Apparatus, system and method of providing offloadability information to a user-equipment (UE)

• US 9,820,187 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2015
• Issued: 11/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/06/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Intel IP Corporation (Intel Corporation)
• Inventors: Sirotkin, Alexander, Stojanovski, Alexandre S., Gupta, Vivek, Chin, Chen-Ho
• Primary Examiner(s): DIVITO, WALTER J
• Application Number:
  US14/871,499
• Publication Number:
  US 20160021570A1
• Time in Patent Office: 776 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0865 of different Radio Access Technologies [RATs], e.g. LTE or WiFi
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/00226 wherein the core network technologies comprise IP multimedia system [IMS], e.g. single radio voice call continuity [SRVCC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0027 for a plurality of data sessions of end-to-end connections, e.g. multi-call or multi-bearer end-to-end data connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/1446 wherein at least one of the networks is unlicensed
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals

Abstract

Some demonstrative embodiments include devices, systems and methods of providing offloadability information to a User Equipment (UE). For example, a core network (CN) may provide to the UE Packet Data Network (PDN) offloadability information corresponding to one or more PDN connections of the UE, the PDN offloadability information indicating which PDN connection of the one or more PDN connections is able to be offloaded to a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN).

Claims

1. A mobility management entity (MME) comprising:

a memory unit to store a set of one or more instructions; and

a processor to execute one or more instructions in the set of one or more instructions to;

receive, from a home subscriber server (HSS), access point name (APN) offloadability information to indicate, for an APN, whether wireless local area network (WLAN) offload is to be allowable or not allowable for the APN;

determine, based at least on the APN offloadability information, WLAN offloadability information to indicate which packet data network (PDN) connection is to be allowed to be offloaded to WLAN and which PDN connection is not to be allowed to be offloaded to WLAN; and

in response to establishment of a PDN connection of a user equipment (UE), provide to the UE WLAN offloadability information corresponding to the established PDN connection to indicate whether the established PDN connection is offloadable or not offloadable to WLAN.

2. The MME of claim 1, wherein the processor to receive the APN offloadability information in an attach procedure.

3. The MME of claim 1, wherein the processor to provide the WLAN offloadability information corresponding to the established PDN connection to the UE via non-access stratum (NAS) signaling or an Evolved Packet System (EPS) Session Management (ESM) information request message.

4. The MME of claim 1, wherein the processor further to execute one or more instructions in the set of one or more instructions to:

determine, based on the APN offloadability information, bearer offloadability information to indicate which bearer is offloadable to WLAN.

5. The MME of claim 4, wherein the processor further to execute one or more instructions in the set of one or more instructions to:

provide to the UE the bearer offloadability information.

6. A User Equipment (UE), comprising:

a receiver to receive, via an evolved Node B (eNB), offloadability information from a mobility management entity (MME) by non-access stratum (NAS) signaling or an evolved packet switch (EPS) session management (ESM) information message, wherein the offloadability information is to indicate which Packet Data Network (PDN) connection is to be allowed to be offloaded to Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) and which PDN connection is not to be allowed to be offloaded to WLAN, the receiver to receive, in response to establishment of a PDN connection of the UE, offloadability information for the established PDN connection to indicate a WLAN offloadability indication of whether the established PDN connection is offloadable or not offloadable to WLAN; and

a controller to perform traffic steering to or from the WLAN based on the offloadability information for the established PDN connection.

7. The UE of claim 6, wherein the controller to perform the traffic steering to or from the WLAN based on the offloadability information for the established PDN connection and radio access network (RAN) assistance information.

8. The UE of claim 7, wherein the RAN assistance information comprises one or more from a group consisting of one or more signal strength thresholds, WLAN backhaul information, one or more WLAN identifiers and offload preference information.

9. The UE of claim 6, further comprising:

a memory unit to store the offloadability information from the receiver.

10. The UE of claim 9, further comprising:

one or more antennas coupled to said receiver; and

a processor coupled to the memory unit.

11. The UE of claim 6, wherein the receiver further to receive, from the eNB, a Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling message to indicate which bearers may be offloaded to WLAN.

12. A method comprising:

receiving access point name (APN) offloadability information from a Home Subscriber Server (HSS), the APN offloadability information is to indicate, for an APN, whether Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) offloading is to be allowable or not allowable for the APN;

determining, based at least on the APN offloadability information, WLAN offloadability information to indicate which packet data network (PDN) connection is to be allowed to be offloaded to WLAN and which PDN connection is not to be allowed to be offloaded to WLAN; and

in response to establishment of a PDN connection of a user equipment (UE), sending to the UE WLAN offloadability information corresponding to the established PDN connection to indicate whether the established PDN connection is offloadable or not offloadable to WLAN.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein said APN offloadability information includes a list of offloadable APNs.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

receiving PDN information of the established PDN connection.

15. The method of claim 12, comprising:

sending the WLAN offloadability information of the established PDN connection to the UE via Non-Access Stratum (NAS) signaling.

16. The method of claim 12, comprising:

sending the WLAN offloadability information corresponding to the established PDN connection to the UE in a NAS notification message.

17. A tangible non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions operable to, when executed by a processor, enable the processor to implement operations at a User Equipment (UE), the operations comprising:

transceiving traffic of a packet data network (PDN) connection on a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) network;

receiving radio access network (RAN) assistance information and PDN offloadability information, the PDN offloadability information is to indicate which PDN connection is to be allowed to be offloaded to Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) and which PDN connection is not to be allowed to be offloaded to WLAN, receiving the PDN offloadability information comprises receiving, in response to establishment of a PDN connection of the UE, offloadability information for the established PDN connection to indicate whether or not the established PDN connection is offloadable to WLAN; and

steering the traffic of the established PDN connection to the WLAN based on the RAN assistance information and the PDN offloadability information.

18. The tangible non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the operations comprise receiving the PDN offloadability information from a Mobility Management Entity (MME) or a PDN gateway.

19. The tangible non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the operations comprise receiving the PDN offloadability information via Non-Access Stratum (NAS) signaling.

20. The tangible non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the operations comprise receiving the PDN offloadability information via an evolved packet switch (EPS) session management (ESM) information message.

21. The tangible non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 17, wherein the operations comprise storing the PDN offloadability information.

22. The tangible non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 17, wherein the operations comprise receiving from an evolved Node B (eNB) bearer offloadability information to indicate which bearer may be offloaded to WLAN via a Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling message.

23. The tangible non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 17, wherein the operations comprise receiving from a mobility management entity (MME) the PDN offloadability information via an evolved Node B (eNB).