WO2024260631A1

WO2024260631A1 - Policy creation in a wireless communication network

Info

Publication number: WO2024260631A1
Application number: PCT/EP2024/062866
Authority: WO
Inventors: Genadi Velev; Dimitrios Karampatsis
Original assignee: Lenovo Singapore Pte Ltd
Current assignee: Lenovo Singapore Pte Ltd
Priority date: 2024-04-04
Filing date: 2024-05-09
Publication date: 2024-12-26
Anticipated expiration: 2026-10-04

Abstract

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to an apparatus for wireless communication. The apparatus comprises at least one memory and at least one processor coupled with the at least one memory. The at least one processor is configured to cause the apparatus to: receive, from an Access and Mobility Management Function, a first request message for policy association establishment; transmit, to network entity, a second request message to retrieve a user profile information; receive, from the network entity, a first response message containing at least one of the user profile information and/or policy control subscription information; and transmit, to the Access and Mobility Management Function, a second response message comprising information based at least in part on the first response message.

Description

POLICY CREATION IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORK

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The subject matter disclosed herein relates generally to the field of implementing policy creation in a wireless communication network. In particular, this document defines an apparatus, a processor, and a method for wireless communication.

BACKGROUND

[0002] A wireless communications system may include one or multiple network communication devices, such as base stations, which may support wireless communications for one or multiple user communication devices, which may be otherwise known as user equipment (UE), or other suitable terminology. The wireless communications system may support wireless communications with one or multiple user communication devices by utilizing resources of the wireless communication system (e.g., time resources (e.g., symbols, slots, subframes, frames, or the like) or frequency resources (e.g., subcarriers, carriers, or the like). Additionally, the wireless communications system may support wireless communications across various radio access technologies including third generation (3G) radio access technology, fourth generation (4G) radio access technology, fifth generation (5G) radio access technology, among other suitable radio access technologies beyond 5G (e.g., sixth generation (6G)).

SUMMARY

[0003] An article “a” before an element is unrestricted and understood to refer to “at least one” of those elements or “one or more” of those elements. The terms “a,” “at least one,” “one or more,” and “at least one of one or more” may be interchangeable. As used herein, including in the claims, “or” as used in a list of items (e.g., a list of items prefaced by a phrase such as “at least one of’ or “one or more of’ or “one or both of’) indicates an inclusive list such that, for example, a list of at least one of A, B, or C means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). Also, as used herein, the phrase “based on” shall not be construed as a reference to a closed set of conditions. For example, an example step that is described as “based on condition A” may be based on both a condition A and a condition B without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, as used herein, the phrase “based on” shall be construed in the same manner as the phrase “based at least in part on. Further, as used herein, including in the claims, a “set” may include one or more elements.

[0004] There is provided an apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled with the at least one memory and configured to cause the apparatus to: receive, from an Access and Mobility Management Function, AMF, a first request message for policy association establishment; transmit, to network entity, a second request message to retrieve a user profile information; receive, from the network entity, a first response message containing at least one of the user profile information and/or policy control subscription information; and transmit, to the AMF, a second response message comprising information based at least in part on the first response message.

[0005] There is provided a processor for wireless communication, comprising: at least one controller coupled with at least one memory and configured to cause the processor to: receive, from an Access and Mobility Management Function, AMF, a first request message for policy association establishment; transmit, to network entity, a second request message to retrieve a user profile information; receive, from the network entity, a first response message containing at least one of the user profile information and/or policy control subscription information; and transmit, to the AMF, a second response message comprising information based at least in part on the first response message.

[0006] There is provided a method for wireless communication, the method comprising: receiving, from an Access and Mobility Management Function, AMF, a first request message for policy association establishment; transmitting, to network entity, a second request message to retrieve a user profile information; receiving, from the network entity, a first response message containing at least one of the user profile information and/or policy control subscription information; and transmitting, to the AMF, a second response message comprising information based at least in part on the first response message

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] Figure 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communications system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0008] Figure 2 illustrates UE subscription data and user profile(s) stored in a UDR (or UDM). [0009] Figure 3 illustrates information stored in a UDR (or UDM), such as user profile data and content, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0010] Figure 4 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of communication and processing in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0011] Figure 5 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of communication and processing in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0012] Figure 6 illustrates an example of an apparatus 600 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0013] Figure 7 illustrates an example of a processor 700 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0014] Figure 8 illustrates a flowchart of a method 800 performed by an apparatus in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0015] There may be cases where a UE policy needs to be changed based on a currently active user ID. This disclosure targets at least the following problems:

1. How can the policy control information for a UE be modified or adapted based on the curr ent/ active user ID? The policy control information may include the AM policy, the UE policy, or the SM policy. In other words, the AM policy and UE policy cannot be influenced by the user profile. The policy may include eligibility or authorization for the user to use (or not use) one or more services like V2X, A2X, ProSe, ranging. SMS, IMS, etc. but also the user consent for various features.

2. What and how user identity profile information and functionality are exposed (e.g. exposure of the content of the user identity profile, exposure of authorization/authentication results, authenticating users, and linking a user identifier with a 3GPP subscription).

[0016] TR 23.700-32 describes how the AMF or SMF retrieve user profile information from the UDM/UDR, and how the SM-PCF retrieves the user profile for PDU Session. However, there is no disclosure of how the AM policy and UE policy can be influenced by the user profile. [0017] It is proposed that the user profile may include parameters and/or policies which allow and/or restrict the use of services for the user ID. This is especially applicable when the user is a human and a single user ID at a given time.

[0018] Aspects of the present disclosure are described in the context of a wireless communications system.

[0019] Figure 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communications system 100 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The wireless communications system 100 may include one or more NE 102, one or more UE 104, and a core network (CN) 106. The wireless communications system 100 may support various radio access technologies. In some implementations, the wireless communications system 100 may be a 4G network, such as an LTE network or an LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) network. In some other implementations, the wireless communications system 100 may be a NR network, such as a 5G network, a 5G- Advanced (5G-A) network, or a 5G ultrawideband (5G-UWB) network. In other implementations, the wireless communications system 100 may be a combination of a 4G network and a 5G network, or other suitable radio access technology including Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20. The wireless communications system 100 may support radio access technologies beyond 5G, for example, 6G. Additionally, the wireless communications system 100 may support technologies, such as time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), or code division multiple access (CDMA), etc.

[0020] The one or more NE 102 may be dispersed throughout a geographic region to form the wireless communications system 100. One or more of the NE 102 described herein may be or include or may be referred to as a network node, a base station, a network element, a network function, a network entity, a radio access network (RAN), a NodeB, an eNodeB (eNB), a next-generation NodeB (gNB), or other suitable terminology. An NE 102 and a UE 104 may communicate via a communication link, which may be a wireless or wired connection. For example, an NE 102 and a UE 104 may perform wireless communication (e.g., receive signalling, transmit signalling) over a Uu interface.

[0021] An NE 102 may provide a geographic coverage area for which the NE 102 may support services for one or more UEs 104 within the geographic coverage area. For example, an NE 102 and a UE 104 may support wireless communication of signals related to services (e.g., voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, etc.) according to one or multiple radio access technologies. In some implementations, an NE 102 may be moveable, for example, a satellite associated with a non-terrestrial network (NTN). In some implementations, different geographic coverage areas associated with the same or different radio access technologies may overlap, but the different geographic coverage areas may be associated with different NE 102.

[0022] The one or more UE 104 may be dispersed throughout a geographic region of the wireless communications system 100. A UE 104 may include or may be referred to as a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, a remote device, a subscriber device, a transmitter device, a receiver device, or some other suitable terminology. In some implementations, the UE 104 may be referred to as a unit, a station, a terminal, or a client, among other examples. Additionally, or alternatively, the UE 104 may be referred to as an Internet-of-Things (loT) device, an Internet-of-Everything (loE) device, or machine-type communication (MTC) device, among other examples.

[0023] A UE 104 may be able to support wireless communication directly with other UEs 104 over a communication link. For example, a UE 104 may support wireless communication directly with another UE 104 over a device-to-device (D2D) communication link. In some implementations, such as vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) deployments, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) deployments, or cellular-V2X deployments, the communication link may be referred to as a sidelink. For example, a UE 104 may support wireless communication directly with another UE 104 over a PC5 interface.

