Field

[001] The subject matter described herein relates to wireless including QoS management.

Background

[002] As the cellular system including the 5G network supports an increasing number of devices and services including applications with a wide range of use cases and diverse needs with respect to bandwidth, latency, and reliability requirements, the cellular system may need to prioritize resources across the wireless access network and the core network (and/or for example, prioritizing across the control plane and the user plane) to support differentiation among different service data flows (SDFs). Moreover, the associated quality of service (QoS) requirements may be dynamic. As such, flexible and efficient QoS control mechanisms may enable establishment, modification, and/or enforcement of the QoS requirements, examples of which include maximum bit rate, guaranteed bit rate, priority level, packet delay budget, packet loss rate, and/or other QoS parameters.

Summary

[003] Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, are provided for home routed roaming.

[004] In some example embodiment, there may be provided a method that includes obtaining, by a network node, a first quality of service parameter for a visiting public land mobile network and a second quality of service parameter for a home public land mobile network; selecting, by the network node, a visiting node and a home node, the selecting based on the obtained first quality of service parameter and the obtained second quality of service parameter; and sending, by the network node and towards the visiting node and/or the home node, the obtained first quality of service parameter and/or the obtained second quality of service parameter.

[005] In some variations, one or more of the features disclosed herein including the following features can optionally be included in any feasible combination. The network node may include an access management function and/or a mobility management entity, and the visiting node may include a visiting session management function and/or a serving gateway function, and the home node may include a home session management function and/or a packet gateway. The network node may obtain at least the first quality of service parameter and the second quality of service parameter from a policy control node in a home routed roaming mode, the policy control node may include a policy control function, a home policy control function, a visiting policy control function, a policy control and rules function, a home policy control and rules function, and/or a visiting policy control and rules function. The network node may obtains at least the first quality of service parameter and/or the second quality of service parameter in response to sending a request message to the policy control node, and the request message may include an identity of a user equipment and a network slice information associated with the user equipment. The first quality of service parameter may include a first jitter parameter and/or a first delay parameter allocated to a visiting public land mobile network serving the user equipment. The second quality of service parameter may include a second jitter parameter and/or a second delay parameter allocated to a home public land mobile network serving the user equipment. The network node may obtain the first quality of service parameter and the second quality of service parameter after a protocol data unit session establishment request message from a user equipment and before session management function selection. A session create message may be sent to the selected home node and/or visiting node, and the session create request message in may include the obtained first quality of service parameter and/or the obtained second quality of service parameter. The identity of the user equipment and the network slice information associated with the user equipment may be obtained based on the protocol data unit session establishment request message.

[006] In some example embodiment, there may be provided a method that includes receiving, at a policy control node, a request for quality of service information for a home public land mobile network and a visiting public land mobile network; determining, by the policy control node, a first quality of service parameter for the visiting public land mobile network and the second quality of service parameter for the home public land mobile network; and sending, by the policy control node, a response including the first quality of service parameter and the second quality of service parameter.

[007] In some variations, one or more of the features disclosed herein including the following features can optionally be included in any feasible combination. The policy control node may include a policy control function, a home policy control function, a visiting policy control function, a policy control and rules function, a home policy control and rules function, and/or a visiting policy control and rules function, and the policy control node may determine at least the first quality of service parameter and the second quality of service parameters, when the policy control node is in a home routed roaming mode. The request may be received from a network node, and the response may be sent to the network node, and the network node may include an access management function, and/or a mobility management entity. The request may include an identity of a user equipment and a network slice information associated with the user equipment. The first quality of service parameter may include a first jitter parameter and/or a first delay parameter allocated to the visiting public land mobile network serving the user equipment, and the second quality of service parameter may include a second jitter parameter and/or a second delay parameter allocated to the home public land mobile network serving the user equipment. [008] In some example embodiment, there may be provided a method that includes requesting, by a visiting session management function, a quality of service allocation from a policy control node, the quality of service allocation comprising a first quality of service parameter for a visiting public land mobile network and a second quality of service parameter for a home public land mobile network; receiving, by the visiting session management function, the requested quality of service allocation; and selecting, by the visiting session management function and based on the received quality of service allocation, at least one user plane function.

[009] In some variations, one or more of the features disclosed herein including the following features can optionally be included in any feasible combination. The quality of service allocation may be received when in a home routed roaming mode. The first quality of service parameter may include a first jitter parameter and/or a first delay parameter allocated to the visiting public land mobile network serving a user equipment, and the second quality of service parameter may include a second jitter parameter and/or a second delay parameter allocated to the home public land mobile network serving the user equipment. The policy control node may include a policy control function, a home policy control function, a visiting policy control function, a policy control and rules function, a home policy control and rules function, and/or a visiting policy control and rules function. The visiting session management function may send the second quality of service parameter to the home public land mobile network including a home session management function.

