CN114980180A - A method and apparatus for determining a target operator network - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to the field of mobile communications, and in particular, to a method and an apparatus for determining a handover target operator network during a handover procedure. The method for determining the switching target operator network comprises the following steps: a switching target base station acquires operator network information supported by a Mobile Management Entity (MME); determining operator network information supported by the MME and a handover target cell; and when only one operator network is supported by the MME and the switching target cell, determining the operator network supported by the MME and the switching target cell as the switching target operator network. Correspondingly, the invention also provides a device for determining the network of the switching target operator. The method and the device provided by the invention can improve the success rate of switching.

Description

A method and apparatus for determining a target operator network

This application is a divisional application of the patent application entitled "A Method and Device for Determining a Target Operator's Network" with an application number of 201610685269.7 on an application date of August 17, 2016.

technical field

The present invention relates to the field of mobile communications, in particular to a method and device for determining a handover target operator network in a handover process.

Background technique

In a mobile communication system, different operators share equipment and resources in the network, which is called network sharing. In the Long Term Evolution (Long Term Evolution, LTE for short) system, there are two ways of network sharing. One is to share only wireless side devices and resources, that is, the Multi-Operator Core Network (MOCN) way; It is a gateway core network (Gateway Core Network, GWCN for short) method that both the wireless side and the core network side share equipment and resources. Regardless of the sharing method, the wireless side can be shared by multiple operators. When an evolved Node B (evolved Node B, eNB for short) is shared by multiple operators, the carrier resources under the eNB (in the LTE system, one carrier resource corresponds to one cell) can be shared by multiple operators, or can be shared by multiple operators. Dedicated to one operator. When the cell resources under the eNB can be shared by multiple operators, the cell can be configured with multiple network identifiers of the operators it supports to indicate which operators the cell resources are available for, and the network identifiers of the operators supported by the cell. The list will be broadcast to user equipment (User Equipment, UE for short) in the broadcast information, for the UE to select an operator network of a suitable cell to access.

When the UE is handed over, the handover source eNB can select the serving operator network of the handover target cell for it according to the operator network supported by the handover target cell and the UE's own selectable operator network list. In the related art, the handover source side eNB will carry the serving operator network of the selected handover target cell to the handover target eNB through a mobility management entity (Mobility Management Entity, MME for short). This solution requires the support of the MME. When the MME does not support or does not enable corresponding functions, the handover target eNB cannot determine the handover target operator network, resulting in handover failure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To solve the above problems, the present invention provides a method and apparatus for determining a target operator network.

Wherein, the method for determining a target operator network provided by the present invention includes: the handover target base station obtains the operator network information supported by the mobility management entity MME; determining the operator network information supported by both the MME and the handover target cell; When there is only one operator network supported by both the MME and the handover target cell, it is determined that the operator network supported by both the MME and the handover target cell is the handover target operator network.

Preferably, the above-mentioned operator network information includes: PLMN ID.

Preferably, the handover target base station obtains the operator network information supported by the MME through the S1 connection establishment response message.

Preferably, before determining the operator network supported by both the MME and the handover target cell, the handover target base station determines the handover target cell by receiving a handover request message sent by the MME.

Preferably, the handover target base station performs handover according to the determined handover target operator network.

The device for determining the target operator network also provided by the present invention includes: an acquisition module and a determination module. Wherein: the acquisition module is used to acquire the operator network information supported by the mobility management entity MME; the determination module is used to determine the operator network information supported by both the MME and the handover target cell; when the MME and the target cell both support When there is only one operator network, the operator network supported by both the MME and the target cell is determined as the handover target operator network.

By using the method or device for determining the target operator network provided by the present invention, even if the MME does not carry the selected operator network information to the handover target eNB, the handover target eNB can judge the MME and the handover target eNB according to the obtained operator network information supported by the MME. The intersection of the operator networks supported by the handover target cell, when there is only one operator network supported by the MME and the target cell, it is determined that the operator network supported by the MME and the target cell is the handover target operator network; this makes the handover target operator network. It can be carried out normally, thereby improving the success rate of handover.

