Communications system
09807678 · 2017-10-31
Assignee
Inventors
Cpc classification
H04W84/045
ELECTRICITY
H04M1/724
ELECTRICITY
H04W60/00
ELECTRICITY
H04W8/06
ELECTRICITY
International classification
H04W60/00
ELECTRICITY
Abstract
A communication apparatus which communicates with a base station, the communication apparatus includes a receiving circuit configured to receive a message from the base station, wherein the message includes at least information identifying if the base station is a hybrid access mode base station; and a transmission circuit configured to transmit a parameter which identifies a user equipment to the base station when the base station is the hybrid access mode base station.
Claims
1. A communication apparatus configured to communicate with a base station by using a fixed line, wherein the base station is configured to communicate with a mobile station, the communication apparatus comprising: a receiving circuit configured to receive, via said fixed line, a message from the base station, wherein the message includes at least information identifying if the base station is hybrid access mode base station; and a transmission circuit configured to transmit, via said fixed line, a parameter which identifies the mobile station to the base station when the base station is the hybrid access mode station.
2. A method executed by a communication apparatus configured to communicate with a base station by using a fixed line, wherein the base station is configured to communicate with a mobile station, the method comprising: receiving, via said fixed line, a message from the base station, wherein the message includes at least information identifying if the base station is a hybrid access mode base station; and transmitting, via said fixed line, a parameter which identities the mobile station to the base station when the base station is the hybrid access mode base station.
3. A base station configured to communicate with a communication apparatus by using a fixed line, wherein the base station is configured to further communicate with a mobile station, the base station comprising: a transmission circuit configured to transmit, via said fixed line, a message to the communication apparatus, wherein the message includes at least information identifying if the base station is a hybrid access mode base station; and a receiving circuit configured to receive, via said fixed line, a parameter which identifies the mobile station from the communication apparatus when the base station is the hybrid access mode base station.
4. A method executed by a base station configured to communicate with a communication apparatus by using a fixed line, wherein the base station is configured to further communicate with a mobile station, the method comprising: transmitting, via said fixed line, a message tothe communication apparatus, wherein the message includes at least information identifying if the base station is a hybrid access mode base station; and receiving, via said fixed line, a parameter which identifies the mobile station from the communication apparatus when the base station is the hybrid access mode base station.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
(1) An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
(8) Overview
(9)
(10) Mobile Telephone
(11)
(12) Home Base Station
(13)
(14) HNB Gateway
(15)
(16) In the above description, the mobile telephone 3, the base station 5 and the HNB gateway 15 are described for ease of understanding as having a number of discrete modules (such as the registration modules). Whilst these modules may be provided in this way for certain applications, for example where an existing system has been modified to implement the invention, in other applications, for example in systems designed with the inventive features in mind from the outset, these modules may be built into the overall operating system or code and so these modules may not be discernible as discrete entities.
(17) Access Control
(18) As mentioned above, three different types of mode of access are defined for the HNB 11: Open access mode: HNB operates as a normal cell via which any mobile telephone 3 can make and receive calls; Closed access mode: HNB operates as a Closed Subscriber Group (CSG) cell in which only CSG members are allowed access (this is the mode as defined in Rel-8); and Hybrid access mode: a CSG cell where at the same time, non-CSG members are allowed access.
(19) Although the Hybrid access mode is designed for release-9, operators would like to recommend that hybrid access mode is implemented in release 8 if it does not affect the Release-8 timescale:
(20) As will be appreciated, for HNBs 11 operating in the closed access mode, the HNB-GW 15 must perform access control to restrict access to the core network 8 to only those mobile telephones 3 belonging to the respective subscriber groups; whereas for HNBs 11 operating in the open mode, there is no need for the HNB-GW 15 to perform access control; and for HNBs 11 operating in the hybrid mode, there may be no need for the HNB-GW 15 to perform access control. Therefore, in this embodiment, the HNB 11 informs the HNB-GW 15 about its access mode capability, so that the HNB-GW 15 can determine whether or not to perform access control for a mobile telephone 3 seeking to register through that HNB 11.
(21) A number of techniques will now be described for the HNB 11 to signal its access mode capability to the HNB-GW 15.