[010] The above-noted aspects and features may be implemented in systems, apparatus, methods, and/or articles depending on the desired configuration. The details of one or more variations of the subject matter described herein are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Features and advantages of the subject matter described herein will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims. Description of Drawings

[011] In the drawings,

[012] FIG. 1 depicts an example of a portion of a 5G wireless network, in accordance with some example embodiments;

[013] FIG. 2 depicts an example of a process flow for home QoS, in accordance with some example embodiments;

[014] FIG. 3 depicts another example of a process flow for home QoS, in accordance with some example embodiments;

[015] FIG. 4 depicts another example of a process flow for home QoS, in accordance with some example embodiments;

[016] FIG. 5 depicts an example of a network node, in accordance with some example embodiments; and

[017] FIG. 6 depicts an example of an apparatus, in accordance with some example embodiments.

[018] Like labels are used to refer to same or similar items in the drawings.

Detailed Description

[019] FIG. 1 depicts an example of a portion of a 5G wireless network 100, in accordance with some example embodiments.

[020] The 5G wireless network 100 may include a user equipment (UE) 150 configured to wirelessly couple to a radio access network (RAN) 152 being served by a wireless access point, such as a base station, wireless local area network access point, home base station, and/or other type of wireless access point.

[021] The network 100 may include a core network, which may include an access and mobility management function (AMF) 154, a visiting session management function (V-SMF) 156, a visiting policy control function (v-PCF) 160, a visiting network slice selection function (v- NSSF) 164, and/or a visiting user plane function (V-UPF) 158. In the example of FIG. 1, devices 152-164 may be associated with a visiting public land mobile network (VPLMN) 166.

[022] The network 100 and/or the core network may include devices having functions supporting a home public land mobile network (HPLMN) 170 as well. For example, these devices in the HPLMN 170 may include devices and corresponding functions for“home” wireless local area network (WLAN) access, offloading, and/or non-3GPP access. These devices may include a home SMF 172, a home PCF 174, a home NSSF 176, unified data management 178, an authentication server function (AUSF) 180, an application function (AF) 182, a home user plane function (H-UPF) 184, and a data network (DN) 186.

[023] FIG. 1 also depicts service interfaces, such as Nl, N2, N3, N4, N6, N7, Nl l, N15, N18, N24, and/or the like. The architecture, nodes (including AMF, V-PCF, H-PCF, H- SMF, and V-SMF as well as other devices depicted at FIG. 1), and the service interfaces may be defined in accordance with a standard, such as 3GPP TS 23.501, although other standards as well as proprietary interfaces may be used. In home routed roaming, the HPLMN 170 may be responsible for routing traffic to the UE, when the UE is roaming in for example a visiting network, such as VPLMN 166.

[024] As 5G and other wireless technologies evolve, home routed roaming may be used to offload more and more traffic to a home network, such as a wireless local area network (WLAN). Some applications including services need certain quality of service (QoS). For example, ultra-reliable and/or low latency applications may specify a certain end-to-end jitter. To that end, a network node may need to allocate the desired QoS, such as jitter or delay, to the cellular portion of the network and to the home portion of the network. In 3GPP TS 23.502 V 1.3.0 (see, e.g., section 4.3.2.2.2 Home Routed Roaming), the AMF may select the visiting session management function (V-SMF) and the home session management function (H-SMF). Moreover, the AMF may know a maximum, end-to-end delay (or, for example, jitter) relevant to, for example, a requested Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (NSSAI).

[025] A single NSSAI may be comprised of: a) a Slice/Service type (SST), which refers to the expected network slice behavior in terms of features and services; b) a Slice Differentiator (SD), which is optional information that complements the Slice/Service type(s) to differentiate amongst multiple network slices of the same Slice/Service type. Table 1 below is reproduced from TS 23.502 and shows examples of standardized SST values. To illustrate further, the SST value may include a varying list of QoS values (e.g., between lms up to 20ms). In this example, the UE may be mandated to map a current application, service, or session to one of the SST values. If for example the application requires 3ms, 7ms, or l9ms, the UE may map to SST value 2 for the ultra-reliable and low latency communications (URLLC). In this example, the UE may send to the core the labeled NSSAI (with the corresponding SST value), although the explicit delay /jitter information of the application hosted on the UE may be sent as well. Alternatively or additionally, each delay value may have its own SST.

[026] Table 1

[027] Although the AMF 154 may know the end-to-end requirement for a QoS parameter such as jitter, delay, and/or the like, the AMF may not know how to divide the QoS parameter, such as delay, jitter, and/or the like, between the PLMNs, such as the visiting PLMN and the home PLMN. Moreover, the V-SMF and the H-SMF may not know which portion of the QoS parameter, such as delay, jitter, and/or the like, to be allocated to the V-PLMN and the HPLMN when selecting the V-UPF and the H-UPF.

[028] In some example embodiments, the AMF 152 may access a network node, such as the H-PCF to obtain QoS information, such as QoS rules indicating the QoS on the HPLMN 170 and the QoS on the VPLMN 166. For example, the AMF may receive from the H-PCF 174 a jitter or a delay for the HPLMN and another jitter or delay for the VPLMN. The AMF may select, based on the obtained QoS information for the HPLMN and the VPLMN, one or more SMFs for the VPLMN and the HPLMN. Moreover, the AMF may also send towards the V-SMF 156 and the H-SMF 172 the QoS information for the HPLMN and the VPLMN.