[0024] An NE 102 may support communications with the CN 106, or with another NE 102, or both. For example, anNE 102 may interface with other NE 102 or the CN 106 through one or more backhaul links (e.g., SI, N2, N2, or network interface). In some implementations, the NE 102 may communicate with each other directly. In some other implementations, the NE 102 may communicate with each other or indirectly (e.g., via the CN 106. In some implementations, one or more NE 102 may include subcomponents, such as an access network entity, which may be an example of an access node controller (ANC). An ANC may communicate with the one or more UEs 104 through one or more other access network transmission entities, which may be referred to as a radio heads, smart radio heads, or transmission-reception points (TRPs). [0025] The CN 106 may support user authentication, access authorization, tracking, connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. The CN 106 may be an evolved packet core (EPC), or a 5G core (5GC), which may include a control plane entity that manages access and mobility (e.g., a mobility management entity (MME), an access and mobility management functions (AMF)) and a user plane entity that routes packets or interconnects to external networks (e.g., a serving gateway (S-GW), a Packet Data Network (PDN) gateway (P-GW), or a user plane function (UPF)). In some implementations, the control plane entity may manage non-access stratum (NAS) functions, such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management (e.g., data bearers, signal bearers, etc.) for the one or more UEs 104 served by the one or more NE 102 associated with the CN 106.

[0026] The CN 106 may communicate with a packet data network over one or more backhaul links (e.g., via an SI, N2, N2, or another network interface). The packet data network may include an application server. In some implementations, one or more UEs 104 may communicate with the application server. A UE 104 may establish a session (e.g., a protocol data unit (PDU) session, or the like) with the CN 106 via an NE 102. The CN 106 may route traffic (e.g., control information, data, and the like) between the UE 104 and the application server using the established session (e.g., the established PDU session). The PDU session may be an example of a logical connection between the UE 104 and the CN 106 (e.g., one or more network functions of the CN 106).

[0027] In the wireless communications system 100, the NEs 102 and the UEs 104 may use resources of the wireless communications system 100 (e.g., time resources (e.g., symbols, slots, subframes, frames, or the like) or frequency resources (e.g., subcarriers, carriers)) to perform various operations (e.g., wireless communications). In some implementations, the NEs 102 and the UEs 104 may support different resource structures. For example, the NEs 102 and the UEs 104 may support different frame structures. In some implementations, such as in 4G, the NEs 102 and the UEs 104 may support a single frame structure. In some other implementations, such as in 5G and among other suitable radio access technologies, the NEs 102 and the UEs 104 may support various frame structures (i.e., multiple frame structures). The NEs 102 and the UEs 104 may support various frame structures based on one or more numerologies. [0028] One or more numerologies may be supported in the wireless communications system 100, and a numerology may include a subcarrier spacing and a cyclic prefix. A first numerology (e.g., /t=0) may be associated with a first subcarrier spacing (e.g., 15 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix. In some implementations, the first numerology (e.g., /t=0) associated with the first subcarrier spacing (e.g., 15 kHz) may utilize one slot per subframe. A second numerology (e.g., //=1) may be associated with a second subcarrier spacing (e.g., 30 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix. A third numerology (e.g., g=2) may be associated with a third subcarrier spacing (e.g., 60 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix or an extended cyclic prefix. A fourth numerology (e.g., /t=3) may be associated with a fourth subcarrier spacing (e.g., 120 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix. A fifth numerology (e.g., /t=4) may be associated with a fifth subcarrier spacing (e.g., 240 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix.

[0029] A time interval of a resource (e.g., a communication resource) may be organized according to frames (also referred to as radio frames). Each frame may have a duration, for example, a 10 millisecond (ms) duration. In some implementations, each frame may include multiple subframes. For example, each frame may include 10 subframes, and each subframe may have a duration, for example, a 1 ms duration. In some implementations, each frame may have the same duration. In some implementations, each subframe of a frame may have the same duration.

[0030] Additionally, or alternatively, a time interval of a resource (e.g., a communication resource) may be organized according to slots. For example, a subframe may include a number (e.g., quantity) of slots. The number of slots in each subframe may also depend on the one or more numerologies supported in the wireless communications system 100. For instance, the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth numerologies (i.e., /t=0, /t=l, =2, /t=3, /t=4) associated with respective subcarrier spacings of 15 kHz, 30 kHz, 60 kHz, 120 kHz, and 240 kHz may utilize a single slot per subframe, two slots per subframe, four slots per subframe, eight slots per subframe, and 16 slots per subframe, respectively. Each slot may include a number (e.g., quantity) of symbols (e.g., OFDM symbols). In some implementations, the number (e.g., quantity) of slots for a subframe may depend on a numerology. For a normal cyclic prefix, a slot may include 14 symbols. For an extended cyclic prefix (e.g., applicable for 60 kHz subcarrier spacing), a slot may include 12 symbols. The relationship between the number of symbols per slot, the number of slots per subframe, and the number of slots per frame for a normal cyclic prefix and an extended cyclic prefix may depend on a numerology. It should be understood that reference to a first numerology (e.g., /t =0) associated with a first subcarrier spacing (e.g., 15 kHz) may be used interchangeably between subframes and slots.

[0031] In the wireless communications system 100, an electromagnetic (EM) spectrum may be split, based on frequency or wavelength, into various classes, frequency bands, frequency channels, etc. By way of example, the wireless communications system 100 may support one or multiple operating frequency bands, such as frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz - 7.125 GHz), FR2 (24.25 GHz - 52.6 GHz), FR3 (7.125 GHz - 24.25 GHz), FR4 (52.6 GHz - 114.25 GHz), FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6 GHz - 71 GHz), and FR5 (114.25 GHz - 300 GHz). In some implementations, the NEs 102 and the UEs 104 may perform wireless communications over one or more of the operating frequency bands. In some implementations, FR1 may be used by the NEs 102 and the UEs 104, among other equipment or devices for cellular communications traffic (e.g., control information, data). In some implementations, FR2 may be used by the NEs 102 and the UEs 104, among other equipment or devices for short-range, high data rate capabilities.

[0032] FR1 may be associated with one or multiple numerologies (e.g., at least three numerologies). For example, FR1 may be associated with a first numerology (e.g., /t=0), which includes 15 kHz subcarrier spacing; a second numerology (e.g., /z=l), which includes 30 kHz subcarrier spacing; and a third numerology (e.g., /z=2), which includes 60 kHz subcarrier spacing. FR2 may be associated with one or multiple numerologies (e.g., at least 2 numerologies). For example, FR2 may be associated with a third numerology (e.g., //=2), which includes 60 kHz subcarrier spacing; and a fourth numerology (e.g., /t=3), which includes 120 kHz subcarrier spacing.

[0033] A wireless communication system (also referred to as a wireless network), for example, a 5G system (5GS), offers communication services to subscribers. The communication devices which implement the subscription profile are called user equipment (UE). The UE registers with the network by using the subscription identifier and the network can assign resources to the UE corresponding to the subscribed services.

[0034] Recently, the 3^rd generation partnership project (3GPP) started to work on 5G System enhancements to allow the utilization of user-specific identities, which can be used by the network operators to provide enhanced user experience. Furthermore, the network may adapt the communication services offered to the UE depending on the user ID which is currently active on the UE or requesting the service.

[0035] The user to be identified could be an individual human user using a UE with a certain subscription, an application running on or connecting via a UE, or a device (e.g., a PINE) behind the UE used as a gateway (e.g., a PEGC).

[0036] One or more users (i.e., humans) may share one UE. In this use case, the user ID identifies a human. It is assumed that a single user ID is active (or used) at a given time.

[0037] One or more applications may be installed on the UE. In this use case each application may have its own user ID. It is assumed that multiple applications can run simultaneously, and therefore, multiple user IDs may be active (or used) simultaneously on the UE.

[0038] One or more users (i.e., remote devices) may be connected to the UE, in which case the UE may act as a gateway UE. It is assumed that multiple remote devices can be connected simultaneously with the UE, and therefore, multiple user IDs may be active (or used) simultaneously on the UE.

[0039] The network operator may wish to utilize user-specific settings in the network to allow the operator to provide service differentiation and/or differentiated charging based on the user ID. The service differentiation may also mean that some services are allowed or not allowed to a particular user ID.

[0040] Figure 2 shows a possible structure of data stored in the UDR 200 or UDM 200. Such data may include some or all at least the following data:

1. The UE subscription data/information 205 as specified in 3GPP TS 23.502, vl 8.4.0, 2023-12, “Procedures for the 5G System” clause 5.2.3.3 with an enhancement to include a list of one or more user IDs or user profile IDs which are associated with the UE subscription data. The UE subscription data/information may belong to a USIM or UE.

2. A data structure called “user profile” 215, 220 which may be identified by the user profile ID or by the user ID. In addition, the user profile 215, 220 may include further information as security credentials/information for the user ID authentication or service specific parameters (e.g. QoS parameters) to be applied. The service specific settings and parameters (e.g. user specific QoS settings) may be applied when delivering a service to the user ID.