Description of drawings

1 is a flow chart of the basic steps of a method for determining a target operator network;

2 is a flowchart of Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

3 is a flowchart of Embodiment 2 of the present invention;

4 is a block diagram of an apparatus for determining a target operator network.

Detailed ways

In order to make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention clearer, the embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that, the embodiments in the present application and the features in the embodiments may be arbitrarily combined with each other if there is no conflict.

In the related art, when the equipment and resources on the core network side or the wireless side are shared by multiple operators, the PLMN ID is generally used to identify which operators can use certain equipment and resources. When the cell resources under the eNB can be shared by multiple operators, the cell can be configured with multiple PLMN IDs that it supports to indicate which operators the cell resources are available for. The first PLMN ID is the primary PLMN; when When the cell resources under the eNB are only dedicated to one operator, only one PLMN ID is configured for the cell, indicating which operator the cell resources are dedicated to only. The list of PLMN IDs supported by the cell will be broadcast to the UE in the broadcast information. The UE can select the home PLMN (Home PLMN, HPLMN) or the equivalent PLMN (Equivalent PLMN, EPLMN) as the service PLMN (Service PLMN) when accessing. , SPLMN). Once the serving PLMN is selected by the UE, it will remain in effect when the UE processes the connected state, unless a handover occurs. When the UE is handed over, the handover source eNB can select the handover target serving PLMN for it according to the PLMN situation supported by the handover target cell and the list of PLMNs to which the UE belongs (including HPLMN and EPLMN). According to the protocol, during S1 handover, the handover target serving PLMN is carried by the handover source eNB to the MME through the handover request message (HANDOVER REQUIRED), and the MME then carries it to the handover target eNB through the handover restriction list in the handover request message (HANDOVER REQUEST). However, since the handover restriction list in the HANDOVERREQUEST message is an optional cell, when S1 handover occurs in the network sharing scenario, if the MME does not carry the handover restriction list in the HANDOVER REQUEST message, the handover target eNB will not be able to know the handover target service operator or PLMN. what is.

The embodiments of the present invention make improvements to the above scenarios. FIG. 1 is a flow chart of basic steps of a method for determining a target operator network. As shown in the figure, the method mainly includes:

S101: The handover target base station obtains the operator network information supported by the mobility management entity MME;

S102: Determine the operator network information supported by both the above-mentioned MME and the handover target cell;

S103: When there is only one operator network supported by both the MME and the handover target cell, determine that the operator network supported by both the MME and the handover target cell is the handover target operator network.

The above operator network information may be represented by PLMN IDs; different PLMN IDs represent different operators or different subsidiaries of the same operator. The base station can obtain the PLMN ID supported by the MME through the S1 connection establishment response message. In this case, the operator network supported by both the MME and the target cell is the PLMN ID supported by both the MME and the target cell. During the specific handover process, the handover target cell in S102 is determined by the handover target base station according to the handover request message sent by the received MME. After the handover target operator network is determined in S103, the handover can be performed according to the determined handover target operator network.

Example 1

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of Embodiment 1 of the present invention. As shown, including:

S201: The base station establishes an S1 connection with the MME, and obtains the PLMN supported by the MME through a corresponding message of the S1 connection;

S202: The base station receives the handover request message of the MME; determines the handover target cell according to the handover request message;

S203: The base station determines that there is only one PLMN supported by the handover target cell and the above-mentioned MME, which is PLMN1;

S204: The base station determines that the target serving PLMN is PLMN1, and continues the handover process.

Embodiment 2:

Different from the first embodiment, this embodiment introduces whether the handover request message carries the handover restriction list, so that the way of determining the target serving PLMN is more flexible. FIG. 3 is a flowchart of Embodiment 2 of the present invention. As shown, including

S301: The base station establishes an S1 connection with the MME, and obtains the PLMN supported by the MME through a corresponding message of the S1 connection;

S302: When the base station receives the above-mentioned handover request message from the MME, it determines the handover target cell, and judges whether the handover request message carries a handover restriction list, and if it carries a handover restriction list, jump to S305, otherwise, jump to S303;

S303: The base station determines that there is only one PLMN supported by the handover target cell and the above-mentioned MME, which is PLMN1;

S304: The base station determines that the target serving PLMN is PLMN1, and continues the handover process;

S305: The base station determines the target serving PLMN according to the handover restriction list and continues the handover process.

