Method for the transfer of radio capability information
Technology for improving the selection, transfer, and storage of user equipment (UE) radio capability information is disclosed. A cellular mobile network can be configured to identify radio-access-technology (RAT)-specific radio-capability information relating to RATs supported in the cellular mobile network and communicate the RAT-specific radio-capability information to a UE. The UE can use the RAT-specific radio-capability information to help determine which UE radio capability information to send to the network. In addition, the UE may store a list of supported frequency bands and/or supported frequency-band combinations (LOSB) indexed by network operators and use the list to help determine which UE radio capability information to send to the network. A network node may also selectively remove unnecessary information from UE radio capability information before storing the UE radio capability information at a mobility management entity (MME).
1. An apparatus of a user equipment (UE) operable to communicate radio access capability information, the apparatus comprising:
memory; and
one or more processors configured to:
decode, at the UE, a UE capability enquiry message received from a network, the UE capability enquiry message including a list of frequency bands that are supported in the network, and a maximum number of uplink carriers supported in the network;
create, at the UE, a list of frequency band combinations that are supported at the UE based in part on the UE capability enquiry message, wherein a number of carriers in an uplink for the frequency band combination does not exceed the maximum number of uplink carriers supported in the network; and
encode at the UE, a UE capability information message for transmission to the network that includes the list of frequency band combinations that are supported at the UE and the network.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a transceiver configured to:
receive the UE capability enquiry message from the network; and
transmit the UE capability information message to the network.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the UE capability enquiry message further includes a maximum number of downlink carriers supported in the network.
4. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein a number of carriers in a downlink for a frequency band combination in the list of frequency band combinations does not exceed the maximum number of downlink carriers supported in the network.
5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the list of frequency band combinations are limited to the list of frequency bands that are supported in the network.
6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the frequency band combinations that are included in the UE capability information message are carrier aggregation (CA) band combinations.
7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the UE capability enquiry message is received at the UE via a radio resource control (RRC) signaling message.
8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the UE capability enquiry message is received at the UE when the UE is in a connected mode.
9. At least one non-transitory machine readable storage medium having instructions embodied thereon for a network node in a network to determine radio access capability information associated with a user equipment (UE), the instructions when executed by one or more processors cause the UE to perform the following:
identifying, at the network node, a list of frequency bands that are supported in the network;
encoding, at the network node, a UE capability enquiry message for transmission to the UE that includes the list of frequency bands that are supported in the network, a maximum number of downlink carriers supported in the network, and a maximum number of uplink carriers supported in the network; and
decoding, at the network node, a UE capability information message received from the UE that includes a list of frequency band combinations that are supported at the UE and the network, wherein a number of carriers in a downlink for a frequency band combination in the list of frequency band combinations does not exceed the maximum number of downlink carriers supported in the network, and a number of carriers in an uplink for the frequency band combination does not exceed the maximum number of uplink carriers supported in the network.
10. The at least one non-transitory machine readable storage medium of claim 9 , wherein the list of frequency band combinations are limited to the list of frequency bands that are supported in the network.
11. The at least one non-transitory machine readable storage medium of claim 9 , wherein the frequency band combinations that are included in the UE capability information message are carrier aggregation (CA) band combinations.
12. The at least one non-transitory machine readable storage medium of claim 9 , wherein the UE capability enquiry message is transmitted to the UE via a radio resource control (RRC) signaling message.
13. The at least one non-transitory machine readable storage medium of claim 9 , wherein the network that includes the network node is an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN).
14. An apparatus of a user equipment (UE) that is operable to communicate radio access capability information from a user equipment (UE) to a network node, the apparatus comprising:
memory; and
one or more processors configured to:
decode, at the UE, a UE capability enquiry message received from a network, the UE capability enquiry message including a list of frequency bands that are supported in the network, and a maximum number of uplink carriers supported in the network;
create, at the UE, a list of frequency band combinations that are supported at the UE based in part on the UE capability enquiry message, wherein, and a number of carriers in an uplink for the frequency band combination does not exceed the maximum number of uplink carriers supported in the network; and
encode at the UE, a UE capability information message for transmission to the network that includes the list of frequency band combinations that are supported at the UE and the network.
15. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the list of frequency band combinations are limited to the list of frequency bands that are supported in the network.
16. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the frequency band combinations that are included in the UE capability information message are carrier aggregation (CA) band combinations.
17. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the UE capability enquiry message is received at the UE via a radio resource control (RRC) signaling message.
18. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the UE capability enquiry message is received at the UE when the UE is in a connected mode.
19. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the UE capability enquiry message further includes a maximum number of downlink carriers supported in the network.
20. The apparatus of claim 19 , wherein a number of carriers in a downlink for a frequency band combination in the list of frequency band combinations does not exceed the maximum number of downlink carriers supported in the network.