[0041] Figure 2 shows that the UE subscription data 205 may include e.g. 3 different user IDs called user ID “A”, user ID “B” and user ID “C”. The user ID “A” and user ID “B” may share a common user profile 215 having a user profile ID 1. The user ID “C” may use a separate user profile 220 having a user profile ID 2. The user ID may have a unique value within the home operator’s network, e.g. HPLMN.

[0042] The following use cases may require modification of the UE policy or Access and Mobility (AM) policy depending on the user which is currently active: The network operator may wish to change the DNN of a PDU Session depending on the user who uses the device. For example, the default DNN may be called “Internet,” e.g. allowing access without special control, whereas in case that a child is using the UE a DNN called “Internet-Kids” may be applied in order to enforce specific filters for parental control. There is an existing feature called “DNN replacement” performed in the network which can be enabled in case of s specific user ID; and activating SFC in the SM-PCF for parental control.

[0043] The AM policy may refer to Access and Mobility related policy information. The SM policy may refer to Session Management policy control information. The UE policy may refer to one or more of the following:

1. Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) Policy (V2XP): This policy provides configuration parameters to the UE for V2X communication over PC5 reference point or over Uu reference point or both. V2X Policies are defined in clause 5.1.2.1 and clause 5.1.3.1 of TS 23.287.

2. Proximity Services (ProSe) Policy (ProSeP): This policy provides configuration parameters to the UE for ProSe features as defined in clauses 5.1 of TS 23.304.

3. Ranging/Sidelink Positioning Policy (RSLPP): This policy provides configuration parameters to the UE for Ranging/Sidelink Positioning control. Ranging/Sidelink Positioning Policies are defined in clause 5.1 of TS 23.586.

4. Aerial-to-Everything A2X Policy (A2XP): This policy provides configuration parameters to the UE for A2X communication over PC5 reference point or over Uu reference point or both. A2X Policies are defined in clauses 6.2.1.2.1 and 6.2.1.3.1 of TS 23.256. [0044] Figure 3 shows how data associated with a UE and user may be stored in a UDR 300 or a UDM 300. The UE subscription data 305 and Policy data 310 fields show the UE subscription data and policy data (e.g. as currently knows according to the 5GS standard). The User profile fields 315, 320 show possible user profile data. In one example, the content of the user profile is structured similar to the data structure in the UDR. Furthermore, the content of the user profile may include user profile information useable in other embodiments. The user profile information may include the following parameters:

1. List of one or more device IDs (e.g. Permanent Equipment Identifier, PEI) which are allowed to be used by the user. In other words, the user profile can be used/applied if the current device ID (i.e. PEI) is part of the list of allowed device IDs.

2. An indication whether the user profile is for a human user, for a remote device connected to the UE, or for an application installed on the UE. Such indication may be used in the consumer NF (e.g. UDR, UDM, AMF, SMF or PCF) to determine whether any restrictions for the use of user profile can be applied, e.g. a single user profile is allowed to be active if the user ID identifies a human. If the user ID identifies a remote device, then multiple profiles can be considered at a time, e.g. for different PDU Sessions.

3. List of one or more services which are restricted for the user ID(s). This list may be denoted as service restriction parameters as used in the description of Figure 4. Alternatively, or in addition, the list may indicate one or more services which are allowed (or enabled or authorized) for the user ID(s). The benefit of introducing the list of services is that the user profile may disallow (or disable or not authorized) a service for which the UE is subscribed; and in contrary the user profile may allow (or enable) a service for which the UE is not subscribed. For example, the UE subscription data may include information about the subscribed services SMS, ProSe and V2X, however, a specific (e.g. human) user of this UE may be not allowed to use the ProSe and V2X service but may use the SMS service. The following list of services shows which services may be included in the user profile (as allowed or not allowed services for the user ID):

1) LCS privacy or LCS mobile origination enable/disable. For example, the Location Privacy Indication (LPI) from the user profile may have higher priority than the LPI stored in the UE subscription data.

2) V2X service. 3) ProSe service.

4) MBS service.

5) A2X service.

6) Ranging/Sidelink Positioning service.

4. A user consent e.g. for UE data collection and analysis, or for sensing operation, or other consents. For example, the user ID “A” may have given a consent for a specific functionality in the networks, whereas the user ID “B” has not given its the consent for the same functionality/service. The UE subscription data may store a user consent for a functionality/service and if the user profile information for the currently active user ID also includes user consent for the same functionality/service, it is proposed that the user consent from the user profile information would have higher precedence. In other words, the user consent from the user profile information would be considered to be used in the consumer NF (e.g. AMF or UDM). In one example, the UDM may take the information from the user profile and indicate to the NF consumer (e.g. AMF, NWDAF) the user consent from the user profile instead the user consent from the UE subscription data.

5. Various types of policy data for the user which may be structured into user context policy control subscription information, PDU Session policy control subscription information, Access and Mobility policy control subscription information or usage subscription information (e.g. corresponding to the description of the Policy control subscription information in 3GPP TR 23.503, vl8.4.0, 2023-12, “Policy and charging control framework for the 5G System (5GS)” clause 6.2.1.3). In other words, the policy data in the user profile information may contain the same or similar structure or parameters (i.e. Information names) as the Policy control subscription information stored in the UDR, which would allow the easier merging of the a) legacy policy control subscription information (e.g. from the UE subscription data box of Figure 2) and b) the policy-related data form the user profile information of the active user ID.

6. The SM related (e.g. the PDU Session policy control subscription information) data may contain a list of authorized Service Function Chains (SFCs) where each SFC being identified based on a Service Function Chaining identifier (SFC ID).

7. A CHF address or charging policy specific for the specific user ID. Specifically, the AM policy part of the user profile information, the SM policy part of the user profile information or the user part of the user profile information may include the address(es) of the CHF, including the Primary CHF address and the Secondary CHF address, which are specific for the user ID.

[0045] The data stored in the user profile information may be structured in the following way:

1. AM-related data,

2. SM-r elated data,

3. Policy-related data. This data may have the same or similar structure as the policy data stored in the UDR for a subscriber. For example, this may include the List of one or more services which are restricted for the user ID(s); or its structure may include the UE context policy control subscription information, PDU Session policy control subscription information, Access and Mobility policy control subscription information or usage subscription information, as described above. The policy related data may also include charging function information per user ID.

4. Application-related data. The application-related data may include Packet Flow Descriptions (PFDs) for application detection. The a) general application-related data stored in the UDR and b) the application-related data part of the user profile information may relate to the same application descriptor (or filter). In such a case, during the creation of policy rules in the PCF, the application-related data part of the user profile information may take precedence over the general application-related data in the PCF.

5. Structured data for exposure. This data may have the same or similar structure as the structured data for exposure data stored in the UDR for the subscriber. The structured data for exposure stored in the user profile would be exposed to AF only for exposure requests or subscription which are dedicated for a user ID. This provides a solution to the problem of what and how user identity profile information and functionality are exposed.

[0046] Any combination of data types is possible, e.g. AM-related data and the SM- related data types may be combined. Such structuring would enable easier processing of the user profile data when exposed to a consumer NF, which receives and processes the user profile. In one example, the UDM processes the user profile data, i.e. the UDM receives the UE subscription data and the user profile corresponding to the active user ID and the UDM derives which subscription information is sent to the consumer NFs like AMF, SMF, PCF, etc.

[0047] In one example, the user profile is stored in the UDR. When the UDM requests the user profile, e.g. associated with a user ID, the UDR may send to the UDM the AM and/or the SM related data. When the PCF requests the user profile, the UDR may send to the PCF the policy related data or the application-related data (depending on the request by the PCF or requesting PCF type).

[0048] In one example, a UE may not provide user ID even though there is at least one user ID associated with the UE subscription data (e.g. at least one user ID and user profile are stored in the UDR/UDM). If the UE does not provide a user ID to the network, then the UE subscription data may be applied without considering the any of the user profiles. In other words, the UDM may only receive and take into account the UE subscription data when creating the subscription data to be sent to the consumer NF (e.g. AMF or SMF). If the UE provides a user ID to the network, then the network (e.g. UDM) may take the corresponding user profile into account.