[029] In some example embodiments, the AMF 154 may consult the H-PCF 174 via the V-PCF 160 to retrieve QoS information (e.g., QoS information for the HPLMN and the VPLMN) for a UE. The AMF may trigger the consultation in response to a message, such as a protocol data unit (PDU) session establishment request message, which may be associated with a given network slice, service, or session at the UE.

[030] For example, upon receipt of the PDU session establishment request message and before starting the SMF selection process, the AMF 154 may access (which may be via the N15 interface, V-PCF 160, and N24 interface) the H-PCF (if not already done so previously such as during the registration) to retrieve the QoS information for the HPLMN and the VPLMN for the UE 150 associated with a given network slice. In case of LTE however, this QoS information may not be associated with a particular network slice.

[031] To retrieve the QoS information, the AMF may provide to the H-PCF at least the actual NSSAI (and/or explicit, detailed QoS information such as a maximum delay and/or a maximum jitter) and an identifier for the UE (e.g., a UE ID, an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), and a Permanent Equipment Identifier (PEI)). The AMF may obtain the UE ID and NSSAI information from the PDU session establishment request message. Alternatively or additionally, the AMF 152 may send (and/or receive) information directly to (and/or from) the H- PCF (e.g., through a direct interface between the AMF and H-PCF without going through other network nodes such as the V-PCF).

[032] In response to the request for QoS information, the H-PCF 174 may return to the AMF 154 QoS information (e.g., QoS information for the HPLMN and the VPLMN). This QoS information may take the form of a 5G QoS Indicator (5QI)), in which case the H-PCF may return a first, visiting 5QI for the VPLMN (e.g., a visiting 5QI) and a second, home 5QI for the HPLMN(e.g., a home 5QI). Moreover, the H-PCF may return the QoS information, when the H- PCF is in a home routed roaming mode.

[033] In the case of 5QI, the 5QI may map a given QoS to a packet delay, packet error rate, jitter and/or a service type. The 5QI may be in accordance with a standard, such as 3GPP TS 23.501.

[034] Moreover, the H-PCF 174 may return to the AMF 154 the QoS information including at least two 5QIs, such as a first, visiting 5QI for the VPLMN and a second, home 5QI for the HPLMN. To illustrate further, the H-PCF may decide using the 5QIs to allocate 2/3 of the packet delay to the VPLMN and 1/3 of the packet delay to the HPLMN. In this example, the AMF receives the NSSAI. Based on the received NSSAI, the HPLMN may be able to determine/deduce at least a maximum (and/or a minimum) delay or jitter value from a set of delays (e.g., the URLLC, other types of delays, and/or jitter related information), although the HPLMN may be able to determined more detailed, explicit QoS as well. Moreover, the H-PCF may determine a split in delay or jitter between the HPLMN and the VPLMN based on location of the UE, the actual requested maximum delay/jitter requirement (e.g., NSSAI/detailed/explicit QoS delay), the name ofV-PLMN, associated bilateral roaming agreement, and/or the knowledge about the topology of the network with regard to H-SMFs and H-UPFs. [035] Although some of the examples described the H-PCF allocating and then explicitly providing both 5QIs for the VPLMN and HPLMN, the H-PCF may only explicitly return one of the 5QI values. For example, when the AMF knows the overall end-to-end latency for a session being setup, the AMF may subtract from the overall end-end-latency a home 5QI (which is returned by the H-PCF) to calculate the visiting 5QI (or subtract from the overall end- end-latency a visiting 5QI (which is returned by the H-PCF) to calculate the home 5QI) .

[036] In response to the received QoS information such as the 5QIs for example, the AMF 154 may, based on the QoS information, select at least one SMF, such as the SMFs 156/172 serving the VPLMN and/or HPLMN. Moreover, the AMF may send the first, visiting 5QI and the second, home 5QI towards the V-SMF 156 and the H-SMF 174. For example, the AMF may send a session create request message, such as anNsmf_PDUSession_CreateSMContext Request message. And, this session create message may include the first and second 5QIs which are being sent towards V-SMF and/or H-SMF. In some example embodiments, the AMF may send to the V-SMF 156 the Nsmf_PDUSession_CreateSMContext Request message including visiting 5QI and the home 5QI. The V-SMF may then forward at least the home 5QI to the H-SMF (e.g., forward to the H-SMF using an Nsmf_PDUSession_Create Request message including at least the home 5QI).

[037] When the V-SMF 156 receives the corresponding session create request message including the allocated first, visiting 5QI information, the V-SMF may, based on the first, visiting 5QI information (e.g., packet delay, jiher information, and/or the like) select a user plane function (UPF), such as V-UPF 158. Likewise when the H-SMF 172 receives the corresponding session create request message including the allocated second, home 5QI information, the H-SMF may, based on the second 5QI information select a user plane function (UPF), such as H-UPF 184. As such, the H-PCF may be able to determine/calculate, based on the QoS needs (e.g., in NSSAI or QoS information), how the QoS are allocated across the PLMNs. And, the H-PCF may then signal to the AMF 154 this QoS/5 QI allocation to the HPLMN 170 and VPLMN 166.