(22) HNB Registration Procedure
(23) The purpose of the HNB Registration Procedure is to register the HNB 11 with the HNB-GW 15 to enable the HNB-GW to provide service and core network connectivity for the HNB 11. The general process is illustrated in
(24) Option 1: The HNB-GW 15 can infer the access mode of the HNB 11 based on the Access Control List Information Element (IE). Therefore, it is proposed to include an optional Access Control List IE in the HNBAP HNB REGISTER REQUEST message sent from the HNB 11 to the HNB-GW 15. If the HNB 11 is closed access mode then it will include the optional Access Control List IE in the HNBAP REGISTER REQUEST message; otherwise if the HNB is open or hybrid access mode, then it will not include the optional Access Control list IE in the HNBAP HNB REGISTER REQUEST message. Therefore, a new Access Control List IE needs to be included in the HNBAP HNB REGISTER REQUEST message.
(25) HNB Register Request
(26) TABLE-US-00001 IE Type and Semantics Assigned PARAMETER PRESENCE RANGE Reference Description Criticality Criticality Message Type M 9.2.1 yes Reject HNB Identity M 9.2.2 Yes Reject HNB Location M 9.2.3 Yes Reject Information Access Control List O 9.2.x If this IE is Yes Ignore included, then the access mode of the HNB is considered as “Closed”, else “Open”. (Note 1) PLMN-ID M 9.2.14 yes Reject Cell-ID M 9.2.25 Yes Reject LAC M 9.2.11 Yes Reject RAC M 9.2.12 Yes Reject SAC M 9.2.13 Yes Reject
(27) This message is sent by the HNB 11 to the HNB-GW 15 to register the HNB 11 at the HNB-GW 15.
(28) Direction: HNB.fwdarw.HNB-GW
(29) 9.2.x Access Control List
(30) TABLE-US-00002 IE type and Semantics IE/Group Name Presence Range reference description Access 0..maxUEs If this list is empty, Control List then the ACL is considered as empty. >IMSI M IMSI 9.2.10
Note 1: The above option assumes that the HNB-GW 15 treats open access HNBs and hybrid access HNBs the same and that therefore, hybrid HNBs do not need to inform the HNB-GW 15 about their Access Control List. It is currently not clear in the standards whether or not this assumption is valid. Consequently, if the HNB-GW 15 does needs to have the Access Control List of the hybrid HNB, then this option will not work.
Note 2: It is not clear in the current standards documentation if it is possible to have a closed mode HNB with no IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber Identity) in the Access Control List (i.e. an empty Access Control List). If it is assumed that a closed HNB cannot have an empty Access Control List, then the presence of the Access Control List IE should be made mandatory (rather than optional as suggested above) in the HNBAP HNB REGISTER REQUEST message. In this way, if the HNB-GW 15 receives an empty Access Control List IE in the HNBAP HNB REGISTER REQUEST, then the HNB-GW 15 can infer that the HNB 11 is an open access mode; otherwise, if at least one entry is present in the Access Control List IE, then the HNB-GW can determine that the HNB 11 is a closed mode HNB.
(31) Option 2: The HNB 11 can indicate its capability (Open, Closed or Hybrid) to the HNB-GW 15 during the HNB Registration procedure in the HNBAP HNB REGISTER REQUEST message by using a new HNB Capability Information IE, as shown in the table below.
(32) HNB Register Request
(33) TABLE-US-00003 IE Type and Semantics Assigned PARAMETER PRESENCE RANGE Reference Description Criticality Criticality Message Type M 9.2.1 Yes Reject HNB Identity M 9.2.2 Yes Reject HNB Location M 9.2.3 Yes Reject Information HNB Capability M 9.2.y Yes Reject Information PLMN-ID M 9.2.14 Yes Reject Cell-ID M 9.2.25 Yes Reject LAC M 9.2.11 Yes Reject RAC M 9.2.12 Yes Reject SAC M 9.2.13 Yes Reject
9.2.y HNB Capability Information
(34) HNB Capability Information IE is sent from the HNB to HNB-GW to provide information on the capability of the HNB.
