Session Control and Management.

T4.3 Session Control and Management (M7– M18) Task Leader: LU Participants: BT, EXP, LU, NOK, O2M, TIM, TUAS, UPV This task shall address two important aspects, resource allocation and session management, in a 5G converged core network. The first work focuses in defining the granularity of resource allocation ranging from fine-grained for low bitrate (e.g. IoT, connected car) to coarse-grained for ultra-high bitrate (e.g. UHDTV). The current LTE resource allocation for multicast/broadcast is done by the core network entity called, the multi-cell coordination entity (MCE) with assistance information from MBMS-GW and BM-SC, as well as the RAN. Aligning with a new trend in 5G where the computing power is shifted to the network edge, this work shall identify in giving more decision power in some specific scenario (e.g. local broadcast) to the 5G RAN that would require more control in terms of deciding how content is delivered to the end user over the air interface. Another important work is to design resource allocation strategies to leverage autonomous MooD operation for seamless switching between unicast and multicast/broadcast as a network optimization tool. Session management allows the network operator to allocate and manage resources for a multicast/broadcast session. This sub-task shall work on flexible session management where resource, target geographic area, QoS and other parameters can be dynamically changed during the lifetime of a multicast/broadcast session. Another important work is to design an automatic session management which leverages autonomous MooD. The new session management shall address both ad-hoc and scheduled multicast/broadcast sessions. To save battery consumption, this sub-task shall also define a signalization of session announcement at the user devices without the need for continuous monitoring multicast/broadcast sessions on the air interface. This work shall also leverage a simple control plane between network operator and content source from both traditional content provider and user-created. More importantly, these works will be addressed in a standardized manner. Session management shall also address the simultaneous use of network interfaces for achieving better coverage, higher bitrates, robustness, and reliability. The device and network shall agree on the network interfaces for transmission/reception, and the data will be sent over multiple interfaces and routed to an aggregation point (either on the device, or at the network, depending on the direction uplink or downlink of the data flow). The transparent simultaneous use will take place without the awareness of the application/service/content provider. This work is in line with the vision for 5G architecture evolution.