METHOD AND NETWORK ENTITY FOR QOS CONTROL

• US 20160373956A1
• Filed: 07/22/2015
• Published: 12/22/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/06/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: ZHANG, Shunliang, WANG, Jian
• Granted Patent: US 10,085,173 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 28/16 Central resource management; Negotiation of resources or communication parameters, e.g. negotiating bandwidth or QoS [Quality of Service]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/24 Negotiating SLA [Service Level Agreement]; Negotiating QoS [Quality of Service]

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a method in a network entity for Quality of Service (QoS) control of a service to be provided by a Service Provider (SP) to a user. The method comprises: receiving from another network entity a QoS capability request including a QoS requested by the SP for the service; retrieving a QoS profile of the user from a user database, the QoS profile including a maximum allowable QoS for the user dependent on the user'"'"'s subscription with a network operator; and controlling a QoS to be authorized to the service based on the requested QoS and the maximum allowable QoS.

Claims

1. A method in a network entity for Quality of Service (QoS) control of a service to be provided by a Service Provider (SP) to a user, comprising:

receiving from another network entity a QoS capability request including a QoS requested by the SP for the service;

retrieving a QoS profile of the user from a user database, the QoS profile including a maximum allowable QoS for the user dependent on the user'"'"'s subscription with a network operator; and

controlling a QoS to be authorized to the service based on the requested QoS and the maximum allowable QoS.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the QoS capability request further includes a prioritization indication dependent on the SP'"'"'s subscription with the network operator.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the QoS capability request further includes a user identifier (ID) of the user and/or an SP ID of the SP, and the method further comprises:

retrieving, based on the user ID and/or the SP ID, a prioritization indication dependent on the SP'"'"'s subscription with the network operator from the user database.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein said controlling is further based on the prioritization indication when the requested QoS is not allowed by the maximum allowable QoS.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the prioritization indication indicates whether the requested QoS shall be prioritized over the maximum allowable QoS.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said controlling comprises:

authorizing the requested QoS to the service when the requested QoS is not allowed by the maximum allowable QoS and the prioritization indication indicates that the requested QoS shall be prioritized over the maximum allowable QoS.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein said controlling comprises, when the requested QoS is not allowed by the maximum allowable QoS and the prioritization indication indicates that the requested QoS shall not be prioritized over the maximum allowable QoS:

rejecting the QoS capability request, with a cause to notify the SP of a recommended QoS allowable by the maximum allowable QoS, or

authorizing the maximum allowable QoS to the service.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein the prioritization indication indicates a first QoS priority level dependent on the SP'"'"'s subscription with the network operator, the QoS profile further includes a second QoS priority level dependent on the user'"'"'s subscription with the network operator, and

said controlling is further based on a comparison between the first QoS priority level and the second QoS priority level when the requested QoS is not allowed by the maximum allowable QoS.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein said controlling comprises:

authorizing the requested QoS to the service when the requested QoS is not allowed by the maximum allowable QoS and the comparison indicates that the requested QoS shall be prioritized over the maximum allowable QoS.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein said controlling comprises, when the requested QoS is not allowed by the maximum allowable QoS and the comparison indicates that the requested QoS shall not be prioritized over the maximum allowable QoS:

rejecting the QoS capability request, with a cause to notify the SP of a recommended QoS allowable by the maximum allowable QoS, or

authorizing the maximum allowable QoS to the service.

11. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

retrieving, based on the SP ID, a QoS profile of the SP from another database, the QoS profile of the SP including a maximum allowable QoS for the SP dependent on the SP'"'"'s subscription with the network operator; and

rejecting the QoS capability request when the requested QoS is not allowed by the maximum allowable QoS for the SP.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein said controlling comprises:

authorizing the requested QoS to the service when the requested QoS is allowed by the maximum allowable QoS for the user.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the network entity is a Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) entity, the other network entity is an Application Access Control (AAC) entity, and the user database is implemented in a Subscription Profile Repository (SPR) entity.

14. A method in a network entity for facilitating Quality of Service (QoS) control of a service to be provided by a Service Provider (SP) to a user, comprising:

receiving a QoS capability request from the SP, the QoS capability request including a QoS requested by the SP for the service;

determining whether the SP is an authorized SP based on the SP'"'"'s subscription with a network operator; and

forwarding the QoS capability request to another network entity that controls a QoS to be authorized to the service when the SP is the authorized SP.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

rejecting the QoS capability request when the SP is not the authorized SP.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

generating a prioritization indication based on the SP'"'"'s subscription with the network operator; and

including the prioritization indication in the QoS capability request to be forwarded to the other network entity.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the prioritization indication indicates whether the requested QoS shall be prioritized over a maximum allowable QoS for the user dependent on the user'"'"'s subscription with the network operator.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the prioritization indication indicates a first QoS priority level dependent on the SP'"'"'s subscription with the network operator, so as to enable the other network entity to control the QoS to be authorized to the service based on a comparison between the first QoS priority level and a second QoS priority level dependent on the user'"'"'s subscription with the network operator.

19. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

determining whether the requested QoS is allowed by a maximum allowable QoS for the SP dependent on the SP'"'"'s subscription with the network operator, and

wherein the QoS capability request is forwarded to the other network entity when the requested QoS is allowed by the maximum allowable QoS for the SP, and

wherein the QoS capability request is rejected when the requested QoS is not allowed by the maximum allowable QoS for the SP.

20. The method of claim 14, wherein the network entity is an Application Access Control (AAC) entity and the other network entity is a Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) entity.

