WO2025213060A1 - Registration management for aiot devices behind intermediate node wtru - Google Patents

Abstract

Methods and apparatuses are provided for network registration of ambient Internet of Things (AIoT) devices. A method performed by a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) may include receiving configuration information indicating a time duration associated with registration of a group of AIoT devices. The method may include receiving connection request messages from a plurality of AIoT devices. A first one of the connection request messages may initiate the time duration. The method may include sending, after the time duration has elapsed, a registration request message. The registration request message may identify a subset of the AIoT devices from which connection request messages were received before the time duration elapsed. The method may include receiving a registration accept message including profile information indicating whether the identified AIoT devices are registered. The method may include updating connections associated with each of the identified AIoT devices based on the received registration accept message.

Description

REGISTRATION MANAGEMENT FOR AIOT DEVICES BEHIND INTERMEDIATE NODE WTRU

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/574,741 , filed April 4, 2025, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

[0002] As described in Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Technical Report (TR) 23.700-1 , an Ambient loT (AloT) device is an loT device powered by energy harvesting, with limited energy storage capability. AloT devices may be ultra-low complexity, power-constrained, cost-constrained, and resource-constrained. One communication model for AloT devices may provide that AloT device originated traffic is triggered by device terminated traffic or signaling (DO-DTT). Another communication model may be device terminated traffic (DT), wherein the traffic is terminated at the AloT device.

[0003] An AloT device may communicate with the network by using an Intermediate node to forward messages to the network and receiving messages from the Intermediate node that were forwarded from the network. In TR 23.700- 13 it has been discussed that AloT Devices may be assigned an AloT Device ID. The AloT Device ID may include three parts. A first part may be a Home Network Identifier that identifies the operator that manages the AloT Device. A second part may be an Owner Identifier that identifies a 3rd party that owns the AloT Device, sends requests to perform operations on the AloT Device, receives information about the AloT Device, and receives information from the AloT Device. A third part may be an Instance Identifier that identifies the specific AloT Device.

SUMMARY

[0004] Methods and apparatuses are provided for network registration of ambient Internet of Things (AloT) devices. A method performed by a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) may include receiving configuration information indicating a time duration associated with registration of a group of AloT devices. The method may include receiving connection request messages from a plurality of AloT devices. A first one of the connection request messages may initiate the time duration. The method may include sending, after the time duration has elapsed, a registration request message. The registration request message may identify a subset of the AloT devices from which connection request messages were received before the time duration elapsed. The method may include receiving a registration accept message including profile information indicating whether the identified AloT devices are registered. The method may include updating connections associated with each of the identified AloT devices based on the received registration accept message.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0005] A more detailed understanding may be had from the following description, given by way of example in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals in the figures indicate like elements, and wherein: [0006] FIG. 1A is a system diagram illustrating an example communications system in which one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented;

[0007] FIG. 1B is a system diagram illustrating an example wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG. 1A according to an embodiment;

[0008] FIG. 1C is a system diagram illustrating an example radio access network (RAN) and an example core network (CN) that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG. 1A according to an embodiment;

[0009] FIG. 1 D is a system diagram illustrating a further example RAN and a further example CN that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG. 1A according to an embodiment;

[0010] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example procedure for registration management for AloT devices connected behind an Intermediate Node WTRU;

[0011] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for network registration of AloT devices as may be performed by a WTRU; and

[0012] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for network registration of AloT devices as may be performed by a node implementing a network function for AloT device registration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0013] FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating an example communications system 100 in which one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented. The communications system 100 may be a multiple access system that provides content, such as voice, data, video, messaging, broadcast, etc., to multiple wireless users. The communications system 100 may enable multiple wireless users to access such content through the sharing of system resources, including wireless bandwidth. For example, the communications systems 100 may employ one or more channel access methods, such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), zero-tail unique-word discrete Fourier transform Spread OFDM (ZT-UW-DFT-S-OFDM), unique word OFDM (UW-OFDM), resource block-filtered OFDM, filter bank multicarrier (FBMC), and the like.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 1A, the communications system 100 may include wireless transmit/receive units (WTRUs) 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, a radio access network (RAN) 104, a core network (ON) 106, a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 108, the Internet 110, and other networks 112, though it will be appreciated that the disclosed embodiments contemplate any number of WTRUs, base stations, networks, and/or network elements. Each of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may be any type of device configured to operate and/or communicate in a wireless environment. By way of example, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, any of which may be referred to as a station (STA), may be configured to transmit and/or receive wireless signals and may include a user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a fixed or mobile subscriber unit, a subscription-based unit, a pager, a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smartphone, a laptop, a netbook, a personal computer, a wireless sensor, a hotspot or Mi-Fi device, an Internet of Things (loT) device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, a medical device and applications (e.g., remote surgery), an industrial device and applications (e.g., a robot and/or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and/or an automated processing chain contexts), a consumer electronics device, a device operating on commercial and/or industrial wireless networks, and the like. Any of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and 102d may be interchangeably referred to as a UE.

[0015] The communications systems 100 may also include a base station 114a and/or a base station 114b. Each of the base stations 114a, 114b may be any type of device configured to wirelessly interface with at least one of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d to facilitate access to one or more communication networks, such as the CN 106, the Internet 110, and/or the other networks 112. By way of example, the base stations 114a, 114b may be a base transceiver station (BTS), a NodeB, an eNode B (eNB), a Home Node B, a Home eNode B, a next generation NodeB, such as a gNode B (gNB), a new radio (NR) NodeB, a site controller, an access point (AP), a wireless router, and the like. While the base stations 114a, 114b are each depicted as a single element, it will be appreciated that the base stations 114a, 114b may include any number of interconnected base stations and/or network elements.

[0016] The base station 114a may be part of the RAN 104, which may also include other base stations and/or network elements (not shown), such as a base station controller (BSC), a radio network controller (RNC), relay nodes, and the like. The base station 114a and/or the base station 114b may be configured to transmit and/or receive wireless signals on one or more carrier frequencies, which may be referred to as a cell (not shown). These frequencies may be in licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or a combination of licensed and unlicensed spectrum. A cell may provide coverage for a wireless service to a specific geographical area that may be relatively fixed or that may change over time. The cell may further be divided into cell sectors. For example, the cell associated with the base station 114a may be divided into three sectors. Thus, in one embodiment, the base station 114a may include three transceivers, i.e., one for each sector of the cell. In an embodiment, the base station 114a may employ multiple-input multiple output (MIMO) technology and may utilize multiple transceivers for each sector of the cell. For example, beamforming may be used to transmit and/or receive signals in desired spatial directions.

[0017] The base stations 114a, 114b may communicate with one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d over an air interface 116, which may be any suitable wireless communication link (e.g., radio frequency (RF), microwave, centimeter wave, micrometer wave, infrared (IR), ultraviolet (UV), visible light, etc.). The air interface 116 may be established using any suitable radio access technology (RAT).