[0049] Specific UDR(s) or specific UDM(s) may be deployed which store and process the one or more user profiles. In cases of specific UDR(s) or UDM(s) dealing with the user profiles, the different instances of the specific UDR or UDM may be differentiated by the domain part or routing ID part of the user ID. In other words, the user ID may include information (e.g. routing ID) which may indicate to the consumer NF how to discover the specific UDM or UDR handling the user profile associated with the user ID. It may be assumed that the user ID has the format of NAI, for example, ID#A.routingID@domain.com where the ID#A is the individual identifier of the user, the routing ID may indicate the specific UDM or UDM network function instance. Features of an example are described as follows:

1) A method in which a PCF retrieves policy-related data from a user profile and determines the policy for the UE (e.g. AM policy, UE policy or SM policy) by using both the general/UE subscription data and user profile data: a. The PCF receives the user profile ID or user ID from the policy consumer NF (e.g. AMF or SMF). The PCD retrieves the user profile from the UDR. The PCF determines AM/SM/user policy based on the subscription data and user profile. b. For the handling of date in the PCF, the user profile data may have higher precedence than the general/UE subscription data stored in the UDR when merging the corresponding parameters. c. The PCF may subscribe with the one of AMF, UDM or UDR for notifications when the user ID (or user profile ID) changes. When the new user ID is notified to the PCF, the PCF attempts to download the policy control information from the user profile corresponding to new user ID.

2) The user profile data may be stored in the UDR (or UDM) in a structured way so that a specific part of the user profile (only the user profile data which is relevant to the consumer NF) is sent to a NF consumer. For example, the AM-related data or the SM- related data may be sent to the UDM or but the policy-related data may be sent to the PCF.

3) The UDM is enhanced to process the UE subscription data and the user profile data/information, i.e. the UDM may create AM subscription data to be sent to the AMF or SM subscription data to be sent to the SMF, wherein the UDM merges the UE subscription data and the corresponding part of the user profile data. a. In other words, the user profile information is not sent to the AMF or SMF, but instead the UDM processes both i) the UE subscription data and ii) the user profile information; and the UDM merges the overlapping parameters in order to create the (AM/SM) subscription information to be sent to the AMF and/or SMF.

4) The UDR is enhanced to create Access and Mobility policy control subscription information, PDU Session policy control subscription information or UE context policy control subscription information which may be a merger of the UE subscription information and the user profile information.

[0050] Figure 4 shows a signalling flow 400 to configure the UE policy or AM policy for the UE 410. The Figure shows that a user 405 (which may be a human user, application, or remove device) may be implemented as an upper layer to the UE 410. The user (or upper layer) indicates the current user ID to the UE 410, so that the NAS layer of the UE 410 can use the user ID.

[0051] The detailed description of Figure 4 is as follows: [0052] 470a. The UDR 435 may store one or more user profiles where each one is associated with one or more user IDs (e.g. for User “A,” User “B”).

[0053] 470b. It is assumed that the upper layers in the UE indicate the User ID to the UE. As described in other embodiments, in case of user being a human, a single user ID is used at a given time. The user (or upper layer) indicates the current user ID to the UE, so that the NAS layer of the UE can use the user ID. The verification of the user ID is performed in the network. The network (e.g. UDM 430 or AMF 420) may store a status of “active” user ID. If the status is active, then the network applies the user profile information corresponding to the user ID.

[0054] 471. During a registration procedure or during the procedure of Identity request/response, the UE transmits to the AMF 420 the user ID(s) as informed by upper layers. In addition, the UE may transmit its PEI to the AMF 420.

[0055] 472. The AMF 420 may register itself as serving AMF 420 for the UE, if not performed earlier. The AMF 420 may use the NUDM_UECM_Regi strati on service operation.

[0056] 473. The AMF 420 may retrieve the UE subscription data. The AMF 420 includes in addition to the SUPI also the PEI and user ID in the subscription retrieval request message. The AMF 420 may use the NUDM_SDM_Get service operation to retrieve the UE subscription information and/or the user profile information. It is possible that the AMF 420 selects a UDM 430 which is implements the capability of handling (i.e. including retrieving, storing and management) of the user profile information. In case where the NRF service is used for UDM 430 discovery and selection, the AMF 420 may include a new parameter in the UDM 430 selection request message sent to the NRF, wherein the new parameter indicates that the UDM 430 should be capable of user profile handling (or user ID handling). Alternatively, if there are multiple UDM 430 instances already discovered by the AMF 420 (or locally configured in the AMF 420), the UDM 430 selection functionality in the AMF 420 may select a UDM 430 instance for the UE which is capable of handling the user profile information.

[0057] 474a. The UDM 430 retrieves the subscription data and user profile from the

UDR 435. The UDM 430 may use the NUDR DM Query service operation, and in addition to the SUPI, the UDM 430 may include the user ID. The user ID indicates to the UDR 435 that a corresponding user profile is to be transmitted to the UDM 430.

[0058] 474b. The UDR 435 sends a response message to the UDM 430 including both: the UE subscription information and the user profile information. The user profile information is corresponding to the user ID received in step 474a. For example, the user profile information may contain data as described in Figure 2. The user profile information may include one or more of the following parameters or data sets which correspond to parameters or data sets from the UE subscription data send to the AMF 420:

[0059] Parameters which influence the derived AM subscription information, e.g.: Subscribed UE-AMBR (Aggregated Maximum Bit Rate), List of subscribed UE-Slice- MBR(s)(Maximum Bit Rate(s)), List of subscribed S-NSSAIs, Service Area Restrictions, Subscribed DNN list

[0060] Slice Selection Subscription data or SMF Selection Subscription data (data needed for SMF selection), user consent data, Related to services: SMS Management Subscription data, V2X (Vehicular-to-Everything) Subscription data, A2X (Aircraft-to- Everything) Subscription data, ProSe Subscription data, MBS Subscription data. It is to be understood that the terms "data" and "data set" may refer to multiple informational elements and/or parameters.

[0061] 475a. After successful user ID verification, the UDM 430 determines the UE subscription data to be sent to the AMF 420 (e.g. derived subscription data sent to AMF 420). It is possible that some parameters or data (sub-)sets from the UE subscription data and from the user profile information overlap. In one example, the user profile may indicate a single permitted S-NSSAI for the user ID, whereas the UE subscription data may contain 2 subscribed S-NSSAIs. In another example, the UE-AMBR from the UE subscription data may have value X whereas the UE-AMBR from the user profile may have value Y, wherein the X may be larger than Y. In such examples, the UDM 430 may merge the overlapping parameters (or data sub-sets) and the UDM 430 may include or merge in the derived subscription data sent to the AMF 420 the values (i.e. the limitation parameters) from the user profile information. In general, the UDM 430 would treat the parameters from the use profile with higher priority compared to the corresponding parameters from the UE subscription data. [0062] In an example, if the UE subscription data includes the UE-AMBR parameter value of 150 Mbit/s and the user profile indicates UE-AMBR parameter value of 64 Mbit/s, then the UDM 430 may decide to use (and send to the AMF 420) the UE-AMBR parameter value of 64 Mbit/s from the user profile.

[0063] Additionally, or alternatively, the UDM 430 may determine (or may be configured by the management system, e.g. an 0AM system) to provide to the AMF 420 different sets of information. In an example, one set of information may comprise the UE subscription data and another set of information may comprise the AM part of the user profile (e.g. the part of the user profile which may influence the decision at the AMF 420 when determining the AM configuration for the UE which is transmitted to the UE via a NAS protocol). In this example, the AMF 420 may separately receive the UE subscription data and the part of the user profile data corresponding to the UE subscription data.

[0064] 475b. The UDM 430 sends a SDM Notification message to the AMF 420 as reply to step 473. The notification message may include at least one of: derived subscription data sent to AMF 420 (as determined in the step 475a), the user profile ID or the status of the user ID verification indication. The derived subscription data sent to AMF 420 may include AM subscription information (e.g. Subscribed S-NSSAIs, UE-AMBR, UE-Slice-MBR, etc.), service subscription (e.g. SMS, V2X, ProSe, etc.) which were modified by considering the user profile information. In case of 'active' user ID, the UDM 430 may sent the user profile ID to the AMF 420. The AMF 420 may use this indication in further signalling to other NFs in the core network to indicate that a user profile applies for this UE. The status of the user ID verification parameter may indicate whether the user ID has been successfully verified in the network, e.g. when the verification was successful the status may be 'active' (or 'verified') and when the verification was not successful the status may be 'inactive' (or 'failed').

[0065] In an embodiment where the UDM 430 provides to the AMF 420 user profile data and the UE subscription data separately (i.e. in different sets of information), the AMF 420 may receive and store both sets of information. The AMF 420 may merge the overlapping parameters from the user profile data and the UE subscription data. The AMF 420 may treat the parameters from the use profile with higher priority compared to the corresponding parameters from the UE subscription data. The AMF 420 may create a UE context storing the merged user profile data and the UE subscription data. [0066] 476. The AMF 420 determines the possible registration area and the corresponding Allowed NS SAI (and configured NS SA, if needed) to be applied to the UE. These parameters for the UE registration are derived based on the derived subscription data sent to AMF 420 received in step 475 a.

