TECHNIQUES FOR PROVISIONING CONFIGURATION INFORMATION BASED ON CELL CHARACTERISTICS

• US 20150148038A1
• Filed: 09/22/2014
• Published: 05/28/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/22/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Griot, Miguel, Horn, Gavin Bernard, Malladi, Durga Prasad
• Granted Patent: US 10,028,212 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/435.3
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/14 Spectrum sharing arrangements between different networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/02 Arrangements for optimising operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0205 at the air interface dynamic wireless traffic scheduling H04W72/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0247 based on conditions of the access network or the infrastructure network central resource management H04W28/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0268 using specific QoS parameters for wireless networks, e.g. QoS class identifier [QCI] or guaranteed bit rate [GBR] negotiating SLA or negotiating QoS H04W28/24
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0967 Quality of Service [QoS] parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/00698 using different RATs
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/18 Selecting a network or a communication service
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/15 Setup of multiple wireless link connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/18 Processing of user or subscriber data, e.g. subscribed services, user preferences or user profiles; Transfer of user or subscriber data

Abstract

Techniques are described for configuring wireless service for a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communications network in which the UE may be served over one or more of multiple available cells. Wireless service for the UE may be configured based on parameters associated with each of the multiple cells, such as, for example, a primary/secondary cell designation of a cell, whether the cell operates using a licensed or an unlicensed radio frequency spectrum band, a radio access technology associated with a cell, and/or an operating frequency band of a cell. Based on the parameters for each cell, one or more cell configurations for serving the UE may be provided. The cell configurations may identify, for example, a set of rules that control how much and/or what type of traffic is sent on different cells.

Claims

1. A method for configuring wireless service for a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communications network, comprising:

identifying a first set of parameters associated with a first cell;

identifying a second set of parameters associated with a second cell; and

providing one or more cell configurations of at least one of the first cell and the second cell for serving the UE based on at least one of the first set of parameters and the second set of parameters.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the first set of parameters and the second set of parameters comprise one or more of the following cell characteristics:

a primary cell designation or secondary cell designation of a cell;

a licensed radio frequency spectrum band or an unlicensed radio frequency spectrum band associated with a cell;

a radio access technology associated with a cell;

or an operating frequency band of a cell.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more cell configurations identify which of the first cell and the second cell is allowed to serve the UE.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the one or more cell configurations identify one or more of:

a percentage of traffic volume to be served over the first cell and a percentage of traffic volume to be served over the second cell;

a maximum amount of traffic volume to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

a maximum bit rate to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

a minimum bit rate to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

an application type to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

one or more bearers to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

one or more service data flows to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

one or more prioritization rules associated with the first cell or the second cell;

a Quality of Service (QoS) requirement of traffic volume to be served by the first cell or the second cell;

or

an amount of air interface resources available to the first cell or the second cell.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more cell configurations are identified based at least in part on:

a policy and charging rules function (PCRF);

or

subscription information associated with the UE.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the one or more cell configurations comprises transmitting the one or more cell configurations to an access node.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the transmitting occurs during one or more of:

a connection establishment procedure between the access node and the UE;

a default bearer activation procedure between the access node and the UE;

a dedicated bearer activation procedure between the access node and the UE;

or

a packet data protocol (PDP) context activation procedure between the access node and the UE.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the one or more cell configurations are provided to the access node via control plane signaling.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more cell configurations are provided:

for the UE;

for a bearer of the UE;

for a service data flow (SDF);

for a class of UE;

or

for all UEs to be served using one or more of the first cell or the second cell.

10. A method for wireless communication at an access node in a wireless communications network, comprising:

determining one or more cell configurations for serving a user equipment (UE) using a first cell and a second cell of the access node, wherein the one or more cell configurations are based at least in part on a first set of parameters associated with the first cell and a second set of parameters associated with the second cell; and

serving the UE based at least in part on the determined one or more cell configurations.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein serving the UE comprises:

serving a first portion of a traffic stream over the first cell; and

serving a second portion of the traffic stream over the second cell.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein serving the UE comprises:

determining whether to serve the UE over the first cell; and

determining whether to serve the UE over the second cell.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein determining whether to serve the UE over the first cell or the second cell comprises one or more of:

instructing the UE to establish a connection with each of the first cell and the second cell;

or

instructing the UE to determine if access to the first cell or the second cell is available.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the one or more cell configurations comprise one or more of:

a percentage of traffic volume to be served over the first cell and a percentage of traffic volume to be served over the second cell;

a maximum amount of traffic volume to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

a maximum bit rate to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

a minimum bit rate to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

an application type to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

one or more bearers to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

one or more service data flows to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

one or more prioritization rules associated with the first cell or the second cell;

a Quality of Service (QoS) requirement of traffic volume to be served by the first cell or the second cell;

or

an amount of air interface resources available to the first cell or the second cell.

