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WO2024246629A1 - Publicité de capacité disponible - Google Patents

Publicité de capacité disponible Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2024246629A1
WO2024246629A1 PCT/IB2024/053863 IB2024053863W WO2024246629A1 WO 2024246629 A1 WO2024246629 A1 WO 2024246629A1 IB 2024053863 W IB2024053863 W IB 2024053863W WO 2024246629 A1 WO2024246629 A1 WO 2024246629A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
network node
network
beneficiary
node
available
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Pending
Application number
PCT/IB2024/053863
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English (en)
Inventor
Maria OIKONOMAKOU
Laurent GOIX
Navin Hathiramani
Daniela Laselva
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Nokia Technologies Oy
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Nokia Technologies Oy
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
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Publication of WO2024246629A1 publication Critical patent/WO2024246629A1/fr
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Pending legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W28/00—Network traffic management; Network resource management
    • H04W28/16—Central resource management; Negotiation of resources or communication parameters, e.g. negotiating bandwidth or QoS [Quality of Service]
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W52/00—Power management, e.g. Transmission Power Control [TPC] or power classes
    • H04W52/02—Power saving arrangements
    • H04W52/0203—Power saving arrangements in the radio access network or backbone network of wireless communication networks
    • H04W52/0206—Power saving arrangements in the radio access network or backbone network of wireless communication networks in access points, e.g. base stations
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W92/00—Interfaces specially adapted for wireless communication networks
    • H04W92/16—Interfaces between hierarchically similar devices
    • H04W92/20—Interfaces between hierarchically similar devices between access points

Definitions

  • Various example embodiments relate to methods, apparatuses, systems, and/or non-transitory computer readable media for providing available capacity advertisements to one or more peer network nodes, network functions, peer mobile network operators (MNOs), peer public land mobile networks (PLMNs), peer non-public networks (NPN), etc.
  • MNOs peer mobile network operators
  • PLMNs peer public land mobile networks
  • NPN peer non-public networks
  • 5G New Radio 5G New Radio
  • LTE long term evolution
  • Radio access network (RAN) nodes e.g., cell towers, access points, transmission and reception points (TRPs), etc.
  • RAN nodes e.g., cell towers, access points, transmission and reception points (TRPs), etc.
  • TRPs transmission and reception points
  • At least one example embodiment is related to a network node.
  • the network node may include a memory storing computer readable instructions, and processing circuitry configured to execute the computer readable instructions to cause the network node to, determine available resource capacity information of the network node, the available resource capacity information indicating that the network node has resources available for use by at least one beneficiary network node, and transmit the available resource capacity information to the at least one beneficiary network node.
  • the network node is caused to determine the available resource capacity information by determining whether at least one resource condition at the network node satisfies at least one resource allocation criterion, and the network node is further caused to, receive a reaction request from the at least one beneficiary network node in response to the transmission of the available resource capacity information, the reaction request including a request for allocation of available resources of the network node, determine whether to grant at least a part of the reaction request based on results of the determination that the at least one resource condition satisfies the at least one resource allocation criterion and the request for allocation of available resources, transmit a response to the reaction request to the at least one beneficiary network node, the response indicating at least a partial grant of the reaction request, and perform an offloading operation of at least one user equipment (UE) device from the at least one beneficiary network node to the network node, wherein the performing the offloading operation enables the at least one beneficiary network node to perform at least one network energy saving operation.
  • UE user equipment
  • the at least one beneficiary network node is a plurality of beneficiary network nodes
  • the network node is further caused to, receive a plurality of reaction requests from the plurality of beneficiary network nodes, and determine whether to at least a part of grant one or more of the plurality of reaction requests based on the results of the determination that the at least one resource condition satisfies the at least one resource allocation criterion and the request for allocation of available resources associated with each of the plurality of reaction requests, the determining including considering the plurality of reaction requests based on an order in which the plurality of reaction requests were received.
  • the at least one beneficiary network node is a plurality of beneficiary network nodes
  • the network node is further caused to, receive a plurality of reaction requests from the plurality of beneficiary network nodes within a response time period for requesting allocation of resources, and determine whether to grant at least a part of one or more reaction requests of the plurality of reaction requests received during the response time period based on the results of the determination that the at least one resource condition satisfies the at least one resource allocation criterion, the request for allocation of available resources associated with each of the plurality of reaction requests, and at least one allocation priority condition associated with each of the reaction requests.
  • the network node is further caused to, obtain resource offloading configuration information, the resource offloading configuration information including the at least one resource allocation criterion.
  • the at least one resource allocation criterion includes at least one of: resource allocation quota information, inter-MNO resource allocation agreement information, available capacity per channel quota information, available capacity per radio resource control (RRC) state quota information, UE device capacity threshold information, total energy usage capacity information, green energy capacity information, traffic type information, QoS information, or any combinations thereof.
  • the at least one beneficiary network node is at least one of: a radio access network (RAN) node corresponding to a first MNO, the first MNO being a MNO of the network node, a network function network node of the first MNO, a RAN node corresponding to a second MNO, the second MNO being a different MNO than the first MNO, a network function network node of the second MNO, or any combinations thereof.
  • RAN radio access network
  • the available resource capacity information includes at least one of: an identifier (ID) associated with the network node, a network ID associated with a MNO of the network node, frequency band information indicating at least one frequency band available for allocation, an allocation start time information, an allocation end time information, offloading capacity limit information, quality of service (QoS) information, a number of connected UE device slots available for allocation, a number of idle UE device slots available for allocation, expected energy costs associated with available resources for allocation, a response time period indicating a time period for requesting allocation of resources, geographic coverage information associated with the network node, information regarding network offloading agreements associated with the MNO of the network node, an available RRC connected active UE capacity information, an allocated resource amount information, an available capacity per channel information, an available capacity per RRC state, traffic type information, an available capacity per QoS information, or any combinations thereof.
  • ID identifier
  • QoS quality of service
  • the network node is further caused to transmit the available resource capacity information to the at least one beneficiary network node via a first intermediary network function network node associated with a same MNO as the network node, the first intermediary network function network node is enabled to forward the available resource capacity information to a second intermediary network function network node associated with a different MNO than the network node, and the second intermediary network function network node is enabled to forward the available resource capacity information to the at least one beneficiary network node, the at least one beneficiary network node being associated with the different MNO.
  • Some example embodiments provide that the network node is further caused to transmit the available resource capacity information to the at least one beneficiary network node via a first intermediary network function network node associated with a same MNO as the network node, and the first intermediary network function network node is enabled to forward the available resource capacity information to the at least one beneficiary network node, the at least one beneficiary network node associated with the same MNO as the network node.
  • At least one example embodiment is related to a network node.
  • the network node may include a memory storing computer readable instructions, and processing circuitry configured to execute the computer readable instructions to cause the network node to, receive available resource capacity information from a donor network node, the available resource capacity information indicating that the donor network node has resources available for use by the network node, determine whether to offload at least one user equipment (UE) device connected to the network node to the donor network node based on at least one traffic offloading criterion and the available resource capacity information, and transmit a reaction request to the donor network node based on results of the determination, the reaction request including a request for allocation of available resources of the donor network node.
  • UE user equipment
  • the network node is further caused to, receive an indication of a grant of at least a part of the reaction request from the donor network node in response to the reaction request, perform an offloading operation of the at least one UE device to the donor network node based on the indication of the grant, and perform at least one network energy saving operation in response to completion of the offloading operation.
  • the network node is further caused to, receive the available resource capacity information from the donor network node via a first intermediary network node associated with a same mobile network operator (MNO) as the network node, the first intermediary network node having received the available resource capacity information from a second intermediary network node associated with a different MNO, the different MNO associated with the donor network node, and transmit the reaction request to the donor network node via the first intermediary network node and the second intermediary network node.
  • MNO mobile network operator
  • the network node is one of: a radio access network (RAN) node corresponding to a first MNO, the first MNO being a MNO of the donor network node, a network function network node of the first MNO, a RAN node corresponding to a second MNO, the second MNO being different MNO than the first MNO, or a network function network node of the second MNO.
  • RAN radio access network
  • At least one example embodiment is related to a method of operating a network node.
  • the method may include, determining available resource capacity information of the network node, the available resource capacity information indicating that the network node has resources available for use by at least one beneficiary network node, and transmitting the available resource capacity information to the at least one beneficiary network node.
  • the determining the available resource capacity information further includes determining whether at least one resource condition at the network node satisfies at least one resource allocation criterion
  • the method may further include, receiving a reaction request from the at least one beneficiary network node in response to the transmitting the available resource capacity information, the reaction request including a request for allocation of available resources of the network node, determining whether to grant at least a part of the reaction request based on results of the determining that the at least one resource condition satisfies the at least one resource allocation criterion and the request for allocation of available resources, transmitting a response to the reaction request to the at least one beneficiary network node, the response indicating at least a partial grant of the reaction request, and performing an offloading operation of at least one user equipment (UE) device from the at least one beneficiary network node to the network node, wherein the performing the offloading operation enables the at least one beneficiary network node to perform at least one network energy saving operation.
