Adjusting discontinuous reception behavior of a user equipment to conserve energy use

A method for adjusting discontinuous reception (DRX) behavior of a user equipment (UE) to conserve energy use, the UE being in wireless communication with a base station, the method being performed by an application that is sending data to the UE via a mobile network that comprises the base station, the method comprising:

• sending data packets to the UE at a packet interval;
• determining, based at least in part on the packet interval, that the DRX behavior of the UE should be changed;
• and
• causing a DRX parameter for the UE to be changed via a DRX application programming interface (API) exposed by a radio access network (RAN) controller that is communicatively coupled to the base station, wherein causing the DRX parameter to be changed comprises:
• sending a request to the RAN controller to change the DRX parameter, the request being sent via the DRX API;
• and
• providing the RAN controller, via the DRX API, with UE identifying information that enables the UE to be identified and parameter identifying information that enables a new value for the DRX parameter to be determined.

A system for adjusting discontinuous reception (DRX) behavior of a user equipment (UE) to conserve energy use, the UE being in wireless communication with a base station, the system comprising:

• one or more processors;
• memory in electronic communication with the one or more processors;
• and
• instructions stored in the memory, the instructions being executable by the one or more processors to:
• expose a DRX application programming interface (API) that enables DRX parameters to be changed;
• create a conflict resolution policy that controls when requests to change the DRX parameters should be granted, the conflict resolution policy being designed to prevent conflicts between different applications;
• receive, via the DRX API, a first request from a first application to change a DRX parameter for the UE from a current value to a new value, wherein the first application is external to the UE and is configured to send data to the UE via a mobile network that comprises the base station;
• determine, based at least in part on the conflict resolution policy, that the first request should be granted;
• and
• send a command to the base station, the command causing the base station to communicate the new value of the DRX parameter to the UE.