Method, apparatus and computer program for controlling load

Field

The present application relates to a method, apparatus, system and computer program and in particular but not exclusively to user assisted load control.

Background

A communication system can be seen as a facility that enables communication sessions between two or more entities such as user terminals, base stations and/or other nodes by providing carriers between the various entities involved in the communications path. A communication system can be provided for example by means of a communication network and one or more compatible communication devices. The communication sessions may comprise, for example, communication of data for carrying communications such as voice, video, electronic mail (email), text message, multimedia and/or content data and so on. Non-limiting examples of services provided comprise two-way or multi- way calls, data communication or multimedia services and access to a data network system, such as the Internet.

In a wireless communication system at least a part of a communication session between at least two stations occurs over a wireless link. Examples of wireless systems comprise public land mobile networks (PLMN), satellite based communication systems and different wireless local networks, for example wireless local area networks (WLAN). The wireless systems can typically be divided into cells, and are therefore often referred to as cellular systems.

A user can access the communication system by means of an appropriate communication device or terminal. A communication device of a user may be referred to as user equipment (UE) or user device. A communication device is provided with an appropriate signal receiving and transmitting apparatus for enabling communications, for example enabling access to a communication network or communications directly with other users. The communication device may access a carrier provided by a station, for example a base station of a cell, and transmit and/or receive communications on the carrier.

The communication system and associated devices typically operate in accordance with a given standard or specification which sets out what the various entities associated with the system are permitted to do and how that should be achieved. Communication protocols and/or parameters which shall be used for the connection are also typically defined. An example of attempts to solve the problems associated with the increased demands for capacity is an architecture that is known as the long-term evolution (LTE) of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) radio-access technology. The LTE is being standardized by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). The various development stages of the 3GPP LTE specifications are referred to as releases. Certain releases of 3GPP LTE (e.g., LTE Rel-1 1 , LTE Rel-12, LTE Rel-13) are targeted towards LTE- Advanced (LTE-A). LTE-A is directed towards extending and optimising the 3GPP LTE radio access technologies. Another example of a communications network is a 5G communication network.

Summary

In a first aspect there is provided a method comprising determining, at a user device, for at least one first data flow with a network node, a priority relative to at least one second data flow with the network node and providing information to the network node for use in managing load at the network node, wherein the information is indicative of the determined relative priority.

Managing load may comprise at least one of stopping, pausing and prioritising at least one data flow of the at least one first data flow and the at least one second data flow.

Managing load may comprise at least one of stopping, pausing and prioritising at least one data flow of the at least one first data flow and the at least one second data flow, if the load at the network node is higher than a threshold value.

Prioritising the at least one data flow may comprise at least one of changing scheduling weighting values, performing scheduling and performing channel allocation for the at least one data flow based on the information. The at least one first data flow may comprise at least one of an uplink data flow and a downlink data flow.

Providing the information may comprise causing a transmission of a L2 or L3 layer signal. The signal may comprise Medium Access Control control information or control element.

The method may comprise receiving an indication from the network node that the load of the network node is higher than the threshold value.

The method may comprise, in response to receiving the indication, initiating a time period for determining the relative priority. The method may comprise determining, at the user device, to stop or pause at least one data flow of the at least one first data flow and the at least one second data flow during the time period.

The method may comprise determining, at the user device, that the network node load is higher than a threshold value based on quality of a signal received at the user device. The method may comprise, if the network node load is higher than first threshold, determining, at the user device, to stop or pause at least one data flow of the at least one first data flow and the at least one second data flow.

The relative priority may be determined based on user input.

The relative priority may be determined based on a predetermined configuration. In a second aspect, there is provided a method comprising receiving information from a user device, wherein the information is indicative of a determined priority for at least one first data flow with the user device relative to at least one second data flow with the user device and using the information for managing load at the network node.

Managing load may comprise at least one of stopping, pausing or prioritising at least one data flow of the at least one first data flow and the at least one second data flow.

Managing load may comprise at least one of stopping, pausing and prioritising at least one data flow of the at least one first data flow and the at least one second data flow, if the load at the network node is higher than a threshold value. Prioritising t e at least one data flow may comprise at least one of changing scheduling weighting values, performing scheduling and performing channel allocation for the at least one data flow based on the information.

The at least one first data flow may comprise at least one of an uplink data flow and a downlink data flow.

Receiving the information may comprise receiving a transmission of a L2 or L3 layer signal.

The signal may comprise Medium Access Control control information or control element.

The method may comprise determining that the load of the network node is higher than the threshold value and providing an indication that the load of the network node is higher than the threshold value to the user device.

