Abstract: A method of executing a service for a service consumer, said service consumer being registered in a home telecommunication network and currently residing in a visited telecommunication network, said method comprising the steps of retrieving a list of available services within the home telecommunication network that said service consumer is allowed to access, wherein said SDVN function and said home NRF both reside in said home telecommunication network, receiving a service operation message requesting an operation execution within a particular service for said service consumer in said visited telecommunication network, determining that said home network is able to provide for said requested particular service based on said retrieved list of available service, and selecting one or more service instances for executing said operation within said particular service for said service consumer.

Abstract: A method of updating a background data transfer, BDT, policy negotiated between an application function, AF, and a Core Network, CN, is disclose. The method is performed by a Policy Control Function, PCF, of the CN and comprises determining updated BDT policy information including updated conditions for the negotiated BDT policy and at least one candidate BDT policy for the AP to select when the PCF determines that the negotiated BDT policy is affected by degraded network performance. The determined updated BDT policy information is then sent to the AF by the PCF using notification type interaction, thereby effectively updating the negotiated BDT policy.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus are provided for traffic monitoring in a network. In an example aspect, a method of traffic monitoring in a first network node comprises receiving a packet, determining that the packet matches a plurality of packet detection rules, and sending an indication to a second network node that the packet matches a plurality of packet detection rules.

Abstract: A method of reporting traffic metrics by a User Plane Function, UPF, to a Session Management Function, SMF, in a telecommunication network, wherein said method comprises the steps of receiving, by said UPF, a session creation/modification message for creating/modifying a session between said UPF and said SMF, wherein said message comprises a Reporting Rule thereby defining which traffic metric is to be reported by said UPF to said SMF, measuring, by said UPF, said traffic metric based on said received Reporting Rule, transmitting, by said UPF, to said SMF, a reporting message, wherein said reporting message comprises said measured traffic metric.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a method for evaluating data traffic in a communication network. The method comprising establishing a protocol session between a control plane, CP, node and a user plane, UP, node and configuring, by the CP node, a first detection rule to be used for event notification, and at least one next detection rule to be used for traffic detection. The first detection rule comprises an indicator indicating the highest precedence, and identifies a first instruction rule indicating an event to be notified and a continuation flag indicating evaluation of at least one next detection rule. The at least one next detection rule comprises an indicator indicating a lower precedence than the one in the first detection rule and identifies a next instruction rule to be applied to a matched traffic.

Abstract: A method performed by a first node is disclosed herein. The method is for handling data traffic. The first node operates in a communications network. The first node receives an indication from a second node operating in the network. The indication indicates, for a packet forwarding control protocol (PFCP) session, at least one of: i) a first rule for packet detection; and ii) a second rule of enforcement of quality of service. The first node initiates a process of optimization, based on reinforcement learning, of a procedure to control data traffic in the network. The process of optimization is further based on the received indication. A method performed by the second node is also described. The second node receives a first indication from the first node indicating that the first node supports the process of optimization. The second node then sends the indication to the first node.

Abstract: There is provided a method performed by a session management function (SMF) node of a network for establishing a PFCP session. A plurality of service functions (SFs) are selected (102) to connect in a service function chain for handling the PFCP session. Each of the plurality of SFs is capable of activating a feature of the PFCP session and is supported by a user plane function (UPF) node. The selection is based on a load of each of the plurality of SFs. For each UPF node that supports one or more of the selected plurality of SFs, transmission of a request is initiated (104) to the UPF node to establish the PFCP session with the UPF node. The request comprises an indication of the one or more of the selected plurality of SFs that the UPF node supports.

Abstract: A network function in a telecommunications network is configured for storing information identifying a User Plane Function associated with a communication session. The communication session may be indicated by information identifying the relevant user. A network analytic function can use this stored information to identify the User Plane Function associated with a communication session, and can then subscribe to an event exposure service of the User Plane Function to receive notification about events associated with that communication session. In addition, the network analytic function can subscribe to the network node, in order to be informed about any change to the User Plane Function that is associated with the communication session.

Abstract: A technique for facilitating use of machine learning models in a system comprising a plurality of machine learning model providers (802) is disclosed. A method implementation of the technique is performed by a broker component (804) maintaining a provider register containing information about the plurality of machine learning model providers (802) and machine learning models provided by the plurality of machine learning model providers (802). The method comprises receiving a request for a desired machine learning model from a machine learning model consumer (902), determining, based on the information contained in the provider register, a machine learning model among the machine learning models provided by the machine learning model providers (802) that matches the desired machine learning model, and sending a response to the machine learning model consumer (902) providing information associated with the determined machine learning model.

Abstract: A method of supporting Adaptive Bit Rate, ABR, video resolution shaping of a video data stream of a video session transferred by a User Plane Function, UPF, in a Service Based Architecture, SBA, domain. The video resolution shaping is performed by the UPF implementing a Reinforcement Learning Agent, RLA, operating with an observation space having a determined video resolution of a received video data stream, a reward space having a reward referring to a required video resolution, and an action space having video resolution shaping levels to be applied at the received video data stream. Complementary methods and devices for performing such a method in an SBA domain deployed in a telecommunications system are disclosed.