(35) TABLE-US-00004 IE/GROUP IE Type and Semantics NAME PRESENCE RANGE Reference Description HNB Capability Information >Access control type M (Open, Closed, Hybrid)
(36) Option 3: The OAM (Operations and Maintenance) functionality for the HNB-GW 15 stores the HNB access mode for each HNB 11. Upon successful HNB Registration at the HNB-GW 15, the HNB-GW 15 retrieves the HNB access mode from the OAM database (not shown) and performs the access control accordingly.
(37) UE Registration Procedure
(38) Based on the possible options described above, the HNB-GW 15 will know the HNB access control mode during the HNB Registration procedure. The HNB-GW 15 will store this information for further use, until either the HNB 11 deregisters itself or updates this information via another HNBAP procedure. In one embodiment, the mobile telephone registration (illustrated in
Modifications and Alternatives
(39) A detailed embodiment has been described above. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, a number of modifications and alternatives can be made to the above embodiment whilst still benefiting from the inventions embodied therein.
(40) In the above embodiment, a mobile telephone based telecommunications system was described. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, the signalling techniques described in the present application can be employed in other communications system. Other communications nodes or devices may include user devices such as, for example, personal digital assistants, laptop computers, web browsers, etc.
(41) In the above embodiments, a number of software modules were described. As those skilled will appreciate, the software modules may be provided in compiled or un-compiled form and may be supplied to the base station or to the mobile telephone as a signal over a computer network, or on a recording medium. Further, the functionality performed by part or all of this software may be performed using one or more dedicated hardware circuits. However, the use of software modules is preferred as it facilitates the updating of base station 5 and the mobile telephones 3 in order to update their functionalities.
(42) Various other modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art and will not be described in further detail here.
(43) The following is a detailed description of the way in which the present inventions may be implemented in the currently proposed 3GPP standard. Whilst various features are described as being essential or necessary, this may only be the case for the proposed 3GPP standard, for example due to other requirements imposed by the standard. These statements should not, therefore, be construed as limiting the present invention in any way.
(44) 1 Introduction
(45) During the recent RAN#3 meetings, the HNB registration procedure has been agreed and captured in the Stage-2 document. The list of IEs sent from the HNB to HNB-GW in the HNB REGISTER REQUEST message is currently discussed and some IEs [2] have been already agreed. This contribution discusses the HNB capability information to be included in the HNB REGISTER REQUEST message.
(46) It is assumed that pre-release-8 UEs will remain exist in the actual field for quite long time. Therefore, the network has to support pre-release-8 and CSG UEs simultaneously. Also, It is already agreed that access control mechanism is mandatory at the HNB-GW whereas optional at the HNB for pre-release-8 UEs. Moreover, with the evolving scenarios of HNB deployments, it is realized the HNB could be operated with different access control mechanisms, namely “Open”, “Closed” and “Hybrid”. Such agreement is already made in SA1 [1]. As clear, if the HNB is open or hybrid access, then mandatory access control at HNB-GW is not required for pre-release-8 UEs. Therefore, for efficient working already it is necessary that the HNB access mode capability should be known to the HNB-GW.
(47) 2 Discussion
(48) 4.1. 2.1 Background
(49) As mentioned in [1], three different types of mode of access are defined for HNB/HeNB.
(50) Open access mode: HNB/HeNB operates as a normal cell, i.e. non-CSG cell. Closed access mode: HNB/HeNB operates as a CSG cell. This is the mode as defined in Rel-8. This is a CSG cell where only CSG members are allowed access. Hybrid access mode: a CSG cell where at the same time, non-CSG members are allowed access.
(51) Although the LS reply [1] refers to release-9, it is specifically mentioned that the operators would like to recommend that hybrid access mode is implemented in release 8 if it does not affect the Release-8 timescale.
(52) In order avoid unnecessary access control at HNB-GW when the HNB is open access or hybrid access, the HNB-GW must know the access mode capability of the HNB.
(53) This paper discusses some of the possible solutions in the following sections.
(54) 2.2 HNB Registration Procedure
(55) The purpose of the HNB Registration Procedure is to register the HNB with the HNB-GW to enable the HNB-GW to provide service and core network connectivity for the HNB.
