Mobile network conditional policy execution based on UE geographic location

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11711717-B2
Application number	US-202217735278-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 3, 2022
Priority date	Aug 25, 2020
Publication date	Jul 25, 2023
Grant date	Jul 25, 2023

Abstract

A network device receives, from a policy control function (PCF), at least one set of multiple user equipment device (UE)-location based conditional policy rules. The network device selects a first one of the multiple UE-location based conditional policy rules based on a first geographic location of a first UE, and controls data traffic associated with the first UE using the selected first one of the plurality of UE-location based conditional policy rules.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method, comprising:
receiving, from a policy control function (PCF), at least one set of a plurality of user equipment device (UE)-location based conditional policy rules;
selecting a first one of the plurality of UE-location based conditional policy rules based on a first geographic location of a first UE; and
applying the selected first one of the plurality of UE-location based conditional policy rules to control a Quality of Service (QoS) level associated with transport of data traffic of the first UE, or to select a multi-access edge computing data center (MEC) from multiple MECs for handling the data traffic of the first UE.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of UE-location based conditional policy rules comprises a conditional rule that controls, or applies a network function or action to, the data traffic associated with the first UE based on the first geographic location of the first UE.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
selecting a second one of the plurality of UE-location based conditional policy rules based on a second geographic location of a second UE; and
applying the selected second one of the plurality of UE-location based conditional policy rules to control a QoS level associated with transport of data traffic of the second UE, or to select an MEC from multiple MECs for handling the data traffic of the second UE.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving the at least one set of a plurality of UE-location based conditional policy rules is performed by a session management function (SMF) or a packet data network gateway (PGW) in a network.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of UE-location based conditional policy rules comprises a plurality of quality of service (QoS) rules, and wherein selecting the first one of the plurality of UE-location based conditional policy rules further comprises:
selecting a first QoS rule, from the plurality of QoS rules, to control the QoS level associated with the transport of the data traffic of the first UE if the first geographic location comprises a first location; and
selecting a second QoS rule, from the plurality of QoS rules, to control the QoS level associated with the transport of the data traffic of the first UE if the first geographic location comprises a second location that is different than the first location.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the first location comprises a Fourth Generation (4G) wireless network coverage area and wherein the second location comprises a Fifth Generation (5G) wireless network coverage area.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving geographic location information associated with each of the multiple MECs,
wherein applying the selected first one of the plurality of UE-location based conditional policy rules to select the MEC further comprises:
selecting the MEC from the multiple MECs based on the first geographic location of the first UE and the geographic location information associated with each of the multiple MECs.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein selecting the first one of the plurality of UE-location based conditional policy rules further comprises:
selecting a first MEC selection rule to further select the MEC from the multiple MECs if the first geographic location of the first UE comprises a first geographic location or a first geographic area; and
selecting a second MEC selection rule to further select a second MEC from the multiple MECs if the first geographic location of the first UE comprises a second geographic location or a second geographic area.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of UE-location based conditional policy rules comprise at least one of QoS policy rules that apply a particular QoS level to the transport of the data traffic of the first UE based on the first geographic location of the first UE, or multi-access edge computing data center (MEC) selection policy rules that select the MEC from the multiple MECs for handling the data traffic of the first UE based on the first geographic location of the first UE.

10. A network device, comprising:
at least one communication interface configured to receive, from a policy control function (PCF), at least one set of a plurality of user equipment device (UE)-location based conditional policy rules; and
a processor or logic configured to:
select a first one of the plurality of UE-location based conditional policy rules based on a first geographic location of a first UE, and
apply the selected first one of the plurality of UE-location based conditional policy rules to control a Quality of Service (QoS) level associated with transport of data traffic of the first UE, or to select a multi-access edge computing data center (MEC) from multiple MECs for handling the data traffic of the first UE.

11. The network device of claim 10 , wherein the processor or logic is further configured to:
select a second one of the plurality of UE-location based conditional policy rules based on a second geographic location of a second UE, and
apply the selected second one of the plurality of UE-location based conditional policy rules to control a QoS level associated with transport of data traffic of the second UE, or to select an MEC from multiple MECs for handling the data traffic of the second UE.

12. The network device of claim 10 , wherein the network device implements a session management function (SMF) or a packet data network gateway (PGW) in a network.

13. The network device of claim 10 , wherein the plurality of UE-location based conditional policy rules comprises a plurality of quality of service (QoS) rules, and wherein, when selecting the first one of the plurality of UE-location based conditional policy rules, the processor or logic is further configured to:
select a first QoS rule, from the plurality of QoS rules, to control the QoS level associated with the transport of the data traffic of the first UE if the first geographic location comprises a first location, and
select a second QoS rule, from the plurality of QoS rules, to control the QoS level associated with the transport of the data traffic of the first UE if the first geographic location comprises a second location that is different than the first location.

14. The network device of claim 13 , wherein the first location comprises a Fourth Generation (4G) wireless network coverage area and wherein the second location comprises a Fifth Generation (5G) wireless network coverage area.

15. The network device of claim 10 , wherein the at least one communication interface is further configured to receive geographic location information associated with each of the multiple MECs,
wherein, when applying the selected first one of the plurality of UE-location based conditional policy rules to select the MEC, the processor logic is further configured to:
select the MEC from the multiple MECs based on the first geographic location of the first UE and the geographic location information associated with each of the multiple MECs.

16. The network device of claim 10 , wherein, when selecting the first one of the plurality of UE-location based conditional policy rules, the processor or logic is further configured to:
select a first MEC selection rule to further select the MEC from the multiple MECs if the first geographic location of the first UE comprises a first geographic location or a first geographic area, and
select a second MEC selection rule to further select a second MEC from the multiple MECs if the first geographic location of the first UE comprises a second ge

Assignees

• Verizon Patent & Licensing Inc

Inventors

• Yan Lixia
• Mathison James
• Chiaverini Marc

Classifications

• H04W28/0226 Primary

  based on location or mobility (handoff or reselection H04W36/00; mobile application services making use of the location of users or terminals H04W4/02) · CPC title

• H04W28/0925

  using policies · CPC title

• H04W28/0967

  Quality of Service [QoS] parameters · CPC title