Abstract: The invention relates to methods of providing requested network information from a first core Network Function (NF) to a second NF, and devices performing the methods. In an aspect, a method performed by a first core NF entity of providing requested network information to a second NF entity is provided. The method comprises receiving a request to obtain the network information originating from the second NF entity, determining an expiry time stipulating how long the requested network information is valid, and transmitting, towards the second NF entity, the requested network information and the expiry time.

Abstract: The invention relates to methods of providing requested network information from a first core Network Function (NF) to a second NF, and devices performing the methods. In an aspect, a method performed by a first core NF entity of providing requested network information to a second NF entity is provided. The method comprises receiving a request to obtain the network information originating from the second NF entity, determining an expiry time stipulating how long the requested network information is valid, and transmitting, towards the second NF entity, the requested network information and the expiry time.

Abstract: According to one aspect of the present disclosure, an apparatus for correlating network data analytics, NDA, information for a device group comprising multiple terminal devices is provided, wherein each terminal device is associated with a group member identifier and the device group is associated with a group identifier. The apparatus is adapted to receive an NDA request comprising a group identifier and an NDA specification of NDA information to be collected, to send a group member identifier request comprising the group identifier, and to receive, in response to the group member identifier request, one or more group member identifiers associated with the group identifier.

Abstract: Embodiments described herein relate to methods and apparatus for configuring UPF analytics in a service based architecture. The method in an analytics controller comprises: obtaining an indication of an analytics policy rule, APR, wherein the APR indicates analytics to be carried out by a user plane function node; translating the APR into at least one rule setting a condition for reporting analytics to a network data analytics function, NWDAF, or for forwarding packets to an analytics engine, wherein the rule applies to one of: a particular user and particular traffic type; a particular user for all traffic types; and a particular user plane function node; and transmitting the at least one rule to the user plane function node.

Abstract: A method for operating a user plane entity configured to handle a user plane of data packet sessions exchanged in a cellular network, each data packet session comprising data packet flows of a plurality of applications, the data packet flows of each application being identified by an application identifier, the method includes: determining that a tracking of data packet flows identified by an application identifier should be stopped, determining one or more application detection filters configured to detect data packet flows identified by the application identifier, removing the one or more application detection filters and the application identifier from the user plane entity, and requesting a session control entity configured to control the data packet sessions to remove packet detection rules usable to detect the data packet flows identified by the application identifier, wherein the request includes the application identifier.

Abstract: A method performed by a policy node for handling QoS for data traffic between a UE and an Application Server (AS) node associated with the UE. The policy node receives messages indicating available marking types which a user plane node is capable of detecting in the data traffic and information indicating a number of marking types supported by both the UE and the AS node, a UE identifier identifying the UE and a list of QoS profiles associated with the UE. The policy node determines the decided marking type and marking value for each of the QoS profiles associated with the UE identifier and transmits a message towards the control plane node having a session establishment response for the UE identifier including the marking type and marking value decided for each QoS profile associated with the UE identifier.

Abstract: Implementation of an application rule for an application to be accessed by a User Equipment, UE, in a user session in a Service Based Architecture, SBA, domain in a core network of a telecommunications system is disclosed. The SBA, among others, comprises a Policy Control Function, PCF (6), an Application Function, AF (5), and a Session Management Function, SMF (9). The method comprising the steps of receiving, by the PCF (6), an application rule comprising an AF Identifier, AF-ID, identifying the application rule, an Application Identifier, App-ID, identifying the application, and at least one service requirement for processing the application in the SBA domain. The PCF (6) instructing the SMF (9) to execute the at least one service requirement to all present and future user sessions pertaining to the respective application. Complementary methods of supporting the execution of the application rule and devices are also presented.

Abstract: A method of supporting Adaptive Bit Rate, ABR, video resolution shaping of a video data stream of a video session transferred by a User Plane Function, UPF, in a Service Based Architecture, SBA, domain. The video resolution shaping is performed by the UPF implementing a Reinforcement Learning Agent, RLA, operating with an observation space having a determined video resolution of a received video data stream, a reward space having a reward referring to a required video resolution, and an action space having video resolution shaping levels to be applied at the received video data stream. Complementary methods and devices for performing such a method in an SBA domain deployed in a telecommunications system are disclosed.

Abstract: The present invention faces the issue of supporting edge cloud in an NG network. There is thus provided an edge cloud broker (ECB) and a method carried out by the ECB for selecting edge cloud resources of a mobile edge computing (MEC) network, the edge cloud resources usable by a UE accessing the NG network. This method comprises: obtaining, from a first network node of the NG network, a UE's location; obtaining, from a second network node of the NG network, an identifier of an edge cloud application that the UE requests; obtaining, from a third network node of the MEC network, a location of each one or more edge cloud resources available to execute the edge cloud application; and selecting, based on at least the UE's location and the location of each one or more edge cloud resources, an applicable edge cloud resource to execute the edge cloud application for the UE.

Abstract: Embodiments described herein provide methods and apparatus for analytics function discovery in a service based architecture comprising a network function. A method, in an analytics discovery function, ADF, comprises receiving a request from the network function for requested analytics information; determining whether the requested analytics information matches a first registration entry; wherein the requested analytics information matches the first registration information if the request analytics information matches first analytics information in the first registration entry; and responsive to the requested analytics information matching the first registration entry, selecting the first analytics function in the first registration entry.