IP Library › Granted Patent US 12677213

Granted Patent B2

US 12677213 · App. 18/433,089 · Granted Jul 7, 2026

Tracking area selection method, device, and system

Inventors: Fangyuan Zhu (Beijing, CN); Yan Li (Beijing, CN)

Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.

H04W48/18 H04W12/06 H04W48/02 H04W60/04

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Quick Facts

Patent No.: US 12677213
App. No.: 18/433,089
Granted: Jul 7, 2026
Kind: B2

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Abstract

A tracking area selection method, a device, and a system are provided. The method includes: a mobility management network element initiates an authentication and authorization procedure for a network slice on which authentication and authorization are to be performed and that is in a network slice requested by a terminal; determines, based on a result of the authentication and authorization procedure, identification information of a network slice that the terminal is allowed to access; obtains, based on first information and the identification information of the network slice that the terminal is allowed to access, identification information of a target network slice and radio resource information corresponding to the target network slice; and sends the identification information of the target network slice and the radio resource information corresponding to the target network slice to an access network device.

Claims (63)

1 . A tracking area selection method comprising:

obtaining, by a mobility management network element, from identification information of a network slice requested by a terminal, identification information of a network slice on which authentication and authorization are to be performed;

initiating, by the mobility management network element, an authentication and authorization procedure for the network slice on which authentication and authorization are to be performed;

determining, by the mobility management network element, based on a result of the authentication and authorization procedure for the network slice, identification information of a network slice that the terminal is allowed to access;

obtaining, by the mobility management network element, second information based on first information and the identification information of the network slice that the terminal is allowed to access,

wherein the first information comprises identification information of a network slice that the terminal is rejected to access or the identification information of the network slice requested by the terminal,

the network slice that the terminal is rejected to access is a network slice that is not supported by a tracking area in which an access network device is located and that is in the network slice requested by the terminal, and

the second information comprises identification information of a target network slice and radio resource information corresponding to the target network slice; and

sending, by the mobility management network element, the second information to the access network device.

2 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the obtaining, by the mobility management network element, the second information based on the first information and the identification information of the network slice that the terminal is allowed to access comprises:

determining, by the mobility management network element, the second information based on the first information and the identification information of the network slice that the terminal is allowed to access.

3 . The method according to claim 2 , wherein the determining, by the mobility management network element, the second information based on the first information and the identification information of the network slice that the terminal is allowed to access comprises:

determining, by the mobility management network element, based on the first information, the identification information of the network slice that the terminal is rejected to access; and

determining, by the mobility management network element, the identification information of the target network slice based on the identification information of the network slice that the terminal is rejected to access and the identification information of the network slice that the terminal is allowed to access.

4 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the obtaining, by the mobility management network element, the second information based on the first information and the identification information of the network slice that the terminal is allowed to access comprises:

sending, by the mobility management network element to a network slice selection function network element, the first information and the identification information of the network slice that the terminal is allowed to access, and receiving the second information from the network slice selection function network element.

5 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the sending, by the mobility management network element, the second information to the access network device comprises:

sending, by the mobility management network element, the second information to the access network device after a registration procedure for the terminal.

6 . The method according to claim 5 , wherein the sending, by the mobility management network element, the second information to the access network device comprises:

based on the authentication and authorization procedure for the network slice on which authentication and authorization are to be performed being successful, initiating, by the mobility management network element, a user equipment (UE) configuration update procedure, and sending a first message to the access network device, wherein the first message comprises a UE configuration update command and the second information.

7 . The method according to claim 5 , wherein the sending, by the mobility management network element, the second information to the access network device comprises:

sending, by the mobility management network element, a UE context modification request to the access network device if based on the authentication and authorization procedure for the network slice on which authentication and authorization are to be performed being unsuccessful and the identification information of the network slice that the terminal is allowed to access being not empty, wherein the UE context modification request comprises the second information.

