COMMUNICATION SYSTEM, CELLULAR BASE STATION, AND WLAN ACCESS POINT

摘要

A communication system according to an embodiment includes: a cellular base station; and a wireless local area network (WLAN) management apparatus configured to manage one or more WLAN access points. The WLAN management apparatus is used for a cellular-WLAN aggregation in which data of a user terminal is transmitted and received using both a cellular communication and a WLAN communication while the user terminal maintains a radio resource control (RRC) connection with the cellular base station. A direct communication path bypassing a core network is established between the cellular base station and the WLAN management apparatus.

主权项

1. A communication system, comprising:
a cellular base station; and a wireless local area network (WLAN) management apparatus configured to manage one or more WLAN access points, wherein the WLAN management apparatus is used for a cellular-WLAN aggregation in which data of a user terminal is transmitted and received using both a cellular communication and a WLAN communication while the user terminal maintains a radio resource control (RRC) connection with the cellular base station, a direct communication path bypassing a core network is established between the cellular base station and the WLAN management apparatus, the cellular base station is configured to use the direct communication path to transmit a request message to the WLAN management apparatus, the request message requesting an allocation of WLAN resources to be used by the user terminal for the cellular-WLAN aggregation, and the request message including:
an identifier of the user terminal;bearer identifiers of one or more specific bearers to be used for the cellular-WLAN aggregation; anda tunnel endpoint identifier for transferring data of the user terminal, and the cellular base station is further configured to use the direct communication path to receive an acknowledgement message from the WLAN management apparatus, the acknowledgement message indicating a positive acknowledgement of the request message, and the acknowledgement message including:
a first bearer identifier of a first specific bearer not admitted by the WLAN management apparatus from among the one or more specific bearers; and/ora second bearer identifier of a second specific bearer admitted by the WLAN management apparatus from among the one or more specific bearers.