  • UE user equipment
  • the at least one beneficiary network node is a plurality of beneficiary network nodes
  • the method may further include, receiving a plurality of reaction requests from the plurality of beneficiary network nodes, and determining whether to grant at least a part of one or more of the plurality of reaction requests based on the results of the determination that the at least one resource condition satisfies the at least one resource allocation criterion and the request for allocation of available resources associated with each of the plurality of reaction requests.
  • the at least one beneficiary network node is at least one of: a radio access network (RAN) node corresponding to a first MNO, the first MNO being a MNO of the network node, a network function network node of the first MNO, a RAN node corresponding to a second MNO, the second MNO being a different MNO than the first MNO, a network function network node of the second MNO, or any combinations thereof; and the available resource capacity information includes at least one of: an identifier (ID) associated with the network node, a network ID associated with a MNO of the network node, frequency band information indicating at least one frequency band available for allocation, an allocation start time information, an allocation end time information, offloading capacity limit information, quality of service (QoS) information, a number of connected UE device slots available for allocation, a number of idle UE device slots available for allocation, expected energy costs associated with available resources for allocation, a response time period indicating a time period for requesting allocation of
  • ID identifier
  • the transmitting the available resource capacity information further includes transmitting the available resource capacity information to the at least one beneficiary network node via a first intermediary network function network node associated with a same MNO as the network node, the first intermediary network function network node forwards the available resource capacity information to a second intermediary network function network node associated with a different MNO than the network node, and the second intermediary network function network node forwards the available resource capacity information to the at least one beneficiary network node, the at least one beneficiary network node being associated with the different MNO.
  • the transmitting the available resource capacity information further includes transmitting the available resource capacity information to the at least one beneficiary network node via a first intermediary network function network node associated with a same MNO as the network node, and the first intermediary network function network node forwards the available resource capacity information to the at least one beneficiary network node, the at least one beneficiary network node associated with the same MNO as the network node.
  • At least one example embodiment is related to a network node.
  • the network node may include means for determining available resource capacity information of the network node, the available resource capacity information indicating that the network node has resources available for use by at least one beneficiary network node, and transmitting available resource capacity information to the at least one beneficiary network node.
  • the network node may further include means for, determining the available resource capacity information by determining whether at least one resource condition at the network node satisfies at least one resource allocation criterion, receiving a reaction request from the at least one beneficiary network node in response to the transmission of the available resource capacity information, the reaction request including a request for allocation of available resources of the network node, determining whether to grant at least a part of the reaction request based on results of the determination that the at least one resource condition satisfies the at least one resource allocation criterion and the request for allocation of available resources, transmitting a response to the reaction request to the at least one beneficiary network node, the response indicating at least a partial grant of the reaction request, and performing an offloading operation of at least one user equipment (UE) device from the at least one beneficiary network node to the network node, wherein the performing the offloading operation enables the at least one beneficiary network node to perform at least one network energy saving operation.
  • UE user equipment
  • the at least one beneficiary network node is a plurality of beneficiary network nodes
  • the network node may further include means for, receiving a plurality of reaction requests from the plurality of beneficiary network nodes, and determining whether to grant at least a part of one or more of the plurality of reaction requests based on the results of the determination that the at least one resource condition satisfies the at least one resource allocation criterion and the request for allocation of available resources associated with each of the plurality of reaction requests, the determining including considering the plurality of reaction requests based on an order in which the plurality of reaction requests were received.
  • the at least one beneficiary network node is a plurality of beneficiary network nodes
  • the network node may further include means for, receiving a plurality of reaction requests from the plurality of beneficiary network nodes within a response time period for requesting allocation of resources, and determining whether to grant at least a part of one or more reaction requests of the plurality of reaction requests received during the response time period based on the results of the determination that the at least one resource condition satisfies the at least one resource allocation criterion, the request for allocation of available resources associated with each of the plurality of reaction requests, and at least one allocation priority condition associated with each of the reaction requests.
  • the network node may further include means for, obtaining resource offloading configuration information, the resource offloading configuration information including the at least one resource allocation criterion.
  • the at least one resource allocation criterion includes at least one of: resource allocation quota information, available capacity per channel quota information, available capacity per radio resource control (RRC) state quota information, inter-MNO resource allocation agreement information, UE device capacity threshold information, total energy usage capacity information, green energy capacity information, traffic type information, QoS information, or any combinations thereof.
  • RRC radio resource control
  • the at least one beneficiary network node is at least one of: a radio access network (RAN) node corresponding to a first MNO, the first MNO being a MNO of the network node, a network function network node of the first MNO, a RAN node corresponding to a second MNO, the second MNO being a different MNO than the first MNO, a network function network node of the second MNO, or any combinations thereof.
  • RAN radio access network
  • the available resource capacity information includes at least one of: an identifier (ID) associated with the network node, a network ID associated with a MNO of the network node, frequency band information indicating at least one frequency band available for allocation, an allocation start time information, an allocation end time information, offloading capacity limit information, quality of service (QoS) information associated with available resources for allocation, a number of connected UE device slots available for allocation, a number of idle UE device slots available for allocation, expected energy costs associated with available resources for allocation, a response time period indicating a time period for requesting allocation of resources, geographic coverage information associated with the network node, information regarding network offloading agreements associated with the MNO of the network node, an available RRC connected active UE capacity information, an allocated resource amount information, an available capacity per channel information, an available capacity per RRC state, traffic type information, an available capacity per QoS information, or any combinations thereof.
  • ID identifier
  • QoS quality of service
  • the network node may further include means for transmitting the available resource capacity information to the at least one beneficiary network node via a first intermediary network function network node associated with a same MNO as the network node, the first intermediary network function network node is enabled to forward the available resource capacity information to a second intermediary network function network node associated with a different MNO than the network node, and the second intermediary network function network node is enabled to forward the available resource capacity information to the at least one beneficiary network node, the at least one beneficiary network node being associated with the different MNO.
  • the network node may further include means for transmitting the available resource capacity information to the at least one beneficiary network node via a first intermediary network function network node associated with a same MNO as the network node, and the first intermediary network function network node is enabled to forward the available resource capacity information to the at least one beneficiary network node, the at least one beneficiary network node associated with the same MNO as the network node.
  • At least one example embodiment is related to a network node.
  • the network node may include means for, receiving available resource capacity information from a donor network node, the available resource capacity information indicating that the donor network node has resources available for use by the network node, determining whether to offload at least one user equipment (UE) device connected to the network node to the donor network node based on at least one traffic offloading criterion and the available resource capacity information, and transmitting a reaction request to the donor network node based on results of the determination, the reaction request including a request for allocation of available resources of the donor network node.
  • UE user equipment
  • the network node may further include means for, receiving an indication of a grant of at least a part of the reaction request from the donor network node in response to the reaction request, performing an offloading operation of the at least one UE device to the donor network node based on the indication of the grant, and performing at least one network energy saving operation in response to completion of the offloading operation.
  • the network node may further include means for, receiving the available resource capacity information from the donor network node via a first intermediary network node associated with a same mobile network operator (MNO) as the network node, the first intermediary network node having received the available resource capacity information from a second intermediary network node associated with a different MNO, the different MNO associated with the donor network node, and transmitting the reaction request to the donor network node via the first intermediary network node and the second intermediary network node.
  • MNO mobile network operator
  • the network node is one of: a radio access network (RAN) node corresponding to a first MNO, the first MNO being a MNO of the donor network node, a network function network node of the first MNO, a RAN node corresponding to a second MNO, the second MNO being different MNO than the first MNO, or a network function network node of the second MNO.
  • RAN radio access network
  • FIG. 1 illustrates a wireless communication system according to at least one example embodiment
  • FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an example network node according to at least one example embodiment
  • FIG. 3 is an example transmission flow diagram illustrating a first available resource advertisement process according to at least one example embodiment
  • FIG. 4 is an example transmission flow diagram illustrating a second available resource advertisement process according to at least one example embodiment.
  • FIG. 5 illustrates an example transmission flow diagram illustrating a third available resource advertisement process according to at least one example embodiment.
  • example embodiments may be described as a process depicted as a flowchart, a flow diagram, a data flow diagram, a structure diagram, or a block diagram. Although a flowchart may describe the operations as a sequential process, many of the operations may be performed in parallel, concurrently or simultaneously. In addition, the order of the operations may be re-arranged. A process may be terminated when its operations are completed, but may also have additional steps not included in the figure. A process may correspond to a method, a function, a procedure, a subroutine, a subprogram, etc. When a process corresponds to a function, its termination may correspond to a return of the function to the calling function or the main function.