15. The method of claim 10, further comprising

receiving the one or more cell configurations, wherein the one or more cell configurations are received from a first network node during one or more of:

a connection establishment procedure between the access node and the UE;

a default bearer activation procedure between the access node and the UE;

a dedicated bearer activation procedure between the access node and the UE;

or

a packet data protocol (PDP) context activation procedure between the access node and the UE.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein receiving the one or more cell configurations comprise receiving, from a second network node, the one or more cell configurations for serving the UE.

17. The method of claim 10, wherein the one or more cell configurations are provided:

for the UE;

for a bearer of the UE;

for a service data flow (SDF);

for a class of UE;

or

for all UEs to be served using one or more of the first cell or the second cell.

18. An apparatus for configuring wireless service for a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communications network, comprising:

means for identifying a first set of parameters associated with a first cell;

means for identifying a second set of parameters associated with a second cell; and

means for providing one or more cell configurations of at least one of the first cell and the second cell for serving the UE based on at least one of the first set of parameters and the second set of parameters.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein each of the first set of parameters and the second set of parameters comprise one or more of the following cell characteristics:

a primary cell designation or secondary cell designation of a cell;

a licensed radio frequency spectrum band or an unlicensed radio frequency spectrum band associated with a cell;

a radio access technology associated with a cell;

or

an operating frequency band of a cell.

20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the one or more cell configurations identify which of the first cell and the second cell is allowed to serve the UE.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the one or more cell configurations identify one or more of:

a percentage of traffic volume to be served over the first cell and a percentage of traffic volume to be served over the second cell;

a maximum amount of traffic volume to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

a maximum bit rate to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

a minimum bit rate to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

an application type to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

one or more bearers to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

one or more service data flows to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

one or more prioritization rules associated with the first cell or the second cell;

a Quality of Service (QoS) requirement of traffic volume to be served by the first cell or the second cell;

or

an amount of air interface resources available to the first cell or the second cell.

22. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the one or more cell configurations are identified based at least in part on:

a policy and charging rules function (PCRF);

or

subscription information associated with the UE.

23. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the means for providing the one or more cell configurations transmits the one or more cell configurations to an access node.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the transmission occurs during one or more of:

a connection establishment procedure between the access node and the UE;

a default bearer activation procedure between the access node and the UE;

a dedicated bearer activation procedure between the access node and the UE;

or

a packet data protocol (PDP) context activation procedure between the access node and the UE.

25. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the one or more cell configurations are provided to the access node via control plane signaling.

26. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the one or more cell configurations are provided:

for the UE;

for a bearer of the UE;

for a service data flow (SDF);

for a class of UE;

or

for all UEs to be served using one or more of the first cell or the second cell.

27. An apparatus for wireless communication at an access node in a wireless communications network, comprising:

means for determining one or more cell configurations for serving a user equipment (UE) using a first cell and a second cell of the access node, wherein the one or more cell configurations are based at least in part on a first set of parameters associated with the first cell and a second set of parameters associated with the second cell; and

means for serving the UE based at least in part on the determined one or more cell configurations.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein means for serving the UE serves a first portion of a traffic stream over the first cell and serves a second portion of the traffic stream over the second cell.

29. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein means for serving the UE determines whether to serve the UE over the first cell and determines whether to serve the UE over the second cell.

30. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the one or more cell configurations comprise one or more of:

a percentage of traffic volume to be served over the first cell and a percentage of traffic volume to be served over the second cell;

a maximum amount of traffic volume to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

a maximum bit rate to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

a minimum bit rate to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

an application type to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

one or more bearers to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

one or more service data flows to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

one or more prioritization rules associated with the first cell or the second cell;

a Quality of Service (QoS) requirement of traffic volume to be served by the first cell or the second cell;

or

an amount of air interface resources available to the first cell or the second cell.