[0018] More specifically, as noted above, the communications system 100 may be a multiple access system and may employ one or more channel access schemes, such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA, and the like. For example, the base station 114a in the RAN 104 and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), which may establish the air interface 116 using wideband CDMA (WCDMA). WCDMA may include communication protocols such as High- Speed Packet Access (HSPA) and/or Evolved HSPA (HSPA+). HSPA may include High-Speed Downlink (DL) Packet Access (HSDPA) and/or High-Speed Uplink (UL) Packet Access (HSUPA).

[0019] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA), which may establish the air interface 116 using Long Term Evolution (LTE) and/or LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) and/or LTE-Advanced Pro (LTE-A Pro).

[0020] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as NR Radio Access , which may establish the air interface 116 using NR. [0021] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement multiple radio access technologies. For example, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement LTE radio access and NR radio access together, for instance using dual connectivity (DC) principles. Thus, the air interface utilized by WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may be characterized by multiple types of radio access technologies and/or transmissions sent to/from multiple types of base stations (e.g., an eNB and a gNB).

[0022] In other embodiments, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement radio technologies such as IEEE 802.11 (i.e., Wireless Fidelity (WiFi), IEEE 802.16 (i.e., Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)), CDMA2000, CDMA2000 1X, CDMA2000 EV-DO, Interim Standard 2000 (IS-2000), Interim Standard 95 (IS-95), Interim Standard 856 (IS-856), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), GSM EDGE (GERAN), and the like.

[0023] The base station 114b in FIG. 1A may be a wireless router, Home Node B, Home eNode B, or access point, for example, and may utilize any suitable RAT for facilitating wireless connectivity in a localized area, such as a place of business, a home, a vehicle, a campus, an industrial facility, an air corridor (e.g., for use by drones), a roadway, and the like. In one embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.11 to establish a wireless local area network (WLAN). In an embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.15 to establish a wireless personal area network (WPAN). In yet another embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may utilize a cellularbased RAT (e.g., WCDMA, CDMA2000, GSM, LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR etc.) to establish a picocell or femtocell. As shown in FIG. 1A, the base station 114b may have a direct connection to the Internet 110. Thus, the base station 114b may not be required to access the Internet 110 via the CN 106.

[0024] The RAN 104 may be in communication with the CN 106, which may be any type of network configured to provide voice, data, applications, and/or voice over internet protocol (VoIP) services to one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d. The data may have varying quality of service (QoS) requirements, such as differing throughput requirements, latency requirements, error tolerance requirements, reliability requirements, data throughput requirements, mobility requirements, and the like. The CN 106 may provide call control, billing services, mobile locationbased services, pre-paid calling, Internet connectivity, video distribution, etc., and/or perform high-level security functions, such as user authentication. Although not shown in FIG. 1A, it will be appreciated that the RAN 104 and/or the CN 106 may be in direct or indirect communication with other RANs that employ the same RAT as the RAN 104 or a different RAT. For example, in addition to being connected to the RAN 104, which may be utilizing a NR radio technology, the CN 106 may also be in communication with another RAN (not shown) employing a GSM, UMTS, CDMA 2000, WiMAX, E-UTRA, or WiFi radio technology.

[0025] The CN 106 may also serve as a gateway for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d to access the PSTN 108, the Internet 110, and/or the other networks 112. The PSTN 108 may include circuit-switched telephone networks that provide plain old telephone service (POTS). The Internet 110 may include a global system of interconnected computer networks and devices that use common communication protocols, such as the transmission control protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP) and/or the internet protocol (IP) in the TCP/IP internet protocol suite. The networks 112 may include wired and/or wireless communications networks owned and/or operated by other service providers. For example, the networks 112 may include another CN connected to one or more RANs, which may employ the same RAT as the RAN 104 or a different RAT.

[0026] Some or all of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d in the communications system 100 may include multimode capabilities (e.g., the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may include multiple transceivers for communicating with different wireless networks over different wireless links). For example, the WTRU 102c shown in FIG. 1A may be configured to communicate with the base station 114a, which may employ a cellular-based radio technology, and with the base station 114b, which may employ an IEEE 802 radio technology.

[0027] FIG. 1B is a system diagram illustrating an example WTRU 102. As shown in FIG. 1 B, the WTRU 102 may include a processor 118, a transceiver 120, a transmit/receive element 122, a speaker/microphone 124, a keypad 126, a display/touchpad 128, non-removable memory 130, removable memory 132, a power source 134, a global positioning system (GPS) chipset 136, and/or other peripherals 138, among others. It will be appreciated that the WTRU 102 may include any sub-combination of the foregoing elements while remaining consistent with an embodiment.

[0028] The processor 118 may be a general purpose processor, a special purpose processor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in association with a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), any other type of integrated circuit (IC), a state machine, and the like. The processor 118 may perform signal coding, data processing, power control, input/output processing, and/or any other functionality that enables the WTRU 102 to operate in a wireless environment. The processor 118 may be coupled to the transceiver 120, which may be coupled to the transmit/receive element 122. While FIG. 1 B depicts the processor 118 and the transceiver 120 as separate components, it will be appreciated that the processor 118 and the transceiver 120 may be integrated together in an electronic package or chip.

[0029] The transmit/receive element 122 may be configured to transmit signals to, or receive signals from, a base station (e.g., the base station 114a) over the air interface 116. For example, in one embodiment, the transmit/receive element 122 may be an antenna configured to transmit and/or receive RF signals. In an embodiment, the transmit/receive element 122 may be an emitter/detector configured to transmit and/or receive IR, UV, or visible light signals, for example. In yet another embodiment, the transmit/receive element 122 may be configured to transmit and/or receive both RF and light signals. It will be appreciated that the transmit/receive element 122 may be configured to transmit and/or receive any combination of wireless signals.

[0030] Although the transmit/receive element 122 is depicted in FIG. 1 B as a single element, the WTRU 102 may include any number of transmit/receive elements 122. More specifically, the WTRU 102 may employ MIMO technology. Thus, in one embodiment, the WTRU 102 may include two or more transmit/receive elements 122 (e.g., multiple antennas) for transmitting and receiving wireless signals over the air interface 116.

[0031] The transceiver 120 may be configured to modulate the signals that are to be transmitted by the transmit/receive element 122 and to demodulate the signals that are received by the transmit/receive element 122. As noted above, the WTRU 102 may have multi-mode capabilities. Thus, the transceiver 120 may include multiple transceivers for enabling the WTRU 102 to communicate via multiple RATs, such as NR and IEEE 802.11 , for example. [0032] The processor 118 of the WTRU 102 may be coupled to, and may receive user input data from, the speaker/microphone 124, the keypad 126, and/or the display/touchpad 128 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) display unit or organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display unit). The processor 118 may also output user data to the speaker/microphone 124, the keypad 126, and/or the display/touchpad 128. In addition, the processor 118 may access information from, and store data in, any type of suitable memory, such as the non-removable memory 130 and/or the removable memory 132. The non-removable memory 130 may include random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), a hard disk, or any other type of memory storage device. The removable memory 132 may include a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, a memory stick, a secure digital (SD) memory card, and the like. In other embodiments, the processor 118 may access information from, and store data in, memory that is not physically located on the WTRU 102, such as on a server or a home computer (not shown).