[038] FIG. 2 depicts an example of a process 200, in accordance with some example embodiments. The description of FIG. 2 refers to FIG. 1 as well.

[039] At 205, a network node may obtain a first quality of service parameter for a visiting public land mobile network and a second quality of service parameter for a home public land mobile network, in accordance with some example embodiments. For example, the network node, such as AMF 154, a mobility management entity, or other node, may obtain QoS information for the VPLMN 166 and HPLMN 170. This information may be obtained by accessing a node associated with the HPLMN, such as the H-PCF 174 or a packet gateway (PGW). Moreover, this access may be via the N15 interface, V-PCF 160, and N24 interface. In some example embodiments, the AMF may obtain from the H-PCF the QoS information in response to a session establishment, such as a PDU session establishment request from the UE 150, although the QoS information may be obtained at other times as well.

[040] The QoS information obtained by the AMF 154 at 205 may take the form of visiting 5QI information for the VPLMN 166 and home 5QI information for the HPLMN 170. For example, the AMF may receive from the H-PCF the visiting 5QI representing the allocation of QoS to the VPLMN and the home 5QI representing the allocation of QoS information to the HPLMN.

[041] In some example embodiments, the AMF 154 may request the QoS information from the H-PCF 174 by sending a message to the H-PCF. This message may request QoS information (e.g., QoS rules, 5QI, and/or the like) for the UE 150, which may be associated with a given network slice. Moreover, the AMF’s message to the H-PCF may include an identity of the network slice, a UE ID, location of the UE, and/or other information. [042] A network slice refers to a logical network that provides specific network capabilities and network characteristics. The network slice may be considered a logical end-to- end network that can be dynamically created, so that a given UE may access different network slices over the same radio access network (e.g., over the same radio interface). The network slices can provide different services and/or have different QoS needs/requirements. 3GPP TS 23.501, System Architecture for the 5G System, describes examples of network slices.

[043] Although some of the examples herein refer to a home policy control function, other types of nodes (e.g., a policy and charging rules function as found in 4G networks, a visiting PCF, and/or other nodes providing rules, policy, and/or QoS information) may be accessed to obtain quality of service information as disclosed herein.

[044] At 207, the network node may select a visiting node and a home node, the selecting based on the obtained first quality of service parameter and the obtained second quality of service parameter, in accordance with some example embodiments. For example, the network node, such as the AMF 154, a PGW, and/or the like, may, based on the QOS information obtained at 205, select a visiting node, such as a V-SMF 156 in the VPLMN 166, a serving gateway function (SGW), and/or the like. Moreover, the network node may select a home node, such as a H-SMF 172 in the HPLMN 170, a PGW, and/or the like. In response to the QoS information received at 205 for example, the AMF 154 may, based on the QoS information/5QI allocation, perform SMF selection. For example, the AMF may, based on a first, visiting 5QI allocated to the VPLMN and a second, home 5QI allocated to the HPLMN, select the SMFs in the VPLMN and the HPLMN. The AMF may also take into account other information when selecting SMFs including NSSAI, subscription information, operator polices, load conditions of SMFs, and/or the like. Moreover, the selection may be in accordance with a standard, such as 3 GPP TS 23.501, although other standards may be applicable or be used as well. [045] At 209, the network node may send towards the visiting node and the home node, the obtained first quality of service parameter and the obtained second quality of service parameter, in accordance with some example embodiments. For example, the network node, such as the AMF 154, a PGW, and/or the like, may send QoS information, such as the first, visiting 5QI and the second, home 5QI towards the visiting node (e.g., the V-SMF 156, SGW, and/or the like) and the home node (e.g., the H-SMF 172, PGW, and/or the like).

[046] In some example embodiments, the AMF 154 may send, at 209, towards the V- SMF 156 and H-SMF 172 a message including the QoS information/5 QIs for both the VPLMN and HPLMN. To illustrate further example, the AMF may send to the V-SMF a session create request message, such as an Nsmf_PDUSession_CreateSMContext Request message including visiting 5QI and home 5QI. The V-SMF may then forward at least the home 5QI to the H-SMF (e.g., forward to the H-SMF using an Nsmf_PDUSession_Create Request message including at least the home 5QI).

[047] As noted, the AMF 154 may send, at 209, both the home 5QI and the visiting 5QI to the V-SMF 156. The V-SMF may then select (from one or more UPFs) the V-UPF 158 based on the QoS information relevant for the VPLMN. The V-SMF may remove the QoS information for the VPLMN before forwarding a message including the home 5QI towards the H-SMF 172. In response to the receipt of the home 5QI, the H-SMF may select (from one or more UPFs) the H-UPF. This selection may be based on the received home 5QI,

[048] FIG. 3 depicts an example of a process 300, in accordance with some example embodiments. The description of FIG. 2 refers to FIG. 1 as well.

