Activation or deactivation of a virtual subset of a network dedicated to a service for a terminal

Abstract

A method for activation or deactivation, for a terminal, of a virtual subset of a telecommunications network referred to as a “network slice”, dedicated to a service. The telecommunications network includes a plurality of network slices. The method includes: acquiring at least one piece of context data of a user; and activating or deactivating at least one network slice among the plurality of network slices on the basis of the previously acquired piece of context data.

Claims

1. A method comprising: activation or deactivation, for a terminal, of a virtual subset of a telecommunications network referred to as a “network slice,” dedicated to a service, the telecommunications network comprising a plurality of network slices, the terminal being connected to the telecommunications network, and the activation or deactivation being implemented by the terminal and comprising at least: a) acquiring at least one piece of context data of a user, and b) activating or deactivating at least one network slice among the plurality of network slices, on the basis of the previously acquired piece of context data, wherein at least a first network slice is activated beforehand for the terminal, prior to implementation of the acquiring in a), and wherein the first network slice is deactivated during the activating or deactivating in b).

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein a second network slice that is different from the first network slice is activated during b).

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the network slices each comprise different parameter values, the parameters being selected from a data transfer rate, geographical coverage, number of connected terminals, level of security, cost of the service, latency, quality of service, and frequency used by the network slice.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the piece of context data is a piece of geolocation data of the user.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the piece of context data is a piece of data associated with an activity of the user.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the piece of context data is acquired automatically during a).

7. A terminal for activation or deactivation of a virtual subset of a telecommunications network referred to as a “network slice,” dedicated to a service, the telecommunications network comprising a plurality of network slices, the terminal comprising: a context data reader configured to acquire at least one piece of context data of a user while the terminal is connected to the telecommunications network, and an activation/deactivation member configured to: activate or deactivate at least one network slice among the plurality of network slices, on the basis of the previously acquired piece of context data, while the terminal is connected to the telecommunications network; activate at least a first network slice beforehand for the terminal, prior to the context data reader acquiring the at least one piece of context data; and deactivate the first network slice during the activating or deactivating the at least one network slice.

8. A device for supervising access for activation or deactivation of a virtual subset of a telecommunications network referred to as a “network slice,” dedicated to a service, the telecommunications network comprising a plurality of network slices, the device for supervising access being in communication with a plurality of terminals and comprising: a context data reader configured to acquire at least one piece of context data of a user while at least one of the plurality of terminals is connected to the telecommunications network, the device for supervising access being configured to: activate or deactivate a network slice for the plurality of terminals on the basis of the previously acquired piece of context data, while at least one of the plurality of terminals is connected to the telecommunications network; activate at least a first network slice beforehand for the plurality of terminals, prior to the context data reader acquiring the at least one piece of context data; and deactivate the first network slice during the activating or deactivating the at least one network slice.

9. A non-transitory storage medium readable by a terminal, on which code instructions of a computer program are stored, which when executed by the terminal configure the terminal to implement a method for activation or deactivation, for the terminal, of a virtual subset of a telecommunications network referred to as a “network slice,” dedicated to a service, the telecommunications network comprising a plurality of network slices, the terminal being connected to the telecommunications network during the method, and the method comprising at least: a) acquiring at least one piece of context data of a user, and b) activating or deactivating at least one network slice among the plurality of network slices, on the basis of the previously acquired piece of context data, wherein at least a first network slice is activated beforehand for the terminal, prior to implementation of the acquiring in a), and wherein the first network slice is deactivated during the activating or deactivating in b).

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

(1) Other features, details and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent from reading the following detailed description, and from analyzing the accompanying drawings, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 is a simplified diagram of a terminal and an access device associated with first, second, and third network slices according to a first embodiment;

(3) FIG. 2 is a simplified diagram of a method for the activation and/or deactivation of a network slice of FIG. 1; and

(4) FIG. 3 is a simplified diagram of a device for accessing a telecommunications network, comprising a supervision interface according to a second embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

(5) The drawings and description below contain, for the most part, elements that are definite in nature. They can therefore serve not only to provide an understanding of the disclosure, but they can also contribute to its definition, where appropriate.

(6) Assignment or allocation of a network slice to a service is understood to mean the act, when subscribing to a service, of determining a suitable network slice to be used when providing this service and assigning/allocating it to the user device for these upcoming uses of the service.

(7) We will now refer to FIG. 1 which schematically illustrates a terminal 1 and an associated device for accessing a telecommunications network R, according to a first embodiment.

(8) “Terminal” is broadly understood to mean any electronic or computer device that can be connected to the telecommunications network R, for example a server, a computer, a mobile phone, or the like. The terminal 1 may itself be connected to other electronic or computer devices.