[0067] 477. The AMF 420 performs an AM Policy Association

Establishment/Modification procedure with the PCF 440 (e.g. AM-PCF or PCF for the UE). The AMF 420 may use the NPCF AMPolicyControl service operation and may include in the request message at least one of SUPI, service restriction parameters, user profile ID and/or user ID. The service restriction parameters may indicate to the PCF 440 that some services which may be subscribed by the UE 410 as stored in the UDR 435's subscription policy (e.g. Access and Mobility policy control subscription information) may be additionally limited by the received service restriction parameters.

[0068] In an example, the UE subscription data may indicate ProSe subscription and/or IMS/SMS subscription parameters, however, the user profile may indicate that the ProSe services and the IMS/SMS services are not allowed for the user ID. In this case, the service restriction parameters may be the parameters from the user profile which restrict, or limit, the use of the ProSe services and the IMS/SMS services.

[0069] The reception of user profile ID or user ID parameter in the PCF 440 would trigger the PCF 440 to retrieve the user profile from the UDR 435.

[0070] 478a. The PCF 440 sends a request message to UDR 435 to retrieve the user profile information. The PCF 440 may use the service operation NUDR DM Query and include the user profile ID or user ID parameter in addition to the request indication for the Access and Mobility policy control subscription information. The user profile ID or user ID parameter indicates to the UDR 435 that it needs to also consider any stored user profile information identified by the user profile ID or user ID, more specifically the AM policy part of the user profile information. In an example, the PCF 440 may send independent request messages to the UDR 435, e.g., one request message including the SUPI to retrieve the Access and Mobility policy control subscription information and another request message including the user ID (or user profile ID) to retrieve the AM policy part of the user profile information. [0071] 478b. The UDR 435 sends a response message to the PCF 440 including at least one of: the Access and Mobility policy control subscription information and the AM policy part of the user profile information. The AM policy part of the user profile information may include an indication that that policy decisions depend on the status of policy counter(s) held at the CHF 445 (and optionally the list of policy counter identifier). The AM policy part of the user profile information may also include the address(es) of the CHF 445, including the Primary CHF 445 address and the Secondary CHF 445 address, which are specific for the user ID.

[0072] 479a. The PCF 440 (e.g. AM-PCF or PCF for the UE) determines the AM policy control information based on the received Access and Mobility policy control subscription information and the AM policy part of the user profile information. The PCF 440 may merge the corresponding overlapping parameters, if any, from the Access and Mobility policy control subscription information and the AM policy part of the user profile information. The parameters from the AM policy part of the user profile information may have higher precedence than the corresponding parameters from the Access and Mobility policy control subscription information. In addition, the PCF 440 may also consider the subscription parameters if received in step 477. As a result, the PCF 440 creates a derived AM related policy information. The created AM related policy control information is tailored (i.e. influenced) for the current active user ID. The AM related policy control information may include at least one of: service area restrictions, so-called SMF selection management related policy information (e.g. to control DNN replacement), UE-AMBR, UE-Slice-MBR, selected RFSP Index ("RAT/Frequency Selection Priority"), management of 5G access stratum time distribution, and others. In addition, the CHF 445 may store separate policy counters for each user ID in order to maintain a separate Spending Limit for each user ID. In such case, the PCF 440 may initiate an Initial Spending Limit Report Retrieval with the CHF 445 including the user ID as additional parameter, i.e., in addition to the subscriber identifier (e.g. SUPI). If the policy counter status reporting is already established for the subscriber, the PCF 440 may determine that the status of additional policy counters is required due to the change of the active user ID or the creation of an active new user ID. The PCF 440 may send NCHF SpendingLimitControl Subscribe request to the CHF 445 including the user ID as additional parameter. Alternatively, or in addition, the PCF 440 may initiate an Intermediate Spending Limit Report Retrieval procedure when a new active user ID is notified to the PCF 440.

[0073] 479b. The PCF 440 sends AM Policy association establishment response/update message to the AMF 420. The PCF 440 may include at least one of the parameters: SUPI, derived AM related policy information. The derived AM related policy information may include policies for DNN replacement, ProSe/V2X/A2X services, SMS allowed, IMS allowed, update RFSP. SMF selection management related policy control requirements. The policy framework may provide following functionality for the SMF selection management for a PDU Session:

1. The PCF 440 may provide SMF selection management related policies to the AMF 420;

2. The PCF 440 may provide a policy to the AMF 420 to contact PCF 440 for performing DNN replacement of specific DNNs;

3. The PCF 440 may provide a policy to the AMF 420 to contact PCF 440 for performing DNN replacement for an unsupported DNN. The PCF 440 may subscribe with the one of the AMF 420, UDM 430 or UDR 435 for notifications when the user ID (or user profile ID) changes. When the new user ID is notified to the PCF 440, the PCF 440 attempts to retrieve the policy control information from the user profile corresponding to new user ID. The retrieval of the policy control information from the user profile is as described in steps 478a and 478b. Alternatively, it is also possible that the AMF 420 is configured to trigger a AM Policy Association Modification procedure with the PCF 440 for an already established AM policy association when the AMF 420 determines that the active user ID (or user profile ID) has changed. The AMF 420 includes in the AM policy association modification request message the new user profile ID and/or user ID.

[0074] 4710. The AMF 420 may discover and select an CHF 445 that manages the online charging or offline charging for 5G connection and mobility of a subscriber and/or the active user ID. In one example, the CHF 445 address may be sent from the PCF 440 to the AMF 420 in step 479b. The AMF 420 initiates an association establishment with the CHF 445 for 5G connection and mobility domain charging. The AMF 420 notifies the CHF 445 about the active user ID. The AMF 420 is able to collect the charging information for the per UE and per active user ID, e.g. for the registration to the 5GS, for the N2 connection between the 5G-AN and the AMF 420, for the CAG Identifier(s), for the Network Identifier, etc.

[0075] 4711. The AMF 420 sends a Registration accept message to the UE 410. The

Registration accept message may include information about the applied policy restrictions based on the active user ID.

[0076] 4712. The AMF 420 may send a request message to the PCF 450 (e.g. UE-

PCF) to establish UE policy association. Please note that this PCF 450 may be the same as the PCF 440 included in steps 477 - 479, but it can be also s separate PCF 450 entity (e.g. UE-PCF). The AMF 420 may use the service operation NPCF UEPolicyControl Create and the AMF 420 may include at least one of: the service restriction parameters subscription information (e.g. as received in step 475b), the user ID and/or the user profile ID. In addition, once the user ID is active (i.e. authenticated or authorized to use by the network), the AMF 420 may include the user ID in the signalling to other NFs in the core network, e.g. in the signalling to the location management function (LMF), PCF, SMF, SMSF or other NF during the initiation of various procedures for the UE.

[0077] 4713. The PCF 450 (e.g. UE-PCF or PCF for the UE) may retrieve the UE- related policy from the UDR 435 in a substantially similar manner as in steps 478a and 478b. The PCF 450 may use the service operation NUDR DM Query and include the user profile ID or user ID parameter in addition to the request indication for the UE context policy control subscription information. In one embodiment, the PCF 450 may send independent request messages to the UDR 435, e.g. one request message including the SUPI to retrieve the UE policy control subscription information and another request message including the user ID (or user profile ID) to retrieve the user context policy control subscription information. The UDR 435 sends a response message to the PCF 450 including at least one of: the UE context policy control subscription information and the user policy part of the user profile information.

[0078] 4714. The PCF 450 (e.g. UE-PCF or PCF for the UE) may need to create UE policy, e.g. by merging the UE context policy. This includes the creation of specific UE policy information, wherein at least one of the policies may be included: V2X Policy information, ProSe Policy information, Ranging/Sidelink Positioning Policy information, A2X Policy information. These service policies are influenced by the user profile data as described in the description of Figure 3. The PCF 450 may trigger UE Configuration Update Procedure in order to send the UE policy to the UE via the AMF 420. This procedure is initiated when the PCF 450 wants to update UE policy information (i.e. UE policy) in the UE configuration.

[0079] The solution described in Figure 4 can be applied for public networks, i.e. PLMN, or for private networks. The private network can be PNI-NPN or Standalone NPN (SNPN).

[0080] In embodiments described above in relation to Figure 4, the user profile is structured in a way allowing different NFs, e.g. UDM, AMF and one or more PCFs, to retrieve and process the relevant part of the user profile information. Based on the user profile information, the UDM is enabled to derive subscription information, the AMF to derive AM restrictions and the PCF to derive policy information.

