may consist of the S-GW and the P-GW (serving gateway and packet data network gateway, respectively). The functionalities of the S-GW and P-GW are separated and they are not required to be co-located.

In FIG. 1

base stations

106 and 107 are shown as connected to a wider communications network 113 via gateway 112 . A further gateway function may be provided to connect to another network.

The smaller base stations (or relay nodes or RN) 116 , 118 and 120 may also be connected to the network 113 , for example by a separate gateway function and/or via the controllers of the macro level stations. The

base stations

116 , 118 and 120 may be pico or femto level base stations or the like. In the example, station 118 is connected via a gateway 111 whilst station 120 connects via the controller apparatus 108 . The station 116 may be connected via station 107 as will be explained in further detail hereafter. In some embodiments, the smaller stations may not be provided.

A possible mobile communication device will now be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 2 showing a schematic, partially sectioned view of a communication device 200 . Such a communication device is often referred to as user equipment (UE) or terminal. An appropriate mobile communication device may be provided by any device capable of sending and receiving radio signals. Non-limiting examples comprise a mobile station (MS) or mobile device such as a mobile phone or what is known as a âsmart phoneâ, a computer provided with a wireless interface card or other wireless interface facility (e.g., USB dongle), personal data assistant (PDA) or a tablet provided with wireless communication capabilities, or any combinations of these or the like. A mobile communication device may provide, for example, communication of data for carrying communications such as voice, electronic mail (email), text message, multimedia and so on. Users may thus be offered and provided numerous services via their communication devices. Non-limiting examples of these services comprise two-way or multi-way calls, data communication or multimedia services or simply an access to a data communications network system, such as the Internet. Users may also be provided broadcast or multicast data. Non-limiting examples of the content comprise downloads, television and radio programs, videos, advertisements, various alerts and other information.

The mobile device 200 may receive signals over an air or radio interlace 207 via appropriate apparatus for receiving and may transmit signals via appropriate apparatus for transmitting radio signals. In FIG. 2 transceiver apparatus is designated schematically by block 206 . The transceiver apparatus 206 may be provided for example by means of a radio part and associated antenna arrangement. The antenna arrangement may be arranged internally or externally to the mobile device.

A mobile device is typically provided with at least one data processing entity 201 , at least one memory 202 and other possible components 203 for use in software and hardware aided execution of tasks it is designed to perform, including control of access to and communications with access systems and other communication devices. The data processing, storage and other relevant control apparatus can be provided on an appropriate circuit board and/or in chipsets. This feature is denoted by reference 204 . The user may control the operation of the mobile device by means of a suitable user interface such as key pad 205 , voice commands, touch sensitive screen or pad, combinations thereof or the like. A display 208 , a speaker and a microphone can be also provided. Furthermore, a mobile communication device may comprise appropriate connectors (either wired or wireless) to other devices and/or for connecting external accessories, for example hands-free equipment, thereto. The <figure-callout id="102" label="communication devices" filenames="US12015967-20240618-D000

CLAIMS

Claims ( 17 )

The invention claimed is:

1. An apparatus comprising

at least one processor and

at least one memory including computer code for one or more programs,

the at least one memory and the computer code configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus at least to:

receive a message from at least one user equipment requesting to join a multicasting/broadcasting group, wherein the apparatus comprises or is comprised in a core network node including a user plane function, wherein the core network node including the user plane function is configured to interface a data network;

receive data for multicasting/broadcasting from the data network;

generate multicasting/broadcasting session information for the data;

route, based on the multicasting/broadcasting session information, the data to at least one access point, such that the at least one access point can wirelessly communicate the data to the at least one user equipment based on the multicasting/broadcasting session information.

2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 ,

wherein the apparatus is further caused to generate a multicast session notification message to a session management function based on the message from the at least one user equipment, and

wherein the multicast session notification message comprising at least one of:

a packet data unit session identifier configured to indicate a session on which the message from at least one user equipment was received and for identifying the at least one user equipment,

at least one internet protocol multicast address,

at least one internet protocol source address, or

tunnel end-point information.

3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 ,

wherein the apparatus caused to receive the message from at least one user equipment requesting to join the multicasting/broadcasting group is caused to receive the message comprising at least one of:

at least one internet protocol multicast address, or

at least one internet protocol source address.