The method may comprise, in response to providing the indication, initiating a time period.

The method may comprise, at the end of the time period, determining the load of the network node and managing the load at the network node using the information indicative of the determined priority if the load is higher than the threshold value.

The relative priority may be determined based on user input.

The relative priority may be determined based on a predetermined configuration.

In a third aspect there is provided an apparatus, said apparatus comprising means for determining, at a user device, for at least one first data flow with a network node, a priority relative to at least one second data flow with the network node and means for providing information to the network node for use in managing load at the network node, wherein the information is indicative of the determined relative priority.

Means for managing load may comprise at least one of means for stopping, means for pausing and means for prioritising at least one data flow of the at least one first data flow and the at least one second data flow.

Means for managing load may comprise at least one of means for stopping, means for pausing and means for prioritising at least one data flow of the at least one first data flow and the at least one second data flow, if the load at the network node is higher than a threshold value. Means for prioritising the at least one data flow may comprise at least one of means for changing scheduling weighting values, means for performing scheduling and means for performing channel allocation for the at least one data flow based on the information.

The at least one first data flow may comprise at least one of an uplink data flow and a downlink data flow.

Means for providing the information may comprise means for causing a transmission of a L2 or L3 layer signal.

The signal may comprise Medium Access Control control information or control element.

The apparatus may comprise means for receiving an indication from the network node that the load of the network node is higher than the threshold value.

The apparatus may comprise means for, in response to receiving the indication, initiating a time period for determining the relative priority.

The apparatus may comprise means for determining, at the user device, to stop or pause at least one data flow of the at least one first data flow and the at least one second data flow during the time period.

The apparatus may comprise means for determining, at the user device, that the network node load is higher than a threshold value based on quality of a signal received at the user device.

The apparatus may comprise means for, if the network node load is higher than first threshold, determining, at the user device, to stop or pause at least one data flow of the at least one first data flow and the at least one second data flow.

The relative priority may be determined based on user input.

The relative priority may be determined based on a predetermined configuration.

In a fourth aspect, there is provided an apparatus, said apparatus comprising means for receiving information from a user device, wherein the information is indicative of a determined priority for at least one first data flow with the user device relative to at least one second data flow with the user device and means for using the information for managing load at the network node. Means for managing load may comprise at least one of means for stopping, means for pausing and means for prioritising at least one data flow of the at least one first data flow and the at least one second data flow.

Means for managing load may comprise at least one of means for stopping, means for pausing and means for prioritising at least one data flow of the at least one first data flow and the at least one second data flow, if the load at the network node is higher than a threshold value.

Means for prioritising the at least one data flow may comprise at least one of means for changing scheduling weighting values, means for performing scheduling and means for performing channel allocation for the at least one data flow based on the information.

The at least one first data flow may comprise at least one of an uplink data flow and a downlink data flow.

Means for receiving the information may comprise means for receiving a transmission of a L2 or L3 layer signal. The signal may comprise Medium Access Control control information or control element.

The apparatus may comprise means for determining that the load of the network node is higher than the threshold value and means for providing an indication that the load of the network node is higher than the threshold value to the user device.

The apparatus may comprise means for, in response to providing the indication, initiating a time period.

The apparatus may comprise means for, at the end of the time period, determining the load of the network node and means for managing the load at the network node using the information indicative of the determined priority if the load is higher than the threshold value. The relative priority may be determined based on user input.

The relative priority may be determined based on a predetermined configuration.

In a fifth aspect there is provided an apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including a computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to determine, at a user device, for at least one first data flow with a network node, a priority relative to at least one second data flow with the network node and provide information to the network node for use in managing load at the network node, wherein the information is indicative of the determined relative priority.

The apparatus may be configured to, at least one of, stop, pause and prioritise at least one data flow of the at least one first data flow and the at least one second data flow.

The apparatus may be configured to at least one of, stop, pause and prioritise at least one data flow of the at least one first data flow and the at least one second data flow, if the load at the network node is higher than a threshold value.

The apparatus may be configured to, at least one of, change scheduling weighting values, perform scheduling and perform channel allocation for the at least one data flow based on the information.

The at least one first data flow may comprise at least one of an uplink data flow and a downlink data flow.

The apparatus may be configured to cause a transmission of a L2 or L3 layer signal. The signal may comprise Medium Access Control control information or control element.

The apparatus may be configured to receive an indication from the network node that the load of the network node is higher than the threshold value.

The apparatus may be configured to, in response to receiving the indication, initiate a time period for determining the relative priority. The apparatus may be configured to determine, at the user device, to stop or pause at least one data flow of the at least one first data flow and the at least one second data flow during the time period.