[0081] Figure 5 shows a signalling flow 500 for determining the PDU Session policies and configuration, specifically the SFC configuration stored in the user profile information. The Figure shows that a user 505 (which may be a human user, application, or remove device) may be implemented as an upper layer to the UE 510. Referring to Figure 5 :

[0082] 570 - 571. These steps are similar to the steps in Figure 4, where the UE 510 registers with the network and receives the corresponding policy which may be derived based on the user profile.

[0083] 572. The UE 510 initiates a PDU session establishment procedure. The UE

510 may send a NAS transport message including the S-NSSAI, DNN, PDU Session ID and the N1 container (which may contain a PDU Session Establishment Request message).

[0084] 573. The AMF 520 selects an SMF 520 and initiates session creation procedure towards the SMF 520. The AMF 520 may use NSMF_SM create operation including at least one of the parameters: SUPI, User ID, or User profile ID.

[0085] 574a. The SMF 520 retrieves the SM subscription data from the UDM 530 by using the Nudm SDM Get service operation. The SMF 520 may include at least one of: SUPI, PEI, user profile ID parameters.

[0086] 574b. If the UDM 530does not yet have the SM subscription data, the UDM

530may retrieve the SM subscription data form the UDR. The UDM 530 may use the Nudr DM Query service operation and may include at last one of the following parameters: SUPI, User ID. [0087] 574c. The UDR 535 sends a response message which may include the UE

SM subscription data and the user profile.

[0088] 574d. The UDM 530 may apply merging of the UE SM subscription data and the user profile similarly as described for the merging of the AM subscription information in step 5a in the Figure 3. The difference is that the UDM 530would merge the SM-related parameters.

[0089] Alternatively, the UDM 530 may determine (or may be configured) to provide to the SMF 520 different sets of information. For example, one set of information comprises the SM subscription data (e.g. as known from the current art) and another set of information comprises the SM part of the user profile (e.g. the part of the user profile which may influence the decision at the SMF 520 when determining the PDU Session configuration for the UE).

[0090] The UDM 530sends a response message to the SMF 520. For example, the UDM 530may use the SDM Notification service operation and includes either (1) the created (merged) SM subscription data or (2) the first set and second set of data as per the alternative embodiment.

[0091] 575. The SMF 520 initiates SM policy association establishment with the

PCF 540 (e.g. SM-PCF or PCF 540 for the PDU Session). The SMF 520 may include the relevant UE subscription parameters and the user profile ID (or the user ID).

[0092] 576a. The PCF 540 retrieves the PDU Session policy control subscription information from the UDR. The PCF 540 may use the Nudr DM Query service operation and may include at least one of the parameters: the SUPI, S-NSSAI, DNN and the user profile ID (or user ID).

[0093] 576b. If the UDR 535 stores a user profile corresponding user profile ID (or user ID), the UDR 535 may check whether there is information related to PDU Session policy control subscription information and associated with the S-NSSAI and DNN. Please refer to Figure 2 where the policy-related data or SM related data stored in the UDR 535 may be used.

[0094] The UDR 535 sends a response message to the PCF 540 including (1) the SM policy data from the user profile associated with the user ID and (2) PDU Session policy control subscription information associated with the SUPI. The SM policy data from the user profile may contain one or more the service function chaining (SFC) IDs. For example, the SFC ID may indicate a specific routing of the user plane data in the N6 reference interface where fire wall or similar packet inspection entity may be involved to assure e.g. parental control handling of the user plane data.

[0095] 577a. If the PCF 540 receives both (1) the SM policy data from the user profile and (2) PDU Session policy control subscription information, the PCF 540 may apply merging of both data sets. The merging process can be similar to one described for the merging of the AM subscription information in step 5a in the Figure 3. For example, the PCF 540 may apply higher priority to the parameters received from the user profile compared to the corresponding parameters from the PDU Session policy control subscription information. If some parameters from the user profile are not present in the PDU Session policy control subscription information, the PCF 540 may add those parameters to the SM policy to be sent to the SMF 520.

[0096] The PCF 540 determines the SM policy to be sent to the SMF 520. For example, the SM policy may include one or more SFC IDs based on user profile parameters.

[0097] In one alternative embodiment, the PCF 540 may determine (or may be configured by the management system, e.g. 0AM system) to provide to the SMF 520 different sets of SM policy information. For example, one set of SM policy information is based on the PDU Session policy control subscription information (e.g. as known from the current art) and another set of SM policy information comprises the PDU policy part of the user profile (e.g. the part of the user profile which is related to the S-NSSAI and DNN information to influence the PDU Session establishment).

[0098] 577b. The PCF 540 transmits the determined SM Policy to the SMF 520, e.g. by using the SM policy establishment response/update message. The message may include at least one of the parameters: SUPI, SM policy as derived in step 7a (e.g. including the SFC ID).

[0099] 578. The SMF 520 uses the SM subscription data from step 4d and the SM policy received in step 7b to continue with the PDU Session establishment. The SMF 520 selects and configures one or more UPFs.

[0100] The SMF 520 transmits the N2 SM container to the (R)AN 515 node and N1 SM container to the UE. The AMF 520 encapsulates the N1 SM container in NAS downlink transport message and sends it to the UE. [0101] Figure 6 illustrates an example of an apparatus 600 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The apparatus 600 may include a processor 602, a memory 604, a controller 606, and a transceiver 608. The processor 602, the memory 604, the controller 606, or the transceiver 608, or various combinations thereof or various components thereof may be examples of means for performing various aspects of the present disclosure as described herein. These components may be coupled (e.g., operatively, communicatively, functionally, electronically, electrically) via one or more interfaces.

[0102] The processor 602, the memory 604, the controller 606, or the transceiver 608, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in hardware (e.g., circuitry). The hardware may include a processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or other programmable logic device, or any combination thereof configured as or otherwise supporting a means for performing the functions described in the present disclosure.

[0103] The processor 602 may include an intelligent hardware device (e.g., a general- purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, an ASIC, an FPGA, or any combination thereof). In some implementations, the processor 602 may be configured to operate the memory 604. In some other implementations, the memory 604 may be integrated into the processor 602. The processor 602 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in the memory 604 to cause the apparatus 600 to perform various functions of the present disclosure.

[0104] The memory 604 may include volatile or non-volatile memory. The memory 604 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code including instructions when executed by the processor 602 cause the apparatus 600 to perform various functions described herein. The code may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such the memory 604 or another type of memory. Computer-readable media includes both non- transitory computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A non-transitory storage medium may be any available medium that may be accessed by a general-purpose or specialpurpose computer.

[0105] In some implementations, the processor 602 and the memory 604 coupled with the processor 602 may be configured to cause the apparatus 600 to perform one or more of the functions described herein (e.g., executing, by the processor 602, instructions stored in the memory 604). For example, the processor 602 may support wireless communication at the apparatus 600 in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. The apparatus 600 may be configured to support a means for receiving, from an Access and Mobility Management Function, AMF, a first request message for policy association establishment; transmitting, to network entity, a second request message to retrieve a user profile information; receiving, from the network entity, a first response message containing at least one of the user profile information and/or policy control subscription information; and transmitting, to the AMF, a second response message comprising information based at least in part on the first response message.

[0106] The controller 606 may manage input and output signals for the apparatus 600. The controller 606 may also manage peripherals not integrated into the apparatus 600. In some implementations, the controller 606 may utilize an operating system such as iOS®, ANDROID®, WINDOWS®, or other operating systems. In some implementations, the controller 606 may be implemented as part of the processor 602.

[0107] In some implementations, the apparatus 600 may include at least one transceiver 608. In some other implementations, the apparatus 600 may have more than one transceiver 608. The transceiver 608 may represent a wireless transceiver. The transceiver 608 may include one or more receiver chains 610, one or more transmitter chains 612, or a combination thereof.

[0108] A receiver chain 610 may be configured to receive signals (e.g., control information, data, packets) over a wireless medium. For example, the receiver chain 610 may include one or more antennas for receive the signal over the air or wireless medium. The receiver chain 610 may include at least one amplifier (e.g., a low-noise amplifier (LNA)) configured to amplify the received signal. The receiver chain 610 may include at least one demodulator configured to demodulate the receive signal and obtain the transmitted data by reversing the modulation technique applied during transmission of the signal. The receiver chain 610 may include at least one decoder for decoding the processing the demodulated signal to receive the transmitted data.