4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 ,

wherein the apparatus is further caused to:

transmit a message to at least one session management function notifying the session management function of the requesting from the at least one user equipment to join the multicasting/broadcasting group and to perform a subscription check to determine whether the requesting to join matches an active session; and

receive, based on the subscription check failing to match the requesting to join to an active session, a multicasting session creation message, wherein the apparatus caused to generate multicasting/broadcasting session information for the data is caused to generate multicasting/broadcasting session information for data to be multicast to the at least one user equipment based on the multicasting session creation message.

5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 4 ,

wherein the apparatus is further caused to:

receive, based on the subscription check succeeding to match the requesting to join to an active session, a multicasting session message comprising an identifier for active multicasting/broadcasting session information,

wherein the apparatus caused to generate multicasting/broadcasting session information for the data is caused to update multicasting/broadcasting session information for data to be multicast to the at least one user equipment based on the active multicasting/broadcasting session information.

6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 ,

wherein the apparatus caused to generate multicasting/broadcasting session information for the data is further caused to generate multicasting/broadcasting session information for the data comprising at least one of:

a packet data unit session identifier,

at least one internet protocol multicast address,

at least one internet protocol source address, or

tunnel end-point information.

7. A method comprising:

receiving, by a core network node including a user plane function, a message from at least one user equipment requesting to join a multicasting/broadcasting group, wherein the core network node including the user plane function is configured to interface a data network;

receiving, by the core network node including the user plane function, data for multicasting/broadcasting from the data network;

generating, by the core network node including the user plane function, multicasting/broadcasting session information for the data;

routing, by the core network node including the user plane function, the data to at least one access point, wherein the routing is based on the multicasting/broadcasting session information, such that the at least one access point can wirelessly communicate the data to the at least one user equipment based on the multicasting/broadcasting session information.

8. The method as claimed in claim 7 , further comprising:

generating a multicast session notification message to a session management function based on the message from the at least one user equipment;

receiving a multicast session creation request from the session management function based on the multicast session notification message; and

creating and acknowledging the creating of a multicast session based on the multicast session creation request.

9. The method as claimed in claim 8 ,

wherein generating the multicast session notification message to the session management function based on the message from the at least one user equipment further comprises generating the multicast session notification message comprising at least one of:

a packet data unit session identifier configured to indicate a session on which the message from at least one user equipment was received and for identifying the at least one user equipment,

at least one internet protocol multicast address,

at least one internet protocol source address, or

tunnel end-point information.

10. The method as claimed in claim 7 ,

wherein routing the data based on the multicasting/broadcasting session information to at least one access point, further comprises implementing a multicasting routing protocol to route the data from the data network to the at least one access point.

11. The method as claimed in claim 7 ,

wherein receiving the message from at least one user equipment requesting to join the multicasting/broadcasting group further comprises receiving a message comprising at least one of:

at least one internet protocol multicast address, or

at least one internet protocol source address.

12. The method as claimed claim 7 , further comprising:

transmitting a message to at least one session management function notifying the session management function of the requesting to join from the at least one user equipment to join the multicasting/broadcasting group and to perform a subscription check on the request to determine whether the requesting to join matches an active session; and

receiving, based on the subscription check failing to match the requesting to join to an active session, a multicasting session creation message, wherein generating multicasting/broadcasting session information for the data further comprises generating multicasting/broadcasting session information for data to be multicast to the at least one user equipment based on the multicasting session creation message.

13. The method as claimed in claim 12 , further comprising

receiving, based on the subscription check succeeding to match the requesting to join to an active session, a multicasting session message comprising an identifier for active multicasting/broadcasting session information, wherein generating multicasting/broadcasting session information for the data further comprises updating multicasting/broadcasting session information for data to be multicast to the at least one user equipment based on the active multicasting/broadcasting session information.

14. The method as claimed in claim 7 ,

wherein generating multicasting/broadcasting session information for the data further comprising generating multicasting/broadcasting session information for the data comprising at least one of:

a packet data unit session identifier,

at least one internet protocol multicast address,

at least one internet protocol source address, or

tunnel end-point information.

15. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 ,

wherein the user plane function is configured to interface the data network at an N6 reference point.

16. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 ,

wherein the apparatus is further caused to generate, based on the message received from the at least one user equipment, a multicast session notification message to a session management function to enable creation, by the user plane function, of a multicasting/broadcasting session for the at least one user equipment.

17. The method as claimed in claim 7 ,

wherein an establishment procedure of a multicasting/broadcasting session for the at least one user equipment is based on an event detection by the user plane function.

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