[049] At 305, the H-PCF 174 may receive, from a network node, such as the AMF 154, mobility management entity (MME), and/or the like, a message to request QoS information for the VPLMN 166 and HPLMN 170, in accordance with some example embodiments. In some example embodiments, the H-PCF 174 may receive, from the AMF 156, the message via the N15 interface, V-PCF 160, and N24 interface, although the message may be received via other interfaces and/or directly from the AMF as well. The message received at 305 may include the actual NSSAI, explicit QoS information (e.g., actual QoS values for maximum delay, or maximum jitter, and/or the like) as signaled from the UE, an identifier for the UE, and/or other information.

[050] At 307, the H-PCF 174 may determine QoS information, such as QoS rules, 5QIs, and/or the like, for the HPLMN and the VPLMN. For a given session or network slice at a UE, the H-PCF may determine QoS information, such as a 5QI allocation for the HPLMN, and determine QoS information, such as a 5QI allocation for the VPLMN. To illustrate further, for a given network slice or session, the H-PCF may allocate 2/3 of the packet delay to the VPLMN and 1/3 of the packet delay to the HPLMN. Although the some of the examples refer to delay, other quality of service parameters such as jitter and/or the like may be used as well.

[051] At 309, the H-PCF 174 may send to the AMF 154 a response including the QoS information for the VPLMN 166 and HPLMN 170, in accordance with some example embodiments. For a given session or network slice at a UE 150 for example, the H-PCF may send the QoS information, such as the 5QI allocation, for the HPLMN as determined at 307, and provide the QoS information, such as 5QI allocation, for the VPLMN as determined at 307. Moreover, the QoS information may be provided along with the UE ID and NSSAI, so that the AMF can map the QoS to the proper UE and network slice. In some example embodiments, the H-PCF may provide the response including both 5QIs towards the AMF via the N15 interface, V-PCF 160, and N24 interface, although the response may be provided via other interfaces and/or directly to the AMF as well.

[052] Process 300 may enable the H-PCF 174 to calculate, based on QoS needs/requirements, an allocation of QoS (e.g., packet delay, jitter, and/or other QoS information) to the VPLMN and HPLMN. Moreover, the H-PCF may be configured to signal to the AMF 154 this allocation to the HPLMN and VPLMN.

[053] FIG. 4 depicts another example of a process 400, in according with some example embodiments.

[054] At 405, the V-SMF 156 may request from the H-PCF 174 QoS information for the HPLMN 166 and VPLMN 170, and this request may be via the V-PCF 160. For example, the V-SMF may send a message requesting the QoS information via the V-PCF and the N24 interface. Moreover, an interface, such as an N7-like interface, may be defined between the V- PCF and the V-SMF.

[055] At 410, the V-SMF 156 may receive the requested QoS information for the VPLMN and the HPLMN, in accordance with some example embodiments. The QoS information may include the home 5QI, such as jitter or delay allocation for the home PLMN, and the visiting 5QI, such as jitter or delay allocation for the visiting PLMN.

[056] At 412, the V-SMF 156 may select, based on the received QoS information including the home 5QI and the visiting 5QI, at least one UPF, in accordance with some example embodiments. The UPF selection, such as V-UPF 158, may be in accordance with 3GPP TS 23.502.

[057] At 416, the V-SMF 156 may forward to the HPLMN including the H-SMF 172 the home 5QI information, in accordance with some example embodiments. The V-SMF 156 may forward the home 5QI information via the N16 interface. With the home 5QI information, the H-SMF may perform UPF selection, such as H-UPF 184. The UPF selection may be in accordance with 3 GPP TS 23.502.

[058] Process 400 may be used in situations when the VPLMN and the HPLMN have only one a single SMF, so the AMF cannot actually select (from among a plurality of SMFs) the SMF in the corresponding PLMN. [059] In some example embodiments, the request at 405 may occur in response to an Nsmf_PDUSession_CreateSMContext Request message in accordance with 3GPP TS 23.502. Alternatively or additionally, the request at 405 may occur before UPF 158 selection (see, e.g., 3 GPP TS 23.502) by the V-SMF.

[060] As with 300, the AMF 154 may perform SMF selection during the process 400. The AMF may select SMFs either because there is only one SMF in each PLMN (accessing all the UPFs in this this network) or because all of the SMFs in both PLMNs can select all UPFs in their respective PLMN or the H-PCF in the HPLMN was configured to return only those H-SMFs back to the AMF which can select all relevant H-UPFs in the HPLMN. Since all the UPF needed to fulfill the requirements for the network or slice can be controlled by all of the SMFs in each of the PLMNs, any SMF may be selected as each UPF may be selected by any SMF such that the required end-to-end delay /jitter can be met Moreover, the AMF may forward the Nsmf_PDUSession_CreateSMContext Request to the V-SMF. The V-SMF may query the H-PCF via its V-PCF to request the allocated QoS information for both the V-PLMN and the V- PLMN. On receipt of the VPLMN QoS information (e.g., the delay /jitter in the VPLMN) sent by the H-PCF via the V-PCF, the V-SMF may select its V-UPF. Moreover, the V-SMF may forward at least the home QoS information relevant for the H-SMF to the HPLMN (e.g., as part of an NSMF_PDUSession Create Request message). On receipt of home QoS information, the H-SMF may select its H-UPF based on the QoS information relevant for the HPLMN.

