SERVICE-BASED CELL SELECTION AND RESELECTION

• US 20170064691A1
• Filed: 02/05/2016
• Published: 03/02/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/01/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Kubota, Keiichi, Horn, Gavin Bernard, Li, Chih Ping
• Granted Patent: US 10,542,547 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/22 for handling the traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/30 by measured or perceived connection quality data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/18 Selecting a network or a communication service
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/20 Selecting an access point
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/51 based on terminal or device properties
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/56 based on priority criteria
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/27 Transitions between radio resource control [RRC] states
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Systems and techniques are disclosed for selecting service-specific cells that considers additional information about service availability at the cells. A base station stores service availability information in system information. A UE searching for a service-specific cell on which to camp receives the system information with service availability. The UE analyzes its service requirements against the service availability as well as measured radio conditions and selects a cell that enables service-specific support on which to camp. When a change occurs to availability of the service support at the base station, it notifies the camped UE of the change and the UE obtains the changed system information to determine whether to reselect a different cell on which to camp. When a service-specific cell is not available, the UE may select a suitable cell for normal service and periodically perform cell reselection in an attempt to again camp on a service-specific cell.

Claims

1. A method of wireless communication, comprising:

determining, by a user equipment (UE), one or more operating parameters of a cell to support a service of the UE;

receiving, at the UE, a communication from a wireless communication device, the communication including at least one service indicator for a cell;

determining whether the cell satisfies the one or more operating parameters to support the service of the UE based on the at least one service indicator; and

determining, by the UE, whether to select the cell for camping based at least in part on determining whether the at least one service indicator for the cell satisfies the one or more operating parameters.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining, by the UE, whether to select the cell further includes ignoring cells that do not satisfy the one or more operating parameters, the method further comprising:

camping, by the UE, on the cell in response to determining that the cell satisfies the one or more operating parameters.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more operating parameters include one or more of carrier aggregation, dual connectivity, radio access technology, operating frequency, asynchronous data transfer, latency, or quality of service class.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one service indicator includes a service availability indicator that includes at least one of:

a flag indicating whether the service is available on the cell;

one or more operating parameters for the service on the cell;

a quality of service class identifier (QCI);

or

a mode of the service on the cell.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the service indicator is received as part of at least one of a system information communication or unicast message comprising a radio resource control (RRC) communication or a non-access stratum (NAS) message.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one service indicator includes a service area indicator that identifies a plurality of cells having the same service availability.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the determining the one or more operating parameters of the cell needed to support the service of the UE is performed in response to activation of the service of the UE by an upper layer of the UE or a user of the UE, and

the one or more operating parameters of the cell needed to support the service of the UE are prioritized over default cell selection parameters.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, from the wireless communication device, policy information about available access networks; and

configuring, by the UE, the one or more operating parameters to reflect one or more parameters needed to support the service based on the received policy information.

9. A method of wireless communication, comprising:

setting, at a wireless communication device, a value for at least one service indicator for a cell;

transmitting, from the wireless communication device to a user equipment (UE), a communication that includes the at least one service indicator for the cell; and

receiving, at the wireless communication device, a communication from the UE indicating whether the UE selected the cell for camping based at least in part on whether the cell satisfies one or more operating parameters needed to support a service of the UE based on the at least one service indicator.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein:

the one or more operating parameters include one or more of carrier aggregation, dual connectivity, radio access technology, operating frequency, asynchronous data transfer, latency, or quality of service class; and

the at least one service indicator includes a service availability indicator that includes at least one of a flag indicating whether the service is available on the cell, one or more operating parameters for the service on the cell, a quality of service class identifier (QCI), or a mode of the service on the cell.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the service indicator is transmitted as part of at least one of a system information communication or unicast message comprising a radio resource control (RRC) communication or a non-access stratum (NAS) message.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the at least one service area indicator includes a service area indicator that identifies a plurality of cells having the same service availability.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

updating, at the wireless communication device, the value for the at least one service indicator for the cell in response to a change in service availability; and

transmitting, from the wireless communication device to the UE, a communication that indicates the change in service availability.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the communication that indicates the change in service availability includes the updated value for the at least one service indicator.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

determining a change in load at the cell, wherein the change in service availability comprises the determined change in load at the cell.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

receiving, at the wireless communication device, a request from the UE for updated system information;

transmitting, from the wireless communication device to the UE in response to the request, a communication that includes the updated value for the at least one service indicator; and

receiving, at the wireless communication device, a communication from the UE indicating whether the UE selected the cell for camping based at least in part on whether the cell satisfies one or more operating parameters needed to support the service of the UE based on the updated value for the at least one service indicator.