The apparatus may be configured to determine, at the user device, that the network node load is higher than a threshold value based on quality of a signal received at the user device.

The apparatus may be configured to, if the network node load is higher than first threshold, determine, at the user device, to stop or pause at least one data flow of the at least one first data flow and the at least one second data flow.

The relative priority may be determined based on user input. The relative priority may be determined based on a predetermined configuration.

In a sixth aspect there is provided an apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including a computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to receive information from a user device, wherein the information is indicative of a determined priority for at least one first data flow with the user device relative to at least one second data flow with the user device and use the information for managing load at the network node.

The apparatus may be configured to at least one of stop, pause and prioritise at least one data flow of the at least one first data flow and the at least one second data flow.

The apparatus may be configured to at least one of stop, pause and prioritise at least one data flow of the at least one first data flow and the at least one second data flow, if the load at the network node is higher than a threshold value.

The apparatus may be configured to, at least one of, change scheduling weighting values, perform scheduling and perform channel allocation for the at least one data flow based on the information.

The at least one first data flow may comprise at least one of an uplink data flow and a downlink data flow.

The apparatus may be configured to receive a transmission of a L2 or L3 layer signal. The signal may comprise Medium Access Control control information or control element.

The apparatus may be configured to determine that the load of the network node is higher than the threshold value and provide an indication that the load of the network node is higher than the threshold value to the user device.

The apparatus may be configured to, in response to providing the indication, initiate a time period.

The apparatus may be configured to, at the end of the time period, determine the load of the network node and manage the load at the network node using the information indicative of the determined priority if the load is higher than the threshold value.

The relative priority may be determined based on user input. The relative priority may be determined based on a predetermined configuration.

In a seventh aspect there is provided a computer program embodied on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, the computer program comprising program code for controlling a process to execute a process, the process comprising determining, at a user device, for at least one first data flow with a network node, a priority relative to at least one second data flow with the network node and providing information to the network node for use in managing load at the network node, wherein the information is indicative of the determined relative priority.

Managing load may comprise at least one of stopping, pausing and prioritising at least one data flow of the at least one first data flow and the at least one second data flow.

Managing load may comprise at least one of stopping, pausing and prioritising at least one data flow of the at least one first data flow and the at least one second data flow, if the load at the network node is higher than a threshold value.

Prioritising the at least one data flow may comprise at least one of changing scheduling weighting values, performing scheduling and performing channel allocation for the at least one data flow based on the information.

The at least one first data flow may comprise at least one of an uplink data flow and a downlink data flow.

Providing the information may comprise causing a transmission of a L2 or L3 layer signal. The signal may comprise Medium Access Control control information or control element.

The process may comprise receiving an indication from the network node that the load of the network node is higher than the threshold value.

The process may comprise, in response to receiving the indication, initiating a time period for determining the relative priority. The process may comprise determining, at the user device, to stop or pause at least one data flow of the at least one first data flow and the at least one second data flow during the time period.

The process may comprise determining, at the user device, that the network node load is higher than a threshold value based on quality of a signal received at the user device. The process may comprise, if the network node load is higher than first threshold, determining, at the user device, to stop or pause at least one data flow of the at least one first data flow and the at least one second data flow.

The relative priority may be determined based on user input. The relative priority may be determined based on a predetermined configuration.

In an eighth aspect there is provided a computer program embodied on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, the computer program comprising program code for controlling a process to execute a process, the process comprising receiving information from a user device, wherein the information is indicative of a determined priority for at least one first data flow with the user device relative to at least one second data flow with the user device and using the information for managing load at the network node.

Managing load may comprise at least one of stopping, pausing or prioritising at least one data flow of the at least one first data flow and the at least one second data flow.

Managing load may comprise at least one of stopping, pausing and prioritising at least one data flow of the at least one first data flow and the at least one second data flow, if the load at the network node is higher than a threshold value.

Prioritising the at least one data flow may comprise at least one of changing scheduling weighting values, performing scheduling and performing channel allocation for the at least one data flow based on the information. The at least one first data flow may comprise at least one of an uplink data flow and a downlink data flow.

Receiving the information may comprise receiving a transmission of a L2 or L3 layer signal.

The signal may comprise Medium Access Control control information or control element. The process may comprise determining that the load of the network node is higher than the threshold value and providing an indication that the load of the network node is higher than the threshold value to the user device.

The process may comprise, in response to providing the indication, initiating a time period. The process may comprise, at the end of the time period, determining the load of the network node and managing the load at the network node using the information indicative of the determined priority if the load is higher than the threshold value.

The relative priority may be determined based on user input. The relative priority may be determined based on a predetermined configuration.

