Finer Control of WLAN Association for Network-Controlled LTE-WLAN Internetworking

摘要

Apparatus and methods are provided for finer control for WLAN association. In one novel aspect, an enhanced NCWIK capability negotiation, an UE assistance information exchange, and an enhanced steering command are performed. In one embodiment, the enhanced NCIWK capacity negotiation includes additional UE information for fine selection. In another embodiment, the UE assistance information is sent to the eNB in addition to the measurement report. The UE assistance information is configured by the eNB. In yet another embodiment, the enhanced traffic steering command includes information of a target AP and one or more target channels. In one embodiment, the enhanced traffic steering command further includes channel direction information. In another novel aspect, the UE selects different UL and DL channels based on the received enhanced traffic steering command. In one embodiment, the UL and DL channels for the UE are different channels from the same AP or from different RATS.

主权项

1. A method comprising:
establishing a connection with a long term evolving (LTE) network eNB by a user equipment (UE) in a heterogeneous wireless network, wherein one or more WLAN access points (APs) have coverage overlaps with the eNB; performing an enhanced network-controlled internetworking (NCIWK) capability negotiation; sending UE assistance information for NCIWK upon detecting one or more triggering event, wherein the assistance information is configured by the network and is sent following a measurement report to the eNB; receiving an enhanced traffic steering command from the eNB, wherein the enhanced traffic steering command includes detailed WLAN association information; and selecting and associating a WLAN AP based on the steering command.