17. A method of wireless communication, comprising:

identifying, by a user equipment (UE), one or more services of the UE;

selecting, by the UE, a service specific cell selection procedure or a default cell selection procedure based on the identified one or more services;

executing, by the UE, the selected one of the service specific cell selection procedure or the default cell selection procedure to identify and select a cell to camp on; and

camping, by the UE, on the selected cell.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the identifying the one or more services of the UE includes at least one of identifying one or more active services of the UE or identifying one or more non-active services of the UE.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the one or more active services of the UE are identified by the UE in response to activation of the one or more services by an upper layer of the UE or a user of the UE.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the selecting is determined based on at least one of:

whether the UE is configured to perform service specific cell selection for the one or more services of the UE;

an indicator received from a wireless communication device of a network;

or

one or more operating parameters of the one or more services of the UE.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the one or more operating parameters include one or more of carrier aggregation, dual connectivity, radio access technology, operating frequency, asynchronous data transfer, latency, or quality of service class.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the executing, by the UE, the selected one of the service specific cell selection procedure or the default cell selection procedure includes executing the service specific cell selection procedure to identify a cell meeting the one or more operating parameters of the one or more services of the UE.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the executing, by the UE, the selected one of the service specific cell selection procedure or the default cell selection procedure includes:

ignoring, by the UE, cells that do not meet the one or more operating parameters.

24. An apparatus, comprising:

a transceiver configured to receive a communication from a wireless communication device, the communication including at least one service indicator for a cell; and

a processor configured to;

determine one or more operating parameters needed to support a service of the apparatus;

determine whether the cell satisfies the one or more operating parameters needed to support the service of the apparatus based on the at least one service indicator; and

determine whether to select the cell for camping based at least in part on determining whether the at least one service indicator for the cell satisfies the one or more operating parameters.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the processor is further configured to:

ignore cells that do not satisfy the one or more operating parameters; and

cause the apparatus to camp on the cell in response to determining that the cell satisfies the one or more operating parameters.

26. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the one or more operating parameters include one or more of carrier aggregation, dual connectivity, radio access technology, operating frequency, asynchronous data transfer, latency, or quality of service class.

27. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the at least one service indicator includes a service availability indicator that includes at least one of:

a flag indicating whether the service is available on the cell;

one or more operating parameters for the service on the cell;

a quality of service class identifier (QCI);

or

a mode of the service on the cell.

28. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the service indicator is received as part of at least one of a system information communication or unicast message comprising a radio resource control (RRC) communication or a non-access stratum (NAS) message.

29. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the at least one service indicator includes a service area indicator that identifies a plurality of cells having the same service availability.

30. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the processor is further configured to:

determine the one or more operating parameters needed to support the service of the apparatus in response to activation of the service of the apparatus by an upper layer of the apparatus or a user of the apparatus, and

prioritize the one or more operating parameters needed to support the service of the UE over default cell selection parameters.

31. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein:

the transceiver is further configured to receive, from the wireless communication device, policy information about available access networks; and

the processor is further configured to configure the one or more operating parameters to reflect one or more parameters needed to support the service based on the received policy. information

32. An apparatus, comprising:

a processor configured to set a value for at least one service indicator for a cell; and

a transceiver configured to;

transmit, to a user equipment (UE), a communication that includes the at least one service indicator for the cell, and

receive, from the UE, a communication indicating whether the UE selected the cell for camping based at least in part on whether the cell satisfies one or more operating parameters needed to support a service of the UE based on the at least one service indicator.

40. A computer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon, the program code comprising:

code for causing a user equipment (UE) to determine one or more operating parameters of a cell needed to support a service of the UE;

code for causing the UE to receive a communication from a wireless communication device, the communication including at least one service indicator for a cell;

code for causing the UE to determine whether the cell satisfies the one or more operating parameters needed to support the service of the UE based on the at least one service indicator; and

code for causing the UE to determine whether to select the cell for camping based at least in part on determining whether the at least one service indicator for the cell satisfies the one or more operating parameters.

33. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein:

the one or more operating parameters include one or more of carrier aggregation, dual connectivity, radio access technology, operating frequency, asynchronous data transfer, latency, or quality of service class, and

the at least one service indicator includes a service availability indicator that includes at least one of a flag indicating whether the service is available on the cell, one or more operating parameters for the service on the cell, a quality of service class identifier (QCI), or a mode of the service on the cell.

34. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein the service indicator is transmitted as part of at least one of a system information communication or a unicast message comprising a radio resource control (RRC) communication or a non-access stratum (NAS) message.

35. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein the at least one service indicator includes a service area indicator that identifies a plurality of cells having the same service availability.

36. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein the processor is further configured to:

update the value for the at least one service indicator for the cell in response to a change in service availability; and

transmit, to the UE, a communication that indicates the change in service availability.

37. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein the communication that indicates the change in service availability includes the updated value for the at least one service indicator.

38. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein the processor is further configured to determine a change in load at the cell, wherein the change in service availability comprises the determined change in load at the cell.

39. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein the transceiver is further configured to:

receive a request from the UE for updated system information;

transmit, to the UE in response to the request, a communication that includes the updated value for the at least one service indicator; and

receive, from the UE, a communication indicating whether the UE selected the cell for camping based at least in part on whether the cell satisfies one or more operating parameters needed to support a service of the UE based on the updated value for the at least one service indicator.

41. The computer-readable medium of claim 40, further comprising:

code for causing the UE to ignore cells that do not satisfy the one or more operating parameters; and

code for causing the UE to camp on the cell in response to determining that the cell satisfies the one or more operating parameters.

42. The computer-readable medium of claim 40, wherein the one or more operating parameters include one or more of carrier aggregation, dual connectivity, radio access technology, operating frequency, asynchronous data transfer, latency, or quality of service class.

43. The computer-readable medium of claim 40, wherein the at least one service indicator includes a service availability indicator that includes at least one of:

a flag indicating whether the service is available on the cell;

one or more configuration parameters for the service on the cell;

a quality of service class identifier (QCI);

or

a mode of the service on the cell.

44. The computer-readable medium of claim 40, wherein the service indicator is received as part of at least one of a system information communication or unicast message comprising a radio resource control (RRC) communication or a non-access stratum (NAS) message.

45. The computer-readable medium of claim 40, wherein the at least one service indicator includes a service area indicator that identifies a plurality of cells having the same service availability.

46. The computer-readable medium of claim 40, wherein the code for causing the UE to determine the one or more operating parameters of the cell needed to support the service of the UE comprises:

code for causing the UE to perform the determination in response to activation of the service of the UE by an upper layer of the UE or a user of the UE, and

code for causing the UE to prioritize the one or more operating parameters of the cell needed to support the service of the UE over default cell selection parameters.

47. A computer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon, the program code comprising:

code for causing a wireless communication device to set a value for at least one service indicator for a cell; and

code for causing the wireless communication device to transmit, to a user equipment (UE), a communication that includes the at least one service indicator for the cell; and

code for causing the wireless communication device to receive, from the UE, a communication indicating whether the UE selected the cell for camping based at least in part on whether the cell satisfies one or more operating parameters needed to support a service of the UE based on the at least one service indicator.

48. The computer-readable medium of claim 47, wherein:

the one or more operating parameters include one or more of carrier aggregation, dual connectivity, radio access technology, operating frequency, asynchronous data transfer, latency, or quality of service class, and

the at least one service indicator includes a service availability indicator that includes at least one of a flag indicating whether the service is available on the cell, one or more configuration parameters for the service on the cell, a quality of service class identifier (QCI), or a mode of the service on the cell.

49. The computer-readable medium of claim 47, wherein the service indicator is transmitted as part of at least one of a system information communication or unicast message comprising a radio resource control (RRC) communication or a non-access stratum (NAS) message.

50. The computer-readable medium of claim 47, wherein the at least one service indicator includes a service area indicator that identifies a plurality of cells having the same service availability.

51. The computer-readable medium of claim 47, further comprising:

code for causing the wireless communication device to update the value for the at least one service indicator for the cell in response to a change in service availability; and

code for causing the wireless communication device to transmit, to the UE, a communication that indicates the change in service availability.

52. The computer-readable medium of claim 51, wherein the communication that indicates the change in service availability includes the updated value for the at least one service indicator.

53. The computer-readable medium of claim 51, further comprising:

code for causing the wireless communication device to determine a change in load at the cell, wherein the change in service availability comprises the determined change in load at the cell.

54. The computer-readable medium of claim 51, further comprising:

code for causing the wireless communication device to receive a request from the UE for updated system information; and

code for causing the wireless communication device to transmit to the UE, in response to the request, a communication that includes the updated value for the at least one service indicator; and

code for causing the wireless communication device to receive, from the UE, a communication indicating whether the UE selected the cell for camping based at least in part on whether the cell satisfies one or more operating parameters needed to support a service of the UE based on the updated value for the at least one service indicator.