In a ninth aspect there is provided a computer program product for a computer, comprising software code portions for performing the steps the method of the first and second aspect when said product is run on the computer.

In the above, many different embodiments have been described. It should be appreciated that further embodiments may be provided by the combination of any two or more of the embodiments described above.

Description of Figures

Embodiments will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying Figures in which:

Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of an example communication system comprising a base station and a plurality of communication devices;

Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of an example mobile communication device; Figure 3 shows a flowchart of an example method of user assisted load control; Figure 4 shows a flowchart of an example method of user assisted load control; Figure 5 shows a schematic diagram of an example control apparatus;

Detailed description

Before explaining in detail the examples, certain general principles of a wireless communication system and mobile communication devices are briefly explained with reference to Figures 1 to 2 to assist in understanding the technology underlying the described examples.

In a wireless communication system 100, such as that shown in figure 1 , mobile communication devices or user equipment (UE) 102, 104, 105 are provided wireless access via at least one base station or similar wireless transmitting and/or receiving node or point. Base stations are typically controlled by at least one appropriate controller apparatus, so as to enable operation thereof and management of mobile communication devices in communication with the base stations. The controller apparatus may be located in a radio access network (e.g. wireless communication system 100) or in a core network (CN) (not shown) and may be implemented as one central apparatus or its functionality may be distributed over several apparatus. The controller apparatus may be part of the base station and/or provided by a separate entity such as a Radio Network Controller (RNC). In Figure 1 control apparatus 108 and 109 are shown to control the respective macro level base stations 106 and 107. The control apparatus of a base station can be interconnected with other control entities. The control apparatus is typically provided with memory capacity and at least one data processor. The control apparatus and functions may be distributed between a plurality of control units. In some systems, the control apparatus may additionally or alternatively be provided in a radio network controller.

LTE systems may however be considered to have a so-called "flat" architecture, without the provision of RNCs; rather the (e)NB is in communication with a system architecture evolution gateway (SAE-GW) and a mobility management entity (MME), which entities may also be pooled meaning that a plurality of these nodes may serve a plurality (set) of (e)NBs. Each UE is served by one MME and/or S-GW at a time and the (e)NB keeps track of current association. SAE-GW is a "high-level" user plane core network element in LTE, which may consist of the S-GW and the P-GW (serving gateway and packet data network gateway, respectively). The functionalities of the S-GW and P-GW may be separated and they are not required to be co-located.

In Figure 1 base stations 106 and 107 are shown as connected to a wider communications network 1 13 via gateway 1 12. A further gateway function may be provided to connect to another network.

The smaller base stations 1 16, 1 18 and 120 may also be connected to the network 1 13, for example by a separate gateway function and/or via the controllers of the macro level stations. The base stations 1 16, 1 18 and 120 may be pico or femto level base stations or the like. In the example, stations 1 16 and 1 18 are connected via a gateway 1 1 1 whilst station 120 connects via the controller apparatus 108. In some embodiments, the smaller stations may not be provided. Smaller base stations 1 16, 1 18 and 120 may be part of a second network, for example WLAN and may be WLAN access points (APs).

A possible mobile communication device will now be described in more detail with reference to Figure 2 showing a schematic, partially sectioned view of a communication device 200. Such a communication device is often referred to as user equipment (UE) or terminal. An appropriate mobile communication device may be provided by any device capable of sending and receiving radio signals. Non-limiting examples comprise a mobile station (MS) or mobile device such as a mobile phone or what is known as a 'smart phone', a computer provided with a wireless interface card or other wireless interface facility (e.g., USB dongle), personal data assistant (PDA) or a tablet provided with wireless communication capabilities, or any combinations of these or the like. A mobile communication device may provide, for example, communication of data for carrying communications such as voice, video, electronic mail (email), text message, multimedia and so on. Users may thus be offered and provided numerous services via their communication devices and there may be one or more applications running in the MS requiring data transmission between the MS and the network. Non-limiting examples of these services comprise two-way or multi-way calls, data communication or multimedia services or simply an access to a data communications network system, such as the Internet. Users may also be provided broadcast or multicast data. Non-limiting examples of the content comprise downloads, television and radio programs, videos, advertisements, gaming, various alerts and other information.

The mobile device 200 may receive signals over an air or radio interface 207 via appropriate apparatus for receiving and may transmit signals via appropriate apparatus for transmitting radio signals. In Figure 2 transceiver apparatus is designated schematically by block 206. The transceiver apparatus 206 may be provided for example by means of a radio part and associated antenna arrangement. The antenna arrangement may be arranged internally or externally to the mobile device.