  • the term “memory” may represent one or more devices for storing data, including random access memory (RAM), magnetic RAM, core memory, and/or other machine readable mediums for storing information.
  • storage medium may represent one or more devices for storing data, including read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic RAM, core memory, magnetic disk storage mediums, optical storage mediums, flash memory devices and/or other machine readable mediums for storing information.
  • computer-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, portable or fixed storage devices, optical storage devices, wireless channels, and various other mediums capable of storing, containing or carrying instruction(s) and/or data.
  • example embodiments may be implemented by hardware circuitry and/or software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description languages, etc., in combination with hardware (e.g., software executed by hardware, etc.).
  • the program code or code segments to perform the desired tasks may be stored in a machine or computer readable medium such as a non-transitory computer storage medium, and loaded onto one or more processors to perform the desired tasks.
  • a code segment may represent a procedure, a function, a subprogram, a program, a routine, a subroutine, a module, a software package, a class, or any combination of instructions, data structures, or program statements.
  • a code segment may be coupled to another code segment or a hardware circuit by passing and/or receiving information, data, arguments, parameters, or memory contents.
  • Information, arguments, parameters, data, etc. may be passed, forwarded, or transmitted via any suitable means including memory sharing, message passing, token passing, network transmission, etc.
  • circuitry and/or “hardware circuitry” may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) hardware-only circuit implementation (such as implementations in only analog and/or digital circuitry); (b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as (as applicable): (i) a combination of analog and/or digital hardware circuit(s) with software/firmware, and (ii) any portions of hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processor(s)), software, and memory(ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions); and (c) hardware circuit(s) and/or processor(s), such as microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s), that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation.
  • firmware firmware
  • the circuitry more specifically may include, but is not limited to, a central processing unit (CPU), an arithmetic logic unit (ALU), a digital signal processor, a microcomputer, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a System-on-Chip (SoC), a programmable logic unit, a microprocessor, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc.
  • CPU central processing unit
  • ALU arithmetic logic unit
  • DSP digital signal processor
  • microcomputer a field programmable gate array
  • FPGA field programmable gate array
  • SoC System-on-Chip
  • ASIC application-specific integrated circuit
  • circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and/or firmware.
  • circuitry also covers, for example and if applicable to the particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device.
  • Various example embodiments are directed towards providing available capacity advertisements to one or more peer network nodes, network functions, peer mobile network operators (MNOs), peer public land mobile networks (PLMNs), peer non-public networks (NPN), etc.
  • MNOs peer mobile network operators
  • PLMNs peer public land mobile networks
  • NPN peer non-public networks
  • NES operations may include, having RAN nodes operate in a sleep mode, low power mode, and/or deactivate during low traffic hours, use green energy (e.g., renewable and/or other forms of clean energy) collected using energy harvesting devices (e.g., solar panels, wind turbines, etc.) installed on and/or connected to the RAN nodes, and/or participate in network sharing agreements and/or arrangements with other MNOs (e.g., inter-MNO network sharing agreements).
  • energy harvesting devices e.g., solar panels, wind turbines, etc.
  • MNOs For inter-MNO network sharing, several MNOs have contractual agreements with each other to reserve a portion of their respective network capacity (e.g., radio resources, energy resources, and/or green energy resources, etc.) for sharing with other MNOs which are parties to the network sharing agreement.
  • network capacity e.g., radio resources, energy resources, and/or green energy resources, etc.
  • a first MNO and a second MNO may enter into a network sharing agreement wherein a RAN node associated with the first MNO (e.g., a beneficiary RAN node, a beneficiary network node, a beneficiary node, etc.) may offload (e.g., handover, load balancing, etc.) traffic (e.g., UEs) to a RAN node (e.g., a donor RAN node, a donor network node, a donor node, etc.) associated with the second MNO.
  • a RAN node associated with the first MNO e.g., a beneficiary RAN node, a beneficiary network node, a beneficiary node, etc.
  • a RAN node e.g., a donor RAN node, a donor network node, a donor node, etc.
  • the beneficiary RAN node is required to initiate the traffic offloading operation to the donor RAN node. This results in scenarios where a beneficiary RAN node may not apply and/or perform NES operations even though it is receiving low traffic and neighboring RAN nodes may have sufficient available resource capacity to act as a donor RAN node to the beneficiary RAN node.
  • a first RAN node of a MN01 is in a light traffic mode (e.g., low load condition) and thus cannot be shutdown (e.g., deactivated).
  • the first RAN node is also pre-configured with a maximum capacity load quota under a multi-MNO sharing agreement.
  • a second RAN node of a MN02 could be in a near low load condition and is also not able to shutdown and/or operate in a low power mode, etc.
  • a single RAN node in order to save energy and/or decrease the total energy consumption of the entire wireless network (e.g., MN01 + MN02), a single RAN node should remain active and provide coverage to the UEs of both the first RAN node and the second RAN node.
  • the first RAN node of MN01 is under low load and the second RAN node of MN02 is near low load and therefore both nodes are unable to shutdown. Further, the first RAN node has green energy generation capabilities.
  • a capacity quota under green energy generation constraints scenario to save energy and to reduce environmental pollution, only the RAN node with green energy generation capability (e.g., the first RAN node) should remain active while the second RAN node offloads all of its traffic to the first RAN node and then shuts down, or the second RAN node offloads a portion of its traffic to the first RAN node and operates in a reduced power consumption mode, in order to reduce total energy consumption of the total wireless network, reduce the amount of fossil fuels/non-green energy consumed, and/or reduce the amount of environmental pollution caused to be generated, etc.
  • the RAN node with green energy generation capability e.g., the first RAN node
  • the second RAN node offloads all of its traffic to the first RAN node and then shuts down, or the second RAN node offloads a portion of its traffic to the first RAN node and operates in a reduced power consumption mode, in order to reduce total energy consumption of the total wireless network, reduce the amount of
  • first and second example scenarios describe inter-MNO resource allocation and/or sharing issues
  • similar resource allocation and/or sharing issues are also present for intra-MNO network nodes (e.g., the orchestration of the capacity of a single node scenario), wherein it would be beneficial and/or advantageous to have a single network node (and/or reduced number of network nodes) of the MNO remain active and receive the traffic from one or more of the other active network nodes of the MNO, and then have the one or more other active network nodes move to a reduced power consumption mode and/or shutdown.
  • the first RAN node may donate resource capacity by taking traffic from benefiting neighboring nodes (e.g., beneficiary nodes), even before the beneficiary nodes send a request to offload their traffic to the donor node.
  • benefiting neighboring nodes e.g., beneficiary nodes
  • the beneficiary nodes are unable to trigger such energy saving procedures because their traffic load is not below a predetermined low traffic threshold, thereby leading to the loss of potential energy savings and/or increased energy consumption, inefficient energy consumption, and/or increased consumption of non-clean energy and increased environmental pollution, etc.
  • new procedures are desired to allow a donor network node to initiate and/or trigger traffic offloading events by advertising available resource capacity to one or more beneficiary nodes, thereby allowing the beneficiary node to offload traffic to the donor node and perform NES procedures, thereby reducing the total energy consumption of the wireless network(s), reducing the usage of non-clean energy, and/or reducing environmental pollution, etc.
  • FIG. 1 illustrates a wireless communication system according to at least one example embodiment.
  • a wireless communication system includes a plurality of core networks 100A and 100B, a Data Network 105, a plurality of network nodes 110A, 120A connected to the core network 100A, at least one network node 120B connected to core network 100B, etc., but the example embodiments are not limited thereto.
  • the donor node 110A may also be beneficiary node 120 A and/or the donor node 110 may be co-located with a beneficiary node 120A, etc., or in other words, the donor node 110A may provide a plurality of cells, and a first cell of the plurality of cells may act as a donor node to at least one second cell of the plurality of cells, but the example embodiments are not limited thereto.
  • the wireless communication system may include a plurality of UE devices 130A and 130B, which may be connected to at least one network node of core network 100A and core network 100B, respectively, etc.
  • the core network 100A and core network 100B may include network functions 140A and 140B, respectively, but the example embodiments are not limited thereto, and for example, one or both of the network functions 140A and 140B may be omitted, etc. However, the example embodiments are not limited thereto, and the example embodiments may include a greater or lesser number of constituent elements, such as three or more core networks, a single core network, a greater or lesser number of network nodes, additional UE devices, additional base stations, servers, routers, access points, gateways, etc.