[0033] The processor 118 may receive power from the power source 134, and may be configured to distribute and/or control the power to the other components in the WTRU 102. The power source 134 may be any suitable device for powering the WTRU 102. For example, the power source 134 may include one or more dry cell batteries (e.g., nickelcadmium (NiCd), nickel-zinc (NiZn), nickel metal hydride (NiMH), lithium-ion (Li-ion), etc.), solar cells, fuel cells, and the like.

[0034] The processor 118 may also be coupled to the GPS chipset 136, which may be configured to provide location information (e.g., longitude and latitude) regarding the current location of the WTRU 102. In addition to, or in lieu of, the information from the GPS chipset 136, the WTRU 102 may receive location information over the air interface 116 from a base station (e.g., base stations 114a, 114b) and/or determine its location based on the timing of the signals being received from two or more nearby base stations. It will be appreciated that the WTRU 102 may acquire location information by way of any suitable location-determination method while remaining consistent with an embodiment.

[0035] The processor 118 may further be coupled to other peripherals 138, which may include one or more software and/or hardware modules that provide additional features, functionality and/or wired or wireless connectivity. For example, the peripherals 138 may include an accelerometer, an e-compass, a satellite transceiver, a digital camera (for photographs and/or video), a universal serial bus (USB) port, a vibration device, a television transceiver, a hands free headset, a Bluetooth® module, a frequency modulated (FM) radio unit, a digital music player, a media player, a video game player module, an Internet browser, a Virtual Reality and/or Augmented Reality (VR/AR) device, an activity tracker, and the like. The peripherals 138 may include one or more sensors. The sensors may be one or more of a gyroscope, an accelerometer, a hall effect sensor, a magnetometer, an orientation sensor, a proximity sensor, a temperature sensor, a time sensor; a geolocation sensor, an altimeter, a light sensor, a touch sensor, a magnetometer, a barometer, a gesture sensor, a biometric sensor, a humidity sensor and the like.

[0036] The WTRU 102 may include a full duplex radio for which transmission and reception of some or all of the signals (e.g., associated with particular subframes for both the UL (e.g., for transmission) and DL (e.g., for reception) may be concurrent and/or simultaneous. The full duplex radio may include an interference management unit to reduce and or substantially eliminate self-interference via either hardware (e.g., a choke) or signal processing via a processor (e.g., a separate processor (not shown) or via processor 118). In an embodiment, the WTRU 102 may include a halfduplex radio for which transmission and reception of some or all of the signals (e.g., associated with particular subframes for either the UL (e.g., for transmission) or the DL (e.g., for reception)). [0037] FIG. 1C is a system diagram illustrating the RAN 104 and the CN 106 according to an embodiment. As noted above, the RAN 104 may employ an E-UTRA radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. The RAN 104 may also be in communication with the CN 106.

[0038] The RAN 104 may include eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c, though it will be appreciated that the RAN 104 may include any number of eNode-Bs while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may each include one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. In one embodiment, the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may implement MIMO technology. Thus, the eNode-B 160a, for example, may use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to, and/or receive wireless signals from, the WTRU 102a.

[0039] Each of the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may be associated with a particular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the UL and/or DL, and the like. As shown in FIG. 1 C, the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may communicate with one another over an X2 interface.

[0040] The CN 106 shown in FIG. 1C may include a mobility management entity (MME) 162, a serving gateway (SGW) 164, and a packet data network (PDN) gateway (PGW) 166. While the foregoing elements are depicted as part of the CN 106, it will be appreciated that any of these elements may be owned and/or operated by an entity other than the CN operator.

[0041] The MME 162 may be connected to each of the eNode-Bs 162a, 162b, 162c in the RAN 104 via an S1 interface and may serve as a control node. For example, the MME 162 may be responsible for authenticating users of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, bearer activation/deactivation, selecting a particular serving gateway during an initial attach of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and the like. The MME 162 may provide a control plane function for switching between the RAN 104 and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radio technologies, such as GSM and/or WCDMA. [0042] The SGW 164 may be connected to each of the eNode Bs 160a, 160b, 160c in the RAN 104 via the S1 interface. The SGW 164 may generally route and forward user data packets to/from the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. The SGW 164 may perform other functions, such as anchoring user planes during inter-eNode B handovers, triggering paging when DL data is available for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, managing and storing contexts of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and the like.

[0043] The SGW 164 may be connected to the PGW 166, which may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet 110, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices.

[0044] The CN 106 may facilitate communications with other networks. For example, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to circuit-switched networks, such as the PSTN 108, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and traditional land-line communications devices. For example, the CN 106 may include, or may communicate with, an IP gateway (e.g., an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as an interface between the CN 106 and the PSTN 108. In addition, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to the other networks 112, which may include other wired and/or wireless networks that are owned and/or operated by other service providers. [0045] Although the WTRU is described in FIGS. 1A-1 D as a wireless terminal, it is contemplated that in certain representative embodiments that such a terminal may use (e.g., temporarily or permanently) wired communication interfaces with the communication network.

[0046] In representative embodiments, the other network 112 may be a WLAN.

[0047] A WLAN in Infrastructure Basic Service Set (BSS) mode may have an Access Point (AP) for the BSS and one or more stations (ST As) associated with the AP. The AP may have access or an interface to a Distribution System (DS) or another type of wired/wireless network that carries traffic in to and/or out of the BSS. Traffic to STAs that originates from outside the BSS may arrive through the AP and may be delivered to the STAs. Traffic originating from STAs to destinations outside the BSS may be sent to the AP to be delivered to respective destinations. Traffic between STAs within the BSS may be sent through the AP, for example, where the source STA may send traffic to the AP and the AP may deliver the traffic to the destination STA. The traffic between STAs within a BSS may be considered and/or referred to as peer-to-peer traffic. The peer-to-peer traffic may be sent between (e.g., directly between) the source and destination STAs with a direct link setup (DLS). In certain representative embodiments, the DLS may use an 802.11e DLS or an 802.11 z tunneled DLS (TDLS). A WLAN using an Independent BSS (IBSS) mode may not have an AP, and the STAs (e.g., all of the STAs) within or using the IBSS may communicate directly with each other. The IBSS mode of communication may sometimes be referred to herein as an “ad-hoc” mode of communication.

[0048] When using the 802.11ac infrastructure mode of operation or a similar mode of operations, the AP may transmit a beacon on a fixed channel, such as a primary channel. The primary channel may be a fixed width (e.g., 20 MHz wide bandwidth) or a dynamically set width. The primary channel may be the operating channel of the BSS and may be used by the STAs to establish a connection with the AP. In certain representative embodiments, Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA/CA) may be implemented, for example in 802.11 systems. For CSMA/CA, the STAs (e.g., every STA), including the AP, may sense the primary channel. If the primary channel is sensed/detected and/or determined to be busy by a particular STA, the particular STA may back off. One STA (e.g., only one station) may transmit at any given time in a given BSS.