[0109] A transmitter chain 612 may be configured to generate and transmit signals (e.g., control information, data, packets). The transmitter chain 612 may include at least one modulator for modulating data onto a carrier signal, preparing the signal for transmission over a wireless medium. The at least one modulator may be configured to support one or more techniques such as amplitude modulation (AM), frequency modulation (FM), or digital modulation schemes like phase-shift keying (PSK) or quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM). The transmitter chain 612 may also include at least one power amplifier configured to amplify the modulated signal to an appropriate power level suitable for transmission over the wireless medium. The transmitter chain 612 may also include one or more antennas for transmitting the amplified signal into the air or wireless medium.

[0110] Figure 7 illustrates an example of a processor 700 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The processor 700 may be an example of a processor configured to perform various operations in accordance with examples as described herein. The processor 700 may include a controller 702 configured to perform various operations in accordance with examples as described herein. The processor 700 may optionally include at least one memory 704, which may be, for example, an L1/L2/L3 cache. Additionally, or alternatively, the processor 700 may optionally include one or more arithmetic-logic units (ALUs) 706. One or more of these components may be in electronic communication or otherwise coupled (e.g., operatively, communicatively, functionally, electronically, electrically) via one or more interfaces (e.g., buses).

[OHl] The processor 700 may be a processor chipset and include a protocol stack (e.g., a software stack) executed by the processor chipset to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, obtaining, retrieving, transmitting, outputting, forwarding, storing, determining, identifying, accessing, writing, reading) in accordance with examples as described herein. The processor chipset may include one or more cores, one or more caches (e.g., memory local to or included in the processor chipset (e.g., the processor 700) or other memory (e.g., random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM), static RAM (SRAM), ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM), magnetic RAM (MRAM), resistive RAM (RRAM), flash memory, phase change memory (PCM), and others).

[0112] The controller 702 may be configured to manage and coordinate various operations (e.g., signalling, receiving, obtaining, retrieving, transmitting, outputting, forwarding, storing, determining, identifying, accessing, writing, reading) of the processor 700 to cause the processor 700 to support various operations in accordance with examples as described herein. For example, the controller 702 may operate as a control unit of the processor 700, generating control signals that manage the operation of various components of the processor 700. These control signals include enabling or disabling functional units, selecting data paths, initiating memory access, and coordinating timing of operations.

[0113] The controller 702 may be configured to fetch (e.g., obtain, retrieve, receive) instructions from the memory 704 and determine subsequent instruction(s) to be executed to cause the processor 700 to support various operations in accordance with examples as described herein. The controller 702 may be configured to track memory address of instructions associated with the memory 704. The controller 702 may be configured to decode instructions to determine the operation to be performed and the operands involved. For example, the controller 702 may be configured to interpret the instruction and determine control signals to be output to other components of the processor 700 to cause the processor 700 to support various operations in accordance with examples as described herein. Additionally, or alternatively, the controller 702 may be configured to manage flow of data within the processor 700. The controller 702 may be configured to control transfer of data between registers, arithmetic logic units (ALUs), and other functional units of the processor 700.

[0114] The memory 704 may include one or more caches (e.g., memory local to or included in the processor 700 or other memory, such RAM, ROM, DRAM, SDRAM, SRAM, MRAM, flash memory, etc. In some implementations, the memory 704 may reside within or on a processor chipset (e.g., local to the processor 700). In some other implementations, the memory 704 may reside external to the processor chipset (e.g., remote to the processor 700). [0115] The memory 704 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code including instructions that, when executed by the processor 700, cause the processor 700 to perform various functions described herein. The code may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as system memory or another type of memory. The controller 702 and/or the processor 700 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in the memory 704 to cause the processor 700 to perform various functions. For example, the processor 700 and/or the controller 702 may be coupled with or to the memory 704, the processor 700, the controller 702, and the memory 704 may be configured to perform various functions described herein. In some examples, the processor 700 may include multiple processors and the memory 704 may include multiple memories. One or more of the multiple processors may be coupled with one or more of the multiple memories, which may, individually or collectively, be configured to perform various functions herein.

[0116] The one or more ALUs 706 may be configured to support various operations in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementations, the one or more ALUs 706 may reside within or on a processor chipset (e.g., the processor 700). In some other implementations, the one or more ALUs 706 may reside external to the processor chipset (e.g., the processor 700). One or more ALUs 706 may perform one or more computations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division on data. For example, one or more ALUs 706 may receive input operands and an operation code, which determines an operation to be executed. One or more ALUs 706 be configured with a variety of logical and arithmetic circuits, including adders, subtractors, shifters, and logic gates, to process and manipulate the data according to the operation. Additionally, or alternatively, the one or more ALUs 706 may support logical operations such as AND, OR, exclusive-OR (XOR), not-OR (NOR), and not-AND (NAND), enabling the one or more ALUs 706 to handle conditional operations, comparisons, and bitwise operations.

[0117] The processor 700 may support wireless communication in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. The processor 700 may be configured to or operable to support a means for receiving, from an Access and Mobility Management Function, AMF, a first request message for policy association establishment; transmitting, to network entity, a second request message to retrieve a user profile information; receiving, from the network entity, a first response message containing at least one of the user profile information and/or policy control subscription information; and transmitting, to the AMF, a second response message comprising information based at least in part on the first response message.

[0118] Figure 8 illustrates a flowchart of a method 800 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method may be implemented by an apparatus, such as a network entity or network node, as described herein. In some implementations, the apparatus may execute a set of instructions to control the function elements of the apparatus to perform the described functions. [0119] At 802, the method 800 may include receiving, from an Access and Mobility Management Function, AMF, a first request message for policy association establishment. The operations of 802 may be performed in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 802 may be performed by an apparatus as described with reference to Figure 6.

[0120] At 804, the method 800 may include transmitting, to network entity, a second request message to retrieve a user profile information. The operations of 804 may be performed in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 804 may be performed by an apparatus as described with reference to Figure 6.

[0121] At 806, the method 800 may include receiving, from the network entity, a first response message containing at least one of the user profile information and/or policy control subscription information. The operations of 806 may be performed in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 806 may be performed by an apparatus as described with reference to Figure 6.

[0122] At 808, the method may include transmitting, to the AMF, a second response message comprising information based at least in part on the first response message. The operations of 808 may be performed in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 808 may be performed by an apparatus as described with reference to Figure 6.

[0123] It should be noted that the method 800 described herein describes a possible implementation, and that the operations and the steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified and that other implementations are possible.

[0124] The disclosure herein provides an apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled with the at least one memory and configured to cause the apparatus to: receive, from an Access and Mobility Management Function, AMF, a first request message for policy association establishment; transmit, to network entity, a second request message to retrieve a user profile information; receive, from the network entity, a first response message containing at least one of the user profile information and/or policy control subscription information; and transmit, to the AMF, a second response message comprising information based at least in part on the first response message.

[0125] The at least one processor may be configured to cause the apparatus to derive the information from at least the first response message.

[0126] The first request message may comprise at least one of a user profile identifier, a user identifier, and/or one or more service restriction parameters.

[0127] The second request message may comprise at least one of a subscription identifier, the user profile identifier, and/or the user identifier.

[0128] The subscription identifier may comprise a Subscription Permanent Identifier, SUPI.

[0129] The apparatus may comprise a PCF.

[0130] The derived information may comprise a derived Access and Mobility, AM, policy.

[0131] The at least one processor may be configured to cause the apparatus to derive the derived AM policy based on AM policy-related information UE policy-related information received in the first response message.

[0132] The policy control subscription information may comprise at least one of AM policy control subscription information and/or user equipment, UE, policy-related information.

[0133] The user profile information in the first response message may comprise an AM policy part of the user profile information.

[0134] The at least one processor may be configured to cause the apparatus to merge corresponding overlapping parameters from AM policy control subscription information and the AM policy part of the user profile information received in the first response message.

[0135] The AM policy part of the user profile information may comprise an indication that policy decisions depend on a status of one or more policy counters held at a CHF.

[0136] The AM policy part of the user profile information may comprise one or more addresses of a CHF, including at least one of a Primary CHF address and/or a Secondary CHF address.

[0137] The at least one processor may be configured to cause the apparatus to transmit a third request message to a charging function, CHF, to indicate a user identifier. The user identifier may be of an active user and/or a device. One or more addresses of a CHF may be specific for a user identifier.

[0138] The at least one processor may be configured to cause the apparatus to retrieve spending limit data. Prior to retrieving the spending limit data, the at least one processor may be configured to cause the apparatus to receive an indication of a user identifier. The identifier may be of a new active user. The retrieval may comprise initiation of an Intermediate Spending Limit Report Retrieval procedure. The apparatus may perform the initiation when a new active user identifier is notified to the apparatus. The procedure may be initiated with a CHF. The initiation may include at least one of a user identifier and/or a subscriber identifier as a parameter. The apparatus may comprise a UDM.