  • the UE devices 130A and 130B, the plurality of network nodes 110A, 120A, and 120B, and/or the network functions 140A and 140B, etc. may be connected over a wireless network, such as a cellular wireless access network (e.g., a 3G wireless access network, a 4G-Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, a 5G-New Radio (e.g., 5G) wireless network, a 6G network, a 7G network, a WiFi network, etc.).
  • LTE Long Term Evolution
  • 5G-New Radio e.g., 5G
  • the wireless network may include the core networks 100A and/or 100B, which may each be associated with different wireless network operators, e.g., different MNOs, different PLMNs, etc., but the example embodiments are not limited thereto.
  • the wireless communication system may include a single core network associated with a single MNO, three or more core networks associated with three or more MNOs, etc.
  • Each of the plurality of network nodes 110A, 120A, and 120B may operate as a RAN node, TRP, access point, etc., and may connect to each other, the network functions 140A and/or 140B, etc., over a wired and/or wireless network, and the network functions 140A and 140B and/or the core networks 100A and 100B may connect to each other over a wired and/or wireless network.
  • the UE devices 130A and 130B may be any one of, but not limited to, a mobile device, a tablet, a laptop computer, a wearable device, an Internet of Things (loT) device, a desktop computer and/or any other type of stationary or portable device capable of operating according to the 5G NR radio access technology (RAT) and/or other RAT implemented by the wireless communication system.
  • a mobile device a tablet, a laptop computer, a wearable device, an Internet of Things (loT) device, a desktop computer and/or any other type of stationary or portable device capable of operating according to the 5G NR radio access technology (RAT) and/or other RAT implemented by the wireless communication system.
  • RAT radio access technology
  • the plurality of network nodes 110A, 120A, and 120B, etc. may operate according to an underlying cellular and/or wireless RAT, such as 5G NR, LTE, Wi-Fi, etc.
  • the network nodes 110A, 120A, and 120B may be 5G gNB nodes, LTE eNB nodes, and/or LTE ng-eNB nodes, etc., but the example embodiments are not limited thereto.
  • the plurality of network nodes 110A, 120A, and 120B, etc. may provide wireless network services to one or more UE devices, e.g., UEs 130A and/or 130B, within one or more cells (e.g., cell service areas, broadcast areas, serving areas, coverage areas, etc.) surrounding the respective physical location of the network nodes 110A, 120A, 120B, etc. Additionally, the network nodes 110A, 120A, and 120B may each provide one or more cells, etc.
  • UE devices e.g., UEs 130A and/or 130B
  • cells e.g., cell service areas, broadcast areas, serving areas, coverage areas, etc.
  • the network nodes 110A, 120A, and 120B may each provide one or more cells, etc.
  • the network nodes 110A, 120A, and 120B may be configured to operate in a multi-user (MU) multiple input multiple out (MIMO) mode and/or a massive MIMO (mMIMO) mode, wherein one or more of the network nodes 110A, 120A, and 120B transmits a plurality of beams (e.g., radio channels, datastreams, streams, etc.) in different spatial domains and/or frequency domains using a plurality of antennas (e.g., antenna panels, antenna elements, an antenna array, etc.) and beamforming and/or beamsteering techniques.
  • MU multi-user
  • MIMO multiple input multiple out
  • mMIMO massive MIMO
  • Each of the network nodes 110A, 120A, and 120B may be connected to at least one core network element, such as a core network device, a core network server, access points, switches, routers, nodes, etc., but the example embodiments are not limited thereto.
  • the core network server and/or device may be a network function, etc.
  • the network functions 140A and/or 140B may be embodied as a core network server and/or device.
  • the network functions 140A and/or 140B may provide network functions, such as an access and mobility management function (AMF), a session management function (SMF), a policy control function (PCF), a unified data management (UDM), a user plane function (UPF), an authentication server function (AUSF), an application function (AF), and/or a network slice selection function (NSSF), etc., but the example embodiments are not limited thereto.
  • AMF access and mobility management function
  • SMF session management function
  • PCF policy control function
  • UDM unified data management
  • UPF user plane function
  • AUSF authentication server function
  • AF application function
  • NSSF network slice selection function
  • the core networks 100A and 100B and the Data Network 105 may connect to each other over a wired and/or wireless network.
  • the Data Network 105 may refer to the Internet, an intranet, a wide area network, etc.
  • the UE device 130A is located within the cell service area of the beneficiary network node 120 A and/or donor network node 110 A of the core network 100A, but the example embodiments are not limited thereto. Further, it is assumed that the UE device 130A is connected to, receives broadcast messages from, receives paging messages from, receives/transmits signaling messages from/to, and/or accesses the wireless network through, etc., the network beneficiary network node 120A of the core network 100A, but is capable of being offloaded, handed over, load balanced, etc., to the donor network node 110A, but is not limited thereto.
  • the UE device 130B is located within the cell service area of the beneficiary network node 120B of the core network 100B and/or donor network node 110A of the core network 100A, but the example embodiments are not limited thereto. Further, it is assumed that the UE device 130B is connected to, receives broadcast messages from, receives paging messages from, receives/transmits signaling messages from/to, and/or accesses the wireless network through, etc., the network beneficiary network node 120B of the core network 100B, but is capable of being offloaded, handed over, load balanced, etc., to the donor network node 110A, but is not limited thereto.
  • the network node 110A may be a donor network node (e.g., a donor node, etc.) with the resource capacity to share and/or allocate resources to another network node (e.g., a beneficiary network node, a beneficiary node, etc.), such as beneficiary network node 120A and/or beneficiary network node 120B, etc., by allowing the beneficiary network node(s) to offload, load balance, and/or handover, etc., traffic onto the network node 110A.
  • a donor network node e.g., a donor node, etc.
  • another network node e.g., a beneficiary network node, a beneficiary node, etc.
  • the donor network node 110A may be configured (and/or pre-configured) with resource offloading configuration information
  • the resource offloading configuration information may include at least one resource allocation criterion (e.g., a resource sharing quota, a resource capacity threshold, etc.) which indicates a desired, configured, defined, and/or set amount (e.g., a maximum limit, etc.) of available resources (e.g., radio resources and/or energy resources, etc.) for receiving UE traffic from neighboring network nodes (e.g., potential beneficiary nodes, peer network nodes, etc.), such as beneficiary network node 120A and/or beneficiary network node 120B, etc.
  • resource allocation criterion e.g., a resource sharing quota, a resource capacity threshold, etc.
  • set amount e.g., a maximum limit, etc.
  • the resource offloading configuration information may comprise at least one radio resource allocation criterion, at least one total energy resource allocation criterion, and/or at least one green (and/or clean or renewable) energy resource allocation criterion, but the example embodiments are not limited thereto.
  • Examples of the radio resource allocation criterion may include a quota (and/or limit) for the total number of UE devices that may be accommodated by the donor node, a quota for the total number of active connected UE devices that may be accommodated, a quota on the allocated resource amount (e.g., the physical resource blocks allocated to serve UE devices offloaded by beneficiary nodes, etc.), a quota on available capacity per channel (e.g., quotas on a shared downlink channel, a shared uplink channel, an uplink/downlink control channel, and/or a paging channel, etc.) and/or a quota on an available capacity per radio resource control (RRC) state, etc.), a level of quality of service (QoS) which may be provided with the resources available for allocation (e.g., the quota on available capacity on a per 5G QoS identifier (5QI) basis, an available capacity per QoS information, etc.), a quota of the number
  • the donor network node 110A may determine, detect, and/or sense whether the current unused resource usage (e.g., a current radio resource condition and/or current energy resource condition) of the donor network node 110A is sufficient to meet and/or satisfy the resource allocation criterion(s), and then may transmit the available resource capacity information (e.g., available capacity advertisement message, intra-MNO available resource capacity information, inter-MNO available resource capacity information, etc.) to the neighboring peer network nodes (e.g., potential beneficiary network nodes, beneficiary network nodes, etc.).
  • the available resource capacity information e.g., available capacity advertisement message, intra-MNO available resource capacity information, inter-MNO available resource capacity information, etc.
  • the donor node 110A may transmit the available resource capacity information to peer network nodes (e.g., potential beneficiary network nodes, beneficiary network nodes, etc.) associated with the same MNO (e.g., core network 100A) as the donor node 110A, may transmit the available resource capacity information to peer network nodes (e.g., potential beneficiary network nodes, beneficiary network nodes, etc.) associated with a different MNO (e.g., core network 100B) in accordance with inter- MNO resource sharing and/or allocation agreements, and/or transmit the available resource capacity information to both peer network nodes on the same MNO and peer network nodes on different MNOs, etc.
  • peer network nodes e.g., potential beneficiary network nodes, beneficiary network nodes, etc.
  • peer network nodes e.g., potential beneficiary network nodes, beneficiary network nodes, etc.