[0049] High Throughput (HT) STAs may use a 40 MHz wide channel for communication, for example, via a combination of the primary 20 MHz channel with an adjacent or nonadjacent 20 MHz channel to form a 40 MHz wide channel.

[0050] Very High Throughput (VHT) STAs may support 20MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, and/or 160 MHz wide channels. The 40 MHz, and/or 80 MHz, channels may be formed by combining contiguous 20 MHz channels. A 160 MHz channel may be formed by combining 8 contiguous 20 MHz channels, or by combining two non-contiguous 80 MHz channels, which may be referred to as an 80+80 configuration. For the 80+80 configuration, the data, after channel encoding, may be passed through a segment parser that may divide the data into two streams. Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) processing, and time domain processing, may be done on each stream separately. The streams may be mapped on to the two 80 MHz channels, and the data may be transmitted by a transmitting STA. At the receiver of the receiving STA, the above described operation for the 80+80 configuration may be reversed, and the combined data may be sent to the Medium Access Control (MAC).

[0051] Sub 1 GHz modes of operation are supported by 802.11af and 802.11ah. The channel operating bandwidths, and carriers, are reduced in 802.11af and 802.11ah relative to those used in 802.11 n, and 802.11ac. 802.11af supports 5 MHz, 10 MHz, and 20 MHz bandwidths in the TV White Space (TVWS) spectrum, and 802.11ah supports 1 MHz, 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 8 MHz, and 16 MHz bandwidths using non-TVWS spectrum. According to a representative embodiment, 802.11ah may support Meter Type Control/Machine-Type Communications (MTC), such as MTC devices in a macro coverage area. MTC devices may have certain capabilities, for example, limited capabilities including support for (e.g., only support for) certain and/or limited bandwidths. The MTC devices may include a battery with a battery life above a threshold (e.g., to maintain a very long battery life).

[0052] WLAN systems, which may support multiple channels, and channel bandwidths, such as 802.11 n, 802.11ac, 802.11 af, and 802.11 ah, include a channel which may be designated as the primary channel. The primary channel may have a bandwidth equal to the largest common operating bandwidth supported by all STAs in the BSS. The bandwidth of the primary channel may be set and/or limited by a STA, from among all STAs in operating in a BSS, which supports the smallest bandwidth operating mode. In the example of 802.11 ah, the primary channel may be 1 MHz wide for STAs (e.g., MTC type devices) that support (e.g., only support) a 1 MHz mode, even if the AP, and other STAs in the BSS support 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 8 MHz, 16 MHz, and/or other channel bandwidth operating modes. Carrier sensing and/or Network Allocation Vector (NAV) settings may depend on the status of the primary channel. If the primary channel is busy, for example, due to a STA (which supports only a 1 MHz operating mode) transmitting to the AP, all available frequency bands may be considered busy even though a majority of the available frequency bands remains idle.

[0053] In the United States, the available frequency bands, which may be used by 802.11ah, are from 902 MHz to 928 MHz. In Korea, the available frequency bands are from 917.5 MHz to 923.5 MHz. In Japan, the available frequency bands are from 916.5 MHz to 927.5 MHz. The total bandwidth available for 802.11ah is 6 MHz to 26 MHz depending on the country code.

[0054] FIG. 1 D is a system diagram illustrating the RAN 104 and the CN 106 according to an embodiment. As noted above, the RAN 104 may employ an NR radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. The RAN 104 may also be in communication with the CN 106.

[0055] The RAN 104 may include gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c, though it will be appreciated that the RAN 104 may include any number of gNBs while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may each include one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. In one embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement MIMO technology. For example, gNBs 180a, 108b may utilize beamforming to transmit signals to and/or receive signals from the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c. Thus, the gNB 180a, for example, may use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to, and/or receive wireless signals from, the WTRU 102a. In an embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement carrier aggregation technology. For example, the gNB 180a may transmit multiple component carriers to the WTRU 102a (not shown). A subset of these component carriers may be on unlicensed spectrum while the remaining component carriers may be on licensed spectrum. In an embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement Coordinated Multi-Point (CoMP) technology. For example, WTRU 102a may receive coordinated transmissions from gNB 180a and gNB 180b (and/or gNB 180c).

[0056] The WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using transmissions associated with a scalable numerology. For example, the OFDM symbol spacing and/or OFDM subcarrier spacing may vary for different transmissions, different cells, and/or different portions of the wireless transmission spectrum. The WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using subframe or transmission time intervals (TTIs) of various or scalable lengths (e.g., containing a varying number of OFDM symbols and/or lasting varying lengths of absolute time).

[0057] The gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may be configured to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c in a standalone configuration and/or a non-standalone configuration. In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c without also accessing other RANs (e.g., such as eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c). In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may utilize one or more of gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c as a mobility anchor point. In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using signals in an unlicensed band. In a non-standalone configuration WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with/connect to gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c while also communicating with/connecting to another RAN such as eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c. For example, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement DC principles to communicate with one or more gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c and one or more eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c substantially simultaneously. In the non-standalone configuration, eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may serve as a mobility anchor for WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may provide additional coverage and/or throughput for servicing WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c.

[0058] Each of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may be associated with a particular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the UL and/or DL, support of network slicing, DC, interworking between NR and E-UTRA, routing of user plane data towards User Plane Function (UPF) 184a, 184b, routing of control plane information towards Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 182a, 182b and the like. As shown in FIG. 1 D, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may communicate with one another over an Xn interface.

[0059] The CN 106 shown in FIG. 1D may include at least one AMF 182a, 182b, at least one UPF 184a, 184b, at least one Session Management Function (SMF) 183a, 183b, and possibly a Data Network (DN) 185a, 185b. While the foregoing elements are depicted as part of the CN 106, it will be appreciated that any of these elements may be owned and/or operated by an entity other than the CN operator.

[0060] The AMF 182a, 182b may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c in the RAN 104 via an N2 interface and may serve as a control node. For example, the AMF 182a, 182b may be responsible for authenticating users of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, support for network slicing (e.g., handling of different protocol data unit (PDU) sessions with different requirements), selecting a particular SMF 183a, 183b, management of the registration area, termination of non-access stratum (NAS) signaling, mobility management, and the like. Network slicing may be used by the AMF 182a, 182b in order to customize CN support for WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c based on the types of services being utilized WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. For example, different network slices may be established for different use cases such as services relying on ultra-reliable low latency (URLLC) access, services relying on enhanced massive mobile broadband (eMBB) access, services for MTC access, and the like. The AMF 182a, 182b may provide a control plane function for switching between the RAN 104 and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radio technologies, such as LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, and/or non-3GPP access technologies such as WiFi.

[0061] The SMF 183a, 183b may be connected to an AMF 182a, 182b in the CN 106 via an N11 interface. The SMF 183a, 183b may also be connected to a UPF 184a, 184b in the CN 106 via an N4 interface. The SMF 183a, 183b may select and control the UPF 184a, 184b and configure the routing of traffic through the UPF 184a, 184b. The SMF 183a, 183b may perform other functions, such as managing and allocating UE IP address, managing PDU sessions, controlling policy enforcement and QoS, providing DL data notifications, and the like. A PDU session type may be IP-based, nonIP based, Ethernet-based, and the like.