A mobile device is typically provided with at least one data processing entity 201 , at least one memory 202 and other possible components 203 for use in software and hardware aided execution of tasks it is designed to perform, including control of access to and communications with access systems and other communication devices. The data processing, storage and other relevant control apparatus can be provided on an appropriate circuit board and/or in chipsets. This feature is denoted by reference 204. The user may control t e operation of the mobile device by means of a suitable user interface such as key pad 205, voice commands, touch sensitive screen or pad, combinations thereof or the like. A display 208, a speaker and a microphone can be also provided. Furthermore, a mobile communication device may comprise appropriate connectors (either wired or wireless) to other devices and/or for connecting external accessories, for example hands-free equipment, thereto.

The communication devices 102, 104, 105 may access the communication system based on various access techniques, such as code division multiple access (CDMA), or wideband CDMA (WCDMA). Other non-limiting examples comprise time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA) and various schemes thereof such as the interleaved frequency division multiple access (IFDMA), single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) and orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), space division multiple access (SDMA) and so on.

An example of wireless communication systems are architectures standardized by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). A latest 3GPP based development is often referred to as the long term evolution (LTE) of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) radio-access technology. The various development stages of the 3GPP specifications are referred to as releases. More recent developments of the LTE are often referred to as LTE Advanced (LTE-A). The LTE employs a mobile architecture known as the Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN). Base stations of such systems are known as evolved or enhanced Node Bs (eNBs) and provide E-UTRAN features such as user plane Packet Data Convergence/Radio Link Control/Medium Access Control/Physical layer protocol (PDCP/RLC/MAC/PHY) and control plane Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol terminations towards the communication devices. Other examples of radio access system comprise those provided by base stations of systems that are based on technologies such as wireless local area network (WLAN) and/or WiMax (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access). A base station can provide coverage for an entire cell or similar radio service area.

Another example of a suitable communications system is the 5G concept. Network architecture in 5G may be quite similar to that of the LTE-advanced. Changes to the network architecture may depend on the need to support various radio technologies and finer QoS support, and some on-demand requirements for e.g. QoS levels to support QoE of user point of view. Also network aware services and applications, and service and application aware networks may bring changes to the architecture. Those are related to Information Centric Network (ICN) and User-Centric Content Delivery Network (UC-CDN) approaches. 5G may use multiple input - multiple output (MIMO) antennas, many more base stations or nodes than the LTE (a so-called small cell concept), including macro sites operating in co-operation with smaller stations and perhaps also employing a variety of radio technologies for better coverage and enhanced data rates.

It should be appreciated that future networks may utilise network functions virtualization (NFV) which is a network architecture concept that proposes virtualizing network node functions into "building blocks" or entities that may be operationally connected or linked together to provide services. A virtualized network function (VNF) may comprise one or more virtual machines running computer program codes using standard or general type servers instead of customized hardware. Cloud computing or data storage may also be utilized. In radio communications this may mean node operations being carried out, at least partly, in a server, host or node operationally coupled to a remote radio head. It is also possible that node operations will be distributed among a plurality of servers, nodes or hosts. It should also be understood that the distribution of labour between core network operations and base station operations may differ from that of the LTE or even be nonexistent

In one example, the load of an access point (e.g. eNB) may correspond to the number of users sharing the resources of that access point or to the number of ongoing data transfers. In one example, the load of the access point may correspond to the utilization rate of reserved radio resources (e.g. bandwidth) allocated to the users/UEs served by the access point. In one example, the load may correspond to the utilization rate of processing resources (such as any hardware (HW) resources or entities e.g. processors) used by the access point or any other network node when providing service(s) for users/UEs. In the case of a high load of an access point, for example during multiple ongoing data transmissions, the quality of the transmissions may suffer. For example, data rate(s) may decrease. Methods of minimizing the load of the network and/or keeping the required quality at least for certain UE(s) or traffic, for example, have been proposed.

Some examples for load handling and ensuring certain quality include handover for balancing load between cells and/or base stations and/or RATs, prioritizing UEs (e.g.

Gold/Silver/Bronze UE), prioritizing traffic e.g. by using QoS Class Identifier (QCI), adding more processing capacity and other HW resources in the access point and/or allocating more radio resources for UEs. These proposals are performed by a network node (e.g. with predefined rules). For example, an LTE downlink scheduling algorithm taking into account both channel qualities and traffic types of UEs has been proposed. End-to-end QoS differentiation management solutions have been presented. Figure 3 illustrates a flowchart of an example method for user assisted load control. The method comprises, in a first step 320, determining, at a user device, for at least one first data flow with a network node, a priority relative to at least one second data flow with the network node.

