IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,581,445
Granted Patent B2
US 12,581,445 · App. 17/995,757 · Granted Mar 17, 2026

Configuration for UE access to a specific network slice

Inventors: Genadi Velev (Darmstadt, DE); Apostolis Salkintzis (Athens, GR); Andreas Kunz (Ladenburg, DE)
Assignee: Lenovo (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.
H04W60/00H04W36/06H04W36/13H04W36/1446
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,581,445
App. No.
17/995,757
Filed
Oct 7, 2022
Granted
Mar 17, 2026
Kind
B2
Art Unit
2642
USPC
455/435.1
Abstract

Apparatuses, methods, and systems are disclosed for provisioning a UE with information to access a specific service. One apparatus includes a transceiver that communicates with a mobile communication network and a processor that sends a first registration request to the mobile communication network, the mobile communication network supporting a plurality of network slices. The processor receives configuration information from the mobile communication network, the configuration information enabling the apparatus to use at least one network slice from the plurality of network slices, wherein the configuration information includes a frequency priority for the at least one network slice. The processor performs cell reselection using at least the frequency priority and sends a second registration request to the mobile communication network after performing the cell reselection, wherein the second registration requests to register with the at least one network slice.

Claims (38)

1 . An apparatus for wireless communication comprising a network function, the apparatus further comprising:

at least one memory; and

at least one processor coupled with the at least one memory and configured to cause the network function to:

receive, from a provisioning server, a message to subscribe for a user equipment (UE) reachability status associated with a remote provisioning for a set of credentials;

determine whether the UE is reachable for the remote provisioning based at least in part on the message and the UE being able to establish a user plane connection to the provisioning server; and

transmit a notification that the UE is reachable based at least in part on the determination.

2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the network function comprises a unified data management (UDM).

3 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the set of credentials is associated with one or more of network slice-specific authentication and authorization (NSSAA) or secondary authentication and authorization (SAA).

4 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein, to transmit the notification that the UE is reachable, the at least one processor is configured to cause the apparatus to transmit the notification to the provisioning server.

5 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the user plane connection comprises a protocol data unit (PDU) session.

6 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the apparatus to:

receive a second message that indicates the UE is registered to a subscribed network associated with the network function;

determine whether to provision the set of credentials to the UE based at least in part on the received second message; and

provision the set of credentials to the UE based at least in part on the determination.

7 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the apparatus to store the provisioning server's subscription to the UE reachability status.

8 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the provisioning server comprises an external provisioning server.

9 . A processor for wireless communication at a network function, comprising:

at least one memory configured to cause the processor to:

receive, from a provisioning server, a message to subscribe for a user equipment (UE) reachability status associated with a remote provisioning for a set of credentials;

determine whether the UE is reachable for the remote provisioning based at least in part on the message and the UE being able to establish a user plane connection to the provisioning server; and

transmit a notification that the UE is reachable based at least in part on the determination.

10 . The processor of claim 9 , wherein the network function comprises a unified data management (UDM).

11 . The processor of claim 9 , wherein the set of credentials is associated with one or more of network slice-specific authentication and authorization (NSSAA) or secondary authentication and authorization (SAA).

12 . The processor of claim 9 , wherein to transmit the notification that the UE is reachable, the at least one memory is configured to cause the processor to transmit the notification to the provisioning server.

13 . The processor of claim 9 , wherein the user plane connection comprises a protocol data unit (PDU) session.

14 . The processor of claim 9 , wherein the at least one memory is configured to cause the processor to:

receive a message that indicates the UE is registered to a subscribed network associated with the network function;

determine whether to provision a set of credentials to the UE based at least in part on the received message, wherein the set of credentials is for network slice-specific authentication and authorization (NSSAA) or secondary authentication and authorization (SAA), or a combination thereof; and

provision the set of credentials to the UE based at least in part on the determination.

15 . The processor of claim 9 , wherein the at least one memory is further configured to cause the processor to store the provisioning server's subscription to the UE reachability status.

16 . The processor of claim 9 , wherein the provisioning server comprises an external provisioning server.

17 . A method performed at a network function, the method comprising:

receiving, from a provisioning server, a message to subscribe for a user equipment (UE) reachability status associated with a remote provisioning for a set of credentials;

determining whether the UE is reachable for the remote provisioning based at least in part on the message and the UE being able to establish a user plane connection to the provisioning server; and

transmitting a notification that the UE is reachable based at least in part on the determination.

18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the network function comprises a unified data management (UDM), and wherein the set of credentials is associated with one or more of network slice-specific authentication and authorization (NSSAA) or secondary authentication and authorization (SAA).

19 . The method of claim 17 , wherein transmitting the notification that the UE is reachable comprises transmitting the notification to the provisioning server.

20 . The method of claim 17 , further comprising storing the provisioning server's subscription to the UE reachability status.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Oct 13, 2022
From: VELEV, GENADI; SALKINTZIS, APOSTOLIS; KUNZ, ANDREAS
To: LENOVO (SINGAPORE) PTE. LTD.
Reel/Frame 061413/0758 →
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20230189187A1 · Jun 15, 2023
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