  • a different MNO e.g., core network 100B
  • the available resource capacity information may include information such as, information on donor frequency bands, start and end time of capacity availability, capacity margin (e.g., amount of excess resource capacity and/or amount of shareable resource capacity available to share with beneficiary nodes), QoS of radio resources available, total number of active/idle UEs the donor node will accept, total level of user-plane and/or control-plane activity the donor node will accept, expected total resource block load on the donor node after sharing, expected energy costs of the donor node due to sharing, etc., but is not limited thereto.
  • the available resource capacity information may also include a response time period information, e.g., an expiration time and/or deadline for peer network nodes to request the allocation and/or sharing of resources from the donor node 110A.
  • the (potential) beneficiary nodes 120 A and 120B may determine whether to request allocation of network resources from the donor node 110A. For example, the beneficiary nodes 120A and/or 120B may determine whether at least one resource condition at the beneficiary node satisfies at least one traffic offloading criterion, such as decreasing the energy consumption of the beneficiary node by a threshold amount, decreasing the non-green energy consumption of the beneficiary node by a threshold amount, enabling the beneficiary node to enter into a power reduction mode and/or enter a lower power consumption mode, etc., but the example embodiments are not limited thereto.
  • the beneficiary nodes 120A and/or 120B In response to the beneficiary nodes 120A and/or 120B determining that at least one resource condition at the beneficiary node satisfies at least one traffic offloading criterion, or in other words, the beneficiary nodes 120A and/or 120B would benefit from offloading traffic to the donor node 110A, the beneficiary nodes 120 A and/or beneficiary nodes 120B transmits a reaction request to the donor node 110A requesting the allocation of resources and/or sharing of resources with the beneficiary nodes 120A and/or 120B, etc.
  • the reaction request may include information indicating the amount of radio resources requested, the amount of energy resources requested, the amount of green energy resources requested, etc., but is not limited thereto.
  • the donor node 110A may receive the reaction request(s) from the peer network node(s), and may determine whether to grant the reaction request or not. For example, the donor node 110A may receive reaction requests from both beneficiary node 120 A and beneficiary node 120B, but may not have sufficient available resources to fully satisfy both requests.
  • the donor node 110A may grant the reaction requests based on the order in which the reaction requests were received (e.g., a first-come-first-serve basis), may randomly select the reaction requests to grant, may grant the reaction requests based on priority criterion(s) associated with the beneficiary nodes (e.g., granting higher priority to intra-MNO reaction requests, granting higher priority to inter-MNO reaction requests, granting higher priority to certain third-party MNOs, etc.), may grant the reaction request based on the amount of energy saved by the corresponding beneficiary node (e.g., granting the reaction request from beneficiary node 120A because it will result in a greater decrease in total energy consumption and/or total non-green energy consumption,, etc.), but the example embodiments are not limited thereto.
  • priority criterion(s) associated with the beneficiary nodes e.g., granting higher priority to intra-MNO reaction requests, granting higher priority to inter-MNO reaction requests, granting higher priority to certain third-party MNOs, etc
  • the donor node 110A may wait until the end of the response time period before evaluating and granting the reaction request(s), and in the event a reaction request is received after the end of the response time period, the donor node 110A may reject, ignore, and/or discard such late arriving requests.
  • the donor node 110A may transmit a response to the reaction requests to the associated beneficiary nodes, the response indicating that the reaction request was accepted or rejected and further including information related to whether the reaction request was granted in full or in part. If the reaction request was granted, the beneficiary nodes 120A and/or 120B and the donor node 110A may then begin and/or initiate traffic offloading procedure (e.g., load balancing, handover, etc.) of traffic to the donor network node 110A, e.g., offload UE device 130A and/or UE device 130B to the donor node 110A, etc., but the example embodiments are not limited thereto. Additionally, the beneficiary nodes 120A and/or 120B may being performing NES operations in response to offloading traffic to the donor node 110A, etc.
  • the resource allocation advertisement process will be discussed in further detail in connection with FIGS. 3 to 5.
  • the donor node 110A may alternatively, or additionally, transmit the available resource capacity information to a resource allocation network function (RANF) (e.g., a resource sharing NF, an intermediary NF, etc.) 140A associated with the same MNO as the donor node 110A (e.g., core network 100A) and/or to a RANF 140B associated with a different MNO than the donor node 110A (e.g., core network 100B).
  • RMF resource allocation network function
  • the RANF 140A may transmit it to peer network nodes on the core network 100A, e.g., beneficiary node 120A, and/or may forward the available resource capacity information to the RANF 140B on the different core network 100B. If the available resource capacity information is forwarded and/or transmitted to the RANF 140B, the RANF 140B may forward the available resource capacity information to the peer network nodes on the core network 100B, e.g., beneficiary node 120B, but is not limited thereto.
  • the RANF 140 A and RANF 140B may transmit available the resource capacity information and/or reaction requests, etc., to each other over an inter-MNO Xn interface, over N2 interfaces, over N14 interfaces, etc., but are not limited thereto.
  • wireless communication network While certain components of a wireless communication network are shown as part of the wireless communication system of FIG. 1, the example embodiments are not limited thereto, and the wireless communication network may include components other than that shown in FIG. 1 , which are desired, necessary, and/or beneficial for operation of the underlying networks within the wireless communication system, such as access points, switches, routers, nodes, servers, gateways, etc.
  • FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an example network node and/or an example network function according to at least one example embodiment.
  • the network node of FIG. 2 may correspond to the donor network node 110A, beneficiary network node 120A, beneficiary network node 120B, network function 140A, and/or network function 140B, discussed and/or illustrated in FIG. 1, but the example embodiments are not limited thereto.
  • a network node 2000 may include processing circuitry, such as processing circuitry 2100, at least one communication bus 2200, a memory 2300, at least one core network interface 2400, and/or at least one wireless antenna array 2500, etc., but the example embodiments are not limited thereto.
  • the core network interface 2400 and the wireless antenna array 2500 may be combined into a single network interface, etc., or the node 2000 may include a plurality of wireless antenna arrays, a plurality of core network interfaces, etc., and/or any combinations thereof.
  • the memory 2300 may include various special purpose program code including computer executable instructions which may cause the node 2000 to perform the one or more of the methods of the example embodiments.
  • the processing circuitry 2100 may include at least one processor (and/or processor cores, distributed processors, networked processors, etc.), which may be configured to control one or more elements of the node 2000, and thereby cause the node 2000 to perform various operations.
  • the processing circuitry 2100 is configured to execute processes by retrieving program code (e.g., computer readable instructions) and data from the memory 2300 to process them, thereby executing special purpose control and functions of the entire node 2000. Once the special purpose program instructions are loaded into the processing circuitry 2100, the processing circuitry 2100 executes the special purpose program instructions, thereby transforming the processing circuitry 2100 into a special purpose processor.
  • program code e.g., computer readable instructions
  • the memory 2300 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and may include a random access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), and/or a permanent mass storage device such as a disk drive, or a solid state drive.
  • program code i.e., computer readable instructions
  • the node 2000 such as the methods discussed in connection with FIGS. 3 to 5, the at least one core network interface 2400, and/or at least one wireless antenna array 2500, etc.
  • Such software elements may be loaded from a non- transitory computer-readable storage medium independent of the memory 2300, using a drive mechanism (not shown) connected to the node 2000, or via the at least one core network interface 2400, and/or at least one wireless antenna array 2500, etc.
  • the communication bus 2200 may enable communication and data transmission to be performed between elements of the node 2000.
  • the bus 2200 may be implemented using a high-speed serial bus, a parallel bus, and/or any other appropriate communication technology.
  • the node 2000 may include a plurality of communication buses (not shown), such as an address bus, a data bus, etc.
  • the network node 2000 may include a greater or lesser number of constituent components, and for example, the network node 2000 may also include at least one energy harvesting device 2600, such as radio frequency (RF) harvesting circuitry (e.g., back-scattering circuitry, etc.), one or more solar cells/panels, wind turbines, water turbines, heat pumps, geothermal heat pumps, kinetic energy harvesting devices and/or vibration harvesting devices, etc., and/or at least one energy storage device 2700 (e.g., at least one battery, at least one capacitor, etc.), but the example embodiments are not limited thereto.
  • the energy storage device 2700 may be omitted, and the energy collected by the energy harvesting circuitry 2600 may be used to directly power the network node 2000, etc.
  • the network node 2000 may determine whether it is operating using green energy (e.g., clean energy, renewable energy, etc.) that the network node 2000 has generated itself using the energy harvesting device 2600 and/or receives energy generated from green sources, such as power generated by a solar farm, a wind farm, a hydro-electricity dam, a geothermal generator, a nuclear power plant, a natural gas generator, etc., but the example embodiments are not limited thereto.