In a second step 340 the method comprises providing information to the network node for use in managing load at the network node, wherein the information is indicative of the determined relative priority.

Figure 4 illustrates a flowchart of an example method for user assisted load control. The method comprises, in a first step 420, receiving information from a user device, wherein the information is indicative of a determined priority for at least one first data flow with the user device relative to at least one second data flow with the user device.

In a second step 440, the method comprises using the information for managing load at the network node.

Managing the load of a network node may comprise at least one of pausing and/or stopping at least one of the at least one first data flow and the at least one second data flow. Data flows which can be paused may have a higher priority than data flows which are stopped. Alternatively, or in addition, managing the load of a network node may comprise prioritising the at least one first data flow relative to the at least one second data flow or vice versa.

Prioritising a data flow may comprise performing scheduling and/or channel allocation for at least one data flow of the at least one first data flow and the at least one second data flow based on the information. Prioritising may comprise changing scheduling weighting values based on the information for the at least one data flow. Managing of the load may be performed if the load at the network node is higher than a threshold value.

The user device may be able to stop or pause at least one data flow of the at least one first data flow and the at least one second data flow to reduce traffic load. If there is only one data flow with the network node, the user device may stop or pause, or request that the network node stop or pause, the data flow. The at least one first data flow and the at least one second data flow may relate to one application of the user device and/or multiple applications of the user device. The at least one first data flow and the at least one second data flow may comprise the user device's ongoing data transfer. The network node may be an access point, such as an eNB. The user device may be referred to as a UE.

The information being indicative of the determined relative priority may comprise a relative priority order for the at least one first data flow and the at least one second data flow. The information indicative of the determined relative priority may comprise an indication of the at least one data flow determined to have a lower or higher priority, e.g. an indication to stop/pause at least one data flow. The information being indicative of the determined relative priority may comprise a relative priority order for at least a first group of data flows and at least a second group of data flows, wherein the group comprises one or more data flows. A method such as that described with reference to Figures 3 and 4 may allow a user to define its own prioritization for its current data transfers, for example, to overcome high load situation in the network. The data transfer may comprise multiple data flows relating to one application (e.g. web browsing) or multiple data flows relating to different applications (e.g. web browsing, email application, real time gaming, video, or voice). The method may minimise load and improve quality of the downlink (DL) and/or uplink (UL) data transmissions. A subscriber may define its own prioritization for DL and/or UL data transfers on a user device. In some embodiments, a subscriber may request the eNB to stop DL and/or UL data transmissions determined to have lower priority.

The network node may provide an indication to the user device that the load of the network node is high or the load of the network node is higher than the threshold value. For example, an eNB may determine that the load at the eNB is higher than a threshold, i.e. a high load situation (high load may mean processing load or radio resource load, for example). The eNB may provide an indication to the user device, such as the UE, of the high load situation. The network node, e.g. eNB, may inform the user device(s), e.g. UE(s), by signaling.

Alternatively, in one embodiment, the user device may determine that the load of the network node is higher than the threshold value, for example, based on the quality of a signal received at the user device. For example, a specific threshold for a quality parameter may be set in UE (e.g. for data rate) so that if the quality is under the specific threshold, the UE triggers the determination of the relative priority.

In response to the indication, or determining, that the load of the network node is higher than the threshold value, the UE or a group of UEs may have an opportunity to determine the relative priority for the at least one first data flow and the at least one second data flow. In addition, or alternatively, the UE may have an opportunity to stop or pause at least one data flow of the at least one first data flow and the at least one second data flow to reduce traffic load in response to the indication or determining that the load of the network node is higher than the threshold value. Providing the indication that the load of the network node is higher than the threshold value to the user device may trigger a timer for a time period. The timer may be for the same time period in the eNB and the UE or there may be two different timers for two different time periods in the eNB and the UE, respectively. For example, a time period defined by the timer in the UE may be shorter than a time period defined by the timer in the eNB. One purpose of the timer(s) is to allow a certain time period for UE to reduce load by stopping or pausing one or more data transfers and/or prioritizing the data transfers.

In an alternative embodiment, timer(s) may not be used. The signaling can be used instead of the timer(s). For example, the eNB may receive a response to the indication of high load from the UE wherein the response comprises a user specific priority order or indication that the UE does not provide the user specific priority order and/or UE does not perform any actions regarding the data flows.

During the time period specified by the timer, UE(s) may determine the relative priority for at least one data flow. During a time period specified by the timer UE(s) may determine to stop or pause at least one data flow. The UE may determine to stop applications or specific data flows (e.g. stopping downloading of two files of four ongoing file

downloading) DL data transfer and prioritize the data flows and provide a relative priority order to the network node.