8 . The method according to claim 5 , wherein the sending, by the mobility management network element, the second information to the access network device comprises:

sending, by the mobility management network element, a UE context release request to the access network device based on the authentication and authorization procedure for the network slice on which authentication and authorization are to be performed being unsuccessful and the identification information of the network slice that the terminal is allowed to access being empty, wherein the UE context release request comprises the second information.

9 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:

storing, by the mobility management network element, the first information.

10 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:

storing, by the mobility management network element, first indication information, wherein the first indication information indicates to perform one or more of the following:

selecting a new tracking area for the terminal, wherein the new tracking area supports the target network slice;

redirecting the terminal to a tracking area or a frequency band that supports the target network slice; or

obtaining the second information after the authentication and authorization procedure; and

wherein the obtaining, by the mobility management network element, the second information based on the first information and the identification information of the network slice that the terminal is allowed to access comprises:

obtaining, by the mobility management network element in response to the first indication information, the second information based on the first information and the identification information of the network slice that the terminal is allowed to access.

11 . A communication apparatus comprising:

a processor, configured to: obtain, from identification information of a network slice requested by a terminal, identification information of a network slice on which authentication and authorization are to be performed; and initiate an authentication and authorization procedure for the network slice on which authentication and authorization are to be performed, wherein

the processor is further configured to: determine, based on a result of the authentication and authorization procedure for the network slice, identification information of a network slice that the terminal is allowed to access; and obtain second information based on first information and the identification information of the network slice that the terminal is allowed to access,

the second information comprises identification information of a target network slice and radio resource information corresponding to the target network slice; and

a transceiver, configured to cooperate with the processor to send the second information to the access network device.

12 . The communication apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

determine the second information based on the first information and the identification information of the network slice that the terminal is allowed to access.

13 . The communication apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

determine, based on the first information, the identification information of the network slice that the terminal is rejected to access; and

determine the identification information of the target network slice based on the identification information of the network slice that the terminal is rejected to access and the identification information of the network slice that the terminal is allowed to access.

14 . The communication apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

send, to a network slice selection function network element using the transceiver, the first information and the identification information of the network slice that the terminal is allowed to access; and receive, using the transceiver, the second information from the network slice selection function network element.

15 . The communication apparatus according to claim 13 , wherein the transceiver is further configured to cooperate with the processor to:

send the second information to the access network device after a registration procedure for the terminal.

16 . The communication apparatus according to claim 15 , wherein the transceiver is further configured to cooperate with the processor to:

based on the authentication and authorization procedure for the network slice on which authentication and authorization are to be performed being successful, initiate a user equipment (UE) configuration update procedure, and send a first message to the access network device, wherein the first message comprises a UE configuration update command and the second information.

17 . The communication apparatus according to claim 15 , wherein the transceiver is further configured to cooperate with the processor to:

send a UE context modification request to the access network device based on the authentication and authorization procedure for the network slice on which authentication and authorization are to be performed being unsuccessful and the identification information of the network slice that the terminal is allowed to access being not empty, wherein the UE context modification request comprises the second information.

18 . The communication apparatus according to claim 15 , wherein the transceiver is further configured to cooperate with the processor to:

send a UE context release request to the access network device based on the authentication and authorization procedure for the network slice on which authentication and authorization are to be performed being unsuccessful and the identification information of the network slice that the terminal is allowed to access being empty, wherein the UE context release request comprises the second information.

19 . The communication apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

store the first information.

20 . The communication apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

store first indication information, wherein the first indication information indicates to perform one or more of the following:

selecting a new tracking area for the terminal, wherein the new tracking area supports the target network slice;

redirecting the terminal to a tracking area or a frequency band that supports the target network slice; or

obtaining the second information after the authentication and authorization procedure; and

the processor is further configured to obtain, for a mobility management network element in response to the first indication information, the second information based on the first information and the identification information of the network slice that the terminal is allowed to access.