[0062] The UPF 184a, 184b may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c in the RAN 104 via an N3 interface, which may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet 110, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices. The UPF 184, 184b may perform other functions, such as routing and forwarding packets, enforcing user plane policies, supporting multi-homed PDU sessions, handling user plane QoS, buffering DL packets, providing mobility anchoring, and the like. [0063] The CN 106 may facilitate communications with other networks. For example, the CN 106 may include, or may communicate with, an IP gateway (e.g., an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as an interface between the CN 106 and the PSTN 108. In addition, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to the other networks 112, which may include other wired and/or wireless networks that are owned and/or operated by other service providers. In one embodiment, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may be connected to a local DN 185a, 185b through the UPF 184a, 184b via the N3 interface to the UPF 184a, 184b and an N6 interface between the UPF 184a, 184b and the DN 185a, 185b.

[0064] In view of FIGs. 1 A-1 D, and the corresponding description of FIGs. 1 A-1 D, one or more, or all, of the functions described herein with regard to one or more of: WTRU 102a-d , Base Station 114a-b, eNode-B 160a-c, MME 162, SGW 164, PGW 166, gNB 180a-c, AMF 182a-b, UPF 184a-b, SMF 183a-b, DN 185a-b, and/or any other device(s) described herein, may be performed by one or more emulation devices (not shown). The emulation devices may be one or more devices configured to emulate one or more, or all, of the functions described herein. For example, the emulation devices may be used to test other devices and/or to simulate network and/or WTRU functions.

[0065] The emulation devices may be designed to implement one or more tests of other devices in a lab environment and/or in an operator network environment. For example, the one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, or all, functions while being fully or partially implemented and/or deployed as part of a wired and/or wireless communication network in order to test other devices within the communication network. The one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, or all, functions while being temporarily implemented/deployed as part of a wired and/or wireless communication network. The emulation device may be directly coupled to another device for purposes of testing and/or performing testing using over-the-air wireless communications.

[0066] The one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, including all, functions while not being implemented/deployed as part of a wired and/or wireless communication network. For example, the emulation devices may be utilized in a testing scenario in a testing laboratory and/or a non-deployed (e.g., testing) wired and/or wireless communication network in order to implement testing of one or more components. The one or more emulation devices may be test equipment. Direct RF coupling and/or wireless communications via RF circuitry (e.g., which may include one or more antennas) may be used by the emulation devices to transmit and/or receive data.

[0067] The following abbreviations and acronyms may be referenced herein. The acronym “AF” may be used to refer to an Application Function. The acronym ‘AS” may be used to refer to an Application Server. The acronym “AMF” may be used to refer to an Access and Mobility Function. The acronym “CM” may be used to refer to Connection Management. The acronym “DNS” may be used to refer to Domain Name Resolution. The acronym “I-Node” may be used to refer to an Intermediate Node. The acronym “loT” may be used to refer to the Internet of Things. The acronym “MO” may be used to refer to Mobile Originated. The acronym “NAS” may be used to refer to a Non-Access Stratum. The acronym “NEF” may be used to refer to a Network Exposure Function. The acronym “RAN” may be used to refer to a Radio Access Network. The acronym “SIB” may be used to refer to a System Information Block. The acronym “WTRU” may be used to refer to User Equipment. The acronym “UDM” may be used to refer to Unified Data Management. The acronym “UDR” may be used to refer to a Unified Data Repository. The acronym “AloT” may be used to refer to Ambient loT. The acronym “DO-A” may be used to refer to Device-originated - autonomous. The acronym “DO-DTT” may be used to refer to Device-originated - device-terminated triggered. The acronym “DT” may be used to refer to Deviceterminated. The acronym “IN-WTRU” may be used to refer to an Intermediate Node WTRU. The acronym “UL” may be used to refer to Uplink. The acronym “DL” may be used to refer to Downlink. The acronym “NF” may be used to refer to a Network Function.

[0068] Further terminology as may be used throughout paragraphs herein is explained below. The term “Ambient loT Device” may refer to an loT device powered by energy harvesting, with limited energy storage capability. Other characteristics of an Ambient loT device are described in 3GPP Technical Report (TR) 38.769, incorporated by reference herein. The term “Ambient loT Services” may refer to functionalities and procedures to support Ambient loT use cases. The term “Device-originated - device-terminated triggered (DO-DTT)” may be used to refer to device originated traffic that is triggered by device terminated traffic or signalling. The term “Device-terminated (DT)” may refer to traffic that is terminated at the AloT device. The term “Ambient loT Function (AloTF)” may refer to a 5G network function to support AloT services. AloTF may be a standalone function or a function that is collocated with the AMF. AloTF may be responsible for authentication and authorization of the AloT devices, routing of the UL/DL traffic between the AloT devices and AF (e.g., via the NEF).

[0069] Various solutions are described herein. One or more solutions may concern actions taken or performed by an AMF. In some examples, an AMF may perform one or more of the actions described herein.

[0070] In one action, (e.g., as shown by way of example in FIG. 2, at 220, introduced and described in further detail in paragraphs below) the AMF receives a registration request from a WTRU. The registration message includes one or more of a new group AloT registration type, and/or a list of AloT devices including the devices IDs along with the AF IDs.

[0071] In one action (e.g., as shown by way of example in FIG. 2, at step 240, described in further detail in paragraphs below) the AMF sends a registration request message to the respective AFs via the NEF. The registration request may include one or more of a list of AloT device IDs, and/or AF IDs along with the identity of the IN-WTRU.

[0072] In one action, (e.g., as shown by way of example in FIG. 2, step 250, described in further detail in paragraphs below) the AMF receives a registration response message from the AF, which includes a list of AloT device profiles. The AloT device profile information includes AloT ID, AF ID, device status (enabled/disabled/permanently disabled), validity information (time and location validity) and security credentials.

[0073] In one action as shown byway of example in FIG. 2, step 260, described in further detail in paragraphs below) the AMF updates the UDM with the received list of AloT device profile information along with the location information of the intermediate node WTRU (IN-WTRU). The location information for the IN-WTRU could include additional information about the mobility characteristics of the IN-WTRU i.e. If the IN-WTRU is static/stationary or mobile. [0074] In one action (e.g., as shown by way of example in FIG. 2, step 270, described in further detail in paragraphs below) the AMF responds to the IN-WTRU with the registration accept message. The registration accept message may contain profile information for the requested AloT devices. The AloT device profile information may include an AloT ID, AF ID, device status (enabled/disabled/permanently disabled), validity information (time and location validity) and security credentials.

[0075] One or more solutions may concern actions taken or performed by a WTRU. In some examples, a WTRU may perform one or more of the actions described herein.

[0076] In one action (e.g., as shown by way of example in FIG. 2, step 200, described in further detail in paragraphs below) a WTRU receives an aggregation timer value and limits value with respect to the number of AloT devices it can support for the group AloT registration from an AMF.