(56) Option 1: The HNB-GW can infer the access mode of the HNB based on the Access Control List IE received from the HNB. Therefore, it is proposed to include the optional Access Control List IE in the HNBAP HNB REGISTER REQUEST message. If the HNB is closed access mode then it will include the optional Access Control List IE in the HNBAP REGISTER REQUEST message; otherwise if the HNB is open access mode, then it will not include the optional Access Control list IE in the HNBAP HNB REGISTER REQUEST message. Therefore, new Access Control List IE needs to be included in the HNBAP HNB REGISTER REQUEST message.
(57) 4.2. HNB Register Request
(58) This message is sent by the HNB to the HNB-GW to register the HNB at the HNB-GW.
(59) Direction: HNB.fwdarw.HNB-GW
(60) TABLE-US-00005 IE Type and Semantics Assigned PARAMETER PRESENCE RANGE Reference Description Criticality Criticality Message Type M 9.2.1 yes Reject HNB Identity M 9.2.2 Yes Reject HNB Location Information M 9.2.3 Yes Reject Access Control List O 9.2.x If this IE is Yes Ignore included, then the access mode of the HNB is considered as “Closed”, else “Open”. (Note 1) PLMN-ID M 9.2.14 yes reject Cell-ID M 9.2.25 Yes reject LAC M 9.2.11 Yes Reject RAC M 9.2.12 Yes reject SAC M 9.2.13 Yes Reject Note 1: It is assumed that, HNB-GW will need same handling for “Open” and “Hybrid” access mode of operation.
9.2.x Access Control List
(61) TABLE-US-00006 IE type and Semantics IE/Group Name Presence Range reference description Access Control 0..maxUEs If this list is empty, List then the ACL is considered as empty. >IMSI M IMSI 9.2.10
Note 1: The above option assumes that from HNB-GW point of view, open access HNB and hybrid access HNB is the same. Therefore, it is not necessary to inform about the ACL for the hybrid mode HNB to the HNB-GW. It is currently not clear in the standards whether the HNB-GW needs to have the ACL for hybrid HNB. If the HNB-GW needs to have the ACL of the hybrid HNB, then this option will not work.
Note 2: It is not clear in the specification if it is possible to have closed mode HNB with no IMSI in the ACL. If it is assumed that a closed HNB cannot have an empty ACL, then the Access Control List IE should be mandatory present in the HNBAP HNB REGISTER REQUEST message. Then, if the HNB-GW receives empty Access Control List IE in the HNBAP HNB REGISTER REQUEST, then the HNB is considered as open access mode; otherwise, if at least one entry is present in the Access Control List IE, then the HNB is considered as closed mode HNB.
Option 2: The HNB can indicate its capability during the HNB Registration procedure in the HNBAP HNB REGISTER REQUEST message by using a new HNB Capability Information IE.
(62) TABLE-US-00007 IE Type and Semantics Assigned PARAMETER PRESENCE RANGE Reference Description Criticality Criticality Message Type M 9.2.1 yes Reject HNB Identity M 9.2.2 Yes Reject HNB Location Information M 9.2.3 Yes Reject HNB Capability Information M 9.2.x Yes Reject PLMN-ID M 9.2.14 yes Reject Cell-ID M 9.2.25 Yes Reject LAC M 9.2.11 Yes Reject RAC M 9.2.12 Yes Reject SAC M 9.2.13 Yes Reject
4.3. 9.2.y HNB Capability Information
(63) HNB Capability Information IE is sent from the HNB to HNB-GW to provide information on the capability of the HNB.
(64) TABLE-US-00008 IE/GROUP IE Type and Semantics NAME PRESENCE RANGE Reference Description HNB Capability Information >Access control (Open, Closed, type M Hybrid)
Option 3: The OAM for HNB-GW stores the HNB access mode for each HNB. Upon successful HNB Registration at the HNB-GW, the HNB-GW retrieves the HNB access mode from OAM database and performs the access control accordingly.
2.2 UE Registration Procedure:
(65) Based on the possible solutions mentioned in section 2.1, the HNB-GW will know the HNB access control mode during the HNB Registration procedure. The HNB-GW will store this information for further use, until either the HNB deregisters itself or updates this information via another HNBAP procedure. In
3 Conclusion
(66) Introduce the new HNB Capability Information IE in the HNBAP HNB REGISTER REQUEST message.
(67) This application is based upon and claims the benefit or priority from United Kingdom Patent Application No. 0820182.4, filed on Nov. 4, 2008, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.