Access control differentiation for mission critical communication devices and/or services

A method for configuring a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:

• configuring the UE with an access identity number reserved for UEs configured for mission critical services (MCSs);
• configuring the UE with a first rule that maps a first tuple comprising the access identity number and a first access category identifier to a first Radio Resource Control (RRC) establishment cause value;
• and
• configuring the UE with a second rule that maps a second tuple comprising the access identity number and a second access category identifier to a second RRC establishment cause value, wherein
• the second access category identifier is different than the first access category identifier, and
• the second RRC establishment cause value is different than the first RRC establishment cause value.

A method performed by a user equipment, UE, the method comprising:

• the UE storing an access identity number, wherein the access identity number is reserved for UEs configured for mission critical services (MCSs);
• the UE storing a first rule that maps a first tuple comprising the access identity number and a first access category identifier to a first Radio Resource Control (RRC) establishment cause value;
• and
• the UE storing a second rule that maps a second tuple comprising the access identity number and a second access category identifier to a second RRC establishment cause value, wherein
• the second access category identifier is different than the first access category identifier, and
• the second RRC establishment cause value is different than the first RRC establishment cause value.