[0077] In one action (e.g., as shown by way of example in FIG. 2, step 210, described in further detail in paragraphs below) a WTRU receives a connection request from an AloT Device. The connection request may trigger the WTRU to start a timer. A duration of the timer may be configured based on the aggregation timer value. If the IN-WTRU has limits with respect to a number of devices it can support for the group AloT registration (e.g., based on a received parameter GroupRegAloTDeviceLimit from the AMF), it may take into consideration and ensure AloT devices connected behind the IN-WTRU do not violate the provided limit value i.e. the number of connected AloT devices is less than or equal to GroupRegAloTDeviceLimit value.

[0078] In one action (e.g., as shown by way of example in FIG. 2, step 220, described in further detail in paragraphs below), when the timer expires, the WTRU sends a registration request to an AMF. The registration message may include new group AloT registration type, and/or a list of AloT devices including the devices IDs along with the AF IDs. The list of device IDs may include the identity of the AloT Device that sent the connection request that triggered the start of the timer.

[0079] In one action (as shown by way of example in FIG. 2, step 270, described in further detail in paragraphs below) the WTRU receives a registration accept message. The registration accept message may contain profile information for the requested AloT devices. The AloT device profile information may include an AloT ID, AF ID, device status (enabled/disabled/permanently disabled), validity information (time and location validity) and/or security credentials.

[0080] In one action (as shown by way of example in FIG. 2, step 280, described in further detail in paragraphs below) the WTRU updates the connection between the AloT device and intermediate node WTRU as per the received information back from the AMF/AloTF. This may result in the AloT device not being allowed to send or receive AloT traffic.

[0081] Architectural Assumptions are described herein. The following traffic types for Ambient loT Device may be referred to in the solutions described herein: (1) DT: Device-terminated; and (2) DO-DTT: Device-originated - deviceterminated triggered. The DO-DTT traffic may additionally include traffic from AloT Devices, which may be triggered by a RAN/WTRU as reader, without the CN sending traffic towards the AloT Devices. DO-A traffic may also refer to Deviceoriginated - autonomous traffic, as referenced in solutions described herein.

[0082] The following two connectivity topologies as defined in TR 38.848 may be the subject of, or form a context for, solutions described herein. A first topology, Topology 1 , may relate to communication/connectivity between a BS and an Ambient loT Device. A second topology, Topology 2, may refer to communication/connectivity between a BS, an intermediate node, and an Ambient loT Device. In Topology 2, the WTRU may act as an intermediate node which is under the network control. The communication spectrum may be assumed to be licensed. Handover may not be supported. RRC states may not be supported by AloT Devices (see, e.g., TR 38.769). Mobility (i.e., at least cell selection/re-selection-like function) may not be supported by AloT Devices (see, e.g., TR 38.769).

[0083] One or more problems address by solutions proposed herein are described. Regarding a registration procedure for the AloT devices with the 5G network, the following should be considered with respect to the topology-2 (i.e., communication/connectivity between BS, intermediate node, and Ambient loT Device).

[0084] AloT Devices are understood to have ultra-low complexity/power/cost and be resource-constrained, meaning they might be unable to register to the 5GS by themselves. In addition, the network may need to support a huge number of AloT Devices.

[0085] Taking these constraints into consideration, individual registration of each AloT device that is connected to the intermediate node WTRU may prompt unnecessary signaling (control plane) load and increase overhead for the network as well as for the intermediate node WTRU. 5G System enhancements are required to minimize signaling overhead potentially induced by multiple registration attempts for the AloT devices connected behind the intermediate node WTRU.

[0086] Described herein are solutions for Ambient loT devices that are connected by the intermediate node WTRU, operating in topology 2 according to topologies as defined in TR 38.848, to the 5G network. Proposed herein are enhancements to the 5G system for group registration of AloT devices behind an Intermediate Node WTRU (IN-WTRU). [0087] Based on an aggregation timer, the IN-WTRU may aggregate the registration for all connected AloT devices with the 5G network. The AMF or AmbientloT function (a new network function) on reception of the registration request from the intermediate node WTRU, may determine the AF serving the AloT devices behind the IN-WTRU, and may validate the request with the respective AFs.

[0088] After successful validation, which may involve authentication and authorization of the AloT devices behind the IN-WTRU, the AMF may inform the IN-WTRU about successful registration, providing the registration status for each connected AloT device e.g., device status (enabled, disabled/permanently disabled), validity information (time and location constrains) etc. The AMF/AlotF/UDM may then have the context of all the AloT devices behind the IN-WTRU, and the future communication from/to the AloT devices may not need to undergo additional authentication/authorization/validation checks. The IN-WTRU may be further enhanced to support periodic and event based registration for connected AloT devices behind it to update their registration status with the 5G network functions. [0089] Proposed solutions are described in further detail herein.

[0090] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example procedure for registration management for AloT devices connected behind the Intermediate Node WTRU. The procedure shown in FIG. 2 demonstrates an example of how the AloT devices connected behind the intermediate node WTRU (IN-WTRU) may register themselves with the 5G network. The procedure shown in FIG. 2 may involve one or more AloT devices 210, an Intermediate Node WTRU (IN-WTRU) 202, also referred to herein as a reader, an AMF or AloT function (AMF/AloTF 203), an NEF or AF (NEF/AF 204), and a UDM or UDR (UDM/UDR 205). [0091] As shown in FIG. 2, in step 200, the IN-WTRU 202 may negotiate its capability for the group registration of multiple AloT devices connected behind it. Both the IN-WTRU 202 and the AMF/AloTF (for which the AMF and AloT functions could be collocated) may support a group AloT registration feature. The negotiation of capabilities may involve sending or receiving one or more message (not shown explicitly in FIG. 2).

[0092] In the example shown in FIG. 2, the registration procedure may successfully ensure mutual support of the group AloT registration between the IN-WTRU 202 and 5G NFs (e.g., AMF/AloTF 203).

[0093] The IN-WTRU 202 may be provided an aggregation timer during or after the Registration procedure (e.g., in a Registration Accept message or a WTRU Configuration Command) for the network to control the frequency of potential group AloT registrations by the IN-WTRU 202 (e.g., to avoid signalling storms, overloads). The aggregation timer may enable the IN-WTRU 202 to throttle group AloT registrations according to a network policy. For example, using the aggregation timer, the IN-WTRU 202 may avoid registering at every device connection event or reduce the chance of registering unnecessarily devices connecting and disconnecting rapidly (e.g., due to device lack of sufficient power). The IN-WTRU 202 may be provided limits with respect to number of devices (GroupRegAloTDeviceLimit) that it can handle (e.g., in a Registration Accept message or a WTRU Configuration Command). For example, a limit may be a maximum number of devices per group AloT registration and/or as a total number under the supervision of the IN-WTRU 202. Such limits may depend on the capabilities of the IN-WTRU 202 and/or subscription information for the IN- WTRU 202.

