REDUCING THE LOAD DUE TO REPORTING OF INFORMATION CHANGES TO A POLICY AND/OR CHARGING CONTROLLER IN A MOBILE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

• US 20150005004A1
• Filed: 01/03/2013
• Published: 01/01/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/06/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Cuervo, Fernando, Livanos, Konstantin, Thiebaut, Laurent, Landais, Bruno
• Granted Patent: US 10,616,852 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

In an embodiment, there is provided a method for reducing the load due to user location change reporting for location-based policy and/or charging control services for said user, in a mobile communication system wherein granularity of user location includes granularity at cell level and/or granularity at service area level, a service area (or Location or Routing or Tracking Area) comprising a set of cells defined at network operation level, a method wherein said user location change reporting is based on at least one of:

• • a granularity of reporting at a base station level, whereby a user location change is reported upon change of serving base station,
  • a granularity of reporting at a policy area level, whereby a user location change is reported upon entering or leaving a policy area, a policy area comprising a set of cells and/or serving areas, defined at policy and/or charging control level,
  • for a granularity of reporting at a cell level or at a service area level or at a policy area level, a deferred user location change reporting until user plane activity is resumed, in case said user is not currently active in the user plane.

Claims

1. A method for reducing the load due to user location change reporting for location-based policy and/or charging control services for said user, in a mobile communication system wherein granularity of user location includes granularity at cell level and/or granularity at service area level, a service area (or Location or Routing or Tracking Area) comprising a set of cells defined at network operation level, a method wherein said user location change reporting is based on at least one of:

a granularity of reporting at a base station level, whereby a user location change is reported upon change of serving base station,

a granularity of reporting at a policy area level, whereby a user location change is reported upon entering or leaving a policy area, a policy area comprising a set of cells and/or service areas, defined at policy and/or charging control level,

for a granularity of reporting at a cell level or at a service area level or at a policy area level, a deferred user location change reporting until user plane activity is resumed, in case said user is not currently active in the user plane.

2. A method according to claim 1, comprising, for a granularity of reporting at base station level:

a policy and/or charging controller issuing a request for subscription to user location change notifications, said subscription request indicating a granularity at base station level,

possibly one network node in a signalling path between said policy and/or charging controller and a network node handling subscriptions to user location change notifications for said user, referred to as serving node, relaying said request towards said serving node,

said serving node issuing a notification of user location change, in case of change of serving base station for said user.

3. A method according to claim 1, comprising, for a granularity of reporting at policy area level:

a policy and/or charging controller issuing a request for subscription to user location change notifications, said subscription request indicating a granularity at policy area level and containing policy area related information,

possibly one network node in a signalling path between said policy and/or charging controller and a network node handling subscriptions to user location change notifications at policy area level for said user and referred to as serving node at policy area level, relaying said request towards said serving node at policy area level,

a serving node at policy area level storing policy area related information received in a request for subscription to user location change notifications,

a serving node at policy area level issuing user location change notifications at policy area level, in at least one of following occurrences;

if the serving node at policy area level detects that the User Equipment UE has entered or left a policy area,

when the serving node at policy area level receives a new request for subscription to user location change notifications at policy area level,

when the serving node at policy-area level starts serving the UE,

a network node in a signalling path between said serving node at policy area level and said policy and/or charging controller, relaying said notification of user location change at policy area level towards said policy and/or charging controller.

4. A method according to claim 1, comprising, for a granularity of reporting at policy area level:

a serving node at policy area level issuing user location change notifications at policy area level, in at least one of following occurrences;

when the UE attaches to the network or activates a connection, only if the serving node at policy area level detects that the UE is in a policy area,

when the UE transitions from idle mode to connected mode, only if the serving node at policy area level can detect that the UE has entered a new policy area or left any policy area since the last reported user location.

5. A method according to claim 1, comprising, for a granularity of reporting at policy area level:

a network node handling subscriptions to user location change notifications at policy area level for said user, referred to as serving node at policy area level, having received a request for subscription to user location change notifications at policy area level, forwarding a request for subscription to user location notifications at cell or service area level, depending on whether said policy area comprises a set of cells or a set of service areas, to a network node handling subscriptions to user location change notifications at cell or service area level for said user, referred to as serving node at cell or service area level,

said serving node at policy area level filtering user location change notifications at cell or service area level received from said serving node at cell or service area level, to detect if the user has entered or left a policy area.

6. A method according to claim 1, comprising, when an User Equipment UE attaches to the network or activates a connection:

a network node handling subscriptions to user location change notifications for said user, referred to as serving node, indicating to a policy and/or charging controller if it supports said user location reporting at policy area level,

said policy and/or charging controller deciding to subscribe to user location change notifications at cell and/or service area level if said serving network node does not support said user location reporting at policy area level, or at policy area level if said serving node supports said user location reporting at policy area level.