(9) An operator of the telecommunications network R can advantageously use virtualized functions to implement a plurality of slices on a single physical network infrastructure.

(10) Such a technique of cutting the network into slices thus enables the operator of the telecommunications network R to create “customized” networks, capable of providing optimized solutions for widely varying needs with very diverse constraints in terms of functionalities and performance.

(11) As illustrated in FIG. 1, the telecommunications network R can make available to the terminal 1 a first network slice TR1, a second network slice TR2, and a third network slice TR3. However, this embodiment is not limiting and the telecommunications network R may comprise a lower number of network slices, for example only two slices, or a higher number.

(12) One or more network slices TR1, TR2, TR3 can thus be activated simultaneously or successively for the terminal 1.

(13) Each network slice TR1, TR2, TR3 is suitable for providing a specific network service to a user.

(14) Thus, a network slice TR1, TR2, TR3 is associated with a plurality of parameters. The values of the parameters are used to define the network service provided by each of the network slices. In particular, the number of parameters may vary depending on the user's needs.

(15) “Parameter” is understood to mean a variable likely to influence the service obtained by the user and therefore provided by the network slice.

(16) According to one embodiment, a parameter concerns a technical functionality of the network slice.

(17) A parameter of a network slice may be selected from the data transfer rate, the geographical coverage of the service, the number of possible connections, the level of security, the latency, the quality of service, and the frequency(ies) used by the network slice.

(18) According to another embodiment, a parameter concerns an operational or performance functionality specific to the user.

(19) A parameter of a network slice may be selected from various requirements relating to the service provided to the user, such as the cost of the service for the user, the energy impact of the service, the ecological impact, the commercial impact expected by the user.

(20) These examples of parameters are not limiting. In addition, a parameter may be selected from a combination or a function of the parameters indicated above or other parameters not mentioned.

(21) The slices TR1, TR2, TR3 comprise at least one, advantageously several, different parameter values depending on the service respectively provided or to be provided using these slices.

(22) For example, in the case of a remote medical consultation service requiring the use of telemedicine tools, a doctor may require different services depending on his situation (traveling, in the office) or the type of consultation to be carried out. A particularly suitable network slice among the plurality of network slices can thus be activated for the doctor's terminal.

(23) The method for the activation and/or deactivation of a network slice, for or directed towards a terminal 1, is thus described, illustrated by [FIG. 2].

(24) One or more network slices may be activated for the terminal 1 beforehand. Alternatively, no network slice is activated for the terminal 1 beforehand, prior to implementing the method according to the disclosure.

(25) In a first step of the method S1, at least one piece of context data is acquired. Advantageously, a plurality of context data DATA1, DATA2, DATA3 is acquired.

(26) The piece of context data may advantageously be acquired automatically, meaning without transmission from the user himself. In particular, it is not necessary to use a human/machine interface for this purpose.

(27) The piece of context data may advantageously be acquired periodically, for example every hour, every thirty minutes, or even every ten minutes or every minute.

(28) The context data may also be advantageously acquired in real time. The term “in real time” is understood to mean in particular as soon as the piece of context data is accessible or determined.

(29) A piece of context data is advantageously a piece of data specific to the user.

(30) According to one embodiment, the piece of context data is a piece of geolocation data. The piece of geolocation data may in particular come from a method of determining the position of the user or of another person, for example by GPS (“Global Positioning System”) or by any other method.

(31) As an example, in the case of a remote medical consultation service by a doctor, the piece of context data can make it possible to determine whether the doctor is in his office or is traveling outside the office, or to determine where the patient to be examined is located.

(32) According to another embodiment, the piece of context data is a piece of data associated with a user activity. The data associated with an activity may come from a calendar.

(33) More particularly, the piece of context data may be linked to the types of availability, or to the user's requirements. The piece of context data thus makes it possible to distinguish between several types of user activities. For example, the piece of context data can indicate whether a user's meeting is personal or work related, or indicate the type of business meeting expected.

(34) For example, in the case of a remote medical consultation by a doctor, the piece of context data can come from the work calendar of the doctor, and can allow determining whether the doctor is about to hold a consultation, or, conversely, if the doctor does not have an appointment scheduled.

(35) In addition, if a medical consultation is planned, the piece of context data can indicate whether it is a simple medical consultation, or a medical specialty consultation possibly requiring more specific medical or telemedicine tools and therefore specific network requirements.

(36) According to another embodiment, the piece of context data is a piece of data associated with the devices accessible by the terminal 1.

(37) According to another embodiment, the piece of context data is a piece of data indicating a weather condition of the location where the terminal 1 is located.