In the specific implementation, if the base station determines that the PLMN supported by the handover target cell and the above MME is not unique, that is, if there are multiple PLMNs supported by the handover target cell and the above MME, the base station will not be able to determine the handover target PLMN, and therefore refuses handover, and Reply to the MME with a handover failure message.

Similarly, if the base station determines that both the handover target cell and the PLMN supported by the MME are empty, that is, when the handover target cell and the PLMN supported by the MME have no intersection, the base station also cannot determine the handover target PLMN, and therefore rejects the handover and replies to the MME that the handover failed information.

4 is a block diagram of an apparatus for determining a target operator network. As shown in the figure, the apparatus includes: an acquisition module 01 and a determination module 02 . The acquisition module 01 is used to acquire the operator network information supported by the mobility management entity MME; the determination module 02 is used to determine the operator network information supported by both the MME and the handover target cell; when both the MME and the handover target cell support When there is only one operator network, the operator network supported by both the MME and the target cell is determined as the handover target operator network.

Wherein, the above operator network information may be a PLMN ID, and determining the operator network supported by both the MME and the target cell is to determine the PLMN ID supported by both the MME and the target cell.

Those skilled in the art can understand that all or part of the steps in the above method can be completed by instructing relevant hardware through a program, and the program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, such as a read-only memory, a magnetic disk or an optical disk. Optionally, all or part of the steps in the above embodiments may also be implemented by using one or more integrated circuits. Correspondingly, each module/unit in the above embodiments may be implemented in the form of hardware, or may be implemented in the form of software function modules. form realization. The present invention is not limited to any particular form of combination of hardware and software.

It should be noted that the present invention can also have other various embodiments. Without departing from the spirit and essence of the present invention, those skilled in the art can make various corresponding changes and deformations according to the present invention, but these Corresponding changes and deformations should belong to the protection scope of the appended claims of the present invention.

Claims (8)

1. A method for determining a target operator, comprising: receiving a handover request message sent by a mobility management entity MME, determining a handover target cell according to the handover request message, and judging whether the handover request message carries a handover restriction list; In the case of judging that there is no handover restriction list in the handover request message, according to the operator information supported by the MME, determine the operator information supported by both the MME and the handover target cell; When there is only one operator supported by both the MME and the handover target cell, determine that the operator supported by both the MME and the handover target cell is the handover target operator, and perform handover according to the determined handover target operator; and When both the MME and the handover target cell support more than one operator or are empty, it is determined that the handover target operator fails, and the handover is rejected. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein The operator information includes: PLMN ID. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein The operator information supported by the MME is acquired by the handover target base station from the MME. 4. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein The handover target base station obtains the operator information supported by the MME through the S1 connection establishment response message. 5. A device for determining a target operator, comprising: determine the module; The determining module is configured to receive the handover request message sent by the mobility management entity MME, determine the handover target cell according to the handover request message, and determine whether the handover request message carries a handover restriction list, and when it is determined that the handover request message If there is no handover restriction list in the request message, determine the operator information supported by both the MME and the handover target cell according to the operator information supported by the MME; when the MME and the target cell both support only one operator When the operator supported by both the MME and the target cell is determined as the handover target operator, and the handover is performed according to the determined handover target operator; when the operator supported by both the MME and the handover target cell is more than one or is When it is empty, it is determined that the handover target operator fails, and the handover is refused. 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein The operator information includes: PLMN ID. 7. The apparatus of claim 5, further comprising: an acquisition module, where the acquisition module is configured to acquire information of operators supported by the MME from the MME. 8. The device of any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein The obtaining module is configured to obtain the operator information supported by the MME through the S1 connection establishment response message.

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