  • the MNO operating the network node 2000 may have agreements with a power utility company to receive some or all of the energy desired and/or required to operate the network node 2000 from green energy sources on a desired and/or predetermined schedule, etc.
  • the network node 2000 may determine whether it is operating using non-green energy (e.g., fossil fuels, etc.) received from nongreen energy sources, etc., based on the desired and/or predetermined schedule of the power utility company, etc., and thereby determine whether it would be advantageous to operate as a donor network node or a beneficiary network node based on the level of green energy available to the network node 2000 at a current or future time.
  • non-green energy e.g., fossil fuels, etc.
  • the node 2000 may be configured to schedule time domain resource allocations (TDRAs), e.g., orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, physical resource blocks (PRBs), resource elements, etc., for active and/or passive UE devices (e.g., UE devices in idle mode, etc.) and/or other nodes connected to the node 2000, but the example embodiments are not limited thereto.
  • TDRAs time domain resource allocations
  • OFDM orthogonal frequency division multiplexing
  • PRBs physical resource blocks
  • resource elements etc.
  • active and/or passive UE devices e.g., UE devices in idle mode, etc.
  • the node 2000 may allocate time-frequency resources of a carrier (e.g., resource blocks with time and frequency dimensions) based on operation on the time domain (e.g., time division duplexing) and/or the frequency domain (e.g., frequency division duplexing).
  • a carrier e.g., resource blocks with time and frequency dimensions
  • the node 2000 will allocate a carrier (or subbands of the carrier) to one or more UEs (e.g., active UE devices, etc.) and/or other nodes connected to the node 2000 during designated upload (e.g., uplink (UL)) time periods and designated download (e.g., downlink (DL)) time periods, or during designated special (S) time periods which may be used for UL and/or DL, but the example embodiments are not limited thereto.
  • UL uplink
  • DL downlink
  • S special
  • the carrier is shared in time such that each UE and/or other node is scheduled by the node 2000, and the node 2000 allocates each UE and/or other node with their own uplink time and/or downlink time.
  • the node 2000 will allocate separate frequency subbands of the carrier to UEs and/or other nodes simultaneously served by the node 2000, for uplink and/or downlink transmissions.
  • Data transmission between the UE and/or other nodes with the node 2000 may occur on a radio frame basis in both the time domain and frequency domain contexts.
  • the minimum resource unit for allocation and/or assignment by the node 2000 to a particular UE device and/or particular other node corresponds to a specific downlink/uplink time interval (e.g., one OFDM symbol, one slot, one minislot, one subframe, etc.) and/or a specific downlink/uplink resource block (e.g., twelve adjacent subcarriers, a frequency subband, etc.).
  • the network node 2000 may transmit scheduling information via physical downlink common channel (PDCCH) information to the one or more UE devices and/or other nodes located within the cell servicing area of the node 2000, which may configure the one or more UE devices and/or other nodes to transmit (e.g., UL transmissions via physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) information and/or physical uplink shared channel information (PUSCH), etc.) and/or receive (e.g., DL transmissions via PDCCH and/or physical downlink shared channel information (PDSCH), etc.) data packets to and/or from the node 2000.
  • PUCCH physical uplink control channel
  • PUSCH physical uplink shared channel information
  • the node 2000 may transmit control messages to the UE device and/or other network nodes using downlink control information (DO) messages via physical (PHY) layer signaling, medium access control (MAC) layer control element (CE) signaling, radio resource control (RRC) signaling, etc., but the example embodiments are not limited thereto.
  • PHY physical
  • MAC medium access control
  • CE layer control element
  • RRC radio resource control
  • the node 2000 may also include at least one core network interface 2400, and/or at least one wireless antenna array 2500, etc.
  • the at least one wireless antenna array 2500 may include an associated array of radio units (not shown) and may be used to transmit the wireless signals in accordance with a radio access technology, such as 4G LTE wireless signals, 5G NR wireless signals, etc., to at least one loT device, e.g., loT device 130, etc., at least one active loT device (not shown), at least one active UE device (not shown), etc.
  • the wireless antenna array 2500 may be a single antenna, or may be a plurality of antennas, etc.
  • the wireless antenna array 2500 may be configured as a grid of beams (GoB) which transmits a plurality of beams in different directions, angles, frequencies, and/or with different delays, etc., but the example embodiments are not limited thereto.
  • GoB grid of beams
  • the node 2000 may communicate with a core network (e.g., backend network, backhaul network, backbone network, Data Network, etc.) of the wireless communication network via a core network interface 2400.
  • a core network e.g., backend network, backhaul network, backbone network, Data Network, etc.
  • the core network interface 2400 may be a wired and/or wireless network interface and may enable the node 2000 to communicate and/or transmit data to and from to network devices on the backend network, such as a core network gateway (not shown), a Data Network (e.g., Data Network 105), such as the Internet, intranets, wide area networks, telephone networks, VoIP networks, etc.
  • a core network gateway not shown
  • a Data Network e.g., Data Network 105
  • the Internet intranets, wide area networks, telephone networks, VoIP networks, etc.
  • FIG. 2 depicts an example embodiment of a network node 2000 which may operate as a network node, a network function, and/or a RAN node, etc.
  • the example embodiments are not limited thereto, and may include additional and/or alternative architectures that may be suitable for the purposes demonstrated.
  • the functionality of the network node 2000 may be divided among a plurality of physical, logical, and/or virtual network elements, such as a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a remote radio head (RRH), and/or a remote radio unit (RRU), etc.
  • CU centralized unit
  • DU distributed unit
  • RRH remote radio head
  • RRU remote radio unit
  • the network node 2000 may operate in standalone (SA) mode and/or non- standalone (NSA) mode using interfaces (not shown) such as X2, Xn, etc., between the network node 2000 and other RAN nodes of the wireless network, interfaces such as SI, NG, etc., between the network node 2000 and the core networks (e.g., core network 100A and/or core network 100B), interfaces between network functions of the node 2000 operating in a distributed and/or virtual RAN mode (not shown), such as Fl, El, etc., and/or interfaces between the physical layer (e.g., a baseband unit, etc.) and the radio layer (e.g., a RRH, core network interface 2400, etc.) (not shown), such as CPRI, eCPRI, etc., but the example embodiments are not limited thereto.
  • SA standalone
  • NSA non- standalone
  • FIG. 3 is an example transmission flow diagram illustrating a first available resource advertisement process according to at least one example embodiment. More specifically, FIG. 3 illustrates an example intra-MNO advertisement between the donor node 110A connected to the core network 100 A advertising available resources for allocation to a beneficiary network node 120A connected to the same core network 100A, but the example embodiment is not limited thereto.
  • a wireless network may include at least one donor network node 110A, e.g., the donor RAN node connected to the core network 100A of FIG. 1, and at least one peer network node, e.g., beneficiary node 120A, connected to the same core network as the donor network node 110A, but the example embodiments are not limited thereto, and for example, there may be a greater number of donor RAN nodes, beneficiary RAN nodes, the donor RAN node may be co-located with the beneficiary RAN node, etc.
  • the donor node 110A may be configured with one or more resource allocation criteria (e.g., a resource sharing quota, a resource capacity threshold, etc.), but is not limited thereto.
  • the resource allocation criterions may include a radio resource allocation criterion, a total energy resource allocation criterion, and/or a green (and/or clean or renewable) energy resource allocation criterion, etc.
  • the resource allocation criterions may include an allocation quota (and/or limit) for the total number of UE devices that may be accommodated by the donor node, a quota for the total number of active connected UE devices that may be accommodated, a quota on an allocated resource amount, a quota on an available capacity per channel and/or radio resource control (RRC) state, a level of quality of service (QoS) which may be provided, a quota of the number of UE devices from a specific MNO which may be accommodated via an inter-MNO resource allocation agreement, a quota on the traffic type (e.g., mobile terminated traffic, background traffic, delay tolerant traffic, etc.) which may be accommodated, etc., but the example embodiments are not limited thereto.
  • RRC radio resource control
  • QoS level of quality of service
  • the donor node 110A may determine whether at least one of the resource allocation criterion/criteria has been fulfilled and/or satisfied, etc. In other words, the donor node 110A has determined that there is resource capacity margin (e.g., excess resource capacity and/or shareable resource capacity) available for receiving and/or absorbing traffic from peer network nodes.
  • resource capacity margin e.g., excess resource capacity and/or shareable resource capacity
  • the donor node 110A transmits available resource capacity information to at least one potential beneficiary network node, e.g., the (potential) beneficiary node 120A.
