Distributed ledger control over wireless network slices

1. A method of operating a wireless communication network to serve User Equipment (UEs) over wireless network circuitry controlled by distributed ledger circuitry, the method comprising:

the distributed ledger circuitry executing a contract from an origin block and responsively transferring an instantiation request for a wireless network slice to network orchestration circuitry;

the network orchestration circuitry instantiating the wireless network slice in wireless network circuitry responsive to the instantiation request from the distributed ledger circuitry;

in the wireless network circuitry, the wireless network slice delivering a wireless network service to the UEs and responsively transferring the slice usage data for the wireless network slice to the distributed ledger circuitry;

the distributed ledger circuitry executing the contract from middle blocks and a termination block to form a blockchain that stores the slice usage data for the wireless network slice;

the distributed ledger circuitry transferring a termination request for the wireless network slice to the network orchestration circuitry responsive to executing the contract from the termination block; and

the network orchestration circuitry terminating the wireless network slice responsive to the termination request from the distributed ledger circuitry.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

the distributed ledger circuitry executing a new contract from a new origin block responsive to executing the contract from the termination block and responsively transferring a new instantiation request for a new wireless network slice to the network orchestration circuitry;

the network orchestration circuitry instantiating the new wireless network slice in the wireless network circuitry responsive to the new instantiation request from the distributed ledger circuitry;

in the wireless network circuitry, the new wireless network slice delivering the wireless network service to the UEs and responsively transferring new slice usage data for the new wireless network slice to the distributed ledger circuitry;

the distributed ledger circuitry executing the new contract from new middle blocks and a new termination block to form a new blockchain that stores the new slice usage data for the new wireless network slice;

the distributed ledger circuitry transferring a new termination request for the new wireless network slice to the network orchestration circuitry responsive to executing the new contract from the new termination block; and

the network orchestration circuitry terminating the new wireless network slice responsive to the new termination request from the distributed ledger circuitry.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising the distributed ledger circuitry storing a chain link that correlates the blockchain and the new blockchain.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein the origin block and the new origin block store a same digital certificate.

5. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

the distributed ledger circuitry generating a usage amount for the wireless network slice based on a hash of the slice usage data in the termination block of the blockchain; and

the distributed ledger circuitry generating a new usage amount for the new wireless network slice based on a new hash of the new slice usage data in the new termination block of the new blockchain.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

the distributed ledger circuitry directing a network element to transfer a slice identifier for the wireless network slice to a Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF) responsive to executing the contract from the origin block; and

the distributed ledger circuitry directing the network element to transfer a new slice identifier for the new wireless network slice to the NSSF responsive to executing the new contract from the new origin block.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

the distributed ledger circuitry directing a network element to transfer a slice identifier for the wireless network slice to a Unified Data Manager (UDM) responsive to executing the contract from the origin block; and

the distributed ledger circuitry directing the network element to transfer a new slice identifier for the new wireless network slice to the UDM responsive to executing the new contract from the new origin block.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the wireless network slice delivering the wireless network service to the UEs and responsively transferring the slice usage data for the wireless network slice to the distributed ledger circuitry comprises a User Plane Function (UPF) delivering the wireless network service to the UEs and responsively transferring the slice usage data for the wireless network slice to the distributed ledger circuitry.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the wireless network slice delivering the wireless network service to the UEs and responsively transferring the slice usage data for the wireless network circuitry to the distributed ledger circuitry comprises an Application Server (AS) delivering the wireless network service to the UEs and responsively transferring the slice usage data for the wireless network slice to the distributed ledger circuitry.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the wireless network slice delivering the wireless network service to the UEs and responsively transferring the slice usage data for the wireless network slice to the distributed ledger circuitry comprises an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) delivering the wireless network service to the UEs and responsively transferring the slice usage data for the wireless network slice to the distributed ledger circuitry.