[061] The H-PCF 174 may not necessarily need to return to the VPLMN via the V- PCF both the QoS information for the HPLMN and the VPLMN. For example, the H-PCF may only need to return the VPLMN portion of the QoS information to the V-PCF in the VPLMN so that the VPLMN may not be able/allowed to signal the QoS portion relevant for the HPLMN to the H-SMF. In this example, the H-SMF would not have information about the delay/jitter to be allocated to the HPLMN, however, this may have a potential drawback that the H-SMF may need to consult its H-PCF to retrieve QoS portion for the HPLMN needed to perform the H-UPF selection in the H-PLMN.

[062] In some example embodiments, the AMF 154 may suppress the consultation of the H-PCF 174 (which may provide the partitioned QoS information such as delay and/or the jitter for the HPLMN and the VPLMN for home routed routing mode) for certain services based on local configuration knowledge. For example, operator policies may be mandated that for certain HPLMNs or for certain users, the partitioning of the delay and/or the jitter may not be allowed via signalling. In case of 5G for example, the V-SMF and the H-SMF may be selected based on the end-to-end delay/jitter or the S-NSSAI by applying a default QoS portion value to the PLMN in question, rather than consulting the H-PCF for the allocation/partition of QoS. And, the V/H-SMF selection may also be based a consistent operator policy configured in both PLMNs to select the V/H-UPF respectively. Both the HPLMN and the VPLMN may need to understand and apply a consistent view of what the default QoS portion is. For instance, if one of the PLMNs has the default portion one quarter, then the other PLMN should have a default portion of three quarter in order to have a consistent policy and configuration.

[063] However, this consistency may make home roaming more difficult as the roaming partners need to agree on the partition ratio like for instance 1/3 to 2/3 of the maximum delay. For instance, each pair of roaming partners may bilaterally agree on how they want to partition the end-to-end delay/jitter across their networks for both directions (e.g., for the incoming roamers and for the outgoing roamers for each service/slice they want to support). Based on their bilateral agreement, the roaming partners may agree that the HPLMN will always allocate a two thirds of the delay /jitter. Other PLMN roaming partners may agree to split the jitter/delay simply one half to one PLMN and the other half to the other PLMN. As such, each V- PLMN and V-PLMN may need to configure for each roaming partner and each service/slice how to split/share the delay/jitter between them. For that each V-SMF and H-SMF may maintain a dedicated list (e.g., locally, internally or externally) comprising for each service and for each roaming partner configured via OAM and/or the like how the delay /jitter is portioned between them. Moreover, the configuration of the PLMNs may need to be consistent. For instance, the sum of the percentage of both configuration in the VPLMN and HPLMN should always be about 100%.

[064] FIG. 5 depicts a block diagram of a network node 500, in accordance with some example embodiments. The network node 500 may be configured to handle allocating QoS to the HPLMN and/or VPLMN as disclosed herein. Moreover, a mobile wireless network may have a plurality of the network nodes 500 as well. For example, the network node may be incorporated into one or more of the devices 152-180.

[065] The network node 500 may include a network interface 502, a processor 520, a memory 504, and a QoS allocator 550 service, in accordance with some example embodiments. The network interface 502 may include wired and/or wireless transceivers to enable access other nodes including base stations, devices 152-180, the Internet, and/or other nodes. The memory 504 may comprise volatile and/or non-volatile memory including program code, which when executed by at least one processor 520 provides, among other things, the processes disclosed herein including process 200, 300, 400, and/or the like.

[066] FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of an apparatus 10, in accordance with some example embodiments.

[067] The apparatus 10 may represent a user equipment, such as the user equipment 150. The apparatus 10, or portions therein, may be implemented in other network nodes including base stations/WLAN access points as well as the other network nodes (e.g., devices 152-184).

[068] The apparatus 10 may include at least one antenna 12 in communication with a transmitter 14 and a receiver 16. Alternatively transmit and receive antennas may be separate. The apparatus 10 may also include a processor 20 configured to provide signals to and receive signals from the transmitter and receiver, respectively, and to control the functioning of the apparatus. Processor 20 may be configured to control the functioning of the transmitter and receiver by effecting control signaling via electrical leads to the transmitter and receiver. Likewise, processor 20 may be configured to control other elements of apparatus 10 by effecting control signaling via electrical leads connecting processor 20 to the other elements, such as a display or a memory. The processor 20 may, for example, be embodied in a variety of ways including circuitry, at least one processing core, one or more microprocessors with accompanying digital signal processor(s), one or more processor(s) without an accompanying digital signal processor, one or more coprocessors, one or more multi-core processors, one or more controllers, processing circuitry, one or more computers, various other processing elements including integrated circuits (for example, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), and/or the like), or some combination thereof. Accordingly, although illustrated in FIG. 6 as a single processor, in some example embodiments the processor 20 may comprise a plurality of processors or processing cores.