[0094] As shown in FIG. 2, in step 210, AloT devices 201 may connect with the IN-WTRU 202. The IN-WTRU 202 may aggregate the AloT devices 201 behind it before triggering the group AloT registration for those devices. A trigger may be, for example, a first connection request (e.g., a first connection request in time) from the AloT device (e.g., from one of the AloT devices 201). For example, when a first AloT device registers with the IN-WTRU 202, the IN-WTRU 202 may start the aggregation timer. At the expiry of the aggregation timer, the IN-WTRU 202 may include all connected AloT devices 201 as candidates for group AloT registration. The same process may be executed for the new devices that connect with the IN-WTRU 202 after the expiry of the aggregation timer. These devices may form a next group for group AloT registration via the IN-WTRU 202. If the IN-WTRU 202 may have limits with respect to a number of devices it can support for the group AloT registration (e.g., the IN-WTRU 202 may be configured with or have received a parameter such as GroupRegAloTDeviceLimit, e.g., from the AMF 203), it may take into consideration these limits and ensure that a number of the AloT devices 201 connected behind the IN-WTRU 202 do not violate the provided limit. For example, the IN-WTRU 202 may ensure that the number of connected AloT devices is less than or equal to a value indicated by the GroupRegAloTDeviceLimit parameter.

[0095] As shown in FIG. 2, in step 220, the IN-WTRU 202 may send the registration request message to the AMF/AloTF. The registration message includes new group AloT registration type, list of AloT devices including the devices IDs along with the AF IDs, IN-WTRU identifier (e.g., GPSI), location information. The IN-WTRU 202 may be triggered to send this message, for example, when the aggregation timer expires.

[0096] Alternatively, the IN-WTRU 202 may determine the AF address (e.g., through a DNS query) and send the AloT Registration request to the AF (e.g., the NEF/AF 204) over the User Plane directly. In such cases, steps 230 and/or step 240 (both described in further detail in paragraphs below) may be skipped. [0097] As shown in FIG. 2, in step 230, the AMF/AloTF 203 may determine the AF for the AloT devices 201 that are part of the registration message received from the IN-WTRU. The AloTF 203 may be the entity that can communicate with the respective AFs for the AloT devices 201. The registration request message from the IN-WTRU 202 may include a list of AloT devices 201, possibly along with their device identifiers and AF identifiers. The AloTF 203 may validate (i.e., determine) whether the AF identifiers provided are valid, known to the AloTF 203, whether the communication link can be established.

[0098] As shown in FIG. 2, in step 240, The AMF/AloTF may send a registration request message to the respective AFs via an NEF 204. The respective AFs may be the AFs that are determined in step 230. The registration request may include the list of AloT device IDs and/ or AF IDs, possibly along with the identity of the IN-WTRU 202 and location information of the IN-WTRU 202.

[0099] As shown in FIG. 2, in step 250, the AF responsible for the AloT devices may check the provided list of AloT devices 201 against information in its internal stored database (or a stored database that may be accessible to other network functions). The AF 204 responds with the registration response message, which includes list of AloT device profiles. The AloT device profile information includes AloT ID, AF ID, device status (enabled/disabled/permanently disabled), validity information (time and location validity) and security credentials.

[0100] If the AloT Registration request was received over a User Plane, the AF 204 may send the Registration response to the 5GC (e.g., NEF) and provide the IN-WTRU identifier, which may be used by the 5GC to determine the AMF/AloTF that should handle the AloT Registration. The AF 204 may forward the Registration response to that AMF/AloTF.

[0101] As shown in FIG. 2, in step 260, the AMF/AloTF 203 may update the UDM 205 with the received list of AloT device profile information along with the location information of the IN-WTRU 202. The location information for the IN- WTRU 202 may include additional information about the mobility characteristics of the IN-WTRU 202, i.e., whether the IN-WTRU is a static/stationary or mobile state.

[0102] Alternatively, the step 260 may be carried out by the AF 204 directly with the UDM/UDR 205. The AloT device profile information may be stored in different data repository (different from UDM/UDR 205) and accessible via a servicebased interface.

[0103] In step 270, The AMF 203 responds to the IN-WTRU 202 by sending a registration accept message. The registration accept message may include profile information for the requested AloT devices 201. The AloT device profile information includes AloT ID, AF ID, device status (enabled/disabled/permanently disabled), validity information (time and location validity) and/or security credentials. The registration accept message may indicate whether each of the AloT Devices 201 is now considered registered with the network. Alternatively, or additionally, the registration accept message may indicate whether each of the AloT Devices 201 is recognized by the network.

[0104] In step 280, the connection between the AloT devices 201 and IN-WTRU 202 may be updated as per the received information back from the AMF/AloTF 203. This may result in some of the AloT devices 201 connected behind the IN-WTRU 202 not being allowed to send or receive AloT traffic.

[0105] In step 290, the reader WTRU (IN-WTRU 202) may optionally send a registration complete message to the AMF 203. This message may include information about the updated status of the AloT devices 201. It may be possible that some of the AloT devices 201 may not be available (i.e., are unavailable) after the registration procedure. Accordingly, based on the result of step 280, the reader WTRU (IN-WTRU 202) may send the status of the AloT devices 201 (e.g., the status of one or more of the AloT devices 201) to the AMF 203 as shown in step 290. Then, although not explicitly illustrated in FIG. 2, the AMF 203 may then consequently update other NFs (e.g. AloTF (which may be colocated with the AMF 203), UDM 205, AF 204, or other NFs) with the updated status of the AloT devices 201.

[0106] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for network registration of AloT devices as may be performed by a WTRU. The method may include, as shown at 310, communicating with one or more AloT devices. The method may include, as shown at 320, sending a registration request message to a node implementing a network function for AloT device registration. The method may include, as shown at 330, receiving a registration accept message including registration information for each of the one or more AloT devices. The method may further include, as shown at 340, updating a connection with each of the one or more AloT devices based on the received registration accept message. [0107] In some examples, the registration request message may include grouping information associated with the one or more AloT devices, identifier information associate with each of the one or more AloT devices, and/or location information associated with the WTRU. In some examples, the registration accept message may include identifier information associate with each of the one or more AloT devices, validity information associated with a registration status of each of the one or more AloT devices, security credentials, and/or a device status associated with each of the AloT devices. In some examples, a connection with at least one of the one or more AloT devices may be updated based on a limit on a one or more devices that can be registered or supervised by the WTRU. The methods described above may also include negotiating capabilities associated with registration of the one or more AloT devices. One capability associated with registration of the one or more AloT devices may be a number of the one or more devices that can be registered or supervised by the WTRU.

[0108] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for network registration of AloT devices as may be performed by a node implementing a network function for ambient Internet of Things (AloT) device registration. Though not shown in FIG. 4, the method may include negotiating capabilities associated with registration of one or more AloT devices. As is shown in FIG. 4, the method may include, as illustrated at 410, receiving a registration request message from a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) connected to one or more AloT devices. The method may include, as shown at 420, sending another registration request message to one or more application functions associated with the one or more AloT devices. The method may include, as shown at 430, receiving a registration update message from the application function. The method may include, as shown at 440, sending an update message to a UDM with profile information associated with each of the one or more AloT devices. The method may include, as shown at 450, sending a registration accept message to the WTRU.

