Mapping of S-NSSAI at roaming

1. A method for registering a user equipment, UE, in a visited network, the method comprising:

the UE selecting a home network slice identity, h-NSI, wherein the h-NSI is associated with an index value;

the UE obtaining the index value with which the selected h-NSI is associated;

after obtaining the index value, the UE transmitting a registration message towards a control node, the registration message comprising a requested NSI, r-NSI, and the obtained index value; and

the UE receiving a registration response message comprising an allowed NSI, a-NSI, and an index value associated with the a-NSI.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising one of:

storing, at the UE, home network configuration information associating each of a plurality of h-NSIs with a unique index value, wherein a first h-NSI is associated with a first index value and a second h-NSI is associated with a second index value; and

storing, at the UE, home network configuration information associating each of a plurality of h-NSIs with an index value, wherein a first h-NSI is associated with a first index value and a second h-NSI is associated with the first index value.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

selecting an h-NSI comprises identifying an application and using application configuration information to select an h-NSI with which the identified application is associated, and

obtaining an index value with which the selected h-NSI is associated comprises using the home network configuration information to obtain the index value with which the selected h-NSI is associated.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

the UE selecting the r-NSI based on the index value with which the selected h-NSI is associated.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein

the method further comprises storing, at the UE, a set of one or more visited NSIs (v-NSIs), wherein the v-NSIs are associated with the visited network, and

selecting the r-NSI based on the index value with which the selected h-NSI is associated comprises determining that the set of v-NSIs includes a v-NSI that is associated with the index value with which the selected h-NSI is associated and selecting as the r-NSI the v-NSI that is associated with the index value.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein

the method further comprises storing, at the UE, a set of one or more default NSIs (d-NSIs), and

selecting the r-NSI based on the index value with which the selected h-NSI is associated comprises determining that the set of d-NSIs includes a d-NSI that is associated with the index value with which the selected h-NSI is associated and selecting as the r-NSI the d-NSI that is associated with the index value.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the set of d-NSIs is associated with a specific visited network or wherein the set of d-NSIs are for use with any visited network.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein

the a-NSI is different than the r-NSI,

the index value associated with the a-NSI is equal to the obtained index value included in the registration message, and

the method further comprises the UE updating locally stored configuration information for the visited network such that the updated locally stored configuration information for the visited network associates the a-NSI with the determined index value.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the control node comprises a core access and mobility management function (AMF) of a home network and the accept message is received from an AMF in the visited network.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein obtaining the index value comprises:

finding the selected h-NSI in a lookup table, the lookup table comprising a set of one or more home network tuples, each home network tuple comprising an h-NSI and a slice index corresponding to the h-NSI; and

obtaining the index value associated with the selected h-NSI from the lookup table.

11. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium storing a computer program comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the method of claim 1 .

12. A method for registering a user equipment, UE, in a visited network, the method comprising:

receiving a registration message transmitted by the UE, wherein the registration message comprises a requested network slice identity, NSI, and a slice index value paired with the requested NSI, r-NSI;

in response to receiving the registration message, transmitting a slice selection data request towards a Unified Data Management, UDM; and

receiving a slice selection data response message from the UDM comprising a list of one or more subscription tuples, each subscription tuple comprising a subscribed NSI (h-NSI) and a slice index corresponding to the h-NSI.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

after receiving the registration request message, transmitting a slice selection request message to a control function (e.g., a network slice selection function (NSSF) and/or a network function repository function (NSF) and/or a combined NSSF and NRF (NRF+));

receiving from the control function a slice selection response message comprising a list of one or more allowed tuples, each allowed tuple comprising an a-NSI and a slice index corresponding to the a-NSI.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the slice selection request message comprises

a first list of one or more requested tuples, each requested tuple comprising a r-NSI and a slice index corresponding to the r-NSI, and

a second list of one or more subscription tuples.

15. A method for registering a user equipment, UE, in a visited network, the method comprising:

receiving a first message comprising network slice identity (r-NSI) (e.g., an S-NSSAI) requested by the UE and a slice index value associated with the r-NSI;

determining that the r-NSI is an unknown NSI;

selecting a known NSI based on the slice index included in the first message; and

responding to the first message by transmitting a response message, wherein the response message includes a tuple comprising the selected known NSI and the slice index from the first message.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the method is performed by a core network node in the visited network.

17. The method of claim 15 , further comprising:

obtaining subscription information for the UE; and

prior to responding to the first message and after receiving the first message, determining that the slice index is included in the subscription information for the UE.

18. The method of claim 17 , further comprising:

determining that the slice index is included in a roaming agreement.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein

the step of transmitting the response message comprising the selected known NSI is performed as a result of determining that a) the slice index is included in the subscription information for the UE and b) the slice index is included in the roaming agreement.

20. The method of claim 15 , wherein

selecting a known NSI based on the slice index comprises selecting a known NSI that is associated with the slice index.

21. A user equipment, UE, the UE being adapted to:

select a home network slice identity (h-NSI), wherein the hNSI is associated with an index value;

obtain the index value with which the selected h-NSI is associated;

after obtaining the index value, transmit a registration message towards a control node, the registration message comprising a requested NSI (r-NSI) (e.g., an S-NSSAI) and the obtained index value; and

receive a registration response message comprising an allowed NSI (a-NSI) and an index value associated with the a-NSI.

22. A control node, the control node being adapted to:

receive from a user equipment, UE, a registration message, wherein the registration message comprises a requested network slice identity (NSI) (e.g., an S-NSSAI) and a slice index value paired with the requested NSI (r-NSI);

transmit a slice selection data request towards a unified data management (UDM) in response to receiving the registration message; and

receive a slice selection data response message from the UDM comprising a list of one or more subscription tuples, each subscription tuple comprising a subscribed NSI (h-NSI) and a slice index corresponding to the h-NSI.

23. A core network, CN, node, the CN node being configured to:

receive a first message comprising network slice identity (r-NSI) (e.g., an S-NSSAI) requested by the UE and a slice index value associated with the r-NSI;

determine that the r-NSI is an unknown NSI;

select a known NSI based on the slice index included in the first message; and

respond to the first message by transmitting a response message, wherein the response message includes a tuple comprising the selected known NSI and the slice index from the first message.