Dynamic network slice-switching and handover system and method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10257668-B2
Application number	US-201715590656-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 9, 2017
Priority date	May 9, 2017
Publication date	Apr 9, 2019
Grant date	Apr 9, 2019

Abstract

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, accessing a service by a first network operating within a first wireless spectrum, wherein the service includes control and data forwarding operations of the first network are separate and configured to facilitate forwarding of user data via the data forwarding operations. A second network is identified operating within a second wireless spectrum. A request that the accessing of the network service be transferred to the second network is made without interrupting the forwarding of the user data. A response to the request is detected via the control operations, also without interrupting the forwarding of the user data. Responsive to an indication that the second network has been configured to accommodate a redirection of the forwarding of the user data from the first network to the second, the redirection is facilitated. Other embodiments are disclosed.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A mobile device, comprising:
a processing system including a processor; and
a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processing system, facilitate performance of operations, comprising:
accessing a mobile service by a first wireless access point operating within a first radio frequency spectrum, wherein the mobile service comprises control plane operations and data plane operations of the first wireless access point, wherein the control plane operations are separate from the data plane operations and configured to facilitate a forwarding of user data via the data plane operations;
identifying a second wireless access point operating within a second radio frequency spectrum, wherein the first radio frequency spectrum comprises one of a managed frequency spectrum and an un-managed frequency spectrum, and wherein the second radio frequency spectrum comprises a different one of the managed frequency spectrum and the un-managed frequency spectrum;
requesting, via the control plane operations and without interrupting the forwarding of the user data via the data plane operations of the first wireless access point, that the accessing of the mobile service be transferred to the second wireless access point;
receiving a response to the request via the control plane operations without interrupting the forwarding of the user data via the data plane operations of the first wireless access point; and
responsive to the response indicating that second wireless access point has been configured to accommodate a redirection of the forwarding of the user data via the data plane operations from the first wireless access point to the second wireless access point, facilitating the redirection of the forwarding of the user data via the data plane operations to the second wireless access point.

2. The mobile device of claim 1 , wherein the facilitating of the redirection of the forwarding of the user data via the data plane operations to the second wireless access point further comprises a reconfiguration of the mobile device.

3. The mobile device of claim 2 , wherein the reconfiguration of the mobile device comprises a reconfiguration of a radio, an antenna or both, processing wireless signals within the first radio frequency spectrum to processing wireless signals within the second radio frequency spectrum.

4. The mobile device of claim 1 , wherein the redirection of the forwarding of the user data via the data plane operations from the first wireless access point to the second wireless access point further comprises redirecting control plane operations and user plane operations to a different logical network slice.

5. The mobile device of claim 1 , wherein the first wireless access point operating within the first radio frequency spectrum comprises a 3GPP mobile network.

6. The mobile device of claim 5 , wherein the 3GPP mobile network comprises a 5G mobile network comprising a plurality of logical network slices configurable to accommodate the control plane operations and the data plane operations.

7. The mobile device of claim 1 , wherein the requesting, via the control plane operations, that the accessing of the mobile service be transferred to the second wireless access point is responsive to the identifying of the second wireless access point operating within the second radio frequency spectrum.

8. The mobile device of claim 7 , wherein the identifying of the second wireless access point operating within the second radio frequency spectrum further comprises receiving a message via the control plane operations of the first wireless access point identifying the second wireless access point.

9. A method, comprising:
participating, by a processing system including processor, in a mobile service by a first portion of a wireless network operating within a first radio frequency spectrum, wherein the mobile service comprises control operations and data forwarding operations of the first portion of the wireless network, wherein the control operations are separate from the data forwarding operations and configured to facilitate a forwarding of user data via the data forwarding operations;
identifying, by the processing system, a second portion of the wireless network operating within a second radio frequency spectrum, wherein the first radio frequency spectrum comprises one of a managed frequency spectrum and an un-managed frequency spectrum, and wherein the second radio frequency spectrum comprises a different one of the managed frequency spectrum and the un-managed frequency spectrum;
requesting, by the processing system, via the control operations and without interrupting the forwarding of the user data via the data forwarding operations of the first portion of the wireless network, that the participating in the mobile service be transferred to the second portion of the wireless network;
receiving, by the processing system, a response to the request via the control operations without interrupting the forwarding of the user data via the data forwarding operations of the first portion of the wireless network; and
responsive to the response indicating that second portion of the wireless network has been configured to accommodate a redirection of the forwarding of the user data via the data forwarding operations from the first portion of the wireless network to the second portion of the wireless network, facilitating, by the processing system, the redirection of the forwarding of the user data via the data forwarding operations to the second portion of the wireless network.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the facilitating of the redirection of the forwarding of the user data via the data forwarding operations to the second portion of the wireless network further comprises a reconfiguration of a mobile device.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the reconfiguration of the mobile device comprises a reconfiguration of a radio, an antenna or both, processing wireless signals within the first radio frequency spectrum to processing wireless signals within the second radio frequency spectrum.

12. The method of claim 9 , wherein the first portion of the wireless network comprises a first logical network slice and the second portion of the wireless network comprises a second logical slice.

13. The method of claim 9 , wherein the first portion of the wireless network operating within the first radio frequency spectrum comprises a 3GPP mobile network.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the 3GPP mobile network comprises a 5G mobile network comprising a plurality of logical network slices configurable to accommodate the control operations and the data forwarding operations.

15. The method of claim 9 , wherein the requesting, via the control operations, that the participating in the mobile service be transferred to the second portion of the wireless network is responsive to the identifying of the second portion of the wireless network operating within a second radio frequency spectrum.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the identifying of the second portion of the wireless network operating within a second radio frequency spectrum further comprises receiving, by the processing system, a message via the control operations of the first portion of the wireless network identifying the second portion of the wireless network.

17. A machine-readable storage device, comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processing system including a processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising:
accessing a network service by a first portion of a n

Assignees

• At & T Ip I Lp

Inventors

• Shaw Venson
• Dowlatkhah Sangar

Classifications

• H04W36/26

  by agreed or negotiated communication parameters · CPC title

• H04W4/70

  Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC] · CPC title

• H04W4/50

  Service provisioning or reconfiguring · CPC title

• H04W4/08 Primary

  User group management · CPC title

• H04W36/06

  Reselecting a communication resource in the serving access point · CPC title