11. A wireless communication network to serve User Equipment (UEs) over wireless network circuitry controlled by distributed ledger circuitry, the wireless communication network comprising:

the distributed ledger circuitry configured to execute a contract from an origin block and responsively transfer an instantiation request for a wireless network slice to network orchestration circuitry;

the network orchestration circuitry configured to instantiate the wireless network slice in wireless network circuitry responsive to the instantiation request from the distributed ledger circuitry;

in the wireless network circuitry, the wireless network slice configured to deliver a wireless network service to the UEs and responsively transfer the slice usage data for the wireless network slice to the distributed ledger circuitry;

the distributed ledger circuitry configured to execute the contract from middle blocks and a termination block to form a blockchain that stores the slice usage data for the wireless network slice;

the distributed ledger circuitry configured to transfer a termination request for the wireless network slice to the network orchestration circuitry responsive to the execution of the contract from the termination block; and

the network orchestration circuitry configured to terminate the wireless network slice responsive to the termination request from the distributed ledger circuitry.

12. The wireless communication network of claim 11 further comprising:

the distributed ledger circuitry configured to execute a new contract from a new origin block responsive to the execution of the contract from the termination block and responsively transfer a new instantiation request for a new wireless network slice to the network orchestration circuitry;

the network orchestration circuitry configured to instantiate the new wireless network slice in the wireless network circuitry responsive to the new instantiation request from the distributed ledger circuitry;

in the wireless network circuitry, the new wireless network slice configured to deliver the wireless network service to the UEs and responsively transfer new slice usage data for the new wireless network slice to the distributed ledger circuitry;

the distributed ledger circuitry configured to execute the new contract from new middle blocks and a new termination block to form a new blockchain that stores the new slice usage data for the new wireless network slice;

the distributed ledger circuitry configured to transfer a new termination request for the new wireless network slice to the network orchestration circuitry responsive to the execution of the new contract from the new termination block; and

the network orchestration circuitry configured to terminate the new wireless network slice responsive to the new termination request from the distributed ledger circuitry.

13. The wireless communication network of claim 12 further comprising the distributed ledger circuitry configured to store a chain link that correlates the blockchain and the new blockchain.

14. The wireless communication network of claim 12 wherein the origin block and the new origin block store a same digital certificate.

15. The wireless communication network of claim 12 further comprising:

the distributed ledger circuitry configured to generate a usage amount for the wireless network slice based on a hash of the slice usage data in the termination block of the blockchain; and

the distributed ledger circuitry configured to generate a new usage amount for the new wireless network slice based on a new hash of the new slice usage data in the new termination block of the new blockchain.

16. The wireless communication network of claim 11 further comprising:

the distributed ledger circuitry configured to direct a network element to transfer a slice identifier for the wireless network slice to a Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF) responsive to the execution of the contract from the origin block; and

the distributed ledger circuitry configured to direct the network element to transfer a new slice identifier for the new wireless network slice to the NSSF responsive to the execution of the new contract from the new origin block.

17. The wireless communication network of claim 11 further comprising:

the distributed ledger circuitry configured to direct a network element to transfer a slice identifier for the wireless network slice to a Unified Data Manager (UDM) responsive to executing the contract from the origin block; and

the distributed ledger circuitry configured to direct the network element to transfer a new slice identifier for the new wireless network slice to the UDM responsive to executing the new contract from the new origin block.

18. The wireless communication network of claim 11 wherein the wireless network slice comprises a User Plane Function (UPF) configured to deliver the wireless network service to the UEs and responsively transfer the slice usage data for the wireless network slice to the distributed ledger circuitry to deliver the wireless network service to the UEs and responsively transfer the slice usage data for the wireless network slice to the distributed ledger circuitry.

19. The wireless communication network of claim 11 wherein the wireless network slice comprises an Application Server (AS) configured to deliver the wireless network service to the UEs and responsively transfer the slice usage data for the wireless network slice to the distributed ledger circuitry to deliver the wireless network service to the UEs and responsively transfer the slice usage data for the wireless network slice to the distributed ledger circuitry.

20. The wireless communication network of claim 11 wherein the wireless network slice comprises an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) configured to deliver the wireless network service to the UEs and responsively transfer the slice usage data for the wireless network slice to the distributed ledger circuitry to deliver the wireless network service to the UEs and responsively transfer the slice usage data for the wireless network slice to the distributed ledger circuitry.