[069] The apparatus 10 may be capable of operating with one or more air interface standards, communication protocols, modulation types, access types, and/or the like. Signals sent and received by the processor 20 may include signaling information in accordance with an air interface standard of an applicable cellular system, and/or any number of different wireline or wireless networking techniques, comprising but not limited to Wi-Fi, wireless local access network (WLAN) techniques, such as Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, 802.16, 802.3, ADSL, DOCSIS, and/or the like. In addition, these signals may include speech data, user generated data, user requested data, and/or the like.

[070] For example, the apparatus 10 and/or a cellular modem therein may be capable of operating in accordance with various first generation (1G) communication protocols, second generation (2G or 2.5G) communication protocols, third-generation (3G) communication protocols, fourth-generation (4G) communication protocols, fifth-generation (5G) communication protocols, Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) communication protocols (for example, session initiation protocol (SIP) and/or the like. For example, the apparatus 10 may be capable of operating in accordance with 2G wireless communication protocols IS-136, Time Division Multiple Access TDMA, Global System for Mobile communications, GSM, IS-95, Code Division Multiple Access, CDMA, and/or the like. In addition, for example, the apparatus 10 may be capable of operating in accordance with 2.5G wireless communication protocols General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), and/or the like. Further, for example, the apparatus 10 may be capable of operating in accordance with 3G wireless communication protocols, such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Code Division Multiple Access 2000 (CDMA2000), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Time Division-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA), and/or the like. The apparatus 10 may be additionally capable of operating in accordance with 3.9G wireless communication protocols, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), and/or the like. Additionally, for example, the apparatus 10 may be capable of operating in accordance with 4G wireless communication protocols, such as LTE Advanced, 5G, and/or the like as well as similar wireless communication protocols that may be subsequently developed.

[071] It is understood that the processor 20 may include circuitry for implementing audio/video and logic functions of apparatus 10. For example, the processor 20 may comprise a digital signal processor device, a microprocessor device, an analog-to-digital converter, a digital- to-analog converter, and/or the like. Control and signal processing functions of the apparatus 10 may be allocated between these devices according to their respective capabilities. The processor 20 may additionally comprise an internal voice coder (VC) 20a, an internal data modem (DM) 20b, and/or the like. Further, the processor 20 may include functionality to operate one or more software programs, which may be stored in memory. In general, processor 20 and stored software instructions may be configured to cause apparatus 10 to perform actions. For example, processor 20 may be capable of operating a connectivity program, such as a web browser. The connectivity program may allow the apparatus 10 to transmit and receive web content, such as location-based content, according to a protocol, such as wireless application protocol, WAP, hypertext transfer protocol, HTTP, and/or the like.

[072] Apparatus 10 may also comprise a user interface including, for example, an earphone or speaker 24, a ringer 22, a microphone 26, a display 28, a user input interface, and/or the like, which may be operationally coupled to the processor 20. The display 28 may, as noted above, include a touch sensitive display, where a user may touch and/or gesture to make selections, enter values, and/or the like. The processor 20 may also include user interface circuitry configured to control at least some functions of one or more elements of the user interface, such as the speaker 24, the ringer 22, the microphone 26, the display 28, and/or the like. The processor 20 and/or user interface circuitry comprising the processor 20 may be configured to control one or more functions of one or more elements of the user interface through computer program instructions, for example, software and/or firmware, stored on a memory accessible to the processor 20, for example, volatile memory 40, non-volatile memory 42, and/or the like. The apparatus 10 may include a battery for powering various circuits related to the mobile terminal, for example, a circuit to provide mechanical vibration as a detectable output. The user input interface may comprise devices allowing the apparatus 20 to receive data, such as a keypad 30 (which can be a virtual keyboard presented on display 28 or an externally coupled keyboard) and/or other input devices.

[073] As shown in FIG. 6, apparatus 10 may also include one or more mechanisms for sharing and/or obtaining data. For example, the apparatus 10 may include a short-range radio frequency (RF) transceiver and/or interrogator 64, so data may be shared with and/or obtained from electronic devices in accordance with RF techniques. The apparatus 10 may include other short-range transceivers, such as an infrared (IR) transceiver 66, a BluetoothTM (BT) transceiver 68 operating using BluetoothTM wireless technology, a wireless universal serial bus (USB) transceiver 70, a BluetoothTM Low Energy transceiver, a ZigBee transceiver, an ANT transceiver, a cellular device-to-device transceiver, a wireless local area link transceiver, and/or any other short-range radio technology. Apparatus 10 and, in particular, the short-range transceiver may be capable of transmitting data to and/or receiving data from electronic devices within the proximity of the apparatus, such as within 10 meters, for example. The apparatus 10 including the Wi-Fi or wireless local area networking modem may also be capable of transmitting and/or receiving data from electronic devices according to various wireless networking techniques, including 6LoWpan, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi low power, WLAN techniques such as IEEE 802.11 techniques, IEEE 802.15 techniques, IEEE 802.16 techniques, and/or the like.

