Methods, systems, and computer readable media for dynamically provisioning and using public land mobile network (PLMN) location mappings in service capability exposure function (SCEF) or network exposure function (NEF)

A system for dynamically provisioning and using public land mobile network (PLMN) location mappings, the system comprising:

• a service capability exposure function (SCEF) or a network exposure function (NEF) implemented using at least one processor, the SCEF or NEF including:
• a public land mobile network (PLMN) location mapping database for storing mappings between PLMN location identifiers and non-PLMN location identifiers;
• a PLMN-facing interface for receiving, from a PLMN network node, a message containing a PLMN location identifier and non-PLMN location information;
• a dynamic PLMN location mapping database provisioning module for extracting the PLMN location identifier and the non-PLMN location identifier from the message and storing, in the PLMN location mapping database, a mapping between the PLMN location identifier and the non-PLMN location identifier;
• and
• a monitoring interface for receiving, from an application server (AS) or a service capability server (SCS), a monitoring request message requesting Internet of things (IoT) device information and including a non-PLMN location identifier, locating an entry in the PLMN location mapping database corresponding to the non-PLMN location identifier in the monitoring request message, extracting a PLMN location identifier from the database, using the PLMN location identifier extracted from the database to obtain the IoT device information, and responding to the monitoring request message with the IoT device information, wherein the monitoring request message is a request for a count of the number of user equipment (UEs) in a geographic area specified by the non-PLMN location identifier and the SCEF or NEF uses the mapping between the non-PLMN location identifier and the PLMN location identifier to contact mobility management entities (MMEs) or access and mobility management functions (AMFs) and obtain a count of UEs in the geographic area.

A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon executable instructions that when executed by a processor of a computer controls the computer to perform steps comprising:

• in a service capability exposure function (SCEF) or a network exposure function (NEF) implemented using at least one processor:
• receiving, from a PLMN network node, a message containing a PLMN location identifier and a non-PLMN location identifier;
• extracting the PLMN location identifier and the non-PLMN location identifier from the message and storing, in a PLMN location mapping database in the SCEF or NEF, a mapping between the PLMN location identifier and the non-PLMN location identifier;
• receiving, via a monitoring interface of the SCEF or NEF, a monitoring request message requesting Internet of things (IoT) device information and including a non-PLMN location identifier;
• locating an entry in the PLMN location mapping database corresponding to the non-PLMN location identifier in the monitoring request message and extracting a PLMN location identifier from the database;
• using the PLMN location identifier extracted from the database to obtain IoT device information;
• and
• responding to the monitoring request message with the IoT device information, wherein the monitoring request message is a request for a count of the number of user equipment (UEs) in a geographic area specified by the non-PLMN location identifier and the SCEF or NEF uses the mapping between the non-PLMN location identifier and the PLMN location identifier to contact mobility management entities (MMEs) or access and mobility management functions (AMFs) and obtain a count of UEs in the geographic area.