Cell indication for core network connectivity

Abstract

A method of providing two cell barring indications via system information for UE cell selection or reselection is proposed. A first indication is a “cellBarred” indication for EPC, which indicates wither UE is barred to access EPC core network, and a second indication is a “cellBarred5GS” indication for 5GC, which indicates whether UE is barred to access 5GC core network. For E-UTRAN cell connected to both EPC and 5GC, the two indications are determined on demand, based on network preference and congestion control. For E-UTRAN cell connected to 5GC only, the value of the “cellBarred” indication is always barred. For E-UTRAN cell connected to EPC only, the base station may omit the “cellBarred5GS” field, and the existence of “cellBarred5GS” can act as an indication whether the E-UTRAN connects to 5GC.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.