  • the available resource capacity information may include at least one of: an identifier (ID) associated with the donor network node, a network ID associated with the MNO of the donor network node, frequency band information indicating at least one frequency band available for allocation, allocation start time information, allocation end time information, offloading capacity limit information, allocated resource amount information (e.g., information on the physical resource blocks allocated to serve offloaded UE devices by the donor node 110A which may be provided as an absolute number or relative number to the total resources of the donor network, etc.) available capacity per channel information (e.g., information on the available capacity per channel (e.g., shared downlink channel, shared uplink channel, uplink/downlink control channel, and/or paging channel, etc.), available capacity per radio resource control (RRC) state, etc.), traffic type information (e.g., information related to
  • examples of the available capacity per RRC state information may further include information related to a total number of connected UE device slots available for allocation (e.g., the total number of connected UE devices the donor node 110A may and/or will accept, a quota for the number of RRC connected active UE devices, etc.), a total number of idle UE device slots available for allocation (e.g., the total number of idle UE devices the donor node 110A may and/or will accept), etc., but is not limited thereto.
  • the beneficiary node 120A determines whether to request allocation of at least some of the available resources of the donor node 110A based on the received available resource capacity information and at least one traffic offloading criterion of the beneficiary node 120A.
  • the traffic offloading criterion may include, for example, decreasing the energy consumption of the beneficiary node 120A by a threshold amount, decreasing the non-green energy consumption of the beneficiary node 120A by a threshold amount, enabling the beneficiary node 120A to enter into a power reduction mode and/or enter a lower power consumption mode, etc., but the example embodiments are not limited thereto.
  • Other examples may include, the beneficiary node 120 A determining whether the geographical region information indicated by the donor node 110A matches and/or overlaps with the coverage area serviced by the beneficiary node 120A, determining whether the donor node 110A operates in the frequency bands desired and/or required by the UEs to be offloaded to the donor node 110A, determining whether the donor node 110A will provide appropriate QoS to the UEs to be offloaded to the donor node 110A, etc., but the example embodiments are not limited thereto.
  • the beneficiary node 120A transmits a reaction request to the donor node 110A.
  • the reaction request may include information such as, the network ID of the beneficiary node 120A, the MNO of the beneficiary node 120A, a cell ID of the beneficiary node 120A, a geographical area of the beneficiary node 120A (e.g., a geographical coverage area), a list (and/or a prioritized) list of frequency bands of interest to offload to the donor node 110A, a list of UEs to offload including QoS indicators for the UEs, a start/end time of offloading, an estimated energy cost based on measurement reports of the UEs, an estimated energy savings for the beneficiary node 120A after traffic offloading, the available capacity type information, but the example embodiments are not limited thereto.
  • the beneficiary node 120A may ignore and/or discard the received available resource capacity information. According to some example embodiments, the beneficiary node 120A may transmit a message to the donor node 110A indicating a rejection of the donation offer and/or requesting that the donor node 110A not transmit future available resource capacity information to the beneficiary node 120 A, etc.
  • the donor node 110A may determine whether to accept or reject the reaction request from the beneficiary node 120A, and transmits a response (e.g., an acknowledgement (ACK) or no-acknowledgement (NACK) message) to the beneficiary node 120A indicating whether the reaction request was accepted (in whole or in part) or rejected.
  • a response e.g., an acknowledgement (ACK) or no-acknowledgement (NACK) message
  • the donor node 110A may grant the entire request for allocation of resources by the beneficiary node 120A, may grant a portion (e.g., subset) of the request for allocation of resources by the beneficiary node 120A, or may reject the entire request for allocation of resources by the beneficiary node 120A, based on the available resources for allocation and/or sharing at the donor node 110A and the amount and type of resources being requested by the beneficiary node 120A.
  • the ACK message may include synchronization information (e.g., the donor network node ID, the donor MNO ID, the frequency band information indicating the at least one frequency band available for allocation, the allocation start time information, allocation end time information, etc.) previously included in the transmitted available resource capacity information), updated energy cost information, updated energy costs associated with the resources available for allocation, etc.
  • synchronization information e.g., the donor network node ID, the donor MNO ID, the frequency band information indicating the at least one frequency band available for allocation, the allocation start time information, allocation end time information, etc.
  • the beneficiary node 120A and the donor node 110A perform offloading procedure(s) to offload, handover, and/or transfer selected UE devices, such as UE 130A of FIG. 1, from the beneficiary node 120A to the donor node 110A, etc.
  • the beneficiary node 120A may begin notifying the UE 130A, etc., to connect to the donor node 110A, etc., via the legacy procedures as defined by the protocols of the relevant RAT, via a national roaming procedure, and/or a dynamic network sharing procedure.
  • the beneficiary node 120 A may initiate the offloading operation by requesting handover preparation for the UE 130A to be offloaded to the donor node 110A, etc. Additional details and/or alternatives for the transmission of the reaction request, acceptance of the reaction request, and/or performance of the offloading procedure, etc., may be found in US Application No. 63/464,979, titled “DYNAMIC NETWORK SHARING,” filed on May 9, 2023; and GB Application No. 2219850.1, titled “APPARATUS, METHOD, AND COMPUTER PROGRAM,” filed on December 30, 2022; the entire contents of each of which are incorporated herein by reference.
  • the beneficiary node 120A may perform at least one NES operation in response to the completion of the offloading procedure, e.g., shutdown, enter into a sleep mode, enter into a lower power consumption mode, use energy collected from an energy harvesting device and/or use green energy stored in an energy storage device, use energy from a green energy source, etc., but is not limited thereto.
  • the offloading procedure e.g., shutdown
  • enter into a sleep mode e.g., enter into a lower power consumption mode
  • use energy collected from an energy harvesting device and/or use green energy stored in an energy storage device e.g., use energy from a green energy source, etc., but is not limited thereto.
  • the donor node 110A and/or the beneficiary node 120A may repeat operations S3020 to S3070 as desired and/or as necessary based on updated resource conditions at the donor node 110A and/or the beneficiary node 120A.
  • the donor node 110A may perform operation S3020 on a desired periodic basis and/or on a dynamic basis (e.g., at the request of an operator, etc.).
  • FIG. 4 is an example transmission flow diagram illustrating a second available resource advertisement process according to at least one example embodiment. More specifically, FIG. 4 illustrates an example direct inter-MNO advertisement between the donor node 110A connected to the core network 100A directly advertising available resources for allocation to a beneficiary network node 120B connected to the core network 100B, but the example embodiment is not limited thereto, and for example, there may be a greater number of donor RAN nodes, beneficiary nodes, etc.
  • the donor node 110A is configured with resource allocation criterion.
  • the donor node 110A may further be configured with, and/or may obtain, a list of peer network nodes associated with a different MNO than the MNO of the donor network node 110A within a same and/or similar geographical region of the donor node 110A (e.g., with the same and/or overlapping cell coverage area as the donor node 110A), etc.
  • the donor node 110A may determine whether the resource allocation criterion(s) have been fulfilled and/or satisfied, etc.
  • the donor node 110A directly transmits available resource capacity information to at least one potential beneficiary network node on the different MNO based on the list of peer network nodes, e.g., the (potential) beneficiary node 120B.
  • the available resource capacity information may include at least one of, an identifier (ID) associated with the donor network node, a network ID associated with the MNO of the donor network node, frequency band information indicating at least one frequency band available for allocation, allocation start time information, allocation end time information, offloading capacity limit information, QoS information, expected energy costs associated with the resources available for allocation, a response time period indicating a time period for requesting allocation of resources, geographic coverage information associated with the network node, information regarding network offloading agreements associated with the MNO of the network node, an available capacity type information, an allocated resource amount, an available capacity per channel information, an available capacity per RRC state, traffic type information, etc.
  • the beneficiary node 120B determines whether to request allocation of at least some of the available resources of the donor node 110A based on the received available resource capacity information and at least one traffic offloading criterion of the beneficiary node 120B.
  • the beneficiary node 120B in response to the beneficiary node 120B determining to request allocation of the available resources from the donor node 110A, the beneficiary node 120B transmits a reaction request to the donor node 110A.
  • the reaction request may include information such as, the network ID of the beneficiary node 120B, the MNO of the beneficiary node 120B, a cell ID of the beneficiary node 120B, a geographical area of the beneficiary node 120B, a list (and/or a prioritized) list of frequency bands of interest to offload to the donor node 110B, a list of UEs to offload including QoS indicators for the UEs, a start/end time of offloading, an estimated energy cost based on measurement reports of the UEs, an estimated energy savings for the beneficiary node 120B after traffic offloading, the available capacity type information, but the example embodiments are not limited thereto.
  • the beneficiary node 120B may ignore and/or discard the received available resource capacity information. According to some example embodiments, the beneficiary node 120B may transmit a message to the donor node 110A indicating a rejection of the donation offer and/or requesting that the donor node 110A not transmit future available resource capacity information to the beneficiary node 120B, etc.
  • the donor node 110A may determine whether to accept or reject the reaction request from the beneficiary node 120B, and transmits a response to the beneficiary node 120B indicating whether the reaction request was accepted (in whole or in part) or rejected.