31. The apparatus of claim 27, further comprising

means for receiving the one or more cell configurations, wherein the one or more cell configurations are received from a first network node during one or more of:

a connection establishment procedure between the access node and the UE;

a default bearer activation procedure between the access node and the UE;

a dedicated bearer activation procedure between the access node and the UE;

or a packet data protocol (PDP) context activation procedure between the access node and the UE.

32. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the means for receiving the one or more cell configurations receives, from a second network node, the one or more cell configurations for serving the UE.

33. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the one or more cell configurations are provided:

for the UE;

for a bearer of the UE;

for a service data flow (SDF);

for a class of UE;

or

for all UEs to be served using one or more of the first cell or the second cell.

34. An apparatus for configuring wireless service for a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communications network, comprising:

a processor;

memory in electronic communication with the processor; and

instructions stored in the memory, the instructions being executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to;

identify a first set of parameters associated with a first cell;

identify a second set of parameters associated with a second cell; and

provide one or more cell configurations of at least one of the first cell and the second cell for serving the UE based on at least one of the first set of parameters and the second set of parameters.

35. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein each of the first set of parameters and the second set of parameters comprise one or more of the following cell characteristics:

a primary cell designation or secondary cell designation of a cell;

a licensed radio frequency spectrum band or an unlicensed radio frequency spectrum band associated with a cell;

a radio access technology associated with a cell;

or

an operating frequency band of a cell.

36. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the one or more cell configurations identify which of the first cell and the second cell is allowed to serve the UE.

37. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the one or more cell configurations identify one or more of:

a percentage of traffic volume to be served over the first cell and a percentage of traffic volume to be served over the second cell;

a maximum amount of traffic volume to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

a maximum bit rate to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

a minimum bit rate to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

an application type to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

one or more bearers to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

one or more service data flows to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

one or more prioritization rules associated with the first cell or the second cell;

a Quality of Service (QoS) requirement of traffic volume to be served by the first cell or the second cell;

or

an amount of air interface resources available to the first cell or the second cell.

38. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the one or more cell configurations are identified based at least in part on:

a policy and charging rules function (PCRF);

or

subscription information associated with the UE.

39. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to transmit the one or more cell configurations to an access node.

40. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the transmission occurs during one or more of:

a connection establishment procedure between the access node and the UE;

a default bearer activation procedure between the access node and the UE;

a dedicated bearer activation procedure between the access node and the UE;

or

a packet data protocol (PDP) context activation procedure between the access node and the UE.

41. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the one or more cell configurations are provided to the access node via control plane signaling.

42. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the one or more cell configurations are provided:

for the UE;

for a bearer of the UE;

for a service data flow (SDF);

for a class of UE;

or

for all UEs to be served using one or more of the first cell or the second cell.

43. An apparatus for wireless communication at an access node in a wireless communications network, comprising:

a processor;

memory in electronic communication with the processor; and

instructions stored in the memory, the instructions being executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to;

determine one or more cell configurations for serving a user equipment (UE) using a first cell and a second cell of the access node, wherein the one or more cell configurations are based at least in part on a first set of parameters associated with the first cell and a second set of parameters associated with the second cell; and

serve the UE based at least in part on the determined one or more cell configurations.

44. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to serve a first portion of a traffic stream over the first cell and serve a second portion of the traffic stream over the second cell.

45. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to determine whether to serve the UE over the first cell and determine whether to serve the UE over the second cell.

46. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein the one or more cell configurations comprise one or more of:

a percentage of traffic volume to be served over the first cell and a percentage of traffic volume to be served over the second cell;

a maximum amount of traffic volume to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

a maximum bit rate to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

a minimum bit rate to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

an application type to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

one or more bearers to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

one or more service data flows to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

one or more prioritization rules associated with the first cell or the second cell;

a Quality of Service (QoS) requirement of traffic volume to be served by the first cell or the second cell;

or

an amount of air interface resources available to the first cell or the second cell.

47. The apparatus of claim 43, the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to receive the one or more cell configurations, wherein the one or more cell configurations are received from a first network node during one or more of:

a connection establishment procedure between the access node and the UE;

a default bearer activation procedure between the access node and the UE;

a dedicated bearer activation procedure between the access node and the UE;

or

a packet data protocol (PDP) context activation procedure between the access node and the UE.

48. The apparatus of claim 47, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to receive, from a second network node, the one or more cell configurations for serving the UE.

49. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein the one or more cell configurations are provided:

for the UE;

for a bearer of the UE;

for a service data flow (SDF);

for a class of UE;

or

for all UEs to be served using one or more of the first cell or the second cell.

50. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable code for configuring wireless service for a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communications network, the code executable by a processor to:

identify a first set of parameters associated with a first cell;

identify a second set of parameters associated with a second cell; and

provide one or more cell configurations of at least one of the first cell and the second cell for serving the UE based on at least one of the first set of parameters and the second set of parameters.

51. The computer-readable medium of claim 50, wherein each of the first set of parameters and the second set of parameters comprise one or more of the following cell characteristics:

a primary cell designation or secondary cell designation of a cell;

a licensed radio frequency spectrum band or an unlicensed radio frequency spectrum band associated with a cell;

a radio access technology associated with a cell;

or

an operating frequency band of a cell.

52. The computer-readable medium of claim 50, wherein the one or more cell configurations identify which of the first cell and the second cell is allowed to serve the UE.

53. The computer-readable medium of claim 52, wherein the one or more cell configurations identify one or more of:

a percentage of traffic volume to be served over the first cell and a percentage of traffic volume to be served over the second cell;

a maximum amount of traffic volume to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

a maximum bit rate to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

a minimum bit rate to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

an application type to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

one or more bearers to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

one or more service data flows to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

one or more prioritization rules associated with the first cell or the second cell;

a Quality of Service (QoS) requirement of traffic volume to be served by the first cell or the second cell;

or

an amount of air interface resources available to the first cell or the second cell.

54. The computer-readable medium of claim 50, wherein the one or more cell configurations are identified based at least in part on:

a policy and charging rules function (PCRF);

or

subscription information associated with the UE.

55. The computer-readable medium of claim 50, wherein the code is further executable by the processor to transmit the one or more cell configurations to an access node.

56. The computer-readable medium of claim 55, wherein the transmission occurs during one or more of:

a connection establishment procedure between the access node and the UE;

a default bearer activation procedure between the access node and the UE;

a dedicated bearer activation procedure between the access node and the UE;

or

a packet data protocol (PDP) context activation procedure between the access node and the UE.

57. The computer-readable medium of claim 55, wherein the one or more cell configurations are provided to the access node via control plane signaling.

58. The computer-readable medium of claim 50, wherein the one or more cell configurations are provided:

for the UE;

for a bearer of the UE;

for a service data flow (SDF);

for a class of UE;

or

for all UEs to be served using one or more of the first cell or the second cell.

59. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable code for wireless communication at an access node in a wireless communications network, the code executable by a processor to:

determine one or more cell configurations for serving a user equipment (UE) using a first cell and a second cell of the access node, wherein the one or more cell configurations are based at least in part on a first set of parameters associated with the first cell and a second set of parameters associated with the second cell; and

serve the UE based at least in part on the determined one or more cell configurations.

60. The computer-readable medium of claim 59, wherein the code is further executable by the processor to serve a first portion of a traffic stream over the first cell and serve a second portion of the traffic stream over the second cell.

61. The computer-readable medium of claim 59, wherein the code is further executable by the processor to determine whether to serve the UE over the first cell and determine whether to serve the UE over the second cell.

62. The computer-readable medium of claim 59, wherein the one or more cell configurations comprise one or more of:

a percentage of traffic volume to be served over the first cell and a percentage of traffic volume to be served over the second cell;

a maximum amount of traffic volume to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

a maximum bit rate to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

a minimum bit rate to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

an application type to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

one or more bearers to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

one or more service data flows to be served over the first cell or the second cell;

one or more prioritization rules associated with the first cell or the second cell;

a Quality of Service (QoS) requirement of traffic volume to be served by the first cell or the second cell;

or

an amount of air interface resources available to the first cell or the second cell.

63. The computer-readable medium of claim 59, the code is further executable by the processor to receive the one or more cell configurations, wherein the one or more cell configurations are received from a first network node during one or more of:

a connection establishment procedure between the access node and the UE;

a default bearer activation procedure between the access node and the UE;

a dedicated bearer activation procedure between the access node and the UE;

or

a packet data protocol (PDP) context activation procedure between the access node and the UE.

64. The computer-readable medium of claim 63, wherein the code is further executable by the processor to receive, from a second network node, the one or more cell configurations for serving the UE.

65. The computer-readable medium of claim 59, wherein the one or more cell configurations are provided:

for the UE;

for a bearer of the UE;

for a service data flow (SDF);

for a class of UE;

or

for all UEs to be served using one or more of the first cell or the second cell.