[0139] The information of the second response message may comprise at least one of AM subscription data and/or SM subscription data.

[0140] The at least one processor may be configured to cause the apparatus to merge UE subscription data and corresponding user profile data to obtain the subscription information. [0141] The at least one processor may be configured to cause the apparatus to receive at least one of the at least one of the UE subscription data and/or the corresponding user profile data from the network entity.

[0142] The second response message may comprise a user profile identifier or a status of user identifier verification information.

[0143] The network entity may comprise a Unified Data Repository, UDR.

[0144] The disclosure herein provides a processor for wireless communication, comprising: at least one controller coupled with at least one memory and configured to cause the processor to: receive, from an Access and Mobility Management Function, AMF, a first request message for policy association establishment; transmit, to network entity, a second request message to retrieve a user profile information; receive, from the network entity, a first response message containing at least one of the user profile information and/or policy control subscription information; and transmit, to the AMF, a second response message comprising information based at least in part on the first response message.

[0145] The disclosure herein provides a method for wireless communication, the method comprising: receiving, from an Access and Mobility Management Function, AMF, a first request message for policy association establishment; transmitting, to network entity, a second request message to retrieve a user profile information; receiving, from the network entity, a first response message containing at least one of the user profile information and/or policy control subscription information; and transmitting, to the AMF, a second response message comprising information based at least in part on the first response message.

[0146] The method may comprise deriving the information from at least the first response message.

[0147] The disclosure herein provides a PCF able to perform the following: receive request message for policy association establishment including parameters that indicate at least: a user profile ID (or user ID) and service restriction parameters; retrieve a user profile (e.g. from a UDR) using the user profile ID (e.g. user ID); determine AM policy or UE policy based on user profile or service restriction parameters; indicate to a CHF the active user ID; and collect charging information related to the user ID.

[0148] The disclosure herein provides a UDM able to perform the following: retrieve a user profile (e.g. from a UDR) based on verified user ID; receive the user profile for the AM subscription data and SM subscription data; and transmit a response message (e.g. to the AMF or SMF) indicating the derived AM/SM subscription data by merging the UE subscription data and the corresponding user profile data.

[0149] The disclosure herein provides a method for a network entity (e.g. PCF) in a communication network that comprises: receiving a first request message for policy association establishment (e.g. from an AMF) wherein the request message indicates at least: a user profile ID (or user ID) and service restriction parameters; transmitting a second request message to retrieve a user profile (e.g. to a UDR); receiving a first response message associated with the second request message containing the user profile, transmitting a second response message associated with the first request message (e.g. to the AMF) indicating the derived policies.

[0150] After receiving the first response message, the PCF may determine AM policy or UE policy based on user profile or service restriction parameters (e.g. received in the first request message).

[0151] The user profile received in the first response message may include AM policy- related information or UE policy related information. [0152] The method may comprise further transmitting a request message to the charging function to indicate the user identifier of the active user.

[0153] The disclosure herein provides a method for a network entity (e.g. UDM) in a communication network that comprises: receiving a first request message for policy association establishment (e.g. from an AMF) wherein the request message indicates at least: a user profile ID (or user ID) and service restriction parameters; transmitting a second request message to retrieve a user profile (e.g. to a UDR); receiving a first response message associated with the second request message containing the user profile, transmitting a second response message associated with the first request message (e.g. to the AMF) indicating the derived subscription information.

[0154] The derived subscription information in the second response message may be at least of one of: AM subscription data and SM subscription data.

[0155] The derived subscription information in the second response message is obtained by merging of the UE subscription data and the corresponding user profile data.

[0156] It should be noted that the methods described herein describe implementations, and that the operations and the steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified and that other implementations are possible.

[0157] The description herein is provided to enable a person having ordinary skill in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be apparent to a person having ordinary skill in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein but is to be accorded the broadest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

[0158] The following abbreviations are relevant in the field addressed by this document: 5GC /5GS, 5 Generation Core network / 5 Generation System; 5QI, 5G QoS Identifier; AAA, Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting; AF, Application Function; AIoT, Ambient Internet of Things; AM, Access and Mobility ; AMF, Access and Mobility Management Function; AN, Access network; AS, Application Server; BS, Base Station; CN, Core network; CP, Control plane; EC, Energy Consumption; ECF, Energy Consumption function; ECL , Energy credit limit; eNB, Evolved Node-B; EPC/EPS, Evolved packet core / Evolved packet system; GBR, Guaranteed Bitrate; gNB, 5G Node-B; ID, Identity; IE, Information Element; LTE, Long Term Evolution; NAS, Non Access Stratum; MM, Mobility Management; MO, Mobile Originated; MRU, Mobility Registration Update; MT, Mobile Terminated; NEF, Network Exposure Function; NF, Network Function; NPN, Non-Public Network; NR, New Radio; NRF, Network Repository Function; NS, Network Slice; NWDAF, Network Data Analytics Function; OAM, Operations, Administration and Management; PCF, Policy Control Function; PDU, Protocol Data Unit; PLMN; HPLMN; VPLMN, Public Land Mobile Network; Home PLMN ; Visited PLMN; RAN, Radio Access Network; RAT, Radio Access Technology /Type; S-NSSAI, Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information; SM, Session Management ; SMF, Session Management Function; SNPN, Standalone Non-Public Network; SUPI, Subscription Permanent Identifier; TA, Tracking area; TRP, Transmit-Receive Points; UDM, Unified Data Management; UDR, Unified Data Repository; UE, User Equipment; UMTS, Universal Mobile Telecommunication System; UP, User plane; UPF, User Plane Function; USIM, Universal subscriber identity module; and (E)-UTRAN, (Evolved) Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network.

Claims

1. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled with the at least one memory and configured to cause the apparatus to: receive, from an Access and Mobility Management Function, AMF, a first request message for policy association establishment; transmit, to network entity, a second request message to retrieve a user profile information; receive, from the network entity, a first response message containing at least one of the user profile information and/or policy control subscription information; and transmit, to the AMF, a second response message comprising information based at least in part on the first response message.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first request message comprises at least one of a user profile identifier, a user identifier, and/or one or more service restriction parameters.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the second request message comprises at least one of a subscription identifier, the user profile identifier, and/or the user identifier.

4. The apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the derived information comprises a derived Access and Mobility, AM, policy.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the apparatus to derive the derived AM policy based on AM policy-related information UE policy-related information received in the first response message.

6. The apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the policy control subscription information comprises at least one of AM policy control subscription information and/or user equipment, UE, policy-related information.

7. The apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the user profile information in the first response message comprises an AM policy part of the user profile information.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the apparatus to merge corresponding overlapping parameters from AM policy control subscription information and the AM policy part of the user profile information received in the first response message.

9. The apparatus of claim 7 or claim 8, wherein the AM policy part of the user profile information comprises an indication that policy decisions depend on a status of one or more policy counters held at a CHF.

10. The apparatus of any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein the AM policy part of the user profile information comprises one or more addresses of a CHF, including at least one of a Primary CHF address and/or a Secondary CHF address.

11. The apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the apparatus to transmit a third request message to a charging function, CHF, to indicate a user identifier.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein one or more addresses of a CHF are specific for a user identifier.

13. The apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the apparatus to retrieve spending limit data.

14. The apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the information of the second response message comprises at least one of AM subscription data and/or SM subscription data.

15. The apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the apparatus to merge UE subscription data and corresponding user profile data to obtain the subscription information.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the apparatus to receive at least one of the at least one of the UE subscription data and/or the corresponding user profile data from the network entity.

17. The apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the second response message comprises a user profile identifier or a status of user identifier verification information.

18. The apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the network entity comprises a Unified Data Repository, UDR.

19. A processor for wireless communication, comprising: at least one controller coupled with at least one memory and configured to cause the processor to: receive, from an Access and Mobility Management Function, AMF, a first request message for policy association establishment; transmit, to network entity, a second request message to retrieve a user profile information; receive, from the network entity, a first response message containing at least one of the user profile information and/or policy control subscription information; and transmit, to the AMF, a second response message comprising information based at least in part on the first response message.

20. A method for wireless communication, the method comprising: receiving, from an Access and Mobility Management Function, AMF, a first request message for policy association establishment; transmitting, to network entity, a second request message to retrieve a user profile information; receiving, from the network entity, a first response message containing at least one of the user profile information and/or policy control subscription information; and transmitting, to the AMF, a second response message comprising information based at least in part on the first response message.