  • the donor node 110A may grant the entire request for allocation of resources by the beneficiary node 120B, may grant a portion (e.g., subset) of the request for allocation of resources by the beneficiary node 120B, or may reject the entire request for allocation of resources by the beneficiary node 120B, based on the available resources for allocation and/or sharing at the donor node 110A and the amount and type of resources being requested by the beneficiary node 120B.
  • the beneficiary node 120B and the donor node 110A perform offloading procedure(s) to offload, handover, and/or transfer selected UE devices, such as UE 130B of FIG. 1, from the beneficiary node 120B to the donor node 110A, etc.
  • the beneficiary node 120B may perform at least one NES operation in response to the completion of the offloading procedure, e.g., shutdown, enter into a sleep mode, enter into a lower power consumption mode, use energy collected from an energy harvesting device and/or use green energy stored in an energy storage device, use energy from a green energy source, etc., but is not limited thereto.
  • the donor node 110A and/or the beneficiary node 120B may repeat operations S4020 to S4070 as desired and/or as necessary based on updated resource conditions at the donor node 110A and/or the beneficiary node 120B.
  • the donor node 110A may perform operation S4020 on a desired periodic basis and/or on a dynamic basis (e.g., at the request of an operator, due to a decrease in network traffic/increase in excess and/or shareable radio resources, due to an increase in excess and/or shareable energy resources, due to an increase in excess and/or shareable green resources, etc.).
  • FIG. 5 is an example transmission flow diagram illustrating a third available resource advertisement process according to at least one example embodiment. More specifically, FIG. 5 illustrates an example inter-MNO advertisement process via the core networks, or in other words, an advertisement process between the donor node 110A connected to the core network 100 A advertising available resources for allocation to a beneficiary network node 120B connected to the core network 100B, through beneficiary network functions (e.g., intermediary network functions) 140A and 140B, but the example embodiment is not limited thereto, and for example, there may be a greater number of donor RAN nodes, beneficiary RAN nodes, intermediary network functions, and/or core networks, the beneficiary RAN node may be co-located with the beneficiary network function, the donor RAN node may be co-located with the donor network function, etc.
  • beneficiary network functions e.g., intermediary network functions
  • the donor node 110A is configured with resource allocation criterion.
  • the donor node 110A may further be configured with, and/or may obtain, network information related to a resource allocation network function (RANF) associated with the same MNO as the donor node 110A (e.g., a donor RANF) and/or the network information related to at least one RANF associated with at least one different MNO than the MNO of the donor network node 110A (e.g., a beneficiary RANF), etc.
  • the donor node 110A may determine whether the resource allocation criterion(s) have been fulfilled and/or satisfied, etc.
  • the donor node 110A transmits available resource capacity information to the donor RANF 140A.
  • the available resource capacity information may include at least one of, an identifier (ID) associated with the donor network node, a network ID associated with the MNO of the donor network node, a network ID associated with the MNO of the beneficiary network node, frequency band information indicating at least one frequency band available for allocation, allocation start time information, allocation end time information, offloading capacity limit information, QoS information, expected energy costs associated with the resources available for allocation, a response time period indicating a time period for requesting allocation of resources, geographic coverage information associated with the network node, information regarding network offloading agreements associated with the MNO of the network node, an available capacity type information, an allocated resource amount, an available capacity per channel information, an available capacity per RRC state, traffic type information, etc.
  • ID identifier
  • the donor RANF 140A forwards the available resource capacity information to the beneficiary RANF 140B, but the example embodiments are not limited thereto.
  • the donor RANF 140A may determine whether to forward the available resource capacity information to the beneficiary RANF 140B based on the geographical coverage area information of the donor node 110A and a known geographical coverage area of the beneficiary RANF 140B and/or potential beneficiary network nodes (e.g., beneficiary network node 120B, etc.) associated with the RANF 140B.
  • the donor RANF 140 A may omit the forwarding of the available resource capacity information to the beneficiary RANF 140B and the method may return to operation S5020 or the method may end.
  • the donor RANF 140A may also forward the available resource capacity information to one or more potential beneficiary network nodes on the same MNO as the donor node 110A (e.g., on the core network 100A) (not shown), and the method may follow the procedure discussed in FIG.
  • the donor RANF 140A may also determine whether to forward the available resource capacity information to one or more potential beneficiary network nodes on the same MNO as the donor node 110A based on the geographical coverage area information of the donor node 110A and known geographical coverage areas of the potential beneficiary network nodes on the same MNO as the donor node 110A, etc.
  • the donor RANF 140A may independently determine the available capacity information of the donor node 110A instead of receiving the available capacity information from the donor node 110A.
  • the donor RANF 140A may determine the available capacity information of the donor node 110A via a network function of the core network 110A, such as the Operations, Administration and Maintenance (OAM) network function, and/or by requesting and/or querying the donor node 110A to provide the available capacity information to the donor RANF 140A, etc.
  • OAM Operations, Administration and Maintenance
  • the beneficiary RANF 140B forwards the available resource capacity information to one or more potential beneficiary network nodes on the different MNO (e.g., on the core network 100B, etc.).
  • the beneficiary RANF 140B may determine whether to forward the available resource capacity information to the one or more potential beneficiary network nodes on the different MNO based on the geographical coverage area information of the donor node 110A and a known geographical coverage area of the potential beneficiary network nodes associated with the RANF 140B, e.g., beneficiary node 120B, etc.
  • the beneficiary node 120B determines whether to request allocation of at least some of the available resources of the donor node 110A based on the received available resource capacity information and at least one traffic offloading criterion of the beneficiary node 120B.
  • the donor node 110A may determine whether to accept (in whole or in part) or reject the reaction request from the beneficiary node 120B, and transmits a response indicating whether the reaction request was accepted or rejected to the donor RANF 140A.
  • the donor RANF 140 A forwards the response to the beneficiary RANF 140B
  • the beneficiary RANF 140B forwards the response to the beneficiary node 120B.
  • the donor node 110A may transmit the response indicating whether the reaction request was accepted or rejection to the beneficiary node 120B without transmitting the response to the reaction request to the intermediary network functions RANF 140A and RANF 140B, or the donor node 110A may transmit the response to the reaction request to donor RANF 140A which forwards the reaction request to the beneficiary node 120B, etc.
  • the beneficiary node 120B may perform at least one NES operation in response to the completion of the offloading procedure, e.g., shutdown, enter into a sleep mode, enter into a lower power consumption mode, use energy collected from an energy harvesting device and/or use green energy stored in an energy storage device, use energy from a green energy source, etc., but is not limited thereto.
  • the offloading procedure e.g., shutdown
  • enter into a sleep mode e.g., enter into a lower power consumption mode
  • use energy collected from an energy harvesting device and/or use green energy stored in an energy storage device e.g., use energy from a green energy source, etc., but is not limited thereto.
  • the donor node 110A, the beneficiary node 120B, and/or the intermediary network functions 140A and 140B may repeat operations S5020 to S5070 as desired and/or as necessary based on updated resource conditions at the donor node 110A and/or the beneficiary node 120B.
  • the donor node 110A may perform operation S5020 on a desired periodic basis and/or on a dynamic basis (e.g., at the request of an operator, due to a decrease in network traffic/increase in excess and/or shareable radio resources, due to an increase in excess and/or shareable energy resources, due to an increase in excess and/or shareable green resources, etc.).

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Quality & Reliability (AREA)
  • Mobile Radio Communication Systems (AREA)

Abstract

Dans un système, un appareil, un procédé et un support lisible par ordinateur non transitoire se rapportant à une procédure de publicité de capacité disponible, un nœud de réseau peut déterminer des informations de capacité de ressources disponible du nœud de réseau, les informations de capacité de ressources disponible indiquant que le nœud de réseau a des ressources disponibles pour une utilisation par au moins un nœud de réseau bénéficiaire, et transmettre les informations de capacité de ressources disponible au ou aux nœuds de réseau bénéficiaires.
PCT/IB2024/053863 2023-05-31 2024-04-19 Publicité de capacité disponible Pending WO2024246629A1 (fr)

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US63/469,999 2023-05-31

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Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20130303114A1 (en) * 2012-05-09 2013-11-14 Interdigital Patent Holdings, Inc. Flexible network sharing
WO2021150157A1 (fr) * 2020-01-24 2021-07-29 Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ) Procédé d'indication de capacité dans une configuration d'ue étendue

Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20130303114A1 (en) * 2012-05-09 2013-11-14 Interdigital Patent Holdings, Inc. Flexible network sharing
WO2021150157A1 (fr) * 2020-01-24 2021-07-29 Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ) Procédé d'indication de capacité dans une configuration d'ue étendue

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