21. A network entity for Quality of Service (QoS) control of a service to be provided by a Service Provider (SP) to a user, comprising:

a receiving unit configured to receive from another network entity a QoS capability request including a QoS requested by the SP for the service;

a retrieving unit configured to retrieve a QoS profile of the user from a user database, the QoS profile including a maximum allowable QoS for the user dependent on the user'"'"'s subscription with a network operator; and

a controlling unit configured to control a QoS to be authorized to the service based on the requested QoS and the maximum allowable QoS.

22. The network entity of claim 21, wherein the QoS capability request further includes a prioritization indication dependent on the SP'"'"'s subscription with the network operator.

23. The network entity of claim 21, wherein the QoS capability request further includes a user identifier (ID) of the user and/or an SP ID of the SP, and

the retrieving unit is further configured to retrieve, based on the user ID and/or the SP ID, a prioritization indication dependent on the SP'"'"'s subscription with the network operator from the user database.

24. The network entity of claim 22, wherein the controlling unit is configured to control the QoS to be authorized to the service further based on the prioritization indication when the requested QoS is not allowed by the maximum allowable QoS.

25. The network entity of claim 24, wherein the prioritization indication indicates whether the requested QoS shall be prioritized over the maximum allowable QoS.

26. The network entity of claim 25, wherein the controlling unit is configured to authorize the requested QoS to the service when the requested QoS is not allowed by the maximum allowable QoS and the prioritization indication indicates that the requested QoS shall be prioritized over the maximum allowable QoS.

27. The network entity of claim 25, wherein the controlling unit is configured to, when the requested QoS is not allowed by the maximum allowable QoS and the prioritization indication indicates that the requested QoS shall not be prioritized over the maximum allowable QoS:

reject the QoS capability request, with a cause to notify the SP of a recommended QoS allowable by the maximum allowable QoS, or

authorize the maximum allowable QoS to the service.

28. The network entity of claim 24, wherein the prioritization indication indicates a first QoS priority level dependent on the SP'"'"'s subscription with the network operator, the QoS profile further includes a second QoS priority level dependent on the user'"'"'s subscription with the network operator, and

the controlling unit is configured to control the QoS to be authorized to the service further based on a comparison between the first QoS priority level and the second QoS priority level when the requested QoS is not allowed by the maximum allowable QoS.

29. The network entity of claim 28, wherein the controlling unit is configured to authorize the requested QoS to the service when the requested QoS is not allowed by the maximum allowable QoS and the comparison indicates that the requested QoS shall be prioritized over the maximum allowable QoS.

30. The network entity of claim 28, wherein the controlling unit is configured to, when the requested QoS is not allowed by the maximum allowable QoS and the comparison indicates that the requested QoS shall not be prioritized over the maximum allowable QoS:

reject the QoS capability request, with a cause to notify the SP of a recommended QoS allowable by the maximum allowable QoS, or

authorize the maximum allowable QoS to the service.

31. The network entity of claim 23, wherein the retrieving unit is further configured to retrieve, based on the SP ID, a QoS profile of the SP from another database, the QoS profile of the SP including a maximum allowable QoS for the SP dependent on the SP'"'"'s subscription with the network operator;

and

the controlling unit is further configured to reject the QoS capability request when the requested QoS is not allowed by the maximum allowable QoS for the SP.

32. The network entity of claim 21, wherein the controlling unit is configured to authorizing the requested QoS to the service when the requested QoS is allowed by the maximum allowable QoS for the user.

33. The network entity of any of claim 21, wherein the network entity is a Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) entity, the other network entity is an Application Access Control (AAC) entity, and the user database is implemented in a Subscription Profile Repository (SPR) entity.

34. A network entity for facilitating Quality of Service (QoS) control of a service to be provided by a Service Provider (SP) to a user, comprising:

a receiving unit configured to receive a QoS capability request from the SP, the QoS capability request including a QoS requested by the SP for the service;

a determining unit configured to determine whether the SP is an authorized SP based on the SP'"'"'s subscription with a network operator; and

a forwarding unit configured to forward the QoS capability request to another network entity that controls a QoS to be authorized to the service when the SP is the authorized SP.

35. The network entity of claim 34, further comprising:

a rejecting unit configured to reject the QoS capability request when the SP is not the authorized SP.

36. The network entity of claim 34, further comprising:

a generating unit configured to generate a prioritization indication based on the SP'"'"'s subscription with the network operator,

wherein the forwarding unit is configured to include the prioritization indication in the QoS capability request to be forwarded to the other network entity.

37. The network entity of claim 36, wherein the prioritization indication indicates whether the requested QoS shall be prioritized over a maximum allowable QoS for the user dependent on the user'"'"'s subscription with the network operator.

38. The network entity of claim 36, wherein the prioritization indication indicates a first QoS priority level dependent on the SP'"'"'s subscription with the network operator, so as to enable the other network entity to control the QoS to be authorized to the service based on a comparison between the first QoS priority level and a second QoS priority level dependent on the user'"'"'s subscription with the network operator.

39. The network entity of claim 34, wherein:

the determining unit is further configured to determine whether the requested QoS is allowed by a maximum allowable QoS for the SP dependent on the SP'"'"'s subscription with the network operator, and

the forwarding unit is configured to forward the QoS capability request to the other network entity when the requested QoS is allowed by the maximum allowable QoS for the SP.

40. The network entity of claim 39, further comprising:

a rejecting unit configured to reject the QoS capability request when the requested QoS is not allowed by the maximum allowable QoS for the SP.

41. The network entity of claim 34, wherein the network entity is an Application Access Control (AAC) entity and the other network entity is a Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) entity.