(38) Of course, the implementations relating to the piece of context data are not limiting and other context data are possible.

(39) In a second step of the method S2, at least one network slice among the plurality of network slices TR1, TR2, TR3 is activated or deactivated on the basis of the previously acquired piece of context data.

(40) A function, called the synchronization function, is used to determine which network slice is to be activated or deactivated.

(41) For this purpose, the synchronization function takes into account the context data previously acquired in step S1, as well as other data where appropriate, such as time data.

(42) The synchronization function may implement a predictive algorithmic or an artificial intelligence computation. Additionally or alternatively, the synchronization function may be configured by the user.

(43) Thus, according to one embodiment, in the second step of the method S2, at least one network slice can be activated (step S21).

(44) As an example, in the event that the one or more pieces of context data indicate that the doctor has a consultation scheduled for the near future and that he is outside his office, it may be useful to activate a first network slice TR1 providing a suitable network service. The first network slice may, for example, allow the doctor to obtain a satisfactory connection (in terms of speed, security, or other factors) to the telecommunications network R although he is out of the office.

(45) Conversely, in the case where the piece or pieces of context data indicate that the doctor has a consultation scheduled for the near future but he is in his office, it may be preferable to activate a second network slice TR2, different from the first network slice TR1 and providing a different service.

(46) In addition, if the doctor's calendar indicates that he is to conduct a simple consultation followed by a medical specialty consultation requiring the use of telemedicine tools in his office, it may be preferable to activate the second slice for the simple consultation and/then activate a third network slice TR3, different from the first and second network slices TR1, TR3, for the time period of the specialty consultation. The third network slice TR3 may for example allow the doctor to use several telemedicine devices or tools together on the same terminal 1, which is not possible or is more difficult with the other two slices TR1, TR2.

(47) According to one embodiment, in the second step of the method S2, at least one network slice is deactivated (step S22).

(48) As an example, when a telemedicine consultation is finished, it may be useful to deactivate a network slice because the service provided by it is no longer likely to be used by the doctor, at least in the near future.

(49) According to another example, it may be useful, during the second step of the method S2, to deactivate a network slice and to activate, simultaneously or successively, another network slice.

(50) Reference is now made more particularly to [FIG. 1] and [FIG. 3] which illustrate the functions of a terminal 1 or of a device 2 for supervising access configured to implement the various steps of the method for activation or deactivation as respectively described above according to two different embodiments.

(51) According to the first embodiment, illustrated by [FIG. 1], the method for activation or deactivation is implemented directly by the terminal 1.

(52) To this end, the terminal 1 comprises a context data reader 3 suitable for acquiring context data DATA1, DATA2, DATA3 according to the first step S1 of the method.

(53) The terminal 1 further comprises a network 4 slice activation/deactivation member, adapted to activate or deactivate a network slice TR1, TR2, TR3 for the terminal 1 according to the second step S2 of the method.

(54) According to the second embodiment, illustrated by [FIG. 3], the method for activation and/or deactivation is implemented by a device 2 for supervising access to the telecommunications network R.

(55) The device 2 for supervising access is in wired or wireless communication with a plurality of terminals 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D.

(56) The plurality of terminals 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D are connected to the same telecommunications network R that comprises the network slices.

(57) According to this second embodiment, the activation or deactivation of network slots for the terminals 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D is supervised by the device 2 for supervising access.

(58) To this end, the device 2 for supervising access may comprise a context data reader 3 as described above in the first embodiment, to implement the first step S1 of the method.

(59) The activation or deactivation of a network slice for each of the terminals 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D can thus be controlled by the device 2 for supervising access.

(60) The same slice or different slices of the network can be activated on the different terminals 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D. To this end, an activation/deactivation member can be provided at the device 2 for supervising access or at each terminal 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D.

(61) The disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above and represented, from which other modes and forms of embodiments can be envisaged without departing from the scope of the disclosure.

Advantages

(62) The activation/deactivation ensures that as long as the network slice is not activated, it is not making use of any device in the network. Thus, if these devices are equipped with a standby function, they can switch to standby and save network resources as long as they are not in use.

(63) As already indicated above, it is thus possible to offer the user a network service provided by a network slice adapted to his current or future needs, which allows making better use of the resources of the telecommunications network R over time and optimizing the associated costs for the user.

(64) The automatic acquisition of context data simplifies management of the telecommunications network, as the user does not have to take the steps necessary to activate or deactivate a network slice.

(65) Since the context data are advantageously acquired in real time, the network slice, and therefore the service provided to the user, is adapted over time.

(66) Although the present disclosure has been described with reference to one or more examples, workers skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the scope of the disclosure and/or the appended claims.