When the relative priority is determined, the information being indicative of the determined relative priority may be sent from UE to eNB within the time period, if the time period has been triggered. Alternatively, the information may be sent outside the time period. If the time period is not triggered, e.g. the user device determines the high load situation without receiving an indication from the network node, then the information indicative of the determined relative priority may be sent at any time, for example, when the high load situation is determined by the user device.

The relative priority may be determined based on user input. A user may stop part of the ongoing data transfers and/or give a specific priority order for ongoing DL and/or UL data transfers. In an embodiment, the list of ongoing data transfers is presented to the user via user interface (Ul) 208 by the user device and the user may perform the prioritization or stop or pause the low priority data transfers. For example, a user may be awaiting an important email and may give the highest priority for transfers relating to the email application. The relative priority may be determined based on a predetermined configuration. A user may define the specific priority (for example in settings) beforehand so that in case of a high load situation, the configured prioritization is taken into use and/or specific application is stopped or paused without user intervention. In one embodiment, an indication indicating the usage of the predefined configuration is shown to the user, for example via UI 208.

Users may not be aware of the flow identifiers (e.g. logical channel identifier LCID) used in radio level for handling different flows. Therefore, in one embodiment, a correspondence between services or data flows provided to user and service or flow identifiers is stored in the UE's memory. The identifier can be any kind of identifier that can separate different communications between the UE and the access point from each other. In one embodiment, the identifier is a logical channel identifier (LCID).

In one embodiment, the user or UE can determine the priority order for the services or data flows and the priority order for the corresponding service or flow identifiers can be signalled in radio level to the network (e.g. access point such as an eNB). In an embodiment, the priority order of the flow identifiers (e.g. logical channel identifiers) is sent to the access point and the access point can then apply the received prioritization of different flows in radio resource management, for example in scheduling and/or radio resource allocation. The access point can differentiate the flows using the identifiers and the access point may prioritize the data flows using the priority order received from the UE. In some embodiments, the data flows are downlink (DL) data flows that are sent from the access point to the UE. However, in some embodiments, the data flows are uplink (UL) data flows that are sent from the UE to the access point. In one example, the relative priority may be determined based on a predetermined configuration wherein the predetermined configuration is device specific. In this case, different kind of user devices may prefer different kind of priority orders for DL and/or UL data transfers. The manufacturer of the devices may then configure the priority order on behalf of user/subscriber.

In response to receiving the information being indicative of the determined relative priority, and/or at the end of the time period if it has been triggered, eNB may determine the load at the eNB. If the load is higher than a threshold value and there is still need to reduce the load (e.g. after the UEs have stopped/paused certain data flows), eNB can manage the resources usage (i.e. load) using the received information.

Stopping and/or pausing of a data flow may be performed in a known, application specific way. For example, stopping a data flow may comprise sending a request specific to the service (depending on the service) from UE to network (or vice versa). Stopping and/or pausing of a data flow may be performed autonomously by a UE.

In one embodiment, a network node (e.g. access point such as eNB) modifies the priority of the data flows based on a priority order defined by a subscriber/user or an UE. In one embodiment, the network node may perform scheduling or allocation decisions based on the priority order. For example, the network node may change scheduling weighting values based on the priority order. In one embodiment, one or more weighting values are scaled down or up depending on one or more priority values received from the UE. In one embodiment, the network node may perform scheduling, channel allocation or may reduce load by using the modified weighting values. For example, if load is high, the network node may stop one or more services or data flows having low received priority value or having low modified weighting value and/or the network node may pause one or more services or data flows having low received priority value or having low modified weighting value and/or the network node may prioritize services or data flows based on the received priority value(s) or based on the modified weighting value(s), for example, in scheduling and/or radio resource allocation. In one embodiment, the one or more stopped services or data flows have lower priority than priority for the one or more paused services or data flows. The signalling of load indication or prioritization between the network node and the user device may be performed on L2 or L3 layer, for example, by using MAC or RRC signaling between UE and eNB. L2 or L3 layer signalling may be t e most suitable because resource handling and load control is usually performed by eNB. In LTE, MAC Control Elements (CEs) are used for MAC layer control signalling between the UE and the eNB. In one embodiment, the information indicating the relative priority, e.g. priority or priority order of the ongoing (e.g. downlink) transmissions, may be transmitted from UE to eNB in MAC CE. In one embodiment, a new MAC CE is defined for this purpose. In one embodiment, an existing MAC CE is modified for this purpose. For example, Buffer Status Report MAC CE may be modified to carry the UE's or user's information indicating the relative priority for the data flows. However, the method may be applicable to other signalling. For example, in some examples, the signalling can be an upper level signalling (e.g. Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), or Internet Protocol (IP)).

