Methods and apparatuses for network slice minimum and maximum resource quotas

A method, comprising:

• receiving, from a user, a request for user connection to a network element, based on the request, setting a reservation of a soft limit resource quota in a specific network concept;
• sending an indication of whether the request was successful or unsuccessful, the request comprising at least one procedure or action indicating network resource availability;
• determining whether the user belongs to the specific network concept based on the determination that the user belongs to the specific network concept, allocating resources according to resource allocation rules specific to whether a user is entitled to use the allocated resources, and whether a user connection, a session, a bearer, a signaling connection and a data radio bearer request was successful, wherein resources are allocated differently for users that belong to the network concept compared to users that do not belong to the specific network concept;
• deploying the resource quota in a combination of a first grouping and a second grouping, wherein the first grouping is identified by a network slice, public land mobile network identification, 5QI, device type, subscription type, and a device supporting a specific air interface, and wherein the second grouping is identified by a different network slice, public land mobile network identification, 5QI, device type, subscription type, subscription profile and a device supporting a specific air interface;
• and
• applying the resource quota differently to different resources.

An apparatus, comprising:

• at least one processor;
• and
• at least one memory comprising computer program code,
• the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, with the at least one processor to cause the apparatus at least to:
• send, by a user belonging to a specific network concept, a request for a user connection to a network element, the request resulting in a soft limit resource quota reservation in the specific network concept, wherein resources are allocated differently for users that belong to the network concept compared to users that do not belong to the specific network concept;
• receive from the network element, an indication of whether the request was successful or unsuccessful, the request comprising at least one procedure or action indicating network resource availability;
• receive allocated resources according to resource allocation rules specific to the user being entitled to use the allocated resources based on the user belonging to the specific network concept, and whether the user connection, a session, a bearer, a signaling connection and a data radio bearer request was successful;
• wherein the resource quota is deployed in a combination of a first grouping and a second grouping, wherein the first grouping is identified by a network slice, public land mobile network identification, 5QI, device type, subscription type, and a device supporting a specific air interface, and wherein the second grouping is identified by a different network slice, public land mobile network identification, 5QI, device type, subscription type, subscription profile and a device supporting a specific air interface;
• and
• wherein the resource quota is applied differently to different resources.

An apparatus, comprising:

• at least one processor;
• and
• at least one memory comprising computer program code,
• the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, with the at least one processor to cause the apparatus at least to:
• receive, from a user, a request for a user connection to a network element,
• based on the request, set a reservation of a soft limit resource quota in a specific network concept;
• send an indication of whether the request was successful or unsuccessful, the request comprising at least one procedure or action indicating network resource availability;
• determine whether the user belongs to the specific network concept;
• based on the determination that the user belongs to the specific network concept, allocate resources according to resource allocation rules specific to whether a user is entitled to use the allocated resources, and whether the user connection, a session, a bearer, a signaling connection or a data radio bearer request was successful, wherein resources are allocated differently for users that belong to the network concept compared to users that do not belong to the specific network concept;
• deploy the resource quota in a combination of a first grouping and a second grouping, wherein the first grouping is identified by a network slice, public land mobile network identification, 5QI, device type, subscription type, and a device supporting a specific air interface, and wherein the second grouping is identified by a different network slice, public land mobile network identification, 5QI, device type, subscription type, subscription profile and a device supporting a specific air interface;
• and
• apply the resource quota differently to different resource.