[074] The apparatus 10 may comprise memory, such as a subscriber identity module (SIM) 38, a removable user identity module (R-UIM), an eUICC, an UICC, and/or the like, which may store information elements related to a mobile subscriber. In addition to the SIM, the apparatus 10 may include other removable and/or fixed memory. The apparatus 10 may include volatile memory 40 and/or non-volatile memory 42. For example, volatile memory 40 may include Random Access Memory (RAM) including dynamic and/or static RAM, on-chip or off- chip cache memory, and/or the like. Non-volatile memory 42, which may be embedded and/or removable, may include, for example, read-only memory, flash memory, magnetic storage devices, for example, hard disks, floppy disk drives, magnetic tape, optical disc drives and/or media, non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM), and/or the like. Like volatile memory 40, non-volatile memory 42 may include a cache area for temporary storage of data. At least part of the volatile and/or non-volatile memory may be embedded in processor 20. The memories may store one or more software programs, instructions, pieces of information, data, and/or the like which may be used by the apparatus for performing operations disclosed herein. Alternatively or additionally, the apparatus may be configured to cause the operations disclosed herein with respect to the base stations/WLAN access points and network nodes including the UEs.

[075] The memories may comprise an identifier, such as an international mobile equipment identification (IMEI) code, capable of uniquely identifying apparatus 10. The memories may comprise an identifier, such as an international mobile equipment identification (IMEI) code, capable of uniquely identifying apparatus 10. In the example embodiment, the processor 20 may be configured using computer code stored at memory 40 and/or 42 to the provide operations disclosed herein with respect to the base stations/WLAN access points and network nodes including the UEs.

[076] Some of the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented in software, hardware, application logic, or a combination of software, hardware, and application logic. The software, application logic, and/or hardware may reside on memory 40, the control apparatus 20, or electronic components, for example. In some example embodiment, the application logic, software or an instruction set is maintained on any one of various conventional computer-readable media. In the context of this document, a“computer-readable medium” may be any non- transitory media that can contain, store, communicate, propagate or transport the instructions for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer or data processor circuitry, with examples depicted at FIG. 6, computer-readable medium may comprise a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that may be any media that can contain or store the instructions for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer. [077] Without in any way limiting the scope, interpretation, or application of the claims appearing below, a technical effect of one or more of the example embodiments disclosed herein may be enhanced QoS management including QoS management in the HPLMN.

[078] The subject matter described herein may be embodied in systems, apparatus, methods, and/or articles depending on the desired configuration. For example, the base stations and user equipment (or one or more components therein) and/or the processes described herein can be implemented using one or more of the following: a processor executing program code, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a digital signal processor (DSP), an embedded processor, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), and/or combinations thereof. These various implementations may include implementation in one or more computer programs that are executable and/or interpretable on a programmable system including at least one programmable processor, which may be special or general purpose, coupled to receive data and instructions from, and to transmit data and instructions to, a storage system, at least one input device, and at least one output device. These computer programs (also known as programs, software, software applications, applications, components, program code, or code) include machine instructions for a programmable processor, and may be implemented in a high-level procedural and/or object- oriented programming language, and/or in assembly/machine language. As used herein, the term “computer-readable medium” refers to any computer program product, machine-readable medium, computer-readable storage medium, apparatus and/or device (for example, magnetic discs, optical disks, memory, Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs)) used to provide machine instructions and/or data to a programmable processor, including a machine-readable medium that receives machine instructions. Similarly, systems are also described herein that may include a processor and a memory coupled to the processor. The memory may include one or more programs that cause the processor to perform one or more of the operations described herein. [079] Although a few variations have been described in detail above, other modifications or additions are possible. In particular, further features and/or variations may be provided in addition to those set forth herein. Moreover, the implementations described above may be directed to various combinations and subcombinations of the disclosed features and/or combinations and subcombinations of several further features disclosed above. Other embodiments may be within the scope of the following claims.

[080] If desired, the different functions discussed herein may be performed in a different order and/or concurrently with each other. Furthermore, if desired, one or more of the above-described functions may be optional or may be combined. Although various aspects of some of the embodiments are set out in the independent claims, other aspects of some of the embodiments comprise other combinations of features from the described embodiments and/or the dependent claims with the features of the independent claims, and not solely the combinations explicitly set out in the claims. It is also noted herein that while the above describes example embodiments, these descriptions should not be viewed in a limiting sense. Rather, there are several variations and modifications that may be made without departing from the scope of some of the embodiments as defined in the appended claims. Other embodiments may be within the scope of the following claims. The term“based on” includes“based on at least.” The use of the phase“such as” means“such as for example” unless otherwise indicated.