7. A method according to claim 1, comprising, at change of network node handling subscriptions to user location change notifications for said user, referred to as serving node:

a new serving node indicating if it supports said user location reporting at policy area level,

said support being reported to a policy and/or charging controller,

said policy and/or charging controller deciding to subscribe to user location change notifications, at cell and/or service area level, depending on whether said policy area comprises a set of cells or a set of service areas, if said new serving node does not support said user location reporting at policy area level, or at policy area level if said new serving node supports said user location reporting at policy area level.

8. A method according to claim 1, comprising, at change of network node handling subscriptions to user location change notifications at policy area level for said user, referred to as serving node at policy area level:

a new serving node at policy area level retrieving from an old serving node at policy area level, policy-area related context information stored in said old policy-area level serving node.

9. A method according to claim 1, comprising, for an EPS network, for a network node handling subscriptions to user location change notifications at policy area level for said user, referred to as serving node at policy area level, corresponding to a serving MME or SGSN, and when ISR applies:

a first node MME or SGSN serving the UE and connected to a SGW serving the UE sending to said SGW information as to the current policy area for the UE,

said SGW storing said information as to the current policy area for the UE,

another node SGSN or MME serving the UE and connected to said SGW sending to said SGW information as to a new policy area for said UE,

said SGW determining whether the UE has actually entered or left a policy area by comparing said information as to new and current policy area and transferring a notification towards the policy and/or charging controller having issued a request for subscription only if it detects the policy area status of the UE has changed (the UE has entered or left a policy area).

10. A method according to claim 1, comprising, for an EPS network and PCC services:

a PCRF issuing a request for subscription to User Location Information change notification at eNodeB level,

a serving PGW and/or a serving SGW forwarding said request,

a serving MME having received said request, and detecting a change of serving eNodeB for said user, issuing a notification of User Location Information change, including as User Location Information a cell identity E-CGI where the UE is located and belonging to the new serving eNodeB.

11. A method according to claim 1, comprising, for an EPS network and PCC services:

a SPR sending to a PCRF subscriber data including a need to subscribe to User Location Information ULI with a granularity of a policy area, together with policy area-related information,

a PCRF issuing a request for subscription to User Location Information change notification at policy area level, including policy area-related information

a serving PGW and/or a serving SGW forwarding said request,

a serving MME or SGSN or SGW receiving said request, storing said policy area related information,

said serving MME or SGSN or SGW having received said request, and detecting a need to issue a notification of User Location Information change at policy area level, issuing said notification, including as User Location Information a new policy area where the UE is now located or an indication that the UE is no more in a policy area,

a serving SGW and/or a serving PGW forwarding said notification to said PCRF.

12. A method according to claim 1, comprising, for deferred user location change reporting until user plane activity is resumed, in case said user is not currently active in the user plane, and for a granularity of reporting at a cell level or at a service area level or at a policy area level:

a policy and/or charging controller sending a request for subscription to user location change notifications, said request including an indication that said deferred reporting is allowed,

a network node in a signalling path between said policy and/or charging controller and a network node handling subscriptions to user location change notifications at a cell level or at a service area level or at policy area level for said user and referred to as serving node at cell or service area or policy area level, relaying said request towards said serving node at cell or service or at policy area level,

said serving node at cell or service or policy area level, deferring the issuing of a notification of user location change until user plane activity is resumed, in case said user is not currently active in the user plane.

16. An entity of said system, configured for performing a method according to claim 1.

13. A method for reducing the load due to the reporting of BroadBand Access Interworking BBAI information changes to a policy and/or charging controller in a mobile communication system wherein a Core Network CN interworks with a Fixed BroadBand Access Network to provide IP connectivity to an User equipment UE via a Home Base Station connected to said Fixed BroadBand Access Network, said method comprising:

said policy and/or charging controller sending towards a CN node serving said UE, referred to as serving node, a request for BBAI information change reporting,

at least one CN node in a signalling path between said policy and/or charging controller and said serving node relaying said request towards said serving node,

said serving node receiving said request, storing said request,

said serving node detecting BBAI information change for said UE, reporting said BBAI information change to said policy and/or charging controller only if said serving node has received a request for BBAI information change reporting.

14. A method according to claim 13, comprising:

during inter-serving node mobility, an old serving node providing a new serving node with a BBAI change reporting request received by said old serving node to allow said new serving node to continue monitoring and reporting change of BBAI information.

15. A method according to claim 13, comprising, for a Core Network corresponding to EPC, and for as serving node corresponding to a serving MME or SGSN, and:

a serving SGW storing current BBAI information to check, upon an Inter-serving node Intra-SGW mobility, whether the BBAI information provided by a new serving node has changed or not compared to the last BBAI information reported to the PCRF, and so to determine whether the PCRF needs to be updated or not with new BBAI information;

a PCRF issuing a request for subscription to BBAI information change reporting.