Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, data, and so on. These systems may be multiple-access systems capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., bandwidth and transmit power). Examples of such multiple-access systems include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, and orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems.
Generally, a wireless multiple-access communication system can simultaneously support communication for multiple wireless terminals. Each terminal communicates with one or more base stations via transmissions on the forward and reverse links. The forward link (or downlink) refers to the communication link from the base stations to the terminals, and the reverse link (or uplink) refers to the communication link from the terminals to the base stations. This communication link may be established via a single-in-single-out, multiple-in-signal-out or a multiple-in-multiple-out (MIMO) system.
Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is one of the third-generation (3G) cell phone technologies. UTRAN, short for UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network, is a collective term for the Node-B's and Radio Network Controllers which make up the UMTS radio access network. This communications network can carry many traffic types from real-time Circuit Switched to IP based Packet Switched. The UTRAN allows connectivity between the UE (user equipment) and the core network. The UTRAN contains the base stations, which are called Node Bs, and Radio Network Controllers (RNC). The RNC provides control functionalities for one or more Node Bs. A Node B and an RNC can be the same device, although typical implementations have a separate RNC located in a central office serving multiple Node B's. Despite the fact that they do not have to be physically separated, there is a logical interface between them known as the Iub. The RNC and its corresponding Node Bs are called the Radio Network Subsystem (RNS). There can be more than one RNS present in an UTRAN.
3GPP LTE (Long Term Evolution) is the name given to a project within the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) to improve the UMTS mobile phone standard to cope with future requirements. Goals include improving efficiency, lowering costs, improving services, making use of new spectrum opportunities, and better integration with other open standards. The LTE system is described in the Evolved UTRA (EUTRA) and Evolved UTRAN (EUTRAN) series of specifications.
Semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) is a set of techniques for efficiently assigning resources for periodic traffic in a wireless communication system to support resource assignment with as little overhead as possible in order to improve system capacity.
Mobile Internet Protocol (Mobile IP or MIP) is a communication protocol that enables transparent routing of data packets to mobile devices in a wireless communication system. Under the Mobile IP protocol, a device can register with a home agent (HA), through which the device obtains a “home” IP address. The home address of the device can then be utilized to route data packets to and/or from the device regardless of the location of the device within a wireless communication network. Conventionally, a mobile device can register with a HA by first discovering a global IP address of the HA and subsequently setting up a security association with the HA based on its discovered IP address. Upon association with the HA, the device can signal updates to the HA relating to the location and/or status of the device. These updates can be utilized by the HA to provide data packets to the device, either directly or indirectly via an access point of a disparate network to which the device has moved.
However, complications arise regarding Mobile IP and policy charging control (PCC) interactions. In particular, the entities involved in the mobility management (i.e., mobile node and home agent) are different from the entities involved in quality of service (QoS) and policy (i.e., PCC) management, specifically named PCEF (Policy and Charging Enforcement Function) and PCRF (Policy and Charging Rules Function) respectively. When Mobile IP is not used, there is only one IP address used by the mobile node and this is communicated to the QoS management entities (i.e. PCRF). Based on this address the PCRF establishes the correct QoS in the system. However, when a mobile node performs a MIP registration with the HA, one of the IP address of the mobile node can change and the QoS management entities (i.e., PCRF) are not aware of that as they are not involved. Based on this situation, the PCRF does not know which addresses have been registered by the mobile node. Therefore, the PCRF cannot determine which PCC rules (e.g., IP flows and related policies) need to be sent to the PCEF located at the access gateway for a respective MIP registration.