[0109] In some examples, the registration request message may include grouping information associated with the one or more AloT devices, identifier information associate with each of the one or more AloT devices, and/or location information associated with the WTRU. In some examples, the registration accept message may include identifier information associate with each of the one or more AloT devices, validity information associated with a registration status of each of the one or more AloT devices, security credentials, and/or a device status associated with each of the AloT devices. In some examples, the method may include negotiating capabilities associated with registration of the one or more AloT devices. In some examples, the registration update message may include profile information associated with each of the one or more AloT devices, a device status associated with each of the one or more AloT devices, validity information associated with a registration status of each of the one or more AloT devices, and/or security credentials. In some examples, a capability associated with registration of the one or more AloT devices may be a number of the one or more devices that can be registered or supervised by the WTRU.

[0110] Although features and elements are described above in particular combinations, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that each feature or element can be used alone or in any combination with the other features and elements. In addition, the methods described herein may be implemented in a computer program, software, or firmware incorporated in a computer-readable medium for execution by a computer or processor. Examples of computer-readable media include electronic signals (transmitted over wired or wireless connections) and computer-readable storage media. Examples of computer-readable storage media include, but are not limited to, a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a register, cache memory, semiconductor memory devices, magnetic media such as internal hard disks and removable disks, magneto-optical media, and optical media such as CD-ROM disks, and digital versatile disks (DVDs). A processor in association with software may be used to implement a radio frequency transceiver for use in a WTRU, UE, terminal, base station, RNC, or any host computer.

Claims

CLAIMS What is Claimed:

1 . A method performed by a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU), the method comprising: receiving configuration information indicating a time duration associated with registration of a group of ambient internet of things (AloT) devices; receiving connection request messages from a plurality of AloT devices, wherein a first one of the connection request messages initiates the time duration; sending, after the time duration has elapsed, a registration request message to a network node for registration of the group of AloT devices, wherein the registration request message identifies at least a subset of the plurality of AloT devices from which connection request messages were received before the time duration elapsed; receiving a registration accept message including profile information indicating whether the identified AloT devices are registered; and updating connections associated with each of the identified AloT devices based on the received registration accept message.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the identified AloT devices include a number of AloT devices that is less than or equal to a configured limit.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the profile information further comprises one or more of: an application function (AF) identifier or validity information associated with the connections with each of the identified AloT devices.

4. The method of any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the registration request message includes location information associated with the WTRU.

5. The method of any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the registration accept message includes at least one of: identifier information associated with each of the identified AloT devices; validity information associated with a registration status of each of the identified AloT devices; security credentials; an aggregation timer value specifying a time duration after which the WTRU may perform AloT device registration; or a device status associated with each of the identified AloT devices.

6. The method of any of claims 1 to 5, wherein a connection with at least one of the identified AloT devices is updated based on a limit on a number of the one or more devices that can be registered or supervised by the WTRU.

7. The method of any of claims 1 to 6, further comprising negotiating capabilities associated with registration of the one or more AloT devices.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein a capability associated with registration of the one or more AloT devices includes a number of the one or more devices that can be registered or supervised by the WTRU.

9. The method of any of claims 1 to 8, further comprising sending a registration complete message including status information for the updated connections associated with each of the identified AloT devices.

10. The method of any of claims 1 to 9, wherein updating a connection with one of the identified AloT devices comprises not allowing the one of the identified AloT devices to send or receive traffic.

11. A wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) comprising: a processor; and a transceiver; the processor and the transceiver configured to receive configuration information indicating a time duration associated with registration of a group of ambient internet of things (AloT) devices; the processor and the transceiver configured to receive connection request messages from a plurality of AloT devices, wherein a first one of the connection request messages initiates the time duration; the processor and the transceiver configured to send, after the time duration has elapsed, a registration request message to a network node for registration of the group of AloT devices, wherein the registration request message identifies at least a subset of the plurality of AloT devices from which connection request messages were received before the time duration elapsed; the processor and the transceiver configured to receive a registration accept message including profile information indicating whether the identified AloT devices are registered; and the processor and the transceiver configured to update connections associated with each of the identified AloT devices based on the received registration accept message.

12. The WTRU of claim 11 , wherein the identified AloT devices include a number of AloT devices that is less than or equal to a configured limit.

13. The WTRU of one of claim 11 or claim 12, wherein the profile information further comprises one or more of: an application function (AF) identifier or validity information associated with the connections with each of the identified AloT devices.

14. The WTRU of any of claims 11-13, wherein the registration request message includes location information associated with the WTRU.

15. The WTRU of any of claims 11-14, wherein the registration accept message includes at least one of: identifier information associated with each of the identified AloT devices; validity information associated with a registration status of each of the identified AloT devices; security credentials; an aggregation timer value specifying a time duration after which the WTRU may perform AloT device registration; or a device status associated with each of the identified AloT devices.

16. The WTRU of any of claims 11-15, wherein a connection with at least one of the identified AloT devices is updated based on a limit on a number of the one or more devices that can be registered or supervised by the WTRU.

17. The WTRU of any of claims 11-16, further comprising negotiating capabilities associated with registration of the one or more AloT devices.

18. The WTRU of claim 17, wherein a capability associated with registration of the one or more AloT devices includes a number of the one or more devices that can be registered or supervised by the WTRU.

19. The WTRU of any of claims 11-18, the processor and the transceiver configured to send a registration complete message including status information for the updated connections associated with each of the identified AloT devices.

20. The WTRU of any of claims 11-19, the processor and the transceiver configured to update a connection with one of the identified AloT devices by not allowing the one of the identified AloT devices to send or receive traffic.

21. A network node comprising: a processor; and a transceiver; the processor and the transceiver configured to receive, from a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU), a first registration request message for registration of a group of AloT devices; the processor and the transceiver configured to send a second registration request message to an application function associated with the group of AloT devices; the processor and the transceiver configured to receive a first registration update message from the application function; the processor and the transceiver configured to send a second registration update message including profile information associated with each of the group of AloT devices; and the processor and the transceiver configured to send a registration accept message to the WTRU.

22. The WTRU of claim 21 , wherein the group of AloT devices include a number of AloT devices that is less than or equal to a predefined limit.

23. The WTRU of one of claim 21 or claim 22, the processor further configured to determine the application function associated with the group of AloT devices.

24. The WTRU of any of claims 21 -23, wherein the first registration request message includes location information associated with the WTRU.

25. The WTRU of any of claims 21-24, wherein the registration accept message includes at least one of: identifier information associated with each of the group of AloT devices; validity information associated with a registration status of each of the group of AloT devices; security credentials; an aggregation timer value specifying a time duration after which the WTRU may perform AloT device registration; or a device status associated with each of the group of AloT devices.

26. The network node of any of claims 21-25, further comprising negotiating capabilities associated with registration of the group of AloT devices.

27. The network node of claim 26, wherein a capability associated with registration of the one or more AloT devices includes a number of the one or more devices that can be registered or supervised by the WTRU.

The network node of any of claims 21-27, the processor and the transceiver configured to receive a registration complete message including status information for the updated connections associated with each of the group of AloT devices.