US 11,758,498 B2
Method and apparatus for managing machine type communication devices in an access network
Emiliano Merino Vazquez, Madrid (ES); and Luis Miguel Almaraz Valdes, Galapagar (ES)
Assigned to TELEFONAKTIEBOLAGET LM ERICSSON (PUBL), Stockholm (SE)
Filed by Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ), Stockholm (SE)
Filed on Aug. 23, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/893,235.
Application 17/893,235 is a continuation of application No. 17/268,089, granted, now 11,463,977, previously published as PCT/IB2019/056850, filed on Aug. 12, 2019.
Claims priority of application No. 18382609 (EP), filed on Aug. 13, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2023/0013605 A1, Jan. 19, 2023
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. H04W 4/00 (2018.01); H04W 60/00 (2009.01); H04W 4/70 (2018.01); H04W 4/50 (2018.01); H04W 8/22 (2009.01); H04W 48/02 (2009.01)
CPC H04W 60/00 (2013.01) [H04W 4/50 (2018.02); H04W 4/70 (2018.02); H04W 8/22 (2013.01); H04W 48/02 (2013.01)] 10 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
7. A wireless communication network (WCN) comprising:
a first network node comprising:
communication interface circuitry for communicating with one or more other nodes in or communicatively coupled to the WCN; and
processing circuitry operatively associated with the communication interface circuitry and configured to:
receive an exposure function message requesting a configuration action to be undertaken in the WCN with respect to one or more wireless communication devices (WCDs),
identify, as a requesting provider, one in a set of two or more Machine Type Communication (MTC) Service Provider (SP) networks that are commonly associated with the one or more WCDs and external to the WCN,
generate one or more configuration messages corresponding to the network exposure function message, each configuration message including a provider-specific internal identifier associated with the requesting provider and
transmit the one or more configuration messages to one or more second network nodes of the WCN responsible for undertaking the configuration action; and
a second network node comprising:
communication interface circuitry for communicating with one or more other nodes in or communicatively coupled to the WCN; and
processing circuitry operatively associated with the communication interface circuitry and configured to
receive the configuration message transmitted by the first network node and
restrict application of the configuration action as a function of the provider-specific internal identifier, such that the configuration action affects the behavior of the WCN with respect to the MTC SP network corresponding to the provider-specific internal identifier but not with respect to the one or more other MTC SP networks in the set of two or more MTC SP networks.