Some embodiments may provide more control to UEs and/or users when network load is to be reduced and/or user experience is to be improved. It should be understood that each block of the flowchart of Figures 3 and 4 and any combination thereof may be implemented by various means or their combinations, such as hardware, software, firmware, one or more processors and/or circuitry.

The method may be implemented in entities on a mobile device as described with respect to figure 2 or control apparatus as shown in Figure 5. Figure 5 shows an example of a control apparatus for a communication system, for example to be coupled to and/or for controlling a station of an access system, such as a RAN node, e.g. a base station, (e)node B or 5G AP, or a node of a core network such as an MME or S-GW, or a server or host. The method may be implanted in a single control apparatus or across more than one control apparatus. The control apparatus may be integrated with or external to a node or module of a core network or RAN. In some embodiments, base stations comprise a separate control apparatus unit or module. In other embodiments, the control apparatus can be another network element such as a radio network controller or a spectrum controller. In some embodiments, each base station may have such a control apparatus as well as a control apparatus being provided in a radio network controller. The control apparatus 300 can be arranged to provide control on communications in the service area of the system. The control apparatus 300 comprises at least one memory 301 , at least one data processing unit 302, 303 and an input/output interface 304. Via the interface the control apparatus can be coupled to a receiver and a transmitter of the base station. The receiver and/or t e transmitter may be implemented as a radio front end or a remote radio head. For example the control apparatus 300 can be configured to execute an appropriate software code to provide the control functions. Control functions may comprise determining, at a user device, for at least one first data flow with a network node, a priority relative to at least one second data flow with the network node and providing information to the network node for use in managing load at the network node, wherein the information is indicative of the determined relative priority.

Alternatively, or in addition, control functions may comprise receiving information from a user device, wherein the information is indicative of a determined priority for at least one first data flow with the user device relative to at least one second data flow with the user device and using the information for managing load at the network node.

It should be understood that the apparatuses may comprise or be coupled to other units or modules etc., such as radio parts or radio heads, used in or for transmission and/or reception. Although the apparatuses have been described as one entity, different modules and memory may be implemented in one or more physical or logical entities.

It is noted that whilst embodiments have been described in relation to LTE-A, similar principles can be applied in relation to other networks and communication systems, for example, 5G networks. Therefore, although certain embodiments were described above by way of example with reference to certain example architectures for wireless networks, technologies and standards, embodiments may be applied to any other suitable forms of communication systems than those illustrated and described herein.

It is also noted herein that while the above describes example embodiments, there are several variations and modifications which may be made to the disclosed solution without departing from the scope of the present invention.

In general, the various embodiments may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects of the invention may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device, although the invention is not limited thereto. While various aspects of the invention may be illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other pictorial representation, it is well understood that these blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques or methods described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

The embodiments of this invention may be implemented by computer software executable by a data processor of the mobile device, such as in the processor entity, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. Computer software or program, also called program product, including software routines, applets and/or macros, may be stored in any apparatus-readable data storage medium and they comprise program instructions to perform particular tasks. A computer program product may comprise one or more computer-executable components which, when the program is run, are configured to carry out embodiments. The one or more computer-executable components may be at least one software code or portions of it.

Further in this regard it should be noted that any blocks of the logic flow as in the Figures may represent program steps, or interconnected logic circuits, blocks and functions, or a combination of program steps and logic circuits, blocks and functions. The software may be stored on such physical media as memory chips, or memory blocks implemented within the processor, magnetic media such as hard disk or floppy disks, and optical media such as for example DVD and the data variants thereof, CD. The physical media is a non- transitory media.

The memory may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory. The data processors may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment, and may comprise one or more of general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), FPGA, gate level circuits and processors based on multi core processor architecture, as non-limiting examples.

Embodiments of the inventions may be practiced in various components such as integrated circuit modules. The design of integrated circuits is by and large a highly automated process. Complex and powerful software tools are available for converting a logic level design into a semiconductor circuit design ready to be etched and formed on a semiconductor substrate. The foregoing description has provided by way of non-limiting examples a full and informative description of the exemplary embodiment of this invention. However, various modifications and adaptations may become apparent to those skilled in the relevant arts in view of the foregoing description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the appended claims. However, all such and similar modifications of the teachings of this invention will still fall within the scope of this invention as defined in the appended claims. Indeed there is a further embodiment comprising a combination of one or more embodiments with any of the other embodiments previously discussed.